AN IMPROVEMENT IN OVERHEAD LAMPS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ALBERT MARCIUS SILBER of Wood Street Cheapside in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " AN IMPROVEMENT
IN OVERHEAD LAMPS" to be as follows:-
.
:
My invention relates to lamps suitable for roofs of railway carriages or for
ceilings of apartments or for other positions where the light has to be directed
mostly downwards, these lamps being of the kind in which a flat wick tube pro-
jecting nearly horizontally towards the centre of a conoidal reflector is situated.
above the level of an annular oil reservoir arranged in a cool position around the
outside of the reflector. In such lamps, the horizontally.projecting wick-tube is
enclosed within an air tube which terminates in inwardly turned lips that deflect
the air against the flame, and as these lips are beyond the end of the wick tube it
is difficult to adjust the wick and to kindle the lamp. The main object of my
invention is to provide for ready access to the wick tube and to such other parts of
the lamp as require cleaning and adjustment. For this purpose, I make the air
tube which surrounds the wick tube in two parts, the lower part fixed to and pro-
jecting inwardly from the reflector, the upper part hinged at its rear to the wick
tube which projects upwards and inwards from the reservoir or to the lower part of
the casing which contains the reservoir at its lower angle. Above this lower part
of the casing, there is an upper part hinged thereto or fitted thereon, and this, in
the case of railway carriage lamps or of lamps exposed to currents of air is provided
with openings for passage of air to supply the flame and ventilate the lamp, and
for issue of the heated air and products of combustion, all these openings being
shielded by windguards. On removing this upper part, or opening a lateral door
in it, access can be got to open the hinged part of the air tube, and, when this is
opened, the wick tube exposed so that the wick can be adjusted and the lamp
can be kindled. Also, on thus opening the air tube the lower part of the casing,
along with the reservoir and wick tube can be lifted off without disturbing the
reflector and chimney. The reservoir is below the mouth of the wick tube, so that
the flame is fed by capillary attraction, and around the reservoir, there is free
circulation of air keeping it cool, consequently oils of the petroleum kind can be
used for the lamp. Instead of a single flame, two three or more can be directed
from the circumference towards the centre of the conoidal reflector, which is sur-
mounted by a chimney taking off the products of combustion from them all. To
the lower lip of the reflector is attached a basin glass or it might be a flat glass or
shallow basin glass inverted.
T
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, ALBERT MARCIUS SILBER of Wood Street, Cheapside, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention relates to lamps suitable for roofs of railway carriages, or for
ceilings of apartments, or for other positions where the light has to be directed
mostly downwards, these lamps being of the kind in which a flat wick tube pro-
jecting nearly horizontally towards the centre of a conoidal reflector is situated
above the level of an annular oil reservoir arranged in a cool position around the
outside of the reflector. In such lamps, the horizontally projecting wick-tube is
enclosed within an air tube which terminates in inwardly turned lips that deflect
the air against the flame, and as these lips are beyond the end of the wick tube it
is difficult to adjust the wick and to kindle the lamp. The main object of my
invention is to provide for ready access to the wick tube and to such other parts
of the lamp as require cleansing and adjustment. For this purpose, I make the air
tube which surrounds the wick tube in two parts, the lower part fixed to and
projecting inwardly from the reflector, the upper part moveable as a door giving
access to the wick tube which projects upwards and inwards from the reservoir in
the lower part of the casing which contains the reservoir at its lower angle. Above
this lower part of the casing there is an upper part hinged thereto or fitted thereon,
and this, in the case of railway carriage lamps or of lamps exposed to currents of
air, is provided with openings for passage of air to supply the flame and ventilate
the lamp and for issue of the heated air and products of combustion, all these
openings being shielded by windguards. On removing this upper part, access can
be got to open the upper part of the air tube and when this is opened, the wick
tube is exposed so that the wick can be adjusted and the lamp can be kindled.
The reservoir is below the mouth of the wick tube, so that the flame is fed by
capillary attraction, and around the reservoir, there is free circulation of air for
keeping it cool, consequently almost all oils, including those that are somewhat
volatile, can be used for the lamp. Instead of a single flame, two three or more
can be directed from the circumference towards the centre of the conoidal reflector,
which is surmounted by a chimney taking off the products of combustion from
them all. To the lower lip of the reflector is attached a basin glass, or it might be
a flat glass or shallow basin glass inverted.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a half vertical section of the lamp as
placed in the roof of a railway carriage. Fig. 2 is a part transverse section on the
line X X.
The lamp is passed in the usual way from outside through the circular hole in
the roof A. B is the oil reservoir of annular form, from which a small tube b
extends upwards to allow escape of air or vapour. C is a flat tube through which
the wick D D¹ is led from the reservoir B, and from which it projects nearly
horizontally at D¹ the oil rising in the wick by capillary attraction. In the bend
of the wick tube at E there is arranged in the usual way a star wheel by turning

page_text: which the wick D can be advanced or retracted. This star wheel is worked by
bevil gear at E from a spindle F that can be turned by the fingers applied to a
knob at fwhen the casing of the lamp is open, or can be turned by inserting a key
like a watch key into a tubular aperture in the lower part of the casing at f¹. The
upper part of the wick tube C is enclosed within a tubular casing G into which air
enters by perforations at g for supplying the flame, this air being deflected against
the flame by inwardly turned lips g¹ g. The upper part H of the casing G is
made to open upwards as a door to give access for kindling a flame. When the
casing of the lamp is opened, an attendant can by applying his fingers to h¹ the
upper end of a rod h raise the door H which is attached to h. Should he, after
kindling the flame omit to push down, then on closing down the upper part of
the lamp casing (which is as usual hinged to the lower part so as to open along the
line K) a spring k projecting from the internal cone of the upper casing pushes
down the rod h and thus the closing of the lamp casing ensures the closing of the
door H. The flame from D¹ projects to about the centre of the space within the
conical reflector L to the lower edge of which is attached the glass basin M, which
is preferably thickened at m, this thickening giving this part of the glass the effect
of a lens. Above the flame is the chimney N.
The casing of the lamp is as usual arranged with air passages for the escape of
products of combustion and for ventilation, as indicated by the arrows, the
apertures for admission and emission being shielded against the effects of external
currents.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The construction of overhead lamp herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
2. In a lamp of the kind referred to in the preceding claim, making the upper
part of the air tube which surrounds the wick tube, moveable as a door to give
access for kindling, substantially as described.
·
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.