IMPROVEMENTS APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING STREET AND OTHER LAMPS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Anthony Hunter, of Southport, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING STREET AND OTHER LAMPS."
Sealed the 30th July 1869, and dated the 9th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Anthony
Hunter at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th April 1869.
I, WILLIAM ANTHONY HUNTER, of Southport, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING STREET AND OTHER LAMPS," to
be as follows:-
The nature of this Invention consists in an improved self-acting
apparatus for lighting street and other lamps. This apparatus can be
arranged so that all the lamps in a theatre or other building, or all
or any number of lamps in a town may be lighted simultaneously.
The apparatus consists of an upright tube containing a certain quantity

page_text: of matches and of a swivel plate into which the lowest match drops,
this swivel plate is turned partly round by a rack and pinion or other
equivalent, and in turning round the match is rubbed against a rough
surface to ignite the match and to bring it near to the burner. The
sack or other equivalent for moving the swivel plate is connected to a
rod which is raised by water or other power, and this rod which is
carried up inside the lamp post is connected by a link to the tap
which turns on the gas, consequently when the rod is raised the gas
escaping from the burner comes in contact with and is ignited by the
match. When water power is employed to raise the rods I use a series
of small water pipes or branch pipes from the water mains, from which
the water is conducted to act on a piston on the lower end of the rod,
and on turning the water on all the pistons and rods are raised
simultaneously, thus lighting the lamps. As soon as the water is shut off
and an escape tap is opened to allow the pistons and rods to descend by
their own gravity the taps are turned to extinguish the lights. In
case one of the matches should miss striking fire the piston of each
tamp may be raised singly by means of a three-way tap, which first
shuts off the water under pressure and allows the water under the
piston to escape and then admits fresh water to raise the rod.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Anthony Hunter in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ANTHONY HUNTER, of Southport, in the County of Lancaster, send 2
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and a
grant unto me, the said William Anthony Hunter, Her special licence
that I, the said William Anthony Hunter, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Anthony Hunter, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LIGHTING STREET AND OTHER LAMPS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Anthony Hunter,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Anthony Hunter, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This Invention has reference to an improved apparatus for lighting
street and other lamps in a simultaneous manner or nearly so, which
apparatus is so arranged and constructed that the power of the pressure
of water or other fluid, shall (inter alia) be rendered available as the
means of actuating such apparatus in a controllable manner, so that all
the lamps in a theatre or other building, or all or any number of lamps
in a town or place may be lighted at any appointed time or nearly so,
which apparatus will be capable of being used to extinguish the lights in
such lamps as hereafter described, and such apparatus may with suitable
modifications be rendered capable of being actuated by hand power or
engine power, and even be rendered useful as a means of lighting
separate lamps or tapers. The said apparatus consists of a tube fixed
upright (or at an angle if required) containing a quantity of matches
and of a swivel plate, into a recess in which the lowest match in the tube
drops, this swivel plate is turned partly round by a rack and pinion or
other equivalent, and in turning round the match is rubbed against a
rough or prepared surface to ignite the match and to bring it near to the
burner. The rack or other equivalent for moving the swivel plate is
connected to a rod which is raised by water or other fluid or other power,
and this rod which is carried up inside the lamp post is connected by a

page_text: link to the tap which turns on or off the gas in such a manner that
when the rod is raised the tap is opened and the gas escaping from the
burner comes in contact with and is ignited by the burning match.
When water power is employed to raise the rods I use a series of small
water pipes or branch pipes from the water mains or from a water tank
constructed on purpose (and the diameters of these pipes should bear
such a proportion to their length and head of water or other fluid at
command as to ensure the pistons and rods being raised or depressed, as
the case may be, (for sometimes the pistons and rods may be driven
downwards, or at any angle to give motion to the mechanism,) sufficiently
quickly to ensure the match igniting) from which the water is conducted
to act on the pistons on the lower ends of the rods, so that on turning
the water on all the pistons and rods are raised at nearly the same time,
thus lighting the lamps. As soon as the water from the tank or other
source is shut off and an escape tap is opened to allow the water under
the pistons to escape, and the rods and pistons to descend by their own
gravity (being weighted according to their respective elevations) the
gas cocks are thereby turned to extinguish the lights, and as the swivel
plate returns to its original position, the match that has been struck
and is yet held in the cleft of the recess in the swivel plate catches
against the end of the rough or prepared plate, and is thereby thrown
out of the recess which is then ready to receive the next match.
case one of the matches should be carried forward yet not be ignited the
piston of each lamp may be re-raised singly by means of a three-way
tap, which is first made to shut off the water under pressure and allow
the water under the piston to escape, and then upon being turned
to its first position admits fresh water to raise the rod with rack acting
on pinion as herein-before described.
In
Although I have described my said apparatus as being actuated by
the power of water or other fluids it will be obvious that by suitable
arrangements of gearing the same may be actuated by hand or engine
power, and instead of matches percussion caps may be used, or a material
exposed in successive quantities to the air in which it spontaneously
ignites and so would light the gas issuing from the burner. When my
water arrangement is used the piping should be laid sufficiently deep
to be out of the reach of frost, and any exposed parts should be covered
with a suitable non-conducting material to prevent the water freezing.

page_text: illustrative of my said Invention.
Figure 1, view of an arrangement for lighting and putting out gas
lamps by the aid of water power. When a number of lamps have to be
lighted and extinguished, each lamp is provided with mechanism similar
to that shewn in this Figure or modifications of it afterwards to be
described. To this Figure, as well as others hereafter referred to, the
following letters apply when the parts mentioned are shewn in such
Figures.
a, the upright tube for containing a supply of matches; b, the
matches; c, the swivel plate into the recess of which the lowest match
falls ready to be struck; d, the rack (connected to the rod) which works
the pinion fixed to swivel plate; e, the pinion worked by rack and fixed
to swivel plate, so as to impart the necessary motion which rubs the
match against the rough or prepared plate and brings it back ready to
receive a fresh match; f, rough or prepared plate (which also acts as a
spring), against which the match is brought, causing the ignition thereof;
g, the burner; h, the rod connected to piston, acted on by water or other
fluid, "or hand or engine" power; i, link connecting rod and gas cock
by which the gas is turned on or off as required; j, the piston to work in
cylinder; t, india-rubber or other packing at the top side of the piston
to prevent the water or other fluid from escaping should any pass the
piston, as well as to act as a buffer to break the force with which the
piston is driven against the end of the cylinder; k, three-way tap arrange-
ment provided to allow the water to act on the mechanism so as to
strike a match and light a single lamp independently of the rest of the
lamps to which the power is connected; m, projection in recess in
swivel plate (into which recess the matches in succession drop,) preventing
the lower end of the match from being forced out when it is being
struck; n, the cylinder in which the piston works; o, the inlet to three-
way tap; p, the outlet for water or other fluid from the cylinder when
the mechanism has to be worked independently of the rest of the pistons
acted on by the water or other fluids; q, moveable key by which the
threeway-tap is turned; r, screw cap with which the upright match tube is
provided to prevent the entry of water to the matches; u, thin plate,
soldered or otherwise attached to the match tube and bent over the top
of the stand through which the match tube enters, and is for the purpose

page_text: of keeping out any water that might run down the tube to the match
in the recess, and also to keep the match tube in one fixed position.
Figure 1 shews the apparatus in its position before the water or other
fluid service is turned on to allow of its entry through the inlet pipe o,
with a match in the recess of the swivel plate c. When the water or
other fluid is turned on it passes up the inlet o through the three-way
tap k, and acts on the piston j so as to raise it and with it the rod h, so
that it (the rod) takes the position indicated by dotted lines. The rod
in its upward course causing the link to open the gas cock and to
assume the position shewn by dotted lines, and also causing the rack
to act on the pinion e so as to carry the swivel plate c forward a portion
of a revolution, bearing with it the match b, which is thus rubbed against
the rough or prepared plate f, and thereby ignited and held over or near
the burner as indicated by dotted lines, thus lighting the gas issuing
from the burner. To extinguish the lights the pressure of water from
the tank or other source is removed from the pistons by turning a tap,
which should be provided for that purpose, and an escape tap being
opened which should also be provided for that purpose, such escape tap
acting for the whole series of cylinders allows the pistons and rods (being
weighted sufficiently either by weights or springs (amount of weight
determined by the elevation and area of piston) to fall, bringing the link
to its original position when the gas is shut off, the swivel plate is also
at the same time carried back ready to receive a fresh match, the used
one being thrown out of the recess by the rough or prepared plate fas
will be readily understood. Figure 6 shews rough or prepared plate f
about to throw out the match b. If by chance any one of the matches
should be carried forward without igniting the gas, then by turning the
three-way tap k, so as to allow the water or other fluid to flow from the
cylinder out at the outlet pipe p, and then again to bring it to the position
shewn in Figure 1, the mechanism will be acted upon so as to light a
fresh match without in any way affecting the other lamps belonging to
the series; Figures 2 and 7 shew other views of the three-way tap;
Figures 3 and 4 shew (on a larger scale) the swivel plate and a portion
of the match tube and rack and pinion. These Figures with Figure 5
shew the shape of the recess which holds the match. This recess is
provided with a projection m which prevents the lower end of the match
from being thrown out of the recess during the forward motion of the
swivel plate. The recess is V-shaped at the back (see Figure 5) so that

page_text: the match when pressed back (see Figures 4 and 5) is held and wedged
firmly until thrown out by the back motion of the swivel plate. The
match tube at its lower end should nearly touch the periphery of the
swivel plate, so as to ensure the delivery of the match into the recess,
and a portion of this tube should be cut away at s to allow the match to
clear itself when the swivel plate is carried forward. But the top end of
the match when in the recess should just slightly catch the tube at s to
ensure it not falling forward and thus allow a second match to wedge
itself behind the first.
Figures 8 and 9 are views of a modification of an arrangement which
I use for the purpose of striking the match, and which I sometimes
substitute for the swivel plate arrangement shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, 5,
and 6. Figure 8 shows a view of the match struck, and Figure 9 a
view of the mechanism about to carry upward and strike another match.
The rod (h) acts for opening and shutting the gas cocks as previously
described. I also employ the upright tube for containing the matches
(I prefer flaming fusces, and especially a flaming fusee with a splint of
iron wire instead of wood); the upper end of the rod is notched at (t)
to receive a match, and slides in a vertical tube v provided at the top
with pieces w of rough or prepared material, which act as springs
between which the match is pushed, struck, and held as shown in
(Figure 8) a slide x has been drawn back by a link (y), which is actuated
by the rod (h), allowing of the fall of a match ready to be pushed
upwards, as shown in Figure 9, the used match being pushed out by the
match which follows. Instead of actuating the piece x by means of
the link y could sometimes attach it to a spring acted upon by
a ring caused to slide up and down the upright match tube by the
rod h.
Figures 10 and 11 shew a method of striking a match something
similar to that shown in Figures 8 and 9. Figure 10 shows the match
about to be pushed forward and struck, and Figure 11 shows the match
struck.
In this arrangement the tube a is made of a shape suited to hold the
matches in the position shewn in the Figures 10 and 11. In this arrange-
ment the match is pushed forward to be struck by the slide a, which
is notched at (t, and in this arrangement the vertical tube (c) Figures
8 and 9, is not required. In these Figures (10 and 11) it has not been

page_text: thought necessary to show the gas burners and link motion for turning
the gas cock. In other respects Figures 10 and 11 are almost similar to
Figures 8 and 9, the chief difference being that the arrangements provide
for the match being struck horizontally, therefore the same letters of
reference are used to indicate the parts which are similar to those shewn
in Figures 8 and 9.
Figures 12, 13, and 14 shew views of a modification of an arrangement
of the swivel plate almost similar to that shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, 5,
and 6, the same letters of reference being used as in those Figures
(1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, as the parts referred to by them are shown in said
Figures 12, 13, and 14.
Figures 15 and 16 are side view and front view of an arrangement of
my Invention for receiving action from the pressure of the gas itself for
lighting and extinguishing lamps. These Figures also show another
arrangement of the swivel plate. In these Figures 15 and 16 the same
letters of reference are used to denote similar parts.
A is the gas supply pipe leading to the gas burner, and B is a branch
pipe from it leading to a cylinder or chamber C, having a diaphragm D
of leather or flexible or other suitable material across its centre. On the
upper side of this diaphragm rests a disc or piston E, to which is attached
the rod h, which may be connected with mechanism similar to that
before described for striking the matches and turning on or off the gas,
or to mechanism as shown in the Figures 15 and 16 herein-after
described. To the rod is attached one end of a connecting rod or
link F, the other end of which is connected to a crank or projection G
on the swivel plate c, the other letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, m, r, s,
refer to similar parts to those indicated by the same letters in Figures
1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. During the day or when the least
pressure of gas is
on the mains the diaphragm and piston would take the position shown
by dotted lines; but when the extra pressure of gas is turned on at
the main for the night supply that extra pressure of gas combined with
the day pressure acts on the diaphragm D so as to raise it, and with it
the piston E, which acting on the rod h causes a match to be carried
forward and struck by the swivel plate, as shown in Figure 15; when
the pressure of gas is sufficiently lessened the piston falls and extinguishes
the lights. The top of the cylinder C should be perforated to allow the

page_text: air in the upper side of the diaphragm to escape quickly when the
piston is raised, and also to allow the pressure of the atmosphere to
assist the descent of the piston. Sometimes I arrange a small perforated
tube along the side of the gas supply pipe, and sometimes I perforate
the supply pipe from the level of the struck match upwards to the
burner. I then place the swivel or other arrangements considerably
below the burner, and when a match is struck the gas issuing from the
perforations is ignited, each small jet lighting the one above till the
gas issuing from the burner is lighted. The arrangement shewn in
Figures 15 and 16, with slight modifications, would answer for other
gases or other fluids than coal gas.
Figure 17 is a diagram showing an arrangement for connecting lamps
provided with my mechanism for being acted upon by water pressure.
a is the water main; b, the lamps; c, branch pipes leading to the
cylinders of my mechanism; d, the valve or tap for turning on the
water supply, and e, a branch pipe and relief valve or tap. When the
whole series of lamps has to be lighted, fill the water main with water
till it runs out at the relief valve e (and this should always remain full).
Then the relief valve e must be closed and the valve d opened to allow
the water pressure to act on the mechanism fitted to the lamps. When
the lights are to be extinguished the valve e is opened and the valve d
closed, the extra pressure is by that means removed from the pistons of
my water arrangement, which then fall, and the lights are extinguished.
Or one three-way tap similar to those attatched to each cylinder may be
used, and will answer the purpose of the two valves or taps d and e
described above.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed and
carried out in practice, I hereby declare that I claim the Invention
of improvements in apparatus for lighting street and other lamps,
herein described and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings, in
which apparatus the descent of matches issuing for ignition, one at a
time only, and their being steadily held during ignition but capable of
being afterwards easily thrown from where they are held, are important
features.
Also I consider the providing for the use of water power for igniting
purposes another important feature.
It being understood that I do not limit myself to the precise pro-

page_text: portions and positions of details as described and illustrated, nor do I
claim the mere constituent details per se and apart from the purposes
of my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Anthony Hunter, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-
nine.
Witness,
ALEXR. P. WRIGHT,
WILLIAM ANTHONY HUNTER. (L.S.)
Secretary to the
Inventors' Patent Right Association, Limited,
21, Cockspur Street,
Charing Cross,
London, S.W.,
Patentecs' Agent.