IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY PROVISION CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO
RAILWAY PROVISION CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES." A com-
munication from abroad by James Henry Wickes, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Merchant.
Sealed the 30th May 1876, and dated the 11th April 1876.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th April 1876.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING OR COOLING
APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY PROVISION CARRIAGES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE
PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by James Henry Wickes, of the City
and State of New York, United States of America, Merchant.
This Invention consists in the combination with a provision chamber of a self-
feeding base melting ice reservoir provided with openings at or near its bottom,
and extending partly or entirely round its circumference, air to be cooled being
brought in contact with the ice at or near the bottom of the ice reservoir, so that
the ice as it melts at the bottom is automatically replaced from above, while the air
injected into the ice reservoir is brought in intimate contact with the ice, and
thereby a uniform and low temperature of such air is produced, and unnecessary
waste in the consumption of ice is avoided.
Also in the combination with a self-feeding base melting ice reservoir of an air
distributer situated within said ice reservoir, and connected to an air forcing
apparatus, so that a comparatively large quantity of air is cooled rapidly and
uniformly with a small expenditure of power, and with great economy in ice.
Further, in the combination with a hermetically closed provision chamber of
an ice reservoir situated within said provision chamber, closed at its top and on its
sides, and provided with openings for the escape of the cold air at or near its
bottom, an air distributer situated within the ice reservoir, and a system of pipes
arranged within the provision chamber, said air distributer and said pipes being
connected to an air forcing and suction apparatus, so that by the action of this air-

page_text: forcing and suction apparatus a circulation of air through the lower part of the
icc reservoir and through the provision chamber is produced, the air on its passage
through the ice reservoir being cooled, while the cold air after having permeated
the provision chamber is sucked out, and returned to the ice reservoir to be
re-cooled.
Also in the combination with a hermetically closed provision chamber of a
partition which divides said provision chamber in two compartments communicating
with each other through one or more apertures, at one or both ends of said par-
tition an ice reservoir situated in one compartment, and an air forcing and suction
apparatus which is situated in the second compartiment of the provision chamber,
and the discharge spout of which communicates with the ice reservoir, so that by
the action of this air forcing and suction apparatus a constant circulation of air
through the ice reservoir and through both compartments of the provision chamber
is produced, and the air in all parts of the provision chamber is brought to a
uniform and low temperture with a comparatively small expenditure of ice.
Further, in the combination of an air distributer situated in the ice chamber below
the bottom of a railway carriage or van with an ice feeder extending up through
the interior of the said carriage or van, and with an air forcing and suction appa-
ratus situated below the bottom of the carriage, and driven from one of the carriage
axles, so that the air in its passage through the ice reservoir becomes cooled down
to a comparatively low degree, and the ice is used with great. economy, while the
space of the provision chamber is economized to the best possible advantage.
⚫ DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a horizontal section of the said refrigerating apparatus;
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the said refrigerating apparatus in a modified
form; Figure 4 is a vertical section of the same on the line y, y, Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of a refrigerating carriage or van
constructed according to this Invention; Figure 6 is an inverted plan of the same
partly in section.
In the example shown in Figures 1 and 2, A designates a refrigerating room or
provision chamber, which is hermetically closed against the external air, and
which is protected against the influence of the external temperature by double
walls or other suitable means. Within this provision chamber, either in the centre
or near one of its sides, is situated the ice reservoir B, which may be either square,
circular, or polygonal in its cross section, and which, in the example shown in the
Drawing, is sloping inward slightly from the bottom to the top, but which may be
made of uniform width throughout. Said reservoir is made perfectly tight
within a short distance of its bottom, where it is provided with a number of
openings a extending partly or entirely around its circumference. In the interior
of the provision chamber A is mounted an air forcing and suction apparatus C,
which in the example shown in the Drawing is a fan blower, but for such fan
blower a double-acting air pump or any other equivalent apparatus may be sub-
stituted. The air discharge spout of the apparatus C connects with a pipe c
that descends beneath the false bottom of the provision chamber, and the mouth of
which rises up
into an air distributer D situated within and near the bottom of the
ice reservoir B. The suction spout of the apparatus C connects with a system of
pipes e, which are situated in the top part of the provision chamber, being open at
their ends, so that when the air forcing and suction apparatus is set in motion the
air from the upper part of the provision chamber is sucked in through the pipe e, and
then forced through the pipe c and the air distributer D into the bottom part of
the ice reservoir, where the same is cooled by coming in contact with the ice, and
whence the cooled air escapes through the openings a into the provision
chainber. The air distributer consists of a foraminous box of metal or other
suitable material, which is preferably situated in the centre of the ice.reservoir close
to its bottom.
4

page_text: From this description it will be seen that by means of the air forcing and suction
apparatus a constant circulation of air takes place through the provision chamber,
the pipes e and c through the air distributer, and through the bottom part of the
ice reservoir. The air, which is injected in the ice reservoir, is evenly distributed
by means of the air distributer, and as it escapes from the air distributer it comes
in intimate contact with the bottom layer of ice in the ice reservoir, whereby the
same is cooled, and at the same time by coming in contact with the ice it is deprived
of moisture and of bad odors, with which the same may have become contaminated
on its passage through the provision chamber. The purified and cooled air, after
having permeated the provision chamber, is sucked in by the apparatus C, and
again returned to the ice reservoir. By this arrangement the air in its passage
through the ice reservoir is kept from cutting channels through the ice, since the
ice as it melts in the bottom part of the reservoir is immediately replaced by a fresh
supply from above. The condition of the air remains uniform, since it comes in
contact always with an unvarying area of ice, and no portion of the ice is wasted,
inasmuch as only a small portion of ice at a time is subjected to the melting process,
and that as fast as it is needed. In this respect my Invention resembles a base-
burning stove, where the coal is most economically consumed, and the difficulty is
overcome, which is experienced when the current of air is passed through the ice
reservoir with a fixed inlet and a fixed outlet, this difficulty being that the air cuts
a passage through the ice through which it passes without being cooled to any
great extent. The sloping of the sides inwardly of the ice chamber is designed.
to keep the ice from bridging or becoming wedged in its movement downwards.
The ice reservoir is provided with a closely fitting cover through which the ico can
be introduced, or if said reservoir is situated close to one side of the provision
chamber it may be charged by means of a chute. In filling no pieces of ice should
be put in of greater thickness than about one-fifth the diameter of the ice reservoir.
If the ice reservoir is located in the centre of the provision chamber said chamber
may be divided into different compartments separated by partitions converging towards
the centre, and one column of ice can thus be used for refrigerating several separate
The thoroughness with which the ice absorbs all impurities by this system
of contact with air makes it possible to have the air from fish rooms, meat rooms,
and fruit rooms all commingled in the same ice box without carrying back any
odor in its return. The air forcing and suction apparatus C, instead of being
situated outside of the ice reservoir, might be placed beneath the air distributer D,
in which case it would be made in the form of a horizontal fan, which would suck
in the air at its centre from the top part of the provision chamber, and drive said
air out through the air distributer and the openings a in the bottom part of the ice
reservoir.
rooms.
In the example shown in Figures 3 and 4 the pipes e are omitted, and instead of
these pipes a partition e° is placed into the provision chamber, which divides said
chamber in two compartiments, that leave open spaces at one or both ends,
through which the compartments communicate with each other. The ice reservoir B
is situated on one side of the partition e°, and on the opposite side of said partition
is situated the air forcing and suction apparatus C. The suction spout of this
apparatus opens into one of the compartments of the provision chamber, while the
discharge spout of said apparatus connects by a pipe c with the bottom part of the
ice reservoir.
It will be readily seen that when the air forcing and suction apparatus is set in
motion a circulation of air-is produced. through the ice reservoir and through the
provision chamber.
When the partition e° is open at both ends the ice reservoir is placed in the
middle, as shown in Figure 3, but when said partition is open only at one end the
ice reservoir will be placed near the closed end of said partition.
When the said Invention is applied to a railway refrigerating carriage or van
the construction is such as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

page_text: In these Figures, A designates the body of a railway van, which rests upon the
trucks B of the ordinary construction; said body is constructed in the best possible
manner, so as to transform its interior into a provision chamber, from which the
external air can be excluded. In the top of this provision chamber is an aperture a
which communicates with the ice feeder C; this ice feeder is by preference made
in the shape of a truncated cone or pyramid, so that the ice is not liable to clog in
its descent, and it is provided with a series of apertures bon the sides near its
junction with the bottom of the provision chamber. Below the ice feeder is situated
the ice chamber D, which extends beneath the bottom of the provision chamber,
and which communicates freely with the ice feeder, so that the ice contained in said
feeder will descend into the ice chamber as fast as it is required. The sides of the
ice chamber are constructed of insulating materials, so that they protect the ice
against the influence of the external atmosphere. In the interior of the ice chamber
is situated an air distributer E, which consists of a foraminous box of sheet metal
or other suitable material, and which communicates by a pipe F with a fan blower G,
or with any other air forcing and suction apparatus. This fan blower is situated
below the bottom of the provision chamber, and it receives its motion from one of
the axles H of the carriage. For this purpose a pulley d is mounted on this axle,
.from which extends a belt e over a pulley f mounted on a countershaft g, which has
its bearings in hangers secured to the bottom of the case. On said countershaft
is also mounted a pulley i, from which extends a belt j over a pulley & mounted on
a blower shaft. The several pulleys are so proportioned that the fan blower is
driven with the required velocity, and the pulleys and are so situated that the
belt j passes on one side of the ice chamber. A suitable tension device I serves to
equalize the tension of the belt e, and to render the same independent of the rising
and falling motion of the body of the carriage. When the motion of the carriage
is reversed the belt j is crossed. The fan blower takes its air by suction through
a pipe J and branch pipes K from the interior of the provision chamber, and when
the said fan blower is in motion the air drawn from the interior of the provision
chamber is injected through the air distributer E into the body of the ice contained
in the ice reservoir, and by the air distributer the current of air is spread into a
number of fine jets, which on passing through the ice are rapidly cooled to a low
temperature, when they pass through the perforations near the bottom edges of the
ice feeder into the provision chamber. After the cold air has permeated and cooled
the articles contained in said provision chamber it is again sucked in by the blower,
and passed through the ice chamber back into the provision chamber. By this.
operation the articles in the carriage can be kept at a low temperature with a com-
paratively small expenditure of ice. A waste pipe M serves to carry off the ice
water from the ice chamber.
The principal advantage of this arrangement is that the ice chamber, as well as
the mechanism for producing the circulation of air through the provision chamber
and through the ice, are situated entirely outside of and below the bottom of the
carriage and the interior space of the body of the carriage, with the sole exception
of the room occupied by the ice feeder, is entirely available for the storage of
provisions.
Furthermore, the mechanism for imparting motion to the blower is so placed
that it can be easily covered and protected from dust and dirt rising from the
track.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The combination with a provision chamber of a self-feeding base melting
ice reservoir provided with openings at or near its bottom, and extending partly or
wholly round its circumference, the air to be cooled being brought in contact with
the ice at or near the bottom of the ice reservoir, as above specified and for the
purpose set forth.

page_text: Second. The combination with a self-feeding base melting ice reservoir of an air
distributer situated within said ice reservoir, and connected to an air forcing
apparatus, as above specified and for the purpose described.
Third. The combination with a hermetically closed provision chamber of an ice
reservoir situated within the said provision chamber, an air distributer situated
within the ice reservoir, a series of pipes arranged within the provision chamber,
and an air forcing and suction apparatus connected to the air distributer and to
the series of pipes, as above specified and for the purposes set forth.
Fourth. The combination with a hermetically closed provision chamber of a
partition which divides said chamber in two compartments communicating with
cach other through one or more apertures at one or both ends of said partition, an
ice reservoir situated in one compartment, and an air forcing and suction apparatus
situated in the second compartment of the provision chamber, and communicating
with the ice reservoir, as above specified and for the purpose described.
Fifth. The combination of an air distributer situated in the ice chamber below
the bottom of a railway carriage with an ice recder extending up through the interior
of the carriage, and with an air forcing and suction apparatus situated below the
bottom of the carriage, and driven from one of the carriage axles, all constructed
and operating as above set forth.
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In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
R. G. BROWN,
8, Southampton Bdgs.,
London.
W ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)