An Improved Apparatus for the Generation of Acetylene Gas or other Gases.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus for the Generation of Acetylene Gas or
other Gases.
I, EBENEZER BARNARD, Christchurch, Hampshire, of no occupation, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Having in view the dangerous contingencies arising from an overproduction
of acetylene gas, I eliminate by my improved apparatus every possibility of such
a position. My apparatus consists of two cylinders, one rising & falling within
the other like an ordinary gasometer the lower & larger one containing the
water used in the generation of the gas & also forming the gas seal. Depending
from near the top of the smaller & inverted cylinder, hangs a basket or other
receiver for the carbide of calcium, or gas producer; as the smaller cylinder
descends, carrying the carbide container with it on touching the water, gas is
generated & this inverted cylinder rising, lifts the carbide out of the water but
does not really stop generation so if this container were filled with the usual charge
of carbide, the whole mass of carbide would soon get moistened with the water, &
give off a large amount of gas probably far in excess of what was being consumed,
I combine therefore with this rising and falling receiver, a rotating mechanical
device set in motion by the rising & falling of the cylinder (or in apparatus
where the generator is a separate & outside cylinder from the gasometer & where
instead of the cylinder rising the water rises & falls) such as a revolving wheel
disc or discs with hole or holes corresponding, through & by which, carbide,
placed above might be automatically discharged into the carbide receiver; or a
pocket or other receptacle or series of pockets revolving, or rotating, or set in
motion; or other like device, discharging themselves automatically of their car-
bide according as there is capacity for gas reception in the holder, or according
as consumption goes on. By this combination of the rising & falling arrange-
ment, with the automatic supply, of the smallest, or largest quantity of the car-
bide according as may be required, or expedient, the generation of the gas may
be kept down exactly, to the quantity desired, in actual consumption, or com-
mensurate with the size of the gas receiver to contain it.
If an apparatus where the water only, rises & falls & not the gas receiver, the
action of the water would then be utilized to obtain the motion required.
After generation the gas would of course be carried away through pipes in the
ordinary way.
Dated this 10th dove of T... 1007

page_text: An Improved Apparatus for the Generation of Acetylene Gas or
other Gases.
EBENEZER BARNARD, Stour Cottage, Christchurch, Hants, no occupation, 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:
Having in view the dangerous contingencies arising from the overproduction
of acetylene gas, I eliminate by my improved apparatus every possibility of such
a position. I need not particularly describe, the usual up & down gasometer
which I adopt, in most of which the carbide is suspended, & by the rising &
falling of the gas holder, the carbide container or receiver is alternately lifted up
& again descends into the water, thus forming a fairly safe way of generation,
good as far as it goes, but experience shews that generation of gas does not cease,
when the carbide is lifted out of the water as the whole mass of carbide gets acted
on & gives off a large amount of gas probably far in excess of what is being con-
sumed or in excess of the capacity of the gas holder to contain. I combine there-
fore with this rising & falling carbide receiver or container a rotating mechanical
device or devices, set in motion by the rising & falling of the gas holder & a
pulley, weight & chain as in Figs. 1, 2, 6 & 7 or a wedge shaped post as in Fig. 3.
To more particularly describe Fig. 1 I provide a carbide chamber A inside
of which is a disc B with a hole in it, out of the centre, rotating on its face is a
cylinder Cto contain charges of carbide preferably in the shape of cartridges
which may be contained in paper & standing on their ends as illustrated in Fig. 2
at P. The cylinder has holes in the bottom according to the number of charges
of carbide which are placed just inside the holes; these holes are brought into
correspondence, one by one with the hole underneath in the disc B, this is done
by the toothed wheel, on the rim of cylinder C being rotated by the pinion D
which is actuated on the descent of the bell or gas chamber, the chain & weight
with the spiked pulley are contained in a tube passing up the middle of the appa-
ratus. The bell in its descent causing the wheel & pinion to start in motion,
the carbide charge is allowed to fall, when the two holes in the disc come into
correspondence, & falling down a shoot G & through a trap door H into the car-
bide basket or receiver I, on its contact with the water in the inner cylinder,
which is kept at a constant height by a ball cock J the gas container then rises,
but in ascending, the pulley being loose on its shaft & only acting one way, it
turns round without actuating the pinion, as the gas is consumed, the cylinder
or gas chamber in its descent combined with the weight on the chain, turns
the pulley & with it, the shaft of the pinion, & so the toothed wheel is rotated &
another hole in the bottom of the carbide cylinder, is brought over the one hole
of the disc & the operation is thus repeated. Its action may be stopped instantly,
at any time by screwing up the elongated end of the axle, by screw F; and when
the bell sinks & the tube containing the chain, is sealed by the water at J, by
closing the trap door H of the shoot or tube G which is done by pushing down
rod Q & fixing down by means of a screw cap the carbide chamber A is thus shut
off from the bell or gas chamber A 1 the remaining stock of carbide, being left,
high & dry for a future occasion.
In all my claims set forth by this specification & the accompanying drawings,
the combination of devices for distribution of the carbide, with the rising &
falling gas chamber & carbide basket, are somewhat identical but may be varied
as follows. In illustration No. 2 the cylinder C with the toothed wheel on one
end, is placed bottom upwards & is operated by the pulley & chain on the outside

page_text: of the generator, an arrangement for emptying the carbide basket I is shewn
here, the basket being in two halves and hinged or jointed at Il the
bottom half is opened by the rod K being pushed down & the spent material falls
into the well, at the bottom of the tank.
In No. 3 the construction is the same excepting that the rotation of the carbide
chamber is caused in the following manner. The carbide chamber C at the top
has projecting arms, like the teeth of a wheel, as the gas is generated it causes
the bell to rise and in descending the arms come in contact with a post L fixed
to the bottom in a rigid manner, the top of this post is wedge shaped, & the pro-
jecting arm sliding down one side of the inclined plane of the wedge, causes the
carbide container to be shifted, & so places a charge of carbide over the one
hole in the corresponding disc, & falling through, acts as before, as soon as the
operation has finished & when the strain is off the wedge, by the ascent of the
bell, the bell rising by the power of the gas generated, carries it above the point
of the wedge, which being jointed as shewn at M, a spring N inclines the point
a little past the position, where the next projecting arm would come on the
descent of the bell, the arm sliding down operates as before. The action of this
may better be explained by referring to Sheet 2 Figs. 4 & 5.
,
In Fig. 4 the projecting arm L, on the carbide chamber C (part of the top only
is shewn here) is sliding down the inclined plane of the wedge & thus shifting
round the chamber & placing the charge of carbide contained therein over the
hole in the disc as described above, the said charge falling through, gas being
formed, causes the bell to rise & lifts with it chamber C with its projecting arms
above the point of the wedge, when thus it is free, the point of the wedge by
means of the spring N & by being jointed at M is tilted or inclined as in Fig. 5
the corner M1 near the joint, butts against the inside of the spring N, the wedge
is thus tilted in such a position that on the descent of the bell or carbide
chamber C the next projecting arm L2 is brought into contact with the inclined
plane of the wedge & so the chamber is again shifted round as before.
In any of these devices I rotate either of the discs whichever is most convenient.
In Fig. 6 I shew another contrivance for distribution-a cylindrical shaped
vessel like a letter C fixed to a spindle, hollow & containing carbide, one end
closed the other open, by the action of pulley weight & chain device, I cause this
vessel to be rotated & carbide to fall out to the water as before described.
In Fig. 7 the carbide may be placed on top of the wheel which has a section cut
out of it, as shewn in Fig. 8 & above the wheel is placed an upright piece, of any
shape as at O, this is made a fixture, at right angles, to the plane of the top of
the wheel C by a screw P from the outside, the wheel being made to rotate, the
carbide is driven off this plane, some at the start falling over the edge, & the
remainder made to precipitate down the removed segment into the well shaped
shoot & from thence to the receiver below as in other instances.
In large installations any of these devices could be utilized in connection with
a big gas holder, to which the gas would be led in the usual way by pipes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
:
The combination of the mechanical devices as described herein, causing the
automatic distribution of the carbide or other material in large or small quantities
at a time, with a carbide basket or receiver, which rising & falling with the gas
chamber, enables the generation to go on, & so far only, as gas is needed or con-
sumed, or according to the capacity of the gas container.