An Improved Combined Petroleum Vaporizer and Burner for Incandescent Light.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application; 15th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 7th Jan., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Combined Petroleum Vaporizer and Burner for
Incandescent Light.
I, EDOUARD LE PELLETIER, of 93, Boulevard Auspach, Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer, 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 object of this invention is, to, obtain the incandescence of a burner mantle
by the combustion of a mixture of air and petroleum vapour, generated in a
burner of simple and solid construction and all its constituent parts capable of
being easily cleansed whenever soiled by carbonaceous residues arising from the
decomposition of tarry substances contained in a dissolved state in ordinary kinds
of petroleum..
The said, burner is represented in all its constituent parts and details in the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a vertical section through the burner.
Figure 2 a section on a larger scale, showing in detail the tube, through which
the vapour passes into the Bunsen burner; and
Figure 3 a modified form of the burner.
In Figures 1 and 2, a b is a curved tube, having two bends, being open at the
bottom and ending in a screwed socket being closed at the top by a metal piece b*,
extending into the tube with a pointed spindle c, the object of which is, to diminish
the section of the upper part of the tube and against the point of which abuts
and expands or spreads out the top iend of a wick or brush of metal wires d,
términating at its bottom end in a spherical piece or ring d*; e is the tube,
through which passes and descends the petroleum vapour, generated in the heated
part of the tube above the extremity of the wick; this tube traverses the wall
of the vaporizer slightly below the wire gauze-grate k, above which the blue
flame is produced; e represents more especially the upper end of the vapour feed
tube; is a joint, which is shown in detail in Figure 2 and the tight closure
of which is obtained by means of two or three asbestos thread windings m in
the bottom of the screw nut around the capillary tube I, which conveys the vapour
to the nozzle g; g is the nozzle proper serving for the vertical escape of the
petroleuni vapour, and the mouth or orifice of which can be regulated by means
of a needle with conical point, this needle being connected to the screw nut,.
which closes the nozzle at its base. On turning this screw nut in one direction
or the other, the needle rises or descends and permits of regulating the discharge
of the vapour.
of
The tight closure of the joint is obtained by means of a certain quantity
Wood's fusible mixture or other analogous mixture or a highly fusible metal such
as tin; or mercury may, on the other hand, be employed, if the metal, used, is not
liable to be attacked by this agent, which said mixture or metal fills up the lower
part of the nozzle and which owing to capillarity, is prevented from passing
through the screw threads; k is the wire gauze-grate supported by means of a
movable screw threaded head; or socket ; n is a tube, forming a Bunsen tube,

page_text: in which the petroleum vapour undergoes mixture with the air prior to its
arriving at the grate; p is a movable bell-shaped piece, serving to prolong the
Bunsen tube and to protect the nozzle g from air currents.
The operation of the burner will be easily understood.
The socket a, having been attached to an appropriate reservoir, containing the
petroleum under pressure, the burner is first heated below the bell shaped piece p
by means of any suitable heating device impregnated with alcohol.
When sufficiently heated the closing device of the petroleum reservoir is opened
and the said liquid rises in the tube a b, while being gradually heated. At the
end of the wick are surfaces which are sufficiently hot, so as to enable the
liquid to be vaporized, and the vapour, thus generated, reaches the tubular con-
duit e, in order to escape through the orifice h.
This vapour is kindled above the gauze and the flame, obtained, heats the sides
of the end b* to such an extent, that it enables the burner to continue its
operation.
The object of the metal wire wick dd is to establish a resistance in the
interior of the petroleum tube, to avoid impetuous ebullitions by dividing the
liquid and consequently also the vibrating movements of the flame and of the light
thus produced.
Now, in order to easily introduce and remove this wick, when soiled, it must
not be too tightly packed against the sides of, the tube; for under these conditions;
it would but imperfectly fulfil its function, were it not for the intermediary
action of the spindle c, the object of which is, to force the ends of the metal
wires apart and to wedge them up against each other and against the walls of
the vaporizer. The same essential result may be obtained by means of the device,
represented in Figure or of any other analogous device.
Here the metallic mass *, which closes the vaporizer extends into the tube
through a tubular space, the lower end of which is bell mouthed. In this
manner the extremity of the wick is wedged up toward the centre and no longer
toward the periphery.
The tube e for discharging the vapour is located in a longitudinal groove, cut
into the piece b b¹.
When in one case as in the other-a soiled wick has been forced or only
withdrawn, by means of the end * the vaporizer is thoroughly cleaned by means
of a scraper provided with a flexible stem and subsequently by means of a cleaning
tool of steel wire.
The joint is dismounted and an iron wire passed through the vapour tube e.
Subsequently this joint is remounted and a new wick or the old one, cleaned, is
inserted; the burner then is again ready for use.
1
I do not wish to limit myself to the constructional form with all its details
before described as modifications may be made without departing from the spirit
of my invention.
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 is:
-
In combination with a vaporizing tube of uniform section and of two bends.
so arranged that its two ends are located in the same vertical axial line and
forming curves of a sufficiently large radius admitting of a metallic wick being
easily introduced or withdrawn.
1. The arrangement of a pointed metallic spindle c, serving to spread out the
extremity of the metallic wick and to wedge the same against the sides, or
the arrangement of a tubular piece 61 smaller in diameter than the petroleum
tube and terminating at its lower end in a bell mouth, for the purpose of obtain-
ing an analogous effect, substantially as herein described with reference
Figures 1 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
to
2. The arrangement of a nozzle 9 serving for the discharge of the petroleum

page_text: vapour, this nozzle being formed of two parts, screwed into one another, the lower
one of which carries a needle or spindle for regulating the vapour feed, the tight
closure of the joint being obtained by means of Wood's fusible mixture or an
analogous mixture or of a highly fusible metal such as tin, or by means of mercury,
if the metal, employed, is not injuriously acted upon by this agent, and which
owing to capillarity is prevented from being driven out through the screw threads,
substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying
drawing.
Dated his 10th day of August 10
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.