Improvements in and relating to Gas Stoves.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Aug., 1897-Accepted, 11th Sept., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Gas Stoves.
I, JONATHAN JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at
141 Pawtucket Street, in the City of Lowell, County of Middlesex and State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of this 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 improvement in gas stoves, its object being to
provide an improved arrangement of parts whereby the atmospheric air may be
more effectually supplied to aid in the combustion of the gas; and the invention
therefore consists essentially in the construction, arrangement and combination of
parts substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.
In the annexed drawings illustrating my invention,
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a gas stove embodying my present
invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of two parallel rows of burners constructed and
arranged in the manner peculiar to my present invention;
Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of that form of the invention repre-
sented in Figure 1, with slight modifications in the situation of the burners;
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of one of the burners, the same being of the
fish-tail type, which is adapted to cause a spreading flame;
Figure 6 is a side elevation of the burner shown in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is also a cross sectional view on line 33 of Figure 2, illustrating a
modified construction of burner, and
Figure 8 is a longitudinal section of said burner and a cross section of the gas
supply pipe.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the
different figures of the drawings.
A designates a gas stove, the same being presented here simply as one example
of heating or cooking device to which my invention may be applied, it being
understood that the invention is adapted for use with many different forms of
stoves and heating or cooking apparatus. The stove A has the upper lid provided
surface B, and suitable gas supply pipes a which are arranged in any desired
manner. Suitably arranged in connection with the top B are the burners c.
These are placed horizontally in circular rows, and are preferably attached to the
circular supply pipes C, as shown in Figure 1, or they may be arranged in straight
rows by being attached to a straight pipe C¹, as shown in Figure 2; or they may
be connected to an annular casing as shown at C in Figure 4, it being essential
that there should be a free central space between the converging burners which is
Occupied by the horizontal flames issuing from said burners, and which permits
of the vertical interior air-current which passes transversely through the flame
and assists in promoting combustion, said current being produced by the co-action
with the burners of an air-shaft, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

page_text: I will now explain the construction and function of the burner employed in my
resent improvements.
The type of burner which I preferably use is what is commonly known as a fish-
tail burner, the same having the function of producing a two-lobed flame that
spreads after the manner of the tail of a fish. This particular burner is repre-
sented in section in Figure 5; and in side elevation in Figure 6, and is clearly
shown in perspective in Figs. 1 and 4... The tip of the burner is provided with two
gas-outlet orifices, g, g, leading out from the central passage 2, there being an
intermediate or central tip g¹ between the outlet orifices g g, the said orifices g, g,
converging toward each other and being oblique to the axial line of the burner
so that the jets of gas issuing therefrom will cross each other and after ignition
produce a bi-lobed spreading Hame which will be increased in size in proportion to
the pressure of the gas supplied through the central passage of the burner. The
function of the fish-tail burner is therefore, to produce a horizontally spreading
flame, and it is to be noted that said flame, although it will increase in size laterally
and spread out larger on the sides as the gas pressure increases, yet will not,
however, lengthen proportionally outwardly from the burner.
Although the fish-tail type of burner is the one preferably employed by me, yet
it is evident that other burners having the same function and designed to produce
the same kind of flame might be employed instead of it.
or
Thus, for instance, instead of the described fish-tail burner, the burner shown in
Figures 7 and 8 may be employed to produce the results aimed at, said burner
being somewhat simpler in construction and possessing certain advantages over
said fish-tail burner, irrespective of the fact that the flame produced thereby is
a uniformly broad sheet-like flame spread to as great an extent as the flame
of the fish-tail burner without proportional elongation. This burner
may be termed a hooded
bonneted burner; c* denotes the burner
screwed laterally into its gas supply pipe C or C. The burner has at
its outer end a gas outlet orifice c¹, and on one side of this orifice the wall of said
burner is elongated with an integral projection to form the horizontal hood
that overhangs the gas outlet orifice, and consequently extends over the frame
for a certain distance, causing said flame to spread out into a substantially hori-
zontal sheet, as shown in Figure 7. This buruer is not only useful for heating
purposes, but is particularly useful for broiling meats, since the juices or fat
dropping therefrom will not come into contact with the burner orifice and choke
the same, as is generally the case in other constructions, the said burner orifice
being, so to speak, located in a rebate on the under side of the burner wall, hence
out of the way of the drippings from the meat. The usefulness of the hood or
shield is therefore evident.
In using these burners it is my desire to provide means for producing a flame
thai will spread out into a substantially horizontal sheet increasing in size laterally
as the pressure of the gas increases. I therefore reserve the privilege of employing
such construction of burner as will enable me to accomplish said result.
In combination with the burners c which are arranged in a horizontal position
and in a circular series, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, or in parallel rows, as shown
in Figure 2, I employ a cylinder or shield D (or D as shown in dotted lines in
Figure 2) which surmounts and surrounds the burners and is open at top and
bottom, as shown, so as to permit a vertical current of air to pass through it and
centrally between the burners from bottom to top at right angles to the spreading
flames issuing from the horizontally arranged fish-tail burners. This cylinder or
shiel prevents disturbance of the flame by agitation outside of the shield. It
also constitutes an air-shaft by which in conjunction with the heat of the flames,
a strong draft of air is drawn through the flames, which owing to their flat hori-
zontal arrangement have the burning products thoroughly exposed to the air, so
that a perfect and safe combustion of the gas is insured as the result of the thorough
commingling of the gas and air after ignition. All the carbon will be effectually

page_text: consumed, so that the heat obtained will be without a product of smoke and without
any odor.
This will likewise provide a positive system of burning hydrocarbon or other
gas, in which system there will be no reaction or as it is commonly termed
lighting back," such as sometimes results in burners of the Bunsen type in which
the gas and air are mingled before arriving at the point of ignition. It will thus
be seen that the flames issuing from the several burners of the series spread into
a wide flat substantially horizontal sheet, as shown at b, Figure 3, and at 61
Figure 4, so that a large area of flame is presented for contact with the current of
air passing through the air-shaft of shield D, and by virtue of this widely spread
Hlame the air can become more thoroughly and intimately commingled therewith
and combustion thereby be promoted.
The shield or cylinder D may vary considerably in its precise construction
provided it retains conspicuously its primary character of a channel or shaft for
the vertical current of air. By the horizontal and converging arrangement of
the burners and their orifices the flames issuing therefrom meet and substantially
fill the sectional area of the air shaft so that all the parts of the flames are
traversed by the air-current flowing through the air-shaft.
It will also be noted that the converging flames as they come in close proximity
to each other and merge together, to a certain extent keep each other warm, so
to speak, and prevent the cooling of the edges of the flames and consequently the
combustion is promoted.
From the foregoing specification it will be readily understood that while the
flames spread laterally in proportion to the increase of the pressure of the gas,
they will not be extended outwardly in a direct line from the burners, or, in other
words, will not be lengthened in the same proportion, this effect resulting from the
peculiar construction of the burners that I employ. Therefore, as the burners
are arranged opposite to each other the tips of the flames will project towards each
other leaving more or less of a space between said tips. Thus the several flames
which go to make up the horizontal sheet which is traversed by the air-shaft are
not to be considered as severally overlapping each other but as occupying positions
contiguous to each other, as I have shown and described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a gas stove, the combination with a series of burners having converging
orifices and adapted to produce flames that are horizontal and spread laterally
without lengthening in the same proportion, said burners being disposed opposite
to each other so that the issuing flames project towards each other; of a shield or
air-shaft surrounding said burners and allowing a current of air to pass trans-
versely through the sheet of flame formed as specified, substantially as described.
2. In a gas stove, the combination with p circular series of burners having
converging orifices and adapted to produce flames that are horizontal and that
spread laterally without lengthening in the same proportion, said burners
occupying radial positions opposite each other and extending their flames toward
each other; of a shield or air shaft surrounding said burners and allowing a current
of air to pass transversely through the sheet of flame, substantially as described.
3. The employment in a gas stove of hooded burners, such as shown in Figures 7
and S, for the purpose set forth.