IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joshua Kidd, of Saint Paul's Wharf, in the
City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 23rd June 1868, and dated the 15th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joshua Kidd at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th January 1868.
I, JOSHUA KIDD, of Saint Paul's Wharf, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in effecting the increase of the illuminating
power of a jet or flame of gas, or of hydrocarbon vapour, or of mixtures of
the same when alone or in combination with atmospheric air by causing.
such flame to issue from a jet or burner, such as a fish-tail or bat's-wing
burner, placed at or deflected at an angle of about 45 degrees below a
horizontal plane. In causing the vapour of heavy oils or of hydrocarbons
which have a high boiling point to be generated in boilers, or stills, or

page_text: other vapourising apparatus, and to issue therefrom under pressure, and
then causing the vapour so escaping and when ignited to impinge upon
a circular disc constructed of metal, or fire-clay, or other refractory
material, such disc being placed at a regulated distance from the jet
or orifice. When employing such an arrangement, and when greater
brilliancy is required, a stream of oxygen gas may be employed as a
substitute for atmospheric air, and may be mixed with the before-
mentioned hydrocarbon vapour when issuing from the jet or aperture,
or when impingeing upon the disc.
The materials which have been found most suitable for the production
of the before-mentioned hydrocarbon vapour are the heavy or dead oils
of tar, creosote, napthaline, heavy oils of petroleum or coal, and other
similar fixed oils which are now of small commercial value for the
purpose of illumination.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Joshua Kidd in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSHUA
KIDD, of Saint Paul's Wharf, in the City of London, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joshua Kidd, Her special license that I,
the said Joshua Kidd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Joshua Kidd, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter 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 OBTAINING ARTIFICIAL
LIGHT AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Joshua Kidd, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particu-

page_text: larly 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 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 Joshua Kidd, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists, firstly, in effecting the increase of the
illuminating power of a jet or flame of gas, or of hydrocarbon vapour,
or of mixtures of the same when used alone or in combination with
atmospheric air, by causing such flame to issue from a finely perforated
jet or burner, such as a "fish-tail" or "bat's-wing" burner, placed at
an angle of about forty-five degrees below a horizontal plane.
Secondly. In causing the vapour of heavy oils or of hydrocarbons
which have a high boiling point to be generated in boilers, or stills, or
other vapourising apparatus, and to issue therefrom under pressure, and
then causing the vapour so escaping, and when ignited, to impinge upon
a circular disc constructed of metal, or fire-clay, or other refractory
material, such disc being placed at a regulated distance from the jet
orifice. When employing such an arrangement and when greater
brilliancy is required a stream of oxygen gas may be employed as a
substitute for atmospheric air and may be mixed with the before-
mentioned hydrocarbon vapour when issuing from the jet or aperture or
when impinging upon the disc.
Naptha or light burning oils may be used for the purposes of this
Invention, but the materials which have been found most suitable for the
production of the before-mentioned hydrocarbon vapour, on account of
their cheapness, are the heavy or dead oils of tar, creosote, napthaline,
heavy oils of petroleum or coal, and other similar fixed oils which are now.
of small commercial value for the purposes of illumination. If desired
those heavy oils may be freed from solid carbonaceous matter by con-
densing the vapour generated in the retort C, Figure 2. Oil thus
prepared will not foul the vapouriser and may be used for increasing the
lighting properties of coal gas.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that

page_text: purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a sun-light gas burner constructed
or arranged according to the first part of my Invention, so as to direct
the jet or jets downwards at an angle of about 45°. a is the gas pipe,
and b, b, represent four or any other number of ordinary burners
disposed round the end of the pipe at an angle of about 45° below a
horizontal plane. By thus directing the flames from fine jets I prevent
the too rapid admixture of the atmospheric air therewith, and hence
obtain a brighter light free from smoke.
The rest of the Figures on the Sheet of Drawings illustrate, the second
portion of my said Invention.
Figure 2 represents in sectional elevation an arrangement for
obtaining light from heavy oils, such as herein-before referred to,
suitable for lighthouses, beacons, light ships, and other uses where a
powerful light is required. c is a strong vapouriser or other closed vessel
heated by a fire or furnace at d and provided with a tight fitting lid
or cover e for clearing out the interior, such lid being secured in its
place by screws ff, or otherwise. I have found in practice that the
best joint for these lids or covers is obtained by making the junction
surfaces perfectly smooth and flat, and then firmly pressing or holding
in close contact the clean metal by the aid of the screws f, f. If
properly made a joint of this description will be found perfectly oil-tight,
and will require no luting or cement of any kind. The heavy oil is
supplied to the vessel or vapouriser c as fast as it is required through
the feed pipe g which communicates with a reservoir or oil tank placed
from two to three feet above the vapouriser. The pipe g is provided with
a stop-cock for regulating the supply. i is the outlet pipe which conveys
the inflammable vapour generated in the vapouriser c; this pipe is
protected from cold by an outer pipe or jacket to the burners k, k;
the burners may be of any ordinary form or arrangement. I propose
however to employ a number of burners consisting of tubes, having
each one or more simple lateral perforations or straight jet orifices made
therein or on the upper or under surface thereof a slight distance from
the centre of each burner I place a disc or flat button of fire-clay,
metal, or other refractory material, against which the flame impinges
and becomes, thereby dispersed or deflected horizontally in a circular

page_text: direction. The flame is by this means brought into the best form or
condition for the admixture of atmospheric air therewith, and hence
its high illuminating power.
Figure 3 represents another modification suitable for ordinary out
door purposes, and Figure 4 is a plan of the burners detached from the
vapourising vessel, the number of which may be increased or diminished
as required. h is the oil reservoir; g, the feed pipe leading by the
branch g' from the bottom of the reservoir to the circular vapourising
vessel c which is heated by the flame from the burner or burners, as
shewn. The supply of oil to the vessel c is regulated by a screw spindle
or rod m tapered or pointed at its lower end, which passes down the
tube g, the pointed end of the rod entering an orifice near the bottom
of the tube g. By turning the rod its pointed end will be caused to
enter into or withdraw from the supply orifice, and will thereby act as
a regulator for adjusting the exact proper supply of oil to the vapourising
vessel c. I cause the oil from the pipe g to fall upon coke or other
porous matters, as shewn at p. The vapour passes from the vessel c
by the pipe i which carries the burners k, k, and above these burners
are placed the deflecting buttons or discs 1, herein-before referred to,
which spread the flame horizontally underneath the bottom of the
vessel c, as shewn in the Drawing. In this arrangement the deflecting
buttons 1, 1, may be attached to the bottom of the vapourising vessel
itself, as shewn in section with a single jet at Figure 5. The deposit or
residuum which forms in the vapourising vessel c may be removed from
time to time by unscrewing the cap or cover plate e. n is the opening
for supplying the oil to the reservoir h. The vapourisers here described
should first be heated sufficiently to vapourise the oil before it is allowed
to enter the vapouriser in any convenient manner. Although I have
represented in Figures 3, 5, and 7, the oil entering the vapourisers
through the top thereof, I sometimes bend the oil pipe g so as to enable
it to be connected with the vaporiser c through the bottom thereof. In
cases where two vapourisers are fixed together this arrangement would
be the best.
Figure 6 represents an arrangement for burning oxygen gas in com-
bination with hydrocarbon vapour or ordinary illuminating gas in an
ordinary burner. is the burner for the supply of the inflammable
vapour or gas, and is a small metallic open cylinder fitted on to the
top of the burner, and through which the pipe o for the supply of

page_text: oxygen is introduced, the oxygen and vapour or gas mixing and burning
together just above the top of the cylinder k¹.
Figures 7 and 8 represent respectively a sectional elevation and under
side plan of another modification somewhat similar to Figures 3 and 5.
The burner consists of a number of small perforations k supplied with
the hydrocarbon vapour from the vapourising vessel c above by the short
pipe, whilst a second pipe o opening into the circular burner conveys
air or coal gas, either separately or combined, thereto. In this arrange-
ment the flame or jet is directed downwards at an angle of about 45°
from a horizontal plane and tends to vapourise the heavy oil in the
vessel c. The gas or air inlet O may be dispensed with if required, and
a pipe S for the supply of oxygen substituted in its place, as shewn at
Figure 7, or the hydrocarbon vapour generated in this apparatus may
be injected into the gas pipe of an ordinary sun burner.
Figure 9 shews an arrangement of vapouriser formed of a number of
pipes or clay retorts connected together at u; this form of apparatus
I prefer to use when it is desired to decompose the oil into a permanent
gas, and as the oil during destructive distillation requires more hydrogen
to take up its surplus carbon, this I supply by allowing a regulated
jet of highly superheated steam to enter with the oil vapour at x, or one
or more of the retorts may be charged with solid carbonaceous matter,
when permanent gas may be produced from the superheated steam
alone by forcing it through the carbonaceous matter placed in the
retorts, which must be raised to a bright red heat in a suitable furnace.
Gas thus generated may be burned, as shewn in the Drawing, or con-
ducted into a gas holder and consumed for ordinary purposes of
illumination.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be
used or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that 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,―
First. The placing or constructing of finely perforated burners
employed in burning ordinary illuminating gas, or hydrocarbon vapour,
or mixtures of the same, in combination or not with air or oxygen gas for
the purposes of illumination in such a manner as that the illuminating
flame or jet shall be directed downwards at an angle of about 45°
below: a horizontal plane, substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: Second. The causing the vapours of heavy oils or hydrocarbons to
be generated in close vessels and to issue under pressure from a burner
or burners, above which there is or are suspended a deflecting disc or
discs of any suitable refractory material, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Third. The combination of a stream of oxygen gas with the vapour
of heavy oils or hydrocarbons, as and for the purpose herein-before
described.
Fourth. The general construction and arrangement of apparatus for
effecting the increase of the illuminating power of a jet or flame of
gas or hydrocarbon vapour, as herein-before described and illustrated
by the Drawings.
In witness whereof I, the said Joshua Kidd, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Tenth day of July, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
JOSHUA KIDD. (L.S.)