Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and Extinguishing Gas at Predetermined Times.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 24th Mar., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and
Extinguishing Gas at Predetermined Times.
I, CARL VOLLMANN, of Elberfeld, Germany, 25, Kölnerstrasse, Manufacturer,
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 a selfacting time gas lighter which controls the turning
off or on of the gas cock of a street or other lantern and it is so constructed that
the burning period of the lantern may be shortened or prolonged the turning off
or on of the gas taking place always at the desired hour.
On the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete apparatus partly in section lines.
Figure 2 is a front view of the driving device,
Figures and 4 show the position of the driving -device for different long
periods of burning,
Figures 5-42 illustrate the working of the apparatus.
The apparatus consists of a clock work a of any suitable construction which
permits the setting stem or arbor B of the clock to make one revolution in
24 hours and needs winding up every 8 days. The setting stem B carries in front
of the clock a dial plate C graduated for 24 hours and which is rotated with the
arbor B. In front of said plate a couple of fingers or drivers 1) on the stem or
arbor Bare arranged which may be shortened or made longer, for which purpose
each finger comprises two menibers held together by a set screw a¹, the upper
member being slotted so as to allow the desired adjustment. The fingers may
also be displaced on the stem, so as to vary the position of the fingers with
respect to each other.
The gas cock G of the lantern is of known construction but provided with a
small groove so that a constant small burning flame is received even when the
cock is turned off. The cock carries a disk H which is provided at its front
face with a number of studs L. The fingers D being turned with the stem B
come in contact with these studs turning the disk H with the cock in one
lirection and turning the gas on or cutting it off respectively.
If the drivers D for instance are positioned in such a manner that the fingers 1
nd 4 Figures 5-17 form a straight line and the intermediate fingers 2, 3 are
ymmetrically arranged between the drivers 1 and 4 the first of them attacks
he stud a Figures 3 and 5 and the drivers revolving to the left turn the disk
o the right each driver coming thereby in contact with the studs. The cock G
ill be turned from the opened position Figure 5 to the cut off position and kept
the same during six turns or 12 h. Figures 6 11. By a further turn
rom Figure 11 to Figure 12 the cock is opened again. The drivers are now
ut of contact with said studs and run five 2 turns without attacking them or
oing any work. The gas is therefore turned on and kept burning 10 hours till
e drivers are returned to their initial position Figure 17 which is the same
Figure 5, whereupon cutting off and turning on of the gas takes place in the
D •
12
12

page_text: same manner as before described, the driver 1 attacking now the stud e standing
opposite stud a.
The period of burning that is the time in which as seen before the drivers are
rotated without doing. work may be correspondingly prolonged by removing for
instance some of the studs L in radial direction and adjusting with respect thereto
the length of the drivers D. In the present example the opposite studs a, e and
the likewise arranged studs g, c are removed towards the centre of the disk
their distance from the centre being alike. Correspondingly the drivers 1 and 2
are made longer whilst the drivers 3 and 4 are shortened. It now may be seen
from Figures 18-22 that the cock will be cut off and turned on in a much
shorter time than before according to the longer way the prolonged
drivers 1 and 2 are passing and which the adjusted studs are to
follow. The finger 1 attacking the stud a Figure 18 turns the disk till the
finger 2 comes in contact with stud c so that both drivers after four ½ turns
produce a cutting off and turning on of the gas which is kept still burning
during eight turns as the shortened drivers 3 and 4 come not in contact
with the studs and therefore all 4 drivers are now rotated eight 1/2 turns without
doing any work till the driver 1 is returned to its original position Figure 30
in which it attacks the stud e arranged opposite stud a. After twelve 12 turns
which effect turning off and on. of the gas as before the finger 1 is again in
contact with stud a or the position Figure 18 is obtained from which it will be
seen that the cutting off and turning on of the gas though varied in time takes
place punctually at the desired hour. The dial plate allows the control of the
burning period the acting drivers may be adjusted on the dividing lines per-
forming the several hours.
It may be mentioned that instead of making the drivers 3 and 4 shorter to
prevent their being in contact with the studs, the drivers may be turned and
placed over or underneath the drivers 1 and 2 as the case may be so that
attacking of the studs by the fingers 3 and 4 is prevented.
It would be advantageous to construct different disks H for the variable times
of burning on which the studs L are fixed in the position according to the
desired burning period so that in altering the burning period said disk may be
changed by another one and corresponding thereto different sets of drivers may
be constructed which are changed together with their respective disks.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
A selfacting time gas lighter comprising a clock the arbor of which makes
one revolution in 24 hours having a dial plate divided in 2 × 12 hours, and in
front of said plate two pairs of drivers adjustable in length and in radial direction
said drivers being in contact with studs adjustably fixed to a disk, said disk
being attached to the gas cock of a lantern having a groove to produce a constant
burning of the flame for the purpose described and set forth.
Dated this 1st day of December 1899.
CARL VOLLMANN.
By A. Daumas,
Agent for Applicant.