of and Means for Transforming Electric Currents.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 18th Mar., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Process of and Means for Transforming Electric Currents.
I, HANS PETER JORGEN JULIUS THOMSEN, of the University Laboratory, Copen-
hagen, Denmark, Professor, and Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
It is desirable in galvano plastic, and plating establishment in electro chemical
laboratories and for other purposes to have an electric current of low tension
besides one of comparatively high tension. This has necessitated hitherto either
the use of very complicated transformers which besides other disadvantages
absorbed too much current, or to use separate plants for producing high and low
tension currents.
This invention is designed to produce by simple means, a current which shall
have the necessary high tension for lighting and power purposes and to produce
also a current of low tension for galvano plastic plating and similar purposes.
For this purpose an accumulator battery having groups of cells, arranged in series
is connected by shunt circuits from each group to a suitable commutator so that
the elements come into action successively either separately, or in small numbers,
and thus produce a current of correspondingly low tension obtained in succession
from the whole set of batteries.
In order that this invention may be the better understood, we now proceed to
describe the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the
letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the whole arrangement.
Figures, 2, 3, and 4 are a plan, a side view, and front view respectively of a
suitable commutator.
All twelve batteries are arranged in series and give their outer + and poles
current of high tension for the circuit, for instance for power or lighting purposes.
By means of a commutator b current of low tension passes from the accumulator
to a separate circuit for galvano plastic purposes. The commutator b, Figure 2,
consists of a cylinder e of insulating material covered with metallic caps e¹ and (2
at the ends its axle rests in bearings ffl so that it can be slowly but con-
tinuously rotated by means of the rope or gut pulley et.
Two metallic spirals hi inserted into the surface of the cylinder e make succes-
sively contact during one revolution with contact springs to g12, one contact
spring being always in contact with the spiral h and the contact spring next to
it with the spiral i.
In the position of the commutator shewn in Figure 1, the contact springs g
and make conducting contact with the spiral hand i. Therefore, only the
accumulator battery 2 is inserted during this position of the commutator. The
current passes from the commutator 2 through the current a to the spring g¹
spiral thence to contact k circuit 6 contact d to the working circuit, returns
at d² through circuit ², contact spiral i, circuit a², and back to the accumu-

page_text: lator battery 2. During each rotation of the commutator cylinder e all accumu-
lator batteries 1, to 12 come into action successively the contact springs g to ga
making contact in pairs, but alternately behind one another with the spirals h
and i
The cylinder e is rotated slowly say once in from 2-3 seconds, the alteration
of contact thus effected will cause a short interruption of the circuit lasting about
cne tenth of a second.
The
This interruption is of no importance for some purposes, but for other purposes
for instance for working inductors it is necessary to have an absolutely continu-
ous current. For this purpose the compensator c is used, which consists also of
an accumulator battery inserted in shunt circuit into the circuit b².
active surface of each cell of the compensator is larger than that of each cell of
the main accumulator battery but the number of cells in the compensator is less
than the number of cells in each group of the accumulator battery. For instance
if each group of cells contains four cells, the commutator has three cells, each of
which has four times the surface of the cells of the accumulator battery.
The compensator is arranged so that it is charged by the transformed current
as long as the same is working, and comes into action at the interruption of the
commutator, thus producing a compensating effect so that the current is prac-
tically a continuous current.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
-
1st. A process for transforming electric currents in which single cells or groups
of cells of an accumulator battery arranged in series come into action successively
in groups by means of a commutator so that the accumulator battery can produce
simultaneously currents of high and low tension.
2nd. For carrying out the process claimed in Claim 1, a commutator having a
cylinder of insulating material rotated continuously, provided with conducting
spirals which make successively contact with contact springs connected with the
several commutator groups, and thus bring them into the circuit successively
after each other.
3rd. For carrying out the process claimed in Claim 1 the arrangement of accu-
mulator cells which act during the short interruption of the circuit caused during
the rotation of the commutator and produce a compensating effect.
Dated this 18th day of January 1899.
FELL & JAMES,
Agants for the Applicant.