Improvements in Locking Arrangements for Miners' Safety Lamps.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Mar., 1893-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking Arrangements for Miners' Safety Lamps.
I ABRAHAM HENRY WORMALD of 14 The Park, Eccles, near Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Tailor and Draper, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My said invention refers to improved arrangements for locking miner's safety
lamps and refers chiefly to a self locking arrangement whereby the lamp is
automatically locked when the oil reservoir is screwed to the foot of the lamp.
The said automatic lock consists of a spring bolt housed in the foot of the lamp or
in an attachment thereto. The said spring bolt comes opposite to a depression or
recess in or attached to the oil reservoir the bottom of which can be raised
or lowered by screwing a plug up or down. When the plug is lowered, the recess
is ready to receive the spring bolt, but when the plug is raised the spring bolt is
pushed up out of the recess so as to unlock the lamp.
To prevent tampering with the lock by the miner I form the end of the plug,
to engage only with a particular key of a peculiar formation which key is in the
possession only of the person whose duty it is to fill, trim, light and otherwise
prepare the lamps for the miners. Thus the miner is unable to unlock or open the
lamp in the mine the danger of explosion from this cause being thereby_averted.
Instead of a spring bolt automatically engaging with a recess as described I
might provide a sliding bolt screwed or pushed by a master key into a fixed recess
when the lamp has been screwed together. In unlocking the lamp the bolt would
be withdrawn in a similar manner.
The same arrangement of locking mechanism is or may be used to secure in
position the shield which covers the gauge of the safety lamp.
Dated this Eighth day of September 1892.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking Arrangements for Miners' Safety Lamps.
I ABRAHAM HENRY WORMALD of 14 The Park, Eccles, near Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Tailor and Draper, 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 and accompanying
drawings:-
:-
My said invention refers to improved arrangements for locking miner's safety
lamps and refers chiefly to a self locking arrangement whereby the lamp is
automatically locked when the oil reservoir is screwed to the foot of the lamp.
The said automatic lock consists of a spring bolt housed in the foot of the lamp
or in an attachment thereto.
The said spring bolt comes opposite to a depression or recess in or attached to
the oil reservoir the bottom of which can be raised or lowered by screwing a plug
up or down.
When the plug is lowered the recess is ready to receive the spring
bolt but when the plug is raised the spring bolt is pushed up and out of the recess
so as to unlock the lamp. To prevent tampering with the lock by the miner I
form the end of the plug to engage only with a particular key of a particular
formation which key is in the possession only of the person whose duty it is to
fill, trim, light and otherwise prepare the lamps for the miners. Thus the miner
TD
1

page_text: is unable to unlock or open the lamp in the mine the danger of explosion from this
cause being thereby averted. Instead of a spring bolt automatically engaging
with a recess as described I might provide a sliding bolt screwed or pushed by a
master key into a fixed recess when the lamp has been screwed together. In
unlocking the lamp the bolt would be withdrawn in a similar manner.
The same
arrangement of locking mechanism is or may be used to secure in position the
shield which covers the gauze of the safety lamp.
In order that my said invention may be properly understood I will now proceed
more particularly to describe the same reference being had to the annexed sheet of
drawings.
In the said drawings
Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section of a miner's lamp to which my improve-
ments are shown applied.
Fig. 2 is a plan of one side of the oil reservoir showing the plug and recess into
which the spring bolt is pushed.
Fig. 3 shows the spring key to engage with the lower end of the plug.
Fig. 4 shows the end of the plug with which the key engages.
Fig. 5 is a modification of the locking means.
Referring to Fig. 1 a is the foot of the lamp; b is the oil reservoir which is
screwed to the foot of the lamp as is well understood. The spring bolt c is
contained in a recess or pocket formed in a pap d projecting from the foot a.
The bolt c is pressed downward by a spring e and a stop f retains it in the
recess. Opposite to the recess in the foot a is a similar recess in a pap g on
the side of the oil reservoir b. The bottom of the recess in bis constituted by
the flat top of a screwed stud h which has a triangular head of the form shown
in Fig. 4.
The space containing the head of the stud h has a restricted entrance as clearly
shown in Fig. 1 the entrance being smaller than the diameter of the head.
When the spring key i (shown in Fig. 3) is pushed through this restricted
entrance it yields but afterwards expands sufficiently to engage with the head
of the stud h. This prevents any ordinary box or other key from being intro-
duced to turn the stud. The spring key i is difficult to make and unlikely to
be counterfeited, but I do not confine myself to this type of key.
When the lamp foot and reservoir are being screwed together, I lower the screwed
stud by turning it with the key i sufficiently to present a recess to receive the
spring bolt c. As the reservoir and foot approach each other more closely, the
spring bolt is pushed up by the smooth ledge of the reservoir b until the bolt c
comes over the recess in the reservoir edge and automatically snaps thereinto,
thus locking the reservoir b to the lamp foot a. To unlock the parts it is
necessary to use the spring key i. The split end of the key is thrust through
the narrow entrance to the space which surrounds the triangular head of the
stud h. It contracts at the said narrow entrance but expands in the space so as to
fit over the head of the stud. I then turn the key so as to screw the stud h up.
The flat top of the stud pushes the spring bolt c before it and lifts it out of the
recess so that the unlocking of the parts is effected.
The key i is kept in the custody of a responsible person whose duty it is to fill,
trim, light and otherwise prepare the lamps for the miners. Thus the miner is
unable to unlock or open the lamp when in the mine and the dangers of explosion
are lessened.
The locking bolt may be of the key shape shown in the drawings or it might be
of any other suitable or desired shape.
By a modification illustrated at Fig. 5 of the drawings instead of the spring bolt
herein before described I use a bolt k either screwed as shown in the drawings or it
might be a sliding bolt. The upper end of this screwed bolt enters a recess formed
in the foot of the lamp. The bolt k is operated by a spring key as in the former
case so that it can be advanced to enter the recess in the foot a and thus lock the
parts together or be retracted to unlock the parts.

page_text: In the upper part of Fig. 1 I show a similar arrangement to secure the shield /
(which covers the wire gauze) from being tampered with. I solder rivet or other-
wise secure a pap m to the shield, the said pap containing a screw stud n or it might
be a sliding bolt which can be advanced or retracted by means of the spring key so
as to cause the end of the stud to enter or be withdrawn from a recess formed in
the top o of the lamp.
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) The improved means for automatically locking miners safety lamps consisting
of a spring bolt carried in the foot of the lamp and arranged to enter a recess in
the reservoir, the unlocking being effected by raising the bottom of the said recess
so as to push the bolt out of the recess in the manner and by the means substantially
as hereinbefore described and shown.
2) An automatic locking arrangement for miners' safety lamps consisting of the
sliding spring bolt carried in the foot of the lamp and arranged to enter a recess in
the reservoir, the said reservoir recess containing a screwed stud capable of being
screwed
of the sa so as to eject the bolt or retract so as to admit the bolt, the manipulation
screwed stud being effected by an elastic key of the indicated or of
other suitable construction substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.
3) As means for locking miners safety lamps the employment of a screwed stud
or sliding bolt housed in the side of the oil reservoir and coming opposite to a recess
in the foot of the lamp or vice versa, the said screwed stud being operated by a key
of particular construction such for example as the elastic split key i substantially
as hereinbefore described and shown.
4) The employment of a screw stud or sliding bolt operated by a master key
such for example as the elastic key i for the purpose of securing and preventing
unauthorised removal of the shield which covers the wire gauze of miners safety
lamps substantially as described and shown.
5) As means for operating the locking devices of miners safety lamps the elastic
split key in conjunction with the revolvable screwed stud the head of which is
contained in a space the entrance to which is restricted so that the key is compressed
in entering the space but can expand within the space and so embrace the stud head,
substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 2nd day of March 1893.
E. K..DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street. Manchester, Agents.