AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR LETTING ON AND SHUTTING OFF GAS, AND IGNITING THE SAME
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF AND APPARATUS FOR LETTING ON AND SHUTTING OFF GAS, AND IGNITING
THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Edwin Eaton Bean and
William Howard Mumler, both of Boston, Massachusetts, United States
of America.
Sealed the 9th April 1867, and dated the 20th February 1867.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 20th February 1867, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF AND APPARATUS FOR LETTING ON AND SHUTTING OFF GAS, AND IGNITING THE
SAME," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have
made solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to me from abroad
1

page_text: by Edwin Eaton Bean and William Howard Mumler, both of Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby declare that
the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully describes
and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, in and by the following statement, reference being had to
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings making part of this Specification :-
The said Invention consists in an improved apparatus for letting on and
shutting off gas and igniting the same by means of electricity, two separate
currents passing through independent wires being employed, the one to
liberate clockwork which is connected with the valve or stop-cock of the
burner, and the other to throw the spark which ignites the gas. The said
Invention also consists in surrounding the tip of the burner with a removable
sleeve of non-conducting material for insulating the conducting wires; and,
furthermore, consists in embedding the wires through which the currents of
electricity for lighting the gass pass in a sleeve of non-conducting material
which surrounds the tip of the burner, or in the non-conducting tip of the
burner itself, by which means the wires are held firmly in place, and prevented
from being thrown out of their proper position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved apparatus; Figure 2 is a
vertical section through the line a, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a vertical
section through the burner and the insulating sleeve which surrounds it. Like
letters refer to the same parts in each of the Figures.
A is the gas pipe, the stop-cock B of which is made to turn easily, and is
operated by a shaft C which carries a pin a arranged to strike against the
projections 6 on the said stop-cock; the end of the shaft C may be perma-
nently connected with the stop-cock B by means of a suitable joint, if
preferred. The shaft C runs in bearings in the framework D, and is connected
with ordinary clockwork E, which is actuated by a spring c; a weight or
other motor may however be employed if preferred. F is a disk of metal
or other suitable material which is permanently secured to the shaft C outside
the frame D; this disk F is provided with four notches d at equal distances
apart, by means of which and a retaining pawl or catch e the clock work is
arrested and held stationary at the required times. The lower end of the
pawl is attached to a horizontal rock shaft which is supported in bearings g;
to the under side of this shaft is secured an arm or lever h, which carries at
its lower end the armature i of the electro-magnet G, the wires j, k, of which

page_text: are connected with the two poles of a galvanic battery. On completing the
electric circuit by means of a suitable keyboard the coils G become magnetic
and attract the armature i, which draws the pawl out of its notch in the
disk F to liberate the clockwork and allow the said disk to make a quarter
revolution, when it is arrested by the pawl e falling into the next notch d;
the quarter revolution of the disk F with its shaft C turns the cock B to let
on the gas; the sparks are then thrown through the gas to ignite it by means
of the platinum wires l, m, which are connected with the poles of a suitable
battery in a well-known manner. The platinum wires l, m, are embedded in
the lava or other non-conducting sleeve H which surrounds the tip 4 of the
burner, by which means they are held firmly in place in the exact position
required, or the wires may be embedded in the tip of the burner itself which
may be formed of non-conducting material, and the sleeve H dispensed with
if preferred. By thus embedding the wires in a sleeve or in the tip of the
burner instead of passing them up on the outside of the tip, as has heretofore
been customary, all danger of their being disarranged and rendered inoperative
is avoided. It will be seen that the sleeve, above described, containing the
wires l, m, may be readily applied to ordinary burners in common use, and it
may be removed and replaced with great facility for repairs or other purpose.
When it is desired to extinguish the light the operator completes the circuit
through the electro-magnet G to liberate the clockwork and allow the
disk F with its shaft to again make a quarter revolution to turn the cock B
and shut off the gas.
It is necessary to prevent the liability of the disk F
being revolved more than a quarter way round by the operator retaining bis
finger too longer upon the key, and thus causing the pawl e to be held back
until the next notch in the disk has been carried past it, which would dis-
arrange the apparatus and render its action uncertain.
For this purpose a
bent arm n is secured to the shaft f so that when the pawl e is drawn back
out of its notch in the disk F the said arm will be raised against the resistance
of a light spring o, its outer end being brought into contact with one of the
wheels P of the clockwork which arrests it until the operator removes his
finger from the key to break the circuit; the spring o then draws down the
arm liberating the clockwork, and allowing the disk F to revolve until
arrested by the pawl e falling into the next notch d. When the pawl e is
first drawn back out of its notch the "lost motion" of the clockwork carries
the disc F sufficiently far round to prevent the pawl on its release from falling
back into the same notch.
By means of the above-described apparatus all the street lamps throughout
a city, or the lamps in a building, may be simultaneously lighted or extin-

page_text: guished with certainty by a single operator at a central station, thus effecting
a great saving of time and labor, as the services of a great number of men
usually employed for this purpose may be dispensed with, and as the lamps
are all lighted or extinguished simultaneously a considerable saving in the
consumption of gas is also effected; the said improved apparatus may be
applied at a small cost, and is not liable to get out of order.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim opening and closing the stop-
cock or valve of a gas burner by clockwork liberated by means of electricity
or the current from a galvanic battery, substantially as described.
Also, the arm n or its equivalent for arresting the clockwork and preventing
the stop-cock from being turned more than a quarter revolution at each
operation, substantially as set forth.
Also, the non-conducting sleeve H having the wires l, m, embedded therein
in combination with the tip of the burner, substantially as described.
Also, embedding the wires l, m, in a sleeve Hof non-conducting material
surrounding the tip of the burner or in the non-conducting tip of the burner
itself, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
WM. ROB. LAKE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)