Lx- PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF CARBURETTING OR TREATING AERIFORM FLUIDS FOR LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "Lx-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF CARBURETTING OR TREATING AERIFORM FLUIDS
FOR LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME."
-A communication from abroad by Henri Auguste Georges du Vergier,
Marquis de la Rochejaquelein, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 7th November 1865, and dated the 1st June 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
June 1865.
I,, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF CARBURETTING OR TREATING AERIFORM
FLUIDS FOR LIGHTING AND HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for lighting and
heating, in which air is converted into gas without the aid of mechanism,
which air.enters the apparatus at the ordinary pressure, and comes in contact
with: essences of American petroleum or other light hydrocarburets contained
in said apparatus, afterwards passing out,, still without pressure being applied
thereto, to any desired point for giving light or heat,

page_text: According to these improvements I usually make the apparatus of one or
more flat reservoirs of cylindrical or other form of tin, zinc, or sheet iron, and
of suitable diameter. These chambers are superposed one over the other,
and supported at a distance apart by means of tubes serving to partially fill
the reservoirs with inflammable liquid or light essences of petroleum or
benzine, or other hydrocarburets. The several reservoirs communicate one
with the other by means of lead or india-rubber tubes, in such manner that
the air after passing over the surface of the liquid in the first reservoir enters
all the others in succession, and so becomes more and more charged with
vapour which is to be converted into gas for lighting and heating, afterwards
passing out of the lower reservoir by a pipe for conveyance to the burner for
consumption.
In the annexed Drawing I have represented a specimen arrangement of
the apparatus herein described.
Fig. 1 shows a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a horizontal section of same.
The same letters apply to both Figures.
a, a', a³, reservoirs placed one above the other, and containing the hydro-
carburets, with or without the addition of the spongy matters. These
reservoirs are connected together by means of tubes b, b, the one set serving
for the introduction of the liquid into the apparatus, and others for the passage
of the air from one reservoir to the other. The upper reservoir a is furnished
with an air-inlet aperture c, while a is furnished with an exit aperture & for
the gas. Each of these chambers or reservoirs is also provided with an
emptying cock fand aperture 9 for examining the condition of the spongy or
porous matters or the level of the liquid. Lastly, the upper part of the
generator is furnished with nozzles having screw caps, so as to permit of the
introduction of a fresh quantity of carburetting liquid when the whole has
become volatilized.
This form of apparatus is but one of many that may be adopted, the
improvement consisting essentially in the application of superposed reservoirs
to contain a certain quantity of light inflammable essence, and connected
together by tubes serving for the passage of air, which entering at the
atmospheric pressure passes in successión over the surface of the liquid con-
tained in each reservoir, and so becomes more and more charged with
vapours to a sufficient extent to transform it into gas for lighting and heating
purposes without the intervention of heat or other mechanical agent, such as
a gasometer, blower, or compressed air reservoir. The air descends from one
reservoir to the other by reason of the increased weight communicated to it
by the vapours with which it has become charged; its pressure at the burner,

page_text: and consequently the dimensions of the flame, being proportionate to the
extent of its descent.
The number and size of the reservoirs vary according to the number of the
burners it is desired to have. The reservoirs may also be self-supplied with
light essences from a feed reservoir having a constant flow. This method of
producing gas for lighting and heating has the great advantage of non-
liability of explosion, inasmuch as the mixture of air and vapor constituting
the gas does not form an explosive mixture; while the gas as it forms always
tends to descend by reason of its excess of weight. However, as a precaution,"
I may dispose more wire gauze at one or more points in the outlet pipes to
prevent the spread of the flame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five; in the twenty-eighth. year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Clark, 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 CARBURETTING OR TREATING AERIFORM FLUIDS FOR LIGHTING
AND HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," a com", to me from
abroad by Henri Augusto Georges du Vergier, Marquis de la Rochejaquelein,
of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should: par-
ticularly 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 in the

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for lighting and
heating, for which Letters Patent were granted to me, and dated Sep-
tember 1st, 1862, Number 2421, in the Specification of which Invention is
described a method of converting air into gas spontaneously without the aid
of mechanism, by which air enters the apparatus at the ordinary pressure,
and comes in contact with essences of American petroleum or other light
hydrocarburets contained in said apparatus, afterwards passing out still
without pressure being applied thereto, to any desired point for giving light
or heat.
According to these improvements I usually make the apparatus of one or
more flat reservoirs of cylindrical or other form of tin, zinc, or sheet iron, and
of suitable diameter. These chambers are superposed one over the other,
and supported at a distance apart by means of tubes serving to partially fill the
reservoirs with inflammable liquids or light essences of American petroleum or
benzine, or other hydrocarburets. The several réservoirs communicate one
with the other by means of lead or india-rubber tubes in such manner that
the air after passing over the surface of the liquid in the first reservoir enters
all the others in succession, and so becomes more and more charged with
vapour, which is thus converted into gas for lighting and heating, afterwards
passing out of the lower reservoir by a pipe for conveyance to the burner for
consumption.
.
In the annexed Drawing I have represented a specimen arrangement of
the apparatus herein described.
Fig. 1 shows a vertical section, and Fig. 2a horizontal section of same.
The same letters apply, to both Figures.
'
a, a', a³, reservoirs placed one above the other, and containing the hydro-
carburets, with or without the addition of the spongy matters. These
reservoirs are connected by means of tubes b, h, serving the one set for the
introduction of the liquid into the apparatus, and the others for the passage
of air from one reservoir to the other. The upper reservoir a is furnished
with an air inlet aperture c, while a is furnished with an exit aperture d for
the gas. Each of these chambers or reservoirs is also provided with an

page_text: emptying cock fand aperture 9 for examining the condition of the spongy or
porous matters or the level of the liquid. Lastly, the upper part of the
generator is furnished with nozzles having screw caps, so as to permit of the
introduction of a fresh quantity of carburetting liquid when the whole has
become volatilized.
This form of apparatus is but one of many that may be adopted, the
improvement consisting essentially in the application of superposed reservoirs tö
contain a certain quantity of light inflammable essence, and connected together
by tubes. serving for the passage of air, which entering at the atmospheric
pressure passes in succession over the surface of the liquid contained in each
reservoir, and so becomes more and more charged with vapours to a sufficient
extent to transform it into gas for lighting and heating, purposes without the
intervention of heat or other mechanical agent, such as a gas meter, blower, or
compressed air reservoir.. The air descends from one reservoir to another by
reason of the increased weight communicated to it by the vapours with which
it has become charged; its pressure at the burner, and consequently the
dimensions of the flame, being proportionate to the extent of its descent.
The number and size of the reservoirs vary according to the number of
burners it is desired to have. The reservoirs may also be self-supplied with
light essences from a feed reservoir having a constant flow. This method of
producing gas for lighting and heating has the great advantage of non-
liability of explosion, inasmuch as the mixture of air and vapor constituting
the gas does not form an explosive mixture, while the gas as it forms always
tends to descend by reason of its excess of weight. However, as a precaution,
I may dispose wire gauze at one or more points in the outlet pipes to prevent
the spread of the flame.
I
Having described the nature of this. Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would observe, that the apparatus herein described and
represented in the Drawing annexed to this Specification is simply in illus-
tration of the many modifications of apparatus which may be adopted on the
same principle, and I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be pro-
tected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, employing and
constructing apparatus of any form composed of superposed reservoirs con-
taining a certain quantity of light inflammable essence (such as American
petroleum, benzine, or other hydrocarburets), which reservoirs are connected
together by tubes serving for the passage of the ambiant air to be transformed
into gas for lighting and heating purposes, all as herein-before described.
I also claim the exclusive right of placing the reservoirs in communication
with a supply chamber having a constant flow, as also of disposing one or

page_text: more diaphragms of wire gauze in the tubes above mentioned for the purpose of
intercepting the passage of the flame.
Lastly, I claim the transforming without any mechanical means of
atmospheric air into gas suited for lighting and heating purposes, by the
passage of air over light inflammable essences of petroleum, benzine, or other
hydrocarburets, and this whatever may be the form of the apparatus employed
for effecting such transformation without the aid of any apparatus for
inducing artificially the entrance of the atmospheric air and the escape of
the gases, which are thus naturally or spontaneously generated in said
apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
WILLIAM CLARK. (L.8.)