IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Androw George Hunter, of Flint, North Wales,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES."-A communication
from abroad by Joseph Hooper Berry, Merritt Randolph, and
Frederick H. Eichbaum, all of Detroit, County of Wayne, State of
TT
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew George
Hunter at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st June 1873.
I, ANDREW GEORGE HUNTER, of Flint, North Wales, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FOR ILLUMINATING AND HEATING PURPOSES," to be
as follows:-
-
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for making what is
known as air gas by charging or impregnating atmospheric air with the

page_text: vapors of a liquid hydrocarbon, such as gasoline, and consists in
improvements in the carburetter, and in such a disposition of the
apparatus that the carburetter will be maintained at a comparatively
uniform temperature, and the evaporation of the fluid will therefore be
less affected by external changes.
The carburetter or vessel in which the air is brought into contact witlı
the gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon employed is contained within a
cistern of water, and the whole buried in the ground to a depth of
several feet and at a suitable distance from the building to be lighted.
The pump or apparatus by which atmospheric air is drawn or forced
through the carburetter may be located within the building to be
lighted, and must be placed in communication with the carburetter.
By this means the warmth of the earth is imparted to the body of water
surrounding the carburetter, thus keeping its temperature comparatively
uniform, so making the quality of the gas produced less dependent on
atmospheric changes, and enabling it to attain and retain its full illu-
minating power at all seasons of the year. The heat abstracted by the
carburetter from the surrounding jacket of water whilst the evaporation
of the gasoline is going on is restored to the water from the surrounding
earth.
The carburetter consists of a metallic vessel, in which a fibrous
material or fabric, such as cotton cloth, cotton, or woollen flannel; is so
disposed as to form a circuitous, tortuous, or labyrinthine passage for the
air to travel in and to come in contact with the hydrocarbon, the said
fabric being saturated with the gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon, and
offering a very extended surface for the evaporation of the same. The
fabric is disposed edgewise, and reaches from top to bottom of the vessel,
in which it is arranged in a coil, zig-zag, or otherwise, with a space
between the. several coils to form one continuous passage for the air.
The fabric may be fastened on vertical pins, fixed by their upper ends to
a wooden lining, with which the top of the chamber is provided, and to
which the upper edge of the fabric is closely attached.
By preference the carburetter is divided into two distinct chambers by
a horizontal partition, in both of which the fibrous material is similarly
arranged, but so that the passage through the one chamber; say, the
upper one, shall form a continuation of that through the lower one, into
which the air first passes, and having traversed the whole of the passages

page_text: therein, enters the other chamber, through which it also passes, and
whence it is conveyed where required for lighting or heating purposes.
The carburetter, or each chamber thereof if there be two, is nearly
filled with gasoline or other suitable liquid hydrocarbon, which rises in
the fibrous fabric by capillary attraction, and keeps the same always
saturated. A pipe from the carburetter reaches to the surface of the
ground, through which the vessel is filled, means being provided to
indicate when it is sufficiently supplied, and the lower chamber being
supplied from the upper by means of an overflow pipe.
Suitable inlet and outlet pipes for the air and air gas, also pipes
leading from the carburetter to the surface of the ground to enable it to
be cleaned out if requisite are provided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Andrew George Hunter in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
GEORGE HUNTER, of Flint, North Wales, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Andrew George Hunter, Her special licence
that I, the said Andrew George Hunter, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew George Hunter,
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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention. for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FOR ILLUMINATING
AND HEATING PURPOSES," a communication to me from abroad by Joseph
Hooper Berry, Merritt Randolph, and Frederick Eichbaum, all of
Detroit, County of Wayne, State of Michigan, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Andrew George

page_text: Hunter, 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 Andrew George Hunter, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
`thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for making what is
known as air gas by charging or impregnating atmospheric air with the
vapors of a liquid hydrocarbon, such as gasoline, and the. Invention
consists in improvements in the carburetter, and in such a disposition of
the apparatus that the carburetter will be maintained at a comparatively
uniform temperature, and the evaporation of the fluid will therefore be
less affected by external changes.
The carburetter or vessel in which the air is brought into contact with
the gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon employed is contained within a
cistern of water (or it may be oil), and the whole buried in the ground
to a depth of several feet and at a suitable distance from the building to
be lighted. The pump or apparatus by which atmospheric air is drawn
or forced through the carburetter may be located within the building to
be lighted, and is placed in communication with the carburetter. By
this means the warmth of the earth is imparted to the body of water
surrounding the carburetter, thus keeping its temperature comparatively
uniform, so making the quality of the gas produced less dependent on
atmospheric changes, and enabling it to attain and retain its full illu-
minating power at all seasons of the year. The heat abstracted by the
carburetter from the surrounding jacket of water whilst the evaporation
of the gasoline is going on is restored to the water from the surrounding
earth.
The carburetter consists of a metallic vessel, in which a fibrous
material or fabric, such as cotton cloth, cotton, or woollen flannel, is so
disposed as to form a circuitous or tortuous passage for the air to travel

page_text: in and to come in contact with the gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon,
which rises in the fabric by capillary attraction. The fabric is thus kept
saturated, and offers a very extended surface for the evaporation of the
liquid. The fabric is disposed edgewisc, and reaches from top to bottom
of the vessel, in which it is arranged in a coil, zig-zag, or otherwise, with
a space between the several coils to form one continuous passage for the
air. The fabric may be fastened on vertical pins, fixed by their upper
ends to a wooden lining, with which the top of the chamber is provided,
and to which the upper edge of. the fabric is closely attached.
The carburetter may consist of a single chamber only, but by pre-
ference it is divided into two distinct chambers by a horizontal partition,
in both of which the fibrous material is similarly arranged, but so that
the passage through the one chamber, say, the upper one, shall form a
continuation of that through the lower one, into which the air first
passes, and having traversed the whole of the passages therein, enters
the other chamber, through which it also passes, and whence it is con-
veyed where required for lighting or heating purposes.
The carburetter, or cach chamber thereof if there be two, is nearly
filled with the gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon employed, and a pipe
from the carburetter reaches to the surface of the ground, through which
the vessel is filled, means being provided to indicate when it is suf-
ficiently supplied. The lower chamber may be supplied from the upper
by means of an overflow pipe, or each chamber may be filled by a
separate pipe.
'

page_text: twenty to fifty feet from the building to be lighted. By this means
no fire can possibly communicate with the carburetter. C and D
are pipes leading to the surface of the ground, by which gasoline
is supplied to the upper and lower compartments respectively of the
carburetter. These pipes are securely stopped by screw caps. E is
a similar pipe by which the tank B is filled. No gasoline need thus be
stored on the premises, and none is handled, as it is run direct from the
barrel through the pipes C, D, into the carburetter. The pipe D, which
terminates in the lower chamber as before mentioned, also serves to
convey the air thereto, which is forced through a pipe F loading from
the air pump G, and connected to pipe D.
The red lines, Figures 2 and 3, represent the fibrous material as
arranged in the form of a coil in each chamber of the carburetter. It is
disposed edgewise, as before mentioned, and dips down into the gasoline,
as shown. x, x, is the level of the gasoline in each chamber. The
fibrous fabric is held in place by means of wooden pegs H, fixed at their
upper ends in a wood lining I beneath the cover of the chamber, and
resting at their lower ends on the bottom of the chamber. The upper
edge of the fibrous material is fastened securely to the wooden lining by
nails or otherwise to prevent the air passing across from one passage K
to the next without traversing the whole length of the passages. The
air forced in through pipe D, as before mentioned, enters the lower
chamber of the carburetter near its circumference, and passes through
the whole of the passages K. until it arrives at the centre. It then enters
the upper chamber through a pipe L connecting the two chambers,
and rising above the level of the liquid in the upper chamber, after
traversing the passages in said chamber until it arrives at the circum-
ference, and having by this time become saturated with the hydrocarbon
vapors of the gasoline the air gas passes off through pipes C, M, for
consumption.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as the
Invention to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,―

page_text: 2ndly. The fibrous fabric disposed vertically or edgewise within the
carburetter, the upper edge being secured to the top of the chamber, and
the lower edge dipping into the gasoline or other liquid, so as to form a
continuous, indirect, or tortuous passage for the air, and an extended
evaporating surface for the gasoline, substantially as hercin described.
3rdly. The pegs H, fixed within the carburetter, as herein described,
for holding the fibrous fabric in the desired position.
4thly. A carburetter consisting of two chambers, each charged with
gasoline or other liquid hydrocarbon, and each containing a fibrous
fabric, arranged to form passages, as herein-before described, the air
being passed first through one chamber and then through the other, as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew George Hunter, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
TTTTTR