US744530A - Portable electric-lighting apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No. 744,530. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

E. R. GILL.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS;

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1902.

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PATBNTED NOV. 17, 1903..

VP. R. GILL.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1902.

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Patented November 17, 1903.

- "UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFEE' EDWIN R. GILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC CONTRACT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC-LIGHTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,530, dated November 17, 1903.

' Application filed April '7, 1902. Serial No. 101,681. (No model.)

'To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN R. GILL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city,

county, and State of New York, have invented form in the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1 is a central section of a portable electric candle supplied with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the box shown in Fig. 1 inverted and without the battery. Fig. 3 is a diagram of circuits shown in connection with an illuminated clock; and Fig.

4 is a partial view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified form of switch.

In Fig. 1 is shown an electric candle mounted upon a hollow stand 1, containing a battery of three cells 2 in an insulating-covering 3. The whole is held in place by a sliding cover l. are brought out at 5 and 6 in the form of springs,which flatten down upon the side of the covering 3 when the battery is pressed into the box 1 and secured by thecover 4. The candle comprises the usual shell 7, made to imitate a candle in form and color, and an electric lamp 8 of the ordinary incandescent type, having a central terminal at its bottom and a threaded exterior terminal adapted to be screwed into a corresponding socket 9.

I prefer to use an ornamentalholder of metal 10, having a metal cup 11 supporting the shell 7. In the form shown theholder is secured in place by means contributing to complete the circuit, as follows: The shouldered nut 12 rests in the bottom of the cup 11 and provides means whereby the screw 13, having its head within the box or stand 1, is made to screw 'down the candle-holder and secure it to said box. The metal tube-14: surrounds the nut 12, making electrical contact therewith, and the socket 9 is supported at The two terminals of the battery the top of said tube in electric contact with it. Current is thus carried to said socket and in atone lamp-terminal through the screw 13 and-the tube 14., as hereinafter described.

The central lamp terminal is intended to touch the contact-piece 15 in the center of the insulating-washer 16 within the socket 9, and current is conveyed to said contact-piece by the insulated conductor 17, passing into the tube 14 at 18 and up through its center. The assembling of my improved electric candle is accomplished, preferably, as follows: The holder and cup having been secured by the nut 12 and screw 13, the tube- 14: is fitted over said nut, with the conductor 17 in place, the latter being carried out through the center of the holder, so as to extend into the box or stand 1. '(See Fig. 2 I then pour into the bottom of the cup melted 7o paraffin or an equivalent substance which can be made to harden inplace, as'shown at 19. Before this supporting material is hard I insert the bottom of the shell 7, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cement or paraffin on hardening then acts to support and secure both said shell and the tube 14. The lamp 8 is screwed into place last and can be removed at any time.

Within the box a fiat conductor 20 is held by the screw 13 and is preferably'secured by a screw or like conductin g-fastenin g 21 to the handle 22 on top of the box. The conductor 20 is used for conveying current from one or the other terminal of the battery to the screw 13,- and thus to the lamp-socket. I prefer to accomplish this by using one end of said conductor as a switch-terminal. In this case the conductor 17 is connected to a suitable plate 23, adapted to make contact directly with one 0 battery-terminal, as 5 in Fig. 2, when said battery is put into the box.

In Figs. 2 and 4 I have shown two means whereby the plate 20 may be used as a switchterminal. It is to be understood, however, that myinvention covers the use of either 20 or 23 as a switch-terminal, but that whichever is SO used the other will preferably be em ployed to make direct contact with a batteryterminal. In the form shown in Fig. 2the plate 20 has a spring-odset 24, turned up slightly at its tip, which reaches-over the edge of the aperture opens into one end of the cavity 25.

The female thread may be made in a socket Without departing from my invention, which socket or bushing may be inserted in the box; but I prefer the form shown, wherein the thread is out directly in the wood of the box side, as shown. The bottom of the stem 27 bears upon the downturned spring batteryterminal 6, (see Fig. 1,) and the resilience of said terminal is preferably employed to produce by pressure upon the end of said stem a frictional resistance, which prevents looseness and consequent accidental swinging. Upon the top of the stem 27 is a button 28, whereby the switch may be conveniently rotated by the fingers. The stem 27 passes through the swinging terminal or tongue 26 and is soldered or otherwise secured thereto. Thus by turning the button 28 the terminal 26 is brought against the terminal 24 or away from it to light or to extinguish the lamp.

The advantage derived from the described construction of my switch lies in the absence of the annoying pin-stops near the button, which catch the fingers and detract from neatness of appearance, and in the simple provision for securing firm longitudinal resistance in the stem 27 without special additional devices for that purpose. The function of the discarded pin-stops is supplied by the sides of the cavity 25, and the threads into which the stem 27 is screwed provide a perfect means for preventing all sliding up and down of the stem 27. At the same time the necessary resistance to motion providing against looseness and accidental swinging is provided by the upward pressure of the battery-terminal 6.

In the form shown in Fig. 2 circuit-closing is accomplished by turning the stem 27 and button 28 to the left. My invention is broad enough to cover this construction; but I prefer to arrange the parts as shown in Fig. 4., wherein the stem 27 must be turned to the right to close the circuit. This arrangement is preferable with aright-handed screw-th read, for the reason that said threads then act to move the stem 27 slightly downward when circuit is closed, thus-increasing instead of decreasing the pressure upon both the terminals 6 and 24, (or 20 when good contact is desirable.) Fig. 4 also shows the arrangement of the plate 20 so that it acts directly as a part of the switch without use of an offset 24:. It will indeed be possible to make a variety of obvious arrangements of the plates, terminals, and conductors used with my device without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In Fig. 3 is shown the electric circuit as formed in my device, the same being there illustrated as applied to illumination of a clock 29. As shown in Fig. 3 and in dot-ted lines in Fig. 2, I prefer to provide a central hole or socket 30 in the top of the stem 27 or button 28 and a second like socket in some convenient part on top of the box, as, preferably, in the handle 22. Fitting these sockets are two pins 32 and 33 at the ends of the conductors of a cable 34;, terminating in a push-button or other circuit-closer 35. Since the stem 27 is always in contact with the battery-terminal 6, and the handle 22 is connected to the plate 20 by the screw 21, it is evident that operation of the push-button 35 has the same effect as turning the switch-tongue 26 and that my device is thus easily adapted to be used with a supplemental cable and pushbutton where the light is to be commanded from a point at a distance.

A variety of changes may be made by those skilled in the art in the structure herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I am not to be understood as limiting myself to the details thereof as herein shown and described.

What I claim is 1. In an electric candle, a lamp, an inner tube supporting the same, a conductor passing from said lamp along and within the inner tube, an outer ornamental shell covering said inner tube and conductor, a holder for said shell, and a waxy material of such a nature as to easily melt at a temperature which will not injure the said shell or holder, said material joining said shell and holder as a cement, substantially as described.

2. An electric lamp, a stand and battery therefor, and a switch for controlling circuit through said lamp; in combination with a socket in said switch, a second socket on said stand, a cable having circuit-closing means attached to one end thereof, and conducting means at the other end of said cable fitting said sockets, substantially as described.

3. An electric lamp, a stand therefor, a battery for said stand, a switch for controlling circuit through said lamp, and a metallic handle for said stand in permanent electric connection with one side of said switch; in combination with a socket in said handle, a second socket in the otherside of said switch, a cable having circuit-closing means attached at one end thereof, and conducting means at the other end of said cable fitting said sockets, substantially as described.

4. In a portable electric light, a battery, a box therefor, and cavity on the inner face of one side of said box, a contact-spring extending over said cavity, a swinging tongue within said cavity adapted to be stopped against the two sides thereof, and means passing through said box side and into said cavity for swinging said tongue, substantially as described.

5. In an electric switch, a base therefor, 21.

cavity in said base, a contact-spring extending over said cavity, and a swinging tongue in said cavity adapted to be stoppedagainst the tWo sides thereof; in combination with a stem screwing into said base, and passing through the same, said stem being attached to said tongue for operating it, substantially as described. I

6. In a portable electric light, a battery, and a casing therefor, a fixed battery-terminal and a fixed switch-terminal under the

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