IMPROVEMENTS IN Surface CONDENSERS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Allan, of Sunderland, in the County of
Durham, Engineer, for the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS IN Surface
CONDENSERS."
.
Sealed the 14th March 1871, and dated the 15th December 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Allan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th December 1870.
I, WILLIAM ALLAN, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SURFACE CONDENSERS," to be as follows:-
-
In constructing surface condensers I fix between the condenser tube
plates any convenient number of bolts or strong tubes. These bolts or
tubes I call guides or carriers, as they guide or carry a perforated or
scraping plate or plates, through which plate or plates the condenser
tubes pass. To these perforated or scraping plates I attach rods which
rods come out through the tube plates and tube box doors, having in
each case a small stuffing box in tube plate and tube box door, so as to
render them water-tight. To these rods are handles attached, it will

page_text: thus be seen that the perforated or scraping plate or plates can be drawn
along the tubes, thus removing any deposit that may be on them. The
perforated or scraping plates can be fitted doubly or singley into surface
condensers, that is to say, when doubly, they are drawn along the tubes
from the centre of the condenser towards the tube plates at each end;
when fitted singly they will be drawn from the tube plate at one end of
condenser to the tube plate at other end, in either case removing any
deposit on the tubes. It will also be seen that these scraping plates
by being thus carried on guide bolts serve as supports for. the condenser
tubes.
In horizontal surface condensers I prefer attaching to the bottom of
the cleaning plate a piece of india-rubber or other flexible substance.
This india-rubber bears on the bottom of the condenser, and as the plate
traverses carries the deposit with it into a recess at each end of condenser
bottom. On the sides of the condenser opposite each recess I have small
cleaning doors through which the deposit can be taken out.
SPECIFICATION "in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Allan in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I; WILLIAM
ALLAN, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham, Engineer, send
greeting.
..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Allan, Her special licence that I, the
said William Allan, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Allan, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SURFACE CONDENSERS," upon the
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page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Allan, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Allan, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :--
In constructing surface condensers I fix between the condenser tube
plates any convenient number of bolts or strong tubes. These bolts
or tubes I call guides or carriers as they guide or carry a perforated or
scraping plate or plates, through which plate or plates the condenser
tubes pass. To these perforated or scraping plates I attach rods, which
rods came out through the tube plates and tube box doors having in
each case a small stuffing box in the tube plate and tube box door so
as to render them water-tight. To these rods are handles attached. It
will thus be seen that the perforated or scraping plate or plates can
be drawn along the tubes, thus removing any deposit that may be on
them.
In order that my said Invention may be most full, undamband

page_text: the pulling rods g, g; theso pass through stuffing boxes h, h, in the
tube plates 6, and in the tube box doors d, and are connected by
the bridle handle i, by which they are from time to time drawn and
pushed to and fro along the tubes to clean them.
Figure 2 is an end view of the condenser with part of the tube box 5
door removed. The four guides or carriers lettered e, e, belong to one
pair of cleaning plates, and 9, 9, are the pulling rods attached thereto
with their stuffing boxes h, h, in the tube plate; i, i, are the bridle handles
of other pairs of tube plates. Figure 3 shows to a larger scale a front
view of one of the tube plates. Figure 4 is a section of a portion of the 1
tube plate b, and tube box door d, with the stuffing boxes h, h. Figure 5
is an end view, partly in section, of one of the stuffing boxes.
Figure 6 is a section of the scraping plates showing the method in
which the pulling rods 9 are connected with them. Figure 7 is also
a section of the scraping plates showing the manner in which they are 1
connected together, and in which they are supported on the guides or
carriers e, e. Figure 8 is a corresponding front view of one of the scraping
plates. The perforated or scraping plates can be fitted doubly or singly
into surface condensers, that is to say, when doubly they are drawn
along the tubes from the centre of the condenser towards the tube 2
plates at each end; when fitted singly they are drawn from the tube
plate at one end of condenser to the tube plate at other end, in either case
removing any deposit on the tubes. It will also be seen that these
scraping plates by being thus carried on guide bolts serve as supports
for the condenser tubes.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner of performing the same I would have it understood that what
I claim is the construction of surface condensers with a moveable
scraping plate or plates for the purpose of removing deposit from the
tubes substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I the said William Allan have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
WILLIAM ALLAN. (L.S.)
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