Improvements in Miners' Safety Lamps.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Miners' Safety Lamps.
We, HEINRICH POSTOLKA, and LEO ELIASCH, both of Karwin, Silesia Austro-
Hungary, Miners, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :---
The object of our invention is to effect improvements in miner's safety lamps, by
constructing the same in such a manner as to render it impossible for the workmen
to open their lamps without the aid of a specially formed key, which may be retained
in the custody of the inspector or other responsible official.
Our invention also consists in providing means whereby the flame of the lamp
would be instantly extinguished, in case the lamp happened to be improperly
opened.
And in order that our said invention may be particularly described and ascertained;
reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a lamp, fitted with our improvements, on the
line 1-2 of Fig. 4.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, on the line 3-4 of Fig. 4.
Fig. 3 is an end view of the key and spindle.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 5-6 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the key, spindle, and bevel gear, for unlocking the
lamp.
Figs. 6, 7 and 8, are detail views of the mechanism.
B is the lower part of the lamp, enclosing the oil reservoir. A. is the upper part
of the lamp, securely screwed to the lower part, a being the screw thread. bis a
screw which passes through the metal of the upper part A and the lower part B.
The screw is formed with a flange n and stem 6". The screw is a right hand
screw, and its stem 11 is partly enclosed in a left hand screwed sleeve e, tapped into
a corresponding screw at e' The end of the stem is slotted at 6 to receive the flat
end of the spindle ; and the lower end of the sleeve at c is formed as a clutch
to receive the corresponding end e³ of the sleeve of the key, c¹.
The
g is the handle of the key for turning the right and left hand screws bc.
handle g, the spindle and the hevel wheel, all rotate together in the bearing f
d is a cylindrical guide attached to f, and fitting easily in the guide tube d: the
sleeve c similarly fitting the tube e. The sleeve e revolves upon the spindle b¹ and
a pin is inserted in the sleeve c'. entering a groove in the spindle to keep the
parts together. The bevel wheel is fast on the sleeve c', and the bevel wheel ³
revolves on the spindle f, in gear with and.
The pitch of the screw thread b corresponds with that of c, when the wheels 1
and are equal; otherwise the threads must be reciprocally proportioned to ensure
the simultaneous movement of the screws.
When the key is inserted in the tubes d and e, the rotation and the handle g operates
to withdraw or insert the screws b and c, simultaneously; the spindle 6 turning the
screw b, and the sleeve c¹ turning the screwed sleeve c.
The two screws b and c may be both right handed and formed in one, if desired,
but we prefer the foregoing arrangement.
t is a narrow chamber containing the extinguishing mechanism. p is a vertical
rod guided by pins vv. p is an arm attached to p having a bent shoulder at 7 and
point p is a lever pivoted at o. A short arm is in contact with 9, and a
spring is fitted, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8. A levers is pivoted at o', and pressed
upwards by a spring s¹. H is the wick-tube. H' is the air-tube, and his an
extinguishing plate fitted to the upper end of the lever k.

page_text: P
While the lamp is in its normal condition, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the rod
is held down, and the plate his held back from the flame, in the position shown in
these figures. On the upper part A of the lamp being removed by unscrewing, the
rod is raised by means of the levers and spring s¹. The lever is then drawn by
the power of the spring nearer to a vertical line, thus bringing the plate h over
the wick tube H and extinguishing the light, as shown in Fig. S. The point k² acts
as a stop to the motion of the-lever s.
I
In Fig. 6 the method of adjusting the wick from the outside is shown. F is a
tube serving as a guide to the wire hook E. The upper end E' is curved as shown
in plan in Fig. 7. This hook enters a slot W formed in the wick tube H; by which
the wick can be raised and lowered as required, without opening the lamp for that
purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The construction of miners' safety lamps, in which the upper part is screwed to
the lower part, and the unscrewing and consequent opening of the lamp is prevented
by means of a lock screw b, so fitted as to be capable of removal only by a specially
formed key, substantially as described.
2. The combination with miners' safety lamps as aforesaid, of the right and left
hand lock screws e and guide tubes de, such lock screws being simultaneously
operated by the specially constructed key g, substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated by Figs. 2, 3 and 5 of the drawings.
3. The combination, with miner's safety lamps as aforesaid, of an automatic
extinguishing apparatus constructed arranged and operating, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 8 of the drawings.
4. The general construction, arrangement, and combination of the several and
respective parts, together forming our invention of improvements in miners' safety
lamps, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
Dated 5th June 1890.
GEO.
DOWNING,
8, Quality Court, London, W.G., Agent.