IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING COLD AND WARM AIR
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Franz Windhausen, of 1, Roonstrasse, Berlin, Prussia, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING COLD AND
WARM AIR."
Sealed the 18th May 1877, and dated the 8th December 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Franz Windhausen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th December 1876.
FRANZ WINDHAUSEN, of 1, Roonstrasse, Berlin, Prussia.
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING COLD AND WARM AIR."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-Atmospheric air is admitted into a
cylinder in which is a piston moved to and fro by mechanical means.
After a
certain amount of air has been admitted into the cylinder at the commencement of
each stroke, it is expanded therein during the remainder of the stroke, and is
thereby cooled. The expanded cold air is then on the return stroke caused to flow
from the cylinder into a freezing or cooling chamber, which is hermetically closed,
and in which chamber the objects to be cooled or frozen are placed. The air having
taken up a certain amount of heat from the objects in the cooling chamber, passes
into a casing containing a number of thin metal tubes;-it then (being still in a com-
paratively cold state) passes through these tubes, whilst at the same time air on its
passage to the air expanding cylinder flows around the exterior of the tubes, and is
thereby cooled previous to its entering the cylinder.
The expanded air is conducted from the tubes of the previous cooling apparatus
by an air compression pump, and is by it compressed to atmospheric tension. By
this compression the air acquires heat, and may be used for heating, ventilating, or
drying purposes.
The pistons of the expanding and compressing cylinders are coupled with each
other in such a manner that the pressure upon one cylinder may partially balance
the pressure upon the other, so that the difference between the two must be sur-
mounted by force applied to them mechanically in order to keep the engine working.
Or a separate small air compression pump may be used to carry off such an amount
of expanded air from the freezing chamber and tubular air cooling apparatus that

page_text: the work done in the expansion cylinder is greater than in the compression cylinder;
the engine then becomes self-acting, that is, it will work without power being
directly applied to it mechanically.
The tubular cooling apparatus for cooling air previous to its being expanded in
the expansion cylinder serves to increase the effect of the engine; it may however
be dispensed with if desired.
0
Engines adapted to work in the manner above described may be constructed in
various ways; I however prefer to couple the pistons of the air expansion and com-
pression cylinders to the opposite arms of a rocking beam similar to the beam of a
beam engine. In this case I couple one end of the beam by a connecting rod to a
crank on a shaft driven from any convenient source of power. On this shaft are
also cams for controlling the opening and closing of valves for allowing air to enter
and pass from the air expansion cylinder.
I also prefer to provide the engine with two, or it might be more, freezing
chambers, so that one may be open, whilst in the other or others substances are
being cooled or frozen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Franz Windhausen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th June
.1877.
FRANZ. WINDHAUSEN, of 1, Roonstrasse, Berlin, Prussia.
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING COLD AND WARM AIR."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
This Invention has for its object "Improvements in Apparatus for Producing Cold
and Warm Air."
The apparatus is shown in the Drawings hereunto annexed. It is so constructed
that atmospheric air is admitted into a cylinder in which is a piston moved to and
fro by mechanical means. After a certain amount of air has been admitted into the
cylinder at the commencement of each stroke, it is expanded therein during the
remainder of the stroke, and is thereby cooled. The expanded cold air is then on
the return stroke caused to flow from the cylinder into a freezing or cooling
chamber, which is hermetically closed, and in which chamber the objects to be
cooled or frozen are placed. The air having taken up a certain amount of heat
from the objects in the cooling chamber, passes into a casing containing a number of
thin metal tubes; it then (being still in a comparatively cold state) passes through
these tubes, whilst at the same time air on its passage to the air expanding cylinder
flows around the exterior of the tubes, and is thereby cooled previous to its entering
the cylinder.
The expanded air is conducted from the tubes of this previous cooling apparatus
by an air compression pump, and is by it compressed to atmospheric tension. By
this compression the air acquires heat, and may be used for heating, ventilating, or
drying purposes.
The pistons of the expanding and compressing cylinders are coupled with each
other in such a manner that the pressure upon one cylinder may partially balance
the pressure upon the other, so that the difference between the two must be sur-
mounted by force applied to them mechanically in order to keep the engine working,
Or a separate small air compression pump may be used to carry off such an amount
of expanded air from the freezing chamber and tubular air cooling apparatus that
the work done in the expansion cylinder is greater than in the compression cylinder;
the engine then becomes self-acting, that is, it will work without power being
directly applied to it mechanically.
The tubular cooling apparatus for cooling air previous to its being expanded in
the expansion cylinder serves to increase the effect of the engine; it may however
he dispensed with if desired.

page_text: Engines adapted to work in the manner above described may be constructed in
various ways; I however prefer to couple the pistons of the air expansion and com-
pression cylinders to the opposite arms of a rocking beam similar to the beam of a
beam engine. In this case I couple one end of the beam by a connecting rod to a
crank on a shaft driven from any convenient source of power.
On this shaft are
also cams for controlling the opening and closing of valves for allowing air to enter
and pass from the air expansion cylinder.
I also prefer to provide the engine with two, or it might be more, freezing
chambers, so that one may be open, whilst in the other or others substances are
being cooled or frozen.
On Sheet I. of the annexed Drawings is represented an apparatus constructed as
above described in the form of a beam engine.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section, Figure 2 a cross section, and Figure 3
a horizontal section of the apparatus.
In these Figures A is the expansion cylinder; B, the compression cylinder; C
and D, the respective pistons in the cylinders; F, G, H, the beam, connecting rod,
and crank for moving the pistons in well-known manner; E, E, are the standards
carrying the beam bearings; the cylinders and standards are all carried by the bed
plate M, and so also are the bearings for the fly wheel with its several parts;
J, K, L, is the gearing for giving motion to the valves a, b, and a¹, b¹, in the expan-
sion cylinder A; and, lastly, c, d, and c, d, represent the suction and outlet valves
of the compression cylinder B.
The engine is connected with the freezing apparatus and previously cooling appa-
ratus by channels running above and below the cylinders in the direction of the
arrows 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The freezing apparatus and previously cooling apparatus are represented on
Sheet 2, Figures 1 to 5.
The freezing apparatus consists of two sheet-iron cases standing vertically, and
hermetically closable by tight fitting doors. The sides and doors of these cases are
protected against outward warmth penetrating them by thick layers of slow con-
ductors of heat. The cases are connected at top and bottom by the channels E and
D with each other and with the previously cooling apparatus G¹, so that their
interior may either be brought into communication with or be separated from the
channels by opening or shutting the valves b, c, and b¹, c¹, made in the bottom and
top of the cases.
The substances to be frozen are placed in the cases, as may be seen, so that the
cold air may deliver its cold in the best possible manner for freezing or cooling the
articles. For cooling fluids or freezing water especially, flat basins are placed in
the cases, into which the fluids to be cooled are placed, so that the greatest possible
surface both of the containing vessels and of the fluids may be exposed to the
cold air.
When at work the freezing cases are hermetically closed by tight fitting doors,
and the expanded cold air passes from the engines in the direction of arrow 1
through the channel D into one or both of the freezing cases, according as the
valves b, c, and b¹, c¹, are opened or closed. The air passes through the cases from
bottom to the top, and is conveyed by one or both of the opened upper valves c and
c¹ into the channel E, and so to the previously cooling apparatus.
The previously cooling apparatus is employed, as has been mentioned before, to
previously cool as much as possible the atmospheric air which is to be expanded
(whilst doing work) in the expansion cylinder of the engine to be thereby cooled.
The apparatus consists of a number of tubes open at top and bottom, and passing
through tube plates into the channels M and L. The assemblage of tubes is enclosed,
as may
be seen, in a wooden or iron box surrounded at its bottom by a channel J.

page_text: At the top of this box there are a number of small holes at H¹ by which atmospheric
air enters in the direction of arrow 4; this air gets while flowing round the cooling
tubes to the bottom, and hence farther by a large number of small holes in the
direction of arrow 5 into the channel J; out of this channel J the air then flows
through channel K by a corresponding system of tubes into the expansion cylinder
of the engine.
Now whilst the atmospheric air is passing from top to bottom and flowing round
the tubes, the expanded cold air from the freezing chamber is passing from bottom
to top through the tubes, and is afterwards sucked out of channel M. in the direction
of arrow 3 by corresponding communicating tubes into the compression cylinder of
the engine, where it is compressed to atmospheric tension, and then escapes.
As to the valve gearing in the expansion cylinder, it is effected in the well-known
manner by opening and closing the inlet valves a and a¹ by cams, as represented on
a larger scale in Figures 4 and 5.
The gearing of the inlet valves may of course be effected in any well-known
manner already in use with steam engines.
The well-known slide or cock gearings may be employed likewise instead of the
valves above mentioned.
The Drawing shews the opening of the outlet valves band b¹ to be effected by
common eccentrics with lever and connecting rod. The opening of the valves may
however be brought about by other valve gearing contrivances, such as are already
known in steam engines; and cocks or slide valves may be employed instead of
the valves without essentially altering the nature of the engine.
The engine shewn in the Drawing is a double acting bean engine, but as before
stated the form of the engine may be varied, and it may also be made single acting;
the cylinders also may (in the manner well known in steam engine constructions) be
arranged horizontally, vertically, or transversely, or so that the working of the
engine may be effected directly by a connecting rod and crank.
I would likewise remark that the form and construction of the freezing chambers
may be greatly varied, according to the purpose for which they are required.
The action of the apparatus.is as follows:-When the engine is set to work by
turning the shaft or crank, and the piston C is at the bottom of the cylinder A in
its lowest position, atmospheric air is admitted into the cylinder A, whilst the
piston C is rising by the valve a being opened by its gearing, till the cylinder is
filled to a certain degree, and then the inlet valve is closed, whereupon the piston C
continuing to rise, the air is expanded and correspondingly cooled. When the
piston C begins to sink, the outlet valve b opens by its gearing, and the expanded
air is driven during all the time the piston is sinking through the channel in the
direction of arrow 2, Figure 3, into the freezing chambers; it then flows through
the chambers in the above described manner, passes the previously cooling appa-
ratus G, is sucked out of it by the suction valves c and c¹ in the direction of
arrow 3 into the compression cylinder B, and is forced out through the pression
valves d and d in the direction of arrow 4.
The air being heated considerably by being compressed out of its expanded state
to atmospheric tension, may either be cooled by injecting water into it or by surface
coolers. In most cases however it will not be worth while applying or using such
à contrivance for cooling during compression. In this engine therefore water need
never be employed for producing cold for the purpose of cooling the air, and this is
the principal advantage and the essential difference of this mechanical system in
comparison to almost all other ice and cold producing engines introduced into
practice or hitherto known.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I would state that I claim,-
First. The combined arrangement of apparatus, substantially as herein described.
Second. Producing and using cold by expanding common atmospheric air by
mechanic force, substantially in the manner herein described, without employing
cooling water.

page_text: Third. Producing hot air of atmospheric tension in order eventually to use it for
heating, drying, and ventilation, substantially in the manner herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Franz Windhausen, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
FRANZ WINDHAUSEN. (L.S.)

page_text: M
J