IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDENSING OR COOLING, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO HEATING, DRYING, AND VENTILATING
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry. Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONDENSING OR COOLING, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS
OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO HEATING, DRYING, AND
VENTILATING." A communication from abroad by Frédéric Fouché; of Paris,
in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th November 1880.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDENSING OR COOLING, AND IN APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE
TO HEATING, DRYING, AND VENTILATING." A communication from abroad by
Frédéric Fouché, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to improvements in condensing or cooling apparatus for
condensing steam and other vapours or cooling liquids by the employment of a
forced current of moist air, but dry air may also be employed for the same purpose,
in which case the air may be subsequently employed for heating, drying, and
ventilating purposes.
This novel application of moist air for condensing purposes presents important
advantages since dry air possesses a very inferior calorific capacity, it being an
imperfect conductor of heat.
În carrying out this Invention the air is caused to pass over several liquid
surfaces whereby it becomes saturated with aqueous vapour; these surfaces are
formed by causing water supplied by a suitable pipe to flow downwards in a thin
film over sheets of wire gauze suspended in a vertical position. Any excess of
liquid that is not absorbed by the air is collected in a gutter provided for the
purpose.
A similar result may be obtained by injecting water in a fine spray at several
points along the passage for the air so as to bring the air into intimate contact
with the liquid.

page_text: Provision should be made for regulating the quantity of water supplied by each
pipe so as to enable the degree of saturation to be increased or diminished as
required.
The arrangement of condensing or cooling apparatus hereinafter described is
designed to operate in accordance with the conditions herein before set forth, but
when the air used for effecting the condensation is subsequently employed for
heating, drying, or ventilating purposes, it is preferable to employ dry air supplied
under pressure by a fan or blower.
The condensing or cooling apparatus is constructed and arranged in the following
manner -
A fan rotating on a horizontal axis and provided with directing cones is arranged
at one end of the apparatus, being enclosed in a suitable case, and driven by means
of suitable pulleys on the horizontal axis of the fan. A partition is provided for
the purpose of closing the passage between the periphery of the fan and the
stationary casing.
The condenser is provided with vertical tubes, and the steam or vapour to be
condensed is admitted at the upper part of the condenser, a suitable outlet being
provided at the lower part for the escape of the water resulting from the
condensation.
The condenser is constructed with the smallest possible number of joints with a
view to obviate the liability to leakage, according to the several modifications
hereinafter described.
The vertical tubes in which steam, for example, is condensed are supported at
their upper and lower extremities by tube plates provided with flanged caps or
covers forming distributing chambers divided into several compartments by
suitable partitions. The surface of the tube plates is suitably planed or prepared
at the edges where the flanges of the covers are bolted to the tube plates so as to
make a tight joint.
This
Before starting the apparatus the air is expelled by a jet of steam supplied
direct from the boiler. The steam to be condensed is then admitted to one of the
compartments furthest from the cold air inlet in the upper distributing chamber,
whence it is directed down the series of tubes communicating with this compart-
ment, and passes into the corresponding compartment in the lower chamber.
compartment also communicates with another series of tubes, through which the
steam ascends into another compartment in the upper chamber, whence it redescends
through a third series of tubes into a corresponding compartment in the lower
chamber, and so on in succession until it has traversed the whole of the tubes.
the same time a forced current of cold air supplied by the fan and saturated with
moisture, as herein before described, is caused to flow in contact with the external
surface of the tubes in an opposite direction to the course of the steam, which is
thereby cooled and condensed in the tubes, the water resulting from the conden-
sation accumulating in the lower chamber, whence it is conducted to the feed pump
and returned to the boiler.
At
Tubes of about three quarters of an inch in diameter may be employed, and the
tube plates may be formed of such dimensions that only one, or but a small
number at most of groups or series of tubes are required. The tubes in the first
row being more liable than the others to become clogged or choked with the
grease and impurities from the steam cylinder may be made of larger diameter
than the others, and holes provided with screwed plugs are formed in the upper
chamber, one opposite each tube, for the purpose of cleaning the tubes when
necessary.
According to another arrangement the upper chamber is dispensed with, the
tubes being then connected together in pairs at their upper extremities either
by bending them to U shape or by soldering them to suitable connecting pieces.
The construction of the apparatus may be still further simplified by employing
cast iron plates in lieu of the rows of tubes herein before described, the said plates
being provided with webs or projections, and connected together in pairs by

page_text: suitable joints. The steam is then condensed by being caused to circulate between
the pairs of plates.
The apparatus constructed according to the various modifications herein before
described are equally applicable to cooling liquids.
When moist air is not employed the hot dry air issuing from the condenser may
be used for heating, ventilating, and drying purposes; by employing such air for
heating workshops, for example, a considerable economy is effected, at the same
time obtaining a ventilation by a forced draught.
In certain cases it is desirable to supplement the condensing action by injecting
cold water in the air pump of the condenser; a combined apparatus is thus obtained,
in which the condensation is effected partly by the action of air and partly by
means of water, in consequence of which the desired result is obtained by the
employment of a much smaller quantity of water than is the case with ordinary
condensers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
May 1881.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDENSING OR COOLING, AND IN APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITII, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE
TO HEATING, DRYING, AND VENTILATING." A communication from abroad by
Frédéric Feriché, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
The said Invention relates partly to improvements in condensing steam and
other vapours, or cooling liquids by the employment of a forced current of moist
air, and in apparatus therefor; but dry air may also be used for the same purpose
in like apparatus, in which case the air may be subsequently employed for heating,
drying, and ventilating purposes.
The use of moist air for condensing purposes presents important advantages,
since dry air possesses a very inferior calorific capacity, it being an imperfect
conductor of heat.
In carrying out the said Invention the air is caused to pass over several liquid
These surfaces are
surfaces, whereby it becomes saturated with aqueous vapour.
formed by causing water supplied by a suitable pipe to flow inwards in a thin film
over sheets of wire gauze suspended in a vertical position. Any excess of liquid
that is not absorbed by the air is collected in a gutter provided for the purpose.
A similar result may be obtained by injecting water in a fine spray at several
points along the passage for the air, so as to bring the air into intimate contact
with the liquid.
Provision should be made for regulating the quantity of water supplied by
each pipe, so as to enable the degree of saturation to be increased or diminished
as required.
The arrangement of condensing or cooling apparatus hereinafter described is
designed to operate in accordance with the before mentioned conditions, but when
the air is used for effecting the condensation is to be subsequently employed for
heating, drying, or ventilating purposes it is preferable to employ dry air supplied
under pressure by a fan or blower.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in both the Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a vertical section of an
apparatus constructed in accordance with the said Invention, and employed in
carrying out the same; and Figure 2 is a plan of the said apparatus corresponding
to Figure 1.
A is a fan which is mounted on a horizontal axis I revolving in bearings K, K,
and is provided with directing cones C, C. This fan is arranged at one end of the
apparatus, being enclosed in a suitable case D, E, and is driven by means of
suitable pulleys H on the horizontal axis 1 of the fan. A partition G is provided
for the purpose of closing the passage between the periphery of the fan and the
stationary casing D, E.
The condenser is provided with vertical tubes R, Fig. 1, and the steam or vapour
to be condensed is admitted at the upper part of the condenser at T, a suitable
outlet U being provided at the lower part for the escape of the water resulting
from the condensation.

page_text: The condenser is constructed with the smallest possible number of joints with a
view to obviate the liabiity to leakage, according to the several modifications
hereinafter described.
The vertical tubes in which the steam, for example, is condensed are supported at
their upper and lower extremities by tube plates provided with flanged caps or
covers, the same forming distributing chambers M, N, which are divided into
several compartments by suitable partitions 2. The surface of the tube plates is
suitably planed or prepared at the edges where the flanges of the covers are bolted
to the tube plates, so as to make a tight joint.
Before starting the apparatus the air is expelled by a jet of steam supplied direct
from the boiler. The steam to be condensed is then admitted to one of the
compartments furthest from the cold air inlet in the upper distributing chamber,
whence it is directed down the series of tubes communicating with this
compartment, and passes into the corresponding compartment in the lower
chamber.
This compartment also communicates with another series of tubes through which
the steam ascends into another compartment in the upper chamber, whence it
redescends through a third series of tubes into a corresponding compartment in the
lower chamber, and so on in succession until it has traversed the whole of the
tubes. At the same time a forced current of cold air supplied by the fan, and
saturated with moisture as herein before described, is caused to flow in contact with
the external surface of the tubes in an opposite direction to the course of the steam,
which is thereby cooled and condensed in the tubes, the water resulting from the
condensation accumulating in the lower chamber, whence it is conducted to the
feed pump and returned to the boiler.
Tubes of about three quarters of an inch in diameter may be employed, and the
tube plates may be formed of such dimensions that only one or but a small number
at most of groups or series of tubes are required. The tubes in the first row being
more liable than the others to become clogged or choked with the grease and
impurities from the steam cylinder may be made of larger diameter than the
others, and holes provided with screwed plugs are formed in the upper chamber
one opposite each tube, for the purpose of cleaning the tubes when necessary.
According to another modification the upper chamber is dispensed with, the
tubes being then connected together in pairs at their upper extremities either
by bending them to a U shape, or by soldering them to suitable connecting
pieces.
The construction of the apparatus may be still further simplified by employing
cast iron plates in lieu of the rows of tubes, herein before described, the said plates
being provided with webs or projections, and connected together in pairs by suitable
joints. The steam is then condensed by being caused to circulate between the
pairs of plates.
The apparatus constructed according to the various modifications hereinbefore
described are equally applicable to cooling liquids.
When moist air is not employed, the hot dry air issuing from the condenser may
be used for heating, ventilating, and drying purposes. By employing such air for
heating workshops (for example), a considerable economy is effected, whilst at the
same time a ventilation by a forced draught is obtained.
In certain cases it is desirable to supplement the condensing action by injecting
cold water in the air pump of the condenser. A combined apparatus is thus
obtained in which the condensation is effected partly by the action of air and
partly by means of water, in consequence of which the desired result is obtained
by the employment of a much smaller quantity of water than is the case with
ordinary condensers.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,

page_text: and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The system or mode of condensing steam or vapour or cooling liquids by
the employment of moist air supplied by a fan or blower in apparatus constructed
substantially in the manner herein before described.
Secondly. The employment of apparatus constructed substantially as herein set
forth for condensing steam or vapour by the use of dry air without the addition of
moisture, the same air being subsequently employed in a dry and heated condition
for the purposes of heating, ventilating, and drying, substantially as herein before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of May, One thousand
eight hundred and eighty-one.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)