Method of eliminating risk of discharge of a battery in an electrical installation for a motor vehicle and an apparatus for effecting the same

Claim 1

In an electrical installation for a motor vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine which permits the connection thereto of selected electrical-power consuming devices of the vehicle operated directly from a constant and regulated alternating current supplied from an A.C. alternator, the improvement comprising, in combination: an A.C. alternator driven by the engine and having a controllable D.C. field excitation winding; a voltage regulator associated with said controllable D.C. field excitation winding for maintaining the output of said A.C. alternator at a constant and regulated voltage; a storage battery connected to be charged by said A.C. alternator at a constant and regulated voltage; a storage battery connected to be charged by said A.C. alternator through current rectifying means; a first set of said selected electrical-power consuming devices connected directly to the battery; a second set of said selected electrical-power consuming devices comprising heat generating resistors embedded in a transparent window material for the motor vehicle and connected directly to the constant and regulated alternating current supplied from A.C. generator, thereby effecting operation of said second set of said selected electrical-power consuming devices by the output voltage of said A.C. alternator which is regulated and held constant irrespective of the speed of said A.C. alternator and thereby elmininating the risk of discharge of said battery by reducing the number of selected electrical-power consuming devices connected to said battery; and wherein capacitors coupled in parallel with said resistors are provided for correcting the power factor.