AN IMPROVED LAMP FOR THE COMBUSTION OF NAPHTHA, TURPENTINE, AND OTHER RESINOUS OILS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
KURTZ, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing 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-
minster, the Thirtieth day of June, in the seventh year of Ier reign, and in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles
Kurtz, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, and I,
the said Charles Kurtz, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said Charles Kurtz, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should 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 and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED LAMP FOR THE COMBUSTION
OF NAPHTHA, TURPENTINE, AND OTHER RESINOUS OILS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Charles Kurtz, 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 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, 1, the said
Charles Kurtz, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists of an improved lamp, and applies particularly to
lamps constructed for the combustion of naphtha, turpentine, and other resinous
oils." The ordinary naphtha lamp is now well known, as are also the disad-
vantages of employing the same for the purposes of illumination, particularly
the limited height of the flame produced during combustion, which scarcely
ever exceeds an inch without the emission of smoke, and also the disagreeable
smell arising from imperfect combustion of the naphtha. In consequence of
these imperfections in the ordinary lamp, the use of naphtha and other resinous
oils for the purpose of illumination has been very limited, especially where a
powerful flame has been required, and also in confined apartments, where the
unconsumed portions of the spirit have become both deleterious and offensive.
The object of my Invention, therefore, is to increase the amount of illuminating
power in such lamps, that is, to elongate the flame to a considerable degree,
and also to effect the perfect combustion of the naphtha or other resinous oil,
thereby preventing the disagreeable emission of either smoke or smell, which
improvement is effected simply by the proper admission and regulation of air
required in the process of combustion, by the application and use of suitable
valves or regulators, and the particular situation in which they are placed.
Such being the nature of my said Invention, I proceed to explain the manner
in which the same is to be performed or accomplished; and in order that the
following description of my improved lamp may be perfectly clear and well
understood, I have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings, shewing
my improved lamp for the combustion of naphtha or other resinous oils, and
also several modifications and applications of the principle thereof, in order that
it may be more generally and usefully applied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved naphtha lamp, with a single
flat wick or burner, and Figure 2 is a horizontal or plan view of the same, as
seen from above. Figure 3 is a similar sectional view of a lamp, with a double
flat wick or burner, and Figure 4 is a horizontal or plan view of the same.
Figure 5 is an elevation of another modification of my improved lamp, and
articularly adapted for combustion of common naphtha or resinous oils which
produce a considerable quantity of carbon during combustion on the top or

page_text: edge of the wick, and is so arranged as not to require the necessary snuffing or
cutting; and Figure 6 a plan view of the same. Figure 7 is a sectional eleva-
tion of my improved naphtha lamp, adapted or arranged as a table or pillar
lamp, with circular wick or burner. Figure 8 is another modification, con-
structed with a common Argand burner; and Figure 9 is another modification
of my improved lamp, constructed and applied as a street lamp or lantern. In
all these Figures similar letters of reference are marked upon corresponding
parts of the lamp.
In Figures 1 and 2, a, a, is the reservoir of naphtha; b, b, the ordinary cone
or conductor for supplying air to the flame, but with this very important dif-
ference, that, in my improved lamp, the top edge of these side plates or air
conductors must always be above the point of ignition of the wick; whereas, in
ordinary naphtha lamps the wick has always been uppermost. These air-con-
ductors or passages b, b, may be made of metal, glass, or mica, and are supplied
with an air valve, damper, or regulator c, swivelling on its centre, and either
open or closed, to regulate the admission of air by a small hand screw on the
outer side. There is also an auxiliary air valve, damper, or regulator e, to
govern the admission of air, on the other side of the conductor b. By opening
or closing these valves the supply of air requisite for perfect combustion may
be suitably governed, and the flame elongated to a great extent without
incurring either of the ordinary consequences of smoke or any disagreeable
odour. The arrows show the novel arrangement of the air passages, and its
course in all the Figures. The wick holder is shewn at f, f, and has one pecu-
liarity only from the common holders, that is, that the outer side at the top g
is left longer than the inner side as much as the small length of wick required
for burning, so that in trimming the wick it may be cut quite flat, and level
with the outer side of the wick holder, and thus always be cut perfectly even,
and fit for use.
In Figures 3 and 4 the only difference is the arrangement consequent upon
the use of a double wick, in which case I remove my improved air valve c to
the bottom of the lamp, and thus regulate the draft up the central tube or
air passage h, supplying the requisite quantity between the wicks, as well as
the ordinary draft supplied by the side cone or conductors b, b.
In Figs. 5 and 6 the arrangement of my improved lamp is varied, for the
purpose of adapting it to the consumption of very common naphtha or resinous
oils, which usually generate much carbonaceous matter on the burning edge of
the wick, and thus require frequent snuffing or trimming. I have overcome
this difficulty by providing two circular boxes or receivers i, i, in each of which
is placed a small roller or bobbin, and having one end or coil of the wick

page_text: around each, the wick extending from one bobbin to the other, passing through
the reservoir a, a, and having only the central portion exposed, which is under
the glass chimney, and distinguished by the representation of flame in the
Drawing; thus, when this burning or exposed portion of the wick has become
corroded or charred, another portion of the wick can be exposed to the flame
by simply turning one of the bobbins, and winding the wick progessively
through the lamp as required.
In Fig. 7, where I use a circular wick, I prefer applying the air valve c or
regulator below, and with the addition of a top guide or disc k, which confines
the supply of air directly to the inside of the wick, instead of allowing it to pass
up the centre of the air tube; I also, in this instance, apply a ring 1, of ivory,
bone, wood, or other non-conducting material, between the ordinary cone & reser-
voir, for the purpose of preventing the communication of heat to the reservoir.
In Figure 8, where I employ a common Argand burner, I also apply the air
valve c below, as the air is supplied through spaces m, m, left between the
bottom of the burner and the reservoir, the wick being divided below into
two semi-circular parts, one half passing down each supporter n, n, into the
reservoir.
In Fig. 9 I also apply my improved air valve below the burner, as being
mest applicable in street lamps or lanterns. In this application of my im-
provement I also employ a double glass o, o, forming an air chamber or passage
without obstructing the light, and, by this means, I am enabled to supply the
lamp with any requisite quantity of air. In the event of the lamps or lanterns
being circular, the glasses must of course be entirely double, and open into the
lamp below to form the necessary air passage; or, in both these cases, the air
valve may be used at the top of the double glass chamber or casing with nearly
the same effect.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I. desire it to be distinctly under-
stood that although I have exhibited in the Drawings attached to these
Presents, and have herein-before described, my improved lamp for the con-
sumption of naphtha, or other resinous oils, and several modifications thereof,
yet I do not intend to confine myself to their precise shape or configuration,
nor to their exact dimensions or arrangement. But I claim as my Invention, ―
Firstly, the suitable arrangement, application, and use of certain air passages,
valves, or regulators in lamps for the combustion of naphtha, or other resinous
oils, whereby the flame is considerably elongated and increased, together with
the more perfect combustion of inflammable matter used, as above described,
and exhibited in the Drawings attached.

page_text: Secondly, the peculiar application and use of the ordinary air cones or con-
luctors b, b, with respect to single or double flat wick burners, which, in my
mproved naphtha lamp must be so placed that the uppermost edge of the
onductor shall be above the point of ignition on each side of the wick, so that
he air conducted to the outer sides of the flame shall impinge upon the flame
t that point.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Kurtz, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
CHARLES (L.S.) KURTZ.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-ninth day of
December, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Charles Kurtz came
before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Thirtieth day of December, in the year above written.