US680809A - System of electric lighting on constant-current circuits. - Google Patents

Description

No. 680.809. Patented Aug. 20, IQUI H. N. PUTTER.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING 0N CONSTANT CURRENT CIRCUITS.

.(Application filed Ot. a, 1900. (No Model.)

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lUNTTnn STATLS PATENT (Enrica.

HENRY NOEL POTTER, OF I-IALENSEE, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE WVESTINGHOUSE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LIGHTlNG ON CONSTANT-CURRENT ClRCUlTS.

fiEECIEICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 680,809, dated August 20, 1901. Application filed October 3, 1900. Serial No. 311831. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY NOEL Porrnn, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Halensee, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of Electric Lighting on GonstantCurrent Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an arrangement of circuits and apparatus for the operation upon constant-current circuits of lamps having a plurality of glowers made of a material which requires to be heated in order to become conductive, the object being to provide automatic means for cutting'ont any lamp when it is out of order and also means for indicating at all times the condition of any given lamp.

In practice I employ a cut-out for the entire lamp in addition to the usual heater out out, and I usually employ an incandescent pilot-lamp in a shunt to each multiglowerlamp controlled by a rise of voltage in the circuit. I also provide ballast resistances in series with the several glowers; but these resistances are usually not corrective ballasts,

but are merely German-silver wires of a few ohms resistance, the resistances being so chosen as to cause the current to divide up properly among the glowers constituting the luminous elements of the lamp.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a diagram of an electric circuit containing multiple glower-lamps in series, one of the lamps being shown in diagram in connection with the extra cut-out and the indicating devices for showing when the lamp is out of order.

In the drawing, 1 is any suitable generator of electricity, and 2 and 3 are mains leading therefrom. Multiglower-lamps of the character described are shown at 4, 5, and 6, the last-named lamp being illustrated dia grammatically with considerable detail.

Referring to the apparatus connected with the lamp 6, 7 7 are glowers of the character described and 8 8 are ballast resistances, generally of German silver, one inseries with each glower. The object of these resistances is to make the current split up properly among the several glowers of the lamp. At 9 is shown an electric heater of any suitable type intended to bring the glowers to a conductive state in the usual manner.

In going to the lamp 6 the main 3 passes to the contact-point 10 of an electric cut-out and through the movable part 11 of the said cut-out to the second stationary cut-out point 12 thereof. From the point 12 the main circuit proceeds in a similar way through the heater cutout for the lamp, the stationary point of this cutout being shown at 13 and 15 and the movable part thereof being shown at 14. Branches from the main wire 3 pass through the actuating-coil 16 of the heater cut-out and also through the actuating-coil 17 of a second cut-out, the object of which will be described farther on. The action of the heater cut-out is similar to that of the usual electromagnetic cut-out in lamps of this class. lVhen the glowers of the lamp 6 have become heated until they are themselves sufficiently good conductors of the electric current, a considerable port-ion of the current on theline is shunted through the glowers and through the coil l6,'which coil then lifts the movable contact 1a from the cut-out points 13 and 15, thus rupturing the heatercircuit. The coil 17 is an actuatingcoil for a cut-out whose contacts are in series with the whole current to the heaterand glowers. This actuating-coil 17 is in series with a re sistance 19 and a resistance 20, the latterbeing connected through a switch 21 to the main 2. The resistance may well be an incandescent lamp so designed as to take the full current ordinarily taken by the lamp 6, though not necessarily designed for the full voltage of the latter. The lamp 20 may be replaced by the-actuating-coil 22 of a semaphore 23. I have indicated this construction in dotted-lines in the drawing. On the shaft of the semaphore 23 I show a toothed segment 24, which engages with araek 25 on the core of the coil 22. The action is obvious.

"In operation the lamp first takes current through the heater, and a slight excess current passes through the coil 17, the resistance 19, and the incandescent lamp 20. This excess current is insufficient, however, to raise the armature of the cut-out coil 17. When a sufficient number of the glowers have become conductive, the cut-out coil 16 does its work in the manner already described, thus cutting the heater out of the circuit. Inasmuch as we are here operating upon a constant current it is desirable that the cut-out apparatus for the heater-circuit should be as sensitive as possible. Should one of the glowers break, the total current will then flow through the remaining five glowers, causing the voltage to rise, but not endangering the ballasts, as would be the case if the latter were of the usual corrective type. When the voltage has risen sufficiently to cause an excess current to flow through the coil 17, (which excess current will be further aided by the decreasing resistance of the incandescent lamp 20,) the core of the cut-out coil 17 is drawn up, interrupting the current to the lamp.

Above the movable element 11, which usually bridges the contacts 10 and 12, are two other stationary contacts 26 and 27, arranged in a shunt around the resistance 19. When the circuit of the lamp has been interrupted, as above described, thus throwing the entire current through the coil 17, the resistance 19, and the lamp 20, the movable element 11 is drawn violently up against the contacts 26 and 27, in which position the resistance 19 is cut out. The current formerly passing through the lamp now traverses the coil 17 and the incandescent pilot-lamp 20, indicating that the lamp 6 is out of order. By opening the switch 21 and closing a switch 28 in the circuit of the semaphore-operating coil 22 the semaphore itself will be set to indicate an abnormal condition in the lamp 6. This is in fact the condition of the circuit indicated in the drawing. In general it is not my purpose to provide the alternative construction indicated in the drawing, but to select either an incandescent lamp or a sema phore-coil and connect the one or the other permanently with the lamp apparatus. -The semaphore would have the advantage over the incandescent lamp of continuing to indicate the abnormal condition after the entire circuit should for any reason have been opened. All the advantages of both devices may be secured by connecting up an incandescent lamp and the semaphore device in series or in parallel as a substitute for either device alone. In some instances I prefer to use the duplicate devices last mentioned. Manifestly the described apparatus indicates the actual'condition of the lamp with which it is connected, whether such condition is normal or abnormal, the luminous or nonluminous condition of the incandescent lamp or the position of the semaphore-arm beinga sufficient indication for this purpose.

The invention claimed is 1. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a pilot-lamp in a normally closed shunt thereto, adapted to become luminous when the in ultiglower-lamp is out of order.

2. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a cut-out for the lamp operated by a rise of voltage in the lamp-circuit such cut-out operating to break the lamp-circuit when one of the glowers breaks or becomes inoperative for any reason.

3. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a cut-out for the heater of said lamp, and a second cutout for the entire lamp, the said second cutout being operated by a rise of voltage in the lamp-circuit.

4. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a high-resistance shunt to the said lamp, and means for breaking the lamp-circuit and throwing the entire current through the shunt when one of the glowers of the lamp breaks or becomes inoperative, for any reason.

5. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a high-resistance shunt containing an incandescent pilotlamp, and means for breaking the circuit of the multiglower-lamp'and passing the current through the pilot-lamp when one or more of the glowers become inoperative.

6. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a shunt-circuit thereto containing a resistance and an indicating device, means for breaking the circuit of the lamp when one of the glowers becomes inoperative, and means for cutting out theresistance when the cut-out for the lamp is operated.

7. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of a variable-resistance shunt including an indicating device, the said shunt containinga cut-out which is operated by a rise of voltage in the lampcircuit.

S. In a system of electric lighting by multiglower-lamps of the class described on constant-current circuits, a series of such lamps, each having an automatic cut-out operated by a rise of voltage in the lamp-circuit, such cut-out acting to break the circuit of the lamp when one of the glowers breaks or becomes inoperative for any reason.

HENRY NOEL POTTER.

Witnesses HENRY HASPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

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