IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO- DUCING LIGHT BY PERCUSSION, FOR SIGNALS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHN HAY, of Portsmouth, Operative Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great' Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West;
5minster, the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William John Hay, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William John Hay, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William John Hay, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO-
DUCING LIGHT BY PERCUSSION, FOR SIGNALS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said William John
Hay, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William John Hay, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
My Invention relates to certain modes of arranging apparatus for producing
light by percussion, for signals and for other purposes. And in order that the
Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will pro-
ceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed, in the various Figures of
which the same letters are used to indicate similar parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an external view of a case containing a suitable pyro-
technic preparation for giving the desired color of light, as is well understood
in preparing lights for signals and other purposes, and to which preparations of
matters for producing lights of various colors my Invention does not apply.
Figure 2 shows another view of the case before the outer covering of paper
has been pasted on. Figure 3 shows a section of Figure 2, by which the
mode of arranging the apparatus for producing the requisite percussion for
firing the charge will be readily traced. Figure 4 shows an external view of a
case of paper or other suitable material in the state it would appear before
applying the charge, and the apparatus for firing the same. Figure 5 shews
an interior view and an edge view of the part which covers the sliding wire or
rod, which wire or rod causes the necessary pressure, on receiving a blow, to
the material for firing the charge of the case a. Figure 6 shows the wire
or rod for discharging the percussion matter employed. The other Figures
show various details separately, which, being marked with the same letters of
reference as the same parts are referred to in the other Figures, will not
require to be further noticed here. a, a, is the case of paper or other suitable
material, the nature of which will readily be traced in the Drawing; b is a
stop or partition of wood, fastened within the case a, a, near its lower end, as is
shown; c is a slot through which the wire or rod d is passed, the enlarged
coiled end coming within the case a, the upper end d¹ of the rod d turning
into the upper end of the case a, the upper end of the case a being cut away,
as is shown, for this purpose, and to receive the apparatus which holds the
percussion matter, which is, when acted on by means of the rod or wire, the
means of igniting the charge in the case a. The wire or rod d is covered by
the hollow cover e, as is shewn, the cover being fastened to the case a by thread

page_text: or yarn bound round, and by pasting paper over the whole, as shewn by Figure 1,
or by other convenient means, and this cover aids in retaining the apparatus at
the upper part by the flange projection entering into a groove el. The lower
end of the case a is closed by means of the false bottom f, which is of paste-
board, with a raised border like the cover of a small pill box, which is forced
into the end of the case a, as shown at Figure 3, and there fixed by turning in
the end of the outer covering paper and pasting the same. Hence, by this
arrangement, until the false bottom f is forced into the case a the lower end of
the rod or wire d cannot be operated on; and this is still further secured by
pasting paper over the upper part of the slot c, as is shown; thus is any
liability to accidental firing of the light prevented. The percussion matter is
placed between the spring g and the plate h, as hereafter explained. h is a
metal plate, which is bent downwards at both ends in such manner as to
come over the upper end of the case a, and the flanged part to enter the
groove e¹ of the cover e, and the same is fastened thereon by binding thread or
yarn, and by pasting over the outer covering paper, as shown at Figure 1; g is
a spring fixed to the plate h, as is shown. There is a slit at i in the metal
plate h, through which the upper end of the wire or rod d passes, so as to
come under the end of the spring g, as is shown at Figure 3. The upper part
of the case between the charge and the plate h is filled with cotton impregnated
with gunpowder; or, in place thereof, I cover the charge with pasteboard with
quick match, as is shown at x, x. The percussion matter which I prefer to
use, but do not confine myself thereto, is a small globule of glass containing
sulphuric acid, and the outside of the globule of glass is covered with paper,
the glass being first surrounded with a mixture of chlorate of potassa and sugar,
or other carbonaceous matter, as is well understood in making these descrip-
tions of signal lights. The apparatus being thus completed, is to be used in
the following manner:- It is grasped firmly in the hand, and by pressure on to
hard substance which will enter into the lower end of the case a (such as
a piece of stick, by which the light may be afterwards held), the wire or rod d
will be moved, and will cause the percussion preparation at the upper part of
the case a to ignite the charge contained in the case a.
any
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to a
mode of applying the percussion matter for igniting the charge in the case a by
means of a blow within the lower end of the case, so that the material may be
out of the way of accidental discharge. Figure 7 shows a section of this
arrangement. The case and parts, which are similar to those already described,
are marked with the same letters of reference, but in this case the mechanical
apparatus is not used, and the globule of sulphuric acid, in place of being

page_text: within the case, together with the other materials, is placed at the lower end
of the case a, and a quick match passing from the lower end of the case a,
conducts the light to the upper part of the case a, the globule or other suitable
means for discharging the light being acted on by means of the false bottom f
being forced in, in the manner above described, thus pressing the globule
between the partition b and the surface f.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would remark that I make no
claim to any of the parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the precise
details shown, provided the peculiar character of my Invention be retained;
but what I claim is,-
First, the mode of arranging apparatus for producing light for signals, and
for other purposes, whereby a sliding rod or wire is caused to discharge the
material at the upper end of the case, the apparatus being securely covered
to prevent accidental ignition of the charge; and I also claim the arrangement
of spring apparatus for holding and discharging the percussion matter.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of forming the case a divided into two
compartments, one for the materials of the light, and the other for the per-
cussion matter, so that by forcing a handle or stick into the end of the
case a, the matter will be discharged, in the manner above described, in respect
to Figure 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said William John Hay, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four