AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OR SUPPLY OF GAS THROUGH PIPES TO GAS BURNERS, WITH A VIEW TO UNIFORMITY OF SUPPLY
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HuaH
FORD BACON, of Fen Drayton, in the County of Cambridge, Clerk, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent
under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date.at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of January last past, did
give and grant unto me, the said Hugh Ford Bacon, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Hugh Ford Bacon, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Hugh Ford
Bacon, 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
of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING
THE FLOW OR SUPPLY OF GAS THROUGH PIPES TO GAS BURNERS, WITH A VIEW
TO UNIFORMITY OF SUPPLY;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Hugh Ford Bacon, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
recited Letters Patent, as therein more fully expressed, and as, on reference
thereto, will appear; and whereas the improvements which I have invented

page_text: as aforesaid are in fact improvements upon two several apparatus heretofore
invented by me (namely):-First, an improved apparatus for regulating the
flow of gas through pipes to gas burners, with a view to uniformity of supply,
for the exclusive manufacture, use, and sale of which Invention Letters Patent,
dated the Ninth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five,
were duly granted to me by His late Majesty King William the Fourth, and
a full and particular description or Specification of the same Invention is
contained in an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, dated the
Eighth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, and
duly inrolled in the Petty Bag Office in the High Court of Chancery; and
secondly, an improved apparatus for regulating the flow or supply of gas
through pipes to gas burners, with a view to uniformity of supply, for the
exclusive manufacture, use, and sale of which last-mentioned Invention Letters
Patent, dated the Eleventh day of January, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-eight, were duly granted to me by Her said Majesty Queen Victoria, and
a full and particular description or Specification of the same Invention is con-
tained in an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, dated the Seventh
day of July, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and duly inrolled in
the Petty Bag Office aforesaid, as by such several Specifications, on reference
thereunto respectively, will appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso in the aforesaid
Letters Patent, dated the Seventeenth day of January last, contained, I, tho
said Hugh Ford Bacon, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, by the same Letters Patent referred to, and the manner in which the
said Invention is to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained
in and by the descriptions herein-after contained and the Drawings hereunto
annexed and hereby referred to (that is to say) :-
In the first place I will describe the entire apparatus as the same is now
made and used in the present improved state thereof, and I will then point out
and specify the improvements forming the subsequent of my present Invention,
and the Letters Patent last granted to me as aforesaid. In Fig. 1, A, A, A, A,
represents a side section of a vessel made of metal, glass, or other fit and.
proper materials, and enclosed or rendered air-tight on all sides or parts thereof,
except at the passages B and C (namely), B for the entrance and C for the
escape and delivery of the gas. The entrance tube or pipe B terminates in a
valve or double valve D, D, hereafter described. A rod M is attached by
joints to the arm or lever E, which works the valve D, D. One end of this
rod is passed through the centre of a membrane or piece of oiled or varnished
silk J, J, or other flexible and air-tight material, and likewise through the

page_text: centre of a convex metal disc L, L, which is screwed firmly air-tight on the
rod against the membrane by means of binding nuts one above and the other
below the same, so as to rise and fall therewith. The said membrane is
tightly bound or screwed as evenly as possible by its outer edge or skirt round
the outer side of the ring or collar K, K, so as to be air-tight, but at the
same time to remain in a somewhat flaccid state outside the disc. A spiral
metal spring O is mounted and held by a clip piece or plate P, P, and an
adjusting screw Q, which is connected with a bracket arm R, affixed to the
side of the ring or collar K, K. This spring presses against the disc and
membrane with a force regulated by the adjusting screw Q, and exerts a
corresponding resistance to the pressure of the gas within the vessel. A box
or cap X, X, is screwed upon the upper edge of K, K, to protect the spring
and membrane. The following is the action of this apparatus:-So long as the
gas entering the vessel from the gasometer or the main through the pipe B
and valve D, D, is impelled by no greater pressure than is required to supply
the proper quantity to the burner or burners, the rod N will, by the
properly adjusted pressure of the spring acting upon the disc L, L, and mem-
brane J, J, keep the valve D, D, open, or in such a position as to allow a
sufficient quantity of the gas under the pressure by which it is then impelled to
pass through the apparatus to the burners; but should the tension of the gas
within the vessel become greater from any increase of pressure in the main, or in
consequence of the quantity previously escaping by the burners being diminished
by the extinction of any of the lights, then the augmented pressure of the gas
will instantaneously depress the flexible membrane J, J, carrying downwards
the rod M, which by the same action will move the balanced arms G, G,
carrying the plugs H, H, so as to close more or less the apertures F, F, and
restrict the gas entering through the same into the body of the apparatus to a
due amount.
At
I shall now describe the valve D, D, and its mode of action. Of this valve,
which I call the "balance valve," in Fig. 1 a side view in section is shewn when
it is open. D, D, is a metal plate closing the pipe B, in which are pierced
two round holes F, F, one of which is sloped inwardly and the other outwardly,
as in the Figure, so as to form or resemble segments of hollow cones.
each end of the balanced arms G, G, is fitted, by means of short rods or wires,
two round plugs H, H, of metal, the edges of which are rounded off in a
convex shape, so as to fit into and stop the holes F, F.
sloped or shelved in opposite directions, the one inwardly and the other out-
wardly to the pipe B, the plugs H, H, stopping the narrowest end of each
hole respectively, so that their convex sides come only into contact with
These holes are

page_text: the sharp edges presented by the sloping sides of the holes at their narrowest
end. It is proper that the stopping of the two holes should be simultaneous,
in order to which the plug inside the plate D, D, must be fitted to its end of
the balance arms G, G, by a proportionally longer rod or wire. The balanced
arms G, G, move on. a. pin or axis passed through two shoulder pieces or
collars of metal on the plate D, D, as shewn at I, I, Fig. 2, and are worked
by the perpendicular arm E, to which the end of the rod of M is jointed.
Fig. 2 is a bird's-eye view of the same valve when the plugs H, H, are closed
upon the holes F, F. A false bottom of tin, or of a thin plate of any other
metal, is soldered inside the vessels A, A, A, A, as represented at N, N,
Fig. 1, a little above the membrane J, J, but so as to be quite clear, of it
when it is pushed to its greatest extent upwards by the spring O.
The rod
M passes through a hole in the centre of this false bottom, large enough to
prevent any danger of friction on the rod. The intention and use of this
false bottom is to intercept and receive any deposits which may be made by
the gas, and which might otherwise lie upon and injure the membrane itself,
and for this reason it may advantageously be made to stand a little higher in
the middle than at the sides, or the edges of the centre hole through which the
rod M passes may be made with a small lip upwards, as shewn in Fig. 1.
The screw (Q), Fig. 1, is made of such a length that it can be turned in its
socket until it touches the end of the rod M below the membrane J, J, and
forcing it up keep the valve immoveably open until the screw is released, so
that if any accidental circumstances should prevent the free working of the
apparatus there may always be the means of preventing the flow of the gas
from being entirely obstructed. Fig. 3 is a front section taken vertically
through an apparatus constructed similarly to the foregoing in other respects,
but shewing at D, D, a different kind of valve called a sliding valve, in which
a flat piece of brass or other metal G, G, is moved on a pin or axis (I)
through its centre, by means of a small stud fixed on a short arm E, near the
axis I, to which stud or pin the end of the rod M is jointed. By the alternate
movement of the rod M the arms of the piece G, G, are made to slide
backwards or forwards over two distinct slits or apertures F, F, cut through
the face of the metal plate D, D, which forms the termination of the entrance
pipe on opposite sides of the axis or centre I on which the slider G, G, moves,
thus opening or closing them as the case may be, according to the varying
pressure of the gas. The apertures admitting the gas through either of the
valves above described must of course be always of sufficient size to allow the
requisite quantity of gas to be delivered into the vessel A, A, A, A, to supply
the number of burners in use at an ordinary pressure. Figure 4 is a front

page_text: :
section taken vertically through an apparatus similarly constructed to the
foregoing, but in which the slide valve is placed below the membrane J, J;
and instead of a spiral spring a weighted lever (0) is made to act upon the
disc (L, L), for the purpose of pressing down the flexible membrane J, J.
The lever (O) formed by a bent rod is connected by a hinge joint to the
stationary bracket arm (R), and a weight (W) screws on the upper end of the
rod (O), admitting to a varied position on the rod, to obtain such a varied
adjustment of the pressure or force after the membrane J, J, as is obtained in
Fig. 1 by means of the screw Q, and causes the bent part of the lever to
press with a certain force upon the disc L, L, and thus acts upon the
membrane J, J, in the same way as the spiral or helical spring was '
described as operating in the apparatus represented at Fig. 1. And this
apparatus may be equally used with the before-mentioned balance valve."
Fig. 5 is a bird's-eye view of the bottom of the apparatus represented in
Fig. 1, shewing more clearly the clip piece P, P; J, J, being the membrane,
P, P, the clip-piece, R the bracket arm, and Q, the head of the adjusting
In Fig. 6, at P, P, P, is plainer shewn the manner in which the
clip piece holds at its three corners the coil of the spiral spring O. Though
I do not limit or confine myself to the employment of any particular material
or materials in the construction of the flexible membrane J, J, but claim to
use bladder, skin, or oiled silk, or any other suitable flexible air-tight material;
yet I desire to make known that the material which I have hitherto found to
answer best is oiled silk, which may be further improved by a coating of gold
leaf, for the purpose of protecting it from any chemical action of the gas,
though I have not at present found this an indispensable protection in
practice, and do not use it generally.
screw.
Now, the improvements which I claim as forming the subject of my present
Invention, and the Letters Patent last granted to me as aforesaid, are the
following, and none other (namely):
First, I distinctly claim as my Invention the use of the valve or double
valve described in Figs. 1 and 2, D, D, and which I have called the
"balance valve," and its application to the purposes of regulating the flow or
supply of gas through pipes to gas burners, with a view to uniformity of
supply as a novel application; and I also claim the same combination with
the apparatus berein-before described, as a component part thereof.
Secondly, I claim the sliding valve herein described and set forth at Fig. 3,
D, D, but only in combination with the other different parts of the apparatus
herein-before described. This valve has been found more advantageous than
any other form of sliding valve which I have heretofore used in combination

page_text: with the before-described apparatus, because being moved from the centre
over two separate slits or orifices at the same time, its action is more instan-
taneous in cutting off any excessive supply of gas to the burners. I think it
nevertheless generally inferior to the balance valve herein-before described,
Figs. 1 and 2, D, D.
Thirdly, I claim the false bottom, Fig. 1, N, N, in combination with several.
other parts of the apparatus herein-before described.
Fourthly, I claim the application of a weight, in such manner as is herein-
before described in Fig. 4 as a substitute for the spiral or helical spring O,
Fig. 1, and in combination with the several other parts of my said ap-
paratus. The weight, when carefully constructed and adjusted in manner
described, exerts a force or pressure unvarying (or nearly so), throughout
the whole of its movement, and I have found it rather, more sensitive to
the pressure of the gas than the helical or spiral spring. Nevertheless I
prefer a spring for general practical purposes.
I do not intend hereby to limit or confine myself to the employment of
any particular material or materials in the construction of the improvements.
herein-before described, but to use any which are fit and proper for the.
purpose. And I desire further to state that the size or sizes of the said
several improvements should be duly proportioned to the size of the entire
apparatus of which they respectively form parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Ford Bacon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.