IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS LANTERNS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Parkes, of London Street, Paddington, in the
County of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GAS LANTERNS."
Sealed the 19th December 1862, and dated the 26th June 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Parkes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
June 1862.
I, JOHN PARKES, of London Street, Paddington, in the County of Middlesex,
Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN GAS LANTERNS," to be as follows:-
My improvements in gas lanterns relate to that class of lanterns suitable
for suspension in railway stations and other public places; they are of glóbular
form, the framework consisting of a series of segmental ribs to which the glass
is fitted, and completes the globular form, each piece being a section of a
sphere. I employ three rings, two small ones, one each at top and bottom,
and one large one at the middle or equatorial line.
The small rings I make of a thin strip of metal, presenting the edge to the
light, and consequently throwing little or no shadow. The middle band is also

page_text: unlike that in ordinary use, being narrow and without openings; the only
openings are above and below the lamp, the one at bottom for admission of
air, and the other at top for the escape. The section of metal of which I form
the segmental ribs and large ring consists of a flat strip, with a hollow bead
united thereto on the outside, the whole being kept as narrow as consistent
with the strength necessary. I support this lamp with three rods united to
the middle band, and meeting at top in a single pendant arm or branch, or
they may be otherwise supported. From the absence of apertures in the
middle band, and the disposition of the metal in the upper and lower rings,
comparatively very little surface is presented to intercept the radiation of light,
and consequently little or no shadow is thrown. The gas duct passes down one
of the arms to the mid-ring and there enters the globe, and descends to a suit-
able position for the jet. The stop-cock I prefer to place immediately under
the jet and concentric with lower opening, the elbow being formed with a
stop-cock with that object in view. The parts of the frame are united by
soldering, brazing, or otherwise, and the glass is fixed to the frame in the usual
manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Parkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
December 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PARKES, of London Street, Paddington, in the County of Middlesex, Gas.
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me;
the said John Parkes, Her special licence that I, the said John Parkes,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Parkes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GAS LANTERNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Parkes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
| NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Parkes, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements in gas lanterns relate to that class of lanterns suitable
for suspending in railway stations and other public places, and are of a globular
form, the framework consisting of a series of segmental ribs to which the glass
is fitted, and makes up the globular form, each piece being of a section of a
sphere. I employ three rings in the frame, two small ones, one each at top
and bottom, and one large one at the middle or equatorial line. The small
rings I make of a thin strip of metal, presenting the edge to the light, and
consequently to throw little or no shadow. The middle bead is unlike that in
ordinary use, being narrow and without openings; the only openings in the
lamp being above and below, the one at the bottom for admission of the air, and
the other at top for the escape. The section of metal of which I form the seg-
mental ribs and the large ring, consists of a flat strip with a hollow bead united
thereto on the outside, the whole being kept as narrow as consistent with the
strength necessary.
I support this lamp with three rods, united to the middle
bead and meeting at top in a single pendent arm or branch, or they may be
otherwise supported. From the absence of apertures in the middle bead, and the
disposition of the metal in its upper and lower rings and ribs, which are few in
number, comparatively little surface is presented to intercept the radiation of
light, and consequently little or no shadow is thrown. The gas duct passes
down one of the arms to the mid-ring, and there enters the globe and descends
to a suitable position for the jet. The stop-cock I prefer to place immediately
under the jet, and concentric with the lower opening in the lamp, the elbow
being formed with a stop-cock, in which the gas passage emerges at one end
of the axis, with a view to that object. The parts of the frame are united by
soldering, brazing, or otherwise and the glass, which is inside the frame, is
fixed by means of metal strip's coinciding with the ribs and large metal ring,
and fixed thereto inside and upon the edges of the glass, or the glass may be
fixed with putty and otherwise, in the ordinary manner of fixing the glass in
similar kinds of lamps.

page_text: Fig. 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents in elevation a lamp
frame constructed according to my Invention, and Fig. 2 a plan of the same;
a, b, and c, are three horizontal rings or ties, the upper and lower ones being
of brass, and presenting the edge of the metal to the light, and so as to inter-
cept as little light as possible; these rings are stiffened by small ribs on their
exterior, as seen. The middle ring b, as also the ribs d, d, are of copper,
formed of two strips of copper by preference, the internal one being flat and the
outer one of a concave form, so as to form a bead on the outside, as seen in
the sections, Figs. 3 and 4. The strips being bent of the proper form, are
soldered together throughout; the ribs d are rivetted to the ring b, and
soldered thereto, as also the rings a and c; to the rings a and c, in addition
to the ribs being simply soldered, I fix pins inserted through these rings, and
projected therefrom in a radial manner, so that they enter the hollow beads of
the ribs d, and being soldered therein, give great additional strength to the
framing. In order to intercept as little light as possible, I employ as few
ribs d as may be consistent with the strength necessary, and the requisite
facility for the manufacture and application of the glass. For this purpose I
find that six form a convenient number, affording abundant strength, and at
same time offering by their lightness very little obstruction to the radiation of
light. The glass is formed in twelve segments, six for the lower and six for
the upper half. These segments are placed inside the ribs d, the abutting
edges coinciding with the centres of the ribs; they are then fixed in position
by inner bands or straps e of the same breadth as the ribs, and by an inner
ring band f. The strips e being soldered at the one end to the rings a and c,
and the other ends to the band f, the bands thus cover all the junctions of the
glass, and hold it securely in place. Instead of soldering the inner bands.
e&f, they may be fitted and fixed with small screws if desired. A very
slight bedding of putty may be used for the glass if desired, which in some
degree facilitates the introduction of the glass.
I suspend the lamp by three tubes g, g, g', from the ring b, one of which,
g', forms a duct for the gas; at the lower ends they are received in sockets /,
fixed to ring b, and at the upper end these tubes are secured in a disc-piece,
screwed into a dome-piece i, into which the gas is admitted from above'; the
tube forming the gas duct projects through and above the disc-piece, while the
others are flush with the upper surface of said disc-piece; the object of this is,
that any water condensing in the pipes and entering piece i, will not descend.
by the gas duct, but by the other pipe supports, and cannot therefore interfere.

page_text: with the transmission of the gas. The dome-piece i may of course be sus-
pended rigidly or by a cup and ball, as usual.
In one of the sockets h, I form
The gas enters through the
a stop-tap, as seen in enlarged section, Fig. 3.
end of the axis or plug, and passes thence through a hole in the side of the
passage, conveying it to the burner in Fig. 1; this is formed by one of
the ribs d, into which the passage of the tap emerges; from the lower end of
this rib d a small bracket k is raised, carrying the burners. Instead of the gas
passing through one of the ribs from point h, it may pass by a separate tube 1,
as seen in a section of the lamp Fig. 4, in which case I omit the stop-tap at h,
and place one at m of like construction; but in this arrangement the gas
passes through it in the opposite direction, that is to say, it enters the plug at
the side and out at the ends of the axis direct up to the burner. The pipe m
I dispose immediately inside one of the ribs in order to hide it, and which is
secured to the ring c or rib d, near the lower part, in order to support the
burner. The thumb-head or knob o of the top may form a pendant ornament at
the bottom or side of the lamp; in other respects the construction of lamp
shown at Fig. 4 is precisely the same as before described.
Having described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the arrangement and con-
struction of parts forming the lamp, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Parkes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred & sixty-two.