An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Automatically Lighting and Extinguishing Street and other Gas Lamps.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th Feb., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Automatically Lighting
and Extinguishing Street and other Gas Lamps.
We WILLIAM WHITE, of the Brunswick Gas Works Brunswick near Melbourne
in the Colony of Victoria Plumber and Gas Fitter and JOHN ALSTON WALLACE
of Ludstone Chambers Collins Street Melbourne in the Colony of Victoria
Member of the Legislative Council of said Colony do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention consists of an improved method of and apparatus for automatically
lighting and extinguishing street and other gas lamps.
The improved method consists essentially in utilising the pressure in the gas
main, or other source of supply for the purpose of actuating an apparatus which
will open or cut off the supply to the burner, and which will also complete an
electrical circuit when the supply is fed to the burner and thus light the gas.
Practical experiments have proved that a comparatively slight variation in
the pressure of the gas in the main or other source of supply is sufficient to
accomplish the object for which the invention has been designed. For instance,
an increase of pressure to the extent of five-tenths of an inch has been found
sufficient to open the supply to the burner and light it, and a diminution in the
pressure to the same extent has been found sufficient to cut off the supply and
extinguish the light. This variation in the pressure may be effected at any central
station or at any position where a district governor may be placed.
This invention is intended mainly for the purposes of lighting and extinguishing
street lamps, in which case the supply would be taken froin the gas main ; but it is
evident that the same principle might be applied to the lighting and extinguishing
of a number of burners in a theatre or other large building, in which the source of
supply was not a gas main but a gas meter.
The improved apparatus which has been devised for carrying this method into
effect is as follows:
A small vertically sliding gas holder or reservoir is arranged to slide vertically
in a vessel containing water placed in any convenient position near the lamp, as for
instance in or near the lower and enlarged end of each lamp post, the open end
of said gas holder or reservoir being downwards, after the manner of what is
usually termed a gasometer.
This vertically sliding gas holder or reservoir is provided at its upper end with
a short tube which extends down beneath the surface of the water in the containing
vessel when the gas holder is in its lowest position, that is, when the gas is not at
sufficient pressure to raise it to the required extent. A smaller pipe leads from
inside the upper end of this short tube in said gas holder above the water therein,
and passing out of the lower end of the containing vessel extends up to the burner
of the lamp, whilst the inlet gas supply pipe passes up through the water in the
containing vessel into the upper part of the gas holder.
A draining vessel is provided under the lower end of the outer containing vessel,
from which draining vessel the inlet gas supply pipe leads to the gas holder above,
and into which draining vessel the gas is fed from the main through a pipe reaching
up to and determining the level of water in said draining vessel.
The pipe which, as above mentioned, leads from the gas holder to the burner has

page_text: a branch which leads down to beneath the water in the draining cylinder, so that
any water condensing out of the gas between the gas holder and the burner can
run back into the draining cylinder and will therefore not stop up the pipes.
By means of this vertically sliding gas holder the gas will be turned on or off
when the pressure in the gas main (and therefore in said holder) rises or falls above
a certain point.
On a fixed frame or platform above this vertically sliding gas holder we secure
an electrical contact spring arranged to be operated by a pin or projection on
said holder, so that when said holder rises sufficiently it will force said spring into
contact with another one and thus completes the circuit from a suitable battery
through the primary winding of an induction coil and thus cause an induced current
to flow from the secondary winding between two pointed wires arranged. a short
distance apart immediately above the top of the burner; the effect being to cause
a spark or series of sparks to pass between the two points and thus ignite the gas
issuing from the burner.
Having now generally described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we will proceed to more
particularly describe the same with the aid of the accompanying drawings,
wherein,
.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of an ordinary street gas lamp fitted with our
improved apparatus for lighting and extinguishing it.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of said apparatus drawn to a much larger scale.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the burner in said gas lamp, showing it fitted with
the pointed wires between which the igniting spark is produced.
Figure 4 is a sectional view, illustrating the operation of the main part of this
invention.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
A represents the vertically sliding gas holder or reservoir, and B the vessel
containing water in which said gas holder is arranged to slide up and down, the
lower end of said holder being open as shown after the manner of what is ordinarily
known as a gasometer. represents the short downwardly projecting tube which
is fitted in the underside of the cover or upper part of said gas holder A, and which
projects down below the surface of the water D in the containing vessel B when
said gas holder A is in its lowest position, as illustrated in Figure 2. C represents
a tube which projects down from within the tube c', above the level of the water D,
to near the bottom of a draining vessel E, the gas supply pipe c² leading to the
burner being led off from this said pipe C at or near the bottom of the containing
vessel B. represents the gas supply pipe which leads from the main and projects
a short distance into the draining cylinder E, whereby this said cylinder is kept
supplied with gas. represents a length of pipe which leads from this draining
cylinder E to above the water level in the gas holder A. outside the short downwardly
projecting tube c'.
F represents a fixed frame or platform which is carried by suitable supports f
above the containing vessel B, whilst G, G' represent the electrical contact springs
which are provided on the underside of said frame or platform, and are arranged to
be operated by a pin or projection y on the upper end of the gas holder A. Of these
two contact springs the one marked G' is provided with a block g', having a roughened
or serrated contact surface, so that as the spring G passes over it the circuit will be
made and broken several times from the battery H to the primary winding of an
induction coil 1. i represent wires which lead from the secondary windings of this
induction coil up to the burners J of the lamp where they terminate in points j', as
illustrated in Figure 3, so that when the induced current passes between them it will
form a spark immediately above the top of said burner and thereby ignite the gas
issuing therefrom.
The operation of this invention is as follows: Commencing with the gas at its
normal or lowest pressure, that is, before it is turned on at the main to meet

page_text: the increased evening's consumption, the gas holder A will be down in its lowest
position (as illustrated in Figure 2), and the escape of the gas from said holder
will be prevented by the short tube c¹ being sealed beneath the surface of the
water in the containing vessel B. The contact springs G, G', will, moreover,
be out of contact with each other (as shown), and thus no current will pass
from the battery H through the induction coil I. As soon, however, as the
pressure of gas is increased to a certain amount, the gas holder A will rise
until the lower end of the tube is lifted out of the water D, when the gas
will be free to pass (as indicated by the arrows in Figure 4) up through the
pipe c, into the gas holder A as before, and thence down through the pipe C
and along the pipe, to the burner J of the lamp. By this means the gas will
be turned on.
The lighting is effected as follows: As the gas holder A continues to rise,
the projection or pin g will come in contact with the spring G and will ben 1
same upwards so as to cause its end to contact with the spring G', that is, with
the roughened surface thereon, the effect being that, as said spring G passes over
said roughened surface, it will cause contact to be made and broken several times
between those two points, and thus an intermittent current will be allowed to
flow through the primary windings of the induction coil I, causing an induction
current to pass along the wires i to the burner J, across which a spark will pass
between the pointed ends j' of said wires. By this means the lighting of the gas
is effected.
On the pressure in the main being reduced the reverse action to that above
described will obviously take place, the holder A again falling to its normal
position as indicated in Figure 2 and thus shutting off the supply of gas and
sealing the lower end of the short tube c', and thereby closing the end of the
pipe C leading through the pipe c², to the burner.
The apparatus which we have above described must be fitted in some convenient
position in juxtaposition to the lamp; for instance, it can either be fitted inside
the lower end of the gas lamp or it can be placed in a box or case alongside the gas
lamp in the same way that the meters are now arranged, or it can be fitted inside
a cast-iron or other box or casing K let into the ground alongside the lamp post
and fitted with a cover, ', which can be removed when required.
The arrangement of the pipes C-c¹, q, above described is useful, because it
allows the water condensing in the pipes between the apparatus and the burner to
drain back into the draining vessel E, whence it can overflow into the pipe c, and
so pass down into the main; and, moreover, there is but very little friction to
interfere with the working of the gas holder A; but, if preferred, a telescopic
or a flexible rubber or other tube might be led up from the top of the gas
holder A to the burner, and be arranged to normally project slightly below the
level of the water therein, in which case the lower draining cylinder could be
dispensed with.
Instead, moreover, of using the contact springs with roughened surfaces as
above described for producing the makes and breaks in the electrical current
passing to the induction coil 1, an ordinary vibrating contact breaker might be
fitted upon said coil and be arranged to be operated by the alternate magnetisation
and demagnetisation of the core of said coil in the manner usual with induction
coils.
The battery H can be made up of any kind or number of cells preferred; but
in practice, in all probability, it will be found that two ordinary Laclanche cells
will answer all requirements.
The invention above described is mainly useful for street lamps, but it can be
applied for the purpose of lighting and extinguishing gas lights in large buildings,
such, for instance, as theatres and elsewhere, in which case the apparatus could
be operated by merely increasing or decreasing the pressure of gas by means of
the meter.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
First. The herein described method of automatically lighting and extinguishing
street and other gas lamps, consisting essentially in utilising the pressure in the gas
main or other source of supply for the purpose of actuating an apparatus which
will open or cut off the supply to the burner and will also complete an electrical
circuit and thereby ignite the gas, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Second. Apparatus for automatically lighting and extinguishing street and other
gas lamps in which the operating medium consists of a varying gas pressure, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained, and as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
Third. The herein described apparatus for automatically lighting and extin-
guishing street and other gas lamps, consisting of the various parts constructed,
arranged and operating, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Fourth. In apparatus for automatically lighting and extinguishing street and
other gas lamps, a gas holder (such as A), arranged to rise and fall according to
the pressure of gas therein, and having a length of tube so arranged that its lower
end projects beneath the surface of water in which said gas holder or reservoir
works, during the time the gas is not required to be supplied to the burner, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained, and as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
Fifth. In apparatus for automatically lighting and extinguishing street and other
gas lamps, the combination with a vertically sliding gas holder (such as A) of a
contact spring (such as G), arranged to complete an electric circuit to the burner
when said holder rises, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Third day of December One thousand eight hundred and
ninety-four
WILLIAM WHITE.
JOHN A. WALLACE.
G. F. Redfern & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.