Improvements in Incubators.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1892,
Complete Specification Left; 14th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 4th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Incubators.
I, CHARLES WALTER MOULE, of No. 7, Coombrook Cottages, Eastville,
Bristol, Carpenter and Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be..
as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to improvements in incubators, the said improvements...
consisting essentially of (1) a more even distribution of heated moist air in the eggi,
chamber, (2) a ready means of turning the eggs without opening the door or lid of :
the chamber and thereby lowering its temperature, and (3) an automatic arrange-
ment for opening a door or flap in the top or other part of the chamber when the
temperature therein becomes too high for the purposes of incubation.
These improvements are carried into effect in the following manner :-
(1) A box of any convenient size or shape is provided and mounted on legs to keep.
it off the ground, and to admit a lamp or gas burner to be placed underneath, the
chimney from the lamp or burner being inserted in a cylinder which projects through
the bottom of the box'; an air-tight cistern to hold water is placed in any convenient.
position near the box, a small cup is attached thereto, a small hole near the bottom
of the cistern keeps the water always at the same level in the cup; from this cup :
the water is conveyed by a syphon to an annular bowl or vessel in the egg-
chamber, a constant and uniform supply being maintained to compensate for loss.
by evaporation; this annular vessel surrounds the cylinder already mentioned, the
heat from the lamp passing through the cylinder warms the water, and then enters
a metal chamber, from whence it is either conveyed by tubes round the upper
part of the egg-chamber, or escapes through a pivotted flap on the top of the metal. :
chamber; in the former case it heats the air already moistened and vaporised by the
warm water, and diffuses a uniform heat to all parts of the chamber.
(2) The floor of the egg-chamber is made of perforated zinc or similar material,
and raised two or three inches from the bottom of the box to ensure a thorough
ventilation, the floor is covered with flannel or other textile material, and attached:
to rollers on both sides of the chamber, the rollers are connected by tapes or the
like, so that when one is turned, the other will have a corresponding motion, an
end of one of the rollers projects outside the box, and on the end a winch or wheel is
fixed, by which the rollers are easily turned, and the whole textile surface on the
floor moved accordingly; to prevent the eggs coming into collision when the
material is moved, strips of wood or wires are placed from end to end of the chamber,
and as the rollers are rotated, the eggs resting on the floor will all be uniformly.
be
turned the required distance, and by this slight movement of the rollers they may
turned as often as may be considered necessary.
(3) In any convenient part of the chamber, a bent tube is fixed, containing
mercury, ether, or other similar substance, and in the open end of the tube a
plunger is inserted and connected by a wire to a cranked metal bar, which actuates
the pivotted flap on the top of the metal chamber already mentioned, and when the
heat in the egg-chamber causes the mercury or ether to rise above the prescribed
height, the plunger is forced upwards, the Hap of the metal chamber is opened, and
the heat from the lamp passes outside, until the proper temperature has been
obtained, when the mercury will fall, and the flap be again closed, and thus a
uniform heat will be maintained.
1 1.
1
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Incubators.
I, CHARLES WALTER MOULE, of 7, Coombrook Cottages, Eastville, Bristol,
Carpenter and 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in incubators, and consists of new or
improved appliances for the more even distribution of heated moist air in the egg-
chamber, a ready means for turning or partially turning the eggs during the process
of incubation without opening the door or lid of the chamber, and an automatic
arrangement for regulating the supply of heat, by which an even temperature is
maintained.
According to my invention, these results are produced by conducting the heated
air received from a lamp or other suitable source through tubes arranged near the
upper part of the chamber, the tubes diffusing their heat which becomes mixed with
a supply of moistened air arising from a vessel containing water which has been
warmed by a cylinder conveying the heat from the lamp passing through this
vessel; a cistern with a cup at the bottom, in which the water is always kept at a
uniform height, like in an ordinary poultry drinking fountain, is placed outside the
chamber, and the water is conveyed from the cup by a syphon, by which means
water is always kept in the vessel to compensate for loss by heat and evaporation.
The floor of the chamber is covered with any suitable textile fabric attached to and
partly coiled around rollers, the eggs being placed on this fabric and turned by the
action of the rollers; and a tube of mercury or other thermostatic motor actuates a
lid or flap in a box provided for the purpose and placed in or near the upper part
of the chamber.
The construction of these various appliances and their operation will be more
fully explained and illustrated by reference to the drawings accompanying this
Specification.
Fig. is a front view, and Fig. 2 an end view of an incubator complete and
ready for operation,
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing the interior construction, and Fig. 4 is a
corresponding transverse section;
Fig. 5 is a plan of the cover or upper part of the box,
Fig. 6 is a plan of the interior of the egg chamber;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse view, partly in section, of the internal appliances
for receiving the heat from the lanp, warming the water for moistening the air of
the chamber, and distributing the heat from the lamp throughout the chamber, or
passing it direct through the flap at the top;
Fig. 8 is a plan of the hot-air chest and the tubes proceeding therefrom, and
Fig. 9 is a plan of the annular vessel holding water, and the cover which prevents
an excess of heat coming direct from the vessel to the floor of the chamber where
the eggs are placed;
Fig. 10 shows a tube holding mercury or other similar material, and the
appliance for raising the flap of the hot air chest when the temperature is too
high, and
Fig. 11 shows the action of the rollers on which the cloth or fabric is placed for
turning the eggs.
The shapes of the various parts are such as appear to be most. suitable for their
purpose, but they may be varied to suit the size or shape of the box or boxes in
which they are to be used: the same letters of reference indicate similar parts in all
the figures.
A is a box, mounted on legs, containing the egg-chamber, with a lid B affording
access to the chamber, the lid is fitted with panes of glass for the purpose of

page_text: inspecting the eggs without opening the lid and thereby lowering the temperature;
C is an air-tight cistern or fountain placed at the end of the box, having a cup c
which is automatically filled to the required height through a hole near the bottom
as shewn in Fig. 3, a metal plate slides in grooves to cover this hole while the
cistern is being filled, a screw stopper at the top makes it air-tight, so that the
pressure of the surrounding air is excluded; d is a syphon conveying water from
the cup of the cistern to a vessel in the interior of the chamber; D is a cylinder
projecting through the bottom of the box, in which the chimney of a lamp or gas
burner is inserted to supply the necessary heat to the chamber; the cylinder is
made larger than ordinary lamp or gas chimneys, that a supply of pure air may
pass into the cylinder and mix with the heated air from the lamp; E is the interior
of the box forming the egg chamber, the floor of this chamber is made of perforated
zinc or similar material, raised about two inches from the bottom of the box and
Bupported by hollow casing round the central cylinder and small joists in other
parts, this ensures a thorough ventilation, the floor of zinc is covered with cloth F
of any suitable kind, attached to rollers as hereinafter described; in the centre of
the chamber, surrounding and attached to the cylinder D is an annular vessel G
which holds water conveyed thereto by the syphon d, and is thereby kept filled to
the same level as the water in the outside cup c; the water in the vessel G
is warmed by the heat of the lamp passing through the cylinder; H is a cap or
casing which is placed over the annular vessel to prevent the heat escaping
too rapidly round the parts in its immediate vicinity; inserted in the cover B,
supported by the flange i, is a hot-air chest I, partially open at the top and bottom,
and having outlets at the sides for the insertion of tubes to convey hot air round
the chamber, this air chest is preferably made rectangular as shown, the bottom
opening is contracted to form a draught, the open part is fitted so that when the
cover B is laid down the hot air from the cylinder D passes direct into the air
chest; just below the cover B, tubes K are inserted in the chest to convey the heat
round the chamber until it escapes at the ends of the tubes through holes in the
lid, as shown in Fig. 5; on the top of the chest is a pivotted flap L. actuated by a
bent red or wire which is continued to the back of the chamber or other convenient
position, underneath which is a tube M containing mercury and ether or similar
substances, a plunger is placed in this tube (see Fig. 10), and a stem projecting
therefrom, operates another plunger placed in a small tube with an opening at each
end inserted in the cover; the cover may be opened as required without disturbing
the arrangement of the plungers, as the tube in the cover will always be directly
over the tube of mercury, and when the lower plunger is raised by the increased
temperature and bulk of the mercury, the stem will pass into the upper tube and
raise the upper plunger, which has a small plate attached near the top of its stem,
and as this stem of the plunger is raised, the plate engages in the bent rod or wire
connected to the flap L, which is thereby opened and the heat from the lamp passes
direct into the outer air instead of round the air tubes K; when the temperature ir:
the chamber is reduced to its proper condition, the mercury falls accordingly and
the plungers allow the flap to be closed, and the heat to be sent round the tubes as
before. The cloth F being laid on the perforated zinc bed of the chamber, wires
or rods N are placed longitudinally about an inch from the cloth, these allow
the eggs to be placed in rows and render it improbable for them to come into
collision, the cloth is attached to rollers at opposite sides of the chamber, one or
both of the rollers being continued to the outside of the box, a short length of the
cloth, say three or four inches, is coiled round one of the rollers, so that by
the action of the rollers the cloth may be drawn backwards and forwards, and thus
with the assistance of the dividing rods, all the eggs laid on the cloth may be
turned; if the end of each rod project outside the box, the action will be very
simple to draw the cloth from one roller to the other, a wheel or winch attached
at the end of the projections enabling the cloth to be moved any distance as
required. If only one roller projects through the end of the box, the cloth will be
wound round the rollers as already described, and a tape .or. cord wound in

page_text: a similar direction on the under part of the rollers, as shown in Fig. 11, O¹ and O
being the rollers, F the cloth, and P the tape or cord on the bottom of the rollers,
the wheel being fixed on the projection of O¹, the cloth is shown coiled round the
roller O and the cord round 0, to move the cloth, the wheel is turned in the
direction indicated by the arrow, which will draw the cord from O and at the same
time coil the cloth on that roller, to move it again the action is reversed, and thus
the eggs will be simultaneously turned from day to day.
The various parts of my improved incubator being provided and fitted together
as described, their operation is as follows:-The box being placed in a room where
it will not be exposed to great or sudden changes of temperature, a lamp or burner
that will supply the required heat is placed beneath the box at such a height that
the chimney will discharge the products of combustion within the cylinder; the
cistern is filled with water, the outlet into the cup being closed until the cistern is
full and the screw stopper replaced; the slide is then opened, and the water flows
into the cup and the syphon fills the annular vessel in the interior of the chamber;
the eggs are then laid on the cloth in rows between the wire divisions, and the cover
laid down. The lamp is then lit, and the heat therefrom will warm the water
in the vessel while the direct heat will pass into the air chest, and out by way
of the circulating tubes to the outer air; the heat diffused by these tubes will mix
with the warin moistened air from the water, and thus a temperature suitable for the
purposes of incubation be maintained. The thermostatic motor will regulate
the supply of heat as already descrcribed, and the only attention required during
the process will be to keep the lamp and cistern supplied with oil and water
respectively, and to turn the eggs when necessary by the rollers as described.
-
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. In the construction of incubators, the provision of hot air chests for the
reception of the products of combustion from a lamp or other burner, and diffusing
the heat therefrom by means of tubes throughout the egg chamber, with a lid or
flap on the top of the chest to pass the heat direct into the outer air when necessary,
substantially as and for the purposes described and shown in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In the construction of incubators, making the cylinder which conveys the heat
from the lamp to form part of an annular vessel to contain water which becomes
warm by the passage of heat through the cylinder, the vessel being supplied with
water from outside by a syphon to compensate for loss by evaporation, substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. In the construction of incubators, the provision of a moving floor of cloth or
similar material actuated by rollers for the purpose of turning the eggs without
opening the chamber, substantially as shown and described.
4. In the construction of incubators, the arrangement of a tube of mercury or
other thermostatic motor with plungers connected by rods and bent wires as described
to the lid or flap of the air chest, for the purpose of opening the same when necessary,
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
5. In the construction of incubators, the combination of the new or improved
appliances herein set forth and described for the purposes of a more effective
diffusion of suitable heat in the chamber, au automatic regulation thereof, and a
means for instantaneously turning the eggs, substantially as herein set forth and
shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 13th day of January 1893.
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.