US2113670A - Air distributing system - Google Patents

Description

April 12, 1938. E, vo 2,113,670

AIR DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed April 18, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N3 3 'N w 59p ''l- 1 Q i i l 1 l l l I Q i i w N Inlznm April 12, 1938. A. E. VOlGT AIR DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed April 18, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 12, 1938. I vo 2,113,670

AIR DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed April 18, 1956 3 Sheets-Shget 5 If /6 I I I i' 1 I I 1,; {I}. I P8 Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFIQE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to a system involving a dual duct for the controllable distribution of airpreferably pre-treated or conditioned airto preselected points in dififerent horizontal planes; and while my improved system is especially adapted to passenger railway cars and particularly sleeping cars, it is evident that the improved system is also applicable for use in shops, homes and other buildings and vehicles.

The object of my invention is to convey air from an air conditioning unit to opposite sides and to preselected points in a chamber or enclosure, namely to opposite sides of a passenger carrying car, and through the medium of controllable mechanism distribute or discharge the conditioned air at or adjacent to the deck of the car or at preselected lower levels in the car, say in the lower berths of a sleeping car, or at both upper and lower levels if desired.

My invention, more specifically stated, involves auxiliary ducts with deflectors and discharge or down ducts and suitable damper mechanism whereby the flow of air through the main channel or duct and into the auxiliary ducts may be controlled.

The invention, for purposes of exemplification, has been shown applied to a passenger railway car of the sleeping car type and has therefore been given an embodiment which lends itself to the usual structural lines of such cars and which will in no way interfere with the seating and berth arrangement and operation.

The objects and advantages of my invention as heretofore mentioned as well as other advantages inherent in the invention will all be readily comprehended from the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of the upper part of a passenger railway car adjacent an end of the car with my invention applied.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, with ceiling and operative lever omitted.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of a passenger railway car with intermediate and end portions broken away and provided with my invention.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View of a portion of one side of the car taken at a point intermediate of a pair of adjacent windows.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figure 4, viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a detail view of the lower or discharge end of a'down duct as viewed from the car interior.

My invention is particularly adapted for the distribution of air in a sleeping car, and as it lends itself readily to a type of air distribution system at present in use involving merely a single air duct disposed to the car roof exterior, the invention has been applied to a car of that type with the end of the car intermediate of the car top l and the ceiling H shown provided with air receiving or plenum chamber AZ.

This chamber I2 receives the conditioned air from the blower or fan chamber l3 located in the upper deck portion at the end of the car; the chamber l3 being provided with any suitable air intake and conditioning means not shown.

A plenum chamber i2 is preferably located at the same end of the car and this chamber is disposed transversely of the car with its ends communicating with my improved dual unit which is formed to provide a pair of air conveying conduits or ducts l4 and 5.

The air ducts M and I in the particular exemplification are shown disposed along both sides of the top of the car on opposite sides of the intermediate or deck portion of the car and on the car exterior so as to obviate the necessity for altering the interior construction and hence presenting a more readily incorporated structure.

The air ducts or channels l4 and on each side of the car preferably comprise a single shell l6 made to more or less conform with the general curvature of the shoulders ll of the car top and the vertical sides of the monitor or deck portion; and this shell I6 is shown provided with a vertical partition I8 extending from top to bottom and lengthwise of the shell as shown in Figure 3, thus providing a dual unit.

As the auxiliary duct or channel I 5 is especially intended for the delivery in the lower berths or the lower part of the berth or main sitting portion of a car, the partition I3 is shown curving at its end toward the outer wall of the unit or shell l6 and united thereto; while the duct M of the unit may continue beyond the partition or berth portion of the car, as shown in Figure 3. It is the usual practice not to employ curtains for the upper and lower berths in a compartment'or drawing room at the end of a car and hence the delivery in the upper part of the drawing room or compartment by means of duct or channel I 4 is sufiicient. For that reason I have shown the dual portion of the unit confined to the berth portion of the car, namely the main portion of the car intermediate of the end partitions.

The units I6 are shown properly insulated to reduce conduction losses and the insulation, as well as the deck portion of the car, covered over by the outer covering or crown ID. The inlet ends of the ducts l4 and I5 are shown bent or curved inwardly toward plenum chamber l2 as shown in Figures 2'and 3 and the inlet ends of the ducts provided with controllable dampers at 20, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

These dampers are shown hingedly secured adjacent the ends of the partitions [8 so as to swing through horizontally disposed arcs during rotative movement of the crank-rods 2| which may be suitably trunnioned at their upper and lower ends in the top and bottom walls of the plenum chamber l2, as more clearly shown in Figure 1.

The dampers 20 extend from top to bottom of the plenum chamber and are of width sufficient to extend from the partitions 18 to the opposite side walls of the plenum chamber l2, as shown in Figure 3, in order that communication between the plenum chamber l2 and either duct 14 or duct l5 may be entirely or partly shut off. I

The lower ends of the rods 2| are provided with levers 22, see Figure 2; and the outer ends of these levers 22 have the control rods 23 pivotally connected therewith; the rods being preferably provided with takeup means or turn-buckles as at 25. The other ends of the control rods are pivo-tally connected with an oscillating plate or arm 25 pivotally mounted in a suitable bracket 26 secured to the bottom of the plenum chamber 52. The pivot pin of the arm 25 extends downwardly through the ceiling l I, see Figure 1, where it is provided with a suitable hand lever 21.

With the dampers 26 disposed as shown in full lines in Figure 3, it is apparent that the air from the plenum chamber 12 will be allowed to enter the auxiliary ducts l5, IE5 at opposite sides of the car while communication with air ducts I4, I4 is interrupted; although in practice some air is also permitted to enter ducts 14.

The air ducts l4, M are arranged adjacent the sides of the car deck and the conditioned air from ducts l4, I4 is discharged into the upper part of the car through openings 28 in the sides of the ducts and in the sides of the car-deck and arranged at spaced points lengthwise of the car as shown in Figure 3; these openings in practice being preferably provided on the car interior with some suitable grilling not shown.

Where my improved air distributing system is appiied to a sleeping car, the dampers 20, 20 are intended to be positioned as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 during the day so as to direct the conditioned air from the plenum chamber [2 into the main ducts l4, l4 and permit the conditioned air to be discharged into the upper part of the car through grill-ed openings or ports 28.

During the night run of the sleeping car it is essential to distribute all or a part of the conditioned air into the lower part or lower berths of the car and for that reason I provide the auxiliary ducts it, 55 extending lengthwise of thecar as previously described. In order to have the conditioned air flow into the auxiliary ducts I5, l5, the dampers 28 must be swung toward the full line positions shown in Figure 3, thereby placing ducts i5, 15 in uninterrupted communication with the conditioned air receiving chamber I2. As previously stated, however, in actual practice it is preferable to move the dampers so as to also permit some air to enter ducts l4, [4.

As the air ducts l4, M are intended to distribute the conditioned air into the upper part of the car, these ducts are located adjacent the sides of the deck and laterally extending nipples or short extensions through the side wall of the car-deck are provided as heretofore described; whereas the auxiliary air ducts l5, l5 are intended to distribute the conditioned air into the lower berths and hence at the sides of the car and therefore these auxiliary ducts are shown located in that part of the units 16 positioned nearer to the side Walls of the car in order that down ducts may be lead from these auxiliary ducts in such manner as not to interfere with the general interior contour of the car and without interferring with the construction and operation of the upper berths of the car.

At points coincident with each berth section and preferably so as to be aligned with the usual mirrored panels between the two windows of each section, I provide adownwardly disposed conduit or duct 29, see Figure 4. The duct 29 is secured in an opening in the bottom wall of the duct l5 and extends through an opening in the shoulder ll of the car top and along and partially in the side wall of the car withthe lower end extending intermediate of the windows of a berth section of the car.

The upper ends of the down ducts 29 are shown rectangular in crosssection and at a point beneath the car top shoulder beam 30 the conduit or duct is bent rearwardly or toward the outer wall of the car where the body portion of the duct may be disposed between the inner and outer walls and within the vertically disposed structural post of the car side; the lower end converging somewhat as shown at 3i in Figure 5 and the front or outer wall 32 shown r-earwardly sloping so as to accommodate itself to the structural lines and elements of the car.

It will be understood, of course, that the cross sectional configuration of the down duct may be of any desirable outline where space limitations need not be considered.

The down ducts 29, at suitable points, are provided with small pipes or tubes 33 extending through the ducts from front to rear to receive the bell wires for the push buttons in the upper berths.

The lower ends of the down ducts are provided at the forward or car interior side with an outlet opening at 34 whereby the conditioned air may be discharged into the lower berth portion of the section; this opening being preferably provided with a grilling or cover in addition to some suitable, finger controlled damper or regulator (not shown) whereby the occupant of the lower berth section may either partly or entirely shut off the discharge of the conditioned air.

The discharge outlet 34 is preferably located a proper distance beneath the usual window curtain rail indicated at 35 and thus still leave a sufficient length of space below the outlet opening 34 for the usual mirror panel between the adjacent windows of the section.

In order to ensure the air in auxiliary duct l5 flowing downwardly and particularly in the down ducts removed from the ends of the auxiliary ducts l5, I5, I provide one or more deflectors 36 in the auxiliary ducts l5, [5 at the inlet orifices of the down ducts, see Figures 3, 4 and 5. I prefer to employ a plurality of deflectors or air snatchers at each orifice; the deflectors being vertically disposed and spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the auxiliary ducts l5, l5 and each succeeding deflector, relative to theinitial or air inlet ends of the auxiliary ducts l5, 15. of somewhat greater height, with the upper ends of all of the deflectors preferably curving toward the inlet ends of the auxiliary ducts and. hence against the direction of flow of the conditioned air.

These deflectors may be rigidly secured in place in any suitable manner so as not-to interfere with the flow of air beyond the series of deflectors as for example by the downwardly tapered brace shown at 37 in Figure 5. In view of the increasing depth of the air ducts l5, l toward the partition is, I prefer to slope the tops of the deflectors toward the partition I8, as shown in Figure 4, and thus increase the air grabbing functions of the deflectors 36.

These deflectors or air grabbing elements 36 need merely be arranged at the orifices of the down ducts removed from the ends of the auxiliary ducts i5, i5 as the accumulated pressure will force the air to flow down the ducts 29 at the farther ends of the ducts I5.

In order to obtain distribution of conditioned air through the down ducts 29, it is necessary to provide .a dual unit wherein one passage of each unit constitutes an auxiliary or down duct feeding conduit, instead of having the down ducts connect with passage or duct i4,--which has the openings through the side wall of the deck of the car,as the air would flow through the path of least resistance and hence pass through the deck openings adjacent the top of the car.

My invention provides means whereby cooled or conditioned air from a common blower and plenum chamber may be discharged at difierent levels in a sleeping car for either day or night travel by means of separate conduits or ducts communicating with said plenum chamber; and in order to overcome the resistance offered by the down ducts, higher air pressure in the conduits communicating with the down ducts is obtained by decreasing the .area or cross-sectional dimensions of the major portion of this conduit or auxiliary duct. By reason of this construction the increased air distribution is obtained without the necessity and expense of providing additional blowers.

In the installation of the air distributing system as exemplified by the drawings, the connections between the plenum chamber and the ducts are located beyond the smoking compartment and lavatory ends of the car and I therefore provide a conduit 38 which preferably communicates with the bottom of the duct l4 somewhat beyond the connection between the air supply or plenum chamber I2 and duct M. The discharge end of the conduit 38 may be arranged at any desirable point in the smoking compartment or lavatory where it will not protrude or detract from the usual structural design of the car and the discharge end is preferably provided with a suitable type of well known regulating shutter or damper, not shown.

Any suitable means may be employed for firmly holding the hand lever 21 in its adjusted positions, and as various means may be employed I do not deem. it necessary to illustrate such means.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, the principal object of my invention is to conduct air from an air conditioner unit on a passagener carrying car by means of a duct system located on one or both sides of the car; this duct system being adapted to distribute this air preferably through grilles arranged in the side of the upper deck or in the ceiling of the car so as to cool the car during day travel; the system also involving what Ihave termed an auxiliary duct, which communicates with the same air conditioner unit, and is provided with downwardly disposed conduits or ducts adapted to convey the conditioned air, or some of it into the lower berths (if the car is a sleeping car) during night travel.

The auxiliary duct has deflectors, or air grabbers as it were, whereby the air is caused to flow into the down conduits. The outlet or discharge ends of the down conduits are preferably located in the panel between the windows of a berth section so that the conditioned air will discharge more or less centrally in the berth; and these outlets are preferably provided with any well known type of shutter or damper whereby the berth occupant may regulate or entirely shut off the discharge.

The invention more specifically stated involves a single structure formed to constitute a dual duct connected with a single air supply or plenum chamber and the connection provided with means whereby flow of air into one duct or the other may be controlled; while the duct for conveying the air intended for discharge at a lower level in the car is of a cross-sectional area adapted to place the air under greater pressure so as to overcome the resistance of the down conduits.

The dravn'ngs substantially illustrate an embodiment of my invention in use and as applied to the conventional type of sleeping car, but it is apparent that certain modifications are possible whereby the invention may lend itself somewhat more conveniently to other types of cars or enclosures without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A system of the character described comprising a pair of air ducts arranged horizontally parallel with each other lengthwise adjacent the top and on each side of a railroad passenger car, one of the ducts of each pair being provided with laterally disposed openings adapted to discharge air adjacent the ceiling of the car, while the other duct of each pair is provided with vertically disposed discharge conduits arranged on the side walls of the car and adapted to discharge air at a lower level in the car, said second mentioned ducts being formed to increase the pressure of the air therein over' the pressure of the air in the first mentioned duct; an air supply chamber disposed transversely above the ceiling of the car and common to the ducts of both pairs; and means operable from the car interior whereby the flow of air from said supply chamber into the selected duct of both pairs may be controlled.

2. A system of the character described comprising, in combination with a railroad car provided at the end with a plenum chamber; a dual duct unit leading from said chamber and extending lengthwise at the top of the car on each side thereof to provide a pair of parallelly arranged air ducts, the duct disposed toward the longitudinal center line of the car being provided with a plurality of laterally disposed openings for discharging air adjacent the ceiling of the car, the other duct of each conduit being formed to increase the pressure of the air therein and provided with air conveying conduits extending downwardly at the side wall of the car to discharge air at a lower level in the car, said duct at the orifices of the downwardly disposed conduits being provided with stationary vertically disposed graduated deflectors whose upper ends are disposed in the direction of the inflowing air for deflecting the air into said downwardly extending conduits; and means operable from the car interior whereby the air flow from the plenum chamber into the selected duct of both dual conduit units may be controlled.

ALEXANDER E. VOIGT.

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