US2278989A - Moisture disposal system for air cooled air conditioning units - Google Patents

Description

April 7,1942. J. M. RurrcH 2,273,939

MOI STURE DISPOSAL SYSTEM FOR AIR COOLED AIR CONDITIONIG UNITS Fi'led No v. 13, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jl rr M 6924216}- wmi, ALL/fizz 222m A TTORNEYS April 1, 1942.

. J. M. GRUITCH MOISTURE DISPOSAL SYSTEM FOR AIR COOLED AIR CONDITIONIG UNITS Filed Nov. 13, 1939 Z5 Sheets-Shet 2 IN VENTOR Jerry )7. Grail 2%.

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' A T T ORNE Y5 April 1942- J. M. GRUITCH 2,278,989

MOISTURE DISPOLAL SYSTEM FOR AIR COOLEII AIR CONDITIONIG UNITS Filed Nov. 13, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [N VEIV TOR W M, mum

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Patented Apr. 7, 1942 MOISTURE DISPOSAL SYSTEM FOR AIR COOLED AIR CONDITIONING UNITS Jerry M.

Gruitch, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corpov ration of Delaware Application November 13, 1939, Serial No. 304,018

1 Claim. (Cl. 62-14-9) The present invention relates to an improvement in air conditioning units of the type wherein a stream of outside air is used to condense refrigerant in a condenser coil, thereby eliminating the necessity for piping connections between the unit and the water supply and drainage systems, so that the unit may be temporarily mounted in any portion of a building. In the use of portable units of this character the lack of permanent water connections involves a problem occasioned by the condensation of moisture from the air being conditioned, there being no permanent drainage facilities provided for the disposal of such condensed moisture. Many systems for disposing of condensed moisture have been suggested, including apparatus for blowin it away with the stream of air cooling the condenser. All such systems must, in order to be satisfactory, break up the condensed moisture into such fine droplets that the air stream will either evaporate the moisture or carry the droplets far enough away from the building so that they do not collect and run down the outside surface thereof. This problem is acute since a slowly forming drop of water on an outside surface of a building collects rust, organic salts, and wind-borne dust with the result that the outer surface of the building becomes streaked and stained in spots. Many systems have been devised whereby the moisture is supposed to be evaporated solely by the heated stream of air leaving the condenser compartment, but such systems are likely to fail on days whenthe temperature is moderate but the relative humidity is very high so that the ability of the heated air to absorb moisture is very slight. Some systems have been devised whereby the moisture is supposed to be evaporated by causing the same to run ortrickle over the surface of the condenser, but when it is appreciated that the usual condensing temperature is much less than the boiling temperature of Water and that the condensed moisture is usually at a temperature only slightly above the freezing temperature it will be appreciated that such a system is not very effective. Some units have been created wherein the moisture is pumped through a nozzle in the form of fine droplets, the spray being directed against the surface of the condenser coils, but such units are unsatisfactory as a rule and expensive if successful since the pump for creating the spray is usually'expensive and because the spray must be so fine that all moisture will be evaporated or blown away from the building so that the nozzle becomes clogged in a short time, or else means mustbe provided for collecting and respraying again and again the droplets which are too large to be evaporated or blown away with the result that the water finally becomes a concentrated solution of various salts bearing dust and rust particles so that the nozzle and/or the pump might become permanently clogged .or corroded.

The present invention contemplates overcoming all of the foregoing obstacles by providing means for Whipping the moisture into a stream of fine spray droplets by light air pressure, such whipping being accomplished in anatmosphere heated above the outside temperature, and the spray being blown against'a portion of the condenser coil located in an outgoing stream; of air whereby the particles may be evaporated if too large to be blown away from the building and may be dispersed if small enough to be borne with the stream of air created by thecondenser blower. v

These objects of my invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment by the mechanism disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings, Fig; l is a front elevation of a. portable air conditioning unit made in accordance with my invention and located in the place of use;

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the unit located in the place of use;

Fig; 3 is atop plan view of the unit with the cover and parts broken away for the purpose of showing details;

I Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the unit taken substantially along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the unit taken atright angles to the section of Fig. 4 and substantially along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section showing details and taken substantially along line 66 of Fig. 5; I

Fig. 7 is a partial vertical section taken substantially along line of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section of Fig. 7 taken substantially along line 8-8 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a partial vertical section showing details and taken substantially along line 9-9 of Fig. 3; and,

Fig. 10 is a partial horizontal section taken substantiallyalong line ill-l0 of Fig. 2.

The type of unit to which the present invention is preferably applied comprises a window unit which may be mounted upon the window sill 2i) and which is provided with adjustable clamping means 2] .and'22 upon the top surface thereof adapted to receive and grip the window sash 23 to hold the unit in position, there being also preferably supplied abracket 24 fixed to the lower surface-and adapted to be abutted or fastened against the outer surface of the window sill 20, and a brace 25 which may be fastened V to a portion of the building. The unit comprises an evaporator compartment 26 jutting into the room to be conditioned and a condenser compartment 2'! extending out of the room to be conditioned, the two compartments being divided by'an insulated wall 28. Since the unit is designed for universal-use itis preferably made narrow enough to fit a narrow window opening,

hence side wings 29 and 36 of different widths may be fastened to the sides of the unit for completely blocking the opening between the window sill 2i! andthe window sash 23.

v The air conditioning mechanism is of a mechanical nature comprising a motor provided with an armature shaft 36 to which is keyed a fixeddiameter pulley 31, by means of which a compressor 38 is driven through belt 39 and flywheel pulley 49 fastened to the crankshaft of the compressor. The motor 35 and compressor 38 are'preferably adjustably fixed to a supporting plateAl mounted upon coil springs G2 suitably guided and retained in the condenser compartment as will be prese ently explained; The hot, compressed, gaseous refrigerant is discharged from the compressor into a discharge line which leads to the condenser coil 46, the coil preferably comprising a plurality ofhorizontally disposed tubes havunit through the right end of the condenser and to blow air out of the condenser. compartment through the left end thereof, the two streams of air beingdivided by a partition 5| formed in- 2,27s,ose v the blower wheel. A second baffle 10 may be provided inv order to form a small plenum chamber into which the blower ejects the partially conditioned air, the inlet shroud 69, casing 66, and bafile l0 preventing cooled air from striking the side walls of the unit so as not to have condensed moisture form thereon.

As described in the copending application of I Bernard W. Jewell, Ser. No. 303,969, filed conissued May 6, 1941, the mounting plate 4| upon currently herewith, and now' Patent No. 2,240,784,

which the motor and compressor are mounted is preferably provided with downwardly depending legs 15 so shaped as to provide retaining supports for the coil springs 52 which support the mechanism when in use, and thebottom of the unit which is formed as a water tight pan 16 is provided with inwardly struck projections 11 which form retaining lugs for the lower ends of the springs 42'. Any moisture which might drip into the bottom of the unit is retained in the pan 16 and eventually evaporated therefrom. A bolt 18 is passed through a hole drilled in the inner- ,mostextremity of each lug 11 and screwed into an axial, threaded openingin the leg 15 so that tightening of the bolts 18 draws the legs 15 against the lugs 11 in order that the unit may be supported without damage thereto during shipment or handling. For this purpose as well as for eliminating vibration during use the liquid pipe 55 and the suction pipe 80 through which tegrally with the propeller shroud 52. Cooled and liquefied refrigerant is led from the condenser coil ifithrough a liquid pipe 55 passing through the wall 28 and into a dryer chamber 56 containing hygroscopic material of anysuitable sort and from which a capillary tube expansion device 5'! leads to the evaporator coil 58 wherein the refrigerant is expanded. The evaporator coil 58 preferably comprises a plurality of horizontally disposed tubes 59 having-a plurality of vertically disposed metallic fins 60 therewith and forming a grid across the front of the unit, which grid may be covered by any suitable form of ornamental grill 6!. preferably drawn through the left end of the coil from the room by a multi-blade, cup-shaped and dehumidified before returning to the room.

A bafile 68 may be provided adjacent the outlet 6! so as todivide the incoming and outgoing air stream and an'inlet shroud 69 may be provided to confine the partially conditioned incoming air and so as to. cause all of it to enter the inlet of Theair to be conditioned is expanded refrigerant is returned to the compressor from the coil 58 are provided with return bends or loops so that movement of the unit may be accommodated. When the unit is installed the bolts 18 may be removed or loosened so that the weight of the condensing unit is supported by the springs 42.

In Fig. 4 it is apparent that the coil 58 is not as deep as-the condenser coil 46 so that its bottom edge is elevated slightly above the bottom edge of the condenser coil, the bottom of the evaporator coil 58 being supported in a con densed moisture collecting pan 8| provided with 'adepressed central drain 82 connecting with an outlet tube 83 through which moisture which drips from the evaporator coil may be led into a tube 84 through a flexible joint 85. The tube 84 passes through the wall 28 and is connected to a'disposal pan 86 through a second flexible connection 81. The lower portion of the propeller shroud 52 is mounted in the pan 86 and the tips of the blades of propeller 56 extend into the pan 86, there being sufiicient space between the surface of theshroud and the tips of the propeller plates to accommodate the tightening of bolts '18 during shipment of the unit. The outer edge of the shroud 52 is slightly spaced from the outer edge'of the pan86 so that condensed moisture may fill the pan and flow onto the inner surface of the lowermost segment of the circular shroud The purpose of a circular shroud surrounding such a propeller as disclosed is not only. to reduce noises andto streamline the air flow, thus reducing losses due ,to friction, but is also to prevent the formation of radially directed air currents, The air currents which would normally tend to flow radially from the blade tips are deflected forward in a spiral manner so that water which has accumulated in the lower segment of the shroud is forced upward in the direction of rotation of the blower and along the surface of the shroud, eventually flying off the forward edge of the shroud in a series of minute supposed that the capacity of the unit would be droplets, and only as minute droplets since the low pressure of the air is insufficient to create large drops. The air in which this takes place has been previously heated by travelling through the left side of the condenser and across the heated surfaces of the compressor and the motor so that the agitation thereof and the temperature of the air tend to evaporate most of the moisture before it leaves the unit. However, some droplets will strike the horizontal tubes 41 or the vertical fins 48 and will be further evaporated by absorption of heat therefrom, and some will be carried far away from the building by the outgoing air stream. Any moisture which might happen to trickle down the surface of the condenser coil is retained in the bottom pan I6 and evaporated therefrom.

As the water is forced upward along the inner surface of the shroud 52 most of it will be dissipated in the form of spray flying from the forward edge of the shroud as previously described. Some of the moisture tends to accumulate on the curved inlet edge of the shroud and might drain back into the bottom pan, for the purpose of preventing which I provide an inlet baffle 90 extending partially across the bottom of the shroud and a plurality of openings 9| in the inlet edge of the shroud through which moisture is drained back into the disposal pan 86. I may also provide an opening 92 in the lower end of the bafile I' so as to permit moisture to return to the pan 86 from between the come of the baffle 90 and the bafiie 5|.

Features of the present disclosure which are more fully explained and claimed in the aforementioned copending application of Bernard W. Jewell, now Patent No. 2,240,784, are as follows:

The driving of blower 65 is accomplished at a low speed through the use of a belt 95 driven by the flywheel pulley 40 on the compressor shaft, and a pulley 9B loosely mounted on the shaft 36 of motor 35, the pulley being so shaped as to extend through an opening 91 in the wall 28 which is provided with a flexible seal 98. It is tobe noted that the blower 65 is driven at low speed due to the pulley ratios and that the propeller 50, which is directly connected to the motor shaft 36, is driven at high speed, the low speed blower 65 producing sufiicient air volume without objectionable noises and the high speed propeller 50 providing considerable agitation of the condensing compartment 21 so that room air may be,

ejected in order to ventilate the room when desired, as shown in Fig. 10. Since opening of the door I00 reduces the inward flow of air through the right end of condenser coil 46 it might be reduced; however, the size of the door I00 is purposely small so that the volume of air traversing the right end of coil 45 is not reduced more than V approximately fifty percent, and since the room air is colder than the outside air the effect of the outgoing stream of air across the left end of coil 46 is increased to make up for the lessened volume of outside air traversing the right side of the coil.

Having described a preferred embodiment of my invention it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same permits of modifications in arrangement and detail, which'modifications when covered by-thefollowing claim is considered to be a part of my invention.

I claim: 4

An air cooled air conditioning unit comprising air conditioning surfaces upon which moisture is condensed from the air being conditioned, collecting means in which to collect such condensed moisture, a condenser coil in which refrigerant is condensed by causing a stream of air to traverse the same, a compressor in refrigerant flow relationship with said surfaces and ,said condenser coil, a motor connected to said compressor, a propeller for producing the condensercooling stream of air, said propeller being positioned adjacent a portion of said condenser coil and being so arranged as to blow outward through said portion and to draw air through another portion of said coil to be heated thereby and to be further heated by cooling said motor and said compressor, a circular shroud surrounding said propeller, a moisture disposal pan beneath said propeller and in which said circular shroud is mounted with a segment thereof below the edge of the pan, said pan being below said collecting means for the condensedmoisture, and a connection between said collecting means and said disposal pan for draining condensed moisture into said pan, whereby condensed moisture is collected on the inner surface of said segment, agitated by said propeller and blown upward along thereof, some of which are evaporated in the heated air, and some of which are carried away in the outgoing air stream, and means associated with said shroud for returning to said pan any drops of water forced back toward the in terior of said unit off the inlet end of said shroud comprising a plurality of holes in the inlet end of said shroud, spaced above the portion thereof within said pan in the direction of rotationof 1 said propeller whereby any drops of water which might otherwise fall back into the unit are trapped and returned to said pan.

JERRY M. GRUI'I'CH.

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