IMPROVEMENTS IN LUCIFER MATCHES OR TAPERS, AND IN THE AnDining OR HOLDING AND TOXING UDSA 33 AME
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke Black-
burn, of Hans Place, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUCIFER MATCHES OR TAPERS, AND IN THE
AnDining OR HOLDING AND TOXING UDSA 33
AME
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bewicke Blackburn and
Alexander Bewicke Blackburn at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st September 1867.
We, BEWICKE BLACKBURN and ALEXANDER BEWICKE BLACKBURN, of Hans
Place, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUCIFER MATCHES OR TAPERS, AND IN
THE APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND IGNITING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in lucifer matches and tapers, and in
the apparatus for holding: and iguiting the same, has for its object to
produce a lighted taper or match which will burn sufficiently long (say five or
ten minutes). to admit of sealing two, three, or more letters or parcels. To
this end the Invention consists, firstly, in employing short lengths of wax
taper or wax matches provided at one end with an igniting composition which

page_text: will ignite upon the application of friction. The opposite ends of these short
lengths are inserted in a solid combustible composition, such as wax, tallow,
or stearine which is contained in a small or shallow cup. When this com-
position is cold it becomes solid and hard, and it will firmly hold the match
in place.
Any convenient number of these small cups are to be fixed on a
piece of cardboard, wood, or on some flexible substance so arranged that the
matches or tapers may be brought in succession against a projecting hard
substance which will ignite their prepared ends. A convenient way of doing
this consists in arranging the cups with the matches or tapers in a circle on a
round piece of cardboard or wood which is placed in the apparatus which
forms the second part of the Invention. This circular piece of cardboard
with the matches or tapers thereon is placed on a flat circular table, to which
an intermittent rotary motion is communicated by means of a click lever
which is made to act on a ratchet wheel placed on the under side of the table.
As the table rotates it will also carry round a spring arm, which after passing
a certain distance is made to fly back and strike the prepared end of the
taper and thus ignite it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions. of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke Blackburn in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st March, 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BEWICKE
BLACKBURN and ALEXANDER BEWICK BLACKBURN, of Hans Place, Chelsea, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the 'said
Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke Blackburn, Her special licence
that we, the said Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke Blackburn,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke Blackburn, our executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within' the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and. Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUCIFER MATCHES OR TAPERS; AND IN

page_text: THE APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND IGNITING THE SAME," upon the condition.
(amongst others) that we, the said Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander Bewicke
Blackburn, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly,
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately:
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander
Bewicke Blackburn, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the.
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
This Invention of "Improvements in Lucifer Matches and Tapers, and in
the Apparatus for Holding and Igniting the same," has for its object to
produce a lighted taper or match which will burn sufficiently long, say five or
ten minutes) to admit of sealing two, three, or more letters or parcels. To
this end the Invention consists, firstly, in employing short lengths of wax
taper or wax matches, provided at one end with an igniting composition which
will ignite upon the application of friction. The opposite ends of these short
lengths are inserted, in a solid combustible composition, such as wax, tallow,
or stearine, which is contained in a small or shallow cup. When this compo-
sition is cold it, becomes solid and hard, and it will firmly hold the match in
place.. Any convenient, number of these small cups are to be fixed on a piece of
cardboard, wood, clay, or other smooth material so arranged that the matches
or tapers may be brought in succession against a projecting hard substance by
rubbing against which their prepared ends will be ignited by the friction.
convenient, way of doing this consists in arranging the cups with the matches
or tapers in a circle on a round piece of cardboard, wood, or other suitable
material, which is placed in the apparatus which forms the second part of the
Invention. This circular piece of cardboard or wood with the matches or
tapers thereon is placed on a flat circular plate or turntable, to which an
intermittent rotary motion is communicated by means of a click lever, which
is made to act on a ratchet wheel placed on the under side of the table. As
the table rotates it will also carry round a spring arm, which after passing a
certain distance is made to fly back and strike the prepared end of the taper
and thus ignite it. This little apparatus is enclosed within a case of any
convenient and suitable, shape, and provided. with a hinged lid, in which is
A

page_text: made a hole or opening under which the matches or tapers are brought and
ignited by the rotation of the circular table. The flame from the match or
taper passes up through this hole and burns as long as any of the wax, stearine,
or other fatty matter remains in the cup.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is an external elevation and Fig. 2
a plan view of one form of apparatus which is simple in construction and at
the same time somewhat ornamental, being in the form of an ancient Roman
or Grecian lamp; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same; Fig. 4
is a transverse section; Fig. 5 is a plan view, the cover or lid being removed in
order to shew the internal construction; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the under
side of the circular rotating table. The match or wick is formed of a piece
of cloth saturated with wax or other analogous combustible matter, and wound
or fastened round a piece of wood, as shewn at Fig. 1. The long pieces may
be cut up into any convenient length, say half an inch, and are tipped at one
end with any igniting substance which will ignite by friction. Ten tapers or
matches 6 of any suitable length are placed in the cups or cells b¹, and are
arranged in a circle on two semicircular pieces of cardboard, wood; or other
suitable material, which is coated or covered with any suitable composition to
render it uninflammable. The points of the wicks are made to radiate
outwards, as shewn in the Drawings, and these semicircular pieces are placed
in a recess or recesses on the face of the rotating table c of the lamp, as shewn
at Figures 3, 4, and 5, so that each match or taper may be brought in
succession under a hole a³, Figures 2 and 3, made in the front part of the
lid a¹, as shewn at Fig. 2, at which point the matches or tapers 6 will be ignited
in the manner hereafter explained. A handle or lever d is binged to the
foundation plate or frame e of the mechanism, and on being depressed by the
hand, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, the circular plate or turn-
table c will be drawn round and caused to rotate one-tenth of an entire
revolution by the action of the bar or rod f, which is jointed at one end to the
lever d and carries at its other end a pallet or hook f¹, which catches into one
of the teeth of the ratchet wheel g on the under side of the rotating plate or
turntable c. A radial spring or bar h is secured at one end to the central
helical spring h¹, and at its opposite end it carries the striker i, whereby the
matches or tapers are ignited when the turntable is moved round one-tenth of
a revolution. This bar or spring h bears against an inclined flange ; on the
under side of the turntable and is caught in one or other of the notches cut in
the flange, as shewn in the plan view, Fig. 6, so that as the turntable is
turned round it carries with it the arm h and its striker or igniter i, and in so
doing the bar or spring h will be depressed by the inclined guide bark (as
b

page_text: shewn in the cross section, Fig. 4), until it is pushed out of the notch or
tooth j in the flauge of the turntable when it will spring back to its original
position, and in passing it will on its way strike the igniting composition at
the projecting end of one of the tapers, and will ignite the same. It will then
lock the turntable c by springing into another notch at the side of the next
tooth j. When the hand of the operator is withdrawn from the hand lever d
the latter will be returned to its original position by the action of the spiral
spring s, Fig. 3, acting on the rod or bar f. The pallet at the end of the
barf will then catch in the next tooth of the ratchet wheel g on the under
side of the turntable, and the mechanism will again be ready for action..
Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 8 a plan view of a modifi-
cation of the above. a, a, is the outer case for containing the working parts;
b, b, are the matches arranged in cups or holes made in semicircular discs of
wood or cardboard as in the other instance; c, c, is the rotating plate, on
which the wooden discs are placed and are held in place by a central button c¹.
The tail of the lever handle d is jointed to a rod f provided at its opposite
end with a click f¹ which takes into the teeth of a horizontal ratchet wheel g
on the under side of the rotating plate c. The click f of the rod f is kept in
contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel g by means of a belical spring s.
It will now be understood that if the lever handle d is depressed as in the
former instance, as shewn by dots in Fig. 3, the click f¹ will pull round the
ratchet wheel g one-tenth of a revolution and with it the rotating plate c, and
the semicircular discs containing the matches or tapers b, b; as these latter
are moved round they are brought against piece of bent metal ³, Fig. 8,
placed vertically and armed with teeth, as shewn in the small detached view
Fig. 4. This striker (as it may be called) is attached to a plate k which is
capable of turning on a centre k¹ and is kept in position by a spring h, to
which it is connected by a link h¹. This arrangement imparts a certain
amount of elasticity to the striker i', and will cause it to bear strongly against
but to yield to the tapers or matches as they pass round. If preferred the
striker may be attached by a spring connection to the inside of the outer
case a as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.
a
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in Lucifer Matches
or Tapers, and in the Apparatus for Holding and Igniting the same," and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we claim as
the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
The mode herein set forth of preparing and arranging lucifer matches or
tapers for the purpose or purposes above mentioned.
We also claim placing a series or any convenient number of matches on a

page_text: rotating turntable, so that they may be ignited in succession and brought into
the required position to burn for a limited time, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Bewicke Blackburn and Alexander
Bewicke Blackburn, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the
Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
BEWICKE BLACKBURN.
(L.S.)
ALEXANDER BEWICKE BLACKBURN. (L.S.).
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.