US601069A - Igniting device - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. T. ARMSTRONG & A. ORLING IGNITING DEVICE Patented Mar. 22, 1898.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

J. T. ARMSTRONG & A. ORLING.

IGNITING DEVICE.

Patented Mar. 22, 1898.

and/bid Orly? V 1 70 0710715 W EMMA! liter/ 05.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES TARBOTTON ARMSTRONG AND AXEL ORLING, OF LONDON,

' ENGLAND.

lGNlTlNG DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,069, dated March 22, 1898.

Application filed December 21, 1896. Serial No. 616,467. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMEs TARBOTTON ARMSTRONG and AXEL ORLING, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Electromechanically Operated Gas-Lighters, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in electromechanically-operated gas-lighters in which an electric igniting-spark is produced by making and breaking a circuit when the gas-inlet valve is operated.

The object of this invention is to provide improved means of efiecting the making and breaking of the sparking-circuit and a novel arrangement of the gas-inlet Valve whereby the gas is first conducted to aby-pass, which is kept supplied with gas until the passage to the burner begins to open, when the by-pass passage closes as the burner-passage opens.

In applying our improvements to ordinary incandescent gas-fittings we attach a short arm to the plug, (at the opposite end to the handle,) having a direction that will cause it to point upward when the valve is in the midposition. To the outer end of this short arm is pivoted a link provided at or near the center of its length with a pin or equivalent part which is free to slide in a vertical guideway and to which is connected a tension-spring whose other end is attached to the plug or any other suitable part. At the outer end of this link is a contact-piece, between which and another (insulated) contact the spark passes when the gas is turned on. The insulated contact is suitably connected with a sparking-coil and battery, which is grounded, so that the circuit may be completed through the fittings when the contacts are brought together. A by-pass is also provided, to which the gas is first admitted when the plug is turned, and it is at this point that the break in the circuit is made and the spark produced, with the result that the by-pass is ignited and a long thin flame produced which reaches up to the burner. By this time the short arm will have passed the line of centers, and the tension-spring will now assist or, if left to itself, complete the further turning of the plug. As the plug is further turned it will first commence to open the passage to the burner, which willimmediately be lighted by the by-pass flame, which will be extinguished as the main-burner outlet is opened to the full. This operation of the gas-supply is efi'ected by enlarging one or both ends of the port in the plug and by so locating the admission to the by-pass that the port will reach it first and then by the further turning of the plug commence to open the mainburner outlet and thereafter cut off the supply to the by-pass as the main-burner outlet is opened to the full.

In a modification we adapt our invention to the lighting of ordinary gas-jets, which we accomplish in substantially the same manner; but we dispense with the by-pass and use a plug-valve of ordinary description.

In applying our improvements to street and other similar gas-lamps using an incandescent mantle the construction may be modified in the following or an equivalent manner: Instead of a handle being provided with which to operate the apparatus a lever having a ring or other suitably-formed part at its outer end is used, so as to be easily operated by means of a pole or like implement carried by the lamplighter. This lever is attached to but insulated from the short arm and has an eX- tension which is always in contact with a depending part of the insulated contact-piece. The pole carried by the lamplighter contains a battery and a sparking-coil and has a conducting-handle or other suitable part connected therewith with which to make contact with the lower part of the gas-fittings. The said pole is also provided with a conductinghook at its upper end with which to engage the ring or equivalent part of the operatinglever.

In a further modification we adapt our invention to the lighting of street and other similar lamps having the ordinary gas-jet by using a sparking arrangement and pole substantially similar to that last described; but we dispense with a by-pass and use a valve of ordinary construction.

e will now proceed to describe the accompanying drawings, with the aid of which we will more particularly describe our invention and the method of using the same.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 are respectively a front and side elevation and plan of an incandescent gas-lighting apparatus adapted to be operated by hand. Figs. at and 5 are respectively a front and side elevation of an apparatus for lighting ordinary gas-jets by hand. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are respectively a front and side elevation and plan of parts of an incandescent gas-lighting apparatus adapted for lighting street and other similar lamps, the position shown being that after lighting. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 in the position occupied before lighting. Fig. 10 is a detail of same. Fig. 11 is a transverse section through the plug of the valve in the same plane as the port, the position shown being that with the gas off. Fig. 12 is a similar section, the position shown being that with the gas on. Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section through the lighting-pole and conducting-handle, and Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic view showing how the apparatus is applied to lighting street and other similar gas-lamps.

Our invention, which is provided with a suitable taper-screw a, by which it may be attached to existing gas-fittings, consists of a tubular part I), having a plug-valve c, at one end of which is attached a short arm (1, to the end of which a link 6 is pivotally connected at cl. This link 6 is provided with a pin f, adapted to slide in a vertical slot g, contained by the upwardly-extending part g, (see Fig. 10,) the withdrawal of the said pin ffrom the slot 9 being prevented by a suitable head f The pin f, which extends right through to the front of the link 6, has a ten sion-springf whose other end is secured to the pin 0 with the object of insuring the taps being turned right on or right of At the outer end of the link 6 is a suitable contact h, which makes and breaks the circuit with an insulated contact 2' when the gas-valve is operated. This insulated contact i is attached to the upwardly-extending part g or any other convenient part of the fittings, as in Figs. 4E and 5, but is insulated therefrom by the insulation 70.

When our improvements-are applied to hand-operated gas-lamps, (see Figs. 1 to 5,) a wire I is led from the insulated contact 2' to the battery, whose other pole is grounded, so that the circuit, which also contains a sparking-coil, may be closed through the fittings; but when adapted to effect the lighting of street and other similar lamps with a lighting-pole (see Figs. 6 to 10, 13, and let) the insulated contact t' is provided with a depending conductor i, which is in contact with the extension of the operating-lever m, attached to the short arm (Z, but insulated therefrom by the insulation 01.

In lighting incandescent gas-lights we first ignite a by-pass flame, to which the gas is first admitted by the peculiar construction of the plug 0, (see Figs. 11 and 12,) after which the gas is admitted to the main burner and the by-pass supply cut off.

The port 0 in the plug 0 is enlarged at one end, so as to allow the gas to enter it when its other end is opposite the by-pass outlet 3, (see dotted lines in Figs. 11 and 12,) while the relative positions of the by-pass outlet 1) and the burner-outlet q are such as to enable the gas to be admitted to the main-burner outlet before the bypass is extinguished.

The torch or lighting-pole 0' consists of a conducting-rod r, having a suitably-formed part 0 with which to engage the operatinglever on at one end, and a hollow chamber 1", provided with a suitable plug r at the other end, adapted to contain a sparking-coil r and a battery 0' of suitable known form.

The sparking-coil shown consists of a bobbin containing a soft-iron core and wound with a single coil of insulated wire, one end S of which is connected with the conducting-handle S, and the other is attached to a plate i, which is in contact with one pole w of a dry cell, of which the containing vessel '10 forms the other pole. This pole to rests upon the plugs r and is in metallic contact with the conducting-rod r.

The conducting-handle S consists of a suitable conductor Sicontained in a non-conducting handle and provided with a clamp S and a contact-point S.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are shown parts of the ordinary incandescent gas-light fittings, partially in dotted lines, all unnecessary details being omitted to prevent obscuring the essential parts of our invention.

The operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is as follows: \Vhen the tap c is turned, the short arm (1, acting upon the link 6, causes the pin f to rise and fall in the slot g and the contact-piece h to follow the path indicated by the dotted line at 7t in Fig. 1. lVhen the tap is at about its mid-position, the contacts h and i are brought together and the circuit made, and just afterward, when the by-pass outlet p is supplied with gas, the break occurs and a spark is produced, which ignites the by-pass 29, whose fiam e reaches the main burner,which it lights immediately the gas begins to issue therefrom, with the result that the usual explosion is prevented.

The operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 4c and 5 differs from that just described in that the spark, which is produced in like manner, ignites the main-burner flame without the aid of a bypass.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. 6 to 10, 13, and 14 the operation is as follows: The point S of the conducting-handle S, which is held in one hand, is first applied to the lower part of the fittings and the part 0' of the lightingrod 0", which is held in the other hand, is made to engage the operating-lever m, through which the plug 0 is turned and the sparking VIS apparatus actuated and the by-pass and afterward the main burner lighted in substantially the same manner as that first described. The course taken by the current when the circuit is closed, however, is different. Starting from the battery, it traverses the sparking-coil and enters the gas-fittings through the conducting-wire S and the handle S, and afterward passes from the contact 71 to the insulated contact 11, thence through the depending conductor 2" to the insulated operatinglever on and back to the battery through the lighting-rod r and the plug 0 here ordinary gas-burners are used in street and other similar lamps, We modify the apparatus last described by dispensing with the bypass and so locating the break in the circuit as to cause the spark produced to ignite the main burner directly.

lVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. An electromechanically operated gaslighting apparatus consisting of a circuit making and breaking device operated by the turning of the valve-plug to which is attached an arm that actuates a link provided with a pin adapted to travel in a vertical guide and to carry a suitable tension-spring whose other end is attached to a pin beneath it, on the line of centers, the said link also carrying a contact that cooperates with-a stationary insulated contact connected to a grounded circuit to produce a spark when the break occurs, which spark ignites a gas-jet in a manner substantially as described in the specification.

2. An electromechanically operated gaslighting apparatus, consisting of a circuit making and breaking device operated by the turning of the valve-plug, to which is attached an arm that actuates a link provided with a pin adapted to travel in a vertical guide and to carry a suitable tension-spring whose other end is attached to a pin beneath it on the line of centers, the said link also carryin g a contact that cooperates with a stationary insulated contact connected with a grounded circuit to produce a spark when the break occurs, the said spark igniting a bypass jet by which the main burner is lighted when gas is admitted to it by the further turning of the plug by the said spring, substantially as described in the specification.

3. In an electromechanically-operated gaslighting apparatus substantially as described, an insulated operating-lever having an extension in contact with the insulated contact of the circuit making and breaking device, in combination with a portable and detachable battery and sparking-coil contained in a suitable case provided with contacts and a hook, wherewith the operating-lever may be operated and an electric circuit closed when the contacts of the circuit making and breaking device are brought together all substantially as described and for the purposes set forth in the specification.

at. An electromechanicallyoperated gaslighting apparatus consisting of: a sparking device actuated by the turning of the plug of the gas-valve, a by-pass jet to which the gas is first admitted, a gas-supply-controlling device whereby the gas is first admitted to a bypass, then to the main burner whereafter the by-pass is cut off and the burner alone supplied with gas, and a portable and detachable battery and sparking-coil having a ground cont-act and means adapted to engage the insulated operating-lever of the gas supply valve and through the same close an electric circuit when the contacts of the sparking device are together, all combined and arranged substantially as described and for the purposes set forth in the application.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signed our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES 'lARBO'lTON ARMSTRONG. AXEL ORLING. Witnesses:

THos. HUNTER, A. D. GRANT.

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