Improvements in Means for causing a Heating or Cooling Agent to beed or automatically, for of Water or other Fluid, or for supplying a Heating or Cooling Agent, and cutting the in other cases where the of a Heating or Cooling Agent is required to be automatically controlled.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Means for causing a Heating or Cooling Agent to
be supplied or cut off automatically, for maintaining a practically
constant temperature of Water or other Fluid, or for supplying
a Heating or Cooling Agent, and cutting off the supply in other
cases where the supply of a Heating or Cooling Agent is required
to be automatically controlled.
I HENRY EDMUNDS of 39 Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, Electrical
Engineer Do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object improvements in means for causing a heating or
cooling agent to be supplied or cut off automatically for maintaining a practically
constant temperature of water or other fluid or for supplying a heating or cooling
agent and cutting off the supply in other cases where the supply of a heating or
cooling agent is required to be automatically controlled and it consists in the
combination with the means by which the supply of heating or cooling agent is
effected of a thermostat which is so acted upon by change of temperature that when
in the case of supplying a heating agent for example the temperature lowers below
the pre-determined normal temperature required to be maintained the thermostat
operates to cause a supply or an increased supply of the heating agent to be effected
and when the temperature increases to above the predetermined normal to cause the
supply of the heating agent to be lessened or cut off. The heating agent supplied
may be of any suitable kind such as electricity or steam or hot air. My Invention
is applicable to many various useful purposes such for example as for maintaining a
supply of hot water or liquid, for opening and closing a supply of steam or cooling
medium, for heating or cooling apartments or the like or for supplying to and cutting
off from a thermic wire or the like an electric current to prevent water pipes
stand pipes or the like from freezing. As applied for example to the maintaining
of a supply of hot water. The water is contained in any suitable receptacle and in,
or near to it, so as to be influenced by its temperature is a thermostat which moves
so that at the end of its traverse in one direction it makes a contact which causes an
electric current to be supplied to an electric heating apparatus for imparting heat
to the water in the said vessel and when the heating thereof is effected to the
required degree the thermostat will move so that by its traverse in the opposite
direction it causes the electric heating current to be discontinued. The thermostat
may make contacts at the reverse ends of its traverse so that current is supplied to
two electro magnets operating a switch lever to vary the contacts as required, and so
that if desired the circuit will only be broken as regards the heating apparatus and
continue to be supplied to other devices for which it may be required. The

page_text: drawing off of hot water is preferably effected from the upper part of the vessel and
a pipe dips down from a cold water supply to near the bottom of the said vessel so
that when hot water is drawn off a corresponding amount of cold water is supplied.
If a supply of steam for example is to be controlled for supplying heating apparatus
for apartments the thermostat (which is situated in the apartment or place the
temperature of which is to be regulated) may operate the steam valve in one or other
direction or it may make electric contacts which will supply electric current through
coils so wound as to cause the valve to be operated in one or the other direction
according to which contact is made by the thermostat one being made when the
thermostat moves in one direction under rise of temperature and the valve then
moved in the direction for cutting off supply of steam and when the thermostat
moves in the other direction under lowering of temperature the valve is moved in the
direction for opening the supply for steam. Similarly a supply of a cooling agent
may be controlled. Another application of the Invention for example is to water
supply pipes or to stand pipes for supplying water from the main in frosty weather,
so that they are prevented from freezing by the electric heating of a thermic wire or
the like inserted therein the application of my Invention automatically putting on
and cutting off the current at the required times. In cases where it is not convenient
to place the thermostat in such a position as to be acted upon by the temperature
of the water in the pipe (or the like) itself, it may be placed in a separate water
vessel subject to the same temperature through which a thermic wire in series with
the main one is passed so that the temperature of the separate vessel is the same as
that of the pipe or the like to be protected.
Although I have given the foregoing specific examples of my Invention it is not
limited to the purposes described as it can be analogously applied it will be evident
to numbers of other purposes.
Dated this 24th day of November 1896
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
Improvements in Means for causing a Heating or Cooling Agent to be
supplied or cut off Automatically, for maintaining a practically
constant temperatureof Water or other Fluid, or for supplying a
Heating or Cooling Agent, and cutting off the supply in other cases
where the supply of a Heating or Cooling Agent is required to be
Automatically Controlled.
I, HENRY EDMUNDS, of 39 Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, Electrical
Engineer, 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 :-
My Invention has for its object improvements in means for causing a heating or
cooling agent to be supplied or cut off automatically for maintaining a practically
constant temperature of water or other fluid or for supplying a heating or cooling
agent and cutting off the supply in other cases where the supply of a heating or
cooling agent is required to be automatically controlled and it consists in the
combination with the means by which the supply of heating or cooling agent is

page_text: effected of a thermostat which is so acted upon by change of temperature that when,
in the case of supplying a heating agent for example, the temperature lowers below
the predetermined normal temperature required to be maintained the thermostat
operates to cause a supply or an increased supply of the heating agent to be effected
and when the temperature increases to above the predetermined normal to cause the
supply of the heating agent to be lessened or cut off. The heating agent supplied
may be of any suitable kind such as electricity or steam or hot air. My invention
is applicable to many various useful purposes such for example as for maintaining a
supply of hot water or liquid, for opening and closing a supply of steam or a cooling
medium, for heating or cooling apartments or the like or for supplying to and cutting
off from a thermic wire or the like an electric current to prevent water pipes, stand
pipes or the like from freezing.
I will explain with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings the
application of my invention to the maintaining of a supply of hot water.
Figure 1 is a vertical section and
Figure 2 is a horizontal section without the automatic switch.
The water is contained in the vessel A (shewn as being lagged to prevent loss of heat),
and in a tube or pocket B depending into it so as to be influenced by the temperature
of the water in the vessel A is a thermostat C which moves under changes of
temperature so that at the end of its traverse in one direction it makes a contact
which actuates an automatic switch at D of any well-known form, and causes an
electric current to be supplied to an electric heating apparatus E for imparting heat
to the water in the said vessel A and when the heating thereof is effected to the
required degree, the thermostat will move so that by its traverse in the opposite
direction it causes the automatic switch D to be operated so that the electric heating
current to the heater E is discontinued. The thermostat C is shewn as making
contacts at the reverse ends of its traverse so that current is supplied to the two
electro magnets operating the automatic switch to vary the contacts as required, as
this will cause the circuit only to he broken as regards the heating apparatus and
continue to be supplied to other devices for which it may be required. The drawing
off of hot water is preferably effected from the upper part of the vessel A and by the
pipe a provided with a tap if desired and a pipe f dips down from a cold water supply
(which may be a vessel G at top of the vessel A) to near the bottom of the said
vessel so that when hot water is drawn off a corresponding amount of cold water is
supplied. This is shewn as being effected by a lever H centered at h and provided
with an external handle h2 so that when the handle and lever are moved in one
direction the displacer I connected to one end of the lever H displaces hot water which
flows off by the outlet a the tap of which is opened if one be used and at the same
time the weighted valve J connected to the other end of the lever H is raised and
cold water enters the vessel A from the vessel G or other source of supply. When
the handle is released the parts return to the position shewn.
e are tubes for the passage of the wires through the water to the heater E and i is
a tube for the passage of the rod from the lever H to the displacer I.
If a supply of steam for example is to be controlled for supplying heating apparatus
for apartments the thermostat (which is situated in the apartment or place the
temperature of which is to be regulated) may operate a steam valve arranged as shewn
in Figure 6 in one or other direction by making electric contacts which will supply
electric current through coils K and K2 so wound as to cause the valve L to be
operated in one or the other direction according to which contact is made by the
thermostat one being made when the thermostat moves in one direction in its
casing under rise of temperature and the valve then moved in the direction for
cutting off supply of steam through the pipe M as shewn in the drawing, and when
the thermostat moves in the other direction, under lowering of temperature, the
valve L is moved in the direction for opening the supply for steam through the
pipe M by reason of the annular groove in the valve coinciding with the pipe M.
Similarly a supply of a cooling agent may be controlled. Another application of the
invention for example, is to water supply pipes or to stand pipes for supplying water

page_text: from the main in frosty weather so that they are prevented from freezing by the
electric heating of a thermic wire or the like inserted therein the application of my
invention automatically putting on and cutting off the current at the required times.
This is illustrated in Figure 3 where N is the stand pipe, C is the thermostat in a
pipe B projecting into the stand-pipe, D is the automatic switch and E is the thermic
wire situated in the stand pipe and connected to a plug contact p by which connection
can be made with the electric supply when required. The thermic wire is preferably
covered with asbestos or the like and doubled upon itself and then armoured with
lead or other protector. In cases where it is not convenient to place the thermostat
in such a position as to be acted upon by the temperature of the water in the stand-
pipe (or the like) itself, it may be placed in a separate water vessel subject to the
same or approximately the same temperature through which a thermic wire in series
with the main one is passed, so that the temperature of the separate vessel is the same
as that of the pipe or the like to be protected.
Although I have given the foregoing specific examples of my invention it is not
limited to the purposes described as it can be analogously applied it will be evident
to numbers of other analogous purposes. For example in Figures 4 and 5, I have
shewn in longitudinal and cross sections a soldering iron heater consisting of a rest
Q beneath which is an electric heater E and a thermostat which under changes of
temperature regulates the supply of current to the heater by making and interrupting
electric contacts as hereinbefore described..
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
1. The combination with means for supplying a heating or cooling medium of a
thermostat which is acted upon by change of temperature in a fluid so as to effect a
supply of the said medium or a discontinuance of said supply substantially as
herein before described.
2. The combination with a stand pipe or other liquid supply apparatus for
preventing freezing thereof, of a thermic wire or the like and means for supplying
electricity thereto and a thermostat subjected to the changes of temperature in the
stand pipe or other liquid supply apparatus, or to the changes of temperature in a
liquid subject to like changes of temperature and means for causing the thermostat
to put onto, or cut off from, the thermic wire or the like the supply of electric current
when any predetermined limits of temperature are reached substantially as
hereinbefore described.
3. An apparatus for maintaining a supply of hot liquid or for keeping a liquid at
a given temperature the said apparatus consisting of the combination with a
heating device of a thermostat subjected to the action of the temperature of the
liquid and a device for supplying the heating agent to, or cutting it off from, the
heating device substantially as herein before described.
4. The combination with an apparatus as claimed by the preceding third claiming
clause of means for supplying fresh quantities of liquid to a container, in which the
liquid is heated, when liquid is drawn off therefrom substantially as hereinbefore
described.
5. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting an apparatus for
maintaining a supply of liquid, of a given temperature substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings..
6. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting an apparatus for
preventing the freezing of stand pipes or other liquid supply apparatus substantially
as herein before described and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
7. A soldering iron heater arranged as herein before described with reference to
Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
8. In apparatus for supplying a heating or cooling agent a valve having a plug
operated in one direction to open the valve and in the other direction to close it by

page_text: neans of magnetic coils which by means of a thermostat are alternately energized so
as to attract the plug of the valve and move it in opposite directions substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 18th day of August 1897.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.