An Arrangement for Locking Miners' Safety Lamps.
Year: 1899

page_text: An Arrangement for Locking Miners' Safety Lamps.
I, WILLIAM GAY, of No. 12, Maritime Terrace, Pontypridd, in the County of
Glamorgan, Coal Miner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
The metal ring on top of the glass of a safety lamp is held in position in ordinary
lamps by 4 or 5 small vertical pillars of brass or other metal. The lower end
of these pillars are fixed into the lower ring of the lamp case. In my arrange-
ment one of these pillars has a vertical movement and is longer than the others.
It is long enough and has movement enough to pass down through the lower
ring of the case into the case of the oil box of lamp. I call this the sliding
pillar. This pillar has a flat piece of metal of square shape-in fact a small
plate fixed horizontally on its upper end. The plate fits exactly in a metal box
fixed in the lamp-shield. By moving the sliding pillar vertically the lower end
passes down into the oil box casing of lamp and the plate drops down out of the
metal box on shield. The sliding pillar as before described drops down into a
tube or hole in the oil box case but cannot drop down lower than a certain depth
owing to a small rod fitting into the tube in oil box case from the bottom. If
this rod is drawn down the sliding pillar can drop to the same extent. This
rod is connected to a rod or wire fixed to the lamp wick under the oil box in
such a way that by drawing down the metal rod the wick is lowered into the
lamp at the same time and so the light goes out. In the side of the metal box
on the shield there is a small round hole just large enough to allow an ordinary
lamp bolt to be passed through into the metal box.
The lamp is locked as follows:-Hold up the sliding pillar so that the metal
plate is as high up in the metal box as it can go. When the lower end is free
from the oil box screw the case to oil box. When tight the lamp case is stopped
by a stud so that the lower end of the sliding pillar is exactly over the tube
in the oil box. Let the sliding pillar drop into the tube, then the metal plate
has dropped down into the metal box just sufficient to be below the hole and the
bolt can be put in. When the bolt is in the sliding pillar cannot be raised.
The sliding pillar cannot drop so low as to allow the metal plate on the top to
drop out of the metal box because the rod in lower end of tube prevents it.
To open the lamp draw down the rod in the tube by the arrangement under the
lamp. By doing this the flame is drawn down by the wire holding the wick
and the lamp put out at the same time the withdrawal of the rod allows the .
sliding pillar to drop so low that the metal plate leaves the metal box. As soon
as this occurs the case can be unscrewed and the bolt removed then the sliding
pillar can be lifted high enough to be quite clear of the oil box and the lamp
can be unscrewed.
Tated thin and day of Databer 1900

page_text: Бечу машро.
I, WILLIAM GAY, of 12, Maritime Terrace, Pontypridd, in the County of
Glamorgan, Coal Miner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to le particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to miners' safety lamps. It consists in devices by means
of which the oil-pot, lamp body and shield are locked together.
In lamps fitted with such locking devices, the oil-pot cannot be unscrewed
from the lamp body without having been previously unlocked, and, in the act
of unlocking the lamp, the wick is drawn down and the flame is extinguished.
According to one arrangement my locking devices are constructed, arranged
and operated as follows. At one side of the lamp is a locking rod vertically dis-
posed and extending at top through an aperture provided in the flange of the
step-top ring. The rod, which is preferably rectangular at or about that part
which passes through the said aperture, which latter corresponds in shape, carries
at its upper end a square or rectangular plate brazed on or otherwise fixed on
the rod. Except for the said rectangular part, the rod may be round. Secured
to or formed on the lamp shield, which surrounds the gauze or gauzes, is a
chamber open at bottom and having in the top an aperture provided for the
purpose of depositing in the chamber a rivet or short cylindrical bolt. Fixed in
and extending up in the oil-pot are two oil-tight tubes and an oil-tight casing.
In a nut in the said casing works a screw spindle having a milled head below a
connecting bar situated under the bottom of the oil-pot. This bar has fixed
in it, towards one end, a plunger which extends upwards into one of the tubes
aforesaid. An aperture corresponding with this tube is provided in the "glass
ring" of the lamp body. Towards the other end of the connecting bar is fixed
in it a rod which is passed up through the other tube and is soldered or other-
wise secured to the wick holder which extends around and grasps the lamp
wick.
When the lamp is locked a part of the locking rod is contained within the
plunger tube and the foot of the locking rod rests on the top of the plunger.
The rivet or cylindrical bolt having been placed in the chamber fixed to the shield
lies on the plate carried on the top of the locking rod, which plate is well up
in the chamber. The oil-pot, lamp body and shield are locked together by the
locking rod.
Before the oil-pot or the shield can be unscrewed, the plunger aforesaid must
be lowered. The act of lowering it first causes the wick to be drawn down in
the burner, and the flame thus becomes extinguished before the lamp becomes
unlocked.
According to a modified arrangement, the plunger is an extension of the screw
spindle, and the locking rod works at the upper part into and out of a sleeve
fixed to the shield, and at the lower part the locking rod works in a socket pro-
vided on the " glass ring." The plunger of the screw spindle moves into and
out of the said socket raising the locking bar in locking the lamp and allowing
it to descend in unlocking.
In lamps fitted with such locking devices as first above described, lighting
may be effected either non-electrically prior to placing the oil-pot in the lamp
body, or by electricity after the oil-pot has been screwed into place; assuming
the lamp to be adapted and fitted for lighting electrically.
Lamps fitted with the locking devices according to the modification above

page_text: described must be fitted for lighting by electricity, and they can be lit only after
the oil-pot has been screwed into place.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents in vertical section
part of a miners' safety lamp fitted with my improved locking devices as arranged
according to one method. Fig. 2 is a part section on the line x, x, Fig. 1.
The lamp is shown as locked. At one side of the lamp is a rod a capable
of being moved vertically. It is extended through an aperture provided therefor
in the step-top ring b. That part of the rod a which works in the said aperture
is preferably rectangular or square, but it is not necessarily so. The rest of
the rod is, for the most part, round, but not necessarily so. Fixed on the top
of the rod a is a plate cloosely fitting the interior of the chamber d fixed to
the shield e. In the top of the chamber d is an aperture provided for the
purpose of enabling the loose rivet or bolt d to be deposited in the chamber d.
The aperture for inserting the rivet or bolt might be provided in the outer side
of the chamber d. Fixed in and extending vertically through the oil-pot f are
oil-tight tubes g and h. An oil-tight casing i also extends up in the oil-pot f,
as shown. Working in the nut is a screw-threaded spindle held in a con-
necting bar towards one end of which is fixed a plunger m passed into the
tube g.
Towards the other end of the connecting bar is fixed a rod n which is
soldered or otherwise secured to the wick-holder n which extends around and
grasps the wick o.
The burner or cap 2 is of the usual kind
m.
In the "glass ring" g of the lamp body is an aperture g' which, when the oil-
pot has been screwed home, is presented over the tube g. The locking rod a
extends into the tube y and its bottom, rests on the top of the plunger
When, as represented in the drawings, the lamp is locked, neither the oil-
pot f nor the shield e can be unscrewed from the body of the lamp. The rod a
cannot be lifted up clear of the tube y because of the rivet d in the chamber d.
Unlocking is effected by first screwing outwards the spindle k. This action
draws down the wick into the fixed burner 7, and the lamp flame becomes
extinguished. The plunger m is also drawn down. The rod a follows it down,
withdrawing the plate c from the chamber d. The shield e can now be unscrewed
and the rivet & ejected. The rod a is next lifted by hand until it is clear of
the tube g. When this is so, the oil-pot f can be unscrewed and removed.
Locking of the lamp is effected as follows. The wick having been raised and
the lamp lit, the oil-pot f is screwed home, the rod a being meantime held up so
as to be kept clear of the tube g as it comes round in rotation. When the oil-
pot f has been screwed home the rod a is passed into the tube g and rests on the
top of the plunger m. The plunger m is next drawn down sufficiently to allow
the rivet to be deposited through the aperture on to the plate c in the
chamber d. The corresponding descent of the wick in the holder n' in this
movement is not sufficient to extinguish the flame. After the rivet & has been
received in the chamber d, the wick-holder may be again raised.
In lamps fitted for lighting electrically, lighting can be effected after the
lamp has been locked.
In the modification shown at Fig. 3, which represents in vertical section part
of a miners' safety lamp fitted with an ordinary electric-lighting device r, the
screw-threaded spindle s, whereby the lamp is locked and unlocked, is extended
as a plunger s¹. The lamp is shown as locked. The spindle s works in an oil-.
tight tube carried up through the oil-pot t. The locking rod u has a limited
range of vertical movement. Instead of a square or rectangular chamber, the
shield has a tubular sleeve fixed to it. On the "glass ring' no is formed a
socket w. The wick y is grasped by the wick-holder y connected to the rod z
extending through the oil-tight tube z' and moved up and down with the screw
spindle s.
"
Before the oil-pott can be unscrewed the lamp must be unlocked. This is
effected by screwing down the plunger s¹ until its upper end is flush with or below
the bottom edge of the aperture in which the plunger s¹ works in the "glass

page_text: ring" w. The wick-holder y¹ is drawn down simultaneously with the plunger s¹
and thus the flame is extinguished by the act of unlocking the lamp. The
rod u follows down the plunger s¹ until the collar u¹ rests on the top of the
socket w¹. The top of the rod u is drawn down below the sleeve v¹.
oil-pot t and the shield v are thus freed and can be unscrewed.
Both the
The oil-pot t cannot be replaced in the lamp body unless the wick holder be
drawn down as for unlocking, because when the wick holder is raised the
plunger sis also raised and must be lowered before the oil-pot can be screwed
home in the lamp body. Thus the lamp cannot be replaced while lit.
On the oil-pott is a stop t¹, and on the "glass ring" w is a stop u. Contact
of these stops takes place when the oil-pot is screwed home and in position for
the free vertical movement of the plunger s' into and out of the socket w¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:—
1. Locking arrangement for locking miners' safety lamps, consisting of a rod
situated at one side of the lamp and adapted to slide vertically into and out of a
chamber in the shield and, through an aperture in the "glass ring," into and out
of a tube in the oil-pot; the arrangement being such that by means of the said
rod and operating mechanism, the oil-pot, lamp body and the shield can be
locked together, and, by the act of unlocking the amp, the lamp name is extin-
guished before the oil-pot can be turned for unscrewing substantially as herein-
before described
2. Means for locking 'miners' safety lamps, comprising a rod such as a sur-
mounted by a plate such as c, a chamber such as a with open bottom and with
an aperture such as d' in its top or in one side, a rivet or bolt such as d³, a
plunger such as m, connecting bar such as having fixed therein the said plunger,
and a rod such as carrying the wick holder, a screw spindle such as k, tubes y
and h, and casing i; all the parts being so constructed and arranged that by the
act of drawing down the plunger m and so unlocking the lamp, the wick holder is
drawn down and the lamp tame extinguished, substantially as heremabove
described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The modified arrangement for locking miners' safety lamps, consisting of a
rod situated at one side of the lamp and adapted to slide vertically into and out
of a sleeve fixed to the shield, and to slide in a socket fixed to the glass ring";
the arrangement being such that by means of the said rod and operating mecuan-
ism the oil-pot, lamp body and shield can be locked together, and by the act of
unlocking the lamp, the lamp flame is extinguished before the oil-pot and shield
are freed, substantially as hereinabove described.
4. Means for locking miners' safety lamps, comprising a rod such as a, sleeve
such as ¹, socket such as w¹, screw spindle such as s with plunger st, connecting
rod such as connected to the wick-holder y; the said spindle s and the rod z
being carried up through the oil-pot in oil-tight tubes; and the parts being so
constructed and arranged that by the act of drawing down the screw spindle s
to unlock the lamp, the lamp flame is first extinguished and subsequently the
oil-pot and the shield are freed for unscrewing, substantially as hereinabove
described with reference to Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 21st dow of T... 1000
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent, Bristol.