IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF LIGHTING TOWNS OR OTHER LOCALITIES, AND OF VENTILATING, WARMING, AND PROVIDING THE SAME WITH WATER."AL
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Henry Marie Côme Damiens Chevalier de
Fenis de Lacombe, of Paris, France, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF LIGHTING TOWNS OR OTHER LOCALITIES,
AND OF VENTILATING, WARMING, AND PROVIDING THE SAME WITH WATER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Henry Marie
· Côme Damiens Chevalier de Fenis do Lacombe at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th August 1862.
I, FRANÇOIS HENRY MARIE COME DAMIENS CHEVALIER DE FENIS DE
LACOMBE, öf Paris, France, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF LIGHTING TOWNS OR OTHER
LOCALITIES, AND OF VENTILATING, WARMING, AND PROVIDING THE SAME WITH
WATER," to be as follows:-
...
These improvements relate to the lighting, ventilating, or warming towns or
other localities; and they consist in conveying atmospheric air taken at any
suitable spot into the town by means of proper pipes or mains, and under
suitable pressure, viz., by similar means as are made use of for conveying and
distributing illuminating gas. A suitable portion of this air may be employed
for cooling or ventilating the interior of the dwellings, or for warming the
same in the cold season, in which latter case this portion of the air is
previously caused to pass through suitable heating apparatus. The ro

page_text: mainder of the air is made to pass through or brought in contact with any
suitable napthalizing agent or hydrocarbon by similar means as are made use
of for napthalizing, or what is also called carburetting illuminating gas, by
which means this air becomes sufficiently impregnated with the said naptha-
lizing agent as to allow of employing the said air instead of ordinary lighting gas
as an illuminating agent for lighting the streets, or the inside of the dwellings,
or other parts of the locality. If wished the pipes or mains through which
the air is conveyed into the town may be a proper diaphragm, or other suitable
means be arranged in such manner as to allow of making the same subservient
for conveying, simultaneously with the said air, water into the locality.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Henry Marie Côme Damiens Chevalier do Fenis de
Lacombe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th February 1863.
..TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
HENRY MARIE CÔME DAMIENS CHEVALIER DE FENIS DE LACOMBE, of Paris,
France, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said François Henry Marie Côme Damiens Chevalier de Fenis de Lacombe,
Her special licence that I, the said François Henry Marie Côme Damiens
Chevalier de Fenis de Lacombe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said François Henry Marie Come Damiens Chevalier de
Fenis de Lacombe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MEANS OF LIGHTING TOWNS OR OTHER LOCALITIES, AND OF VENTILATING,
WARMING, AND PROVIDING THE SAME WITH WATER," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said François Henry Marie Côme Damiens
Chevalier de: Fenis de Lacombe, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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

page_text: in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said François Henry Marie Côme Damiens
Chevalier de Fenis de Lacombe, 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 :-
My Invention consists in making atmospheric air subservient for the
lighting of towns or other localities, by causing the said air to be impregnated
with any suitable volatile liquid hydrocarbon, such, for instance as coa!
naphtha, the said air thus serving as a means for carrying to the burners the
amount of inflammable vapour required for lighting the town or other
locality or the dwellings thereof. For this purpose atmospheric air taken at
any suitable spot, but. by preference at the outside of the town, as being the
purest, is by means of a suitable pressure and proper mains and pipes con-
veyed into the town or its dwellings, and caused to pass through or come in
contact with any suitable naphthalizing agent or volatile liquid hyd
400,
so as to become sufficiently impregnated or saturated with the volatile p
this latter, for allowing the air thus impregnated of being ignited and burned
by means of suitable burners, and produce the amount of light required, for
the purpose, whilst proper branch pipes or other suitable means allow of pure
cool air to be conveyed into the town or its dwellings for cooling or ventilating
the same in summer; whereas in winter this air by being properly heated
may serve for warming. the dwellings of the town or other localities, suitable
provision being of course made, in order that when the air is no longer
required to be napthalized the passing of the same through the naphthalizing
apparatus may be interrupted at pleasure.
The naphthalizing or carburetting of the air may be effected by any suitablo
apparatus, in which the same is caused to pass through, come in contact with
or impinge on any suitable volatile liquid hydrocarbon, such, for instance, as
coal naphtha, petroleum, oil of turpentine, either alone or mixed with spirits
of wine, or other suitable hydrocarbons, and thereby become impregnated with
the volatile parts of the said hydrocarbons. In some cases it may even be
advantageous that the air to be naphthalized should be heated, either before
or after the naphthalizing of the same, and in such cases suitable means
ought to be adopted for preventing the loss of heat, in order that the air
should as little as possible part with the hydrocarbon with which the same iš
impregnated. For conveying the air through the naphthalizing apparatus
and to the burners any of the known means made use of in gas lighting may
be resorted to, and the required pressure be given by gasometers, fan blowers,

page_text: bellows, or other similar means. As the loss of air would not be of the same
importance in my Invention as is the loss of gas in gasworks, the mains or
pipes I make use of, or their joints do not require to be so perfectly air-tight as
those of ordinary gas fittings, and they may consequently be made of a
cheaper material than these latter.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same may be carried into effect, I would
observe in conclusion that I do not intend to confine or restrict myself to any
particular volatile liquid hydrocarbon for naphthalizing or carburetting the
air with, provided the said hydrocarbon contains a sufficient amount of volatile
parts for impregnating atmospheric air with, so as to make this naphthalized
air subservient, when ignited and burned by suitable burners, as a means for
lighting towns or other localities, or the dwellings thereof; neither do I claim
any particular apparatus for naphthalizing atmospheric air, nor any particular
arrangement of the mains, pipes, burners, or other appendages, but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, making
atmospheric air subservient as a means for lighting. towns or other localities,
or the dwellings thereof; by causing the said air to pass through or come in
contact with any suitable volatile liquid bydrocarbon, so as to become
sufficiently impregnated with the volatile parts of the said hydrocarbon for
allowing the air thus impregnated to be ignited and burned by suitable
burners, provision being made in the mains, pipes, or other fittings, by proper
branch pipes or other suitable means, for allowing to convey into the town or
other locality, or the dwellings thereof, fresh, pure, or cool air, for ventilating
or cooling the same, whereas this air if properly heated may also serve for
warming the same.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Henry Marie Come Damiens
Chevalier de Fenis de Lacombe, have hereunto set my hand and seal
this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
F. H. M. C. D. CHEV. DE FENIS DE LACOMBE. (L.B.)
A. G. BRADE.