IMPROVEMENTS IN DISINFECTING APPARATUS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, RUDOLF HENNEBERG, Engineer, one of the firm of Rietschel and Henneberg, at
Berlin, Prussia, German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISINFECTING APPARATUS," to be as follows:-
The subject of my invention consists in an improved apparatus for disinfecting.
clothes and other articles polluted by contagious matter, by means of steain.
The apparatus consists of two vessels preferably of cylindrical form, placed with
their open ends one upon the other, the lower vessel forming a boiler for the gene-
ration of steam at low pressure, the upper one constituting a chamber for the
articles to be disinfected. Both vessels are connected with an exhaust pipe.
Between the two vessels is placed a plate having apertures, and upon this plate a
slide, adapted to cover and uncover the said apertures. Besides, a valve is arranged
between the lower vessel or boiler and the exhaust pipe, and this valve and the
said slide are so combined, that when the latter establishes communication between
the boiler and the disinfecting chamber, the former closes the connection between
the boiler and the exhaust pipe, and vice versa. This arrangement allows the
chamber to be emptied and filled anew without interrupting the generation of
steam.
The boiler may be heated by fire from the outside, or by means of high pressure
steam circulating in a serpentine within the same. In the former case I provide
the boiler on the inside with ribs for the purpose of increasing its heating surface.
The boiler is supplied with water through a pipe extending from its bottom
upward to a certain height and having at its top a funnel. This pipe may be fitted
with a gauge glass and a discharge cock."
The articles to be disinfected are put into a cage made of galvanized iron or other
suitable material, and placed with the same into the upper vessel or chamber after
the cover thereof has been opened. Preferably the upper vessel is hinged to the
lower one, so that it may be turned on its side for facilitating the insertion and
the removal of the cage. In this case a separable connection between the upper
vessel and the exhaust pipe has to be provided.
Dated thin thistarath 1
A
..

page_text: Improvements in Disinfecting Apparatus.
I, RUDOLF HENNEBERG, Engineer, one of the firm of Rietschel and Henneberg
at Berlin, Prussia, German Empire, 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 :—
The subject of my invention consists in an improved apparatus for disinfecting,
by means of steam, clothes and other articles polluted by contagious matter.
On the annexed two sheets of drawings Fig. 1 represents this apparatus partly
in front elevation, partly in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken at
a right angle to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the lower part of the apparatus
supposing the vessel a to be open. Fig. 4 is a plan of the vessel a with parts
serving to close the same. Fig. 5 is a part in detail. Fig. 6 shows a modifi-
cation of the heating arrangement. Figs. 7 and 8 represent an apparatus with
modified construction of different parts.
Thé apparatus consists of two vessels a and b preferably of cylindrical shape,
placed with their open ends one upon the other, the lower vessel, a, forming a
boiler for the generation of steam at low pressure, the upper one, b, constituting a
chamber for the articles to be disinfected. The boiler is placed in a suitable furnace,
and it is preferably provided on its inside with a plurality of vertical ribs for
increasing its heating surface. It is supplied with water through the horizontal
pipe q connected with its bottom, and the vertical piper, extending from the end
of q upward to a certain height above the designed water-level in a. The pipe r
has at its top a funnel 8, while it is fitted at the side with a gauge-glass t, and at
its bottom with a discharge-cock y.
I₁
the same.
The articles to be disinfected are put into a cage g, Fig. 2, made of galvanized
iron or other suitable material, and placed with the same from above into the upper
vessel or chamber b, after the lid b₁ thereof has been opened. For the purpose of
facilitating the insertion and the removal of the cage, the upper vessel is hinged
to the lower one, or to the top plate of the furnace, so that it may be turned on
its side, as is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the cage is provided with
rollers also serving to keep the space around the cage uniform. w is a small
column for supporting the vessel when it is turned down, and d are bars for handling
If preferred the vessel may be balanced by chains running over rollers.
and having counter-weights attached to them. At the bottom of b there are small
brackets, b, adapted to carry the cage when the vessel and the cage are in upright
position. For the purpose of connecting the vessels a and b together, hinged
screw-bolts u are provided; like bolts v serve for securing the lid b¹. The joints
may be made tight by means of india-rubber rings sunk into suitable grooves. The
steam after having acted in b, issues by the pipe into the exhaust pipe k. As
shown by Fig. 5,.a separable connection is formed between these pipes by means of
elbows on the end of the pipe i and on the branch of the pipe le; the said elbows
joining each other when the vessel b is standing upright, and being fitted with a
screw-clamp for securing them together. m is a throttle-valve arranged in the
branch-pipe, and t'a thermometer for indicating the temperature of the steam.
The vessel b and its lid are protected against radiation of heat by jackets c.

page_text: The lower vessel a is provided with means for cutting off its communication
with the upper vessel or disinfecting-chamber b,. and at the same time establishing
communication between it and the exhaust pipe, which is carried down to the
vessel a and connected to a branch or channel ; thereof. For this purpose a
plate h having a number of apertures, preferably in the form of parallel slits, is
inserted into the top of the vessel a, and upon this plate is placed a slide
p having
like apertures and adapted to cover and uncover the apertures of the plate h,
according as it is shifted thereon in one direction or the other. Besides, a valve o
is arranged in front of the aforesaid channel and this valve is so connected to the
slide p by means of a rod n, working with a screw-thread in a box n', that, when
the rod n is rotated by the hand-wheel n², the slide p and the valve o will be
moved simultaneously, the slide opening the apertures in the plate h, while the
valve closes the channel j, and vice-versa. This arrangement allows the chamber b
to be emptied and to be filled. anew without interruption of the generation of
steam.
When the described apparatus is to be put into operation, the vessel b, containing
a cage with articles to be disinfected, is properly tightened down on a, the lid 6¹ is
closed and secured, the pipes i and are connected together, the communication
between a and b is established by the slide p, and that between a and k cut off by
the valve o, the vessel a is filled with water by about one half, and the fire is lit.
The effect of the latter will then be, first to heat the upper portion of the vessel a,
whereby the air contained in the apparatus and the walls of the vessel b are brought
to a temperature of about 100° Centigr. The steam subsequently generated from
the water in a will thereby be prevented from condensing as it rises in b, and its
temperature will even be raised above that of the water by its contact with the
upper portion of the heating surface of a, this increase of temperature becoming
greater in the measure as the water in a becomes lower and the heating-surface
above the water-level augments.
After the steam has acted for the required period on the articles under treatment,
the slide p is shifted and valve o opened, so that the steam will be cut off from b
and conducted directly into the exhaust-pipe. The vessel b is then unscrewed
from a and from the exhaust-pipe, and turned down, the lid is opened and the cage
with the disinfected articles removed, whereupon a new operation may commence.
Fig. 6 shows a modification of the means for heating the apparatus, consisting in
a serpentine z, inserted into the vessel a, and through which steam of high pressure,
and consequently of high temperature is passed.
In the vessel shown by the said figure, the ribs on the inner surface thereof have
been retained, in order that it may also be adapted for being economically heated
by fire.
In the modified apparatus represented by Figs. 7 and 8, the vessel b is provided
near the middle of its sides with trunnions d', and it is mounted with these
trunnions in bearings e¹, arranged to slide in standards f¹, and supported through
the medium of bars on eccentrics i¹, keyed on an axle j¹. Moreover the vessel b
engages with a rim at the bottom thereof in a circular groove of the annular
piece, fixed to the top of the vessel a. By means of this groove and the water
of condensation collecting therein, a hydraulic seal is formed between the vessels a
and b. A like seal is produced between the pipes i and k by a rim on i dipping
into a groove on the bent pipe m¹ connected to k. By means of the channel and
the pipe o, provided with valve o, a connection is established between the boiler a
and the smoke-pipe f
When the cage g of this apparatus is to be removed from the vessel b, the valve o
is opened so as to lead the steam from the vessel a into the smoke-pipe. The
eccentrics i¹ are then turned by means of a key applied to the end of the axle j,
and the vessel is thereby raised so that its bottom rim and the rim of the pipe
will be disengaged respectively from the grooves of the parts and m¹. The vessel
may thereupon be turned by the handle d into the position shown by dotted lines,
and the cage may be withdrawn from the same at its lower end and reinserted

page_text: into it. For retaining the cage in the vessel b, bars c¹ may be used that are slipped
between brackets on the walls of b. p¹ is a pipe for conducting back to the feed-
pipe the water of condensation collecting in the pipe m¹.
i
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A disinfecting-apparatus consisting of a vessel a, constituting a boiler for the
generation of steam from water, a vessel b adapted to contain the articles to be
disinfected, and which is placed with its open bottom end on the vessel a, and
means for heating the water as well as the air in a, all combined substantially as
hereinbefore described.
2. The combination, with the vessel or boiler a, the vessel or disinfecting-
chamber b, and means for heating the water in a, of an exhaust-pipe k connected
to a and b, a plate having apertures and inserted between a and b, a slide
adapted to cover and uncover the apertures of h, a valve o' adapted to close the
channel leading from the vessel a to the pipe k, and means whereby the slide
and the valve o may be operated simultaneously, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3. The combination, with the vessel or disinfecting-chamber b, of.a vessel or
boiler a having vertical ribs on the inside, and means for heating the vessel a from
the outside, substantially as described.
4. The combination with the vessel or boiler a, and vessel or chamber b, of a
cage g adapted to be removed from band to contain the articles to be disinfected,
substantially as set forth.
5. The combination, with the vessel or boiler a and the vessel or chamber b, of
the pipes q and r and the funnel s, as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this Fighth day of
1002