IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Clapp Roberts, of New York City, United States
of America, and at present of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR"
Sealed the 5th March 1878, and dated the 6th September 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Clapp Roberts at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th September 1877.
GEORGE CLAPP ROBERTS, of New York City, United States of America, and at
present of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVEMENTS IN
REFRIGERATING AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
My Invention has for its object the preservation of meat, fruit, or other perishable
articles during transport or storage, and consists in improved means of refrigerating,
whereby the articles may be kept undeteriorated for any length of time in an
economical manner.
The distinguishing feature of my Invention consists in the employment of a box
or receptacle for ice having a perforated bottom, and so placed in the chamber
containing the articles to be preserved as to cause a constant current of air to pass
through the refrigerative medium, the air being in this way thoroughly dried and
purified by contact with the ice, and maintained at a sufficiently low temperature,
independently of any mechanical means, for effecting the refrigeration.
According to my Invention this ice box, which is open at top, is suspended in
proximity to the ceiling of the refrigerating chamber, and the air passes over the
surface of the ice, and down through the ice box into the chamber beneath, where,
coming in contact with the articles to be preserved, its temperature is raised, and it
ascends to the upper part of the chamber, to pass again over and through the ice, to
be cooled as before. The ice box is provided with a rack to support the ice above
the perforated bottom, curved slats beneath the box forming gutters to carry off the
water from the melting of the ice, without interfering with the free passage of the
air through the box.

page_text: In adapting the Invention to a railway van, the ice box may be placed centrally,
with a compartment for the goods at each side, and between the perforated bottom
and the gutters is fitted a series of horizontal pipes, which project from the sides of
the van for the admission of air. The water from the ice falls over the surface of
these pipes, and is thus utilised for lowering the temperature of the air prior to its
entrance into the refrigerator. The circulation may be increased if desired by a
fan placed near the outlets of the pipes in the van, and driven from the carriage
axle.
When my Invention is employed for preserving articles on board ship, two recep-
tacles for the ice are employed, having inner perforated walls or sides, and separated
from one another by a central opening, which contains small vertical tubes open at
both ends, and communicating with the external atmosphere by a shaft rising from
the centre of the refrigerator. These tubes may be placed horizontally beneath the
ice, the latter resting upon them; or they may be placed vertically in the ice box
among the ice, the object in any case being to cool and dry and purify the air with
only a small comsumption of ice.
A single receptacle with an opening through its centre may be employed instead
of the two ice boxes. In this arrangement the air enters the refrigerator through
the tubes, and is in its passage therethrough cooled by conduction, and does not
come directly in contact with the ice. The air circulates through the refrigerator,
and flows over the surface of the ice and through the ice box, as previously described,
subsequently passing into the outer air through a jacket surrounding the supply
shaft, the waste cold of the air being utilised to cool the incoming current, or the
air may pass from the refrigerating chamber into another compartment for further
use.
A fan may be mounted beneath the central passage in the ice box to produce a
stronger current if desired.
Experience has shown that it is unnecessary to admit air into a refrigerator to
ensure the best results, and I therefore provide dampers in the supply and discharge
pipes, which may be closed at will.
On reversing the motion of the fan, the air is forced up the central tubes and over
the ice, and striking against the top of the refrigerating chamber, descends and
passes over the articles to be preserved.
The action of the refrigerator is independent of the fan, and its employment
therefore optional, a constant current of air being maintained by the construction
of the ice box, and its arrangement within the preserving chamber, as before
mentioned.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Clapp Roberts in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
March 1878.
GEORGE CLAPP ROBERTS, of New York City, United States of America, and at
present of Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REFRIGERATING AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
My Invention relates to refrigerating apparatus for the preservation of meat and
other perishable articles during transport or storage, and consists more particularly
in the employment in combination with an ice receptacle having a perforated or
other open bottom, of pipes, or a coil or coils of pipes placed horizontally or in
an inclined position immediately beneath the bottom of the ice receptacle or box,
through which pipes a current of fresh air constantly circulates, whereby the
drip from the melting of the ice is utilised for cooling the incoming air, and an
economy in ice is effected.
The inlet ends of the coils terminate in or communicate with a cowl in the
external air, so as to obtain a current of fresh air by the motion of the train or
ship, or by the force of the wind, as the case may be.
A fan may also be used for producing a stronger current if necessary, or for
reversing the direction of the air in the refrigerator, no cowl in the latter case being
employed.
As applied on board ship, the Invention also consists in the employment of a
double air shaft, the inlet air passage being surrounded by the passage for the outgoing
air from the refrigerator, whereby the waste cold of the outgoing air is utilised for
lowering the temperature of the incoming current, said shaft being moreover provided
with dampers by which the passage of the air may be regulated or cut off, as desired,
the construction and arrangement of the refrigerator being such that its action is
independent of any external means for maintaining the circulation of air in the
refrigerating chamber.
In order that my Invention may be better understood, I will proceed to describe
it with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which,-
Figures 1 and 2 represent a refrigerator for the storage of goods on board ship,
constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 3 shows, partly in longitudinal section and partly in elevation, and Figures
4 and 5, in horizontal and transverse sections, a railway van provided with a
refrigerator having the improvements of my Invention.
Referring to the Drawings it will be seen that the ice box A is suspended within
the refrigerating chamber B in proximity to the ceiling, and that it is open at top,
and has cross bars a at bottom, forming a grating to support the ice and allow a
circulation of the air down through the same.
The box does not extend the entire
width of the chamber, as will be seen in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings;
b are
curved slats arranged beneath the box, and forming gutters to carry off the water
resulting from the melting of the ice.
Between the bottom of the ice box and the gutters are the coils of pipes c, Figures
2, 3, 4, 5, placed either horizontally or in a slightly inclined position, and ex-
tending the whole width of the ice box in such position that the water from the
melting ice falls on the outer surface of the pipes, and cools the air passing through
them.
In the case of a railway van there may be any number of coils c, each having one
end projecting outside the van at the top or sides, and flared or provided with a
cowl for catching the air, the other end terminating within the van, and so placed
as to direct the air from the coils towards the parts of the van most remote from
the ice box. The circulation of the air in the van, and its final exit therefrom, are
shown by the arrows.
In Figures 1 and 2 there is a double shaft rising from above the centre of the
refrigerator, and consisting of an inner tube d placed concentrically within the

page_text: outer tube d', the inner tube being the inlet for the fresh air, and the annular space
comprised between it and the outer tube d' serving for the outlet of air, as indicated
by the arrows. The upper end of the shaft terminates in the open air, and the inlet
tube d is surmounted by a cowl for catching the wind and creating a downward
current in pipe d; e, e¹, are dampers in the tubes by which the communication with
the external air may be cut off if it is desired that the same air in the refrigerating
chamber be used over and over again, the circulation of the air being maintained
without assistance by reason of the peculiar arrangement and construction of the
ice box.
When the shaft d, d³, is used, as in the case of ships and storehouses, the ice box
has a central passage g, Figures 1 and 2, the adjacent walls of the ice box being
open gratings as shown, the passage g, containing the vertical metal tubes h, open
throughout for the downward passage of the air from the inlet d, the air in its
passage being cooled by conduction. These tubes discharge the air into a receptacle
g beneath the central opening, from which the pipes or coils c radiate beneath the
ice box (see Figure 2), the melted water running over the outer surface of the pipes
to cool the air, as before mentioned.
When a fan is employed to increase the current, the pipes would be connected to
the casing of the fan, which would be placed beneath tubes h, and driven by any
suitable motor.
In Figure 1 the fan is shown mounted beneath the central opening, the horizontal
drip pipes being omitted.
In some cases it may be desirable to close the dampers e, e¹, and reverse the action
of the fan, so as to establish a circulation of air in the chamber in the opposite direc-
tion to that indicated by the arrrows.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of performing the same,
I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The combination with an ice box, having an open grating at bottom, of
pipes or a coil or coils of pipes beneath, through which air is caused to pass for
the purpose of being cooled by the water that drips from the melting ice, sub-
stantially as specified.
Second. The combination with a refrigerator of a double-ventilating shaft for
the inlet and exit of air to and from the refrigerator, the one tube or passage
enlcosing the other, substantially as shown and described, for the purpose specified.
Third. The ice box provided with a central vertical passage filled with vertical
tubes, and forming a continuation of the air inlet shaft, the walls of the ice box, which
enclose said passage, being perforated for cooling the air passing down through said
tubes, substantially as shown and described.
Fourth. The combination of an ice box having an air shaft, a central passage
filled with vertical air tubes, and an open grating at bottom, as described, of pipes
or a coil or coils of tubes located horizontally beneath said grating, and connected
with the vertical tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Clapp Roberts, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
A
DADE DMC