AN IMPROVED SAFETY LAMP FOR MINERS' USE
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Thompson Bailey, of Padiham, Mechanic,
and Henry Waddington, of Burnley, Colliery Manager, both in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SAFETY
LAMP FOR MINERS' USE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Thompson
Bailey and Henry Waddington at the Office of tho Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 25th January 1873.
WC, THOMAS THOMPSON BAILEY, of Padiham, Mechanic, and HENRY
WADDINGTON, of Burnley, Colliery Manager, both in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED SAFETY LAMP FOR MINERS' USE," to be as follows:-
This Invention is intended to prevent the possibility of a miner opening
his "Davy lamp" without detection, and consists principally in the use
of a seal in an enclosed case or box fixed to the lamp, and so arranged
that it is impossible for the miner to unscrew the top of his lamp
without breaking the scal, and as this seal is made by the lamp man after
he has lighted the lamp and before he hands it to the miner, and is so
protected that it cannot be broken accidentally, if it should be broken
when the lamp is returned it will afford a positive proof that the miner
has wilfully opened his lamp.

page_text: The scal box is fixed on the lower rim of the top of the lamp and is
provided with a movable pin in the centre. When the lamp is lighted
and screwed on this pin drops into an inclined slot in the bottom of the
lamp, and the lamp man fills the box above the top of the pin with wax
or other suitable plastic material, and after impressing a scal thercon he
screws on the lid of the box. The only way now to open the lamp is to
unscrew the lid off the box and then unscrew the lamp, when tho
inclined plane or slot on the bottom of the lamp will force up the pin
and break through the scal. Thus two wilful and illegal acts will have
to be done by the miner before he can expose his light and consequently
as detection is rendered certain, the breakage of the scal being positive
proof of these two wilful acts having been performed, the fear of
incvitable detection and punishment will deter the miner from tampering
with his lamn
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Thomas Thompson Bailey and Henry Waddington
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, THOMAS
THOMPSON BAILEY, of Padiham, Mechanic, and HENRY WADDINGTON,
of Burnley, Colliery Manager, both in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Thompson Bailey and Henry
Waddington, Her special license that we, the said Thomas Thompson
Bailey and Henry Waddington, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, tho said Thomas Thompson Bailey and
Henry Waddington, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "AN IMPROVED SAFETY LAMP FOR MINERS' USE," upon the condition
(amongst others).that I, the said Thomas Thompson Bailoy and Henry
Waddington, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: under our, or one of our, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Waddington on behalf of my-
self and the said Thomas Thompson Bailey, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
This Invention is intended to prevent the possibility of a miner opening
his "Davy lamp" without detection, and consists principally in the use
of a scal in an enclosed case or box, fixed to the lamp, and so arranged
that it is impossible for the miner to unscrew the top of his lamp
without breaking the seal, and as this seal is made by the lamp man after
he has lighted the lamp and before he hands it to the miner, and is so
protected that it cannot be broken accidentally, if it should be broken
when the lamp is returned it will afford a positive proof that the miner
has wilfully openod his lamp.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is
to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order
that the same may be clearly understood I have hereunto annexed a
Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same
with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the
following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1, in the annexed Drawing, is an external clevation (shown
partly in section) of an ordinary "Davy lamp" with our Invention
shown as applied thereto, the lamp being represented as in the locked
position.
Fig. 2 is a similar view with the cap removed and the lamp partly
unscrewed and consequently the seal broken.
Fig. 3 is a section taken horizontally through about the line A, B, in
Fig. 1.
a, a, is the top of the lamp; b, b, the wire gauze cylinder; and c, c, the
bottom of the lamp. The seal box d, d, is fixed on the lower rim e, e, of

page_text: the top of the lamp, and is provided with a movable pin ff, in the centre.
When the lamp is lighted and screwed on this pin drops into an inclined
slot g, g, in the bottom of the lamp, as shown at Fig. 1, and the lamp
man fills the box above the top of the pin with wax or other suitable
plastic material, and after impressing a seal thereon, he screws on the
lid, h, of the box by means of the key i, i. The only way now to
open the lamp is to unscrew the lid h, h, of the box, and then unscrew
the lamp, when the inclined plane or slot g, g, on the bottom of the lamp
will force up the pin ff, and break through the scal as shown at Fig. 2.
Thus two wilful and illegal acts will have to be done by the miner beforo
he can expose his light, and and consequently as detection is rendered
certain (the breaking of the seal being positive proof of these two wilful
acts having been performed) the fear of inevitable detection and punish-
ment will deter the miner from tampering with his lamp.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that
we claim as our Invention the improved safety lamp, constructed
substantially as herein-before described and represented on the annexed
Drawings, and more especially we claim the combination of the seal box:
with its protective cap and movable pin, and the inclined plane or slot
on or in the bottom of the lamp for forcing the pin through the scal
whenever the lamp is unscrowed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Waddington, on behalf
of myself and the said Thomas Thompson Bailey, have hereunto :
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witnessed by
GEORGE DAVIES, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
HENRY WADDINGTON. (L.S.)