US2432316A - Heat pump - Google Patents

Description

.. 9, 1947. E, N', KEMLER 2,432,316

HEAT PUMP ,Filed May 29. 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. l

Dec. 9, 1947.

E.y N. KEMLER HEAT PUMP Filed Ilay 29. 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. faer/k/-Au 1?,

l.I N VEN TOR;

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 E. N. KEMLER Dec. 9, 1947.

HEAT PUMP mea lay 129, 1946 [Il /x Il 111/ l 1111/ l l /fh l/lll//l//l/ /l l l/ Dec. 9, 1.947.

E. N. KEMLER HEAT PUIP Filed lay 29. 1946 4 Sheets-Shet 4 l N V EN TOR. /Ywzw/ its upper Patented Dec. 9, 1947 HEAT PUMP Emory N. Kemler, Birmingham, Ala., assigner to Muncie Gear Works, Inc., Muncie..lnd.. a corporation of Indiana Application May 29, 194e, serial No. 672,924

s claims. (ci. sz-129) 'Ihis invention relates to heat pumps, whereinl a reversible refrigeration cycle is employed for heating the air oi a space for winter and cooling it for summer conditions; and structurally it is in the nature of an improvement upon the structure disclosed in my joint application with Marvin M. Smith and Clesant O. Fields, Serial No. 574,478, filed January 25, 1945, issued as Patent No. 2,401.- 890, June '11, 1946.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved construction and arrangement of parts of heat pumps for utilizing the heat of mechanical energy conversion during the heating season, for reducing the effects oi' waste heat upon the air current during the cooling season, and for accomplishing this end automatically through the operation of other mechanism employed in reversing the function of the refrigeration cycle.

These and other incidental objects are accomplished by the illustrative embodiment of the in-` vention shown in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view, particularly directed to showing the parts in position for directing the air and water as required for the cooling seasons, the section being taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a section of the same on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. y

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic section similar to 2 tition 1 and the housing or other walls to completeiy enclose and isolate one of the heat exchangers and direct the air flow through the other, and vice versa. These baiiles 8 are shiftable across the housing to provide for cooling or heating of the air stream as will hereinafter appear.

Fig. 1, showing, somewhat more in detail, theH relation of the air ducts to parts of the refrigeration cycle, as adjusted for the heating season. with some of the mechanism modified to more clearly illustrate certain features.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective detail of the Ventilating shutter for the housing of the motorcompressor unit.

Fig. 5 is a three-dimensional diagram ofthe shutter mechanism.

In the form shown, the housing I is a rectangular insulated shell with an air inlet 2 leading to a lower chamber 3 and an air'outlet Li at part leading to an upper air chamber l. I

. 'I'he heat exchangers which constitute the condenser i and the evaporator 8 are arranged side by side or end to end so as to substantially fill a transverse zone between the chambers 3 and 4.

This heat exchanger zone in the drawings is horizontal and is subdivided Vinto two air ducts by a vertical partition 'i separating the condenser l from the evaporator 6. A pair of slidable horizontal partitions orbafiles 8 coact with'the par- The refrigerant circulating system is hermetically sealed and comprises a suction line of piping 9, connecting the receiver Iii through the ex pension valve II and a thermostatically controlled regulating valve il.i to the refrigerant coil 6.1 ofthe evaporator 6 and with the intake port I2 of the compressor I3, and a pressure line of piping Il, connecting the outlet port l! of the compressor I3 through the refrigerant coil 5J of the condenser 5, to the receiver I0.

The thermostatically controlled regulating valve II.I regulates the ilow of refrigerant to suit the demandas may be indicated by a distant thermostat at some suitable place in the space that is to be conditioned.

The refrigerant system is indicated by showing in the drawings only its most essential elements, and omittingV many details and refinements of present-day practice which have no direct bearing on the disclosure of the present invention.

In the form shown, the heatpump is arranged toutilize, in the heating season, water as the heat source and the air of the house as the dump for heat oi.' the refrigerant cycle; and in the cooling season, the house air becomes the heat source and water is utilized as the dump for the heat of the refrigerant cycle.

The water system comprises a service pipe IB from a water source, such as a -city main or well, a three-way inlet valve I1, branch pipes I8 and I9 leading to condenser water-coil 5.2 and evaporator water-coil 6.2respectively, and a discharge pipe 20 to which the outlet ends of the water coils 5.2 and 8.2 are connected and which leads to a drain. A thermostatically controlled valve 2li.l controls the flow of water in the water coil 8.2 so as to prevent freezing.

The air system comprises suitable ducts to and from the parts of the house to be heated and a blower 2i at the inlet 2 for forcing a circulation of air. The blower 2i and compressor I3 may have a common motor 22 or be separately driven. A Water pan 23 collects any water that may ldrip from the evaporator by reason of condensation of moisturey in the air and also serves as a baille to direct the incoming air over the motor and compressor to cool them and utilize their waste heat during the heating seasons. A humidifier 24y may be located in the compartment 4 for moistening the air in the heating season. The heat exchanger coils are shown in Fig. 3 as separate water and refrigerant coils for clearness of diagrammatically illustrating the relation and continuity of the air, water and refrigerant circuits, but in practice these coils are more intimately associated.

The positioning of the baffles 8 is controlled, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, by a system of belts or cables indicated generally by the numeral 34 with decimal suillxes to indicate individual parts thereof. As shown in Fig. 5, each baille 8 is operated by a separate endless cable 34. Each cable 34 is attached to its respective baille 8 by means of stop buttons 36 xed on the cable and abutting against lugs 35 on the bailles. The cables 34 are driven by a drum, or drums, 31 turned by a crank 38. Each cable may be wound several turns about the drum or drums 31. The flight 34.I of one cable passes from the drum to pulley 39, then as flight 34.2 which is connected to the upper baille 8, it passes over pulley 39.1 and then as night 34.3 it passes over idle pulley 39.2 and back to drum 31. The other 'cable -passes from pulley 31 as flight 34.4 over pulley 40, then as flight 34.5 it is fastened to the lower baille 8, passes around pulley 4I, then as flight 34.6 it is wrapped around a pulley or drum 55, then over idle pulley 40.| it passes back as flight 34.1 to its driving drum 31.

The three-way valvel 1 can be turned to supply water alternatively either to the condenser 5 or to the evaporator 6 and may have its handle I1.I of lever form and be positioned so that the shifting of baffles 8 from summer to Winter position and vice versa will automatically reverse the valve I1. As shown in Fig. l, the valve lever I1.I has an eye I1.2 at its end and the cable 34 has stop buttons 36 suitably spaced to accomplish this shifting with appropriate lost motion. In the diagram of Fig. 3, the cable is not shown, but is represented functionally in the form of a traveler rod having the same relation to the lever arm I1.I of the valve I1 and to the baille 8 and its parts are numbered to correspond with parts of like function in Fig. 1

In the present improvement, the arrangement is such that not only is the apparatus so arranged diameters to provide the proper amount of movement to the cables 48, 49 and 50, respectively, corresponding to the amount of travel of the cable 34.6 as the plates 8 travel between their limiting positions for closing o either the condenser or evaporator from the air flowing through the housing. Thus all of the elements that have to be shifted for converting the heat pump from its heating function to its cooling function and controlling the direction of air flow and water ilow to correspond are controlled and actuated by the single -operating element represented by the crank 38.

The operation of the device shown is as follows:

Except as to parts of the mechanism and equipment having direct bearing on the present invention, it should be understood that many details of a commercial embodiment of the heat pump are omitted from the drawings and this description. For example, itwill be understood that apparatus of this kind may -be controlled by thermostatic appliances such that the space which is to be conditioned will be maintained at nearly constant conditions, particularly as to temperature regulation by the user. Such appa- 'ratus would, of course, include means for startl ing and stopping the motor, fan and compressor and valve. means for cutting 01T and controlling the flow of water at times when the motor is not operating. Many refinements of `details of the refrigerating system which are embodied in commercial applications are also omitted for like reasons.

When the parts are in the position shown Hin Fig. 3, the fan 2'I draws air from the space that is to be conditioned and forces the air to flow through the housing I and to be returned from is flowing to the evaporator 6 during the cooling season.

In the form shown, there are movable members illustrated in the form of doors 42 and -42.I, which cooperate with a frame 42.3 to form a housing that isolates the motor and compressor from the other mechanism of the refrigeration cycle, and an adjacent Wall of the housing I is provided with vents 43 and 44 controlled by a sliding shutter 45 having vents 46 and 41 movable into and out of registry with the wall vents 43 and 44.

The door 42 is controlled by a cable 48; the door 42.I is controlled by a cable 49; and the shutter 45 is controlled by a cable 50 which extend to drums 5|, 52 and 53 respectively on a counter-shaft 54 which is rotated by a pulley 55. As indicated in Fig. 5, the pulley may be driven by one of the flights of the cable 34. As here shown the flight 34.6 is wrapped about the periphery of the pulley 55 before passing to the pulley 4,|J.|.

The drums 5I, 52 and 53 are of appropriate the outlet 4.! to said space. Since this air current is excluded from the condenser 5, it will pass over the evaporator and be cooled thereby. Any condensation of moisture due to this cooling of the air will be collected and drained away by the drip pan 23. When the parts are in this position, the doors 42 and 42.I will be closed and will prevent the air flowing through the housing from coming into contact with the motor and compressor. The shutter 45 will be in position to open vents 43 and 44 so that waste heat of the motor compressor will pass to the outside of the hous ing.

When the motor drives the compressor I4, refrigerant will be drawn from the receiver I0 throughthe expansion valve II where it is expanded so as to cool the evaporator coil 6.I and will then flow to the compressor I3 where it is compressed, raising its temperature; then the compressed refrigerant vapor passes through the coil 5.I of the condenser, being condensed by the transfer of its heat to the water coil 5.2 and finally returned to the receiver I0. The water enters from the pipe I6 and is directed by the three-way valve I1 to the pipe I8 and condenser coil 5.2 and after taking up the heat that-'is dumped .into it` in the condenser, this water is drained away by the pipe 20.

When the baille plates 8 are shifted to the right across the partition 1 and` into contact with the right-hand wall of the housing I, asin Fig. 1, the air Vflow will be directed through the condenser ductI and will be excluded from the evaporator. Under these circumstances the device will function as an airheater since the air will then serve as a dump for the heat of the condenser and will 'carry this heat to the space to be heated.

As the baille plates 8 are being thus shifted for air heating, the element 34.5 will slide through the swiveled eye at the end of the lever ILI of the valve I1 until it is engaged by the left-hand button 36 and swung to the position for directing the flow of water from pipe i6 to pipe I9 and evaporator coil 6.2 where heat is extracted from `heating and cooling seasons and in orderto change from the function of heating the air to that of cooling the air and vice versa, the operator need only turn the crank 38 in the direction it is free to move and rotate it until its movement is stopped by the engagement of the baille plates with the opposite wall of the housing. The mat-` ter of starting and stopping the mechanism according to the needsof the space to, be conditioned is then controlled by thermostatic devices, not shown, the operation of which, however, is well understood.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous 'details of the structure shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as dened by the following claims.,

I claim:

l. vI a heat pump, a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator connected in refrigeration cycle relation to each other, a housing enclosing said compressor, condenser and evaporator and having an inlet and an outlet for directingair to and from said condenser and evaporator, partition means forming separate air ducts for such air flow, movable closure means for alternatively opening one and closingr the other of said ducts, respectively, said compressor being located in said housing between said air inlet and said air ducts, and movable partition means interconnected with said movable closure means and adapted to expose said compressor tothe incoming air when flowing to the condenser' and to isolate said compressor from such air when flowing to the evappartition separating said condenser and evaporator, a pair of baille panels coacting with said partition and housing to out ofi the air ow at one side of said partition, said baffle panels being shiftable across said partition, adapted in oneV position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser anddexclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from-said condenser, means adapted alternatively to extract heat from said condenser or to supply heat to said evaporator when cut off from the air ilow by said baille means, a compressor for circulating refrigerant in said refrigerant conduit and located in said housing between said air inlet and said bafile panels, and movable partit tion means operatively interconnected with said baiile panels and adapted to expose said compressor to the incoming air flowing to said conorator, vents for directing external air about-said prising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing .between said air inlet and air outlet, a

denser and to isolate said compressor from such air flowing to said evaporator.

3. In a heat pump, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, a partition separating said condenser and evaporator, a pair of baille panelscoacting with said partition and housing to cut oil the air ilow at one side of said partition, said baffle panels being shiftable across said partition, adapted in one position to direct the air ilow in said housing across s aid condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, water coils in heat transfer relation to said condenser and evaporator, valve means controlling said water coils, a compressor for circulating refrigerant in said refrigerant conduit and located in said housing between said air inlet and said baille panels, movable partition means adapted to shift between a setting for exposing said compressor to air flowing from said air inlet to'said condenser and a setting for isolating said compressor from air flowing from said air inlet to said evaporator, and a. single operating member connected for. simultaneously setting said baille panels, movable partition means and valve means respectively for of the heat` The following references are of record in the file of this patentz. i

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date y 1,942,295 Kerr Jan. 2, 1934 2,044,068 Fourness June 16, 1936 2,401,890 Smith June 11, 1946

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