AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE DYNAMICAL PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Westinghouse, junior, of Canal· Road, King's
Cross, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE DYNAMICAL PRODUCTION
OF ELECTRICITY,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Westinghouse, jr.,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th August 1881.
.
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, junior, of Canal Road, King's Cross, in the County
of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
DYNAMICAL PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY."
When electricity is dynamically produced the production varies with the speed
of the dynamo-electric machine employed, and it may also be varied by altering
the position of the field magnets of the machine relatively to the coils on which
their induction is exerted. My Invention relates to means of automatically
regulating the production of electricity dynamically by employing the electricity
itself as a governor in the following manner:-In the main circuit of the electric
current or in a by-pass circuit I introduce a solenoid coil having an iron core free
to move within it, and urged in one direction by a weight or spring. To this core
I attach a balanced valve which governs admission and emission ports of a cylinder.
The piston of the cylinder is connected to the regulating valve of the engine which
drives the dynamo-electric machine, and the cylinder is furnished with a supply of
steam, or water, or other fluid under pressure. According as the electricity passing
through the coil of the solenoid varies, the core is caused to move, and the valve
being thus shifted the piston is subjected to pressure on the one side or the other.
The piston moving in obedience to the pressure alters the regulating valve of the
main engine, and thus causes it to move, and to drive the dynamo-electric machine
with greater or less rapidity, as the case may be. The regulating piston may be
subjected to the fluid pressure only on one side, being urged in the opposite
direction by an adjustable spring; instead of connecting the piston to the regulating
valve of the engine, it may be connected to one or more of the field magnets of the
dynamo-electric machine, these magnets being fitted to slide to or from the
revolving coils. According as the regulating piston is urged in the one direction
or the other, the field magnets connected to it are advanced towards or withdrawn
from the revolving coils; thus inducing currents more or less powerfully, as the
case may be.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Westinghouse, jr., in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th January 1882.
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, junior, of Canal Road, King's Cross; in the 'County
of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
DYNAMICAL PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY."
When electricity is dynamically produced the production varies with the speed
of the dynomo-electric machine employed, and it may also be varied by altering
the position of the field magnets of the machine relatively to the coils on which
their induction is exerted. My Invention relates to means of automatically
regulating the production of electricity dynamically by employing the electricity
itself as a governor, as I will describe with reference to the accompanying
Drawings. Fig. 1 is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 is a plan of one form of
governor which I employ, Fig. 1a being a part section to an enlarged scale of
the governing valve and ports, shewn to a smaller scale in Fig. 1. A modified
arrangement of the governor is shewn in Fig. 3, which is a section partly in
elevation in Fig. 4, which is a_plan_partly in section, and Fig. 5 which is a
transverse section on the line X, X, of Fig. 4.
A is a solenoid coil forming part of the electrical circuits A', A², to which the
governor is applied; or it may be of a by-pass-circuit receiving a portion of the
main current. The coil is wound on a tube A³ in which is free to move a soft iron
core B having its stem supported by an adjustable spring b. Under the solenoid is
a stand D, part of which is formed as a cylinder D¹ fitted with a piston D³, which
is pressed back by a spring d. By a nozzle D' steam or compressed air, or water, or.
other liquid under pressure is supplied to a channel c, from which there is a cross
passage e to a channel d leading into the cylinder D, and a continuation e' of the
cross passage leading to a discharge channel d³, which communicates with the front
part of the cylinder D¹ by a passage d³. The stem B¹ of the solenoid core B is
continued down in a hole c', and forms by its end a valve v which governs the
communication between the passages e, d³, and e¹, as more clearly shewn in Fig. 1.
The rod D³ of the piston D' being connected to the regulating valve of the engine
which drives the dynamo-electric machine, the governor operates as follows:-
When the electricity is produced in excess, the core B is attracted downwards, and
the valve being thus depressed fluid under pressure passes from c past the
reduced parts of the rod B¹ to d', and pressing on the piston D³ causes it to
advance, closing more or less the regulating valve of the engine, and so reducing
the speed of it and of the electric machine driven by it, thereby lessening the
production of electricity. When the production is too small, the spring b raises
the core B and its rod B', and the valve v being thus raised fluid escapes from the
cylinder D¹ by the passages d¹ and e' to d³, and the piston D² being thus relieved
of pressure the spring & urges it backwards, thereby opening more or less the
regulating valve of the engine, so that the speed of the engine and of the electric
machine driven by it is increased. The passage d' allows escape of such fluid as
may leak past the piston D. A collar b¹ on the rod B¹ stops the jet of such fluid
as may leak up the hole c¹, and the fluid that may thus leak into A³ can escape by
a hole 6ª bored down into the channel d³. In the modified arrangement shewn in
Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the parts above described are retained, as indicated by corre-
sponding letters; but in addition thereto there are means of producing the fluid
pressure to operate on the piston D. This is effected in the following manner :-
Under the cylinder D¹ is a vessel W holding liquid, and communicating by a
passage m with a small rotary pump of known kind consisting of two toothed
d

page_text: wheels m¹, m³, caused to revolve within a casing, so as to force the liquid by the
passage n into the supply channel c, the pressure being limited by the adjustment
of a spring to a relief valve r in a chamber R. The liquid that escapes from R,
from D, and from A³, returns to the vessel W to be pumped over again.
Instead of connecting the piston rod D³ to the regulating valve of the engine
that drives the electric machine, it may be connected to one or more of the field
magnets of the machine, these magnets being fitted to slide radially. When the
electric production is too great the piston rod D³ moved, as above described,
withdraws the field magnets from the revolving coils of the machine, and thus
lessens their inducing power, and consequently diminishes the production of
electricity. When on the other hand the electric production is too small, the field
magnets are by the back movement of the piston D³ caused to approach the
revolving coils, so as to increase the production.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claim,-
First. The herein described method of regulating the dynamical production of
electricity by applying the movement of a solenoid core subject to the current
produced to work a valve or slide, governing the action of fluid pressure on a
piston connected to the regulating valve of the engine, which works the dynamo-
electric machine, or to the field magnets of the machine.
Second. The construction of regulating apparatus, substantially as herein
described with reference to Figs. 1, 1, and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The modified construction of regulating apparatus, substantially as
described. with reference to Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Westinghouse, junior, have hereunto.
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
GEO. WESTINGHOUSE, JR. (L.S.)