Improvements in the Method of and Means for the Economical Use of Gas for Lighting Purposes.
Year: 1895

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883) as allowed by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 5th day of April 1898.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Means for the Economical Use
of Gas for Lighting Purposes.
I, THOMAS ROWAN, of 174 Amhurst Road, Hackney, in the County of
Middlesex, Manufacturer of Disinfectant Apparatus, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the more economical use of gas for lighting purposes,
and consists in an improved method for the breaking up or attenuation of ordinary
gas jets, so as to render them more highly incandescent with a minimum employ-
ment of gas, delivered at a high velocity of ejection, and subjected at the point of
ignition to the action of an exactly proportioned and controlled current or currents
of highly heated air; and in means for effecting the said purpose whereby a vivid
light of great intensity is produced at a small relative consumption of gas.
I have found to induce the highest degree of intensity of light from a gas flame,
that the body of the escaping gas must be both attenuated, as much as possible,
and must be ejected at a high velocity, whilst in contact with a rapid current of
highly heated air, such current of air being also nicely proportioned, as to volume,
with that of the gas, that is to be burnt, with the highest degree of intensity of
light.
As it has been found in practice that the escaping orifices of the gas from the
burner must not be of too minute a character, or they will choke up in use, I find
it necessary in order to carry out my invention, to split up or attenuate the volume
of gas allowed to escape from any ordinary burner (such as an Argand) by
removing adjacent orifices farther from one another, or to obstruct, partially or
wholly, some or any part of such orifices, so as to break up or attenuate the volume
of the gas as it escapes from the burner, and thus, at the same time, to increase the
velocity of ejection from the orifices that remain effective.
Or, to effect this purpose, I may alternatively use a button or spreader or a ring
with a fine slit adapted to fit over the burner, or a device having inner and outer
cones, by means of which two or more currents of air are made to impinge on the
flame, or a small spreader arranged over each aperture of the burner, adapted to
spread the flame.
When the said attenuated or divided body of escaping gas is exposed to an
external or internal high-velocity current of heated air, the divided or attenuated
bodies of gas will, by induction, be still further extended out, so as to approach one
another, filling up intervening blank spaces and becoming still more attenuated
and filmy under such extending or spreading action.

page_text: I introduce a rapid current of heated air to such attenuated or divided gas jet,
by means of an external chimney or cover, surrounding an inner chimney or cover,
immediately protecting the flame, and both transparent as regards the part
surrounding the flame, to allow of the transmission of the light of the flame
therethrough.
The external air passes thus downwards through the space between the internal
and external chimneys or covers, in contact with the surface of the highly heated
inner chimney or cover, and passes to the gas burner from underneath in an
ascending current of high velocity both within and without the flame.
The volume of the said air current may be nicely regulated and controlled by
the proportion of the relative diameters or dimensions of the said chimneys or
covers and the rapidity may be controlled by the relative heights of the internal
and external chimneys to one another.
I may either fix these respective proportions to suit any special burner or
consumption of gas, or I may use telescopic extensions to the inner and outer
chimneys or covers, for relative adjustment; or may control the effective area of
the space between them by valves, distance pieces as obstructors, or in any other
suitable manner.
To meet the difficulty of various pressures of gas, as I find the difference of
from an eighth to a quarter of a cubic foot of gas per hour makes a considerable
difference to the luminosity of the flame, I find it advisable to place an easily
adjustable regulator such as a set screw upon the gas supply pipe, but where the
variations of gas pressure are likely to be considerable, a governor of suitable type
should be placed under the burner; and this I think of importance to the uniform
efficiency of my adjusted and controlled flame.
00
1007
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Method of and Means for the Economical Use
of Gas for Lighting Purposes.
I, THOMAS ROWAN, formerly of 174 Amhurst Road, Hackney in the County of
Middlesex, but now of 5 Rosslyn Gardens, Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer of Disinfectant Apparatus 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 relates to the more economical use of gas for lighting purposes
and consists in an improved method for the breaking up or attenuation of gas jets,
so as to render them more highly incandescent with a minimum employment of gas,
subjected at the point of ignition to the action of an exactly proportioned and
controlled current or currents of highly heated air and in means for effecting the
said purpose whereby a vivid light of great intensity is produced at a small relative
consumption of gas."
I have found to induce the highest degree of intensity of light from a gas flame,
that the body of the escaping gas must be both attenuated as much as possible
whilst in contact with a current of highly heated air, such current of air being
nicely proportioned as to volume with that of the gas, that is to be burnt with the
highest degree of intensity of light,

page_text: As it has been found in practice that the escaping orifices of the gas from the
burner must not be of too minute a character or they will choke up in use.
I find it necessary in order to carry out my invention to split up or attenuate the
the volume of gas allowed to escape from any ordinary burner (such as an Argand)
by removing adjacent orifices farther from one another or to obstruct partially or
wholly some or any part of such orifices so as to break up or attenuate the volume
of the gas as it escapes from the burner.
When the said attenuated or divided body of escaping gas is exposed to an
external current of heated air, the divided or attenuated bodies of gas will by
induction be still further extended out so as to approach one another filling up
intervening blank spaces and becoming still more attenuated and filmy under such
extending or spreading action.
I introduce a current of heated air to such attenuated or divided gas jet by
means of an external chimney or cover surrounding an inner chimney or cover
immediately protecting the flame and both transparent as regards the part
surrounding the flame to allow of the transmission of the light of the flame
therethrough.
The external air passes thus downwards through the space between the internal
and external chimneys or covers, in contact with the surface of the highly heated
inner chimney or cover and passes to the gas burner from underneath in an
ascending current both within and without the flame.
The volume of the said air current may he nicely regulated and controlled by the
proportion of the relative diameters or dimensions of the said chimneys or covers
and the rapidity may be controlled by the relative heights of the internal and
external chimneys to one another.
I may either fix these respective proportions to suit any special burner or
consumption of gas or I may use telescopic extensions to the inner and outer
chimneys or covers for relative adjustment or I may control the effective area of
the space between them by valves distance pieces as obstructors or in other suitable
manner.
To meet the difficulty of various pressures of gas, as I find the difference of from
an eighth to a quarter of a cubic foot of gas per hour makes a considerable difference
to the luminosity of the flame, I find it advisable to place an easily adjustable
regulator such as a set screw upon the gas supply pipe, but where the variations of
gas pressure are likely to be considerable, a governor of suitable type should be
placed under the burner and this I think of importance to the uniform efficiency of
my adjusted and controlled flame.
This invention is an improvement on that described in an application for Letters
Patent under No. 1067 and date 16th of January 1895 and in order that it may be
the better understood I will now proceed to describe the same in relation to the
accompanying drawings hereunto annexed reference being had to the letters and
figures marked thereon. Like letters refer to like parts in the various figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional view of a burner constructed according to my invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a view of burner with adjustable central air passage.
Figure 4 is a sectional plan of the same.
Figure 5 is an enlarged plan of the gas orifices of the burner showing their
disposition around the ring.
To carry my invention into effect, I arrange upon the burner A, a gallery B
carrying an inner chimney C, anu a second gallery 1) carrying an outer chimney E,
so that an annular space exists between the two chimneys, which communicates at
its upper end with the external atmosphere, and at its lower end with the air
passages F, leading to the spaces around and within the burner A. The bottom of
the gallery 1) is closed by a mica or other diaphragm K. In order to break up or
attenuate the flame I arrange the orifices for the gas in the burner ring, at a
greater distance from one another than in ordinary Argand burners. This is shown

page_text: in Figure 5 of the drawing, which is intended to represent on an enlarged scale a
ring burner of 1 inch diameter, having 12 holes. An ordinary Argand burner
would have 36 holes of the same diameter arranged around a circle of the same
diameter, and would give a lighting efficiency of about two to 3 candle power per
cubic foot of gas burnt per hour, whereas with my burner having only of the
area of gas issue orifice, I obtain 6 to 7 candle power per cubic foot per hour. In
other words with an ordinary Argand burner having a ring 1 inch diameter and
36 gas orifices, with a single chimney when burning 5 cubic feet per hour of
16 candle power gas a light of about 12 candles is obtained.
When burning 5 cubic feet of similar gas per hour in one of my 1 inch ring
burner with 12 gas orifices of the same diameter as the ordinary burner, but with
the double chimney of the proportions hereinafter described, I obtain a lighting
effect of 35 candles.
The attenuation of the flame is produced by the careful adjustment of the
draught in the syphon chimneys, and the high temperature of the air supplied, so
that the flame, broken up by the burner, is attenuated, giving extended surface
with small thickness or volume of jet. I arrange a cone G of such a shape as to
cause the current of heated air to intermix with the issuing gas, I also use a central
tube spreader H having a similar object with regard to the inside surface of the
flame. In this way I feed directly to the flame an amount of heated air in such a
way as will produce a very high incandescent effect upon the carbon particles of
the flame. Too little air would produce a smoky flame, and too much air would
cause the carbon to be consumed too readily to allow of it being in an incandescent
state sufficiently long to produce a flame of high luminosity.
With an Argand burner having a ring of one inch diameter, made according
to my invention with 12 holes each of 1/24th of an inch diameter, I find that I
obtain the highest luminous efficiency when the inner chimney is 2 inches outside
diameter and 9 inches long, and the outer chimney is 2 inches inside diameter
and 6 inches long. The top of the outer chimney is arranged 4 inches below
the top of the inner chimney. The area of the air channels through the centre
of the burner, through the holes I, and up the cone G for the supply of air to the
flame is 1166 of a square inch. Such a burner will give with 16 candle power
gas
7 candles per cubic foot of gas burnt per hour. It will be noticed from the
drawing that the arrangements of the pipes or channels J, by which the gas is led up
to the burner within the hot air space, is such, that the gas travelling there-
through at a considerable velocity does not become very highly heated, further
that the temperature of the burner is kept low by the transmission of heat from the
burner by conduction down the pipes into the fitting that supports the burner, and
is dissipated by radiation to the surrounding atmosphere, and by the flow of air
through the central tube spreader H, which feeds air heated by contact with the
metal of the central air way, to the interior of the flame.
When desirable I arrange nonconducting packing L such as asbestos upon the
outside or inside of the burner, or upon both outside and inside of the same, when
necessary, as shown in Figure 1, to prevent the absorption of heat by the burner
from the heated air.
In Figure 3 I show a modification in the construction of the burner whereby
the lighting efficiency of the burner is further increased, which consists in the
provision of means whereby a current of cold air is led up around the gas supply
channels so as to extract the heat therefrom, and then passes on to mix with the
gas to support combustion. In this way the flame is protected from loss of heat
by outward radiation by the envelopes of heated air in the chimneys but the
carbon particles of the flame are kept at a sufficiently low temperature to give high
incandescence and at the same time the too ready combustion of the carbon is
prevented, thus giving the flame intensity.
By reference to Figure 3 it will be seen that the central spreader H is mounted
on to the supporting boss M and air orifices N are arranged through the said boss,

page_text: so that the cold air passes to the central air passage from which it issues and mixes
with the flame. I may fit an adjustable shutter O to these orifices, such as a disc
having apertures therethrough, adapted to revolve and eclipse more or less the
holes in the boss M in order to regulate the amount of cold air admitted to the
burner. When the area of the orifices have been determined for highest efficiency
I may make them the exact size without means of adjustment.
The proportions of chimneys, and air ways that I have found by exhaustive
experiments to give a volume of air of such a character as to maintain the carbon
particles of the flame in a high state of incandescence through a considerable
interval of time, and at the same time to ensure their ultimate combustion, would
if altered in proportionate effect relatively to one another reduce the efficiency of
the burner. If the gas were allowed to be heated to a high temperature as well
as the air, it would be expanded in volume, and the carbon particles would too
readily combine with the oxygen of the air and be too quickly consumed.
In order to maintain the pressure of gas at the burner constant, I fit a governing
device P of any known form, as I find the difference of from an eighth to
a quarter of a cubic foot of gas of gas per hour makes a considerable difference to
the luminosity of my adjusted and controlled flame. I may also use telescopic
extensions to the inner and outer chimneys to adjust the burner for dealing with
different quantities or qualities of gas.
I make no claim to my improved method of burning coal gas apart from its use
in burners adapted to carry out such method substantially in the manner described.
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 I
claim is:-
1st. A method for the burning of coal gas with high incandescence and
luminosity, consisting of the breaking up and attenuation of the gas flame so as to
present a large surface with a minimum of volume, the maintenance of a low
temperature as described in the gas of the jet, and the supply to the same of a
minimum of air at a high temperature sufficient to produce complete combustion,
substantially as described, but subject to the disclaiming note.
2nd. An apparatus to carry out such a method of burning consisting of a
regenerative Argand gas burner, producing an attenuated split-up flame, of high
incandescence giving considerable luminous effect, having a ring with gas orifices
spaced at about 5 diameters apart centre to centre, an inner and outer chimney
of such relative proportions as herein described, and a central air passage up the
burner so arranged as to prevent the gas being too highly heated before issuing
from the burner, substantially as described.
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A
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.