IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CARBURETTING GAS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Henry Saul and Henry Prittie Armstrong, both
of Islington, in the County of Middlesex, Gentlemen, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CARBURETTING
GAS."
Sealed the 29th March 1867, and dated the 4th October 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Henry Saul and
Henry Prittie Armstrong at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 4th October 1866.
We, DAVID HENRY SAUL and HENRY PRITTIE ARMSTRONG, both of Islington,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentlemen, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
CARBURETTING GAS," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus
employed in carburetting gas. For this purpose we construct apparatus having
a chamber or reservoir at the upper part thereof, into which chamber the
carburetting liquid is poured through a suitable orifice, which is closed by a
screw cap or otherwise as desired. From this chamber the carburetting
liquid descends to a second chamber through a tube, and the height of the
carburetting liquid in the lower chamber is regulated by means of a float
carrying a valve which acts to close the passage through the tube when the

page_text: carburetting liquid in the lower chamber has risen to the desired height, and
opens the passage through the tube as the level of the liquid in the lower
chamber falls; this lower chamber is provided with a perforated annular
partition, in the interior of which are hung cotton or other suitable wicks, or
the space may be filled with other absorbent material. The gas passes into
the "carburetter" through a tube, and thence through perforations formed at
the outer edge of a plate into the lower chamber, from this lower chamber it
passes through the perforated annular division and circulates through the
wicks or other absorbent material, and thence through a tube in the centre of
the lower chamber to the burners. The lower ends of the wicks or other
absorbent material are immersed in the carburetting liquid, whilst the upper
portion thereof becomes saturated with the liquid by capillary attraction. A
portion of the gas is allowed to pass through a valve into the upper chamber
or reservoir as required, so that by pressing upon the upper surface of the
liquid the gas may supply the requisite pressure to enable the liquid to descend
to the lower chamber. A gauge is also connected with the reservoir or upper
chamber, by which the height of the liquid may be readily ascertained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Henry Saul and Henry Prittie Armstrong in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 4th April 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
HENRY SAUL and HENRY PRITTIE ARMSTRONG, both of Islington, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said David
Henry Saul and Henry Prittie Armstrong, Her special licence that we, the
said David Henry Saul and Henry Prittie Armstrong, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said David Henry Saul
and Henry Prittie Armstrong, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CARBURETTING GAS,"

page_text: upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said David Henry Saul
and Henry Prittie Armstrong, our exécutors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, 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 David Henry Saul, on behalf of
myself and the said Henry. Prittie Armstrong, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus
employed in carburetting gas. For this purpose we construct apparatus
having a chamber or reservoir at the upper part thereof, into which chamber
the carburetting liquid is poured through a suitable orifice, which is closed by
a screw cap or otherwise as desired. From this chamber the carburetting
liquid descends to a second chamber through a tube, and the height of the
carburetting liquid in the lower chamber is regulated by means of a float
carrying a valve which acts to close e passage through the tube when the
carburetting liquid in the lower chamber has risen to the desired height, and
opens the passage through the tube as the level of the liquid in the lower
chamber falls; this lower chamber is provided with a perforated annular par-
tition, in the interior of which are hung cotton or other suitable wicks, or the
space may be filled with other absorbent material. The gas passes into the
"carburetter" through a tube, and thence through perforations formed at the
outer edge of a plate into the lower chamber, from this lower chamber it
passes through the perforated annular division and circulates. through the
wicks or other absorbent material, and thence through a tube in the centre of
the lower chamber to the burners. The lower ends of the wicks or other
absorbent material are immersed in the carburetting liquid, whilst the upper
portion thereof becomes saturated with the liquid by capillary attraction.. A
portion of the gas is allowed to pass through a valve into the upper chamber
or reservoir as required, so that by pressing upon the upper surface of the
liquid the gas may supply the requisite pressure to enable the liquid to
descend to the lower chamber. A gauge is also connected with the reser-
voir or upper chamber, by which the height of the liquid may be readily
ascertained.

page_text: more runy to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan, Figure 2 a side view, Figure 3 a sectional side view,
and Figure 4 a sectional plan taken through the line 1, 1, Figure 3, of
apparatus constructed according to our Invention.
a, a, is the upper chamber or reservoir into which any suitable carburetting
liquid is poured through the opening or orifice a', which may be opened or
closed by a screw cap or otherwise as desired. From the chamber or reser-
voir a the carburetting liquid descends to a lower chamber or reservoir b
through a tube c, and the height of the liquid in this lower chamber or
reservoir is regulated by means of a float d carrying a valve e, which acts to
close the passage through the tube c when the carburetting liquid in the
chamber or reservoir 6 has risen to the desired height, and opens the passage
through the tube c as the level of the carburetting liquid in the chamber or
reservoir falls. In the lower chamber or reservoir b is fixed an annular
partition 6, which may be of perforated metal or wire gauze; in the space
enclosed by the perforated partition 6 are hung cotton or other suitable
wicks 6, and we prefer to wind these wicks around a suitable wire frame;
such wicks or other absorbent material may, however, be fixed in any other
suitable manner. A gauge a² serves to indicate the height of the carburetting
liquid in the chamber or reservoir a, and in order that suitable pressure may
be applied to the carburetting liquid in the chamber or reservoir a to cause it
to descend as required into the chamber or reservoir b, a valve f is applied to
the pipe g in order to admit the gas to the upper chamber or reservoir a.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The gas passes into the apparatus
through the tube g (which is stopped at g¹ by a plug or partition as shown);
it thence passes through the perforations 9 into the space formed by the
bottom of the chamber or reservoir a and the top of the chamber or reser-
voir b; the gas thence passes through perforations formed at the outer part h
of the plate or partition h into the lower chamber or reservoir b, and thence
through the perforated annular partition 6', through the wicks 62, and through
the perforations g³ into the lower part 9 of the tube g, and thence to the
burners; or the action of the apparatus may be reversed, and the gas may
enter at the part of the tube g, and may pass out through the upper part
of the apparatus as desired.
Figure 5 is a plan, Figure 6 is a front view, Figure 7 is a sectional front

page_text: view, Figure 8 is a sectional plan taken on the line 2, 2, and Figure 9 a
sectional plan on the line 3, 3, of Figure 7, Figure 10 is a side view, and
Figure 11 is a sectional side view of a modification of our Invention. Similar
parts are marked with similar letters of reference to those employed in the
previous Figures. In this last arrangement it will be seen that the perforated
annular partition b¹ is carried from top to bottom of the apparatus through a
tube formed in the upper chamber a, the cotton wicks & also passing from top
to bottom of the apparatus, and in addition to such wicks & other wicks h*
are employed supported on the plate a³ forming the cover of the chamber a;
portions of these wicks h* descend through tubes a into the lower chamber
or reservoir b, where the wicks h* and * are immersed in the carburetting
liquid, which by capillary attraction is conveyed to the upper parts of such
wicks. The valve f in this arrangement is applied to a separate tube i, as shown,
and instead of employing a gauge, such as that shown applied to the first
arrangement, a wire k, as shown at Figure 12, is employed, which is supported
by a float ¹, and passes up through a tube * into a glass tube. A tap
is also employed in this arrangement for drawing off the carburetting liquid
when desired, whilst an opening a closed by a screw cap, as shown, serves to
limit when open the amount of liquid supplied to the upper chamber or
reservoir a through the orifice a¹. The action of this last arrangement is as
follows: The gas passes into the apparatus through the upper part of the
tube g; it thence passes through the perforations g³, and through the wicks b³,
and through the perforated partition 61, and over the wicks h* into the tubes a*,
through which it passes to the lower part g of the tube, 9 to the gas burners ;
or the gas may enter at the lower part of the apparatus, and pass out at the
upper part thereof.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the best means
we are acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, we would bave it
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein shown
and described, so long as the peculiar character of our Invention be retained;
but what we do claim is,-
First, the mode of separating the main body of the carburetting liquid in
one chamber from that in which the wicks are immersed in another chamber,
and regulating the supply of such carburetting liquid to such second chamber
by a valve carried by a float supported by the liquid in the lower chamber,
substantially as herein shown and described.
And, secondly, we claim the mode of causing the gas to pass through suitable
wicks, the lower ends of which are immersed in the carburetting liquid, and

page_text: the upper ends saturated with such liquid by capillary attraction, substantially
as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Henry Saul, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
B. J. B. MILLS,
Patent Agent,
35, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
DAVID SAUL. (L.B.)