IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS OR LANTERNS
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LAMPS OR LANTERNS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement.
Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of the lantern arranged for use,
Figure 2 is a like view of the same from the rear, Figure 3 is a perspective view
of said lantern from the front the door being opened and a portion of the side wall
broken away to show, the operative parts of the lighting and extinguishing
mechanism. Figures 4, 5 and 6 are respectively perspective views of the match-
carrier, the housing for the same and the igniting spring separated from each other.
Figure 7 is a cross section of said housing separated from said carrier. Figure 8 is
a like view of said parts combined. Figure 9 is a front elevation of the latter.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the lantern as constructed for use with a
bicycle.
..
Figure 11 is a vertical central section of the same upon a line passing from front
to rear.
Figure 12, is a perspective view of one of the boxes by means of which said
lantern is suspended from the axle of a bicycle and
Figure 13 is a like view of one of the washers and holders separated from
their box.
Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.
This invention relates to improvements in lamps or lanterns.
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One object thereof is to facilitate the lighting and extinguishing and another the
ready attachment or fixing of a lamp say to the axle of a bicycle for instance.
Although the construction is described chiefly in reference to a bicycle lamp it
is obviously applicable to other lamps also.
In the annexed drawings
A and A represent the sides. B the back, C the bottom, D the top and E the
front of the casing of the lantern which casing is constructed from sheet metal, and
has preferably the general form shown. Said front E is hinged and capable of

page_text: being opened, and at a suitable point within the same is a glazed opening e
through which light from a lamp may pass outward from said casing. Within the
lower portion of the interior of the casing is a false bottom F which extends from
the front E nearly to the back B and upon the same is placed a lamp G that
is provided with a burner g which has a wick g¹ that is raised or lowered by any
usual means the mechanism used for such purpose being operated by an ordinary
wick wheel shaft g. Said lamp is held in place upon said false bottom by means
of two raised strips of which are secured to or formed from the latter and engage
with two flanges 93 that project from the sides at the bottom of said lamp as
shown in Fig. 3. Secured to the back B is an annular housing H which has the
form in cross section shown in Fig. 7, and receives and contains a ring I that
loosely fills the space between said back and the front wall of said housing and
has such diameter of interior as to enable it to revolve easily upon the central
cylindrical portion of the latter.
1
The arrangement of said parts with relation to the lamp G is such as to bring
the radial centre of said ring opposite to the wick g¹ as it projects from the burner
tube.
At suitable points within the ring I are provided grooves i which extend in a
line with the axis from side to side and transversely have such dimensions as to
enable each to receive and loosely contain the prepared end of a friction match K
which latter are inserted through a series of openings 6 that are provided in the
back B and are relatively arranged so that when said ring is properly placed each
will coincide with one of said grooves. At the upper centre of the housing H its
front wall is cut away and at one side of such opening h a flat spring L is secured
to said housing with one end which is serrated or toothed projecting into said
opening.
If now the spaces or grooves i of the ring I are each provided with a friction
match K that has such length as to permit its prepared end to just clear the front
wall of the housing H and said ring or holder is rotated in the direction necessary
to cause said matches to pass outward from beneath the spring L it will be found
that each match will be ignited as it passes from beneath the serrated end 7 of said
spring and will burn with a flame sufficient to ignite the wick g¹. Motion is
imparted to the ring or carrier I by a cam M which is rotated by means of a rod m
that projects through the back B of the casing and is provided with a single radial
spur m¹ which at each revolution engages with one of a series of teeth that are
provided upon the periphery of said carrier. The body of said cam is cylindrical
and after said spur m¹ has passed out of engagement with said carrier the body of
said cam engages with and loosely fills a corresponding concavity that is provided
within the periphery of the same and operating, in the same manner as the
ordinary stop mechanism of watches, prevents motion of said carrier in either
direction until said cam has rotated sufficiently to bring said spur into engagement
with another tooth ¹.
In order that the matches K may be removed from the carrier I after they have
been used, the inner wall of the housing H is removed to form an opening h¹ at a
point slightly beyond that where each match rests after ignition as seen in Fig. 9.
When now said carrier is rotated to ignite and bring into position a fresh match
the match last before used will pass over said opening h¹ and - will usually fall
through the same into the lower portion of the casing. As however a match may
occasionally stick to said carrier and not of its own motion fall from the same, a
groove is provided within the periphery of said carrier and has such depth as to.
cause it to intersect each groove Into said groove ³ is fitted a spring N which
is arranged so that its free end will come into engagement with the burned match
and press the same downward out of its transverse recess i at the instant that the
latter coincides with the opening h¹ by which means the removal of a match after
use is certain and automatic.
.
The igniting device described renders unnecessary the opening of the door of the
casing for the purpose of lighting the lamp and in order that the latter may be as

page_text: readily extinguished, we pivot one end of a rod O to or upon one of the sides A
and to its opposite free end secure a cap o that is adapted to fit over the wick g¹
when said rod is turned downward to the position shown by the dotted lines of Fig. 3.
A rod P having one end pivoted to said rod O near the pivotal bearing of the
latter and its opposite end journalled eccentrically within one end of the cam M
connects said parts so that the rotation of the latter to bring into position and
ignite a match will cause said cap or extinguisher, o to be raised to the position
shown by the full lines of Fig. 3 while a farther partial rotation of said cam will
cause said extinguisher to be turned downward over the wick as seen by dotted
lines of said figure It will be seen that by the use of the mechanism described a
partial rotation of the operating cam will cause to be uncovered and ignited and
the match last burned to he removed while by the completion of one full rotation
of said cam the light will be extinguished and the lantern restored to its normal
condition.
The openings b within the back B through which matches are placed within the
carrier I are closed when not in use by means of a plate Q which is placed between
said back and carrier is adapted to be partially rotated upon or around the axial
centre of the latter and is provided with openings that correspond in number size
and relative position to the like features of said openings b and may be caused to
coincide therewith or the solid portions of said plate may be moved over said
openings 6 and the same closed as desired.
When it is desired to fill said carrier said register plate Q is (by means of a lug q
that projects from its upper end outward through an opening b¹ in said back B)
moved until the openings coincide with said openings b; a match K.is then passed
through each of the latter and said register closed. In order that matches may be
easily broken to length for use in the carrier or holder and may be conveniently
stored until required the space between the real and false bottoms C and F is
partitioned off at one end, to form a box R which is enclosed by means of a slide c
as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
Said box has a depth from said slide inward just equal to the desired length of
match and within said slide is provided a round opening c¹ that has such diameter
as to permit of the insertion of a match which is pushed inward until its inner
prepared end touches the rear side of said box when by a sideways movement of its
outer portion, the latter outside of said slide is broken off leaving the necessary
part within the box where it is safely stored until needed for use.
The lantern thus constructed can be easily and quickly lighted or extinguished
without opening whereby it is available in any kind of weather while its operative
mechanism is simple efficient and inexpensive and not liable to get out of order,
and requires no other care than to occasionally supply the match holder with matches.
For use upon a bicycle, the casing has the form shown in Figs. 10 and 11 the
side of the same being inclined downward and inward to conform to the space
between the spokes of the main wheel of the bicycle below its axle. The match
box R is arranged upon the front of the casing so as to be readily accessible when
the lantern is in use and within each side of said casing is provided a light opening
which is enclosed by means of a colored glass S.
Within the back of said casing immediately above the match carrier I is a convex
refractor T that is placed wholly in rear of said back and at its centre is provided
with a light opening which is enclosed by a colored glass t.
The lantern is suspended from the axle of the bicycle by the following described
means viz:-Extending from the top of the casing, vertically upward and thence in
a curve rearward upward forward and downward are two rods U which are
separated laterally a distance nearly equal to the length of the box V, that is to he
used, and to the lower sides of which said box is secured. A second similar box V1
is hinged at one edge to the rear edge of said box V and has secured to its lower side at
its longitudinal centre a V shaped rod W which is arranged with its point w downward'
and its rear arro terminate in an eye w¹ through which may be passed one of the
fingers of the user. The rod W has such length as to cause its lower end to impinge

page_text: upon the top D when said box V₁ is closed in which position said parts are locked
by the engagement of the point w of said rod with a depression d in the top
cover D. The spring of the plate composing said cover is sufficient to permit said
point w to be easily moved out of or into said groove d and when in engagement
with the same to lock said parts in place. As thus arranged in order that the
lantern may be suspended from the axle of a bicycle, one finger of the operative is
placed within the ring or eye w¹ and said part together with the lower box V₁
swung rearward and upward to the position shown by dotted lines of Fig. 11 so as
to permit of the placing of the upper box. V over said axle, after which said lower
box is turned downward to the position shown by the dotted lines of said figure
and locked in place by the engagement of the point w with the groove d.
Each box V and V₁ is provided at or near each end with the usual half washer v
which combined with similar half washers in the opposite box, form the bearings
upon the axle. In order that said washers may be securely held in place and may
be easily inserted or removed each is fitted into a holder X which has the form
shown in Fig. 13, and is constructed from sheet metal bent into the desired form
and having its doubled end attached to the inner face of its box.
The holder X has such shape as to cause it to embrace the sides and one end of
its washer v leaving the opposite end of the same uncovered and permitting of the
ready insertion or removal of said washer. In order that the accidental removal
of the latter may be prevented each holder is placed so that the friction of the axle
within the washers will have a tendency to crowd them into the closed ends of
their holders.
Having now described the said invention and the manner of performing the
same as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim;
1. A lantern in which are combined the following elements to wit:—a lamp
provided with a wick or other flame producing equivalent, a carrier adapted to
receive and contain friction matches, means whereby said carrier may be moved to
bring each match successively into contact with or position near to said wick,
means whereby each match is ignited as it moves to position near said wick and
means whereby each burned match is automatically expelled from said carrier as
the succeeding match is ignited and moved into position for lighting said wick
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. A lantern in which are combined with the lamp, means whereby the burner
wick may be automatically ignited and extinguished by the rotation of one key
substantially as and for the purpose shown.
3. The combination with the wick g' the carrier or holder I contained within
the housing H and provided with the grooves i, teeth and concavities ³, the
spring L having the serrated end and the cam M provided with the spur m²
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination of the housing H provided with the opening h' the carrier I
having the transverse grooves i, and peripheral intersecting groove is and the
spring N with mechanism substantially as described whereby said carrier may be
rotated substantially as and for the purpose described.
5. In combination with a lantern, a match holder or carrier adapted to be filled
through the back of the casing of said lantern without opening the same substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
6. The lantern having the sides of its casing made tapering and provided with
the glazed light openings S and t reflector T and means whereby said lantern may
be suspended from the axle of a bicycle substantially as and for the purpose shown.
7. In combination with the casing the rods U stationary box V and hinged
box V¹ substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
8. In combination with the semi-annular washers vand boxes V and V₁ the
sheet metal holders X secured within said boxes and arranged to embrace the sides
and one end of each washer substantially as and for the purpose shown and
described.

page_text: 9th. In combination with the hinged box V₁ the V shaped rod W having the
eye w and point w¹ secured to said box and adapted to engage with a groove d in
the covering plate D substantially as and for the purpose specified.
10th. The herein before described lantern in which are combined with the casing
and lamp the annular rotating match holder, the friction spring, the carrier
housing, the extinguisher and means whereby said match holder and extinguisher
may be operated said parts constructed to operate substantially as and for the
purpose shown.