US1943128A - Portable air cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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Jan., i9, 393@ w. J. MADDEN PORTABLE AIR COOLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 20, 1932 NVENTR: am JT Iadoleii WITNESSE Jan. 9, 1934. w J. MADDEN PORTABLE AIR COOLING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTR: Wiliam J Madfien,

WITNESSES:

v 'I Y ,"BY l /f 'I l ITTORNEYS.

Jan. 9, 1934. w. J. MADDEN PORTABLE AIR bCOOLING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGZ INVENTOR: /Vlz'amlladden.

Patented Jan. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES'PATENT ori-lcs PORTABLE AIR COOLING APPARA'IU William J. Madden, Lansdowne, Pa.

Application October 20, 1932. Serial No. 638,731

9 Claims.

This invention relates generally to air cooling apparatus for conditioning air in enclosures where people assemble. While capable of a variety of applications, it is especially useful when applied to portable apparatus designed for the pre-cooling of railway passenger cars while such cars stand at a station platform.

The principal object of my invention is to provide, in an air cooling unit in which ice is used 10 as the primary cooling medium, means for utilizing the ice water resulting from the melting of the ice as a medium for the interchange of heat whereby the ice water is voided from the cooling chamber as warm water, thereby rendering the cooling apparatus more economical and capable of accomplishing its work in a sh0rter period.

Other more specic objects and advantages characteristic of my invention will become more fully apparent from the description hereinafter of one example or embodiment thereof, the description having reference to the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Fig. I represents a plan view of a portable cooling unit of my invention adapted to the precooling of railway passenger cars, a portion of the roof of the cooling chamber being removed to reveal the interior thereof.

Fig. l1 represents a side elevation of the same with certain portions of the sides of the cooling chamber removed.

Fig. III represents an end elevation of the same; and,

Fig. IV represents a cross section of one of the ice' compartments of the cooling chamber.

In the drawings there is shown a portable cooling unit adapted for the pre-cooling of railway passenger cars while standing alongside a station platform. Cooling units designed for such4 use may be called upon .to re-condition the air in a railway car in a brief interval during which the car stands at a. station preparatory to its departure, and hence it is important that the unit may be-speedly connected to the car, and that it perform its work efficiently and economically during the cooling period available.

In general the apparatus shown comprises a platform truck l, which may take the form of an ordinary baggage truck, such as is commonly used at railway stations, an air cooling chamber 2 mounted on the truck, and a blower 3 mounted on the truck near one end of the air cooling chamber, the blower being adapted to circulate air through the chamber. -In the arrangement (Cl. (i2-24) shown, the air is drawn through the intake duct 4 and is discharged by the blower 3, which is driven by a motor 5, through a short connecting duct 6 into one end of the cooling chamber 2. After passage through the air cooling chamber 2, air is discharged through a discharge duct 7, from whence it is led to the car which is to be cooled. Preferably both the intake duct 4 and the discharge duct 7 are detachably connected to the side windows of the canso as to form with the interior passenger space of the car a substantially closed system in which the air circulates continuously. While the system is substantially closed, it is replenished with fresh air which leaks into the car to be cooled, for no attempt is made to render the car absolutely airtight.

The cooling chamber 2 is in the form of anA elongated rectangular box which rests on the floor 8 of the truck 1, and which is of substan- 'I64 tially the same width as thatkof the truck. The truck 1 and its air cooling chamber 2 are preferably disposed in parallel arrangement with the car to be cooled so as to oifer a minimum of obstruction on the station platform. The air cooling chamber 2 is preferably provided with a series of baflles or partition plates 9 which divide the chamber into a series of individual compartments, each adapted to accommodate cakes or pieces of ice. The partition plates 9 preferably extend 85 downward from the top of the cooling chamber 2 to a point midwaybetween the top and bottom of the ice cakes which are represented diagrammatically at 10.

While the lend compartments of the cooling chamber 2 may be filled with cakes of ice in a manner similar 'to the intermediate compartments, in the illustrated example of my invention I have shown the end compartments lled with broken ice 10a. In the normal operation of cool- 95 ing units for railway cars, there is an accumulation of broken pieces of ice which cannot be readily placed in the same compartments with the full cakes of ice. Accordingly, one or more compartments, depending upon the rate of accumulation `of the broken ice, are arranged to accommodate small pieces. These compartments are provided with an inner door 30 hinged at 31, shown clearly in Fig. IV, which when raised to a vertical position permitsthe piling up of the pieces of ice to substantially iill the compartment, while preventing the ice pieces from toppling over. By' the combination of full cakes of ice in certain compartments and broken ice in others, there is a saving lin labor, for it is unnecessary to break 11 up small cakes of ice and t them in the available spaces around the large cakes; and the unit is' rendered more eicient by reason of the intimate contact of the air currents with the broken pieces of ice.

As indicated by the arrows, air admitted to the cooling chamber follows a devious course. In the end compartments the air passes around and through the small pieces of ice a. In the intermediate compartments it passes above and around each cake of ice 10 and then downward and under the lower edge of a partition plate 9 and upward around the next cake of ice. The air cooling chamber 2 is so designed that narrow passages are defined between the exterior surfaces of the ice, the sides and top of the air chamber 2, and the partition plates 9. y

At the intake end of the cooling chamber 2, the duct 6 leads downward from the blower 3 to a point beneath the level of the truck floor 8 and is there restricted in cross sectional area. At the restricted portion, a radiator l1 is provided. Air from the duct 6 is directed by baiiles 27 through the radiator 11, and is then deflected through an air passage 12 to` the intake end of thecooling chamber 2. At the intake end of the cooling chamber 2, there is shown a bame 13 in the form of a wire screen.

At the discharge end of the cooling chamber 2 there is an additional baflie 14 in the form of a wire screen, and between the baille 14 and the discharge duct 7 there is provided a transition member 15 which is of rectangular cross section where it joins the air cooling chamber 2 and of circular cross section where it joins the discharge duct 7. At this end of the cooling chamber 2 there is also provided a moisture eliminator diagrammatically represented at 16, which is used to prevent moisture being carried over from the cooling chamber`2 to the enclosure to be cooled.

Each ice compartment is equipped with a Swinging door 1 8 opening at the side of the truck. Accordingly, while the unit is in operation, each compartment can be replenished with fresh ice when required, without admitting warm air into the other compartments by the opening of the door.

Near the discharge end of the air cooling chamber 2, there is a drain pipe 19 which leads downward through the oor 8 of the truck and connects with a drain 20 which extends longitudinally of the truckalong the center thereof. Beneath the drain pipe 19 there is provided a dirt collecting strainer 21. The drain 20 leads forward beneath the floor 8 `of the truck to a point near the, front end of the air cooling chamber 2 where it turns transversely as indicated at 22 to the side of the air cooling chamber. At the side of the air cooling chamber there is provided an additional dirt collecting strainer 23.

From the strainer 23 a pipe section 24 leads into one end of the radiator 11. It will be observed that the radiator 11 extends downward beneath the oor 8 of the truck 1. To thus accommodate the radiator 11, the central portion of the oor 8 is cut away as indicated at 25. The cut away portion 25 is made large enough` to permit the passage of the duct 6 through the floor 8, and likewise to accommodate the air passage 12 which leads from the radiator 11 to the front end of the air cooling chamber 2. To the radiator 11 there is iltted an overflow pipe 26, and a vent 28 which prevents `syphoning of water from the radiator into the overflow pipe 26.

Water collecting in the bottom of the air cooling chamber 2, as a result of the melting of the ice cakes 10, flows by gravity into the grain 20, from thence to the radiator 11, and from thence is discharged onto the station platform through the overow pipe 26. The dirt collecting strain- S0 ers 21 and 23 prevent the radiator 11 from becoming clogged up with foreign material. A drain pipe 29 leading from the air space of the radiator 11 drains oil the water collecting from condensation which results from the warm air in the duct 6 striking the cold metal surfaces of the radiator.

To effect the greatest economy of operation. the radiator should be placed at a point where there is the maximum difference in temperature between the air to be cooled and the cooling medium, and hence I prefer to situate the radiator at the point where the warm air duct enters .the cooling chamber.

With the arrangement described above, 'it will 95 be apparent that as the ice cakes 10 and the pieces of ice 10a melt, thereby widening the air passages between the exterior surfaces of the ice and the interior surfaces of the air cooling chamber 2, and thus reducing the eiciency of the cooling unit, more cold water becomes available from the melting of the ice for gravitational flow through the drain 20 and the radiator 11, and consequently additional cooling is performed at the initial stage of the cooling unit where the radiator 11 is located. Thus the use of the radiator 11 in the manner described tends to compensate for the reduced eiiiciency caused by the melting of the ice.

While I have described one particular form which the apparatus of my invention may take, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the apparatus is adapted for many other uses than the speciiic application to a railway car herein described, and that numerous changes may be made in the details and arrangement of the constituent elements of the apparatus, all without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. A portable car cooling apparatus comprising a cooling chamber having a duct connection with the car to be cooled, said chamber being divided into compartments, each adapted to be substantially filled with ice, a blower for effecting a circulation of air through said chamber around said ice whereby the air is cooled by successive stages, a radiator in the air passage, said radiator being disposed below the bottom of said chamber and in advance of one end thereof, and means for discharging water resulting from the melting of the ice by gravity through said radiator.

2. A portable car cooling apparatus comprising a cooling chamber having a duct connection with the car to be cooled and being divided into compartments, each adapted to be substantially lled with ice, a blower for effecting a circulation of air throughA said chamber around said ice, said cooling chamber having a restricted opening at one end thereof through which all of the air being 14C cooled passes, a radiator at said restricted opening, and means for conducting water resulting from the melting of ice through said radiator.

3. A portable car cooling apparatus comprising a cooling chamber having a duct connection with 145 thecar to be cooled and being divided into compartments, each adapted to be substantially fllled with ice. a blower for effecting' a circulation of air through said chamber around said ice, said cool- Ying chamber having a restricted opening at one end thereor through which all ci the air being cooled passes, a radiator at said restricted opening near the bottom of the cooling chamber, and a drain for conducting water resulting from the melting of the ice through said radiator.

.i. A portable car cooling unit comprising a truck, a cooling chamber mounted longitudinally thereon and adapted to accoodate ice, said cooling chamber having a duct connection with the car to be cooled, a blower on said truclr near one end o said cooling chamber, said blower being adapted to effect a circulation oi air through said chamber around said ice, a duct connecting said blower and cooling chamber, a radiator extending across said duct in advance of the end of said cooling chamber, and means for conducting water resulting from the melting of the ice through said radiator.

5. A portable car cooling unit comprising a truck, a cooling chamber mounted longitudinally thereon, said cooling chamber having a series of transverse partitions dividing the chamber into compartments forthe accommodation of ice, and said cooling chamber having a duct connection with the car to be cooled, a blower on said truck near one end of said cooling chamber, said blower having a duct connecting it to said cooling chamber and being operable to circulate air through said duct and chamber, a radiator extending across said duct in advance of the end of said cooling chamber, and a drain at the bottom of said cooling chamber for conducting water formed therein to said radiator by gravity flow.

6. A portable car cooling unit comprising a truck, a cooling chamber mounted thereon, said cooling chamber having duct connections with thecar to be cooled and forming with the car a closed system for the circulation of' air and said cooling chamber being adapted to be substantially lled with ice whereby the air flowing therethrough is conned to narrow passages between the exterior surfaces of the ice and the interior surfaces of the cooling chamber, a radiator in said closed system and in advance of one end of said cooling chamber through which all of the arca 3 air cwing in the system must pass, and a drain at the bottom of said cooling chamber for cona ducting water formed therein to said radiator by gravitational flow.

7. A portable car cooling unit comprising a truclr, a cooling chamber thereon having a duct connection with the car to be cooled and being adapted to be substantially iilled with ice ior cooling air passing therethrough, a blower on said truck near one end of the cooling chamber, a duct leading from said blower to said cooling chamber, said duct passing downward through the floor o the truck and. then upward into the cooling chains ber, a radiator in said duct extending beneath the door of the truck, and a drain beneath said cooling chamber for conducting water formed therein to said radiator by gravitational flow.

8. A portable car cooling apparatus comprising a cooling chamber having a duct connection at one end with the car to be cooled and being divided by partition plates into a plurality of ice compartments, a duct leading to the other end oi said chamber, a blower for eiecting a circulation of air through said chamber around the ice whereby the ice is cooled by successive stages, a radiator in the duct leading to said chamber, and means for discharging water resulting from the melting of the ice through said radiator, certain of the said ice compartments being adapted to accommodate large cakes of ice, and others being adapted to accommodate small pieces of broken ice.

9. A portable car cooling apparatus comprising a cooling chamber adapted to be substantially tllled with cakes of ice, ducts connected to the car to be cooled and leading to each end of. said chamber, a blower for effecting a circulation of relatively warm air through one of said ducts and through said chamber around said ice cakes to the other duct, a radiator in said warm air duct disposed below and in advance of the end of said chamber, and means for discharging water resulting from the melting of the ice by gravity through said radiator.

' WIILIAM J. MADDEN. 120

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