CER- TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
PIERPOINT, of Worcester, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventh day of October, in the eleventh year of Her reign;
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Matthew Pierpoint, my exors, adãññors, and assigns, Her especial license, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Matthew Pierpoint,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Matthew
Pierpoint, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the continuance of the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and -vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and
in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Matthew Pier-
point, to cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to 'be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Matthew Pierpoint, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention

page_text: and improvements, and the manner in which the same is to be performed and
carried out,. are fully described and ascertained in and by the following
description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention and improvements relate,―
First, to an improved. mode of illuminating by gas the public streets, courts,.
avenues, public buildings, and roads by means of the application to the lamps
or lights employed for such purpose of reflectors, so arranged that the rays of
light proceeding from such reflectors may be thrown in a direction suitable
for: illuminating the intervening spaces between the lamps; but I prefer that
the reflectors: be so. arranged that the rays of light from such reflectors be
thrown: not in the direct line passing along the street or road from lamp to
lamp, but in an oblique direction across the street or road, so as to intersect at
an angle the rays of light proceeding from the reflectors of the adjoining
lamps: By this arrangement of the reflectors the carriage way of the street or
road will receive a greater proportionate quantity of illumination than by the
usual method of lighting, as also the glare of light produced by the reflectors
will not inconvenience the passers by, by reason of the direction of the rays of
light falling obliquely across the street or road. I prefer also to employ two
separate burners or jets of gas, forming two separate and distinct lights in
each lamp: or lantern, and the application of two reflectors placed between
them, back to back, by which means two distinct sets of rays of light are
thrown in different directions, as herein-before described. I do not, however,
confine myself to the use and employment of two burners or jets of gas, nor to
the use and employment of two reflectors to each lamp or lantern, nor to the
arrangement of such burners and reflectors in manner herein shown and
described,, as various modifications may be adopted to obtain the same results.
The annexed: Sheet of Drawings marked A represents my Invention and
improvement,, Figure 1. being an elevation of a lantern or lamp designed to
be applied to the illumination of the public street or road; Figure 2, a side
elevation,, and Figure 3, a sectional plan of the same.
Figure 4 represents the relative positions of the several lamps or lanterns in
a line of street or road, and also the directions of the rays of light proceeding
from the different reflectors in the manner I would prefer their being adopted.
In Figures: 1, 2, and 3 the same letters refer to corresponding parts in them
all).. A is the glass. lantern, which may be constructed as usually employed for
the purposes of street illumination, though I prefer it to be. constructed in
manner herein shown.. B,. B, the gas burners or jets, which are represented
as of the usual Argand construction, and which I prefer the use of in combina-

page_text: tion with my improvements. C, C, the reflectors, which I prefer of the
parabolic form or shape, though they may be constructed of a circular or other
form, as desirable. These reflectors are placed back to back, as represented
in the plan, the burners B, B, being placed in the focus of the reflectors 'C, C..
The planes of the reflectors are placed at such an angle with each other that
the rays of light are thrown from off the reflectors in the direction of the
arrows, that is to say, obliquely across the street or road. The reflectors C, C,,
are attached together and supported in their proper position by means of a
brass support D rising from the stem of the burners B, B.
Figure 4 denotes the relative situations of the lamps or lanterns a, a, a, by
which a public street or road is illuminated, the reflectors being so placed and
arranged that the rays of light proceed from them in the oblique direction
indicated by the arrows, whereby they intersect each other in the interval of
space between the lamps, thus effecting the more complete illumination of the
street or road to which this my Invention and improvement may be applied.
Secondly, my Invention relates to a more expeditious and convenient mode
of making and forming the connection joints between permanently fixed
gas
pipes or tubes and the pipes or tubes to be repeatedly or occasionally attached.
thereto and detached therefrom, the permanent tube being affixed to the floor,,
wall, or ceiling, or other part of the room, to which is to be attached, by means
of my improved connecting joint, the moveable branches, brackets, elastic,
flexible, or other tube for conveying the gas to the burner. The forming of
the connection joint in the usual manner, by means of screw sockets, is a
tedious and unsatisfactory operation, requiring much time and great care to
effect a tight joint, and particularly in the hands of inexperienced persons, as
the domestics of an establishment, who can be but little acquainted with the
mode of fitting gas joints and connections, consequently the connecting joint
would be often so imperfectly made that a considerable escape of gas would
result. It is to remedy these inconveniences and imperfections, and to accom-
plish in an instant the connection and the opening of a valve whereby the gas
is admitted for supplying the light, that my improved connecting joint is
intended to effect. By it the domestic will be enabled to attach or detach
expeditiously and effectively to or from the permanently fixed tube the
moveable branch or tube, ensuring at the same time a perfectly gas-tight joint
when attached, and when detached the orifice of the end of the permanent
tube is tightly and effectually closed by a self-acting valve.
The Drawings in Sheet B represent this second part of my Inventions and
improvements, Figure 1 being an elevation of the joint; Figure 2, a sectional
elevation of the joint, with the moveable branch or tube removed and shown

page_text: separate, and the valve closed; Figure 3, a sectional elevation of the joint,
with the branch or tube fixed and valve open; Figure 4, a section
through the line T, U. The joint is formed with a cylinder A, having a
shoulder or collar on the top, forming the seat for the valve B, which is
continually pressed upward by the action of the helical spring C. Within
the cylinder, upon opposite sides of the outside of the cylinder A, are
attached the springs D, D, the upper ends of which are provided with catches
E, E, which take into square holes in the projecting pieces F, F, on the
end of the moveable branch or tube H. Upon the top of the cylinder A. is
the brass plate G, for the purpose of attaching the joint to the floor, wall, or
ceiling of the room. Upon this plate is hinged another plate I, for the purpose
of concealing from view the joint when the moveable branch or tube is
detached. A ring of metal L encircles the cylinder A, moving upon pins
fixed to the sides of the cylinder, and provided with a stem M, carrying a
button upon the top, and projecting through to the upper surface of the
plate G. This ring is for the purpose of pressing back the springs, and
relieving the catches by the pressure of the thumb or finger upon the button,
thereby enabling the end of the moveable branch or tube to be removed. To
attach the moveable branch or tube nothing more is necessary than to press
the two together until the catches on the springs take into the holes F of the
projecting pieces of the moveable branch or tube H, when the joint will be
complete, the valve opened, and the gas have free passage to the cock at the
burner. I employ between the valve B and its seat, and between the end of
the moveable branch or tube and the face of the plate G, rings or washers of
vulcanized india rubber, for the purpose of effectually securing a gas-tight
joint. It will be seen that when the joint is made the end of the moveable
branch or tube forces down the valve B, which being groved upon its edges
allows the gas to pass through the end of the moveable branch or tube, which
is also cut into notches to correspond to the groves, thereby allowing the gas to
pass into the moveable branch or tube.
Having now described the nature and object of my Inventions and improve-
ments, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of my Invention
as herein described; but what I do claim is,-
First, the application to gas lamps or lights employed for the purpose of
illuminating the public roads, streets, and highways of one or more reflectors,
whether of parabolical, spherical, or other form or shape, in combination with
one or more burners or jets of gas, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the construction and application of gas-tight joints for the ready

page_text: connection and combination of the valve with the joint, applied more particu-
larly to the elastic, flexible, or other portable or moveable branches or tubes,
with the permanently fixed metallic or other tubes for the conveyance of gas,
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Pierpoint, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
Enrolled the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.