improvements in Lamps for Burning Hydrocarbon or other Oils.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
improvements in Lamps for Burning Hydrocarbon or other Oils.
I SAMUEL ALBERT JOHNSON, of No. 13 East India Road in the County of
Middlesex 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 stateinent :-
My Invention relating to lamps for burning hydrocarbon or other oils is
applicable to signal and other lamps for railways, head and tail lamps for railway
trains and the like, and to lamps for domestic purposes generally and has for its object
to provide means whereby waste of oil is prevented and a constant uniform or nearly
uniform supply of oil is admitted to the burner of the lamp when in use, it has also
for its object to protect the flame from draughts or sudden currents of air tending to
produce an unsteady light.
In carrying out my invention I arrange the burner or burners of the lamp at the
side of or at a distance from the oil reservoir after the manner of what is known as a
Student's lamp and I connect the said burner or burners by a tube or passage or tubes
or passages with a trough chamber or holder for containing a removable oil reservoir
and into which chamber or holder the oil passes from the reservoir, through an
opening in the reservoir provided with a valve, the oil passing thence from the
chamber through the tubes or passages hereinbefore referred to, to the burner or
burners. In cases where the lamps are subjected to vibrations such for example as
when used on board ship or on railway trains there may be provided in the chamber
to which the burner is fitted, a baffle plate or baffle plates to prevent the oil from
being unduly agitated and from coming into dangerous proximity with the flame or
with the heated wick tube and to prevent dangerous accumulation of gas within the
wick chamber, a vent tube may be provided at or near the base of the burner, through
which the gas in the wick chamber and any overflow of oil may readily escape and
thereby prevent explosions.

page_text: The oil reservoir and the trough or chamber in which it is supported may be made
of any desired shape to suit the purpose for which the lamp is to be used, and the
valve, by which the oil passes from the reservoir into the trough or chamber may be
connected in any suitable manner to a knob or ha nile outside the reservoir so that
the valve may be operated to open and close the passage when desired without
disturbing the reservoir and so that when the reservoir is required to be removed
from the chamber or trough for refilling or other purpose, the valve will be caused to
close the passage and thereby prevent waste of oil froin the reservoir. A convenient
arrangement for connecting the valve to the knob or handle (but which I do not
confine myself to) consists in providing in the reservoir on opposite sides of the
outlet or opening two tubes or passages extending through the said reservoir from
top to bottom thereof through which tubes or passages pass two rods the lower ends
of which are connected together by a plate or bar carrying the valve, whilst the upper
ends of the rods which project through the tubes above the top of the reservoir are
also connected together by another box or plate so as to form a handle by which the
reservoir may be lifted out of the trough or chamber, or by which the valve may he
raised to close the opening in the reservoir without removing the said reservoir from
the trough or chamber. The valve may be maintained in its elevated or closed
position in any convenient manner for example by placing between the handle and
the top of the reservoir a wedge or the like, or a scrow may be fitted to work in a
thread formed in the handle and caused to hear at its end on the top of the reservoir.
When the handle is released the valve will fall by gravity and open the passage in
the reservoir and allow the oil to flow therethrough into the trough or chamber. Or
the cross piece which carries the valve may he made hollow or of a buoyant material
so as to net automatically to open and close the opening in the reservoir, the weight of
the valve and its connections being counterbalanced by a spring or its equivalent, so
that it will fall by gravity and admit oil to the chamber as fast as it is being con-
sumed, but will rise (when the lamp is extinguished) by the rising of the level of the
oil in the chamber and thus close the opening in the reservoir, and cut off the supply.
The chamber is thus supplied with oil from the reservoir in the same proportion and
as fast as it is being consumed, and consequently the light will be maintained uniform.
If desired the oil reservoir may be arranged to turn on pivots or otherwise in the
outer chamber or trough so that it may be turned into position for refilling with oil
without removing it from the chamber for that purpose.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying drawings arrangements
for carrying out my invention, premising however that I do not restrict myself to the
details of construction hereinafter referred to, the arrangements illustrated being
simply examples of modes of carrying out my invention from which its application to
other lamps may be readily understood.
Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections at right angles to each other of a locomotive
head lamp constructed according to my Invention. Figure 1 being a section taken
along the line 1 2 in Figure 2, and Figure 2 a section taken along the line 3-4 in
Figure 1. Figure 3 is a vertical section through the oil reservoir along the line 5-6
in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a two armed suspension lamp,
constructed according to my invention.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 A is the ordinary casing or lantern of a locomotive
head lamp, containing my improved lamp, which is fitted to slide thereinto. B is tho
burner of the lamp screwed into a collar C in the wick chamber D into which the
wick tube and wick enters. At the rear of the wick chamber D is a trough or
recess for the reception of the removable oil reservoir F, which reservoir is made
separate from the body of the lamp and simply rests in the trough D₁ so that it can
be readily removed therefrom when required. The oil reservoir which may be made
of any shape required is provided at the bottom with an opening 1, through which the
oil passes from the reservoir to feed the burner when the lamp is in use.
This
opening is provided with a valve K, connected to the lower ends of two rods L
which extend upwards to outside the top of the reservoir through tubes or passages M
formed or provided in the interior of the said reservoir. The upper projecting unds

page_text: of the rods L are connected together by a piece N constituting a bandle by which
the reservoir may be carried. The valve K. may be connected to the lower ends of
the rods L by a bar tending to maintain the valve constantly open, so that in order
to close the opening I, it would be necessary to raise the valve by means of the
handle N. Or the valve K and the piece by which it is connected to the rods L
may be made of material sufficiently buoyant to rise with the oil entering the
trough D so as to automatically close the passage I, or as shewn in my drawing
the piece O which connects the valve K to the rods L may be in the form of a
hollow box or chamber the weight of which is counterbalanced by a spring or
springs P placed beneath the handle N so as to render it sufficiently buoyant to
close the passage from the roservoir when the level of the oil in the trough rises
to a certain height and to descend as the oil is consumed so as to open the passage
to admit more oil into the trough; by this means a constant and uniform supply of
oil to the burner is automatically maintained. When it is desired to cut off the
supply of oil to the burner the valve K is raised by means of the handle N so as to
close the passage I, and it may be retained in its closed position by inserting a
wedge between the handle and the top of the reservoir as herein before described or
by any other convenient means. The oil from the reservoir which enters the trough D¹
passes thence through the passage or passages Q into the wick chamber D in which
chamber baffle plates as shewn at R may be provided to prevent, when the lamp is
subjected to vibration undue agitation of the oil and also to prevent it coming into
dangerous contact with the flame or with the heated portion of the wick tube and to
further guard against accidents by explosions, there may be provided in proximity
to the base of the burner a vent tube as shewn at S through which any gas that
may be generated in the chamber D) as well as any overflow of oil at the burner may
readily escape.
A chimney is not required to be used with this lamp but in order to prevent
currents or gusts of air, caused by the vibrations of the lamp from impinging on the
flame as to cause it to become unsteady. I support above the burner by the arms t
attached to the cap E of the burner, a shield T so as to divert such current away from
the flame. a is an opening through which the reservoir F is supplied with oil which
opening is closed by a screwed plug b.
The oil reservoir may be cylindrical or of any other desired form suitable to the
purpose for which the lamp is to be used, and instead of it being entirely separated
from the holder for the purpose of filling it with oil, it may be arranged to turn on
pivots or the like in the holder, so that when the reservoir requires to be refilled it
may be turned on its pivot so as to present the charging opening therein uppermost.
An arrangement of this kind is illustrated in Figure 4, the oil reservoir F being of
spherical form and fitted to turn on pivots c in the outer vessel or casing D'.
From this chamber are branches U having passages therein communicating with the
wick chambers D of the burners B.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In lamps for burning hydrocarbon or other oils, a removable oil reservoir
provided with a valve capable of being operated from the exterior to open and close
the supply aperture from the reservoir to the burner or burners of the lamp without
removing the reservoir froin or disturbing it in its holder substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. In lamps for burning hydrocarbon or other oils a detached and removable
oil reservoir provided with a handle connected to a valve in such a manner that
on lifting the reservoir by the handle, the valve will be caused to close an opening
in the reservoir through which the oil passes to feed the burner or burners of the
lamp, in combination or not with means for maintaining the valve closed substantially.
as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 3. In lamps for burning hydrocarbon or other oils a removable oil reservoir having
an opening or passage therein through which the oil passes from the reservoir into an
outer chamber on its way to the burner, the said reservoir being provided with a
huoyant valve, which will rise and fall with the rise and fall of the level of the oil in
the outer chamber and thereby automatically open and close the passage for the oil
substantially as and for the purpose hereinhefore described.
4. In a lamp for burning hydrocarbon or other oils constructed substantially as
described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings a shield or guard (T)
arranged above the burner substantially as and for the purpose bereinbefore described.
Dated this 12th day of March 1889.