US1147701A - Automatic lamp cut-out. - Google Patents

Description

J. EMBOESCH.

AUTOMATIQ LAMP CUT-OUT. APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. 1915.

Patented July 27, 1915.

INVENTOR efohnlziaoesch JOHN EMILE BOESCH, 0F VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

AUTOMATIC LAMP GUT-OUT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Original application filed December 22, 1913, Serial No. 808,231. Divided and this application filed April 22,

To all whom it may concern vBe it known that 1, JOHN E. BOESOH, a citizen: of Switzerland, residing at Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Lamp Cut- Outs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to acutout by which an arc light and its lead wires may, at a sufficient height above the ground level to be safe from accident, be out out from the circuit by which it is served.

Arc lamps as used for suburban street lighting are usually in series and are suspended on a line from the end of an arm )ro'ectin from the 0st which carries the b circuit wires, which suspending line passes over sheaves at the end of the arm and at the connection of the arm to the post and down the post to a convenient position for the trimmer to lower and raise the lamp. The wires conducting the current to the lamp pass down the post to a position thereon approximately half the height of the lamp from the ground from which place the leads are looped to the lamp so as to form a flexible connection permitting the lampto be raised and lowered.

A switch is usually provided on the lamp to enable the trimmer to cut out the lamp from the circuit while he is attending to it, but the high voltage current not being cut off from the wire is present at the lamp and is a source of danger. Beyond that is the fact that the lead wires to the lamp may become disconnected and fall. to the ground Y where they form an instant source of danger. Not only so, but as the lamps are in series, if a lead wire becomes disconnect-ed at one lamp, it throws out of use all the lamps in the same circuit, and it is not easy at night for a repair man to locate the source of such trouble and remedy it.

The device, which forms a part of the subject of this application is designed to overcome these several objections. It is located under weather shelter at the place on the post from which the swinging lead wires are led to the suspended lamp, and may be operable as a switch by the lamp trimmer to cut off the current from the lamp and also from the loop of lead wires thereto. It has also provision by which, if the lamp be lowered to an extent to impose the weight Serial No. 23,039.

of it on the lead wires so as to endanger their connections, the switch is automati- 'cally pulled out to close the circuit.

Further, and this forms 'the most important feature of the invention, the device has provision whereby if either of the lead wires should be accidentally disconnected, the circuit is automatically closed at the switch, whereby the lamp and its swinging lead wires are cut out of the circuit, while the circuit is not interrupted for the other lamps.

This application forms a divisional part of my co-pending application Serial No. 808,231, filed December 22, 1913, but in this application I make no claim to the cutout per 86, as that forms the subject-matter of my original application, the present application having reference especially to the combinations recited in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the post showing the application of the safety lamp cutout thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of the switch in front elevation. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line A in Fig. 2, showing the resilient contacts of the switch lever. Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line BB of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail view on an enlarged scale showing the ends of the parts 23-2T soldered together.

1 On referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, 2 represents an arc lamp which is suspended by a line 3 from the end of an arm or bracket 5, which line passes over a sheave at the end of the arm and at the connection of that arm to the post, and down the post to a convenient height for the trimmer to lower and raise the lamp. The lamp 2 is served with current from the circuit wire 6 by Wires 7 and 8 which pass down the post to the cutout, which is the particular subject of this application. This cutout is located on the post at about two feet above the half height of the lamp from the ground. The lead wires from the cutout on the post to the lamp 2 are represented by 9 and 10.

The base board 11 of the switch is secured on extra high insulation 12 to the back board 13 of the weather shelter, which shelter has a back, sides and top but is open at front and bottom. The ends of the wires 7 and 8 from the circuit are connected at 15 each strip 2728.

and 16 to contacts 17 and 18 which are bent inward, as shown in Fig. 4, and have a resilient tendency to hold their ends in contact, so that when there is nothing separating the contacts 17 and 18 the circuit 6, which serves this lamp in series with a number of others, is not interrupted at this lamp but the lamp itself is cut out of the circuit. These contacts 17 and 18 are held apart and the current is conducted from them to serve the lamp by a switch lever 20 of wood or other suitable insulating material, which lever is pivotally mounted on a pin 19 through a bracket secured to the base board 11, the pin 19 being furnished with a wing nut so as to be readily removable, when re quired. On each side of this lever 20 strips 23-2i of copper or other suitable metal are secured by cleats 25 above and below the contacts. Below these contacts the strips 2324- are bent outward from the lever and have a measure of resilience tending to hold their ends against the ends of a plug 26 of carbon which passes through the thickness of the lever 20 from one side to the other and projects slightly beyond its thickness. When the ends of the copper strips 2324: are in contact with the carbon plug the lamp circuit is closed at this point. The extreme ends of 232t are bent outward, as at 31, and to them are soft soldered as at 31 the similar turned-in ends of strips 2728 which are secured one on each side of the lever 20 by cleats 29, and below these cleats have socket terminals 3334 to receive the ends of the lamp lead wires 9 and 10. The strips 2728 have a resilient tendency to spring outward from contact with the lever 20, but this resilient effort outward is less than that of the strips 2324 inward, so that the resilience of 232& overcomes that of 27-28 and enables the distance of each soldered end 31 from the ends of the car bon plug 26 to be regulated by a set screw 30 which is threaded into a nut secured in WVhen the lamp is in circuit the current will pass from the line wire 6 through the wires 7 and 8 to the contact terminals 17 and 18 of the cut-out, from them through the conducting strips 2324 and 2728 on each side of the lever 20 and therefrom to the lamp through the lead wires 9 and 10 which are connected to the conducting strips of the cutout lever at the socket terminals 2324. If, however, either of the lead wires 9 or 10 becomes disconnected, the current at four thousand volts, will arc across from the soldered ends 31 and 32 to the carbon plug 26. The heat of the arc will immediately release the soldered ends 3132 which, under their resilience, will spring into contact with the ends of the plug 26 and will close the circuit thereon, while the ends of 27-28, when released, will spring outward, and will effectively cut out the lamp 2 and its lead wires 9 and 10 from the circuit, rendering them harmless to effect any injury if they should fall toward the ground where they might be encountered by a passerby.

It will be noticed that the terminals 333i on the lever 20 to which the lead wires 9 and 10 of the lamp are connected, are adjacent to the fulcrum pin 19 of that lever. These wires pass upward therefrom and are passed in opposite directions through a porcelain bushing 35, which is secured in a bracket 36 of bent wire, which is secured to the lever 20 to project from it in the plane of its movement on the pivot 19. From this bushing 35 the wires pass upward to the lamp when it is in its normal position of suspension. lVith this manner of connection, if the lamp is lowered beyond the limit necessary to conveniently trim it, see dotted lines in Fig. 1, so as to impose a tension on the lead wires 9 and 10, the pull on these wires will impose a turning movement on the switch lever 20 that will pull it out from between the contacts 1718, and the resilience of those contacts will bring their ends together to close the circuit thereat and to cut the lamp and its lead wires out of the circuit.

The bracket 36 has an eye 38 formed in it beyond the bushing 35, in which eye a hook on the end of a wooden rod may be inserted by the lamp trimmer that he may pull down the lever 20 to cut the lamp out of. the circuit, before he proceeds to lower it, and may restore the switch when the lamp has been attended to and raised to its place.

So constructed and applied the device forms a comparatively cheap and convenient provision, primarily protecting the pub lic against accident if either of the lead wires should become detached from the lamp and fall to the ground; and not only so but it also prevents the current being cut off in the entire circuit feeding a number of lamps when such accident occurs. It is also a convenient switch cutting out both the lamp and its lead wires from the circuit when the lamp is being trimmed; or if the trimmer or any unauthorized person should attempt to lower the lamp without first cutting it out from the circuit the weight of the lamp itself will effect that cut out.

The fact that the lamp and its loose lead wires may be cut entirely out of the circuit, alone removes a source of considerable inconvenience and danger, for although present provision may allow the lamp to be cut out, the lamp must be first lowered, and the presence of loaded wires at the lamp, while the trimmer is working at it, is a menace.

Devices are used wherein the lamp is connected to the circuit at the point of suspension, and the lamp is disconnected and the connection, the current may pass down the line by which the lamp is lowered.

A further, most important advantage of this cut-out from an economical point of view lies in the fact that the main circuit, which may be serving fifty to a hundred lamps, is not interrupted at a lamp, when anything is wrong with the lamp or its loose leads, as in such event the main circuit is automatically closed at] the pole cut-out: If, therefore, indication is given at the station that the current is not flowing through the circuit, the lineman is safe to assume that the break is on the pole line, and it is not necessary, as at present, to examine and test all the lamps. The current may, therefore, be cut off from the circuit and the linemen proceed to discover and repair the line.

While I have shown and described the specific form of cutout, I desire it under stood that the cutout 79c?" 86, forms no part of the present application, as that forms the subject-matter of my original application hereinbefore referred to, the present invention residing in the combination of the cutout with other elements as recited in the appended claims.

WVhat I claim is:

1. In combination with an arc lamp and means for suspending said lamp, a cutout switch located on the post, lead wires from said switch to the lamp independent of the suspending means, said lead wires being adapted to actuate the cutout upon lowering the lamp, and lead wires from said switch to the line circuit.

2. In combination with an electric lamp and means for suspending the same, a cutout switch located at a distance from said lamp, lead wires from said switch to said lamp independent of the supporting means, said lead wires being adapted to actuate the cutout switch upon lowering the said lamp,

and lead wires from said switch to the line circuit.

3. In combination with an electric lamp, and means for suspending the same, of a cutout switch located at a distance from said lamp, lead wires from said switch to the lamp independent of the suspending means, and lead wires from said switch to the line circuit, said switch including means for opening the circuit connection between said lead wires, and means for short circuit ing the lead wires to the line circuit upon the occurrence of a break in the lead wires from said switch to said lamp.

at. In combination with an electric lamp, and means for suspending the same, a cutout switch located at a distance from said lamp, lead wires from said switch to said mechanism independent of the supporting means, said lead wires being adapted to actuate the cutout switch upon lowering the said lamp, lead wires from said switch to the line circuit, and means for short-circuiting the lead wires to the line circuit upon the occurrence of a break in the lead wires from said switch to said lamp.

5. In combination with an electric lamp and means for suspending said lamp, of a cutout switch located. at a distance from said lamp, lead wires from said switch to the lamp independent of the suspending means, lead wires from said switch to the line circuit, said switch including means foropening the circuit connection between said lead wires, and means for short circuiting the lead wires to the line wire connection upon the occurrence of a break in the lead wires from the switch to the lamp.

6. The combination with an electric lamp, of lead wires connected with the lamp, other lead wires connected with the line circuit, a connection between said first and second mentioned lead wires, said connection including means operable upon a break in the first mentioned lead wires for shortcircuiting the second mentioned lead wires.

7 An electric lamp, loose lead wires extending from the lamp to a terminal place for permitting the lamp to be moved from place to place within the predetermined limits, means located at the terminal place of the lead wires for automatically cutting out the lamp from the circuit and for closing the main circuit at the cutout when the loose lead circuit to the lamp is interrupted, and means for effecting the same when the lamp is moved beyond a predetermined distance.

JOHN EMILE BOESCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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