Improvements in Interruptors for Electric Currents.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL DITUITIVATION.
Improvements in Interruptors for Electric Currents.
I, Dr. HERMANN THEODOR SIMON, of 4, Bühlstrasse Göttingen, in the Empire
of Germany, University Lecturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:
-
This invention relates to interruptors for electric currents such as are employed
with induction coils for the purpose of transforming a primary continuous current
into a secondary pulsating alternating current.
My invention consists in a liquid resistance inserted in said primary continuous
current, the cross section area of which is considerably reduced at one point.
According to one form or modification the apparatus consists of a vessel or
receptacle shaped like a tumbler and preferably made of lead. The vessel is
closed by a lid made of any suitable insulating material such as for instance
vulcanite, in the centre of which a glass tube is fixed.
The said tube is contracted at the bottom, but is not completely closed, being
provided with a small perforation at its lowest point.
A piece of lead tube is inserted into the glass tube and suitable conductors
are soldered onto the outside of the vessel or receptacle and the lead tube re-
spectively. The conductors may be connected with the poles of a battery or of
any other suitable source of electrical current and an induction coil is inserted
in the circuit thus formed.
The whole vessel or receptacle is filled with a suitable conductive liquid, pre-
ferably diluted sulphuric acid.
In another form the apparatus comprises a vessel made of insulating material
and provided with a partition corresponding to the glass tube in the form above
described and having one or more perforations of any suitable shape and section
area, which connect the two halves of the vessel.
In each half an electrode formed of a lead plate is inserted and suitably con-
nected with a conductor leading to an induction coil and to the poles of a source
of electrical current. The vessel is filled with a conductive liquid such as diluted
sulphuric acid.
In a further modification the two electrodes are each inserted in a separate
ressel made of insulating material and filled with conductive liquid. The
vessels are connected by a glass tube shaped like an inverted U being open at
both ends and likewise filled with conductive liquid. At the highest point of
said tube an air or gas bubble is enclosed in said liquid which causes a consider-
able contraction of the conductive section of the system and thus acts in the
same way as the perforated wall in the arrangements above described. The
electrical connections are the same.
The operation of the device is as follows.
When the circuit is closed a current is set up in the liquid contained in the
vessel, which passes from one electrode to the other. This current finds very
little resistance in the bulk of the liquid but at the one or more places where it
has to pass through the partition vall, the cross section open for its passage is

page_text: so considerably reduced, that sufficient heat is generated at this point to evaporate
the liquid and thus to cause an instantaneous interruption, whereupon evapora-
tion immediately ceases and the liquid reunites and again closes the circuit and
so forth.
Instead of using lead and sulphuric acid any other materials may be advan-
tageously employed, care being taken only to select such materials the chemical
reaction of which upon each other. will not cause the decomposition of either.
For instance copper electrodes can be suitably employed in combination with
sulphate of copper or zinc-electrodes in combination with sulphate of zinc.
This interruptor can also be used with alternating currents instead of con-
tinuous currents and is advantageously distinguished from the different con-
structions hitherto employed for the same purpose by its great simplicity, by
the definition and rapidity of the interruptions thereby obtained and by the
fact that it causes no loss of material.
The period of make and break can be easily varied by either varying. the
potential difference applied to the electrodes or by varying the area of the
perforations.
For this purpose I prefer in some cases to provide several perforations instead
of a single one. Thus it is easily possible to vary the area of the conductive
section by closing up one or several of said perforations.
1
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
.Improvements in Interruptors for Electric Currents.
I, Dr. HERMANN THEODOR SIMON, of 4, Bühlstrasse Göttingen, in the Empire
of Germany, University Lecturer, 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:-
1
This invention relates to interruptors for electric currents such as are employed
with induction coils for the purpose of transforming a primary continuous current
into a secondary pulsating alternating current.
My invention consists in a liquid resistance inserted in said primary continuous
current, the cross sectional area of which is considerably reduced at one point.
In the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 is a vertical section diagrammatically illustrating the apparatus
forming the subject of this invention in its simplest construction which I pro-
pose to employ.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the apparatus 'showing a somewhat
more elaborate construction and
Figure 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of apparatus.
The same letters of reference are employed to designate similar parts in all
the figures.
Referring to Figure 1. E is a vessel or receptacle shaped like a tumbler
and preferably made of lead and closed by a lid L of any suitable insulating
material such as for instance vulcanite, in the centre of which is fixed a glass
tube T.
The said tube T is contracted at the bottom, but is not completely closed,
being provided with a small perforation P at its lowest point.

page_text: A piece of lead tube E2 is inserted into the glass tube T and suitable con-
ductors C and C are soldered to the outside of the vessel or receptacle E and
to the lead tube E² respectively. The conductors C¹ and C are shown, con-
nected with the poles of a battery B or any other suitable source of electric
current and an induction coil I is inserted in the circuit thus formed.
The whole vessel or receptacle E is filled with a suitable conductive liquid,
preferably diluted sulphuric acid.
In the form of the apparatus shown in Figure 2, V is a vessel made of insu-
lating material and provided with a partition T corresponding to the glass
tube T in Figure 1 and having one or more perforations P P of any suitable
shape and sectional area, which connect the two halves of the vessel."
In each half an electrode E¹ or E2 formed of a lead plate is inserted and suit-
ably connected with a conductor C and C³ leading to an induction coil I and
to the poles of a source of electric current. The vessel is filled with a conductive
liquid such as diluted sulphuric acid..
In the modification shown in Figure 3 the two electrodes E1 and E2 are each
inserted in a separate vessel V and V² made of insulating material and filled
with conductive liquid. The vessels V and V2 are connected by a glass tube G
shaped like an inverted U being open at both ends and likewise filled with con-
ductive liquid. At the highest point of said tube G an air or gas bubble P
is enclosed in said liquid which causes a considerable contraction of the con-
ductive section of the system and thus acts in the same way as the perforated
wall T in the arrangements described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The
electrical connections are the same.
The operation of the device is as follows.
When the circuit is closed a current is set up in the liquid contained in the
vessel, which passes from one electrode to the other. This current finds very
little reistance in the bulk of the liquid but at the one or more places P where
it has to pass through the partition wall T, the cross section open for its passage
is so considerably reduced, that sufficient heat is generated at this point to
evaporate the liquid and thus to cause an instantaneous interruption, whereupon
evaporation immediately ceases and the liquid reunites and again closes the
circuit and so forth.
Instead of using lead and sulphuric acid any other materials may be advan-
tageously employed, care being taken only to select such materials, the chemical
reaction of which upon each other will not cause the decomposition of either.
For instance copper electrodes can be suitably employed in combination with
sulphate of copper or zinc-electrodes in combination with sulphate of zinc.
This interruptor can also be used with alternating currents instead of con-
tinuous currents and is advantageously distinguished from the different con-
structions hitherto employed for the same purpose by its great simplicity, by
the definition and rapidity of the interruptions thereby obtained and by the
fact that it causes no loss of material.
The period of make and break can be easily varied by either varying the
potential difference applied to the electrodes or by varying the area of the per-
forations P P.
For this purpose I prefer in some cases to provide several perforations P P
instead of a single one, as is shown by way of example in Figure 2. Thus it is
easy to vary the area of the conductive section at P by closing one or several of
said perforations.
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. An interruptor for electric currents. which consists of a liquid resistance in-
serted in the circuit by means of suitable electrodes in contact with said liquid

page_text: the cross section of the latter being considerably contracted at one point between
the said electrodes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. An interruptor for electric currents which consists of a vessel containing
a suitable conductive liquid two electrodes being in contact with said liquid
a partition wall made of insulating material arranged to divide said liquid into
two separate parts and a perforation in said wall connecting said separate parts,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. An interruptor for electric currents which consists of a vessel containing
a suitable conductive liquid two electrodes being in contact with said liquid
a partition wall made of insulating material arranged to divide said liquid into
two separate parts and several perforations in said wall connecting said separate
parts, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. An interruptor for electric currents which consists of a pair of separate
vessels filled with conductive liquid, a pair of electrodes immersed in said liquid
and suitably connected with a source of electric current and an induction coil
and of a tube made of insulated material and shaped like an inverted letter U,
said tube being open at both ends and being filled with conductive liquid en-
closing an air bubble, the free ends of said U-shaped tube being inserted in the
aforesaid vessels substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.