Improvements in Oil Lamps.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th Jun., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Lamps.
We THOMAS PENN and ALFRED EDWARD PENN both of 40 Westbury Street
Wandsworth Road in the County of Surrey Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of this Invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention has for its object to provide an oil lamp in which heavier oils can be
burned than can be burned in lamps as hitherto constructed. According to our
Invention' we provide in connection with the burner (which contains the wick) a tube
or passage or tubes or passages which at its or their lower end or ends dips or dip
into the oil in the reservoir and at their upper ends deliver the said oil into a chamber
or chambers surrounding or partly surrounding the upper end of the wick tube which
may contain a wick which may or may not dip into the oil and a feeding wick may if
desired be used which being made of a more porous or open texture than the, main
wick will cause a sufficient quantity of oil to pass up to the main wick to keep it
moist although not sufficient to supply the burner. The aforesaid tubes or passages
and the chamber or chambers above are when the lamp is first started filled with the
oil which when the lamp is lighted passes from the said chamber or chambers through
perforations in the upper part of the wick tube and supplies the oil to the wick near
to the lighted end thereof. I prefer to place in the chamber or chambers into which
the oil passes as aforesaid an absorbent material such as cotton wool for example
which may be placed in a space between the perforated upper part of the wick tube
and a perforated plate or plates situated in the said chamber or chambers. The filling
of the tube or passage or tubes or passages and chamber or chambers with oil in
starting the lamp may be done by removing the burner and inverting it and pouring
the oil into the tube or tubes or passage or passages or it may be forced thereinto by
any suitable forcing device by which oil can be forced from the reservoir into the said
tube or tubes or passage or passages and chamber or chambers or closable openings
may be provided for filling from above.
Lamps made according to our Invention are very safe as very heavy oils with high
flashing points can be used therein.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Lamps.
We, THOMAS PENN and ALFRED EDWARD PENN both of 40 Westbury Street,
Wandsworth Road in the County of Surrey, Engineers 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 :-
Our Invention has for its object to provide a simple and cheap oil lamp in which
heavier oils can be burned than can be burned in lamps as hitherto constructed.
According to our Invention we provide in connection with the burner (which, contains
the wick) a tube or passage or tubes or passages which at its or their lower end or
ends dips or dip into the oil in the reservoir and at its or their upper end or ends
deliver the said oil into a chamber or chambers surrounding or partly surrounding the
upper end of the wick tube and communicating with the. wick therein by perforations
in the said tube.
We place in the chamber or chambers into which the oil passes as aforesaid an
absorbent material, we find that the material known as fustian or moleskin answers
0.1. מ

page_text: this purpose.
The said absorbent material covers the opening or openings in the
wick tube and may either fill the chamber or chambers or be placed in a space between
the perforated upper part of the wick tube and a perforated plate or plates situated in
the said chamber or chambers.
The wick may or may not dip into the oil and a feeding wick may if desired be
used which being made of a more porous or open texture than the main wick will cause
a sufficient quantity of oil to pass up to the main wick to keep it moist although not
sufficient to supply the burner. The aforesaid tubes or passages and the chamber or
chambers above when the lamp is first started are filled with the oil which when the
lamp is lighted passes from the said chamber or chambers through an opening or
openings or perforation or perforations in the upper part of the wick tube and
supplies the oil to the wick near to the lighted end thereof. The filling of the tube
or passage or tubes or passages and chamber or chambers with oil in starting the
lamp may be done by removing the burner and inverting it and pouring the oil into
the tube or tubes or passage or passages or it may be forced thereinto by any suitable
forcing device by which oil can be forced from the reservoir into the said tube or
tubes or passage or passages and chamber or chambers or closeable openings may be
provided for filling from above.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we will now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed Sheets of drawings, the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the upper portion of a lamp constructed
according to our Invention provided with a force pump for charging the burner with
oil when starting the lamp, and figure 1ª illustrates a modification. Figure 2 is a
view similar to Figure 1, but without the force pump, the burner being charged with oil
when starting the lamp by removing the burner from the reservoir and charging it
with oil through the lower open ends of the tubes as hereinafter described. Figure 3
is a sectional elevation and Figure 4 a plan illustrating means for closing and opening
the lower ends of the tubes by which oil is conducted to the burner and Figure 5
shews a portion of a lamp provided with only one depending tube and a suction device
for charging the burner with oil.
Referring to Figure 1, the vase or oil reservoir A is provided with an internally
screwed collar a into which the burner fitting B screws.
-
This burner fitting contains or carries a wick tube a, the upper end of which is
provided on both sides with a perforation or hole or perforations or holes covered
with fustian moleskin or equivalent absorbent material d which may be held in
position in any suitable way for example, by means of frames d¹ soldered
to the wick tube as shown. This absorbent material is enclosed by an outer
casing so as to form a chamber or chambers C surrounding or partially
surrounding the upper end of the wick tube. Communicating with this chamber or
with these chambers C are two tubes D D' which depend therefrom and extend to
within a short distance of the bottom of the oil reservoir A when the burner is in
position therein. The portion of the wick which enters the oil reservoir is enclosed
by a sheath or cover a³ closed at the bottom so that the wick has no direct contact
with the oil contained in the reservoir A, the oil for burning being supplied to the
wick through the tubes D D¹.
One of the depending tubes (D¹) constitutes the delivery pipe of a force pump f
which is fixed to the burner fitting B of the lamp for the purpose of charging the
tubes D, chamber C, absorbent material d, and wick b with oil when starting the lamp.
When it is desired to start the lamp, (the reservoir A being charged with oil,) the
pump is worked by means of the knob or handle fast on the rod of the
piston of the pump, the oil being drawn into the pump cylinder from the reservoir
through the suction pipe and valve w by raising the piston and then by
depressing the said piston, the oil will be forced through the pipe D¹ into the
chamber C and through the absorbent material d to the interior of the wick tube and
also into the tube D. The chamber C, absorbent material d and wick b and the

page_text: tubes D D' being thus charged with oil, the pumping operation is discontinued, and
the lamp being lighted, the oil will continue to flow through the tube D to the wick
and will continue to burn until the quantity of oil in the reservoir is reduced to or
nearly to a level with the lower ends of the tubes D D¹ unless the lamp be previously
extinguished.
By enclosing the wick b so as not to be in contact with the oil in the reservoir,
accidents by explosions through overheating are prevented.
Figure 1 shews one half elevation of a modification of the arrangement in which
the pump employed for charging the burner with oil is not connected to the
charging tube or passage D' as in Figure 1, but is provided with faced nozzles or
branches u, (one for each of the tubes, one only of which is shewn), on to which when
it is required to effect the charging, the lower ends of the tubes D D¹ may be brought
by turning the burner partially round in its socket, so that the passages through the
tubes I will coincide with the passages in the nozzels u. Then, by working the
pump plunger by means of the knob or handle v, the tubes D D¹ and chamber C and
the absorbent material therein will be readily charged with oil drawn in by the
valve w, after which the burner may be turned, in either direction, so as to remove the
lower ends of the tubes D D¹ out of communication with the passages in the nozzles u,
and into communication with the oil in the reservoir, the lamp being then ready
to be lighted. Should the chamber C, the absorbent material therein and tubes D,
become discharged of the oil, they may be readily recharged by turning the
burner, so as to make the tubes communicate with the passages in the nozzles u
and then working the pump.
In the arrangement illustrated by Figure 2 the wick tube a is open at the bottom
the wick passing there-through into the reservoir A. The said wick may if
desired dip into the oil contained in the reservoir but this is not necessary as the
wick tube and wick need not descend below the burner proper.
A feeding wick
of very absorbent material may be provided if desired to conduct sufficient oil to
the wick to keep it moist it being attached at any suitable point to the wick b
and dipping into the oil in the reservoir. The upper part of the wick tube is
perforated and is surrounded by a chamber C containing a perforated partition c
so as to divide the chamber into compartments d d². In the inner compartment d
is placed absorbent material as aforesaid whilst the outer compartments d² com-
municate with tubes or passages D D¹ communicating at their upper ends to the
chamber C and extending downwards therefrom into the oil to within a short
distance of the bottom of the reservoir.
The burner fitting is preferably connected to the reservoir by means of a bayonet
joint arrangement as shewn at 2 but if desired it may be screwed into the reservoir
as in the arrangement Figure 1 or be otherwise connected thereto. To start the lamp
the burner B is removed from the reservoir A which is then charged with oil and
the chamber C the absorbent material therein and tubes D D¹ are also filled with oil
by inverting the burner fitting and tubes and pouring oil into the tubes D D' until
they the chamber C and the absorbent material therein are fully charged. The
burner is then replaced and fixed in the reservoir by means of the bayonet joint
connection and the lamp is ready to be lighted. When the lamp is burning the
oil will continue to flow through the tubes into the compartment d² of the chamber C
through the perforated partition c and absorbent material d and the perforations
in the wick tube to the wick and maintain the requisite supply to the burner
until the quantity of oil in the reservoir is reduced nearly to a level with the lower
ends of the tubes D.
In order to ensure a charge of oil being retained in the tubes D D₁ and chamber C
and the absorbent material when the lamp is extinguished, and when the burner is
removed from the reservoir for the purpose of supplying the latter with oil the
lower ends of the tubes D may be provided with means for closing their lower
ends such for instance as are shewn by dot and pick lines in Figures 3 and 4
which consists in pivotting to the lower end of each tube D D₁ a plate or valve g
on the underside of which is a projection h engaging a guide slot or groove i fixed

page_text: or formed in the interior of the reservoir A so that when the lamp is extinguished
or when it is for other reasons required to close the tubes D D¹ this may be
effected by turning the burner fitting in the direction of the arrow in Figure 4
from its position in which it should be when the lamp is burning until the edges k
of the lips on the rim of the burner fitting come up to the points marked k²
on the rim m on the reservoir in which position the ends of the tubes D D will
be closed by the plates or valves 9 the lips being still engaged with the projection
or rim m on the reservoir so as to keep the burner fitting in contact therewith and
prevent accident by its becoming detached.
l
In order to detach the burner fitting from the reservoir it is necessary to turn it
still further in the direction of the arrow until the lips pass the ends n n of the
rims m m and then the burner fitting may be raised from the reservoir the tubes D D¹
being still closed by the valves or plates g. When the burner fitting is replaced on
the reservoir the projections on the valves g enter the grooves or recesses i and thus
prevent the valves from moving with the tubes D D' when the burner fitting is turned
for the purpose of securing it to the reservoir.
The valves however are of such a form as to maintain the lower ends of the
tubes D D closed until the edges k of the lips have passed the points k² on the
rim m the said tubes not being fully open before the edges k of the lips are
brought against the stops at o forming part of the rims m. When the burner fitting
is in this position the lamp is ready to be lighted. On the rim of the reservoir A are
guides or stops p to ensure the burner fitting B being inserted in the reservoir in the
proper place for the projections on the valves g to enter the guides or slots or
recesses i.
Instead of removing the burner fitting from the reservoir for the purpose of
charging the tubes D D¹ and chamber C and the absorbent material therein with oil
as herein-before described there may be provided on the reservoir a stoppered tube
as shewn by dot and pick lines at r in Figure 3 communicating with the chamber C
so that oil introduced by the tuber will flow through the chamber C into the
tubes D D. When the chamber C the absorbent material therein and the tubes D D¹
are fully charged the tube is closed by the screw plug and the lamp is then ready
to be lighted.
Figure is a sectional elevation of a portion of a lamp provided with only one
feeding tube D (but more than one may be provided if desired) and having instead
of the force pump herein before described a suction device for charging the burner
with oil for the purpose of starting the lamp. This suction device consists of a
chamber 1 secured to the burner and communicating by a tube or passage 2 with the
chamber C surrounding the wick tube.
The chamber 1 is closed by a cover 3 of leather or other suitable flexible material
secured to the chamber in any convenient manner for example by means of a rim 4
as shewn in the drawing soldered screwed or otherwise attached to the chamber.
Inside this chamber is a spring 5 which bears against the inner face of the cover 3
and tends to force it outwards.
To charge the burner with oil the cover 3 is depressed against the pressure of the
spring 5 and then released whereupon the spring will force the cover outward
thereby producing a partial vacuum which causes the oil from the reservoir to flow
up the tube D into the chamber C and through the perforations in the wick tube to
the wick. This operation may be repeated as often as required until the burner is
sufficiently charged. The lamp being then lighted will continue to burn until the
oil in the reservoir is exhausted.
Lamps constructed according to our invention are very safe and are capable of
burning heavier oils having higher flashing points than can be burned in lamps as
hitherto constructed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :-
First. An oil lamp having the upper end of the wick tube nerforated or provided

page_text: with openings which openings or perforations are covered with absorbent material
surrounded or partially surrounded by a chamber or chambers communicating by a
tube or passage or by tubes or passages with the oil in the reservoir substantially as
and for the purposes herein before described.
Second. The combination with the subject matter of the last preceding claiming
clause of a sheath or cover for that portion of the wick which enters the oil reservoir
substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
Third. In an oil lamp the combination with the chamber C tube or tubes D D'
and valve or valves g of means for effecting the opening and closing of the lower
end of the tube by turning the burner in its holder substantially as and for the
purpose herein before described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
Fourth. In an oil lamp the combination with the chamber C and tubes D D¹ of the
tube or passager for charging the chamber C and tubes D with oil without removing
the burner from the oil reservoir substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Fifth. In an oil lamp the combination with a chamber or chambers surrounding or
partially surrounding the upper perforated portion of the wick tube and communi-
cating with the oil in the reservoir by one or more tubes or passages, of a suction
device for charging the chamber or chambers and the wick with oil from the reservoir
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 5 of the accompanying
drawings.
Sixth. The general combinations and arrangements of parts constituting improve-
ments in oil lamps substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated respectively
by Figure 1 Figure 1ª Figure 2 Figures 3 and 4 and Fig. 5 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 13th day of January 1890.
THOMAS PENN.
ALFRED EDWARD PENN.