IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND THE SPEED OF STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND THE SPEED OF STEAM ENGINES
AND OTHER MOTORS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND OTHER PURPOSES "
Com-
municated to him from abroad by Maurice Levy, of Paris, France, Civil
Engineer
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd August 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR REGULATING THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND THE SPEED OF
STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND OTHER PURPOSES "
[A communication to him from abroad by Maurice Levy, of Paris, France, Civil
Engineer]
The chief object of this Invention is to provide more efficient means than have
heretofore been employed, for ensuring that any number of machines or apparatus
for producing light, heat, or mechanical power, or for other purposes, placed on the
same electric circuit (either in tension or in derived circuits) shall preserve their
normal functions whatever may be the number of such machines or apparatus at
work; and also for ensuring that at any time, only the amount of power shall be
expended which is required by the number of machines or apparatus in operation.
For these purposes I employ various improved regulators or regulating apparatus
by means of which I act directly upon the source of motive power, that is to say
upon the admission-valve or upon expansion gear or a cut-off valve of a steam
engine or other motor in such a nanner as to expend only the volume of steam, gas,
water, or the like which is absolutely necessary.
If batteries or accumulators are employed, I arrange the apparatus so that any
number of batteries will be put out of the circuit, when, by reason of the reduction

page_text: in the amount of work to be performed, they have become superfluous, and that, on
the contrary, the batteries may be brought into the circuit again if it becomes
necessary.
-
It may happen that in the same factory or works there are batteries and
accumulators, I then, by a very simple process, arrange that all the batteries or
accumulators which are not required in the working circuit are cut out therefrom
and placed in the circuit for re-charging the accumulators and vice versa, so that
no battery or accumulator is at any time inactive, all of them being either working
or re-charging.
In cases where the electricity is produced by mechanical force and where it is
necessary to act upon the admission-valves by a current-regulator, all ordinary
speed regulators on the motor are dispensed with. The result is that the speed of
the said machine increases and decreases according to the work which it is required
to do, and that within very wide limits. But by a suitable arrangement of electric
generators, I avoid when desired any sudden difference in the speed, without the
employment of a cinematic apparatus.
may also effect a first regulation (but only approximate) of the current without
employing a current regulator; but this regulation is insufficient. I complete it
by acting upon variable resistances by an arrangement which may be adopted
under many other circumstances.
I will first describe the improved current regulator; then I will indicate how I
operate to regulate an electric distribution of force or of light whatever may be
the source from which it is operated.
All the improved regulators are characterized by their being perfectly
isochronous. This quality is essential as is well known, for the regulators of
mechanical transmission of force, and it is infinitely more essential for regulators
designed to ensure the constancy of effect of an agent as sensitive and prompt in
its action as electricity, and it is the want of isochronism which has in general
caused the failure of the methods heretofore employed for the regulation of
electricity.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I employ different kinds of
isochronous regulators. According to ono method I provide a shaft upon which
are mounted the armatures of two electro-motors, which may be Siemens machines
or others suitable for the purpose. These electro-motors have only, in many cases,
to make a half or a quarter of a turn, which permits them to be considerably
simplified and the commutators to be dispensed with. One of these motors is
magneto-electric, that is to say, its inductors are permanent magnets (or, if desired,
they may be electro-magnets excited by a separate machine). The other is a
dynamo-electric machine. The current to be regulated traverses the inductors of
the latter machine, then the armature of the magneto-machine and then that of the
dynamo machine. I also provide resistances which enable me to send into these
motors only a fraction of the current; these resistances are regulated once for all
so that when the current to be regulated has its normal value, the two motors are
in equilibrium and maintain the aforesaid shaft at rest. If this condition is fulfilled
in one position of the said shaft it will be so in all positions thereof; hence the
isochronism. If the current increases the equilibrium of the shaft will be disturbed
in favor of the dynamo-electric machine, because the magnetic field of its inductors
increases with the current, whilst the magnetic field of the inductors of the
imagneto-machine remain constant, consequently the motive power of the first
machine increases more rapidly with the current than that of the second. If, on
the contrary, the current diminishes, the equilibrium is disturbed in favor of the
magneto-electric machine.
When this regulator is employed to regulate the admission of steam, in the case
of a series of lamps placed in tension, the driving shaft of the steam engine is con-
nected, by means of a belt, to the armature of an electric generating machine. The
lamps are placed in tension in one circuit. The steam cylinder is provided with a
valve for regulating the admission and cut-off of the steam. The axis of rotation

page_text: of this valve is controlled by the aforesaid shaft of the regulator so that the valve
closes when the dynamo-machine of the regulator prevails (that is to say, when the
current increases), and opens when the magneto-machine is the stronger, (that is to
say, when the current increases)
According to another arrangement the shaft of the regulator carries the armatures
of two motors, both dynamo-electric machines. The current to be regulated
traverses the inductors and the armatures of both these machines. One of these
motors is much less powerful than the other, so that, under the influence of the-
current which traverses it, the magnetic field of its inductors will be nearly at its
maximum, whilst the magnetic field of the inductors of the other machine is a long
way from its maximum. By means of resistances the apparatus can be regulated
so that it is in equilibrium when the current to be regulated has its normal value.
If the current increases, the motive power of the larger machine prevails, since its
magnetic field increases more rapidly than that of the smaller one, the latter being
saturated. If the current decreases the motive power of the smaller machine is
the stronger as ita magnetic field decreases less rapidly than that of the larger
machine. The apparatus may be applied to the regulation of lamps or other H
apparatus or devices placed in tension.
According to another arrangement one of the two motors, mounted upon the
shaft which operates the admission valve, alone receives the current to be regulated;
the other motor receives a current constant and entirely distinct from the preceding
one, from a battery or other generating apparatus capable of producing a constant
current. By means of a resistance the apparatus is regulated so that it is in
equilibrium when the current of the useful circuit has its normal value. If the
current increases, the motor receiving the same becomes the stronger and the
opening of the valve is reduced; if the current decreases the contrary takes place.
In some cases the shaft of the regulator carries only one electro-motor, which is
maintained in equilibrium by a counterweight carried by a rope passed around a
windlass and over pulleys. By means of a resistance, and of the said counterweight,
the apparatus is regulated so as to be in equilibrium when the current has its
normal value. If the current increases, the weight is raised and the opening of the
admission valve is reduced; if the current decreases the weight desconds, and the
said valve is opened.
I sometimes provide a hollow electro-magnet which is placed vertically and within
which an iron coro or armature is free to move. This core or armature controls a
horizontal axis of rotation by means of a crank and connecting rod or by other
suitable means.
The said crank-shaft carries a circular commutator. Two fixed
rods are provided carrying metallic springs which bear against the circumference
of the said commutator. On the same axial line as the said crank-shaft is another
shaft entirely separate from it and carrying a small magneto-electro-motor. I also
provide two springs by which the current enters and leaves the armature of the
said motor. Two metal rods carry two other springs which bear against the
commutator. The current, after having traversed the electro-magnet, enters the
apparatus by one spring and leaves it by another. When the current has its
norinal value, the aforesaid core or armature occupies a certain position and the
other parts of the apparatus occupy corresponding positions. If the current
becomes augmented, the core or armature is raised, and a stop retains it in a
position determined experimentally according to the sensitiveness which it is
desired the apparatus should have. If on the contrary, the current diminishes,
the core or armature descends by reason of its weight, and another stop limits its
descent. In the first case, that is to say, when the current has its normal value
and the apparatus occupies the first named position and the current does not
traverse the electro-motor. If the current increases, the extremity of the core or
armature in its movement, causes the commutator to rotate upon its axis, and the
current will traverse the electro-motor which will move in one direction. If the.
current diminishes, the core or armature descends and the current traverses the
motor and causes it to move in the contrary direction. This motor is therefore at

page_text: rest when the current has its normal value, and moves in one or the other direction
according as the current is too strong or too weak; it thus serves to control an
admission-valve or cut-off or the like.
To retain the desired regulation with a sensibly constant speed, or with a variable
speed of the motor, when the lamps or other receivers are placed in tension in one
circuit, I place the regulator upon the same circuit so that the quantity of
electricity received by the lamps or the like remains the same whatever be their
number.
The motive power will then be proportionate to the number of lamps, or the like,
in operation. But if only a generator of electricity is employed, as in the arrange-
ments herein before described, it will be readily understood that the speed of the
shaft of the steam-engine will increase and decrease with the number of machines
or apparatus to be operated. If the lamps or the like are in derivation, the
regulation should be placed in a derivation. The regulator will have to maintain
invariable the difference of potential between the departure and return wires; but
the ratio of the motive power expended to the useful work to be produced is only
obtained by considerable variations in the speed of the motor. Variations in the
speed have the disadvantage of diminishing the yield of the motor. A motor
(whether operated by water, gas, or steam) gives a good yield when it works at
the speed for which it was constructed or thereabout. It is therefore useful in this
case not to maintain a strictly constant speed, but to bring the differences of speed
within limits not too far distant from one another. I effect this without employing
a speed-regulator or other special apparatus of the kind, by making use of two
generators arranged in proper relation to the regulator according to whether the
machines or the like to be regulated are in tension or in derived circuits.
According to another modification I provide two generators of electricity, the
whole of one of these machines (its inductors and armature) and the armature of
the other machine are traversed by the same current. A part of this current
traverses the inductors of the latter machine, the remainder passing into the useful
circuit. The regulator is placed on the latter circuit so that all the lamps or the
like receive the same constant current whatever bo the number of them in operation.
Their regulation is thus ensured but calculation proves that in choosing the ratio
between the speeds of the two generators, the preceding arrangement furnishes
this regulation at the same time maintaining the differences of speed of the motor
shaft between limits which can be determined beforehand, although the speed
regulator be dispensed with on the motor. In the arrangement with a single
generator, the changes in the amount of work to be done by the steam are obtained
by the variation of the speed of the piston; in the arrangement with two
generators they are obtained principally by the variation of the mean pressure of
the steam. If the lamps or other apparatus to be regulated are placed in derivations,
or derived circuits, the same result is obtained, provided the regulator is placed in
the derivation or derived circuit formed by the inductors of one of the machines.
The regulator may also be placed in a special derived circuit.
I can also, without any current regulator, and only by the combination of two
generators of electricity obtain a regulation of the current but only approximate,
which regulation may be obtained if desired, by the employment of resistances as
herein before described.
If the lamps or other apparatus to be regulated are in derivation or derived
circuits I employ an ordinary dynamo-electric machine and a magneto electric
machine placed in tension, so that the principal current traverses the inductors
and armature of the first and then the armature of the second. Upon the motor I
place in this case a speed regulator which is not driven by electricity, and which
works in the ordinary manner, that is to say, which is driven by the shaft of the
motor by means of suitable gearing, for example. If the lamps or other apparatus
are placed in tension I couple the dynamo-machine to the magneto-machine in
quantity instead of coupling them in tension. By suitably arranging the speed of
the motor in this case the current which traverses the lamps or other apparatus

page_text: will be rendered sensibly constant, whilst when the two machines are in tension,
it is the difference of potential between the departure and return wires which is
rendered approximately constant. The complete regulation will be obtained by the
interposition of resistances, the arrangement of which is hereinafter described.
When batteries or accumulators are employed, in order to automatically place
them in or out of the circuit, according as the amount of work to be produced
increases or diminishes, I employ one or other of two arrangements which I will
now proceed to describe.
In these arrangements I provide a series of batteries connected either in tension
or in quantity and formed into four or more groups, each group containing more
batteries than the one preceding it. According to the first of these arrangements
the two poles of each group are provided with two springs which bear upon a
wooden cylinder placed upon the axis of rotation of one of the improved current
regulators or any other kind of regulator, or upon an axis of rotation which can, if
desired, be moved by hand. This cylinder is partly covered with plates of copper,
these plates assuming them to be opened out in a plane tangential to the cylinder
will have the form of a rectangle. Some parts of the wood are left bare or not
covered with copper, and in other parts the copper itself is covered with insulating
material. The plates of copper are separated by insulating material. The
positive and negative poles of the circuit to be regulated also bear upon the said
cylinder.
The series of batteries are in the circuit; but if it is desired to place any number
of them out of the circuit. and keep a certain number in the same it is only
necessary to turn the cylinder until one of the horizontal bands or plates bearing
that number touches the springs. At this moment the springs of the groups or
batteries it is dosired to place out of the circuit will bear upon the insulating
material. Thus, although there may be only four groups, any number of tho
batteries may be placed in or out of the circuit as desired.
If the cylinder is controlled by a current regulator, the operation will be
automatic. When the curront is either too strong or too weak, the regulator and
consequently the cylinder will move so as to place out of or introduce into the
circuit the number of batteries absolutely necessary.
In the preceding arrangement I have assumed that the groups are connected in
tension, which is practically admissible, because I have assumed that the batteries
composing each group are connected either in tension or in quantity. But if the
groups themselves are connected in quantity, the second arrangement may be
adopted, in which parts of the cylinder are not covered with copper, other parts
being covered with copper bands occupying the whole of the circuinference of the
cylinder without separation. Parts of the copper are covered with insulating
material. A distributor connects all the bands corresponding to the positive poles
to each other and to the positive pole of the circuit; and all the bands corre-
sponding to the negative poles to each other and to the negative pole of the circuit.
This connection is made by means of copper wires lodged in the wood which forms
the cylinder. If the cylinder is moved either by band or automatically by a
regulator, one, two, or more batteries will be successively placed out of the
circuit.
If the useful circuit and the circuit for re-charging are at the same factory or
works three cases may be taken as desired viz;-That in which the groups are
connected in quantity in the two circuits; that in which they are in quantity in
one circuit and in tension in the other; and that in which they are in tension
in-both circuits. The following arrangements of apparatus apply to these three
cases.
According to one arrangement the copper plates or bands are separated by
insulating material. There are two distributors, the first connects to each other
and to the positive pole of one circuit all the vertical bands corresponding to the
positive polos of the batteries which lead to one distributor, and in the same
manner for the negative poles of the battery; the second establishes the analogous

page_text: communications with the other circuit, of the vertical bands which lead to the other
distributor. With this arrangement it is sufficient to turn the cylinder by hand or
by an automatic regulator in order to place any number of batteries out of the one
circuit and into the other.
If the groups are to be connected in tension in one circuit and in quantity in the
other, I adopt another arrangement in which there is a distributor and the copper
plates are separated by insulating material; copper wiros are lodged in the wood
of the cylinder and connect the copper bands at which they terminate.
If it is desired that the groups be connected in tensiou in both circuits, I employ
an arrangement in which there are greater and less separations between the copper
plates, and there are communications between the different plates made by copper
wires lodged in the wood of the cylinder, so that some of the groups are in tension
in one circuit and others are in tension in the other circuit.
Sometimes I employ variable resistances.. The same arrangements by means of
a suitable number of pairs of rubbers, permit of placing in or out of circuit a
certain number of units of resistance by means of a rotation effected by hand or
automatically by a current regulator; it will be readily understood that resistances
varying in considerable proportions may thus be acted upon. One arrangement of
apparatus which I employ for this purpose has a number of resistances which bear
the same ratio to each other as the numbers one, two, four, eight. Parts of the
wooden cylinder are not covered and other parts are covered with copper. When
the apparatus is in the position in which say fifteen units of resistanco are in the
circuit, if the cylinder is turned a certain distance, one unit of resistance is taken
out of the circuit and so on. I can thus very casily act upon resistances varying
within considerable proportions; I can also graduate the resistance by a thousandth
or a hundredth part of an Ohm as easily as by an Ohm, and if desired I can reduce
it from one hundred Ohms to one hundredth part of an Ohm.
But in order that the apparatus may in practice be properly utilized it is
preferable to establish very great resistances, or resistances graduated by small
fractions by apparatus occupying a small space. I employ for this purpose very
fiue wires placed in a vacuum. In a very small jar or vessel in which a vacuum
has been produced 1 place say eight resistances of fine platinum wire, having
respectively 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 Ohms, 1 then, by my method, have a
scale of resistance graduated from Ohm to Ohm from 1 up to 128. I then make
in the atmosphere an analogous scale graduated to the hundredth part of an Ohm
and formed of six resistances. I have thus a graduation by the hundredth of an
'Ohun going up to the excessive resistance of 128 Ohms.
In the electrical regulation of the speed of a shaft I employ an isochronous
current regulator. I fix upon the shaft a small generator of electricity. In the
circuit of the current produced by this machine I place a current regulator of any
kiud controlling the axis of rotation of the admission valve or expansion valve.
The current being thus kept constant, the speed of the shaft will necessarily be
constant.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd February 1883.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATINng to apparatuS
FOR REGULATING THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND THE SPEED OF
STEAM-ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND OTIIER PURPOSES
33
A communication to me from abroad by Maurice Levy of Paris, France, Civil
Engineer,
'
The chief object of this invention is to provide more efficient means than have
heretofore been employed, for ensuring that any number of machines or apparatuses
for producing light, heat or mechanical power, or for other purposes, placed in the
same electric circuit (either in tension or in derived circuits) shall preserve their
normal functions whatever may be the number of such machines or apparatuses.
at work; and also for ensuring that, at any time, only the amount of power shall
be expended which is required by the number of machines or apparatuses in
operation.
For these purposes I employ various improved regulators or regulating
apparatuses by means of which I act directly upon the source of motive power,
that is to say, upon the admission valve or upon expansion gear or a cut-off valve
of a steam engine or other motor, in such a manner as to expend only the volumo
of steam, gas, water or the like which is absolutely necessary.
If batteries or accumulators are employed, I arrange the apparatus so that any
number of batteries will be put out of the circuit when, by reason of the reduction
in the amount of work to be performed, they have become superfluous, and that,
on the contrary, batteries will be automatically included in the circuit again if it
becomes necessary.
It may happen that in the same factory or works there are batteries and
accumulators, I then, by a very simple process, arrange that all the batteries
which are not required in the working circuit are automatically cut out therefromn
and placed in the circuit for re-charging the accumulators, and vice versa, so
that no battery is at any time inactive, all of them being either working or
re-charging.
In cases where the electricity is. produced by mechanical force and where it is
consequently necessary to act upon the admission valves by a current regulator;
all ordinary speed regulators on the motor are dispensed with. The result is that
the speed of the said machine increases and decreases within very wide limits
according to the work which it is required to perform. But, by a suitable
arrangement of electric generators, I avoid, when desired, any sudden difference
in the speed, without the employment of a cinematic apparatus.
I can also effect a primary, but only approximate, regulation of the current
without employing a current regulator; this regulation is however insufficient.
I complete it by acting upon variable resistances by an arrangement which can be
adopted under many other circumstances.
I will first describe the improved current regulators which I employ; I will
then show how I operate in order to regulate a distribution of electric energy.
whatever may be the source from which it is operated.
All the improved regulators herein described are characterized by their being.
perfectly isochronous. This quality is essential, as is well known, for the regu-
lations of mechanical trausmission of force, and it is infinitely more essential for
'

page_text: regulators designed to ensure the constancy of effect of an agent as sensitive
and prompt in its action as electricity, and it is the want of isochronism which
has, in general, caused the failure of the methods heretofore employed for the
regulation of electric currents.
In carrying the said invention into practice I employ different kinds of
isochronous regulators.
In the accompanying drawing:-
Figure 1 shows the arrangement of one of the said regulators.
is a shaft upon which are mounted the armatures a and b of two electro-
motors. Siemens machines are assumed to be employed in the arrangement shown
in this Figure, but I do not limit myself to the employment of such machines,
because these motors, in many cases, will not require to make more than a half
or a quarter of a turn, and can, therefore, be greatly simplified by dispensing with
the commutators. One of these motors is magneto-olectric, that is to say, its
inductors A are permanent magnets (or, if desired, they may be electro-magnets
excited by a separate machine, not represented in the drawing). The other is a
dynamo-electric machine. The current to be regulated traverses the inductors B of
the latter machine entering at the point B and passing out at 3', it then traverses the
armature a of the magneto-machine entering at a and passing out at a, and then
that of the dynamo-machine entering at 3" and passing out at 3". I also provide
resistances R and R' which enable me to pass into these notors only a fraction
of the current; these resistances are regulated once for all in such a manner that,
when the current to be, regulated has its normal value, the two motors are in
equilibrium and maintain the shaft x at rest. If this condition is fulfilled in one
position of the said shaft it will be so in all positions thereof; hence the isochronisni.
If the current increases, the equilibrium of the shaft x will be disturbed in favour
of the dynamo-electric machine, because the magnetic field of its inductors increases
with the current, whilst the magnetic field of the inductors of the magneto-machine
remains constant; consequently the motive power of the first machine increases
more rapidly with the current than that of the second. If, on the contrary, the
current diminishes, the equilibrium is disturbed, for the same reasons, in favor
of the magneto-electric machine.
Figure 1 indicates how this regulator is employed to regulate the admission of
steam, in the case of a series of lamps placed in tension; y is the driving shaft of
the steam engine; this shaft, by means of a belt C, actuates the armature of an
electric generating machine G. 1, are the lamps placed in tension in the circuit.
V is the steam cylinder and is the axis of rotation of the valve for regulating
the admission and cut-off of the steam. This axis is controlled by the shaft x
of the regulator in such a manner that the valvo closes when the dynamo-
machine of the regulator prevails (that is to say, when the current increases)
and opens when the magneto-machine is the stronger (that is to say, when the
current decreases).
In Figure 2, the shaft of the regulator carries the armatures of two motors,
both of which are dynamo-electric machines. The current to be regulated traverses
the inductors A and B and the armatures a, b of these two motors. The notor A
is much less powerful than the motor B, so that, under the influence of the current
which traverses it, the magnetic field of its inductors will be nearly at its maximum,
whilst the magnetic field of the inductors B is far from its maximum. By
means of the resistances R, R', the apparatus can be regulated so that it will be
in equilibrium when the current to be regulated has its normal value. If the
current increases, the motive power of the machine B prevails, since its magnetic
1.eld increases more rapidly than that of the machine A, the latter being saturated.
If the current decreases, the motive power of the machine A is the stronger, as
its magnetic field decreases less rapidly than that of the machine B. This Figure,
as well as Figure 1, illustrates the application of the apparatus to the regulation
of lumps or other apparatuses placed in tension.
In Figure 3, one of the two motors, mounted upon the shaft which operates

page_text: the admission valve, alone receives the current to be regulated; the other motor B
receives a constant current, entirely distinct from the preceding one, from a
battery P or other generating apparatus capable of producing a constant current.
By means of the resistance R the apparatus is regulated so that it will be in
equilibrium when the current of the working or useful circuit has its normal
value. If this current increases, the motor A becomes the stronger and the extent
of opening of the valve is reduced; if the current decreases, the contrary takes
place.
In Figures 4 and 4ª, the shaft x of the regulator carries only one electro-motor,
which is maintained in equilibrium by a counterweight P carried by a rope passed
around a windlass T and over two pulleys p, q. By means of the resistance R
and of the counterweight P, the apparatus is regulated so that it will be in
equilibrium when the current has its normal value. If the current increases, the
weight is raised and the extent of opening of the admission valve is reduced; if
the current decreases, the weight descends and the said valve is opened to a greater
extent. This apparatus does not of itself form a novel feature of this invention,
but only as applied to the regulation of a valve, or of a system of accumulators as
herein described.
In Figure 5, E is a hollow electro-magnet which is placed vertically, and within
which an iron core F is free to move. This core controls a horizontal axis of
rotation C by means of a crank C, 1, and connecting rod 1, D or by other suitable
means. The crank-shaft C carries a circular commutator pa q ẞ, the parts shown
in section are of inetal the remainder being of non-conducting material. P and Q
are fixed rods carrying metallic springs P p, Qq which bear against the circum-
ference of the said commutator. On the same axial line as the crank-shaft C is
another shaft entirely separate froin it and carring a small magneto-electro-motor.
The circumference a, b represents the armature of this motor; A a and B b are
two springs by which the current enters and leaves the armature. Two metal rods
at A and B carry two other springs A a and BB which bear against the com-
mutator. The current, after having traversed the electro-magnet E, enters the
apparatus by the spring Pp and leaves it by the spring q Q. When the current
has its normal value, the core F occupies a certain position 1', 1' and the other
parts of the apparatus occupy corresponding positions. If the current increases,
the core F is raised and a stop at its extremity retains it in a position 21, 21
determined experimentally according to the sensitiveness which it is desired to
give to the apparatus. If, on the contrary, the current diminishes the core F
descends by reason of its weight, and another stop limits its descent at the
line 3', 3'. In the first case, that is to say, when the current has its normal value;
and the apparatus occupies the position indicated in full lines in the Figure, the
current follows the path P p q Q, and does not, therefore, pass through the electro-
motor. If the current increases, the extremity of the core F by passing from 11, 11
to 2', 2', causes the commutator to rotate upon its axis C. The metal parts p° ß°
will come into the positions pẞ and the parts a° 9° into the positions a q. The
current will then follow the path P p B B b, and will enter the electro-motor at the
point b and will leave at a and will then follow the path a A a'q Q; the motor will
then move in one direction. If the current diminishes the core F descends and the
current will enter the motor at a and leave at b will follow the path b B Bq Q
and will cause the motor to move in the contrary direction. This motor is.
therefore, at rest when the current bas its normal value, and moves in one or the
´other direction according as the current is too strong or too weak; it can, therefore,
serve to control an admission valve, a cut-off valve, or the like.
To obtain the desired regulation with a sensibly constant speed or with a
variable speed of the motor, I proceed as follows, that is to say :-When the lamps
or other receivers are placed in tension in one circuit, I place the regulator upon
3. the same circuit in such a manner that the quantity of electricity received by the
lamps or the like remains the same whatever be their number.
The motive power will then be proportionate to the number of lamps or the like

page_text: in operation. But if a generator of electricity only is employed, as in the arrange-
ments shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, it will be readily understood that the speed
of the shaft of the steam engine will increase and decrease with the number of
machines or apparatuses to be operated. If the lamps or the like are in derived
circuits, the regulator should be placed in a derived circuit as shown in the
diagram Figure 6, in which G is the generator of electricity; x, x¹ are the departure
and return wires; and is one of the lamps placed in a derived circuit. The
regulator will have to maintain invariable the difference of potential between the two
wires and a¹; but the ratio of the motive power expended to the useful work to
be produced is still only obtained by considerable variations in the speed of the
motor. Variations in the speed have the disadvantage of diminishing the yield of
the motor. A motor (whether operated by water, gas, or steam) gives a good yield
when it works at the speed for which it was constructed, or thereabouts. It is,
therefore, useful in this case not to maintain a strictly constant speed, but to bring
the differences of speed within limits not too far distant from one another. I effect
this without employing a speed regulator or other special cinematic apparatus, by
employing two generators arranged in relation to the regulator as indicated in the
diagram Figure 7 if the lamps or the like to be regulated are in tension, or as
indicated in the diagram Figure 8 if the lamps or the like are in derived circuits.
In Figure 7, Ax is the departure wire and x B the return wire; are the
apparatuses to be regulated; Ġ and G' are two generators of electricity; the whole
of the machine G (its inductors and armature) and the arinature of the machine G'
are traversed by the same current B l' m' n' p'a b c d l m n p e f g h A.
A part
of this current traverses the inductors a' b', c¹ d', e' ƒ¹, and g¹ h³ of the machine G₁
following the path A a' b¹ c¹ d'e' f g h¹ B; the remainder passes into the useful
or working circuit. The regulator R is placed on the latter circuit so that all the
lamps or other apparatuses receive a constant current whatever be the number of
them in operation. Their regulation is thus ensured, but calculation proves that,
by suitably choosing the ratio between the speeds of the two generators, the
preceding arrangement furnishes this regulation, at the same time maintaining the
differences of speed of the motor shaft between limits which can be determined
beforehand, although the speed regulator be dispensed with on the motor. In the
arrangement with a single generator, the changes in the amount of work done by
the steam are obtained by the variation of the speed of the piston; in the arrange-
ment with two generators they are obtained principally by the variation of the
mean pressure of the steam. The first of these arrangements is well known, and it
is only its combination with one of my regulators which forms a novel feature of
the present invention; but the second arrangement has not heretofore been
employed and therefore constitutes a novel feature when used in combination
with other regulators than those comprised in this invention.
If the lamps or other apparatuses to be regulated are placed in derived circuits
the same result is obtained, provided the regulator R is placed in the derived
circuit formed by the inductors of the machine G' as shown in Figure 8. The
regulator R may also be placed in a special derived circuit, but I prefer to place it
as shown in this figure.
I can also, without any current regulator and only by the combination of two
generators of electricity, obtain a regulation of the current, but only approximate;
which regulation may be obtained, if desired, by the employment of variable
resistances as hereinafter described.
If the lamps or other apparatuses to be regulated are in derived circuits
(Figure 9) I employ an ordinary dynamo-electric machine G and a magneto-electric
machine G placed in tension, so that the principal or primitive current traverses
the inductors and armature of the first machine and then the armature of the second
machine. Upon the motor I place, in this case, a speed regulator which is not
driven by electricity, and which works in the ordinary manner, that is to say, which
is driven by the shaft of the motor, by means of suitable gearing, for example. If
the lamps or other apparatuses are placed in tension, I couple the dynamo-machine G

page_text: to the magneto machine G¹ in quantity, instead of coupling them in tension, as
indicated by the diagram Figure 10. By suitably arranging the speed of the motor
in this case, the current which traverses the lamps or other apparatuses will be
rendered sensibly constant, whilst, when the two machines are in tension, it is the
difference of potential between the departure and return wires which will be
rendered approximately constant. The complete regulation will be obtained by the
interposition of resistances, the arrangement of which is hereinafter described.
When batteries or accumulators are employed, in order to automatically put them
in or out of the circuit, according to whether the amount of work to be done
increases or diminishes, I employ one or other of the arrangements shown in the
diagrams Figures 12 and 13.
In these diagrams 1 represents a cell or a battery of cells connected either in
tension or in quantity; 2 represents a battery of twice as many cells as the first
connected either in tension or in quantity; 4 and 8 represent respectively two
batteries of four times and eight times as many cells as the first, connected either in
tension or in quantity, so that the figures represent, in all, fifteen cells forming
four groups. If I employed a larger number of groups, the succeeding group would
be composed of sixteen times as many cells as the first battery, the next group
thirty two times as many and the following one sixty four times as many as the
first, and so on; so that if, instead of fifteen cells, I had two hundred and fifty
five, which might each contain forty or fifty elements, I should have only eight
groups instead of four. The two poles of each group are provided with springs a
which bear upon a wooden cylinder placed upon the axis of rotation of one of
the improved current regulators herein described or any other kind of regulator,
or upon an axis of rotation which can, if desired, be moved by hand. . This
cylinder is partly covered with copper plates; theso plates assuming them to be
opened out in a plane tangential to the cylinder will have the form of the
rectangle ABCD. The parts shown by section lines are those where the wood is
left bare, or not covered with copper; all the parts left blank are covered with
copper; and at the parts marked with dots the copper is covered with insulating
material. The horizontal lines indicate lines of separation of the copper plates,
which lines are furnished with insulating material. The positive and negative
poles of the circuit to be regulated also bear upon the said cylinder at y, y.
It will be seen that the fifteen batteries are in the circuit; but, if it is desired to
put any number of them out of the circuit, seven for example, and keep only eight
in the circuit, it is only necessary to turn the cylinder until the horizontal band or
plate bearing the number 8 touches the springs x, y. At this moment the springs
of the groups 4, 2 and 1 will bear upon the insulating material shown by the parts
marked with dots; the positive pole y will be in direct communication with the
negative pole of the group 8 by the short circuit formed by the copper which
extends uninterruptedly between these points; and the positive pole of the group 8
will communicate with the negative pole y. Thus, although there are only four
groups, any number of batteries from 1 to 15 can be put in or out of the circuit
as desired. If there were two hundred and fifty five cells, any number of them
could be put in or out of the circuit with only eight groups, or nine pairs of rubbers
or springs. If the cylinder is controlled by a current regulator, the operation will
be effected automatically. When the current is either too strong or too weak, the
regulator, and consequently the cylinder, will move so as to put out of, or introduce
into, the circuit the number of batteries absolutely necessary.
In the preceding arrangement I have assumed that the groups are connected in.
tension, which is practically admissible, because I have assuined that the cells
composing each group are connected either in tension or in quantity.
But, if the groups themselves are connected in quantity, the arrangement shown
by the diagram Figure 13 may be adopted. The parts of the cylinder marked by
section lines are not covered with copper, the parts left blank are covered with
copper bands occupying the whole of the height of each rectangle (that is to say,
the whole of the circumference of the cylinder) without separation. At the parts.

page_text: marked with dots the copper is covered with insulating material. The part D
which I term the distributor connects all the bands, corresponding to the positive
poles of the groups, to each other and to the positive pole of the circuit; and all
the bands, corresponding to the negative poles, to each other and to the negative
pole of the circuit. This connection is made by means of copper wires z lodged in
the wood which forms the cylinder. If the cylinder is moved either by hand or
automatically by a regulator, one, two, or more batteries will be successively put
out of the circuit. Thus, if the horizontal band 4 is brought into contact with the
springs, the groups 8, 2 and 1 will be connected with the insulating material, and
the group 4 will alone remain in the circuit.
If the useful circuit and the circuit for re-charging are at the same factory or
works, three cases may be considered vis-First, that in which the groups are
connected in quantity in the two circuits; second, that in which they are connected
in quantity in one circuit and in tension in the other circuit; and third, that in
which they are connected in tension in both circuits; the cells composing any of
the groups may be connected either in tension or in quantity.
The diagrams Figures 14, 15 and 16 represent the arrangements in these three
cases.
In Figure 14 all the horizontal full lines represent lines of separation of the
copper, which lines are furnished with insulating material. R, R, are the two
conductors of one of the circuits (the re-charging circuit for example); T, T, those
of the other circuit (the useful circuit). There are two distributors Dt and Dr; the
first connects to each other and to the positive pole of the circuit T, all the vertical
bands corresponding to the positive poles of the cells which extend as far as the
distributor t, and in the same manner for the negative poles of the cells; the
second establishes the analagous communications, with the other circuit R, of the
vertical bands which extend as far as the distributor Dr. With these arrangements
it is only necessary to turn the cylinder by hand, or by an automatic regulator, in
order to put any number of cells out of the one circuit and into the other. It will
be seen, for example, that if the cylinder is turned until the horizontal band,
arked 6 on the vertical band T and 9 upon the vertical band R, bears upon the
springs x, y, the groups 2 and 4 will be in the circuit T and the groups 1 and 8 in
the circuit R.
If the groups are to be connected in tension in one circuit and in quantity in the
other, I adopt the arrangement shown in Figure 15, in which D is a distributor;
the full lines represent the parts where the copper plates are separated by insulating
material; 2, are copper wires lodged in the wood of the cylinder and connecting
the copper bands at which they terminate.
If, for example, the horizontal band 10 is brought into contact with the springs
x, y, the groups 8 and 2 will be in the circuit R by means of the distributor and
will be arranged in the said circuit in quantity, whilst the groups 1 and 4 will be
in the circuit T and arranged in tension.
If it is desired that the groups be connected in tension in both circuits, I employ
the arrangement shewn in Figure 16, in which the parts marked by section lines
indicate greater or less separations between the copper plates, the full lines indi-
cating separations of insulating material between the copper plates. The dotted
lines indicate communications between the different plates, made by copper wires
lodged in the wood of the cylinder. If, for example, the band 11 is brought into
contact with the springs x, y, it will be seen that the groups 8, 2 and 1 will be in
tension in the circuit T, and the group 4 will be in tension in the circuit R.
When I employ variable resistances, the same arrangements, by means of a
suitable number of pairs of rubbers or springs, permit of putting in or out of a
circuit 1, 2, 3 ... 21 units of resistance by means of a single rotation
effected by hand or automatically by a current regulator; it will be readily under-
stood that resistances varying within considerable proportions may thus be acted
upon. In Figure 17, the resistances 1, 2, 4, 8 bear the same ratio to each other as
these four numbers. The parts of the wooden cylinder marked by section lines are

page_text: not covered, whilst the other parts are covered with copper. In the position
shown in this figure, 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 15 units of resistance are in the circuit; if
the cylinder is turned until the band 14 comes into the place occupied by N°. 15 as,
shown, the resistance 1 will be put out of the circuit; then the resistance 2 will be
put out of the circuit whilst the resistance 1 is again introduced into the circuit,
and so on.
I can thus very easily act upon resistances varying within considerable
proportions; I can also graduate the resistance by a thousandth or a hundredth
part of an Ohm as easily as by an Ohm, aud, if desired, I can reduce it from one.
hundred Ohms to one hundredth part of an Ohm.
But in order that the apparatus may, in practice, be properly utilized, it is
preferable to be able to establish very great resistances, or resistances graduated by
small fractions, by apparatus occupying a small space. I employ, for this purpose,
very fine wires placed in a vacuum. For example, in a very small jar or vessel
in which a vacuum has been created, I place say eight resistances of fine platinum
wire, of respectively 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 Ohms, I then, by my method,
have a scale of resistance graduated by Olims from 1 up to 128. I then make, in
the atmosphere, an analogous scale graduated to the hundredth part of an Ohm and
formed of six resistances. I have thus a graduation, by hundredths of an Ohm, up
to the excessive resistance of 128 Ohms.
In the electrical regulation of the speed of a shaft I employ an isochronous
current regulator. In Figure 11, x is the shaft, the speed of which it is desired to
regulate; upon this shaft is arranged a small generator of electricity of which
A a, B b are the brushes. In the circuit of the current produced by this machine I
place a current regulator R of any kind controlling the axis of rotation t, t¹, of the
admission valve or expansion valve. The current being thus kept constant, the
speed of the shaft will necessarily be constant.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that all the combinations which I claim apply also to cases where the principal
or main circuit has no return wire; also that the variable resistances which I
employ can be connected by their poles of similar name or by their poles of
opposite name, and that all the combinations by means of which I pass the batteries
froin one circuit to another are also applicable to resistances which it is desired to
automatically put out of one circuit into another, or out of one part of a circuit
into another part, and I Claim:-
First the regulating apparatus wherein two electric-motors, whose armatures
are mounted upon the same shaft, tend to cause the said shaft to turn in opposite
directions and are in equilibrium for a certain value of current, and are arranged
in such a manner as to depart from this state of equilibrium, the magnetic field of
one of the motors increasing and decreasing more rapidly with the current than
that of the other motor, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 2
and 3.
Second-The regulating apparatus composed of an electro-magnet, a magneto-
electric machine and a commutator, all arranged substantially as above described
with reference to Figure 5.
Third: The combination of one of these regulators, or an isochronous regulator
having a counterweight, with an admission valve or variable expansion gear for
obtaining the regulation of lighting or other apparatus, with variable speed of the
generators, all arranged substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3,
4, 4º and 6.
Fourth-The combination of two or more electric generators arranged in such a
manner that one of them and the armature of the other are traversed by the
entire current, the inductors of the latter being traversed by a circuit derived
from the main circuit, with a current regulator of any kind placed either in the
principal or primitive circuit or in a derived circuit, for obtaining, in the first case,
the constancy of current in the apparatuses arranged in tension, and, in the second
case, the constancy of the difference of potential between the departure and return

page_text: wires, whilst maintaining the speed of the different generators within limits
not far apart, all arranged substantially as described with reference to Figures 7
and 8.
Fifth-The combination permitting of regulating, by means of electricity, the
speed of a shaft, by placing upon the said shaft an electric generator and
arranging, in the circuit of the current which it produces, an isochronous current
regulator of any kind, controlling the admission valve or cut-off valve, all sub:
stantially as described with reference to Figure 11.
Sixth-The special arrangement of the resistances (which are generally employed
increasing as the numbers 1, 2, 23, 2³ . . . . 2) each of them sliding upon a cylinder
or other surface arranged as indicated in Figure 17 (or any other equivalent
cinematic arrangement) the said surface being moved by hand, or automatically
by the current which it is desired to regulate.
Seventh-In combination with the above described system of regulation, the
employment of fine wires placed in a vacuum to form one or more groups of
resistances as above described.
Eighth The special arrangement of batteries or accumulators arranged by
groups (varying as the numbers 1, 2, 23, 2³) the batteries of each group being
connected either in tension or in quantity, the two poles of each group having
contact springs bearing upon a cylindrical or other surface arranged as indicated in
Figures 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 (or any equivalent cinematic arrangement). which
surface can be operated either automatically or by hand, so that, at any time, there
will be in the working circuit only the number of cells absolutely necessary, the
cells which are not required in this circuit being put out of the same to remain
inactive, or, if desired, being put into the circuit for re-charging.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Second day of February in the year of our Lord Oue
thousand eight hundred and eighty three:
YM DOUT TT