IMPROVE- MENTS IN COOLING LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Steel, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Brewer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN COOLING LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREFOR."
Sealed the 12th April 1873, and dated the 15th October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Steel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th October 1872.
I, JAMES STEEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Brewer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN COOLING LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention, which relates to the cooling of liquids, has for its
object more especially to lower the temperature of the water used in
breweries, and the wort to an extent sufficient to permit of brewery
operations being carried on during hot weather. It may however be
used in other situations.

page_text: The Invention is based upon the principle of producing a low tempera-
ture by the expansion of compressed air, and from which the heat
resulting from the work done in compressing it has previously been
abstracted.
The mechanism consists of air compressing pumps driven from a
crank shaft, actuated by a motive power engine. The compressed air on
escaping from the pumps passes into a cooler, which by preference
consists of a series of reduplicated pipes over the outer surfaces of which
cold water is allowed to trickle, and thus absorbs the heat from the air
due to its compression. In order, however, to more completely cool the
air a little water is preferably allowed to circulate through the pump as
well as through the air cooler.
When the air in the cooler has reached the required degree of com-
pression it opens a valve, and passes either directly into the air expansion
and cooling chamber, through which the water, wort, or other liquid to
be cooled, falls in a finely divided state by passing through one or more
perforated diaphragms, or in place of passing directly into the expansion
chamber it is preferred to allow it to expand in the cylinder of a motive
power engine, and acting upon the piston in which a great part of the
work done in compressing the air is recovered.
The expanded air in either case passes upwards through the chamber,
whilst the liquid to be cooled passes downwards, and the air may thence
escape into the atmosphere or be taken into the compressing pumps
again, so that the same air may continuously circulate through the
apparatus being successively compressed, cooled, and expanded.
If desired a drying chamber may be used for depriving the air of
moisture before it is drawn into the compressing pumps.
SpecificatioN in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Steel in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
STEEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Brewer,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
36th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Steel, Her special license that
I, the said James Steel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Steel, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COOLING LIQUIDS, AND
IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR,' upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Steel, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Steel, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
-
My said Invention, which relates to the cooling of liquids, has for its
object more especially to lower the temperature of the water used in
breweries, and the wort to an extent sufficient to permit of brewery
operations being carried on during hot weather. It may however be
employed in other situations.
The Invention is based upon the principle of producing a low
temperature by the expansion of compressed air, and from which the
heat resulting from the work done in compressing it has been previously
abstracted.
And in order that my said Invention and the system, mode, or manner
of putting the same into practice may be properly understood, I have
appended hereto an explanatory Sheet of Drawings, on which Figure 1.
is a vertical section, and Figure 2 a plan of the mechanism employed,

page_text: which consists of a series of air pumps A, the lower portions of which
are situate within a receiver B, into which the air is discharged after
being compressed by the pumps A. The rods of the pistons C of the
air pumps A are coupled by means of connecting rods D to cranks E,
situate on a shaft F, and the pumps A are actuated from the shaft F by
a vertical steam engine G, the piston of which is coupled to a crank H on
one extremity of the shaft F, as shown. The air to be compressed is
drawn from a receiver or box I by the pumps A, and is conducted into
the pumps at the upper sides of their respective pistons C, through
valves placed in the branches Z, whilst the pistons C are making their
downward strokes, which being completed and on the pistons C being
drawn upwards by their respective cranks the valves in the branches Z
close, and the air on the upper sides of the pistons A becoming com-
pressed causes the valves a placed therein to be opened as shewn on the
Drawings, the valves a being maintained open until the upper limit of
the strokes of the pistons C has been reached, after which and at the
commencement of the return downward stroke the valves a are closed
by the spiral springs b which surround the valve spindles. The air is thus
passed from the upper to the under side of each piston C, and on these
again moving through their downward strokes the air becoming com-
pressed is discharged into the receiver B through the valvular apparatus
at the lower part of cach pump A. The lower part of cach air pump A
consists of a large valve y, provided with a spindle c passing downwards
through a bridge or guide J fixed in the receiver B, as more particularly
shewn in detailed transverse section of the receiver, and a pump at
Figure 3 of the Drawings. To the lower extremity of each spindle c
one end of a lever d is attached, which is centred on a pin or stud e, and
provided at its opposite extremity with a counterweight f. By means of
this arrangement the bottom valve of each pump A is kept close against
the lower part of the pump cylinder whilst the compression of the air
to the required extent is being effected therein, which being completed
the pressure of the air within the pump overcomes the resistance of the
weight, and the valve constituting the bottom of the pump is therefore
forced downwards, thereby allowing the compressed air to escape into
D

page_text: The object of arranging the pumps A with the large bottom valves is to
ensure the whole of the air being discharged at each downward stroke
of the pump piston, this object being attained by adjusting the length
of each piston rod, so that each piston descends to slightly below the
bottom of each pump cylinder at the termination of each downward
stroke, in which position as the lower faces of the pistons C and the
upper faces of the bottom valves bear flatly on each other the last
portions of air are discharged at each stroke.
The air on being compressed in the manner herein-before described is
conducted from the receiver B by a pipe L, shewn at Figure 2, to the
lower extremity of a reduplicated pipe or passage M. The pipe or
passage M is preferably contained within a casing N, on the upper part
of which a cold water tank O is situated, and which is formed with a
perforated bottom, as shewn, through which the water passes, and
trickles over the pipe or passage M, thereby absorbing the heat
generated in compressing the air. The heat may also be absorbed from
the compressed air by allowing a jet of water to pass through the pipe M,
and the air undergoing compression in the pumps A may also be cooled
by water being allowed to pass through them or to flow over their outer
surfaces. Perforations are also formed in the bottom of the chamber N,
as shewn at Figure 1, through which the water after having absorbed
the heat from the compressed air in the pipe or passage M flows into a
channel P, and passes from thence into a tank or well Q, shewn at
Figure 2, from which it is withdrawn by the pump R, actuated from the
crank shaft F, and discharged to any required place. The air thus cooled,
after being compressed to any required extent, passes from the upper
end of the pipe or passage M by forcing open a valve which yields to
its pressure when that has reached the required extent into the pipe S,
by which it is conducted to the cylinder T of an air engine, so that the
force due to the pressure and expansion of the air is employed to aid the
steam engine G in actuating the air pumps A, by coupling its piston to
a crank U on the shaft F, as shewn on the Drawings, and thus a reduced
quantity of steam is required to actuate the air pumps A. The exhaust
port of the air cylinder T communicates with a pipe V, by which the
cooled air is conducted from the cylinder T to a tower or vertical
shaft W. The water or "wort" to be cooled by the action of the cold
air thereon is conducted into the tower or shaft W through a pipe X
situate at the upper part thercof, and throughout the interior of the

page_text: shaft Wa number of shelves or trays k are arranged, as shewn at
Figure 1, through holes x, in each of which the water or
"wort" passCS
downwards, as shown by the dotted arrows, and in so passing becomes
cooled by the ascending cold air as the latter passes upwards towards
the pipe Y, by which it is conducted back to the receiver I, and is
thereafter again compressed in the manner herein-before described; or
the air may be allowed to escape from the upper end of the shaft W into
the atmosphere. The quantity of water or "wort" passing into the
shaft W is regulated by means of a ball float m, which is contred on a
spindle n, one extremity of which passes to the outside of the tower or
shaft W, having a crank o situate thereon, and which is connected by a
link to a crank p on the spindle of a cock or valve 8 placed in the
pipe X. In order to protect the tower or shaft W from absorbing licat
from the atmosphere it is covered with a non-conducting material.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which
the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would
observe in conclusion that I do not claim as forming part of my Inven-
tion the several details forming the apparatus herein-before described,
but what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,
-
First. The arrangement and combination constituting the apparatus
for cooling liquids, as herein-before described and shewn on the annexed
Sheet of Drawings.
Second. The vertical tower or shaft W, in which the cooling of the
liquids is effected by the passing upwards of the expanded air whilst the
liquid is passing downwards as herein-before described.