Improved Electro-mechanical Apparatus for the Control of Electric Motors.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 13th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 20th July,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Electro-mechanical Apparatus for the Control of
Electric Motors.
I, JULIEN DULAIT, of Charleroi, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a novel electro-mechanical apparatus having for its
object the starting and the stopping of electric motors by a very short pressure
of an electric push, and of effecting these operations in whichever direction the
motion may be at the will of the operator.
My invention is especially applicable to the control of electric lifts, and enables
the control of the rising, stopping, and descending thereof to be effected by touch-
ing the said push by hand or automatically, and either from the interior of the
apparatus, or from any other point.
The entire apparatus includes four distinct parts controlled automatically in
the required order for the conditions of safety requisite for the effective control
and operation of these motors.
In order to fully explain the invention let us suppose the same applied to. the
control of a lift. By means of the simple pressure upon the push buttons illus-
trated in the accompanying diagram by the contact pieces M for the ascent, A
for the stoppage, and D for the descent constitute the sole movement to be made
by the controller of the apparatus in operation. In following the direction taken
by the current it will be seen that if the contact plates M close the circuit, the
current produced by the battery passes through the said contact pieces and
traverses the electro magnet a which controls the changing mechanism for the
direction of the rotation. It is necessary to remark firstly, that the starting of
this apparatus is effected before the current arriving from the outer conductors LL¹,
passes through it in order to reach the motor. In fact at this moment the arm B
of the rheostat X which is shewn placed upon the contact 3, for greater clearness,
of the drawing, is upon the raised point or contact O, to which it has been
impelled, as will be seen further on by means of the spring R. The electro-
magnet a attracting to itself the lever, this latter presses itself under, the releasing
device d, and inserting its plungers in the mercury troughs bb¹ draws with it
the upper blade λ and places the same in contact with the lower blade A¹ thus
closing the circuiting of the piles upon the electro magnet E of the circuitmaking
device for the excitation. This latter attracts to itself the lever a, which places
itself beneath the releasing device y, plunges its contacts into the mercury
troughs and thus supplies to the exterior exciting current a way of entrance
into the electro magnets of the motor, obliging the same to pass through previously
the powerful solenoids $ St. The exciting current passing through the sole-
noids SS gives them sufficient power to render them capable of attracting to
themselves in the direction of the arrow f the cross bar T. which latter, by means
of a pivoted stop or other like device carries with it in its motion the end of the
arm B of the rheostat X. This arm revolving around the point p is obliged to

page_text: describe an arc of a circle, the length of which may be increased by approaching
the point p of the cross piece to T thus giving to the arm B the maximum course
by means of a little adjustment of the cross piece T. At the moment in which
the arm B is set in motion the principal circuit, that is to say, that of the armature
is closed by the pieces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc., graduating the resistance necessary to
the proper operation of the motor.
The lifting operation may be described as follows:-
By pressing upon the plates M the current from the battery P is caused to
pass through the electro-magnet and attracts the lever and plunges the contact
points N, 'N¹ into the cups b, 61; in this movement the lever a carries with it
the piece which placing itself in contact with ' delivers the current from the
battery into the electromagnet E of the excitation circuitmaking device, and causes
the points pp to dip into the troughs j and j¹ and thus closes the excitation
circuit, forcing the current to pass through the solenoids S S'; these latter attract
the piece T which in turn actuates the arm B and puts the armature of the motor in
circuit, which then begins to move. It should be remarked that all these move-
ments are dependent the one upon the other, operate almost simultaneously, and
will present the advantage of perfect security both with regard to the regularity
of the operation and its freedom from shock as well as that of the protection of
the apparatus itself and of the motor. In fact the apparatus for changing the
direction of rotation has its plungers in the mercury and is in circuit before the
circuit of the armature has been closed, whence arises a total absence of sparks.
On the other hand the excitation of the motor is also effected before the armature
is put into circuit; moreover this is closed, setting the motor in motion with a
graduated application.
In order to make the diagram clear there has been represented at I an
apparatus called an "excitation circuit breaker" which is formed simply
of a contact point and serves as a circuit breaker. This apparatus is placed
behind the table and is controlled by means of the cross piece T itself in such
a manner that having put the two mercury troughs mm¹ into circuit at the com-
mencement of its course it does not withdraw them from it until it has returned
to zero.
upon
Let us now consider the stop motion. Suppose the arm B is
the place 6
and the plunger I at the bottom; the motor is then in motion. In order to stop it
is only requisite to press upon the stop push represented in the diagram by the
contacts A. When contact is effected at A it will be seen that the current from
the battery P passes through the interruptor y of the circuit maker of the excita-
tion. This latter releases the lever a which under the influence of the opposing
spring grises, and withdraws its plungers from the mercury troughs, thus break-
ing the excitation circuit at jj; but before this the plungers placed at the opposite
end hh of the lever a have been placed in contact with the mercury of their
trough, so that the excitation current is not broken for a single instant but simply
changed in its direction. From this again results the avoidance of all sparking.
It should further be remarked that by the fact of the breaking of the circuit
at and of its re-establishment at hh¹ the current is no longer obliged to pass
through the solenoids SS¹ in order to arrive at the motor.
It passes instead
through and the troughs h h and reaches the motor directly. It results from
this change of direction followed by the current that the solenoids S S¹ receiving no
longer any current lose their force and release the arm B. This arm B under the
influence of the spring R is returned to the zero point of rheostat breaking thus the
circuit of the induction. It has been already seen that at this moment the cross
piece T withdraws from the troughs the plungers of the apparatus I and thus
breaks the excitation circuit. In returning to zero the arm B by means of a piece
which appears at its upper end makes_contact between the plates kc and thus
allows the current from the battery P to pass into the electromagnets of the
releasing mechanisms. The releasing mechanism & releases the lever / of the
apparatus for reversing the direction of motion which rises under the influence
г.

page_text: of the opposing spring m. The arm B continuing its course again encounters in
its passage the piece n which it also places in the circuit of the battery without
abandoning the others. The current from the battery passes then equally into
the electro s which attracting the levert and causing its points to become
immersed in the troughs uu¹, shortcircuits the motor, causing the immediate
stoppage, although regulatable and without shock by means of the resistance
without the intervention of mechanical brakes or other devices. It is only at the
end of its course that the arm B releases the plates kc and n which then resume
their normal position. The apparatus is then ready for a new operation. The
movement for the stoppage may be summed up as follows:-At the moment of
contact of the plates A the current from the battery P passes through the
releaser y.
This latter abandons a the plungers hh of which re-establish the
circuit of the excitation without passing through SS1; the spring R draws back
the arm B and opens the induction circuit causing the stoppage. On return to
zero T breaks the excitation circuit at I and brings into contact the plates k c,
the releasers & and 81 and n of the shortcircuiting device and it does not abandon
them before the extreme end of its course.
a
Let us now consider the inovement for the descent. In order to obtain this
movement it is necessary to press the button D establishing thus a contact
which allows of the passage of the current into the electromagnet z for the change
of the direction of rotation in place of the electromagnet serving for the ascent.
It is obvious that the reversal of the poles at the troughs of this apparatus is
sufficient to cause the opposite direction of rotation of the motor, and we have
here the repetition of the successive operations described for the ascending motion.
It should be noted that in order to prevent the dangers of a short circuit the
levers are combined in such a manner that when the one of them has its plungers
in the mercury it fixes the other so as to prevent it from falling in its turn into
the troughs, and that if by accident there be caused at N and at P a simultaneous
contact the, same system would prevent the levers from closing the circuit.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.
Improved Electro-mechanical Apparatus for the Control of
Electric Motors.
I, JULIEN DULAIT, of 1, Rue Prunieau, Charleroi, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Engineer, 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
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to a novel electro-mechanical apparatus having for its
object the starting and the stopping of electric motors by a very short pressure
of an electric push, and of effecting these operations in whichever direction the
motion may be at the will of the operator.
My invention is especially applicable to the control of electric lifts, and enables
the control of the rising, stopping, and descending thereof to be effected by touch-
ing the said push by hand or automatically, and either from the interior of the
apparatus, or from any other point.
The entire apparatus includes four distinct parts controlled automatically in
the required order for the conditions of safety requisite for the effective control
and operation of these motors.

page_text: In order to fully explain the invention let us suppose the same applied to the
control of a lift. By simply pressing the push buttons (illustrated in the
diagram accompanying the Provisional Specification) marked M for the ascent, A
for the stoppage, and D for the descent the conductor of the lift can entirely
control the motion of the apparatus. In following the direction
taken
by the current it will be seen that if the contact plates M close the circuit the
current produced by the battery P passes through the said contact pieces and
traverses the electro-magnet a which controls the changing mechanism for the
direction of the rotation. It is necessary to remark firstly, that the starting_of
this apparatus is effected before the current arriving from the outer conductors L L',
passes through it in order to reach the motor. In fact at this moment the arm B
of the rheostat X which is shewn placed upon the contact 3, for greater clearness,
of the drawing, is upon the raised point or contact O, to which it has been
impelled, as will be seen further on by means of the spring R. The electro-
magnet a attracting to itself the lever 1, this latter presses itself under the releasing
device d, and inserting its plungers in the mercury troughs b draws with it
the upper blade and places the same in contact with the lower, blade A¹, thus
closing the circuiting of the piles upon the electro-magnet E of the circuit making
device for the excitation. This latter attracts to itself the lever a, which places
itself beneath the releasing device y, plunges its contacts into the mercury
troughs and thus supplies to the exterior exciting current a way of entrance
into the electromagnet of the motor, obliging the same first to pass through
the powerful solenoids S S¹ The exciting current passing through the sole-
noids SS gives them sufficient power to render them capable of attracting to
themselves in the direction of the arrow f the cross bar T, which latter, by means
of a pivoted stop or other like device carries with it in its motion the end of the
arm B of the rheostat X. This arm revolving around the point p is obliged to
describe an arc of a circle, the length of which may be increased by approaching
the point of the cross piece to T thus giving to the arm B the maximum course
by means of a little adjustment of the cross piece T. At the moment in which
the arm B is set in motion the principal circuit, that is to say, that of the armature
is closed by the pieces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. graduating the resistance necessary to
the proper operation of the motor.
The lifting operation may be described as follows:
By pressing upon the contact M the current from the battery P is caused to
pass through the electro-magnet and attracts the lever and plunges the contact
points N, N into the cups b, b¹ in this movement the lever carries with it
the piece which placing itself in contact with delivers the current from the
battery into the electromagnet E of the excitation circuitmaking device, and causes
the points ¹ to dip into the troughs j and j¹ and thus closes the excitation
circuit, forcing the current to pass through the solenoids S St; these latter attract
the piece T which in turn actuates the arm B and puts the armature of the motor, in
circuit, which then begins to move. It should be remarked that all these move-
ments are dependent the one upon the other, operate almost simultaneously, and
will present the advantage of perfect security both with regard to the regularity
of the operation and its freedom from shock as well as that of the protection of
the apparatus itself and of the motor. In fact the apparatus for changing the
direction of rotation has its plungers in the mercury and is in circuit before the
circuit of the armature has been closed, whence arises a total absence of sparks.
On the other hand the excitation of the motor is also effected before the armature
is put into circuit; moreover this is closed setting the motor in motion with a
graduated application. In order to make the diagram clear there has been repre
sented at I an apparatus called an excitation circuit breaker" which is formed
simply of a contact point and serves as a circuit breaker. This apparatus is placed
behind the picture and is controlled by means of the cross piece T itself in such
a manner that having put the two mercury troughs mm' into circuit at the com-
"

page_text: mencement of its course it does not withdraw them from it until it has returned
to zero.
Let us now consider the stop motion. Suppose the arm B is upon the place 6
and the plunger I at the bottom; the motor is then in motion. In order to stop, it
is is only requisite to press upon the stop push represented in the diagram by the
contacts A. When contact is effected at A it will be seen that the current from
the battery P passes through the interruptor y of the circuit maker of the excita-
tion. This latter releases the lever a which under the influence of the opposing
spring g rises, and withdraws its plungers from the mercury troughs, thus break-
ing the excitation circuit at jj but before this the plungers hh¹ placed at the
opposite end of the lever a have been placed in contact with the mercury of their
trough, so that the excitation current is not broken for a single instant but simply
changed in its direction. From this again results the avoidance of all sparking.
It should further be remarked that by the fact of the breaking of the circuit
at jj and of its re-establishment at hh! the current is no longer obliged to pass
through the solenoids SS in order to arrive at the motor. It passes instead
It results from
through I and the points hand reaches the motor directly.
this change of direction of the current that the solenoids SS receiving no
longer any current lose their force and release the arm B. This arm B under the
influence of the spring R is returned to the zero point of rheostat breaking thus the
circuit of the induction. It has been already seen that at this moment the cross
piece T withdraws from the troughs the plungers of the apparatus I and thus
breaks the excitation circuit. In returning to zero the arm B by means of a piece
which appears at its upper end makes contact between the plates ke and thus
allows the current from the battery P to pass into the electromagnet of the
releasing mechanisms. The releasing mechanism a releases the lever of the
apparatus for reversing the direction of motion, which rises under the influence
of the opposing spring m. The arm B continuing its course again encounters in
its passage the piece n which it also places in the circuit of the battery without
abandoning the others. The current from the battery passes then equally into
the coils which attracting the lever t¹ and causing its points p¹?" to become
immersed in the troughs uu¹ shortcircuits the motor, causing the immediate
stoppage, although regulatable and without shock, by means of the resistance v
without the intervention of mechanical brakes or other devices. It is only at the
end of its course that the arm B releases the plates kc and n which then resume
their normal position. The apparatus is then ready for a new operation. The
movement for the stoppage may be summed up as follows:-At the moment of
contact of the plates A the current from the battery P passes through the
releaser y. This latter abandons a the plungers hh of which re-establish the
circuit of the excitation without passing through SS1; the spring R draws back
the arm B and opens the induction circuit causing the stoppage. On return to
zero T breaks the excitation circuit at I and brings into contact the plates k c,
the releasers & and 8 and n of the shortcircuiting device and it does not abandon
them before the extreme end of its course.
Let us now consider the movement for the descent. In order to obtain this
movement it is necessary to press the button D establishing thus a contact
'which allows of the passage of the current into the electromagnetz for the change
of the direction of rotation in place of the electromagnet serving for the ascent.
It is obvious that the reversal of the poles at the troughs of this apparatus is
sufficient to cause the opposite direction of rotation of the motor, and we have
here the repetition of the successive operations described for the ascending motion.
a
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:
i
1. The arrangement above described effecting the starting and stopping of

page_text: electric motors controlling various apparatuses, lifts and the like, by the pressure
of a simple electric push placed at any convenient distances or points in relation
to such motors substantially as described and shown.
2. Each of the parts composing the above described arrangements employed
separately according to requirements.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.