IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING DWELLING HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS, RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN THE APPLIANCES OR FITTINGS EMPLOYED THEREFor.
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Paton Buchan at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th November 1879.
WILLIAM PATON BUCHAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Sanitary Engineer and Plumber. "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING DWELLING
HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS, RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN
THE APPLIANCES OR FITTINGS EMPLOYED THEREFor.'
"
This Invention which relates, firstly, to the ventilating of dwelling houses and
other buildings, has for its object improvements both in the means of supplying
pure air to the several rooms or apartments of such buildings as well as to improved
ineans of carrying off the foul or vitiated air from such apartments, and the said
Invention is a further developement of the Invention for which Letters Patent,
bearing date 9th July, A.D. 1878, Number 2745, were granted to the present
applicant. As regards educing or drawing off the foul or vitiated air from the
several rooms or apartments of houses or buildings, the Invention consists, as seen
at Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto appended, in providing a series of vertical
shafts or passages A, each of which communicates at its lower end with a room or
apartment, from whence it passes upwards to the chimney stalk B and there
communicates with the atmosphere. These shafts or passages A may either be
wider or narrower than the vents or chimneys C, and they are preferably built of
fire-clay pipes with as little space as possible between them and the vents or
chimneys in order that the vents or chimneys may impart a portion of their heat
to the said shafts or passages for the purpose of promoting an upward current
through them. In the wall of each room or apartment a valve D is placed so as to
open inwards into the lower end of the shaft or passage A, which is preferably
continued to a slightly lower level than the valve, thereby forming a well or pocket
for the reception of any dust or moisture which may find its way into the shaft or
passage.
The valves D may be of any suitable construction, and they may either be
automatic valves or regulated in opening and closing by cords and pulleys or the
equivalent thereof. The upper ends of the shafts or passages A may each be
terminated in a ventilating cowl, as seen at E, Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the construction of the cowl which it is preferred
to employ, and which may either be made of fire-clay, metal, or other suitable
material. Under another arrangement the passages A may simply be covered with
a hood, as seen at F, Figure 1, or they may terminate in chambers formed in the
chimney stalk B, as seen at G, Figure 4, from which chambers the foul or vitiated
air passes upwards through louvres a or their equivalents. The chambers G may be

page_text: situated lower down in the stalk B if desired. The upper end of the vents or
chimneys C are shewn terminated in fire-clay chimney cans H constructed in
accordance with Figure 54 of the Drawings appended to the Specification filed in
pursuance of my hereinbefore referred to Letters Patent, but in lieu thereof any of
the other chimney cans illustrated in the Drawings appended to the said
Specification may be used, or other suitable fire-clay cans may be employed; or
instead of using cans made of fire-clay the cans may, in accordance with this
Invention, be constructed of cast iron, and if desired, have strengthening rings
formed round them, as seen at b, Figure 4. The chimney cans may also, if desired,
be surmounted with ventilators similar to that shewn in the air passages at
Figures 1 and 2. Instead of carrying off the foul or vitiated air from rooms or
apartments, as hereinbefore described, the vitiated air may be carried off in the
manner seen at I, Figure 5, of the Drawings. Under this arrangement a dome is
made at the centre of the ceiling immediately above the gasalier. From the
interior of the room the vitiated air passes through perforations in the dome into a
shaft or passage J, and is thence conducted into the vent or chimney C. The
passage J is preferably carried downwards to or near the level of the floor, as
indicated in dotted lines, before entering the vent or chimney, as thereby a better
inducing current is obtained and the efflux of smoke through the ventilator the
better prevented.
With this arrangement the ceiling is preferably inclined upwards from the walls
to the dome, as indicated on the Figure, but it may also be flat, and instead of the
dome I the flat ordinary ceiling may be perforated above the gas lights and com-
municate with an air passage or shaft as shewn. It is preferred to dispense with
any projecting mouldings that may impede the passage of air to the perforations.
To supply the place of the vitiated air drawn off under any of the modes herein-
before set forth, fresh air may in accordance with this Invention be admitted to the
rooms or apartments through a tapered or trumpet shaped pipe, as seen at L,
Figure 1; at its lower end this pipe communicates with a chamber M made in the
wall of the house or building and whose outer end is preferably furnished with a
grating e to prevent the inward passage of dust, and as a further preventative the
chamber may be filled or partially filled with horse hair or its equivalent; or it
may have an arrangement similar to that shewn at X, and which is hereinafter
more particularly referred to. At its upper end the pipe L is or may be provided
with a moveable nozzle N in order that the incoming current of air may be directed
to any desired part of the room. These nozzles may either fit into or over the pipe,
and they may either be plain, as indicated in the Drawing, or have a rose end
variously shaped so as to cause the air to issue in jets.
Under another arrangement, seen at P, Figure 1, the fresh air is admitted into the
room through a valvular arrangement consisting of a door or shutter hinged at its
lower end and perforated with a number of conical holes. When the door or shutter
is closed against the end of the pipe P air passes through the conical holes into the
room, but when it is desired to admit a greater volume of fresh air than can pass
through these holes the door or shutter is opened, and when so opened to prevent
the air from passing out laterally, the door or shutter is provided with sides which
confine the air, and in conjunction with the perforated door, direct the current
upwards. This form of door is also shewn applied at Q, Figure 1, whereat it is fitted
direct to a chamber or opening in the wall through which the air passes inwards.
The door or shutter is opened and closed by a cord and pulley 8 or its equivalent.
Under another arrangement, shewn at O, Figure 1, the admission pipe is enlarged
throughout a portion of its length, and an outer casing is placed around it, at the
lower part of which one or more gas burners, preferably argand burners, are
situated for the purpose of heating the air before discharging it into the room.
deflecting piece d is situated at the lower part of the enlarged portion of the pipe O
so as to deflect the air against the heated pipe, and instead of being fixed as shewn
the said deflector may be mounted on a spindle so as to render it capable of being
raised and lowered and thereby to regulate the amount of air passing through the
A

page_text: pipe. The chamber R through which air passes into the pipe O may simply be
fitted with a grating at its outer end or a horse hair or equivalent strainer may be
used with the grating, as and for the purposes hereinbefore described; or instead of
such a strainer the arrangement X may be used, and which consists in attaching to
a wood or other block filling the inner end of the chamber a circular, square, or other
shaped wire or equivalent frame which is covered with muslin or other suitable
fabric to act as a strainer for the incoming air.
Another arrangement of heating the inlet air is illustrated at Figure 6 of the
Drawings, in which the inlet pipe O is surrounded with a casing for holding water,
which may either be poured into the casing already heated or it may be heated by
burning gas at funderneath the casing. Although shewn vertically, the casing and
tube may be inclined or horizontal.
A further arrangement of admitting fresh air is shown at Figures 7 and 8,
wherein the air passes from the atmosphere into a chamber situated near the ceiling
and thence downwards to near the floor and again upwards to any suitable point
for discharging into the room. At the lower part of the air pipe a moveable
chamber or vessel g is situated for the purpose of containing ice or cold water to
cool the air in hot weather. In cold weather the length of the pipe will cause the
air to be heated above the heat of the outer atmosphere before it is discharged into
the room, and to promote this heating the body of the pipe may be larger than the
inlet and outlet orifices.
Instead of being placed at the interior the pipe may be fixed at the exterior of
the wall with an inlet orifice passing into the room, and if desired with a fanner at
its lower end for forcing in the air. With this arrangement the pipe may be
surrounded with a casing or jacket heated by gas for the purpose of taking the
chill off the air in cold weather, and the gas light so employed may also be utilized
as an outside lamp. An arrangement for heating the fresh air admitted to churches,
halls, theatres, and other large buildings wherein a number of people are brought
together is illustrated at Figures 9 and 10 of the Drawings. A chamber or pipe
having a large surface as at N, Figure 10, communicates with the atmosphere at i.
This chamber is placed at, near, or above the ceiling of the apartment or building,
and is heated by the heat of the atmosphere vitiated by the breathing of the
audience, burning of gas, and otherwise. The chamber N is provided with two
vertical pipes leading downwards, one of which is for the discharge of cold air, and
the other k for the discharge of heated air. When it is desired to admit cold air the
valve in the hot air outlet is closed and the valve m in the cold air outlet opened,
and vice versa. The air may either pass through the pipe N of its own accord, or it
may be forced through by fans or their equivalents.
Another arrangement of admitting fresh air to the interiors of rooms or apart-
ments from halls, lobbies, or from the outer air through the room doors is shown at
Figures 5 and 11. A casing n is fitted to each of the upper panels of the door, or
such a casing may be fitted to all the panels, and in front of the said casings the
panels are perforated. The casings are divided vertically into two or more
compartments, each provided with a cover or lid so as to regulate the volume of air
passing into the room. The foregoing method may also be applied to the walls of
the apartment either alternatively or in conjunction with its application to the door.
Another arrangement of admitting air through the walls from above the door is
seen at o, Figure 5. Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the arrangement, which consists
in fitting a chamber o of any desired length into the wall; the chamber has
preferably a grating, louvres, or their equivalent at its admission side, and at its
discharge side it is provided with a door or valve q which is or may be hinged and
furnished with a back balance weight r whose tendency is to close the door or
valve against the air current; or the door or valve may be so weighted as to open
of its own accord, as seen at Figure 13, in which case a pulley and cord or equivalent
means are provided for closing the door or valve.
Referring to Figure 61 of the Drawings appended to my former Specification, an
improvement embraced by this Invention consists in placing in the vent or

page_text: chimney Ga contracting block, as illustrated at t, Figure 5. This block, which
may be of fire-clay, stone, or equivalent material, and of any of the forms shown at
Figures 14, 15, 16, and 17, or of other suitable form, is inserted into the chimney
below the ventilator m for the purpose of increasing the draught through the
ventilator. Another improvement on the said Figure consists in providing the
ventilator m with a baffle plate o, which in the event of a "blow down" in the
vent causes the door to shut more readily and so prevents the passage of smoke
into the room through the ventilator. Figure 18 is an enlarged view of this
arrangement. A further improvement consists in adapting to the stop p of the
door or valve q of the ventilator a crank motion, to which a cord is attached for
the purpose of closing the door or valve when desired. Figure 18ª is an improve-
ment on Figure 18 intended to draw the vitiated air from close to the ceiling
without breaking the cornice.
In school rooms, colleges, and other places where desks in tiers are used, and
where the back of one seat constitutes the front of the desk on a higher row
ventilation may be promoted by a series of vertical or inclined jets or passages
discharging pure air at the front of the desk, that is to say, immediately behind but
at a higher altitude than the heads of the sitters in the row in front.
Besides the inlets for the admission of fresh air to the interiors of the rooms or
apartments of dwelling houses and other buildings hereinbefore described, other
inlets opening at the hearth are provided, as shown under several modifications at
Figures 1 and 5 of the Drawings, for supplying the fire so far with air, and
thereby preventing the chimney or vent from drawing air from the outlet passages,
also preventing draughts from being injuriously felt in the room. These inlets may
be opened and closed at pleasure by means of valves or otherwise.
When there is no fire in the room the shafts or passages A may in some cases be
made to act as air inlets by closing the valves of the other air inlets hereinbefore
referred to.
This Invention relates, secondly, to the ventilating of railway carriages and other
vehicles. Figure 19 shows in vertical section, and Figure 20 in horizontal section,
my improvements adapted to the ventilation of one compartment of a railway
carriage. The improvement consists in surrounding the ordinary lamp casing A of
the compartment with a ventilator B. Around the lower end of the lamp casing
(which for the purposes of this Invention is made somewhat deeper than usual) a
series of boles or openings a are made communicating with a chamber 6 of circular,
square, or other suitable section. Portions c of the sides of the chamber b are
perforated so as to communicate with an outer chamber d open to the atmosphere,
and through which currents of air pass, as indicated by the arrows, according to the
direction of the wind or of the train's motion. These currents exert an inducing
action through the perforations of the chamber b whereby the vitiated air is drawn
outwards from the interior of the carriage. Instead of the ventilator surrounding
the lamp, as shewn, it may have a different situation in the roof of the carriage or
vehicle, and it may be constructed either as hereinbefore set forth, or in accordance
with any suitable modification described in my said former Specification. Tubes
or inlets leading upwards from, at, or near, the floor may also be provided for the
admission of fresh air to the carriages or vehicles.
This Invention relates, thirdly, to an improved ventilating cowl which is
illustrated at Figure 21 of the appended Drawings. In cowls of this construction
as hitherto made, the educing current passing in the direction of the arrows a
sometimes loses its power to prevent a suck down in the shaft. To obviate this a
second educing current is caused through the cowl by inserting an interior pipe or
passage b, as shown on the Drawings.