Apparatus for Controlling Electrical Illumination.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 1st Aug., 1895-4ccepted, 7th Sept., 1895
[Communicated from abroad by Messrs. SIEMENS & HALSKE, of Berlin, in the
German Empire, Electrical Engineers.]
Apparatus for Controlling Electrical Illumination.
We, SIEMENS BROTHERS & Co. LIMITED, of 12 Queen Anne's Gate,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Electrical Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an apparatus which enables anyone situated at any
desired point to effectually control the illumination of any locality, such for instance
as the stage of a theatre, by including or excluding the necessary resistances in
electrical cirenits for regulating the different illuminating effects to be produced.
For this purpose a casing having a row of slots in its front side, contains opposite
these slots a row of vertical narrow long brass strips of rectangular cross section,
which are connected at their upper ends to wire pulls serving to actuate the contact
slides of a series of resistances included in the lamp circuits.
To the strips are fixed projections passing through the slots in the casing and
terminating in knobs or handles, so that each strip can be moved up and down by
hand thereby.
The wires are led from the upper end of the strip over guide pullies to one end
of the contact slide, from the other side of which a wire passes over another guide
pulley and has a weight attached to it, while a similar weight is attached to the
lower end of the brass strip, the weights being so proportioned that they will hold
the contact slide and brass strip in any position into which they are moved. The
contact slide is arranged in the usual manner for establishing a contact between
the main conductor and the contact plates of a series of resistances so as to include
a greater or less number hereof in the lamp circuit, there being as many contact
slides and series of resistances as there are strips in the casing. In order to enable
several or all of these to be actuated simultaneously, each strip can be brought
into frictional contact with a cylinder of suitable material, such as paper, so that on
the rotation of the cylinder.any of the strips that are in contact therewith will be
moved up or down in the above described manner.
For producing effective frictional contact, the strips have by preference a strip
of india-rubber fixed upon them, and they are kept pressed in contact with the
cylinder by means of a spring lever having a small roller pressing against the outer
surface of the strip so as to nip this between the roller and the cylinder; by
means of a cain that can be turned by hand so as to press on a tail of the spring
lever, this can be held away from the strip, whereupon this will spring out of
contact with the cylinder. Thus by means of the cams any desired combination
of strips can be left in contact with the cylinder so that on turning this, the
corresponding groups of sliding contacts and resistances can be actuated simul-
taneously. For turning the cylinder a hand wheel is fixed on the axis of the latter,
and an accurate adjustment can be obtained by sliding a small pinion in gear with
a toothed ring on the hand wheel, the pinion being on a spindle, with a crank handle
for turning it by hand.
It will be seen that by the above described apparatus, which occupies very little
space, any number of groups of resistances situated at a distance on different lamp

page_text: circuits can be readily controlled, either singly or any desired combination thereof
simultaneously for producing different effects of illumination.
Dated this 3rd day of November 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
Apparatus
We, SIEMENS BROTHERS & Co. LIMITED, of 12 Queen Anne's Gate,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Electrical Engineers, 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 an apparatus which enables anyone situated at any
desired point to effectually control the illumination of any locality, such for instance
as the stage of a theatre, by including or excluding the necessary resistances in
electrical circuits for regulating the different illuminating effects to be produced.
For this purpose we employ apparatus such as is shewn in front view Fig. 1 and in
side view Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. A casing V having a row of
slots in its front side, contains opposite these slots a row of vertical narrow long
brass strips A B of rectangular cross section, which are connected at their upper
ends B to wire pulls serving to actuate the contact slides of a series of resistances
included in the lamp circuits.
To the strips A B are fixed projections passing through the slots in the casing
and terminating in knobs or handles D so that each strip can be moved up and down
by hand thereby.
The wire pull in each case is led from the upper end of the strip over a guide
pulley to one end of the contact slide C from the other side of which a wire passes
over another guide pulley and has a weight E attached to it, while a similar weight
is attached to the lower end of the brass strip, the weights being so proportioned
that they will hold the contact slide and brass strip in any position into which
they are moved. The contact slide is arranged in the usual manner for establishing
a contact between the main conductor and the contact plates of a series of
resistances so as to include a greater or less number hereof in the lamp circuit,
there being as many contact slides and series of resistances as there are strips in
the casing. In order to enable several or all of these to be actuated simultaneously,
each strip can be brought into frictional contact with a cylinder G of suitable
material, such as paper, so that on the rotation of the cylinder any of the strips
that are in contact therewith will be moved up or down in the above described
manner.
For producing effective frictional contact, the strips have by preference a strip
of caoutchouc fixed upon them, and they are kept pressed in contact with the
cylinder G by means of a roller K on a lever I strained by an adjustable spring L
causing the strip to be nipped between the roller K and the cylinder G or by means
of a cam H that can be turned by hand so as to press on a tail of the spring
lever, the roller K can be held away from the strip, which will then spring out
of contact with the cylinder G. Thus by means of the cams any desired combina-
tion of strips can be left in contact with the cylinder G so that on turning its
axis F the corresponding groups of sliding contacts and resistances can be
actuated simultaneously. For turning the cylinder G a hand wheel N is fixed on
its axis and a delicate adjustment can be obtained by sliding a small pinion Q
in gear with a toothed ring O on the hand wheel, the pinion being on a spindle
with a crank handle p for turning it by hand. At each end of the caoutchouc

page_text: strip is a metal incline M which comes to bear on the cylinder G when the strip
comes to either end of its stroke.
It will be seen that by the above described apparatus, which occupies very little
space, any number of groups of resistances situated at a distance on different lamp
circuits can be readily controlled, either singly or any desired combination thereof
simultaneously for producing different effects of illumination.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
:―
Apparatus for controlling electrical illumination substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.
Datad this 20th dow of Jul., 1905
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.