IMPROVE- MENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF LAMPS
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
MARTINSON ROBINSON, of the Minories, in the City of London, Paint and
Varnish Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighteenth day of February, in the sixth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Martinson Robinson, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Henry Martinson Robinson, my exors, admors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Martinson Robinson, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed..
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF LAMPS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that I, the said Henry Martinson Robinson, shall causo
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after

page_text: the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Martinson Robinson, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to those descriptions of lamps constructed and used
for the purposes of illumination, and called essential oil, petroleum, naptha, or
spirit lamps, in consequence of such lamps being adapted to consume such
materials, and my improvements in such descriptions of lamps consist,―
First, in the application of plates or surfaces of talc in place of metal or
glass, as hereafter described.
Secondly, in constructing the wick-holder of these descriptions of lamps of
an open framing, whereby the material which is being burned may be more
equally applied to the wick, and in making such wick-holders of two parts, and
applying a hinge at the lower end that it may be opened to receive the wick
more freely.
Thirdly, in the application of a rack and pinion movement to the wick-
holders of these descriptions of lamps, whereby the wicks can be raised or
Jowered, and consequently adjusted with greater facility than the wicks of such
descriptions when made according to the old construction.
And fourthly, the forming of the upper parts of the wick-holder of a convex
curved form, and also the giving a like figure to the tale or other surfaces
placed on either side to confine the flame, as hereafter described.
In order that my Invention may bo fully understood and readily carried into
effect, I will now describe the Drawing annexed, which represents a lamp
suitable for burning essential oil, naptha, or spirits such as are usually burned
in these descriptions of lamps; Figure 1 is a front view; Figure 2 an edge
view of a lamp having my improvements applied thereto; Figure 3 are plates
of tale shown separately; and Figure 4 is a wick-holder shown separately with
its rack and pinion movement. In each of these Figures the same letters
indicate similar parts wherever they occur; a, a, being the body of the lamp,
which may be made to the shape or figure desired; b, b, are two plates of
talc placed in suitable grooves formed in the gallery or upper part of the lamp
which receives the glass or chimney, as shown by dotted lines; and e, e, are
the other plates of tale which are placed horizontally, as shown. It will be
found that by the application of surfaces or plates of tale in place of metal or

page_text: glass, there will be these advantages, that the transparency of the talc will
allow of the passage of the rays of light from the flame, whilst at the same
time it will not like glass be prejudicially acted on by the heat. The plates or
surfaces of talc b, b, are formed of a convex curved surface at the upper edge, in
order to adapt it to the figure of the wick-holder, but it will be evident that it may
be made straight in like manner to the metal or glass plates formerly employed
to confine the flame; c, c, is the wick-holder, which will be seen to be composed
of two plates or open surfaces hinged together at their lower end d, d, by
which means the same may be opened or closed with facility, and without
being so liable to injury as when formed of a plate of metal bent or folded, and
only capable of being opened by the elasticity of the material. The holder
shown in the Drawing consists of a series of narrow plates joined together at
top and bottom with other plates; the upper part is formed of a convex curved
surface in order to obtain a greater length of flame than the width of the
lamp would produce were the same in a straight line.
I would remark, that although I have shown the holder as consisting of a
series of narrow openings proceeding from top to bottom, it will be evident as
the object is to obtain a better and more uniform supply of the material (which
is being burned) to the wick, the openings for that purpose may be made in
any other direction; f is a rack aflixed to one side of the wick-holder; this
rack works in a square tube affixed in the upper part of the lamp, there being
suitable bearings for the axis of the pinion, and an enlargement of the tube to
receive the pinion itself, as is clearly shown by dotted lines in Figure 2. By
the application of such rack and pinion movement to the wick-holders of these
descriptions of lamps, great facility will be obtained in raising and lowering
the wicks in order to adjust the flame.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim as my improvements
are,-
First, the application of plates or surfaces of talc b, b, e, e, as above described.
Secondly, the constructing the wick-holders of such descriptions of lamps of
an open or perforated framework in place of unperforated plates, whereby the
material (being burned) will be more readily permitted to pass, and be more
equally supplied to the wicks, and also in forming the wick-holders of two
parts hinged together at bottom, as above described.
Thirdly, the application of the rack and pinion movement to the wick-
holders of these descriptions of lamps, but I do not claim the raising of the
wicks of lamps generally by such movement.

page_text: And fourthly, I claim the forming of the upper parts of the wick-holders
of a convex curved form, and also the forming of the talc or other surfaces
placed on either side to confine the flame to the same shape or figure, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Martinson Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
HENRY MARTINSON (L.B.) ROBINSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord 1836, the aforesaid Henry Martinson Robinson, came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One