IMPROVEMENTS IN ICE BOXES FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF SOLID AND TRANSPARENT ICE
Year: 1873

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by Charles Denoon Young at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 5th July 1873, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.-A communication from
John Ryle, junior, Engineer, residing at Glasgow, Scotland.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENOON YOUNG, Engineer, in the City and County of Perth, Scotland,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ICE BOXES FOR THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF SOLID AND TRANSPARENT ICE,"
and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,
and have made solemn Declaration that the same is a communication
to me from John Ryle, junior, Engineer, at present residing in
Glasgow, Scotland.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Denoon Young, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement: :―
The outer portion or sides and bottoms of the boxes employed for
freezing the blocks of ice in are composed of wood, and made of
sufficient strength to prevent springing or getting out of shape by use,
and of such dimension as to suit the machine for which they are
intended. The boxes are longitudinally divided into spaces by hollow
cast or other metal, refrigerating partitions extending from end to end
and nearly to the bottom of the box, and to within a few inches of the
top, more or less. These hollow partitions perform two functions, first,
they are constructed for circulating the saline or freezing mixture
through their interior by a suitably constructed pump for the rapid
absorption of the heat from the water to be frozen which is placed in the
box, and in contact with the outside of the partitions, and second, for
forming the sides of the moulds for freezing the blocks of ice. These
hollow partitions are divided into longitudinal channels by slips of metal
cast or fitted therein for conducting or causing the freezing mixture to
circulate from end to end of the boxes for more rapidly absorbing and
conveying the heat from and freezing the water placed between the said
partitions. The ends of these partitions are secured to metal plates
forming the ends of the boxes, and longitudinal screw bolts are passed.
through the plates and hollow partitions for holding them firmly
together. The saline or freezing fluid is forced into the partition by a
pump, and made to pass or circulate from end to end through the
channels made therein by the strips of metal before mentioned. The
freezing fluid may be forced into the bottom channels and out of the
top, or forced into the top and out of the bottom of the hollow partitions
if found desirable. The lengths of the blocks of ice are determined or
divided by transverse hollow partitions or tubes of copper or other metal
placed on both sides of the longitudinal partition before described, and
also at the end of the boxes. To prevent the ice from adhering to the
end plates the lower ends of these copper or other metal tubes extend
down and rest on cross pieces near the bottom of the box, and their
upper ends which are left open are an inch or two above the edge of the
refrigerating partition.

page_text: Another portion of my improvement is constructing and arranging
agitators to the ice box for stirring and agitating the water for the
.double purpose of continually bringing fresh particles of water into
contact with the refrigerating partitions through which the refrigerating
1 medium flows for causing a more rapid transmission of heat from the
water, and at the same time liberating any fixed air contained in the
water which escapes to its surface, and thereby produce solid and trans-
parent ice in the least possible time, which would not be the case if the
air bubbles were frozen in the water. The ice would otherwise have an
opaque appearance instead of being solid and clean.
In order to permit the agitating process to continue working during
the whole time the freezing process is going on for the purposes before
stated, more water is placed in the mould than is intended to be frozen,
so that the inner surfaces of the blocks of icc formed in the mould will
not meet, and the agitating levers are thereby permitted to act during
the whole process.
The top of the boxes are furnished with a series of transverse
oscillating shafts over the centre of each set or group of moulds; these
shafts are furnished with stirring blades or levers attached thereto, and
extend down into each mould in which a block of ice is to be formed for
stirring or agitating the water during the process of freezing for the
purposes before stated: These shafts are coupled to permanently fixed
oscillating shafts placed at the side or between the two ice boxes.
These permanently fixed shafts are vibrated or worked from any source
of power through the medium of a suitable connecting rod and levers
attached thereto. The shafts placed over the ice boxes are coupled to
the permanent shafts attached to the edges of the boxes, so that any of
them may be readily coupled or uncoupled for replacing or removing
the agitators from the moulds if desired while the agitating mechanism
is in motion.
When the ice is formed ready for removing to store or use, warm.
water or heated bits of metal are placed in the transverse tubes for
dividing or separating the blocks of ice, and in the meatime currents of
warm water are forced through the refrigerating partitions for separating
it from them, after which the blocks of ice are taken out of the box or
moulds, when they are again refilled with water, and the freezing process
annlied.

page_text: To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the improvement,
reference is here made to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
of reference marked thereon, and made to form part of this Specification.
Similar letters refer to corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings is a top view of two ice boxes joined together
as represented, and as they are commonly used when more than one box
is employed for the same machine.
..
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the box, and also shews
a partial sectional view of the partions through which the refrigerating
medium is circulated..
Fig. 3 is an end and transverse sectional elevation of the boxes joined
together. In this view the end elevation of the box shewn has the
piping attached thereto, through which the refrigerating medium is
forced into and out of the hollow partition in the box..
Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal section of the ends of the partitions for
shewing the channels through which the refrigerating mixture is cir-
culated.
A, A, represent the box with its sides and bottom made of wood and
framed together in the manner represented for supporting the re-
frigerating partitions B; the lower edges of the partitions rest on 2
longitudinal pieces of wood C, C, framed in the box. The top edges of
these pieces of wood, and consequently the lower edges of the partition B
are about eight inches more or less from the bottom of the box. The
object of this is to prevent the water in the lower part of the boxes from
freezing by being brought in direct contact with the refrigerating 2
partition B, B, for allowing the foreign matter in the water (if it
contains any) to settle in the bottom of the box below the lower edges of
the refrigerating partition, whence it may be drawn off at each refilling
of the box if found necessary. The partitions B, B, are usually cast and
divided into channels for the purpose before stated, and attached to the 3
metal ends D of the box by longitudinal bolts f,f. Pipes for conveying
the refrigerating mixtures from the machine are attached to the top and
bottom of the refrigerating partition at the end of the boxes as repre-
sented in Figs. 1 and 3, so that the freezing mixture may be forced into
the top and out of the bottom, or into the bottom and out of the top of 3

page_text: the refrigerating partitions, as desired, by any suitable arrangement of
pipes and cocks for that purpose.
:
9, 9, are tubes usually made of copper and closed at their lower and
left open at their top ends, and placed on each side of the partition at
proper distances apart, as represented for dividing the blocks of ice into
suitable lengths in the manner before stated by inserting heated bits of
metal in the tubes or filling them with water. The lower ends of these
tubes are placed down a short distance below the edges of the re-
frigerating partitions, and made to rest on cross pieces of framing in the
box, and the top ends a little above the edges of the partitions, as
represented in the Drawings.
The following is a description of the agitating apparatus:-E, E, are
oscillating shafts placed over the centre of each group of moulds formed
in the boxes by the partition B, B, and dividing tubes 9, 9, as repre-
sented; H, H, are levers or agitators attached to the shaft E, and made
to extend down into the mould; J, J, are short shafts permanently
attached to the edges of the boxes, and provided with levers F; F. A
communicating rod I extends down the whole length of the box, and is
attached to the levers F, F, for applying the power from any suitable
source to move the agitators. The shafts E, E, are coupled to the ends
of the short shaft J, J, in any known manner, so that any one of them
may be attached or detached while the others are in motion.
-
The following is a description of the action of the improvement :-
When the boxes are fitted complete for use the moulds are filled with
water for cooling or freezing. Then the saline or refrigerating solution
is forced into the refrigerating partitions B, B, through pipes attached to
the ends of the boxes as before stated, and the agitating apparatus is
set in motion, when the freezing process commences.
When the blocks of ice are formed the process of removing them
from the moulds is effected by passing warm water into the refrigerating
partition and transverse tubes for separating the ice therefrom for the
purpose and in the manner before stated, after which the blocks are
removed in any convenient manner for use or storing.
The refrigerating partitions B, B, and lateral dividing tubes 9, 9, are
made slightly tapering with their thickest edges at the bottom of the

page_text: boxes to permit the blocks of ice being readily removed from the
moulds.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denoon Young, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
CHARLES DENOON YOUNG. (L.S.)
Signed & sealed in
presence of me,
MELVILLE JAMESON,
A Commissioner for taking Oaths
in the High Court of
Chancery in England.