Improvements in Electric Regulators.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 19th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 27th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Regulators.
I, HENRI PIEPER Fils, of Liege in the Kingdom of Belgium, Electrician, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists in an improved electric regulator principally designed to be
applied to electric arc lamps, but also serviceable for other régulating purposes. The
same is based on the following principles.
If a coil of wire forming a solenoid, is placed in a magnetic field in such manner
that one of the poles constituting the said field, is inside, the other outside of the coil,
and if the coil or the field or both are movable lengthwise to the axis of the former, a
relative motion of the two parts will be produced as soon as an electric current is sent
through the coil.
The direction of motion is dependent upon that of the current circulating in the
coil and upon the direction of the lines of force in the magnetic field.
:
The force tending to produce the motion depends, firstly, upon the length of the
wire or the part thereof being in the magnetic field; secondly, upon the strength of
the magnetic field, and thirdly, upon the strength of the current operating in
the coil.
Now; if the arrangement is made in such manner that, for all positions which the
coil can occupy relatively to the magnetic field, the length of wire being within' the
field, remains unvaried, the aforesaid motive force is dependent only upon the strength
of the current and the strength of the magnetic field.
This condition will be fulfilled if a short magnetic field is combined with a long
coil, or a long, uniform field with a short coil, so that the number of windings of the
coil being in the magnetic field, remains the same during the relative motion of
the coil and the field.
One arrangement of a regulator carried out on the principle set forth, is repre-
sented in the annexed drawing. CD is an electro-magnet, E the magnetizing, coil
thereof and S the movable coil. The leg D of the electro-magnet has a hole A, while
to the leg C is fixed the iron rod B passing through the said hole, so that when the
magnet is excited by a current circulating in the coil E, its poles will be at P in the
leg D and at F in the bar B, the magnetic field being then the annular space between
the inner surface of the hole A and the opposite surface of the rod B. The movable
coil S is placed on the said rod, and it is put in conductive connection with the
coil E. Provided the coils be wound, and the connections made, as shown in the
drawing, and supposing a current to pass in the direction from + to through
the coils E and S, the reciprocal action of the magnetic lines of force (indicated by
broken lines) and of the current in coil S will cause the latter to move upward. In
the measure, however, as one winding of the coil leaves the magnetic field at the top,
another enters thereinto from below. The force with which the coil is pushed upward
therefore remains constant until its last winding has entered into the field, provided
always the current be uniform, and this force may be utilized for overcoming through-
out the course of the coil a proportionate mechanical resistance. But any variation in
the current will operate to produce a variation in the said force.
-
"Now, if the coil have attached to it a weight of such gravity as to counterbalance
a raising force produced by a current of normal strength, then an increase in the
current will cause the weight to be lifted, whereas motion will cease again when the
current returns to its normal condition. If, on the other hand, the current decreases,
the weight will draw the coil down. The apparatus is therefore adapted to be applied
as regulator to electric lamps and to other electric devices in which motion is required

page_text: to be obtained through an alteration in the strength of the current, and its-advantage
consists in this that it operates uniformly throughout a long course.
An arrangement in which a short coil is movable in a long magnetic field, may he
obtained by means of an electro-magnet composed of an iron tube, an iron rod
inserted into the said tube and magnetically connected to the same at its extremities,
and two magnetizing coils placed on the end-portions of the rod, while the movable
coil is free to slide on its middle portion.
A modification of the arrangement shown by the drawing, may be obtained by
forming the leg C of the electro-magnet with a hole alike to that in the leg 1, passing
the rod B through the holes in both legs and D, furnishing it with two coils wound
in opposite directions and fixed to the rod, and rendering the rod capable of moving
lengthwise together with the coils.
Another modification consists in making the core of the electro-magnet straight and
providing it with a hole at each end, while two movable rods having coils fixed thereto,
are attached to a cord passing over a pulley, which is so disposed that the rods with
the coils are suspended in the middle of the said holes.
If the rods of the latter arrangement are made fixtures and connected together
magnetically at their ends by bars, while the electro-magnet is movable, an inversion
of the said arrangement is obtained.
The rod having two coils fixed thereto which are wound in opposite directions,
may be bent to form a ring, the said ring being placed between the poles of an
electro-magnet so that one pole thereof acts on one of the coils and the other pole on
the other coil.
- In-all-cases-the-different-coils have, of course to be suitably connected together.
The apparatus may be placed in the main circuit of the device to be regulated,
or in a shunt circuit branched off from the same, or partly in one and partly in
the other.
Dated the 14th day of March 1200
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Regulators.
I, HENRI PIEPER Fils, of Liege, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Electrician, 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 consists in an improved electric regulator principally designed to be
applied to electric arc lamps, but also serviceable for other regulating purposes. The
same is based on the following principles.
If a coil of wire forming a solenoid, is placed in a magnetic field in such manner
that one of the poles constituting the said field, is inside, the other ontside of the coil,
and if the coil or the field or both are movable lengthwise to the axis of the former, a
relative motion of the two parts will be produced whenever an electric current is sent
through the coil.
The direction of motion is dependent upon that of the current circulating in the
coil and upon the direction of the lines of force in the magnetic field.
The force tending to produce the motion depends, firstly, upon the length
of the wire or the part thereof being in the magnetic field; secondly, upon the
strength of the magnetic field, and thirdly, upon the strength of the current operating
in the coil.
Now, if the arrangement is made in such manner that, for all positions which the
coil can occupy relatively to the magnetic field, the length of wire being within the
field, remains unvaried, the aforesaid motive force is dependent only upon the strength
of the current and the strength of the magnetic field.

page_text: This condition will be fined it a short magnetic held is combined with a long coil,
or a long uniform field with a short coil, so that the number of windings of the coil
being in the magnetic field, remains the same during the relative motion of the
coil and the field.
If moreover the said magnetic field is produced by an electro-magnet and if the
magnetizing-coil thereof is connected to the coil placed in the field, which I shall
term the field-coil," any variation in the strength of the current will produce a
corresponding variation in the strength of the field, so that the motive force is then
dependent upon both these factors simultaneously.
Regulators carried out on the principle set forth, may be employed for the regulation
of all electric apparatuses which are to operate with constant strength of current, or
with constant electro-motive force. In the first case the coils are made of thick wire
and placed in series with the apparatus to be regulated, in the second case they consist
in windings of fine wire placed in a shunt-circuit. The regulators may, however, also
be provided with differential coils placed respectively in the main circuit and in a
shunt-circuit.
In the annexed drawings
Figs. 1 to 5 show different arrangements of my improved regulator.
Fig. 6 represents a regulator of another arrangement applied to an electric lamp,
and
Fig. 7 a rheostat to be connected to the regulator.
In Fig. 1, CD is a stationary electro-magnet, E the magnetizing-coil thereof
and S the field-coil. The leg D of the electro-magnet has a hole A, while to the
leg C is fixed the iron rod B passing through the said hole, so that when the magnet
is excited by a current circulating in the coil E, its poles will be at P in the leg D
and at P' in the rod B, the magnetic field being then the annular space between the
inner surface of the hole A and the opposite surface of the rod B. The field-coil S is
wound on a tube F movable. on the said rod, which thus forms a core to the coil, and it
is put in conductive connection with the coil E. Provided the coils be wound, and
the connections made as shown in the drawing, and supposing a current to pass in the
direction from + to through the coils E and S, the reciprocal action of the
magnetic lines of force (indicated by broken lines) and of the current in coil S will
cause the latter to move upward. In the measure, however, as one winding of the
coil S leaves the magnetic field at the top, another enters thereinto from below. The
force with which the coil is pushed upward therefore remains constant until its last
winding has entered into the field, provided always the current be uniform, and this
force may be utilized for overcoming throughout the course of the coil a proportionate
mechanical resistance. But any variation in the current will operate to produce
a variation in the said force.
1
Now, if the field-coil have attached to it a weight of such gravity as to counter-
balance a raising force produced by a current of normal strength, then an increase
in the current will cause the weight to be lifted, whereas motion will cease again
when the current returns to its normal condition. If, on the other hand, the current
decreases, the weight will draw the coil down. The apparatus is therefore adapted
to be applied as regulator to electric lamps and to other electric devices in which
motion is required to be obtained through an alteration in the strength of the current,
and its advantage consists in this that it operates uniformly throughout a long'
course.
A modification of this arrangement may be obtained by forming the leg () of the
electro-magnet with a hole alike to that in the leg D (see Fig. 6), passing the iron
rod or core B through holes in both legs C and D, furnishing it with two field-
coils SS wound in opposite directions and fixed to the rod, and rendering the rod
capable of moving lengthwise together with the coils. There are in this case two
magnetic fields, produced by the poles P P of the electro-magnet C D and the
respective poles P₁ Ps induced by the former in the rod B.
In the arrangement shown by Figs. 2 and 2, a short movable field-coil is combined
with a long magnetic field, The electro-magnet, being again stationary, is composed

page_text: of the iron tube D³, the rod B inserted..centrally into the said tube, the disks C
connecting together the tube and the rod at their extremities, and the two magnetizing.
coils E E placed on the end-portions of the rod B and wound., in opposite directions.
so as to produce in the tube D' a pole at P and in the rod B appole at P, the
available magnetic field extending from a to b. The field-coil. S,,wound on the
tube F, is. free to slide on the middle portion of the rod B, and it is connected to
the magnetizing-coils as in the first-described arrangement. The field-coil in this
case remains throughout its course with all its windings in the magnetic field.
Fig. 3 represents an arrangement in which the core of the electro-magnet is
straight and provided with a hole at each end, while there are two movable rods B
and B having the respective field-coils S and S' fixed thereto, the said rods being
attached to a cord passing over a pulley R, having such diameter and position that the
rods with the coils are suspended in the middle of the said holes.
While in the described arrangements the electro-magnet is stationary and the field-
coil or coils are movable, Fig. 4 shows a movable electro-magnet (E combined with
stationary field-coils SS, the latter being wound on the rods B B₁ magnetically
connected together at their ends by iron bars.
The rod B, Fig. 6, having two field-coils $ S' fixed thereto, which are wound in
opposite directions, may be bent to form a ring or annular core. If this ring B is
secured to an axle, as shown by Fig. 5, and placed between the poles P P of an
electro-magnet so that one pole acts on the coil S and the other pole on the coil S¹, an
oscillatory regulator is obtained.
-
In all cases the different coils have of course to he suitably connected together.
Fig. 6 shows the regulator her inbefore described with reference to this figure,
applied to an electric lamp. I and I are the two carbons, H and H¹ the carbon-
holders. The holder H is fixed to the bottom end of the rod B, while the holder H¹
is suspended to a cord or chain K passing over a pulley R and fixed with its other
end to the top of the rod B. The main conducting wires T. L' are electrically con-
nected-to-the respective-holders-H, H, while the regulator_is_placed_in_a_shunt-
circuit branched off from the wires L Lat cand c, and the connections are made in
such manner that a current passing from + to through the wires, will tend to raise
the lower carbon-holder H, whereas the said holder and the rod B are together.
heavier than the holder H, so that when there is no current, the carbons will be apart
from each other. But as soon as the lamp is switched into circuit, the current,
passing at first through the shunt only, will cause the bar B to rise, so that contact
between the carbons is established. The main current then passes through the carbons
to produce the are, while the shunt-current diminishes. In consequence the rod B
and the lower carbon-holder will descend again with the effect of increasing the
length of arc. The shunt-current therefrom also increases again and causes a new
rising of the bar B. Finally a state of equilibrium results in which the excess of
weight of the rod B and the holder H' over that of the holder H is counterbalanced
by the force tending to raise the rod B. By duly regulating the said excess of weight
the proper length of arc is obtained.
When, at the time the lamp is burning, the are becomes longer from consumption
of the carbons, the shunt-current becomes stronger again and a renewed operation
of the regulator sets in, whereby the distance between the carbons is reduced
again.
In Figure 7 the rod H' of the regulator described last, is represented in connection
with the contact-slide L of a rheostat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :
The combination of an electro-magnet, an iron core so arranged relatively to the
electro-magnet that the latter produces together with the core a magnetic field, and
a coil of wire (field-coil) placed on said core and connected to the magnetizing-coil
of the electro-magnet, the field-coil and the electro-magnet being movable relatively

page_text: to each other in the direction of the axis of the said field-coil, and the field-coil
having a length differing from that of the magnetic field, substantially as
described.
Dated the 10th day of November 1800.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.