HOLDER FOR INCANDESCENT LAMPS
Year: 1885

page_text: .
I, HENRI PIEPER at Liege in the kingdom of Belgium, manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said invention for a "HOLDER FOR INCANDESCENT LAMPS
to be as follows:-
The holder for incandescent lamps, which forms the subject of my invention,
consists of two main parts, a plug made of insulating material and a metallic
spiral. The plug, which is designed to be attached to the arm or bracket carrying
the lamp, is provided on the upper part of its side with a small binding-post, to
which is connected one of the conducting wires, while the other conducting wire
is carried to a screw centrally inserted into the bottom of the plug. The spiral
made of thick wire, constitutes a kind of nut adapted to be screwed with one end
on screw-threads formed on the lower portion of the plug, and with its other end
on the base of the lamp, also provided with corresponding screw-threads, a connec-
tion between the plug and the lamp being thus produced.
The two wires from the interior of the lamp are attached with their ends
respectively to the portion of the base on which the screw-threads are formed and
which is conductive, and to a metallic plate fitted into the centre of the said base,
but insulated therefrom, and the parts are so arranged that, when the plug and.the
lamp are screwed together by means of the spiral, the said metallic plate will come
in contact with the central screw of the plug so as to establish electric connection
between the corresponding outer conducting wire and one of the inner lamp-wires,
while the other lamp-wire will be in like connection with the spiral by the
conductive portion of the base.
J
The upper end of the spiral is provided with a projection adapted, to be brought
into and out of contact with the aforesaid binding post by turning the spiral on
the plug. The circuit of the lamp may thus be closed or broken by a slight
rotative displacement of the lamp.
Dated this seventeenth day of Anril 1885.

page_text: I, HENRI PIEPER, at Liege in the kingdom of Belgium, manufacturer, 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:-
The holder for incandescent lamps forming the subject of my invention, consists
of two main parts, viz. a fixed insulating plug and a spiral of strong wire forming
a kind of nut, adapted to be screwed with one end on the said plug and to be
attached with its other end to the base of the lamp, in combination with the
requisite electric connections and with a contact-breaker formed by a shoulder on
the spiral and a knob or binding-post on the plug, the said shoulder being arranged
to be brought into or out of contact with the knob or post by turning the spiral
on the plug:
On the annexed sheet of drawings Figs. 1 and 2 are outside views of the holder
with a lamp attached thereto, the spiral being shown in two different positions.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the holder and the lamp-foot. Fig. 4 shows the plug
in elevation, and Fig. 5 in section on line xx seen from below. Fig. 6 represents
the spiral detached from the plug and the lamp.
.
The plug a which is adapted to be screwed to the arm or bracket designed to
carry the lamp, is made of an insulating material, such as wood or ebonite. It is
provided upon its lower part with several screw-threads a corresponding with the
windings of the spiral b, while its upper part a² forms a projecting collar. Into
this collar is inserted a small binding-post i to which is attached the outer con-
ducting-wire h. The other outer conducting-wire, g, is carried to a screw f
centrally inserted into the bottom of the plug and having its head slightly
projecting therefrom.
For the purpose of attaching the spiral to the base e of the lamp, the said base
may be provided, like the lower part of the plug, with suitable screw-threads on
which the spiral is screwed. A portion of the base e being then in contact with
the spiral (preferably the surface of the screw-threads themselves) is made of
metal, and with the conductive.surface thus produced, is connected the wire le from
the interior of the lamp. The second lamp-wire, l, is conducted to a metallic
plate m fitted into the centre of the base e, but so as to be insulated from the
conductive surface of the screw-threads.
.
When, under these conditions, the plug and the lamp are screwed together by
means of the spiral, the plate m will come in contact with the screw and thereby
establish electric connection between the outer wire g and the lamp-wire l, while
the other lamp-wire, k, will be in like connection with the spiral by the conductive
surface of the screw-threads of the lamp-base.
For completing the circuit of the lamp, the upper end of the spiral is provided
with a projection or shoulder n, which, when the spiral is brought into the proper
position on the plug a, will come in contact with the aforesaid binding-post i,
arranged to project to a sufficient amount from the lower surface of the collar of
the plug. By slightly turning the spiral this contact will be broken again. In

page_text: order to maintain the spiral in the position imparted to it, the collar of the plug
is fitted with two recesses 9 and p for the shoulder n to catch into; and the plug is
without screw-threads on its middle part, so that the upper windings of the spiral
may spring and press the shoulder into the said recess. When the shoulder n is
in the recess q, which is by the side of the post i, it will be in contact with i,
(sec Fig. 1) and the circuit will be closed, whereas, when n is in the recess P,
arranged at some distance from i, the circuit will be broken (see Fig. 2). Thus by
slightly turning the spiral together with the lamp one way or the other by means
of the handle o, arranged for this purpose, the lamp may be lit or extinguished.
Preferably the coils of the spiral screwed on the lamp-base are connected together
by a strip of metal c, in order to prevent them from springing.
On account of the elasticity of the connection between the lamp and the plug a,
the lamp is better adapted than otherwise to endure concussions..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
A holder for electric incandescent lamps comprising a plug a having screw-
threads a¹, a wire spiral 6 fixed on the lamp-base e and adapted to be screwed on
the threads of the plug, contact-pieces f and m in connection respectively with the
wires g and l, means of electric conduction from the wire k to the spiral, a binding-
post connected with the wire h, and a shoulder n on the spiral b, so arranged
that, according as the spiral is turned on the plug a, the said shoulder will be in or
out of contact with the post i, all combined substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.