US1626836A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

P. M. JAUVERT REFRIGERAIING APPARATUS 6 May 3,1927.

Filed Marbh 51, 1924 fmw Patented May 3, 19 27. I

I 1,626,836 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rmnnn MAURICE JAUVERT, or 'rounon, FRANCE.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

Application filed March 31, 1924, Serial No. 703,243, and in France March 31, 1923.

, frigeration of the various rooms or spaces closed circuit, a compressor for the suction to be cooled.

This type of installation comprises, in a and the compression of a liquefiable gaseous fluid which will be herein designated as the refrigerating fluid; a condenser consisting of a temperature-exchanging device in which the compressed fluid from the said compressor becomes liquefied by cooling in contact with a cold liquid circulation (water .as a rule); an evaporator constituted by a temperature-exchanging device wherein the liquid refrigerating fluid from the conden ser is caused to evaporate by the effect of the suction of the compressor and withdraws the heat necessary for its evaporation from the cold-conveying fluid. This fluid, as stated hereinabove, can be a non freezing brine or in other cases air, and when thus cooled the said fluid is supplied to. the piping for the refrigeration of the several rooms or spaces to be cooled.

My said invention has forvits object the regulation of the production of cold in a refrigerating plant of this type by means of the change of volume of a liquid when congealing.

In an installation of this class, the amount of cold to be brought by the said cold-conveying liquid into the rooms or spaces to be cooled, and hence the rate of evaporation I of the refrigerating fluid in the evaporator,

should be at all times proportional to the momentary requirements of the said rooms as concerns the temperature. For instance, in an ice-making plant, the difference in temperature, at the end of the operation be- "tween the water subjected to freezing and the cold-conveying fluid is much less than at the beginning of theoperation, so that the amount of calories which can be taken away by the said fluid per unit of time will thus be reduced; it is therefore advisable to diminish the production of cold in order to obviate the introduction of non-evaporated refrigerating liquid into the compressor, since this'may cause damage and will A positive indication that all the cold produced by the evaporator is absorbed by the cold-conveying fluid and used in the rooms or spaces to be cooled, is afforded when frost is seen upon the suction piping of the refrigerating fluid of the evaporator; but the frost will in this event appear only alonga short distance, at the outlet of the evaporator.

The automatic regulator of the production of cold consists of a valve mounted on the refrigerating fluid piping between the condenser and the evaporator; said valve is controlled by the gradual increase in volume of a congealable liquid contained in a control device whereof one portion surrounds the suction tube serving for the withdrawal of the refrigerating liquid from the evaporator. When the liquid thus withdrawn be comes too cold, the liquid in the said control device will be frozen along the greater part of the length thereof, and this will reduce the how of the refrigerating liquid" between the condenser and the evaporator.

The following description and appended drawing which are given by way of example relate to a constructional form of the said apparatus, the latter being shown in vertical axial section.

The said,refrigerating arrangement comprises a vertical supporting frame 1 having bored therein at the upper part various radial cylinders such as 2, 3 which are disposed about a central portion 4 constituting a suction chamber. The lower extension 5 is traversed by the motor shaft 6 which is" provided at this point with a suitable fiuidtight packing, not shown; At the lower end comprising an annular space 15 disposed between two surfaces of the respective flat annular elements 16, 17 in coaxial position;

the said elements are filled with granulated lead for insulating purposes. The upper part of the condenser is connected by the tube 18 with a collector 19 communicating with the discharge tubes 20 of the compressor cylinders. The condenser chamber 15 is surrounded by a jacket 21, which is supplied at the bottom with circulating water from conduit 22 and discharges the same at the top through the, pipe 23 into the casing 14 from which it is discharged througha pipe 24 opening at the upper part of sa d casing. The evaporator surrounds the sa1d casing, which is covered for this purpose with an insulating coating 25; the said evaporator-in the same manner as the condenser-consists of an annular chamber 26 disposed between two surfaces of the respective flat annular elements 27, 28 in coaxial position; the said elements are filled with granulated lead. The said chamber is surrounded by a jacket 29, provided with the insulating covering 25'. The bottom of the condenser 15 is connected by the pipe 30-30 through an automatic regulator of the refrigeration 31with the lower part of the evaporator 26; the latter is connected by the pipe'32 with the central suction chamber 4 of the compressor. The jacket 29 is supplied at the top with the brine which is withdrawn from the chambers to be cooled through the conduit by the pump 34 (which is always under operation) and is delivered to said jacket through the conduit 35. The brine is again delivered to the rooms or chambers to be cooled, through the conduit 36 disposed at the lower part of the jacket 29. The automatic regulator 31 for the flow of refrigerant and thereby the degree of cold comprises a casing which is divided into two parts by an elastic diaphragm 37 having thereon a valve needle 38 which is adapted to close the inlet of the refrigerating liquid supplied by the pipe 30. The top chamber 39 communicating with the pipe 30 also communicates with the pipe 30 leading to the evaporator. The second chamber 40 of the said apparatus is connected by the pipe 41 with a sleeve or jacket 42 surrounding the pipe 32. The chamber 40, the tube 41 and the jacket 42 form a closed combination which contains a congealable liquid such as water.

The operation is as follows:

When the closed circuit comprising the compressor, condenser and evaporator is filled with fluid at the normal pressure, and when the said compressor is in operation, the latter will deliver the compressed fluid through the conduits 20 and 18 into the condenser 15; said condenser is cooled-by the water circulation 22, 23, 24 which also cools the compressor cylinders. The refrigerating fluid is condensed, and it is delivered to the evaporator 26 through the' conduit 30, the regulating device 31 and the conduit 30; the said fluid is withdrawn from the evaporator through the conduit 32 and enters then the compressor chamber 4. In this manner the liquefied cooling fluid will evaporate in the evaporator 26, and it cools the brine proceeding from the cooled rooms or spaces through the conduit 33, the pump 34 and the pipe 35, the said brine being discharged in the cold state through the conduit 36. back towards the rooms or spaces to be cooled.

In order to reduce the said plant to the minimum size, I have provided the following details whereby a very active cooling effect can be obtained in the said condenser and evaporator. The chambers of each of these devices are not empty, as in the known apparatus, but are filled with good heat conducting metallic substances such as granulated lead. In this manner the surface is contact with the cooling fluid is much increased. Further, each of said chambers is surrounded by a wire winding 15 '26 which is a good conductor of heat; this will considerably increase the outer surface of the said heat exchanging devices, while at the same time a more active circulation of the liquid is obtained.

The operation of the said refrigerating regulator is as follows: When the cold conveying brine circulating in 29 round the evaporator 26 cannot take any more calores away from the refrigerating chambers, which occurs when latter are sufliciently cooled the said brine remains cold when it comes back to the channel 29 and will be still further cooled through the evaporation of the fluid contained in 26. At the same time latter fluid withdrawn by the compressor through the pipe 32 becomes colder and colder, making the water in the jacket 42 freeze upon a greater length; the

volume of the total water and ice therein increases, whereby the diaphragm 37 is caused to ascend and to move the needle 38 against the opening of pipe 30. Thus the supply of liquefied refrigerating fluid to the evaporator 26 through said pipe 30 is gradually reduced to zero as the freezing of the water in the jacket 42 proceeds. Thereby the fluid circulates with greater slowness and gives away less cold. The brine will cease to become any colder and the needle will therefore not close any more when this state of equilibrium is attained. The cold created by the apparatus is thus reduced automatically to the amount sufficient for keeping down the temperature to the required degree. The production of cold can even be stopped entirely when it is unnecessary; in such a case the pipe 30 would be completely closed the volume of ice being maximum in the jacket 42.

The adjustment of this regulating device manner, the apparatus will automatically regulate the operating rate so as to secure the maximum heat exchange in the evaporator. 4

As a secondary advantage, I am enabled to prevent all obstruction 7 due to foreign bodies of small size, such as oxides dust, or small particles of water; in the case of an obstruction, the output will cease, and

therefore no more cold is brought to the pipe 32, so that the frozen liquid will melt, allowing the needle-valve *to open and the foreign substances will thus escape into the eva orator.

nly in this latter case will the apparatus WOIkintermittently.

, a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator,

What I claim is: In a refrigerating apparatus comprising connected to form a closed system, valve mechanism controlling the flow of refriger ant from the condenser to the evaporator, sald valve mechanism COIIIPIlSlIlg a chamher, a diaphragm dividing said chamber,

a-needle directly secured to said diaphragm and acting on one side of saiddiaphragm to control the flow of refrigerant to the A evaporator, a closed tubular container surrounding the suction plpe leading to the compressor,,and connected to said chamber onthe other side of said diaphragm, said container, connection, and chamber on the other side of said diaphragm being filled With water adapted to change from liquid to solid state and reversely by the change in temperature of the refrigerant fluid pass ing to said compressor thru the suction pipe and thus to operate the needle thru the action of the diaphragm.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

PIERRE MAURICE JAUVERT. v

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