Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPECIFICATION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to refrigeration structures. In
particular the present invention relates to such structures
that are adapted for ease and speed of assembly and
disassembly, and of installation in the place to be cooled.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR TECHNOLOGY
~ number Of structures have been patented that provide for
the containment or support of a refrigeration system. For
example, U.S. Patent 3,137,226 discloses an air conditioning
unit that simply and cheaply supports filler panels for
bridging spaces between the housing of the unit and a window
frame. In U.S. patent 3,804,481 a refrigerator cabinet
structure is shown that features an impact absorbing liner.
Another air conditioner, shown in U.S. Patent 3,208,236, has
a duct arrangement that prevent heated air that is discharged
by the system from being sucked back into the inlet duct.
The within invention has a combination of features that is
not found in the prior technology.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a structure for a self-contained
refrigeration unit.
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It is a primary object of this invention that the
self-contained refrigeration unit be portable and allow for
instant installation by simply lowering it over an opening iII
the floor of a room or other space that is to be cooled. The
appropriately sized opening is sealed by a gasket on the
bottom of the unit.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
structure for a refrigeration system that is easy to assemble
and disassemble, and that supports the essential working
components of the system, that is, a compressor, a condensor,
an evaporator, and a blower, in an effective working
arrangement. The invention achieves that object by comprising
a number of interlocking covers, trays, brackets, and grills
that interlock for fast assembly with few screws or other
fasteners.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a structure for a self-contained
refrigeration unit, suitable for sealing an opening in a
floor between a space of air to be cooled by the unit and a
warm air space, comprising:
a) an upper cooling chamber formed by cover means and support
means for supporting a blower and an evaporator, the cover
- , means having at least one grill panel for the passage of air
to be cooled through the upper cooling chamber;
b) a substantially horizontal insulating substructure below
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the upper cooling chamber, having mounting means for
suspending below the insulating substructure a compressor and
a condensor; and
c) sealing means around the periphery of a bottom surface of
the insulating substructure for sealing, in conjunction with
the said bottom surface, an opening in a floor between a
space of air to be cooled and a warm air space.
In a preferred embodiment, the structure comprises:
a) a top and front cover, having a top grill panel and a
front grill panel, each having side flanges, and the front
grill panel having an inwardly curled bottom lip;
b) a back and sides cover, having a left side panel, a right
side panel, and a rear panel, each having an inwardly-curled
bottom lip;
c) a vertical blower frame box, having a rear panel with an
opening, adapted to have blowing means in the opening;
d) an airstream channeling curved panel;
e) an inner rear panel with flanges adapted to have blowing
means mounted thereon;
f) a shelf adapted to support an evaporator;
.
g) a water holding tray for holding moisture from air cooled
by the system and for supporting the shelf, the vertical
blower frame box, and a front bottom edge of the airstream
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channeling curved panel;
h) an insulation cover, rivetted to the bottom of the water
holding tray, and having four flanges that fit respectively
into each inwardly-curled bottom lip of the front grill panel
and of the left side panel, the right side panel, and the
rear panel;
i) an insulation holding tray that fits horizontally below
the insulation cover and is gripped by the inwardly curled
lips of the front grill panel and of the left side panel, the
right side panel, and the rear panel, and that has means for
suspending a compressor and a condensor below the insulation
holding tray;
j) sealing means around the periphery of the bottom of the
insulation holding tray, the sealing means and the bottom of
the insulation tray being adapted to seal the opening over
which the unit is placed for operation.
The various parts of the structure fit together and
interlock, as shown in the drawings and detailed description
below, such that the assembly of the entire structure can be
completed by using a few screws or other fasteners to attach
the rear edge portion of the top grill panel of the top and
front cover to the top edge portion of the rear panel of the
back and sides cover.
The unit provides a simple, low-cost refrigeration system
that can be assembled and disassembled easily and rapidly for
manufacture or maintenance, and that can be easily lowered
into an operative position in an appropriately sized opening
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in the floor of a room that is to be cooled.
The unit will contain or support the components of a standard
refrigeration system having a refrigerant gas that is pumped
by a compressor through tubing to a condensor. The tubing can
then routed through the insulating containing means to an
evaporator in the upper cooling chamber, and back through the
waterholding tray, insulating cover, insulation, and
insulation holding tray to the compressor. The compressor
hangs in the warm air space within or below the floor that
separates the warm air space from the cooled space. The
sealing means should be of rubber or other gasket material
that is resilient and that will absorb vibration and that
will seal because of the weight of the unit pressing it
between the insulation holding tray and the floor surface
that surrounds the opening over which the unit is to be
placed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective of the disassembled parts of a
preferred embodiment of this invention, aligned to illustrate
the position for assembly and dissassembly.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional right side view of the
assembled structure of the parts of Figure 1, with additional
refrigeration components in place.
Figure 3 is a perspective showing the outside of the
assembled structure of Figure 2.
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DET~ILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figure 1, the structure of the refrigeration
unit has a top and front cover 1, having a top grill panel 2
and a front grill panel 3, each having side flanges 4 and 5.
The grill slots 6 and 7 will allow the passage of the air
that is to be cooled through the unit. The back and sides
cover 8, has a left side panel 9, a right side panel 10, and
a rear panel 11, each having an inwardly-curled bottom lip
12. The vertical blower frame box 13, having a rear panel 14
with an opening 15, adapted to have blowing means 16 in the
opening 15. The airstream channeling curved panel 17 will
direct air down from the slots 6 of the top grill panel 2.
The inner rear panel 18 with a flange 19 on each side is
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adapted to have the motor for the blowing means 16 mounted
thereon. The shelf 20 is adapted to support the evaporator
21. The water holding tray 22 for holding moisture from air
cooled by the system supports the shelf 20, the vertical
blower frame box 13, and a front bottom edge 23 of the
airstream channeling curved panel 17. The insulation cover 24
can be rivetted to the bottom of the water holding tray 22.
Together with the insulation holding tray 25, the insulation
cover 24 contains the insulating material 26 that will help
to insulate the warm area below the placed unit from the
cooled area above it.
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Referring to Figure 2, the assembled refrigeration unit has a
top and front cover 1, having a top grill panel 2 joined to a
front grill panel 3 having an inwardly curled bottom lip 27.
The grill slots 6 and 7 will allow the passage of the air
that is to be cooled through the unit. The back and sides
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cover has a rear panel 11, having an inwardly-curled bottom
lip 12. The vertical blower frame box 13 has a rear panel 14
through which the blowing means 16 extends. The airstream
channcling curved panel 17 will assist in directing air down
from the slots 6 of the top grill panel 2. The inner rear
panel 18 is adapted to have the motor 28 for the blowing
means 16 mounted thereon. The shelf 20 is adapted to support
the evaporator 21. The water holding tray 22 for holding
moisture from air cooled by the system supports the shelf 20,
the vertical blower frame box 13, and the front bottom edge
23 of the airstream channeling curved panel 17. The
insulation cover 24 can be rivetted or otherwise joined to
the bottom 29 of the water holding tray 22. Together with the
insulation holding tray 25, the insulation cover 24 contains
the insulating material 26 that will help to insulate the
warm area below the placed unit from the cooled area above
it. The insulation cover 24 has a flange, as at 30 and 31, on
each side, that fit respectively into each inwardly-curled
bottom lip (as at 27 and 12) of the front grill panel 3 and
of the left side panel, the right side panel, and the rear
panel 11. The insulation tray 25 fits horizontally below the
insulation cover 24 and is gripped by the inwardly curled
lips (as at 27 and 12) of the front grill panel 3 and of the
left side panel, the right side panel, and the rear panel 11.
The insulation tray 25 has attached to it means 32 for
suspending a compressor 34 and further means 32 for
suspending a condensor 35 and an optional second blower means
36 below the insulation holding tray 25. The sealing means at
37 and 38 around the periphery of the bottom of the
insulation holding tray 25, is adapted to seal the opening 39
in the floor 40 of a room that is to be cooled.
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Referring to Figure 3, self-contained refrigeration unit has
a top and front cover 1, having a top grill panel 2 joined to
a front grill panel 3, each having side flanges 4 and 5. The
grill slots 6 and 7 will allow the passage of the air that is
to be cooled through the unit. The right side panel of the
back and sides cover 8 is shown. The assembled, operative
unit can be easily picked up and relocated to an appropriate
opening that separates a warm space from a space that is to
be cooled.
The within-described invention may be made in a variety of
sizes and shapes and with a variety of accessories. It may be
embodied in other specific forms without departing from the
spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently
disclosed embodiment is therefore to be considered in all
respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of
the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather
than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are
intended to be embraced therein.
