Improvements in and relating to the Humidifying of Factories or other Places.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 25th Nov.. 1896-Accepted, 9th Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Humidifying of Factories or
other Places.
I, STEPHEN HULME, of 184 Swanston Street, Bridgeton, in the County of the
City of Glasgow, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has reference to a new or improved method of distributing the
humidity in rooms of factories or other places and whereby an equal distribution
can be secured over any area.
The ordinary mechanical humidifyers generally consist of appliances which are
fixed in various parts of the room for to secure an equal humidity or have a central
mechanical generator and the humidity is propelled by fans through suitable pipes
to the places where humidity is intended to be conveyed.
According to my improvements instead of having these humidifyers stationary
I mount them on portable railways or carriers, whereby the area of distribution
will be greatly extended, and any desired regulated quantity of humidity be
obtained.
This may be effected by mounting each humidifyer on a carriage which will
travel by wheels or pulleys on parallel lines of rails which may be suspended by
brackets from the roof or ceiling of the apartment over the space desired to be
humidified. These humidifying machines would be secured to one another by the
main service pipe, thereby keeping the machines travelling backwards and forwards
at an equal distance from one another. This distance could be made to anything
that might be found. necessary putting in more or less according to the degree of
humidity required.
These carriages may be operated by bands.or other gear from the pump that
supplies the water under pressure to the humidifyers or from any other prime
motive source.
The water or liquid under pressure to produce the humidifying effect would be
conveyed to these appliances by an india rubber or flexible pipe which would be
carried on a separate carriage and move backwards and forwards on the same rails
in time unison with the humidifyers.
The flexible tube may pass round a grooved pulley, and the carriage on which
it is mounted travel at half the speed of the carriage carrying the humidifier, and
by this means the flexible tube will not pull cross-wise but in a direct line, and 30
convey the liquid from the source of supply to any position that may be found
necessary. By an alternative arrangement, instead of mounting the flexible liquid
5 conveying pipe on travelling carriage, same may be coiled round a barrel or
drum, free to rotate in a fixed frame at end of line of rails, or at any other suitable
position and be payed out or coiled up according as the carriage carrying the
humidifyer recedes from or approaches the end of line of rails. A water trough
would be suspended under the line of rails, so as to carry the discharge liquid from
the humidifiers to a conveying away pipe or this may be done by a flexible tube
secured to the outlet pipe and convey to the floor.
A reversible arrangement would be fitted in connection with the shaft from
which the power is transmitted to actuate the travelling carriage of humidifiers, so

page_text: as to be able to make the traverse of carriage longer or shorter to suit the
conditions required; and this reversing arrangement may consist of a clutch having
a sliding feather in gear with the shaft, and which can be made to engage with
either of a pair of bevel pinions in gear with a large bevel wheel, so that by
moving the clutch by means of a hand lever, it can be put in gear with either of
the pinions and so reverse the motion of large wheel in either direction, and
through it the connecting mechanism to humidifier carriage.
Dated 24th of 1000
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Humidifying of Factories or
other Places.
I, STEPHEN HULME, of 184 Swanston Street, Bridgeton, in the County of
the City of Glasgow, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing that is to say:-
This invention has reference to a new or improved method of distributing the
Lumidity in rooms of factories or other places and whereby an equal distribution
can be secured over any area.
The ordinary mechanical humidifyers generally consist of appliances which are
fixed in various parts of the room to secure an equal humidity or have a central
mechanical generator and the humidity is propelled by fans through suitable pipes
to the place where humidity is intended to be conveyed.
According to my improvements instead of having these humidifyers stationary
I mount them on portable railways or carriers, whereby the area of distribution
will be greatly extended, and any desired regulated quantity of humidity be
obtained.
And in order that my said invention and the manner of carrying same into
practice may be properly understood I have hereunto appended a sheet of
explanatory drawings in which Figure 1 is an elevation broken away illustrating
.my improvements, and Figure 2 is a transverse section corresponding to Figure 1,
while Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged views at right angles to each other illustrating
my clutch reversing mechanism.
Referring to these drawings:-
My improvements are carried out by mounting each humidifyer A on a pipe B
having closed ends which is supplied with liquid from a pipe B¹. This pipe B is
. carried on a carriage a which will travel by wheels or pulleys al on parallel lines
of rails b which may be suspended by brackets 6' from the roof or ceiling of the
apartment over the space desired to be humidified. These humidifying machines A
would be connected to one another by being hung from the pipe B by a union
joint A and supported by stays A" and thereby the machines A are kept
travelling backwards and forwards at an equal distance from one another. This
distance could be made to anything that might be found necessary putting in more
or less according to the degree of humidity required.
These carriages a may be operated by bands C attached to them and passing.
over a guide pulley C and a driving pulley C' mounted on a shaft driven from any
other prime moving shaft of the works.
The water or liquid under pressure to produce the humidifying effect would be
conveyed to these appliances A by an indiarubber or flexible pipe D which would

page_text: be carried on a separate carriage D' and move backwards and forwards on the same
rails in time unison with the humidifyers A.
The flexible tube D from supply pipe B' passes round a grooved pulley D' and a
cord d is attached to the stationary bracket b' and the other end of cord d attached
to an arm d² mounted on the pipe B and by this means the carriage D is made to
travel at about half the speed of the carriage a carrying the humidifier A and by
this action the flexible tube D will not pull cross-wise but in a direct line with a
uniform tension and so convey the liquid from the source of supply to any position
that may be found necessary. By an alternative arrangement instead of mounting
the flexible liquid conveying pipe D on a travelling carriage D' same may be
coiled round an ordinary barrel or drum, free to rotate in a fixed frame at end of
line of rails, or at any other suitable position and be payed out or coiled up
according as the carriage carrying the humidifyer A recedes from or approaches
the end of line of rails b.
A water trough E would be erected or suspended under the line of rails, so as to
carry the discharge liquid from the humidifiers A to conveying away pipes E' or
this may be done by a flexible tube secured to the outlet pipe A' and convey to
the floor.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4 a reversible arrangement would be fitted in connec-
tion with the shaft F from which the power is transmitted to actuate the travelling
carriage a of humidifiers, so as to be able to make the traverse of carriage a longer
or shorter to suit the conditions required; and this reversing arrangement may
consist of a clutch F' having a groove in it which slides over a feather F³ secured
to the shaft F and the notched part F3 of this clutch F' can be made to engage
with the corresponding part F' of either of a pair of bevel pinions G in gear with
a large bevel wheel G₁ mounted on the main driving shaft G so that by moving
the clutch by means of a hand lever such as G it can be put in gear with either of
the pinions G and so reverse the motion of large wheel G' in either direction, and
through it the connecting mechanisin to humidifier carriage a, or this may be done
automatically by coupling the lever G2 by a connecting rod g to a weighted lever g
fulcrumed at 9. A worm wheel g' is mounted on a stud spindle g, and gears with
a worm f formed on the shaft F. Stud pins g' are mounted adjustably in slots g" in
the worm wheel 93 and act alternately on the opposite sides of a projection g' formed
on the lever g' so as to tilt the latter and thus automatically reverse the motion of
the gearing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. The method of mounting and working humidifyers on portable railways or
carriers in factories or other places, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Second. The combination of humidifyers travelling on rails with a carriage
conveying the water supply pipe in time unison therewith, substantially as herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Third. In combination with a method of working humidifyers fin factories or
other places, the arrangement of reversing clutch mechanism substantially as
herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 24th day of November 1896.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.