IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING ROOMS OR OTHER PLACES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Yate Johnson of 47. Lincoln's Inn Fields in the
County of Middlesex Gentleman for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REFRIGERATING OR COOLING ROOMS OR OTHER PLACES, AND IN THE APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN." A communication to him from abroad by Jenn Baptisto
Java Mignon and Stanislas Henri Rouart both of Paris in the Republic of
France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Yate Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st November 1882.
JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman “IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING ROOMS OR OTHER
PLACES AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN "
a communication to ine
from abroad by Jean Baptiste Java Mignon and Stanislas Henri Rouart both of
Paris in the Republic of France.
This Invention has for its object to effect the cooling of rooms or spaces in which
it is necessary to maintain a freo circulation of air such for example as cellars for
storing or treating beer.
For this purpose a refrigerating apparatus of any suitable construction is
employed to cool a hygrometric or other uncongealable liquid which serves as the
cooling agent at the place where it is desired to lower or maintain the temperature.
The refrigerating agent is preferably caused to act upon a current of air supplied
by a fan or other suitable mechanical arrangement.
In order to avoid waste of cold care should be taken to lower the temperature of
the air as much as possible before it is delivered to the refrigerating apparatus by
any convenient cooling arrangement such for example as by bringing the air in
contact with cold water or by passing it underground or by means of the cold air
issuing from the cold room.
In carrying out this Invention a refrigerating apparatus of ordinary construction
and a pump for producing the circulation of the uncongealable liquid are employed
in combination with a fan for the supply of air The cooling agent or uncongealable
liquid is conducted by suitable pipes to a series of channels conducting the said
cooling agent through the cold room or chamber.

page_text: These channels are composed of open troughs so connected together at the ends
as to form one continuous and watertight conduit. This conduit or channel
is covered on its underside with nonconducting materials such for example
as wood or fibre to prevent the formation of hoar frost thereon-The trough is
supplied with uncongealable liquid; the best level for this liquid in the trough
must be ascertained by experiment and may be controlled by means of a regulator
placed at the extremity of the channel or conduit.
This regulating apparatus may consist of a small slide the upper edge of which
is provided with a spout or lip-By setting this slide at the required height the
level at which the liquid overflows from the troughs is adjusted the overflowing
liquid being collected in a vessel c whence it is returned to the pump employed for
producing the circulation.
An air pipe having a longitudinal slit or opening or a series of small holes in its
underside is placed in the trough or channel and is supplied with air under pressure
by means of tho fan or blowing apparatus D. When a slit is employed the
elasticity of the sides of the pipe affords a ready means for adjusting the width of
the opening for which purpose a series of small rings or collars provided with
screws may be employed to compress the pipe.
The air pipe is partially immersed in the uncongealable liquid in the troughs, and
the air is forced through the opening or openings in the lower side of the air pipe
in a state of fine division This air bubbles through the said liquid becoming
cooled by direct contact therewith and is thus distributed in the room or chamber
that is to be refrigerated-It is evident that the troughs and pipes may be arranged
at any desired height The important feature being that the cold is conveyed by
means of an uncongealable liquid and is thus supplied practically without waste to
the place where it is required.
The air pipe may be supported by screw supports which enable the level of the
pipe to be altered to regulate the amount of cold at any particular part of the place
being cooled. The shape of the trough may vary from the form of a wide and
shallow channel to that of a trough or tube with an opening in its upper side.
It is important in order to work the apparatus economically to take advantage
as far as possible of natural means for lowering the temperature of the air which is
supplied to the refrigerating apparatus. For example the ground at a certain
distance below the surface is of a low temperature and spring water is also of a low
temperature therefore coils or series of pipes may be arranged at a certain distance
from the rooms or chambers that are to be cooled and the air from the fan or
blowing apparatus be caused to pass through these pipes before entering the
refrigerator.
When an enclosed space is maintained at a low temperature by means of a
current of air this air must necessarily issue from the cold space at a low tempera-
ture and may be advantageously employed to produce the preliminary cooling or
to assist the preliminary cooling of the air supplied by the fan. For this purpose
the air from the fan is caused to pass through a cooler consisting of pipes buried in
the ground or through a cooler of special construction hereinafter described or
through both.
The cooling apparatus or apparatus for effecting an interchange of temperature
may be constructed in any form adapted to cause the cold air from the cold room
to circulate on one side of plates pipes or partitions whilst the comparatively warın
air supplied by the fan circulates on the other side. The currents of cold and warm
air preferably circulate in opposite directions. According to the arrangement
preferably adopted the cooling apparatus for utilising the cold air is provided with
tubes connected to a case or collector enclosed in another or outer case-The cold
air enters the outer case and passes along an annular space formed around the tubes
The moisture
herein before referred to by tubes connected to the said outer case.
contained in the cooled air in the inner tubes is deposited in the collector and is
drawn off by a syphon and the cold air thus freed from moisture passes through
the inner tubes to the refrigerator-The apparatus hereinbefore referred to

page_text: consisting of pipes buried in the ground is constructed in an analogous manner but
the external case and tubes are dispensed with.
These apparatus for effecting an exchange of temperature may also be employed
in connection with ice houses of ordinary construction In this case the air which
is to be cooled is caused to pass along the inner tubes whilst the air escaping from
the ice house circulates in the outer tubes that is to say in the annular space
surrounding the inner tubes. The apparatus may be placed in a horizontal or
inclined position as may be found most convenient for making the connections
with the passages for the supply and delivery of air. In many cases the pre-
liminary cooling apparatus may be simplified for example by arranging the internal
tubes and case herein before described in the outlet passage leading from the cold
room the air to be supplied to the ice house or cold room being caused to pass
through these tubes whilst the cold air escaping from the ice house circulates outside
them-If required the motion of the escaping air may be accelerated by mechanical
means or by heat.
In certain cases it is necessary to destroy as far as possible the germs existing in
the air in order to prevent fermentation this destruction is effected when the
temperature of the uncongealable liquid through which the air is caused to pass is
sufficiently low and the purifying action may be made more effective by means of
filters of cotton or other material placed at any convenient point in the air passage.

page_text: :
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Yate Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st May
1883.
JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman "IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING ROOMS OR OTHER
" a communication to me
PLACES AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
from Jean Baptiste Java Mignon and Stanislas Henri Rouart both of Paris in the
Republic of France
This Invention has for its object to effect the cooling of rooms or spaces in
which it is necessary to maintain a free circulation of air such for example as
cellars for storing or treating beer.
For this purpose a refrigerating apparatus of any suitable construction is
employed to cool a hygrometric or other uncongealable liquid which serves as the
cooling agent to cool the air at the place where it desired to lower or maintain-the-
temperature. The refrigerating agent is preferably caused to act upon a current
of air supplied by a Fan or other blowing apparatus.
In order to avoid waste of cold care should be taken to lower the temperature of
the air as much as possible before it is delivered to the refrigerating apparatus by
any convenient cooling arrangement such for example as by bringing the air into
contact with cold water or by-passing it underground or by means of the cold air_
issuing from the cold room as hereinafter described.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the corresponding figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing is a vertical section and Figure 2 is a
horizontal section of a chamber or building provided with arrangements for
refrigerating or cooling according to this Invention. Figures 3, 4 and 5 are details
hereinafter referred to.
Referring to figures 1 and 2, A is a room or chamber to be cooled and B is a
refrigerating apparatus which may be of ordinary construction The circulation of
the uncongealable liquid is produced by means of a pump C and the supply of air
is obtained by means of a fan D-A pipe E supplies the chamber A with the
cooling agent or uncongealable liquid which returns to the refrigerator by a return
pipe F. A series of troughs or channels G conduct the cooling agent through the
cold room or chamber A the dimensions of the said troughs or channels being
proportioned in accordance with the degree of cold that it is desired to obtain.
These troughs or channels G as shewn in the cross section drawn to a larger scale
in Figure 3 are composed of earthenware or enamelled or other metal so constructed
and connected together at the ends as to form one continuous and watertight
conduit covered on its outer side with nonconducting materials B such for example
as wood or fibre to prevent the formation of hoar frost thereon owing to the freezing
of the condensed vapor which would be liable to give rise to an objectionable drip
of water when the working of the apparatus is interrupted. The troughs G are
supplied with uncongealable liquid to say about the level shewn in Figure 3 and
the level may be controlled by means of a regulator placed at the extremity or
other part of the channel or conduit.
This regulating apparatus may be constructed as shewn in the detail Figure 5
consisting of a small slide d over which the liquid is caused to flow so that by
setting this slide at the required height the level at which the liquid overflows from

page_text: the troughs may be adjusted as required the overflowing liquid being collected
in a vessel c whence it is returned to the pump employed for producing the
circulation.
Air pipes W having a longitudinal slit or opening or a series of small holes in the
underside as shewn at g (see detail figure 3) are placed in the troughs or channels G
and supplied with air under pressure by means of a supply pipe T connecting them
with the fan or blowing apparatus D figures 1 and 2.
When the air pipes W are provided with a slit the elasticity of the said pipes
affords a ready means for adjusting the width of the opening for which purpose a
series of small rings or collars / provided with screws may be employed to compress
the pipe as indicated in Figure 3.
The air pipes W are partly immersed in the uncongealable liquid in the
troughs G and are supplied with air under sufficient pressure to enable the air to
overcome the resistance of the uncongealable liquid in the trough and escape
through the slit or opening or openings g in a state of fine division the said air in
bubbling through the said liquid becoming cooled by direct contact therewith and
is immediately distributed in the room or chamber that is to be refrigerated. It is
evident that the troughs and pipes may be arranged at any desired level in the
chamber A the important feature being that the cold is conveyed by means of an
uncongealable liquid and is thus supplied practically without waste to the place.
where it is required.
The air pipes W may be supported by screw supports as at m which may rest on
the troughs or be otherwise so arranged as to enable the level of the air pipes to
be altered to regulate the amount of cold at any particular part of the place being
cooled. The shape of the trough may vary from the form of a wide and shallow.
channel to that of a trough or tube with a narrow opening in its upper sido..
It is important in order to work the apparatus economically to take advantage
as far as possible of natural means for lowering the temperature of the air which
is supplied to the pipes W. For example the ground at a certain distance below
the surface is of a low temperature and spring water is also of a low temperature
therefore coils or series of pipes XX buried in the ground may be arranged at a
certain distance from the rooms or chambers that are to be cooled as shown in
Figures 1 and 2 and the air from the fan or blowing apparatus D be caused to pass
through these pipes before entering the refrigerator B.
..
When an enclosed space is maintained at a low temperature by means of a
current of air this air must necessarily issue from the cold space in a relatively cold
condition and may be advantageously employed to produce or replace the pre-
liminary cooling or to assist the preliminary cooling of the air supplied by the fan.
For this purpose the apparatus illustrated in figure 4 may be employed. The air.
from the fan being cooled by passing first through the cooler X X and then
through the apparatus shown in Figure 4 or by passing through the latter
apparatus only.
}
This cooling apparatus or apparatus for effecting a preliminary cooling or
interchange of temperature may be constructed in any form adapted to cause the
cold air from the cold room to circulate on one side of plates pipes or partitions
whilst the comparatively warın entering air circulates on the other side. The
currents of cold and warm air preferably circulate in opposite directions the course
of the former being indicated by arrows in dotted lines and that of the latter by
arrows in full lines in the drawing-According to the arrangement illustrated in
Figure 4 the apparatus is provided with an air tube T leading to a case or
collector T enclosed in another case C. The cold air enters the case C³ at C¹ and
escapes along an annular space E formed around the air tube or pipe T' by tubes
as at D connected to the case C?. The air to be cooled enters at T enters the
collector T where the moisture contained in the said air is deposited in the said :
collector T and is drawn off by a syphon H and the cooled air thus freed from-
moisture enters the pipe T leading to the arrangement of cooling apparatus herein...

page_text: before described The apparatus X X acts on the same principle as the
apparatus represented in figure 4 the external case and tubës being dispensed
with.
.T
The apparatus for effecting an exchange of temperature may also be employed
in connection with ice houses of ordinary construction-In this case the air which
is to be cooled is 'caused to pass along the inner tubes whilst the air escaping from
the ice house circulates in the outer tubes, that is to say, in the annular space
surrounding the inner tubes. The apparatus may be placed in a horizontal or in
an inclined position as may be found most convenient for making the connections
with the passages for the supply and delivery of air. In many cases the pre-
liminary cooling apparatus may be simplified for example by employing the
internal parts only of the apparatus illustrated in figure 4 and arranging these
parts in the outlet passage the air to be supplied to the ice house or cold room
being caused to pass through them-If required the motion of the escaping air
may be accelerated by mechanical means or by heat.
In certain cases it is necessary to destroy as far as possible the gering existing in
the air in order to prevent fermentation :-this destruction is effected when the
temperature of the uncongealable liquid through which the air is caused to pass is
sufficiently low and the purifying action may be made still more effective by means
of filters of cotton or other material placed at any convenient point in the air
passage.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is:
First Refrigerating rooms or chambers by forcing air through cooled
uncongealable liquid or cooling agent circulating in troughs or conduits situated in
the room or place to be cooled substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Second: In refrigerating or cooling rooms or other places by means of a current
or currents of air under pressure cooling the air by causing it to come into direct
contact with a cooling agent or liquid at the place where the temperature is to be
lowered or maintained.
Third-In refrigerating or cooling rooms or other places by means of a current
or currents of air under pressure causing the air to undergo a first preliminary
cooling by coming into contact with spring water or with the ground and a second
preliminary cooling by causing the said air to transfer a portion of its heat to the
cold air issuing from the place where the cold is to be applied substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fourth-In refrigerating or cooling rooms or other places by means of a current
or currents of air under pressure destroying the germs in the air by causing the air
to come into direct contact with an uncongealable liquid or cooling agent at an
extremely low temperature with or without the employment of filters substantially
as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fifth: In refrigerating chambers or apparatus of the class hereinbefore described
the provision of means for varying the intensity of the cold at different parts of
the chamber by regulating the relative level or height of the liquid in the trough
and of the air pipes substantially as herein before described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Sixth-In refrigerating or cooling rooms or other places by means of a current
or currents of air under pressure subjecting the air to a preliminary cooling by
causing it to transfer a portion of its heat to the cold air issuing from the chamber
or cold room substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.

page_text: Seventh-The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
apparatus for refrigerating or cooling rooms or other places substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
In witness whereof I the said James Yate Johnson have to this my speci-
fication set my hand and seal this thirtieth day of April One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three
JAMES. Y. JOHNSON (L.B.)