US794521A - Incubator. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

G. H. LEE.

INGUBATOR.

- APPLICATION FILED DBO. 5. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w I M mom/Us .No. 794,521. PATENTED JULY'll, 1905. G.-H. LEE.

INGUB'ATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED no. 5. 1904.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR WITNESSES. I

I I aearyv ilee ATTORNEYS Iv By. iww p W No. 7941521. PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

' G. H. LEE.

INGUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1030.6, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES. INVENTOH eargefiflee 3 42 W I ATTORNEYS NiTED STATES ratented. July 11, 1905.

GEORGE HOIVARD LEE, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

INCUBATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,521, dated July 11, 1905.

' Application filed December 5,1904. Eerial No. 235,502.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, GEORGE H'oWARD LEE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and Improved Incubator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to incubators; and its object is to provide a construction which conduces toward a thorough circulation and uniform heating of the air within the incubator,

at the same time shielding the eggs from direct air-currents.

A further ob ect is to provide a construction which will facilitate a separation of the newlytion has been incorporated. Fig. 2 is a transverse central section of the incubator on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken near the position of the lamp which heats the incubator and illustrating the manner of supporting the said lamp. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section similar to Fig. 2, but showingonly a portion of the incubator in order to illustrate the modified construction which I may adopt. Fig. 5 is substantially a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 4, certain parts being broken away, as will appear; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing a modified construction for mounting the lamp.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of the incubator, preferably constructed with double walls, as shown. At one end of the incubator-body a suitable lamp 2 is supported in a manner which will be described more fully hereinafter, and the heated air from this lamp passes through an air-duct 3, leading to the interior of a diffuser 1 within the body 1, said diffuser operating to induce a circulation of the air within the incubator. The purposes, construction, and manner of operation of this diffuser constitute the subject-matter of an application for a patent on a brooder filed by me on November 16, 1904, Serial No. 232,968. For the purposes of the present application it may be said, however, that the heating apparatus includes a horizontal flue 5, through which the gases of combustion from the lamp pass, the same passing through the diffuser 4E longitudinally, as indicated. Longitudinally with respect to this flue 5 are provided a pair of oppositely-disposed defiecting-boards 6, which are inclined, as shown. with their inner edges elevated, and these boards extend continuously between the ends of the body. The diffuser 5 is supported from the under side of transversely-disposed blocks 7, and these blocks rest upon the upper edges of the deflecting-boards 6, as indicated in Fig. 2. Supported upon the blocks 7 is a sheet 8 of asbestos, cardboard, or similar material, and this sheet constitutes a false cover inclosing a space 9 thereabove below the main cover 10 for the body.

As indicated most clearly in Fig. 2, the wall 11 of the incubator-body is preferably provided with a swinging door 12, which enables access to be had to the interior of the incubator for attending to the eggs, &c. On the end walls 13 and at suitable height from the floor of the body I provide oppositely-disposed cleats 14 to support a frame 15, having cross-bars 16. Upon the under side of this frame one or more sheets of cloth or similar porous material 17 are attached. The rear edge of this cloth frame preferably rests against the rear wall 18 of the body, as indicated; but the frame is of less width than the body, so that a space exists between the forward edge of the frame and the swinging door 12, provided with a transparent pane 12. Below the cleats 1 1 similar cleats 19 are provided, and these support an egg-tray 20, which is composed of slats 21, disposed transversely of the incubator-body, and preferably of substantially triangular section, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 1. Between these slats the eggs are placed in the usual manner, being supported thereupon, as will be readily understood, one of the said eggs being illustrated in dotted outline at 22. The forward edge of this egg-tray 20 is in substantial alinement with the forward edge of the cloth-frame or screen above the eggs, and, like the said cloth-- '15 and 24, with their coverings, constitute;

screens for the eggs in the egg-tray and preventdirect currents of air from coming in contact with the eggs.

As will appear from Fig. 2, the forward edge of the frame 24 terminates in substantial alinement with the forward edges of the egg-tray and the cloth-frame'15. While the cloth-frame 24 has the aforesaid function of;

screening the eggs from air-currents, it has other functions which will appear more fully hereinafter.

It is understood that the egg-tray, together with the frames 15 and 24, can be readily inserted and removed through the doorway closed by the swinging door 12. In order to facilitate the placing of the egg-tray in position, the forward edge of the cloth-frame 15 is preferably provided with an eye 26, which affords means for supporting the forward edge of the frame in an elevated position through the medium of a hook 27, said hook being attached, as shown, to the inner side of the forward wall 11.

The bottom 28 of the incubator preferably consists of a main frame 29, which is of substantially rectangular form and held in place by buttons 30, as will be readily understood. To the rear bar of this main frame an auxiliary frame 31 is attached by means of suitable hinges 32, and this auxiliary frame is supported on the mainframe by means of a button 33. This auxiliary frame is preferably covered by sheets of cloth 34, attached, re-

spectively, to the upper and lower sides thereof, as indicated. This auxiliary frame is adapted to be let down by turning the button 33, and in order to enable chicks to be removed from the incubator without opening the door 12 and to prevent drafts of air passing up into the incubator the side edges of the auxiliary frame are connected with the side edges of the main frame by means of triangularly-cut cloth pieces 35. These pieces of cloth also operate and hang down from the bottom, as will be readily understood. 1

With the arrangement described as the chicks hatch from the eggs they fall through between the bars upon the frame or shelf 24, and here they become thoroughly dried and gain in strength. As they become stronger they commence to run about and are apt to proceed toward the light which comes through the glass 12 of the door 12, and eventually they fall over the forward edge of the shelf upon the bottom 28 of the incubator. They can be removed from the bottom by letting down the auxiliary frame 31 in the manner described above. Fromthis arrangement a separation is effected between the newly hatched chicks and the stronger ones previously hatched. Moreover, this separation is beneficial, for the reason that the temperature upon the shelf or frame 24 is higher than that below the same, and this is well, because it conduces to a quick drying of the newlyhatched chicks, while the temperature below the frame is somewhat cooler and better adapted for the older chicks.

At a suitable point within the body 1 a regulator or thermostat 36 is provided, the same being connected with adamper 37, controlling the flame of the lamp in any suitable manner. Where great accuracy is desired in controlling the temperature at the egg-tray, Lprovide the arrangement indicated in Fig. 4. This arrangement consists in providing a cloth-frame 38 of special construction, the rear portion 39 of which is elevated, as shown, so as to inclose a space 40, in which the regulator is received. This frame comprises a cloth covering 41 in one or more layers, the same being similar to the cloth cover l? described in connection with the aforesaid cloth-frame 15. The frame 38 is preferably composed of cross-bars 42, arranged substantially as shown. In case the shaft of the regulator passes out through a vertical wall of the body it will be unnecessary to make special arrangements for fitting the cloth-frame 38 to be put in position. However, where the said shaft is vertical, as indicated at 43 in Fig. 4, I provide the rear edge of the cloth-frame 38 with an elongated recess 0r slot 44 to receive the shaft, as shown at its inner extremity, in such manner as to permit the rear edge of the frame to come substantially against the rear wall 18 of the body. At this point the cloth covering is supported upon oppositely spaced parallel bars or slats 45, which provide su'flicient space between them to allow the insertion of the shaft, as will be readily understood.

In order to support the lamp 2 in position, I provide a bracket 46, which is clearly'illustrated in Fig. 3, the same consisting, preferably, of a band bent so as to present vertical legs 47 and 48, the former of which is bent outwardly and downwardly, so as to present a lip 49, which may be received in a hook 50,

attached to the end wall of the body, as shown. The leg L8 is bent outwardly also to form a lip 51, and this lip enables the bracket to be supported by means of a suitable spring. I prefer to use a helical spring 52, such as that shown in Fig. 1, while in Fig. 3 I illustrate a modified form in which a leaf-spring 53 is used, the same being attached to the side of the lamp-hood 54 and being provided with an inwardly-disposed nib or catch 55, which is adapted to engage the lip 51 when forced upwardly thereagainst, as will be readily understood. The lower edge 56 of this nib is preferably inclined, as shown, so as to enable the lip 51 to deflect the spring 53 outwardly when coming into the space above the same.

On consideration it should appear that the cloth-frames 15 and 24 constitute shelves which operate as screens to shield the eggs from direct air-currents. At the same time it should be understood that the coverings of these shelves are of cloth or similar porous material which enables a certain quantity of air to pass through. The fact that the frame 24 is covered with cloth is also advantageous, as it tends to prevent any injury to the chicks when they fall through from the egg-tray.

In placing the lamp in position the body thereof is set in the bowl or bracket 46,while the bracket is held in a depressed position at its outer extremity. When the lamp has been placed in position, the bracket is then elevated and is maintained in this position by its spring, at which time the burner 57 of the lamp will substantially come against the lower extremity of the chimney 58, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 1. Evidently when the lamp 2 has been removed the bracket 46 may also be taken off, and this arrangement facilitates the packing of the parts for shipment.

In Fig. 6 a lamp-mounting is illustrated, which consists of a plate59, hooked at 60 to engage the lower edge of the lamp-body 2. The upper edge of the lamp-body is secured to the said plate by solder or a clip 61 and the upper portion of the plate is bent over, as in the other forms, to engage the hook 50. An eye 62 is provided on the lamp-body to enable the spring 52 to support it, as shown in Fig. 6.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an incubator, in combination, an eggtray disposed at an elevation above the floor of said incubator, said egg-tray being of openwork construction and adapted to enable newly-hatched chicks to fall therethrough, and a shelf disposed beneath said egg-tray and adapted to receive said newly-hatched chicks,

said shelf being of smaller area than said floor, whereby chicks may fall from said shelf upon said floor.

2. In an incubator, in combination, an eggtray supported at an elevation within the body thereofand having an open-work construction, facilitating the gravitation of newlyhatched chicks from said tray, a shelf at an elevation with respect to the floor of said incubator and disposed beneath said tray, to catch newly-hatched chicks, the forward edges of said tray and said shelf being in substantial alinement and presenting a space therebeyond, and means for admitting light to direct chicks toward said space, whereby said chicks may fall to said floor from said shelf.

3. In an incubator, in combination, a body, an egg-tray supported on the walls thereof and a bottom adapted to let down therefrom at one side, facilitating the removal of the chicks from said body.

4:. In an incubator, a body, a bottom adapted to swing down from said body, said bottom comprising a frame, and a cloth attached at the side edges thereof.

5. In an incubator, in combination, a body,

a bottom therefor, comprising a main frame of substantially rectangular form, means for removably supporting said frame, an auxiliary frame hinged to said first frame and adapted to let down, and side pieces of cloth connecting the side edges of said auxiliary frame with said main frame.

' 6. An incubator bottom, consisting of a main frame of substantially rectangular form, adapted to be removably held in position, and an auxiliary frame hinged thereto and adapted to let down, the side edges of said frames being connected by a flexible material.

7. In an incubator, in combination, a hook adapted to be attached to the body of said incubator, a lamp-bracket engaging said hook atits inner extremity, a lamp, the body of which is supported in said bracket, a chimney against which said lamp-body thrusts, and means for supporting the outer extremity of said bracket in an elevated position.

8. In an incubator, in combination, an eggtray, a screen thereabove constituting a shield for said egg-tray, and a thermostat between said screen and said tray, said screen having an elevated portion disposed above said thermostat.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two sub- I 5 scribing witnesses.

GEORGE HOWARD LEE. Witnesses:

HARRY RowLEY, Ross ONEIL.

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