IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND LAMP BURNERS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Edward Hearson, of No. 115, Southwark Street,
in the County of Surrey, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LAMPS AND LAMP BURNERS,”
Sealed the 27th October 1877, and dated the 7th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Edward Hearson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th May 1877.
CHARLES EDWARD HEARSON, of No. 115, Southwark Street, in the County of
Surrey, Gas Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND LAMP BURNERS."
My Invention consists, firstly, in constructing the lanterns or cases of street
lamps as follows:-I make the upper or roof part of the said cases separate from
the lower part, and I provide the said upper part with tongues of metal which take
into slots in the lower part, by which means the two parts can when necessary be
securely fastened together. The said lower part consists of a frame or skeleton
case, having a door on one side, the sides and lower part of which frame and door
are formed of grooved or channelled iron, or of strips of tin plate bent into a channel
form, in which grooves the panes of glass rest, and from which they may be readily
slidden out, and in which they may be readily replaced when necessary, no putty
or other cement and no fastenings being required. On the inside of the bottom of
the said frame flanges are formed, on which rests the bottom of the said lantern or
case, which consists of a sheet of glass, in which holes are formed for ventilation.
I prefer to form the upper part of the roof of the case of tin plate, and I provide it
with the usual means for ventilation.
By forming the said case as described the two parts may be separated and
conveniently packed (the one within the other) for transport, and the glass when
broken may be much more readily replaced than when it is secured in the frame
by putty as usual.
My Invention consists, further, of an improvement in vapour burners, that is,
burners for vaporizing liquid and highly volatile hydrocarbons, such as benzoline,
and burning the vapour so produced. These burners, as ordinarily constructed,
consist of a tube packed with cotton, through which the benzoline passes and in
which it is vaporized by the heat of the flame when the burner is in action, the
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page_text: vapour passing to the burner and becoming mixed with air, which is drawn by the
current of vapour into the tube through holes formed therein.
In using these burners heat is applied to the tube containing the cotton and a
portion of the liquid is thus vaporized, which vapour being ignited keeps the said
tube hot whereby the supply of vapour is continued. This preliminary heating
of the tube is a tedious operation, and the object of this part of my Invention is to
simplify and expedite it.
-
According to one arrangement I form the air holes herein-before referred to in
the tube near the burner, and below the said holes I affix a small cup; on the tap
being turned, so as to allow the liquid to pass through the cotton, a portion of the
said liquid runs through the said air holes into the cup. The flow of liquid is then
shut off by turning the tap, and the portion which has run into the cup is ignited
and allowed to burn, the tube containing the liquid becoming thereby sufficiently
heated to vaporize the said liquid, which vapour passing out at the burner is
ignited by the burning liquid in the cup. When the liquid in the cup is consumed
the tap is again opened and the liquid allowed to flow through the tube, tho
vaporization being continued by the heat of the burning vapour.
When the heat from the vapour consumed at the burner cannot be used for
vaporizing the liquid I construct the burner as follows:-I make the air holes near
the burner and affix a cup below them, as in the arrangement herein-before
described, and I affix small tubes to the burner tube a little below the burner
(which small tubes communicate with the burner tube) and bend them downward,
their free ends being below the cup aforesaid. In using this arrangement a little
liquid is allowed to flow into the cup and is ignited. Part of the vapour produced
by the action of the heat on the burner tube passes out at the burner, and part at
the free ends of the small tubes, which latter part rising around the cup, or passing
through holes formed near its edge, becomes ignited by the burning liquid therein
and heats the cotton packed tube, thereby continuing the generation of the vapour
until the supply of liquid is shut off at the tap.
My Invention consists, further, in arranging a vessel or reservoir for containing
liquid outside of a case or lantern constructed as herein-before described, and
arranging inside the said case a burner, constructed as herein-before described, and
connected by means of a pipe with the said vessel or reservoir. This arrangement
is particularly applicable for street lamps and other outdoor lamps.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Edward Hearson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
November 1877.
CHARLES EDWARD HEARSON, of No. 115, Southwark Street, in the County of
Surrey, Gas Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND LAMP BURNERS."
My Invention consists, firstly, in constructing the lanterns or cases of street
lamps as follows:-I make the upper or roof part of the said cases separate from
the lower part, and I provide the said upper part with tongues of metal which
take into slots in the lower part, by which means the two parts can when necessary
be securely fastened together. The said lower part consists of a frame or skeleton
case, having a door on one side, the sides and lower part of which frame and door
are formed of tin plate or sheet metal, bent into a channel form, or bent and
soldered together so as to form a grooved or channelled frame, in which grooves
the panes of glass rest, and from which they may be readily slidden out, and in
which they may be readily replaced when necessary, no putty or other cement and
no fastenings being required. On the inside or bottom of the said lantern or
case flanges are formed, on which rests the bottom of the said lantern or case
which consists of a sheet of glass, spaces being left between the sheet of glass and

page_text: the frame for ventilation. I prefer to form the upper part of the roof of the case
of tin plate or sheet metal, and I provide it with the usual means for ventilation.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is an elevation of a lantern constructed
according to this part of my Invention; Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the said
lantern taken on the line 1, Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a vertical section taken ou
the line 2, Figure 2:
Figures 4 and 5 represent in elevation, partly in section, portions of the upper
and lower parts of the said lantern detached, Figure 4 being the upper part and
Figure 5 the lower part.
The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in each of the
said Figures of the Drawings.
The upper or roof part of the lantern or case is formed of pieces of tin plate or
sheet metal A, A, connected together and strengthened at the angles by soldering
thereto strips of metal a¹, a¹, bent into a semi-tubular form; a³, a³, are flanges
formed around the part A by bending up the metal thereof at an angle to the roof
part; as, a³, are the tongues of metal affixed to the under sides of the said flanges.
The said roof part is provided with the usual means a' for ventilation.
The case constituting the lower part of the lantern is constructed as follows:-
Strips of sheet metal B, B, are bent longitudinally and soldered together at their
ends so as to form a rectangular frame having flanges 61, 61; other strips of metal
C, cl, are then bent up and soldered together into the sectional forms represented
in Figure 2. These parts are then each soldered at one end to the outside of the
frame B (as best shown in Figure 3), one to each angle. The free ends are then
connected by soldering thereto a grooved and flanged rectangular frame formed by
soldering together strips of metal D, d', previously bent into the sectional forms
represented in Figure 3. There is thus formed a frame, having grooves or channels
into which the panes of glass E, E, E, may be slidden, so as to form a lantern..
The door of the said lantern consists of a frame formed of strips of metal F, f¹, ƒ ƒ³,
the strips f, f, f³, being bent into a channel form, as represented in Figure 2, and
soldered together at f³, fo, the free ends of the strips f¹, fs, being soldered to the
ends of the flat strip F which forms the top of the door frame. The said door is
hinged at one side to the frame of the lantern at f7, and is provided on the other
side with the usual fastening. The door is glazed by sliding into the said grooved
frame a sheet of glass F¹; G is a sheet of glass forming the bottom of the lantern,
which rests on the flanges on the inside of the frame B, d¹, the corners being cut
off at gl, gl, for ventilation. In the flange 6' at the upper edge of the body of the
lantern slots 6, 62, are formed through which when the two parts of the said lantern
are put together the tongues a³, a³, pass. The two parts may then be secured
together by bending the said tongues under the flanges b¹, b', as represented in
Figures 11 and 3. When it is wished to remove the glass from the frame or door
it is raised slightly, so as to bring it into about the position represented by the
dotted lines F*, Fx, Figure 1, when owing to the tapering form of the case the
sheet of glass will be free from the frame on three sides and can be removed.
By forming the said case as described the upper and lower parts may be separated
and conveniently packed (the one within the other) for transport, and the glass when
broken may be much more readily replaced than when it is secured in the frame by
putty as usual,
My Invention consists further of improvements in vapour burners, that is, burners
for vaporizing liquid and highly volatile hydrocarbons, such as benzoline, and
burning the vapour so produced. These burners as ordinarily constructed consist.
of a tube packed with cotton, through which the benzoline passes, and in which it.
is vaporized by the heat of the flame when the burner is in action, the vapour
passing to the burner and becoming mixed with air which is drawn by the current
of vapour into the tube through holes formed therein.
In using these burners heat is applied to the tube containing the cotton, and a.
portion of the liquid is thus vaporized, which vapour being ignited keeps the said:
tube hot, whereby the supply of vapour is continued. This preliminary heating of

page_text: the tube is a tedious operation, and the object of this part of my Invention is to
simplify and expedite it.
According to one arrangement I form the air holes, herein-before referred to, in
the tube near the burner, and below the said holes I affix a small cup. This
arrangement is illustrated in side elevation in Figure 6 of the accompanying
Drawings. Figure 7 represents the cup separately in plan. A is the cotton packed
tube; a is the tube leading from the reservoir or liquid to be consumed; a³ is the
tap for regulating and stopping the flow thereof; as is the piece of metal for
absorbing heat from the flame when the burner is in action, and conducting the
heat to the tube A, where the vapour is generated, and whence it passes by the
tubes a, as, to the burner a"; a is one of the air holes which are formed on each
side of the tube a³, and near the burner aº, as represented; a³ is the cup affixed to
the said burner.
My improved burner is used and acts as follows:-On the tap a² being turned so
as to allow of the liquid to pass through the cotton, a portion of the said liquid runs
through the holes a into the cup a³. The flow of liquid is then shut off by turning
the tap a, and the portion which has run into the cup is ignited and allowed to
burn, the tube A becoming thereby sufficiently heated to vaporize the liquid con-
tained in it, and the generated vapour passing out at the burner a" is ignited by the
burning liquid in the cup as. When the liquid in the cup is consumed, the tap a²
is again opened and the liquid allowed to flow to the tube A, where the vaporization
is continued by the heat from the flame at the burner; a is the screwed plug by
which the size of the passage for the vapour may be regulated.
When the heat from the vapour consumed at the burner cannot be used for
vaporizing the liquid, I construct the burner as follows:-I make the air holes near
the burner and affix a cup below them, as in the arrangement herein-before described,
and I affix small tubes to the burner tube a little below the burner, (which small
tubes communicate with the burner tube) and bend them downwards, their free ends
being below the cup aforesaid.
This arrangement is illustrated in Figures 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying
Drawings, Figure 8 being a side elevation, Figure 9 a plan, and Figure 10 a vertical
section taken on the line 3, Figure 9.
The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in each of the
said Figures 8, 9, and 10.
B is the burner; C is the burner tube; D is the cotton packed tube; c¹, c², are the
air holes; E is the cup; and c³, c³, are the small tubes which communicate with the
burner tube C. The free ends of the said tubes c³, c³, are plugged, and near the
said ends small holes c, o, are formed. I prefer to affix around the cup E a shield e¹
(omitted from Figure 8 in order to show the other parts) which extends below the
ends of the tubes c³, c. When I use this shield I make indentations in the sides of
the cup E so as to form passages e², e², between the said cup and shield; d' is the
tap for regulating the flow of liquid. In using this arrangement a little liquid is
allowed to flow into the cup E, and is ignited. Part of the vapour produced by the
action of the heat on the tube D passes out at the burner B, and part at the
holes c, c, in the tubes c³, c³, which latter part rising around the cup E (or when
the shield e¹ is used passing through the passages e, e) becomes ignited by the
burning liquid therein, and burning in jets at the holes c, c, heats the tube D,
thereby continuing the generation of the vapour until the supply of liquid is shut
off at the tap d. The object of the shield e¹ is to hide the jets of vapour burning
at the holes c, c, and to prevent loss of heat from the jets c', c. The liquid is
supplied to the burner under pressure in order to cause it to ascend to the tube D.
My Invention consists further in arranging a vessel or reservoir for containing
inflammable liquid outside of a case or lantern, constructed as herein-before
described, and arranging inside the said case a burner constructed according to one
or other of the arrangements herein-before described, the said burner being con-
nected by means of a pipe with the said vessel or reservoir. Figure 11 is an
elevation of a lantern reservoir and burner thus combined.;.F is the reservoir which
.

page_text: is connected to the roof of the lantern by hooks on the former taking into staples
on the latter. One of the said hooks is shown at f¹ and one of the said staples
at f2; f is the tube leading to the burner f*, which is supported by the said
tube f³ inside the lantern. This arrangement is particularly applicable for street
lamps and other out-door lamps.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the precise details herein-before described, as they may be varied without departing
from the nature of my said Invention, but I claim as my said Invention,―
Firstly. The improvement in vapour burners, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say,
making the air holes near the burner, and arranging below them a cup for con-
taining the benzoline or other volatile hydrocarbon, which passes from the said
holes when the tap is opened, the said parts being so arranged that when the
liquid in the cup is ignited it will vaporize the liquid in the cotton-packed
tube and ignite the vapour so produced when it issues from the burner.
Secondly. The improvement in vapour burners, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say,
forming air holes in the burner tube near the burner, and arranging below them a
cup to hold the benzoline or other volatile hydrocarbon flowing from the said holes,
and arranging in connection with the burner tube a perforated tube or perforated
tubes, so that when the liquid in the said cup is ignited it shall cause the vapour to
be generated in the cotton-packed tube, part of which vapour issuing from the
perforated tubes aforesaid and becoming ignited by the burning liquid in the cup,
continues the vaporization of the liquid in the cotton-packed tube after the flame
from the liquid in the cup has ignited the mixture of air and vapour at the burner
and has been burnt out.
Thirdly. The combination essentially as herein-before described and illustrated
in Figure 11 of the accompanying Drawings, of a lantern and a burner constructed
according to my Invention, and an outside reservoir.
In witness, I, the said Charles Edward Hearson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
CHARLES EDW³. HEARSON.
(L.S.)