Improvements in Apparatus for Registering Automatically the Length of Time during which Street Lamps have been Burning.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 2nd June, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Registering Automatically
the Length of Time during which Street Lamps have been
Burning.
A communication to me from PAUL OTTO, Manager of Gasworks, and ARNOLD
PEYCKE, Merchant, both of Cuxhaven, in the Empire of Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the Firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 65 and 66 Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
leclare 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 and accompanying drawing, that is to say :—
The present invention relates to an apparatus which registers automatically the
length of time during which a lamp has been burning. Such an apparatus consists
essentially of clockwork the balance or escapement of which is acted upon by a
stop or detent when the cock is opened or closed, this stop being coupled with the
key of the clock.
The improved apparatus of the kind described is illustrated in the accompanying
drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a side view shewing the upper part of a lamp provided with
apparatus of the kind described.
Figure 2 illustrates the lower part of Figure 1 upon a larger scale.
Figure 3 is a side view of the case containing the clockwork by which the
registering apparatus is actuated. Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section, and
Figure 6 a vertical longitudinal section, through the said case.
Figure 4 is a view, upon a larger scale, of the gas supply cock and the device by
which it is operated (shewing the cock closed), and Figure 7 is a similar view,
shewing the cock open.
The key or lever a of the cock b enters the fork c of a lever d turning upon a
pivot e fastened to the back fl of the case f of the apparatus. This case is
fastened to the lamp frame g and encloses the clockwork h. To the back f¹ of the
case is also fixed a curved spring i, the pin i¹ of which reaches into the case f.
In the terminal position of the lever d (as illustrated by full lines in Figure 4) the
spring will be without influence, that is to say its pin i does not engage with the
balance of the clockwork h. But in the position of the lever & shewn by dotted
lines, this pin is pressed in, so that it reaches the balance and stops the clockwork.
If we suppose now that the plug of the cock allows the gas to pass to the burner as
long as the lever d is in the position drawn by dotted lines (Figure 4,) the clock-
work will be arrested as soon as the cock is opened and the lamp is lighted, but is
set in motion again by extinguishing the lamp. That is to say the registering
device can only work as long as the flow of the gas remains interrupted. The
5 arrangement may however be modified so that the registering device works only as
long as the lamp is burning. In this case the bore of the plug of the cock b is
arranged in reference to the lever a as illustrated by Figure 7. In the arrangement
illustrated in the drawing the registering device consists of a disc (Figures 5
and 6) fixed on the axle h², of the hand or pointer in such a manner that it may be
10 changed without any difficulty. If we suppose that the back of the case has
been brought into the closed position, the point of a capillary tube touches this
In the
wall. This capillary tube / receives the writing fluid from a receptacle m.
arrangement shewn in the drawing the dial plate n is arranged within the case f
but it may evidently be arranged on the outer side of the front wall of the latter
45 as shewn in dotted lines in Figure 5.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improved apparatus for registering automatically the length of time
during which street lamps are burning, consisting of a pin i fixed to a spring i, this
spring pin being forced into the balance h¹ of clockwork as soon as the key or
lever a of the cock is brought into its opened position, by means of an arm d
coupled to it, so as to stop the clockwork, the length of time during which the
latter has worked, being registered by means of a device k, l, m, Figures 5 and 6.
2. The improved apparatus for registering automatically the length of time
during which street lamps are burning, consisting of a pin i fixed to a spring i, this
pin being caused to leave the balance of a clockwork has soon as the key or
fever a of the cock is brought into its opened position, by means of an arm d
coupled to it, so as to set in motion the clockwork, the length of time during which
the latter has worked being registered by means of a device k, l, m, Figures 5
and 6.
Dated this 10th day of April 1804
EDWARDS & Co.,
65 & 66, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.