Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th May, 1886.
Complete Left, 17th Mar., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 19th Apr., 1887.
I, JOHN HOLMES SHELDRAKE, of No. 44 Stockwell Park Road, Brixton in the
County of Surrey, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention relates to that description of gas lamps in which the air supply to the
burner is heated before coming in contact with the flame by being brought in contact
with surfaces that are heated by the products of combustion passing away from the
burner.
My present improvements have mainly for their object to provide means for
regulating the supply of air to such burners and the degree to which such air is
heated, and also to arrange for the convenient and ready attachment of the lamps to
and detachment from pedestals or lamp posts, when they are applied in this manner.
For this purpose according to one arrangement, in which a set of air supply passages
are made to radiate horizontally from a central passage leading downward to the
central gas burner situated below the same, I provide round the outer ends of the
radiating air passages a circular slide so arranged that by rotating it more or less by
a rack and pinion or other contrivance, the openings to the passages can be more or
less closed and thus the air supply be more or less restricted. Or in place of
arranging such slide at the outer end it may be placed at an intermediate point of the
passages. I also provide a rotatable disc over the tops or under the bottoms of such
radiating air passages, which disc has openings so arranged that in one position it
allows the free passage upward of the products of combustion from the burner,
between and in contact with the air passages, while on turning the disc more or less
the openings between the air passages are more or less closed and consequently the
escape of the products of combustion are retarded, thus increasing their heating effect
on the air supply. According to another improvement I provide the burners of such
lamps with two or more concentric rings or clusters of gas jets, and I provide a
corresponding number of concentric vertical channels for the air supply so that each
ring or cluster of gas jets shall have its own air supply, and thus be prevented from
interfering with the other rings or clusters of jets.

page_text: In applying the above described mode of regulating the air supply to lamps having
argand burners, I construct the argand burner with the holes for the issue of the gas
drilled at an angle to the sides of the burner, instead of vertically downwards, so that
the flame projects outward at an angle, while at the same time a cavity is formed in
the burner below such holes, into which any dirt or solid matter contained in the gas
will drop, and thus prevent the holes from being choked.
For attaching the above described lamps to pedestals or lamp posts, I provide the
upper end of the latter with two tubular arms branching up vertically from the top of
the pedestal or post at such a distance apart as to receive the lamp between them, and
for connecting the lamp to these arms I construct, the upper end of the central gas
supply pipe thereof with two opposite horizontal tubular branches, terminating in
sockets fitting on to the upper ends of the arms on the lamp posts, which have collars
on which the sockets rest, and I close the upper ends of the tubular arms above the
sockets with screw caps. Thus, the lower end of one of the tubular arms being
connected to the gas supply pipe in the lamp post, the gas supply passes thence
through a regulator and through the arm into the gas pipe of the lamp. The other
tubular arm is connected at its lower end to the gas pipe of the lamp post by means of
a by-pass below the cock, while the branch pipe leading from it into the lamp
communicates with a small igniting jet kept constantly burning such as is generally
employed with such lamps. When an external reflector is applied to such lamps, I
provide it with two opposite loops or eyes that embrace the said arms of the lamp post
and are secured thereto by screws. I prefer to fix the lower ends of the said tubular
arms to the lamp post or pedestal by casting them into an ornamental head piece
thereof into which is screwed the upper end of a wrought iron tube forming the upper
part of the lamp post, the lower end of this tube being in like manner cast in a cast
iron ornamental base piece by which the lamp post or pedestal is fixed in the ground.
By this construction I obtain a strong and comparatively light lamp post, the upper
part of which can be separated from the lower part for facility of transport.
Dated this 2011 Mo.. 1000.
ABEL & IMRAY,
28, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Gas Lamps and their Pedestals or Supports.
I, JOHN HOLMES SHELDRAKE of No. 44 Stockwell Park Road, Brixton in the
County of Surrey, Gas 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 :-
My invention relates to that description of gas lamps in which the air supply to the
burner is heated before coming in contact with the flame by being brought in contact
with surfaces that are heated by the products of combustion passing away from the
burner.
My present improvements have mainly for their object to provide means for
regulating the supply of air to such burners and the degree to which such air is
heated, and also to arrange for the convenient and ready attachment of the lamps to
and detachment from pedestals or lamp posts when they are applied in this manner.
For this purpose according to one arrangement, in which a set of air supply passages
are made to radiate horizontally from a central passage leading downward to the central
gas burner situated below the same, I provide round the outer ends of the radiating air
passages a circular slide so arranged that by rotating it more or less by a rack and
pinion or other contrivance, the openings to the passages can be more or less closed
and thus the air supply be more or less restricted. Or in place of arranging such
slide at the outer end it may be placed at an intermediate point of the passages. I
also provide a rotatable disc over the tops or under the bottoms of such radiating air
passages, which disc has openings so arranged that in one position it allows the free
passage upward of the products of combustion from the burner, between and in contact
with the air passages, while on turning the disc more or less the openings between the
air passages are more or less closed and consequently the escape of the products of
combustion are retarded, thus increasing their heating effect on the air supply.
According to another improvement I provide the burners of such lamps with two or
more concentric rings or clusters of gas jets, and I provide a corresponding number of
concentric vertical channels for the air supply so that each ring or cluster of gas jets
shall have its own air supply, and thus be prevented from interfering with the other
rings or clusters of jets. In applying the above described mode of regulating the air
supply to lamps having argand burners, I construct the argand burner with the holes
for the issue of the gas drilled at an angle to the sides of the burner, instead of
vertically downwards, so that the flame projects outwards at an angle, while at the
same time a cavity is formed in the burner below such holes, into which any dirt or
solid matter contained in the gas will drop, and thus prevent the holes from being
choked. For attaching the above described lamps to pedestals or lamp posts I provide
the upper end of the latter with two tubular arms branching up vertically from the top
of the pedestal or post at such a distance apart as to receive the lamp between them,
and for connecting the lamp to these arms. I construct the upper end of the central
gas supply pipe with two opposite horizontal tubular branches, terminating in sockets
fitting on to the upper ends of the arms on the lamp post, which have collars on which

page_text: the sockets rest, and I close the upper ends of the tubular arms above the sockets with
screw caps. Thus the lower end of one of the tubular arms being connected to the gas
supply pipe in the lamp post, the gas supply passes thence through a regulator and
through the arm into the gas pipe of the lamp. The other tubular arm is connected
at its lower end to the gas pipe of the lamp post by means of a by-pass below the
cock, while the branch pipe leading from it into the lamp communicates with a small
igniting jet kept constantly burning such as is generally employed with such lamps.
When an external reflector is applied to such lamps, I provide them with two opposite
loops or eyes that embrace the said arms of the lamp post and are secured thereto by
screws. prefer to fix the lower ends of the said tubular arms to the lamp post or
pedestal by casting them into an ornamental head piece thereof into which is screwed
the upper end of a wrought iron tube forming the upper part of the lamp post, the
lower end of this tube being in like manner cast in a cast iron ornamental base piece
by which the lamp post or pedestal is fixed in the ground.
By this construction I obtain a strong and comparatively light lamp post, the upper
part of which can be separated from the lower part for facility of transport.
of
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings shews a vertical section of a lamp having some
my above described improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2 shews a sectional plan on
line a
Fig. 1. The gas pipe A has two sets of burners B, C, the set being
somewhat below and within the set B, the flames of the former being supplied with air
passing down the central tube D, while the latter are fed with air passing down
through the annular space E between the tube 1) and the outer tube F. The tubes D
and both communicate at their upper ends with the horizontal radiating air
passages G, through the outer ends of which the air enters, becoming heated on its
passage to the burners by the heat of the gaseous products of combustion rising up
through the spaces between the passages G. Above these passages is arranged a
rotatable disc H having apertures corresponding to the spaces between the passages,
and capable of being partially rotated by means of a circular rack and pinion at I, so
that the dise H- may be made either to leave a free passage for the products of
combustion, or to restrict that passage more or less. Round the outer ends of the
passages G is provided a circular slide J, having openings corresponding to those of
the passages, and capable of being rotated somewhat by a circular rack and pinion K,
so that the passages G may either be left entirely free for the ingress of air or be
more or less restricted. Fig. 3 shews a section of a lamp, the air passages G and
passages for the products of combustion of which are regulated by slides or valves H
and in the same manner as above described but in which the burner is of ring or
argand form, the annular chamber L having small tubes M fixed in holes drilled in the
sloping sides thereof, so that below such holes a space is formed in the chamber L into
which any solid matter contained in the gas will drop, and thus prevent the holes and
tubes from being choked. The tubes M are fixed in slightly outwardly inclined
positions, and below their lower ends is the disc N for deflecting the air passing down
centrally through the burner, while the air passing down through the tube Bround
the burner issues through wire gauze or perforated metal O on to the flame, this
arrangement as also the deflecting disc N being the same as described in
F. H. Wenhams patents, and therefore forming no part of my present invention.
Fig. 4 shews a pedestal or post for carrying the above described lamps, with my
before described improvements applied thereto.
The upper end of the post or pedestal P has two tubular arms P" P2, between which
is the lamp, the central gas pipe A (Figs. 1 and 3) of the latter being connected at its
upper end to two tubular branches A' A terminating in coned sockets that fit on to
the coned upper ends of the arms P1 P2, these having collars p formed on them for the
branches to rest upon. The sockets of the branches A' A² communicate with the
interior of the arms PP through side holes in the latter, and the tops of the arms
are closed by screwed caps QQ.
The gas pipe R passing up the lamp post carries a regulator V the outlet R' of
which is connected to the lower end of the arm 12, so that the gas passes up through
this arm to the burner of the lamu.

page_text: A small by-pass R branching from the gas pipe below the shut off cock R³, is
connected to the arm P1, and the branch is made to communicate with a small pilot
light in the burner, so that when the gas is turned off a small quantity of gas passes
up P so as to keep the pilot light always burning.
The reflector S fits with loops S' on the arms P1 P2, to which they are secured by
setting screws. The other part of the lamp is supported by its connection to the
branches A A; its construction is otherwise the same as described with reference to
Figs. 1 or 3.
The post P is by preference formed of a wrought iron tube on which is cast an
ornamental base T while its upper end is screwed into an ornamental cast iron
crown U, in which are cast the lower ends of the arms P¹ P².
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In gas lamps wherein the air supply is heated by the combustible gases on its
way to the burners providing the radial air passages G with regulating slides such
as J and the passages for the combustible gases with a regulating slide such as H, for
regulating both the air supply and the draught of the lamp, substantially as herein
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
2. In gas lamps such as are referred to in the preceding claim arranging two sets of
burners such as B and C, the one set being below and at a smaller distance from the
central pipe than the other set, and providing each set with a separate air supply
conducted from the radial passages G through concentric tubes D and F, substantially
as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.
3. In gas lamps such as are referred to in the first claim, constructing the chamber
of the burner with a recess at a lower depth than that where the issue orifices for the
gas are situated, so that any solid matter carried by the gas will fall into such recess
and not obstruct the issue orifices, substantially as herein described with reference to
Fig. 3 of the drawings.
4. Constructing lamp posts or pedestals for carrying lamps of the kind referred to
in the preceding claims combined and arranged substantially as herein described with
reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.