IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Henry Smith, of Bayswater, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Henry Smith at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th August 1876.
FREDERICK HENRY SMITH, of Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LAMPS."
My Invention relates more especially to lamps for burning mineral oils, but also
partially to lamps for burning other oils or spirits, and is specially applicable to
railway carriage, tram car, lighthouse, signal, and house or table lamps, also to
cooking and heating stoves, lanterns, etcetera.
The first part of my Invention consists in improved means of securing the proper
admission and regulation of air to lamps of the class employed in railway carriages
for the purpose of preventing the production of steam or vapour in them and of
regulating the temperature in the lamp casing In order to effect this I employ
one or more openings in the air tube immediately below the junction thereof with
the reflector, for the purpose of admitting a small portion of cold air into the
interior of the lamp glass, and also in the employment of one or more outlet
openings in the reflector for the purpose of allowing the escape of steam or vapour
from the interior of the lamp glass.
The second part of the Invention consists in the employment of a suitable non-
conducting material, such as wood, bone, ivory, or cork, interposed between the
reflector and oil tank, also between the air and oil tubes and the reflector, where
they pass through the latter, also in surrounding the oil tank and chimney and in
covering the back of the reflector with suitable non-conducting material. The
object of this part of the Invention is to prevent the transmission and radiation of
heat from one part of the lamp to another, whereby the temperature of the interior
of the lamp is kept as low as possible, and consequently the flame remains uniform
and the oil in the tank is kept cool.
The third part of the Invention consists in certain improvements in the con-

page_text: struction of wick holders of the kind described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to me and bearing date the Ninth day of October, 1874, and numbered 3473.
According to these improvements I construct such wick holders with enlarged and
weighted ends arranged so as to form stops to prevent the wick holder from shifting
sidewise in the slots of the dome; or I construct them with notches adapted to take
over the bottoms of the slots in the ends of the dome for the same purpose. The
wick holders may also be provided with stops for preventing the wick from dropping
too low in the slot of the holder; or instead of the aforesaid stops small pegs of
wood or other suitable material may be driven through holes in the sides of the
wick holder and through the wick itself when the latter is adjusted to its
proper position in the holder; or according to another modification the wick holder
may be formed of two separate pieces hinged together and furnished with teeth
fixed in one of such pieces, such teeth passing through the, wick and into holes in
the other piece when the two are folded together These arrangements are
especially applicable when wicks composed of blotting or other bibulous paper are
employed, such as those described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me
and bearing date the 9th day of February, 1876, numbered 528, but are also
applicable to other wicks.
The fourth part of the Invention consists in means of supplying air to the burners,
and has for object the securing of a steady flame; for this purpose the oil cup is so
shaped and comes in contact with the dome at opposite corners in such manner that
the current of air introduced through one air tube is kept quite separate from the
air introduced through the other air tube, each tube supplying air to opposite sides
of the oil cup.
Or according to another arrangement for effecting this object the
oil cup may be retained or dispensed with, as may be preferred; in the latter case
the dome is employed alone, both to contain the oil and to guide the air to the
flame. In either case I propose to connect the two air tubes together at their upper
ends by a connecting tube provided with an opening or openings for the admission
of air to the dome, such openings being by preference placed as far from the air
tubes as possible, and in such position as to be subject to as little draft of air as
may be.
The fifth part of the Invention consists in means of supplying air to the burners
of lamps with "low level" oil tanks
According to one arrangement for this purpose I employ an air chamber below
the said oil tank fitted (in the case of railway carriage lamps) with the usual air tubes
for conducting air thereto from the upper part of the lamp case above the reflector.
Tubes preferably of oblong or flat section pass through the oil tank from the air
chamber one on each side of the oil cup and parallel thereto, for conveying air from
the air chamber to the wick.
According to another arrangement the air chamber may be dispensed with and
the air tubes arranged to pass directly through the oil tank, their ends being
flattened and passing through the top thereof in the same positions as in the former
case.
According to another arrangement in "low-level" lamps adapted to drop into a
jacket fitted in the bottom of the lamp glass the oil tank may be constructed to act
on the bird-fountain principle, and if preferred may be fitted through a screw plug
or through a valve. For this arrangement I employ a central air tube passing
through the oil tank and connected at the bottom with lateral passages or grooves
radiating from such central air tube. The air tubes leading from the upper part of
the lamp case into the jacket enter for a short distance into the said radial passages
or grooves when the lamp is put into place in the jacket, and the air is thus conveyed
by the central air tube to the burner which is fixed in the central air tube
These methods of supplying air to burners may be adapted to house or table
lamps, the supply of air to the tubes leading to the burners being by preference
conducted up the interior of the hollow pillar or other support of the lamp, or
through a tube or tubes on the outside of such pillar or support. By this arrange-
ment the usual air gratings at the base of the burner may be dispensed with, and

page_text: the flame is not affected by currents of air, as the latter can only enter at the base
of the lamp or close to the table or other support where the air is more quiescent
than at the height of the burner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Henry Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th February 1877.
FREDERICK HENRY SMITH, of Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LAMPS."
The Invention relates more especially to lamps for burning mineral oils, but also
partially to lamps for burning other oils or spirits, and is specially applicable to
railway carriage, ship, tram car, lighthouse, signal, and house lamps, also to cooking
and heating stoves, lanterns, etcetera.
•
The first part of the Invention consists in improved means of securing the
proper admission and regulation of air to lamps of the class employed in railway
carriages, for the purpose of preventing the production of steam or vapour in them
and of regulating the temperature in the lamp casing. This part of the Invention
consists in the employment of one or more openings in the air tube immediately
below the junction thereof with the reflector, for the purpose of admitting a small
portion of cold air into the interior of the lamp glass, and also in the employment
of one or more outlet openings in the reflector immediately above the said hole or
holes in the air tube, for the purpose of allowing the escape of steam or vapour from
the interior of the lamp glass.
Figure 1 of the Drawing illustrates the application of this part of the Invention
to a railway carriage lamp adapted to burn mineral oil, the arrangement of the
general parts of which are of the ordinary construction. A is the body of the
lamp, B, the lamp glass; C, the reflector; D, the high-level oil cistern or tank ;
E, E, oil tubes for conveying the oil from the cistern D to the oil cup; G, G, the
air tubes for conducting air from the upper part of the lamp to the inside of the
dome H surrounding the burner; I, the wick supported in the wick holder J, which
rests in two notches in the dome H, as shewn K, K, and L, L, represent the said
first part of the Invention above described; K, K, ate the openings in the air
tubes G, G, for admitting cold air into the lamp glass; and L, L, are outlet openings
in the reflector C above the holes K, K; these holes L, L, may or may not be
employed, as may be found necessary, to allow the escape of steam or vapour
said opening K, K, and L, L, may be one or more in number in each case, and they
may be made of such sizes and placed in such positions as may be found most
suitable for the particular size of lamp and the particular circumstances under which
it is to be used, and the exact sizes for each particular case can only be determined
by experiment, but it is important that they should not be made too large, as their
effect would then be to disturb the flame of the burner.
The
The second part of the Invention consists in the employment of a suitable non-
conducting material, such as wood, bone, ivory, or cork, interposed between the
reflector and oil tank, also between the air and oil tubes and the reflector, where
they pass through the latter, also in surrounding the oil tank and chimney and in
covering the back of the reflector with suitable non-conducting material; the object
being to prevent the transmission or radiation of heat from the one part of the
lamp to another, by which arrangement the temperature of the interior of the lamp
is kept as low as possible, the flame remains uniform, and the oil in the tank is
kept cool.
Figures 2 and 3 of the Drawing illustrate this part of the Invention, Figure 2
being a section at line a, a, of Figure 1, but with the non-conducting parts adapted,
Similar letters refer to like parts in each of the Figures 1. 2. and 3.

page_text: .
In Figure 2 M represents the non-conducting material interposed between the oil
tank D and the reflector C, these two being connected together by the following
means-N is a bent strip of metal soldered or otherwise fixed to the reflector C;
O is a similar bent strip of metal soldered or otherwise fixed to the bottom of the
oil tank D. The non-conducting material M is placed between the bent strips N
and ◇ and secured thereto by rivets or other suitable means; by this arrangement
metallic connexion between the reflector and the oil tank is avoided.
Figure 3 shews the means of isolating the air and oil tubes from the reflector, C;
P is a collar of metal soldered or otherwise attached to the tubes G or E; Q is a
shouldered collar of bone, ivory, or other suitable non-conducting material, passing
through the reflector C bearing by its shoulder against the under side thereof and
surrounding the tubes E and G; R is a ferrule which slides over the shouldered
collar Q and bears against the upper side of reflector C; S is a second collar of
metal soldered or otherwise attached to the tubes G or E after the ferrule R is put
in place. By these means the tubes E and G are held in place in the reflector
without metallic contact therewith; or if preferred instead of the shouldered collar
and ferrule a simple ferrule of non-conducting material may be applied around the
air and oil tubes where they pass through the reflector, such ferrule being fixed to
the said air and oil tubes by any convenient means.
In Figure 2 T shews non-conducting material, such as plaster of paris, cork, 2
charcoal, or other suitable substance filling the cavity between the oil tank D and
an outer casing D¹. U shews a similar application of non-conducting material
surrounding the chimney, and V non-conducting material applied to the upper
surface of the reflector C. The air tubes may likewise be covered with non-
conducting material, and if desired similar non-conducting material may be
interposed between the rim of the reflector C and that of the glass B, the object of
these applications of non-conducting material being to prevent radiation or conduction
of heat from one part to another.
The third part of the Invention relates to improvements in what are known as
"drop-in" wick holders of the kind described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to me bearing date the Ninth day of October, 1874, and numbered 3473,
and is illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 8* of the Drawing. Figure 4 shows a
full-sized section of an oil cup with a wick holder J constructed with enlarged and
weighted ends J, J, arranged so as to form stops to prevent the holder from
shifting sideways in the slots of the dome. Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a
section and plan of the same arrangement.
Figure 7 shews another arrangement of "drop-in" wick holder, in which
notches W, W, are adapted to take over the bottoms of the slots in the ends of the
dome, for the purpose of preventing end movement. The same Figure also shews
stops X, X, for the purpose of preventing the wick Y from dropping too low in the
slot of the holder. This arrangement is especially applicable when wicks composed
of blotting paper, as herein-after referred to, are employed.
Another method of securing such wicks in the said holders is also shewn in
Figure 7, and consists in driving small pegs of wood or other suitable material Z, Z,
through holes in the sides of the wick holder, and through the wick itself when the
latter is adjusted to its proper position in the holder.
Figures 8 and 8* shew another modification of wick holder formed of two
_separate pieces hinged together at A and furnished with teeth Z, Z, fixed in one of
such pieces, such teeth Z, Z, passing through the wick and into the holes Z¹, Z¹, in
the other piece when the two are folded together, as shown in Figure 8*. By this
arrangement the wooden or other moveable pegs are dispensed with.
The fourth part of the Invention relates to means of supplying air to the burners,
and has for object the securing of a steady flame.
Figure 9 shews one arrangement for obtaining this object. H is the dome, similar
to that shewn in Figure 1. F is the oil cup and G, G, the air tubes, the oil
cup F is so shaped and comes in contact with the dome at opposite corners, in
such manner that the current of air introduced through one air tube is kept quite

page_text: separate from the air introduced through the other air tube, each tube supplying air
to opposite sides of the oil cup F.
Figure 10 shews another arrangement for effecting this object. In this case the
oil cup may be retained or dispensed with, as may be preferred; the Figure shews
it dispensed with and the dome employed alone, both to contain the oil and to guide
the air to the flame, and if preferred a false bottom or other suitable means may
be employed to prevent the oil in such dome from being too much agitated. Tho
two air tubes Ĝ, G, are connected together at their upper ends by the tube G¹,
which for convenience may be carried round the lamp case following the sweep of
the tank. The connecting tube G¹ is provided with an opening or openings G² for
the admission of air to the dome H, by preference placed at as great a distance
from the tubes G, G, as possible, and in such position as to be subject to as little
draft of air as may be. By this means currents of air passing through the lamp
will not affect the steadiness of the light.
In the examples herein-before described the oil tubes are shewn outside the air
tubes; they may if preferred be placed inside the air tubes, as shown in Figure 10*,
whereby the said oil tubes are kept cooler than when exposed to the direct action
of the heated air in the lamp glass.
The fifth part of the Invention relates to means of supplying air to the burners
of lamps with "low level" oil tanks. Figures 11 to 14 illustrate this part of the
Invention, Figure 11 is a section through one arrangement of "low level" lamp
constructed in accordance with the Invention, and Figure 12 a section of same at
right angles to Figure 11. A is the oil tank; B, an air chamber below the same;
C, C, air tubes for conducting air to such chainber, D, D, tubes, proferably of oblong
or flat form, passing through the oil tank A from the air chamber, one on each sido
of the oil cup E which extends from above the tank A to nearly the bottom
thereof and is itself open at bottom; F is the dome Instead of forming the tank A
with the air chamber B the air tubes C, C, may be arranged to pass through the sides
of the tank and the ends then flattened and bent upwards and pass through the top
of the oil tank in the same positions as the flat tubes D,D, in Figures 11 and 12.
Figures 13 and 14 shew another arrangement of "low-level" lamp_adapted to
drop into a jacket Z fitted in the bottom of the lamp glass, Figure 14 being an
under side view of the oil tank removed from the jacket. A is the oil tank; it is
shewn as constructed on the bird-fountain principle, but it may be arranged if
preferred so as to be filled through a screw plug or through a valve in the manner
to be hereafter described in reference to Figure 12. D is a central air tube passing
through the oil tank A, and C, C¹, are lateral passages or grooves formed in the
bottom of the tank A radiating from the said central air tube D; C, C, are air
tubes which lead from the upper part of the lamp case into the jacket Z, their ends
entering thereinto for a short distance, as shewn, so as to enter into the radial
passages or grooves C¹, C¹, when the lamp is put into its place in the jacket, as
shewn in the Figure 13. In the central air tube D is fixed the oil cup E, which
receives the wick in the usual manner. F is the dome, as before
It will now be understood that air entering by the tubes C, C, passes by the
grooves C¹, C¹, into the central air tube D, and up the latter to supply the burner.
In Figure 12 P represents a valve in the oil tank opening inwards against a
spring Q. The oil tank may readily be filled through this valve by means of the
usual feeder, which for that purpose is to be pushed in, depressing the valve from its
seat, when the feeder is withdrawn the valve closes against its seat by the action
of the spring in a manner readily understood. If preferred instead of the air
tubes C, C, in Figures 13 and 14 being outside the glass they may be carried down
inside the glass B to the bottom of the jacket Z, the oil tank A being shaped
accordingly.
Figure 15 shews this method of applying air to burners adapted to a house lamp.
A is the oil tank or reservoir; B, the pillar; C, C, tubes, preferably oblong or flat
in section, passing through the oil tank or reservoir, opening one on each side of the
burner, under the dome F. The supply of air passes through the holes or notches D, D,

page_text: in the base of the pillar, up the said hollow pillar B and tubes C, C, into the dome.
If preferred the air may be conducted from the hollow pillar B to the burner by
means of tubes outside the reservoir A instead of through tubes passing through the
said reservoir, and instead of the air being passed up the hollow pillar it may be
passed up through a tube or tubes on the outside of such pillar. By this arrange-
ment the usual air gratings at the base of the burner are dispensed with and the
flame is not affected by currents of air passing in the room, as the air can only enter
at the base close to the table or other support, where the air is more quiescent than
at the height of the burner.
The lamps illustrated in the Drawing above described are shown as having
straight or flat wicks; they may however be adapted for circular wicks, and instead
of "drop-in" wicks the usual winders may be employed; and although it is preferred
to employ in connection with the improvements above described wicks made of
blotting paper, as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me and
-bearing date the Ninth day of February, 1876, numbered 528, the ordinary cotton
or other fibrous wicks may be employed.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to or may be performed, I would have it understood that what I claim
as my Invention is,―
First The use of the holes K, K, in the air tube with or without the holes L, L,
in the reflector, as herein described and illustrated in Figure 1 of the Drawing, and
for the purposes specified
Second. The arrangement and adaptations of wick holders and the methods of
securing the wicks therein, as herein described and illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 8 of the Drawing.
Third. The arrangement and adaptation of dome, oil cup, and air tubes, for
obtaining a separate supply of air to opposite sides of the burner, as herein described
and illustrated in Figure 9 of the Drawing.
Fourth. The various arrangements and adaptations of air passages to the burners
of "low-level" lamps, as herein described and illustrated in Figures 11 to 14 of
the Drawings
Fifth The method of supplying air to the burners of house or pillar lamps
through the pillar and tubes, as herein described and illustrated in Figure 15 of the
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Henry Smith, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.