AIR OAS APPARATUS to be as follows:-
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN IMRAY of No 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery Lane, in the county
of Middlesex Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "AIR OAS APPARATUS to be as follows:-
"
This invention relates to apparatus for producing air-gas, that is to say an
inflammable gaseous mixture effected by passing air through hydrocarbon liquid,
so as to become mixed with its vapor to such extent as to be combustible. A wheel
divided into several compartments by partitions of volute form, as in a wet gas
meter is caused by a weight or spring to revolve partly immersed in the liquid, in
such direction that air from a side passage entering each compartment by a lateral
orifice near the circumference of the wheel is caused to move along the volute
passage towards the centre of the wheel, whence it passes by a lateral orifice into
a side passage leading to a receptacle. On its way the air becomes charged with
vapor of the hydrocarbon, and the air thus charged constitutes the air gas which
is led by pipes from the receptacle to burners. When weight is employed to drive
the wheel two weights are connected by cords to two barrels mounted on one
shaft, with ratchet and clutch gear so arranged that while one weight is being
wound up, the other continues the movement and thus the supply of the burners
is not affected by the winding. In like manner when a spring is employed for
apparatus of small size, it may be provided with remontoir gear of known kind.
The cover of the receptacle consists mostly of a flexible diaphragm which operates
as a regulator in the following manner. When there is little or no expenditure of
the air gas, the diaphragm is raised by the increased pressure in the receptacle,
and this movement is communicated to a brake which retards or stops the motion
of the volute wheel; at the same time a plunger is immersed in liquid in a vessel
under the mouth of the air supply passage and the liquid being thus raised in level
throttles or seals the air pipe. When again there is expenditure of the air gas
such as to reduce the pressure in the receptacle, the diaphragm descends releasing
the brake so as permit the volute wheel to revolve and at the same time raising
the plunger so as to unseal the mouth of the air supply passage. The hydrocarbon
D71

page_text: liquid is supplied from a vessel placed above the apparatus, from which vessel a
pipe descends through packing into a passage leading to the casing of the volute
wheel. In this pipe there is a spring valve which closes the outlet when the
vessel is being put in its place after having been filled in an inverted position;
but when the pipe has quite passed through the packing, the valve is opened by
its stem butting against a stop, and then the casing of the apparatus continues to
be supplied from the vessel to a constant level in the manner of a fountain glass.
The shaft driven by the weight or spring is connected by intermediate gear to the
shaft of the volute wheel, and in order to prevent escape of the hydrocarbon this
latter shaft is mounted in bearings entirely within the casing and a pinion on it is
driven by a wheel the spindle of which passes through a stuffing box above the
level of the hydrocarbon.
1
1041 Jf Tenuan 100K
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant,
28, Southampton Buildings,
London, 'W.C.

page_text: I, JOHN IMRAY, of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in the County.
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, 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 apparatus for producing air-gas, that is to say an
inflammable gaseous mixture effected by passing air through hydrocarbon liquid,
so as to become mixed with its vapor to such extent as to be combustible.
A wheel divided into several compartments by partitions of volute form, as in
a wet gas meter is caused by a weight or spring to revolve partly immersed in the
liquid, in such direction that air from a side passage entering each compartment
by a lateral orifice near the circumference of the wheel is caused to move along the
volute passage towards the centre of the wheel, whence it passes by a lateral orifice
into a side passage leading to a receptacle. On its way the air becomes charged
with vapor of the hydrocarbon, and the air thus charged constitutes the air gas
which is led by pipes from the receptacle to burners. When weight is employed
to drive the wheel, two weights are connected by cords to two barrels mounted on
one shaft, with ratchet and clutch gear so arranged that while one weight is being
wound up, the other continues the movement and thus the supply of the burners
is not affected by the winding. In like manner when a spring is employed for
apparatus of small size, it may be provided with remontoir gear of known kind.
The cover of the receptacle consists mostly of a flexible diaphragm which operates
as a regulator in the following manner. When there is little or no expenditure of
the air gas, the diaphragm is raised by the increased pressure in the receptacle,
and this movement is communicated to a brake which retards or stops the motion
of the volute wheel; at the same time a plunger is immersed in liquid in a vessel
under the mouth of the air supply passage and the liquid being thus raised in level
throttles or seals the air pipe. When again there is expenditure of the air gas
such as to reduce the pressure in the receptacle, the diaphragm descends releasing
the brake so as to permit the volute wheel to revolve and at the same time raising
the plunger so as to unseal the mouth of the air supply passage. The hydrocarbon
liquid is supplied from a vessel placed above the apparatus, from which vessel a
pipe descends through packing into a passage leading to the casing of the volute
wheel. In this pipe there is a spring valve which closes the outlet when the
vessel is being put in its place after having been filled in an inverted position; but
when the pipe has quite passed through the packing, the valve is opened by its
stem butting against a stop, and then the casing of the apparatus continues to be
supplied from the vessel to a constant level in the manner of a fountain glass.
The shaft driven by the weight or spring is connected by intermediate gear to the
shaft of the volute wheel, and, in order to prevent escape of the hydrocarbon, this
latter shaft is mounted in bearings entirely within the casing and a pinion on it
is driven by a wheel the spindle of which passes through a stuffing box above the
level of the hydrocarbon.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section and Fig. 2 a side view of the before described
apparatus; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the moving mechanism and Fig. 4 is
an elevation partly in section of the side opposite to that shewn at Fig. 2; Fig. 5
is a cross section and Fig. 6 a plan of the apparatus.
.
A is the drum or wheel with volute partitions to the sides of which are soldered
the plates a a leaving openings at the two ends bc. This drum or wheel is
rotated by means of mechanism driven either by a weight or by a spring, the
movement by a weight being employed by preference in large apparatus while a
spring may suffice for small apparatus. The drum A turns in the casing B which
it fills almost entirely, and in which it is immersed in a suitable mineral oil.
The drum is arranged with a closed chamber C into which passes the external air
through the passage d and tubes e c. In turning in the direction of the arrow, the
openings b of the volute compartments which communicate with the chamber C
draw in air which they afterwards eject through the opening c at the centre of
the drum. By this means the casing B is always filled with carburetted air which
passes through the tube f into the reservoir D and is conducted thence to the
burners by the tube g. In order to avoid all loss of liquid the axis o of the drum
revolves in bearings o¹ soldered to the sides of the apparatus. The moving
mechanism actuated by a spring is shewn at Fig. 7. The spring barrel F' drives
the wheels f¹ f2 ƒ³ &c which transmit the movement to the drum A. The
mechanism driven by a weight consists of a barrel on which is wound weighted
rope and which is divided into two parts E E¹ through which passes an axis F,
the part E being fixed on the axis and the part E¹ loose thereon, so as to be
capable of revolving thereon in one direction. The toothed wheel G which
actuates the moving mechanism revolves loose on the shaft F and is carried round
by the cylinder E¹ which rotates the axis and the toothed wheel H also fixed on
the axis to the left of the wheel G which has a pawl h. The wheel G is also
rotated at the required times by the part E of the cylinder For this purpose,
another ratchet wheel H¹ is fixed on this wheel and the pawl ¹ which gears with
it is fixed on the wheel J fixed on the end of the cylinder E¹. The two parts E E¹
.of the cylinder in rotating separately, consequently drive the wheel G always in
the same direction by means of the reversed positions of their ratchet gear. The
ends of the weighted cord are fixed each to a movable hook 2, Fig. 1, and they are
.separately wound on the parts of the cylinder E E' by means of the crank shaft K
arranged under the rope barrel. A pinion s which revolves with but slides along
the shaft K gears with the toothed wheels J J¹ fixed at each end of the cylinder
and thus effects the winding on of the rope. A third ratchet wheel p is fixed on
the shaft K near to the square of the crank handle and thus holds the part of the
cylinder which has been last rewound during the time that the other is being
unwound and thus drives the apparatus.
The two parts of the cylinder are therefore rewound one after the other and the
rope is also unwound from them in like manner by means of a clutch apparatus
which operates in the following manner: The piece qr L which actuates this
clutch apparatus is similar to the parallel treadle gear generally used in turning
lathes; the pressure bar is pivotted on trunnions q. Fig. 2 shews the arm Lat
the end of the clutch apparatus geared with the pawl p¹ by means of a rod n.
If the pressure bar is raised against the stop M, the pawl is disengaged and the
wound cylinder which was held stationary by the pinions and the pawl becomes
free so that the weight can draw the rope off it and thus cause it to impart motion
to the apparatus. The latter, leaving its tangential position, approximates to a
radial position and causes the end of the hook r which holds it to advance until
it arrives.underneath the bar which has been forced to rise against the stop M
and thus to release the ratchet gear, therefore, while one of the parts E E¹ is being

page_text: rewound, the other continues to be rotated by its weight in a uniform manner so
as not to effect any fluctuation in the light produced, and the motion is continued
by the other part of the cylinder when the said part has arrived at the end of its
motion. The drum A is driven by means of the wheel G from the wheels and
pinions tt, uu, xxl and y, the two last being placed inside the casing B. The
axis of the wheel xl is placed below the level of the liquid and passes through a
stuffing box z. In this apparatus the pressure of the gas itself automatically
regulates the rotation of the drum no matter what the weight of the motor may be.
The suction aperture also has its opening regulated according to the, number of
burners in use and is entirely closed..when turning off the cock of the last burner.
For this purpose the upper part of the reservoir D has a square hole hermetically
closed by a membrane P of leather, caoutchouc, or other flexible material; a metallic
plate Q connected by a hinge to the end lever R rests on this membrane P and is
supported by the gas contained in the reservoir D. If all the gas-jets are turned
off, the gas continues, during a few seconds, to be concentrated in the reservoir,
lifts the membrane P and the lover R, forces the lever S acting as brake to press
upon the fly-wheel T which is thus stopped. On the contrary, as soon as a single
gas-jet is turned on, the gas in escaping, permits the plate Q to descend, carrying
with it the lever R and thus liberates the fly-wheel from the brake so as to allow
of its rotation again. This same movement of the plate Q causes the suction
apertures for air e e to be closed, such apertures being both united in a hood d,
the aperture of which is directed downwards and passes into a trough I fixed to
the casing. This trough contains a sufficient quantity of a non-volatile liquid in
which is a float U suspended from the end of a lever V pivoted at ². When the
gas-jets are turned off, the lever R by means of the axis m¹ and the levers P¹ p²
cause the float U to be immersed, whereby the level of the liquid is raised so as to
completely close the suction aperture of the hood d.
For introducing volatile liquid into the casing B, a movable closed charging
vessel N is arranged on the top of the reservoir D. This vessel N has a charging
tube Cin the interior of which, is arranged a conical valve a on which rests a
spring 61. When the vessel is placed in position, the conical valve a¹ closing the
discharge opening c¹ for the liquid, prevents the escape of the latter for a sufficient
length of time to allow of the vessel being turned upside down for the purpose of
putting it in action. For maintaining it in position on the box f¹, and preventing
the escape of vapour of the volatile liquid, a gas-tight joint is made by means of
a cap d with a leather washer. The liquid flowing from the vessel N passes into
the casing B through the opening g¹ formed in the latter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim in respect of apparatus for impregnating air with inflammable vapour, is
1. The use of the revolving drum with volute partitions whereby the air is
drawn in and caused to circulate through a body of volatile liquid, and is then
discharged into a recipient, substantially as herein described.
2. The use of the automatic regulating apparatus whereby the rotation of the
drum and the admission of air is regulated in proportion to the amount of air-gas
consumed by the burners supplied by the apparatus, the motion of the drum being
entirely stopped by means of a brake actuated by the regulator when all the
burners are turned off.
3. The use of a closed charging vessel, the filling tube of which is placed in an
inverted position into a charging chamber, whence the liquid flows into the casing
of the apparatus, where it is maintained at a constant level.
4. The use of the herein described arrangement of driving mechanism actuated
either by a weight or spring.
5. The herein described arrangement of mechanism, whereby, when the apparatus
is driven by a weight, the rope barrel or cylinder is rewound at intervals without

page_text: stopping the motion of the impregnating drum, the said barrel or cylinder being
constructed of two parts on each of which is wound part of the weighted rope, and
the unwinding of the one part being prevented until that of the other part is
'completed.
6. Imparting motion to the drum by means of toothed wheels arranged inside
the casing in order to prevent the escape of vapour of the liquid, the upper axis of
this gear being arranged to pass through a stuffing box for receiving its motion
from the outside, substantially as herein described.
7. The construction of apparatus for impregnating air with inflammable vapour
.combined and operating as herein described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.