US1321960A - Electric-lamp-lighting device - Google Patents

Description

G. WHEAT.

ELECTRIC LAMP LIGHTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3.1916.

1 ,32 1 ,960, Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Glam? Meal.

G. WHEAT.

ELECTRIC LAMP LIGHTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3.1916.

'1 321,960. Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRANT WHEAT, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-LAMP-LIGHTING DEVICE.

Application filed June 3, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GRANT WHEAT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Corry, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Lamp Lighting Devices, of which the following is a specifiation.

My invention consists of an improved form of electric lamp lighting device in cluding a storage battery, and is particularly serviceable for use as a portable device for miners, since it is so constructed as to operate in connection with a miners lamp which may be conveniently placed on the hat of the miner. However, it will be understood that my invention may be used with advantage for other purposes.

One object of my invention is to provide a device of the above described type including a storage battery which may be easily secured to and carried by a person and operative to supply electric current to an electric lamp without in any way interfering with the movement of the person carrying it.

Another object is to construct my invention in such manner that certain parts thereof may be operated by the movement of a key so that the battery may be quickly and easily recharged without its removal from the case or without removal of any of the other parts of my invention.

Another object of my invention is to so design the several parts that when they are assembled, they cannot be removed or actuated by any one other than the person or persons who are authorized to do so.

A still further object is to so make the several parts of my invention that they may be quickly and easily assembled or taken apart for purposes of repair or renewal.

A further object is to make certain of the elements of my invention, which extend into the battery, in such manner as to provide a positiw sealing means, said sealing means being such as to be quickly released and inserted.

Another object is to have my invention of a durable and simple construction, so that it can be manufactured at a small cost.

These objects, and other advantageous ends which will be described hereinafter, I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

Serial No. 101,437.

attain in the following manner, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings in w ich- Figure 1 is a front sectional elevation of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. l with the top lid removed.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation taken on the line ww of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of my invention showing the top lid in its proper place.

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views showing the electric wire. connection which I preferably use, a movable switch being shown in different positions.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of my invention as it appears when ready for use.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the securing elements of my invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a key which is used in operating and unlocking certain of the features of my invention.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section taken on the line Z)b of Fig. 7 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view showing my improved sealing means for the storage battery, and

Fig. 12 is a detached perspective view of certain of the elements shown in Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a case which is preferably made of hard rubber and includes a body portion 2 and a top section or cover 3. The body portion 2 contains the storage battery elements which in the pres ent instance are arranged to form two cells 5 and 6 which are separated by a partition 7 forming two separate compartments 8 and 9.

These compartments are lined as shown at 10 by a material which is not acted upon by acid which is used in connection with storage battery, and the upper ends of the compartments are closed by a seal 11 which consists of two plates 12 and 13 which are beveled in opposite directions at their outer edges, and a gasket of soft rubber or other plastic or resilient material is interposed between these two plates so that the said beveled edges act when the plates are moved together in a manner hereinafter described to compress the gaskets and in so doing force its marginal portions 14, Fig. 11, into firm engagement with the inner surface of the lining 10.

Each of the plates 12 and 13 is provided with holes through which the threaded ends 15 of the posts, which constitute the poles of the battery, extend. These threaded ends 15 are provided with nuts 16 at their lower portions which engage the lower surface of the plates 13 and with corrugated nuts 17 on their upper ends which engage the upper surfaces of the plates 12, so that a relative movement of these nuts on said threaded ends causes the plates to be moved toward or from each other as above described.

As illustrated in the drawing, the adj acent posts 18 and 19 are coupled by a wire 20, which extends bodily through the threaded ends and is embedded in metallic connection with said threaded ends.

The posts 21 and 22 also have wires 23 and 24 respectively which are embedded therein, and the other ends of these wires are connectedas hereinafter set forth. The posts 18, 19, 21, and 22, have secured at their lower ends, plates 25 which are designed to extend within the acid (not shown) for the purpose of setting up an electric current in the wires 23 and 24 in the usual manner.

The upper end of the body portion 2 is provided with laterally extending beads 26, Fig. 3, which are designed to fit within grooves 27 on the bottom of thetop section 3, the latter being recessed at 28 to provide a chamber for the wire 20, and the upper ends of the posts 18, 19, 21, and 22.

The bottom of the top section 3 is also provided with a groove 29 which is adjacent one of the grooves 27, and this groove 29 is designed for the reception of a beaded edge 30 on a side cover plate 31, so that when the bead 30 is inserted within the groove 29 as shown in Fig. 3, the top section will be locked to the body portion 2. As a means for locking the side cover plate 31, I recess the latter as shown at 32, and provide the outer surface 33 of the body portion 2 with a projection 34 (see Fig. 10), and insert a screw 35 in such a manner as to have its threaded end fit within a threaded opening 36 in the projection 34. The outer end of the screw is provided with a head or nut 37 which corres onds in shape to the contour of the opening 38 in the end of the key 39 (see Fig. 9).

The lower end of the side cover plate 31 is recessed at 40 to provide sufficient room for the insertion of the shank 41 of the key, and the screw, when in its normal position, locks the plate 31 to the body portion 2, and has its head 37 entirely within the recess 41) so that it is impossible to actuate this screw unless provided with a key made as above described.

The top section 3 is provided with an outwardly flaring opening 42 which is preferably circular in cross section and tapers.

from a wide mouth 43 at the outer surface to a smaller diameter as shown at 44,,said smaller diameter being of sufficiently large cross section as to admit an electric conduit 45 forming a closure for two electric wires 46 and 47.

The conduit 45 may be made of any material which will permit it to be turned abruptly around a comparatively narrow edge 48 formed by the intersection of said opening 42 with the upper surface 49 of the section 3. The section 3 has an opening 50 which communicates with the opening 42, and is provided with internal screw-threads 51 for the reception of a screw plug 52, the latter having a recess or dished inner surface 53 designed to engage the conduit 45 and press it tightly into contact with the edge 48, so as to effectually bind said conduit to the section 3 and prevent it from being accidentally pulled out. This means of binding is a very important feature in connection with my present invention, since it is impossible to pull the said conduit out when confined between the said edge 48 and recessed surface 53 of the plug 52.

The upper portion of the section 3 is provided with grooves 54 which provide a ledge for the top lid 55, and these grooves 54 intersect with a transverse groove 56 which is undercut as shown in Fig. 1. The lid 55 has a beveled end which fits into said undercut groove 56, and the opposite end of the lid 55 has a depending portion which rests upon a depressed surface 57, the latter being provided with a projection 58 directly above the screw plug 52, and a screw 59 ex tends through the lid and projection 58 and into the screw plug 52 thereby, effectively securing the lid and the screw plug to the said top section 3.

The surface 49 is formed below the uppermost edges of the section 3 and provides, between it and the bottom of the lid 55, a chamber 60, the surface 49 forming the floor of this chamber.

A bearing block 61 is mounted within the chamber 60, and is secured to the floor 49. This block 61 forms a journal bearing for a shaft 62, the outer end of which extends within an opening 63 leading to the outer surface of the top section 3. This opening 63 is of such diameter as to permit the insertion of the shank 41 of the key 39 and the outer end of said shaft 62 is provided with a head similar to the head 37 of the screw 35, so as to be capable of being turned by the key 39.

The shaft 62 has secured to it a disk 64 of insulating material, and a metallic plate 65 projects from the shaft 62 and has its, outer surface flush with the periphery of the disk 64.

Adjacent the disk 64 are .two resilient contacting brushes 66 and 67 which are secured to the floor 49, and the plate 65 may be moved by the turning of the shaft 62 with the key 39 into electrical contact with either of the brushes 66 or 67.

The lid 55 is provided with two metallic buttons or terminals 68 and 69 having screwthreaded stems which extend through the lid 55 into the chamber 60, and the threaded ends of these terminals are each provided with nuts 68 and 69 respectively. A Wire 70 has one of its ends secured in electrical connection with the button 68 by the nut 68. The other end of the wire 70 is attached to the brush 66 by means of a screw 71, so that the brush 66 and the button 68 are always in electrical connection.

The wire 46 is connected to the button 69 by the nut 69 as is also the free end of the Wire 24, and this connection is permanent for the purpose of my invention.

For purposes of clearly illustrating these wires, they have been shown in straight lines in the drawings, but it will be noted that in actual practice these wires are given a certain amount of twist, so that sufficient length is provided between the elements to permit the lid 55 to be removed without breaking either the wires 24, 46, or 70.

The wire 47 is connected by means of a screw 72 to the brush 67, the other ends of the wires 46 and 47 being connected to an electric lamp 73 illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 5 and 6, while the wire 23 has its opposite end in electrical connection with the shaft 62.

The shaft 62 is provided with a spiral spring 74 and this spring is confined between a plate 75, which is secured to the floor 49, and a collar 76 secured to the shaft, so as to provide a resilient backing for said shaft, however, it will be understood that the precise nature of this mechanism just described, which constitutes a switch, may

be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention, it being necessary to provide a member movable alternately in electrical connection between the brushes 66 and 67 or other equivalent, said member being in electrical connection with the wire 23.

As a means for forming a vent for the interior of the body portion 2, I provide a plug which may be of any of the well known types, but in the present instance I have shown a hollow plug 77 having a globular end provided with a series of radially extending perforations 78 and a relatively narrow passage leading from said globular end and increasing in width and intersecting the inner wall of the outer flange 79, the outer flange being provided with a small opening which connects with said tapering passage,

in projects within the recess 32 provided by the inner surface of the side cover plate 31, so that with this construction while a suflicient vent is provided for the interior of the body portion 2, it is impossible for the acid to come out during the use of the device due to the fact that the vent opens into the center of the acid-receiving space and is norciinally positioned above the level of the am I preferably make the nuts 16 integral with the posts 18, 19, 21, and 22, as shown in Fig. 11, and with this construction the nuts 17 may be turned by hand in order to compress the gasket 14 for the purposes above described.

*Furthermore, the plates 13 are recessed at 80, said recess conforming to the shape of the nuts 16 so as to prevent the latter from being turned when the nuts 17 are turned. With this construction, the wires 23 and 24 as well as the wire 20 will not be injured as would be the case if said posts were moved together with the nuts 17. In other words, this construction permits the posts and their co'acting parts to remain substantially stationary, as do the wires which are positively secured thereto, during the compression or moving together of the plates 12 and 13 to form the seal for the upper end of the compartments 8 and 9.

The body portion 2 is provided with two wedge-shaped projections 81 which are oppositely disposed, the upper surfaces 82 of these projections being positioned below the top section 3 so as to provide room for one run of a wire bracket 83 (see Figs. 7 and 8). The bracket 83 has looped ends 84, the space between the ends being of substantially the same shape as the converging surfaces formin the wedges 81, so that the said ends 84 wil snugly fit the projections 81, and the longitudinal runs of the bracket will extend across the front of the side cover plate 31. These ends 84 are of sufficient length that when they are fitted over the projections 81, there is a portion which provides a loop for the insertion of a strap 85 of leather or other flexible material which is of such length as to fit around the waist of the miner or other person, and provided with buckles or other securing means (not shown) which may be for attaching the free ends of the belt, thereby clamping the casing to the back of the wearer.

In this position, the conduit 45 containing the wires 46 and 47 will extend upwardly along the back of the wearer and may be attached to his hat and the lamp connected to his hat in any desired manner.

The buttons 68 and 69 are provided in order that the battery may be re-charged, it merely being necessary to turn the shaft 62 by the key 39 until the plate 65 is moved .in electrical contact with the brush 66 as shown in Fig. 6 of thedrawing. \Vhen in this position, one pole of the battery ""11 be in connection with the ,un' cn 68 through the 11100 11)! of the wire 23, shaft 62, plate 65, brush 66, and wire 70, while t e other pole of the battery will be in connectlon with the button 69 through the medium of the wire 24.

In other T 1 the buttons 68 and 69 will be placed in electrical connection with the battery 4 when the plate 65 is moved into the position shown in Fig. 6, and when in this position, the feed wires of a generator or other charging device may, by resting upon the buttons 68 and 69, cause the battery 4 to be recharged.

After the battery has been charged, the shaft 62 may be turned until the plate 65 contacts with the brush 67. This action throws the battery 4 in direct connection with the lamp 73 in the following manner:(lurrent passes through the wire 23, shaft 62, plate 65, brush 67, and wire 47 to the lamp, and from the lamp the circuit 1s through the wire 46, plug 69, wire 24 to the battery.

Thus, it will be understood that by a simple movement of the shaft 62, the lamp 723 may be lit or the buttons 68- and 69 thrown into circuit with the battery 4, so that the latter may be quickly and easily recharged. When it is desired to cut out the lamp and the buttons 68 and 69, the shaft 62 may be turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, where the said plate 65 is in a neutral position and out of contact with either the brushes 66 or 67.

It will be further noted that there are no exposed metallic wires, and that all the elements operate in a positive manner to produce the desired result. The buttons 68 and 69 are so positioned as to be conveniently engaged by the feed. wires for recharging, and the conduit 45 is so constructed that it enters the opening 42 at the widest end thereof so as to be free to flex with the movements of the wearer of the device.

While I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit-myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing provided with an open end, battery elements locatedin said casing, and

a seal for said open end comprising a yielding gasket positioned in said end and provided with inwardly beveled margins, plates between which said gasket is located having beveled margins to cooperate with the beveled portions of said gasket, and screw threaded means for forcing said plates toward each other to cause the beveled portions of the plates to expend said gasket into firm engagement with the walls of said opening.

2. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing provided with an open end, battery elements located in said casing, a yielding gasket in said opening, plates between which said gasket is located, said plates being constructed to expand said gasket into firm engagement with the walls of said opening when they are forced toward each other, screw threaded means for forcing said plates together, and electric conductors for said battery elements extending through said screw threaded means.

3. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, battery elements mounted in said casing, a part of said casing being provided with an outwardly flaring opening, an electric conductor connected with said battery and extending through said opening longitudinally thereof and abruptly bent near the inner end of said opening, and means for clamping said conductor in said bent position to prevent it from being withdrawn from said opening.

4. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, battery elements mounted in said casing, a part of said casing being provided with a flaring opening having a relatively small inner end, an electric conduit extending through said opening longitudinally thereof and substantially filling said end, and means at the inner end of the opening for holding said conductor in a position forming a relatively sharp angle with the adjacent part of the conductor lying in the opening to prevent the withdrawal of the conductor from the opening.

5. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, comprising a body and a top therefor, battery elements located in said body, said top being provided with a relatively long flaring openin and a second opening leading laterally into the smaller end of said fiarlng opening, an electric eonductor extending through both of said openings, and a plug threaded into the casing and clampin said conductor against the portion of t e casing at substanially the Junction of said openings.

6. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, battery elements located in said casing, conductors arranged in the easing to receive current from said battery ele- 7. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, battery elements located in said casing, conductors arranged in the casing to receive current from said battery elements, charging terminals for said battery located on said casing, and a switch in said casing controlling the electrical connection of said battery with said conductors and said terminals.

8. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing comprising a body and a top, means for removably securing said body and top together, battery elements located in said body, conductors leading into said top and arranged to receive current from said battery elements, charging terminals located on said top, and a switch mounted in said'top and operable from a point outside of the casing controlling the electrical. connection of sa1d battery elements both with said terminals and also with said conductors. v

9. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing, battery elements located in said casing, conductors arranged in the easing to receive current from said battery elements, charging terminals for said battery located on said casing, a switch in said casing controlling the electrical connection of said battery with said conductors and said terminals, and a key actuated operating member for said switch mounted in said casing. V

10. The combination with a storage battery having a casing, of a bracket embracing said casing and provided with strap-receiving members, a carrying strap engaging said members, and means for retaining said bracket in its operative position on said casing.

11. The combination with a storage battery having a casing, of a wire bracket embracing said casing and provided with strap receiving members, a carrying strap engaging said members, and lugs on said casing for retaining said bracket in its operative position on the casing.

12. A storagebattery, having, in combination, a casing body, battery elements mounted in said body, a casing top for said body, and a side plate for holding said top and body together.

13. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing body, battery elements mounted in said body, a casing top for said body, a side plate having a locking engagement with one of said casing members and removably secured to the other'member whereby it is operative to secure said body and toptogether.

14. A storage battery, having, in combination, acasing comprising a body and a top therefor, battery elements mounted in said casing, said body being provided at its upper edge with a projecting bead, and said top being grooved to receive said head, a.

side platehaving a lip arranged to cooperate with said groove and bead to secure said top to said body, and means for securing said side plate to said body.

15. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing body, battery elements mounted in said body, a casing top for said body, a side plate for securing said top and body together, and a vent for said body positioned under said side plate.

16. A storage battery, having, in combination, a casing body, battery elements mounted in said body, a casing top for said body, and means for securing said body and top together including key controlled means embedded in said casing.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence Witnesses:

T. N. Hooen, Enw. JAMoEK.

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