Improvements in Apparatus for Generating Acetylene Gas.
Year: 1899

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Generating Acetylene Gas.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings, in
the County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention (as communicated to me from abroad by F. Cortez Wilson, of
239 & 241, Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America), 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 generators for the production of
acetylene gas by the reaction of water on carbide of calcium or the like, and it
relates more particularly to those features of generator construction which
control the application of water to the carbide its object being to improve sucli
features so as to better govern the generation of the gas in accordance with
the demands of consumption and at the same time guard against the overheating
which is liable to result when water is supplied in limited quantities to a mass of
carbide or is withdrawn from carbide which has been partially hydrated, and
which tends to produce polymerization of the gas and a reduction in its illuminat-
ing quality. It is now generally admitted that such overheating is best guarded
against by submerging the carbide in a relatively large volume of water and
allowing the chemical reaction to continue, when thus once started, until all
the carbide is exhausted. This it has been attempted to do, by feeding small
quantities of carbide into a comparative large body of water from time to time
as the generation of gas was demanded to maintain the required supply, but
serious practical difficulties have met the attempts to construct a successful
automatic feed for this purpose.
It has also been proposed to accomplish the result by distributing the charge
of carbide among a number of separate receptacles or compartments placed
within the generating chamber and made of different heights, with the expectation
that as the water level rose in the generating chamber the water would enter
these several compartments in succession and exhaust the carbide in one com-
partment before flowing into the next or succeeding compartment. It has,
however, been found that in an apparatus of this character the rush of gas
produced by the action of the water as it begins to flow into each compartment
in turn, and to act upon the carbide therein, tends to depress the water level again
and stop the inflow before the compartment becomes filled, with the result that.
the heat of the reaction of the small quantity of water which has already entered
the compartment upon the considerable mass of carbide within the latter, will
raise the temperature of the generated gas high enough to cause it to begin to
decompose and deteriorate.
The present improvement is a further development of this latter method,
designed to successfully accomplish the intended result without encountering the
difficulties referred to."
It contemplates the same general scheme of distributing the total charge of

page_text: carbide placed in the generating chamber among a number of separate receptacles
or compartments located within the said chamber and to which water is admitted
in succession to act upon and exhaust the carbide in each before flowing into
the succeeding compartment. According to the present improvement, however,
each receptacle is made independently movable and of such relative weight and
displacement that when loaded with its intended charge of carbide it will normally
float upon the surface of the water in the generating chamber but with only
a slight excess of buoyancy so that as soon as any appreciable amount of water
flows into the receptacle it will immediately sink or founder. The sinking of the
receptacles is arranged to occur in succession, and whenever the supply of gas
stored against the demands of consumption is reduced beyond a predetermined
minimum amount, each charge of carbide being completely and permanently
submerged in turn,and the evolution of gas from each charge when thus sub-
merged will continue uninterruptedly until it is entirely exhausted and will take
place in the presence of such excess of water that the temperature of generation
can never become high enough to deleteriously affect the gas.
This improvement may be applied to almost any type of generator with the
same general result, although the details of construction and operation will
vary somewhat according to the generator selected. For example in that class of
generators in which the water is admitted to the generator chamber near the
bottom of the latter and under a head or pressure which is opposed to the
pressure of the generated gas, so that the water level in the chamber varics in
accordance with the latter pressure, the upward flotation of the buoyant carbide
receptacles may be limited by stationary stops secured to or engaging the walls
of the generator. The stops may be located at gradually increasing heiglits and
may take the form, for example, of an inclined bar or framework by which the
receptacles nearer its lower end will be held down and caused to fill and sink
before those nearer its upper end, or the stops may be on a level and be con
stituted by the top wall of the generating chamber itself, for example, the
receptacles being in this case provided with inlet openings placed at different
distances from their surface of contact with the stop surface so that the filling and
sinking of the receptacles in succession as the water level 'rises will proceed as
before. The same variations and arrangements may obtain in a generator in
which water is supplied to the generating chamber through a valve which is
controlled by the position of a connected gas receiver so as to be opened and
closed as the quantity of gas stored falls below or exceeds certain predetermined
amounts; in lieu of the cock or valve mechanism actuated by the movement of the
moveable member of the gas holder some of the familar types of auxiliary
displacers in connection with automatic measures, siphons or other devices may be
utilized to supply the water required to raise the level of the water in the
generating chamber from time to time to the points at which it will overflow
the buoyant receptacles in turn and cause them to founder and become exhausted.
Instead of providing for changes in water level by which this result is accom-
plished, devices whose operation is dependent upon the reduction of the amount
of stored gas may be used to depress the receptacles into the water and in this
manner cause them to founder and give off the gas latent in their several charges
in succession and as often as may be required to keep up the supply. This
arrangement may obtain in a generator in which the receiver is distinct from
the generating chamber by which the carbide receptacles are depressed and sunk
from time to time as heretofore stated, or in another familar type of generator
a battery of independent buoyant carbide receptacles as described may be sus-
pended within a floating bell or receiver which also constitutes the generating
chamber, so that as the bell sinks deeper into the water by reason of the exhausting
of the gas contained therein, the receptacles will be caused to fill and sink in
the manner set forth.
All of the foregoing and various other constructions and arrangements for
accomplishing the same result will be understood as comprehended within the

page_text: receptacle or box containing a unit of charge and arranged to founder and denver
at once in the presence of an excess of water the entire volume of gas which its
charge is capable of producing whenever demand is made upon it.
The invention will be more fully understood from the following description
of the construction shown in the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of generator provided with my improve-
ments.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation thereof.
.
Figure 3 is a top plan detail showing the arrangement of the buoyant
receptacles.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the receptacles.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of another form of generator embodying the
invention.
Figure 6 is a similar view of a third form.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the stop frame shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 8 is a sectional elevation of still another form of generator provided with
the said improvements.
Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the buoyant carbide receptacles of
slightly modified construction.
Referring first to the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, A designates an
outer tank or water chamber and B a generating chamber partially enclosed
within the water chamber and provided at one end with a removeable plate or
cover B through which, access may be had to the interior of the generating
chamber. Water may be supplied to the water chamber through a funnel a and
valved inlet a', and the water in the said water chamber enters the generating
chamber at a point near its bottom through a valved pipe Al
From the top of the generating chamber a gas outlet pipe leads off to any
desired receiver or gasometer, not shown.
According to the present invention the carbide is provided within the generating
chamber in a plurality of relatively small receptacles C. These are loosely
inserted within the chamber and in charging are filled with carbide only to such
an extent as will permit them to float with their charges in the water admitted
to the said chamber. Above these receptacles is a stop D with which they come
in contact as the water rises. This stop is shown as inclined from the horizontal,
and consequently checks the upward flotation of the receptacle beneath its lower
end first, and then in succession those nearer its upper end, so that as the water
continues to rise it flows into and sinks the several receptacles in succession in
the order in which their upward movement was checked by said stop D. To this
end the water might be allowed to enter the open mouths of the receptacles, but,
as shown, a special inlet is provided in each receptacle for the water to enter, this
inlet being shown as formed by an upwardly extending interior passage e having
an exterior opening c¹ at its lower end and left in open communication at its upper
end with the interior of the receptacle.
Theso passages are all shown as terminating at their open upper end at
the same distance below the top of the receptacle, and as the receptacles are
'checked at different heights owing to the inclination of the stop D, the water
will flow into the several receptacles through said passages at different water
levels, and in succession as heretofore stated. Obviously, however, a horizontally
arranged stop would produce the same result if the inlet openings or the upper
ends of the passages e were arranged at different distances from the surfaces of
contact of the receptacles with said stop, but this would require all of the
receptacles to be constructed differently in respect to the height of said inlet
opening, whereas by inclining the stop the desired result is effected by making
all the receptacles exactly alike, an obvious advantage in manufacture.
For convenience in handling also, and to catch any residium which may
escape from them, the several receptacles C are loosely enclosed within a remov-

page_text: The
able drawer or pan C' having one or more inlet apertures C through which the
water can enter to float the receptacles. The entire battery of receptacles may then
be withdrawn or replaced by simply removing or replacing this drawer.
stop D in this construction is shown as made in the form of a rectangular frame
fitting within the open upper end of the drawer C, and having end lugs d by
which it is suspended from the upper edges of said drawer and which are shown
as coming in contact with the top of the generating chamber so that the stop
frame is held down thereby.
The operation of the apparatus thus constructed will be readily understood.
After the receptacles C are properly filled and the drawer enclosed within
the generating chamber, the inlet is opened to admit water to the generating
chamber from the water chamber A. The water thus admitted rises in the
generating chamber and in the drawer C and floats the receptacles C which rise
with the rising water until stopped by their contact with the stop 1),
the receptacle at the lower end of said frame being obviously the
first whose further upward movement is prevented. Then as the water con-
tinues to rise it soon begins to flow into said receptacle over the top of the
passage and speedily causes it to sink or founder as shewn at Fig. 2.
Immediately upon the entrance of water to this receptacle, however, the reaction
of water upon this carbide begins to generate gas which fills the generating
chamber and creates a downward pressure tending to check for the time being
any further rising of the water level. The evolution of gas from this mass of
carbide will suffice to meet the demands of consumption for a time, but as it
becomes exhausted the pressure of gas will be reduced if the demand continues
and the head of water in chamber A will again cause the water level to rise in
the generating chamber until the next receptacle is filled and sunk, thus pro-
viding a new supply of carbide and a new source of gas production which will keep
down the water level until exhausted in turn. In this manner the several recep-
tacles will be called upon in succession to supply carbide, as it is needed from time
to time to keep up the rate of generation in accordance with the demands of
consumption. The sinking of each receptacle as soon as its charge of carbide
begins to be attacked by the entering water at the same time insures that the
reaction shall take place in the presence of a great excess of water, so that a
high temperature of generation and consequent overheating of gas is rendered
impossible. It is also impossible for any of the carbide to be partially wetted
and then have the water withdrawn from it, thus doing away with the slow.
generation which continues inevitably after a mass of carbide is once partially
hydrated, even though the water is completely withdrawn. This improved method
of handling carbide is especially advantageous in the case of carbide which has
been crushed or powdered to such an extent as to prevent its being supported
upon an ordinary grating in the same manner as the ordinary lump material, but
it will be obvious that the method is equally applicable to the handling of carbide
in either form. The greater part of the lime or residuum remaining after the
carbide is exhausted will, of course, be retained in each receptacle and may be
removed therewith, and if by reason of the violence of the reaction or otherwise
any of the residuum should be thrown out of a receptacle it will ultimately setthi
in the bottom of the pan C and will be removed therewith.
In the construction shown in Figure 5 the general operation is substantially
the same, but the water is supplied to the generating chamber B from an over-
head tank or other source of supply E through a pipe which is controlled by a
valve e that is normally closed but is arranged to be opened automatically when-
ever the quantity of gas contained in the receiver is reduced beyond a
predetermined minimum. As here shown, the said valve is normally held
closed by a weight el, but is provided with an operating stem or handle e which
projects into the path of a stop f on a rod f' that is rigidly connected with the
hell of the receiver. The horizontal top of the generating chamber forms in this
construction the stop for limiting the upward flotation of the receptacles and the

page_text: latter are provided with inlet openings at different levels to effect the sinking
of the receptacles in succession as the water rises. After this apparatus is once
put into operation the water level remains constant except at such times as
the valve e is opened by the stop f. When this occurs the water rises until the
next receptacle fills and sinks, whereupon the evolution of gas due to the sub-
merging of its charge of carbide will raise the bell of the receiver and cut off
the water supply again, after which conditions will remain as before until the
contents of the receiver are again exhausted.
Figure 6 illustrates a simple apparatus of that type in which the carbide
support is carried within a gas-containing bell G that floats within a tank G.
In this case a pan H, similar to the pan of the construction first described, is
removably supported within the bell G by lugs g while the receptacles C are
limited as to their upward movement by an inclined bar H that is pivotted
within the drawer at h, and is detachably fastened at its other end by a thumb
screw . Water is admitted to the pan or drawer H through apertures hª in
its side walls and as the bell descends by the exhaustion of its contained gas the
carbide receptacles are forced beneath the surface of the water and sunk in
succession, the bell rising again between the sinking of each two succeeding
receptacles by reason of the sudden and considerable generation of gas which
occurs each time one of the receptacles is overflowed, and the sinking of the
succeeding receptacles being in each case delayed until the supply of gas resulting
from the sinking of the preceding receptacles is exhausted. It will be noted that
the inlet apertures 2 in the pan H are provided at a distance above the bottoni
of the pan somewhat greater than the depth of the carbide receptacles C so
that even if the evolution of gas due to the sinking of a receptacle should be
so sudden as to lift the pan H out of the water to an abnormal extent, the
receptacle would still remain entirely submerged within the pan. The same
precaution is substantially observed in the construction shown in Figure 2 in
which the inlet aperture of the pan C is placed above the level of the inlet
passages of the carbide receptacles when the latter sink to the bottom of the
pan, so that when once sunk, the water inlet of each receptacle will remain
permanently submerged, if the inlet were lower the increase of gas pressure
within the generating chamber might become great enough to abnormally depress
the water level therein, and prevent such submersion. This feature of insuring
a sufficient minimum depth of water for the receptacles to sink into is of con-
siderable importance since otherwise the object of the invention might to some
extent be defeated by the changes in the relative level.
In Figure 8 is shown a construction in which the generating chamber is supplied
with a fixed quantity of water provided within the drawer C while the several
buoyant carbide receptacles Care arranged to be sunk in succession by the
movement of the connected receiver I when the amount of gas in the latter is
drawn off so that it contains less than a predetermined minimum supply. The
mechanical connectious for accomplishing this result are as follows: A stop
frame is pivotted at one end t to the upper edge of the drawer and extends
the length of the latter above the receptacles C. The free end of this frame is
movably supported in any suitable manner such as by a float 5 and the frame
is arranged to be depressed against the buoyancy of this float by a rod c which
in turn is arranged to be pushed down by the receiver when the gas in the latter
is exhausted to the predetermined extent. In this instance the receiver I is in
the form of an ordinary bell located directly above the generating chamber, and the
rod extends upwardly through the pipe i which leads from the generating
chamber into the receiver and affords the gas passage between them. The upper
end of the rod terminates in position to be struck by the top of the bell when
the latter sinks to the predetermined point, and the forcing down of the rod by
the bell then obviously results in the forcing down of the stop frame C by the
rod. The receptacles C normally float with their upper ends in contact with
or in proximity to the under surface of the atop frame and as the latter is

page_text: depressed they are forced down into the water until one by one they are sunk
by the inflow of water through their inlet openings. The pivotted end of the
frame is placed high enough to maintain the frame in a normally inclined position
with the consequence that the receptacles toward the lower end of the frame are
first sunk and then gradually those near its upper end. As each receptacle is
sunk the gas given off from its submerged charge of carbide rushes into the
receiver and lifts it away from the rod e, thus permitting the stop frame to rise
again before any other receptacle is sunk. The remaining receptacles therefore
continue to float until, by the exhaustion of the gas stored in the bell, the latter
again descends and depresses the frame so as to cause it to sink the next receptacle.
Guides are in this instance shown as provided between the receptacles C, and
to provide a water seal for the upper end of the water passage i, a cup is inverted
over, the upper end of the said passage and rigidly secured to the rod so as
to be movable therewith. The lower end of said cup dips into the water in which
the bell is floated, and is shown as provided with a surrounding rim of wood or
the like by which its weight is floated. The gas entering the cup by the pipe i
forces down the water under the cup and bubbles up into the bell beneath the
edges of the cup but is prevented from flowing back from the bell into the
generating chamber when the cover of the latter is removed for recharging. Any
other construction for this purpose may, however, obviously be employed.
In case it should be found that the rapidity of generation ensuing immediately
upon the first entrance of water into the carbide receptacle should operate to
depress the water level in any form of generator so rapidly as to prevent the further
entrance of water in quantities sufficient to sink the receptacles immediately upon
the first entrance of water thereto, each receptacle may be provided with separate
water compartment communicating with the water inlet in the manner shown,
for example, in Figure 9. This water compartiment should be of such capacity
that the weight of the water which will enter it through the inlet will be
sufficient to fully overcome the surplus buoyancy of the receptacle, and in this
case the sinking of the receptacle would be insured before a drop of water had
entered the carbide chamber to start the evolution of gas therein.
Obviously the various details of the constructions referred to may be con-
siderably modified from those herein shown without in any way departing from
the essential feature of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declaro that what
I claim is:―
1. In apparatus for generating acetylene gas the employment within a generat-
ing chamber of one or more carbide receptacles adapted to float in the water
of the chamber, and so arranged that the water gains access to the carbide therein
as the production of additional acetylene is required, whereupon the vessel will
sink in the water so as to entirely immerse the carbide, substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for generating acetylene gas, such as is referred to in the first
claim, arranging a series of buoyant carbide receptacles in combination with
means for limiting their upward flotation where their inlets for the water are
placed at different levels, so that as the water level rises in the generating chamber,
it will gain access to the carbide in each vessel in succession so as to effect its
complete immersion, substantially as described.
3. In apparatus for generating acotylene gas such as is referred to in the first
and second claims, so arranging the means whereby the series of buoyant carbide
receptacles are held with their inlets at different levels that according as the
production of additional acetylene is required, the receptacles are successively
lowered in order that the water may gain access to the carbide there in, and
cause the vessel to sink, substantially as described.
4. In apparatus for generating acetylene gas such as is referred to in the first
and second claims, arranging the buoyant carbide receptacles within a pan or

page_text: drawer contained in a removable manner within the generating chamber and
communicating therewith so as to be partly filled with water therefrom, in which
water the carbide receptacles float, substantially as described.
Dated this 1th day of Iul. 1900.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.