IMPROVEMENTS IN INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING POWER OF COAL GAS AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, of 5, Manby Street,
Stratford, in the County of Essex, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING POWER OF COAL GAS AND
IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1863..
I, NATHANIEL FORTESCUE TAYLOR, of 5, Manby Street, Stratford, in the
County of Essex, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING POWER OF COAL
GAS AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN;" to be as follows:-
The gas to be acted upon is conducted for that purpose into the lower
portion of a chamber provided with a series of horizontal partitions placed
one above the other and adapted to cause the gas in its passage from the lower
part of this chamber to its oulet at the upper part to traverse the chamber
between the partitions.
The lower portion of the chamber and the respective partitions are formed as
trays to hold hydrocarbon liquid, and the space above the trays is supplied with
sponge or other fibrous matter adapted to become saturated with the volatile

page_text: liquid supplied to the trays, thereby to facilitate its being given off to or acting
upon the gas as it traverses the divisions of the chambers.
The hydrocarbon liquid is supplied from a reservoir above to the uppermost
tray by a syphon tube, the lower end of which dips below the level of the liquid
in that tray. This tube is provided with a tap or valve to cut off or limit the
supply as required, an air tube may be employed if desired, and each succeeding
tray is supplied from the one above through a tap or valve by which the fluid
is retained in the respective trays for purifying purposes and without waste, or
its condition is ascertained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st April 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATHANIEL
FORTESCUE TAYLOR, of 5, Manby Street, Stratford, in the County of Essex,
Gas Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, Her special licence that I, the said
Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, my executors, admi-
nistrators. and 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 INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING
POWER OF COAL GAS AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
The improvements relate to means for increasing the illuminating power of
coal
gas, and the apparatus employed therein.
The gas to be acted upon is conducted for that purpose into the lower
portion of a chamber provided with a series of horizontal partitions placed one
above the other and adapted to cause the gas in its passage from the lower
part of this chamber to its outlet at the upper part to traverse the chamber
between the partitions.
The lower portion of the chamber and the respective partitions are fornied as
trays to hold bydrocarbon liquid, and the space above the trays is supplied with
sponge or other fibrous matter adapted to become saturated with the volatile
liquid supplied to the trays, thereby to facilitate its being given off to or acting
upon the gas as it traverses the divisions of the chambers.
The hydrocarbon liquid is supplied from a reservoir above to the uppermost
tray by a tube dipping below the level of the fluid in that tray and provided
with a tap or valve to cut off or limit the supply as required. An air tube is
also employed to admit air, vapour, or gas freely into the upper portion or
reservoir from the lower portion thereof, and by the lower edge of this
pipe dipping into the upper tray to the height required for the liquid in that
tray the supply of liquid thereto will be regulated, and each succeeding tray is
supplied from the one above through a trap or valve by which the fluid is
retained in the respective trays for purifying purposes and without waste, or its
condition is ascertained.
But that the Invention may be better understood, I will by the aid of the
accompanying Drawings proceed more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews an external end view; Figure 2 a plan view; Figure 3 a
longitudinal section, and Figure 4 a transverse section of apparatus arranged
to carry out my improvements.
This apparatus is by the partition a divided into two parts or chambers A
and B. The upper division or chamber A serves as a reservoir for the hydro-
carbon liquid to be used in increasing the illuminating power of the gas. The
ower division or chamber B is formed with horizontal partitions b, b, dividing
the chamber B again into other compartments except at the parts c and d,
where the ends of the horizontal partitions b, b', are turned up and secured so

page_text: that the partitions become trays capable of holding the hydrocarbon liquid
when it is permitted to flow therein. The bottom of the chamber B is also
adapted to receive hydrocarbon fluid. The space between this bottom be and
the under side of the tray above is filled with sponge or other fibrous matter
suitable to become saturated with volatile liquid supplied to the trays b, b', b;
e is a pipe for the supply of gas to be acted upon, and f is a pipe by which the
gas passes away from the apparatus to the burner or burners after it has been
acted upon to increase its illuminating power by the volatile fluid in the
chamber B. The gas passing into the chamber B through the opening e' from
the pipe e first traverses in the direction of the arrow over the bottom
or tray and up through the passage d thence it passes back over the
tray and up through the passage c and back over the tray b through the
outlet to the pipe f. In thus passing over .the series of trays 62, 61, b, con-
taining bydrocarbon fluid and through the sponge or other matter saturated
with such fluid it becomes acted upon so as to have its illuminating power
greatly increased. The hydrocarbon fluid contained in the compartment A is
supplied to the respective trays b, b1, 2, by the taps or valves g, h, and i, in
the following manner :-The taps h and i are closed, and the tap 9 is opened
when the hydrocarbon fluid will flow into the tray b from the reservoir A until
that tray is filled up to the bottom of the pipe j, when it will cease to flow.
The tap g is then closed and, the taps h and i are opened, when the hydro-
carbon fluid will descend from the tray 6 to the bottom tray b. Then the
taps h and i are again closed, and the tap g is again opened to fill the tray bas
before, when that tray is again filled the tap g is again closed and the tap h is
opened to let the fluid from the tray 6 fall into the tray ', when that tray is
filled the tap g is again opened and left open to fill the tray b. The pipe jallows
air or vapour or gas from the chamber B to pass to the upper portion of the
reservoir A to admit of the fluid therein flowing freely through the tap g to
the tray b until that tray is filled to the height of the lower end of the pipe j,
when the fluid seals that pipe from further supply of air, vapour, or gas, and
the fluid will cease to flow into the tray 6 by the tap 9, and the overflow of the
tray 6 will be prevented; g¹, h¹, ¹, are keys, the stems of which pass through
stuffing boxes a', a¹, a', to the respective taps g, h, and i; k is a screw cap by
which the tray 62 may be emptied, or by removing which and opening
the taps h and i it may be at any time ascertained whether the trays b, b', b, are
exhausted; is a passage capable of being closed by a screw plug, as shewn, by
which to fill the reservoir A.
b
b
Having thus described my improvements and means which I 'adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not claim

page_text: the separate parts separately considered, nor do I confine myself to the precise
details shewn, as these may be varied, but what I do claim is the adaptation
or combination of means and mode of regulating the supply of fluid in
apparatus for effecting increase in the illuminating power of coal gas by the
use of hydrocarbon fluid, substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathaniel Fortescue Taylor, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
N. F. TAYLOR. (L.S.)