A New or Improved Apparatus for Carburetting Gas and Air for Illuminating and Heating Purposes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1892
JUMI DELE DI PUITIONL
[Communicated from abroad by FRANZ VERRUE, of 53, Rue de la Source,
Brussels, Belgium, Engineer.]
A New or Improved Apparatus for Carburetting Gas and Air for
Illuminating and Heating Purposes.
.
I ARTHUR WILLIAM WELLS of Lyndewoode Greenhill Park Harlesden in the
County of Middlesex Accountant 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 :-
This invention consists of an improved apparatus for carburetting or enriching
gas and for carburetting air for illuminating and heating purposes which said
apparatus is designed to produce perfect combustion of the carburetted gas or air
without smoke at the burners and to prevent condensation in the service-pipes and
freezing of the carburettor.
When intended for use in carburetting gas the apparatus consists of three parts
connected together by pipes, namely a carburettor, an automatic oil feed box and
an oil reservoir. When intended for use in carburetting air a fourth part namely
an air pressure blower is necessary.
In order that my said invention may be thoroughly understood I will describe
the same with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the whole apparatus.
Figure 2 is a sectional plan view on a larger scale of the carburettor showing the
arrangement of the cylinders in the several chambers.
Figure 3 is a separate view of one of the cylinders of the outer chamber and of
one of the cylinders of the middle and innermost chambers.
Figure 4 is a front elevation of the innermost chamber showing the arrangement
of the tubes through which the gas or air passes from the middle chamber into the
innermost chamber.
Figure 5 is a vertical section on a larger scale taken through the centre of the
central tube of one of the groups of tubes.
Figure 6 is a detail view in vertical section on a larger scale showing the inlet
valve and the bell of the feed box.
The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
The carburettor A is constructed preferably of elliptical shape and is divided
into three concentric chambers a, b, c by internal partitions D, E. The outer
chamber a constitutes the carburetting or enriching chamber, the middle chamber
is the mixing or equalizing chamber and the innermost chamber c is the friction or
condensing and refrigerating or chilling chamber. Each of these chambers is filled
with perforated metal cylinders a', ', c¹ placed close or nearly close together as
shown in Figure 2.
The cylinders a¹ in the outer chamber a are filled with a suitable absorbent
material such as porous wood fibre; the cylinders in the middle chamber bare
filled with a suitable mixing and "stripping" material such as mineral wool and the
cylinders c in the innermost or central chamber c are filled with an imperfect
conductor of heat such as charcoal.
The cylinders a¹ in the outer chamber a are supported by the bottom H of the
carburettor and are of sufficient length to reach the top or cover G thereof. The
cylinders and c¹ in the middle and innermost chambers are supported upon a
raised platform and reach to the top G of the carburettor. The space under-
neath the raised platform d is filled with an imperfect conductor of heat such as
pulverized charcoal or sifted ashes or asbestos cement.

page_text: The partitions D, E between the chambers are soldered gas tight to the cover G
and rest upon a coarse heavy cloth which covers the bottom of the chambers.
The gas or air to be carburetted enters the carburetting or enriching chamber a
at the top through a pipe / provided with a cock 1 and by means of a gas-tight
partition 9 near the inlet the said gas or air is compelled to traverse or circulate
through the full extent of the said chamber a to reach a passage j through which.
it enters the mixing or equalizing chamber 6 wherein a partition / similar to that
in the enriching chamber a compels the gas or air to traverse or circulate through
the full extent of the said mixing or equalizing chamber 6 in order to pass into the
innermost or central chamber e the access to which consists of tubes arranged in
of smaller
groups, each group consisting of a central tube x surrounded by tubes
diameter. The mouths of all the said tubes a y which open into the chamber care
flattened or pinched together and the smaller tubes y, y in each group have their
ends slightly bent inwards towards the mouth of the central tnbe x in order that in
each group the jets of gas passing through the tubes y may impinge upon the
central jet coming from the central tube .
From this inner or central chamber c the gas or air passes through suitable slits
or perforations into an outlet pipe n at the centre of the said chamber and thence
to the burners through the pipe J.
A direct inlet pipe m for the gas or air to be carburetted leads to the middle
chamber thus enabling the operator to control the admission of gas or air through
the pipes 1, m into the outer and middle chambers a and b so as to increase or
decrease the illuminating power of the carburetted gas or air at pleasure within
certain limits.
The inlet pipe leading to the outer chamber a and the inlet pipe m leading to
the middle chamber 6 and the central outlet pipes n J leading from the innermost
chamber c to the burners, are connected together by a cross pipe or by-pass o
provided with a cock 5 by opening which and closing the cocks 1, 2 and 3 the gas
or air may when desired be made to pass through the central outlet pipe J to the
burners without passing into the carburettor.
On the upper side of the cover G of the carburettor a cap is soldered forming a
chamber e of a size similar to that formed by the raised platform d at the bottom
of the carburettor, the said chamber e extending over the top of both the inner and
middle chambers b and c.
The said chamber e and the chamber beneath the platform d are both filled with
a non-conducting material by which the temperature of the water in the water
jacket is prevented from affecting the temperature within the chambers b and c in
which a low temperature is produced by the passage through them of gas from the
chamber a the temperature within which chamber is kept low by the evaporation of
the oil therein.
The carburettor rests upon suitable blocks or supports arranged at the bottom of
the water jacket f which extends some distance above the cover of the carburettor
in order that the latter may be entirely submerged.
Oil is fed into the carburettor through a pipe i provided with cocks 4 and 9 one
end of each of which pipes is connected to the feed box B the other end of each of
the said pipes passing through the water jacket finto and near the bottom of the
outer chamber a.
The outlet pipe n in the centre of the inner chamber c of the carburettor passes
entirely through the latter and is held by a plate n¹ on the top of the upper
chamber and a plate n² on the underside of the carburettor, the said plates being
screwed upon the outlet pipe so as to strengthen the apparatus and give it
rigidity.
'
To provide for the preservation of uniformity of pressure in all parts of the
apparatus the carburetting chamber a is connected with the feed box B and with
the oil reservoir C by means of pipes p, p' provided with cocks 6, 7, 10.
The automatic feed box B should be set on a level with the bottom of the water
jacket of the carburettor and the pipe i connecting the feed box B with the outer

page_text: chamber a of the carburettor should pass out of the feed box B a little higher than
the bottom of the said outer chamber a thus leaving a space for the oil at the
bottom of the feed box somewhat deeper than the height of the blocks which
support the carburettor in the water jacket.
The pipes i, p and q are all fitted with union joint connections in order that the
feed box may be easily changed in case of need.
Oil is fed from the oil reservoir C to the feed box B through a pipe q provided
with cocks 8 and 13 and fitted with a conical inlet valve preferably of carbonized
cork of fine quality sometimes termed "silk cork" fitting into a funnel shaped seat.
The said inlet valve r is guided by and is capable of being adjusted upon a rod one
end of which passes through the said valve. The said valve rod extends somewhat
below the lower end of the valve seat inside the feed box where it is turned at
right angles and runs parallel to the cover of the feed box from which it is
suspended by means of an arm or bracket. The other end of the said valve rod
is turned downwards at right angles and carries a float s by which the valve ris
brought down upon its seat when the level of the oil in the feed box reaches the
required height.
The valve-pin is screw threaded at the part which passes through the cork
valver so as to admit of a nut being secured on the top and bottom of the valve.
By moving these nuts up or down the depth of oil permitted to stand in the
apparatus may be increased or decreased at pleasure. A small metal plate t is
attached to one side of the feed box exactly underneath the inlet pipe by means of
a spiral spring and to the underside of the said plate t a small bell u is hung.
When oil passes through the valve r into the feed box B, the said oil falls upon
the plate t and causes the bell u to ring.
The ringing of the said bell which may be heard by placing the ear near the
feed box indicates that the valve is working satisfactorily. When the carburettor
is not in use the ringing of the bell should cease.
The inlet pipe q of the feed box B is connected with the oil reservoir C which
should be placed somewhat higher than the top of the conical inlet valve r of the
feed box.
The said reservoir is provided with an inlet pipe having a cock 11 for the oil
and an outlet pipe w having a cock 12 for the displaced gas, the said pipes v and w
being fitted with union joints to match the union joints of the filling can.
The apparatus works as follows:-
The pipe K being connected with the gas or air pipe and the pipe J with the
burners the operator opens the cocks 13 and 8 of the pipe q thereby allowing the
oil to flow from the reservoir into the feed box B through the valve r. He then
opens the cocks 9 and 4 of the pipe i through which the oil passes from the feed
box B into the chamber a of the carburettor. The apparatus will not however be
ready to work until the packing in the cylinders a' of the enriching chamber a has
by capillary absorption, become thoroughly charged with oil. The cock 5 is then
opened which allows the gas to pass by the cross pipe o directly to the pipe J and
to the burners without passing through the carburettor. Then the cock 3 on the
outlet pipe n of the carburettor is opened and the air contained in the apparatus is
allowed to escape through the said pipe. The cock 2 on the inlet pipe m leading
to the chamber bis next opened and a minute later the cock 1 on the inlet pipe?
leading to the enriching chamber a. The cock 5 on the pipe o is then gradually
closed.
When the water in the water jacket has become sufficiently cold (which will be
in about half an hour) the cock 2 on the pipe m is closed. The gas or air then
passes only through the pipe l'into the enriching chamber a where it circulates
through the cylinders a' taking up carbon the quantity of which varies somewhat
according to the gravity of the oil and the temperature of the gas or air introduced
and the temperature of the enriching chamber a. From the said chamber the gas
or air charged with carbon passes through the opening ; into the middle.or
"stripping" chamber 6 where it is thoroughly mixed in its passage through the

page_text: cylinders 6 and all supercarbon chilled or stripped out and absorbed by the packing
in the cylinders b¹ and returns by percolation through the cloth on the bottom of
the carburettor to the enriching chamber a.
From the chamber 6 the gas or air passes into the inner or friction chamber c
through the groups of flattened tubes x, y which as hereinbefore described are so
arranged that the streams of gas from the several tubes in each group impinge
upon each other, the cold blast thus produced serving by friction to atomize the
carbon and render the union with the gas or air complete and fixed.
In the said chamber the gas or air becomes very cold by passing through the
cylinders c and any supercarbon that may yet remain is chilled out and precipitated.
and returns to the enriching chamber a by percolation through the cloth on the
bottom of the carburettor. "From the chamber c the gas or air enters the pipe n
through suitable slits or perforations therein and thence passes to the pipe J and to
the burners. It should be remarked that the gas or air does not come into contact
with the oil in the enriching chamber a but only with the packing in the
cylinders.
The water jacket f is provided with an inlet pipe and an outflow pipe f" by
means of which circulation of the water in the said jacket may be established in case
of need to prevent freezing of the said water in consequence of absorption of heat
therefrom by the chamber a in which a low temperature is produced by the
evaporation of the oil within it.
By the use of the apparatus herein before described the illuminating power of the
gas supplied to the burners can be considerably varied and the burners can be
supplied with gas of a given illuminating power. This can be effected by so
adjusting the opening of the valve in the feed box as to preserve a suitable depth of
oil in the enriching chamber a of the carburettor, and by causing a suitable circula-
tion of the water through the water jacket and also by opening more or less the
cocks 1, 2 and 5 of the pipes 1, m and o, as will be well understood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim :-
First An apparatus for enriching or carburetting gas and for carburetting air
formed of three concentric chambers separated from. one another by partitions
soldered at top to the cover of the carburettor and resting at bottom upon layers
of cloth which respectively cover the bottom of the outer chamber and the raised
platform constituting the bottom of the two inner chambers the three chambers
being arranged so that the gas or air first enters the outer chambers which is fed
with oil from a suitable reservoir and in which the gas or air is charged with carbon
in circulating all round the said chamber and from which the gas or air passes into
the second chamber around which it circulates and in which it is stripped of the
excess or part of the excess of carbon which it contains and from which said second
chamber the gas or air passes into the central chamber through groups of flattened
tubes so arranged that in each group the jets of gas issuing from the said tubes.
impinge upon each other in order to render complete and fixed the union of the
carbon with the gas or air entering the central chamber where all excess of carbon
which the said gas or air may still contain is chilled out of it before it passes to the
burners.
Secondly-The use in each of the three chambers of the carburettor of perforated
cylinders placed close or nearly close together each of the said cylinders resting
upon cloth covering the bottom of the chamber and being of such height as to be in
contact with the top thereof, the cylinders in the outer chamber being filled with an
absorbent material such as porous wood fibre those in the middle chamber with a
suitable stripping material, such as asbestos and those in the central chamber with
a bad conductor of heat such as charcoal.
Thirdly-A chamber containing a bad conductor of heat formed beneath the
middle and central chambers by. the platform forming the bottom of the said.
chambers and by the bottom of the carburettor, and a corresponding chamber con-

page_text: taining a similar material formed on the upperside of the top of the said chambers
to protect them against the changes of temperature of the water surrounding the
apparatus or of the air.
Fourthly:-The use in combination with a carburettor of the kind herein before
described of a water jacket surrounding the carburettor on all sides.
Fifthly In combination with a carburettor of the kind herein before described
and with an oil reservoir, a feed box connected by pipes to the reservoir and to the
carburettor and receiving oil from the reservoir through a valve located outside
the box and capable of being adjusted to regulate the depth of oil maintained by the
said box at the bottom of the outer chamber of the carburettor.
Sixthly The use of a plate attached by a spring to the side of the feed box
exactly underneath the inlet valve and pipe and having a small bell hung to its
underside as and for the purpose herein before described.
Seventhly-An apparatus for enriching or carburetting gas and for carburetting
air having an oil feeding box provided with a valve by which the amount of oil fed
to the carburettor can be regulated, a water jacket surrounding the carburettor on
all sides provided with means for causing a circulation of the water in the said
jacket and a pipe through which the gas or air to be carburetted passes into the
enriching chamber of the carburettor, a pipe through which the gas or air to be
carburetted may be introduced directly into the middle or equalizing chamber of the
carburettor and a pipe through which the gas or air may be caused to pass directly
to the burners without passing through the carburettor the whole being combined
in order that the operator may vary at pleasure the illuminating power of the gas
supplied to the burners and also supply the burners with gas of a given illuminating
power.
Dated this 20th dor of October 1809
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.