US995791A - Ice-rest and water-cooler. - Google Patents

Description

vv. RKBYBS. ICB REST AND WATER COOLER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1910.

Patented June 20, 1911.

' N72] 16de Y with an 'inlet pipe 14- conimunicating with panying drawings, whereinsectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

WALTER F. KEYES, 0F LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS.`

ICE-REST `.AND WATER-COOLER.

fl'o all whom it may concern:

Be it. known that I, lVAL'rER F. KEYES, a citizen of the United States, residing at La Grange, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and "se ful Improvements in Ice-ltests and la si Coolers, of which the'following is a specification.

My invention relatesto ilnprovelnentsin, ice rests and water coolers, for refrigerators, ice boxes, and the like.

One 0f the objects of my invention is to provide a water cooler for refrigerators by constructing the ice rest, or ice supporting table, hollow, so that additional valuable space for cooling, within the refrigerator, will not be required.

Another specific object of my invention is to provide in the device a'tortuous path for the water, as it is being drawn therefrom,- and a normal, shorter, independent path for the downward movement ofthe water superinduced by circulation due to diiference of temperature of the water.

Another object of my invention is to cover the metallic structure, containing the water conduit, with cement or like substance.

Another object of my invention'is to generally improve the construction of such devices.

Other and further objects of the invention will readily beconieapparent to persons skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accom- Figure 1 is a central. sectional view of my cooling device and a refrigerator; in which it is contained; Fig. 2 is a broken-away plan view of the same with parts of the top plate removed to Show the `interior of the water' space; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal In all of the views, the same'reference characters indicate similar parts.

10 indicates an ice chest or refrigerator of th'e usual construction. L

11 shows a slatted lloor of the ice chamb er, 12. f

13 indicates generally my water cooler the interior space, for water, within the device.

An outlet pipe, 15, communicates with the water space at a diagonally opposite corner, as shown in Fig. 2.

Specification or Letters Patent. llfattgnted June 20, 1911i.,

Application filed August 8, 1910. serial No.l 576,034.

A rectilinear border frame, 16, may be composed of wrought, cast, or malleable iron, having preferably flanges, 16 and 16, projecting laterally therefrom, to provide the outer walls or boundary of the watercontaining space or chamber. Flat side plates, 17 and 18, are secured to opposite sides of the frame 16 by means of rivets 19 o r other similar fastening.

In order that the Water shall be cooled in" transit through the device, I provide a relatively`long tortuous path for the water y' as it is being drawn through the device that it may remain sui'liciently long therein to be cooled or chilled. To this end, I place a number. of separating plates' or battles extending to opposite sides of the rectangular frame and of width substantially equal to that of the4 frame so that the side plates will make' contact with the edge surfaces of these balie plates.

As the device is to be connected to a water system, and therefore subjected to consider,- abl pressure, it becomes necessary to' provide stay bolts placed at intervals sufficiently frequent and secured to the side plates to withstand the pressure. For this purpose, I form in each baille plate an eye 2() by bending the plate back upon itself, thereby providing an opening for the reception of the stay bolts, 21, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The stay bolts are preferably headed as at 22, and are provided with nuts. The battle walls, 23, act as separators against which the side plates, 17 and 18, are tightly drawn by means of the bolts, thereby making Aa water tight joint between the inner surfaces of the plates, and the edge of the separating bailles, and forming positive shoulders against which the battles may gte/linedly secured.

Thus, it will be seen that the device so far described provides a relatively `long narrow path from the inlet 14C to the outlet 15, so

and valves which, when the water is {lowing freely through the device from inlet 14 to outlet 15, ,operate te form the 'tortuous l0() that the water in passing through the device path as above described, but which, when the water is not in such rapid iiow, autoinatically open to provide a path which does not materially impede a constant directlydownward flow of cooled water from the upper tothe lower endof Vthe device along its bottom surface, but which directs the upw-ardiy'trending, relatively warmer, water 1n a longer path along the upper surface of the device until it reaches the portion directly ice-cooled at the top of the incline, whence it may again descend in the processv of circulation Specifically, each of the baille plates 23 is provided with a notch, 24, at one end of its body, anda perforation 25 at the other end. Each perforation is provided with a ap valve, as at 26, riveted to the end of the late 23 by means of rivets 27. This flap va ve is preferably made of a piece of very thin metal, such' as brass, bronze, or copper, or other material of suitable qualities, bent away from the perforation 25 .adapted to b'e ressed against the side of the separator sufficiently to close the perforation upon the slight pressure ap lied against the surface thereof when water ows against it, but to-open said perforation when the flow has ceased by 'closure of outlet 15. Further to facilitate circulation, I provide a longer path for the upwardly travelin warmer waterI than for the descending coole water, so that as much' heat as possible may be absorbed from said water as it passes up toward the cooled area directly under the ice. To this end, instead of runnino the battle plates 23 directly across the evice from side to side, I prefer to incline them slightly as shown in Fig. 2, so as to provide l it will be observe wedge-shaped channels therebetween, the larger ends of said channels being at alternate sides of the structure for operation as hereinafter described. y

Leveling screws, 29 land 30, arel provided for varying the elevation of the structure with respect to its o posite, sides. In Fig. that ,the rear side of the device is elevated above that of the front side, and that the ice is' placed u pn the high side of the device, this, there ore, being the coolest portion of the device, the melted ice water covering andcoolingthe inclined'unoccupied part of theice rest or cooler.

I preferably cover the entire structure with. lastic material, 'such as cement, 31, to provi e' a straight, relatively smooth; and durable surface upon which to rest the ice, which can'be readily and easily cleansed,

and which tends topaeserve the iron surfaces of the device from corrosion'. The cement surface I have found to be edective in hold tendency of melting ice to cling to a surface upon which it presses through perfect correspondence of the meeting surfaces, I have found that very fine-grained. cement may be used, if desired, or even materials with still smoother surfaces than cement, which retain the ice in any given position on the slight incline with equal facility. It further acts as a body for preserving a 'more uniform temperature of the water contained within the water receptacle, absorbing and giving up heat slowly and-practically unaffected by sudden drafts of air, as Vwhen the refrigerator is opened.V Thus, it will be noted that the cooling effect of 'the ice resting u on the upper edge of said cement surface wi l cause cooling of the coating body in that locality while in other localities the body'is relatively warmer, so securing more uniformity of temperature differences than would result if the casing were not rovidedwith such a slowly heated and cooled surrounding coating. The large mass being'more eflicient than mere coils of pipes. i

The full-line tailed arrows show the direction of the water flow as it is bein drawn through the device. When it strikes the flaps 26 in its passage through the channels, it closes them and is thereby forced to take a path through the channels provided, by

`means of which the water is retained in the device longer than if. it were tol pass directly from the ipe 14 to the pipe 15, diagonally across die water space.

lWhen the flow of water through the deviceis stopped, and there is no difference of water pressure therein from the inlet 14 to the outlet l5, the Hap valves 26automatically open, thereby providing an open, ing at each end of the separating plates, 23'. The water that is contained at the highest point of the device immediately under the ice being colder, will naturally fall to the bottom' of the device, nearer which the outlet pipe 15 is connected. The tailless arrows show the direction' of the water in falli from the highest tothe lowest altitude, aid the dotted arrows showthe direction of the water as it rises from the lower to the higher altitude along `the upper surface of the device adjacent" the strips 23. aS. a result of difference o'f temperature in the process of circulation. rlhe warmer water being in contact with the lower separating strip, and f the stri being inclined slightly, the water will fol'ow the incline and gradually creep along under itslower surface until it cornesv to its valved o ening throu 'h which it will past, and it wil then strike t e lower surface of the next bafile Wall, which is also provided with an inclined-surface, and will follow the under surface of it to the next valved opening, and so on the water will gradually reach the top of the device. The water that is immediately under the ice, or the part of the highest altitude, will, for the same reason pass downward to the bottom surface, its path heilig shown by the tailless arrows. It will pass down through the normal openings, and the valved openings to the lower surface, and thus a positive circulation of the water is automatically produced.

While I have herein describedin some detail a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that numerous changes in.

the details of construction and arrangement of the parts thereof might be made without departure from the spirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim. is:

l. In an ice rest for cooling water, a at hollow casing having a dat upper surface adapted to support ice, and being provided with an inlet and an outlet for water, baffles 'in said casinfr extending between the sides thereof, saidialtles being each inclined to form between adjacent battles a series of gradually widening paths for "water, and means for supporting said casin at an inclination whereby water' may ow downwardly from the inlet through said series of paths from the narrower to thelwider ends thereof.

2. In an ice `rest for cooling water, a flat hollow casing having a lat upper lsurface for receivingice, and being provided with an inlet and a diagonally opposite outlet for water, ballles in said casing extending between the sides thereof adapted and arranged to provide a tortuous path therein 'from the inlet to the outlet, saidbaiiles being each inclined to form between adjacent baffles a series of gradually widening transverse paths for water, and screw-threaded supports attached to the bottom of said casing whereby the casing may be `held at an adjustable inclination to cause waterto flow downwardly from said inlet int'othe narrow end of a transverse path, andfsuccessively through the remaining transverse paths from narrow to wider ends thereof, for discharge from the wider end of-the last said transverse path through' said outlet.

3. In an ice rest for cooling water, a fiat :hollow casing comprising a frame, op osite plates held in spaced relation by said 'ame to provide therebetween an inclosed water space, said frame being provided with an inlet and a diagonally opposite outlet opening for said inclosed space, batlles extending from side to side of said frame, said bafflesl being inclined i1' alternately opposite directions to provide a series of gradually widening transverse paths, and each baliie being provided with a perforation for flowof water therethrough rom the wider portion .of a transverse path into the narrower portion of the next succeeding path, and supporting means for said casing to holdvthe walls at intervals between said plates, and

`extending between opposite sides of the frame to form wedge-shaped channels therebetween, each channel being provided with a free opening at one end anda valved opening at the other, said valves adapted to be closed by the forcible passage of the water through the channels and means for inclining said structure, an inlet connection at the high side thereof for water under pressure, and an outlet connection at the low side for discharge of water.'

5. In a device of the character described, a flat hollow structure comprising a frame, parallel plates secured thereto, baille-wall plates at intervals between said side walls, each plate artially surrounding sta bolts, and stay olts taking through said side plates and within the openings provided within vsaid balile plates.

6. In a device of the character described, a flat hollow structure'coniprising a frame, parallel plates secured thereto, baille wall plates at intervals between the side walls,l stay bolts taking through said side plates,

and a cement coating applied to the outside surface of said structure overlying the ends surface. Y

7. 'In an' ice rest for cooling water, areceptacle having an inlet and an outlet, means for supporting saidv receptacle at an inclination to the horizontal, means in said receptacle providing a direct downward path for cooled water and a tortuous path for upwardly traveling warmerwater, and a plasticfmaterial surrounding said receptacle to provide a substantially vuniform integral coating sluggish in its response to temperature variation.

8. In an ice rest for cooling water, a recept-acle having an inlet and an outlet, and a plastic material surrounding said receptacle to provide a substantially uniform integral coating relatively slow in response to temperature variation, said coating providing a substantially straight upper surface to receive ice.

9. In an ice rest for cooling water, a water receptacle having an inlet and an outlet, a

lastic-material surrounding said receptacle o provide an integral homogeneous coating,

the upper surface of said coating being substantially straight for receiving thereon -a said receptacle at an adjustable inclination, and means whereby the cooling effect of said ice body acting through said coating impels a circulation of water throughout said receptacle.

l0. In an ice' rest for cooling Water, a hollow flat receptacle, 'means for supporting ysaid receptacle at an inclination, and baffles in said receptacle extending from side 'to side thereof, each baille having at one end a perforation of slightly less diameter than the distance between the top and bottom of said casing and at its other end a perforation extending from the bottom of said casing to a point midway 4betwen the bottom and top thereof, 'whereby the 'cooling eil'ect of a body of ice upon the upper edge of said receptacle may impel a circulation of water directly toward the lower edge of said casing and upwardly along the baffles, as described.

11. In a device of the characterdescribed, a flat hollow structure comprising a frame, parallel platesysecured thereto, bafie walls at intervals between lsaid plates and extending between opposite sides of the frameto form channels,.said plates rovided With a. free opening at one end and) a valved opening at the other, said valves adapted to be closed by the forcible assage of Water through said channels, and) means for inclining said structure, an inlet connection at the high side thereoffor Water under pressure, and an outlet connection at the low side for discharge of Water.

In testimony whereof hereunto set'iny vhand in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

WALTER E. KEYES.

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