IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING SHIPS.
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cunningham, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Architect, and William Ashley, of the same Place, Ship
Broker, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING
SHIPS.
Sealed the 14th November 1854, and dated the 18th May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Cunningham and
William Ashley, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 18th May 1854.
We, JOHN CUNNINGHAM, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Architect,
and WILLIAM ASHLEY, of the same Place, Ship Broker, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING SHIPS"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a mode of distributing pure or disinfecting air to
the various parts of a ship requiring ventilation. In carrying out this Invention
for the ventilation of ships, we provide air trunks suitably arranged for con-
veying air to lateral or branch pipes in connection with the various cabins and
berths; and we supply the air to these main trunks by means of suitable fans
or blowers, driven by motive power machinery. For cooling or purifying the
air we employ the following contrivance:-In a chamber which is supplied with
cold water or a disinfecting fluid (as chloride of lime in solution), we mount
a vertical spindle, for the purpose of carrying a hollow vessel, closed at top but
open at bottom, and provided on its inner periphery with feathers or blades.
This vessel dips into the liquid in the chamber, and is intended to lift and
discharge it by centrifugal force into the chamber, in the form of spray,

page_text: through perforations made in the upper part of the vessel. Openings are made
in the sides of this chamber for the admission of air, and the upper part of the
chamber, is connected, by tubes or otherwise, with the casings enclosing the fan
or blowers; of these we prefer to have a pair, & to mount them on the crank
shaft of the engine; rotatory motion is communicated from the engine to the
spindle of the lifting vessel, and the liquid in the chamber is thus caused to
rise and fall again in the form of spray. Simultaneously with this action, air
is drawn into the chamber by the fans, and brought into contact with the spray
on its passage to the fans. By this means, suppose the water to be iced, the
air is cooled; or if it be a disinfecting fluid that is employed, the air will
become impregnated with the disinfecting properties of the fluid.
In like
manner any sweet perfume may, if desired, be imparted to the air. For the
purpose of heating the air in cold weather we propose to insert steam pipes
in the air trunks, as therefore the air passes through the trunks, it will take
up the desired quantity of caloric.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Cunningham and William Ashley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 18th November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, Jonn
CUNNINGHAM, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Architect, and WILLIAM
ASHLEY, of the same Place, Ship Broker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Cunningham and William Ashley, Her special license that we, the said
John Cunningham and William Ashley, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said John Cunningham and William Ashley,
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 "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING SHIPS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Cunningham and
William Ashley, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and

page_text: 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 we, the said John Cunningham and William Ashley,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly deseribed and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to a mode of distributing pure or disinfecting air to
the various parts of a ship requiring ventilation.
In carrying out this Invention, we fit up the ship to be ventilated with air
trunks, suitably arranged, for conveying air after it has been acted upon in the
manner herein-after described, to lateral or branch pipes in connection with
the various cabins and berths; and we supply the air to these main trunks by
means of suitable fans or blowers driven by motive power machinery. For
casting or purifying the air which is to be distributed to the various berths or
cabins, we employ an arrangement of apparatus shewn in Sheet I. of the
accompanying Drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the refri-
gerator, with a steam engine and boiler attached for working the same; and
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the steam engine, shewing also the fans or blowers for
forcing the air into the air trunks. The refrigerator consists of a chamber,
which is intended to hold cold or iced water, or a disinfecting fluid (such as
chloride of lime or zinc in solution). In the centre of this chamber a vertical
spindle is mounted, for the purpose of carrying a hollow vessel, closed at top
but open at bottom, and provided on its inner periphery with feathers or
blades. This vessel, which we term the "sprayor," dips into the liquid in the
chamber, and when put into rapid rotation lifts the water or disinfecting fluid,
and discharges it by centrifugal force into the chamber in the form of spray,
through perforations made in the upper part of the sprayor. Openings are
made in the sides of this chamber for the admission of air, which is drawn
through the descending spray by means of fans or blowers enclosed in casings
connected with the upper part of the chamber. Of these fans or blowers we
prefer to have a pair, and to connect their shafts by means of coupling boxes
with the crank shaft of the engine.
Having explained generally the nature of our air refrigeratory or purifying
apparatus and its mode of operation, we will now proceed to give a more
detailed description of it, and of the machinery in connection therewith,
reference being had to Sheet I. of the Drawings.

page_text: A, A, is the boiler of the steam engine employed for ventilating the ship
B is the fire box; C, C, C, are the fire tubes; D is the smoke box; E, the
chimney; F, the steam box; and G, G, and H, the steam pipe and cock for
supplying the cylinders I, I; K, K, are the connecting. rods; L, L, is the
crank shaft; M, M, the feed pump; and N, a pump for supplying liquid to
the air-cooling or sprayor chamber U, or to the boiler, or for ship's use, as
required. 0, 0, are pulleys and bands for communicating motion to the
spindle of the sprayor V; P, P, are waste steam pipes; Qis à safety valve;
R, R, are the furnace fire bars; S is the excentric for working the pumps;
W, W, are inlets for the passage of air into the sprayor chamber U; X, X,
are air ways leading from the sprayor chamber to the fan cases Y, Y; Z, Z,
are the vanes and shafts of the fans which are connected by incans of coupling
boxes T, T, with the crank shaft L; and a, a, are air ways leading from the
fan cases into the 'main air trunks of the ship. Rotary motion being commu
nicated to the fans and sprayor from the crank shaft of the steam enginė,
atmospheric air is drawn through the inlet passages W, W,. into the cham-
ber U, and after passing in the. direction of the arrows, Fig. 1, through the
finely divided streams or spray of cooling or disinfecting fluid (as the case may
be), which is continually circulating in the sprayor chamber, by reason of the
centrifugal action of the revolving sprayor V, the air in a cooled or purified
state is drawn down the passages X, X, which are in communication with the
upper part of the chamber U, and passing thence into the fan cases Y, Y, it is
forced by the fans Z, Z; through the openings a, a, into the main air trunks,
which lead off to the different parts of the ship required to be ventilated.
The manner in which we propose to arrange the air passages so as to distri-
bute the current of pure or disinfecting air, obtained as above described,
equally over a ship, is shewn in several views in Sheet II. of the Drawings,
which views exhibit plans of the upper deck and the hold of a vessel fitted up
with cabins, and also longitudinal and transverse sections of the same. Fig. 1
is a plan of the upper deck, shewing the position of the deck ventilators for
the escape of vitiated air from the hold, also the hatches, engine house, steam
engine, and ventilating fans. The positions of the engine and ventilators,
however, are entirely arbitrary, and may be placed where found most conve-
nient and suitable for the purposes in view. Fig. 2 is a plan of the hold of
the vessel, shewing the arrangement of the cabins, with berths for the passen-
gers, the passages between the berths, and also the main side or trunk flues
with the branches leading therefrom, which branches are provided with venti-
lators for regulating the supply of air to the cabins and saloon. Fig. 3 is a
longitudinal section of the vessel, shewing the cabin partitions or linings, the

page_text: sliding ventilators at the ends of the branch flues leading into the saloon, and
the perforated parts of the lining at top for the escape of the vitiated air from
the cabins to the deck ventilators over the saloon. Fig. 4 is a transverse
section, shewing the positions of the main trunk or side flues, their sectional
area, and the sliding ventilators in the branch flues in the cabins, also the
sectional ends of the berths in the cabins, and the position of the perforated
portion of the linings for the escape of the vitiated air at top.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section, shewing the descending air shafts from the
fans and the transverse connecting horizontal air flues from the shaft to the
main trunk side flues.
In these views, A are the deck ventilators; B are the port or side lights;
Care the berths or cabins; D are the passages between the cabins; E are the
main side air flues; F are the branch air flues; f is the perforated lining at
the top of the cabins; and G are sliding or revolving ventilators in the side
and the branch flues.
We would remark, that although the arrangement which we have shewn
for distributing the air through the different parts of a ship is the one that we
prefer, yet other arrangements may be employed in connection with our
Invention, if thought desirable. For the purpose of heating the air in cold
weather, we propose to insert steam pipes in the air trunks, by which means,
the air, in passing through the trunks, may be caused to take up the desired
quantity of caloric.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "Improved Apparatus
for Ventilating Ships," and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, we wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent we claim, the means herein shewn for cooling and imparting disinfect-
ing properties to the atmospheric air supplied to ships' berths, and to other
parts of ships requiring ventilation.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Cunningham and William Ashley,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.

page_text: Kods. L.L. Crank Shaft M.M. Feed Pump N.Pump for Supply of either Sprayor Chan
or Boiler or for Ships use, as required
0.0. Pulleys and Bands for communicating motion to Sprayor:
PPP. Waste Steam Pipes . Safety Valve. R. Fire Bars. S. Eccentric for working Pumps. T.T. Coupling Boxes.
U.Sprayor Chamber. V. Revolving Sprayor WW. Inlets for Air XX. Air ways from/ Sprayor to Fans. YY. Fan Chami
a.a.Airways from/Fans into Main Air Trunks of Ship
Z.Z.Vanas and Shalk of Fans
The Fans and Sprayor being kept in a state of revolution by the steam engine.
Atmospheric Air is drawn/in' at W. W. and after passing (in the direction of the arrows) through the Anely divided
streams of cooling.or (when) occasion require it) of disinfecting fluid, continually circulating in the Sprayor Chamber
by the centrifugal action of the revolving Sprayor, the Air in a cooled or purified state, is drawn down the passages XX
into the Fans, and expelled by them at a. a. whence the Main Air Trunks are led off to the different parts of the Ship