IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY LAMPS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ALFRED JOHN LIVERSEDGE, of Hazlewood Villas, Strandtown, Belfast, in the
County of Antrim Engineering Manager do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY LAMPS to be as follows:-
The construction of a Safety Lamp, with a chamber or chambers, containing
water or other suitable liquid, and so arranged that no communication can take
place, between the inside and outside of the lamp, except through the said chamber
or chambers; and with a fan, blower, pump, bellows or other mechanical means,
driven by clockwork or other suitable mechanism, for the purpose of forcing air for
combustion into the interior of the lamp, and of withdrawing or expelling the
products of combustion-the lamp being absolutely closed to the external.atmo-
sphere, except by way of the passages controlled by the bellows or other mechanical
means, and the water chamber or chambers.
The water chambers being kept more or less filled with water or other liquid,
any flame which might otherwise communicato from the inside to the outside of the
lamp, is extinguished in passing through them, whilst the mechanical method of
forcing air into, and withdrawing the products of combustion from, the interior of
the lamp, provides an additional element of safety, which may in many cases, be
alone depended upon, in the event of the water chambers being allowed by
inadvertence or otherwise, to become empty.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ALFRED JOHN LIVERSEDGE, late of Hazlewood Villas, Strandtown, Belfast, and
now of N° 3 Hampden Terrace, Mount Florida, Glasgow, Engineering Traveller do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for LMPROVEMENTS IN Safety Lamps
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
The construction of a Safety Lamp with a chamber or chambers containing water,
or other suitable liquid, and so arranged that no communication can take place
between the inside and outside of the lamp except through the said chamber or
chambers; and with fan, blower, pump, bellows or other suitable mechanical means,
driven by clockwork or other suitable mechanism, for the purpose of forcing air
for combustion into the interior of the lamp, and of withdrawing or expelling
the products of combustion-the lamp being absolutely closed to the external
atmosphere except by way of the passages controlled by the mechanisin and, or, the
water chamber or chambers. The water chambers being kept more or less filled
with water or other liquid, any flame that might otherwise communicate from the
inside to the outside of the lamp, is extinguished in passing through them; whilst
the mechanical method of forcing air into, and withdrawing the products of
combustion from, the interior of the lamp, provides an additional element of safety,
which may, in many cases, be alone depended upon in the event of the water
chambers being allowed by inadvertence or otherwise to become empty.
In order that my Invention may be properly understood, I hereunto append an
explanatory drawing showing one form in which my improved Safety Lamp may
be constructed. In this Drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the Lamp, and
Figure 2, a plan of the Blower in connection with same. A represents the body of
the lamp consisting of a stout glass cylinder which is fitted at top and bottom into
annular grooves in metallic rings and packed so as to form air tight joints. The
glass cylinder may be protected in any suitable manner from accidental breakage.
The base of the lamp consists of a stout metallic case which may be connected and
locked to the body in any convenient manner that will allow it to be readily
removed for the purpose of lighting the burner or wick, filling the oil chamber &c.
On the top of the body or central portion of the lamp is permanently fixed the
water chamber through which the products of combustion are passed. The air for
combustion is drawn by the blower D into the blower chamber at i, through holes
in the outer case at H, and is expelled from the chamber through the orifice at j.
Thence it passes through a flexible tube c into the water chamber C, rising through
the water, which under normal conditions is kept at about the level shown by the
line x. 3. After rising through the water, the air passes through another flexible
tube d, the entrance to which is, under normal conditions, above the level of the
water, into the body of the lamp. The products of combustion are driven upwards
through the pipe g and flexible tube c, into the water chamber F, which is
constructed in a similar manner to the chamber C.
Thence the products of combustion, after having been cooled by being passed
through the water in the chamber F, escape through the flexible tube d¹, into
the chamber G-which is preferably, though not necessarily, fitted with a wire

page_text: gauze f-and find their way, through suitable orifices in the circumference of the
chamber, into the atmosphere. B represents the oil chamber which is partly cut
away at one side to make a passage through which the air can rise, and is fitted
with a disc of wire gauze as shown at e, in order that the air may not blow out the
light, which it would do if allowed to rush into the body of the lamp in a jet direct
from the orifice of the tube d. b and bare discs of cork, and a and a', cylindrical
lead weights, to the latter of which, the flexible tubes c, c, d, are tied in such a
manner, that whilst there is a free passage through the tubes so long as the lamp is
held in a vertical or nearly vertical position and the water chambers are properly
filled with water, should either the lamp be turned over on its side or the water
become too low in the chambers, the lead weights, a, a¹, will fall and so twist and
throttle the tubes that air cannot get through the chamber, or the water escape out
of it. Consequently, unless the normal condition of the lamp be promptly restored,
the light will go out, and in the meantime no communication can take place between
the inside and outside of the lamp. E is a general representation of a clockwork
arrangement for driving the blower. h is a piece of wire gauze which may be
placed between the openings in the outer case at H and the entrance to the blower
chamber at i; though it is not absolutely necessary.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish to state that
I do not restrict myself to the precise construction of lamp shown, on the drawing
hereunto appended. I may combine the two water chambers into one; or I may
dispense with one of them or both of them and rely upon the mechanical method
of forcing in the air and expelling the products of combustion; or I may dispense
with the mechanism, and so arrange that the head of water through which the air
has to pass, is so low that the lamp itself will produce current enough to draw the
air in; or I may adopt other modifications of construction. And I declare that
what I claim is
1st The use of a fan, blower, bellows or other similar mechanism, actuated by
clockwork, for the purpose of forcing air for combustion into, and expelling tho
products of combustion, from, the interior of a Safety Lamp.
2nd The substitution between the interior and exterior of a safety lamp, of a
chamber or chambers, more or less filled with water or other cooling liquid, and so
arranged that the air for combustion when passing into the lamp, and, or, the
products of combustion when passing out of the lamp, must pass through, or in
very close contiguity with, the water or other cooling liquid.
3rd The combination in a Safety Lamp of the mechanism for forcing in air
and expelling the products of combustion, with the water chambers, substantially
as shown.
Dated this 9th day of March 1885.