US2318858A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

J. R. HORNADAY REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 22, 19:59A

May ll,` 1943.

fm m 'tion Patented May ll, 1943 REFRIGEBATING APPARATUS` James E. HornadamDayton. Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation; corporation of Delaware Dayton, Ohio, a

Application November 22, 1939, Serial No.l 305,701

14 claims.l (ci. 257-8) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to a refrigerating system for use on a railway car and for similar installations.

One object of this invention isto provide a compact system which requires a minimum amount of attention from time to time.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerating system which is capable of maintaining the` temperature within the car within a narrow temperature range.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a system which does not excessively dry the air.

the waste heat from the refrigerating system may be utilized in tempering the air for the car. Y

A further object oi this invention is to provide a refrigerating system which is flexible in opera.-

electrical controls or complicated valve mecha.- nisms.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for controlling the temperature within the machinery compartment.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing. wherein avpreferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevational view showing the arrangement of the refrigerating apparatus within the air conditioning compartment; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 1.

In designing a refrigerating system for use on railway cars, it is important to provide a refrigerating system which requires a minimum amount of attention since no one is in regular attendance and the system is required to operate for long periods of time without any special servicing. Refrigerating systems of the type disclosed herein are likewise suitable for use in establishments where service facilities are meager and the available service men are not suiiiciently trained to service Vcomplicated systems.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown a refrigerating system embodying features of my in- 'vention installed in a railway car II) having an air conditioning compartment I2 located at the one end of the car. As shown in Fig. 1, a machinery compartment I4 has been provided within the air conditioning compartment. This machinery compartment is completely sealed oif from the rest of 'the air conditioning compart- Another object is to provide a system in which but which does not employ any complicated A ating system shown ment so as to prevent the escape of any oil or gas fumes vfrom the machinery compartment into the main air circulating system.

Air from the storage compartment II enters the air conditioning compartment through the opening I6 adjacent the top of the car and ilows in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 2; After entering the main air conditioning compartment I2, the air circulates in thermal exchange relationship with the refrigerant evaporator I8 and is then picked up by the blower 20 which discharges the airinto plenum chamber 22 from which the air returns to the storage compartment II through the discharge opening 24 adjacent the bottom of the car. While I have shown the intake opening at the top of the car and the discharge opening at the bottom of the car, it is to be understood that this arrangement is shown primarily for purposes of illustration and that these openings may .be arranged in any conventional manner so as to meet the lar needs in each installation.

'I'he refrigeratlng system comprises the evaporator I8, the compressor 26, a main condenser 28, an auxiliary condenser 30 and a liquid refrigerant receiver 32. The compressor 26 withdraws the vaporized refrigerant from the evapodischarges the compressed refrigerant vapor to arranged in parallel for a hereinafter, and the liquid refrigerant condensed by these condensers flows into the liquid receiver 32 from which the liquid refrigerant flows through the pipe 34 into the evaporator I8. The usual form of control valve 3 is provided for controlling the flow offrefrlgerant to the evaporator. The compressor 26 is driven by means of a Diesel engine 38 or its equivalent which also operates the blower 2li-as well as the blower 40 which circulates outside air through the machinery compartment I4. The Diesel engine 38 is provided with a conventional starter 42 which may be manually energized since in the refrigerthe engine is normally operated continuously without'automatic on and off cycling. While the refrigeration may be con- I particupurpose to be described lthe blower di) through an outlet 56 also a1'- ranged in the side wall of the car. For purposes of illustration, the opening 56 has been shown as being located directly above the air intake opening 5t; however, this opening may be arranged to discharge the air underneath the car,v at the top of the car or at the side opposite the opening t.

In order to control the amount of cooling air circulated through the engine compartment i4, a damper E8 has been provided for the opening Eil and a by-pass opening 60 has been provided whereby a portion or all vof the air circulated by the blower 60 may be recirculated through the machinery compartment so as to conserve on the amount of heat dissipated directly to the exterior of the car. A damper 62 has been provided in the opening 8U for controlling the by-passing or recirculation of the air. The arrangement of the dampers 58 and 62. is such that the damper 62 is fully closed when the damper 58 is open and,

the damper 5i? is fully closed when the damper p2 is fully open. Both dampers are operated in unison by means of the thermostatic element 6d which, for purposes of illustration has been shown mounted directly within the machinery compartment id. The thermostatic element 615 could be arranged directly within the compartment il or in any one of the air streams depending upon the particular conditions which it is desired to control. Ii. desired, the thermostat 64 could be replaced by means oi a control responsive to the refrigerant pressure. The thermostat Si! operates the pivoted lever G5 which has the flexible damper cable 38 connected to it at the one end. The thermostat Sil operates against the spring 68, the tension of which may be adjusted by the thumb screw 'I8.

As shown in the drawings, the condenser 3l), the engine radiator 52 and the engine muiiler 12 are all disposed in a heating chamber 'lil provided in the upper portion of the air conditioning compartment i2. When cooling alone is desired, the heating compartment 75 is completely closed o from the compartments l i and I2 by means of the dampers 1B and l which are arranged at the inlet and outlet openings respectively of the heating compartment 1B. In order to control the flow of air through the heating compartment "i4, I have provided a thermostat 80 within the compartment il which controls the dampers 16 and It as well as a damper 82 arranged in the opening It. As shown in Fig. 2, the dampers 18 and 18 are closed when the damper 82 is open, and as the dampers 16 and 78 are opened the damper 82 moves to the closed position. Each of the dampers shown in the system isy biased to the position in which the damper is shown in the drawing. 4The thermostat 80 is adjusted by means of the adjusting screw 84 so as to operate the dampers to cause circulation of air over the heating elements in the event that it is necessary to heat theair in the car. I

Attention is called to the fact that with the arrangement shown, the Diesel engine is intended to operate at all times. It is also intended to have all of the air circulated by the blower 20 to too hot for cooling purposes.

pass over the evaporator I8 at all times regardless of the temperature within` the space li. Inasmuch as the Diesel engine never stops, a certain amount of refrigeration will at all times be supplied by the evaporator I 8. However, at such times when the air from the compartment Il circulates through the heating compartment it before circulating over the evaporator I8, the eiect will be to heat the air for the compartment rather than cooling the air for the compartment since heat dissipated by the engine 38 is added to the air. Y

It will be observed that the condenser 30 is mounted above the condenser 28 and that the condensers are arranged in parallel without any control valves for controlling the flow to the condensers. By virtue of the arrangement shown, either or both of the condensers may be used for condensing refrigerant depending upon the ternperature of the air flowing over the respective condensers. When no fresh air is introduced into the compartment I4 the air therein will become Considering, for example, the condition under which the damper 58 is fully closed and the dampers 'I6 and 'i8 are fully opened, the condenser 3i) will serve to condense the maj or portion of the refrigerant whereby-the heat absorbed by the evaporator i8 will be dumped back into the air stream flowing over the evaporator I8. By virtue of the fact that the radiator 52 is disposed above the radiator 50 a very similar effect is obtained as with the evaporators in that the radiator 52 will dissipate most, if not all, of the heat given on by the engine. at all times when the relatively cool air from the compartment li circulates over the radiator 52 and no outside air is circulated over the radiator 28.

The system described hereinabove is especially suitable for use in refrigerated freight cars since the arrangement of the elements is such that a minimum amount of moisture is removed from the air. During the heating period, for example. the air is rst circulated through the heating compartment and is thereafter circulated over the evaporator so as to give up aportion of its heat. However, the temperature of the air passing over the evaporator is suiciently high to prevent any great amount of condensation forming on the evaporator coils during the time heating is required. In installations in which the removal of moisture would be desirable, the air would first be circulated over the evaporator and then over thecondenser.

For purposes of illustration, the control instru. ments have all been shown as being responsive to the dry bulb temperature. However, it is to be understood that other types of controls such as wet bulb instruments, humidostats, effective temperature responsive instruments, and the like may be substituted for the dry bulb instruments, if desired.

While I have shown the evaporator i8 mounted in the air passage directly above the fan 20, it 1s apparent that the evaporator might also be located adjacent the outlet from the compartment 22, No attempt has been made in this application to show any Ventilating means for introducing fresh air into the conditioned space. However, any of the well-known Ventilating means may be used in combination with the system described hereinabove.

While the form of embodiment of the invention 4 evaporator, means for circulating outside air over Y a second of said condensers, and temperature responsive means for controlling the flow of outside air over said second condenser.

2. In a refrigerating system, an evaporator, a plurality of condensers arranged in parallel, a

compressor, refrigerant flow connections betweensaid evaporator, compressor and condensers, means for circulating a stream of air to be conditioned in thermal exchange relationship with one of said condensers and thereafter with said evaporator, means for circulating outside air over a second of said condensers, and temperature responsive means for controlling the flow of outside air over said second condenser, said last namedv means being responsive to the temperature of the air surrounding said second condenser.

3. In a refrigerating system, an evaporator, aplurality of condensers, a compressor, refrigerant flow. connections between said evaporator, compressor and condensers, means for circulating a stream of air to be conditioned in thermal exchange relationship with one of said condensers thereafter with said evaporator, and means for circulating outside air over a second of said condensers and means for varying the amount of air flowing over one of said condensers.

4. In a refrigerating system, an evaporator, a plurality of condensers, a compressor, refrigerant ow connections between said evaporator, compressor and condensers, means for circulating a stream of air to be conditioned'in thermal exchange relationship with one of said condensers and thereafter with said evaporator, means for circulating outside air over a second of said condensers, and means for varying the capacity of one of said condensers.

5. yIn combination, an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, refrigerant flow connections between said evaporator, compressor and'condenser.. an internal combustion engine for operating said compressor, means for circulating a stream of air to be conditioned in thermal exchange with said evaporator, means operated by said engine for circulating a stream of outside air in thermal exchange with said condenser and said internal combustion engine, means for discharging waste engine heat into said first named stream of air while said first named stream of air is being cooled by said evaporator, means inuenced by the temperature of the conditioned alr'controlling the speed of said engine, and temperature responsive means for 'controlling theflow of air over said condenser.

6. Gas conditioning apparatus comprising in combination, means forming a gas conditioning chamber, an evaporator in said chamber, a heat dissipator in said chamber, means for circulatengine in said last namedchamber for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporator, means for discharging heat from said refrigerant liquefying apparatus to said heat dissipator, means for circulating a cooling fluid in thermal exchange with said refrigerant liquefying apparatus, means for varying the speed of said engine, and means for varying the amount of heat absorbed by said last named fluid.

7. In combination, means forming a gas conditioning chamber, an evaporator in said chamber, a heat dissipator in said chamber, means for circulating gas over said heat dissipator vand thereafter over said evaporator, means for bypassing said gas around said heat dissipator, means forming a refrigerant liquefying chamber, refrigerant liquefying apparatus in said Alast named chamber for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporator, means for discharging heat from said refrigerant liquefying apparatus to said heat dissipator, means for circulating a cooling fluid in thermal exchange with said refrigerant liquefying apparatus, means for controlling the operation of said liquefying apparatus, and means for controlling the amount of heat absorbed by said last named fluid, said refrigerant after over said second heat exchanger, means for ing a stream of gas through said chamber, means liquefying apparatus comprising a compressor and an internal combustion engine for operating said compressor.

8. In combination, means forming a gas conditioning chamber, an evaporator in said chamber, a heat dissipator in said chamber, means for circulating a str eam of gasv through said chamber, means for by-passing said gas around said heat dissipator, means forming a refrigerant liquefying chamber, refrigerant liquefying apparatus in said last named chamber for supplyingv liquid refrigerant to said evaporator, means for discharging heat from said refrigerant liquefying apparatus to said heat dissipator, means for circulating `a cooling fiuid -in thermal exchange with said refrigerant liquefying 'apparatus, means controlling the operation of said apparatus, and means for controlling the amount of heat absorbed by said last named uid.

9. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure comprising in combination, an air fiow passage, first and second heat exchangers arranged in said passage, means for circulating air to -be conditioned over said first heat exchanger and theresupplying liquid refrigerant to the second of said heat exchangers, means for withdrawing refrigerant vaporized in said second heat exchanger and discharging the same under pressure into the first of said heat exchangers, means responsive to the temperature within said enclosure for bypassing the air around one of said heat exchangers, and means controlling the amount of heat discharged by said first heat exchanger.

10. In combination, an evaporator, refrigerant liquefying apparatus for supplying liquid refrigerant to saidevaporator comprising a compressor, a condenser and an internal combustion engine for operating said compressor, means forming an air duct within which said evaporator is located, means enclosing said refrigerant liquefying apparatus, liquid circulating means for transferring heat generated by said apparatus evaporator.

11. In combination,. an evaporator, refrigerant liquefying apparatus for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporator comprising a compressor, a condenser and an internal combustion engine for operating said compressor, means iform-l 5 ing an air duct within which said evaporator is located, means enclosing said refrigerant liquei'ying apparatus, liquid circulating means for `transferring' heat generated by said apparatus of air for said compartment in thermal exchange with said evaporator; refrigerant liqueiying apparatus for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporator; means for circulating a second stream of air in thermal exchange with said refrigerant liquefying apparatus; said refrigerant liquefying apparatus comprising means for circulating a heat transfer iiuid in thermal exchange with said first and second streams of air and said liquefying apparatus for heating said first named stream of air before the air is cooled by said evaporator; means for controlling the ow of air over said liquefying apparatus; and temperature responsive means for controlling the operation of said refrigerant liquefying means.

13. In combination, a iirst heat exchanger adapted to function as an evaporator for absorbfing heat; a second heat exchanger adapted to function as a condenser for dissipating a portion of the heat absorbed by said iirst heat exchanger, a third heat exchanger adapted to function as a condenser for dissipating a portion of the heat absorbed by said first heat exchanger. a compressor for withdrawing refrigerant from said first heat exchanger and discharging said refrigerant into another of said heat exchangers, an internall combustion engine for energizing said compressor, means for flowing a medium to be ,conditioned in thermal exchange with said first and second named heat exchangers, means for o circulating a stream of uid in thermal exchange with said internal combustion engine and said third named heat exchanger, means for regulating the temperature of the fluid circulated in thermal exchange with said engine, and temperature responsive means for controlling the flow of fluid over said engine.

14. In combination, an evaporator, a compressor, a'condenser, refrigerant iiow connections between said evaporator, compressor and condenser, an internal combustion engine for operating said compressor, means for circulating a stream oi' air to be conditioned in thermal exchange with said evaporator, means for circulating a separate stream of outside air in thermal exchange with said condenser and said internal combustion engine, and liquid circulating means for discharging waste engine heat directly into said flrst named air stream before the air is circulated over said evaporator so as to modify the cooling and dehumidifying effect of said evaporator.

JAMES R. HORNADAY.

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