IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SLABS, PLATES, AND PANELS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Buckwell, of Phoenix Stone Works, Enst
Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SLABS, PLATES, AND PANELS FOR
THE TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT."
Sealed the 17th October 1860, and dated the 21st April 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Buckwell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st April 1860.
I, WILLIAM BUCKWELL, of Phoenix Stone Works, East Greenwich, in the
County of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SLABS, PLATES, AND PANELS FOR THE
TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is greatly to reduce the cost of manufacturing
slabs, plates, or panels for transmitting light through the decks of ships, the
floors of passages, and to vaults, and at the same time to impart increased
strength to such articles.
In the manufacture of what are generally known as "illuminators," slabs of
glass are used, and the strength which it is necessary to give them to bear the
passing traffic to which they are in general exposed is obtained by increasing
their thickness; such slabs are therefore very expensive, and if fractured they
become unsafe, and consequently useless. To reduce the cost of making these
illuminators or light transmitters, I propose to set up edgewise, in a suitable
frame, pieces of waste plate glass, known in the trade as cullet, and which at
present have little or no commercial value, and to wedge or clamp them tight
into their frame, cementing them thereto at their ends. In some cases I

page_text: propose to dip the pieces, previously to inserting them in the frame, into
soluble glass, whereby they will become cemented together when pressed into
close contact. The cullet may be set up vertically in the frame, or at an angle,
or at converging angles; when the latter plan is adopted (which is the one I
prefer), the ends of the frame must correspond to the converging angles.
This allows of the insertion of a metal wedge at the middle of the frame, and
in a line parallel with the strips of glass. By means of clamping screws, this
wedge is to be drawn down, and it will thus bind the glass strips firmly in the
frame.
It will now be understood that any amount of strength may be given to the
illuminator by simply increasing the depth of the frame and the waste strips
of glass. The use of strips of glass set edgewise, as above described, enables
me with safety, and at small cost, to introduce light to bank cellars, as illu-
minators thus constructed may be built into, and made as thick as the walls,
when they will be no less impervious to burglars than the walls themselves.
When the cullet is set on the incline, it will be necessary to grind the top
edges to produce an even surface; where a maximum amount of transparency
is required, I propose to lay the cullet flat in the metal or other frame
which is to receive it, and to arrange it in layers so that the pieces shall bond
or break joint.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Buckwell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th October 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BUCKWELL, of Phoenix Stone Works, East Greenwich, in the County of Kent,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the 3
said William Buckwell, Her special license that I, the said William Buckwell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Buckwell, my 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 3
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain

page_text: and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SLABS, PLATES, AND PANELS FOR THE
TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT," upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the
said William Buckwell, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, 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 William Buckwell, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
'
:
The object of this Invention is greatly to reduce the cost of manufacturing
slabs, plates, or panels suitable for transmitting light through the decks of
ships, through the floors of passages, and to vaults and other underground
structures, while at the same time considerable increased strength is imparted
to such articles.
In the manufacture of what are generally known as "illuminators," slabs
of glass are used, and the strength which it is necessary they shall possess to
bear the passing traffic to which they are in general exposed is obtained by
making the slabs of a proportionate thickness; such slabs are therefore very
expensive, and if fractured they become unsafe, and consequently useless.
To reduce the cost of making these illuminators or light transmitters, I
propose to set up edgewise in a suitable frame pieces of waste plate glass
known in the trade as "cullet," and which have at present little or no com-
mercial value, and to wedge or clamp them tight into their frame, cementing
them thereto at their ends. In some cases I propose to dip the pieces;
previously to inserting them in the frame, into soluble glass, whereby they
will become cemented together when pressed into close contact. The cullet
may either be set up vertically in the frame, or at an angle, or at converging
angles in the same panel.
This latter plan (which is the one I in general prefer) is illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing, where Fig. 1 is a plan view of a metallic frame
forming a single panel fitted with glass according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is
a longitudinal section; and Fig. 3, a cross section of the same. a, a, is an
open or skeleton frame made of cast iron, and provided all round with an outer
flange, by which it is supported in position when applied to floor or causeway,

page_text: and with an inner flange for supporting the strips of glass. The ends b, b, of
the frame, it will be seen, are made at an incline corresponding to the con-
verging angles at which the strips of glass c, c, are to be placed; d, d, is n
metal wedge inserted at the middle of the frame or panel, and in a line
parallel with the strips of glass, and forming therewith a complete filling for
the skeleton frame. The wedge d is cast on to screw bolts e, e, which, when
the wedge is put in place, project through holes in projecting cars f of the
framing. By means of clamping nuts 9, 9, the wedge is drawn down, and
caused to bind the glass strips firmly in the frame.
It will now be understood that any amount of strength may be given to the
illuminator, by simply increasing the depth of the frame and of the waste
strips of glass, the upper edges of which must be flush with those of the
frame. The use of strips of glass set edgewise, as above described, enables
me, with safety and at small cost, to introduce light to bank cellars and other
receptacles for valuable property, as illuminators thus constructed may be built
into and made as thick as the walls, when they will be no less impervious to
burglars than the walls themselves. When the cullet is set on the incline,
it will be necessary to grind the top edges to produce an even surface; where
a maximum amount of transparency is required, I propose to lay the cullet flat
in the metal or other frame which is to receive it, and to arrange it in layers
so that the pieces shall bond or break joint..
From the foregoing explanation, it will be understood that any required
size of illuminator may be made on my improved principle, as it is merely
necessary to multiply the number of panels in the frame, as shewn in plan
view at Fig. 4, to cover a surface equal to that of an ordinary skylight.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the Manufacture of Slabs, Plates, and Panels for the Transmission of Light,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the
employment, in the construction of slabs, plates, and panels for transmitting
light, of waste glass or cullet, arranged in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Buckwell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.