IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO GAS LIGHT APPARATUS, CHIEFLY DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A BEACON FOR BUOYS, LIGHTHOUSES, OR OTHER STRUCTURES OR PLACES, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO GAS LIGHT APPARATUS, CHIEFLY
DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A BEACON FOR BUOYS, LIGHTHOUSES, OR OTHER
STRUCTURES OR PLACES, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR
OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by John Melville Foster,
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO GAS-
LIGHT APPARATUS, CHIEFLY DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A BEACON FOR Buoys,
LIGHTHOUSES, OR OTHER STRUCTURES OR PLACES, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES." [A communication from abroad by John
Melville Foster, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.]
-
This Invention relates to gas light apparatus chiefly designed to serve as a
beacon for buoys, piles, caissons, lighthouses, or other places or structures, in which
apparatus the light is automatically ignited and extinguished at any predetermined
or established periods, and some parts of the apparatus are applicable for other
purposes.
The said Invention comprises a high pressure regulator having, in combination
with a flexible diaphragm, a volute spring which provides a uniform and gentle
pressure on the said diaphragm, and causes the latter to move without abruptness.
It also comprises a plug receiving the stem of a valve containing the valve seat
and supporting the bearing arm of a diaphragm-lever, said plug entering an
opening in the casing and having a flange which is attachable to the casing, and
I thus provide convenient means for applying and securing the parts within..
their casing, and for removing the same, and providing a tight joint between the
plug and casing.

page_text: It also comprises a pipe-coupling constructed of a slide having a bore, with
which communicates a branch attached to and moving with the slide, and a yoke
which supports and guides the said slide and receives the end of the pipe to be
coupled, whereby when the slide is properly moved it clamps the pipe to the yoke,
firmly connects them, and brings its bore in communication with that of the pipe,
the joint between the parts being secure and tight.
Other features of the said Invention are hereinafter described.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a cylinder or a number of
cylinders which are properly supported on a buoy, pile, caisson, lighthouse, or other
place or structure, and the said cylinders are adapted to receive illuminating gas
under pressure.
I also provide a clock whose case is connected with a box or
frame which is supported on the top of the cylinder or cylinders and surmounted
by the lantern of the beacon, the burner whereof is attached to a gas pipe which
communicates with the cylinder or cylinders above mentioned. Between the pipe
and cylinder I place a governor for regulating and equalizing the pressure of gas,
said pipe and governor being supported on the box or frame above referred to, and the
lantern may either rest on said box or frame, or it may be otherwise properly
supported in position.
I further provide an induction pipe for the cylinder and also an eduction pipe
therefor. The aforesaid governor is connected with said eduction pipe and the
burner pipe, and the several pipes are provided with suitable cocks for cutting off
or admitting the gas.
The pipe of the burner is provided with a three-way cock with the arm of which is
connected a rod or arm, whose lower end is fitted to a crank on the end of the shaft of
a locking wheel of the clock, said wheel having at two opposite places a notch, each
notch being adapted to receive the toothed or bent end of a tripping lever on whose
shaft are mounted two levers or one bifurcated lever in order to be engaged by
One of said setting
pins or studs which project from the sides of setting wheels.
The sleeve
wheels is connected with a supporting sleeve which carries an index.
of the other setting wheel is passed through the sleeve of the first setting wheel
and carries another index, the two indices sweeping over a graduated dial secured
to the box or frame above mentioned or to the dial of the clock, and the two
setting-wheels are movable independently of each other, and are in gear with and
properly timed by the movement of the clock. Near the lantern-burner I provide
a small gas jet whose pipe is connected to a cock, the nature whereof is such that
when the gas is admitted to the burner the supply to the jet is cut off, and vice
versa. Consequently when the burner is supplied with gas the jet is deprived of
the same, but when the gas supply to the burner is cut off that to the jet is
admitted prior thereto in such quantities that it ignites from the flame of the
burner, the daily consumption of gas at the jet being scarcely perceptible. When
the gas is again admitted to the burner the Hame of the jet reaches and ignites it,
and the gas of said jet is then cut off.
When a number of cylinders is employed the gas of each may be exhausted
successively or that of all together, each cylinder being provided with a cock
attached to the induction pipe, and the cylinders are detachable for purposes of
replenishing, for repairs, and for convenience of removal and location.
The gas-regulator is constructed as follows, that is to say:-I provide a high-
pressure gas chamber having a suitable gas inlet pipe or plug and gas exit. I also
provide a flexible diaphragm, to the centre of one face of which is pivotted a lever
whose other end is mounted on an arm rising from a block screwed to the upper
end of the plug above mentioned, and said block has a bore, the base of which
forms the seat of a valve whose stem is connected with the lever aforesaid. Bearing
against the face of the diaphragm opposite to the lever and a cap of the casing at
the centre thereof is a volute spring, the centre of the cap having a screw plug
which serves as a bearing for the spring.
When the gas entering the casing increases the pressure therein and exerts such
pressure on the diaphragm the spring resists such action gently and uniformly

page_text: with the increase of the pressure, and when the pressure decreases the spring exerts
its power on the diaphragm likewise gently and uniformly with the decrease in
the pressure, whereby in either case there is no abruptness in the motions of the
diaphragm, and thus the regularity of flow of gas to the place of service is
maintained. The pipe or plug of the regulator has a flange which abuts against
the wall of the casing and is connected thereto by screws passed through said wall
and flange, thus firmly securing the pipe or plug to the casing. The contiguous
faces of the flange and casing are threaded and flat, and the upper portion of
the plug which enters an opening in the casing has its bore screw threaded for
engagement of the block hereinabove mentioned which has the valve seat and
guides the stem of the valve and supports the arm to which the lever is hung or
pivotted. When the said lever, the arm connected therewith, the block, and the
suspended valve are located within the casing, the plug is introduced into the
opening in the casing, and fitted and screwed to the block. Packing is introduced
between the flange of the plug or pipe and the wall of the casing, and when screws
are applied and tightened the joint between the flange and casing is reliably closed
and the parts firinly connected. This also admits of making the opening in the
casing of greater diameter than that of the top of the plug, whereby ready access
is afforded to the interior of the casing when the screws are loosened and the plug
unscrewed from the block. The power or tension of the spring may be regulated
by a screw plug, against which one end of said spring abuts or to which it is
connected.
The pipe coupling is made as follows:-I provide a yoke consisting of a frame
between whose sides is fitted a slide from one end of which depends a branch-pipe
the bore of which communicates with a bore in said end of the slide. A screw is
fitted to a boss on the frame or yoke and swivelled to the end of the slide opposite
to the bore therein, whereby, when the screw is rotated by means of a suitable
handle, the slide may readily be moved. The end of the yoke opposite to the boss
has a recess, groove, or throat, which is open from the centre to the periphery of
said end, so that the pipe or connection to be coupled may be fitted in the recess,
said pipe having a flange which is adapted to be placed in the recess behind the
inner or rear wall of the throat while the body of the pipe rests on the base of said
throat. The branch pipe hereinbefore mentioned is connected with a flexible pipe
leading from a tank, reservoir, pipe, or other place of supply, and the pipe in the
recess or throat of the yoke is connected with a tank, reservoir, or other receiver
which is to be filled from the first named tank, or to a valve or other device. The
coupling is presented to the pipe, or vice versa, and said pipe placed in the recess
or throat of the yoke, the flange being behind the same. The slide is then screwed
towards the pipe in the throat of the yoke and tightened against the flange of said
pipe, the effect of which is to clamp the pipe to the yoke and thus securely to
connect said parts and produce a tight joint between the slide and the pipe, a washer
or packing being previously properly applied to the end of either the slide or the
pipe. The bore of the end of the slide now communicates with the pipe in the
throat of the yoke, and thus communication is established between the branch pipe
and main pipe so that gas or other fluid or the like may pass from one to the.
other. When the coupling is to be removed or the branch and pipe are to be
disconnected the screw is rotated in order to move the slide from the pipe after
which the coupling may be cleared of the pipe, the latter emerging from the recess
or throat of the yoke and thus being released from the yoke.
The branch pipe is a fixture of the slide and moves with it as it advances to and
recedes from the pipe in the throat of the yoke.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st September 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO GAS-
LIGHT APPARATUS, CHIEFLY DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A BEACON FOR BUOYS,
LIGHTHOUSES, OR OTHER STRUCTURES OR PLACES, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by John
Melville Foster, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
This Invention relates to gas light apparatus chiefly designed to serve as a
beacon for buoys, piles, caissons, lighthouses, or other places or structures requiring
illumination, in which apparatus the light is automatically ignited and extinguished
at any predetermined or established periods, some parts of the said apparatus being
applicable to other purposes.
The said Invention comprises a high pressure regulator having, in combination
with a flexible diaphragm, a volute spring which provides a uniform and gentle
pressure on the said diaphragm, and causes the latter to move without abruptness.
It also comprises a plug receiving the stem of a valve containing the valve-seat,
and supporting the bearing arm of a diaphragm-lever, the said plug entering an
opening in the casing, and having a flange which is attachable to the said casing,
thus providing convenient means for applying and securing the parts within their
casing, and for removing the same, and providing a tight joint between the plug
and casing.
It also comprises a pipe coupling constructed of a slide having a bore with which
communicates a branch attached to and moving with the slide; and a yoke which
supports and guides the said slide, and receives the end of the pipe to be coupled,
whereby when the slide is properly moved it clamps the pipe to the yoke, firmly
connects them, and brings its bore in communication with that of the pipe, the
joint between the parts being then secure and tight.
In the accompanying Drawing,―
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section with portions broken away of
apparatus embodying my Invention.
Figure 2 is an elevation of the clock-work mechanism and novel attachments
thereto.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of the gas-cock employed.
The remaining Figures are hereinafter described.
A represents a cylinder or a number of cylinders properly supported on a buoy,
pile, caisson, lighthouse, or other place or structure requiring illumination, and
adapted to receive illuminating gas under pressure.
B represents a clock whose case is connected to a box or frame C which is
supported on the top of the cylinder or cylinders A, and is surmounted by the
lantern D of the beacon, the burner D¹ of the latter being attached to a gas pipe E
which communicates with the said cylinder or cylinders. Between the pipe E and
cylinder A is a governor F for regulating and equalizing the pressure of gas, the
said pipe E and governor F being supported on the box or frame C. The lantern
is shewn resting on the said box or frame C, but it may be otherwise properly
supported in position if desired.
A represents the induction pipe of the cylinder A, and A" the eduction pipe
thereof. The governor F is connected to the said eduction pipe A and burner
pipe E, and the several pipes are provided with suitable cocks for cutting-off or

page_text: admitting the gas. The pipe E of the burner is provided with a three-way cock G,
to the arm a of which is connected a rod or arm H. The lower end of the said
arm H is fitted to a crank b on the end of the shaft c of the locking wheel J of the
clock, the said wheel having at two opposite parts a notch d, each notch being
adapted to receive the toothed or bent end of a tripping lever K, on whose shaft
are mounted two levers or a bifurcated lever K¹, so as to be engaged by pins or
studs e which project from the sides of the setting wheels L, L'. The wheel L is
connected to a supporting sleeve f which carries an index M². The sleeve fl of
the wheel L' is passed through the sleeve and carries an index M, the two indices
M, M', sweeping over a graduated dial N secured to the box or frame C, or to the
dial of the clock. The two wheels L, L', are movable independently of each other,
and are in gear with and properly timed by the movement of the clock. Near the
burner D¹ is a small gas jet D" whose pipe is connected to the cock G, which is so
constructed that when the gas is admitted to the burner D₁ the supply to the
jet D" is cut off, and vice versa. Consequently when the burner D' is supplied
with gas the jet D" is deprived of the same, but when the gas supply to the
burner is cut off that to the jet is admitted prior thereto in such quantities that
it ignites from the flame of the burner, the daily consumption of gas at the jet
being scarcely perceptible. When the gas is again admitted to the burner D¹ the
flame of the jet D₁ reaches and ignites it, and the gas of the said jet is then
cut off.
The operation is as follows:-The tank, cylinder, or cylinders being properly
filled with gas under pressure the cock of the eduction pipe A" is opened, the
jet D lighted, and the clock B wound and set in motion. The indices M, M', are
turned until one of them points on the dial N to the hour when the beacon is to be
lighted, and the other points on the said dial to the hour when the beacon is to be
extinguished, the wheels L, L', rotating with the indices. The pins or studs e of
the setting wheels are carried around with the said wheels L, L', and when the pin
or stud of the wheel which is connected to the index set for lighting the beacon
reaches one of the levers or bifurcations K' of the tripping lever K, and presses
against the same, the toothed or bent end of the said lever K is lifted clear of the
notch of the wheel J. The train of clock gearing is immediately set in motion,
the wheel J rotates and with it its shaft c and the crank b until by the rotation
of the wheel J the other notch is brought round and the tripping lever drops
therein, thus stopping the train of gearing. The motion of the crank b operates
the arm H, which turns the cock G so that gas is admitted to the burner D', where
it is quickly ignited by the flame of the jet D11, the gas supply to the latter being
then cut off by the cock G. The burner is thus lighted and the beacon illuminated:
The clock continues its motion, and when the pin or stud of the wheel which is
connected to the index set for extinguishing the beacon reaches the other arm or
bifurcation K¹ of the tripping lever K and presses against it, the said lever is again
raised clear of the notch of the wheel J. The train of clock gearing is again
immediately set in motion causing the wheel J to again rotate, the crank b rotates
or returns to its first position, and the other notch of the wheel J is again engaged
by the lever K, thus stopping the said wheel and train of gearing. The arm H is
again operated by the crank 6 and the cock G thereby turned, so that gas is
admitted in such volume to the jet D" that it ignites from the flame of the
burner D', and the gas supply to the said burner D' is immediately thereafter cut
off, thus extinguishing the beacon. As the jet D¹¹ continues to burn when the hour
for lighting the beacon returns the burner D¹ may again be lighted, and when the
extinguishing hour arrives the gas will be shut off from the said burner as before
described, it being necessary to keep the cylinder or tank A supplied with gas,
the clock B wound, and the wheels L, L', properly set by means of the indices M, M²,
to repeat the automatic lighting and extinguishing operations.
When a number of the cylinders A. is employed, the gas from each may be
exhausted successively or together, each cylinder being provided with a cock P
attached to the induction pipe A¹. The cylinders are detachable for the purpose of

page_text: replenishing them with gas, for repairs, and for convenience of removal and
arrangement.
:
Referring to Figure 5, which is a central vertical section of the regulator
constructed according to my Invention, A represents a casing or the walls of the
high pressure gas-chamber; B the gas inlet pipe or plug, and C the gas exit
opening; D represents a flexible diaphragm to the centre of one face of which is
pivoted a lever E, whose other end is mounted on an arm F¹ projecting from a
block G screwed to the inner end of the plug B. The said block has a bore, the
base a of which forms the seat for the valve G¹ whose stem b is connected to the
lever E. Bearing against the face of the diaphragm D opposite to the lever E and
the cap c of the casing A, and at the centre thereof, is a volute spring H, the centre
of the cap having a screw plug J which serves as a bearing for the said spring.
It will be seen that when the gas entering the casing A increases in pressure,
and exerts such pressure on the diaphragm, the spring resists such action gently
and uniformly with the increase of the pressure, and when the pressure decreases
the spring exerts its power on the diaphragm likewise gently and uniformly with
the decrease in the pressure, whereby in either case there is no abruptness in the
motions of the diaphragm, and thus the regularity of flow of gas to the place of
its combustion is maintained.
The pipe or plug B has a flange K which abuts against the wall of the casing A,
and is connected thereto by screws d passed through the said wall and Bange, thus
firmly securing the pipe or plug B to the casing. It will be seen that the contiguous
faces of the flange K and casing A are unthreaded and flat, and the inner portion
of the plug B which enters the opening e in the casing A. has its bore screw threaded
for the engagement therewith of the block G which has the valve seat a, guides
the stem b, and supports the arm F' to which the lever E is hung or pivoted. When
the said lever E, the arm F¹, the block G, and the suspended valve G₁ are located
within the casing A, the plug B is introduced into the opening e and fitted and
screwed to the block G. Packing is introduced between the flange K and the wall
of the tasing, and when the screws & are applied and tightened, the joint between
the flange and casing is reliably closed and the parts firmly connected. This
provision also admits of making the opening e of greater diameter than that of
the inner portion of the plug B, whereby ready access is afforded to the interior
of the casing when the screws d are loosened and the plug is unscrewed from
the block G. The power or tension of the spring H may be regulated by the
screw plug J, against which one end of the said spring abuts or to which it is
connected.
Referring again to the Drawing,
Figure 6 is an end view of the coupling constructed according to my Invention,
and
Figure 7 is a partial longitudinal section and side view of the same.
Figure 8 is a top view thereof drawn to a reduced scale.
A represents a yoke consisting of a frame between whose sides is fitted a slide B
from one end of which depends a branch pipe C, the bore of which communicates
with a bore a formed in the said end of the slide; D represents a screw which is
fitted to turn in a boss b on the frame or yoke A and swivelled to the end of the
slide opposite to the bore a, whereby, when the said screw is rotated by means of a
suitable handle, the slide may be readily moved. The end of the yoke A opposite
to the boss b has a recess, groove, or throat E, which is open from the centre to the
periphery of the said end, so that the pipe or connection F* to be coupled (see the
right hand portion of Figure 1) may be fitted in the recess, the said pipe having a
flange which is adapted to be placed in the recess behind the inner or rear wall of
the throat, while the body of the pipe rests on the base of the said throat. The
branch pipe C has connected to it a flexible pipe C* leading from a tank, reservoir,
pipe, or other source of supply, and the pipe F* is connected to a tank, reservoir, or
other receiver, which is to be filled from the first named tank or other receptacle,
or to a valve or other device. The coupling is presented to the pipe F*, or vice

page_text: versa, and the said pipe placed in the recess or throat of the yoke, the flange being
behind the same. The slide is then screwed towards the pipe F* and tightened
against the flange of the said pipe, the effect of which is to clamp the pipe to the
yoke A and thus securely connect the said parts and produce a tight joint between
the slide and the pipe, a washer or packing being previously properly applied to
the end of either the slide or the pipe. The bore a now communicates with the
pipe F*, and thus communication is established between the branch C and pipe F*,
so that gas, fluid, or the like, may pass from one to the other. When the coupling
is to be removed or the branch and pipe are to be disconnected, the screw D is
rotated in order to move the slide from the pipe, after which the coupling may be
removed from the pipe, the latter emerging from the recess E, and thus being
released from the yoke.
It will be noticed that the branch C is a fixture of the slide B, and moves with
it as it advances to and recedes from the pipe F*.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. A beacon in combination with mechanism for automatically lighting and
extinguishing the same at predetermined or desired periods, substantially as and
for the purpose set forth.
Second. A beacon having a gas burner or light in combination with a clock or
time-piece and mechanism operated by the clock and operating the cock of the
burner whereby the beacon may be automatically lighted and extinguished,
substantially as above set forth.
Third. The combination with a beacon automatically lighted and extinguished of
setting mechanism whereby such automatic lighting and extinguishing may be
accomplished at any predetermined, established, or desired period or time,
substantially as above set forth.
Fourth. The cock G in combination with the lever or rod H, the locking wheel,
the tripping lever K of the clock, and the setting wheels, substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
Fifth. The combination of a beacon automatically lighted and extinguished, a
tank containing compressed gas, and a governor between the said beacon and tank,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Sixth. The beacon in combination with a series of detachable connected cylinders,
the induction pipe, cocks P, and eduction pipe, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
Seventh. In a high pressure gas regulator the combination with the diaphragm
of a volute spring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Eighth. In a high pressure gas regulator the block in combination with the plug
having a flange, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Ninth. The diaphragm and volute spring in combination with the screw plug,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Tenth. The yoke with a recessed end or open throat and the clamping slide
(with or without a branch) combined and operating substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Eleventh. The yoke with the recess, the slide bored to communicate with the
branch, and the screw combined and operating as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
.
W. ROD. LAKE. (L.S.)
YY