US478198A - Carbonic-acid-gas generator - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

P. J. MAGUIRE. 4 CARBONIO ACID GAS GENERATOR.-

Patented July 5, 1892.

uni..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK J.. MAGUIRE, OF SALEM, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN SODA FOUNTAIN COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

cARBoNic-AClDv-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,198, dated July 5, 1892.

Application niednmh 29, 189,2. sayin No.' 426,961. di@ model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PATRICK J. MAGUIRE, a citizen of the United States,rresidi ng at'Saleni, in the county of Essex and State of Mas# sachusetts, have invented certain Improve# ments in Carbonic-Acid-Gas Generators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accom-- panying drawings, making part of this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a transverse Vertical section of a carbonic-acid-gas generator embodying my lnvention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the acidchanlber. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section j onkv for its object to improve the construction of the apparatus whereby explosion from excess-v ive pressure is rendered impossible under any circumstances Whatever; and to this end my lnvention consists in the combination,

with the back-pressure or check valve whichV is applied at the upper end of the siphon rising within said acid-chamber and communicating with the alkali-chamber, of an Aadjustable pressure-regulating governor con-L nected with said check-valve insuch manner that While it Will not interfere With the ordi` nary operation of the latter it will, When the pressure in the acid-chamber reaches a pre'- determined Joint o en said check-,valve toequalize the pressure in the acid and alkali chambers and hold said valve open so long as the pressure remains at or above the point at which said governor has been set to act, thus stopping all further iiow of acid, holding the pressure in the apparatus at theproper working-point, Whether it is in operation or not,

and preventing any undue accumulation of:

acid in the alkali-chamber when the agitators are at rest, as hereinafter more particularly set forth'.

In the said drawings, A represents the alkali-chamber of a carbonic-acid-gas generator,

upon which 4is secured, by means of bolts a., i

in the ordinary manner, the acid chamber or receptacle B, provided, as usual, with a lead .lining b, thepassage between the said chambers Al B being provided with a lead bushing c, having a flange d, which is confined between the flanges of the acid and alkali cham: bers, as shown, a suitable packing of lead being provided at the joint between the said chambers, as usual. Within the upper end of the bushing c is fitted the end of apipe D, 'which extends up vertically Within the acid- IchamberB, and is surrounded by an outer casing .or jacket E, the lower end of which is Vtightly soldered to the upper surface of the liange CZ of the bushing c, immediately above iwliich and as closely as possible to the bottom of the acid-chamber are formed openings f'for: the passage of the acid which flows into ,the space l0 between the jacket E and the pipe D and rises within said` space until it finds its level. The upper, end of the jacket E, which extends above the top/,of the .pipe D, is providedwith a back-pressiireor check valve G, opening f upward Ainto' the Vacidchamber, through which valve the gas from the alkali-chamber may escape into the acidchamber B lto create a pressureupon the surface ofthe acid therein, the pipe D and outer easing E when the valve G is closed 'forming a siphou through which the' acid is delivered to the alkali-chamber A, and thus whenever the pressure in the chamber B eX- ceeds that in the alkali or generating chamber A the acid is caused to flow over the top of vthe pipe D and down therethrough into the alkali-chamber A, while as soon as the pressure in the generating-chamber A equals that in the chamber B the flow of acid will be stopped, and consequently the generation of gas will be checked and liability of explosion avoided, the pipe D thus forming a portion of the equalizing-pipe, and also serving 'as a ydelivery-pipe for the acid.

:7c is an opening in the cover g, through Awhich the acid is poured into the chamber B,

said opening being closed by a screw-cap Z. (Shown dotted in Fig. 2.)

H is a pressuregage, and I a safety-valve, both of the usual construction.

'The apparatus thus far described is substantially the same as that shown and described in my aforesaid Letters Patent of IOO January 2G, 1392, its construction and mode of operation being referred to in order to more clearly illustrate the improvements which form the subject of my present in vention, and which I will now proceed to describe.

The cover f/ of the acid-chamber B is provided at its center with alarge aperture having a threaded bushing It, to which is titteda pressure-regnlating governor K, provided be tween the upper and lower portions of its casing with an elastic diaphragm m, to the upper side of which is iitted a vertical spindle n, which projects up through a cylindrical chamber p at thetop of the governor-casing, within which said spindle is encircled by a spiral spring q, confined between a washer l5, resting on the shoulder 16 of the governorcasing, and an ad just-able cap o', screwed over the top ot' the chamber p, the force of the spring q being regulated by screwing the cap fr up or down, whereby the governor maybe adjusted or set so that its diaphragm willbe raised when a predetermined gas-pressure in the acid-chaniber is reached,this pressure being preferably that at which thel apparatus is to be worked. The spindle n extends up through an aperture s in the screw-cap r and is provided at its top with a knob or enlargement the movement of which will indicate when the governor has been properly adj usted to act at a given pressure, as indicated by the pressure-gage Il. To the under side ot the diaphragm m is secured a spindle fw, which passes through a guide a', and is provided at. its lower end with a cylindrical coupling L, which is loosely connected with the stem b oi' the back-pressure or check valve G in such manner as not to interfere with the ordinary operatioii of the latter, previously described, the stem b sliding freely through the bottom of the coupling L and being provided at its upper end with a nut c', with which the bottom of the coupling L is brougnt into contact when the pressure of gas in the chamber B is sufiicient to overcome the pressure of the spring q and raise the diaphragm m, the valve G being thus opened and held open as long as the working or other pressure at which the governor has been set to act is maintained, thus preventing any further ow of the acid into the chamberA and holding the pressure in the apparatus at the proper working point whether it is in operation or not, whereby all danger o' explosion under any ciicumstan ces whatever is avoided.

It will be obvious that the holding of the check-valve G open by means ot' the governor K whenever the gas-pressure in the apparatus reaches a predetermined limit will effectually prevent any accumulation of acid in the alkali-chamberA in case the apparatus should be left by the attendant with the agitator-blades at rest, for the reason that il", in consequence of a slight leakage of gas at the joints, the pressure should become reduced in the chamber A and a consequent flow of acid from the chamber B should be produced, causing an increase of pressure above the desired limit, no further or subsequent flow of acid could take place on account of the checkvalve G being held open, as above described, and therefore when the agitator-blades are again set in motion there will be no excessive quantity oi acid in the chamber A, thus avoiding all liability of explosion from a sudden evolution of a volume of gas too great to be relieved by the safety-valve I.

In starting the apparatus7 the chamber l5 having been tilled with acid to the levelof the top of the delivery-pipe D, asmall additional quantity of acid is poured in through the opening 7:., which is then immediately closed by screwing the capZ tightly down tliereover. This raises the level of the acid above the top ot' the pipe D, causing it to ilow simply7 by gravitation down through said pipe D into the alkali-chamber A, containing the usual supply of marble-dust and watei. Thegas generated iu the chamber A then rises into the pipe D, and when the pressure in the chamber A rises to a sufficient height it will force the column of liquid in the pipe D bodily upward and into the chamber l5, compressing the gas therein until such pressure, plus the column of liquid inthe pipe D, 1s equal to the gas-pressure in the chamber A. The flow of acid will then cease until the pressure in the chamber A is lowered. The gas in the chamber B will then expand, and, being prevented by the valve G from passing through the pipe D, will force the liquid` through said pipe, when the iiow ot the acid will be resumed. The action is thus automatic and regulated by the generation of gas in the chamberA and the rapidity with which such gas is used, no care oi' attention on the part of the attendantbeing necessary so long as the acid chamber contains a supply of acid, the operation ot' the apparatus being thus regulated with the greatest nicety. Atter the apparatus has been started the governor K is set by screwing down the cap r, and thereby compressing the spring q sultieiently to counterbalanee the working pressure desired in the generator, as indicated by the pressure-gage 1I, after which,wlien from any cause the pressii re in the chamber B rises above the desired limit, the valve G will be raised by the action of the governor K and held open until the pressure is reduced below the fixed limit, as previously described.

The acid-chamber is provided at its bottom with an opening d to facilitate the operation of washing out said chamber, the opening being closed by a screw-cap e', and the alkalichamber is also provided with a suitable outlet-pipe f', controlled by a valve g', through which the contents may be drawn out when desired.

XVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a carbonic-acid-gas generator, the conibination, with the acid-chamber having with- IOO IIO

in it a siphon communicating with the alkalichamber and provided with -a back-pressure or check valve, substantially as described, of

a pressure regulating governor connected with said check-valve and adapted to hold the latter open whenever the pressure in the acid-chamber rises to or above a point at which said governor has been setto act, substantially as set forth.

2. In a carbonic-acid-gas generator, the combination of an acid-chamber, a Siphon placed within said chamber and communicating with the alkali-chamber, said siphon being provided with a back-pressure or check valve, which when open Will equalize the pressure in the acid and alkali chambers and prevent the iow of the acid, and an adjustable pressure-regulating governor having a spring and diaphragm, the latter connected with said check-valve in such manner as to permit the latter to operate independently of the governor, said governor being adapted to hold the check-valve open Whenever the pressure in the acid-chamber is at or above the desired limit, substantially as set forth.

3. In a carbonio-acid-gas generator, the combination, with the acid-chamber, of a vertical pipe rising within said acid-chamber and communicating with the alkali-chamber, an outer casing or jacket surrounding said vertical pipeand provided at its bottom with an inlet for the passage of the acid to the space between said vertical pipe and its outer casing or jacket, a back-pressu re or check valve applied to the upper end of the jacket above the end of the vertical pipe inclosed therebyand opening -into the acid-chamber, and an adjustable pressure-regulating governor loosely connected With the check-valve and adapted t0 open the same and hold it open Whenever the pressure in the acid-chamber 'rises t0 or above a point at which said governor has been set to act, substantially as set forth.

4. In a carbonic-acid-gas generator, the combination of the alkali-chamber A, the acidchamber B, provided With a pressure-gage H, the vertical pipe D, rising Within said acidchamber and communicating With the alkalichamber, the outer casing or jacket E, surrounding the pipe D and provided at its bottom With an inlet for the passage of the acid to the space between the pipe D and its jacket E, the back-pressure or check valve G at the upper end of the jacket E, saidv valve opening into the acid-chamber, the adjustable pressure-regulating governor K, having the spring q, screw-cap r, and diaphragm m, the latter connected by means of the coupling L with the stem b of the valve G in such manner as to permit said valve to operate independently ot the governor, said governor being adapted to hold the valve G open Whenever the pressure in the acid-chamber is at or above the desired limit, all operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose 65 described. Y Witness my hand this 23d day of March, A.

PATRICK J. MAGUIRE. In presence 0f-l P. E- TEsoHEMAoHER, J. F. HINDS.

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