Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 29th Jan, 1889
ALFRED HENRY WALTON 64 Richmond Road Barnsbury in the county of
Middlesex Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
bo as follows:
This Invention has for its object to provide improved means for securing the
safety of Electric Light or other Electrical circuits from overhoating.
For this purpose I insert fuse wire or foi! in the positive and in the negativo
wires of each circuit at every point where the sectional area of the conducting
wires is altered.
For Incandescent lamp circuits I prefer to place the fuse in each lamp wire at
the point where it joins the distributing or other mains and by bringing all lamp
wires in a house or portion of a building to one contral point to use one contact
bar for all fuses.
This contact bar is provided with a binding screw and lock nuts which secure
the distributing or other main thus enabling one mechanical joint or connection
to convey the current to all the lamps fed from the bar thereby saving the expense
and risk of the usual numerous insulated soldered joints.
I prefer to fix the contact bar which may be made of -brass or other metal to
an incombustible base so arranged that the fuse wire or foil to each lamp and
also the lamp wire can be easily secured on the same base.
"
The fuse wire or foil can be secured to the. contact bar and lamp by terminals or
screws but to avoid the risk of imperfect contact occasioned by their use. I prefer
to place the fuse wire or foil on a piece of rigid incombustible material such as
slate porcelain or other insulator and secure it by brass or other metal clips or
caps at each or either end.
One end of this insulating piece is placed in a groove cut longitudinally in the
contact bar and the other end is constantly pressed forward by a brass or other
metal spring which is secured to the incombustible base by the same terminal
screw or bolt which binds the lamp wire.

page_text: I prefer to make the springs of such a form that the rigid insulating pieces
carrying the fuse wire or foil may be easily withdrawn or inserted by hand
without the use of tools.
Any number of springs may be secured to one base thereby enabling an unlimited
number of lamps to be fed from one central point of constant potential.
Dated this 9th day of April 1888.
ALFRED HENRY WALTON, 64 Richmond Road Barnsbury N. Electrical 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 :—
The object of this invention is to provide improved methods for obtaining reliable
and safe contacts for fuse wires.
In the ordinary direct supply of electricity from central or other stations, mains
of large sectional area have to be employed from the point of supply and lamp wires
are jointed to these mains as required.
By this improved method, fewer larger mains are necessary and no electrical joints
are required to be made in any mains or wires.
The advantages are obtained by bringing all lamp wires which, preferably supply
only one lamp each in a house or building to one central point, this point can be
maintained. at a constant difference of potentials by any of the usual methods, thus
forming a sub-station or distributing centre. Then as each lamp wire is independent
of all variation of load, that is to say the one lamp is either on or off the volts lost in
any one pair of lamp wires (positive and negative) do not vary; thus the size or area
of the lamp wires is governed solely by the heating limit and for long distances lamps
of lower Electro-motive-force may be used.
It will be found in practice that very considerable economy will result.
A large number of wires however, all coming to one central point, require some
form of connection which ensures safe contact and easy distinction or soparation of
any one wire. This improved method provides such a connection with the further
safe guard and economy of including with it a separate fuse to each lamp in both
positive and negative wires, thus saving the expense and risk of the usual small
separate fuse boards or plugs and also the insulated soldered joints to mains.

page_text: The usual form of fuse attachment to plugs or boards necessitates more or less
expensive fittings and further it is impossible to secure constant perfect contact by
squeezing soft metal such as tin or other fuse wire under screws or bolts, as the metal
having little or no elasticity simply yields to the pressure of the screw and soon works
sufficiently loose at the point of contact to become so hot as to cause the fuse
to melt.
It will be seen from the accompanying drawings that the fuse wire contact is not
dependent on any screw which can flatten the wire without following up the loss of
pressure, but a special form of spring A (see drawings) is employed which provides a
constant pressure on the fuse wire.
The fuse wire is easily placed in position without the use of any tools a strip or bar
of insulating material B carrying the fuse K being held in compression by the spring A
against a central brass bar and by means of brass caps D fitted on each end of the
insulating strip B the fuse fire is thus protected from abrasion and permanent good
contact is ensured.
"
The spring A and central bar C are fixed on a slate or other insulating slab Ę by
bolts F the end of the bar O being provided with a loose socket or terminal G to which
the feeding main can be brazed or soldered and then mechanically bolted to the bar C
thus providing a certain and permanent contact.
The lamp wires H are secured by the nut on bolt F to the spring A a slot or
groove I is cut longitudinally on each or both sides of the central bar to receive the
capped end of the insulating bar B.
The accompanying drawings show fuse arrangements for twenty-eight lamps, two
such boards being required (one for positive circuit and one for negative circuit) for
one house and fitted with the requisite number of springs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
Firstly-In electrical circuits a contact bar for any number of fuses, this contact
bar to form a point of distribution.
Secondly: In a contact bar, the means substantially as herein before described and
illustrated in the drawings annexed for providing improved methods for inserting
fusible cut-outs in Electrical Circuits..
Dated this 19th day of December 1888.