Automatic control for fly ash precipitators

Claim 1

AN AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR AN ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATOR COMPRISING FIRST MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID PRECIPITATOR RESPONSIVE TO POWER ARCS IN SAID PRECIPITATOR FOR AUTOMATICALLY DECREASING THE VOLTAGE APPLIED THERETO TO SHORTEN THE ARC TIME OF EACH INDIVIDUALLY OCCURRING POWER ARC, INCLUDING A PRECIPITATOR HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER HAVING A PRIMARY AND A SECONDARY WINDING FOR SUPPLYING VOLTAGES TO SAID PRECIPITATOR, A SATURABLE REACTOR HAVING A FIELD WINDING CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH THE PRIMARY WINDING OF SAID TRANSFORMER, A THYRATRON RECTIFIER INCLUDING PLATE AND OUTPUT CIRCUITS, A THYRATRON PLATE VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER HAVING A SECONDARY WINDING IN THE PLATE CIRCUIT OF THE THYRATRON RECTIFIER AND A PRIMARY WINDING IN PARALLEL WITH THE PRIMARY WINDING OF THE PRECIPITATOR HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER AND A CONTROL WINDING FOR SAID SATURABLE REACTOR CONNECTED IN THE OUTPUT CIRCUIT OF THE THYRATRON RECTIFIER, SECOND MEANS SEPARATE FROM SAID FIRST MEANS CONNECTED IN THE PRECIPITATOR CIRCUIT IN COMBINATION WITH SAID FIRST MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE RATE OF SPARKING OF SAID PRECIPITATOR FOR AUTOMATICALLY VARYING THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO THE PRECIPITATOR CONJOINTLY WITH SAID FIRST MEANS IN A DIRECTION TO MAINTAIN AN OPTIMUM PRECIPITATOR SPARKING RATE, AND THIRD MEANS SEPARATE FROM SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEANS ALSO CONNECTED IN THE PRECIPITATOR CIRCUIT IN COMBINATION WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO PRECIPITATOR CURRENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY VARYING THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO THE PRECIPITATOR CONJOINTLY WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEANS IN A DIRECTION TO MAINTAIN A MAXIMUM CURRENT IN THE PRECIPITATOR CIRCUIT.