Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 27th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 31st May, 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by the VITRITE & LUMINOID COMPANY, of 14, Day
Street, New York, a Company incorporated according to the Laws of the State
of Now York, United States of America.]
I, THEODORE MACE of No. 14 Dey Street New York in the United States of
America but temporarily residing at the First Avenue Hotel in the County of
Middlesex, Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of a material for use as the incandescing
medium or luminant of an incandescent electric lamp.
The Inventor has discovered that from certain mineral substances or metallic
compounds such for example as alumina or oxide of nickel combined with other elements
as hereinafter explained a substance or material may be produced which is eminently
suitable for use as the incandescent or luminant of an incandescent electric lamp. This
material I call "Erdite." It may be made by several methods and with many different
elements and in varying proportions as hereinafter explained I therefore do not confine
myself to any one precise method or specific materials or proportions as these may be
varied (as will be readily understood from the following description) according to the
purposes required and by such variations in the relative proportions or materials used
or entering into the composition of the material its conductivity or resistance can be
altered and thereby adapted to be used in conjunction with currents of high or low
potential or to effect a variation in the candle power.
I will describe a way in which the said invention may be carried into effect.
I take an organic material of a porous nature or having interstitial spaces which is,
or may be converted into a conductor of electricity and incorporate therewith a
metallic compound which will combine therewith or is adapted to the purpose of
producing the desired incandescent. There are a great many substances which will
serve as a basis for the first steps of the process such as any common spun porous
material, for example a slack twisted Sea Island Cotton Yarn or thread although many
to

page_text: other materials may be substituted therefor. This body or base is saturated with
a metallic salt or compound as for example aluminium chloride. The body is then
treated with a proper decomposing agent such as a strong solution of ammonia. In
the double, decomposition which ensues the metallic compound or salt with which the
pores of the body are filled is converted into a metallic oxide (alumina-if a compound
of aluminium be used) which is insoluble and a soluble salt (in the example cited
chloride of ammonium). The latter is then removed which may be effected by
dissolving or immersion in hot water.
The object of the process up to this point is to produce a base or material having
pores or interstitial spaces which contain a metallic oxide, suitable for the purposes
of the invention.
The body may be then still further treated with and enveloped in metallic oxide
directly. This may be aluminium oxide as before formed into a pasty condition by
admixture with a small quantity of starch or other binding agents.
I then further treat the body thus formed by converting it into the form of a wire
more definitely by rolling or drawing through a die or both. The surface of the wire
may be and preferably is smoothed and polished by the action of burnishing rolls or
by any other suitable treatment.
The product now obtained is a smooth dense highly polished coherent wire-like
body which may be cut into lengths and shaped as required. To render these shapes
permanent to expel any volatile matter that may remain in the article as the result of
the treatment described, and to effect an incorporation or union of the different
elements it is heated to a high temperature in a closed muffle or other suitable means
of excluding free oxygen. In order to thicken the product or to insure its regularity
I use a further process by which it is thickened or treated with a material of its own
nature. This can be effected by heating the material to a high incandescence (which
can be effected electrically) in a vapour or liquid of an organo metallic body
corresponding to the oxide already used in the treatment. Thus for example if
alumina has been incorporated in the first stages of the process the
proper substance
to be employed in connection with the final heating is an Ethyl or Methyl compound
of aluminium associated with an oxidizing agent and for the purposes of the invention
the latter may suitably consist of watery vapour mingled with the aforesaid vapour of
the organo-metallic body.
The incandescing medium being thus brought into contact with these vapours effects
a decomposition of the latter and the deposition of the required elements in and upon
the incandescent body itself, under the influence of the high temperature and entering
into chemical combination therewith and together and producing a practically
homogeneous substance.
The material prepared as above described has a high degree of strength and
clasticity and is stable and resists the disintegrating action of the electric current when
used in an incandescent lamp.
The mode of carrying the invention into effect may be modified. Thus instead of
employing aluminium chloride as the metallic salt some other metallic compound
which is stable at light giving temperatures in the absence of free oxygen such for
example as nickel sulphate may be used in the first stages of treatment. In such
cases corresponding agents must be employed in the other stages of the process.
The invention may also be carried into effect by combining the indicating elements in
a pulverulent form or condition associated with a suitable binding agent to form a mass
of proper consistency and forcing through a die and then subjecting the wire so
formed to heat in like manner and under similar conditions to those hereinbefore
described.
Dated this art
1000
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C.

page_text: Luminant of Incandescence Electric Lamps.
I, THEODORE MACE of No. 14 Dey Street New York in the United States of
America late temporarily residing at the First Avenue Hotel in the County of
Middlesex Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this Invention which has been
communicated to me from Abroad by the Vitrite and Luminoid Company of 14 Dey
Street New York a Company incorporated according to the laws of the State of New
York, United States of America 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 the manufacture of a material for use as the incandescing'
medium or luminant of Incandescence Electric lamps.
The inventor has discovered that from salts or compounds of Aluminium or Alumina
combined with an organic or carbonizable material as hereinafter explained, a substance
can be produced which is eminently suitable for use as the incandescent or luminant
of incandescence electric lamps. This substance I call "Erdite." It may be made by
several methods and with many different organic or carbonizable materials and in
varying proportions of the ingredients as hereinafter explained I therefore do not
confine myself to any one precise method or specific organic or carbonizable materials
or proportions as these may be varied (as will be readily understood from the following
description) according to the purposes required and by variations in the relative
proportions of the materials used or entering into the composition of the luminant or
incandescing portion its conductivity or resistance can be altered so that it can be
adapted to be used in conjunction with electric currents of high or low potential or to
effect a variation in the candle power.
I will describe the best way with which I am acquainted for carrying the said
Invention into effect.
An organic material which is of a porous nature or has interstitial spaces and which
is capable of being carbonized and converted into a conductor, is taken and with it is
incorporated alumina or other salt or compound of aluminium which is adapted, in
conjunction with the aforesaid organic material and when treated as hereinafter
described, to the purpose of producing the desired incandescent-There are a great
many substances which will serve as the aforesaid organic material such for example
as any common spun porous material, for instance a slack twisted cotton yarn or
thread although many other organic and carbonizable materials may be substituted
therefor-In cases where alumina itself is not used directly the mixture of the organic
material and the salt or compound of aluminium is then treated with decomposing
agents such as a strong solution of ammonia or ammonia gas. In the double decom-
position which ensues the metallic salt or compound with which the pores of the
organic material are filled is converted into the insoluble oxide of aluminium, and the
soluble chloride or other salt of ammonium. The soluble salt is then removed which

page_text: may be effected by dissolving or immersion in water, I have found however that a
plan which is preferable in some respects is to impregnate the carbonizable material
with a compound of aluminium in such form as that it will be spontaneously converted
to the form of oxide or that it can be reduced to the form of oxide by the agency of
heat alone This may be done by taking the acetate or ethylate or methylate of
aluminium and saturating the pores of the organic or carbonizable material therewith.
By any of the processes there is produced a carbonizable material having pores or
spaces which contain alumina suitable for the purposes of the Invention. Generally
five per cent of alumina will give good results but I do not confine myself to that
proportion.
I generally prefer when using for instance cotton thread for the carbonizable
material to open the pores thereof and remove impurities by boiling or digesting it
thoroughly in water before impregnating it with alumina or other salt of aluminium.
The body may be then still further treated directly with and enveloped in alumina
which can be formed into a pasty condition by admixture with a small quantity of
starch or other binding agents. The body produced may be made more truly like a
wire by rolling or by drawing through a die or by both operations-The surface of
the material may be, and preferably is, smoothed and polished by the action of
burnishing rolls or by other suitable treatment. The product now obtained is a
smooth dense coherent wire like body which may be cut into lengths and shaped as
required To render the shapes permanent to expel any volatile matter that may
remain in the mixture of materials as the result of the treatment described and other-
wise render the material suitable for use in incandescent lamps the body is heated to a
high temperature in a closed muffle or other suitable means of excluding oxygen and
other injurious gases, so producing a practically homogeneous substance well adapted
as the incandescing portion or luminant for incandescent electric lamps the said
luminant possessing a high degree of strength and elasticity and being very stable
and resisting the disintegrating action of the electric current to a much greater degree
than does a carbon filament when so used.
In order to consolidate the product and to ensure evenness a further process may
be employed by which the product is treated with material of its own nature-This
can be done by heating the said product to a high incandescence (which can be
effected electrically in a vacuum) after dipping it into a liquid of an organo-metallic
nature contributing oxide of aluminium. Such a suitable body is the ethylate or
methylate of aluminium.
The material being thus brought into contact with such a body under high tempera-
ture effects a decomposition of the latter and a deposition of the required elements in
and upon the incandescent body itself.
This Invention may also be carried into effect by combining the aforesaid materials
in a moist form or condition associated with a suitable binding material to form a
mass of proper consistency and forcing through a die and then subjecting the wire so
formed to heat and treatment in like manner and under similar conditions to those
hereinbefore described. This may be effected as follows:-Finely powdered carbon
is intimately mixed with alumina, the proportions being regulated according to the
quality of product desired. To this mixture is added a small quantity of some binding
material as for example dextrine say 20 parts by weight of the mixture to one of
dextrine. The whole is then made into a stiff paste by stirring up with water. The
object of the dextrine is to bind the alumina and carbon together so that on subsequent
drying they will not fall to powder again. This paste is then introduced into a
syringe having at the end one or more apertures either circular or otherwise of a size
varying according to the thickness of the luminant required. The syringe being held
in a vertical position with the apertures downwards, by pressing on the piston the
paste is forced through the apertures in threads. These threads are then taken in
convenient lengths and hung up to dry, or they may be laid out upon glass or other
suitable substance. Before getting quite hard however they are cut and bent into
the final shape required for the luminant. When thoroughly dry they are heated in
a muffle furnace to a white heat or they may be heated by passing a current of

page_text: electricity through them while they are enclosed in a vacuum. The object of this
heating is to drive off the water contained in the dextrine. The resulting luminant
being to a certain extent porous may if desired be subjected to a further treatment by
the process already described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
First A material for use in the manufacture of the incandescing portion or luminant
of Electric lamps consisting of or containing a combination of organic or carbonizable
substance with alumina substantially as hereinbefore described.
Second-The manufacture and use of a material for the incandescent or luminant
of Electric lamps consisting of alumina together with an organic or carbonizable body
the mixture being heated in absence of oxygen and other injurious gases, with or
without further heating with an organic compound of aluminium substantially as
hereinbefore set forth.
Third The manufacture and use of a material for the incandescent or luminant of
electric lamps consisting in saturating an organic or carbonizable material or body
with a salt or compound of aluminium decomposing the said salt or compound so as to
obtain alumina then washing and afterwards heating out of contact with free oxygen
and other injurious gases, with or without further heating with an organic compound
of aluminium substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
Fourth The manufacture and use of a material for the incandescing portion or
luminant of electric lamps by saturating or impregnating an organic or carbonizable
material with oxide of aluminium or a salt from which the oxide is subsequently pro-
duced substantially as described then enveloping the same in a paste of the same oxide
shaping and finishing the same and heating with the exclusion of oxygen and other
injurious gases, with or without further heating with an organic compound of
aluminium substantially as hereinbefore described.
DL: 371
2
11007