IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS BURNERS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Victor Dubourg, Doctor of Medicine, of Frankfort-on-
Maine, Germany, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS BURNERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Victor Dubourg at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th March 1864.
I, VICTOR DUBOURG, Doctor of Medicine, of Frankfort-on-Maine, Germany,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS
BURNERS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain thereby a considerable saving of
gas. The gas burner is as it were arranged so as to form a kind of hearth
with a grate and chimney. The grate, in the lower inside part thereof, is a
system of wirework and has a perforated bottom and one or more gratings
made of woven wirework. The chimney or enclosure of the flame in imme-
diate connection with the burner is formed with an opening of suitable size
from which the flame passes. The several parts of the apparatus are made
of or coated (by preference) with platinum or other suitable metal: The
apparatus is suitable for all purposes where gas burners are employed.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Victor Dubourg, Her special licence that I, the said Victor Dubourg,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Victor
Dubourg, my 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 GAS
BURNERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Victor
Dubourg, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Victor Dubourg, 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 object of this Invention is to obtain a considerable saving of gas. The
gas burner is as it were arranged so as to form a kind of hearth with a grate
and chimney. The grate, in the lower inside part thereof, is a system of wire-
work and has a perforated bottom and one or more gratings made of woven
wirework. The chimney or enclosure of the flame in immediate connection
with the burner is formed with an opening of suitable size from which the flame
passes. The several parts of the appartus forming my improved gas burner
are made of or coated with platinum. The apparatus applied to a gas burner
according to my Invention is suitable for all purposes where gas burners are
employed, and is for the purpose of avoiding the loss of gas caused by the
incomplete combustion thereof in ordinary gas burners. There are three main
causes which occasion considerable loss in the illuminating power of which
should be obtained from the gas as supplied by the gas companies: first, the
loss of a portion of the gas itself, which passes unconsumed through the flame;
secondly, the small intensity of the flame, which, on account of insufficient heat,
only partly effects the combustion of the carburetted hydrogen gas; thirdly,
gas

page_text: the extreme pressure of the gas causes the same to pass too rapidly from the
burner, and thereby is not capable of being completely oxidized.
Now the arrangement of the apparatus which supersedes these disadvantages
may be divided into two parts, viz., the upper part or burner and the lower part.
or chamber of the burner through which the gas passes to the burner. The
upper part of my improved gas burner consists of a kind of chimney or hood a
having a larger opening than that part of the burner through which the gas
first issues. The opening or outlet of the chimney or hood a may be modified.
in size and form according to the character of the burner to which it is
applied. This chimney or hood prevents the gas escaping without having
passed through the flame, and it also increases the intensity of the heat at the
point of ignition, so that the gas shall be completely consumed, these being
the necessary conditions for obtaining complete combustion of the gas. To
the lower interior part of my improved gas burner a grating is applied which
overcomes the excess of pressure of the gas and only allows sufficient gas to
pass for sustaining the flame.
The construction and arrangement of my improved gas burner may be
greatly varied without departing from the nature of my Invention, which I
will now proceed to describe.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 shew the manner in which my Invention was first applied
to an ordinary gas burner. No. 1 shews an ordinary gas burner with two
holes; No. 2 is a simple wire ring a; No. 3 is the burner with the ring a
fixed upon it and enclosing the gas jet within its circumference; No. 4 is a
tubular ring a; No. 5 is the burner, upon which this tubular ring or chimney a
is fixed; Nos. 6ª and 6 shew the ring or chimney a partly enclosed in at the
top; the opening of that shewn at 6" is rather narrow, and is intended to be.
used with small burners, which produce a flame of an elongated form. The
opening in No. 6b is wider, and this chimney or hood a is suitable for being
applied to flat-flame or fish-tail burners, or for the purpose of producing a
broad flame; No. 7 represents a common gas burner (with two holes), which
has been turned cylindrical at the upper part, and upon which the chimney
or hood a is to be placed; No. 8 shews the same gas burner with the chimney
or hood a placed thereon; No. 9 shews a gas burner having a chimney or
hood a the opening of which is round; Nos. 10° and 10 shew two forms of
chimneys or hoods a, No. 10 having an oval opening and No. 10b a round
opening with two slits; both chimneys give a broader flame but less power of
light than chimnies with a simple round opening; No. 11" and 11" shew the

page_text: arrangement of the lower part of the gas burner, viz., the grating through
which the gas passes to the burner; No. 11* represents the grating seen from
above; No. 11b, the same as seen from below. The upper part of the cylinder
is provided with a very close-woven brass wire gauze, the lower end being
furnished with a bottom which is perforated with a number of holes in pro-
portion to its surface. This grate counteracts the excess of pressure of the
gas and prevents more gas from passing than is necessary for the feeding of
the flame. In some cases I apply one or more discs of wire gauze inside the
cylinder to modify the pressure of the gas. The grating is passed into and
applied to the gas burner through the opening at the lower end thereof.
No. 12 shews à gas burner formed with a slit or cross cut; No. 12b shews a
similar burner with a row of holes in place of the slit; Nó. 13 shews a chimney
or hood a; and No. 14 shews the gas burner with chimney or hood a applied
thereto; No. 15 shews a similar burner to No. 12, but at its opening there is
a wire of brass or other metal which encloses the slit of the opening to a certain
extent; No. 16 shews a gas burner formed with two slits; and No. 17 shews
a chimney or hood a having two slits or openings to correspond therewith;
No. 17 shews the same form of gas burner having two rows of holes in place
of slits; No. 18 is a similar burner having a double chimney or hood a applied
thereto; No. 19 is a burner formed with a broad slit; the chimney or hood is
similar to that shewn at Figure 13, and is indicated by dotted lines. No. 20
shews an Argand gas burner pierced with holes varying from eight to thirty-
two in number; No. 21 is a chimney with holes corresponding to those in the
burner No. 20; No. 22 shews the same gas burner having a chimney applied
thereto according to my Invention. Nos. 23 and 24 shew another form or
arrangement of the chimney or hood a consisting of two parts a and a², these
two parts form around the holes of the burner a double circular enclosure,
from which the flame issues, a complete gas burner of this construction being
shewn at Figure 25; No. 26 shews a gas burner formed with a circular
opening; Nos. 27 and 28 shew the inner and the outer parts of the chimney
or hood a separately, and No. 29 shews the same gas burner with its chimney
or hood complete; No. 30 shews a plan view of the same gas burner. In
order to simplify the construction of the apparatus I prefer to shorten the
upper part of the chimney or hood a, giving it the form shewn at No. 31;
No. 32 represents the burner fitting to it; this consists of a single pièce of
metal, or by preference of two parts, the upper part, where the gas orifices
are, is a separate piece, and this latter piece, to prevent oxidation, I prefer to
make of steatite or porcelain; No. 33.shews this arrangement of gas burners
complete. For convenience of construction the grate is formed by introducing

page_text: the discs of wire gauze into the cylindrical chamber by placing them between
several rings placed over each other, as seen at No. 34.
I would here remark that the form and arrangement of gas burners may be
greatly varied without departing from the broad principle of my Invention,
which consists in forming the burner at its upper end with an elevated enclo-
sure, which, whilst it admits free access of the oxygen, prevents any escape of
unconsumed gas, and at the same time, through the heating of the walls or
sides of this enclosure, imparts to the flame a sufficient intensity to develope
the highest possible illuminating power of the gas so consumed. The grating
introduced below the burner, and through which the gas passes, only allows
that quantity of gas to pass from the burner which can be perfectly consumed
thereby. In order to increase the illuminating power of the flame I cover the
different parts of my improved gas burner with thin coats of platinum, which
also protects it against oxidation, and by reason of its peculiar construction
with a grate and chimney I denominate it as the "omnivorax gas burner."
I would observe that the grating is not an absolutely necessary appendage to
my improved gas burner, having but little influence upon the increase of the
light produced, and may, if desired, be dispensed with; and I make no claim
to the broad principle of this grate, as the same is to some extent already
known, but the improved form and arrangement of my application thereof to
gas burners as herein described differs from those heretofore employed for this
purpose.
Having thus fully described the nature of my Invention, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein described,
but what I claim as my Invention is, the metallic chimney or hood a plated
with platinum and its application to gas burners, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Victor Dubourg, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixy-four.
V. DUBOURG, Dr. Méd. (L.B.)