IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING INFLAMMABLE GAS OR VAPOUR FOR HEATING AND LIGHTING PURPOSES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Frederick Gustave Kromschroeder, of
Gloucester Street, Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
GENERATING INFLAMMABLE GAS OR VAPOUR FOR HEATING AND LIGHTING
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 19th March 1872, and dated the 7th October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frederick Gustave
Kromschroeder at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 7th October 1871.
I, JOHN FREDERICK GUSTAVE KROMSCHROEDER, of Gloucester Street,
Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
Generating INFLAMMABLE Gas or Vapour for Heating and Lighting PURPOSES,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frederick Gustave
Kromschroeder at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 7th October 1871.
I, JOHN FREDERICK GUSTAVE KROMSCHROEDER, of Gloucester Street,
Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
GENERATING INFLAMMABLE ĜAS OR VAPOUR FOR HEATING AND LIGHTING PURPOSES,"
follows:
to be as fo
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
generating inflammable gas or vapour for heating and lighting purposes.

page_text: In the Specification of a former Patent, granted to me on the 1st
October 1868 (No. 3009), was described apparatus for generating inflam-
mable gas or vapour, by passing a stream of air through wool or other
absorbent material saturated with liquid hydrocarbon.
My present Invention has for its object to improve such arrangements
of apparatus for producing inflammable gas. For this purpose I employ
by preference an arrangement of air forcing apparatus driven by clock-
work, such as is described in the Specification before mentioned, and
around the casing containing the air forcing apparatus I form an outer
casing. The space between the two I form into a reservoir for containing
a supply of liquid hydrocarbon. The vaporising chamber is below the
chamber containing the air forcing apparatus, as in the arrangement
described in the before-mentioned Specification, and in order to maintain
an equal supply of hydrocarbon in the vaporizing chamber, I supply
such vaporizing chamber from the reservoir by a bird fountain arrange-
ment. For this purpose there is an inlet pipe passing from the lower
part of the reservoir into the vaporizing chamber, and also an air pipe
passing from the vaporizing chamber to the top of the reservoir. When
the level of the liquid is below the open end of the air pipe in the vapor-
ising chamber, air passes from such chamber into the reservoir, and
allows liquids to flow therefrom into the vaporizing chamber, until the
lovel of the liquid therein rises above the bottom of the air pipe. In
place also of admitting a stream of air at one side of the vaporizing
chamber, and simply allowing it to permeate through absorbent material
directly to the opposite side of the chamber, I divide the vaporizing
chamber by partitions or divisions, so as to form it into a circuitous
channel; and this channel is to contain wool or absorbent material. I
prefer that the vaporizing chamber should be divided by a spirally
formed division, and I admit the current of air by preference to the
centre of such vaporizing chamber, and draw it off at the circumference
after it has permeated through wool or absorbent material contained
therein. A more complete saturation of the air with inflammable vapour
is thus obtained, and an inflammable gas or vapour of far higher
illuminating power is obtained. The vaporizing chamber I also surround
with a thick jacket or coating of nonconducting material, to protect it
from the influence of extreme cold, which otherwise would affect
prejudicially the working of the apparatus, and diminish the illuminating
power of the light. The non-conducting material will preserve the

page_text: generator at a uniform temperature whereby the gas produced will thus
maintain a constant illuminating power. When the apparatus is to be
used on board ship, I suspend it on gimbals, so as to maintain it in a
horizontal position or nearly so, and thereby prevent the hydrocarbon
in the vaporizing chamber from splashing about or flowing from one side
to another, and so producing irregularity in the working of the apparatus.
I prefer for this purpose to connect two opposite sides of the apparatus
by axes or ball-and-socket joints, with a frame which itself is suspended
by a ball-and-socket joint at its upper end.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Frederick Gustave Kromschrooder, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREDERICK GUSTAVE KROMSCHROEDER, of Gloucester Street, Regent's
Park, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Frederick Gustave Krom-
schroeder, Her special license that I, the said John Frederick Gustave
Kromschroeder, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Frederick Gustave Kromschroeder, my executors,
administrators, 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
APPARATUS FOR GENERATING INFLAMMABLE GAS OR VAPOUR FOR HEATING AND
LIGHTING PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Frederick Gustave Kromschroeder, 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

page_text: 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 John Frederick Gustave Krom-
schroeder, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
generating inflammable gas or vapour for heating and lighting
purposes.
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me on the 1st
October, 1868, (No. 3009), was described apparatus for generating
inflammable gas or vapour, by passing a stream of air through wool or
other absorbent material saturated with liquid hydrocarbon.
My present Invention has for its object to improve such arrangements
of apparatus for producing inflammable gas. For this purpose I employ
by preference an arrangement of air forcing apparatus, driven by clock-
work, such as is described in the Specification before-mentioned, and
around the casing containing the air forcing apparatus I form an outer
casing. The space between the two I form into a reservoir for con-
taining a supply of liquid hydrocarbon. The vapourizing chamber is
below the chamber containing the air forcing apparatus, as in the
arrangement described in the before-mentioned Specification, and in
order to maintain an equal supply of hydrocarbon in the vaporizing
chamber, I supply such vaporizing chamber from the reservoir by a bird
fountain arrangement. For this purpose there is an inlet pipo passing
from the lower part of the reservoir into the vaporizing chamber, and
also an air pipe passing from the vaporizing chamber to the top of the
reservoir. When the level of the liquid is below the open end of the air
pipe in the vaporizing chamber, air passes from such chamber into the
reservoir and allows liquids to flow therefrom into the vaporising
chamber, until the level of the liquid therein rises above the bottom of
the air pipe. In place also of admitting a stream of air at one side of
the vaporizing chamber and simply allowing it to permeate through
absorbent material directly to the opposite side of the chamber, I divide
the vaporizing chamber by partitions or divisions so as to form it into

page_text: a circuitous channel, and this channel is to contain wool, or absorbent
material. I prefer that the vaporizing chamber should be divided by
a spirally formed division, and I admit the current of air by preference
to the centre of such vaporizing chamber and draw it off at the circum-
ference after it has premeated through wool or absorbent material
contained therein. A more complete saturation of the air with inflammable
vapour is thus obtained, and an inflammable gas or vapour of far higher
illuminating power is obtained. The vaporizing chamber I also surround
with a thick jacket or coating of non-conducting material to protect it
from the influence of extreme cold, which otherwise would affect
prejudicially the working of the apparatus, and diminish the illuminating
power of the light. The non-conducting material will preserve the
generator at, a uniform temperature, whereby the gas produced will
maintain a constant illuminating power. When the apparatus is to be
used on board ship I suspend it on gimbals, so as to maintain it in a
horizontal position, or nearly so, and thereby prevent the hydrocarbon
in the vaporizing chamber from splashing about or flowing from one
side to another, and so producing irregularity in the working of the
apparatus. I prefer for this purpose to connect two opposite sides
of the apparatus by axes or ball-and-socket joints, with a frame which
itself. is suspended by a ball-and-socket joint at its upper end.

page_text: are cach subdivided by a flexible partition g. These partitions are each
formed of four triangular metal flaps connected together with leather,
and all the flaps are linked to arms e* fixed upon the vertical axes e³.
The axes c³ enter the outer chamber by stuffing boxes. There is thus
in the body of the apparatus six chambers of varying capacity, and 6
each is connected by an air way to a port or passage in the valve seat h,
of which Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4 a transverse section. The
two chambers on opposite sides of the same flexible diaphragm are
connected with ports in the valve seat diametrically opposite to each
other. The valve i is shewn in section at Figure 5, and a side view 1
of the valve and valve seat together at Figure 6. The valve is rotated
by the axis c, and it has two passages in it on opposite sides, one passing
to the top of the valve and opening into the valve chamber, and the
other passing to the bottom of the valve from whence the pipe k passes;
l is a pipe by which (so long as it is open) air can enter freely into the 1
valve chamber.
By the action of the parts above described air is forced into the
pipe k, it descends by this pipe into the base m of the apparatus, which
it enters at the centre.
1
The construction of the base is shown by the horizontal section 2
Figure 7, taken on the line 2, 2, Figure 1. m² is a spiral partition
attached to the top plate and descending so as to come in contact with
the lower plate. The long channel thus formed is filled with cotton
wool, through which the air entering at k has to permeate in order to
reach the outlet n, at which is attached the pipe conveying the 2
carbonized air away to be burnt. o is an oil reservoir, it is a double
cylinder surrounding the air forcing chambers, it is closed at the top, and
is charged with volatile hydrocarbon oil. A short pipe o' descends from
it into the base m, and another pipe o' rises from the interior of the base
from a point about a quarter of an inch from the bottom and enters the 3
top of the oil reservoir. Thus when the lower end of this pipe is
uncovered, the oil descends out of the reservoir into the base, and as
soon as it is covered the flow ceases. By the construction of the base
or volatilising chamber in this manner an extensive surface of volatile
oil is exposed to the air current within a small compass. In order to 3
prevent fluctuation in the quantity of hydrocarbon vapour taken up by
the air, I clothe the base m with a thick non-conducting jacket of
felt or other material.
เ

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner of performing the same,
I would have it understood that I claim my im-(
provements in apparatus for generating inflammable
gas or vapour suitable for heating and lighting
purposes substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Frederick
Gustave Kromschroeder have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this 28th day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-two.