IMPROVEMENTS IN GASALIERS on GAS SLIDES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Wilson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th May
1864.
I, THOMAS WILSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mecha-
nical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GASALIERS on GAS SLIDES," to be as follows:--
My Invention consists, firstly, of the following arrangement of the parts of
a sliding gasalier, the said arrangement of parts having for its object the
supporting and balancing of the sliding part of the gasalier by means of
springs instead of weights. On the sole or crown plate by which the gasalier
These axes.
is supported I form bearings, which receive two or more axes.
carry grooved cone pulleys or fusees similar to the fusee of a watch. The said
fusees work loosely on their axes. I attach to each of the axes a flat steel
spring. One end of each spring is fixed at one end to its axis and is coiled
round the axis, the other end of the spring being fixed to the fusee by means
of drums formed on either side of the fusee. The moveable part of the
gasalier is connected by cords or chains to the fusees. The axes are turned until
the tension of the springs is just sufficient to balance the gasalier when the
said axes are fixed, and the gasalier may be raised and lowered by the appli-
cation of a slight force. As it rises and falls the varying tension of the springs
is counterbalanced by the changing diameter of the parts of the fusees on
which they are winding or unwinding, and the moveable part of the gasalier
is preserved in equilibrium. The fusees and springs may be placed at the
bottom instead of the top of the gasalier with nearly the same effect.

page_text: Another of my improvements consists in making a gas-tight sliding gasalier
without the use of a water or liquid joint. In this improvement I attach to
the end of the fixed tube of the gasalier a ring or piston of vulcanized india-
rubber or other elastic material. This elastic piston is forced into the sliding
tube of the gasalier, and by its pressure against the interior of the said sliding
tube it makes a gas-tight joint.
Another of my improvements consists of the following arrangements of the
parts of sliding gasaliers :-I take vulcanized india-rubber or other elastic or
flexible tubing, which I coil around the tube or slide. The upper end of the
elastic tube is connected with the fixed gas pipe of the gasalier and the lower
end with the slide of the gasalier. The elastic tube is coiled sufficiently slack
to allow of the raising and lowering of the gasulier without strain upon the
said tube. Or I connect the fixed and moveable parts by means of pieces of
elastic tubing, one to each branch or light, the said pieces of tubing being
sufficiently long to allow of the moveable part of the gasalier being drawn
down to the required degree. When the gasalier is raised the pieces of tubing
hang in the form of catenary or chain curves; or I connect the fixed and
moveable parts by means of brass or metallic tubes jointed at their middle so
as to be capable of folding or doubling up. As the moveable part of the
gasalier is depressed the said jointed tubes straigthen out to accommodate the
increasing length of the gasalier, and as the gasalier is raised and shortened
the suid tubes fold or double up at their joints.
Another of my improvements consists in the use of thin strips of steel for
connecting the moveable parts of gasaliers with the counterbalance weights in
place of the chains ordinarily employed. These steel bands may be ornamented
by being perforated, or may be otherwise ornamented.
Another of my improvements has for its object to prevent the falling of the
moveable part of the gasalier, and the consequent escape of gas in case the
chains supporting the moveable part break. To effect this object I fix screw
nuts to the ends of both the fixed and sliding tubes, so that the outer tube
cannot slide wholly off the fixed inner tube. The nut for the sliding tube
is first passed up the fixed tube, and then the nut for the fixed tube is screwed
on the end of the said fixed tube. The first-described nut is then screwed
into the sliding tube, and the said sliding tube is then incapable of sliding off
the fixed tube.
Another of my improvements consists in the use of glycerine in place of
water in gasaliers of the kind called water-slide gasaliers. I use the glycerine
either pure or mixed with water, as glycerine does not sensibly evaporate at
ordinary temperatures, nor thicken nor undergo any change on exposure to

page_text: the air, nor act on the metals of which gasaliers are made; it is well adapted
for use in sliding gasaliers, answering all the purposes of water without the
risk of accident attendant on the evaporation of water. In using glycerine I
find it convenient to fix a cupped scraper on the top of the external or sliding
tube for the purpose of scraping off the glycerine from the inner or fixed tube
when the gasalier is drawn down.