US2127438A

US2127438A - Air cooled condenser

Info

Publication number: US2127438A
Application number: US59755A
Authority: US
Inventors: Steenstrup Christian
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1936-01-18
Filing date: 1936-01-18
Publication date: 1938-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 1955-08-16

Description

Aug. 16, 1938. I c. STEENSTRUP 2$127,438

' AIR COOLED CONDENSER I Filed Jan. 18, 1936 Inventor: Christian Steenstrup,

bld W His ttorneg.

4 view along the line Patented. Aug. 16, 193

PATENT OFFICE" AIR COOLED CONDENSER Christian Steenstrup, Schenectady, N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application January 1a, 1936, Serial no. 59355 10 Claims.

My invention relates to air cooled condensers for refrigerating machines. More, particularly my invention relates to air cooled condensers for refrigerating machines in which a tubular sheet 5 metal member having a condensing chamber therein is provided, an annulus of heat conducting fins or other intermediate supporting member being arranged within the periphery of the tubular member. The tubular member. and

in intermediate supporting member are ordinarily pressed on a cylindrical compressor easing or similar main supporting member. I have found,

however, that when such condensers are pro- -duced by large scale quantity-production fac- 15 tory methods that the diameters of the supportprising a tubular member having. a condensing chamber therein and mounted on anintermediate supporting member surrounding a main 30 supporting member and an arrangement which readily provides an increase in the circumferential length of the tubular member due tothe internal stretching forces to which" it is subjected,

, the stretching in the tubular member being 10- 35 calized in a particular part thereof.

' Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following descriptionproceeds and the features of-novelty and forming a part of this specification."

For a. better understanding of my invention,

reference may be had to the accompanying dfawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a refrigerator cabinet and refrigerating machine therefor provided with an air cooled condenser embodying my invention; Fig. 2 isa plan view of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1; Fig. Bis an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of the rear portion of the condenser shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4- is a fragmentary sectional 44 of the condenser shown inFig.3. 1

Referring to the drawing, in Fig. .1 I have shown a household refrigerator cabinet having It is an object of my invention to provide an,

a. refrigerating unit provided with an air cooled condenser embodying my invention. In this unit a compressor and electric" drivingmotor therefor are arranged in a cylindical hermetically sealed steel casing lh mounted on a removable cabinet top H. Gaseous refrigerant, such as sul-. phur dioxide, is compressed by the motor driven compressor in the casing l and is supplied therefrom to a tubular member I! having an air cooled condensing chamber therein, which tubular member surrounds the casing l0 and is supported on a zigzag annulus offins I3 interposed between. the tubular member and the casing. 1 The compressed gaseous refrigerant flowing through the condensing chamber-in the tubular member I2 is cooled and liquefied by air flowing upwardly over the surfaces of the tubular member l2 and between the tubular member and the casing l0 over the surfaces of the heat conduct-' ing fins l3. I'h refrigerant so liquefied flows to a flow control ng float valve H from which it -is,supp1ied through a liquid line I5 to an evaporator l6 suspended below the cabinet top II within l a food storage compartment l], which the evaporator is adapted to cool. The liquid refrigerant is'vaporized in the evaporator 16 by the ab- .sorption of heat from the cooling compartment ll and is collected in a longitudinal cylindrical header l8 above the level of the liquid refrigerant therein, the header 18 being normally maintained about half full of liquid refrigerant. The vaporized refrigerant thus collected in the header i8 is returned to the compressor in the casing Ill through a suction conduit l9 and the cycle' described is repeated and continued until the temperature. of the cooling compartment I1 is lowered to a desired value.

The tubular memberl2, which is preferably cylindrical in form, includes an outer sheet or portion of metal 20, and upper and lower inner 40 portions or sheets of metal 2| and 22, respectively. Upper and lower elongated

sinuous indentations

23 and 24 are provided in the outer sheet of metal 20. A complementary elongated sinuous indentationfi is formed in the lower inher sheet of metal 22, the indentation 25 registering with the indentation 24., A similar com-- plementary elongated sinuous indentation is formed in the upper inner sheet of metal 2| and arranged in registry with the indentation 23. The indentations are preferably stamped in the inner and outer sheets of metal by suitable dies. A plurality of'rows of narrow transverse slots 2Q are punched or otherwise formed in an extended end portion 21 of the outer sheet of metal 20,

2 The transverse slots 2 are provided in order to provide a relatively weak transverse section in the tubular gnember which permits a limited and localizedrincrease in the peripheral length of the completed tubular member 12, as is hereinafter more fully described. The stamping and punching operations, referred to above. are preferably completed-before the sheets of metal 2|, 2i and 22 are assembled to form the completed tubular member l2.

In assembling the sheets of metal 22, 2| and 22 to form the tubular member l2, the inner sheets of metal 2| and 22 are preferably arranged flat in face contact with the inner surface of the outer'sheet of metal 2| and in such position that the end portion 21 of the outer sheet extends beyond the adjacent ends of the inner sheets 2| and 22. The sheets of metal 2| and 22 are then hermetically secured to the outer sheet 20 by line welds or a series of closely spaced spot welds, which extend about the peripheries of the sheets 2| and 22 and along the edges of the

indentations

22, 24 and 2 throughout their length. After having been thus secured together, the sheets of metal are bent into the form of a cylinder and the adjacent edges thereof are secured together. The end part'of the extended portion 21 of the outer sheet 20 is preferably lapped over-the opposite end portion of the sheet 20,-the transverse edge of the portion 21 being arranged in abutting relation with the adjacent transverse edge of the inner sheet 22 as best shown in Fig. 4. The overlapping portions of the sheet 20 are then welded or otherwise rigidly secured together.

A rectangular sheet of metal is bent into the form of a zigzag series of fins l2 and these fins tute an annulus. The nns II form an intermediate supporting member between the tubular member i2 and the main supporting member or casing ii. The annulus thus formed is then pressed on to the casing or s upporting member Ill. The pressing operation is preferably carried out in the hydraulic press and for the machine illustrated a pressure of about seven tons is required. The transverse slots 2| formed in the end portion 21 of the outer sheet of metal 20 permit a limited amount of stretching in the end portion 21 so that a deformable joint is formed between the adjacent ends of the sheet of metal 20. The length and number-of the slots 22, as well as the distance therebetween, is so proportioned that the widening of the slots and consequent stretching of the total length of the end portion 21 will take place only when a predeter-' ,mined force tending to increase the peripheral of the assembly press and also in order to avoid excessive strains on the parts. Moreover, an excessive internal pressure tending to increase the peripheral length of the tubular member-i2 would tend to flatten the indentations 24 and 2| thus obstructing the flow of refrigerant through the passages formed thereby.. In the arrangement which I have provided, howeqer, substantially all of the stretching in the tubular member I2 is localized in the extended portion 21 of the outer sheet 20 and it will be noted that no refrigerant passages extend across this portion of the tubular member. The arrangement which I have provided to permit a limited and localized increase in peripheral length of the tubular member i2 is especially adaptedfor use in manufacturing large quantities of condensers by quantity-production methods. when using such methods, the sheet metal-parts of the condenser are ordinarily formed in power operated punch presses and the like and, as a consequence, some variations in dimensions are likely to occur due to wearing of the dies or variations in dimensions of replacement of the dies. It should also be noted that the stretching permitted in the extended portion 21 of the sheet 20 by the slots 28 is limited to substantially the exact amount required in order to maintain a uniform pressure during the assembling operation despite the multiplicity of variations in dimensions of the parts which may occur.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention in connection with a compression type refrigerating machine designed for household use, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular constructionshow'n and described and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim: 1. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine comprising a supporting member, a tubular member having a condensing chamber therein to provide a limited and localized increase in the peripheral length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it is subjected.

2. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine comprising a supporting member, a tubular sheet metal member having a condensing chamber therein and extending about said supporting member and arranged in spaced relation thereto, means including an intermediate sup porting member extending between said first named supporting member and said tubular member for preventing relative movement therebetween, said tubular member including complementary inner and outer tubular portions of sheet metal defining an extended refrigerant passage, I

therebetween, J means for hermetically securing said portions of sheet metal together, and means including a deformable joint for securing the adjacent ends of at least one of said portions of 3. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine comprising a supportingmember, an annulus of line extending about said supporting member, and a tubular member having a condensing chamber therein and positioned on said fins so as to constitute an annulus, said tubular member having a transverse slot formed therein to provide a limited'and localized increase in the 75' circumferential length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it'is subjected.

4. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machinecomprising a supporting member, an annulus of fins extending aboutsaid supporting member, and a tubular sheet metal member having a condensing chamber therein and positioned on said fins so as to constitute an annulus, said annulus of fins extending about said supportingmember. and a tubular sheet metal member having a condensing chamber therein and positioned on said fins so as to constitute-an annulus, said tubular member including complementary inner and outer tubular sheets of metal, and means for hermetically securing said sheets of metal together in face contact, at least one of said sheets of metal having an indentation formed therein cooperating with the other of said sheets of metal ,to form an extended refrigerant circulatory passage therebetween, an end portion of one of said sheets of metalextending beyondthe adjacent end of the other of said sheets of metal, said end portion of said one sheet of metal being secured to the opposite end of said one sheet of metal, said end portion of said one sheet of metal havinga plurality of rows of transverse slots formed therein and arranged in staggered relation to provide a limited and localized increase in the length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which said tubular member is subjected.

6. An. air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine including' a tubular member having a condensing chamber therein of substanllm annular configuration, and a support, said tubular member extending about 1 d supporting member and being frictiony uredthereto and having a; relatively well: transverse section therein to facilitate ated and lmaliaed increase in the circierential length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it is subjected.

7. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine comprising a supporting member, a tubular member having a condensing chamber therein and extending about said supporting member and arranged in spaced relation thereto, and means including an intermediate supporting member extending between said first named supporting member and said tubular" member for preventing relative movement therebetween, said tubular member having a plurality of rows of transverse slots formed therein and arranged in staggered relation to provide a limited and localized increase in the peripheral length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it is subjected.

8. An air cooled condenser for a refrigeratingmachine including a tubular member having'a condensing chamber therein, said tubular member having a relatively weak transverse section therein to facilitate a limited and localized increase in the peripheral length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it is subjected. 9.'An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine including a tubular member having a condensing chamber therein extending about a major portion of the periphery of said tubular member and leaving a. minor portion of the periphery thereof free of said bpndensing chamber, and means including a transverse slot formed in said minor portion of the periphery of said tubular member for facilitating a limited and localized increase in the peripheral length of said tubular member and occurring insaid minor por-' tion of the periphery thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which itis subjected.

10. An air cooled condenser for a refrigerating machine including complementary inner and outer tubular portions of sheet metal defining an extended refrigerant passage therebetween, means for-hermetically securing said portions of said sheet metal together, and means including adeformable joint for securing the adjacent ends of at least one of said portions of sheet metal together to provide a limited and localized increase in the peripheral length thereof due to the internal stretching forces to which it is subjected.

BTIAN SSTRUP.