IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PRESERVING MILK FISH AND OTHER ARTICLES OF FOOD
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by David Chapman at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 27th July 1883.
DAVID CHAPMAN of Manchester in the County of Lancaster Land' Agent...
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PRESERVING
MILK FISH AND OTHER ARTICLES OF FOOD."
of
The principal object of my invention is to utilize ice for the purpose pre-
serving milk and fish, during transportation from one place to another without
absolute contact of the ice with the said articles but my invention is also equally
applicable to the refrigeration and preservation of other articles of food when it is
not desirable that the cooling agent (ice) should be mixed with or put in actual
contact with the article itself.
In transporting milk for instance from the farms where it is produced, to the
towns or cities where it is to be consumed it would not bo possible to mix the ice
therewith as it would on dissolving injure and deteriorate the quality of the milk.
I therefore propose to place the ice in air tight receptacles made in galvanized iron
or other suitable metal and of a cylindrical or other convenient form: the said
receptacles being provided with a perforated false bottom in order that as the ice
melts, the water thus formed shall drain away through the perforations into the
space below the false bottom. This space is also provided with a drain pipe and
plug or other means of drawing off the water. I place one or more of these air-
tight ice receptacles in each milk can, or vessel, and it will be found that the milk
will thereby be preserved in a perfectly cool and sweet condition during the longest
railway journey.
In some cases I place the airtight ice receptacle in a kind of pocket formed
outside the vessel or in the bottom thereof so that the receptacle can be refilled or
replaced without the necessity for opening the can or other vessel containing the
milk or other fluid to be cooled or preserved
It is also well known that the actual contact of ice with salmon and other fish
during its transportation and storage before or after sale destroys in a great measure
the delicacy of its flavour, and to prevent this deterioration I propose to employ
the air tight ice receptacles above described for the purpose of keeping cool and
preserving such articles.

page_text: And for the same purpose and in order to prevent the great loss of time and
labor and the very great consumption of ice in fishing smacks or other fishing
vessels, and to enable the said smacks to remain on the fishing ground until filled
and to dispense in a great measure with the necessity for, and the expense of
tenders, I propose to line or ceil the inside of the hold of such vessels with
galvanized iron, zinc, or other suitable metal and to suspend or otherwise place
therein a sufficient number of the above described air-tight ice receptacles to keep
the hold perfectly cool without the expenditure of much ice and without the
necessity for actual contact of the ice with the fish or with the sea water in the
hold of the vessel.
It will be evident that these air tight ice receptacles will also be equally
applicable for cooling and preserving various other articles of food (either liquid or
solid) where it is not desirable that the ico should be in actual contact with the
article to be cooled or preserved.
It will also be evident that the ice itself will be preserved or kept in a frozen
state in these air tight receptacles for a much longer time than it could bo when in
the loose state, and on the arrival of the fishing vessel in port it could be utilized if
necessary for packing purposes.