USRE3950E - Improvement in steam gas-generators - Google Patents

Description

lits construction' und operation'. I nmke-a strongand tight cylindrical vessel," A, ofsheetiron or other suitable materiel, also making an `inclosingjneketor stenmschamber,

UNITED f STATES PATEN VOFFICE.'

IMPROVEMENT 'jl-N' sri-:AM GAs-GENERAT'oRs.

4Specification forming part. ci' Letters Patent No.' 71,400, dated Noremlier '26, 1F67; Reissue No. 3,950. dated To all whmn it may-concern,-

Beit know-u that 1, 111mm -SMAXHL of the city, countygand Statco'f New York, hayefim. vented a new'and useful Improvement-in`Lo comet-'ive Head-Li gli ts and I do hereby declare that the followingis-ifiv fulhelear,andexuct de scription thereof, reference being had to't-he accompanying drawings, making partot this speciiicat-im'and-in whioh` Figure 1 is 'a longitudinal vertical section of f Thessme parts', where they occur in` both figures, are indicated bythe sume letters of l reference. l

" The nature of my' linventionconsists in illu-- minnting the head-lights of locomotive-en gines with the gas of volatile oils or hydroenbon fluids generated bythe heat of steam from the boiler, which' is conveyed and applied to the apparatus for that purpose; also, in superheating the gas before'it passes to the burner-of .y the head-light-7 alsog-in controlling.;` und limiting the, production and supply ot' the gasto' theprop'erl consumption of thebnrner by regnlating the llow of'the steam to or through the generator by the pressure of thegas'so'generi` ated.

To enable othersy skilled iii'theart tom'nke and use myinvention, I will ,proceedA to describe vB, at the-front lend thereof, 4by means'of'an y -inner'heador-diaphragmas shown. Within the steulnijucket or ch a1nber'BI place theelz'ist'ic vesselN N, composed ofti'exible disks i of-thinsheet metal, and.coinnactingr centrally -v 'with the innerhead or diaphragm of the cylinf dricl vessel Alfy means' ot' the tubular eoup i lling o, thus connecting theinterior of the elas-' tie'vessel N 'N .with theinteriorot' the cylin drical vessel A, the cent-er oi'V theothcr' disk; being attached to the spring P for'purposesl presently,` to be explaintsl.l

The vcylindrical vessel ,A is called tiret-multi and the elastic ressel NN iscalled the regnlatorflandboth these vvessels constitute the generatingappa! rates. .t

Immediately over the cylindrical vessel Ais another cylindrical ressehU, of smaller diameter, and connecting with it by means of l'the tubular brunchesgm m.. ,v Within this lcylindri-l `cal vesseLC there is. a central tube, tt, the

ends of which arexsecured."steam-tight'u the end pieces; of said' xesseltf This vessel is calledjthe- "supe'rheater y Through the central tube, t t, of. the superheater 0, and through thestnin'g-boxrattthe backend-ot' it, I pass-the'tn'be D, which connects byits outer end with the Steun-boiler,- thus forming atelescope-joint connection -between the gas'apparutusivitliiu theheuddight ease andthe boiler o -t' the locomotive, sothat the whole gas' apparatus may 4ne ,drawtip-forward from itspositionin -the'heud-iightease when required, and,=beugain returned toits place without disturbing-the connection `of the steam-pipe D with the apparatustmd `theboiler of the locomotive.-

In thet'ront endpiece, J, of lthe superheater C is u snmll' elm lnber' which isclosed outwardly by Ithe screwed plug n; and/in the innerend of thisA c haniberis secured a short piece of small-size tube, J', which opensinto the 'cent Lal-tube, t t, and thus has u I'reecolnmunica tion Awith thestemn-pipe-D. Aronrnlthisshort tube J isnsniall eylindricalscreen of ne wiref gauze, through. which ganze the steam yfilters orpasses before reachingtlie control] in g-valve,

hereinafter described, thereby' eeetuully freeing the steam yfrom allv reculent- .mntter that .muy bave-come over with it from 4the, boiler,-

a n d which, -witliout being thns separatedA from file steain, might 'interfere with 'the -working fot' thesaid controlling-valve. The steam having passed through the wire-gauze screen ,en-ters by the tubeKb'elow the conicalvalreD, and into. the steam jacket orcliamber` B ,and' then .out-

ward through the tube E in the lowerpart-ol's the tank A, from whieh'tube E the outllow ci' the steam may be conlrolled in anycoirrenientfmanne and may be conduct-ed toanj'convenient plu-ce. .The arrangements for bothof said purposesbeing well known .in ,theurh need not be further described. The stem ct' the valve d is attached to the spring vP, andby the latter to the center ofthe outer disk of the elastic vessel N N, so that any expansion or contraction of this vessel will operate to close or open the steam-valve ci.

0n the ,upper side of the superheater C a stop-cock, ',l, is attached, and upon this stopcock is secured the service-pipes and the lamp o r burnerV ot' the headlight. i l i For the, convenience of adjusting the dame of the burner- V to the necessary size or power t'o'r the headlight, the stop-cock T connects by means of the rod F with the standard f on thetront partici-the cylindrical vessel C, in

which standard'there is mounted a worm orv endless screw, which is rotated 'by pressing l the lingers on the periphery ot' the knurled wheel-hf'lhe worm gearing'into the screwwheel g, turns the rod F, towhich it is secured,

and with it the top of the stop-cock AT, and

thereby raises or lowers the flame of the headlight, or increases or diminishes its powerto' the desired degree with the greatest accuracy. The spiral spring, shown on the rod F between the boss y of the serew-wheel g (which slides upon a feather and bears against the stand-ard f) `and the collar lc', is to keep the top of the stopcock T securely to its place notwithstanding the jar or tremor which may be communicated tothe apparatus by the jolting of tte locomotive in its passage along the railroa v vThe apparatus beingthus constructed and combined withthe steam-boiler, a quantity of gasoline or hydrocarbon duid is poured into the tankA-through an inlet H, (Fig. 2,) whi'ch inlet is closed and secured by a screwedplng attached'to the-'shank of the hand-wheel I.

The tank .being about twothirds full, a portion of the fluid will pass `through the coupling o into the elastic vessel N N. .The tank being supplied with the gasoline, steam is admittedl to the apparatus through the tube Dfrom the boiler, passing, tirst, through the superheater C, then through the wire-ganze at J', then down through the tube K and valveseat e into the steam-Jacket B, which incluses the. elastic ves 4sel NN, and then outward through the tubeE in the lower part of the tank A, either-as steamor as hot. water, according to the size of the vent given to the outtlowof thepipe E. The heatof the steam or hot water, las the case may be, will quickly act uponl the volatile t fluid and till the vacant space in the generating apparatus and the superheater with the vapor or gas of such Huid, till the elastic.v vessel N N, which is completely surrounded with/the steam, becomes so d ist'ended orex panded by the pressure ofthe gas within it that it will act against the spring P and the stem of the valve d, thereby closing the valve d to its seat e in the steam-pipe K, and thus shutting off the steam from the generator and checking the vaporization ofthe duid orthe production ofthegas. 1f now the stop cock T is opened, the gas will yby the `scribed.

2; Superheatingthe gas by the steam iu its pass vup through the tube S to the .buruerWl The vent thus given to the gas will reduce itsfy tension or' pressure within the apparatus and eause a corresponding contraction in the ela-s tic vessel N N,thus permitting `the spring P to retract and open the valve d, allowing the steam tore-enter the ehamberB and tube E,'thus causing a further generation 4of gas from the duid contained inthe tank and the expandiig vessel to supply the consumption at thebui`- ner V.

Upon admitting steam from the boiler theapparatus is very quickly. heated to the necessary degree for generating the gas, and when the gas is ignited at the burner -V and the dame ad, .ju-sized to the required power for the Aheadlight stop-cock T, the whole operation ot' making tbegas and controlling its force will proceed without further manual interference or adjustment bythe automatic action' ot" the elastic vessel .N N in controlli-ng the steam valve d; and the gas thus Vproduced being-superheated by the passing of the steam through -the central tube, t t, of theV cylindrical vessel C, every particle ot' the fluid is vnporized into a gas that will burn with a brilliant steady llame of great illuminating power, particularly suitable for the head-lights' of locomotives and surpassing any light heretofore used for that purpose, and is in nowise a'ected by high speeds-or by the jclting or vibration ofthe locomoti've. t t

I do not conne myself to the exact details and arrangement of the apparatus as herein described,I nor to any particular construction of the parts of the apparatus, as such parts maybe readily varied in 'form without thereby changing their functions; or mechanical equiv alents may be substituted for some or perhaps all the devices herein described without there -by changing the-character or-principle of the invention.

Having now described ythe nature, construction, and operation of my apparatus for generating gas from volatile oils or hydrocarbon fluid by means of steam for iilu innatinglocor motive headlights, what I claiiul thereinA as my own invention, 'and desire to secure by Letters Patent ot theUnitedStates, is-

1. Aheadlight or front lamp for locomotiveengines, in which the flame or light is produced from the vapor ot' volatile hydrocarbon fluids vwhen generated. by the heat of the steam.

drawn from the'boiler and applied to the apparatus for that purpose, substantially as depassage from the generator to the burner, substantially as'described.

3. .Controlling the flow oi` the steam to or through the generator and the production .of the gas by the pressure of the gas so generated, in the manner and by the means substantially as described. i

4. In combination with a steam gas-generating a pparatus for locomotive headlights.. the

teleseope-jointconnectQn Or its' equivalent in f lheisijeam-pipe between the apparatus andthe steaiu'i-boiler, in the mannerA and for the purpose substantially as'described. l

5."'l`he wire-ganze screen or its equivalent I in the steam-passage of the' apparatus, coustructed and operating inv the manner and for the purpose substantially as described. l

6. The combintiml of `the steam-jacket. with tile hydrocarbon-gas generator, substantially -as described.

HIRAM' s. MAXIM; Witnesses:

JOHN COCHRAN, I. M. NORWOQD..

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