IMPROVED MEANS FOR REGULATING ELECTRO MOTIVE FORCE IN THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A SYSTEM OF MAINS USED FOR ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION
Year: 1885

page_text: 1 JAMES EDWARD HENRY GORDON of 28 Collingham Place Kensington in the
County of Middlesex Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVED MEANS FOR REGULATING ELECTRO MOTIVE FORCE IN THE
VARIOUS PARTS OF A SYSTEM OF MAINS USED FOR ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
"
"
In the specification of a former Patent granted to me N° 5624 in the year 1884
I described a new form of electric main for supplying current to two or more
"distant'
points" or 'distributing", centres" at a distance from a dynamo or
system of connected dynamos such electric mains consisting not of one large cable
but of several smaller ones and of apparatus for disconnecting these cables as
required for the purpose of keeping the electro motive force at each "centre
unchanged in spite of changes in the number of lamps supplied from it and in the
specification of that Patent I say :-
"
"The regulation i.e the cutting out or the re-inserting of feeding cables may
" either be done by an attendant who watches the volt-meter and shifts the levers
"or plugs & accordingly or it may be done by automatic apparatus actuated or
" controlled by the volt-meter."
My present invention consists of a special construction of automatic apparatus
suitable for this purpose. The apparatus is illustrated in the annexed Drawings.
It consists firstly of a wheel the surface of which is partly wood and partly
metal and on which press metal brushes connected respectively to the separate
component cables of the feeding main. The dynamo current enters the wheel and
passes off by all or less than all of the brushes according to the position of the
wheel i.e. according as the brushes press on wood or metal.
It consists secondly of an apparatus for moving this wheel in accordance with
changes of electro motive force at the distant centre and so as to correct those
changes.
'
The drawing represents the apparatus adapted to be used in cases where both
the positive and negative mains are subdivided.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 au end elevation of the apparatus.
Figure 3 shews separately a portion of the rim of the wheel with one of the copper
segments carried by it.
The positive and negative brushes are shown as being held in slots in two fixed
eircular wooden segments a. a. in such manner that the brushes can move endwise
in the slots and come end on to the surface of the wheel. The wooden segments
may be carried as shown in Figure 2 by arms from one of the fixed standards
of the apparatus. The wheel is of iron faced with wood into which are let copper
segments b. b. The space between each brush and the next is rather more than
the width of a brush and the copper segments are so placed that when the wheel is
turned positive and negative wires are disconnected alternately.
The current arrives at the copper segments on the wheel by way of the zig-zag
copper strips (c. c.) which will allow the wheel to turn a quarter revolution or
more without impeding it.
The wheel is turned by means of a crank ().
suitable electrical governor I prefer to use Willans
may be used.
This crank is moved by any
Patent but any suitable form
The Willans governor consists of a solenoid and core e actuating the valves of a
hydraulic cylinder f. As it is an article of commerce and bas been fully described
in Willans specification N° 1184-1883 it need not be further described here. It
has hitherto been used for actuating the valve gear of steam engines driving
dynamos but I propose now to use it for actuating my divided main apparatus.
The connections are so made that if the electro motive force at the distant centre
rises too high the Willans governor turns the wheel so that more brushes press on
wood and fewer on copper and vice versa. In the Drawing all the brushes are
shown as pressing on the copper segments b. b.
Any suitable means may be adopted for keeping the brushes pressed against the
wheel.
In the Drawing it is shown to be effected by a board g which can slide towards
or away from the wheel on pins which project from the segments a and which is
pressed towards the wheel by springs mounted on these pins. The board may be
faced with india rubber so that it may press equally against the backs of all the
brushes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The use in combination with divided mains such as are described in the
specification of my Patent herein before mentioned of a contact apparatus
substantially as described above the same being actuated by any suitable electric
governor.
Dated this 25th day of February 1885.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.