Improvement in Electric Motors and Dynamo Electric Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by ORAZIO LUGO, of No. 315, West 14th Street,
in the City and State of New York, United States of America, Chemist and
Electrician.]
Improvement in Electric Motors and Dynamo Electric Machines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare, the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and following statement :-
L
My invention is an improvement upon the general type of electric motor described
and claimed in a patent granted to Alfred Julius Boult on the 3rd day of July 1888,
No. 9,660, and its objects are:-
First To so commutate the currents in the type of motor referred to in said
patent that the tangential pull had upon the armature bobbins and their cores as they
rotate past the successive field bobbins may be had at two or more radial points at one
and the same time.
Second: To so arrange the stationary and rotating commutators as to bring them
into close relation and thereby render the machine more compact.
Third To devise an electrical motor which shall have special adaptability for use
in connection with boats, launches and torpedo vessels, the arrangement being such
that the motor shall lie in close proximity to the keel of the vessel, and therefore occupy
a minimum space, and at the same time act as ballast.
Fourth-To accomplish various results specifically referred to in the specification
which follows :-
1 accomplish these results by the arrangement of parts and the construction of the
apparatus hereinafter described but particularly pointed out in the claims which follow
this specification.
In the apparatus disclosed in the said prior patent above referred to, only one
armature hobbin is in circuit effectively at a time, and although this machine is very
efficient, it was apparent to me that if the currents were properly commutated a motor
might be devised in which a series of armature bobbins radially disposed might be

page_text: made effective at different radial points at one and the same time, thereby creating a
constant equal tangential pull at several points around the axis of the rotating armature
the resultant of which would give a maximum efficiency.
I had conceived the idea of increasing the efficiency of the motor referred to, by
uniting two or more sets of armature bobbins upon a single shaft, each set having its
own commutators and field bobbins, the commutation being so related that the pull at
different radial points might be effected and the current from the battery passed through
the several sets in multiple are; but this plan has objections at once obvious due to
the great multiplication of commutators and brushes.
With a view of accomplishing the objects referred to, I devised the arrangement of
commutation and the construction of apparatus herein disclosed which will be fully
understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings, in
which:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken through the machine and showing parts
thereof in elevation.
Figure 2 is an end view of the inachine as seen looking at Figure 1. from right
to left.
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are cross sections taken on lines vv, xx, y y, and z z, showing
the ends of the successive sets of field and armature bobbins as seen looking from
right to left Figure 1 and the direction of rotation of the armature.
Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the commutation of the circuits of my
improved motor having ten field and eight armature bobbins, and Figure 8 is a similar
view with twenty field and sixteen armature bobbins.
In the form shown in Figure 7, there are two pulls tangentially at any one time
at all points of the armatures rotation, while in that shown in Figure 8 there are four
such pulls making in the first instance forty, and in the second eighty distinct pulls
in each complete revolution of the armature.
S, S, S, S. S, are five standards attached as in the said previously patented motor
to a base and joined together by screws entering the ends of the field magnet bobbin
cores so that the whole field magnet of the machine is made up of four independent
sets of field magnets, joined in one solid frame, as clearly shown in Figure 1 and
shown in developed or diagrammatic view in Figures 7 and 8.
A', A² &c. B, B² &c. C, C² &c., DD &c. are the sets of field magnet bobbins
arranged in such successive relation that when viewed endwise, as shown in Figure 2,
each bobbin is seen to lie in a different plane. In other words, the five field magnet
bobbins in each set are arranged at an equal distance apart radially, while the
respective positions of the four sets are differently located by one fourth of a revolution
so that there is one bobbin radially located for every 15° of the field in the form shown
in Figures 1 and 8.
For the form shewn in Figure 7 there would be two such sets of five and hence
one bobbin radially disposed for each 36° of the field magnet.
This relation will be better understood by examining Figures, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, in
which Figure 3 shows the arrangement of the first set near the left hand end of
Figure 1, Figure + the second set, Figure 5 the third set, and Figure 6 the first set
located at the front end of the machine.
The armature bobbins a¹, a², a³, a²; b', b³, 13, 64; c¹, c², c³, c¹ and d¹, d², d³, d, four
of each set are provided with magnetic cores and radial pole pieces, as in the said
prior invention and secured by screws to the non-magnetic collars s, s, s &c. keyed to
the shift (a). These bobbins are arranged in four rows as follows:
a², b, c, d²; a², b², e², d²; 'a³, b³, c³, d³; a³, b, c, d as shewn in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6
and S and the field magnet bobbins have as in said patent, the internal projecting
pole pieces.
The armature shaft a is held in place by the yokes or collars A, A, secured to the
end standards S, S.
is the rotating commutator consisting in this instance of 20 strips or segments
and attached directly to the shaft a and insulated from it; and E is the stationary
commutator of like number of strips attached to and insulated from the yoke A, both

page_text: commutators being at the same end of the machine, as shewn in Figure 1. B and B¹
re the brushes the former fixed to the standard V insulated from the frame of the
nachine, the latter attached by the arm g to the armature shaft. By this arrangement
I concentrate the commutators at one end or side of the machine, thereby rendering
djustment easy and free access to both of the commutators at one point where they
may be protected against dust and entirely free from any of the evil effects which
follow the location of the commutators in proximity to the power transmitting pulley
which may be located at the other end of the armature shaft.
The binding posts (not shown) are connected to the machine as disclosed in the said
prior patent above referred to.
Referring now to Figures 7 and 8 w, w, w, w are the circuit connections from the
free ends of the armature bobbins to the rotating commutator strips, while w¹, w, w²,
w, w, are similar connections from the free ends of the field bobbins to the stationary
commutator strips.
wo, o, are the intermediate connections between the individual and arinature bobbins,
located in the respective sets or groups; w³ ³ being similar connections between the
individual bobbins of the respective field magnet sets or groups.
20, ware conductors connecting the armature and field magnet hobbins to the
commutator brushes and to the propelling battery B A. It will be observed that I
divide the commutator strips of the respective commutators into groups of four and
five in the same manner as disclosed in the said prior patent except that the order of
the grouping is different here, that in the patent being in sequence, while here, the
order is somewhat irregular. In this peculiar commutation lies the novelty of the
present invention taken in connection with especial features herein described and
claimed.
This commutation is of such a nature that two or more armature bobbins are in
series at one and the same time and are acted upon by two or more field magnet
bobbins also connected in series and having different radial locations.
This feature will be best understood by examining the diagram shown in Figures 7
and 8. Suppose the brushes to be in the position shown in Figure 8, the stationary
brush B being on the rotary strip 4 of group 4, and the rotary brush B₁ being on the
strip 5 of the second stationary group of the stationary commutator, and the armature-
to be rotating in the direction shown by the arrows. With the brushes in t
relation, the arinature will be in the position shown in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 field
bobbins A B C and D having just acted upon the armature bobbins a¹ 63 c¹ and d²
and the brushes having just left the strips 1, 1 of their respective groups.
The circuit is as follows :-)
-By wire w from battery B A to stationary brush B
commutator strip 4 of group 4 by wires w and w² to the following armature bobbins,
and a b c d to wire w₁ and rotary brush B₁; thence by strip or segment 5 of
group 5 on the stationary commutator through wires w¹ and w³ and field magnet
Bobbins D C3 B and A and finally by wire w back to battery BA.
t
An examination now of Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 shows that the pole pieces of
armature bobbins a b c d are in the most effective range to be acted upon by the
field magnet bobbins A B and D and by following the circuits traced through
these field magnet and armature bobbins and wires w² and w³ it will be seen that the
armature will be caused to rotate one twentieth of a revolution and that there are
four distinct tangential pulls at one and the same time and at points equal distances
apart around the circumference of the armature. This united action rotates the
armature in the direction of the arrows q and q¹ and places the brush B on strip
or segment 3 and brush B' on strip or segment 4, so that the circuit is as
follows: From battery B A by wire w brush B, strip 3, wires to and to, armature
bobbins a, b, c, d wire w, rotary brush B₁, strip 4 of stationary cominutator E,
wires w¹ and to field bobbins D, C B and A wire w back to battery; and so in
sequence each successive pair of strips and brusbes commutates the current suc-
cessively so that each armature bobbin in each independent set is in circuit once
and once only with each field magnet bobbin in one complete revolution of the
armature shaft, and similarly each armature bobbin of each set is in series with each

page_text: armature bobbin of all the other sets once in each revolution of the armature. In
the same way each field magnet bobbin is in series with every field magnet
bobbin during one revolution of the armature so that under all positions of the
armature shaft there are always four armature hobbins in series which are being
acted upon by four field magnet bobbins, also in series and each located just in
advance of the armature bobbin it is designed to act upon. By tracing the circuits
through all of the commutator strips for the successive positions of the brushes it
will be found that under all conditions this state of facts exists.
In the modified form shown in Figure 7, the tangential pull is from two points
only and the position of the armature and the pull thereon will be understood by
examining Figures 3 and 4 where it is found to be upon the cores of bobbins a 12
the cores of a and 63 having just been acted upon by field hobbins A and B³.
The essential difference between my present invention and that disclosed in the
said prior patent above referred to will perhaps be better understood when it is
noted that in the invention disclosed in the patent the circuit from the battery to the
motor is always in series through one armature bobbin and one field bobbin and
that this relation is made successive through all the bobbins until the sequence
has been passed through once in each complete revolution of the armature shaft
there never being more than one armature and one field magnet bobbin in circuit at
one time, while in my present invention this series relation is still preserved and
additional bobbins are thrown in in each circuit thus making the relation one which
I denominate multiplex series, there being in a series circuit at one time always two
or more armature bobbins and a like number of field magnet bobbins. By such an
arrangement I create at one time two or more independent sets of magnetic circuits
for each change of position of the commutator brushes. That is to say, two or
more field magnet and two or more armature lobbins are brought into action with
relation to each other at least once in every revolution and their cores caused to
close or at least to approximate the closing of as many independant magnetic
circuits while only one series circuit is closed through the field magnet and armature
bobbins, thereby giving increased magnetic efficiency from a single closure of the
circuit through eich successive set. In the said patent above referred to the groups
of commutator strips are arranged successively while in the present invention it will
be noted that the strips are arranged in the order necessitated by the radial
location of the several field magnet and armature bobbins so as to produce the
successive joint pulls at different radial points of the armatures rotation.
I prefer to locate the several groups as shown in Figure 1, for the reason that I
avoid any disturbance from neighboring bobbins were they all concentrically located.
It will be noticed that by locating the active bobbins in the successive sets they are
thereby removed a maximum distance from each other so that as the magnetic field
rotates it advances spirally from set to set, i find that this arrangement is conducive
of very beneficial results.
It will be understood that by the arrangement of a commutator which I have
disclosed above, and the disposition of the several sets of field and armature bobbins,
I am enabled to construct a motor which shall have approximately much greater
length and smaller diameter than any motor with which I am acquainted, the cubical
dimensions, therefore being of such form as to readily adapt the motor for use in
connection with boats, torpedo vessels, launches and analogous conveyances.
To construct a motor for such purpose I prefer to commutate the circuits in
the manner in which I have already described, and to arrange a series of groups of
armature bobbins upon a single shaft the number of such groups being regulated either
by the length of the vessel or the power required to propel it, or both.
The motor when so constructed would locate in the bottom of the vessel and
affix it preferably to the keel, so that the armature shaft might extend through the
rear of the vessel to which the screw propeller could be attached in the usual manner.
With such an arrangement, the entire propelling apparatus would, of course, be located
entirely below the lower floor of the vessel, and therefore out of sight, beside acting as
ballast and insuring greater stability to the vessel, as well as centralizing the power

page_text: below the water line, features which in themselves are of vast importance in the
propulsion of vessels upon or through water.
1 lay a special stress upon the adaptation of my above improved motor, and although
it is designed for use in other fields which at once readily suggest themselves 1 claim
for my motor increased advantages over existing forms of motor for this use.
I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the special arrangement of
commutation herein shown and described, nor to the manner of locating the armature
bobbins independent sets upon a common shaft surrounded by independent sets of
field magnet bobbins as it is obvious that other arrangements might be devised
whereby the current could be commutated through two or more field magnet and
armature bobbins simultaneously and successively or in such manner as to give two or
more tangential pulls upon a single armature shaft at the same time and I therefore
desire it to be understood that my claims shall be considered broad enough in to
scope
cover the principles herein enunciated concerning multiplex series armature and
field magnet bobbins doing effective work at two or more radial points at the same
instant.
It will of course be understood, that this invention is at once applicable to dynamo
machines as well as motors in a manner at once obvious to those skilled in the art and
that the field magnet or armature circuit may be used alone as described in the said
prior patent by simply making the necessary connections the same as therein
disclosed.
It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that this motor may be caused
to act by repulsion between the field magnet and armature pole, pieces and windings,
as well as by attraction, it only being necessary to so wind the respective sets of
magnets as to bring about this result.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what l'claim is :-
First. The described electric motor consisting of a field magnet composed of a
number of concentrically arranged bobbins or electro magnets, two or more of which
are connected in series, in combination with an armature.composed of similar bobbins,
or electro magnets two or more of which are also connected in series and commutator
connections for throwing said field and armature bobbins into and out of action as the
arinature rotates, substantially as described.
Second. In an electric motor a series of stationary field magnets or bobbins
surrounding a series of armature magnets or bobbins having intermediate and com-
mutator connections as described for connecting the armature and the field bobbins
in multiplex series circuits successively, substantially as described.
Third. In an electric motor the combination of Field Magnet bobbins arranged in
sets in two or more branches from the same electric source with corresponding sets of
armature bobbins and commutator and intermediate connections for throwing two or
more of said field magnet bobbins and two or more of said armature bobbins into
independent series connection, substantially as described.
Fourth. In an electric motor the combination of two or more sets of field magnet
bobbins having a common multiple are connection at one end of one set corresponding
sets of armature bobbins located on a single shaft with a single multiple are connection
at the end of one set and independent and intermediate connections from the free ends
of the other sets of both the field magnet and armature hobbins for throwing two or
more bobbins in the armature and the field, in series with a fixed and a rotating brush
for successively commutating the circuit through the field magnet and armature
bobbins, substantially as described.
Fifth. In an electric motor the combination of a series of field magnet bobbins
arranged in sets with a series of armature bobbins arranged also in sets on a common
shaft two commutators one stationary and the other rotary, two brushes one stationary
and the other rotary multiple are connections from one set of field magnet bobbins to
the propelling battery and stationary brush resting on the rotating commutator,

page_text: independent connections from the free ends of one set of the field magnet bobbins to
the stationary commutator intermediate connections between the several sets of field
magnet bobbins, multiple are connections from one set of the armature bobbins to the
rotary brush resting on the stationary commutator, independent connections from the
free ends of one set of armature bobbins to the commutator strips of the rotary com-
.mutator and intermediate connections between the several sets of armature bobbins
whereby two or more field magnet bobbins and two or more armature bobbins are
caused to act simultaneously at different tangential points of the armature circumference,
substantially as described.
Sixth. An electric motor or dynamo electric machine having a fixed and a rotary
commutator in combination with a fixed and a rotary brush, all of said parts being
located at one end or side of the machine substantially as described.
Seventh. An electric motor or dynamo electric machine having a fixed or stationary
commutator attached to the frame of the machine and a rotary commutator attached
to the armature shaft, in combination with a fixed or stationary brush bearing on the
rotary commutator and a rotary brush attached also to the armature shaft and bearing
on the fixed commutator said parts being all located at one end or side of the machine
substantially as described.
Eighth. An armature for an electric motor or dynamo electric machine consisting
of two or more sets or groups of electro magnets bolted together end to end fixed upon
a common shaft substantially as described.
Ninth. An electric motor or dynamo electric machine having a field magnet
composed of two or more sets or groups of electro magnets or bobbins joined together
end to end, the electro magnets or bobbins of the different sets lying in different radial
planes, substantially as described.
Tenth. An electric motor or dynamo electro machine having a field magnet
composed of two or more sets or groups of electro magnets or bobbins joined together
end to end, the individual bobbins of the different sets or groups lying in different
radial planes, in combination with an armature composed of similar sets or groups of
electro magnets or bobbins the individual electro magnets or bobbins of the respec-
tive sets being located in the same plane, substantially as described.
Eleventh. An electric motor of the kind described having its armature bobbins
connected directly to the propeller shaft of a vessel, substantially as described.
Twelfth. An electric motor for use in vessels consisting of a series of armature
bobbins attached directly to the propeller shaft of the vessel, and a series of field
bobbins attached directly to the keel or bottom of the vessel, the whole lying in the
plane of the keel and in such position as to act as ballast for retaining the vessel in the
position of greatest stability, substantially as described.
Thirteenth. An electric motor consisting of a series of armature bobbins attached
directly to the propeller shaft of a vessel in combination with a series of field bobbins
arranged around said armature bobbins, and attached directly to the bottom of the
vessel, said armature and field bobbins being arranged in sets extending in the direction
of the length of the vessel for a distance substantially equal to said length, substantially
as described.
Dated this 5th day of Maral 1880
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.