IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND UTILIZING ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND IN LAMPS TO BE EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SAME OR SIMILAR APPARATUS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Werdermann, of Princes' Street, in the County
of Surrey, Civil Engineer, for an Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR PRODUCING AND UTILIZING ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND IN LAMPS TO BE
EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SAME OR SIMILAR APPARATUS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Werdermann at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th January 1880.
RICHARD WERDERMANN, of Princes' Street, in the County of Surrey, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND UTILIZING
ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND IN LAMPS TO BE EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SAME OR SIMILAR APPARATUS.”
My said Invention relates partly to improvements in apparatus for producing
electric currents, and applicable for the utilization of electric currents produced by
any other apparatus. The said Invention also relates to electric lamps or lighting
apparatus.
My improved apparatus or machine for producing electric currents is constructed
as follows, that is to say :-Between the poles or polar extensions of one or more
magnets, or electro magnets I arrange one or more bobbins which revolve around
a central shaft or axis. These bobbins are constructed with a core of magnetic
material, having either the shape of a ring, cylinder, disc, or any other suitable
shape, as for instance, a globe or ellipsoid, and made either of one solid or hollow
piece, or of several parts, or of wire, or strips, or discs insulated or not insulated
one from another. On this core is wound in a direction parallel to its axis
insulated wire, or strips or ribbons of copper or other good conducting material in
sections, in such a manner that the coils or helices of wire form a continuous series
of bobbins. The two ends of each coil are attached to two conductors; one of these
conductors is fitted on one end of the drum or shaft on which the bobbin is
mounted, and the other conducter on the opposite end of the said drum or shaft,
so that there are on each side or face of the bobbin as many conductors as there
are coils or helices. The said conductors are insulated from each other and
disposed in such a manner as to constitute either a cylinder, a cone, or a disc,
and are fixed either on the shaft well insulated from the same, or on the
drum or boss of the bobbin. The said conductors revolve with the bobbin and

page_text: come in regular succession to bear against fixed metal springs, rollers, brushes, or
other conducting rubbers forming the poles of the machine.
The aforesaid core of the bobbin may be considered as composed of as many
inagnets joined by their similar poles as there are inducing magnetic poles, and it
will be understood from the above description that when there are on each side of
the bobbin as many conducting rubbers as there are independent effective coils in
the bobbin, as many electric currents may be obtained from such a bobbin.
or more of these conducting rubbers or poles of the machine may be joined up in
series or side by side for quantity, and in this latter case I may employ large
brushes bearing against the desired number of conductors.
Two
Instead of coiling or winding the wire on the core in such a manner that it
extends around the inner and outer peripheries of the annular piece forming the
core, and therefore covers the entire surface of the same as in the bobbins above
described, the wire may be coiled only over the outer surface of the core parallel
to its axis. Moreover the said core may be provided with projections of triangular
or any other convenient sectional form, or it may be provided with grooves of
suitable section in which the wire is lodged in coiling the same.
The said apparatus or machine may be used for generating electrical currents
to be used for any purpose for which the same are or may be employed, and also
as an electro magnetic engine in or by which electrical currents obtained from any
source may be utilized for motive power.
My improved lighting apparatus or lamps constructed according to the second
part of my did Invention are as follows, that is to say :-
Two
mat
éntric or nearly concentric globes of glass or other suitable transparent
e fitted together with an intervening space in such a manner as to
form
ngle globular or spherical vessel provided with an opening on one side.
The central space, that is to say, the space within the inner globe is filled with
carbon or other suitable solid or liquid conductor, or is plated inside with silver
or other metal. The outer globe is provided externally with one or more wires or
strips of conducting material encircling the said globe. The space between the
two globes after exhaustion of the air from the same is filled with gas, simple or
compound, I prefer oxygen or siliciuretted hydrogen. This space must then be
tightly closed. The conductors of the two globes are connected with the terminals
of an induction coil. And when a silent or obscure discharge of electricity takes
place between the said conductors of the two globes, the gas or gases enclosed
between them become highly luminous, and the lamp will emit a soft and steady
light. The rarifaction of the gas enclosed within the said globular vessel or
envelope must be regulated according to the intensity of the electric current to be
employed. Instead of a globe I may use a vessel or envelope of cylindrical or
other suitable shape, and the same may be enclosed in another envelope filled with
water, glycerine, alcohol, ether, bisulphide of carbon, or other suitable liquid.
I may also modify the construction of my electric lamp by providing it with a
globe or cylinder filled with a simple or compound gas. I prefer a compound of
silicium with hydrogen or a halogen, such as bromide or chloride of silicium. This
globe has a cylindrical projection on which is mounted one of the above described
bobbins, or any other suitable bobbin lined internally with silk or other suitable
material. On the frame which carries the inducing magnets is mounted a socket,
in which is fitted to turn freely a spindle that carries the said bobbin. When a
current passes through the said bobbin the same will be caused to revolve, and the
frictional electricity developed in the glass will render the enclosed gas or gases
luminous.

page_text: MICHARD
Engineer.
WERDERÐLANN, OF ITInces Sorbet, n the Couvy Di Durrey, UVI
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AND UTILIZING
ELECTRIC CURRENTS, AND IN LAMPS TO BE EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SAME OR SIMILAR APPARATUS."
My Invention relates partly to improvements in apparatus for producing
electric currents, and applicable for the utilization of electric currents produced by
any other apparatus.
The said Invention also relates to electric lamps or lighting apparatus.
In the accompanying Drawing,-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of portions of a machine for producing electric
currents with my improvements applied to the same, and
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line, x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a central section of my improved lighting apparatus, and
Figure 4 is a similar view of another form of the said apparatus hereinafter
described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
My improved apparatus or machine for producing electric currents is constructed
as follows, that is to say:-Between the poles or polar extensions a, a, of one or
more permanent magnets or electro magnets I arrange one or more bobbins b which
are fixed on a central shaft or axis c or upon a drum or boss fitted thereon and
revolve with the same. These bobbins are constructed with a core b¹ of iron or
other magnetic material having the shape of a ring, a cylinder, a disc, or any other
suitable shape, as for instance, a globe or ellipsoid, and made either of one solid or
hollow piece, or of several pieces, or of wire, or strips, or discs, insulated or not
insulated one from another. On this core is wound in a direction parallel to its
axis insulated wire, or strips or ribbons of copper or other good conducting material
in sections, as shewn at 62, in such a manner that a series of coils or helices of
wire are formed. The two ends of each coil 6 are attached to two conductors
d; d', one of the said conductors being fitted on one side of the drum or disc e on
which the bobbin is mounted, and the other conductor on the opposite side of the
said drum or disc, as shewn in Figure 2, so that there are on each side or face of
the drum e as many conductors as there are coils or helices in the bobbin b.
In Figure 1 I have shewn the bobbin b composed of forty eight coils, sections,
or helices 62, a corresponding number of conductors being arranged upon each face
or side of the drum e. I do not however confine myself to any particular number
of coils or sections employed to constitute a bobbin or number of conductors as
it will be readily understood that this number may be varied at will to suit the
circumstances under which the machine is to be employed. The conductors d and
d' are insulated from each other and arranged in such a manner as to constitute
collectively either a disc, as shewn, or cylinder, or cone, and are fixed either on the
shaft and well insulated from the same, or on the drum or boss e of the bobbin, as
represented. Metal brushes f, f, are fixed on the polar extensions and insulated
therefrom. The conductors d, d', revolve with the bobbin b and come in regular
succession to bear against the said metal brushes f, f, or against springs, rollers, or
other conducting rubbers forming the terminals of the machine. Instead of having
the two series of conductors arranged on opposite sides of the bobbin I may arrange
them both on one side of the same, provision being made for insulating them from
each other.
The core 6¹ of the bobbin may be considered as composed of as many magnets
joined by their similar poles as there are inducing magnetic poles, and it will be

page_text: understood from the above description that when there are on each side of the
bobbin as many conducting rubbers as there are independent effective coils in the
bobbin as many electric currents may be obtained from such a bobbin. The bobbin
does not therefore constitute one closed circuit but as many open circuits as there
are helices or coils b².
Two or more of these conducting rubbers or poles of the
machine may be joined up in series or side by side for quantity, and in this latter
case I prefer to employ large brushes f of curved form bearing against the desired
number of conductors, as shewn.
Instead of coiling or winding the wire on the core in such a manner that it
extends around the inner and outer peripheries of the annular piece forming the
said core, and therefore covers the entire surface of the same as in the bobbin above
described, the wire may be coiled over the outer surface only of the core parallel
to its axis. The said core may be provided with projections of triangular or any
other convenient sectional form, or it may be provided with grooves of suitable
section in which the wire is lodged in coiling the same.
If
The currents produced by the above described apparatus are continuous.
however it is desired to obtain alternate currents the coils or helices of the
bobbin or bobbins 6 must be coiled or wound alternately in opposite directions,
that is to say, supposing the coils 63 shewn in Figure 1 were numbered from 1 to
48, those nuinbered 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and so on, would be wound in one direction,
and those numbered 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and so on, would be wound in the opposite
direction.
The said apparatus or machine may be used for generating electrical currents to
be used for any purpose for which the same are or may be employed, and also as an
electro magnetic engine in or by which electrical currents obtained from any source
may be utilized for producing motive power.
I will now proceed to describe the part of my improvements which relate to
lighting by electricity. For this purpose I may employ the apparatus or lamp
illustrated in Figure 3 of the Drawing, and which is constructed as follows, that is
to say I employ two concentric or nearly concentric globes g, h, or a globe with
double walls of glass or other suitable transparent material fitted together with an
intervening space i in such a manner as to form a single globular or spherical
vessel provided with an opening for the admission of gas. The said glass globe
may be blown in one piece with double walls, and an intervening space as shewn.
The central space, that is to say, the space within the inner globe or wall g is filled
with carbon or other suitable solid or liquid conductor, or is plated inside with
silver or other metal. The outer globe or wall h is provided externally with one
or more wires, strips, or spiral lines j of conducting material encircling the said
globe. The space i between the two globes or walls, after exhaustion of the air
from the same is filled with simple or compound gas, and must then be tightly
closed. I prefer oxygen or siliciuretted hydrogen. k represents a metal rod or
conductor connected with the carbon in the globe g, and leading to or connected
with one of the terminals of an induction coil. 7 represents a wire connected with
the spiral j, and leading to the other terminal of the said induction coil. When a
silent or obscure discharge of electricity takes place between the said conductors
k, l, of the two globes g, h, the gas or gases enclosed between them will become
highly luminous, and the lamp will emit a soft and steady light. The rarefaction
of the gas enclosed within the said globular vessel or envelope must be regulated
according to the intensity of the electric current to be employed. Instead of a
globe or globes I may use a vessel or envelope of cylindrical or other suitable shape,
and the same may be enclosed in another envelope filled with water, glycerine,
alcohol, ether, bisulphide of carbon, or other suitable liquid. Furthermore, the
inner glass globe may be dispensed with, and a globe or vessel of platinum or other
suitable metal or conducting material may be used. It will be readily understood
that a great number of such lamps may be rendered luminous by and connected
with one induction coil either in connection or not in connection with condensing
apparatus.

page_text: In Figure 4 of the Drawing I have shewn an electric lamp consisting of the
globe or cylinder m filled with a simple or compound gas. I prefer a compound of
silicium with hydrogen or a halogen. This globe has a cylindrical projection m',
on which is mounted a bobbin n constructed similarly to that above described or
any other suitable bobbin, lined internally with silk or other suitable rubbing or
friction producing material at o. The frame or bracket p which carries the
inducing or compound magnets q is provided with a socket p¹, in which is fitted to
turn freely a spindle that carries the said bobbin n." When a current passes
through the said bobbin, the same will be caused to revolve, and the frictional
electricity developed on the glass will render the enclosed gas or gases luminous.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of
construction of my improved apparatus for producing electric currents shewn in
the accompanying Drawing, as the relative position, form, and dimensions of the
parts of the same may be obviously varied in many ways to suit the purposes for
which they are to be employed, without departing from the spirit of my Invention,
neither do I limit myself to any particular form or arrangement of apparatus for
rendering gas luminous by silent or obscure discharges of electricity, or claim the
employment of gases rendered luminous by an electric spark, but I claim,-
First. In a magneto or dynamo electric machine, the bobbin composed of a series
of helices or coils, each of which is constructed and arranged to constitute an open
circuit, as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Second. In a magneto or dynamo electric machine, a series of conductors
arranged in such a manner as to constitute a disc, substantially as above set forth
and for the purpose specified.
Third. In a bobbin, the combination of the said series of helicos, each of which
constitutes an open circuit with the said series of conductors arranged on one or
both sides of the bobbin, substantially as above set forth and for the purpose
specified.
Fourth. The brush or conducting rubber constructed and arranged in combination
with the conductors, substantially as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fifth. In an electric circuit, the employment for lighting purposes, of apparatus
wherein gases are rendered luminous by silent or obscure discharges of electricity.
Sixth. The improved apparatus constructed as shewn in Figure 4, wherein gases
are rendered luminous by frictional electricity, substantially as and for the purpose
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Werdermann, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty
R. WERDERMANN. (L.S.)