Improvements in and relating to wick Tubes for Petroleum and the like Lamps.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 11th June, 1896-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to wick Tubes for Petroleum and
the like Lamps.
I, NATHAN DWIGHT INGRAM, of No. 511 High Street, in the City of Holyoke,
County of Hampden, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to lamp burners and is adapted for use on lamps for
burning petroleum or other suitable oils, the object being to provide improved
wick-holding and controlling devices for such burners; and the invention consists
in the peculiar construction of the wick-tube of the burner and devices co-operating
therewith for controlling said wick and forming an extinguisher, all as hereinafter
fully described.
In carrying my invention into practice the wick-tube consists of two clements,
hereinafter called X and Y for the sake of clearness. Said element X, containing
one tube side and two narrow edges of the tube standing at right angles to said
tube side, and having thereon the two ears which are perforated to form bearings
or supports for the wick-operating shaft.
Two lips one on each of said edges and preferably opposite each other are
provided for engagement with said wick-tube element Y, as below described.
Said wick-tube element Y, similarly to said element X, consists of a tube side
and two narrow turned-up borders. The width of said element Y, is such that it is
adapted to fit freely into said tube element X, between the borders thereof.
Said tube element Y, has ears on its borders in which are elongated openings or
slots through which said wick-operating shaft passes freely.
Said shaft thus serves to retain the lower portion of said wick-tube element Y, in
operative position relative to the adjoining part of the wick-tube element X, and at
the same time permits said element Y, to have a certain degree of free end wise and
oscillatory motion, as and for a purpose below described.
Said wick-tube element Y is provided with a, recess in each of its borders over
which recesses the said lips of said tube element X, are turned.
Said lips are not in any close or forcible contact with said recessed portions of
said element borders but they tend to prevent the upper end of the tube element Y,
from swinging unduly away from the adjoining tube side, of the tube element X,
and effect other action of the element Y, as below described.
The engagement of said lips with the said recesses in the borders of the tube
element Y, are also sufficiently free to permit of a certain degree of free endwise
movement of said last named element under said lips, whereby the upper end of the
tube side of the element Y is given a movement, approximately, relative to the
inner adjoining side of the tube side of the tube-element X.
The portions of the borders of said recesses act against the upper edges of
the aforesaid lips when the said tube clements Y, shall be moved downward, as
aforesaid, thereby swinging the upper end of said element toward the adjoining
tube side of the tube-element X.
Furthermore, the above-named connection between the said tube elements X
and Y,, which is effected by the engagement of said lips with the said borders is
such as to provide for a certain degree of end wise motion in the said element Y,
when the wick is moved up and down in the wick-tube.
The lower end of the tube side of said element Y is turned slightly outward to
prevent its engagement with said wick when it is raised.

page_text: Said side has one or more slots therethrough opposite the toothed wick-engaging
wheels which are fixed on said shaft.
The said slots are of such extent upwardly, relative to the extremities of the
teeth of said wick-engaging wheels that a slight downward movement of the tube
element Y, brings the upper ends of one or both of said slots into engagement with
said wheels, and thereby their rotation is stoppel, and the downward movement of
the wick is arrested.
Said slight downward movement of said element Y, is permitted by the engaging
adjustment of the said recesses and lips but such freedom of engagement as said
element Y, does not permit of the separation of the latter from the element X,
though there be no wick in the tube.
The operation of the above described improvements, is as follows:-
The wick is introduced into the wick-tube between the tube sides at the bottom
end of the latter, and being pushed in far enough to become engaged with the
wick engaging wheels the latter through their shaft being rotated by grasping the
turning disk in the usual manner, and the wick is thereby fully entered into said
tube, and the said tube-elements then assume their positions, which are those
which they normally occupy while the wick is lighted, or raised to a position
which permits of lighting it, and no change takes place if the wick be additionally
raised from time to time.
When, however, the wick is lowered by turning wick shaft and wheels in the
usual way, the tube element Y, is, to a greater or less extent, frictionally engaged
by the side of said wick which is in contact therewith, and is thereby moved
slightly downward, and as soon as the upper extremity of said wick shall have
passed between the upper extremities of the two tube sides of the wick-tube
element X, the said tube side of the element Y swings away and at the same time
drops downward.
Said downward movement of said tube side causes the engagement of the upper
end of the aforesaid slots with the wick wheels thereby arresting their rotary
movement and stopping the wick and holding it fixed in the wick-tube.
The light is ordinarily extinguished when the upper end of said wick enters
between said tube sides as described; but whether it be so or not, it cannot be
moved further downward, for the wick shaft and wick engaging wheels cannot be
rotated, and the said wick is engaged by said wheels.
Consequently, the above described wick-tube and wick controlling devices
constructed and operating as described, constitute, also, a most effective wick-guard
or arrester, whereby a lamp-wick cannot, whether lighted or otherwise, be fed
downward into the fountain of a lamp, and the risk of an explosion be thereby
incurred.
Dated this 9th day of June 1896
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
CATION.
Improvements in and relating to Wick Tubes for Petroleum and
the like Lamps.
1, NATHAN DWIGHT INGRAM, of No. 511 High Street, in the City of Holyoke,
County of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Inventor, 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 statement:-
This invention relates to lamp burners and is adapted for use on lamps for
burning petroleum or other suitable oils, the object being to provide improved

page_text: wick-holding and controlling devices for such burners; and the invention consists
in the peculiar construction of the wick-tube of the burner and devices co-operating
therewith for controlling said wick and forming an extinguisher, all as hereinafter
fully described.
In the drawings forming part of this specification,―
Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections of a lamp burner containing wick-holding
and controlling devices embodying my improvements, said figure illustrating said
devices in different operative positions, as below described.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figures 1 and 2, but illustrating the wick-tube and
contiguous devices in side elevation.
Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4, Figure 3.
Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged perspective views of the two wick-tube elements of
the burner.
In the drawing, A indicates the portion of the bedy of the burner in which the
wick-tube is ordinarily placed. B indicates the wick-tube which is located in, aud
supported by, said body portion A.
Said wick-tube consists of two elements C and D. Said element C, contains
one side E, and two narrow edges d, d, of the tube standing at right angles to said
side E, and having thereon the two ears f, f, which are perforated to form bearings
or supports for the wick-operating shaft 2.
Two lips a, a, one on each of said edges d, and preferably opposite each other,
as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 5,-are provided for engagement with said wick-
tube element D, as below described.
Said wick-tube element D, similarly to said element C, consists of a side F,
(Figures 3 and 6), and two narrow turned-up borders i, i. The width of said
element D, is such that it is adapted to fit freely into said tube element C, between
the borders d, d, thereof, as shown in Figure 3.
Said tube element D, has the ears o, o, on its borders in which are elongated
openings or slots through which said wick-operating shaft z, passes freely.
Said shaft thus serves to retain the lower portion of said wick-tube element D,
in operative position relative to the adjoining part of the wick-tube element C, and
at the same time permits said element D, to have a certain degree of free endwise
and oscillatory motion, as and for á purpose below described.
Said wick-tube element D, has a recess n, in each of its borders i, over which
recesses the said lips a, a, of said tube element C, are turned.
Said lips a, a, are not in any close or forcible contact with said recessed
portions n, n, of said element borders i, i, but they tend to prevent the upper
end of the tube element D, from swinging unduly away from the adjoining side E,
of the tube element C, and effect other action of the element D, as below
described.
The engagement of said lips a, a, with the said recesses n, n, in the borders i, i,
of the tube element D, are also sufficiently free to permit of a certain degree of
free endwise movement of said last-named element under said lips, whereby the
upper end of the side F, is given a movement, approximately, from the position in
which it is shown in Figures 1 and 3, to that which it is shown to occupy in
Figure 2, relative to the inner adjoining side of the side E, of the tube-
element C.
The portions 5, of the borders of said recesses n, n, act against the upper edges
of said lips a, a, when the said tube elements D, shall be moved downward, as
aforesaid, thereby swinging the upper end of said element toward the adjoining
side E, of the tube-element C, as shown in Figure 2.
Furthermore, the above-named connection between the said tube elements C
and D, which is effected by the engagement of sail lips a, a, with the said
borders i, i, is such as to provide for a certain degree of endwise motion in the said
element D, when the wick P, is moved up and down in the wick-tube B.
The lower end of the side F, of said element D, is turned slightly outward at y,
to prevent its engagement with said wick when it is raised..

page_text: Said side F, has one or more slots s, therethrough, (see Figure 3,) opposite the
toothed wick-engaging wheels v, which are fixed on said shaft z.
The said slots s, are of such extent upwardly, relative to the extremities of the
teeth of said wick-engaging wheels v, that a slight downward movement of the
tube-element D, brings the upper ends of one or both of said slots into engagement
with said wheels, and thereby their rotation is stopped, and the downward
movement of the wick is arrested.
Said slight downward movement of said element D, is permitted by the
engaging adjustment of the said recesses n, n, and lips a, a, but such freedom of
engagement as said element D, has does not permit of the separation of the
latter from the element C, though there be no wick in the tube, for said
element D, is, when in the position shown in Figure 2, engaged by the wheels v, as
above stated.
The operation of the above described improvements is as follows:--
The wick P, is introduced into the wick-tube B, between the tube sides E and F,
at the bottom end of the latter, and being pushed in far enough to become engaged
with the wheels v, v, the latter, through shaft, is rotated by grasping the turning
disk k, in the usual mauner, and the wick is thereby fully entered into said tube,
as shown in Figures 1 and 3, and the said tube-elements then assume the positions
shown, which are those which they normally occupy while the wick is lighted, or
raised to a position which permits of lighting it, and no change takes place if the
wick be additionally raised from time to time.
When, however, the wick is lowered by turning shaft, and wheels r, in the
usual way, the tube element D, is, to a greater or less extent, frictionally engaged
by the side of said wick which is in contact therewith, and is thereby moved
slightly downward, and as soon as the upper extremity of said wick shall have
passed between the upper extremities of the two sides E and F, of the wick-tube
element C, about to the position shown in Figure 2, the said side F, swings
substantially to the position shown in Figure 2, and at the same time drops
downward.
Said downward movement of said side F, causes the engagement of the upper
ends of said slots s, s, with the wheels v, v, thereby arresting their rotary movement
and stopping the wick and holding it fixed in the wick-tube.
The light is ordinarily extinguished when the upper end of said wick enters
between said tube sides E and F, as described; but whether it be so or not, it
cannot be moved further downward, for the shaft z, and wheels r, v, cannot be
rotated, and the said wick is engaged by said wheels.
Consequently, the above described wick-tube and wick controlling devices
constructed and operating as described, constitute, also, a most effective wick-
guard or arrester, whereby a lamp-wick cannot, whether lighted or otherwise, be
fed downward into the fountain of a lamp, and the risk of an explosion be thereby
incurred.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A wick-tube element for lamps consisting of a side, and of parallel borders on
opposite edges of said side standing at right angles to the plane thereof, means on
said borders for supporting revoluble wick-operating devices thereon, combined
with a second tube-element having a like side and borders, and supported
operatively between the borders of said first-named element for endwise and
oscillatory movements therein, a revoluble shaft, and a toothed wick-engaging
wheel or wheels thereon, supported on said first-named wick-tube element, said
toothed wheel or wheels extending through lots in said second tube-element for
engagement with a wick held between said two tube elements, substantially as set
forth.
2. A wick-tube for lamps consisting of the element C, containing a side E, two

page_text: upstanding borders on said side, each having a lip a, and a shaft-bearing ear f,
thereon, combined with a second element D, containing a side F, one or more
longitudinal slots s, and two upstanding borders thereon, each having a recess n,
for engagement with said lips, and the ear o, having a slot-shaped perforation
therethrough, a wick-operating shaft z, rotating in said bearings and extending
through said ears o, o, and toothed wick-engaging wheels carried on said shaft and
extending through said slots s, substantially as set forth.
3. A combined wick-tube and extinguisher consisting of a wick-tube open on one
side at its top, and an endwise moving slotted plate placed in the open side of the
wick-tube, and which is moved by frictional contact with the wick alone, combined
with the wick-operating shaft provided with wheels for engaging with the wick,
substantially as shown.
4. In a combined wick-tube and extinguisher, the wick-tube open at its upper
end at one side, and the wick-operating shaft, provided with wheels for moving the
wick up and down, and which is journaled upon the tube, combined with a flanged
and slotted plate, which is placed in the open end of the tube in direct contact
with the wick and moved end wise by frictional contact therewith, the upward
movement of said slotted plate being regulated by the wick-operating shaft and its
downward movement by the wheels on said shaft, substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of June 1896.
NATHAN DWIGHT INGRAM.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.