Improvement in Water Gas Apparatus.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 1st May, 1894-Accepted, 30th June, 1894
Improvement in Water Gas Apparatus.
I, ARTHUR GRAHAM GLASGOW, of Westminster Chambers, 9 Victoria Street,
in the City of Westminster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my inven-
tion 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 water gas apparatus, particularly to such apparatus as
are provided with suitable conduits leading from above and below the grate, or
other support for the mass of incandescent carbon which serves to decompose the
steam and form water gas so that the gas can be made both "up" and "down," and
the main object of the invention is to so arrange the openings of these two conduits
into a common conduit that the bot gases issuing from one conduit will not impinge
on the opening of the other, and to provide a common valve to close alternately
both of these openings.
My invention will be best understood as explained in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which :-
:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an apparatus embodying my
invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view, partly in section, on the line x-x of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a view, partly in section, on the line y-y of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 1, showing a modified form of
gas valve, and
Figure 5 is a view illustrating another form of gas valve.
A is a water gas generator having a cap B and a grate, or other suitable support,
for the fuel, as indicated at a; CC are passages for the gas, situated respectively
near the top and bottom of the generator, that is, above and below the grate or
support a; DD' are gas conduits leading from the passages C C' and open into a
common conduit E; as shown, these openings d d are close together so that a
single valve H can be operated so as to alternately close both of the openings.
Any suitable means can be employed to actuate the valve H; in Figure 1, a hand
wheel J, having a stem J', is shown operating a shaft I by means of gears JJ, a
pinion I is secured on the shaft I and meshes with the teeth of a rack * on the
valve H which, in this case, is a slide valve; by turning the hand wheel J the
valve may thus be slid to cover either the opening d or d and thus permit the gas
driven from the generator by the steam blast to escape by means of either one of
the conduits D or D', as preferred. In Figure 4 the valve H is shown as a swing
valve pivoted as at ' and provided with seating faces h² on its front and back,
which are adapted to seat on the valve seats at d and d' and so close one or the
other of the conduits; this valve is shown operated by means of a handle or
lever having a rod connected therewith which is secured to rock shaft /* secured
to the valve. In Figure 5 a similar lever is shown operating a rocking cylinder
valve pivoted at A. It is evident that various styles of valves may be employed to
close alternately one or the other of the conduits D D'. I also prefer to connect
the means for operating the valve which controls the flow of gas through the
conduits with the stem of the valve which admits steam to the generator so as to
operate this steam valve automatically in accordance with the movement of the
valve in the gas conduit. G is a steam pipe leading from any suitable boiler, a
suitable valve, (not shown) being, of course, arranged in the pipe whereby the
steam can be turned into or off from the pipe; and the pipe G is provided with two
branches G'G' leading to the top and bottom of the generator respectively; a
valve g is arranged to direct the steam from the pipe G into one or the other of the

page_text: branches G' G'. In order to operate this valve to properly direct the steam blast
in accordance, as the upper or lower conduit D or D₁ is open, I connect the steam
valve with the means for operating the gas valve so that both can be moved at one
operation; this can be done in any convenient manner. In Figures 1 and 2, a
small gear on the stem of the valve g meshes with a gear 9 on the shaft I of
pinion I, and is adapted to operate the valve g so as to direct the steam into
branches G or G' as the valve H is slid so as to cover the openings dor d'; in
Figures 4 and 5 the valve g is shown with a projecting rod g' which is loosely
held between two lugs on the rod and serves to operate the valve g as the
rod is moved up and down to operate the valve H. In operation the valve H is
so turned as to open the conduit D leading from the upper part of the generator, a
fire is kindled on the grate a, a suitable blast is introduced and a deep bed of
incandescent fuel is thus obtained, the blast gases escaping out of the conduits D
and E and serve, when ignited by a suitable air blast in the carbureter F, to heat
this in the customary manner.
It will be observed that the valve H in each of the constructions is so arranged
that it will be entirely out of the way of the intensely hot blast gases; the swing
valve shown in Figure 4, is adapted, when swung into the position indicated by the
dotted lines, to be flush with the floor e of conduit E so that the hot gases will flow
over the valve and will not impinge directly on any part of it; the same is true of
the valve shown in Figure 5. In the arrangement shown in Figure 1 the conduit E
is preferably provided with an extension E, the conduit D opening directly into
the conduit E and the conduit D' into the extension E', the openings d d' of said
conduits being side by side, as shown; when blasting, the valve is slid to cover the
opening d' and is moved back into the extension E entirely out of the path of the
blast gases. After the blast gases have been driven off steam is turned into
the pipe G and the gas valve is moved to open the conduit D or D' as may be
desired, the steam being turned into the opposite end of the generator from that
from which the open conduit leads. If desired, the gas valve shown in Figure 3
can be clamped in the position shown by means of a screw M to prevent displace-
ment while blasting, and, as best shown in this figure, the valve is preferably
provided with a toothed tail piece H³ forming a continuation of the rack * which
tail piece is comparatively thin so that it will not interfere with the draft of gas
through the conduit D', but will serve to mesh with the teeth on the pinion when
the valve is in its forward position covering the conduit D; the pinion I and this
comparatively narrow rack are entirely in the conduit D' leading from the bottom
of the generator, and so are never subject to the intense heat of the blast gases.
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-
First. In a water gas apparatus the combination with a generator having gas
passages at its top and bottom, of separate conduits D Ď¹ leading from said
passages, a common conduit E into which the conduits D D' open, the openings d d'
of the conduits D D' into the conduit E being so situated relatively to each other
that the hot gases issuing from one conduit will not impinge on the opening of the
other, a common valve arranged in conduit E to alternately close one or the other
of the openings a d¹ of the conduits D and D' and means for operating said valve,
all substantially as and for the purpose specified and so that when closing either
of the openings, said valve will be out of the path of the hot gases issuing from
the other.
Second. In a water gas apparatus, the combination with a generator having gas
passages at its top and bottom, of separate conduits D D leading from said
passages, a common conduit E into which the conduits D D' open, the openings d d
of the conduits D D' into the conduit E being so situated relatively to each other
that the hot gases issuing from one conduit will not impinge on the opening of the
other, a common valve arranged in conduit E to alternately close one or the other

page_text: of the openings d d' of the conduits D and D', a steam pipe G having branches G¹
and Gleading to the top and bottom of the generator respectively, a valve adapted
to direct the steam from pipe G into one or the other of the branches G' or G'
and means for operating the valve in conduit E and the steam valve at one
operation, all substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Third. In a water gas apparatus, a generator having passages at its top and
bottom, conduits D D' leading from said passages, a common conduit E into which
the conduits D D' open, the openings d d¹ of the said conduits into the conduit E
being side by side, a common slide valve arranged in the conduit E and adapted to
slide trom one opening to the other and so arranged that when slid across either
opening said slide valve will be out of the path of the hot gases issuing from the
other, and means for sliding said valve from one opening to the other.
Fourth. In a water gas apparatus, a generator having passages at its top and
bottom, conduits D D leading therefrom, a common conduit E having a side
extension E, the conduit D from the top of the generator opening directly into the
conduit E and the conduit D' into the conduit E through the extension E, a
common slide valve adapted to alternately close the openings d d and so arranged
that when moved to open the opening d of conduit D it will be slid into the
extension E out of the way of the hot blast gases escaping from the generator.
Fifth. In a water gas apparatus, a generator having passages for gas at its top
and bottom, conduits D D' leading from said passages, a common conduit E into
which said conduits D D' open, the openings d d of said conduits being side by
side, a cominon slide valve arranged in the conduit E having a tail piece H and a
rack ' extending along the tail piece, a pinion l' arranged to mesh with the rack
and slide the valve so as to cover the opening d of conduit D or the opening d' of
the conduit D'.
Dato ay ay
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.