Year: 1886

page_text: I, ORSON WILLIAM BENNETT, residing at 1537, Fifteenth Street, Washington, in
the District of Columbia, and United States of America, Real Estate Agent, 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 :-
My invention relates to that class of improvements of gas apparatus for enriching
illuminating gas, or generating illuminating gas by the mixture of atmospheric air
and the vapor of hydrocarbon, and to insure an automatic certain and regular
supply of hydrocarbon to the generating chambers, and to govern the desired
quantity of vapor of hydrocarbon in its admixture with gas or air. To this end,
it is the object of my invention to produce a safe simple, compact arrangement of
the various devices used. The main features of my invention are embodied in the
relative arrangement of the liquid reservoir with the generating chambers, the
manner of controlling the supply of liquid thereto, in the internal construction of
the generating chambers, including the means for distributing the fluid thereto
and the circulation of the same therein, the arrangement and connection of the
inlet and outlet pipes with the generating chambers, and the circulation of air or
gas therein, also the devices used in disposing of any residuum which may collect
in the chambers.
To these ends my invention consists in the improved construction which I will
now proceed to describe in detail.
In the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts,
Fig. 1 represents in vertical longitudinal sectional view, an apparatus embodying
my improvements.
Fig. 2 is a section taken on a horizontal plane indicated by the line, x—x.
Fig. 3 is a detail perspective of one of the generating chambers, the better to
illustrate the interior construction and arrangement of the vertical partitions.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on line y-y, Fig. 1.
The letter A, designates an outer double-walled vessel, made of copper or other
non-corrosive material.
This vessel is preferably of cylindrical form and is provided between its walls
with a packing of any suitable material or materials forming a good non-conductor

page_text: Or neat. I have found that ashes and asbestos or plaster-or-paris makes a good
packing for the purpose.
Within this vessel and extending longitudinally therewith is a central wall or
tube, B, which has its lower end perforated to permit the free flow of oil thereinto
from the main vessel, A, and its upper end provided with a suitable cover or cap
preferably screw threaded thereon. The lower half of the vessel A, is divided into
two or more chambers or compartments, constituting what I denominate generating
chambers.
These chambers are numbered in the drawings, 1, 2 and 3, and each is divided
by vertical walls, a, of the form shown extending radially from the wall of the
central well, B, to that of vessel, A.
The several chambers, 1, 2, and 3, are made to communicate by means of short
tubes, b, each of which projects above and below the partition in which it is
secured.
The open ends of these tubes, b, may be covered with gauze or similar material.
The upper half of the vessel constitutes the hydrocarbon chamber or reservoir, C,
which has at its bottom, a valved outlet, c. The valve of this outlet is operated by
the float, D, located at the bottom of the well, B. This float has extending upward
from it a rod, d, attached to one end of a short lever, d', fulcrumed in the well, B.
The other end of the lever, d¹, is connected with the lever operating the valve stem
by means of a rod, d².
The outlet, c, is provided with a perforated spraying pipe or trough, c¹, extending
horizontally into the chamber.
A gas or air supply pipe, e, communicates by means of branches, e¹, and e, with
the two chambers (2, 3), nearest the bottom of the vessel, A. The branches are
provided with suitable cocks for opening and closing said pipes. The outlet pipe, f
communicates with the upper chamber, 1. This pipe is also fitted with a suitable
stop-cock to regulate or cut off the flow of gas from the carburetor.
And upon
these pipes I may also secure an indicator, g, to indicate the relative pressure of the
gas in its entrance into and exit from the apparatus.
The ends of the pipes which open into the generating chambers may also be
covered with wire gauze. The two pipes e and fare made to communicate through
a short pipe, h, which is also fitted with a suitable stop-cock. The upper end of
the bydrocarbon chamber is provided with two openings fitted with short tubes, i
and each of which are provided with stop-cocks. One of these tubes is the
supply tube or that through which hydrocarbon oil is supplied to the reservoir and
the other an outlet for the escape of air or gas as the oil is supplied to the reservoir
The feed pipe, i, as shown is fitted with a strainer, i¹, to catch impurities or
particles of matter which should not go into the reservoir. A wall, j, connected by
a liquid-tight joint to the top of the vessel A, surrounds the space including these
tubes, i, and, i¹, and the upper end of the central well, B, and into the space thus
surrounded water or other suitable air or gas-sealing liquid is poured until it
submerges the said tubes and upper end of the well, B, after which another
cover, E, provided with a vent, es, adapted to be opened and closed by any suitable
means as for example, a screw plug is placed over the parts. The vent, e, permits
the escape of air which may be within the cover when the same is placed into the
water over the tubes, i, i¹, and B before mentioned. This construction renders the
admission of air to or the escape of gas from the vessel impossible.
The opening to the space enclosed by the wall, j, may be closed by means of
hinged cover, F, provided with a suitable locking or fastening device.
In order that the residuum in the upper chambers of the apparatus may be
removed I provide each of the chambers, 1. and 2, with valved openings k. The
stems of the valves in the openings k, have their operating levers connected to
rods, . The levers for operating these valves are so arranged that their weight,
together with that of the rods, 1, 1, will tend to hold the valves so that the
openings will be closed, and are only opened by the lifting or raisings of the
rods, 1, . This opening by the valves will allow all the residuum in the generating
1.

page_text: chambers to flow down to the lower one or to the bottom of the vessel from whence
the residuum may be pumped or otherwise removed therefrom through the well
tube, B. The openings k may also be provided with a wire gauze or similar
covering. The several generating chambers may be filled with asbestos-fibre,
excelsior or other absorbent material to be saturated with hydrocarbon oil.
The operation of the gas generator constructed as herein shown and described
will be as follows:
When the reservoir or chamber, C, is supplied with oil, it will flow through the
outlet, c, until the chamber, 1, is supplied to a level with the upper end of the
tube, b, through which it will flow to the next, and so on to the last chamber, 3.
The oil flows into the chamber, 3, until the float is raised sufficiently to cause the
valve in the outlet, c, to close said outlet.
The height to which the float shall be raised will be determined by the depth of
oil desired in the lower chamber, and for this purpose the upper end of the rod d
is made with a series of holes through which a pin or other device may be passed
to secure it to the lever, d. The oil as before described is poured through the cock
or tube, i, and this, of course, before the water is supplied to seal the joints.
The air or gas coming through the pipe, e, may be made to pass first into
chamber, 3, through which it will pass over the surface of the oil and through the
saturated absorbent by a circuitous route to the lower end of the tube, B, on the
other side of the partition, a¹, which separates the inlet portion of the chamber
from the outlet. This partition being a complete one compels the air or gas to
take a circuitous route in order to pass to the next chamber. In the chamber, 2,
the same operation takes place excepting that the gas flows in the opposite
direction.
The generated gas or air finally reaches the mouth of the outlet pipe, ƒ when it
is ready for use.
When it is desired that the air or gas be not so highly charged, the branch
pipe, el, is closed and the pipe e², opened. Or the air or gas may be admitted to
the apparatus through both the branches or through the lower one only.
It will be seen that the supply of oil to the several generating chambers is
automatically regulated and that the apparatus will need no further handling after
the reservoir is once filled, until the supply therein is exhausted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The hereindescribed improved gas generator comprising the vessel, A, having
a central well or tube, B, extending the entire depth of the vessel whereby easy
access is had to the interior thereof, horizontal partitions dividing the lower portion
of the vessel into generating chambers or compartiments the upper portion through
which the central well B, extends, constituting the oil supply reservoir, a valved
outlet from said reservoir into the upper part of said generating chambers or
compartments and automatically operating devices located in said well for con-
trolling the supply of oil to the chambers, as set forth.
2. A gas generator substantially as described comprising the vessel, A, having
the central well, with automatic oil supply regulating devices located therein, and
its upper portion constituting the oil reservoir and its lower portion constituting
the generator divided by partitions into horizontal chambers or compartments, the
tubes, b, in said partitions extending above and below the same, the vertical walls, a,
extending from top to bottom of the chambers or compartments and fro:n the wall
of the well, B, to the wall of the vessel, A, provided with openings occurring
alternately at the walls of the well and vessel for the purposes described, the solid
partition, a¹, in said compartment, an inlet upon one side and an outlet upon the
other, pipes leading to and from said compartments outside of the vessel and central
well, substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 3. The combination with the vessel, having the central well or tube, B, provided
with a removable and adjustable gas tight cover, and the reservoir, C, with vents
provided with suitable stop-cocks, and strainer, of the wall; j, surrounding and
enclosing the space occupied by the said stop-cocks, and the upper end of the well
or tube, the said enclosed space to receive water or other air and gas sealing liquid
to submerge the stop-cocks and the upper end of the well tube, substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
[
1
4. In a gas generator, comprising the vessel A, well, B, and generating chambers,
the partitions forming said generating chambers provided with openings to permit
the flow of the liquid residuum of hydrocarbon from said chambers, combined with
valves arranged to close said openings connected with and operated by rods in the
well tube, B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
1000