US532354A

US532354A - Alexander jay wurts

Info

Publication number: US532354A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1895-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 1912-01-08

Description

(No Model) A. J. WURTS. LIGHTNING ARRBSTER.

Patented Jan. 8, 1895 [1v VEN TOR.

TTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER JAY wUETs,- or PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNoE To THE WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND M NUEAoTUEINe COMPANY, OF

SAME PLACE.

LlGHTNING-ARRESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,354, dated January 8, 1895. Application filed August 3,1894. Serial No.619,415. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALExANDEE JAY Wears, a citizen of the United States, residing in Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Lightning-Arresters, (Case No. 608,) of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices known as lightning arresters, which are employed in connection with electrical apparatus for the purpose of preventing injurious effects from the action of static charges accumulated upon the wires of the circuit, and is an improvement upon the invention described and claimed in my Patent No. 509,784, dated November 28, 1893. o

The object of my invention is to provide a lightning arrester of the above-named class which shall be inexpensive in construction and practically indestructible whatever may be the number or potential of the discharges to which it is subjected, and one in which the distance between the sparking terminals is very materially reduced without in any degree impairing the efficiency of the device.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the sparking terminal plate or block, the cover-plate or block being removed; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the entire device, showing modified forms of cover-plate openings.

' Referring to the drawings, 1 is the non-con ducting terminal plate or block in which are embedded the sparking terminals 2, having the usual binding posts Between these terminals is a block or slab 4 formed of hard fibrous material, some or all of the fibers of as shown in Fig. 1; but for reasons which will be given more fully hereinafter, I prefer to make the body of the terminal plate of dry porous wood the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to that of the block 4, and to form a dove-tail connection between the same and the block 4.

6 is the cover-plate, also preferably con- 'structed of dry porous wood the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to that of the block 4 and having set into the same a block or slab 7 formed of like or similar ma terial to that of which block 4 is constructed, similarly arranged and united with the coverplate in a like manner. This block 7 may be of any desired. dimensions with the exception that its face shall be wider than the distance between the terminals in order that undue wear by the disruptive discharges may be avoided, and in the form shown in Fig. 1 it is provided with a longitudinal groove 8, directly over the discharge wedge. So far as the action of the discharge wedge per se is concerned, it is obvious that the blocks 4 and 6 might be set in plates formed of any sort of insulating material.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a form of cover-plate in which are formed a slot 8, and a series of holes 8" extending entirely through the same in lieu of the groove 8 shown in Fig. 1. Presumably, both a slot and a series of holes would not usually be employed in the same device; but it is obvious that either or both may be used if desired, and that either, when employed, may extend to the edges of the plateor to Within any desired distance thereof, any form or size of opening above the dis charge wedge being within the spirit and scope of my invention. entire cover plate may be made of a single piece of material if desired, but I prefer the form shown in the drawings. The two plates are preferably fastened together by means of screws 9, and a layer of glue 10, in order that there may be no danger of separation when the device is in operation.

It is also obvious that the v I have found by experiment that static discharges of high potential will tend to separate the plates, and I have also found .that it is practically impossible to fasten two pieces of lignum viize together by means of glue, by reason of the fineness of the grain and the oily character. of the material, and as this substance is that best adapted for interposition between the sparking terminals, I have devised the structure hereinbefore described and am thus enabled to accomplish results which have not heretofore been possible.

The most important features of my invention, however, are the arrangement of the material in which the discharge wedge is formed, so that the ends of the fibers shall be exposed in the path of the discharge between the sparking terminals, and the provision of an opening in the cover-plate abovethe discharge wedge. By means of these improvements I am enabled to reduce the distance between the sparking terminals to one half that heretofore considered necessary, and to produce a'device which may be subjected to an almost innumerable number of discharges Without becoming materiallyimpaired either in structure or efficiency.

\Vhile I have illustrated and described'a preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details thereof, since many variations may be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts, without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention.

hat I claim isp 1. In a lightning arrester, a pair of sparking terminals and an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of fibrous material the fibers of which extend in a direction transverse to the static discharge, substantially as described.

2. In a lightning arrester, a pair of sparking terminals, a non conducting support therefor, and an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of fibrous material, the fibers of which extend in a direction trans verse to the static discharge, substantially as described.

3. In a lightning arrester, a non-conducting plate or block having sparking terminals embedded therein and an interposed discharge wedge formed in a block of fine grained hard wood, the fibers of which extend in. a direction transverse to the static discharge, subof fine grained hard wood the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to its exposed surface, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a lightning arrester, a plate or block formed of dry, porous wood thegrain of which extends in a direction transverse to its thickness and having sparking terminals embedded therein and having an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of lignum vitae the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to its exposed surface, substantially as described.

7. A lightning arrester comprising two rigidly connected non conducting plates or blocks one of which is provided with sparking terminals and with an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of fine grained, hard wood the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to the meeting surfaces of the two plates or blocks substantially as described.

8. A lightning arrester comprising two connected plates or blocks of non-conducting material one of which is provided with sparking terminals and an interposed discharge wedge formed-in a body of lignum vitae and the other of which has an opposing lignum vitae block provided with an opening or openings adjacent to said discharge wedge, substantially as described.

9. A lightning arrester comprising two.

plates or blocks of insulating material, the inner face of one being provided with sparking terminals and an interposed discharge ICO wedge formed in a block of fine grained hard wood the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to the face of the plate, and the other having an opposing block or slab of similar material the grain of which extends in the same direction, said plates being glued together and clamped by means of screws or equivalent'means, substantially as described.

10. A lightning arrester comprising two rigidly connected plates or blocks of insulating material, the inner face of one being provided with sparking terminals and an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of lignum vitae the grain of which extends in a direction transverse to its exposed surface and the other being provided with a grooved strip or block of like material similarly arranged, each of said blocks having a dovetail connection with its supporting plate, substantially as described.

11. A lightning arrester, comprising a plate or block carrying sparking terminals and an interposed discharge wedge formed in a body of hard fibrous material, the fibers of which extend in a direction transverse to its exposed surface, and a cover plate or block having an opening or openings adjacent to said discharge wedge, substantially as described.

12. A lightning arrester comprising a pair of sparking terminals, a non-conducting support therefor, an interposed discharge wedge and a cover therefor having an opening extending to the surface thereof, substantially In testimony whereof I havehereunto subas described. scribed my name this 28th day of July, A. D. IO

13. A lightning arrester comprising a pair 1894. A

of sparkin terminals -a non-conductin supy 5 port therefbr, a discha rge wedge between said ALEXANDER JAY WURTS' sparking terminals and a. cover therefor hav- Witnesses: ing agroove adjacent thereto, substantially JAMES WM. SMITH, as described. HUBERT O. TENER.