IMPROVE- MENTS IN GAS BURNERS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GAS BURNERS." -A communication from abroad by Jean
Christophe Friedleben and Charles Bender, of Offenbach, in the Grand
Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt.
Sealed the 3rd March 1868, and dated the 17th September 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th September 1862.
1, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow,' North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS BURNERS," a communication from abroad by Jean
Christophe Friedleben and Charles Bender, of Offenbach, in the Grand Duchy,
of Hesse Darmstadt, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus
to be attached to and form part of any ordinary gas burner, whereby such gas
burner is rendered capable of shutting off the gas or of allowing of its passage or
escape therethrough, as desired, by a simple and effective self-acting arranges
ment, whereby the danger arising from leakage through the light being blown
out accidentally or the cock being.accidentally left open, is obviated. This self-
acting opening and closing arrangement consists of a. spring or other suitable
valve, so disposed inside the burner as to completely shut off the gas when

page_text: closed and allow of a free passage through the burner when opened. The
opening and closing of this valve is effected by means of a bar composed of
two metals soldered together, and having different rates of expansion and
contraction. This bar I prefer to have of a curved form. It is secured by solder
or otherwise at one end to the exterior of the burner, whilst the other end is
in connection with the valve above referred to. The upper part of the curved
bar is made to embrace the neck of the burner near the orifice so long as the
gas jet is burning; the heat imparted to this bar causes it to expand or contract
(according to the position of the two metals of which it is composed), and
open the valve, but so soon as the flame is extinguished from any cause, the
consequent cooling of the bar causes the valve to close, and stop all further
passage of gas.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th March 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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
GAS BURNERS," a communication from abroad by Jean Christophe Friedleben
and Charles Bender, of Offenbach, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner, the same

page_text: 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 I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
apparatus to be attached to and form part of any ordinary gas burner, whereby
such gas burner is rendered capable of shutting off the gas, or of allowing of
its passage or escape therethrough, as desired, by a simple and effective self-
acting arrangement, consequently, the danger arising from leakage through
the light being blown out accidentally or the cock being accidentally left open,
is obviated. This self-acting opening and closing arrangement consists of a
spring or other suitable valve, so disposed inside the burner as to completely
shut off the gas when closed, and allow of a free passage through the burner
when opened. The opening and closing of this valve is effected by means of
a bar composed of two metals, soldered together, and having different rates of
expansion and contraction. This bar I prefer to have of a curved form. It is
secured, by solder or otherwise, at one end to the exterior of the burner,
whilst the other end is in connection with the valve above referred to. The
upper part of the curved bar is made to embrace the neck of the burner near
the orifice. So long as the gas jet is burning, the heat imparted to this bar
causes it to expand or contract (according to the position of the two metals of
which it is composed), and open the valve, but so soon as the flame is
extinguished from any cause the consequent cooling of the bar causes the valve
to close, and stop all further passage of gas.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents an external elevation of a burner
having the present improvements adapted thereto; Figure 2 is a vertical
section of the same; Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 1, 2,
in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is an elevation at right angles to Figure 1.
In an external casing A is fitted the tube b which conducts the gas to the
burner C, of the usual or any other form; this tube, which is closed at the top,
is perforated by a small hole c on, one side near its upper extremity, and this

page_text: hole is closed whilst the burner is not in action by a valve d, acted upon by
the spring e; f is a small connecting rod, which serves to connect the spring
valve d with one end of the curved compensating bar or blade B. In the
example illustrated by the Drawings this curved bar or blade is composed of
an internal blade of iron and an external blade of zinc, but other metals having
similar properties may be employed. One extremity of this compound metal
blade or bar is soldered or otherwise secured to the external casing A, whilst
the opposite extremity, which is left perfectly free, is connected to the before-
mentioned rod f. The curved compensating bar or blade may be made to
encircle the burner at one part, as shewn in the Drawings, and on applying a
light to the burner, the heat imparted thereto will be transmitted to the bar B,
which will contract and open the valve d through the intervention of the rod fr
thus allowing the gas to flow through the burner, and be then ignited. So
long as the gas jet remains ignited, the contraction of the bar B will maintain
the valve open, but should the light become extinguished, the cooling of the
bar B will cause it to expand, and close the gas aperture c, thus preventing
any escape of gas. By disposing the iron blade outside the bar and the zino
inside thereof, this compound bar will expand by heat, and will necessitate
a reversal of the arrangement illustrated, that is to say, the opposite end of
the blade should be fixed, and the free end made to draw back in place of
pushing back the valve for the purpose of opening the same. It is obvious
that this adaptation of a compensating bar, acted upon by heat or cold, may
be applied to various other purposes.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the adaptation to gas burners of a
valve which is opened or closed by the expansion or contraction of a bar acted
upon by the heat of the flame of the jet, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.