US2218190A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

Oct.- 15,1940. s. M. ANDERSN 2,218,190

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AIR CONDITIONIIIG SYSTEM Original Fild July 8, 19.3 7 E Sheets-Sheet 2 l l I I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l l.. I I I I I I I I I l. I l I I I I I I I l I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l L I I I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I l l I l l I I l L @midway I Patented Oct. l5, 1.94()

UNiTEo STATESv PATENT OFFICE 2,218,190 A m coNnmoNnvG SYSTEM Samuel M. Anderson, Sharon, Mass., assignor to i B. F. Sturtevant Company, Boston, Mass.

Application July 8, 1937, Serial No. `152,579 Renewed October 17, 1939 2 claims. (ci. :as-1o)- passenger in a railway passenger, car, for example, adds many germs to the air in his or her vicinity, which air is recirculated through the conditioner and supplied with the germs to the other passengers. The usual air conditioners especially of the dry surface or coil type as distinguished from washers, do not eectively remove bacteria from the air. Another recognized disadvantage of reconditioning recirculated air is that odors are not removed and this objection apvplies particularly to the use of coll type conditioners in railway passenger cars.

This invention provides means for removing bacteriaand odors from air and for supplying substantially pure air to a conditioner for temperature and where desired, humidity conditioning. The conditioner may be of the coil type although it is preferred that air washers be used for the reason that experience has shown that not only is the air treated by such conditioners more wholesome but more accurate humidity and temperature control may be obtained.

An object of this invention is to effectively purify air.

Another vobject of the invention is to remove bacteria from air to be conditioned.

Another object of the invention is to remove odors from air to be conditioned.

4g Another object of the invention is to provide in an air conditioning system 'an air purifier and conditioner.

Another and more limited object of the invention is to provide within the limited space available, an air purier and conditioning system for a passenger vehicle.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the drawings:

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is a`view in section of a railway passenger car on which is installed one embodiment of the invention: Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the system of Fig. 1, with supply accessories:

Fig. 3 is a plan view, partially in section of the system of Fig. l1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the lines 13--4 of 3, and

Fig. 5 is a partial view, enlarged of the duct 5 of Fig. 4 and is taken along the lines 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Due to the necessity of avoiding using passenger space, the space for air conditioning apparatus is limited. It is customary to mount the lo air conditioners in one end and in the roof zone of a railway car. It is usual with such arrangements to draw the recirculated air 'through a :ceiling grille underneath the air conditioner,l

fresh air being drawn in through the vestibule.

According to this invention, it is proposed to Apurify the recirculated air on its way to the con-- ditioner. The proper purifyingapparatus occupies considerable space so in one embodiment of this invention, the purifier `is located overheadgthe passenger space in the opposite end-of the. car from the air conditioner and supplies pure recirculated air to the' conditioner. A y y It is preferred that a spray type conditioner 6 suchas is disclosed in my copending applica- 25 t tion, Serial No. 107,019, led Oct. 22 1936, be mounted in one end o'f the car. This conditioner receives and sprays refrigerated water in summer and may contain the usual heat exchange coils for heating in winter. The fans 1 of the condi- 30' tioner 6 draw in fresh air through the vestibule grille 8 containing the usual filter and supply it to the conditioner. The conditioner Salso recives purified recirculated air for reconditiolig as will now be described. 35 The purifier 9 may be an electro-static precipitator of the type described beginning on page 159 of the January, 1937, Proceedings of American Institute of Electrical Engineers. With this type of purifier.' microscopic foreign particles are 40 removed from 'the air and deposited for vcollec'- tion by electro-static action. The fans Iare associated with the precipitator and draw in recir- 'culated air from the car through the grille II and pass it through the purier. The ultra-violet sterilizer I2 shown mounted on theoutput side of the precipitator 8 may also be used for p ying the'recirculated air drawn in by the fan I B. This lamp l2 may be used alone for sterilizing the air or may be used with or al- 5C ternately with the precipitator .as desired by manipulation of the switches I3 and I 4 which act to connect the precipitator' and lamp- I2 to the rotary converter I5 or other suitable source of eletlic 8119187.

The lamp I2 maybe of the type 65 is preferred however,

which generates very strong ultra-violet light through the ionization of a gas such as mercury vapor.

As shown most clearly by Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the fans I0 draw in recirculated air from the passenger space; pass it through the precipitator 9 and if the sterilizer discharge the puriiied air through the duct I6 which extends the length of the car into the chamber l1 enclosing the conditioner' and fans 1. The fans 1 draw in outside air through the grille 8 and the mixed outside and the purified recirculated air is 6 where it is conditioned.' y

The conditioned air from the conditioner 6 is forced through the duct I8 and discharges there# from through the small openings I9 into the passage 24 from which it passes into the passenger space through the openings 20 below the deflector 2|. The ducts I6 and I8 may be arranged alongside each other thereby conserving both space and material.

Means maybe provided of course for passing some outside air into the puriiier and means may also be provided for passing some recirculated air directly into the conditioner. Likewise the puriiier could discharge air directly into the car. It

puriiier be all recirculated air which is more likely to be contaminated by odors and germs and that the conditioner handle directly introduced outside air when is likely to be substantially free from contamination. With the arrangement i1- lustrated, all foreign matter added within the car to the air is removed with the result that the savings in refrigeration due to the reconditioning of recirculated air are accomplished, while pure air is' supplied to'.the conditioner. The precipitator 9 removes the small oily particles responsible for odors as well as a large percentage of the bacteria. During an epidemic or .whenfit is desired to take unusual precautions, the ultra-violet lamp I2 may be used with the precipitator 9. The ultra-violet lampb is believed to be more eiective as far as destroying germs is concerned since its light acts' upon invisible germs, the minute size of which might prevent them being acted upon by the electro-static precipitator. Of course the ul- I2 is used, over it, and then passed through the conditioner that the air supplied to the tra-violet lamp could be mounted in advance with respect to air iiow of the precipitator.

In the arrangement illustrated by the drawings, the fans mounted with the electric purier are not absolutely necessaryas the fans of the conditioner will draw the recirculated air through the sterilizer.

' The sterilizer as well as the conditioner may, of course, be located elsewhere in or on the car than overhead the passenger space. A

While o ie embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of illustration, it should be `understood that the invention is not limited to the exact apparatus and arrangement illustrated as many departures may be suggested by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An air conditioning system for a passenger vehicle comprising an air conditioner located in one end of said vehicle, anelectric air puriiier located in the other end of said vehicle, means for passing outside air into said conditioner, means for passing air recirculated from the passenger space, into said puriiier, and a pair of overhead longitudinal ducts arranged alongside each other between said conditioner and said purier, one of'4 said-ducts receiving air from said purifier and I discharging same into said conditioner, and the other of said ducts receiving air from said conditiner andv discharging same into the passenger space of said vehicle.

2. An air conditioning system for a passenger vehicle comprising an air conditioner located in one end of said vehicle, an electric air purier located in the other end of said vehicle, means for passing outside air into said conditioner, means.l A

for` passing air recirculated from the passenger space, into said purifier, a pair of longitudinal ducts,means for passing air from said conditioner into one of said ducts, means for passing air from said purifier through the other of said ducts into said conditioner, and means connecting with the duct from said conditioner for directing the air 'from said conditioner into the passenger space of saidvehicle.

y SAMUEL M. ANDERSON.v

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