IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Albert Marcius Silber, of Wood Street, Cheapside,
in the City of London, Merchant, and Frederick White, of
Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Watchmaker, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY
Sealed the 15th April 1871, and dated the 19th December 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Albert Marcius Silber
and Frederick White at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 19th December 1870.
We, ALBERT MARCIUS SILBER, of Wood Street, Cheapside, in the
City of London, Merchant, and FREDERICK WHITE, of Camberwell,
in the County of Surrey, Watchmaker, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE
TO RAILWAY AND STREET LAMPS," to be as follows:-
The principal object of these improvements is the construction of
lamps in which petroleum or other mineral oil or other combustible
liquid is burnt, especially for the purpose of lighting railway carriages

page_text: and thoroughfares, though it may be employed for lighting other
places.
According to this Invention the petroleum, oil, or liquid is placed
in an annular or otherwise shaped receiver or holder supported by a
gallery or other contrivance fixed on the outside of the body of the
lamp, so that the outer surface of the receiver is kept bathed with the
atmospheric air, and is thus kept sufficiently cool. Or the gallery or
supporting contrivance may be placed inside of the lamp at a sufficient
distance from the flame to prevent the oil from being overheated. The
receiver supplies the burner by means of a feed pipe or pipes, in which
is a tap for regulating and intercepting the feed. The feed pipe leads
into and supplies a chamber or socket into which the burner is fitted,
and held by bayonet joint, screw, or otherwise. The burner derives
its supply of combustible oil or liquid from the chamber or socket.
For regulating the feed from the receiver to this feed pipe we fit
into the feed hole or upper part of the feed pipe where it enters the
receiver a tube, in which is a rod which regulates the supply. It is
prevented from being displaced by cross bars near the top of the tap.
At top this rod is retained in a groove or recess in a screw cap.
For additional safety a chamber or enlargement is made at one part
of the receiver, and a short tube leads therein from the interior of the
receiver, while another short tube opens upward from the interior of
the chamber or enlargement. The ends of the tubes are not opposite
or in a line with each other, so that oil or petroleum which may be
projected or spirt through the one does not pass directly into the other. 2
In addition to the ordinary glass chimney we use an outer chimney of
metal, which is held in place by bayonet joint, and which is provided
with springs which bear gently against the inner or glass chimney.
There are air holes in the lower and other parts of the lamp.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 30
filed by the said Albert Marcius Silber and Frederick White in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALBERT
MARCIUS SILBER, of Wood Street, Cheapside, in the City of London,

page_text: Merchant, and FREDERICK WHITE, of Camberwell, in the County of
Surrey, Watchmaker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Albert Marcius Silber and
Frederick White, Her special licence that we, the said Albert Marcius
Silber and Frederick White, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and Frederick
White, our 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN LAMPS, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY AND STREET LAMPS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Albert Marcius
Silber and Frederick White, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and
Frederick White, 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,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
These improvements relate to the construction of lamps in which
petroleum or other mineral oil or other combustible liquid is burnt,
especially for the purpose of lighting railway carriages and thorough-
fares, though the lamps may be employed for lighting other places.
In lamps of our improved construction made according to this
Invention the petroleum or other oil or liquid is placed in an annular
or otherwise shaped receiver or holder, which may be supported in any

page_text: convenient manner, and is fixed on the outside of the body of the lamp
in such a position that the outer surface of the receiver or holder is
wholly or to a large extent surrounded by and kept bathed with the
atmospheric air and is thus kept sufficiently cool.
It should be observed that it is an essential feature in lamps of our
improved construction that the receiver or receptacle containing the oil
for supplying the lamps shall be so placed that a bath of air, or where
the lamp is used under circumstances where it is carried through the
air the currents of air thereby caused or resulting therefrom may be
advantageously used for keeping the oil so supplied at a comparatively
low temperature, which we find requisite in order that the oil may be
safely and efficiently employed. If in some cases, for the sake of con-
venience, it should be found necessary to place the oil receptacle inside
the case of the lamp precautions must be taken for allowing the air or
currents of air to have access to the receptacle so as to produce a cooling
effect similar to that obtained when it is fixed outside as above proposed
by us. The receptacle or receiver supplies the burner by means of a
feed pipe or pipes in which may be a tap for regulating and intercepting
the feed. The feed pipe leads into and supplies a chamber or socket in
the manner described in the Specification of our former Patent dated
10th November 1870, in which the burner is fitted and held by bayonet
joint, screw, or otherwise. The burner derives its supply of combustible
oil or liquid from the chamber or socket. For regulating the feed from
the receiver to this feed pipe we sometimes fit into the feed hole or upper
part of the feed pipe where it enters the receiver a tube in which is a
rod which regulates the supply. It is prevented from being displaced
by cross bars near the top of the tap. At top this rod is retained in a
groove or recess in a screw cap. For additional safety a chamber is
made at one part of the receiver and a short tube leads therein from the
interior of the receiver, while another short tube opens upward from the
interior of the chamber. The ends of the tubes are not opposite to or in
a line with each other, that is to say, the top of one tube is not in a line
with the bottom of the other, so that oil or liquid which may be pro-
jected or spirted through the one does not pass directly into the other.
In addition to the ordinary glass chimney we use an outer chimney of
metal, which is preferably held in place by bayonet joint, and which
is provided with springs which bear gently against the inner or glass
chimney. There are air holes in the lower and other parts of the
lamp.

page_text: The mode in which we construct lamps with our improvements will
be more fully understood from the accompanying Drawings and the
description thereof. Figures 1 to 11 refer to a lamp intended to be
employed as a railway carriage lamp, corresponding letters being used to
denote corresponding parts.
Figure 1 is an elevation; Figure 2, plan; Figure 3, vertical section of
the lamp; Figure 4 fragmentary view in perspective.
A*, A³, is the body of the lamp which consists of two main portions
one fitting on the other. The lower portion A* is the glass, or as it is
technically called "globe," though it is not precisely of a globular form
as ordinarily used. It is made of glass held in a metal frame a*. The
upper portion A³ is of metal. B, B, are brackets fixed to the body of the
lamp and projecting outward from the same. On these brackets rest
an annular receiver or receptacle or oil holder C intended to receive the
oil for supplying the burner of the lamp. This receiver C is therefore
on the outside of the lamp, and its outer surface is thus bathed with tho
circumambient atmospheric air, so that the oil in the receiver is kept at
the temperature of such circumambient air, and is thus prevented from
being unduly heated, whereby the danger hitherto apprehended from
burning mineral oils in such lamps is prevented. c is a screw cap which
closes the feed hole by which oil is admitted into the receiver C; D is a
pipe by which the oil flows from the receiver C to a chamber or socket E
which holds the burner F. The pipe D passes from the outside receiver C
into the body of the lamp. G is an arm connected at one end with the
socket E and at the other with the body of the lamp. It (as well as
the pipe D) supports the socket E. The burner F holds a wick which
at its lower end dips into the oil in the socket E and thus receives its
supply. The apparatus E, F, are shewn as constructed according to our
Patent dated 10 November 1870, and numbered 2963. H is a glass
chimney held in a gallery or groove; I is a metal chimney which sur-
rounds the chimney H to a certain height and at a little distance from
it. The chimney I protects the chimney H and the flame from sudden
draught or currents of air. J is a reflector of silvered copper which
throws the rays downward; it is connected with the pipe D by a
5 bracket, and it carries little uprights j* through which pass rods for
holding the chimney I in place; h, h, are springs which hold the
chimney H firmly and prevent it from oscillating or being shifted out
of place; Z, tap for regulating the flow of oil towards the burner; 1, 1,

page_text: are air holes in the part A* of the body of the lamp, they receive air
through a channel formed by flanges L, L*, which are in a piece with
the body of the lamp; A³ is a dome or cap which surmounts the lamp
and has over it a cap Q fixed on a perforated cylinder Q* formed of
perforated metal or wire cloth, and having an interior space as shown;
2, short air pipe or chimney fixed in the cap A³; m², m³, m³, concentric
wind guards or cowls for protecting the light from gusts of air and for
allowing the aeriform or fuliginous products of combustion to escape into
the external atmosphere; m³ is a diaphragm attached to the cap m* and
acting as a deflector to guide the said products into the open air; m³ is
a cap attached to the cowl m* for guiding the smoke outward; p, p, are
lugs through which pass the ends of a handle P which are hooked.
On the lugs are tails which pass through the cap Q and support the
parts Q, m³, m³, q. It is readily seen by the Figure that by turning the
chimney I a little it can be easily disengaged from the reflector.
Figure 5 shews details of arrangements for connecting the upper part
A of the body of the lamp with the lower part or globe A*. y, y, are
springs on the outside of the part A2 terminating in nipping picces y*
protected by a shield Y. The full lines in Figure 5 represent the
position of the springs when the parts A*, A³, are connected together by
them. The dotted lines represent their position when they are distended
in order that the portions A*, A³, may be disconnected from each other.
In Fig. 1 x is a stud fixed to the bracket B and engaging in a
groove or slot formed in a plate X fixed to the flange L*. Its object is
to hold the portions A*, A³, steadily when connected together.
Figure 6 is an elevation, and Figure 7 a plan of a modification only
differing from the preceding. arrangement in respect of the parts for
connecting the portions A³, A*, of the body of the lamp; Figures 8 and 9
are enlarged views of the details. In this modification springs V (only
one of which is shewn in the Drawing) are used to fix the globe A*
securely in place. These springs are attached to the outer rim of the
frame a of the glass A*. The tails of these springs press against a stud
or projection v³ in a recess formed in a heel piece o*, which is in effect
the heel end or beginning of the spring V. The upward pressure of the
spring tends to keep the stud in place, and thus holds the parts A* and A*
firmly together.
Figure 10 is a vertical section, and Figure 11 a plan in section of a
modification in which the chimney H is held by springs or tongues s

page_text: forming grippers and consisting of a split ring. These springs & are
attached to a piece S, which is in fact a combined chimney and reflector.
It is made of enamelled metal. The springs keep the inner chimney H
in place and press gently against it.
In our improved lamp constructed as above described we have placed
the receiver or receptacle for holding the oil in the position which is
most convenient for the purpose required, and which at the same time
insures that it may be properly submitted to the cooling action of a bath
or currents of air. A similar result may, however, be obviously obtained
in some cases by fixing the receiver in a side position or below the lamp
when such a position is found more convenient for any special purpose.
It will of course be necessary to adapt the mode of supplying the oil to
the wick to the position in which the receiver or oil holder is placed, and
employ when requisite what is known as the suction principle instead
of the bird fountain principle used in our improved lamp as above
described.
Figure 12 is a vertical section of an arrangement which we adopt to
obtain additional safety when employing mineral oil. R is a box or
chamber fixed to the upper part of the receiver C at any convenient part
thereof. * is a short pipe open at both ends and passing through a
partition R in and extending across the chamber R (the top of the
receiver may of course form the bottom of the chamber). There is a
communication between the interior of the receiver and that of the
chamber. is another short pipe which is open at both ends and passes
through the top of the chamber R from the interior thereof, so that it
forms a communication between the interior of the chamber and the
outside atmospheric air. The pipes r*, 72, are not in a vertical line
with each other, that is to say, the bottom of the pipe 72 is not opposite
the top of the pipe *, but there is a space between them. If from the
oscillation of the railway carriage or ship in which the lamp may be
used or from other cause the oil in the receiver should be disturbed it
will spirt up through the pipe * without being projected through the
pipe 1.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same be performed, we declare that we claim,--
First. The combination of parts forming our improved lamp constructed
and arranged substantially as herein described and shewn in Figures 1
11

page_text: Second. The employment for lamps such as are herein-before described
or of an analogous construction of a receiver or holder for the oil or other
combustible fluid placed outside of the body of the lamp with which it
is connected so as to be practically surrounded or nearly so by a bath or
currents of atmospheric air, substantially in the manner and for the
purpose described.
Third. The employment in combination with an inner or glass chimney
of an outer or protecting chimney held in place by bayonet joint and
provided with springs which bear gently against the inner chimney as
described.
Fourth. The employment of the chamber R with tubes 2*, ², on
the top of the receiver in the manner and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and Frederick
White, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Nineteenth
day of June, in the year One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
E. DE PAS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
A. M. SILBER. (L.S.)
(L.S.)
F. WHITE.