Improvements in Apparatus for Ventilating Buildings and other Structures or Places.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1887
Complete Left, 21st Apr., 1888
Complete Accepted, 25th May, 1888
Improvements in Apparatus for Ventilating Buildings and other
Structures or Places.
I WILLIAM WALKER of 125 Kingsley Road, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Secretary do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Apparatus of various kinds have been designed and constructed for withdrawing
foul or vitiated air from the rooms of buildings and other places some largely
depending on the condition of the atmosphere to bring them into operation and
others actuated by mechanical means. The efficiency of the latter is not affected
by the state of the atmosphere but they are objected to in many instances on account
of the additional initial cost involved by having to supply motive power and tho
further cost of working them. The other class of ventilator known as automatic
which are dependant upon a current of air to cause them to work by suction or
otherwise are least operative when most required thus when the air is still and of
nearly the same temperature inside as outside of the building and ventilation most
needed there is no cause to induce action.
This invention is designed with the object of producing a ventilator which will
always be certain in its action when required and without the cost-initial or for
maintenence of the mechanical ones.
It consists essentially of a chamber for heating or rarifying the air placed at or
near the points of exit provided beneath with air passages and heating burners and
above with louvres or exit passages formed so as to allow of an outward current and
prevent an inward or return current of air.
In carrying out the invention this chamber is preferably constructed circular or
cylindrical and formed with a number of internal chambers. These may be either
concentric with the outer wall or in sets of two or more concentric with each other.
A heating burner or a series of burners preferably for consumption of gas are placed
below these chambers the walls of which are heated rarefying the air in contact with
them forming an upward current which passes upward and out at the top.

page_text: "
The outlet is provided with or protected by louvres or baffle plates curved towards
the opening or aperture between them so as to deflect any current of air or wind
striking them on the outside to prevent it entering and causing a return current.
Internally the louvres or plates are so formed as to allow of free exit to the upward
current of air inside. The burners may be of any ordinary or suitable construction
circular conical or otherwise. Where the room or building is often used a master
light" may be employed which will at any time light the burners of the apparatus
when the gas is turned on. In other situations where the ventilator is placed so that
it will be difficult to reach, a perforated pipe preferably placed vertically and running
in a spiral form from any existing gas burner, or where it may be readily reached by
a taper, may be brought to the burners along which a gas flame will carry when
lighted at one end.
The heating chamber may be connected to any part of the building or structure by
pipes or ducts such as are at present known as the "Acme System" thereby
exhausting the foul air from any part of, or from two or more points in one room, or
from a series of rooms.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Ventilating Buildings and other
Structures or Places.
I, WILLIAM WALKER, of 125 Kingsley Road, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Secretary, 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 :-
This invention is designed chiefly to provide a ventilator for withdrawing foul or
vitiated air from the rooms of buildings or other places, though it may also be
applicable as a top or cowl to chimneys and other shafts for the purpose of increasing
the up current or preventing the down draught.
It consists essentially of a chamber constructed with internal passages and fitted
with burners or jets to heat or rarefy the air and of louvres or baffle plates between
which the current of air passes, the louvres or baffle plates being so curved or inclined,
and interlocked together as to allow a free passage for air in one direction through the
exhaust passages between them; and also to deflect any current of air striking on them
in the opposite direction and prevent it entering. The two parts may be made and
used in combination or separately.
Referring to the drawings Fig. 1. is a sectional elevation of the combined apparatus
as a whole as applied to the roof of a church.
Fig. 2. is a sectional plan of the annular passages of the chamber A the walls of
which are shown corrugated.
Fig. 3. plan of gas burner.
Fig. 4. front elevation of the louvres, or exhaust part of the ventilator fitted in a
wall.
Fig. 5 elevation of circular form of louvres applied to a shaft or chimney.
Fig. 6 sectional elevation of fig. 5.
Fig. 7. diagram showing in sectional elevation the shape of the louvres or baffle
plates.
Figs. 8. 9. 10 diagrams similar to fig. 7, in which the dotted lines indicate forms of
construction which in certain instances, may be adopted instead of the curve form
shown.
Referring to the drawings, A is a chamber, fitted with a number of internal
passages B, through which a current of air is caused to pass by the action of a
heating flame preferably a gas jet from a burner C. The chamber A may be of any
desired shape, cylindrical or rectangular, but it is preferably made of the shape shown
of corrugated sheet metal, for the purpose of presenting a greater surface. The
passages B, formed of the walls b, are shown placed internally concentric with the
outer wall a, though if preferred they may be placed in groups of two, three, or
more concentric to each other. The walls and divisions a and b are connected
and held together by cross pieces a¹ or in any other convenient way. C is a

page_text: burner or series of burners for the consumption of gas placed below the chamber A
When in operation the gas is lit, the products of combustion passing upwards
through the passages B. The walls a and b of the chamber and passages are'
thereby heated and rarefy the air in contact with them causing with the products
of combustion an upward current which carries with it the air from; and ventilates
the room or structure with which it is connected. The current rising up through
the chamber and passages A and B enters the enclosed space D and passes out
through the outlet at E which is provided with louvres or baffle plates F curved
or inclined so as to allow the free egress of the current of air and at the same time
prevent any current or draught inwards.
,
The louvres or baffle plates F will be set one above another the bottom edge of one
projecting down below the top edge-of-the-next as-is at present the case with the
ordinary flat louvres. The louvres F, I prefer to make curved as shown in Fig. 7,
(the exact curves shown I have found after several practical experiments to be the best
for the purpose). The current of air passes-from the inside X-to the outside Y as
indicated by the arrows. Any air striking the louvres or plates F on the side Y is
carried round the top curve fand deflected by it so as to pass out again at e without
entering the passages. Water is also similarly prevented entering when blown or
forced against the louvres. The action of wind blowing against the outside Y and
passing round the curve fis to exhaust or create by suction a current of air through
from the inside X. This is particularly the case when the ventilator is made, circular
as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and in that form it will be found very serviceable..for
ventilating railway carriages and other similar moving structures and for the top. of
chimney or ventilating shafts and the like as the force of the wind against it will
cause an upward current in addition to preventing down draughts.
1
Although I prefer to make the louvres F curved in shape approximating to that of
the letter S as shown in Fig. 7 it is not practicable always to do so, as every material
from which they may at times be constructed cannot easily be made to assume that
shape. When made of sheet metal such as zinc that shape is easily obtainable but
where required to be constructed of wood, glass, or other material not readily worked
like metal, the louvres or baffle plates will be built up of a series of parts inclined to
each other so as to cover as nearly as possible the outline of the curved plates. What
is known as the Greek key pattern or a slight modification of it presents a convenient
form which will to a degree effect the same results as the curved louvres and a modi-
fication of this is shown in Figs: 9 and 10 while in Fig. 8 is shown in angular form a
louvre composed of fewer pieces. It will be seen in all these Figs. that the lower edge
of one louvre projects below the upper edge of the next and the curved or inclined
parts thus overlap and interlock one with the other. No direct passage inwards
between them is presented, any current of wind or air strikes against the top part f
and is deflected out again, without entering the interior of the ventilator.
!.
It will be understood that I prefer the S curved form of louvre when the ventilator
is made from material which may be easily wrought into that form, though at the same
time the invention is not limited to the curved forin of louvre or to either of the
inclined or angular shapes indicated, as a combination of both curved and inclined
may also be adopted, though in practice I believe the curved form will be found the
best and the easiest to construct.
,
The louvres may be used or placed horizontally as shown or vertically or at any
inclination that may be required and the ventilator as a whole formed of the louvres,
may be placed in a vertical or inclined plane but preferably, as near to the vertical as
possible. The louvres will be set in frames or attachments of any desired shape
rectangular, triangular, circular, etcetera. The inclination of the louvres can be suited
to the pitch of any roof by setting them more or less forward at the top of the frame
to which they are attached..
.
For large buildings such as churches, public halls and the like the best results as a
ventilator will be obtained by the use of the apparatus as a whole as shown in Fig. 1,
with the heating chamber and the exit- louvres combined: The chamber A may be
connected to any part of the chamber or structure by .connecting pipes.or ducts; by

page_text: means of which the foul or vitiated air may be removed from any point or from two
or more points in one room or from a series of rooms. Where the building is often
used, a
master light" may be employed to relight the burner at any time when the
gas is turned on, or a perforated gas pipe preferably placed vertically and running
spirally may be employed along which a gas flame will carry when lighted at
one end.
For smaller structures or where an automatic ventilation only is required the
heating chamber may be dispensed with and a ventilator composed of the louvres
alone be used. Such ventilators may also be applied to the ventilation of railway
carriages or trucks, ships cabins, or holds, flues or chimneys, sewers and the like;
for buildings, tops of railway carriages, flues and the like the curved pattern of louvre
made of metal, terra cotta, concrete or other material may be used, and for doors
such as those of rooms, railway carriages and ships cabins, one of the angular forms
may be adopted so that they may be made from wood while for insertion in windows
the same form made from glass will probably answer best.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declaro that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for ventilating buildings or other structures, having a chamber
formed with a number of internal passages, in which the air is heated and rarefied by
two or more heating flames, an open space or chamber into which the heated air
passes, and an outlet formed of louvres or baffle plates so constructed and arranged
as to allow of the free egress of the upward current while they prevent any return
current or down draught substantially as described.
2. A ventilator formed of a series of louvres or baffle plates, curved or inclined
towards the outside of the passage between them, each overlapping the next and
interlocking one with the other, so as to allow of the free passage of a current of air
in one direction while deflecting and preventing the entry of any current in the
reverse direction substantially as described.
3. The use in a ventilator of louvres of the shape shown or indicated in figs. 7, 8, 9
and 10 substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester,
Patent Agents.