IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Giuseppe, Antonio Tremeschini, of Schio, Venetia,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Giuseppe Antonio Tre-
meschini at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th April 1864.
I, GIUSEPPE ANTONIO TREMESCHINI, of Schio; Venetia, Mechanical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said. Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LAMPS," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate principally to lamps for burning petroleum,
coal naphtha, or other more or less volatile hydrocarbons, their object being
that of insuring a perfect combustion of these latter, so as to obtain a bright
light without any bad odour, and remove all danger of explosion.
The improvements consist in increasing the heat of the air admitted to the
burning. part. of the wick, by giving the cone or deflector a greater heat-
conducting power than is the case with. the thin brass cones hitherto made use
of. For this purpose the said cone is made of stout copper, and in the shape
of a paraboloid, ellipsoid; hyperboloid, or other suitable regularly curved
surface, deflecting the heated air towards the burning part of the wick, whilst,
with the exception of the slit for. the flame to pass through; any other openings
in the cone are done away with. For causing a more. plentiful supply, of oil
to ascend to the top or burning part of the wick, one or more: additional wicks

page_text: '
in contact with the real or burning wick, but not in reach of the flame, are
made use of, merely in order by their capillary action to draw up the oil. The
real wick and the additional ones are inserted in a special wick holder fitting
in the interior of the fixed burner, through the slit of which latter protrudes
the burning part of the real wick. This slit is made concave, instead of
forming, as hitherto, a straight line, which does away in trimming the lamp
the necessity of being obliged to cut off the corners of the wick. Round the
burner in the interior of the wind guard is fixed a disc, provided close to its
periphery with a series of small holes for the air to pass through, and provided
also with three or more small curved arms for the cone to rest against, whilst
the glass chimney in the interior of the gallery rests on small props on the
above-mentioned disc, so as to leave space between the lower rim of the
chimney and the holes of the disc (these holes being situated just underneath
the said rim), for the air to pass and be projected against the cone.
The
lower end of the burner, as also the wind. guard, are fixed to a ring with
conical appendix, for fitting in a corresponding conical aperture provided in
the top of the oil reservoir of the lamp, so as not to leave any communication
between the flame and this reservoir, whilst for providing this latter with petro-
leum, naphtha, or other volatile or other oil or spirits to be burned in the lamp,
a tubular aperture is provided in the above-mentioned ring. For feeding the
reservoir a small double bént tube is inserted in the said tubular aperture,
and made to fit therein. One end of the tube forms a funnel 'for the liquid to
be poured in, which liquid is allowed to ascend to a fixed level, after which
the surplus liquid runs off into a vessel placed underneath, thus allowing to
feed the lamp even when burning.."
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GIUSEPPE
ANTONIO TREMESCHINI, of Schio, Venetia, Mechanical Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of. April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year..of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini, Her special licence that I, the said

page_text: t
Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini, my executors;
administrators; and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Giuseppe Antonio, Tremeschini, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same-to be.filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent..
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said .Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini, do hereby
declare the nature of .my said Invention; and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in, and by the fol-
lowing statement-
These improvements in lamps relate more especially to the description of
lamps intended for burning petroleum, kerosene, or other analogous more or
less volatile liquid hydrocarbons, and they have for their object, 1ly, to insure
a more perfect combustion.of the petroleum or other said oil or liquid to be
burned in the lamp, as was hitherto the case; 2ly, avoid any danger of
explosion of the oil vessel; and, 3ly,,do away with the trimming of the, wick.
The construction of the arrangements for insuring a perfect combustion of
the petroleum, kerosene, or other, oil or liquid intended to be burnt in this
improved lamp is based on the following principles, viz.:-1ly, that the degree
of temperature of the air coming: in contact with the flame or burning part of
the wick be increased as much as possible, and the admission of the said
heated air be suitably regulated, and the same properly distributed; 2ly, that,
on the contrary, the degree of heat of that part of the wick situated under-
neath the flame or burning part of the wick be kept as low as possible;
3ly, that an abundant.supply.of the petroleum or other oil or liquid to be
burned in the lamp be secured, particularly to that part of the wick situated
immediately underneath the.flame.
In order to obtain the just mentioned results the following devices are made
use of 1ly, the cone or deflector. serving för directing, activating, and
heating the current. of air required for combustion, instead of being made, as
was.hitherto the case; in petroleum lamps, of brass, and rather thin, is in, my

page_text: improved lamp made of a much better heat-conducting metal, viz., copper,
and much stouter than hitherto, by which means a much higher, degree of
heat will be imparted to the air coming in contact with the said deflector
2ly, the wick carrier or tube containing the wick is inserted and kept in
position within another tube or sheath, so as to leave a small distance apart
between both tubes for allowing an ascending current of air to pass through,
and thereby keep comparatively cool the parts of the wick situated below the
flame; the upper extremity of the outer tube or sheath forms the burner,
and is situated within the cone or deflector, and has its slit corresponding with
that of the said deflector; the wick tube extends downward in the interior of
the oil reservoir nearly to the bottom of this latter, leaving only a small
distance for the ends of the wick yarns to pass through; 3ly, in order to
insure a plentiful supply or ascending of the petroleum from the oil reservoir
or oil vessel to the flame, instead of the additional wicks spoken of in the
Specification of my Provisional Protection, I make use of one or more
bundles of very slightly twisted cotton yarns or rovings, the said yarns being
laid and kept side by side in the said wick tube, and which bundles I call the
capillary oil conductor, or lower part of the wick, whilst the upper. part, or
real or burning wick, is formed of several windings of the said yarn or roving,
held together side by side by means of a strip of paper or other suitable
material, glued or otherwise fixed.round the entire.
Having thus explained the principles on which the arrangements of my
improved lamp are based, I will now give a full description of this latter, and
its various parts and mode of acting, referring thereby to the annexed
Drawings, in the various Figures of which the same letters indicate corre-
sponding parts, several of which latter are represented as partly cut away.
Fig. 1 represents an elevation view of the oil reservoir D, or vessel for
containing the petroleum, kerosene, or other analogous liquid hydrocarbon to
be burned in the lamp. On this vessel are applied the parts I will henceforth
call the lighting apparatus of the lamp, and shown in vertical sectional view
in Fig. 2: Fig. 3 represents an elevation view of the cone or deflector. The
Figs. 4 & 5 respectively show an elevation and a plan view of the disc Q in
the interior of the gallery I, or support for the glass chimney O. The Figs:
6 & 7 show two longitudinal sectional views, taken at right angles to each
other, of the wick tube E, showing the manner in which the capillary oil
conductor or bundles of yarn by which the oil is elevated from the oil
reservoir D to the burning wick is fixed in this: wick tube. E..
:
The Figs. 8 & 9 respectively show a longitudinal, sectional, and an elevation.
view of another mode of fixing the said oil conductor; Fig. 10 illustrates
'

page_text: the principle of forming the short or real burning wick t; Fig. 11 shows an
elevation view of the funnel for providing the vessel D with oil.
As has already been mentioned above, the cone or deflector A, instead of.
being made of brass, and rather thin, as was hitherto the case for petroleum
lamps, is made of copper, and much stouter; the shape of the deflector,
particularly at the inside, from the base to the top, is that of a paraboloid,
ellipsoid, hyperboloid, or other suitable regular curved surface obtained by the
revolution of a corresponding regular curve; the cone, however, may be
afterwards slightly flattened to a suitable extent on its two sides situated
parallel to the slit A¹. Copper being a much better heat-conducting metal
than brass, and the cones being made very stout, they will collect much more
heat than those hitherto in use, and impart this heat partly to the air coming.
in contact with its sides; if required a double cone might be used, or a greater
thickness be given to some parts of the same. B is the burner, or outer tube
or sheath, which, on the contrary of the cone A, ought to be made of a bad
heat-conducting metal, and rather thin; this tube serves as a sheath for the
wick tube E, and must be fixed exactly in the axial part of the lamp, a
suitable distance being left between the tubes E and B for allowing an
ascending current of air to enter from underneath by the opening B' of the
tube B, and keep at a comparatively cool state the part of the tubes and of
the wick situated underneath the flame. Figs. 4 & 5 show the mode in which
the tube E is provided with one or more bundles of very slightly twisted
cotton yarns laid side by side, and forming what I have here above denominated
the capillary oil conductor, which I make use of for drawing the petroleum.or
other liquid.up from the reservoir D to the upper or, burning part of the wick.
In the Figs. 2, 6, 8, & 10 the cotton yarn of the bundles and the wick are
drawn in red ink. Having observed the impediment which plaited, woven, or
knitted wicks present to the ascent of the oil, I make use, instead of them,
of bundles of very slightly twisted cotton yarns or rovings laid side by side.
In the interior of the tube E fit two plates R of thin brass, cardboard, wire-
work, or other suitable material, fixed in the tube by means of the pins f; a
bundle a of the said cotton yarns is bent over the top of the plate R; and
inserted in the openings 6 of the plate, so as to be held in position by the said,
plate, and allow the ends a¹ of the yarns to protrude beyond the lower
opening. E' of the tube E, whilst the upper or bent part a² of the two
bundles forms a sort of elastic: slit or pincers e, in which is inserted the short
real or burning wick t, or what may be called the appendix to the capillary
oil-conductor, and firmly held in position in this slit e, so as to cause this short
wick t to rise and fall with the tube E, when this latter is caused to rise or

page_text: fall by the effect of a lever G turning on a pin in the hanger. m fixed to the
disc of the gallery I, the short arm g of the said lever being inserted in
corresponding slits or openings provided for that purpose in the tubes Band E.
Or the bundles 'a of yarn might be bent over the upper end (as shown in the
modification, Figs. 8 & 9,) of the tube E, to which in that case a shape is
given corresponding about with that of the upper end of the sheath or burner B,
and inserted in the opening c provided in this upper end of the tube E, the
free ends a¹ of the yarn dipping into the oil reservoir D, whereas the short
wick t is inserted in the slit e formed by the upper- or bent parts a² of the
two bundles a, a.
In both arrangements it is required that the said upper or
bent parts a² be situated as near as possible to the inner surface of the upper
part of the burner B, so as actually to touch them. Fig. 10 illustrates the
principle of forming the short or real burning wick t, viz., by winding a very
slightly twisted cotton yarn k several times round a pair of wires 7 and 1', kept
at the required distance apart, the windings being laid side by side in close
contact, and after a number of windings have thus been made for obtaining a
wick of the required breadth; a strip of paper s, or other suitable material, is
glued or otherwise fixed round the windings in the manner as shown in
Fig. 10; the yarn is then cut off, and the wick thus obtained is slightly.
pressed into the required shape of a flat wick. Instead of over the wires
1&1 the yarn might be wound-over a strip of cardboard of the 'required size.
The short wick t.thus formed is afterwards inserted through the slit of the
burner B in the slit e left between the bundles of the capillary oil conductor,
so as to leave a sufficient part of the wick t protruding beyond, the slit e.
Instead of trimming or cutting of the charred end off the wick, as was hitherto
required for the wicks of petroleum-lamps, the old wick is to be removed from
the slit e and a fresh one inserted. In the Figs. 7 & 9 the bundles a and the
wick t are not represented. M. is a ring fixed to the mouth of the reservoir D,
in which ring is provided a hole H, for introducing oil in the said reservoir.
The sockle or lower part N of the lighting apparatus fits by means of a conical
prolongation N¹ into the corresponding conical aperture of the ring M; but this
sockle might.be adapted at once in a similar manner to the mouth or opening
of the reservoir D, suitably ground out for that purpose. In the gallery I, or.
support for the glass chimney O, is fixed a disc Q, provided round its periphery
close to the outer edge of the disc. with holes r, for causing the air entering
through these holes by the wind-gard S to impinge against the lower part or
rim of the glass chimney O, the latter resting on three small props p of the
three stays P fixed at regular distances apart on the upper surface of the
disc' Q; the said air being thereby cast against the reflector A, and sufficiently.

page_text: heated before reaching the flame. The disc Q has further slits q for the
introduction of air in the inside of the cone or reflector. The number and
position of these slits 9 may be varied as found requisite. The curvature of
the stays P corresponds with that of the cone A, and thus insures a fixed
position to this latter. In order to allow of, whilst the lamp is lighted, provide,
if required, the reservoir D with oil, the instrument represented in side view
in Fig. 11 is made use of. The same consists of a funnel F forming the
upper end of a pipe L; the opposite end L' of which is inserted and made to
fit exactly in the hole H of the ring M of the reservoir. The upper half of the
end L' is soldered to the lower half of the end K' of the tube K, so as to
make those two halves form at the outside one entire tube whilst separated
at the inside by a partition, so as to leave no communication between the
tubes L & K, except by the opening L¹, K¹, to be inserted in the hole or
perforated plug H, by which means, when oil or other liquid is poured in the
funnel F, this oil will run off into the reservoir D till the liquid in this latter
having reached the level of the end L', K', the remainder will run off by the
tube K into a vessel placed underneath the exit opening K² of this tube K,
and will continue doing so as long as liquid is continued to be poured in
the funnel F, by which means the liquid in the reservoir D will be prevented
from rising above the required level, and thus any spilling of the liquid
effectually prevented.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
Invention, and the mode in which the same is put into effect, I wish it to be
observed, that I do not intend to restrict or restrain myself to the precise
details of the above-described arrangements, as many variations may be made
therefrom without departing from the main features or principles of the
Invention, but what I consider to be novel and original, and consequently
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,-
1ly, making the cone or reflector for lamps intended for burning petroleum,
kerosene, or other analogous liquid hydrocarbons, of copper, and much thicker
than has been the case hitherto.
2ly, the arrangement of the wick holder E, and sheath or burner tube B,
the mode of causing the tube E, and consequently the wicks a & t, to rise and
fall in the burner tube B, according as required.
3ly, applying, instead of the plaited, woven, or knitted wicks hitherto made
use of in lamps for burning petroleum, kerosene, or other analogous liquid
hydrocarbons, one or more bundles of very slightly twisted cotton yarn, for
drawing up the oil from the oil reservoir to the wick, and forming this latter

page_text: of several windings of very slightly twisted cotton yarn laid side by side, and
kept together in the manner described.
4ly, the general arrangement and combination of parts of my improved
lamp intended for burning petroleum, kerosene, or other analogous oils or
liquids, substantially as described and illustrated by the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Giuseppe Antonio Tremeschini, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
A. G. BRADE.
GUIP. ANT. TREMESCHINI. (L.S.)