IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO FOOT-WARMERS to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO FOOT-WARMERS to
be as follows:-
"
This invention relates to that class of foot-warmers which are heated by means
of acetate of soda.
According to the said invention I provide means for making the body of a foot-
warmer flexible. To this end I form near each end of the body a deep corrugation
or groove so as to enable the central part of the said body to yield without
affecting the ends in which the caps or covering pieces are secured.
By reason of this arrangement any shock which the body of the warmer may
have to sustain cannot be transmitted to the said ends. To provide still further
against any motion of the ends I rivet an iron ring to the interior surface of each
of the said ends. These rings are each provided in the middle with a strong stay-
bar which also serves as a handle for the warmer.
As thus constructed, the foot-warmers are enabled to withstand any shock they
may have to sustain through careless handling or other causes.
In the interior of
the foot-warmner I may arrange suitable supporting pieces or rings.
Attached to the foot warmer are preferably two valves, one of which opens by
exhaustion, the other being operated by hand.
•
The first mentioned valve is provided with a suitable spring for keeping it
normally closed. As the acetate of soda within the warmer expands the said
valve is forced upon its seat proportionately to the pressure within the warmer.
At the moment of crystallization a contraction occurs, the valve consequently
opens by the vacuum created thereby allowing a certain quantity of air, which is
required for the acetate to crystallize, to enter the warmer.
The second valve above referred to serves for the escape of the expanded air
when the acetate commences to boil. This valve may be employed alone, that is
to say without the first mentioned valve, but in this case it must be opened when
the acetate is to crystallize.

page_text: According to a modification of the said invention I provide a copper tube
without a seam, and having great resisting strength. The said tube is closed at
the ends by east or wrought-iron plates which are soldered or brazed to the copper
tube. One of these end plates is provided with a small tube through which the
acetate of soda is introduced into the warmer.
The said small tube protrudes beyond the outer surface of the end plate to
which it is attached and extends some distance into the interior space of the
foot-warmer.
One end plate has a disc valve which operates similarly to the valve last
mentioned. The said valve consists of a cylindrical projection on the end plate,
from the centre of which projection a rod protrudes serving as an axis for a disc
The latter is retained and pressed against the cylindrical projection by a washer
and a nut on the said rod The disc and the cylindrical projection are each
provided with a small hole so that, when these two holes coincide, air is admitted
into the interior of the foot-warmer. As the valve must close hermetically the
said nut is firmly screwed down or the said rod may have a second-screw-thread
with which the thread in the disc corresponds. The two holes for the admission
of air are easily caused to coincide, but when the disc is turned from left to right,
they are removed from each other, and at the same time the disc turning upon the
threaded bolt is pressed against the cylindrical projection thus ensuring the
hermetic closing of the valve.
This arrangement permits the admission of air into the warmer as necessary.
Experience has convinced the communicator of this invention that it suffices, in
order to prevent too much fusion and to cause the acetate to crystallize at a given
moment, to admit a little air into the warmer thereby preserving the heat as long
as may be desired in foot-warmers heated by means of acetate of soda.
Triad :l. anet 3. t Tin, 1001
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Co Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of
my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO FOOT-WARMERS " and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to that class of foot-warmers which are heated by means
of acetate of soda.
According to the said invention I provide means for making the body of a foot-
warmer flexible. To this end I form, near each end of the body, a deep corrugation
or groove so as to enable the central part of the said body to yield without affecting
the ends in which the caps or covering pieces are secured. By reason of this
arrangement any shock which the body of the warmer may have to sustain cannot
be transmitted to the said ends. To provide still further means against any motion
of the said ends I rivet an iron ring to the interior surface of each of the said ends.
These rings are each provided in the middle with a strong stay-bar, which also
serves as a handle for the warmer. As thus constructed, the foot-warmers are
enabled to withstand any shock they may have to sustain through careless handling,
or other causes. In the interior of the foot-warmer I may arrange suitable sup-
porting pieces or rings.
.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a top-view of a foot-warmer constructed according to my invention.
· Figure 2 is a vertical section thereof on the line A. B, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an end elevation and
د
Figure 4 is a cross section on the line C D, Figure 1.
Figures 5 and 6 are views of details hereinafter referred to.
Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a modified form of foot-warmer.
Figure 8 is an end view thereof.
Figure 9 is a vertical section of the end plate on the line E F, Figure 8.
Figures 10, 11 and 12 are views, drawn to an enlarged scale, of a valve, Figure 10
being a section, Figure 11 a top view of the valve when closed and Figure 12 a
similar view when open.
a is the shell of the warmer and a¹ a¹ the corrugations thereof. b b are the caps
or covering pieces, and c c the supporting rings in the interior of the warmer.
dd are the iron rings rivetted to the ends of the shell a, and provided with stay-
bars d serving also as handles..
Attached to the foot-warmer are preferably two valves, as illustrated by Figures 5
and 6, one of which (Figure 5) opens by exhaustion, the other (Figure 6) being
operated by hand. The first mentioned valve is provided with a suitable spring e
for keeping it normally closed. As the acetate of soda within the warmer expands
the said valve f is forced upon its seat f¹ proportionately to the pressure within
the warmer. At the moment of crystallization a contraction occurs, the valve
consequently opens by the vacuum created, thereby allowing a certain quantity of
air, which is required for the acetate to crystallize, to enter the warmer.

page_text: .
The second valve g above referred to serves for the escape of the expanded air
when the acetate commences to boil. This valve g is provided with an excentrical
perforation h and the valve-seat gl with a corresponding perforation . When the
valve is turned in such a way as to cause both perforations to coincide, the air may
pass through. It may be employed alone, that is to say, without the first mentioned
valve f, but in this case it must be opened when the acetate is to crystallize.
A modification of the said invention is illustrated by Figures 7 to 12.
According to this modification I provide a copper tube k without a seam and
having great resisting strength. This tube is closed at the ends by cast or wrought
iron plates i, which are soldered or brazed to the copper tube. One of these end-
plates is provided with a small tube through which the acetate of soda is
introduced into the warmer. The said tube protrudes beyond the outer surface
of the end plate i and is closed by means of a.screw-cap or other stoppering device.
One end plate has a disc-valve, which operates similarly to the valve g. It
consists of a cylindrical projection m on the end-plate, from the centre of which
projection a rod n protrudes serving as the axis for the disc o. The latter is
retained and pressed against the projection m by the nut p, a spiral spring q being
inserted between the nut p and the basis of the disc o for securing an elastic
pressure.
The disc o is provided with a slot 8 and the projection m with a hole r, so that
when both openings coincide the air may pass through. This arrangement permits
the admission of air into the warmer as necessary.
Experience has convinced the communicator of this invention that it suffices, in
order to prevent too much fusion and to cause the acetate to crystallize at a given
moment, to admit air, into the warmer thereby preserving the heat as long as may
be desired in foot-warmers heated by means of acetate of soda.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. In a foot-warmer, the combination of the flexible shell a provided with
corrugations a¹ near to its extremities, with the stiffening rings d and c, sub-
stantially as set forth.
.
Second. The method hereinbefore described of preserving heat to any desired
extent in foot-warmers heated by acetate of soda, and consisting in hermetically
closing such warmers when heated and admitting air to their interiors when the
heat is to be produced.