US1431158A - Incandescent electric lamp - Google Patents

Description

L' A. HEANY.

INGANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP. APPLICATION FILED NOV, 27, I9l8.

Patanted Oct. MI, 1922,

. 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. A. HEANY.

INCAN DESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED NQV. 27, I918.

' Patented 0013.10, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

80 the base.

tenure are] rarca.

ING ANDESCENT ELECTRIC i .Applic'ation filed November 27, 1918. Serial We. 264,320.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, J OHN ALLEN HEANY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Haven, in the county of New Haven 5 and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Incandescent Electric Lamps, of which the following specification is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In my improved incandescent electric lamp, 1 make use of a luminant, which consists of a base of highly refractory material capable of becoming highly incandescent when sufficiently heated, withwhich is asso-. ciated a heating element or resistor of a highly refractory metal wire which is so arranged with respect to the refractory base that it supplies the heat necessary to cause the same to become incandescent. The luminant is supported in the usual glass container, which ma either be evacuated or filled with a suita le inert gaseous medium.

The usual leading-in wires extend from the stem of the lamp into approximately the center of the container. Carried by the lower ends of the leading-in wires are short spud-Wires which are shaped to engage with These wires are made of a metal such that in small diameters it is quite stifi and a poor conductor of heat. These wires are made use of because it is highly desirable i that heat should not unnecessarily be conducted away from the base. If the base was carried by the usual lead wires instead of these spud-wires, a large amount ofiheat would be conducted away, due to the fact that such wires are quite good conductors of 40 heat and would necessarily have to be fairly large in diameter to be stifi' enough to hold the base in proper position. By using a metal such as molybdenum, having the properties above mentioned, the spud-wires can be made so fine that the heat conducted away by the spud-wires is not enough to dissipate an unnecessary amount of heat. The resistor wires are also connected to the ends of the leading-in wires, forming a closed circuit therethrough. To make the assembling of the lamp as practical as possible and toavoid unnecessaryoperations, the resistor and the spud-wlres are connected to the leading-in wires by the same connecting joint. Th1s application is directed to the connecting oint.

It is essential that the joint connecting the three wires be substantial and strong and at the same time be small and compact. The three wiresare all of different diameters and .the largest of.themthe lead wireis quite small, the resistor wire being extremely fine. This means that the connecting joint must be of small size and consequently difficult to fabricate unless a simple sort of joint has been devised. V

The joint used by me consists of a sleeve by means of which the three wiresthe extremely fine resistor Wire, the slightly larger,

tapers away from these wires somewhat to conform to the size of the lead wire, which it grips fairly uniformly throughout.

I am aware that it is old in the art of incandescent electric lamps to use a sleeve to connect two wires of approximately the same cross-section, but do not believe that a sleeve has ever been used in this art to join three wires all of different sizes. A sleeve was used quite earily in the incandescent lamp art tojoin a filament to aplatinum leading-in wire. In this case the two wires joined together were of about the same diameter. A sleeve constricted at its midpoint was slipped over the end of the filament and cement applied to. hold the filament to the sleeve. The sleeve was then slipped over the exposed end of the platinum lead wire and crimped so as to insure a good contact between the sleeve and the lead wire. The logical advance in tlie art was to do away with using cement to fasten I compressed uniformly about the two elements, a feature present in the prior means of attaching the lead wire and the filament but which was apparently thought to be subservient to the crinkling feature.

None of these prior connecting means mtimate in any way that they could be used to join three wires all of dliferent sizes to make a firm union between them. They are all based on the idea of a uniform contact throughout between the wires andv the sleeve and can only be used, as they are set forth in the prior art, to join two wires of uniform cross-section.

In the formation of the connecting joint I preferably make use of a short len' th of malleable seamless tubing the inside iameter of which is sli htly greater than the diameter of the lea ing-in wires. Into this tube are introduced the leading-in wire and the spud-wire so that they meet midway of the tube. The tubing is now compressed by means of jaws, so that the leadin -in wire and the spud-wire are tightly helf and the tube has become elli tical in cross-section instead of circular. lso, the tube has been so compressed that it is smaller at the end which grips the spud-wire than it was originally and the excess metal has been caused to flow to the rear end of the tube. The resistor wire is then threaded through the end of the ellipse not occupied by the other wires. Pressure is then applied by means of a die to compress the tube to gri the resistor wire. While this is bein done, the tube is still held in the jaws whic first compressed it so that the hold of the tube on the leading-in wires and spud-wires will not be broken. The joint thus made has many advantages. It is possible to cut to the exact length necessary the tube, the leading-in wires, and the spud-wires before assembling the same, with the positive assurance that after they have been assembled and the luminants placed in position, the luminants will all occupy the same positionwith relation to the various parts of the lamp. Furthermore, the percentage of defective joints is ve small, due to the fact that the malleabillty of the tube allows it to be pressed into good contact with the wires. Because of thefact that a seamless tube is used in making the joint, there is no opportunity for it to open under the influence of the heat gentlerated in the lamp and allow the wires to s i I p iefer to use a mechanical joint of this character rather than a fused joint, due to the fact that it has all the advantages of a fused joint without the chief disadvantage thereof. .The one big advantage of a fused joint is that it can withstand the operating temperature of the lamp. This advantage is also present in the mechanical joint I make use of, because of the use of the seamless tube. A fused joint, however, has the disadvantage that in the making thereof, a certain amount of the wires to be connected together is melted and the wires shortened that much. If my luminant were in the nature of a filament, this feature would not generally a tube or a cylinder, it is desirous that it be mounted so that it is horizontal when the lamp is held upright or inverted. To accomplish this, the wires must be of the same length. With a fused joint,allowance would have to be made for the shortening effect, while with the mechanical joint, no such allowance is necessary. Furthermore, a fused joint is not always substantial, due to the fact that the metals may oxidize at the'temperature of fusion or the heat conditions may not be right, resulting in a weak joint. My joint, being made cold, is not subject to any such happening. Furthermore, it is practically impossible to know in the case of a defective fused joint, whether the defect was due to the inefiiciency of the operator or due to oxidation or heat conditions. With a mechanical joint of this carry much weight, but since the base is I character, the responsibility, in the event of such conditions, to determine the cause of the defective. joints and remove it.

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a section taken through one form of my luminant, showing the general arrangement of the connecting joint;

Fig. 2 is a detail showing the first step in making the joint;

Fig. 3 is a like view showing the second step;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the finished joint;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a machine for making this joint;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of this machine;

Figs. 7 and 8 are details on a still larger scale.

The refractory base of the luminant is designated by 1, and the resistor by 2. The ordinary leading-in wires 3, of substantial diameter and good heat conductivity, extend from the stem (not shown). The spuda memes wires 4, of lesser diameter and poor heat conductivity, extend from the ends of the leading-in wires and are so shaped as to hold the base. The leadin -in wire and the spudwires are held toget er by meansof a tapered sleeve 5 formed of a short length of seamless tubing. The resistor is also connected with the leading-in wires by means of the sleeve 5. J

The machine used in making a connecting joint of this character is shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8. Mounted in the base 10 is the inverted U-shaped member 11 having a hollow column 12 running from the; top thereof, the interior of said column being threaded. Engaging in the threads of the column is the screw 13 to which is ke ed the wheel 14. Below thewheel 14 on tile screw 13 is a nut 13 which limits the feeding of the screw downwardly. The screw carries a rod 15, the lower end of which comprises the die 16. The connection between the screw and the rod is such that a'rotation of the screw causes a reciprocation of the rod,

which is prevented from rotating by any suitable means such as a feather. The die 16 has a tapered groove 17 therein.

Attached to the base 10 and extending up into the U-shaped member 11 is a bar 18 which is cut out, as at 19 and 20, to form a pair of resilient arms 21. These arms are cut away to form the jaws 22- which together define a slot semi-elliptical in crosssection and which is tapered in the same direction as the die. A headed screw 23 passes through the arms 21 and through one leg of the member 11. Surrounding that portion of the screw 23 which passes through the leg is the sleeve 24. A threaded operating lever 25 is in engagement with the scrw 23 and bears against the sleeve 24. A set-screw 26 holds the screw 23 in place. The two screws 27 and 27 are for the purpose of adjusting and lockin 'one of-the arms 21 so that the slot define by the jaws 22 will be in alinement with the die 16.

In making a joint, the jaws 22 are allowed to open, the sleeve 5 is then placed in the slot defined by the jaws 22, and a leading-in wire is inserted through that end of the sleeve adjacent the larger end of the slot and a spud-wire through the other end so that they meet midway of the sleeve. The lever '25 is now operated in such a way as to pull the jaws 22 together, compressing the sleeve around the wires. Because of the fact that the slot defined by these jaws is tapered, the sleeve will firmly grip both I the leading-in wire and the smaller spudwire. The end of the sleeve gripping the spud-wire will be somewhat smaller than at the start, the excess metal havingbeen forced'to flow to the rear end of the sleeve. The sleeve will now be. approximately elliptical in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3,-

with oneend a trifle larger than the other. I

The sleeve does not necessarily grip the wires uniformly throughout, as it tapers slightly, but it does ip the wires sufficiently tightly to hold them.

The end of the resistor is then' threaded through the open space in the sleeve and the die 16 is moved down, bringing the groove 17 in contact with the sleeve 5. The die is caused to move downwardly enough to compress the sleeve around'the thG'IGSIStOI'. Since the jaws 22 are engaged with the sleeve, there is no chance for the sleeve to distort and destroy the grip on the leadingin and spud-wires. During this operation, still more of the metal is caused to flow toward the large end of the sleeve, as the groove 17 is also tapered. As a result of the tapers in the slot defined by the aws 22 and in the groove 17, the one end of the sleeve tightly grips the two smaller wires and the rear end grips the large leading- 1n wire.

The joint thus made is highly satisfactory and stands up under any use to which a lamp may be put. It is easy to make and is economical.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electrical appliance, a leading-in wire of substantial diameter, a supporting wire of lesser diameter, a resistor wire of minute cross-section, and means for joinin these wires together with the ends of the leading-in wire and the supporting wire adj acent each other.

2. In an electrical appliance, a leadingin wire of substantial diameter, a supporting wire of lesser diameter, a resistor wire of minute cross-section, and means for joining the wires together with the ends of the leading-in wire and the supporting wire adjacent each other and the resistor wire in contact With both.

3. In an electrical appliance, a leadingin wire of substantial diameter, a supporting wire of lesser diameter, a resistor wire of minute cross-section, means for joining these wires together with the leading-in wire and the supporting wire in substantial alinement with each. other and the resistor wire substantially parallel to both.

4. In an electrical appliance, a leading-in wire of substantial diameter, a supporting wire of lesser diameter, a resistor wire of minute cross-section and a seamless tube for joining these wires, with the leading-in wire substantially in alinement withthe supporting wire and the resistor wire subsubstantially parallel to both.

5. In an electrical appliance, a leadingin wire of substantial dlameter, a support ing wire of lesser diameter and a resistor wire of. minute cross-section arranged so that the leading-in and supporting wires are substantially in alinement with each other andthe resistor Wire substantially arallel stantially in alinement and the resistor Wire to both, and! a seamless tnhe encircling andl closely associated with both, a substantially 1a in holding contact with the said Wires. comical seamless tube having one end grip- 6. In an electrical appliance, a leaolin ping the resistor and supporting Wire and in Wire of substantial olianietenasnpporting the other enol gripping the resistor and wire of lesser diameter, and a resistor Wire the leading-in Wire. 0i minute cross-section arranged with the leaolingdn Wire and supporting Wire suh- JUHN ALLEN HEANY.

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