Improvements in Oil Lamps.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Oil Lamps.
JAMES WEST, Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Engineer,
and HENRY JOSEPH WILBERFORCE RAPHAEL, Gentleman, both of 39, Highbury
Grove, London, N., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in oil lamps, and is more particularly
directed to lamps of the moderator, or, of the automatic class, wherein the oil
reservoir is located at the base of the lamp, the oil itself being forced therefrom,
to the wick, through an uptake pipe.
"
Various attempts in this direction have been made, but the use of such sub-
stances and materials as leather, india-rubber, indurated fabric and so forth,
in the construction of expansible and collapsable reservoirs has rendered such
attempts useless, as any lamp depending upon such materials for its tightness,
and its action, is of no practical utility; moreover cylinders and pistons, spring
balances and other means of obtaining the desired results have been used, but
without success.
The main object of our invention, however, is to construct a lamp wherein
the reservoir, although flexible, is wholly of metal.
Accordingly therefore we construct the reservoir, as follows:-
Metallic discs are corrugated with concentric corrugations. Two of these
discs are brought together and united by their edges, or peripheries, so as to
form a drum similar to the vacuum drum of an aneroid barometer.
Any number of these drums may be placed together and connected, so as to
communicate, and in this way form a reservoir of any capacity.
In this manner we form an extensible, or collapsable vessel, possessing in a
large degree, the collapsability of a leather or other similar "bellows," but with
the additional property of resilience.
A greater degree, or range, of collapsability in the said reservoir may be
brought about, by combining the drums in different orders and sizes.
In any case, however, we make the corrugated discs of such metal, and in such
a way that their flexibility is fairly constant through a limited range, but if
necessary, they may be assisted by additional separate springs.
The corrugated dises may be also made of copper, brass or other ductile metal,
wherein there is little or no spring, and in this case the contents of a reservoir
constructed of these, may be expelled by the aid of separate springs and plates
which are made to act upon the faces of the drums.
The drums, of which the reservoirs are formed, may be placed one upon the
other, or they may be stood, side by side, upon their edges.
In either case it is necessary that they should be assembled to communicate
one with the other, which may be done by short connecting pieces of pipe.
A small pipe, preferably called an "uptake," is made to rise out of the collap-

page_text: sable reservoir, before described, at any convenient point, and by means of this
pipe, oil is carried from the reservoir to the wick.
The lamp is also filled through the same pipe.
The action of the lamp depends upon the tendency of the reservoir
to collapse against the pressure of the column of oil in the small
uptake pipe, consequently when the oil for filling the lamp, is
poured down through the uptake pipe, it causes the drums of the reservoir to
gradually expand, until the extended limit is reached, when it is charged.
The wick of the lamp is at the upper end of the said uptake pipe. At, or near
this point, there is a check valve, whose function is to regulate the supply of
oil to the wick, and to cut off the supply in the event of the lamp being upset.
It will be seen that as fast as the wick absorbs the oil in burning it is replaced,
continuously by the reservoir which automatically contracts and forces it through
the " uptake" pipe.
The uptake pipe may consist of two pipes placed one within the other, so as to
form an annular space between the two, up which the oil would be led, whilst
air is admitted to the central space by means of perforations in its lateral walls
extending across the oil space near the base or in any other way.
In this way we should be enabled to use a round wick with the lamp.
An alternative construction according to our invention consists in constructing
a rigid reservoir and placing within it a number of the before mentioned drums,
so that the pressure of the oil on their outsides would collapse them and as fast
as the oil was abstrated they would expand again.
The said drums could be provided with an air pipe, communicating with the
outside.
We have described the discs, of which the drums are constructed, as being
corrugated, but we do not limit ourselves to corrugations. They may be quite
plain or indented in a number of ways to make them resilient.
Dated this Ninth day of February 1898.
JAMES WEST.
HENRY J. W. RAPHAEL.
We, JAMES WEST and HENRY JOSEPH WILBERFORCE RAPHAEL, of Stamford,
Works, Stamford Road, Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, (late of 39, High-
bury Grove), Manufacturers, 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, and accompanying drawing, that
is to say:-
This invention relates to oil lamps, and more especially to lamps burning
mineral oil, and it has for its objects improved methods of construction of that
kind of lamp in which the oil is automatically supplied to the wick or wicks of
the lamp from a reservoir below, the oil being raised to a height at which the
wick can conveniently absorb and use it, as in the case of what are well known
as moderator lamps in which a piston is wound up in a cylinder against the
force of a spring, at the same time drawing the oil into the space below the piston,
subsequently forcing the oil gradually up to the level of the wick by the elasticity
of the spring.
The use of cylinders and pistons, with leather or other flexible packing and
fittings is very objectionable, especially where mineral oil is used, and is has been

page_text: proposed to use instead of a cylinder and piston a flexible diaphragm of leather
or the like material, but such diaphragms have not proved effective in practice,
and one of the objects of our invention is to construct a lamp the reservoir of
which, although flexible, is entirely of metal.
By our present invention an expanding and collapsing reservoir entirely of
metal is used to contain the oil, which, when the lamp is in operation is forced
up by the elasticity of the reservoir itself or assisted by springs or weights through
the medium of levers and the like.
In the accompanying drawing, which is in illustration of the invention, Figure
1 shows in vertical section the base of a lamp, containing the expanding reservoir
and the parts connected with it, as well as the lower end of the wick.
Figure 2 shows a somewhat different constructions of the expanding reservoir.
a is the external base of the lamp, b is the expanding metallic reservoir hanging
freely in the base a by the pipe c through which the oil in the chamber b passes
up to the wick d.
The reservoir consists of a sufficient number of circular chambers, each
formed of two discs of metal so corrugated as to be elastic (as shown in Figures 1
and 2) attached together at their outer circumferences and communicating with
each other by central apertures e strengthened by external rings or washers by
which the adjoining chambers are soldered or brazed together, the lowest or
bottom disc being without a central opening.
The length or height of the pipe is determined in the manner hereinafter
described, and its upper end terminates in a vesself through the bottom of which
it is shown rising for a short distance, and serving to keep in position the lower
end of the tubular wick d of the lamp, which dips into the vessel f whilst its
upper end passes to a burner of any of the ordinary well-known kinds, and means
for regulating the height of the wick, these parts not being shown in the drawing,
as being similar to those ordinarily used in lamps.
When the several chambers constituting the expanding metal reservoir bare
being filled with oil under pressure due to the head, they expand downward
until they contain the required quantity of oil, but, as fast as the oil is removed,
the elasticity of the several corrugated plates constituting the reservoir is sufficient
to keep the oil at a certain height up the tube e until the chamber has com-
pletely collapsed.
We make the length or height of the pipe which is connected with the expand-
ing reservoir b, such that the elasticity of the latter is sufficient (in contracting)
to support a column of oil the top of which is slightly above the upper end of the
pipe (as shown at g), the oil overflowing into the vessel f from which the wick
draws its supply.
The height of the upper edge of the vessel f above the top of the pipe c is
such that if the vessel f is filled with oil the additional height of the column thus
obtained gives sufficient pressure to again expand the reservoir b and fill it with
oil.
The action of the lamp is therefore automatic, it being only necessary, when
the lamp requires replenishing with oil, to pour the oil into the vessel f, keeping
the latter filled to a sufficient height to expand the reservoir b.
In order to aid either the expansion or the contraction of the reservoir b, and
facilitate the filling or emptying of the latter, a weighted lever / turning on a
centre, or its equivalent, may be used, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the
arm being connected to the bottom of the expanding reservoir at 7, by a link m.
As the reservoir becomes expanded its increasing resistance is balanced by the
weighted lever h, (or a spring,) which takes a more horizontal position, as shown
at h¹, k¹.
As already described, the accessories of the lamp, wick holder, wick adjuster,
gallery, chimney and globe, may be of any of the ordinary well-known kinds, the
present invention consisting in making the collapsable reservoir entirely of
metal, and connecting it with a vesself by a pipe of such vertical height

page_text: that when the vessel f is full or nearly so, the pressure of the
column of oil is sufficient to expand the reservoir b, whilst when the top of the
column only reaches to the level g above the upper end of the pipe e the elastic
contraction of the reservoir b is just sufficient to force the oil into the vessel f.
As the oil is consumed, therefore, a fresh supply is gradually introduced into the
vessel f, and supplies the wick as it is needed.
The part of the pipe c in the vessel f which serves to guide the wick may be
omitted, or one or more holes may be made into it just above the bottom of the
vessel.
The details of the lamp, and the materials used, may be varied as desired, and
it is obvious that one or more flat wicks may be used instead of the tubular one
shown in the drawing. If the latter is used, provision is made in the usual way
for admitting air to its interior.
We do not confine ourselves to any particular form of the discs for constructing
the expanding reservoir. The discs may be corrugated and may have their con-
centric corrugations parallel to each other, as shown in Figure 2, instead of
opposite, as shown in Figure 1. Or, the central portions of the discs themselves
may be rigid and flat and connected together at their edges by a rim or collar of
thin, flexible, corrugated metal.
The discs forming the reservoir may be arranged vertically or in any other
position, instead of horizontally.
The collapsing and expanding chamber constructed as described, may be fitted
in a rigid reservoir, so that the pressure of oil admitted into the latter would
collapse the chamber, which would then in re-expanding force up the oil to the
required level. This collapsing chamber must have a communication with the
external air.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:-
1. In oil lamps, the combination of a metal clastic expanding reservoir, with
an upper vessel into which the wick dips, the reservoir and vessel being connected
by a pipe of such length that when the vessel is sufficiently filled with oil, the
pressure is sufficient to expand the reservoir, and as the oil is consumed the
elastic contraction of the reservoir is sufficient to force oil up through the pipe
into the vessel, and keep its level thus constant, substantially as set forth.
2. In oil lamps, the combination of an elastic expanding and collapsing
reservoir b, entirely of metal, consisting of a series of elastic metal discs, themselves
corrugated, or connected together at their edges by corrugated connections, with
an upper vessel f, into which the wick of the lamp dips, the reservoir and the
vesself being connected by a pipe c of such length that when the vessel f is
filled with oil the pressure is sufficient to expand the reservoir b, whilst as the oil
in the vesself is consumed to about the level g the elastic contraction of the
reservoir is sufficient to force the oil through the pipe c into the vessel f and
retain it at about the same level, substantially as set forth, and illustrated.
3. The combination with the expanding and collapsing reservoir entirely of
metal and the pipe c, of the weighted lever h, arm k, and link m, substantially
as set forth, and illustrated.
EDWARDS & Co.,
Chartered Patent Agents, 65 and 66, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicants.