IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Prosser, of 24, Dorset Place, Dorset
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT."
Sealed the 11th January 1860, and dated the 13th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Prosser at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
October 1859.
I, WILLIAM PROSSER, of 24, Dorset Place, Dorset Square, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT," to be
as follows:-
The Invention has reference to apparatus employed in the production of
light by the combustion of oxygen and hydrogen or carburetted hydrogen
gases on lime or other suitable material, and consists in enclosing the piece or
pieces of lime or other material in a case or frame, so constructed as to expose
the requisite portion of the surface of the lime or other material to the action
of the jet or jets of flame, by which the lime or other material is effectually
protected when cracked or otherwise injured from falling away from its place
or being otherwise displaced by the action of the heat, cooling, or otherwise,
and giving facility for removing the lime or other material from the lamp
when it has become unfit for use and requires to be replenished.

page_text: The lime or other material so protected can be used with greater certainty
than when it is applied to the lamp in a loose, or unconfined state.
I also cause the lime or other material so protected, or otherwise, to move
within the lamp pillar by means of mercury, water, oil, or other suitable
fluid, or sand, plumbago, or other similar material, which is permitted to
escape at any desired rate of velocity from a tube (in which it is enclosed) in
the manner of an hour glass, and thereby regulates the movement of the
lime or other material in its transit to and from or past the jet or jets
of flame.
This mode of effecting the movement of the lime or other material being
less complicated than clockwork or other mechanical devices for the purpose,
the foregoing improvements afford greater facility for periodically trimming,
charging, and maintaining the action of the lamp, thereby conducing to the
more complete continuity of the light, and its superior adaptation for the
general purposes of lighting.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Prosser in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PROSSER, of 24, Dorset Place, Dorset Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Prosser, Her special licence that I, the said William
Prosser, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Prosser, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE FRODUCTION OF LIGHT," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Prosser, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature

page_text: of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to he filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Prosser, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained inand by the following
statement:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus employed in
the production of light, and has reference to an Invention for improvements
in apparatus employed in the production of light, granted to Alfred Hope
Johnson Bastable, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, of which it is to be considered an
extension, both Inventions relating to apparatus employed in the production
of light by the combustion of oxygen and hydrogen or carburetted hydrogen
gases on lime or other suitable material.
The Invention herein-after described consists in so arranging and securing
the line or other suitable material in a metallic or other suitable case or
frame, parts of which are cut away where necessary to expose the lime or
other suitable material to the action of the jet or jets of flame, by which
arrangement the lime or other suitable material (ordinarily in convenient
pieces)is held together and moved as one piece, thus preventing the separation
of the pieces of lime or other suitable material should they become cracked or
otherwise injured by the action of the jet or jets of flame, or otherwise, and
avoiding the displacement of the pieces of lime or other suitable material
whether by the action of the jet or jets of flame or otherwise, and conducing.
more completely to the continuity of the light. The lime or other suitable
material is progressively moved to and from the jet or jets of flame by suitable
clockwork, as heretofore, or other suitable mechanical device, or by means of
fluids,liquids, or other bodies partaking of the like character, suitably disposed
to affect the required movement.
And in order the more fully to render explicit the mode of performing my
Invention, I have appended hereto an illustrative Drawing, shewing various
modifications of those parts which constitute my improvements, in which the
same letters of reference apply to similar parts in each of the Figures.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, shew a front and side view and sections.
of the metallic or other suitable case or frame which contains the lime or
other suitable material adapted for a variety of lamps where one or more jets
are used for illuminating the space fronting or surrounding them, the lime or

page_text: other suitable material being of any suitable form for projecting or dispersing
the light; care being taken not to expose large masses or surfaces of lime or
other suitable material to the flames, by which it will be rendered less liable
to be fractured by heat, and this may be controlled by limiting the aperture
in the outer case or guard to the dimensions of the flame. Figures 11
and 12 shew an arrangement for giving to the lime or other suitable material
a spiral movement during its progressive ascent or descent within the outer
protecting case a guard by which it is enclosed, such spiral movement being
effected by means of a pin at one end of the case or frame traversing a spiral
groove in the outer case or guard in the manner of the cotton wickbolder of
an argand lamp, or by a fixed directing plate, having notches, as shewn, in
Figure 12, in which the spiral bands or wires of the case work. Figures 13
and 14 shews the foregoing protective principle applied to the surface of a
revolving cylinder, by which a prolonged supply of lime or other suitable
material is conveniently obtained. Figures 15, 16, 17, shew the combined
improvements in the form of a complete lamp. A single jet is shewn fr
illustration, but any number of jets may be combined either in one spot to
concentrate their light in one direction, or they may be disposed in any
number round a common centre, or otherwise, to disseminate the light through
the surrounding space or any portion of it, and may either be used as a naked
light, or assisted by reflectors or lenses to disperse or concentrate the light.
The lime or other suitable material is here shewn as moved by the escape of
a flued, liquid or such like matter from a cylinder or other receptacle, allowing
the lime or other suitable material to follow it and fall by its gravity or
otherwise.
A is the lime or other suitable material (the best chalk lime is preferred) in
one or more pieces, as may be found convenient and suitable for the period of
time for which the light is required to be maintained, if for one hour a short
piece will suffice, but if required for several consecutive hours it will be found
convenient to combine several pieces as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 10, 13, whose
aggregate length shall be sufficient for the period required, being calculated at
the rate of 1 inch to 1 inch per hour or thereabouts. The abutting joints
should be well and closely fitted, so that the several pieces may rest fairly and
evenly the one piece upon the other without any interval between them. The
form of section given to the lime or other suitable material is in all cases
governed by the object in view, that is, the number of jets required, and the
mode of disposing the light; B, the metallic or other suitable case or frame
which is so formed as to hold the lime or other suitable material in such
manner as will prevent portions of it from falling away should it become

page_text: cracked or otherwise injured by the action of the heat of the jet or jets of flame
which impinge upon it or otherwise. This is simply effected by turning over
the edges of the metal (which I prefer), so as to form a groove for the recep-
tion of the lime or other suitable material, the lap of the edges being of
sufficient width and of a dovetail form, so as to retain the lime or other suitable
material, and prevent it from falling away. As it is desirable not to expose a
larger portion of the surface of the lime or other suitable material than is
necessary for the flames to act upon, the case or frame B is enclosed in a case
or guard C, which extends above and below the orifice of the jet or jets, and
is formed either in two parts with a space between them, and joined by
platinum wires or bands, or of a single piece having a portion or portions cut
away next the jet or jets, leaving only so much of the lime or other suitable
material exposed as will suffice for the spreading of the flame or flames, the
other portions of the surface being protected both above and below the point
of ignition from immediate contact with the atmosphere, and from the liability
to fall or crumble away by cracking or otherwise.
I further protect the lime or other suitable material from such accidents
when large surfaces are unavoidably exposed, by fixing or placing at the opening
Dwires, or bands E of platinum or other material, capable of withstanding the
heat as set forth in Bastable's Patent. By these means the irregularity of the
light which would be occasioned by the breaking away or decripitating of the
lime or other suitable material is prevented, and which if not prevented, may
take place to such an extent as to deprive the jet or jets of flame of the surface
of the lime or other suitable material upon which they are intended to strike, or
remove such surface to too great a distance from the orifice of the jet or jets, so
that the light of the required volume and intensity will not be produced. By
thus disposing the lime or other suitable material in the case or frame B
independently of the outer case or guard C, the lamp will be more conve-
niently replenished with lime or other suitable material when required. In
Figures 13, 14, the lime or other suitable material is shaped and placed on
the surface of a cylinder or other suitable frame having dovetailed or other
grooves for retaining it, and may be disposed longitudinally or spirally on the
surface of the frame as may be found most convenient and economical.
Motion both longitudinally and rotary is given to the cylinder or frame, so
that the surface shall move before the jet or jets in a spiral course, the whole
being protected by an outer case or guard C, with an opening or openings
through which the jet or jets strike the lime or other suitable material; Fis
a jet tube terminated by a nipple ;. G is a chamber through which the gases
pass to the jet, the upper part containing a number of wire gauze discs (as

page_text: ordinarily used) to prevent the regurgitation of the flame. This portion of the
apparatus is shown at large in Figure 18; His a bracket for supporting thejet;
I, I, tubes of communication between the gasholders and jet (one tube for each
gas), the quantity of each gas being regulated by stopcocks or valves K, K, (one
for each gas), so as to insure their perfect combustion. When a number of jets
are used, separate stopcock or valves are used for each jet; L is a rod attached
by a spring catch or other simple device, (and easily disengaged when desired)
to the lower extremity of the case or frame B containing the lime or other
suitable material, and connected by a universal joint or swivel with the plate,
disc, or piston M, the edge of which is packed so as to work freely, yet air-
tight (when desired) in the cylinder N, at the bottom of which there is an
aperture O, regulated by a stopcock P or otherwise. This cylinder N may be
filled with a fluid liquid, or other body of similar character (as sand), that
will freely pass through the orifice of the valve or stopcock P, and in so doing
permit the piston M, together with the case or frame B, and the lime or
other suitable material to descend in the cylinder 'N, the closing of the valve
or stopcock Parresting the descent of the piston, &c. when desired. The
simple withdrawal of the case or frame B for the purpose of replenishing it
with fresh lime or other suitable material, and the consequent lifting of the
rod L which is attached to it will raise the piston M, and cause the air or
other fluid to enter through the aperture O or other opening provided for its
influx, and thus recharge the cylinder N. The descent of the lime may be
graduated to any rate of velocity by giving to the aperture any definite dimen
sions which may be determined by experiment or it may be regulated by the
stopcock or valve P. When a liquid is used, a short pipe may dip into the
chamber below the cylinder in which the liquid is received to facilitate its
rising into the cylinder when the piston is raised. A flexible cylinder or
chamber N', may be substituted for the cylinder N as in Figure 16. It is
obvious that sufficient weight must be added to the piston of plate M, pro
vided it be not together with the lime or other material, and its case or frame B
of sufficient weight itself to insure its descent with certainty. To produce the
upward instead of the downward movement of the lime or other material, the
action of the motor must be reversed by employing any of the ordinary means
for effecting such objects. I sometimes substitute for the clockwork or fluid
movement herein described a motor actuated by the stream of gas which
supplies the jet, and this I effect by causing one of the gases employed in the
jet to pass alternately through two flexible or other chambers after the inauner
of a dry gas meter, the passage of the gas being regulate 1 by the usual valves.
To each of the chambers a rod is attached which connects them with a two-

page_text: throw crank (the cranks disposed at right angles to each other), and produces
a rotary motion of the crank, which may be transferred to a vertical screw by
means of a wheel and pinion, and so affect the progressive ascent or descent.
(as may be desired) of the lime or other 'material. The mechanism is of so'
simple a character and so well understood, that it need not be further described.
It is found that about ten per cent. of the pressure upon the gasholder is
absorbed in giving motion to this apparatus, and it will therefore be necessary
to increase the pressure upon the gasholder by that amount, so as to preserve
an equal pressure at the jet. It will be obvious that this arrangement unites
the movement of the lime or other material, and the measurement of the
quantity of one of the gases consumed by the jet, and has the advantage of
limiting the management of the lamp to one operation, as by simply turning on
the gas motion is also communicated to the lime, and vice versa; the same
arrangements are applicable whether the gases are used in a compressed state
or at the ordinary low pressure. In arranging a number of jets to form a
central lamp for lighting the surrounding space, I employ a compound gas
chamber in lieu of the numerous tubes ordinarily used for the distribution of
the gases to the several jets, and this I construct as Figures 19, 20. R is a
double annular chamber, surrounding the stem of the lamp, one chamber for
each gas, and each fed by a tube from its respective gasholder; each chamber
has a channel S connecting it with each of the jet tubes F, to which the flow
of the gases is regulated by screw conical valves or stopcocks K, K. In
order to simplify the operation of igniting the gases so as to produce perfect
combustion with facility, and certainty, I connect the valves or cocks K, K,
together by a link and levers or otherwise, so that they may be moved
simultaneously by one handle, the hydrogen gas cock being allowed to open
first, so that the jet may be lighted before the oxygen gas is turned on to it;❤
when the hydrogen gas has been ignited, the handle by which both cocks are
turned may then be moved so as to give the required quantity of oxygen to
the jet, which will be obvious from the brightness of the flame. By this
means the maximum brilliancy of the light is attained with the same facility
as in an ordinary gas light. To facilitate the preparation of the lime or other
material in the forms which may be required to suit the various applications
of the light, and to avoid waste of the material, I propose to use the waste
pieces and dust by reducing the whole to a uniform state of powder, and to
press it into suitable moulds, mixing with it or not,as may be found necessary,
anhydrous unctuous matter to cause the particles of the material to cohere,
but in most cases the addition of any foreign matter will be found
unnecessary

page_text: Having now fully described the several improvements embraced in this
Specification, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the
precisedetailshereindescribed (although Thavespecified various modifications
of parts), so long as the essential features of my Invention are retained, and
that I claim,-
First, the enclosing and fitting of the lime or other material employed for
the jets of flame to impinge upon in an independent metallic or other suitable
case or frame, so as to confine it and prevent it from breaking or falling away
in the event of it becoming cracked or otherwise injured, which arrangement
admits of the lime or other material being moved with facility and security in
any direction in which it may be required to move, whatever may be the
means employed to effect the movement.
And, secondly, I claim, as herein described, the producing and controlling
the movement of the lime or other material, together with the case or frame,
or without the case or frame (as in Bastable's Patent), by means of a fluid,
liquid, or similar matter, the escape of which from or passage through a
chamber or chambers, or any substitute therefor, is regulated by an aperture
of definite dimension, or by a valve or valves, or stop-cock or stop-cocks, so as
to insure the required periodical movement of the lime or other material.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Prosser, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twelfth day of April, One thousand eight hundred
Witness,
AMHT. H. RENTON,
12, Buckingham Street,
Adelphi.
W. PROSSER. (L.s.)