IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Whitestone, of Upper Thames Street, in the City
of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE
TO LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES."
led the 30th September 1876, and dated the 25th July 1876
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Whitestone at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th July 1876.
JAMES WHITESTONE, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES."
My Invention consists in the application for various lighting and licating pur-
poses of burners made of some porous substance such as porous pottery, whereby
hydrocarbon and other light volatile oils may be readily burned.
The first part of the Invention relates to lamps, and consists in forming the
burner of porous pottery instead of using a special fabric as a wick, as is now
the case.
In carrying out this part of my Invention the construction of the lamp may be
greatly simplified and the difficulties attendant upon the ordinary lamp wicks will
be entirely obviated.
The mouth of the oil reservoir is closed by a zinc disc, which is pierced at the
centre to receive a zinc tube. The upper end of this tube is closed by three or
more pieces of porous pottery which clip between them, some spun glass or other
fibres. These fibres are allowed to project downwards into the oil and form the
road by which the oil passes by capillary attraction to the porous pottery which
forms the burner of the lamp.
The second part of my Invention relates to apparatus for heating boilers, and
consists in forming the bars of the furnace grate of porous pottery, into which the
oil is allowed to run. The oil exudes through the porous pottery bars and is
allowed to burn on the surfaces of the tubular bars.
If desired the lower part of these tubes or tubular bars may be glazed so that
the oil shall exude from and burn only-on the top.
By the employment of these porous tubes one of the great difliculties in the way
of burning hydrocarbon and other light oils will be removed.
Paino 1

page_text: By a slight modification this plan.may be adapted to stoves and grates for the pur-
pose of heating rooms, in which case the grate or stove would be filled with asbestos
or other suitable incombustible substance which will hohl the oil while it is being
burned and will thus become heated, and will therefore give out heat to the sur-
rounding atmosphere.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said James Whitestone in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 25th January
1877.
JAMES WHITESTONE, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES."
My Invention consists in the application for various lighting and heating pur-
poses of porous pottery or other porous incombustible solid substance as the
in edium, whereby hydrocarbon and other oils and other inflammable liquids may be
readily burned.
The first part of the Invention relates to lamps, and consists in forming the
wick or burner of the lamp of porous pottery instead of using as heretofore a
special fabric for the wick, thereby avoiding the many. objections attendant upon
the use of cotton wicks now generally employed arising principally from their
carbonization.
In carrying out this part of my Invention the mouth of the oil reservoir is
closed by a disc or plate of metal or other suitable material which is pierced to
receive a metal or other suitable tube. The upper end of this tube is closed
by two, three, or more flat or circular pieces of porous pottery which form the
wick or burner and clip between then some spun glass, asbestos, or other in-
combustible fibres. These fibres are allowed to project downwards into the oil
and form the road by which the oil passes by capillary action to the porous pottery
burner.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shown my Invention as applied to various
kinds of lamps. Fig. 1 is a section of a lamp with a flat burner, and in which the
oil is supplied to the immediate seat of combustion by capillary action from a vessel
or reservoir situate below the burner.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a lamp provided with an annular or argand burner
the oil being supplied thereto also from below.
Fig. 3 is a partial section of a fountain bracket lamp in which the vessel con-
taining the oil is at a higher level than the burner.
In all these Figures A is the vessel containing the oil; B, B, are the pieces
of porous pottery made somewhat taper or wedge-shaped, and clipping between
then the fibres C which project downwards below the surface of the oil D; E
is a tube of metal or other suitable material into which the pieces of porous
pottery are fitted. This tube is soldered or otherwise firmly fixed into the metal
cap F (Fig. 1), which is screwed on to and forms the cover of the vessel A con-
taining the oil. The pieces of porous pottery B, B, forming the burner project
above the top of the tube E as shown, and the oil is burned as it exudes upon the
surface thus exposed above the top of the tube.
The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 is applicable to signal lamps for railways or
ships or other purposes where a steady and uniform light is desired.
In cases where it is desired that the intensity of the light may be varied, or
that the light may be moro readily extinguished when required the tube E con-
taining the porous pottery wick or burner is not fixed to the cap F, but is made
to slide within another metal tube so that it may be raised or depressed as desired
by means of a rack and pinion as now usually employed for raising and depressing
the wicks of lamps or by other suitable means.

page_text: In Fig. 2 the porous wick or burner is formed of two or more rings or annular
pieces, the fibres C being clipped between them as before described. The tube E
into which the pieces of porous material are fitted (so that the upper part of the
porous wick may project above the top of the tube) is held in position by a short
metal tube N, which is firmly secured to the perforated dome O; M is a short metal
tube or ferrule, fitted to the inside of the smaller ring of porous material to strengthen
it and assist in keeping the pieces together in case any of them should become
broken, or in case the annular burner should be formed of several segmental pieces
of porous pottery. The tube E, together with the porous burner contained therein,
may be raiser or depressed within the tube N by the rack P (fixed to the tube E)
and the pinion Q, and the light may be by these means regulated or extinguished
as desired; R is a tube of metal passing entirely through the bottom of the vessel A.
and is cemented or otherwise firmly secured to the saine. The vessel A is supported
upon a perforated collar S, so that air may freely enter through the perforations and
pass up the tube R to the inside of the annular wick. Air may also be allowed to
enter through perforations T in the lower part of the dome O to the outside of the
annular wick. The arrangement here shown is suited more particularly for ordinary
‹lomestic use.
Two or more of the annular burners of different diameters may be used in
combination, arranged concentrically one within the other with annular spaces
between them to admit the air necessary to support combustion, and these several
burners may be so arranged that their upper surfaces may be either in the same
plane or one raised above another. The former arrangement is preferred where the
production of heat is the principal object, as in cooking stoves, and the latter where
the principal object is the production of very powerful light, as in lainps for light-
houses or for signals generally.
The flat burners may also be used in combinations of two or more arranged
parallel to each other with intervening spaces, and having their upper surfaces either
in the same plane or raised one above another as before described with respect to
annular burners.
Where the surface level of the oil is only a short distance below the top of the
burner the spun glass or other fibres may be omitted, in which case the pieces of
porous material should be placed close together.
Where the oil vessel or reservoir A is placed above the level of the top of the
burner, the burner is by preference made of one piece of porous material only, as
shewn at U, Fig. 3, the spun glass or other fibres being dispensed with. This single
piece of porous pottery will form a plug and fit tightly into the tube E, by which
the oil is conveyed from the vessel or reservoir A to the porous burner. The tube E
is provided with a stop-cock Y or other suitable means for regulating the supply
of oil. The oil exuding through the porous wick is burned upon its surface. In
this case the wicks or burners may be made either flat or annular, or of any other
desired shape.
This construction of lamp is preferred for bracket and pendant lamps, and by slight
modifications it may be adapted to lamps for lighting railway carriages.
The burners may be provided with deflectors Z (Figures 2 and 3) as usually
employed in lamps for burning hydrocarbon oils for the purpose of assisting com-
bustion.
The second part of my Invention relates to furnaces for heating boilers, or for
metallurgical processes, or for other purposes, and consists in substituting for the
ordinary furnace grates now used a grate formed of a number of tube of porous
pottery arranged parallel to each other with intervening spaces to allow of the
passage of the air necessary to support combustion and connected in any suitable
inanner with an oil tank or reservoir. The oil is allowed to run into these tubes
and on exuding through the porous substance is burned upon the surfaces of the
Lubes. The lower parts of the tubes may be glazed or otherwise rendered impervious
so that the oil may exude only at the upper parts.

page_text: -
Figures 4, 5, and 6fillustrate this application of my Invention to. an ordinary
steam boiler furnace, the same letters of reference being marked on corresponding
parts in each figure.
u, a, are the porous tubes which are fixed at an inclination upwards from the
front b of the furnace or fire-box towards the bridge c or back so that any vapour
formed within the tubes a may readily pass through the elbow tubes f into the
transverse metal tube c which is provided with a long slit or outlet y through which
such vapour may escape and be there burned.
In order more effectually to secure the combustion of such vapour, tubes of iron
or other suitable material d may be fixed above the porous tubes a so that they may
convey air through the furnace to or near to the outlet g, where the vapour is dis-
charged, or the air may be fixed with the vapour in the tube c.
The oil is conveyed to the interior of the tube by means of metal tubes h,
which are provided with sockets into which the tubes a are fitted, and cach cf
the tubes is furnished with a stop cock or other suitable means of cutting
off or regulating the supply of oil to each of the several porous tubes as may be
required.
With the two-fold object of more effectually heating the water and of deflecting the
current of air rising between the porous tubes so as to promote the more complete
combustion of the oil exuding through the porous tubes, other tubes of metal com-
municating with the body of the boiler may be fixed above the intervals between
the porous tubes.
In applying my Invention to stoves or open grates as now generally used in
dwelling houses and other buildings for burning coal or other ordinary fuel the
porous pottery may be used in the form of hollow pieces moulded or formed so
as to resemble as nearly as may be picces of coal or other ordinary fuel, and
arranged so that they may be conveniently placed upon the open grates. The oil
may be conveyed to the interior of such pieces of porous material by tubes leading
thereto from a vessel or reservoir placed in any suitable position above the level of
the grate, but by preference concealed behind the face of the stove and having a
stop-cock or other suitable means of regulating the quantity of oil to be burned.
The hollow pieces of porous material may be glazed or otherwise rendered impervious
in certain places so that the oil may exude and combustion may take place only at
the places desired. Asbestos or other suitable incombustible substance may be used
in combination with these hollow pieces of porous material, so as to distribute
more effectually the heat, or with the object of more closely imitating the appearance
of an open coal fire.
By the employment of these porous tubes or blocks one of the great difficulties
in the way of burning hydrocarbon and other oils and other inflammable liquids in
furnaces will be removed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention of "Improvements applicable
to Lighting and Heating Purposes," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,―
Constructing wicks or burners for various lighting and heating purposes of some
porous incombustible solid substance as herein set forth, so that oils or other
inflammable liquids may be brought into contact with such wick or burner and may
exude through the same and be burned upon the outer surfaces thereof as above
described.
I also claim the application for the like purposes of wicks or burners constructe
of a combination of two or more piecus of some porous incombustible solid substance
with some suitable fibrous substance, as herein set forth, so that the oils or other
inflammable liquids may be the more readily raised by capillary action from a
vessel or reservoir containing the same, and conducted to the porous burner on the
surface of which they will be consumed as above described.
J further claim the adaptation or application to furnaces or fire-places of tubes or
hollow pieces or blocks (of suitable shape) made of porous carthenware, through

page_text: which will exude oil or other combustible liquid which is supplied thereto as and
for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Whitestone, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
JAMES WHITESTONE. (L.S.)