US2273233A

US2273233A - Bottle cooler

Info

Publication number: US2273233A
Application number: US226425A
Authority: US
Inventors: Elo C Tanner
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: CBS Corp
Priority date: 1938-08-24
Filing date: 1938-08-24
Publication date: 1942-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 1959-02-17

Description

Fgb. 17, 1942. .E. C. TANNER 2,273,233

BOTTLE COOLER Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3% :Eii \I a w WITNESSES: INVENTOR QM! 5 BY I ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT O Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 24, 1938, Serial No. 226,425

Claims.

This invention relates to dry bottle coolers of the type used by'retailers of chilled bottled beverages and to a method of operating the same.

Bottle coolers of this type are either of the liquid bath type in which the bottles are immersed in a bath of chilled water, or of the dry type" in which the bottles are cooled by circulated chilled air. Bottle coolers of the dry type have the inherent disadvantage'of cooling the bottles more slowly and, therefore, such bottle coolers must be of a larger size in order to equal the cooling capacity of bottle coolers employing a liquid bath. This larger size entails a greater initial expense and occasions a greater heat loss because of the larger wall surfaces of.such

coolers.

One object of this invention is to provide a dry refrigerator for cooling bottles and the like in which the cooling of the bottles is accelerated to permita reduction in the size of the refrigerator.

Anotherobject is to provide a refrigerator of the type described through which the articles to be refrigerated are m ved in an orderly fashion to insure that the co dest articles are removed Another object is to provide a refrigerator of the type described which permits of inspection of the indicia on the caps of the bottles in the refrigerator to determine the contents of the bottles.

These and other objects are effected by my in- I vention aswill be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with .the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which;

The single figure of the drawing is a perspective view of the bottle cooler: of this invention with parts broken away to show the interior arrangement of the cooler.

In the drawing the reference numeral l0 designates'a rectangular shell of sheet material, the upper and lower edges of which are rolled inwardly. A horizontal sheet ll of material is secured in the shell somewhat above the lower edge and forms the bottom of'the chamber I2. The chamber I2 is lined with insulating material l3 and is provided with an inner liner M of sheet material which is secured at its upper edges to 'th upper inturned edge of the shell.

The opening in the top of the chamber .l2 is partially closed by an insulated panel l5 secured to the upper edges of the side walls l5 and spaced from the end walls I1 to provide an opening l8 and I3 adjacent each of the end walls II. The

openings l8 and I9 are provided with covers 2| adapted to slide over the panel IS. The covers 2| and the panel l5 each comprise upper and lower sheets of material 22 and 23 spaced from one another and joined together at their edges. Insulating material 24 is packed injthespace between the sheets. g

An evaporator or cooling unit 25 is located in the bottom of the chamber l2 and, extends from one side wall l6 to the other but is spaced from the end walls H. The evaporator 25 comprises a number of spaced metal plates 26 running parallel to the side walls l5 of the. chamber I2 through which plates26 a refrigerant carrying tube 21 is passed back and forth. The tube 21 may be supplied with refrigerant from a compressor-condenser. unit not shown in the drawing.

A centrifugal blower or fan 28'is located in the chamber l2 between the evaporator 25 and one of the end walls I! and is driven by an electric motor 29 secured to the lower surface of the sheet II by means of brackets 3|. The motor 29 drives the blower 28 through a shaft 32 which passes through the sheet II, the insulation l3, and the inner liner I4. A shroud 33 around the blower 28 directs the air circulated by it to the edge portion of the evaporator 25 and between the spaced apart plates 28.

A metal sheet 34 covers the evaporator 25 and is turned upwardly at right angles at the edge of the evaporator 25 farthest removed from the blower 28 and is secured to the upper portion of the adjacent end wall IT. The upturned portion 35 of the sheet 34 is foraminated so that the air circulated by the blower 28 passes between the spaced plates 28 of the evaporator 25 through' the space between the end wall ll of the-chamher and the upturned portion 35 of the sheet 34, through the foraminations in this portion 35, and through the interior of the chamber l2. The

air returns to the blower 28 through a hole 35 in' the sheet 34 and a second hole 31 in the shroud 33. The chamber I2 is provided with a number of wire cages 38 mounted on casters 39. The cages 38 are open at their tops and are of a size to pass through the opening l8, through the chamber cooling of the bottles. ll in the cage 38 adjacent the opening H? are in the rows of bottles to facilitate the proper circulation of air.

The operation of the bottle cooler is as follows: The warm bottles to be cooled are placed in the cages and the cages inserted in the cabinet. The bottles in the cage nearest the opening I9 adjacent the foraminated portion 35 of the sheet 34 will receive the coldest air and will cool most rapidly. When these bottles are sufficiently cooled they are removed through the opening l9 as sales of the bottled beverages are made. When this cage is emptied it is removed from the chamber and refilled with warm bottles. The remaining cages 38 in the chamber l2 are moved to the left as viewed in the drawing and the cage with the warm bottles is inserted in the chamber through the opening 18 adjacent the blower. This process is repeated whenever a cage is emptied so that the coldest bottles will always be adjacent the opening l9.

It will be observed that the bottles 4| move counter to the flow of the refrigerated air in the chamber I2 thus providing for a faster rate of The caps of the bottles full view of the storekeeper so that the proper bottle may be withdrawn without occasioning an undue loss of refrigerated air while hunting for the proper bottle.

From the above it will be apparent that this invention provides a bottle cooler of the dry type in which the cooling of the bottles is accelerated, in which the bottles are moved in an orderly fashion through the refrigerator to insure that the coldest bottles are dispensed first, and in which the caps of the bottles to be dispensed are visible to avoid confusion in the selection of the desired beverage.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber having two spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings, a horizontal partition in said chamber, a cooling unit below said partition, 9, fan for circulating air over said cooling unit and around said partition, the direction of air flow above the partition being from one of said openings to the other, a plurality of foraminated baskets supported on said partition and readily movable thereon, said baskets being shaped for removal and insertion through said openings, said baskets further having a sectional area closely fitting the interior of said chamber above said partition at right angles to the flow of air above said partition, whereby the air circulated by said fan is forced through the foraminations of said baskets to rapidly cool the contents thereof.

2. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber having two spaced apart openthe direction of air flow above the partition being from one of said openings to the other. a plural ity of basket on said partition, said baskets being shaped to support bottles in an upright position, said baskets being further shaped for removal or insertion through said openings, the top wall of said chamber being in close proximity above said bottles when upright in said basket, whereby the air circulated by said fan is forced in close contact with said bottles.

3. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber having two spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings, a horizontal partition in said chamber, said partition beingspaced at one edge from the side wall of said chamber, said partition having an opening adjacent the opposite edge thereof, a centrifugal fan revolving on a vertical axis below said partition and in alignment. with said opening for drawing air therethrough, said fan forcing air across the cooling unit, through the space at one edge of the partition and through the space above the partition, a plurality of baskets supported on said partition and readily movable thereon, said baskets being shaped for removal and insertion through said openings.

4. In a refrigerated dispensing device, the combination of an insulated chamber having two spaced-apart openings in its top, a cooling unit in one portion of the bottom of said chamber, said cooling unit having horizontal air passages therein, a centrifugal blower in another portion of the bottom of said chamber, a plate covering the cooling unit and the blower, said plate having an opening therein, a basket on said plate,

said basket being shaped for insertion or removal through said openings, said blower, plate, and

evaporator being adapted to circulate air through i the horizontal air passages of the cooling unit, through the portion of the chamber above the plate, through the opening in the plate and through said basket.

5. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber having two spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings, a horizontal partition in said chamber, a cooling unit below said partition, a fan for circulating air over said cooling unit and around said partition, the direction of air flow above the partition being from one of said openings to the other, a plurality of foraminated baskets movably supported above said partition, said baskets being shaped for removal and insertion through said openings, said baskets further having a sectional area closely fitting the interior of said chamber above said partition at right angles to the fiow of air above said partition, whereby the air circulated by said fan is forced through the foraminations of said baskets 'to rapidly cool the contents thereof.

ELO c. TANNER.