Improvements in or connected with Miners' Safety Lamps.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1898
· Complete Specification Left, 6th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 6th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
ROYUNAL DIECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Miners' Safety Lamps.
We, WILLIAM ACKROYD, of The Crescent, Ripon, Colliery Proprietor, and
WILLIAM BEST, of Morley, near Leeds, Engineer, both in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to construct miners safety lamps, in such a
manner that the gauze or upper portion of the lamp may be inspected after the
said lamp-has been locked and handed to, the miner, and after the gauze has been
examined the upper part of the lamp may be securely fastened and cannot be
reopened or exposed until the lamp is returned to the lamp room for inspection
and cleaning.
According to our invention, we form the bonnet with a screw thread at its lower.
end which takes into a screw thread formed on the upper part of the lamp frame,
and a projection or spring is provided on the underside of the bonnet which
engages with a projection or spring on the lamp frame on the two parts being
screwed together: The projection or spring on the lamp frame may be attached
to or raised by the gauze ring or other part attached to same, in such a manner
that the screwing up of the glass ring raises or brings the projection or spring
into position for the purpose of engaging with the projection or spring carried on
the underside of the bonnet.
The lamp is delivered to the miner with the lower portion locked in the
ordinary way, the bonnet being screwed a few turns onto the frame. The bonnet
may thus be screwed off for inspection either by the miner or by a duly authorized
inspector, and it is then screwed up tightly to its seat prior to being taken down
the pit. When once the bonnet is screwed securely home, it cannot be removed
'except by unlocking the main portion of the lamp, thus allowing the glass ring
and the gauze ring to be lowered, when the projection on the latter being removed,
the bonnet may be unscrewed from its position over the gauze.
L 1
101
We, WILLIAM ACKROYD, late of Ripon, but now of Birkenshaw, near Leeds,
Colliery Proprietor, and WILLIAM BEST,, of, Morley, near Leeds, Engineer, both
in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
[Price 8d.]

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
―
It is the custom for all miners lamps to be delivered into the lamp room for
cleaning purposes after they have been employed in the mine, but when the lamp
is again returned to the miner ready lighted and locked, he has no guarantee that
the lamp has been properly attended to. If the lamp cleaner is negligent in his
duty, he may simply remove the lamp bottom and clean the interior of the lamp
without taking out the gauze, or the lamp may be closed after cleaning without
having a gauze in at all. Faults of this description cannot be detected by the
miner, and this negligence has often been the cause of disastrous explosions.
Now the object of this invention is to prevent explosions being caused in mines
through the negligence of the lamp cleaner or other person cleaning the lamps,
or through any attempt on the part of the miner to loosen the glass, and with
this object we construct our lamp as shown in the accompanying drawing where
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the same, and Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are detail
views.
The general structure of the lower part of the lamp is as follows:-A is the
lamp frame, and B is the lamp bottom or oil container which is provided with a
spring bolt C only capable of being withdrawn by means of a powerful magnet.
The lamp bottom B screws into the lamp frame A by means of a right hand screw
thread 1. E is a ring for receiving the base of the glass J. This ring E screws
into the lamp frame by means of a left hand thread F, and the base of the ring E
is provided with a flange on the undèr side of which are situated rack teeth H
(see inverted plan view Figure 5) for engaging with the locking bolt. C.
The particular arrangement of the upper part of the lamp, characterizing the
invention, and whereby the screw off outer cover or "bonnet
R may be fastened
after the base of the lamp is locked and whereby the “bonnet' R cannot be
unfastened until the base of the lamp is unlocked, is as follows:-
"
The upper edge of the lamp glass J bears against a shoulder L formed upon
the lower edge of the gauze cover K. M is a spring which is attached to the
lamp frame A, and N is a stud which is attached to the end of the spring M and
passes through a hole in the lamp frame A. P is a spring which is fastened to
the under side of the bonnet R, which latter is connected to the lamp frame A
by means of the screw thread S.
When the ring E is screwed tightly home, the glass J holds the shoulder L of
the gauze K firmly up against its seat in the lamp frame A, the said shoulder
in its turn holding up the stud N as shown at Figure 3 and plan view Figure 4
and so keeping the spring M in a position to engage with the spring P, as seen
at Figure 3. The lamp bottom B can now be screwed into position, the bolt C
running round over the rack teeth H, until the said lamp bottom B is screwed
securely home. Any attempt to unscrew the lamp bottom B without first with-
drawing the bolt only tends to tighten the parts more firmly in position owing
to the reverse direction of the screw threads F and D.
When the lamp is handed to the miner in this condition, viz., with the lamp base
locked but with the bonnet R removed, the miner or inspector can only examine
the gauze and they cannot tamper with the lamp. When the 'examination of the
gauze K has been made, the bonnet R is screwed firmly home, until the spring P
takes behind the spring M, and the bonnet is thus firmly locked until the spring M
resumes the position shown at Figure 2, which cannot take place until the lamp
is taken to pieces in the lamp room.
Thus according to our invention the lamp bonnet R may be screwed on and
off from the lamp frame, to which it can be locked by the spring catch M,
the said spring catch M only being brought into action when the glass J and the
gauze K are pressed firmly in position by means of the ring E. This enables the
lamp to be handed to the miner with the gauze, glass, and glass holding ring
fastened in position, and with the lamp base already locked whilst the bonnet can
be handed separately to the miner, or it can be screwed loosely on the frame but

page_text: not far enough for the spring catch M to engage and lock the said bonnet R.
The miner can thus take off the said bonnet R and see that the gauze K is in
position and clean, and the inspector can repeat the examination and then screw
the bonnet up until the spring lock engages with the spring catch M in the
lamp frame, thus firmly locking the bonnet R which cannot be again opened until
the lamp bottom B is unlocked in the lamp room. The lamp cleaner is obliged
to remove the gauze K and glass J in order to remove the bonnet R, thus pre-
venting the possibility of his simply cleaning the interior of the gauze K with a
brush so as to save himself the trouble of removing the glass holding ring E.
If the gauze is not properly cleaned, or if it has been omitted, the neglect is at
once detected by the miner or the inspector.
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:-
1. In a miner's safety lamp having a screw off bonnet, the employment of a
spring catch for locking the bonnet, the said spring catch being brought into an
acting position on the closing of the lamp, substantially as set forth.
2. In a miner's safety lamp having a screw off bonnet, the spring stop M brought
into the acting position by the flange L of the gauze K on the raising of the
glass J when locking the lamp, in combination with the spring catch on the
bonnet R, substantially as set forth.
3. In a miner's safety lamp having a screw off bonnet, a spring catch P situated
on the under side of the bonnet R, in combination with a spring stop M having
a stud N the latter being actuated by the raising of the glass J on the lamp being.
closed, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 6th day of December A D 1898
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Applicants.