Improvements in Apparatus for Vapourizing and Burning Liquid Hydrocarbons for Heating, Cooking, or Illuminating Purposes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Vapourizing and Burning Liquid
Hydrocarbons for Heating, Cooking, or Illuminating Purposes.
I, FREDERICK RIPLEY BLOUNT, of 32, Broadway, New York, in the County and
State of New York, United States of America, 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:-
This invention relates to an apparatus for vapourizing and burning liquid
hydrocarbons for heating, cooking or illuminating purposes in which, with an
economical utilization of the combustible, a gas so rich in hydrocarbon is obtained
that the apparatus is also very suitably applicable for incandescent gas lighting.
The vapourizing of the hydrocarbon takes place with a closed vapourizing
chamber by means of a suitably shaped wick burner in such a way that the
admission of air which takes place from below to the vapourizing flame is capable
of being regulated and only a small portion of the liquid hydrocarbon drawn
up by the wick is brought into combustion. The major part of the hydrocarbon
is however only vapourized and after it has been thoroughly mixed with previously
heated air passes in a very heated condition out of the vapourizer as a hot mixture
of gas and air to the heating or illuminating burner located over the vapourizer
where it is brought to combustion, developing a great heat with a blue flame.
Numerous experiments have shown that, for the vapourizing of the hydrocarbon
in the manner hereinbefore described under similar circumstances, a considerably
higher quantity of gas of an equally higher carbon contents is obtained than in
the ordinary vapourizer hitherto employed for similar purposes where the
evaporator flame is choked from above.
An improved apparatus for incandescent gas lighting purposes is shown as
an example in the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 being a vertical elevation;
Figure 2 a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the mixing chamber
with a handle for lifting the same;
Figures 3-5 show various methods of arranging the wick with or without an
air supply pipe for the mixing of the gases
Figure 6 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale of the upper part of a
vapourizer arranged for two annular wicks, an extinguishing cap being provided
for the inner annular wick which is shown in perspective in Figure 7;
Figure 8 is an elevation of a second burner serving for heating or illuminating
purposes;
Figures 9 and 11 are vertical sections of the apparatus, whilst
Figure 10 is a horizontal section on the line 10-10 of Figure 9;
Figure 12 is a vertical section of another form of construction of the apparatus
shown in Figures 1-11;
Figure 13 is a sectional elevation of the illuminating burner of the apparatus
shown in Figure 12 but on an enlarged scale, whilst
Figures 14-18 show various forms of the device for choking the admission of
air to the vapourizing flame serving for the vapourizer,

page_text: The liquid hydrocarbon (petroleum or the like) contained in the combustible
chamber A of the apparatus shown in Figures 1-11 is conveyed to the vapourizing
chamber B by means of a wick a capable of being adjusted by means of a bent
rod a¹ and a set screw shown in Figure 9 arranged outside the container A.
This wick a may, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, be annular in form in order to
afford room for a central air supply pipe a². It may however, as shown for instance
in Figure 3, be made solid. The wick may also be made in two parts either as
shown in Figure 4 of a solid wick at and an annular one a, or as shown in
Figure 5 of two annular wicks a a'. If only one wick be employed, as shown for
instance in Figures 9 and 3, the combustion of the hydrocarbon sucked up takes
place only on the outer edge of the wick facing the inflowing combustion air,
whilst the hydrocarbon rising on the inner edge of the wick is vapourized. If
however two wicks a a' as shown in Figures 4 and 5 be employed, the flame of
the outer wick a vapourizes the hydrocarbon drawn up by the inner wick a*.
In both cases however an incomplete combustion takes place at the vapourizer
which is more or less complete according to the greater or lesser obstruction or
shutting-off of the lower air supply to the vapourizing chamber. For this object
the bottom 6 of the vapourizer chamber B, Figure 9, is provided with holes
which correspond with holes in the wick slide 6 operated by a handle b¹.
When the apparatus is set in action, the air first passes freely into the vapouriz-
ing chamber B, in the wall of which larger openings 66 for the insertion of a
match or the like are provided. After the vapourizing flame has burned for a
suitable time, the air supply to the vapourizing chamber is suitably checked, the
air supply to the vapourizing chamber being diminished by turning the slide b
to the desired extent,
The heated gas rising from the vapourizer around and through the perforated
pipe into the chamber 5 is mixed with the air entering through holes in the
casing c. The admission of air through the casing c may be suitably regulated
by an annular slide c² provided with handles c³. The mixture of gas and air rising
in the mixing tube d'is again mixed with the air rising through the air mixing
pipe a² at the end of the same by means of a perforated cap a³, Figure 9, and passes
out of the mixing chamber d, Figure 11 to the illuminating burner e.
It is to be noted that the air rising through the casing c and also through the
pipe a passes over the vapourizing chamber B and is there highly heated pre-
liminarily, so that the gas rising from the vapourizer is not much cooled and the
mixture of gas and air coming into combustion in the burner e arrives there at a
high temperature which considerably assists the heating action. If the apparatus
is to be used for lighting purposes an incandescent mantle f is suspended as shown
in Figure 1 over the burner e surrounded by a glass cylinder e¹.
The handling of the apparatus is as follows:-
The slide 6 Figure 9 is first brought into a suitable position so that its holes
correspond with the holes in the floor b of the vapourizing chamber B in order that
the air may have free access to the latter. After the casing c has been raised the
vapourizing flame is ignited by means of any suitable lighting device inserted
through one of the openings 66 after which the casing c is again lowered. The
slide 6 is then turned so far that the openings provided in the bottom 6 of the
vapourizer B are closed entirely or partially according to whether a strong or
weak vapourizing is intended to take place. The mixture of gas and air produced
is ignited in the ordinary manner at the burner e.
In order to prevent the outer casing D, Figure 2, being heated by the gases
arising from the vapourizer B, if desired, the said casing is provided with a
handle D formed of wire spirally wound, which, as it is surrounded on all sides
by the outside air, always remains sufficiently cool.
In order further to prevent as far as possible any cooling of the gas rising inside
the casing D, it is made with double walls in such a way that an insulating layer
of air is contained between the two walls.
In the modification shown in Figures 12-18 the hydrocarbon container A and

page_text: also the vapourizer is surrounded by a closed casing 6, the bottom of which is
provided with holes 7 for admitting air, which holes can be closed more or less
according to requirements by a slide 8 provided with corresponding holes 8* and
a knob or handle 8b. The admission of air to the vapourizer may be reduced by
means of a perforated cap 5, which may have one of the forms shown in
Figures 14-18.
The cap 5, Figure 14 consists of a perforated part 5b cylindrical below and
tapering above with a part 5d mounted thereon of semi-spherical form which is
also perforated, between which a contracted and perforated intermediate bottom
or partition 5° is arranged.
Figure 15 shows a perforated cylindrical cap having a perforated bottom 3
and a perforated cone casing cover 5°.
The perforated cap 5 Figure 16 is cylindrical in the lower part 5* but extends
above in the form of a cone and is closed by an unperforated cover 5°°.
The cylindrical cap 5 of Figure 17 has a perforated cover 500
The cap shown in Figure 18 which has a cylindrical projection below and widens
above is closed at the top by a solid cover 500 as shown in Figure 16 from which a
small pipe 5 projects into the interior of the cap 5.
All the vapourizing caps 5 shown in Figures 14-18 are provided with a
cylindrical projection 5 by means of which it can be placed on a wick tube 2.
Cap 5, Figure 12, thus acts as a damper as already mentioned to the vapourizing
flame, so that in a similar manner to what was the case in the apparatus shown in
Figures 1-11 no complete combustion of the hydrocarbon rising in the wick takes
place but still a gas rich in hydrocarbon is produced which rises through
chamber 6 and pipe 11 into a second chamber 10. In this course the gas is mixed
with the air rising through the bottom 7 of the casing 6. A thorough mixture
gas and air is also obtained by means of the mixing bell 10 inserted beneath
the burner head 10, Figure 13.
of
The mixture of gas and air is ignited above the sieve shaped burner cover 10"
and may then either be employed for lighting purposes as shown in Figure 12 by
heating an incandescent mantle 12, or if desired for heating purposes.
Air reaches the outer part of the incandescent mantle 12 through a sieve shaped
cap 13 arranged beneath the burner gallery, Figure 12.
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 hydrocarbon vapourizing apparatus for heating, cooking or illuminating
purposes such for instance as incandescent gas lighting, characterised by the hydro-
carbon drawn up from a hydrocarbon reservoir by means of a solid or annular
wick (a and a respectively) or a suitable combination of wicks, being vapourized
to a gas rich in hydrocarbon by the air inlet of the vapourizing chamber (B),
after the lighting of the vapourizing burner, being more or less choked or reduced
in such a way that as small a vapourizing flame is formed as possible and the
strongly heated gas after admixture with the also strongly heated air is conveyed
to the second heating or lighting burner with the object of obtaining a greater
utilization of the combustible substantially as herein before set forth.
2. In the vapourizing apparatus hereinbefore described, the device for checking
the admission of air to the vapourizing flame in the chamber (B) by means of a
revoluble slide (6) arranged under the bottom (b) of the said chamber, whereby on
the flame being lighted through holes provided in the wall of the vapourizing
chamber (B), the holes in said slide coincide with those in the bottom (b) but after
the lighting of the said flame has been effected, such holes are more or less closed
by turning the slide (6) substantially as described.
3. In the vapourizing apparatus hereinbefore described in Claims 1 and 2, the
arrangement of air openings in the casing (c) of the cylinder (C) surrounding the

page_text: vapourizing chamber (B) with a slide (c²) for adjusting the openings in such a
way that the air entering through the holes and received around the vapourizing
chamber (B) passes through openings in the upper part of the latter into the
same and into the perforated cylinder (c) of the vapourizer, that is to say into the
vapourizing chamber and is strongly heated, mixes there with the strongly heated
gas and is conveyed in a pipe (D) provided beneath with double walls to the heating
or illuminating burner (e) substantially as described.
4. In the vapourizing apparatus herein before described, the arrangement of an
air supply pipe (2) passing through the hydrocarbon container in which pipe the
air for mixing rises, is highly heated in the vapourizing chamber and escapes
above through a perforated cap (a³) and again is thoroughly mixed with the
mixture of gas and air rising through a pipe (d) before said mixture comes into
combustion in the heating or lighting burner (e) substantially as described.
5. A form of construction of the vapourizing apparatus herein before described
in which the air admission to the vapourizing chamber takes place through a
cap (5) fitted over the burner pipe, said cap being off suitable cylindrical, funnel
shaped or the like form and the combustible container (A) together with the
burner pipe (2) and the cap (5) lies in a separately closed casing (6), the bottom (7)
of which is provided with air inlet openings (7) which may be more or less or
entirely closed by means of a revoluble slide (8) provided with symmetrical
openings (8), the mixture of gas and air being conveyed through a tapering
pipe (1) located on the said casing (6) on which pipe a heating or lighting
burner (10) widened above is fitted and the mixture of gas and air being set in
rotation beneath the burner sieve or strainer (10) by means of a mixing bell (10b)
before it comes into combustion, substantially as described.
T L 1
11000
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of C, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.