Year: 1899

page_text: Complete Specification Left, 23rd Mar., 1899-Accepted, 2nd June, 1899
I, LOUIS CHARLES HILLS, of 610, F. Street, N.W., in the City of Washington,
District of Columbia, United States of America, Draftsman, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in vapor-burning
lamps; and it relates more particularly to the provision of a simple and serviceable
attachment for lamps of the character mentioned, said attachment consisting
of a fire basket or trough filled with non-combustible absorbent material, said
basket being provided with a suitable valve-controlled passage communicating
with the interior of the oil-fount of the lamp.
The invention has for a further object the provision of means whereby the fire-
basket may be readily thrown into position for use in heating the gas-generator
of the lamp and of means whereby the basket may be moved out of the way after
the lamp has been lighted; and incidentally the invention relates further to the
provision of a construction whereby the opening and closing of the valve in the
passage connecting the fire-basket with the oil-fount of the lamp will be
automatically actuated so as to regulate the supply of gasolene or other material
supplied to the basket.
To these ends and to such others as the invention may pertain the same consists
in the peculiar construction and in the novel combination, arrangement and
adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the accompany-
ing drawings, and then specifically defined in the appended claims.
The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with
the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, like
letters of reference indicating the same parts throughout the several views, and in
which drawings:
Figure 1 is an elevation of a complete vapor-burning lamp provided with my
improvement, the fire-basket being shown in full lines in the position which it
occupies when not in use, and its position when in use being indicated by dotted
lines. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the operating-valve and the
igniting device. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the valve of the igniter, the
same being taken upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by

page_text: the arrow. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same, the fire-basket and connecting
pipe being removed.
5
Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates
a vapor-burning lamp consisting, essentially, of the oil-fount B, which I have
shown as substantially spherical in form but which may be of any desired form or
size. The said oil-fount is provided with a filling-aperture B¹ within which is
fitted a valve controlled fixture B, having a stub-pipe extension B³, to which
extension an air-pump such as is commonly used in inflating the tubes of bicycle-
tires may be attached when it is desired to charge the oil-fount with air, as will
hereinafter appear. C is a tube or pipe leading from the interior of the oil-fount
at a point near its bottom. The said tube or pipe C is passed through the side wall
of the fount at a point near its top, and the said pipe is extended upwardly for a
considerable distance, as shown and is then inclined inwardly to a point directly
above the burner of the lamp and at its upper end communicates with the horizontal
pipe 1), which said pipe is provided with a valve-rod D¹, the body portion of which 1
valve is of greater diameter than the free end of the same, the end of the enlarged
body portion being beveled, as shown at D³, to engage a valve-seat D³.
The extreme inner end of the tube D is provided with a screw-threaded cap E,
which cap is provided with a contracted gas-passage and the portion D' of the
valve-stem is provided at its end with a needle E adapted to be moved in and out 2
of the said passage by turning the valve handle or wheel F in opening and
closing the valve as will be readily understood.
Gis a cylindrical chamber surrounded by wire-meshing, which serves to prevent
the flow of gas from being interrupted at this point by air-currents in the apartment,
as will be readily understood.
H is the gas-pipe which leads from the valve-tube D downward into the oil-
fount, thence extending upward to the gas-burner II. At a point upon the tube C
near its upper end but below the line of heat from the lamp-burner, a sleeve I is
provided, said sleeve being adapted to be turned by means of a serrated or roughened
band I', but fitting gas-tight upon the pipe. A small tube J carrying at its upper 3
end a suitable fire-basket J' is at its lower end connected with the collar I. This
fire-basket or receptacle is provided with a conical top Ja, preferably constructed of
wire cloth or meshing, and the space within the basket or receptacle beneath the
top J is filled with any suitable absorbent and non-combustible material J-such,
for instance, as asbestos. Connecting the bottom portion of the fire-basket J' with 3
the pipe C is a contracted passage, and a contracted passage K leads through
the side wall of the tube C within the rotatable collar or sleeve I, said passage K
being adapted to register with the passage J' in the tube J when the said collar I
has been turned to the proper point to secure such registration, as will be clearly
understood upon reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings.
In order to provide for the turning of the sleevo I in one direction, I provide, in
connection with the said sleeve or collar, a ratchet-wheel L, the teeth of which
ratchet are engaged by a pawl L¹ secured to the pipe C, and in order to insure the
stopping of the sleeve in its rotation at points required to secure the registration of
the passage K with the passage J' when desired and to insure the perfect closing of
the valve at other times I provide upon opposite sides of the ratchet-wheel L
notches M, which notches are of greater depth than the remaining notches upon
the periphery of the wheel.
The operation of the device is simple and in connection with the foregoing de-
scription of construction of the lamp will be readily understood.
The valve B is first removed from the inlet-passage of the oil-fount and a
quantity of gasolene is supplied to the fount. Preferably the fount should be
filled from half to two-thirds with gasolene. The valve B is then replaced in
the filling-aperture, and by means of an air-pump attached to the stub-pipe B³ the
fount is finally charged with air. The air-pressure within the fount will force a
quantity of the gasolene upward through the pipe C. In order to provide for the
generation of gas or vapor and to supply the same to the burner of the lamp, it is

page_text: first necessary to heat the valve or tube D. To accomplish this is the office of the
fire-basket J and its connections. The sleeve I carrying the fire-basket is turned
upon the pipe C until it is brought into a position directly beneath the tube D,
this position being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 2
of the drawings. When the basket is in this position it will be seen that there is
a direct connection between the interior of the pipe C and the basket through the
tube and its connecting-valve and through this opening a quantity of gasolene
will at once pass into the basket, where it will be absorbed by the absorbent
material contained in the basket. The material contained in the basket, and which
material has been thus charged with gasolene, is ignited, and the heat therefrom
will serve to generate gas within the tube D directly above it. When a sufficient
quantity of gas has been generated to supply the burner of the lamp, the lamp
is lighted and the fire-basket is turned by rotating the collar I until it occupies the
position indicated in full lines in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the
drawings, thus occupying the space between the pipe C and the pipe D, where it
will be out of the way and where it may be readily thrown into operative position
when again required for use.
It will be seen that the supply of gas from the generating tube D in the lamp-
burner is controlled by the wheel F, the turning of which serves to open and close
the valve by forcing inward or withdrawing the valve from its seat, as will be
readily understood.
The needle E at the end of the valve-stem serves to at all times keep the gas-
passage leading from the tube 1 free from obstruction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a vapor-burning lamp the combination with the lamp, its connecting-pipes
and gas-generator, of a fire-basket filled with non-combustible absorbent material
and provided with an inlet-passage communicating with the gasolene-pipe and means
substantially as described whereby the basket may be moved to a point beneath the
gas-generator, or to one side of the same, the moving of the basket serving to
automatically operate the valve controlling the inlet-passage of the same.
2. The pipe C, the collar I, the fire-basket, the pipe interposed between the fire
basket and the collar, the ratchet-wheel carried by the collar and the locking-dog L'
adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel and to permit the collar to be
turned in one direction only, substantially as described, and for the purpose
specified.
Dated this 23rd day of March 1899