Improved Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the Ventilation of Buildings and other Spaces for the purpose of Maintaining a Constant Temperature therein.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 28th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 3rd Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the Ventilation
of Buildings and other Spaces for the purpose of Maintaining
a Constant Temperature therein.
We GEORGE WILLIAM CROWE of 22 Caughey Street Hull in the County of York
Designer and WALTER KNOWSLEY MASSAM of 82 Albany Street Hull aforesaid
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:―
Our present invention relates to apparatus employed for the purpose of auto-
matically controlling the ventilation of buildings and other spaces so that the
temperature therein may be kept at a constant uniform degree, that is to say where it
be required to maintain the temperature within a room, ball, conservatory or other
building at one constant temperature, the object of our present invention is to effect
this automatically; to attain which we employ the following new or improved
apparatus:
Within a suitably constructed case, frame, or box, we arrange and fix a Ụ shaped
tube one end of which is connected by means of a suitable gland or union to a
tin or other metal pipe which may extend to any suitable place within the room or
building where is placed or situated a coil or coils of similar tin or other metal pipe
or pipes with which it communicates. The said coil or coils terminate with a bulb
having an hermetically sealed cover or lid.
P
The other end of U shaped tube has secured to it a vertical piece of piping which is
preferably composed of a transparent material such as glass and this piece of piping
is left open at its top. Fixed vertically at one or both sides of the vertical glass or
other transparent piping or tube is a graduated scale or scales marked with the
degrees of temperature such as Fahrenheit, Reaumur or Centigrade. A little above
the open top end of said glass pipe, or tube, and within the case, frame, or box, is
fixed a wheel, sheave, or grooved pulley, which is free to revolve or work upon a
suitable horizontal shaft. Situated at the upper part of said grooved pulley is a
ratchet wheel which is carried upon a pin or spindle bearing in the flanges of said
grooved pulley, and this pin or spindle is arranged with a thumb and finger head in
order that it may be easily turned when required. A suitable pawl is pivotted to the
face or side of the grooved pulley and engages with said ratchet wheel.
A weight is suspended within the glass or other transparent tube or pipe by means
of being secured or fastened to the end of a cord of catgut, wire, or other material,
the other end of said cord being tied round or otherwise secured to the horizontal
pin or spindle which carries the ratchet wheel; the said cord bears upon the grooved
part of pulley and extends in a vertical direction downwards to the weight.
Another cord of catgut, wire, or other suitable material has one of its ends secured
to the opposite side of the grooved pulley and hangs down also vertically, and at its
lower end has secured or attached to it a thin or lesser weight which equals in weight
the weight of the weight before described when the same be placed in mercury and
suspended in the glass or other transparent pipe or tube in manner hereinafter
described.
The cord which carries the thin or lesser weight is connected just above said weight
to one end of a lever which is free to work upon a pin suitably secured to the case,
frame, or box; the other end of this lever is arranged to receive the end of a con-
necting rod which connects it to the end of a lever fitted upon a hydraulic valve.
The said valve is arranged in any suitable form so that it may be easily and sensitively

page_text: operated upon by said levers and connecting rod in order to permit a pressure of
water to flow to a pump or ram, and to allow the said water to flow from said pump
or ram, to an exhaust or waste pipe, and so that it may be closed altogether as the
case may require from time to time.
Three pipes therefore communicate with said valve, one the main or pressure
supply pipe, the other the communicating pipe, and the third the exhaust pipe. The
supply pipe may lead from any water main or cistern or other place where a pressure
of water is maintained.
The communicating pipe extends to the underside of a piston or plunger which
works in a suitable cylinder, and attached to said piston or plunger is a suitable rod
which is by any ordinary mechanical or other means connected to the ventilators,
louvre work, shutters, or other appliance for regulating the supply of air to the
building, and this connection is arranged in such a manner that as the plunger or
piston rises or falls within the cylinder the ventilators open or close accordingly.
The overflow pipe has a funnel placed around it just below the hydraulic valve in
order to catch any water which may from time to time leak froin said valve and
conduct the same to the waste pipe.
In order to complete our hereinbefore described improved apparatus so that the
same may work automatically in order to attain the object before referred to, we
first fill the U shaped tube with mercury and place sufficient therein so that the
same extends a little up the transparent pipe or tube. We then remove the lid
of the hermetically sealed bulb at the top of the coil or coils and fill the said coil or
coils and the connecting pipe with methylated or other like spirit or other expansible
fluid, after which we again hermetically seal the bulb. Our improved apparatus is
now fully in working order, and in order to keep the building or room at a constant
uniform temperature we first screw up (by means of the thumb and finger head to the
horizontal spindle whereon is secured the ratchet wheel) the weight to any desired
height corresponding within two degrees Fahrenheit of the temperature required to
be maintained.
The apparatus will now work automatically as follows: Suppose 60° Fahrenheit is
the constant temperature required, now should the room or building rise a little or
attempt to rise a little in temperature the spirit or other fluid in the coil or coils
will immediately expand and consequently force down the mercury in one part of
the U shaped tube and up the other, thus raising the weight and allowing the lesser
weight to pull down the lever, and by means of the connecting rod open the hydraulic
valve so that the pressure will run from the main to the underside of the piston,
plunger, or ram, thus lifting the same and causing the piston rod to act upon the
mechanical or other appliance employed for opening the ventilators; by this means
the temperature will at once lower and the action will continue until the weight again
goes back to 58° when the water will flow away from under the piston or ram and
the ventilators accordingly close. The apparatus works automatically in the manner
described thus maintaining a constant uniform temperature within the room or
building as will be well understood.
It will be obvious that where preferred instead of using methylated or other
spirit, air alone may be employed which will expand and contract with the rise and
fall of the temperature and act upon the mercury in a similar manner to the before
described methylated or other like spirit.
Dated this 27th day of February 1890.
H. F. BOUGHTON, M.I.M.E.,
Sheffield and Barnsley, Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Automatically Controlling the Ventilation
of Buildings and other Spaces for the purpose of Maintaining
a Constant Temperature therein.
We GEORGE WILLIAM CROWE of 22 Caughey Street Hull in the County of York
Designer and WALTER KNOWSLEY MASSAM of 82 Albany Street Hull aforesaid
Merchant 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 :-
Our present invention relates to apparatus employed for the purpose of keeping or
maintaining the temperature within buildings or other places at a constant uniform
degree that is to say where it be required to maintain the temperature within a room
hall conservatory or other building at one constant temperature the object of our
invention is to effect the same automatically to attain which we employ the improved
apparatus hereinafter described and illustrated by means of the accompanying
drawings in which Fig. 1 is a part sectional elevation of our improved apparatus
and Fig. 2 is an elevation of said apparatus situated within a building and illustrates
the same coupled up to the ventilators. Like letters of reference denote corresponding
parts in each view.
Within a suitable casing frame or box A we arrange and fix a U shaped tube B
which is preferably composed of glass and the end 6 of which is connected by
means of a gland 62 to an enlarged tube pipe vessel or bulb C made of glass tin
or other suitable metal or material. The said bulb is preferably fixed within the
box A as shown. From the bulb C a pipe I communicates with a coil D which latter
terminates with a bulb or enlarged portion d' having an hermetically sealed cover or
lid d² at the upper part thereof.
The coil D may be situated within the building as shown at Fig. 2 or at any other
convenient part of the room or building in order to secure the mean temperature
within the same as will be well understood.
The end 63 of the Ushaped tube B has secured to it a vertical piece of piping
or a tube E which is also preferably composed of glass and the said tube E is
open at its top end as shown.
A graduated scale X marked with the degrees of temperature such as Fahrenheit
Reaumer or Centigrade is fixed vertically alongside of the said tube E.
Above the top of tube E and within the case or box A we fix a wheel
sheave or grooved pulley G which is carried upon a suitable spindle or shaft g¹.
A ratchet wheel J is carried upon a pin which bears in the flanges of said
pulley G and the said pin j¹ is secured to the ratchet wheel J and is made with a
thumb and finger head so that it may be easily turned with the hand when
required.
A suitable pawl is pivotted to the face or side of the grooved pulley G and
engages with the said ratchet wheel J. An oblong weight W preferably circular
in cross section is suspended within the transparent tube or pipe E by means of being
secured or fastened to the end of the cord Y which is guided by the grooved pulley G to
the spindle around which it is wound and then the other portion of said cord Y
is guided by the said pulley G and extends down to the lever Q to which it is
secured. The said lever Q carries the weight P which balances the weight W when
the latter is placed in mercury and suspended within the tube E.
The cord Y may be connected to any part of the lever Q on the right of the
fulcrum q' and the said lever Q has a number of holes q* in order that the leverage
may be adjusted as required. The pin or fulcrum q' is carried in a fixing q³ secured
to the back part of the case or box A. The opposite end of the lever Q is coupled to
a connecting rod R which connects the said lever Q to the lever S which latter
controlls the three way valve T. The said valve T is arranged so that it may be

page_text: easily and sensitively operated upon by the said levers Q and S in order to permit
a pressure of water or other fluid to flow to the cylinder L or to flow from said
cylinder L to an exhaust or waste pipe t¹. The valve or cock T is therefore a three
way valve and communicates with three pipes viz. the pressure supply pipe ³ the
communicating pipe t2 and the waste or exhaust pipe t¹. The supply pipe t³ may lead
from any water main or cistern or other receptacle or storage where a pressure of
water or other element is maintained. The communicating pipe extends to the
cylinder L so as to permit the water or other pressure to flow under the piston 11
which works in the said cylinder L and attached to the piston l' is a rod 12 which
extends to the ventilator window or other appliance V which regulates the
supply of cold or cooler air to the building or room. The connection between the
piston and ventilator V may be arranged in any other convenient manner so as
to open the ventilator when the piston rises in the cylinder L and to close the
same when the said piston lowers.
Where found necessary a funnel may surround the three way cock or valve T so as
to catch any water or other fluid which may at any time leak therefrom and conduct
the same to the waste or exhaust pipe t¹.
In order to complete the apparatus so that it will work automatically in order to attain
the object hereinbefore referred to we first fill the U shaped tube B with mercury or
other expansible fluid and place sufficient therein so that it will extend somewhat up
the transparent tube E.
We then remove the lid d² see Fig. 2 and fill the coil D and the connecting pipe c¹
with methylated or other like spirits or other volatile or easily expansible fluid and we
then again seal the bulb d' with the lid d².
Our said improved apparatus is now in full working order and in order to keep the
room or building at a constant uniform temperature we first screw up by means of
the thumb and finger headed screw ³ the weight W to within two degrees Fahrenheit
of the temperature required to be maintained.
The apparatus now works automatically as follows: Suppose 60° Fahrenheit is the
constant temperature required should the temperature within the room or building
rise the fluid in the coil D will at once expand and consequently force down the
mercury in one leg of the tube U and up the other thus raising the weight W and
allowing the weight P to weigh down the lever Q and by means of the connecting
rod R and lever S to turn the three way valve or cock T so as to allow pressure to
flow from the supply pipe to the underside of the piston thus causing the latter
to be forced upwards and by means of the rod 12 to opperate the ventilator so as to
allow a larger supply of cooler air to the room or building in order to lower the
temperature therein. It will be obvious that a uniform temperature is maintained, by
the automatic opening or closing of the ventilators.
It will be obvious that although we only show our improved apparatus to
automatically move the ventilator V the rod 12 may nevertheless be suitably coupled
to any ordinary mechanical electrical or other appliance which will start stop or
controll any ventilating machinery such as fans or the dampers in chimney flues or
will controll the throttle or stop valve of a steam engine or will regulate the supply of
notive power to any other form of motor which may be employed for driving
machinery for ventilating purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In apparatus for the purpose herein before stated the use of a U shaped tube B in
combination with the bulb and vertical tube E substantially as described and
illustrated.
2. Apparatus combined and arranged substantially as described and illustrated at
Fig. 1 and used for the purpose specified.
3. In apparatus used for the purpose set forth the use of a pulley C adjustable
ratchet wheel J and suspended weights W and P in combination with the Ushaped

page_text: tube B and transparent tube E arranged substantially as described and illustrated in
the drawings annexed.
4. In apparatus used for the purpose specified the use of a three way valve or cock T
in combination with the cylinder Land lifting mechanism and connections substantially
5 as described.
Dated this 26th day of November 1890.
H. F. BOUGHTON, M.I. Mech. E.,
Sheffield, London, and Barnsley.