US1903825A - mallory - Google Patents

Description

April 18, 1933. E, B. MALLoRY 1,903,825

Filed Feb. 14, 1930 April 13, 1933- E. B. MALLoRY l,903,825

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 14, 1930' 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR April 18, 1933. E. B. MALLoRY 1,903,325

REFRIGERTING PPRTUS Filed Feb. 14, 1930 4 sneets-sneet 4 esk- EEE

INVENTOR BY B fi 7D phnyqffamwSL-J I fw: TTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1933 UNITED sTA'rEs 1,9o3,szs

PATENT oFFIcE IDWRD B. IIiLOB-Y', OF mAILY, NEW .'I'EBSEY, V.ASSIGfh'l 'OB- i EO THE Om! lHGmmIHG- 00mm, Oil' CLmTOH, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWABE BmIGmTING APPLRATUS Application med ebruary 14, 1980. Serial Ho. 428.884.

This invention relafes to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to ap aratusw of this character wherein a oondensi le refrigerant is employed. S uch apparatus ordinarily includes a Compressor. or pump for compressing gaseous refrigerant, a condenser for Cooling and liquefying the compressed refrigerant, and an expansion or evaporation Chamber located within a refrigerator compartment. It will be understood that the refrigerant while in the evaporator or expansion Chamber absorbs heat which is later removed from the refrigerant after it has been compressed and returned to the condenser. In order to insure eflicient operation of the systemit is necessary to maintain the Compressor and the condenser at certain desirable temperatures, the exact values of which depend upon the specific design of the system and the conditions of operation. It is desirable to maintain the condenser at a temperature sufliciently low to insure efiicient condensation of the compressed refrigerant within the same. It is a'so desirable to 'remove heat from-the compressor in order to avoid having the compressor and associated parts become overheated and in order to avoid discharging the Compressed refrigerant into the condenser at an unduly high temperature. At' the same time the Compressor Vand associated parts must not be cooled to such an extent as to cause condensation of the refrigerant within the same as this might injure the Compressor or prevent the proper Circulavtion of the refrigerant through the system.

various parts of the apparatus as toprovide I adequate Cooling of the condenser and compressor by induced convection currents of air which come in contact with the condenser and parts associated with the compressor, and this may be accomplished without Cooling the condenser and Compressor to the same extent. i This insures the desirable temperature difl'erence 'between the Compressor and the condenser to provide the most efli- 1 cient operation of the system. Condensation of refrigerant is prevented within the immediate vicinity of the Compressor and at the same time the refrigerant is delivered to the condenser at the lowest temperature consistent with'the eflicient operation of the Compressor.

.According to my vinvention I provide a Compressor and a Casing enclosing the same I and exposed to the atmosphere whereby heat from the casing produces a convection Current of air passing upward alongzthe Casing, and means are provided for accelerating the movement of the ConveCtion current of air. I may provide means for supplying air to the immediate vicinity of the Compressor Casing at an elevated temperature as compared with the temperature of the atmosphere, such air being preferably supplied to the exterior of the Compressor Casing near the base thereof. The Compressor casing may be supplied with heatradiating fins, or with an enclosing Shell or with both,the fins and shell being preferably oonstructed and arranged so as to producev an acceleration of the flow of Cooling air along the surface of the Compressor Casing. A condenser preferably in the form of a coil or group of coils of condenser tubing may be located below the Compressor casing with the convolutions of the Coil or'coils so disposed in relation to the Compressor Casing as to supply an in- .duced current of air to the exterior of the Compressor Casing, such air being at a temperature above atmospheric temperature but below the temperature of the Compressor Casing. The arrangement is preferably such that the Current of air induced by heat from the Compressor accelerates the flow of air ove'r the condenser.

The various objects of my invention are preferably accomplished without arranging the condenser in such relation to the Compressor casing as to permit the transfer of heat from the Compressor to the condenser.

Any heat so transmitted to the condenser must necessarily be removed by some Cooling medium and, if the transfer of heat from the compressor to the condenser can be avoided, this makes it unnecessary to provide the additional cooling effect which would be needed to remove this additional heat from the condenser. With this and other objects in mind as previously explained, I prefer to locate the condenser below the Compressor casing. This eliminates the possibility of having convection currents of air heated by the Compressor casing come in contact with the condenser, and also prevents the transfer of heat from the casing to the condenser by radiation.

The various objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent upon considering the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated and described certain representative embodiments of my invention.

Referring now to the drawings, it Will be noted that;

Figure 1 is an elevation view of a refrigerating apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view partly in cross section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an elevational cross sectional view of the construction shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing a modified form of construction;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in cross section of another modified construction Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a further modified form of the invention and Figure 7 is a plan view partly in cross section of the construction shown in Figure 6, taken on the line 7-7 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 3 of another form of modified construction and Figure 9 is a plan view partly in cross section of the apparatus shown in Figure 8 taken on the line 9-9 and looking in the direction of the arrows. I

By referring to Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that this embodiment of the invention comprises a casing 10, which may be of any suitable construction and which is sealed and serves as a housing for the motor 11 and Compressor 12. The casing 10 in the present disclosure constitutes a receptacle in the highside of the system for receiving the-compressed refrigerating medium and may, for the purpose of this description, be termed the dome. This casing is entirely sealed from the atmosphere and as it constitutes the housing for the motor and Compressor, all possibility of leaks at the compressor connections is eliminated and an entirely sealed system is provided. The casing 10 is of general dome construction and preferably of metal, and is provided with an annular groove 13, at its lowery edge. Immediately above the groove 13 is an annular depression 14, which is adapted to receive the base plate 15, constituting the closing wall or bottom for the casing as well as the supporting base for the enclosed motor and compressor.

The base plate is held in position by means of the ring 13l which fits within the groove 13 and is Secured. by soldering, welding or otherwise s aling. The casing sealing means is described and claimed in the copending application of Robert L. Alexander and James R. McCallum, Serial No. 431,524, filed Feb. 26, 1930, now Patent #seass dated Aug. 2, 1932.

Throughout the central portion of the base plate 15, a machined surface 16 is provided, of such construction that it serves as the lower end plate for the Compressor or pump cylinder. The cylindrical wall member 17, Which also constitutes a portion of the cylinder, is mounted on the base plate by means of bolts 18 and on' the top of this wall member the combined bearing and upper end plate 19 is mounted.

This latter plate is also held by means of bolts 18. The bearing 20 is provided preferably of relatively large size and of suitable construction to accommodate lthe shaft 21 which serves as a common shaft for the rotor 22 of the motor and the eccentric 23 of the pump. Mounted on the eccentric 23 is a wabbler piston 24, all of usual construction, whereby a pumping action may be developed upon rotation of the shaft by the motor. The stator 25 of the motor is mounted in proper surrounding relationship to the rotor by means of the upstanding brackets 26 which may be of any suitable construction extending upwardly from the upper plate 19 of the pump. This bracket can be formed of a plurality of independent parts attached to the plate 19, as an annular support formed independently and Secured to the plate or as an integral casting on the plate. The above description is given for the purpose of illustrating the compact and simple internal motor and pump mechanism which may be employed in the present apparatus.

The discharge of the Compressor is through the opening 27 directly into the space inside of the casing 10, the flow of gas through this opening being controlled by a leaf valve 28. The outlet for the compressed gas is through the pipe 29, the end of which terminates at the upper portion of the casing and which extends downwardly and terminates in a coil 30, constituting the condenser for the apparatus.

By referring to the figures of the drawings, it willl be noted that the casing is adapted to be mounted, spaeed above the supporting surface 31 which may bexthe top of a refrigerating cabinetin the event it is desired to mount the'machine .in this manner. The casing is mounted by means -of any suitable supports such as legs 32, or an upstanding embossed ring or support' formed from the top of the cabinet or other surface, so as toprovide adequate space below the base plate of the casing for mounting the condenser.

As shown in Figures 2, and'3, it "will be observedthat the condenser here 'disclosed comprises two coils vof' pipe 33 and 34, which have a corrugated metal separator 35 placed therebetweeni This separator serves as heat radiating fins for the coils and'is preferably made upiof metal -which is relatively flexible so thatitmay be easily shaped and. inserted between the pipes, in which position its natural resiliencetends Ito hold it in place and also assists in maintaining the coils in proper position, While-in this position, the separator is 'also maintained in intimate contact with the coils, whereby it may receive heat from the coils by conduction and serve as heat radiating fins therefor.

Additional radiating fins 36 and 37 may be added to the-inside and outside respectively,

' -of the coils, Which fins may be of any suitable construction, but areV here illustrated as being VVformed of corrugated strips of metal similar to lthe intermediate separaton- These latter fins are also added for the purpose of increasing the-radiating surface and toassist-in cooling the coils by dissipating the heat of the coils conveyed to them by conduction.

Any this position may be employed; for-exam- As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the condenser coils may comprise .an independent construction with the inner, .intermediate and outside ra'diating fins Secured tothe coils'by welding or any other suitable means and the assembly so formed inserted in the space beneath the dome of the apparatus and provided by the means supporting the dome. 'manner of securing the condenser in ple, the condenser may be. mounted by attaching the inner vcoils to the legs 32, by

.welding. A shroud or skirt 38 may be provided .around the vcondenser construction with its .bottom edge spaced from the top of the refrigerating cabinet or other supporting surface on which the apparatus rests. This space is provided to. permit the freepassage of air underneath the apparatus and m contact with the condenser coils and' its radiating fins.

.A plurali around thev dome, preferably disposed in a 'tapered arrangement, 'with their lower edges terminating adjacent the upper portion of the shroud or skirt 38. This point of j ointure 4may be finished with a beadingqlO to enhancethe "appearance -ofthe apparatus. An im- I proved cooling action isaccoinplishedby cooling of cooling fins 39 are provided .high degree of cooling.

he upper edge of the heading referred to, may or may not be Secured to. the lower ends of the fins 39. The cooling fins 39 are.

of unusual construction, characterized as be- .ing bent back upon themselves whereby to increase the metal area thereof, without increasmg the over-all lateral dimensions of the apparatus.

By comparing Figur-es 2 and 4, it will be observed that the fins areformed of general U construction with the ends bent in the same direction-in one instance (Fig. 2) and in :opposite directions in the other instance (Fig. 4). These forms are of course, similar in principle, although it maybe pointed out that in the form shown in F igure 2, a larger base portion 39' -is provided for attachment to the dome with a consequent greater metal to metal contact. Although the return bend of the fins may be rounded, angular or otherwise, they are here shown roundedwith the individual fins spaced uniformly relative to disclosed in Figure 1. An important mechanical feature of the fins formed in this fashion is, that they not only provide the vincreased metal in the more compact-space above referred to, but they produce chimney formations which in practice, are found to improve the effect of the rising currents of air and increase the air Awashing action.

The domeis cooled by means of the air passing upwardly in contact with the dome fins and the dome itself as induced by the dome heat, Which action is accelerated by the air which passes upwardly from the condenser. The fins constructed as here described, also permit additional fresh and cool air to come in from the'sides, in intimate contact with the dome and fins..

'Referring now to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 it will be observed that the upper plate 19, of the compressor, is extended and-constitutes the supporting plate for the motor and com- -pres-sor which plate is mounted in a manner similar to the plate 15 in the other construcupper and bottom portions of the casings the pressure in the dome and permit the oil to return to the bottom of the casing. In this form, the dome casing is extended downwardly to form the skirt portion 52 as an integral extension th'ereof for housing the condenser. With this type of construction, the legs 32' may be attached to the lower edge of the skirt 52, whereby the entire machine is supported directly by means of the skirt and the dome. This makes for a very simple and efficient construction insofar as mounting the condenser within the apparatus is concerned. The legs may however, be formed as extensions of the skirt or the skirt may extend to the supporting surface with openings therethrough forithe admission of air to the condenser. For the purpose of permitting the air cooling the condenser to escape upwardly, openings 53 are provided around the upper horizontal portion of the skirt- 52 as clearly shown in Figure 7.

In this form, the fins around the dome are disclosed as a series of channel members 54 bent from a single stripof metal but here again they may be formed as independent channels secured to the dome at their inner edges. These channels constitute chlnmeys and are open at their tops and bottoms whereby a free current of air' may pass through them in contact with their inner and outer surfaces and the surface of the dome.

In order to illustrate various possible forms of condenser construction, the condenser in Figures 6 and 7 is shown without outside cooling fins, in which case, the outer coil is positioned directly in contact with the skirt portion 52 Which serves to receive heat therefrom by conduction which is given ofl' through the skirt to the surrounding atmosphere and to the air induced by convection currents.

It is to be understood that various combinations of the features of the disclosed modifications are contemplated for this invention,

thatis to say, any of the various fin constructions may be employed insofar as is desirable with any of the other modified features, without limiting the combinations to justthose disclosed in the drawings.

In the modification shown in Figures 8 and 9, the upper dome construction, with its motor and mounting, is similar to that shown in Figure 3, whereas the dome fins are similar to the fins in Figure 7. However, in this form as clearly shown in the righthand portion of Figure 9, the inner and outer fins of the condenser are shown with rectangular bends of the channel construction instead of rounded, as in Figure 2. Furthermore, there is an open space between the condenser and the lower portion of the dome fins through which air may freely enter the lower open ends of the dome fins. This air may be supplied in part, from the fresh, cool, surrounding air, and in part from the rising air pass'- ing from the condenser and also in part from air circulating beneath the casing in the space inside of the condenser.

The present invention is not limited to the specific details of construction of the conpoint, it may be pointed out that the heat i transfer from the bottom of the casing,'by radiation, is relatively small and that heat conveyed by convection currents, passes up- Wardly from the' dome and does not come near the condenser.

The condenser in the present disclosure is shown as composed of two concentrically arranged coils of pipes but obviously any arrangement of piping may be embodied if desired. However, it may be pointed out that the form of condenser and condenser assembly disclosed in this application, have been found to be highly desirable and to present many advantages from the commercial standpoint. as it may be easily mannfactured and assembled as a separate unit and independently of the other apparatus, and be subseouently mounted in the other apparatus by a simple and cheap operation.

From the above description, it will be observed that the present invention provides an apparatus which is compact and yet capable of being adequately cooled by convection currents of air. In fully appreciating this invention, it must be realized that a distmct problem is involved in Cooling refrigerating apparatus by means of convection air currents. Convection air currents may be considered as of low Velocity as distinguished from the forced drafts established by fans, or the like, and consequently provision must be made for accommodating a suflicient quantity of air and in providing a relatively large cooling surface without making the apparatus unduly bulky, large and unsightly.

The Cooling effect, is to a large degree, dependent upon the amount of cooling surface provided, which may be accomplished by increasing the fin area, but with an increase in fin area, the air passages are necessarily small and congested, if the machine is to remain compact and neat in appearance. Therefore, it will be observed that the present invention provides an unusually large amount of Cooling area and that the fins are disposed in a manner whereby the air passages are not constricted or congested, but on the other hand, adequate space is provided permitting an abundance of cooling air to contact with the dome and fins.

of appearance which are important items in this art.

In operation, the compressor is operated .by the motor and discharges the compressed gases directly into the dome. As afresult of the presence of this compressed gas, as well as the running of the motor and compressor within the dome, the dome becomes heated. It is necessary to dissipate this heat for the safe maintenance of the apparatus. The compressed gas is then passed through pipe 29 to the condenser, where'an eflicient cooling operation must be accomplished to liquefy the refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant then passes out through pipe 61 to the' compressor. The pipes and 61 pass through a wall of the refrigeratin cabinet and the openings are sealed by suita le packing or seals 62. The cooling of the condenser is accomplished by drafts of air rising as convection currents entering underneath the skirt portion and passing upwardly through the condenser in contact with the coils and cooling fins. The current for the motor is supplied by the current line 63, which enters the casing through suitable sealed openin gS ome heat is dissipated through the outer skirt portion which receives heat by conduction. The cooling air passes upwardly, and

although it has been heated to some extent,

it establishes convection currents in the neighborhood of the dome, which together with the convection currents established by the dome heat itself, create coolin drafts of air, which enter the bottoms of t e chimneys of the dome fins. Air is also free to enter in the side openings between the fins to assist in cooling the dome.

In a refrigerating machine of the type described, it is essential that the condensation of the refrigerant take place in the condenser coil only, and not in the dome. Since the dome and condenser pressures are substantially the same, a condenser temperature below the condensation point of the refrigerant at the head pressure employed and a dome temperature above such condensation point are necessary to produce the desired operation. 'At the same time, considerable heat must be continuously dissipated from both the condenser and the dome durin the opcration of the machine. In the devlce of the present invention, the required temperature difference between the condenser and the dome is conveniently maintained by so arranging the condenser relative to the dome that fresh cool air only is drawn over the condenser coils whereas at least some of the air passing along the dome and in contact with the dome fins has been preheated by the condenser. In this manner, although suflicient '65 heat is dissipated from both the condenser and the dome for proper operation, the required temperature difference between these elements in automatically maintained under all conditions of operation. The location of the condenser directly below the space immediately surrounding the dome causes the acceleration of the air currents over the surface of the dome due to the air rising from the condenser. Similarly, the heat of the dome establishes rising convection currents along the surface thereof, which currents assist m accelerating the flow of air through the condenser coils.

The efiiciency of an air cooled refrigerating machine is materially reduced by the collection of dirt and dust on the cooling surfaces as it interferes with the cooling action of the air currents. By providing radiating surfaces, such as fins, laterally open and readily accessible for cleaning as shown in Figures 2 and 4, it will be apparent that the cooling surfaces can be cleaned and the initial high efliciency of this machine readily maintained.

It will of course understood that the machines of this invention may be mounted in any desired location that is entirely independent of the cabinet to be refrigerated or associated therewith, mounted on the top of the cabinet or in any conveniently located compartment provided therefor.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein described but includes such modifications thereof as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In refrigerating apparatus of the character described the combination of a compressor, a casing enclosing said compressor,

and means for bringing into heat exchanging relation with said casing near the base thereof a convection current of air at a temperature above atmospheric temperature but below the temperature of said casing, whereby heat is removed from said casing by said current of air, said means comprising solely a condenser located below said casing and communicating therewith and acting to induce said air current by convection.

2. In refrigerating apparatus of the character described the combination of a condenser for compresed refrigerant, said condenser being exposed to the atmosphere, whereby heat from the condenser induces a convection current of air over the same, and heat radiating means above and in direct vertical alignment with said condenser for accelerating the flow of air over the condenser by convection.

3. Refrigerating apparatus of the character described comprising a compressor, a casing enclosin said compressor, means for supporting sai casing in a position to provide space thereunder and cooling fins on said i casing forming partially enclosed air columns of smaller cross section at the top than at the bottom to accelerate the flow of air currents induced by the heat of the casing, and a condenser located in the path of travel of the air currents.

4. A refrigerating apparatus of the character' described comprising a sealed casing, a motor and compressor in said casing, means for supporting said casing in a position to provide a space below the same, a condenser communicating with-said casing and comprising a loop of condenser tubing surrounding the space directly below said casing whereby cooling currens of air induced by the heat of the condenser flow upwardly over the condenser and then over said casing.

5. A refrigcrating apparatus comprising a sealed casing, a motor and compressor in said casing, and an annular upstanding skirt member for supporting said casing and enclosing a space therebelow, and a condenser in said space supported by said annular skirt portion.

6. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a sealed casing, a motor and Compressor in said casing, an annular upstanding skirt member for supporting said casing and enclosing a space therebelow, and a condenser in said space supported by said annular skirt portion, said skirt portion having openings therethrough at its top and bottom for the circulation of cooling air over the surfaces of said condenser, and cooling fins on said casing arranged above the outlet openings in said skirt portion.

7. A refrigerating apparatus of the character described comprising a sealed casing, a motor and a Compressor in said casing, means for supporting said casing in -a position to provide a space below the same and a condenser communicating with said-casing and disposed around the space directly below said casing whereby cooling currents of air induced by the heat of thecondenser flow upwardly over the condenser and along the cas1ng.

8. In a refrigerating apparatus of the char- V acter described, the combination of a sealed casing, a Compressor in said casing, a motor connected to drive said compressor, a plural-v ity of laterally extending heat radiating projections on said casing and a condenser located entirely below said casing, at least a portion of said condenser' being vertically aligned with at least a portion of said heat radiating projections and the space about said condenser being in direct vertical communication with the space about said projections whereby suflicient air is induced by said condenser and said projections to cool said condenser and said casing during the operation of the machine.

9. In a refrigerating apparatus of the character described, the combination of a sealed casing, a com ressor in said casing, a motor connected to rive said compressor, a plurality of substantially vertical spaced heat radiating projections extending laterally from said casing, and a' condenser located entirely below said casing and having at least a portion thereof disposed directly below and with the space immediately surrounding the condenser in direct vertical communication with the space immediately surrounding the lower ends of said rojections whereby rising air currents indi pass upwardly over said projections and rising air currents induced by said projections pass upwardly through said condenser.

10. Refrigerating apparatus of the character described comprising a compressor, a casing enclosing said compressor, means for supporting said casing in a position to provide space thereunder, laterally extending Cooling fins on said casing forming partially enclosed air columns, a condenser located below said fins in substantial vertical alignment therewith, the space immediately surrounding said condenser being in direct vertical communication with said partial enclosed air columns, said condenser being constructed and arranged to accelerate the flow of air along said fins.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDWARD B. MALLORY.

cERTIFIcAn: or coRnEcTIoN.

Patent No. 1,.90s,s2s. April '18, 1933;

EDWARD B. MALLoRY.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requring correction as follows: Page Z, line. 25, for "elevation" read "elevational",- and line 83, for "#869,835" read "1,869,835"; page 6, line 15, claim 4, for "currens" read "currents"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the recordiof the case in the Patent Office. i

Signed and seale'd this 23rd day of May, A. D. 1933.

M. J. Moore.

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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