AN IMPROVEMENT IN AIR REFRIGERATING APPARATUS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, OLIVER JOSOLYNE ELLIS of Dartford in the county of Kent Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN AIR
REFRIGERATING APPARATUS" and in what, manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
.
In my Specification No 1485 of 1883, I described the arrangement of the steam
cylinder, the air compressing pump and the air expanding cylinder of an air
refrigerating apparatus, all placed side by side on one framing above the air coolers,
and having their pistons connected to cranks on one fly-wheel shaft. My present
invention relates to certain modifications in apparatus of this kind, whereby
I simplify the construction and arrangement and obtain improved efficiency and
economy; as I will explain referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan shewing the general arrangement?
Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section and
Fig. 3 is an end view.
r
5
The other figures which are drawn to an enlarged scale, are
Fig. 4 a longitudinal section of the air expanding cylinder.
Fig. 5 a transverse section; the right hand half taken on the-line X X of fig.
and the left hand half taken on Y. Y. A modification of the valve shewn in figs. 4
and 5 is represented in fig. 6 à longitudinal section and in fig. 7 a transverse
section, the right half on X X of fig. 6 and the left half on Y Y.
A is the steam cylinder, the exhaust from which passes by a pipe a through the
tubes of a surface condenser B, whence an air pump C draws air and water of
condensation. The tubes in the condenser B are arranged as shewn at D, fig. 3
in two tiers. The exhaust steam passes from the cylinder along the tubes of the
upper tier and returns along those of the lower tier to the air pump C while water
is made to circulate around the tubes in B as well as those in the cooler D by the
circulating pump E, which, as shewn in fig. 2 is the front part of the cylinder, the
rear part of which constitutes the air pump C. The piston of the 'combined air
and circulating pumps C and E is worked by a beam e linked to the crosshead of
the steam piston. The piston rod of the pump passes through the end of C and
forms the plunger of a feed pump F which draws hot water by a pipe f from the
discharge chamber of the air pump C and sends it as feed to the boiler. It is
obvious that a pump arranged as described to act as an air pump at one end and

page_text: as a circulating pump at the other end is applicable generally to refrigerating
apparatus in which condensation of steam and cooling of air are effected.
G is the air compressing pump which has a slide valve operating as in my speci-
fication No 1485 of 1883 above referred to, but arranged above and not below the
cylinder as therein described. The pump Ġ draws air by a pipe g and discharges 5
it compressed by a pipe g¹ which descends below the cylinders and communicates.
with the tubes in the cooler D, that like those of the surface condenser B are
surrounded by water kept in circulation by the pump E. The pump G has a
jacket through which also water circulates, and the water after circulating through
this jacket and the cooler D not being greatly heated thereby may be used wholly
or partly for cooling the tubes of the surface condenser B. The compressed air
partly cooled in the cooler D is farther cooled by passing also through tubes in a
second cooler H, these tubes being surrounded by cold air coming from the
refrigerating chamber on its way to the pipe g leading to the compressing pump G,
the cooled compressed air from the tubes of the cooler H expands performing work
in the cylinder K thus being greatly reduced in temperature. From K it is led by
any suitable pipes or channels, preferably made of or cased with wood or material
which is a bad conductor of heat to the refrigerating chamber while air from the
refrigerating chamber returns to the casing of the cooler H, and passes thence to
the compressing pump G. The condenser B and the coolers D and H should be
cased and separated by wood or other imperfectly conducting material. The slides of
the cylinders A G and K are all of a double kind, one slide in each case being on
or within the other. Thus for the steam cylinder A there is a main slide with a
cut off or expansion slide working on the back of the main slide in the well known
manner. For the air compressor G there is also a main slide governing the passages
for suction and on the back of it a second slide governing the passages for discharge
as described in my Specification No. 1485 of 1883 above referred to. And for the
air expanding cylinder K, there is a main slide with a cut off or expansion slide
working within it as will presently be described with reference to figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7.
The three main slides are all rigidly attached to a bar L which is moved to and
fro in guides by links at each end of the bar connecting it to cranks (or eccentrics
at the ends of the main shaft. The three secondary slides are worked by arms of
a rocking shaft M an arm m of which is linked to the crosshead of the piston
of G.
In the case of A. the rod a² of the expansion slide is clear above that of the main
slide a³ as seen in fig. 2. In the case of G the main slide is worked by two rods g*
one on each side while the secondary slide is worked by a central rod g³. In the
case of K the rod k¹ of the secondary or internal slide passes through the tubular
rod of the main or external slide.
Such being the general arrangement of the apparatus, I will now describe by
reference to figs 4 and 5 the construction and arrangement of the main and
secondary slides for the air expanding cylinder, K. The main slide N is of annular
form worked by the tubular rod k². The secondary, or expansion slide P is also of
annular form fitted to slide within the main slide N and moved by the rod k¹. The
slide N is grooved internally and externally provided with packing rings to impede
leakage between the rubbing surfaces and it has suitable passages n for supply of
compressed air from the middle space when these passages uncover the cylinder
ports and are themselves uncovered by the slide P. The discharge of the expanded
air from the cylinder takes place at the ends of the slide N into casings Q whence
it is led to the refrigerating chamber. The main slide N figs. 4 and 5 being
When it is
cylindrical, wear may be provided for by introducing fresh liners 8.
desired to provide for wear without the need for fresh liners, I adopt the modified
construction shewn in figs. 6 and 7 in which the main slide N instead of being
cylindrical is rectangular, working between the facing of the cylinder K and the
inner surface of the, removeable cover R of the slide case., As the rubbing surfaces
wear, the joint of the cover R to the slide case can be carefully adjusted so as to
make good fit of the slide, without excess of friction,
F

page_text: Although, for the sake of clearness, I have described and shewn the three
cylinders of the apparatus arranged side by side on a frame above the coolers, I
make no claim to that arrangement nor to the use of a main and a secondary slide
to each cylinder, but what I claim is
1, In a refrigerating apparatus having three cylinders arranged side by side
each cylinder provided with a main and a secondary slide connecting the three main
slides to one bar linked at each end to cranks or eccentrics on the flywheel shaft
substantially as herein described.
2, The construction and use in refrigerating apparatus of a pump substantially
as described with reference to C E fig. 2 operating at the one end as an air pump
and at the other as a water circulating pump.
3, The construction of circular main slide with internal secondary slide for the
air expanding cylinder of refrigerating apparatus, substantially as described with
reference to figs. 4 and 5.
4. The construction of rectangular main slide with internal secondary slide for
the air expanding cylinder of refrigerating apparatus substantially as described with
reference to figs. 6 and 7.