IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF ELECTRICITY INTO MECHANICAL POWER
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Albert Mulholland at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd April 1883.
CHARLES ALBERT MULHOLLAND, of the Town and County of the Town of
Nottingham, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR
THE CONVERSION OF ELECTRICITY INTO MECHANICAL POWER,"
I employ two modifications of machinery and apparatus, the first I term a
reciprocating electro-motor, the second a rotary electro-motor.
Either of the above consists of a permanent magnet of any given size, fixed
vertically or horizontally, and before its poles, two or more armatures wound with
fine insulated copper wire are made to rotate, the currents induced by the rotation
of the armatures, before the poles of the magnet, are collected by a commutator,
and transmitted constantly in the same direction. The rotation of this apparatus
may be effected either by the hand, or by a sinall magneto-electric motor driven
by a Bunsen's or any other forin of voltaic-battery. This second arrangement is
adopted when the current from the generating machine is required to drive the
larger electro-dynamic apparatus, and consists of a voltaic battery of any known
construction. The current of the battery is passed, first through a coil of copper
wire insulated and wound round a soft iron core, the terminals of the battery
are then joined to the terminals of the electro-engine for driving the generating
machine. This small engine is either a reciprocating or rotary engine similar in
construction to those used for rotating vacuum tubes. The object of the coil
interposed between the battery and the small engine is to add to the strength of
the current and intensify its action.
The reciprocating electro-motor consists of a solenoid of copper wire, insulated
or uninsulated, and of very long circuit, it has an iron core fixed at one end, and
introduced into the solenoid a part of its length; a plunger likewise of soft iron
periodically is attracted and repelled by the charge of the current in the solenoid.
These solenoids and their appurtenances may be multiplied according to the
requirements, and the power wanted.
In an engine constructed on the aforesaid principle, I employ four of the solenoids,
and they are thus arranged; two are fixed on one standard, and two on another, in
such a way that one solenoid stands vertically above the other on each standard.

page_text: The top solenoids have a solid iron core fixed at the upper end, and the bottom
solenoids have an iron core with a hollow centre in order to allow a brass rod
to pass, to which the plungers of soft iron are attached.
The current from the generating engine passes through the solenoids alternately,
and alternately the plungers are attracted and repelled, the motion thus given
to the plunger and its rod is communicated by a connecting rod to a crank
shaft, with a fly wheel attached, and in this way the rectilineal motion of
the plungers and rod is converted into circular motion,
The alternation of the currents in the solenoids is obtained by a commutator
on the shaft of the engine, which sends a current every half revolution into two
opposite solenoids. The same effect can be obtained by two eccentrics fixed on
the shaft of the engine, which alternately distributes the current to the upper or
under solenoids. In an improved form the solenoids are wound with a secondary
coil of fine wire or also with a secondary coil of thick wire, the plunger is made to
break contact, and the currents thus obtained are transmitted to a condenser similar
to that in the Rhumkorff coil, and the currents obtained are utilised in the engine by
likewise passing the current of the generating engine through the condenser before
passing into the solenoids, or are utilised in any other way in which quantity or
tension may be utilised.
The rotary action apparatus consists of an electro-magnet with its poles on the
opposite sides of a rotating armature.
The faces of the electro-magnets are provided with a curved soft iron plate so as
to increase the magnetic field, or rather to extend its action.
This electro-magnet is actuated by the aforesaid generator, and is provided with
a very long circuit.
The rotating armature consists of four separate armatures or more, in the form
of a parallelopiped with its ends cut in, and one side with a curved flange, in order
to fasten it to a hard wooden cylinder. This armature is wound with a long
circuit wire similarly to the electro-magnets. The ends of wire are joined of each
opposite pair of armatures, and they are made to assume the form of a bar magnet
by winding them in opposite directions. They are then joined together by a soft
iron bar which is screwed to both. The poles of the electro-magnet are permanently
north and south, the poles of the armatures are reversed as they approach and
recede from the electro-magnet. The generating engine for this apparatus is
provided with four armatures, and two commutators, the currents from one pair
are sent through the electro-magnet, and the currents from the other pair actuate
the armatures, which are provided with a commutator to suit the number of sections
in the rotating armature.
The regulation of the current whereby the power and speed of the engine is
made to vary according to the greater or less amount of work required is effected
by a centrifugal or other governor, similar to that of the steam engine, but the
lever instead of acting on a throttle valve as in the steam-engine is made to act
on a vertical and cylindrical commutator, which by the action of the lever is mado
to send the current through different resistance coils of any number of ohms.
These resistance coils are constructed of iron wire, or of iron wire and copper
wire both insulated, these coils vary in number according to the greater or less
resistance required and they are so constructed as to form one compact bobbin or
two, each different coil being carefully insulated from its fellow, by a vulcanite
cylindrical cover or a cover of any other insulating material.