CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND INSTRUMENTS FOR VENTILATION AND RESPIRATION
Year: 1846

page_text: HIONS SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WROUGHTON, of Eltham Place, Kennington, in the County of Surrey, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-six, in the tenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Wroughton, my
exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege,
and authority, that I, the said Thomas Wroughton, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Wroughton, my exors, admors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and also in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney,
Sarke, and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND
INSTRUMENTS FOR VENTILATION AND RESPIRATION;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso, that I, the said Thomas Wroughton, shall cause a par-
ticular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Wroughton, hereby declare that the nature of my said improvements,
and in what manner the same are to be performed, are fully described in and
by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
My Invention consists, firstly, of an improved apparatus for ventilating
public buildings, dwelling-houses, or apartments of dwelling-houses, granaries,
stables, conservatories, hot-houses, and generally all inclosed places requiring to
be kept, or which
may be desirable to keep, at certain given temperatures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents a front elevation of
this apparatus in its complete state, and Figure 2 a vertical elevation, in section,
of the same, as attached to an aperture in the wall of the public building or
other place required to be ventilated. A, A, is a plate of metal, glass, or other
suitable material, shewn separately in Figure 3, which is securely fixed over
the aperture B in the wall C, C. D¹, D', D³, D³, are two sets of parallel slots
or louvres, which are cut out horizontally in the plate A, A, and are exactly
opposite the one to the other. E, E, are two sliding plates (one of which is
separately shewn in Figure 4), which have slots or louvres cut in them exactly
corresponding with those marked D¹ and D³, in the plate A, and shut or
open the latter wholly or partially, according as the plates (E, E) are raised
or lowered. F, F, are small fillets of metal fixed upon the face of the plate
A, A, which permit the plates E, E, to slide freely up or down, but at the
same time keep the surfaces of the two plates (A and E) in a state of rubbing
contact with each other. G is a small beam, which is centered upon a pin H
in the plate A. From this beam the two slides E, E, are suspended by rods
I, I. The two ends of the beam with the rods and slides attached thereto are
made as nearly as possible to balance each other. 0, 0, is a semicircle of
louvres, cut out in the top of the plate A, which are opened and shut wholly or
partially by means of a semicircular sliding plate 0%, having louvres in it
corresponding with the others, and attached to the beam G, by the rising and
falling of which it is turned round to one side or the other. When the beam
G lays in a horizontal direction, then the whole of the louvres in the plate A
(D', D, and O) are covered by the entire parts of the slides E, E, and O³,
and all communication with the external atmosphere through these orifices is
stopped; but when the bearn G is inclined either to the one side or the other,
the louvres in all the three series of plates D¹, D³, and O simultaneously open,
either for the ingress of fresh air into the apartment, or for the egress of over-
heated or vitiated air. The means by which I cause this arrangement of slides
and louvres to be acted upon by an increase or decrease of temperature in the

page_text: building or apartment are as follows:-K, K, is a compound bent tube of glass
or metal, closed at both ends. To the lower end of this tube there is attached
another bent tube L, the open end of which terminates in a perpendicular piece
M. The former of these tubes (K) is filled with spirit of wine, or any other
fluid, the bulk of which is materially affected by small increments of tempera-
ture. The latter L is partially filled with mercury, upon the surface of which
there floats a small piston N attached to one of the slides E. As the spirit of
wine or other fluid becomes augmented in bulk by any rise of temperature, the
surface of the mercury rises in the limb M of the tube L, and forcing up the
piston N causes the slides E, E, and beam G to move, and so open a com-
munication through the louvres D', D³, and O, with the external atmosphere.
When the atmosphere in the room has been sufficiently cooled down by the
fresh air this admitted, then the spirit of wine or other fluid assumes its former
bulk, and the surface of mercury falls in the tube M. The weight of the
piston N then falls upon the slide E to which it is attached, and, thereby
causes it and the beam G also to assume their original position together with
all the other parts attached to them, and so close up the louvres or openings..
To set the apparatus in working order, so that it may open or close the
slides E, E, at any definite degree of temperature, the piston N may be
screwed further up or down the small rod, by which it is attached to the
slide E.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of this improved ventilator, as applied to a
window, and Figure 6 a vertical section of Figure 5. The arrangements are
in every respect, in so far as regards the ventilator, the same as those repre-
sented in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive.
Secondly, my Invention consists of an improved apparatus or instrument
to be used for respiration, which is represented in Figures 7 to 13 of the Draw-
ings hereunto annexed. Figure 7 is a side view of the instrument; Figure 8 is
an end view; Figure 9, a plan of the top; Figure 10, a plan of the bottom;
Figure 11, a cross section; and Figure 12, a perspective view. The object
of the instrument is to interpose between the organs of resparation and the
external atmosphere an ante-chamber, where the air to be inspired may be pre-
viously warmed, and where also it may be intermixed, if desired, with any any
medicinal vapour or odour. It consists of a flat rectangular case, perforated
on its inner and outer faces A and B (or in other words, at top and bottom)
with numerous small holes, and curved to fit the space between the lips and
gums, so that it may be held there by the mere compression of the lips; and
be externally invisible, or nearly so, when in use. The inner face or top of
the case (A) turns on a hinge, so as to admit of ready access to the interior.

page_text: When the object is merely to elevate the temperature of the air inspired, the
case is filled with one, two, or more layers of sponge. The air being inhaled
through these layers becomes warmed, and the warmth produced is in pro-
portion to the thickness of sponge which the air has to traverse. When it
is desired to medicate the inhaled air, the medicating substance employed is
placed between two or more layers of sponge. The pieces of sponge are to be
taken out and renewed or washed, dried, and replaced, as occasion may
require, and the medicating substance must also be renewed from time to
time. The instrument is manufactured of metal, and I prefer making it of
silver, as being less liable than most other metals to be affected by the saliva
or other matters to which it is exposed. It may be worn in the pocket or
packed up in a small box, containing a supply of sponge and other appliances,
as represented in Figures 13 and 14, in which E represents the respirator;
F, a bottle containing sponge; G, another bottle for holding the medicated
substance intended to be used; and H, a pair of tongs, with a brush for
emptying and cleansing out the instrument.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,-
First, the ventilating apparatus herein-before described, so far as regards
the peculiar system or principle of action on which it depends, and the
general arrangement and combination of the parts of which the same consists.
And, second, the improved respirator herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wroughton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
THOMAS (L.B.) WROUGHTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Thomas Wroughton came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification. aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.