IMPROVED APPLIANCES FOR HEATING WATER FOR DOMESTIC AND OTHER PURPOSES, INCLUDING AN IMPROVED GAS BURNER WHICH IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR OTHER HEATING PURPOSES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Thomas Bond, of Gloucester, in the County of
Gloucester, Doctor of Medicine, for an Invention of "IMPROVED APPLIANCES
FOR HEATING WATER FOR DOMESTIC AND OTHER PURPOSES, INCLUDING AN
IMPROVED GAS BURNER WHICH IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR OTHER HEATING
PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Thomas Bond at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th September 1881.
FRANCIS THOMAS BOND, of Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester, Doctor of
Medicine. "IMPROVED APPLIANCES FOR HEATING WATER FOR DOMESTIC AND
OTHER PURPOSES, INCLUDING AN IMPROVED GAS BURNER WHICH IS ALSO
AVAILABLE FOR OTHER HEATING PURPOSES."
The object of this Invention is to provide for the heating of water for domestic
or other purposes in such a way that it may be heated in a continuous stream,
either to its boiling point or to any temperature short of that point, and to do this
with as little waste of heat as practicable.
The appliances of which the Invention consists are two, viz., a vessel for holding
the water to be heated and a gas burner for applying heat. To construct the
former of these I make a hollow cylinder of sheet iron, copper, or other appropriate
metal, or of earthenware, of a diameter proportionate to the amount of liquid to be
heated, and of a height equal to about twice the diameter. To one end of this
cylinder, which I will call the top, I adapt a lid like that of a common saucepan
but with an aperture in the centre. Inside the other end of the cylinder, which
will be the bottom when the vessel is placed upright, I fix a hollow truncated
metal cone of a height equal to about one fourth that of the cylinder in such a
way that the broader border of the cone shall be united in a water-tight inanner
with the bottom rim of the cylinder. In the upper and smaller border of the cone
I cut out a number of angular or circular pieces, so as to give this border an
interrupted character. The vessel thus constructed will hold water as high as the
incisions thus made. For the purpose of an outlet I make a hole of appropriate

page_text: size in the side of the vessel at a little distance below the water line when it is
full, and in this hole I fix a tube to serve as a spout. Inside this spout I fix
another smaller tube which I make long enough to carry it through the cylinder
into the conical water receptacle, where I bend it downward so as nearly to reach
the bottom of the receptacle, taking care that the portion outside the vessel shall
be longer than that which is inside, so that a siphon may be formed by which the
receptacle may be nearly emptied as soon as the liquid rises to the neck of the
siphon, unless it rises more rapidly than the siphon is able to carry it off, in which
case it will overflow by the spout.
I then construct a shallow cylindrical metallic vessel of a height equal to about
one sixth of that of the larger one, and of a diameter about one tenth part less,
and in the margin of the side of this vessel I cut out a number of angular or semi-
circular pieces, so as to give it a saw-like or scalloped character like that of the
margin of the truncated cone above described. In the centre of the floor of this
shallow tray or dish I make a circular aperture, and to the margins of this aperture
I adapt a short metal tube projecting up into the interior of the dish and of a
height such that it shall stand about one inch higher than the bottom of the
incisions in the side of the vessel in which it is fixed. When this vessel is placed
inside the larger one, so that its bottom shall rest on the interrupted margin of the
truncated cone, and water is poured into it, the water will rise in the vessel until
it reaches the level of the incisions, when it will overflow, run down the side of
the dish in streams, and drop into the conical receptacle beneath.
I then make a second shallow metallic cylindrical vessel or dish of the same
depth as the one just described, but of a slightly less diameter.
Out of the upper
margin of the side of this vessel I cut a number of angular or semicircular pieces,
so as to give it the saw-like or scalloped character above described, and in its
bottom I make a small aperture in which I fix in a water-tight manner a small
tube of such a height that any liquid contained in this vessel shall run off by the
tube before it overflows by the interrupted margin, and of such a size that only a
small portion of such liquid shall be able to run off by this tube compared with
that which overflows by the margin. I also fix this tube in such a position that
the liquid which flows off by it shall drop into the vessel below. If this vessel be
then introduced into the large vessel, so that it may rest with its bottom con-
centrically on the top of the vessel last described, and water be poured into it, the
_water_will_ when it rises to the level of the tube flow off by this latter into the
vessel beneath it. If more water be now-poured-in-than-the-tube can carry away
it will rise until it reaches the level of the incisions in the margin of the vessel, and
will flow in streams down the side of the vessel into the one beneath.
I now make a third shallow cylindrical vessel of about the same height as those
just described, and of such a diameter that it will closely fit into the large con-
taining vessel, when introduced into it, with as little room for heated air to pass
between the two as practicable. In the centre of this vessel I make a circular hole
to which I adapt in a water-tight manner a metal cylinder or tube of a height
slightly greater than that of the side of the vessel, in the same way as in the first
of the two smaller vessels herein before described, and in the upper margin of this
cylinder I make a number of incisions of a sawlike or scalloped character to give it
an interrupted outline similar to that of the vessels before described. If this vessel
be now introduced into the larger one, so that its bottom inay rest concentrically
on the interrupted margin of the side of the vessel beneath, and water be poured
into it, the water will overflow by the lower edges of the incisions in the margin of
the inner cylinder, and will flow in streams down the side of this cylinder into the.
vessel beneath, from which vessel its course has been already described. The object
of the incisions made in the margins of the three vessels thus described is partly to
allow the water to overflow from them in streams, so that its bulk may be as much
þubdivided as possible, and partly to allow the products of combustion from the
burner beneath to pass upwards through the series of vessels, and in their course to
communicate heat to them and to the subdivided streams of water flowing from

page_text: them. The latter object may be also promoted by making rows of holes in the
sides of the vessels on the same level as or a little below the incisions. For the
purpose of facilitating reference to these three smaller vessels which are contained
within the larger one, I will designate the lowest of them as A, the next highest
as B, and the uppermost as C. I now make a fourth shallow vessel, which I will
call D, precisely like B, but without the tube which is fixed in the floor of that
vessel, as herein before described, and I place it concentrically on C, in the same
way as B was placed on A; also a fifth vessel, precisely like C, and place it on the
preceding one, and a sixth vessel, like D, which I place in the same way on the
top of all. This series of shallow cylindrical vessels may be continued upwards to
any reasonable height in the order of alternation before described, but I find that
for all practical purposes no advantage is gained by using more than six.
If into the large container, having the smaller vessels arranged concentrically
within it, one above the other in the way hereinbefore described, water be now
introduced by the aperture in the top so that it shall flow into the uppermost
tray, it will flow down from this tray to the one next beneath it, and so on
downwards in a series of streams, the number of which will be directly, and the
bulk of each stream inversely proportionate to the number of incisions or holes
inade for the passage of the water. From the lowermost of these vessels the water
will flow into the receiver which is formed in the lower part of the container and
thence out by the siphon tube and spout.
For the purpose of heating this appliance I place under it, as a source of heat,
any convenient lamp or burner from which the products of combustion pass off
without producing appreciable smoke. The heated products of combustion from
such a source will pass up through the conical receiver and through the central
aperture of vessel A, when they will impinge on the bottom of vessel B, also
through the interruptions in the margin of the cone along the outer side of vessel
A, and between it and the side of the container. These two streams of heated
gases will then unite at the outer side of vessel B, and will pass up along it to the
under surface of vessel C; thence through the central aperture of this latter vessel
to the under surface of the vessel above it, and so on upwards, beneath, around,
over, and through the several vessels, according to the number employed. In their
course upwards the heated gases will come more or less. in contact with the
extended metallic surface of the several vessels, to which they will give off a
portion of their heat, and also with the numerous streams of water which drop
from one vessel to another. In this way the water will be very rapidly heated.
But this effect will be still more increased by the volume of steam emitted from
the vessel A, in which the liquid will be rapidly heated to its boiling point, partly
because this vessel is immediately above the source of heat, and partly because
the water is supplied to and passes through it very slowly. The vapour escaping
from this vessel will greatly increase the rapidity with which the water will be
heated, since easily condensible vapours give off their heat both to metallic
surfaces and to cooler liquids so much more easily than gases like nitrogen and
carbonic acid do.
Where coal gas is available I prefer to use it for heating the appliance above
described, and for this purpose I prefer to employ a burner which I will now
describe. This burner consists of a hollow vertical metallic cylinder into which
the gas is brought by a small pipe or nozzle opening into it at the bottom. To
the upper margin of this cylinder is connected a circular plate having an aperture
in its centre of the same size as the cylinder, to the margin of which the plate is
attached by the aperture after the manner of a flange. On this plate I support,
by means of three or more projecting points, a second circular plate of the same
diameter as the one just described, in such a way that the two plates shall be
parallel and concentric with one another, and at a distance from one another of
about the eighth part of an inch. In the centre of this second plate make a
circular aperture with a diameter equal to about one sixth part of the diameter of
the plate, and on its upper surface I support in the same way as the second plate

page_text: is supported, a third circular plate of a diameter equal to about one third of the
diameter of the plate immediately below it, and so that its under surface shall be
at a somewhat less distance from the upper surface of this latter plate than the
lower surface of the same plate is from the upper surface of the first plate or flange.
A fourth circular plate, of still smaller size than the third, may be superimposed
upon this latter, at a still less distance from it than that at which the third is
placed above the second: Over the upper aperture of the vertical cylinder of this
burner, and beneath the hole in the second plate, I fix a piece of metallic wire
gauze, of a mesh sufficiently fine to prevent flame travelling through it, such as is
used in the construction of miners' safety lamps, being very suitable for the purpose.
If the burner thus constructed be connected with a gas supply, the gas will pass
through the nipple or tube which conveys it into the bottom of the vertical.
cylinder, and thence upwards through the wire gauze which covers the mouth of
the cylinder to the under surface of the circular plate immediately covering the
flange which is attached to the upper border of the cylinder; here it will escape,
partly through the space left between the circumference of the flange and that of
the plate, and partly through the central aperture in this plate into the space.
between the second and third plates, and through the aperture in the second plate
to the space between it and the third plate, and so on according to the number of
plates used. Whatever this number may be the last or uppermost plate must have
no central aperture. The gas which has thus found its way into the spaces
between the several plates will ultimately escape through the spaces between the
cylindrical margins of the plates where it may be ignited, when it will burn in a
series of concentric rings of flame. If the ports at the base of the cylinder be
closed the flame will be luminous; but if they be open, the flame will be more or
less aerated, according to the size of the ports and to the extent to which they are
opened. If the gas be turned down, so as not quite to extinguish it, whilst the.
ports are still open, the flame cannot flie back to the nozzle, as it will be arrested.
by the metallic gauze.
The advantages which I claim for this burner are, the simplicity of its
construction, every part of it being accessible: also the ease with which the supply
of air to be mixed with the gas can be adjusted so as to allow of the production of
a non-luminous flame; and, lastly, the protection of the wire gauze from the
rapid destruction which takes place in ordinary burners in which it is used for a
similar purpose, viz., to prevent the flame burning back and igniting the jet, in
consequence of the flame burning directly on its surface-and-oxydizing it. This
cannot take place in the burner above described, as from the gauze being placed
inside the burner the flame does not come in contact with it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Francis Thomas Bond in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th March 1882.
FRANCIS THOMAS BOND, of Gloucester, in the County of Gloucester, Doctor of
Medicine. "IMPROVED APPLIANCES FOR HEATING WATER FOR DOMESTIC AND
OTHER PURPOSES, INCLUDING AN IMPROVED GAS BURNER WHICH IS ALSO,
AVAILABLE FOR OTHER HEATING PURPOSES."
The object of this Invention is to provide for the heating of water for domestic
and other purposes in such a way that it may be heated in a continuous stream,
either to its boiling point or to any temperature short of that point, and to do this
with as little waste of heat as practicable.
The appliances of which the Invention consists are two, viz., a vessel for holding
the water to be heated and a gas burner for applying heat. To construct the
former of these I make a hollow cylinder of sheet iron, copper, or other appropriate
metal, or of earthenware, of a diameter proportionate to the amount of liquid to be
heated, and of a height equal to about twice the diameter. To one end of this
cylinder, which I will call the top, I adapt a lid like that of a common saucepan,
but with an aperture in the centre. Inside the other end of the cylinder, which
will be the bottom when the vessel is fixed upright, I fix a hollow truncated metal
cone, of a height equal to about one quarter that of the cylinder, and in such a way
that the broader border of the cone shall be united in a water-tight manner with
the bottom rim of the cylinder. In the upper and smaller border of the cone I
cut out a number of angular or circular pieces, so as to give this border an interrupted
character. The vessel thus constructed will hold water as high as the incisions
thus made. For the purpose of an outlet I make a hole of an appropriate size in
the side of the vessel, at a little distance below the water line when it is full, and in
this hole I fix a spout. Immediately below this spout I fix another and smaller
tube, which I make long enough to carry it through the cylinder and into the
conical water receptacle, so as nearly to reach the bottom of the receptacle, taking
care that the portion outside the vessel shall be longer than that which is inside, so
that a siphon may be formed by which the receptacle may be nearly emptied as
soon as the liquid rises to the neck of the siphon, unless it rise more rapidly than
the siphon can carry it off, in which case it will overflow by the spout.
I then construct a shallow cylindrical metallic vessel of a height equal to about
one sixth of that of the large one, and of a diameter about one tenth part less, and
in the margin of the side of this vessel I cut out a number of angular or semicircular
pieces, so as to give it a sawlike or scalloped character, like that of the upper
margin of the truncated cone above described. In the centre of the bottom of this
shallow tray or dish I make a circular aperture of a diameter equal to about one
third of its total diameter, and to the margin of this aperture I adapt a hollow
metal tube, projecting up into the interior of the dish, and of a height such that it
shall stand about one inch higher than the bottom of the incisions in the side of
the vessel in which it is fixed. When this vessel is placed inside the larger one, so
that its bottom shall rest on the interrupted margin of the truncated cone, and
water is poured into it, the water will rise in the vessel until it reaches the lower
level of the incisions, when it will overflow, run down the side of the dish in streams,
and drop into the conical receptacle below..
I then make a second shallow metallic cylindrical vessel or dish of the same
depth as the one just described, but of a slightly less diameter. Out of the upper
margin of the side of this vessel I cut a number of angular or semicircular pieces, so
as to give it the sawlike or scalloped character above described, and in the bottom

page_text: I make a small aperture in which I fix in a water-tight manner a small metal tube,
of such a height that any liquid contained in this vessel shall run off by the tube
before it overflows by the interrupted margin, and of such a size that only a small
portion of such liquid shall be able to run off by the tube compared with that
which overflows by the margin. I also fix the tube in such a position that the
liquid which flows off by it shall drop into the vessel below. If this vessel be then
introduced into the large vessel, so that it may rest with its.bottom concentrically on
that which was last described, and water be poured into it, the water will when it
. rises to the level of the tube flow off by this latter into the vessel beneath it. If
more water be now poured in than the tube can carry away, it will rise until it
reaches the level of the incisions in the margin of the vessel and will flow in streams
'down the side of the vessel into the one beneath.
I now make a third shallow cylindrical vessel of about the same height as those
just described, and of such a diameter that it will closely fit into the large
containing vessel when introduced into it with as little room for heated air to pass
between the two as practicable. In the centre of this vessel I make a circular hole,
to which I adapt in a water-tight manner a metal cylinder of a height slightly
greater than that of the side of the vessel, in the same way as in the first of the
two smaller vessels hereinbefore described; and in the upper margin of this cylinder
I make a number of incisions of a sawlike or scalloped character, to give it an
interrupted outline similar to that of the vessels herein before described. If this
vessel be now introduced into the larger one, so that its bottom may rest con-
centrically on the interrupted margin of the side of the vessel beneath it, and water.
be poured into it, the water will overflow by the lower edges of the incisions in the
margin of the inner cylinder, and will flow in streams down the side of the cylinder
into the vessel beneath, from which vessel its course has been already described. The
object of the incisions, made in the margins of these three vessels thus described is
partly to allow the water to overflow from them in streams, so that its bulk may
be as much subdivided as possible, and partly to allow the products of combustion
from the burner beneath to pass upwards through the series of vessels, and in
their course to communicate heat to them and to the subdivided streams of
water flowing from them. The latter object may also be effectually promoted
by making a row of holes in the side of each vessel on the same level as or a
contained within the larger one, I will designate the lowest of them as A, the next
highest as B, and the uppermost as C. I now make a fourth shallow vessel which
I will call D, precisely like B, but without the tube which is fixed in the floor of
that vessel, as herein before described, and I place it concentrically on C in the
same way as B was placed on A; also a fifth vessel, precisely like C, and place it on
the preceding one; and a sixth vessel like D, which I place in like way on the
preceding one. This series of alternating shallow cylindrical vessels may be
continued upwards to any reasonable height; but I find that for all practical
purposes no advantage is gained by using more than six. If into the large
container, having the smaller vessels arranged concentrically within it one above
the other in the way hereinbefore described, water be now introduced by the
aperture at the top, so that it shall flow into the uppermost tray, it will flow
down from the uppermost tray to the one which is beneath it, and so on down-
wards in a series of streams, the number of which will be directly and the bulk
of each stream inversely proportionate to the number of incisions or holes made
for the passage of the water. From the lowermost of these vessels the water will
flow into the conical receiver which forms part of the container, and thence out by
the siphon tube and spout.
For the purpose of heating this appliance I place under it as a source of heat
any convenient lamp or burner, from which the products of combustion pass off
without producing appreciable smoke. The heated products of combustion from
such a source will pass up through the conical receiver, and through the central.

page_text: aperture of vessel A, when they will impinge on the bottom of vessel B; also
through the interruptions in the margin of the cone along the outer side of
vessel A, and between it and the side of the container. These two streams of
heated gases will then unite at the outer side of vessel B, and will pass up along
it to the under surface of vessel C; thence through the central aperture of this
latter vessel to the under surface of the vessel above, and so on upwards, beneath,
around, over, and through the several vessels according to the number employed.
In their course upwards the heated gases will come more or less in contact with
the extended metallic surface of the several vessels, to which they will give off a
portion of their heat, and also with the numerous streams of water which drop
down from one vessel to another. In this way the water will be very rapidly
heated. But this effect will be still more increased by the volume of steam emitted
from vessel A, in which the liquid will be rapidly heated to its boiling point, partly
because this vessel is immediately above the source of heat, and partly because the
water is supplied to and passes through it slowly. The vapour escaping from this
vessel will greatly increase the rapidity with which the water will be heated, since
easily condensible vapours give off their heat both to metallic surfaces and cooler
liquids so much more easily than gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic
acid do.
Where coal gas is available I prefer to use it for heating the appliance above
described, and for this purpose I employ a burner which I will now describe.
This burner consists of a hollow metal cylinder open at both ends, into the bottom
of which the gas is brought by a small pipe or nozzle opening into it at the
bottom. To the upper margin of this cylinder is connected a circular plate having
an aperture in its centre of the same size as the cylinder, to the margin of which
the plate is attached by the aperture after the manner of a flange. On this plate
I support by means of three or more projecting points a second circular plate of
the same diameter as the one just described, and in such a way that the two plates
shall be parallel and concentric with one another, and at a distance from one
another of about the eighth part of an inch. In the centre of this second plate I
make a circular aperture equal to about one sixth part of its diameter, and on its
upper surface I support in the same way as the second plate is supported a third
circular plate of a diameter equal to about one third of the diameter of the plate
below it, and so that its under surface shall be at a less distance from the upper
surface of this latter plate than the lower surface of the same plate is from the
upper surface of the first plate or flange. A fourth circular plate of still smaller
size than the third may be superimposed upon this latter at a still less distance
from it than that at which the third is placed above the second. Over the upper
aperture of the vertical cylinder of this burner, and beneath the hole in the second
plate, I fix a piece of metallic wire gauze of a mesh sufficiently fine to prevent
flame travelling through it, such as is used in the construction of miners' safety
lamps, being very suitable for the purpose.
If the burner thus constructed be connected with a gas supply the gas will pass
through the nipple or tube which conveys it into the bottom of the vertical
cylinder, and will then become mixed with air which can enter at the bottom of
the cylinder, and will thus become aerated; this mixture of air and gas will then
pass upwards through the wire gauze which covers the top of the cylinder to the
under surface of the circular plate immediately covering the flange which is
attached to the upper border of the cylinder; here it will escape, partly through
the space left between the circumference of the flange and that of the plate, and
partly through the central aperture in this plate into the space between the second.
and third plates, and through the aperture in the second plate to the space between
it and the third plate, and so on according to the number of plates used. What-
ever the number may be, the last or uppermost plate must have no central aperture.
The gas which has thus found its way into the spaces between the several plates
will ultimately escape through the spaces between the cylindrical margins of the

page_text: plates, where it may be ignited, when it will burn in a series of concentric rings
of flame.
The advantages which I claim for this burner are, the simplicity of its con-
struction, every part of it being accessible; also the ease with which the supply of
air to be mixed can be adjusted so as to allow of the production of the non-
luminous flame, and the protection of the wire gauze from the rapid destruction
which takes place in ordinary burners in which it is used for a similar purpose
(viz., to prevent the flame burning back and lighting the jet at the nozzle) in
consequence of the flame burning directly on its surface and oxydizing it.
In order more fully to make clear the nature of this my Invention, and of the
appliances in which it consists, as hereinbefore described, I have appended hereto
a series of Drawings thereof, which I will now proceed to explain.
Fig. 1 of the said Drawings is an elevation of the two appliances in which my
Invention consists, viz., the vessel in which the water is to be heated, and the gas
burner for heating it. Fig. 3 represents a plan of the water vessel and of the
burner, as seen from the top when the lid and trays are removed; and Fig. 2
represents a vertical section of the vessel and burner made in the line X, Y,
(Fig. 3). The letters accompanying these Drawings indicate identical parts in all.
In these Drawings G is the cylindrical body of the water vessel, to the bottom
of which is connected the truncated cone K, and on the top of which rests the
movable lid H into which the water to be heated is brought by the supply pipe I.
The vessel may be supported on three or more legs, as represented in the Drawing,
or it may be hung by means of hooks or other appropriate form of attachment to a
wall. A, B, C, D, E, and F, are six shallow metal trays constructed in the way
herein before described, which are supported on the serrated top of K, and one
another. Of these, A, the lowermost one, is shewn in plan in Fig. 4; B, the next
lowest, is shewn in plan in Fig. 5, in which the position of the small tube t which
carries the water from it into vessel A is indicated; C and E, which are identical
in construction with one another, are shewn in plan in Fig. 6, and D and F, which
are also identical in construction with one another are shewn in plan in Fig. 7, in
which a represents a handle attached to the floor of the tray for the purpose of
lifting it out. In the sides of the trays, as shewn in Fig. 2, are seen the ring of
holes in the outer sides of A, B, D, and F, near the bottom, and in the inner central
cylinders of C and E through which the water that flows into them escapes in a
series of small streams. The water that escapes from A flows into the receptacle
formed-by-the-union of the truncated cone K-at-its-bottom-with the bottom of the
cylinder G, and when it rises to the bend of the syphon tube M will flow out
thereby, any excess which this tube cannot carry off being removed by the tube L,
which is placed a little higher than M and is made sufficiently large for the purpose.
The single arrows indicate the course of the flame and heated products of
combustion, the double arrows that of the water. Below the vessel is seen one
form of the gas burner which I prefer to use for heating it, and which I will now
proceed to describe by means of this Drawing, and of Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, and 15, which. represent it in fuller detail. Of these Drawings, Figure is a
vertical section through the middle line of the burner, as shewn in elevation in
Figures 1 and 2; Fig. 9 is a plan viewed from above with the plates removed,
and shews the modification of my burner in which the cylinder is partly horizontal,
as herein before described; Figure 11 is a vertical section of Figure 9, in the
line x, y, and Figure 10 is a plan of the plate seen from above. In these Drawings,
a is the cylinder into which the gas is projected from the nipple h of the supply
pipe f. In Figures 1, 2, and 8, the cylinder is shewn short, vertical, and with
apertures g in its bottom, so as to allow of the free entrance of air to mix with the
gas. In Figures 9, 11, and 12, the cylinder is shewn longer and with the end at
which the gas enters bent at right angles to that at which it escapes. In this form
of the burner the air enters at an aperture on the underside of the cylinder a just
beneath the gas inlet h, as shewn in Figure 11. This latter form of burner is
nore convenient for some purposes than the former, especially when the burner

page_text: has to be attached as a bracket to a wall. Over the upper end of the cylinder a is
stretched a diaphragm of wire gauze b, and attached to this end is the flange c.
To this flange may be attached three or more arms, as shewn in the Drawings, for
the purpose of supporting a vessel of water or other object which it may be desired
to heat by means of the flame. Above c the plate d of corresponding size is
supported at a short distance by three or more short studs projecting from its under
surface, or from the upper surface of c; and in the centre of d is the aperture
which should be about one quarter the diameter of the cylinder a. Above da
second plate e is seen, of a less diameter than c, and supported in the same way
as d is on c, but with an interval between them of only half the distance of that
between c and d, and with a central aperture one third the diameter of that in d;
and on the top of e is placed a third and smaller plate g, at a still less distance
from e than e is from d, and without any aperture in its centre. These three plates
may be connected together by screws or in any other convenient way, so as to
form a single compound plate, as represented in plan in Figure 10.
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the number of three
plates in this arrangement, since it is possible in some cases to employ a much larger
number with advantage, but in that case the diameter of the burner and of the
several plates must be proportionately increased. Nor is it absolutely necessary
that there should be more than one plate, viz., d, which in that case must have no
central aperture. The number of plates, the spaces between them, the size of the
burner, and also that of the cylinder, must be adapted to the quantity of gas which
it is desired to burn; the greater the quantity the larger must be the size of the
cylinder, of the burner, and of the plates respectively, as well as the distance between
these latter.
Instead of adjusting the circular plates in the way herein before described, so that
the gas shall escape in a continuous ring of flame around the margin of each, it is
for some purposes convenient to arrange so that it shall escape in the form of a
series of jets. In order to effect this I proceed as follows: To the under surface
of the margin of each plate I attach a flange of from one quarter of an inch to half
an inch in depth, and in this flange I make a series of small holes, so as to form a
ring of them around the border of the plate; or I make a number of semicircular
notches in the lower border of the flange, so that when the plate is placed so that
it rests by the lower border of the flange evenly upon the plate beneath, the gas
will escape either through the series of complete holes or through the series of
semicircular notches (which are converted into holes by being brought into contact
with the flat surface on which they rest), and a ring of jets of flame will be
produced. By treating each plate in this way, one, two, or more concentric rings of
jets instead of rings of continuous flame may be obtained. A section of a burner
with plates so constructed is shewn in Figure 11, and an elevation of the same in
Figure 12.
Where it is desired to burn a large quantity of gas, so as to produce a large mass
of flame, I find it advantageous to modify the construction of the burner as
follows: I give the first part of the cylinder in which the gas and air are mixed a
horizontal position, and then, instead of turning the end up vertically, as in the
modification last described, I connect it with an annular chamber closed at the
bottom but open at the top, and having a clear way vertically through its centre
for the passage of air, and also having the upper margins of its outer and inner
concentric walls so arranged as to form a horizontal flange, directed outwards in
the case of the outer wall, and inwards in that of the inner one. Between these
two flat annular concentric flanges I fix a piece of metallic gauze of the same
description and for the same purpose as herein before described, and I then place
over the gauze, which thus forms a sort of roof for the annular chamber, an annular
plate, which I either support at a short distance above the two flanges so as to
leave an outlet on either side for the escape of gas, or I allow it to rest directly on
the flanges by rims attached respectively to its inner and outer borders, which rims
I perforate in the way hereinbefore described, so as to allow of the escape of the

page_text: gas in a series of jets. By this means I obtain two concentric rings of continuous
jets of flame with a stream of air passing upwards through their centre, whereby
combustion is facilitated, and much larger quantity of gas can be burned without
producing smoke than is otherwise practicable, this arrangement bearing much the
same relation to a non-luminous heating flame that an argand burner does to a
luminous flame.
This form of burner is shewn in Figures 13, 14, and 15, of which Figure 13 is a
plan viewed from above when the plates have been removed; Figure 14 is a vertical
section of Figure 13 in the line x,y; and Figure 15 is a plan of the plates seen
from above. In these Figures n is the annular chamber, and o the central airway,
the other letters indicating corresponding parts to those to which the same letters
are applied in the other Drawings of the burner.
Having thus described in the foregoing description and in the Drawings appended
hereto the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that what I claim as novel in the said Invention
.is,―
(1.) The arrangement and construction of the vessel for containing the water to
be heated, substantially and in the manner herein before described, especially in
regard to the following points, viz. :-The arrangement and construction of the
several trays contained therein, so that they shall rest upon one another and upon
the inverted conical base of the containing case of the vessel, and allow the water
and heated products of combustion to pass in opposite directions in contact with
one another through the series of apertures in the bodies and borders of the said
trays, the heating of the water in the said trays being further promoted by a
limited amount of the same being supplied to a tray or reservoir placed in the
bottom of the vessel and immediately above the source of heat, so that the
water therein shall be rapidly converted into steam, in the manner hereinbefore
described.
(2.) The construction of a burner to burn a mixture of coal gas and atmospheric
air, constructed so that the mixture of gas and air on emerging from the cylinder
through which it is passed shall impinge upon the under surface of one or more flat
plates or discs placed so as to rest at a short distance horizontally above the mouth
of the said cylinder, so that the mixture of gas and air shall escape either between
the free margins of such plates, and there burn in one or more rings of flame, or
through apertures in the flanged borders of such plates, so as to burn in a series of
jets, substantially and in the manner herein before described, the said burner being
especially fitted, by nature of the large amount of heat which it is calculated to
give, to heat water rapidly in the vessel herein before described, and being also
adapted for the same reason to be employed with advantage as a means of
communicating heat for other purposes for which such a form of gas burner is
applicable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Thomas Bond, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred
FRANCIS THOMAS BOND. (L.S.)