US1678172A - Refrigerating system - Google Patents

Description

July 24, 1928. 1,678,172

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H. w. ToH'rz ET AL REFRIGERATING SYSTEM Filled Aug.1o, 192e 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 24, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

HELMUTH W. TOHTZ AND KIRKE L. BONNELL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATING SYSTEM.

Application filed August 10, 1926. Serial No. 128,358.

This invention relates to refrigerating systen'is and more particularly to a system wherein the refrigerant is discharged into the air to be cooled.

One of the objects is to effectively utilize the refrigerant as a means for forcibly circulating the air. As an illustration of this feature we have shown a nozzle discharging a conical spray of refrigerant into a circular portion of a conductor through which the air is transmitted. The conical spray diverges from the nozzle to the inner face of this circular portion of the conductor, so as to forcibly drive the air through the conductor where it contacts with the refrigerant. i

Another object is to circulate the air from the articles to be cooled, through a conductorv where it contacts with the refrigerant'and then back to the articles, at the same time utilizing the outer face lof the conductor to collect moisture that would otherwise remain in the air or enter into and dilute the refrigerant. For example, if the system is used in a large refrigerating room for the purpose of cooling meat., large quantities of steam or vapor will pass from the warm meat and commingle with the air in the room, and while some of this vapor will pass into the air conductor, a large portion of it will collect in the form of frost on the outer face of the conductor. Therefore, this conductor serves to dry the air without excessive dilution of the refrigerant. 'Io accomplish this, the conductor may be made of thin and inexpensive sheet metal having its inner face exposed directly to the mixture of air and refrigerant and its outer face exposed directly to"`^the surrounding air. We thus obtain the advantages of low manufacturing cost and effective removal of moisture from the air without undue dilution of the refrigerant passing through the conductor. The uncovered outer face of the thin conductor also increases the etliciency by cooling the surrounding air. A rela-- tively small and inexpensive apparatus can 'therefore be employed to accomplish these results. n i

A further object is to overcome the tendency of the warm air to remain in the upper portion of the refrigerating room or com,- partment, and this is accomplished by forcing the air downwardly while its heat is being transferred to the refrigerant. The air conductor is preferably provided with an inlet at its upper end for the admission of relatively warm air and an outlet at its lower from the refrigerant Without splashing the refrigerant onto the floor of the refrigerating room, or conlpartment, and without incurring any substantial loss of the liquid refrigerant. This feature preferably includes a chamber wherein the refrigerant is separated from the cold air, as will be hereafter described.

.With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangen'ient of parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it. is to be understood that the invention comprchends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claim hereunto appended.

Fig. I is a front elevation of an apparatus embodying the features of this invention, with some of theelements shown diagrammatically.

Fig. II is a side elevation of the apparatus with the adjacent portions of the room, or compartment, shown in section.

Fig. III is an enlarged section on the line III-III in Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a section on-the line IV--IV in Fig. I.

The system shown in Fig. I comprises a brine tank l, a refrigerating machine 2 to cool the brine, a pump 3 whereby the cold brine is drawn from the tank and forced through a pipe 4, and a pipe 5 through the brine is returned to the tank.

To illustrate one form of the invention,

`we have shown a series of vertical conductors 6 having flaring upper ends secured to l an inlet manifold 7 and their lower ends arranged in a sepa-rating chamber 8. The inlet, manifold 7 is open at the front to receive the relatively Warm air and closed at the top, ends and rear. Each vertical conductor 6 is open at the top to receive the air to be cooled, and open at the bottom to discharge the cold air and refrigerant into the separating chamber 8. The lower portions of these vertical conductors are surrounded by the separating chamber, but the conductors terilo minato above the bottom of said chamber to provide a space into which the brine and cold air are discharged. The brine pipe 5 leads from the lower portion of the chamber 8 at a point lower than the conductors 6, and said chamber has cold air outlets 9 in its front wall at points higher than the lower ends of the conductors. These outlets 9 may be formed by slitting and pressing the front wall ot' the chamber' 8, as shown in Figs. I and Ill, to form deliectors which discharge the cold air in a downward direction.

The brine pipe 4 leads from the pump 3 to a horizontal pipe 10 (Fig. I) in the mani fold 7, and the pipe 10 has depending branches 11 extending into the air conductors 6 and terminating at nozzles 1Q in the upper portions of the conductors. Each of these nozzles is adapted to 'discharge a conical spray of brine onto the inner face of a conductor 6. The spray-receiving portion of the conductor is lower than the nozzle and approximately circular in cross section (Figs. I and IV) to provide for a forcible downward flow of air in response to the action of the spray. The pump 3 forcibly projects the brine from the nozzles, and a valve 13 may be located in the manifold to regulate the delivery of the brine.

As shown in Fig. II, the inlet manifold 7 is preferably located n'ear the ceiling 14 of the room, or compartment, while the separating chamber 8 is located near the floor 15. rlhe apparatus can be conveniently located near the vertical wall 16.

A receptacle 17 is arranged below the separating chamber 8 to receive liquid falling from the outer faces of the conductors 6 and separating chamber 8. 18 designates a discharge pipe leading from the receptacle 17.

The inlet manifold 7, conductors 6 land separating chamber 8 are preferably made of thin sheet metal. The outer face of each conductor 6 is exposed directly to the surrounding air, and owing to the action of the refrigerant Within this thin pipe, its outer face is cold enough to collect moisture and retain it in the form of frost. Whenever the system becomes warm enough to melt the frost, the liquid will flow downwardly to the separating chamber' and drip into the receptacle 17.

When the system is in operation, the sprays issuing from the nozzles cause a forcible circulation of the air which enters through the inlet manifold 7 near the ceiling 14 and is forced downwardly to the separating chamber 8, which has side walls surrounding the outlet ends of the conductors 6, a top wall forming a closure, and a bottom wall cooperating with said side walls to confine the brine, the latter being returned through the pipe 5 while the cold air rises in the separating chamber and passes out through the outlets 9. Curved delectors 19 may be located in the separating chamber to direct the cold air to the outlets 9.

We claim:

A refrigerating system comprising an air conductor having an inlet at its upper end for the admission of relatively warm airY and an outlet at its lower end for the discharge of cold air, means whereby a refrigerant is forcibly projected into said conductor to force the air toward said outlet, a separating chamber surrounding said outlet to separate the cold air from the refrigerant, a

closure at the `top of said separating cham\ ber, said conductor being made of thin sheet metal having its outer face directly exposed to the surrounding air so as to collect moisture from the surrounding air and retain it in the form of frost. and a receptacle located below' said separating chamber to receive liquid falling from the outer face of said conductor.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we hereunto aix our signatures.

.HELMUTH W. TOHTZ.

KIRKE L. BONNELL.

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