IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATORS FOR DYNAMO OR MAGNETO ELECTRIC MACHINES OR GENERATORS
Year: 1884

page_text: J, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert and Company, Patent Agents,
of 67 Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATORS FOR DYNAMO OR
MAGNETO ELECTRIC MACHINES OR GENERATORS, to be as follows:-
The invention relates to Regulators for Dynamo or Magneto Electric Machines
or Generators, and has for its object to regulate or govern the current produced by
such generators, so that the proper relations may be maintained between the
amount of work done in the external circuit of the machine and the amount of
current generated and sent to the working circuit, whereby the greatest amount of
electric energy may be developed and utilized for the amount of mechanical force
exerted to drive the generator, the regulation may be instantaneous and the
necessary devices or mechanism for producing these results, may be simple and
inexpensive.
To these ends the invention consists in a regulator wherein the brushes are
automatically adjusted, and this automatic adjustment is the resultant of two forces,
the first or prime force which performs the greater portion of the work being
mechanical, as that which drives the machine or rotates the armature; and the
secondary force which performs the minor portion of the work, being electrical, as
the current in the external circuit, or a branch therefrom. This resultant action is
so dependent upon the two forces that produce it, that variations in either will
cause the regulator to operate properly to maintain the desired condition in the
current utilized. Thus if the speed of the armature, or field magnets, as the case
inay be, varies on account of the variations in the primary force driving it, this
variation will automatically modify the resultant action that controls the regulator,
in proportion to the variations of speed, and if changes occur in the current in the
external or working circuit, these changes will automatically modify the resultant
action that controls the regulator in accordance with the changes of the current.
In carrying out the invention I provide the shaft of the revolving armature or
magnets, with a friction disk rigidly secured thereto. Upon the disk and nearly

page_text: surrounding it is a yoke of soft iron, the ends of which are elongated and one of
them is bent at right angles toward the other. Proper means are supplied for
producing the necessary or desired initial pressure of the yoke upon the friction
disk and for regulating the initial distance of one arm from another. One end of
the yoke is provided with a weight or spring, which tends to hold the yoke in its
normal position and operates in opposition to the friction disk upon the armature
shaft, which latter tends to carry the yoke around with itself in proportion to the
friction between the disk and yoke, and to the velocity of rotation.
Upon the bent portion of the other end of the yoke is a coil of wire connected
directly, or by a branch, with the main working circuit of the machine. To the
yoke is secured the brush holder in such a position that when the yoke is in its
normal condition the brushes will receive the maximum amount of current
generated. A dash pot or other retarding device may be attached to the brush
holder to prevent too sudden movements.
From this construction it will be seen that the regulation of the position of the
brushes upon the commutator and consequently the amount of current taken off
from the armature, is controlled automatically and depends upon two forces the
prime or maximum one, being the friction between the revolving disk upon the
arinature shaft and the yoke resting thereon,-and this is a mechanical force and
acts directly upon the prime mover of the generator, and the secondary force
depends upon the condition of the current in the working circuit, which tends to
clamp the yoke more or less, thereby-varying the amount-of-friction-between the
yoke and disk according to the variations in the working circuit, and causing the
prime or mechanical force to move the brushes in accordance therewith. In this
manner I cause the mechanical force that drives the machine to do the bulk of the
work of regulating the machine and use the current generated merely to control
this mechanical force in a most delicato and simple manner.
=

page_text: I, HERBERT JOIN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert and Company, Patent Agents,
of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATORS FOR DYNAMO OR
MAGNETO ELECTRIC MACHINES OR GENERATORS, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The invention relates to regulators for dynamo or magneto electric machines or
generators, and has for its object to regulate or govern the current produced by
such generators, so that the proper relations may be maintained between the amount
of work done in the external circuit of the machine and the amount of current
generated and sent to the working circuit, whereby the greatest amount of electric
energy may be developed and utilized for the amount of mechanical force exerted
to drive the generator, the regulation may be instantaneous and the necessary
devices or mechanism for producing these results, may be simple and inexpensive..
To these ends the invention consists in a regulator wherein the brushes are
automatically adjusted, and this automatic adjustment is the resultant of two forces,
the first or princ force which performs the greater portion of the work being
mechanical, as that which drives the machine or rotates the armature; and the
secondary force which performs the minor portion of the work, being electrical, as
the current in the external circuit, or a branch therefrom. This resultant action is
so dependent upon the two forces that produce it, that variations in either will
cause the regulator to operate properly to maintain the desired condition in the
current utilized. Thus if the speed of the armature, or field magnets, as the case
may be, varies on account of the variations in the primary force driving it, this
variation will automatically modify the resultant action that controls the regulator,
in proportion to the variations of speed, and if changes occur in the current in the
external or working circuit, theso changes will automatically modify the resultant
action that controls the regulator in accordance with the changes of the current.
In carrying out the invention I provide the shaft of the revolving armature or
magnets, with a friction disk rigidly secured thereto. Upon the disk and nearly
surrounding it is a yoke of soft iron, the ends of which are elongated and one of
them is bent at right angles toward the other. Proper means are supplied for
producing the necessary or desired initial pressure of the yoke upon the friction
disk and for regulating the initial distance of one arm from another. One end of
the yoke is provided with a weight or spring, which tends to hold the yoke in its
normal position and operates in opposition to the friction disk upon the armature
shaft, which latter tends to carry the yoke around with itself in proportion to the
friction between the disk and yoke, the velocity of rotation, &.
Upon the bent portion of the other end of the yoke is a coil of wire connected
directly, or by a branch, with the main working circuit of the machine. To the
yoke is secured the brush holder in such a position that when the yoke is in its
normal condition the brushes will receive the maximum amount of current generated.
A dash pot or other retarding device may be attached to the brush holder to prevent
too sudden movements.
From this construction it will be seen that the regulation of the position of the
brushes upon the commutator and consequently the amount of current taken off
from the arinature, is controlled automatically and depends upon two forces the
prime or maximum one, being the friction between the revolving disk upon the

page_text: armature shaft and the yoke resting thereon, and his mechanical IOT CO
acts directly upon the prime mover of the generator, and the secondary force
depends upon the condition of the current in the working circuit, which tends to
clamp the yoke more or less, thereby varying the amount of friction between the
yoke and disk according to the variations in the working circuit, and causing the
prime or mechanical force to move the brushes in accordance therewith. In this
manner I cause the mechanical force that drives the machine to do the bulk of the
work of regulating the machine and use the current generated merely to control this
mechanical force in a most delicate and simple manner.
But to more particularly describe the invention, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which :-
Fig 1, is an end view of my regulating device as applied to an ordinary Gramme
commutator.
Fig 2, is a side view of the same, some parts being omitted for the sake of
clearness, and
Fig 3, is a modification.
Upon the shaft A, of the generator is loosely supported the ordinary brush
holder B, provided with the insulated studs C, C, to which the brushes E, E, are
secured and which bear upon the commutator D, fixed upon the shafts A, in the
usual inanner. Also upon the shaft A, is tightly secured a friction disk F, by means
of a key a.
Nearly surrounding this disk is a soft iron yoke G, -the ends or prongs-G³, G³, of
which are elongated and extend below the shaft. One of the ends, as G, is bent at
right angles so as to extend towards and into proximity to the other end or
prong G. Upon the bent end of the yoko is secured a coil of insulated wire H,
connected to or forming part of the external circuit of the machine. To the end of
the other prong C³, which acts as an armature to the magnet H, is attached an
adjustable weight or spring I, or if preferred, the weight or spring may be attached
to any other convenient part of the yoke or brush holder.
Between-the-ends-or-prongs-of-the-yoke is placed a spring J, which is supported,
in this instance, upon an adjusting screw K, by micans of which the desired initial
pressure of the yoke upon the friction disk is secured as well as the proper relation
-of-the-armature G, to the magnets H, on prong G Any other suitable-means-may-
be used for attaining this result, but I have found those described.to.be.simple.and
effective.
The brush holder B, is secured to the yoke.G, by any suitable means, a pin b,
being shown. The coil H, is shown as connected to one of the brushes by a flexible
insulated wire and to one of the binding posts of the machino by the wire d, it
being in this instance in the main circuit. In some instances it is preferable to
make the coil of finer wire and connect it to a branch of the main circuit in a
manner well understood. A dash pot f, or other retarding device may be attached
to the brush holder or other part of the apparatus to prevent too sudden changes in
the position of the brushes.
From this the operation of my governing or regulating device will be readily
understood. In its inoporative condition the regulator hangs in a pendant condition
from the friction disk as shown in Fig 1, and with the brushes in position for
taking off the maximum amount of current. As soon as the armature shaft begins
to revolve and the armature has generated a current of the desired strength or
tension, the yoke, which has been carried around to some extent by the friction disk
operating against the force of gravity or a spring, assumes a position something
like that shown by the dotted lines in Fig 1, and the brushes have been moved to a
position upon the armature where they will take up the desired current to be
utilized in the external working circuit. If now the speed of the armature varics
owing to changes in the speed of the driving power or otherwise, a stronger current
will be taken by the brushes than is desired and as this passes to the coil H, it will
cause the prong G' of the yoke to approach the bent one of G, thereby causing the
yoke to grip or bind the disk F, more firmly and the friction between it and the

page_text: yoke, increasing by well known laws governing velocity and friction, will cause
the yoke to move further from the perpendicular and carrying the brushes around
more or less towards the minimum point of the commutator will maintain the
current in the working circuit practically uniform. So if the condition of the
current in the working circuit is changed by any means the strength of the attraction
of the magnet H, for the armature G, will vary accordingly and release or
strengthen the pressure of the yoke upon the friction disk as the case may bo and
thereby move the brushes upon the commutator until they are in position to tako
off the current desired.
Thus the equilibrium of the current in the working circuit is maintained whether
variations occur in the conditions of the circuit or of the speed of the armature.
It will be seen that by this arrangement but very little of the force of the current
is expended in the regulation of the brushes, as it only acts in a very delicato
manner to vary the friction between the disk and yoke and the power or force
necessary to move the brushes to the required position is the mechanical force that
is used to propel the armature. The consequence is that the regulator acts quickly
and promptly at comparatively minute variations in the current, and without
wasting the electric energy or withdrawing it from the working circuit.
The electric energy is used to regulato a brake at an extended fulcrum and the
mechanical or centrifugal force of the machine does the work of moving the parts,
thus the regulation is the resultant of the two forces as before stated.
In Fig 3, I have shown one modification of the regulator devices, in which M, is
a friction wheel on the shaft of the machine; N, is a wheel bearing upon M, with
more or less friction according to the current passing through the coil O, which is
in the working circuit.
The wheel Ň, is hung in a frame P, having a fulcrum at Q. A cord or strap is
carried around a drum on the same shaft as N, and is attached thereto and to
the lower brush holder, which may be connected to a compensating weight or
spring W.
It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the details of construction
shown and described, as they may be varied in many ways without departing from
the spirit of this invention, the gist of which consists broadly in controlling or
regulating the current in the working circuit by using a small portion of the energy
of the circuit to control mechanical devices and operating these devices by the same
mechanical power or force used to drive the armature.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The method substantially as hercin set forth of regulating the current in the
circuit of an electric generator, which consists in utilizing the variation in the
current to control mechanical means and operating said mechanical means by
the mechanical force driving the generator.
2. The combination substantially as herein set forth with the shaft of a revolving
armaturo, of a brush operating and adjusting device mounted thereon, and operated
thereby, and means for controlling said operation, depending upon the strength of
the current generated.
3. The combination substantially as herein set forth with the shaft of a revolving
armature, of a friction device mounted thercon and connected to the brush holders,
and means connected with the circuit of the machine for controlling the amount of
friction in accordance with variations in the strength of the current generated.
4. The combination substantially as herein set forth with the shaft of a revolving
armature, of a friction device mounted thereon and connected to the brush holder,
and a magnet coil in the external circuit of the machine adapted to control the
friction device in accordance with the strength of the current in said circuit.
5. The combination with an armature shaft of an electric generator, having a
friction disk connected thereto, of a yoke embracing said disk and connected to the

page_text: brush holder, and a magnet coil in the external circuit of the machine controlling
the pressure of said yoke on the friction disk.
6. The combination substantially as herein set forth with the shaft of a revolving
armature, of a friction disk mounted thereon, a yoke surrounding the disk, means
for adjusting the initial pressure of the yoke upon the disk and a magnet in the
main circuit for varying the friction in accordance with the varying strength of the
current in said circuit.
7. The combination substantially as herein set forth, of an armature having a
shaft, friction disk secured thereto, a yoke embracing said disk and having prongs
or extensions and a magnet upon one of said prongs included in the circuit of the
generator, the other prong serving as an armature to said magnet.
8. The combination substantially as herein set forth, with the shaft of an armature,
of a brush holder upon the shaft, a disk secured to said shaft, a yoke embracing said
disk and having prongs or extensions, a magnet upon one of the prongs, the coil of
which is included in the circuit of the generator, a screw for adjusting the initial
pressure of the yoke upon the disk and retarding devices, as set forth.
9. The method of and means for regulating the current of an electric generator,
substantially as herein set forth.