US658439A - Acetylene-gas generator. - Google Patents

Description

No. 658,439. Patented Sept. 25, I900.

l. L. HARRIS.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application filed Jan. 29, 1900.) (No M bdel.)

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NITED STATES PATENT union.

ISAAC LEONARD HARRIS, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,439, dated September 25, 1900. Application filed January 29, 1900- Serial No. 3,036. (n6 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISAAC LEONARD HAR- MS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jacksonville, in the county of Duval and State of Florida, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for generating illuminating-gas from the reaction of calcium carbid and water; and the object of my invention is to bring the two compounds referred to into contact in such a manner as will produce the most effective results, and particularly in the volume of gas generated.

My present invention relates to a carbidchamber, a generator-tank, a condenser, and a gasometer, all embodied inone piece, and includes a carbid-feeding device operated by a weight, which are modifications of the feeding deviceand operating mechanism treated of in my Letters Patent No. 637,252, dated November 21, 1899.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through the generator, condenser, and gasorneter; Fig. 2, a similar section at right angles to Fig. 1 with the carbidchamber in elevation; Fig. 3, an elevation of the outside casing, with a section through the sprocket-and-chain receptacle; Fig. 4, a plan. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged details of a part plan and elevation of the chain-beltmoving floor modification of my aforesaid Letters Patent, and Fig. 7 is a section of the water-escapement check-drum.

Similar figures refer to similar parts in the several views.

Features that I have already patented and which I claim in combination with this application are referred to by letters.

1 is a gasometer-casing, and 2 is a gasometer-bell, through the center of which is an opening extending its full depth, provided with a conical casing 3.

4 is the carbid-chamber partly contained in the conical casing 3 of the gasorneter-bell, with which it forms a water seal, but above which it projects upward to a height equal to the upward limit to which the bell will rise when filled with gas. The carbid-chamber stands in an upright position in the middle of the gasometer, its lower portion being cone-shaped and concentric to the conical casing 3 of the gasometer-bell when the latter is down at its lower point. The upper portion of the carbid-chamber is cylindrical from the point where the cone portion terminates to the top, where the charging-hole is located, closed by a cap-screw .5. The floor of the carbid-chamber consists of two parts, one part thereof being a solid floor 6, upon which the carbid fails when charged into the chamber from the opening at the top, the other part being composedof an endless chain belt 7, which is a modification of my Letters Patent previously referred to. The solid floor 6 partly rests on a fixed plate 8 and partly on a fixed round bar 9, with which it forms a hingejoint. The object of this hinge-joint is to enable the floor to rise slightly for the purpose of relieving any obstruction in the shape of a piece of carbid which may have become lodged between it and the chain belt 7. This chain belt 7 is a close belt composed of fiat plates 7?, Fig. 5, turned under to form a link at the abutting-joints the full width of the belt. Throughout the entire circuit of the belt on both margins are inserted wire staples 7 one staple to each link and each staple being confined to the same link. To hold the staples together and thereby compose the links to form the belt, short cylindrical rings 7 are used, which also serve the purpose of shoulders against which pressure can be brought to bear for moving the belt.

10 are two disk pulleys fastened to the revolving shaft 11, which Works in bearings in the two side casings 12, These two disk pulleys carry the chain belt 7 near its two margins, as shown in dotted lines on Fig. 2.

13 are two sprocket-wheels, only one of which are shown, fastened to the revolving shaft 14. These two sprocket wheels also carry the chain belt 7, the marginal wire staples 7 engaging in the teeth of the sprockets. When the revolving shaft 14 turns, the teeth of each sprocket-wheel press against the cylindrical rings 7, (see Fig. 6,) forming part of the chain belt 7, and cause the entire belt to move. The disk pulleys 1O revolve in unison with the chain belt. Owing to the carbid only resting on the belt 7, where it is firmly supported by the disk pulleys, there is no slack in the belt on the upper side except at the eommencementof the movement. tooper-- ate a discharge. At that mom entthe sprocketwheels carry the slack of the chain to the upper side; but when the under side becomes taut the descending carbid hurries the chain forward until the slack again. formsonthe under side at the termination of each discharge.

Fig. 3; is a sprocket-wheel"alsofastened to the revolving shaft 14 at its outer end.

16 is an endless sprocketchain which en'- gages in the sprocket-wheela15,andafter passing downward and under two loosev pulleys 17 and 18 passes upward and engages in and over another sprocket-wheel1m fastened to a revolving shaft 20. Theshaft 20 is t'he motorshaft, which carries the power for operating the carbid-feedim, part ofthe machine. tened onto the shaft 20 is a water-escapement check-drum C, which carries on its outer circumference a ratchet-wheel R. Against the- (lrum C and also fastened onto theshaft 20 is another and smaller ratchetwheel S, which is engaged by a pawl P, fastened to a ropedrum D. Around the rope-drum D is wound arope E, which carries a weight W. The ropedrum D revolves loosely onthe shaft 20. All these parts on the shaft 20 indicated by letr tors are partof my Letters Patent No. 637,252,- previously referred to.

21 is a pawl which engages in the ratchetwheel R, having a fulcrum 22, Fig. 3.

23 is a rod riveted loosely to the pawl 21 at the joint 24. This rod passes upward through the guide-lug 25, above which it is bent inward at 26 until it extends under the projecting top of the gasometer bell2.

27 is a series of hanging strips depending from a fixed round bar 28, on which they work loosely side by side in sufficient numbers to extend across the full width of the opening at the bottom of the carbid-chamber 4.-. The object of these strips is to destroy thetendency of the carbid to fiy in all directions when being charged into the chamber and to control it when beingdelivered from the chamber into the generator-tank.

29 is the generator-tank to hold water, having a fixed grating 30, onto which the carbid fails, a hand-hole 31, closed by a cap-screw, and a mud-valve 32. Attached to the generator-tank is a receptacle 33 to hold the stagnant liquid medium through which the sprocket-chain 10 passes in conveying motion from the sprocket-wheel 19 to the sprocketwheel 15, the object of which is toprevent the escape of gas through the journal of the generator-casing where the shaft 14 enters, and thus obviate the necessity of astufiing-box.

34 is a gas-pipe with a valve 35 for conveying the newly-generated gas from the generator-tank into a condenser 36, intermediate between the generator-tank and the gasometer, embodied within the gasometer, and through which the gas must pass beforeit enters thegasometer. The newly-generated gas in an acetylene-gas generator is not pure acetylene gas, but a mixture of acetylene gas and watervapor. The condenser 36 removes the water-vapor from the gas by causing the mixture to reverberate from side to side, as shown by the arrows passing around the subdivisions 37, which compel it to give up its water-vapor against the cold'sides of the condenser, whereupon the fixed gas or acetylene enters the gasometer as acetylene gas.

38 is a service-pipe for delivering the gas from the gasometer for consumption.

The. operation of the.- machine isas follows: A quantity of water is put into the generatortank 29" through the hand-hole 31 until it reaches the level shown on drawings, entirely submerging the grate30. A quantityof calcium carbid isalso charged into thecarbidchamber 4 through the opening 5. The ten dency ofthecarbid to flyirr all directions is checked by the hanging strips 27. The pawl 21' is now lifted by hand. This releases-the ratchet-wheel R and allows theweight W to descend. The descent of the weight W causes the rope-d rum D to revolvebyvirtueof the rope E, with which it iswound', and the pawl P, engaging the smallerratchet-wheel S,con1- niunicates its motion, through the ratchetwheel tothe shaft 20, on which the-sprocketwheel 19 is fastened, causing" it to revolve;

The endless sprocket-chain lti carries the mo tion of the shaft 20 to the shaft 14 through the sprocket- wheels 19 and 15, causing the two sprocket-wheels 13, engaging in thechain belt 7, to revolve and thus move the chain belt 7, on which carbid rests, until a portion of the carbid falls overthe descending face of the belt into the generatortank,and the generation of a relative quantity of gas is theresult. After entering the waterin the tankthe carbid is supported near the surfacebythe grating 30, where-achemicalreaction takes place, the

products of which are acetylene gas, which rises out of the Water, and hydrate of lime, which falls through the grating and settles at the bottom of the tank. The newly-generated gas enters the gasometer by the pipe 34 through the condenser 36, and the hell 2 of the gasometer rises upward. When the gasometer lowers, owing to the-consumption of its contents, the projecting top or cover of the hell 2 comes into contact with the rod 23, bent under it for the purpose, pressing it downward.

releasing the ratchet-wheel R, and the gen- This raises the pawl 21, again eration of a relative quantity of gasis repeated. When the bell of the gasometer prevent a too rapid descent of the weight W and the consequent overcharge of carbid into the watertank, the water-escapement check-drumG is fastened unto the shaft 20,

with which it revolves. This drum is divided intocompartments inside partly filled with water, and when it revolves the water IIO passes from one compartment to the other with a velocity limited by the size of the openings 0', Fig. 7, between the compartments. This controls the speed of the drum, and consequently the speed of the entire mechanism of the carbid-feed. The weight W can be wound up at any time without interfering with the working of the generator.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for the generation of acetylene gas in combination with a watertank, the carbid chamber, the moving chain belt 7 at the delivery end of the floor of the carbid-chamber, for feeding the carbid into the generator-tank and from under the solid part of the floor of which it emerges,said chain belt comprising an endless series of transverse platelinks fastened closely together, the open marginal links of the chain belt 7 composed of the staples 7 and the cylindrical rings 7, the two sprocket-wheels 13 and the revolving shaft 14 onto which they are fastened so distanced apart as to enable them to engage in the open marginal links of the chain belt which they operate and the disk pulleys l0 fastened to the idle shaft 11 over ing device, controlled by the movements of the bell of the gasometenthe device for transmitting the power of the motor from the outside to the inside of the generator consisting of a pairof sprocket-wheels located one Within, one without a gas generating chamber,

separated from each other by a liquid seal consisting of a U-shaped receptacle containing liquid, and in each arm of which is contained one of said Wheels, the said wheels being operatively connected by a sprocket chain passed beneath the surface of theliquid, and beneath idle pulleys, whereby the motion is communicated from one wheel to the other without permitting the escape of gas.

ISAAC LEONARD HARRIS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. E. WILLIAMS, FRANCIS A. WILLIAMS.

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