Improvements in Apparatus for Producing and Automatically Igniting Intermittent or Flashing Signal Lights.
Year: 1897

page_text: Complete Specification Left, 16th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Producing and Automatically
Igniting Intermittent or Flashing Signal Lights.
I, SIDNEY STUART WALKER of Woodside, Knowle, in the County of Warwick,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
These improvements relate to signal lights, more particularly those situated on
Buoys or Lightships which are supplied with illuminating gas under pressure;
and have for their object to render such lights intermittent or flashing, and
igniting the same automatically.
I accomplish this by causing the gas, on its way to the burner, to pass through
an apparatus constructed with bellows and suitable valves, in a similar manner as
ordinary dry gas meters are made. The pressure of the gas on these bellows moves
them to and fro and causes a disc, preferably circular, to revolve by means of levers
and cranks or in any other suitable manner.
This disc has one or more indentations or projections in or on its periphery and
these indentations or projections, as they revolve, pass, and alternately open and
close, or partially close a valve through which the gas passes, after leaving the
bellows, on its way to the burner, and thus raises and lowers the flame, or extin-
guishes it. In the latter case a pilot jet of gas may be used and this also prevents
the stoppage of the rotary movement by allowing some gas to pass through the
bellows.
In place of the bellows causing the disc to revolve continuously in one direction
they may be made to revolve it alternately in one direction and then in the other
by means of a rack and pinion or in any other suitable manner. One or more
diaphragms may be used in place of the bellows.
Instead of the disc having the indentations or projections, to open or close the
valve, it may have one or more ports or passages so arranged that, in its rotary
or partially rotary movement, they pass other port or ports or passages and thus
alternately raise, lower, or extinguish the flame. In the latter case a pilot jet of
gas is also to be used for ignition and keeping the apparatus in motion.
Should from any cause both the flame and the pilot flame be extinguished the
same may be reignited by means of a thermostat so arranged that upon this getting
cooled it closes an electric circuit and reignites the gas by means of platinum
or other suitable metallic wire that is heated by the electric current.
Spongy or other platinum or other suitable metal may be used in such a manner
that when the gas impinges upon it, it is heated sufficiently to ignite the gas.
Dated this seventeenth day of February 1897.

page_text: flashing of the flame of the burner d of the signal lamp is effected in the following
manner. On the vertical or crank shaft by which the slide valves 6º, 6º are
worked I fix a notched disc g against which a rollere on the rod or stem e¹ of the
valve E is made to bear by the action of a spring h which tends to close the said
valve E. The rotary motion of the vertical or crank shaft f is produced by the
angular or rocking motion of the shafts 1,1 the crank arms 12, 12 on which are con-
nected by links m, m to the crank arm f on the vertical or crank shaft f. The
pressure of the spring may be regulated from time to time by the adjustment of
the milled thumb screw i. On the rotation of the notched disc g the plain or
unnotched parts of the disc bearing against the roller e³, as first represented in
Figures 1 and 3, the valve rod e¹ and valve E are pressed back and the passage for
the gas being fully open the said gas flows by the pipe k to the burner d of the
lamp and the flame consequently rises to its full height. When however one or
other of the notches of the disc g comes opposite the roller c³ of the valve rod or stem el
the valve E under the action of its spring his urged outwards or to its seat and the
valve is thereby partially or fully closed, and the flame of the lamp is nearly or
fully extinguished. When the valve E in its outward motion is pressed into close
contact with its seat the flame of the lamp may be preserved, that is, prevented from
being wholly extinguished by making one or more nicks in the valve or in the
valve seat or in both so as to constitute a bye pass by which a small stream of gas
may flow to the burner d of the lamp. Or a separate small pipe may be connected
at one end to the chamber c the other end terminating in a pilot jet or burner in
close proximity to the principal burner d of the lamp.
With a dry gas meter of the construction represented in Figures 4, 5 and 6 the
movable sides B1, B31 of the bellows like chambers B, B are connected by a racked
bar B and a pinion n is arranged on the axis f of the notched disc g which axis f
in this arrangement is horizontal The pinion n gearing with the rack B¹ causes
the backward and forward rotation of the notched disc g. The valve E is carried
by a vertical valve rod e¹ the roller c of which beans on the periphery of the disc g
the roller e, valve rod e¹ and valve E being so weighted that on the notches of
the disc g coming under the roller the said valve drops on to or nearly on to its
seat.
Although I have only described and represented my improvements in connection
with a dry gas meter I wish it to be understood that the construction and arrange-
ment of parts constituting my invention may be applied to a wet gas meter with
the same or nearly the same effect. And although my improvements are especially
applicable to the signal lights of buoys and lightships yet I wish it to be under-
stood that they may be applied to signal lights generally whether used on land or
sea for giving to the said lights an intermittent or flashing character.
Should from any cause the flame of the principal burner and the flame of the
pilot burner, where a pilot burner is employed be simultaneously extinguished the
same may be re-ignited by the use of a thermostat in conjunction with the burner,
the said thermostat being so arranged, that on the cooling of the same an electrical
circuit is closed and a platinum or other wire, arranged near the burner and
forming part of the electrical circuit, thereby raised to incandescence. The heated
wire effects the re-ignition of the gas.
Or spongy platinum or the like may be employed in such a manner that the
gas of the extinguished burners impinging on the said platinum or the like it is
heated sufficiently to re-ignite the gas.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim as
my invention of "Improvements in apparatus for producing and automatically
"igniting intermittent or flashing signal lights" :--
The combination with the dry or wet gas meters of the signal lamps of buoys,
lightships and the like of rotating notched discs and spring pressed or weighted
valves the rods or stems of which bearing on the peripheries of the notched discs