IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND FOR PRODUCING MOTION BY ELECTRICITY
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to St. George Lane Fox, of Queen Anne's Gate, in the City
of Westminster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND FOR PRODUCING MOTION BY
ELECTRICITY."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said St. George Lane Fox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th August 1881.
ST. GEORGE LANE Fox, of Queen Anne's Gate, in the City of Westminster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENTS,
AND FOR PRODUCING MOTION BY ELECTRICITY.”
This Invention has reference to means or apparatus for generating electric
currents, and for producing motion by electricity.
For this purpose I construct an apparatus or machine consisting essentially of a
series of coils or bobbins of insulated wire with soft iron cores (which may con-
veniently be made of a bundle of soft iron wires in a tube or hollow cylinder of
some non-conducting material, or in a split tube of metal) firmly secured to a
cylinder of hard wood or other suitable material, and mounted on a rotating shaft
carried out to bearings on either side of the machine, and actuated by a pulley or
otherwise. These bobbins or coils, which may be said to form the "armature" of
the machine, are caused to revolve between the poles of powerful electro magnets,
so arranged in pairs as to form two horseshoe electro magnets with the adjacent
poles of opposite sign. The coils or bobbins are arranged symmetrically round the
"armature" with their cores parallel to the axis of the rotating shaft, and are so
wound that the 2 ends of the wires forming the coils are led out at opposite
ends of the bobbins; they are all wound the same way, and may be of any
number. The wires thus led out at the ends of the coils are carried along the
shaft, and connected each to a contact plate, from which the currents are conveyed
away by copper collecting brushes. These collecting brushes which may be in
number equal to the number of coils between the poles of the magnets at any one
time (say three for example) are placed tangentially to the circle described by the

page_text: outer surface of the contact plates, and are so arranged that they make contact
with as many consecutive plates as there are brushes. They are mounted on
rockers concentric with the shaft, and may be adjusted in the most advantageous
position with regard to the magnetic field by means of a rod and binding screw or
otherwise.
When the bobbins are caused by the rotation of the shaft to pass from the
influence of one magnet of the pair to that of the other magnet, the polarity of the
cores is of course changed, and it is during this change that the currents are set up
in the wire surrounding them. These currents pass through the commutator plates
to the collecting brushes, whence they can be conveyed in two different ways,
either by passing through other coils. For example, the currents generated in the
coils at one side or part of the armature may be passed through the coils diametrically
opposite, and so out into the external circuit; or they may be joined up in
"multiple arc," that is to say, the currents generated in each coil may pass out
direct to the external circuit.
An electro motive force will be generated in these coils depending upon the
number of convolutions of wire round the cores, the degree of magnetism to which
these cores are excited, and on the rapidity of its change.
In the first of the 2 ways above described of connecting the coils, the resistance
of the armature will be 4 times as great as when the coils are connected in the
second way, and will have double the electro motive force.
In some cases to simplify the machine when it is not wanted for varying purposes,
connections are made across from each bobbin to one of those diametrically opposite
it, and thus the second commutator and pair of collecting brushes are dispensed
with, and the coils are permanently joined in "series."
The magnets may be excited by the whole current, or only by a shunted portion
of it, in which case they are made of high resistance.
This machine also forms an efficient motor, and when so used the action described
above is simply reversed.
The position of the magnets is not essential so long as the bobbins or coils on
the armature pass from a magnetic field of one kind to a magnetic field of the
other kind.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said St. George Lane Fox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th February 1882.
ST. GEORGE LANE Fox, of Queen Anne's Gate, in the City of Westminster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC CURRENTS,
AND FOR PRODUCING MOTION BY ELECTRICITY."
This Invention has reference to means or apparatus for generating electric
currents, and for producing motion by eléctricity.
For this purpose I construct an apparatus or machine consisting essentially of a
series of coils or bobbins of insulated wire with soft iron cores, which may con-
veniently be made of soft iron wires in a tube or hollow cylinder of some non-
conducting material, such as paper, or in a split tube of metal; the bobbins are
firmly secured to a cylinder or circular web of wood, hard vulcanized fibre, or
other suitable insulating material possessing sufficient strength and not being liable
to warp; this cylinder or web, which may be made in one piece or built up in
segments, is bolted or fixed to a metal nave or hub which is mounted on a rotating
shaft carried out to bearings at the sides of the machine, and actuated by a pulley
or otherwise. The bobbins or coils which form the "armature" of the machine are
caused to revolve between the poles of powerful electro magnets, so arranged in
pairs as to form two " horse shoe" magnets with the adjacent poles of opposite
sign. The bobbins are arranged symmetrically around the armature with their
cores parallel with the axis of the rotating shaft, and are so wound that the two
ends of the wires forming the coils are led out at opposite ends of the bobbins ;
they are all wound the same way, and may be of any number. The wires thus led
out at the ends of the coils are carried along the shaft, and connected each to a
contact plate or commutator from which the currents are conveyed away by
collecting brushes or combs; these collectors or combs are placed tangentially to
the circle described by the outer surface of the contact plates or commutators.
They are mounted on but insulated from rockers concentric with the shaft, and
may be adjusted in the most advantageous position with regard to the magnetic
field by means of a screw or otherwise. When the bobbins are caused by the
rotation of the shaft to pass from the influence of one magnet of the pair to that
of the other magnet the polarity of the cores is of course changed, and it is during
this change that the currents are set up in the wires surrounding them. These
currents pass through the commutators to the collectors or combs, whence they can
be conveyed. The field magnets are by preference excited by a shunted portion
of the current, and in this case they are made of high resistance.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2, a plan,
Figure 3, an end elevation of a machine or apparatus constructed in accordance
with my Invention; Figure 4 is a side elevation, and Figure 5, an end elevation
of the shaft with the bobbins and commutators mounted thereon; Figures 6 and 7
are respectively a side view and an end view of one of the bobbins ; Figures 8 and 9
are respectively a section and an elevation of the commutators and collectors or
combs at the left hand end of the machine; and Figures 10 and 11 are corre-
sponding views of the commutators and collectors at the right hand end of the
machine; Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view of the field magnets and their
electrical connections. a is the bed plate, and b, b, are uprights or standards
which may be cast in one piece with the plate a. The uprights b, b, carry the
bearings c, c, for the shaft d, and at the same time afford a surface against which
the breech or outer end of the field magnets may be bolted; e is a driving pulley

page_text: on the shaft d, and f is a small pulley to drive a speed indicator. The bearings c, c,
are long and are run in with soft metal; the bearing further from the driving
pulley is grooved so as to form a thrust-block, and thus reduce to a minimum the
lateral play of the shaft, and render possible a much closer adjustment than is
usually attainable between the bobbins on the armature and the poles of the field
magnets; g is a metal nave or hub on the shaft d, on which it is adjusted and
retained by means of a collar on one side and a nut on the other, as shewn; h is a
cylinder or circular web of wood or other suitable insulating material built up in
segments (or it may be made in one piece), and bolted to the nave g; i, i, are the
bobbins or coils made as already described, and seated in recesses in the periphery
of the cylinder or web h; they are held in place by blocks or wedges k, k, placed
between them, the whole being cemented together by shellac or other resinous
material. Strong cord l is then bound round them to a depth of about half an
inch, the layers of cord being saturated with shellac, and retained in position in any
suitable way, such as by means of clips or straps of canvas. The two ends m, m³,
of the wire of each bobbin or coil are carried to separate contact plates, which
may be in separate commutators, as shewn, or they may be 'in the same commutator
in a manner which will be readily understood. The commutators are preferred 'to
be built up as follows:-On to the shaft d is driven a cylinder o (Figures 8
and 10) of thoroughly seasoned wood, on to which is forced a cylinder p composed
of a number of layers of paper wound round each other with shellac between them,
and then dried in an oven. On to this cylinder are screwed as many plates of
brass q, q, as there are bobbins i, and to these plates the ends of the bobbin coils
are secured by being soldered into holes drilled for their reception. Each brass
plate q is faced with an accurately turned segment of copper r fixed with screws.
With this construction the commutators can be repaired when necessary without
breaking the connections with the wires of the coils; 8, 8, are 'the collectors.or
combs; they are placed vertically and held by holders t, t, placed upon but
insulated from rockers u, u, which are capable of adjuntment by means of
screws v, v; w, w, are the field magnets which I prefer to be of the peculiar
construction shewn, each complete magnet consisting of two pole piecas marked N
and S respectively and of 4 cores, each pair of cores being attached at one end to a
pole piece, and at the other end to the upright b. Each pole piece thus extends
through an are of nearly 180°, the neutral points being in a horizontal plane, as
clearly seen in Figure 3. There are altogether 4 of these pole pieces, two on each
side of the armature, that is to say, one of north polarity, and the other of south,
and they are so arranged with respect to the armature that the revolving coils i, i,
have the opposite ends of their cores always magnetized to opposite polarity. In
crossing the neutral line this polarity is suddenly reversed, a current being thereby
created in the coils.
As there are two commutators, each with a positive and a negative collector or
comb, the machine may be coupled up in several ways; for example, the two
positive combs may be coupled together and the two negative combs together, the
machine being then in "multiple arc;" or one positive and one negative comb
may be coupled together, leaving the other two combs to deliver and receive the
current to and from the external circuit, the machine being in this case-coupled
" in series." In like manner the field magnets may be coupled up in such a
combination as may best serve to increase or decrease the currents circulating in
their coils; or this increase or decrease can be effected by the interposition of
resistance by automatic regulation as will be well understood.
The base plate a is fitted with a wooden terminal plate for the reception of the
line wires, &c.
The position of the magnets w, w, is not essential so long as 'the bobbins or coils i
pass from a magnetic field of one kind to a magnetic field of another kind. 'The
bobbins may be of any suitable form, such as round, as shown, oval, or pear shaped,
or they may be segments of a circle, so as to utilize all the periphery of the cylinder

page_text: in which they are mounted. The machine forms an efficient motor, the action
above described being for this purpose simply reversed.
Having now described my Invention I claim,-
Constructing apparatus or machinery for generating electric currents, or for
producing motion by electricity with bobbins or coils arranged around one shaft,
nave, or axis, and revolving with their ends in proximity to two powerful electro
magnets, whose adjacent poles are of opposite sign, so that the polarity of the coils
is suddenly reversed at two diametrically opposite positions of their revolution, the
current thereby created being collected by collectors or brushes with which the
coils are at this time in contact, the coils being at other times out of contact or
inactive, all substantially as herein before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said St. George Lane Fox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and eighty two.
ST. G. LANE FOX. (L.S.)