AN IMPROVED PORTABLE ELECTRIC LAMP
Year: 1885

page_text: We ARTHUR VEEL ROSE of Ellerslie Cavendish Road, Brondesbury and Geokge
FITZHARDINGE ROSE of Penrose House Hampstead both in the County of Middlesex
Merchants do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PORTABLE ELECTRIC LAMP "to be as follows:-
Our Invention has for its object to provide a convenient and económical arrange-
ment of portable lamp adapted for domestic use. A lamp constructed according to
our Invention consists as follows:-The stand or pillar of the lamp constitutes or
contains a receptacle for the electrolyte and elements of a battery which elements
are carried by a cover and consist preferably of carbons and zincs the carbons being
secured to the cover by screws and nuts or other means of attachment the zincs
being secured so as to be readily removeable by means of spring clip pieces with
teeth or projections taking into recesses in the end of the zincs. The said elements
are preferably in long narrow strips in series side by side and with nonconducting
buttons or projections on the carbons to prevent contact between the elements due
to distortion thereof. The clips which secure the zincs have thumb pieces projecting
above the cover which can be pressed together to open the gripping jaws of the said
clips and the bearing pieces of the clips on the elements may be made of platinum
Attached to the cover is a rack with which engages a pinion or toothed shaft carried
by the lamp vase or cover by rotating which the elements can be raised or lowered
all at the same time from or into the electrolyte. The connections from the
elements to the lamp are made by preference by strips where necessary and where
possible the metal which may be used in the construction of the lamp may be
utilized as a conductor-It is preferred to use two distinct sets of elements arranged
as hereinbefore described so that when one is exhausted the other can be lowered
into the electrolyte a switch or switches being provided by which the circuit can be
made from either set as required or the current be entirely cut off for extinguishing
the lap. In order to give facility for removing and replacing the bulb in the
vacuum in which the carbon filament which gives the light is enclosed we fix it to
a simple stem the terminals from the bulb being electrically connected with separate
conducting strips on the said stem which is slipped into a split conducting tube and
the parts of which are insulated from each other for the passage of the battery
current from and to the lamp respectively The racks are utilized as conductors for
the current to and from the lamp by making them each in parts insulated from

page_text: each other and respectively connected with the sets of elements. Each part of the
racks is in electric contact with its guides which in turn form part of the circuit
from the battery to the lamp.
In order to utilize the material of the zincs to the utmost they may be made
reversible so that when worn one end, they can be reversed and held in the clips by
the ends opposite to those by which they were previously held. The parts of the
lamp which would otherwise be liable to be corroded may be coated with nickel to
protect them.
When the lamp is in use one of the sets of electrodes is lowered into the
electrolyte and the intensity of the light can be regulated by raising or lowering
then by means of the pinion and rack-When the zincs of this portion of the
battery become worn the said portion is raised by means of the pinion and rack in
connection therewith and the other set of electrodes is lowered by means of its
pinion and rack. The zines can be readily reversed or replaced by simply pressing
together the thumb pieces of their retaining clips so as to open them. After the
zines are reversed or the new zincs are inserted the thumb pieces are released and
the zincs are firmly held thereby.
For great lighting power the two sets of elements may be put in circuit with the
lamp both at one time.

page_text: We ARTHUR VEEL ROSE of Ellerslie Cavendish Road Brondesbury and GEORGE
FITZHARDINGE ROSE of Penrose Hampstead both in the County of Middlesex
Merchants 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:-
Our Invention has for its object to provide a convenient and economical
arrangement, of portable lamp adapted for domestic use-A Lamp "constructed
according to our Invention consists as follows:-
The stand or pillar of the lamp constitutes or contains a receptacle for the
electrolyte and elements of a battery which elements are carried by a cover or
plate and consist preferably of carbons and zincs the carbons being secured to the
cover or plate by screws and nuts or other means of attachment and the zincs
being secured to the cover or plate so as to be readily removeable by means of
screws and nuts or by spring clip pieces with teeth or projections taking into
recesses in the end of the zincs or in any other suitable way. The said elements
are preferably in long narrow strips in series side by side and if necessary with
non conducting buttons or projections on the carbons to prevent contact between
the elements due to distortion thereof. The clips when such are used for securing
the zines have thumb pieces projecting above the cover which can be pressed
together to open the gripping jaws of the said clips and the parts of the clips
which bear on the elements may be made of platinum.
The elements are capable of being immersed more or less deeply in the electrolyte
which may be effected by lowering or raising either the elements or the vessel
containing the electrolyte-When the former mode is adopted it may be effected
by attaching to the cover a rack with which engages a pinion or toothed shaft
carried by the lamp vase or cover by rotating which the elements can be raised or
lowered all at the same time from or into the electrolyte. The connections from
the elements to the lamp are made by preference by strips when necessary and
where possible the metal which may be used in the construction of the lamp may
be utilized as a conductor.
It is preferred to use two distinct sets of elements arranged as herein before
described so that when one is exhausted the other can be lowered into the
electrolyte or the vessel containing the electrolyte can be brought up to the
elements as the case may be a switch or switches being provided by which
the circuit can be made from either set as required or the current be entirely cut
off for extinguishing the lamp-In order to give facility for removing and replacing
the bulb (in the vacuum in which the carbon filament which gives the light is
enclosed) we fix it to a simple stem the terminals from the bulb being electrically
connected with separate conducting strips or pieces on the said stem which
is slipped into a split conducting tube and the parts of which are insulated
from each other for the passage of the battery current from and to the lamp

page_text: respectively The racks where such are used may be utilized as conductors for the
current to and from the lamp by making them each in parts insulated from each
other and respectively connected with the sets of elements Each parts of the
racks is in electric contact with its guide which in turn forms part of the circuit
from the battery of the lamp-In order to utilize the material of the zincs to the
utmost they may be made reversible so that when worn at one end they can be
reversed and held in the clips or other supports by the ends opposite to those by
which they were previously held-The parts of the lamp which would otherwise
be liable to corrode may be coated with nickel to protect them-When the lamp
is in use one of the sets of electrodes is lowered into the electrolyte or the vessel
containing the electrolyte for that set is raised so that the electrodes enter it and
the intensity of the light can be regulated by raising or lowering the vessel.
When the zines of this portion of the battery become worn the said portion is
raised or the vessel containing its electrolyte is lowered and the other set of
electrodes is immersed in the electrolyte in the vessel appertaining to the said set
of electrodes.
For great lighting power the two sets of elements may be put in circuit with the
lamp both at one time.
We do not limit ourselves to one particular kind of battery but we prefer to use
one with a multitude of narrow strips of carbon and zinc as the electrodes and a
solution of sulphuric acid bichromate of potash and nitric acid makes a very
efficient electrolyte, the following or thereabouts being suitable proportions
7 lbs sulphuric acid, 24 lbs bichromate of potash and 1 lb of nitric acid to 24 pints
of water.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood we shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the several figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are sectional clevations at right angles to each other of a
portable electric lamp constructed according to our Invention Figure 3 is a plan of
the lamp with the bulb containing the carbon filament removed, and Figure 4 is a
partial plan and partial horizontal section along the line 1, 2 in Figure 2. Figure 5
is a vertical section of a modified construction of the lamp and Figure 6 is a plan
thereof with the cover and parts above it removed. The remaining Figures
represent details as hereinafter described. Referring to Figures 1 to 4 A is the
pedestal or vase of the lamp in the interior of which is a vessel B divided into a
number of cells to contain the electrolyte in which the electrodes of the battery
are immersed. The said electrodes consist preferably of long narrow strips of
carbon C and long narrow strips of zinc C' arranged in two series each connected
to a plate or cover of nonconducting material.
The whole of the electrodes may be connected to the cover D D' by screws and
nuts E as shewn or the zinc elements may be attached to the said covers by means
of spring clips as shewn in the detail Figure 7 so that the zincs can be readily
removed when worn and reversed or replaced by fresh zines. These spring clips
are provided with teeth or projections a engaging with holes or recesses in or near
the ends of the zincs and also with thumb pieces a projecting above the covers so
as to be convenient for being pressed for the purpose of releasing the zincs.
To the upper side of each of the covers D and D is attached by screws and
nuts a toothed rack. These racks are marked F and F and with them gear
pinions F and F carried in bearings on the under side of the cover A2 of the
pedestal or vase A. By turning these pinions in one direction or the other either
one or both of the sets of electrodes may be raised out of or lowered into the
electrolyte contained in the vessel B as required, for example when one set of
elements is exhausted the other set may be brought into action by lowering it into
the electrolyte and thus the light of the lamp be maintained for a considerable
time. The electrodes of each set of elements are electrically connected by wires c

page_text: and to the rack of each series by the wires c² and c³ so that the current is conducted
along the rack as part of the circuit as hereinafter described.
The racks F and F are each composed of two metal strips or parts & and d
insulated from each other by a strip d³ of nonconducting material as shewn clearly
in Figure 8 and are made to work in guides G G' connected to the cover A² of the
vase and extending upwards through openings in the gallery H carrying the bulb I
containing the carbon filament to give light by its incandescense.
The guides G G are constructed partly of metal strips and partly of non-
conducting material e as shewn in Figure 9. Against the metal strips e e² the
metal portions & d³ of the racks work so as to maintain an electrical connection
between the said racks and their guides. The gallery is provided on the underside
with a switch or switches K K2 (shewn by dotted lines in Figure 3) by means of
which an electric circuit may be established between the carbon filament in the
bulb I and either or both of the sets of electrodes as required or the circuit may be
broken for extinguishing the light.
The bulb I is fitted in a holder L composed of insulating material the stem g of
which holder is provided with two separate conducting strips lek to which the
terminal wires from the carbon filament are attached by screws f as shewn in
Figure 10. The stem is inserted in a tubular metal clip M consisting of two
metal parts h² insulated from each other and connected to but insulated from the
gallery H.
When the stem gis inserted in the clip M the strips k k² are respectively in
contact with the metal parts h² of the said clip. To the lower ends of the
parts h h are attached the levers N N³ of the switches K K2 as shewn clearly in
Figure 11. The switches K K² consist each of a plate of nonconducting material
to which two metal strips or plates i 2 are attached, a short distance apart, and
with their outer ends in contact with the metal parts e e² of the guides G G³.
The levers N N are capable of being turned on their hinges so as to be brought
into contact with either the plates i or 2 to conduct the current in the required
direction. The drawings represent the series of electrodes connected to the cover D³
as being in action the electric current passing therefrom by the wire c and c² to the
strip of the rack F' and thence to the metal strip e¹ of the guide Ģ. If the
switch lever N2 of the switch K2 be turned so as to make contact with the metal
strip or plate i of the switch K² the current will continue through the plate i and
lever N2 to the part 2 of the tubular clip M and then through the metal strip ka
of the holder L to the carbon filament in the bulb I through one of the terminal
wires and pass out by the other terminal wire to the metal strip of the holder
thence through the part of the tubular clip M to the switch lever N of the
switch K which lever in order to complete the circuit must be turned so as to
make contact with the metal plate or strip of the switch K the current passing
thence through the plate and lever N to the metal strip e of the guide G² and
through the strip d of the rack F to the wire attached to the carbon elements
of the set of electrodes, thus completing the electric circuit and producing the
illumination of the carbon filament in the bulb I of the lamp.
When the one series or set of elements is exhausted the light may be maintained
by lowering the other series or set D of electrodes into the electrolyte in the
vessel B-the current will then circulate in a similar manner to that described with
reference to the series D except that the switch levers N N are turned so as to
make contact respectively with the other plates and of the switches K and K³
and thereby direct the current from the guide G through clip M to and from the
carbon filament.
In the modification illustrated by Figures 5 and 6, instead of connecting the
electrodes to two separate covers and raising and lowering them out of and into
the electrolyte as in the first described arrangement, the whole of the electrodes
are connected to a single cover or plate D of non-conducting material attached by,
screws m to the cover A of the pedestal or vase A, whilst the vessel containing

page_text: the electrolyte is divided into two series of cells B, B' which can be independently
raised and lowered for immersing the two sets of electrodes in the electrolyte as
desired.
The vessels B B' may be raised and lowered by any suitable means but the
arrangement shewn in the drawings is a convenient one.
Each vessel is placed on a separate platform D2 and D³ provided with toothed
racks F and F working in guides G G, attached to the inside of the vase A and
engaging pinions F3 and F* carried in bearings f.
By means of these pinions the platforms D D³ with the vessels thereon may be
-raised and lowered as required.
In the Drawing Figure 5, we have shewn the vessel B' elevated, the electric
current passing from the electrodes C, C therein, by the wires c, c² connected
thereto by the screws and nuts E by which the said electrodes are connected to the
cover D. The wires c terminate in or are attached to metal plates e e² which when
the cover D is attached to the cover A' of the vase A. are in electrical contact with
the screws n which secure to the cover A² the brackets p for supporting the
gallery H and the switch or switches K K2 The switch or switches is or are
constructed as herein before described the levers N N2 being connected to the
lower end of the tubular spring clip M in which the bulb holder is inserted.
The current from the battery elements passes through the screw n and brackets p
to the plates 2 of the switch K2 which plates are in electric contact, with the
upper ends of the brackets p so that by causing the switch levers N N³ to make
contact respectively with the plates and the circuit will be established
through the bulb holder and carbon filament and back to the electrodes as in the
first described arrangement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
First. A portable Electric lamp consisting of an arrangement and combination
of parts substantially as hereinbefore described under several modifications.
Second. A portable Electric lamp consisting of a pedestal or vase containing
the electrolyte or the vessel therefor and the electrodes in single or in double sets
with means for raising and lowering the Electrodes or the vessel containing the
electrolyte and a switch or switches for turning on and off the current as required
and a socket or support or sockets or supports for a bulb or bulbs for lighting by
incandesence, all being arranged and combined together substantially as herein-
before described.
Third. A portable Electric lamp consisting of a pedestal or vase containing two
sets of electrodes and corresponding sets of vessels containing electrolyte which can
le moved with respect to each other for immersing the electrodes in the electrolyte
by means substantially as herein before described the said pedestal or vase being
provided with a top portion in which are switches, one for each set of electrodes
for completing circuits arranged substantially as hereinbefore described leading
to a support or socket or to supports or sockets for a bulb or bulbs for lighting
by incandesence all being arranged and combined substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. In portable electric lamps the arrangement of the electrodes in a
moltitude of long narrow strips attached either to the cover of the space within the
pedestal or vase of the lamp or to a head piece or head pieces carried by a rack or
racks through which the current to the lamp is passed the zincs being secured by
means which render them capable of being easily removed and reversed or replaced
and all being arranged and combined substantially as hereinbefore described.
Fifth. In portable electric lamps the tube or socket in parts insulated from
each other and a bulb fixed to a stem provided with strips or pieces to which
the terminals of the lamp are connected the said strips or pieces making electric
-

page_text: contact for completing the circuit between the battery and the bulb by means of
the said parts of the tube or socket when the said stem is slipped into the said
socket all being arranged and combined substantially as hereinbefore described.
Sixth. In portable electric lainps the combination of a battery consisting of
electrodes capable of being immersed in an electrolyte composed as herein before
described and contained in the pedestal vase or support of the lamp and connected
to a bulb or to bulbs for lighting by incandesence the connections and means for
turning on and off and regulating the light being arranged and combined all
substantially as hereinbefore explained.