IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND STEAMERS
Year: 1876

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, for the
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND STEAMERS." A
communication from abroad by Edward Spencer Jenison, of the City of
Chicago, State of Illinois, in the United States of America, Architect.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Edwin Powley Alexander at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th June 1876.
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, and Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, RAILWAY
CARRIAGES, AND STEAMERS." A communication from abroad by Edward Spencer
Jenison, of the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, in the United States of America,
Architect.
The said Invention has for its object to enable public and private buildings,
railway carriages or cars, steamers, and the like, to bo warmed and ventilated in a
thorough and convenient manner, and it consists principally of a peculiar ventilating
and heating apparatus in which air is supplied to each person through a separate
duct or channel, substantially as and for the purpose herein-after specified.
It consists further of a beating and ventilating apparatus in which air is delivered
to individuals through flexible or moveable tubes, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-after set forth.
Also of a heating and ventilating apparatus in which air is thrown downward
toward the floor in jets, substantially as and for the purpose herein-after shown.
Also of a heating and ventilating apparatus in which a portion or the whole of
the air supply may be drawn from the upper portion of the room or rooms that are
being heated or ventilated, substantially as and for the purpose herein-after shown
and described.
Also of a heating and ventilating apparatus in which the mechanism for setting
the air in motion is provided with a relief valve, through which air may pass from
the delivery pipe to the supply pipe whenever the pressure exceeds a given amount,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-after specified.
[Price 6d.]

page_text: Whilst this Invebtion is applicable wherever rooms are occupied for public or
private purposes, its operation and advantages will be the same in principle in each
case, and for illustration it will be sufficient to show its application in one instance,
which for convenience is a railway carriage,
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a plan view of the lower side of a railway
carriage or car provided with the said improved apparatus for warming and
ventilating its interior; Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.
Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the air supply tube, and Figure 4 is a
vertical section on an enlarged scale of the relief valve for connecting the supply and
pressure chambers.
Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the Figures.
A represents the body of a railway carriage constructed in the usual manner and
supported at each end upon a truck B. Beneath the platform at one end of the
carriage A, or at some other suitable point, is placed a pressure fan C, which is
enclosed within a suitable casing c, and is driven from a band wheel D, that is
attached to one of the wheels or axles of the truck B by means of a belt E which
passes around said band wheel, and around a pulley c¹ that is secured upon the end
of the fan shaft. From one side of the fan casing e an air supply pipe F extends
upward and toward the centre of the carriage and terminates in a box F¹, which is
made open at its lower side, and at such point is covered by a screen G that is
composed of woven fibrous material. From the upper side of the fan casing can
air delivery pipe H extends upward to a conveniently located heater I, while from
the latter a pipe K extends along each side of the carriage A to the opposite end of
the same, and at each seat, or if a sleeping car, at each berth, is provided with small
pipes L and L which extend to points within convenient reach of the occupants of
the said seats or berths. The pipes L and L may be wholly or in part constructed
from rubber or other flexible material, or if desired may be made of metal, but in
either case each should be capable of having its end moved to any portion of the
seat or berth, so as to enable each occupant to direct the current of air from said
pipe upon any portion of his person.
When not in use by a passenger the pipes L and L will naturally hang downward
and cause the currents of air to impinge upon the floor, by which means the lower
portion of the room will be thoroughly warmed and will receive an abundant supply
of pure air. While it is desirable that the constant inward flow of air to the car
should not be checked it is not at all times necessary that all of the air passing
through the fan should be drawn from without, as a portion of the same may be
taken from the upper portion of the interior of said car where the air is comparatively
pure. To effect such object a pipe M passes from the upper portion of the interior
of the car A downward to and is connected with the air supply pipe F at any
suitable point between its outer end and the fan C. At the point of connection
between the vertical and horizontal pipes F and M is pivotted a valve N, which is
capable of being turned so as to partially or entirely close either of said pipes.
When the valve N is placed so as to close the pipe F all air entering the fan Ċ will
be drawn through the pipe M from the interior of the car, while by reversing the
position of said valve the entire supply of air will come from the exterior of said
car.
By arranging said valve at any point between its extremes the fan will draw
air from both the exterior and interior of said car, the proportion from each pipe F
and M corresponding to the degree in which they are unobstructed by said valve.
As the speed of the fan corresponds to the velocity with which the car is moving
the pressure of air within the pipes will vary in like degree, so that if said fan is
capable of supplying the desired pressure when said car is moving at a moderate
speed, an increase in the velocity of the latter will cause too much pressure and
render the apparatus less effective. To remedy such difficulty a chamber Ọ is
provided upon one side of the supply pipe F, and at one end communicates with the
fan casing, and at another point is provided with an opening o through which air
may pass to said pipe. The opening o upon the side of the pipe F is enclosed by a
valve P, which is held in position with a yielding pressure by means of a spring,

page_text: weight, or otherwise, and such pressure is graduated so as to cause said valve to
remain closed while the air within the delivery pipes does not exceed the maximum
pressure, and to open and permit air to pass from the chamber O and fan casing
whenever said pressure is exceeded, the result being that the air enters the car at a
nearly uniform velocity. It is found that the fibrous screen G entirely excludes
dust and cinders and frees air entering the supply pipe from these pests of
travellers.
When not necessary to warm the air before admitting it to the car the heater may
still form part of the delivery duct; or if desired, a separate pipe may extend from
said duct below said heater to a point above the same, and be provided with
suitable valves for changing the current of air when necessary.
It will be seen that the means employed for affording a supply of air to each
individual enables said air to be used with greater advantage to the person controlling
each delivery tube, and with less discomfort to those near him, than would be
possible if said air was admitted from a register or other fixed opening, and that
thereby the comfort of each passenger is more perfectly under his control than would
otherwise be the case.
For general use it will probably be desirable to dispense with the individual
delvery pipes L and L, and extend the main delivery pipe K along each side of the
car near the floor, and provide it with small openings k and k, as seen in Figure 2,
so as to cause all of the air to be thrown outward and downward to said floor.
I hereby disclaim all other ventilating apparatus in use.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I
would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the said Invention is,―
First. Ventilating and heating apparatus in which air is supplied to each
person through a separate duct or channel, substantially as and for the purpose
shown.
Second. Ventilating and heating apparatus in which air is delivered to individuals
through flexible or moveable tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. Ventilating and heating apparatus in which air is thrown downward
toward the floor in jets, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.
Fourth. Ventilating and heating apparatus in which a portion or the whole of the
air supply may be drawn from that contained within the upper portion of the
room or rooms being ventilated and heated, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
Fifth. Ventilating and heating apparatus in which the mechanism for setting in
motion the air is provided with a relief valve, through which air may pass from the
delivery pipe to the supply pipe whenever the pressure exceeds a given amount,
substantially as and for the purpose shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER, (LS.)