Improvements in Apparatus for Regulating Temperature.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 15th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 12th Jan., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Regulating Temperature.
I, EDWIN PAUL, of 41 Elm Road, Seaforth near Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My present invention has reference to apparatus for regulating temperature, and
for convenience of description 1 will describe it with reference to its application
for attemperating fermenting wort in brewing,--a purpose for which I have found
it to be very efficient.
The apparatus, as arranged for this purpose, comprises broadly,-a rigid closed
reservoir completely filled with a liquid, preferably alcohol on account of its high
dilatability by heat;-an elastic reservoir connected thereto by a tube ;-a valve
controlling the flow of circulating cooling water and operated by the variations in
volume of the said elastic reservoir;-and a regulating and indicating device.
The rigid reservoir is made preferably of thin copper on account of its high
conductivity for heat and it is made cylindrical and of comparatively small diameter
and considerable length, so as to have a relatively large surlace; it is completely
closed with the exception of an opening into which the tube enters which connects
it to the elastic reservoir, and it is immersed in the liquid to be attemperated. In
order to facilitate the cleaning of the vat in which the reservoir is placed, it is
desirable to make the reservoir readily removable therefrom, and as the connecting
tube should be made of rigid material to prevent dilation by pressure, it should be
kept very small in diameter to give it flexibility.
The elastic reservoir into which the connecting tube opens is otherwise closed;
it is preferably cylindrical and made of rubber or the like, and is surrounded by a
tubular casing in which it fits freely. In order to prevent any diametral expansion
of this reservoir, I surround it with a spiral of wire either wound round the outside
or embedded in the thickness of the material; this wire lapping not only preven's
the rubber from clinging to the casing, but it increases the sensitiveness of
the apparatus by making all the volumetric expansion take place in an axial
direction.
Both reservoirs and the connecting tube are completely filled with a dilatable
liquid such as alcohol, a small connection being provided for coupling to a force
pump for this purpose.
The valve which regulates the flow of cooling water is placed co-axial with the
elastic reservoir, and the end of the latter is adapted to open the valve as the
reservoir dilates and to close the valve as it contracts. 1 find that when the parts
are made of suitable proportions, the elastic reservoir varies in length considerably
for a moderate range of temperature, and it is not desirable to make the expansion
of the alcohol do the whole work of stretching the reservoir, as the sensitiveness
and proportionality of the action are impaired thereby. I accordingly attach the
elastic reservoir firmly to its casing near the valve, and provide a screw and
hand-wheel by which the other end of the reservoir can be stretched within certain
limits. The screw has a pointer aud index which indicates the corresponding
temperature which the apparatus is adapted to maintain. By this means, the only
stretching which the liquid has to effect, is that corresponding to the movement of
the valve, which may be kept very small, so that the effect of the said elasticity is
practically eliminated.

page_text: The most convenient way to make the elastic reservoir, is to make it in two
parts of hat form, the two flanges being clasped between flanges of the casing, with
an interposed metallic washer through which the joints with the connecting tube
and pump connection are made.
The valve is preferably provided with means for independently loading it so as
to balance the pressure of the circulating water.
While I have described my invention in a form adapted to a specific purpose, it
is to be understood that it can be adapted and applied very generally to cases
where it is required to regulate temperature. If the circulating water or other
fluid be used as a heating instead of a cooling medium, it is only necessary to
reverse its action, and it is clear that the apparatus may be modified by causing the
elastic reservoir to regulate the flow of the heating or cooling medium by means of
a mechanical or electrical relay of any suitable kind.
In some cases, it is required not to maintain a constant temperature, but to
cause the temperature to vary from time to time in some predetermined way; in
such cases, I provide clockwork or other motive power arranged to operate the
screw of the apparatus, so as to automatically effect the variations in the adjustment
of the apparatus as may be required.
Dated this Twelfth day of January 1894.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, EDWIN PAUL, of 41 Elm Road, Seaforth near Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, 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:-
-
My present invention has reference to apparatus for regulating temperature, and
for convenience of description I will describe it with reference to its application
for attemperating fermenting wort in brewing,-a purpose for which I have found
it to be very efficient.
The apparatus, as arranged for this purpose, comprises broadly,-a rigid closed
reservoir completely filled with a liquid, preferably alcohol on account of its high
dilatability by heat, an elastic reservoir connected thereto by a tube, a valve
controlling the flow of circulating cooling water and operated by the variations in
volume of the said elastic reservoir, and a regulating and indicating device.
In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Fig. I is
a sectional elevation thereof, Fig. 11 is an end elevation and Figs. III and IV are
transverse sectional elevations on the lines A. A, and B. B, respectively, of Fig. I.
The rigid reservoir is shown in Fig. I for the sake of making the connections
clear, although of course it is placed, as described, in the vat containing the
fermenting wort.
Throughout the drawings, similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures, and in the case of sections the direction in which they are viewed is
indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane of
section.
The rigid reservoir is made preferably of thin copper on account of its high
conductivity for heat and it is made cylindrical and of comparatively small diameter
and considerable length, so as to have a relatively large surface; it is completely
closed with the exception of an opening into which the tube 2 (Figs. I and II)
enters which connects it to the elastic reservoir 3, and it is immersed in the liquid

page_text: to be attemperated. In order to facilitate the cleaning of the vat in which the
reservoir is placed, it is desirable to make the reservoir readily removable there-
from, and as the connecting tube 2 should be made of rigid material to prevent
dilation by pressure, it is kept very small in diameter to give it flexibility.
The elastic reservoir 3 is made of rubber or the like material and I prefer to
make it in two hat shaped parts a and b as shown in the drawings, the two flanges 4
and 5 being clasped between flanges 6 and 7, of the tubular casings 8 and 9, and the
interposed metallic washer 10 provided with a central passage 11 opening out into
a small spherical vessel 12. The vessel 12 is fitted with a union piece 13, the lower
end of which depends into the vessel 12 and the upper end of which is provided
with two unions 14 and 15, the former for the connection of the pipe 2, and the
latter for connection to a pump used to fill the apparatus; the latter connection is
closed by the screw 16, whose end beds on the washer 17, when the pump is
disconnected.
In order to prevent any diametral expansion of the reservoir 3, I may surround
it with a spiral of wire either wound round the outside or embedded in the thickness
of the material; this wire lapping not only prevents the rubber from clinging to
the casing, but it increases the sensitiveness of the apparatus by making all the
volumetric expansion take place in an axial direction, the reservoir therefore, may
be a loose fit in its casing as shown in reference to and 9, or a small annular space
may be left between the casing and reservoir as shown in reference to a and 8.
I fix a cylindrical plug 18 into the washer 10 so as to lie concentrically within the
parts a and b of the reservoir 3, and to occupy the greater portion of its capacity;
the object of this plug is to minimise the quantity of liquid required to fill the
reservoir 3.
Both the reservoirs 1 and 3, the vessel 12 and the connecting tube 2 are
completely filled with a dilatable liquid, the small channels 19 connecting the
vessel 12 to the interiors of the parts a and 6 of the reservoir 3. This liquid may
be alcohol but I find that alcohol has an injurious effect on the rubber of the
elastic reservoir; I therefore fill the latter with mercury, as indicated by the darker
dotted lines, until the mercury stands, normally, at or about the level shown in the
vessel 12, and I completely fill the rest of the apparatus with alcohol as indicated
by the lighter dotted lines; the object of the depending portion of the union
piece 13 being to prevent the mercury passing into the tube 2 when the level of
the apparatus is disturbed.
The end of the part a of the reservoir is connected to the equilibrium valve 20
which controls the passage of the circulating water from the inlet 21 to the outlet 22;
the valve can also be independently operated by the spindle 23. The end of the
part b is connected to the coarse-pitch screw 24, which is prevented from rotating
by the studs 25 which move in slots in the casing 9; the screw is moved axially by
a nut 26 rotated by a handle 27 carrying an index finger 28 moving over a dial 29,
and the screw is locked in any desired position by a jam nut 30. The spindle 23
has axial play relatively to the valve so that it does not interfere with the operation
of the valve by the part a.
I have found that the elastic reservoir varies in length considerably for a
moderate range of temperature, and it is not desirable to make the alcohol do the
whole work of stretching the reservoir as the sensitiveness and proportionality of
the action are impaired thereby. For this reason I divide the reservoir 3 into two
portions a and b and attach the flanges thereof to the casing as described, and the
ends to the valve 20 and the screw 24, respectively. By this means the capacity
of the reservoir can be adjusted within limits by the axial movement of the screw
which stretches the part b, the index finger indicating on the dial the corresponding
temperature which the apparatus is adapted, for this position of the screw, to
maintain; the only stretching which the liquid has to effect, therefore, is that of
the part a, the amount of this stretch, which takes place axially, corresponding to
the movement of the valve, which may be kept very small, so that the prejudicial
effect referred to is eliminated.

page_text: The action of the apparatus is as follows;-
The capacity of the reservoir 3 is adjusted as described so that when the liquid
is at the temperature at which it is desired to keep the vat, the valve is just
sufficiently open to allow the proper quantity of cooling water to pass; when this
temperature is exceeded the effect of the expansion of the liquid due to this rise
of temperature is to cause an expansion of the part a of the reservoir in an axial
direction, with the result that the valve is opened an additional amount and a
correspondingly greater quantity of circulating water is allowed to pass. When
the temperature falls the opposite result is obtained.
The object of using an equilibrium valve is to balance the pressure of the
circulating water.
it
While I have described my invention in a form adapted to a specific purpose,
is to be understood that it can be adapted and applied very generally to cases
where it is required to regulate temperature. If the circulating water or other
fluid be used as a heating instead of a cooling medium, it is only necessary to
reverse its action, and it is clear that the apparatus may be modified by causing
the elastic reservoir to regulate the flow of the heating or cooling medium by
means of a mechanical or electrical relay of any suitable kind.
In some cases, it is required not to maintain a constant temperature, but to cause
the temperature to vary from time to time in some predetermined way; in such
cases I provide clock-work or other motive power arranged to operate the screw of
the apparatus, so as to automatically effect the variations in the adjustment of the
apparatus as may be required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. The improved apparatus for regulating temperature which consists of a
rigid closed reservoir located in the fluid whose temperature is to be regulated, an
clastic reservoir connected thereto, both being filled with a dilatable liquid, and a
valve adapted to regulate the flow of the liquid which controls the temperature,
and which is operated by variations in the volume of the elastic reservoir due to
changes in the volume of the dilatable liquid; substantially as described.
2. In combination with the rigid reservoir and the valve, an elastic reservoir
whose central part is fixed, one end of said reservoir being operated by a screw or
equivalent device to adjust the volume of the reservoir, and the movement of the
other end thereof being adapted to operate the valve; substantially as described
and illustrated.
3. In combination; the rigid reservoir, the clastic reservoir fixed near its centre,
the valve operated by one end of the latter, the screw attached to the other end,
and the adjusting and indicating device; substantially as described and illustrated.
4. The improved apparatus for regulating temperature, substantially as described
and illustrated.
Dated this 12th day of October 1894.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.