Mechanism for Automatically Operating Beacon Lamps.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 12th June, 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Mechanism for Automatically Operating Beacon Lamps.
I, ROBERT PERRY NELMS of Jacksonville, in the County of Duval, and State
of Florida, one of the United States of America, 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:-
This invention has for its object to provide a lamp for beacons or light-houses
with mechanism for automatically lighting the lamp at or about sunset, and
extinguishing the same at or about sunrise, the apparatus including mechanisms
operated at pre-determined intervals to clean or wipe the globe of the lamp, trim
and raise the wick, and maintain the level of the oil in the reservoir at the proper
height with respect to the burner, the driving shaft being governed by clock
mechanism so that said driving shaft will be operated at stated intervals to actuate
the mechanism which accomplishes the ends in view.
:-
In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification:
Figure 1, is a plan view of an automatically controlled beacon-lamp constructed
in accordance with my invention, the upper part of the lamp proper not being
shown.
Figure 2, is an end elevation, the globe of the lamp being in section.
Figure 3, is a side elevation."
Figure 4, is a detail view of the weight-motor which drives the main operating
shaft of the apparatus and-
Figure 5, is a detail view of the mechanism for making and breaking the circuit
of an electric igniting device.
A, designates a base-plate which supports the beacon-lamp and operating
mechanisms therefor, and this base-plate may form a part of a light house or other
structure. Upon this base-plate is rigidly secured a post a having at its upper end
an inwardly projecting member a¹ which supports the lamp B, said lamp consisting
of the base b, globe 6 and burner 62, the latter being located to one side of the
centre of the base b so as not to interfere with the operating shaft of the globe
cleaning device to be hereinafter described. The upper part of the lamp is
provided with a cap of the usual construction.
C
C, designates the main driving shaft of the apparatus which passes through the
base-plate A, and depending bearing a², said shaft carries gear wheel C. To the
lower end of the shaft C, is attached a bevel-wheel c which meshes with a bevel-
wheel in a shaft C¹ journalled in a hanger a³. The end of the shaft C' opposite
the bevel-wheel c' projects beyond the hanger a³ and forms a bearing for one end of
a drum which is adapted to turn freely thereon, the opposite end of said drum
being keyed or attached to a shaft C³ journalled in a hanger a, and this last
mentioned shaft is provided with a crank-handle C by means of which the drum is
turned to wind a cord c³ thereon, said cord being attached to a weight c'. The
shaft C is connected to a drum 2 by means of a ratchet c' and pawl c. By this
arrangement, the weight attached to the cord will turn the drum c², and
communicate the motion to the main driving shaft C, through the intervention of
the bevel-wheels c and c¹; thus providing a weight-motor for operating the main
shaft from which the mechanisms to be hereinafter described are driven.
D, designates the oil-reservoir for the lamp B, which is preferably of the
configuration shown, and said reservoir is connected to the burner 62 of the lamp by

page_text: a flexible tube d by which the wick of the burner is supplied with oil. To maintain
the proper oil-level, the reservoir is gradually raised by the main driving shaft C,
the upper portion of said shaft being threaded to engage a nut D' connected to the
reservoir by an angle plate d', so that as the shaft is rotated it will gradually raise
the nut which will carry the reservoir with it. The reservoir is guided by means
of posts a attached to the base-plate which are embraced by loops d secured to
said reservoir.
Upon the main shaft C, a suitable distance above the gear-wheel C is mounted
a disk E, and above this disk is also mounted a second disk F, the gear-wheel C
and disks E, and F, being connected to each other near their outer edges by
standards e e, so that they will all move in unison with the driving shaft. The
upper disk F, carries a segment plate G, supported above said disk by means of
standards g. The disk E, on its periphery has one or more studs e adapted to
operate to make and break the circuit of an electric igniting device for the oil-
burner; said igniting device consisting of wires which extend from the poles of a
battery H, one of the wires having a platinum section which adjoins the upper end
of the wick-tube and extends therefrom to a contact point adjacent the disk E,
while the other wire extends directly to the contact-point so that the circuit will be
completed by the stud e¹, on the disk E.
I, I, designate cells containing mercury and a wire which extends from the
battery H, into one of the cells I, while the wire from the other pole of the battery
is let into the second cell, this last mentioned wire has an interposed resistance and
a platinum section h¹ which adjoins the upper end of the burner. The resistance
comprises a cell I¹ suspended from the nut D. Within the cell I', which contains
mercury, a metal rod i is suspended which is connected at its upper end to a wire h²
leading from the battery, and one end of the wire h³, forms a continuation of the
wire h² and is coiled to encircle the rod i which depends into the mercury of the
cell I', the other end of said wire ³ being in the mercury of one of the cells I, as
herein before stated, so that by raising the nut D₁ the cell 11 will also be raised,
thereby more deeply submerging metal rods i and coil which lessens the
resistance and so allows the current an easier path as the battery becomes
exhausted by use.
From the foregoing it will be noted that the cells I, I, form the contact points at
which the circuit is made and broken, and in order to make and break the circuit
at the proper time to cause the lighting of the burner through the medium of the
platinum section h', a yoke J, is suspended above said cells so that the lower ends
thereof will be normally above the mercury therein. This yoke is provided with
a non-conducting block; which is connected by a link j' to the outer end of a flat
spring J, said spring being looped to provide a lower section which is tempered
so as to be of greater resiliency than the upper part, the spring being secured at its
looped portion to an arm or support J2 fastened to the base-plate A. The circuit
is made or completed when the ends of the yoke J, touch the mercury in the
cells 1, 1, and this operation is accomplished by the stud e passing into the loop
and depressing the lower member of the spring so that the upper member will
move downward and carry the yoke with it, and when the stud passes beyond the
end of said lower section the latter will be released so that its upward spring
tendency will raise the other part of the spring and lift the yoke out of contact
with the mercury in the cells I, I.
The device for extinguishing the lamp consists of a bellows K, attached to an arm a
which projects from upright a and a tube k extending from the bellows to a point
on a line with the upper end of the burner 62 so that the operation of the bellows
will force air through the tube and against the upper end of the wick to
extinguish the flame. The bellows is operated by a stud or set screw k¹ which
projects from a collar K₁ secured to the main driving shaft C, by said stud or se
screw which is also used for adjusting the collar on the shaft, and to vary the
position of the stud with respect to the other parts of the apparatus. When the
shaft C, is rotated the stud or set screw k¹ engages the movable board o

page_text: the bellows and moves it away from the stationary board and a further movement
of the stud will release the said movable board, a spring operating the bellows to
force air through the tube k for the purpose mentioned. It may be here mentioned
that the shaft C, makes one complete revolution every twenty-four hours, and by
properly positioning the studs e and the lamp can be lighted and extinguished at
any time during the said twenty-four hours, and in practice, I prefer to provide
more than a single stud e¹ so that the electric burner ignitor will be operated every
hour during the night to light the lamp should it be extinguished from any
cause.
The devices for trimming and raising the wick are constructed as follows:-
A vertical rod L, with bend portion journalled in a bracket a is attached to the
upright a, the upper end of this rod L, is bent and normally lies to one side of the
upper end of the wick tube of the burner, while the lower end of said rod is in
the path of projections g' of the segment plate G, so that when the segment plate
is moved one of the projections 9 will move the lower end of the rod L, outward
and the upper end thereof away from the wick-tube of the burner, and when the
rod escapes the projection, the said upper end will fly back and the spring tendency of
the rod will cause the portion to move rapidly back and forth across the upper end.
of the wick-tube of the burner removing the charred portion of the wick therefrom..
This operation is repeated according to the number of projections g' so as to effectively
trim the wick. The wick-raising device comprises a vertical shaft M, having a worm m
at its upper end meshing with a worm wheel n on a transverse shaft N, journalled in
bearing on the wick-tube 2 having the usual spur wheels n' which engage the wick.
The lower part of the vertical shaft M, has radial arms m¹ engaged by one or more
projections on the segment plate G, to turn the shaft M, which movement is
communicated to the transverse shaft N, through the intervention of the worm and
wheel, and turns the spur-wheels n³ to raise the wick. The projections 92 are
located on the segment-plate G, so that the raising of the wick will take place
after it is trimmed. A projection similar to glocated below one of the intermediate
projections g will slightly raise the wick during the operation of trimming. The
seginent plate G, and projections g₁ and g² thereon are so located with respect to
the other parts of the apparatus that the operations of trimming and raising the
wick will occur during the day.
The device for cleaning the globe consists of a vertical shaft O, which is
journalled in the base-plate A, and extends through the base b of the lamp, the
upper end of the shaft has a cross-bar O' and depending rods o carrying brushes
or blocks with cloth faces which bear against the inner side of the globe. These
blocks are located at different elevations so that when the cross-bar is rotated they
will clean the entire inner surface of the globe. The lower end of the vertical
shaft O, has a pinion o² thereon which meshes with the gear-wheel C*.
P,
the
The shaft C, makes one complete revolution every twenty-four hours, and in
order to insure this movement I provide a governor and time mechanism. The
governor consists of a train of gearing comprising a series of gear-wheels
largest gear-wheel being in mesh with the gear-wheel C while the smallest is
provided with a fan P. The rotation of the fan is stopped by an arm r which
depends from a transverse shaft R, journalled in a bracket S, the lower end of
the arm lies in the path of the minute-hand t of a clock T, which rests upon
the base-plate A. By this arrangement, each revolution of the minute-hand
vill trip the arm to move it out of engagement with the fan P, and permit a
partial rotation of the main driving shaft C, in order to provide for a uniform
novement of the driving shaft C, the disk F, is provided with peripheral pro-
ections and the transverse shaft R, has a depending member engaged by said
rojections so as to hold the arm r out of engagement with the fan until the arm r¹
s released, a weighted or spring actuated arm 2 being employed to return said
ransverse shaft and arm r to its normal position in the path of the fan P.
he minute hand moves the arm r out of engagement with the fan, and before the
inute-hand releases said arm, the disk F, will have moved a sufficient distance to
When

page_text: bring the tooth or projection adjoining the arm in engagement with said arm
and will thereby hold the arm r out of the path of the fan till the arm r falls
into the space between the teeth or projections f; during which time the minute-
band has moved sufficient to be out of the path of the arm r consequently as the
disk F, is provided with twenty-four projections and is rigidly connected to the
driving shaft C, said driving shaft will make a complete revolution every twenty-four
hours, and the clock may be kept wound by connecting or gearing the wheel of the
main spring to the gear-wheel C through the interposition of the gear-wheel V.
In operation, the several parts of the apparatus are adjusted with respect to
each other, so that the lamp will be lighted at or about sunset and extinguished at
or about sunrise, and the wick trimmed and raised during the period of time which
elapses between the extinguishing of the lamp and the subsequent lighting of the
same; the cleaning of the globe being practically continuous. Now when the parts
are adjusted, and supposing the apparatus to be at a point of lighting the lamp with
the stude¹ bearing slightly upon the member of the spring J¹ the minute-hand of
the clock T, will trip the arm releasing the fan P, which will permit the mechanism
to be operated by the weight-motor to turn the disk F, a short distance which is
governed by the arm r', during this movement the stud e¹ will depress the member
and complete the circuit of the electric igniting device by submerging the ends of
the yoke J, into the mercury in the cells I, and as the disk F, and mechanism
controlled thereby moves the distance of one tooth f every hour, the extinguishing
of the lamp is governed by the position of the stud with respect to said teeth;
therefore if it is desired to extinguish the lamp twelve hours after being lit the
stud would be positioned to engage the bellows when the disk F, has moved
twelve teeth. During this intervening time only the globe cleaning device is
operating, and not until after the extinguishing of the lamp does the segment-plate G,
reach its position to begin the operation of trimming and raising the wick, which
operation, is accomplished by the projections gl and g³, the former operating the
vertical rod L, and the latter turning the shaft M, so that the wick will be trimmed
and raised during the day to be in position to be lit at sun-down. The rotary
movement of the globe cleaning device, as well as raising the tank or reservoir, is
effected at each release of the gear-wheel C.
From the foregoing description, it will be observed that every part of the
apparatus is entirely automatic, and therefore the attention of an attendant is only
required to wind up the weight and replenish oil reservoir and the battery when
these devices have run down. It will also be understood that any suitable motor
could be substituted for that shown and described, and that other parts of the
apparatus might be modified or changed within the spirit and scope of iny claims.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim, is :-
1st. The combination in an automatic beacon or apparatus comprising an electric
igniting device, extinguishing mechanism and wick trimming and raising devices,
substantially as set forth, of a main shaft carrying means for successively operating
the aforesaid mechanisms or devices at pre-determined periods of time, and a
suitably governed motor for regulating the rotation of said main shaft.
2nd. The combination in an automatic beacon or apparatus comprising an electric
igniting device, extinguishing mechanism, and wick trimming and raising devices,
substantially as set forth; of a main shaft carrying means for successively operating
the aforesaid mechanisms or devices, a motor geared to said shaft, a governor also
geared to said shaft, a clock, and means actuated by the clock for engaging and
releasing the governor at certain intervals of time, substantially as shown and for
the purpose set forth.
3rd. The combination in an automatic beacon or apparatus comprising an electric
igniting device, extinguishing mechanism, and wick trimming and raising devices,
substantially as set forth; of a main shaft carrying means for successively

page_text: operating the aforesaid mechanisms or devices, a motor geared to said shaft, a
governor also geared to said shaft, and a disk attached to the shaft and provided
with peripheral teeth or projections; together with a clock, and a horizontal shaft
having an arm which engages the teeth or projections of the disk and a second arm
which normally lies in the path of the governor or fan thereof and in the path of
one of the hands of the clock, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.
4th. The combination in an automatic beacon or apparatus comprising an electric
igniting device, extinguishing mechanism, and wick trimming and raising devices,
and a vertically movable oil reservoir, substantially as set forth, of a main shaft
carrying means for operating the aforesaid mechanisms or devices, a motor geared
to said shaft, and a governor and clock both geared to said shaft, the governor
having a fan, together with an arm or rod normally lying in the path of the fan and
of one of the hands of the clock, whereby the fan is engaged and released by the
arm or rod which is actuated by the said hand of the clock, substantially as shown
and described.
Dated this 6th day of April 1897.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27 Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.