IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REPRIGERATING OR FREEZING LIQUIDS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henderson, of the City and State of New
York, but now residing in Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR
REPRIGERATING OR FREEZING LIQUIDS."
Sealed the 30th May 1865, and dated the 11th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Henderson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
March 1865.
I, JAMES HENDERSON, of the City and State of New York, but now residing
in Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR
REFRIGERATING OR FREEZING LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in refrigerating or freezing liquids has
for its object to freeze water into solid blocks of convenient size, in order that
it may be used in the ordinary way in place of clean ice obtained from lakes
or rivers frozen in the usual manner; this is effected by placing the water in
vessels of small size, and made of metal, which is a good conductor of heat.
The form of the vessels is not material, but the object being to obtain as great
a radiating surface as possible in proportion to the quantity of water to be
operated upon, I find that thin cast-iron vessels of a hexagonal shape is the
most convenient form, and that these vessels should be about 6 or 8 inches in

page_text: diameter. Tinned or galvanized sheet iron may also be used for the purpose.
In order that when the water is frozen the ice should be capable of removal
with facility, the vessels should be made rather larger at top than at bottom,
so that the sides will be inclined outwards from the bottom; sometimes it
will be found convenient to construct the metallic vessels with a hollow
central space, so that when filled with water there will be no portion of the
water that will be further removed than about an inch or an inch and a half
from the exposed sides of the vessel. A number of metallic vessels of this
kind having been filled with water are arranged in rows on frames, and
exposed to the action of the air during frosty weather, and the cold of the
atmosphere by acting on the metallic surfaces will abstract the heat therefrom,
and will freeze the water in the vessels into a solid mass. It will be evident
that whenever the atmosphere is sufficiently cold to freeze water, under
ordinary circumstances, an inch thick, it will be sufficient to freeze the water
in the metallic vessels into solid blocks without any trouble. When this is
effected the blocks are to be removed from the vessels, which can then be
refilled and the refrigerating or freezing process continued as long as the frost
fasts. The ice thus produced is stored in ice houses until required for use.
The freezing operation may be facilitated by causing an artificial current of
cold air to play upon the exposed surfaces of the metallic vessels when the
atmosphere is too still to act by itself with sufficient energy. This artificial
current of air may be produced either by means of a rotating fan or other
blowing apparatus, or by constructing the sides of the building in which the
freezing vessels are placed with moveable louvre boarding which is mounted in
frames, so that an opening and closing action may be communicated to the
boards in order to create a draught through the building. When there is
sufficient wind the louvre boards are kept permanently open, as there will then
be no occasion to keep them in motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said. James Henderson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the s
11th September 1865.
. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENDERSON, of the City and State of New York, but now residing in Leaden-
hall Street, in the City of London, send greeting.
'
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Henderson, Her special licence that I, the said James Henderson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Henderson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times. there-
after 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 THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REFRIGERATING OR FREEZING
LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Hen-
derson, 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 James Henderson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:
The object of this Invention is to obtain solid blocks of ice of a size and
forin suitable for transportation, packing, and sale, without the necessity of
cutting or breaking, and freezing such blocks in much less time or by tem-
peratures which would fail to produce ice of sufficient thickness on lakes,
ponds, or rivers. This object I effect by my Invention, which consists in
exposing the water to be frozen in a series of pans made of some good
conductor of caloric, by preference thin metal, and of the form of the required
blocks of ice. These pans are suspended by their rims so as to expose their
entire outer surface to the action of the atmosphere.
The freezing operation is facilitated by the second part of the Invention,
which consists in combining with the series of freezing pans means for causing a
more energetic action of air around and over the said pans, either by causing
the frames in which the pans are suspended to be moved through the air, or
as the equivalent thereof, causing currents of air to circulate around and over
the said pans, such increased action having the effect of more rapidly con-
ducting the caloric out of the paus, and thereby inducing a more rapid freezing
of the water contained therein.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn different views of vessels of
various forms which I propose to use for the purpose of my Invention, and
also the manner in which I cause the air to act energetically on the radiating
surfaces of the vessels.
Fig. 1 is a sectional view, and Fig. 2 a plan view of a square shallow vessel,
which is the form I prefer when the vessels are to remain stationary while the
freezing operation is going on; Fig. 3 is a sectional view, and Fig. 4 an
external side view of another form of vessel which is deep but narrow, and is
more applicable than the shallow vessel when the freezing vessels are to be
put in motion; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, and Fig. 6 a plan view of a third
form, which in this instance is octagonal, and is provided with a central
opening a, up which the air may be circulated for the purpose of carrying off
the caloric which radiates from the exposed inner sides of the vessel. In all
these cases the sides are inclined so as to facilitate the removal of the ice from
the sides of the vessels, and all are provided with projecting flanges 6, 6,
whereby they may be suspended in suitable frames, so that the air may have
free access to the entire outer surface. A number of metallic vessels of either
of these kinds having been filled with water are arranged in rows on frames
or racks of several stories, and made of iron or other materials, and suspended
by their rims b, b, and exposed to the action of the air during frosty weather.
The cold of the atmosphere by acting on the metallic surfaces will obstruct
the heat therefrom, and will freeze the water in the vessels into solid blocks.
Between all the vessels intervening spaces must be allowed to enable the
vessels to be taken out, and to form a passage for the air, and the frames can
be arranged to form a shallow vat for each story, on which the water may be
made to flow from a cock at one end for the purpose of filling the pans or
vessels, or they may be filled separately in any other manner. The frames
may be made of either wood or iron, and they may be stationary or moveable.
Iron racks are preferable for holding the vessels, and the frames may be
mounted on castors, so as to admit their being moved about with facility and
placed in the direction of the current of air, in order to receive the full effect
of it. The frames may also be constructed so as to be taken apart and stored
away when not in use.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 an end elevation of one of these
wrought-iron frames with a number of the freezing vessels, such as those s
shewn in Figs. 1 and 3, suspended therein for the purpose of cooling water.
These frames are mounted on castors or wheels c, c, which are flanged to run
upon rails, as shewn in the Drawing.
It will be evident that whenever the atmosphere is sufficiently cold to freeze

page_text: water, under ordinary circumstances, of a slight thickness only, it will be
sufficient to freeze the water in the metallic pans or vessels into solid blocks,
as the air has free access to the bottom and sides of the vessel, their external
sides being so constructed and prepared as to radiate the heat as freely as
possible. When the freezing has been effected the blocks are to be removed
from the vessels, which can then be refilled and the refrigerating or freezing
process continued as long as the frost lasts. The ice thus produced can be
stored in ice houses until required for use, the form of the blocks being suited
thereto. The freezing operation will be facilitated, especially when the air is
calm and quiet, by causing an artificial current of cold air to play upon the
exposed surfaces of the metallic vessels. This artificial current of air may be
produced either by means of a rotary fan or other blowing apparatus, or by
constructing the sides of the building in which the freezing vessels are placed
with moveable louvre boarding which is mounted in frames, so that an
opening and closing action may be communicated to the boards in order to
create a draught through the building. The arrangement is shewn at Fig. 9,
which is a vertical section of a building provided with these moveable louvre
boards d, d, d, d. The frames to hold the refrigerating vessels are shewn
at A, A, A, A, and are arranged in tiers one above another. They are placed
on rails, so that they may run in and out of the building when required.
When there is sufficient wind the louvre boards are kept permanently open
(as indicated by dotted lines in the Figure), as there will then be no occasion
to keep them in motion. The louvre boards are suspended from centres or
rocking shafts e, e, which carry the arms or levers f, f, these latter are
connected by a rod g to one end of a bell-crank lever, to the opposite end of
which is connected by a rod i to a crank j, which is actuated in any other
convenient manner to produce the requisite artificial current. When the
water in the vessels is frozen solid, the moveable frames A are run on to the
moveable platform B, which run upon the rails k, k, and are conveyed away
to some suitable place where the ice is removed from them, and they are
refilled with water and brought back again in the same manner and placed in
the building.
Another mode of causing an artificial current of air to play upon the
surfaces of the freezing vessels is shewn at Figs. 10 and 11. This consists in
giving motion to the vessels by placing the frames A on a horizontal platform
which is made to revolve rapidly through the air. The effect of the velocity
of the vessels through the air is the same as when the air passes over the
vessels. Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation of this arrangement, and Fig. 11 is a
plan view thereof. A, A, are the frames containing a number of freezing

page_text: pans or vessels, such as those shewn at Fig. 8. These frames are placed on
the horizontal platform C, which is suspended on a central spindle / by a
socket m, which carries a bevil wheel n, whereby motion is communicated
thereto by the bevil wheel n on the shaft n', which is driven by any first
mover. This rotating platform should be placed level with the ground or
floor of the building, so that the frames A can be run off therefrom on to rails,
and thus removed to any convenient place for emptying and refilling the
vessels. Fig. 12 is an elevation of another arrangement for giving motion to
the vessels and frames. In this instance the frames are suspended from
centres, and are rotated in a vertical plane by motive power applied in any
suitable way to the axle D of the large rotating frame c.
When the opera-
tions are to be carried on for commercial purposes, the sides of the building
should be of boards, and the covering may be canvas, or it may be made of
louvre boards, as shewn in Fig. 9. The boards at the sides can be raised at any
time when the thermometer is at 32° Fahr., or below, and the same rule will
apply for the covering boards, but whenever it is above this they should be
closed, in order that the effect of the sun's rays or light may not raise the
temperature of the water and of the apparatus.
I prefer to make the freezing pans or vessels of sheet or cast iron, and it
will be found best to have their outer surface finely striated or covered with
some black pigment to make a good radiating surface for the caloric to pass
off freely.
The form and size of the pans can be varied at will to suit the climate and
the demands of the market, as it will be obvious that for very cold climates
the pans, if desired, can be made of much larger size than for temperate
climates, in which the temperature descends but little below the freezing
point. I also attach a series of freezing pans or vessels by their rims to the
bottom of large horizontal frames, the bottom of which is made of openwork
to correspond with the pans. This frame is provided with trunnions at the
ends mounted to turn in suitable boxes in standards; the upper surface of this
frame constitutes a shallow vat to receive the water to fill the series of
freezing pans in the bottom thereof.
After the water in the freezing pans has been frozen solid, the frame can be
turned over to discharge the blocks of ice on to the floor below, which may
be inclined so that they may slide down to the ice house, but other means
be employed for removing them.
may
What I claim as my Invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, for
obtaining solid blocks of ice of uniform size is exposing water in a series of
pans or vessels made of some good conductor of caloric, and suspended by

page_text: their rims, so as to expose their outer surface to the action of the atmosphere
as described.
And I also claim combining with the series of freezing pans the mode or
modes herein set forth for causing a more energetic action of the air on the
surface of the freezing vessels or pans.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henderson, have hereunto set my
band and seal, the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JAMES HENDERSON. (L.S.)