Improvements in or Appertaining to Warming and Ventilating Schools and other Buildings and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 30th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 6th Jan., 1887
Improvements in or Appertaining to Warming and Ventilating
Schools and other Buildings and in Apparatus therefor.
A communication from abroad by ISAAC DAVID SMEAD, of Toledo, County of Lucas,
State of Ohio, United States of America, Heating and Ventilating Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention has for its object a mode of and apparatus for warming and
ventilating buildings.
In place of a fire in each room, fresh air from outside is admitted into a heater
resembling a locomotive boiler with this difference, that the fresh air brought by a
pipe or conduit from outside the building takes the place of the water, and is
caused, by the position of the entrance and, exit pipes, to largely traverse the
"boiler" before escaping.
In the apparatus designed by the communicator, and now in practical operation in
America, the blaze and smoke, after they leave the fire-box, pass, back through the
lower flue into back chamber, then forward through the numerous long flues to front
chamber, then preferably back through a large flue to chimney. The whole furnace
is surrounded with a brick case. The cold air, entering by the cold air duct, from
outside, has free circulation around every part of the furnace, fire-box, flues, and
chambers, and thus every square inch of heating surface is made directly available.
This furnace has more fire surface from same amount of fire, and will warm a larger
volume of cold air than any other known to the communicator. The flues are
accessible in front, and can be cleaned in a moment, so that it is impossible for them
to clog up. The sides of fire box are protected by heavy cast-iron, gas-burning
linings, which can be easily removed and replaced by new ones, and at but slight
expense; and as this is done through the fuel door it is not necessary, as in other
furnaces where repairs are required, to take the furnace apart. These linings stand

page_text: off from side of fire-box about two inches, and prevent the burning fuel from resting
against the sides of furnace over which the fresh air for the building passes, and thus
red-hot surfaces are avoided. The air chamber back of the lining is supplied with
air from under the grate, and also through a damper directly under the fuel door.
Very hot air is thus supplied to the fuel through the perforations of the linings, which,
coming in contact with the escaping smoke, ignites it at once. The result of this is
the burning of a large proportion of the smoke, and a consequent economy in fuel of
nearly one half, over the single fire-pots now used by others. We would call attention
to the manner in which fuel is burned as compared with combustion in other furnaces.
Instead of the deep body of coal, and the imperfect combustion in the red-hot fire
pots of other heaters, in this we have a thin layer of fuel, (4 inches to 6 inches)
spread over a large grate surface with an air supply on top of fuel, consequently much
more perfect combustion, a greater amount of fire surface, and furnace heated to a
much less degree.
The vitiated air in the various rooms of the building is drawn off by openings in
the walls near the floor, passes through the hollow floor hereafter described, warming
the boards thereby, and escapes by exit shaft to the foul air collecting room.
The fresh air from outside the building, after traversing the boiler, is carried by a
series of conduits or pipes (a separate conduit or pipe to each room) to points near
the ceilings of the rooms; the object of having separate conduits for each room is
that the quantity of warm pure air entering each room can be regulated independently
of the rest by means of dampers or valves-similar dampers or valves can be placed
on the exit shafts if desired, in order to regulate the exhaustion. The floor boards
instead of being nailed to the joists, are nailed to scantlings or furring strips nailed
to the joists at right angles, at suitable distances, and thus a free passage for the air
is left below the floor.
The foul air from the foul air room either passes away direct through a chimney or
shaft, or through a dry closet, vault and chimney, such as already described in the
patent application No. 14450 of 1886 not yet published. The two inventions were
communicated to me at the same time, but this was delayed to get further details of
the new heating apparatus, not then quite worked out.
Doted this Thind day of Fab 1007
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in or Appertaining to Warming and Ventilating
Schools and other Buildings and in Apparatus therefor.
A communication from abroad by ISAAC DAVID SMEAD, of Toledo, County of Lucas,
State of Ohio, United States of America, Heating and Ventilating Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster and 323 High
Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
This invention is designed for supplying rooms with fresh warm air in large
volume, so as to furnish plenty of Oxygen for the occupants to breathe. One of the
requisites is a large heating surface to furnace, so as to warm a large volume of fresh
air to a balmy spring temperature, with its moisture retained as near as possible as
nature furnishes it out of doors, in the best possible condition for breathing and health.
In this respect it is the opposite of the ordinary methods of furnace heating for they
use the least possible amount of heating surface, with a small volume of air. The
result is, in cold weather the heating surface is often red hot, and the small volume
of air enters the room at from 250 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; and as the dryness
of the air increases in a greater ratio than its heat, the result is that it is not fit to
breathe. It absorbs the moisture from everything it touches, from the mucous lining
of the nose, throat and lungs, and hence nausea, head-ache, sore throat, diphtheria
etcetera, hence too, the shrinking and cracking of the furniture. Again, as they
depend on this small volume of highly heated air to spread throughout the room to
bring it to the required temperature, 65 degrees to 70 degrees, the same air is retained
much longer in the room, and consequently becomes much more foul, and is breathed
over and over, whereas by this plan about to be described, the large volume of fresh
air entering continuously displaces an equal volume of the cooler and fouler air, thus
keeping the room filled with fresh pure air all the time.
The ventilation is wholly at the base of the rooms, the warm air, being the lightest,
ascends at once to the upper part of the room and fills it, crowding the cooler air
down and causing that which has been longest in the room to flow out at the exits,
which, being placed on all sides of the room, secure an equal distribution of the warm
air throughout the room, so that a thermometer hung midway on the four sides of the
room is seldom found to vary 2 degrees Fahrenheit.
By passing it under the floors, they are kept warm, and this, with school children
or others, who frequently enter with shoes damp or wet by the rain and mud, and who
have to sit from one to three hours, is of great importance, as it dries their shoes, and
keeps the feet warm, thus restoring or equalizing the circulation of the blood, and

page_text: preventing colds and headaches, which were so common by the old plan. By this
new plan, the air leaves the room at about 60 degrees to 65 degrees, hence warms the
floor effectually.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of two superimposed school rooms, furnace
room, and also a series of Smead dry closets in accordance with complete Specification
No. 1811.
Figure 2 perspective plan of part of building one floor.
Figure 3 section through part of a building fitted with the present invention.
Figure 4 longitudinal section.
Figure 5 transverse section, and
Figure 6 detail section.
Figures 7 and 8, perspective views partly in section, and
Figure 9 outside view of air heater described in the provisional specification.
Since filing the provisional Specification, I have received particulars of further
improvements on the furnace embodied in a fresh Provisional No. 4021 of 1887, and
recommend the plan therein described, as superior on the whole to that herein
described, but owing to the rules of the Patent Office, excluding from the complete
Specification all new matter, the nature of which is not set forth in the provisional,
even though it may be the best mode known to the inventior of carrying his ideas
into effect, I have been obliged to file it as a fresh application, and refer enquirers
thereto.
Figures 10 and 11 other perspective sections showing the apparatus as actually
applied, taken from actual instances of some buildings where the apparatus is applied,
or being fitted up.
Taking first Figures 1 to 9: In these, A is the ash pan, B grate of a peculiar type
invented by Mr. Smead, but not claimed here. Ca lining of fire place made of
corrugated iron or steel, which can be replaced from time to time as it wears out, and
through which, and slits in the same, a constant current of air leads to the fire-place.
Cfire box made of corrugated iron, and surrounded by air space D (Figure 1) for
heating the air for the building. E smoke box or combustion chamber. F return
pipes. G flue leading to smoke slack, all these are surrounded like the fire-box by
the current of air to be warmed. H entrances for air through brick work (Figure 9)
at bottom. I regulator to lessen draught by admission of cold air, if desired.
Referring now to Figures 1, 2, 3, and to some extent 10 and 11 also, J is the
heater already described. K is the furnace already described. K¹ cold air supply;
k damper for same worked by handle in a dial as shown; L L series of vents
admitting the warmed air or mixture of warmed and cold air through passages 6 to
the rooms near the floor, this rises to the ceiling by reason of its superior temperature;
displacing the air as seen by the arrows. The foul air also escapes at bottom at M, M,
into the hollow floor, and along under the floor boards effectually warming them.
The way the floors are formed for this purpose is well shown in Figure 3. Instead
of the floor boards being nailed to the joists they are nailed to strips nailed across the
joists at right angles. There is therefore a vacant space the depth of these strips
between the joists and the floor boards allowing free passage for the air. The air
passes from the floor down suitable conduits in the walls 0, 0, to the foul air room P',
thence to the chimney shaft Q, preferably through a dry closet vault R such as fully
described in the complete Specification No. 14450 of 1886. In some cases, a door S
can be used to admit air from without through the vault, and to enable men to enter
to clean the same when desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1st. The system of and apparatus for warming and ventilating, in which air from
outside is passed over a largely extended heating surface so as to warm the whole,
or almost the whole of it to the required temperature, and no part of it hot enough

page_text: to burn or scorch the dust therein, and then admitted to the rooms to be warmed
and ventilated by openings close to the floor, substantially as described.
2nd. The process and apparatus for ventilating a room, in which the foul air is
drawn off from points near the floor, fresh air uniformly heated to a moderate heat
only, being admitted to supply its place above, substantially as described.
3rd. The combination of the exits for foul air M, M near the floor, and the
hollow floor connected therewith, and forming part of the course of the foul air on
its way to the exit flue, substantially as described.
4th. The process and apparatus for ventilating and heating buildings, in which all
or nearly all the air used in the building is passed over extended heating surfaces
admitted into the rooms, drawn from them at points near the floor, and passed
preferably through the floor, and through a dry closet vault, when such is used, to a
chimney or exhaust shaft.
5th. The air warming furnace with corrugated sides and extended surface
constructed and arranged substantially as described.
Dated this 29th day of November 1887.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: This Specification was; upon the 12th day of June 1891, Amended under
Sections 18 to 21 of the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act, 1883.
Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 30th Nov., 1887-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1887
Improvements
аррствarning
Schools and other Buildings and in Apparatus therefor.
";
A communication from abroad by ISAAC DAVID SMEAD, of Toledo, County of Lucas,
State of Ohio, United States of America, Heating and Ventilating Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and 323. High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a mode of and apparatus for warming and
ventilating buildings.
In place of a fire in each room, fresh air from outside is admitted into a heater
resembling a locomotive boiler with this difference, that the fresh air brought by a
pipe or conduit from outside the building takes the place of the water, and is
caused, by the position of the entrance and exit pipes, to largely traverse the
"boiler" before escaping:
In the apparatus designed by the communicator, and now in practical operation in
America, the blaze and smoke, after they leave the fire-box, pass back through the
lower flue into back chamber, then forward through the numerous long flues to front
chamber, then preferably back through a large flue to chimney. The whole furnace
is surrounded with a brick case. The cold air, entering by the cold air duct, from
outside, has free circulation around every part of the furnace, fire-box, flues, and
chambers, and thus every square inch of heating surface is made directly available.
This furnace has more fire surface from same amount of fire, and will warm a larger
volume of cold air than any other known to the communicator. The flues are
accessible in front, and can be cleaned in a moment, so that it is impossible for them
to clog up. The sides of fire box are protected by heavy cast-iron, gas-burning
linings, which can be easily removed and replaced by new ones, and at but slight
expense; and as this is done through the fuel door it is not necessary, as in other
furnaces where repairs are required, to take the furnace apart. These linings stand

page_text: off from side of fire-box about two inches, and prevent the burning fuel from resting
against the sides of furnace over-which-the-fresh-air-for-the building passes, and thus
red-hot surfaces are avoided. The air chamber back of the lining is supplied with
air from under the grate, and also through a damper directly under the fuel door.
Very hot air is thus supplied to the fuel through the perforations of the linings, which,
coming in contact with the escaping, smoke, ignites it at once. The result of this is
the burning of a large proportion of the smoke, and a consequent economy in fuel of
nearly one half, over the single fire-pots now used by others. We would call attention
to the manner in which fuel is burned as compared with combustion in other furnaces.
Instead of the deep body of coal, and the imperfect combustion in the red-hot fire
pots of other heaters, in this, we have a thin layer of fuel, (4 inches to 6 inches)
spread over a large grate surface with an air supply on top of fuel, consequently much
more perfect combustion, a greater amount of fire surface, and furnace heated to a
much less degree.
The vitiated air in the various rooms of the building is drawn off by openings in
the walls near the floor, passes through the hollow floor hereafter described, warming
the boards thereby, and escapes by exit shaft to the foul air collecting room.
The fresh air from outside the building, after traversing the boiler, is carried by a
series of conduits or pipes (a separate conduit or pipe to each room) to points near
the ceilings of the rooms; the object of having separate conduits for each room is
that the quantity of warm pure air entering each room can be regulated independently
of the rest by means of dampers or valves-similar dampers or valves can be placed
on the exit shafts if desired, in order to regulate the exhaustion. The floor boards
instead of being nailed to the joists, are nailed to scantlings or furring strips. nailed
to the joists at right angles, at suitable distances, and thus a free passage for the air
is left below the floor.
The foul air from the foul air room either passes away direct through a chimney or
shaft, or through a dry closet, vault and chimney, such as already described in the
patent application No. 14150 of 1886 not yet published. The two inventions. were
communicated to me at the same time, but this was delayed to get further details of
the new heating apparatus, not then quite worked out.
Dated this Third day of February 1887
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in or Appertaining to Warming and Ventilating
Schools and other Buildings and in Apparatus therefor.
A communication from abroad by ISAAC DAVID SMEAD, of Toledo, County of Lacas,
State of Ohio, United States of America, Heating and Ventilating Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster and 323 High
Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
This invention is designed for supplying rooms with fresh warm air in large
volume, so as to furnish plenty of Oxygen for the occupants to breathe. One of the
requisites is a large heating surface to furnace, so as to warm a large volume of fresh
air to a balmy spring temperature, with its moisture retained as near as possible as
nature furnishes it out of loors, in the best possible condition for breathing and health.
In this respect it is the opposite of the ordinary methods of furnace heating for they
use the least possible amount of heating surface, with a small volume of air. The
result is, in cold weather the heating surface is often red hot, and the small volume
of air enters the room at from 250 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; and as the dryness
of the air increases in a greater ratio than its heat, the result is that it is not fit to
breathe. It absorbs the moisture from everything it touches, from the mucous lining
of the nose, throat and lungs, and hence nausea, head-ache, sore throat, diphtheria
etcetera, hence too, the shrinking and cracking of the furniture. Again, as they
depend on this small volume of highly heated air to spread throughout the room to
bring it to the required temperature, 65 degrees to 70 degrees, the same air is retained
much longer in the room, and consequently becomes much more foul, and is breathed
over and over, whereas by this plan about to be described, the large volume of fresh
air entering continuously displaces an equal volume of the cooler and fouler air, thus
keeping the room filled with fresh pure air all the time.
The ventilation is wholly at the base of the rooms, the warm air, being the lightest,
ascends at once to the upper part of the room and fills it, crowding the cooler air
down and causing that which has been longest in the room to flow out at the exits,
which, being placed on all sides of the room, secure an equal distribution of the warni
air throughout the room, so that a thermometer hung midway on the four sides of the
room is seldom found to vary 2 degrees Fahrenheit.
By passing it under the fluors, they are kept warm, and this, with school children
or others, who frequently enter with shoes damp or wet by the rain and mud, and who
have to sit from one to three hours, is of great importance, as it dries their shoes, and
keeps the feet warm, thus restoring and equalizing the circulation of the blood, and

page_text: new plan, the air leaves the room at about 60 degrees to 65 degrees, hence warms the
floor effectually.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of two superimposed school rooms, furnace
room, and also a series of Sinead dry closets in accordance with complete Specification
No. 1811.
Figure 2 perspective plan of part of building one floor.
Figure 3 section through part of a building fitted with the present invention.
Figure 4 longitudinal section.
Figure 5 transverse section, and
Figure 6 detail section.
Figures 7 and 8, perspective views partly in section, and
Figure 9 outside view of air heater described in the provisional specification.
Since filing the provisional Specification, I have received particulars of further
improvements on the furnace embodied in a fresh Provisional No. 4021 of 1887, and
recommend the plan therein described, as superior on the whole to that herein
described, but owing to the rules of the Patent Office, excluding from the complete
Specification all new matter, the nature of which is not set forth in the provisional,
even though it may be the best mode known to the inventior of carrying his ideas
into effect, I have been obliged to file it as a fresh application, and refer enquirers
thereto.
Figures 10 and 11 other perspective sections showing the apparatus as actually
applied, taken from actual instances of some buildings where the apparatus is applied,
or being fitted up.
Taking first Figures 4 to 9: In these, A is the ash pan, B grate of a peculiar type
invented by Mr. Smead, but not claimed here. Ca lining of fire place made of
corrugated iron or steel, which can be replaced from time to time as it wears out, and
"through which, and slits in the same, a constant current of air leads to the fire-place.
C fire box made of corrugated iron, and surrounded by air space D (Figure 1) for
heating the air for the building. I smoke hox or combustion chamber. F return
pipes. G flue leading to smoke slack, all these are surrounded like the fire-box by
the current of air to be warmed. H entrances for air through brick work (Figure 9)
at bottom. I regulator to lessen draught by admission of cold air, if desired.
Referring now to Figures 1, 2, 3, and to some extent 10 and 11 also, J is the
heater already described. K is the furnace already described.
K' cold air supply;
kdamper for same worked by handle 2 in a dial as shown; L L series of vents inlets
admitting the warmed air or mixture of warmed and cold air through passages 6 to
the rooms near the floor, this rises to the ceiling by reason of its superior temperature;
displacing the air as seen by the arrows. The foul air also escapes at bottom at M, M,
into the hollow floor, and along under the floor boards effectually warming them.
The way the floors are formed for this purpose is well shown in Figure 3. Instead
of the floor boards being nailed to the joists they are nailed to strips nailed across the
joists at right angles. There is therefore a vacant space the depth of these strips
between the joists and the floor boards allowing free passage for the air. The air
passes from the floor down suitable conduits in the walls O, Ö, to the foul air room P,
thence to the chimney shaft Q, preferably through a dry closet vault R such as fully
described in the complete Specification No. 14450 of 1886. In some cases, a door S
can be used to admit air from without through the vault, and to enable men to enter
to clean the same when desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that I am well aware that the idea of
extracting the foul air from the room near the floor and passing through a hollow floor
arranged in the manner described or passing direct through a duct to an exit flue or
chimney has long been known. Further, I wish to draw attention to my specification

page_text: No. 14450 of 1886 giving a full description of a dry closet and the method for ventilating
and sanitating a building in connection therewith, and I make no claim herein for
anything set forth and claimed in that specification, also, that in the Houses of Parliament
and other places, air has been heated to a considerable temperature and it and cold air
have been brought together each in regulated quantities into a mixing chamber and there
mixed and this mixed air introduced into the apartments to be warmed and I make no
claim whatever for such a system, nor for any system or apparatus except where, as
described in the specification, an immense and continuous volume of air, nearly the entire
amount used, is heated to or about the maximum temperature required in the apartment
and its temperature is regulated in its transmission to the place to be warmed by a
regulated addition of cold air in the manner described in the specification, but that what I
claim is :-
1st. The system of and apparatus for warming and ventilating, in which air from
outside is passed over a largely extended heating surface-so-as to warm the whole,
or almost the whole of it to the required temperature, and no-part of it hot enough
to-burn or scorch the dust therein, and then admitted to the rooms to be warmed
and ventilated by openings close to the floor, substantially as described.
2nd. The process and apparatus for ventilating a room, in which the foul air is
drawn off from points near the floor, fresh air uniformly heated to a moderate-heat
only, being admitted to supply its place above, substantially as described.
3rd. The combination of the exits for foul air M, M-near-the floor, and the
hollow floor connected therewith, and forming part of the course of the foal-air on
its way to the exit flue, substantially as described.
4th. 1. The process and apparatus for ventilating and heating buildings, in which
all or nearly all the air used in the building is passed over extended heating surfaces
admitted into the rooms, drawn from them at points near the floor, and passed
preferably through the floor, and through a dry closet vault, when such is used, to a
chimney or exhaust shaft and subject to the disclaiming note.
5th 2. The air warming furnace with corrugated sides and extended surface
constructed and arranged substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of November 1887
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.