Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Ice and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Aug., 1890-Accepted. 13th Sept.. 1890
PROVISIONAL FECIFTUATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Ice and to Apparatus
therefor.
We, FREDERICK BARKER HILL, of 27 Culmore Road, Peckham, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, and JAMES SINCLAIR, of 114 Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Fire Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of ice and to apparatus therefor.
It is well known that, in order to produce clear ice, it is necessary to keep the
liquid in constant agitation during the process of freezing the same. For this purpose
various devices have been employed such as mechanical stirrors; and in some
instances the desired result has been sought to be attained by sliding to and fro
suitable vessels containing the liquid to be frozen, and immersed in the brine or
other freezing medium. All the attempts heretofore made to attain the desired result
have, however, been unsuccessful or more or less unsatisfactory.
Now we have discovered that very good results can be attained by imparting
a swinging or oscillating motion to pans or vessels containing the liquid to he
frozen.
According to our present invention, therefore, we arrange one or more of such
pans or vessels in a tank or chamber containing brine or other freezing medium, in
such a manner that cach of the said vessels can turn about a pivot or centre, and
we provide suitable means for causing the said vessels to constantly swing or
oscillate about. the said pivot or centre during the freezing of the liquid contained
in them.
In some instances we mount each vessel upon trunnions at or near its upper end
and we arrange beneath the said vessel a shaft provided with an arm extending
upward between projections on the said vessel. This shaft is provided with suitable
means for imparting to it, by steam or other power, a rocking or oscillating motion.
We prefer to arrange several pairs of the said vessels side by side in the freezing
tank and to provide the rock-shaft with a series of arms each of which will impart
oscillating motion to a pair of the said vessels.
In other instances we pivot each of the ice-vessels at one end of the same and
support the other end thereof upon an arm or lever fixed upon a suitable rock-shaft.
We find it advantageous to arrange opposite each other two series of pairs of such
vessels, so that a double-armed lever fixed upon the rock-shaft can be utilized for
imparting a swinging oscillating motion to two pairs of the said vessels.
It is obvious, however, that there are various other arrangements which we can, if
desired, employ for imparting the requisite swinging or oscillating movement to the
ice-vessels. Moreover the trunnions, pivots or centres may be at the top, bottom,
end or other convenient part of the said ice vessels.
Dated this 11th day of November 1889.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Ice and to Apparatus
therefor.
We, FREDERICK BARKER HILL of 27 Culmore Road, Peckham in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, and JAMES SINCLAIR, of 114 Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Fire 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 :-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of ice and to apparatus therefor.
It is well known that in order to produce clear ice, it is necessary to keep the
liquid from which the same is to be made, in a state of constant agitation during
the process of freezing. For this purpose, various devices have herotofore been
employed, snch as mechanical stirrers; and, in some instances the desired result has
been sought to be attained by causing suitable vessels containing the liquid to be
frozen to slide to and fro in the brine or other freezing medium. All the attempts
heretofore made to attain the desired result have, however, been unsuccessful or more
or less unsatisfactory.
Now the said Frederick Barker Hill has discovered that very good results can be
attained by imparting a swinging or oscillating motion to pans or vessels containing
the liquid to be frozen.
According to our present invention, therefore, we arrange one or more of the said
pans or vessels in a tank or chamber containing brine or other suitable freezing
medium, in such a manner that each of the said vessels is free to he moved about
suitable pivots or trunnions, and we provide suitable means for causing the said vessels
to constantly swing or oscillate about the said pivots or trunnions during the freezing
of the liquid which they contain.
In the accompanying drawings, we have shown how our said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan, the lid or cover being removed, and
Figure 2 a vertical longitudinal section, of a portion of one form of our improved
ice-making apparatus.
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line a, a, Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 is a plan, the lid or cover being removed, and
Figure 5 a transverse section on the line y, y, Figure 4, showing another form or
modification of our improved apparatus.
Figure 6 is a transverse section illustrating a further modification of our said
apparatus.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
a is the tank or chamber for containing the brine or other freezing medium. a' is
the lid or cover of the said tank or chamber. b, bare the pans or vessels for containing
the liquid to be frozen.
In Figures 1, 2 and 3, we have shown an arrangement in which each of the pans
or vessels b is provided at or near its upper end with trunnions or pivots 6¹, whereby
it is supported in grooves or bearings in cross-pieces a secured to the inside of the
brine tank or chamber a. Each pan or vessel 6 is, moreover, provided at or near its
lower end with lateral projections or studs b³.
Oscillating or swinging motion is imparted to the said pans or vessels 6 through
the medium of a rock-shaft c, which is supported in bearings c¹ secured to the bottom
of the brine tank or chamber a. The said rock-shaft is provided with arms or
wipers which extend upward between the projections or studs 6³ on the pans or
vessels b. On one end of the rock-shaft c is firmly secured a lever or crank-arm d,
which is connected at its upper end by a rod d¹ to a disc-crank e driven by a belt
from any suitable motor.
In the form or modification of our invention illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the
pans or vessels bare arranged in parallel rows or series. The pans or vessels of each

page_text: row or series are secured at their outer end by means of arms or lugs 63 to a rod or
bar which is supported in brackets 9 attached to the inside of the brine tank or
chamber a. The said pans or vessels are supported at their inner end by means of
lateral projections or studs & which rest upon arms a keyed or otherwise firmly
secured upon the rock-shaft c.
In Figure 6, we have shown a further modification of our invention wherein the
arms or wipers, instead of engaging with projections arranged on the side of the
pans or vessels as herein before described, engage with projections or studs 6º upon
the underside of the said pans or vessels.
To facilitate the removal of the pans or vessels b from the brine tank for the purpose
of discharging the ice therefrom, they are preferably provided with handles & rivetted
or otherwise secured to their upper edge.
The operation of our improved apparatus is as follows, ciz :-The tank or chamber a
having been filled with brine or other suitable freezing medium and the pans or
vessels with the liquid to be frozen, the disc-crank e is set in rotation by a belt from
a steam engine or other suitable motor; oscillating motion is thus imparted to the
rock-shaft c, the projections or wipers of which, acting upon the projections or
studs on the pans or vessels b, move the said pans or vessels alternately in either
direction about their pivots or trunnions ; thus keeping the liquid in constant
agitation during the freezing of the same.
It will be seen that, in the apparatus shown in Figures 4 and 5, the pans or
vessels will, during the oscillation of the rock-shaft cas herein before described, be
alternately raised and lowered at their inner ends by the arms es, the pans or vessels
of one row or series being raised whilst those of the other row or series are lowered,
and vice versa.
It is obvious that we can, without departing from the nature of our said invention,
arrange the pans or vessels b in any other suitable manner so that swinging or
oscillating motion may be imparted to them, or we can provide other convenient
means for imparting the requisice swinging or oscillating motion to the pans or vessels
pivoted as above described."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we wish it understood that we
claim :-
First. In the manufacture of ice, the berein described method of agitating the
liquid to be frozen by imparting swinging or oscillating motion to suitable pans or
vessels containing the said liquid, for the purpose above specified.
Second. The improved apparatus constructed with the swinging or oscillating pans
or vessels substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, or to
Figures 4 and 5, or to Figure 6 of the drawings and operating as, and for the purpose,
above specified.