US830339A - Incubator. - Google Patents

Description

No- 830,339. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

' G. H.- LEE.

INCUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OOT.2, 1905.

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No. 880,339. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

G. H. LEE. INGUBATOR.

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No. 880,339. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

GQH. LEE. I NGUBATOR.

APPLIUATIOH FILED 0012, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENT GFFIOE.

GEORGE HOWVARD LEE; OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

INCUBATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed October 2, 1905. Serial No. 280,943.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE HowARn 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.

The object of the invention is to improve the circulation of the warm air and ventilation of the eggs during incubation.

Further objects of the invention are to render the heating of the eggs more uniform and to provide improved means for supporting the eggs in the egg-tray.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and definitely set forth .in the claims.

' fra mentar )lan of a orti on of a dia )hra m t) y b 7 showing a ventilating device-therein. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the body of an incubator, showing a modified construction, certain parts being broken away, as will appear; and Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section through the body shown in Fig. 4, certain parts being broken away.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of the incubator, which is of common form, consisting, substantially, .of a box the walls and cover of which are formed with packing-spaces for a non-conductor, the interior of the said body being heated by a lamp 2, supported, preferably, at one end of the incubator, as indicated. The gases of combustion from this lamp pass upwardly through a jacketed chimney 3 and communicate with a horizontal flue 4, which passes completely through the body of the incubator, emerging through the opposite wall, as indicated in Fig. 1. This hot-air flue passes through a diffuser or heater 5, which supplies the heat to the interior of the incubator. This heater or diffuser preferably consists of an elongated sleeve 6, which surrounds the hot-air flue 1, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 2. The construction of this diffuser is very clearly explained in a patent on a brooder, the application for which was filed by me on November 16, 1904, Serial No. 232,968. At the sides of the diffuser Iprovide longitud.inally-disposed deflectors or deflecting-boards 7, which are disposed in inclined position, with their outer edges depressed, as indicated. The front of the incubator-body is provided with a door 8, adapted to be opened to give access to the egg-tray 9, said egg-tray being supported upon cleats 10, which are fixed to the end walls, as indi- 1 cated most clearly in Fig. 1.

The egg-tray 9 comprises side bars 11 and transverse slats 12, between which the eggs are adapted to be supported in the usual manner. The faces of the cleats 10 are formed with rabbets 13, which enable a cloth screen 14 to be supported just beneath the eggs, as indicated, the said cloth screen comprising a rectangular frame 15, which is adapted to he slid into positionfrom the front, as will be readily understood. When applied in the manner suggested, the upper face of the cloth of the screen lies against the under side of the egg-tray, substantially resting against the slats 12, as shown in Fig. 1. The cloth of this screen consists, preferably, of flannel or similar coarse fabric.

Upon the end walls, above the egg-tray 9, cleats 16 are provided, and these afford means for supporting a non-permeable or non-ventilating screen 17, the said screen comprising a rectangular frame 18. The cleats 16 are preferably on a level with the door 8, so that the screen 17 may be conveniently removed, if desired. If desired,'how ever, the screen can be permanently fixed in position. This screen extends to the side walls of the incubator-body and const tutes a diaphragm, completely cutting off ventilation or air circulation between the spaces above and below the same. For this purpose the screen is preferably formed of cardboard, parchment, sheet metal, or similar material non-permeable by air-currents.

Although I prefer to cutoff the heating-air in the upper part of the incubator in the manner suggested, I provide means for opening .commumcation when desired between the nially closed by a slide 20, (see Fig. 3,) the said slide having openings 20 ,'which may register with the aforesaid openings 19. By

- shown.

It will be evident that the diaphragm 17 effectively divides the space within the incubator into a heating-space above and an eg chamber below. Just above the screen 17 a plurality of horizontal ventilating tubes or pipes 21 are provided. As shown in Fig. 2, these are preferably four in number and they extend longitudinally of the incubator, as indicated in Fig. 1. open and pass through the end, walls of the body, communicating with the outer air, as In the under sides of these tubes, which he very close to the screen 17 perforations or openings 22 are provided, and these openings are disposed a slight distance apart throughout substantially the entire length of the tubes within the body. I

Just beneath the screen 17 ventilatingpipes 21 are arranged in the egg-chamber, and these pipes are similar to the pipes 21 already described. Similar pipes 21 are arranged in the corners at the bottom of the egg-chamber. These pipes all have perforations 21 similar to the perforations 22'of the pipes 21. All of these pipes pass through the walls of the incubator and have their ends normally closed by pivoted dampers 21.

Evidently by opening or partially opening,

certain of these dampers the character of the ventilation may be regulated as desired. The incubator-bottom 23 is formed of a rectangular frame covered above and below by sheets 24 of a suitable fabric, such as flannel. Preferably at the rear side this frame is attached by hinges 25 to the body, which enable the same to be let down when desired to remove chicks from the lower portion 26 of the incubator, which constitutes a nursery. Turn-buttons 27 afford means for supporting the forward edge of the frame, as indicated in Fig. 2.

While I prefer to locate the perforated tubes at the points indicated, they may be located in any part of the incubator desired. The function of these ventilating-tubes is to take the air in small quantities from all portions of the egg-chamber, in this way insuring an even distribution of the air and avoiding drafts. The presence of the tubes 21 enables a large circulation of air in the upper part of the egg-chamber for heating and ventilating purposes without bringing about any direct downward current of superheated'air among or to the eggs. Thus the eggs are made to receive their ventilation from the pipes 21 and 21 The screen 17, which is disposed above the egg-tray and below the diffuser, shields the eggs from direct heat radiating from the diffuser.

The presence of the cloth frame 14 is advantageous in that it affords a better support for the eggs than the slats 12 alone. At the same time, while this cloth frame per- Their extremities are,

i ing chamber thereof.

the eggs, it operates also as a screen through which the air percolates upwardly to the eggs.

If desired, when the eggs are hatching the cloth frame 14 may be removed, so as to allow the chicks to fall through to the nursery, passing between the slats 12 in their descent. If it seems more desirable to keep the chicks in the egg-tray immediately after hatching,

the cloth frame 14 would then be left in the position in which it is shown, and it would then constitute a floor upon which the chicks .could Walk about until they found their way i through to the nursery 26.

In the operation of the incubator it should be understood that the hot-air supply passes up through the jacketed chimney 3 around the heating-flue 4, this air being let into the incubator-body within the diffuser 6 in the manner before described in the patent application referred to above.

The bottom of the incubator, consisting as it does of several thicknesses of cloth or other porous material, allows plenty of ventilation to the eggs from below as well as from above. The perforated ventilating-tubes in connection with the warm air supply constitute an arrangement for rendering the quantity of air supplied substantially uniform, overcoming the defect of some incubators, which tend to supply an increased quantity of air when the air of the surrounding room is of an unusually low temperature.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I illustrate a modified construction in which there is no communication between the heating-chamber and the eggspace, and in this construction the flue carrying the gases of combustion from the lamp does not pass completely through the body of the incubator, but discharges into the heat- The details of this modified construction will now be described. I provide a body 30 similar in form to the body used in the preferred form. At a suitable point on the side walls 31 I provide longitudinally-disposed cleats 32. On the end walls 33 corresponding cleats 34 are provided, which are preferably curved, as shown, having convex sides disposed downwardly. These cleats 32 and 34 afford means for supporting a diaphragm 35, which is preferably of sheet metal, such as steel or galvanized iron, the same beingattached at its edges to a frame 36, adapted to rest upon the upper side of the cleats, as indicated. Above the diaphragm 35 the side walls 31 are lined on their interior with asbestos 37 or similar nonconducting material, which affords protec tion for the wood. The incubator comprises an inner cover 38, which is depressed below the main cover 39 of the incubator-body, as shown, the inner face of the inner cover 38 being lined with asbestos or a similar non-conductor 38 like the side walls 31. In this way between the inner cover 38 and the diathe eggspace 49 therebelow.

phragm a heating-chamber is formed, heat being supplied to the heating-chamber 40 through a lamp-chimney 41, disposed at the side of the incubator, as shown, and this chimney is surrounded by a suitable jacket 42, The chimney 41 communicates with a horizontal flue 43, which passes into the heating-chamber, so as to discharge the heated gases from the lamp within the same. The jacket 42 communicates with a hot-air duct or pipe 44, in which the flue 43 is located, which pipe 44 extends horizontally into the heating-chamber in such a way that the heated air which rises in the jacket 42 will also be delivered within the interior of the incubatorbody. In this way two heated currents are constantly delivered to the heating-chamber when the incubator is in operation. I provide a diffuser 45, which is generally similar in construction to the difluser described in connection with the preferred form, consisting of a tubular sleeve of enlarged diameter which is open at its ends and which is telescoped over the extremities of the flue 43 and the air-duct 44. The mouths of the flue and air-duct are preferablylocated at substantially the middle point of the diffuser, as shown. In this way the heated currents distribute themselves and pass toward the ends of the incubator. The diffuser 45 is preferably supported at its extremities upon metal straps 46, which are secured to the under side of the inner cover 38, as shown. In the lower portion of the heating-chamber 40 and near the diaphragm 35 I provide a plurality of escape tubes or pipes 47, which lead horizontally, as shown. The extremities of these pipes projeot through the end walls 33 of the incubator. On their under sides within the heating-chamber they are provided with openings or perforations 48, through which the heated gases and air within the heatingchamber may pass, so as to find exit at the ends of the tubes. There may be as many or as fewof these escapepipes as desired. In this instance. I illustrate four. The diaphragm 35 effectually cuts off any communication between the heating-chamber 40 and At a suitable point within the egg-chamber I provide an egg-tray of any suitable construction, preferably provided on its under side with a screen 51 similar to the screen 14 hereinbefore mentioned. Preferably in the rear wall of the incubatorbody I provide ventilating tubes or pipes 52 and 53, the former of which is located in the upper portion of the eggchamber near the diaphragm 35, the ventilating-pipe 53 being preferably located just under the egg-tray and near the bottom 54 of the incubator. These pipes 52 are provided with openings or perforations 55, and their extremities are covered by movable dampers or shutters 56. With this arrangement the ventilation and temperature of the egg-chamber 49 may be accurately regulated. The usual door 57 is provided at the front of the incubator-body and enables access to be had to the egg-chamber. The purpose of the curved form of the diaphragm 35 is to. prevent any sudden upward movement of the diaphragm due to the violent closing of the door 57. Such a movement as this occurs unless a special provision is made to prevent it,

and when it does occur it results in producing a sudden back draft in the flue 43 and in the lamp-chimney, which puts out the lamp. In practice the covers 38 and 39 in this form of the invention are preferably made removable.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An incubator having a plurality of substantially horizontal ventilating-tubes open at their extremities and communicating with the outer air near the level of the floor of said incubator, whereby an inflow of air is promoted, said tubes having perforations on the under sides thereof communicating with the interior of the incubator.

2. In an incubator in combination, an eggtray and a plurality of ventilating-tubes disposed just above said egg-tray and having perforations through which the air within said incubator may pass outwardly.

3. An incubator having ventilating-tubes passing through the walls thereof having perforations communicating with the interior of said'incubator and having dampers closing the ends of said pipes.

4. A11 incubator having an egg-chamber, a heating-chamb er, a non-p ermeable diaphragm separating said chambers, and ventilatingtubes disposed respectively in said chambers having open extremities passing through the walls of said incubator and havin perforations communicating with the interior of said incubator.

5. In an incubator in combination, abody having a heating-chamber and an egg-chamber separated therefrom, a chimney adapted to receive a lamp and having a flue delivering the gases of combustion from said lamp into the said heating-chamber, and a jacket surrounding said chimney and having a duct communicating therewith adapted to deliver hot air to the interior of said heating-chamber, and ventilating-tubes leading from the said heating-chamber.

6. An incubator having a body, a curved transverse impermeable diaphragm the edges whereof touch the side walls of said body dividing the same into an egg-chamber and a heating-chamber, said diaphragm having its convex side toward said egg-chamber, and a lamp adapted to deliver heated ases to the interior of the said heating-cham er.

7. In an incubator, in combination, a body having a heating chamber in the upper portion thereof, an egg-chamber therebelow,

IIO

a diaphragm cutting ofl communication be tween said chambers, means for delivering gases of combustion from a lamp and means for delivering hot air to said heating-chamber,

[ In testimony whereof I have signed my I 5 escape-tubes passing through said heatingl/Vitnesses:

name to this specification in the presence of two subscrlbmg Witnesses.

GEORGE HOWARD LEE.

chamber and leading to the outer air, and NED PETTIT, ventilating-tubes Within said egg-chamber. STELLA CHASE.

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