US1079972A - Acetylene-gas generator. - Google Patents

Description

T. G. ALLEN. AGETYLEN'E GAS GENERATOR.

. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1911.

1,079,972. W Patented Dec.2,1913.

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T. G. ALLEN. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR. APPLICATION FILED, DEC. 5, 1911.

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Patehted Dec.2,1913.

T. G. ALLEN. ACETYLENB GAS GENERATOR. APPLICATION FILED D130. 5, 1911.

W/ TNESSES.

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THOMAS GASKELL ALLn v, or wnsrivirnsirnn, tonnoivgn vennnn;

. AcnTYLnNn-eAs GENERATOR.

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To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS GAsKnLL AL- LEN, of 106 Victoria street, Westminster,

London, England, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'o-r Relating to Acetylene-Gas Generators, of.

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to acetylene gas generators of the automatic type wherein a predetermined pressure of gas in the generating chamber acts upon the water supply to regulate the admission of water accordin to the requirements.

acetylene where liquid is added to material in the generating chamber for producing the gas. The invention will, however, be hereinafter described with reference to acetylene, the other uses being held to be included.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of that 1 type of generator or water feedlng devlce;

described in my prior Patent No. 997,944.

The invention is particularly applicable to small generators, such as those employed for lighting vehicles or for portable and domestic use, although the invention may be applied to larger plant.

According to this invention I provide for or in combination with the generating chambers of acetylene generators of the automatic type, a water feeding device consisting of flat surfaces lying in parallel planes or a plurality of members having flat surfaces, brought and held together in such close contact that the water can only seep or ooze between them under water head or other pressure, said surface or surfaces being of such dimensions as to provide an extended inlet to insure a suflicient aggre gate of water feed and as to provide'an ex tended closure between the intake and discharge to hold a sealing film of water against the back pressure of the gas under normal working conditions. A water feed ing device thus constructed will permit a suflicient volume of water tofpassfor the purposes of generation, but in such slowly moving and limited quantities at any given point that an immediate and exact regulation of the water feedlis effected; by the' slightest tendency to back pressure, with} out any appreciable specification of LettersPatent. Application filed anatee, 1911. Serial No. 664,025;

disturban caused in the equilibrium between h i 1 Patented Dec. 2*, 1913'.

' posing internal and external pressures. 'Evenness'of generation and a unlform pressure at the burner are therebyinsured. Such water feeding device'holding a sealing film of waterfas described also serves to prevent the escape of the gas while permitting the requisite amount ofwater to feed in. This sealing film of water is also very useful when it is desired todiscontinue the generation of gas. The apparatusmay then be w thdrawn from the water, thereby stopping the water feed, whereupon the water 1 film will continue to oppose the escape of The invention is obviously applicable for use in the generation of gases other than gas through the inlet although'the water head has been removed by such withdrawal, and the gas will continue to pass through the burner until the after make is exhausted.

The invention also gives facility for obtaining the different pressures which may be required by different burners ordiflierent apparatus merely by increasing or decreasing the depth at which the water feeding device is immersed. The substantially high pressure required for a flare light may be readily obtained by increasing the head of water to which the water feeding device is subject, a simple means to this end being the provision of a watertank of suitable depth. Further means may be provided for adjusting the position of the generating chamber to compensate for the diminished head of water when a narrow water receptacle is employed.

The apparatus or that part of it which constitutes the generating chamber may be of any suitable shape or size.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of constructions made in accordance with this invention. r

Figure lis a. vertical section; and Fig. 2 is'al plan'of the improved generator; Fig. 8

is a perspective view,: partly in section, of

another construction; Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3 in section; Fig. 5 1s asectional perspective view of" a modified construction; Fig. 61s a vertical section of another modi- 'ficatio-n; and 'Fig. 7-i's' a sectional perspec-- tive view'of a further modified construction.

Fig. 8 is a view of a generator seated within its water container applied as a table In th 'e construction shown 1 and '2the generatingchamber. consists of a car- "bid'receptacle a and a cover I). Theset'wo partsare joined by flanges and d which :cdiistitute both. the water feeding device and the closure for the generating chamber. The flanges can'd d are clamped to gether by means of a bridge piece e controlled by a winged nut f; the ends of the bridge piece are bent to the shape of a claw bearing on the undersideof the flange (1' as at 9 so that by rotation of the nut thev bridge piece is raised and the cover I;- ,pressed down thereby clamping the adjacent surfaces of the fiangeso and (Z together. In the Construction shown the gas pipe h is screwed directly into the top of the cover Z) and the winged nut fis mounted'so as to. V rotate upon the end of the-pipe.

Suitable stops j jwill be provided on the inside of the cover to properly centralize the same and guiding flanges 70 7c will be provided on the outside of the cover to insure that the bridge piece 6 is correctly placed in posisteady generation of gas and a steady flame are maintained. The fiangesc andcZ are of the required dimension to. give the automatic water feeding and closure effects referred to; For example, the circumference of the flanges is such as to provide the ex- --tended inlet for water between them and the width between the inner and outer edges of the flanges insures thatth'e contacting surfaces will hold a sealing film of water against the back pressure of the gas iuider normal working'conditions. v

a In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and a the water feeding device consists of two flat surfaced, disks 0 and d inclosing between thema number of intermediate disks 0, all the said disks are pierced in the middle with coincident holes p which form athrough passage for the water from the disks to the ca'rb-id chamber, which is suitably connected to the lower. disk dc. Anysuitable means maybeprovided for clamping or holding the disks together and in contact the one with the other. In the construction illustrated in Fi-g. 3 this" is accomplished 'by fii'iing to the upper disk'a gas pipe h which leads to; the burner or burners, the lower the hole in the lower disk d and thereby serve as a means fordrawing and holding the whole of thedisks tightly together. v The screw. thread on thegas pipe 72. is mutilated:

to. provide longitudinal channels orpassages b-ywhich the water oozing out froinj between the disks may pass down into the generating chamber where it is directed to the side of the chamber by means of a dis- "tributingpla-te [L which acts to prevent the water from accumulating and fallin in "large drops. The holes in the intermediate disks 0 and the end disk (Z may be square or otherwise so shaped as not to interfere with the passage of the water along the channels it. In this construction the gen erating chamber is closed in any suitable manner apart from the water feeding device and obviously the gas may if required beled away by a pipe entirely separate from the water feeding device. The operation is similar to that given for Figs. 1 and 2. The water in this case seeps or oozes between the contacting flat surfaces of the disks 0 d and o, and so passes into the central aperture and down by the channels it" into the generating chamber. The pressure of generated gas reacts on the oozing discharge of water, as before described. The disks 0, d and 0 are of the required dimensions to give the automatic water feeding and controlling effects referred to, for example, the circumference of the disks is such to provide the extended inlet for the water between the disks, and the distance of the central holes from the periphery insures that the contacting surfaces of the disks will hold a sealing film of water against the back pressure of the gas under normal working conditions. In Fig. 3 a

number of disks o are shown clamped between the disks 0 and (Z, and as the number of these disks is increased or lessened, so

the capacity of the water feed is increased or lessened, and in some cases where the demand on the generator is limited, the iiiterniediate disks 0 may be omitted, the disks 0 and (i being clamped one against the other. In Fig. 3 the water enters between the disks by the outer edge and oozes out at the central aperture. This arrangement may however be reversed as shown in Fig. 5 where the water enters at the central hole and discharges around the edge of the disks into the cal-bid chamber. In this figure the intermediate disks are omitted. The operation is as already described.

Fig. 6 shows a construction. where th'ewater feeding device consists of three disks 0 'd and '0 disposed at the base of the generating chamber. The "said disks are clamped together in suitable manner as by wing nuts and bolts i. Only the two upper disks are v pierced with holes 0. The operation is as "end of the. pipe It is adapted to screw intobefore described except that the water oozes into the bottom of the vessel and attacks the carb id upwardly. the top. by a pipe ,k. A deflecting plate m may be provided if required to direct to the side of the chamber any condensation from th aein the outl t pipe h.

The gas is led away from Should it be required to previ ae a water feeding device adapted to be put out of action by other means than removal from the water or by closing the gas pipe, then this can be accomplished as shown for example in Fig. 7, by employing two disks 0 and d clamped together by the aid of a screw device adapted to be partly rotated by turning around the upper or burner carrying part 9. The surfaces of the flanged members c and (Z will be machined or polished so that by rotating the burner part 9 and thereby clamping the disks tightly together such a tight joint will be secured that no water can pass, while by a part rotation of the part 9 in the opposite direction, preferably determined accurately by a slot and stop pin such as q, the surfaces of the disks may be moved such a minute distance apart as will enable them to operate as a water feeding device and closure in the manner hereinbefore described.

If required, as for example in the case of a large plant, I may provide a number of generating chambers such as described,

adapted to be immersed in a suitable tank and suitably connected to the discharge or storage gasometer or the like.

Heretofore in this specification it has been stated that the surfaces constituting the wa ter feeding device are adapted to be brought and held together in such close contact that the water can only seep or ooze into the generating chamber under a pressure of water head. Such holding'together causes a contact between the said surfaces as follows, to wit: In the employment of ordinary metal surfaces produced by rolling or stamping, a contact between them will be in such a relation as will cause the said surfaces to touch at innumerable points and to become in apposition at all points Without sensible intervening space but still permitting Water to seep or ooze through such spaces under pressure of water head or its equivalent, due to the slight inequalities of the surface so produced. Obviously the extended inlet having this minute thickness may be provided by other means than those de- Copies of this patent may be obtained for scribed, within the limits of the appended claims, for example machined or polished surfaces may be brought into such close relation as to produce an equivalent effect. Further the Water feeding "pressure may be obtained or supplemented by other means than water head, such as pressure of air or other fluid, upon the water.

It is to be understoodthat the flat surfaces of the water feeding device may be disposed in other than horizontal positions, for example, they may be in vertical or inclined positions.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An acetylene generator comprising a generator chamber, a water feed device, and means for subjecting said water feed device to water pressure, said water feed device comprising flat surfaces in contact and pressed together constituting a restricted water inlet between them, the line of outermost contact of the flat surfaces when the device is in use being directly exposed to the body of water in which the device is submerged.

2. An acetylene generator comprlsing a generator chamber, a water feed device, and means for subjecting said water feed device to Water pressure, said water feed device comprising fiat surfaces having an aperture in their mid-area constituting a restricted water inlet between them, one end of said aperture leading to a burner, and the other side of said aperture communicating with the generating chamber, the line of outermost contact of the flat surfaces when the device is in use being directly exposed to the body of Water in which the device is submerged.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS GASKELL ALLEN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT MILTON SPEARPOINT, C. P.'LIDDON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

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