US2673512A - Air conditioning apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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c. FHENNEY AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS March 30, 1954 Filedsepi. 17, 1948 March 30, 1954 c, F. HENNEY AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed sept. 17, 194e VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'I ?V TOR. MIA/ Patented Mar. 30, 1954 2,673,512 AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Charles F. Henney, Dayton,

Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware Application September 17, 1948, Serial No. 49,773

4 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to means for conditioning air in structures such as buses, railroad cars and buildings.

It is an object ofmy invention to condition air in an enclosure by a single,k simple system in such a way that itcan overcome shifting unbalanced heat loads.

It is another object of my invention to provide an air conditioning system wherein damper means through a simple adjustment can proportion lthe air delivery to provide increased cooling efect or lesser heating effect Wherever itbecomes warmest in the enclosure, and to provide a lesser cooling effect or an increased heating eiTect wherever it becomes coolest in the enclosure.

It is another object of my invention to condition air in an enclosure having ar plurality of individual compartments or rooms by a single system in such a way that the temperature .conditions in each compartment or room are individually adjustable by separate simple devices.l

It is another object of my invention to provide an air conditioning system having simple means for obtaining variousv desired proportions of fresh air and recirculated air. `A

The attainment of these objects is illustrated in two forms of the invention. In onelform of the invention air of different temperatures is separately conveyed throughout the ,enclosureV and a simple two-Way mixing valve arrangement may be adjusted to proportion the rate of flow from each separate air supply into each rindi-- vidual compartment. A return air duct is provided with two separate fanmeans. for dis'charg`- ing air outside the enclosure and also Witha discharge means for discharging airintothe inlet of the air supply means toA which fresh air may By using two, one or none of the fan discharge means theproportionv of fresh air may be easily controlled.

In the more simpleform of, the invention, sep-V arate duct meansdischarging into each compartment on opposite sides of the enclosure' is provided with a simple damper means which may be adjusted so as to vary the proportion of the air from the air temperingv means which is delivered to the supply duct on either side of the enclosure, so that more air may be `deliveredvii desired, on the side where the sun hasthe greatest heating effect.

Further objects andadvantages ofthe present invention will be apparent-.from the` following description.. referengbein had taille eycQmalong the line 4-4 0f Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a top sectional View of an end portion of a railway car illustrating the second form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 j

Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line I--l f Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8 8 of Fig.- 5.

Referring now .to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown an end portion of a railroad car having sidewalls 20 and 22 and an end wall 24. As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the side walls 20 andA 22 extend to form the roof 26 beneath which there is a false ceiling 28 extending' throughout the length of the car. A partition Wall 30 partitions off the space at one end of thecar for the vestibule 32. Walls 3G and 36 provide a central'aisle or corridor and with the transverse partitions 38, 40, i2 and 44 form individual compartmentsl on each side of the car.

There is ay considerable problem in providing theproper air conditioning for each compartment. The air conditioning requirements for the compartments are not balanced. For example, the sun may be shining upon one side of the car for a considerable length of time thus providing considerable additional heat for that side of the car. Alsozthe wind maybe blowing on the sunny side of the car or' on the shady side of the car. If, the wind is warm itv will produce an additional heatingeffect, whileif it is cool it will provide additional cooling. The 7compartments may be occupied by various numbers of people for different lengthsl of time and one or more may be unoccupied forvarious lengths of time. These and other factors therefore make the air conditioning requirements for each compartment somewhat diierent fromany of the other compartments.

@according` to my invention. above the false ceiling 28 I provide openings 46 and 48 in the upper portions of the side walls for admitting fresh air. A return air duct 50 also discharges at the end of the car above the false ceiling 28 and is provided with an adjustable damper 52 which may be closed to completely shut oif the discharge of return air to use 100% fresh air or it may be opened to permit the discharge of various amounts o1 return air into this space or chamber 62. This air inlet space 62 is partitioned off from the remainder of the enclosure by the partition walls 54 and 56 as well as by a lter 58 and an air purifying device 60, both of which extend between the partition walls 54 and 59. The filter 53 may be a fine glass wool while the air purifier 69 may be a charcoal soda lime mixture, or an electrostatic precipitator.

The air inlet chamber 62 is therefore on one side of the partition walls 54 and 56 and the filter 56. Upon the other side of the air purifier 69 is a pair of blowers 64 and 66 which are driven by an electric motor 68 vand deliver air through a refrigerating coil and a steam coil 12 to a supply duct having side walls 14 and I6, a bottom wall 18 and a top wall 8|. The ns of the steam coil are `arranged to remove water from the air passing through the refrigerant evaporator or cooling unit. Thus when cooling is required, cool air is delivered to this central duct which is located directly above the return air duct 59 while during cold weather warm air is delivered to this central supply duct.

n addition to this air tempering unit formed of the motor 68, the blowers 64 vand 66 of the cooling and heating coils 10 and 12, there is provided a second air supply means in the form of the motor-driven blowers 86 and 82 which are located in the same chamber as the air tempering unit and likewise draw air which has passed through the lter 58 and the air purifier 66. 'I'he blower 80 discharges into a supply duct formed by the walls 84 and 86 upon the extreme side of the car above the false ceiling 28. Upon the extreme opposite side of the vcar the blower 82 discharges into a supply duct formed by the walls 68 and 90.

Between the central supply duct and each of the side supply ducts there are provided the transverse ducts 92, 94, 96 on one side of the car, and 98, |2| and |23 upon the opposite side of the car. A circular discharge outlet is provided for discharging air from the transverse duct 92 into the rst compartment while `a, similar outlet |21 is provided in the transverse duct 94 for discharging air into the second compartment. The transverse duct 96 is provided with a discharge opening |29 for the third compartment, while the transverse ducts 98, |2| and |23 are provided with the discharge outlets |3|, |33 and |35 discharging into the compartments upon the opposite side of the car. l

Each o the transverse ducts, such as, for example, the transverse duct 98, is provided with a damper, such as the dampers |31 and |39, preferably hinged at the trailing edge in the flow of air so that the leading' edge in the flow of air through the two supply ducts acts as a scoop to scoop in air for delivery through the discharge opening |3| into the compartment below. The two dampers are linked by an operating rod |4| which is connected to an adjustable lever |43 which can be adjusted by the handle |45 of a screw within the compartment. This adjustment makes it possible to move one damper toward closing position while the other damper is opened wider. This air vconditiening 'for 'each 4 therefore decreases the flow of air from the one duct and increases the flow of air from another duct. The damper systems for the transverse ducts 92, 94, 96, |2| and |23 preferably are identical to the system described for the transverse duct 98.

During the winter time the central duct will be supplied with warm air while the outside ducts will be supplied with air from the blowers 90 and 82. The blowers 96 and 82 are preferably supplied with steam coils and |41; but these steam coils are only made of a capacity sufficient to take the chill off the air and therefore the air delivered to the side ducts is relatively cool, while that of the central duct is warm, Therefore ii more heat is desired in the compartment the handle |45 is turned so that the rod IM is moved toward the center of the car to move the damper |39 nearer to closed position while the damper |31 is opened wider. This increases the ow of the warm air and therefore supplies more heat to the compartment. rI'he same thing is done in the summer time when it is desired to make the compartment cooler. Then more cool air will be delivered from the central duct to the compartment. If it is too warm in winter or too cool in summer, the dampers are moved in the opposite direction. rlhe dampers for each individual compartment can be adjusted individually as desired to provide individual adjustment oi the conditioning for each individual compartment. The steam coils of course are shut ofi during the summer time when cooling is required.

The central air duct also has discharge openings for the aisle or corridor distributed along the car. Two discharge openings |49 and |5| are shown in the portion of the car illustrated in Fig. l.

The return air duct 50 has louvers |53 extending through the false ceiling 28 for returning air from the aisle. These louvers |53 are arranged between the discharge outlets such as the outlets |49 and |5|. The return air duct 59 also has two sets of louvers |55 and |51 extending through the false ceiling 28 in the inner corner of each compartment. The circulation of the air in each of the compartments is illustrated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 4. Louvers similar to louvers |55 and |51 upon the opposite side of the aisle are des1gnated by the reference characters |59 and |6I.

To discharge air from the return duct outside of the car there is provided a transverse duct |63 extending from the return air duct 56 to the outside of the car above the false ceiling 28 and a similar duct |65 upon the opposite side of the car. The damper 52 may be partially closed to force some of the air in the return duct out through the discharge ducts |63 and |65. In order to provide a means for increasing this discharge of air from the return duct to the outside the duct |63 is provided with a fan or blower |61 andthe duct |65 is provided with a fan or blower |69. Either one or both of these fans |61 and |69 may be placed in operation. For complete fresh air operation the damper 52 is fully closed. Either one or both of the fans |61 and |69 may be turned on to further increase the flow of air. This gives an option of three different rates of fresh air iiow. At other times the damper 52 may be opened and to obtain more air circulation and more air flow either one or both of the fans |61 or |69 may be operated.

. Thus with this system complete control of the individualV compartment is provided for the occupant of each individual compartment. Also improved control of the proportion of the fresh air to the return air is provided through the use of the damper 52 and the optional use of one or both of the fans |61 and |69.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, there is shown the side walls 220 and 222 and the end wall 224 of one end portion of.l a railway car. Above the false ceiling 228 directly above the vestibule there is provided an air inlet chamber 262 divided ofi from the rest of the area betwen the roof 226 and the false ceiling 228 by a partition wall 254 and two sets of air filters 258 and 358 and the two sets of air puriers 260 and 360, which may be like those in the first form of the invention. Air in the inlet chamber 262 is drawn into the twin blowers 264 and 266 and discharged through a. refrigerating coil 21|)l and a steam coil 212 constituting the air tempering unit which extends through the partition 254 and connects with the supply air duct means. The twin blowers 264 and 266 are driven by an electric motor 268. The supply air duct means includes the duct 216 on one side of the car which extends over the compartments formed by the aisle wall 23B and the partitions 24) and 244. This duct 216 has discharge openings 33|, 333 and 335 discharging each into one compartment. Duct 216 also has arms provided with discharge openings, such as the opening 349 for delivering air to the aisle.

Extending over the 4compartments on the opposite side of the aisle is a complementary duct 214 having discharge openings 325, 321 and 329 for discharging air into three individual compartments beneath. The duct 214 likewise has an arm for supplying air to a discharge opening, such as the opening 35| which discharges into the central aisle. Adjacent the air tempering unit and particularly adjacent the steam coil 212, the ducts 214 and 216 join. At the junction a movable swinging damper 331 is adjusted by an operating handle 339 which protrudes beneath the false ceiling 228. This swinging damper 331 may be moved to one side or the other in order to increase the flow of airV from the air tempering unit to the duct of the compartments upon the opposite side of the car in order to correct for unbalanced temperature conditions upon the opposite sides of the car, such as may be caused by sun or wind.

In this form, return air ducts 250 and 25| are provided upon the extreme opposite sides of the car. The duct 250 has louvers 355 and 351 which connect through the false ceiling 228 with one of the individual compartments upon that side of the car. Similar louvers are provided in the duct 250 for the remaining compartments on that side of the car. Also corresponding louvers 359 and 36| are provided in the return air duct 25| for removing air through the false ceiling from the compartment on the opposite side of the car. Similar louvers are provided in the duct 25| for each compartment on its side of the car. The duct 250 is provided with a fresh air inlet 355 which may be provided with a steam coil 369 for tempering the air admitted thereto. Likewise upon the opposite side the duct 25| may be provided with a fresh air opening 363 and similarly provided with a steam coil 361.

The air from the return air duct 250 as well as from the fresh air opening 365 is drawn through one of the filtering units 258 and one of the air purifying units 260 upon one side of the car while the return air from the duct 25| as well as the fresh air admitted through the opening 363 is passed through the filtering unit 358 and the air purifying unit 360 upon the opposite side of the car. Thus by the use of this `simple system the unbalanced conditions upon opposite sides of the car can be overcome .simply by adjusting the damper 331.

While I have described the two forms of the invention as applied to a railway passenger car having individual compartments it should be understood that the invention may similarly be applied to cars and other types of enclosures having similar problems even though they may differ in structural features.

Reference is made to the following application owned by the same assignee: S. N. 772,811 filed September 8, 1947, Charles F. Henney applicant, now Patent No. 2,605,690.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An enclosure to be conditioned including means forming within the enclosure upon opposite sides of a corridor a plurality of completely enclosed compartments each for human occupancy, a rst air supply duct system having separate supply ducts located above the compartments upon opposite sides of and generally parallel to the corridor, a Asecond air supply duct system extending over and `generally parallel to the corridor, individual branch supply means connecting each of the ducts of the rst supply duct system and the second supply duct system with a plurality of said compartments, means for inclividually controlling the flow of air from said duct systems and branch supply means into each compartment, and means for conditioning the air conducted through one of the supply duct systems to a condition diierent than the condition of the air conducted through the other supply duct system.

2. An enclosure to be conditioned including means forming Within the enclosure upon opposite sides of a corridor a plurality of completely enclosed compartments each for human occupancy, a rst air supply duct system having separate supply ducts located above the compartments upon opposite sides of and generally parallel to the corridor, a second air supply duct system extending over and generally parallel to the corridor, individual branch supply means connecting each of the ducts of the first supply duct system and the second supply duct system with a plurality of said compartments, means for individually controlling the flow of air from said duct systems and branch supply means into each compartment, and means for conditioning the air conducted through one of the supply duct systems to a condition different than the condition of the air conducted through the other supply duct system, a return air duct system extending over said corridor and communicating with each compartment for removing air from the compartments.

3. An enclosure to be conditioned including means forming within the enclosure upon opposite sides of a corridor a plurality of completely enclosed compartments each for human occupancy, a first air supply duct system having separate supply ducts located above the compartments upon opposite sides of and generally parallel to the corridor, a second air supply duct system extending over and generally parallel to the corridor, individual branch supply means connecting each of the ducts of the first supply duct tem, a return air duct system extending over said system and the second supply duct system with a corridor and communicating with each compartplurality of said compartments, means for ndiment for removing air from the compartments, vidually controlling the flow of air from said duct said return air duct system being located below systems and branch supply means into each comsaid second supply air duct system and having partment, and means for conditioning the air openings communicating with said corridor for conducted through one of the supply duct systems removing air from said corridor, said second to a condition different than the condition of the supply duct system having outlets extending to air conducted through the other supply duct syssaid corridor for supplying air to the corridors. tem, a return air duct system extending over said CHARLES F HENNEY, corridor and communicating with each compartment for removing air from the compartments, References Cited in l611e fue 0f this patent said return air duct system being located below UNITED STATES PATENTS said second supply air duct system and having openings communicating with said corridor for A fName N Dztelg removing air from said corridor. eogs Bfld-- AOV- 30 1889 4. An enclosure to be conditioned including 485910 A3 lx/1n --J P12 17, 1893 means forming Within the enclosure upon oppo- 510e01 ou? S f 5 1893 site sides of a corridor a plurality of completely 9 863131 M Y --M (L14. 1911 enclosed compartments each for human occu- 185321@ Rsse'fYt-*l Aal 12 1932 pancy, a rst air supply duct system having sep- 119153230 Petefs r --Jupr- 27, 1933 arate supply ducts located above the compart- 0601251 S r 1f e a --N ne 101 1936 ments upon opposite sides of and generally parai- 0803?? Bber- 18, 1937 lel to the corridor, a second air supply duct sysogg'w Hui g Auy 10 1937 tem extending over and generally parallel to the '1,9'873 A dsf Ot-1 N g- 141 1939 corridor, individual branch supply means oonglswr Ln ,jrs n e a --JOV-so 1940 meeting each of the ducts of the rst supply duct ZPSQS NCMh Dan- 23 1941 system and the second supply duct system with a 0,596 Hufp Y Je@ 1 1943 plurality of said compartments, means for indi- 53761886 sney Nme 6. 1945 vidually controlling the flow of air from said duos 5,4 631 255 Euog Magi: l, 1949 systems and branch supply means into each compartment, and means for conditioning the air FOREIGN PATENTS conducted through one of the supply duct systems to a condition different than the condition of the air conducted through the other supply duct sys- Number Country Date 294,339 Great Britain July 2G, 1928

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