IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING KEROSENE OR VOLATILE OILS OR OTHER HYDROCARBON FLUIDS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Newell Tyler, of Buffalo, in the State of
New York, in the United States of America, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING KEROSENE OR VOLATILE OILS OR
OTHER HYDROCARBON FLUIDS"
Sealed the 20th April 1866, and dated the 13th January 1866.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Newell Tyler
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 13th January 1866, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Charles
NEWELL TYLER, of Buffalo, in the State of New York, in the United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LAMPS FOR BURNING KEROSENE OR VOLATILE OILS OR OTHER HYDROCARBON FLUIDS,"
and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have
made solemn Declaration that I ain the true and first Inventor thereof.
[Price 8d1

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Newell Tyler, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed in and by the following statement:-
When the common rich hydrocarbon fluids, such as kerosene, naphtha,
and the like, which are very rich in carbon are burned in the ordinary lamp
having the common solid wick they emit much smoke or unconsumed carbon,
and are so offensive as to be but little used. I have discovered that if the
oil or naphtha in the wick tube is kept cool (comparatively) up to the base
of the flame or within a very short distance of the base that any of the common
fluid hydrocarbons, either heavy or volatile, will burn without (material)
smoke, and with a clear bright flame, and that the base of the flame is much
broadened and expanded by the intense heat suddenly applied to the cool
particles of liquid, and that the greater expansion or lateral projection of
the flame farther into the atmosphere allows a much larger quantity of air to
mingle with the vapor which feeds the flame than can be obtained when a
strong current of air is brought upward near the base of the flame or than
when the ordinary lamps are used. I have also discovered that if the con-
sumption wick be divided so as to carry the fluid out laterally from the top
of the wick tube, I succeed in widening the base of the flame, and more
thoroughly mingle more oxygen with the hydro-carbonaceous vapor, and
produce more light from the same quantity of fluid. I have also discovered
that if a small chamber closed at all sides except at the top be placed beneath
the flame and around the wick, that the imperfectly consumed vapor wil
constitute a supply in this chamber which will support the flame so as to
enable it to better withstand the effect of sudden drafts of air. My Inven-
tion principally consists in the mechanical embodiment of these discoveries,
and its principles may be illustrated by a consideration of the identical prin-
ciples observable in the burning of the common candle. A candle is condensed
hydrocarbon, the carbon being more concentrated than in any hydrocarbon
fluid, and for that reason one unacquainted with the fact that a candle does
burn without smoke would suppose that much greater smoke would arise
from burning the concentrated carbon than from burning the unconcentrated
carbon; and the reason why the concentrated carbon does not in fact smoke
lies in the fact that the mechanical operation by which it burns differs from
that by which the fluid carbon burus. If then we contrive that the fluid
carbon shall burn in the same mechanical manner that the solid carbon burns,
we shall make the fluid carbon also burn without smoke. Now my theory is

page_text: that the solid carbon composing a candle burns without smoke because only
that portion actually ignited is heated at any time, so that there is no (or very
little) heated vapor in the wick between the flame and the solid candle to
rush up into the flame faster than it can be burnt. And the reservoir of
carbon is kept so near to the flame that the supply of melted carbon or
vapor is just equal to the demand of the flame, which consequently burns
uniformly. It is a fact that the flame of a candle is several times broader
(five or six) at its base than the diameter of the wick; this arises from the
fact that the dissolved particles of carbon as they change into vapor burst
below or near the base of the flame, and as there is no other vapor below
them to force them upwards through the flame they must burn at its base,
which is widened out so as to be capable of mixing with more oxygen and
forming a better light by securing more perfect combustion.
In my Invention I burn the fluid carbons in all respects upon the principle
of the candle, by making the flame burn at a point somewhat above the
wick tube, so that the tube may not be heated, by carrying the fluid in
a large volume up to the top of the supply wick tube, and at a point above
the tube form the flame upon a consumption wick much smaller than the
supply wick, as will more fully heroin-after appear. I do not desire to limit
myself to any particular or specified mode or modes of embodying these
discoveries, but will describe the best mode known to me, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings forming a part of this Specification, and
to the letters of reference thereon marked. I would here remark that I
sometimes use the ordinary draft chimney when it is desired to make a
first-rate light, but that ordinarily I dispense with this chimney, and find
that my lamp without a chimney will emit a very large and brilliant light,
burning steadily and without smoke.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2 is a vertical
section through the wick tube and cap, and shows the wick divided; Fig. 3
is a similar view the wick not divided; Figs. 4 and 5 show modified forms
of the wick tube; Fig. 6 shows a modified form of the cap.
In the Drawings L represents the lamp reservoir which may be of any
desired form or material; B represents the ordinary metallic screw top of the
reservoir; C is the wick tube, which is a straight hollow cylinder (made of
very thin metal so as to conduct the least possible heat) of sufficient capacity
to contain the supply wick, and is open at the bottom; this tube is closed at
the top by a flat cap or plate having a small hole in its centre for the passage
of the combustion wick, which is about one-fourth of the size of the supply

page_text: wick; D is the metallic cap open only at the top, where there is a slit of the
width of the base of the flame, and it fits closely around the wick tube. In
Figs. 2 and 3 the cap is shown with its lower part packed with cork, charred
wood, or other non-conducting packing E, so that the wick tube can derive
no direct heat from the cap, since only the non-conducting portion of the cap
comes in contact with the tube. There are several modes of applying the
packing to the cap, but the best known to me is to make the packing out of
two or more layers c of charred wood, which have been covered with glue (or
other substance insoluble in the fluids burned) having one or more layers of
cork between them; I drill a hole through the layers of wood, which are
merely intended to centre cap on the tube, and through the cork which fits
closely to the tube. G is the vapor chamber within the cap closed
except by
the flame slot a at the top, and surrounding about one-eighth to one-half of
an inch of the top of the wick tube, and also that part of the wick between
the flame and wick tube. W, the supply wick which loosely fits in the wick
tube, and carries the oil up from the lamp reservoir L; X, the combustion
wick, which is much smaller (one-third to one-tenth the size) than the supply
wick. It should be borne in mind that I always use a combustion wick as small
as possible, much smaller than the wick of a candle, so that I may be able to
carry it as high up as possible, and expose as much wick surface as I can to
atmospheric action. The best mode known to me of making these wicks is
to let the smaller wick pass up through the centre of the larger wick,
although the same effect may result from different constructions. In Fig. 4
the wick tube is made with a large portion w to contain the supply wick, and
a small upward extension a to receive the combustion wick, there being a
square shoulder z at the junction of the two portions w and x to serve as
deflector of the heat from the lower part of the wick tube, and to allow the
combustion wick to fit so loosely in the part as not to touch its sides. In
Fig. 5 the construction is similar, except that the supply wick tube w is
larger than the bottom, so as to admit of the insertion of a sponge or other
similar elastic packing y. In Fig. 6 is shown the cap D without the packing
and made flatter than the cap shown in the other Figures. The cap provided
with the packing more perfectly accomplishes the object of keeping the fluid
in the tube cool, and should be used when the more volatile hydrocarbon
fluids are burned, because there is then no danger of explosion. When the
common coal oil or heavy grades of hydrocarbon fluids are burned I can
safely use the cap shown in Fig. 6. In Figs. 2, 4, and 5 the combustion
wick X is shown as a single wick, in Figs. 3 and 6 the wick is shown divided

page_text: or parted into three points 1, 2, and 3, so as to distribute and expose the
oil to the action of a larger quantity of atmosphere than if the same quantity
of wick and the oil therein contained formed but a single wick. It will be
noticed that the base of the flame F is some considerable space above the
top of the wick tube.
In the operation of my Invention, the reservoir L being provided with
a suitable quantity of fluid, a lighted match is applied to the wick, and the
flame is formed at the end or ends of the wick, somewhat above the end of
the wick tube, and resting on the cap, which radiates the heat into the atmo-
sphere and away from the lamp. The operation of the lamp is such that the
flame (being above the tube) imparts no direct heat to the wick tube, which
is further kept cool by the large supply of fluid in the tube, which is carried up
by the supply wick so fast that the consumption by the flame is not rapid
enough to cause the formation of any vapor in the tube, and there being no
vapor created faster than it is consumed, there is none to rush up into the flame
to form smoke or to produce offensive odor. It will be found too that the
base of the flame is broader than that of the flame of the commou lamp, and
is similar to the flame of a candle. This is the operation of the supply and
combustion wicks with the simple tube shown in Fig. 3, but without the cap
or divided wick. If now I divide the wick into two or more strands or points
(Fig. 2), while I do not (appreciably) increase the quantity of oil contained
in the wick, I do increase the wick surface exposed to the air, so that the
hydrogen and carbon contained in the vapor will assimilate alarger proportion
of oxygen. The result of this is that I produce a larger and better light
with the same quantity of oil. When the cap D is applied to the tube the
operation is similar; but the vapor chamber G will contain a supply of vapor
arising from the vaporization of the heavier particles of vapor formed at the
base of the flame and not wholly consumed; this vapor serves as a supplemental
supply to sustain the flame during exposure to any sudden draft or motion,
and also serves to raise the flame a little higher up from the top of the tube
and causes it to rest upon the cap, it also protects the ends of the strands
1 and 3 from the upward current of air, so as to prevent their too rapid
charring. It will be noticed that in Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the cap with
non-conducting packing E, which alone comes in contact with the tube, so
that no direct heat passes from the cap to the tube. In Fig. 6 the cap is
without the packing, but otherwise acts like the other cap except that it
conveys some little heat to the tube, and is not so wholly safe with very
volatile fluids. The tubes shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are intended to be used

page_text: without the caps, though they may be applied. They operate upon the
same principle as the other tubes, but their shoulders serve to deflect the
heat, and the greater capacity of the portion w which contains the sponge
and supply wick allows a larger quantity of cool fluid to be brought near
the burning point.
I enumerate the following as some of the advantages of my Invention:-I
am enabled to burn the common hydrocarbon fluids of heavy or volatile
grades without a draft chimney, and without smoking or smelling offensively.
"I can burn the most volatile fluids with perfect safety from explosions, and
hence can use those lighter and cheaper grades of hydrocarbons which are
now used for heating or for other cheap purporses; and I am enabled to burn
light without trimming the wick much longer than can be done with any
other lamp or fluid, because the extreme volatility of the light grades is such
that there is very little clogging of the wick. I can also sustain a light with
a given uniform power longer than can be done by any other known lamp,
which renders my Invention peculiarly adapted to lanterns, street lights, and
other purposes, and I also produce more light with the same amount of fluid
What I claim as my Invention is as follows:-
a
I claim constructing a lamp so that the flame shall impart no heat (or
very little) to the fluid in the wick, except at or very near to the point of
ignition in the manner herein described, or its equivalent, substantially as
and for the purposes specified.
I also claim carrying the fluid in a large volume up to the top of the tube
by a large wick or its equivalent, and there burning it from a small wick
or its equivalent, substantially in the manner and for the purposes specified.
I also claim constructing a lamp so that the flame shall be formed a
short space above the wick tube instead of at the tube in the manner
described, or its equivalent, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
I also claim dividing the wick or spreading it substantially in the manner
and for the purposes specified.
I also claim the wick tube constructed and operating substantially in
the manner and for the purposes specified.
I also claim the combined use of a supply and a combustion wick, or
their equivalents, substantially as specified.
I also claim the cap, or its equivalent, constructed and operating sub-
stantially as described.
I also claim the vapor chamber, or its equivalent, constructed and
operating substantially as specified.

page_text: And I also claim combining a non-conductor E, or its equivalent, with
the cap substantially as described.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
First day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-five.
CHARLES NEWELL TYLER. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed in
presence of
V. C. CLAYTON,
Jo. C. CLAYTON,
Counsellor-at-Law.