CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND BURNERS, IN APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING APARTMENTS, AND IN THE MODE OF WORKING SIGNAL LAMPS
Year: 1852

page_text: RETTIE, of Aberdeen, Lamp Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of. Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighth day of June, in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Wil-
liam Rettie, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Rettie, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said William Rettie, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
.during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the
Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND BURNERS, IN APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING
APARTMENTS, AND IN THE MODE OF WORKING SIGNAL LAMPS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Rettie,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will, more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Rettie, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention refers, firstly, to a new construction of signal lamp for
railway and other uses, the objects, being, first, to produce a larger field of
light than has heretofore been presented to the eye by lamps of like dimen-
sions; and, secondly, to facilitate the operation of bringing up the colored
glasses or other colored media, so that they may intercept and impart a color
to the rays of light as they pass from the Argand or other burner to the
lenses.
In the Drawing Fig. 1 is a front view of the signal lamp, Fig. 2 is a back
view, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the same. It is composed of an outer case a,
furnished at its sides with a kind of sheath to receive the prongs of a forked
piece (shewn detached at Figs. 8,) for supporting the lamp. The case a is
fitted with a rectangular. lens b, shewn detached in front and edge views at
Figures 7, and by its use, in place of the: circular lense ordinarily employed, a
large field of light is obtained without the intensity' of the light being dimi-
nished. At the back of the case is a door: c, into, which a slip of glass is fitted
to enable the signal-man to see what color is covering the field, as will be pre-
sently explained. Within the case a is a frame d (shewn detached at Fig. 4) for
carrying the signalising glasses. This frame is shewn as fitted with two colored
and one plain glass, but more colored glasses may be used if thought desirable: - In
the bottom of the frame a centrali hollow spindle or collar e is fixed, and at
top it is also provided with a collar f. The lower collar e rests on a step g (see
Fig. 5), supported on the bottom of the case a, and projecting through the
collar f is a socket h secured to the top part of the case! The object of thus
mounting the frame d is to: enable it to turn freely on its centre. Within the
frame d'is a frame i (shewn detached at: Fig. 6) for carrying the burner ör
lamp proper, which is itself shewn detached at. Fig. 9. This frame i is fixed
firmly to the outer case a, in the positioni shewn by: dots at Fig. 5(which is a
back view of the signal 'frame); by means of a pin or screw-forming a con-
tinuation of the step g, and by a pin at the upper end of the frame i, taking
into the socket h.' In the stand or foot of the lamp (see Fig. 9) vertical
grooves are cut to receive feathers projecting from the inner edge of the
frame i, which feathers are intended to hold it firmly in position. To the
hollow spindle e an arm (Fig. 5) is attached, which by means of a cord or

page_text: other contrivance is made to communicate an axial motion to the signal.
frame d. At the back of this frames and immediately opposite to the colored,
signalizing glasses, slips of glass,l, l, are attached,, at, the same level as, the slip.
of plain glass in the door, c of the case. When, therefore, the red glass.is, inter-,
posed between the flame and the lens b, the slip of glass of the corresponding.
color. is brought in coincidence with the glass in the door, and the attendant,
then knows whether or not he has produced the required signal. To render.
the color of the slip of glass visible, an opening is made in the reflector, as.
shewn at Fig. 9. It will be understood that, supposing this signal lamp to be,
used upon railways, the lens will take a permanent position in respect of the
line of railway; the different colored media being brought up thereto, and,
thereby òbviating the necessity of turning the lamp bodily or of using more
than.oné. lens.
The Invention refers, secondly, to a new mode of constructing chimneys
for argand lamps and burners. This improvement is shewn in Fig. 9; the
chimney being composed of two parts; one part being of metal and the other,
of glass. The glass cylinder m; it will be seen, is considerably shorter than
the ordinary glass chimneys, and it will therefore be less liable to break from
rough usage, and instead of being supported by a stationary gallery, it is
carried by a frame n, capable of sliding vertically upon a stem o, which
supports that frame. At its upper end the stem o carries a stationary metal
or wire gauze cylinder p, which is set concentrally with; the glass m, and is
intended to form an elongation of the chimney. By this means the required
amount of draft is obtained by the use of a short glass chimney, and when the
lamp is required to be trimmed, the glass may be moved upwards clear of the
burner, it being assisted in its ascent by a helical spring, o*, and surrounding
the stem o. The frame n is provided with a binding screw to keep it in
position when the chimney is adjusted so as to produce the draft required for
the proper combustion of the gas or oil or other hydrocarbon.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to an improved construction of transparent
ventilator. In carrying out this Invention, I set slips or pieces of glass
radially in two circular metal or other frames, having radial slots or openings,
within every alternate one of which I insert a filling of plain, colored, or
ground glass, as shewn in the Drawing at Figures 10. These two frames are
mounted on a 'common centre, and when the ventilator is closed, a continuous
surface of glass and metal-is presented, but when opened the glass of one frame
is brought over the glass of the other, and thus an open space equal to the
transparent surface is presented. . The frame q I affix to the centre pin r, and the
other frames I mount loosely thereon, but by means of a coiled spring, one end

page_text: of which takes into the boss of the frame s, while the other is fast to the
centre pin, I give this frame a tendency to cover the spaces in the frame q
This ventilator I apply to windows, as shewn at Fig. 11, and by means of a
cord or other analogous contrivance attached to an eye projecting from the
rim of the inner or moveable frame, and conducted thence over a friction
pulley or pullies to any convenient attachment, I open the ventilator to any
required degree and retain it in that position as long as required. By
slackening the cord, the ventilator will instantly close by reason of the
elastic force of the coiled spring.
Another improvement in ventilating consists in à means of conducting off
the offensive odors arising from cooking stoves, or hot plates, by drawing the
air surrounding or adjacent to such stoves or hot plates into a flue having a
wide opening to receive the air, and being in connection with the chimney.
The mode of carrying out this improvement is shewn at Figures 12 and 13;
Fig. 12 being a front view of a cooking stove with the ventilating contrivance
applied thereto; and Fig. 13, a side view of the same partly in section. At
the back of the stove a hood or casing t, t, is provided equal in width to the
length of the stove, and standing up above the stove so as not to incommode
the operations of the cook. In the back of this hood or casing is an opening
communicating with the chimney, and over this opening a valve or hinged
cover extending from end to end of the hood or casing is affixed. By
letting down. the valve to the dotted position of Fig. 13, a powerful draught of
air will be set up in the direction of the arrows, and thus the odors arising
from the cooking will be carried direct into the chimney. It will be under-
stood that the position of the valve will be governed by the amount of draught
required to be set up. The regulation of the valve may be effected. by any
convenient means now in use for regulating the dampers of furnaces or other
like contrivances.
The last part of the Invention refers to the working of signal lamps on board
ship, the object being to indicate at night to all passing vessels the direction in
which a ship sailing in the opposite direction is being steered, and thereby to
prevent the collision of vessels at sea. For this purpose the frame which
carries the colored glasses of other colored media is connected with the tiller
or rudder, so that according to the change of direction in which the ship is
being steered, the field of the light will vary in color, and that without
requiring the attention of any one on board. One mode of carrying out this
improvement is shewn in side elevation at Fig. 14, in which v is the rudder and
w a rope or chain connected therewith, and communicating motion therefrom
to-the signal frame of the lamp or lantern. The lamp is shewn at a, supported

page_text: by forked pieces of the construction shewn at Figs. 8, and projecting upwards
mmediately under the centre of the lamp is a vertical shaft x on which a tube
slides for the purpose of taking into a socket in the signal frame of the lamp,
and of being disengaged therefrom when the lamp is not in use.
This shaft
has its bearings in a box y, (shewn in cross section at Fig. 14*,) which box
carries a pulley, to which the rope w is attached. The spindle of this
pulley carries a bevil wheel in gear with a bevil wheel mounted on the shaft
x, and by that means the pull of the rope w is communicated to the shaft x,
and thence to the signal frame of the lamp, which is thereby caused to turn
on its axis.
When the rope w is slackened by the steersman moving the rudder in an
opposite direction, the slack will be taken up on to the pulley, by that pulley
being caused to rotate by the action of a helical spring 1 wound round the
shaft x, and having its ends secured respectively to the side of the box y and to
the shaft. It will be understood, therefore, that this spring, when allowed to
act, will cause the signal frame of the lamp to turn on its axis in an opposite
direction to the movement which the rope w communicates. The lamp which
I prefer to use for this purpose is shewn detached from its case at Fig. 15,
and complete at Fig. 16. The difference between this and the lamp shewn
at Fig. 1, is that there is an inner casing of glass forming a complete lamp
which may be removed from the outer case for the greater convenience of
cleaning and trimming the lamp at sea. A removable handle 2, 2, fitting into
sockets in the outer case affords a central stop bearing for the spindle of the
lamp. In using this improved arrangement of self-adjusting signal lamp, I
adopt by preference the colors heretofore employed for the like purpose in the
ship's lanterns, known as Robert Rettie's signal lamps. When, therefore, the
vessel is steered to port, my improved lamp will present a red field, when to
starboard a green colour, and when the vessel is sailing right on, the lamp will
present a bright clear light. It will be obvious that although in the Diagram,
Fig. 14, I have shewn the rope w in direct connection with the rudder, the
effect desired, (viz,) the axial motion of the signal lamp or signal frame corre-
sponding to the motion of the rudder, may be obtained by connecting the rope
with the steering wheel or tiller.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner of carry-
ing the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim as respects signal lamps,-
First, mounting colored glasses or other colored media on a frame, which
is capable of turning on a central axis for the purpose above set forth.

page_text: Secondly; enlarging the field of light, without increasing the other dimen-
sions of the lamp. in the manner above described.
....And, thirdly, making the reciprocating lamp complete without the stationary
outer casing, so that it may be removed therefrom for the purpose of cleaning,
trimming, and lighting.
I claim as of my improvements in lamps and burners generally the improved
arrangement of parts as described with reference to Fig. 9.
With respect to the ventilating of apartments I claim,-
First, the construction of window ventilator as shewn and described.
And secondly, the means above set forth for drawing off the odours arising
from cooking stoves and hot plates.
And lastly, I claim the signalizing the direction of a ship's.course by means
of a lamp: or lantern; which receives an: axial motion, directly or indirectly
from the rudder of that vessel......
In witness whereof, I, the said William Rettie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.