Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Effecting the Complete Mixture of Inflammable Gas or Vapour with Air.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Effecting the Complete
Mixture of Inflammable Gas or Vapour with Air.
We, WILLIAM EDWARD VICKERS, of St. Agnes, Beaufort Road, Surbiton, in
the County of Surrey, Bookseller, and GEORGE ALONZO EVERETT of 11 Lincoln's
Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying
drawings, that is to say:-
This invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus in which
ordinary coal gas or other inflammable gas or vapour is mixed in proper proportions
with air, so that the mixture is permanent and can be burned by means of suitable
burners and used for heating purposes, lighting, and other purposes for which
gaseous or other fuel is ordinarily used.
It has for its objects more especially improvements in the apparatus and method
by which the complete mixture of the inflammable gas and air is effected, and in
the construction and management of the machinery and apparatus, and in the
method of actuating it.
The accompanying drawings are an illustration of the invention
Figure being a front view of the entire apparatus,
Figure 2 a side view of the same,
Figure 3 a section on a larger scale through one of the jets,
Figure 4 a vertical section through the mixing chambers or vessels,
Figure 5 a plan of part of the machinery, and
Figures 6 and 7 a front view and section, respectively, of the excentrics of which
the pumps are actuated.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures.
a is a base plate, preferably of cast iron, upon which the entire apparatus
stands, is a tubular chamber, preferably of wrought iron or steel, the lower end
of which is screwed or otherwise fixed upon the base plate at c, and d is a
discharge pipe from the upper end of the chamber through which the
inflammable mixture is conveyed away to be utilized as may be desired, e is a
similar internal chamber or tube of less diameter than , concentric with the
latter and carried by a support g, screwed or otherwise fixed to the base a, and
having its upper end closed by the cover g. Round the cuter circumference of
the inner chamber e are screwed or otherwise fixed radially a large number of
jets h, h, h, the outer ends of which approach nearly to the inner side of the
outer chamber b. These jets are made hollow (as shewn in Figure 3) their
outer closed ends being perforated with two or more small holes directed towards
one another so that the, issuing mixture of gas or vapour and air are more
horoughly mixed as they escape. i, is a cock or valve by which any water or
other liquid can be drawn off from the chamber b. Frames k, k, of cast iron
or other suitable material are fixed upon the base a, and carry near their lower
ends cylinders 1, 1, containing pistons by which air is forced into the pipe en,
nd near their upper ends cylinders n, n (preferably of smaller size) by which
as or inflammable vapour is also forced into the same pipe. The four cylinders I, I,
nd n, n', are also screwed, bolted, or otherwise attached to the outer chamber b
as illustrated in Figure 5).
The piston rods o, o pass upward through stuffing boxes in covers of
ylinders,, and the piston rods p, p, similarly pass downward through stuffing
oxes in the bottoms of the cylinders n, n', and the outer ends of these four
iston rods are provided with brackets r, r, r¹, r, fitting against the edges and
D

page_text: sides of the four excentrics, s, s, &, s¹ fitted upon the driving shaft t, which revolves
in bearings u,, in the frames k, k, and in a central bearing u, carried by the
chamber. The shaft is driven by any suitable power by means of fast or loose
pulleys, w, or other ordinary devices and is a fly wheel. The piston rods
may if desired be continued as guides through stuffing boxes at the outer ends
of the cylinders as shewn at 1, (Figures 1 and 2). The excentrics s, s, s', s¹,
are provided with a deep annular groovey, ', as shewn in Figures 6 and 7 in
which fit freely friction rollers or sliding blocks carried upon pins or studs =,=,=,=,
fixed in the brackets r, r, r², r, upon the ends of the piston rods so that when
the excentrics are made to revolve, the pistons are made to reciprocate up and
down in the several cylinders, with a stroke dependent upon the excentricity of
the excentrics. In order that this excentricity may be conveniently varied as
may be desired the excentrics are fitted loosely upon the shaft and the holes
through which the latter passes are clongated (as shewn in Figure 6). A, A, are
strong discs keyed or fixed firmly upon the shaft and the excentrics are fixed
to these discs by screws or bolts 1. 1. (Figures 6 and 7) the holes in the
excentrics through which these screws or bolts pass being also made elongated
so that each of the excentrics may be adjusted to any desired excentricity before
they are firmly screwed up against the discs A, A.
In this way the strokes of the several pistons and the quantity of gas or
inflammable vapour and air respectively delivered by them can be conveniently and
accurately adjusted as may be desired.
The cylinders,, are provided with suction valves, 2, 2, and delivery valves 3, 3,
and passages by which air is drawn in through the suction pipes 4, 4, 4, 4, and delivered
into the pipe m and the cylinders n, n' are similarly provided with suction valves 5, 5,
and delivery valves 6, 6, by which the gas or inflammable vapour is drawn in
through the suction pipe 7 and delivered into the gas delivery pipe 8.
This gas
delivery pipe 8 is of smaller diameter than the pipe and passes centrally into the
latter through an airtight junction at 9 (Figure 1) and the lower end of the pipe 8
is perforated with a number of small holes (Figure 4) through which the gas is
discharged into and mixed with the air delivered into the pipe m from the cylinders 1, l',
as already described. The mixture is discharged from the pipe m into the lower
end of the inner chamber e, through the opening m', (Figure 4) which may also be
provided with a number of perforations or with wire gauze instead of having a
single opening. The valves may be of any suitable kind, but are preferably Hap
valves of india rubber, leather, or other suitable material.
Instead of two gas cylinders and pistons and two air cylinders and pistons any
desired number of each may be used.
The operation of the machine or apparatus is as follows:-
The shaft being set in revolution, the excentrics s, s, s¹, s, which have previously
been adjusted to the required excentricity, also revolve, and the pistons in the four
cylinders are made to reciprocate with strokes dependent upon the excentricity of
the excentrics. Air is accordingly forced into the pipe m, and simultaneously gas
or inflammable vapour is forced through the perforations in the gas delivery pipe 8
into the same pipe m. The gas and air become mixed in the pipe and are then
delivered through m', into the lower end of the inner chamber e, and the mixture is
then forced out through the numerous jets h, becoming further mixed, and striking
the inner sides of the chamber 6, the mixture which is then extremely intimate and
permanent finally passing out through the delivery pipe d, and being led away
and consumed in any suitable business for heating purposes of all kinds or for
lighting by means of incandescence or for any purpose in which great and uniform
heat is required.
The entire apparatus may be arranged in any convenient position and it is very
simple, cheap, and effective for the purpose required, and by the methods of actuating
the pistons in the pumps as described and shewn, great efficiency and accuracy of
adjustment are obtained whilst little power is required.
We do not confine ourselves to the precise details of the machinery or apparatus

page_text: which may be varied more or less as may be found desirable in different circum-
stances, but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for mixing inflammable gas or vapour with air, the combination
of an interior chamber e, having its outer surface provided with numerous jets h, an
inlet pipe m, m', through which mixed gas or inflammable vapour and air are forced
into the vessel e, a central gas pipe 8 through which gas or inflammable vapour is
forced into the inlet pipe m, an exterior chamber b, surrounding the interior
chamber e, but leaving a narrow space between them, an outlet pipe d, from the
interior chamber for the mixed gas or inflammable vapour and air and pumps, l', n, n',
the pistous of which are driven by excentrics, s, s', ', of variable length of stroke
and by which gas or inflammable vapour and air are forced into the inlet pipe m, in
the desired proportions, substantially as described and illustrated.
2. In apparatus for mixing inflammable gas or vapour with air, the combination
with the pumps described in the first claim, of the adjustable excentrics a, s, s², s¹,
having annular recesses or grooves, ', the sliding blocks or friction rollers working
in the said recesses or grooves and carried by the piston rods of the pumps, all
arranged and operating substantially as described and shewn.
3. In apparatus for mixing inflammable gas or vapour with air, in combination
with the interior and exterior vessels e and described in Claim 1, the jets h having
two or more outlet holes directed towards each other, substantially as and for the
purpose described and shewn in Figure 3.
4. In apparatus for mixing inflammable gas or vapour with air, the combination
with a base plate a, of the exterior vessel b, described in the first claim, the
supports k, k, for the gas and air pumps 1, 1, n, n', the driving shaft t and the
adjustable recessed excentrics s, s, s¹, s¹, as described and shown.
Dated this 18th day of January 1892.
EDWARDS & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.