IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDS, AND FOR PRODUCING A CONSTANT CIRCULATION OF THE SAME THEREIN.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Stephens, of Keppel Street, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
HEATING LIQUIDS, AND FOR PRODUCING A CONSTANT CIRCULATION OF THE SAME
THEREIN.
"
Sealed the 18th April 1871, and dated the 21st October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Stephens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1870.
I, JOHN STEPHENS, of Keppel Street, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDS, AND FOR PRODUCING A CONSTANT CIRCULATION
OF THE SAME THEREIN," to be as follows:-
The main object of my Invention is to produce a constant circulation
of water or other liquid to and from a heater or reservoir for the purpose
of supplying baths and other vessels.
My Invention consists of two pipes, one within the other, and both
in connection with a heater or reservoir. The outer one serves as the

page_text: boiler, and can be arranged in a fire for heating the water therein,
while the other or inner one serves as a means for producing a
circulation of the water. The end of the inner pipe which is inside
the boiler is bent or has one or more curved nozzles on it, and as the
water in the outer pipe becomes heated it passes back into the reservoir,
the colder water at the same time rushing through the inner tube to
the nozzle end and gets into the outer tube to оссиру the space vacated
by the heated water. Thus a constant flow is kept up in and between
the two pipes and the reservoir. The reservoir may be of two
thicknesses of material, and an air space can be left between them,
which space can be used to prevent too great a radiation or loss of heat
from the water. I prefer that the inner end of the inner tube should
be at the end of the reservoir farthest from the heated water entrance,
so that the coldest portion of the water should be acted upon before
that portion which is already slightly heated by the inflowing body from
the outer tube. The reservoir can be fitted with a close fitting lid and
can be furnished with a cover, the lid serving as a support for articles
placed thereon. The joints of the tubes I prefer should be of vulcanized
rubber or other flexible material, so that the pipes can be inserted and
withdrawn with facility, but metal joints may be used if required.
I propose that the apparatus should be of a portable character and
capable of being packed in a small compass for the use of emigrants
and troops. It may, however, be on a large scale and fixed in any
building or otherwise where a constant supply of hot water is required.
The heated air or vapour escaping from the apparatus is led away by
a pipe or tube to a chimney; this tube creates a draft through the
apparatus when it is used for drying purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
•
filed by the said John Stephens in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st April 1871.
3
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STEPHENS, of Keppel Street, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-.
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Stephens, Her special license
that I, the said John Stephens, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Stephens, 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 APPARATUS FOR HEATING LIQUIDS, AND FOR PRODUCING A CONSTANT CIRCULATION
OF THE SAME THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Stephens, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Stephens, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The main object is to produce a constant circulation of water or other
liquid to and from a heater or reservoir for the purpose of supplying
baths and other vessels.
And the Invention consists of two pipes, one within the other, and
both in connection with a heater or reservoir; the outer one serves. as.
the boiler, and can be arranged in a fire for heating the water therein,
while the other or inner one serves as a means for producing a circu-
lation of the water. The end of the inner pipe which is inside the boiler
is bent or has one or more curved nozzles on it, and as the water in the
outer pipe becomes heated it passes back into the reservoir, and the colder
water at the same time rushing through the inner tube to the nozzle
end and gets into the outer tube to occupy the space vacated by the
heated water, thus a constant flow is kept up in and between the two
pipes and the reservoir. The reservoir may be of two thicknesses of
material and an air space can be left between them, which space can be

page_text: used to prevent too great a radiation or loss of heat from the water. I'
prefer that the inner end of the inner tube should be at the end of the
reservoir and farthest from the heated water entrance so that the coldest
portion of the water should be acted upon before that portion which is
already slightly heated by the inflowing from the outer tube body. The 5
reservoir can be fitted with a close fitting lid and can be furnished with
a cover, the lid serving as a support for articles placed thereon. The
joints of the tubes I prefer should be of vulcanized rubber or other
flexible material so that the pipes can be inserted and withdrawn with
facility, but metal joints may be used if required.
I propose that the apparatus should be of a portable character and
capable of being packed in a small compass for the use of emigrants and
troops; it may however be on a large scale and fixed in any building or
otherwise where a constant supply of hot water is required. The heated
air or vapour escaping from the apparatus is led away by a pipe or tube 1
to a chimney; this tube creates a draft through the apparatus when
it is used for drying purposes.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a part sectional view of
the fire ends of the two tubes, the one a being what I term the boiler,
and the one & the circulator, and this is bent at its end c to create a
circulation of the water from the vessel or reservoir to the boiler a,
where it becomes heated and flows back into the vessel or reservoir.
The application of this apparatus to culinary purposes is exemplified
in Figure 2 where it is fitted to an ordinary heater such as is used in
refreshment rooms for keeping coffee or other drinkable liquid food in:
a hot state without losing its flavour. The vessel d supports on its upper
ledge another vessel e which contains the liquid to be heated; this vessel
is provided with a cover to retain the aroma of the berry within it in
the manner well known. The inner vessel which contains the liquid
is fitted with a draw-off tap, and it is operated from the outside.
The boiler a is screwed or otherwise fastened into it and is inclined
at an angle so that it can be poked into the fire of an ordinary
stove and between the bars for heating the same. The boiler a is of
tapered form for permitting the water as it becomes heated to rise
rapidly into the vessel and tend to create a rapid downward flow through
the circulator from the front end of the vessel where the water is of
a colder nature than that at back of it.
It is not however necessary
that the boiler a should be tapered as it can be formed of a tube with

page_text: parallel sides, and this will be understood by reference to Figure 3, in
which the tube is of curved form so that it can be inserted into the fire-
from the top and thus admit of a greater portion of the boiler a being.
brought under the action of the fire. In each of these cases I have
shewn the boiler as being fixed in a rigid manner to the vessel, but this
is not essential as it can be arranged to a flexible tube to enable the
vessel to be fitted at a moderate distance from the fire, so as not to
interfere with the fire being used for other purposes. The circulator.
can also be fitted with a flexible tube in the same manner and its inner
end can be bent or curved upwards. It is kept in the centre of the
boiler a by studs or pins so that the heated rising water can flow all
round it.
The Invention is applicable to all kinds of heating apparatus and can
be arranged for heating water for bathing purposes by connecting it
with a bath in the manner shown in Figure 4. Supposing the bath d to
be partially filled with water, and the flexible tube e connected to it, the
opposite or boiler end can then be inserted into an open fire either
through the bars or into the top of it as before explained, the only con-
dition to be observed is that the vessel to be heated must be at a higher
level than the boiler itself to ensure the circulation of the water in a
perfect manner.
Figure 5 represents a drying chamber fitted with a boiler. In this.
case the water vessel or compartment is closed in but the escape of the
steam is provided for by a vertical pipe leading to the outside, and
the level of the water is maintained by a funnel g which also acts as a
gauge, it being fitted on the stem of the draw-off tap. This class of
article will be found of great service in laundries and other places as
the drying of the clothes which are to be arranged upon the cross bars h
can be expedited in a most sensible way without risk of the clothes
getting soiled. The drying chamber is fitted with a funnel or cone-
shaped opening at one end, and the steam escape pipe which leads into
it will draw the moist vapours from it as it is created. I have only.
referred to one or two adaptations of my Invention to heating purposes,
but it can be extended to numberless operations and is equally avail-
able for heating the cooking vessels of troops in camp or on the march
as a temporary fire can be made up and the boilers inserted into it
without loss of time.
The circulator shown in Figure 1 has the end bent, but I do not

page_text: confine myself to that plan as nozzles can be arranged on it as shown in
Figures 6 and 7, or holes may be drilled at an angle in lieu thereof if
desired, and small tubes may be arranged in or to them if desired. The
lower part of the vessel, shewn in Figure 5, can be filled with a substance
or material containing deodorising properties, the vapour or heat of 1
which could flow away into the apartment for purifying the air by the
apertures i, i, at the bottom. I have placed these apertures at the
bottom to check the escape of the vapour or heat and to permit of a
gentle flow of the same from the substance.
Thus my Invention will be particularly useful to hospitals, unions,
public schools, and other large establishments, and also nurseries, as not
only can there be a supply of hot water at hand at a small expenditure
of fuel, but the heat generated from the water is utilized for drying
clothes and deodorising the building. Any number of boilers can be
fitted to one vessel, and these can be arranged in the same or in different
fires as desired. For heating greenhouses and conservatories it will
also be found of much service, as by inserting the boiler more or less into.
a fire a regular temperature of the water, and consequently the building,
can be maintained for any length of time.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention as a means of creating a constant circulation of water for
heating purposes, the combination of the boiler a and circulator b
arranged in the manner substantially as described and shown.
Secondly. I claim the employment of a bent end or return nozzles on:
the circulator when employed in and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stephens, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.