US3164536A - Still - Google Patents

Description

E. E. MELBY Jan. 5, 1965 STILL Filed May 28, 1962 lbw M45 .17225 INVENTOR.

United States PatentOfiFice 3,164,536 Patented Jan. 5, 1965 This invention relates to stills and more particularly to small low capacity stills suitable for use in the family kitchen or in school laboratory demonstrations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in this field, a compact, inexpensive still which is adapted to be used in conjunction with water boiling vessels in common use and particularly with teakettles having sharply upturned spouts.

Distilled water is widely preferred for drinking purposes and the price of this delivered in five gallon bottles has risen to a point Where it equals that of regular'motor fuel.

It is another object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a simple, small, inexpensive still which may be readily associated or disassociated with a teakettle in which hot water is kept available while cooking, so that the steam emitted from the kettle, instead of adding to the already high humidity in the kitchen, will be condensed and collected to provide distilled water for any use desired.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a still which is compact, light in weight, and is so constructed that the internal passages thereof are readily accessible for cleaning.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a still which comprises a single piece of glass, whereby the opportunity for adulteration of the condensate formed therein is reduced to a minimum and whereby the internal surfaces of the still may be kept under observation so that these may be cleaned whenever this becomes necessary.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a still which is supported in cantilever fashion on a teakettle spout, from which it receives a constant supply of vapor, with such still extending away from over said teakettle, thereby enhancing the efiiciency with which said vapor is condensed by the still, and facilitating the introduction of vessels beneath said still to receive distillate therefrom by gravity.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects as well as further objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a still comprising a preferred embodiment of the present invention mounted on the spout of a teakettle and being operated to produce distilled water.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of said still taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1, and shows the still mounted on a different type of teakettle spout.

Referring specifically to the drawing the invention is there shown as embodied in a still which is made of a single integral piece of glass and includes a horizontal manifold pipe 11, a spout receptacle pipe 12, a multiplicity of condensing tubes 13 and a condensate collecting trough 14.

The manifold pipe 11 is cylindrical and has end walls 15 and 16 which close opposite ends thereof. Said pipe 7 also has a relatively large vapor inlet hole 17 which opens downwardly from said pipe midway between said ends and a multiplicity of relatively small holes 18 which open from said pipe with-the axes of said holes lying in approximately a horizontal plane. ,Spout receptacle pipe 12 overlies inlet hole 17 and is integrally united with the pipe 11 so as to extend downwardly therefrom at an inclination of about 16 degrees with the vertical.

The condensing tubes 13 are equal in number to the small holes 18 in the manifold pipe 11 and'are integrally united with the latter 'so as .to communicate respectively with said holes. The condensing tubes are parallel with each other and spaced about A apart and lie in a plane which is slightly inclined downwardlyfrom horizontal.

The condensate collecting trough 14 is preferably semicylindrical in shape and may be described as including an inner wall 20, a bottom wall 25,'an outer wall 26 and an end wall 27. Outer ends of the tubes 13 integrally unite with the trough inner wall 20 and the latter is apertured so that the interior passages of said tubes open directly into the interior of said trough.

The trough 14 is preferably canted downwardly so that a free space is provided above the upper edge of outer wall 26 for the introduction of a small-diameter bottle brush along broken line 29 whereby the interior passages 28 may be readily cleaned when this is necessary. Cleaning of the manifold pipe 11 and the receptacle pipe 12 can be readily accomplished by inserting'an angle brush through this pipe into the opposite end portions of the manifold pipe 11.

The still 10 is particularly designed so as to be readily mounted on various types of sharply upturned spouts such as are provided on teakettles available generally on the market. To mount the still, for instance on a teakettle 30, having such an upturned tapering spout 31 with a diameter substantially smaller than the inside diameter of the pipe 12, a soft annular packer 32 is provided which fits around said spout and into said pipe as shown inFIG. 1, thereby making a fluid tight seal between said spout and said pipe and supporting the weight of the still on said teakettle.

In FIG. 2, the still is shown as mounted on a spout 33 of a whistle teakettle (not shown). This spout is cylindrical with a flared lip 34 and has an internal diameter enough larger than the external diameter of pipe 12'so that a soft annular packer 35 must be provided to seal the space between pipe 12 and the spout 33 when said pipe is inserted downwardly in said spout.

When the still 10 is mounted on a teakettle as shown in FIGS. 1 or 2, the weight of the still is readily supported by the teakettle and ample space is thus provided under the open end of the trough 14 for receiving a vessel such as a water glass 40 into which condensate produced by the still may be delivered. Where the still 10 is to be used for an indefinite period, a flexible plastic hose leading from a five gallon bottle placed on the floor may be attached to the open end of the trough 14 so that condensate will be directed down this hose to the bottle.

The still 10 may be made of various materials and yet perform its functions with complete satisfaction. Preferably, however, the still is made of clear glass and may be molded in a single operation.

While for illustrative purposes a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

The claims are:

1. In a still adapted to distill water vapor produced in a teakettle having an upwardly inclined spout, the combination of: a horizontal manifold pipe opposite ends of which are closed, said pipe having a relatively large inlet hole opening downwardly therefrom midway between said ends, and a multiplicity of relatively small holes opening from said pipe, the axes of said small holes lying in an approximately horizontal plane; a spout connection pipe integrally united with said manifold pipe to connect with said inlet hole and to extend downwardly therefrom in telescopic relation with said'spout, when holes .in said manifold .pipe :and integrally united with the latter, said tubes inclining slightly downward from horizontal; and a .substantially horizontal trough -coninecting integrally with outer ends of said condensing tubes to receive and collect condensate flowing "from said tubes, oneendOf'said troughbeing closed whereby condensate flows exclusively from'the opposite end of said trough.

2. A still as recited in-claim 1' wherein said trough'has a bottom wall, outer and inner side walls and an end wall, said inner side wall being integrally united with outer ends of said tubes and being apertured coaxiallywith said tubes to connect the innerpassages of said tubes with the interior of said trough, the outer-side wallof said trough providing free spaces in alignment with said interior tubular passages for the insertion into. the latter of a small diameter bottle brush for cleaning said passages.

3. A still as recited in claim 2 wherein said trough is canted about its longitudinal axis to lower the upper edge of the outer side wall of said trough to a level at which the latter does not substantially hinder the cleaning ofsaid tubular passages as aforesaid, yet not impairing the effectiveness of said'trough in its collection of condensate flowing from said tubes and the delivery of said condensate at the opening end ofsaid :trough into a receptacle provided for receiving the same.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 11,73 0 12/93 'Denison. 543 ,826 7/95 Dieterle. 604,550 5/98 Stretch. 660,257 10/00 Lance. 698,958 4/ 02 J ester.

971,486 9/10 Brandon.

NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Eraminer. 'GEORGED. MITCHELL, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A STILL ADAPTED TO DISTOLL WATER VAPOR PRODUCED IN A TEAKETTLE HAVING AN UPWARDLY INCLINED SPOUT, THE COMBINATION OF: A HORIZONTAL MANIFOLD PIPE OPPOSITE ENDS OF WHICH ARE CLOSED, SAID PIPE HAVING A RELATIVELY LARGE INLET HOLE OPENING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM MIDWAY BETWEEN SAID ENDS, AND A MULTIPLICITY OF RELATIVELY SMALL HOLES OPENING FROM SAID PIPE, THE AXES OF SAID SMALL HOLES LYING IN AN APPROXIMATELY HORIZONTAL PLANE; A SPOUT CONNECTION PIPE INTEGRALLY UNITED WITH SAID MANIFOLD PIPE TO CONNECT WITH SAID INLET HOLE AND TO EXTEND DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM IN TELESCOPIC RELATION WITH SAID SPOUT, WHEN SAID STILL IS IN USE; A YIELDABLE PACKER FOR MAKING A SEALED CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID CONNECTION PIPI AND SAID SPOUT AND THROUGH WHICH SAID STILL IS SUPPORTED ON AID SPOUT WHEN IN USE WITH SAID STILL EXTENDING IN CANTILEVER FASHION AWAY FROM OVER SAID TEAKETTLE; A MULTIPLICITY OF PARALLEL CONDENSING TUBES CONNECTING RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID SMALL HOLES IN SAID MANIFOLD PIPE AND INTEGRALLY UNITED WITH THE LATTER, SAID TUBES INCLING SLIGHTLY DOWNWARD FROM HORIZONTAL; AND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL TROUGH CONNECTING INTEGRALLY WITH OUTER ENDS OF SAID CONDENSING TUBES TO RECEIVE AND COLLECT CONDENSATE FLOWING FROM SAID TUBES, ONE END OF SAID TROUGH BEING CLOSED WHEREBY CONDENSATE FLOWS EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID TROUGH.

Images