Improvements in Devices for Transferring to a Distance and Registering the Movement of Rotating Parts.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st July, 1898-Accepted, 1st Oct., 1898
Improvements in Devices for Transferring to a Distance and
Registering the Movement of Rotating Parts.
I, NICOLAUS BASENACH, of 32, Eisenbahnstrasse, Berlin, in the Empire of
Germany, Student of Electricity, 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 :-
This invention has for its object to transmit to a number of places the actual
position of rotating parts such for instance as a dial, mariner's compass or the
like, and to continuously indicate the same without in any way affecting the
movement of these parts. This object is attained by the following arrangement
which is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 shows a compass card, the actual position of which is to be transmitted
to the steering line on the indicator in Figure 5 and the registering apparatus,
Figure 6. For this object an aluminium ring d, Figure 1, is provided with fine
teeth or spikes on which small platinum balls are stuck. The latter, when the rose is
rotated, pass closely by contact pins c c c² 3 which are so bent that the platinum
balls when the card fluctuates pass by the pins always at an equal or similar distance.
A difference of potential exists between the pins c (which are conductingly con-
nected one with another) and the pins c¹ c² 3, which difference of potential is con-
stantly maintained by means of transformers A1 A2 A3. The primary coils a¹ a² a³ of
the same are fed by an alternating current of high frequency; the secondary
coils b1 62 63 are placed with their like poles connected to the pins cl cc³, while the
opposite poles of the secondary coils are conductingly connected with one another"
and carried to the contact pins c. If no equalisation takes place between the
pins c c c and the pins c, that is to say if the secondary coils of the trans-
formers A1 A2 A3 are not closed, there passes through the primary coils only a non-
working current which may be kept somewhat small by a suitable construction of the
tranformers.
Figure 3 shows a relay, the three magnets f¹ f2 f³ of which are so inserted in the
primary circuit of the transformers that f¹ lies in series with the primary coil a', f,
in series with 2 and f³ in series with a³. The armatures e¹ e² e³ are conductingly
connected with one another and with one pole of the battery B so that they form
with the contact, pins c¹ c² c³ points of interruption for three parallel connected
circuits 1, 2, 3. The three larger magnets h¹ h² 3 of the relay, Figure 4, are so
inserted in the said circuit that h¹ lies in the circuit 1, h2 in the circuit 2 and h³ in
the circuit 3. The armatures 223 mounted on thin sheet springs may be retained
In their actual positions by the small magnets g¹ g² g³. The magnets g¹ g² g³ are
nserted in series and traversed by a current capable of being regulated by means of
resistance R.
Figure 5 shows indicators inserted in parallel which work in such a way that the
nagnets m n rotate by means of pawls and pawl wheel a card attached to the latter
n the same direction as that in which the card of the regulating compass moves,

page_text: There being two ratchet wheels (with teeth turned in opposite directions) and two
"anchors" for each escapement.
The apparatus shown in Figure 6 has for its object to constantly.and continuously
indicate the variations of the compass card from the steering line. For this object a
strip of paper is wound on a roller t, which paper passes with a constant speed under
a pencil z by means of a clockwork v, roller 8 and pressure rollers 12 and is wound
up on a holder x. This holder together with the paper strip p wound thereon may
be easily removed from the roller t in order to again insert an empty holder. The
magnets m and n by means of pawls and ratchet revolve a spindle p by which the
indicator or pencil z may be moved up and down. If the card of the regulating
compass, Figure 1, be assumed to revolve in the direction indicated by the arrow, in
the position shown a sparking stream will pass from the contact pin c3 to the
aluminium ring d and to the pin c, or in other words the transformer A³ is loaded
and the non-working current which passes through the primary coil a³ when in an
unloaded condition increases to a full current load.
This increase in the primary current causes in Figure 3. the magnet ƒ³ to attract
the armature es and therewith to close the battery circuit 3. This current flows
through magnet h³ in Figure 4, and produces an attraction of the armatures ¹²;
it then passes over armature i³ and terminal 13 into the wire 6, if it be previously
assumed that the armature 23 rests on the magnet h¹, excites the magnets n and
passes through wire o back to the battery B. If the card of the regulating compass
travels further in the direction of the arrow, the next spark springs over between c²
and c, the primary current in the transformer A2 increases, closes the battery cir-
cuit 2, 2, 2, by means of the inagnet 2 and thereby excites magnet h², Figure 4,
which then attracts armatures 1 and 3.
As, shortly before the magnet 2 is excited, the armature 2 rests still on the mag-
net h³ and thus on the terminal 12 in which position it is held fast by the small
inagnets g³, the current which is sent by the battery B through wire 2 into the
magnet 2 will then pass from the same over the armature 12 and the terminal 12 to
the wire and again excite magnets n; and on the further rotation of the card the next
spark will spring between c¹ and c whereby the circuit in the wire 1 will be closed in
the ordinary manner and the current will pass through magnet h¹ causing an
attraction of the armatures 2 and 3 and through the armature and the terminal (1
again into the wire as the armature ¹ still rests on the magnet g²; and so forth.
It is thus evident how the travel or movement of the compass card in the direction
indicated by the arrow causes in the relay, Figure 4, the large magnets-h¹, h² h³ to
.be excited in the succession h³, h², h¹, h³, h², h¹, and the battery current thereby each
time to be sent into the wire and the magnets n. If it be then assumed that the
compass revolves suddenly in an opposite direction so that the next spark springs
from 2 to c, battery current will be sent in the ordinary manner through wire 2 into
the magnet h², thus causing an attraction of the armatures 2 and 3, and will pass
over armature 22 and the terminal k² to the wire k, as the armature 22 is still
resting on the magnet h¹ and thereby on the terminal k², from the previous current
impulse.
When the card moves further in the direction opposite to that indicated by the
arrow, and a spark passes from 3 to c the battery current will again flow through
magnet h³ and the armature ³ into the wire k and thereby the magnets m will be
excited as the armature is still rests on the magnet h² and thus on the terminal k³
and so forth.
.
It is thus evident that the travel of the compass card in a direction opposite to
that of the arrow has the result that in the relay, Figure 4, the magnets h¹ h² h³ are
excited in the succession h¹, h2, h3, h1, h2, h³, whereby battery current is each time
sent into the wire le and to the magnets m. As by means of the pawl gearing Figure 5
which is in duplicate (the teeth being set in opposite directions) the indicating cards
will be turned to the left or the right and as the cogwheels on which the cards are
mounted have as many teeth as sparks spring over, when the card of the regulating
compass revolves to 360° it is evident that the indicating cards will always revolve
1.

page_text: with the same angular speed as the card of the regulating compass, or if the initial
position be equal they will always indicate the same as the regulating compass.
In Figure 6 the pencil z will be moved up and down by means of pawl gearing by
the excitement of the magnets m and n, so that said pencil will indicate on the
strip of paper which is moving forward beneath it at an uniform speed, a curved
line from which the position of the steering line to the north and south direction of
the card at any past time can be seen, thus affording the captain an exact check
over the steersman.
If it be desired to proceed further with the exactness with which the indicating
cards indicate the course, there must be arranged on the starter a very large number
of spark pieces which would make the construction of the regulating compass com-
plicated. The arrangement is therefore adopted of displacing the teeth on the
aluminium ring d, Figure 1, relative to the pins c c¹ c² c³ in the manner of a nonius
so that a very large number of sparking places are obtained without having to
employ too many pins and teeth.
Although by a suitable construction of the transformers the current arising on the
springing over of a spark into its secondary coils may be kept pretty sinall when the
card remains stationary for a long time, the respective sparking surfaces would very
rapidly wear if the arrangement shown in Figure 2 were not adopted. The disc y
is moved by means of pawl gearing and magnets m and n and on the periphery of
said disc strips of metal are placed, two of which are always connected with two
others lying diametrically opposite them. The three primary wires of the trans-
formers A¹, A2 A3 are carried to these strips of metal by means of rubbing springs or
brushes in such a way that the disc y acts as a three pole cutter out.
When a spark
springs over in the starting devices the disc y is turned so far by means of the
magnet m or n that the primary wire of the transformer loaded by the spark is dis-
connected or switched off and the spark is immediately extinguished. The transformer
remains so long disconnected until a spark springs over to the next sparking piece
whereby the second transformer is cut out and the first again connected and so forth.
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 I
claim is :-
1. A device for conveying to a distance and registering the movement of
rotating parts, such for instance as a dial, the card of a mariner's compass and
the like, characterized by a ring provided with points being arranged on the
article whose movement is to be transmitted to move past a circle of pins set
in the manner of a nonius with the points in such a way that the difference of
potential which is produced between pins lying diametrically opposite one another
by means of a system of transformers is equalized by sparks and thereby a momentary
increase of the non-working current is produced in the secondary circuit of the
transformer of the respective sparking piece, so that this current impulse may be
utilized in any suitable manner for transmitting the actual position of rotating parts,
substantially as herein before described.
2. A form of construction of the transmitting device hereinbefore described,
characterized by the current impulses being produced by the movement of the
rotating part in both directions of rotation in three or more wires inserted in parallel,
whereby three or more magnets connected with these wires are excited according to
the direction of rotation of the movement to be transmitted in such a succession
that armatures, swinging between the magnets and serving as cutters off or
disconnectors, distribute the current impulses in such a way over two or more wires
inserted in parallel after they have excited the magnets, that by means of magnets
inserted in these latter wires an indicating and registering apparatus operated by
pawl gearing is moved in the direction of the progression imparted from the starting
apparatus, substantially as herein before described.
3. In a transmitting device such as described, a form of construction of the
starting apparatus in which a permanent sparking caused by the compass card

page_text: being stationary is avoided by the primary circuit of the transformers being carried
over a disconnecter, which immediately after the springing over of a spark interrupts
the primary coil in question and thereby prevents a long continued springing over
of the said spark, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 30th day of June 1898.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.