IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION, STORAGE, AND TRANSPORTATION OF PERISHABLE ARTICLES, SUCH AS ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, MEAT, FISH, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR THIS PURPOSE
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Garrett Tongue at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1876.
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JOHN GARRETT TONGUE, of the Firm of Tongue and Birkbeck, Patent Agents
and Engineers, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION, STORAGE, AND TRANSPORTATION
OF PERISHABLE ARTICLES, SUCH AS ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, MEAT,
FISH, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR
THIS PURPOSE." A communication from abroad by Alexander Montgomery, of New
York, United States of America.
This Invention relates to the employment, arrangement, and application of a
vacuum chamber or air-tight vessel, room, railway truck, or ship, with an air ex-
peller or exhauster, such chambers being employed for the preservation, storage, or
transportation of perishable goods, such as fruit, vegetables, neat, fish, and for
keeping the contents either warm or cold, or at any uniform temperature as may
be desired.
Also in arranging vacuum spaces or chambers round such vessel, house, car,
railway truck, or ship, or other place which is required to be kept either warm or
cold, or at a suitable temperature.
Amongst the uses to which this Invention may be applied with success are the
following, viz.: -ice houses, refrigerators, water coolers, pitchers, steam boilers,
engines, tanks, pipes, fire safes, meat dishes, covers, plates, egg boilers, tea and
coffee pots, and heaters, milk dishes, churns, houses, ships, or factories, or other
articles or places; the object of the Invention being the employment of an air
vacuum chamber around such vessel or articles for maintaining them at a suitable
temperature for the preservation of perishable goods in a vacuum space or air
vacuum chamber. This Invention simply consists in storing perishable goods either
in a chamber from which the air has been exhausted, or in surrounding the chamber,
or vessel, or receptacle containing perishable goods, with a space from which the air
is exhausted, so as to form a vacuum around the chamber containing the perishable
goods which may be uncooked meat, fish, fruit, or vegetables.
The advantage gained by this arrangement is that the contents of the inner
chamber containing the perishable goods is isolated from change of temperature
owing to the vacuum space surrounding it being a very bad conductor of heat, thus

page_text: the perishable goods are maintained at one uniform temperature for a great length
of time, and by this means preserved. The pump or apparatus for exhausting or
expelling the air may be combined with the vacuum chambers for storing the goods
when such chambers are large, or the vacuum preserving vessels may be connected
to a stationary air pump or exhaust apparatus as may be found most convenient. The
form, size, and character of the storing chambers or vessels may be greatly varied
according to the use for which they are required.
Figure 1 of the Drawing hereto annexed shows a vacuum chamber A arranged
with an inner storing chamber or vessel B suitable for containing the perishable
goods or articles which are by this means to be kept as nearly as possible at one
uniform temperature during transit by rail, steam vessel, ship, or otherwise.
In order to form a vacuum in the space or chamber A, the pipe A¹ furnished with
a stop cock is connected by a union joint with the exhaust pipe of an air pump or
other suitable air expeller until a vacuum is formed, when the cock is closed and the
pump is detached.
The inner storing chamber B is supported in the centre of the chamber A by
blocks of wood B¹ or other non-conductor, or it may be suspended therein by a rope
or otherwise.
Figure 2 shows part of a similar vacuum chamber A. and storing vessel B having
an air pump C for exhausting the air combined therewith.