Devices for Electrically Lighting the Wicks of Oil Lamps.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1896-Accepted, 18th July, 1896
[Communicated from abroad by THE EMPIRE SELF LIGHTING OIL LAMP Co.,
of corner Green and Grand Streets, Jersey City, State of New Jersey,
U.S.A., Manufacturers.]
Devices for Electrically Lighting the Wicks of Oil Lamps.
I, HUGH DONALD FITZPATRICK Registered Patent Agent, 70 Wellington
Street, Glasgow, 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 relation to devices for electrically lighting the wick of oil
lamps, the object being to provide a simple electrical appliance for the purpose that
may be portable with the lamp.
The invention consists in a high resistance conductor located adjacent to the
upper end of the wick, and a source of electricity for heating said conductor
sufficiently to generate and ignite the gases and consequently to ignite the wick.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a central draft lamp embodying the invention.
Fig. 2 is a partial elevation and partial section of a burner portion showing the
improvement.
Fig. 3 is an elevation and partial section of a lamp showing a modified-form of
construction.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the burner shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a plan view thereof.
Fig. 6 is a detail showing a high resistance conductor.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing another modification.
Fig. 8 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing a wick raiser and circuit closer
combined.
Fig. 9 is a transverse section thereof.
Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the lamp body partly in section showing certain
electrical connections; and
Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the fount, showing certain electrical connections.
Referring first to the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, A designates a central
draft lamp comprising a burner A', an oil fount A2, a hollow base and pust A³ and
the inner wick tube A' which also serves as a central draft tube. At the upper
end of the central draft tube A is a perforated air distributor or thimble B.
A high resistance electrical conductor B2 is soldered at one end, or otherwise
electrically connected to the thimble B, the other end passes through an insulator
in the thimble to a connection with a lead wire B engaging with a metal ring a¹
secured within the base of the thimble but insulated therefrom.
Electrically engaging with the ring a' are metal springs which extend down-
wards through the inner wick tube. These springs are covered with an insulating
material in order that they may not come in contact with the wick tube. They
are provided with outwardly curved resilient contact ends 6' adapted to engage
electrically with a ring a² located in but insulated from the upper portion of the
post A when the fount is placed in position in the lamp...
From the ring a² a wire 1 leads to a contact point a³, located in the base of the
lamp but insulated therefrom. From one pole of an electric battery C, arranged
in the base of the lamp, a wire 2 leads to a contact key a', adapted to be engaged

page_text: with the contact a³ to close the circuit, and from the other pole of the battery a
wire 3 leads to an electrical connection with the base of the lamp. It is to be
understood that the several leads or wires are to be insulated excepting at their
contact points, and it will be seen that the metal lamp forms a part of the circuit,
but in other forms of lamps, that is when the fount is not removable, the leade may
extend directly to the high resistance conductor.
In the modification shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 the high resistance conductor is
located outside of the outer wick tube upon the chimney gallery supported by a
,plate d and the lead wires 1 and 3 are extended outward through the burner shell
and down the outer side of the lamp to a battery which may be located at any
point, the circuit being as before broken by a suitable electrical push-button.
In this example, the high resistance conductor is placed within a chamber D
which extends upward from the chimney gallery and is adjacent to the wick of the
lamp.
In Fig. 7 the high resistance conductor is shown as attached to the outer side of
the thimble B similar to the construction first described, but above a small wick c
extended through the thimble just above the lamp wick. In this construction a
wire e leads to a pair of resilient contact fingers 2 connected to but insulated from
the interior of the thimble. From the other end of the high resistance conductor
a wire 5 leads to a connection with the thimble which is in electrical contact with
the inner wick tube. Arranged within the wick tube is a hollow post C through
which a rod C2 extends, but of course insulated therefrom. The upper end of the
rod C is adapted to engage with the contact fingers and its lower end has a wire
connection with a pole of a battery C which may be located in the lamp base.
From the other pole of the battery C a wire 7 leads to a spring contact finger 8,
secured to the inner side of the lamp shell but insulated therefrom. This finger 8
is adapted to be engaged by a contact 9 secured to the outer side of the fount.
In this modification of the improvement, the wick raiser mechanism is employed
as a circuit closer. The wick raiser tube F has mounted on its outer end a disk f,
which is insulated from the tube, and from this disk a connection extends to the
contact 9. A rotary part on the wick raiser tube is in electrical connection
with the wick raiser, which is also in electrical connection with the inner wick
tube. To a post portion between the disk f, and the rotary part is pivoted an
angle lever, the upwardly extending portion of which engages in a notch in the
under side of the rotary part and the downwardly extending portion of which is
designed to be engaged with the disk fto close the circuit. It is obvious that a
slight rotary movement of the rotary part will rock the angle lever downward,
and upon releasing the rotary part a spring f4, engaging at one end with the post
and at the other end with a pin / depending from the rotary part will return said
rotary part and lever to their normal open position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of a high resistance electrical
conductor located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube and attached to and
supported by the air distributor.
2. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of a high resistance electrical
conductor located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, oue end of such
electrical conductor being electrically connected to the air distributor and the
other end passing through the insulating material into the interior of the air
distributor and connected with an electrical lead insulated from the said thimble.
3. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of an electrical conductor
located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube and attached to and supported
by the air distributor and removable therewith from the lamp.
4. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of an electrical conductor
located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube and supported by the air

page_text: distributor, one end of such conductor being in electrical connection with such air
distributor and the other insulated therefrom, an electrical conductor extending up
through the inner wick tube of the lamp and means for automatically making the
connection between the insulated end of such electrical conductor and the
conductor in the inner wick tube when the air distributor is placed in position in
the lamp.
5. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of an electrical conductor
located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, one end of such conductor
being electrically in connection with the air distributor located at the upper end
of the wick tube and the other end passing through the air distributor and down
through the interior of the inner wick tube aud electrically connected to one polė
of the battery, the other pole of which is electrically connected to the body of the
lamp.
6. In a central draft lamp having a removable fount, the combination with an
electric battery of an electrical conductor supported upon the burner of said lump
adjacent to the top of the wick tube, with an electrical lead or leads exten.ling
therefrom through the interior of the wick tube to said battery.
7. The combination with an oil lamp having a removable fount, of an electric
lighting attachment supported upon the burner of the lamp and located adjacent
to the upper end of the wick tube and means for automatically making electrical
connection between the samé and the conductor attached to the body of the lamp
and connected with a battery carried by the said lamp when said fount is placed in
its proper position in the lamp body.
8. In a central draft oil lamp the combination of a high resistance electrical
conductor located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, one end of which is
electrically in contact with the air distributor and the other end of which passes
through insulating material inserted in the air distributor and a metal band securely
fastened to the said air distributor but insulated therefrom and spring fingers which
automatically complete the electrical connection between the said ring and the
insulated ring in the body of the lamp when the fount of the lamp is placed in
position in the lamp.
9. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of an electrical conductor
located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, an electric battery carried by
the said lamp and an electric circuit extending from the poles of the said battery
to the said electrical conductor, said circuit being normally broken but adapted
to be automatically closed when the wick of the said lamp is elevated.
10. The combination with a central draft lamp of a high resistance conductor
adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, an auxiliary wick or oil absorber
adjacent to such conductor, and an electrical circuit in which the conductor is
located, substantially as specified.
11. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of a high resistance electrical
conductor, located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, one end of such
conductor being in electrical contact with the body of the lamp and the other end.
insulated from the lamp and in contact with one pole of an electric battery carried
by the said lamp, an electric lead extending from the other pole of the said battery
to a contact point insulated from the body of the lamp and a wick raising mechanism
provided with a contact point adapted to be automatically brought into contact
with the last mentioned contact point when the wick is raised, substantially as
specified.
12. The combination with a central draft oil lamp of an electrical conductor,
located adjacent to the upper end of the wick tube, an electric battery carried by
said lamp and an electric circuit extending from the poles of said batteries to said
conductor, said circuit being normally broken but adapted to be automatically
closed when the wick of the said lamp is raised, substantially as specified.
13. In a self lighting lamp a wick raising mechanism consisting of an insulated
contact disk in electrical connection with one pole of a battery in combination with
a rotary part in electrical contact with the other pole of said battery, and provided

page_text: with a pivoted angle lever and a spring, so that by turning the rotary part, the
angle lever will be brought into contact with the contact disk and the circuit
closed, and at the same time the wick of the lamp will be raised, substantially as
-specified.
14. The combination with a central draft lamp of an electrical heat generator
located above the upper end of the wick tube, a source of electricity, a wick
.raiser and a circuit closer operated by the wick raiser, substantially as specified.
15. The combination with a central draft lamp of a resistance coil located above
the wick tube, a source of electricity carried by the lamp and having connection
with the coil, a wick raiser having connection with said source of electricity and
with the coil, the said wick raiser being adapted to close the circuit between the
-source of electricity and the coil, substantially as specified.
16. In a central draft lamp, the combination with the body thereof, of a source
of electricity, a contact connected with the body and source of electricity, a fount,
a contact on said fount adapted to engage with the first named contact, an electrical
heat generator above the wick tube and having connection with the source of
electricity, and a wick raiser operating as a circuit closer, substantially as
specified.
Dated this 25th day of May 1896.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow.