IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING HEAT ORTAINED BY THE COMBRENTON THEBUSTION
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Planck, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Dentist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REGULATING HEAT ORTAINED BY THE COMBRENTON AD
Sealed the 15th June 1866, and dated the 18th December 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Planck at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
December 1865.
I, HENRY PLANCK, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING HEAT OBTAINED BY THE COMBUSTION OF
GAS," to be as follows:→
To a vessel or chamber, the temperature of which has to be regulated, I
fix a vessel containing mercury, to which vessel is attached a tube formed
conical at the top, into which cone is fitted a plug having its lower part
formed as a diaphragm. To the upper part of the tube gas pipes are attached
at both sides, the passages of the pipes corresponding with the upper part of
the diaphragm. On the application of heat the mercury in the vessel expands
and rises in the tube until it comes in contact with the lower edge of the
diaphragm, and shuts off the supply of gas, except that which passes through

page_text: an aperture in the-top of the diaphragm provided for the purpose of avoiding
the total stoppage of the gas. As the heat is shut off the mercury commences
to contract, and descends below the bottom of the diaphragm, thereby forming
an opening for the passage of the gas, the size of this opening being determined
by the temperature of the mercury and vessel in which the regulator is placed.
The delicacy with which the instrument acts depends upon the proportion
between the capacity of the vessel containing the mercury and the diameter
of the tube in which it rises and falls, and the addition or subtraction of
mercury causes a corresponding increase or decrease in the temperature at
which the regulator acts; or by means of a plug attached to a screw the
position of the mercury in the tubé may be regulated, and the same result
obtained as by the increase or decrease of mercury. By means of this
instrument any temperature below the boiling point of mercury can be
maintained with accuracy, and the instrument can be used for any purpose
where a fixed temperature is required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Planck in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
PLANCK, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Dentist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 18th day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Henry Planck, Her special license that I, the said Henry
Planck, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the.
said Henry Planck, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at, any.
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING HEAT OBTAINED BY THE COMBUSTION OF GAS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Planck, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the

page_text: nature. of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Henry Planck, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):
==
My. Invention consists of an improved self-acting apparatus for regulating
the heat obtained by the combustion of gas by the expansion and contraction
of mercury at different temperatures.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, on which are shewn three apparatus for regulating heat suitable
for different purposes; but I wish it to be distinctly understood that the form
and details of the apparatus may be greatly varied without departing from
the peculiar character. of my Invention.
Figure 1 is a vertical section, and Figure 2 a plan, of an apparatus.
particularly suitable for regulating heat in vulcanizing india-rubber for
dentists' use.
:
a is a vessel containing mercury, to this vessel is screwed the tube b, in
which is a conical-hole; the conical plug c fits in this hole, and the lower
part of the plug is formed as a diaphragm, marked c¹; a small aperture is.
made. at c through the upper part of the diaphragm. To the upper part of
the tube b are fixed the pipes d and e; these pipes are placed at about the
same level as the upper part of the diaphragm c. The vessel a must be filled
with mercury until the top of the mercury nearly touches the bottom of the
diaphragm. When heat is applied to the mercury from the, gas furnace or
other source of heat produced by the combustion of gas which is in com-
munication with the pipe d, the mercury expands and rises in the tube b
until it comes.in contact with the lower edge of the diaphragm, thereby.
shutting off the supply of gas that before had made its escape into the pipe
after passing down one side of the diaphragm, then between the under side.
of the diaphragm and the surface of the mercury, and then up the other side of
the diaphragm. When the mercury touches the lower edge of the diaphragm
the
gas is compelled to pass through the small aperture c³ above referred to;
this aperture prevents the total stoppage of the gas from the pipe d to the
pipe e, which latter is in communication with a burner for heating the
vulcanizing boiler containing the vessel a. The accuracy with which this

page_text: instrument, acts depends upon the proportion between the capacity. of .the.
vessel a and the diameter of the tube b at the bottom of the diaphragm. c';
and the addition or subtraction of mercury causes a corresponding increase: or.
decrease in the temperature at which the regulator acts. In .proportion to
the heat that is shut off the mercury contracts, and as soon as it uncovers the
bottom of the diaphragm an opening is again formed for the passage of
the gas:
Figures 3 and 4 represent in section and plan an apparatus particularly.
suitable for regulating heat in greenhouses, and for other purposes where the
temperature requires to be frequently or occasionally varied. The parts
marked a, b, c, c, c, d, and e are similar to those above described, but the
vessel a is larger than that shewn in Figures 1 and 2, and to it is screwed
the tube f, in which fits the plug j, the upper end of which is screwed into
the upper part of the tube f. The level of the mercury. in this apparatus is
regulated by turning the plug j round in the tube f; the top of which is
divided into eight or other convenient number of lines. for assisting the
accurate moving of the screw. It is evident that by turning the screw round
to force the plug into the mercury a portion thereof is displaced, and the level
thereof in the tube b is raised, and that the contrary action takes place when
the plug is partially withdrawn.
Figure 5 represents a modification in the construction of my improved
apparatus; in this, view the plug c is cylindrical instead of conical, as shown.
in Figures 1 and 8, and the vertical position of the plug, and consequently
the level of the bottom, of the diaphragm c¹ can be adjusted by means of the
screw c³ and the wing nut c. By this means the adjustable. plug j, shown in
Figures 3 and 4, is dispensed with, and the bottom of the diaphragm is
brought closer to or raised further from the level of the mercury in the
vessel a according to the temperature required. The plug c and the inside, of
the tube may also be square or polygonal instead of conical or cylindrical.
By means of this apparatus, or any similar apparatus in which the passage of
the heated gas is governed by the expansion and contraction of mercury, any
temperature below the boiling point of mercury can be maintained with
accuracy, and the apparatus can be used for any purpose where such an
uniform temperature is or may be required.
b
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described several
convenient modes of carrying the same into practical operation, I wish to
remark that I do not limit myself to the details given, so long as the peculiar
character of the apparatus is retained, and I declare that I claim the self-
acting apparatus described, or any equivalent arrangement of parts, in which

page_text: a diaphragm is employed for regulating heat by the expansion and contraction
of mercury.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Planck, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
HENRY PLANCK. (L.S.)