A NEW OR IMPROVED GAS LAMP OR BURNER
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
KILBY, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Clerk, and HUGH FORD BACON,
late of Leeds, in the same County, but now of Whitchurch, in the County of
Salop, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Fourth, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of July now last past,
did give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Kilby and Hugh Ford Bacon,
His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
Thomas Kilby and Hugh Ford Bacon, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Kilby and Hugh Ford Bacon,
our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED GAS LAMP OR BURNER;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging us, the said Thomas Kilby
and Hugh Ford Bacon, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto bad, will more fully appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Thomas Kilby and Hugh Ford Bacon, do hereby declare that the nature
of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
is particularly described and ascertained by the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and as follows; that is to say:-
The improvement or improvements we have invented is applicable to the
kind of gas burners commonly known by the name of Argand burners, which
are so constructed as to permit an external and also an internal current of
atmospheric air to effect the combustion of the gas in the most advantageous
manner; but it has frequently been observed that as Argand burners are at
present constructed there is no adjustment for the supply of atmospheric air,
the internal aperture and also the external openings made in the glassholder
for the admission of air being fixed and invariable; neither has due attention.
been paid to the shape or form of the internal apertures of these burners,
owing to which two most important objects have been entirely omitted,
namely, a method of duly limiting the quantity of atmospheric air 'supplied to
the gas through the internal passage or aperture, and also, the shape of that
part of the internal aperture from which the air, escapes, and at which place
it-should-be-duly-limited-and-be--made-to-impinge or strike-upon-the-internal-
cylinder of the flame in the most advantageous manner, and thereby increase
the light, Various attempts have been made to adjust or limit the supply of
air to the burner externally by, diminishing the openings in the glassholder,..
but very little advantage, was obtained in this way, while the internal passage.
or aperture remained the same, for it is only by a combination of the two,
when properly formed and adjusted, that the most intense, light can be obtained
with the smallest proportionate consumption of gas.....
And having, effected, these most important advantages by means of our
Invention, we shall now shew, by a careful examination and description of the..
common Argand gas burner where the, imperfections exist, and also shew how
we, have, invented and applied such improvements as will make gas burners.
of this, description.more economical.
Figure 1 in the Drawing represents. a vertical section through the centre
of a common Argand gas, burner.--a al-represents the aperture or internal
diameter of the cylindrical passage through which atmospheric air is supplied.
to the internal surface of the flame. It will readily be seen that the passage
is perfectly, cylindrical from a to al; the lower end al being. spread so as to..
resemble the mouth of a trumpet; b, b, are, the two sides of the external
cylinder enclosing the space c, c, through which the gas passes and supplies
the flame, being emitted through various holes drilled through the steel.

page_text: plate d; e is a shoulder upon which the glassholder rests; and f is the forked
passage which terminates below in a female screw, by which it is attached to
the branch or supplying pipe.
Fig. 2 is a bird's-eye view of a glassholder commonly used with the kind
of burner seen at Fig. 1. It will be seen that the spaces between the ra:lial
bars, through which the air passes to supply the external part of the flame,
are fixed and determined, there being no contrivance to adjust or limit the
quantity of air which passes through thein.
Fig. 3 represents a plan of a brass plate pierced with a number of holes.
This plate rests upon the four bars of the glassholder, and limits the supply
of air by diminishing the space through which it passes.
Fig. 4 represents a section of the same plate through the parts shewn by
the line 1, 2, in Fig. 3. This kind of adjustment has frequently been used;
but the advantage obtained in point of economy was so trifling that it has
very rarely been adopted, being insufficient by itself to produce any very
beneficial result; but when it is combined with other means which we have
invented, its use is rendered highly important as regards economy; there being
a considerable saving effected in the consumption of gas used by the common
Argand burner to produce the same intensity of light.
Fig. 5 represents a vertical section of a common Argand burner, the same
letters being placed to designate. the same parts described before in Fig. 1.
9 represents a section of a cylindrical piece of metal having a hollow frustrum
of a cone formed in it internally, as shewn at h; this frustrum of a hollow cone
is inverted, by which means the smallest aperture is placed downwards, forming
the means of limiting the supply of air to the internal part of the flame; and
by making the part from h to 9 conical or any shape that will permit the air
to spread or expand so as to strike against or impinge on the flame, a great
increase of light will be effected by this additional appendage when it is
combined with an external adjusting plate, before described in Fig. 3. From
the experiments that have been made it has been found that the aperture and
angle of the conical passage will admit of a little variation (as hereafter
stated) from those given in the Drawing, though the dimensions there shewn
have given the most satisfactory results. It will also be seen that as the
ylindrical piece g forming the adjustment may be detached, it will be per-
ectly practicable to apply it to any of the Argand burners now in use, or burners
may be constructed with our improvement in a solid manner, as shewn in
Fig. 6, the principle in each case being the same.
Fig. 7 represents a section of a common Argand burner having another
kind of internal adjustment applied which we call a diaphragm. The aperture

page_text: in this is the same as the smallest end of the conical figure g, before
described, and the space above at i acts in a similar way as the cone g in
permitting the air to spread and strike against the flame, but not so advan
tageously, for although by the application of this improvement considerable
advantages are obtained, yet the greatest will be effected by the conical shape
we have described; and although we have in the Drawing represented our
Invention as applied to Argand burners of a cylindrical form, yet the same
principle may be applied to any kind or form of Argand burners where the
flame-is-supplied--with-an-internal-and-external-current of atmospheric air.
And we hereby declare the improvement we have invented on. the gas lamp
or burner is herein set forth and explained, and that it consists entirely in
constructing and applying a hollow frustrum of a.cone or a diaphragm to an
Argand burner in the manner and way we have described, which being
combined with the well-known. external adjusting plate (and which we do
not claim as our Invention) will produce a degree of economy in the con-
sumption of gas.
In conclusion, it is necessary to remark that the Figures in the said
Drawing are of the natural size in general use, as near as may be, but
a slight enlargement or diminution of the angle and aperture of the cone
may be adopted with advantage according to the purity or impurity of the.
gas, the less pure gas requiring a larger aperture in order to increase the
combustion.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Ford Bacon, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
traordinary in Chancery.
HUGH FORD (L.S.) BACON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fourth day of
December, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Hugh Ford Bacon
came before our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year above written.