IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS TO BE USED FOR COOKING, HEATING, AND LIGHTING PURPOSES
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Hector Mackinnon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th December 1872.
I, HECTOR MACKINNON, of the City of Toronto, in the County of
York, in the Province of Ontario, and Dominion of Canada, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LAMPS TO BE USED FOR COOKING, HEATING, AND LIGHTING PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
The object of my Invention is to supply oxygen direct to the flame of
a lamp sufficient in quantity to cause the complete combustion of all
the obnoxious gases usually thrown off therefrom, producing a brighter
light for illuminating purposes, and rendering the flame so pure that thic
most delicate meat can be cooked over it without being tainted in the
slightest degree. I have also designed a stand and cover or chimney for
the flame, by which the cooking utensils can be held over the flame,
while at the same time full benefit from the lamp as an illuminator
is secured.

page_text: Figure I. is a cross section of my improved lamp as applied for
cooking purposes; Figure 2 is likewise a cross section but through a
line at right angles to Figure I.; these Figures exhibit my Invention as
adapted for cooking, but its main feature, viz., the manner in which
oxygen is supplied to the flame can be applied to any description of
lamp as will be readily understood.
A is the oil reservoir which is covered by the plate which forms the
bottom of the water vessel or reservoir B above the same; C, C, arc the
box openings provided with hinged covers which may be opened when it
is necessary to recover the wick, which may by accident have slipped
from the teeth of the raising and lowering device. The rims of the
boxes covering these openings extend upward beyond reach of the water
in the water vessel. a, a, are the oil wicks surrounded by the tubes 7, 7.
These wicks are very wide and are composed of any porous material,
fibrous or textile. The tubes have slots cut into them on one side to
allow the toothed wheels b, b, b, to pass through and engage the oil
wick which is to be lowered or raised to increase or diminish the flame.
There are several of the toothed wheels arranged on rods which have
attached to their ends thumbscrews to be handled in raising or
lowering the oil wicks. On both sides of the oil wick tubes are the
series of tubes f surrounding and containing the water wicks. These
wicks proceed from and lie in the water reservoir B, in which water
should always be kept, and are carried by the tubes up immediately
against the perforated plate E. The metal disc N rests on a
perforated base E which is supported either by the wick tubes or by legs
which rest on the bottom of the water vessel. The chimneys D, D, are
held in their places by a rod or bolt passing between them vertically, the
same being secured to the lower plate N and upper plate G. These
chimneys D, have openings d, d, which may be closed up when
necessary by mica or glass plates, which slide vertically.
F is a cast iron stand for supporting the oven I as shewn by dotted
lines in Fig. 1. Of course this stand is made for holding a gridiron or
any kind of utensil over the lamp and has a hole in its centre so that
the full heat of the lamp acts directly on the said utensil.
H is a tube extending obliquely from the side of the oil reservoir A,
through which the oil is poured to supply the same. The tube has a
close fitting cap to exclude dust, &c.

page_text: As I said before at the commencement of this description the main
object of my Invention is to supply oxygen sufficient in quantity to cause
the complete combustion of all the obnoxious gases generated in lamps
as now commonly constructed. I attain this object by the water wicks
contained in the tubes f; they convey the water by capillary attraction
from the reservoir B up on each side of the oil wicks, and when the
latter wicks are lighted the heat therefrom generates the water thus
conducted into steam, which rises and penetrates through the perforated
disc N, diffusing the oxygen contained therein directly on to the flame,
producing in combination with the air admitted also through the disc N
the complete combustion I claim.
It is scarcely necessary for me to say in conclusion that this
principle can be applied to lamps of every description, and I am now
experimenting in order to test its capabilities when applied to coal gas
burners."