Electrical Soldering Apparatus.
Year: 1895

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c., Act, 1883), as required by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 17th day of August 1896.
Date of Application, on May 1893
Complete Specification Left, 8th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 8th May, 1896
Electrical Soldering Apparatus.
GUSTAV BINSWANGER Electrical Engineer 71 Queen Victoria Street London
E C. and FRANCIS WILLIAM BALL Electrical Engineer 3 Unity Street College
Green Bristol do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows.-
Oui invention relates to means whereby vessels or cases exhausted of ni may be
quickly and efficiently sealed without permitting any deterioration of the vacumin
dung such sealing.
18
In cattying our invention into practice, a small piece of solder is placed over the
hole through which the exhausting is taking place. Upon this is caused to rest
the tip of a carbon rod, the holder of which is attached to au iron coio fitted with
a plunger which moves inside a brass tube closed at the top, a suitable spring being
interposed between the plunger & the end of the tube, & outside the tube is a
suitable coil of wire or solonoid. A base is attached to the said tube which can be
suntably clamped on to the vessel to be exhausted an airtight juncture being
obtained by the interposition of india rubber or other suitable packing. Provision
18 made in this base for attaching thereto a connection to the air pump whereby the
necessary exhaustion is affected. One pole of the source of a cuirent of electricity
at a voltage to form a suitable are 18 connected to the metal of the case to be
sealed, one end of the solenoid is in electrical connection with the carbon & the
other through a suitable switch can be connected up to the other pole, in other
worde, the vessel, solder carbon & solenoid, can be connected up though the
switch in series with the source of current. After the vessel is suitably exhausted of
air, the cu cuit 18 closed, the solenoid lifts its core & un arc is struck between the
solder and the carbon tip, the plunger compressing its sping moderates the speed
with which the carbon is lifted so as to allow the arc to be well formed. The aro
is allowed to act for about one second or for a suitable time to properly heat the
solder and adjacent metal sufficiently to effect a complete seal, the circuit being
then opened by means of the switch. When proferred, instead of striking the are
by means of a solenoid and core (or equivalent electro-magnetic arrangement) it
may be done mechanically by bringing the carbon holder through a stuffing box on
the end of the tube so that movement of the said holder can be effected without
admitting an to the part to be sealed. By means of a spring in the tube, the
holder is pressed upwards so that normally the carbon tip & the solder are apart.
In this case when the holder is depressed the carbon tip is allowed to momentarily
touch the solder & then released to form the arc which may be extinguished either
by opening a switch or by still further separating the solder & carbon tip. Instead
of a stuffing box to permit of the necessary movements of the holder without

page_text: letting in air to the part to be sealed, an india rubber tube may be used to connect
the tube and holder which, while permitting motion, will exclude the an, but it will
be seen that the employment of au electro magnetic at rangement for striking the
arc, permits the moving, part to be entirely enclosed completely obviating the use
of stuffing box, packing, or india rubber tube. (Instead of a carbon electrode as
described above, in some cases a metal one may be substituted.) A modification of
our invention consists in the employment of a piece of platinum wire or sheet, or
other suitable material & form, & having such a resistance as to produce the
necessary amount of heat to effect the soldering when a current of electricity of
requisite strength is passed through it for a sufficient length of time.
In this case
a small copper piece flat on the top & of suitable shape and tuned underneath 19
fitted with an upper plate between which is placed the aforesaid resistance wire or
material, but insulated therefrom by a refractory material such as mica o asbestos,
being suitably interposed. Conducting wires are attached to the ends of the said
resistance wire and brought airtight through a tube attached to the upper plate,
this tubo taking the place of the carbon holder previously described. The wires
being connected to the source of current which in this case is to be at a low
voltage, the resistance becomes hot & heats the copper piece to the desired
temperature, it is then depressed and made to touch the solder after the manner of
an ordinary soldering non & the sealing is quickly effected.
Dated this 7th day of May 1895.
GUSTAV BINSWANGER.
FRANCIS WILLIAM BALL.
8 Apparatus
We, GUSTAV BINSWANGER of 71 Queen Victoria Street, in the City and
County of London. Electrical Engineer, and FRANOIS WILLIAM BALL of 3 Unity
Street, College Green, Bristol, in the County of Somerset, Electrical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the saine is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Our invention relates to a method of and means for hermetically sealing cans or
other vessels wherein a certain degier of vacuum is maintained without au
appreciable loss thereof
In order that our said invention may be the better understood, we have appended
the accompanying 2'sheets of drawings in which Figure 1 Sheet 1 is an elevation
of the device, and Figure 2, Sheet 2 a sectional elevation of the soldering bolt
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several
Views
In cariying our invention into effect we use a clamp consisting of a fixed plate A,
preferably furnished with a resilient or elastic washer B and a moveable plate C
which may be pressed upwards by means of the toothed cam or sector c and rack r
so as to tightly fix a cau D or the vessel against said resilient washer B under the
plate A, the lever being fixed upon the pivot of said cam or sector c for that
purpose, the dotted outline showing the range of movement. A base plate may
support the whole by means of a standard S connecting the upper plate A (which
is fixed) with the moveable plate C which 18 operated in the manner herembefore
described.
The can, or vessel D to be hermetically sealed is completely closed with the
exception of a central hole, and a tube or pipe G passing through the fixed plate A
is coupled to an air pump or other exhauster, and the space between the top of the
can D and the plate A due to the thickness of the washer B, euables the vacuum

page_text: to be formed. The apparatus for forming or creating said vacuum does not
constitute an essential part of our invention and may be of any type or kind in
general use Before the can or vessel D is put into position, a small piece of
solder is placed contiguous to the central hole by means of which the exhaustion is
effected.
A lever Lis pivotted at u to a fixed standard R, and is slotted to allow of the
fice vertical movement of a contact or terminal pin a fixed to a plunger working
within a stuffing box and gland. A second contact or torminal y completes the
electrical circuit though an electrically heated soldering bolt, which may bo
descubed by reference to Figure 2.
We use a
Boldering bolt, Figure 2 consisting of a cential conductor connected
to the circunt by the terminal y, fixed within an outer tubej which is connected to
the other terminal of the circuit .c. The central conductor is insulated from the
tube throughout its length by asbestos or other refactory non conducting
material. Said tube, is connected to a nose piece m terminating in a timed
copper soldering bolt n and a platinum or other wire of high resistance to is fixed
to the central conductor i so that the electric circuit is completed between .r and y
through the body of the bolt m which thus becomes heated. The wire to is
surrounded by an insulating and refractory substance throughout and only makes
contact at the bolt n This bolt is passed through a stuffing box and glaud g
Figures & 2 and raised or depressed by means of the slotted lever L, fulcrummed
at u, as aforesaid so that when the can or other vessel D is placed in position
and pressed between the plates A and C and the vacuum 1 formed by
meaus of the exhausting apparatus attached to G, an electric current of com-
paratively low potential may be switched on, and the heated bolt n be depressed so
as to melt the piece of solder aheady placed close to the exhausting hole and thus
hermetically seal the can or vessel.
The removeable nose or bolt is preferably tinned so as to effect the perfect fusion
of the piere of solder when depressed by the handle L.
-
The method of operation may be described as follows, that is to say
The can or vessel D is placed upon the lower plate C, when this is depressed by
the movement of the lever operating the toothed came as shown by the dotted
outline, and said level 1 being returned to its normal position compresses the can-
or vessel against the resilient or elastic washer B under the plate A, the exhaust
hole being central, or approximately so. A piece of ordinary solder is placed
upon the top of the can or vessel in close proximity to the hole aforesaid, and when
the exhaustion has reached the requisite degree of attenuation the current is
switched on, which heats the bolt n. Then the handle L is depressed and the
heated bolt n touches the piece of solder aforesaid and inclting it causes it to
hermetically seal the tin on vessel D. The gland and stuffing box g effectually
preserved the vacuum during the operation, and the same may be repeated as
rapidly as may be expedient.
The essential feature of our said invention is in the combination of an exhausting
vacuum apparatus with soldering device which is heated by a current of
alectricity.
or
Having vow particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed it is to be understood that
we are aware of the Specification of Letters Patent granted to George William
Davey dated 5th March 1895 No. 4623 aud we do not claim anything described and
claimed therein; and we declare that what we claim 18:-
First. In electrical soldering apparatus the construction and employment of a
soldering bolt, with a central core of high electrical resistance, insulated therefrom
by a refractory substauce, and connected ID series with the body of the bolt
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth with reference to the
drawings.
Second. In electrical soldering apparatus the combination of nu electrically

page_text: heated soldering bolt as referred to in the preceding claim with a clamping and
exhausting or vacuum apparatus substantially as described and shown.
Third. In electrical soldeung apparatus the arrangement of levers, whereby an
electrically heated soldering bolt may be brought into contact with and caused to
seal a hole in a can or vessel without admitting air substantially as herein described
with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 7th day of February 1808
FREDK. WALKER,
73 St. Stephen's Road, Upton Park, Agent for the Applicants.