IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS AND OTHER LAMPS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William James Walsh, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Gas Chandelier Maker, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS AND OTHER LAMPS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William James Walsh
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th August 1873.
I, WILLIAM JAMES WALSH, of Birmingham, in the County of
5 Warwick, Gas Chandelier Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS AND OTHER LAMPS," to be as
follows:-
My improvements in gas and-other lamps have reference to hall and
vestibule lamps and similarly suspended lamps, and have for their
object principally to facilitate the introduction of the globe or shade.

page_text: into and its removal from the frame of the lamp; and my said improve-
ments are as follows:-
I make one of the three side rods constituting the frame of the lamp
capable of rotating concentrically with the axis of the lamp frame, the
said rod moving horizontally and describing the arc of a circle.
When the said moveable rod is turned from its normal position there
is sufficient space between it and one of the fixed side rods to permit of
the globe being introduced into or removed from the lamp frame. The
extremities of the moveable rod turn in bearings carried by the fixed
rods of the lamp frame.
Instead of the side rod moving in the manner described, one of the
side rods of the frame may be made capable of sliding nearly vertically
in an eye suspended by the fixed rods, and also of being moved laterally
in the said eye. When so raised and moved aside the globe may be
introduced into or removed from the frame. The sliding rod does not ]
constitute a complete side of the lamp frame, but terminates at about
the middle of the globe part of the frame, the bottom of the sliding rod
dropping into a socket carried by a fixed part on the gallery of the lamp
frame. The eye through which the rod slides has curved internal sides
to permit the rod to be moved aside. The sliding rod may move a
through an eye attached to the fixed part on the gallery of the lamp
instead of the arrangement described.
In another arrangement of my Invention all the side rods are fixed,
and I joint the gas arm which is situated within the globe to the bottom
of one of the fixed side rods by a centre or gas joint. This arm passes :
through a hole in the globe, which globe is either permanently or tem-
porarily fixed to the said arm. The globe besides being connected to
and carried by the jointed gas arm described is capable by means of
thumb screws of being connected to and disconnected from the lower
ends of the other fixed side rods of the frame.
When it is required to clean the globe the thumb screws are detached,
when the arm carrying the globe turns on its joint and brings. the globe
into a hanging position.
When the globe is made in halves I construct and arrange the parts
m1

page_text: -
moveable on a centre carried by one of the fixed side rods of the lamp
frame. A coiled or other spring in the lower part of the said rod bears
upon an arm or part beyond the joint on which the half globe turns.
By means of the said spring the half globe when at liberty to move is
raised to and made to close the fixed upper half globe; or instead of
making one half of the globe fixed and the other moveable, both halves
of the globe may be moveable. In this arrangement I attach to the rim.
of each half globe a short arm or lever, the said arms or levers being
arranged in such a manner that the arm or lever of the upper half globe
presses on that of the lower half globe so as to counterbalance it and fix
it in its place.
To open the lamp the lower half globe is turned on its centre, its arm
or lever is thereby made to act upon that of the upper half globe and
cause the latter to turn on its centre. The half globes are thus
separated. On loosing the lower half globe the weight of the upper half
globe acts through the levers described upon the lower half globe and
raises it to the upper half globe. The weight of the two half globes is
thus balanced and the lamp closed.
To ensure the proper closing of the half globes the upper half globe
should be a little heavier than the lower half globe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said William James Walsh in the Great Seal Patent.
Office on the 24th February 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JAMES WALSH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gas
Chandelier Maker, send greeting.
• WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William James Walsh,. Her
special license that I, the said William James Walsh, my executors, ad. ⠀

page_text: ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William James
Walsh, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any. time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain 5
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS AND OTHER LAMPS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William James Walsh, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the 10
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same. was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William James Walsh, do hereby 1
declare the nature of, the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in gas and other lamps have reference to hall and
vestibule lamps and similarly suspended lamps; and my said improve- 2
ments have for their object principally to facilitate the introduction of
the globe or shade into and its removal from the frame of the lamp.
My said improvements are as follows:-I make one of the three side
rods constituting the frame of the lamp capable of moving about the
axis of the lamp frame, the said rod moving horizontally and describing 2
the arc of a circle.
When the said moveable rod is turned from its normal position there
is sufficient space between it and one of the fixed side rods to permit of
the globe being introduced into or removed from the lamp frame. The
extremities of the moveable rod turn in bearings carried by the fixed a
rods of the lamp frame.
Instead of the side rod moving in the manner described it may be
made capable of sliding nearly vertically in an eye suspended by the
fixed rods of the frame. When so raised the globe may be introduced
into or removed from the frame. The sliding rod does not constitute a

page_text: complete side of the lamp frame, but terminates at about the middle of
the globe part of the frame, the bottom of the sliding rod dropping into
a socket carried by a fixed part on the gallery of the lamp frame. The
sliding rod may move through an eye attached to the fixed part on the
gallery of the lamp instead of the arrangement described.
When the globe of the lamp is made in halves, both halves being
moveable, I construct the parts for opening and closing the lamp in
the following manner :-I attach to the rim of each half globe a short
arm or lever, the said arms or levers being arranged in such a manner
that the arm or lever of the upper half globe presses on that of the lower
half globe so as to counterbalance it and fix it in its place. To open
the lamp the lower half globe is turned on its centre, its arm or lever is.
thereby made to act upon that of the upper half globe, and cause the
latter to turn on its centre; the half globes are thus separated. On
loosing the lower half globe the weight of the upper half globe acts..
through the levers described upon the lower half globe, and raises it to.
the upper half globe. The weight of the two half globes is thus balanced
and the lamp closed.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a hall or vestibule lamp con-
structed according to one part of my Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of
the under side of the same; and Figure 3 is a vertical section of a.
portion of the same, the said Figures 2 and 3 being drawn to a larger
scale. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
-
a, b, are the fixed side rods of the frame of the lamp, and ċ is the
moveable rod capable of turning about the axis of the lamp. The said
moveable rod c works in bearings or supports at d, e, at the top and:
bottom of the fixed lamp frame. The bottom bearing or support e, with
which is combined the tap or stop-cock of the lamp, consists of a
hemispherical piece ƒ carried by the fixed arms a, b, of the rods a, b,
and a moveable hemispherical piece e fixed to the arm c² of the moveable:
rod c. Secured in the fixed hemispherical piece fand projecting from
its upper face is a conical stem or axis g, upon which the hemispherical.
piece e of the moveable rod c is capable of partly rotating. The said
stem or axis supports the gallery hi, upon which the shade or globe i,
•

page_text: rests. The said stem or axis g has a gas-way in it, and the lower part g³,
to which the stem or axis g is screwed, constitutes the barrel of the tap
or stop-cock of the lamp. A gas-way is also made through the fixed
rod and arm b, 63, and hemispherical piece f. k is the plug of the stop-
cock working in the barrel g². The top bearing or support & of the
moveable rod c is constructed similarly to the lower bearing or support e,
excepting that it has no stop-cock. It is however provided with a gas-
way, through which the gas passes to the fixed rod 6 of the lamp frame.
When it is wished to place the globe or shade in or remove it from the
lamp frame the moveable rod c is turned upon its bearings at d, e, that
is, it is turned from the normal position represented at c² in Figure 2 to
that indicated in dotted lines in the said Figure 2. When the moveable
rod c is in the position indicated in dotted lines there is sufficient space
between it and the fixed rod to permit of the globe i being introduced
into or removed from the lamp frame. After the globe has been placed
upon
its gallery the moveable rod c is returned to its normal position,
when the said globe is secured in the lamp frame. Stops limit the
motion of the moveable rod c in either direction.
The bearings of the moveable rod of the frame may be modified in the ·
manner illustrated in Figure 4. In this arrangement cach of the
spherical parts d, e, of the fixed lamp frame a, b, has a circular groove es
made in it, in which groove a thin metal band or ring works. To the
_said band or ring f the horizontal arm c² of the moveable rod c is con-
nected. The horizontal arms of the fixed rods a, b, are connected to the
said spherical parts d, e. Slots at g are made in the band or ring S,
"which slots on the motion of the moveable rod c to open or close the
frame of the lamp work upon the ends of the horizontal arms of the
fixed rods a, b. The action of the moveable rod of this lamp is the same
as that first described.
Figure 5 represents the arrangement of my Invention in which the 3
moveable rod slides vertically in an eye on the fixed frame of the lamp;
Figures 6 and 7 are parts of the same drawn to a larger scale; a, b, are
the fixed rods of the-frame, and c is the sliding rod working in the
curved slot & in the eye e suspended by the fixed rods a, b. The fixed.
rod 6 is prolonged at 6³, and terminates at or about the middle of the 8
globe. part of the frame in a socket ³ into which the bottom of the

page_text: sliding rod c when the latter is in its normal position, as indicated in
dotted lines fits. The sliding rod c is secured in its normal position so
as to close the lamp by a set screw at ƒ (see Figure 7).
When the globe i is required to be removed from or replaced in the
frame of the lamp, the sliding rod c is raised into the position represented
in Figure 5. The globe i may now be removed through the open frame
or placed in the said frame. After the globe has been placed in the
lamp frame, the sliding rod c is pushed down and its end made to enter
the socket 68 in the fixed side rod 2 of the frame, as indicated in dotted
lines, and secured in the said socket by driving home the set screw at ƒ.
The lamp frame is thereby closed and the globe fixed in the said frame.
Figure 8 represents a modification of the lamp last described. In this
arrangement the sliding rod works in an eye attached to the fixed part
of the frame on the gallery of the lamp; a, b, are the fixed rods, and c is
the sliding rod; g is the eye in the fixed part 2 of the gallery of the
lamp. The sliding rod c in this arrangement slides downwards to open
the lamp, and the upper end of the sliding rod when the lamp frame is
closed takes into a socket / carried by the fixed frame. When in its
normal position, as illustrated in the Drawing, the sliding rod c is secured
in the eye g by the set screw i.
"
Figures 9 and 10 represent the arrangement of my Invention in which
the globe or shade of the lamp is made in halves, both of the said halves'
being moveable. Figure 9 representing the two half globes closed, and
Figure 10 the same opened; a, b, are the two half globes carried by the
fixed band c supported by the rods of the lamp frame in the ordinary
way. To the rim of the upper half globe a a short straight arm or lever
d is attached, and to the rim of the lower half globe 6 a curved or
hooked arm or lever e is attached. The said arms or levers d, e, turn on
the Centres or joints d, e, the said centres being carried by snugs or
projections, on the fixed band c. The said arms or levers d, e, are
engaged together and made to bear upon one another in the manner
illustrated in the Drawing.
b
When it is required to open the lamp for lighting the gas or gaining
access to the interior of the globe for cleaning or for other purpose, the
lower half globe b is pulled down and its arm e turned on its centre e²..

page_text: The end of the said arm e thereby presses upon the arm d of the upper
half globe a and raises the said half globe a, and opens the lamp in the
manner illustrated in Figure 10. On loosing the lower half globe b, the
weight of the upper half globe a as it descends causes its arm d to press
on the arm e of the said lower half globe b, and raise the said globe b. 5
The two half globes a, b, are thus simultaneously closed. When closed.
the weight of the upper half globe counterbalances that of the lower
half globe a, and fixes the latter in its place.
To insure the proper closing of the half globes, the upper half globe
should be a little heavier than the lower half globe.
4
My Improvements may be applied to all kinds of lamps suspended
after the manner of hall lamps, or vestibule lamps, whether the said
lamps be used for internal or external lighting..
.
1
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I- 1
do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my.
Invention,―
b
But I claim as my Invention of improvements in gas and other lamps
of the kind called hall lamps, and vestibule lamps, and similarly 2
suspended lamps,-
Firstly. The arrangements or combinations of the parts herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying
Drawing of the bearings or supports of the moveable side rod of the.
frame of the lamp, by the motion of which moveable side rod the frame a
of the lamp is opened for introducing or removing the globe or shade,
and closed for retaining the globe or shade in its place.
Secondly. Making one of the side rods of the frame of the lamp
capable of sliding vertically in an eye either at the upper part of the
fixed lamp frame or at the gallery part of the said lamp frame, for the
purpose of facilitating the introduction of the globe or shade into and its
removal from the lamp frame, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated in Figures, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawing.
:
Lastly. The arrangement or combination of parts herein-before
described and. illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 of the accompanying :

page_text: Drawing, for opening and closing and maintaining in a closed position
the moveable half globes or shades of lamps of the kind referred to.
In witness whereof, I, the said. William James Walsh, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
WILLIAM JAMES WALSH. `(L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.