Improved Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and Extinguishing Street and other Gas Lamps.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and Extinguishing
Street and other Gas Lamps.
1, PERCIVAL EVERITT, of 47, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a novel and simple apparatus for automatically lighting
and extinguishing gas lamps at predetermined times.
In carrying out my invention I employ a clock movement suitably fixed or
connected to the lamp. The arbor of the hour wheel of the clock movement is
provided with a pair of adjustable cams. A suitable cock is employed in the
supply gas-pipe, to which weights are connected in such a manner that as the cams
revolve the weights are raised and one of the weights at a certain predetermined
time (which is regulated according to the adjustment of the cams) is released and
falls so as to open the cock, whereby the gas will be lighted by means of an
ordinary pilot light; and the cams continuing to revolve the other weight is, at a
predetermined hour, (according to the adjustment of the cams) allowed to fall so as
to close the cock, thereby extinguishing the light.
By this arrangement it will be seen that according to the adjustment of the cams,
(which are adapted to be revolved by the clock once in twenty four hours,) the gas
of the lamp to which the apparatus is applied will be automatically lighted and
extinguished at predetermined times.
It will be obvious that instead of employing weights springs may be used and in
some cases a single cam and weight may be employed.
Dated the 28th day of November 1890.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and Extinguishing
Street and other Gas Lamps.
I, PERCIVAL EVERITT, of 47, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer,
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:-
This invention relates to a novel and simple apparatus for automatically lighting
and extinguishing gas lamps at predetermined times.
In carrying out my invention employ a clock movement suitably fixed or
connected to the lamp. The arbor of the hour wheel of the clock movement is
provided with a pair of adjustable cams, adapted to operate upon a suitable cock in
such a manner that as the cams revolve they raise a weight and at a certain
predetermined time (which is regulated according to the adjustment of the cams)
release it to operate the cock.
By this arrangement the gas of the lamp to which the apparatus is applied will
be automatically lighted and extinguished at predetermined times according to the
adjustment of the cams which are adapted to be revolved by the clock once in
twenty-four hours.
It will be obvious that, instead of employing weights, springs may be used.

page_text: To enable my invention to be. fully understood I will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of apparatus arranged according to my invention:
Figure 2 is a plan; and,
Figure 3 a. sectional side. elevation:
Figures 4 and 5 are a plan and sectional elevation respectively shewing how my
apparatus may be, with advantage, applied to an ordinary street lamp.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a indicates a case containing the clock movement, and is a plate connected to
the said case through the medium of the pillars or blocks c, c and serving as a
support for parts of the mechanism. d is the arbor of the hour wheel of the clock
mechanism, such arbor passing through the plate and being carried at its outer
end in a bracket e secured to the said plate.
fis the gas supply pipe provided at its upper end with the ordinary burner 9 and
with a burner for a pilot flame, and is the cock for controlling the passage of the
gas through the said pipe f and having the plug j, to which is secured a disc k
having upon it pins 1, 1. m is the weighted lever for operating the plug of the
cock i, the said lever being pivotted to the plate b at m' and having connected to it
the pawl-catch or hook n adapted to engage with the pins l, l.
o is a dial graduated for the twenty-four hours of the day and secured to the
arbor d, and p, p' are the cams by means of which the lever m is raised. These
cams are mounted upon the arbor d but are independent thereof and of each other,
so that they may be adjusted relatively to each other according to the time at which
the gas is to be lighted and extinguished. As shewn in Figure 1, the cams are set
to light the gas at 6 p.m. and to extinguish it at 4.15 a.m.
9 is a screw which passes through slots in the cams into the dial o and the
tightening of which serves to hold the said cams in any position in which they may
be placed.
The operation of the apparatus hereinbefore described is as follows, that is to say,
assume the parts to be in the position shewn in Figure 1, then, as the arbor d
rotates in the direction of the arrow, the cam p acts upon a pin r, secured to the
extremity of an arm upon the lever m, and causes the raising of the said lever,
whereby the catch n engages with the pin above that with which it is shown in
engagement in the drawings. When the highest part of the cam has moved beyond
the pin the weight on the lever m causes the said lever to drop and the hook n to
pull round the plug of the cock i, thereby allowing gas to pass to the burner g
where it will be lighted by the pilot flame: as the rotation of the arbor d continues
the other cam p' gradually raises the lever m to engage the hook n with another pin,
the lever being allowed to fall at a predetermined time according to the setting of
the discs, thereby shutting off the gas and leaving only the pilot flame burning. It
will be understood that the plug of the cock i is turned a quarter of a revolution at
each downward movement of the lever m, the movement of the said plug being
always in the same direction.
s is a weighted arm attached to the pawl n and serving to keep it in contact with
the pins l, and t is a spring-catch or detent for preventing the plug j from being
rotated in a backward direction.
To prevent the plug of the cock i from being turned too far under the impulse
which it receives when the weighted lever m drops, I shape the head of the hook n
in such a manner that, when it has rotated the plug to the required extent by the
engagement with one of the pins 7, the next following pin will come into contact with
the head of the said hook and prevent any further rotation of the disc, as shewn
most clearly in Figure 1.
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figures 4 and 5, where the
apparatus is applied to a street lamp, it will be noticed that the parts are arranged
to work horizontally in this case, instead of weighting the lever m,
:
I arrange in
conjunction therewith a spring u, and, instead of the weight upon the pawl n,
I arrange the spring v: in this arrangement also, the mechanism is shewn as

page_text: enclosed in a case w the lid of which is made removable in order to afford access to
the interior thereof for adjusting the positions of the cams.
When my invention is applied to street lamps it is obviously necessary that in
some cases, for instance in foggy weather, it should be possible to light and
extinguish the gas independently of the automatic mechanism, I therefore provide a
by-pass around the cock i through which the gas may be allowed to pass direct to
the burner, such by-pass in Figures 4 and 5 is indicated by the letter a.
y is a cock
placed in this by-pass and provided with a lever by means of which the cock may
be opened or shut by a lamplighter in the ordinary manner.
It is obvious that the adjustable cams can be made to release the cock or valve,
which latter is operated by a weight or spring previously wound up, instead of the
cams lifting the weight.
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. Apparatus for automatically lighting and extinguishing gas, comprising a clock
movement and adjustable cams operated thereby and adapted to control the movement,
of a cock or valve.
2. In apparatus for automatically lighting and extinguishing gas lamps, the com-
bination of a clock movement, cams mounted upon or driven by the hour arbor of
the said clock movement and made adjustable relatively thereto and to each other,
and a lever acted upon by the said cams and by a weight or spring and arranged to
operate a cock or valve.
3. The manufacture and use of the improved apparatus for automatically lighting
and extinguishing street and other gas lamps, substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 24th day of September 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.