Improvements in Lamps.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 9th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lamps.
We, Captain Sir Alfred John Loftus, Phra Nidesa Jalahide K.C.C.S. of
32 South Road, Handsworth, Birmingham in the County of Warwick Retired
Hydrographer from the Siamese Government Service, and GEORGE POLKEY, of
Hockley Lamp Works, Pitsford Street, Birmingham, aforesaid do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention is intended principally for cycle lamps, but is applicable either
wholly or in part to lamps used for many other purposes and particularly the
arrangement for operating the wick is applicable to many kinds of signal lamps,
such for instance as ships' side and mast-head lights, railway signal lamps, and
the like.
According to our invention we construct our said improved lamps so that the
flame is enclosed in a glass globe of the peculiar form described in the application
for a Patent by the said Sir Alfred John Loftus dated October 22nd 1892
No. 18954 part of which globe may be silvered on the outside, or enamelled, or
opalled, or otherwise treated or made so as to increase the reflecting power of the
glass and direct a powerful light forward, or an enamelled or other piece of metal
or screen may be attached to the outer part of the globe over the part or parts
through which it is intended the light shall not shine and sometimes I use coloured
globes and I may make the globe of different thicknesses whereby to form or allow
of their being formed, or cut, concentric, or other rings, stars, prisms, and the like
preferably on the outer surface, or I may make the said globes of plain polished
glass.
The head of the lamp is constructed with ventilating openings to allow the free
egress of the heated and consumed air, and with a, preferably internal, wind guard,
or guards.
We construct the burner with the usual spur wheel, or wheels, for raising and
lowering the wick and on the axle of this wheel, or wheels, is fixed a bevel wheel
which gears with another bevel wheel fixed on a vertical axle one end of which
projects through the floor of the lamp, and terminates in a knob, or milled head by
which it may be turned, and thus the wick may be operated without the necessity
of removing the tank, or opening the lamp. The vertical axle, just mentioned,
passes through a tubular passage in the oil tank. Another vertical tubular passage
through the oil tank serves to facilitate the lighting of the lamp, this tube-has its
upper end close to the top part of the burner, almost touching the wick and this end
is roughened inside so that when a match, preferably held in a suitable holder, is
pushed up the tube the match ignites near the wick and sets fire thereto.
The lower end of this tubular passage is closed, when not wanted open, by a slide
which can be pushed over it thereby preventing access of a current of air through
the passage after the lamp is lighted.
The oil tank (carrying the burner &c.) is so shaped as to obstruct as little
light as possible and to lock, when placed in position, by a catch lock spring.
Dated the 21st day of December 1892.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lamps.
We, Captain Sir ALFRED JOHN LOFTUS, Phra Nidesa Jalahide, K.C.C.S. of
32 South Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Retired
Hydrographer from the Siamese Government Service, and GEORGE POLKEY,
of Hockley Lamp Works, Pitsford Street, Birmingham aforesaid do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
Our invention is intended principally for cycle lamps, but is applicable either
wholly or in part to lamps used for many other purposes, and particularly the
arrangement for operating the wick is applicable to many kinds of signal lamps,
such for instance as ships side and mast head lights, railway signal lamps, and
the like.
According to our invention we construct our said improved lamps so that the
flame is enclosed in a glass globe of the peculiar form described in the application
for a Patent by the said Captain Sir Alfred John Loftus, dated October 22nd 1892,
No. 18954, part of which globe may, as described in the Specification accompanying
the said application, be silvered on the outside, or enamelled, or opalled, or other-
wise treated, or made, so as to increase the reflecting power of the glass and direct
a powerful light forward, or an enamelled, or other piece of metal, or screen may
be attached to the outer part of the globe over the part, or parts, through which
it is intended the light shall not shine and sometimes I use coloured globes, and I
may make the globe of different thicknesses whereby to form, or allow of their
being formed, or cut, concentric, or other rings, stars, prisms, and the like,
preferably on the outer surface, or I may make the said globes of plain polished
glass.
The head of the lamp is constructed with ventilating openings to allow the
free egress of the heated and consumed air, with a, preferably internal, wind guard,
or guards
We construct the burner with the usual spur wheel, or wheels, for raising and
lowering the wick and on the axle of this wheel, or wheels, is fixed a bevel wheel
which gears with another bevel wheel, fixed on a vertical axle one end of which
projects through the floor of the lamp and terminates in a knob, or milled head by
which it may be turned, and thus the wick may be operated without its being
necessary to remove the tank, or open the lamp. For the pair of bevel wheels any
known equivalent such as screw wheels may be substituted.
The vertical axle, just mentioned, passes through a tubular passage in the
oil tank.
Another vertical tubular passage through the oil tank serves to facilitate the
lighting of the lamp. This tube has its upper end close to the top part of the
burner, almost touching the wick and is roughened inside so that when a match,
preferably held in a suitable holder, is pushed up the tube, the match ignites near
the wick and sets fire thereto.
The lower end of this tubular passage may be closed, when not wanted open, by
a slide which can be pushed over it, thereby preventing access of a current of air
through the passage after the lamp is lighted.
The oil tank (carrying the burner &c.) is so shaped as to obstruct as little light
as possible and to lock, when placed in position, by a catch lock spring.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings we have represented one of our said
lamps intended as a cycle lamp, and this drawing will sufficiently illustrate the
construction of similar lamps for other purposes.

page_text: Fig. 1, is a front elevation; Fig. 2, is a side elevation; Fig. 3, is an elevation
of the opposite side of the lower portion of the lamp, the silvering and screen being
absent to show the interior ;
Fig. 4, is a section; Fig. 5, is a plan of the oil holder, with burner and fittings
and with the lantern shown in section on the line Y. Z. Fig. 4.
Fig. 6, represents a match holder and
Fig. 7, a modified form of the lighting arrangement.
A, is the glass globe the vertical curve of which is made according to Specifica-
tion No. 18954 of 1892, a is a portion preferably about half of the globe silvered
on the outside, enamelled, or opalled, or otherwise treated, or made so as to increase
the reflecting power of the glass, silvering the outer surface of the glass is preferable,
and there may be mounted at the edge of the silvered portion, outside the globe, on
each side a small reflecting wing b. C is the oil holder with a filling tube and screw
cap d.
E is the wick; f, one of the spur wheels the rotation of which raises or
lowers the wick, G is a bevel wheel fixed on the same spindle as the wheel f, and H
is another bevel wheel gearing with G and fixed on a vertical spindle which works
in a tube through the oil holder and terminates in the thumb head beneath the
oil holder. It will be seen that by this arrangement the wick may be raised, or
lowered, without the lamp being opened or the flame being in any way exposed.
In place of bevel wheels a pair of screw wheels, or other equivalent, may be
employed.
Another vertical tube I through the oil holder is provided for the purpose of
facilitating the lighting of the lamp, its upper extremity is close to the top of the
wick, and is provided with a roughened internal surface j, as shown in Fig. 7, or
has a roughened piece k made to be obliquely over the top of the tube as shown in
Fig. 4, the same forming part of or being controlled by a spring so that when a
match is passed with a rapid motion up the tube it strikes and ignites on the
roughened surface and sets light to the wick.
The oil holder with its attached parts is removable from the lantern into which
it fits from below. A rim c at the bottom of the oil holder affords a ready means
of rotating and manipulating it. m is a metal band forming the lower part of the
lantern between which and the oil holder sufficient space is left to allow free
passage to the air entering through the numerous ventilating holes m¹ in the
band m.
This band is bent outwards at the opposite sides so as to form passages o,
through which two studs p, p² on the oil holder pass as the latter is inserted or
withdrawn. When the oil holder is pushed home it is rotated in the lantern so that
the studs p, pl pass into horizontal slots in the band, and one of them praises and
passes under a spring r until it reaches a hole in the spring into which it passes,
and thus securely locks the oil holder in its place. To remove the oil holder the
spring is slightly raised by the finger and the oil holder rotated backwards.
20
s is
a band which serves to prevent the spring being raised too far. T, T, are two
bars jointed to the back of the lamp and U is a bar jointed to and uniting T, T,
and having a flattened tube t and binding screw t, by which the lamp inay be
attached to a cycle in the usual manner. One of the joints is preferably fitted with
a coiled or other spring as shewn in Fig. 4, at the lower joint, which spring is of
sufficient strength to support the lamp so that the bars T, T, are nearly horizontal
and so that when the cycle passes over a stone or other uneven surface the force of
the shock is absorbed by the spring instead of being transmitted direct to the
lamp.
The top of the lantern is fitted with a wind guard shewn in section in Fig. 4;
Vis a cap through the sides of which the burnt air escapes by the holes and
through an opening on the top of it into the cap above, from which it escapes above
and below the band W. Fig. 6, is a tube filled to receive a match, or vesta, and
to supply the necessary length, and to give a certain amount of support to the same
while it is being pushed up the tube 1. For large signal lamps, such as those used
at sea, matches of considerable length specially made for the purpose should be
provided.

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ALFRED JOHN LOFTUS.
GEORGE POLKEY.