METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUTATING CIRCUITS FOR CHARGING SUCCESSIVE SECTIONS OF SECONDARY VOLTAIC BATTERIES
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
"
We, HENRY PERCY HOLT of Manchester in the County of Lancaster, Engineer
and ALBERT EDWARD JONES of Leeds in the County of York, Electrician do hereby
declare the nature of our invention for METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
COMMUTATING CIRCUITS FOR CHARGING SUCCESSIVE SECTIONS OF SECONDARY
VOLTAIC BATTERIES and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
"
It is often advantageous to employ, for the purpose of charging a secondary
voltaic battery, a dynamo-electric machine of moderate power acting for a long
time, instead of a machine of large power acting for a shorter time. Our invention
relates to means of effecting this in a continuous and automatic manner by the
following arrangement. We divide the battery into a number of sections each
consisting of a group of cells such as can without difficulty be charged by a
dynamo machine of moderate power. To the shaft of the dynamo machine we
connect by a band or other suitable gearing a commutating apparatus which after
a certain number of revolutions of the machine rapidly breaks its electrical
connection with one section of the battery and brings the next section into circuit
with the machine. . After the determined number of revolutions of the machine
have again been made, the second section of the battery is in its turn cut out of
circuit and the next section is shunted in. Thus the machine goes on charging
section after section, each section that has been charged or a group of the charged
sections being available for giving off current, while another of the sections is being
charged. The number of sections into which the battery is divided may be varied;
for the sake of illustration, we will assume that there are six sections and describe
a commutating apparatus suitable for that number referring to the accompanying
Drawings.
Fig 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 is a sectional plan and Fig 3 is a vertical section
on the line Z Z. By means of a band or otherwise the shaft A is driven at such
speed as may be desired from the axis of the dynamo machine, and this shaft by
means of worm gearing B, gives a slow rotary motion in the direction of the arrow
to the worm wheel C. On this wheel is a pin D which as the wheel revolves
releases successively two spring pawls E which engage projecting teeth f of a
wheel F. This wheel is on the barrel of a volute spring G which urges the wheel
in the direction of the arrow. The spring G is kept wound up by the movement of
the wheel C, by means of sun and planet gear H, which causes the axis of the
volute spring G to revolve, so as to wind up the spring as it unwinds itself at each

page_text: of its actions on the wheel F. On the axis of the wheel F is fixed a disc K of
insulating material which, as shewn in front view Fig. 4, carries a spring rubber L,
shewn in the part section Fig. 5, and also a wider rubber M. On a block N of
insulating material shewn in front view at Fig. 6 are fixed two metallic rings O
and P connected respectively to the two poles of the dynamo-machine. There are
also fixed on N six metallic segments Q, each connected to one of the poles of a
section of the secondary battery. The action of the apparatus is as follows. As
the wheel C slowly revolves, its pin D bearing on one of the pawls E disengages it
from the tooth f and thereupon the wheel F urged by the spring G makes a rapid
movement over one sixth of a revolution until it is arrested by another of its teeth f
meeting the second pawl E. By this movement the disc K is rapidly turned one
sixth of a revolution and thus, by, breaking the electrical connection of one of the
segments with the ring P and of the next in order with the ring O, and bringing
another pair of the segments Q into connection respectively with the rings O and P,
changes the circuit between the dynamo-machine and the battery, cutting out one
section and shunting in another section. As the wheel C continues to revolve
slowly, this action is repeated, making a recurring cycle of six changes of circuit.
In order to provide for opening the circuit from the dynamo-machine when it
censes to revolve or when its speed becomes too slow for charging, we provide a
centrifugal governor of any known kind which, when the centrifugal force falls
below a certain amount, causes contact to be broken at any convenient part of a
conductor from the dynamo-machine to the commutator. As a convenient form of
governor for this purpose, we mount on a vertical axis a cup 'S containing mercury
into which cup projects a stationary inverted cup T. The cup S is caused to
revolve by a friction wheel U acting at such a distance from the centre of S as to
give the required speed causing the mercury to rise in S and form contact with T.
When the speed falls below a certain amount, the mercury subsides in the cup and
so the contact with T is broken. Thus S and T being, respectively connected in
the circuit between the dynamo-machine and the commutator, this circuit becomes
opened when the speed of the dynamo-machine becomes too slow..
Although we have described the mechanism as arranged. for charging six suc-
cessive sections of a battery, it is obvious that by varying the number of pins on C
and teeth and making corresponding alterations in the number of segments Q,
any other number of successive changes of circuit might be effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The herein described method of commutating the circuits for charging
successive sections of secondary voltaic batteries, by working a commutating
apparatus from the dynamo machine, so that, after a certain number of revolutions
of the machine charging one section, this section is cut out of circuit and another
section is shunted into circuit.
2. A commutating apparatus for charging successive sections of secondary voltaic
batteries, constructed arranged and worked substantially as herein described and
illustrated by the Drawings.