Apparatus for Electrical Distribution of Energy.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Feb., 1890--Accepted, 29th Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Electrical Distribution of Energy.
I, JOHN MACINTOSH MACKAY MUNRO 6 Charing Cross, Glasgow North Britain,
Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention has for its object to improve and simplify the appliances used
for distributing electrical energy.
In electrically distributing energy for the purposes of electric lighting, or motive
power, &c., over any considerable area, the continuous current systems, usually now
adopted for small installations, need so much copper that they are inadmissable.
The use of high tension alternate currents with transformers in series or parallel,
while overcoming this defect, has disadvantages of its own :-Thus, as yet, no good
alternate current motor has been produced, the fluctuations in the line prejudicially
affect neighbouring telegraph or telephone conductors, and it has also other minor
disadvantages. But what is fatal to its claim to be a perfect system of distribution
is its inability to charge accumulators. For the use of these, especially when they
become better and cheaper than now, will enable electric light and power distribution
companies to spread their work over the twenty four hours, instead of having to
provide plant equal to the greatest demand of any moment of the year.
To overcome these difficulties I propose to use high tension continuous currents
or varying strength with transformers in series or parallel. The variations in
strength of current will not be abrupt as in an ordinary make and break arrange-
ment, but undulating like waves; only they will not be alternately positive and
negative as in an alternate current system, but, while varying up and down within
any desired range and at any desired rapidity of vibration, will always be in what
is known as one direction. These variations in current strength-variations either of
current or of electro motive force or both-will so act in transformers, which may
be arranged in series or parallel, that currents suitable for electric lighting or for
actuating some forms of alternate current motors or for other purposes, may be obtained
from, the secondary coils of the transformers. Accumulators can be charged on the
same circuit as the transformers or on a separate circuit from the same source, or
they can be put in series while the transformers are in parallel, or vice versa, or
partly in both ways. The essential point in so using accumulators is to see that the
potential difference is never small enough at any part of the wave to allow of the
current being made to flow back by the cells, otherwise the cells would not store up
energy. Yet it is possible to so arrange the amplitude of the wave that accumulators
in the circuit, by discharging during the periods of lower tension, can make the
currents in the line to become really alternating, if so desired, to heighten action in
the transformers or for other reason. And the accumulators used may for this purpose not
only be chemical accumulators as now made by the Electrical Power Storage Company
for example but may be condensers or may be connected systeins of earthed or "twin
"conductors. It will be evident that such condensers may be so con-
or "concentric'
structed as to absorb and give out their charge gradually, not abruptly, and so to act
as a cushion that the appliance for effecting the changes in current strength may be
made much more abrupt in its action than it could otherwise be.
وو
The wave in the current strength may be so produced as to affect the whole circuit
alike or it may be produced so as to affect only small portions of the circuit as, for
example, the primaries of the transformers, leaving the current in main circuit as
steady as possible.
The variation wave may be produced by any of the well known devices used for
varying current strength but several new and special devices are described in the
following lines. The. device used must vary according to whether it is desired to

page_text: affect the whole circuit or only a part of it. One method of producing this wave
(which preferably should have a vibrating speed of at least one hundred per second)
would be to make a multipolar dynamo having its armature coils and its pole pieces
so placed with reference to each other that a fluctuating current is produced.
In dynamos where the electro magnets have little or no iron, and, if any, having it
well laminated, the magnetising current might be made to vary.
With machines constructed for such use it would, I think, be possible to take off a
fluctuating current without undue sparking at the collecting brushes.
Another method would be to have several circuits and have a very rapidly rotating
commutator varying the currrent distribution among them so that there would be no
very abrupt changes nor excessive sparking.
Where the waves are to affect only the primaries of transformers and almost not
at all the line, little vibrating or rotating commutators would need to be provided
one at each transformer or group of transformers. These little commutators could
be actuated in any usual manner by the current itself or otherwise; or they could
be worked by faint pulses in the main line in unison with their period of swing
or by a supplementary line. Their action would be to bridge or otherwise cut
out the primaries so that they would carry no current and alternately restore them
to the maximum current flow again. They would do this preferably by sections to
reduce sparking. Two coils side by side could be effectively worked thus the one
coil gaining as the other lost and vice versa. The two coils could be two primaries
wound on one transformer. Or the current could be reversed in section after section
of the primary of an ordinary transformer. Or, instead of being cut out by sections,
the coil might be so wound that the current would so impede itself as to convert
a sudden short circuiting or interruption into a wave like rise or flow.
What I believe to be novel and desire to claim as the Invention secured to me
by this patent is,
1. In a system of electrical distribution of energy for district electric lighting,
the combination of secondary batteries, transformers and uni-directional currents so
that the generating plant which supplies current for actuating the transformers can
also, at the same time, or at other times charge the secondary batteries.
2. In a system of electrical distribution of energy the combination of secondary
batteries, transformers and uni-directional currents of rapidly varying strength so
that the generating plant which supplies current for actuating the transformers can
also at the same time charge the secondary batteries.
3. In a circuit in which flows electricity of rapidly varying, that is, of undulating
strength the use of secondary batteries for the purpose of increasing, in the manner
described, the amplitude of the undulations.
4. In an electric circuit distributing energy by means of undulating electric
currents and secondary transformers, the use of secondary batteries for the purpose
of cushioning or rounding off too abrupt changes in the strength of the current.
5. In an electric circuit distributing electricity for electric lighting by means of
undulating electric currents the use of condensers for the purpose of cushioning and
rounding off too abrupt changes in the strength of the current.
6. In a system of electrical distribution of energy the combination of steady or
approximately steady currents in the mains with rapid undulations in the current in
the sections or branches containing the transformers.
7. A transformer constructed so that by a suitable device the current can be
interrupted in, or the direction of the current can be reversed in, the primary by
sections at a time.
8. In a high tension "continuous current" system of electricity distribution, a
rotary or vibrating commutator used for the purpose of producing undulations in the
flow of current in, or changes of the effective length of the primary of a transformer
or transformers.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Electrical Distribution of Energy.
1, JOHN MACINTOSH MACKAY MUNRO, of 136 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Electrical Engineer, 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 :-
The Invention has for its object to improve and simplify the appliances used for
distributing electrical energy.
In electrically distributing energy for the purposes of electric lighting or motive
power etc. over any considerable area the continuous current systems usually now
adopted for small installations need large outlays for copper. The use of high tension
alternate currents with transformers in series or parallel, while overcoming this defect
has disadvantages of its own :-Thus as yet no good alternate current motor has been
produced, the fluctuations in the line prejudically affect neighbouring telegraph or
telephone conductors, and it has also other minor disadvantages. But what is fatal
to its claim to be a perfect system of distribution is its inability to charge accumu-
lators. For the use of these, especially when they become better and cheaper than
now, will enable electric light and power distribution companies to spread their work
over the twenty-four hours instead of having to provide plant equal to the greatest
demand of any moment of the year.
To overcome some, or all, of these difficulties I propose to use continuous currents
of varying strength with transformers in series or parallel. The variations in strength
of current will not be abrupt as in an ordinary make and break arrangement but
undulating like waves; only they will not be alternately positive and negative as in
an alternate current system, but while varying up and down within any desired range
and at any desired rapidity of vibration will always be in what is known as one
direction. Thus if A A, Figure 1, be the neutral line, and B represents the rise and
fall of an alternate current, that part above A being positive, and that below being
negative, then the curve C would represent the rise and fall of a unidirectional
undulating current. These variations in current strength-variations either of current
or of electro motive force, or both-will so act in transformers, which may be arranged
in series or parallel that currents suitable for electric lighting or for actuating some
forms of alternate current motors or for other purposes, may be obtained from the
secondary coils of the transformers. Accumulators can be charged on the same
circuit as the transformers, or on a separate circuit from the same source, or they can
be put in series while the transformers are in parallel, or vice versa, or partly in both
ways. It will often be more convenient to charge the accumulator during the bours
when the generating plant is not supplying transformers. The essential point in so
supplying accumulators by unidirectional waving current is to see that the potential
difference is never small enough at any part of the wave to allow of the current being
made to flow back by the cells, otherwise the cells would not store up energy. Yet it
is possible to so arrange the amplitude of the wave that accumulators in the circuit, by
discharging during the periods of lower tension, can make the currents in all or part
of the line to become really alternating, if so desired, to heighten action in the trans-
formers, or for other reason. And the accumulators used may for this purpose not
only be chemical accumulators as now made by the Electrical Power Storage Com-
pany, for example, but may be condensers or may be connected systems of earthed or
"twin "
or "concentric" conductors. It will be evident that such condensers may be
so constructed as to absorb and give out their charge gradually, not abruptly, and so
to act as a cushion that the appliance for effecting the changes in current strength
may be made much more abrupt in its action than it could otherwise be. To reduce
sparking in appliance for effecting change of current strength it would of course be
necessary that its period should have a definite relation to the capacity of the
condenser.
The wave in the current strength may be so produced as to affect the whole circuit

page_text: alike, or it may be produced so as to affect only small portions of the circuit, as for
example, the primaries of the transformers leaving the current in main circuit as
steady as possible.
The variation wave may be produced by any of the well-known devices used for
varying current strength, but several new and special devices are described in the
following lines. The device used must vary according to whether it is desired to
affect, the whole circuit or only a part of it. One method of producing this wave
(which preferably should have a vibrating speed of at least one hundred per second)
would be to make a multi-polar dynamo having its armature coils and its pole pieces
so placed with reference to each other that a fluctuating current is produced. A
Brush dynamo produces a fluctuating current and one of these, especially if of the old
pattern, with solid iron armatures, may be used as a rough-and-ready means of
obtaining an undulating current in a circuit.
In dynamos where the electro magnets have little or no iron, or if any, having it
well laminated; the magnetising current might be made to vary, being usually more
manageable than the main current of a dynamo.
Another method would be to have several circuits and have a very rapidly rotating
commutator varying the current distribution among them so that there would be no
very abrupt changes in the main wires nor excessive sparking at the commutator.
Where the waves are to affect only the primaries of transformers and almost not at
all the line little vibrating or rotating commutators as shewn in diagram marked R
would need to be provided one at each transformer or group of transformers. These
little commutators could be actuated in any usual manner by the current itself or
otherwise, or they could be worked by faint pulses in the main line in unison with
their period of swing or by a supplementary line. Their action would be to make
and break condenser connections or to bridge or otherwise cut out the primaries of
transformers so that they would carry no current and alternately restore them to the
maximum current flow again. They would perform this latter duty preferably by
sections to reduce sparking. Two coils side by side could be effectively worked thus,
the one coil gaining as the other lost, and vice versa. The two coils could be two
primaries wound on one transformer. Or the current could be reversed section after
section of the primary of an ordinary transformer. Or instead of being cut out
by sections the coil might be so wound that the current would so impede itself as to
convert a sudden short circuiting or interruption into a wave-like rise or flow. These
secondary batteries or condensers transformers and uni-directional currents can be
combined in various ways according to the results aimed at or the special circum-
stances of the installation.
In order that my Invention may be properly understood and readily carried into
effect I have hereunto appended two explanatory sheets of drawings illustrating
several ways of carrying out my Invention.
In the several Figures of these drawings L' L' are the electric main conductors;
1 are the electric service lines; a a are lamps; T represents the transformer.
In Figure 2, D) represents a dynamo producing a synchronously varying electro-
motive force giving unidirectional currents, the variation of electro-motive force
ranging from what will just balance the electro-motive force of the accumulator A to
what will charge the accumulator at its maximum rate.
The following method of winding the armature of a dynamo to obtain a varying
current may be employed. Take a Gramme ring arranged with more wire on two
opposite points, and let the amount of wire wound on gradually diminish to two
opposite points at right angles to the first two points. The current flowing into the
brushes from such an armature will vary from a maximum when the parts of the ring
with the greatest amount of wire are at the positions of maximum activity to a
minimum when the parts of the ring having the smallest quantity of wire are at the
positions of maximum activity.
The varying current thus sent through the primary coils of the transformer T
induces in the secondary coils alternate currents as an alternate primary current of
proportionate range would do.

page_text: Figure 3 is a modification of the arrangement in which the current from the
dynamo could be arranged to vary from zero up to full charging current of the
accumulator A.
In Figure 4 the dynamo D could supply the transformer T and accumulator A
either at the same time or at different times.
Figure 5 illustrates an arrangement in which the dynamo D¹ has constant or
practically constant electro-motive force, and sends a current to the primary of the
transformer T through a rotary or vibratory commutator R, making say 6000 or
more changes of contact per minute. The period of rotation is so chosen that the
circuit is broken or connections changed when the current is least or has almost ceased
to flow.
A¹ is a battery of rapidly rising counter electro-motive force, or a condenser of a
given capacity. When the electro-motive force of the battery or condensor A¹ is
equal to or nearly equal to the electro-motive force of the dynamo, so that the current
from the dynamo is stopped or almost stopped, the rotary conimutator R breaks the
connection between L² and the primary of the transformer T, and connects T to L',
thus discharging the accumulator or condenser A¹ through the primary of T. By:
this arrangement the primary of T is traversed by alternate currents. When A¹ is
fully discharged or its counter electro-motive energy at its lowest the commutator R
disconnects T from L', and connects it to L². This commutator could with advantage. `.
be a vibratory one, having its period of swing equal to the time of charge or
discharge of A².
Figure 6 shows an arrangement similar to Figure 5, except that the accumulator
or condensor is replaced by a dynamo 12 whose electro-motive force is much less than
that of dynamo D¹, until the magnetic action of the current from D¹ raises the
electro-motive force of D2 so as to stop the current through the primary of the
transformer T. The commutator R then breaks the connection between T and L,
and connects T to L'. The current from D2 now passes along the primary of T.
The dynamo D² might with advantage be a very small dynamo or motor, having little
or no iron in the field magnets, going at a very high speed, say 5,000 to 10,000
revolutions per minute, and the commutator R could be driven by it, or by any other
motive-power, say for example one of Parson's rotary engines. When so high a
speed is not attainable or advisable, the commutator R can have several contact plates
connected alternately to L' and L2, the brush being preferably fitted so that there is
a distinct gap between contact with each separate plate. The dynamo D¹ in Figure 6
is shewn as charging at the same time one set of accumulators on the same circuit as
the transformer and one set on another circuit.
In Figure 7, D¹ is a constant current dynamo charging a battery A, and also a .
condenser A¹, (which in this case is represented as a pond of salt water separated
from earth by insulating cement), through the primary of a transformer T.
When
the condenser A¹ is charged to the full potential of the dynamo, L' is put to earth
by means of the commutator R, and the condenser A empties itself through T while
the charging of the battery A goes on continuously.
In Figure 8 the current from D₁ passes into a combination of dynamo and
transformer D³; such a dynamo may be constructed as a modification of the
continuous current step-down dynamo, modified so that the whole of the energy is
not transformed into mechanical movement and thence again into electrical
energy, but only so much as is requisite for rotating the transformer coils, or, if the
coils are stationary, then so much as is necessary to rotate the commutator or brushes.
Thus for example let the transformer primary with its core be a Gramme ring with a
commutator such as is usually put on a Gramme ring intended to give continuous
currents, and let the current from D' be led into it by brushes. If the brush be
made to rotate relatively to the ring the magnetic poles will thereby be made to
travel round the ring. Let C¹, Figure 9, represent an enlarged view of one half of
the ring which constitutes the primary of the transformer in the dynamo D³ Fig. 8.
The current at a given moment enters at the top and flows-downward-in-a right-hand
spiral. As the brushes rotate, the ring remaining stationary, one coil: after another

page_text: has the current in it reversed.
When a half turn is accomplished the current in the
whole half ring is reversed. The other half ring has a similar experience. If then-
an outer coil or an outer Gramme ring is slipped over the former to form the
secondary of the transformer and one half of it is represented by C³, and the points p¹
and p² are connected to the wires leading to lamps, then the magnetic changes
induced by the changing current in C will induce alternate currents in C². The
other half of (2 may be wound in series with the half shown. If so the two halves
will act as two coils in parallel, or as two in series, according as they are joined up,
or they may be entirely disconnected and used to supply separate circuits.
Figure 10 shows a continuous dynamo D' supplying current to two transformers T¹
and T. The primaries of these transformers have branch connections taken off.
throughout their length without however breaking their continuity. These con-
nections are led to contact plates of a commutator, the top and bottom plates being
utilised to connect the two primaries in series. An arm carrying two brushes, to
which are attached the positive and negative mains, revolves so that the point at
which the current enters the primaries is constantly being shifted, and the currents
in them therefore reversed, section by section. The consequent magnetic changes
induce currents in the secondary as described with reference to Figure 9.
In most of the diagrams only one transformer and one set of accumulators is
shown, but more than one may be used. For example several transformers may be
put in series with one condenser. Some of the combinations are especially suited
for supplying one transformer and one set of accumulators. The cells composing a
set of accumulators may be of any number from one up. When numerous they
may be divided and separated so that the various portions composing the set shall
form batteries at the points most useful and convenient. In special cases when
desirable, as for the reduction of sparking at a commutator or distributor, these
batteries may be varied in chemical composition so that when coupled up to mains of
somewhat higher electro-motive force than their own their counter electro-motive
force rapidly rises to balance it. Or the accumulators may take the form of
condensers. These condensers may be long strips of metal foil and insulated paper
rolled together, or may be sheets of water separated from each other. by insulating
cement or otherwise, or may be flat spirals of wire placed parallel together, separated
only by a thin layer of air or other dialectic, and which coils of wire or spirals may
or may not be utilised at the same time to act as transformers, or may be coils or
lengths of conductor laid in the sea or underground, or alongside other conductors,
such coils or wires being connected in a well-understood manner requisite to obtain
to the best advantage their action as condensers. The impeding. action of the
varying current upon itself which would occur in some of these forms of condensers
would be useful in some cases for the purpose of checking the first rush of current
into them, and so rounding off the wave.
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. The system of electric distribution of energy for district electric lighting by
means of uni-directional currents in combination with secondary batteries or
condensers and transformers, substantially as described and illustrated in the
drawings.
.2. A transformer constructed so that by a suitable device the current can be
interrupted in or the direction can be reversed in the primary by sections at a time,
as described and illustrated at Figures 9 and 10.
Dated this 26th day of February 1890
BOTTOMLEY & LIDDLE,
154, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicant's Agents.