A Novel Parisian Disinfector Automobile.
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A novel and interesting type of sanitary motor has been acquired by the Paris Municipality for disinfecting operations. The chassis is a standard de Dion-13ou'on, with an engine de
veloping 9 and a three-speed-andreverse gearbox. The chassis, surmounted by a canopy and screen, carries a capacious sterilizing chamber, which rests on castors in a kind of cradle, and has been built to the designs of a Paris doctor named Charles Otto von Collin. In addition to this large chamber, which can receive pieces of furniture, beds, etc., there is a small disinfecting chamber for special purposes. A number of receptacles for holding the attendants' working clothing and the fumigators, which latter devices serve to generate the disinfecting fumes, as well as a double-bottom for mechanical accessories, is comprised in the general fitments of this novel vehicle. For purposes of disinfection, Dr Conin employs formalin fumes, generated, at a temperature of 183 degrees Fahrenheit, in the fumigators, which also contain an active substance termed trioxymethlene, and are surrounded by a paste that burns without flame. The whole fumigating apparatus, which, with its accessories, weighs some 4; cwt., consists of three essential parts: (1) the sterilizing chamber ; (2) a heating contrivance and (3) the unions for connecting up.
The sterilizing chamber itself consists of two semi-cylindrical, sheetiron shells ; the edges of the lower chamber are provided with grooves, and these are filled with felt and water, whereas the edges of the upper shell, or cover, are smooth and even. Objects requiring disinfection are placed on a removable staging which is attached to the inside of the lower segment-, and the upper shell is then superimposed on the lower one so that its edges fit into the above-mentioned groove; by this means a gas-tight, or vapour-tight joint is secured.
Underneath the lower shell is a heating cylinder with a Baku lamp for two burners, and from this cylinder the heated air flows into a thermal chamber, thence into an iron tubular coil within the sterilizing chamber, and, finally, into the open air. On the thermal (+amber is a small boiler, which distributes steam uniformly throughout the disinfecting space enclosed by the shells.
On arriving at the scene of operations, the attendants draw out the sterilizing chamber and prop up its tail-end by a trestle, which, with the small disinfecting apparatus, is carried on the railed-off roofing extending from the chauffeur's seat to the centre of the cradle which carries the sterilizing chamber.