US1509966A - Kjkfbigbratietg apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 30, 1924.

G. MCFARLAND REFRIGERATXNG APPARATUS Fivled June 9, 1921 Patented Sept. 30, 1924.

UNITED STATES GEORGE MCFARLAND, 0F FORT MADISON, IOWA.

REFRIGERATING .AFPARATUS.

Application filed June 9,

To all iti/wm t may concern.'

Be it known that l, Geenen h'loFAnLxNn. a citizen ot the United States, and a resident ot Fort Madison, in the county ot Lee and State oi Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerating Apparatus, ot which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part ot this specification.

My invention relates more particularly to the smaller type of retrigerating apparatus such as used in residences although it is capable ot use in other sizes and for other' One object of my invention is the provision oit' a simple and compact compressor.

Another object ot' my invention is the provision of means for connecting and operating the compressor so that by the employment of a simple thermostatic switch, the whole apparatus will be automatic.

Other objects of my invention will appear and be described in the specification.

The novelty of my invention will be hereinatter more fully set forth and specifically pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of anapparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view oi the upper portion of the compressor, the view being taken through one of the cylinders thereof and transversely oit the position shown in Fig. 1.

The saine numerals of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the iigures.

As illustrating one 'form ot device embodying my invention, I have shown an apparatus consisting ot a motor 1 which carries a fly wheel 2 and a governor 3 which controls a clutch i carried by the compressor drive shaft 5. The shatt 5 extends through a stuliing box and bearing carrier 6 and into the base 7 of the compressor and carries the drive pinion 8 which meshes with the gear 9 carried on the crank shaft 10 to which the connecting rods 11 are connected, these rods extending upward and being connected to the plunger 12,.the upper end ot each plunger forming a piston in a cylinder 13 formed in the upper portion ot the frame 11i ot the compressor.

The crank shaft 10 is mounted, preferably by means ot anti-friction bearings 15 1921. Serial No. 476,251.

in a housing 16 carried by the base 7, the lower end ot the plunger 12 being guided. in bearings 17 carried by the upper portion oit the housing 16.

A valve box or head 18, shown more clearly in Fig. 2, is mounted over each of the cylinders 13 and contains a disk valve 19 held in its seat by a spring 20 and conned to its position and limited. in its movement by the cap 21. rlhe valve box is held in position by suitable cap orV other screws 22 and each valve box is provided with an outlet pipe 23 which passes through a stutling box 24e in the removable side 25 of the removable water jacket 26 which. surrounds the valve box. p

Each cylinder is provided with an annular inlet port 27 which communicates with an inlet passage 28 to which the inlet pipe 29, Fig.` 1, is connected, the inlet port 27 being located adjacent the lower position ot the upper portion of the plunger 12. To reduce the clearance volume in each cylinder when its plunger is in its upper position, a projection 30 is carried by each plunger which iills the space between the valve 19 and the upper end ot the cylinder.

The base 7 ot the compressor is mounted on an oil trap 31 which is provided with partitions 32, the latter being` provided with passages 33 thus forming a number of compartments in which any liquid particles carried by the compressed gas are collected and from which they mayi be transferred to the crank case ot the compressor through a pipe 34, the latter being controlled by a valve 35, the outlet pipe 23 from each valve box being connected to a header 3G from which the pipe 37 extends to the separator 31.

A pipe 38 leads frein the separator 31 to the condenser 39 from which a pipe 40 leads to the pressure reducing valve elfi, and from the latter a pipe 4t2 extends to the retrigerating coil or other device, the return from the retrigerating device being from the pipe t3 to the scale trap 44 which is connected to the inlet pipe 29.

A water pipe 45 which is controlled by a valve 4.6 arranged to be opened by lever i7, the latter being operated by the shitting ot the clutch 4l, leads to the condenser 39, the return being through pipe 48 to the water jacket 26 from which the outlet pipe 29 conducts the waste water.

The stuiiing box 6 contains a plurality of packing rings 50 held in place by a nut 51 and compressed by a suring 52, the latter being in a chamber which is in communication with whatever pressure may be generated in the crank case ot' the compressor' to the end that this pressure will be communicated to the packing rings in addition to the pressure ot the spring 52 so that the stufling box will be automatically tightened against leakage by an increase in pressure in the crank case of the compressor.

The shaft 5 ot' the compressor is preterably mounted on antifriction bearings as shown, similar bearings being also used in the crank ends of the connecting rods 11. The discharge valves 19 and associated parts may be removed from the machine by disconnecting the water pipe 48 and 49 and removing the water jacket 26, after which it desired the caps 21 may be removed or if it is desired to remove the valve box 18 the bolts 22 may be removed and the bolts which hold the removable portion 25 oit the water jacket whereupon, by disconnecting the pipe 37, both valve boxes may be removed from the compressor Jfor repair or for any other reason.

The operation ot the device is as follows, assuming that tln-J apparatus is properly charged with ammonia or other refrigerating medium and that the motor 1 is proper'- ly connected to a source ot' current supply through either a manually operated switch or a thermostatic switch, or both.

It manually controlled, the operator closes the circuit to the motor thus starting it and the fly wheel 2 which carries the governor 3 whereupon, as soon as the parts have attained suflicient moment-um to operate the governor, the clutch 4 engages the ily wheel 2 and the compressor begins its operation. rlhe suction stroke of the compressor produces a vacuum in the cylinder which is filled through the inlet port 27 as soon as the plunger reaches its lower position, the compression stroke discharging the compressed gas into the header 36 and through the pipe 37 to the separator 31 wherein, should any liquid particles such as oil be carried by the moving gas, separation occurs and the compressed gas passes through the pipe 38 to the condenser. Meanwhile the movement of the clutch into engaged position opens the valve 46 and permits a flow of cooling water through the condenser, the cooling water then passing through the water jacket of the compressor and out through the waste pipe 49. As soon as the compressed gas enters the condenser, its temperature is reduced thus producing liquetaction, the liquid passing into the reducing valve 41 where expansion takes place and the liquid again becomes a gas having refrigerating qualities, the gas being conducted through the pipe 43, scale trap 44 and to the inlet ports to the cylinders oi the compressor. The scale trap 44 collects and rctains any scale which may separate from the inner surface of the various parts of the apparatus or other foreign substances in the gas so that when the gas enters thek compressor, it is in a state to be handled without risk of injury to the cylinder' walls, plungers, or other parts of the compressor.

It a thermostatic switch is used, the current to the motor will be cut oil? when the refrigeration has reached a suiiicient degree to operate the thermostatic switch.

During the time the compressor is operated, the crank case will be under pressure about equal to that of the low side of the system or the pressure in the pipe 43, though when the compressor stops, the pressure in the crank case will gradually build up until the whole system is under substantially the same pressure, the pressure of the high side of that portion of the system between the reducing valve 43 and the compressor cylinders and including the condenser, being gradually reduced and the pressure on the low side or that leading from the reducing valve to the inlet ports being gradually increased until the two strike a balance, this pressure balance being communicated to the crank case ot the compressor through leakage past the plunger, this pressure with the pressure of the spring 52 serving to tighten the stutling box around `the shaft 5 against leakage, the construction of the compressor being such that the crank case carries a considerable amount of lubricant the level of the lubricant being nearly up to the line of the joint between the base 7 and the frame 14.

The starting of the compressor again builds up the pressure on the high side of the apparatus and consequently reduces it on the low side and consequently reduces it in the crank case and relieves the stulling box from the pressure to which it was subjected to the pressure produced by the spring plus the pressure of the low side ot the apparatus.

During the operation of the compressor, the valve may be opened for a short time and any accumulation of oil in the separator 3l will be at once transferred to the crank case of the compressor due to the tact that the separator 31 is under the high side pressure while the crank case is under the low side pressure, the difference serving to cause a rapid transfer to the crank case after which the valve 35 may be closed until there has been other accumulation in the separator.

It is to be noted that all of the mechanical and moving parts of the compressor with the exception of the cylinders and valves are car ied by the base 7 to the end that all of the parts may lne-assembled ready -for operation before the frame and cylinders are attached thereto, in this way confining most llO of the machine Work and assembling of the compressor to the base 7 and permitting easy and rapid assembling and ready checking of the mountings, and movements of the parts, and producing a structure Which is exceedingly rigid and substantial.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim:

In a refrigerating apparatus the combination of a compressor base, a cylinder carrying frame mounted thereon, a gear housing carried by the base and projecting above the joint between it and the cylinder carrying frame, a shaft journalled in the gear housing, cranks carried by the shaft, a gear earried by the shaft, cylinders carried by the cylinder carrying frame, plungers in the cylinders, plunger guides carried by the gear housing and in line With the cylinders and guiding the plungers, connections from the plungers to the cranks of the shaft, a driving pinion below the shaft, a driver shaft for the pinion, and means for driving the last mentioned shaft.

GEORGE MCFARLAND.

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