USRE14146E - Method for purifying and humidifying air - Google Patents

Description

G. R, BRAEMER.

'METHOD FOR PURIFYING AND HUMlDlFYlNG AIR.

APPLICATION FILED QCT.2G,1910.

Reissued J 11116 6, 1916. I 1 4, 1

2 SHEETS-SHEET Ii lUlLHllU UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. R. BRAEMER, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WARREN WEBSTER & COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD FOR PURIFYIN G AND HUMIDIFYING Specifieatibn of Reissued Letters Patent. Reissued June 6, 1916.

Original application filed October 15, 1907, Serial No. 397,550. Original Patent No. 899,289, dated September 22, 1908. Divided and application filed March14, 1908, Serial No. 421,167. latent No. 903,150, dated November 3, 1908. Application for reissue filed October 26, 1910. Serial No. 589,287.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known th'at I, WILLIAM G. R. BRAE- MER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Camden, State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Methods for Purifying and.

Humidifying Air, of which the-following is a specification. I

My invention has reference to method for purifying and humidif-ying air, and consists of certain improvements which are fully set forth in the; following specification, in con.- nection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 397,550, filed October 15th, 1907, which more specifically refers to the apparatus hereinafter disclosed and with the employment of which my improved method of humidifying the air may be practised.

The object of. my invention is to automaticallyregulate the humidity of the air supply to the building or rooms therein irrespective of the variations in thelexternal atmospheric conditions, whereby the air at' a proper temperature and humidity may be supplied in quantity where desired and unaffected by the variations in the atmosphere outside of the building.

More especially, my object is to provide-a methodfor imparting a definite amount of moisture to airrbeing supplied to a building to give it the humidity required to permit varying the relative humidity and temperature of said air when passing into the building from the humidifying' apparatus, the change in relative humidity being secured by varying the temperature of the air aftei it has been brought to a degree of humidity, which will at any momentinsure that a definite amount of moisture is conveyed into the building with a given volume of air to give the desired humidity, irrespective'of the variations in temperature of the air Within the building. I

My invention consists of a method which may be carried "into effect by providing a washer and eliminator withmeans for sub- I jecting the air toaqueous vapor prior to-lts V passing through the eliminator, or after having passed throu-gh the eliminator, as preferred, and independent ofthe washer or v the temperature of the water thereof, which the action of the air in the building or room or in the flues through which it passes to reach its point of distribution. The hot water ofthe washer is given a temperature to be determined by test, and' adapted to give slightly less absolute humidity to the air than required at the highestjemperature 'of' the air leaving the heatin apparatus, the additional moisture required being provided bysteam or aqueous vapor jets above mentioned.- I

More specifically, my invention consists o'fthe method of reducing air of practically constant relative humidity, which consists in imparting to the fresh airan amount of moisture which, together with that in the infiowing fresh air, is slightly less than the total amount of moisture required toimpart the properrel'ative humidity when the air is raised to the temperature at which it is to be used, imparting to the air an additional and variable amount. of moisture which, with the first mentioned moisture, gives to the air the total amount required, raising the air of absolute humidity to a temperature which will lower the relative humidity to that required, and automatically regulating the variable amount of moisture imparted to the air to'maintain a fixed absolute humidity and constant relative humidity.- I

My invention will be better understood by reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is' a sectional side elevation of an apparatus for purifying and humidifying air; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same; and Fig. 3- is a view similar to Fig. 2. showing other arrangements of the controlling devices.

A is the casing of the apparatus, and adjacent to its inlet. side it is provided with subjected 'to the humidi tempering steam coils B, by which the incoming air may be heated to the desired preliminary degrees Immediately below the tempering coilsare-the usualpby-pass dampers C which permit more or less of the fresh air to pass into. the humidifying apparatus without being heated by the tempering coils B. In this manner, the mixture of the incoming air may be heated to substantially the (168118d de ree before being ing treatment. The tempered air is purified and humidified by being made to pass through one or more sheets of hot falling water from the sprayrelative humidity ing pipes D D, the sheets of hot falling water 'being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The humidified air then passes through the eliminator-E which removes the excess of moisture, and thence passes through the chamber F to the blower G, from whence it is driven through a flue P into the room or compartment in which it is to be utilized. The temperature of the water fromthe spraying pipes D D imparts to the air a little less moisture or humidity than required at the highest temperature of the air leaving the heating apparatus for delivery.

into the room, and the additional amount of moisture or humidity which is required to give the predetermined total amount of moisture or absolute humidity to the air is V supplied by means of the steam jets H H/or H H or both combined. Ordinarily, one

set of such jet pipes will sufiice. The pipes H H are shown as located in the casing A between the tempering coils B and the spraying pipes-D, so that they impart to the incoming air not only a degree of humidity but also some increase in temperature, and

in that way'the air after passing througlr the steam jets and the sheets of hot falling water from the spraying pipes is brought to the requisite absolute humidity, and then passesthrough the eliminator to have the excess of moisture removed. When the air.

is thus purified and brought to the requisite degree of absolute humidity, it is subjected, on its way to the room where it. is to be utilized, to the action of heaters in case the temperature is required to be considerably raised, especially where the air is to beconveyed over a long distance before reaching the. room, and in which case it would have to be raised considerably in temperature because of the drop in temperature in transit.

This increase iintemperature of the humidified air may be produced byme'ans of a steam heater J, J, the former operating upon the humidified air before passing into the blower G and the latter operating upon it after it leaves the blower. of these heaters, may be employed as desired. Moreover, the means for heating the air to raise its tem erature ,and lower its Fwhile maintaining its Either or both I fixed or absolute humidity, may be of the ordinary construction, similar to the tem pering coils B withthe by-pass controlling devices C, whereby the amount of heat imparted to the air may be easily regulated without varying the steam in the steam coils.

In case there is any variation in the humidity imparted to the air such as to produce a variation in the relative humidity of the heated air in the room when said air is supplied at a. fixed temperature, then the amount of moisture imparted to the air in the purifying apparatus is regulated by controlling the'action of, the steam jets H fixed, will cause it to operate through theconnections M, so as to open the valves K K, or either of them, to agreater extent and permit more steam to pass from the steam jets for the purpose of increasing the humidity in the air prior to. its reaching the blower G. Should the humidity in the room increase above that required, then the reverse operation takes place with a reduction of the steam jets and a lowering of the humidity imparted to the air before reaching the blower. A similar action will take place in respect to the use of the humidostat L, Fig. 2, as in this case the conditions of the air passing through the conduit or pipe B will act to control theextent of humidity supplied to theair, though it is affected by the conditions of the air on its way to the room rather than the conditions of the same air after delivery into the room. Of course, in the case of Fig. 1 the varying conditions of the. room caused by such acts as opening doors or windows will induce regulations which would not be required from the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, but these are secondary to the main functions.

The tempering coils B and the by-pass dampers C are preferably regulated automatically by means of a thermostat N (Fig.

- 2) which may be arranged in the roomto be in reasonable limits by the dampers C, which are more rapid in inducing changes of tem perature.

The water from the perforated pipes D falls in sheets of spray or like raindown into the tank I at the bottom, and the collected water taken from the air by the elimi nator E is also delivered to this tank. The

temperature of the water from the pipes D is maintained practically constant in any su1table manner, and this temperature is predetermined after deciding upon the maximum temperature which is required to be given I to the humidified air delivered-to the room and; shouldbe such as to impart slightly lessthan the required humidity for the air. .Vhile the best results contemplate the use of hot water for the spray, nevertheless Q the water may be of any temperature desired rhot water from" the pipes D-might be .con-.

I liance being placed upon the steam jets H' so long as it remains practically constant.

Thus, ordinary hydrant water may be employed and the greater part of themoisture required to secure the proper humidity de sired will be obtained bythe steam vapor.

,- Of course,-it .is evident that this fixed rela tive humidity which would be gi'ven by the siderably below that which is required, re-

H to make up the deficiency in humidity or amount of moisture required to secure the proper absolute humidityor total amount of moisture required in the-" fpurifying apparatus and the proper relative. humidity in the room to be .heated.- I therefore, do not restrict myself to any fixed amount of humidity to be given by the pipes D and hot. water therefrom, except that it shall be less than the -maximum humidity required. It is also evident that whilethe spraying pipes H H are designed for producing 16138 of steam, they may nevertheless be employed 3 to produce the jets of intensely hot water,

which water might-be held under consider-. able pressure, so thatthe water spray would burst into steam when projected into the cas- 'ing A. The eliminator may be madesimilar to the structure set out in my application,

Serial No. 392,251, filed September 11th, 1907, but I do not restrict myself to any particular construction of eliminator, as this part of the device may be made'in any con- Venient manner.

The essential feature of my invention is in the combination of the means which .im-

part less thanthe maximum amount of moisture required with supplementing inde-- pendent devices for supplying,vunder regulation, the additional amount of moisture required to produce the total amount for the absolute humidity necessary to secure the relative humidity required at the predetermined temperature of the room.

In the operation of this apparatus, it will be observed that, assuming the .air to be used at. a certain constant temperature and relative humidity, it becomes necessary to bring the air to an absolute humidity and temperature such, that when the air is raised to the final temperature for use, the moisture due to the'absolute humidity will, with the rarefying of the 'air impart a lower relative humidity as compared with the humidity of the air before passing to the blower,

andits relative humidity and temperature under these conditions will be substantially constant and that which is required for the building or room.

While I have shown and described apparatus suitable for carrying my improved method intopractice, I do not claim said apparatus herein as the same forms subject matter of my application hereinbefore referred to and of which this is a division.

Having now described my invention, what i I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The herein described methodof producing .air of practically constant relative humidity, which-consists in imparting to the fresh air an amount of moisture which,

together with, that in the inflowing fresh air, is slightly less than the full amount reand variable amountof moisture which with the first mentioned moisture gives to the air approximately the entireamount required, raising the temperature of the humidified air to lower its relative humidity, and auto quired, imparting to the air an additional matically regulating the variable moisture to increase the amount of moisture in the air to substantially the total amount of ,moisture desired, and regulating the temperature of the current of air before 'to thehumidified air a hot aqueous vapor being delivered to the hot body of water-to .keep the temperature of said air maintained .irrespective of temperature variations in the outside atmosphere.

' 3. The herein described method of producing air of suitable humidity, which con sists in subjecting a current of air to a body of-hot water of substantially. constant tem perature, eliminating the surplus moisture suspended in the humidified air, supplying .to the humidified air a hot aqueous vapor to increase the amount of moisture in the air to substantially the total amount of moisture desired, regulating the 'temperature of the currentof air before being delivered to the hot body of water .mixing heated and. unheated bodies of air and further regulating the temperature of the mixed bodies of incoming air under the control of the temperature of the a1r after being fully humidified.

l. The herein described methodof producing air of suitable humidity, which consists in subjecting a current of air to a body of hot water of substantially constant tempera.- ture.-eliminating the surplus moisture suspended in the humidified air, supplying to the humidified air'a hotaqueous vapor to increase the amount of moisture in the air to substantially the total amount of moisture required, regulating the temperature ofthe current of air before being delivered to the hot body of water by mixing heated and unheated bodies of air, further regulating the temperature of the mixed bodies of incoming air under the control of the temperature of the air after .receiving the full amount of moisture desired, and also varying the admission of hot aqueous vapor b means under control of the humidity con ition of the humidified air to maintain the air at a constant humidity.

5. The herein described method of producing air of a practically constant humidity which consists in producing a current of air, causing said air to pass through a hot body of water of substantially constant tempera: ture, and automatically subjecting the current of air to the variable action of hot aqueous vapor to increase the amount of moisture it contains to maintain it at a substantially constant humidity.

6. The method of humidifying air,. which consists in treating a current of air with water of a substantially constant temperature to give to the air a less amount of moisture than that required, supplying aqueous vapor to the air to increase the amount of moisture to approximately the total amount desired and at the same time maintaining said airat a substantially constant temperature, automatically varying the increase in" the amount of moisture under the control of the humidity condition of the humidified air to maintain the total amount of moisture re quired in the air, and. varying the temperature of the humidified air to bring it to the desired relative humidity required for final use.

7. The method of producing air of practically constant humidity which consists in treating a current of air with water of substantially constant temperature, increasing the amountof moisture of the air by treating it to hot aqueous vapors before and also after the treatment to the water, maintaining the air at substantially constant temperature during the final treatmentwith hot aqueous vapors, and controlling the conditions of humidity by varying the increase in the moisture to. maintain a substantially constant amount of moisture inthe air said control being governed by the humidity of the incomin the humidified air after being treated to the hot aqueous vapors.

8. The herein described method of producing air of substantially constant humidity which consists in heating a current of fresh air, imparting to said heated air an amount of moisture which, together with that in the fresh air, is less than the full amount of moisture required, imparting to the air a further variable additional amount of moisture to raise the amount of moisture to approximately the total amount required,

and automatically regulating the temperature of the incoming'current of heated air and the varlable additional amount of moisture to maintain an approximately fixed amount f moisture under the control of the maintain an approximately constant amount of moisture by means under the control of the conditions of the humidified air so treated, and also raising the temperature of the air so humidified to lower its relative humidity to that required at the place of consumption.

10. The herein described method of producing air of substantially constant relative humidity, which consists in imparting to the fresh air an amount of moisture which, together with that in the fresh air, is less than the full amount required, imparting to the air an additional and variable amount of moisture which with the first mentioned moisture gives to the air approxlmately-the entire amount required, and automatically regulating the variable moisture imparted to the air to maintain any approximately fixed relative humidity.

11. The herein described method of humidifying air, which consists in first impart-' ing to the fresh air an amount of moisture less than the full amount required, and subsequently imparting to the air an additional amount of'moisture in a heated condition which with the first mentioned moisture gives to the air approximately the entire amount desired at the point of use.

12. The herein described method of humidifying air, which consists in first imparting to the fresh air an amount of moisture less than the full amount required, and subsequently imparting toflthe air an additional and variable amount of moisture which with the first mentioned moisture In testimony of which invention, I have gives to the air approximately the entire hereunto set my hand.

amount desired at the point of use, and au- WM. G. R. BRAEMER. tomatically regulating the additional mois- Witnesses: 5 time so imparted to the air to suit the condi- R. M. KELLY,

tions and requirements'desired. G. EGAN.

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