IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LAMPS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alfred Joseph Bernard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th October 1872.
I, (ALFRED JOSEPH) BERNARD, of Boulevard de Strasbourg, No 23,
at Paris, Lamp Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LAMPS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of the
burner and contiguous parts of moderator and other argand lamps,
and of the rack and pinion mechanism employed for raising the pistons
of moderator lamps.
For the burners of argand lamps, as usually constructed, the gallery
which carries the glass is open or perforated at bottom for the passage
of air to the annular space between the wick and the glass; and thus
the supply of air for the outside of the flame being drawn from the
same space below the gallery from which the supply for the interior
of the flame is also drawn there is an interference of currents cal-
culated to render either supply or both imperfect.

page_text: According to my improved construction the bottom of the gallery
is made close, so that no air can pass through it, and it is hollowed
so as to form a gutter surrounding the burner for the reception of the
superfluous oil which flows from the wick, having a small spout by
which this oil flows back into the body of the lamp. The cylindrical
part of the gallery extends some distance upwards, and has near its
upper end a rim on which the glass rests. This vertical cylindrical
part under the rim, is perforated by numerous holes or slits of any
form, or may be fitted with wire gauze, through which the air for
the supply of the outside of the flame passes without interfering with
the air supplying the interior, which enters by perforations in a
separate cylindrical shell below the gutter in the usual way. By
this arrangement I am enabled to obtain a better flame with less
heating of the glass, and to dispense with the tin tube usually
employed for adjusting the height of the glass. The cylindrical part
of the gallery, constructed as above described, is formed separate from
its closed bottom or gutter, which has a projecting rim, on which the
cylindrical part fits closely, so that the latter can be removed for
cleaning the gutter and the burner. Both sets of air openings may
be provided with cylindrical slides, which can be moved up or down
by hand, so as to cover more or less of these openings, and thus
the supply of air to the interior and exterior of the flame can be
adjusted.
My improvements in the rack and pinion mechanism of moderator
lamps are specially applicable to small lamps which are most used, and
in which want of space for the action of the parts often interferes
with the action of the spring. I screw or solder to the support for.
the gallery a guide plate through which the rack passes. On the
support is fixed a deep boss which forms a bearing for the spindle of
the pinion that gears with the rack. By thus arranging the pinion
spindle to work in a single bearing I economise space, and the arrange-
ment above-described has the farther advantage that it dispenses
with the bending of the support, which has usually to be resorted to
for the purpose of keeping the rack clear of the body of the lamp.