US186376A - Improvement in refrigerators - Google Patents

Description

W. STEWART. REFRIGERATOR.

Patenfied. J'an.16, 1877.

I No. 186,376.

fitnesses 1 i v e nto r- HIST-5R8. FHOTO-LITHOGRIPHER. WASHINGTON- l C.

ED STATES PATENT Orrron.

JOHN w. STEWART, or s N FRAivoIsoo, oALIFoRNIA. A

IMPROVEMENTIN REFRIGERATORS}.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 186,376, dated January 16,-l877; application filed June 21, 1876. A A p To all whom it may concern.- A

Be it known that I, JOHN W. STEWART, of

San Francisco city and county,StateofGa1i- ,fornia, have invented; certain new andkuseful Improvements in Refrigerators; and Ido here-:. by declare the following description and ac-f; companying drawings are sufficient toienable any person skilledin the art or science to which articles as fruits, vegetables, meats, 8w.

My improvement consists in the combination of an ice-chamber with a mainrefrigerat ing-chamber, and oneor more surrounding chambers or passagespin such a manner that an automatic circulation of cold air will be maintained through the chambers and passages, the temperature of which will vary according to the distance the passage is situated from the main refrigerating-chamber, all as hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings. let Arepresent ahouse, room, car, or other structure in which it is intended to place perish able articles for preservation. Inside of this structure is a centralcompartment, B, the sides of which extend upward to near the top of the house or room A, while their lower ends are perforated or cut away, as shown, so as to providea passage underneath them. 111-.

side of this chamber, and near its upper end, 1 construct an inclined floor or horizontal partition, which is made of alternate concave and convex plates or boards 1 01. These plates are placed so that their edges overlap, as shown at Fig. 2, and a space being left between the overlapping edges, for the purpose hereinafter described. This floor divides the compartment B into an upper and lower compartment, the upper compartment forming the ice chest or chamber, while the lower compartment forms the main refrigerating-chamber, The ice-chest is again divided vertically by two partitions, E E, which are placed at a short distance apart near the middle of the chamber. These partitions are made of slats placed "at an angle, so as to overlap eachother. The spaces on each sideof the partitions E E serve to contain the ice, while the space between the partitions admits the air into and through the ice. The concave plates which form the lower portion of the floor connect with'a side gutter,f, attheirlower ends, and thisside gutter is connected with a vertical spout, g, which leads down through the floor of the room. The ice rests upon the inverted or convex plates, so that the water which results from the melting of the ice is caught by the concave plates and conveyed to the gutter f, and through the gutter f and spout g to the outside of the buildings.

' The air which enters the chamber can pass freely down through the ice,.and through the spaces between the overlapped edgesof the plates into the lower compartment, while the inclined slats whichform the vertical par,

titions both admit the air into the body of the ice, and direct the water of condensation into thetroughs or gutters.

Outside and on each side of the compartmentB I construct other upright com partments or passages, H I S, parallel and concentric with each other. In constructing the partitions which form. these parallel and concentricpassages, I leave a space at the top and bottom, alternately, of each partition, while the upper end of the extreme outside passage connects with the space above the passages and with the ice-chamber.

Above the ice-chamber is a dooror hatchway, K, through which the ice is lowered into the ice-chamber, and through which a fresh supply of air can be introduced into the structure when desired. It will therefore be evident that the cold air in the central chamber will pass into the concentric passages alternately above and below, while the warm air in the outside passages will pass overhead to the ice-chamber, thus establishing a uniform and natural circulation throughout the passages. It will also be evident that the farther the air progresses from the central chamber, its temperature will be correspondingly increased, so that I obtain several distinct passages, each of which has a distinct temperature, the coldest point-being in the center, in the compartment B.

In each partition I make a doorway, and close it with adoor, M, so that the opening ot'adoor, wh en a person enters the refrigerator structure, will not admit a rush of outside air to disturb the relative temperatur in the passages; but the air in the extreme outside passage, being the nearest to the temperature of the outside atmosphere, will be but slightly affected by the inrush of air when the outside dooris opened, it" the other doors are closed, and so from one passage to the other the successive opening of the doors will not affect the process of atmospheric circulation. I

Another advantage which I obtain bythis concentric arrangement of air-passages, by which I produce a continuous amount of air, and the consequent varieties of temperature, is, that [can suspend fruits, 850., in the passages, and thus accommodate them to their most natural temperature.

I have discovered that certain fruits, such as oranges and lemons, will not keep whenexposed to too low a temperature. 7 I therefore am able to combine. in the single structure the elements of a refrigerating process adapted to all varieties and kinds of perishable articles.

P represents a grate, which I can apply underneath either of the compartments, below which the air current will pass, and upon which I place such articles as cannot be easily suspended in the passage-ways.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

I 1. The refrigerating-chamber B, having the ice-chamber above it, and surrounded by two or more concentric parallel passages, H I S, which connect With each other alternately above and below, and the extreme outer one of which connects with the ice-chamber and central compartment by an overhead passage, whereby I am able to establish an automatic and natural circulation of atmosphere, and provide separate compartments and passages, each of which has a separate and distinct temperature, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A refrigerator provided with an icechamber, separated from the refrigeratingchamber by a partition made of alternate concave and convex plates, arranged to overlap each other and form air-passages between their overlapped edges, and having the ice-chamber separated into two or more compartments by double walls E, which are constructed of slats placed angular-1y one above another, so as to admit air into and through the body of ice, and thence through the floor in the refrigerating-chamber below, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In arefrigerator constructed as described, the compartments or passages H I S, parallel and concentric with each other, and provided with the doors M in each partition, substantially as and for the purpose set forth,

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOHN W. STEWART.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. STRONG, OLWYN T. STACY.

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