IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARBURETTING OR INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING PROPERTIES OF COAL GAS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Barns Kinsey, of 92, Cannon Street,
in the City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARBURETTING OR INCREASING THE ILLUMINATING
PROPERTIES OF COAL GAS."
Sealed the 5th September 1868, and dated the 10th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Barns Kinsey
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th March 1868.
I, WILLIAM BARNS KINSEY, of 92, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CARBURETTING OR INCREASING THE
ILLUMINATING PROPERTIES OF COAL GAS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of apparatus generally known as a carburator for increasing the illumi-
nating properties of coal gas, whereby greater economy in the con-
sumption of the carburetting liquid employed is effected, whilst at

page_text: the same time the light is improved and smoke and disagreeable smell
prevented.
According to this Invention I place a fixed horizontal diaphragm
or diaphragms in the carburetting vessel situate above the surface of
the carburetting liquid, and upon the surface of this diaphragm or
diaphragms I place a layer of felt or other suitable absorbent material;
from the under side of the said diaphragm or diaphragms, and in com-
munication with the felt there are suspended a number of cotton wicks
which dip into the carburetting liquid below and supply it by capillary
attraction to the felt, which is thus kept constantly and uniformily
moist after it has been once thoroughly saturated.
In order to ensure the complete saturation of the felt in the first
instance in the upper diaphragm a small gutter is made inside the
filling tube and opposite to the felt, the tube being perforated at that
part. On pouring in the liquid a portion of it will collect in the gutter
and be absorbed by the felt. The lower felt may be saturated in the
same way, or by simply filling in the liquid till it rises sufficiently to
come in contact with it. If found desirable the wicks which supply
the carburetting liquid to the felt or other absorbent material on the
upper diaphragm may be contained in tubes in order to prevent the
liquid being taken up or absorbed by the felt on the lower diaphragm
as it passes upwards. In the cavity or space above each of the fixed
horizontal diaphragms there is disposed a single or double spiral or other
serpentine or zig-zag diaphragm or partition, the upper edge of which
may be soldered to the top of the vessel or horizontal diaphragm above,
as the case may be, whilst its lower edge is pressed firmly down upon the
felt or other absorbent material employed, as the gas only passes through
the spiral or tortuous passage contained in the chamber or chambers above
the diaphragm or diaphragms, it does not enter the chamber containing
the carburetting liquid, it follows that the saturating surface remains
uniform and is not affected by the rising or falling of the fluid level of
the said liquid.
In order to shew the level of the liquid in the carburetter I employ a
lever carrying a float, which lever communicates by a wire passing
through a tube with an indicating glass tube contained within a metal
tube having a slit or opening along opposite sides, such metal tube
being screwed into a socket on the top of the carburetter. A leather
washer is interposed between the bottom of the metal tube and the

page_text: socket in order to maintain the joint vapour-tight; the glass tube may
then be dropped into its place and be held firmly down by another
leather washer and screwed plug in the top of the metal tube.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Barns Kinsey in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 10th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BARNS KINSEY, of 92, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Barns Kinsey, Her special
license that I, the said William Barns Kinsey, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others, as I, the said William Barns
Kinsey, my executors, administrators, or 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 CARBURETTING OR INCREASING THE
ILLUMINATING PROPERTIES OF COAL GAs," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Barns Kinsey, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Barns Kinsey, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:-

page_text: My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of apparatus generally known as a carburetter for increasing the illumi-
nating properties of coal gas, whereby greater economy in the con-
sumption of the carburetting liquid employed is effected, whilst at the
same time the light is improved and smoke and disagreable smell
prevented.
According to this Invention I place one or more fixed horizontal
diaphragms in the carburetting vessel situate above the surface of the
carburetting liquid, and upon the surface of this diaphragm or
diaphragms I place a layer of felt or other suitable absorbent material;
from the under side of the said diaphragm or diaphragms and in com-
munication with the felt there are suspended a number of cotton wicks
which dip into the carburetting liquid below and supply it by capillary
attraction to the felt, which is thus kept constantly and uniformly moist
after it has been once thoroughly saturated.
In order to insure the complete saturation of the felt in the first
instance on the upper diaphragm a small gutter is made inside the
filling tube and opposite to the felt, the tube being perforated at that
part. On pouring in the liquid a portion of it will collect in the gutter
and be absorbed by the felt. The lower felt may be saturated in the
same way or by simply filling in the liquid till it rises sufficiently to
come in contact with it. I propose to enclose the wicks which supply
the carburetting liquid to the felt or other absorbent material on the
diaphragm or diaphragms in tubes in order to prevent the liquid being
taken up or absorbed by the felt on the lower diaphragm, when more
than one is used, as it passes upwards; and also to prevent any escape
of vapour into the gas chamber or chambers beyond that given off from
the felt or other absorbent material by acting as hydraulic seals; they
also prevent when applied to the carburetters of railway carriages the
entangling of the wicks and the shaking of the liquid against the lower
diaphragm, by which the saturation of the wicks and felt would be
rendered less uniform. In the cavity or space above each of the fixed
horizontal diaphragms there is disposed a single or double spiral or other
serpentine or zig-zag diaphragm or partition, the upper edge of which
may be soldered to the top of the vessel or horizontal diaphragm above,
as the case may be, whilst its lower edge is pressed firmly down upon
the felt or other absorbent material employed. As the gas only passes
through the spiral or tortuous passage contained in the chamber or

page_text: chambers above the diaphragm or diaphragms, and does not enter the
chamber containing the carburetting liquid, it follows that the saturating
surface remains uniform and is not affected by the rising or falling of
the fluid level of the said liquid.
In order to show the level of the liquid in the carburetter I employ
a lever carrying a float, which lever communicates by a wire passing
through a tube with an indicating glass tube contained within a metal
tube having a slit or opening along opposite sides, such metal tube
being screwed into a socket on the top of the carburetter, or the float
may be attached to the rod itself. A leather washer is interposed
between the bottom of the metal tube and the socket in order to
maintain the joint vapour-tight; the glass tube may then be dropped
into its place and be held firmly down by another leather washer and
screwed plug in the top of the metal tube.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in
all the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a sectional plan of my improved
carburetter taken along the line 1-2, in Figure 2; Figure 2 is a vertical
section of the same, and Figure 3 is an elevation.
A is the shell of the carburetter which may be of zinc or other
suitable metal, and is provided with two horizontal metal diaphragms
B, B', soldered therein. C is the feed pipe through which the liquid
hydrocarbon is poured into the lower chamber D of the carburetter.
The liquid hydrocarbon which I have found to give the best results is
the light oil known as "naptha" or "Benzole," having a boiling point
of 200° Fahrenheit, and being as free as possible from napthaline. The
feed pipe C passes through and is soldered to both the diaphragms B, B',
and is provided with an internal gutter at a and with numerous per-
forations just above the level of the diaphragm B. Upon each diaphragm
is laid a piece of felt or other suitable absorbent material E, E', kept
saturated by the capillary action of one or more wicks of cotton F, F,
5 or other suitable material, which are suspended from the felt E, E',
and dip into the liquid hydrocarbon in the chamber D below. G, G',
are tubes surrounding the wicks F, F, one of the objects of the tube G
being to prevent the wick F from coming in contact with the lower

page_text: felt E, and being thereby robbed of its liquid before such liquid can
rise to the felt above; these tubes serve also to render the saturation
of the felt more uniform and prevent escape of vapour into the gas
chamber or chambers. H is a screwed cap for closing air-tight the
feed pipe, and I is a screwed plug for closing an overflow orifice situate
just below the lower diaphragms B¹. K is the float lever hinged at L
for the purpose of indicating the level of the liquid in the chamber D
by the agency of the rod M which passes through the tube N soldered
to both the diaphragms and to the top of the carburetter in order to
prevent any communication between the gas chambers O, O', and the
liquid hydrocarbon chamber D. The upper end of this rod works freely
inside the glass indicating tube P, into which the tube N enters a short
distance, whilst the lower end of the rod is jointed to the float lever K.
As the float lever rises and falls with the level of the liquid hydrocarbon,
it follows that the position of the upper end of the rod, as seen in the
glass tube, will indicate the height of the liquid in the chamber D. The
glass tube is contained within and protected by a slotted metal tube b
screwed into a socket c on the top of the carburetter, a screwed metal
plug d serving to hold the glass tube firmly down upon the packing e,
and thus prevent leakage; f is another piece of packing introduced
between the glass tube and the screwed plug d. The gas to be carburetted
enters the carburetter by the inlet pipe Q which conducts it into the
spiral passage formed in the lower chamber O¹ (where more than one
are used) by the spiral partitions g, which are soldered to the top of
the said chamber, and have their lower edges depressed into the felt
or absorbent material on the floor of such chamber. After traversing
along this passage towards the centre of the chamber the gas returns
again by another similar spiral passage back to the periphery, as shewn
by the arrows in Figure 1; the gas then either passes at once into
the outlet pipe R, if one gas chamber only is used, and so on to the a
burners, or in the case of more than one gas chamber it passes through
an opening in the diaphragm above leading into the upper chamber O
or series of gas chambers, wherein it describes the same tortuous course
as in the lower chamber, taking up from the felt in its lengthened
progress before it finally enters the outlet pipe R sufficient hydrocarbon
vapour to increase the illuminating properties of the gas, but never
coming into actual contact with the surface of the hydrocarbon liquid
itself which is contained in the separate chamber below.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my

page_text: said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,--
First. The application and use to and in apparatus for carburetting
or increasing the illuminating properties of coal gas of one or more fixed
horizontal diaphragms covered with absorbent material, which is kept
saturated with liquid hydrocarbon by capillary attraction, substantially
as herein-before described.
Second. Enclosing the wicks which supply the liquid hydrocarbon
to the felt or other absorbent material on the fixed diaphragms or
bottoms of the gas chamber or chambers in tubes which dip into the
liquid hydrocarbon chamber below, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described.
Third. The combination with a carburetting vessel or chamber of a
float indicating rod, and glass tube for indicating the level of the liquid
hydrocarbon contained within the vessel or chamber, substantially as
herein-before described.
Fourth. The forming of spiral or tortuous gas passages inside the
carburetting chambers of carburetting apparatus when such chambers
are separate and distinct from the chamber containing the liquid hydro-
carbon, as herein-before described.
Fifth. Causing gas to pass through one or more carburetting chambers
which are separated by fixed partitions or horizontal diaphragms from
the chamber containing the carburetting liquid, as and for the purpose
herein-before described.
Sixth. The peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of
apparatus for carburetting coal gas, as herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Barns Kinsey, have
to this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Eighth day
of September, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
WILLIAM BARNS KINSEY. (L.S.)