IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GASHOLDERS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSHUA
HORTON, of Etna Works, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Steam
Engine Boiler and Gasholder Manufacturer, trading under the style or
firm of "Joshua and William Horton," send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Second day of January, in the fourteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joshua Horton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Joshua Horton, my exors, adiñors, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Joshua Horton, my exñors, adññors, or assigns;
should at any time agree with; and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
GASHOLDERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Joshua Horton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joshua Horton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Gasholders
relates,―
Firstly, to a novel construction and arrangement of guides of telescopic gas-
holders, whereby the moveable parts of such gasholders are or may be guided
in a vertical direction as the volume of gas in the gasholders increases or
diminishes, and it becomes necessary to increase or diminish the capacity of
the gasholder.
According to the plans now in use for effecting this object, it
is found necessary at a great expence to erect a high guide framing, which is
required to have a greater elevation than the topmost part of the side of the
inner gasholder, when it is raised to its highest working point. By means
of my improvement a very considerable economy in the construction of
the guide framing for telescope gasholders is effected, inasmuch as the
columns and guides I employ do not require to be more than about half the
height of those usually employed. In my improved arrangement a series of
vertical guides attached to posts or columns are set round the tank of the
gasholder in the usual manner, except that my columns are not so high as
the ordinary ones. These posts or columns may be braced together at the top
with circumferential tie rods; and friction bowls or rollers are adapted to
different suitable parts of the gasholder and its attachments, and are arranged
so that they or some of them may work vertically against the vertical guides
attached to the posts or columns which are set round the tank, while other
antifriction guides or rollers are made to work against bars, plates, or rails
adapted to the other parts of the gasholder or of the tank, so as to keep the
parts separate and in a vertical position; and also prevent them from jamming
or sticking while moving up or down.
The second improvement consists in adapting to the outer or inner sides of
gasholders vertical fixed bars or rails, which will present an even surface
suitable for receiving the pressure of the antifriction guide rollers of the
respective parts of the gasholder, whereby the inconvenience arising from the
use of loose bars will be prevented.
My third improvement consists in forming the top and bottom of the water
cup or hydraulic joint of gasholders of sheet or plate iron wrought to the
shape required for such parts, instead of using angle iron and sheet iron bolted
or rivetted together, which renders the manufacture more costly.

page_text: In order, however, that my several improvements may be more clearly
understood, I have in the accompanying Drawings shewn various views of the
several parts of the improved gasholder, and the operation thereof.
In Sheet I. Fig. 1 is a front elevation of part of the inner and outer gas-
holder; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3 represents a transverse
vertical section, and Figure 4 a plan view of the same parts. These Figures
are drawn upon an enlarged scale in order that the details of the construction
may be more clearly shewn.
Fig. 5, Sheet II., is a transverse vertical section of parts of a gasholder con-
structed according to my Invention, and is drawn on a smaller scale than the
preceding Figures, in order that the mode of adapting and combining my
several improvements may be better understood. One of the vertical parts or
columns, of which there are, of course, several, is shewn at A, A; to this post
or column the guide rod or bar a is attached. On the hydraulic cup at the
top of the lower part B of the gasholder is fixed a guide standard C, to which
are attached antifriction pulleys, rollers, or bowls c and d, d, the former being
intended to run against the vertical guides a of the post or column A, and the
latter against the guide plate 6. on the outer side of the upper gasholder D.
Outside the hydraulic cup of the inner gasholder there is another antifriction
pulley or roller f, which runs against a plate, bar, or rail g, secured to the side
of the lower part B of the gasholder. It should be understood that there are
several of the standards C fixed round the gasholder on the hydraulic cup, and
these standards are connected together by tie rods. Fig. 6 is a front view of
the guide standard C, shewing the antifriction roller c acting against the guide
a of the column or post A, for the purpose of keeping the gasholder in a
vertical position as it rises and falls. Fig. 7 is a back view of the guide
standard C, shewing the antifriction rollers d, d, which run against the vertical
rail or plate b, b, affixed to the outer side of the upper part D of the gasholder.
The standards C are connected together by tie rods y, y, for the purpose of
maintaining them in a vertical position. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the
guide standard C taken in the line 1, 1, of Fig. 7. A strip of wood z, z, is
inserted in the groove of the standard or guide C for the purpose of
strengthening the same and rendering it stiff and rigid.
Fig. 9 represents an horizontal section or sectional plan view, drawn upon an
enlarged scale, of the arrangement and construction of these parts, and the
manner of securing the vertical rail or plate b, b, to the upper part of the gas-
holder. The arrangement and operation of the antifriction rollers c and d are
also more clearly shewn in this than in the other Figures. The plate b, b,
consists merely of a flat piece of metal of suitable strength, and secured in a

page_text: b
vertical position on the sides of the gasholder by means of rivets, or in any
other convenient manner. This plate, it will be seen, forms part of the side
of the gasholder, instead of being a separate loose piece adapted to the side
by bolts, or otherwise, as is usually the case. The plate is strengthened at the
back by a T-shaped piece h, which is rivetted thereto, and the antifriction rollers
d, d, are kept in their place on the outer surface of the plate 6 by angle pieces
i, i. Similar plates, bars, or rails g, g, are adapted to other parts of the gas-
holder where required, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. It will be found
that some of the principal advantages of making this plate 6 part of the gas-
holder, as above described, are, first, that an even surface is obtained for the
rollers d, d, or f to run upon, thereby avoiding great friction; and, second, that
there is less liability of corrosion than if loose bars are adapted to the sides of
the gasholder, inasmuch as there will be no difficulty in painting or protecting
the surface. It will be seen that the section of the guide a of the column A
is in the form of a T; and in order to prevent the antifriction roller c from
running off the guide, the roller is furnished with a flange. It will not be
necessary that all the plates or rails b, b, should be furnished with angle pieces
to guide the rollers, as shewn at i, i, in Fig. 9; some of them may therefore
be made as shewn at Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. An antifriction roller or rollers
may, if required, be mounted horizontally as well as vertically, for the
of keeping the gasholder away from the sides of the tank.
purpose
'
The peculiar mode of constructing the hydraulic cup, valve, or joint which
'forms the third part of my Invention will be best understood by referring to
Figures 3 and 4, which are drawn upon an enlarged scale. Instead of
forming the cup or valve of sheet or plate iron, with angle iron at the corners,
as is the ordinary mode, I make a cup k, k, of wrought iron, and secure it on
one side by rivets to the gasholder, and on the other side in a similar manner
to a strip of sheet or plate iron, in order to form the other side of the cup or
valve. By this means, as the rivets on the top and bottom of the cups are
dispensed with, and only one row of rivets on each side are required, a great
economy in the construction of gasholders is effected.
I would here observe that my improvements may, if required, be used
separately, as, for instance, the mode just described of constructing the
hydraulic cup or joint of gasholders may be adapted to and employed in con-
junction with the ordinary mode of mounting and working gasholders; on the
other hand the first-described improvements, namely, the novel arrangement
and construction of guides, guide frames, and rollers and plates or bars may
be employed without adopting the improvement in the construction of the
hydraulic valve.

page_text: Having now described my several improvements, and the best means with
which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I would observe in
conclusion that I do not mean or intend to confine myself rigidly to the preciso
arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn and described, as they may
perhaps be varied without departing from the nature and object of my Inven-
tion; but that which I consider to be new, and, therefore, wish to claim as
the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,-
First, the use and application of vertical travelling guide standards fixed to
the lower or outer gasholder, to which guide standards, antifriction rollers,
wheels, or pullies are adapted so that they may work against other vertical
guides or plates, as the parts of the gasholder rise and fall with the increase
or diminution of the quantity of gas contained therein, and by that means the
several parts of the gasholder may be kept in a vertical position and made to
work easily.
Second, I claim the use and application of the fixed guide roller bars, plates,
or rails 6, 6, (instead of loose bars as is usual), such fixed guide bars, plates, or
rails being rivetted to and forming part of the gasholder, and against which
the antifriction rollers d, d, or f work, as shewn and described.
I claim, third, the mode herein shewn and described of constructing the
hydraulic cups or joints of gasholders, or any other mere modification thereof
in which the top or bottom of the hydraulic joint or valve is formed of plates
of iron made or bent into a cup shape, so as to admit of the valve being made
complete, and attached to the gasholder, without the necessity of employing
angle iron and double sets of rivets, as is usually the case.
I witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Horton, have hereunto set my.
hand and seal, this First day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the
within-named Joshua Horton, (the
word "Joshua" having been first
written upon an erasure in the first,
sixth, seventh, ninth, and thirteenth :
JOSHUA (L.S.) HORTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the First day of July, in the year
of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Joshua Horton came before our said Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One