US1811215A - Liquid refrigerating and dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

A. E. SMITH 1,811,215

LIQUID REFRIGERATING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS June 23, 1931.

Filed Jan. 25,.1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aden Z1 $272127? June 23, I931. $M|TH 1,811,215

LIQUID REFRIGERATING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 25, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J gum mica 2 /4de2z EJ mif/Z dub: we 11 A. E. SMITH June 23, 1931.

LIQUID REFRIGERATING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 25. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .4622 ESmff/z 6km neg Patented June 23, 1931 mun- STATES PATENT QFFl-CE Anna E. sm'rn, or oomzrmzeus, oino, ASSIGNOB TO THE :0. n. nnme'na SANITARY MFG.

- co, or COLUMBUS, onro, A conrommron or 0310 LIQUID REFRIGERATING AND DISPENSING- AIPIPARA'J!'CI'S Application filed January 25, 1929. Serial No. 835,055.

This invention relates to mechanically refrigerated liquid cooling units, and has particular reference to an improved unit designed for the dispensing of cooled or chilled drinking water, the unit being particularly adapted for service in schools, public buildings, factories or other public or semi-public laces or buildings where such drinkin ountains or units are frequently used an 1 wherein it is necessary to construct the unit so that it will withstand the hard and severe usage to which it is placed both efliciently and economically.

In the operation of drinking fountains or units of this type a very considerable amount of water is provided at the outlet faucet or nozzle in excess of that required by those using the fountain. Particularly is this true when the outlet device is inthe form of go a bubbler or nozzle in lieu of the ordinary drinking glass or cup. Heretofore it has been customary to permit this excess or sur plus cooled and chilled water to flow from the receptor basin into a waste outlet leading to a suitable point of discharge. It is a primary object of the present invention to utilize this cooled waste water for the purpose of increasing the efficiency and economy of the apparatus by employing said water to pre-cool the incoming fresh water,

through heat interchange, before the incoming waterreaches the main cooling chamber of the unit, wherebythrough such pre-cooling the incoming water is deprived of some of its heat so that the main coolingapparatus of the unit will have its work correspondingly lightened It is another object of the invention to lowing the pre-cooling of the incoming water, for the purpose of pre-cooling the liquid refrigerant before the latter is per mitted to expand in a boiler or cooler which forms a part of standard mechanical refrigeration systems.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts hereinafter further utilize the cooled waste water, fol-- through said unit, whereof the upper parts are broken away as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5+5 of Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates" a substantially cubical casing of the liquid cooling unit to which qthe present invention is applicable. The base of this casingis formed to include a horizontally extending bottom wall 2 upon which is mounted a standard type of mechanical refrigerating system of the type utilizing a fluid refrigerant gaseous at normal atmospheric temperatures and pressures.

The system includes the usual compressor 3 which is operated by an electrical motor 4 mounted on a horizontally extending. supporting wall 5 arranged within the base of the casing 1. v The armature shaft of the motor is provided with a pulley over which passes a belt 6 which leads to an en larged pulley wheel 7 fastened to the operating shaft 8 of the compressor 3. The refrigerating system further provides the usual condensing coil 9'and 10 arranged in the compressor compartment of the casing and arranged adjacent to a plurality of louvers 10, through which air is drawn from the exterior of the casing to pass over the outer' walls of the coil 9 for the purpose of lowering the temperature of the com pressed refrigerant which passes though said coil following discharge from the compressor 3. The motor 4 has its operating shaft equipped with a fan 11 by means of which a forced circulation of air is maintained through both the compressor and motor compartments, the heated air being discharged through louvers 12 formed in the wall of the casing 1 adjacent to the fan 11.

After passing through the coil 9 the liquid refrigerant enters a receiver 13 formed in the bottom of the compressor 3 and then flows by way of-avalve regulated pipe line 14 to a coil 15 which is situated in a container 16 located in one corner of the water cooling compartment 17 of the casing. The container 16, as shown in Figure 3, consists of a substantially cubical box of sheet metal so shaped as to receive the helical coil 15 through which the cooled refrigerant is adapted to circulate, while passing through the pipe line 14. The container 16 is adapt-v ed to receive the cooled waste water discharged from the drinking fountain of the device, in order that'through heat exchange the water immersed coil 15 will deprive the liquid refrigerant of some of its heat, in ad dition to the heat removed by the action of the coil 9, with the result that when the liquid refrigerant is discharged into the expansion unit or boiler 18 it will possess an operating temperature sufliciently low so that the subsequent expansion of the refrigerant will result in securing a more effective drop in the temperature of the liquid medium in which the water unit is immersed.

Above the motor compartment there is arranged a horizontally extending wall 19 upon which is placed a circular tank 20 formed to include spaced inner and outer metallic walls separated by a body of heat insulating material such as cork composition, the said insulating material bein indicated by the numeral 21. The tank 20 includes cylindrical side walls and circular horizontally disposed top and bottom walls, which define an enclosed chamber insulated from exterior temperatures. Within this chamber of the tank 20 there is arranged the boiler or expansion unit 18 of the refrigerating system, in which unit the liquid refrigerant is permitted to expand as usual from liquid into gaseous form and which expansion results in the absorption of heat from the medium in which the unit 18 is situated. Through thermostatic regulation, common to refrigeration systems of this character the motor 4 is operated at intervals to effect the operation of the compressor 3, which functions to withdraw the refrigerant in gaseous or vaporous form from 'the boiler unit through the lpipe 18 and to again compress and liquefy t e same for repeated use. The walls of the boiler or expansion unit are preferably of thin sheet metal, and the interior of the tank 20 contains a liquid, such as water or brine, the latter being maintained at a relatively low temperature by the absorption of heat through the action of the boiler unit.

Arranged within the tank 20- and immersed in the liquid body, indicated at 22, is a coil 24. This coil. receives the drinking water to be cooled. Prior to passing through the coil 24, however, the drinking water enters the casing by way of the supply line 25, and then circulates through the coil 26, situated in a liquid receiver 27, which corresponds in construction to the container or receiver 16. The receiver 27 is situated within the casing 1 to one side of the tank 20 and is adapted to contain the cooled waste water removed from the receptor basin 28 formed in the top of the casing. It will be observed that the receivers 16 and 27 rest upon removable or sliding door plates 29, formed in connection with the wall 19, which plates facilitate the removal of the receiver from the casing.

The surplus water which accumulates in the basin 28 is discharged from the latter by way of an outlet connection 30 arranged within the casing 1, said connection terminating in a vertically extending pipe 31 disposed centrally within the receiver 27, the open lower end of the pipe 31 being spaced from the bottom of said receiver. Thus the cooled drinking water which has not been used flows first into the receiver 27 where it pre-cools the drinking water which passes from the line 25 through the coil 26. The heat interchange thus set up results in lowering the temperature of the drinking water and conversely in the raising of the temperceiver 27 into the container 16 where it is further used for the purpose of lowering the temperature of the liquid refrigerant. The waste water is then discharged from the casing by way of an outlet line 33 which leads to a sewer connection or other point of dlscharge.

After the water has been pro-cooled by the coil 26 it. passes to the coil 24 where it isv additionally andfinally cooled by being subected to the'relatively low temperatures of the liquid cooling medium 22 disposed in the tank .20. The drinking water then passes under main pressure to a bubbler, faucet or other form of valved outlet connection 34 situated in the basin 28. Flow of the drinking water through the bubbler is regulated by a control valve 35 disposed or projecting exteriorly for manual operation through the conical top wall 36 of saidcasing. This wall is preferably conical to prevent the undesired or unnecessary placing of foreign .ObJGCtS thereon.

To prevent the salt in the brine from settling to the bottom of the tank 20 and to secure a better cooling eflect of the brine an agitator 37 is placed near the bottom 0 the tank and mounted for rotation with a vertical shaft 38. The shaft 38 has its upper end equipped with a beveled gear 39 which meshes with a similar gear 40 of a shaft 41 journaled for rotation on the top of the tank 20. Connected to the outer end of the shaft ll is a pulley 42 over which a belt 43 is trained leading to a pulley 44 carried by the operating shaft ,of the motor 4:. In view of the foregoing description and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the present invention provides a very compact and highly efficient type of a mechanical refrigerated drinking water dispenser. The construction has the advantage of operating most economically for the reason that the work performed by the refrigerating system is absorbed to a maximum degree and waste and other conditions tending toward inefficiency are eliminated.

While I have described in detail what I consider to be the preferred constructional embodiment of my invention, nevertheless,

it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of considerable mechanical variation without departing from the spirit and principles thereof as said invention has been set forth in the following claim.

YVhat is claimed is:

In a liquid refrigerating and dispensing apparatus, a casing formed to include a plurallty of superimposed compartments, louvers formed in one wall of the lower of said compartments and in the opposite wall of the intermediate compartment, a compressor unit in said lower compartment, a tank situated in said upper compartment, an expansion unit in said tank, a connection between said expansion unit and said compressor, means for circulating a liquid to be cooled through said tank, means situated at the top of said casing for dispensing said cooled liquid, a motor unit in said middle compartment, said motor being positioned with itsdrive shaft at right angles to said louvers, a fan on one end of said drive shaft and adjacent said louvers .for causing air to circulate through said lower and intermediate compartments, means carried by the opposite end of said shaft for driving said compressor, and an inwardly extending flange secured to the wall of said intermediate compartment for surrounding said louvers and said fan.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

e ADEN E. SMITH.

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