US2244863A - Refrigerator car construction - Google Patents

Description

R. B. wlNsHlP REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 28, 1939 June l0, '194-1.

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Patented June 10, 1941 REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Ralph B. Winshp, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Railway Refrigerator Company, a corporation of Delaware Application April 28, 1939, Serial No. 270,574

9 Claims.

The invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated house-like structure and a refrigerating means when used in summer or a heating means when used in winter.

This invention relates particularly to refrigerator cars of the overhead bunker type. Cars of this type have ice bunkers or refrigerant containers suspended immediately below the roof and the lading supported on arack which rests on the floor so as to provide a space between the floor and the lading. Enclosing structures are usually provided for the refrigerant containers and flues are associated with the walls of the car, which flues communicate between the enclosing structures for the refrigerant containers and the space under the floor rack. Then air, upon being cooled by the refrigerant, flows downwardly through the side wall flue to the space under the floor rack and is distributed to the lading by the rack which is foraminous for this purpose. The air absorbs heat from the lading and returns to the refrigerant containers through openings in the enclosing structures at a higher elevation than the cold air openings leading to the side wall flues. The side wall flues are also used to conduct melted refrigerant or condensation to the lower part of the car from where it may be drained off.

Refrigerator cars must be provided with doorways to provide for loading the cars. They are commonly provided midway of the side walls and are made as narrow as practical so as not to unnecessarily impair the insulation of the car. However, it has been found that doorways must be at least four feet wide and often wider. To interrupt the side wall flue for a distance of four or more feet creates a serious deficiency of refrigerated air in the region of the doorway.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for the distribution of refrigerated air t the lading near the doorway. Another object is to provide a load supporting means to bridge the opening between the door threshold and the floor racks, thus providing an even surface for transporting the lading into the car. Y

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken with reference to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial cross section of a refrigerator car embodying my invention taken on line I-I of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a similar section on line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section on lines 3 3 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged portion of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction.

The drawing shows a refrigerator car having insulated walls 2, floor 3 and roof 4 with a hatch 5 in the roof 4 and a refrigerant container 6 below said hatch and positioned to be loaded therethrough. The lading (outlines of crates which may comprise the lading are shown by broken lines I Il) is supported by a rack II above the floor 3 so as to provide a space I2 between the lading I0 and the floor 3. The refrigerant container 6 is enclosed in a chamber I5, which chamber is formed by a drip pan or substantially horizontal partition I6 and an upstanding wall II. A vertical flue I 9 associated with a wall 2 communicates between the chamber I5 and the space I2 under the lading I0 for ow of refrigerated air. The rack I I is foraminous to provide for the distribution of said refrigerated air to the lading I0. Openings 2I in the chamber I5 provide means for warm air to return to the refrigerant chamber I5. The flue I9 may also conduct condensation or melted refrigerant to the lower part of the car from where it may be drained to the outside.

A doorway is provided in the side wall 2 and is commonly closed by doors 25 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The floor rack II is often made of spaced apart slats 26 which form the upper surface and spaced apart stringers 2l which space the slats 26 from the floor 3. The stringers 21 divide the space I2 into a plurality of ducts 28 which are aligned with the flue I9 and communicate adjacent the wall 2 with said flue so that air which is cooled by the refrigerant may flow through the flue I3 to the ducts 28 and thence upwardly through the openings 29 between the slats 26 to the lading compartment.

Cars are frequently designed without iiues at the doorway so that the ducts 35 under the rack I I at the doorway are not aligned with the iiue I9 and, therefore, do not have a means of communication with the supply of refrigerated air; i. e., with the flue I9. I have provided a member 3I spaced from the floor 2 to provide a passage 38 between the member 3l and the floor 2. The passage 38 has communication with the ilues I9 through the opening 39 under the nailing strip 4I) which supports the partition 4I. The passage 38 also communicates with the ducts 35 under the rack II to provide a path for the circulation of refrigerated air from the :flue I9 through the opening 39 to the passage 38 and then to the ducts 35 from where it flows upwardly through the rack H to the lading compartment.

Apertures i5 may be provided in the member 3l to permit upward flow of refrigerated air from the passage 38 to the channel iii formed between the lading it and the doors 25. It is particularly important that the portion of the lading adjacent the channel llt be well refrigerated because the doors represent an inherent source of heat leakage from the outside and increased refrigeration should, therefore, be supplied. The size of the apertures i5 should be proportioned so that a portion of the air iiows to the channel d6 and the remainder to the ducts Another function oi the member 3l is to provide the passage 38 which affords communication between the ducts 35 adjacent the doorway and the ducts 2S remote from the doorway. Some parts ci a refrigerator car often become colder or warmer than other parts; it is, therefore, desirab-le to provide means ot cormnunication between the ducts under the fioor rack so that the temperature within the car may tend to equalize.

The member''i is also intended to function as a load supporting means which bridges the span between the threshold 5t of the doorway and the floor rack. li. n other words, the member 3l comprises an inwardly projecting extension to the threshold plate Sii. Fig. 4, which is an enlarged portion of Fig. 2, shows the member 3l formed with a depending flange 5i and a di agonal brace 52. The member 3l may then be 'secured to the car to form a smooth, load supporting surface between the threshold plate 5E? and the upper slats 25 of the oor rack i l.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction in which the member 6@ is formed integral with the threshold plate di. 'Iiiis construction provides a smooth surface over which to transport loads and also provides a stronger construction.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In combination with the walls, roof. and floor of a refrigerator car, refrigerating means in the upper part of the car, one of said walls comprising two parts, one of said parts having a flue associated therewith and arranged to conduct air from said means to the lower part of the car and the other of said parts being devoid of such iiue, a foraminous rack supported in spaced relation to said door to form a space therebetween, means to divide said space into two portions, one of which has communication with said nue and the other of which has one end adjacent said last mentioned part, and a member interposed between said last mentioned part and said rack in spaced relation to said iioor to form a passage assises communicating between said ue and said last mentioned portion.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a doorway through said last mentioned part and a door adapted to close said doorway.

S. A structure as deiined in claim 1 including a doorway through said last mentioned part and door adapted to close said doorway, said member having apertures for iiow of air upwardly from said passage.

e. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a doorway through said last mentioned part, said member being constructed and arranged to function as a load supporting means for the passage of vehicles through said doorway.

5. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a threshold forming the lower frame member of said doorway and a threshold plate forming a cover for said threshold, said threshold plate and said member being formed integral.

6. in combination with the walls, roof and iioor of a refrigerator car, refrigerating means in the upper part of the car, one of, said walls comprising two parts, one of said parts having a flue associated therewith and arranged to conduct air from said means to the lower part of the car and the other of said parts being devoid of such iiue, a foraminous rack supported in spaced relation to said floor to form a space therebetween which has communication with said flue, a second ioraminous rack supported in spaced relation to said floor to form a second space therebetween which has one end adjacent said last mentioned part, and a. member interposedv between said last mentioned part and said second rack in spaced relation to said iioor to form a passage communicating between said flue and said second space.

7. In a refrigerator having a refrigerant chamber below the roof and near one of said walls, a fcraminous rack spaced above the iioor for supporting a lading, a flue associated with said wall and communicating between said chamber and the space under said rack, a doorway in said wall, and a member positioned between the threshold of said doorway and said rack and spaced above said floor to provide a passage which communicates between the space below said rack and said flue, whereby refrigerated air may circulate from said chamber downwardly through said fiue to the passage under said member and thence to the space under said rack from where it may circulate upwardly to co-ol the lading.

3. A structure as deiined in claim 7 wherein said member is provided with apertures so that a portion of said air may flow therethrough to cool the lading.

9. A structure as defined in claim 1 wherein saidmember is provided with apertures for iiow K of air from said passage to the lading compartment' of the car.

RALPH B. WINSHIP.

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