Improvements in and in Apparatus for impregnating or Onarging Air with the Vapour of a Hydrocarbon or Hydrocarbons for Illuminating, for Actuating Motive-power-engines, and for Heating and certain other Purposes.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 9th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 12th July, 1887.
Improvements in and in Apparatus for impregnating or Onarging
Air with the Vapour of a Hydrocarbon or Hydrocarbons for
Illuminating, for Actuating Motive-power-engines, and for
Heating and certain other Purposes.
I JOHN FREDERIC SCHNELL of 69 William Street, Ardwick in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to impregnating or charging air with the vapour of a hydro-
carbon or hydrocarbons for illuminating for actuating motive-power-engines and for
heating and certain other purposes and consists in arrangements and materials by the
employment of which I am enabled to produce a mixture of air and the vapour of a
hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons which is better adapted for illuminating and certain
other purposes than any hitherto in use.
In carrying my invention into effect I employ a vessel or chamber the interior of
which is divided into compartments by partitions. The said compartments are
connected with each other by means of openings formed in the lower parts of the
partitions above-mentioned. I fill or partially fill the compartments before-mentioned
with sugar preferably of the kind known as "lump sugar." I provide the said vessel
or chamber with a tube or box the lower end of which tube or box is in communication
with the interior of the vessel or chamber aforesaid. I also provide the tube or box
before-mentioned with an opening which I close in any convenient manner. I charge
the tube or box above-mentioned with cotton or other suitable fibrous material. 1 fill
or partially fill the vessel or chamber above-mentioned by means of the opening
above referred to with benzoline which benzoline in passing through the cotton or
other fibrous material contained in the tube or box aforesaid into the interior of the
said vessel or chamber, becomes filtered. In some cases I add common salt or

page_text: saltpetre to the benzoline supplied to or contained within the vessel or chamber
above-mentioned which common salt or saltpetre renders the benzoline less liable to
accidental explosion. The air to be charged with the vapour of benzoline is forced
by any convenient means through a pipe or pipes leading into the interior of the
vessel or chamber above-mentioned. The air aforesaid passes through openings
formed through the partitions before referred to and through the interstices of the
sugar before-mentioned above the surface of the benzoline contained in the vessel or
chamber aforesaid and becomes impregnated or charged with the vapour of benzoline
and is then conducted by means of a tube or pipe from the interior of the vessel or
chamber above-mentioned to the interior of a chamber in which are suspended by
means of cross-bars or other convenient means, cotton lamp-wicks or threads of
cotton or other suitable material. The air charged with the vapour of the benzoline
passes through the interstices of the cotton lamp-wick or threads of cotton or other
fibrous material above-mentioned and escapes from the interior of the chamber afore-
said by means of a pipe or tube secured to the said chamber and is conveyed by pipes
to be used for illuminating for actuating motive-power-engines or for heating or for
other purposes for which it may be suited or may be conducted to a gas-holder and
stored for subsequent use.
Dal 11 1
1000
W. T. CHEETHAM,
Carlton Chambers,
18, St. Ann's Street, Manchester,
Agent to the Applicant.
Improvements in and in Apparatus for Impregnating or Charging
Air with the Vapour of a Hydrocarbon or Hydrocarbons for
Illuminating, for Actuating Motive-power-engines, and for
Heating and certain other Purposes.
I JOHN FREDERIC SCHNELL of 69 William Street Ardwick in the County of
Lancaster Mechanic 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:-
My invention relates to impregnating or charging air with the vapour of a hydro-
carbon or hydrocarbons for illuminating for actuating motive-power-engines and for
heating and certain other purposes and consists in arrangements and materials by the

page_text: employment of which I am enabled to produce a mixture of air and the vapour of a
hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons which is better adapted for illuminating and certain
other purposes than any hitherto in use.
In carrying my invention into effect I employ a vessel or chamber the interior of
which is divided into compartments by partitions.
In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a plan and Fig. 2 an end view of the
apparatus which I employ in carrying my invention into effect. Fig. 3 is a vertical
longitudinal section taken on the line A B of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is a vertical section
taken on the line C D of Fig. 1.
a is a vessel or chamber divided into compartments bcdefghj k l m n o p q r s t by
means of partitions u and v. The said compartments are connected at their lower
parts by openings w. Through the partitions u I form openings .. y is a pipe by
means of which the interior of the compartment & communicates with the interior of
the compartment . Through the partitions u I form openings z.
I fill or partially fill the compartments cegj with cotton and sugar preferably of
the kind known as "lump sugar" and I fill the compartments bdfhk with cotton.
The compartments lmnopqrst I fill with sponge. I provide the vessel or chamber a
with a tube or box 1 the lower end of which communicates with the interior of the
vessel or chamber a. The upper end of the tube or box 1 is closed by a cap 2 or
other suitable appliance. I charge the tube or box 1 with cotton or other suitable
fibrous material.
After removing the cap 2 I by means of the box or tube 1 partially fill the vessel
or chamber a with benzoline which benzoline in passing through the cotton or other
fibrous material contained in the tube or box 1 into the interior of the said chamber a
becomes filtered. I fill the vessel or chamber a with benzoline up to about the level
indicated by the line E F.
In some cases I add common salt or "saltpetre" to the benzoline supplied to or
contained within the vessel or chamber a which common salt or "saltpetre" renders
the benzoline less liable to accidental explosion.
The air to be charged with the vapour of benzoline is forced by any convenient
means through the pipe 3 leading into the interior of the vessel or chamber a. The
air aforesaid passes through the openings formed in the partitions u and through
the interstices of the cotton and sugar and cotton contained in the compart-
ments bcdefghjk above the surface of the benzoline contained in the vessel or
chamber a. The air then passes from the compartment k by means of the pipe y to
the compartment and by means of the openings z passes through the interstices of
the sponge contained in the compartments lmnopqrst above the surface of the
benzoline contained in the vessel or chamber a the air from the compartment t is
conducted by means of the pipe 4 to the apparatus to be next described which is
shown by Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing hereunto annexed. Fig. 5 being a vertical
longitudinal section and Fig. 6 a vertical cross section of the said apparatus.
5 is a chamber, extending across which chamber 5 are a number of cross-bars 6.
Supported by the cross-bars 6 are a number of cotton lamp-wicks or threads of cotton
or other suitable fibrous material 7.
The air charged with the vapour of benzoline from the pipe 4. is conducted to the
pipe & and passes through the interstices of the cotton lamp-wicks or threads of
cotton or other suitable fibrous material 7. The cotton lamp wicks or threads of
cotton or other suitable fibrous material 7 tend to prevent particles of benzoline
carried in suspension by the air charged with the vapour of benzoline from passing
through the chamber 5. The air charged with the vapour escapes from the interior
of the vessel or chamber 5 by means of the pipe 9 and may be conveyed by means of
a pipe or pipes to be used for illuminating, for actuating motive-power-engines or for
heating or for other purposes for which it may be suited or may be conducted to a
gas-holder and stored for subsequent use. The chamber 5 is provided with a tap or
cock 10 by means of which any liquid which may fall from the cotton lamp-wicks or
threads of cotton or other suitable fibrous material may be removed from the chamber 5
as may be required.

page_text: An apparatus of the size shown in the drawing hereunto annexed is capable of
impregnating or charging with the vapour of a hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons thirty
cubic feet of air per hour for illuminating, for actuating motive-power-engines or for
heating and certain other purposes.
I would have it understood that the apparatus employed in carrying my invention
into effect may be made of any required size and that the number, form size and
arrangement of the compartments into which such apparatus is divided may be varied
as may be required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is:
1. The hereinbefore described apparatus consisting in a vessel or chamber such as a
the interior of which is divided by means of partitions such as u and v into compart-
ments connected at their lower parts by openings w of which compartments some are
filled wholly or partially with cotton and sugar, others with cotton and others with
sponge and which vessel or chamber a is provided with a box or tube such as / closed
by a cap 2 or other suitable appliance and charged with cotton or other fibrous
material and which apparatus is constructed arranged and employed for the purpose
and substantially in the manner hereinbefore described in reference to and indicated
in and by the drawing hereunto annexed.
2. The hereinbefore described apparatus consisting in a chamber such as 5 provided
with cross-bars such as 6 which support cotton lamp-wicks or threads of cotton or
other suitable fibrous material 7 which apparatus is constructed arranged and employed
for the purpose and substantially in the manner hereinbefore described in reference
to and indicated in and by the drawing hereunto annexed.
3. In an apparatus for impregnating or charging air with the vapour of a hydro-
carbon or hydrocarbons for the purpose above described the employment of sugar
substantially in the manner hereinbefore described in reference to and indicated in
and by the drawing hereunto annexed.
4. Impregnating or charging air with the vapour of benzoline for the purpose and
substantially in the manner hereinbefore described in reference to and indicated in
and by the drawing hereunto annexed.
Dated this Eighth day of June 1887