US2360172A - Supervisory system - Google Patents

Description

1944- c. E. STEWART 2,360,172

SUPERVISORY SYSTEM Filed Feb. 11, 1943 Inventor: C gde E. Stewart,

by W J w His Attornegf Patented Oct. 10, 1944 SUPERVISORY SYSTEM Clyde E. Stewart, Upper barby, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application February 11, 1943, Serial No. 475,491

Claims.

My invention relates to supervisory systems and particularly to such systems in whichany one of a plurality of apparatus units at a remote station can be selected and individually operated from a dispatchers office in response to the transmission of current impulses over a suitable channel of communication interconnecting the remote station and the dispatchers office. In such a system, it has been the practice heretofore to provide at the dispatchers oflice for each controllable apparatus unit at the remote station a group of lamps which are selectively operated so as to indicate the position of the corresponding apparatus unit and, also, the completion of certain operations of the supervisory equipment while it is functioning to select and place the corresponding apparatus unit under the control of the dispatcher. Heretofore, each group of relays has usually consisted of four lamps and has had associated therewith an individual two-position disagreement key and an individual twoposition select key. Each group of four lamps has included a red lamp which was lighted when the corresponding apparatus unit was in a predetermined position, such as the closed position thereof; a green lamp which was lighted when the corresponding apparatus unit was in a different predetermined position, such as the open position thereof; a white lamp which was lighted when the position of theassociated disagreement key, the positions of which correspond to the positions of the associated apparatus unit, did not agree with the position of the associated apparatus unit; and an amber lamp which was lighted when the corresponding apparatus unit Was properly selected by the supervisory equipment for control by the dispatcher. Each select key was arranged so that'when it was moved to one of its two positions, the operation of the supervisory equipment was initiated to cause it to select the apparatus unit corresponding to the operated select key for manual control by the dispatcher, and when the select key was moved back to its normal position, the supervisory equipment was restored to its normal position.

One object of my invention is to provide in a supervisory system of the above-mentioned type an arrangement of devices and circuits whereby the number of lamps and keys at the dispatchers office individual to eachv apparatus unit at the remote station is reduced to a minimum without eliminating any of the indicating features of the prior 'art arrangements. 7

In accordance with my invention; I provide,

in the particular embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawing, an arrangement whereby only two lamps and a single three-position control key are required at the dispatchers oflice for each apparatus unit at the remote station.

My invention will be better understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the single my invention embodied in an automatic supervisory system of the code selector type and particularly to the type of supervisory system disclosed in detail in United States Letters Patent 2,253,147, granted August 19, 1941, on an application filed by me and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure, only those parts of the system disclosed in detail in the aforesaid Letters Patent 2,253,147 are shown in the accompanying drawing as are deemed necessary for a clear understanding of the present invention when taken in connection with the following description.

Also, to facilitate a comparison with the disclosure of the aforesaid Letters Patent, the devices in the present disclosure are designated by the same characters as the corresponding devices in the aforesaid Letters Patent to which reference may be made in case a complete detailed disclosure of the circuit connections of the various devices constituting the complete supervisory system is desired.

As shown in the accompanying drawing, the

supervisory system includes two conductors L1 and L2 extending between a dispatchers ofiice DO and a remote station RS.

For the purpose of this description, it is assumed that, except for the connections at the dispatchers oflice D0 of the indicating lamps and control keys individual to each apparatus unit, the control devices of the supervisory system and connections thereof at both the dispatchers office DO and the remote station RS are the same as those disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent 2,253,147. At the dispatchers office DO, there are two individual indicating relays, such as IGI and IRI, for each apparatus unit, such as AUI at the remote station RS. As described in detail in the aforesaid Letters Patent, when the supervisory equipment is at rest, one of the relays of each groupis energized depending upon the position of the corresponding apparatus unit at the remote station, and the energized relay effects the lighting of an associated indicating lamp. For example, if the apparatus unit AUl, which is shown as a circuit breaker, is closed, the corresponding indicating relay IRI is energized and completes a lighting circuit for the associated red lamp LRI' whereas if the apparatus unit A'U'! is open, the corresponding indicating relay IGI is energized and completes a lighting circuit for the associated green lamp LGI. When the operation of the supervisory equipment is initiated in response .to the operation of a select key individual to an apparatus unit to effect the establishment of a control connection to that apparatus unit, both of the indicating relays individual to the operated select key are deenergized as soon as the group finder selector switch at the dispatchers office stops in the position thereof allotted to the operated select key. These two indicating relays then remain deenergized until after the select and check codes and the indication impulse have been transmitted. If the select and check codes agree, the receipt of the indication impulse which follows the check code effects the energization of the indicating relay corresponding to the position of the selected apparatus unit. For example, if the apparatus unit A'Ul is the selected apparatus unit and it is open at the time the selection is established, the relay IGI is energized in response to the transmission of the indication impulse whereas if the apparatus unit AUl is closed, the indication impulse effects the energization of the indication relay IRI.

Each time the dispatcher operates a selected apparatus unit, the energized indicating relay individual to the selected apparatus unit is deenergized in response to the operation of the masteroperate key by the dispatcher, and both of the indicating relays corresponding to the selected apparatus unit remain deenergized until after the operating impulse has been terminated by the dispatcher opening the master operate key and the supervisory equipment has operated to effect the transmission of another indicating impulse corresponding to the position of the operated apparatus unit. This new indicating impulse selectively energizes the indicating relays individual to the operated apparatus unit in accordance with the new position thereof.

When the supervisory equipment is restored to its normal position by the dispatcher opening the operated select key, the supervisory equipment is automatically restored to its nor mal position without deenergizing the last indicating relay to be energized while the selection was established.

When the supervisory equipment is at rest in its normal position and an apparatus unit at the remote station RS changes its position, the supervisory equipment operates automatically to select the group of indicating relays at the dispatchers office individual to the apparatus unit that has changed its position. After this selection has been made, the selected indicating relay which was energized at the time the apparatus unit changed its position, is deenergized and then the proper one is energized to effect the lighting of the associated indicating lamps to indicate the new position of the apparatus unit which has changed its position. The supervisory equipment then automatically restores to its normal position without effecting the deenergization of the energized indicating relay.

Ln the aforesaid Letters Patent 2,253,147, each group of indicating relays in conjunction with an associated disagreement key, associated with the indicating relays, controls the lighting of an associated white lamp. Also included in each group of relays is an amber lamp which is lighted when the supervisory equipment establishes a control connection to the corresponding apparatus unit at the remote station RS.

In accordance with my present invention, I provide an arrangement for obtaining the desired indications which eliminates these white and amber lamps and one of the control keys at the dispatchers office so that only two indicating lamps and a single three-position key are required for each controllable apparatus unit at the remote station.

In order to simplify the disclosure, I have shown at the dispatchers office DO only one group of lamps including the red lamp LRI, the green lamp LGI, and an associated three-position control key Kl, all of which are individual to the apparatus unit AUl at the remote station RS. The control key Kl is a combined disagreement and select key. In one position of the key Ki, which corresponds to the closed position of the apparatus unit AU'l, only the contacts a of the key are closed. In a second or mid-position of the key KI which is the position to which the key is operated when the dispatcher desires to select the apparatus unit A'Ul for operation, all of the contacts a, b, c and d of the key are closed. In the third position of the key Kl, which corresponds to the open position of the apparatus unit AUl, only the contacts d of the key are closed. The contacts a and d of the key KI correspond to the contacts of the disagreement key DKI, and the contacts I) and 0 correspond to the contacts of the select key SKI of the aforesaid Letters Patent. The contacts d of the key Kl are arranged to connect a suitable interrupting means FL in series with the lamp LGI when the contacts I) of the relay IGI are closed, and the contacts a of the key Kl are arranged to connect the interrupting means FL in series with the lamp LRI when the contacts I) of the indicating relay IR! are closed.

The operation. of the arrangement shown in the accompanying drawing is as follows. When the supervisory equipment is in its normal at rest position and the apparatus unit AUI is in its closed position, the various control devices shown in the drawing are in the positions in which they are shown. The red lamp LRI is lighted continuously by a circuit which includes the contacts a. and the winding of the indicating relay IRI. The current in this circuit also maintains the indicating relay IRI in its energized position. The continuous lighting of the red lamp LRI, while the key Kl is in its position corresponding to the closed position of the apparatus unit A'U'l, informs the dispatcher that th apparatus unit A'UI is in its closed position. It will be observed that under these assumed conditions the flashing circuit of the green light LGI is open at the contacts (1 of the control key Kl.

When the dispatcher desires to select the apparatus unit A'Ul for operation, he moves the corresponding control key Kl to its mid-position, in which position all of the contacts a, b, c and 9f the key are closed. The closing of the contacts d of the key Kl completes through the contacts b of the indicating relay IGI a flashing circuit for the lamp LGI while the associated red lamp LRI remains continuously energized until the group finder selector switch of the supervisory equipment, the operation of which is initiated by the closing of the contacts 17 and c of the control key KI, stops in the position thereof which is allotted to the operated control key KI. At that time, a low impedance shunt circuit is completed around the winding of the indicating relay IRI by the supervisory equipment in a manner disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent so as to cause the relay IE! to open its contacts a and close its contacts b. A flashing circuit is then completed for the red lamp LRI through the contacts I) of the indicating relay IRI, contacts a of the control key KI, and the interrupting means FL. The simultaneous flashing of both of the lamps LGI and LR! informs the dispatcher that the supervisory equipment has found the corresponding operated control key KI and is attempting to establish a connection to the corresponding apparatus unit A'Ul at the remote station.

After the supervisory equipment has operated to transmit to the remote station RS the proper select code of impulses to select the apparatus unit A'U'l and then has transmitted back to the dispat'chers oflice the proper check code of impulses followed by an indication impulse corresponding to the position of the selected apparatus unit, which it is assumed is the closed position, the relay IR! is again energized to open its contacts b and close its contacts a so that the red lamp LRI is again lighted continuously whereas the green lamp LGI is lighted intermittently. The continuous lighting of one of the lamps of a group and the flashing of the other lamp after both lamps have been flashing simultaneously, while the associated control key is in its midposition, informs the dispatcher that the corresponding apparatus unit has been selected by the supervisory equipment for operation by the dispatcher and that the selected apparatus unit is in the position correspondingto the continuously lighted lamp. a

If after the apparatus unit A'Ul has been selected the dispatcher desires to effect the opening thereof, he operates the proper master operate key (not shown) which eiiects, in a manner disclosed in detail in the aforesaid Letters Patent, the transmission of a control impulse over the line conductors L1, L2 which effects the opening of the apparatus unit AU'I, the deenergization of the indicating relay IRI, and the energization of the indicating relay IGI so that the green lamp LGI is lighted continuously While the red lamp LRI is lighted intermittently.

If after the apparatus unit A'U'l has been opened the dispatcher'desires to reclose it. he operates the proper master'operate key (not shown) which effects, in a manner described in lamp corresponding to the new position of the apparatus unit AU'I is lighted continuously and the other indicating lamp is lighted intermittently.

When the dispatcher desires to release the selection, he moves the operated control key KI to the position thereof corresponding to the position then occupied by the selected apparatus unit. For example, if the selected apparatus unit AUl is open at the time the selection is to be released, the dispatcher moves the control key Kl to the position thereof in which only the contacts at are closed. The opening of the contacts a of thecontrol key Kl interrupts the flashing circuit of the red lamp LR] so that only the continuously lighted green lamp LGI remains lighted after the control key is moved to its new position. If the apparatus unit A'Ul is closed at the time the selection is released, the control key Kl is moved to its position in which only the contacts a are closed so that only the continuously lighted red lamp LRI remains lighted after the selection is released. The opening of the contacts b and c of the key Kl when it is moved out of its mid-position causes, in a manner disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent, the supervisory equipment to be restored to its normal position.

When thesupervisory equipment is at rest in its normal position and an apparatus unit at the remote station changes its position, the supervisory equipment operates, in a manner disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent, to effect the deenergization of whichever one of the correspond ing indicating relays at the dispatchers office was energized prior to the apparatus unit changing its position and then effects the energization of the indicating relay corresponding to the new position of the apparatus unit. For example, when the apparatus unit AU'l is automatically opened, the supervisory equipment operates to effect the deenergization of the indicating relay IR! and the energization of the indicating relay IGI so that the green lamp LGI is lighted continuously While the red lamp LRI is lighted intermittently. Such an operation of the indicating lamps, While the associated control key KI is in the position corresponding to the closed position of the corresponding apparatus unit AU'Linforms the dispatcher that the apparatus unit AU'I has automatically moved to its open position. The dispatcher then moves the control key Kl to the position thereof corresponding to the open position of the corresponding apparatus unit so as to open the contacts a of the control key KI and thereby interrupt the flashing circuitfor the red indicating lamp LR].

While I have, in accordance with the Patent Statutes, shown and described my invention as applied to a particular system and as embodying various devices diagrammatically indicated, changes and modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

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

1. In combination, a movable apparatus unit having two positions, two indicating relays, means for selectively controlling the operation of said relays in accordance with the position of said unit, a control key having a plurality of positions, a signal, means for operating said signal continuously in response to one of said relays being in a predetermined position and intermittently in response to said one of said relays being in a different predetermined position while said control key is in a predetermined position, a second signal, and means for operating said second signal continuously in response to the other of said relays being in a predetermined position and intermittently in response to said other of said relays being in a different predetermined position while said control key is in said predetermined position.

2. In combination, a movable apparatus unit having two positions, two indicating relays, means for maintaining a predetermined one of said relays energized and the other relay deenergized when said unit is in a predetermined one of its positions, means for maintaining said other of said relays energized and said predetermined one of said relays deenergized when said unit is in its other position, a control key having a plurality of positions, a signal, means for operating said signal continuously in response to said predetermined one of said relays being energized and intermittently in response to said predetermined one of said relays being deenergized and said key being in a predetermined position, a second signal, and means for operating said second signal continuously in response to said other of said relays being energized and intermittently in response to said other of said relays being deenergized and said key being in said predetermined position.

3. In a supervisory system, two stations, an apparatus unit at one of said stations, two indicating relays at said other station and individual to said unit arranged to be selectively controlled in accordance with the position of said apparatus unit so that one of said relays is in a predetermined operated condition when said unit is in a predetermined position and the other relay is in a, predetermined operated condition when said unit is in a different predetermined position, a signal at said other station and corresponding to said predetermined position of said unit, a second signal at said other station and corresponding to said difierent predetermined position of said unit, a control key at said other station and having two positions respectively corresponding to said two predetermined positions of said unit and a third position, means for operating said first mentioned signal continuously in response to said one of said relays being in its predetermined operated condition and intermittently in response to said one of said relays not being in its predetermined operated condition while said control key is in its position corresponding to said first mentioned predetermined position, means for operating said second signal continuously in response to said other relay being in its predetermined operated condition and intermittently in response to said other relay not being in its predetermined operated condition while said control key is in its position corresponding to said different predetermined position, means for operating said first mentioned signal intermittently in response to. said one of said relays not being in its, predetermined operated condition while said control key is in said third position, and means for operating said secparatus unit at one of said stations, two indieating. relays at said other station and individual to said unit arranged to be selectively controlled in accordance with the establishment of predeftermined connections while said apparatus unit is being started and also in accordance with the position of said apparatus unit after the selection thereof has been established so that one of said relays is in a predetermined operatedcondition when said unit is in a predetermined position and the other relay is in a predetermined operated condition when said unit is in a different predetermined position, a signal at said other station and corresponding to said predetermined position of said unit, a second signal at said other station and corresponding to said different predetermined position of said unit, a control key at said other station and having two positions respectively corresponding to said two predetermined positions of said unit and a third position, means for operating said first mentioned signal continuously in response to said one of said relays being in its predetermined operated con.- dition and intermittently in response to said one of said relays not being in its predetermined operated condition While said control key is in itsposition corresponding to said first mentioned predetermined position, means for operating said second signal continuously in response to said other relay being in its predetermined operated condition and intermittently in response to said other relay not being in its predetermined operated condition while said control key is in its position corresponding to said different predetermined position, means for operating said first mentioned signal intermittently in response to said one of said relaysnot beingv in its predetermined operated condition while said control key is in said third position, and means for oper- Lating said second signal intermittently in relay, a second indicating relay, means for selectively energizing said relays, a signal, a control key, means for continuously operating said signal in response to the energization of one of said relays and for intermittently operating said signal in response to the deenergization of said one of said relays when said control key is in a predetermined position, a second signal, means for continuously operating said second signal in response to the energization of the other of said relays and for intermittently operating said second signal in response to the deenergization of said other relay when said control key is in a different predetermined position, and means for intermittently operating said first mentioned signal in response to the deenergization of said one of said relays and said second signal in response sition.

CLYDE E. STEWART.

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