Improvements in Lanterns.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lanterns.
A communication from abroad by HEINRICH SCHÜSSLER and WILLY ROSENBERG, of
11, Alexander Strasse, Berlin C., in the Empire of Germany.
1, William Phillips Thompson, F.C.S. M.1.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the
County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Lanterns, and more especially cycle lanterns, have hitherto usually been made with
hinged doors shutting from beneath upwards. With the doors constructed in this
manner, it is difficult to manipulate anything inside the lantern, and more especially
is this the case with regard to the insertion and extraction of the reservoir.
Another great failing in lanterns is that the projecting shaft for regulating the
height of the wick is constructed in one piece, because for inserting or withdrawing
the reservoir with such an axis, a slit is usually made in the side of the lantern case,
which is very difficult to keep airtight.
Through this slit the wind can enter unchecked and extinguish the flame. This
great disadvantage can be prevented by making the said shaft in two parts. That
part which is to project from the lantern is then simply inserted through a hole in
the wall of the case; it is then made to catch the inner part of the shaft and
hold it fast, and a firm connection between the two parts of the shaft is thus
established.
Referring to the drawings
Figure 1 shows a lantern with the shaft for regulating the height of the wick
pushed into position, while in
Figure 2 it is shown disconnected.
Figure 3 shows the lantern with open door.
4

page_text: The shaft for regulating the wick of the lantern consists of two distinct parts & and c.
Of these the inner one b which is supported in the burner d'serves to regulate height
of the wick in the ordinary way; the outer part c has at the end which projects
outside the lantern, a toothed wheel or disc è and a milled adjusting knob f. The
outer part c can furthermore be pushed to and fro in the socket g in the wall h
of the lantern. If desired, a spiral spring or its equivalent may be used to normally
effect the junction of the parts cand b. The inner end of the part c carries a socket i,
in which is a slit of an angular form. Corresponding with this slit and adapted to fit
exactly in it, there is an angular piece k placed at the extremity of the part b. If now
the shaft is to be inserted, the socket. is simply pushed over the part as shown in
Figure 1. In consequence of the angular form of the socket the part k can not turn
therein and the two-parts-b and care thus firmly connected. The part carries a
small hand disc a so that, if necessary, when the shaft is disconnected, the flame can
be regulated inside the lantern. When the flame is suitably regulated, the shaft bc is
fixed in the ordinary manner by means of a toothed wheel e and any customary
ratchet device. Figure 2 shows the shaft drawn out, and therefore the shaft for
regulating the wick set free.
l
According to the second portion of the improvements a sliding door is used on the
lantern instead of the usual hinged one. This is shown in Figures 3 and 4 in which
the door m can be slid along the grooves formed on the lantern. At the bottom of
the lantern there is a socket in which is a bolt n, the said bolt being thrust forward
preferably by means of a spiral spring, or again drawn back and held by means of a
stud-o. In the lower end of the doorm there is a hole p into which the bolt n fits.
When the door is shut a portion of the bolt-n slides through the hole-pin the-door-
and-the latter is thus prevented from falling. Figure 4 illustrates this. If the door
is to be opened, the bolt n is drawn back and fixed in that position by means of the
stud o.
The door then falls automatically by its own weight, as shown in Figure 3,
but to prevent-it-falling altogether out of the lantern, two projections are placed on
the outside at the top of the door, which, on falling, strike against two lugs s at the lower
end of the lantern. This method of construction allows of the thorough cleaning of
the inside of the lantern as also of the polishing of the glass planes and the reflector
in a manner that could never be so conveniently carried out with hinged doors. This
constitutes a very considerable advantage since the illuminating power of the lantern
largely depends on the cleanness of the glass panes and the reflector.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In lanterns or lamps a shaft for regulating the height of the wick consisting of
two parts (b and c) one part (c) of which is provided with a socket (i), into which a
correspondingly shaped piece (E) of the other part (6) is removably fitted, so that the
two parts may be united, and from which the part (e) which projects from the lantern,
passes through a socket (g) in the lantern case, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
.
2. In a lantern a sliding door capable of reciprocating in grooves (1) in the lantern
and of being held in a closed position by means of a spring bolt (n) entering into a
hole (p). and prevented from falling entirely out of the lantern by projections (") and
knobs (s), substantially as described and shown.
1001 L
1000