US1984658A

US1984658A - Air conditioning machine

Info

Publication number: US1984658A
Application number: US648810A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alfred E Rourke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1932-12-24
Filing date: 1932-12-24
Publication date: 1934-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 1951-12-18

Description

A. E. ROURKE AIR CONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1932 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ALFREDEROURKE/ ATTORNEY.

Dec. 18 19340 2 A. E, RQURKE I AIR CONDITIONING MACHINE Fil ed Dec. 24, 1952 2 Shees-$heet 2 FIGA.

BUD UDDUEUDEIDDUUUU" JDDDDEIUEIDEIUDUV "QEIDUUDEIUUEIDV UDUUEIEIIIU INVENTOR. ALFRED. E .ROURKE AT TORN EY.

Patented Dec. 18, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1,984,658 AIR CONDITIONING MACHINE Alfred E. Rourke, San

of one-half to Walter cisco, Calif.

Francisco, Calif., assignor G. Abbott, San Fran- Application December 24, 1932, Serial No. 648,8lll

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in air conditioning machines.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a compact, self-contained machine, adapted to raise or lower the temperature of atmospheric air circulating through the machine.

Another object is to control the. temperature and/or humidity of the air.

Another object is to wash dust and other suspended solids from the air.

Another object is to provide means for medicating or perfuming the humidified air.

A further object is to construct and arrange the parts of the machine so that it may be made portable in smaller units or in larger units combined with the air ducts of the conventional heating or ventilating installations.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description progresses.

In this specification and. the accompanying drawings, the invention is disclosed in its preferred form. It is to be understood, however, that it is not limited to this particular structure because it may be embodied in other forms within the purview of the claims following the description.

In the two sheets of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an air conditioner constructed in accordance with this invention; the enclosing casing being shown in vertical section on the line 1-1, Fig. 2, with certain of the internal mechanisms shown in full lines better to disclose their form and inter-relations.

Fig. 2 is a front view of tion ofthe protective grille work and the louvre omitted to disclose the heating, element.

Fig. 3 is a front view detail of the humidifying element.

Fig. 4 is a top view detail in horizontal section on the line IV-IV, Fig. 1, of the condensing baiiie unit.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings, referring to Fig: 1, comprises the main frame composed of the transverse channel bolsters 1-1 supported upon the ball casters 22. The longitudinal sills 3 -3 are fixed to the bolsters to form a rectangular mobile frame. The upright channel 4 is fixed to the cross brace 5 extending crosswise between the sills 3 and carries the upper cross bar 6 at its top. The side plates R7 and 8 are fixed to this crossbar and to the side sills, respectively to form the sides of the enclosing casing and brace the upright 4. The

. enclosing casing may be composed of a Single 55 sheet as in Fig. 2 if preferred.

thesame with a poi The front end of the casing is covered by the perforated plate or grille 9. This grille is flanged at the top and sides 9" to be detachably attached to the top plate 10 and the sides '7-8 and. to the front bolster 1. The top is also secured to the cross bar 6 and to the sides to form a rigid enclosing casing.

The cylindrical tunnel 11 has its front end supported in the flange 12 on the grille. Its rear end is supported on the legs 13, rising from the sills 3. The top of the tunnel is braced by the bracket 14 fixed to the upright 4 all of which holds the tunnel rigidly fixed within the enclosing casing and open at both ends.

The motor 15, mounted upon the upright 4, has the fan 16 thereon and forms the blower unit within the entrance end of the tunnel 11, through which it generates a forced draft of air drawn from within the area of the surrounding casing and particularly through the front grille rearwardly.

The humidifying unit A, the condensing baflle unit B, the refrigerating unit C and the heating unit D are mounted in the exhaust tunnel be: tween the fan 16 and the grille 9. 25

The humidifying unit A consists of the return bent tube 1'7, see Fig. 3, supported by the upper and lower brackets 18-19 engaging the ring 20 slidable within the cylindrical tunnel 11. The tube sections between bends are perforated on their lower sides to form water jets at 21 in the path of the air draft from the fan 16.

Water is forced through the .tube 17 by the pump 22 mounted upon the upright 4 and driven by the motor 15 through the

pulleys

23, 24 and the belt 25. The water is drawn through the intake 26, connected to the heating chamber 27, formed beneath the auxiliary tank 28. This tank is surmounted by the removable reservoir 29 which also closes the rear end of the enclosing casing. The check valve 30 is placed in the bottom of the reservoir and has the protruding stem 31 engageable with the end of the lever 32, pivoted at 33, and actuated by the float 34. When the water rises to the desired level, the lift of the float lowers the end of the lever 32 out of contact with the valve stem and permits the valve 30 to seat and stop the flow from the reservoirin the conventional manner of float operated valves. To conceal the auxiliary tank 28, the ornamental plate 36 may be attached to the adjacent bolster 1.

The heating chamber 27 has the conventional immersion electric heater 3''! inserted therein to heat the contents of the chamber. The sump plug 38 is provided for the removal of any sediment that may accumulate therein.

The baflle unit B comprisesthe ring 40 slideable within the tunnel similarly to the ring 20. A series of curved baiile plates 41 are vertically fixed in the ring 40 with their rear edges presented to the fan 16. The planes of these baffles are preferably bent in reverse curves as shown in Fig. 4 to form tortuous passages between for the forced draft. It is the function of these bafiles to arrest the excess of water driven off the humidifier 17 so that a nebulized mist issues from the rear of the baflle unit. This mist is evenly distributed and carried in suspension by the air current to add the required humidityto the air passing through the tunnel 11.

The degree of humidity can be automatically controlled by a conventional hydrostat 42 interposed in the air current and connected by electric remote control with a magnetic valve 43 adapted to bleed the excess water supply from the tube 17 back to the chamber 27, see Fig. 1'. This hydrostat and valve control are conventional in structure and operation 'so that this diagrammatic illustration is deemed suificient for the present purpose.

The refrigerating unit C comprises the return coil cooling element 44 mounted in the ring 45 telescoping within the tunnel 11. This coil is connected with the motor compressor unit 46, which has radiating coils (not shown) cooled by outside atmospheric air or by other means obvious to those skilled in the art. This unit is conventional in structure and mode of operation, and many forms of such assemblies are available for the purpose.

The motor unit 46 has the lugs 46 which are bolted to the sills 3 so that the unit C and its -assembled parts may be easily installed or removed without affecting the remaining structure. The same is true of the heating unit D mounted within the ring The drip or leakage incidental to the units A, B, C accumulates in the trough 48 in the bottom of the tunnel 11 and drains back to the auxiliary tank 28 through the drain pipe 49.

The heating unit D preferably consists of a plurality of sections of resistance coils 505l arranged in an electric circuit through the switches 52-53 in such a manner that they may be operated singly or in unison in the usual manner.

Obviously the cooling and heating units C and D will be operated independently of each other as selected by the operator for the desired result.

The deflecting louver mounted on the grille in front of the exhaust tunnel is intended to deflect the outgoing air up or down as desired. The heated air should be deflected downward and the chilled air upward to create turbulence and prevent Stratification. The louver consists of the blades 54-54, pivoted in the ring flange 55, formed on the grille front. The edges of the blades are pivoted to the vertical bar 56 to cause them to act in unison. This barfrictionally engages the flange 55 and has the exposed handle 56 projecting through the flange 55. The frictional engagement of the bar and flange holds the blades in adjusted position.

The electric wiring is shown in schematic diagram in elementary form to avoid confusion of the drawing in Fig. 1, it being understood that in practice the various manual switches will be grouped upon a control board in the conventional manner.

The cooling and heating elements C and D being alternatives and each functioning to change the temperature of the air, either will be broadly designated as .air tempering means.

The bafiie unit B may be composed of Wire screens or other means, but the curved plates shown are preferred because they present the desired condensing surface with minimal resistance to the passage of the forced draft from the blower.

Except for the danger of flooding, the humidifying element A could be fed from the reservoir by gravity, but force feeding by the pump 22 is preferred because it can be controlled in unison with the blower. If humidification is not desired, the valve 43 can be opened and the discharge from the pump bypassed back to the chamber 27.

The operation of the machine is substantially as follows: The draft of air forced through the tunnel by the blower unit '15-16 draws air through the upper and lower portions of the grille 9 into the portions of the casing surrounding the tunnel 11.

The draft from the blower picks off the water issuing from the jets in the humidifying tube 17. This spray striking the surfaces of the bafile plates 41 is accumulated by capillary attraction or condenses thereon and drains down into the trough 48 and back to the heating chamber 27. The-smaller particles of water remain suspended in the air current, forming a nebulous vapor.

The humidified air may be chilled by the element C or heated by the element D as desired. The tempered air issuing from the tunnel is deflected upward by the louvers 54 into the hotter air in the upper portion of the room if the air current is cold, or downward into the colder air'near the floor if the air current is heated. The turbulence thus created prevents thermal stratification of the air confined 'in the room and causes the whole body of confined air to circulate through the machine. The incoming air is modified by the heat or cold radiating from the Walls of the tunnel before passing through the blower fan 16. This keeps the motor 15 cool and conserves the energy of the units CD.

Preheating the water in the chamber 27 counteracts the lowering of the temperature of the. air' current by evaporation incidental to the functioning of the humidifier A.

Where it is desirable to reduce the dimensions of the machine, the air intake could be directly behind the blower instead of through the grille 9 and the casing as shown.

Soluble medicants or perfume placed in the reservoir 29 or the tank 28 will impregnate the air draft and be diffused by the air circulating through the machine. 1

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An air conditioner including an enclosing casing open at its front and closed at the rear; a tunnel mounted in said casing and spaced from the rear thereof; a blower mounted in the rear end of saidtunnel; a humidifier; a baffle; and air tempering means in said tunnel in front of said blower.

2. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosing casing on said frame;

a tank and reservoir on said frame closing one end of said casing; a tunnel in said casing open at both ends; a blower within-said tunnel; a humidifier in front of said blower; a pump interposed between said tank and humidifier; and an air tempering means in said casing in operative relation to said blower.

3. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; a tank and reservoir on said frame; a float controlled valve between said tank and reservoir; an enclosing casing on said frame; a blower in said casing; a humidifier connected with said tank, a bafile, and an air tempering means in operative relation to said blower, and a pump interposed between said tank and humidifier. v

4. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosing casing and a tank on said frame; a heater in said tank; a blower in said casing; a humidifier, a bafiie and an air tempering means arranged in operative relation to said blower; a supply means between said tank and humidifier, and hydrostatic control means between said humidifier and supply means.

5. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosing casing and a tank on said frame; a tunnel within and exhausting from said casing; a blower in operative relation to said tunnel; a humidifier in said tunnel and connected with said tank; supply means for said humidifier operated in unison with said blower; and a refrigerating unit in said casing having a cooling element in said tunnel.

6. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosing casing open at its front end; a tunnel in said casing disposed toward the open front end thereof; a blower in operative relation to said tunnel; a humidifier and 'air tempering means in said tunnel; a louver at the discharge end of said tunnel; and means for regulating said louver to deflect the discharged air in go the desired direction.

ALFRED E. BOURKE.