USRE14321E - Process of agitating water in making ice - Google Patents

Description

W. B. KIRKPATHKCK.

PROSESS 0F AGITATiNG WATER IN MAKlNG ICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.19;I

Ream! June 26, 191?.

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@QGOOOO 00 A 11mm coils as just described.

UNITED STATES P SUED TENT OFFICE.

WILLIS IB. KIRKPATRICK, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO INDEPENDENT ICE COMPANY OF BALTIMORE CITY, OF BALTIMORE, IvIABYLAhTD, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

PROCESS OF AGITATING WATER. IN MAKING ICE.

Specification of Reissued Letters Patent. R'ejssugd June 26, 1917 Original patent a continuation in part of applications Serial No. 6,987, filed February 3, i915, and Serial No. 17,617, filed March 29, 1915.

filed July 21, 1915. Application for reissue filed February 19, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, -WILms B KIRKPAT- RICK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Agitating Vater in Making Ice, 01 which the following is a specification.

The principal difficulty encountered in the practice of the aeration method in th past is that incident to maintaining an uninterrupted flow of air until the formation of the cake of ice has been substantially completed. The principal source of interruption which is of importance in this connection is due to the formation of frost in the drop pipe which leads air downward to the point where it is discharged zit-the bottom of the can. Also, the formation of ice in the can sometimes closes theinouth otthe tube and the air system is sometimes blocked by the deposit of rust, sediment and the like.

These latter di'fliculties are more fully treat ed in my Patents Nos. 1,162,075 and 1,169,16}.

The difl'erent methods of aerating water in use are classified as high and low pressure.

'In the practice of the high pressure process,

by throttling, and the air is led. through a pipe in the corner of the freezing can, or otherwise in contact with or in close proximity to the brine, to the bottom of the freezing can near the center where the air is released. This apparatus is subject to frequent stoppage owing to the formation of frost in the drop pipe and in the air cooling Also the compression of the air to fifty or sixty pounds which is incident to this process is expensive.

The low pressure method in which the air is handled cheaply at two or three pounds or thereebouts has a central drop pipe but it is not intended to continue air agitation until freezing is complete or nearly complete, The passage of the air always becomes blocked by the formation of ice in tlie Original No. 1,161.219, dated November 23, 1915, Serial No. 41,026,

Serial No. 149,708.

can when about one-third of the water is still uncongealed; the pipe is removed and the space pumped out and filled with clear water. These two classes of apparatus are recognized and all systems in use prior to applicants belonged to one or the other. In the n pplicanfs invention under discussion the mssage of the air upward through the can is kept open by the air pressure which, though normally low, builds up automatically when the outlet is obstructed.

The present invention relates to a method by means of which some of the features of the high and low pressure systems are'So combined as to obtain the advantages and overcome the principal. defects incident to each. To this end I have evolved a new method of operation which is such that ohstruction oi the system is almost impossible i'rec rding to this invention, 1 so de 'er the air 5 the bottom of the cans that it is protcctcd from the temperature of the brine and need not be cooled to or below the freezing point until the formation of the cake of ice is practically complete. This greatly reduces the formation of frost in the drop pipe and renders the excessive dehydration practised. in. the high pressure system wholly umiecessary, the high prer ure and low temperatures used in tin i 'h pressure system are for the purpose of wrecipitating as much moisture as possil from the air and to thus overcome in a different w ay the tei'idency to choke the drop pipe with frost. In this connection, it will be noted. that the high pressure system had always been used with the delivery pipe passing in close proximity to the brine, the temperature of hich is usually about 1 F F, While delivery pipe in the present instance near the center of the body of Water to ."rozen so that it does not come in contact with temperatures sufficiently low to the moisture in the air until the formation of the cake is complete.

By thus avoiding the necessity for times aerating water in the manufacture of ice, as

for it will be understood that is necessary to complete understanding of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a portion of a brine tank showing a number of cans in section and the drop pipes and supply pipes inelevation; also the air cooling device in elevation; and

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1 showing the cooler in cross section.-

Referring to the drawings by numerals,

"the apparatus shown includes a cooling monia coil 5, the helices of the ammonia coil being arranged in a vertical plane as are those of the air coil, the latter being placed directly under the former, as shown in cross section in Fig.2, so that all the pipes of each cooling unit are in a single vertical plane.-- The inlet 6 of the ammonia coil is ;at':the bottom, and the outlet 7 at the top.

Just over the ammonia coil I provide a water delivery pipe 8 which is preferably slotted throughout its entire length as at 9 or otherwise provlded with suitable orifices to discharge water and permit it to flow uniformly over the entire coil. Witter is supplied to the delivery or sprinkler pipe 8 by a pump 10 or other suitable and convenient means, either taking the water from the catch bam'n ll beneath the coils or from an outside source by way of the pipe 12.

One means by which clogging in the de hydrator may be avoided consists in the use of pure water instead of brine or the equivalent as a cooling medium in connection with the ammonia and air coils, and of valves, either automatically or manually operated at 13' and let by means of which the pressure and expansion of the ammonia vapor may be so regulated as to give the desired tem- -pera'ture, but even in the absence of such regulation of the pressure of the ammonia vapor, the air pipescannot be cooled below freezing if the cooling eHect is transferred.

from the ammonia pipes to the air pipes by means of fresh water, flowing in a film by" gravity tron-i the ammonia to the air-pipes, and this ilow could not of course be mainte.ihed at freezing temperatures. Substan ttially pure water having the same freezing point as pure water may be used with the same result. Under these circumstances it is practically impossible to reduce the temperature of the air to a point lower than five or sir. degrees Fahrenheit above the freezing point and at this temperature, the dehydrator tubes cannot become stopped with frost. .-The temperature of the air in the dehydrator may go much higher without detriment to the operation of the plant.

An important advantage of my'method consists in the possibility of handling and delivering the air for agitating the water at temperatures which may be well above freezing. A most convenientway of doing this is by using clear water as a heat trans fer medium in the dehydrator bu other means for cooling the air and dehydrating it may be employed Within the scope of my invention. The. use of clear-water for this purpose is one feature only of several involved in the method which is the subject of the invention. As I have stated, the air passes through the cooling coil at. a medium pressure which may be varied from twelve to twenty-five pounds above the atmosphere,

but at this pressure with average humidity, a considerable amount of condensation takes place and the moisture thus condensed may be removed by a suitable trap or drip of commercial variety shown at 15.

In Fig.1 at the left, I have shown a portion of abrine tank 16 of the type'commonly 1 used in the manufacture of can ice, together with a number of cans 17 in operative position for freezing. The area occupied by the tank is traversed by headers 4: leading from the cooler. From the header 4 a lateral extends outward between each two lines of cans andinserted in each lateral between each pair of cans is a four-way fitting, or cross 19 which may contain a reducing valve or orifice by which the normal air pressure is dropped to a point slightly above atmosphere, as shown and described in my patent referred to. Two arms of each crosS- fitting 19 preferably extend along the sides of the adjacent cans to a point near the center and the air is led by suitable means as the eonnection 22, shown in Fig. 1, to the drop pipe 21 which discharges the air at the bottom near tl1e center of the can. Th5: drop pipe which I use i'sstraigh't so that it may be conveniently withdrawn from the cake, after heating slightly. to release it, and it is set into the can either vertically, spaced from the sides, as in my Patent No. 1,l 69,164=, or in an inclined position as described in my Patent No. 1,162,075,; The inclined pipe 21 as shown, is supported by the bracket 23, fully described in the last. named patent and is connected to the air distributing system by afiexible hose 22, the rigid portion of the is more expensive.

bottom near the center and as freezing takes place from the sides and bottom, the last part frozen being the central portion near the top, the pipe is in this way protected from the low temperature of the brine. In fact, it does not become frozen until the freezing of the cake of ice is well advanced and even then, being adjacent the free water it is not subject to a temperature appreciably below the freezing point, so that obstruction of the drop pipe by frost when delivering air, cooled as described herein by the flow of clear water over the air cooling coil, is not an element which need be taken into account in the conduct of the plant. This makes it possible to use air dehydrated at comparatively "high temperatures. If air dehydrated at low temperatures is conveniently obtainable, its use would work no harm but dehydration at lower temperatures The advantages of the inclined pipe arranged as described, are fully set forth in my Patent No. 1,162,075, and need not be enlarged upon in this specification; it is not part of this invention.

lVhile the preferred method of protecting the air pipe from the low temperature of the brine is by passing the drop pipe through the body of water to be frozen keeping it Well away from the sides of the can, the pipe may be otherwise protected from the low temperature of the brine, thus accomplishing the method of my invention, by other means obvious to those skilled in the art, though these devices are considered less practical than that specifically described.

The operation of the system. will be described in connection with the process of my invention. Starting with the cans filled with water and the drop pipes in position as shown in Fig. 1, the connections being made from each cross-fitting 19 to the cor responding drop pipes 21 by means of a hose or flexible tube 22, ammonia is ap plied .to the coil 5 by way of the inlet 6.

Air at medium pressure, determined as sufiicient to keep the air passage to the can open until freezing is complete, is applied to the coil 1 by way of the inlet 2 and water is passed over the ammonia and air coils as indicated. The temperature of the air pipes is controlled and may be kept above freezing by using clear water as a heat transfer means, fresh Water serving to prevent the reduction. of the temperature of the air to an extent sufficient to cause frost in the pipes. The water which may be, condensed by this drop in pressure, the quantity depending upon the humidity of the air, there being none under some conditions, is removed from the drip, 15 and the cooled air is delivered to the header 4 whence it is distributed by way of crosses 19 and the drop pipes 21. It will be understood that the initial pressure at the inlet 2 is subcan in the regular process of freezing, the

full initial pressure is sometimes necessary. This is obtained by the simple expedient of permitting the air which escapes to back up until it reaches the pressure of the coil or inlet or becomes suilicient to open the passage through the ice.

In practice it is found that with twelve or fifteen pounds pressure at the air inlet, the drop pipe constructed. as described, will keep open until the ice cake is complete. If any obstruction takes place, this is quickly broken by the rise of pressure.

It will also be apparent that by the use of a drop pipe which is protected from the lower temperatures by being placed near the center of the can, I have rendered the use of high pressures to produce excessive dehydration unnecessary, for formation of frost in the drop pipe is practically eliminated. This also results in greatly increased economy and a system of unparalleled efiicicncy in that obstructions of the air pipe, resulting in white ice, are so infrequent that a practically uniform product of the highest quality is produced with the least expenditure for labor and attendance.

I have thus described the method which is the subject of my invention specifically and in detail in order that its nature and operation may be fully understood; how-- ever, the specific terms herein are used in their descriptive rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1.. A process of agitating water by air in the 'manufacture of ice which consists in providing a supply of dehydrated air at a pressure of from twelve to twenty-five pounds above atmosphere, passing said air through a conduit within the mass of water to be frozen, reducing the pressure of the air before it is released to a point sli htly in excess of thatof the atmosphere, and delivering said air into the Water near the bottom of the mass 2, A process of agitating water by air in the manufacture of ice which consists in providing a supply of dehydrated air comtwenty-five pounds above atmosphere and '1'25 pressed to a pressure of from twelve to' having a temperature of five or six degrees "mass of Water tobe frozen, reducing the pressure of the air" before it is released so that it is slightly in excess of that of the ;atmosphere, and delivering said air near gt the bottom of the mass of Water to be frozen. 13. Alprccess of manufacturing ice which consists in freezin the Water in cans in a Jinn-freezing liqui as brine at-a temperature Well below the freezing point of Water,

gitating the Water with. compressed dehyrated air at a temperature at least five or six degrees abdve freezing, leading the air to and through a conduit wlthin the mass of "Water to be frozen so thatin its passage the air is protected from the temperature of tlie brine by the mass of Water to be frozen 1 and releasing it at the bottom of the mass of water to be frozen.

4. A process of agitating Water by air in the manufacture of ice which consists in providing a supply of dehydrated air at a pressure above twelve pounds above atmos- 'phere, passing such air througha conduit within the mass of Water to be frozen following a path spaced away from the sides of the body of water, and delivering the air at 1 reduced. pressure-into the mass of Water near the bottom thereof. r

.5: A process ofv making raw water can 1 sec:

ice Which consists in immersing a can of :Water in a freezlng llquid, providing a sup-.

ply of dehydrated air at a pressure of twelve 1 pounds aboveatmosphere, passing the air downward through aconduit in the mass of water spaced away from the freezing liquid so that the Water protects the air from the temperature of the freezing liquid, releasing the air at a reduced pressure near the bottom of the Water to be frozen, and continuing the passage of the air until all the Water available for the manufacture of clear ice is frozen.

6. A process of removing moisture from compressed air whlch consists 1n circulating practically pure Water in indirect heat exchange with a refrigerant, bringing such Water into indirect heat exchanging relation with the compressed air whereby a portion of the moisture in said air is condensed, and then separating such condensed moisture froni the air.

Si ned by me at Baltimore, Maryland,

this th day of February, 1917.

"WILLIS B. KIRKPATRICK.

Nitnesses: I

ZELLA KUHN, ALICE G. DONEGAN.

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