Improvements in Safety Hydro-carbon and other Oil Lamps.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improvements in Safety Hydro-carbon and other Oil Lamps.
1, SAMUEL ALBERT JOHNSON of 8 Wharf Road, Millwall in the County of
Middlesex, Marine Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
The invention relates to that class of safety lamp used for burning hydro-carbon
and other oils in which the burner is above the oil tank or reservoir and has for its
object firstly a novel arrangement of parts whereby the burner wick is equally well
supplied with oil whatever may be the height of the latter in the tank or reservoir
whilst in the case of the lamp being upset it is impossible for the oil to escape in any
appreciable quantity from the burner.
For this purpose I connect the burner fitting solidly to the lamp so as to prevent
the possibility of an escape of oil thereat and I use a wick tube, preferably flat, which
extends to the bottom of the tank or reservoir where it is connected to a secondary or
syphon tube which according to one arrangement rises at an angle to near the top
of the tank or reservoir and over the top end of which I place the tank supply orifice
which is closed by a screw cap.
In the secondary or syphon tube I place a closely fitting capillary or syphon wick
one end of which passes over the top of the secondary or syphon tube and descends to
the bottom of the oil tank or reservoir.
For lamps in which the tank or reservoir has only one orifice, namely, that through
the burner fitting I fix the secondary or syphon tube to a small chamber fixed to the
bottom of the main wick tube and provided with a screw cap at its bottom to facilitate
access to the wick tubes and I fix the secondary tube either parallel or nearly parallel
to said main wick tube so as to enable the said wick tubes to be readily inserted
into and withdrawn from the tank or reservoir in the act of placing the burner in
position or removing it therefrom.
By the above described means the burner wick is enclosed within its own tube and
has no communication with the bulk of the oil in the tank or reservoir except through
the secondary or syphon tube and the capillary or syphon wick, the burner wick tube
being supplied with oil only by means of the latter.

page_text: The invention has for its object secondly a novel construction and arrangement
of parts for extinguishing the flame whenever the lamp is upset or assumes a
dangerous inclination.
For this purpose I provide the burner with two pivotted extinguishing jaws, each
of which is formed with a lip capable of assuming a position immediately over the
flame; these lips may overlap each other or one may be formed double to receive
the other within it. Each extinguishing jaw is formed with a lever plate extending
from its pivot at or about right angles to that of the part carrying the lip and an
inclined table or platform is fitted on each side of the wick tube to receive a rolling
ball, the lowest portion of such inclined table or platform being next the wick tube.
The balls rest on such inclined tables or platforms and the lever plates rest on
the balls.
Thus when the lamp is in its normal or vertical position the balls will roll to the
lowest parts of the tables or platforms thereby permitting the lips of the extinguishing
jaws to fall away from the flame; but on the lamp being upset or assuming a
dangerous inclination the balls (one or both) will roll to the outer edge of the tables
or platforms and by acting on the lever plates will cause the extinguishing lips to
pass over the flame."
The extinguishing jaws are also so weighted that when lying in a horizontal
position or nearly so (in which position only one ball will act on its lever plate) the
uppermost extinguishing jaw will close by its own weight.
Dated the 3rd October 1887.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.

page_text: Improvements in Safety Hydro-carbon and other Oil Lamps.
I, SAMUEL ALBERT JOHNSON of 8 Wharf Road Millwall, in the County of
Middlesex, Marine Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement -
The invention relates to that class of safety lamp used for burning hydro-carbon
and other oils in which the burner is above the oil tank or reservoir and has for its
object, firstly, a novel arrangement of parts whereby the burner wick is equally well
supplied with oil whatever may be the height of the latter in the tank or reservoir
whilst in the case of the lamp being upset it is impossible for the oil to escape in any
appreciable quantity from the burner.
For this purpose I connect the burner fitting solidly to the lamp so as to prevent
the possibility of an escape of oil thereat and I use a wick tube either round or flat,
according to the shape of the wick, this tube extends to the bottom of the tank or
reservoir where it is connected to a secondary or syphon tube, which, according to
one arrangement, rises at an angle to near the top of the tank or reservoir and over
the top end of which I place the tank supply orifice which is closed by a screw cap.
In the secondary or syphon tube I place a closely fitting capillary or syphon wick
one end of which passes over the top of the secondary or syphon tube and descends to
the bottom of the oil tank or reservoir.
For lamps in which the tank or reservoir has only one orifice, namely, that through
the burner fitting, I fix the secondary or syphon tube to a small chamber fixed to the
bottom of the main wick tube and provided with a screw cap at its bottom to facilitate
access to the wick tubes and I fix the secondary tube either parallel, or nearly parallel,
to said main wick tube so as to enable the said wick tubes to be readily inserted into
and withdrawn from the tank or reservoir in the act of placing the burner in position
or removing it therefrom.
By the above described means the burner wick is enclosed within its own tube and
has no communication with the bulk of the oil in the tank or reservoir except through
the secondary or syphon tube and the capillary or syphon wick, the burner wick tube
being supplied with oil only by means of the latter.
The invention has for its object, secondly a novel construction and arrangement
of parts for extinguishing the flame whenever the lamp is upset or assumes a
dangerous inclination.
For this purpose I provide the burner with two pivotted extinguishing jaws each
of which is formed with a lip capable of assuming a position immediately over the
flame; these lips may overlap each other or one may be formed double to receive
the other within it. Each extinguishing jaw is formed with a lever plate extending
from its pivot at or about right angles to that of the part carrying the lip and an
inclined table or platform is fitted on each side of the wick tube to receive a rolling
ball the lowest portion of such inclined table or platform being next the wick tube.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a lamp reservoir and burner with both parts of my
invention applied thereto. Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical section of the burner drawn at
right angles to each other. Fig. 4 is a plan of the burner and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are
respectively an edge elevation, a side elevation and a plan of one of the extinguishing
jaws.
Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a lamp reservoir and burner showing slight modi-
fications of my invention applied thereto. Fig. 9 is a vertical section showing a
further slight modification of the first part of my invention and Figs. 10 11, 12, are
respectively two vertical sections drawn at right angles to each other and a plan of a
lamp burner showing a modification of the second part of my invention.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
I will now describe the first part of my invention.
a is the reservoir is the burner fitting which I. connect solidly to the reservoir so
as to prevent the possibility of an escape of oil around the same and c is a wick tube
round or flat as required the upper end of which I solder to the top of the reservoir a
so as to prevent the possibility of leakage around the same and such wick tube c
extends to the bottom of the reservoir where it is connected to a secondary or syphon
tube which according to the arrangement represented at Fig. 1. rises from the
bottom of the tank or reservoir in an angular direction to near the top thereof and
over the top end of which is the tank supply orifice a¹ which is closed by a screw
cap a².
In the secondary or syphon tube d I place a closely fitting capillary or syphon
wick e one end of which passes over the top of the secondary or syphon tube d and
descends to the bottom of the tank or reservoir. The burner wick extends from the
burner wick tube g. down into the fixed wick tube c.
For lamps in which the tank or reservoir a has only one orifice, namely that
through the burner fitting I employ the modification represented at Fig. 8 according
to which the wick tube c is connected with the burner and is only a continuation of
the burner wick tube whilst the secondary or syphon tube d is fixed to a small
chamber c¹ to which the bottom of the main wick tube c is also fixed and the bottom
of such chamber c' is provided with a screw cap c² to facilitate access to the tubes c, d.
1 also fix the secondary tube d parallel to the main wick tube c as shown in the
drawing, or nearly so in order to enable the said wick tubes c, d, to be readily inserted
into and withdrawn from the tank or reservoir a in the act of placing the burner in
position or removing it from the tank or reservoir.
By the above described means the burner wick in the tank or reservoir is com-
pletely enclosed within its own tube c and has no communication with the bulk of
oil in the tank or reservoir-a-except. through the secondary or syphon tube d and the
capillary or syphon wick e, the wick tube c being supplied with oil only by means of
the wick e.
.
In the modification shown at Fig. 9 I have represented the wick tube c broad
enough to receive a fixed wick " on each side of the wick fin order to ensure a full
supply of oil thereto.
will now describe the second part of my invention which relates to an automatic
extinguisher. According to this part of my invention I. employ two pivotted
extinguishing jaws each of which as shown at Figs. 1 to 7 is formed with a lip
capable of assuming a position immediately over the flame these lips may when
acting to extinguish the flame overlap each other as shown or one may be formed
double to receive the other within it.. Or the said extinguishing jaws may be formed

page_text: as shown at Figs. 8, 10, 11 and 12 so as simply to meet over the wick. In both
arrangements each extinguishing jaw his formed with a lever plate h² extending from
its pivot at a suitable angle in relation to the jaw and an inclined table or
platform i is fitted on each side of the wick tube to receive one or more rolling
balls the lowest portion of such inclined table or platform being next the wick
tube g.
The balls j rest on such inclined tables or platforms i and the lever plates 2 rest
on the balls j.
In the construction shown at figures 1 to 8 I have represented only one ball; on
each side of the wick tube whilst in the construction shown at Figs. 10 to 12 two
balls are used to act on each lever plate ². In the former case the lover plates /*
are made flat but in the latter case they are depressed around the outer edge to assist
the action thereon of the balls ; and inclined strips fixed to the platforms i are
employed still further to assist the action of the balls in this latter modification.
Thus according to the second part of my invention when the lamp is in its normal
or vertical position the balls i will roll to the lowest part of the tables or platforms i
thereby permitting the lips of the extinguishing jaws h to fall away from the flame
but on the lamp being upset or assuming a dangerous inclination, the balls j on one
or both sides of the wick tube will roll to the outer edge of the tables or platforms
and by acting on the lever plates ² will cause the extinguishing lips to close over
the flame.
j
The extinguishing jaws are also so weighted that when lying in a horizontal
position or nearly so (in which position only one ball or pair of balls will act on its
lever plate 2) the uppermost extinguishing jaw will close by its own weight.
A lever mounted on an axis of motion at and provide with pins & passing into
loops carried by the lever plates 2 is used to enable the flame to be extinguished
by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In safety hydro-carbon and other oil lamps enclosing that part of the main wick
which is in the reservoir within a tube, which is shut off from the bulk of oil and is
supplied only by means of a secondary or syphon tube and wick substantially as
herein shown and described.
2. In safety hydro-carbon and other oil lamps an automatic extinguishing apparatus
consisting of pivotted extinguishing jaws provided with lever plates resting upon and
operated by rolling balls supported on an inclined table or platform on cach side of
the wick tube substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In safety hydro-carbon and other oil lamps the combination of oil supply
and automatic extinguishing apparatus constructed substantially as herein shown and
described.
This 2-1 day of July 1900
SAMUEL ALBERT JOHNSON.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.