IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC LAMPS OR LIGHTING APPARATUS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Offico
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th October 1882. A communication
to him from abroad by Bernhard Egger, of Vienna, Austria
18
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings, London 'IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC LAMPS OR LIGHTING
APPARATUS A communication to him from abroad by Bernhard Egger, of Vienna,
Austria
"
The chief object of this invention is to provide an improved electric lamp or
lighting apparatus which shall have all the advantages of a good regulator lamp,
that is to say, in which the arc will be automatically formed when a current flows
through the lamp and will be maintained at the same length, and which can be
used with any number of lamps of similar construction in the same circuit without
being disturbed by them. The latter quality is possessed by all lamps constructed
upon the well known differential principle; and the peculiar features of tho
improved lamp or lighting apparatus consist in the construction and combination of
the parts as hereinafter set forth.
One great advantage in this improved lamp is that, as regards the electrical or
mechanical part, springs are entirely dispensed with, and in every case the weight of
the parts either performs the work or has to be overcome.
In carrying the said invention into practice, I provide a rod which serves for the
reception of the lower carbon or electrode and is rigidly connected to a sole plate
by means of rods or standards. Above the said plate, and separated from it by &
layer of india-rubber, two solenoids are placed vertically; a double armed lever
suitably pivotted. carries at its extremities iron cores which are inserted in the
solenoids in such a manner that only one half of the core is within the solenoid,
one of the solenoids is made with thick copper wire; and the other solenoid is
made with very thin wire, consequently the latter offers considerable resistance to
the passage of the current.
•
A train of wheels with a fly is provided with the first pinion of which engages
a toothed rack which carries the upper carbon and sets tho said train of wheels in
motion by its weight; this train of wheels is arranged in a case between the
solenoids.

page_text: The fulcrum of the said double armed lever has its bearing in one side of the
said case.
The pinion with which the rack engages is arranged on a forked lever
capable of turning around a pivot so that a slight movement upward and downward,
which is also imparted to the rack, is rendered possible, without the connection
between the pinion and the remaining parts of the train of wheels being disturbed.
By means of a rod the double armed lever and the forked lever are connected. If
one of the solenoids be excited, and the corresponding end of the double armed
lever drawn down, the forked lever, together with the pinion and rack, is raised and
when the other solenoid attracts the other end of the double armed lever the said
parts are moved downward.
The axis of the By of the train of wheels carries a star shaped or escapement
wheel with the teeth of which a small catch or hook is adapted to engage and
prevent its rotation, so long as the double armed lever upon one of whose arms the
said hook is fixed is horizontal or is attracted toward the corresponding solenoid.
Thus the escapement wheel can only turn when the double armed lever is drawn
down by the other solenoid the said catch or hook being then pushed upwards, so
as to release the tooth.
"
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The train of wheels, under the influence of the weight of the rack and carbon-
holder, has a tendency to turn the escapement wheel round in one direction; and
the rack is capable of a double motion, that is to say, a constant downward motion
which begins when the escapement wheel is released by the hook, and the extent of
which motion depends on the length of the rack and an up and down movement
through the raising, and lowering of the double armed lever. By reason of its
_connection with the said lever, the rack, when the lamp is not acted upon by any
current, would always press the said lever downwards on one side, and as the
escapement wheel would be thereby released, the rack would descend until the
carbons met. In order to prevent this the said lever is provided with a movable
balance weight which is so placed that, when no current passes through the lamp,
_one_side_of_the said lever is more heavily weighted than the other sido and the said
hook stops the train of wheels. Adjustable stops are provided to limit the move-¨¨
ment of the said lever in either direction.
The current passes through the lamp as follows, that is to say, from any source
of electricity the current enters on one side of the lamp into an insulated clamp
fixed upon the aforesaid sole plate, passes through the thin wire of one of the
solenoids, and leaves by another clamp which is fixed upon the said sole plate. The
current can also pass from the first clamp through the thick wire of the other
solenoid to the train of wheels and to contact springs.thence to the rack and
upper carbon. When the carbons touch the current passes to the lower carbon,
thence through the standards to the second clamp.
To increase the magnetic attraction I sometimes provide two sets of solenoids
and four iron cores, each pair of which is connected by means of a plate. The
double-armed lever in this case has the form of a four sided frame with extensions
between which the iron cores are suspended and are movable on screwed pivots so
that whatever be the position of the lever they will assume a vertical position
thereby obviating the necessity for making the central aperture in the solenoid
very large. Between the solenoids is supported, upon two standards, the train of
wheels with a lever connected thereto and capable of turning around a screwed
pivot; this lever is also made in the form of a frame, or U-shaped.
Above the train of wheels are two cylindrical rollers carried by elastic strips to
ensure a perfect contact between the said train of wheels and the rack.
According to a modified arrangement of the lamp the escapement wheel is not
engaged by a small hook fastened to the double armed lever, but a small lever
movable around a screwed pivot, together with a movable plate, is arranged to effect
this operation. An adjusting screw at the outer end of the said small lever bears
upon the double armed lever and transmits the movements of the same to the said
small lever. The train of wheels consists of a few pinions and toothed wheels, and
the first pinion can move a few millimetres up and down with the rack without

page_text: being placed out of gear with the remaining parts of the train. In one of the
standards supporting the train of wheels is a lever movable around an axis; this
lever touches the rack laterally. On the same standard is screwed an insulated
copper spring having a number of slits ; this spring, when the said lever is moved down-
wards about forty five degrees, forms a metallic contact with a projection upon the
said lever. A strong spring is arranged near the fulcrum and bears upon a corres-
pondingly shaped shoulder of the said lever and causes, when the latter is only
pressed down a few degrees, a sudden movement of the same through the aforesaid
angle of forty five degrees. The contact with the aforesaid copper spring is then
suddenly effected. This arrangement has for its object to automatically put the
lamp out of gear, when the carbons have burnt down to a prescribed length. The
rack has, at each end of its stroke a pin which strikes either above or below, against
one end of the said lever, and forces it to move in one or the other direction, for
instance when the carbons are nearly consumed, the upper pin bears upon the said
lever, and when the rack descends a few millimetres farther, the said lever is
suddenly moved down into its lower position and makes contact with the copper
spring, which is in electrical connection with the aforesaid sole plate and one of the
clamps, but the said lever is in electrical connection through the train of wheels
with one end of the thick wire coil and an insulated clamp and the lamp is
therefore extinguished. When the rack is again moved upwards, after having been
provided with a new carbon, the pin at the lower end moves the said lever up
again. The lamp will burn again as soon as the carbons have touched each other
and the are has been formed. In order that the upper pin may pass the contact
rollers, one of them is grooved.
By means of a light rod which extends as far as the foot of the lower carbon-
holder, the lamp can be put in or out of gear. The upper carbon-holder terminates
in a ball joint so that the carbon can be pushed to one side or another. In order
to regulate the length of the arc it is only necessary to slightly shift the aforesaid
balance weight. When the said weight is moved from the fulcrum the work to be
done by the thin wire solenoid increases, and the releasing of the train of wheels
will only be effected upon the arc attaining a considerable length.
It is obvious that I can employ electro-magnets in place of the solenoids above
described, with a similar result.