Improved Means of Imparting Humidity to the Air of and Ventilating Buildings.
Year: 1887

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Imparting Humidity to the Air of and
Ventilating Buildings.
A communication from abroad by GEORGE KESSELRING, of Turin, in the Kingdom
of Italy, Director of Cotton Factory.
I PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents 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:-
This invention relates to the art of ventilating buildings and it consists essentially
in structural features and combinations of parts whereby the desired results are
attained.
The object of the invention is to provide means whereby the temperature, as well as
the degree of moisture of the air in large rooms or halls may be kept approximately
constant and whereby a proper ventilation may be secured.
It is well known to the operatives as well as to the owners of cotton factories that
better products are obtained and less losses occur when the air in the rooms is of a
moderate temperature and contains a certain amount of moisture.
Under such atmospheric conditions the yarn or thread will have the flexibility and
elasticity necessary to facilitate cither the spinning or the weaving. On the other
hand if the atmosphere in the rooms is too high and too dry, the yarn or thread is
liable to break, thereby causing loss of time in tying and in inferior quality of
product.
It has been ascertained that the losses from this cause reach from 3% to 5%
and in some instances have reached as high as 10%.
An efficient system of ventilation combined with means for conveying moisture to
the air, and maintaining the temperature and degree of saturation practically constant,
is therefore of great value, not only so far as health is concerned, but also as a means
of economy in cotton factories.
Many systems have heretofore been proposed and used, such as suction and blast
fans, draft chimneys and the like, these however all lack the essential requirements of
means for tempering the air and conveying moisture thereto.
The hereinafter described system of ventilation and conveying moisture to the
atmosphere of rooms and of tempering the air, is designed to supply these essential
necessities.

page_text: In order that the invention may be fully understood I will describe the same in
detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figure 1 shows in vertical sectional view, and figure 2 in plan so much of a build-
ing as is necessary to illustrate the invention.
Figure 3 is a detail view of portions of the jet pipe employed for imparting moisture
to and also freeing the air from foreign matter carried along therewith.
In these drawings A indicates the Hoor of a building below which and preferably at
a depth of 2 or 3 meters extends an air distributing duct or trunk B that communi-
cates with said room through suitable connecting-pipes and ports_C_ provided in the
floor at suitable distances apart, said ports being protected by, or covered with a
suitable grating.
For a room having say 100 × 300 meters of floor space and being from
6 to 7 meters from floor to ceiling capable of accommodating about 400 looms and
300 operatives the distributing trunk should be about 1 metre wide by 1.20 meters
high.
The said trunk B is connected to or forms a continuation of an air main or duct B¹
that extends outside of the building preferably for a distance of about 10 meters and
opens into a reservoir D of about 3 × 6 meters said main being sufficiently inclined
towards the reservoir to drain the surplus water therefrom into the same.
carried to
The reservoir, D, has an overflow so arranged as to maintain the level of the water
therein about on a level with the lowest portion of the floor of the main B¹, and is also
provided with an air inlet E which may be a pipe or other suitable duct that may bo
any
desired elevation, so as not to admit surface air to the reservoir.
In the main B¹ is arranged a jet pipe-y or a plurality of such, the spraying or jet
nozzles being all turned in the direction of the flow of the air or towards the trunk B,
said jet pipe or pipes y, being connected with any suitable head of water.
Any suitable means may be employed for inducing a current of air to flow into the
reservoir, through the air main B, and thence into the air distributing frank B, as
for instance a blast fan or force pump, or a suction_fan X, may be arranged at the
point of junction between the main B, and the distributing-trunk B. The latter
trunk is preferably arranged in the plane of the longitudinal axis of the building
though this is not absolutely necessary, as it may be arranged in any other desired
plane and may be provided with branch trunks or ducts to conduct the air to any
desired point of the room.
Vertical air ducts may be connected with the distributing trunk to convey air to
upper floors of the building, to be distributed by suitable distributing trunks or ducts,
or said vertical ducts may be supplied with air from independent mains as will be
readily understood...
The air drawn or forced in at E, first comes in contact with the water in the
reservoir D, and is then supplied with moisture and freed from impurities, by the
spraying devices in the main B', before it reaches the air distributing trunk B.
Inasmuch as the air main, the reservoir and the distributing duct, are located at a
considerable depth below the surface the temperature therein is practically constant,
the air is therefore tempered, its temperature is reduced in summer and increased in
winter so that the temperature of the air admitted to the building varies but little.
Practical experience has demonstrated that under atmospheric variations ranging
trom +1°, to + 32° Centigrade, the variations in the temperature in the building
ranged from +15°, to +380 Centigrade a variation of only 13°, in the building as
against 31°, in the outer air. At the same time the degree of moisture of the air in
the room varied from 68 to 50%, while the temperature of the water varied
from 16°, to 19°, only.
Even during the greatest heat of summer the degree of saturation of tho air does
not fall below 50%, while the temperature in the building during the coldest weather
did not fall below 15% conditions extremely favorable to the health of the occupants
or the operatives and in cotton factories extremely favorable to the work done.
Any suitable means may be provided for exhausting the foul air from the room or
building either by means of an exhaust fan or by means of direct ventilation, such as

page_text: ventilating openings near the ceiling communicating with the outer air, or by draft
openings or ducts communicating with a chimney or in any other desired manner.
'
Of course I do not desire to limit myself to the exact construction or arrangement
of the reservoir, air main, and distributing trunk, as these arrangements may vary
and will necessarily vary with the plans of the room or building to be ventilated. Nor
is it absolutely necessary that the said parts should be at the depth below ground
above specified, yet the advantages derived from this will readily be understood.
Nor do I desire to limit myself to any specific mechanical devices for inducing
a flow of air through the main and distributing ducts as many different devices
may be employed to attain this result.
The advantages of the described system will be readily comprehended by those
conversant with the difficulties heretofore encountered, especially in ventilating
factories or establishments in which the operatives are in an atmosphere more or
less laden with dust, or fibrous matter as in cotton factories.
The benefit derived from the said system of ventilation in the elimination of the
dust or fibre laden atmosphere is therefore a very great one, so far as the health
of the operatives is concerned.
In cold climates and especially where the topographical conditions are such as
not to permit the laying of the mains at any considerable depth under ground
the air drawn or forced into the main may be preheated, it may for instance be
taken from the boiler room in a factory or otherwise preheated before admitting
it into the mains.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The herein described system of ventilation comprising an air distributing duct
or trunk provided with outlet ports, an air main, water spraying devices arranged
therein, a drainage reservoir for the surplus water from the spraying devices and
a suction or forcing device for inducing a flow of air through the main into the
distributing trunk, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. The herein described system of ventilation comprising an air distributing duct
or trunk, an air main, water spraying devices arranged within the air main, a drainage
reservoir for the surplus water from the air main, an overflow arranged to maintain
the level of the water in the reservoir on or about on a level with the floor of the air
main at its point of connection with the reservoir and a suction or forcing device for
inducing a flow of air through the reservoir, thence through the air main into the
distributing trunk, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. The combination substantially as described with a building and an air distributing
duct or trunk located within the same, of an air main located outside of the building,
water spraying devices arranged within said main, a water reservoir into which the
surplus water from the air main is drained, an overflow to maintain the level of the
water in said reservoir constant and a suction or forcing device, for inducing a flow
of air through the water reservoir and the air main into the distributing duct for the
purpose specified.
4. The combination substantially as described with a building and an underground
air distributing duct or trunk below said building, of an underground air main located
outside of the building and extending some distance therefrom, water spraying devices
arranged within the main, a drainage reservoir for the surplus water from the
spraying devices, and a suction or forcing device for inducing a flow of air through
the main, into the distributing trunk for the purpose specified.
Dated this 3rd day of November 1887.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.