Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Acetylene or other Gas for Lighting, Heating, or other Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 16th June, 1897-Accepted, 31st July, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Acetylene or other
Gas for Lighting, Heating, or other Purposes.
I, HERMANNUS ELLENS OVING, Engineer of 31, Geldersche Kade, Rotterdam,
n the Kingdom of Holland, Member of the Royal Institute of Dutch Engineers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device for regulat-
ing the mixture of acetylene gas and air in proper proportions either for lighting
or for heating purposes, in order to enable acetylene gas to be used without the
usual drawbacks which have hitherto prevented its coming into general use.
The device for regulating the proportions of the mixture is based on a principle
consisting of utilising the pressure of the acetylene gas itself for determining
with absolute precision, the volume of gas and air received separately into the
closed spaces determined beforehand according to the purpose for which the gas
is to be used, and said device is arranged so that the mixing takes place in the
determined proportions in a continuous manner in consequence of the rotary move-
ment communicated to the parts contained in the chamber by the pressure of the
incoming gas.
The receivers are in the shape of drums provided in their interior with helical
blades and both secured to the same shaft rotating on pivots inside a chamber or
cistern enclosing the whole.
A tube enters each of the drums the tubes being placed vertically in front of the
first helical blade. One of the tubes serves for admitting acetylene gas into the
drum and the other for admitting atmospheric air into the other drum and both
doing this above the surface of water which fills the cistern to a given height
washing all the internal parts and affording hydraulic closing or seal the water
being introduced through a tube and leaving a free space in the tank round the
drums there being also a free space in the interior of each of the drums, the
amount of which is determined for a given water-level, but it may be varied as
desired together with a variation of the waterlevel.
Let it be assumed that this level is at the normal height and the gas tube is
connected to any source of acetylene gas under constant pressure, then the same
pressure will be established in the interior of the gas drum over the surface of the
water, which, under this pressure descends thus increasing the capacity of the
drum by the difference between the two levels. On the other hand the water
will rise in the air drum to the same extent that it has descended in the gas drum
and will therefore stop at such a height at which height there is in the tube a
side-opening through which the excess of water in the air drum-if there be any
excess will overflow, thus limiting the volume of air corresponding to the
volume of gas in the gas drum.
It follows from the preceding that in order to establish the exact proportion
between the volume of air to be mixed with the given volume of gas, it is sufficient
to make the capacities of the drums in such manner that the capacity, of the gas

page_text: drum will be too small, by an amount equal to the difference of the levels for a
given pressure, and too large by the same amount in the air-drum, so that the
proper proportions will be established with the greatest precision as soon as the
gas enters.
As the pressure of the gas acts at the same time on the helical blades of the gas
drum the drums and their shaft begins to rotate on the points or pivots of their
shaft. In consequence of this rotation the air is drawn in into the air drum and
thus the two constituents enter in absolutely exact proportions and in a continuous
manner into the open space of the tank where they mix with each other and are
led away through a tube.
It is obvious that if two drums are not sufficient to obtain the mixture of large
quantities, several of them can be combined in any suitable manner both for gas
and air.
It is also obvious that the described system of mixing gas and air in proper
proportions may also be applied to other gases which must be mixed in predeter-
mined proportions as also other liquids than water, for instance liquids that do not
freeze, may be used.
With the described apparatus for mixing the gas and air and enabling the, gases
to be mixed in any proportion, acetylene may if desired be rendered suitable for
heating purposes as well as for lighting, without complicating the apparatus, as it
is sufficient to connect to the conduit an apparatus arranged for the production of
a mixture suitable for beating, at the same time as another apparatus is arranged
for lighting.
Dated this 22nd day of October, 1896.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Acetylene or other
Gas for Lighting, Heating, or other Purposes.
I, HERMANNUS ELLENS OVING, Engineer of 31, Geldersche Kade, Rotterdam,
in the Kingdom of Holland, Member of the Royal Institute of Dutch Engineers,
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:
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device for regulat-
ing the mixture of acetylene gas and air in proper proportions either for lighting
or for heating purposes, in order to enable acetylene gas to be used without the
usual drawbacks which have hitherto prevented its coming into general use.
The device for regulating the proportions of the mixture is based on a principle
consisting of utilising the pressure of the acetylene gas itself for determining
with absolute precision the volume of gas and air received into closed spaces deter-
mined beforehand according to the purpose for which the gas is to be used, and
said device is arranged so that the mixing takes place in the determined propor
tions in a continuous manner in consequence of the rotary movement communi-
cated to the parts contained in the chamber by the pressure of the incoming gas.
In the accompanying drawing the regulating device is represented in Fig. 1
in vertical section showing the inner arrangement and in Fig. 2 a plan showing
the apparatus with its cover removed.
As can he seen from Fig. 1 the receivers are in the shape of drums H and O

page_text: provided in their interiors with helical blades and both secured to the same.
shaft W. rotating on pivots inside a chamber or cistern T enclosing the whole.
A tube enters each of the drums the tubes being placed vertically in front of the
first helical blade v. One of the tubes serves for admitting acetylene gas into
the drum H and the other y for admitting atmospheric air into the other drum 0
and both doing this above the surface of water which partly fills the cistern T to
a given height, washing all the internal parts and affording a hydraulic closing
or seal the water being introduced through a tube and leaving a free space in the
tank T round the outside and top part of the drums there being also a free space
in the interior of each of the drums the amount of which is determined for a given
water lever but it may be varied as desired together with a variation of the water
level.
Let it be assumed that this level is at the normal height at N and the tube a is
connected to any source of supply of acetylene gas under constant pressure, then
the same pressure will be established in the interior of the gas drum H.over the
surface of the water which under this pressure descends to say the level. N¹ thus
increasing the gas capacity of the drum by the difference between the two levels N
and N¹ on the other hand the water level N will rise in the drum O to the same
extent that it has descended in the drum H and will therefore stand at the height
say N at which height there is the tube y a side opening or aperture m through
which the excess of water in the drum O if there be any excess will overflow thus
limiting the volume of air corresponding to the volume of gas in the gas drum H.
It follows from the preceding that in order to establish the exact proportion
between the volume of the air to be mixed with the given volume of gas it is
sufficient to make the capacities of the drums in such manner that the capacity of
the gas drum H will be too small by an amount equal to the difference of the levels
for a given pressure and too large by the same amount in the air drum O so that
the proper proportion will be established with the greatest precision as soon as the
gas enters.
As the pressure of the gas acts at the same time on the helical blades e of the
drum H the drums and their shaft begin to rotate on the points or pivots of their
shaft W. In consequence of this rotation air is drawn in into the drum O and thus
the two constituents enter in absolutely exact proportions and in a continuous
manner into the open space of the tank T where they mix with each other and are
led away through a tube e.
It is obvious that if two drums are not sufficient to obtain the mixture of large
quantities of air and
gas
several of them can be combined in any suitable manner
both for gas and for air.
It is also obvious that the described system of mixing gas and air in proper propor
tions may also be applied to other gases which have to be mixed in predetermined
proportions as also other liquids than water for instance liquids that do not freezo
may be used.
With the describes apparatus for mixing the gas and air and enabling the gases
to be mixed in any proportion acetylene may if desired be rendered suitable for
heating purposes as well as for lighting without complicating the apparatus as
it is sufficient to connect to the conduit an apparatus arranged for the production
of a mixture suitable for heating at the same time as another apparatus is arranged
for producing lighting gas.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
J. A device for regulating the mixture of acetylene or other gas and air con-
sisting of a chamber partially filled with liquid and a horizontal shaft carrying
two or more drums provided with blades in combination with air and gas inlet
pipes and an outlet for the mixture of air and gas substantially as described.
3. A device for regulating the exact proportional mixture of acetylene or other

page_text: gas and air consisting in the combination of two or more drums O and H provided
in their interior with helical blades v the whole being enclosed in a chamber T
filled with liquid to a given height thus creating a free space in each of the drums
one of which received the gas under a constant pressure whereby the drums are
caused to rotate and the level of water is lowered in the gas drum H and raised
in the drum ( which is in communication with the air thus exactly determining
by the differences in the level and in a continuous manner the volume of each of
the constituents which are mixed in the open space over the liquid in the tank T
substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 8th day of June 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.