IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF COLD FOR ICE MAKING AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF COLD FOR
ICE MAKING AND OTHER PURPOSES."-A communication from abroad
by Paul Giffard, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 3rd December 1875, and dated the 4th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 4th June 1875.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRO-
DUCTION OF COLD FOR ICE MAKING AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved machinery for the artificial pro-
duction of cold by means of air.
This Invention relates to improved machinery for the artificial pro-

page_text: double-acting cylinder A for compressing air, in which works a piston B
similar to that shown separately in Figure 3, herein-after described.
C is the valve for the admission of external air at each stroke of the
piston, and D the valve for preventing the return of compressed air
into the cylinder. Both valves are entirely self-acting. The rod of
piston B passes through the stuffing box E and the expansion cylinder.
Above the air compressing cylinder, and resting upon the hollow
frame G, is placed the double-acting expansion cylinder D, that is to
say, the refrigerating motive cylinder in which the cooled air is
expanded and the power consumed in compressing the air in part
restored. In this cylinder there is a second piston B, both this and the
compressing piston being operated by the same rod B which passes
through the two stuffing boxes E, E, and is coupled by connecting rod K
working in guides F, F, with the crank shaft M mounted in bearings on
standards I, I. N, fly wheel for regulating the motion which is
imparted to the refrigerating machine by pulley O from any suitable
motor. The whole machine is supported on the bed plate T fixed on
the brick foundation T¹.
The double-acting expansion cylinder D is provided at each end with
the system of distribution shown in Figure 6, the compressed air being
admitted through valves P, P, and the expanded air escaping through
valves R, R, and pipes L, L. These valves are operated by bevel
gearing 8, S, S, S, driven from the main shaft M of the machine.
While the air is being compressed in cylinder A, a volume of water is
introduced by the double-acting feed pump A through the pipes T, T,
leading through the ends of the cylinder and terminating in roses T', T,
having fine perforations. This water is introduced into the cylinder
with considerable force and under greater pressure than the maximum
pressure of the compressed air in the reservoir, and is projected against
the piston B as the latter moves in the opposite direction, whereby the
water is thrown down in the form of spray and instantly absorbs the
whole of the heat developed by the compression of the air. The
injection water atomized under pressure is effected alternately on
opposite sides of the piston.
This improved mode of cooling air has never hitherto been employed

page_text: The pipes U, U, fixed beneath the valves D of the compression
cylender convey the mixture of air and water into the reservoir V in
which the water occupies the lower part, while the upper part receives
the compressed air in a thoroughly cooled condition in readiness for
being conducted under pressure to the expansion cylinder.
The double-acting feed pump A, Figure 1, supplies at each stroke of
the piston exactly the volume of water which is theoretically required to
cool the air in the compressing cylinder. The plunger of this pump
is actuated directly by the connecting rod K through the gearing C, C,
and shaft M. This pump is provided with the same kind of valves,
plungers, packing and stuffing box as those hereafter referred to.
X, tank for the feed water raised by the pump.
I will now describe the cooling of the water heated by the com-
pression of the air :-I place the air and water reservoir V in a special
chamber in direct contact with the waste cold air of the machine, sup-
posing it be desired to manufacture artificial ice; the cold air may be
introduced at a minimum temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the
following being the arrangement adopted in this case.
The copper
tube Z leading from the bottom of reservoir V terminates in a rose or
spreader, and when the machine is working, on opening a cock, the
water is caused by the pressure in the reservoir to fall in the form of
rain into a copper tank B, acting as a percolator through which the
water flows in hundreds of minute streams into a second reservoir B, and
from thence, still in the same condition, into the tank X from which the
feed pump is supplied, the amount being regulated by a cock. The
contact of the water in this devided state, with a very cold atmosphere
and the prolonged descent to which it is subjected, ensures a perfect
cooling of the water and the utilization of the waste cold air.
For the production of cold air it is only necessary to operate the
machine herein-before described by any suitable motive power in order
that the normal pressure may be established in the reservoir, whereupon
a perfect equilibrium is obtained between the consumption and the pro-
duction.
The compressed air introduced into the expansion cylinder by
pipes H, H, cock H', and admission valves P, P, is completely expanded
in the cylinder, and acts upon its piston with a mechanical effect which
partly compensates for and restores the power consumed in compressing

page_text: the air, and it is to this expansion that the production of the cold is due.
The pipes L, L, fixed in the outlet valve boxes R, R, convey the cold
air where required for use.
The following is a description of the parts of the machine taken
separately. Figure 3 of the accompanying Drawings shows the piston
for compressing and that for dilating or expanding the air. It is pro-
vided with two split metallic rings or segments A, A, sunk in circum-
ferential grooves in the piston B. Two strips D, D, of soft rubber
are tightly inserted in these grooves behind the rings A, A, vacant
spaces E, E, being left; at back; F, F, are small passages leading from
grooves E, E, to the upper and lower faces of the piston B to admit the
air or the water to the channels E, E, so that by its pressure behind the
rubber rings a tight packing is ensured. This improved piston will
wear for an indefinite time, it is not in the least affected either by
intense cold or heat, and combines a minimum of friction with a per-
fectly tight packing. This kind of piston is employed in the freezing
machine for compressing and expanding the air, as also for the feed
water pump.
Figure 4 shows the improved valve which I apply generally in the
machine. It is composed of a metallic plate attached to a cylindrical
head on a stem A, on which head is tightly fitted a packing ring of
semi-hard rubber B which is held in place by a metallic ring E secured
by screws T, T. A circumferential groove B¹ is made in this packing
ring B to admit the air to expand the rubber packing ring and obtain
an absolutely tight joint. The small holes D, D, serve for admitting
the gases or fluids to the groove B¹. The valve thus arranged is turned
to the exact form of the metallic seat in which it is to be received.
An absolutely perfect joint is obtained with this valve by the pressure
of the air or water acting on the interior of the rubber packing ring B.
Moreover, the valve is not subject to wear, and is noiseless in action by
reason of the rubber forming an elastic cushion when the valve is closed
upon
its seat.
Figure 5 shows an improved stuffing box formed of a cupped ring of
semi-hard rubber A having a conical aperture, the advantage of which
is that the rod B slides with less friction, at the same time that a per-
fectly tight joint is ensured.
The joints of the several parts of the machine are formed of rubber

page_text: rings which are automatically compressed by the pressure of the air, see
Figure 6, which shows the construction of the valve boxes beneath the
cover of the expansion cylinder.
The distribution of compressed air to the expansion cylinder is also
shown in Figure 6, which represents an improved arrangement
applicable in air, gas, or steam engines, whereby the ordinary slide valves
are entirely dispensed with and all dead spaces are avoided. The
Drawing represents both the induction and eduction valve boxes which
are provided at both ends of the expansion cylinder, as shown in the
general view of the machine, Figure 1. As will be seen on examining
the Drawings, the admission and escape of the air is governed by two
valves actuated by eccentric shafts within the boxes.
In Figure 6 A is the box enclosing the gear for controlling the
admission of air. The valve B has a large stem working in guides C, C³,
and having a rectangular slot D made in it between the guides to
receive the actuating shaft E. The said shaft passes through a stuffing
box F, and is geared by a bevel pinion with the main shaft of the
machine. The compressed air is supplied to the valve box by the pipe H,
Figure 1, the valve B being acted on by the pressure of the air and also
by the spiral spring L, closes the air passage leading to the cylinder
except when it is opened by the eccentric or cam projection E¹ of
shaft E, which lifts the valve at each revolution a distance corresponding
to the radius of the cam projection, the surfaces meeting at an angle of
45 degrees, and being thoroughly hardened, all wear of the parts is
prevented. Immediately the projection E' releases the valve the latter
is closed by the spiral spring and the air pressure, while the compressed
air introduced into the cylinder continues to act by its expansion.
The amount of air introduced is dependent on the radius of the cam
projection, so that by changing shaft E it is possible to cut off the
admission at one-half, one-third, or one-fifth the stroke of the
piston.
The eduction valve is also shown in Figure 6, the arrangement being
precisely similar to the preceding, except that the position of the spring
and the action of the valve is reversed. The air passes out by the
pipes L, L, Figure 1. The action of the two valves is so regulated
that when the admission valve opens the escape valve immediately
closes.

page_text: The whole system is geared with and operated by the main shaft of
the machine, as shown in Figure 1.
:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,.
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June, in the year of
'our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, admini-
'strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Melville
'Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
ICE
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF COLD FOR
MAKING AND OTHER PURPOSES," a communication to me from abroad by
Paul Giffard, of Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Figures on the

page_text: which the expanded cold air passes through the pipes L, L, to any place
where it is intended to be utilized, and the entire machine is mounted
on a foundation bed or plate T resting on two walls of masonry T¹, T¹.
The two ingress or admission boxes A', A', and also the egress or exit
boxes A, A, are provided with special mechanical and automatic valves,
of which the details will be given when referring to Figs. 6, 7, and 8;
these valves are worked positively by the shafts E, E, which have
positive action by pinions S, S, S, the first of which is on the main or
principal shaft M of the machine, and it will be seen that this system of
arrangement and distribution completely prevents any loss by leakages.
and dead spaces or capacities that cannot be utilized. At one side of
the machine there is an injection pump A³, the piston of which is
worked by the connecting rod B³ jointed to a crank pin fixed to the
toothed wheel C¹ geared into another toothed wheel C¹ on the main
shaft M.
The water drawn by the pump from the tank X passes by the
pipes T, T², to each end of the piston B in the compression cylinder A.
The general working of the machine is easy to understand; the air
drawn from without by the suction valves C, C, is afterwards compressed
by the piston B, and accumulated in the reservoir V by the valves D¹,
and at each stroke of the piston the compressed air is deprived of the
heat contained in it by the injection of water from the pump A³, and
then the cold compressed air passes by means of the expansion valves P
into the expansion cylinder D, at the same time exercising on the
piston B a partial restitution of the power absorbed by the working of
the machine.
In expanding in the cylinder D and in exercising its mechanical
action the air becomes extremely cold, and when it escapes by the
valves R and pipes L, L, to its destined place to be utilized it may be
stated that it is at a temperature of about 20, 30, 40, or 50 degrees below
zero centigrade, according to the temperature of the circumambient air
and the injection water, and also in proportion to the less or more
expansion of the air.
The characteristic details of this machine are as follows:-The
nistons B and B¹. Fig. 1. one shewn enlarged in Fig. 3. have each in

page_text: cumferential grooves in the body of the piston, and two strips or bands D³
of supple caoutchouc are tightly inserted behind the rings A', A'.
Behind the grooves and the rings there are vacant spaces or channels E¹
communicating by means of small holes or passages F, F, leading
from the grooves E³, E', to the upper and lower faces of the piston B
to admit the air and water to the channels E', E', so that the pressure
behind the rings of caoutchouc shall act forcibly on the metallic rings
or segments, and thereby give a double tightness or hermeticity to the
packing or rings, and the body of the cylinder or pump.
With this piston the metallic rings or segments give the greater
resistance to the wear and also the least amount of friction, and the
bands of caoutchouc cause absolute sealing or hermeticity, inasmuch as
the air presses against the rings of caoutchouc, and consequently against
the metallic rings. This piston will wear for a great length of time,
allow the compressed air to escape without any loss, and is not affected
or changed either by intense cold or heat, it being used in this machine
for compressing and dilating or expanding the air, and also for the
pump used for injecting the water.
The valves employed in this machine, one of which is shewn in
Fig. 4, are each formed of a metallic plate, having a cylindrical head
with a rod or stem A5, on which head is tightly fitted a hardened conical
packing ring B' of caoutchouc, which is held in its place by a metallic
plate or cover E2 secured by screws T². A circumferential groove is
made in the packing ring B', communicating by means of holes D² with
the top exterior of the valve, so that the compressed air can pass into
the circumferential groove of the caoutchouc, and so expand it as to
make an absolutely tight joint or fitting, the valve being turned to the
exact form of the metallic scat into which it is to be received; and it is
evident that this valve is not subject to wear, and is noiseless in action
by reason of the caoutchouc forming an elastic cushion when the valve
is closed upon its seat.
The stuffing boxes of the machine, one of which is represented in
Fig. 5, are each formed of a cupped ring A6 of semi-hard caoutchouc,
having a conical aperture, the advantage of which is that the rod B
slides with the least amount of friction, and at the same time a perfectly
tight joint or packing is ensured, and the joints of the several parts of

page_text: cylinders and terminating in roses T³, T. This water is sent into the
cylinder with considerable force and under greater pressure than the
maximum pressure of the compressed air in the reservoir V, and is
broken as shewn in the Drawing against the piston B as the latter
moves in the opposite direction, whereby the water is thrown down in
the form of spray and instantly absorbs the whole of the heat developed
by the compression of the air, and this injection of the water under
great pressure and finely divided is effected alternately on opposite sides,
the system of compression being double-acting.
The pipes U, U, fixed behind the retaining valves T², T³, of the com-
pression cylinder convey the mixture of air and water into the reservoir
V, in which the water occupies the lower part, while the upper part
receives the compressed air in a thoroughly cooled condition in readiness
to be conducted under pressure to the expansion cylinder. In order
that the separation of air and water shall be complete, I place in the
upper part of the reservoir, and extending to any suitable distance from
the top, inclined diaphragms of perforated iron plates and metallio
cloth alternately one above another, and the particles of water forced
in with the air are arrested at these diaphragms and then fall to the
bottom of the reservoir. The cooling of the compressed air may also
be effected by a flattened worm as shewn in section, Fig. 9, the said
worm being combined or not with the employment of a ventilator
sending its current of air upon the worm, and the centrifugal force
which is developed in the circulation of the air in the interior of the
flattened worm produces a constant renewal of the courses or beds of air
and is very favorable for obtaining a rapid absorbtion of the heat. The
air and water reservoir V is placed by preference in a special chamber
in direct contact with the waste cold air of the machine. Supposing it
is intended to make artificial ice, the cold air can be introduced at a
minimum temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and in these conditions
the following arrangement may be advantageously adopted :-The
copper tube Z leading from the bottom of the reservoir V terminates in
a rose or spreader, and when the machine is working, on opening a
cock in the pipe Z the water is caused by the pressure in the reservoir
to fall in the form of rain into a copper tank Bº, having a sieve acting
as a percolator, through which the water flows in hundreds of small
streams to a second reservoir B, and then through another sieve into the

page_text: tank A, from which the feed pump is supplied, the amount being
regulated by a cock.
The contact of the water in this divided state with a very cold
atmosphere and the prolonged descent to which it is subjected, ensures
a perfect cooling of the water and the utilization of the waste cold air.
To this machine is applied a manometer or pressure gauge, a safety
valve, a water gauge, a whistle, thermometers, and four valves.
Having now described the nature and particulars of the said
Invention, I desire it to be understood that I claim the manufacture
of this improved system of cold producing machine, arranged and
combined as herein described, and shewn on the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, and characterized by the following principal points or parts
essentially,―
First. The new and improved combination of the cylinder of com-
pression and the cylinder of expansion, with their pistons, valves, joints,
and their special stuffing boxes, thus obtaining in practice an agreement
with the theory, that is to say, to cause the circulation of cold com-
pressed air and then expanding it without any loss and without any
dead injurious spaces.
Secondly. The apparatus for distributing the compressed air to the
expansion cylinder, consisting of admission or ingress and egress or exit
boxes, with the mechanical parts for regulating and moving the valves
for variable amounts of expansion.
Thirdly. The improved mode of cooling the compressed air by
injections of finely broken water under pressure to both sides of the
compressing piston.
Fourthly. The mode of cooling the water by dividing it in the middle
like rain, for utilizing the waste cold of the machine.
Fifthly. The combination and employment of a worm when desired,
for circulating the compressed air in such a manner that the centrifugal
force developed renews or changes without ceasing the layers of air so
as to effect the most rapid absorbtion of the heat.
And, Sixthly. The general arrangement and working of the machine
in which the forms, matters, and dimensions, are varied as required,

page_text: and it may be here stated that the machine can be placed horizontally
or at angle of 45° or other angle, and also that when desired the two
cylinders can be placed side by side.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Third day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.