IMPROVE- MENTS IN REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS IN RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED TO REGULATE THE FLOW OF GAS IN SUCH RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE REGULATION OF GAS SUPPLIED TO STATIONARY LIGHTS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Renwick Bowditch, of St. Andrew's,
Wakefield, in the County of York, Clerk, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS IN RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES,
AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED TO REGULATE THE FLOW OF GAS IN SUCH
RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE
TO THE REGULATION OF GAS SUPPLIED TO STATIONARY LIGHTS."
Sealed the 8th August 1864, and dated the 11th March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Renwick Bowditch
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th March 1864.
I, WILLIAM RENWICK BOWDITCH, of St. Andrew's, Wakefield, in the County
of York, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS IN RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES,
AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED TO REGULATE THE FLOW OF GAS IN SUCH RAILWAY
AND OTHER CARRIAGES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE
REGULATION OF GAS SUPPLIED TO STATIONARY LIGHTS," to be as follows:-.
The flow of gas in railway and other carriages is now regulated by taps,.
which require frequent attention owing to the varying pressures exerted upon
the gas by portable gasholders. My improvements are intended to secure
uniformity of pressure, and therefore uniformity of light, so long as there is
gas in the gasholder without attention to the apparatus.
To carry out my Invention I ascertain the weight required to counter-

page_text: balance a gasholder (in free communication with the atmosphere) throughout
its course from being full to being empty. The variations in weight and the
heights of the gasholder at which the variations take place are noted. A
counterbalance is then made of such a kind that when passed over one or
more pulleys and fastened to the top of the gasholder, it will exactly balance
the gasholder in any position. When a gasholder thus counterbalanced is
filled with gas the pressure on the gas within it will be the same as that
exerted by the atmosphere without. I affix to the top of the counterbalanced
gasholder weights which will produce upon the contained gas exactly the
pressure under which it is to be burnt, and as this is a constant pressure there
will be a perfectly uniform supply of gas to the burner. To secure the proper
action of the counterbalance I affix a cord to the free end of it and to the top
of the gasholder. This cord passes round a pulley and draws the counter-
balance down as the gasholder is filled. When counterbalancing is
inconvenient I use an ordinary regulator to make the flow of gas uniform.
In some cases I regulate the flow of gas by a tap or valve, the handle of
which is connected with the gasholder so as to be opened and shut by the rising
and falling of the gasholder. I also employ diaphragms of paper, cloth, and
other similar porous substances, and pass the gas through these to regulate
the quantity and pressure.
I also employ combinations of the above where such combinations will be
more efficacious than one means used alone.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Renwick Bowditch in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RENWICK BOWDITCH, of Saint Andrew's, Wakefield, in the County of York,
Clerk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Renwick
Bowditch, Her special license that I, the said William Renwick Bowditch,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Renwick Bowditch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS IN RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND
IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED TO REGULATE THE FLOW OF GAS IN SUCH RAILWAY AND
OTHER CARRIAGES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE REGU-
LATION OF GAS SUPPLIED TO STATIONARY LIGHTS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Renwick Bowditch, my executors or admini-
strators, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Renwick Bowditch, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
To carry out my Invention I proceed as follows:-I ascertain the weight
required to counterbalance the gasholder I am about to use and then make a
counterbalance, by preference a chain which weighs per foot as much as the
gasholder loses in weight by falling through that space. A counterbalanced
gasholder is shewn in the Drawings at A, Figures 4 and 2.
In Figure 4, D is a chain attached to the top of the gasholder A, passing over
a pulley B, and having a weight E attached to it. The chain exactly counter-
balances the gasholder and the weight serves to draw back the chain as the
gasholder rises when it is filled. As the gasholder falls and the chain passes
down over the pulley B, the chain adds to the gasholder exactly as much
weight as the gasholder loses by falling, and thus the pressure of the gasholder
is equalized throughout. In Figure 4, F represents a tube in which the
weight and chain move; by lining the inside of this tube with some soft
material, unpleasant rattle is prevented when a carriage is in motion. A single
chain affixed to the centre of the top of the gasholder and passing over pulleys
will form an efficient counterbalance, but it is generally more convenient to
use two or more chains affixed to the sides of the gasholder. Instead of
using a weight to draw back the counterbalance when the gasholder is filled,
a cord may be used; this cord would be fastened to the end of the chain
instead of the weight E, Figure 4, and would be carried round a pulley affixed
to the floor of the carriage, the end being fixed to the top of the gasholder.
In Figure 2 the counterbalance is a bent lever having a weight B attached to

page_text: one end of it, and the top of the gasholder A attached to the other end of it.
When the gasholder is full the weight B exactly counterbalances it, and as
the gasholder descends the weight ascends to and passes over a vertical
position, thus equalizing the pressure throughout the fall of the gasholder.
The lever is attached to the gasholder by a pin which works in a slot, or in
any other convenient manner. In order to expel the gas from the gasholder,
I place weights upon it which will produce the pressure at which I desire to
burn the gas. When it is inconvenient to counterbalance the gasholder,
I control the flow of gas by a tap or valve placed on the outlet pipe, by
which the gas passes from the gasholder, and I employ the motion of the
gasholder itself to regulate the opening and closing of the tap or valve.
The mode of accomplishing this is shown at Figure 1 on the Drawings.
C is a tap or valve on the outlet pipe B, having a handle D attached to the
top of the gasholder A by a pin working in a slot E, or in any other convenient
manner. The tap or valve is so set that it cannot be quite shut when the
gasholder is full, but at the pressure then exerted by the gasholder will allow
just enough gas to pass to supply the number of burners required to be
supplied. As the gasholder descends it gradually exerts less pressure, and
through an unchangeable aperture would expel less gas. This is compensated
by the gradual opening of the tap or valve, which the gasholder effects as it
draws down with it the handle D.
The form of regulator which I prefer to use is shown in section in the
Drawings at Figure 3. A is a metallic gas-tight box in communication with
the gasholder through B, having a moveable cover D attached to the vessel A
by flexible sides shown at E. The size of the outlet for gas C is regulated
by the valve G, which is moved by the rod F attached to the cover D, as
shown; H is a rod which connects the cover D with a spring balance
contained in the box J, which is made to exert pressure on the cover D by
the nuts K, the pressure of the gas acting upon the cover D against the
pressure of the spring regulates the size of the aperture through which the
gas passes, and thus controls the quantity.
I also regulate the flow of gas passing to be burnt by passing it through
diaphragms of paper, cloth, or other similar porous substances, using by
preference the best unsized filtering paper. For use I enclose the paper in a
gas-tight box, such as a union joint, between surfaces of metal or other rigid
material screwed together, so that no gas can pass to the burners except
through the substance of the paper. I find that a disc of good filtering paper
five-eighths of an inch in diameter is capable of passing two feet of gas per
hour at a pressure of fifteen-tenths of an inch of water, whence may be

page_text: calculated the area of paper required in any given case. This part of my
Invention, as well as the regulator Figure 3, is applicable to stationary lights
as well as to lights in carriages.
I also employ combinations of the above where such combinations will be
more effective than one means used alone.
In conclusion I would observe that I do not confine myself to the precise
details and arrangements which I have referred to, as variations may be made
therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of my
Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim
as my Invention, are,-
I. The counterbalancing of gasholders in carriages to secure uniformity of
pressure, and therefore uniform flow of gas.
II. The regulation of the flow of gas by a tap or valve moved by the
gasholder.
III. The passing of gas through diaphragms of paper, cloth, or similar
porous substances by which the flow of gas is regulated.
IV. The form of regulator herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Renwick Bowditch, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight bundred and sixty-four.
W. R. BOWDITCH. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
above-named William Renwick
Bowditch, in the presence of
HENRY W. BARBER,
Clerk to Messrs. Scholey and Skipworth,
Solicitors, Wakefield.