Improvements in Electrically Heated Curling Irons.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrically Heated Curling Irons.
ALFRED WILLIAM ARMSTRONG 85 Broadhurst Gardens West Hampstead
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In carrying my invention into practice I make a hollow tube (preferably closed
or partially closed at one end) in which is inserted a core composed of a suitable
inaterial that will sufficiently withstand the heat necessary for curling irons around
which core I wind a suitable wire of any required size & material & of sufficient
length to obtain the desired heat & yet prevent the heat increasing sufficiently to
burn the hair.
This winding can be made to suit any voltage supplied by electric lighting
companies or others.
I may
if desired run the resistance wires up & down the
tube instead of around a core, the same being insulated from the tube or I may
make the tube be the conductor of one end of the core & so save any return
wire the tube is then attached to a handle & a contact made by means of a
binding screw or other suitable means, the 8ther end of the resistance wire may be
held in position by means of a spring or other suitable method contained within
the handle from which the wires are conducted to convey the current of electricity
from the source of supply to the curling iron which can be taken from a plug or
can be connected to a double connection taken from the ordinary bayonet or screw
lampholder. The double contact enables the user not only to use the curling irons
but also the incandescent lamp as the current used for heating will not affect the
protective cut-outs of an ordinary lamp of 8 candle power.
I may also construct a lamp with a double end connected in parallel & so take
my current from either point & not interfere with the efficiency of the lamp as it
is not necessary to use the lamp as a help to act as a partial resistance of the
circuit as no resistance of any sort is necessary except that contained directly in the
iron & handle, but if required I can partially enclose a portion of the resistance or
use a lamp in series by any suitable means between the supply & the curling irons
& have the remaining resistance contained in the curling irons necessary to keep
the curling irons at the required temperature the whole time they are in use
without the ordinary means of heating by surrounding the iron with heat
independently.
I can also construct a swivel at the junction of the wire & curling tongs & so
prevent any twisting of the wire between contacts.
Dated 11th day of February 1895.

page_text: Improvements in Electrically Heated Curling Irons.
I, ALFRED WILLIAM ARMSTRONG of 25 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hamp
stead in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My invention relates to certain improvements in curling tongs which are
electrically heated, and has for its object the production of a simple and cheaply
made article that may be used in connection with any electric lighting circuit, or
an electric current derived from any suitable source.
In order that my invention may be the better understood, I have appended the
accompanying sheet of drawings, in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of the complete apparatus, and Figure 2 a sectional
elevation of the heated member, a portion thereof only being shown.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.
In carrying my invention into practice I use a hollow tube a preferably closed or
partially closed at one end, in which is inserted a core d composed of any suitable
refractory material that will withstand the necessary degree of heat. Around said
core d I wind a wire c of any suitable sectional area, and material, and of such length
as to obtain the requisite electrical resistance for generating the heat, without
allowing said heat to increase to the point at which the air would be burned while
the apparatus is in use. The actual degree of resistance is determined by the
electro-motive force or voltage of the particular circuit into which the device is
introduced.
Instead of winding the resistance wire c around the core d as a lateral helix,
I may wind it longitudinally, and by using a refractory insulation, dispense with the
core d altogether. In either case I may connect one end of the resistance or
heating wire c to the outer metallic tube a which forms the fixed member of the
tongs, and is firmly fitted to an insulating handle A. A double conductor E is
connected within the handle A to the ends of the resistance wire c by means of
binding screws or spring contact pieces, and the current may be taken from a wall
socket or plug, or may be coupled to the circuit by a double connection taken from
the ordinary bayonet jointed or screwed lampholder. This method of double con-
nection does not affect the lamp in any way, said lamp being an ordinary
incandescence lamp and it may be used for illuminative purposes at the same time
that the curling tongs are in use. The hinged member b is operated by the spring
lever C in the usual manner as indicated by the dotted outlines.
In general use the protective cutouts usually supplied in house or other lighting
installations are sufficient to preserve the tongs from injury and to prevent over-
heating in the event of a "shortcircuiting" of the resistance I may, as herein before
referred to use a common incandescence lamp with a bayonet or like joint as a
shunt. The ordinary incandescence lamp L, fitted within the well known bayonet
socket F has a piece of insulated wire or tape attached to each terminal of the
filament by soldering to them at the base of the plug. These wires are carried to
another holder, or socket F, one on each side of the bulb, said holder or socket
being retained in position upon the top of the bulb, which as before stated, in no
way differs from that of any lamp known in the electrical trade; by the tension of
the wire or tape, or is cemented thereto. And a pair of wires or conductors
attached to the terminals of the upper socket or holder F may be led to the main
circuit. It is evident that the lamp L is thus placed in shunt. The only variation
from the ordinary fittings is in that I may cup the base of the holder F at D to
enable its attachment to the bulb to be more secure. I may employ a simple coiled

page_text: or graded resistance as a shunt instead of the lamp aforesaid, but ordinarily, no
resistance is needed beyond that comprised by the coil or length of wire c within
the tube a, or any continuation thereof within the handle A. I may employ a
swivel or like joint to prevent the flexible conductor twisting whilst the tongs are
in use.
In carrying my invention into effect I may use any suitable material or
substance as an electrical resistance, or an insulating or refractory body, without
departing from the essential features thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
First. In electrically heated curling tongs the combination of parts substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth with reference to the appended drawings.
Second. In electrically heated curling tongs the construction and use of a tube a,
containing a resistance wire c wound as a lateral or a longitudinal helix, substan-
tially as herein described with reference to the drawings.
Third. In electrically heated curling tongs, the combination therewith of a
lamp L, substantially as herein described and shown by the appended drawings.
Dated this 9th day of November 1895.
FREDK. WALKER,
88 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.