IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS FOR ILLUMINATING AND
HEATING." A communication from abroad by Jonathan Griffen, residing
at Monidan Connectiont IInited States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson
Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th March 1865.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS FOR
ILLUMINATING AND HEATING," to be as follows:-
I am aware that in vaporizing petroleum, naptha, or other hydrocarbon for
illuminating and heating purposes atmospheric air has been blown over and
through the naptha by being carried below its surface. I am also aware that
for the purpose of filtration the naptha has been passed through a sponge into
the apparatus, and that also the atmospheric air has been forced through
suitable material saturated with the naptha and other hydrocarbons. Now

page_text: this Invention relates, first, to an apparatus for distributing the atmospheric air
under the surface of the naptha so that vaporization may take place more
quietly and uniformly than when the air is freed in a considerable body
underneath the surface of the naptha, and bubbling as the air rises through
the liquid is prevented. In connection with the apparatus a bright metal
condensing plate is used for collecting the impurities and the drip from the
regulator so as to carry them back to the apparatus. When the atmospheric
air is first admitted to the chamber containing the fluid, instant and powerful
vaporization commences, which if not properly checked causes great pressure
upon the burners, and as suddenly as it commences so suddenly it subsides to
a certain and nearly equal pressure; or an unequal pressure or flow from the
air forcing apparatus will cause an unequal pressure and unsteady flow of gas
at the burner.
The second part of the Invention is principally designed to overcome this
sudden undesirable or unequal flow of gas, and consists in placing a sponge or
similar porous elastic substance in a chamber through which the gas must pass
upwards in its passage from the vaporizing apparatus. A sudden flow of the
gas from any cause tends to compress the sponge or similar substance, which
compression retards the passage through the sponge, so that the greater the
pressure upon the sponge, or its equivalent, the less freely the gas or vapor can
pass. I find the sponge also useful for another object of great if not equal
importance. The sponge naturally contains and retains a certain degree of
moisture, which serves to condense the vapor in its passage through it, and
thus cleanses the vapor from such impurities or particles as may have escaped
the action of the condenser plate. In carrying out the Invention a box or
case constructed of metal or other suitable substance or material is used, an
air chamber is placed within the said box, and resting on or near the bottom
of the same. In its side are perforations, the centre ones of which are small,
and they gradually increase in size towards the ends, the purpose they serve is
herein-after shewn; there is an opening or conductor leading to the said air
chamber, through which atmospheric air is forced to the air chamber by any
convenient means. Above the air chamber is placed a metallic plate, it may
rest upon the air chamber; the said plate should nearly fill the case, leaving a
narrow space around its edge. Above the plate is placed a second plate
resting upon proper supports, and placed so as to come below the surface of
the fluid with which the case is to be partially filled. The said second plate
should be nearly or quite as large as the interior of the case, and finely
perforated over its whole surface; or a network or web of wire might answer
the
purpose, which will be fully shown hereafter. Above this perforated plate

page_text: I divide the space into two parts by a partition perforated like the plate, and
in one of the divisions thus formed I place a bright metal or condenser plate
which fills the space, supported at one side by the partition, which need not
extend below the said condenser plate excepting as it serves to support the
said plate. This said condenser plate must be placed above the fluid, and the
perforated partition extends from the condenser plate to the top or cover,
which is closely secured and properly packed to prevent the gas or vapor
escaping from the case. Over the condenser plate I place another perforated
plate, and above this plate is a dome, and in it is set a fine network or gauze
of wire, this lies free in the dome. Near the top of the dome I fix another
perforated plate, and at the top I form the outlet for the gas to pass off for
consumption. The space between the gauze or network and the upper
perforated plate I fill with a coarse sponge or some similar substance. Hazel
shavings are a very good equivalent, but from experiment I as yet prefer
sponge to anything I have tried. The apparatus thus complete, I partially
fill with petroleum, naptha, or other hydrocarbon. Atmospheric air is then
forced through the conductor to the air chamber, which through the perfora-
tions in its sides distributes the same through the whole of the fluid. The
perforations in the air chamber are made small at the centre and gradually
increase so as to distribute the air equally, for as the pressure is greater at or
near the centre the perforations at that part are small, and the pressure
diminishing as the air flows from the centre, so the perforations increase in
size in like proportion. The atmospheric air thus distributed rises around the
edges of the first-mentioned plate through the fluid, and does not cause the
fluid to bubble or be agitated, which would greatly retard vaporization and
injuriously affect it; vaporization being best accomplished and most perfect
when the fluid is in a state of rest. To prevent agitation the second
perforated plate is introduced, which entirely and perfectly accomplishes the
object. In its passage up through the fluid the atmospheric air becomes fully
impreguated with the illuminating portion of the hydrocarbon and requires to
be purified by condensation; for this purpose the vapor or gas is passed
through the upper part of the partition over the condenser plate, this said
plate is bright and smooth, and in the flow of the vapor over it condenses so
that the impurities fall on or adhere to the plate and from thence run back to
the fluid below. The purified gas passes up through the perforated plate
through the sponge, which naturally retains a degree of dampness which serves
further to condense and more perfectly to purify the gas before allowing it to
pass on and through the outlet to the burner or receiver; the condensed
liquid drips from the sponge, and passes off as from the plate. When the

page_text: sponge lies free the gas will flow through it more easily than when the sponge
is compressed by the pressure, and thus prevents any action upon the gas
beyond the sponge by undue pressure before it. The plate is placed above the
sponge to allow more surface for the gas to pass from the sponge than there
would be were the sponge to bear against the top of the dome.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said
George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING HYDROCARBON
LIQUIDS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING," a communication to me from abroad
by Jonathin Griffen, a person resident at Meridan, Connecticut, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Tomlinson Bousfield, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-

page_text: I am aware that in vaporizing petroleum, naphtha, or other bydrocarbon for
illuminating and heating purposes atmospheric air has been blown over and
through the naphtha by being carried below its surface. I am also aware that
for the purpose of filtration the naphtha has been passed through a sponge into
the apparatus, and that also the atmospheric air has been forced through
suitable material saturated with the naphtha and other hydrocarbons. Now
this Invention relates, first, to an apparatus for distributing the atmospheric air
under the surface of the naphtha so that vaporization may take place more
quietly and uniformly than when the air is freed in a considerable body
underneath the surface of the naphtha, and bubbling as the air rises through
the liquid is prevented. In connection with the apparatus a bright metal
condensing plate is used for collecting the impurities and the drip from the
regulator so as to carry them back to the apparatus. When the atmospheric
air is first admitted to the chamber containing the fluid, instant and powerful
vaporization commences, which if not properly checked causes great pressure
upon the burners, and as suddenly as it commences so suddenly it subsides to a
certain and nearly equal pressure; or an unequal pressure or flow from the
air forcing apparatus will cause an unequal pressure and unsteady flow of gas
at the burner.
The second part of the Invention is principally designed to overcome this
sudden and undesirable or unequal flow of gas, and consists in placing a sponge
or similar porous elastic substance in a chamber through which the gas most
pass upwards in its passage from the vaporizing apparatus. A sudden flow of
the gas from any cause tends to compress the sponge or similar substance,
which compression retards the passage through the sponge, so that the greater
the pressure upon the sponge, or its equivalent, the less freely the gas or vapour
can pass. I find the sponge also useful for another object of great if not
equal importance. The sponge naturally contains and retains a certain degree
of moisture, which serves to condense the vapor in its passage through it, and
thus cleanses the vapor from such impurities or particles as may have escaped
the action of the condenser plate. In carrying out the Invention a box or
case constructed of metal or other suitable substance or material is used, an
air chamber is placed within the said box, and resting on or near the bottom
of the same. In its side are perforations, the centre ones of which are small,
and they gradually increase in size towards the ends, the purpose they serve is
herein-after shown; there is an opening or conductor leading to the said air
chamber, through which atmospheric air is forced to the air chamber by any
convenient means. Above the air chamber is placed a metallic plate, it may
rest upon the air chamber; the said plate should nearly fill the case, leaving &

page_text: narrow space around its edge. Above the plate is placed a second plate
resting upon proper supports, and placed so as to come below the surface of
the fluid with which the case is to be partially filled. The said second plate
should be nearly or quite as large as the interior of the case, and finely
perforated over its whole surface; or a network or web of wire might answer
the purpose, which will be fully shown hereafter. Above the perforated plate
'I divide the space into two parts by a partition perforated like the plate, and in
one of the divisions thus formed I place a bright metal or condenser plate
which fills the space, supported at one side by the partition, which need not
extend below the said condenser plate excepting as it serves to support the
said plate. This said condenser plate must be placed above the fluid, and the
perforated partition extends from the condenser plate to the top or cover,
which is closely secured and properly packed to prevent the gas or vapor
escaping from the case. Over the condenser plate I place another perforated
plate, and above this plate is a dome, and in it is set a fine network or gunze of
wire, this lies free in the dome. Near the top of the dome I fix another
perforated plate, and at the top I form the outlet for the gas to pass off for
consumption. The space between the gauze or network and the upper
perforated plate I fill with a coarse sponge or some similar substance. Hazel
shavings are a very good equivalent, but from experiment I as yet prefer
sponge to anything I have tried. The apparatus thus complete I partially fill
with petroleum, naphtha, or other hydrocarbon. Atmospheric air is then forced
through the conductor to the air chamber, which through the perforations in
its sides distributes the same through the whole of the fluid. The perforations
in the air chamber are made small at the centre and gradually increase so as
to distribute the air equally, for as the pressure is greater at or near the
centre the perforations at that part are small, and the pressure diminishing as
the air flows from the centre, so the perforations increase in size in like pro-
portion. The atmospheric air thus distributed rises around the edges of the
first-mentioned plate through the fluid, and does not cause the fluid to bubble
or be agitated, which would greatly retard vaporization and injuriously affect
it; vaporization being best accomplished and most perfect when the fluid is
in a state of rest. To prevent agitation the second perforated plate is
introduced, which entirely and perfectly accomplishes the object. In its
passage up through the fluid the atmospheric air becomes fully impregnated
with the illuminating portion of the hydrocarbon, and requires to be purified by
condensation, for this purpose the vapor or gas is passed through the upper
part of the partition over the condenser plate, this said plate is bright and
smooth, and in the flow of the vapour over it condenses so that the impurities

page_text: fall on or adhere to the plate, and from thence run back to the fluid below.
The purified gas passes up through the perforated plate through the sponge,
which naturally retains a degree of dampness which serves further to condense
and more perfectly to purify the gas before allowing it to pass on and through
the outlet to the burner or receiver. The condensed liquid drips from the:
sponge and passes off as from the plate. When the sponge lies free the gas
will flow through it more easily than when the sponge is compressed by the:
pressure, and thus prevents any action upon the gas beyond the sponge by
undue pressure before it. The plate is placed above the sponge to allow more
surface for the gas to pass from the sponge than there would be were the-
sponge to bear against the top of the dome.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed more.
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a top view of the cover of the generator showing its length,.
width, and location of the two air pipes, sponge box, stays, and other parts;
Figure 2 shows a side view with the front side removed to show the internal
parts and arrangement. A is the air receiver lying in the bottom of the
generator, it has two rows of air holes at the sides and ends suitably formed
and arranged to divide the air into numerous small streams and to distribute
the air streams as equally as possible. In the apparatus shown the air is
forced in at two places, but this may be varied. B, a plate about midway
between top and bottom, nearly the full size of the generator, with a rim
entirely around its outer edge and resting upon the bottom. This plate is per-
forated with about sixteen holes to the square inch and about the size of No. 18
wire gauze. C, C, are two pipes for admitting the air; they pass through
the top plate, also through the perforated plate B, and through the top plate of
the air receiver, and are soldered firmly to each plate, as shown in the
Drawing; D, D, are stay rods for holding the plates through which they pass
in their places, being soldered on the outside and to each of the plates; E is
a plate connecting two upright perforated plates E', E', as shown in Figure 1;
F is a sponge box; G is a perforated circular plate just filling the box, per-
forated in the same manner as the plate B. H, H, are two perforated plates
connected together by an outside rim; I is the space to be filled with spong
well crowded in; J is the outlet for the gas. The sponge box F is connected
to the top plate by a screw flange well soldered to the plate, and the joint
packed with leather or other suitable material. The top plate X inside of
this flange is perforated with holes, as shewn in Figure 4.

page_text: Figure 3 is a plan of the air receiver, bottom side up to better shew its
construction. K, K, are plates of zinc set up edgewise and soldered to the
plates L and L', to support or strengthen the same. All of the inside work,
except the air pipes which are tin, is preferred to be made of No. 10 sheet
zinc, and the outside is by preference made of No. 10 galvanized sheet iron.
Figure 5 shows a full size section of part of one end of a generator showing
the air receiver with a guage applied thereto, the guage is also shown at a in
Figure 1; the parts N and O are made of brass and soldered to the side and
bottom of the apparatus. M is a glass tube passing from the part O to the
part N; P and R are passages to communicate from the upper part of the
generator through the glass tube with the bottom of the generator, by these
means the quantity of naphtha in the generator will at all times be indicated.
It is found in practice better that the temperature of the hydrocarbon in the
generator should not be allowed to fall below 50° of Fahrenheit, and this may
be done by the use of a hot water bath at the bottom of the generator, or by
other convenient means.
What I claim is the combined arrangement herein described for supplying
air to hydrocarbons, and also the employment of sponge or porous substances
as described for preventing any sudden and unequal flow of gas as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
E
GEC. T. BOUSFIELD. (S.)