US491496A - riordan - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. W. RIORDAN.

REFRIGERATOR GAR.

No 491,496. Patented Feb. 7, 1893.

(No Model.) i 2 sheets-'esheet 2.

D. W. RIORDAN.

REFRIGERATOR GAR.

No. 491,496. Patented Feb. 7, 1893.

I I lmll l A a Q i hf Q a F f 6 e e s!a -|1H|1||W I #11 .714 WZ7Z6J|6 1 v I I I g 172225 Wzrdafl.

PATENT OFFICE.

DENNIS W. RIORDAN, OF ELI-BURN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HELENA RIORDAN, OF SAME PLACE.

REFRIGERATOR-CAR.

SEECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 491,496, dated February '7, 1893.

Application filed September II 1891. Serial No. 405,864. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: narrower portion. The front, b of the lower Be it known that I, DENNIS WV. RIORDAN, a section extends down only part way to the citizen of the United States, residing at Elfloor, but the back, b fills the entire space burn, in the county of Cook and State of Illifrom roof to floor, as seen in Fig. 1. In the 5 nois, have invented certain new and useful front 13 there are openings, 1), in the upper Improvements in Refrigerator-Oars, which are portion just a little below the wide top section fully' set forth in the following specification, 1). Within each of these chambers is an ice reference being had to the accompanying tank, 0, mounted on suitable supports condrawings, in whichnected to the sides and bottom of the car, but o Figure 1 represents a central longitudinal elevated somewhat from the floor, as usual. section of a portion of a car embodying my Within each ice tank is a grating, 0, located improvements; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the a little distance above the bottom of the tank, same, taken on the line 2, 2, of Fig. 1; and and the ice rests upon this grating, as usual. Fig. 8, a detail plan section, taken on the line The tank space below this grating is divided 1 5 3, 3, of Fig. 2. by cross-partitions, 0, running from the grat- My invention relates to refrigerator cars ining to the bottom, into a series of small chamtended for use in the transportation of perbers, 0 In each of these small chambers a ishable articles long distances, during which flue, D, is provided by extending partitions, they are preserved by maintaining a low ded, across the chambers and leaving the 20 gree of temperature within the cars. Ice is space between them open at both top, botgenerally employed for this purpose and the tom and front, as seen 1n Fig. 2. These parinvention relates to this class of cars in which titions do not extend quite up to the grating ice is introduced and the circulation and chilland at the top are covered with wire gauze or 7 ing of the air within the car is effected by inperforated metal, cl, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

2 5 duced currents. It is evident that the drip from the ice is re- The invention relates to certain improveceived in these several small chambers below ments, whereby I am enabled to successfully the grating, in which it is retained until the use an overhead ice tank, either with or withwater reaches the top of the fiues, when it So out end tanks; while at the same time the obpasses out through the perforated cover and 0 jectionable results, generally attending the falls to the drlp pan. The air coming down use of overhead tanks, are obviated. through the ice tanks also passes into these I will now give a particular description of small lower chambers where it is brought in the construction and operation of a car in contact with the ice water and finds its outwhich I have embodied my invention in one let down through or out at the front of the 5 practical way and will then point out more flues to the space below the tank which definitely in claims the special improvements opens into the body of the car at the bottom which I believe to be new and wish to secure thereof. The front of the ice tank, 0 stands by Letters Patent. a little back of the front 17 0f the chamber, so

In the drawings, A represents the body of as to leave a space between, and it extends 40 the car, a, being the side walls, a, the end up only about as far as this front of the chamwalls, a the bottom, and a the roof, all of her. The back, 0 of the ice tank is also set which are of any ordinary construction used a little way in front of the back of the chamin refrigerator cars. her, so as to leave a space between the two as 9 5 At each end of the car is an ice chamber, seen in Fig. 1. This back extends to the top 5 B, the upper section, b, of which extends enof the car and at its upper end is provided tirely across the car, while the lower portion, with a ser es of holes, 0 I also provide an is f h t less width than the car, so overhead ice tank or holder, E, which is aras to leave a free space between it and the reranged in the top of the car and extends from too spective sides of the car, as seen in Fig. 2. one end to the other thereof, opening at each 50 The upper and wider section I) of the chamend into the end we tanks O, as seen in Figs. ber extends down into the car only a short 1 and 2. The bottom of th1s overhead tank distance, the main body being the lower and is composed of slatted or grated sections, 6,

at each side and between the two a solid section, 6', a small space or opening being left between the middle section or table and the gratings. This tank is of less width than the interior of the car and the upright sides 6 extend in across the end ice chambers and tanks, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, but there is an opening or space 0 within the ice tank 0 between the lower edge of these sides and the upper ends of the tank, which opening provides for the admission of air into the tanks 0, and constitutes the inlets thereto, as seen in Fig. 2. V

Underneath the overhead tank E are supplementary bottoms, F, one being arranged and extending along underneath each of the gratings of the tank above, but a free space is left between the two at the middle of the car directly underneath the solid or central table of the overhead tank. These supplementary bottoms extend out at each side-a little beyond the bottom of the overhead tank and at their outer edges have upright sides, f,

extending up not quite to the roof of the car. There is also space left between these upright sides and the sides of the car proper. It will be seen then that this construction provides a passage for air up between the sides of the car and these uprights f, and over the upper edges of the latter, at the ends thereof down into the end ice tanks, as seen at the right of Fig. 2, and between the two end chambers down into the space below the overhead tank, as seen at the. left of Fig. 2. At the inner edges of the bottoms F, there is a Vertical strip, f, which projectsboth above 7 and below the bottoms, as seen in Fig. 2. There is thus formed under each grating of the overhead tank a long shallow drip pan, which receives the water formed bythe melting of the ice above. Preferably these bottoms are provided with a metallic lining, f to make them better suited for the service as drip pans. The ends of the pans extend in until they nearly meet the fronts of the end ice tanks 0, so that the water collected therein will be discharged against the said fronts and *of the car passes in over the upright sides f along the passage underneath the long gratings and over the ice water in the pan bottoms F and out over the inner edge of the latter, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. The top of the central table 6 is covered with sheet metal, 6 the edges being extended over the edges of the table and bent downward at an incline as seen at e in Fig. 2 to provide guides for the drip from this table. There are also metal strips, e fastened to the underside of this table near each lateral edge and extending downward and outward over the respective pans F, which also serve, as guides, to prevent the drip from flying out into the center of the car and also direct the air around underneath theirlower edges and prevent it from coming into contact with the bottom of this table, which will, of course, be very cold, as ice rests upon it, and would tend to produce condensation. As a further aid to this eifect I also attach supplementary strips, 6 to the bottom of the table, which strips are inclined inward and downward until they meet about centrally below the table, as seen in Fig. 2. There is thus formed an air space below the table, which prevents the chilling of these inclined strips, withwhich the interior air of the car comes in contact and so condensation is prevented.

With this construction it will be seen that both end and side circulation of air is induced, so that there is no possibility of stagnation of the air in any part of the car. At the same time with the appliances which have been described I avoid condensation upon ice chilled surfaces within the body of the car, which has been an objection to the use of overhead tanks heretofore. I also utilize the cold drip from the ice which is always at a very low temperature, especially if salt is used, which is a very common expedient. -The openings 12 in the front of the ice chamber obviate any tendency to stagnation at this point, as the air will p ass in through these.

openings and coming in contact with the chilled front of the ice tanks drop down the spacebetween the two and out at the bottom. So too the openings 0 in the upper part of the tank back provide for circulation of air at the back of the ice tank, as indicated by arrows in Fig. 2. A large chilling surface is obtained with the construction described above, with provision for securing movement and circulation of the air in all parts of the car, and at the same time the danger of drip from chilled surfaces extending into or pro jecting over the body of the car is obviated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a refrigerator car, the ice tank 0 pro vided with a series of water chambers 0 arranged below the ice body, in combination with fiues D set in said chambers extending part way to the top thereof and provided with perforated covers d, substantially as described."

2. In a refrigerator car, the ice tanks, 0, arranged within the ice chambers, B, at each end of the car so as to leave a space between the tanks and the chambers, and the up right sides, e and f, with other suitable de vices so arranged as to provide an air passage between the side of the car and the sides, f, up over the top thereof, and down through the ice tanks, 0, under the side, o in the re the sides, f, as to allow an air passage up over the sides, f, and down on the outside of the tank, E, and underneath the grated bottom of the tank, and out, into the top of the center of the refrigerating chamber, substantially as described.

DENNIS W. RIORDAN.

Witn esses:

CARRIE FEIGEL, A. M. BEsT.

Images