IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISTRIBUTING GAS FOR LIGHTING RAILWAY CARRIAGES, STEAM BOATS, AND OTHER MOVEABLE VEHICLES AND VESSELS, RAIL- WAY STATIONS, AND OTHER PLACES, PARTS OF SUCH APPARATUS BEING SUITABLE FOR GOVERNING THE SUPPLY OF GAS AND AIR FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Thomson King, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISTRIBUTING GAS FOR LIGHTING RAILWAY
CARRIAGES, STEAM BOATS, AND OTHER MOVEABLE VEHICLES AND VESSELS, RAIL-
WAY STATIONS, AND OTHER PLACES, PARTS OF SUCH APPARATUS BEING SUITABLE
FOR GOVERNING THE SUPPLY OF GAS AND AIR FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES."
Sealed the 5th February 1864, and dated the 11th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thomson King at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 11th August 1863.
I, JOHN THOMSON KING, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISTRIBUTING GAS FOR
LIGHTING RAILWAY CARRIAGES, STEAM BOATS, AND OTHER MOVEABLE VEHICLES AND
VESSELS, BAILWAY STATIONS, AND OTHER PLACES, PARTS OF SUCH APPARATUS BEING
SUITABLE FOR GOVERNING THE SUPPLY OF GAS AND AIR FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES," to
be as follows:-
I employ a dry gas container or holder. of metal or other material, of a shape
suitable for the position in which it is to be placed, and thereto in any cou-
venient way I attach a flexible diaphragm, so that by the weight thereof

page_text: and the pressure of the atmosphere gas supplied to the said container or holder
from street mains or other pipes at ordinary pressures shall be forced out in
sufficient quantity to supply the burners. The said container or holder may
be open at the top or partially so, but I prefer to have it closed. Near to and
around the middle of such closed container or holder I secure, between flanges
or otherwise, the flexible diaphragm, which is of such form that when it is
distended upwards or downwards it will fit close to the inner surface of the
container or holder. The gas is contained on one side of the diaphragm,
and on the same side are secured the ingress pipes for receiving the gas as
required, say, through flexible tubing, and the egress pipes for conveying it to
the burners. On the other side of the diaphragm there is an opening in the
container or holder to allow air to enter, or a pipe or pipes to convey air
thereinto.
For supplying gas steadily and uniformly when a closed container or holder
fitted as above mentioned is used on a railway carriage, steam boat, or other
moveable structure, it is desirable that the flexible diaphragm should be as
light as possible, and that it should have a pressure of air over one side
thereof sufficient to force out from the other side the quantity of gas neces-
sary for the burners lit. To give this pressure I employ a gas meter, preferably
that known as Thomas Glovers' patent dry gas meter, which I drive by
clockwork of any suitable construction. The index of the meter will shew the
quantity of air being passed into the container or holder, and. as an equivalent
quantity of gas would be distributed to the burners, care would be taken that
an economical burning pressure was given. A fan or other engine driven by
clockwork could be used for the same purpose, and the meter, fan, or other
engine could be employed to draw the gas from the container or holder and
pass it forward to the burners. The steadiness of action of and absence of
friction in a gas meter driven by clockwork as above mentioned renders it
suitable for forcing or drawing a current of air or other fluid over a surface of
or through an apparatus containing a volatile hydrocarbon liquid for the
purpose of obtaining an illuminating agent. It, the said gas meter, with a
clockwork motor might also be used for forcing or drawing air or gas in
any given quantity for maintaining and supplying the means of combustion, or
for forcing or drawing air or gas into or from places, and for many other
nurnoses

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Thomson King in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. JOHN
THOMSON KING, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Thomson King, Her special licence that I, the said John
Thomson King, my executors, administrators; and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Thomson King, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISTRIBUTING GAS FOR LIGHTING
RAILWAY CARRIAGES, STEAM BOATS, AND OTHER MOVEABLE VEHICLES AND VESSELS,
RAILWAY STATIONS, AND OTHER PLACES, PARTS OF SUCH APPARATUS BEING SUITABLE
FOR GOVERNING THE SUPPLY OF GAS AND AIR FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Thomson King, my execu-
tors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Thomson King, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
I employ a dry gas container or holder, of metal or other material, of a
shape suitable for the position in which it is to be placed, and thereto, in any
convenient way, I attach a flexible diaphragm, so that by the weight thereof
and the pressure of the atmosphere gas supplied to the said container or holder
from street mains or other pipes or holders at ordinary pressure shall be forced
out in sufficient quantity to supply the burners. The said container or holder

page_text: may be open at the top, or partially so, but I prefer to have it closed; that is,
the top part would be joined to the other parts gas-tight and have only a bent
pipo or small opening, so protected as to prevent entrance of rain, to admit
air. When a closed container or holder is used I construct it, preferably, in
two leaves of the same size and form, and between flanges, which would con-
stitute the means, in connection with bolts and nuts or rivets, of joining the
leaves together. I secure the outer edge of the flexible diaphragm, which is
of such a size and form that when fully distended, upwards or downwards, it
will fit close to the inner surface of the upper or lower leaf of the holder or
container. The gas is received and contained in the holder on one side of the
diaphragm only; and on or in that side or leaf of the holder are secured the
ingress pipes for supplying the gas as required, say, through flexible tubing,
and the egress pipes for conveying it to the burners. On the other side of the
diaphragm, in the upper part of the holder, there is secured the bent pipe or
protected opening above referred to for admitting air. To supply gas steadily
and uniformly to the burners or jets in a railway carriage, steam boat, or other
moveable structure, it is desirable, nay, almost indispensable, that the flexible
diaphragm should be as light as is consistent with its being perfectly gas-tight,
so that the joltings, concussions, and other irregular motions of such moveable
structures may not be communicated to the diaphragm to give irregular pres-
sures of gas at and to the burners or jets. With a diaphragm of light weight
of course sufficient pressure of gas for illuminating purposes would not be
given at the burners or jets. A closed holder or container, not in direct com-
munication with the air outside, with the means, herein-after described, of
giving the necessary pressure to expel the gas and at the same time to balance
the diaphragm, as it were, between pressers distributed all over both sides
ibercof, will therefore be the most suitable. The gas is received into the
container or holder on one side of the diaphragm, and on the other side thereof
atmospheric air or other gas is forced in by and through a gas meter, pre-
ferably that known as Thomas Glover's patent dry gas meter, driven by
clockwork of any suitable description. The index of the meter will shew the
quantity of air being passed into the container or holder on the one side of
the diaphragm, and as an equivalent quantity of gas would be distributed to the
burners from the other side of the diaphragm, care would be taken to adjust
the meter and clockwork so as to give an economical pressure. A fan or
other engine driven by clockwork could be used for the same purpose, and
the meter and clockwork, or fan and clockwork, or other engine, could be
employed to draw the gas from the container or holder and pass it forward to
the burners. The steadiness of action of and absence of friction in a gas meter

page_text: driven by clockwork, as above mentioned, render it suitable for forcing or
drawing a current of air or other fluid over a surface of or through an appa-
ratus containing a volatile hydrocarbon liquid, for the
purpose of obtaining an
illuminating agent. It, the said gas meter with a clockwork motor, might
also be used for forcing or drawing air or gas in any given quantity for main-
taining and supplying the means of combustion, or for forcing or drawing air
or gas into or from different places, and for many other purposes.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings practicable modifications of the
three leading or distinguishing features of my Invention are shewn.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of a container or holder fitted on
wheels, the top part or cover being partly open to allow free communication
with the air, and the edge of the diaphragm being secured or fastened near to
the top of the container or holder.
a', the wheels, and 6', the shafts, both of any ordinary kind'; c', the body of
the container with flanges d', all round and between which the diaphragm e'
is secured by bolts and nuts. The said diaphragm e' may be made entirely of
leather, with lap joints carefully sewn, or of india-rubber and cloth, or any
other flexible material, or partly of these materials, and a sheet of metal or
other rigid material in the middle thereof of sufficient weight, or so weighted,
as to give sufficient pressure of gas as it decends. f, the cover, supported by
pillars g' and overhanging the body all round so as to protect it. This appa-
ratus is shewn filled with gas, the diaphragm being steadied by rings h¹ passed
over hooks ;, the tap for entrance and exit of gas.
The apparatus shewn by Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, on railway carriages illustrate
closed containers or holders, suitable, when a small bent pipe or protected
opening is fitted in the top thereof and a tap in the bottom part, for use
when the air is in direct communication with one side of the diaphragm.
Figs. 2 and 3 shew respectively longitudinal and transverse sections of a
railway carriage with a container or holder placed under the carriage and
between the axles thereof; and Figs. 4 and 5, similar sections with a con-
tainer or holder placed on the top of a railway carriage, say, such as has an
arrangement of breaks preventing a container or holder from being placed
underneath. In these views the same letters represent like parts.
a, the carriage, and b, the wheels and axles; c, the container or holder, made
of metal in two leaves exactly alike, and secured to the bottom of the carriage
by angle iron pieces and bridles d, and to the top of the carriage by the frame-
work d. The edge of the diaphragm e is secured between flanges fand kept
together by bolts and nuts, and the middle part of the said diaphragm is here
shewn made of thin sheet zinc stiffened by feathers 9 soldered thereto, whilst

page_text: the flexible part is made of leather. The said zinc and leather may be joined
together by rivets, and a strengthening strip or two strips, preferably of thin
iron; h shews the cocks for receiving the gas, the one in Figs. 2 and 3 is
shewn connected to the upper part of the holder, and that in Figs. 4 and 5 to
the lower part; i, screwed caps, to be removed, when gas is being supplied, to
allow the air to escape, and to shew when the diaphragm has reached the top
or bottom, as the case may be, and the container or holder is filled with gas;
j, the pipes for conveying the gas to the burners k; these latter may be
arranged as desired or found most convenient; in Figs. 2 and 3 they are
shewn arranged to be lit from the outside of the carriage'; but in Figs. 4
and 5 they must be lit from the inside. Pipes (Figs. 4 and 5) are provided
for carrying off the "burnt air." m, the clockwork and meter placed out of
danger under one of the seats, with air inlet pipe n brought from outside the
carriage where it is open, and outlet pipe o therefrom to the containers or
holders to the opposite sides of the diaphragm to that in which the gas is
contained. Stop-cocks are placed in any desired position.
Figs. 6 and 7 are end and side elevations of a dry gas meter and clockwork.
is tho meter with inlet openings r and outlet openings s. The clockwork
operates the meter by gearing with a toothed wheel placed on the centro
vertical shaft of the meter. As here shewn, the clockwork consists of two
working barrelst with toothed wheels u thereon gearing with a train of wheels
to give the desired speed, which is regulated by the flys vor by the back
pressure from the container or holder. A spring barrel with fussee and chain,
or any other arrangement, can be used, as will readily be seen by any person
acquainted with such work.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
shewn means whereby the samo may be carried into effect, I would have
it distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the details herein
described and laid down on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, as many
modifications may be made without departing from the features which dis-
tinguish my said Invention, but what I claim is,-
Firstly, apparatus for containing and distributing gas, arranged substantially
as herein set forth, more particularly shewn by Fig. 1 on the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, in which the air has free entrance to the holder on one
side of the diaphragm.
Secondly, apparatus for containing and distributing gas, arranged substan-
tially as herein set forth and shewn in modification by Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, in
which a meter and clockwork or other engine is used to force in air or gas on
one side of a diaphragm to expel gas from the other side thereof, or in which a

page_text: meter and clockwork or other engine is used to distribute the gas by drawing
it from a container or holder of this construction.
And, thirdly, the combination of the well-known instruments or engines, a
gas meter, and clockwork to force or draw.air or gases for the purposes above
named, or to be used for any other purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thomson King, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
o Witness,
JOHN DAVIES.
JOHN THOMSON KING. (L.S.)