IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING PARAFFIN OIL AND OTHER VOLATILE OILS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Walker Torr, of the Firm of Robert Walter
Winfield and Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchants
and Manufacturers, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR
BURNING PARAFFIN OIL AND OTHER VOLATILE OILS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Walker Torr at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st October 1880.
CHARLES WALKER TORR, of the Firm of Robert Walter Winfield and Company,
of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchants and Manufacturers.
* IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING PARAFFIN OIL AND OTHER VOLATILE
OILS."
"
My Invention has reference to such lamps for burning paraffin oil and other
volatile oils as are furnished with a storage oil reservoir in the body of the lamp
capable or holding sufficient oil for several days' consumption, the oil being fed from
the said storage reservoir as required to a dipping cup or vessel in which the wick
or wicks dip, and my said Invention consists of the construction and arrangement
herein after described of the parts of the said lamps, whereby the supplying or
feeding of the oil to the wick dipping cup or vessel is effected very simply
and efficiently, and the construction of the oil storage reservoir and wick dipping
oup and other minor parts of the lamp is much simplified and improved.
In constructing a lamp of the kind described according to my Invention, I make
the body of the lamp preferably of a hollow metallic cylinder, open at top, but the
shape of the said body is immaterial. At the upper part of the body is a
horizontal division dividing it into two unequal parts, the upper part constituting
the wick dipping cup or vessel, and the lower and larger part the oil storage
reservoir of the lamp. The bottom of the oil storage reservoir is situated at a
higher level than the bottom of the body. At one side of the divided body of the
lamp is a hollow cylinder or barrel in which a weighted piston or lifter works
loosely. The said barrel has a length nearly equal to that of the body. The
bottom of the barrel is closed and is situated below the bottom of the storage
•
1

page_text: reservoir, and the upper part of the said barrel projects into the wick dipping cup,
its open top being a little below the level of the top of the dipping cup. In the
said wick dipping cup are overflow pipes opening into the storage reservoir. In
the barrel and a little above the bottom of the storage reservoir is a series of
perforations through which the oil from the said reservoir flows into the barrel,
the oil in the said reservoir and barrel being thereby maintained at the same level.
The weighted piston or lifter is raised in the barrel by means of a cord or chain
attached to it being wound upon a pulley over the open top of the barrel. This
pulley is fixed on the end of a winding axis passing to the outside of the lamp
and provided with a handle for turning it. Fixed to the top of the body of the
lamp is a strong metallic cap or cover, open at its centre, and having an overhanging
rim. On this cap or cover the burner is supported and fixed, the wick or wicks
of the burner passing through the central opening in the cap and dipping into the
oil cup of the lamp.
The paraffin or other volatile oil is fed to the storage reservoir of the lamp
through the central opening in the cap and through the barrel in communication
with the said storage reservoir. When the piston or lifter is at the bottom of its
barrel, the upper face of the said piston lifter is below the perforations in the
barrel communicating with the storage reservoir, and the oil which has been
supplied to the said barrel is situated above the piston or lifter. When it is
wished to replenish the oil in the wick dipping cup or vessel the axis of the
pulley described is rotated so as to wind the cord or chain of the piston or lifter
upon it. The said piston or lifter is thereby raised in its barrel lifting the oil in
the said barrel into the wick dipping cup, any excess of oil supplied to the dipping
cup returning to the storage reservoir by the overflow pipes. On loosing the
winding handle of the pulley axis the piston or lifter descends by its own weight
to the bottom of the barrel, thereby unwinding its cord or chain from the pulley,
and the feeding mechanism is again ready when required to refill the wick dipping
cup. The capacity of the feeding barrel is by preference such that one lift of the
piston is more than sufficient when the storage reservoir is full or nearly full to
fill the dipping cap, but as the level of the oil in the storage reservoir sinks, two or
more lifts of the piston may be necessary to fill the wick dipping cup. The
body described carrying the oil storage reservoir, the wick dipping cup, the oil
feeding mechanism, and the burner of the lamp, may be placed in a cylindrical or
other shaped metallic or non-metallic shell or covering, the overhanging part of
the cap fixed on the body being supported on the top of the shell or covering, a
packing of cork being interposed between them.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Walker Torr in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
March 1881.
CHARLES WALKER TORR, of the Firm of Robert Walter Winfield and Company,
of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchants and Manufacturers.
IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS FOR BURNING PARAFFIN OIL AND OTHER VOLATILE
"
OILS."
My Invention has reference to such lamps for burning paraffin oil and other
volatile oils as are furnished with a storage oil reservoir in the body of the lamp
capable of holding sufficient oil for a lengthened consumption, the oil being fed
from the said storage reservoir, as required, to a dipping cup or vessel in which the
wick or wicks dip; and my said Invention consists of the construction and
arrangement herein after described of the parts of the said lamps, whereby the
supplying or feeding of the oil to the wick dipping cup or vessel is effected very
simply and efficiently, and the construction of the oil storage reservoir and
wick dipping cup, and other minor parts of the lamp is much simplified and
improved.
.
In constructing a lamp of the kind described according to my Invention, I make
the body of the lamp preferably of a hollow metallic cylinder, open at top, but the
shape of the said body is immaterial. At the upper part of the body is a hori-
zontal division dividing it into two unequal parts, the upper part constituting the
wick dipping cup or vessel, and the lower and larger part the oil storage reservoir
of the lamp. The bottom of the oil storage reservoir may be situated at a higher
level than the bottom of the body. At one side of the divided body of the lamp
is a hollow cylinder or barrel, in which a weighted piston or lifter works freely.
The said barrel has a length nearly equal to that of the body. The upper part of
the said barrel projects into the wick dipping cup, its open top being a little below
the level of the top of the dipping cup. In the said wick dipping cup are overflow
pipes opening into the storage reservoir. In the barrel, and a little above the
bottom of the storage reservoir, is a series of perforations, through which the oil
from the said reservoir flows into the barrel, the oil in the said reservoir and barrel
being thereby maintained at the same level. The weighted piston or lifter is
raised in the barrel by means of a cord or chain attached to it, being wound upon
a pulley over the open top of the barrel. Instead of a weighted piston moved by
a cord or chain wound upon a pulley an unweighted piston and endless chain or
cord may be used. This pulley is fixed on the end of a winding axis passing to
the outside of the lamp, and provided with a handle for turning it. Fixed to the
top of the body of the lamp is a strong metallic cap or cover, open at its middle,
and having an overhanging rim.
On this cap or cover the burner is supported and fixed, the wick or wicks of the
burner passing through the central opening in the cap and dipping into the oil
cup of the lamp.
The paraffin or other volatile oil is fed to the storage reservoir of the lamp
through the central opening in the cap, and through the barrel in communication
with the said storage reservoir. When the piston or lifter is at the bottom of its
barrel the upper face of the said piston or lifter is below the perforations in the
barrel communicating with the storage reservoir, and the oil which has been
supplied to the said barrel is situated above the piston or lifter. When it is
wished to replenish the oil in the wick dipping cup or vessel the axis of the pulley
described is rotated, so as to wind the cord or chain of the piston or lifter upon it,
or give motion to the endless chain or cord.

page_text: The said piston or lifter is thereby raised in its barrel, lifting the oil in the said
barrel into the wick dipping cap, any excess of oil supplied to the dipping cup
returning to the storage reservoir by the overflow pipes. On loosing the winding
handle of the pulley axis, or turning it in a backward direction, the piston or lifter,
either weighted or unweighted, descends to the bottom of the barrel, and the
feeding mechanism is again ready, when required, to refill the wick dipping cup.
The capacity of the feeding barrel is by preference such that one lift of the
piston is more than sufficient when the storage reservoir is full, or nearly full, to
fill the wick dipping cup; but as the level of the oil in the storage reservoir sinks,
two or more lifts of the piston may be necessary to fill the wick dipping cup.
The body described, carrying the oil storage reservoir, the wick dipping cup, the
oil feeding mechanism, and the burner of the lamp, may be placed in a cylindrical
or other shaped metallic or non-metallic shell or covering, the overhanging part of
the cap fixed on the body being supported on the top of the shell or covering, a
packing of cork or other yielding material being interposed between them.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention is to be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent vertical sections of the oil feeding or supplying
mechanism of a lamp for burning paraffin oil or other volatile oil constructed
according to my Invention, the shell or covering of the lamp and the lamp burner
being omitted; Figure 3 represents a plan of the upper side of the lamp body; and
Figure 4 a plan of the underside of the base of the body. The section, Figure 1,
is taken on the line a, a, Figure 3; and the section Figure 2 is taken on the
line b, b, Figure 3.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
c is the hollow cylindrical metallic body of the lamp, open at top. In the
upper part of the body c the wick dipping cup or vessel d is situated,
the part of the body c below the dipping cup constituting the oil storage
reservoir e of the lamp. At one side of the said oil storage reservoir e is a
hollow cylinder or barrel f, in which a piston or lifter g works freely. The
wick dipping cup d, the barrel f, and the rim or overhanging flange hare by
preference connected together, so that the said parts can be readily placed in or
removed from the cylindrical body_c. The barrelf is open at top and bottom,
the top of the said barrel opening by the smaller tube i into the dipping cup d.
Parallel to the tube i is a second tube k, the said two tubes i and k supporting the
bearing plates or cheeks l, in which the axis r carrying the pulley m works, the
said pulley m being situate between the said plates or cheeks. At the bottom of
the barrel f is a bearing plate n, having a curved or tubular figure, carrying two
pulleys p, p. The piston or lifter g is raised and lowered in the barrel ƒ by means
of the endless chain q attached to its upper and under faces in the manner seen in
Figure 1. The chain 9 attached to the piston g passes over the single pulley mat
the top of the body, and under the two smaller pulleys p, p, at the base of the body.
The winding axis r carrying the pulley m passes to the outside of the lamp, and is
provided with a handles for turning it. In the barrel f, in which the piston g
works, is a series of perforations t situated a short distance above the bottom of the
barrel, the said perforations establishing a communication between the storage
reservoir e and the said barrel f. When the piston or lifter g is at the bottom of
the barrel f, as represented in Figure 1, the upper face of the said piston is below
the perforations t in the barrel, and oil for the storage reservoir passes through the
said perforations into the barrel, and fills or partly fills it with oil above the said
piston. By rotating the axis r by its handle s in the direction proper to lift the
piston g, the pulley m on the said axis is turned, and the endless chain q is made
to travel over the said pulley and raise the piston g in the barrel f. The oil above
the piston is thereby lifted in the barrel fand forced through the small tube i at
the head of the said barrel into the wick dipping cup d, any excess of oil supplied

page_text: to the said dipping cup returning to the storage reservoir e by the pipe k, which
acts as an overflow pipe. By turning the axis r in a direction contrary to that
by which the piston is raised in its barrel, the said piston descends in the
barrel to the position represented in the Drawing, and oil from the storage
reservoir again passes above the said piston, ready to be lifted into the wick
dipping cup when required. In this way the wick dipping cup may be supplied
at the proper times with oil sufficient for one or more nights' consumption, the
replenishing of the wick dipping cup being effected by turning the handle s in the
proper direction to raise the piston g as described.
In order to prevent the overwinding and consequent breaking of the endless
chain q when the piston has arrived near the botton of the barrel f, the said
endless chain is furnished with a coiled spring u, which spring yields when pressure
is put upon the chain, and offers such resistance to its motion as to indicate to the
user that the piston is at the end of its back or return stroke.
The overhanging part or rim h of the dipping cup d is formed with an internal
screw 2, into which a cap or cover screws. On the said cap or cover the
burner of the lamp is supported and fixed, the wick or wicks of the burner
passing through the central opening w and dipping into the oil cup d.
The oil storage reservoir e is filled with oil by removing the cap and lifting
the parts h, d, and f from the cylindrical body o; or the oil may be fed to the
storage reservoir e through the central opening win the cup v and through
the barrel i, f, communicating with the said storage reservoir.
The body c constituting the oil storage reservoir and carrying the wick dipping
cup d and the lifting mechanism and the burner may be placed in a cylindrical or other
shaped metallic or non-metallic shell or casing, the rim or overhanging part h
attached to the wick dipping cup d being supported on the top of the said shell
or casing, a packing of cork or other yielding material placed in the recess h³ being
interposed between them.
In order, when the level of the oil in the storage reservoir has become low, to
supply the said oil to the wick dipping cup d, I prefer to make the lifting piston
hollow or cup like, as represented in Figure 5, and marked a, and to make around
the lower end of the small tube i, opening into the wick dipping cup, a cylindrical
block of a size proper to pass into the cup like piston 2.
When the hollow or cup
like piston x is raised to the top of the barrel f, the block y passes into the said
piston and forces the oil contained in it up the tube i into the wick dipping cup d.
The wick dipping cup d may thus be replenished after the oil in the reservoir e has
sunk too low to be raised by a solid piston.
Y
Instead of using an endless chain for raising and lowering the piston in the
barrel, a chain or cord may be attached only to the top of the piston, and be coiled
on or uncoiled from a pulley or roller on the winding axis r, but I prefer the
arrangement of parts represented in the Drawing.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the
precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied without
departing from the nature of my Invention.
But I claim as my Invention of "Improvements in Lamps for Burning Paraffin
Oil and other Volatile Oils,"-
First. The construction and combination of parts, herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, for supplying or feeding oil from the
storage reservoir of the lamp to the wick dipping cup or vessel of the said lamp,
that is to say, the combination of a piston, either solid or of a hollow or cup like
figure, working in a barrel or hollow cylinder having perforations near its bottom
opening into the storage reservoir, with raising and lowering mechanism actuated
from a winding axis passing to the exterior of the lamp, the several parts being
constructed and working substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The combination of the wick dipping cup or vessel d, the barrel f,

page_text: rim or flanged part h and closing cap or cover with a hollow cylindrical (or other
shaped) body c, the greater part of which body constitutes the oil storage reservoir
as described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
'
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Walker Torr, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
WILLIAM HENRY TAYLOR,
Cambridge Street Works
Birmingham.
CHARLES WALKER TORR. (L.B.)