IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC GENERATORS AND MOTORS
Year: 1886

page_text: I, CLAUDE WILLIAM HILL, of Gordon Terrace, Seacombe, in the County of Chester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC GENERATORS AND MOTORS, to be as follows:-
In my improved machine 1 prefer to employ an armature of the Gramme ring type
revolving in a powerful magnetic field.
The armature is constructed by placing rings of brass or other non-magnetic metal
at suitable distances apart upon a shaft; the rings have teeth on their periphery;
between these teeth and parallel to the shaft are laid insulated rods of copper or other
conducting metal. Upon the circular drum thus formed are threaded discs composed
of ribbons of sheet iron and paper in separate layers; in the spaces between each pair
of discs is an air space in each of which spaces is placed a spiral blade of ebonite or
other suitable material which causes a current of air and keeps the armature cool when
it is in motion. Over the ribbon discs are placed copper rods corresponding in
number to the inner ones and connected to them in such a manner by radial strips of
metal at the ends of the armature that a continuous spiral conductor is formed.
At one end of the armature at suitable intervals in the conductor, holes are drilled,
and on each bar of the commutator of the machine a projecting pin is secured which
slides into one of the holes and so makes the connection.
In a modification of my Invention the ribbon discs and spiral blades are mounted
on a suitable brass frame and the armature is wound with wire in the usual way, the
ends of the wire being carried to brass pieces mounted in an insulating disc the pieces
having holes into which slide the pins of the commutator bars.
The brushes which collect the electricity from the surface of the commutator are
preferably made of solid metal and they bear upon the commutator radially, in place
of tangentially as customary; the brushes are mounted on sliding carriages arranged
with springs so that each brush is fed forward as it wears away. The brush carriers
are mounted on two levers arranged so that they can move independently or in con-
junction with one another; the levers are also connected by worm gearing to an
auxiliary electric motor so that as the load on the (dynamo) machine or motor varies,
the auxiliary motor traverses the brushes automatically to the neutral position on the
commutator:
Dated this ath dow of August 1906

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Generators and Motors.
I, CLAUDE WILLIAM HILL, of Gordon Terrace, Seacombe, in the County of Chester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC GENERATORS AND MOTORS, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
112491
The chief object of my improvements in electric generators and motors is, first, to
obtain a greatly increased output and a high total efficiency from machines of a given
size, and secondly, in cases where required a means of instantaneously varying the
power or speed of the machine whether generator or motor.
For the attainment of these ends I employ an armature preferably of the Gramme
type so designed as to contain the largest possible sectional area of conductor in the
least possible space thereby leaving room in the armature for a large quantity of iron
and allowing the iron of the armature to rotate in close proximity to the iron of the field
magnets. Ventilating apparatus is arranged in the armature to draw away the heat
generated in the inside layers of the conductor which otherwise on account of the
contracted size of the hole in the centre of the armature would have no means of
escape.
The invention also consists in the use and application of solid rigid collectors of
novel design instead of brushes of the ordinary construction my object in this
improvement being to draw the currents from the commutator without loss by
sparking to obviate the continual expense caused by the wearing out of brushes of
ordinary design and to prolong the life of the commutator.
My invention farther consists in novel arrangements of sliding commutator con-
nections as hereinafter fully described in order to enable the commutator to be
instantly removed and replaced at any time or in certain cases to enable the power
or speed of the generator or motor to be instantly changed.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
The general arrangement of the machine and form of field magnets which I pre-
ferably employ are shown respectively in longitudinal and transverse section in
Figs. 1 and 2.-a aa a designating the field magnets. As however the object of my
Invention relates mainly to the design of armature to the collectors and to the
commutator connections I do not bind myself to this particular form of field magnets
here shown as the same may require modifications in certain cases.
Sections of the armature are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.-Upon the armature shaft b
are keyed two brass bushes c c and also a ring d with projecting teeth. In an
armature of greater length two or more of these rings d with teeth may be used. The
bushes cc and ring d are covered with thin insulating material and then upon the
bushes and between the teeth of the ring d are placed parallel with the shaft the copper
rods e which appear in transverse section in Fig. 2. These rods are of taper section

page_text: and are insulated from one another by very thin strips of mica vulcanized fibre or
other suitable material. Four air spaces preserved by the teeth of the ring d are left
extending from end to end of the armature.
When all the rods e have been laid on the bushes c they are very tightly bound
round with strong twine or other suitable material thus forming a compact drum.
Upon this drum are placed the discs f which are formed in either of the three
following modes-
(a.) Of hoop iron rolled up with paper or insulating varnish like a pin wheel.
(b.) Of iron wire wound in a mould and cemented solid or
(c.) Of thin iron discs laid upon one another and cemented together.
Between the discs are air spaces g,see Fig. 1, and in these air spaces are placed fan
vanes of brass wood or vulcanized fibre h, see Fig. 2, so that when the armature
rotates air will be drawn from its centre through the ends and blown out at the
periphery. At the ends are the insulating discs i i.
To keep the armature together longitudinally it is held by the two end frames k
and respectively one of which is shown also detached in Fig. 3. The end frame k
is fixed securely upon one bush c and the frame is free to slide upon a feather key on
the other bush c and is tightened up by means of lock nuts m. Over the discs fare
laid a second series of rods n equal in sectional area and number to the rods e. These
rods are insulated from each other and from the discs and are secured in their
places by bindings of strong wire suitably insulated. The inner and outer layers of
rods e and n respectively are then connected with each other by the pieces of which
at any point in their length have a cross sectional area equal to the rods e and n.
At one end of the armature the pieces o connect each rod n of the outer layer with
that rode of the inner layer which is directly below it and at the otherend the pieces o
connect each rod n of the outer layer with that rode of the inner layer which is next
to the one directly below it thus forming a complete continuousspiral of copper round
the armature. At four places the arms of the end frames klare inserted between
the end pieces o and so transmit the power from the shaft in a positive manner.
In order to obtain the greatest possible sectional area of copper it is essential that
the joints between the connecting pieces and rods should not extend beyond the
width of the pieces o or rods e and n I therefore use the form of joint shown on an
enlarged scale at Fig. 4. This shows the end piece o soldered to the rods e and n.
Holes are then drilled through the pieces o and rods e and n and rivets p are let in
and secured in position with solder.
In the case of rods which are too thin to be drilled I use the scarfed and soldered
joint shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 6 shows another alternative joint in which a steel feather o' secured by solder
holds the rod n and piece o together. This method however is not applicable to the
inner rods e.
In certain cases it may be found expedient to connect the end pieces o to the inner
rods e before placing the rods in position upon the bushes. Then when the rods have
been put together to form the drum as previously described the discs f will be formed
by winding the hoop iron (or iron wire) directly upon the drum. If in this case the
discs are made of sheet iron they will require to be in halves with dovetails to hold
them together.
In Fig. 5 is also shown the method of connecting the armature to the commutator.
On each bar of the commutator there is a projection q upon which is the split pin q'
When the commutator is moved along the shaft into its proper position the pin q'
slides into the hole o³ in the piece o so making contact.
Fig. 7 also shows an alternative form of joint. The bar o³ which is secured to the
piece o carries at its extremity two brass spring pieces which clip the projecting
piece q of the commutator when it is in its place. In order to avert eddy currents in
the copper rods very thin strips of copper may be used.
Fig. 8 shows the arrangement of armature when wound with wire in place of rods.
Upon the shaft b are keyed the end frames c connected to each other by the metal
strips d' shown also in Fig. 9: over the strips d' are placed the discs f with air

page_text: .spaces between and fan vanes as previously described with reference to Figs. 1
and 2. The spaces between the strips d' provide air passages and insure thorough
ventilation. Upon the improved ring thus formed the wire is wound after ordinary
Gramme system.
The arrangements of sliding commutator connections are illustrated by Figs. 10
to 12. The pin q¹ of the commutator slides into the hole b' formed of a bent piece of
sheet brass b to which the wires of the armature are soldered. The pieces of
sheet brass b are secured with screws to the disc e¹ of wood or other insulating
material which is secured to the shaft of the dynamo.
This method of sliding connection has important advantages in the case of motors
which require to run at varying speeds with a constant electro motive force on the
brushes. An arrangement for this purpose is shown in Fig. 11. In this case there
are three windings of wire placed upon the armature. The windings being calculated
for different speeds. The ends of the wires d d d are soldered to the brass
pieces b***b*** which are mounted upon the insulating disc e¹ as before. By
sliding the commutator along the shaft the pin q' will make contact with one two or
three of the windings and the motor will run at corresponding speeds.
Figs. 12 shows an alternative arrangement in which the pin q' and pieces b*
*****are rectangular the wires being connected as before. This arrangement
might be applied to generators but would be very rarely required.
The arrangement of collectors in lieu of brushes is shown in Figs. 13 to 17. In
Fig. 13 the circle q³ represents the circumference of the commutator; s is thecollector
of solid metal secured by screws to the carriage s' which slides upon the frame t the
carriage has a projection which is tapped for the screw u. By means of the
spring u the collector is pressed against the commutator the screw ụ regulating
the pressure. Preferably the collectors bear radially upon the commutator as shown.
The frame is secured to the lever v, Fig. 14, by means of screws as shown. In
Fig. 14 the section of the lever is taken upon the plane of the line CD of Fig. 15.
The lever is insulated from the frame by the vulcanized fibre j. There are of
course two sets of collectors one on each side of the commutator but as they are
exactly similar in construction and arrangement one set only is shown. One of the
levers is shown in Fig. 15. It is bored to fit the pedestal shown on a smaller
scale at Fig. 1. Fig. 16 shows a section of the two levers taken upon the
line A B, Fig. 15. One lever has a quadrantal slot ' and the other a projection ³.
The two levers are secured together by the bolt z and wing nut z' so that when the
wing nut z¹ is slackened the two levers are free to move independently of one
another but when it is tightened up they move together. In order to prevent the
arms working loose and moving when not intended there is in each a recess in which
is placed a block which is kept pressing against the pedestal by a spring *.
Fig. 17 shows an arrangement for automatically moving the collectors. The
levers v instead of being directly on the pedestal are fitted upon the bush i which is
free to rotate upon the pedestal. This bush has worm teeth cut upon it into which
the worm j³ of an auxiliary electric motor j³ gears. This auxiliary electric motor may
be of any suitable form. Two little wheels y y shown on Fig. 13 are in connection with
the motor and run upon the commutator a few bars apart. If then there be any
difference of potential between the bars the auxiliary motor will commence to run and
will carry the collectors s round till they reach the position of the neutral point.
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-
1. The construction combination and arrangement of parts constituting the
improved dynamo substantially as herein described with reference to the accom-
panying Drawings..
2. In an armature arranged with rods first the several modes of building and
constructing and secondly the several modes of joining the end pieces substantially in
the manner herein shown and described.
3. In an armature arranged with rods the combination with the bushes c and the

page_text: rings d provided with teeth of the end frames k and I substantially as herein described
with reference to Figs. 1 to 3.
4. In an armature to be wound with wire the improved construction of ring
substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 8 and 9.
5. In an electric generator or motor the use and application of a movable or
sliding connection for the commutator and armature for the purposes specified.
6. The construction and arrangement of sliding commutator connection sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described with reference to Figs. 10 to 12.
7. The method of obtaining varying speed and power by means of several distinct
windings upon the armature in combination with a sliding commutator connection
substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12.
8. The combination with the commutator of solid collectors held in adjustable
contact and said commutator and constructed arranged and operating substantially as
herein described with reference to Figs. 13 to 17.
9. The construction and arrangement of parts substantially as herein shown,
Figs. 15 and 16, and as described whereby an independent or universal motion as
required may be imparted to the levers which carry the collectors.
10. The construction and combination of parts as described with reference to
Fig. 17 whereby the position of the collectors may be moved and adjusted either
automatically or by hand.
Dated this 15th day of February 1887
1. JI
H. B. BARLOW,
17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for Applicant.