Apparatus for monitoring rectifier component of rotor mounted exciter system for synchronous machine

Claim 1

IN A SLIP RING-FREE EXCITER ARRANGEMENT FOR SUPPLYING THE ROTOR WINDING OF A SYNCHRONOUS ELECTRICAL MACHINE WITH DIRECT CURRENT WHICH INCLUDES A POLYPHASE ALTERNATING CURRENT GENERATOR HAVING AN M NUMBER OF PHASES MOUNTED ON SAID ROTOR, AND A RECTIFIER GROUP ALSO MOUNTED ON SAID ROTOR INDIVIDUAL TO EACH SAID PHASE AND FED THEREFROM, EACH SAID RECTIFIR GROUP BEING COMPRISED OF AN N NUMBER DOF PARALLELED RECTIFIER PATHS EACH OF WHICH INCLUDES A RECTIFIER ELEMENT AND A FUSE CONNECTED IN SERIES THEREWITH FOR FEEDING SAID ROTOR WINDING WITH DIRECT CURRENT, AN ARRANGEMENT FOR MONITORING THE CURRENT FLOW IN EACH SAID RECTIFIER PATH WHICH COMPRISES A ROTATABLE MAGNETIZABLE CORE HAVING A MAGNETIZING WINDING THEREON INDIVIDUAL TO EACH RECTIFIER PATH AND CONNECTED IN SERIES THEREWITH, SAID ROTATABLE CORES BEING MOUNTED ON SAID ROTOR IN CIRCUMFERENTIAL EQUAL SPACED RELATION AND IN A GROUP SEQUENCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF SAID POLYPHASE GENERATOR WHEREBY ALL OF SAID ROTATABLE CORES IN EACH GROUP ARE MAGNETIZE SIMULTANEOUSLY AND IN GROUP SUCCESSION WHEN ALL RECTIFIER CURRENT PATHS OF ALL GROUPS ARE OPERATIONAL, A FIRST ARCUATE ARRAY OF N NUMBER OF STATIONARY EQUALLY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED TAPPING COILS HAVING THE SAME SPACING AS SAID ROTATABLE CORES AND WHICH ARE LOCATED SO AS TO BE SIMULTANEOUSLY OPPOSITE EACH GROUP OF SAID ROTATABLE CORES AND IN GROUP SUCCESSION THEREBY TO INDUCE VOLTAGE PULSES SIMULTANEOULY INTO SAID TAPPING COILS, A MAGNETIC FIELD PRODUCING MEMBER MOUNTED ON THE PERIPHERY OF SAID ROTOR, AN M NUMBER OF OTHER STA-