Improvements in Means for Automatically Extinguishing Lamps, Especially Adapted for Use in Railway Vehicles or the like.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improvements in Means for Automatically Extinguishing Lamps,
Especially Adapted for Use in Railway Vehicles or the like.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Austin Berry of Warden in the County of
Shefford and Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada 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 for its object to provide means for automatically extinguishing
the flame of lamps in a railway or other car or vehicle or the like when it is either
upsetting or colliding so as to prevent the vehicle from taking fire and further to
enable the said lamps to be conveniently extinguished at any desired time.
According to this invention there is provided a tank supplied with compressed air
which may be done from the air brake cylinder or reservoir where one is present.
A weight or push rod and levers are employed for opening at the proper time as
hereinafter described a valve in connection with the air tank so that a blast of air
under pressure is discharged from the tank onto the respective lamp burners to
extinguish the flame. The weight is arranged so that it will gravitate when the
vehicle assumes an inclined position, resulting from upsetting or in case of collision,
a rod or the like will be moved endwise to operate a lever to open the said valve and
discharge air under pressure through the pipes to extinguish the flame of the lamps
as aforesaid.
I will describe the Invention more particularly as applied to a railway car having
an air brake cylinder from which its general application will be understood.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents the interior of a car in elevation

page_text: showing the lamp extinguishing apparatus applied thereto according to this Invention.
Figure 2 is a top view of the air tank detached from the car and Figure 3 is a
section of the same the section being taken on the line X X Figure 2.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures:-
A represents the floor of the car, B the air brake cylinder and C a tank supplied
with compressed air from the cylinder B through the connecting pipe E, which is
provided with a check valve E' (Fig. 3) to retain the compressed air after the outside
pressure has been removed.
The tank C, has an outlet pipe 1), provided with a valve G, having a spindle
inserted and fixed at the intersection of cruciform arms or levers H, outside the
tank.
I, I, I, I, are rails rods or guides disposed one at each side so as to extend around
above the tank C and carried in brackets at each corner.
J, are weights capable of sliding one on each rail I so that one or other of the
weights will gravitate in the direction the car tips when upsetting. Each rail I, is
provided with a sleeve K capable of sliding thereon which by a rod F is connected
with one of the cruciform arms H. L are pipes from the outlet pipe D from the
tank, and running through the car toward each lamp and there provided with outlets
to discharge a blast of air to extinguish the flame of the burner or burners when the
car upsets. The weight when gravitating as the car inclines strikes against the
sleeve K on the same rail I with it thereby causing the said sleeve to slide on
the rail and cause the cruciform arms to rotate the spindle of and open the valve G
to cause a discharge of air under pressure to extinguish the flames of the lamps.
The rails I are preferably slightly inclined downwards towards where the weight
is normally situated to keep the weight from contact with the sleeve when the cars
are in normal running motion on the rails.
The arms H after each operation of the weights to open the air valve as aforesaid
have to be returned by hand to close the valve and the weights J have to be reset
to their former position.
N is a rod having one end attached to one of the cruciform arms H and extending
forward to the end of the car so that in case of the cars colliding or telescoping the
said rod will be thrust back to open the valve G and cause the lamps to be extin-
guished as aforesaid.
O, is a branch pipe connecting the tank C with the distributing pipes L and said
branch pipe O being provided with a cock P so that by turning the cock (which may
be done from the inside of the car or other suitable place) the lights can be simul-
taneously extinguished at any time by a blast of air from the tank.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of this Invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :—
First The means for extinguishing the flame of lamps in vehicles or the like by
an air blast conducted to the lamps from a compressed air supply substantially as
hereinbefore described.
Second-The combination with a railway car or vehicle or the like provided with
an air brake cylinder of a tank supplied with compressed air from the said cylinder,
pipes, from the said tank leading to the vicinity of the lamps in the car or the like
and a valve opening to discharge air from the tank through the pipes to extinguish the
flame of the lamps substantially as hereinbefore described.
Third: The combination with a railway car or vehicle or the like of means for
extinguishing the flame of lamps by a current of compressed air as described and
means for operating the valve for the discharge of the said air for extinguishing the
flame when a collision occurs substantially as hereinbefore described.
Fourth-The combination with a railway car or vehicle or the like having an air
brake cylinder of an air tank and pipes leading therefrom to the lamps in the car or
the like and a valve in the outlet of the said tank operated so as to be opened
automatically by a weight gravitating on the upsetting of the car or the like to

page_text: cause a discharge of air from the tank to extinguish the flame of the lamps as
hereinbefore set forth.
Fifth-The combination with the valve G of the rails I, I, I, I, sliding weights J
and sleeves K, rods Farms or levers H and pipes L whereby the gravitation of a
weight will automatically operate the valve substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Sixth-The arrangement and combination of parts for automatically extinguishing
the flame of lamps as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.