IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR IGNITING GAS OR OTHER LAMPS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR IGNITING GAS OR OTHER LAMPS."
-A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th September 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR IGNITING GAS OR
OTHER LAMPS," to be as follows:-
In the apparatus heretofore made to light gas lamps by means of a current"
from a galvanic battery, the gas is ignited by passing the electric current
through a wire placed immediately over the jet that issues from the burner; in
consequence of the wire being permanently held in the flame, it is liable to be
soon burnt out or corroded, and the apparatus will not act. One of the objects
of the present Invention is to obviate this difficulty, which is accomplished by

page_text: throwing the wire out of the flame so soon as the jet or wick is ignited, and
keeping it out of contact with the flame while the lamp is burning, thus
preventing the destruction of the wire. The igniting wires are connected
with a lever having an armature at the other end, and which is worked by an
electro-magnet, whereby the wires are drawn forward when required to ignite
the gas, but immediately the electric circuit is broken the wires will be
pushed out of the flame by means of a suitable spring. The gas is also
turned on to the burner by means of the same armature and lever, which is
made to act on and drive round a ratchet wheel connected with the cock or
valve, and by that means let on the gas. The igniting apparatus may be also
adapted to oil or naphtha lamps, as well as gas lamps.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patents, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th March 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our
Lord 1857, in the twenty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her
special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, 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 "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
IGNITING GAS OR OTHER LAMPS," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 calender months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a side elevation;
Fig. 3, a front elevation; Fig. 4, a vertical section through the same; Figs. 5,
6, 7, and 8, details to be referred to.
The efforts heretofore made to light gas or other lamps by means of a
current of electricity, the gas being ignited by passing the current through or
along a conducting wire placed immediately over the jet issuing from the
burner, have so far, as I am informed, been unsuccessful, owing to this fact,
among others, that the wires being permanently held in the flame will soon
burn out or corrode.
The object of my Invention is to light a gas or other burner for the purpose
of illumination by a current of electricity, in such a manner that after ignition
has been produced the conductor of electricity shall not be exposed to the
injurious effects of the flame, and to this end my said Invention consists in
effecting this by combining with a gas or other burner or burners a vibrating
electric conductor, which shall pass in close proximity with gas to be ignited,
and after producing ignition pass off beyond reach of the flame; and my
Invention also consists in letting on and shutting off the gas from a burner or
burners by the motive power of an electro-magnet combined with a suitable
valve or equivalent device for opening and closing the aperture or apertures
through which the gas is supplied in combination with a vibrating electric
conductor. To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my
Invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried out
the same.
In the Drawings A is the gas pipe, to which is attached near its upper end
a disk a, to one side of which is fastened a block 6, (Fig. 8.) To this block is
secured by one end a long spring c, that carries at its other end a block d; to
this block d is pivoted a pawl f with its spring e. The end of the pipe A is
closed, and its extremity is perforated with two small holes i, (Figs. 5 and 6,)
similar to those in an ordinary burner. Over the end of the pipe A is fitted a
cap or tip B, formed, as shown in the Drawings, with a plate at m, which rests
on the end of the pipe A, and is perforated with two holes corresponding to
the holes i; the tip is finished as usual at g, where the gas is burned. To the
lower part of this cap B is attached a ratchet wheel C, which rests on the disk

page_text: a.
A retaining pawl h is pivoted to the disk a, and engages with the ratchet
C, which is caused to revolve by the vibration of the block d on the end of
the spring c, the pawl f engaging with this ratchet; the manner in which the
block dis vibrated will be presently explained.
To the pipe A, a short distance below the disk a, is attached a bracket D,
which supports the electro-magnets E, the wires from which lead to a suitable
battery F, so that when the circuit is completed by means of a key-board or
other suitable arrangements, the coils E become magnetic, and attract the
armature G pivoted immediately above them at k to an arm H, attached to
the upper part of the bracket D. The two poles of another galvanic battery
I are connected by wires n to two thin electric metal strips K; two contact
points are secured in a block M of some nonconducting substance, which
is attached to the armature G; from these points L rise, the bent rods O that
extend up alongside of the burner, and are furnished at the upper ends with
jaws or nippers, in which is secured at a proper height a thin platina wire
(represented by a red line o, Fig. 3), which extends from one to the other.
A cord or chain p connects one of the rods O to the pawl f, so that as the
armature G is drawn down and the rods O are vibrated, the block d is drawn
forward, and the pawl f feeds around the ratchet C; this turns the cap B for
the purpose of bringing the holes in the plate m into or out of line with the
openings i in the end of the pipe A, and thus either turning on or shutting off
the jet of gas. The armature G is drawn up into the position shown in the
Drawings by the spring 9, (Fig. 2,) attached to an arm P projecting back from
the armature G, and to a pin r, projecting from the bracket D; a pin s with
screw nuts rises from the arms H, where they are attached to the bracket
through a slot on the arm P; by adjusting these nuts the vibration of the
armature on its pivots is regulated, so as to bring the platina wire o directly
The current of the battery F being closed, the coils E are rendered magnetic,
and the armature G is drawn down towards them as far as allowed by the regu-
lating nuts on the pin s; this vibrates the rods O and brings the thin platina
wire o immediately over the openings in the tip g, at the same time the points
L, connected with the rods O, are brought into contact with the elastic strips
K, which are connected with the two poles of the battery I, and the circuit of
the battery is closed, by which the wire o becomes heated and ignites the gas
as it escapes from the tip. As the rods are vibrated the block d is drawn

page_text: forward and the pawl f causes the ratchet C to be rotated one notch each
time the circuit of the battery F is completed; this ratchet wheel and pawl
may be so arranged that a single vibration of the rods O will be sufficient
to open the gas cock, or they may be arranged as in the Drawings, requiring
several vibrations of the rods O to bring the openings in the end of the pipe A
to coincide with those in the cap B, when the gas will issue from the tip g and
be immediately ignited by the hot platina wire o; the latter arrangement is the
one I prefer, as it does not require so great a vibration of the rods, and also on
account of the facility which it affords of opening the passage for the gas to
the burner to a greater or less extent, in order to graduate the size or shape of
the flame as is often required; the holes in the cap B and its seat being made
only partially to correspond with each other, the first time the circuit is com-
pleted and the electric conductor is brought up, a very small jet of gas escapes
to the burner; upon the 2d completion of the circuit the ratchet wheel C
and cap B are turned a short distance further, and the holes in the cap and its
seat are thrown more nearly into correspondence with each other, and the jet
of gas and flame are enlarged. And on the 3rd completion of the circuit the
holes in the cap B and its seat are made to cover each other exactly, whereby
a full blaze of gas is obtained. This ability to graduate the size and intensity
of the flame is of great importance, and gives in addition the advantage that
the electric conductors are brought up several times into the jet of gas, thereby
multiplying the chances of efficient action of all the conductors. The instant
the circuit is broken, the spring q draws down the arm P and throws the rods
O into the position shown in the Drawings, taking the platina wire out of
contact with the jet of ignited gas, and thus preventing it from being burned
away, as it would be liable to be if left exposed to the flame from the burner.
I have heretofore spoken only of applying this apparatus to the lighting of gas
lamps, but it is also applicable to oil and other lamps, particularly in any
situation where the lamp or burner is in a position not easily accessible. And
although I have described my said Invention as applied by means of two
batteries, one to supply the current to the igniting conductor, and the other to
supply the electro-magnet for giving the required motion to the lighting
conductor to carry it away from the flame after ignition has been produced,
and to operate the valve apparatus for letting on and shutting off the gas, I
have only done this because in my judgment it is the best mode of application
of my said Invention with which I am acquainted; but I do not wish to be
understood as limiting my claim of Invention to such mode of application, as
it will be obvious that the same battery may be employed for all three of these

page_text: purposes by having the same current pass through the coils surrounding the
magnet, and thence to the lighting conductor, so that the one current will
supply the motive power for letting on and shutting off the gas, and for
vibrating the lighting conductor, and for supplying the conductor to effect the
required ignition; and it will be equally obvious that a separate battery may
be employed for each of these operations by having a second electro-magnet to
operate an armature connected with the apparatus for letting on and shutting
off the gas; or the one current which supplies the vibrating conductor may be
so employed as merely to operate a detent or equivalent device to start and
stop a mechanism actuated by a weight, spring, or other motor to give the
required movement or movements for letting on the gas, and then removing
the conductor or for shutting off the gas; or the current of electricity may be
simply employed to supply the lighting conductor, and the required movements
for letting on and shutting off the gas and removing the conductor from the
flame after ignition has been produced may be effected by an independent
mechanism.
It is also evident that in lieu of bringing up the electric conductor to ignite
the gas by means of an electro-magnet, and carrying it back by means of a
spring, the conductor may be brough up by a spring and carried back by the
magnet; this method will be adopted when the apparatus is worked with a
closed circuit. Instead of employing an electro-magnet to each burner, one
magnet may be made to operate the electric conductors of several burners
without departing from the principle of this Invenion. And in lieu of
bringing the igniting wire up to the burner, the latter may be made to turn
upon a pivot or center, and may thus be brought up to the wire. The method
before described of bringing the igniting wire up to the burner is, however, the
one which I prefer.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above recited Letters Patent I claim,-
1st, combining with a gas or other burner a vibrating electric conductor,
substantially as and for the purpose specified, so that after producing ignition
the conductor shall be removed from the flame, substantially as described.
2nd, I claim the employment of the motive power of an electro-magnet with
the combined vibrating electric conductor and burner, substantially as described.
3rd, I claim the employment of an electro-magnet, substantially as described,
in combination with a burner or burners and a vibrating electric conductor,
substantially as described, for withdrawing the conductor from the flame after
ignition has been produced, as set forth.

page_text: 4th, I also claim, in combination with a vibrating electric conductor and
burner, a mechanism operating substantially as herein described, for the
purpose of graduating the size of the flame, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)