A New or Improved Process for Producing Gases and Vapours for Fumigating and other Purposes and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 9th Sept.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Process for Producing Gases and Vapours for
Fumigating and other Purposes and Apparatus therefor.
I, Madame JOSEPHINE MARIE-LOUISE MESSERLI, née Imbert, of No. 11, Rue des
Fermiers, Paris, France, Professor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
1
My invention has relation to a process for producing gases or vapours for
fumigating or other purposes and it has for its object to provide a simple and
inexpensive process by which gases or vapors adapted for fumigation may be
produced.
In the accompanying drawings I show in Fig. 1 a vertical sectional view of a
fumigating body constructed according to my process.
Fig. 2 is a similar view of a device for vaporizing corrosive liquids.
Fig. 3 is a similar view of a slightly modified vaporizer.
In carrying out my process I may use various substances capable of evolving
gas or vapor under the action of ordinary heat, such as camphor, menthol, phenol,
corrosive sublimate or other readily volatilizable substances.
I first take a suitable quantity (10 gr.) of the volatilizable substance, say for
instance camphor in the form of powder, mix with it pulverized wood (10 gr.) and
clay, plaster of Paris or the like (10 gr.) and form the same into a paste by
the addition of a liquid such as alcohol (the necessary quantity to dissolve the
camphor) and while in a paste form I cause the same to assume any suitable
shape as for instance a hollow cylinder A, seen in Fig. 1.
When the latter is dry, I cover it with an incombustible varnish and close its
upper aperture 0 with wax to prevent the gases evolved from the combustible
mass presently described from acting upon the camphor, and also prevent slow
evaporation of the camphor.
I next take a paste or coating containing any suitable combustible material
as paper for giving the heat required for vaporizing the camphor, and apply
this coating to the exterior of the cylinder as shown at P, and the whole
allowed to dry.
This paste or coating may consist for instance of five grains of benzoin,
fifteen grains of pulverized wood and three grains of nitrate of potash, the whole
being pounded in a mortar with a little water and subsequently dried. I then
ignite the outer coating at B around the upper part of the cylinder and the heat
produced causes the wax to first melt which will allow the vapors of the camphor
to be quickly evolved and to escape, and at the same time the perfume contained
in the combustible coating also escapes into the atmosphere.
According to my process all gases not requiring an excess of heat can be
produced and the vaporizing of salts and of corrosive and other liquids can be
readily effected.
For corrosive liquids. which are to be vaporized or which are to be introduced
into a chemical mixture for the production of gases, I use crucibles E such as
leaden crucibles for sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids and the like. These

page_text: crucibles which may be of any shape and water-tight are closed by a screw
cap C threaded upon the neck of the crucible, said cap being provided with a
perforation which latter may be covered by a wire gauze. The perforation is
then hermetically closed by a fusible substance which is not affected by the
liquid L contained in the crucible. The crucible may be lined before receiving
the liquid with a thin coating of perfumed wax and be covered exteriorly,
including the cap with a similar coating of perfumed wax or varnish.
The crucible is in practice to be enclosed by a combustible coating (such as
described with reference to Fig. 1) excepting the gas outlet perforation and the
said combustible coating is ignited thus generating heat which causes the
fusible material over the outlet to melt and allowing the evolved gases to
escape.
In order to conduct the evolved gases away from the vaporizer to separate
such gases from those formed by the combustion of the combustible coating I screw
a tube E upon the threaded neck of the crucible C¹ as seen in Fig. 3 which tube
serves to conduct the gases to any desired point. Where inflammable vapors
are being generated the device would have to be enclosed in a wire gauze
sheath.
By my process I can obtain at a low cost gases or vapors for fumigating or
other purposes.
Having now fully 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 :-
1. The hereindescribed process of producing gases or vapors for fumigating
or other purposes which consists in placing the liquid from which the gases are
to be evolved within an incombustible receiver having an outlet, then closing
the outlet with a fusible substance and then generating the heat necessary for the
evolution of the gases by the ignition of a combustible coating applied to the
exterior of the receiver.
2. The hereindescribed fumigating device of the character set forth which
consists of a receiver of incombustible material adapted to contain the vaporizable
liquid, and having an outlet aperture, a fusible seal for said aperture, and a coating
or covering of combustible material for the receiver.
3. The hereindescribed fumigating device of the character set forth, which
consists of a receiver of incombustible material and being provided with a gas
outlet and a threaded neck, a fusible seal for said outlet, a coating or covering of
combustible material for said receiver, and a cap screwed upon the threaded neck
and provided with an outlet aperture.
4. The use of the above claimed process for the production of gases and vapors
generally, substantially as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 26th day of November 1898
W. BESTWICK MAXFIELD,
Registered Patent Agent,
Regent House, Regent Street, and No. 34, Belvoir Street,
Both in Leicester, England, Applicant's Agent.