IMPROVEMENTS IN REGENERATIVE GAS BURNERS AND LAMPS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Bourne Wicken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th March 1883.
WILLIAM BOURNE WICKEN of St. Johns Wood, in the County of Middlesex,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REGENERATIVE GAS BURNERS AND LAMPS
33
This invention relates to improvements in regenerative gas burners and lamps.
According to part of my improvements the upper portion of the lamp consists
of a series of spherical chambers one within another beginning with the inside
chamber which is supported and fixed on the small gas tube supplying the Bunsen
burner below. This chamber merely serves the purpose of a deflector for the air
currents passing over its exterior surface deflecting the currents of fresh air
playing upon its upper surface on-to the sides of the surrounding chamber. This
small chamber is pierced with two small holes to allow for expansion of the air it
contains when heated. This chamber is connected with the external air at the top
by a number of short tubes arranged in two circles these tubes pass through the
surrounding chamber and reach the outer air the tubes are about 1/4 inch apart so
as not to obstruct the ascending air currents.
A lower series of tubes arranged in the same manner as the upper series
provide passages for exit of the downward currents of air.
Another chamber provides a passage for the currents of burnt air and products
of combustion which passing around and between the two series of tubes and
also around the exterior of air inner chamber heat the currents of fresh air travelling
through them
On a portion of the exterior surface of the air chamber is placed the gas chamber
to which is connected at the upper part two gas supply tubes .one on each side.
The gas finds exit through a number of tubes at the lower portion these tubes are
curved in shape and are also made to taper gradually to a point and are arranged
with radial spaces between so as to bring their points close enough together so
that the issuing gas jets shall form one general flame.
The spaces between widening towards the beginning of the tube nearest the
gas chamber admit the passage of air between them supplied from the lower series
of tubes.
The lower portion of the lamp consists mainly of two large chambers; The
outer or combustion chamber formed by a glass globe which has a small circular

page_text: aperture at the lower side in which a ventilator is fixed as a means of lighting the
burner without removing the glass globe this regulating ventilator may also be
useful to supply a current of air to the Bunsen burner.
The Bunsen burner consists of a tube extending from the bottom of the inner
air chamber (when the gas supply and the air supply enters the tube of the burner)
and through a lower air chamber.
At the lower end of the burner tube a bulbed end is fixed having a number of
radial slits for the emission of the mixed gas and air. The lower inner chamber
is a tube extending downwards from the upper outlet chamber and is the beginning
of the passage for the products of combustion which pass from it upwards through
the discharge passage and thence up to the chimney and thence to the external
.air. The top of the chimney when the lamp is fixed out of doors is to have a cap
suitably arranged for preventing any down draught or adverse action of external
air currents. Or a specially provided flue may be arranged to convey the vitiated
air from an apartment where the lamp is fixed.
Between the bulbed end of the Bunsen burner and the bottom of the outlet
chamber a loosely arranged-spherical mass of very fine platinum wire is slung by
means of supporting wires from the bottom of the large outlet tube. This mass of
wire is not matted or arranged so close as to prevent the passage of the flame
through it as it must allow the flames to pass easily through it so as to heat the
wire to incandescence. Or I arrange instead of the spherical mass of wire a kind
of wire cage made of very fine platinum wire but with meshes large enough to
admit the passage of the gas flames which by means of the rapid current of air
will pass through a tolerably small mesh.
The action of the lamp is as follows,
The gas being turned on the light is applied through the ventilator at bottom
to the Bunsen burner the flame from the Bunsen burner ignites the illuminating
flames from the upper system of jets. The Bunsen burner being immediately
under the central tube, the heated air rushes up it and between the air tubes and
through the space between the air chamber and the gas chamber and so upward
to the upper chimney, the upper chimney should be about three times the length
of the lower portion of the lamp and to contain a volume of air large enough to
induce a powerful draught through the fresh air chambers and tubes the products
of combustion passing upwards heats the sides of the tubes and the air and gas
chambers which convey the heat imparted to their respective contents of air
and gas.
The downward or induced current passes through the upper tubes into the
heating chamber from thence it is conveyed by the lower tubes past the gas jet
tubes into close contact on both sides of the annular gas flame in the combustion
chamber. The gas flames or jets are projected at an angle and the action and
direction of the downward rapid induced air current makes the said jets of flames
conform to the curve of the large central tube..
The increased space between the bottom of the central tube and the bottom of
the glass globe permits enough of the downward current of air passing the exterior
surface of the illuminating flame to come in contact with the solid flame emitted
from the slits of the Bunsen burner and the rapid induced current conveys a greater
volume of oxygen or more fresh air than is used up in the combustion of the
illuminating flame.
If in practice this is not the case the ventilator at the bottom of the globe
should be modified so as to remain permanently open so as to supply a current of
fresh air to the Bunsen burner. This amount of air would be small and the heated
bottom of the Bunsen burner would impart heat to the current, the said current
being of small volume and the cooling action and influence upon the upper
induced current would be nominal..
The mixture of air and gas passing down the Bunsen tube being heated
to a high degree will impart such a temperature to its flame as to produce a fair
amount of incandescence in the platinum wire subject to its influence,

page_text: The object of the platinum wire is to obtain by incandescence at least as much
light as the small amount of gas used up by the single jet supplying the Bunsen
flame would give if it were burnt unmixed with air.
The platinum cage or loosely arranged sphere should not have direct contact
with the tube of the Bunsen burner and only be connected by suspension to the
main central tube thereby losing no heat by conduction.
The bulb of the Bunsen burner should be carried far enough below any arrange-
ment of platinum wire so as to allow the flame to be fairly started and burn first
below the wire the upper portion of the flame only coming in contact with
the wire so as to obviate any area of partial combustion in the flame about the
wire.
Should the air space in the combustion chamber below the bottom of the central
tube not be great enough for the downward currents of air to flow down to the
Bunsen flame the space can be increased by slightly modifying the shape of the
globe and making that space larger
The burner tubes supplying the illuminating flame should gradually taper to
their orifices so as to give impetus and additional velocity to the pencil of issuing
flame but the orifices must not be small enough to attenuate the flame and produce
a thin flame of low illuminating power
Or
The small tube supplying the Bunsen burner may be affixed separately from the
supply to the main gas chamber, that it may be either turned down or entirely out
after the chambers and parts are thoroughly heated and the draught up the long
chimney has attained power enough to make the action of the lamp constant.
the separate supply may be used as a means of keeping the lamp continually
alight with only a very small and economical consumption of gas when the lamp
is fixed in places inconvenient to get at to light or for street lamps.
Another modification of my improved burner is as follows;
I reverse the direction of the gas flames projecting them upwards instead of
downwards to suit this modification.
I supply the fresh air at the bottom of the lamp which is taken up a large
central tube to a point some distance above the illuminating, flame this tube then.
branches off into a number of curved tubes whose outer surfaces come in contact
with the products of combustion in their passage to the extended chimney. These
tubes enter into a cylindrical chamber which surrounds the central air shaft. This
outer chamber conveys the air down to the combustion chamber formed by a glass
globe having an orifice at the bottom corresponding in size to the circumference
of the central air shaft at that point.
This glass globe is fixed at its upper part to the end of a spherical casing forming
the beginning of a conduit for the products of combustion and enclosing the upper
part of the air shafts and tubes. This spherical chamber extends into a large tube
forming a chimney to the lamp.
The gas chamber is formed by encircling the outer air shaft with an annular
chamber supplied at the top by two gas pipes if the lamp is pendent. If the lamp
is supported from below one gas pipe is taken up the inner air shaft and branches
off at right angles through the outer air shaft to the gas chamber thus supporting
the lamp.
*
The small tubes supplying the illuminating flame are fixed at the lower end of
the gas chamber at a suitable, angle which allows of the air currents drawing the
flame into a globular shape.
If it is found in practice objectionable to conduct the gas to gas heating chamber
by the two pipes externally the gas can be conveyed from the bottom by a single
pipe branching laterally to the gas chamber and this gas supply pipe becoming in
this case the support to the whole lamp. If the lamp is to be pendent the gas
supply tube may be taken down the extended chimney and branching to the gas
chamber as above mentioned
I will now describe some modifications of my improved regenerative gas burners
and lamps

page_text: The lamp may be constructed with the Bunsen burner without the arrangement
of platinum wire for incandescence in which case the tube of the Bunsen burner
should not be extended so far below the end of the main central tube, but only so
far as to allow the full ignition of the flame before entering the central or main
tube so as to prevent any roaring or noise in the action of the lamp
The action of the Bunsen burner in this case is confined firstly to imparting
velocity to the ascending current of products of combustion at the instant of
lighting and to aid in heating the chambers and tubes containing the fresh air.
Another modification is that if the present shape of the lower main central tube
is found in practice to be objectionable it may be altered to obviate the fault or to
suit any desired modification for instance the sides may be made perpendicular
instead of curved or it may be contracted towards or at its orifice.
Other modifications may also be adopted such as the shape of the main lower
tube the shape of the gas jet tubes the direction given to the issuing pencils
of gas flame and the, shape and form of the globe enclosing the combustion
chamber.
Another important modification is that the Bunsen burner may be left out
altogether. In order to insure the products of combustion passing properly up the
chimney I contract the orifices of the tubes supplying the illuminating flame to a
very fine hole or orifice similar in extent to an ordinary mouth blow pipe also
tapering the tubes gradually to this orifice by this means I obtain descending
pencils of gas that have velocity in themselves to direct the points of these flames
when first lighted down and underneath the orifice of the central tube.
To suit this arrangement I modify the shape of the central tube by contracting
the sides of the surrounding space so as to concentrate the air currents directly
on to the flames the force of whose issuing induces air currents downwards.
Should the orifices of the burner tubes require to be so much contracted at their
ends or points as to give the required velocity to the pencils of gas flame that
attenuation and thinness of flame is produced I increase the number of gas jet
tubes by having another series directly below the upper series so as not to fill up
the radial air spaces between the said gas jet tubes. The second series of similar
tubes serve to project their flame in combination with the pencils of the other jets
so as to duplex the flame or to project their flames downward in a separate annular
flame distinct and away from the inner annular flame thereby imparting greater
illuminating power to the gas flame in general.
The contraction of the sides of the chambers allows of and assists the force of
The force of the
the issuing gas jets to induce an accompanying current of air.
downward gas jets is kept up as far as the end of the central tube at which point
the current at once ascends.
The
The above remarks apply only at the instant. of lighting the gas jets.
current once started upwards in the central tube the constant action of the lamp is
begun.
An important part of my invention consists in the combination of material heated
by an atmospheric gas flame to incandescence and an ordinary illuminating gas
flame the gas and air supplying both flames being heated by the waste heat of the
combustion of gas.
The materials I find it advantageous to use in the construction of my
lamps and gas burners are as follows;
'
improved
For those portions of the tubes or chambers or main lower central tube and
tube and bulb of Bunsen burner when exposed to direct action of gas flamė I use
porcelain glazed er unglazed or steatite or fire clay or other suitable substance or
material For those portions of the chambers and tubes more remote from the
direct action of flame and where a good conductor of heat is needed to take up
and impart heat brass iron or metal of the most suitable kind may be used.
It may be found necessary in the presence of great heat playing on the surfaces
of the fresh air chambers and tubes to make them entirely of porcelain or fire clay
or of other suitable refractory substance.

page_text: When my improved lamps are used for exterior and street illumination they will
require a protective lantern to prevent rain from coming in contact with the heated
glass globe causing fracture.
If it is found in practice that the spherical chamber having the tubes attached
to them are too expensive for the purpose I modify that arrangement by using
the spherical chamber as conduits for the respective air and products of combustion
chambers.
This form considerably simplifies this construction of the several chambers and
even without the radial heat conducting plates acts effectively.
Without the Bunsen burner the central sphere merely acts as a deflector to
deflect the ascending current from the gas flames against the sides of the fresh air
chamber. If this form is used without the Bunsen burner the sides of the outer
chamber just above the glass globe should be contracted to aid the force of issuing
gas to induce a current at the instant of lighting as explained in remarks on other
modifications
By reversing the order of the spherical chambers I make the inner chamber the
passage for products of combustion and the outer one the passage for fresh air, and
placing the gas heating chamber on the external surface of the burnt air chamber.
If the Bunsen burner be used in this case the central sphere becomes a heating
chamber supplying fresh air to the Bunsen tube.
A series of radial plates or flanges divide the fresh air chamber into compart-
ments and the flanges or radial plates act as heat conductors from the burnt air
chamber and give more heated surface to impart heat to currents of fresh air.