IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Patrick Adie, of Pall Mall, in the County of
Middlesex, Mathematical Instrument Maker, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS."
Sealed the 7th July 1871, and dated the 10th January 1871.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Patrick Adie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th January 1871.
I, PATRICK ADIE, of Pall Mall, in the County of Middlesex, Mathe-
matical Instrument Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to lamps for burning either animal, vegetable,
or mineral oils, and consists in the employment of a reservoir, situate
any height above the wick, which wick is fitted into a holder connected
to a tube having communication with the bottom of the reservoir. In.
any convenient part of this tube there is fitted either a finely perforated..
stop-cock or a piece of fibrous material, such as cotton, or which I
prefer a length of tube having a very minute bore, or a tube of larger,

page_text: bore having a central wire or plug therein, the object being to allow the
oil to descend from the reservoir to the wick drop by drop only, and at
the rate of its consumption, so that the wick shall always be kept well
supplied with oil, whilst at the same time the inconveniences attendant
upon overflow of the oil are entirely obviated. A stop-cock in the
main tube serves to shut off all supply from the wick when the lamp
is no longer burning.
"
Any well-known filtering medium, such as filtering paper is to be
laid over the mouth of the pipe in the reservoir.
The wicks I prefer to use in conjunction with my improved system of
supplying the same are composed of asbestos, though other wicks may
be used if desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Patrick Adie in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PATRICK
ADIE, of Pall Mall, in the County of Middlesex, Mathematical
Instrument Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Patrick Adie, Her special license that
I, the said Patrick Adie, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Patrick Adie, my executors, adminis-
trators, or 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, excrcise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN LAMPS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that 'I, the said Patrick Adic, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain, the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Patrick Adie, 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 in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
My said Invention relates to lamps for burning either animal, vegetable,
or mineral oils. I employ a reservoir situate any height above the wick,
which wick is fitted into a holder connected to a tube having com-
munication with the bottom of the reservoir. In any convenient part
of this tube there is fitted a length of tube having a very minute or
capillary bore. The object being to allow the oil to descend from the
reservoir to the wick drop by drop only, and at the rate of its con-
sumption, so that the wick shall always be kept well supplied with oil,
whilst at the same time the inconveniences attendant upon overflow of
the oil are entirely obviated.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in
all the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a vertical section of a railway
carriage lamp constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2 is a
plan of the same; Figures 3 and 4 are plans of different shaped wick
holders which I have found to give good results; and Figure 5 shews
simple and economical but at the same time efficient form of wick for
lamps of my improved construction.
A is an ordinary glass for a railway carriage lamp; B is the top or
body of the lamp, also of the ordinary construction.. I prefer to place
inside the lamp a metal chimney C and a reflector D, as shewn in
Figure 1, as I find it materially increases the light, but. I do not claim
the use of the said chimney and reflector as part of my. Invention. a is.
, the wick holder which consists of a flattened tube closed at the bottom
and open at the top, and communicating by a lateral opening near the
bottom with the oil supply pipe E. This flattened tube .or. wick holder
'

page_text: may be made straight, but I prefer to make it crescent shaped or of an
form, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, as I find those forms give less
shadow. Inside this wick holder I drop a short wick b (Figure 5)
which may be of the ordinary make and material, but I have found that
a mere rag of stout linen or cotton cut to correspond to the height and
breadth of the wick holder, and slightly frayed or unravelled at its upper
or burning edge, as shewn in Figure 5, answers perfectly for burning
liquid hydrocarbons. Over the wick holder I place the ordinary hood or
cone c for directing the air on to the flame in a proper manner, as is
well understood, the shape of this .conical cap being made to suit the
shape of the wick holder, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4. The oil supply
pipe E is screwed or otherwise securely connected to the upper part of
the lamp, as shewn at d, where it communicates with a pipe E', the
point of which drops inside the pipe E, and is swivel jointed to the top
of the pipe E in any well-known manner, thus preventing the oil running
over and at the same time giving an easy joint, as shewn at e. The
opposite end of the pipe E' is also swivel jointed, as shewn at f, to the
bottom of the oil reservoir F, and is of such a length as to admit of
the said reservoir being situate entirely outside the fixed casing G (shewn
in dotted lines) which usually surrounds the lamp (see Figure 2), whereby
the oil when the lamp is burning is prevented from becoming over-
heated. When the lamp is removed from the carriage, and is being
carried in the hand, the reservoir F and pipe E' are turned in towards
the lamp, so as to render the whole compact and suitable for transport,
as shewn by the red lines in Figure 2. A stop-cock G¹ is provided for
shutting off the supply of oil to the wick when the lamp is not burning,
and above this cock there is provided a fine capillary passage g either
made in the body of the cock itself, as shewn in Figure 1, or consisting
of a separate capillary tube of glass, metal, or other suitable material
connected with the bottom of the oil reservoir, and opening into the
supply pipe E' above the stop-cock 'G'. In order to prevent this fine
opening from clogging up, I place a piece of filtering paper h or other
suitable filtering medium over the entrance to the capillary tube. The
reservoir is crescent shaped in order that it may fit more compactly
round the side of the lamp when closed inwards, but it may be made of
any other shape. H is the filling aperture provided with a, screwed
plug and small air vent pipe h' having its lower end protected by the
baffle plates i, i, so as to prevent any accidental spilling of the oil when
in use or when being shaken.
'

page_text: When the lamp is burning the wick is kept supplied drop by drop
through the capillary tube and pipes E and E¹ with just so much oil as
it consumes, hence all overflow and waste are prevented. Of course
the size of capillary bore will depend on the size of the wick and
amount of consumption of the lamp in any given period, but once
the correct size has been ascertained the lamp will require no further
adjustment. I have found that a bore equal to 1/80" of an inch
measure will answer well for an ordinary railway carriage lamp with
paraffine.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
application and use of a capillary tube or bore for supplying oil drop by
drop to the wick of a lamp as fast as it is consumed, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Patrick Adie, have to this my
Specification set my hand and scal, the Eighth day of July, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.