IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS POR PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Robinson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
June 1869. A communication from abroad by Samuel Henry
Davis, David Williamson Davis, and Frederick Haville Date, all of
Detroit, County of Wayne, and State of Michigan, United States
of America.
I, JAMES ROBINSON, of the Firm of Bannister and Robinson, of
Martin's Lane, in the City of London, Solicitors, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
POR PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-.
The object of this Invention is to preserve fresh meats, fruits, fish, or
other animal or vegetable substances for a much greater length of time.
than has heretofore been done, and prevent for a longer time decom--
position or fermentation..
The Invention consists in a peculiar construction of a receiving
chamber which may be a railroad carriage, the hold of a vessel, a box,
chest, or room in a building, and having suspended within such chamber
an ice receptacle for holding a freezing mixture and the necessary
funnels, hatches, and drain trap....

page_text: I have herein-after described this Invention as applied to the body of
a railroad carriage and to a box, but it can also be applied to ships' holds,
chests, and rooms in buildings. The carriage or box is constructed of
three separate compartments one within the other, and arranged in such
a manner that there is an open space all round the innermost com-
partment which contains the articles or substances to be prepared; there
is likewise a similar open space between the outer and middle com-
partments. One or more of the spaces between the compartments I fill
with poor conductors of heat, such as animal hair, dry shavings, or any
non-conducting substance. Inside of the inner compartment is the ice
receptacle, before referred to, which consists of a double-walled metallic
vessel having a central space open at top and bottom, and extending
from near the bottom of the inner compartment (but leaving a space
between it and the bottom of said compartment) to the top of the same,
and closed air-tight except where chimneys or funnels extend upward
from the said ice receptacle through the roofs or lids of the several
compartments. The double walls of the ice receptacle serve to contain
the freezing mixture which is filled in through the chimneys or funnels
above mentioned. The ice receptacle is constructed with its sides
slightly inclined or tapering from the top to the bottom, so that the
bottom is less in area than the top. This construction is an essential
feature to the complete and successful operation of the Invention, for as
the ice contained in the receptacle is continually melting, these inclined
sides or walls afford the means of keeping the ice in close contact with
all the parts of the sides or walls, thus keeping a continuous and perfect
contact as long as the supply of ice in the receptacle remains which
causes the moisture in the inner chamber or compartment to be frozen
upon the outer sides of the walls of the ice receptacle, and by this con-
struction and adaptation accomplishing a result never before obtained
by other arrangements or constructions. The walls of said ice receptacle
may be perpendicular or equilateral, but I prefer the inclined sides as
the best in effect.
By the above arrangement of the ice receptacle in and with relation to
the inner chamber only a thin film of air lies between the top of the
receptacle and the wall of said inner chamber. The air in this thin
space is colder or at a lower temperature than in any other portion of
the inner chamber, hence there is a current or circulation of the air
from the thin space between the top of the ice receptacle and the wall

page_text: of the inner chamber downward, and under the receptacle into the space
in said chamber contained between the four walls of the ice receptacle
until the whole air in the chamber is at the same temperature.
I do not confine myself to any particular freezing mixture as any
known mixture in any known proportions will answer the purpose, and
may be used according to varying circumstances.
The chimneys or funnels through which the freezing mixture is
introduced as before described are provided with covers or caps which
close the ice receptacle as nearly air-tight as practicable, and in
railroad carriages I have a part extending down through said chimneys
just below the roof of the inner compartment so that any heat passing
through the spaces between the compartments through which the
chimneys pass cannot be communicated through the latter to the ice
receptacle. In boxes these openings for the admission of ice are closed
by lids and hinged for convenience. The water or fluid which melts
from the freezing mixture is collected at the lower part of the ice
receptacle which is provided with a goose-neck trap or other equivalent
device, through which the water can escape without any air being
admitted into the ice receptacle, sufficient air always being contained
in the same to allow the water to flow from the receptacle. Access to
the inside of the carriage or box is had through hatchways or doors
in the roofs of the three compartments before mentioned, which are
closed practically air-tight by hatches with which each compartment
is provided, or one door serving to close all three hatchways can be
used if preferred; theso hatches we prefer to construct with bevelled
edges to fit the bevelled openings of the hatchways so as to effectually
close the openings. Doors may be placed in the sides of the carriage
and closed in the same manner as the hatchways in the roof; thus a
carriage may be loaded at the starting point with meats and fruits, or
other decomposable substances and placed in the inner chamber (con-
taining the ice receptacle by which said articles are surrounded) through
the side doors, which can be closed, as above described, but should not
be opened during transit. To discharge freight from said chamber at
intermediate stations the hatchway must be used, for if the side doors
were opened the cold air which is heavier would pass out while the
warm air from the outside would at once fill the carriage or box and
affect its contents. But when the hatchways in the roof are opened the
cold and heavy air cannot rise out of the carriage or box, nor can

page_text: the outer warmer air descend into the carriage to displace the cold or
heavier air, and thus part of the freight may be discharged from the
carriage through the roof doors as often as may be necessary, without
danger of admitting outside air, thus effectually confining the cold
air in the inner chamber. This construction is especially adapted to
the holds of vessels by which means meats may for a long time be
preserved in good condition for healthy food, or tropical fruits may be
perfectly preserved from the usual decay consequent from a long sca
voyage, as well as preserving the whole fruit in a more healthy condition
and consequently rendering it more valuable.
Another advantage this method of preserving has over all others is,
that after meats, fruits, and other articles have for a sufficient length of
time been in the receiving chamber and much of the moisture contained
therein expelled and frozen upon the outside of the walls of the ice
receptacle, such meats and fruits or other articles can be taken out,
and the exposure to the common atmosphere will not at once affect such
articles as is ordinarily the case when taken from a cold chamber, for
the reason that much of the moisture in such articles has been expelled
and decomposition will not take place without a sufficient amount
of moisture present therein; hence the meat or fruit must absorb
moisture from the air before decomposition can take place. In case the
temperature in the inner or preserving chamber is raised by any means
a vessel may be placed under the ice receptacle to catch the water
that is produced by the thawing of the ice upon the outside of the
receptacle.
I do not confine myself to the exact construction of the carriage, box,
or other receiving chamber employed, for other constructions would
answer the purpose and produce the same results; as, for instance, the
outer walls may be made of solid wood, and other kinds of packing,
such as wood or felt may be used, as such changes may be made without
altering in any way the principle of the Invention and its application to
the uscs and purposes intended.