Improvements in Apparatus for Humidifying and Regulating the Atmosphere in Factories, Workrooms, and Buildings.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 15th May, 1891-Accepted, 20th June, 1891..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Humidifying and Regulating the
Atmosphere in Factories, Workrooms, and Buildings.
I, HENRY MERCER GIRDWOOD, of Broughton Flax Mills, Manchester, in. the
County of Lancaster, Flax Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for humidifying and regulating
the atmosphere in factories, workrooms and buildings, and the object of my invention
is to humidify and otherwise regulate the atmosphere in factories workrooms and
buildings and also to prevent the admission of dirt smuts and other impurities with
the air supplied through the apparatus to the room.
The improved apparatus consists of a pipe or tube placed preferably vertically
and connected near the bottom with the outside of the room from which the air
supply is drawn or forced by means of a fan or equivalent. The lower part of the
vertical pipe forms or is in communication with a cistern or reservoir which is kept
supplied with water, a pipe below the water level passes from the cistern to a
circulating pump which raises the water and conveys it to a rose or other distributor
fixed centrally at or near the top of the pipe the water falling again into the
cistern.
When the pump is set in motion the water will be drawn from the cistern. and
discharged with any desired pressure through the rose the supply of air, which is
drawn through the apparatus by the fan, meeting the fine spray absorbs some of the
water and thereby passes into the room in a moist condition.
A single fan can be used for several of the apparatus and each apparatus can be
fitted with any number of pipes for conducting the moist air to any desired part of
the room, the pipes being fitted with dampers if desired to regulate the distribution
of moist air.
The temperature of the room may be regulated by employing either hot or cold
water as required.
By discharging the water in the form of a very fine spray dirt and other
impurities would be separated from the air passing through the apparatus and carried
down into the water cistern; but the air may be also purified by first passing it
through a filter such as perforated metal sheets having cotton wool, charcoal or other
suitable substance between them.
Dated this 21st day of August 1890.
H. B. BARLOW,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Humidifying and Regulating the
Atmosphere in Factories, Workrooms, and Buildings.
I, HENRY MERCER Girdwood, of Broughton Flax Mills, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Flax Spinner, 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 relates to improvements in apparatus for humidifying and regulating
the atmosphere in factories, workrooms and buildings, and the object of my invention
is to humidify and otherwise regulate the atmosphere in factories workrooms and
Price 8d1

page_text: buildings and also to prevent the admission of dirt smuts and other impurities with
the air supplied through the apparatus to the room.
The improved apparatus consists of a pipe or tube placed preferably vertically
and connected near the bottom with the outside of the room from which the air
supply is drawn or forced by means of a fan or equivalent. The lower part of the
vertical pipe forms or is in communication with a cistern or reservoir which is kept
supplied with water; a pipe below the water level passes from the cistern to a
circulating pump which raises the water and conveys it to a rose or other dis-
tributor fixed centrally at or near the top of the pipe the water falling again into
the cistern.
When the circulating pump is set in motion the water will be drawn from the
cistern and discharged with any desired pressure through the rose, the supply of
air, which is drawn through the apparatus by the fan meeting the fine spray absorbs
some of the water and thereby passes into the room in a moist condition.
And in order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will describe the accompanying sheet of drawings reference being had to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front sectional elevation of an apparatus made according to my
invention, for humidifying and regulating the atmosphere of a factory or workroom,
and Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevation of the same.
In these views, a represents the wall of the workroom against which is
fitted an upright tube or chamber ; this chamber is open to a hole a¹
made through the wall and so arranged that the opening can be shut or
partially closed by a door or damper c controlled from the inside of the room
by a handle d.
The lower part of the chamber forms a cisterne which is supplied with
water as required by a pipe f regulated by a ball cock; also fitted in the
cistern is a coil of steam pipes g supplied with steam when required and con-
trolled by a suitable tap or cock g₁ and there is a waste cock for emptying the
cistern.
A pipe conducts the water from the cisterne through a filter to a circulating
pump by which it is pumped into a pipe fitted near the top of the chamber b
and furnished with any suitable number of rose sprinklers or spray producers n; in
this case three are shown. The spray as it falls from the sprinklers n is collected
in the cistern e and the water thereby is utilized over and over again until it is
absorbed.
The upper part of the chamber b is connected to a pipe o which is carried any
suitable distance across near the top of the workroom and provided with openings o¹
through which the air admitted at a¹ to the humidifier is discharged into the
room.
In operation the cistern is kept supplied with water which is circulated by the
pump and discharged in the form of fine spray through the sprinklers n. A
current of air is drawn into the workroom through the opening a' by a fan, not
shown, and this air meeting the water spray and being drawn through it is washed
and cleansed of impurities before it arrives at the top of the chamber in which
condition it enters the pipe o and passes into the room through the openings o' in a
cool and moist condition.
In place of using a fan in the room or outside it to induce the current of air
through the humidifying apparatus the air could be forced under pressure through
the opening a' and the exhaust fan dispensed with; the quantity of air admitted is
regulated by setting the damper c. When it is desired to warm as well as to moisten
the atmosphere the water in the reservoir is heated by the steam coil g or in other
convenient manner.
For workrooms of moderate size a single apparatus with one discharge pipe such
as o may suffice but in cases where more than one apparatus is necessary a single
pump could be arranged to circulate the water through all and each apparatus

page_text: could be fitted with any desired number of discharge pipes for the moistened air to
enter the room.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The improved humidifying apparatus consisting of a chamber, a water cistern,
a circulating pump connected to the cistern and to sprinklers or spray pro-
ducers, and air inlet to the chamber and an outlet to the same through which the
air drawn or forced into the chamber and moistened by the spray producers is
discharged substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination and arrangement constituting the improved humidifying
apparatus substantially as described and as illustrated by the drawing.
Dated this 14th day of May 1891.
H. B. BARLOW,
17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agent for Applicant.