Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 19th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 20th Jan., 1888
I, CHARLES GRANTLEY BEECHEY of 17 York Street, Liverpool, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference to gas bags or apparatus for regulating the supply of
gas to gas engines and its objects are first to prevent fluctuation of the gas in the
mains from which the engines obtain their supply, and secondly to provide for auto-
matically closing the inlet valve in the event of the gas bag bursting or of the
engine stopping when the gas cock is open.
My improved gas bag or apparatus is a box of cast iron or other suitable material
one side of which is formed of a flexible disc or diaphragm. The gas inlet is at the
upper part of the box and the outlet to the engine is at the lower part. To the upper
part of the box inside the same is pivoted a lever one end of which is opposite the
middle of the flexible diaphragm while the other end actuates the gas inlet valve.
To any suitable part of the lever is attached a cataract or dash-pot which may be
made in the usual way or it may comprise a small flexible diaphragin having a small
hole to allow the gas to pass from one side of it to the other.
The action is as follows:-At starting, the box will be full of gas the diaphragm
that forms one side thereof will be forced outwards or distended, the inlet valve will
be closed and the lower end of the lever will bear against the diaphragm. When the
engine draws gas from the box the diaphragm retracts and carries with it the end of
the lever that bears against it. The opposite end of this lever is thus caused to open
the gas inlet valve to allow more gas to enter the box. The more the gas is drawn
from the box the less distended will the diaphragm become, the more will the lever be
pushed inwards and the wider will the gas inlet valve be opened. The cataract
prevents the lever moving back again quickly so that the diaphragm in again becoming

page_text: distended leaves it, and as the diaphragm again moves in, it comes against and pushes
in the lever. The movements of the lever and consequently of the inlet valve are
thus reduced to a minimum so that a constant stream of gas, according to the average
position of the lever, is always flowing into the box while the movements of the
diaphragm may be considerable.
gas bag
In order that the inlet valve may close automatically in the event of the
or the flexible diaphragm bursting or of the engine stopping when the gas cock is open,
1 arrange that it shall close by gravitation and for this purpose I place a weight on
the inlet valve which overcomes the power of the lever when not acted on by the
inward movement of the diaphragm and therefore closes the inlet valve.
Dated this 10th day of March 1887

page_text: of Gas to Gas Engines.
I CHARLES GRANTLEY BEECHEY of 17 York Street, Liverpool, Engineer, 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 has reference to gas bags or apparatus for regulating the supply of
gas to gas engines and its objects are:-first, to prevent fluctuation of the gas in the
mains from which the engines obtain their supply; and secondly, to provide for auto-
matically closing the inlet valve in the event of the gas bag bursting or of the engine
stopping when the gas cock is open.
I will describe the invention with reference to the annexed drawings, Figure 1 of
which is a transverse section of one of my improved gas bags or apparatus and
Figure 2 a front view of the same with the diaphragm or flexible disc removed.
The apparatus is composed of a box A of cast iron or other suitable material one
side of which is formed of a flexible disc or diaphragm B; the disc or diaphragm
may be secured to the rim of the box A by means of a ring C as shown or in any
other suitable manner. The gas inlet D is at the upper part of the box and the
outlet E to the engine is at the lower part. To the upper part of the box inside the
same at the point F is pivoted a lever G the lower end of which is opposite
the middle of the flexible diaphragm B while the upper end by means of the tail or
continuation H actuates the gas inlet valve L. The lower end of the lever G is shown
as bent and fitted with a convex plate K so as to offer a sufficiently large surface to
the diaphragm B. To any suitable part of the lever is attached by means of the rod
or link La cataract or dash-pot which may be made in the usual way, that is to say,
of a piston M working somewhat freely in a cylinder N, as shown, or it may comprise
a small flexible diaphragm having a small hole to allow the gas to pass from one side
of it to the other. The valve 1 has a weight P placed upon it or is otherwise made
sufficiently heavy to overcome the lever G when this is not pushed inwards by the
diaphragm B.
The action is as follows:-At starting, the box A will be full of gas, the diaphragm B
will be forced outwards or distended, the inlet valve I will be closed and the lower
end of the lever G will bear against the diaphragm, all as seen in Figure 1. When
the engine draws gas from the box through the outlet E the diaphragm retracts and
carries with it the end of the lever that bears against it. The opposite end, that is to
say, the tail H of this lever is thus caused to open the gas inlet valve I to allow more
gas to enter the box. The more the gas is drawn from the box the less distended
will the diaphragm B become; the more will the lever G be pushed inwards and the
wider will the gas inlet I be opened. The cataract prevents the lever G returning
quickly so that the diaphragm B on again becoming distended by the inlet of gas

page_text: leaves it, and as the diaphragm again moves in it comes against and again pushes
in the lever. The movements of the lever and consequently of the inlet valve I are
thus reduced to a minimum so that a constant stream of gas according to the average
position of the lever is always flowing into the box while the movements of the
diaphragm may be considerable.
In the event of the gas bag or the flexible diaphragm bursting or of the engine
stopping when the gas cock is open the inlet valve will automatically close by
gravity because the weight P thereon overcomes the power of the lever G which has
ceased to be acted on by the inward movement of the diaphragm.
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 1
claim is :-
1. In a gas bag or apparatus for regulating the supply of gas to gas engines, I
claim the combination with a box one side of which is formed of a flexible disc or
diaphragm, of a lever one end of which is actuated directly by the diaphragm when
retracting and the other end of which actuates the gas inlet valve, the lever being
also connected with a cataract or dash-pot, all substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In a gas bag or apparatus for regulating the supply of gas to gas engines and
comprising a box one side of which is formed of a flexible disc or diaphragm, I
claim a lever actuated by the diaphragm when retracting in combination with a gas
inlet valve which is opened by said lever under the action of the diaphragm but is
sufficiently weighted to overcome the power of the lever and therefore to close by
gravity when the diaphragm ceases to act on the lever, as set forth.
3. I claim the improved gas bag or apparatus hereinbefore described and represented
in the annexed drawings for regulating the supply of gas to gas engines.
Dated this 17th day of December 1887.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London
Agent.