IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE, REFRIGERATING, EVAPO- RATING, AND DESICCATING
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Anthony Gapper Southby, of 3, New Inn, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE, REFRIGERATING, EVAPO-
RATING, AND DESICCATING."
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Sealed the 6th November, 1877, and dated the 8th August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Anthony Gapper Southby
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th August 1877.
ANTHONY GAPPER SOUTHBY, of 3, New Inn, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING
ICE, REFRIGERATING, EVAPORATING, AND DESICCATING."
My improvements consist in pumping away the vapour produced by removing
the atmospheric pressure from water, or substances or liquids containing water. For
this purpose I use a pump or exhauster to produce the necessary vacuum, and draw
away the watery vapour as it forms, and when it has been so drawn away I more
or less compress it, and prevent it from condensing in any part of the pump or
exhauster by keeping all the parts coming in contact with the vapour at a higher
temperature than that at which the vapour condenses, at the highest compression to
which it is subjected.
I prefer to use two or more pumps in succession, the first to draw off the vapour
and commence the compression, while one or more pumps complete the compression
to the desired amount; or as in the second method mentioned further on relieve the
first pump or pumps from the pressure of the atmosphere.
I sometimes use for drawing of the vapour and commencing the compression one
of the forms of pump called rotary, by preference using one which works without
valves, or in which the valves are formed by the piston passing certain passages or
positions, but in all cases the pump must act by displacement, or by alternate
suction and compression, and not by the momentum of the fluid acted on.
After the vapour has been drawn away from the water to be refrigerated ar
frozen, or from the substances or liquids to be deseccated or evaporated, I employ two
methods for getting rid of it.

page_text: First mothod. I still further increase the compression of the vapour till it reaches
the density of the atmosphere, when I allow it to escape, taking care that every part
of the pump and passages coming in contact with the vapour are kept at a suffi-
cient temperature to keep it from condensing.
Second method.-I condense the vapour after a certain amount of compression in
a condenser, cooled either by air or water, as is well understood in this method. I
employ one pump to produce a more or less perfect vacuum, and remove the air from
every part of the apparatus, and another pump to draw off the vapour, and by
compressing it cause it to condense in the condenser, from which the condensed
water may be pumped by the air pump, or may be allowed to collect in a reservoir,
from which it may be drawn at the end of the operation.
In applying my Invention to different useful purposes I use a variety of apparatus
adapted to the different requirements, among which I especially mention the fol-
lowing-In making ice the water to be frozen or refrigerated need only be placed
in a vessel capable of standing the external pressure of the atmosphere, and
connected with the pump or exhauster, as for instance in this way a decanter
partially filled with water may have the water cooled, or more or less turned to ice;
but where large blocks of ice are desired prefer to proceed as follows:-I place a
vessel or vessels (afterwards called the freezing vessel, of the form desired for the
block of ice, and which vessel may be formed of any suitable material, such as zinc)
in another vessel with an opining large enough to admit the freezing vessel; this
opening I close with a cover fitted perfectly air-tight, as is well understood, and I
prefer to make the vapours as they are drawn away from the freezing vessel to pass
over the surface of that vessel on their way to the pump or exhauster.
I sometimes cool the water before admitting it to the freezing vessel by passing
the cold vapour from the freezing vessel over a vessel or pipes containing it, or
through pipes passing through it; in this case the water after it has been cooled
may be let run into the freezing vessel either intermittently or in a small streain,
or the water cooled by the operation may be used in a subsequent operation.
I sometimes remove the air and gases absorbed by the water to be frozen before
it is admitted to the freezing vessel by submitting it to a partial vacuum in another
vessel.
In applying my Invention to refrigerating in the case of aqueous solutions, such
as brewers' worts, they may be placed. in a vessel connected with the pump or
exhauster, and the aqueous vapour drawn away till the desired temperature is
obtained, or a sufficient length of pipe may be laid in a similar vessel containing
water, and water may be passed through the pipe and be afterwards used for
refrigerating, as is well understood, or the solution itself may be passed through the
.pipe.
In the case of refrigerating air it may be passed through pipes fixed in a similar
vessel, preferably more or less perpendicularly, and the air to be cooled may be
passed through the pipes preferably in a downward direction.
In these cases materials may be added to the water in the refrigerating vessel to
lower its freezing point.
In desiccating by this Invention, the substances to be desiccated may be laid on a
tray or trays, and placed on a vessel similar to the one described to contain the
freezing vessel, and the trays may be laid on gridirons of pipes, or on shelves formed
like very thin boxes, through which warm water may be passed. In evaporating,
the liquids may be placed in vessels similar to those described for refrigerating, and
warm water may be passed through the pipes; or where the liquid to be evaporated
is not damaged by a freezing temperature, brine may be passed through the pipe
and cooled to below freezing point by the evaporation of the liquid to be evaporated,
and the cooled brine or other liquid may be used for making ice, or for refrigerating;
or water may be placed in closed vessels submerged in the liquid.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Anthony Gapper Southby in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th February 1878.
ANTHONY GAPPER SOUTHBY, of 3, New Inn, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING
ICE, REFRIGERATING, EVAPORATING, AND DESICCATING."
My improvements consist in pumping away the aqueous vapour produced by
removing the atmospheric pressure from water, or liquids or substances containing
water. For this purpose I use a pump or exhauster to produce the necessary vacuum
and draw away the watery vapour, and when it has been so drawn away I more or
less compress it and prevent it from condensing in any part of the pump or
exhauster by keeping all the parts coming in contact with the vapour at a higher
temperature than that at which the vapour condenses at the highest compression to
which it is subjected.
I use two or more pumps in succession, the first to draw off the vapour and
commence the compression, while one or more pumps in succession complete the
compression to the desired amount, or (as in the second method mentioned further
on) relieve the first pump or pumps from the pressure of the atmosphere.
I sometimes use for drawing off the vapour and commencing the compression one
of the forms of pump called rotary, by preference using one which works without
valves, or in which the valves are formed by the piston passing certain passages or
positions, but in all cases the pump must act by displacement, or by alternate
suction and compression, and not by the momentum of the fluid acted on.
In these pumps the moving parts are required to fit with great accuracy, and
a high rate of speed is advisable to diminish the piston leakage as much as
possible, and the clearance at the outlet end of the action must be reduced as much
as possible, and a valve should be added to this outlet to remove as much as possible
the back pressure on the piston while the vapour is being compressed.
After the vapour has been drawn away from the water to be frozen or refrigerated;
or from the liquids or substances to be evaporated or desiccated, I employ two
methods for getting rid of it.
First method, after the compression has been carried to a certain extent by the
first pump. I still further increase the compression of the vapour by one or more
pumps in succession till the density reaches that of the atmosphere, when I allow it
to escape, taking care that every part of the pumps and passages coming in contact
with the vapour are kept at a sufficient temperature to keep it from condensing,
and the vapour as it escapes from the pump may be used to keep up the tempera-
ture for this purpose. In the above the pumps in succession must be of a capacity
to receive the vapour as compressed by the preceding pump, for instance, for the
production of ice, allowing that approximately the vapour of water at the freezing
température is about one one hundred and fiftieth of the pressure of the atmosphere,
and that it will therefore have to be compressed to one one hundred and fiftieth of its
bulk to allow of its escaping into the atmosphere, I compress the vapour twelve and
a quarter times by the first pump, where using two pumps, and the remaining
twelve and a quarter times by the other pump, the second pump being of a capacity.
to hold the vapour compressed by the first, and the temperature at which it is
advisable to keep the different pumps and at which good results will be obtained'
are, say, not less than one hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit for the first puïnp,'
and a boiling temperature for the second, and proportionately for more pumps in'
the succession as to capacity and temperature, and the latter may be calculated by:
reference to a table of the elastic force of the vapour of water at different compres-
sions and temperatures.

page_text: The pumps may be of any good construction adapted for the purpose of producing
a high vacuum. Two or more pumps similar to the first pump shewn in the
Drawings of the second method, of the proportions mentioned above, and connected
together by pipes; the whole moved by cranks on a shaft driven by any sufficient
power will answer well.
Second method.—I condense the vapour as drawn off and more or less compressed
by the first pump in a condenser, cooled either by air or water; as is well understood.
In this method I employ one pump to produce a more or less perfect vacuum, and
remove the air from every part of the apparatus, and another pump to draw off the
vapour, and by compressing it cause it to condense in the condenser, from which the
condensed water may be pumped by the air pump, or may be allowed to collect in
.a reservoir, from which it may be drawn at the end of the operation.
To make this second method more easily understood, and to shew the general
arrangement of the whole apparatus as here described, I have annexed Drawings, in
which Fig. I. is a sectional elevation of an apparatus for carrying out this second
method (which I have found to answer well) adapted for making ice by hand or small
power, being fitted with ice box and water cooled condenser, described further on;
Fig. II. is a section; and Fig. IlI., a plan of an ice box for larger requirements,
which may be substituted for that shewn at Fig. I.
A, Fig. I., is the first pump for drawing off the vapour, and compressing it a
certain amount, say, twelve and a quarter times, which will cause it to condense
freely in the condenser if at a maximum temperature of, say, one hundred degrees
Fahrenheit, and two decimal forty-five inches of mercury pressure. In this pump
the cylinder B is moved up and down by a connecting rod and crank, which is not
shewn in the Drawings, for the sake of simplicity, the vapour being admitted to it
through the hollow stationary piston rod C. On the end of this piston rod is
formed a double valve D, with passage E between for the vapour. F is the piston,
which is made with a passage through the centre, and enlarged cavity in the middle,
with valve seats in the upper and lower flanges, against which the valves on the
piston rod are alternately pressed by the motion of the cylinder B, so admitting the
vapour for the up-and-down strokes through grooves cut in the valve seats at G.
This mode of actuating the inlet valves I have found to answer well, and some
kind of actuation is advisable for these valves, especially in small machines, and
working at a fast stroke as the density of water vapour at the freezing temperature,
decimal two of an inch of mercury, is too small to move a substantial valve with
desirable speed. Many other forms of actuated inlet valves suggest themselves; for
instance, one form I have found to answer when using an oscillating cylinder are
clack valves suspended from the top (like the exit valves at H, Fig. I.), the valves so
placed on the top and bottom diagonally of the sides of the cylinder that they fall
away alternately from their seats by their own weight as the cylinder first inclines
to one side, then to the other. Or slide valves and gear similar to those used for
steam engines may be used, but in all cases taking care to have the passages from
the valves to the cylinder of as small capacity as possible, as also the clearance
between the piston and ends of the cylinder at the ends of the stroke.
H, Fig. I. are the exit valves, which move automatically, as it is not desirable
that they should move till the pressure inside the cylinder equals that in the
condenser, or there would be waste of power from back pressure.
I, Fig. I. is the stuffing box for the piston rod, which inust not leak air; for this
purpose the whole stuffing box may be enveloped in a vessel of oil, as is often done
with air pumps for the laboratory; or, as is shown at H, a short piece of vulcanised
india-rubber pipe, fitting tightly round the piston rod and well lubricated, is sprung
over a short nozzle on the cylinder end, the india-rubber pipe being kept from
stretching lengthwise by a ring of metal fitting loosely over the piston rod, held in
position by short standards on the cylinder end, as shewn. This plan I have found
to answer well if kept constantly lubricated, and where the piston rod does not
travel at a high speed.

page_text: In the Drawings the cylinder is shewn surrounded by a jacket for hot water to
supply the heat to prevent condensation in the cylinder by the vapour, and which
is assisted by the heat absorbed through the sides of the passages c connecting the
ice box M with the pump, and from the water in the coil of pipe O, described
further on, where the temperature in the passages is lower than that of the atmo
sphere, as in making ice. The temperature in the water jacket may conveniently
be maintained by steam or gas.
The exit pipes are shewn connected with the condenser J, which may be of any
approved construction by the flexible india-rubber pipe K lined with wire; or if
stuffing boxes are used they may be rendered air-tight by surrounding them
with oil.
L, Fig. I., is the air pump, which is shewn single action. The atmospheric
pressure on the piston of this pump, together with that on the piston rod of the
large pump, are made to balance the weight of the cylinder of the latter, the small
pump being on the down stroke when the large is on the up.
Both pumps may be driven by cranks on a shaft, as is well understood, and if of
the size of those shewn in the Drawings, which are to a quarter scale, can be driven
slowly by hand or fast by power.
Too great care cannot be taken in the fit of the piston and valves of the large
cylinder of these apparatus, although the difference between the pressures on the
inlet and outlet sides of the pump is so small (say, from one and a half inches to
three inches of mercury, according to the temperature of the water in the condenser),
still the vapour is so rarified that it will pass freely through the smallest leak.
Many well-known forms of Archimedean, pneumatic, and rotary pumps or
exhausters suggest themselves as applicable for producing small differential pressures,
such as are here required, the two former worked with a medium of very high
boiling point in vessels capable of withstanding the pressure of the atmosphere, the
latter worked at high speeds to minimise the leakage. But all forms of pump
working by the momentum of the elastic fluid acted on are inadmissable.
It is convenient in working this apparatus to have vacuum gauges, one on the
pipe leading to the inlet valves, and for this the little syphon mercury gauge will
answer well, and one on the pipe leading from the exit valves, for which one of the
Bourdon forin of gauges will answer.
It is the more convenient plan when starting these pumps, in order to get up the
vacuum, to begin with the second pump of the first method, or the air pump of the
second method; these pumps should therefore be able to be disconnected from the
first pump, so that they may be able to be worked separately.
In applying my Invention to different useful purposes I use a variety of apparatus
adapted to the different requirements, among which I especially mention the
following
In making ice the water to be frozen or refrigerated need only be placed in a
vessel capable of withstanding the external pressure of the atmosphere, and
connected with the pump or exhauster, as, for instance, in this way a decanter
partially filled with water may have the water cooled or more or less turned to ice;
but where large blocks of ice are desired I prefer to proceed as follows:-I place a
vessel or vessels (afterwards called the freezing vessel, of the form desired for the
blocks of ice, and which vessel may be made of any suitable material, such as zinc)
in another vessel, with an opening large enough to admit the freezing vessel, which
opening I close with a cover fitted perfectly air-tight, as is well understood, and I
prefer to cause the vapours, as they are drawn away from the freezing vessel, to
pass over the surface of that vessel on their way to the pump or exhauster.
I sometimes cool the water before it is admitted to the freezing vessel by passing
the cold vapour from the freezing vessel over a vessel or pipes containing or through
pipes passing through it; in this case the water, after it has been cooled, may be
allowed to run into the freezing vessel, either intermittently or in a small stream;
or the water cooled by one operation may be used in a subsequent operation..

page_text: I sometimes more or less remove the air and gases absorbed by the water to bo
frozen before it is admitted to the freezing vessel by submitting it to a partial
vacuum in another closed vessel; this may conveniently be done by connecting this
latter vessel with the second pump of the first method, or the air pump of the second
-method.
In the Drawings I have shewn these three last processes more or less carried out in
two different forms of apparatus, the first attached to the complete machine and
adapted for small requirements; the second at Figs. II. and III., for larger require-
ments; in both the Figures the same letters denote the same parts. M is the freezing
vessel, which in Fig. I. is made of glass, as a slow conductor of heat, but in Fig. II.
is made of metal insulated by the cold vapour passing over its surface (by
means of the diaphragm n), which is only the case with the top of Fig. I.;
N, Figs. II. & III. is the vessel with air-tight cover n', to contain the freezing vessel,
the joint being made tight with an ordinary greased packing ring of india-rubber,
while in Fig. I. the freezing vessel is shewn jointed to the top by a short pipe of
greased india-rubber sprung round it. The course of the vapour on its way to the
pump is shewn by arrows; O is a coil of pipe for cooling the water to be frozen,
in Fig. I. enclosed in the enlarged pipe to the pump; in Fig. II., enclosed between
the diaphragm n and the sides and back of the vessel N, in both cases so that the
vapours pass over it on their way to the pump. This pipe O is connected at one
end with the reservoir of water P, and at the other end with the valve Q, to regu-
late the admission of the water to the freezing vessel. This valve must open direct
into the vessel without any intermediate passage, or otherwise it will be liable to
be closed by the formation of ice.
The reservoir P may be a closed vessel with a pipe leading from the upper part
to the second pump or air pump for the removal of the absorbed gases, the water
being admitted to it by a cock. The vessel N, Fig. II., should be furnished with
glass sight holes (as in vacuum pans) placed above the freezing vessel.
The commencement of the formation of ice may be known by the vacuum
increasing to decimal two of an inch of mercury in the gauge on the inlet pipe, and
when the water is admitted to the freezing vessel intermittently or in a small stream,
and care is taken that it shall not lie at any depth on the top of the ice, it may be
known that all the water has been turned to ice by the vacuum increasing above
decimal two when the admission of the water has been stopped.
In applying my Invention to refrigerating liquids in the case of aqueous solutions
such as brewers' worts, they may be placed so as partially to fill a vessel connected
with the pump or exhauster, and the aqueous vapour drawn away till the desired
temperature is obtained; the vessel being closed air-tight, and made of sufficient
strength to withstand the pressure of the atmosphere, or a sufficient length of pipe
may be laid in a similar vessel partially filled with water, and water may be passed
through the pipe and cooled, so as afterwards to be used for refrigerating in a
refrigerator as is well understood, or the liquid to be cooled may itself be passed
through the pipe. In either case I prefer to cause the water or liquid to be
refrigerated to enter the pipe at the top of the vessel and leave it at the bottom,
the pipe being in the form of a series of flat helices or gridirons joined together
and laid horizontally one above the other in the vessel, only the lower ones
being covered by the water partially filling the vessel, so that the refrigeration
of the water or liquids in the pipe may be commenced by the vapour on its
way to the pump, and finished by the water evaporating at the lower part of
the vessel, and this water in the vessel may have its freezing point lowered by
chemical admixtures as is well understood.
In the case of refrigerating air it may be passed through pipes fixed in a similar
vessel, preferably more or less perpendicularly, and the vessel and pipes may be
very much of the form of a multitubular perpendicular steam boiler, the air to be
cooled being passed through the pipes, preferably in a downward direction, and
materials may be added to the water which must only partially fill the vessel, to
•

page_text: lower its freezing point; and when it is desired to cool the air below freezing point;
means must be used such as scrapers, to keep the lower part of the pipes free from
rime.
In desiccating by this Invention, the substances to be desiccated may be laid on a
tray or trays, and placed in, a vessel similar to the one described to contain the
freezing vessel, and the trays may be laid on gridirons of pipes or on shelves formed
like thin boxes, through which warm water may be circulated, or the vapour
drawn off from the substances to be desiccated after it has been more or less com-
pressed may be passed through the gridirons of pipes or very thin boxes instead of
the warm water, the other end of the pipes or sides of the boxes to that at which
the vapour is admitted being connected with the air pump..
Fig. IV. will further explain this arrangement, R being the trays, and T the
gridirons of pipes, & being the pipe from the pump or exhauster, and k¹ being that
to the air pump. In using this apparatus, caution is required, according to the
nature of the substances to be desiccated, not to get up the vacuum in the vessel too
quickly, nor to draw away the vapour too fast, as in the case of organic sub-
stances the cells will be broken by their being subjected too quickly to a
vacuum or to too rapid a subtraction of their watery constituents, and in the case
of whole fruits, the skins will be broken, especially where the skin is of slow
permeability, and when freezing would be injurious the pressure of the vapour in
the vessel must not be reduced too low or down to decimal two of an inch of mercury.
In evaporating by this Invention, the liquids may be placed in a vessel similar to an
ordinary vacuum pan, and the vapour pumped away, and warm water may be
circulated; or the vapour drawn off from the liquids may be passed through the
pipes or steam jacket; in the latter case the pipes or steam jacket of the vaccuum
pan must be connected with the air pump, so that the vacuum pan will be in the
position of the condenser J, Fig. I. in the Drawings, and where the liquid to be
evaporated is of a viscid or syrupy nature the bottom of the pan should be of a
very flat pattern, and the liquid to be evaporated not deep in it, say, not more than
one foot in depth; or it is advisable to stir the liquid with a stirrer, as is well
understood, as the expansive force of the vapour at low temperatures is too small to
rise from any depth.
When the liquid to be evaporated is not damaged by a temperature below freezing
point brine may be passed through the pipes or steam jacket of the vacuum pan,
and cooled by the evaporation of the frozen liquid, and the cooled brine may be
used for making ice or refrigerating; or water may be placed in vessels closed to
the pan, and not filled so as to burst by the freezing of the water in them, and the
liquid to be evaporated may be showered over the pipes or vessels, but so that it
may never allow any thickness on them.
Although I have described and illustrated in the Drawings hereunto annexed
apparatus which I have found very suitable for carrying out my said Invention for
the various purposes herein set forth, I would have it understood that I do not
limit myself to the use of the said apparatus for the carrying into effect the several
modes or methods of freezing, refrigerating, evaporating, and desiccating, herein
described, as other similar apparatus may be used for the same purposes. I
therefore claim for the purpose of making ice, refrigerating, evaporating, and
desiccating,-
First. The mode herein described of drawing off and compressing to a pressure
less than that of the atmosphere the vapour which rises from water when subjected
to a vacuum by means of a pump or exhauster, heated sufficiently to prevent the
condensation of the vapour in the pump or exhauster.
Second. The combination of the mode herein-before described and claimed in
the first claim with one or other of the modes or methods herein described, for the
purpose of getting rid of the vapour so compressed, as herein described.
Third. The arrangement and construction, in combination with the pumps, of the
freezing vessel insulated, as herein described, in which said freezing vessel the

page_text: water to be frozen is cooled before it is allowed to pass into the said freezing vessel
by means of the vapour on its way to the pump, as herein-before described, and
illustrated in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, 'I, the said Anthony Gapper Southby, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
A. GAPPER SOUTHBY. (L.S.)