Improvements in or relating to the Connecting and Disconnecting of the Sockets of Incandescent Electric Lamps.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Mar., 1896-Accepted, 23rd May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Connecting and Disconnecting
of the Sockets of Incandescent Electric Lamps.
WC, PERCY BENHAM, Engineer, A.M. Inst. C.E., M. Inst. M.E., and WALTER
SMITH, Electrical Engineer, both of 66 Wigmore Street, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Incandescent electric lamps are usually connected to their sockets (to which the
shades are attached) by a bayonet joint or screw attachment and are attached or
detached by hand; this is a comparatively easy matter, but when the shades have
to be connected or disconnected a difficulty frequently arises on account of the
size of the glass bells, or shades employed which are often of a diameter so little
in excess of that of the socket as not to leave sufficient room for the operator to
get at the parts, and the present invention is designed to overcome this difficulty.
In carrying out the invention we provide the socket with lugs more or less of
usual construction and adapted to receive the jaws of a special pair of tougs or
pliers or a suitable tool constructed to fit easily inside the glass bell, and at the
same time to secure a firm hold upon the socket or its lugs. A convenient form to
give to the jaws of this instrument is to curve them to a portion of a circular arc
corresponding to that of either the socket or the lugs and to form upon the curved
face of each jaw a suitable flange or projection adapted to so engage with the
socket, the lugs or both as to obtain the necessary hold. The handles or levers of
the pliers may be specially shaped to suit the work.
Instead of employing a jointed instrument like a pair of pliers we may make the
instrument on the principle of a skeleton box spanner with suitable recesses or
projections as the case may be to engage the lugs of the socket; the part of the
instrument engaging the lugs may form a complete circle with recesses
projections, or it may be made in the form of independent jaws though not
necessarily jointed to the handle.
or
In yet another form the instrument may be made with pivotted jaws more or less
similar to those above described but adapted to be applied by means of a screwed
or other collar which can be forced over the jaws and thus compress them upon the
socket.
In most of the above applications so firm a hold can be obtained upon the
socket that it is not always necessary to employ the lugs.
Dated this 24th dor of Mev 1895
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Connecting and Disconnecting
of the Sockets of Incandescent Electric Lamps.
We, PERCY BENHAM, Engineer, A.M. Inst. C.E., M. Inst. M.E., and WALTER
SMITH, Electrical Engineer, both of 66 Wigmore Street, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
Incandescent electric lamps are usually connected to their sockets (to which the

page_text: shades are attached) by a bayonet joint or screw attachment and are attached or
detached by hand; this is a comparatively easy matter, but when the shades have
to be connected or disconnected a difficulty frequently arises on account of the
size of the glass bells, or shades employed which are often of a diameter so little
in excess of that of the socket as not to leave sufficient room for the operator to
get at the parts, and the present invention is designed to overcome this difficulty.
In carrying out the invention we provide the socket with lugs more or less of
usual construction and adapted to receive the jaws of a special pair of tongs or
pliers or a suitable tool constructed to fit easily inside the glass bell, and at the
same time to secure a firm hold upon the socket or its lugs. A convenient form to
give to the jaws of this instrument is to curve them to a portion of a circular arc
corresponding to that of either the socket or the lugs and to form upon the curved
face of each jaw a suitable flange or projection adapted to so engage with the
socket, the lugs or both as to obtain the necessary hold. The handles or levers of
the pliers may be specially shaped to suit the work.
Instead of employing a jointed instrument like a pair of pliers we may make the
instrument on the principle of a skeleton box spanner with suitable recesses or
projections as the case may be to engage the lugs of the socket; the part of the
instrument engaging the lugs may form a complete circle with recesses
projections, or it may be made in the form of independent jaws though not
necessarily jointed to the handle.
or
In yet another form the instrument may be made with pivotted jaws more or less
similar to those above described but adapted to be applied by means of a screwed
or other collar which can be forced over the jaws and thus compress them upon the
socket.
In most of the above applications so firm a hold can be obtained upon the
socket that it is not always necessary to employ the lugs.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown two ways of carrying our
invention into practice,
Fig. 1 being an elevation showing the preferred form of tongs,
Fig. 2 is an end view of the tongs and
Fig. 3 a perspective view showing the box-spanner arrangement.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the lamp socket or holder which may have the usual bayonet slot or
recess A¹ or be otherwise arranged to retain the lamp (not shown in the drawing)
securely in position.
B is the nut or collar which is screwed or otherwise secured on the socket A so
as to clamp the shade holder C between it (the nut) and the collar A2 formed
upon or rigidly secured to the lamp socket A.
D Figs. 1 and 2 are the improved tongs by means of which we are able to
readily grasp the nut B for removing it from or screwing it on to the socket A.
The jaws D of the tongs D are shaped to more or less correspond with the exterior
shape of the nut B; in the example shown, wherein the nut is circular, the jaws
are concave as shown in Fig. 2 to agree with the convexity of the nut.
jaws are moreover provided with shoulders or projections D2 which serve as stops
for preventing the tongs being pushed too far up into the shade E which otherwise
might be readily broken.
These
In Fig. 3 the nut B is provided with one or more lugs B¹ (only one is shown in
the drawing) and may be screwed on or off the socket A by means of a box
spanner or key E which is formed with one or more recesses E' to receive the
lugs B¹.
It will be obvious that the tongs D shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be employed for
manipulating the nut shown in Fig. 3. If desired the jaws of the tongs may be
recessed for engaging with the lugs B' or if desired the nut B may be recessed and
the tougs or spanner or key E provided with projections to engage with these
recesses.
By means of an instrument such as previously described a nut, which, in a shade

page_text: of but slightly larger diameter than the nut itself such as a bell shaped shade,
would be very difficult to grasp with the fingers, may be very readily removed from
or screwed on to the socket for detaching or fixing the shade.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;-
1. The employment of an instrumeut such as described for turning the nuts of
incandescent electric lamp sockets inside the shades.
2. An instrument or tongs for turning the nuts of incandescent electric lamp
sockets substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. As a means of turning the nut of an incandescent electric lamp socket inside
the shade an instrument or tongs having curved jaws such as D' and shoulders D2
substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying
drawings.
4. The combination with the socket of an incandescent electric lamp of a nut
having special means such as one or more projections or recesses for engagement
with a turning key or equivalent instrument for the purpose of avoiding the
necessity of turning by the hand the nut inside the shade of the lamp.
Dated this 20th day of February 1800.
חד
PERCY BENHAM.
WALTER SMITH.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.
PERCY BENHAM.
WALTER SMITH.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.