IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LAMPS AND LANTERNS, OR SIMILAR APPARATUS USED PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Albert Marcius Silber, of the Silber Light
Company, Limited, of Whitecross Street, in the City of London,
Managing Director of the said Company, and John Frederick
Cooke Farquhar, of Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex,
Lighthouse Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF LAMPS AND LANTERNS, OR SIMILAR APPARATUS USED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Albert Marcius
Silber and John Frederick Cooke Farquhar at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 10th October
1873.
We, ALBERT MARCIUS SILBER, of the Silber Light Company, Limited,
of Whitecross Street, in the City of London, Managing Director of the
said Company, and JOHN FREDERICK COOKE FARQUHAR, of Long Acre,
in the County of Middlesex, Lighthouse Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF LAMPS AND LANTERNS, OR SIMILAR APPARATUS USED FOR LIGHTING PURPOSES,
AND IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING PURPOSES," to be as follows:-

page_text: or lighting apparatus in such manner that the use of chimneys may
be dispensed with, which is a great convenience as chimneys are liable
to break and crack, and moreover their fitting, adjusting, and removal
are inconvenient. But although chimneys are not used yet we produce
a better light and a steadier flame than by the ordinary arrangements.
According to our Invention we form the burner with air tubes, or
air passages, or an air case, or air chamber so contrived that all the
draught of air drawn in by the combustion, and employed to maintain
such combustion, is made to pass through these air passages, and
emerges thence into the interior of a cone, cap, or chamber, or into
other air tubes which surround the flame, so that these currents of air
are caused to impinge upon the flame, and the aeriform products ascend
in a direct column to the top of the lamp or lantern, and thence
escape without circulating round the flame, and as the currents of
air, drawn in as above described, are conveyed to the flame as set
forth, they also do not circulate around the flame, which thus burns
with a bright and steady light, and with considerable heat without
requiring a chimney.
In order that the Invention may be understood we proceed to describe
it as applied to various purposes.
1. Moderator Lamps.-We surround the burner with a globe or
shade fitted air tight, or nearly so, on the outer air passages of the
burner. We close up all the air passages except those in and around
the burner, and we place on the globe or shade a ventilating top or
cap fitted air tight or nearly so thereon. Or if the globe or shade
be of sufficient height to produce the required draught we make the
hole at the top of about the same diameter as that of the burner,
and dispense with the ventilating top. The burner is constructed as
above described, and thus all the air passes through the air passages
to the flame and impinges thereon.
2. Lamps and Lanterns for Ship's Side Lights, Mast Head Lights,
Anchor Lights, Passage, Street, Wall, and other Lights.-We construct
these lamps or lanterns with two compartments and a double roof. In
the outer compartment is the light or burner, and in the inner com-
partment is the oil holder which is connected with the burner by a
tube or conduit.

page_text: A portion of the frame of the lamp is moveable so as to slide to
and from the permanent or fixed portion of the frame or case of the
lamp or lantern. Suitable fastenings are provided to hold the moveable
portion in place. The burner is surrounded by air passages. In the
upper part of the inner roof is an air funnel which. opens into a ven-
tilating cap or cone attached to the frame of the inner compartment.
Air is only admitted into the outer compartment from beneath the
sliding frame, and its only outlet is through the funnel. Hence after
the burner has been kindled and slidden into the outer compartment the
draught caused by the combustion passes solely through the air passages,
and thence directly upwards through the funnel. By these arrangements
the employment of a transparent chimney is rendered useless.
The supply of air to the burner commences in lamps which are
exposed to draughts or wind, or currents of air from the ventilating
top of the lantern, and travels thence over the inner roof and down
between the outer and inner compartments to the lamp sliding frame.
By these arrangements also the air within the lamp or lantern is held
in equilibrium even in windy weather or other conditions of the atmo-
sphere in which there are atmospheric disturbances, for our apparatus
preserves the flame from violent motion of the air, whether upward or
downward, or even lateral. But in lamps or lanterns which are not
exposed to draughts or winds, or currents of air the atmospheric air
may enter direct through the bottom.
The air may be brought down from between the two roofs by means
of small compartments, double walls, or air passages, as best applicable.
The contrivance for raising and lowering the wick, and adjusting its
elevation, is actuated from the outside of the lamp or lantern, so that
its doors need not be opened.
In applying the apparatus for heating purposes we construct, as above
described, the lantern, or as it may be called in this case vessel or.
chamber containing the burner entirely, or nearly entirely, of metal
or other suitable materials. It is constructed in such a manner that
the whole, or nearly the whole, of the atmospheric oxygen which
enters at the bottom or side of the vessel, chamber, or lantern shall
be conveyed through the burner as above explained, and the heat
produced by combustion is utilized in such manner and for such
purposes as may be required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Albert Marcius Silber and John Frederick Cooke
Farquhar in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALBERT
MARCIUS SILBER, of the Silber Light Company, Limited, of White-
cross Street, in the City of London, Managing Director of the said
Company, and JOHN FREDERICK COOKE FARQUHAR, of Long Acre,
in the County of Middlesex, Lighthouse Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Albert Marcius Silber and John Frederick Cooke
Farquhar, Her special license that we, the said Albert Marcius Silber
and John Frederick Cooke Farquhar, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and John
Frederick Cooke Farquhar, our 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LAMPS AND
LANTERNS, OR SIMILAR APPARATUS USED FOR LIGHTING PURPOSES, AND IN APPA-
RATUS FOR HEATING PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and John Frederick Cooke Farquhar,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our
or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or
them, 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 calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and John
Frederick Cooke Farquhar, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement

page_text: thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is
to say:-.
* The main object of this Invention is to construct lamps, lanterns, or
lighting apparatus in such manner that the employment of chimneys,
such as are ordinarily used to surround the flame, may be dispensed
with, which is a great convenience as such chimneys which are usually
made of glass are liable to break and crack; and moreover their fitting,
adjusting, and removal are inconvenient.
But although chimneys such
as are above mentioned are not used in the lamps constructed with our
improvements as herein-after described, yet we produce a better light
and a steadier flame than by the ordinary arrangements hitherto used in
lamps. This we effect by making the chamber in which the flame is
maintained air-tight, save at the points of entrance and exit of the
atmospheric air supplied to the flame, and also by regulating the supply
of air by making it in some cases as in ships' lanterns pass through
chambers and passages not continuously connected, that is to say,
through chambers and passages in which the current of air is inter-
rupted in the continuity of its direction in the manner herein-after more
particularly described.
And in order that our improvements and the mode in which they
are carried into effect may be fully understood we will now proceed to
describe them, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, which
shew several modifications of lamps constructed according to our
Invention.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a moderator lamp constructed
according to this Invention; B, burner; to, wick tube supplied with
oil in the ordinary manner; c, c, air spaces or passages in the burner
leading into the interior of a cap or dome d through which the wick
passes; M is a glass globe fixed air-tight over the air passages of the
burner. We close all the air passages except those in and immediately
around the burner and the passage at the centre of the top of the globe.
At the upper portion of the globe is a prolonged tubular neck m of the
same diameter as that of the top of the burner. It opens at bottom
into the interior of the globe and it opens at top into the atmosphere.
All the air required to maintain combustion is drawn in through this
neck, and the aeriform products of combustion escape through it. It
may be fitted with a ventilating cone as shewn at Z in the succeeding
Figures.

page_text: Figure 2 is a vertical sectional elevation of a wall lamp constructed
according to this Invention and supplied with gas. It will be seen that
in this lamp the air is supplied to a closed chamber in which is the
burner, and that the current of air is interrupted in the continuity of
its direction while passing from the outer atmosphere to the burner, so
that it is made to expand or pass at intervals into spaces wider than
the more contracted passages through which it is conducted at other
parts. Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4 perspective view of the lamp.
•
In lamps exposed to draughts or wind the supply of air to the burner
commences from the ventilating top and thence travels over the inner
roof (that is, between the two roofs) and passes through openings or
passages to and between the outer and inner walls and thence to the
sliding frame at bottom, and then it passes up into the burner.
A, A*, is the case of the lamp or lantern glazed as usual in front
and made close or air-tight except at the openings for the admission of:
air and exit of the gaseous products of combustion. Part of the case is
made double, that is to say, it has a double roof, and it has a double
wall at back, or in other words there is a space between the outer and
inner roof, and also a space between the outer and inner back walls.
These spaces are for the passage of air and they communicate by
openings or passages C; A* shows the outer parts (roof and wall) of
the case, and A the inner parts (roof and wall) of the case. B is the
burner; it is fed with gas through a supply pipe 6 which leads into the
gas passage 6* in the burner from any ordinary gas supply; c, c, are air
passages in the burner surrounding the gas passage b*; C, C, are
air passages through which atmospheric air passes in its way to the
burner. Air enters these passages through the top, as herein-after
explained, and passes into and through an air box C*, and thence up
through the air passages c to the interior of a hollow cone, cap, or
dome & fixed over the burner and having a slit at top for the passage
of the flame. This cap forms a sort of air chamber around the root of
the flame. The air thus reaches the flame to maintain combustion
without emerging unrestricted to circulate freely in the interior of the
lamp around the flame.
K is a metal tube or funnel so fixed as to depend from the upper part

page_text: space left free between the top of the burner B and the bottom of the
tube K. The heated, aeriform, or gaseous and vaporous products of
combustion pass upward from the flame direct into and through this
tube, which conducts them into a cylindrical cap Y at the top of the
lamp, perforated at the lower part of its periphery with numerous small
orifices y, communicating with the outer air. Z is a cone or conical
deflector fitted in the cap, and adjusted by abutments z. The aeriform
or gaseous products of combustion escape from the cap Y into the
atmosphere, and the air which supplies the burner to maintain com-
bustion enters the lamp or lantern through this cap, and without mixing
with the escaping products it passes between the inner and outer roofs,
through the passages C, between the inner and outer back walls, and
through other openings or passages into the air box C*, and thence to
the air passages c. The continuity of the direction of the air supply is
thus interrupted, and it passes at intervals into chambers or passages of
greater area than that of the other passages. 7 is an ordinary reflector.
The method of supplying the air herein described enables the air to
reach the flame without disturbance, even though the lamp be in
situations in which it is exposed to wind, or drafts, or other disturbing
atmospheric influences; also, we obtain a better light than has hitherto
been obtained with the same pressure of gas or quantity of oil; and by
regulating the sectional area of the air passages we are enabled to
regulate the entrance and expansion of atmospheric air to be supplied to
the burner, so that it shall be supplied in proper proportions with regard
to the dimensions of the flame to be produced. These beneficial effects
have not been previously obtained in lamps constructed in the ordinary
manner.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of a lamp of similar construction to the
one shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, except that the burner is supplied with
oil through the pipe 6 instead of with gas. The oil is supplied to this
pipe 6 from an oil tank E. The wick is held in an annular wick case w.
G is the overflow tank for the oil from the wick. There is no cone or
dome d in this burner. The wick is raised and lowered by rack and
gear pinions q, q, worked from outside the lamp without having to open
it for the purpose, the axis of the actuating pinion being prolonged
through a hole in the bottom of the lamp. Air is supplied to the flame,
and the gaseous products of combustion are carried off in the same
manner as described in reference to Figures 2, 3, and 4, the parts marked

page_text: A, A*, K, C, C*, c, l, Y, Z, y, z, in this and the succeeding Figures
being similar to those marked with such letters respectively in
Figures 2, 3, 4
The lamp or lantern shewn in Figure 5, as also the one shewn in
Figures 6 and 7, is made with two compartments, one containing the
burner and the other containing the oil holder, which is connected with
the burner by a tube or conduit. A portion of the frame or case of the
lamp is moveable, so as to be slidden in and out of the fixed or per-
manent portion. The moveable portion, which is held in place by any
ordinary suitable fastenings, carries the burner and its appurtenances,
and also the oil holder with the partition or inner wall, which divides
the lamp into compartments, and behind which is the oil holder, so
that when the sliding portion is in place in the lantern or lamp, the
burner is in one compartment and the oil holder in the other com-
partment.
Figure 6 is a vertical section, and Figure 7 a plan of a ship lamp of
similar construction to the lamp shewn in Figure 5, similar parts being
marked with the same letters respectively. A valve box is inserted in
the oil chamber E and contains a valve f mounted on a rod y working
(in guides ) on a valve seat i. When the chamber E is dropt into place
the bottom of the rod y abuts against a part of the lamp case which
pushes it upward and the valve ƒ with it and thus opens a passage for
the oil to flow from the chamber through the tube 6 to the wick. A
similar valve arrangement may be used in the lamp shown in Figure 4.
8, 8, are ordinary dioptric glasses; t, ordinary colored exterior glass.
The passages for the air to reach the flame, and maintain combustion,
and for the escape of the products are arranged as described with
reference to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, the current being interrupted in the
continuity of its direction while passing from the outer atmosphere to
the burner, as above described.
In applying the apparatus for heating purposes we construct the
above described lamps or lanterns, or, as they should be called in this
case, the stove case or chamber, containing the burner or burners
entirely, or nearly entirely, of metal or other ordinary material suitable
for such purposes. Each case or chamber may hold any number of
burners, and the apparatus is constructed in the manner above described,
so that the whole, or nearly the whole, of the air or atmospheric oxygen

page_text: which enters the chamber shall be conveyed to and through the burner,
as above explained, the arrangements for admitting air and carrying off
the aeriform products being similar to those described in reference to the
lighting apparatus, and the heat produced by combustion is utilized in
such manner and for such purposes as may be required.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, we declare that we claim,—
First. The several combinations of parts forming respectively our
improved lamps and lanterns, constructed as herein-before described,
and shewn respectively in Figures 1 to 7 inclusively.
Second. Constructing lamps, lanterns, and lighting apparatus, as
herein described, in such manner that the current of air necessary to
maintain combustion is supplied to a closed combustion chamber in
which is the burner, the current of air being interrupted in the con-
tinuity of its direction, that is to say, in its passage from the outer atmos-
phere to the burner, so that it may expand or pass at intervals into spaces
wider than other parts of the passages through which it is conducted.
Third. The application of the apparatus herein described to apparatus
for heating, as set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Albert Marcius Silber and John
Frederick Cooke Farquhar, have hereunto set our hands and
seals, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
A. M. SILBER.
(L.S.)
Witness,
J. R. TANNAHILL,
J. F. C. FARQUHAR. (L.s.)
Secy., Silber Light Co., Limited,
49, Whitecross St.,
London,
E.C.