IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRICITY FOR LIGHTING OR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR OR TO BE USED IN CONNECTION TUEREWITH
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th November 1881. A com-
munication from abroad by Joseph Stokes Williams, of Riverton, New
Jersey, United States of America, and now of Paris, France.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE
UTILIZATION OF ELECTRICITY FOR LIGHTING OR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN
APPARATUS THEREFOR OR TO BE USED IN CONNECTION TUEREWITH." A commu-
nication from abroad by Joseph Stokes Williams, of Riverton, New Jersey, United
States of America, and now of Paris, France.
The first part of my Invention relates to the development of light and heat by
ineans of electricity, and also to the devices or apparatus to be employed therein
or therefor.
In order to produce light I cause the electric current to pass through pulverized
or granulated particles of conducting material.
The material I prefer to employ is carbon, but I may employ other materials,
alloys, or compound substances.
I enclose the said material in a transparent tube or case, which may be formed
of glass or other suitable material, the space or chamber in which the particles are
placed being of such form and dimensions as will be best suited for the development
of light with economy.
By completing the circuit through a conductor composed of particles, granules,
or sections, n high resistance is obtained, and heat and light are generated successfully
and economically.
To ensure greater efficiency and economy in the development of the light I
prefer to hermetically scal or enclose the particles, pieces, or sections which
collectively constitute the conductor in the tube, space, or chamber, and to exhaust
or withdraw the air from the latter, so as to produce a vacuum or partial vacuum
therein.
The ends of terminals or conductors of suitable conductivity extend into the
space or chamber enclosing the particles of conducting material, so as to ensure
the passage therethrough of the current, the other ends of the said conductors

page_text: being connected with or affording the means whereby the candle, lamp, or apparatus
is connected with the conductor communicating with the electric feeder or generator
or other source of electricity.
By the above described construction or arrangement of means and apparatus
for the development or production of light 1 obtain a greater amount of light
and heat with a smaller expenditure of heat and energy than was heretofore
practicable, and I avoid the labor, care, and expenses attending the development of
light by the voltaic are in the usual manner. I however render practicable and
feasible the development of heat and light through a series or indefinite number of
arcs and secure a considerable amount or extent of incandescent surface with a
minimum expenditure of power or electric energy.
In some cases I construct the tube, chamber, or case which encloses the particles
of carbon or other material of high conductivity with one or more portions which
are of greater area than the portion or portions of the said tube or chamber, in
which by the passage of the current heat and light will be developed and which
constitute the light giving or emitting part of the lamp.
In order to compensate for the destruction or waste of the conducting material
or particles, I provide the space or chamber which contains the same with a.
reservoir or feeder, which constantly ensures the passage of the current through
the same body or amount of conducting material, and thus prevents any variation
in the resistance of the lamp. This reservoir or part of the chamber is so placed,
arranged, or constructed relatively to the other or smaller portions of the said space
or chamber that the material is fed to the same by its own gravity, and as the
particles become consumed or reduced in volume by heat, the supply is constant,
so that there cannot take place an interruption of the light. The employment of
this system of developing light and heat through the medium of particles of
conducting material as herein before described is particularly economical and
applicable for heating purposes for rooms, compartments, or spaces, and for other
purposes, suitable apparatus being employed for the gradual diffusion of heat.
Another part of my Invention relates to the utilization of a liquid conductor or
a conductor which will liquify at a low temperature in a vacuum for the development
of light and heat by the passage through it of an electric current, and also to the
essential and peculiar arrangements and combinations of the means, devices, or
apparatus to be employed in such development of light and beat and for the
maintenance and distribution of the latter.
The arrangements and combinations of the devices for carrying this part of the
Invention into practice and for utilizing the system for general application for
heating and lighting purposes may he varied in many ways, the circuit being
completed under all circumstances. Provision norcover is made to allow of the
expansion or the varying volume or density of the conductor produced when the
current passes therethrough, that is to say, during the emission of light and hent
therefrom. In some cases 1 employ for lighting purposes a vessel or receiver,
constructed preferably of glass, such receiver being provided with a space or
chamber of suitable form and dimensions for the reception and distribution of the
conductor, and so that the electric circuit may be completed through the medium
of the liquid. This space or chamber moreover is so arranged and of such dimensions
as to permit the necessary maximum expansion of the liquid conductor.
The space not occupied by the conductor is preferably exhausted of nir, so that
a vacuum is formed therein, the liquid conductor being hermetically enclosed
within the walls or surfaces of the chamber which surrounds it. It will be readily
understood that on the passage of the electric current through the liquid or
liquifiable conductor the development of heat and light will be effected, the light
being uniform, continuous, and efficient. The arrangements whereby the liquid
conductor is enclosed within the said space or chamber, and the vacuum produced,
are devoid of all complications, as it is simply necessary to first fill the aperture or
space with liquid and then to pour off a quantity of the same by the inversion of
the chamber, when the desired vacuum will be produced; or any known system

page_text: for expelling the deleterious gases or air may be employed. When it is desirable
that the liquid conductor should have a spiral or circular form or any form other
than a straight line, I provide a vessel, space, or chamber of the desired form, which
constitutes the extension of the vacuum chamber that provides for the most
oxtended variation in the volume of the conductor; this vessel is so arranged that
when in use the circuit for the electric current is complete or can be completed by
the action of the current. In some cases I employ as the liquid conductor mercury,
ог I may utilize other liquids or liquifiable conductors which will emit heat and
light, alloys or compounds which will liquify at a low temperature being preferable.
The space or chamber in which the conductor is placed in the form of a liquid, or
in which it becomes liquified, is preferably formed of glass or other vitreous or
transparent material.
The form of the space or chamber in which tho conductor is placed may be spiral,
straight, or circular, or of horse shoe or other forin, as may be desired. In order
to provide for the completion of the circuit under all circumstances and in all
positions of the apparatus a conductor extends into the liquid or material capablo
of being liquified at a lower temperature.
In order to inoro effectually apply, develop, maintain, or distribute heat generated
by the passage of an electric current through a liquid or liquifiable material, as may
be desired, according to the particular purpose for which such heat is to be employed,
I in some cases use the following arrangement for heating purposes, that is to
say I provide a vessel for containing water or other liquid to be heated. This
vessel is supplied with a suitable inlet pipe or pipes for the admission of the liquid
of low temperature, with an inlet pipe or pipes through which the heated liquid
passes. Within this vesso! I provide a chamber, which is exhausted of nir, so that
a vacuum is produced therein, and within this chamber I arrange a strip or piece
of metal or other suitable material capable of being heated by the passage of an
electric current therethrough. Therefore an intense heat will be developed in the
said chamber, and this heat will impart the requisite temperature to the water and
will effect a circulation of the same through the pipes or other conduits from
which the heat is to be evolved.
Similar arrangements may be employed for the heating of solids through the
agency of an electric current passing through a suitable conducting material or
substance in a vacuum, the heat so generated being distributed through the agency
of a liquid alone or a liquid in combination with a solid or other substances or
materials.
In some cases I arrange the terminals of conductors communicating with the
aforesaid chamber wherein a vacuum is produced, as above described, at some
distance apart, and arrange in the space between the suid terminals mercury or
other liquid, which on the passage of the current becomes heated and transmits its
bent to the liquid or solid in the surrounding vessel in a similar manner to that
above described. To provide for the expansion of the mercury when thus hented
I provide the aforesaid chamber with a suitable space, into which mercury may
expand.
In some cases I so arrange the terminals or conductors that in any position of
the heater the circuit will be complete.