Patent No. 19628 1883 SEELY Electric Flat Iron INSULL Art 19628 The following information was scanned and read with OCR directly from a copy of the original patent. We apologize for any difficulty in reading the OCR text (No Model.) No. 2. 2 Sheets—Sheet 1. R. N. DYER & H. W. SEELY. ELECTRIC FLAT IRON. Patented Oct. 30 1883. t xx WITNESSES cz„cr. e %vC. INVENTORS: (No Model.) No. 2 Sheets—Sheet 2. R. N. DYER & H. W. SEELY. ELECTRIC FLAT IRON. Patented Oct. 30 1883.   '"  '  II l m  " i„il WITNESSES: 76 INVENTORS: UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEº RICHARD N. DYER AND HENRY W. SEELY OF MENLO PARK NEW JERSEY ASSIGNORS OF ONETHIRD TO SAMUEL INSTILL OF NEW YORK N. Y. ELECTRIC FLATIRON. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.  dated October 30 1883. Application filed September 15 1882. (No model.) fire. This is done preferably by using screws to unite the parts which may be readily withdrawn and replaced when necessary. The third part of our invention relates to what we term a "heatingtable." This consists essentially of a table on which one or more flatirons may be placed said'table being provided with suitable contacts and said irons having also contacts connected to the inclosed resistance while the tablecontacts are connected in the circuit which supplies the current the whole being so arranged that when a fiatiron is set on the table circuit is immediately completed through the resistance and the iron is heated to the desired degree when it may be removed and the circuit thus broken. The table itself however may also be provided with a heating  resistance by which its surface may be heated to assist in the heating of the iron. Except at its heatingsurface such a table should be entirely in closed by a nonconductor of heat. It is evident that this as well as the next preceding part of our invention may be used as well • with a flatiron having a resistance similar to that shown in the patent of Seely as with that herein described the only change necessary to adapt the former to use with the heatingtable being to remove the bindingposts and substitute therefor suitable metal contactplates. This part of the invention is also applicable to other utensils heated electrically—such as solderingirons. The above may be more readily understood by reference to the annexed drawings in which— Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flatiron adapted for use with a heatingtable and containing the resistance of pulverized material arranged in a continuous sheet or layer Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical section of the same Fig. 3 a transverse vertical section Fig. 4 a plan view of the lower half of the iron Fig. 5 a similar plan view of an iron in which the resistance is :placed in zigzag form Fig. 6 a transverse section of the same Fig. 7 a longitudinal vertical section of the heatingtable and Fig. 3 a perspective view of the same showing a fiatiron in position To all whom it anal concern: Be it known that we RICHARD N. DYLR and HENRY W. SEELY both of Menlo Park in the county of Middlesex. and State of New Jersey have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric FlatIrons of which the following is a specification. Our invention relates to certain improvements oli that set forth in Patent No. granted to the said Seely June 6 1882 subject being to provide a more durable flatiron and one which can be more readily repaired than the old form and also to provide means for heating such irons without connecting them permanently with the circuit which may be inconvenient in some cases. In carrying out our invention we use as the heatingresistance contained in the base of the iron instead of the carbon sticks of the patent referred to a layer of some pulverized or finelydivided substance which is a highresistance conductor of electricity. This may be lampblack or powdered carbon of other character or finelydivided metals or metal loids or other element or compound capable of conducting electricity or one of the metallie saltsfor instance the peroxide of lead might be used. This powdered material is pressed between sheets of a suitable insulating substance and metal plates are placed in contact with it to which the circuitwires are at tached so that circuit is completed through the resistance. The material may be placed in one continuous sheet or layer with the attacthed plates at opposite ends thereof or it may belaid in zigzag spiral or other form. By the use of this powdered material instead of the sticks of carbon the iron is made more durable for the former is adapted to withstand the heavy shocks to which such utensils are often subjected in use and which would perhips cause the breakage of the latter. The flatiron is made in two parts as in the latent mentioned ancianother part of our invention consists in so uniting such parts that they may be readily separated when necessary in order to repair or replace the resistance should this become worn or broken or to make repairs on any portion of the struct with a diagram of the connections to a multiplearc system of incandescent electric light ing this being the preferred source of electric energy for our purposes. Referring to Figs.1 to 4 inclusive A. and B are respectively the upper and lower parts of a flatiron. The base B is hollowed out and in the bottom of the hollow as close as possi ble to the smoothingsurface is laid a plate a of suitable noncombustible insulating material which lines the bottom and sides of the hollow. The hollow is then filled with the pulverized material C which is covered with another insulatingplate a'. Mica is a suitable insulating material for this purpose. The upper part A of the iron is set directly up on this upper plate and the resistance there fore is pressed between the plates and held firmly against displacement. At each end of the hollow in the base and in contact with the resistance is placed a metal plate and from each plate an insulated wire 1 runs to a metal plate c the plates c c being secured to a slab of insulating material d attached to the top of the iron. Such plates c c might however be affixed to the handle or placed in any other convenient position. The iron is provided with openings through which the wires pass. In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the pulverized material C is placed in a zigzag groove formed in the base of the iron such groove being lined with the mica or other insulating material used and the sheet a' laid over the whole as before. The parts A B are attached together removably by means of screws e e so that the iron may be separated should repairs or the renewal of the resistance become necessary. Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8 D is a frame of a nonheat conducting and electrically insulating material in which is set and secured a plate E of metal or other material suitable to form a heatingsurface. Beneath such heatingsurface is placed a resistance of preferably one of a pulverized material as above described but which may be similar to that shown in the patent referred to or of any desired suitable form and material. This resistance is placed between layers g g' of a suitable insulating material and is provided with contact  plates h h'—one at each end from which wires run to binding postsii. From said bindingposts wires ran also to contactsprings j j attached to the upwardly projecting position F of the table: Such contactsprings are so placed as to bear on the plates c c of the iron A B when the latter is placed on the table. 3 4 represent floor or house mains of an incandescent electric lighting system x x beinglamps placed in multiple are. The wires 5 6 run to a lampsocket G from which the lamp has been removed and the plug H having the proper contacts for completing circuit inserted instead. Such plug contains binding posts 1c 7c' from which wires 11 run to the bindingposts. It will thus be seen that when the connections are made and the iron placed in position as in