An Improved Acetylene Lamp, especially adapted for Cycles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Feb.,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Acetylene Lamp, especially adapted for Cycles.
I, HARRY MILLWARD, Metal Spinner, Trading as H. Milward & Co., of Mary
Street, St. Pauls, in the City of Birmingham, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to lamps for generating and burning acetylene gas, and
is especially of importance as applied to a cycle lamp. In order to assure acetylene
being used successfully as an illuminant in a cycle lamp it is necessary that the
generating means should be constructed and fitted within the lamp so as to enable
a lamp of small dimensions to be the ultimate result, and it is further necessary
that only the amount of gas necessary for use is allowed at any time to be gene-
rated, in view of safety, and avoiding the disagreeable smell if the gas is allowed
to blow off at a certain pressure through a relief valve.
According to this invention the actual body of the lamp, which may be either
circular, square, or other shaped, is built up of an inner and an outer metallic
shell, connected and distanced so as to leave a space between them for the purpose
of constituting a chamber or a holder for the storing of the water or other liquid
the said chamber being formed by a hollow or double wall; construction of the
lamp body. This chamber preferably surrounds the burner, and is provided with
a water inlet for the purpose of filling, and a regulating valve or cock for the pur-
pose of withdrawing the water therefrom. This water-jacketted lamp body is fitted
with a lens upon its front, a reflector and attachment means at its back, and a
cowl or breaker at its summit, all constructed and fitted upon well known lines
and principles, other than a sealed piercing is made through the water-jacketted
body at its crown part for the passage into the cowl of the combustion products.
Upon the lower part of the lamp body is provided a screwed collar or shank,
or its equivalent, for the purpose of connecting the base of the lamp, which will
be hereinafter described, to the said body, and through this collar or shank is
centrally directed and fixed a vertical tube of small diameter, the one end of which
depends from the screwed collar for a short distance, and the other end of which
is connected to another tube emanating from the outlet valve or cock; the last-
named tube being disposed preferably at right angles to the first-named tube, and
the valve or cock upon the side of the outer walls of the lamp body.
The lower base of the lamp is fashioned to form a carbide holder, and is built
up of two parts, the one an exterior casing, which is attached to the screwed shank,
as aforesaid, by having an internally wormed part upon it, and the other a cup
or box having connected at its lower part a screwed disc or its equivalent for the
purpose of attaching the said cup to the exterior casing from the underside. This
cup or box has a perforated bottom standing some distance away from its screwed
disc, and its body-shape is similar to that of the casing enclosing it—preferably
circular and coned with the lower part the largest-in order to allow the residue
from the carbide, which is contained within the said cup, to be riddled somewhat
and sorted, and also to allow the said cup to be taken from out of the enclosing

page_text: casing from the underside-for emptying its contents and recharging with
carbide.
The connection between the vertical water supply tube, which depends, as before
described, from the screwed shank of the lamp body, and carbide is a device con-
sisting for the most part of a small sleeve, tube, or sheath, having perforated
walls and a closed lower end, which is adapted to fit onto the end of the vertically
depending tube and cover up its outlet end, the said fit being only watertight at
the sleeve's mouth. The exterior walls of the sleeve are wrapped with cotton,
wool, fibre, sponge, or other material, which will soak up and become saturated
with water, and this wrapped part constitutes the medium for conveying the actual
contact of the water with the carbide as it extends the full depth of the cup or
box wherein the latter is placed.
A gas way consisting of a tube or its equivalent depends from the underside of
the screwed shank of the lamp body into the carbide cup and leads therefrom to
the burner in the inside of the lamp body. The mouth of this gas supply tube
may be stuffed with a gas drying material if necessary.
The details of this invention can be modified without departing from its actual
scope, and it will be obvious that although it is only described in connection with
a cycle lamp it can be applied to carriage lamps, table lamps, and similar
illuminating devices without departing therefrom.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.
I, HARRY MILLWARD, Metal Spinner, Trading as H. Millward & Co., of Mary
Street, Saint Pauls, in the City of Birmingham, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention pertains to lamps for generating and burning acetylene gas, and
is, for various reasons, of special importance when applied to a cycle lamp.
In order to assure the general adoption of acetylene gas as an illuminant for
cycles, the lamp within which the gas is generated and burned should be of such
a construction as to enable its design to be neat and of small dimensions, and
also so that the amount of gas generated shall be always sufficient to keep a constant
flame, and yet not sufficiently in excess of what is required for use, to make the
lamp at all dangerous.
In most lamps a relief valve is fitted to equalize the gas pressure and keep the
flame constant, but it is an extremely objectionable feature and is by this invention
avoided.
According to this invention the actual body walls of the lamp, which may be
of any suitable shape, are made hollow or of double order to form a chamber for
storing the necessary water for use in generating the gas, and they are arranged
to surround or partly surround and enclose the burner, the reflector, and the
lamp's glazed front. The base of the lamp is an independent attached part of a
particular construction which constitutes the generating chamber, and has an
important feature in its design which enables the spent carbide to free itself some-
what from the unspent, and make the said spent carbide easy to get out, and this

page_text: latter without the necessity of disconnecting the actual base from the lamp body.
Further, the improved lamp contains a novel arrangement for supplying the water
to and making contact with the carbide, so that the generation of the gas shall be
constant in respect of the amount of water supplied.
The improvements according to this invention are clearly illustrated as applied
to a cycle lamp in the accompanying sheet of drawings, and will be hereinafter
particularly described in connection therewith. In Figs. 1 and 2 of said sheet
à vertical side section and a transverse vertical section of the lamp complete are
respectively shown, whilst the body and base parts, as in Fig. 2, are shown dis-
connected in Figs. 3 and 4. In Figs. 5 and 6 the two parts comprising the base,
Fig. 4, are shown detached, in order to clearly illustrate how the inner part,
which is the actual carbide holder, can be disconnected from the outer part for
emptying and recharging.
This
In the said fig. the actual body-part a of the lamp is shown circular or of a
ring form, (but it may be square or other suitable shape) and is built up of inner
and outer metallic shells a³, a³, suitably connected and distanced so as to leave a
space between them for the purpose of constituting a chamber or holder for
storing the water for use in the generation of the gas, the said chamber being
formed by the hollow or double-wall construction of the lamp's body.
chamber or holder c preferably surrounds the burner as shown, and the greater
part of the glazed front a and reflector a is located within its open centre aº.
The crown of the body-part is fitted with a suitable breaker a', and the heated
products from the burner pass into the said breaker by way of a sealed piercing
or cut-away part, a8, formed through the crown part of the water-jacketted lamp
body.
Up pon the lower extremity of the lamp's body part a is formed an externally
screwed collar d, for the purpose of connecting the base of the lamp, which will
be hereinafter fully described, to the said body, and through this lower extremity
depends a central tube d² of small diameter, which proceeds from an outlet valve
or cock ³ connected with the water chamber or holder c, the said depending tube
having an inner inclined part d reaching from the said outlet valve or cock to
it, which ensures the whole of the water passed through the valve or cock
immediately finding its way to the part d². A small tube d is also provided
through the lower extremity to communicate with the burner f and form a gas
passage, and this may contain gas drying material.
The actual base e of the lamp is fashioned to form a carbide holder and is
built up of two parts, the one an exterior casing 2, which is adapted to be con-
nected to the screwed collar, as aforesaid, by a screwed socket part 3, and the other
a cup or box carried by a screwed ring or cap g² which forms a closure to the
lower end et of the exterior casing. This cup or box g has a perforated bottom g³
which stands some distance away from the screwed disc or ring g², and its body
shape is similar to that of the casing enclosing it, viz.:-circular and coned with
the lowest part the largest, in order to allow the residue from the carbide, which
is placed within the said cup, to be somewhat riddled and sorted, and also to allow
the said cup to be taken from out of its enclosing casing from the underside for
emptying its spent contents and for recharging with fresh carbide.
The connection between the vertical water supply tube and the carbide is
a central tube or sheath i, which has perforated walls and a closed lower end, and
which is centrally disposed and adapted to fit over a part of the tube d² and cover
up its outlet end watertight, a yielding block 22, which fits over the depending
tube, acting as a sealing device between the parts. The exterior walls of the
sleeve i are wrapped with cotton wool, sponge, or other material, 3, which will
become saturated with water, and this wrapping constitutes the medium for making
actual contact of the water with the carbide, it extending the full length of the
cup or box wherein the carbide is placed.
The gas way is in communication with the carbide cup or box g, and leads
the gas therefrom to the burner f.

page_text: It will be obvious from the different figs. of the drawings how considerablę
space is saved by the water-jacketting of the lamp body, and how easy the spent
carbide can be cleared from the generating chamber and the last named recharged;
also how the water instantly finds its way from the supply cock or valve to the
wrapping 3, and in consequence of which, when the water is turned off at the
valve, the generation of gas for all practical purposes immediately ceases.
Having now particularly described an ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. In acetylene lamps, making the actual walls of the body part of double
order or jacketted to form a chamber or holder for the storage of the water used
in the generation of the gas, the middle part of the said body being left open or
partially open for enclosing the burner, reflector, or similar requisite parts with
a view of keeping the body of the lamp as small as possible, substantially as
described and set forth.
Second. In acetylene lamps, the use of a detachable base comprising an outer
casing, such as e, and a removable cup or box, such as g, and which constitutes
the carbide holder and generating chamber, substantially as described and set
forth.
Third. In acetylene lamps, the combination with the body part in which the
water is stored and the base of the lamp which constitutes a generating chamber,
of a means such as d², d³, d4, 2, 22, and for conducting the necessary water from
the supply and making contact thereof with the carbide, substantially as described
and set forth.
Fourth. In acetylene lamps, the combination of the water chamber or holder c
fitted with means d², d³, d, for controlling the feed, a detachable base e forming
the generating chamber and which is provided with a removable cup or box 9,
parts 1, 2, and 3, and a gas passage d leading from the said base and generating
chamber to the burner, substantially as described and set forth in the figs. of
the drawings.
Fifth. The general construction arrangement and combination of the parts
previously claimed as set forth in Figs. 1 to 6.
Dated this 3rd day of November 1898
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.