Improvements in Oil Lamps or Oil Stoves.
Year: 1894

page_text: ⚫ Date of Application, 3rd Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 29th Sept., 1894--Accepted, 3rd Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Lamps or Oil Stoves.
JOHN HOWARD Ross Lighting Engineer, 30 Crompton Road, Handsworth
Birmingham do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Instead of the usual perforations or gauze to regulate the supply of air to the
outside of the flame of either a circular or flat wick oil burner, I construct the
burner cap which carries the chimney so that fixed projections from the inside of
the burner cap are free to slide up and down upon the wick tube or are attached.
to a tube surrounding the wick tube and free to slide up and down upon it; and
arranged so that the sliding part attached to the burner cap will come down to a
stop, so adjusted that the space between the burner cap and wick tube or part
into which it fits will be just sufficient to admit the necessary amount of air to the
outside of the flame and in circular burners the sliding tube may have a bayonet
joint, so that when down in position it may be turned round to engage with
projections from the wick tube, to secure it in its place.
I also surround the wick tubes of an oil lamp with two stampings, spinnings or
parts within which may be enclosed the wheel or arrangement to wind up the wick
or wicks. The lower stamping, spinning or part having a screwed ring round
bottom or otherwise made to fit into the oil container; the upper one which is
secured to it and forms the cover is preferably saucer shaped so as to catch the
charred parts of wick or wicks when trimming the lamp, and also any sweating of
oil from the wicks, both of which can be easily wiped out when the burner cap is
lifted off the lamp; on this saucer shaped cover are projections or ribs raised up,
some vertically and some horizontally upon and within or over which, the flange
or rim of burner cap fits, these projections divide the air space round the burner
cap into a number of passages which breaks the air up and steadies it, and baffles
may be arranged to contract the air space at various parts to diffuse the air on its
passage to the flame if necessary, instead of the projections being formed on or
attached to the saucer shaped dish they may be formed upon the lower part of the
burner cap and baffles may be formed either on the burner cap, wick tube or part
into which it fits, in the form of corrugated rings stamped or spun upon the said
parts, or may be tubes or washers attached to either as may be most convenient,
the burner cap may be held in position and the air space or spaces regulated by
the use of the projections above referred to without the use of the sliding tube
or parts on wick tube, the vertical projections either on the burner cap or parts
within or upon which it fits being deep enough to hold the burner cap steadily, or if
shallow, a bayonet joint, hinge and catch, or other suitable fastening may be used
to secure it in its place upon, over or within and pressing against the projections
which regulate the air space.
To raise the burner cap and chimney for lighting, I employ a rack attached to
the burner cap having peculiarly shaped teeth engaging therewith, and secured to
the stem of a key handle to operate it with, is a pinion with teeth and spaces
corresponding with those upon the rack, and formed in such a manner that a solid
part forming a segment of a circle drawn round the points of the normal teeth, can
be turned above the top tooth in rack, thus preventing the rack and consequently
the burner cap which is secured to it, from being withdrawn when down in their
lace, the same or a similar segment holding it up in position for lighting when the
ack has been turned up by the key handle and pinion until the lowest tooth of
ack rests upon it; to stop the pinion in the proper position, I employ an extended

page_text: tooth or teeth, to come against a stop or stops, preferably against. the side of the
tube in which the rack slides, and to make the action of turning down sure, I employ
a longer tooth to engage with the rack in a deeper space above and next to the
lowest tooth; to keep the key spindle and pinion from moving accidentally I
employ a split tube through which the stem of key passes, the said split tube
fitting tightly over the stem of key and acting as a friction spring, which causes the
motion of turning the key, spindle and pinion to be very smooth.
In a circular burner to raise and lower the wick uniformly, I employ a tube
having teeth or projections at one end turned inwards to engage with the wick, over
which it fits, the said tube being fitted to slide up and down inside the outer wick
tube and being screwed or corrugated upon the outside in such a manner that the
teeth of a pinion projecting through a hole in the outer wick tube and operated by
a handle in the usual way, will engage therewith and move it and consequently with
it, the wick, up and down.
For the purpose of enabling the reservoir of a suspension oil lamp to be used as a
stand lamp or as a reservoir for an oil stove, or to stand same more securely when
out of the suspension without the use of the usual basket and pillar generally
employed for a stand lamp, I employ a loose stamped or spun ring of sheet metal,
so made as to glove fit upon the bottom or contracted part of reservoir, so
securely that the reservoir could be carried about without this ring falling from it,
the bottom of the said ring being widened to form the base and either mitred
or having holes punched through it to admit air to the centre of flame if used
upon a central draught lamp or stove.
The advantages of a lamp constructed as described are:-
1st. There are no perforations to get choked with dirt, therefore rendering
firing or explosion impossible.
2nd. When the burner cap is lifted off, all trimmings from wick and dirt or oil
can be readily removed by the use of the unperforated saucer or dish below the
burner cap.
3rd. The construction of rack and pinion and attachments are such that by
accident the burner cup cannot be taken off lamp when alight, but when turned up,
can be held there or instantly removed for trimming.
4th. By the use of a screwed or corrugated tube fitted to slide within the outer
wick tube and moved up and down by a pinion engaging with the thread of screw
or corrugations, the wick can be instantly put in its place, and the pinion of burner,
when placed over the wick and screwed or corrugated tube, will operate it anywhere
all round, without the trouble of having to find any rack or slot as is the case with
many lamps, and the wick is wound up and down uniformly.
Dated this Second day of March 1894.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Lamps or Oil Stoves.
1, JOHN HOWARD Ross, 30 Crompton Road Handsworth, Birmingham, 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 :-
My invention relates to an improved construction of oil lamp, which can be
employed as an oil stove, having reference more particularly to novel means of
raising and lowering the air cone and gallery, of admitting air to the interior of
the air cone, and of raising and lowering the wick, as I shall describe referring to
the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the burner part of a lamp according to my
invention,

page_text: Fig. 2 is a side view of the appliance for raising and lowering the air cone,
and
Fig. 3 is a part sectional plan at X of Fig. 1.
W is the wick surrounding the air tube A which extends, as usual, through the
oil reservoir O and admits air under its bottom. The wick W is enclosed within a
tube B, shewn partly in elevation in Fig. 1, this tube having at its top claws
projecting inwardly into the wick and being circularly grooved, so that, whatever
side of it is turned towards the pinion P, that pinion, having its teeth engaged in
the grooves of what may be termed a cylindrical rack, can always operate to raise
or lower the tube B and the wick W. The tube B, instead of being circularly
grooved, may be screw threaded.
The air cone C has an outwardly projecting step con slightly raised ribs of
which rests the lower edge of the glass G the base of which is steadied in the
gallery g by parts of the gallery inwardly punched, and constituting springs gl.
As indicated by the arrows, air enters the interior of the glass G by passing
between the ribs under the edge of the glass above c. The air cone has another
outwardly projecting step cl with its outer part c² turned vertically down so that
its edge rests on ribs d slightly raised from the face of a dish D, which has also
vertical ribs d within which the lower part 2 of the cone C is steadied. As
indicated by the arrows air enters between the ribs d' and d under the edge of c² to
supply the interior of the cone C.
The dish D serves as a recipient of any trimmings of the wick or other dirt and
can be cleared of these when the cone and glass are raised.
As the admission of air to the interior of the cone is by passing under the edge
of c, there are no perforations such as are usually provided in lamps for ingress of
air to the air cone and which are liable to be obstructed; the air, moreover,
entering as it were, in a thin layer between the ribs, is very uniformly diffused
without local currents. Obviously the cone C and glass G may be raised by hand
and removed when it is desired to get access to the wick W for trimming or lighting.
As such lamps are frequently provided with means of raising and lowering the
cone and glass by turning a knob or handle like that employed for raising and
lowering the wick, I provide, according to my present invention, an arrangement
for this purpose so contrived that when the cone and glass are raised they are held
up and can only be lowered by turning the handle. For this purpose I attach to a
guide ring R, connected by brackets to the step c₁ of the cone C, a rack E
guided to slide vertically in a guide e, and to this rack I gear a pinion F which can
be turned by an external handle f. In Fig. 2 the rack E is shewn in its raised
position, in which position it is held because its lowest tooth bears upon a circular
part of the pinion F. Thus the cone, gallery and glass, when raised, cannot drop
until the pinion is turned. But when the pinion F is turned in the direction of the
the lowest tooth of the rack enters into engagement with the teeth of the
pinion and the rack is lowered. When it is in the lowered position as indicated by
the dotted lines in Fig. 1 the last tooth of the pinion is engaged in a wide gap of
the rack and is so shaped that it holds the rack down so that it can only be raised
by turning the pinion."
arrow,
2°
The air cone, instead of resting on raised ribs d may be supported on the dish D
by the ring R which is attached by brackets to the cone, the ribs & being in this
case dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In an oil lamp, in combination with the pinion for raising the wick, a tube
enclosing the wick and holding it by claws, the said tube being circularly grooved
or threaded, constituting a cylindrical rack gearing with the pinion, substantially
as described.
2. In an oil lamp providing an inlet for air to the interior of the air cone by

page_text: resting the lower edge of the cone on slightly raised ribs of a dish or by resting on
the dish a ring attached to the cone, thus affording a shallow space below the cone
for entrance of air, substantially as described.
3. In an oil lamp in combination with the air cone and gallery carried by it, a
rack and pinion with teeth so shaped that the rack cannot be moved from either of
its extreme positions without turning the pinion, substantially as described.
Dated this 29th day of September 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.