US2020093A

US2020093A - Air conditioning apparatus utilizing ice

Info

Publication number: US2020093A
Application number: US8293A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel M Anderson
Original assignee: B F STURTEVANT Co Inc
Current assignee: B F STURTEVANT Co Inc; B F STURTEVANT COMPANY Inc
Priority date: 1935-02-26
Filing date: 1935-02-26
Publication date: 1935-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 1952-11-05

Description

Nov. 5, 1935. s. M. ANDERSON AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS UTILIZING ICE Filed Feb. 26, 1955 Patented Nov. 5, 1935 2,020.09: AIR CONDITIONING maaaros' PATENT orrlca arch Samuel M. Anderson, Sharon, Mass assignor to y B. F. Sturtevant Company, Inc., Boston,

Application February 26, 1935, Serial No. 8,292

4 Claims. (01. 62-131) gers in a railway passenger car. 1

- g The present invention is an improvement over that disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 1,972,912, issued September 11, 1934.

o ice cakes in bulk is mounted on the under side cool the air passing therethrough. The water by. direct contact with the lower surface of the ice cakes at the bottom of the bin. 7

According to a feature of this invention tthe ice bin is provided with a floor which slopes from each side 01 the car to the center thereof, whereby, as the ice at the bottom of the bin is melted,

more ice slides down the inclined floor of the bin towards the center; the arrangement being such, that the ice always presents substantially a uniform surface .of contact between water and ice, as long as there is any ice in the bin.

According to another feature of this invention,

an overflow pipe is located in the center of the bin to drain the excess water from the melted 1 ice to the tracks. The overflow point is adjustable to compensate for the varying quantities or ice melted, due to diflerent temperature conditions encountered in service. According to another feature of the invention,

the air'conditioning chamber contains a precooling coil through. which a 'small portion of the water normally recirculated to the ice bin for recooling, is continuously shunted from-the main' to air cooling apparatus; the quantity of this shunted water being normally equal to the amount oi. 1 excess water which is being continuously added to that in the ice bin, due to the melting of the ice therein. The water after passing through the pre-cooling coil, passes to the overflow inthe center of the bin and is drained as excess water to the tracks. with this arrangement the excess water, drained to the tracks is at a higher 0 temperature than the excess water which would normally be drained directly from the ice bin, due to its having absorbed additional heat in the pre-cooler coil. Thus the ice in the bin is conserved to the maximum degree possible. 5 An object of the invention is to provide an efllcient, inexpensive apparatus for the conditioning of air.

Another object of the inventioh is to provide 4 an air cooling system, utilizing ice, providing a uniform cooling efiect.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions taken together i with the drawing.

The inventioniwill now be described with reference to the drawing, of whichzv Fig. 1 is a partial side view of a railway passenger car equipped with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along lines 2-2 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the lzi lay-out of the apparatus.

The ice bin indicated generally by the nu flattened portion 9. 25

Just above the flattened portion 9, of the floor r and at substantially the lower-most point in the bin, is the pump. intake ipe ll, into which the ice water, to be circulated to the cooling compartment, is drawn. The pipe II is so arranged with 30 'i'ound in ordinary railway operation.

24, which acts to'removeobjectionable particles of dirt which might be carried into the system by the ice in the bin.

' To one box 2:, is connected the finale tip; of the pump l2and to the other box 23 is connected the return water pipe Hi from the cooling compartment l5. It is seen that the water passes .4

longitudinally through the bin in contact with the lower surface of the ice.

. The water circulated in the system is cooled by down the inclined floor 8, to provide at all times, solongasanyiceremainsintheblmasum' cooling water in the lowermost portionof the bin.

The ice water indrawn into the pump intake pipe passes into the pump l2, and thence through pipe i3, to the main cooling coils H, in the air cooling compartment IS. The water is recirculated then through pipe l6, back into the ice bin 6. It is preferred that two similar air cooling compartments I5 to be provided, one in each end of the car. Fig. 3 illustrates the piping for two such compartments.

A small portion of the cooling water leaving the main cooling coils I4, is shunted at the T connection |'l, through the pre-cooler coil l8, and after passing through the pro-cooler coil, passes through the pipe l9, into the overflow pipe 20. As stated before, the amount of water shunted through the pre-cooling coil is as closely as can be determined, the amount the melting ice adds normally to that in the ice bin. Thus the precooler extracts, so to speak, additional cold energy from the excess water so that it is drained to the tracks at a temperature several degrees higher than were it drained directly from the ice bin.

An overflow pipe 20, contains a plurality of openings 2|, which are spaced the heighth thereof. The sleeve 22, slidably mounted on the pipe 20, is adapted to be moved up and down to cover the openings 2|," thus adjusting the overflow level to be maintained in the ice bin. If preferred the openings 2|, may be tapped and provided with plugs, the overflow, thereof then being adjusted by the removal of a plug from one of the different openings 2|. This adjustment was provided to prevent the accumulation of too much water in the ice bin, as where, due to unusually hot weather, more water is provided by the melting ice than is exhausted by the pipe IS, in the overflow pipe 20. l

The lowermost opening 2|, is located above the intake pipe ll, so that the intake pipe is covered at all times. Y

Whereas one embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of illustration, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement described, since many departures may occur to those skilled in the art, after having had access to this disclosure.

What is claimed is:

1. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a sump' to contain ice, means for flowing water through and around the ice insaid sump, an ice compartment surmounting the sump and containing ice unexposed to the water and arranged to feed ice to the sump as ice therein melts, an

air cooling unit, cooling means in said unit for conditioning the air passing therethrough, means for circulating water from said sump to said cooling means, a precooler coil in said unit, means for continuously shunting a portion of the*water leaving said cooling means through said coil, an overflow pipe in said sump, means for returning the remainder of the water leaving said cooling means to said sump, and means for passing water from said precooler coil to the water adjacent said overflow pipe.

2. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a sump to contain ice, means for flowing water through and around the ice in said sump, an ice compartment surmounting the sump and containing ice unexposed to 'the water and arranged to feed ice to the sump as ice therein melts, an air cooling 'unit, cooling means in said unit for conditioning the air passing therethrough, means for circulating water from said sump to said cooling means, a precooler coil in said unit, means for continuously shunting a portion of the water from said cooling means through said coil, means for returning the remainder of the water leaving said cooling means to said sump, an overflow pipe in said sump, means for passing water returned from said precooler coil to the water adjacent said pipe, and means for adjusting the overflow point of said pipe.

3. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a sump to contain ice, an ice compartment surmounting the sump for storing ice unexposed to the water in said sump and arranged to feed ice to the sump as the ice therein melts, an air cooling unit, means for flowing water in contact with the surface of the ice in said sump and for supplying same to said unit, a precooler coil in said unit, means for continuously shunting a portion of the water returned from said cooling unit through said coil, an overflow pipe, an overflow chamber around said pipe communicating with the water in said sump so as to have the same water level, means for returning the water retumedfrom said coil to said chamber, and means for returning the remaining portion of the water returned from said unit to said sump.

4. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a sump to contain ice, an ice compartment surmounting the sump for storing ice unexposed to the water in said sump and arranged to feed ice to the sump as the ice therein melts, an air cooling unit, means for flowing water in contact with the surface of the ice in said sump and for supplying same to said unit, a precooler coil in said unit, means for continuously shunting a portion of the water returned from said cooling unit through said coil, an overflowvpipe, an overflow chamber around said pipe communicating with the water in said sump so as to have the same water level, means for returning the water returned from said coil to said chamber, means for returning the remaining portion of the water returned from said unit to said sump, and means for adjusting the overflow point of said pipe. U

SAMUEL M. ANDERSON.