US1174112A - Acetylene-lamp. - Google Patents

Description

F. E.-BALDWIN.

ACETYLENELAMP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1911.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

THE coLuMBlA PLANUGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. C.

FREDERIC E. BALDwiiv, 0E NEW YORK, N. Y. Y

AcE'rYLENE-LAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 191e.

f Application led September 9, 1911. i Serial No. 648,503.

To all whom t may concern.' Be it known that I, FREDERIC E. BALD- WIN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Acetylene-Lamp, of which the f ollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to acetylene lamps and comprises a number of distinct improvements all of which, however, are for the general purpose of controlling the flame and protecting the chimney.

, More particularly stated, my invention comprehends the following purposes, to wit: to provide an elongated tubular connection which shall discharge excess gas at a point remote from the burner so that it will not be ignited by the flame.

`Reference is to be had to the accompanying vdrawing forming a part of this specification and in which likecharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts, and in which the figure shows a central vertical section through an acetylene lamp made in accordance with my invention.

A generating` chamber is shown atl and is filled or partially filled in the usual manner with carbid 2. The upper end of the generating chamber is provided with a neck 3 so formed as to present practically a threaded internal surface. A water reservoir is shown at 4, and, like thegenerating chamber 1, is made of'sheet metal.- The water reservoir is providedl with a reduced portion 5 which has generally the conformity of a threadand ts into the threaded neck 3 of the generating chamber. A packing 6 which, in this instance, is a rubber ring,jis inserted between the water reservoir and the upper yportion of the generating chamber for the purpose of rendering these parts gas-tight relatively to each other.

rl-he water reservoir 4 contains water 7 and is provided centrally at its bottom with a water tube 8. Thiswater tube is of a length commensurate with other parts, as hereinafter described. Extending into the water vreservoir 4 is a valve chamber 9 containing a needle valve 10. The valve chamber9 is, by aid of a tube 11, connected with the generating chamber 1. The lower end vof ythe tube 11 is enlarged and filled with a fibrous mass 12 which serves as a sieve to prevent portions Vof the carbid fromV acci,-

dentally getting into the tube incase the` llamp is turned over.

Connected with the valve chamber 9 is a burner tube 13 carrying a tip 14 encircled by a gas bag 16. This gas bag is generally of an annular form and is provided with necks 17 which it closely around the burner tube. vIt serves as an equalizer for the purpose of preventing unduemomentary changes in atmospheric pressure from extinguishing the fiame.

n rlhe top of the water reservoir 4 is shown aty 18 and has generally the form of a flat disk. Resting upon this top is a lamp chimney 19 which is merely a cylinder of glass.

A numbergof tubular posts 2O spaced Vequij distant are disposed around the chimneyl9 and arranged generally in the form of a circle.A These posts are formedinto ,a cir- `cular gallery, and, because of their tubular form are provided Awith passages 21, some .of which may readily be used for pouring water intothe vwater reservoir 4. n

A wire 23 extends through one of vthe tubularjposts 2O and Yis provided at its upper endrwith a'loop 24 serving the purpose of a handle. The wire 23 is of some lengthV and i Y.

is, bent, a portion 23a extending down .through the water tube V8. I designate the wire 23 as a raking wire.- By pushing it duces a slight agitation ofthe carbid 2 immediately under the lower end of the-water tube 8. This vertical movement of the wire also tends to dislodge any obstruction which up or down, by aid of the handle 24, it pro- K K may happen to-get into the water tube 8; f

that is,between it and the portion 23a of the wire.

The diameter of the wire 23, and particularlyy the diameter of the portion 23a, is so related to the internal diameter 'of the water for which the burner is constructed. The 3 water tube S is of such length that, when the tube contains vthe portion 23a of the wirel23, the diameter of thefwater tube is practically so restricted as top'rohibit the upward passageof 'gas and the downward v'passage or" water through the water tube at the same moment, but 'when an excess of gas is generated the excess gas passesy upward through the tube 8 and escapes bythe tubes 21 or 22 to the atmosphere. In thisway the excess gas is discharged at a consider-y able distance from the burner and the natural currents of air or burned products of combustion tend to keep the excess gas away from the flame. This is of great importance where the carbid is suddenly shaken up as by Vdropping the lamp without extinguish# ing the flame of the burner, since it prevents fio the ignition of the escaping excess gas.

The parts are soV constructed that when the generating chamber is filled with carbid and the water reservoir is filled with water and the Valve 10^is closed, a few drops of water entering the carbid chamber l and owing to the fact that the maximum supply of water is greatly restricted. Without the proper restriction the water vwould immef diately flood the carbid, thus causing a large overgeneration and waste of gas. Upon y partially closing the valve 10,the increasing gas pressure cuts off theasupply of water `until the gas pressure within the lamp falls below the water column pressure, and when this occurs the water will begin to slowly enter the carbid chamber so that the supply of the water willbe substantially in proportion to the consumption of the` gas.

In'lamps of 'ordinary construction, when built to burn for many hours in succession, the large amount of water consumed causes theV water level in the water reservoir to vary by several inches; therefore, as the water in the water .reservoir `Vis gradually depleted,

the pressure ofthe water column extending down into the gas generator is gradually v lessened, the result being that the flow of water is correspondingly curtailed and, as a consequence, the flame burns lower than desirable. To avoid this difliculty, I make the water tube 8-longer than would otherwise be necessary to obtain a proper maximum amount of water pressure. lVhen the water tube 8 is thus lengthened, its excessive length is rendered, in a great measure, unobjectionable bythe action of the wire which vit contains; thatis to say, the presence of the wire produces a retarding effect upon the downward flow of water through the water tube, the net result being that the downward fiow of water is comparatively steady,-but that variations in its pressure, due to variations in the depth of water contained atV different moments in the water reservoir,

. are rendered less pronounced as affecting vthe actualv quantitative flow of water into the lgas generator.

The tubes 2O are of such length that though open and connected with the water container, they prevent the water in the container from splashing up and coming in contact .with the chimney under any ordinary conditions of use.

To illustrate, a lamp having a. water reservoir three inches deep and a water tube vsix inches long would afford a water pressure equal to that of a water column nine the lamp constitute, for purposes of pressure efliciency, a vcolumn only one inch in height, if the water tube S'be so proportioned as to work at the mean water pressure level of the reservoir, there is a variation, during the entire time while the lamp is burning, of a pressure representing that of a water columny only one-half inch rin height. `This slight variation, in lamps of this type, is in practice negligible.

Asmay :bei seen from the foregoing remarks, the lamp is regulated partly by restricting the downward fiow of water from the reservoir into the carbid chamber andi partly by the direct pressure of the'gas acting upon the column of water thus restricted. It follows as a necessary consequence that the fiow of water ispractically regulated by adjustment of the flow of gasto the burner.

I find that a steady burning of the lamp with a fiame of substantially uniform brils liancy is 'easily accomplished in themanner just described; that is to'say, I provide practically a water column of considerable height from theupper level in the `water reservoir to the bottom of the generating chamber containing the carbid, and then restrict the downward flow of water from the water reservoir into the gas generating chamber. The retarding influence seems to be they friction .of the water as it insinuates itself between the portion 23a of the raking'wire 23 and .the inner surface of the water tube 8. No doubt, along with the friction, there isV also retardation due to ca'pillarity. The cause ofy retardation appears to 'be partly friction and partly capillarity, and yseems n independent of the variations in hydraulic pressure due to depth of the water column. At any rate, the retardation has a marked tendency to steady the flow of water independently of variations in the total depth of the water column.

A shield 25, made in this instance of sheet metal, and having a generally frusto-conical form, is provided with air holes 26 and with an annular flange 27. This iiange rests upon the upper end of the lamp chimney 19. A cylinder 28 encircles the shield 25 and is provided internally with an annular flange 29. 'Ihe cylinder 28 is further provided with air holes 30. Two conical members 31, 32 made of gauze, and each having a substantially frusto-conical form, are fitted together vconcentrically and are provided with annular flanges 33. These conical members of gauze together constitute a so-called safety gauze for the lamp. The flanges 33 are clamped between the flange 29 and the flange 27. A hood 34 is mounted upon lugs 35 carried by the cylinder 28 and constitutes, as usual, the roof of the lamp. The hood 34 carries an eye 36, and engaging the latter is a hook 37 whereby the lamp may be suspended. The shield 25 is for the purpose of preventing the flame of the lamp from reaching the safety gauze and burning through the same, a result which might otherwise take place in the event that the iame is unduly elongated, as, for instance, whenever there is an excess of gas generation. No matter how great may be the volume of the flame from the burner, the flame cannot reach the gauze, and, indeed, cannot extend very high for the reason that it reaches a volume of dead air or incombustible gas housed within the upper portion of the shield 25. I do not limit myself to this particular form of shield, nor to the use of metalin its construction. Obviously,

the shield may be made of any suitable fireproof material, such, for instance, as asbestos. If the shield 25 be made of considerable height, as shown, and provided with air holes 26, the flame, if unduly elongated, will have a tendency to reach up into the shield,

but owing to the fact that oxygen is not supplied in through the shield at any point whereas under the same conditions, but Y without the shield 25, the gauze would be destroyed in a few seconds.

y Certain features described and not claimed herein, are claimed in my pending applica tion Serial No. 689,7 66, filed April 10, 1912.

I do not limit myself to the precise mechanism shown, as variations may be made therein without departing Yfrom the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is commensurate with my claim.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is An acetylene gas lamp comprising a carbid container, a burner, a chimney surrounding said burner, a water container located below said burner, metal posts extending upwardly above the water tank and protecting said chimney, at least one of said metal posts being tubular and communicating with the water container and adapted to carry of't1 the gas generated in excess of the requirements of the lamp, said tubular post discharging said excess gas at a point remote from the burner.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC E. BALDWIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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