, 1874-10-10
TUBULAR LANTERNS.
Important Case III the United
States Circuit Court.
Various Patents for improvements In
Burning Oils, Etc.
Taken Under Adyisement.

peci,niary way and AZ Involving In a mRrled do
grco tho question OF w1at patent ss, or pat
outaplo article, c,-kuown aB tho tubular lantern
case Is now OFT trial iii Tho Untol States Circuit
Court loforo Judges Drummond mud Dlodgett.
III May, 1867, John II. Irwin. ono Of tho COM
plainants IN tho prcaont caBo, obtalucd patent
for
TUBULAR LANTERN,
! and In 1868, 1H69. and 1s70, took out othor
patents for improvements or modil1ca-
tionH Of tl,ls original lantorn. As
Is we'll known, vegetable or animal
oils contain varying proportion OF oxygen,
which onabloB them to burn with creator onso
| ttan mineral or ilydrocarbon oils, az koroscnd,
Which arc destitute Of any oxygen. To obTtRte
! tha difficulty,
1lonE OXYGEN
must bo supplied to tho latter c1aas of combnstt'
! bles to insure TINT necessary combination OF
oxygen and carbon which il called combustion.
Irwin therefore attempted to obtain this result
by carrying supply OF mir down to the base Of
tho bnrnor Of lamp or gaa-jot, instead OF
| allowing tho flame to DO supplied. by SUCH
| air "a was IN Immediate conttguity to
tho ila,no In lis first patent he
pIscel funnel or bell over tho ftarno, ad1uhtea
ut s,lpll Aoight that Tho products Of cpInbua-
| ton. consisting Of carbonio nc'a and rapor,
should have chance to oscaTo instead Of being
drawn into tho fWanol. Thia boil WAS then Ut
| tuchol to Il long tuho, which waa carried down
to the baae OF tho burner, mud supplied 1t with
mir bolow tho conc.
In mn ordinary lamp, nH will DO soon on OK
animation, tho air requisite to a,,staln tho flame
| is supplied through perforated pinto below tho
como, which Afso Boryes 10 sustain tho Chimney,
the latler acting as tluo to cteato biast, and at
| tho sarlo timo serving to protect the nasno
from outside drafts. Irwin only allowed the
1, $aff t11na al arar
through tho t,sbo from tho funnel, and Ills tho
orr WIS that tho heated air from the flame, i-
pinging on tho surrounding cold mir, droTo tho
lattcr through the tubos.
THE ESSENTIAL ro1ETs
Of hH invention wore, US l,e claims, q bell or
funnel PLACED Mt Ancll distance aboyo tho 1nmo
rs to rocoivo volume OF pure air, tubo to pass
this to tho base of tho ano. without my escape.
mud my kind Of ,orainnry burner combined With
But llis 1nfnp Ind no chimney, mud ting flame
wRB oflcctcd by my surrounding cnrrerta Of air.
To obyiato this objection waa tho purpose Of
| Ills sEcoHD INVENTION,
wherein lo adds to tho foregoing patenta globo
which l.o tormed a protector In ordot that
] there should 10 n supply Of fresh air Through
| tho funuel, space was left between the top Of
tho globo and tl.e fuuno1 and \ perforated plato
pasea At o Ssae on Which tho gGeo rSests
| 'soro tho essential po'nta Of tho tubular lamp
or lantern involving this principle ~ tho. in-
Tcntor clan,od tho supply Of air to the tlamo Of
lamp. Or g99-jet, through tube or funnel. By,
| a blast. tho blast being crented by tho heated
| air Of tho lamp, instead of depending first on
| tho inert n,asa OF mir Immediately surrounding
| tho tlamc, as IN an ordinary lamp, or second,
through any blaBs furnished by chimney.
THE GAIN
wns TINT, even where 1laYs,o Was surrounded by
| chimney antl globo, a blart of outside air at
! tho top or hottom. OF tho chimney cauHed it to
Brioko, or oyon o1tinguished it, whilo the com
| l. IL
quantity was furnished and in nj unvarrug
quantity. thus especially adapting hia Inventions
t TO EanterrS.
BY three subsequent Inventions 1rmin added
doycoa fo= supporting tho globo in place by
| spring, and improvements in the Bhapo Of the
cone a,sd Jacket, aud their adjustment to tho
lamp,-neno Of them. however, varying the ptin-
cipio OF tho first two inyontious in tho method
| Of supplying blast Of air. Irwin clhlf1ls that
1lo llaa nalo tllcgo lanterns for some yeara. and
TINT u lnrgo number Of parties have paid him u
royalty for licenses to manufacturo thon1.
| . THE DEFENDANTS,
Dane, Wostlako' j. Covert, q large firm in this
city ,engngetl In tho mannfactulo OF lamps and
lanterns in this city, howovor mado q lantorn
similar to colnplainal,ts, and irwin accordingly
brought suit for Infringement OF patent. To this
the defendant pealad that irwin was not tho
first inventor Of tho dovoo but that it had boon
| known tor fifty years in France, Holland, and
England, aud horo couaoa in
| ONE OF THE CURIOUS POINTS OF TIE CASE.
It appears that III 1926 7. Tespaz, Fronch-
man, noticed that smoke and ynpor were given
often hlackonel tho ceilings of rooms or injured
tito gooda in store, and attempted to find somo
moa1sa Of gatting rid Of theao noxioua products
| Of combustion; either by carrying them out Of
tho apartment of burning them in the tis,no
he pacod a globo over tho flame and short
! distance above it, partly to condonBo the yapors,
aud partly to carry tlo1n down by two tubes, aud
introduce them in tho ilamo to be moro
thoroughly dccomnoacd. Tcspaz also designed
in so1ne Of his devices to con!onao and precpi-
tato these products Of combustion in water;
to carry thcm in tubos out to tho
open alr, or to conlenso the rapor aud
precipitatu SOLE! particles on a. snrtaca
wae 10 states in hia specifications. ~ smoko-
consuming, yaporizing, condeusing apparatua,
suitable to ooudonso tho, vaapo9r produced BY
tho combustion Of gas Or oil, stc."
A year aftor. aud tn 1927, Mosers. 0lry, Nerry,
and Do Cormciila patented m invention having
similar objoct in- yiow to that Of TcBpaZ, aud
which they caltod q
| "Fuslt-coMnunArEuR,
or machine for destroying or consuming smoke.
They employed for that purpoHo a bell over the
tlano to receive tho products of combustion, and
Il tube to carry tholn down to tho ilainn, into
which they wero cmpliod ,.oar tho top Or lottest
part Of tue an.no flu The nuro aiE Tss supplied
a few !cala after, two Fronchmon. Martin
and Marii,i, following tho. stops Of thoir pro-
| tleces6or6, obtanod patont fora similar doyico.
laving similar object, tho difference being
that this last invention was specially employed
to utilize tim Wasto gus that csoapus nhou too
great pressure is employed go that it il not
| all hNrncd and that air waa mixed with this ro-
turned gas boforo it waa driven into the lame.
! TIE ENGLIsH
now lookup tho same laea, and In 1917 John
Urathwaite patented III nvention for ."rcceiv-
lug tlo Hnpko aud other no1lous exhnlationH
null carrying tlom back into. the Anmo." III
this patent tho smoke WAS discharged OH tho In.
side Of tho ilamo on MI argand burner, puro nit
being supplied fron tho outside. Tic modal
Htrikingly rosonbles Bonlo Of the compainant'a
devices.
Il stop in n tliiroront direction, but in tho sa1no
why NJ lrwln's inyonton, was mado by au Ell
glial illyo,,tion Of CaHaoll, ant later by A. Il.
CrihQold Of tho United statos. to produce i
lump Which shonld not DO blown ont by tho wind.
III both. these pasontH, which tho dofcndauts
claim hayo been pir0tod by Irwin, tho supply OF
air comes from abovo instead OF below,
tho objoct being 10 admit air to tho tamo
indirectly, and thus prevent the eiFcct
Of Il. sudden draft. Illo hot mir