IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM OR VAPOUR
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, of Tew Park, in
the County of Oxford, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM OR VAPOUR,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Piers Watt
Boulton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 25th February 1875.
I, MATTHEW PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County
of Oxford, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM OR VAPOUR," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the condensation of steam or vapour by
means of apparatus whereby the vapour to be condensed and the
refrigerating water or agent are brought into contact with the same
surface, while at the same time they are kept separate, so that the water
or liquid resulting from the condensation can be returned to the boiler

page_text: or otherwise disposed of without admixture with the water or liquid
which causes the refrigeration.
I shall first describe a construction in which rotary apparatus is
employed, and in this description I shall suppose the apparatus to be
used for condensing the steam of a marine engine, in which case the sea
water is the refrigerating agent employed.
The apparatus generally resembles that which I have described for the
generation of steam in a Provisional Specification filed by me on the
24th of February 1875, No. 680, for "Improvements in Apparatus for
Generating Steam or Vapour." I provide a cylinder within which is a
hollow vessel capable of revolving, which I shall term the rotary
refrigerator, occupying a portion of the interior of the cylinder. At
each end of the refrigerator is a hollow axis communicating with the
sea water, a flow of which is maintained through it. The refrigerator
carries a hollow arm or several hollow arms working in contact with the
interior surface of the cylinder.
In the following description I shall speak of one arm only, but the
construction described is applicable to any number of similar arms.
The hollow arm is open in front towards the cylinder, and the water
flowing through the refrigerator has access through the arm to the
interior surface of the cylinder. Around the space where the water thus
comes in contact with the surface of the cylinder the arm is made to
work tight against the cylinder by packing.
J
The steam to be condensed is introduced into the space between the
rotary refrigerator and the cylinder. As the rotary refrigerator revolves
it brings the cold sea water in contact with successive portions of the
interior surface of the cylinder which it thus cools, and the steam
entering the space between the refrigerator and the cylinder is cooled by
this cooled surface and condensed. The water of condensation flows
down the side of the cylinder to a receptacle, in which it is collected,
and whence it is pumped back to the boiler. The ends of the cylinder
may in like manner be cooled by water brought in contact with them
through similar hollow arms.
A jacket or annular vessel may be provided round the exterior of the
cylinder, through which a flow of the sea water is maintained, thus
assisting in cooling the interior surface of the cylinder and in condensing
the steam.

page_text: The form of the rotary refrigerator may be varied in many ways like
the rotary generator of steam before referred to, to which it is similar.
It may consist of the said arm or arms communicating at top and
bottom with two chambers which communicate with each other by
numerous tubes, providing an extended cooling surface, and any other
known form by which a large surface may be rendered available for
condensation may be employed.
The construction of apparatus may be modified by causing the steam
to pass through the rotary vessel, which may then be termed the rotary
condenser, while the cold sea water is made to flow through that portion
of the cylinder which is not occupied by the rotary vessel. The water
of condensation flows down the interior sides of the condenser to the
hollow axis at its lower part, and thence to a receptacle in which it is
collected, and from which it is pumped to the boiler. In such a case I
prefer to provide helical passages to and from the cylinder for the inflow
and outflow of the cooling water, so that its movements may be caused
or accelerated by the rotation of the condenser arm or arms acting as
the blades of a helical numn.

page_text: vapour
The constructions described may be employed for condensing the
of any liquid, and are applicable whenever it is desired to keep
the condensed liquid separate from the liquid used as a refrigerating
agent.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 23rd August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County of Oxford, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Matthew Piers Watt
Boulton, Her special licence, that I, the said Matthew Piers Watt
Boulton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, 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 CON-
DENSING STEAM OR VAPOUR," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, 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 Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the

page_text: accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the condensation of steam or vapour by
means of apparatus whereby the vapour to be condensed and the
refrigerating water or agent are brought into contact with the same
surface, while at the same time they are kept separate so that the water
or liquid resulting from the condensation can be returned to the boiler
or otherwise disposed of without admixture with the water or liquid
which causes the refrigeration.
I shall first describe a construction in which rotary apparatus is
employed, and in this description I shall suppose the apparatus to be
used for condensing the steam of a marine engine, in which case the sea
water is the refrigerating agent employed.
The apparatus generally resembles that which I have described for
the generation of steam in a Provisional Specification filed by me on
the 24th of February 1875, No. 680, for "Improvements in Apparatus
for Generating Steam or Vapour." I provide a cylinder within which is
a hollow vessel capable of revolving, which I shall term the rotary
refrigerator, occupying a portion of the interior of the cylinder. At
each end of the refrigerator is a hollow axis communicating with the
sea water, a flow of which is maintained through it. The refrigerator
carries a hollow arm or several hollow arms working in contact with the
interior surface of the cylinder.
In the following description I shall speak of one arm only, but the
construction described is applicable to any number of similar arms.
The hollow arm is open in front towards the cylinder, and the water'
flowing through the refrigerator has access through the arm to the
interior surface of the cylinder. Around the space where the water
thus comes in contact with the surface of the cylinder the arm is made
to work tight against the cylinder by packing.
The steam to be condensed is introduced into the space between the
rotary refrigerator and the cylinder. As tlie rotary refrigerator revolves
it brings the cold sea water in contact with successive portions of the
interior surface of the cylinder which it thus cools, and the steam
entering the space between the refrigerator and the cylinder is cooled by
this cooled surface and condensed. The water of condensation flows
down the side of the cylinder to a receptacle, in which it is collected,

page_text: and whence it is pumped back to the boiler. The ends of the cylinder
may in like manner be cooled by water brought in contact with them
through similar hollow arms.
A jacket or annular vessel may be provided round the exterior of the
cylinder, through which a flow of the sea water is maintained, thus
assisting in cooling the interior surface of the cylinder and in condensing
the steam.
The form of the rotary refrigerator may be varied in many ways like
the rotary generator of steam before referred to, to which it is similar.
It may consist of the said arm or arms communicating at top and
bottom with two chambers which communicate with each other by
numerous tubes, providing an extended cooling surface. And any other
known form by which a large surface may be rendered available for
condensation may be employed.
The construction of apparatus may be modified by causing the steam
to pass through the rotary vessel, which may then be termed the rotary
condenser, while the cold sea water is made to flow through that
portion of the cylinder which is not occupied by the rotary vessel. The
water of condensation flows down the interior sides of the condenser
to the hollow axis at its lower part, and thence to a receptacle in which
it is collected, and from which it is pumped to the boiler. In such a
case I prefer to provide helical passages to and from the cylinder for the
inflow and outflow of the cooling water, so that its movement may be
caused or accelerated by the rotation of the condenser arm or arms
acting as the blades of a helical pump.
In order to prevent the passage of a film of sea water between the
packing and the cylinder, I prefer to lubricate the packing with grease
or oil.
Instead of rotary apparatus as above described a hollow piston and
rod reciprocating in a cylinder like the constructions I have described in
a Provisional Specification filed by me on the 11th January 1875,
No. 96, for the generation of steam, may according to my present
Invention be employed for condensation. In this case the sea water is
caused to flow through the hollow piston, coming in contact with the
interior surface of the cylinder in a central space between two packings.
The steam to be condensed enters the cylinder. As the piston moves
the sea water within it comes in contact with successive portions of the

page_text: cylinder and cools it, and the steam coming in contact with this cooled
surface is condensed. The piston and piston rod aid in the cooling
and condensation, and an exterior jacket through which the cold sea
water is caused to flow may also be employed for the same purpose.
The movement of the piston may also be made use of to force the water
of condensation into the boiler. It is evident that otherwise the steam
or vapour might be introduced into the hollow piston, and the cold water
or liquid into the cylinder.
The constructions described may be employed for condensing the
vapour of any liquid, and are applicable whenever it is desired to keep
the condensed liquid separate from the liquid used as a refrigerating
agent.
condenser constructed according to my Invention.
A is a cylinder to which the steam to be condensed is admitted by a
pipe a¹, the water of condensation escaping by the pipe a². Above the
cylinder A is a water space W' with an overflow pipe w¹, and below it
is also a water space W² supplied by a pipe wo³. Within the cylinder A
the rotary refrigerator C is made to revolve by bevil gearing B, or
otherwise. This refrigerator communicates by hollow trunnions
running in packings with the spaces. W¹, W³, and it has arms of which
three are shown in Fig. 2, but there may be a less or greater
number.
I will describe one of these arms. It consists of a middle space S
open to the interior of the refrigerator and also to the internal surface
of the cylinder C. On each side and above and below the
space S are
soft packings P pressed forwards by plates p, urged by springs. O is
an oil vessel communicating by pipes o with passages L formed on the
front sides of the packings P, the sides of which are perforated by
numerous small holes so that the packings become soaked with oil from
the passages L. As the refrigerator C revolves in the direction of the
arrow the water in the space S is brought directly in contact with the
internal surface of the cylinder A and cools it, and the film of oil left on
that surface by the packings P prevent any of the water adhering to it.
The steam passing from a¹ down between the arms of the refrigerator C

page_text: is condensed by its contact with the surface of C and with the cooled
surface of the cylinder A, and the water of condensation flows off by the
pipe a*.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I claim,—
First. The use for condensing steam or vapour of a hollow vessel or
refrigerator working within a cylinder or cylindrical vessel with a rotary
movement, cold liquid being introduced into the vessel or refrigerator
and vapour into the cylinder outside it, so that the inner surface of the
cylinder is cooled by direct contact of the cold liquid, and the vapour is
condensed by direct contact with the surface so cooled, substantially as
herein described.
Second. The use for condensing steam or vapour of a hollow piston
reciprocating in a cylinder, cold liquid being introduced into the hollow
piston and vapour into the cylinder, or vice versa, so that the inner
surface of the cylinder is cooled by direct contact of the cold liquid,
and the vapour is condensed by direct contact with the surface so cooled,
substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.