IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR, PRODUCING GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE FOR INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING AND HEATING POWER OF ORDINARY LIGHTING GAS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Buckland, of Barge Yard, in the
City of London, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MODE OF, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR, PRODUCING GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND
HEATING PURPOSES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE FOR
INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING AND HEATING POWER OF ORDINARY LIGHTING
GAS."
Scaled the 29th August 1863, and dated the 5th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Buck-
land at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th March 1863.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BUCKLAND, of Barge Yard, in the City of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MODE OP, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR, PRODUCING GAS FOR
ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING AND HEATING POWER OF ORDINARY
LIGHTING GAS," to be as follows:-
I am aware that attempts have been made and modes adopted for
carburetting gas and air by passing one or both of these vapours through
liquid bydrocarbon, or by causing them to impinge upon a wick saturated
with hydrocarbon.
My Invention of "Improvements in the Mode of, and in the Apparatus for,

page_text: Producing Gas for Illuminating and Heating Purposes, part of which
Improvements are also applicable for Increasing the Illuminating and Heating
Power of ordinary Lighting Gas," relates to an improved mode of combining
or impregnating ordinary atmospheric air with such a quantity of volatile
hydrocarbon as will render it a combustible and illuminating gas, which may
be burned in any suitable burner for heating purposes, or in ordinary gas
burners in place of the ordinary carburetted hydrogen gas for lighting
purposes.
My Invention is also applicable for carburetting ordinary illuminating gas,
and by that means increasing its lighting power, and I accomplish this without
causing the gas or air to pass through the liquid hydrocarbon, and without the
use of a wick, but by causing a current of air or gas under a suitable pressure
to pass through a vessel containing a porous mass or material which is kept
saturated with any suitable bydrocarbon. To this end I charge a vessel or
chamber with a mass or with pieces of sponge, soft stone, wood, wool, cotton,
or charcoal, or with sheets, layers, strips, or pieces of woollen, linen, cotton, or
other cloth, or with a mass, pieces, sheets, layers, or strips of any porous
material which will absorb and retain liquids, and which are to be kept
saturated with the liquid hydrocarbon. The gas or air in its passage through,
along, against, or over the surface of the porous mass or material saturated
with the liquid hydrocarbon will vaporize and carry off a portion of the hydro-
carbon, and sufficiently hold the same in suspension until the gas or air so
carburetted reaches the burner where it is to be consumed. I prefer to
divide the carburetting vessel into two compartments, in one of which is placed
the porous mass or material, and into which the liquid hydrocarbon is first
introduced for the purpose of saturating the porous mass or material. The
excess of the liquid hydrocarbon, beyond what is required for such saturation,
passes into the other compartment, into which there are apertures sufficient to
permit portions of the porous mass or material to project or extend and dip
into the liquid hydrocarbon which has passed into the second compartment.
By this means the porous mass or material in the first compartment will
continue by capillary attraction to be saturated with hydrocarbon, and will
supply the place of the portion of hydrocarbon which has been carried off in
combination with the gas or air. At the same time the surface of the liquid
hydrocarbon in the second compartment will be protected from coming into
contact with the gas or air. By introducing partitions into the first compart
ment of the vaporizing or carburetting vessel, I can increase at pleasure the
surface of the saturated mass or material, and compel the gas or air to pass
through, over, or against the whole extent of the same, thereby adding more

page_text: or less to the illuminating power of the carburetted gas or air. I use either
cold or warm gas or air, according to circumstances, or the carburetting
vessel may be furnished with a jacket to contain either warm or cold water, so
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Buckland in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY BUCKLAND, of Barge Yard, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Henry Buckland, Her special license, that I, the said William
Henry Buckland, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Henry Buckland, 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 THE MODE OF, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR,
PRODUCING GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES, PARTS OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE FOR INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING AND
HEATING POWER OF ORDINARY LIGHTING GAS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Henry Buckland, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 William Henry Buckland, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
I am aware that attempts have been made and modes adopted for car-

page_text: buretting gas and air by passing one or both of these vapours through liquid
hydrocarbon, or by causing them to impinge upon a wick saturated with
liquid hydrocarbon.
My Invention of "Improvements in the Mode of, and in the Apparatus
for, Producing Gas for Illuminating and Heating Purposes, parts of which
Improvements are also applicable for Increasing the Illuminating and Heating
Power of ordinary Lighting Gas," relates to an improved mode of combining
or impregnating ordinary atmospheric air with such a quantity of volatile
hydrocarbon as will render it a combustible and illuminating gas which may be
burned in any suitable burner for heating purposes," or in ordinary gas burners,
in place of the ordinary carburetted hydrogen for lighting purposes.
My Invention is also applicable for carburetting ordinary illuminating gas,
and by that means increasing its lighting power, and I accomplish this without
causing the gas or air to pass through the liquid hydrocarbon, and without the
use of a wick, but by causing a current of air or gas under a suitable pressure
to pass through a vessel containing a porous mass or material, which is kept
saturated with any suitable hydrocarbon. To this end I charge a vessel or
chamber with a mass of porous sponge, or with pieces of sponge, soft stone,
wood, wool, cotton, or charcoal, or with sheets, layers, strips, or pieces of
woollen, linen, cotton, or other cloth, or with a mass, pieces, sheets, layers, or
strips of any porous material which will absorb and retain liquids, and which
porous materials are to be kept saturated with the liquid hydrocarbon. The
gas or air in its passage through, along, against, or over the surface of the
porous mass or material saturated with the liquid hydrocarbon will vaporizo
and carry off a portion of the hydrocarbon, and sufficiently hold the same in
suspension until the gas or air so carburetted reaches the burner where it is to
be consumed.
According to one arrangement of parts for carrying out my Invention the
carburetting vessel is divided into two compartments, in one of which is placed
the porous mass or material, and into which the liquid hydrocarbon is first
introduced for the purpose of saturating the porous mass or material. The
excess of the liquid hydrocarbon beyond what is required for such saturation
passes into the other compartment, into which there are apertures sufficient to
permit portions of the porous mass or material to project or extend and dip
into the liquid hydrocarbon which has passed into the second compartment.
By this means the porous mass or material in the first compartment will
continue by capillary attraction to be saturated with hydrocarbon, and will
supply the place of the portion of hydrocarbon which has been carried off in
combination with the gas or air. At the same time the surface of the liquid

page_text: hydrocarbon in the second compartment will be protected from coming into
contact with the gas or air. By introducing partitions into the first compart-
ment of the vaporizing or carburetting vessel I can increase at pleasure the
surface of the saturated mass or material, and compel the gas or air to pass
through, over, or against the whole extent of the same, thereby adding more
or less to the illuminating power of the carburetted gas or air. I use either
cold or warm gas or air, according to circumstances, or the carburetting vessel
may be furnished with a jacket to contain either warm or cold water, so that
the vessel may be either warmed or cooled, as may be required.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of
one form of carburetting apparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, a
portion of the lid or cover of the apparatus being cut away to shew the
arrangement of the interior.
a, a, is a rectangular or other conveniently shaped vessel, which is divided
into two compartments by means of a false bottom b. The space beneath this
false bottom bis supplied through the hole c, Fig. 2, with any suitable hydro-
carbon, and the quantity contained in the compartment will be clearly seen on
the graduated glass index tube d, at one end of the apparatus. The upper
compartment of the vessel a is what may be termed the carburetting chamber;
it is provided with a series of vertical transverse partitions e, e, which are
made of perforated metal, and are loosely covered with flannel, cotton, or other
fabric, the lower ends of which pass down through slots in the false bottom b,
and dip into the liquid hydrocarbon beneath. The bottom of the upper
compartment or carburetting chamber may also be loosely covered with cotton,
wool, or other porous material. The air or gas to be carburetted will enter
the vessel through the opening f, and by passing along to and fro against or in
front of the saturated porous or textile fabric will ultimately issue from the
apparatus out of the aperture or exit pipe g. The carburetting chamber is
surrounded by a jacket, h,.h, thereby leaving a space which may be supplied
with either hot or cold water, if desired.
Figures 3 and 4 represent in vertical and horizontal sections a modification
of the above-described apparatus. In this instance the false bottom b, b, and
also the vertical partitions e, e, with the flannel or other textile fabric are
dispensed with, and in place thereof the vessel may be filled with sponge, wool,
coke, charcoal, or other absorbent porous substance; in this instance the vessel
is shewn filled with sponge, which rests on the bottom, and is partially
immersed in the liquid hydrocarbon. The gas or air enters at f, and is
distributed throughout the vessel by means of an arrangement of perforated
tubes i, i, i. As the gas or air percolates through the spongy or porous mass

page_text: it takes up a portion of the volatile hydrocarbon, and becomes carburetted, so
that it will burn with a very bright flame.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Mode of, and
in the Apparatus for, Producing Gas for Illuminating and Heating Purposes,
and for Increasing the Illuminating and Heating Power of ordinary Lighting
Gas," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid,
carburetting air or gas by causing it to pass over the surface or through woven
fabrics or fibrous or spongy substances which have the property of sucking up
and exposing the liquid hydrocarbon in a finely divided state.
Second, I claim the apparatus herein set forth and described whereby the
desired result is or can be obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Buckland, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
ED. P. ZOHRAB,
of Horwich,
Lancashire.
W. H. BUCKLAND. (L.S.)