IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
ILLUMINATING GAS." A communication from abroad by G. Smyers, of Brussels,
$6
Belgium
Sealed the 13th February 1880, and dated the 15th September 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th September 1879.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS." [A communication from abroad
by G. Smyers, of Brussels, Belgium.]
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for the manufacture of illuminating
gas, and is chiefly designed to provide improved means whereby householders and
others may make gas for their own use; in other words, the said improved apparatus
provides means for the manufacture of illuminating gas on a small scale.
In carrying the said Invention into practice a carburetter is provided which has
within it plates of metal or other suitable material attached to the cover; these
plates may be arranged in spiral or rectangular form, and cause the air to circulate
the required distance for saturation. The air penetrates into the carburetter through
an opening provided for the purpose and traversing (over the oil placed therein) all
the compartments formed by the said plates, passes by another opening into a small
tower, whence it expands and consequently becomes perfectly divided and mixed,
causing a homogeneous and equal saturation. It passes thence through a cock into
a gasometer or gas-holder. The carburetter is provided with naptha or some
similar oil to a distance of about one centimeter from the lower part of the said
small tower.
The said carburetter may be made of any suitable material; zinc may be used
advantageously by reason of the ease with which this metal can be worked and its
low price. A cock is provided at the lower part of the carburetter for emptying the

page_text: latter. A union-piece is provided at the upper part of the carburetter, and is
furnished with a leather washer. This union piece serves for filling the carburetter.
The gasometer or holder is simply a sack or bag made of oil-cloth or leather
rendered impermeable by means of coating material hereinafter described; each end
of this bag is hermetically secured to a square plank or board. The carburetted air
enters the gasometer or holder through the cock hereinbefore mentioned (which
opens communication between the carburetter and the said holder) and passes into
distributing pipes through a tube. Small laths or slats of wood forming a framework
inside or outside the said bag prevent the folds of the latter from extending outward.
On one side these folds are straight, and on the other side angular or with corners,
by means of which construction I avoid the cutting out of the corners, as in the
bellows of organs and accordions, which latter construction is difficult and requires
delicate work. A small rod working through a small orifice in metal guides the
gasometer or holder.
The material hereinbefore mentioned for coating the bag is composed as follows,
that is to say, one part aloës (aloes succotrin), one part glue, and three parts treacle
or sugar syrup. The leather or other material of which the bag is made is heated
and two coats of the coating substance, also hot, is applied thereto.
:
The operation of the apparatus is as follows, that is to say, atmospheric air is
caused to enter the carburetter by means of a blower of any suitable kind placed at
the lower part of the apparatus. This blower is put in motion by means of a weight
attached to a chain, cord, or strap. In the carburetter the air traverses a space
which is made as large as possible. It there becomes completely saturated with the
vapours from the oil; then it passes into the said gasometer or holder, whence,
through an exit tube, it goes to the distributing pipes. When bellows are employed
as blowers they are rendered impermeable by means of the coating substance.
hereinbefore described.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings-
Figure 1 is a plan.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, and
Figure 3, a horizonaal' section of a carburetter constructed according to this
Invention, and
Figure 4 is an elevation of the said carburetter arranged in combination with my
improved gasometer, and with other devices hereinafter described.
Figure 5 is an elevation of a portion of the said gasometer.
Figure 6 is a side elevation partly in section shewing one of my improved
gasometers provided with means for regulating the supply of gas to the burners.
Figure 7 is an elevation partly in section shewing a modified construction of the
various parts of my improved apparatus and devices in connection therewith, as
hereinafter described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
I will first proceed to describe my improved form of carburetter shewn in Figures 1,
2, and 3, and which is constructed as follows, that is to say, a represents the car-
buretter, which has attached to its cover a series of plates a* of metal or other
suitable material. These plates a* may be arranged in rectangular form as shewn,
or spirally, and they cause the air to circulate the required distance to effect its
saturation. The air enters the said carburetter through the opening b, and traversing
(over the oil placed therein) all the compartments formed by the said plates a*,
passes out through another opening c into a small tower d wherein it expands; it
consequently becomes perfectly divided and mixed with the vapour of the oil. I'
thus ensure a homogeneous and equal saturation of the air. It passes thence through
a cock e into a gasometer or gas-holder. The said carburetter is filled with naphtha
or other similar oil to a distance of about one centimitre from the bottom of the
small tower d, as shewn by the dotted line 1, 1.
The said carburetter may be made of any suitable material; zinc may be used
advantageously by reason of the facility with which this metal can be worked, and
its comparatively slight cost. A cock f, shewn in Figure 4, arranged at the lower
part of the carburetter, permits the same to be emptied when desired. An opening
is provided in the cover of the said carburetter, and a cap or piece g furnished
with a leather washer is arranged to close the same when desired. When the cap
or part g is removed the said carburetter may be filled to the desired height.
My improved form of gasometer or holder employed in carrying the said Invention
into practice, and which is shewn in Figure 4, consists of a sack or bag h formed of
oil-cloth or leather rendered impermeable by means of the coating material herein-
after described. The ends of this bag are hermetically secured to square planks or
boards i, . The carburetted air enters the gasometer or holder through the afore-
said cock e, and passes into distributing pipes through the tube j. Small laths or
slats h¹ of wood, forming a framework inside or outside of the bag / prevent the

page_text: folds of the latter from extending outward. On one side these folds are straight, as
shown at h* in Figure 5, and on the other side they are angular or with corners.
By this construction I avoid the cutting out of the corners, as in the bellows of
organs and accordions, which latter construction is difficult and requires delicate
workmanship. A small rod k working through an orifice in the metal piece k¹ guides
the said gasometer or holder.
The material herein before mentioned for coating the bag is composed as follows,
that is to say, one part aloes (aloës succotrin), one part glue, and three parts treacle
or sugar syrup. In coating the said bag the leather or other material of which the
same is composed is first heated and two coats of the coating substance, also hot, are
then applied thereto.
The operation of the above described apparatus is as follows, that is to say, atmo-
spheric air is forced into the carburetter by means of a blower of any suitable kind
placed at the lower part of the apparatus, as shewn at l. This blower is put in
motion by means of a weight m' and the transmitter m, consisting of a chain, cord,
or belt of steel or other suitable material. In the carburetter the air traverses a
space which is made as large as possible. It there becomes completely saturated
with the vapours from the naphtha or other similar oil, and passes into the gasometer
or holder h, from which it passes through the exit tube ; to the distributing pipes.
When bellows are employed they may be rendered impermeable by means of the
coating substance hereinbefore described.
In some cases I attach to the aforesaid gas holder ha valve h²; which is so arranged
in relation to the orifice h³, as shewn in Figure 6, as to ensure an absolutely regular
pressure at the burners, that is to say, when the pressure of gas admitted through
the cock e increases a greater quantity of gas will enter the space surrounding the
cone and pass through the orifice h³, the small gasometer from which the cone is
suspended will be raised and a diminution of the space between the said cone and
the aperture ³ will take place, whilst on the other hand, should the pressure of the
gas admitted to the said cock decrease the said gasometer will again collapse. By
the means above described the pressure in the said gasometer, and consequently at
the burners, will be always the same, as the flow of gas in the pipes connected with
the burners will be regulated, that is to say, the gas cannot enter the distribution
pipes in greater quantity than that required for the supply of the burners alight.
The height of the flame will thus be always the same.
In the modified form of my improved apparatus shewn in Figure 7 the carburetter
a is divided into three compartments, as shewn at a', a², a³, by partitions placed
horizontally above each other. The air enters the centre compartment a², which is
divided by vertical partition plates a* arranged rectangularly or spirally, as herein-
before described. In this case however instead of conveying the air after its circula-
tion through the carburetter into a tower d, as hereinbefore described, it passes into
the cylindrical box n filled with sponge, which permits the passage of the gas but
prevents the small drops of naphtha in suspension in the air from entering the upper
compartment a³.
In the said upper compartment is a suspended plate or screen a' against which
the gas is projected, and which serves to deprive the gas of any liquid particles
that, notwithstanding the action of the sponges in the box I may have been left
in suspension in the air. These liquid particles fall to the bottom of the com-
partment a³ and return through the aperture n' to the sponges, and back into the
compartment a².
The gas continues its course and ascends into the regulator o passing through the
cylinder o¹ and the tube o². The said cylinder is furnished with a cone to regulate
the ingress of gas in a similar manner to that described with reference to Figure 6.
The gas entering the said regulator passes out through the pipe p and thence through
the cock p¹ to the gas-pipes and to the burners.
In some cases I employ a blowing device, as shewn in Figure 7, which consists of
a single acting pump worked by a hot air engine. The engine is started by a gas

page_text: jet at g to which gas is supplied from the pipe p². By this arrangement a small
proportion of the gas produced suffices to work the engine.
Furthermore, I sometimes employ the heated water in the upper part r of the
generator of the said engine, to replace the heat lost by the spontaneous evaporation
of the naphtha. I therefore cause this heated water to circulate in the chamber a¹
of the carburetter a and control its circulation by the cock t, so that the temperature
of the naphtha can never be below 5° centigrade.
I may also in some cases employ in connection with the said carburetter hydraulic
or electric motors, springs, counterpoises, or other suitable devices for blowing air
into the same, and the heat of the naphtha may be maintained at the desired degree
by a small jet of steam or by heating the air to be carburetted previous to its
entrance into the carburetter.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
The novel construction of the carburetter substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
Also the combination with the said carburetter of the regulator arranged above
the same, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Also the combination of the said carburetter and regulator with the other parts
of the apparatus shewn in the Drawings, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
HENRY H. LAKE.
(L.S.)