Improvements in Electric Aro Lamps.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July, 1894-Accepted, 11th Aug., 1894
Improvements in Electric Aro Lamps.
I, PETER KIRKEGAARD of No. 329 Union Street, Brooklyn, in the County of
Kings and State of New York, United States of America, Mining Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to electric arc lamps, the object being to produce a lamp
with a simple and efficient regulating mechanism in which the dash pot or other
cushioning device to prevent hammering is dispensed with. A further object is to
cheapen and improve the construction of the lamp box or casing, and a still further
object is to produce a simple and efficient carbon holder which shall occupy a small
amount of space.
With these ends in view my invention consists of the 'construction hereinafter
described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the accompanying drawing:
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of the lamp casing showing the regulating
mechanism in side elevation.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the lamp casing on the line xx in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the carbon holder, and
Fig. 4 is a section of the carbon holder.
The lamp casing consists of top and bottom plates a and b respectively connected
together at their centers by means of a tube c. These two plates and the tube are
preferably cast in one piece, although the tube may be made separate from the
plates and connected thereto by means of screw threads. This central tube is the
only supporting device between the top and bottom plates. The tube serves as a
housing for the upper carbon carrying rod and for this purpose may be 'provided
with an upward extension c¹. The sides of the casing may be inclosed by a
cylinder of brass or other suitable material. This method of constructing the
casing is simple and cheap.
The carbon rod is indicated by the letter d. It is rectangular in cross-section
and moves in the central tube c. It is engaged by the pinion d', the tube c being
cut away to permit of this engagement. The pinion is carried on a shaft mounted
horizontally in a frame consisting of two vertical side pieces e connected together
above and below by cross pieces. This frame is substantially parallel to the carbon
rod and it carries a train of gear el ending in an escapement e³, of which the
vibrating anchor and weight is indicated by e. The anchor is provided with an
upwardly projecting finger or tail piece e, which normally stands adjacent to a
detent f. This detent consists of a lever pivoted at 1 and provided with an
adjusting screw f' to regulate its distance from the finger of the escapement anchor.
The whole frame carrying the clockwork is pivoted above and below on two pair
of arms gando, the said arms being in turn pivoted at the points g³ g'. This
forms a parallel ruler arrangement which always maintains the frame e parallel to
the carbon rod and insures that the pivot of the escapement anchor will always be
in a vertical line above the axis of the escapement wheel without regard to the
position or height of the frame. I is an electro magnet consisting of two spools
arranged upside down and normally in a plane substantially parallel to the carbon
rod. The back yoke of the magnet is above and the pole pieces are below; the

page_text: back yoke is secured to the arms g' which are extended beyond the pivotal point g
and suitably shaped to be secured to the back yoke by means of screws i, or in any
other suitable manner. The armature of the magnet consists of a block of iron 11
fixed to the lower plate of the lamp casing and having its working face curved to
correspond with the working faces of the pole pieces of the magnet and upon a
circle, the center of which is the pivot 93. The magnet is located in a branch
circuit, shunting the electrodes of the lamp. The operation of the regulating
mechanism thus described is as follows:-When the lamp is not burning the carbons
are separated. The circuit being completed, the shunt magnet I is swung outward
and the gear frame lowered until the escapement is released. The carbon rod feeds
downward by gravity until the electrodes touch; then the shunt magnet is
practically short circuited, and the magnet by its own weight swings inward and
lifts the upper carbon rod, thus establishing the arc and stopping the escapement of
the gear train. The consumption of the carbons by the arc correspondingly
strengthens the magnet and the rod is thus permitted to feed down. It will be
observed that in this operation the arc is struck by the weight of the electro-
magnet, which becomes operatively heavier and lighter with the variation of
the arc.
The magnet being arranged on one side of the pivot 93 and the frame, a clock
train on the other side, will cause a balance between these moving parts, which
will obviate the necessity of a dash pot or other cushion, as all of the movements
will be made in a gradual and easy manner. It will be observed that the arms o
are substantially horizontal and in swinging from one side to the other of the
horizontal plane which they occupy, they will cause but a slight variance in the
distance between the pinion d' and the carbon rod. The pinion will therefore
always be in proper mesh with the rack. The arrangement whereby the pivot of
the escapement anchor and the axis of the escapement wheel are always maintained
in the same vertical plane is a good one, because the vibrating weight of the
escapement will not be thrown out of balance. It will be observed that the
pivots are formed with downwardly projecting lugs from the upper plate of
the lamp casing.
These
The carbon holder herein referred to is designed particularly to be short in
length and to provide for a universal movement of the carbon pencil after it has
been adjusted, so that it may be brought into line with the lower carbon pencil.
The holder consists of a U-shaped piece of metal m which is inverted and secured
to the lower end of the carbon rod by means of a screw o. The screw passes freely
through the piece m and serves as a vertical axis upon which the latter may be
turned. The portion through which the screw passes may be curved, as shown in
Fig. 1, to form a spring which, when it is pressed against the end of the carbon rod
by the head of the screw, will furnish sufficient friction to hold the piece in any
position in which it is left. The inner faces of the arms of this piece m, are each
provided with a jaw p which is secured thereto by means of a screw p located at
the center of the jaws and passing through the arms of the piece m.
screws p¹ furnish pivots upon which the jaws may swing independent of the piece m
and the pivots are in line with each other. The faces of the jaws are suitably
notched or otherwise formed to grasp the end of the carbon pencil as shown in the
drawing. The piece m which is really a yoke is provided with ears m³, two on
each arm, and the two arms are connected together by bolts q q' which pass
through these ears. One of these bolts is threaded and provided with a thumb
piece by which the two arms of the yoke may be drawn together or separated, or
allowed to separate by the resiliency of the metal. This thumb piece is loosened
and the jaws spring apart sufficient to admit the end of the carbon pencil. The
thumb piece is then screwed up to grip the pencil, after which the point of the
pencil may be adjusted as desired to bring it into exact line with the lower carbon
pencil. This adjustment is permitted, it will be observed, by the double pivotal
arrangement of the holder.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is:
1. In an arc lamp, the combination of a lever pivoted between its extremities, an
electro-magnet located in a circuit shunting the arc and attached to one end of said
lever, a frame carrying a gear train attached to the other end of said lever, and a
stationary armature for said electro-magnet, substantially as and for the purpose.
set forth.
2. In an arc lamp, the combination of a lever pivoted between its extremities, an
electro-magnet located in a circuit shunting the arc and attached to one end of said
lever, a frame carrying a gear train attached to the other end of said lever, a carbon
rod, said frame arranged to be always parallel to the carbon rod and the gear train
in engagement with said rod and a stationary armature for said electro-magnet,.
substantially as described.
3. In an arc lamp, the combination of an electro-magnet suspended from a
pivotal point located above it, a frame carrying a train of gear, the magnet and
frame counterbalancing each other, and a stationary armature for the magnet,.
substantially as described.
4. In an arc lamp, a frame carrying a gear train controlled by an escapement,.
said frame being pivotally mounted on parallel arms, said arms being pivoted to
fixed supports, whereby the frame will always be parallel to a given plane, in
combination with an electro-magnet located in the shunt circuit of the lamp and
attached to the frame, and an armature permanently fixed with respect to the
magnet, substantially as described.
5. In an arc lamp, a carbon holder consisting of a U-shaped yoke pivotally
connected with the end of the carbon rod, in combination with two jaws pivoted
respectively to the arms of said yoke, for the purpose set forth.
6. In an are lamp, a carbon holder consisting of a U-shaped yoke pivotally
connected with the end of the carbon rod, in combination with two jaws pivoted
respectively to the sides of the yoke, and means for closing and opening said jaws,
for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 9th day of July A.D. 1894.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.