Improved 'Apparatus for Cooling Air, and for Producing Dry Warm Air.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1896
! PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved 'Apparatus for Cooling Air, and for Producing Dry
Warm Air.
I, 'THOMAS BELL LIGHTFOOT, of No. 35 Queen Victoria Street, in the
City of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention' to be
as follows:-
According to my invention I effect the cooling of an air supply by bringing the
same in contact with the pipes containing the volatilised liquid over which pipes
a thin film of brine is made to flow so as to both assist in refrigerating the air,
and to prevent the formation of rime on the pipes. For this purpose. I arrange
within a casing or chamber a series of pipes of zigzag or other convenient form
so as to constitute walls of pipes placed side by side at any convenient distance
apart, and in any desired number, the lower ends of all the zigzags being
connected to a main pipe for supplying the volatile liquid, while the upper ends
are connected to a second main pipe through which the vapour is drawn, off
or vice versa.
At the bottom of the said chamber, below the pipe walls, is placed a shallow
tauk or tray which is supplied with the brine and from which the brine is raised
by a pump and supplied to a series of troughs or distributors running along the
top of the chamber immediately over each of the vertical walls of pipes, so that
the brine, in overflowing the serrated edges of the troughs or distributors will
flow in a thin film downwards over the surfaces of the pipes, thus becoming
effectually cooled by contact therewith; and eventually, falling back.into the tray
at bottom.
At one end of the chamber containing the pipe walls is provided an air propeller,
which draws air from a cold room or other locality and propels it along the chamber
in contact with the cold brine flowing down the pipe walls, so that it arrives at the
other end of the chamber effectually cooled, and passes thence to a cold room or
other locality where cold air is required.
In some cases, in order to provide increased refrigerating surface for the air to
come in contact with, I provide between the said vertical walls of pipes vertical
plates placed parallel therewith, that are also cooled by causing the cold brine to
How down them from troughs or distributors:
I also in some cases combine with the above described apparatus a second
chamber containing similar walls of pipes which are heated internally by steam or
hot water or gases and I cause the air supply or a portion thereof.after having been
refrigerated by passing through the first described apparatus and having thereby
been deprived of its moisture, to pass through the second chamber in contact with
the heated pipes, thus providing a supply of dry warm air, suitable for thawing
frozen meat and for other purposes.
Dated this 27th day of January 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Cooling Air, and for Producing Dry
Warm Air.
I, THOMAS BELL, LIGHTFOOT of No. 35-Queen Victoria Street in the
City of London, Engineer, 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 :-
According to my invention I effect the cooling of an air supply by bringing the
same in' contact, with the pipes containing the volatilised liquid over which pipes
a thin film of brine is made to 'flow so as to both assist in refrigerating the air and
to prevent the formation of rime on the pipes. For this purpose arrange
withinia casing or chumber a series of pipes of zigzag, or other convenient form
so as to constituto walls of pipes placed. side by side at any convenient distance
apart, and in any desired number, the lower ends of all the zigzags. being
connected to a main pipe for supplying..the volatile liquid while the upper ends
are connected..to a second. main. pipe through which the vapour is drawn off
or vice versa...
At the bottom of the said chamber, below the pipe walls is placed a shallow
tank or tray, which is supplied with the brine and from which the brine is raised by a
-pump and supplied to a series of troughs or distributors running along the top of
the chamber immediately over each of the vertical walls of pipes, so that the brine,
in overflowing the serrated edges of the troughs or distributors will flow in a thin
film downwards over the surfaces of the pipes thus becoming effectually cooled by
contact therewith; and eventually falling back into the tray at bottom...
At one end of the chamber containing the pipe walls is provided an air propeller,
which draws air from a cold room or other locality. and propels it along. the
chamber in contact with the cold brine flowing down the pipe walls, so that it arrives
at the other end of the chamber effectually cooled, and passes thence to a cold room
or other locality where cold air is required.
In some cases, in order to provide increased refrigerating surface for the-air to
come in contact with, I providei between the said -vertical-walls. of pipes vertical
plates placed parallel.therewith that are also cooled-by causing the cold brine to
How down them from troughs or distributors...
I also in some cases combine with the above described apparatus & second chamber
containing similar walls. of pipes which are heated, internally by, steam or hot water
or gases and I cause the air supply or a portion thereof after having been refrigerated
by passing through the first described apparatus and having thereby been deprived
of its moisture, to pass through the second chamber in contact with the heated
pipes, thus providing a supply of dry warm air, suitable for thawing frozen meat
and for other purposes:
Figures 1. 2. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings show the construction
of the above described, apparatus employed by preference. Fig::.1. shows a
longitudinal section, Fig. 2a sectional. plan and Fig. 3 a cross section, Fig 4 an
..enlarged detail.
Within a chamber A of any desired length are: arranged the walls of
pipes B. B. B. B; each of these walls is here shown consisting of a group of three
zigzag pipes, but they may be arranged in any other manner. These pipes are
connected to upright'supports CC, and' have their lower ends connected to a main
supply pi
pipe D for liquid ammonia or other volatile liquid, while the upper ends are
connected to a main exhaust pipe D' connected to an exhaust apparatus by which
the vapour is drawn off from the pipes.
At the end of the chamber A is fitted an air propeller E, which draws air from
a passage F leading from a cold room or other locality and propels it through the

page_text: chamber A from which it is led through the passage G to the cold room or other
locality where cold air is required.
Below the pipes B. B. is shallow tank or tray H, supplied with brine, this
being withdrawn from the tank through a pipe I to a .pump I which raises it
through a pipe I and delivers it into a longitudinal pipe J having a number
of branch pipes J' extending across the walls of pipes and provided with jets J³
delivering the brine into distributing troughs K situated immediately over each
of the pipe walls A. These troughs are supported from bars L fixed to the
standards C and have their upper edges serrated so that the brine delivered
into them from the pipes J' in overflowing the serrated edges in a very evenly
distributed manner, trickles down the sides and on to the wall of pipes along
which it descends into the tray H to be again raised by the pump if necessary.
Thus the brine is effectually cooled by contact with the pipes and in its turn cools
the air currents flowing in contact therewith, at the same time the brine takes up
the moisture of the air so as to provide a supply of dry cold air.
Fig. 5 shows a cross section of the modification in which vertical plates M are
arranged between the pipe walle B, with distributing troughs above them for
providing a flow of cold brine over their surfaces, so that a portion of the air
currents passing through will be cooled by coming in contact with the brine flowing
down these plates.
Fig. 6 shews the combination with the air cooling and drying apparatus above
described of a second chamber N containing walls of zigzag pipes O similar to B
but which have steam, hot gases, or hot liquid passed through them, so that the cold
dry air passing into the chamber N from A will become warmed by contact with
the pipe walls so as to provide a supply of dry warm air suitable for thawing frozen
meat or for other purposes.
The pipes O might of course in this case be arranged in any other manner for
insuring the effectual contact of the air ourrents therewith.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
olaim is :-
1. In apparatus for cooling air the combination of pipes through which volatile
liquid is made to flow, arranged as a series of upright walls within a closed
chamber, a tank or tray below the said pipe walls containing brine troughs or
distributors arranged above the pipe walls and supplied with brine from the tank
below by means of a pump, so that the brine flows down from the distributora
over the pipe walls into the tank and an air propeller at the one end of the chamber
for propelling air currents through the latter in contact with the cold brine flowing
down over the pipe walls substantially as described.
2. In combination with the air cooling apparatus referred to in the first claim,
the use of vertical plates arranged between the vertical pipe walls and provided with
brine distributors at top so as to afford additional wet cooling surfaces for the air
currents substantially as described.
3. In combination with the air cooling apparatus referred to in the first and
second claims the use of a second chamber containing heated pipes with which the
cold dry air coming from the cooling chamber is brought in contact in order to
furnish a supply of dry warm air suitable for thawing, meat and other purposes
substantially as described.
Dated thin sh day of ML 1004
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.