US2154769A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

April 18, 1939- P. PARKE ET Al.

Y AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 17, 1935 H mw u m wm sv Nmtmhwll w mm mm wm mm.

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' AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM Filed June 17, 1935 Patented Apr. 18, 1939 y UNIT/ED- STATES -parlarvi oFFIcEe 2,154,169 e am CONDITIONING srs'rnnr Peter Parke and' Frank o. Marshall, chicago. nl., assignors to The-Pullman Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 17, 1935, Serial No. 28,990

12 Claims. (Cl. 257-3) The invention relates to a coordinated system portion of the car looking towards the ice bunko! cooling. heating and ventilating 4for passenger ers andsump tank of the cooling system. carrying vehicles involving in the cooling phase Broadly speaking, the invention consists of a the use oi circulating ice water as a refrigerant A refrigerating system wherein cooled water is cir- 5 regulated by the increased watermvolume in the culated by pumps beneath the car through sursystem resulting from the melting ice, whereby face coolers or coils. located preferably at one end the waste of ice water by overflow is prevented and concealed in the roof zone of the car, tol and only the spent water drained. gether with the air circulating blowers, illters The principal object oi the invention is to and heating mechanism. Air is positively circuprovide an air conditioning installation of low lated in heat exchange relation with the coils, 1o initial cost and of minimum weight and having whereby the air is cooled and dehumidiiled and relatively few parts so disposed as to require no distributed through suitable ducts to the pasychange in the design of vehicles of present standsenger space. ard construction for the adaptation of the mech- In the drawings is shown a railway car III hav-- l5 anism. l ing the roof Il, ceiling I2 and transverse interior l5 Another object of the invention is the propartitions I3 and I4, normally deilning the pasvision ol' a. refrigerating system that is positive senger space. In addition tothis main passenger in action and practically foolproof in operation, space I5, there is provided a compartment I8 p having few moving parts, wherein the power and toilet rooms I1 and I8, at opposite ends oi! v Ol requirements are reduced to a minimumand the car-all of which are to be supplied with 20 wherein the expenditure of motive power for conditioned, air. All of the overhead air condirefrigeration purposes is eliminated. tioning mechanism is located at one end of the Another object of the invention is the procar and a duct longitudinally of the car utilized vision of means for heating a vehicle from overfor delivering the conditioned air to the passenger head and using the same means of distribution space. Above the toilet room I1 and extending 25 of the air as used for cooling. over the vestibule I9 Vand passageway 20 defined Another and important object of the invention by partition 88 and Side Wall 90 and Separated is the provision of a combined heating, cooling therefrom by ceiling I2, is a chamber 2i in winch or straight Ventilating system with manually is mounted all of the overhead airconditioning controlled means for initiating the operation of equipment including iilters 22 and 23, blowers 24, 30 one or thev other as occasion demands. driven by motor 21, cooling coils 25 and 26 and The foregoing and other objects are achieved heating unit 28. All of this overhead equipment by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyis contained within a smaller inner chamber lng drawings, in which- 29 enclosed within the chamber 2| by roof II Pig. l is a diagrammatic view of a combined and side deck walls SII and 3|, but the entire 35 heating, 'cooling and'ventilating system for vemechanism is rendered accessible `for inspection hicles constructed in accordance with Athis inand repair by suitable 'hatches 6I and 62 in the vention and illustrating the lcomplete cooling roofl II and opening into the chamber 29, as best cycle together with the system of heating and Shown in F1g- 3- The inner chamber 29 1S Open 30 the electric control circuits for thermostatically 011157 t0 the interior 0f the Car and t0 the Outside 40 regulating both the cooling and heating systems; atmosphere mld ,closed t0 l'rgelf Chamber 2|- Fig.,"2 is a view in plan of a railway ear utiliz-nA duct 32 communicates at' one end with this ing al -coonng system of the type exemplmed Inner chamber 29 and extends longitudinally in n@ 1, portiogs being broken away better to along `the side deck Wall 30 and is open to the` the side deck wall 3o, as at 33 and 34 respectively. Communication with toilet room' il at one end j oi' the caris obtained by means of a branch duct 3fopening through the ceiling i2 as at 38 and Fig. 3`is a Across-sectional view taken on uthe line 8 3 of Fig. 2 showing the arrangement of the heating and cooling apparatus overhead and part of the mechanism beneath the car including the washr oom i t h posi means for draining the spent water from the sysyindirectly by mega; gf pingt-lnd is Served tem and the pump for lrculatms Cooling Water, The present invention contemplates an air contosether with means for removing impuritiesj ditioning system adapted for use in al1 seasons from the water; and I' y of the year. Provision is made for heating in the Fig. 4 is a similar view through only the lower winter, cooling "in summer and, ii' occasion dereveal the entire overheadiinstallation; passenger .spae I5 and compartment 's through 45 mands, the operation of the blowers alone as a straight Ventilating system without beneflt.of heating or cooling.

Refrigeration is obtained by melting of ice in boxes 38 secured to the underside of car body I Il and preferably disposed upon opposite sides of the center sills 39 in position to be conveniently loaded with ice fromthe side of the car, as best shown in Fig. 4. The ice boxes are `interconnected by means of pipe 48 forming, in

effect, a single box and, obviously, a single box of sufficient capacity to carry the desired quantity of ice may be substituted for the two disposed as described, but the use of more than one is preferable in that the weight is better distributed upon the car. The water resulting from the melting ice drains into a sump tank 40 beneath the center sills through pipes ,44 and is drawn by a centrifugal pump 42, driven by an electric motor 43, through a strainer 4| to remove the sediment and foreign matter that might enter the system when the ice boxes are being loaded. The strainer 4|, pump 42 with its motor 43 and the overflow valve 5I are all mounted in an equipment box 54 mounted on the center sill 39 adjacent the ice boxes 38 and sump 40, as best shown in Fig. 3.V The sump tank is provided with a breather to permit the ice water to flow freely therethrough under suction of pump 42 and a drain plug 99 to permit the system to be drained when not in use.

From the sump, the water is pumped through pipe 46 to the cooling coil 25 in the roof zone of the car, thence to ice boxes 38 through pipe 49, to be sprayed over the ice` at 49 and again delivered to the sump tank 40 for another similar cycle of operation. A portion of the return water from cooling c'oil 25 passes through precooling coil 26 through pipe 41. The spent water from the precooler is conveyed by pipe 50 to an overflow valve 5| adjacent to the sump tank beneath the car and controlled by the volume of water therein where it is discharged from the system at 52 and drained to the ground. A breather 98-` permits the free flowing of water through the overflow. This being the only means provided for removing excess water from the system, it will be seen that only the water from which the utmost work has been extracted will be overflowed. The overflow chamber 5| has uid connection with the sump tank 40 by means of pipe 53 whereby the level of the water therein is the same as and directly controlled by the level of the water in the sump tank and the amount of water to be wasted determined by the meltage rate of the ice in boxes 38.

The meltage rate of the ice is automatically regulated by the amount of refrigeration necessary to the maintenance of an leven temperature in the passenger space, such demand controlling the recirculation rate of the cooling water flowing overv the ice by means of thermostatically controlled pump 42. A uniform temperature may thus be maintained in the passenger space regardless of the amount of ice in boxes 38, and any refrigerating tonnage demand .automatically supplied by the ice meltage rate ladjusting itself to the load requirements imposed-however they may vary.

As the cooling water circulates through thev main cooling coil 25 and auxiliary cooling coil 26, fresh air from the outside is taken in over the vestibule I9 through opening 54 in the ceiling I2 and drawn into chamber 29 through filter 22, and coil 26 and forced through main coil- 25. The cooled air is then recirculated through an opening 55 in ceiling I2 from the passageway 20 communicating directly with the er space, and passing thence over the cooling coil 25. A filter 23 is also placed directly over the `lrecirculating air opening 55, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The fresh air entering the chamber 29 through duct 56 first passes through precooling coil 26, substantially reducing its temperature, thence through the main cooling coil 25 under pressure of blowers 24. The air is automatically dehumidiiied due to its heat exchange relation with the respective cooling coils, and, by its passage through the several coils, is rendered suitable for delivery to the passenger space. Drip pans, such as indicated atv 51 in Fig. 3, are disposed beneath the cooling coils 25 and 26 to receive the water of condensation resulting from dehumidiiication of the air as it is passed over the coils.

The temperature of the water in precooling coil 26 will be somewhat higher than that prevailing in the main coil 25 as the water', before reaching the precooler, is first passed through the main cooler in heat exchange relation with the air passing therethrough into the passenger space, increasing the temperature of the water by the absorption of heat units from. the air, but thle temperature of the precooler will be sumciently low substantially to reduce the temperature of the fresh air entering the mixing chamber 28.

The conditioned air, as it leaves the cooling coil 25 under pressure of the blowers 24, enters a plenum chamber 58 covered with insulation Ill and opening in'to the duct 32, and is divided into a plurality of air streams by the curved louvers 59 disposed within the duct 32 at the position where the air leaving the chamber 56 enters the duct to be distributed to the passenger space through openings 33. 'I'he compartment I6 is supplied with conditioned air from the duct through opening 34, and the toilet room I1, directly beneath the conditioning mechanism, is

supplied through branch duct 35 at opening 36 in the ceiling I2 as best shown in Fig. 2. The duct 32 is disposed longitudinally of the car along one side deck wall 30 upon the lower deck roof 3Ia and is thoroughly insulated as at .60 to avoid the transfer of heat or cold between the air in the duct, the outside atmosphere, and car body. A duct of this typemay readily be applied to existing cars without resorting' to the expensive tearing-down and rebuilding incident to the application of interior ducts.

The blowers 24 maintain a static pressure within the car, creating seepages through door and window crevices suflcient to keep the air fresh by preventing the infiltration of dirt and dust that ordinarily occurs in vehicles not so equipped. These same blowers may be utilized to advantage at times other than when cooling is necessary. At such times as require neither cooling nor heating, the blowers may be usedas a straight ventilating system whereby filtered fresh air at constant temperature Ais circulated throughout the car, and. the infiltration of dirt and noise eliminatedv whereby the general comfort of the occupants of the vehicle is materially improved. The blowers 24 and motor 21 may be mounted on cushioning pad'sl III and |92 if desired, as best ing therewith by means of a grille 88 in partition It whereby smoke is withdrawn from the toilet room and from the car through the doorway 81 in sidefwall partition 88. The exhaust ventilator 83 communicates with the saloon 84 through the ceiling 2 by means of a short vertical duct 89'.

'Ihe pump 42 and blowers 24 are operated by electric motors and no additional power will be required in the operation of the entire system other than is furnished by the regular car lighting generator 63, connected to rotating car axle -and to a solenoid 10, operating a steam control valve 1|, through wires 12. The motor 21, operating the blowers 24 by means of a belt 13, is energized off the regulator panel 66through-wires 14 and is manually controlled by a multi-speed switch 18 installed in the circuit 14 and through suitable resistances |83 the blowers may be operated at diiferent lspeeds as required. When the generator output ceases. the current stored in battery 81 will flow back through wires 69 and 12 to the pump motor 43 and solenoid valve 10 and to the regulator panel 66 and from there to the blower motor 21 through wires 14. as above described. The circuit 12 is tapped off wires 69 between the battery 61 and regulator panel 66 and a cutout switch 16 installed in the circuit whereby its energization may be manually controlled. The regulator panel 66 is preferably installed in the side wall 90 of the car in the passageway 28 as shown in Fig. 3.

The operation of the pump motor 43 and the solenoid valve is normally controlled by thermostats 11 and 18, respectively. installed in the circuit 12 and responsive to changes in temperature in the passenger space. The respective ranges oi' temperature within which the thermostats are effective are regulated by the control switch |B4 having the heat thermostat control portion 19 and cooling thermostat control 9|) so interlocked as to preclude env possibility nf heating and cooling occurring simultaneously. 'As shown the control switch |04 is in the oi position at which time the blowers 24 may be operated without"beneiit of either heating or cooling. At the temperatures for'which the respective thermostats may be set, the actuation of the respective relay 8| or 82 is therebv controlled to regulatev either the operation of pump 4motor 43 or heat control valve 'ill to supply the car with either heating or cooling depending umm the temperature requirements. In order' that the cooled air may be delivered to the passenger space as quickly as possible at all times. the water pump d2 is so controlled that when the desired tem- Perature is obtained as called for by the setting of thermostat 11. a resistance ontained in relay t! .is cut in which reduces the pump speed to a rent consumed in their operation is practically negligible. l

As best'illustrated in Fig. l, a heating elementl in the form of a radiator 28 is installed in the overhead chamber 29 adjacent the cooling unit 25 and'in the path of the air entering the duct 32 for distribution to the passenger space, and heated by steam obtained from the main train line 9|.

When it becomes necessary to raise `the temperature of the air in the car above that prevailing outside, the control switch |04 is placed in contact with the heat thermostat control portion 19 whereby the refrigerating system is automatically stopped by thermostat 11 and steam automatically admitted to the heating coil 28 by valve 1|, actuated by solenoid 10 which is energized upon the action of relay 82 controlled by heating thermostat 18'in the passenger space. The heating system is of the vapor type operating substantially at atmospheric pressure. The high pressure steam from trainline 9| enters the vapor regulator 92 through pipe 93 and is reduced to atmospheric pressure and delivered through pipe 94 to the control valve 1| from which it is admitted to the heating coil 28 through pipe 95 under control ofthermostat- 18. As the vapor enters the heating coil 2/8, it is cooled and partially condensed by heat exchange action with the air passing over the coil into the passenger space and conveyed back to the control valve 1| through return pipe 96, thence through pipe 91 to the vapor regulator 92 again, where the water of condensation is drained from the system.

'I'he blowers 24 are maintained in operation and fresh and recirculating air filtered and drawn into the chamber 29, and gathered into the blowers 24 and forced through the heating coil 28 under pressure of the blowers into the duct 32 and the passenger space the same as when cooling.

From the foregoing, it will beapparent that the complete installation is simple, economical, and automatic in operation with relatively few moving parts. It will readily be seen that the temperature and relative humidity withinv the car may be accurately regulated by the thermcstatically controlled motors driving the water circulating pump and/or blowers and the thermostatically controlled heating system.

What we claim is:

l. In a vehicle air conditioning system comprising mechanism driven by a rotating car axle and including a pump for continuously circulating a refrigerant during the cooling operation, means for circulating air in heat exchange relation with said refrigerant, a plurality of coils in said refrigerant circuit, a cooling chamber, a fresh air inlet to said chamber delivering air for precooling by one-of said coils, an inlet to said chamber for recirculating air from the car interior for cooling with said precooled air by another of said coils, air heating means, -and thermostatically controlled relays for regulating said cooling or heating means according to temperature requirements.

2. In a vehicle air conditioning system comprising mechanism driven by a rotating car truck axle and including a pump for continuously circulating a refrigerant during the cooling operatin, means for circulating air in heat exchange relationN with said refrigerant, an ice box beneath the vehicle, a cooling chamber in the deck zone of the vehicle, refrigerant circulation connections between said box and chamber, a plurality of cooling coils in said refrigerant circuit, air heating means, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, a thermostat controlling said refrigerant circulating means, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized.

3. In a vehicle air conditioning system comprising a cooling chamber in the deck zone of the vehicle, an ice box beneath the vehicle, a tankfor receiving refrigerant from said box, refrigerant circulation connections providing continuous refrigerant flow between said tank and cooling chamber during the cooling operation, a plurality of cooling coils in said refrigerant` circuit, means controlled by volume of refrigerant in the system for regulating the meltage rate of the ice in said box, means for circulatingair in heat exchange relation with said coils, air heating means, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, a thermostat controlling said refrigerant circuit, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized and closing said circuitwhen the cooling mechanism is not in operation.

4. In a vehicle air conditioning system having a cooling chamber in the deck zone of the vehicle, an ice box beneath the vehicle, atank for receiving refrigerant from said ice box, continuous refrigerant flow connections for use only during the cooling phase and including a plurality of cooling coils between said tank and chamber, a fresh air inlet to said chamber delivering air to said chamber for precooling by one of said coils, an inlet to said chamber for recirculating air from the car interior with fresh air for cooling by another of said coils, means for circulating air thru said inlets, air heating means, means controlled by the volume of refrigerant in the system for regulating the meltage rate of the ice in the box in accordance with refrigerant demand, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized and closing said circuit when the cooling mechanism is not in operationl 5. A vehicle having a passenger space to be supplied with conditioned air, air circulating mechanism located at one end of the car and above the passenger space, a cooling chamber enclosing said mechanism having fresh and recirculating air inlets and an outlet to thepassenger space, an ice box beneath the vehicle, a tank for receiving refrigerant from said box, refrigerant circulation connections including a motor driven pump between said tank and chamber, a plurality of coils in said refrigerant circuit adapted one for pre- 4 cooling the fresh air and one for cooling the recirculated and fresh air, air heatingmeans adjacent I said mechanism and last mentioned coil, a plenum chamber for receiving the conditioned air for distribution to the passenger space, means for draining the spent water from the precooling coil, means controlling the pump speed upon a predetermined thermostatic setting, means for manually adjusting said pump control means, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized y and closing said circuit when the cooling mechay nism is not in operation.

ceiving refrigerant from said box, refrigerant cir-I culation connections including a motor driven pump between said tank and chamber, a plurality of coils in said refrigerant circuit adapted one for precooling the fresh air and one for cooling the recirculated and fresh air, air heating means adjacent said mechanism and last named coil, a plenum chamber for receiving the conditioned air fordistributiton to the passenger space, means for diverting the warmed water from the recirculated air cooling coil to'the water spray for recirculation and to the precooling coil, means for draining spent water from said precooling coil, means for adjustably controlling the pump'speed automatically upon a predetermined thermostatic setting, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized and closing said circuit when the cooling mechanism is not in operation.

7. In a vehicle air conditioning system comprising mechanism driven by a rotating car axle and including a generator, means including a pump for circulating a refrigerant, means for circulating air in heat exchange relation with said refrigerant, a' cooling chamber above the passenger space enclosing said mechanism having fresh and recirculating air inlets and an outlet to the passenger space, an ice box beneath the vehicle and a tank for receiving refrigerant from said box, refrigerant circulation connections including a motor driven pump between said tank and chamlber, a plurality of coils in said refrigerant circuit adapted one for precooling the fresh air and another for cooling the recirculated and fresh air, air heating means adjacent said mechanism and last mentioned coil, a plenum chamber and duct for receiving the conditioned air for distribution to the passenger space, means for draining the spent water from the precooling coil, manually controlled circuit means for initiating said heating, cooling and air circulating mechanism, control circuits for regulating said heating and cooling mechanism automatically upon a lpredetermined thermostatic setting, a heat control circuit controlling said heating means, and relay means for opening said heat control circuit when the refrigerant circuit is energized and closing said circuit when the cooling mechanism 4is not in operation.

8. In a vehicle ice-actuated air conditioning system including a pump for continuously circulating a refrigerant during the cooling operation, means for circulating air in heat exchange relation with said refrigerant, a plurality of coils in said refrigerant circuit, a cooling chamber, afresh air inlet to said chamber delivering air for precooling by one of said coils, an inlet to said chamber for recirculating air from the car interior for cooling with said precooled air by another of said coils, and overow mechanism for draining spent water from said precooling coil.

9. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising a conditioning compartment located in the roof zone of the vehicle, means for chamber, a pre-cooling coil mounted in said compartment in the path of at least some of the air to be cooled, and means for continuously passing the remaining portion of the water leaving said air cooling means thru said pre-cooling coil an then discharging it from said vehicle.

10. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising a conditioning compartment, means for drawing in fresh and recirculated air and passing it through said compartment, air cooling means in said compartment, an ice chamber for providing cold water through the melting of ice, means for circulating the cold water to said air cooling means and returning a portion of same to said chamber, a precooling coil mounted in said compartment for initially cooling the fresh air stream only, and means for continuously passing the remaining portion of the water leaving said air cooling means through said precooling continuously forcing water from said sump through said cooling coil when the system is set for car-cooling and discharging it over the ice in said container, a pre-cooling coil having an outside air inlet and means whereby a predetermined portion of water passing from said cooling coil may be caused to pass through said pre-cooling coil, means whereby the recirculated air and precooled fresh air are mixed before reaching said cooling coil, overflow means operatively connected to the outlet of said pre-cooling coil whereby the drain off of surplus water will be direct there? 12. A device of the class described comprising in combination, a refrigeration system including an ice container having a sump, a chamber having means to recirculate air therethrough, cooling means in said chamber positioned in the air path, means for continuously forcing water from said sump through said cooling means and discharging it over the ice in said container when the system is set for car cooling even though' car cooling is not actually required. pre-'cooling means having an outside air inlet and means 'whereby a portion of water passing from the sump may be caused to pass through said pre-cooling means, means whereby the recirculated air and pre-cooled fresh air are mixed before reaching said cooling means. overilow means operatively connected to the outlet of said pre-cooling means whereby the drain-off of surplus water will be direct therefrom.

PETER. PARKE. FRANK O. MARSHALL.

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