US1052057A - Vapor electric device. - Google Patents

Description

P. c. HEWITT.

VAPOR ELECTRIC DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24,1905v 1 Anna INVENTO wxfnmssss;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PETER COOPER HEWITT, OF NEW YORK, IN. Y., ASS IGNOR T0 COOPER HEWITT ELECTRIC 7 COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VAPOR ELECTRIC DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4,1913.

Application filed July 24, 1905. Serial No. 270,903.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER Coorna HEW- no, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Vapor Electric Devices, of which the following is a specification. The present invent'on relates to means for starting into operation vapor electric devices such as are represented by the well known mercury vapor lamp.

The invention is applicable todevices of the same general character whether used as sources of light or forany other purpose.

' In the devices herein described there is an exhausted container in which are included two or more electrodes which in the present instance are illustrated as being two in number and as being composed of mercury.

The device is herein represented as a inercury vapor lamp, this being, however,

' merely by wayof convenience and to avoid complication in description.

The container of the device is provided with trunnions by means of which it may be pivotally mounted on suitable supports and means are shown for tilting the lamp automatically, say by the employment-of an e!ectro-magnet or some other convenient au-' tomatic device. Of course, the lamp may be tilted by hand if, for any reason, such an operation is desirable or preferred. In the non-operating position of the apparatus the electrodes are connected by'a bridge of mercury which bridge is caused to separate by thetilting operation and thereby establish a flow of current initially through a small portion of the vapor and eventually through the entire vapor path within the lamp.

I have illustrated my invention in a single figure of drawing which is an elevation' of a lamp suited for the purpose herein described.

In the drawing 1 is the container of glass or other suitable transparent material, and 2 and 3 are, respectively, the positive and negative electrodes of the apparatus. The

electrodes-2 and 3 are normally connected by a bridge, 4, of mercury during such time as the apparatus is "not operating. When,

however, the apparatus is tilted, say by the' energization of the elec'tro-magnet, 5', or by manual means, the mercury flows toward the electrode 3 and the excess is collected at the electrode 2, thus establishing the two electrodes at opposite ends of the apparatus .with a vapor path between. During this shifting of the mercury, the current passes through an ever widening portion of vapor until a current. flow is set up through the entire device, whereupon the apparatus is established in operating condition.

To permit of the easy turning of the device, t-runnions are provided on opposite sides of the container, said t-runnions resting in grooves or notches in suitable supports. One of the said trunnions is shown at 6 and one of the supports at 7.

To provide" an armature for the electromagnet 5 a band 8 of magnetic material may be causedto surround the container 1 and place in operative relation the core of the said magnet. Suitable lead- wires 9 and 10 run to the positive and negativg electrodes, respectively.

Should the apparatus be designed for other uses than those of giving light, say

to serve the purpose of a converter, the container may bemade of transparent material, although such a construction is usually preferred.

I claim as my invention:

A mercury vapor lamp, comprising an exhausted container, a relatively long straight tubular light giving port-ion of said container, mercury electrodes in said container, suitable leads therefor, trunnions centrally mounted on said tubular portion, said trunnions providinga horizontal axis perpendicular to the axis of the tubular portion and means for maintaining said tubular portion in a-strictly horizontal position in the non-operating condition, together with an excess of mercury within said container whereby a thin layer of mercury connecting the electrodes lies along the bottom of the tubular portion, and an electric magnet responsive to current traversing said mercury connection for slightly tilting the container out of the initial horizontal position, said magnet operating upon a magnet armature attached to one end of the tubular portion.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 20th day of July, A. D. 1905.

PETER COOPER HEWITT.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, GEORGE H. STOCKBRIDGE.

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