IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis George Fleury, of No. 24, Merrick
Square, Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR
MAKING ICE AND OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis George Fleury
a
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 23rd July 1873.
I, FRANCIS GEORGE FLEURY, of No. 24, Merrick Square, Southwark,
in the County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC REFRIGERATING APPARATUS
FOR MAKING ICE AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to domestic refrigerating apparatus in which
cold is produced by the evaporation in vacuo of a volatile liquid, such,
O for instance, as ammonia, and consists in the arrangement in combi-
nation of an evaporating vesel (or vessels) containing the concentrated

page_text: solution of volatile liquid, a condenser (or condensers), and suitable
mechanism for automatically opening and closing the taps or cocks to
regulate the flow of water around the evaporating vessel (or vessels)
and condenser (or condensers) for extinguishing the flame or flames
whereby the evaporating vessel (or vessels) is (or are) heated, and for
striking an alarum to announce the completion of the process.
The whole of the apparatus may be arranged within a casing hinged
to a suitable table or stand, and provided with a handle or handles and
a buffer or buffers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis George Fleury in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
GEORGE FLEURY, of No. 24, Merrick Square, Southwark, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Francis George Fleury, Her special license
that I, the said Francis George Fleury, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said-Francis George Fleury'
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time- and at all times thereafter,
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE AND
OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Francis George Fleury, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francis George Fleury, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in domestic refrigerating
apparatus for making ice, and for other purposes, in which the neces-
sary cold is produced by the evaporation in vacuo of a volatile liquid,
such, for example, as ammonia.
According to my Invention I combine an evaporating vessel con-
taining the volatile liquid, a condenser, and suitable mechanism for
automatically opening and closing certain taps or cocks used for regu-
lating the flow of water around the evaporating vessel and condenser
for extinguishing the flame or flames by which the evaporating vessel is
heated, and for striking an alarum to announce the completion of the
refrigerating process.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same with the
aid of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters
and figures marked thereon, and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal
vertical section taken at the line a, b, Figure 2, which latter is a sectional
plan on line h, k, Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view of part of the
apparatus herein-after explained. In each Figure the same letter of
reference wherever it occurs indicates like or corresponding parts.
A is the evaporating vessel, which is made of strong metal, and by
preference in sections screwed together, as shewn. This vessel com-
municates at its upper end with the condenser B by means of the pipe C,
which is screwed into sockets a¹ and 6', the joints being made tight to
prevent the escape of the vapour of the volatile liquid by leather or
india-rubber washers a³ and b² and nuts a³ and b³. The condenser B is
made by preference in sections screwed together as shewn. The lower
part of the evaporating vessel A and the condenser B are surrounded
respectively by chambers D and .E, through which cold water is allowed
to circulate, as herein-after described; and on the inner side of the
condenser B is the refrigerating or freezing chamber F. The liquid to
be frozen is introduced into the chamber F in a vessel G, having lid g¹
and handle g. The water circulating around the generating vessel A.
and condenser B is introduced by the pipe H, and goes thence through

page_text: the branches H¹ and H³ to the chambers D and E. The water circu"
lating around the condenser enters the chamber D by the pipe H¹, and
is carried away by the branch I' of the pipe I, whilst the water circu-
lating around the condenser B enters the chamber E by the branch
pipe H³, and is allowed to pass away in part by the passage I³. This
passage I being made of insufficient size to carry away the whole of the
water introduced by the branch pipe H³, the water rises until it over-
flows the upper edge of the refrigerating chamber F, down which it
flows, covering the whole inner surface thereof in its descent, and passes
away through the branch pipe I' of the pipe I, with which branch pipe
the passage I³ also communicates. This water is caused to circulate
around both the inner and outer surfaces of the condenser, during which
circulation the vessel G is removed. The inflowing of the water through
the pipes H' and H and the outflowing thereof through the pipes I' and
I are regulated by the four cocks Hand H, and I and I³, which cocks are
opened and closed automatically in the following manner :-As will be
observed the cocks are placed in an upright direction, and in pairs, the
cocks H* and H³ being directly above the cocks I' and I³. The vertical
plugs of these cocks are each provided with a horizontal ratchet wheel J
having four teeth, which teeth are acted upon by the pins K¹ of the
disc K, which disc is attached to and receives a very slow rotary motion
from a horizontal spindle L driven by clockwork contained within the
M. The said pins of the disc in passing these ratchet wheels as it
revolves catch one of the teeth of each, and thus give the wheels a
quarter turn, thereby opening or closing the cocks according to as they
have been previously arranged, and at the same time bringing the next
tooth of each of the said ratchet wheels into position to be acted upon in
like manner as the next pin in the disc is brought forward. The eva-
poration of the volatile liquid is accomplished by a gas jet N underneath
the generating vessel. The gas is lighted when the apparatus is first
set going, and like the water cocks is turned off by the mechanism after
it has burned a sufficient time to evaporate the volatile liquid. This
time is ascertained by experiment after the volatile liquid has been
hermetically sealed within the evaporating chamber, and the clockwork
is then set to operate the mechanism in accordance therewith.
When the proper moment arrives for putting out the gas the object is
effected instantaneously in the following manner:-The plug, which
regulates the admission of the gas to the burner N, is carried out as a

page_text: •
spindle O to the back of the outer casing P, where it is provided with a
suitable bearing. On the end of this spindle O is fixed a short lever O'
weighed at its outer extremity, so that when left free it will of course
fall to the lowest position possible, which is made just sufficient to give
the plug of the gas tap a quarter turn, and thus shut off the gas.
When the gas is to be lighted this lever is raised (thereby opening the
gas tap), and is held in that position by the connecting rod O' attached
thereto, which is supported by being linked on to the small arm Oʻ,
which in its turn is supported by resting at its extremity against the
pull Q, which when the disc R in its rotary motion reaches a certain
position is liberated by the cutting away of the said disc, as shewn, and
falls away from the extremity of the lever 03, thus depriving it of
support when the weighted lever O' immediately falls, and closes the gas
cock, thus putting out the light. The volatile liquid is introduced into
the evaporating vessel through the tube S, which is soldered at its upper
end into a boss cast on the inner side of the upper part of the vessel, and
is carried nearly to the bottom of the vessel, so that its lower end will be
nearly always immersed within the liquid, thus isolating the interior of
the tube from the vapour of the liquid, except from the very small
surface of the liquid within the tube. This is confined by a plug screwed
into the upper end of the tube, which nut is also surrounded with a cup
which may be filled with water, and thus effectually prevent evaporation
into the outer atmosphere.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The volatile liquid having
been introduced into the chamber A, out of which all air has been driven,
the gas is turned on and lighted, and the cocks H* and I are opened,
thus causing cold water to circulate around the condenser E. As the
volatile liquid is evaporated by the heat of the gas in combustion it
passes away through the pipe C to the chamber, where it is condensed
again to the liquid form, and this process is continued until the whole of
the liquid has passed over. This operation will take a definite time,
which time having been previously ascertained by experiment, and the
clockwork set to act accordingly, by the time the liquid has nearly all
passed over the pins K¹ of the disc K, will have been brought to bear
on the ratchet wheels J, giving each a quarter turn, and thus closing the
cocks H' and I', and opening the cocks H³ and I', thus turning the cir-
culating water from chamber E to the chamber D, summoning the
evaporating vessel. At the same time also the gas is turned off in the

page_text: manner above described. The vessel C containing the liquid to be frozen
is now introduced into the refrigerating chamber. As the vapour within
the vaporising chamber becomes condensed by coldness of the water
circulating around it, or a vacuum is formed therein, and thus the liquid
in the condenser is again vapourised, and drawn back again into the
vessel A, the heat taken up in the vaporization of, the liquid being
abstracted from the water contained within the vessel G, which water is
thus frozen. The outer circumference of the circulating chamber E is
wrapped with any suitable material being a non-conductor of heat. This
prevents the volatile liquid while being vapourised abstracting the neces-
sary heat from the surrounding atmosphere instead of from the liquid
contained within the vessel G. When necessary the condenser B may
be charged with a strong saline solution to prevent the volatile liquid
freezing whilst being vapourised. .
It will be observed that the vessels are covered in at the top by a cap
T, and that the whole is enclosed within an outer casing P with lid P¹,
also that the evaporating vessel and the condenser are formed with a bed
plate U, which rests on blocks V..
Any suitable alarum may be attached to the clockwork to announce
the completion of the process.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to or may be
performed, I claim as my Invention to be secured by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, the improvements in domestic refri-
gerating apparatus, substantially as herein-before set forth and described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis George Henry, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.