apparatus
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 13th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 28th Mar.. 1895-Accepted, 1st June, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, JAMES CURTIN, of 409 Lygon Street, Carlton, near Melbourne, in the Colony
of Victoria, Builder and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my inven-
tion for improvements in ventilation apparatus to be as follows :-
This invention designed chiefly to supply apparatus or means of ventilation for
the admission of fresh air into dwellings, public halls, and other buildings,
railway or other carriages, ships, sewers, drains and other places requiring ventila-
tion and also for the withdrawal of foul or vitiated air from such places.
It consists essentially of a system of flues of such shapes and so arranged with
trap-plates as to allow the air to pass freely through in one direction, whilst being
adapted to prevent a back or down draught in the opposite direction.
My ventilators are differently made in various respects, but a feature common to
them all is that they are each composed of a number of separate flues formed by
means of divisions or plates composed of sheet metal or other material. These
divisions are so arranged that the flues have wide inlets and become more and more
contracted as they extend towards the outlets. The divisions are also arranged that
any back draught of air will be unable to take a straight course but will meet
with practically insuperable obstacles. This is effected by curving the ends of the
division pieces and in some cases forming branched or forked ends thereto. The
interior of each flue is also narrowed and given a kind of zig-zag course by means of
a series of trap-plates affixed therein, their ends nearest to the ventilator inlets
being affixed to the divisons so that there are a series of pockets formed one
behind another and by means of which back draught will be caught in the pockets
be split up and arrested. This air caught in such pockets will become somewhat
compressed and will tend to rebound and act as a resisting pad to the passage
of further air as a back draught past it. The trap-plates thus prevent draught
entering the room &c., whilst allowing the passage of air outwards. There may be
an ordinary metal grating at the ventilator entrance and exit.
The flue divisions are not always of equal length but may be contracted in their
length according to the inclination given to the sloping sides of the ventilator
casing.
An external cowl having my improvements is in some cases used in conjunction
with one of my internal ventilators for the eduction of vitiated air.
In ventilating a sewer or drain, I use an inlet air ventilator communicating with
the latter, and an outlet ventilator fixed to the top of a ventilating shaft which is
connected to the drain and has an arrangement of small flues for the purpose
of assisting the up-current, said flues being curved and narrowed at the top forming
IDQ37

page_text: raps to prevent back draught. The said inlet ventilator is fixed within a well-hole
at the foot of which a half drain pipe is used and the bottom of the well-hole
is sloped to allow space for draught into the drain. A cover consisting of plates
preferably of sheet metal is provided to prevent the entry of rain and dust into the
flues; and there are also holes in the flue sides for admitting fresh air. This ventilator
I affix to a movable plate which is made to fit air-tight against a support built into
the well-hole. I also provide a small pipe (perforated on top and trapped)
formed at the foot similarly to the foot of the inlet ventilation flues aforesaid, the
said pipe being intended for carrying away surface water that may fall on to the
last aforesaid movable plate.
At the top of the ventilating shaft the outlet ventilator is provided with small
holes to allow water or dust that may get into the angles of the flues to escape.
Holes or one continuous opening in this ventilator are used for increasing the
up draught. When this drain ventilator is to be used as a cowl for chimney shafts,
the trap-plates should be removed and the flue sides be made parallel instead
of being narrowed together at their exit ends.
A modified inlet ventilator I employ has a lower series of flues and an upper series
as next described the two series being connected by a chamber of any desired
length. This modified form may be used in lieu of the inlet ventilator previously
described or the upper part may be used without the lower part in suitable cases as
for ordinary house ventilation. The said upper part has a circularly arranged
series of mouths or openings for admitting fresh air, with flues formed by partitions of
sheet metal or other suitable material. The flues are narrowed internally to
accelerate the rate at which fresh air entering passes downward around the exterior
of a central pipe or core into the flues. A small interior channel is provided to
receive rain water that may be blown through the said mouths such water being
carried away by a down pipe.
In another form of ventilator which I use there are movable trap-plates which are
usually tongues of sheet metal fixed to the flue divisions at the ends of the tongues
nearest the flue entrances. The other ends are fixed to bars through which wires
are passed.
When this ventilator is fully open the traps remain close to the flue divisions but
at other times the flues are partially or wholly closed by operating a cord as
hereafter described.
The wires are connected to one end of levers which are fixed at their other
end to an axle which extends across the ventilator and is piroted in the ends of the
same.
The levers are raised by tumblers which are attached to an axle having
ends passing through the sides of the ventilator, one end being connected to a lever
or crank attached to which is the aforesaid cord which passes over a pulley (fixed
on the outside of the ventilator) and down, one end of the cord being made accessible
so as to enable the ventilator to be closed more or less when the cord is pulled and
fixed in any suitable manner.
A fillet may be used for connection of the levers to ensure their moving evenly
and this fillet is weighted so as thereby to press the levers down and open
the ventilator fully when the cord is released.
It may be observed that some of the parts described may be used without
necessarily employing at the same time the other parts shown in connection
therewith.
Dated this 12th day of February 1895.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.

page_text: Improvements in Ventilation Apparatus.
I, JAMES CURTIN, of 409 Lygon Street, Carlton, near Melbourne, in the Colony
of Victoria, Builder and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be used to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :--
This invention is designed chiefly to supply apparatus comprising means of
ventilation for the admission of fresh air into dwellings, public halls, and other
buildings, railway or other carriages, ships, sewers, drains, and other places
requiring ventilation, and also for the withdrawal of foul or vitiated air from such
places.
It consists essentially of a system of flues of such shapes and so arranged with
trap-plates and parts as set forth hereafter as to allow the air to pass freely through
in one direction whilst being adapted to prevent a back or reverse draught in
the opposite direction, even when exposed directly to a wind in such latter
direction.
Referring to the drawings,
Fig. 1 is an elevation in vertical section of my apparatus as applied to the
ventilation of sewers and drains, said apparatus comprising inlet and outlet
arrangements, and uptake shaft.
Figure 2 is an elevation showing the exterior parts of a down draught inlet
ventilator as improved by me. Figure 3 shows in sectional elevation the ventilator
in Figure 2 on the line 3--3 in the latter figure. Figure 4 shows a sectional plan
view on the line 2-2 in Figure 2. Figure 5 represents a sectional plan view of
parts in Figure 3 taken on the line 4-4 on the latter figure.
Figure 6 is an elevation from within, and Figure 7 is an elevation in transverse
section (on the line 5-5 in Figure 6) showing my apparatus with modifications
applied to the walls or partitions of buildings, carriages or other places for inlet
ventilation. In this form parts of the ventilator are adjustable to enable the
shapes and sizes of the flues to be adjusted as required.
Figure 8 is a transverse sectional elevation illustrating a form of my outlet
ventilation apparatus as applied to walls, partitions, railway carriages &c.
Figure 9 shows an elevation in vertical section of an outlet ventilation apparatus
applicable to ceilings. Figure 10 shows half of the same apparatus in plan view
from beneath.
Figure 11 shows an elevation in vertical section of one form of my improved
apparatus as applicable to the side of a railway carriage or other suitable structures,
and Figure 12 shows the said appliance on a reduced scale applied to a railway
carriage as an outlet ventilator.
The arrows in the drawings show in each case the direction in which the ventilator
is adapted to allow the air to pass through.
Referring to the figures, it will be observed that the feature common to my
ventilators is that they are each composed of or contain a series of distinct flues a a a,
formed by means of rigid divisions or plates bbb of sheet metal or any other
material, wooden divisions being shown in Figures 11 and 12.
These divisions bbb are so arranged that the flues have wide inlets and become
more and more contracted as they extend towards the narrow outlets fff. The
divisions b b b are also so arranged that any back draught of air will be unable to
take a straight course, but will be diverted, and will meet with practically
insuperable obstacles.
This is effected by curving the outlet ends of the division pieces b b b as
shown and in some cases forming branched or forked ends thereto cc as in
Figures 8 and 9; the interior of each flue is also narrowed and given a kind of

page_text: zig-zag course by means of a series of trap-plates d d d affixed obliquely and
rigidly therein, their ends nearest to the ventilator inlets being affixed to the
divisions bbb and their sides being fixed to the sides of the ventilator (as the
sides of bare, the latter being shown in Figure 5) so that there are a series of
pockets formed one behind another, by means of which back draught will be
caught in the pockets, be split up and arrested. The air caught in such
pockets will become somewhat compressed and will tend to rebound and act as a
resisting pad to the passage of further air as a back draught past it but will
not prevent air passing through the flues in the predetermined direction, indicated
by arrows in the drawings. I show in the drawings several usually three distinct
pockets in each flue, and as will be seen I arrange the plates d successively on
alternate sides of the flue so that the pockets occur on alternate sides of the flue
successively. This is necessary for effective results.
There may be an ordinary metal grating at the ventilator entrance and exit
as E and F in Figure 8 or a moulding (as y y in Figure 12) the wall or partition
in which the ventilator is fixed being shown by X X.
The flues are not necessarily of equal length and size but some of them may
be modified and extended in their dimensions, as in the case where an inclination
is given to the external sides 99 of the apparatus.
In the case shown in Figure 9 the aforesaid variation in the flues is shown. The
part of this ventilator above the line v (the base of the up-shaft) is preferably made
square for a short distance up so as to suit square topped flues. The shaft t may
be carried up to the outer air, in any suitable way. A cap or cowl as shown in
Figures 23 and 4, (but omitting the parts below the line H in Figure 3) is in some
cases used in combination with the shaft t of the ventilator in Figure 9 for the
eduction of vitiated air.
In Figure 1, K K is a sewer or drain, B is an inlet air ventilator, C an outlet
ventilator fixed to the top of the ventilating shaft L which is connected to the
drain at W¹ and which has an arrangement of small flues at D (shown in plan at D¹)
for the purpose of assisting the up-current by admitting external air upwardly said
flues being curved and narrowed at the top forming traps to prevent back draught,
the direction of the air currents being shown by arrows. F is a movable metal
grating covering a well-hole as shown. A half drain pipe S is used at the bottom
of the well-hole and at G which shows the foot of the side of said hole, the latter is
sloped towards the up-shaft as shown to allow space for draught. H shows the
level of the ground. In B Figure 1, a a are series of flues (the more flues the
better) having wide inlets for the ingress of fresh air, and contracted outlets ff
with curved divisions bb (preferably of sheet metal) and trap-plates d d all as
previously set forth.
A cover consisting of plates as d¹ preferably of sheet metal is provided
immediately over the flue inlets to prevent the entry of rain or dust into the flues ;
ee are holes in the vertical sides of the ventilator for admitting fresh air, q is a
metal plate to which the whole ventilator B is affixed (as by solder); this plate
being made to fit accurately a metal support built into the well-hole. The
joint between 9 and is made air tight in any suitable manner as by a rubber
fillet i. I may use also a small pipe perforated on top and trapped as P,
(formed at the foot similarly to one of the outlets f at the foot of the inlet
ventilator B) for the purpose of carrying away surface water that may enter
through the grating F. The pipe P may be placed in any convenient position on
the metal plate q. The entire ventilator B may be removed for cleaning, and may
be refixed again by any suitable means as by screws k k.
At the top of the ventilating shaft L (vide Figure 1) is the outlet ventilator C
in which are flues a, with divisions 6 and trap-plates d as already described, to
prevent down draught. ss are capping or roof plates fixed immediately above the
outer ends of the divisions b, to protect the flues from direct exposure to the
weather and also serving to assist the up-draught. There are small holes e¹ e' provided
to allow water or dust that may get into the augles of the flues to escape. Wires

page_text: or bars are preferably fixed at uptake openings fl which are on each side of the
ventilator to prevent birds and rubbish entering. W W are holes or one continuous
opening for increasing the up-draught.
The openings f¹ and W face downwardly and are situated below the outlets f
so as not to act as exits. When the ventilator C Figure 1, is to be used as a cowl
for chimney shafts, the trap-plates d should be removed and the flues a be
ends.
made parallel instead of being narrowed together at their exit or upper
The modified ventilator shown by Figure 3 has a lower series of trapped flues a
(as in B Figure 1, but with the wide end of the flues straight) and an upper series
as next described the two series being connected by a chamber of any suitable
length. This modified form may be used (as a part of the apparatus in Figure 1)
in lieu of the ventilator B. The upper part, see Figure 2, may be used without the
A A are
lower part (containing the flues a) in suitable cases, for house ventilation.
mouths or openings for admitting fresh air, a' a' being flues formed by par-
titions 6 b of sheet metal or other suitable material. The flues are narrowed
internally to accelerate the rate at which fresh air entering A. A passes into the
chamber O. The air then travels down O around the exterior of the pipe or core R
into the flues a a. The foot of chamber O is preferably made square or rectangular
(as from the line O' downward) for convenience in fitting the flue partitions bas
shown in Figure 5. A small interior channel 7 around the top of O is provided to
receive rainwater that may be blown through A. A such water being carried away
by a down pipe . 9' is an outer protective casing. The form of ventilator shown
in Figures 6 and 7 is shown projecting obliquely outward from the face of the
wall, but it might be made with a vertical face, and be flush with the wall. This
ventilator has movable trap-plates dd which are usually tongues of sheet metal
hinged or suitably connected to the flue divisions at the ends of the tongues nearest
the flue entrances. The other ends are fixed to the transverse bars m m to which
vertical connecting wires or rods M M are secured. When this ventilator is fully
open the movable plates d' d' remain close to the flue divisions but at other times
the flue exits are made narrower or if desired wholly closed as hereafter
described. There may be (although not shown in the drawings) within the flues a a,
fixed trap-plates d d as well as the movable ones d' the fixed plates being arranged
so as to catch and arrest any draught entering at ff. The wires or rods Mare
connected at their upper ends to the outer ends of levers nn which are fixed at
their other end to an axle p which extends transversely from side to side of the
ventilator and is pivoted to said sides. The levers n may be raised in suitable
manner as by tumblers T which are attached to an axle (parallel and pivoted
similarly to p) connected to a crank r attached to which is a cord; which is passed
over a pulley u and down as through a hollow bead u¹. The lower end of the
cord is made accessible, to enable said cord to be pulled and secured suitably, when
the ventilator trap-plates d2 are to be raised or lowered.
any
A weighted fillet as N may be used for connection of the levers n n to ensure
their moving evenly, the weight of the fillet pressing down the levers and keeping
the ventilator fully open when the cord is released. The particular form of the
mechanism for operating the parts d' is however, quite immaterial so long as the
adjustability of d as described is secured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An improved ventilation apparatus consisting of a series of flues a, with wide
openings, and narrow exits f, said flues formed by a series of divisions 6 and having
attached to said divisions a series of fixed trap-plates d, arranged to form successive
traps or pockets in said flues on alternate sides, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth and as illustrated in the drawings.
2. An improved adjustable ventilation apparatus having in combination a series
of flues a, movable trap-plates d³, within said flues, bars m m connected to said

page_text: plates at the outlets f of said flues and means for moving said bars and plates,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and as illustrated in the drawings.
3. In a sewer ventilation apparatus the arrangement and combination of inlet
ventilator B, shaft L and outlet ventilator C, substantially as described with
reference to Figure 1 of the drawings.
4. In an inlet ventilation apparatus the arrangement and combination of inlets A,
flues a¹, divisions b³, chamber O, channel 1, pipe , flues a, divisions b, trap-
plates and outlets fall as herein described with reference to Figures 2 to 5 of
the drawings.
Dated this 28th day of March 1895.