Feed Device for Gas Producers.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1893-Accepted, 22nd July, 1893
Feed Device for Gas Producers.
I, CARL WILHELM BILDT, of 94 Grove Street in the City and County of
Worcester, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Metallurgical
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 object of my invention is to effect a saving in fuel and labor, and also to
reduce the liability of injury to the workmen from escaping gas.
It relates more particularly to improvements upon my invention for a like
purpose, patented in the United States Dec. 16, 1890, No. 442,676, and in England
Dec. 16, 1890, No. 20,462; and consists of a feed device or apparatus, combined
with the top of the gas producer having a rotating disk for regulating the feed or
supply of coal, and a rotating distributor for evenly distributing said coal, in the
producer, each rotated independently, as and for the purpose hereinafter more
fully set forth.
As is well known, the more uniform the layer of coal is kept in a gas producer,
the better will be the results obtained, owing to the more even and uniform
combustion thereby produced.
Prior to my inventions, a common way of running gas producers has been to charge
the coal by hand through a hopper. By this method the coal is not evenly
distributed over the surface of the fire, but falls more in one place than another,
thus forming layers which increase in thickness in different places as the coal is
continued to be poured in.
A variation in the composition of the gas is thereby produced in the generator
in different parts of the same producer, which also results in the production of an
excess of carbonic acid and other non-combustible gases, and therefore results in a
waste of coal.
Another objection to charging by hand, aside from the waste of coal, is, the
escape of gas, which is very injurious to the workmen.
All of the above objections I have found by practical demonstration, are wholly
removed by my invention.
In order that others skilled in the art to which said invention appertains may
better understand the nature and purpose thereof, I will now proceed to describe it
more in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section through the upper part of a gas producer,
and my improved feed-device applied thereto, with portions of said device shown in
elevation.
Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the upper part of the device taken
on line xx, Fig. 1, looking down and showing a plan of parts coming below said
section line.
Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged, vertical sections of parts of the device hereinafter
described, taken at the point indicated by line x', Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a horizontal section upon the same enlarged scale, taken on line 23,
Fig. 4, showing a plan of the coal distributing part of the device.
Fig. 6 represents a geometrically constructed spiral line, showing the line of
distribution of the coal by the distributor of my device, which will be hereinafter
more fully described, and
Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 show modifications in the construction of the coal distributor,
which will also be hereinafter described.
The part marked A, represents the upper portion of an ordinary gas-producer,

page_text: which, being of well-known construction, requires no detailed description, my
invention, as before stated, relating only to the means employed for supplying the
coal thereto.
B, is the coal receptacle or hopper, which is fastened centrally over the producer,
to the cover C. or otherwise, as may be required in practice.
It is provided at the top with a supply opening and cover B', and at the bottom
converges to a discharge opening B', somewhat smaller than the transverse diameter
of the receptacle.
Centrally above the producer and its coal receptacle is arranged a hydraulic
cylinder D, provided with the usual water pipes a and b at the ends and within
said cylinder is fitted the piston head c' of the rod or spindle c which extends down
into the generating chamber of the producer, and has mounted on its lower end the
coal-distributing, fan-shaped blades, E, E', which will be hereinafter described.
Said rod or spindle is operated vertically by the hydraulic mechanism above
described, and is turned by a horizontal worm-gear F, fastened to the rod so that
they will turn together and at the same time permit the rod to slide vertically in the
hub of said gear.
Said
Over said rod is fitted a hollow shaft or sleeve d which also extends down into
the producer, and has mounted on its lower end a horizontal disk d', which rests
and turns with its sleeve on a central collar or hub e at the foot of the rod c.
sleeve and disk are free to move up and down with the rod and its coal distributing
blades.
The lower end of the sleeve is guided by and slides in a suitable bearing f
mounted on an arm or brace f¹, fastened in this instance to the coal receptacle B;
it also slides in a bearing f' in the top of said receptacle, and at its upper end in a
bearing of the supporting frame G, as well as in the hub of a horizontal worm-
gear H, which is splined to the sleeve, so that the latter, while being permitted to
slide therein as aforesaid, is also turned by the gear.
Outside of both the rod c and sleeved between the two horizontal gears F, H, is
arranged a short, stationary sleeve g in which the upper end of the sleeve d also slides
vertically when the rod is raised or lowered. The sleeve d it will be understood is
supported by said rod. It may be fitted loose on the rod so that its disk may rest
on the hub e of the distributor; or, if desired, it may be suspended when in use so as
to hold the disk a little above and out of contact with said hub e, by means of a
collar and screw above the collar f' as is shown in Fig. 1, or in any other well-
known way.
The purpose of the foregoing construction is to impart independent, continuous
rotary movements to the disk d¹ and to the coal-distributing blades E, E',-the
former being ordinarily turned slowly to properly feed the coal from the bottom of
the receptacle B, and the latter more rapidly to properly distribute said coal as it
is discharged onto the blades from said disk. Said blades are preferably corrugated
in a vertical direction as is shown in the drawings, to facilitate the proper discharge
of the coal, and one blade is made to flare or diverge spirally, while the other con-
verges spirally, the curve of one commencing where the other leaves off at their
adjacent ends. Therefore as the coal is discharged thereon, it is distributed
therefrom in continuous, spiral lines I (see Fig. 6) from the outside to the centre of
the surface to be distributed upon, and consequently an even, uniform layer of coal
is deposited over the whole of said surface, the advantage of which will at once be
apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention belongs.
The distributing blades are fastened to a suitable horizontal disk or frame, E,
which is in turn secured to the lower end of the rod c.
The shape, or number of the blades is not essential, so long as the above principle
is carried out. Various similar shapes and one or more blades may be used with
substantially the same result.
The construction shown in Fig. 5 and the previous figures of the drawings,
represent the blades made of similar shapes, except that they are reversed, or, in
other words, one is convex and the other is concave in shape, each commencing

page_text: at one end E in a nearly vertical line and flaring outward towards their other
ends E, as is fully shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings.
In Fig. 7 I have shown the construction adopted in my former patented invention
previously referred to which shows the flaring blade E as occupying about three-
fourths, and the converging blade E' the remaining fourth of the circumference of
the plate or disk which supports the same, the ends of the blade E being made
nearly vertical, and narrow next to the blade E', and widening and flaring outward
to the centre opposite from said blade E¹.
Substantially the same result is produced by both shapes of distributing blades,
and I therefore reserve the right to use either, or any other shapes suitable for the
purpose.
In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown a side view and plan respectively, of a distributor
made with one blade, while in Fig. 10 a plan of a distributor with four blades is
shown. By either construction the coal may be evenly distributed over the whole
surface of the fire, in substantially the same way. The only difference between
one distributor and another of different shape or number of blades being in the line
of discharge therefrom, either in one or more continuous, spiral lines substantially
as shown by the line I in Fig. 6, or in irregular or broken lines as would
necessarily be the case by the use of several irregularly arranged slanted blades,
as is shown in Fig. 10.
The distribution over the surface would be as uniform by one method as by
another.
By the use of a single blade such as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 it is necessary, in
order to cover the whole surface of the fire, to make the distributor and disk d¹
nearly as large as the diameter of the combustion chamber, on account of the shape
of the blade which commences in a vertical line at a given point, and slants
gradually inward to the widest point in plan view, next to said vertical point, as is
shown in Fig. 9.
For producers of small size a single blade might be used advantageously, but for
the larger sizes, two or more blades, flaring both outward and inward, and thus
admitting of the distributor being made of smaller diameter, are preferable.
The amount of coal discharged from the receptacle is regulated by changing the
speed of the disk d' or by raising or lowering said disk to decrease or increase
the space between the top thereof and the bottom of said coal receptacle, which is
done by raising or lowering the rode that supports the same, in like manner to
raising and lowering other hydraulic piston rods, and thus requires no special
description.
In thus regulating the distance for the feed, the collar con rod c is first loosened
by unscrewing its set-screw c and the rod raised or lowered as required, and then
said set-screw is turned up again to hold the parts in their newly adjusted positions.
The mechanism for driving the gears F, H, may be arranged and constructed in
various ways, and I therefore do not limit myself to any special construction.
The driving mechanism shown in the drawings is constructed and arranged
as follows:-
Upon horizontal drive-shafts hi fitted to turn in suitable bearings in frame G,
are secured worm-wheels j (only one of which is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings,
the other coming directly under the same,) which engage with gears F, H. A
cone-pulley k is also secured on the outer end of the horizontal shaft i which is
connected by a suitable belt with a similar cone-pulley k', on horizontal shaft m
which is fitted to turn in suitable bearings in frame G, and is operated by the
pulley n on its outer end.
The shaft is driven in a similar manner to shaft i except that the gears o, p are
interposed between said shaft and the cone-pulleys kk, the larger of the two
gears o being secured to shaft h, and the other p (which meshes with gear o) to one
end of the shaft q upon which is mounted pulley, the drive-pulley r corre-
sponding to pulley n, being secured to the outer end of said shaft ³.

page_text: Fulleys n may be turned by any suitable driving mechanism connected
therewith.
In practice the mechanism for turning the rod c and sleeve d is constructed and
arranged, and the various parts so timed in relation to one another, as to operate the
disk d (which regulates the quantity of coal discharged) with a continuous, rotary
movement, at such a velocity as may be required to keep the coal in motion, and
properly discharge it onto the distributing blades; and to operate said blades
also continuously at the proper speed to distribute the coal evenly and continuously
over the whole surface as previously described.
As is well known gas producers charged by hand require fresh coal to be
supplied at very short intervals,--whereas, by the application of my invention, the
coal being continuously fed from a large receptacle which may be large enough to
contain a carload of coal, requires to be filled only at long intervals. It is,
therefore, obvious that a large saving in labor as well as fuel is effected, and being
charged at long intervals less opportunity is afforded for the escape of gas,-thus
rendering the attendance upon the producer not only more comfortable, but much
less injurious to the workmen.
By the use of my invention larger producers may be employed than when
charged by hand, as the coal may be distributed equally as well over either a large
or a small surface.
It is also obvious that although the distributor is designed more especially for
feeding the coal to gas producers, it may be used with equally as good results for
feeding coal, ore or other substances required to be evenly distributed in furnaces,
fire-grates and similar places.
The main or essential feature of my invention consists in combining a continuously
rotating distributor run at a given speed, with a horizontal disk arranged between
said distributor and the outlet of the coal receptacle or hopper, run at an
independent speed from the distributor. Although prefer to combine mechanism
with the distributor shaft for elevating and lowering the same, as described, it not
being an essential feature to the carrying out of my invention, I reserve the right
to employ the same or not, as desired. If not used, the rotating disk would
preferably be provided with suitable mechanism for elevating and lowering the
same, similar to that herein shown and described for elevating and lowering said
distributor. As said modified construction will be readily understood from the
above description, it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the same.
I have specified the distributor and disk as being driven continuously, but I do
not limit myself thereto.
I am aware that it is not broadly new to distribute or spread the coal in a
furnace by means of mechanical appliances, and I therefore limit my invention to
substantially the construction herein set forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A gas producer or similar apparatus, in combination with an automatic
distributing device, comprising the following elements, to wit:-A receptacle or
hopper, arranged over the producer, and having suitable supply and discharge
openings; a rotating distributor arranged in the combustion chamber; means for
turning and elevating and lowering said distributor; a horizontal, rotating disk
arranged and supported between the receptacle or hopper and distributor, and
means for rotating said disk independent of the distributor, substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
2. In a feed-device for gas producers, and similar apparatuses, a rotating
distributor arranged below the level of the outlet of the receptacle, and above the
level of the bed upon which the deposit is made; said receptacle and means for
rotating said distributor, in combination with a horizontal, rotating disk arranged

page_text: between the outlet of the receptacle and the distributor, and means for rotating
said disk independent of said distributor, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
3. The combination with a gas producer or similar apparatus, of a distributing
device consisting of a receptacle or hopper secured in position over said producer,
and having suitable supply and discharge openings; the distributing blades secured
to the lower end of a vertical shaft in the combustion chamber, said shaft and means
for rotating, elevating and lowering the same; a horizontal disk arranged between
said distributing blades and the outlet of the receptacle or hopper and secured to
the lower end of a sleeve, and said sleeve fitted over the shaft and having means for
rotating the same independent of the shaft, substantially as set forth.
Dated thin both 1...
CM 100°
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, Agent for Applicant.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, Agent for Applicant.