Improvements in Lamps for Burning Petroleum or other Liquid Hydrocarbons.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 29th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 6th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lamps for Burning Petroleum or other Liquid
Hydrocarbons.
We, EDWARD PERRETT, of the Refreshment Department, Victoria Station,
Brighton Railway, and HENRY JEREMIAH MAYHEW, of the same place, Refresh-
ment Contractors, and WILLIAM HENLEY, of 100 Brocklehurst Road, New Cross,
in the County of Kent, Lamp Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention has for its object to provide a lamp which will economically and
efficiently burn ordinary petroleum or like hydrocarbons in exposed situations and
if desired without a glass chimney surrounding the flame, the said lamp being
however applicable for lighting purposes generally such as for lighting railway
carriages or other vehicles apartments or other places. If the oil with which the
lamp is fed is contained in a reservoir above the lamp a tube or passage is led down
therefrom to a chamber below the burner into which chamber the wick dips or
wicks dip. The reservoir when above the wick chamber must be tightly closable
and air is supplied thereto by an air pipe or passage leading from a closed chamber
above the reservoir but communicating therewith by orifices which enable air to
pass into the reservoir without danger of oil splashing into the air tube. The other
end of the tube or passage for air opens into the wick chamber at such a level that
when the oil is consumed to below this level air enters the tube or passage and
passes into the reservoir and causes more oil to flow therefrom until the lower end
of the air tube is again sealed by the oil. In this arrangement it is necessary that
the reservoir should be closable perfectly air tightly and we arrange the inlet by
which the reservoir is filled with oil so that the oil itself forms a seal thereto. Το
effect this we arrange the oil supply tube (from the reservoir to the wick chamber)
so that its end which opens into the reservoir is under the inlet by which oil is
introduced in filling the reservoir and depending from this inlet is a tube surrounding
which is a chamber preferably of an inverted cone-shape sliding at its upper part
(its base) upon the said tube and with openings at its said upper part. The said
chamber is fixed to a spindle carrying at its upper end a knob by which it can be
pressed down and at its other end inside the reservoir with a valve which when the
spindle is pressed down closes the outlet for oil from the reservoir to the wick
chamber. When the spindle is depressed oil may be poured into the reservoir
through the aforesaid depending tube it first filling the chamber carried by the
spindle and overflowing therefrom into the reservoir and when this is charged the
spindle is released and returned to its original position which may be effected by a
spring the valve which closed the outlet for the oil from the reservoir to the wick
chamber being opened and the chamber on the spindle (which chamber is now
filled with oil) being pressed up and forming a liquid seal around the depending
tube through which oil has been introduced into the reservoir the top of the said
chamber bearing if desired upon the inside of the top of the reservoir. The
spindle may carry a valve which when the spindle rises closes the depending tube.
The burner is enclosed in a closed lantern of any suitable shape and size and
does not need a chimney enclosing the flame which is supplied with air from outside
by means of suitably guarded inlet openings or tubes leading into an air chamber
surrounding the wick chamber and delivering the air therefrom into the dome
which directs it onto the flame or flames. A small passage or pipe may lead into
the wick chamber to admit air and also act as a vent for any possible accumulation

page_text: of gaseous matter. The arrangement of air and wick chambers as described can
be used with a reservoir which is not situated above the said chambers.
Dated this 13th day of May 1891
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lamps for Burning Petroleum or other Liquid
Hydrocarbons.
We, EDWARD PERRETT, of the Refreshment Department, Victoria Station,
Brighton Railway, HENRY JEREMIAH MAYHEW, of the same place, Refreshment
Contractors, and WILLIAM HENLEY, of 100 Brocklehurst Road, New Cross, in
the County of Kent, Lamp Maker, do hereby declare the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention has for its object to provide a lamp, which will economically and
efficiently burn ordinary petroleum or other hydrocarbons in exposed situations and
if desired without a glass chimney surrounding the flame, the said lamp being
however applicable for lighting purposes generally such as for signalling, lighting
railway carriages, or other vehicles, apartments or other places. If the oil with
which the lamp is fed is contained in a reservoir above the burner, a tube or
passage, is or tubes, or passages are led down therefrom to a chamber below the
burner into which chamber, the wick, dips or wicks dip.
This reservoir must be tightly closeable and air is supplied thereto by a pipe or
passage leading from the wick chamber to a closed chamber above the reservoir or
to a recess in the top of the said reservoir so as to enable air to pass. into the
reservoir, to cause the oil to flow to the burner as hereinafter described. The end
of the said air tube or passage opens into the wick chamber at such a level that
when the oil is consumed to below this level air enters the tube or passage, and
passes into the reservoir thereby causing more oil to flow therefrom until the lower
end of the air tube is again sealed by the oil. In this arrangement it is necessary
that the reservoir should be closcable perfectly air tightly and for this purpose we
arrange the inlet by which the reservoir is filled with oil,, so that the oil itself
forms a seal thereto. To effect this we arrange the oil supply, tube (from the
reservoir to the wick chamber) so that its end which opens into the reservoir is
under the inlet by which oil is introduced in filling, the reservoir, and depending
from this inlet is a tube, surrounding which is a cup or chamber. (which may be of an
inverted cone shape) its upper part or mouth sliding over the said inlet tube. This
cup or chamber is fixed to a spindle, carrying at its upper, end a knob by which it
can be pressed down and at its other end inside the reservoir with a valve (which
may be in the form of an inverted cup) which when the spindle is pressed, down
closes the outlet for oil from the reservoir to the wick chamber. When the spindle
is depressed oil may be poured into the reservoir through.the aforesaid inlet tube it
first filling the cup or chamber carried by the spindle and overflowing, therefrom
into the reservoir and when this is charged the spindle is released and returned to
its original position by a spring, the valve which closed the outlet, for the oil from
the reservoir to the wick chamber being opened and the. cup, or.. chamber on the
spindle (which is now filled with oil), being pressed up and so as to form a liquid
seal around the depending, inlet tube.the top or edge of the said cup or chamber
bearing if desired upon the inside of the top of the reservoir. Instead of the cup
or chamber the spindle may carry a simple valve, which when the spindle. rises
closes the depending inlet tube.
Or the oil reservoir may be provided with a feed opening tightly closeable by
means of an ordinary screwed plug, in which case the oil supply pipe leading to the

page_text: wick chamber is provided with a stop cock which is closed, while the reservoir. IS
being charged.
The burner is enclosed in a closed lantern of any suitable shape and size and
does not need a chimney enclosing the flame which is supplied with air from outside
by means of suitably guarded inlet openings or tubes leading into an air chamber
surrounding the wick chamber and delivering the air therefrom into the cap or
dome which directs it into the flame or flames. A small passage or pipe may lead
into the wick chamber to admit air and also act as a vent for any possible accumu-
lation of gaseous matter. The arrangement of air and wick chamber as described
can be used with a reservoir which is not situated above the said chambers.
And in order that our said invention may be fully understood, we shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer
to the several figures on the annexed sheet of drawings, the same letters of
reference indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure represents partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, a street
lamp constructed according to our invention for burning hydrocarbon oil such as
petroleum the oil reservoir being below the burner.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation showing a modification in which the oil
reservoir is situated above the burner, and
Figures 3 and 4 shew our invention as applied to a locomotive head lamp, or
a tail lamp for burning colza oil, but which with slight modification may be
adapted for burning ordinary hydrocarbons, such as petroleum.
Referring to Figure 1, A is the lamp proper removably fitted in position, in a
closed casing or lantern B. The oil reservoir C of the lamp into which the wick a
dips is surrounded by and connected to an outer casing b. carrying the cap or
dome c. surrounding the upper end of the wick tube d, as in an ordinary paraffin
oil lamp. The spindle of the wick elevator is preferably made in two parts e ethe
part e being provided with a plate or projection engaged by a fork on the part e,
so that when the part e² is rotated, it also imparts to the part e rotation to raise or
lower the wick, but will admit of the cap and wick tube being removed from the
lamp leaving the part e in position. For turning the part 2 there is fixed on its
outer end a bevel wheel/gearing with a corresponding wheel fast on a spindle/3
enclosed in a tube fixed to the casing b, so as to exclude air from the interior of
the lantern. The spindle extends through an opening in the bottom of the
lantern, and is provided on its outer end outside the lantern with a suitable handle
so that the wick may be raised and lowered without the necessity for opening the
lantern. Air for supporting combustion enters, through perforations, a chamber D
at the top of the lantern, in which chamber, and extending from the bottom thereof
to above the perforations, g, is a baffle plate E provided with a descending tubular
passage F leading to another chamber G, just below the chamber D. The air
entering the chamber D, is caused by the plate E to first rise, and then descend
through the passage F. into the chamber G, which is in communication by tubes or
passages. H with a chamber D2 in the bottom of the lantern and with the C²
between.the oil reservoir C, and the casing of the lamp so that all the air that
enters the casing or lantern B, passes through this space into the cap or dome c by
which it is caused to impinge on the flame to support combustion.
space
By this arrangement the whole of the air that can possibly enter the casing or
lantern B, travels in a circuitous direction from the exterior of the lantern to and
through the space c² to the burner whereby gusts or undue pressure of:air on the
flame tending to cause an unsteady light is entirely prevented. The products of
combustion pass from the interior of the lantern by a tube I, constituting a chimney
over the upper open end of which is a conical deflector K, by which the products
are directed through an annular opening L, at the top of the lantern into the
atmosphere, the opening L, being surrounded by a baffle plate M to prevent gusts
of outer air from entering thercat.
In the arrangement illustrated by Figure 2, the means for supplying air to the
burner are similar to those described with reference to Figure 1, but the oil

page_text: chamber into which the wick dips is smaller and is supplied with oil from a
reservoir C situated on top of the lantern. Oil from the reservoir C2 is conducted
by a tube or passage N to the oil chamber C of the lamp as fast as it is con-
sumed. The reservoir C is charged with oil through a depending tubular passage h,
the lower end of which dips into a cap i carried on a spindle k and constituting a
valve or fluid seal to close the passage and prevent the admission of air to the
reservoir when charged with oil. The spindle k also carries a valve for closing
the passage N, when the passage his open, so as to prevent oil from the reservoir
passing into and overflowing the wick chamber C. The spindle passes upwards
through a guide on and terminates in a knob or button between which button and
the guide m, is interposed a spring o tending to maintain the cup or valve i in
contact with the lower end of the tube h and the valve raised off the mouth of the
tube or passage N.
When the reservoir C³ requires to be charged with oil the ornamental covering p
is removed and the spindle is depressed thereby opening the passage and
closing the passage N, oil is then poured through the passage into the cup i
over which it flows into the reservoir and when this is sufficiently charged the
spindle is released whereupon under the action of the spring o the cup i is pressed
up against the tube so as to form an air tight closure and at the same time open
the passage N to admit of the oil passing therethrough to the wick chamber C.
In the top of the reservoir C2 is a recess p into which extends the upper end of a
tube P the lower end of which tube communicates with the wick chamber C. The
oil in the wick chamber is normally at a level above the entrance to the tube P,
when however the level sinks by reason of consumption so as to uncover the
entrance to the tube P air from the chamber C will pass up the said tube into the
reservoir and cause more oil to flow therefrom through the tube N until
the passage P is again covered. By arranging the oil reservoir above the burner
as described the necessity for large surfaces below the burner from which dark
shadows are cast down, is prevented. In applying our invention to signal lamps,
head and tail lamps for trains and the like when petroleum or like hydrocarbon is
employed the air for combustion is caused to pass to the burner through a passage
leading to the flame as hereinbefore described the glass chimney usually employed
to surround the flame being dispensed with but if a hydrocarbon such as colza oil
be employed the cap or dome may be dispensed with and the air to support com-
bustion be admitted to the body of the lantern as shewn by arrows in Figures 3
and 4 in which A represents such a lamp fitted in the lantern B so as to be capable
of being readily removed and replaced when required. The air to support com-
bustion enters by perforations g à chamber D at the top of the lantern (as in the
previously described arrangements) and passes thence into a chamber G from
whence it is conducted by a passage or passages H formed in one or more of the
sides of the lantern, into a chamber D2 in the bottom thereof. The top of the
chamber D2 is perforated, through which perforations the air passes into the body
of the lantern which is thus efficiently supplied with air to support combustion
whilst gusts of air tending to make the flame unsteady are entirely prevented and
the flame rendered inextinguishable when in use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In lamps for burning liquid hydrocarbons means as herein before described
whereby air to support combustion is caused to travel in a circuitous course from
the top to the bottom of the lantern or case where it enters below the burner for
the purpose of preventing undue pressure or gusts of air from acting on the flame
to render it unsteady.
2. In lamps for burning liquid hydrocarbons circuitous passages for air on its
way to the burner from the top of the lantern or lamp case to beneath the burner
as described in combination with an exit, for the waste products of combustion

page_text: shielded so as to prevent gusts of air from entering the lantern substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3. In lamps for burning liquid hydrocarbons the combination with means for
preventing undue pressure or gusts of air to the flame as set forth of an oil reservoir
arranged above the burner and passages for air and oil arranged to effect the
feeding of oil to the wick chamber as fast as it is consumed substantially as hercin-
before described.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting a lamp in which all
the air that enters the casing or lantern is caused to pass through the cap or dome
of the burner, and which is capable of burning in exposed situations without the
necessity for a glass chimney surrounding the flame substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting a lamp capable of
burning in exposed situations substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
by Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
6. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting a railway lamp as
illustrated by Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings suitable for use as a tail lamp or as
a locomotive engine head lamp capable of burning colza oil; or the modification
thereof as hereinbefore described for burning hydrocarbon such as petroleum
without employing a glass chimney surrounding the flame.
Dated this 28th day of December 1891.
E. PERRETT.
HENRY J. MAYHEW.
WILLIAM
HENLEY.