Improvements in or connected with Battery Switches.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1893-Accepted, 15th July, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Battery Switches.
I, HEINRICH KARL SPANGENBERG, of 15 II Harkortstrasse, Leipsig, in the
Empire of Germany, Merchant, 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 relates to a battery switch having for its object the combination of
any desired number of elements or cells of two batteries to be included in and
cut out of the current circuit without interrupting the current, and to connect
the four poles of these two batteries with two electrodes or poles in various
combinations.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figure 1 is a plan of a battery switch manufactured in accordance with my
invention with a diagrammatic illustration of the batteries and connections.
Figure 2 shows the battery switch in section through the line C D (Figure 1).
On the base plate A of the battery switch contact buttons 1 to 17 are arranged
on the periphery of a circle described about the point c.
An arm b adapted to rotate about the axis c, is adapted to rub upon the said
contact buttons or points, and is provided for fixing it (the arm b) in a determined
position with a spring f, a stop or projection on which is adapted to engage in
recesses g¹ to g" in the baseplate, the said recesses being arranged concentrically
with the contact buttons 1 to 17.
In addition to the spring f, the arm balso carries two contact springs m and n
which rub on concentric conducting rings i and k respectively, provided with pole-
clamps, binding posts or screws o and p.
The contact button 1 is conductively connected with a bar a which carries two
terminals u and for connection in or with the line wires or circuit.
The source of electricity or electrical current to be connected to the battery
switch is coupled up or connected in the following manner.
If the number of elements or cells is 32 as in the present example (illustrated in
the drawings) both batteries with any desired variable number of elements or cells
the total number of which must amount to 32, are connected in series, their positive
poles being connected to the contact button 1 and their negative poles connected to
the contact buttons 2 to 17. Furthermore the negative poles of the elements or
cells 12' are connected to the contact button 2 and the magnetic poles of 3' 4' with
the contact button 3, and so forth, and finally the penultimate poles of the
elements 29' 30¹ are connected to the contact button 16.
The current is collected by means of plates s and t, the plate s carries terminals
(or binding screws or posts) ' and 'which are connected by wires or conductors
with the terminals (or binding posts or screws) u and v, whilst the terminals (or
binding posts or screws) of the plate t are connected to the terminals o and p, so that
according to the existing connections (or connections as illustrated by the drawings)
the plates forms the positive and plate t forms the negative pole of the battery (or
combined batteries). The line wires (or main circuit) x and y are connected to the
terminals and respectively.
In order to be able to follow the course of the current let us suppose the arm 6 to
be in the position illustrated by the drawings that is to say is in connection with the
button 17. The current passing out of the positive poles of the battery or com-
bined batteries enters the bar a, thence through wires w w into or through the
plates, enters the wirez, passes through y into the plate t and thence through
wires to w to the rubbing or contact rings i and k. The rubbing or contact
springs m and n transmit the current into the arm b which returns the current (or

page_text: completes the circuit) to the battery or combined batteries through its connection
with 17.
By turning the arm b towards the left, it is possible to weaken or reduce (the
electro motive force of) the current because for every contact button that is cut
out of circuit two elements of the battery (or combined batteries) are cut out.
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.
1. Apparatus for connecting in any desired variable combination, two electrical
currents, which are composed of (or produced by) a number of elements (or cells)
which number may be the same for both batteries or it may be different for each
battery which are capable of being reduced as to their strength or electromotive
force without interrupting their action, and whose four poles are brought together
into two electrodes (or poles) for further use the arrangement being such that
the (or positive) poles are electrically connected (or transmitted) from the place
(or point) of contact e by means of a transmitter a and contact devices l, h, o on the
one hand and by means of (the axis) c on the other hand to the contact plugs c¹
and o, whereas the (negative) poles are transmitted from or connected with
contact buttons 2, 4, 6, 8
according to the location of the rotary arm b, by
means of the devices m, i, and n, k, from the contact points p and r, to the plugs pl
and of the plates s and t, and from which they are transmitted to the electrodes
or conductors x and y.
-
2. An apparatus as specified in Claim 1 by which the positive poles (connected
together at the contact point e) of two batteries are transmitted or connected
exclusively to the centre c by means of a transmitter or bar a¹ whence they are
again transmitted or connected as separate currents by means of the two contact
terminals o and o¹ to the first and second contact plugs o' c¹ whereas the - (or
negative) poles of these batteries, according to the location of the arm 6 on the
contact buttons 2, 4, 6, 8 .. are brought together on to said buttons in
increasing strength, and are transmitted (or connected) only by a rubbing (or
contact) spring and a ring to a contact point p" with two plates p and r for
connection to the third and fourth contact plugs p¹ and ¹, and are brought together
on the plates 8 and t, by interchangeably inserting the said four contact plugs and
are then transmitted from (or connected with) said plates into (or to) the electrodes
or conductors x and y.
Dated this eth J. f 1002
ALEX. P. WRIGHT,
Manager for J. G. Lorrain, Memb. Inst. E.E., Memb. Inst. M.E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.