IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING MINERAL OIL
Year: 1885

page_text: We THOMAS WRIGHT SHAW of Durban, Natal, Inspector of Railways, and
THOMAS MORGAN HARVEY of Gresham Buildings, Basinghall Street, London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LAMPS FOR BURNING MINERAL OIL to be as follows
11
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The object of our invention is to attach on or to the reservoir of mineral oil
lamps an outer jacket or casing perforated at the bottom and somewhat open at
the top under the burner cap where said jacket is provided with a wire gauze or
screen to allow the inflowing air to pass to the burner under the cap, the lamp
being otherwise ventilated in the usual way
The air in passing between the jacket and the reservoir tends to keep the oil
cool and prevents the flame rising beyond a given height when set by the usual
thumb button or wick lifter
Secondly. To provide the reservoir with a bowed over pipe perforated or
provided with a hole at the top of the bow to allow the vapour arising from the
oil, should it become heated, to escape, said bowed over pipe serving as a support
to the reflector which can be adjusted on said pipe The bottom of the burner
proper is not perforated consequently there is no danger, any vapour formed in
the reservoir being kept from actual contact with the flame
These oil reservoirs may be of any shape and be used with any form of lamp
but the chief employment of our lamps will be in connection with Railway lamps,
such as band lamps, head and tail lamps of trains, Guards, Ticket Examiners, and
Shunters lamps some of which have coloured glasses for signalling purposes
For the purpose of our invention we fit a casing on the outside of an oil reservoir
which is entirely enclosed except by perforations at the bottom of the casing and
to an opening directly under the burner cap where it is provided with wire
gauze, the perforations are in the bottom of the casing and correspond to other
apertures in the base of the lamp so that air may enter freely into the space
between the reservoir and the casing said air having free access and passage all
round the reservoir to the wire gauze through which it issues in a finely divided
state to feed the burner through the orifices formed within the cap thus ensuring
a constant and uniform supply of air to the flame which prevents flickering and in
the case of hand lamps such as are used for shunting, there is no possibility of the

page_text: flame being extinguished as is now commonly the case particularly with shunters
lamps from the sudden movement and rough usage which they undergo The fire
passage of air between the casing also keeps the oil reservoir cool and the oil at an
uniform temperature consequently producing an unvarying brilliancy or brightness
of flame at all times
The bottom of the burner is complete and not perforated and where it screws
into the oil reservoir it rests upon a metal ring which not only steadies it and
produces a solidity at the screw joint
The reservoir is thus bermetically sealed except to the wick tube and to another
tube which we make of bow shape the two ends being in the reservoir for the
reception of any vapour that may form, which vapour may leave the reservoir and
escape from a small perforation in the bow into the upper part of the lamp and
away by the weather openings
The legs of the bowed pipe serve for the attachment of the reflector, which may
be fixed or adjustable thereon
H GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said T W Shaw and
T M Harvey

page_text: Improvements in Lamps for Burning Mineral Oil
We THOMAS WRIGHT SHAW of Durban, Natal, Inspector of Railways, and
THOMAS MORGAN HARVEY of Gresham Buildings, Basinghall Street, London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LAMPS FOR BURNING MINERAL OIL," 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 attach on or to the reservoir of mineral oil
lamps an outer jacket or casing perforated at the bottom and somewhat open at
the top under the burner cap where said jacket is provided with a wire gauze
screen allow the inflowing air to pass to the burner under the cap the lamp being
otherwise ventilated in the usual way The air in passing between the jacket and
the oil reservoir tends to keep the oil cool and prevents the flame rising beyond
a given height when set by the usual thumb button or wick lifter
Secondly To provide the oil reservoir with a bowed over pipe perforated or
provided with a hole at the top of the bow to allow the vapour arising from the
oil should it become heated to escape said bowed over pipe serving as a support to
the reflector which can be adjusted on said pipe
The bottom of the burner proper
18 not perforated consequently there 18 no danger, any vapour formed in the
reservoir being kept from actual contact with the flame
These oil reservoirs may be of any shape and be used with any form of lamp
but the chief employment of our lamps will be in connection with Railway lamps
such as hand lamps, head and tail lamps of trains, Guards, Ticket Examiners, and
Shunters lamps in some of which have colored glasses for signalling purposes
For the purpose of our invention which we clearly show in the annexed drawings
Figures 1 and 2 we fit a casing A on the outside of an oil reservoir B which is
entirely enclosed except by perforations C at the bottom of the casing A and to an
opening directly under the burner cap where it is provided with a screen of wire
gauze D, the perforations C are in the bottom of the casing A and correspond to
other apertures in the base of the lamp so that air may enter freely into the space
between the reservoir and the casing, said air having free access and passage all
round the reservoir to the wire gauze through which it issues in a finely divided
state to feed the flame through the orifices F formed within the cap G thus ensuring
a constant uniform supply of air to the flame which prevents flickering and in the
case of hand lamps such as are used for shunting there is no possibility of the flame
being extinguished as is now commonly the case particularly with shunters lamps
from the sudden movement and rough usage which they undergo, the free passage
of air between the casing also keeps the oil reservoir cool and the oil at an
uniform temperature consequently producing an unvarying brilliancy or brightness
of flame at all times.
The bottom of the burner that screws into the oil reservoir is not perforated and
when screwed into the oil reservoir and rests with its ring H upon the casing A to
steady it and produce a solidity at the screw joint

page_text: The reservoir is thus hermetically closed except to the wick tube I and to another
tube J which we make of bow shape at the upper part the two ends K being in
the reservoir for the reception of any vapour that may form, which vapour may
leave the reservoir and escape from a small perforation L in the bow into the upper
part of the lamp and away by the weather openings
The legs of the bowed pipe seive for the attachment of the reflector M which
may be fixed or adjustable thereon The lamp shown in the drawing is that known
as the guards lamp provided with movable colored glasses N, P, which can be
moved round as desired between the flame and the lens Q for caution or danger
purposes on a spring catch R being temporarilly released from its notch in the well
known manner
The wick of this lamp is adjustable from the outside bottom the stem S of the
button T having a pinion U in gear with another pinion V on the stem of the wick
elevator
Just below the pinion U we fit a spring W which keeps the teeth in gear and
prevents the wick dropping during rough usage
The slit X in the cap has its two sides flattened down to ensure a conical shaped
flame from a perfectly straight trimmed wick.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1 Encasing the oil reservoir by a jacket forming a chamber between to supply
air to the burner finely divided by a screen fitted within the burner as bei ein set
forth and substantially as shown by the drawings hereto annexed
2 Fitting an escape pipe J to the oil reservoir with an outlet at the upper part 1
as and for the purpose described and substantially as shown
3 Separating the oil reservoir from the burner cap by a solid base as and for
the purpose described and substantially as shown in the annexed drawings
4 Flattening the top of the burner cap as and for the purpose described
H GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said T W Shaw and
T M Harvey