US638797A

US638797A - Acetylene-gas generator.

Info

Publication number: US638797A
Application number: US71825799A
Authority: US
Inventors: Urbain Clairefond
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1899-05-25
Filing date: 1899-05-25
Publication date: 1899-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 1916-12-12

Description

No. 638,797. Patented Dec. l2, |899. U. CLAIREFUND.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application led May 25, 1899.)

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ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application led May 25, 1899.)

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IINTTEE STATES PATENT OEEIcEo URBAIN OLAIREFOND, OF VILLENEUVE-SAINTGEORGES,'FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO EUGNE BORDIER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,797, dated December 12, 1899.

Application tiled May 25, 1899. Serial No. 718,257. (No model() T0 all whom it' may concern:

Beit known that l, URBAIN CLAIREFOND, of Villeneuve-SaintGeorges, in the Department of Seine-et-Oise, in the French Republic, have invented a new and useful Improvement in an Apparatus for the Preparation of Acetylene Gas, of which the following is a specification.

My apparatus is intended for the preparation of acetylene gas by the falling of alkaline earthy carbid, preferably carbid of calcium, in small grains or powder into a body of water, the amount of carbid which falls being proportioned to the consumption of gas and taking place as the gas is consumed.

In the drawings I have shown in Figure 1 aV vertical section ot my apparatus, in Fig. 2 a horizontal section on line to 5c, and in Fig. 3 an elevation of the same.

The apparatus is composed, essentially, of a tank A, which I preferably make of sheet-iron or some equivalent substance and line it with lead or other proper material. A quantity of water is placedin the tank A sufficient to iill about one-halt thereof,and into this water the carbid falls through a distributing apparatus controlled automatically by a oat placed in the water, the level of which Vvaries with the pressure of the gas. The carbid of calcium in small fragments, either granulated or powdered, is contained in a receiver B, which may be made of sheet-iron lined with lead or other suitable material. The carbid of calcium is placed in the receiver through an opening closed by the stopper b or by a valve.

On the side of the receiver B is a window b', of glass or mica, for the purpose of observing the amount of carbid contained in the receiver B. The lower end of the receiver has the form of an oblique cone C, terminating in a short nose cut on a bevel and open at its lower end. The carbid falls through this openin g into the lwater-tank A. The oblique cone O, I construct of brass or other suitable material and incase it in a glass or crystal cylinder G, on which it rests by its upper edge. This cylinder itself rests on a collar g, of cast-iron or other proper material, on which is placed a rubber washer. The lower opening of the oblique cone is closed by the hinged valve c, of brass or other suitable material,

the axis of which is at c. The valve has an extension c2, with a counterweight so regulated as to press the valve against its seat with a strain slightly greater than the force exerted by the'load of the carbid on the valve. A spring may be substituted for this counterweight. Owing to the Obliquity of the cone, the pressure of the carbid on the valve is very slight, and Ithe Obliquity is also provided in order that in loading the receiver the material may not fall directly on the valve, and thus the valve is prevented from opening when the grains of carbid fall upon it.

In the interiorpof the tank A is the float D,

- with a metal rod d passing through and fixed to it. The upper end of this rod also passes through the. extension c`2 of the valve which distributes the carbid and is guided at its lower end by a met-al piece E, fixed at a proper height on tank A. The rod d of the float has upon it three stops or disks. One disk d is near to and below the extension c2 of the distributing-valve c, another, cl2, is placed at a similar distance above this same extension c2, and the third disk d3 is placed a little above the float. Above the disk or stop d8 the fork d4 engages the iioat-rod d and is extended by a bent lever, of which one branch passes outside of the tank A, Fig. 2,' passing through the stufting-box F. By turning the lever s0 that the fork presses upon the stop d3 float D is forced below its floating-line in the water and kept in this position, and theapparatus is then closed, as will be explained hereinafter. The outside end of the bent lever is provided with a handle f, which moves in front of a plate fixed to the cover of the tank A and on which are marked the words Open and Olosed, corresponding to the two extreme.

The apparatus itself is iixed nuts g3 to acollargg, of cast-iron or other material, bolted to top of the tank A. The tank A has a window ct, of glass or mica, by means of which the level of the water and the position of the float D are visible.

c At the side of the receiverB is an extensionchamberH, of sheet-iron or other suitable ma- Terial, lined with lead or other proper substance and closed at the top by a jointed cover 72, which is removable, and has a branch outlet h'. This chamber is bolted to the castiron branch I, which is also bolted to the cover of the tank A. To the bottom of the chainber H is fixed a metallic tube J, which eX- tends into the water in the tank A and the lower end of which has perfor-ations a suitable distance below the normal surface of the water. When the pressure of the gas forces the level of the water in the tank A below the openingsj, the surplus gas blows olf through the openings into the chamber H and escapes. The distance that these h olesj shall be below the normal surface of the water depends entirely upon the degree of pressure desired. The tank A is mounted on three legs or in any other suitable way and is terminated at the bottom by a cone provided with a clean-out 7.; ofsuflicient diameter to permit the taking out of any sediment which may form in the tank and which maybe placed at a proper height for an ordinary bucket to be set under it.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: We will suppose the tank A to be filled with water to thelevel y y, the lever f being in the position Closed and the receiver B being full of carbid. The leverf being in the position Closed, the iioat D has been thereby forced down into the water by the pressure of the fork dt on the stop d3 of the float-rod d, the Vstop CZ is at a cert-ain distance below the extension c2 of the valve c, and the stop d2 is pressing down on this extension, thereby holding the valve closed. If the lever is pushed over slightly to the position Open, the fioat D rises to the surface, the stop d'2 rises above the extension c2 of the valve c, and the stop d strikes the under side of the extension cthereby opening the valve c and allowing the carbid to fall into the water and to form acetylene gas. By the pressure of this gas the level of the water y y in the tank A is pushed down tolz ,z and the water is forced up through the openings jjj into the extension-tank I-I to the level P Q. W'hen the water-level in the tank A is changed by the pressure of the gas from the dotted line Y Y to Z Z, the float D descends with the fall of the water and the stop cl2 upon the rod d has a tendency by bearing against the upper side of the extension 'c2 on the valve c to close the valve and put a stop to the discharge of carbid into the tank A below. As this exten sion c2 is weighted, as shown in Fig. l, the constant tendency of the valve is to close, and this closing tendency is only 'overcome when the water rises in the tank A, and then the stop d on the rod d strikes against the under side of the extension and causes the valve c to open. The pressure of the gas in the top of the tank A forces the water in the tank through thepipe J into the extension-tank H, and the level of the water in thetwo tanks varies in accordance with the pressure of the gas. No more carbid can fall until the consumption of gas reduces the pressure and allows the water in the tank A to raise the float again and open the valve c. Thus the automatic feeding of the carbid is established.

It. will be seen from the above explanation lthat the regular pressure of gas for a given amount of water in the tank A depends on the relative position of the stop d', cl2, or cl3, which can be set as desired. As the rise and fall of the water is more appreciable in the extension-tank H than in the tank A, owing to its smaller diameter, the variations of water-level corresponding to variations of gaspressure can be seen by a water-gage on the side of the extension-tank H. The acetylene gas leaves the apparatus through a pipe L, closed by a valve L2, the pipe L being attached to the branch I and communicating through the latter with the tank A. The gas after passing through the outlet-pipe L passes down through a purifier and drier K, containing suitable ingredients for the purpose of purifying and drying.

If accidentally too much carbid should drop into the water, the increased pressure would lower the water-level below .e z and suflciently to let the gas out through the openings jjj into the tube .I and the extension-tank H, from which it would escape by the opening 7L and connecting-tube into the open air.

The carbid is placed in the receiver B through the opening which is closed by the cap b and the water through the cover 71, of the extension-tank H or by a cock which can be placed on the cover of the tank A.

As may be seen from this description, the operation of the apparatus is automatic, the gas is produced as it is consumed, and the pressure remains always substantially the same. No extra pressure can be formed, and the whole operation is in sight, as the carbid may be seen through the sight b', the waterlevel in the tank A and the position of the float by the sight a, and the movements of the Valve c by means of the glass cylinder g, so that the reason for any failure of operation may be at once ascertained.

The general shape and size of the various parts and of the apparatus itself may be modied or changed in any way without alfecting the principle of my invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an apparatus for producing acetylene gas, the receiver B, placed directly over the top of the tank, and the oblique cone C secured to lower end of the receiver and terminating in a short nose on a bevel, the valve c pivoted to the front lower end of the cone,

IOO

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and provided with a perforated extension c2, combined With a float, provided with a rod which extends upwardly above the lioat, and through the extension on the valve, suitable stops upon the rod for operating the valve, an operating -lever extending through the side of the tank, and a stop upon the rod which engages With the lever, substantially as shown.

2. The receiver B, the oblique cone C placed therein, the glass cylinder G surrounding the cone, the collars g, g2, suitable clamping-bolts, and means for forming a tight joint between the parts, combined with the chamber H, the cast-iron branch I secured to the top of the tank A, and to the top of Which the chamber H is secured, the tube J extending from the chamber down below the top of the Water in the tank A, and which tube is provided With perforations a suitable distance below the normal surface of the Water, the escape-pipe 7L extending to the top of the chamber H, and the pipe L provided with the valve L2, combined with the purifier K, substantially as shown.

8. The tank A, an operating-lever projecting therefrom, and provided with a cranked inner end, and a oat provided with a rod having suitable stops thereon, combined With a receiver B, the cone C placed thereon, the cylinder G secured to the top of the tank A, and forming a support for the receiver, the pivoted valve o, provided with the extension o2, suitable stops upon the oat rod, and which s tops catch above and below the eXtension on the valve, substantially as shown and described.

URAIN CLAIREFOND.

Witnesses:

EUGNE BoRDIER, EDWARD P. MACLEAN.