IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATING AND UTILISING ELECTRIC CURRENTS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Arthur of Cork Street in the County of
Middlesex Captain in the Royal Navy for an invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REGULATING AND UTILISING ELECTRIC CURRENTS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Arthur at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th May 1882.
WILLIAM ARTHUR of Cork Street in the County of Middlesex Captain in the
Royal Navy "IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATING AND UTILIZING ELECTRIC
CURRENTS.
"
The object of my Invention is so to affect a subdivision of the electric current
used for lighting electric lamps or other purposes, that the resistance shall remain
the same whether the current is turned on to the electric lamp or otherwise, whilst
at the same time there is no loss of power whilst the current is not being utilized.
To attain this object, I break up my main cable at two stations say at different
ends of a street into a number of smaller cables or wires, equal to the number of
lamps required between the stations, and each wire is connected and balanced so
that the resistance may be equal.
At the lamp the current when not in use passes through an accumulator, or some
other resistance, equal to the resistance of the electric lamp, and the wires are so
arranged that when the current is turned on to the electric lamp or used for other
purposes, the accumulator or resistance is cut out.
In other cases houses can be supposed to be substituted for street-lamps, when
a further subdivision of the current would be required, the sub-cable or wire being
again broken up into a number of smaller wires the whole of which would pass
through an accumulator or resistance equal to the resistance of the lamps and any
number of the wires can be turned on to their respective lamps.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
the
by the said William Arthur in the Great Seal Patent Office on
4th November 1882.
WILLIAM ARTHUR of Cork Street in the County of Middlesex Captain in the
ELECTRIC
IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATING AND UTILIZING
Royal Navy
CURRENTS
"3
"
My said Invention relating to improvements in regulating and utilizing Electric
currents has for its object to so effect a subdivision of the Electric current used in
Electric Lamps or for other like purposes, that the resistance shall remain constant
or uniform independent of whether or not the same number of Lamps or their
equivalents be kept always in circuit and at the same time to avoid useless loss of
electric power whilst the current is not being utilized
The common way of obtaining the first result above mentioned is to employ the
auxiliary assistance of artificial resistance usually in the form of coils blocks or
pieces of bad Electric conductors through which the current is caused to pass when
a lamp or group of lamps or equivalent source of resistance is cut out of circuit-
In this manner it will be understood that the required compensation can be readily
effected but according to such arrangement there is a constant expenditure of
Electric current or power independent of the actual work required and performed
whilst heat may be generated to a dangerous extent or a group of secondary
batteries or electric Accumulators have been permanently employed between the
Generator and the lamps in which case the resistance of the Secondary batteries or
Electric Accumulators will form an additional resistance to that of the lamps, thus
necessitating a frequent variation in the speed of the generator as the Lamps are
turned in and out of circuit
According to my said Invention I arrange that the consumption of Electric
energy or force is always proportionate to the work to be effected and for this
purpose I dispense with the ordinary sources of resistance and employ a requisite
number of secondary battery or electric accumulator cells so arranged and connected
in the circuit that the required resistance from time to time is obtained by the
passage of the surplus current through a group of Secondary batteries or accumu-
lators of equal resistance to the Lamps turned out whereby a uniform resistance is
achieved and a storage or strengthening of the source of electric power obtained in
lieu of useless expenditure of the same as aforesaid and further avoiding the
necessity of making any variation in the speed of the Dynamo
To attain this object I divide my main Cable between any two stations say at
different ends of a street into a number of groups of lamps say every alternate
lamp in one group and the remainder in another group or three or more groups
may be similarly arranged.
When the electric Current is not required for a certain series of lamps the wires
and connections are so arranged as to cause it to pass through a group of secondary
batteries or accumulators having a combined resistance equal to that of the said
Lamp or lamps turned out and it is evident that if the Lamps are all turned out
of circuit the current will pass solely through the various groups of accumulators
and the electric energy thereby stored up can be subsequently utilized at the
central or other station.
In other cases or examples houses or rooms may be supposed to be substituted
for the street arrangement above mentioned in which case I divide my lamps
into groups say a group for each house or room or a group consisting of half the

page_text: lights of one room and half of another with the wires and connections arranged
as aforesaid so that the current when turned off from any group at will will pass
through secondary batteries or accumulators having the same resistance.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference indicating corresponding
parts.
The accompanying drawing represents a diagrammatic plan of the arrangement
and connections of apparatus for regulating and utilizing electric currents according
to my said Invention.
"
A are groups of secondary batteries or accumulators of any number of cells
(varying according to the resistance or other requirements) which are connected
by wires a and b to a system or series of parallel cables or wires C and D arranged
and operating according to the principle now known as the "parallel arc system
but my proposed arrangement is equally applicable to any other arrangement of
wires Between these parallel series of Cables or wires are placed or fixed
transverse auxiliary wires E communicating or connected with the Electric
Lamps F. M M¹ are the main Cables M bringing the current from the generator
and M being the return Cable. For the sake of uniformity thirty lamps in groups
of six on a series of five parallel sets of Cables or wire are shewn in the diagram
but this may be varied according to circumstances or requirements but in all cases
however the batteries or accumulators should have as near as possible the same
resistance as the group of lamps they are intended to serve G are switches keys
or plugs which serve to cut any of the parallel systems and its lamps out of circuit
when required but by the performance of such operation one of the groups of
batteries or accumulators A is brought into circuit which affords equivalent
resistance so as to avoid any fluctuation of electromotive force in the reduced
number of lamps remaining in circuit. The current thus diverted and caused to
pass through the required number of cells of such battery effects the necessary
compensation of electric energy while at the same time the power thus stored can
be utilized when the generator is not in use.
If it be deemed necessary to turn or cut a single lamp out of circuit a small
ordinary resistance piece may be used for such purpose as shewn at H in the
diagram It is obvious this could also be accomplished by accumulators as before
but in this case the number required to give the necessary resistance would be
great or else secondary batteries of high resistance would be desirable It will
now be understood that by the arrangement hereinbefore described the current
may be suddenly arrested or diverted from any group or series of lamps and caused
to pass through a group of Secondary batteries or accumulators of corresponding
resistance so that the total resistance in a circuit always remains constant inde-
pendent of the actual useful work performed while at the same time the necessary
compensation for the said current is effected without practical loss.
Although I have described a definite arrangement of circuits connections and
lamps it will be readily understood that the combination and arrangement could
be varied according to circumstances and that the system is equally applicable to
maintaining a uniform strength of Electric current in any given circuits independent
of the question of electric lighting.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is :-
The improvements in regulating and utilizing Electric currents for lighting
purposes consisting in the provision of means whereby when any group of Lamps
in an electrical circuit is not required the current ordinarily passing through them

page_text: is diverted through accumulators or secondary Batteries of equivalent or approxi-
mately equivalent resistance substantially as and for the purposes herein before
described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
In witness whereof I the said William Arthur have to this my Specification
set my hand and seal this second day of November One thousand eight
hundred and eighty two.
WILLIAM ARTHUR. (L.S.)