US2608849A - Miner's lamp - Google Patents

Description

Sebt. 195 G. WHEAT ETAL MINER S LAMP 2 Sl-IEETS-SHEET 1 Original Filed Dec. 20, 1948 Sept. 2, 1952 Original Filed Dec. 20,- 1948 G. WHEAT EI'AL MINERS LAMP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept; 2, 1952 UNITED STAT-ES MINERS LAMP Grant Wheat and Arthur fiairiis, Marina a), Mass, assigiior's to Kochler Manufacturing Company; Marlboro, Mass'.,

"Mass chusetts a carporatmnof Original application liecember 66,368; Divided and this application April 14,

1950, Siial No". 156,006

.. 11 Claims.

This invention relates to mihers lamps or; the type. commonly referred to as safety flame lamps which can be ignited while in a substantially closed state through a spark i'gniter mech-' anism designed to be' operated by hand from a point outside of the enclosingstructure of the lamp? ,'1J I In general, sucha lamp iricl'udes a want for holding a supply or napt r dtheif'liq'uid fuel; a burner of the wick type, asubstafitially 'un-' breakable glass chimney encircling" the wick; a woven wire mesh ga ze and bonnet" above the chimney; a dome top above the-bonnet; and means for holding these parts together in their assembled relationship: With theseelements it is'customary to combine' a spark ighiter which has an externally loca-te'd operating linob o'r ha ndle; and conventional structures" of this natur are objectionable owing to their being relatively cumbersome, occupying considerable space in the mum, and being di'ficult-to remov'e; Y w The present inventiorf deals the' prbblerns indicated and aims to impr'dve sarety nit-12p struchires and their sp'arkigfiite'if 'rnechar fis'fi with a view to facilitatingthservicirig and fiiaint'enance of such devices. It is also an' object" of the i1i-' vention to devise; a"structura whichwill hestrong er, simplenand more economical to manufacture, as well as one that will be mor'e'convenient to use. It is still further an objectofthe invention to provide an apparatus having outstanding safety features.

These and other objects andnovelfeatureszwill be more fully understood andv appreciated from the following description of'a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shownin the accompanyingdrau ingainwhich a w Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional View, partly elevation, illustrating theimproved safety lamp constructionof,theinvention; A I

Fig. 2 is a persp "ctive view of the safety lamp fount 'showingfthe spark igniter of lthe invention re'mdvedtherefrorn; Fig.3 'is" a new somewhat sizm aritolllig. 2 but illustrating th lgfiitil part1? iiil fial ld inthe t: f.

Fig. 4 is :ap ar vi ewcr th' foii'nt with the" ignite'r runy' installed} and iiigpieper 611-. crating relationship Wifihfrfifiedi to thbllifii" elementofthelamp; f

Fig. 5 is an exploded, viewtfithi igiiiter ifi' h"- anism shown in Fig's. 1to'4,incliisii/" 1 v neckis an air admission tiire through which the gniter' m mber is 111; serted in installing the latter iriefnhe'r its proper operating position; 1 p M Fi '1 is a cross-sect ievv taken centrally through the i'g'nitr appat sh6wirigthe'1f1a= uonsmpof the irfiter elements to one afithei; Fig. 8 isan enlarged detailed elv'atiorial' new of the'head'o'f theigmter; M Fig; 9 is attend e1eirat-iirial view of the gene: ture showninli igl Fi 1-0 is a view similar t6 F'': abut illustfaitf ing a different operating 156515105 of th lefiints appearing therein: 7 p q Fig, 11 is a detailed viewers caniengaging frier n-berj-and- I r 5 v Fig 1 2 'is' a detail efd e li a loner-view ofthe engaginge'le'ineht shown in Fig. 11" mounted on its stipp'drtiiig' 'ha-fti; f Referring first to Fig I; the laifipstruc re there shown comprises a fount 2 p'rbviddan integral annular neck- 3 riding? from its t p and this neck is s'ldtteid; at sweatpants, soni' of which are shown at 4 ,-f'o'r" the ass-see a tlieretfi ro'iig'fi; Resting 0h tfii fdln lt iflS'idB fihe' toprovid' a's'eat fort hottoni' or theg'lass chini ney s; a; gasket 1 temg n erposeu between said seat and the lower-end of the ch-i'r'r'in'yenters of this' chiinnyis another ring 8' c rryingat eas top; of thelamp structure is; a: dome top;.l 6- cov-' amendments a so it reds:

ering the; upper endotthe bonnet; and the usual carryinghook I l is-attached to it."

o ri llre-i heseima tibnseof this lamp St ct r i i ly.ie tli sas vflm re a -J m rods It; in this instanoe fiW, ar arranged to c'onnectithe top and .bottorn elements qf this assembly in' the manners; rihedand claini edi in copending application-Serf Dec: 20; 1948.

v a counter; sunk hol' fbrihed' in the lower side I of jtheiloclg r ng at" which is, seretv tiiri' 'acfedf ltc the heck 3 of the foufitl As'ries ftuhes zl eac enc ir r sl i e libs d; between" the lock na "arena the middle ring ll ring 5 and it shaped v Flo-1 661368; file d:

where they space these two elements apart. The middle and top rings are spaced apart by the bonnet [3. Above the bonnet several short tubes 22 encircle the upper portions of the respective rods 18 and space the dome top Hi from the top ring 15 by a distance ample to provide ventilation.

Nuts 23 threaded on the upper ends of the rods 18 serve, when turned up, to tighten the parts of the entire bonnet and frame assembly rigidly together. Each of the nuts 23 at the upper end of the bolts is secured in a depression or socket formed in the dome top 16 which prevents the nut from rotating. Between the middle ring [4 and the adjacent flange of the outer cone (2 a spring ring or expansion ring 26 is inserted where it serves to compensate for any expansion or contraction of the parts, due to changes in temperature, and to maintain the joints in the assembly tight.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention we combine with a safety lamp structure, as above described, a novel spark igniter mechanism in the' form of a compact igniter unit which is easily installed and removed from the fount of a safety lamp and designed to be furnished as a replaceable item. This unit is of the spark type including a friction wheel or disk 50, more clearly shown in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, and provided with file cut edges working against a piece of flint or .pyro metal 52 resiliently held in a tubular body 54 by means of a coiled spring 55and a set screw 56. In the construction provided by the invention, the parts just mentioned are mounted on a cylindrical bushing 58 rigidly fastened by a screw 60 (Fig. '7) in a cylindrical holder 25. The latter member has a fiat bottom surface adapted to rest on the top plate 62 of the fount 2. Located through the plate 52 is a circular aperture 64 (Fig. 6) which is formed with a straight overhanging edge 65. The friction wheel 50 is fixed on a shaft 56 whichis eccentrically mounted for rotation in the bushing 58. One end of a spring 68 is anchored to the bushing 58 and the other end extendsaround, and is secured to, the shaft 66. At its inner or lower extremity the shaft 66 has mounted on it in fixed relation an eccentric earn which extends radially outward and is resiliently held against a stop 12 solidly located on the bushing 58, as is better shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The cam 10 and stop 12 are arranged in spaced relation to the inner bottom surface of the holder 25, as will .be noted in Fig. '1.

Supported in the fount 2 is a receiver 21 of generally tubular form which extends through the body of thefount and is sealed at opposite ends to the top and bottom plates of the latter member. It is desirable to have the top of the igniter occupy a position no higher than the top of the burner 24 when the lamp is in operation and, consequently, it is necessary in lighting the lamp to raise the friction wheel and flintassembly into such position that the spark produced by the operation of the latter will be on approximately a level with'the top of the wick W, shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

To satisfy these conditions we have first provided a port 14 (Fig. 1) which is formed in the side of the igniter holder 25 and through which a. spark from the igniter may be directed across the top of the wick when the'igniter is in a raised position. To raise the igniter into' proper operating relationship with the wick 'W, the holder 25 is constructed at it's inner end with a reduced cylindrical stem which is slidably disposed through the fount plate 62 and which extends into the upper hollow end of the receiver 21. This reduced cylindrical stem comprises two bosses 28 and 29, more clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 7. The bosses 2B and 29 are spaced apart by an intermediate cylindrical part 30 of lesser diameter.

Cooperating with the igniter holder and its reduced cylindrical stem is a shaft 31 extending from one end of the receiver 21 through the reduced stem into the lower end of the holder 25, as noted in Fig. 7. The outer extremity of shaft 3] is threaded to receive an operating knob 33. A coiled spring 34 encircles the shaft 3|, when the .parts are in their operative positions as shown in Fig. 7, and the spring abuts at its upper end against a shoulder in the receiver 21, and at its lower end against an adjacent portion of the knob 33. Consequently, this spring tends to hold the igniter in a lowered position with respect to the receiver 21. I f Y At its opposite or vvupper end the shaft 3 i solidly supports a thin disk16 which is received within the member 25' in a position to bear against the bottom inner surface of the latter member. The disk is provided with a cam engaging projection 18, more clearly shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The projection 18isarra'1'1ged on the outer peripheral edgeof the diskin a position chosen such that it may move into engagement with the eccentric cam 10 in one location of the latter member, such as that shown in Fig. 9 for example. When the shaft 31 and disk are rotated by the knob 33 in a clockwise direction; the cam-10. together with the friction wheel shaft 65, will be rotated against the holding effect of the spring 68.. As rotation continues, the projection 18 slides outwardly along the cam 'IO, and at some predetermined point, such as that shown in Fig. 10, will release the cam 10 allowing itto spring back to its starting position against the stop member 12.

In operating the igniter, the knob 33 is first pushed upwardly carrying the friction wheel and flint up to the level of the wick W where they are firmly held. The knob 33 is then, at the same time, turned in a clockwise direction to rotate the friction wheel 50 through .a limited arc of rotation, after which its. connection with the shaft 3! is released, as above described, and the spring 68 operating through the energy stored in it by the rotation, produces a quick rotative movement of the disk in the opposite direction. This :movement operates by contact of the disk with the flange 52 to produce the spark which lights the wick W. After the flash has occurred the knob is released and the spring 34 returns the knob and the igniter to their original starting positions. l

'During the upward -r novein ent of the knob 33 and the igniter, boss 28 slide'sthrough the hole 64 in the top plate of the fount. This boss 28 is of a shape and dimension to fit snugly within the hole 64 with a small operating clearance, and in order to accomplish this, boss 28 is formed with a flat 28a, better shown in Fig. 5. Similarly, the boss 29 is of the same peripheral shape and diameter as the boss 28 and is adapted topass through the opening 64 at one point being formed with a flat 29a, which occurs in a plane at right angles to theplane of the fiat28a. r

' The boss 29 has its upper'surface located at a distance from the frictionfwheel and flint so chosen that the latter members willlie at a correct position for directing a sparkacross the wick" when the upper surface of the boss 29' is forcedagainst the under surface of the plate 52 of the fount. The boss, therefore, serves as astop to limit upward movement of the igniter during the lighting operation. It mayhere be observed that the igniter support 25 and the bosses 28 and 25 are all coaxial with the shaft 31-, and the curved surfaces of the bosses are concentric with those of the members 25 and 30.

Occasionally it is necessary to remove the igniter from the fount, and this operation can be performed by turning the knob 3'3 counter-clockwise and thereby unscrewing it from the shaft 3|, after which the igniter body can be lifted until the boss 29 strikes the under side ofthe overhanging edge 65 of the top plate of the fount. Then by giving the igniter a quarter turn in a counter-clockwise direction, the lower boss 29 is brought into the proper position to pass through the hole 35 with the flat 29a. lying in register with the edge 65 of the plate. The entire igniter body can then be lifted out, as suggested in Fig. l, and replaced with a new unit, or suitable repairs made as are necessary.

When installing the igniter the lower boss 29 is brought into the position suggested in Fig. 2 with the flat 29a lying in register with the edge 65 of the opening 64. In this position it will be observed that the tubular member 54 projects outwardly beyond the edgeof the fount neck. Whenthus located the boss may then be dropped down until the shoulder on the bottom of the boss 28 strikes the top plate of the fount. Then the igniter is turned in a clockwise direction into a position such as that suggested in Fig. 3, in which the upper flat 28a of boss 28 registers with the edge 65 and allows the boss 28 to be dropped down until the member 25 seats on the top plate of the fount. In the latter position described it will be observed that the tubular member 54 has been swung around into a position such as is illustrated in Fig. 4, in which it no longer projects above the neck of the fount.

An important feature of the invention is the cooperative locking effect derived from the location of the tubular member 54 with respect to the flat29a. As noted above, the fiat 290. is so located on the boss 29 that in order for the fiat to register with the overhanging edge 65, the tube 54 must project outwardly over the fount neck. By reason of this fact it, will be. seen that in a fully assembled position of the lamp chimney it will be impossible for the tubular member to move into a position where the igniter canbe completely removed from the fount. Such a lock is important because it prevents the igniter from falling out'of the foun't if the lamp should be turned upside down at a time when the knob 33 has been removed. 7

Itwi'll also be seen that it is imperative to maintain theport d in proper register with the wick W, and this is provided for by the flat 28a of the boss 28 being locked against the edge 65 when the receiver 25 is in a fully seated position on the top plate of the fount, as shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, when in the position shownin Fig. 4 and in a partly raised state, such as is effected by means ofv the knob 33, register-of the port with the wick is always maintained.

Thus it will be observed that in order to remove the igniter from the fount, it is necessary not only to remove the knob but also to produce slidable' and rotative -movemen-tsof" predeter mined degree of the igniterbo'dyfiin order to effect its release. It should-beobserved that thefiat on the boss 28, as noted above, is in a plane at right angles to the axis of the boss 28 and that the flat on the lower boss 29 is also parallel to that axis and in a plane perpendicular to the first noted plane. The edge in the hole 54' is also at right angles to the axis of the tube when the igniter is in its operative position. Consequently, if the operating knob should be removed, with the rest of the lamp still assembled and lighted, it would be impossible to raise the igniter far enough. to free. it from the hole us. Also, the rotative movement of the igniter essential to its removal would be prevented by the igniter tube striking the inner wall of the glass chimney 6. This will be clearly seen from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4.

The foregoing safeguards are important becauseif the igniter could be pushed up out of the fount merely by removing the knob, a hole would be provided through which surrounding air and gases could flow into the wick chamber inside the chimney 6 and if these gases were combustible, explosion might be produced. To furtheraid in understanding this danger, it should be appreciated that through the air admission ring there is always air (and as if present) flowing into the wick chamber, a movement which isv caused by the effect of the flame creating a suction. Should a mixture of air and gas reach a point at which it is explosive, an ignition may take place inside thte chimney and inner gauze. Thi is harmless as long as there are no openings large enough for a flame to gothroughand reach the surrounding outside air. Actually this internal type of explosion often takes place. Its worse effect is to extinguish the flame. When this ignition inside the lamp takes place the suction is changed to a pressure and the danger comes from the flame leaking out of the lamp, igniting ga on the outside.

A further provision made for the purpose of preventing the entrance of combustible gases into the lamp consists of providing the restriction 35 in the bore of the tubular receiver 21. That is, this bore is so restricted immediately above the spring 3-4 that it closely encircles the shaft 3| and prevents any appreciable leakage of gases around this operating element for the. igniter and into the wick chamber. v

It will be seen thatthe use of two spaced-apart bosses with flats at right angles to one another, in orderto lock the igniter in the desired positions in the fount, is made possible by combining with these bosses an. intervening reduced cylindrical portion 36,. which provides for necessary rotative movement.

While we have herein; shownand described. a preferred embodiment of our invention, it is contemplated that the igniter mechanism may be utilized with various. other types of lamps and the invention may" hex-embodied in other forms without departing from. the spirit or scope thereof.

- Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim as new is:

1. In a miners flame safety lamp including a fountQa Wick, a chimney encircling the wick, a spark igniter forthe wick', in combination with a support for said igniter, one end of the support being slidably received in the fount, sprin means cooperating with said support to hold the igniter normally in a positiontoo low to ignite the wick,

the igniter beingmovable into its lighting rela- 75 tionship to thewi'ck; an operating element for the igniter positioned outside the lamp structure, and means limiting the movement of the igniter to approximately the position required for the lighting of the wick, said means comprising a cylindrical boss formed on the lower end of the support, said boss being formed with a flat surface lying in a plane parallel to the axis of the support, a cooperation part in the fount for slidably engaging with the boss and its flat surface, a second cylindrical boss provided at the lower extremity of the support and formed with a second flat surface complementary with the flat surface of the said first boss but occurring at an angle thereto, and a reduced intermediate neck portion formed on the support at points between the two said bosses to permit free rotative movement of the neck portion relative to the said cooperating part of the fount.

2. In a miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimney encircling the wick, a spark igniter for the wick and a support for said igniter normally resting on the top of the fount, a receptacle extending through the fount and sealed at its top and bottom, said support including a stem extending down into said receptacle, a keyed stop on said stem preventing the upward movement of the igniter beyond a predetermined point except when turned into an abnormal relationship to the fount, a resiliently supported operating shaft for said igniter extending downwardly through said stem, and stop means constructed and arranged to engage against the chimney and maintain said igniter and support from being turned into said abnormal relationship to the fount.

3. In a miners lamp according to preceding claim 2, a construction in which said shaft extends through said receiver to a point below said fount, a knob releasably secured to the end of said shaft, and meansin said receptacle approximately sealing the shaft against the entrance of air around it upwardly through the receptacle and into the space in the chimney around said wick.

4. A miners flame safety lamp comprising a fount, a wick therein, a chimney encircling said wick, a support for rotatably receiving the said igniter, a receptacle extending perpendicularly through the fount and sealed thereto at its top and bottom portions, said support having a stem slidably received through the top of the fount and extending into the receptacle, a keyed stop on the stem preventing upward movement of the igniter beyond a predetermined point except when turned into an abnormal relationship to the fount, an operating shaft for the igniter extending downwardly through said stem, and means for preventing the igniter from being turned into said abnormal relationship when the chimney is mounted on the fount.

5. A miners flame safety lamp comprising a fount, a wick therein, a chimney encircling said wick, a spark igniter for said wick, a support for similar profile constructed and arranged in spaced relation to the said first boss and integral therewith, the flat on the second boss being spaced angularly from theflat on the first boss to prevent accidental, removal of the igniter support from the fount, a spring actuated shaft extending through the second boss axially of the tubular receptacle, and an actuating knob on the shaft, the receptacle comprising an annular sealing body snugly engaging the shaft to prevent air leaking therealong.

6. A miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimney encircling said wick and a spark igniter for said wick, in combination with an igniter support for rotatably receiving said igniter therein, said support having one end thereof slidably received through the top side of the fount, spring means cooperating with said support to hold the igniter normally in a position too low toignite the wick, the igniter being movable into its lighting relationship to the wick, an operating element for the igniter positioned outside the lamp structure, means limiting the movement of the igniter to approximately the height required for the lighting of the Wick, said means including a projection formed on the said end of the igniter support, and a cooperating part in the fount for engaging against the projection when the igniter is raised into lighting relationship.

'7. A structure according to claim 6, in which the projection comprises a cylindrical boss having a flat formed along one side thereof and lying in a plane parallel to the axis of the igniter support, said cooperating part in the fount being formed complementary with the fiat on the boss to permit removal of the boss axially away from the fount in one position of rotation.

8. A device according to claim 7, including means for preventing rotation of the igniter support into a position in which the flat on the boss is in register with the said cooperating part of the fount, said means comprising a tubular stop element fixed to the igniter support and extending radially outward therefrom, said stop element being of a length so chosen that it is engaged by the said chimney before it can be turned into a position i which the fiat on the boss is in register with the cooperating part of the fount.

9. A miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimney encircling said wick and a spark igniter for said wick, in combination with a support for rotatably receiving the said igniter therein, said support having a reduced cylindrical end slidably received through the top side of the f0unt,said cylindrical end being formed with a flat to hold the igniter support against rotation in the fount, spring means cooperating with said support to hold the igniter normally in a position too low to ignite the wick, the igniter being movable into its lighting relationship to the wick, an operating element for the igniter positioned outside the lamp structure, means limiting the movement of. the igniter to approximately the height required for the lighting of the wick, said means comprising a cylindrical boss formed on the said end of the igniter support, and a cooperating part in the fount for engaging against the cylindrical boss when the igniter is raised into lighting relationship. w

10. A structure according to claim 9, in which the cooperating part in the fount comprises an edge forming a D-s'hapedopening.

9 10 11. A structure as defined in claim 9, in which I the igniter includes a cam element secured for REFERENCES CITED rotation the igniter holder, said Operating The foilowing references are of record in the ment having a disk secured at the upper end fil f this patent; thereof, and a cam actuating projection on the 5 disk constructed and arranged to operatively en- FOREIGN PATENTS gage the said cam and operate the igniter when Number Country Date the operating handleisturned. 37,153 Austria May 10, 1903 GRANT WHEAT. 216,662 Ger-many Nov. 30, 1909 ARTHUR G. DAVIS. 10

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