Improvements in Acetylene Gas Generators, applicable also to Bicycle Lamps, Table Lamps, Signalling Lamps and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Acetylene Gas Generators, applicable also to Bicycle
Lamps, Table Lamps, Signalling Lamps and the like.
I, EVAN EVANS, of No. 45, Denbigh Street, Llanrwst, North Wales, Iron-
monger, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to improvements in acetylene gas generators and lamps,
and has for its object to provide means whereby the gas generated in the carbide
chambers can be regulated, or the water supply be entirely cut off, and means
for lessening the liability of explosion in the case of any gas escaping through
the water in the water container.
The improvements are more particularly intended for the generators and lamps
described in my previous Patent No. 26810/97, but it is obvious that they may
be applied to any other generators and lamps.
In my previous Patent No. 26810/97 aforesaid, a chamber or cylinder filled
with water receives a carbide holder or cylinder to which the water has access
through a hole in the bottom. I now arrange at the bottom of said chamber in
lamps and generators of this class, a pad or washer of any suitable material on
which the carbide holder or gas generating cylinder is adapted to be pressed to
wholly or partly close the aforesaid water admission hole, when it is desired to
check or stop the generation of gas. To this end the carbide containing cylinder
or a rod or tube connected therewith is provided at its upper end with a bayonet
joint or a thumb screw on the exterior of the lamp or generator in any suitable
manner as a means of allowing the cylinder to be slightly raised or lowered as
required for the said purpose. Where a bayonet joint is used it is so arranged
that a lug on the cylinder or rod may be turned into the upper or lower notch
after the cylinder has been raised or lowered. A good plan where the carbide
cylinder is provided at its upper end with a central tube for conveying the gas
to the point of consumption is to arrange this bayonet joint or thumbscrew on
the top of said tube.
When it is desired to stop generating the gas, the bayonet joint or thumbscrew
is turned, and consequently the carbide containing cylinder is lowered and the
hole at the end is thereby pressed down on the rubber or other pad which is
arranged in the bottom of the water chamber, thus entirely preventing the
access of water to the carbide. Instead of or as well as this pad for closing the
water hole. I arrange inside the generating chamber above said water hole a
suitable valve adapted to admit water under normal conditions of working, but
to be closed by any excess pressure of gas in the generating chamber and thus
stop further admission of water. This valve may be constructed as a floating
valve, the arrangement being such that it will close under the pressure of the
gas inside the cylinder should the water fall to the level of the valve, but will

page_text: rise immediately the water enters by reason of its buoyancy, and will thus also
act as a regulator or governor for the generation of the gas. If therefore as
sometimes happens more gas is generated than is required for the purposes of
consumption, the arrangement is such that. superfluous gas that is not wanted
for the burner acts to raise sufficient pressure not only to prévent more water
coming in, but actually to force back the water through the valve through which
it entered, thus preventing the water any longer from coming in contact with
the carbide, but the acetylene itself cannot escape through the valve because as
the chamber gets nearly empty the floating valve closes and prevents any of the
gas escaping that way. As the acetylene becomes exhausted, the pressure
decreases, and the water again rises opening the valve, and attacks the carbide.
A suitable form of valve consists of a flap valve which may be conveniently
formed by stamping out a piece of flexible material rubber or leather by prefer-
ence into the form of a disc with a circular piece in the centre cut almostly com-
pletely round so as to form a flap attached at one side to an enclosing ring all
in one piece. The outer ring being of such a size as to fit, snugly into the
cylinder or a recess around the water hole.
Instead of employing a bayonet joint device or thumbscrew for stopping the
generation of the gas, I may sometimes use a screw down valve arranged in any
suitable manner which by simply turning up or down allows water to attack the
carbide or entirely cuts off the supply. For this purpose I arrange a passage
or pipe leading from the water hole in the bottom of the carbide containing
cylinder upward in the water container and arrange on the upper part of said
water container a screw down valve, the plug of which is carried by a rod extend-
ing into the container to meet the upper end of said pipe.
In some cases this valve and rod may be arranged in the centre of the lamp
or generator to open or close the water inlet to the carbide holder; and in such
case prefer to form the water chamber above the carbide container and to pro-
vide a short tube or nozzle in the dividing partition to allow the water in the
reservoir to drip through onto the carbide or into the central tube on which the
carbide trays or shelves are threaded. For this purpose the said valve is arranged
to screw down into the mouth of said nozzle or short tube to stop the feed of
water and carries a wire which enters the tube and causes the water to drip
through instead of flowing too fast.
A space for the accumulation of the gas is provided around the carbide holder
to keep the outer case cool so that it may be comfortably handled, and this
space may have its lower part partly filled with cotton, cotton-wool, sponge or
other absorbent matter to absorb any steam or vapour which may be present in
the gas or any moisture which may be deposited.
In order to facilitate the filling or cleaning of the carbide holding trays,
shelves or compartments described in my aforesaid patent I enclose them with
a cylinder or sheath provided with a hinged door or doors affording access to
the trays or the like and slip same with a good fit into the carbide cylinder... In
some cases I may form said sheath without the door or doors and make it to be
slipped over the compartments.
A convenient arrangement of container for the carbide consists of a central
perforated tube having a disc or head at its lower end fitting into a cylindrical
casing in the lamp or generator into which it is dropped. A number of centrally
perforated discs are then dropped over the central tube the carbide being dropped
in alternately between the discs which latter thus form compartments or rather
divide the carbide into layers. The perforations in the central tube may be
shielded by a slotted tube as described in my patent aforesaid.
In my former patent I described a small air inlet in the top of the water con-
tainer to allow air to enter as required to admit of the water level falling as the
water is used up in the generating chamber. In order to prevent danger of
explosion through accumulation of gas in the upper part of the water chamber
which on leaking through said air inlet might be accidentally ignited I provide

page_text: the following arrangements. This consists of a spirally curved pipe or tube
which forms an internal prolongation of the air inlet opening so that any flame
starting on the exterior of the opening cannot strike back to the gas in the water
container owing to the long passage formed by the spiral or curved pipe, and
the gas will simply burn quietly as a small flame until the leak ceases.
It is obvious that whilst I have described my improvement as applied to the
generators and lamp described in my previous patent aforesaid the invention is
not limited to such but may be adapted to other forms of lamps or generators
and I do not limit myself to the exact details of construction described as such
may be modified as required without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Dated this 1st day of March 1899.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Acetylene Gas Generators, applicable also to Bicycle
Lamps, Table Lamps, Signalling Lamps and the like.
I! .
I, EVAN EVANS, of No. 45, Denbigh Street, Llanrwst, North Wales, Iron-
monger, 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 improvements in acetylene gas generators and lamps,
and has for its object to provide means whereby the gas generated in the carbide
chambers can be regulated, or the water supply be entirely cut off, and means
for lessening the liability of explosion in the case of any gas escaping through
the water in the water container.
The improvements are more particularly intended for the generators and lamps
described in my previous Patent No. 26810/97, but it is obvious that they may
be applied to any other generators and lamps.
To enable the invention to be better understood I will now describe it with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a lamp or generator adapted for use on car-
riages and the like.
Figure 1 is a cross section of the carbide holder.
Figure 1b is a bottom plan of the cover of the water container showing the
extended passage of the air inlet.
Figure 1 is a view of the bayonet joint in an open position.
Figure 2 is a plan of the flap valve for automatically controlling the inflow
of water to the carbide.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a lamp or generator adapted for use as a table
lamp showing the screw down valve.
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the water inlet arrangement shown in Figure 3.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a lamp or generator adapted for use on
bicycles showing the overhead water container.
In the arrangement shown in my previous patent application aforesaid, a
chamber or cylinder filled with water receives a carbide holder or cylinder to
which the water has access through a hole in the bottom. I now arrange at the
bottom of said chamber in lamps and generators of this class a pad or washer
of any suitable material on which the carbide holder or gas generating cylinder

page_text: is adapted to be pressed by suitable means to wholly or partly close the aforesaid
water admission hole, when it is desired to check or stop the generation of gas.
This arrangement is shown in Figure 1 which illustrates a form of acetylene
lamp adapted for use on carriages, and other road vehicles. In this figure, B
is the carbide holder or gas generating cylinder supported on a central gas tube C
and having a water inlet 6 in its bottom. E is a casing enclosing the cylinder B
and containing water which is admitted through inlet b to the carbide in the
cylinder when required to start the generation of gas. A is the pad or washer
fixed in the bottom of the water chamber. D) is a bayonet joint, into the upper
or lower notch of which a lug d on the upper end of the tube C is engaged to
retain the cylinder B in a slightly elevated or depressed position according as
the water inlet b is to be opened or closed. C¹ is the upper end of the tube C
which may have a burner and tap as shown. In place of the bayonet joint,
other means such as a thumb screw or nut may be provided on the exterior of
the lamp to slightly elevate or depress the cylinder B for the said purpose.
Where a form of lamp is used which is not provided with a central gas tube, a
rod or other suitable means must of course be provided on the cylinder B and
extended to the exterior for the purpose of enabling the cylinder to be slightly
elevated and depressed. It will be seen that by depressing the cylinder B against
the pad A access of water to the carbide is entirely prevented and the generation
of the gas stopped until required, or the inflow of water may be regulated.
Instead of or as well as this pad A for closing the water hole b, arrange inside
the generating chamber above said water hole a suitable valve adapted to admit
water under normal conditions of working, but to be closed by any excess pres-
sure of gas in the generating chamber and thus stop further admission of water.
This valve may be constructed as a floating valve, the arrangement being such
that it will close under the pressure of the gas inside the cylinder should the
water fall to the level of the valve, but will rise immediately the water enters
by reason of its buoyancy, and will thus also act as an automatic regulator or
governor for the generation of the gas. If therefore as sometimes happens
more gas is generated than is required for the purposes of consumption, the
arrangement is such that the superfluous gas that is not wanted for the burner
acts to raise sufficient pressure not only to prevent more water coming in, but
actually to force back the water through the valve through which it entered,
thus preventing the water any longer from coming in contact with the carbide,
but the acetylene itself cannot escape through the valve because as the chamber
gets nearly empty, the floating valve closes and prevents any of the gas escaping
that way.
As the acetylene becomes exhausted, the pressure decreases, and the
water again rises opening the valve and attacks the carbide.
A suitable form of valve consists of a flap valve F which may be conveniently
formed by stamping out a piece of flexible material, rubber or leather by pre-
ference, into the form of a disc F with a circular piece F in the centre cut
almost completely round so as to form a flap attached at one side to an enclosing
ring all in one piece, as shown in Figure 2. The outer ring being of such size
as to fit snugly into the cylinder or a recess around the water hole.
I prefer however to fit into the open bottom of cylinder B a removable plug G
having the water hole b in its bottom and a partition g near its upper end to
carry the flap valve F as shown in Figure 1, the said partition having a central
perforation covered by said valve. This plug G may be screwed into the car-
bide holder within the cylinder B and carry a washer e to make a tight joint
against the cylinder; ready access is thus afforded to the flap valve F.
Instead of employing a bayonet joint device or thumbscrew for stopping the
generation of the gas, which necessitates the raising or lowering of the cylinder B,
I may sometimes use a screw down valve arranged in any suitable manner which
by simply turning up or down allows water to attack the carbide or entirely cuts
off the supply. For this purpose as shown in Figure 3 which illustrates a form
of table lamp I arrange a passage or pipe H leading from the water hole b in

page_text: the bottom of the cylinder B upward in the water container E and arrange on
the upper part of said water container a screw down valve I, the plug i of which
is carried by a rod extending into the container to meet the upper end of said
pipe H.
In this arrangement the thumb screw J engaging in a nut j carried by a
spider K engages a shoulder or collar on the central tube C to force the cylinder B
against a washer L on the bottom of the water container to prevent water enter-
ing said cylinder except through the central water inlet b thus taking the place
of the tight fitting plug G shown in Figure 1. F is the flap valve described
with reference to Figure 1. M is a layer or layers of gauze arranged at the
upper end of cylinder B through which the gas must pass to enter the tube C
thereby being cleansed from any impurities present in the gas generated. This
gauze of course may be arranged in the lamp shown in Figure 1 if deemed
necessary.
In order to facilitate the filling or cleaning of the carbide holding trays shelves
or compartments described in my aforesaid patent I enclose them with a cylin-
der or sheath N provided with a hinged door or doors n as shown in Figures 1
1 and 2 affording access to the trays or the like and slip same with a good fit
into the carbide cylinder B.
In some cases I may form said sheath without the door or doors and make it
to be slipped over the compartments, as shown in Figure 4, which shows a
form of lamp with overhead water container, adapted for use as a bicycle head
lamp for instance. In this Figure E is the water container having the screw
down valve I, i and water feed pipe H, described with reference to Figure 3, but
arranged centrally, the valve i carrying a wire ¹ depending into the pipe H, to
cause the water to drip through instead of flowing too fast, on to the carbide or
into the central tube C on which the carbide trays or shelves are threaded, when
such are employed. P is a space for the accumulation of the gas which is pro-
vided around the sheath N to keep the outer case cool so that it may be com-
fortable handled, and this space may have its lower part partly filled with cotton,
cotton wool, sponge, or other absorbent matter p to absorb any steam or vapour
which may be present in the gas or any moisture which may be deposited. Qis
the burner.
A convenient arrangement of container for the carbide consists of a central
perforated tube C as shown in Figure 4 having a disc or head c at its lower end
fitting into a sheath N into which it is dropped, the sheath in the form shown
in Figure 4 being fixed securely on the removable bottom O¹ of the gas gener-
ating cylinder or carbide holder B of the lamp or generator. A number of cen-
trally perforated discs R are then dropped loosely over the central tube C, the
carbide being dropped in alternately between the discs which latter thus form
compartments or rather divide the carbide into layers. The perforations in
the central tube C may be shielded by a slotted tube S as described in my prior
application aforesaid which is dropped loosely over the tube C, a projection or
scrapers being fixed on the latter to enter the slot of the tube $ so that the
same may be scraped free by simply pulling off and replacing the shield.
In order to prevent danger of explosion through accumulation of gas in the
upper part of the water chamber which might leak through the air inlet T which
is provided in the upper part of the water container shown in Figure 1 for the
purpose of admitting the necessary atmospheric pressure to allow of the water
falling to enter and rise up in the carbide cylinder B and which gas might be
accidentally ignited I provide the following arrangement. This consists of a
spirally curved pipe or tube U which forms an internal prolongation of the air
inlet T as shown in Figures 1 and 1b so that any flame starting on the exterior
of the opening cannot strike back to the gas in the water container owing to the
long passage formed by the spiral or curved pipe U and the gas will simply
burn quietly as a small flame until the leak ceases.
It is obvious that whilst I have described my improvement as applied to the

page_text: generators and lamp described in my previous patent application aforesaid the
invention is not limited to such but may be adapted to other forms of lamps or
generators and I do not limit myself to the exact form of lamp or generator
described as such may be modified as required without departing from the spirit
of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The improvement in acetylene lamps or generators which consists in pro-
viding a pad or washer in the water container and in so mounting the carbide
holder in said container that it may be pressed with its water inlet against or
moved away from said pad by suitable means to more or less open or close the
water inlet as required to control the generation of gas, substantially as described.
2. In acetylene lamps or generators providing the water inlet of the carbide
holder with a floating valve to automatically control the inflow of water said
valve being, adapted to float open and admit water under normal conditions of
working but to be closed by any excess gas pressure in the said holder upon
the water falling to the level of the valve, substantially as described.
3. In acetylene lamps or generators, a valve for automatically controlling
the water inflow to the carbide and adapted to occupy little space consisting of
a flap valve preferably formed of a central circular piece attached at one side to
an enclosing ring all in one piece of flexible material, substantially as described.
4. In acetylene lamps or generators, such as described having a carbide holder
adapted to be pressed with its water inlet against or moved away from a pad in
the water container to adjust the water feed; forming the carbide holder with a
gas discharge tube extending through the top of the water container and having
a bayonet joint or thumb screw as a means of elevating or depressing the holder
for the said purpose substantially as described.
5. In acetylene lamps or generators having a carbide holder with a water inlet
in its bottom, forming said holder with a removable double bottom or plug pro-
vided with a water inlet, and adapted to receive an automatic valve for con-
trolling the water feed, whereby ready access may be had to the valve when
required by simply removing said plug, substantially as described.
6. In acetylene lamps or generators, a modification of the described means
for controlling the water feed, which consists in locating the automatic valve in
the bottom of the water container, in a chamber or recess communicating above
with the carbide holder which is pressed down with its open bottom tightly
thereon, said chamber having a pipe or passage leading upward in the water con-
tainer adapted to be opened or closed by a screw down valve having its spindle
extending to the exterior of the lamp, substantially as described with reference
to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
7. In acetylene lamps or generators, a carbide holder having shelves fixed
within an enclosing sheath having a portion of its walls formed as one or more
hinged doors affording access to the shelves, substantially as described with
reference to Figures 1 and 1ª of the accompanying drawings.
8. In acetylene lamps or generators, a screw down valve having a wire de-
pending from it into the water feed pipe to cause the water to drip through
when the valve opened substantially as described with reference to Figure 4
of the accompanying drawings.
9. In acetylene lamps and generators having an air inlet to the water container
to allow of the water level falling as required to enter the carbide chamber,
providing said air inlet with a curved tube forming an internal prolongation
thereof in approximately the same plane in order to prevent danger of explosion
through accumulation of gas in the upper part of the water container which
might be accidentally ignited, substantially as described.
10. The general construction and combination of parts taken as a whole, form-

page_text: ing the improved acetylene lamp or generator, substantially as described with
reference to Figures 1, 1ª, 1b and 1° or Figure 3, or Figure 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1899.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Patent Agents, of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.