US735171A - System of electrical distribution. - Google Patents

Description

No. 735,171. PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903.

s. B. STEWART, JR. SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31,1902.

NO MODEL.

WITNESSES: INVENTO I HZQ Patented August 4, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR., OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NET/V YORK.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,171, dated August 4, 1903.

Application filed May 31. 1902. Serial No- 109,604. (No model.) I

To a whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. STEWART, J12, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of Electrical Distribution, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to systems of electrical distribution in which an electromagnetic switch is used for the purpose of connecting a translating device to a main source of power and in which an auxiliary source of power is used for the purpose of operating the electromagnetic switch primarily, the electromagnetic switch being maintained in its closed position by the current from the main source of power.

The invention has for its main object to simplify the operation of connecting the actuating-coil of the electromagnetic switch to the auxiliary source of power and the main source of power, respectively, and of connecting the auxiliary source of power to the main source of power in order to recharge the former from the latter.

My invention relates more particularly to surface contact railway systems in which electromagnetic switches are employed to connect the feeder to the sections of a sectional conductor or to surface contacts and in which an auxiliary source of power, such as a storage battery carried by the car, is used for the purpose of primarily energizing the actuatingcoils of the electromagnetic switches, and has for its particular object to simplify the operation of throwing the auxiliary source of power intoand out of circuit when energizing the electromagnetic switch and of recharging said auxiliary source of power from the main source of power.

My invention as embodied in a system of electrical distribution comprises an electromagnetic switch for connecting the main source of power with a translating device, such as a motor or motors on a car, and a normally open switch, one point of which is connected to the auxiliary source of power, a second point or contact being connected to the actuating-coil of the electromagnetic switch and also to the main source of power through a large resistance and the contacts of one or more of the said electromagnetic switches when the system is in normal operation,and a third point to the main source of power through a small resistance or a fractional part of said large resistance and the electromagnetic-switch contacts.

My invention further comprises means, such as an auxiliary switch, for the purpose of short-circuiting the first and last mentioned points of contact of the said normally open switch in order to connect the auxiliary source of power to the main source of power through a small resistance or, a fractional part of said large resistance.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a. surface-contact railway system embodying my invention.

Referring now to the drawing, F represents the feeder, which is connected to the sections of a sectional conductor or contactstuds G through a plurality of electromagnetic switches, such as B.

Arepresents the sectionalpick-up or switchenergizing conductors.

The collector-shoes carried by the car are represented by D and D, the car-motor by M, the controller by C, and the auxiliary battery by B.

The operation is as follows: By closing the three-point switch S the storage-battery circuit, one side of which is grounded at g, is completed through one or more of the actuatingcoils of the electromagnetic switches B, (depending upon the location of the car on the track,) thereby picking up the first switch or first two switches, as the case may be. When once picked up, the current flows from the feeder through the contacts of the switch B, sectional conductor or contact-stud G, collector-shoe D, controller C, resistance 1", motor M to ground or return, and also in shunt to the motors through the resistance 1', switch so doing a larger amount of current than the actuating coil of the switch B can 'carry passes through it from the main source of power through part of resistance a", conductor 2, switch S, conductors 3 and 1, shoe D, and sectional conductor A. Normally the battery receives its charging-current by the momentary closing of the three-point switch S; but as it may not be necessary to use the battery to pick up the switches B more than a few times during the day the battery may not receive sufficient charge from this source, and it may be necessary then to use the auxiliary switch S to further charge the battery. This switch S cuts out part of the resistance 1" from the battery-charging circuit, but

leaves the full amount of the resistance r in series with the actuating-coil of the switch B, thus eliminating danger to the coil by keeping the current down to proper proportion. The switch S is used for the purpose of opening the switch Bby disconnecting its actuating-coil from the feeder in case of an emergency or whenever it is desirable to do so.

Although I have shown and described my invention as applied to a surface-contact railway system, I do not intend to limit myself to such a system, as the invention is of general application in systems of electrical distribution.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

I. In an electric circuit, a feeder connected with a main source of energy, an electromagnetic switch, a resistance, a secondary battery, a normally open switch which serves when closed to connect said battery to the actuating-coilof said electromagnetic switch, whereby said electromagn etic switch is caused to close, and also serves to connect said battery to said feeder through a part of said resistance for the purpose of recharging the battery after the electromagnetic switch is closed, and to connect said actuating-coil to the feeder also through a part of said resistance to maintain said electromagnetic switch closed, and means tending to maintain said normally open switch in its open position.

2. In an electric circuit, a feeder connected to the main source of energy, an electromagnetic switch, a resistance, a secondary battery, means for connecting the actuatingcoil of said electromagnetic switch with the feeder through said resistance and the contacts ofsaid electromagnetic switch, and a normally open switch which serves when closed to connect the battery to the actuatingcoil of said electromagnetic switch, whereby the electromagnetic switch is caused to close, and also serves to connect the battery and said actuating-coil to the feeder through a part of said resistance for the purpose of recharging the battery and maintaining the said electromagnetic switch in its closed position. I

3. In an electric circuit, a main source of energy, an auxiliary source of energy, an

electromagnetic switch, a resistance, means for connecting the actuating-coil of the electromagnetic switch with the main source of energy through said resistance and the contacts of said electromagnetic normally open switch, a switch serving when closed primarily to connect the auxiliary source of energy to the actuating-coil of the electromagnetic switch, whereby the said electromagnetic switch is energized, and secondarily to c011- nect the auxiliary source of energy and the actuating-coil of the electromagnetic switch to the feeder through a part of said resistance for the purpose of recharging the auxiliary source of energy from the main source of energy and for maintaining said electromagnetic switch in its closed position, and means tending to maintain said normally open switch in its open position.

4. In an electric circuit, a feeder connected with a main source of energy, an electromagnetic switch, a resistance andasecondary battery, a normally open switch which serves when closed to connect said battery to the actuating-coil of said electromagnetic switch, whereby said switch is caused to close,and also when said electromagnetic switch is closed serves to connect said battery and said actuating-coil to said feeder through a part of said resistance, whereby said battery is recharged and said electromagnetic switch is maintained closed, said actuating-coil remaining connected to said feeder through the whole of said resistance after the normally open switch has been opened.

5. In an electric circuit, a feeder connected with a main source of energy, an electromagnetic switch, a resistance and a secondary battery, a normally open switch adapted when closed to connect said battery to the actuating-coil of said electromagnetic switch,whereby said switch is caused to close, and also adapted to connect said battery and said actuating-coil to said feeder through a part of said resistance, whereby said battery is recharged and said electromagnetic switch is maintained closed, means for maintaining the connection between the said actuating-coil and said feeder through the whole of said resistance and the contacts of the electromagnetic switch after said normally open switch has been opened, and an independent switch adapted to connect said battery to said feeder through the contacts of said electromagnetic switch and part of said resistance when it be comes necessary to further charge the battery.

6. In an electric circuit,a main source of energy, an electromagnetic switch, a resistance, an auxiliary source of energy, and a threepoint switch which when closed serves primarily to complete the circuit from the auxiliary source of energy through the actuatingcoil of said electromagnetic switch, thereby causing said electromagnetic switch to close, and secondarily to connect the said actuating-coil and said auxiliary source of power to the main source of power through part of said resistance and the contacts of said electromagnetic switch, whereby the electromagnetic switch is maintained in its closed position and the auxiliary source of power is recharged, the actuating-coil of said electromagnetic switch remaining connected to the main source of energy through the whole of said resistance for the purpose of maintaining said electromagnetic switch closed after the three-point switch has been opened and the auxiliary source of power thrown out of circuit.

7. In a surface-contact railway system, a feeder, a sectional Working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the sections of said working conductor, a storage battery carried by the car, a normally open switch for connecting said battery to the actuating-coil of said switch, means for connecting said coil to said feeder through a resistance, and auxiliary means independent of said normally open switch for connecting the battery to the feeder through a fractional part of said resistance.

8. In a surface-contact railway system, a

I feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sectionsof said conductor, a sectional switch-energizing conductor the sections of which are respectively connected to the actuating-coils of said electromagnetic switches, a storage battery and a resistance carried by the car, a normally open switch adapted when closed to connect said battery to said sectional switch-energizing conductor, and to connect said battery and said actuating-coil to said sectional working conductor through part of said resistance.

9. In a surface-contact railway system, a feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sections of said conductor, a sectional switch-energizing conductor the sections of which are respectively connected to the actuating-coils of said electromagnetic switches, a storage battery and a resistance carried by the car, a normally open switch adapted to connect said battery to said sectional switch-energizing conductor, and to connect said battery and said actuating-coil to said sectional working conductor through part of said resistance, and means for connecting said switch-energizing conductor with said working conductor through the whole of said resistance in order to maintain said electromagnetic switch closed after said normally open switch has been opened.

10. In a surface-contact railway system, a feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sections of said conductor, a sectional switch-energizing conductor the sections of which are respectively connected to the actuating-coils of said electro magnetic switches, a storage battery and a resistance carried by the car, a normally open switch adapted when closed to connect said battery to said sectional switch-energizing conductor, and to connect said battery and said actuating-coil to said sectional Working conductor through part of said resistance, and an independent switch for connecting said battery with said sectional working conductor through part of said resistance.

11. In a surface-contact railway system, a feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sections of said conductor,switchenergizing conductors connected to the actuating-coils of said switches, a resistance and a storage battery carried by the car, a switch for connecting the said resistance between the sectional working conductor and the switch-energizing conductors, an independent normally open switch having its contacts arranged to connect the battery to the switch-energizing conductors and to complete a circuit from the feeder to recharge the battery, and means tending to maintain said normally open switch in its open position.

12. In a surface-contact railway system, a feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sections of said conductor,switch-energizin g conductors connected to the actuating-coils of said switches, a resistance and a storage battery carried by the car, means connecting the said resistance between the sectional working conductor and the switch-energizing conductors, a switch having its contacts arranged to connect the storage battery to the switch-energizing conductors and to complete a battery-recharging connection to the feeder, and means for maintaining said switch in a normally open position.

13. In a surface-contact railway system, a I

feeder, a sectional working conductor, electromagnetic switches for connecting said feeder to the respective sections of said conductor,switch-energizing conductors connected to the actuating-coils of said switches, a resistance and a storage battery carried by the car, means connecting the said resistance between the sectional working conductor and the switch-energizing conductors, a switch having its contacts arranged to connect the storage battery to the switch-energizing conductors to initially energize the switches and to connect the said battery and the switch energizing conductors to the feeder for recharging the battery, means for maintaining said switch in a normally open position, and an independent switch for connecting the battery with the feeder.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of May, 1902.

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR.

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