IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGE- MENTS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING AND ECONOMISING THE SUPPLY OF GAS IN MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bernhardt, of the Firm of John C.
Milns and Co., Radcliffe, in the County of Lancaster, Spinners and
Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGE-
MENTS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING AND ECONOMISING THE SUPPLY OF
GAS IN MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES."
Sealed the 4th May 1869, and dated the 25th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bernhardt at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th November 1868.
I, GEORGE BERNHARDT, of the Firm of John C. Milns and Co.,
Radcliffe, in the County of Lancaster, Spinners and Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING AND ECONOMISING THE
SUPPLY OF GAS IN MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES," to be as follows :-
In mills and manufactories the gas lights only require to be turned
on fully while the driving power is at work, therefore the lights may be

page_text: "turned down" before the driving power begins and immediately after
it ceases to work, and thus a saving of gas may be effected, and besides
this accidents by fire arising from lighting or turning off the gas lights
separately while under the full pressure are prevented.
The object of my Invention is to regulate the gas as above explained
by self-acting means, and my Invention consists in arrangements and
apparatus which will open a valve or tap to. turn on the full pressure
and supply of gas when the driving power is set to work, and to shut the
valve or tap to turn off the full pressure and supply of gas when the
driving power ceases' to work.
My Invention may be carried into effect by various arrangements, but
that which I prefer is an ordinary ball governor driven by or geared
with some convenient shaft; the action of the governor when it rotates
opens the valve, and when it ceases to rotate it closes the valve, which
(if a lifting valve) is connected with the governor through an ordinary
water or mercury sealed slide. The minimum supply of gas may be
allowed to pass through a small hole adjusted by a screw plug or
through a small tap. Instead of the valve or governor the gas may be
arranged to pass through a bent tube partially filled with water or
mercury, which will prevent the passage of the gas, the water or mercury
having communication with a closed chamber which can be partially
exhausted by a "centrifugal fan," pump, or other means actuated or
brought into operation by the driving power, and ceasing to operate
when the driving power stops. With this arrangement the water or
mercury would be withdrawn and the gas would be allowed to pass
through the bent pipe when the driving power was in operation, but
the water or mercury would be allowed to flow back into the pipe and
stop the supply of gas when the driving power was not in operation.
The minimum quantity of gas in this arrangement would be supplied
as above explained. A separate valve or other arrangement may be
used in each room, all actuated from one governor, or one fan or
pump, if required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Bernhardt in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE;
BERNHARDT, of the Firm of John C. Milns & Co. Radcliffe, in the
County of Lancaster, Spinners and Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters:
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and.
grant unto me, the said George Bernhardt, Her special license that I,
the said George Bernhardt, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others, as I, the said George Bernhardt, 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 and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING AND. ECONOMISING THE SUPPLY
OF GAS IN MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Bernhardt, by an instrument in writing under-
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain, the 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 George Bernhardt, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and the accompanying Drawings (that is to
say) :-
33
In mills and manufactories the gas lights only require to be "turned
on fully while the driving power is at work, therefore the lights may be
turned down before the driving power begins and immediately after it
ceases to work, and thus a saving of gas may be effected, and besides.
this accidents by fire arising from lighting or turning off the gas lights
separately while under the full pressure are prevented.

page_text: The object of my Invention is to regulate the gas as above explained
by self-acting means, and my Invention consists in arrangements and
apparatus which will open a valve or tap to turn on the full pressure
and supply of gas when the driving power is set to work, and to shut
the valve or tap or turn off the full pressure and supply of gas when
the driving power ceases to work.
My Invention may be carried into, effect by various arrangements,
but that which I prefer is an ordinary ball governor driven by or geared
with some convenient shaft; the action of the governor when it rotates
opens the valve, and when it ceases to rotate it closes the valve, which
(if a lifting valve) is connected with the governor through an ordinary
water or mercury "sealed" slide. The minimum supply of gas to
allow of small lights before the diving power begins and after it ceases
may be allowed to pass through a small hole adjusted by a screw plug
or through a small tap. Instead of an ordinary governor another
arrangement may be employed. The gas valve may be connected with
a vertical spindle which has a tube upon it having screw wings, and
this tube combined with another tube or cylinder, and with mercury
or water or other suitable liquid, is arranged to act as a "seal" to
prevent the escape of gas, while allowing the spindle and the tube
carried by it to rotate. When the spindle is rotated the screw wings
upon the tube act upon the mercury or liquid used as the "seal," and
this causes the spindle to lift and open the gas valve at the same time,
and when the spindle ceases to rotate the weight of the valve and
connected parts causes it to sink and close the valve.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 2 an outside elevation at a
right angle to Fig. 1, showing the ordinary ball governor and connected
gas valve.
a is a bracket which may be secured to a wall or against a beam,
pillar, or other surface as most convenient near a shaft rotated by the
driving power of the manufactory. Upon this bracket bearings are
formed for a short shaft (6) having a pulley (61) upon it for a driving
belt; this shaft has also a bevel wheel (62) upon it which gears with
another wheel (%) upon the upper end of the governor shaft (c.) The
lower part of this shaft is hollow, and has a rod (d) in it connected by
a cotter (d) passing through a slot in the shaft (c) with the sliding
part (e) connected with the governor balls. The lower end of the
rod (d) is attached to a tubular part (S) which forms the valve, the tube

page_text: below the facing (f¹) having holes (f) for the passage of the gas.
The upper parts of the tube (f) together with the tube (g) secured gas-
tight in the bracked (a) forms the mercury "seal" (or the water "seal"
when the tubes are long enough) to prevent the escape of gas, while
allowing the valve to revolve with the governor. The gas enters and
passes through the valve as shown by the arrows in full line in Fig. 1;
it may leave the apparatus by one or two branch pipes (h) as required.
The minimum supply of gas is allowed to pass as shown by the dotted
arrows in Fig. 1, and is regulated by the cone plug tap (k). The
valve part of the apparatus may be made separate from the governor
bracket (a), and the spindle (d) or a lever actuated by the sliding
part (e) may be connected with one end of a rod or wire, the other end
of which is connected with the stem (d) of the valve. One governor
may also be used to actuate by wires or rods several valves in different
rooms if required, especially when these rooms are one over the over.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of another apparatus, full size, which may be
used instead of that shewn by Figs. 1 and 2. The lower part (a) is a
casting having the gas passages and valve seating in it. The gas
passes as shown by arrows in full line, and the minimum supply passes
as shown by arrows in dotted line, through the tap (/). Above the
valve seating there is a cylindrical tube (a¹) forming part of the
casting (a), and over this there is an inverted cylinder (6) closed at its
upper end; to this cylinder the valve (61) is secured, the spindle
below the cylinder being made of large diameter to give weight to close
the valve. Secured by a flange to the lower casting there is a
cylindrical piece (c), the upper part of which forms a bearing for the
spindle (6) which is secured to the valve as shown. The spindle (72)
can slide freely up and down in the bearing, and at its upper end a
secured which carries two pins (6) that can slide
freely through holes in a pulley (d) arranged to rotate upon the boss
part (c); this pulley is kept in its place by the point of a screw (d')
which enters a groove made round the boss part. There are screw
wings (6) formed upon the rotating inverted cylinder (6) which work
in the mercury or liquid used as a "seal," so that when the spindle (²)
is rotated the action of the screw wings (63) will cause the valve to
lift and open; c is a hole for air and to pour in the supply of meroury
or liquid.
cross piece (68) is
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention and
the modes of carrying it into effect, and claim as my Invention, self-

page_text: acting mechanism working in connection with the driving power of
mills or manufactories which will turn on and shut off the maximum
supply of gas, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by
the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bernhardt, have hereunto t
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
GEORGE BERNHARDT. (LS.)