Improved Contact Fittings for Movable Electric Lamps.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 15th Oct., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Contact Fittings for Movable Electric Lamps.
I, CHARLES EDMUND WEBBER, C.B., of 17, Egerton Gardens, in the County
of London, Electrical Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to certain improved contact fittings for movable electric
lamps, particularly for those in domestic use, which are placed on tables or other
pieces of furniture, and the object is to provide a fitting which will admit of easy
connection and disconnection of the standard or pedestal used to carry the electric
lamp or lamps, and which will be available whether the table or other support is
covered by a table-cloth or not, and if so, without removing same, and without the
necessity hitherto always existing of carrying the wires over the cloth or through
specially prepared holes in the same.
I will fully describe my invention in reference to the accompanying drawing in
which
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of part of an electric lamp pedestal or standard
and of a table board supporting same and covered with a cloth, my invention being
applied thereto.
Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively an elevation and a section of connecting buttons
hereinafter described.
A is the table or support and a represents the table cover.
In the table A, two
thimbles B B are neatly inserted and fixed. They may be of any suitable conducting
material open at their tops and having their upper inner edges preferably bevelled
off as shown. I have illustrated the two thimbles separately inserted into the
table, but they may, if desired, be made in one piece or trough properly insulated
from each other. To the base of each thimble are soldered or otherwise fixed
closely together, so as to form a brush inside the thimble, a bundle of wires 6 of
brass or other suitable conducting metal, of any convenient length and gauge, but
not projecting beyond the base of the bevel above referred to. The thimbles are
provided at their bases with binding screws b¹ for connecting the positive and
negative conductors from the house-mains or other source of electricity either in
series or parallel as shown.
C is a button of ebonite or other suitable non-conducting material fixed to a
metallic disc c which carries a suitable number of downwardly projecting contact
pins or plugs c¹ of suitable length and size and arranged at any convenient distances
apart so as to be capable of easy passage into the brushes of the thimbles B.
Preferably the pin or pins is or are needle-pointed and of bright steel in order to
ensure easy passage through the table cover fabric and without injuring same.
One of these buttons is attached to each of the lamp wires by means of a plug D
adapted to be inserted into a hole bored in the button C and then making contact
with the metallic disc c as shown at Fig. 3, and the projecting or hand end of the
plugs D may be covered with insulating material as at d, Fig. 2; or equivalently
the buttons C may, if desired, be made of metal insulated from the disc c in which
case the holes for receiving the plug D would be lined with non-conducting material
except where contact is to be made with disc c.
The lamp wires are led through the lamp pedestal which is formed with a hollow
base P adapted to receive and cover the whole of the fittings and lined with non-
conducting material when the buttons C are made of any conducting material; the
lamp wires are of sufficient length to enable the buttons C to be freely connected
and manipulated before placing the pedestal over them as illustrated.
When it is desired to make connection for a lamp upon a table provided with

page_text: contacts as above described and shown, connected to the house mains or other
source of electricity, the table being covered with a cloth, the plugs D are inserted
into the buttons C and then the pins c¹ of the said buttons are simply pushed
through the table cloth a into the brushes b of the thimbles B and the electric
connection is at once effected; then the pedestal base P is placed over the contact
fittings and the electric connections are conveniently hidden from view.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In contact fittings for movable electric lamps, the use and arrangement of
thimbles fixed in or to the table or support and fitted with contact brushes adapted
to be connected to the house mains or other source of electricity in combination
with buttons or connecting plugs carrying projecting contact pins and adapted to
be electrically connected to the lamp wires, substantially as set forth.
2. The improved contact fittings for movable electric lamps constructed and
arranged for use substantially in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 14th day of September 1892.
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.