CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING THE MAGAZINES AND OTHER PARTS OF SHIPS; APPLICABLE ALSO FOR THE GENERAL PURPOSES OF LIGHTING BUILDINGS;: ROADS, OR WAYS
Year: 1846

page_text: DELL'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
CRUMP DELL, of High Street, Highgate; in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon,
send greeting:
WHEREAS Her, present most, Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, in and
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day, of March, One thousand. eight
hundred and forty-six, in the ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Crump Dell,
my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial, licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Edward Crump Dell, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Crump Dell, my exors, admors,.
or assigns, 'should at any time thereafter agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England
and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark; and Man, and also in all. Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING THE MAGAZINES AND OTHER PARTS OF SHIPS; APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR THE GENERAL PURPOSES OF LIGHTING BUILDINGS;: ROADS, OR WAYS;": in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Edward Crump Dell, particularly to describe and ascertain 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, and to cause the same to be

page_text: 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, as in and by the same, reference being thereto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edward Crump Dell, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed and carried into practical
effect, to be as the same are described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the illustrative Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
These improvements relate, firstly, to a new mode of lighting or transmitting
artificial light to certain parts of ships, and more particularly to those parts
known and distinguished as the powder magazines and shell rooms, or such
other parts as may be employed as depositories for ammunition or combustibles.
Now, according to the mode hitherto adopted for lighting such parts of ships,
it has been customary to place the light in a distinct and separate room,
adjoining the magazine or shell room, and set apart for that specific purpose,
and the light thus disposed or placed has required constant attendance, and
which mode of lighting has been found very objectionable and insufficient in
practice. I therefore propose to remedy those objections, first, by dispensing
with the necessity of a separate room for the light; secondly, the arranging or
disposing of the light in such manner that it need only be let down from and
accessible to the ship's deck above; and further, that the air required to
support combustion of the said light may be supplied from sources totally
distinct and separate from the room in which the light is placed; thereby
affording greater security than the mode hitherto adopted for the same purpose,
and in addition to which a great saving of room will be thereby effected.
Moreover the substance employed for transmitting light being such as not to
require trimming or snuffing from time to time, it will appear evident that the
intensity of the light will be uniform, and the necessity for constant attendance
entirely dispensed with. And although these improvements are more par-
ticularly applicable to the above-mentioned purposes, at the same time they
may be advantageously and beneficially employed for lighting other parts of
ships or vessels requiring artificial light, such as the cabins and berths, the
compass, or any other parts of the vessel.
And, secondly, as regards the application of these improvements to buildings
in general, as stationary or fixed lights, it will appear evident that in all cases
where security is required, whether for lighting rooms containing materials
or ingredients of an explosive or combustible nature, or for lighting rooms in

page_text: which chemical experiments are to be conducted, that these improvements
are well calculated for such purposes, the more especially so as the oxygen
required to support combustion of the light may be derived from sources
entirely distinct and separate from the room in which such light is placed ;
but in some instances I propose to admit the oxygen of the atmosphere so as
to surround the light to support combustion thereof, and so to admit the
same through openings or perforations covered with finely woven wire gauze,
and which is more particularly applicable in the construction of lamps to be
used for mining and other like purposes where portable lights are required.
I would here remark, that as I consider it unnecessary to enter into a detailed
description of the various purposes to which these my improvements are
applicable, as also the several modifications of construction of which such said
improvements are susceptible, I do not therefore intend to limit or confine
myself to the precise arrangements herein set forth and represented in this
my Specification, but have only given them as examples of the means by which
these my improvements may be carried into practical effect, reserving to
myself such modifications of construction as these my improvements will fairly
admit of, without departing from the spirit of my said Invention. And in
order to explain the: principle clearly, I will proceed to describe the arrange-
ment of parts which I have found best calculated for carrying my said

page_text: such parts appear or can be seen at each of the Figures respectively. At
the Figures 1, 3, 4, A, A, marks a wooden box' or case of rectangular form.
B, B, an inner case or lining of copper fixed thereto, or the said case or lining
may be removable by constructing it with handles C, C, at opposite sides
thereof, as shewn at Figure 3; and to one of the sides of this case or lining
there are fixed pieces D, D, which are guides for the rod E to pass through.
This rod is constructed at its upper end with a handle F for the purpose of
placing it within or removing it from the case A, and the lower end of the said
rod is constructed with a projecting piece G, which is a holder for the tube H,
which contains the candle, and the lighted end of the said candle is maintained
at an uniform height by the well known means of pressure of a helical spring
against the lower end of the candle. I marks a highly polished reflector,
attached to the rod E by the hook K, and when it is required to increase the
reflection of the rays of light from the candle, the same may be effected by
employing two or more reflectors suitably placed for that purpose. L marks a
glass chimney supported by and connected to the upper portion of the tube HI,
as shewn. "M marks a short tube of copper fixed to the plate N, which plate
is securely fixed to the inner sides of the case A. O marks an opening formed
in one side of the case A, in which opening there is fixed a piece of glass P
for the transmission of light from the candle, as shewn at Figures 1 and 4.
Qmarks an opening formed through the cover W and case A, as shewn at
Figures 2, 3, 6, for the admission of atmospheric air to the light, to support
combustion thereof, or there may be more than one such opening, if necessary.
R marks a ventilator for the exit of vitiated air from the case A; the lower
part R' of this ventilator is fixed to the cover W, and the upper part is
moveable upon the lock S, which lock may be opened by the key shewn at
Figure 7, so as to fix the upper plate of the ventilator in the required position;
and in order to prevent the ingress of improper substances through the openings
in the said ventilator, and to the air passage Q, I propose to cover the said
openings with finely woven wire gauze, as shewn at Figure 2. T marks a
slide for covering the upper part of the opening or air passage Q, to prevent
the ingress of water when washing the deck of the ship, or for regulating the
quantity of atmospheric air admitted to the light, and to prevent the ingress
of water or other extraneous matter through the openings in the ventilator R to
the light. I fix or connect to the under side of the cover W a rectangular
box or well of copper V, in which there are formed openings **, as shewn at
Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, for the passage of vitiated air from the case A through the
ventilator. Thus it will appear evident that any water or other extraneous
matter which might accidentally pass through the openings in the ventilator

page_text: cover
will be arrested by and deposited in the box or well V, and the light will thereby
be protected from 'accidental injury. U, U, mark locks for connecting the
W to the case A by means of the key shewn at Figure 7. The Figure 11
shews the above-mentioned light, as applied to the powder magazine of a ship at
Figure; A¹ marks the deck of the vessel; 'B', the magazine; "C³, the partition
which divides the magazine from the case in which the light is placed, and the
rays of light from the candle are admitted into the magazine through a bull's-
eye which is fixed in the partition C³, and which coincides with the opening O
the case A. I would remark, that although in most instances the supply of
atmospheric air passing through the passage Q'will be found sufficient to support
combustion of the candle, yet in some instances it might be found advisable to admit
air below the candle as well as from above; in which case I form openings **
in the lower part of the case A, as shewn at Figures 1 and 4, and I cover the
said openings with finely woven wire gauze to prevent the action of the flame
of the candle upon the combustible amongst which it may be placed;' and
the description of candles which I prefer employing are such as do not require
the wicks thereof to be snuffed. The arrangement shewn at Figures 9 and 10
differs from the foregoing arrangement by being more simple in its construc-
tion, and is more particularly applicable in situations where the candle can
only receive its supply of oxygen from the surrounding atinosphere. The
openings at the upper and lower end of the case A for the admission of
fresh air, and the escape of vitiated air, are alike covered with finely woven
wire gauze (if necessary), for the purposes before described with reference to
the before-mentioned arrangement. It will be seen, upon referring to the
Drawings at these last-mentioned Figures, that the case A, which contains
the light, is closed at the top and bottom; and the interior thereof is only
accessible by a door placed at one side of the said case.
.t
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed and carried into practical effect, I desire it to be
distinctly understood that I do not claim the exclusive use of any of the sepa-
rate parts above mentioned and referred to, except in so far as the same may
be employed in connection with and for the purposes of my said Invention;
neither do I intend to confine or limit myself to the precise details set forth,
or to the size or shape of any of the parts, as the same must be varied to suit
circumstances. But I do claim as my Invention of "Certain Improvements
in Apparatus for Lighting the Magazines and other Parts of Ships, applicable
also for the general: Purposes of Lighting Buildings, Roads, or Ways,"
Firstly, the mode set forth and represented of lighting certain parts of ships

page_text: or vessels known and distinguished as the powder magazines and shell rooms,
or such other parts thereof as may be employed as depositories for combustibles,
as herein-before particularly described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
and 11, of the annexed Drawings, whereby the necessity for employing distinct
and separate rooms for such purposes as hitherto practised is entirely dispensed
with.
Secondly, the application of the arrangement shewn at Figures 9 and 10 of
the Drawings hereunto annexed to the several purposes before described with
reference to such said Figures.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Islands of
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this to be my Specifica-
tion of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth
comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with the proviso
in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained; where-
fore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said
Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Crump Dell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
EDWARD CRUMP (L.s.) DELL.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Edward Crump Dell,
in the prosonee of
EDWARD CRUMP (L.S.) DELL.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Edward Crump Dell,
in the presence of
W GRIFFITHS,
T
VEAL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of Sep-
tember, in the year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid Edward Crump Dell came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Spe-

page_text: cification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.