AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING GASELIERS AND CHANDELIERS, THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Kaulbach at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
May 1874.
I, EDWARD KAULBACH, of 21, Gower Street, Bedford Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR
RAISING AND LOWERING GASELIERS AND CHANDELIERS, THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Instead of employing counterpoises as it has heretofore been the
practice to do in order to keep the gaselier or chandelier in its place and
at a required height, I simply apply pressure, or in other terms, friction,
upon the inner tube, thereby diminishing the weight upon the ceiling by.
one-half. The application of the said pressure moreover is so contrived
that it ceases the moment an effort is made to push the gaselier
up, and is exerted only when the force of gravity is allowed to act
upon it.
I have four ways in which I accomplish this,―
The first consists of a circular chamber situated at the top of the
outer tube of the gaselier or chandelier. Inside this chamber are three

page_text: little carriages that radiate directly towards the inner tube at an angle
apart of a hundred and twenty degrees. On the under surface of these
carriages and arranged longitudinally is a row of processes or teeth that fit
into a spiral groove cut in the surface of a moveable circular disc, so that
according as this disc is made to turn to the right or to the left the afore-
said carriages approach or recede from the central tube simultaneously
and with an equal motion. These carriages are further provided with
a bascule the extreme action of which is limited to about three-sixteenths.
of an inch. This bascule carries a small friction roller at the end next
to the central tube, which roller is made to impinge upon the said tube
with a pressure that may be regulated according to the weight that has
to be supported by means of the spiral aforesaid. Above the carriages
is a metal ring whose diameter is equal to the inner diameter of the
chamber. This ring is not a fixture but merely rests upon the rear of
the carriages, and when so resting prevents the action of the bascule.
This ring is connected with the outer tube of the gaselier which it
supports. It thus happens that when the gaselier is pushed upwards,
the bascule being relieved of its weight is immediately brought into play
and the pressure taken off the inner tube, but, it is again in full force the
moment the weight of the gaselier rests upon the bascule.
In my second method the apparatus is similar in substance to that
above described, with the exception of the spiral and the teeth that
work therein, which I dispense with, substituting in their place an
inverted hollow cone surrounding the carriages and impinging upon
their rear. This cone works by means of a screw on its outer surface
which is cylindrical so that as it is screwed up the carriages are driven
towards the centre by the inclined plane of the conc and a simultaneous
and uniform pressure is exerted from the three points upon the central
tube.
My third method consists simply of the bascule actuated by gravity
as aforesaid, but the carriages and the modes of working them above.
described I dispense with.
My fourth method is intended only for light weights and consists of
a stout flat ring of india-rubber or other suitable material secured
between two flat metal rings. The internal diameter of the upper ring
is slightly larger than that of the inner tube of the gaselier, that of the
under ring is about half an inch larger, while that of the india-rubber is
a little smaller. The india-rubber ring has three or more radial slits,

page_text: equidistant, which enable it to open when the gaselier is pushed up, but
cause it to tighten round the said tube when it is in repose or being
pulled downward. I propose applying the same principle to window
sashes and other similar purposes. Inside the upper aperture of the
chamber are three small springs to retard its descent.