Improved Method of and Means for Preserving Ice.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 24th May, 1895
Improved Method of and Means for Preserving Ice.
1, HENRI ANDRÉ DOMENGET, Chemist, of 1 Chemin des Buchettes, Argenteuil,
Seine and Oise, France, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The question of drinkable water has been.considered for many years in largely
populated :centers, where the fatal consequences due to the consumption of impure
water are mostly felt.
According to the sources at which it is taken, natural ice contains the same
impurities as the water from which it is formed, as.the.congealing action does not
destroy all the micro-organisms which give rise to serious illnesses.
Again, artificial ice obtained in pieces or produced by moulding, whether
mechanically or, chemically, is not free from impurities either.
The invention herein described consists in a method for preserving ice (whether
in pieces or in moulded blocks), which is intended for cooling drinkable water
and all other liquids for consumption or for other domestic or industrial purposes.
The method consists, broadly speaking, in completely isolating the ice from the
contact of ambient air until it is to be-consumed or utilised.
For these purposes, the invention consists in.an.improved box in which the ice,
isolated from the outer walls of the box by means of bad heat-conducting casings,
is out of reach of ambient air owing to the formation of a vacuum in the receiver
containing the same. The ice can thus be kept until it is to be utilised;
moreover, an economical means of purifying ice is to some extent secured,
owing to the fact that, a vacuum is created which tends to destroy any organized
being.
In order that my improvements may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe them in detail in reference to the accom-
panying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a vertical section showing a box having one single compartment.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a box constructed after the manner shown
in Fig. 1, except that it has several compartments, for containing a battery of
ice-holders.
Fig. 3 is a plan of Fig. 2, a portion of the cover.being broken away in order to
show the inside.
The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is intended for use in preserving ice either in
pieces or in moulded .blocks, until it is to be introduced or until it is to be other-
wise made use of. The said apparatus is substantially composed of an outer box as
made preferably of wood, with a glass lining b and it is provided with a cover
which is hermetically secured onto the top of the box by any suitable means. As
shown in the drawing, the cover is formed of a glass plate e, the ground edge of
which rests upon a ground face of the lining b. The upper face of the plate chas
a wooden covering c', whilst its underface is provided with a stout lining of
compressed or agglomerated cork. At the center or at any other convenient
place of the cover c, c¹, c², is an opening to which is fitted a valved nozzle d,
capable of being connected by a flexible or other pipe to.a vacuum-producing
apparatus.

page_text: In the box a is arranged an ice-holder formed of a glass casing e upon the
ground flange of which is placed a ground glass cover finto which are fitted a
valve proper 9 opening upwardly and also a suitable cock h. The casing e is lined
with compressed cellulose i and the space between the casing e and the inner walls
of the glass lining b is filled with agglomerated cork or with pulverised cork j,
which is pressed in. Into the glass casing e, within its cellulose lining, is placed
a metallic jacket el for containing the ice to be kept. If the ice is in the shape of
a moulded block, the jacket e¹ forms the mould itself in which the ice has been
produced.
The operation is as follows. Ice having been placed into the jacket e¹, the
cover is applied. The ground surface of the latter preferably coated with a
little oil so as to improve the joint with the ground flange of the casing e.
The
box a is then hermetically closed by means of the cover c, c', c³, after which the
valve of the nozzle a is connected to an exhaust apparatus and a vacuum is
produced, the air contained in the ice-holder e, e' being drawn out through the
valve g in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1. It is obvious that while the
operation is going on, the cock h is closed. When a sufficient vacuum is formed,
the valve of the nozzle d is closed. The ice being thus completely isolated from
ambient air will keep for a great length of time.
In order to remove the ice from the holder, the valve of the nozzle d is opened
in order to allow air to penetrate the box, the cover c, c¹, c² is removed and
the cock his opened in order to allow air to also penetrate the casing e.
When the
vacuum has been so destroyed, the cover f, which is no longer held in place by
atmospheric pressure, is taken off and the contents of the ice-holder are taken out,
as required.
It is obvious that certain modifications might be made to the berein described
arrangement of box without departing from the spirit of the invention. For
instance, the cock h might be suppressed and the valve 9 itself be utilised for
destroying the vacuum in the casing e¹.
In Figs. 2 & 3, I have shown a multiple apparatus constituting a battery of ice-
holders. The holders e are similar to the one herein before described and the
number of the same varies according to the importance of the battery; they are
contained in a box comprising a glass casing k covered externally with wood and
lined with cork m. The said box is closed by a ground glass cover n the upper
face of which is covered with wood, whilst its inner face is lined with cork; in the
center is fitted a nozzle o having a cock by which vacuum can be made in all the
ice-holders e simultaneously, by the action of the valves g which, as herein before
stated, operate so as to allow the air to be pumped outwardly. The spaces between
the ice-holders e and also the space between these and the lining m are filled with
pulverised cork q.
The operation of this multiple apparatus is the same as that herein before
described with reference to Fig. 1. In order to take the ice out of any of the
holders e, air is allowed to enter the casing k, the cover n is removed, for which
purpose it may be provided with handles p, and air is also allowed to enter such of
the holders e which it is desired to have access to, in order that the ice thereof may
be taken out. It will then be sufficient, as before, to remove the cover f of the
holder or holders e.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The hereindescribed method for preserving ice, consisting in placing the ice
out of contact with ambient air by producing a vacuum in the holder containing
the ice, substantially as described.
L
2. The hereindescribed box for preserving and carrying ice inį vacuum,
11

page_text: 3. The hereindescribed multiple apparatus for preserving & carrying ice, in
vacuum, substantially as described & shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
Dated this 4th day of February 1895.
For the Applicant,
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.