IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING OR PURIFYING AIR, AND IN INCREASING OR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF AND IN THE APPLICATION OF AIR SO TREATED TO SANITARY AND OTHER USES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John White, of Finchley, in the County of Middlesex,
Surgeon, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING OR PURIFYING
AIR, AND IN INCREASING OR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF, AND IN THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John White at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
January 1859.
I, JOHN WHITE, of Finchley, in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLEANSING.OR PURIFYING AIR, AND IN INCREASING OR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE
THEREOF, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF AIR SO TREATED TO SANITARY AND OTHER
USES," to be as follows:-
The object of my improvements-is particularly to act upon air in rooms or
other places, or in its passage to or from such rooms or other places, to
purify the same, and when needful to cool or warm it. For this purpose the
air to be operated upon is caused to pass through a channel or channels,
into which, and in contact with such air, water is caused to flow in streams
or jets, or the air to be treated is forced into water in suitable vessels.
By impregnating the water thus usedwithsuitablepurifying agentsadapted
to absorb or neutralize impurities combined with the air, purification thereof
[Price 8d.]

page_text: will be effected, whilst by heating or cooling the fluid thus used the
temperature of the air may be increased or reduced to the extent desired.
Apparatus which I have found well to answer the purpose of giving
motion to the air to be operated upon consists of a vessel, the two opposite
sides of which are connected together by means of prepared leather or other
suitable flexible material to admit of one or both of these opposite sides
being moved to and fro in the manner of bellows, and by suitable flexible
or moveable channels the air is caused to pass to and from such chambers
or bellows, and be directed as required.
The means thus employed for the cooling of air for sanitary purposes are
also applicable to the cooling of brewers' worts or other fluids by causing
the air to escape through numerous channels or passages by preference
into the lower parts of the vessel containing the fluid to be cooled, when
by the escape of such cooled air through the heated fluid heat will be
absorbed, and the liquid cooled.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John White in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WHITE, of Finchley, in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine,in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John White, Her special licence that I, the said John White, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
White, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLEANSING OR PURIFYING AIR, AND IN INCREASING OR REDUCING THE TEM-
PERATURE THEREOF, AND IN THE APPLICATION OF AIR SO TREATED TO SANITARY
AND OTHER USES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John White, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly

page_text: describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John White, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of my improvements is particularly to act upon air in rooms or
other places, or in its passage to or from such rooms or other places, to purify
the same, and when needful to cool or warm it. For this purpose the air to
be operated upon is caused to pass through a channel or channels, into which,
and in contact with such air, water is caused to flow in streams or jets, or
the air to be treated is forced into water in suitable vessels.
By impregnating the water thus used with suitable purifying agents adapted
to absorb or neutralize impurities combined with the air, purification thereof
will be effected, whilst by heating or cooling the fluid thus used the tem-
perature of the air may be increased or reduced to the extent desired.
Apparatus which I have found well to answer the purpose of giving motion
to the air to be operated upon consists of a vessel, the two opposite sides of
which are connected together by means of prepared leather or other suitable
flexible material to admit of one or both of these opposite sides being moved
to and fro in the manner of bellows, and by suitable flexible or moveable
channels the air is caused to pass to and from such chambers or bellows,
and be directed as required.
But that the nature of these improvements, and the means which I adopt
in carrying the same into effect may be more fully understood, I will proceed
to describe the same more in detail, aided by the accompanying Drawing.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a section of the simplest form of apparatus adapted to carry
out my improvements. a is a chamber formed by the top and bottom plates
a', a², and the surrounding surface a³, which I prefer to be formed of prepared
leather, though other material may be used for the purpose, adapted to admit
of the part a' being caused to move towards and from the part a² by action
upon the handle a', in order that by such action air may be alternately drawn
into and forced from the chamber a, as in what are called "bellows." Air
flowing into the chamber a will pass by the valve a in the opening aº, as the
part a' is drawn from the part a². When the chamber a has thus become

page_text: filled with air, by then forcing the part a towards the part a², the air from the
chamber a will be forced through the passage b, and by the numerous
channels in the chamber c connected with it to the chamber d, containing
water or water combined with other matters, adapted to absorb or neutralize
impurities which may be contained in the air taken into the chamber a. The
air thus deprived of its impurities will flow out by the passage d', and may
thence be conducted as desired. There is a valve b¹ to the passage b, which
will close when the part a'is again drawn upwards for the purpose of admitting
air to the vessel a for purification; d2 is an inlet, and d³ an outlet for the
water. Apparatus thus arranged is especially adapted by its portable character
for use in sick chambers, ships, as well as other situations.
Apparatus according to my improvements adapted more especially to public
buildings is represented by sectional view at Figure 2, and external elevation
and plan views at Figures 3 and 4. In this arrangement the water, or water
impregnated with other matters used for purification of the vitiated air, is
admitted by the pipe e from a suitable elevation or pressure to the upright
hollow axis, the upper part of which is formed with hollow arms f¹ having
openings in them for the flow therefrom of the fluid supplied by the pipe e,
and by openings in one arm being on the opposite side to those in the other,
the
passage of the water therefrom will cause the axis with its arms to rotate,
as is well understood by what is called "Barker's mill." The axis fand
arms are enclosed in an air-tight case g, within which are a series of
supports g¹, or woollen or other suitable fabric indicated by red lines g4, in
position to become saturated by the fluid passing out from the perforations in
the arms. The upper part of the axis fis formed with veins or fans h, h;
enclosed in the case i, and these fans consequently have motion given to them
in the motion of the axis fadapted to create a partial vacuum within the
chamber g, by drawing the contained air therefrom by the passage i¹, and
forcing it out by the passage i2; 92, 93, are passages for the admission of air to
the interior of the chamber g. And the air admitted by these passages g², g³,
will, by the partial vacuum created within, as stated, be caused to flow through
the moistened cloth g4, by the action of which, and of the jets of water flowing
from the arms f, the impurities contained in such air will be absorbed
before it is allowed to pass away by the passage 23. If desired, there may
be several circles of the cloth, or the cloth may be arranged also in horizontal
layers or sheets, so as to become thoroughly moistened by the water, and
afford more facility for absorption, and there may also be jets arranged in
other directions if desired; e' is an outlet pipe through which the water
used is allowed to pass off from the chamber g.

page_text: Figure 5 represents on a smaller scale one method ofapplying the apparatus
I am now describing to the ventilating of a large room or public building
represents the outer wall of a room or building; k, the floor thereof; and g,
the apparatus in position. It will be seen that the air to be acted upon may
be admitted either from the exterior of the building by the passage g², or from
the interior by the passage g³, or partly from each, and to regulate the flow by
these passages, each is supplied with a suitable regulator or valve. The air
when acted upon will be discharged purified by the passage to the chamber?,
enclosed by the wall j. In some cases it will be evident apparatus of the
character referred to, may, if desired, be applied externally of a building.
Figure 6 represents another adaptation, in which the flow of air will be
caused by the heat of a stove m, enclosed within the case n. The air to be
purified will pass to the interior of the case n by passages o, or by a tube
or tubes if desired, and flow out by the passage p', where it will be acted
upon by the jets of water falling from the small fountain p.
Another arrangement is represented by Figure 7, where q represents part of
the interior of a large building, a church for instance, the air for which is
desired to be warmed in its passage thereto. represents the heating
apparatus, which may be of any desired kind, and forms no part of my Invention;
s is the passage for air from the exterior of the building to the passage s¹, and
s2 is another passage by which air may flow from the interior of the building,
if desired. In the passage s¹ is provided a small cistern t,supplied by a pipe ti
from a reservoir of supply t², and the under side of the cistern t is perforated
with numerous small holes, by which water may flow to the receiver u, and
in its passage act upon the air caused to pass through it.
In this case also, woollen or other suitable cloth may be suspended in such
manner as to become moistened by the action of the water, or water impregnated
with other matters, and that the air to be heated may pass through it. If
desired, the water or impregnated liquid employed may be heated before
acting upon the air passed through it, so as to warm the same, or by being
used cold it may cause a cooling of such air.
By impregnating the water employed as the purifying means with certain
chemical agents the air forced or drawn threthrough will also become impreg-
nated so as to produce the effect of sea or other desired breezes.
Having thus described the nature of the improvements, and some of the
means which I have found well to answer in carrying the same into effect, I
would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details
shown and described, as these may be varied; but what I do claim is the
action upon air for the purpose of cleansing and purifying the same, as also

page_text: to increase or reduce the temperature thereof by means of water or water
impregnated with other matters, and the application thereof to sanitary and
other uses substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said John White, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
WILLIAM BROOKES,
73, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent [Agent.
JOHN WHITE. (..s.)