US1972231A - Room cooler - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 4, 1934. .1. c. MALM ET AL ROOM COOLER Filed 00 3. 22, 1932 Fig. 3

lhveniol's v Patented Sept. 4, 1934 Angeles, Calif., assignors to California Consumers Oompany, Los Angeles, Calil'., a corporation of Delaware Application October 22, 1932, Serial No. tsaom 3 Claims. (01. 62-103) This invention relates to refrigerating equipment and particularly that used for cooling the air in a room or similar compartment.

Heretofore it has been the custom in hot 5, weather to use a motor .driven fan to keep the air in the room in circulation, thus promoting the normal evaporation of moisture from the body by increasing the rate of heat transfer. This offers some relief, but does not' actually reduce the air temperature, whichmay rise to excessive values in the middle of the day in certain parts of the West and Southwest.

Another expedient which has been tried is that of evaporative cooling, where a large expanse of moistened fabric or the like is placed in a room and a current of air from a fan directed against it. The heat required to evaporate the moisture is'removed from the air, thereby reducing the air temperature. This method has the disadvantage of requiring frequent attendance and some form of water feed or circulating equipment. Also it raises the relative humidity of the air in the .room, and makes the high temperature more oppressive. This latter is a serious disadvantage, as will readily be appreciated.

It is an object of this invention to provide an air cooler which is portable and which is inexpensive to manufacture and use.

Another object is to provide an air. cooler which will reduce rather than increase the relative humidity of the air in a room.

Another object is to provide a circulating air cooler which is capable of controlled operation.

A still further object is to provide a circulating air cooler which is'adapted to use ice as a refrigerant. l

These and other objects will be more fully apparent from the description which follows, and from the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and illustrates a preferred embodiment of this invention.

In the drawing: 1

Figure 1 is a vertical and part sectional view of a room cooler constructed according to this invention, showing the finned construction of the ice tank.

Figure 2 is a horizontalsectional view to a reduced scale on the line III[ of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view to a reduced scale on the line III-III of Figure 1, showing the arrangement of condensate pans at the bottom of the cooler.

Referring to Figure 1, the casing 11 of the cooler is formed of sheet steel and may be painted or 5 enameled to suit on its outer surface. The lower end of casing 11 is supported upon casters 12 in order that the device may be readily portable. Surrounding the lower part of the base is a cast iron skirt or shield 13 provided with horizontal brackets or lugs 14 .to which the casters may be fastened. A strip of rubber 15 surrounds the lower portion of-base '13 to act as a guard or bumper.

The top of the casing 11 is covered by means of a cast'iron grille 16 provided with openings 1'1 for the passage of the cooled air as indicated by the arrows. Cover 16 is attached to casing 11 -by means of a suitable hinge 18. Rheostat 19 with a lever 20 may be fastened to the lower side of the cover with the handle of lever 20 projecting through a suitable arcuate' slot in the cover. This allows a variable speed control of the motor and fan which will be described later.

The sides of casing 11 are preferably insulated by means of fiber board or similar sheathing 21, 5 which may be attached by means of suitable clips (not shown) at the upper and lower ends of the casing. This prevents the condensation of moisture on the inside of the casing due to the passage of the cooled air therethrough.

A refrigerant tank 22, which is preferably pro vided with a plurality of longitudinal fins 23, is suspended in the upper portion of casing 11. This may be done by means of a steel strap 24 inside the top edge of tank 22 with straps 25 attached to the casing at its four corners. Tank 22 may be made from galvanized steel or othersuitable corrosion resisting material; It is preferably formed with an inverted pyramid shaped bottom 26 in order to facilitate drainage of water from the melted charge of ice.

A drain connection 27 is fitted near the lowest point of tank bottom 26 with a faucet 28 adapted to be connected to a length of common garden hose (not shown) in order to remove the icewater after the charge of ice has become entirely melted.

A removable door 29 is provided in casing 11 at a point opposite the drain connection 27 and faucet 28 in order to facilitate the emptying of the tank 22. This door may be of any suitable construction, that shown being a single sheet with crimped edges and simple spring latches 30 .at its upper edge, the latter adapted to be retained in recesses 31 in the upper edge of the door opening.

It is obvious that a tank containing ice and ice water at a temperature of 32 F.', past which warm and probably humid air is being circulated, will cause moisture to condenseion its outer sur face. In order to preventthis moisture from dripping onto the fioor a series of condensate receptacles or pans relatively staggered in plan to permit upward air fiow are provided beneath the bottom 26 of tank 22. V

The uppermost of these is designated 32-, is square in section and conforms to the pyramidal shape of the tank bottom 26. It extends outwardly to the edge of the main body of the tank butdoe not extend beneath the fins 23 thereof. Pan .32 y be supported by four soldered clips 33 at the our comers of the pan. 2

Benea the central opening of pan 32 is mounted a second and smaller square pan 34 of conventional pan" shape. This pan is provided with a spoutv 35 which extends outwardly and downwardly to a point near the door29 in casing 11. The drip fromthis pan is. received in a removable drip receptacle 36 which is supported upon two ledges 37 at either side of the door opening.

Below pan 34 is a third condensate pan 38 which also serves as a baflle to direct the air' from the'fan which will be described below. Pan 38 isprovided with a circular rim 39 closely surrounding the fan blades. From rim 39 pan 38 extends outwardly'and upwardly to the sheathing 21 inside of casing 11. Thus pan 38 willaccumulate any condensate from the fins 23 of tank 22. The rim 39 will prevent the condensate flowing overinto the central opening, and'a small hole 40 immediately above drip receptacle 36 will allow ofclips or screws (not shown), or it may be sup-' this condensate to' fall into this receptacle from which it may be disposed of at the time the ma tank is emptied. Pan 38 maybe secured to-casing 11 by means ported by means of vertical angles 41 in the four corners of the casing, thelower ends of the angles resting upon brackets 14 of the cast iron base 13. Pan 34 maybe supported by means of wires or straps 42 from rim 39 of pan 38 as shown. The

lower and outer end of spout. 35 may also be supported on rim. 39. At the door opening in casing 11 a cut 43 (Figure 3) is preferably made in pan 38 in order to allow access to the drain valve 28. This'opening also permits the end of spout 35 to discharge its condensate into the drip receptacle 36.

Amotor 44 is supported beneath pan 38 by two steel straps 45 extending from adjacent corners of the casing 11 and attached at their outermost ends to brackets 14. Motor 44 is preferably of a type which operate in a vertical position and is provided with a fan or impeller 46 which fits within the rim 39 of pan 38. In the drawing the impeller is of the customary axial flow, radial vane or propeller" type. It is equally feasible to use a squirrel cage" or radial flow centrifugal type of impeller for this purpose by suitable alteration of pan 38. Thechanges are so obvious to one skilled in the m that no further description is required here. The duplex supplywire 47 for themotor may lead through a suitable insulating bushing 48 near the top of casing 11, thence to the rheostat 19 and thence downwardly, with a loop for allowing the cover 16 to be opened, to the motor 44. A suitable connection plug 49 may be provided at the outer end of wire 47. I

In operation, a suitable cake of ice 50, for example 100 pounds, may be placed in the tank 22 by lifting the cover 16 and removing the inner tank cover 51. A quantity 'of water 52, for example two or three gallons, may be poured into fer from the fins 23 and tank 22 to the body of the ice 50. The plug 49 is then connected to a suitable electric power supply and the switch lever 20 is moved to that position which will cause the motor driven blower 46 to circulate air at the desired rate. Air will be drawn inwardly from beneath the base 13 of the'apparatus and forced upwardly by "the motor driven fan. The air will pass around the finned tank 22, giving up its heat to the cold 18 degrees dry-bulb temperature for a period of from 6 to 10 hours. At the same .time the relative humidity of the room will be lowered from 8 to 16 or approximately 20%.

The air circulating through the device not only gives up its heat as described but also a portion of its moisture content by condensation on the outer surfaces of tank 22 and fins 23 thus reducing the relative humidity under normal conditions from 8 to 16%. Physical comfortis a function of temperature and humidity, and temperatures of the range of F. may be unobjectionable if the relative humidity is maintained at about 20%. Therefore, it is apparent that an idealdevice of the character described'should be capable not only of reducing the temperature of the circulating air but also of bringing its humidity toa proper degree for physical comfort.

Although a specific construction embodying this invention has been described andillustrated, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that specific device, and all such modifications and changes as come, within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

We claim:

1. A room cooler comprising an uprightcasing, a receptacle for ice disposed within said casing, a passage for air between said casing and said receptacle, a blower beneath said receptacle adapted to circulate air upwardly through said air passage and said casing in substantially straight line fiow, and a plurality of super-imposed condensate receiving means below said air into the bottom of said casing. force it through 3 the said air passage and deliver it out of said air outlet in substantially straight line flow, and a plurality of superimposed inter-connected condensate receiving means. below said receptacle,

said last named means being relatively staggered in 3 plan and adapted to leave said air passages substantially unobstructed.

3. A room cooler comprising an upright casing, a receptacle for ice within said casing, a e for air between said casing and said receptacle,

an air outlet in the top of said casing and an air ceiving means extending efiectively entirely below inlet in the bottom of said casing, a blower besaid receptacle and adapted to leave said air pasneath said receptacle adapted to draw air into the sage unobstructed, and a removable condensate bottom of said casing, force it through said air collector below said condensate receiving means.

5 passage and deliver it out of said air outlet in i JOHN C. MALM. 30

substantiall straight line flow, condensate re- RAYMOND C. WALSH.

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