Improvements in Apparatus for Generating Acetylene.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1898-Accepted, 1st Oct., 1898-
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Generating Acetylene.
I, CARL BOLLE, of 57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, which has
been communicated to me by Paul Dreske, of Admiralstrasse, 28, Berlin, in the
German Empire, Merchant, 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 that class of apparatus for generating acetylene in
which the calcic carbide is dropped into the water and consists in improvements
for effecting the supply of carbide to the water by means of an independent con-
tinuously rotating motor and starting, stopping and regulating the motor by
means of the rising and sinking of a gas holder bell in such a manner that nu
more gas is generated than required or consumed, instead of effecting and regulat-
ing the supply of carbide directly by the motion of the gas holder bell, and in
improvements in the carbide supplying mechanism.
While in apparatus for generating acetylene in which the water is supplied to
the carbide the generation continues after the water supply is stopped and easily
causes explosions, in generating apparatus in which the carbide is dropped into
water, the manner of supplying the carbide hitherto used also has defects, con-
sisting mainly in the circumstance that such apparatus is started by hand and in
doing so an excessive generation of gas is easily produced, which also may be
dangerous. To this must be added the defect that after prolonged use the fric-
tional resistances of some of the moving parts are increased, and as the action of
the gasholder bell is regulated to overcome certain resistances only their increase.
interferes with the automatic action of the regulating devices or stops them, so
that the apparatus does act badly or not at all.
These defects and drawbacks of the known apparatus of this class are removed
by not effecting the regulation of the supply of the carbide directly by the motion
of the gas holder but indirectly by the regulation of a separate motive power
independent of the gas generation, and stopping the action of the same
porarily when the consumption of gas is stopped.
tem-
On the drawing appended hereunto the improved apparatus for generating
acetylene is represented in vertical section.
The calcic carbide suitably crushed or granulated is filled into a conical
hopper A through the opened charging orifice a. The bottom of the hopper is
closed by a perforated disc B, which supports most of the weight of the carbide
and is fixed to a vertical shaft b passing through the cover of the hopper and
rotated from a laterally arranged shaft C through the bevel wheels and c. As
the disc is revolved, the carbide resting on it drops through the perforations onto
TD 017

page_text: a worm conveyor D enclosed in the closed trough E, the shaft d of which con-
veyor is rotated as hereinafter described from a shaft, f which is driven in any
suitable way from a motor of any kind, the motor not being represented on the
drawing. The shaft C is rotated from the shaft f by the belt pulleys h¹ and h
and a belt, or in any other convenient manner.
As the conveyor is rotated, the carbide dropping into the casing E through
the revolving disc B from the hopper A, is forwarded by the conveyor I) to an
opening e arranged in the wall of the casing, and falls on the roof shaped dis-
tributor i, off which it slides into the water contained in the generating vessel I
and is immediately decomposed. The acetylene produced flows through the pipe k
into the gas holder L in the tank K, which gas holder is balanced in the usual
way so that the gas is pressed through the pipe m into the purifier M and passes
from this into the distributing pipes under the pressure required for the gas lights.
As the number of the gas burners in use, varies, the quantity of carbide delivered
into the water by the mechanically operated conveyor or its equivalent in each
unit of time must be varied, or the supply of carbide interrupted at times, which
may be done in various ways. The arrangement preferred by me at present is
shown on the drawing: The shaft f is rotated, as described herein before from a
motor of any kind, at a constant speed, for instance by a belt, and pulley f', and
has a friction face plate w fixed upon its outer end, which is in contact with the fric-
tion pulley keyed upon the vertical shaft B. This shaft is guided in suitable
bearings, and passes through the bevel wheel so that it can slide up and
down through it while driving it by a sliding key or its equivalent; the bevel
wheel being held by cpllars in its position in the bearing u³ in which it can
revolve, and driving the bevel wheel u on the end of the worm shaft. The upper
end of the shaft is connected by a bow to the slotted fork of a lever the other
end of which is connected to the gas holder L.
.
In the position of the gas holder L shown, on the drawing, all the gas burners
are supposed to be lit, and the worm D rotated at such a speed that it delivers
the quantity of calcic carbide required for generating the volume of gas consumed.
When a burner or several of them is or are closed, so that more gas is produced
than is consumed, the gas bell L and the end of the lever R connected to it rise,
in consequence the other limb of the lever connected to the shaft s(pushes the
latter downwards. As the shaft slides in the bevel wheel the driving of the
latter by the shaft is not interrupted thereby, but the friction pulley is brought
nearer to the centre of the face plate w, so that the speed of the shaft s, bevel
wheels and u and worm D is reduced. The quantity of carbide delivered into
the water in the unit of time is reduced thereby, in consequence the gas holder
will remain in that position in which the rotary speed of the conveyor' D) and the
quantity of carbide delivered into the water exactly corresponds to the consump-
tion of the gas. If further gas lights are extinguished, the quantity of carbide
supplied will again be too great and the gas Bell L will rise again, whereby
the friction pulley is further shifted towards the centre of the face plate w and
the speed of the conveyor further reduced. In this manner the speed of the
conveyor will always be so regulated that the quantity of carbide delivered
exactly corresponds to the gas consumption.
When all the burner cocks are closed, the gasholder L will rise to the position
shewn in dotted lines. The shaft s in that case is lowered so far, that the friction
pulley is opposite the recessed central part of the faceplate and no longer
in contact. with this plate: the shafts and the conveyor D in that case remaining
stationary and the generation of gas being stopped. On opening a burner cock
or several of them the gasholder will descend again and bring the pulley into
frictional contact with the plate, and regulate the supply of carbide corre-
spondingly to the consumption of gas. The motion of the conveyor is thus only
interrupted, while no gas is consumed, and is retarded or accelerated according
as the consumption decreases or increases, the motor driving the shaft if at a
uniform speed all the time.

page_text: In some cases instead of using a friction disc and pulley to vary the speed of
the conveyor and thus regulate the supply according to the consumption, the
conveyor D and dise B may be driven by bevel or spur gearing or by belts from
a countershaft f rotated from an independent motor and the rotation of the
countershaft stopped and re-started by the rising and sinking of the gasholder
in order to regulate the production of gas intermittently according to the con-
sumption. This may be done in various ways, but preferably I arrange a fast and
loose pulley on the countershaft driving the apparatus, which pulleys are driven
by a belt from the motor shaft, and provide a strap fork and shifting bar
operated by a tumbler lever or its equivalent similarly as used in planing machines
and other machine tools, which tumbler lever is moved by means of a rod attached
to an arm on the gasholder or to a lever operated by the same, similarly to the
sliding shaft s. The rod has suitable stops fixed on it which when the gas-
holder rises turn the tumbler lever over its dead centre and cause it to fall over
and shift the strap from the fast to the loose pulley, whereby the rotation of the
conveyor D and the further supply of carbide and generation of gas are stopped.
When gas is drawn from the gasholder for consumption, it will sink and the
rod turn the tumbler lever in the opposite direction till it passes its dead centre
and falling over shifts the strap back upon the fast pulley, when the conveyor and
disc will be rotated again and deliver a fresh quantity of carbide into the water
and continue to do so till the generation of gas exceeds the consumption and the
gasholder rises again, when the play of the parts will be repeated.
In order to equalise the gas pressure acting from below against the carbide in
the casing E and hopper A, the gas delivery pipe k is led through the upper part of
the hopper and there provided with a small opening, from which the gas can
enter the hopper as indicated by the arrows on the drawing, so that the same gas
pressure exists in the hopper as underneath it.
In some cases the arrangement of hopper with revolving perforated disc B
and conveyor D may be actuated by clockwork actuated by a spring or weight, the
action of the same being stopped by the rise of the gasholder tightening a brake
on a quickly rotating pulley driven by the clockwork or equivalent means.
arrangement would be suitable for small acetylene generating plants.
This
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In apparatus for generating acetylene by dropping calcic carbide into water.
the arrangement of carbide delivering mechanism driven from an independent
continually rotating motor in combination with mechanism operated by the rise
and fall of the gasholder and so arranged that the rotation of the carbide de-
livering mechanism is stopped and started or its speed reduced and increased by
the rise and fall of the gasholder without stopping the motor or altering its
speed, substantially as herein before described.
2. In apparatus for generating acetylene by dropping calcic carbide into water,
the arrangement of a hopper provided with a perforated disc at its bottom and of
a worm conveyor below said disc enclosed in a casing provided with an outlet
brifice, for the purpose of delivering carbide from the hopper to the generator by
the rotation of said disc and conveyor, substantially as herein before described and
illustrated by the drawing.
3. In apparatus for generating acetylene by dropping calcic carbide into water
the arrangement of driving a worm conveyor delivering the carbide from a hopper
into the generator, by means of a shaft rotated by a friction pulley from a friction
face plate driven by an independent motor in combination with mechanism
operated by the rise and fall of the gasholder for moving the friction pulley
nearer to and further from the centre of the faceplate and thereby regulating
the supply of carbide or stopping and re-starting the same according to the gas
consumption substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawing.

page_text: 4. The general arrangement or combination of the parts of an acetylene gener-
ating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
drawing.