Improvements in Burners for Burning Petroleum and other Hydrocarbon Oils.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 8th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 24th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Burners for Burning Petroleum and other
Hydrocarbon Oils.
I, JAMES SMITH, of 15 London Square, Cardiff in the County of Glamorgan,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of improvements in burners for petroleum or other oils.
In carrying it into effect I make a chamber which is preferably of basin shape, near
the top of which a diaphragm of gauze or a perforated plate is fixed. Com-
municating with this plate is a series of pipes through which the oil is conveyed.
When the oil is turned on, it spreads itself over the surface of the perforated plate.
To the bottom of the basin shaped chamber an air pipe is attached, which may be
in conjunction with any ordinary pressure blower or fan, or a jet of steam may
be employed in the form of an air injector so that when a current of air is blown
into the chamber, the oil spreading over the perforated plate is prevented from
falling through and mingles with the air passing upwards through the perforations
and is converted into a spray of a highly combustible and heating nature.
I do not confine myself to the shape of the chamber, as it may be square or
rectangular if necessary according to the purpose for which it is required.
Dated this 8th day of Anril 1893
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Burners for Burning Petroleum and other
Hydrocarbon Oils.
I, JAMES SMITH of 15 London Square, Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan,
Engineer, 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 :―
The present invention relates to improvements in that class of burners which are
adapted to produce a high temperature from the combustion of hydrocarbon oils.
It consists in the-combination of an air pipe, an air chamber into which the said
pipe delivers its blast, a series of fine air ports in the cover of said chamber forming
a burner plate, devices for distributing fluid combustible evenly over the surface of
the plate, ports adapted to deliver jets of air up through the said plate into the film
of fluid on the burner plate, and nozzles adapted to deliver jets or streams of air
into the vapour caused by the forced commingling of the jets of air and the fluid
combustible subjected to their comminuting energy.
With the above described series of air ports there may be combined a series of
short vertical tubes standing up from the said cover and having their ends closed
and slotted transversely after the manner of the well known fish tail burner.
The perforated cover or burner plate upon and above which the combustion takes
place, may be of any suitable shape in plan, and either flat, convex, or ridged along
the centre after the manner of a roof.
When burners made according to this invention are to be applied to marine
boilers, they are preferably mounted on gimbals and provided with counterpoises
after the manner of marine compasses. This will provide for their being kept level.
D
27

page_text: The object in keeping them level is to prevent the even distribution of the oil over
the burner plate being interfered with.
The invention further includes also the combination with a tube of a perforated
transverse diaphragm, and air and combustible ports or supplies into the smaller of
the two chambers produced by the presence of the diaphragm, the larger chamber
being the air chamber.
The elongated burner may be used for other purposes besides that of steam-
raising, and when it is required for such a purpose as heating the sides of old
boilers or a ship's side, for cutting out the rivets, it can be either made vertical or
horizontal, and when used vertically, the oil is let in at the top portion and allowed
to trickle down vertically; so as to come in contact with the stream of air, from the
air holes.
The circular form of burner as shown in the drawings can be used by being
placed in a furnace for melting and beating metals.
The pipe conveying the air to the burner, as before described, is connected up
direct to any ordinary blower or fan, but I may vary this part of my invention by
using a blower or fan of special construction, in which the inlet pipe to the blower
is conveyed and attached to the top part of the tank, which is used as a reservoir
for containing the oil required for combustion.
At another part of the tank and above the level of the oil, an opening is made,
through which the air passes, so that when the blower is started, the air passing
over the surface of the oil, takes up a certain quantity of the gas arising therefrom,
but in addition to which, the air inlet to the tank may be made in such a way, that
it may be led below the surface of the liquid so that the air drawn through by the
blower will pass through the liquid and will therefore be more richly charged with
inflammable gas, or the blower may be fixed so that its outlet pipe shall be
connected up to the oil tank much in the same way as before described, the
inlet pipe dipping beneath the surface of the liquid, so that the air is forced
through the same and taken away from the tank to the burner as before stated and
described.
When this burner is required to be used for the purpose of giving light, I prefer
to make it of somewhat smaller proportions than that shown in the drawings, the
principle upon which the apparatus works remaining the same, the light being
governed by the regulation of the air and oil, and the quality of the oil used.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a circular burner with a flat burner plate.
Fig. 2 is a plan corresponding therewith.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of an oblong burner with a ridged or roof-like burner
plate.
Fig. 4 is a plan of part of the burner plate of Figure 3.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5-5 of Figures 3 and 4.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation illustrating the application of my invention to the
fire box of a marine engine.
Fig. 7 is a detail illustrating in plan a modification of the oil distributor on the
ridge of the burner plate illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a is the air or blast pipe. b is the air chamber.
It is bason or funnel shaped in side elevation. The air pipe a is led vertically
upward in the direction of the chamber and enters its lowest and central portion
in order that the blast may be diffused through the chamber evenly. c is the cover
of the air-chamber and forms the burner plate. It makes a tight connection with
the edge of the air-chamber. c', c¹ are air ports formed through the said cover.
The central one is vertical but the others diverge or radiate from the vertical
at angles increasing the nearer they are to the circumference of the cover. d, d are
short tubes or nozzles screwed into or otherwise made fast in the cover.
The top
of each tube is closed with the exception of a transverse slot d' formed through
the said top to the interior of the tube. Each tube is open to the interior of the
air vessel. e is a ring surrounding the plate c. Its function is to prevent the
liquid combustible flowing over the edge of the plate.

page_text: g
The combustible is delivered on to the plate c from pipes which are led to it in
directions preferably at right angles with its plane, and which open on to it at
points equidistant from each other. Three such pipes, f, f, fare shewn in Figures 1
and 2. They start from a ring pipe 9 and pass upwards through the air-chamber b
and through the plate c with the surface of which they terminate. The passage of
such pipe through the chamber b is made airtight. The combustible is led into
the ring pipe g in any convenient way, e.g., through a supply pipe 9'. f', fl are
channels cut in the surface of the plate c. They run from the mouths of the
pipes ff to those of the respectively adjacent air ports c', c. q' is an overflow
pipe. It is provided for the purpose of leading unburnt combustible back to
the tank.
The circular construction of burner illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is specially
adapted for use in cupolas and other furnaces for melting metals.
Figs. 3 to 6 illustrate the construction according to my invention of an oblong
burner. The burner plate c is ridged longitudinally along the centre after the
manner of a roof. f, fare the vertical combustible supply pipes. They stand up
through the bottom-of-the air-chamber under the ridge where they make junction
with a horizontal pipe fat equal distances from its respective ends which are
blind. A series of short tubes or nozzles, f³, f³ is screwed into or otherwise
connected with the pipe f and stand up therefrom through and above the ridge of
the burner plate, within shallow troughs made by two longitudinal ridges fr
and a series of transverse ridges ff. All these ridges are of the same height so
that the combustible flows over the ridges f, at equal rates for their full length
on to the downwardly sloping sides of the burner plate c.
The air ports c', c¹ are arranged at equal distances along and down each slope
of the burner plate, through which they are cut at right angles with its surface.
A semi-circular channel c³ is cut in the latter below each port to retain combustible
within reach of the air jet issuing from the said port.
The short tubes d, d are identical with those described in connection with
Figures 1 and 2. e³, e¹ are the ridges along the edges of the burner plate.
The burner illustrated in Figure 6 as fitted in the fire box of a marine boiler is
supported therein by transverse bearers h, h.
According to the modification illustrated in Figure 7, the troughs along the
ridge are formed by the combination with one central ridge ƒ of arc shaped
ridges, Four troughs are supplied from each nozzle ƒ³.
Another modification of this invention, where it is necessary to use the burner
to give a small intense flame, I make as follows:-The chamber 6 is made in the
form of a short tube with a diaphragm near its end forming the air-chamber, the
diaphragm being perforated with small holes, allows the air to pass through from
the air-chamber. The oil is led to the outside surface of the diaphragm plate by
pipes as before described, openings being made in the elongated tube to allow air
to pass in, so as to enable the oil to be ignited, the burner then being held by any
suitable means opposite the parts to be heated.
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. The combination of air-chamber, burner plate forming the top or cover
thereof, and air ports in or through the latter communicating with the interior of
the said chamber, as herein before set forth.
2. The combination of air-chamber into which air is supplied under pressure,
burner plate forming the top or cover thereof, air ports through the said plate
from the said chamber and terminating in the plane of the top surface of the said
plate and pipes adapted to supply liquid fuel, led through the said chamber and
burner plate and likewise terminating in the plane of the top surface of the plate,
as bereinbefore set forth.
3. The combination with an air-chamber, of a burner plate forming its cover,

page_text: and ports in or through the latter and communicating with the interior of the said
chamber, pipes adapted to deliver fluid combustible upon the said burner plate, and
nozzles standing up from the surface of the burner plate and adapted to deliver
streams of air into the vapour at a level immediately above the burner plate, as
herein before set forth.
4. The combination of burner plate, devices for distributing fluid combustible
evenly over the surface of the plate, ports adapted to deliver jets of air up through
the said plate into the film of fluid in the burner plate, and nozzles adapted to
deliver jets or streams of air into the vapour caused by the forced commingling of
the jets of air and the fluid combustible subjected to their comminuting energy, as
hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 5th day of January 1894
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.