An Improved Apparatus for the Production of Acetylene Gas.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus for the Production of Acetylene Gas.
I, EMILE PIANET, Menagery Proprietor, of Grenoble, in the Republic of France,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of an improved apparatus for the production of acety-
lene gas, in which such production takes place in small measured quantities
proportional to the rate of consumption of the gas.
My improved apparatus comprises a gas-receiving bell placed within the
apparatus and operatively connected with a pair of slides or shutters actuated by
the ascending and descending movements of the said bell, and intended to alter-
nately open and close an inlet through which calcium carbide is supplied.
The said apparatus further comprises a device for regulating the mechanical
pressure of suitable weights acting upon the said bell, so as to have a maximum
pressure exerted upon the same when it is in its lowermost position, in which
position it is liable to have the internal pressure of the gas suddenly increased
by the introduction of a measured quantity of calcium-carbide into the water.
In order that the said invention may be better understood I will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows,
by way of example, one form of execution of the same.
In the drawing,
Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved apparatus, in which the bell-
crank-levers 23 and 24 and also the slides or shutters 21 and 22 are supposed to
be laid down into the plan of the section shown.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the apparatus.
Figure 3 is a back view of one portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,
with part of the wall of tank 1 removed.
1 is a closed tank with an inclined bottom 2. An inner chamber is formed by
means of the partitions 3, 4 and 5 and the inclined bottom 6, which latter is pro-
vided with an opening 7. The said inner chamber contains a gas-receiving
bell 8. Weights are free to roll in suitable troughs 10 pivotally supported by
trunnions 11. The troughs 10 are balanced, as to their own weight, by means
of fixed counterpoises 112, and each trough is provided with a projection 12
which is intended to bear upon a suitable projection 13 of the bell 8.
The said bell has only a limited length of travel, (about one inch), arranged
according to the amount of gas produced by a measured portion of calcium car-
bide. If the bell 8 is in its lowest position and is lifted by the gas which has
been produced by dropping the said measured portion of calcium carbide into
the water, the said gas has to overcome a very strong resistance by reason of the
weights being in their most effective position in the troughs 10 for depressing
the said bell. The said resistance decreases as the weights roll towards the
trunnions 11 when the troughs 10 are lifted by the bell 8.
Above that portion of the tank 1 which acts as generator there is affixed a
tube 14 provided with a cock 15 and a union-nut 16. The said union-nut is
intended to connect the conical box 17, containing powdered calcium-carbide, to

page_text: the tube 14; the said conical box 17 is provided in turn with a cock 18 to permit
its withdrawal from the apparatus for the purpose of being re-filled.
The discharging nozzle of the tube 14 is adapted to be closed by a shutter 21,
and a measuring chamber 20 in line below the said discharging nozzle is adapted
to be closed by the shutter 22. The slides or shutters 21 and 22 alternately
occlude either the nozzle 19 or the measuring chamber 10, according as the said
shutters 21 and 22 are rocked towards the left-hand or towards the right-hand
by means of the rocking levers 23 and 24, which are connected to the rod 25, the
stem of which is guided in suitable guides fixed to the partition 4 and bears at
The other
its lower end upon a rocking lever 20 pivoted at 27 to the bottom 6.
end of said rocking lever 26 is adapted to be acted upon, when the bell 8 is sink-
ing, by a suitable rod 28 fixed to the bell 8.
One end of the said rocking levers 20 is connected with the one end of another
rocking lever 29 which is pivoted at 30 to the bottom 6, and to the other end of
which there is connected a stem 31 passing through a suitable hole of the tank 1
actuating a suitable meter 32 intended to record the quantity of calcium-carbide
discharged from the measuring chamber 20 into the water. The said meter may,
for example, be actuated by means of a suitable ratchet-wheel acted upon by means
of a ratchet fixed to the rod 31.
The tank 1 is provided with a water-gauge glass 33 and with a tube 34, through
which water can be filled into the said tank 1 up to the desired level, which will
also allow the water, and eventually the gas, in case of an accidental over-pro-
duction of gas, to escape from the said tank 1. The lower end of the tube 34
enters a tank 35 arranged beneath the sloping bottom 2 of the tank 1 and pro-
vided with an over-flow-pipe 36.
..
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
I, EMILE PIANET, of Grenoble, in the Republic of France, Menagery Proprietor,
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 consists of an improved apparatus for the production of acely-
lene gas in which such production takes place in small measured quantities
proportional to the rate of consumption of the gas.
My improved apparatus comprises a gas-receiving bell placed within the
apparatus and operatively connected with a pair of slides or shutters actuated by
the ascending and descending movements of the said bell and intended to alter-
nately open and close an inlet through which calcium carbide is supplied.
The said apparatus further comprises a device for regulating the mechanical
pressure of suitable weights acting upon the said bell so as to have a maximum
pressure exerted upon the same when it is in its lowermost position, in which
position it is liable to have the internal pressure of the gas suddenly increased
by the introduction of a measured quantity of calcium-carbide into the water.
In order that the said invention may be better understood I will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the drawing accompanying my Provisional
Specification which shows, by way of example, one form of execution of the same.
In the drawing,

page_text: Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved apparatus in which the bell-
crank levers 23 and 24 and also the slides or shutters 21 and 22, for the sake of
clearness, are shown turned through an angle of 90° about the axis of the
nozzle 19.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the apparatus.
Figure 3 is a back view of one portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,
with part of the wall of tank 1 removed.
1 is a closed tank with an inclined bottom 2. An inner chamber is formed by
means of the partitions 3, 4 and 5 and the inclined bottom
which latter is pro-
vided with an opening 7.
The said inner chamber contains a gas-receiving
bell 8. Weights ŷ are free to roll in suitable troughs 10 pivotally supported by
trunnions 11. The troughs 10 are balanced, as to their own weight, by means
of fixed counterpoises 112 and each trough is provided with a projection 12
which is intended to bear upon a suitable projection 13 of the bell S.
The said bell has only a limited length of travel (about one inch), arranged
according to the amount of gas produced by a measured portion of calcium car-
bide. If the bell 8 is in its lowest position and is lifted by the gas which has
been produced by dropping the said measured portion of calcium carbide into
the water, the said gas has to overcome a very strong resistance by reason of the
weights being in their most effective position in the troughs 10 for depressing
the said bell. The said resistance decreases as the weights roll towards the
trunnions 11 when the troughs 10 are lifted by the bell 8.
Above that portion of the tank 1 which acts as a generator there is affixed a
tube 14 provided with a cock 15 and a union-nut 16. The said union-nut is
intended to connect the conical box 17, containing powdered calcium-carbide, to
the tube 14; the said conical box 17 is in turn provided with a cock 18 to permit
its withdrawal from the apparatus for the purpose of being refilled.
The discharging nozzle 19 of the tube 14 is adapted to be closed by a shutter 21
and a measuring chamber 20 in line below the said discharging nozzle is adapted
to be closed by the shutter 22. The slides or shutters 21 and 22 alternately
occlude either the nozzle 19 or the measuring chamber 20, accordingly as the said
shutters 21 and 22 are rocked towards the left-hand or towards the right-hand
by means of the rocking levers 23 and 24 which are connected to the rod 25, the
stem of which is guided in suitable guides fixed to the partition 4 and bears at
its lower end upon a rocking lever 26 pivoted at 27 to the bottom 6. The other
end of said rocking lever 26 is adapted to be acted upon, when the bell 8 is sink-
ing, by a suitable rod 28 fixed to the bell 8.
The diameter of the measuring chamber 20 is somewhat larger than that of the
nozzle 19 and the shutters 21 and 22 may be combined with suitable rollers with a
view of facilitating their to-and-fro motion. The rods and levers which transmit
to the said shutters the motion of the bell 8 may be arranged in the top of the
apparatus, so as to be out of reach of the water, instead of being arranged within
the lower portion of the apparatus.
One end of the said rocking lever 26 is connected with the end of another
rocking lever 29 which is pivoted at 30 to the bottom 6, and to the other end of
which there is connected a stem 31, passing through a suitable hole of the tank 1,
actuating a suitable meter 32 intended to record the quantity of calcium-carbide
discharged from the measuring chamber 20 into the water. The said meter may.
for example, be actuated by means of a suitable ratchet-wheel acted upon by means
of a ratchet fixed to the rod 31.
The tank 1 is provided with a water gauge-glass 33 and with a tube 34 through
which water can be filled into the said tank 1, up to the desired level which will
also allow the water, and eventually the gas, in case of an accidental over-pro-
duction of gas, to escape from the said tank 1. The lower end of the tube 34
enters a tank 35 arranged beneath the sloping bottom 2 of the tank 1 and pro-
vided with an over-flow-pipe 36.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. An improved apparatus for the production of acetylene gas comprising an
inner gas receiving bell 8, slides 21 and 22, suitable means for moving the said
slides to-and-fro accordingly as the bell rises or falls in order to supply measured
portions of calcium-carbide to the water, and weights 9 capable of rolling in
suitable troughs 10 pivotally connected at one end to the casing and bearing with
their other end upon suitable projections of the bell 8, so as to press upon the said
bell with their maximum pressure when the bell is in its lowest position and with
a decreasing pressure accordingly as the said bell rises, substantially as herein-
before described and shown in the drawing.
2. The improved apparatus constructed substantially as herein before described
with reference to the drawing, and operating as, and for the purpose, specified.
Dated this 11th day of January 1900.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.