Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Heating or Evaporat- ing Liquids by Means of Steam.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 28th June, 1898-Accepted, 13th Aug., 1898
DEMOTIVATION.
Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Heating or Evaporat-
ing Liquids by Means of Steam.
We, PERCY FRANCIS CAMERON WILLCOX, HENRY WALKER WILLCOX, and
REGINALD JOHN NORMAN WILLCOX, of 3, The Oaks West, Sunderland, in the
County of Durham, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention of improvements in and relating to apparatus for heating or
evaporating liquids by means of steam, has reference to an improved construction
and arrangement of the heaters or heating medium in such apparatus, whereby the
same can be readily cleaned, whilst working, by scrapers actuated by hand or by
mechanical means, and in such manner remove deposits of lime, salt or any other
matter held in suspension in the liquid to be evaporated or heated, from the heating
surfaces.
The heaters are fixed to the door or the body of a suitable vessel containing the
liquid to be evaporated or heated, and are so arranged in series parallel to one
another with a space between each, so that the metal scrapers which fit close to the
sides of the heaters, can be passed between any two heaters or on the outsides of a
single heater, and thus remove the scale deposited on the outsides.
To enable the heaters to be readily cleaned by the scrapers, they are according
to this invention, made of rectangular, circular, semi-circular, or any suitable box
form, having flat, convex, concave, or corrugated sides and ends.
In order to prevent the sides and ends from colapsing under pressure, they are
stayed or held together by means of suitable ribs, which are so arranged that they
form a continuous steam passage of the longest possible length obtainable from
the inlet to the outlet, through any one heater.
In order to obtain the necessary movement of the scrapers they are connected to
shafts or rods, which are led through stuffing boxes contained on the vessel holding
the liquid to be evaporated or heated.
The shafts or rods are so provided with handles or levers that they can be worked
by hand power or by machinery and so impart either a circular or parallel motion
to the scrapers.
In order to provide for any wear of the scrapers, the shafts or rods holding the
scrapers are so arranged that by means of outside adjustment the scrapers can be
kept up to the surfaces of the heaters.
P 0
1007
PERCY F. C. WILLCOX.
HENRY W. WILLCOX.
REG. J. N. WILLCOX.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Heating or Evaporat-
ing Liquids by Means of Steam.
We, PERCY FRANCIS CAMERON WILLCOX, HENRY WALKER WILLCOX, and
REGINALD JOHN NORMAN WILLCOX, of 3, The Oaks West, Sunderland, in the
County of Durham, Engineers, 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:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for heating or evaporating liquids by means
of steam, and has for its object the improved construction and arrange-
ment of the heaters or heating elements, in such apparatus, whereby
the same can be readily cleaned, whilst working, by means of scrapers
actuated by hand or by mechanical means, and in such manner remove
deposits of lime, salt or any other matter held in the liquid to be evaporated or
heated, from the heating surfaces. The heaters are fixed to the door or body of
a suitable vessel containing the liquids to be evaporated or heated, and are so
arranged in series parallel to one another with a space between each, so that the
metal scrapers which are adapted to fit close to and contact with the sides of the
heaters, can be passed between any two heaters or on the outsides of a single heater
and thus remove the scale deposited on the outsides.
To enable the heaters to be readily cleaned by scrapers, they are according to
this invention, made of rectangular, circular, semi-circular, or any suitable box
form, having flat convex, concave, or corrugated sides and ends.
In order to prevent the sides and ends of the heaters from collapsing under
pressure, they are stayed or held together by means of suitable ribs, which are so
arranged that they form a continuous steam passage of the longest possible length
obtainable from the inlet to the outlet, through any one heater.
In order to obtain the necessary movement of the scrapers, they are connected to
shafts or rods, which are led through stuffing boxes contained on the vessel holding
the liquid to be evaporated or heated. The shafts or rods are so provided with
handles or levers that they can be worked by hand power or by machinery and so
impart either a circular or parallel motion to the scrapers.
In order to provide for any wear of the scrapers, the shafts or rods holding the
scrapers are so arranged that by means of outside adjustment the scrapers can be
kept up to the surfaces of the heaters.
In order that our invention may be the better understood we will proceed to
described the same in reference to the accompanying drawings which show our
invention applied to an arrangement of apparatus suitable for evaporating salt or
impure water by means of steam. Like letters refer to like parts throughout the
figures.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one arrangement of such apparatus with the door
removed, showing the heaters in place, with the scrapers arranged between and on
the outside of the heaters.
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same, showing the heaters in place and con-
nected to the door, the door being in section through the steam inlet passage. The
scrapers are shown connected to the through central shaft.
Fig. 3 is a part sectional side elevation, showing the door with heaters attached,
in place in the vessel, and the path traced by the scrapers connected to the central
through shaft and the external handle being indicated by dotted lines.
Fig. 4 is a-sectional elevation and

page_text: Fig. 5 a vertical section of the heaters for this arrangement, showing the steam
passages.
The evaporating vessel in this arrangement comprises a lower water vessel 1,
provided with a vertical cylindrical vessel 2, having a spherical top and forming a
steam dome. The vessel 1, is fitted with a removable doc 3, to which the heaters 4,
are detachably connected. Suitable lifting gear is provided so that the door 3,
with the heaters 4, attached, can be removed from the vessel 1, for examination.
The heaters 4 in this example are shown arranged vertically in pairs, detachably
connected to the door 3, which has suitable steam ports 5 cast in it. The steam for
heating is admitted through the valve 6, and led through a suitable passage 6" to
the port 5 in the door 3 and then into the top of the heaters 4 and passing through
the passages shown in Figs. 4 and 5, emerges into a port in the bottom of the
door 3 and then through a suitable passage to the drain cock 7. In order to
remove any scale or sediment from the surface of the heaters 4, while the machine
is evaporating liquids, scrapers S, connected to the central through shaft 9, are
so placed between any two heaters 4, and on the outsides of the outer heaters 4,
so that upon rotating the shaft 9, through half the circumference of a circle the
scrapers 8, pass over the sides of the heaters 4. In order to rotate the shaft 9
and scrapers 8, the shaft is continued through a stuffing box and gland 10, to
the outside of the vessel 1, where it is connected to a handle 11: An adjusting
screw 12, supported by the bracket 13, is connected to the central shaft 9, in such
a manner that the scrapers 8, can be either forced or drawn up against the sides of
the heaters 4, in order to regulate the force required to remove the scale or
sediment.
The heaters or their equivalent, constituting the heating surface may be of
various shapes, i.e. to say, rectangular, circular, semi-circular, or any suitable box
form, having flat, convex, concave or corrugated sides and ends, and the scrapers
can be so arranged to suit these sections. The scrapers, need not necessarily be
actuated through a central shaft as hereinbefore specially described but may be
made to move in parallel lines by means of rods passing through stuffing boxes and
actuated by levers worked by hand or mechanical means from the outside.
In the various illustrations the evaporating vessel and heaters are shown made of
cast metal. The vessel or any part of it, may however be made of any suitable
material, either cast, stamped or rivetted, as may be desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
:-
1st. In an apparatus for heating and evaporating liquids, a casing or vessel in
combination with a heating element or heating elements arranged within the
casing or vessel and means adapted to be operated from the exterior, and arranged
to scrape or contact with with the surface of the heating element or elements to
remove deposits therefrom.
2nd. In an apparatus for heating and evaporating liquids, a series of heating
elements arranged with their surfaces, parallel to one another and scraping devices
operated from the exterior of the apparatus adapted to contact with or scrape the
parallel surfaces of the heaters.
3rd. In an apparatus for heating and evaporating liquids, a series of semi-
circular heating elements arranged parallel to one another within a casing or
vessel in combination with scrapers mounted on a revoluble shaft adapted to be
operated from the exterior, substantially as described.
4th. In an apparatus for heating and evaporating liquids, a series of heating
elements arranged with their surfaces parallel to one another in combination with
scrapers, means for operating the said scrapers from the exterior and a pressure
device for maintaining the said scrapers against either surfaces, substantially as
described.

page_text: 5th. The arrangement and construction of an apparatus for heating and evaporat-
ing liquids substantially as described and illustrated in and by the accompanying
drawings.
FELL & JAMES,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.