Electric Heater, and its Application to Electric Cigar Lighters.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Dec., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 29th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 29th Dec.. 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Electric Heater, and its Application to Electric Cigar Lighters.
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM SCHINDLER, Manufacturer, of Kennelbach, near
Bregenz, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, do hereby declaro the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to beating bodies or blocks to be used in electric cigar
lighters, ovens and other electric appliances, and has for its principal object, to
construct the said blocks in such a manner, that they will hold a great length of
wire in a comparatively small space.
The heater consists of a cylindrical or otherwise shaped block of refractory
insulating material provided with perforations through which passes the electric
conductor. After the conductor has been mounted in the said block, the holes
may be filled up by casting. For some purposes it is advantageous, to countersink
the electric conductor in the surface of the block, so as to protect it from contact
with other bodies. The perforations are preferably parallel to each other and
perpendicular to the face or base of the block, and the wire or other electric
conductor may be drawn or inserted through the holes alternately forward and
backward, so as to form a zig-zag line. The perforations may be connected with
one another by grooves formed in the face or base of the block, or in both, so as to
receive and protect the wire or other conductor.
Owing to their compactness, such heating blocks are especially suitable for the
construction of cigar lighters or analogous instruments, because it enables the cigar
lighter to take up or enclose the whole length of the electric conductor, used as a
resistance and for the production of heat, without requiring a separate resistance
placed outside the cigar lighter, which resistance is used in combination with other
cigar lighters and wastes a portion of the heat. Moreover, as the metallic
conductor is sunk into the face of the refractory block, it need not come into
contact with the cigar, and the whole design becomes more solid and durable.
The cigar lighter made according to my invention may be divided into two
principal types, of which the first has only one heating block (which may be
composed of several thin beating blocks or plates), while the second has two or
more heating bodies. In the first case the wire or metallic conductor employed as
the primary heating agent offers to the electric current such a resistance (owing to
its great length), that it may be directly joined to the lead, without burning.
The second arrangement has for its object, to reduce as much as possible the
length of incandescent wire required for lighting the cigar.
For this purpose I lodge this wire in a separate thin heating block, which will
only take up the length of wire directly necessary for lighting the cigar.
In the second and larger heating block contained in the same apparatus (which
heating block may be composed of several plates or thin heating blocks) I lodge
the rest of the wire necessary for reducing the current. This latter wire or
conductor may be made of a cheaper material, as it only serves as a resistance and
need not be brought to incandescence. But the heat produced in the same
co-operates in the working of the cigar lighter, and is not wasted as in the case of
other cigar lighters, where the wire is placed outside the apparatus. If found
more convenient, however, this resistance may be placed outside as usual.
Each heating block or body may be held by a metallic ring, shackle or clip
surrounding the same, the said ring or shackle being preferably composed of two

page_text: semicircular halves held together by bolts but insulated from each other and
provided with a pair of trunnions resting in metallic bearings, or with flat lugs
resting in slotted brackets fixed to the metallic casing or body of the cigar lighter,
one half of the ring or shackle serving to conduct the ingoing current, while the
other half receives the outgoing current from the hot wire and conducts it through
the said trunnion or lug to the bearing or bracket, which is attached to the metallic
casing, but insulated from the same.
The casing or metallic body enclosing the heating block or blocks has in its face
a circular opening through which the cigar may reach the grooved igniting face of
the heating body, and it is attached to a hollow handle through which pass the
leads or conductors, one of the said conductors having a break or moveable contact,
which may be opened or closed by a push button secured to the handle.
Instead of holding the refractory heating block by means of a ring or shackle
enclosing its entire circumference, a pair of narrow metallic clips may be used,
which are placed diametrically opposite each other and provided with flat lugs or
with trunnions as above. Each cheek or clip may be fixed to the heating block by
a screw. If several heating bodies or blocks are used, they consist preferably of
shallow cylindrical plates arranged co-axially one over the other.
In the case of electric ovens or similar heating appliances, the heating blocks
may be secured to a metallic frame as described above, or in any other convenient
manner. There may be, for instance, a rectangular frame containing three flat
cylindrical heating bodies placed side by side at the same level, each heating block
being supported independently of the others in a pair of diametrically opposite
lugs or trunnions serving to conduct the current to and from the heating block. If
the frame is made of metal, the bearings or brackets must be insulated from the
same, and if a rectangular frame surrounds a row of heaters, the bearings fixed to
the same longitudinal side of the frame are preferably connected in parallel with
the same main lead, which is either the ingoing or the outgoing lead.
Dated this 29th day of December 1893.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents for the Applicant.
Electric Heater, and its Application to Electric Cigar Lighters.
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM SCHINDLER, Manufacturer, of Kennelbach, near
Bregenz, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 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 :-
This invention relates to blocks or bodies adapted to be heated by electric
currents and to transmit their heat to the surrounding air or other objects rapidly
and with a minimum of waste, also to cigar lighters and analogous instruments
adapted to be heated by such blocks.
My improvements have for their principal object, to construct the said blocks or
bodies in such a manner, that they will hold a great length of the heating wire or
analogous electric conductor in a small space, and favourable distribution as
regards rapidity and uniformity of heating effect, also to combine these advantages
with cheapness of manufacture and facility of repair.
The insulating heat body may be cylindrical, tubular or of any other suitable
shape, according to the purpose for which it is to be used; it may be made of
fireclay, or other suitable refractory insulating material, and is provided along one
of its principal dimensions or axes with numerous parallel (or approximately
parallel) perforations serving to receive the heating wire, which passes through
contiguous canals or ducts alternately forward and backward, so as to form a

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the latter arrangement, as it serves to lodge a great length of wire in a small
number of holes. Such a spiral is preferably wound on a string of asbestos paper
or other suitable insulating material serving as a core, and may be easily drawn
with the same out of the heating block, in order to inspect and repair defective
parts, without injury to the heating block. The use of a core is not, however,
absolutely necessary.
Instead of one beating wire passing through all the perforations one after the
other, I may arrange two or more wires in parallel to heat the same block.
"
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is an axial section of a tubular heating block embodying my invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same;
Fig. 1 shows a helically coiled heating wire with its core.
Fig. 3 is a plan of a cylindrical beating block provided with ventilating holes ;
Fig. 4 is a plan of 3 concentrically arranged tubular heating blocks ;
Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a cylindrical beating block mounted in a
metallic casing;
Fig. 6 is a plan of the same;
Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a tubular heating block mounted in a tubular
casing;
Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the same;
Fig. 9 indicates three cylindrical heating blocks arranged side by side, in the
same frame;
Fig. 10 represents an electric cigar-lighter with one heating body in front view;
Fig. 11 is a vertical section along line y-y of Fig. 10 looking in the direction of
the arrow.
Fig. 12 is a section along line of Fig. 11 looked at in the direction of the
with opened slide and partly visible contact spring;
arrow,
Fig. 13 is a vertical section through an electric cigar lighter, with two heating
bodies, of which the heating body including or having the resistance wire is
composed of four parts;
Fig. 14 is a section through the electric cigar-lighter with two heating bodies
taken at right angles to Fig. 13.
Figs. 15 and 16 represent a heating body in the shape of a plate provided with
parallel grooves and held by a pair of metallic clips.
Fig. 17 is a vertical and Fig. 18 a horizontal section of a third form of my cigar
lighter.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the heating block A forms a ring or tube of refractory earthen-
ware or other suitable insulating material provided with parallel perforations B,
through which the heating wire passes forward and backward in a zig-zag line.
The heating wire is preferably a thin platinum wire (but may be made of other
suitable material) coiled helically on a core of asbestos paper (a, Fig. 1A), the
diameter of the helix being slightly less than the diameter of the holes B.
The central opening may have any suitable shape and serves for the circulation
of air or other fluid, or for the reception of liquids or solid bodies to be heated or
kept warm.
In Fig. 3 the beating block A has two rows of ventilating holes C instead of a
large opening in the centre.
The means or method of mounting the heating block in a casing or stand may,
of course, vary according to special requirements. Figs. 5 and 6 represent an
example suitable for a stove or air heater, the block A being provided near the
middle of its height with a circumferential groove into which fit a pair of metal
bands, K insulated from each other and provided with lugs k which rest in metallic
bearings H fixed to the cylindrical casing E but insulated from the same by means
of washers or sheets F. The said casing E is provided with feet, as shown.
Figs. 7 and 8 show an example suitable for a water heater or water circulating
apparatus. In this case the heating block A forms a narrow tube lined on the

page_text: inside with a metallic tube C and enclosed in a metallic casing E provided with
feet e.
If water is admitted to the tube C at the bottom and discharged at the
top, it will be heated during its passage through the apparatus. This heating
effect may be increased by lining the outside of the body A also with a metallic
tube and causing the water to pass downward between this tube and the casing E
after it has reached the upper end of C.
Annular heating blocks of the type represented by Figs. 1 and 2 are suitable
also for constructing internal water heaters or boilers, that is to say, heaters which
are suspended or supported in a vessel containing the liquid to be beated, and which
are therefore surrounded by the liquid on all sides.
For this purpose the heating block would be enclosed in a cylindrical casing of
suitable shape and communicate with the source of electricity through a tube
extending above the liquid.
In the electric stove represented by Fig. 9 three heating blocks A are mounted
side by side in a rectangular frame E, and fed by two supply wires r and sin
parallel, the heating wire of each block being connected at one end with the
conductor r and at the other end with the conductor s.. Instead of arranging the
heating blocks concentrically (Fig. 4) or side by side (Fig. 9) I may place one
above the other and connect their conductors with a pair of main supply wires
either in parallel or in series.
Where it is desired, to distribute the heating wires over a large surface, for
instance, in the wall of a room, I employ a series of parallel vertical bars placed at
considerable distances apart and mounted on a common base plate, each bar being
made of refractory material of cylindrical, prismatic, or ribbed shape, and
containing one or more heating coils, so as to constitute a heating body.
The wires in the heat bodies may lie loosely in the channels or openings of the
heating blocks, or after the wires have been passed through, the channels may be
filled in with suitable insulating material, which should be of such a nature, that it
will not be softened by the heat of the wires.
As mentioned above, the heating wire in each of the blocks A may form a single
circuit, or several heating spirals may be arranged in parallel, in which case the
heating effect may be regulated by putting one or more of the heating spirals in
circuit with the supply wires, by means of known contrivances for instance, a
three pole contact device as described in my Patent Specification No. 21435
of 1893.
Owing to their compactness, such heating blocks are especially suitable for the
construction of cigar lighters or analogous instruments, because they enable the
cigar lighter to take up or enclose the whole length of the electric conductor, used
as a resistance and for the production of heat, that is to say, such cigar lighters do
not require a separate resistance placed outside the same, which resistance wastes a
portion of the heat.
The cigar lighter represented in Figs. 10 to 12 chiefly comprises a heating body d
made of insulating material and enclosed in a metallic cap or case a or the like,
which body d is provided with holes penetrated by the electric conductor c. On
the lighting surface d' of the heating body the electric conductor e is somewhat
set back, that is, sunk in narrow grooves, as seen in Fig. 2, in order to be protected
from mechanical influences, as for example from contact with cigars or the like.
The heating body d containing the electric conductor e rests in the hollow space of
the metallic cap or case a in such a manner, that its front side, or lighting surface d'
.abuts on the opening a' of the metallic cap or case a.
The heating body d is bound with or embraced by two metal half rings f
insulated from each other and provided with offsets or cheeks e e', and the same
are clamped on the heating body by means of insulated screws and nuts s.
The cheeks e e serve to hold firm the heating body d in the metallic case a, and
for this purpose rest in holders or carriers g g fastened to the wall of the case a
and insulated therefrom, and they also serve to establish electric connection with
the main conductors hk which come from the handle i.

page_text: From the conductor the current goes by h¹ through the insulated arm of the
carrier into the half ring f, from there through the heat wire c, which winds
through or penetrates the heating body, and then into the half ring, thence into
the arm of carrier or holder g¹ which likewise is insulated from the case a, and then
by the conductor ¹ into the second return conducting wire k.
Since the heat wire c is fastened to the two metal half rings f¹, which are
insulated from one another, and which embrace the heating body d, and the metal
half rings ff, with their cheeks e el rest in the carriers or holders g', it is simple
to remove the heating body together with its penetrating or interwoven wire
merely by drawing the cheeks e e' out of the holders g g', and finally to mend or
repair defects or injury in the heat wire c, without in the least thereby injuring the
heat body d.
C,
The conductor h is broken or interrupted in the handle i at m and n, and contact
can at any time be made by pressure on the contact button o and its thereby
operated spring p, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 11. The handle i is provided
with a slide i', whose object is, to permit of attachment of wire / and investigation
in case of possible defect of the contact spring p.
Figs. 13 and 14 represent an electric cigar lighter with two heat bodies d and D,
of which the body d is designed to receive or hold the glow or incandescent wire c,
while the larger heat body D receives the resistance wire c¹.
To facilitate the manufacture of the larger heat body D which receives the long
resistance wire c', it may be composed of several thin parallel plates D D D D in
such a way, that their openings for the wire c¹ register."
The bearings of both heat bodies d and D are made in the same manner, as with
the heat body represented in Figs. 10 to 12.
In Figs. 13 and 14 the metal case a is provided with a cover b having an
opening a, and it can be secured on the case a by screws, bayonet joint or other
suitable means.
The heat body D carrying the resistance wire c¹ is like the other, surrounded or
embraced by two insulated metal half rings FF' held together by insulated screws R
and nuts S, and formed with the cheeks E E' which rest in the holders G G¹
fastened on the wall of the case a by arms H H', and insulated from the wall of
the case.
Similarly the heating body d carrying the glow-wire c is embraced by the metal
half rings ff and so supported or seated, that its lighting or igniting surface <¹
registers with the opening a' of the cover b.
The cheeks ee of the half rings, insulated from each other, rest in
holders y g', the holder g being on the arm H which is common to both it and the
holder G, which arm H is attached to the wall of the cases, but insulated there-
from, while the arm of the holder g¹ for the cheek e' is not insulated from the
wall of the case. The arm in this instance is fastened to the wall without
insulation, in order that the case may serve as a conductor for the current.
Consequently, the current of the conductor will be caused to pass by a pressure
on the contact button o through the spring p, screw m, metal connecting strip m
and wall of the case a, until it reaches the arm g, and from there on through the
holder g', cheek el, half ring and glow wire c attached to the latter. After
having passed through the entire length of the wire c, the current will flow into
the second half ring f, thence to the cheek e, holder g on the common arm H, to
holder G, cheek E on the metal half ring F, to reach the resistance wire c',
penetrating the larger heat body D. From the wire the current goes to the
second metal half ring F','cheek E' and holder G' and arm H', to which the return
conductor is fastened at K¹.
Obviously, the conductor may be connected with the holder g' directly,
without making use of the wall of case a, in which case the arm g" must be
insulated from the wall of the case.
As a precaution, it is desirable, to attach an insulating strip q (Fig. 13) between

page_text: the heat body d carrying the glow wire c and the heat body D carrying the
resistance wire c', as well as on the floor or base of the case a.
Owing to the arrangement of the heat bodies represented in Figs. 13 and 14,
they may be easily exchanged, in order to allow of repairs being made not only to
the heat body d, but also to the heat body D by simply removing cap band lifting
the heat bodies out of their holders.
In using the electric cigar lighter, the handle i is grasped by the hand and the
contact button o pressed with the thumb, whereby contact in the conductor is
made and the platinum wire connected with the conductors is made to glow, and
by contact of the cigar with the igniting surface d' of the insulating body d, the
same is lighted.
Obviously, my cigar lighter may be finished in the form of a stand, or of any
other desired form.
It is preferred, to employ a sheet of mica as the insulating strip 7 between the
two heat bodies d and D, as that will prevent the current from passing from the
heat body D to the heat body d by accidental contact of the wires of the two heat
bodies in the space between the bodies, or otherwise, and yet will not prevent the
transmission or radiation of heat from the body D to the body d.
. Under the construction illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, wherein two heat bodies
are used, the wire for the heat body d may be a platinum wire, as that will give
the best glow, while the wire which traverses the heat body D may be of cheaper
material, because the wire running through the body D is used only as a resistance
wire. In the form illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12, however, the wire traversing the
heat body d is preferably a platinum wire. The length of this wire is such that it
will constitute the resistance as well as the glow wire. Under both forms, I am
enabled to enclose or embody the resistance as well as the glow wire in the
apparatus itself, thus dispensing with the necessity of devices separate and apart
from the lighting apparatus, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary resistance.
As illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, the heat bodies can be removed from the face
of the lighter, after removal of the cap b, while under the form illustrated in
Figs. 10 to 12, the heat bodies can be removed through the back of the case a by
simply loosening the screws t and removing the filling cap u illustrated in Fig. 11
of the drawing. It is preferred to place a sheet of mica qon the face of the filling
cap next to the wire c, so as to prevent short circuiting by accidental contact of
the wires with the said cap.
Instead of holding the refractory heating block by means of a ring or shackle
enclosing its entire circumference, a pair of narrow metallic clips V may be used,
as illustrated by Figs. 15 and 16, said clips being placed diametrically opposite
each other and provided with flat lugs vor with trunnions as above. Each cheek
or clip may be fixed to the heating block by a screw.
Figs. 15 and 16 show also the narrow grooves formed in the igniting plates, as
mentioned above, in order to protect the surface of the beating wire. Instead of
such grooves I may, however, provide a thin cover of insulating material or a thin
insulated metal plate containing slots, perforations or other apertures, so as to form
a grating or network which is placed upon the face of the igniting plate (preferably
made of mica) so as to protect the wire.
The means for mounting the refractory heating or igniting blocks in the metallic
casing of the cigar lighter may also be varied, without departing from iny
invention, and instead of a resistance wire, another suitable artificial resistance may
be used.
In the cigar lighter represented by Figs. 17 and 18, the current supplied through
the handle is led through a wire a to a metallic base plate b, then into the plug c
and wire d, into the coils of the resistance body e, then through a metallic cap f
into the metallic spring y, then into a brass plug and screw into the platinum
wire of the igniting disc i (made of mica), then back through another screw and
brass plug into the other spring 1, then through cap m and pin n to the return

page_text: wire o leading back to the handle. The pin n is insulated from the base plate b,
and the screw which serves to fix the base plate b to the casing r, is insulated
from the latter, as shown.
p is a perforated cover of enamelled sheet metal serving to protect the face of
the igniting plate, 9 a sheet metal cap or lid secured to the metal casing r by a
bayonet lock, s a bridge piece of refractory earthenware, which rests on the capsf
and by means of the spring 9 and and contains the brass plugs h, k,
mentioned above. To the latter the igniting disc is secured by means of two.
adjustable screws.
I am aware, that cigar lighters have been made in which the heat body consists
of a thin sheet or facing of asbestos-paper or other insulating material, carrying
a thin platinum wire which pierces it like a sewing thread, and that it has been
proposed, to embed the said wire into the insulating material; consequently I
do not claim such heat bodies, unless they constitute blocks or plates of a rigid
material, such as fireproof earthenware or mica, and with holes drilled through
them or formed before the insulating material has hardened, or unless they
possess other special features as described above and hereafter specified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
.
1. An electric heater consisting of a refractory insulating body provided from
face to face or along one of its principal dimensions with numerous perforations,
containing a filamentary or a helically coiled conductor or set of conductors,
substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
2. In an electric heater, a refractory insulating body provided from face to
face or along one of its principal dimensions with numerous perforations adapted
to receive a filamentary or a helically coiled conductor, and with a wider channel
or channels adapted to promote the circulation of air or other fluid, or to contain
the object to be heated or to be kept warm, substantially as described.
3. In an electric heater, an annular or tubular heat body of refractory
insulating material, provided from face to face with concentric rows of perforations
adapted to receive the heating wire, substantially as described and for the purposes
specified.
4. In an electric heater, a rod-shaped heating body of refractory insulating
material perforated from end to end for the reception of the heating wire,
substantially as and for the purposes described.
5. The combination of two or more heat bodies of the type specified above, said
bodies being arranged either side by side, or one within the other at suitable
intervals, or one above the other, and heated by a metallic conductor or conductors
connected in parallel or in series, substantially as described.
6. An electric cigar lighter or analogous apparatus having a heat transmitting
or igniting body, and a metallic conductor or conductors for heating said body, the
said conductor or conductors being protected from contact with the cigar or
analogous object, by embedding them in grooves of the igniting surface of the heat
body, or by providing them with an insulated cover containing slots or other
openings so as to form a grating or open network, substantially as described.
7. An electric cigar lighter or analogous apparatus, provided with a heat body
of insulating material and containing the electric heating wire as well as the
artificial resistance in the same casing, substantially as described and for the
purposes specified.
8. In an electric cigar lighter or analogous apparatus, the combination of a heat
body containing a glow conductor, with a second heat body containing a resistance
conductor, the said heat bodies being arranged in the same casing so as to assist
each other, and their conductors being connected in series, substantially as described
and for the purposes specified.
9. An electric cigar lighter or analogous apparatus provided with removable

page_text: beat bodies enclosed in the same casing and with an easily accessible spring button
contact arranged in the handle, substantially as described.
10. An electric cigar lighter or analogous apparatus substantially as described
and shown by Figs. 17 and 18.
Dated this 27th day of October 1894.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents.