Improvements in Means for Causing the Automatic Lighting and Extinguishing of Gas Burners.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1897-Accepted, 22nd May, 1897
Improvements in Means for Causing the Automatic Lighting and
Extinguishing of Gas Burners.
1, PHILIPP LENZE, of 35 Eisenbahnstrasse, Düren, in the Empire of Germany,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to he particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-.
The purpose of this apparatus is to enable any number of gas burners to be lighted
or extinguished from one central place, while the construction of. the apparatus
allows also of separately lighting and extinguishing any gas burner or set of gas
burners.
This apparatus may also be used for street lamps, and from one central place there
can be lighted in a short time either all the lamps or only certain of them, such as
directing or night lamps.
The evening and the night lamps can also be extinguished in the same manner
either together or separately.
In the annexed drawing:
Figs. 3 & 4 show the apparatus in vertical and in horizontal cross section.
Figs. 1 and 2 show in vertical section and in plan view the receiver used in this
apparatus for producing a constant pressure.
The apparatus consists of a cylindrical casing a with solid bottom and gas tight
cover d screwed thereon which has a sleeve concentric with the vessel a and reaching
nearly to the bottom.
Through the bottom of the casing a passes a tube r, which rises to about 3 of the
height of the casing and is provided at the under part with screw threads in order to
be screwed upon the gas bracket or upon the gas pipe in the lamp. This gas pipe r
can be closed at the upper part by a ball valve or even better by a bell valve g
dipping into mercury.
The bell g at the upper opening of the tube dips with its lower edge into the
mercury in a vessel a fixed on the pipe r, and carries the rod i guided in a suitable
manner and is connected with a ring shaped floats by means of a cross arm g³
and rods . This float lies over the liquid in the casing a.
In order to make the apparatus as small as possible mercury is used as sealing
liquid.
The enlargements a¹ and r at the bottom of the casing a and on the tuber are
provided in order to diminish as much as possible the space at the under part for
receiving the liquid.
Through the bottom reaches also a small tube e passing through the sealing liquid
to nearly under the cover of the casing a.
When the apparatus is filled with a liquid for instance mercury up to nearly the
under side of the float, the sleeve d' arranged on the cover d dips into the liquid
which separates with a mercury seal the two chambers formed by this sleeve in the
casing. When a pressure arises in the vessel through the tubo e for instance by
means of compressed air, this pressure makes the level of the liquid fall in the
exterior annular chamber formed between the walls of casing a and sleeve d' whilst
the level rises simultaneously in the inner chamber within the sleeve d'. The float s
is thus lifted and with it the bell g, so that the gas receives free admission to the
burner arranged on the cover. Next to the burner bis provided a pointed pilot

page_text: flame, which is fed through the tube n branching under the apparatus and which
burns continually, in order to ignite the gas escaping from the burner b.
With difference in the position or distance of the floats from the bell or ball
valve g there must be used with an equally high level of the sealing liquid a different
super pressure in order to lift the liquid up to the float and thus open the valve
and one is thus able to regulate the apparatus for lightings which have to take place
at different times.
By diminishing the pressure there is obtained the opposite effect, the sealing liquid
sinks in the inner chamber, with it the float and the valve, the passage of gas is
closed and the flame is extinguished.
The cross sections of the inner and the outer chamber are imagined in the present
case as 1:4 so that when the liquid level in the outer chamber is pressed down 1 mm.,
the level in the inner chamber rises 4 mm. The main effect of the liquid -takes
place thus in the inner chamber possessing the float s.
There may also be used other proportions of cross section.
For producing a constant pressure there can be used a vessel ' with floating bell h
open below, similar to a gas holder, Figs. 1 and 2. The floating bell is provided
with a counter weight the suspension cord of which is guided over rollers and
connected at p. By charging the bell with weights at p the pressure can be increased
at pleasure, whilst by increasing the counter weight the pressure can be diminished
at pleasure, when thus adjusted the pressure in vessel / is constant.
The connection of this receiver with the apparatus (Fig. 3) is effected by a small
corresponding pipe o in which a pressure gauge m is provided for indicating the
pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :
1. An improved apparatus for causing the lighting and extinguishing of gas
burners consisting of two chambers of predetermined cross section separated from one
another by means of mercury so that by causing a certain pressure in the one
chamber a valve is opened by a float arranged in the other chamber and displaceable
according to the desired pressure, this valve being in connection with the float and
closing the gas feed pipe.
2. The construction of said device and of the means for producing and maintaining
such pressure substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 23rd day of March 1897
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, Agents to Applicant.