US2243114A - Air circulating means and mounting therefor - Google Patents

Description

May 27, 1941. i W Q NESS ETAL 2,243,114

y AIR` CIRCULATING .MEANS AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed June 2 4, 1940 46 Z// W/L/AM A( 6. /Vfss JAMES Ha M55,

1 7 VENTORS. B/

Patented May 27, 1941 AER CHRCULATING lVIEAN S AND MOUNTING THEREFO'R William Henry. `Clay Ness and James F. Holmes, assignorsy to National Cornice WorksLos Angeles, Calif.

Application June 24,1940, Serial No. 342,666

(C1.V ft2-24).

Los Angeles, Calif.,

23 Claims.

The present invention relates to an air circulating means mounted on a hatch cover and applicable to ice bunkers of the conventional reirigerator cars for what we term pre-cooling purposes.

One of theirnportant objects of the invention is to provide as an article of manufacture, a hatch cover to which is applied an air circulating means adapted to be suspended into'an ice bunker which, as a unit is operated exteriorly of'the'car.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide, in a portable substitute hatch cover, vand an adjustable twin unit air circulating means depending therefrom and' operable by means fastened to the hatch cover exteriorly of the car; an improved canvas throat or bellows arrangement for delivering the air inducedk from the bunker'by the fan to the car/through the bunker screen.

A further object is to provide, in a canvas throat construction for delivering air from a fan, improved means for Imaintaining the mouth of the -t-hroatinY a denite, efficiently operative position 'with relation to the bunker screen through which the air is expelled; notwithstanding the flexible character of the canvas used in saidv throat.

A further object of thev invention is to provide an improved arrangementvof parts to cooperate with the hatch cover, which -wi-ll permit said cover to seal properly at all times the opening which it overlies, regardless of variation, within certain lim-its, of the height of the ice in the bunker.

A still further object of the invention is -to provide an improved means for adjusting the position of the motor shaft whichfdrives the fan-operating belt, in such a manner as to maintain the belt properly tensioned notwithstanding necessary changes in the positions of the fan.

Other objects, advantages, and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompany drawing, which illustrates what is at present deemed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention now reduced to practice and being used in the trade,

Fig. l is a full vertical transverse section taken through the ice bunker of a refrigeratorcar, the plane ci a portion of which is indicated by the line I-- on Fig. 4.

Fig, 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical. section, the line 2 2 on Fig. 1 L,

indicating the plane of the sectioned portions of the views.

Fig. 3 is a perspective, showing separately the article of manufacture provided by the invention, partsthereor being broken away in order to contract the View.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional pla-n taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. v

Referring in detail to the drawing, the main parts of the portable structure are the hatch cover Il), motor Il' secured to the upper side of said cover, said cover having through it an opening Within which is fitted a sleeve l2 and a tubular member i3 slidably fitted within said sleeve, said tubular member carrying at its lower endV the two-part blower it.

The assembly of portable parts which have been enumerated cooperates with the car construction shown, said car construction comprising the ice bunker section which is walledY off from the-body portion of the car12l by means of the partition i9 Vwhich is held inV place Yby posts 231'and includes the canvas baille 22 for coveringA portions of the opening 22u to prevent short circuiting kof the air from the blower, a body' of icefcubes 2B being shown occupying the bunker.

As best shown in Fig. 2,the motor l! is furnished with a base 25 which rests upon a pair of upper angle iron runners or supports ZES-,these angle iron yparts being in a parallel spaced relation to each other and being positioned between a lower pair of angle iron basepieces 2l, to one end portion of which they are pivotally connected by means of a pivot shaft 23. Below said shaft 23 are base blocks 2S which supportthe overlying end` portions -of the angle irons 21, and at the opposite-endsvoi said angle irons 21 are supporting base blocksV 3Q, all of said base blocks being secured in any suitable manner to the upper-side of the cover lil. The angle iron members 2t, above the base blocks 30,have set screws 32 threaded through them, the lower ends of said set screws abutting against the lower angle irons 21, thussupporting in a more or less tilted position the angle iron members 2t upon which the motor base 25 rests. Locks nuts 35 serve to. maintain the screws 32 in their adjusted positions. Y

Said pivot shaft 23 is removable, thus making it possible leasily to remove the motor Il together with its angle iron supports 26 from the remainder of the structure and protect the motor by storingy it in a suitable place after it has been used to operate the blower and thus bring about a cooled condition of the contents of the car. The belt 64 may be allowed to remain in the tubular member I 3.

The sleeve I2, by preference and as shown, is rectangular in transverse section, and it is provided with an external ange or collar 4B which rests upon the upper surface of the cover I and thus supports the sleeve in its operative position. Within this sleeve snugly ts the tubular member I3 in a slidable manner, a set screw 4I being provided to maintain said member I3 in its vertical adjustment within said sleeve.

The blower construction I4, which is carried by said tubular member I3, comprises a twopart scroll casing 42 which abuts against each of opposite sides of the lower part of the tubular member I3, an inverted cap 43 closing this part of the tubular member, said member and cap being shown provided respectively with anges 44 and 45 which are welded or otherwise secured together. The blower casings 42 have outwardly directed central air intake openings 46, the ingress of air into these openings being indicated by the arrows 41. Said casings 42 are shown furnished with tangential air outlet openings 49 above which are the deflectors 50 which deflect the issuing air currentssomewhat downwardly. Y

The canvas throats I also guide and direct the air currents discharged from the blower casings 42 through the screen openings into the car. Said canvas throats are furnished with marginal frames 52 whereby they are attached to the edge portions of the openings 49. The somewhat expanded outer end of each canvas throat 5I carries, in a somewhat spaced relation to its outer edge, a light but rigid wire border frame 53 to prevent collapse of the adjacent part of the canvas. Outwardly beyond said frame the edge of the canvas carries the two intersecting flexible strips 54 which constitute a cross webbing which the issuing stream of air acts upon with a sufficient force to keep the throat member 5I in its extended position against the screen, so that the part thereof which carries the outer frame 53 will not drop down to a pendent position while the blower is in operation. Said blower is shown provided with conventional centrifugal fans 60 carried by opposite end portions of a common shaft 6I.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3, where the inverted cap 43 is shown in transverse section, said cap has the blower casings 42 welded or otherwise secured to its opposite outer faces, and the double walled structure provided at each side thereof is apertured to provide openings for the shaft 6I, bearings 62 being mounted internally of said cap at each side thereof to rotatably support said shaft. BeA tween these bearings said shaft has secured to it a driving pulley 63 around which passes the lower end of an endless belt 64. The upper end of belt 64 passes over a driving pulley 65 fixed to the motor shaft 66. Bearings 62 are sup`- ported by a flange 62x.

Describing more in detail the construction of each ice bunker section of the car, the partition I9 is composed of two parallel vertical walls 6l and 68, a portion of the wall 61 being of retioulated character and positioned in a contacting relation to the body of ice in the bunker when the bunker is in a filled condition, and the other wall 68 having an air opening 68a in its lower portion communicating with the space between said two walls and guarded by a screen 68h. Above said opening 68a the wall 68 is of a substantially air-tight character up to a point Where it terminates in a downwardly spaced relation to the ceiling 2Ic of the car, at which point it has a laterally directed portion 68x which closes the upper end of the air space between said two walls. Above said part 68a: the air space or opening 22a, already mentioned, extends from side to side of the car. This opening is guarded by the already mentioned pendent canvas baille 22 which extends the entire length of the opening and which has its upper edge portion secured to a downwardly projecting car ceiling portion 2Id. This pendent bafiie overlies the side of said opening 22a farthest from the blower to prevent a short circuiting of the air current from the blower. rPhe intake air opening I4a of the blower is located in a superadjacent relation to the ice in the lbunker when the latter is in a lled condition and, by preference as shown, said intake opening is directed horizontally and at a substantially right angle to the air delivery opening of the blower.

The above described. arrangement of parts of the ice bunker and blower provides for the circulation of the air in the advantageous manner indicated by arrows in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, and possess the additional advantage of locating the motor outside of the interior of the car so that its operation does not generate any heat therewithin.

There is an ice bunker partitioned off in the manner stated in each end portion of the car.

Owing to the motor at all times being located outside of the space enclosed by the car, the heat generated by its operation does not pass into the interior of the car and to any extent offset the refrigerating effect.

A gasket or lining member 15, underlies each cover I0 to make an air-tight t between it and the rim or ridge I6 which surrounds the opening that said cover overlies.

Although the ice cubes 24 are shown somewhat symmetrically spaced in the drawing to expedite drafting, it is to be understood that the cubes will be sufficiently broken up to allow necessary circulation of air therethrough.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that this invention includes all modifications and' equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matter claimed.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an eXtensible tube carried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said cover is in its operative position, an air blower carried by the lower portion of said tube, a belt having its lower end portion operatively related to said lblower, a motor mounted upon said cover and furnished with a shaft carrying a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, and means to adjustably maintain said motor and shaft in various tilted positions to maintain a proper tension in said belt when said extensible tube is varied in length.

2. In a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an extensible tube carried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said cover is in its operative position, an air blower carried by the lower portion of said tube, a belt having its lower end portion operatively related to said blower, a motor mounted upon said cover and furnished with a shaft carrying a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, and vertically adjustable supporting means for said motor and shaft to maintain the proper tension in'said belt when said. extensible tube is varied in length.

3. As an article of manufacture an air fan and its mounting comprising a hatch for closing the opening of a cars ice bunker, there being an opening extending through said hatch and a blower support fastened to said hatch and having a part provided with a passage, a portion of which extends upwardly and downwardly through said opening, an air blower, including a tube, the open end of which is slidably mounted in the passage in said part, a motor mounted on the top side of said hatch, said motor having a driving shaft, a pulley mounted on said shaft and overlying the opening of said tube, a-nd an endless belt passing over the pulley of said motor and extending into said tube where it is operatively related to the said air blower to drive the latter.

4. As an article of manufacture an air fan and its mounting comprising a hatch for closing the opening 'of a cars ice bunker, there being an opening extending through said hatch and a blower support fastened to said hatch and having a part provided with a passage, a portion of which extends upwardly and downwardly through said opening, an air blower, said blower having an intake opening and a discharge opening for the air induced through its intake opening, a .canvas throat construction fastened to its discharge opening, and cross webbing uniting the outer edges of the sides comprising said throat, said webbing being positioned in the path of the issuing air current thus to maintain said throat in an extended condition during the operation of the blower.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 and, said throat carrying a stiifening frame which extends around it adjacent to its outer edge.

6. In a structure of the kind described, in combination, a car body having an end portion of its interior walled off from the remainder of its enclosed space by a vertical partition thereby forming an ice bunker, said partition comf at which point it has a laterally directed portion which closes the upper end of the air space between said two walls, a pendent support resting upon the car roof and extending downwardly into said ice bunkena blower sustained by said support in the upper portion of said ice bunker, said blower having an air discharge opening positioned to discharge a current of air into the body of the car along a path super-adjacent to the aforesaid laterally extending part of said partition, there being an elongated opening extending from side to side of the car through which such air discharge takes place, a pendent canvas baiile overlying the side of said elongated opening farthest from the blower to prevent a short circuiting of the air current from the blower, said blower having an air intake opening super-adjacent to the ice in the bunker when the latter is in a filled condition, and means to operatesaid blower from the exterior of the car.

7...' The subject matter of claim 6 and, said air intakefopening being directed horizontally :and at substantially a` right angle to the aforesaid air discharge opening.

8. yIn, a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an extensible tube carried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said cover is in its operative position, an air blower carried .by the lower portion-of said tube, a belt -having .its lower end portion operatively related to. said blower, a motor, tiltable means whereby said motor is supported upon said cover, said motor .being furnished with a shaft provided with a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, and means to adjustably support said tiltable means at various inclinations to. maintain a proper tension in said belt when said extensible tube is varied in length.

9. The subject matter of claim 8 and, said tiltable means being furnished with a removable pivot shaft, thus making it conveniently removable, together with the motor mounted thereon.

l0. The subject matter of claim 8 and, the adjustable supporting means for said tiltable means including an upstanding screw member carried by saidY tiltable means and an abutment upon which the lower end of said. screw member rests.

ll. The combination with a freight car having an ice bunker and a lading space therein; of apparatus for moving air through the bunker and. into the lading space of said car; said car having a roof overlying the bunker and a bulkhead separating the `space within the bunker from said lading space and constructed and arranged to provide an opening communicating with the upper portion of the bunker space and an opening communicating with the lower portion ofthe space within said bunker; and said apparatus including a hatch cover having an opening therein, a driving device carried by the upper side of the cover; a tubular element closed at its lower end and extending through the opening in said hatch cover, a blower carried by said tubular element, means extending through said tubular element and connecting said driving device to said blower, and means for conducting air discharged from said blower to the opening communicating with the upper portion of the ice bunker.

l2. VStructure of the type set forth in claim 11 in which a screen section extends across said opening communicating with the upper portion of said bunker and in which said air conducting means comprises a nexible element constructed and arranged to be extended from the blower element into Contact with said screen by the air discharged from said blower.

i3. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending ever said bunker and a hatchway through I the roof, a cover plate detachably applied over the hatchway, an opening through said cover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate exteriorly of the car, a blower element supported by and suspended below the cover plate into the bunker, said blower element having an air outlet adjacent said bunker wall opening and an air inlet communicating with the bunker interior, and means operatively connecting the blower element to the motor through the opening in the cover plate,

14. Precooling apparatus comprising, in com- Abination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover detachably overlying the hatchway, an opening through said cover, a motor mounted atop the cover, a blower element comprising a housing suspended from the cover and a blower wheel rotatably mounted in the housing, said housing having an outlet opposite the bunker wall opening and an inlet communicating with the bunker interior, and means extending through said cover opening and operatively connecting the blower wheel to the motor.

15. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably resting on the roof in position overlying the hatchway, an opening through the cover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate exteriorly of the car, a hollow casing secured at its top end in the cover plate opening, a blower housing carried by the lower end of the casing, a blower fan in the housing and having a drive shaft extending transversely of the casing, a pulley on the drive shaft, and a belt operatively connecting the pulley at the motor.

16. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably resting on the roof in position overlying the hatchway, an opening through the cover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate exteriorly of the car, a hollow casing secured at its top end in the cover plate opening, a blower housing carried by the lower end of the casing, a blower fan in the housing and having a drive shaft extending transversely of the casing, a pulley on the drive shaft, a belt operatively connecting the pulley to the motor, and wall means in the casing closing air communication between the bunker interior and the casing.

17. Precooling apparatus comp-rising, in 4combination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably applied over the hatchway, an opening through said cover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate, a blower element supported by and suspended below the cover plate into the bunker, said blower element having an air outlet adjacent said bunker wall opening and an air inlet communicating with the bunker interior, a tubular bellows secured at its inlet end to the said air outlet and functioning to automatically expand towards the bunker wall opening by virtue of air pressure created by the blower element, and means operatively connecting the blower element to the motor through the opening in the cover plate.

18. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall with an opening therethrough, a screen overlying said opening, a roof extending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably applied over the hatchway, an opening through said cover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate, a blower element supported by and suspended below the cover plate into the bunker, said blower element having an air outlet adjacent said bunker wall opening andan air in'let communicating with the bunker interior, a longitudinally collapsible tube secured at its inlet end to the said air outlet and functioning to automatically expand to bear at its outlet end against the screen by virtue of air pressure created by the blower element, a flexible cross strip extending across the discharge end of said tube and having its ends secured to the tube side wall, and means operatively connecting the blower element to the motor through the opening in the cover plate.

19. Precooling apparatus including in combination with a refrigerator car having a roof, an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wall having an opening therethrough adjacent the roof and a hatchway opening into the bunker through the roof, a blower unit comprising a cover plate removably mounted to cover the hatchway, saidv cover plate having a squared opening therethrough, a hollow casing of squared cross-section whose upper end projects through and is secured in said hatchway cover opening, two oppositely disposed blower housings secured to the lower end of the casing, a drive shaft journalled at its respective ends in said housings and disposed about an axis of rotation transverse of the casing, a pair of blower wheels secured on said shaft, one positioned in each of, said housings, a drive pulley secured on said shaft intermediate said blower wheels, a motor mounted atop said hatchway cover adjacent said hatchway opening, and a drive belt extending longitudinally of the casing and operatively connecting the motor to the drive pulley.

20. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigerator car having a partition with an air-passing opening therethrough, means for moving air through said opening, including a fan unit mounted in the car and having an air delivery conduit whose discharge endis normally spaced from said opening, said conduit having a tubular fabric portion functioning to expand' towards the opening by virtue of air passing therethrough from the fan unit.

21. Precooling apparatus comprising, in ycombination with a refrigerator car having an opening through its roof and an ice bunker separated from the car loadspace by a partition having an air passing opening therethrough, means for moving air through said last mentioned' opening, including a motor mounted atop and disposed exteriorly of the car, means for supporting the motor, a fan unit, means suspending the fan unit from the last mentionedy means into the car in a position aol-jacent said partition opening, and means operatively connecting the fan unit to the motor.l

22. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a. refrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car loading space by a wall having an opening therethrough, a roof over said bunker, a hatchway through said roof, a cover plate overlying the hatchway, an opening through the cover plate, a motor mounted atop the cover plate, a tubular member mounted in the cover plate opening and extending downwardly into the bunker, a blower element secured to the tubular member Within the bunker, a drive member extending longitudinally in the tubular member and operatively connecting the motor to the blower element, a wall separating the blower element from the interior of the tubular member and a gasket establishing a seal between the hatchway andsaid cover plate.

23. In a refrigerator car having a wall separating the car interior into a bunker and a loading space, an air passing opening through and eX- tendng transversely of the wall, a vertical post supporting the wall, said' post being spaced from the side edges of the wall and extending across said opening, a roof over the bunker and means for moving air from the bunker into the loading space through said opening including a pair of blower housings, means suspending the housings from the roof. into the bunker opposite said opening, drive means positioned between the housings and an air outlet in each of the housings, o-ne of said outlets communicating with the opening at one side of said post and the other of said outlets communicating with the opening at the other, side of the post, a blower wheel rotatably mounted in each of the housings and means operatively 10 connecting said wheels to said drive means.

WILLIAM HENRY CLAY NESS. JAM'ES F. HOLMES.

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