US2529839A

US2529839A - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: US2529839A
Application number: US753606A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas H Garvey; Paul V Scally
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-06-10
Filing date: 1947-06-10
Publication date: 1950-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1967-11-14

Description

Nov. i4, 1950 11H. GARVEY Erm.

AIR CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June l0, 1947 eye/ W @y Paaa Vfoai'i M Nov. 14, 1950 'n'. H. GARVEY ETAL AIR CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 10, 1947 Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR CONDITIONER Thomas H. Garvey, Natick, and Paul V. Scally, Randolph, Mass.

Application June 10, 1947, Serial No. 753,606

3 Claims. 1

This invention pertains to air conditioners and more particularly to a device to wash. humidity or dehumidify air which is circulated therethrough.

One object of this invention is to provide a novel and efcient air conditioning unit. A further object is to provide such a unit which will efficiently wash or clean the air and which may be accurately controlled to circulate the required amount of moisture at the desired temperature for contact with the air,V thereby to control its moisture content. A further object is to provide such a unit which may be easily cleaned and which may be readily installed in common air circulating systems.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a warm air furnace having combined therewith air conditioning means embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary Vertical section, to

unit removed from the casing of the conditioning apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the air conditioning element removed from the holder of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the frame elements and the conduit of Figs. 3 and 4 with parts broken away; v v

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 3-6 of Fig. 3

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on the line 'I-'I of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 4.

The numeral I designates a warm air furnace of conventional type having the fire door 2 giving access to a re box; the ash door 3; and the outer casing 4 within the lower part of which is the cold air inlet chamber 5 (Fig. '1) and in the upper part of which is the plenum or air distributing chamber 6, from which the warm air pipes 'I lead to the several points of use.

As here illustrated, the air conditioning apparatus which is associated with the furnace is arranged outside of the furnace structure, but it is contemplated that all or certain portions, at

casing being correspondingly designed to receive it.

As here illustrated, the air conditioning system comprises a casing 8 whichmay be of sheet metal or the like, having the inlet portionl 9 and the exit portion I0, the latter being connected directly to the casing 4 of the warm air furnace and providing communication between the interior of the casing 8 and the distributing chamber 6. As illustrated, a cold air pipe II leads from the cold air inlet chamber 5 of the furnace casing to the inlet of the air conditioning system. However, it is not necessary that the inlet 9 be connected with the cold air chamber of the furnace since the inlet 9 may be arranged to receive air from any suitable source. Between the inlet 9 and the exit portion I0, the casing is enlarged to provide the conditioning chamber I2. Within this chamber and forming a substantial barrier transversely thereof is a radiator I3, preferably of conventional automobile type, having a multitude of horizontal air passages I4 and a large number of small vertical tubes I5 connecting a chamber I6 in the upper part of the radiator structure with a similar chamber in the lower part of the radiator structure, the tubes and these chambers forming cavities for the reception of liquid which is in effective heat exchange relation to the air passing through the horizontal passages I4.

Within the re box of the warm air furnace or so located as to be exposed to the heat of the re in the fire box, or to radiation from the fire box, there is arranged a liquid heating device I'I, here illustrated as a simple coil of pipe. How-, ever, other types of liquid heating means may be used. The delivery end of this coil I'I or equivalent heating means is connected to a pipe I8, while the inlet of the coil I1 is connected to a pipe I9, these pipes extending out through the casing 4. The pipe I8 is connected to a fitting 20 to one arm of which there is attached a safety valve device 2|. To another arm of this fitting there is connected a supply pipe 22 coming from any suitable source of water at supply pressure, and from another arm of the fitting 20 a nipple 23 extends downwardly into the top of the radia- 1701' I3.

The pipe I9 leads to a T-itting 24 from which a nipple 25 extends upwardly to the lower part of the radiator I3. There is thus established a continuous path for liquid to circulate through ythe v heater device I'I and the liquid receiving cavities least, of this air conditioning apparatus may be arranged within the furnace casing if desired, the

of the radiator.

Within the exit portion I9 of theY conditioning casing, there is arranged a transverse vertical sheet of fora-minous material 26, preferably made of wire mesh fabric or or" an open mesh textile material. Just above this screen there is arranged a distributing pipe 2l having drip openings 2la, from which water or other liquid may be delivered onto the upper portion of the screen 26 s0 as to ow down over the screen in a very thin film to be easily absorbed by air passing through the interstices of the screen. A supply pipe 28 brings water or other fluid to the distributing pipe 2l, the pipe 28 having one end connected to a T-i'ltting 2S and its other end connected to the union 28a. The pipe 30 affords a communication between the T-ntting 29 andthe cold water supply, this pipe being provided with a valve 33a by which the amount of cold water passing through the pipe Sil to the distributing pipe 2'! may be controlled. Another pipe 3l is connected to the T-tting 29 and to the T-tting 24 and is designed to receive warm water Vfrom the nipple so that when desired warm water may A-be supplied to the screen '26 vinstead of Ycold water. The pipe 3l is provided with a valve 31a whichisV operative to control the amount of warm water passing through the pipe "3l to the distributing pipeZ-l. l

1 fImmediate/lybelow the screen' there isprovide'd fa-collecting trough V32, U-shapedin cresssection, :designed to receive any moisture which maydripfrom thelower edge of the screen. A drain pipe 33 leads from this trough to any desired point. The claims relate to the'foraminous material 226, the distributing pipe 2l and other vassociated parts which will bedescribed in more detailhereafter.

'Within the exit portion I@ of the casing there 'preferably arranged a series vof air guiding louvres '34 which maybe adjustable, if-desired, or which may be xe'd atan angle found experimentally to give :the 'best results in the particular installation'. These louvres tend to smooth out--eddies'in the flowing air andto provide a smoothly flowing stream Where the air enters the distributing chamber 6 of the furnace. illustrated, they are so arranged as to direct the air upwardly where it enters the distributing chamber so that the ow of air into the pipes "l -is lfacilitated.

"Vfhile the apparatus may depend upon gravity flow-of air for circulation or upon the employment of a fan located-at some-other point in the lheating system, itis preferred `to provide a support 3'5within the casing 8 and to mountthereon a 'motor 36, driving -a fan 31 so Aarranged as to draw in air-through the inlet 9 andto deliver it in a substantially horizontal stream to flow through thefpassages Miof the'radiator I3.

' l.-lframe assembly Vf'orthe sheet of foraminous material 26 is provided by a metal tube which isbent to-provide side'frame members and il and a bottom lframe member 152. The top frame member 33 of'this assembly has its ends secured to the upper ends of the side frame members 4D and-4|. One end portion i3d is provided with apassage which is adapted loosely to receive the distributing pipe 21. Itsopposite end 43h is provided With a socket which is adapted loosely to receive the closed endvof the .distributing pipe 2l.

The sheet of Iforaminous material ,26 is secured to the frame assembly'by wrapping its sides and ends around--theframe members 4G, t l, e2 and @3 and then 4securing them by a strandof wire or other suitable material-44 to the main body portion of the sheet, the corners of the sheet being notched at 45a.

Thus a passage having an opening at one end is provided bythe bore of end portion 43a, the frame member 43, the socket in the end portion 43h and the loop 26a. (Fig. '7) of foraminous material which is formed at the top of the sheet of foraminous material. By manipulation of the union 28a, the pipes 2 and 28 -are separated and the distributor pipe 21 may then be withdrawn by sliding it longitudinally of the passage. This permits cleaning of the orifices 21a cr replacement of the distributor pipe by a new one.

The frame assembly Gil, lil, l2 and i3 is removably supported in a holder frame formed by 'the trough 32, the holder side frame members 45 and i6 andthe holder top frame member 4l. The

v'lowerends of the holder side frame members are secured to the trough 32 by soldering, welding or any other appropriate means to form water-tight endsfor the trough. The nipple i9 is secured to the `member 46 and is detachably secured to the outlet pipe 33 by a union 5B. The holder top -franre'rmeniber 4l fis 'detahably secured to the upper-ends of the sidemembers'llS fand-d6, for example, by the resiliency 'of its side walls.

The trough 32 and holder frame membersfli, l5 `and tll vare eahriU-shaped in cross-section and they .receive-and' enclose fthe 'frame assembly 6B, 41,1542 and '43. By removing the holder top frame member rlil, the `resultant YU -

shaped holder frame

45, 32 and 46 maybe completely removed from the firame fior the r`foraminous material.

The 4portion IQ of the 'casing is provided with a -slot15l lwhichisadapted te receive the helder frame assembly 132, '545, `i6 and 4l. A channel member 52 (Fig. 2) communicates with the lower end of this slot and another Achannel member 53 communicates Awith the upper end thereof.-

Thus-the holder 'frame assembly with the frame for =the foraminous-material in place therein may be slid inwardly through the slotI toits vertical position wherein the foraminous sheet 26 eX- tends Vtransversely of -the portion in of the casing andit may be removed by sliding it Voutwardly through the slot.

@peratio'n In operation thesheet of foraminous material maybe utilied either .to add moisture to .the air or toremove ,moisture Yfrom.the air. To remove moisture 'from the air, the water or other 'fluid supplied ,to the distributor 4pipe 2l' is provided with atemperature which is below the temperatureof the air whichris being ,circulated through the casing I0. ,To add v:moisture to theair, the water or other fluid supplied '.to the .,pipe21 `has a temperature whichis `above vthe temperatureof the air circulated through the conduit l0. .When the ktemperature of Athe water .lor other fluid is lower than *the air, it causes moisture in the warmer air to condense `and to flow down the screen 26 and accumulate in `the 'trough 32 from Which ,it passes outwardly through Vthe pipes 49 and .3 3 to a drain. When the Water supplied to the ypipe 2l is the sametemperature as or warmer than the air, the air takes up moisture from the lm of moisture on the screen 26. The temperature of 'the water or Vother iluid supplied to the pipe 21 may be controlled by appropriate adjustment of the valves 30a and 31a, or if desired, by varying the temperature of the water Ysupplied to either the pipe 30 lor the pipe 3|.

In operation the fan 31 continuously blows va streamer air .through the vsheet of `foraminous material 2E Vand thence Ythrough the conduit I to ,the distributing points. .The distributing Y.pipe

2l continuously supplies liquid to the upper portion of the sheet of foraminous material 26 and the liquid iiows by gravity downwardly along the foraminous material. Any liquid which is not consumed. by the air passing through the foraminous material is .collected in the trough 32 and passes outwardly through the

pipes

49 and 33 to the drain. The lm of water may be utilized not only to control the amount of moisture in the air but it also washes the air and removes dirt and dust from it. The lm of water tends to carry this dust and dirt downwardly to the trough 32. l Y

Preferably the valves 30a and 31al are adjusted to provide a very thin film of water on the screen of foraminous material 26. The screen may be cleaned at intervals by increasing the flow of water or other fluid from the pipe 21, thereby washing any accumulations of dust or dirt downwardly into the trough 32.

The unit may be removed from the portion l of the casing by releasing the union couplings 28a and 50 and then sliding the holder frame assembly outwardly from the casing through the slot I. The frame for the foraminous material may be removed from the holder frame assembly by lifting the holder top frame member 21 upwardly away from the

side members

45, 46 and then sliding the foraminous material frame member 4B, 4|, 42, 43 outwardly through the open end of the holder frame assembly. The distributor pipe 21 may then be removed by sliding it outwardly through the passage which is formed at the top of the foraminous material frame assembly. The unit may be re-assembled by reinserting the distributor pipe 21 in the passage, sliding the foraminous material frame assembly into the U-shaped holder frame assembly, placing the holder frame top member upon the upper ends of the

side members

45, 46, sliding the assembly inwardly through the slot 5I and re-coupling the pipes 49 and 2'! to the

pipes

33 and 28, respectively.

While the apparatus has been illustrated in association with a hot air furnace, it may be associated with any air circulating system without departing from the scope of this invention. For example, the apparatus may be utilized to cool warm air in the summer and in such use, it may be utilized either to add moisture to or remove moisture from the air.

While we have disclosed the use of water, other fluids may be utilized. For example, fluids which remove moisture from the air at room temperature may be substituted for water, if desired.

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that we have provided a novel and eiicient air conditioning unit which will e'ciently wash or clean4 air circulated therethrough, which may be utilized to add moisture to or remove moisture from the air, which may be readily disassembled for repair and cleaning and which may be readily installed in a common air circulating system.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 620,960, led October 8, 1945, entitled Air Heating and Humidifying Apparatus, now Patent No. 2,424,927.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An air conditioner comprising a substan- 6 tially rectangular screen frame assembly having side, top and bottomscreen frame members and a sheet of foraminous material substantially bridging the gap ybetween said screen frame members and having its sides and ends secured respectively to said screen frame members, a longitudinal passage formed in said top screen frame member, extending substantially between the side screen frame members adjacent the tops thereof and outwardly transversely of the upper portion of at least one of said side frame members to provide an opening for said passage in one outer side wall of the frame assembly, a conduit detachably mounted in said passage and extending outwardly of the frame assembly through said opening, said conduit being provided with a series of perforations through which a liquid may flow to said sheet of foraminous material, and means for detachably connecting said conduit to a source of liquid, whereby said conduit may be removed from said longitudinal passage by withdrawing it through said opening and without removing the foraminous material from the screen frame members.

2. An air conditioner comprising a substantially rectangular screen frame assembly having side, top and bottom screen frame members and a sheet of foraminous material substantially bridging the gap between said screen frame members and having its sides and ends secured respectively to said screen frame members, a conduit extending substantially between the side screen frame members adjacent to the top of said sheet of foraminous material, said conduit being provided with a series of perforations through which a liquid may ow to said sheet of foraminous material, means for detachably connecting said conduit to a source of liquid, a trough, U-shaped in cross section with its side walls substantially higher than the height of said bottom screen frame member, whereby when the bottom screen frame member is supported on the bottom of the trough a space is provided in said trough above said screen frame member for the accumulation of liquid from the foraminous material, two side holder frame members extending upwardly from said trough, one at each end thereof, said side holder frame members being U-shaped in cross section, the trough and side holder frame members being secured together at their adjacent ends to form a U-shaped holder frame for detachably supporting said rectangular screen frame assembly, and a conduit communicating with the interior of said trough for conducting away liquid which accumulates therein from the foraminous material.

3. In an air conditioner comprising a substantially rectangular screen frame assembly having side, top and bottom screen frame members and a sheet of foraminous material substantially bridging the gap between said screen frame members and having its sides and ends secured respectively to said screen frame members, a conduit extending substantially between the side screen frame members adjacent to the top of said sheet of foraminous material, said conduit being provided with a series of perforations through which a liquid may flow to said sheet of foraminous material, and means for detachably connecting said conduit to a source of liquid, and a holder frame assembly comprising a bottom holder frame member, U-shaped in cross section, for detachably receiving and supporting the bottom screen frame member and forming a, trough for the accumulation of liquid from the foram- .inous .materaL vand. two Side Yholder Yframe members .extending upwardlyrom said bottom frame member,.one at each end thereof, said sde'holder frarne members being U-shaped in cross section for detachably receiving and retaining the respective side screen frame members, whereby 'the screen frame assembly may be removed upwardly asa unit from the'holder frame assembly.

THOMAS H. GARVEY. PAUL V. SCALLY.

'REFERENCES CITED The -followimg yreferences are of record in the le .of Athis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 10 Number Name :Date v.Dressler Apr. 10, 1923 `Siday Apr. 21, 1925 Patrick July 21, 1931 Feinberg May 21, 1940 Mi1ar Nov. 5, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 5,1854 VGreat 'Britain May 12, 1910 Australia Apr. .6, -1'942