Alternator current and voltage control

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WHERE GENERATING MEANS IS EMPLOYED TO SUPPLY CONSTANT POLARITY VOLTAGE AND UNIDIRECTIONAL CURRENT TO A LOAD, AND WHERE SAID GENERATING MEANS INCLUDES AN ELECTRIC GENERATOR HAVING A WINDING THAT CONTROLS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE VOLTAGE AND CURRENT SUPPLIED BY THE GENERATOR IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EXCITATION APPLIED TO THE WINDING, APPARATUS FOR VARYING SAID EXCITATION TO MAINTAIN SAID VOLTAGE AND CURRENT BELOW PRESELECTED LEVELS COMPRISING: A DEVICE HAVING A CONTROL TERMINAL AND A PAIR OF VARIABLE IMPEDANCE TERMINALS BETWEEN WHICH THE DEGREE OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY MAY BE CHANGED BY VARYING AN ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL APPLIED TO SAID CONTROL TERMINAL, SAID DEVICE BEING NORMALLY SUBSTANTIALLY NONCONDUCTIVE BETWEEN SAID VARIABLE IMPEDANCE TERMINALS AND BEING CONDUCTIVE THEREBETWEEN WHEN SAID POTENTIAL APPLIED TO SAID CONTROL TERMINAL IS WITHIN A PREDETERMINED RANGE OF VALUES; MEANS FOR COUPLING THE VARIABLE IMPEDANCE TERMINALS OF SAID DEVICE IN SHUNT RELATIOHSHIP WITH SAID WINDING; CURRENT-SENSING MEANS ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED WITH THE OUTPUT OF SAID GENERATING MEANS FOR PROVIDING A CONTROL POTENTIAL OF A VALUE WITHIN SAID RANGE OF VALUES WHEN SAID CURRENT REACHES SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL THEREOF; MEANS COUPLING THE CONTROL TERMINAL OF SAID DEVICE WITH SAID CURRENT-SENSING MEANS, WHEREBY THE IMPEDANCE IN SHUNT WITH SAID WINDINGS IS REDUCED WHEN THE CURRENT OUTPUT OF THE GENERATING MEANS REACHES SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL THEREOF TO THEREBY REDUCE THE EXCITATION CURRENT FLOWING IN SAID WINDING; AND VOLTAGE-SENSING MEANS OPERABLY COUPLED WITH THE CONTROL TERMINAL OF SAID DEVICE AND ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED WITH THE OUTPUT OF SAID GENERATING MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID CONTROL TERMINAL WITH ONE ELECTRICAL SIDE OF SAID OUTPUT WHEN SAID VOLTAGE REACHES SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL THEREOF TO APPLY A CONTROL POTENTIAL TO SAID CONTROL TERMINAL OF A VALUE WITHIN SAID RANGE OF VALUES, WHEREBY THE IMPEDANCE IN SHUNT WITH THE WINDING IS REDUCED WHEN THE VOLTAGE OUTPUT OF THE GENERATING MEANS REACHES SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL THEREOF TO THEREBY DECREASE THE EXCITATION CURRENT FLOWING IN SAID WINDING.