AN IMPROVED SELF LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS FOR GAS BURNERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"
AN
IMPROVED SELF LIGHTING AND EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS FOR GAS BURNERS
"
a communication to me from abroad by Joseph Dufourg (Clockmaker) of 4 Rue
Fourbastard, Toulouse France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved self lighting and extinguishing apparatus
for gas burners.
The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in
which figure 1 represents a face view and figure 2 a side view of the apparatus.
Figure 3 is a detail of the cock. The same letters of reference indicate the same
parts in the three figures. a is a batswing or other burner with which is combined,
near the nipple, a pilot burner 6 which always remains alight and whose flame can
be automatically regulated in the manner hereinafter described. The cock c which
controls the supply to the burner a is connected with a spring barrel e which is
wound by a key applied on the square e¹, the spring being held in tension by a
ratchet d and pawl p. The plug of cock c is formed with a flange q provided on
each of its faces with two stops ff¹ at diametrically opposite points, the stops f of
the one face being at an angle of 90° to the stops fi of the other face. g, o, i
and h, o, k are two bellcrank levers oscillating on a centre o, to release the
stops ff at the desired time, the lever i, o, k being operated by the stud r and
the lever g, oi by the stud l. The two studs 1, r are mounted on the ends of two
springs and each of which is provided with a screwy taking into notches
formed around the periphery of a wheel m, for fixing the springs in any position
thereon. The wheel m forms part of a clock movement and makes one revolution
in twenty four hours and in addition to being notched as above mentioned it
is also graduated to correspond to the twenty four hours of the day. A hand w

page_text: mounted on a separate arbor and operated by ordinary wheel work inakes one turn
in the hour and marks the minutes upon a dial u¹ divided into sixty parts.
The clock work being wound up and set for the desired time and also the spring
barrel e, the wheel m which receives continuous motion in the reverse direction to
that of the hands of a watch carry with it the springs v and x and their studs 7
and l. Suppose for example it is the stud Z which is used to turn on the cock, the
stud will come in contact with the tail end i of bent lever g, o, i, oscillate it and
disengage stop f; the cock will thus be turned until the succeeding stop f¹ on the
opposite face to that on which stop f¹ is placed abuts against the arm h of the bent
lever h, o, k. The cock is thus turned one quarter round and opened to admit the
gas which is at once ignited by the pilot burner b. When the pin r comes in
contact with the same effects are produced, the cock being turned a quarter round
to cut off the supply of gas to the burner. Thus the lighting and extinguishing of
the gas can be automatically effected at any desired moment and for any number
of hours previously determined by simply adjusting the springs x and v in the
notches of wheel m.
In order also to automatically regulate the size of the jet of the pilot burner the
pipe leading to said burner b is branched onto the gas pipe z below the cock and at
the junction between the pipes b and z a small bypass 8 is provided which allows a
small quantity of gas to pass when the cock is open as in figure 3. The object of
this arrangement is to supply only just sufficient gas to the pilot burner at such
time to keep it in ignition, as were the supply too abundant a waste of gas would
ensue, besides which the main jet would be disturbed. It is necessary that the
pilot jet should be kept alight while the burner is in use, as otherwise it would not
be relighted, the action of turning off the main burner being too sudden to allow
sufficient time for the air to escape. When on the other hand the burner a is
turned off, it is necessary that the pilot burner should have as large a flame as
possible in order that the lighting of the main burner shall be effected with
certainty, when the supply is turned on; for this purpose, the passage n through
the plug of the cock is formed with two inclined recesses j making the passagen of
Z form When the cock is turned off one of these recesses; coincides with the by
pass s and allows the gas to pass fully into pipe b.
As before mentioned the wheel m moves the reverse way to that of the hands of
a watch for the reason that the mechanism is mounted upon the back plate of the
clock work; the front plate can thus be utilized for mounting an ordinary clock
dial and hands upon the front plate.

page_text: arm of the bent lever h, o, k. The cock is thus turned one quarter round and
opened to admit the gas which is at once ignited by the pilot burner b. When
the pin r comes in contact with the same effects are produced, the cock being
turned a quarter round to cut off the supply of gas to the burner. Thus the
lighting and extinguishing of the gas can be automatically effected at any desired
moment and for any number of hours previously determined by simply adjusting
the springs and v in the notches of wheel m.
In order also to automatically regulate the size of the jet of the pilot burner
the pipe leading to said burner b is branched onto the gas pipe z below the cock
and at the junction between the pipes b and a small by pass s is provided
which allows a small quantity of gas to pass when the cock is open as in figure 3.
The object of this arrangement is to supply only just sufficient gas to the pilot
burner at such time to keep it in ignition, as were the supply too abundant
a waste of gas would ensue, besides which the main jet would be disturbed. It
is necessary that the pilot jet should be kept alight while the burner is in use,
as otherwise it would not be relighted, the action of turning off the main burner
being too sudden to allow sufficient time for the air to escape. When on the
other hand the burner a is turned off, it is necessary that the pilot burner should
have as large a flame as possible in order that the lighting of the main burner
shall be effected with certainty, when the supply is turned on; for this purpose,
the passage n through the plug of the cock is formed with two inclined recesses j
making the passage n of Z form. When the cock is turned off one of these
recesses j coincides with the by pass 8 and allows the gas to pass fully into
pipe b.
As before mentioned the wheel in moves the reverse way to that of the hands
of a watch for the reason that the mechanism is mounted upon the back plate of
the clockwork; the front plate can thus be utilized for mounting upon it an
ordinary clock dial and hands. When this improved gas lighting and extinguishing
apparatus is applied to multiple and other large burners it is constructed as
represented in perspective in Figure 4. in which the letters of reference do not
indicate the same parts as in the other Figures.
The cock is placed behind the first plate and an eight-day clock train behind the
second plate C is a dial divided into twenty-four hours, each hour being also
divided into four equal parts. The dial rotates from right to left, or contrary to
the hands of a watch, and has ninety-six teeth like a gear wheel which serve to
fix the hands A. A¹ A2. The hand A which is of white steel, turns on the gas
to the main jets by acting on one of the arms m of the six-armed wheel M The
hand A which is of blue steel, turns off the gas at the main jets by acting on one
of the arms m'; b is a batswing burner which is lighted just before the main jets
are extinguished A' is a hand, also of blue steel, which acts on arm m² for
extinguishing the burner b. a is a small hand moving from right to left, and
indicating the minutes on a fixed dial C¹. I index-arrow indicating the hour on
the movable dial C. o hole for the winding key, G covered opening by which
access is had to the regulator, B multiple burner of any kind. The flame of the
batswing burner b takes the place of the multiple burner when the full light is
not required. V small pilot-burner The index arrow indicates the hour upon the
movable dial C, and the small hand a the minutes upon the fixed dial C¹. The
dial is set to the hour by means of the small square, which carries the small
hand a
The white hand a is then fixed in the watch corresponding to the pre-
arranged time for the general lighting up the blue hand on the right is set to the
time for the extinguishment of the multiple burner, and the other blue hand is set
to the time for the general extinguishment of the lights. As shown in Figure 5
the cock makes one sixth of a turn only for each function. When applying the
same arrangement to a single burner B, the burner b being dispensed with, only,
one of the hands A would be used, and the wheel M would have four arms only,
while the cock would make one-fourth of a turn only for each function,

page_text: Having now particularly described, and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention; and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st In an automatic gas lighting and extinguishing apparatus, the combination
with a clock movement actuating a notched disc m of the spring studs » l, bell
crank-levers, goi and ho k stops f f¹ on the plug of a cock C combined with
a spring barrel e, and provided with passages for the full supply of the pilot
burner b when the main burner is shut off, the dial m in combination with the
dial u and hour hand u all as herein before described, and shown in the
drawings.
2nd In an automatic gas lighting, and extinguishing apparatus, the combination
with the pilot burner V, auxiliary burner b, and main or multiple burner B of
a four, or six armed wheel M, m m² m², a notched dial C receiving continuous
rotary motion from clock work and acting in combination with dial C₁ and hand a
to denote the time, as hereinbefore described and illustrated, and of arms A A¹ A³
for effecting the opening and closing of the gas cock, as specified.
3rd. The application of the apparatus herein described to all kinds, and sizes of
burners, as and for the purpose specified.