IMPROVEMENTS IN ICE MAKING & REFRIGERATING APPARATUS
Year: 1885

page_text: We FREDRICK BARKER HILL of 29 Billington Street New Cross gate in the
County of Kent Engineer and WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GORMAN of 187 Westminster
Bridge Road in the County of Surrey Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the
above invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN ICE MAKING & REFRIGERATING APPARATUS,
to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements on the invention for which letters
patent were granted to Toranoske Masayas Nishigawa and Frederick Barker Hill
bearing date 31st August 1876 and numbered 3427 and has for its object economy
in cost of apparatus economy in fuel & increased efficiency of action In our
improved apparatus we employ generally such vessels as are described in the above
named specification 3427 but of a more simple and efficient kind Attached to the
boiler which by preference consists of one or more tubes which are heated either
by being in direct contact with the fire or by steam, is a vessel with a tube, leading
from the gas space of boiler, through which the ammoniacal gas passes and which
in its passage is cooled by the ammoniacal solution returning from the absorber to
the boiler The action of our separator, we render more efficient by "scrubbing
the gas against shot, pebbles, or other material exposing a large surface and so
collecting and allowing to trickle back into the boiler any moisture which may
pass off with the ammoniacal gas from the lower part of the separator. For small
apparatus we make our refrigerators of a welded iron tube in which is expanded
the liquid ammonia. Around this tube is a non-congealable liquid which is
circulated among the ice boxes, and which then passes by gravity into the lower
chamber of a recepticle (having two chambers) until the upper chamber is empty
when the recepticle is inverted and the circulation is continued.
"
For large apparatus we prefer to make our absorbers of vertical chambers, so
constructed that all the joints are exposed to the atmosphere in order that any
escape of ammoniacal gas may be readily detected, & which are so constructed that
the overflow from the first chamber to the second and so on is cooled in order that
the absorbing action of each chamber may be more rapid.
For smaller apparatus we prefer horizontal chambers which in some cases
serve as equilibrium chambers as well as absorbers Our equilibrium chambers are
CD •

page_text: simplified by dispensing with the arrangement of floats, wheels & valves which
were found in practise to be unreliable in action and using instead cocks or valves
which can be easily controlled. We prefer using two threeway cocks, one placed
at top and the other at bottom of chamber When the chamber is filled with the
return ammoniacal solution from the absorber the top cock is opened and the
ammoniacal gas from boiler is allowed to come on the top of the solution and by
the same action the bottom cock is opened to the boiler and the pressure in chamber
being thus equalized the solution by gravity returns to the boiler By reversing
the cocks the gas in chamber escapes to the absorber and the solution in absorber
refills the chamber.
These cocks are moved either by external power or by the internal pressure of
the ammoniacal solution passing from the boiler to the absorber.

page_text: Improvements in Ice Making and Refrigerating Apparatus.
We FREDRICK BARKER HILL, 29 Billington Street New Cross Gate in the
county of Kent engineer and WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GORMAN of 187 Westminster
Bridge Road London county of Surrey engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
our Invention relates to improvements on the Invention for which letters patent
were granted to Toronoske Masayas Nishigaiua and Frederick Barker Hill bearing
date 31st August 1876 and number 3427 and consists of improved construction of
portions of the machinery or apparatus described in the Specification of the said
patent number 3427-1876 and has for its objects economy in cost of (such
apparatus economy in fuel in the use thereof and increased effeciency of action.
In our improved apparatus (the subject of the present patent) we employ vessels
which are generally of the character and made on the same principles of action as
thereon described in the above named specification but very much simplified in
their construction and of increased effeciency in action as will hereafter appear and
in order that our said improvements may be fully understood and readily carried
out we shall describe them by the aid of the accompanying drawings in each of the
figures of which the same letters of reference and numerals refer to corresponding
parts of the apparatus Figure 1 shews a front elevation partly in section of the
heating arrangement in which steam is used internally for the purpose of heating
the ammoniacal solution and Figure 2 is a plan of the same Figure 1ª shews a
modification in which heat is applied externally by fire Figure 3 is a sectional
elevation of the separator Figure 4 is a plan of the same Figure 5 is an elevation
of the equilibrium chamber Figure 6 an elevation partly in section of the
refrigerator and Figure 7 is an end view of the same Figure 8 is a sectional
elevation of the absorber and Figure 9 is a plan of the same.
In Figures 1 and 2 the Boiler which is marked A is shewn and consists of one or
more tubes by preference welded and heated by steam which may be applied either
internally as shewn in the figures by internal coils or externally as may be readily
understood.
In the drawing Figures 1 and 2 the heating arrangement is by means of an
internal steam coil marked a.
In Figure 1º the heating of the apparatus by fire is shewn When more Boilers A
than one are used they are connected at one end as shewn in Figure 1 of the
drawings so that they have a common gas space B from which a branch b leads to
the Drier or Separator Figures 3 and 4 and through which branch the ammoniacal
gas and vapour pass to the said Separator through the pipe G Figure 3 and the
ammoniacal liquor from the lower part of the said Separator returns through the
same tube to the Boiler where it is caused to circulate through its several tubes so
that the weakest portion of the ammoniacal liquor in the boiler can be used with
certainty for the purpose of absorption.
Figures 3 and 4 represent the Separator which is marked C This Separator is
constructed with lower and upper chambers c and c the lower chamber c having

page_text: an internal tube g which with the external casing forms an annular liquid space
Through this tube g as has above been stated the gas and vapour from boiler pass
to the upper chamber c¹ and through it also passes (but in the opposite direction)
the overflow ammoniacal liquor back to the boiler The upper chamber c¹ has a
tube c² which is inside another tube c³ The upper end of c³ is closed and with an
extended flange divides the chamber c¹ into two parts the object of the lower part
being for washing and cooling the ammoniacal gas and condensing the steam from
the boiler In the tube c³ are holes or slots so arranged as to be below the liquid
level in c¹ which level is fixed by the height of the overflow pipe c leading from
the chamber c¹ to the chamber c The extended flange of c³ is perforated and the
upper part of the chamber c¹ is filled or partially filled with shot pebbles or other
material exposing a large surface for the purpose of scrubbing collecting and
allowing to trickle back to the boiler any moisture which may pass off with the
ammoniacal gas from the lower part of the Separator The chamber c¹ is cooled
by the internal or external circulation of water The drawing shews it cooled
externally by cooler c5 on Figure 3.
Figure 5 shews the equilibrium chamber which is marked D The object of this
chamber is to allow the ammoniacal liquor to fall by gravity to the boiler and
which in the specification 3427 previously referred to was termed "differential
chamber" and shewn in sheet 1 of the Specification at g¹ This chamber D has
two threeway cocks d and d From the last overflow tube of the Absorber f10 on
Figure 8 a pipe d² leads to the threeway cock d which when open to this pipe d³
allows the ammoniacal liquor from the said Absorber to flow into the chamber d
When this threeway cock is open the other threeway cock d is open to pipe d³
leading to the said Absorber When these threeway cocks are reversed and the
pipes d² and d³ are thereby closed to Absorber the chamber D is open to the
pipes d and do which respectively lead d to the Separator and d³ to the gas
space B in Figure 1 The threeway cocks are moved by levers actuated by
external power or by power obtained by the pressure of the ammoniacal liquor
passing from the boiler to the absorber and thereby producing a revolving or
reciprocating motion and it will be readily seen that by this means the speed of
the ammoniacal liquor from the boiler controls not only the speed of the ammo-
niacal liquor to the boiler but also the absorbing power of the absorber.
Figures 6 and 7 shew the Refrigerator which is marked E and which is formed
of tubes (by preference welded) of different diameters which may be placed either
in a vertical or horizontal position. When placed horizontally as shewn in the
drawing the smaller tubes e are over the larger e¹ and are so connected that when
the liquid ammonia enters at one end of the upper tube e¹ it flows through it into
the lower one and the gas given off in these tubes by reason of the contact of the
liquid ammonia with their warmer surfaces circulates through the smaller ones
The whole of the tubes are placed in a vessel or vessels containing a noncongealable
liquid as for instance glycerine and water or chloride of calcium dissolved in water
which is made to circulate in the opposite direction to that of the circulation of the
ammoniacal gas inside the tubes for refrigeration.
For small machines we make our refrigerators of a welded iron tabe in which
is expanded the liquid ammonia Around this tube is a noncongealable liquid
which is circulated among the ice boxes and which then passes by gravity into the
lower chamber of a receptacle (having two chambers) until the upper chamber is
empty when the receptacle is inverted and the circulation is continued.
Figures 8 and 9 shew the absorber marked F The chamber f with injector was
described in the Specification 3427 already referred to and then in Figure 1 is
marked q and to render it more efficient we had as shown in the drawings here-
unto annexed a number of vertical chambers f¹ f2 and f³ The ammoniacal liquor
which has been brought from the boiler A through the pipe marked a to chamber f
to absorb the ammoniacal gas from the refrigerator flows through pipe f into the
bottom of the chamber f¹ and overflows into the chamber f2 and thence into the

page_text: chamber by the overflow pipes f³ and fe The ammoniacal gas which has not
been absorbed when in chamber ƒ passes by pipe f" into chamber f¹ below the
overflow pipe f5 and if not there absorbed passes in like manner into chambers f³
and 3 by the pipes f³ and f' The chambers f¹ f' and f³ are kept cool by being
placed in a vessel or vessels containing water as shewn in the drawing Figures 8
and 9 or by having water circulated through them by internal tubes placed within
them.
. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
The construction and arrangement of the Boiler Separator Equilibrium Chamber
Refrigerator and Absorber either separately or in combination in the manner and
for the purposes herein described and illustrated in and by the drawings hereunto
annexed.
F. B. HILL.
W. A. GORMAN.