Improvements in Thermo-cauters, Dissecting Knives, Blow Pipes, Soldering Tools, Pyrographic and Branding Instruments.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 4th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Thermo-cauters, Dissecting Knives, Blow Pipes,
Soldering Tools, Pyrographic and Branding Instruments.
I, CLAUDE ANDRÉ PAQUELIN, of 13, Place Vendôme, Paris, France, Doctor of
Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an instrument which when heated by the combustion of
a gaseous mixture may, according to its form, be used for a variety of purposes,
and more particularly as a cauter, dissecting-knife, or other instrument, in human and
veterinary surgery, or for decorating leather, wood, or other material by carbonizing
or charring.
My improved instrument is distinguished from all others hitherto known by
special features hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, forming part of this Specification, wherein
Figure 1 represents an elevation, Figure 2 a longitudinal section, and Figure 3 a
section on line 1-2 Figure 2, of an instrument having an apertured point.
Figure 4 is an elevation, Figure 5 a longitudinal section, and Figure 6 a section
on line 3-4 Figure 5, of an instrument having a closed point.
Figure 7 is an elevation, and Figure 8 a longitudinal section, of a modified form
of this instrument.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 10 a section on line 5-6 Figure 9,
of a special form of instrument with external heater.
The same letters of reference denote like parts in all the figures.
The chief characteristic of this type of instrument is that the combustion chamber
is in the form of a tube open at both ends it having been found in practice that a
platinum tube of suitable diameter may, after being once brought to a red heat, be
maintained in incandescence, without emitting any flame, by being traversed by a
current of combustible gas composed for example of a mixture of air and hydro-
carbon vapors in suitable proportions, the incandescence being more or less active
according to the composition and pressure of the gaseous mixture. I apply this
principle in the construction of the several instruments which I will now proceed to
describe.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, a is a platinum combustion tube fitted on the end of a
tube 6 the opposite end of which is screw-threaded and enclosed in a second corre-
spondingly-threaded tube c which is in turn enclosed in a wood or other handle d
within the bore of which it is freely held in place by means of a feather i, cap nut e,
and collar jabutting against a shoulder in the interior of the handle which regulates
the position of the tube c therein. is a sheath, of variable form as hereinafter
described, carried on the forward end of tube c and enclosing the platinum tube a.
The gaseous current is supplied under pressure to the inner tube b from any suitable
source through a pipe connected to it at g. By turning the tube b, by means of
button h, its position in tube c, and consequently the position of the platinum
combustion tube a within the sheath f, may be regulated as indicated in dotted
lines in Figure 2. The platinum tube a, having been lighted and become
incandescent, heats the sheath f. The sheath shewn is pierced at its end
is made not of platinum but of any ordinary metal such as brass, copper, German
silver, etc.
and
The burnt gases issue from orifice k and produce entirely different effects from
those produced by a gas flame. For example if the instrument be employed for

page_text: decorating wood, the hot gases will produce flat tints varying from yellow to bistre
according as the platinum tube a is withdrawn from or advanced towards the point
of the sheath f. If, instead of directly applying the action of the hot gases, the
pose of the sheath itself be applied to the wood it will not act destructively upon
the fibre since it is made of ordinary metal and not platinum. It is thus possible to
obtain entirely novel decorative effects with the aid of this instrument.
The form of the sheath would vary indefinitely according to the purpose for
which the instrument is to be applied. Thus in Figures 4 to 8 the sheaths are
shewn as having closed points. In this case the heat developed by the combustion
of the gaseous mixture is stored in the sheath and the burnt gases are discharged
either at the side, as in Figures 7 and 8, or at the rear end of the sheath, as in
Figures 4. and 5. For wood decoration I, however, prefer to employ the form of
sheath represented in Figures 4, 5, and 6, which combines in one the point 1, flat
face m, and convex face n. By varying the form and dimensions of the metal
sheath enclosing the combustion tube a, the same may be applied to the
construction of various instruments such as the different kinds of cauters used by
surgeons and veterinarians, soldering and branding irons, and pyrographic instru-
ments for drawing on engraving and decorating wood and other substances. By
varying the kind of metal of which the sheath or point of the instrument is
composed the effects produced and also the mode of combustion of the gases
traversing it can be changed at will. The regulation of the temperature of the
sheath is obtained as before mentioned by adjusting the position of the combustion
tube a therein which may be effected by any means other than that described such
for example, by a sliding or rack and pinion movement. This adjustment is also
applicable to incandescent platinum cauters now in use. By thus regulating the
incandescence of the sheath the instrument can be made to pass through the entire
scale of temperatures whether the heat stored in the sheath alone be used or
simultaneously with that of the escaping burnt gases. In this manner organic or
organised tissues or other bodies or substances may be scorched, burnt, or acted on
to any desired extent or even destroyed.
as,
As mentioned above, the central tubes be are supported freely in the handle d
so as to prevent the latter becoming heated and in order further to prevent the
direct action of the heat upon the base of the handle and also upon the hand of the
operator, especially when the burnt gases are discharged at the rear end of
the sheath, I place a thin metal shield o upon tube c between the handle d and the
combustion tube a, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5, the screen being either normal or
oblique to the handle and its under surface being either flat, convex, or, preferably,
concave. Its chief purpose is to intercept and reflect the heat vibrations emanating
from the combustion tube so as to disperse them into the ambient space either
perpendicularly or obliquely according to its form or inclination. This improve-
ment may also be applied to all the various instruments hereinbefore referred to as
well as to ordinary thermo-cauters and the like.
Figures 9 and 10 represent an instrument in which the combustion tube a, instead
of being enclosed in a sheath of ordinary metal as before described, is external to
the point of the instrument, the tube 6 being also exterior to the handle & and
movable lengthwise thereon in guide rings p q. The point may either be screwed
into a sockets, as shewn, or it may be carried on a rod or tube received in a cavity
in the handle and either fixed or sliding thereon like the tube b of the previous
arrangements. The combustion tube a causes the burnt gases to be projected upon
the point of the instrument, thus constituting a kind of blow-pipe. The degree
of heat imparted to the point may be varied by adjusting the position of the com-
bustion chamber with regard thereto. The form of point shewn is that of a stylus
which may be usefully employed, for example, for ornamenting wood and other
carbonizable substances.
In conclusion it may be remarked that, by directing the jet of burnt gases from
the combustion tube a against the flame of a candle or lamp, a novel kind of blow-

page_text: pipe is obtained the flame of which possesses a very high temperature and peculiar
qualities.
Dated this 16th day of April 1892.
A. TAQUELIN,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Thermo-cauters, Dissecting Knives, Blow Pipes,
Soldering Tools, Pyrographic and Branding Instruments.
I, CLAUDE ANDRÉ PAQUELIN, of 13, Place Vendôme, Paris, France, Doctor of
Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by.the
following statement :-
My invention relates to an instrument which when heated by the combustion of
a gaseous mixture may, according to its form, be used for a variety of purposes, and
more particularly as a cauter, dissecting-knife, or other instrument, in human and
veterinary surgery, or for decorating leather, wood, or other material by carbonizing
or charring.
My improved instrument is distinguished from all others hitherto known by
special features hereinafter fully described with reference to the drawings, left with
my Provisional Specification, wherein
Figure 1 represents an elevation, Figure 2 a longitudinal section, and Figure 3
a section on line 1-2 Figure 2, of an instrument having an apertured point.
Figure 4 is an elevation, Figure 5 a longitudinal section, and Figure 6 a
section on line 3-4 Figure 5 of the end portion of an instrument having a closed
point.
Figure 7 is an elevation, and Figure 8 a longitudinal section of a modified form
of this instrument.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 10 a section on line 5-6 Figure 9,
of a special form of instrument with external heater.
The same letters of reference denote like parts in all the figures.
The chief characteristic of this type of instrument is that the combustion chamber
is in the form of a tube open at both ends it having been found in practice that a
platinum tube of suitable diameter may, after being once brought to a red heat, be
maintained in incandescence, without emitting any flame, by being traversed by a
current of combustible gas composed for example of a mixture of air and hydro-
carbon vapors in suitable proportions, the incandescence being more or less active
according to the composition and pressure of the gaseous mixture. I apply this
principle in the construction of the several instruments which I will now proceed to
describe.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, a is a platinum combustion tube fitted on the end of a
tube b the opposite end of which is screw-threaded and enclosed in a second corre
spondingly-threaded tube c which is in turn enclosed in a wood or other handle d
within the bore of which it is freely held in place by means of a feather i, cap nut e,
and collar; abutting against a shoulder in the interior of the handle which regulates
the position of the tube c therein. is a sheath, of variable form as hereinafter
described, carried on the forward end of tube c and enclosing the platinum tube a.
The gaseous current is supplied under pressure to the inner tube b from any suitable
source through a pipe connected to it at g. By turning the tube b, by means of
button h, its position in tube c, and consequently the position of the platinum com-
bustion tube a within the sheath f, may be regulated as indicated in dotted lines in
Figure 2. The platinum tube a, having been lighted and become incandescent,

page_text: heats the sheath f. The sheath shewn is pierced at its end & and is made not of
platinum but of any ordinary metal such as brass, copper, German silver, etc.
The burnt gases issue from orifice & and produce entirely different effects from
those produced by a gas flame. For example if the instrument be employed for
decorating wood, the hot gases will produce flat tints varying from yellow to bistre
according as the platinum tube a is withdrawn from or advanced towards the point
of the sheath f. If, instead of directly applying the action of the hot gases, the
nose of the sheath itself be applied to the wood it will not act destructively upon
the fibre since it is made of ordinary metal and not platinum. It is thus possible to
obtain entirely novel decorative effects with the aid of this instrument.
The form of the sheath would vary indefinitely according to the purpose for
which the instrument is to be applied. Thus in Figures 4 to 8 the sheaths are
shewn as having closed points. In this case the heat developed by the com-
bustion of the gaseous mixture is stored in the sheath and the burnt gases are
discharged either at the side, as in Figures 7 and 8 or at the rear end of the
sheath, as in Figures 4 and 5. For wood decoration I, however, prefer to
employ the form of sheath represented in Figures 4, 5, and 6, which combines
in one the point 1, flat face m, and convex face n. By varying the form and
dimensions of the metal sheath f enclosing the combustion tube a, the same
may be applied to the construction of various instruments such as the different
kinds of cauters used by surgeons and veterinarians, soldering and branding
irons, and pyrographic instruments for drawing on engraving and decorating
wood and other substances. By varying the kind of metal of which the sheath
or point of the instrument is composed the effects produced and also the mode
of combustion of the gases traversing it can be changed at will. The regulation
of the temperature of the sheath is obtained as before mentioned by adjusting
the position of the combustion tube a therein which may be effected by any
means other than that described such as, for example, by a sliding or rack and
pinion movement. This adjustment is also applicable to incandescent platinum
cauters now in use. By thus regulating the incandescence of the sheath the
instrument can be made to pass through the entire scale of temperatures whether
the heat stored in the sheath alone be used or simultaneously with that of the
escaping burnt gases. In this manner organic or organised tissues or other
bodies or substances may be scorched, burnt, or acted on to any desired extent or
even destroyed.
As mentioned above, the central tubes 6 c are supported freely in the handle d so
as to prevent the latter becoming heated and in order further to prevent the
direct action of the heat upon the base of the handle and also upon the hand
of the operator, especially when the burnt gases are discharged at the rear end
of the sheath, I place a thin metal shield v upon tube e between the
handle d and the combustion tube a, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5, the shield
being either normal or oblique to the handle and its under surface being either
flat, convex, or, preferably, concave. Its chief purpose is to intercept and reflect
the heat vibrations emanating from the combustion tube so as to disperse them
into the ambient space either perpendicularly or obliquely according to its form
or inclination. This improvement may also be applied to all the various
instruments hereinbefore referred to as well as to ordinary thermo-cauters and
the like.
Figures 9 and 10 represent an instrument in which the combustion tube a,
instead of being enclosed in a sheath of ordinary metal as before described, is
external to the point of the instrument, the tube b being also exterior to the
handled and movable lengthwise thereon in guide rings p 9-
The point may
either be screwed into a socket s, as shewn, or it may be carried on a rod or
tube received in a cavity in the handle and either fixed or sliding thereon like
the tube of the previous arrangements. The combustion tube a
burnt gases to be projected upon the point of the instrument, thus constituting
causes the

page_text: a kind of blow-pipe. The degree of heat. imparted to the point may be
varied by adjusting the position of the combustion tube with regard thereto.
The form of point shewn is that of a stylus which may be usefully employed,
for example, for ornamenting wood and other carbonizable substances.
In conclusion it may be remarked that by directing the jet of burnt gases
from the combustion tube a against the flame of a candle or lamp a novel kind
of blow-pipe is obtained the flame of which possesses a very high temperature
and peculiar qualities.
There may be placed either in the combustion tube or head of the instru-
ments hereinbefore described a platinum wire or equivalent mass of metal
acting as a store of heat whereby to maintain the instrument for a longer time
in a state of incandescence.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. In a cauter, branding or soldering iron, or pyrographic instrument, the
combination of a combustion chamber formed of an open ended platinum tube
rendered incandescent by the passage therethrough of a combustible gaseous
mixture, with a sheath or point of brass, copper, German silver, or other metal,
as described.
2nd. In an instrument of the kind specified, the combination of a combustion
chamber formed of an open-ended platinum tube with a sheath or point, the one
being adjustable with regard to the other for the purpose of regulating the tempera-
ture, as specified.
3rd. In an instrument of the kind specified, the central tubes mounted within the
handle with an intervening space as shewn in Figure 2 to prevent transmission of
heat to the handle.
4th. The combination, with the central tube, of a shield or deflector of the hot
gases issuing from the operative end of the instrument as specified.
5th. The combination of the combustion tube and jet of burnt gases issuing there-
from either with a point or instrument to be heated thereby, as in Figure 9, or with
a flame substantially as described.
Dated this 17th d-- 1000
C. A. PAQUELIN,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.