AN IMPROVED LAMP-WICK
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the Firm of Haseltine Lako
& Co. Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "AN IMPROVED LAMP-WICK." A communication from abroad by Gebhard
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th February 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London. "AN IMPROVED LAMP-WICK." [A communi-
cation from abroad by Gebhard Beck, of Waco, Texas, United States of America,
Mechanic.]
The object of this Invention is to produce an improved non-combustible lamp-
wick, and to this end the said Invention consists in forming the lamp-wick of one
or more layers of mineral wool enclosed in a textile material, and the whole being
sewed together by a series of parallel longitudinal stitches.
As is well known, mineral wool is the slag from a blast furnace blown into fibres
by a jet of steam or air and consists essentially of a double silicate of alumina and
lime the composition of which varies much according to the nature of the earthy
matters in the ore and the composition of the flux, Its color is generally opaque
white, streaked with blue, green, or brown, and resembles that of asbestos.
Prior to my Invention a non-combustible lamp-wick has been made of mineral
wool mixed with a refractory cement such as soluble glass, in the proper proportion
to form a plastic mass, which is then pressed or moulded into the required shape.
These non-combustible lamp-wicks are usually made in the form of short heads
which fit the mouth of the wick-tube and rest upon a packing of cotton by means
of which the fluid to be burnt is raised to the non-combustible head. It has been
proposed, however, to extend these refractory wicks through the wick-tube into the
oil reservoir of the lamp but practically a wick of such character is of little value,
since the cement employed tends to diminish to too great an extent the capillarity
of the wick. Hence the difference between such lamp-wick and that made in

page_text: accordance with my Invention will be apparent since I employ no cement but
simply enclose the mineral wool in a textile fabric, by preference cotton goods, and
secure the same by rows of parallel stitches thus protecting and holding the
mineral wool without cement, and at the same time providing a cover or envelope
which serves as an auxiliary to the enclosed filaments
For sewing the wick I prefer to employ the well known chain stitch although
other forms of stitches can be used. The wick is thus formed with a series of
parallel channels, each of these enclosing a body of the mineral wool. This wick
can be used in lamps like the ordinary wicks of cotton or other fabrics, either flat
or tubular.
The upper end of the wick is cut off straight and at right angles to the length
of the wick, and may be provided with one or more cross-seams to hold the enclosed
material of the wick more firmly in the proper position.
After the wick has been placed in the wick-tube of a lamp and then lighted at
its upper end, the cotton above the wick-tube will rapidly burn off thus exposing
the mineral wool, which, by reason of its capillarity, together with that of the lower
part of the wick immersed in the oil, will raise a sufficient quantity of the fluid to
support combustion and give a good light.
As the mineral wool is non-combustible the wick will only need an occasional
slight rubbing or brushing to keep it in the proper condition for burning.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th August 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED LAMP-WICK.' A communi-
cation from abroad by Gebhard Beck, of Waco, Texas, United States of America,
Mechanic.
The object of this Invention is to produce an improved non-combustible lamp-
wick. The said Invention consists in forming the lamp-wick of one or more
layers of mineral wool enclosed in a textile material, the whole being sewed
together by a series of parallel longitudinal stitches.
As is well known, mineral wool is the slag from a blast-furnace blown into
fibres by a jet of steam or air; it consists essentially of a double silicate of alumina
and lime, the composition of which varies much according to the nature of the
earthy matters in the ore and the composition of the flux. Its color is generally
opaque white, streaked with blue, green, or brown, and resembling that of
asbestos.
Prior to my Invention, a non-combustible lamp-wick has been made of mineral
wool mixed with a refractory cement, such as soluble glass, in the proper proportion
to form a plastic mass, which is then pressed or moulded into the required shape.
These non-combustible lamp-wicks are usually made in the form of short heads,
which fit the mouth of the wick-tube and rest upon a packing of cotton, by means
of which the fluid to be burnt is raised to the non-combustible head. It has been
proposed, however, to extend these refractory wicks through the wick-tube into
the oil reservoir of the lamp, but practically a wick of such character is of little
value, since the cement employed tends to diminish, to too great an extent, the
capillarity of the wick. Hence, the difference between such lamp-wick and that
made in accordance with my Invention will be apparent, since I employ no cement,
but simply enclose the mineral wool in a textile fabric, by preference cotton goods,
and secure the same by rows of parallel stitches, thus protecting and holding the
mineral wool without cement, and at the same time providing a cover or envelope
which serves as an auxiliary to the enclosed filaments.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is a side view of a lamp-wick constructed according to this
Invention,
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the same; and,
Figure 3 is a transverse section.
In carrying this Invention into practice a flat layer or layers of mineral wool
of the desired length of the wick is or are placed between some textile fabric A, A,
by preference cotton goods, and the whole then sewed together by the longitudinal
stitching a, a, so as to form parallel seams a short distance apart. For sewing the
wick I prefer to employ the well known chain-stitch, although other forms of
stitches can be used. The wick is thus formed with a series of parallel channels,
each of which encloses a body B, of the mineral wool. This wick can be used in
lamps like the ordinary wicks of cotton or other fabrics, either flat or tubular.
The upper end of the wick is cut off straight and at right angles to the length
of the wick, and may be provided with one or more cross-seams C to hold the
enclosed material of the wick more firmly in the proper position.
After the wick has been placed in the wick-tube of a lamp and lighted at its

page_text: mineral wool, which, by reason of its capillarity, together with that of the lower
part of the wick immersed in the oil, will raise a sufficient quantity of the fluid to
support combustion and give a good light,
As the mineral wool is non-combustible the wick will only need an occasional
slight rubbing or brushing to keep it in the proper condition for burning.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood.
that I claim,
A lamp-wick consisting of one or more layers of mineral wool enclosed in a
textile material, the whole being sewed together by a series of parallel longitudinal
stitches, substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Fourteenth day of August in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.