IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING, REGULATING, AND EXTINGUISHING STREET, AND OTHER GAS. LAMPS BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Denny Lane, of Cork, in the County of the City
of Cork, Secretary of the Cork Gas Consumers' Company, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING, REGULATING, AND EXTINGUISHING
STREET, AND OTHER GAS. LAMPS BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY
"
Sealed the 28th May, 1858, and dated the 1st December 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Denny Lane at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
December 1857.
I, DENNY LANE, of Cork, in the County of the City of Cork, Secretary
to the Cork Gas Consumers' Company, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING, REGULATING, AND EXTINGUISHING
STREET AND OTHER GAS LAMPS BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in lighting, regulating, and extinguishing
street and other lamps relates to lighting gas lamps by electricity.
The first part of my improvements consists in the use of a portable battery
to be carried from lamp to lamp for the purpose of lighting them, by means
of which the lamplighter has no necessity to ascend a ladder to the burner, as
he has merely to turn on the gas by a tap placed near the ground, and to
apply the two poles of his battery to the contact points of the circuit conductor
through which the electricity passes and ignites the gas. At the burner I
use somewhat the ordinary method of igniting the gas by stretching a platinum
wire across the gas jet near to the orifice the electricity passing through this

page_text: wire beats it sufficiently to ignite the gas as well understood. Instead of
using the platinum wire for the transmission of the primary current of elec-
tricity, the circuit may terminate in two metallic electrodes opposed to each
other on opposite sides of the flame at about an eighth of an inch apart, and
an electric spark of an induced current passes from the one to the other for
the purpose of igniting the gas. In this case I prefer Ruhmkorff or Hearder's
arrangement of the coils for the purpose. I construct the battery in such
manner that the fluids will not be spilt in carrying about, and of as light a
weight as consistent with the strength of current required. In case of using
the induced current the coils are portable, being placed in connection with the
portable battery.
The second part of my Invention relates to a means of regulating or
extinguishing the lights of streets or other gas lamps which may either be
lighted by electrical agency, in which the circuit of ignition embraces a
number of lamps, or where they are each lighted by a separate circuit as
herein before described, or they may be lighted by hand in the ordinary
manner.
This improvement consists in placing trains of wheels and a spring or main-
taining power in connection with the gas tap, which gives motion thereto
when it is released by an electric current. For this purpose I employ an
electro-maguet with an armature opposed thereto which is constantly withdrawn
by a slight spring, and thereby holding a detent in gear with and retaining
the wheel train. The electric current passes through the electro-magnet,
which is thereby excited and attracts the armature, and so releases a tooth of
the wheel train, causing the gas tap to be turned to a certain extent, either to
turn on or turn off the gas. If much regulation in the extent of the flame is
required, the number of makes and breaks of the electrical circuit to affect
one revolution of the gas tap must be regulated accordingly.. Thus, supposing
it is sufficient to turn the gas full on by one movement and quite off' by the
next, four moves will be sufficient for each revolution of an ordinary gas tap;
but supposing it is only desired to turn the gas partly on by one transmission
of the current, and by the next full on, at the thirdly partly off, and at the
fourth quite off. In this case eight makes and breaks will suffice for one
revolution of the tap, and in this way any amount of regulation may be
ensured; the train and maintaining power is wound up periodically by hand.
The electric circuit used for actuating the tap may be the same as that used
for lighting the lamp, or a separate circuit may be used for that purpose if it
is desired to light by a circuit wire embracing many lamps.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in. pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Denny Lane in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DENNY
LANE, of Cork, in the County of the City of Cork, Secretary the Cork Gas
Consumers' Company, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Denny Lane, Her special licence that I, the said Denny Lane, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Denny
Lane, 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 make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING,
REGULATING, AND EXTINGUISHING STREET AND OTHER GAS LAMPS BY MEANS OF
ELECTRICITY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Denny
Lane, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Denny Lane, 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 (that is to say):-
My Invention of improvements in lighting, regulating, and extinguishing
street and other lamps relates to lighting gas lamps by. electricity.
The first part of my improvements consists in. the use of a portable battery,
to be carried from lamp to lamp for the purpose of lighting them, by means of
which the lamplighter has no necessity to ascend a ladder to the burner, as it
is merely necessary to turn on the gas by a tap placed near the ground, and
to apply the two poles of his battery to the contact points of the circuit con-
ductor, through which the electricity passes and ignites the gas. At the
burner 1 use somewhat the ordinary means of igniting the gas, viz., by

page_text: :
To effect the ignition of the gas I
transmission through this circuit
electrode to the other, and thus
stretching a platinum wire across the gas jet near to the orifice; the electricity
on passing through the wire heats it sufficiently to ignite the gas as well
understood. Instead of using the platinum wire for the transmission of the
primary current of electricity, I terminate the circuit in two metallic electrodes
or poles opposed to each other and disposed on opposite sides of the jet at
about say an eighth part of an inch apart.
employ an induced current which in its
passes in the form of a spark from the one
exhibits the necessary heat for the purpose of igniting the gas. In this case
the portable battery must be accompanied by the coils forming the circuit of
the primary or original current of the portable battery as also the coils or
circuit for the inception of the induced current. The coils of the induced
current terminate in two contact points which the lamplighter applies to the
contact points of the wires of the lamp, at the same time turning on the gas
by a suitably disposed tap all as before described, and thus he is enabled to
light a lamp at any height while he remains on the ground. For lighting
lamps by an induced current, I prefer Ruhmkorff or Hearder's arrangement
of the coils to generate such current. It is necessary to construct the portable
battery in such manner that the fluids will not be spilt in carrying about, and
of as light a weight as consistent with the strength of current required to light
the gas by the primary current or by the induced current as before de-
scribo:l.
The second part of my Invention relates to a means of regulating or
extinguishing the lights of street or other gas lamps, which may either be
lighted by electrical agency, in which the circuit of ignition embraces several
lamps, or where they are each lighted by a separate circuit, or the lighting
may be effected by hand in the ordinary manner.
This improvement consists in placing a train of wheels and a spring or
maintaining power in connection with the gas tap of each lamp, which spring
and train of wheels give motion to the tap, when it is released by the passing
of an electric current. For this purpose I employ an electro-magnet with an
armature opposed thereto, the armature forms also a detent in gear with the
wheel train, which it retains or holds so long as no current passes through the
coils of the electro-magnet. When the electric current passes through, the
electro-magnet is thereby excited, as well understood, and attracts the armature,
which causes the detent to release a tooth of the wheel train. A tooth of the
wheel train being thus allowed to escape, the train gives motion to the gas
tap which is placed in suitable connection therewith by toothed gearing or
.otherwise. Que transmission of the electric current. thus imparts a partial

page_text: revolution of the gas tap, a second transmission of the current another partial
revolution, and so on, for the purpose of turning on or turning off the gas.
If much regulation in the extent of the flame is required, the number of
makes and breaks of the electrical circuit to effect one revolution of the gas
tap must be regulated accordingly. Thus, supposing it is sufficient to turn
the gas full on by one movement, and quite off by the next, four moves will
be sufficient for each revolution of an ordinary gas tap, but supposing it is
only desired to turn the gas partly on by one transmission of the current, and
by the next full on, at the third partly off, and at the fourth quite off, in
this case cight makes and breaks will suffice for one revolution, and in this
way, by diminishing the extent of motion imparted to the tap by one trans-
mission of the current, that is to say, at each make and break of the circuit,
any greater subdivision or nicety in the turning on
or turning off the
gas may be effected; the train and maintaining power is wound up period-
ically by hand or otherwise. The electric current or circuit used for actuating
the tap may be the same as that used for lighting the lamp, or a separate
circuit may be used for that purpose if it is desired to light the lamps by a
conducting wire embracing many lamps in its circuit.
The application of electricity to lighting street and other lamps from a
distant station having been before attempted, it is sufficiently understood to
dispense herein with any description of the connections required. In some
cases I do not light the lamps by the electric fluid at all, as the lamps may be
lighted in the ordinary way, and the electric current only used for the purpose
of turning on, turning off, or regulating the escape of the gas at the jet by the
tap and apparatus herein-before described, or this means of turning on or
turning off or regulating the gas may be employed, while its ignition is effected
by means of the portable battery according to the first part of my Invention.
In applying the wheel trains to actuating the taps or stop-cocks as described,
care should be taken that the plug or rotating part of the tap is properly maile
and fitted in its socket, and so that it is not liable to set fast or otherwise get
out of order.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be secured under
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the use of a portable galvanic battery applied to the lighting of street
and other gas lamps as herein-before described.
Secondly, I claim the method herein-before described of actuating taps or
stop-cocks of street and other gas lamps by means of electricity, for the purpose

page_text: !of turning on and otherwise régulating the emission of the gas, and for
.extinguishing the gaslight as herein-before described.
2
In witness whereof, I, the said Denny Lane, have hereunto set my band
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
DENNY LANE. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed in the presence of
WILLIAM FORDE,
2, Dyko Parade, Cork.