US2920463A

US2920463A - Refrigerating apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2920463A
Application number: US643727A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard E Gould
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1957-03-04
Filing date: 1957-03-04
Publication date: 1960-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 1977-01-12

Description

Jan. 12, 1960 R. E. GOULD REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1957 2 o m 7 7 8 9 vll 7 v m T n f\ 8 2 8 2 6 4 vflnunnn I/ I I I/ I I z 1 I r w 5 5 B 7 B 5 7 2 4 9 6 5 3 v o 2 9 2 3 m l '41 2 r Fig. 3

Jan. 12, 1960 R. E. GOULD REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4, 1957 INVENTOR. Richard E. Goa/d BY Ms A H0 may Jan. 12, 1960 R. E. GOULD 2,920,463 I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Ric/70rd E. Gould .WHof Wafer BY Cold Water Rgfrigeronf 6 His Altar ney dispenser shown in Figure 1;

REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS I Richard E. Gould, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application March 4, 1957, Serial No. 643,727

13 Claims. (Cl. 62-390) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to refrigerating apparatus embodying a one/piece roll forge welded 5116611.

Roll forge welded evaporators manufactured by the process disclosed in the Long Patent 2,662,273 issued December 15, 1953 are now being extensively used. The construction is economical and adaptable.

It is an object of this invention to extend the roll forge welded sheet to form the condenser and connections in an economical, compact arrangement.

It is another object of this invention to provide, along with a unitary plate condenser, a water cooling arrangement providing a hot water dispenser.

It is another object of this invention to provide a multiple layer plate heat transfer unit having a continuous layer separating the refrigerant passage from the other passages to prevent any possibility of even the minutest leakage from the refrigerant passage to the other passages.

It is another object of this invention to provide a roll forge welded sheet containing condenser and evaporator passages as well as liquid heating and cooling passages for providing hot and cold liquids.

These and other objects are attained in the form shown in the drawings in which the roll forge welded sheet is provided with two rectangular sections uniformly spaced from each other and connected by a transverse web extending between the sections. One of these sections contains a serpentine condenser passage having a liquid heating passage extending along and adjacent thereto while the other section contains an evaporator passage and one or more liquid cooling passages extending along and adjacent the evaporator passage for supplying one or more cooled liquids. The passage connections between the condenser and evaporator sections extend continuously through the 'web. The condenser section may also have a superheat removal passage connected at its opposite ends to the motor-compressor unit. The condenser may be cooled either by natural or forced air circulation or by the liquid passage adjacent thereto, or both.

Further objects and advantages of the present inven- .fiOl'l will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein -a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a liquid dispenser embodying one form of my invention;

I Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the 'line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line :3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective View, with parts broken away to show the plate construction of the liquid Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of 'liquid dispenser;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional View taken along the 1i11e 6- 6 of Figure 5; I

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 77 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective view, with portions broken away to show the plate construction of the dispenser shown in Figure 5; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a modified evaporator section containing a center layer separating the refrigerant and water passages.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1-4, inclusive, there is shown a liquid dispenser provided with .a rectangular base 20 above which is provided a larger rectangular vertical tubular casing 22 overhanging the base 20, capped at the top with a liquid basin 24 provided with a conventional manually operated drinking water fountain or bubble '26. In the upper portion of the casing 22 there is provided a metal wall compartment 28 closed by dual sliding doors 30 and 32. This compartment contains a hot water dispenser 34 controlled by a push-button 36 and two differently flavored beverage dispensers 38 and 40 (such as root beer and cola) controlled by the push-

buttons

42 and 44. A drinking vessel 46 may be placed in the compartment 28 beneath any one of the

dispensers

34, 38 or 40to receive either hot water or either of the beverages controlled by its own push-button.

The system for supplying the hot and cold water and the beverages includes a sealed motor-compressor unit 48 which is connected to a unitary roll forge welded sheet 50 containing a rectangular condenser section 52 and a rectangular evaporator section 54 located in parallel planes and spaced from each other. These two

sections

52 and 54 are integrally connected by the transverse web section 56. The motor-compressor unit 48 compresses the refrigerant and discharges the hot compressed refrigerant through the conduit 58 to a superheat removal passage 60 extending in serpentine fashion within the bottom portion of the condenser section 52. This superheat removal passage 60 connects to the conduit 62 returning the cooled gas to the motor-compressor unit 48 where the cooled gas is used to cool the motor. The cooled but uncondensed gas is discharged from the motor-compressor unit 48 through the conduit 64 into the condenser passage 66 in the condenser section 52.

p This condenser passage 66 extends in serpentine fashion through the upper portion of the condenser section 52 above the superheat removal passage 60. The liquid dispenser is provided with a Water supply conduit 68 which branches into a cold water supply conduit 70 and a hot water supply conduit 71. The hot water supply conduit 71 connects to a hot water passage 74 extending within and alongside of the condenser passage 72 so that it will receive the heat of condensation directly from the refrigerant in the condenser passage 72. Thus, the heating of the liquid in the hot water passage 74 cools and condenses the refrigerant in the condenser passage 72. The upper portion of the hot water passage 74 connects to the conduit 76 which terminates in one branch connecting with the thermostatic water control valve 78 and a second branch 80 connecting with the hot water dispenser 34 controlled by the push-button 36. The thermostatic control valve 78 allows the water to discharge to the drain conduit 82 whenever it rises above a certain temperature such as F. The drain conduit 82 extends from the drain 84 in the top basin 24 to'a suitable drain. This insures not only that the refrigerant in the condenser will be properly cooled but also insures a supply of hot water at a desirable drinking temperature for the dispenser 34.

The lower end of the condenser passage 72 extends downwardly to a restrictor passage 86 located in the web section 56. This restrictor passage 86 connects directly with the serpentine-shaped evaporator passage 88 located in the evaporator section 54. This passage 88 extends to the top of the evaporator section and then downwardly into a portion of the web section 56 where it connects to the return conduit 91) which may be provided with a filter and/or a dryer 92 connecting with the suction inlet of the motor-compressor unit 48. Extending alongside the evaporator passage, also in serpentine fashion, is the cold water passage 94 extending alongside the evaporator passage 88 and connecting through the conduit 96 to the push-button fountain 26 on top of the dispenser.

The dispenser is also provided with a metal-walled beverage compartment 98 containing different flavored metal beverage containers such as a root been container 121 and a cola container 123. Between these two

containers

121 and 123 is a carbon dioxide container 125 containing carbon dioxide under pressure. This container 125 is connected with the top of both

beverage containers

121 and 123 by suitable conduit connections for keeping the beverages carbonated under pressure. Each of the

beverage containers

121 and 123 is provided with a

liquid discharge connection

127 and 129 which extends substantially to the bottom of the container. These

discharge connections

127 and 129 also extend and connect to the first beverage passage 131 extending alongside the cold water passage 94 in the evaporator section 54 and the second beverage passage 133 extending alongside the evaporator passage 88. The upper end of the passage 131 connects to a conduit 135 connecting with the pushbutton valve 44 and its dispenser 49. The second beverage passage 133 is connected by the conduit 137 with the second push-button controlled beverage valve 42 which connects with the dispenser 38.

The evaporator section 54 may be enclosed on opposite sides with heat insulation 139 which may extend to the base 20 so as to provide an upwardly extending air passage or flue 141 extending from the bottom to the top of the cabinet. The bottom of the cabinet may be provided with entrance apertures 143 in the portion which overhangs the base 21 and a suitable motor driven fan 145 may be located in the circular opening 147 in the bottom of the insulation 139. This motor may be thermostatically controlled according to the temperature in the conduit 76 or it may cycle with the motor-compressor unit 48. If desired, it may be omitted and full reliance placed upon natural convection of air and/or cooling by the water in the passage 74. The top of the cabinet may be provided with discharge apertures 149 for the flue 141.

The motor-compressor unit 48 as well as the motor fan 145 may be controlled by a thermostatic switch 151 provided with a thermoasensitive bulb 153 mounted upon the evaporator section 54 adjacent the beverage passage 131. This construction and arrangement makes it possible to use the low-cost construction of the roll forge welded metal sheet in a liquid dispenser provided with a refrigerating system to supply hot and cold water as well as two differently flavored beverages. The type and flavor of beverage can be changed merely by substituting different beverage containers containing other beverages in place of the

containers

121 and 123.

In Figs. 6 to 8 there is shown another form of the invention including a cabinet 220 provided wth a smaller base 222 and a basin 224 at the top provided with a central drain 226. A sealed motor-compressor unit 228 within the bottom of the cabinet has a superheat discharge conduit 230 connecting directly with the superheat-passage 232 in the bottom of the cylindrical condenser section 234 of a unitary roll forge welded plate. This unitary plate also includes an inner cylindrical evaporator section 236 concentric within the condenser section 234 and uniformly spaced therefrom throughout. Each of these sections are of rectangular shape when considered in the form of developments of their surface or prior to being formed into a cylindrical shape, and

are joined by an integral web 238 extending across the space between the sections and providing all the common connecting passages. The superheat passage 232 connects to the conduit 240 returning to the motor-compressor unit 228.

A discharge conduit 2.42 from the motor-compressor unit 228 connects with the condenser passage 244 in the upper portion of the condenser section 234. This passage extends in serpentine fashion and then extends to the web 238 where it connects with the restrictor passage 246 connecting with the evaporator passage 248 in the evaporator section 236. This evaporator passage extends in serpentine fashion through the evaporator section 236 and then connects to the suction conduit 250 which connects through the filter dryer 252 to the suction inlet of the motor-compressor unit 228. The cylindrical evaporator section 236 may be provided with sealed metal bottom and

top walls

253 and 254 to form a central cold water storage tank.

The outside of the evaporator section 236 is preferably enclosed in heat insulation designated by the reference character 256. The insulation 256 is preferably spaced away from the condenser section 234 to provide a flue 258 on the inside of the condenser section 234 and a second flue 260 on the outside thereof. This provides for air cooling of the condenser section 234 by natural convection. The air can enter through the inlets 262 provided in the overhanging section of the cabinet 220 above the base 222. The air escapes through outlet apertures 246 in the top of the cabinet.

The cabinet is also provided with a water supply connection 264 which divides into a hot water supply conduit 266 and a cold water supply conduit 268. The hot water supply conduit connects to a passage 270 in the web 238 extending to the condenser section and also extending along and in heat transfer relationship with the condenser passage 244. This passage 279 then extends back to the web 238 and connects with the conduit 272 connecting with push-button valve 274 provided with a dispenser discharge 276 for the hot water. The valve 274 may also have a thermostatic element which opens the valve in case the temperature exceeds a suitable value such as F.

The cold water supply conduit 268 connects to a passage 278 extending from the web 238 into the evaporator section 236 where it extends alongside the evaporator passage 248. This side-by-side relationship in the section 236 causes the refrigerant evaporating in the evaporator passage to cool the water in the passage 278. The water, after passing through the passage 273, discharges into the central cold water storage tank formed by the bottom 253 and the top 254. The cold water flows out of the tank into the conduit 280 connecting with the push-button bubbler fountain 282 on the top basin 24 of the liquid dispenser. Thus, through this arrangement, both hot and cold water is provided by the roll forge welded structure. The roll forge welded structure can be economically made and formed to the compact extensive concentric cylindrical arrangement of the evaporator and condenser sections with ease. The structure of the condenser section 234, the evaporator section 236 and the connecting web 238 is made in one piece by the roll forge welding process disclosed in the Long Patent 2,662,273 issued December 15, 1953.

Either of the

evaporator sections

54 or 236 may be modified as shown in Fig. 9 to provide a center layer 337 in between the

outer layers

339 and 341. Between the center layer 337 and the outer layer 339 there may be provided the refrigerant passages 343. On the opposite side of the center layer 337 and closely adjacent to the refrigerant passages 343 there may be provided the water passages 345 for cooling drinking water. The center layer protects the water from any possible contamination by reason of any failure of the weld in between the passages. Therefore, there will be no danger of any refrigerant getting into the water system. This will avoid possible violations of plumbing and sanitary codes. Since the possible damage from refrigerant getting into the beverage system is much less than the possible damage from refrigerant getting into the water system, the

beverage passages

347 and 349 may be provided between the center layer and the outer layer 339 adjacent to the refrigerant passages 343. However, if desired, these passages could be placed on the opposite side of the center layer between the center layer and the other outer layer 341. This makes it possible to more closely group the passages so that better heat transfer can be attained with less possibility of refrigerant leaking into the water system.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A liquid dispenser including a sheet metal structure having refrigerant condensing and evaporating passages formed therein, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporating passage and for discharging compressed refrigerant into said condensing passage, flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from said condensing passage to said evaporating passage, said sheet metal structure being provided with a first liquid heating passage extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said condensing passage and a second liquid cooling passage extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said evaporating passage, liquid supply means connected to said first and second passages, and selective dispensing means connected to said first and second passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold liquids.

2. A liquid dispenser including a roll welded sheet metal structure having refrigerant condensing and evaporating passages formed therein, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporating passage and for discharging compressed refrigerant into said condensing passage, flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from said condensing passage to said evaporating passage, said sheet metal structure being provided with a first liquid heating pas; sage extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said condensing passage and a second liquid cooling passage extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said evaporating passage, liquid supply means connected to said first and second passages, and selective dispensing means connected to said first and second passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold liquids, said structure being formed of two sheets welded together except where the passages are located.

3. A liquid dispenser including a one piece metal plate having formed therein a condenser passage and a liquid heating passage extending along and adjacent to said condenser passage and an evaporator passage and a liquid cooling passage extending along and adjacent to said evaporator passage and a flow control means connecting said condenser and evaporator passage, all of said passages being formed in said plate, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporator passage and forwarding compressed refrigerant to said condenser passage, liquid supply means connected to said first and second passages, and selective dispensing means connected to said first and second passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold liquids.

4. A liquid dispenser including a one piece metal plate having formed therein a condenser passage and a liquid heating passage extending along and adjacent to said condenser passage and an evaporator passage and a liquid cooling passage extending along and adjacent to said evaporator passage and a flow control means connecting said condenser and evaporator passage, all of said passages being formed in said plate, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporator passage and forwarding compressed refrigerant to said condenser passage, liquid supply means connected to said first and second passages, and selective dispensing means connected to said first and second passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold liquids, the portion of said plate containing said condenser and liquid heating passage being substantially uniformlyspa'ced from said portion containing said evaporator and liquid cooling passages, and insulating means between said portions.

5. A liquid dispenser including a sheet metal structure having refrigerant condensing and evaporating passages formed therein, flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from said condensing passage to said evaporating passage, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporating passage and for discharging, compressed refrigerant into said condensing passage, said sheet metal structure having a liquid heating passage extending adjacent to and in heattransfer relation with said condensing passage and a plurality of liquid cooling passages extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said evaporating passage, all of said passages being formed in said structure, water supply means connected to said heating passage and one of said cooling passages, a flavored beverage supply means connected to a second of said cooling passages, and selective dispensing means connected individually to each of said liquid passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold water and a flavored beverage.

6. A liquid dispenser including a sheet metal structure having refrigerant condensing and evaporating passages formed therein, flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from said condensing passage to said evaporating passage, a refrigerant compressor for withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from said evaporating passage and for discharging compressed refrigerant into said condensing passage, said sheet metal structure having a liquid heating passage extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said condensing passage and a plurality of liquid cooling, passages extending adjacent to and in heat transfer relation with said evaporating passage, all of said passages being formed in saidstructure, water supply means connected to said heating passage and one of said cooling passages, first and second different flavored beverage supply means individuallyconnected to the second and third cooling passages, and selective dispensing means connected individually to each of said liquid passages for selectively dispensing hot and cold water and two different flavored beverages.

7. Refrigerating apparatus including a roll forge welded unitary plate containing a substantially rectangular condenser section provided with integral condenser passages and a substantially rectangular evaporator section substantially uniformly spaced throughout from the con denser section provided with integral evaporator passages and a single integral narrow web section extending transversely across the space between said sections and connecting said condenser and evaporator sections containing a restrictor passage connecting the outlet of the condenser passage with the inlet of said evaporator passage, all of said sections being an integral part of said plate, insulating means located in the space between said condenser and evaporator sections, and a motor compressor unit having a discharge connection connecting with the other end of said condenser passage and a suction connection connecting with the other end of said evaporator passage.

8. Refrigerating apparatus including a roll forge welded unitary plate containing a substantially rectangular condenser sectionprovided with integral condenser passages and a substantially rectangular evaporator section substantially uniformly spaced throughout from the condenser section provided with integral evaporator passages and a single integral narrow web section extending transversely across the space between said sections and connecting said condenser and-evaporator sections containing a restrictor passage connecting the outlet of the con denser passage with the inlet of said evaporator passage, all of said sections being an integral part of said plate, insulating means located in the space between said condenser and evaporator sections, and a motor compressor unit having a discharge connection connecting with the other end of said condenser passage and a suction connection connecting with the other end of said evaporator passage, said condenser and evaporator sections being in the form of concentric cylinders.

9. Refrigerating apparatus including a roll forge welded unitary plate containing a substantially rectangular condenser section provided with integral condenser passages and a substantially rectangular evaporator section substantially uniformly spaced throughout from the condenser section provided with integral evaporator passages and a single integral narrow web section extending transversely across the space between said sections and connecting said condenser and evaporator sections containing a restrictor passage connecting the outlet of the condenser passage with the inlet of said evaporator passage, all of said sections being an integral part of said plate, insulating means located in the space between said condenser and evaporator sections, and a motor compressor unit having a discharge connection connecting with the other end of said condenser passage and a suction connection connecting with the other end of said evaporator passage, said condenser section having an integral liquid passage extending along and adjacent to said condenser passage.

10. Refrigerating apparatus including a one piece metal plate having formed therein a condenser passage and a liquid passage extending along and adjacent to said condenser passage, a water supply connection for said liquid passage, a drain connection for said liquid passage, a thermostatically controlled valve between said liquid passage and said drain connection, a liquid dispenser connected to said liquid passage, and evaporating and compressing means connected to opposite ends of said condenser passage.

11. Refrigerating apparatus including a three layer roll forge welded metal plate having a refrigerant passage provided between the center layer and one of the facing layers and having a separate fluid passage on the opposite side of said center layer between said center layer and the other facing layer, means for circulating water through said separate passage in heat transfer relation through said center layer with said refrigerant passage, and refrigerant compressing means connected to said refrigerant passage, said plate having an additional passage extending alongside said refrigerant passage between said center layer and said one facing layer, and means for circulating a third fluid through said additional passage.

12. Refrigerating apparatus including a roll forge welded unitary plate containing a substantially rectangular condenser section provided with integral condenser passages and a substantially rectangular evaporator section substantially uniformly spaced throughout from the condenser section provided with integral evaporator passages and a single integral narrow web section extending transversely across the space between said sections and connecting said condenser and evaporator sections containing a restrictor passage connecting the outlet of the condenser passage with the inlet of said evaporator passage, all of said sections being an integral part of said plate, insulating means located in the space between said condenser and evaporator sections, and a motor compressor unit having a discharge connection connecting with the other end of said condenser passage and a suction connection connecting with the other end of said evaporator passage, said condenser and evaporator sections being in the form of concentric cylinders, the innermost cylinder being provided with spaced metal walls transverse to its axis to form a storage tank, one of said sections being provided With a liquid passage extending within the plate sealed and spaced from but in heat transfer relation with the refrigerant passage therein, said liquid passage communicating with said storage tank.

13. A liquid dispenser including a cylindrical roll forge welded unitary plate containing a refrigerant evaporating passage and a liquid passage extending along and adjacent each other, said cylindrical plate being provided with spaced metal walls transverse to its axis to form a storage tank, said liquid passage discharging into said tank, liquid dispensing means connected to said tank, and refrigerant liquefying means connected to said evaporating passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,303,577 Ottenheimer Dec. 1, 1942 2,471,960 Johnson May 31, 1949 2,575,325 Ambrose et al Nov. 20, 1951 2,636,358 Chappelle Apr. 28, 1953 2,679,732 Dolz June 1, 1954 2,845,695 Grenell Aug. 5, 1958 2,850,884 Jacobs Sept. 9, 1958 Rife