Improvements in Gas Buoys and Beacons and in Gas Lamps therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 9th July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 10th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 16th Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Buoys and Beacons and in Gas Lamps
therefor.
I, WILLIAM BENNETT RICKMAN of 32 Clerkenwell Road in the County of Middlesex
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
These improvements relate mainly to the construction of gas buoys or floating
lights described in the Specification to C. D. Abel's Patent No. 4515 of 1876 (being
a communication from Julius Pintsch) in which the buoy was formed as a hollow
metal vessel constituting a reservoir for compressed illuminating gas, and carrying a
lainp supplied with the said gas through a regulator for reducing the pressure. Such
reservoirs for the compressed gas with the lamp and regulator attached thereto have
also been used as fixed beacons.
According to one of the present improvements, the said reservoir is made of a
welded wrought iron or steel vessel of cylindrical form, with convex top and concave
bottom, to which vessel, in the case of a floating light, is attached a spherical or
spheroidal shell enclosing the reservoir with the exception of the bottom, this being
formed with a rim to which the meeting portion of the spherical shell is attached in a
watertight manner.
The eye for attachment of the mooring chain is fixed to the centre of the concave
bottom by means of screws that do not pass right through the metal of the bottom,
this being thickened at the points where the screws are situated so as to afford these
the requisite hold without passing through.
At the top of the gas reservoir is formed a manhole surrounded by a flanged tubular
projection on which is fitted a gas tight cover and the spherical shell is fixed round
the same by an angle iron ring and screws screwing into the circular periphery of the
flange.
On the upper part of the spherical shell are fixed two or more loops for suspension
during transport, and, in order to strengthen the shell against the strain that is put
upon it by the weight of the buoy, when so suspended, the points to which the loops
are attached are connected by internal tie rods to other points at the lower part of the
shell.
Upon the top part of the spherical shell is fixed a tapering framework supporting
the lamp at its upper end, the lamp being supplied with gas from the reservoir by a
pipe connected to a branch on the manhole.
The lamp consists of a group of gas burners mounted on top of a chamber into
which the gas is delivered from the pressure reducing regulator, so that there is
contained in the said chamber a store of gas at low pressure to be supplied to the
burners, whereby a more uniform supply is insured than with the existing arrangement
where the gas passes direct from the regulator to the burner.
The regulator is substantially the same as described in the before mentioned
Specification, with the exception that its inlet valve chamber communicates with the
compressed gas supply through a pipe passing from a central passage at the bottom of
the regulator casing through the chamber of the regulator and the discharge is
effected through a pipe also in the interior of the regulator communicating at the
inlet end with a shut off cock actuated from the outside and at the outlet end
with a pipe connected to the before mentioned low pressure chamber.
The burner may be surrounded by dioptric lenses for directing the light to a
distance, where this is required, enclosed within an outer glass lantern. The hood
of the lamp is constructed substantially in the same manner as is described in the

page_text: before mentioned specification but it is enclosed within an outer casing having
inlet holes for the air supply at the bottom and outlet openings at top for the
products of combustion.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Buoys and Beacons and in Gas Lamps
therefor.
I, WILLIAM BENNETT RICKMAN, of 32 Clerkenwell Road, in the County of
Middlesex, 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 :-
These improvements relate mainly to the construction of gas buoys or floating
lights described in the Specification to C. D. Abel's Patent No. 4515 of 1876 (being
a communication from Julius Pintsch) in which the buoy was formed as a hollow
metal vessel constituting a reservoir for compressed illuminating gas and carrying
a lamp supplied with the said gas through a regulator for reducing the pressure.
Such reservoirs for the compressed gas with the lamp and regulator attached
thereto have also been used as fixed beacons.
According to one of the present improvements the said reservoir is made of a
welded wrought iron or steel vessel of cylindrical form, with convex top and concave
bottom to which vessel, in the case of a floating light, is attached a spherical or
spheroidal shell enclosing the reservoir with the exception of the bottom, this being
formed with a rim to which the meeting portion of the spherical shell is attached in a
watertight manner.
The eye for attachment of the mooring chain is fixed to the centre of the con-
cave bottom by means of screws that do not pass right through the metal of the
bottom, this being thickened at the points where the screws are situated so as to afford
these the requisite hold without passing through.
At the top of the gas réservoir is formed a manhole surrounded by a flanged tubular
projection on which is fitted a gas tight cover and the spherical shell is fixed
round the same by an angle iron ring and screws screwing into the circular
periphery of the flange.
On the upper part of the spherical shell are fixed two or more loops for suspension
during transport, and in order to strengthen the shell against the strain that is put
upon it by the weight of the buoy when so suspended the points to which the loops
are attached are connected by internal tie rods to other points at the lower part of the
shell.
Upon the top part of the spherical shell is fixed a tapering framework supporting
the lamp at its upper end, the lamp being supplied with gas from the reservoir by a
pipe connected to a branch on the manhole.
The lamp consists of a group of gas burners mounted on the top of a chamber into
which the gas is delivered from the pressure-reducing regulator so that there is con-
tained in the said chamber a store of gas at low pressure to be supplied to the burners,
whereby a more uniform supply is insured than with the existing arrangement, where
the gas passes direct from the regulator to the burner.
The regulator is substantially the same as described in the before mentioned
Specification with the exception that its inlet valve chamber communicates with the
compressed gas supply through a pipe, passing from a central passage at the bottom
of the regulator casing through the chamber of the regulator, and the discharge is
effected through a pipe also in the interior of the regulator communicating at the
inlet end with a shut off cock actuated at the outside and from the outlet end with a
pipe connected to the before mentioned low pressure chamber.

page_text: The burner may be surrounded by dioptric lenses for directing the light to a
distance, where this is required, enclosed within an outer glass lantern. The hood
of the lamp is constructed substantially in the same manner as described in the
before mentioned Specification but it is enclosed within an outer casing having inlet
holes for the air supply at the bottom and outlet openings at the top for the products
of combustion.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing shews a vertical section of a gas buoy accord-
ing to the above described invention, Fig. 2 shews an enlarged detail and Fig. 3 shews.
an enlarged vertical section of the lantern and gas burner. The gas reservoir A is
constructed of welded wrought iron or steel; it has secured to it the spherical
outer shell B, the top of the reservoir being formed with the same curvature as the
shell B so that this fits closely to such top, to which it is secured by screws C passing
through an angle iron D rivetted to the shell and screwing into the flange A¹ of the
manhole A of the reservoir, so that no holes are formed through the metal of the
reservoir for fixing the shell.
The bottom of the reservoir is made concave with a projecting rim below, to which
rim the lower part of the shell B is rivetted, so that here also no holes are made
through the body of the resorvoir. To the concave bottom is secured the eye E for
the mooring chain, this being secured by screws passing only partly through internal
bosses or separate washers brazed or cemented to the bottom.
The shell B is provided with loops F by which the buoy can be raised or lowered,
and the shell is strengthened at these points by tie rods G. H is the valve apparatus
of known construction which serves to admit the compressed gas into the reservoir
and through which it then passes to the burner of the lantern I carried by the tapering
framing J.
The pipe K K', through which the gas flows, passes through the pressure reducing
regulator L of known construction to the inlet valve M thereof which is controlled
by the lever N spring O and flexible diaphragm P in the usual manner.
The gas at the reduced pressure passes through cock Q and pipes Q1 Q2 into the
chamber R communicating at the top with the burners S.
T is the dioptric apparatus and U the outer glass lantern.
The hood V of
known construction is enclosed by an outer casing W having inlets at W₁ for
the air supply to the burners and outlets at W2 for the products of.combustion.
When the above described apparatus is employed as a beacon on land, the spherical
casing B is dispensed with and the reservoir A is provided with suitable feet for
supporting it, as shewn at Fig. 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In gas buoys, the combination of a welded wrought iron or steel gas reservoir A
with a spherical outer shell B secured thereto, substantially as herein described.
2. In gas buoys and beacons the combination with the gas reservoir A pressure
reducing regulator L and burners S of a chamber R into which the gas at the
reduced pressure flows from the regulator before passing to the burners, substantially
as herein described.
3. The improved construction of gas buoy combined and arranged as herein
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
4. The improved construction of gas beacon combined and arranged as herein
described with reference to Fig. 4.
Dated this 9th day of October 1889
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.