IMPROVEMENTS IN MINERS' SAFETY LAMPS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, GEORGE WILLIAM ELLIOTT, of No 8 Park Road, Swansea, in the County
of Glamorganshire, Mining and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MINERS' SAFETY LAMPS to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention relates to improvements in miners' safety lamps, so that they
may be used with safety under all ordinary conditions of mining, and where high
velocities of the air currents of a mine prevail, and also to give a better light than
those now in use.
To attain these objects, I make a lamp with the bottom part to contain the oil,
and screw into the body part as is usual. The body part I make by preference,
in one solid piece, and to contain a cylinder of glass to surround the flame. One
side of the body is open to give free egress to the light and the remaining_side
forms a reflector to throw out the light. At the top of the glass cylinder I fix
a metalic chimney which forms the outlet of the lamp, and is enclosed within
a cylinder of wire gauze, and may have at the top, a small deflecting plate for the
gasses which are emitted from the lamp, to strike against and prevent them
impinging directly upon the cylinder of wire gauze. This chimney and cylinder
of wire gauze, may be enclosed within a shield to protect them from very high
velocities of the atmosphere.
The inlet of the lamp is through the bottom of the body part and between the
bottom of the glass cylinder and the oil chamber, and is protected on the outside,
by wire gauze and a shield, the shield forming the connection for locking the body
of the lamp to the bottom or oil chamber.

page_text: GEORGE WILLIAM ELLIOTT 8 Park Road, Swansea in the county of Glamorgan-
shire Mining and Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this
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:-
This invention relates to improvements in miners safety lamps, and has for
its object the arrangement of a lamp that may be used with safety where high
velocities of the air currents of a nine prevail, and also to give a better light than
those now in use.
To attain these objects I make the bottom of the lamp 1. in the ordinary way
to hold the oil, and with a portion of the top part of it screwed, 2. to screw into
the bottom part of the body of the lamp.
The body part 3, 31 I make by preference of one solid casting, of cylindrical
form with a portion of the middle cut away. The lower end is screwed 31 to
receive the bottom of the lamp and also a ring 4 screwed to fit it. The top
end 3 is made with a hole 5 in the centre, leaving a flange all round on the
inside. 6.
Passing through this hole 5, in the top of the body, is a wire gauze cylinder 7,
having a flange 8, at its lower end and being open at that end, the top end being
closed in, in the usual manner and fitted with a cap 9, of the same material and
about one third of the length of the cylinder.
Inside the wire gauze cylinder is a tube or chimney 10 made by preference of
thin sheet iron and slightly conical in shape and having at its largest end a flange
which fits against the flange on the wire gauze cylinder.
This chimney may also be made of a roll of thin sheet metal Figs. 7. 8 rolled up
loosely and secured to prevent it unrolling and having a flange at one end, or by
having two or more chimneys one inside the other, the outer one only having a
flange at the bottom. Figs. 6. 7.
These chimneys may also have a small piece of thin sheet metal 11. slightly
larger than the top of the chimney and of various forms and fixed at the top of
.the chimney, leaving a space between it and the chimney to allow the egress of the
products of the combustion in the lamp, and to form a deflecting plate to prevent
these products from having a direct course from the chimney to the top of the
wire gauze, and also to arrest any current of air that would otherwise blow down
the chimney. Bearing against the flanges of the wire gauze cylinder and the
chimney is a cylinder of glass, 12 Fig 1 the lower end of which fits into a a recess
in the ring screwed into the bottom of the body part of the lamp. This ring 4
Fig 1 is screwed against the glass cylinder, pressing it and the flanges of the wire
gauze cylinder and chimney, against the inside of the flange on the top of the body
part of the lamp.
Between this ring which secures the cylinders of wire gauze and glass and the
chimney, and the bottom of the lamp there is a space 13. of about one quarter
of an inch and into this space are holes passing through the body of the lamp and
forming the inlet 14 for air to the lamp. These holes are protected by wire
gauze 15 wrapped on the outside of the body of the lamp and covering the holes.
This inlet to the lamp is shielded from strong currents of air by a hoop or shield 16
large enough to pass over the wire gauze and leave a space to admit the air, an
inner hoop on the shield preventing the air from striking directly upon the inlet
through the body of the lamp. 14.

page_text: This shield is secured between a projecting flange 17 on the body of the lamp 3, 3¹
and the bottom or oil chamber when screwed into its place, and is removeable when
the bottom of the lamp is off, so that the inlet may be examined and cleaned.
This shield also forms the connection 18, for locking the bottom of the lamp to
the body.
The portion of the middle of the cylindrical body of the lamp which is cut away,
extends in height about equal to the height of the glass cylinder and in width
to about one half the diameter of the body, so as to make an opening to give free
egress to the light of the lamp; that portion of the middle of the body which
remains forms a reflector to throw out all the light through the opening. Fig 3.
The foregoing description has reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Fig 1. is a sectional elevation of the lamp complete with one kind of chimney.
Fig 2 a section through A. B: Fig 3. a section through C. D: Fig 4. a section
through E. F: Fig 5. a sectional elevation of a tubular chimney with hood.
Fig 6. a plan of Fig 5: Fig 7. an elevation of a coil chimney and Fig 8. a plan
of Fig. 7.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
-
1* Forming the body of a safety lamp, of the form & for the purpose, substantially
as shewn & described.
2nd Arrangement of the inlets of safety lamps substantially as shewn and
described.
3rd Making the chimneys of safety lamps as shewn & described.
4th The combination of parts of safety lamps substantially as shewn &
described.
Dated this 2nd day of October 1884.