IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING, COOKING, AND LIGHTING BY GAS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Hulett, of Holborn, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
HEATING, COOKING, AND LIGHTING BY GAS."-Partly a communication.
Sealed the 17th August 1855, and dated the 20th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Hulett at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th February 1855.
I, DAVID HULETT, of Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR HEATING, COOKING, AND LIGHTING BY GAS" to be as follows:-
My improvements in heating, cooking, and lighting consist, firstly, in
constructing gas stoves of metallic or other frames, in which are two cases of
glass, forming a chamber for heating, and having an air passage between
them.
Secondly, my improvements relate to pendant gas burners, and the object of
these improvements is to do away with the hydraulic joint. This is effected by

page_text: connecting curved or other shaped tubes together by means of swivel or other
joints, so that the chandelier or burner may be raised or lowered at pleasure.
I also use twisted or spiral tubes, having a plunger inside to effect a rising
and falling of the light, as desired.
Another method is by the use of a ring of india-rubber placed between two
flanges, to allow an inner tube to traverse up and down without allowing the
gas to escape.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Hulett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
HULETT, of Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said David Hulett, Her special licence that I, the said David Hulett,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
David Hulett, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR HEATING, COOKING, AND LIGHTING BY GAS," partly a commu-
nication, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said David
Hulett, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Hulett, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-

page_text: The first part of my improvements in apparatus for heating, cooking, and
lighting by gas has reference to stoves in which gas is used as the heating
medium; and the object of this part of my Invention is to use glass for the
principal portion of the stove, in order to produce a stove more effective in use
when applied to cooking and more ornamental in appearance. Fig. 1 repre-
sents a stove for cooking and heating; it consists of an inner and outer casing,
formed of sheets or plates of glass, cemented or otherwise fastened in a metal
frame a. The inner glass casing b may be used either plain or covered upon
the outer side with quicksilver or other metallic amalgam, or otherwise conted,
in order to reflect the heat given off by the burner to the centre of the stove,
in which position the article to be cooked would be placed; the outer casing c
may be either plain or rendered opaque by placing at the back either plain or
coloured paper or other cheap and suitable material. These stoves may be
made either of a rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, or other polygonal form,
by cementing glass plates together in a metal frame to hold them firmly, or by
securing sheets or strips of glass in metal frames; or they may be made of a
circular figure, by making cylinders of glass or bent panels, and fitting one
within another to form the double casing, as before described. The bottom of
the stove should be of metal, and perforated with holes in the space between
the inner and outer casings; similar perforations may also be made in the upper
plate; but if glass be used for the top and bottom plates, holes may be either
drilled in the glass, or it may be pierced while in a softened state during the
process of manufacture, or the perforations may be made in the metal frame
which binds the glass plates together, in order to allow a circulation of air
between the inner and outer surfaces of the stove. Fig. 2 shows an improved
burner adapted for use with the improved stove.
in the centre of the stove; e is a conical metal cover or guard, to prevent the
grease from getting into the holes of the burner, which is further protected by
the cover f, which may be made either of metal or carthenware; this cover
prevents the fat, &c. which falls to the bottom of the stove from being burnt.
I am aware that a burner covered with a guard has before been in use, but
not combined with a second cover, as shown by Fig. 2; an ornamental
appearance may be given to the stove by fastening pieces of ordinary paper
hanging or other suitable colored fabric to the back of the outer plates of
glass. I am aware that iron and other metals have been combined with
earthenware in the manufacture of gas stoves; they have also been made
wholly of earthenware; but I believe the use of glass to be entirely new as
applied to this branch of manufacture, for which purpose its hardness,
d is a gas burner placed

page_text: transparency, cleanliness, and the ease with which an ornamental appearance
may be given to it, renders it peculiarly adapted, more particularly as the heat
given off by the gas burner is so completely under control that the glass may
be gradually heated when the burner is first lighted, and danger of fracture of
the glass avoided.
The second part of my Invention has reference to improvements in apparatus
for lighting by gas, and consists of various arrangements for raising, lowering,
and adjusting gas burners, branched lights, and chandeliers; the principal object
of this part of my Invention being to supersede the hydraulic joint, to render
pendents and chandeliers more secure by improved modes of suspending them,
and to facilitate the operation of raising and lowering them. Fig. 3 represents
one mode of securing a telescopic or sliding burner. A is the supply or inlet
pipe secured to the ceiling; B, a sliding tube, to which the burner is attached;
C, a "filling cup" containing water or other fluid. To the upper part of the
inlet pipe A is secured the cord or chain D, attached to its lower end to
the lever and ring E; the ring encircles the sliding tube B, as shown in the
Drawing, and is made somewhat larger than the sliding tube, in order that it
may fall at an angle, as shown, and act as a clip to retain the tube B at any
desired height. The sliding tube may be pushed upward, without touching the
lever D, and be held at any heigth; but when it is required to lower the light,
the lever D must be slightly pressed; this will elevate the ring and release
the sliding tube; by removing the pressure the tube will be firmly held. This
arrangement may be applied to pendents carrying one or more burners. Fig. 4
represents a mode of adjusting the height of burners and chandeliers by means
of straight and curved tubes and swivel joints. F, F, are the tubes; F¹, F,
the swivel joints; the gas flows through these tubes down the tube G to the
burners. H, H, are counterpoise weights attached to the cords or chains H¹, H';
these pass over the pullies I, I, and are fastened to the eyes fixed on the upper
part of the tube G. Fig. 5 represents another arrangement. K, K, are
flexible tubes, which convey the gas from the inlet to the burners; L, L, are
counterpoise weights; these are bags made of some soft flexible material, such
as india-rubber, leather, cloth, or suitable substance, and filled with small shot
or other loose but heavy material: the object in using these weighted bags is that,
should they be suddenly liberated by the breaking of the cord or other accident
they will fall flat upon anything, and the force will be greatly modified by the
elastic nature of the material, doing far less injury than a solid weight would
when it fell. I attach much importance to the use of these weighted bags; for
many serious accidents to person and property have occurred through using

page_text: the ordinary solid balance weights. M is a chain attached to the chandelier
or pendent, to prevent it falling in case the chains or cords break which
support the counterpoise weights. The tubes K, K, may be made of the
material known as flexible gas tubing or other suitable material, and gilded
or otherwise ornamented to correspond with the style of the chandelier or
pendent. Fig. 6 shows a method by which the counterbalance weights may
be prevented from doing injury by falling off chandeliers or pendents. The
weights N, N, are made hollow, and to slide up and down the side rods or
tubes 0,0; by this arrangement should the chain or cord break, the weights
will only slide down the tubes, and will be stopped at the bottom by the
branches or lower part of the chandelier, and cannot possibly do any injury.
Another means of raising or lowering chandeliers or pendents is shown by
Fig. 7; the chains or lines P, P, are attached to the filling cup P¹, P¹, and
pass from thence to the rollers Q, Q, between which is a ratchet wheel R,
shown in side view by Fig. 8. S is a paul or detent, which takes into the
teeth of the ratchet wheel. The rollers may be placed either above or below
the dish T; at the bottom of the chandelier or pendent U, U, are the arms to
which the burners are attached. The whole is raised by turning the handle V,
which causes the lines or chains to be wound upon the rollers, the unwinding
being prevented by the paul falling into each tooth of the ratchet wheel; when
it is desired to lower the lights the paul or click must be raised, so as to release
the rollers, one hand being placed below the pendent to regulate its descent,
which may be instantly stopped by releasing the paul or click. A modification
of the foregoing method is shown by Fig. 9, in which the gas passes through
the box W to the lower part of the pendent. The pullies X, X, are secured
to the gas box; the lines pass from the filling cup over the pullies, and thence
to the barrel or roller Y, which is actuated by means of a handle or lever Z.
The periphery of the roller Y is indented with ratchet teeth, and is prevented
from turning back by the paul or click Y₁; by turning the handle or lever Z,
the lines or chains will be wound upon the roller Y, which will raise the
chandelier or pendent; by pressing upon the paul or click it will release the
roller, and produce a contrary effect. Fig. 10 represents an arrangement in
which the raising and lowering of the chandelier or pendent is effected by the
rotation of spiral tubes. A², A², are spiral or twisted tubes, to the lower end
of which are fitted the pinions B3, B²; these pinions are in gear with the
cogged wheel C³, which is put in motion by the lever or handle D². The spiral
tubes pass through the fixed sockets E²; these are made with an internal
spiral to correspond with the tubes A³, and they act together similar to a

page_text: coarse-threaded screw. By turning the handle D², the wheel C and pinions
B² are put in motion, which causes the spiral tubes A³ to travel up or down
the sockets E³, according to the direction in which the handle is turned; the
mechanism of this arrangement may be concealed by a dish at the lower part
of the chandelier or pendent, as shown by the Figure F. Fig. 11 represents
an inlet pipe or tube passing through a cup leather G³, fitted between the
flanges of a sliding tube H*; the cavity of the cup is filled with some fibrous
material saturated with oil, in order to lubricate it and make a gas-tight joint
without the use of water or other fluid. A modification of the foregoing is
shown by Fig. 12, in which a piece of vulcanized india-rubber 12 is fitted
between the flanges K³ of the pipe L²; this arrangement allows the pipe L to
slide freely over the inlet pipe M³, without allowing the gas to escape. Fig. 13
represents an adjustable pillar light, the height of which may be varied at
pleasure. N is the inlet pipe for conveying the gas to the burner; O², an
external spiral tube; P', the adjusting tube, of which is made to rise and fall
by a rotary motion similar to the action of the twisted tubes shown by
Fig. 10; the end of the tube P2 is made to form a stuffing box, to prevent
the escape of gas. By turning the tube Ps, the light may be placed at any
convenient height: this arrangement may also be applied to chandeliers.
Fig. 14 shows an arrangement in which the tube or tubes are fitted with
pistons to prevent the gas escaping; two or more tubes may be fitted in this
manner, working one within another. Q'are the pistons; R³, cups to contain
oil for lubricating the tubes and preventing their setting fast.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise mechanical arrangement of the details of the various
parts of my improvements, as the same may be varied without departing from
the Invention; but what I claim and desire to secure under the hercin-before
in part recited Letters Patent is,-
Firstly, the improvements in gas stoves in which glass forms the principal
. portion of the stove, whether plain, silvered, or otherwise decorated, for the
purpose of reflecting heat, and used in combination with a metallic or
wooden frame, and the particular arrangement of the burner to be used with
the same.
Secondly, the various mechanical arrangements herein described and shown
for raising, lowering, adjusting, and securing pendent lights, chandeliers, and
pillars, or any mere modifications thereof.
Thirdly, the methods of making joints for pendent lights or chandeliers as

page_text: described and shown, such joints being intended to supersede the hydraulic
joint used for similar purposes.
Fourthly, the mode of making a counterpoise weight by using a bag filled
with shot or other similar materials, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Hulett, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
CHARLES BARLOW,
Patent Agent,
89, Chancery Lane.
DAVID HULETT.