An Improved Appliance to be used in conjunction with a Miner's Safety Lamp or other Closed Lamp.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Appliance to be used in conjunction with a Miner's
Safety Lamp or other Closed Lamp.
I, JOHN VEITCH WILSON, of 8 Earlsfield Road, Wandsworth Common, in the
County of Surrey, Oil Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Miners lamps are usually provided with an instrument termed a "pricker" for
raising and lowering the wick. The pricker consists of a wire stem passing up by
a passage provided for it through the oil vessel and parallel to the tube of the wick
holder, the stem is bent at its upper end to form a short horizontal curved arm
which is pointed at the end. The parts are so arranged that, by raising the stem
and turning it partly round, the point can be made to enter a slot in the side of the
wick tube and to penetrate the wick; then by a longitudinal movement of the sten
the wick may be moved and made to protrude from the wick tube either more or
less than before.
Now according to my invention I alter this well known instrument so that it may
be used also for snuffing or removing the charred end from the wick without risk of
extinguishing the flame; against which risk it is necessary that thoroughly efficient
precaution should be taken.
On the same stem with the pricker arm and at a suitable distance beyond or
above it I provide a second horizontal arm of greater length, such that when the
stem is raised to a suitable height and turned round this second or snuffing arm will
Risk of
sweep over the top of the wick and will displace the charred end.
extinguishing the flame is avoided by so arranging that the snuffing arm cannot be
passed over the wick until sufficiently raised, it being stopped by the pricking arm
coming into contact with the screw collar used in securing the wick tube or holder
which it cannot pass until the stem is so far raised that the pricking arm goes clear
above the top of the collar.
In place of combining the snuffer with the pricker a separate snuffer may be
provided and in this case it would be provided with a stop arm operating in the
manner described.
The appliance above described is applicable to other closed lamps.
1000
J. VEITCH WILSON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Appliance to be used in conjunction with a Miner's
Safety Lamp or other Closed Lamp.
I, JOHN VEITCH WILSON, of 8 Earlsfield Road, Wandsworth Common, in the
County of Surrey, Oil Manufacturer, 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 :-
Miners lamps are usually provided with an instrument termed a "pricker" for
raising and lowering the wick. The pricker consists of a wire stem passing up by
a passage provided for it through the oil vessel and parallel to the tube of the wick
holder, the stem which is operated from below the bottom of the oil vessel is bent
at its upper end to form a short horizontal curved arm which is pointed at the end.
The parts are so arranged that, by raising the stem and turning it partly round, the

page_text: point can be made to enter a slot in the side of the wick tube and to penetrate the
wick; then by a longitudinal movement of the stem the wick may be moved and
made to protrude from the wick tube either more or less than before.
Now according to my invention I alter this well known instrument so that it may
be used also for snuffing or removing the charred end from the wick without risk of
extinguishing the flame; against which risk it is necessary that thoroughly efficient
precaution should be taken.
Risk of
On the same stem with the pricker arm and at a suitable distance beyond or
above it I provide a second horizontal arm of greater length, such that when the
stem is raised to a suitable height and turned round this second or snuffing arm will
sweep over the top of the wick and will displace the charred end.
extinguishing the flame is avoided_by_so arranging that the snuffing arm cannot be
passed over the wick until sufficiently raised, it being stopped by the pricking arm
coming into contact with the screw collar used in securing the wick tube or holder
which it cannot pass until the stem is so far raised that the pricking arm goes clear
above the top of the collar.
In place of combining the snuffer with the pricker a separate snuffer may be
provided and in this case it would be provided with a stop arm operating in the
manner described.
The appliance above described is applicable to other closed lamps.
In order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the drawings annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the lower part of a miner's safety lamp; the cage
of wire gauze is removed.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are sectional elevations of the upper part only.
a is the oil vessel, b is the wick tube, it is arranged in the usual manner having a
flange upon it which rests upon a shoulder a¹ within the neck of the oil vessel so
that the wick tube can readily be removed for trimming. c is the wick dis a screw
collar which retains the wick tube in its place. e is a small tube fixed in the oil
vessel and passing through it from top to bottom is the stem of a combined
pricker and snuffer which fills the tube è in which it can slide freely for a certain
distance is the pricker arm and point, in Figure 3 it is shown entering the wick
tube through the slot 62 and in contact with the wick c.
e
When the pricker has thus got hold of the wick the wick can be moved by it
either up or down. f2 is the snuffing arm which is a novel feature; it is on the
same stem as the pricker arm f' and it may be straight as shown in these figures
or it may be curved. In Figure 3 the wick is shown raised ready for snuffing but
the snuffing arm has not yet been brought into use. Figures 4 and 5 show the
position during the snuffing operation in which the snuffing arm passes over the
wick at a certain elevation above the end of the wick tube; this it is compelled to
do by the pricker arm f¹ resting upon the top of the screw collar d and hence there
is no danger of extinguishing the flame.
Before snuffing the wick should be raised by means of the pricker and it should
be allowed to burn up before it is snuffed. After snuffing the snuffing arm drops
to or drops below the level of the upper end of the wick tube and out of the way of
the flame.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The combination with the oil vessel of a closed lamp, of a snuffing instrument
substantially as described having an arm which can be passed over the wick at a

page_text: suitable distance above the wick tube which it is prevented from approaching too
near by another arm on the same stem serving as a stop and preventing the descent
of the snuffing arm until it has moved round clear of the wick.
Dated this 8th day of November 1893.
J. VEITCH WILSON.