US1678171A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

July 24, 1928. 1,678,171

H. W. TOHTZ AL REFRIGERATOR Filed March 17, 1926 K A. BON/Yfl 1.

Patented July 24, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,678,171 PATENT OFF-ICE- HELMUTH W. 'IOHTZ AND KIRKE I. BONNELL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR.

Applicat ion filed March 17, 1926. Serial No. 95,168. V

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerators, and more particularly to the use of mechanical refrigeration in a box. of any suitable shape. Prior to this invention,

boxes of various types such as display cases and storage receptacles have been provided with pipe coils through which a refrigerant is circulated and the coils are usually coated with ice or frost. In these old refrigerators the heat must be transmitted from the air in the box, through the metal pipes and also through the coating around the pipes. The efiiciency and the capacity of the system are, therefore, reduced by the elements which separate the refrigerant from the air in the box. Moreover, the circulation of the air depends upon a difference in temperatures, and some of the air in the box must be at a relatively high temperature. One object of the invention is to produce a refrigerator comprising a box of a suitable type preferably adapted for stores or homes, and containing a duct wherein the air contacts directly with the refrigerant, thereby increasing boththe efficiency and the capacity of the refrigerator. A further object is to forcibly circulate the air so as to maintain a'substantially uniform temperature in various portions of the box.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying draw- 86 ings, wherein isshown the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is tobe understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations-and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereto unto appended.

In the preferred form of the invention the refrigerant is forcibly projected into a duct within the box, so as to draw the relatively warm airintothe duct where it contacts dir rectly with-the spray of refrigerant and then.

passes'from the duct to the contents of the box. The refrigerant itself is .thus used to forcibly circulate'the air in the'box. The "relatively. warm air can be-forced' downinlet at one end of a box and an outlet at the opposite end, the inlet and outlet being near away.

in Fig. I.

the top of the box. Therelatively warm air 1s drawn into the inlet while the cold air is forcibly projected from the outlet. How-,

ever, owing to the rapid circulation and intense cooling, there is very little difference in {he temperatures at the opposite ends of the Fig. I is a vertical section with a diagram showing the delivery of refrigerant to air conductors in two boxes.

'Fi II is a transverse section taken approximately on the line IIII in Fig. I.

Fig. III is an enlarged top view-of one of the air conductors.

Fig. IV is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, illustrating one of. the horizontally elongated air conductors, the middle portion of the conductor being broken A designates along horizontal box in the form of a display caseprovided with glass panels 1 and closures 1. The articles to be cooled Ina be supported on shelves 2 located between t e upright end walls of the box. This box has inner and outer wall members with insulating material 3 between them.

B designates horizontally elongated air conductors located adjacent to each other, as shown in Fig. II, and extending approximately from end to end of the box, as shown Each air conductor B is in the form of a box having a funnel-shaped outlet Tim the top of the box, and a horizontal .duct 8located at the bottom ofthe box and connecting said down-duct 4 to said u -duct 6. The. ducts 4 and 6 are preferab y circular in 1 cross-section, and the duct 8 is flattened as I L shown inFig. II. The funnel-shaped memare preferablyturned toward bers 5 and 7 each other. V

downwardly in each down-duct An ap proximately conical spray is forcibly,--projectedfrom each nozzl'eto draw air through the inlet 5 and into the duct 4, where it con tacts with the refrigerant. The forc'e'of the spray pushes the air throu h theducts 8 and I To illustrate'asuitablemeans m{f6rieib1 j'. [spray the refrigerant intofthelairconductors, we have shown a nozzlei9, extending;

no 6 and finally pro'e'cts. it rom the outlet 7. The air'isthus orced downwardly-atone mob inlet funnels 5.

warmer air is drawn from a zone above said.

supports- The course. of the air currents will depend upon the velocity of the air, but it is obvious that thecold air is welldistributed over the box, and that it will tend to force the relatively warm'air toward the These funnels preferably I extend from one side of. the box, to the other,

, top of the as shown in Fig. II, and their upper edgesmay be in contact with the top, wall of the box. The same is true of the outlet funnels 7.

The box A is provided with a suitable support 2' for articles to be cooled. It contains a row box and extending from side to side of the box. Each funnel 5 is connected to' an approximately U-s'haped air conductor com rising a down-duct; 4 extending down- War ly from the, funnel and an up-duct 6' having an outlet member 7" atits upper end. Each down-duct 4 contains a nozzle 9 from which a spray of refrigerant is forced downwardly in the duct 4' to draw the relatively warm air from the top of the box, the'air being forced downwardly induct 4 and then upwardly in duct 6" to the outlet 7 where it is discharged in a horizontalcourse higher thanthe' support 2' for the; articles to be cooled. 1

A single refrigerating machine may be used to provide the refrigerant for a. plurality of boxes, and a single pump may employed to force the refrigerant to the nozzles in each box. This is. diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. I, wherein 1 2 designates a refrigerating machine to maintain 8. Supply of brine in a tank 13. A pipe 14 leads from the brine tank to. a pump 15. This apparatus may be mountedon a'basement floor 16 while the boxes A and A" are located on a higher floor 17'. .The pump 15. is provided with a discharge pipe 18 having branches leading to the several nozzles 9 and 9'.

' Valve-s 19: are located in the branches near the, pipe 18 to regulate the delivery to the diiferent.box'es.

To provide forthe return ofbrinetothe tank 13, a returnfp'ipe '20 extends from the lower ortion of, air; conductor B to a pipe 21 lea ing to the tank 13. The air conduc-- tors in the box A" are provided at their" lower ends with brine pipes 22 leading to an inclined trough 23, and a return pipe 24 of inlet funnels 5"located at the extends from the lower end of trough 23 to the pipe 21. The brine can be thus returned by gravity from the boxes to the brine tank.

We claim:

l. A refrigerator comprising a horizontally elongated box, a support for the articles to be cooled located between the end portions of said box, an air conductor in the form of a horizontally elongated U comprising a down-duct at one end of the box having an inlet at the top-of the box, an lip-duct at the other end having an outlet-at the top of the box and a horizontal duct located at the bottom of the box and connecting said down-duct to said tip-duct, a nozzle extending downwardly in said down-duct, a refrigerant-container, a pump whereby the refrigerant is forced through said nozzle and projected downwardly in said down-duct to forcibly circulate air from said inlet'to said outlet, the outlet end of said up-duct being turned toward the inlet of said down-duct so as to discharge cold air toward said inlet, and means whereby the refrigerant is returned from said air conductor to said refrigerantcontainer.

2. A refrigerator comprising a horizontally elongated box with a support for the articles to be cooled located between the end portions of said box, and an"air conductor in the form of a horizontally elongated U comprising a down duct having a funnel b jected from said nozzle to force the ai through said ducts. v

3. A refrigerator comprising a box having oppositely disposed walls and provided with a support for the articles to be cooled, and cooling means-adaptedv to forcibly circulate air in said box, said cooling means consist-j ing of an approximately U-shaped air conductor having a down duct with an air inlet near the top of one of said walls, an up duct with an air outlet near the top of the other.

wall, a connecting duct extending from said a down duct to said up duct, the outlet of, said up duct being turned toward the inlet of said down duct, a nozzle in said conductor,

and means whereby refrigerant is forcibly projected from said nozzle to force air through said ducts. v Intestimony that we claim the foregoing we hereunto affix our signatures.

-' HELMUTH W. TOHTZ.

KIRKE L. BONNELL.

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