Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 21st Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 4th May, 1889
EDWARD JOHN HOUGHTON 1 Pilkington Road Peckbam S.E. Electrical Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In charging accumulators for Railway train lighting and other purposes it is
frequently important that the operation should commence at the earliest possible
moment permitted by the motive power. If the dynamo machine be suitable to
overcome the electro motive force of the accumulators at say 500 revolutions per
minute and the current from it be turned on to them at 400 rovs., it is
probable they will overcome the dynamo with the result of injuring it and discharging
themselves. To enable this early charging to safely take place at a low speed
arrange for the dynamo to charge a portion of the accumulators when its electro
motive force is too low to control the whole and by means of one or more electro
magnets, to automatically charge additional accumulators as the dynamo increases in
power. Also, when charging accumulators and lighting lamps at the same time, the
light in the lamps rises as soon as the dynamo comes into operation, (providing the
dynamo supplies more current than the lamps require), and to prevent this occurring,
I arrange the accumulators in parallel of two equal portions, with a certain quantity
of resistance in one portion, so as to prevent more current tban is desired from passing
direct from the dynamo into the lamp circuit.
I also arrange the accumulators in partial parallel with resistance in one portion as
before. I also charge the whole of the accumulators in series, and light from a
portion of them, switching the lamps on to the unused portion as required.
By these means I am enabled to safely employ a dynamo machine of a higher
electro motive force than is required by the lamps, and thus commence charging the
accumulators at a lower speed than would be otherwise the case.
These two latter methods practically enable lamp circuits, with accumulators and
a noininally constant electro motive force, to be worked with dynamo machines
having a widely different electro motive force. Also in order that there may not be
any diminution of current when charging at low speed, and to increase the output at
other speeds, I arrange for the arms of the field magnets to be excited in parallel.

page_text: Further, when charging accumulators on 'Railway trains and elsewhere, when
the moment of commencing to charge depends upon the movement of a centrifugal
governor, or other automatic apparatus, there is a critical point in the speed of the
motive power when it is not sufficiently decisive to properly join the dynamo to, or
disconnect it from the accumulators, and this uncertainty causes sparking at the
points of contact.
To prevent this, I cause the governor or other apparatus to join up or disconnect
the circuit of an electro magnet, which electro magnet in turn joins up or disconnects
the dynamo and accumulators.

page_text: I, EDWARD JOHN HOUGHTON, of 1 Pilkington Road, Peckham, S.E., Electrical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:
46
When charging accumulators and lighting lamps at the same time, the light in the
lamps rises as soon as the dynamo comes into operation (providing the dynamo
supplies more current than the accumulators require) and to prevent this occurring, I
arrange the accumulators in parallel of two equal portions, with a certain quantity of
resistance in one portion, so as to prevent more current than is desired from passing
direct from the dynamo into the lamp circuit.
By this means I am enabled to feed the lamps both from the dynamo and one set
of the accumulators simultaneously, the interposed resistance preventing the light of
the lamps being increased excessively by the higher electromotive force of the
dynamo current.
I also effect the same operation with the accumulators arranged in partial parallel,
with resistance interposed as before.
In order that there may not be any diminution of current when charging at low
speed, and to increase the output at other speeds I sometimes arrange for the arms of
the field magnets to be excited in parallel.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a diagram shewing my above described
invention applied to two sets of accumulators arranged in parallel. A is the lamp
circuit B B are the accumulators, C is the dynamo, and D is the resistance interposed
between the dynamo and the lamp circuit, being connected with the positive leads of
the two sets of accumulators which are connected to the positive lead of the lamp
circuit by a switch E, the negative lead of the lamp circuit as also those of the sets of
accumulators being connected to the negative pole of the dynamo. Thus assuming
the accumulators B₁ to have been charged, while the accumulators B are to be
charged, and that the switch bars are in the position shewn in full lines, the current
from the dynamo passing to the accumulators B will be split at D, a small portion
passing through the resistance to the positive lead of the accumulators B' and thence
to the lamp circuit together with so much additional current from the accumulators B¹
as may be required.
The remainder of the dynamo current will pass into the accumulators B charging
them and returning thence to the dynamo.
When the set of accumulators B are charged and those of the set B¹ are discharged
the switch bars are moved into the dotted position, whereupon the current from the
dynamo will pass into the positive lead of the accumulators B₁, splitting at D, a
small portion passing through the resistance into the positive lead of the
accumulators B and passing thence together with the current from the latter to the
lamp circuit, while the remainder of the dynamo current passes into the accumu-
lators B¹.

page_text: .
Fig. 2 shews the invention applied to an arrangement where the sets of accumu-
lators BB are arranged in partial parallel, the action of the resistance D and
switch E being precisely the same as before.
By means of my above described invention the current in the lamp circuit is caused
to be practically constant, while the electromotive force and current from the dynamo
may vary considerably.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
'
Combining a dynamo with a lamp circuit and with accumulators in such manner
that the accumulators are arranged in two portions, either in parallel or in partial
parallel, and that a resistance is interposed between the dynamo and the lamp circuit
whereby while the current from the., dynamo is made to charge the two sets of
accumulators alternately by a switch, a small portion only of such current passes
through the resistance to the lamp circuit together with the current from the charged
set of accumulators, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicani.