US1095427A - Means for the production of long continuous electric arcs. - Google Patents

Description

0. SGHUNHERR & J. HESSBERGER.

MEANS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF LONG CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC ARCS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17, 1912.

Patented Ma 5, 1914.

UNITED sT rns natrEnT OFFICE.

o'r'ro sononnnnn, or nnnsnnn-sr'nrnsnn. GERMANY, AND JOHANNES nnssnnnonn,

or cmusrmnsann, nonwnx assieuons TO 'NonsK HYDRO-EILEKTRISK KVAEL- v sTonAK rInsnnsKAB, OF CHRISTIANIA,

NORWAY. A CORPORATION OF NORWAY.

MEANS THE PRODUCTTON OF LONG CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC ARCS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5,, 1914.

Original application filed May 18, 1910, Serial No. 562,097. Divided and this application filed October 17, 1912. Serial No. 726,370. 1

, To all whom it m (11 concern Be itknown that'we, O'r'ro 'SGHiNHnnR and JOHANNES Hnssnnnonm; sub ects-"of-i the King of Saxonyfand the King of Prussia, respectlvely, res1d1ng,respect1 vely, at Dres- No. 562,097, the present specification and "claim being a division of the same pursuant to the requirement of the Patent Office.

In the specification of Letters Patent No. 930238-we have described the production of long stable electric arcs by causing an arc to spring from an insulated electrode connected with one pole ofa source of electricity and situated at, or toward, one end of a long tube, or passage, the tube, or passage, itself being either connected with the other pole of the source of electricity, or containing at, or toward, the other end thereof, a second electrode connected with the other pole of the source of electricity, while at the same time a current of air, or other gas, oi gases, is passed though the'tube, or passage, with such velocity that a long and steadily burning electric arc is produced and maintained within the said tube, or passage. The

,said specification discloses, for the first time,

a new principle, namely surrounding along electric arc with a layer vof non-conducting fluid and maintaining this layer of fluid in such a condition that it is easier for the arc to continue in the position in which it'is burning than for it to spring through the layer of surrounding fluid. In order to bring about this condition, itis necessary that the layer of gas (which we will hereinafter, for brevity, refer to as air, although other gas, under which term we include-a gaseous mixture may be used in carrying out this invention). should not be allowed to become so hot that it is capable of conducting electricity, or at all events that it should not reach this hightemperature until it arrives at a point in the tube, or passage (which we will hereinafter, for brevit-yga'efer to as the tube) where it is desired thatthe arc should pass through the layer to the second electrodeor its equiyalent.

A particular method of carrying outthe principle set forth consists, as described in the aforesaidspecification, in passing a current of. a r in one direction through the tube, @111 which thearc 1s produced, commencing at a pointeither below, or at a short distance.

abo \-'e,the insulated electrode. It is also preferablgaccording to the said specification,-that the air should be passed intothe tube with a tangential, or rotatory motion.

The specification of Letters Patent No. 976,002 describes the production .of stable electric varcs :by means of two tubes, ,each

provided with an insulated electrode and leading into a common space. Air is blown past each electrode into the respective tube and 1s led away from the common-space,

while the arcs produced may join in the common space and form one continuous arc. :In Figure 3 of the drawings accompanying the last-named specification the two tubes are shown parallel to oneanother, but the specificationdoes not restrict the arrangement to this, particular position, as the two tubes may be placed end on to one another so that one, straight continuous arc isobtained between two insulated electrodes, air being blown past each electrode and bein withdrawn from the tube at, or near, themi part thereof. \Ve have discovered that instead of the airpassing through the tube as described in the said specification, the arc can also be produced and maintained with certain advantages it the air be made to pass through the tube or through difi'erent through the partsiof the apparatus which act as electrodes, or these, variatlons can be combined so that air is introduced 1nto the tube at each of the two ends thereof and passes along the interior wall toward the the mid part and then reverses itscourse so as to pass back along the arc toward each of the two ends of the tube again.

When carrying out this invention we prefer to impart to the air, or to part of the air, entering the tube a tangential, or rotatory, motion, for instance such as is described in the aforesaid specification of Letters Patent No. 930,238, andit is also generally advisable to cool the openings through which the hot gases are removed from the tube. The tubes which can be used in carrying out this invention may be variously shaped, for instance the tube containing the arc can be a long cylinder, or a short tube, or passage, of a diameter greater than its length.

We prefer generally to surround the tube containing the electric arc with a second tube and to pass the air through the space between the two tubes before allowing it to enter the inner tube, so that in this way the temperature of the inner tube is lowered and the air becomes preheated before entering the inner tube and consequently a higher temperature of the arc is admissible within the inner tube than would be the case if no such preheating took place. VV-hen, according to this invention, the air passes along the interior wall of the tube and then back again immediately surrounding the arc, a further advantage is attained, because heat is able to pass directly from the air imme diately surrounding the arc to that which is moving in the opposite direction along the interior wall of the tube, and the transference of heat is greater because there is no intermediate wall through which the heat has to pass and since the hottest air does not come-into contact with the wall of the tube a much higher temperature of the arc can be employed within the tube than would be the case if the temperature of the arc had to 1 be restricted to prevent the material of which the tube is made from being injured. When the air is led into the tube at one end only and the gases are removed at the same end, the tube can be cone-shaped the entrance and exit being at the larger end of the cone. 7

If desired, instead of introducing the whole supply of air into the tube in the manner hereinbefore' described, it can be introduced partly in such manner and partly in any other suitable way, for insta'nceas described in the specification of the aforesaid Letters Patent No. 930,238.

The electrodes employed in carrying out the process according to this invention can be of various shapes. For instance they can be rod-shaped, as described in the aforesaid specification of Letter Patent No. 930,238,

or they can be formed like a ring, and the end of the arc can continually move around the ring.

We give the following ways as examples of how this invention can be performed in practice, referring to the accompanying drawing, but the invention is not limited to these examples.

The drawing represents a vertical section of an apparatus suitable for use according to this invention, showing how the electric arc can be produced and how the gas is caused to pass inthe desired direction or directions.

In the arrangement shown in the figure, two tubes are employed, namely an upper one K, of inverted funnel shape, partly entering a lower tube B so that there is a small ring-shaped opening r between them and through this opening the air is passed with a suitable velocity into the lower tube R, the said air passing down the interior of the wall thereof toward the electrode which is situated at the lower end of the said tube R, and then taking a course in'the opposite direction. as indicated by the arrows, and passing away through the upper tube K.

The drawing illustrates the use of a coneshaped lower tube R which is insulated from the rest or" the apparatus, the air passing in through the opening 7' bet-ween the tubes K and B into the lower tube, down the interior inclined wall thereofand then upward surrounding the axis. If desired, air can also be introduced at the lower end of the said lower tube R as illustrated by the arrow. When such an apparatus is used there is a tendency for the end of the arc to describe a circular path around the inner wall of the cone-shaped tube R.

I1n the figure L represents insulating mater1a What we claim is:

An apparatus of the kind described comprising a conical tube'connected with one pole of a course of electricity another pole insulated from said tube. means for passing a current of gas into the tube at each end thereof and means for withdrawing the whole of the gas at one end thereof so that th gas entering at one end of the said conii cal tube passes along the tube and reverses its course leaving at 01' near the end at which it entered the said tub.

OTTO SCH NHERR. J OHANNES HESSBERGER. Witnesses as to the signature of Otto Schonherr: PAUL AREAS,

ARTHUR GUBE. Witnesses as to the signature of Johannes Hessberger:

P. BIRKELAND, T. V

ESTLY.

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