US1881374A

US1881374A - Air cooling and circulating device

Info

Publication number: US1881374A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1932-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 1949-10-04

Description

1932- w. B. PLYMPTON ET AL 1,881,374

AIR COOLING AND CIRGULATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 21, 1928 I i i .20 F i l 5 l l l I I E I 4 Patented Oct.- 4, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM B. PLY'MPTON, DONALD PLYMPTON, AND RALPH- A. PLYMPTON, OI ELLWOOD CITY, PENNSYLVANIA AIR COOLING AND CIRGULATING DEVICE Application filed January 21, 1928. Serial No. 248,539.

This invention relates to refrigerators, more particularly to that class of refrigerators wherein there is employed an air cooling and circulating device provided with a series of refrigerant-containing members spaced so as to provide air ducts or passages there-between.

It is an object of the invention to provide for maintaining a low temperature in the air ducts in the event of failure or temporary or partial discontinuance of the circulation of the refrigerating medium.

l Vith these and other objects in view we have invented the device illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section 1-1 of Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a front View of Figure 1 with parts broken away to show the auxiliary air cooling means of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 1 designates a casing open at the top for the downward passage of air to be cooled and provided with a rear wall 2, a front wall 3 and two side Walls 4 and 5. The front wall 3 termi nates somewhat short of the bottoms of the walls 2, d and 5 providing an opening thus extending all the way across said front wall and affording an outlet for cool air.

Contained within the casing 1 is an air cooling and circulating device designated as a whole by numeral 7. This device includes a series of upright, substantially parallel refrigerant-containing members designated A, and thesemembers are spaced so as to provide air ducts or passages B lying between successive refrigerant-containlng members. Each refrigerant-containing and circulating element A is made up of two metallic plates 8 and 9. The plate 8 is of the segmental shape shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, and the plate 9 is of the same shape. The plate 8 has pressed therein as indicated at 10, a serpentine groove which projects at one side only'of the plate and extends from the top to the bottom thereof. The plate 9 closes the open sides of the groove so as to on the line produce a channel through which the liquid or gaseous refrigerating medium is designed to be circulated. As best shown in Figure 1, it will be seen that the groove or channel is made up of a series of straight portions which are parallel with the top edge of the element, successive straight portions of the groove or channel being connected by elbow portions so as to aflord a continuous channel. The plates Sand 9 are suitablyconnected, preferably by being spot-welded as indicated at 11, various sp0t welds being located in the portions of the plates which lie in mutual contact.

Successive refrigerant-containing members A are connected by

short pipe sections

12 and 13, the pipe sections 12 being near the bottoms of the members and the pipe sections 13 being near the tops of the members. Each pipe is welded or otherwise connected to nipples pressed outwardly from the respective plates, defining the ports in the plates and affording communication between the channels of successive refrigerantcontaining members. Inlet and

outlet pipes

14 and 15 are also provided to provide for maintaining the circulation of a refrigerating medium through the refrigerant-containing members.

Having connected a plurality of refrigerant-containing members in the manner described, the device is placed downwardly through the open top of the casing 1, the inlet and

outlet pipes

14 and 15 being received in the seats or notches 16 and 17 provided in the top edges of the side walls 4.- and 5. As best shown in Figure 1 of the drawing it will be seen that the front upright edges of the refrigerant-containing members lie against the front wall 3 of the casing so as to close the front of the. air ducts B defined by successive refrigerant-containing members. The rear ends of the air ducts are closed by segmental plate 18 fitting snugly the arcuate rear edges of the refrigerant-containing members and contained within the casing.

In practice, one of the air cooling and circulating devices of the present invention is mounted in any form' of refrigerator, the top of the device being spaced slightly below the top of the refrigerator and the bottom of the 'members A is cooled by direct contact with the cooled walls of the members A, which members present very large cooling areas in a relatively small space.

Each air space is open throu hout its top for the entrance of air which %ecomes cool and flows downwardly by gravity and then is discharged horizontally through the discharge opening 6, and eventually rises to the top of the refrigerator and then flows back to the top of the present device and thence downwardly through the air spaces or ducts, whereby a complete circulation of air is produced.

By reason of the fact that each air s ace or duct tapers downwardly, the weight 0 the larger volume of air in the upper portion of the duct forces the air in the lower portion thereof outwardly, through the discharge opening 6, with considerable force and sufliclent to pro ect a stream of air to a considerable distance beyond the air cooling and circulating device.

It will be noted that the segmental refrigerant containers extend fromthe front wall 3 to the back wall 18, thus keeping separated such air currents as may develop in the respective air chambers, and thereby eliminatmg the formation of any eddy currents as mlght otherwise develop through a variation of temperature in the segmental containers. It is important to prevent edd currents, because eddy currents have a ten ency to retard circulation.

The auxiliary air cooling means of the present invention is a tank or receptacle designated as 19 This tank is formed of a straight vertical front wall 20 and side walls 21 and 22 and arcuate rear wall 23 so that in cross section tank 19 has the same general "shape as the segmental plates of the refrigerant-conta1n1ng members. The front wall 20 Y of the tank has a vertically extended portion 24 at the top thereof projecting beyond the plane defined by the top edges of the side "and rear walls. The tank 19 is designed to fit snugly in the air ducts B between successive refrigerant-containing members A so that the sides 21 and 22 of the tank are in close contact with the refrigerant-containing members. A tank 19 is inserted in each air duct B so that the front wall 20 of the tank is in close contact with and bears against the front wall 3 of the casing 1, and is held securely in position by a single bolt 25 passmg through the extension 24 and the adjacent portion of the wall 3. It will be seen that the extension 24 provides for convenient access to the bolt 25, in order to quickly insert or remove the tank and also provides for keeping the bolt and bolt hole from being immersed in the brine or other liquid contained within the tank, thereby minimizing corrosion of the bolt and leakage through the bolt hole.

It will now be understood that each air duct B is defined by a pair of successive refrigerant-containing members A, the arcuate rearwall 23 of the tank 19 and the arcuate plate 18. The top of the air duct is open, and the 3 of the drawing, it will be seen that the sides 21 and 22 of the tank lie in close contact with successive refrigerant-containing members A so that passage of the refrigerating medium there-through will constantly maintain'the temperature of the refrigerating medium within the tank 19 at a low temperature. Thus it will be seen that should the circulation of the refrigerating medium through the 'members A fail or be impeded the cooled refrigerating medium contained within the tank 19, will serve to cool the air passing through the ducts B until the circulation through the members A can be renewed or the defect remedied. The tank,19

constitutes a hold-over in the sense that it is cooled by the refrigerant-containing members A and in turn cools air passing in the ducts B in the event that the circulation of the refrigerating medium fails or istemporarily or partially discontinued. It will also be seen that the rear wall 23 of the tank 19 provides an additional cooling surface for the air in the air ducts, as the front wall 20 of the casing is not a cooling surface. It will also readily be seen that the tank 19 is entirely separate and independent of the air cooling and circulating device 7, and therefore may be inserted and removed in a quick and efficient manner. 1

For the purpose of a complete understanding of the invention a particular construction of an air cooling and circulating device has been shown and described, but it will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to this or any particular form of an air cooling and circulating device, but may be employed with any refrigerator or air cooling and circulating device of the general type herein disclosed.

We claim:

1. The combination of an air cooling and circulating device comprising a pair of upright, substantially parallel refrigerant containing members, spaced to form an air duct, and a hold-over within the air duct.

2. The combination of an air cooling and circulating device comprising a pair of upright, substantially parallel refrigerant containing members spaced to form an air duct, and a tank constituting a hold-over within the air duct and having its sides in close proximity with the refrigerant containing memers.

3. An air cooling and circulating device including a circulating conduit for a liquid refrigerant, and an air duct provided with means in the air duct for malntalnlng the circulating air at a low temperature 1n the event of failure of the circulation of the refrigerant.

4. An air cooling and circulating device comprising a series of upright substantially parallel refrigerant containing members spaced to form air ducts, each air duct being open at its top, closed at its back,-bottom, sides and front and provided with a discharge opening adjacent the bottom of the front, and ahold-over within the air duct.

5. An air cooling and circulating device pendent of the refrigerant containing members located within the air duct for cooling the air passing therethrough.

7. An air cooling and circulating device comprising a pair of upright substantially parallel refrigerant containing members spaced to form an air duct, and means for cooling the air passing through the air duct comprising a tank of brine orthe like having straight vertical front and side walls and back and bottom walls formed of an arcuate member, said tank being located within said air duct and having its side walls in close proximity to the refrigerant containing members and cooled thereby.

8. An air cooling and circulating device comprising a pair of upright substantially parallel refrigerant containing members spaced to form an air duct, said air duct being closed at its back and bottom by an arcuate plate, at its frontby a straight vert cal plate and at both sides by the adjacent refrigerant containing members and provided with a discharge opening adjacent the '1 bottom of the front, and means for cooling the air passin through the air duct comprising a tank of brine or the like of the same general shape in cross section as the air duct, said tank being located within said air duct and having its side walls in close proximity to the refri erant containing members and cooled there y.

9. In an electric refrigerator, a circulatory system for a fluid refrigerant, including a pair of refrigerant-containing and circulating members spaced to form an air duct open at its top and having a discharge opening in one side adjacent the bottom thereof, and meansfor maintaining a low temperature in the air ducts during a cessation of the circulation of the refrigerant.

1.0. In an electric refrigerator, a circulatory system for a fluid refrigerant, including a pair of refrigerant-containingand circulating members spaced to form an air duct open at its top and having a discharge opening in one side adjacent the bottom thereof, and means for maintaining a low tem perature in the air duct during a cessation of the circulation of the refrigerant comprising a brine tank in the air duct. I

11. In an electric refrigerator, a circulatory system for a fluid refrigerant, including a pair of refrigerant-containing and circulating members spaced to form an air duct open at its top and having a discharge opening in one side adjacent the bottom thereof, and means for maintaining a low temperature in the air ducts during a cessation of the circulation of the refrigerant comprising a brine tank in the air duct, and having its sides in close proximity to the refrigerant containing and circulating members and cooled thereby.

12. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a plurality of upright air cooling and circulating ducts open at opposite ends and spaced to receive refrigerating means therebetween, the back wall of each duct being arcuate, the upper inlet end of each duct opening upwardly and the bottom discharge end opening in a substantially horizontal direction, and the upper portion of each duct being of greater cross-sectional area than the bottom discharge opening thereof.

13. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a plurality of upright air cooling and circulating ducts open at opposite ends and spaced to receive refrigerating means therebetween, the upper inlet end of each duct opening upwardly and the bottom discharge end opening in a substantially horizontal direction, each air duct tapering downwardly from its inlet opening to its outlet opening.

14. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a plurality of upright air cooling and circulating ducts open at opposite ends and spaced to receive refrigerating means therebetween, the upper inlet end of each duct opening upwardly and the bottom discharge end opening in a substantially horizontal direction, and the upper portion of each duct be-' each air duct opening upwardly, and the bottom portion ofeach air duct opening in a substantially horizontal direction, and circulating conduits connecting the refrigerantcontaining members.

-16. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a series of upright refrigerant-containing members spaced to provide air ducts therebetwecn, each refrigerant-containing member being segmental and having its rear edge curved downwardly and forwardly, an arcuate plate secured to the rear edges of the refrigerantcontaining members, a front plate secured to the front edges of the refrigerant-containing members and terminating short ofthe bottom of said members, the refrigerant-containing members together with the front and back plates defining upright air ducts having their tops opening upwardly and then lower portions opening horizontally, and c1r culation conduits connecting the refrigerantcontaining members.

-17. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a series of upright refrigerant-containing members spaced to provide air ducts therebetween, each refrigerant-containing member being segmental with a substantially vertical front edge and a downwardly and forwardly curved rear edge, an arcuate plate secured to the rear edges of the refrigerant-containing members, a front plate secured to the upright front edges of the refrigerant-containing members and terminating short of the bottoms thereof, the refrigerant-contain ing members together with the front and back plates defining upright air ducts having their inlet upper ends opening upwardly and their discharge lower portions opening horizontally beneath the lower edge of the front plate, the discharge portions being of less cross-sectional area than the inlet upper ends of the air ducts, and circulating conduits connecting the refrigerant-containing members.

18. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a series of upright refrigerant-containing members spaced to define upright air cooling and circulating ducts therebetween, the upper inlet end of each air duct opening upwardly, the bottom discharge end of each series of upright segmental refrigerantcontaining members spaced to define upright air cooling and circulating ducts therebetween and having curved rear edges, a curved back plate secured to the curved rear edges of the refrigerant-containing members, and a front plate secured to the front upright edges of the refrigerant-containing members andterminating short of the bottom thereof, the front and back plates together with adjacent refrigerant-containing members defining an air duct having its top opening upwardly and its bottom portion opening in a substantially horizontal direction beneath the lower edge of the front plate, and circulating conduits connecting the refrigerantcontaining members.

20. An air cooling and circulating device for refrigeration purposes, comprising a serles of upright refrigerant-containing members spaced to provide air ducts therebe tween, each refrigerant containing member being segmental in shape and having its rear edge curved downwardly and forwardly, an arcuate back plate conforming'to the curved rear edges of the refrigerant-containing members, a front plate extending across the upper front edges of the refrigerant containing members and terminating short of the bottom of said members, the refrigerant contalning members together with the front and back plates defining upright air ducts havmg their tops opening upwardly and their lower portions opening horizontally, and circulating conduits connecting the refrigerant-. containing members. i

21. An air circulating device for refrigeratlon purposes, comprising a series of alternate air and refrigerant compartments, the air compartments having upper inlet ends opening upwardly and lower discharge ends opening in a substantially horizontal direction, the refrigerant compartments being closed at their tops and connected for the circulation'of a refrigerating medium, and there being inlet and outlet ports for the refrigerating medium.

WILLIAM B. PLYMPTON. DONALD PLYMPTON. RALPH A. PLYMPTON.

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