Improvements in Carburetors or Apparatus for Enriching or Producing Gas.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 15th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 16th Nov, 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carburetors or Apparatus for Enriching or
Producing Gas.
I, ROBERT SOUTHWORTH LAWRENCE, of No. 871, Preston Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, temporarily residing at the Hotel
Victoria, Northumberland Avenue, London, gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows
-
This invention has reference to improvements in apparatus for carburetting and
generating gas hereinafter referred to as carburetors. In such an apparatus
according to this invention there is provided a condensation chamber in the upper
portion of the apparatus; in this chamber the gas, before it leaves the apparatus, is freed
of any excess of carbon which it may have taken up, thus obviating a serious defect
inherent in carburetors and gas generators as heretofore constructed, that is to say,
condensation of the gas in the service pipes. There is a branch inlet pipe, for the
direct introduction to the condensation chamber, of gas or air to be carburetted,
whereby detached qualifiers, equalizers, or mixers can be dispensed with, and either an
illuminating gas capable of use with the largest burner without smoke, or a lower
grade smokeless gas suitable for heating purposes can be produced.
For operating the valve, improved mechanism is used such that the necessity for an
opening in the top of the reservoir for the valve stem is obviated, thus preventing
siphoning of the vapour over into the float-rod-tube and thence into the generator, and
enabling any number of carburetors to be supplied from a principal supply-tank
located at a convenient distance from them.
The invention has reference also to certain details of construction and combinations
of parts, which will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 of the drawings is a central vertical section of a carburetor, certain parts,
however, being shown in elevation:

page_text: apparavus, showing
and outlet pipes and the by-pass.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line a Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. is a plan view, as seen from the underside of the gathering and sub-
distributing pipes.
Fig. 5 is a like view of the distributing pipe.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the pans.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the short pipe for connecting the square pipes with
the round ones.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the trestle for supporting the pipes and pans.
Figs. 1, 6, 7, and 8, are to a larger scale than the others.
Referring to the drawings, A represents the generator, made of copper or other
suitable material. The generator is packed with any suitable absorbent material, such
as short-cut coarse excelsior, as are also the distributing pans hereinafter described.
(As is well known, excelsior is a material consisting of curled shreds of wood, and
which is used as a substitute for curled hair in stuffing cushions and the like.)
On top of the generator is mounted a reservoir B of the same superficial area as
the generator, for containing hydro-carbon oil. The bottom of the reservoir is made
sufficiently strong not to yield under the weight of the oil.
Oil is let into the reservoir through one of two stop-cocks b, on top, the other cock
serving as a vent for the gas, which may be conducted back into the supply tank by
any suitable connection, each cock being provided with a short pipe 61, having a screw
cap at its outer end, which may be removed when it is desired to attach the
connections.
In the top of the reservoir a screw-threaded opening is formed, large enough to
admit a man's arm, for a purpose hereinafter stated, this opening being closed by a
screw-plug p.
C represents a chamber on top of the reservoir, which chamber is to be filled with
water, for sealing the stop-cocks, and also the opening o, in order to prevent the
escape of gas, the chamber being provided with a hinged lid c.
D represents a tube which may be about five inches in diameter or less, extending
centrally of the machine, from a short distance above the reservoir (where it is
provided with a screw-cap d), to near the bottom of the generator, its lower end
being screw-threaded for the reception of a nut d', to which are secured legs serving
as a support for the tube, as shown in Fig. 1. This tube is designed to serve as a
central support for the pans, and also as a container for a portion of the valve-operating
mechanism.
I
E represents the float-rod-tube, which may be of is about one-half inch internal
diameter, and which is secured by solder to the inner side of the central pipe D.
F represents an air-tight copper float, surrounded by a wire screen f. To the float
is connected one end of a rod f", which passes up through tube E, the other end of
said rod being connected to one end of a lever pivotted within tube D, near its
top. To the other end of the lever f2 there is connected one end of a right-angularly-
bent rod g, which passes through a slot in tube D. To the outer end of the rod,
is attached a tubular part gl screw-threaded interiorly for the reception of one end of
a rigid wire stem, g², screw-threaded at each end, which stem passes through
a longitudinally perforated valve-seat plug screwed into the bottom of the reservoir,
the diameter of the perforation in the plug being about three times the diameter
of the stem.. To the upper end of this stein is secured a conical cork valve G, the face
of which accurately fits the valve seat in the plug. By this construction of the
valve-operating mechanism, perforating the top of the reservoir for the passage of
the valve-stem is avoided, such a perforation being objectionable from the fact that the
vapour would siphon over into the float-rod tube and thence into the generator. As
the oil cannot syphon, the reservoirs of any number of carburetors can be filled from
a principal supply-tank located at a distance from the carburetors. Furthermore, by
this construction, the valve can be removed through opening o in the top of the
reservoir, and its operating rod У be withdrawn through the slot in the tube D.

page_text: H represents a series of square pans, which may be about two and a half inches in
height, and of the full width in one direction of the interior of the generator, to the
sides of which they are firmly rivetted and soldered. The width of each pan in a
direction at right angles to the direction just referred to, is such, that the pan does
not extend to the adjacent wall of the generator, an opening being thus left as at h.
Alongside this opening there is a dam ', of a height greater than that of the walls of
the pan. The
pans are perforated centrally, as at 2, to permit them to be slidden
down on the tube D, to which they are firmly soldered, and by which they are centrally
supported. A wire gauze cover extends from the top of the dam in each pan, to
the side of A, to confine the packing in position. The pans are so arranged in the
generator that the opening at the side of one, is at the opposite side of the apparatus
to the opening at the side of the next pan, as seen in Fig. 1.
The top pan, while serving as a distributing pan, has other and very important
functions. It is filled with any suitable filtering material that is a bad conductor of
heat, preferably charcoal. This pan, thus filled, serves as the lower wall of a con-
densation chamber I (the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained) whose upper
wall is formed by the bottom of the reservoir. The pan is covered by a wire-gauze
screen, to keep its contents in place. J represents the distributing-pipe, located
immediately beneath the lowest pan, and supported in position by trestles t, of the
form shown in Fig. 8, resting on the bottom of the generator. The bottom of the
pipe is perforated, the perforations increasing in size, or number, in each direction
from the inlet, so as to equalize, as nearly as possible, the distribution of the air or
gas; it being understood that the pressure in the pipe gradually decreases, from the
inlet, inward, as the air or gas reaches each successive perforation. The perforations
being in the bottom of the pipe, ensure a free escape of all precipitates. In order to
secure this pipe, which is square, to the inlet pipe, which is round, a short connection K
employed, one end of which is square, and the other end round and screw-threaded,
as seen in Fig. 7. The square end of the connection fits into the end of the distributing
pipe, and is soldered therein; and the other end screws into the inlet pipe. L repre-
sents a distributing-plate, located in the condensation chamber, it being secured to the
sides of the generator. This plate is of sufficient thickness to give it rigidity, and it
is perforated throughout its entire surface, for the purpose of dividing the volume of
ascending gas into a great number of small currents, and thus distributing it evenly
to the upper portion of the condensation chamber, in which are located the gathering
and sub-distributing pipes, now to be described-M is the gathering pipe, located close
up against the bottom of the reservoir, and supported in this position by trestles t,
(like those supporting the distributing pipe,) resting on the plate L. This pipe is
square, and its bottom is perforated, the perforations being evenly disposed over its
entire surface. It is connected with the outlet pipe in the same manner as the dis-
tributing pipe is connected with the inlet pipe.
Immediately under the gathering pipe, and supported in the same manner, is located
the sub-distributing pipe N, also square, which is connected with the main-inlet pipe
by a branch inlet N1, the connection being made as before described. Its purpose is
to distribute air or gas directly into the condensation-chamber, it being perforated in
the same manner as pipe J. Instead of the gathering, distributing, and subdistributing
pipes being of square section, as shewn, they may be of round section; in which case
the connections K will not need to have square ends.
It may be here remarked that the pans are supported by trestles in the same manner
as the distributing, gathering, and sub-distributing pipes; the trestles supporting one
pan resting on the bottom of the one below, as seen in Fig. 1.
EE are clearance pipes for clearing the generator A, and the pans H, of
residuum and other deleterious substances, which may collect therein. The upper ends
of said pipes are screw threaded, for the attachment of a suction pump, when necessary;
or a cap, as e. Their lower ends pass through openings in the tube D, and communi-
cate, respectively, with the interior of each pan, and with the bottom of the tank, as
seen in full and dotted lines in Fig. 1.

page_text: O represents the main inlet pipe, extending down along the outside of the generator,
to near the bottom, where it joins onto the distributing-pipe; the connection K
extending through the side of the generator for this purpose.
P represents the outlet-pipe, which is connected with the gathering pipe M by the con-
nection K; the latter, like that on the distributing-pipe, extending through the side
of the generator, for a like purpose.
Qrepresents a by-pass; a short pipe connecting the inlet and outlet pipes.
The main inlet pipe is provided with a stop-cock, 1; the branch inlet-pipe with a
cock 2; the outlet pipe with a cock 3; and the by-pass with a cock 4.
It is to be understood that the apparatus is to be jacketed according to requirement.
The reservoir being filled with hydro-carbon oil, the oil will flow through the hole
in the valve-seat plug, and into the upper pan, where it will be freed of its impurities
by the filtering material. When this pan is filled to overflowing, the oil will flow
over the dam ', in a thin sheet, and through opening into the packing below,
thoroughly saturating it; and, finally, into the next pan; and so on, until the oil
reaches the bottom of the generator. When a sufficient quantity of oil has accumu-
lated in the bottom of the generator to raise the float, the latter will be moved upward,
thus raising one end of lever f' and lowering the other, and thereby pulling valve G
down into its seat, and shutting off the supply of oil. When there has been sufficient
evaporation of the oil to allow the float to descend, the valve will again open and
admit a fresh supply.
The air or gas to be carburetted is admitted under pressure, through inlet pipe O,
to the distributing pipe J, and is forced therefrom through the perforations, into the
interior of the generator; and owing to the fact that these perforations at points
distant from the extreme end of the pipe are larger or more numerous than those in
the vicinity in which the pressure is greater, a comparatively even distribution of the
air or gas is obtained. On leaving the distributing pipe, the air or gas permeates
the packing in the bottom portion of the generator, and then, rising, passes through
the opening h, next the bottom pan. It then again spreads out into the packing above,
and moves directly across the generator, to the opening at the side of the next pan,
and so on, until it reaches the upper pan; when it passes through the opening and
spreads out over the under side of the distributing plate, and passes through the
perforations therein, being thus directed to all parts of the condensation-chamber,
from which it makes its exit through the gathering and outlet-pipes.
The top pan being filled with a bad conductor of heat, and the bottom of the
reservoir being covered with oil, it will be apparent to persons familiar with the
manufacture of gas from a volatile oil, that the chamber between the bad conductor
and the reservoir will always be at a very low and uniform temperature, while the
apparatus is in operation. Thus, when the gas reaches this chamber, it is almost
immediately reduced to a very low temperature. The temperature of the chamber
being below that at which super-saturation of the gas can exist, all excess of carbon
is removed, and thus smoke at the burners is avoided. As the gas expands on
reaching the outlet, it cannot condense in the service-pipes, until it reaches a point so
cold as to contract it beyond the degree to which it was condensed in the chamber.
Supposing ordinary illuminating gas is being carburetted, and it is desired to use
burners of the largest size, and avoid all danger of smoke at the tips; it is simply
necessary to partially close cock 1, and partially open cock 2, and admit a quantity
of gas direct to the condensation-chamber. This results in the production of a gas
containing less carbon than if the whole volume had passed through the generator.
Now supposing air is being carburetted, for illuminating purposes, and it is desired
to produce a gas suitable to the particular burners being used (for different styles
and sizes of burners are suitable only for different grades of gas,) instead of adjusting
the burners to suit the gas, the grade of the gas is raised or lowered to suit the
burners. For instance, if the whole volume of air is being passed through the
generator, and the gas is found too rich for the burners, the grade is lowered by
admitting the proper quantity of air through the branch inlet-pipe, direct to the

page_text: condensation chamber. During the day, when it is desirable to produce gas for heating
purposes only, a comparatively small quantity of air is passed through the generator,
and the required additional quantity is supplied through the branch inlet-pipe.
By the various manipulations of which the apparatus is susceptible, a smokeless
flame can be produced, ranging in luminosity from six to fifty candles.
Dated this Twenty second day of December 1887.
R. S. LAWRENCE.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carburetors or Apparatus for Enriching or
Producing Gas.
I, ROBERT SOUTHWORTH LAWRENCE, of No. 871 Preston Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, temporarily residing at the Hotel
Victoria, Northumberland Avenue London, Gentleman, 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 has reference to improvements in apparatus for carburetting and
generating gas hereinafter referred to as carburetors and particularly to carburetors of
the type referred to in the specification of a former Patent granted to me on the
28th day of December 1886 No. 16992, in which the feeding of hydrocarbon and the
enriching of gas, or the production of gas (as when carburetting air), are effected in
an automatic manner. In such an apparatus according to my present Invention, the
condensation chamber in the upper portion of the apparatus is improved in order that
the gas before it leaves the apparatus may be more perfectly freed from any excess of
carbon which it may have taken up, thus obviating to a great extent a serious defect
inherent in carburetors and gas generators as heretofore constructed, that is to say,
condensation of the gas in the service pipes. There is a branch inlet pipe for the
direct introduction to the condensation chamber of gas or air to be carburetted,
whereby detached qualifiers equalizers or mixers can be dispensed with and either an
illuminating gas capable of use with the largest burner without smoke, or a lower
grade smokeless gas suitable for heating purposes, can be produced.
For operating the valve an improved arrangement of mechanism is used such
that the necessity for an opening in the top-of the reservoir for the valve stem, is
obviated.

page_text: The Invention has reference also to certain details of construction and combination
of parts which will be described in connection with the annexed drawings whereof
Fig. 1 represents in central vertical section a carburetor according to this invention,
certain parts however being shewn in elevation.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus showing the main inlet, branch inlet,
and outlet pipes, and the by-pass.
Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the apparatus with the cover of the water chamber
(hereinafter referred to) removed.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line a a, Fig. 1.
Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views, as seen from the underside of the gathering and
subdistributing pipes respectively; and
Figs. 7 and 8 are cross sections thereof.
•
Figs. 9 and 10 are similar views to Figs. 5 and 7 of the distributing pipe.
Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively a plan or top view and a side view of one of the pans.
Figs. 13 to 19 are detailed views hereinafter referred to.
The several figures are drawn to various scales.
Referring to the drawings, A represents the generator made of copper or other
suitable material. The generator is packed (as in the apparatus described in my
previous specification above referred to) with any suitable absorbent material such as
short cut coarse excelsior, as are also all but the uppermost of the distributing pans
hereinafter described. (As is well known excelsior is a material consisting of curled
shreds of wood and which is used as a substitute for curled hair in stuffing cushions and
the like.) The uppermost pan contains charcoal to form the bottom of the conden-
sation chamber as hereinafter described.
On top of the generator is mounted a reservoir B. of the same superficial area
as the generator, for containing hydrocarbon. The bottom of the reservoir is made
sufficiently strong not to yield under the weight of the hydrocarbon.
1
Hydrocarbon is let into the reservoir through one of two stopcocks b on top, the
other cock serving as a vent for the gas which may be conducted back into the supply
tank by any suitable connection. Each cock is provided with a short pipe having
a screw cap at its outer end which may be removed when it is desired to attach the
connections for supplying hydrocarbon to the reservoir and for conducting away gas
or vapour therefrom.
In the top of the reservoir a screw threaded opening o is formed large enough to
admit a man's arm for a purpose hereinafter mentioned; this opening is closed by a
screw plug p.
Crepresents a chamber on top of the reservoir; which chamber is to be filled with
water for sealing the stop cocks and also the opening o, in order to prevent the escape
gas; this chamber is provided with a hinged lid c.
of
represents a tube, which may be about 5 inches in diameter or less extending
centrally of the machine from the top of the reservoir to near the bottom of the
generator its lower end being screw threaded for the reception of a nut d to which
are secured legs d² serving as a support for the tube as shown in Figs. 1, 13 and 14.
D' is a short tube secured to the top of the reservoir above the tube D of which it
practically forms an extension; it is of larger diameter than the tube D and is provided
with a screw cap d. The tube D is designed to serve as a central support for the
pans and also as a container for a portion of the valve operating mechanisin.
E is an eye or guide ring through which works the float rod ¹ hereinafter
referred to.
F represents an air tight copper float surrounded by a wire screen f. To the float
is connected one end of a rod which passes up through the tube D, the other end
of the said rod being connected to one end of a lever (Figs. 1, 15, 16 and 17)
pivotted within the tube D near its top. To the other end of the lever f there is
connected one end of a right angularly bent rod 9 which passes through a slot d³ in
the tube D. To the outer end of the rod g is attached by a pin and slot connection, a
spindle g. This spindle passes through a longitudinally perforated valve seat plug a

page_text: secured in the bottom of the reservoir, the diameter of the perforation in the plug at
its smallest part being about three times the diameter of the stem. To the spindle is
secured a conical cork valve G the face of which accurately fits the valve seat in the
plug. By this construction of the valve operating mechanism, the perforating of the
top of the reservoir for the passage of the valve spindle is avoided.
The upper and lower ends of the spindle gare arranged to work through
guides that are secured to the upper and lower sides respectively of the valve
scat plug 3.
Thus the valve G whilst being moved is kept vertical. 9' is a cylinder of wire
gauze closed at its upper end and arranged to surround the valve G; it serves to
prevent grit or other dirt passing to the valve seat and thus ensures a good joint
between the valve and its seat when the former closes. g' is a pin carried by the
rod g and arranged to work against the outer side of the tube D and at the sides of
the slot d; it serves to prevent the rod moving into the tube D under the action
of the weight of its horizontal arm and the valve and valve spindle connected
thereto. Figure 19 illustrates the valve seat plug and attached parts in section,
taken in a plane at right angles to that of figure 1. g is a funnel mouthed tube
arranged below the opening in the valve sent plug and serving to direct hydro-
carbon to the upper tray H. As the hydrocarbon cannot pass over, the reservoirs
of any number of carburetors can be filled from a principal supply tank located at
a distance from the carburetors. Furthermore by this construction, the valve can be
removed through the opening o in the top of the reservoir, and its operating rod g be
withdrawn through the slot in the tube 1).
F represents a series of square pans which may be about 2 inches in height and of
the full width in one direction of the interior of the generator, to the sides of which
they are firmly rivetted and soldered. The width of each pan in a direction at right
angles to the direction just referred to, is such that the pan does not extend to the
adjacent wall of the generator, an opening being thus left as at h. Alongside this
opening there is a dam of a height greater than that of the remaining sides or walls
of the pan. The pans are perforated centrally as at (Figs. 1 and 11) to permit
them to be slidden down on the tube D to which they are firmly soldered and by which
they are centrally supported. A wire gauze cover extends from the top of the dam
in each pan to the side of the generator A, to confine the packing in position. The
pans are so arranged in the generator that the opening at the side of one is at the
opposite side of the apparatus to the opening at the side of the next pan as seen in
Fig. 1.
The top pan not only serves as a distributing pan, but also to hold a layer or bed of
charcoal H that forms the lower wall. of the condensation chamber I (the purpose of
which will be hereinafter explained) whose upper wall is formed by the bottom of the
reservoir. I find it advantageous to use sticks of charcoal consisting of carbonised
limbs of wood, carefully selected and say, approximately 14 inches in diameter and as
long as practicable; one layer of such sticks of charcoal will suffice if they be
placed side by side and held in place by covering the pan with a wire gauze
screen having large meshes, for example say from 4 to 8 meshes to the square
inch.
J represents the distributing pipe located immediately beneath the lowest pan and
supported in position by trestles (of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 18) resting on
the bottom of the generator. The bottom of the pipe is perforated, the perforations
increasing in size or number (see Fig. 9) in each direction from the inlet so as to
equalise as nearly as possible the distribution of the air or gas, it being understood
that the pressure in the pipe gradually decreases from the inlet inward as the air or
gas reaches each successive perforation. The perforations being in the bottom of the
pipe ensure a free escape of all precipitates.
In order to secure this pipe J which in the example illustrated is round, to the inlet
pipe O, which is also round, it is provided with a short connection K the outer end of
which extends through one side of the generator and is screw threaded as seen in
Fig. 9 for connection with an elbow piece j to which the lower end of the inlet pipe O is

page_text: also screwed. L represents a perforated plate located in the condensation chamber
and secured to the sides of the generator. This plate is of sufficient thickness to give
it rigidity, and it is perforated throughout its entire surface for the purpose of dividing
the volume of ascending gas into a great number of small currents and thus distributing
it evenly to the upper portion of the condensation chamber in which are located the
gathering and subdistributing pipes about to be described. The plate L likewise
constitutes an efficient scrubber depositing excess of hydrocarbon-M is the gathering
pipe (Figs. 1, 5 and 7) located close up against the bottom of the reservoir and
supported in this position by trestles t (like those supporting the distributing pipe).
resting on the plate L. This pipe is round and its bottom is perforated, the perfora-
tions being evenly disposed over its entire surface as shown in Fig. 5. It is connected
with the outlet pipe P in the same manner as the distributing pipe is connected with
the inlet pipe O.
Immediately under the gathering pipe and supported in the same manner, is located
the subdistributing pipe N (Figs. 1, 6 and 8) also round which is connected with the.
main inlet pipe by a branch inlet N', the connection being made by a T piece as
shown. Its purpose is to distribute air. or gas directly into the condensation chamber,
it being perforated in the same manner as the pipe J.
From different causes, for example changes in weather, the temperature is
liable to vary in the condensation, chamber, and it might well happen. that after
working for a time in cold weather, the temperature in the condensation chamber
might become so low as to condense too large a proportion of the hydrocarbon vapour
away from the gas or air. Then by admitting some gas or air through the subdistri-
buting pipe into the condensation chamber, the temperature could be raised, since the
gas or air so admitted would have a higher temperature than the contents of the said
chamber. Thus although a lower grade of gas would then leave the apparatus than
that normally produced, yet the quality would be much higher than would be the case
if the condensation due to an excessively low temperature were permitted. Not only
so but excessive condensation would be liable to result in the freezing of the vapour
and closing of the pipe M, which by the use of the subdistributing pipe in the manner
described may be prevented.
Instead of the gathering, distributing, and subdistributing pipes being of round
section as shown they may be of square section as shewn in the drawings accompanying
my provisional specification in which case the connections K formed with round and
square ends as shown in my said provisional specification drawings may be used for
connecting the said pipes with the inlet and outlet pipes.
It may be here remarked that the pans are supported by trestles in the same manner
as. the distributing, gathering, and subdistributing pipes, the trestles supporting one
pan resting in the bottom of the one below as seen in Figure 1.
E' E' are clearance pipes for clearing the generator A, and the pans H of residuum
and other deleterious substances which may collect therein. The upper ends of these
pipes are screw threaded for the attachment of a suction pump when necessary, or a
cap as e. Their lower ends pass through openings in the tube D and communicate
respectively with the interior of each pan and with the bottom of the tank as seen in
full and dotted lines in Figure 1.
O represents the main inlet pipe extending down alongside the outside of the
generator to near the bottom where it joins with the distributing pipe J, the connection
extending through the side of the generator as hereinbefore mentioned.
P (Figures 2 and 3) represents the outlet pipe which is connected with the
gathering pipe M by an elbow piece and a connection M* like that for the
distributing pipe, extending through the side of the generator for a like purpose.
Q. (Figs. 2 and 3) represents a by-pass or short pipe connecting the inlet and
outlet pipes.
This can be used to alter the grade of the gas without materially affecting the
temperature of the condensation chamber, whereas the subdistributing pipe can be
used (as already indicated) when alteration in the temperature within the said
chamber is desirable.

page_text: The main inlet pipe is provided with a stop cock 1, the branch inlet pipe with a
cock 2, the outlet pipe with a cock 3, and the by pass with a cock 4.
It is to be understood that the apparatus is to be jacketted according to
requirement.
The reservoir being filled with hydrocarbon, the hydrocarbon will flow through
the hole in the valve-seat-plug and into the upper pan, where it will be freed of its
impurities by the filtering material.
:.
When this pan is filled to overflowing, the hydrocarbon will flow over the dam.h
in a thin sheet and through opening into the packing below, thoroughly saturating
it and finally into the next pan and so on until the hydrocarbon reaches the bottom
of the generator. When a sufficient quantity of hydrocarbon has accumulated in
the bottom of the generator to raise the float, the latter will be moved upward, thus
raising one end of the lever and lowering the other and thereby pulling the
valve G. down on to its seat and shutting off the supply of hydrocarbon. When there
has been sufficient evaporation of the hydrocarbon to allow the float to descend, the
valve will again open and admit a fresh supply.
The air or gas to be carburetted is admitted under pressure through inlet pipe. O
to the distributing pipe J, and is forced therefrom through the perforations therein,
into the interior of the generator and owing to the fact that these perforations at
points distant from the extreme end of the pipe are (as in the apparatus described.
in my previous specification above referred to) larger or more numerous than those
in the vicinity, in which the pressure is greater, a comparatively even distribution of
the air or gas is obtained. On leaving the distributing pipe, the air or gas permeates
the packing in the bottom portion of the generator and then rising, passes through the
opening next. the. bottom pan. It then again spreads out into the packing above,
and moves directly across the generator to the opening at the side of the next pan
and so on until it reaches the upper pan when it passes through the opening and
spreads out over the under side of the distributing plate L and passes through the
perforations therein, being thus directed to all parts of the condensation chamber from.
which it makes its exit through the gathering and outlet pipes.
The top pan being filled with a bad conductor of heat, viz., charcoal, and the
bottom of the reservoir being covered with hydrocarbon, it will be apparent to
persons familiar with the manufacture of gas from a volatilo hydrocarbon that the
chamber between the bad conductor and the reservoir will always be at a very low
and uniform temperature while the apparatus is in operation. Thus when the gas
reaches this chamber, it is almost immediately reduced to a very low temperature.
The temperature of the chamber being below that at which super saturation of the gas
can exist, all excess of carbon is removed and thus smoke at the burners is avoided.
As the gas expands on reaching the outlet it cannot condense in the service pipes
until it reaches a point so cold as to contract it beyond the degree to which it was
condensed in the chamber.
Supposing ordinary illuminating gas is being carburetted and it is desired to use
burners of the largest size and avoid, all danger of smoke at the tips, it is simply
necessary to partially close cock 1 and partially open cock 2, and admit a quantity
of gas direct to the condensation chamber. This results in the production of a
gas containing less carbon than if the whole volume had passed through the
generator.
Now supposing air is being carburetted for illuminating purposes, and it is desired
to produce a gas suitable to the particular burners being used (for different styles
and sizes of burners are suitable only for different grades of gas) instead of adjusting
the burners to suit the gas the grade of gas is raised or lowered to suit the burners.
For instance, if the whole volume of air is being passed through the generator, and
the gas is found too rich for the burners, the grade is lowered by admitting the proper
quantity of air through the branch inlet pipe direct to the condensation chamber.
During the day when it is desirable to produce gas for heating purposes only, a
comparatively small quantity of air is passed through the generator, and the required
additional quantity is supplied through the branch inlet pipe.
B

page_text: By the various manipulations of which the apparatus is susceptible a smokeless
flame can be produced ranging in luminosity from six to fifty candles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is
1. My improved carburetor or apparatus for enriching gas and for producing gas
as set forth, constructed arranged and operating substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the Drawings annexed,
2. In an automatic carburetor or apparatus such as hereinbefore referred to for
enriching gas and for producing gas as set forth :
(a) The improved condensation chamber located in the upper part of the generator
of which the bottom of the reservoir forms the top wall and a layer or bed of
charcoal the bottom wall and having within it a distributing and scrubbing plate
such as L placed beneath the gathering pipe located in the said chamber as herein
described and for the purposes set forth.
(b) The arrangement in conjunction with the perforated gathering pipe, of the
sub-distributing pipe, both these pipes being located in the said improved condensation
chamber and connected with the main inlet pipe as herein described and for the
purposes set forth.
(c) The improved arrangement of mechanism for operating automatically the
hydrocarbon supply valve whereby the necessity for perforating the top of the reservoir
is obviated substantially as herein described.
Dated this 13th day of October 1888.
R. S. LAWRENCE.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.