US2322469A

US2322469A - Apparatus for air conditioning

Info

Publication number: US2322469A
Application number: US294518A
Authority: US
Inventors: Aubrey H Robson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-09-12
Filing date: 1939-09-12
Publication date: 1943-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 1960-06-22

Description

June 22, 1943.

A. H. ROBSON APPARATUS FOR AIR CONDITIONING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N 5 Y m E T m m N w w o R m 1 a R B U A a 3 9 1 Y B l t P e s d e 1 1 F I G F June 22,- 1943. A. H. ROBSQN APPARATUS FOR AIR CONDITIONING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 12, 1939 BIA JIVVEIV'TOR. AUBR Y H.ROB$ON Patented June 22, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,322,469, I i APPARATUS roa Am conm'rroivmc Aubrey H. Robson, Detroit, Mich.

Application September 12, 1939, Serial No. 294,518

' claims. ('c1.1ss--4) I This invention relates to improved apparatus for conditioning air, and aims to provide comtemperature and humidity of the air.

An important object of the invention is to provide improved means for controlling the defhumidification of air by means of a deliquescent agent, such as calcium chloride, and to improve upon the method and apparatus disclosed in the copending application of Hiram J. Kaufman, Serial No. 687,995, filedSeptember 2, 1933, now Letters.Patent No. 2,175,469, dated October 10, 1939.

Another important object of the invention is to provide improved means for supporting the hygroscopic or deliquescent agent, in a manner which allows such agent to workits way downwardly with respect to its supporting means while being consumed, and to be dissolved away without unwanted sticking or binding in the supporting means, despite,the tendency of such sub-. stances to cake into a block-like mass while absorbing moisture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved means for utilizing the saturated solution which drips from the deliquescent agent to provide a secondary dehumidifying stage, having a greatly extended surface area with which the air tobe treated must engage before reaching the solid deliquescent agent.

A further object is to so arrange the secondary dehumidifying stage that it is self-cleaning.

Another object is to provide means for recirculating the calcium chloride solution which drips from the secondary stage, to maintain the relatively large secondary surface in thoroughly wetted condition.

Still another important object is to provide means for accumulating the water removed from the air in the bottom of the casing, and

waste of such agent, and interfere with the effectiveness of the apparatus by wetting the dehydrating agent near the outlet.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent 'from the following description, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of my invention and wherein similar reference. numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is an isometric perspective view, partly broken away, of an air conditioning system incorporating the principles of this invention.

Figure 1-A is a perspective view of the same from above, with the top removed.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 1, but showing the dehumidifying unit only of a somewhat modified construction.

Referring now to the drawings, and-particularly to Figures 1, '1A, which show the juxtaposed cooling and dehumidifying units, which are ordinarily covered by a common casing (not shown), it will be seen that reference character I designates a stack-like portionforming part of an inner sheet metal casing for the dehumidifylng unit. The dehumidifying unit also includes a base portion, 2, having an air inlet, I 0, in which is mounted a fan 2|. rected downwardly, and enters the stack from below, through a grille l, whereafter itfiows upwardly through the dehumidifying agencies contained in the stack.

Such-dehumidifying agencies consist of a primary surface, generally designated l5, and a secondarysurface, generally designated 6. The secondary surface is that first engaged by the air, and consists of a relatively finely divided and pervious material having a relatively large surface area, such as steel or copper wool, glass wool or the like. Such secondary surface is adapted to be kept wet by the solution dripping from the primary surface, which is located in the stack above the secondary surface. In the shown construction a copper wool bat 6 is held between the grille 4 and a transverse top grille 5, which also supports-the primary surface.

The primary surface consists of a plurality of spaced, vertically disposed open-topped cylindrical or tubular vessels 9, formed of screening or other foraminous material, resting upon the grille 5, and held in spaced relation by separator grids 1, 8. A top screen 23, placed over the tops of the vessels 9, is provided with openings registering with each vessel, through which the tubes may be filled. The screen 23 is preferably fine enough to prevent the hygroscopic material,

which is used in flaked or granular form, from The inflowins' air is didischarged from the outlet, 42. Y

portion 35 enclosing cooling means shown as consisting of-a. tank- Ii adaped to contain ice and/or cold water, although it will be understood that cooling coils, or any other suitable cooling means might be employed. A separate fan, ll, arranged ing the action of the latter in dehydrating the air I in a separate air. inlet 3!, forces air against and around the tank to cool the same before it is It will be noted that the moisture flows downwardly to the bottom of the casing, where it may be allowed to collect, andthat the upward counterflow of the'air tends to promote most effective moisture removal due to the fact that the drying air in its upward flow meets constantly dryer dehumidifying surface. Caking of the hygroscopic material in the prim y containers 9 does not interfere with airflow, since in the primary section the air may travel in the spaces between the tubular containers, and merely passes over the surface of the hygroscopic material therein. As such material dissolves at the surface, it works its way downward in sdlution,

.and flows downwardly onto the secondary surface, where it spreads over the'extended surface,

. and by keeping it moist, provides a greatly increased area, having dehumidifyins action and which is adapted to remove a proportion of the water vapor from the air before the primary surface is reached. p 1

One side of the stack is extended downwardly inside the inlet casing, to provide a baflie, designated 32, adapted to limitthe amount of water rises so high asto engage the baiiie. A plug as I9 may be provided for convenience in draining.

The control mechanism consists of separate humidity and temperature responsive devices, located in the inlets l0, 3!, respectively, and .ar-

of the fan motors '22, 4| in response to'the humidity and temperature of the air flowing in from:

from one another in the stack IA, a chamber ISA,

being left the'rebetween, while the air inlet is separatedfrom the stack by a bailie 32A which forces .the air to flow downwardlybeneath a pan it,

which is elevated. above the bottom of the easing, the air passing around the opposite end of the pan and entering the bottom of the'stack,

where it flows upwardly in similar fashion gardless of the rate of drip from the primary surface. and to assist in keeping the upper portions of the primary material dry, thus assist silk, or other light and relatively impervious material. The dampers areeasily lifted by the upflowing air when the fan is in operation, but close the stack, to prevent down flow of air, when the machine is idle. It will be understood that without such provision,- .due'to the lower vapor pressureof such hygroscopic material in solution, air would flow downwardly into the stack and act upon the upper part of the primary material.

Due to the counter flow arrangement, the secondary surface is self-cleaning, and the removal of water from the air is most effective due to the fact that the air contacts progressively drier deliquescent material as the air becomes dried out, in passing upwardly through the stack. 7

It will be noted that the entire dehumidifying means may be removed through the open top of the. stack at will, to enable convenient repair and replacement of these parts, which are subjected to the strongest corrosive action of the ments to be considered in all respectias illustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.-

40 ranged to independently control theoperation I claim:

a plurality of independent reticulated tubular containers arranged in substantially vertical, parallel and spaced relation and each adapted to contain a quantity of deliquescent material,

. said guiding means being'arranged to direct air thereupon during charging, said parts being arthrough the'secondary surface and then the primary surface.

An opening IIA is left in the side of the stack, through which aspray of solution may be thrown by a spray discll, which dips into the upper tank it. The disc may be turned by a motor 34. The upper tank is kept fllled bythe drip from the dehumidifying agencies, while the overflow from such pan falls into the bottom of the casing, from which it may be drained through an outlet ISA. The baiile'flA is-ofisuch len th as to cause the air inlet to'be shut oil by the rising solution when the level of the latter reaches it, thus preventing the liquid from rising toohigh.

The capacity oi'vthe liquid-containing portion may be such that" the level rises to the baflle 12A andshuts off the inlet at about the-same time that the hygroscopic material is exhausted. The

said portion of the casing in which said drip is adapted to collect, in vposition'to coast with such over and through the spaces between said corltainers, a covering member for said containers arranged over the open tops thereof, pervious to air, and having individual openings therein registering with the open tops of saidtubular containers, said covering member being sufliciently dense to support deliquescent material placed ranged in such manner that excess deiiquescent material may be brushed from the covering member into the tubular containers.

terial therein, means for'directing' a flow of air over said deliquescent material, said casing having a lower portion adapted to collect drip from said deliquescent material, said casing having air inlet and outlet portions, and said air guiding means including a baiiie located between the inlet and outlet and projecting downwardly into collected drip to close commlmication between the inlet and outlet when'the accumulated drip rises into contact with said baffle.

' 3. Air-conditioning means comprising in combination with a casing having a base portion and a substantially vertical smx portion, a plurality of superposition'eddehlnnidif'ying agencies. ar-

prising a screen member of a mesh too fine to allow the hygroscopic material to pass therethrough, said cover means having a plurality of filling openings therein, one such opening being arranged over and registering with each of said containers.

4. Air conditioning means comprising in combination with a casing having a base portion and a substantially vertical stack portion, a plurality of superposed dehumidifying agencies ar- I ranged in said stack portion, an upper one 'of said dehmidifying agencies including a plurality of reticulated tubular containers independent of and spaced from one another to allow air flow upwardly therebetween and over the contents of said containers, a quantity of hygroscopic material in said containers, and cover means arranged over the tops of said containers comprising a screen member of a mesh too fine to allow the hygrostatic material to pass therethrough, said 'cover means having a plurality of filling openings therein, one such opening being arranged over and registering with each of said containers, the stack being open topped, and said cover means and containers being removable therethrough.

AUBREY H. ROBSON'.