IMPROVEMENTS IN MINERS SAFETY LAMPS
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM SAMUEL LAYCOCK of Ranmoor, Sheffield, in the County of York
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN MINERS SAFETY LAMPS to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of Miners Safety lamps'
and particularly to the method of admitting air to the interior of the lamp, and to
the means of escape for the products of combustion.
My invention consists in the use of air tubes provided with one or more
diaphragms or safety discs of wire-gauze, and used either for the inlet or the
outlet.
These air tubes may be applied or fixed in any suitable part of the lamp, but
preferably, those for the inlet are placed at the bottom of the lamp, terminating
inside near the wick holder, and those for the outlet at or near the top of the lamp.
At a convenient part I enlarge the diameter of the tube, and across such enlarged
portion, I fix a safety disc, or wire gauze diaphragm, of such a size that the area of
its interstices or meshes shall be equal to the area of the tube itself, or thereabouts.
By this arrangement of intercepting wire gauze discs, or diaphragms, the tubes
may admit a gaseous mixture into the interior of the lamp and such mixture may
become ignited at the ends of the tubes inside the lamp, but the flame cannot pass
down the tubes any further than the safety discs and thus the danger of explosion
is avoided.

page_text: I, WILLIAM SAMUEL LAYCOCK of Ranmoor, Sheffield in the county of York
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN MINERS SAFETY LAMPS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement that is
to say :-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of Miners safety Lamps,
and more particularly to the method of admitting air to support combustion, into
the interior of the lamp, and to the means of allowing for the escape of the
products of combustion, so as to avoid the danger of ignition and explosion.
My invention consists, in the use of inlet and outlet air tubes, provided with
diaphragms or discs of wire gauze, or perforated material, applied or fixed in any
suitable part of the Lamp.
And in order to render my specification distinct, and that my invention may be
clearly understood I annex a sheet of drawings, in which similar letters of reference
indicate similar parts in any of the figures.
Fig. 1, represents a lamp with my safety tubes, in elevation and partly shown in
section.
Fig. 2, section of a safety tube, and plan of disc.
The annexed drawing of a lamp is merely to illustrate the application of the
safety tubes to a miners lamp, the construction of the lamp itself is not a part of
my invention.
A, A, are the safety tubes, those in the lower part being for the inlet of pure air,
and those in the upper part being for the outlet of the heated air, gases, or products
of combustion; these tubes communicate with a chamber B, the lower one con-
ducting the inlet air to the flame of the wick C, and the upper one receiving the
products of combustion direct from the Chimney D, which may or may not be
enclosed with an outer glass E.
I construct the tubes preferably as shown in the drawings, having an enlarged
portion at the most convenient part of its length, and across the interior of such
enlarged portion I fix one or more safety discs, or wire-gauze diaphragms F, of such
a size that the sum of the area of the perforations, interstices, or meshes of one of
the discs shall be equal to the area of the tube opening at its mouth or thereabouts.
The number of the tubes employed may be varied; there must be at the inlet
a sufficient number to admit the required amount of air to support combustion, and
produce a clear flame, and at the outlet the tubes must be capable of carrying off
the heated gases with sufficient rapidity.
By this arrangement of discs of wire gauze, or perforated diaphragms, the tubes A.
may admit a gaseous mixture into the interior of the lamp and such mixture may
ignite and burn at the inside mouths of the tubes, but the flame cannot pass any
further down the said tubes than the intercepting discs or gauze, and thus the
danger of explosion is avoided.

page_text: As the gas when ignited burns at the end of the tube, it is evident that the
gauze or disc cannot become dangerously heated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
In Miners Safety lamps the use of inlet and outlet tubes constructed with an
enlarged chamber, across which is placed one or more intercepting gauzes or discs,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated.