US2798366A

US2798366A - Widespread air circulating refrigerating unit

Info

Publication number: US2798366A
Application number: US423361A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward J Erl
Original assignee: REFRIGERATION APPLIANCES Inc
Current assignee: REFRIGERATION APPLIANCES Inc
Priority date: 1954-04-15
Filing date: 1954-04-15
Publication date: 1957-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 1974-07-09

Description

July 9, 1957 E, ,1 ERL V2,798,366

WIDESPREAD AIR CIRCULATING REFRIGERA'YIING UNIT Filed April 15, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 9, 1957 E. J. ERL 2,798,366

WIDESPREAD AIR CIRCULATING REFRIGERATING UNIT Filed April 15, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN VEN T R.

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WU Mm ai@ United States wmEsrnEAD AIR CmCULAriNG REFRIGERATING UNIT Edward J. Erl, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Refrigeration Appliances, Inc., Chicago, lll., a corporation of lllinois Application April 15, 1954, Serial No. 423,361

8 Claims. (Cl. 62-102) This invention relates to a refrigerating unit which is adapted to be installed in a compartment for cooling the contents thereof and has reference more particularly to a construction of the unit with facilities which insure widespread circulation of the cooled air throughout the entire compartment.

The invention also includes the make up of the unit in a compact completely Iself contained form and wherein the parts thereof are conveniently accessible.

Refrigerating units of the type to which this invention relates comprise an evaporator composed `of coils or the like to which the compressed and liquiied refrigerant is supplied and in which it is vaporized to extract heat from the compartment, this `evaporator being incorporated in .a housing containing a fan by `which the-compartment air is circulated between and around the evaporator coils and thereby cooled and then returned to the compartment.

Such units are oftentimes furnished for installation on the job and are utilized in compartments of various shapes and sizes, and as fan enforced circulation generally is most pronounced directly to `and from the fan or the place of entrance and exit thereto, it oftentimes occurs that the air circulation in compartments in which such units are installed is principally in a zone -corresponding to the width of the paths of air discharge from and air return to the refrigerating unit and consequently the cooled -air is not distributed as uniformly throughout the compartment as desired.

Moreover, .as these units are installed in compartments of various shapes and sizes and at a place therein selected at the time of installation, it'may readily occur that the unit is not located or positioned in the compartment at a place or in a manner to aiord proper or adequate entrance of air thereto.

Furthermore, it is desirable that such units lbe `as com pact as possible so that they do not occupy a substantial amount of compartment space and may be located at places in .the compartment where they are out of the Way and do not sacrifice space which is desirable for storage, and it is also important that the unit be complete and self contained so that it is merely necessary to make power, drain and refrigerant supply and return connections thereto and that the parts of the unit be accessible without dismantling or disturbing the operating parts thereof or connections thereto.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a refrigerating unit which is adapted to insure adequate access of the circulated air thereto and widespread distribution of the cooled lair therefrom throughout the compartment; to -construct the unit so that it is readily applicable to and its widespread cooled .air distribution facilities are effective in compartments `of various shapes and sizes; to provide a compact completely self contained refrigerating unit the installation of which is accomplished conveniently and requires the making of a minimum of connections therewith; to construct the unit so that the operating parts thereof are readily accessible and without disturbing the connections thereto; and in general to profice vide a simple, convenient and efficient refrigerating unit at a minimum cost which is readily handled and installed by workmen on the job with assurance of proper installation and certainty of widespread distribution of thecooled air throughout the compartment in which it is installed, these and other objects being accomplished as pointed out more particularly hereinafter and as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front View of a refrigerating unit constructed in accordance with the present invention; and with parts thereof broken away to -disclose `details of the construction;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the unit of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the unit with parts therein shown in dotted lines; and a part of the side wall broken away to show the mounting of the motor;

Fig. 4 is a view looking at the rear of the unit; with .parts lbroken away to show details;

Fig. 5 isa side view of the air spreader which is attachtable to the fan guard through which the air is discharged from the fan;

Fig. 6 is a side View of the spreader of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are perspective views of various shapes of refrigerating -compartments yshowing the manner in which the unit of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 may be installed therein.

As .shown in the drawings, the refrigerating unit, which is indicated :as -a whole by the reference numeral 11, comprises an evaporator 12 (see Fig. 3) which is mounted in the rear end of a housing having a top wall 13, two

side walls

14 and 15, a bottom 16, and a front wall 17 with a. large central opening 18 therethrough. immediately behind this opening 18 is a fan 19 which is secured on the shaft of and operable by a motor 20 to draw air into the interior of the housing through the rear open end thereof land in intimate heat transfer relation with the evaporator 12 and then discharge said lair from the housing through the opening 18 of the front wall 17. For convenience the housing as a whole is hereinafter referred to as the housing 13--17.

The evaporator 12 is of conventional construction and comprises a coil which is indicated as a whole at 21 (sec Fig. 3) and winds back and forth zacross the rear end of the housing 13-17 through a series of heat conducting fin plates 22 which are interposed, in close adjoining relation to one another, between the housing side walls 14 and -15 and are secured on the coil in intimate heat conducting relation therewith, so that the coil provides a long continuous passageway back and forth throughV the fin plates 22 and through which said passageway refrigerant is circulated and in which the refrigerant is evaporated in its passage therethrough.

This said coil 21 is composed of a large number of short tube lengths 23, forty being shown herein, which extend between and project `at ltheir opposite ends respec- Itively through individual openings in the

housing side walls

14 and 15, and at the outer sides of these w-alls the ends of adjoining tubes are connected to one another by return bends 24, as is well known in the art, to provide the yaforesaid continuous coil 21.

il" he tin plates 22 are alike Iand of the rectangular shape `as indicated by the dotted lines at 22 in Fig. 3 and the tubes 23 in the illustrated refrigerating unit are arranged in four successive ybanks from front to rear, as indicated by the four arrows from the reference numerals 21 in Fig. 3, and the evaporator 12 is mounted in the rear end of the housing 11i- 17, .and in a fixed position therein by the engagement of the tubes 23 in the individual openings of the

side walls

14 and 15.

lIt is an important feature of the present invention that the rear end of the housing 13 -17 is undercut, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, that is, the top wall 13 of the housing extends at the rear ya considerable distance beyond Patented July 9, 1957 l the rear end of the housing bottom 16, and the rear ends of the

opposite sides

14 and 15 are correspondingly undercut or sloped diagonally from the top 13, or a place near the'top, to the bottom 16 in a direction toward the front of the housing, as indicated at 2,5, so that when the refrigerating unit and its housing 13-17 is mounted level, lfor example, against a horizontal top wall, such as indicated at V26, with the overhanging rear extremity 27 at the Vtop thereof abutting against the upright side wall of a compartment, such upright Wall 'being indicated at 2'8 in Fig. 3, ya space indicated by the reference numeral 29 yis provided between the rear end of the refrigerating unit and the wall 28 which said Space 29 is widely open at the bottom and tapers upwardly in an inverted V-.shape to a closed upper end where the overhanging real'lxtremity .27 abuts against the wall 2,8 and the thus tapered space 29 also opens .sidewise to the 'compartment through tWO Opposite .side entrances, one of which is between the sloped rear end 25 of the housing side wall 14 and the upright compartment wall 28 and the other of which is between the similar sloped end 25 of the housing side wall 15 and .sai-d. upright compartment wall 28.

Thus the projecting extremity 27 of the undercut area end of the refrigerating unit serves as a guideor indexing means for mounting the refrigerating unit in a Compartment iby merely abutting the extended top portion 27 against the compartment sidewall V28 and thereby not only is ample space 29 assured for entrance of air into the rear end of ythe housing 13-17 but it is also assured that the air will be drawn in not only at the bottom of that space 2,9 but also at the opposite sides thereof, thereby inducing widespread distribution of returning air to the refrigerating unit by causing it lto return at opposite sides of the unit to the opposite side entrancesof the space 29 as well as underneath the unit to the entrance at the bottom of that Space 2.9.

Moreover, the rearwardly projecting top portion 27 which abuts against the upright compartment wall V28 is 'at right angles to the length of the housing 13-17 and also at right angles to the direction of 4air flow therethrough so that when the projecting portion 27 is abutted against the wall 28 it is `assured that the housing 13-17 will project perpendicularly from the wall 28 and thus the two opposite side entrances to the space 29 will Ibe of equal area and this, together with the consequent perpendicularity to the wall 28 of the direction of air flow created v'by the fan 19, assures equal entrance of air to the opposite sides of the rear end space 29 and uniform distribution of circulated air at opposite sides of the refrigerating unit.

The evaporator 12 may extend directly upward from the bottom 16 of the housing, if desired, but it is preferred to arrange it as shown in Fig. 3 at the same inclination as the undercut rear end of the housing so that the banks 'of tubes 23 are in planes parallel with an inclined plane coincident with the undercut rear ends 25 `of the

housing side walls

14 and 15. This is advantageous not only because it provides better distribution of the incoming air throughout the evaporator but it is also particularly advantageous as it permits a more compact arrangement of the equipment in the housing and a shorter and smaller housing to be employed. Y

The housing 13-17 is of a particularly simple and convenient construction composed of two parts, one of whichcomprises the top 13 and

sides

14, 15, and the other part of which comprises the front wall 17 and the bottom 16 of the housing. The top 13 and

sides

14, 15 are formed `from a single piece of sheet metal bent in inverted U-shape lwith the central portion thereof forming the housing top wall 13 and the downturned leg portions forming the opposite side walls 14and 15 respectively, each of which has an outturned iiange 30 along the front edge for securing the front wall 17 thereto. Also, each

side wall

14 and 1 5 is provided with an outturned flange 31 to which the bottom 16 is secured.

Moreover, each

side wall

14 and 15 has a wide outturned flange 32 along its rear edge extending from the top to the bottom thereof, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, these flanges 32 being inclined -throughout most of thc length thereof as shown in Fig. 3 but having a short length 33 thereof at the top which is vertical and .provided with `an opening 34 therethrough (See Fig. 4) to receive a fastener by which the refrigerating unit is secured to the upright wall 28 of the compartment in which it is located. A similar pair of laterally spaced fastener openings 35 are also provided in the top wall 13 of the housing near the front thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, for securing the refrigerating unit to the top 26 of the compartment.

IPreferably the housing top 13 has an extension 36 at the rear end which is bent downwardly and terminates in line with the lower ends of the vertical portions 33 of the flanges 32.

The inclined portions of the outturned flanges 32 at the rear of the housing underlie the projecting ends of many of the evaporator tubes 23 and the return bends 24 at the ends thereof and these flanges 32 are of such width to extend well beyond the outer extremities of the return bends 24, -as shown in Fig. 2, so as to receive thereon any condensation dripping from the return bends 24 and conduct it downwardly into the housing bottom 16 which, as hereinafter explained, serves as a drain pan to receive condensation from the evaporator.

IThe other part of `the housing 13-17 which constitutes the housing front wall 17 and bottom 1'6 is also a single piece of sheet metal 'bent across the width thereof as indicated at 37 (see Fig. 3) so that the bottom 16 is at right angles to the front 17 and the front wall portion 17 thereof is secured by suitable fasteners 38, such as self tapping screws or bolts, to the outturned flanges 30 at the front end of the

housing side walls

14 and 15, and the bottom portion 16 is likewise secured by similar fasteners 39 to the outturned flanges 31 .at the bottom of the

side walls

14 and 15.

A ange 40 is bent rearwardly across the top and along the sides of the front wall 17 to reinforce the latter and a similar flange 41 is bent upwardly across the rear and along the sides lof the -bottom 16, likewise to reinforce the latter, `and this flange 41 together with the upturned portion of the front wall 17 at the forward end of the bottom 16 gives to the 'bottom 16 a pan form whereby it serves Ias `a drain pan to receive therein any condensation from the evaporator 12.

`Obviously any joints around this pan like bottom -16 'are soldered or otherwise sealed so that there is no leakage from the drain pan, and the latter is provided with a drain opening at the bottom which is provided with a fitting 42 for a tube or pipe connection through which condensation received in the drain pan bottom 16 is conducted away therefrom to some convenient place of disposal.

The width of the housing bottom 16 is such that `the wide flanges 32 at the rear of the housing are accommodated between the side anges 41 of the housing bottom so as to insure drainage of condensation from said wide anges 32 into the housing bottom drain pan, and the front wall 17 of the housing is preferably of the same width as the bottom 16 and accordingly extends laterally beyond each

side wall

14 and 15 of the housing, as shown inFigs. 1,2and 4. One end of the evaporator coil 21 extends through the side wall 14 of the housing, as indicated at 43 in Fig. 3 Iand projects outwardly therebeyond as indicated at 44 in Figs. 1, 2 :and 4, and the other end of the :coil 21 leads, las indicated at 45, to anexpansion valve y46 which is located within the housing and has a refrigerant supply tube 47 leading thereto through the housing side wall 14 and which projects at the exterior of said side wall as indicated at 48.

Thus when the refrigerating unit is'installed in a compartment it is merely necessaryto connect the refrigerant supply and return pipes respectively to the projecting tube ends 48 and'44 and the evaporator is ready for operation.

The fan motor 20 may be mounted in the housing in any convenient manner, as for example by a conventional spider mounting which straddles the opening 1`8 and is secured to the front wall 17 but I prefer -to mount the motor on the

side walls

14, 15 of the housing so that the combined front 17 and bottom 16 may be removed from the housing without disturbing the motor and fan.

iFor thus mounting the motor 20, a motor supporting strap 49 may extend across the interior of the housing from side to side thereof and have the opposite ends turned down las at 50 and secured respectively to the

side walls

14 and 15 and the motor 20 may be clamped to this cross strap 49 by a U-shaped stirrup 51 which accommodates the motor therein and has the upwardly extending legs thereof secured to the cross strap 49. With this arrangement of the motor the leads to the motor may project outwardly through :a bushed opening 52 in either

side wall

14 or 15 as indicated at 453 in Fig. 3 and when thus arranged the combined front 17 and bottom 16 may be removed without disturbing the motor or the leads thereto.

A bulged wire guard 54 is provided for the discharge opening `18 and secured to the front wall 17 of the housing at intervals around the opening as indicated at 55, and this guard 54 is provided with facilities -by which a circular flared air spreader 56, such as shown in Figs. and 6, is secured centrally thereto.

This spreader 56, which is closed at the small rear end as indicated at 57, may be permanently secured to the guard 54 but it is preferred that the guard 54 be constructed with a central ring 58 and the small rear closed end'57 of the spreader be provided with loop like clips 59 at intervals therearound which slip onto and engage the ring 58 at intervals .around the latter and hold the spreader 56 securely in central position on the guard 54.

This detachability of the spreader 56 is `advantageous as the guard 54 might readily be bent and the spreader displaced or `damaged in transportation and handling if the spreader was permanently attached, and, moreover, thereV are refrigerating unit installations in which the spreader S6 is not required `or desired.

From the foregoing it is to be understood that in mounting the refrigerating unit 11 in a compartment space it is merely necessary to set it up against the top wall 26 of the compartment at the selected location therein `and with the rear projecting upper end portion 27 abutting against the compartment side wall 28 and insert fasteners such as screws 60 through the rear end fastener openings '34 into the side wall 28 and similar fasteners l61 through the top wall fastener holes 35 into the compartment top wall 13.

Thereafter it is merely necessary to connect the projecting coil ends 44 and 48 of the evaporator respectively to the return and supply pipes of a source of refrigerant supply, and the motor leads 53 to a source of current supply anda drain pipe to the itting 42 of the drain pan and the refrigerating unit is ready for operation.

It is to be noted that the expansion valve 46 is located in the housing 13-17 so that the unit 11 is completely self contained, and that by reason of the arrangement of the parts in the housing a particularly small and compact unit is provided and, moreover, all parts are readily accessible by merely removing the combined front 17 and bottom 16 of the housing without disturbing any of the contained parts, the only part which it may be necessary rto disconnect being the drain tube or pipe which is readily disconnectible `from the drain pan fitting 42.

- The particular location of the refrigerating unit 11 in the compartment depends upon the shape and size of the compartment and the parti-cular direction of air circulation desired in the compartment.

, For example, in the compartment of a cabinet such as illustrated in Fig. 7, the refrigerating unit 11 is preferably installed at the top of the compartment midway of the length of the back wall of the compartment, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the air is discharged from the unit 11 forwardly toward the front of the compartment, and a spreader 56 is preferably employed on the fan guard 54 to direct the discharged air laterally and downwardly from the front end of the unit 11 and distribute it throughout the expanse of the compartment.

If the spreader 56 were omitted, the door frames and other irregularities of the compartment front wall, occasioned by the door openings thereto, would tend to channel the air discharge from the unit 11 in certain prescribed directions and interfere with uniform spread of the air throughout the front of the compartment, whereas the spreader 56 insures uniform widespread distribution throughout the front of the compartment and together with the bottom and side enterable spaces 29 at the rear of the unit 11 provides corresponding distributive return of the air to the unit 11 which assures circulation of the cooled air throughout the entire compartment space.

Moreover, by employing the spreader 56 the eld of circulation is maintained even though the compartment doors at the front thereof are opened, whereas the air from the unit would, in the absence of the spreader 56, be discharged outwardly through the open door or doors.

If the compartment is relatively long, as indicated in Fig. 8, two refrigerating units 11 may be employed, as indicated in said ligure, which are located at the top and spaced apart along the rear wall of the compartment, and each, of course, is preferably provided with a spreader 56 thereon.

In a compartment such as shown in Fig. 9 which is relatively long and low, the unit 11 is preferably located as indicated in said Fig. 9 against one end wall of the compartment so that the discharge therefrom is lengthwise of the compartment, and in such case the spreader 56 is preferably omitted so as to leave the air free to be projected -throughout the length of the compartment, the spreader not being essential for widespread circulation of the air as it spreads sufliciently in its travel toward and against the opposite end wall and this, together with the side and bottom entrances of the returning air to the space 29 at the rear of the unit, insures circulation of the cooled air throughout the entire compartment space.

If an especially long low compartment, such as shown in Fig. 10, is to be cooled, two oppositely facing units 11 may be employed with their rear ends presented toward one another, as shown in Fig. 10, and the projecting extremities 27 thereof may be butted against one another and secured together by fasteners, such as bolts, engaged through the rear fastener openings 34 in which a return air space 61 is provided between the units 11 of double the capacity of the space 29 at the rear of a single unit.

It is preferred, however, to employ a mounting strip 62 for securing the units 11 at their joined rear ends to the top wall of the compartment, said strip 62 having at each end thereof a pair of downturned straps 63 to which the flange portions 33 are bolted, and this holds the rear projecting ends 27 in slightly spaced apart relation and increases the size of the space 61- between the rear ends of the two units 11.

In such case the spreaders 56 are preferably omitted from the thus paired units 11 so that the air is free to be projected by each unit 11 to the respective end of the compartment and it is returned from the opposite ends of the compartment to the opposite sides and bottom of the space 61 from which it is supplied to both of the paired units 11.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerating unit of the clas described which is mountable in a refrigeration compartment as a complete independent assembly and comprises arhousing having top and bottom walls and opposite side walls and provided with an entrance thereto at the rear end and an exit therefrom at the front end, said housing containing a refrigerant evaporator coil and a motor and a fan all mounted in the housing and the fan being operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing in heat exchanging relation with the evaporator coil from said entrance to saidtexit, said unit having the rear end thereof undercut with the housing top wall projecting rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the bottom wall of the housing and overlying a space which is open at the bottom and at the opposite sides and through which air is supplied to the rear entranceV of the housing, the said evaporator coil being 'located inthe rear end of the housing-and sloping rearwardly over said .space at an inclination corresponding substantially to that ofa plane coincident with the rear ends of the top and bottom walls of the housing, the said housing having a drain pan at the bottom thereof underneath the lower. end ,of the evaporator coil and provided with a drainage outlet therefrom and having the evaporator coil sloping rearwardly beyond the rear end of the drain pan. t

`2, A refrigerating unitof the class described comprising a housing having top and bottomwalls and opposite side walls and provided with an entrance thereto at the rear end and an exit therefrom at the front end, said housing containing a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing from said entrance to said exit and said housing having therein a refrigerant evaporator of generally rectangular shape which is located in the path of air circulation through the housing, said unit having the rear end thereof undercut with the housing top wall projecting rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the bottom wall of the housing and overlying a space which is open at the bottom and at the opposite sides and through which air is supplied to the rear entrance of the housing, said evaporator being located in the rear end of the housing and at an inclination vcorresponding substantially to that of a plane coincident with the` rear ends of the top and bottom walls of the housing, and an expansion valve through which refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator and located within the housing in front of the inclined evaporator.

3. A refrigerating unit of the class described comprising a housing which has an entrance thereto at one end and an exit therefrom at the other end and contains a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing from the entrance to the exit thereof, said housing having therein a refrigerant` evaporating coil which is located in the path of air circulation throughvtherhousing and said unit including a grille through which the circulated air is discharged from the exit end of the housing, and a bell shaped'deflector unit which is detachably mounted centrally on the grille at the front thereof and flares annularly outward beyond the grille to deflect the air after it passes through the grille.

4. A refrigerating unit of the class described comprising a two part housing which has an entrance thereto at the rear end thereof and an exit therefrom at the front end thereof and contains a refrigerant evaporator and an expansion valve through which refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator and a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable bythe motor to circulate air through the housing from said entrance to said exit, said housing having a top wall withopposite `side walls integral with and depending from the top wall and together with said top wall constituting one part of the housing, and said housing having a front wall whichtis detachably secured to the front ends of the top wall and side wallsand has a drain pan integral therewith which closes, the housing at the bottom and is detachably secured to the, lower ends of the said side walls and together with said front wall afweet-s constitutes the other part of the housing, the evaporator, expansion valve, motor and fan all being mounted in and Asupported byv said first mentioned one part of the housing and the top wall of the housing being extended rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the rear end of said drainrpan and the evaporator being disposed at an inclination in the rear end of the housing with its lower end positioned above the rear end portion of the drain pan and its upper end positioned under the rear end portion of the top wall of thehonsing and farther rearward than its said lower end. Y

5 The combination of an enclosure having a compartment therein with a top Wall, and a refrigeratingunit which is a'complete and independent assembly comprising a horizontally disposed housing which has an entrance thereto at the rear end thereof and an exit therefrom at the front endthereof and contains a refrigerant evaporator and a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing in heat exohanging'relation with the evaporator from the entrance to the exit, said refrigerating unit being mounted in the open at the top of the compartment with the top of the housing thereof in close proximity to said top wall of lthe compartment and projecting rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the bottom of the housing to provide the unit and the 'housing thereof with an overhanging rear end, the said unit having a substantial amount of the compartment space in front of said exit and at opposite sides 0f and below the unit, and said unit being opposed at its rear end by means which has an upper portion thereof approximately at the rearward extremity of the rearwardly projecting portion of the top of the housing and below said upperportion is spaced from the rear end of the refrigerating unit to provide between said means and the rear end entrance of the unit a space which has said entrance at the front thereof and communicates through said entrance with the interior of the housing and is closed at the top and open at t-he opposite sides and at the bottom and communicates with the aforesaid compartment spaces at the opposite sides of and below the unit.

6. The combination of an enclosure having a compartment therein, said compartment having mounted therein a refrigerating unit which is a complete and independent assembly comprising a horizontally disposed housing which has top and bottom walls and opposite side walls f and is provided with an entrance thereto at the rear end thereof and an exit therefrom at the front end thereof and contains a refrigerant evaporator and a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing in heat exchange relation with the evaporator from the entrance to the exit, said unit having the rear end thereof undercut with the housing top wall projecting rearwardly a substantial distance be youd the bottom wall of the housing and overlying a space which is open at the bottom and at the opposite sides and through which air is supplied to the rear entrance of the housing, said evaporator being located in the rear end of the housing and at an inclination corresponding substantially to that of a plane coincident with the rear ends of the top and bottom walls of the housing, and said unit having a substantial amount of the compartment space at opposite sides of and below the unit and the aforesaid space at the undercut rear end of the unit being open at the opposite sides to the said compartment space at the opposite sides of the unit and said space at the undercut rear end of the unit being open to the said compartment space below the unit.

7. The combination of an enclosure having a compartment therein, said compartment having mounted therein a refrigerating unit which is a complete and independent assembly comprising a horizontally disposed honing which has top and bottom walls and opposite side walls and is provided with an entrance thereto at the rear end thereof and an exit therefrom at the front end thereof and contains a refrigerant evaporator and a motor and a fan, the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing in heat exchange relation with the evaporator from the entrance to the eXit, said unit having the rear end thereof undercut with the housing top wall projecting rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the bottom wall of the housing and overlying a space which is open at the bottom and at the opposite sides and through which air is supplied to the rear entrance of the housing, said evaporator being located in the rear end of the housing, and at an inclination corresponding substantially to that of a plane coincident with the rear ends of the top and bottom walls of the housing, and said unit having a Substantial amount of the compartment space at opposite sides of and below the unit and the aforesaid space at the undercut rear end of the unit being open at the opposite sides to the said compartment space at the opposite sides of the unit and said space at the undercut rear end of the unit being open to the said compartment space below the unit, the said housing having a drain pan at the bottom thereof underneath the lower end of the evaporator and provided with a drainage outlet therefrom and the evaporator being sloped rearwardly beyond the rear end of the drain pan.

8. The combination of an enclosure having a compartment therein with a compartment top wall and a compartment side wall extending downwardly from the compartment top wall, and a refrigerating unit which is a complete independent assembly and comprises a housing which has an entrance -thereto at one end and an exit therefrom `at the other end and contains a refrigerant evaporator and a motor and a fan the latter of which is operable by the motor to circulate air through the housing in heat exchange relation with the evaporator from the entrance to the exit, the said housing having a top wall and bottom wall relatively arranged with the housing top wall projecting at one end of the unit a substantial distance beyond the housing bottom wall, the said refrigerating unit being of a size and shape to occupy a minimum amount of the compartment space and to be freely positionable at various places remote from one another in the compartment and said refrigerating unit being mounted at a selected one of said places in the compartment with the housing top wall in close proximity to the compartment top wall and with the aforesaid projecting end of the housing top wall projecting at least approximately to the aforesaid side wall of the compartment and providing between the said compartment side wall and the end of the refrigerating unit from which the top wall of the housing projects, a space which is closed at the top by the projectng end of the housing top wall and open at the bottom and at the opposite sides to the compartment spaces respectively below and at the opposite sides of the refn'gerating unit.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,832 Bandurski May 21, 1935 2,042,420 Askin May 26, 1936 2,211,568 Henney Aug. 13, 1940 2,250,612 Tanner July 29, 1941 2,341,962 Tanner Feb. l5, 1944 2,457,939 Spieth Jan. 4, 1949 2,523,957 Kleist Sept. 26, 1950 2,495,351 Smith Ian. 24, 1950 2,560,453 Kleist Iuly 10, 1951 2,655,092 Spooner Oct. 13, 1953