Improved Air Shaft or Trunk for use in Refrigerating Chambers on Ships or other Stores, and for Ventilating.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 11th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 13th Sept., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Air Shaft or Trunk for use in Refrigerating Chambers on
Ships or other Stores, and for Ventilating.
JOHN LOVE 18 Ellerthorpe Street Poplar, Middlesex Joiner do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This air shaft or trunk is constructed for use in traversing chambers constructed for
the carriage or storage of frozen meat, fruit and other perishable articles, and also for
ventilating purposes.
It is adapted especially for ships where, from the nature of
its construction & the application of a hinge made as herein after described, it will
fold up when not in use, and leave its space to be occupied by other cargo, and be
easily refitted when required for ventilating or as an air shaft.
This I claim to be original & new an improvement over all previously constructed
air shafts, which are rigid & require to be wholly removed & reconstructed on each
several occasion the space is or is not required.
I construct this trunk of continuous Haps, having ends fitted close to each other,
in the usual part of the cold chamber, viz. the angle formed by the ceiling & side
of chamber. I attach the bottom of the trunk to the side of chamber, and the
face or front of trunk to the top of chamber, each flap separately (this I do by my
new hinge as before mentioned) the top of chamber and the side of chamber forming
the top and back of trunk respectively.
As in cold air chambers on ship-board the side of chamber, where I attach the
bottom flaps of my air trunk, is concave, and runs with the sheer of ship's side,
these bottom flaps if hung with the ordinary hinge would, in folding, overlap each
other at the ends, and would not turn down, I construct my hinge especially to obviate
this difficulty.
I form this hinge of three bands, two of which are fast'ned to the side of chamber,
the third or middle band is fast'ned to the flap forming portion of trunk, the pin
made long, and allows the knuckle to slide easily either way, longitudinally, and so
changing the position of the flaps laterally, allows them to fall clear of each other, the
recesses left at certain distances in the air chamber will allow the extra lengths
required by the ends of flaps being turned down off the square.
The bands of hinges supporting the flaps are made long enough to project over
in each case, and in one of these projections I make a slot, while the other I form
into a screw thread, thus on the trunk being closed for use, the edges of the flaps
are brought together and are held rigidly by the hinge bands fitting into each other,
and made secure by a nut.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Air Shaft or Trunk for use in Refrigerating Chambers on
Ships or other Stores, and for Ventilating.
1, JOHN LOVE of 18 Ellerthorpe Street, Poplar, Middlesex, Joiner, 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 improved air shaft or trunk is constructed for use in traversing chambers
constructed for the carriage or storage of frozen meat, fruit and other perishable
articles, and also for ventilating purposes. It is adapted especially for ships where
from the nature of its construction and the application of a binge made as herein-
. 877

page_text: after described it can be folded up when not in use and leave its space to be
occupied by other cargo and be easily refitted when required for ventilating or as an
air shaft. This I have devised as an improvement over all previously constructed
air shafts which are rigid and require to be wholly removed when the space is
required and reconstructed when the air shaft is again required.
I construct this trunk of continuous lines of flaps having their ends fixed close to
each other in the usual part of the cold chamber viz. the angle formed by the ceiling
and side of chamber, I attach the bottom flaps of the trunk to the side of the
chamber, and the face or front of trunk to the top of chamber each flap separately
(this I do by my new hinge as before mentioned or by other suitable means) the
top of chamber and the side of chamber forming the top and back of trunk
respectively.
In cold air chambers on shipboard as the side of chamber to which I attach the
bottom flaps of my air trunk, is concave and runs with the sheer of ship's side, these
bottom flaps as also the side flaps if hung with the ordinary hinge would in folding,
overlap each other at the ends and would not turn down properly. I construct a
hinge as hereinafter described especially to obviate this difficulty.
I form this binge of 3 bands 2 of which are fastened to the side of chamber
the 3rd or middle band is fastened to the flap forming portion of trunk, the pin is
made long and allows the knuckle to slide easily, either way, between the two bands
longitudinally and so changing the position of the flaps laterally, allows them to fall
clear of each other the covers of the recesses or manholes arranged at certain
distances in the air channel will when removed allow the extra lengths required
by the ends of flaps being turned down off the square.
The bands or hinges supporting the flaps are made long enough to project beyond
the edge of the flaps in each case, and in one of these projections I make a slot,
while the other I form into a screw thread, thus on the trunk being closed for use,
the edges of the flaps are brought together and are held rigidly by the hinge bands
fitting into each other and made secure by a nut.
And in order that my said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section and Figures 2 and 3 are cross sections of parts
of a ship showing the cold air chamber fitted with my improved air shaft or trunk,
and Figures 4 and 5 are separate views of hinges I use in the construction of said air
shaft or trunk.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
a represents the interior of the cold air chamber, the top b, sides c, bottom d, and
ends or bulk heads e, of which are represented as lined with charcoal or other non-
conducting material covered with wood, and the stringers and beams 9 as covered
with wood in the manner usually adopted.
The air shaft or trunk is formed of a series of side flaps and bottom flaps i in
continuous lines aided by the ceiling 6 and sides c of chamber to which the said
flaps are respectively hinged by means of hinges constructed in the following
manner.
The hinges used for connecting the side flaps h to the ceiling b are formed with
two short bands; connected together at a certain distance apart by a pin j¹ and a
third or intermediate long band mounted on said pin and capable of movement
endwise on the pin between the short bands; the outer end j³ of this long band
is formed as a hook for the purpose hereinafter described.
The hinges used for the bottom flaps i are also formed in a similar manner to the
above but the outer end of the third or long band j² is formed with a screw thread j*.
Thus when the said flaps h and i are in position to form the air trunk or shaft, the
hook fits partially around the screw and the two parts are firmly bound together
by a nut k screwing onto the screw j.

page_text: Some of the flaps are provided with air outlets fitted with sliding or other covers
and between two flaps there are one or more manholes provided with removeable
covers m which are capable of being fixed in position by means of hooks n fixed to
the flaps hand fitting over screw pins m¹ fixed to the manhole covers and fitted with
nuts m; other suitable means may however be adopted for removeably fixing the
manhole covers in position.
When the air shaft or trunk is not required for use the nuts are removed from
the screws, the manhole covers m are removed and the flaps h and i are shifted
slightly end wise so as to leave a slight space between them sufficient to enable
them to be folded either up or down as the case may be without overlapping each
other, the flaps h are held up against the ceiling by means of the hooks hooking
against studs or loops o fixed in the ceiling or by any other suitable contrivance
whilst the flaps i are allowed simply to fall down and rest against the side c.
As the bottom flaps will require less movement end wise than the side flaps to
enable them to fold down against the side c without overlapping each other, there
are no removeable manhole covers between such bottom flaps but on one of the bulk
heads e of the cold air chamber is fixed a piece of wood p in a line with and
forming a short length of the bottom of the air shaft or trunk, thereby enabling the
end bottom flap i when turned down to be shifted slightly in the direction of the
bulk head e carrying such fixed piece p and consequently permitting the other
bottom flaps to be shifted endwise sufficient to enable all of them to fall down against
the side c without overlapping each other.
It will be evident that when applying my improved air shaft or trunk in positions
where the fixed side and ceiling are without curves ordinary hinges may be employed.
The abutting ends and edges of the flaps are fitted with felt or other suitable
material to render the joints sufficiently air tight and in cases where it is necessary
to provide against warping or twisting of the flaps I construct them of two layers
of wood " cross banded that is to say with the grain running in contrary
directions.
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 :-
1. An air trunk or shaft constructed of hinged flaps substantially as herein shown
and described and for the purpose stated.
2. An air trunk or shaft constructed of hinged flaps capable of slight endwise
motion substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
3. An air trunk or shaft constructed of hinged flaps, intermediate manhole covers
and hinges permitting end wise motion of the flaps substantially as herein shown
and described and for the purpose stated.
Dated August 11th 1890.
JOHN LOVE.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.