Improvements in and relating to Electric Gas-lighting Devices.
Year: 1895

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Electric Gas-lighting Devices.
I, JEAN JAHNSSON, of 9 Regeringsgatan, Stockholm, in the Kingdom of
Sweden, Jeweller, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
In some types of gas-lighters now in use the access of gas to the burner is
regulated by means of a valve or valve-spindle made of soft iron and surrounded
by coils forming part of an electric circuit. The valve is lifted by a magnet
placed above it and acting either directly on the valve-spindle, as soon as the latter
has become magnetic through the action of an electric current that is passed
through the surrounding coils, or on an arm which projects from the valve-
spindle and when it turns causes the latter to rise or fall. The former
arrangement requires very accurate and therefore comparatively tedious adjustment
to make it perfectly reliable, while the latter arrangement is complicated and
unreliable.
The object of the present invention is an electric gas-lighter which will be
positive in its action, will require no special adjustment and, owing to its simplicity,
will not get out of order.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown a burner provided with such an
arrangement.
Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section to an enlarged scale.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line -x of Figure 1;
Figure 3 represents a detail view of the apparatus.
d is the valve or valve-spindle surrounded by the coils g, and y is an arm
extending from the valve-spindle. A bar b of soft iron is located above the arm y,
the whole contrivances being enclosed in the usual manner by a case a that supports
the burner proper at its upper end.
In the path described by the arm y, as the valve-spindle revolves about its axis,
a pair of toothed guides z are arranged concentric to the valve-spindle, one above
the other. The upper one on its under side is provided with teeth having one
perpendicular and one oblique side, while the lower guide has M-shaped teeth
placed zigzag with reference to the upper teeth, as is more fully illustrated by the
elevation of a portion of the guides shown in Figure 3. The M-shaped teeth of
the lower guide are separated by notches i, whose depth is greater than that of the
notch & in each tooth and this depth being such that when the arm is resting at
the bottom of such a notch i the valve d will be closed and consequently the supply
of gas to the burner will be shut off. In addition, one side of each tooth in the
lower guide should be oblique in order that the arm may be turned somewhat when
it slides down along this side.
As long as the gas is turned off and the valve occupies its lowest position, the
arm y will rest in one of the notches i; when the gas is to be lighted, an electric
current is passed through the coil g, and the valve-spindle & becoming magnetic is
consequently lifted to the bar b. The arm y then strikes against the oblique side
of the tooth above it and is compelled to slide along this side to the bottom of the
notch 1, the valve-spindle being thereby turned about its axis. When the current
is interrupted, the valve-spindle drops, causing the arm y, on account of the
aforesaid turning, to fall not in the same notch as before but in the next notch k
which is shallower than i, in consequence of which the valve is kept suspended so
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page_text: that it cannot shut off the supply of gas. If the gas is to be shut off, a current is
again sent around the valve-spindle which is again raised against the bar b causing
the army to slide along the oblique side of the overlying tooth to the bottom of the
notch, at the same time turning the valve. When the current ceases, the valve
is free to drop into its lowest position and to shut off the supply of gas, because
the arm y now slips into the deep notch i succeeding the notch k; as it is at the
same time turned by the oblique side of this notch, it will pass by the point of
the overlying tooth and, when it is next raised it will not enter the same notch / as
before.
It is evident that the two toothed guides need not necessarily lie as close to
each other as in the drawing but can be separated so as to form two distinct
guides, in which case the valve-spindle must be provided with two arms y, one for
ench guide. Moreover, it would be feasible to arrange the guides on the valve-
spindle, in which event the arm or arms y are of course attached, not to the
valve-spindle, but to some part of the fixed casing that envelops it, and in such a
manner that they can engage with the guides. The latter arrangement however
is not to be recommended.
Simultaneously with the lifting of the valve the gas issuing from the burner
is ignited by some arrangement of the kind usually employed for this purpose.
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 :-
In an electric gas-lighter in which the gas is turned on or off by a valve or
valve-spindle of soft iron placed over the gas-inlet and surrounded by coils forming
part of an electric circuit, and which valve can be turned about its axis by means
of a radial arm or arms (y) the combination of a bar b of soft iron located above
the valve-spindle d, and of two guides for the radial arm or arms, which guides
are concentric to the said spindle, the upper guide being at its under side provided
with teeth having one oblique side, while the lower guide has M-shaped teeth
which are separated by notches i of a greater depth than the notch (k) in each
M-shaped tooth and which teeth are placed zigzag with reference to those of the
upper guide.
Dated this 12th day of February 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.