Improvements in Lamp Burners.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Aug., 1896-4ccepted, 26th Sept., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lamp Burners.
I, HARTWELL ALEXANDER CROSBY, of Main Street Calais, in the County
of Washington and State of Maine, United States of America, Builder, and
WILLIAM CURRIER RENNE, of Calais aforesaid, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of our invention and in what mauner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to certain improvements in lamp burners, and has for its
object to provide a burner of a simple and inexpensive character, having means for
trimming the lamp wick and extinguishing the flame, operated by the movement of
the wick raising device, whereby the lamp wick may be conveniently trimmed and
the flame extinguished by merely actuating said device to lower the wick.
The invention consists in a burner having a wick tube, and a wick-raising device
comprising a shaft mounted to turn, and a spur wheel or disk on the shaft to engage
the wick, and a trimming plate pivotally mounted and arranged to play edgewise
across the open end of the wick tube, and arranged to be engaged by said spur
wheel or disk when the lamp wick is lowered, whereby said trimming plate will
be caused to pass edgewise across the mouth of the wick tube to trim the wick by
removing the crust or charred portion therofrom.
The invention also coutemplates certain novel features of construction, con-
bination and arrangement of the various parts of the improved device, whereby
certain important advantages are attained and the device is made simpler, cheaper
and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use than various other
similar devices heretofore employed, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth. The
novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the views.
Figure 1 is a sectional view taken vertically through a burner constructed in
accordance with my invention;
Figure 2 is n sectional view similar to Figure 1, but taken in a plane at right
angles to the plane of the section in Figure ; and
Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing the wick tube and tho
trimmer and extinguisher mounted thereon.
In these views, 1 indicates the shell of the burner having a threaded lower
portion 2 arranged to screw in the socket of the lamp in the ordinary way, said
shell being provided with upwardly-extending arms 3 supporting at their upper
ends the air distributor 4, at the edges of which is formed a chimney gallery 5 in
the usual way. On the air distributor is pivoted a cone or deflector 4, of ordinary
construction. The body or shell of the burner is provided with a vertical wick
tube 6 adapted to receive the wick and provided in one wall with apertures 7 for
the passage of the spur wheels or disks 8 of the wick-raising device, these disks
or wheels being secured on a shaft or stem 9 mounted to turn in the shell 1, as will
be readily understood.
The upper end of the wick tube is bevelled off slightly, as clearly seen in
Figure 1, and is adapted to be closed by the wick trimming plate 12, which is of a
width adapted to fit over said upper end of the wick tube, and has downwardly-
extending arms 11 at its opposite ends, these being by preference formed integrally

page_text: with the plate 12, and being pivoted as indicated at 10, to the opposite end walls
of the wick tube 6, as clearly shown in the drawings. The arms 11 which carry
the trimming plate 12 extend below the pivots 10, and their lower ends are tied
together by means of a cross plate 13, extending across one side of the wick tube 6,
in front of the opening 7 therein through which the spur wheels or disks 8 extend.
The cross piece or tie 13 is also by preference formed integrally with the lower
ends of the arms 11, as shown in the drawings, and said cross piece or tie is so
located as to be in position to be engaged by the teeth of the spur wheels or disks 8
of the wick-raising device, as clearly shown in the drawings.
In operation, when the stem or shinft 9 is turned so as to raise the wick contained
in the wick tube, the teeth of the disks or wheels 8 will engage the cross piece or
tie 13 and move the same away from the wall of the wick tube 6, whereby the
arms 11 will be swung pivotally and the trimming plate 12 will be caused to move
from over the upper end of the wick tube, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1,
this movement of the trimming plate permitting the upper end of the wick to pass
upward without being engaged by said trimming plate, so that said upper end inny
be readily ignited.
When the stem or shaft 9 of the wick-raising device is moved in the opposite
direction to lower the wick, it will be seen that the upper end of the wick on
passing down into the wick tube will be withdrawn froin engagement with the
trimming plate 12, so as to permit said plate to be brought over the upper end of
the wick tube to the position shown in Figure 1. The pivot points of the
arms 11 whereon the trimming plate 12 is carried are so arranged that the lower
ends of said arms are heavier than the upper ends whereon the plate 12 is carried,
so that when the wick is withdrawn into the wick tube, said arms will swing
pivotally in a direction to move the plate 12 over the upper end of the wick
tube.
When the arms 11 swing pivotally as above described, the cross piece or tie 13
will be moved toward the side walls of the wick tube 6, into position to be engaged
by the teeth of the wheels or disks 8 of the wick-raising device, whereby said tie
or cross piece will be positively actuated, and the trimming plate 12 will be caused
to pass edgewise over the charred upper end of the wick to remove the crust
therefiom, and to extinguish the wick so as to prevent the same from smoking.
From the above description it will be seen that the device is of an extremely
simple and inexpensive nature, and is especially well adapted for the purposes for
which it is designed, and it will also be obvious that the invention is susceptible of
some modification without material departure from its principles of spirit, and for
this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form and
arrangement of the parts herein set forth.
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,-
1. In a burner, the combination of a shell, a wick tube therein, a wick-raising
device comprising spur wheels arranged to engage the wick, a pivoted arm, and a
trimming plate connected to the arm and arranged to pass edgewise across the
upper end of the wick tube, said arm being arranged to be engaged by the teeth of
the spur wheel, to swing the arm pivotally to move the plate across the end of the
wick tube, substantially as set forth.
2. In a lamp burner, the combination of a shell, a wick tube, a wick-raising device
comprising a spur wheel to engage the wick, an arm pivoted adjacent to the wick
and having its lower end weighted and arranged to be engaged by the teeth of
the spur wheel of the wick-raising device, and a trimming plate carried on the
upper end of the arin and arranged to pass edgewise across the upper end of the
wick tube, substantially as set forth.
3. In a burner, the combination of a shell, a wick tube, a wick-raising device
comprising a spur wheel to engage the wick, arms pivoted at their central portions

page_text: to the end walls of the wick tube, and having their lower ends weighted, a tie
connecting the lower ends of the arms, said tie being arranged to be engaged and
moved by the teeth of the spur wheels to swing the arms pivotally, and a trimming
plate carried on the upper ends of the arms and arranged when the arms are
swung pivotally to pass across the upper end of the wick tube, substantially as set
forth.
Dated thin 05th day of Avariat 1808
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.