Refrigeration system

Aug. 10, 1937. w. J HARBERS 2,089,367

REFRIGERATION SYSTEM Filed March 30, 1935

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Patented Aug. 10, 1937

2,089,367

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,089,367

REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

William J. Harbers, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to American Engineering Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania

Application March 30, 1935, Serial No. 13,843

Claim. (Cl. 62—103)

This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus, and more particularly to the refrigerating coils associated with such apparatus.

_ Efficient refrigeration of a chamber depends primarily upon two factors; first, proper circulation of the air in the chamber, and second, upon the arrangement of the cooling coils so that the maximum amount of air will come into direct contact therewith. In many installations certain obstructions to the flow of air, such as drip pans or gutters, are necessary to prevent damage to the food or other products placed in the refrigerated chamber from the accumulated moisture dripping ₁₅ from the refrigerating coils. These obstructions, ° in some cases, interfere with the circulation of the air in the chamber to such an extent that the efficiency of the unit is greatly impaired.

One object of this invention is to reduce to a minimum the size of such necessary obstructions, 20 and thereby obtain maximum efficiencies under all conditions of operation.

Another object is to arrange finned refrigerating coils on edge, and associate therewith drip gutters of minimum width to reduce to a mini²⁵ mum the obstructions to the circulation of air around the coils.

Other and further objects will become apparent as the description of the invention progresses.

³⁰ Of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerated chamber with parts thereof cut away to show the arrangement of the refrigerating apparatus comprising the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a finned coil and the drip gutter associated therewith.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the bank of finned coils shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a somewhat modified ⁴⁰ construction.

Fig. 5 is an end view taken along line 5—5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is an end view of a further modification. Referring to the drawing, the numeral I desig⁴⁵ nates generally a refrigerated chamber having the usual insulated end and side walls 2 and 3 respectively. The floor 4 and ceiling 5 of chamber I are also constructed of insulating material. A door 6 provided in one of the side walls 3 is ⁵⁰ also constructed of heavy insulating material of any suitable type.

Mounted near the top of chamber I and extending substantially the entire length thereof is a bank of finned refrigerating coils 7. This bank ⁶⁵ of coils rests upon a pair of spaced cross bars 8 which are suspended from the ceiling 5 by rods 9 secured to the ceiling in any suitable manner, such as by nuts 10 engaging the upper threaded ends 11 thereof.

Each coil 7 comprises a tubular portion 12 ⁵through which the refrigerant is circulated, and a series of transverse substantially rectangular fins 13 secured thereto. The fins 13 are pressed tightly into intimate thermal contact with the tubes 12 and consequently the fins, as well as the ¹⁰tubes, are maintained relatively cold by the circulation of the refrigerant. Thus the air coming in contact with the fins is also effectively chilled.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, suitable piping 14 extends from the opposite ends of each coil, and to facilitate the connection of several coils together into banks, couplings 15 are provided in the piping between adjacent sections. In the present instance the coils 7 are connected in series, the refrigerant entering the coils through a pipe 16 20 and flowing in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1 and discharging to a condenser (not shown) through a pipe 17. As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3, the coil sections 7 are supported on edge. This not only produces a greater 25 spread of the fins, thereby increasing the efficiency of the unit, but enables the use of relatively narrow drip pans or gutters 18, because of the adhesion of the moisture to the fins. As a result, the moisture runs to the lowermost corners 19 30 of the fins before dripping therefrom due to its own weight.

The drip pans or gutters 18 are suspended from cross bars 8 in any suitable manner, such as by straps 20, and are arranged slightly below the 35 lower edge 19 of the coils. These gutters therefore offer little interference to the circulation of the air around the coils. As shown in Fig. 2, the drip gutters 18 incline slightly from the horizontal, the lower ends of which communicate with 40 a second gutter 21 extending transversely of the chamber I. Gutter 21 is supported by brackets 22 secured to and depending from one end of the end sections 7, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The moisture discharging into gutter 21 from gutters 45 18 is conducted to the main drain through a spout 23 communicating with the lower end of said gutter 21.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a somewhat modified construction wherein a series of refrigerant conduct- 50 ing tubes 25 are passed through the fins 26 of each coil section instead of a single tube, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. To insure a minimum of interference with the circulation of air, these tubes are disposed in a vertical plane, as shown 55

Ji 2,089,387 in Fig. 5, and a narrow drip gutter 27 is mounted in any suitable manner directly beneath the lowermost corners of said fins.

In Fig. 8 a still further modification is shown. This construction comprises a coil section wherein a series of substantially circular fins 28 are secured to a refrigerant conducting tube 29. In this construction the moisture condensing on the cooled fins will run down to a relatively narrow section before dripping therefrom so that a relatively narrow drip pan 30 may also be employed.

From the foregoing description it is seen that by my improved arrangement of coils and drip gutters, objectionable obstructions to the natural flow of air in a refrigerating chamber Is reduced to a minimum with the result that maximum efficiencies are obtained.

It is to be understood that other arrangements may be made embodying the principles set forth herein, without departing from the present invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to the embodiment thereof herein shown, but only by the scope of the claim which follows.