Improvements in Switches for Primary or Secondary Batteries.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Aug., 1892-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by HERMANN MÜLLER, of Nuremburg, in the
Empire of Germany.]
Improvements in Switches for Primary or Secondary Batteries.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake and Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In
This invention relates to switches for primary or secondary batteries.
connection with such switches by which a resistance prevents the short-circuiting
of single cells, a special contact breaking apparatus is applied which immediately
before the sliding contact leaves the contact piece of the cell, either opens the
circuit of the cell closed by the resistance, or switches in this resistance so that
the generation of sparks does not take place at the switch, but at the special
contact breaking apparatus. The necessary motion is given to this apparatus by
the sliding contact either in a mechanical or an electro-mechanical manner.
For the same purpose a special breaking apparatus is arranged which con-
tinuously connects the contact pieces of the cell closed at the same time by the
sliding contact of the switch as long as the sliding contact requires to finish its
prescribed path, while the motion of the breaking apparatus is given likewise by
that of the sliding contact.
Dated this 7th day of December 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Switches for Primary or Secondary Batteries.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
•
With battery apparatus, that is to say, apparatus which serve the purpose of
switching in and out single cells and which consist in general of a sliding way
formed by contact pieces with a contact maker sliding over them, the generation of
sparks has pernicious and destructive effects particularly on apparatus of larger
size.
The application of intermediate resistances as they are used in actual practice
which prevents a direct short circuit in switching in and out the cells will diminish
the generation of sparks but it cannot entirely prevent it.
The object of the present improvement is to transfer this generation of sparks,
from the contact maker of the cells to a special contact breaking apparatus, at the
interchangeable contact surfaces of which the sparks originate.
In the accompanying drawing, the figures of which are hereinafter referred to,
I have shown how my said invention may be conveniently and advantageously
carried into practice.
Figures 1 and 2 show the invention diagrammatically
are the cells,
the contact pieces in connection with the cells n the intermediate
resistances connected with the pieces and K the sliding contact.
Special switches a, are also shown which at first are supposed to be closed. In

page_text: at i¹.
both illustrations the sliding contact is shown in the position it occupies at the
moment it is on the point of leaving the piece i', thus breaking the circuit of the
cell closed by the resistance w in consequence of which sparks would be generated
The switch as shown in Figure 1 however breaks the circuit a short time
before this happens, and the switch represented in Figure 2, makes a short circuit
between n and m, so that in both cases the slide leaves the piece without
sparking.
From the above described arrangement it will be seen how the generation of
sparks at the sliding contacts of the battery switches is prevented and how such
sparking is transferred to special switches.
Figure 3 represents the arrangement of battery switch with a slide composed of
two contact pieces k and which are electrically connected with each other by a
common resistance w. The intermediate pieces ¹ P³ ³ . are made of nonconducting
material. The switches a band a' b¹ which are arranged in the circuits connecting
the resistance w correspond as regards their arrangement, to the switch a of
Figure 1.
The operation of these switches in switching in and out single cells, is effected by
the apparatus shown in Figure 3ª.
This apparatus is a combination of the two switches a band a' b'; it has a double
contact lever composed of two single contact levers and insulated from but
mechanically connected with each other. These levers connect the segments a b
and a alternately (see the similarly marked points of the switches shown in
Figure 3).
This double lever s¹s is moved synchronously with the slide of the battery switch
so that by turning the former 180° the slide is shifted from the position shown in
Figure 3 to the position represented in Figure 9, that is to say, as far as it is
necessary to switch in or out one cell. In Figures 3 and 3 respectively the
switch a b is closed and the switch a' is open. The current from the battery
must therefore pass from the contact piece c² through the resistance w to the point
at which it is to be utilized..
In Figure 4 the double sliding contact k¹ is shifted one half of the pitch to the
right, at the same time as the double lever in Figure 4 has made of a
revolution. In consequence of which the switches a band a b¹ have been closed
and the battery supplies the current from the contact piece c³ to the place where it
is utilized while cell is sending a current through the resistance w.
In Figure 5 the slide is shifted a small fraction of the pitch more to the right.
The slide k is still in contact with the contact piece of cell 22, while the slide k;
covers more than one half of c³. In the meantime however the switch a b has
been opened, see Figure 5A, so that the cell z no longer sends a current through
the resistance w. A further shifting of the slide k¹ to the position shown in
Figure 6 will take place without any sparking between c³ and k.
In Figure 7 both switches ab and a being closed the current passes to the
place at which it is to be utilized as shown in Figure 6 from cell ** through
the contact piece c³.
In Figure 8 the sliding contact touches the same contact pieces as it does in
Figure 7 but the current does not pass directly to the place at which it is to be
used being compelled to pass from the contact piece k through the resistance to
the switch ab having been opened in the meantime. As the sliding contact k¹
does not convey any more current, there will be no sparking as it passes to the
position shown in Figure 9.
In Figure 9 the sliding contact is in the same position relatively to cell 2* as it is
in Figure 3 to cell and in the same way the positions of the switches a 6 and a' 61
in Figures 3 and 9 and in Figures 3 and 9ª respectively correspond to each other.
Consequently we have arrived at the end of the period during which, the switching
out of the cell is effected. If the sliding contact kk' is shifted further on, the
same positions as explained already in Figures 3-9 will be the result, in the same
or the opposite succession according to the direction in which the sliding contact is

page_text: moved. At the same time every motion of the sliding contact will take place
without sparking at the sliding ways, and the sparks will always be generated at
the switches ab and a' b', which secondary apparatus, when worn, can easily be
renewed.
It is evident that these switches can be arranged and actuated in a manner
differing from that shown in Figures 3 and 4. Thus from the combination of
switch a b with switch a' 6' results a simple two way switch, as shown by the dotted
lines in Figure 9.
Any mechanical rotary or oscillating motion which is synchronous with the
motion of the sliding contact k k¹ can serve to actuate any suitable switching
apparatus in such a way that the generation of sparks at the sliding ways of the
battery switches is diminished or entirely obviated.
Figure 10 represents this arrangement attached to the accumulator switch
described in a former Patent No. 2040 of 1891.
The further development of the arrangement shown in Figure 2 would be
analogical to that of Figure 1 as here also instead of the switch a in Figure 2
there would have to be arranged a switching apparatus actuating synchronously
with the motion of the sliding contact k.
As the necessary arrangement does not differ substantially from that which is
shown in Figures 3-9 I have not thought it necessary to give any further
explanation.
An example of how the translation of the motion can be practically effectuated
is given in Figure 11. As results from the foregoing description, one half of a
revolution of the arms and must correspond to the translation of the sliding
contact from one contact piece to the next one. For this purpose a bevel gear,
which is attached to the screw of the sliding contact, translates the revolutions
of the screw to the axle of the contact breaking apparatus in the necessary
proportion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In connection, with battery switches in which a resistance prevents the short
circuiting of single cells, the application of a special contact breaking apparatus
which immediately before the sliding contact leaves the contact piece of the cell
either opens the circuit of the cell closed by the resistance (Figure 5) or switches
in this resistance (Figure 8) so that the generation of sparks does not take place at
the battery switch but at the special contact breaking apparatus while motion is
imparted to this apparatus by the sliding contact either mechanically or electro-
mechanically.
2. The arrangement of a special contact breaking apparatus, which connects
continuously the contact pieces touched at the same time by the sliding contact of
the battery switch so long as the sliding contact has not finished its movement
while motion is imparted to the contact breaking apparatus by the sliding
contact.
Dh: 02-] 1 CA1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.