US1015957A - Refrigerating apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

R. M. HUNTER.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS. APPLIQATION 'FILED 11110.31, 1897. 1,01 5,951 Patented .131130, 1912.

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R. M. HUNTER. REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DB0: 31, 189'/ 1,015,957. Patented JaILSO, 1912.

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RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, IPEINNSYLVANIA.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

To all whom, t may concern Be it known that I,"RUD0LPH M. HUNTER, of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Refrigeratingv Apparat-us, of which `the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to refrigeratingapparatus and consists of certain improvements which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof.

This applicati/on has special reference to means for varying the temperature of compartments and more particularly for cooling or refrigerating distant compartments Aor rooms of buildings. In the preferred form of my'invention I utilize the heating apparatus employed in cold weather as the means of extracting the heat from the rooms or varying the temperature of the compartments in summer.

In large buildings, such as hotels and office buildings, a steam heating plant is employed to properly heat the buildings in the winter, but thisremains idle in summer. I propose utilizing the heating system, preferably including the radiators, as the means of cooling the rooms by passing through them governed quantities of cold brine, air. or other fluid rendered cold by suitable refrigerating processes at a considerable distance from the rooms to be cooled. When air is used part or all of it may be allowed to escape into the room or compartment. In carryingout this'part .of my invention I provide the steam supply pipe with a valve system of pipes and radiatorsand also to act by which the connection with the steam boilers or exhaust of the engine can bei cut olf. I further provide a brine tank adapted to receive the water or media returned from the as a 'source of supply for a pump which forces t-he1 cold b rine or media upward through the system of pipes and radiators. The brine tank is further combined with suitable refrigerating apparatus for cooling the brine or media to a low temperature. In this manner the heating system of pipes is utilized in Warm weather'as the immediate holder of the cooling media and permitting its full circulation in' every direction,

thus performing the dual function of both [y heating and cooling. The cost of equipment is thus low, and -in the case of large hotels Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 30, 1912.

Application iled December 31, 1897. Serial'No. 664,808.

-which already are supplied with refrigerat-l ing plant the same may be readily combined with the heating system by the proper connections and valves. Any4 suitable means for cooling the brine or circulating media may be employed, but where the apparatus is of considerable size the compression system would be preferable.

While I have above referred to cooling rooms in a building, I may equally employ my invent-ion in connection with railway ,cars whether for passenger or freight. Where heating pipes for steam leadingfrom the engine areemployed to heat the cars they may be utilized, as above explained with regard tothe heating system in buildlngs, for cooling the cars, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Now while my -invention`is adapted to be a syst-em for alternately heating and cooling distant rooms or compartments it is not confined to a system-which shall be used for heating since the invention maybe used wholly `for'cooling or s refrigeration where heating is not required.

My linvention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figurel is a side elevation of a railway.'

train, part` .in section showing my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2 is adiagran showing a different type of refrigerating apments; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of paratus adapted for use with my improvea building showing my invention applied thereto. l I

Referring rst, to the construction shown in Fig. 1 I have illustrated a train of cars especially adapted to the transportation of perishable goods. In this ligure A represents the locomotive, the rear portion of the tender alone being shown. B is the car containing the refrigerat-ing apparatus'proper and vC one of the cars in which the goods to be transported are to be placed. The car C` i consists of compartments closed against the outside atmosphere and provided with coils,- G through which the media to vary the tem-- peratture ,is passed. Eachl car is also provided with a longitudinal supply pipe F and the return pipe H with which the respective ends of the coil G are connected. Suitable valves l' g or either of them may be employedl in the terminals ofthe coil to control the flow of the' media to -be passed 4through the coil. The ends o f the pipes' H,

housev air brake system. 'When the cars C are intended .to transport perishable merchandise such as meats or vegetables 1t 1s made like 'a box-car having tight doors and the media which is passed through the coil G is a refrigerant such as a cold brine. If the car C is intended for passenger service, then the coils G may be employed to heat the car in winter and cool it in summer by pass ing'steam through it in the winter time and a refrigerant such -as cold brine or cold air in summer time. This would largely obviate the great objection to opening the windows and doors of trains in the summer usually made necessary by the excessive heat. The particular character lof the car C or compartment on whe'els is therefore immaterialand while in the fullest carrying out of my invention a very large variation ofA temperature to suit the requirements of winter or summer may be secured, nevertheless' it is not necessary to employ my apparatus for heating purposes at all.

Referring now to the car B we have therein a tank D adapted to contain brine. A pipez' connects with the saidtank and terminates in a flexible coupling adapted to unite With the coupling of the pipe H at I so that the return of the brine to the tank D after cooling the compartment C is secured. A discharge pipe e leads from the brine tank near the bottom and terminates in a coupling adapted to connectwith the flexible coupling at I leading from the supply pipe F ofthe car C. A pump E is arranged in the car B to circulate brine through pipe e so that cold brine is positively forced through the pipe F. The amount of the cold brine which circulates through any one ofthe coils G in the cars C may be controlled by either or both of the valves g Z. The brine tank D is provided with `a cooling coil J of any suitable construction the upper end of which leadsto a condenser L, and the lower end of which connects with a compressor K also arranged within the car B. The compressor K compresses the gas such as anhydrosulfurous acid, which then enters the y condenser L under pressure and is liquefied. From there it is forced over into the c oil J of the tank D and vaporized, the vapor being drawn off again by the compressor as is well known. In this manner the brine or Whatever circulating media may be used and contained in the tank D is kept in a cold condition so that the warmer media returned by the pipel 1I is again chilled or cooled before being forced through the 1 various cars by the pump E.

The condenser L in the lcar B requires a constant change of water to condense the anhydrosulfurous acid, and this is secured by a water pipe m including a pump for forcing the Water into the condenser. The pipe m communicates with a water pipe m leading from the tank O of the tender of the` locomotive A with which it is connected by a flexible coupling N. In this manner cold water may be forced by the pump M into the condenser and the Warm water allowed to overflow by a pipe n and discharge through a flexible coupling N into the upper part of the tank O of the tender. When the coils G are intended for heating purposes it is then necessary to circulate steam through the pipes F H, and this I accomplish in the following manner. A pipe P on the locomotive leads from the boiler and 'connects by a suitable coupling with pipe P on the car B from which steam may be supplied for operating the pumps and compressor. Pipe P2' connects the pipe v1 with lthe pipe e and is provided with a valve. By opening the valve in this pipe P2 steam may pass into the pipe F on the car C and may be permitted to escape after passing through the coilsG, or more preferably returned by the pipe z' to the tank D in which a partial vacuum is maintained by the pump E so that the steam circulates at a pressure below that of the atmosphere on the, prlnciple of the, well known vacuum system. In this case `a valve d is arranged in the pipe e and be.-

the brine or other circulating media, I mayv use ammonia or any other highly volatile substance. In lieu of the particular apparatus for refrigerating shown in the compartment B using the compressor K, I may employ an ammonia refrigerator operated by the application of heat, such for instance as shown in Fig. 2. In this case the tank D containing the brine is connected with the pipes i and e leading to the couplings I as before, and including the `circulating pump similar to that previously described. R and R are two generators and consist of closed tanks containing strong solutions of ammonia. They are each provided with coils connecting with steam and water supply. When steam is admitted toy the coils of one of these generators water is admitted to the coil of the other and vice versa, so that one generator drives ofll the ammonia by heat, while the other generator acts as an absorber and vcauses the ammoniacal gas to be absorbed. The upright pipes from those generators connect with a condenser L Which at its discharge end connects with therefrigerator coil J in the brine tank D. The

being generated in generator R the valve 1" is closed and valve 7 open, and likewise valve c is closed and valve c." open. The ammonia is condensed in the condenser L and is allowed to evaporate or expand in the coil J. The expanded ammonia passes 'by pipe j through valve c and into the absorber R. When the ammonia is approxi'- mately all driven off fromrthe water'in the generator R, the valves which were formerly open are then closed and the valves which were formerly-closed are then opened and now the generator R produces the ammoniacal gas `while the generator R becomesthe absorber. The stealn and water for operating this system may be received from the locomotive. If desired a separate water tank may be carried in car B.

When my improvements are applied to buildings,` such as Vlarge oiiice buildings Where there are large numbers of rooms or apartments separated. from each other, I provide preferably supply and return pipes F H leading to the distant parts of the buildings as indicated in Fig. 3. There may be as many of these ret-urn and supply pipes as the nature of the building may require, but they all lead to-one place'where the refrigeratlng and heating apparatus islocated, usually in thebasement.

More specifically referring to Fig. 3, C represent different rooms and B the room 'or chamber in the basement for the heating and refrigerating apparatus. F and H are supply and return pipes corresponding to the usual pipes in steam heating apparatus.

G are the radiators `or heating coils arranged in each ofithe rooms and connected through valves, g,^l respectively with the supply pipe k F and return pipe H so that the various heaters or coils G are arranged in parallel'. W is the usual steam pipe and may b e provided with a valve k to control the supply of steamor shut it olf. The pipe lV' may lead from the exhaust pipe of the engine or from the boiler as preferred as is custom-ary. In winter time the steam is caused to circulate .through pipe F coils Gr and 'return pipe H. Furthermore, lin the most improved types of steam heating apparatus the circulation of the steam is in-` duced by the production and maintenance of a partial vacuum at the return end of the system, and for thispurpose a tank T is provided connecting with the return pipe H by the pipe S which ma'y be furnished with a valve w. A partial vacuum may be maintained in the tank T bypum/p E connectedv which may have a valve p to shut '70E- communication ofrthe tank with the pump when the latter is circulating the cooling media. The discharge 'side of the pumpmay lead by a pipe e through a valve d to the escape pipe U. Thepipe e isshown as a continuation of the supply pipe F but may be separated from it by closing a valve k. By. operating the pump E during the use of the apparatus as al steam heating system the steam is caused to flow at a pressure at o1' below that 'of the atmosphere through pipe F, coils Gr and return pipe H and the water ot' condensation received in the tank T may be forced by a boiler feed pump t into Jthe boiler. In the warm summer time when 'it is' desired to cool the place I close the valves 7c, w, d and p and open the valve -b in the return pipe leading at z' into the brine tank D. Thevalve z is also opened to form communication between the` discharge of the pump E and thesupply pipe F. The suction of the pump 1s also connected to the v lower part ofthe tank D, which connection may or may not be provided with avalve as desired. The tank Dis provided with the refrigerating coil J as in the case of Fig. 1,

lower end of the coil J. P isa steam pipe for supplying steam to the steam engine of the compressor.4 The condenser L may be suppliedY with Water by the water main fm land which may be extended as at m to supply water to the vbrine tank D when necessary. A discharge pipe n may be employed to permit the water to circulate through the vcondIiSer L;. m

The operation of the apparatus to cool the rooms is precisely the same as that described in connection with Fig. 1v where the dierf ent cars correspond to the different rooms.

be connected by a valved pipe Z with the return Apipe H so that when employing the circulating brine as a cooling media the valve Z maybe closed and Z. may be open'to insure the complete circulation yof the brine throughout the entireN radiator when made of the form usuallyfound' in steam-heating apparatus for buildings. This precaution with the tank T by` providing a pipe Q,

.would not be necessary Where. ordinary heating coils such as used in factories are employed as those coils are of substantially the construction shown in G in Fig. l.

While I have described the circulation of brine as a media on account of the intense temperature which can be given to it without freezing I do not confine myself to a liquid, for instead I may simply circulate air, causing it to pass through the tank D to secure the necessary low temperature before being passed through the supply'pipe F and the radiators G. Where air is employed it is not essential that the air shall be circulated over and over again as no harmful eEects will result from permitting the air to es-V cape from thepipes intothe compartments or rooms C through suitable outlets G. In this case the air would be permitted to enter the tankD by a valved pipe D which may communicate with the outside of the building to secure fresh air. The airupon passing through the tank D becomes greatly reduced in temperature and is then forced upward into the supply pipe F into the rooms or compartments C by the pump or any suitable blower. If desired the cold air may first be required to pass through the coils G to use them as refrigerating coils to cool the circulating air and may then escape through a valved orifice G2. I have shown this valve in dotted lines as opening from the upper end of the coils G, but it is self evident that its particular connection with the coils is immaterial as I do not'confine myself to the minor details. In this manner the cooling effect of the coils is maintained while at the same time permitting the actual escape of part or all of the air into the room. It isv also evident that by properly manipulating the valve the air may be circulated through the coils Gr employing the supply and return mains F H and at the same time permit the reasonable amount of the cooling air to escape from the valved orifices G or G2 into the room to secure fresh air, and such loss from the circulating system to be regained by the valved pipe D. Y In this manner I maintain the great cooling effec-t of the radiators while at the same time permitting a large part of the cooling media to escape into the room to impart the necessary Afreshness to the air where there is not a sufficient draft or natural means to secure the` single organization of piping both for heat- Lorena-7 ing and cooling. It will be evident that by very slight modification and additions I can at a small expense increase the capacity of any steam heating plant in use in connection with such buildings to vary the temperature of the compartments, securing the same comfort in exceedingly hot Weather that can be obtained in the coolest weather. In other words, by my improvements I can give to the present piping and radiators an enormously increased capacity for varying` the limits of temperature in the compartments.

I do not conne myself to the details of construction herein disclosed as they may be modified and varied in numerous ways without departing from the principlesof my invention.

Having now describedmy invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters VvPatent, is:

'1. The combination of two or more compartments, a radiating device in each compartment, a supply pipe and a return pipe leading to the severa-l compartments and tank communicating with the return pipe, a pump between the tank and supply pipe adapted to befy used to reduce the pressure in the return pipe, avalved steam pipe connecting with the supply pipe, and means for permitting the pump to discharge outside of the supply pipe.

.connected with the radiating devices, a l

' 2. The combination of a compartment 0n wheels provided with temperature varying coils and supply and return pipes extending' the length of 'said vehicle, and a secon compartment on wheels provided with a' tank, a pump between the tank and supply pipe adapted to be used to reduce the pressure in the return line, and said pump and tank being respectively connected with the supply and return pipes by flexible pipe couplings between the two compartments on wheels, a valve pipe for supplying steam to the supply pipe and adapted for connection with the tender of a locomotive, and a valve orifice to permit the pump to discharge'to' the atmosphere.

3. Apparatus for producing a great variation in temperature in a number of independent closed compartments, comprising supply and return Vpipes,'combined`vvith a vacuum pump, means for causing the pump to create a partial vacuum 4in the return pipe or to supply pressure to the supply pipe for causing a circulating vaporous or lui medium under widely different conditions of temperature to flow throughfthe supply and return pipes to and from the several compartments without mixing with the air of said compartments, valved pipes for` causing aj' subdivision of the circulating medium and same to flow through said compartments at the same time without 'admixing with the" atmosphere thereof, and means for varying the 1 temperature of the circulating medium between 32 degrees Fahnand 212 degrees Fahr. for the purpose of producing a warm or cold temperature as required in the va# rious compartments.

4.' The combination of two or more compartments,' a radiating device in each compartment, a supply pipe and a return pipe leading to the several compartments and connected with the radiating devices, a tank communicating with thek return pipe, a

pump between the tank and supply pipe,

adapted to be used to reduce the pressure in the return pipe, a Valved steam pipe connecting with the supply pipe, a valved passage between the return pipe and the pump, and means for permitting lthe pump to discharge outside of the supply pipe.

U 5.. Apparatus for producing a great vanation in temperatures in a plurality of independent compartments consistin ,of a separate temperature'varying close receptacle 1n each compartment, supply and return pipes leading to all of said temperarture varying receptacles, circulating devices for causingv a reduction of pressure Vbelow the pressure of the atmosphere in the return pipe and inducing a flow of the-temperature producing medium through the supply pipe and simultaneously into the plurality of in-v ing the iow of said tem erature producing medium into the respectlve receptacles and means for varying the temperature of the R. M. HUNTER.

-Witnesses l J. W. KENWORTHY, WM. EVANS.

ldependent temperature Varying closed receptacles, means for independently regulatv circulating temperature producing-medium

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