IMPROVEMENTS IN ICE-MAKING MACHINERY
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Griffith Brewer, of Chancery Lane, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ICE-MAKING MACHINERY." A communi-
cation from abroad by Albert Albertson, of Jersey City, in the County of
Hudson, and State of New Jersey, one of the United States of North America.
Sealed the 8th February 1878, and dated the 11th August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Griffith Brewer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th August 1877.
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of Chancery Lane, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ICE-MAKING MACHINERY." (A communication from abroad by Albert Albertson, of
Jersey City, in the County of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, one of the United
States of North America.)
By these improvements in mechanical devices for refrigerating or freezing pur-
poses, ice is produced from water, and perishable matter preserved in its natural
state for use, all as herein-after described.
The refrigerating part of this apparatus contains an air pump provided with
valves, rod, and bucket. The rod has a projecting catch which operates a lever to
open the escape valve to admit and regulate the flow of compressed air into the
cooling chamber for any desired purpose.
The air pump is placed in a water or cold air chamber or tank containing a
spiral coil of pipe similar to the worm of a still, and connected with the air pump.
This tube connects with the pump through the egress valve to admit the com-
pressed air into the upper coil of the cooling worm in the cold air or water tank.
The compressed air passes through the coiling tube, and discharges itself through
an automatic ball or drop valve, which is connected to and operated by a rod which
is worked by the lever when put in motion by the aforesaid piston-rod catch.
The compressed air escapes below into a refrigerating chamber, where it expands
and fills the whole compartment with cold air, which is drawn back through an
egress pipe by the force or air pump while in a cold state, to be passed two or
[Price 6d7

page_text: more times through the pump and coil, where it becomes further reduced in tem-
perature, thereby producing a more perfect refrigerator for the purposes set forth.
Or the said compressed air may be conveyed into the cooling tank directly from
the refrigerating chamber, and there employed to cool the coil and pump in lieu of
the water. In this instance the air pump draws its supply of fresh air from the
outside atmosphere preparatory to forcing it through the cooling coil to accomplish
its double use of cooling the refrigerating chamber and afterwards the coil and
pump.
When water is used the tank is fed through an upper inlet, and the same is
drawn off through a lower pipe. Similar pipes are used for admitting and dis-
charging air when the same is used in the place of water in the tank.
The freezing apparatus consists of a double-jacketed cylinder revolving upon two
fixed cylinders inside of a cold water or ice-forming tank arranged within a cold air
or freezing chamber, which is supplied with compressed air from an air pump
similar to the one described, or an equivalent thereof; after the air has been utilized
in the cold air chamber it passes out through a blow-off or exhaust pipe.
The cold air chamber is constructed with double multiple walls packed with
suitable non-conducting material to prevent the surrounding outside atmosphere
from affecting the temperature in the chamber.
.
There are knives for scraping the ice off the double-jacketed cylinder as it
revolves.
The pullies employed to operate the rollers on which the jacketed cylinder
revolves are upon the axis thereof.
The supplying reservoir is supplied from a spring, aqueduct, or any other source
through pipe and "ball valve," so arranged that when the water has reached the
proper level in the reservoir the float is raised so as to seat the valve and stop
the flow of the water through the ingress pipe until the water has fallen below the
required level in the supplying reservoir, when the valve is again opened by
the falling of the said float to admit and regulate the height of water, as aforesaid.
The water passes from the reservoir through a pipe into the ice-forming water
tank inside of the freezing chamber.
By the use of this device the ice is formed upon the outer periphery or surface of
the double-jacketed cylinder or core, which revolves upon the two rollers, so that a
portion of the lower surface of the revolving hollow core will be partially submerged
during its revolution in the water in the tank.
The rollers are journalled in the end walls of the tank in any suitable manner
that will form a water-tight joint, and are operated in the same direction by means
of the pullies, as above set forth, when operated by any suitable power.
The core drops snugly between the knives or scrapers, which are mounted on
each end of the tank so as to present the sharp cutting edges of the knives upward
to more perfectly scrape off the ends of the ice forming upon the ice-forming
cylinder. This revolving cylinder or core is kept in motion by friction' rollers
operating against said core, by which means its outer cylindrical surface becomes
thickly coated with ice.
I would here state that I do not confine myself to any particular form of core to
produce the same result, but use any suitable mechanical devices that will produce
ice in any suitable air chamber by means of compressed air and water, by which
means I am enabled to produce ice in thin layers upon the revolving core or upon
any suitable submerged body as it is taken out of the water.
The ice-forming core has a space between the inner and outer jacket to admit of
the introduction of steam between these walls to melt the ice sufficiently to remove
the core; or said core may be cast or formed with solid walls, so that the steam is
admitted into the centre of said cylinder by means of pipes or valves, and the ends
of the cylindrical or other core being kept free from ice by means of the scrapers, it is
readily removed. from its coating of ice when warm, when it is again placed upon
the fixed rollers to receive another coating of ice of any desirable thickness.
There is a blow-off or exhaust pipe to draw off the confined air in chamber.

page_text: There is an adjustable deflecting curved plate hinged at the lower edge thereof. To
the inner side of the freezing chamber, near the cold air supply pipe, the curved
deflector is provided with a concave rib upon its inner surface, which rests upon
the outer layer of ice as it is forming upon the revolving core; this deflector and
rib direct the current of cold air upon the outer surface of the ice forming around
the said core; as it (the ice) increases in diameter the deflector rises so as to keep
the rim always upon the upper surface of the ice, which may be increased in bulk
until the deflector strikes the arched top of the freezing chamber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Griffith Brewer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
February 1878. .
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of Chancery Lane, London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
ICE-MAKING MACHINERY." (A communication from abroad by Albert Albertson, of
Jersey City, in the County of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, one of the United
States of North America.)
By these improvements in mechanical devices for refrigerating or freezing pur-
poses, ice is produced from water, and perishable matter preserved in its natural
state for use, all as herein-after described.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a vertical section of the refrigerating
part of this apparatus, containing an air pump A provided with valves 1, 2, 3, rod e,
and bucket B. The rod has a projecting catch P, which operates the lever L to open
the escape valve 7 to admit and regulate the flow of compressed air into the cooling
chamber F for any desired purpose.
The air pump is placed in a water or cold air chainber or tank W containing a
spiral coil of pipes 5, 51, 51, similar to the worm of a still, and connected with the
air pump A. This tube 5 connects with the pump A through the egress 1 to admit
the compressed air into the upper coil of the cooling worm 5, 51, 511, in the cold air
or water tank W.
The compressed air passes through the coiling tube 5, and discharges itself through
an automatic ball or drop valve 7, which is connected to and operated by a rod S,
which is worked by the lever L when put in motion by the aforesaid piston-rod
catch P.
The compressed air escapes below at 6 into a refrigerating chamber F, where it
expands and fills the whole compartment with cold air, which is drawn back through
an egress pipe 41 and 4 by the force or air pump A while in a cold state to be
passed two or more times through the pump A and coil 5, 51, 51, where it becomes
further reduced in temperature, thereby producing a more perfect refrigerator for
the purposes set forth.
Or the said compressed air may be conveyed into the cooling tank W directly from
the refrigerating chamber F, and there employed to cool the coil 5, 51, 511, and
pump A in lieu of the water. In this instance the air pump A draws its supply of
fresh air from the outside atmosphere preparatory to forcing it through the cooling
coil 5, 51, 511, to accomplish its double use of cooling the refrigerating chamber F
and afterwards the coil 5, 5', 5, and pump A.
When water is used the tank W is fed through an upper inlet i, and the same is

page_text: drawn off through a lower pipe . Similar pipes are used for admitting and dis-
charging air when the same is used in the place of water in the tank W.
Figure 2 is a plan; Figure 3, a transverse section; and Figure 4, a longitudinal
vertical section of a freezing apparatus constructed according to this Invention; and
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the water supply tank or feeder.
The freezing apparatus consists of a double-jacketed cylinder D revolving upon
two fixed cylinders C', C, inside of a cold water or ice-forming tank B arranged
within a cold air or freezing chamber A', which is supplied with compressed air from
an air pump similar to the one described with reference to Figure 1, or an equivalent
thereof, connected to the pipe A"; after the air has been utilized in the cold air
chamber A¹ it passes out through a blow-off or exhaust pipe A
The cold air chamber A¹ is constructed with double multiple walls packed with
suitable non-conducting material to prevent the surrounding outside atmosphere
from affecting the temperature in the chamber A¹
There are knives for scraping the ice off the ends of the double-jacketted
cylinder D as it revolves, and are shown at E, E.
The pullies employed to operate the rollers on which the jacketted cylinder
revolves are shewn upon the axis thereof at c, c.
The supplying reservoir B4 is supplied from a spring, aqueduct, or any other
source through pipe band "ball valve" 61, so arranged that when the water has
reached the proper level in the reservoir the float is raised so as to seat the valve bl
and stop the flow of the water through the ingress pipe b until the water has fallen
below the required level in the supplying reservoir B, when the valve is again
opened by the falling of the float to admit and regulate the height of water, as
aforesaid.
The water passes from the reservoir B' through a pipe 62 into the ice-forming
water tank B1 inside the freezing chamber A¹.
By the use of this device the ice is formed upon the outer periphery or surface of
the double-jacketted cylinder or core D, which revolves upon the two rollers C¹, C¹,
so that a portion of the lower surface of the revolving hollow core will be partially
submerged during its revolution in the water in the tank B
The rollers C¹, C, are journaled in the end walls of the tank in any suitable
manner that will form a water-tight joint, and are operated in the same direction
by means of the pullies c, c, as above set forth, when operated by any suitable
power.
The core D drops snugly between the knives or scrapers E, E, which are mounted
on each end of the tank so as to present the sharp cutting edges of the knives
upward to more perfectly scrape off the ends of the ice forming upon the ice-
forming cylinder D. This revolving cylinder or core D is kept in motion by the
friction rollers C', C', operating against said core, by which means its outer cylin-
drical surface becomes thickly coated with ice.
I would here state that I do not confine myself to any particular form of core to
produce the same result, but use any suitable mechanical devices that will produce
ice in any suitable air chamber by means of compressed air and water, by which
means I am enabled to produce ice in thin layers upon the revolving core or upon
any suitable submerged body as it is taken out of the water.
The ice-forming core D has a space between the inner and outer jacket to admit of
the introduction of steam between these walls to. melt the ice sufficiently to remove
the core; or said core D may be cast or formed with solid walls, so that the steam is
admitted into the centre of said cylinder by means of pipes or valves, and the ends
of the cylindrical or other core D being kept free from ice by means of the scrapers
E, E, it is readily removed from its coating of ice when warm, when it is again
placed upon the fixed rollers C¹, C¹, to receive another coating of ice of any desirable
thickness.
There is a blow-off or exhaust pipe A¹¹¹ to draw off the confined air in chamber A¹.
There is an adjustable deflecting curved plate F¹ hinged at the lower edge thereof.
To the inner side of the freezing chamber, near the cold air supply pipe A¹¹, the

page_text: curved deflector is provided with a concave rib upon its under surface, which rests
upon the outer layer of ice as it is forming upon the revolving core D; this deflector
and rib directs the current of cold air upon the outer surface of the ice forming
around the said core; as it (the ice) increases in diameter the deflector rises so as to
keep the rib always upon the upper surface of the ice, which may be increased in
bulk until the deflector strikes the arched top of the freezing chamber A'.
After having described the individual parts of one of many mechanical devices
for refrigerating and freezing water until it becomes solid ice according to this
Invention, I would here state that the distinguishing feature of this Invention
consists in discharging compressed air under pressure into a refrigerating chamber F,
so that the air will expand into and cool the whole chamber, and then be drawn off
to be again utilised while at a lower degree of temperature, and then discharged
into the water chamber W, Figure 1, to complete its functions by cooling the
pump A and coil 5, the ice being formed by immersing any suitable core into and
withdrawing it from the water; or by revolving it, as above set forth, in a freezing
air chamber, so that a thin film of ice is formed at every revolution of said core D,
the cold air being supplied by a force pump arranged on the outside of the freezing
chainber A¹, the compressed air supply pipe A" (from the air pump) being provided
with a cut-off close against the wall of the freezing chamber A'..
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,—
Firstly. The mode of expanding the cold compressed air into an open refrigerating
chamber F by means of an air pump A, coil 5, 51, 511, with regulating automatic
valves 1 and 7, all arranged and operating inside of a cooling tank W, separately
arranged, and operating in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
Secondly. Returning the air after having been expanded in the cooling chamber F
to either the pump A or cooling tank W, as and for the purpose set forth.
Thirdly. Making ice by alternately submerging and withdrawing or revolving
(through and out of the water) a core D, arranged inside any suitable freezing
chamber A¹, charged with cold air from a compressing air pump suitably arranged,
and operating as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Griffith Brewer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
E. G. BREWER. (L.S.)