IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Deards, of Harlow, in the County
of Essex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS."
led the 28th November 1853, and dated the 11th August 18
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Deards
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Peti-
tion, on the 11th August 1853.
Sp
I, GEORGE DEARDS, of Harlow, in the County of Essex, do Pr
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LAMPS to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the application of spirit-vapour
lamps to railway trains, and other uses where the lamps are
required to be moved through the air quickly, to which purposes
these lamps have been heretofore inapplicable. And the improve-
ments consist of causing the wick of such a lamp to be enclosed
in a tube, which is perforated at its lower end, such tube descend-
ing into the vessel containing the spirit; and in order to prevent
the strong currents of air or the spirit coming against the upper
part of the tube where the vapour is generated, and near where the

page_text: vapour is ignited, the tube passes through a closed chamber, the
lower part of which covers the opening into the spirit vessel; and
in order to prevent currents of air getting to the flame a double
cap or cover is employed, perforated with holes, by which the heat
of the cover is carried off, and at the same time numerous small
outlet holes from the interior of the lamp (which are perforated
outwards) convey the products from the lamp into the double
casing, the larger holes in the outer casing allowing currents of
atmospheric air to enter and pass away.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said George Deards in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 11th February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,
I, GEORGE DEARDS, of Harlow, in the County of Essex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three,
in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said George Deards,
Her special licence that I, the said George Deards, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Deards, 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 LAMPS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Deards, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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

page_text: 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 George Deards, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):
This Invention has for its object the application of spirit vapour
lamps to railway trains, and other uses where the lamps are required
to be moved through the air quickly, to which purposes these lamps
have been heretofore inapplicable. And the improvements consist
of causing the wick of such a lamp to be enclosed in a tube, which
is perforated at its lower end, such tube descending into the vessel
containing the spirit; and in order to prevent the strong currents
of air or the spirit coming against the upper part of the tube
where the vapour is generated, and near where the vapour is
ignited, the tube passes through a closed chamber, the lower part
of which covers the opening into the spirit vessel; and in order to
prevent currents of air getting to the flame a double cap or cover
is employed, perforated with holes, by which the heat of the cover
is carried off, and at the same time numerous small outlet holes
from the interior of the lamp (which are perforated outwards)
convey the products from the lamp into the double casing, the
larger holes in the outer casing allowing currents of atmospheric
air to enter and pass away.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will
proceed to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, shows a front view in section of a lamp suitably
formed for being fixed at the back or head of a railway train.
Figure 2, is a transverse section of the same. And I would state
that the form of the lamp may be varied according to the
purpose to which it is to be applied, my improvements only

page_text: applying to the parts surrounding the wick, and the means of
preventing violent currents of air consequent on high velocity
acting within the lamp. a, is the vessel which contains the supply
of spirit; it is cylindrical, but it may be of any other form. b, is a
tube with a screw cover ', through which the supply of spirit is
poured into the vessel a. d, is the wick, which supplies spirit from
the vessel a, up to the interior of the burner tube c, where the
spirit is vaporized by the heat of that tube. c', is a cup to contain
a small quantity of spirit when it is desired to heat and light the
burner. The burner tube, passes through the screw cap c³, and
such cap is fixed by screwing to the part c', there being washers
of leather or other suitable flexible material, retained between
them; and the burner tube c, is held securely thereby, as shewn
in the Drawing. I would remark, that the burner c, and the
parts above described, are not of my Invention, but one such as
are made and sold by Mr. Read Holliday, of Huddersfield. e, is
a tube, which by preference is closed at bottom, and has nume-
rous small holes therein near the lower part, and this tube is such
as to allow of the fibres or strands of which the wick is composed
being more open and loose than where the wick is more compressed
in the burner c, which burner tube c, descends partly into the
upper end of the tube c, but not into the spirit. The upper part
of the tube e, where it is above the vessel a, is enclosed by an
outer cylinder f, which is closed at top, so that there is a space or
chamber within the cylinder f, by which the atmospheric air, which
comes freely in contact with the cylinder f, and with considerable
force when the lamp is being moved with high velocity through the
air, is prevented coming in contact with or cooling down that part
of the apparatus or burner tube, or the outer tube e, where the
spirit is heated and vaporized. And it will be found that by con-
structing and combining the parts e, and f, in the manner above
described the spirit will not only be stopped from splashing against
the parts of the apparatus where the vaporization of the spirit takes
place, but these parts will be protected from the cooling effects of

page_text: strong currents of air. The vessel a, is placed within the lower
part g, of the case of the lamp, in which there are several holes
h, h, for the passage of air into this lower compartment, and the
air rises from such compartment g, into the chamber of the lamp
where the burner c, is fixed, the air passing through the holes i, i.
This part of the lamp is similar to like railway lamps where oil
burners are employed. j, is the glass; and k, the reflector. The
upper part of the lamp is formed double in such manner that the
heated air and products from the burner may pass away, and yet
that the holes through the upper part of the lamp may not produce
currents of air such as would blow out or injuriously flicker the
flame of the burner. 1, is a cylinder, closed at top and perforated
near the upper part with numerous holes. The cylinder 7, is fixed
in the partitions m, and n. The partition m, is perforated with
numerous small holes, but the partition n, is unperforated. The
space between the partition m, and n, is freely open to the outer
atmosphere by reason of the holes p, p, which are made all round
the lamp, and the air which enters such space by the holes p, can
pass freely into the interior of the lamp above the burner by reason
of the numerous small holes in the partition m. The cylinder 1, is
enclosed by the outer casing, in the sides of which casing are holes
; the outer casing is closed at the top, and has holes r, at the upper
part, at the back, front, and sides. By these arrangements at the
upper part of the lamp, combined with the apparatus above
described, I find lamps burning vaporized spirit may, without
prejudice to the light, be moved through the air at very high
velocities; and thus are such descriptions of lamps, I believe, for
the first time, made applicable to railway and other uses where
lamps require to be moved quickly through the air.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood, that
although I have been particular in shewing the lamp exactly as
constructed by me, I do not confine myself to the precise details
or the forms of the several parts, so long as the peculiar character

page_text: of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is, the combina-
tion of apparatus herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Deards, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
GEORGE DEARDS. (L.S.)