Improvements in Electrical Means of Advertising.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 10th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Means of Advertising.
We ALFRED RENÉ UPWARD Consulting Electrical Engineer and ARCHIBALD
GEORGE BUTTIFANT Accountant both of 150 Holland Road Kensington in the
County of London do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In this invention letters, words, devices, or trade-marks are formed of glass tube
or tubes of any form of cross section preferably circular, enclosing a filament,
wire, thread, tape, stranded conductor or chain; of metal, metallic alloy or other
suitable material traversing their whole length and which line of matter is made
incandescent by the passage of the electric current.
These tubes are exhausted of air and "sealed " having electrical conductors
sealed into, and passing air tight through the glass which conductors are in
electrical contact with the enclosed line of matter within the tube, which line of
matter is rendered incandescent by the passage of the electric current.
The incandescent matter within the tubes may be built up or composed of
sections or links of matter of widely different conductivities those sections or links
which are of lower conductivity only, becoming incandescent.
The linear expansion (due to heating) of the incandescent matter within the
tubes may be taken up or compensated by a spring, weight or equivalent appliance.
In some cases it is convenient to form the lower electrical contact by allowing
the lower end of the incandescent line of matter within the tube, to dip into a pool
of mercury within the tube, thus providing perfect electrical contact without a
rigid attachment: contact with this mercury may be made from without by a
platinum or other wire sealed into and passing air-tight through the glass as above
referred to.
Any letter, portion of a letter, or word, or element of sign, whether the element
be a straight line or curve is so formed and prepared as to "run in series" with
any other separate portion that is to say that the same electrical current would
cause them to become equally incandescent: the primary object of this appearing
from the following:-The various tubes having been mounted on a board and
arranged in the forms required, delineating the letters, words, or signs, the
electrical connections are then made, joining electrically in circuit the tubes in sets
of equal lengths, or sections, each section forming a complete circuit capable of
then being joined, in that which is technically known as "parallel circuit" with the
other sections so formed; thus as far as possible added or artificial resistances to
balance the various sections will generally not be required, or if required, will, by
the above described method and system be reduced to a minimum.
When it is desired that the advertisement may be visible from both sides, the
board on which the electrical letters, words, or signs, are mounted may be
perforated or slotted, placing the tubes in the perforations or slots, or in place of
the mounting board the electrical letters, words, or signs may be attached to a
skeleton frame, or netting.
The tubes enclosing the incandescent matter may be either of white, or coloured
glass, or of glass treated in various ways, or of a cross section to produce refraction
and other optical effects. The tubes may be formed of glass and metal or glass &
other substance: or of any transparent matter suitable for the purpose.
.
In order to increase the appearance of brilliancy the tubes which form the

page_text: letters, words, or devices may be provided at the back with a highly reflecting
surface.
Dated this 11th d...
Nimbon 1001
A. RÉNÉ UPWARD.
A. G. BUTTIFANT.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Means of Advertising.
We ALFRED RENE UPWARD Electrical Engineer and ARCHIBALD GEORGE
BUTTIFANT Accountant, both of 150 Holland Road Kensington in the County of
London 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 :-
In this invention letters, words, devices, or trade marks are formed of glass tube
or tubes of any form of cross section, preferably circular, enclosing a filament,
thread, tape, wire, chain or stranded conductor, which conductor is of metal, metal
alloy, or other suitable material, preferably carbon or platinum, traversing nearly
the whole internal length of the tube, which conductor enclosed within the glass
tube or tubes is made incandescent by the passage of the electric current through
it. Thus these tubes consist essentially of the following parts:-
The glass tube enclosing a conductor to be rendered incandescent by the passage
of the electric current through it, this conductor being electrically connected at
each end to a conducting wire preferably platinum, passing through the closed
ends of the glass tube, into which it is sealed or fused leaving sufficient length pro-
jecting beyond the outside ends of the said tube to allow of electrical connection
with it being made from without. These connecting wires which pass through the
glass are of course of sufficient conductivity not to become appreciably heated with
the current necessary to raise the conductor above mentioned, enclosed within the
tube, to incandescence. In order to prevent the loss of heat and energy by
"convection" and also to prevent the action of air on the incandescent conductor
these tubes are exhausted of air so that the incandescent conductor is enclosed in a
vacuum. As will readily be seen the principles of construction (other than shape)
of these tubes is similar to that of the incandescent lamp, which being an article of
commerce no further particulars of manufacture need be given.
When these tubes enclose a filament, tape, or thread, carbon conductor, they are
virtually incandescent lamps of such shape, form, or forms as to render them
suitable for the delineation of lines and curves necessary for the formation of
letters, words, and devices.
It may be noted that the ends of the incandescent conductor within the tube
should not be brought nearer than about three-sixteenths of an inch to the ends of
the glass tube itself, in order to prevent fracture of the glass from excessive
heating. Moreover as the incandescent conductor is so much closer to the glass
in these tubes than in an ordinary incandescent lamp, the glass of these tubes
should be thoroughly annealed. We will now proceed to describe practical
details of construction:-The letters, words, stops, or devices of the particular
electric sign required are for convenience drawn or sketched full size on paper,
incandescent tubes as above described are now made of the various lengths and
required number to form the long and short strokes of the various letters, (curves
may be either formed in one or more pieces or sections of curved tube, enclosing an
incandescent conductor within them also curved, or may be formed of a larger
number of very small straight sections arranged so as to form the curved line
required). These tubes, (after careful annealing above pointed out) are arranged
on a mounting slab or board of slate, or wood, more conveniently the latter, which
is first covered with a sheet of asbestos cloth or paper, about one sixteenth of an
inch thick, to protect it from the heat of the tubes when incandescent.

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All the tubes in each individual letter are electrically joined in that which is
known as "simple series circuit," and as far as possible each letter is thus a distinct
circuit, and as a whole is connected to the source of electric supply, and thus runs
in that which is known as "parallel circuit" with the other letters on the same
mounting board. As has been before stated the conductor or filament of any tube
whatever be its length or shape becomes equally incandescent when run in "series "
with any other tube or tubes, thus enabling the whole sign, consisting of letters,
words, or devices or both, to be divided into electrical sections or circuits having
the same electrical resistance, so that the various sections can be run in "parallel
circuit as above described with each other. This is specially useful when letters
by their shape would contain greater lengths of conductor or filament than other
letters of the same sign. Thus added or artificial resistance to electrically balance
the various letters is practically not required. Preferably these tubes are furnished
at the back with a highly reflecting surface which may be deposited on the back of
the glass of each individual tube by any of the existing well-known silvering
processes. The reflecting surface which we provide for these tubes is however,
thus designed, complete letters are "stamped," cast or "moulded" from metal
or other suitable substance, semi-circular in section so that the face of the letter
presents a hollow trough. This trough being of the exact inside diameter to allow
the incandescent tubes to fit tightly into them, so instead of the incandescent tubes
being arranged or lying on the face of the mounting board direct, as above
described, they are fitted in and lie in the semi-circular groove of the "stamped,"
"cast," or "moulded" letters which are brightly electro-plated on their concave
surface. These semi-circular hollow and bright plated letters are screwed to the
surface of the mounting board, the incandescent tubes then being arranged in their
grooves. In addition to increasing the brilliant appearance of the electric letters
these hollow, bright plated, polished letters tend to give a much more perfect
continuity of appearance to the incandescent tubes in addition to increasing their
brilliant appearance. If it is wished that the incandescent letters be visible from
both sides the mounting board above described is slotted, cut through, or perforated
in the exact form of the letters required the incandescent tubes lying in these
slots, or in place of this device the incandescent letters may be attached to any
kind of network or skeleton frame. In the case of long tubes the expansion of
the incandescent conductor may be of sufficient magnitude to cause the conductor
when fully incandescent to approach too closely the side of the glass. This
may be obviated by inserting a small spiral or other shaped spring between the
end of the incandescent conductor and the end of the tube, thus taking up the
slack, or the incandescent conductor being attached rigidly to one conducting wire
which passes through the glass allowing the other end of the incandescent con-
ductor to hang free, its end dipping into a globule or pool of mercury within
the tube, contact being made with this mercury by the platinum conducting wire
which is sealed into the glass, a little weight of say, some twenty grains being
attached to the free end of the incandescent conductor thus keeping it always
rectilinear but preferably we do not employ any one tube of greater length
than about three and a half inches, the expansion of the incandescent conductor
by heat in this case not being sufficient to require any compensating device.
The glass of these tubes may of course be of any colour, or frosted, or otherwise
treated to give them any varied optical appearance or the incandescent tubes
themselves may be of white glass, with semi-circular coloured transparent tubes
placed over them following the exact curves and straight lines of the letter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. Glass tubes enclosing an incandescent filament or conductor, preferably of
carbon, or platinum, and the tubes preferably exhausted of air, these tubes being

page_text: of both rectilinear and if required curved form arranged and disposed so as to
form letters and words, substantially as described.
2. In such incandescent letters any filament or incandescent conductor contained in
any individual tube, or element of same, to be of such specific resistance and nature
as to become equally incandescent when running in "series circuit" with any other
tube or tubes, and also the method of joining up the electrical circuits into sections
of approximately equal electrical resistance substantially as described.
3. Incandescent electric letters of the construction herein described provided on
one side with a highly reflecting surface obtained by mounting them in semi-circular
hollow burnished letters substantially as described.
4. The details and method of construction of parts, and combination of parts, for
the production of electrically incandescent letters, and words, forming complete
electric signs substantially as described, for the purpose of advertisement.
Dated this Tenth day of September 1892.
A. RÉNÉ UPWARD.
A. G. BUTTIFANT.