REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO A STEAM ENGINE WHEN USED IN OPERATING MACHINERY FOR EXTRACTING INFLAMABLE GAS FROM ONE OR MORE RETORTS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION THEREOF FROM BITUMINOUS COAL OR OTHER SUCH GAS YIELDING MATTER OR MATTERS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stillman Boyd Allen, of the State of Massachusetts, of
the United States of America, for the Invention of "REGULATING THE
SUPPLY OF STEAM TO A STEAM ENGINE WHEN USED IN OPERATING
MACHINERY FOR EXTRACTING INFLAMABLE GAS FROM ONE OR
MORE
RETORTS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION THEREOF FROM BITUMINOUS COAL
OR OTHER SUCH GAS YIELDING MATTER OR MATTERS." A communication
from Reuben Kidder Huntoon, a resident of the State aforesaid.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Stillman Boyd Allen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th July 1879.
STILLMAN BOYD ALLEN, of the States of Massachusetts, of the United States of
America. "REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO A STEAM ENGINE WHEN
USED IN OPERATING MACHINERY FOR EXTRACTING INFLAMABLE GAS FROM ONE
OR MORE RETORTS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION THEREOF FROM BITUMINOUS
COAL OR OTHER SUCH GAS YIELDING MATTER OR MATTERS." (A communication
from Reuben Kidder Huntoon, of the State of Massachusetts aforesaid.)
The nature of my Invention consists as follows:-
First. In an improved gas exhaust regulator consisting of the combination of a
tank and induct extending up within it, with a gasometer, bell, and a compen-
sating counterbalance lever and its chains and weight, or series of weights, as
hereinafter described.
Second. In the combination of an adjustable wrist crank and its connection rod,
and a valve arm adjustable relatively to its valve with a gas exhaust regulator as
hereinafter explained.
Third. A gas exhaust regulator having to its tank bell a perforated bottom and a
valve or gate thereto, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. A gas exhaust regulator having induct pipes to its tank and gasometer
bell, and the latter provided with a perforated bottom.
Fifth. A gas exhaust regulator having an induct pipe to its tank and bell, and
the latter provided with a perforated bottom and with a gate thereto having
'

page_text: Sixth. The combination-of-a-gas_exhaust regulator, substantially as described,
and its adjustable wrist crank and connecting rod, and-valve-arm with the throttle
or regulating valve of a pipe-for-supplying steam to a steam engine and with the
exhaust main or pipe of one or more retorts for obtaining of gas from coal or other
matter.
My-said-Invention is represented in the accompanying Drawings, of which,―
Figure 1 is a top view.
Figure 2, a side elevation, and
Figure 3, a longitudinal and vertical section of my improved gas exhaust
regulator.
Figuro 4 is a side view, and
Figure 5, a front view of the adjustable wrist crank as applied to a journal of
the compensating counterbalance lever to be described.
Figures 6 and 7 are detail views showing the mode of applying the operative
arm of the valve to the spindle or journal of such valve.
In the said Drawings A denotes a conduit, which is to be supposed to open into
and lead from the gas exhaust pipe of one or more retorts for the distillation of
olefiant or illuminating gas from coal or other matter containing such gas. This
pipe A communicates with a stand pipe B, extending up within a tank C to con-
tain a charge of water or other proper fluid. This tank is provided with a gaso-
meter bell D, suspended by a chain m from the upper end of the arc of one of the
sectors n, o, of a duplex sectoral lever E, having a counterbalance weight or series F
of weights appended by a chain p to its sector o.
While one of the said sectors has its periphery or are formed by a radius whose
centre is at the centre of the lever the other sector should have a periphery or arc
so arranged or varied in form as to cause the weight or series of weights to counter-
balance the bell at whatever distance it may be immersed in the water of the tank.
As the bell becomes depressed in the water the down draft of the bell on the lever
becomes lessened owing to the buoyant power of the water, the weight of the
amount of water displaced by the bell being indicative of the diminution of the
said down draft of the bell, it being understood that before the tank is suitably
charged with water or the bell is arranged in its normal or mean position in the
charge, such bell is or is to be counterbalanced by the weight F. The arc of the
bell sustaining sector is to be or should be so formed or arranged as to cause the
bell as its down draft may be either diminished or increased by the increase or
decrease of immersion of the bell in the water to act with a greater or less leverage
on the counterbalance weight as may suffice to cause it to balance the bell.
Instead of so forming the bell sector of the compensating counterbalance lever it
may have an arc concentric with the centre of the lever, and the other or weight
sector may have its are so formed-or-arranged as to cause the weight to act with
more or less leverage on the bell as its extent of immersion may require for-the.bell
to be counterbalanced by the weight.
In a gas exhaust regulator provided with a tank and an inverted and counter-
balanced bell to work in a charge of water in such tank it has been found when
the mouth of the bell is entirely open that the bell under sudden variations in the
pressure of the gas is liable to move too far in the liquid, thereby causing the steam
engine to operate irregularly. The object of one part of my Invention is to obviate
this difficulty, to accomplish which I close the bell at its mouth except in having
one or more openings in the closure, and to such I apply a valve or gate to close
such opening or openings more or less as occasion may require. Thus, as shown in
Figure 3 of the Drawings, the bell is partially closed at its mouth or lower end by
a perforated disc or head a, from which there extends upwards a tube F', which
arranged concentrically with the tube B surrounds it is open at each end, extends
and opens through the bottom a, and serves as a journal for the rotary gate G to

page_text: turn on. This gate, provided with one or more arms 6 projecting from it in
manner as shown, beyond the bell, has one or more apertures c arranged in it to
co-operate with a like number of such apertures & made in and through the
bottom a of the bell. By means of the gate the apertures d may be closed more
or less, such being effected by revolving the gate to the necessary extent on the
tube F¹.
There is fixed on one of the journals e or fulcrum of the counterbalance lever an
arm or crank f, which, extending therefrom as shown in Figures 4 and 5, is pro-
vided with an adjustable wrist g, which is adapted to slide on the crank or arm
lengthwise thereof, and is provided with a screw h for clamping it to the arm, such
being to enable the wrist to be adjusted nearer to or farther from the journal, as
occasion may require. The said wrist, by means of a rod i pivotted to it, is
connected with the arm k of the throttle valve of the pipe H for leading
steam to the engine, such valve having to its journal an arm 1 carrying a
weight m'.
The weighted arm extends from a toothed wheel n³, which, with the arm k, is
placed and slides on the valve journal o'. A tooth p¹ projects from the arm k into
the range of teeth of the wheel n¹, and with such wheel enables the weighted arm
to be properly adjusted to the valve journal. A. clamp screw q serves to clamp
the toothed wheel to the arm k, which is fastened on the journal by another clamp
screw, all being arranged as shown.
.
From the above it will be seen that when the tank and bell are duly supplied
with water and the gas may increase in volume or pressure in the exhaust-main
the bell will be forced upward in the tank, and consequently the throttle valve will
be moved so as to increase the flowage of steam to the cylinder of the engine, and
thereby cause the engine to work faster; opposite results taking place as the gas
may diminish in the bell. As the bell may rise water within it will be discharged
through the bottom opening or openings. Such water while remaining in the bell
will retard its rise and cause such to gradually take place and not, suddenly as
would be the case were the bell entirely open at bottom. The degree of escape of
the water can be regulated by means of the gate, which can be turned more or less
by a rod inserted into the tank and pushed against one of the arms of the
gate.
It will be evident that a bell having a perforated bottom without a gate applied
thereto would operate with good effect, but with the gate further advantage is
gained, as will be readily understood. The action of the water is such as to prevent
the bell from rising too rapidly or too far, or when going down, from falling too
rapidly or too far, such causing the engine to be properly regulated in speed as
occasion may require for the extraction of the gas from the retorts.
I claim as my Invention as follows:-
:-
First. The improved gas exhaust regulator consisting of the combination of a
tank and an induct extending up within it, with a gasometer and a compensating
counterbalance lever, and its chains and weight or series of weights, all being
substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination of an adjustable wrist crank as described, and its con-
nection rod and a valve arm adjustable relatively to its valve as explained with
the gas exhaust regulator, substantially as set forth.
Third. A gas exhaust regulator having to its tank bell a perforated bottom and
a valve or gate thereto, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. A gas exhaust regulator having an induct pipe to its tank and gasometer
bell, and the latter provided with a perforated bottom.
Fifth. A gas exhaust regulator having an induct pipe to its tank and bell, and
the latter provided with a perforated bottom and with a gate thereto having one or
more arms or projections extending outwardly beyond the bottom of such bell, all
as set forth.
Sixth. The combination of a gas exhaust regulator, substantially as described,
and its adjustable wrist crank and connecting rod and valve arm with the throttle

page_text: or regulating valve of a pipe for supplying steam to a steam engine, and-with
the exhaust main or pipe of one_or_more-retorts for obtaining gas from coal or
other matter.
In-witness whereof, I, the said Stillman Boyd Allen, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty eighth day of June, A.D. 1879.
זגגוCLLETT
DOVD
TTTNT
STILLMAN BOYD
ATTTNT