IMPROVEMENTS IN MINERS SAFETY LAMPS
Year: 1885

page_text: We CARL WOLF of Zwickau, Saxony, Lamp Manufacturer, and HEINRICH
FRIEMANN of the town of Eisleben, Prussia, in the Empire of Germany, Lamp
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MINERS SAFETY LAMPS" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the arrangement of the air feed for the flame in hydro
carbon safety lamps with percussion igniting apparatus for relighting the lamp
when the same has been extinguished and without having to open the said safety
lamp; and to the arrangement of the burner and filling stopper.
During exhaustive experiments with safety lamps of various constructions it was
proved that safety lamps with only one wire gauze chimney allowed the fire damp
or other explosive gas to penetrate to the interior of the lamp in such quantity
that when the explosion of the same ensues the flame will penetrate to the outside
of the lamp and ignite the fire damp in the mine and that consequently the present
so called safety lamps with only one gauze cylinder do not offer sufficient safety
against explosions for which reason two wire gauze cylinders were arranged one
within the other.
The result however was that the air supply to the flame was decreased and the
illuminating power reduced.
Now in order to attain the proper supply of air the same was introduced
beneath the flame but many drawbacks were experienced which could not be well
avoided so that this system had to be abandoned.
The said system could only be applied to one side of the Benzine safety lamps
with igniting device in consequence of want of space so that the flame was fed with
air from one side only which caused the said flame to flacker.
Another drawback also appeared, that is, that when the lamp was closed it could
not be ascertained whether or no the protective wire fabric was in the lamp or not,
which said fabric is often omitted by the workmen in filling the lamps and besides
this the lamps of wire fabric could not properly close the lamp on account of the
various openings in the same for the wick tube, igniting device, extinguishing
device etc so that the flame could be driven back through the same.
All these faults are remedied by our invention as the lamp is no longer filled
through the central burner opening but through a lateral opening provided with a
screw plug or stopper so that we are able to place the igniting device so near to

page_text: the burner that all missfires are avoided and so much space is gained that a glass
cylinder of double the ordinary thickness can be employed which tends to greatly
increase the safety of the lamp.
The most important advantage however which we attain by this saving of space
is, that a ring of brass or other suitable metal or material which is provided with
air canals and wire gauze can be inserted in the lamp.
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of the improved lamp.
Figure 2 is a vertical section at a right angle to Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section of Figure 1 on the line xx.
Figure 4 is a top view of Figure 3 and Figure 5 a section and view of the
protective ring.
The outer burner tube a is only of sufficient diameter to receive the inner slotted
tube b containing the wick which said inner tube b is held in the outer burner
tube a in the following manner.
The inner or wick tube b is slotted at opposite sides in about half its length so
that the upper end forms a strong double spring.
This wick tube b is provided near its upper end laterally to the slots c with two
small projections & which fit in two small cavities or recesses e in the burner tube a
so that the slotted wick tube is held immoveably fast in the burner tube even when
the lamp should receive a shock or blow.
If it is desired to remove the wick and wick tube b it is only necessary to press
the ends of the slotted tube b together so that the small projections & are removed
from the recesses or cavities e when the wick and wick tube can be readily with-
drawn. The cap f arranged around the burner tube is connected to a screw
spindle g which runs through the vase or benzin receptacle so that by operating
the said screw the cap f can be raised or lowered in order to regulate the flame or
extinguish the same. An opening which is closed by a screw stopper i is arranged
laterally to the burner by means of which said opening the lamp can be filled
without having to remove the burner. This said opening I prefer to arrange
diametrically opposite to the igniting device although it is evident that the same
can be arranged in other position without departing from the tenor of our
invention. As igniting device we employ the construction as shown and described
in the British Patent H. Friemann 313289.
As aforementioned the compact arrangement of the parts enables us to insert a
ring k in the lamp which said ring is provided with a number of borings
(Figure 5) and on the inner side with a groove which serves to receive the wire
gauze or fabric m.
The annular foot n for the cylinder is placed on this ring and the cylinder
placed on the said foot n. A groove o is formed in the inner periphery of the lamp
case which acts as air canal and is in connection with the consumption space or
interior of the lamp by means of the borings p and with the outer air by means of
the borings q in the casing of the lamp so that the air entering the lamp is com-
pelled under all circumstances to pass through the wire gauze m.
In order to prevent the gauze being injured by passing sharp instruments
through the borings q of the casings these borings q do not communicate direct.
with the borings p but are arranged alternately between each two of the said
borings p.
This arrangement of the borings has the further advantage that the air entering
the lamp cannot pass direct to the flame but must flow equably to the same so that
a perfectly quiet flame is attained.
The brass or other ring k is provided with recesses or cavities in order to ensure
the free circulation of the air between the casing and the ring k and to prevent the
borings becoming stopped up by any coal dust entering the same.
The air feed by means of the brass or other ring avoids all the disadvantages
heretofore experienced as the penetration of the flame downwards through the
spaces around the openings for the mechanism is rendered impossible and the
failing of the protective ring must be detected by the workman as the lamp cannot

page_text: otherwise be put together and the glass cylinder and the gauze cylinders would
not fit the lamp.
From this it is evident that the present improvements are of the greatest
possible importance as they make the lamp absolutely safe and it is also evident
that the arrangement of the parts in reference to each other can be varied in
several ways without departing from the tenor of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1. In miners safety lamps the arrangement of the screw plug or stopper i for
filling the vase reservoir or receptacle in order that the parts may be so compactly
arranged that a protective ring k can be inserted in the said lamp, in combination
with a suitable igniting device substantially as and for the purpose described in
the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. In miners safety lamps the construction arrangement and application of the
ring k provided with the borings and the protective wire gauze or fabric in
substantialy as and for the purpose described in the foregoing specification and
shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. In miners safety lamps the arrangement of the air canal or passage o in the
casing which said canal is in communication with the open air by means of the
borings q and with the interior of the lamp by means of the borings p and the
borings in the ring k substantially as and for the purpose described in the fore-
going specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a miners safety lamp with percussion igniting device the combination
of the ring k, borings and wire gauze m with the annular groove o and the
borings p and q substantially as and for the purpose described in the foregoing
specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
5. In a miners safety lamp the arrangement and application of the slotted,
spring sided wick tube b and the projections or studs d of the same or their equi-
valents in combination with the burner tube a which latter is provided with
suitable recesses to receive the studs or projections of the wick tube b substantially
as and for the purpose described in the foregoing specification and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
DAL
L
1100-