Improvements in Electric Lighting for Velocipedes, Cabs, Broughams, Omnibuses, Tramcars, or any other Vehicle, and in the Method
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 20th July, 1897-Accepted, 4th Sept., 1897
Improvements in Electric Lighting for Velocipedes, Cabs, Broughams,
Omnibuses, Tramcars, or any other Vehicle, and in the Method of
Generating and Storing Electrical Energy therefor by the utiliza-
tion of the Motive Power of the said Velocipedes, Cabs, Broughams,
Omnibuses, Tramcars, or any other Vehicle.
I, ALBERT MONTAGUE ARMSTRONG of No. 59 Derby Road Croydon in the County
of Surrey Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the construction and driving of a dynamo suitably
mounted on a velocipede cab břougham omnibus tramcar or any other vehicle and its
electrical connection with a secondary battery or batteries and with an electric lamp
or lamps fixed on or carried by the same velocipede cab brougham omnibus tramcar
or other vehicle.
The object of the invention is to obtain means for driving the dynamo through
suitable gearing connected with one or more of the wheels of the velocipede cab
brougham omnibus tramcar or any other vehicle and for connecting such dynamo
with the second battery or batteries and with the lamp or lamps.
The invention may be briefly described as follows. A shunt or compound wound
dynamo of suitable construction is so arranged that it can be driven in either of two
ways, firstly by means of a friction pulley bearing on the front of the periphery or
edge of one or more of the wheels of the velocipede cab brougham omnibus tramcar
or other vehicle and secondly by means of a friction or toothed wheel fixed on the
hub nave or spokes of one or more of the wheels of the velocipede cab brougham
omnibus tramcar or other vehicle and driving on to a band or bicycle or similar chain
or friction wheel or wheels the intermediate gearing in either case between the
driving friction pulley or toothed wheel and the armature of the dynamo being of
suitable character and consisting of other friction or cog or chain or band driven
pulleys.
An arrangement is provided whereby the dynamo may be put in or out of
connection with its driving gear at will.
The dynamo is fitted with an improved drum or ring armature, and is self
exciting. The current from the dynamo is led to the secondary battery or batteries
through an electro magnetic or mechanical automatic switch which completes the
circuit when the velocipede cab brougham omnibus tramcar or other vehicle is in
motion or is running above a certain speed; and breaks the circuit directly the
velocipede cab brougham omnibus tramcar or other vehicle is stopped or is running
below a certain speed. Another switch operated by a person in or on the
velocipede cab brougham omnibus tramcar or other vehicle connects the circuits of the
dynamo and battery or batteries and lamp or lamps as follows. In the first position
of the switch the circuits are disconnected. In the second position of the switch
one of the batteries (which we will call A) is connected to the lamp or lamps, and the
other battery (which we will call B) to the circuit of the dynamo. In the third
D

page_text: position of the switch the battery B is connected with the lamp or lamps and the
battery A with the circuit of the dynamo.
Dated this 20th day of October, One thousand eight hundred and ninety-six.
Improvements in Electric Lighting for Velocipedes, Cabs, Broughams,
Omnibuses, Tramcars, or any other Vehicle and in the Method of
Generating and Storing Electrical Energy therefor by the
utilization of the Motive Power of the said Velocipedes, Cabs,
Broughams, Omnibuses, Tramcars, or any other Vehicle,
I, ALBERT MONTAGUE ARMSTRONG of 59 Derby Road Croydon in the County of
Surrey Gentleman 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 relates to the construction of a gearing for driving a dynamo suitably
mounted on a cab, brougham, omnibus, tramcar, or any other vehicle and its
electrical connection with a secondary battery or batteries and with an electric lamp
or lamps fixed on or carried by the said cab, brougham omnibus, tramcar, or other
vehicle.
The object of the invention is to obtain means for driving the dynamo through
suitable gearing connected with one or more of the wheels of the cab, brougham
omnibus, tramcar, or any other vehicle and for connecting such dynamo with the
secondary battery or batteries and with the lamp or lamps through suitable switches
automatic and otherwise.
Fig. I of the drawings accompanying this specification is an elevation and
Fig. II is a plan of the back part of a vehicle (a brougham for example) on which is
mounted a dynamo and its driving gear, connected with one of the wheels of the
vehicle. W is a wheel of the vehicle, and bolted or otherwise fixed to the spokes of
this is a toothed wheel I carrying a bicycle chain (omitted from the drawing for the
.sake of clearness) which gears into a pinion or small toothed wheel P fitted on the
extremity of a counter shaft c.
Any suitable mechanical clutch A sliding on c gears in and out of P and allows it
either to rotate the shaft c or to turn loose thereon. b. b. are bearings for c carried on
arms fixed to the axletree of the vehicle.
Fixed on the shaft c is a flanged pulley F which is connected by a belt (not shewn)
with the smaller flanged pulley p on the armature shaft of the dynamo D or the
connection between these two shafts may be by means of a bicycle chain and toothed
wheels, or similar means.
The dynamo D is fixed on a base plate y which in its turn is mounted on the axle
of the vehicle so that the relative positions of the dynamo and counter shaft and
driving wheel remain unchanged and the driving of the dynamo is thus unaffected
by jolting etc. The dynamo is provided with a suitable weather and dust proof
cover it (the dynamo) may be of any design adapted to the charging of
accumulators.
Conducting wires pass from the dynamo to the various apparatus in and about the
vehicleas indicated by the diagram Fig IV.
Fig III represents the general construction of the automatic switch the action of
which is more particularly referred to in connection with Fig. IV. It consists of a
fixed electro magnet E with curved polepieces G G the former being supported by

page_text: the nonmagnetic metal pieces H and J on the base B preferably also of metal. The
cheeks C. C. of the coil of the magnet E are made thick to enable the crosspiece Z
to be fixed thereto the hole h in Z forming a bearing for one end of the shaft S.
On S is fixed a bar electromagnet a the coil of which & is wound with a suitable
length of wire of approximately the same size as that on the shunt coil of the
dynamo the ends of the coil & are connected with terminals either through short
lengths of flexible wire, or by means of the two part commutator M and metal
brushes Y Y shewn in Fig. III.
3. is the cross section of the core of the magnet a and shews also one of the coil
cheeks. The two part commutator M is mounted on a turned piece of insulating
material provided with a flange f (which bears up against the edges of the coil &)
and a set screws for tightening it in position on the shaft S on which it is
threaded.
j is another flanged piece of insulating material also threaded onto the shaft S and
provided with a set screw j carries the metal and carbon contact pieces m m and d. d.
m. m. being connected across by a piece of wire w and the arrangement forms
what may be described as a short circuited two part commutator against which press
the metal brushes X X.
At the end of the shaft is a helical spring N (or similar controlling device) the
inner end of which is fixed to the shaft while the other passes through a pinching
stud O fixed on the metal upright U which forms also the other bearing for the
shaft S.
The coil K of the fixed electromagnet E is wound with thick wire of a size sufficient
to carry the main current from the dynamo: a few turns of wire e similar in size to
and in series circuit with the wire k on the movable magnet a are also wound on E.
When no current is passing through either of the coils the spring N keeps the
magnet a in a position relative to the pole pieces of the fixed magnet as shown at Q
in Fig. 3 and in this position no current can flow across the brushes X X which as
will be presently shewn are in series circuit with the coil K and the main circuit of
the dynamo (vide Fig. 1V). When the dynamo begins to rotate the current in its
shunt eircuit, passes also through the coils of the fixed and movable magnets and e
in such a direction that they mutually attract one another against the force of the
spring N and as the electromotive force of the dynamo increases the magnet a moves
round more and more in the direction shewn by the curved arrows (Fig. III) until
when the electromotive force of the dynamo is sufficient to enable it to charge the
batteries the short circuited commutator m. m. d. d. closes the main circuit of the
dynamo and allows current to flow into the accumulator.
At this moment current also flows through the thick wire coil K of the magnet E
greatly strengthening the magnet E and holding the movable magnet a fast within
its poles so that the dynamo circuit cannot be opened by any shaking or jolting of
the vehicle.
If the electromotive force of the dynamo falls below the proper amount the current
in the main circuit will get weaker and at last the spring N will bring the movable
magnet into its original or "off" position at the same time opening the main
circuit at m. m. d. d. if through any mischance the battery should attempt to force
current back through the dynamo the polarity of the magnet E will be reversed
while that of magnet a will remain the same, the two will thus repel each other and
the main circuit will be opened at m. m. d. d.
A diagram of the electrical connections of the apparatus is given in Fig. IV where
R is the dynamo armature tt, its terminals g its shunt coil K the thick coil on the
magnet E, e the thin coil on the same k the coil on the movable magnet m. m. d. d.
the short-circuited commutator which opens or closes the main circuit, and u two
secondary batteries and r the lamps.
The dynamo and battery and lamp circuits are interconnected through any form
changeover or reversing switch V as shewn diagrammatically in Fig. IV. In the
position shewn where the moving contacts of the switch are touching the contacts q.q.
battery is connected with the lamps and battery u with the dynamo, If the

page_text: switch be put on to the contacts x. x, battery u will be in connection with the lamps,
and battery with the dynamo. If the switch is put off, the batteries are disconnected
from both dynamo and lamps.
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:-
(a) The method of mounting and driving the dynamo from the wheel of the
vehicle as herein set forth.
(b) The arrangement and method of electrical connection of the dynamo
and two accumulators with each other and with the lamps herein described and
illustrated.