New or Improved Means and Apparatus for Producing Cold.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 17th Apr., 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
VISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means and Apparatus for Producing Cold.
I, ERNEST BAZIN, of 2 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows,.
reference being had to the accompanying sheet of Drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon :-
The object of the present invention is the utilization of the pressure at which
water is ordinarily supplied to, houses in towns for compressing air which in expanding
produces cold for cooling, freezing and preserving purposes. I employ some of the
said water under pressure as a piston for compressing the air, by which friction and
heating of the piston reduced to a minimum.
The accompanying Drawing illustrates, in vertical section, a refrigerating apparatus
made in accordance with my invention, but it will be understood that the general
arrangement of the whole and of the details may be varied without departing from.
my invention. The apparatus shewn in the Drawing is intended for freezing and
preserving liquids, articles of food &c., and consists of the vertical cylinder a which
is in communication, by the pipe b and tap 61, with the water main c, and also
with the box or safe g, in which latter are placed the articles to be cooled or frozen.
This box or safe 9. comprises a jacketed casing d d¹ of zinc, for example, having a
free space e between the inner case d and outer case d'. The case d' is surrounded
with and rests upon powdered charcoal contained in the wooden casing 9; a cover h,
provided with a thick layer of felt h¹, closes the box or safe as hermetically as possible.
The vertical cylinder a is in communication with the space e by means of the pipe k.
This pipe, which is connected with the upper part of the said cylinder, re-enters the
same and is continued in a serpentine or coil therein, and finally leaves at k², being
provided with a tap k³. From the pipe k² the pipe / branches, having a tap ", and is
connected with a second serpentine or coil 1 (contained in the horizontal cylinder m)
at the other end of which is the pipe 12 which leads direct to the space e.. This
space e is also in communication, through the pipe o and tap o', with the horizontal
cylinder m, and the cylinder m is provided with an outlet cock s. p. is an outlet pipe
provided with a tap p for emptying the cylinder a to the drain v or otherwise. The
cylinder a is provided with a guage n for indicating the level of water therein.
When commencing to work the apparatus, the cylinder a is empty and all the taps
closed. The tap
is opened and water under pressure is admitted to the cylinder a
and rises therein, compressing the air into the upper part thereof and into the
pipes k k k² and as far as the closed taps k³ and r. The tap is then opened and
the compressed air expands, first in the serpentine or coil 1, and further in the
space e where intense cold is thereby produced. When the level of water in the
cylinder a has attained the maximum height which can safely be reached. without
overflowing into the air pipe k, the taps and 6' are closed. The taps ³ and pl
are now opened to allow of the escape of the water, and the taps o' and s for the
escape of the air.
Continuous refrigeration may be effected by employing two or more cylinders a
and allowing the air to escape intermittently or continuously. The air may, if
preferred, be allowed to expand directly into the box or safe d, thus dispensing with
the cylinder m, coil, and space e.
The air escaping from the tap s may be utilized
for a variety of purposes, for cooling rooms, for example.
The water employed for compressing the air in the cylinder a may be supplied
direct from the main, or by a pump, with or without an intermediate hydraulic

page_text: The box or safe may be arranged in any convenient manner according to the
articles or materials it is required to cool or freeze.
D
T 1
1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means and Apparatus for Producing Cold.
I, ERNEST BAZIN, of 2 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the sheet of Drawings filed with my
Provisional Specification, to the sheet of Drawings filed herewith and to the letters
and figures marked on the said Drawings :—
The object of the present invention is the utilization of the pressure at which water is
ordinarily supplied to houses in towns for compressing air which in expanding produces
cold for cooling, freezing and preserving purposes. I employ such water under
pressure as a piston for compressing the air, by which means friction is reduced to a
minimum and heating of the piston is avoided.
In the Drawings similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 (being the Drawing filed with my Provisional Specification) is a vertical
section of a refrigerating apparatus made in accordance with my invention. Figure 2
shows a similar apparatus but of simpler construction, and Figures 3 and 4 are
sections of refrigerating chambers or safes. It will be understood that the general
arrangement of the whole and of the details may be varied without departing from
my invention, that is to say, the application and use of water for compressing air
intended to produce cold either by utilizing the pressure of water as supplied to
towns, or by introducing water by any means into a receiver in such manner that
the said water forms a piston which compresses the air contained in the said receiver;
the air thus compressed being subsequently expanded in a special apparatus so as to
produce cold therein.
The apparatus, shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings, is intended for freezing
and preserving liquids, articles of food, and so forth. That shown in Figure 1 consists
of the vertical receiver or chamber a which is in communication by the pipe b and
tap 6 with the water main c, and also with the box or safe g in which latter are
placed the articles to be cooled or frozen. This box or safe y comprises a jacketted
casing d d¹, of zinc for example, having a free space e between the inner case d and
outer case d¹. el el are distance pieces in the space e, cut away at intervals to allow
of the free circulation of air throughout the space e. The case d' is surrounded with
and rests upon powdered charcoal or other suitable heat insulating material con-
tained in the wooden casing 9. A wooden cover provided with a thick layer of
felt closes the box or safe as hermetically as possible. The vertical chamber a,
which may be of tinned iron for example, is in communication with the space e by
means of the pipe k. This pipe which is connected with the upper part of the said
chamber a, re-enters the same and passes through it in the form of a serpentine or
coil k¹, finally issuing therefrom at 2, being provided with a tap k³. From the
pipe the pipe l, having a tap r, branches off and is connected with a second
serpentine or coil contained in the horizontal cylinder m. At the other end of the
coil is the pipe which leads direct to the space e. This space e is also in
communication through the pipe o and tap o' with the horizontal cylinder m, provided
with an outlet cock s. p is an outlet pipe provided with a tap p¹ for emptying the
chamber a into the drain v or otherwise. The chamber a is provided with a gauge n
for indicating the level of water therein.. When commencing to work the apparatus,
the chamber a is empty, except as to the atmospheric air contained therein, and all

page_text: the taps are closed. The tap is then opened and water under pressure is admitted
to the chamber a and rises therein, compressing the air into the upper part thereof
and into the pipes k k¹³ and as far as the closed taps 3 and r, to a degree
corresponding to the pressure of the water supply. The tap is then opened and
the compressed air expands, first into the serpentine or coil 1, and further into the
space e where intense cold is produced by the said expansion. When the level of
water in the cylinder a has attained the maximum height which can safely be reached
without overflowing into the air pipe k, the taps r and 6' are closed and the taps k³
and p opened to allow of the escape of the water, and the taps o¹ and s for the escape
of the air. This escape of the air causes a reduction of temperature in the cylinder m
which cools the contents of the coil l¹ in the same way as the water in the chamber a
has previously cooled the air coil k¹.
b
In the apparatus shown in Figure 2 the water from the main is led by the pipe b
to the top of the chamber a which is supported on the legs a¹. The pipe 6 opens into
a vessel B perforated with holes of such a diameter that the water escapes through
them in the form of rain, not in the form of mist. The water thus distributed in the
chamber a cools the air at the same time that it compresses it, by forcing it into the
upper part of the chamber a and into the pipe k as far as the tap r. The water is
admitted into the pipe b and chamber a by opening the tap 6. Air is admitted into
the chamber a and pipe k when the tap 61 is closed, and the two-way tap 6² is
opened. The level of the water in the chamber a is indicated at the glazed
opening a².
The pipe k opens directly into the box g' which precedes the box g in which latter
are placed the substances to be preserved or cooled ; the said substances rest on a
shelf perforated with holes for the circulation of air which is dried by passing
through gratings or wire gauzes placed one above another.
In the box g is placed a receiver u filled with pieces of ice, or a decanter u¹ (see
Figure 3) filled with water frozen by any suitable or known means.
By opening the tap the compressed air in the chamber a expands into the box g',
round the receiver u or u¹ and is cooled, firstly by the expansion, secondly by contact
with the walls of the receiver u or u', or by direct contact with the ice if the receiver u
or u¹ is arranged so as to allow of such contact.
The air, thus doubly cooled, is conducted by the pipe y into the box g, when the
tap y' is opened and a further expansion of the air then takes place in the box gi
which produces a cooling of the ice, restoring to it the quantity of refrigerating
effect that the air had taken from it at its admission from the receiver a into the
box g. The result is that the cooling receiver u or u¹, while fulfilling the office of
cooling the air during its first expansion, always retains the same temperature after
each operation. The air admitted to g¹ may be passed through a coil cooled by the
receiver u or u¹ before reaching the pipe y.
Figure 4 shows that the first box g¹ may be separated from the second or preserving
box
g.
Continuous refrigeration may be effected by employing two or more chambers
and allowing the air to escape intermittently or continuously. The air escaping
from the taps may be utilized for a variety of purposes, as for cooling rooms
for example.
The water employed for compressing the air in the chamber a may be supplied
direct from the main, or by a pump with or without an intermediate hydraulic
accumulator.
The box or safe may be arranged in any convenient manner according to the articles
or materials it is required to cool or freeze.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
Lion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First-The application and use of a supply of water under pressure, for the
purpose of compressing air in a receiver or chamber, such compressed air being

page_text: afterwards expanded in a refrigerating box or safe in order to produce cold therein as
hereinbefore described.
Second-The method or process of compressing air intended to produce cold, by
means of water supplied under pressure, as hereinbefore described.
Third The refrigerating apparatus consisting of a chamber, a in which air is
compressed by means of water admitted or forced thereinto under pressure, the
cooling coils, the refrigerating box or safe d d', in the jacket space e of which
the compressed air is allowed to expand, the cylinder m, and the connecting pipes and
taps, combined, arranged and operating as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereto annexed.
•
Fourth-The refrigerating apparatus forming the subject of the first claim
clause hereof, but without the coil and cylinder m, and having the coil k¹
connected direct to the space e of the refrigerating box or safe d das herein before
described.
Fifth-The refrigerating apparatus consisting of a chamber a in which air is
compressed by means of water admitted or forced thereinto under pressure and
distributed thorein in the form of rain, and a refrigerating box or safe g in which
the compressed air is expanded, and with or without a preliminary box or safe g¹ in
which the compressed air is partly expanded, and cooled by contact with ice or with
vessels containing ice before the said compressed air reaches and expands finally in
the refrigerating box or safe g, as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 2
and 3 of tho Drawings hereto annexed.
Sixth-The general arrangement and construction of refrigerating apparatus in
which the refrigerating effect is produced by the expansion of air compressed and
cooled by the means hereinbefore described and claimed.
Dated this 17th da
+
7000
W. H. BECK,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent for the Applicant.