Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1886.
Complete Left, 2nd Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 20th Sept., 1887.
RES
I, The Honorable CHARLES ALGERNON PARSONS, of Victoria Works, Gateshead
on Tyne in the County of Durham, a member of the firm of Clarke, Chapman, Parsons,
& Co., Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:―
My invention which has reference to electric arc lamps suitable for low tension
currents (say about 65 volts) has for its object to produce lamps of improved construc-
tion such that they can be better entrusted than are lamps as heretofore usually made
to the care of unskilled attendants; the construction being such moreover as to render
the lamps weather-proof and free from liability to stoppage; and, under one arrange-
ment, such as to enable two carbons to be burnt in succession in a lamp of simple
kind. The regulation of the arc is effected by the use of a solenoid in series with the
lamp in connection with an iron core which through cords wound on a snail and
wheel respectively balances or partially balances the weight of the upper carbon and
holder; or where it is required to use the lamps in series or multiple series, parts of
the coils on the series solenoid can (as is well understood in connection with known
arc lamps) be replaced by a fine shunt wire in a manner that will be readily under-
stood. As is well known, the attraction of a solenoid on an iron core therein, both
being of unifoam cross section, varies according to an arbitrary law. Therefore
in connection with such a solenoid and iron core when used for separating
the carbons and maintaining the arc, it is necessary to employ some device whereby
the arc and current may be caused to remain the same for all positions of the carbons
as they burn away, and it is for this purpose I use a wheel and snail or fuzee as above
mentioned. One arrangement is as follows: A wheel and snail or fuzee are keyed
on a common axle ; the solenoid is vertical; it has a hollow iron core that enters
from the top and the pull is exercised in a downward direction, the weight and pull
being taken by a cord passing upward and around the snail and attached thereto.
Around the wheel is wound a cord that is attached to and passes upward from the
upper carbon holder. The two cords respectively from the iron core and the upper
carbon holder cross in opposite directions. Conveniently the wheel and axle can be

page_text: arranged above the solenoid and to one side of the upper carbon holder, so that the
cord that passes around the snail and which supports the iron core as well as the cord
that passes around the wheel and which supports the upper carbon holder may hang
nearly vertical, and thus the weight of the iron core may tend to balance or aid in
balancing the weight of the upper carbon holder with its carbon. The iron core is
weighted so that its weight supplemented by the attraction of the solenoid (when a
normal current is passing) may exactly counterbalance the weight of the upper carbon
holder and carbon. The form of the snail, which must be found finally by trial, will
depend upon the rate of variation of weight of the upper carbon with its holder
in conjunction with the varying power of the solenoid on the core in its various
relative positions. The required form of snail may, however, be determined with
facility in such a manner as to ensure that in all positions during the burning of a
pair of carbons, the current required to keep the carbons apart shall be nearly constant.
As I prefer to make it, the iron core is in the form of a thin tube of uniform section
suitably weighted. For the purposes of ensuring alignment of the upper carbon with
the lower one, a ball and socket are in some cases employed. The arrangement
comprises a clip with portions approximately of hollow hemispherical form, the grip
of the clip upon the upper carbon being effected by a screw.
The parts above referred to are enclosed in a cover or shield which at its lower part
enters an annular groove (with packing) in a ring or base plate pivotted to side rods
connected by a cross bar at the top, there being at the upper part a tightening screw,
between the cross bar and the top of the cover. Thus the mechanism is protected
from the weather, and at the same time is very readily accessible for examination or
repair. When constructing a double carbon lamp according to my invention, the
solenoids are compound wound, and connected up as follows: Two complete lamps
are placed on one framing side by side, but the solenoids instead of being wound
with a single large wire are wound with a wire of, say, half the sectional area of
that employed in a single lamp, and with a few layers only of larger wire carrying
the whole current of the opposite lamp. The current entering the double lamp divides
into two equal portions through the smaller wire of the solenoids, after which it
passes by the larger wire of the lamp that is not burning.
Dated this 1st day of November 1886.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: I, The Honorable CHARLES ALGERNON PARSONS, of Victoria Works, Gateshead
on-Tyne in the County of Durham, a member of the firm of Clarke, Chapman,
Parsons & Co. Engineers, 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 :-
My invention which has reference to electric arc lamps suitable for low tension
currents (say about 65 volts) has for its object to produce lamps of improved
construction such that they can be better entrusted, than are lamps as heretofore
usually made, to the care of unskilled attendants; the construction being such
moveover as to render the lamps weather-proof and free from liability to stoppage,
and, under one arrangement, such as to enable two carbons to be burnt in succession
in a lamp of simple kind. The regulation of the arc is effected by the use of a
solenoid in series with the lamp in connection with an iron core which through cords
wound on a snail and wheel respectively, balances or partially balances the weight of
the upper carbon and holder; or where it is required to use the lamps in series or
multiple series, parts of the coils on the series solenoid can (as is well understood in
connection with known arc lamps) be replaced by a fine shunt wire in a manner that
will be readily understood.
As is well known the attraction of a solenoid on an iron core therein, both being
of uniform cross section, varies according to an arbitrary law. Therefore in con-
nection with such a solenoid and iron core when used for separating the carbons
and maintaining the arc, it is necessary to employ some device whereby the arc and
current may be caused to remain the same for all positions of the carbons as they
burn away, and it is for this purpose I use a wheel and snail or fusee as above
mentioned. One arrangement is as follows:
A wheel and snail or fuzee are keyed on a common axle; the solenoid is vertical ;
it has a hollow iron core that enters from the top and the pull is exercised in a down-
ward direction the weight and pull being taken by a cord passing upward and around
the snail and attached thereto.

page_text: Around the wheel is wound a cord that is attached to and passes upward from the
upper carbon holder. The two cords respectively from the iron core and the upper
carbon holder cross in opposite directions.
Conveniently the wheel and axle can be arranged above the solenoid and to one
side of the upper carbon holder, so that the cord that passes around the snail and
which supports the iron core as well as the cord that passes around the wheel
and which supports the upper carbon holder may hang nearly vertical, and
thus the weight of the iron core may tend to balance or aid in balancing the
weight of the upper carbon holder with its carbon.
The iron core is weighted so that its weight supplemented by the attraction of the
solenoid (when a normal current is passing) may exactly counterbalance the weight
of the upper carbon holder and carbon. The form of the snail which must be
found finally by trial, will depend upon the rate of variation of weight of the upper
carbon with its holder in conjunction with the varying power of the solenoid on the
core in its various relative positions. The required form of snail may, however, be
determined with facility in such a manner as to ensure that in all positions during the
burning of a pair of carbons, the current required to keep the carbons apart shall be
nearly constant. As I prefer to make it, the iron core is in the form of a thin tube
of uniform section suitably weighted. For the purposes of ensuring alignment of the
upper carbon with the lower one, a ball and socket are in some cases employed. The
arrangement comprises a clip with portions approximately of hollow hemispherical
form, the grip of the clip upon the upper carbon being effected by a screw.
The parts above referred to are enclosed in a cover or shield which at its lower
part enters an annular groove (with packing) in a ring or base plate pivotted to side
rods connected by a cross bar at the top, there being at the upper part a tightening
screw, between the cross bar and the top of the cover.
Thus the mechanism is protected from the weather, and at the same time is very
readily accessible for examination or repair.
When constructing a double carbon lamp according to my invention the solenoids
are compound wound and connected up as follows :-
-
Two complete lamps are placed on one framing side by side, but the solenoids
instead of being wound with a single large wire are wound with a wire of, say, half
the sectional area of that employed in a single lamp, and with a few layers only of
larger wire carrying the whole current of the opposite lamp. The current entering
the double lamp divides into two equal portions through the smaller wire of the
solinoids, after which it passes by the larger wire of the lamp that is not burning.
Referring to the accompanying three sheets of drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section
through an arc lamp according to my invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; and
Fig. 3 is a part side elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, with a part of the cover
removed for sake of clearness.
1, 2 are the upper and lower carbons respectively. The upper is held in a clip
which is mounted on a ball joint at the end of the carbon holder 3. This holder slides
in a long guide 4 screwed into a diaphragm 5 forming part of the bobbin on which the
solenoid coil 5 is wound. The exterior of this guide forms a slide to keep the
solenoid core 6 central in the coil.
At the upper end of the guide there is mounted a bracket 7 which carries in
bearings, a short shaft or axis 8, on which are keyed a flanged wheel or pulley 9 and
a snail 10. The wheel 9 is of such a diameter that a cord 11 depending from its left
hand side (Fig. 1.) hangs in the centre of the carbon holder 3 to which it is attached.
This carbon holder is hollow and has a slot cut down it to admit the edge of the wheel.
To the snail there is attached a cord 12 which hangs from it on the opposite side of
the axis 8 to the cord 11. This cord passes under a pulley 13 on the core, and its
farther end is secured to the bracket 7. The figure or outline of the snail is such that
in all positions of the core the turning effort exerted on the axis 8 by the cord 12

page_text: by the cord 11.
To is passing
The current enters the lamp at the terminal 13, passes through the solenoid and
back to an insulated binding post; then to the upper carbon by the flexible con-
ductor 14 across the arc to the lower carbon, and then by the conductor 14, to the
terminal 15.
16 is the cover-It seats in a ring 17 with packing, and is forced down by the
screw 18, which screws into a boss on the bridge which connects the suspension
rods 19, 19.
Fig. 4 shews a lamp according to my invention modified so as to shorten it and
render it useful in positions when little head room is to be obtained. In this, instead
of the solenoid core being weighted internally with shot or similar material, it has a
heavy collar placed externally at the top. This core slides on a fixed guide 21 secured
to the bobbin of the solenoid. Within the guide there moves the carbon holder 22
and its rod 23, the latter being cruciform in cross section (Fig. 5).
the guide 21 is slotted for the accomodation of the conductor 14".
Fig. 6 is a vertical section of double lamp according to this invention-Fig. 7 is a
plan of the same with the top of the cover removed.
The lower part of
Fig. 8 is a detail view. This lamp is composed of two complete single lamps similar
to that described with reference to Figs. and 5 except that the solenoids are
differently wound.
The current enters by the binding screw 13 from which it flows in two equal
portions around the fine wire of the solenoids 5, 5b, in parallel.
The other ends of these fine wires are coupled together and to one end of each of
the coarse wires on the solenoids; the other ends of these coarse wires are each
connected by a flexible wire to the upper carbon holder of the opposite lamp.
Thus the coarse wire around the solenoid 5ª is connected to the carbon holder at A¹.
The current after traversing the arc or ares between A B and A¹ B', ascends by the
lower holder C and thence by wire to the terminal 15.
:
The action of the lamp is as follows the current enters by the terminal 13; it
then passes around the fine wires of both solenoids 5ª and 5b, in equal portions
exercising an attraction on the hollow cores 6, 6ª just sufficient to separate both
carbons and strike the arcs in both lamps. As the carbons are never exactly the same
weight one pair gets more separated than the other and the are breaks say between
A¹ B'; then the arc between A. B. gets all the current and the coarse wire on the
solenoid 5 carries the whole current thus increasing the attraction on the core 6", and
drawing the carbon A' up out of the way.
Again where the carbons A B are consumed and the holder of A can fall no lower
the arc between A B breaks and the current being stopped the carbon A' falls rapidly,
makes contact with B and commences and continues to burn instead of A B as
heretofore.
Thus the lamp continues to burn until both pairs of carbons are consumed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what is claimed in
electric arc lamps is :—
1. The combination of a wheel and snail fastened together or to a common axis the
wheel being connected to the carbon holder, and the snail to the core of a solenoid
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination with a wheel and snail fastened together or to a common axis,
of a solenoid core of uniform section substantially as described.
3. In combination with a wheel and snail fastened together, a carbon holder formed
with a ball and socket to permit of the adjustment of the carbon substantially
as described.
4. The combination with pivotted suspension rods of a case or cover held in place
by a compression screw, substantially as described and illustrated.
5. In a double carbon lamp having two solenoids winding each of the solenoids

page_text: with two coils in such manner that half the current circulates in one coil, and the
whole of the current in the remaining coil of the lamp which is not in action
substantially as described.
6. I also claim the improved electric arc lamp constructed, arranged and operating
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1. 2 and 3 and Figs. 4 and 5 of the
drawings.
7. Also the improved double arc lamp, constructed arranged and operating
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.
Daten mis nu day ng FOOT
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.