Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the Generation of Gas from Oil or other Liquid Fuel.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov.. 1888
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1889-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the
Generation of Gas from Oil or other Liquid Fuel.
1, CHARLES BROTHERHOOD, of Carr Villa, Elliston Road, Redland in the city and
county of Bristol, engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for use in connection with a process of
generating gas from oil or other liquid fuel which forms the subject of a former
application for Letters Patent made by me, dated the 28th day of January 1888 and
numbered 1315.
This invention consists, firstly, in improved apparatus for controlling in an
automatic manner the generation of the gas, and so to regulate the supply thereof in
accordance with the deinand.
For this purpose the gas is conducted from the retort to a telescopic gas holder of
the ordinary well known kind fitted with balance weights, as ordinarily. At the
bottom the upper part of the gas-holder carries a chamber which when the said upper
part is sufficiently depressed is submerged in the water contained in the tank or lower
part of the holder. This chamber being open at the top becomes filled with water on
submersion. Extending into the gas-holder is a pipe which communicates with the
burner whereby the retort in which the gas is generated is heated. As, in the
generation of the gas, the pressure in the holder increases, the upper part thereof is
raised accordingly. When, as the water chamber rises, the mouth of the pipe which
feeds the burner is received in the said chamber, the supply of gas to the burner is
arrested by the water which forins a water seal to the said pipe. Continuing to rise,
the water chamber emerges from the water in the lower part of the holder and causes
an increase of pressure in the upper part and in the retort and thus a balance is
produced between the pressure in the holder and the column of oil or other like liquid
being fed to the retort.
The generation of gas is thus arrested until, under the influence of the demand
made upon its contents, the upper part of the gas holder descends.
A "pilot" burner, always alight, is placed below the retort burner and is supplied
without intermission by a separate pipe from the gas-holder.
Under a second arrangement the upper part of the holder, which is not fitted with
balance weights, carries at the bottom a float and a water chamber. The latter acts
as a means of closing communication with the burner by which the retort is heated
in the same way as the water chamber above described, and, the float on emerging
from the water of the tank or lower part of the holder produces the same effect as
above described with reference to the arrangement first set forth.
A third modification consists in the use, in conjunction with a water seal for the
burner pipe, of a weight carried by the upper part of the gas holder, which weight
produces the requisite stoppage in generation of the gas when the upper part of the
holder rises.
A fourth method consists in the employment of a chain and weight, the latter
acting to cause the desired effect when in the rising of the upper part of the holder, it
is raised by the tightened chain off the bottom of the lower part or water tank of the
holder.
This invention consists, secondly, in means for regulating in an automatic manner
the heating of the retort when solid fuel is employed therefor.
Between the furnace and the heating chamber in which the retort is contained is a
partition having an orifice or orifices governed by a damper or valve connected to

page_text: the upper part of the gas-holder. Accordingly, as the latter rises or falls, as the
pressure of gas varies, the valve or damper is actuated to control heating of the
retort.
1
day of November 1888.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the
Generation of Gas from Oil or other Liquid Fuel.
I, CHARLES BROTHERHOOD, of Carr Villa, Elliston Road, Redland, in the city and
county of Bristol, engineer, 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 :-
This invention relates to apparatus for use in connection with a process of
generating gas from oil or other liquid fuel for which Letters Patent were granted to
me dated the 28th day of January 1888 and numbered 1315.
This invention consists, firstly, in improved apparatus for controlling in an
automatic manner the generation of the gas, and thus to regulate the supply thereof
in accordance with the demand.
For this purpose the gas is conducted from the retort to a gas holder of the ordinary
kind.
At the bottom the upper or movable part of the gas-holder carries a chamber which,
when the said upper part is sufficiently depressed, is submerged in the water contained
in the tank or lower part of the holder. This chamber being open at the top becomes
filled with water on submersion.
Extending into the gas-holder is a pipe which communicates with the burner
whereby the retort in which the gas is generated is heated when that method of
heating is adopted.
As, in the generation of the gas, the pressure in the holder increases, the upper
part thereof is raised accordingly. When, as the water chamber rises, the mouth of
the pipe which feeds the burner is received in the said chamber to a sufficient depth,
the supply of gas to the burner is arrested by the water which forms a water seal to
the said pipe. Continuing to rise, the water chamber emerges from the water in the
lower part of the holder and causes an increase of pressure in the upper part of the
holder and in the retort and thus a balance is produced between the pressure in
the holder and the column of oil or other like liquid being fed to the retort.
The generation of gas is thus arrested until, under the influence of the demand
made upon its contents, the upper part of the gas holder descends.
The burner below the retort is always maintained a-light, for which purpose a
supply of gas is afforded as hereinafter more particularly described.
Under a second arrangement, the upper part of the holder, which in this case is
not fitted with balance weights, carries at the bottom a float and a water chamber.
The latter acts as a means of closing communication with the burner by which the
retort is heated in the same way as the water chamber above described, and the float
on emerging from the water in the tank or lower part of the holder produces the same
effect as above described with reference to the arrangement first set forth.
A third modification consists in the use, in conjunction with a water seal for tho
burner pipe, of a weight carried by the upper part of the gas holder, which weight
produces the requisite retardation or stoppage in generation of the gas according to
the height to which the upper part of the holder rises.
A fourth method consists in the employment of a chain and weight, the latter
acting to cause the desired effect when, in the rising of the upper part of the holder,
the weight is raised by the tightened chain off the bottom of the lower part or water
tank of the holder.

page_text: Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents, principally in vertical
section, apparatus constructed and arranged according to one method of carrying this
invention into effect.
A is a retort for generating gas from liquid fuel, according to the process described
in the Specification of my said former Patent No. 1315 of 1888, the fuel being fed to
the retort from a tank B'as also therein described.
From the retort the gas is conducted by the pipe C to a gas holder the upper or
movable part D of which is provided at its base with a chamber D', preferably conical,
as shown.
This chamber D is open at the top, and when submerged it becomes filled with
water from the tank D of the holder.
gas
As gas accumulates in the holder, the upper part D thereof is, as is well understood,
raised thereby. The water chamber D' is so placed that it commences to emerge
from the water in the tank D2 before the holder becomes filled with gas.
The increased energy necessary to further raise the movable part D of the holder as
it continues to emerge from the tank causes the pressure in the holder to be raised.
The pressure acts, through the pipe C and retort A, upon the column of fuel feeding
the retort and retards the supply.
When the pressure in the holder is lessened by withdrawal of gas, or from other
cause, the converse of the foregoing occurs. Thus the generation of gas is controlled
in an automatic manner and directly varied in accordance with the demand. If it be
desired to heat the retort by gas from the holder, the following means of regulating
automatically the flow of gas to the burner are adopted.
Extending through a stufling box. E into the upper part D of the gas holder is a
pipe E communicating with the burner b.
Surmounting the chamber D aforesaid is a cylindrical mouthpiece or neck D³.
When the upper part D of the holder rises, the lower end of the pipe E' is received
in the water contained in the said neck D³ and further supply of gas to the burner b
is thereby prevented. The pipe E' is so adjusted that the sealing thereof by the water
occurs when desired, it being understood that the adjustment must be such that the
length of pipe immersed always corresponds to a greater pressure than that existing
in the holder D and resulting from the rise of the chamber D'.
A flame is constantly maintained at the burner by gas supplied through the
pipe E communicating with the pipes C and E. This flame is, by the operation of
the chamber D upon the pipe El above described, augmented as the holder D
descends, and diminished, but not below the normal dimensions, when it subsequently
rises.
In the modification illustrated at Fig. 2 the usual balance weights for the holder are
dispensed with and a watertight chamber or float is substituted for the water
chamber D¹ hereinabove described with reference to Fig. I as situated towards the
bottom of the upper part 1 of the gas holder. The float is of such proportions that
the holder cannot rise without the aid of gas pressure.
As the holder D rises, the float F emerges from the water in the tank D².
Increased energy is necessary to further raise the holder and an increased pressure is
accordingly brought to bear against the flow of oil to the retort.
At Fig. 3 is illustrated another modification for producing a balance between gas
pressure and the column of oil. In this arrangement the usual balance weights for
the gas holder are retained.
The holder D is provided at the base with weights W which, as the holder
approaches the upper limit of its travel, emerge from the water in the tank D and so
cause the desired balance between pressure of gas and column of oil. The same
result is obtained by the modification illustrated at Fig. 4 in which the holder D is
connected by a chain X to a weight Y which, as the holder approaches the upper
limit of its course, retards its further ascent and so acts to obtain the balance
desired.
Another alternative method is to anchor the holder D by a chain, or its equivalent,

page_text: to the bottom of the tank D2. A further modification consists in the interposition at
any point in the chain of an elastic medium.
The water chamber D³, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, is for sealing the pipe E' as hereinabove
described with reference to Fig. 1. The pipe El may have a closed end and be
provided with a triangular aperture as seen at Fig. 4. Or the orifice may be
otherwise shaped.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In the manufacture of gas from oil and other like liquid fuel, the use, for
establishing equilibrium between the "head" of fuel and the pressure of gas, of a
water chamber such as D' fitted towards the bottom of the upper or movable part of
a telescopic gas-holder supplied with gas from the generating apparatus, the said
chamber rising and falling with the movable part of the holder as the pressure of gas
varies, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. In the manufacture of gas from oil and other like liquids, the modified method
of and means for establishing equilibrium between the "head"
" of fuel and the
pressure of gas generated, hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 2 of the
drawings, consisting of a float such as F carried towards the lower end of the movable
part D of the gas-holder and rising and falling therewith, as and for the purposes
specified.
3. In the manufacture of gas from oil and other like liquid fuel, the use of weights
such as W, or the equivalent thereof, carried by the movable part D of the gas holder
and rising and falling therewith, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 3 of
the drawings, and for the purposes specified.
4. In the manufacture of gas from oil and other like liquid fuel, the alternative
method of and means for establishing equilibrium between the head of fuel and the
pressure of gas, hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 4 of the accompanying
drawings, consisting in anchoring the movable part D of the holder to a weight such
as Y by a chain such as X, or, with an elastic medium intervening, to the tank.
5. In the manufacture of gas from oil and other like liquid fuel, the means for
regulating the supply of gas from the gas-holder to the burner by which the retort is
heated, consisting of the water chamber D³ carried by the movable part D of the
holder, and the pipe E¹ extending into the holder and so adjusted as to be received in
the water in the said chamber and thus sealed, the adjustment being such that the
length of pipe immersed always corresponds to a greater pressure than that existing
in the holder and resulting from the ascent thereof, substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 1st day of August 1889.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Applicant's Agent.