IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ICE AND SNOW INTO BLOCKS, SLABS, AND OTHER FORMS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."AL
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henderson, of Truro, in the County of Cornwall,
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ICE AND SNOW INTO BLOCKS, SLABS, AND OTHER FORMS, AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Henderson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th March 1877.
JAMES HENDERSON, of Truro, in the County of Cornwall, Civil Engineer. "LM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ICE AND SNOW INTO BLOCKS, SLABS, AND
OTHER FORMS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES."
My Invention relates to the manufacture from thin sheets or fragments of ice or
from snow, of blocks or slabs of large size, by compression.
I have discovered that by compressing fragments or thin sheets of ice (natural or
artificial) with sufficient force in a box or other confined space, they may be con-
solidated or made to cohere and form a solid block or slab of ice corresponding to
the shape of the box, and similarly when snow is compressed; and my Invention
consists,―
1st. In manufacturing small pieces of ice or snow into large blocks by com-
pression.
And, 2ndly. In certain improvements in machinery to be employed for this
purpose.
I would have it understood, however, that I do not confine myself to any parti-
cular construction of machinery or apparatus in carrying out the process of
compression constituting the first and chief part of my Invention, yet the
machinery which I will now proceed to describe has been specially designed for this
purpose, and some of its parts are novel.
The box in which the compression of the ice or snow is effected is placed upon
the ram of a hydraulic press, and a plunger corresponding to the interior of the box
is fixed to the under side of the cap or head of the press, so that as the box is
raised by the ram, the plunger will enter the box and compress the ice or snow
therein.
The construction of this box and the arrangement of the plunger are peculiar,

page_text: and are as follows:-The box rests on the table or follower of the ram, and is
constructed with a removable front and sides to facilitate the removal of
the compressed block. The back and bottom or bed of the box are securely fixed
together, or they may be made in one piece. The sides are connected with the
back by strong corner irons or clamps, which lock with cheeks or lugs on the back
plate to sustain the sides under pressure, and are hinged behind the back plate to
enable the side plates to be thrown back clear of the compressed block. The front
plate is received in a groove on the bed or bottom of the box, and is retained by a
toe or dovetail on which it works as a hinge, falling down to a horizontal position
level with the bottom of the box, for the removal of the compressed block. The
front plate is maintained in the raised or closed position by stay bars, which may
be hinged to the front plate, and abut firmly at one end against the said plate and
at the other end against a stop on the table of the press. By this arrangement,
great strength and rigidity of the ice box under pressure are ensured, and the box
may be readily opened to remove the block. Instead of stay bars, corner irons or
clamps may be used.
The plunger is placed immediately above the ice box. It is hinged at one side to
the under side of the cap or head of the press and is secured thereto, at the other
side by a catch and pin, on releasing which, the plunger will swing out of the way
when it is required to fill or inspect the box.
It is desirable that the engine or motor working the pumps should not be stopped
whilst removing the blocks of pressed ice and refilling the box; but as it is neces-
sary to stop the pumps during this operation, motion is communicated from the
engine or other driving shaft to the pumps through the medium of a rock lever,
having a shifting fulcrum which may be placed at any point of the lever to regulate
the stroke of the pump, or it may be made to coincide with the centre, by which
the connecting rod of the pump is jointed to the lever, so that no motion will be
communicated to the pump although the lever may continue to be worked by the
engine or motor. To this end, a box carrying the pivots on which the lever
oscillates is fitted to slide along the lever, and the said pivots are supported in a
carriage fitted to slide in adjustable guides on the framing, along which it is tra-
versed, carrying with it the slide box and pivots by a slotted hand lever provided
with a locking device engaging with a quadrant rack. The sliding box on the
lever is partly removed on the under side, to allow it to pass the pump connecting
rod sufficiently to bring the two centres in the same axial line.
It will be obvious that this shifting fulcrum arrangement is equally applicable to
pumps of hydraulic pressures generally.
The water escape or safety valve is so constructed that instead of having two
rising plugs or valves, the one raising the lever and weights, and the other allowing
the escape of water as usual, it has but one plug or valve which answers the two
purposes.
The plug or valve is coned, and received in a corresponding seat in a chamber
over the main channel, to which the valve is applied. The latter works through a
gland and packing or cup leather at the top of the chamber, and a lateral passage
leads from this chamber, through which the water is conducted where most con-
venient, instead of escaping from the top of the valve when the excess of pressure
overcomes the load on the valve. Resting on the cap or plug of the valve is a V
shaped end of a short arm, which is jointed to the weighted lever.

page_text: 'AND OTHER FORMS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES."
My Invention relates to the manufacture from thin sheets or fragments of ico or
from snow of blocks or slabs of large size by compression.
By compressing fragments or thin sheets of ice with sufficient force in a box or
other confined space they will be made to cohere and form a solid block or slab of
ice, and similarly when snow is compressed. And my Invention consists in certain
improvements in machinery, and the employment thereof for the manufacture, on a
commercial scale, of small pieces of ice or snow into large blocks by compression.
The ice or snow to be formed into blocks is placed in a box, constructed as hereafter
described, and sufficient pressure is then applied thereto and continued until the
fragments are consolidated into a compact block.
The ice, in consequence of the pressure brought to bear upon it, gives up some of
its latent heat to the liquid water which is present in the cavities between its
particles, and which is expelled by the pressure, and the ice consequently becomes
more dense and of greater specific gravity; and on the pressure being removed from
it, a certain amount of the sensible heat is again absorbed and rendered latent, thus
rendering the ice colder.
The machinery is illustrated in the annexed Drawings, in which Figure 1 repre-
sents a vertical section of a hydraulic press, provided with appliances for compressing
ice or snow into blocks; Figure 2, a plan of the same with the press head and
plunger removed; Figure 3, a vertical section of the force pumps; Figure 4, an
end view of the gear connected therewith, and Figure 5, a sido elevation of a
slightly modified arrangement of the said gear.
The construction of the hydraulic press shown in Figure 1 is much the same as
usual, so far as the cylinder A, ram B, pillars C, and head D are concerned; but the
construction of the box in which the compression is effected, and the arrangement of
the plunger, are novel, and are as follows:-E is a wrought-iron table or "follower"
resting on the ram B and moving therewith. Upon this table is placed the box F,
in which the ice or snow is compressed, and to the under side of the head or cap of
the press there is attached a plunger H, corresponding to the interior of the box F,
so that as the latter is raised by the ram the plunger will enter the box and com-
press the ice or snow therein. This box F is constructed of wrought iron, with a
removable front and sides to facilitate the removal of the compressed block. The
bottom or bed F¹ of the box rests upon, but is not necessarily fixed down to, the
table or "follower" E of the press; but it is desirable that the table E should be so
fitted on the ram B and the bed or bottom F' on the table E, by parts of the one
entering recesses in the other as to always ensure the proper correspondence of the
box with the plunger. The back plate F of the box is securely bolted or fixed to
the bed F by a metal band passing behind the back plate and round the sides of
the bed, or by clamps, or the plate may be made in one piece with the bed. The
sides Fs of the box are connected with the back F by strong corner irons or
clamps, which lock with cheeks or lugs fl on the rear edges of the back plate to
sustain the sides under pressure, and are hinged at f2 to the back of said plate, to
enable the sides FS to be thrown back clear of the compressed block for the purpose
of removing the latter. The front plate F* of the box is received in a groove in
the bottom plate F¹, and is retained by a toe or dovetail ƒ³ therein, on which it
works as a hinge, falling down to a horizontal position level with the bottom F¹, as
shown in dotted lines, to facilitate the removal of the compressed block. The front
plate is maintained in the raised position by one or more stay bars G, having at
their upper ends a firm abutment against the plate, as shown at G', and simply
hinged thereto at g to keep them in place when the plate is lowered. The lower
ends of these stay bars abut against stops e, securely fastened to the table E. By
this arrangement great strength and rigidity of the ice box under pressure are
ensured, and the box may be readily opened to remove the compressed block.
Instead of the stay bars, corner irons or clamps may be used, if preferred,
received in staples on the sides of the box, and locked together by any suitable

page_text: means. This plunger H, of metal, or of wood shod with metal, is placed immedi-
ately above the ice box, and is hinged at one side h to the press head and secured
thereto at the other side by a staple and removable pin ¹ or other fastening, so that
on releasing the latter the plunger will hang in the position indicated in dotted
lines, and so be out of the way, leaving the open top of the ice box F entirely clear
when filling or inspecting the box.
It is desirable that the engine or motor working the pumps should not be stopped
whilst removing the blocks of compressed ice and refilling the box, but as it is
necessary to stop the pumps of the hydraulic press during these operations, motion
is communicated from the engine or other driving shaft to the pumps through the
medium of a lever, having a sliding fulcrum which may be gradually moved to any
point of the lever, to regulate the stroke of the pump according to the power
required, so that the latter may thus be gradually increased as the block becomes
more dense, until the requisite power for the final pressure is attained; or the
fulcrum of the lever may be made to coincide with the centre, by which the con-
necting rod of the pump is jointed to the lever, in which position no motion will
be communicated to the pump although the lever may continue to be worked by
the motor.
The arrangement is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The pump I is of the
ordinary kind used for hydraulic presses. The pump plunger is worked from a
crank or eccentric on a shaft, or directly from the engine through a lever K con-
nected at one end with the said crank, eccentric, or motor, and at the other end
with the pump plunger by a connecting rod i. J is a box, to the sides of which
are fixed the pivots j on which the lever K oscillates. It is furnished with anti-
friction linings at top and bottom, and is fitted to slide freely along the lever K.
The pivots jare supported in a movable bearing block or carrier L, fitted to slide
in dovetail guides or ways on. a bed plate M, the said guides being made adjustable
by set screws . This carrier L is connected with a hand lever N by an extension
of one of the pivots j, or by a pin on the carrier received in a slot n in said lever.
The latter is provided with a locking bolt engaging with a quadrant rack O. By
shifting the hand lever N the carrier L is traversed along the guides, carrying with
it the box J and pivots j, which may thus be placed at any point of the lever K.
The under side of the sliding box J is not continued from end to end, but extends
about one third the distance only, as shown, to allow the box to pass the fork at
the upper end of the pump connecting rod i sufficiently to bring the two centres,
namely, the pivots j and the joint i, in the same axial linc, as shown by the dotted
position in Figure 3. To admit of this the end of the lever K which enters the
fork of the connecting rod i is reduced in width, so that the width of the fork
across from one side to the other, and the length of the pin of the joint * coincide
with the width of the lever K, and do not project in the way of the slide box J.
It will be seen that when the hand lever Ñ is in the right hand position the
pump is worked its full stroke, which is gradually decreased as the hand lever is
moved over to the left, until it is in the dotted position, when no motion whatever
is given to the pump, although the rise and fall of the right hand end of the lever
Kis continued as before. In Figure 5 the hand lever N and quadrant O are
shown fixed on a separate bed in front of the pump, the carrier L being in this case
actuated through a forked connecting rod jointed to the lever at one end, the forked
end of the connecting rod spanning and working on the ends of the two pivots j
that pass through the carrier L. This carrier may also be made to slide along its
bed by the rise of the hydraulic ram A by means of a rack and pinion and screw
attachments, whereby the power of the pump will be automatically increased in the
ratio as the pressure is required on the block of ice or other material under opera-
tion. It will be obvious that this lever with a sliding fulcrum may be similarly
adapted with equal facility and advantage to the pumps of hydraulic presses
generally, for pressing all kinds of materials.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of performing the

page_text: same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The application of the machinery constructed, substantially as herein shown
and described, for the manufacture of blocks of ice, by the consolidation of frag-
ments or thin sheets of ice or of snow, as specified.
2nd. The construction of the box in which the compression of the ice or snow is
effected, with hinged or removable sides and front, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
3rd. The hinging the plunger by one side to the head of the press, so that it may
be readily swung out of the way, as and for the purpose specified.
4th. The employment for transmitting power from the motor to the pumps of
hydraulic presses, generally of a lever having a sliding fulcrum, substantially as
shown and described for the purpose specified.
5th. The combination with the lever K of a slide J carrying the pivots on which
the lever oscillates, and movable along said lever together with a suitable
bearing for the same, substantially as shown and described for the purpose
specified.
6th. The combination with the lever K having a sliding fulcrum, as specified, of
a movable bearing or carrier L for the same, fitted to slide in guides on a bed for
the purpose of shifting the fulcrum, substantially as shown and described.
7th. The combination with the lever K, slide J, pivots j, and sliding carrier L, of
a hand lever connected therewith and provided with a locking bolt and quadrant
rack O, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henderson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-soven.
JAMES HENDERSON. (L.S.)