IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS.
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bower, of Saint Neots, in the County of
Huntingdon, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS.'
Sealed the 5th August 1859, and dated the 9th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bower at the
. Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th February 1859.
I, GEORGE BOWER, of Saint Neots, in the County of Huntingdon, Gas
Engineer, do hereby declare the, nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a certain extent to an Invention of "Improve-*
ments in the Manufacture of Gas for Illumination," for which British Letters
Patent were granted to Mr. Bower, on or about the Twenty-fourth day of
December 1852, numbered 1161, and also 'to an Invention of "Improve-
ments in Apparatus for Manufacturing Gas," for which British Letters
Patent were also granted to the said Mr. Bower, on or about the Fifth
day of March 1857, numbered 6.49, and: it consists' principally of a novel
arrangement of gas generator, of a portable and peculiarly simple kind. The
generator consists of a cylindrical base chamber or reservoir, having on each
side of it an inclined shoot or laterally projecting open chamber in full commu-

page_text: nication with the main central cylindrical chamber; the top of the latter carries
a set of circular grate bars for the fuel, to be used in working the gas retort;
over this grate there is placed an upright cylindrical or slightly conical fuel
chamber or furnace of metal lined with fire-clay or bricks on the whole of its
surface; the fuel is supplied to this furnace by a side fire door. The retort
is a slightly conical vertical cast-iron tube set in the centre of the furnace or
fuel chamber with its upper and narrower end projecting somewhat above the
top cover of the furnace; its lower end is trumpet-mouthed and quite open,
and it is bolted to an annular supporting flange in the interior of the baso
reservoir at the level of the water with which the latter is filled. This open
lower end of the retort is filled in with a horizontal disc plate, capable of being
set up within the trumpet mouth, so as to entirely close the opening just where
the trumpet portion joins the lower end of the main cone, and at the level of
the furnace bars. This disc plate is attached to the upper vertical end of a
bent or bell-crank lever, which extends outwards through the opening in the
base reservoir on that side, and passes into and through the laterally projecting
chamber on that side, as already referred to, terminating in a vertical piece,
which is jointed to a stud centre carried upon the top of the open laterally
projecting chamber. At the bend where this latter vertical portion of the lever
joins the main portion of the lever, there is a joint stud for connecting it by
a loose revolving joint to the lower end of an inclined screw spindle employed
for actuating the closing disc of the retort at pleasure. This inclined screw
passes through a stationary nut on the top of the open lateral chamber, and is
fitted with a winch handle at its upper end; thus, by turning this handle in
either direction, the screw spindle urges the bent lever back or forward, and
thus fully opens or closes the open bottom of the retort, as desired. The upper
end of the retort has cast upon it a ring flange for connection to the top of
the fuel chamber, and it has also a flange at the top of the lower trumpet
portion for the support thereon of a conical tube or covering piece of fire-clay
or brick as a shield and collector of heat for the retort. In this way the fuel
supplied to the chamber or furnace is entirely contained between brick linings
or coverings. The smoke from this fuel passes off by a lateral branch. Upon
the top of the retort there is bolted a coal-charging chamber and a gas-dis-
charging apparatus for the retort itself. This consists of a short horizontal
chamber projecting to one side and fitted with an archimedian screw worked
by a handle on the projecting end of the screw spindle, which is passed through
a stuffing box. On the upper side of this screw chamber there is cast a
vertical receiving chamber or hopper fitted with a plug on its top. The coal
or material to be used in the manufacture of gas is supplied to this chamber,

page_text: and the periodical turning of the screw forces the coal from it into a small
vertical chamber portion of the same casting, whence it falls directly into the
upper end of the retort. This chamber is also fitted with a plug for allowing
access to the retort to clear it out when necessary. From the same chamber
a lateral branch pipe passes off to convey the gas and distilled matter away to
the hydraulic main, and to Mr. Bower's "combined gas apparatus," and
thence to the gas-holder. With this apparatus the gas-generating process goes
on continuously, as the simple occasional supply of coal to the receiving
chamber, the turning of the screw to put the coal into the retort, and the
opening and closing of the bottom plate of the retort to discharge the coke in
the water reservoir in the base, answer all the conditions necessary for the
working of the generator. Oil, resin, or other material may be used for
making gas in this generator by simply dropping the gas-producing matter
upon coke, brick, or other porous or permeable matter in the retort. The gas-
holder used in conjunction with this apparatus consists of a chamber of
vulcanized caoutchouc fitted with a metal top plate and working within a water
tank. This insures great portability whilst the whole of the gas may be
exhausted from the holder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bower in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
BOWER, of Saint Neots, in the County of Huntingdon, Gas Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine,. in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Bower, Her special license that I, tho said George Bower,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Bower, my executors, administrators, or 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, au Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS," upon the condition

page_text: (amongst others) that I, the said George Bower, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 George Bower, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists principally of a novel arrangement of gas generator,
of a portable and peculiarly simple kind.. The generator consists of a cylin-
drical base chamber or reservoir, having on each side of it an inclined shoot
or laterally projecting open chamber in full communication with the main
central cylindrical chamber; the top of the latter carries a set of circular
grate bars for the fuel, to be used in working the gas retort; over this grate
there is placed an upright cylindrical or slightly conical fuel chamber or
furnace of metal lined with fire-clay bricks on the whole of its surface; the
fuel is supplied to this furnace by a side fire door. The retort is a conical
vertical cast-iron tube set in the centre of the furnace or fuel chamber, with its
upper and narrower end projecting somewhat above the top cover of the
furnace; its lower end is trumpet-mouthed and quite open, and it is bolted to
an annular supporting flange in the interior of the base reservoir at the level
of the water with which the latter is filled. This open lower end of the retort
is filled in with a horizontal disc plate, capable of being set up within the
trumpet mouth, so as to entirely close the opening just where the trumpet
portion joins the lower end of the main cone, and at or slightly above the level
of the furnace bars. This disc plate is attached to the upper vertical end of a
bent or bell-crank lever, which extends outwards to the opening in the base
reservoir on that side, and passes into and through the laterally projecting
chamber on that side, as already referred to, terminating in a vertical
piece, which is jointed to a stud centre, carried upon the top of the open
laterally projecting chamber. At the bend where this latter vertical portion
of the lever joins the main portion of the lever, there is a joint stud for
connecting it by a loose revolving joint, (to the lower end of an inclined screw
spindle employed for actuating the closing disc of the retort at pleasure); this
inclined screw passes through a stationary nut on the top of the open lateral
chamber, and is fitted with a winch handle at is upper end; thus, by turning

page_text: this handle in either direction, the screw spindle urges the bent lever back
or forward, and thus fully opens or closes the open bottom of the retort,
as desired. The upper end of the retort has cast upon it a ring flange for
connection to the top of the fuel chamber, and it has also a flange at the top
of the lower trumpet portion for the support thereon of a conical tube or
covering piece of fire-clay or brick, as a shield and collector of heat for the
retort. In this way the fuel supplied to the chamber or furnace is entirely
contained between brick linings or coverings. The smoke from this fuel passes
off by a lateral branch. Upon the top of the retort there is bolted a coal-
charging chamber and a gas-discharging apparatus for the retort itself. This
consists of a short horizontal chamber projecting to one side and fitted with an
archimedean screw worked by a handle on the projecting end of the screw
spindle which is passed through a stuffing box. On the upper side of this
screw chamber there is cast a vertical receiving chamber or hopper, fitted
with a plug on its top. The coal or other solid material to be used in the
manufacture of gas is supplied to this chamber, and the periodical furning of
the screw forces the coal from it into a small vertical chamber portion of the
same casting, whence it falls directly into the upper end of the retort. This
chamber is also fitted with a plug for allowing access to the retort to clear it
out when necessary. From the same chamber a lateral branch pipe passes
off, to convey the gas and distilled matter away to the hydraulic main and
to my combined gas apparatus, and thence to the gas-holder. With this
apparatus the gas-generating process goes on continuously, as the simple
occasional supply of coal to the receiving chamber, the turning of the screw
to put the coal into the retort, and the opening and closing of the bottom
plate of the retort to discharge the coke in the water reservoir in the base,
answer all the conditions necessary for the working of the generator. Oil,
resin, or other material may be used for making gas in this generator by
simply dropping the gas-producing matter upon coke, brick, or other porous
or permeable matter in the retort. The gas-holder used in conjunction with
this apparatus consists of a chamber of vulcanized caoutchouc fitted with a
metal top plate, and working within a water tank. This insures great porta-
bility, whilst the whole of the gas may be exhausted from the holder.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to explain certain modifications under which my improvements
may be judiciously carried out in actual practice, reference being made to
the two Sheets of Drawings attached hereunto, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say:-
Figure 1 on Sheet I. of my Drawings, is a complete vertical section of my

page_text: generating apparatus for the manufacture of illuminating gas as fitted up
entire for use; Figure 2, on the same Sheet, is a corresponding external
elevation of the apparatus; Figure 3 is a vertical section of the gas generator,
corresponding to Figure I. but shewing the coke-discharging apparatus open
as after a discharge of the coke from the retort, and as having the coal-feeding
and gas-discharging apparatus removed; Figure 4 is a sectional plan of the
generator. In this generator the apparatus essentially consists of a cylindrical
metal base chamber A, having on its two opposite sides an inclined shoot or
open chamber B, as delineated most clearly in Figures 2 and 4. On the top
of the main central cylindrical chamber there is arranged a circular or annular
fire-grate C, for the reception of the fuel to be used in working the retort.
This grate or furnace is surmounted by a slightly conical fuel chamber D,
lined on its internal surface with fire-clay or fire-bricks E; the fuel is supplied
to the furnace by the side fire door T. The cast-iron retort G is in the
centre of the fuel chamber or working furnace; it is slightly conical for the
easy discharge of the coke, its upper and narrower end H projecting some-
what above the top cover I of the furnace; its bottom end is trumpet-
mouthed, as at J, and left quite open, and it is bolted to an annual supporting
flange K in the interior of the base reservoir, at or about the level of the
water with which the reservoir is filled. This open lower end of the retort is
filled with a valvular disc L for opening and closing purposes. This disc L is
attached to the upper vertical end M of a bent lever N, as shewn most clearly
in Figure I. The other end of this bent lever terminates in a piece O,
working upon the stud centre P, carried upon the top of the open chamber on
that side. At the bend Q in this lever there is a joint stud, by which the
lever is connected by a loose revolving joint to the bottom end of the screw
spindle R. This screw spindle is passed through a nut S arranged to oscillate
upon a fixed centre on the top of the open chamber B on that side, and it has
a winch handle T on its upper end; the attendant can thus easily open or
close the trumpet mouth of the retort by turning the winch Tin one direction
or the other, as desired. In Figure 1 the retort is quite closed for distillation,
and in Figure 3 it is fully open for the discharge of the spent coke. The top
of the retort has cast upon it an annular flange U, by which it is bolted to the
top or cover 1 of the fuel chamber D, which cover is also lined on its inside
with fire-clay or fire-brick. The retort has also a lower flange V cast upon it
coincident in level with the ring which carries the fire-bars; this flange serves
to carry the fire-clay or fire-brick covering or shield W surrounding the retort.
The upper edge of this fire-clay or brick tube is bevilled, as at X, and it stands
up a little within the bottom edge of the metal shield piece Y, which thus

page_text: protects the top of the fire-clay, prevents it from breaking away, and allows of
its expansion and contraction without injury. The smoke from the retort
chamber passes off by the lateral branch Z. Upon the top of the retort there
is bolted a coal-feeding chamber a, and a gas-discharging pipe or thorough-
fare b, which are fitted up together. The coal-feeding chamber a is fitted
with a top plug c, which is merely opened for the admission of the coal to the
retort, and then at once closed during working. At the bottom of this
chamber is a short horizontal chamber, having within it a horizontal archi-
medean screw d, the spindle of which passes through an end stuffing box in
the chamber, and is fitted with a handle and wheel e.
In this way, by
periodically admitting coal by the plug c to the chamber a and turning the
archimedean screw, the coal so supplied is forced forward directly into the
upper end of the retort. An occasional attention to the plug c and to the
turning of the archimedean screw is thus all that is necessary for the due supply
of coal to the retort as required. Directly above the centre of the retort there
is also fitted a plug f, so that the attendant can pass down a rod for clearing
out the retort if necessary. The gas passes off to my combined purifying
apparatus and gas-holder by the branch pipe b, herein-before referred to. The
ashes produced by the combustion of the coal in the fuel chamber fall into the
space g, whence they may be removed by a side door or aperture. So long as
the retort is in full work giving off gas, the bottom valve disc L of the retort
is kept closed, but when the spent coke is to be discharged, the handle T is
turned, and the disc is lowered from the retort, when the coke falls, as
represented in Figure 3, into the mass of water in the base of the reservoir A
and the two lateral chambers b, and is instantly quenched, so that the gas-
making operation goes continuously on.
Sheet II. of my Drawings represent another and more complete arrange-
ment of my gas apparatus; there, Figure 5, is a front external elevation of my
gas apparatus complete from the generator to the holder, which latter is of the
collapsable kind; Figure 6, on the same Sheet, is a corresponding sectional
elevation of the apparatus, but with the gas-holder in its collapsed condition.
In this arrangement the gas generator A is in principle the same as that
already described; it consists of a cylindrical metal chamber, in one or more
pieces, as may be considered desirable; it is fitted with a metal bottom, which
rests upon the natural surface of the earth at b, without any sinking or any
foundation; and it is lined internally all round and on its upper internal
surface with fire-clay or fire-brick C. The gas retort D, standing concentrical
within it, is of thick cast iron, especially at the part where the greatest
intensity of the furnace heat is to be apprehended, and it is nct defended or

page_text: covered by any fire-clay shield; it rests by a bottom flange E upon the flange
of a conical or trumpet-mouthed casting F, carried upon an internal flange G
of the base of the main generator chamber. Its open bottom end is governed
by a disc H on the upper end of a bent lever I set on a stud centre at J; to
this cranked lever there is attached a connecting rod K, which is jointed to the
inner end of a screw spindle passed through a stuffing box in the side of the
base of the chamber or coal pit L of the generator. The outer end of this
spindle is fitted with a nut attached to a winch bandle M, so that by turning
this handle correspondingly the disc H can be set up or down, as may be
required for closing the retort for work, or for opening it for the discharge of
the spent coke. The annular arrangement of fire-bars N rests upon a flange
cast on the interior of the generator cylinder, and upon a flange cast upon the
retort. The fuel is supplied to the retort furnace by the two doors O, P, so
that the ready access for all operating purposes is obtained as either one or
other of the doors can be used, just as the upper or lower portion of the fuel
chamber requires attention. The coke is withdrawn from the base chamber L
by the side door Q. The coal is supplied to the retort by the vertical
chamber R, governed by a plug at the top. This chamber conducts the coal
down to the archimedean screw S, worked by the winch wheel T, whence it is
forced into the upper section U of the retort. The gas passes off from the retort
into the upper vertical chamber V, bolted down upon a branch of the fuel-
supplying chamber, and flows away to the cleanser and holder by the branch
pipe W. The top or narrow throat of the retort is fitted with a perforated
disc cap piece X, fast on the lower end of a vertical toothed rack Y working
up in the interior of the chamber V. A spur pinion Z gears with this rack,
this pinion being fast upon a spindle passed through a stuffing box in the side
of the chamber V, and fitted with a winch handle a. By this means a turn of
the winch handle at once starts the coke in the retort, and sends it down into
the base chamber L, whence it can be withdrawn by the side door Q. The
ashes from the retort furnace descend into the chamber b. With this arrange-
ment of coke-clearing and gas-discharging apparatus, the retort can be cleared
out very easily without opening up any channel of escape, whilst the gas can
flow off quite freely up into the chamber V through the perforations of the
disc cup X. As the newly made gas flows off, it enters the descending pipe c
to reach the hydraulic chamber d of the "combined gas apparatus," or a
washer and purifier; from this base chamber it passes up the vertical internal
pipe e to the top s of the purifying chamber, and then redescends through the
successive layers of lime or other purifying agent on the shelves to the central
base pipe 9 in communication with the horizontal pipe h leading to the gas-

page_text: holder i; from this pipe it ascends into the gas-holder by the vertical branch j,
and flows off to the service main down the other branch K, and out by the
horizontal pipe l. The gas-holder is composed of vulcanized caoutchouc
distended to a cylindrical form by internal metal rings; it is fitted with a
convex metal top m, and is guided in the usual way by pulleys and vertical
pillars; its base is formed by a shallow metal tank n filled with water, so that
when wholly collapsed it is entirely contained in this tank, and . is therefore
peculiarly portable, whilst the whole of the contained gas can be expelled
from it.
In this arrangement of apparatus the generator, "combined "apparatus or
purifier, and the gas-holder are all upon the same level, and as they are each
and all independent in themselves, no foundation is necessary for any of them,
and the whole can be at once removed with facility when necessary.
Either of these arrangements of gas apparatus may be employed for the
manufacture of gas from oil, resin, or other gas-producing matter by simply
dropping the material into the retort by the upper end opening, as herein-before
described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of apparatus for the manu-
facture of illuminating gas, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing apparatus for the
manufacture of illuminating gas wherein the gas retort is placed vertically in
a furnace or fuel chamber, as herein-before described.
Third, the application and use of a bottom disc or other valve for discharging
the fuel from a vertical conical gas retort, and for reclosing the same, as
herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing apparatus for the
manufacture of illuminating gas, wherein an adjustable archimedean screw
feeding apparatus is combined with a means of directly discharging the spent
coke from the retort by mechanical means, as herein-before described.
Fifth, the combination of a gas generator, consisting of a vertical conical
retort set in the interior of a fuel chamber or furnace with "Bower's com-
bined gas apparatus" and a collapsable gas-holder.
Sixth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing collapsable gas-
holders, wherein the collapsable material can be folded down entirely into a

page_text: base water tank or metal holder, and whereby the whole of the gas may be
expelled, as herein-before described.
Seventh, the adaptation and use of the herein-before described gas
apparatus in the manufacture of gas from oils or other hydrocarbons..
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bower, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine