Improvements in or connected with Vessels for Heating Liquids by Lamps.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 8th July, 1895-Accepted, 7th Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Vessels for Heating Liquids
by Lamps.
I, HENRY BILLINGTON TATHAM Junior of 226 South Fifth Street in the
City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:
My invention relates to water vessels having a lamp as the source of heat and
intended for various domestic uses, such as the heating of water for toilet, or
kitchen, purposes, or for radiators, the heating of coffee urns, or the like, or the
generation of steam for heating purposes or for running small engines or pumps and
the main object of my invention is to so construct such vessels as to utilize to the
fullest extent the heat from the burner of the lamp and to prevent the deposit of
carbon in the form of soot upon the bottom or sides of the vessel.
I use a central draught tubular wick lamp which may be of any ordinary or
suitable construction and I mount above the burner of this lamp a water vessel
which if intended as a circulating boiler is provided with water inlet pipe and outlet
pipe, although as will be apparent hereafter various forms of water vessels may be
employed without departing from my invention. The water vessel has at the
bottom a central depending water leg or disc which communicates freely with the
interior of the vessel and may have outwardly flaring sides and a slightly curved
or rounded bottom. This water backed disc is of such a diameter with respect to
the wick tube of the lamp and bears such vertical relation to the top of said wick
tube that it serves as a deflector for the flame and is within the circumferential
limits of said flame so that the outer edges of the latter will rise around the sides
of the disc care being taken however that the disc projects sufficiently beyond the
bottom of the water vessel that when the flame is at its normal height, that is to
say as high as it can be maintained without smoking, the upper edges of the flame
will not touch the bottom of said vessel. By this means I prevent any deposit of
carbon in the form of soot upon the bottom of the vessel and thus overcome a
sericus objection to the use of a lamp as a means of heating.
Extending upward through the water vessel, beyond the circumferential limits
of the water disc are tubes which serve to convey the heated products of combustion
from the flame through the water vessel and thus materially aid in heating the
water therein.
Such portions of the heated air or products of combustion as do not pass upward
through the tubes rise around the water vessel and between the same and an outer
casing or jacket the said heated air or products of combustion finally escaping into
a bood mounted above the water vessel and having a chimney with suitable damper
so as to provide for the necessary draught although in cases where the water
heater is of considerable height, this hood and chimney may be dispensed with.
The hot air jacket may also be dispensed with, if desired, although its use is
preferred for the purpose of utilizing to the utmost all of the heat developed by
the flame of the lamp. An inverted conical hood extends from the lower portion
of the jacket to the lamp burner and serves to prevent the access of any cold air
to the chamber, around the top of the burner so that the only air which can gain
access to the tubes, or hot air jacket, is that which has been brought into intimate
contact with the flame of the burner and has been intensely heated thereby, while the

page_text: only air which can gain access to the water disc is that which enters through the
central draught tube of the burner and is likewise intensely heated by direct contact
with the flame.
In order to insure the intimate contact of the air with the outer surface of the
flame, as well as to throw the said flame towards the outer disc I prefer to provide
the lamp burner with a flaring shield which extends upward and outward in close
proximity to the under surface of the annular flame.
When it is desired to effect the rapid heating of the water the water vessel may
be so constructed as to contain but a limited volume of water, for instance it may
have an annular body provided with internal circulating pipes, the hot air tubes
passing up through the annular body of the vessel, or the water vessel may be in the
form of a coil, the depending disc in this case being in the form of a close horizontal
coil, one end of which receives the water from the supply-pipe the other end
communicating with the lowermost convolution of the upper water coil, the upper-
most convolution of the latter discharging through a suitable pipe. When this
construction is adopted it is preferable to mount upon the depending water coil, a
flanged cap plate so as to prevent any draught which might otherwise be caused
through the coil by reason of the spaces or channels between the convolutions of
the same.
The depending water-backed deflecting disc may also be used as a means of
heating and causing the circulation of water in reservoirs disconnected from the
disc except by means of the circulating pipes; for instance a coiled disc with
flanged cap may receive its supply of water through a pipe from a reservoir above
the same, the heated water being discharged into the upper portion of the reservoir
through another pipe or an annular water chamber may have a central draught
passage or flue through which extends a pipe serving as a means of conveying the
heated water from the disc to the upper portion of said annular vessel, said disc
receiving its supply of water through a pipe communicating with the lower portion
of the annular vessel.
In some cases the products of combustion may be carried away from the upper
end of the air jacket by means of a side pipe. The use of the central chimney is
preferred, however, wherever such is possible.
Various forms of deflecting discs may be adopted within the limits of my
invention; for instance the disc may be of semi-spherical form or cylindrical.
Although I have described, and in all cases prefer to use, a central-draught
burner having an annular wick and forming an annular flame my invention may be
used in connection with other forms of burner in which the flame is capable of
spreading, for instance, I may use a duplex burner forming two flames having an
air supply between them, so that they can be deflected respectively to the right and
left by the action of the disc of the water vessel hence the phrase "tubular burner"
is intended to cover such modified construction.
In all cases however the central supply of air must be such as to form an air
film between the flame and the bottom of the water backed disc or bottom of
the vessel so as to prevent any contact of the flame therewith and any deposit of
soot thereupon.
In some cases an air tube may pass up through the tubular burner and through
the water disc so as to project a jet of air up into a central passage in the water
vessel in order to create a draught when the lamp is first started and in other cases
the air to supply the central draught passage of the burner may be brought from
above the water vessel through suitable pipes communicating with a hood which
surrounds the upper portion of said water vessel, this construction providing for
the heating of the air before it reaches the lamp.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX.
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE DEVIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Vessels for Heating Liquids
by Lamps.
I HENRY BILLINGTON TATHAM Junior of 226 South Fifth Street in the City
of Philadelphia State of Pennsylvania United States of America Mechanical
Engineer 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 vessels having a lamp as the source of heat and intended
for various domestic uses, such as the heating of water for toilet or kitchen
purposes or for radiators, the heating of coffee urns or the like, or the generation
of steam for heating purposes, or for running small engines or pumps, and the main
object of my invention is to so construct such vessels as to utilize to the fullest
extent the heat from the burner of the lamp and to prevent the deposit of carbon
in the form of soot upon the bottom or sides of the water vessel.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a water heater constructed in accordance
with my invention,
Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are sectional views illustrating various modified
forms of the main water containing vessel and of the heating disc or flame
spreader,
Figure 10 is a sectional view illustrating the use of a special form of draught
producer, and
Figure 11 is a sectional view illustrating a modified means of supplying air to
the lamp.
For the purpose of carrying out my invention I by preference use a central
draught tubular wick lamp A which may be of any ordinary or suitable con-
struction, and I mount above the burner of this lamp a water vessel B which, if
intended as a circulating boiler, is provided with water inlet pipe and outlet pipe,
although various forms of water vessels may be employed without departing from
.my invention.
The water vessel has beneath its bottom a central depending hollow disc D the
interior of which communicates freely with the interior of the vessel B through
tubular supporting studs a and may have a central depressed portion a² as shown
or the bottom may be slightly curved or rounded. This water containing disc D
is of such diameter in respect to the wick tube b of the lamp and is arranged at
such a height with relation to the top of said wick tube that it serves as a deflector
for the flame and is within the circumferential limits of the said flame, so that the
outer edges of the latter will rise around the sides of the disc, care being taken,
however, that the disc projects sufficiently below the bottom of the water vessel B
that when the flame is at its normal height, that is to say, as high as it can be
maintained without smoking, the upper edges of the flame will not touch the
bottom of said vessel. By this means 1 prevent any deposit of carbon in the form
of soot upon the bottom of the vessel and thus overcome a serious objection to the
use of a lamp as a means of heating.
Extending upward through the water vessel is a central tube d which serves to
convey the heated products of combustion from the flame through the water vessel
and thus materially assisting in heating the water therein.
A concave hood f extends from the lower portion of the water vessel to the
lamp burner and serves to prevent the access of any cold air to the chamber
around the top of the burner so that the only air which can gain access to the
tube d is that which has been brought into intimate contact with the flame of
the burner and has been intensely heated thereby, while the only air which

page_text: can gain access to the water disc is that which enters through the central draught
tube of the burner and is likewise intensely heated by direct contact with the
flame.
In order to insure the intimate contact of the air with the outer surface of the
flame, as well as to throw the said flame towards the disc D I prefer to provide
the lamp burner with a laterally projecting shield fl which extends outward in close
proximity to the under surface of the annular flame.
A water supply pipe p conducts cold water to the bottom of the vessel B, and a
valved branch p' of the said pipe also provides for the introduction of water into
the top of the vessel when desired. The water can be withdrawn from the vessel
through a cock or faucet s, or the vessel can be completely drained when desired
through a pipe s' provided with a draw off cock. An overflow pipe t serves to
determine the maximum depth of water in the vessel B.
When it is desired to effect the rapid heating of the water, the water vessel may
be so constructed as to contain but a limited volume of water, for instance,
the water space B₁ may be of annular shape as shown in Figure 2 and provided
with circulating pipes g g the former for cold water and the latter for hot
water, and with a series of hot air tubes d' passing up through the annular
water space, the disc D' being a simple flaring depression in the bottom of the
vessel.
Such portions of the heated air or products of combustion that do not pass
upward through the tubes d' rise between the water vessel B₁ and an outer casing
or jacket F, the said heated air or products of combustion finally escaping into a
hcod F¹ mounted above the water vessel and having a chimney so as to provide for
the necessary draught, although in cases where the water heater is of considerable
height, this hood and chimney may be dispensed with.
The hot air jacket F may also be dispensed with, if desired, although its use is
preferred for the purpose of utilizing to the utmost all of the heat developed by
the flame of the lamp.
The water vessel may, if desired, be in the form of a coil as shown at B² in
Figure 3, the depending disc D2 in this case being in the form of a close horizontal
coil, one end of which receives the water from the supply pipe g, the other
end communicating with the lowermost convolution of the upper water coil B² and
the uppermost convolution of the latter discharging through a suitable pipe g¹.
When this construction is adopted it is preferable to mount upon the depending
water coil, a flanged cap plate i so as to prevent draught which might otherwise be
caused through the coil by reason of the spaces or channels between the convo-
lutions thereof.
The depending water containing disc may be used as a means of heating and
causing the circulation of water in reservoirs disconnected from the disc except by
means of the circulating pipes; for instance in Figure 4 a coiled disc Ds with
flanged cap i receives its supply of water through a pipe y from a reservoir B
above, the heated water being discharged into the upper portion of the reservoir.
through another pipe g' or an annular water chamber B, as shown in Figure 5,
may have a central draught passage or flue d2 through which extends a pipe g¹
serving as a means of conveying the heated water from the disc D to the upper
portion of said annular vessel, the said disc receiving its supply of water through
a pipe g communicating with the lower portion of the annular vessel.
In some cases the products of combustion may be carried away from the upper
end of the air jacket by means of a side pipe G as shown in Figure 6. The use
of the central chimney is preferred, however, wherever such is possible.
Various forms of deflecting discs may be adopted within the limits of my
invention; for instance the disc may be of semi-spherical form as shown at D³ in
Figure 7 or cylindrical as shown at D in Figure 8 or in the form of an inverted
cone as shown at D' in Figure 9.
Although I have described, and in all cases prefer to use a central draught
burner having an annular wick and forming an annular flame, my invention may be

page_text: used in connection with other forms of burner in which the flame is capable of
spreading, for instance, I may use a duplex burner forming two flames having an
air supply between them, so that they can be deflected respectively to the right
and left by the action of the disc of the water vessel, hence the phrase "tubular
burner" is intended to cover such modified construction.
In all cases, however, the central supply of air must be such as to form an air
film between the flame and the bottom of the water contained disc or bottom of the
vessel so as to prevent any contact of the flame therewith and any deposit of soot
thereupon.
In some cases an air tube m as shown in Figure 10 may pass up through the
draught tube of the tubular burner and through the water disc D so as to project
a jet of air up into the central passage d of the water vessel, in order to create a
draught when the lamp is started and in other cases the air to supply the central
draught passage of the burner may be brought from above the water vessel, as
shown in Figure 11, through suitable pipes I communicating with the hood J
which surrounds the upper portion of the said water vessel, the lower ends of the
pipes communicating with a chamber K which surrounds the oil reservoir of the
lamp and is in free communication with the draught tube b'. This construction
provides for the heating of the air before it reaches the lamp.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The combination of a lamp having a burner of the character described, with
a water vessel having at the bottom a water dise of a diameter within the normal
circumferential limits of the lamp flame, and occupying such a position with
relation to the burner as to serve as a deflector for the said flame, the latter thus
extending above and beyond the edge of the disc, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The combination of a lamp having a burner of the character described, with
a water vessel having at the bottom a water disc within the circumferential limits
of the lamp flame, and occupying a position in such relation to the burner as to
serve as a deflector for said flame so that the extreme edge of the flame passes
above and beyond the edge of the disc, the water vessel having one or more flues
through which the products of combustion can escape after passing around the
edge of the disc, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The combination of a lamp baving a burner of the character described, with
a water vessel having a water disc suspended below the same by means of hollow
bolts or studs, through which the said disc communicates with the water vessel, the
disc being situated in such position with relation to the burner as to serve as a
deflector for the lamp flame, substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. The combination of a lamp of the character described, the water vessel
having a discharge flue and a depending water disc serving as a deflector for the
lamp flame, and an air pipe having a nozzle extending through the said water disc
so as to project a jet into the discharge flue of the water vessel to create a draught
substantially as herein before described.
5. The combination of a lamp of the character described, with a water vessel
having a depending water disc serving as a deflector for the lamp flame, and a
hood surrounding the upper portion of the water vessel and communicating through
pipes with a chamber surrounding the lamp so as to direct heated air to the said
chamber, which is in communication with the draught tube of the lamp,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 8th day of July 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.