Improvements relating to Gas-holders.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1892-Accepted, 2nd July, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Gas-holders.
I, OTTO INTZE, of 4, Theresienstrasse, Aix-la-Chapelle, in the Empire of
Germany, Professor of Engineering at the Royal Technical High School; Aix-la-
Chapelle, aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to means for vertically guiding the cylinders of gas-
holders in the tanks thereof, the object being to obviate the practical difficulties
and dangers experienced in working, to render the gas-holder, and also its
oylinder, more easily accessible, and to prevent the cylinder from tilting through
the disturbance of a part of the arrangement, especially in rough weather.
According to my invention I form the guides of simple or telescopic gas-holder
cylinders, of a number of ropes or chains symmetrically arranged in successive
sections, and running downwards from the top of the cylinder or of each cylinder
then in an approximately horizontal but alternately opposite direction over pulleys
fixed to the top edge of the tank or of the next lower cylinder, as the case may be,
and then again downwards to the lower edge of the cylinder or of each cylinder of
the gas-holder.
Radial guiding ribs and rollers can also be employed in conjunction with my
improved arrangement of guides.
By this arrangement when any section of the guides is interfered with the
cylinder of the gas-holder maintains its vertical position from the action of the
remaining sections.
Whatever may be the direction of the wind pressure ono half of the whole number
of sections of rope or chain are always brought into a state of tension, the sections
exposed to the action of the wind being those which actually supply the resisting
force to the cylinder of the gas-holder.
'Dated the 22nd day of August 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Gas-holders.
I, OTTO INTZE, of 4, Theresienstrasse, Aix-la-Chapelle, in the Empire of
Germany, Professor of Engineering at the Royal Technical High School, Aix-la-
Chapelle, aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to means for vertically guiding the oylinders of gas-holders
in the tanks thereof.
.
The devices hitherto employed for guiding the cylinders of gas-holders and in
which ropes or chains arranged all round the cylinders of the gas-holder, are employed,
are not suited for vertically guiding the cylinders and at the same time securing them
against wind-pressure from any direction. They cannot therefore in the proper
sense of the term be considered as vertical or parallel guides. Vertical guides in
which ropes or chains pass over the top of and underneath the gas-holder present
many obstacles and dangers in works and prevent easy access, while in case of a
break down of some parts of the arrangement, especially during a storm, the top

page_text: cylinder is liable to tip over, and this latter may happen to any of the known
so-called rope or chain guides.
In order to obviate these disadvantages and to obtain a perfect system of vertical
and parallel guides which will effectually resist the wind-pressure from any direction,
a number of evenly disposed chains or ropes are arranged in pairs around the gas-
bolder which ropes or chains are not connected together but in their joint action
form a perfect parallel guide for the gas-holder even if some of the ropes or chains
should become destroyed.
The strain caused by the chains or ropes can be resisted by employing internal
diagonal bracings in the cylinders.
Whatever may be the direction of the wind-pressure one half of the whole number
of sections of rope or chain are always brought into a state of tension, the sections
exposed to the action of the wind being those which actually supply the resisting
force to the cylinder of the gas-holder.
To secure this effect two adjacent sections of chain or rope which connect the
upper edge of the cylinder of the gas-holder with the lower edge of the same, are
symmetrically arranged and are led over firm rollers, that is to say, they
alternately descend from the upper edge to the lower, and rise from the lower
edge to the upper one.
The effect of any force, which must always iniss one, stretch of the sections of
chain or rope which are regularly and consecutively stretched is transmitted, in the
stretches so missed, to the cylinder, by a suitable coupling.
By this arrangement it is possible, in consequence of the easily effected and
equable stretching of all the sections of rope or chain, to reduce the oscillations of
the cylinder of the gas-holder under the influence of changes of direction of and
sudden variations in the pressure of the wind to an insignificant point. The
horizontal force of the wind can thus, after all its impulsive effect has been taken
up by the one half of the sections of chain or rope, be transmitted either by means
of fixed rollers to the upper edge of the tank, or by moveable rollers to the lower
edge of the cylinder, or by fixed tangential rollers on the upper edge of the tank
to the latter itself.
In order to render the cylinder of the gas-holder and also the edge of the tank
easily accessible all the sections of rope or chain and the rollers are arranged
in proximity to the casing of the cylinder and of the tank. This arrangement is
applicable to simple as well as to telescopic gas-holders, and to tanks made of sheet
metal as well as to those of stone.
The accompanying drawings illustrate an example of the carrying out of my
system of vertically guiding the cylinders of gas-holders.
Figure, is an elevation shewing such a system of guiding by means of
syminetrically arranged sections of rope or chain the left hand side of the figure
illustrating its application to a gas-holder having an iron tank A, and the right
hand side illustrating its application to a gas-holder having a tank B of masonry,
the gas-holder in both cases having a single cylinder which is shewn half raised.
The first section to the left passes from a Figure 1 on the upper edge of the
cylinder over fixed pulley on the edge of the tank, from thence over a fixed
pulley c on the edge of the tank, and to d on the lower edge of the cylinder. The
adjacent symmetrical section begins at e on the lower edge of the cylinder, passes
over a fixed pulley on the edge of the tank, from thence to the fixed pulley g on
the edge of the tank, and then to on the upper edge of the cylinder. The
succeeding section of chain or rope i, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, a, b₁c d₁
9 runs in a similar symmetrical manuer and so on round the back of the
cylinder to the point adjacent to a on the upper edge of the cylinder.
Figure 2 shews the course of the symmetrically arranged sections of chain or rope.
in a ground plan similarly lettered.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 of a telescopic gas-holder shewing a similar
symmetrical arrangement of the sections of rope or chain, the left hand half of the

page_text: figure shewing the holder provided with an iron tank C and the right hand half
with a tank of masonry D, the upper cylinder E being shewn fully raised and the
lower cylindor F half raised. In the upper cylinder E, for instance, the
sections a,
b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, and so on, pass over the corresponding
pulleys b and c, and g, k and l, o and p, and so on, on the upper edge of the lower
cylinder. On the lower cylinder F, the sections a₁ byc d e f g h i k l m n
01 1 71 and so on are combined with the fixed pulleys b₁ and c₁₁ and g₁₁ and l₁₁
and Pi on the edge of the tank.
1
Figure 4 is a plan view shewing by means of similar lettering the position of the
sections of rope and chain, and of the pulleys for the same respectively.
In the Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 are also shewn the required pulleys R, necessary
for the ordinary radial guiding of the cylinder, which are situated between pulleys
of the above described sections of rope or chain and are directed radially.
The diagonal bracings in the cylinders for resisting the strain produced by the
chains or ropes are indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3.
Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the action of a force. Let
H represent the pressure of the wind, then Hh represents its impulse. The
momentum of resistance of the stretched sections of chain or rope, on both sides of
the cylinder of the gas-holder amounts to 2.(P₁a + P,b + P,c + ---).
Figures 6 to 11 illustrate the particulars of the fastening of the rope or chain
sections and of their course.
Figure 6 is an elevation shewing part of the lower portion of the cylinder and of
the upper portion of the wall of the tank; and
-
Figure 8 is a similar view of part of the upper portion of the tank and cylinder.
The section of chain which comes from passes over the pulley c Figure 6 to d
on the lower edge of the cylinder. The adjacent symmetrical section is attached
to the lower edge of the cylinder at e passes over the pulley f to the pulley g
Figure 8, and over the pulley g to the point on the upper edge of the cylinder.
The section of chain i, k, I runs symmetrically with this and so on.
Figures 7 and 9 are plan views of Figures 6 and 8 respectively. All four figures.
shew also the radial pulleys R and R₁, which when radial guiding is employed are
necessary for resisting the horizontal pressure of the wind, if they are to be attached
to the wall of the tank. Naturally, these pulleys as moveable ones could also be
attached to the lower edge of the cylinder.
Figure 10 is an elevation and Figure 11 a plan illustrating the employment of
symmetrically placed sections of rope for tangential guiding. A section of rope
passes from over the rollert on the edge of the tank or the cylinder respectively
and from thence to on the lower edge of the cylinder. The adjacent symmetrical
section of rope runs from on the lower edge of the cylinder over the fixed pulley w
and from thence to x, and so on. The pressure rollers D₁and E, Figure 11, con-
nected with the rope pulleys and w by a common axis, and running along a
standard F,, effect the tangential guiding. The arrangement can naturally be also
employed for compound telescopic gas-holders.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A system of vertical guides for simple or telescopic gas-holder cylinders in
which a number of ropes or chains are symmetrically arranged in successive sections
and run downwards from the top of the cylinder or of each cylinder, then in an
approximately horizontal but alternately opposite direction over pulleys fixed to
the top edge of the tank or of the next lower cylinder, as the case may be, and then
again downwards to the lower edge of the cylinder or of each cylinder of the gas-
holder whereby the strains caused by the ropes or chains on the cylinders can be
counteracted by the introduction of a diagonal bracing in the inner side of the
cylinder, substantially as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 2. The improved gas-holders herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the 21st day of May 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury; London, Agents for the Applicant.