566 



KNOWLEDGE 



[June 26, 1885. 



d^iir Cnbfntoid* Column. 



We gh'e here, weeli Vy wcel<, a terse description of such of the many 

 inventions as ice think may be of -use to our readers. Where it is 

 possible, the number of the patent is qxioted, to enable those who 

 desire fuller information to procure, the specification from the 

 Patent Office in Cursitor-street, Chancery-lane. We shall, gene- 

 rally speakincf, confine ourselves to the more recent inventions; but 

 it often happens that an article comes under our notice which, 

 although not qtiite novel, is xcorthy of mention for its utility and 

 ingenuity. In such a case we should not hesitate to refer our 

 readers to it. And while we thus increase the interest of our pages, 

 we at the same time a.inist the inventors by giving greater publicity 

 to their inventions (Knowledge being a popular magazijie) than 

 is accorded by the most excellent trade journals. 



VENTILATING FLUE-BEICKS. 



[Patent No. 7,946. 1884.] — The novelty and adrantages of these 

 bricks, patented by Mr. A. Talbot, of Manchester, is that by their 

 means fluea maybe formed in thin walls of either 4J-in. orO-in. 

 thickness. The fiaes can be either horizontal, vertical, or oblique. 

 By their means it will be quite easy to have a constant supply of 

 fresh air and the constant removal of the vitiated air. The vertical 

 flue-bricks are formed with a hole through the 3-in. thickness of 

 the brick, nearer to one end than the other, so that by turning the 

 bricks alternately, end for end, the holes will come one over the 

 other, and the bricks bond in with the ordinary bricks of the wall. 

 The flue in a 9-in. wall will be about 7 in. x 5 in., and Si in. x 41 in., 

 and in a 4^-in. wall about two inches diameter. The horizontal 

 flues are formed by making a groove or grooves on one of the faces 

 of the brick ; and by placing two courses, one over the other with 

 the grooves together, a continuous flue is formed of about two inches 

 diameter in a -li-in. wall, and larger in a 9-in. wall. The bricks can 

 also be perforated horizontally, and the holes placed in line with 

 each other would form continuous flues. Oblique Hues and all neces- 

 sary junctions, connections, and openings can be formed. The flues 

 can be formed with socketed or unsocketed joints, and be either glazed 

 or uuglazed. The flues are smaller than those generally used for 

 ventilating purposes, but as any number can be used in a wall, 

 that is claimed as an advantage, as many small inlets at diffe- 

 rent parts of a room will bo less liable to cause draughts, and 

 will give a more equable temperature than one or two large fines 

 could do. The system considered most suitable for ordinary 

 living-rooms is to have a fireplace with hot-air chamber at back 

 or sides, stipplied with cold fresh air by means of the horizontal 

 flues from the nearest external wall; this air, when warmed, will 

 pass along horizontal flues at the level of the skirting, through 

 which openings will be made in the positious, and as frequently as 

 desired or required by the size of the room, the warm fresh air will 

 thus pass into the room near the floor-level, and rise to the top 

 of the room, where it will be drawn off through openings in the 

 cornice into another horizontal flue which might open to the outer 

 air at the nearest point, or by means of the vertical flues be con- 

 nected with an exhaust ventilator in the roof, which would 

 always ensure a constant np-draught. By these means, all rooms, 

 halls, passages, &c., can be thoroughly and constantly supplied 

 with fresh air, and the vitiated air be removed as soon as 

 formed. The whole house can also be warmed and ventilated 

 throughout by a system of these flues connected with a hot-air 

 chamber in connection with the kitchen or other fireplace. Public 

 buildings can also be warmed and ventilated in a similar manner 

 by means of a heating-chamber in the basement or other suitable 

 position. 



CONCRETE STRUCTURES. 



Portland cement concrete (if made with a non-poroua aggre- 

 gate) is impervious to moisture, and yet, at the same time (if 

 not hydraulically compressed) will take up a sufficient quantity 

 of moisture from the air to prevent condensation upon the surface 

 of the walls. It not only resists the disintegrating influences of 

 the atmosphere, but becomes even harder with the lapse of time. 

 It may also be made in different colours, and can be finished off 

 to nearly a polished surface, or can be left quite rough. Nothing, 

 therefore, can be better as a building material. 



In order to properly use it, many systems have been devised, 

 but that ordinarily used consists of first forming casings of wood, 

 between which the liquid concrete is deposited and allowed to 

 become hard or " to set." The castings are thea removed, the 

 cavities and other imperfections are filled in, and the wall 

 receives a thin facing of a finer concrete. "Mouldings and other 

 ornament are also applied to this face by the ordinary plasterer's 

 methods. 



In the system patented by Messrs. West, instead of employing 

 wood casings between which to deposit the concrete, or "beton," 

 and removing them when the beton has become hard, casings of 

 concrete itself are employed. These casings, or shells, of concrete 

 become a part of the wall, and form a face to the work. They are 

 made in the form of rectangular slabs, the cotirses of which are 

 secured together by means of a bituminous cement, which (whilst 

 hot) is poured into the keyholes, and which cools immediately and 

 becomes hard. Any other quick-setting cement may be used in 

 place of the bitumen. The horizontal and vertical joints of the 

 slabs are further secured by grooves, into which lime-putty is 

 squeezed, or a cement-grout is poured, and which act as joggles. 

 Grooves are also made in the solid work iutroduced to form window 

 and other openings, for the same purpose. 



If necessary, the use of any kind of cement for the keys may be 

 avoided by altering the form of the slab, by which means the bed- 

 joint of one course toothes into that of the other. For instance, 

 slabs of hexagonal form may be employed, when it will be seen 

 that the joggle-joint is snfEcient to prevent the slabs from toppling 

 over or from being thrust outwards by the pressure of the concrete 

 behind them. 



The walls built with these slabs may be made so hard that a nail 

 cannot be driven into them, or they may be made sufficiently soft 

 to be used for fixing joinery to them by means of nails. 



For retaining- walls, or, in fact, any kind of engineering work, the 

 system may be applied with great economy, the slabs being made 

 proportionately heavy to suit the work. 



The use of concrete as a material for building will be found to 

 meet all the defects set forth by practical people, as it may be made 

 fire-proof, vermin-proof, and nail-proof. 



WATER-FILTER. 



[Patent No. 8,320. 1884.] — The advantage of this water-filter, 

 as shown below, is that the filtering medium can any time in a few 

 moments, and at small expense, be renewed, and the filter is then in 

 every respect equal to new. 



Fig. 1. 



It will be seen that two concentric cyliudera of perforated 

 earthenware, copper, or other suitable material have a common lid 

 and a common base. Between these cylinders the filtering medium 

 is poured in, and the water is filtered by passing through the 

 filtering medium into the siJace in the interior, whence it issues 

 into the receptacle for filtered water, or is drawn off at once. 



The filter is made in a great variety of styles. Fig. 1 represents 

 one of the filters of china or earthenware for indoor use, and Fig. 2 

 represents another designed for attachment to main service pipes. 

 The patentee is Mr. J. P. Jackson, of 9, Canning-place, Liverpool. 



TnE In\T!:ntions Exhibition. — Messrs. Verity & Co., who took 

 the public eye by storm with their Electrolier in the Edison Court 

 of the Crystal Palace Electric Exhibition of 1881-2, have outdone 

 that and every other previous effort by a beautiful and most 

 tastefully - designed brass Electrolier, fixed this week in the 

 entrance hall of the Exhibition, opposite to the now notorious 

 Duval Dining-room. It is to carry eighty Swan lamps, the effect 

 of which will, doubtless, be grand. 



