Improved Acetylene Gas Generator for Illuminating Railway Carriages.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 5th Feb., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Acetylene Gas Generator for Illuminating Railway
Carriages.
I, ADOLPHE FORCHER, of No. 88, Andrássy Strasse, Budapesth, in the Kingdom of
Hungary, Chief Inspector of the Hungarian State Railways, 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:
This invention relates to an acetylene gas generator for illuminating railway
carriages which is so constructed that each carriage may be provided with a separate
apparatus and thus be lighted independent of any central installation as was hitherto
the case with oil gas.
The various apparatus are preferably arranged below the carriages.
Each apparatus is provided with means for preventing the liquid in the generator
from freezing in winter, for supplying and allowing gas to escape with perfect safety,
and if necessary for automatically emptying the generator when the pressure therein
exceeds a certain limit.
In the accompanying drawing two modified constructions of such device or
arrangement for generating acetylene gas for the purpose of lighting railway carriages
are shown in sectional views.
The generator, in which the carbide is decomposed, consists of an iron cylinder a
and is surrounded by a casing or jacket b which is likewise made of iron.
This casing bis adapted to prevent the generator a from freezing in cold
weather.
In the generator a a removable iron sieve-like bucket c is inserted which serves
as receptacle for the carbide.
The generator a is provided with a pipe d which may be opened and closed by a
cock or valve and is adapted to empty the generator of part or the whole of its
contents thus decreasing or interrupting the generation of acetylene gas. In the
pipe d a safety valve may preferably be provided which, on a certain pressure being
reached, automatically opens so that water or gas is forced out of the tube d by the
additional pressure prevailing in the generator and the pressure in the latter is thus
automatically regulated.
The highest limit allowed for the pressure in the generator may be officially fixed;
it usually amounts to 2,-3 atmospheres.
The generator is provided with a cover p which may be pressed against the edge
of the generator by means of a locking bow or yoke e with sliding piece o.
The locking device e rotates on trunnions k and is connected in a line with the axis
of revolution, with the plug of a stop or cock f which is inserted in a pipe g, the
latter communicating with the generator a and a scrubber or cleaning apparatus h
which communicates with a gas collector . If the locking device e is rotated, the
plug of the cock or tap f also rotates.
The cock fis open when the bow or yoke e is in locking position, whereas on the
bow of yoke e being turned for releasing the cover p, the cock or tap f is closed.
The cover p is kept in closed position by the sliding piece o until the cock f is
completely closed by the movement or turning of the bow or yoke e.
On the cock f
'

page_text: being completely closed, the cover p is released. When the cover p is closed, the
cock is reopened by the bow or yoke e.
The object of this indispensable connection of the cock f with the locking
device e is to automatically open and close the former independent of any attention
being paid to same by the work-people.
In case the communication of the generator with the scrubber and gas collector
respectively is interrupted when the generator is uncovered a violent flowing back of
the gas, which is stored up in the gas collector, may readily take place so that
explosion could arise.
An explosion may also easily take place if the opening of the cock f is interrupted
when the cover p is being closed after the generator has been refilled.
Accidents could therefore also arise from the cocks not being properly attended to
by the railway officials, whereas by the above described arrangement such accidents
are entirely avoided.
If necessary, the apparatus may be brought into communication with the steam
heating apparatus of the carriage by means of a pipe m, the water-outlet-valves n
serving for the removal of the condensed water.
The communication of the generating vessel with the scrubber h or the gas
collector i may be interrupted, if necessary, by taps or valves l.
In the above described modification the generating vessel serves directly for
receiving the water which is necessary for decomposing the carbide. For this purpose,
the carbide receptacle is inserted in the generating vessel after the latter has been
filled with water to the necessary level or height.
As soon as the generator is recharged a generation of acetylene gas takes place so
that for avoiding loss of gas it is necessary to close the cover immediately.
Now in order to entirely avoid any loss of gas, a special water receptacle q, may
be provided as shown in the second modification of the drawings.
The water receptacle q is brought into communication with the generating vessel a ;
in the communicating pipe a tap or valve r is preferably provided, which may be
opened or closed by the locking bow or yoke e of the water receptacle in the usual
manner as already described in respect of the tap f.
The latter may also be combined with the water receptacle q so that both taps & f
may operate simultaneously.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :--
1: In an apparatus for illuminating railway carriages by means of acetylene gas,
the combination of each. carriage with a separate acetylene gas generator acting
independently substantially as and for the purpose described.
2: In an apparatus for illuminating railway carriages by means of acetylene gas,
the combination of a carbide receptacle c with a generating vessel a and a casing b
which surrounds the latter and if necessary may be brought into communication
with the steam heating apparatus of the carriage or train substantially as and for the
purpose described.
-
3: In an apparatus for illuminating railway carriages by means of acetylene gas,
the combination of a generator a with a cover or lid p, a rotatable locking bow or yoke e
for the latter, a scrubber h and gas collector i and also with means for positively
opening or closing the communication between the generator a and the scrubber h
on a turn of the locking bow or yoke e substantially as and for the purpose
described.