IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, of Belgrave Works,
Ranelagh Road, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT."-
A communication.
Sealed the 5th November 1858, and dated the 14th September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Hope Johnson
Bastable at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th September 1858.
I, ALFRED HOPE JOHNSON BASTABLE, of Belgrave Works, Ranelagh Road,
Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF
LIGHT," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus employed in
the production of light, and is applicable when jets of ignited gas (ordinarily a
mixture of oxygen and hydrogen) are projected against a cylinder or other
form of suitable material (usually lime), to which a slow motion is given.
The improvements consist in enclosing the lime or other suitable material in a
case or guard above and below where the jet or jets of flame strike, and also
in affording support or protection to the lime or other suitable material near
where the jets strike it, and intermediate of the casings, coverings, or guards
which are above and below the point or points where the jets come. This
intermediate support or protection to the lime is of platina, or other material
not liable to be injured by the heat, and where two or more jets of Blame are

page_text: used then the gases for each jet are regulated by two cocks, one for each jet
of gas; by these means the several jets of flame are independent of each
other, and capable of separate adjustment. The lime or other suitable
material may be moved by means of quicksilver, or as heretofore, by suitable
clockwork.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
HOPE JOHNSON BASTABLE, of Belgrave Works, Ranelagh Road, Pimlico, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, Her special licence that
I, the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, 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 APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT," (a communication), upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under 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 Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained' in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention consists of improvements in that description of apparatus

page_text: employed in the production of light in which jets of ignited gas (ordinarily a
mixture of oxygen and hydrogen) are projected against a surface of lime or
other suitable material, to which a slow motion is given.
In apparatus constructed according to this Invention, I enclose a column of
lime or other suitable material in a case or guard, along which the column of
lime or other suitable material may be impelled, the case or guard extending
above as well as below the opening or place at which the jet or jets of flame
strike the lime or other suitable material. At this opening in the case I fix
or place wires in such manner that the lime or other suitable material upon
which the flame or flames may happen to be impinging shall not fall down or
out of the case when it happens to crack or decrepitate by the action of the
flame. By these means I am enabled to prevent much of the irregularity in
the light which would be occasioned by the breaking away or decrepitating of
the lime or other suitable material by the action of the flame, and which may
(if not prevented) take place to such an extent as to deprive the jets of flame
of the surface of lime or other suitable material upon which they are intended
to strike, or remove such surface to too great a distance, so that light of the
required volume and intensity will not be produced. The supporting wires
may be made of platinum or other material not liable to be injured by the
heat, and I place them in such positions that they shall not impede the motion
of the column of lime or suitable material, and shall not obstruct the jets of
flame; I prefer that the gases for each jet should be regulated by two cocks,
one for each kind of gas; by these means the regulation of the several
jets of flame is made independent of each other, and capable of separato
adjustment.
The column of lime or other suitable material may be moved as heretofore
by means of clockwork, or any other suitable means. When several gas jets
are employed, I prefer to make the column of lime, or other suitable material,
of a polygonal form, or to use two or more pieces of lime, or other suitable
material, arranged polygonally, so as to prevent a proper surface or angle for
each jet of gas or flame to impinge upon the number of surfaces and angles,
depending upon the number of jets used. As, for example, with three jets
uniformly disposed around a centre, the column of lime, or other suitable
material is made triangular in section, the angles of which may be rounded off
or truncated, and the jets being directed to strike on the rounded or truncated
angles. By this arrangement, a blending of the light produced by the different
jets is obtained, whereas, if a cylindrical piece of lime or other material be
employed, the light is thrown more strongly in some directions than in others.
Nevertheless, in cases where a considerable number of jets shall be used, so

page_text: employed.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view of part of an apparatus to be employed in the
production of light, and which is arranged according to this Invention;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same, with the parts above the line 1, 1, Figure 1,
removed. The apparatus shewn, is intended for three equidistant jets.. a is
the table of the apparatus, having a circular hole through it at the centre, and
three holes arranged round the central hole, and at equal distances from it
and from each other. They may, if desirable, be slotted for the adjustment of
the jets. In the central hole the case or guard for the lime or other
material is fixed; it is a tube of copper or other metal made to the form of the
pieces of lime or other material to be used with it, and having the collar b
fixed on it, the projecting flange of which rests on the upper surface of the
table, whilst its lower end passes through the hole, and receives a nut b³, by
which it is secured. The case or guard b it will be seen is made in two parts
one below and the other above the points where the jets strike, and the two
parts of the case or guard are connected by wires or strips of platinum or
other material capable of sustaining the heat, but this complete division of the
case or guard is only rendered necessary when the lamp is required to
illuminate the space all round the lamp. When the lamp is required to
illuminate only a portion of the surrounding space, or in one direction only,
the case or guard instead of being in two parts may be in one piece, a portion
of it being cut away in the side next the jets to expose the lime or other
material to the action of the flame, the lime being protected or guarded by
wires or strips of platinum or other suitable metal between the jets of flame,
and being of suitable form, as a flat segment of a circle as Figure 4, or polygon
as Figure 5. In Drawing, Figure 3, c is the lime or other material within tho
case or guard, and formed into a piece or pieces of suitable shape and convenient
length. As it is shewn in the Drawing, it rests at the bottom on a rod d,
which is caused to rise gradually at a slow and regular speed by clockwork,
or when mercury is employed to raise the lime or other material, then the
case or guard is bent up into a U form at its lower end, or a separate U formed
tube may be attached to it, and the mercury being allowed to run from a

page_text: reservoir in a stream regulated by a stop-cock into one leg of this U formed
tube, causes the lime or other material in the other leg to rise, floating on the
surface of the mercury; I prefer that the lime or other material should rise at
a speed of about an inch and a half in an hour. The upper end of the case
or guard should be continued up to a sufficient height to contain the lime or
other material which rises while the lamp is in use, or else a bowl or other
receptacle may be placed at the top or back of the case or guard to receive
the lime or other material as it rises above it.
The upper portion of the case or guard being slit lengthwise to admit of tho
free passage of the lime or other material in its expanded or decrepitated state
when it has passed the flame, or a flat spring may be attached to the back of
the case or guard so as to press the lime or other suitable material against the
front of the tube, and thus to preserve the distance between the jet or jets,
and the surface of the lime. In cases where a supply of lime is required for
a lengthened period, the lime or other suitable material may be attached to
the surface of a cylinder having a spiral groove cut on its surface to receive
it, and to which the lime may be securely fastened by any convenient mode.
This cylinder, so charged with lime or other suitable material, is made to
revolve on its axis, at the same time that its axis receives a progressive move-
ment in the direction of the length of the cylinder; by these means a supply
may be provided for many days consumption. For the supply of the gases e, e,
are branch pieces, the upper ends of which are screwed and project up through
the holes in the table a, they are each furnished with two nuts e¹, e³, which
bear respectively against the upper and under surfaces of the table, the pieces
are thus secured to the table and can be adjusted vertically as may be required
by making the holes in the table slotted; the distances of the pieces e, e, from
the centre of the table can be regulated at pleasure; f, f, are bent pipes
screwed on to the upper ends of the pieces c, c, and furnished at their ends
with metal nipples or tips g,g, which I prefer of platinum. The gas is caused
to pass through wire gauze or other suitable appliance in the branch pieces €, c,
such as will render the apparatus secure from explosion and as heretofore
employed. In each of the branch pieces e, or attached thereto, are two stop-
cocks e, e, to regulate independently, the one of the other, the quantities of
the two gases employed as they pass to the jet. The two gases are led to the
pieces e by six pipes h, h, h', h', two to each jet; the pipes h, h, all com-
municate with the union piece p, and the pipes h', h', with the corresponding
piece p', and the pieces p and p¹ are connected with flexible or other convenient
gasholders, such as have been heretofore employed, and which contain the
gases to be used.

page_text: In cases where it is found convenient to apply the gases in a compressed
state, a uniform discharge or supply to the jets from the containing vessels or
gasholders may be effected by a clock movement and escape valve of suitable
construction, which shall permit the required quantities of the gases to pass to
the jets, the area of such valve aperture constantly varying as the pressure
decreases in the gasholder.
The gases usually employed are oxygen and bydrogen, but for this latter
coal gas or carburetted hydrogen may be substituted with advantage where it
can be procured. As it is desirable that the lime should not be exposed to
the action of the atmosphere, which would speedily render it unfit for use, it
may be kept (after it has been shaped) in a glass or earthen jar, close
stopped, or in a box lined with tin foil or other impermeable lining, or the
lime may be coated with an unctuous material, such as glycerine, linseed, or
other oil, which, by. closing the surface pores, prevents the absorption of
moisture, and improves the illuminating quality of the lime.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is the
enclosing the lime or other suitable material used in such apparatus, as above
mentioned, in a case or guard extending above as well as below the opening
or place at which the jet or jets of flame impinge upon the lime or other
suitable material, and placing a guard of wires at such opening, so that when
the lime or material is caused to crack or decrepitate, by the action of the heat
or otherwise, it may not fall down or out of the case or away from the action
of the jet or jets of flame.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Hope Johnson Bastable, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
ALFRED H. J. BASTABLE. (L.S.)
Witness,
THO. CARSWELL,
Clerk to S. G. Hornidge,
11, Adam Street, Adelphi.