US475191A - Flexible electrode - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

G. n. BURTON 851;. E. ANGELL.

FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE.

Patented May l7, 1892.

FIG

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. BURTON, OF BOSTON, AND EDWIN E. ANGELL, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO THE ELECTRICAL FORGING COMPANY, OF MAINE.

FLEXIB LE ELECT RO D E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,191, dated May 17, 1892.

Application filed June 26, 1891- Serial 110397.645. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: per, or other suitable highly conductivemate- Be it known that we, GEORGE D. BURTON, rial,and the plates maybe composed of copper residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk, or of steel, or of other suitable flexible conand EDWIN E. ANGELL, residing at Somerville, ductive material. The frame and the bowed in the county of Middlesex, State of Massaplates are preferably so proportioned as to be chusetts, citizens of the United States, have equal in conductivity. The frame 11 is proinvented certain new and useful Improvevided with an arm 13, connected to the cenments in Flexible Electrodes for Electric tral cross-bar of said frame. This framemay Heaters, of which the following is a specifibe provided with an insulated handle 14, as IO cation. shown in Fig.

This invention relates to flexible electrodes Two of these flexible electrodes disposed for electric heaters for heating bars or blanks one above the other constitute an electrical of metal or metal tools to be forged or temheater or forge, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The pered. lower electrode rests upon a suitable movable The object of this invention is to provide support 21, and the upper electrode may be an electrode for this purpose which willyield pressed against the bar to be heated by the to the irregularities of the article to be heated hand of the operator upon the insulated hanand conform somewhat to the shape thereof, die 14, or this electrode may be clamped in so as to enlarge or diminish, as desired, the the forked outer end of a fixed arm 30, and 20 contact-surface, and secure a good contact bethereby held in contact with the bar or blank. tween the electrode and the blank.- The lower electrode 20 is preferably similar Another object of the invention is to proin general construction and arrangement to Vide an electrode, which is free to be moved the upper electrode, although it maybe rigid in any direction by the operator, so that it and of any suitable construction, and it is con- 2 5 may be placed in contact with any part of the nectcd by a Wire or other flexible conductor article to be heated. 40 with the positive ring 41 of an electric con- In the drawings, Figure 1 representsa perverter or other source of a heating-current, spective view of this improved flexible elec and the upper electrode is connected by a trode,connected with oneof therings of an elecsimilar flexible conductor 42 with a negative 0 trio-current converter. Fig. 2 represents in ring l3 of said converter. These conductors 8o diagram an electric forge,provided with these are to be made of large size or of metal of improved electrodes in connection with the great conductivity in proportion to the bars rings of an electric converter, a forge, feedto be worked. rolls, and a bar of metal to be heated and A pair of feed-rolls 50 may be disposed on 5 forged. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of one side of the electric forge and an anvil 60 an electric forge consisting of two of these oraforging-machine maybe disposed in proxflcxible electrodes, having flat contact-plates imity to said forge on the other side thereof. in contact with the bar to be heated. Fig. 4 In the use of this improved electrode it is represents an end View of these improved pressed into contact with the bar or blank 0 electrodes in contact with a round bar to be 100 or other article to be heated,and the area heated. Fig. 5 is a modification of the elecof contact is increased or diminished accordtrode, as hereinafter described. ing to the degree of pressure applied, and Similar numerals of reference indioate corthe contact-surface adjusts itself to the shape responding parts in the different figures. or irregularities of the article to be heated,

45 This improved electrode 10 comprises a the series of plates impartingfiexibility while 5 frame 11 and a series of flexible bowed conaffording ample capacity for the passage of tact-plates 12, connected at their opposite the current without overheating the elecends to the end cross-bars of said frame. trode. The currentpassesfrom one electrode These plates may be flat, concave, or convex to the other through the bar or blank and 50 longitudinally. Theframeis composed of copthereby heats it.

By the use of this apparatus we are enabled to produce a greater or less degree of heat in the bar 100 in a given time, because as the contact-surface of the electrodes is increased by pressure moving them against the bar the resistance is diminished and the heating of the bar will be slower. Also, if one electrode be pressed against the bar while the other remains stationary the heating on that side of the bar will be reduced in proportion to that on the side of the stationary electrode. It is evident that this willafford great convenience in altering or regulating the heat 'in differentportions of the bar preparatory to forging or shaping it. For illustration, suppose a rectangular bar were intended to be forged round on one side while the other remained flat. Then the side to be rounded would be given the most heating by the manipulation of the electrodes, and the heating be thus localized in the part of the bar where it was most needed.

We do not intend to limit our invention to the precise form of electrode above described, as we may Vary it quite widely therefrom, so as to produce the greater heating of the bar 100 on one side than on the other, as described. For example, some of the bowed contact-plates on the frame 11 may be bent or curved down lower than the others Where they make contact with the bar 100, so that the pressure on the electrode shall press these upward and bring additional or other spring surfaces into electrical contact with the bar and so increase the contact-surface on the latter. This modification is shown in Fig. 5, where the plate 12 is bowed farther out than the plate 12, so that pressure upon the electrode will bring the latter into contact with the bar last.

lVhat we claim as new and of our invention 1. An electrode for an electric heater, consisting of a frame and a series of superposed flexible elastic bowed contact-plates connected at their opposite ends to said frame.

2. An electrode for an electric heater, consisting of aframeand aseries of elastic bowed contact-plates connected at theiropposite ends to said frame and disposed side byside therein.

3. An electrode for an electric heater, consisting of a frame and a series of superposed elastic bowed contact-plates connected at their opposite ends to said frame.

4. An electrode for an electric heater, composed of a frame and two or more sets of elastic bowed contact-plates connected at their opposite ends to said frame, said sets being disposed side by side in the frame.

5. In an electric heater, the combination of an electrode connected with one electric pole, at free electrode consisting of a frame and a series of elastic bowed contact-plates connected at their opposite ends to said frame, and a flexible conductor for connecting said free electrode with the other electric pole.

G. In an electric heater, the combination of an electrode connected with one electric pole, a free electrode consisting of a frame and a series of superposed elastic bowed contactplates connected at their opposite ends to said frame, and a flexible conductor for connecting said free electrode with the other electric pole.

GEO. D. BURTON, EDWIN E. ANGELL. Witnesses:

E. F. PHILIPSON, CHESTER MARE.

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