IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO LIGHTING CIGARS AND PIPES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th May 1866.-
A communication from abroad by François Dedeyn, Gentleman, of 29,
Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LIGHTING APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO LIGHTING CIGARS AND
PIPES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new kind of lighter, which I term a fire-box, it
is in the form of a cylinder or box of any kind to contain pyrophorous
material, to which I add thirty per cent. of acetate or nitrate of lead, this box
is divided into two parts, the one the reservoir, and the other the distributor
for bringing into contact with the exterior air a certain quantity of the
pyrophorous material to be ignited. The dimensions of these boxes and of
their contents may be varied infinitely; and in order to render the Invention
more easily understood I have represented several forms of this improved
fire-box in the Drawing annexed, of which Figure 1 shows a vertical elevation ;
Figure 2, a sectional elevation; Figure 3, a plan on line 1, 2, Figure 2,
while Figure 4 shows separately a part of the fire-box in section. In these
Figures the same letters represent the same parts.

page_text: a, outer case holding the reservoir or case 6 of cardboard, in which is
placed the pyrophorous matters; c, cap or cover closing the reservoir a at its
lower end; d, cover of the fire-box, made of copper and stamped of the form
shown at Figure 4; e, hole made in cover d; f, distributor of the pyrophorous
material, it is made with a stamped bottom g, shown in section Figure 2;
this base is also provided with a hole h and conical cavity i of the necessary
depth; j, partition of a piece with the box a and separating the two parts g
and d; it is also provided with a hole k. The parts g, d, j, together form
a circular channel 1, in which the pyrophorous material must pass before it
can enter the distributor; by imparting a slight rotating movement to the
distributor f the hole h arrives at and coincides with k, when the material can
enter the conical cavity i; a reverse movement is then made which closes the
hole h and brings the cavity opposite the opening m of the box a, this presents
the pyrophorous material to contact with the air when it immediately ignites,
and this without communicating with that in the reservoir. The conical
part iis deep enough to prevent the material being carried away by currents
of air or from other cause.
Figure 5 represents a central vertical section of another arrangement of
fire-box, while Figures 6 and 7 show in elevation the parts composing this
apparatus. In these Figures the same letters represent the same parts.
o, case of the apparatus; p, case of cardboard, Figure 7, containing the
pyrophorous material; r, metal covering enclosing the cardboard case, it is
provided with a tube s; t, cap or cover of the box, it is furnished at its upper
part with a cup u in which is placed the pyrophorous material when it is
wished to light a cigar or pipe or obtain a light. This cover has on the
under side a piece of india-rubber which hermetically closes the tubes. The
cup u may be conical, the same as the cavity i, Figure 2, or of any other form.