US2257221A - Precooling unit for perishable foodstuffs - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 30, 1941. -r. M. BELL PRECOOLING UNIT FOR PERISHABLE FOODSTUFFS I 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 13, 1959 fie By and M I A itorn zys Sept. 30, 1941'. T. M. BELL 2 7, 21

PRECOOLING UNIT FOR PERISHABLE FOODSTUFFS Filed Dec. 13, 1939 3 Shee ts-Sheet-2 Inventor A ftomeys T. M. BELL Sept. 30, 1941. I

Inventor I 45/. 56// M A iiorneys struction,

Patented Sept. 30(1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRECOOLING UNIT FOR PERISHABLE FOODSTUFFS Trice M. Bell, Tampa, Fla. Application December is, 1939, Serial No. 309,092

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a precooling unit, and has for the primary object the provision of a portable device of thischaracter which may be easily and quickly moved from one place to another and brought into position for cooling the interior of a room or refrigerator car or truck so that perishable foodstuffs freshly packed and arranged therein may be chilled prior to storage or shipment and obviates the present necessity of placing such foodstuffs in cold storage plants for periods of time prior to dispersement.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of con- 4 combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating a portable precooling unit shown connected to a refrigerator car and mounted for movement over a loading platform.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view illustrating the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view illustrating a portion of the precooling unit.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing the air discharge nozzle of the chilling unit.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates a portable cooling unit, 6 a loading platform and 1 a refrigerator car. Thus from this illustration it will be seen that the car can be conveniently and quickly cooled for the purpose of chilling perishable foodstuffs which have just been loaded in the carfor shipment.

The portable cooling unit 5 includes a platform 8 mounted on wheels 9' so that the entire unit may be conveniently moved over the loading platform and brought in proper position for operation inconjunction with the car. Mounted on the platform 8 is a vertically arranged casing 9 and located intermediate the upper and lower ends of said casing is a chilling unit Ill preferably of the tube type through which a cooling agent is passed and also air is circulated for the purpose of lowering the temperature of the air. The chilling unit In divides the casing into upper and lower compartments II and I2 and arranged in the compartment ll just above the chilling unit I0 is a blower type electrically driven circulator l3 which when in operation will bring about a circulation of air from the lower compartment through the chilling unit to the upper compartment and also will exhaust cooled air from the upper compartment ll through a discharge unit 14 and draw air in through an intake unit I5 to the lower compartment l2.

The units l4 and I5 are arranged in superimposed relation and the unit M includes a series of air conduits [6 leading from the upper compartment II to a common discharge nozzle H which is provided with tapered walls converging towards the discharge end of the nozzle. The nozzle I1 is so constructed thatit will discharge air from the end thereof and from opposite sides and to bring about the stated discharge of air arcuately curved baffles l8 are arranged in the nozzle. The, nozzle I! when arranged to protrude into a car as shown inthe drawings will direct the cooled air towards opposite ends of the car as well as transversely of the car. The nozzle enters the car near the roof so that the chilled air will be forced over the contents of the car and descend downwardly about and through the contents to be taken out of the car by way of the unit l5 thereby bringing about an eflicient and rapid chilling of the contents of the car.

The units and are connected by a partition IS with suitable packing 20 establishing an effective seal between said units and the partition. The partition about its edges is also provided with packing 2| to effect a seal with the jamb of a doorway.

Mounted on the platform 8 is a compressor 22 driven by an electric motor 23 belted thereto, as shown at 24. Pipes 25 connect the compressor 22 to the chilling unit H]. The compressor 22 is also connected to a condenser 26,'as shown at 21. The condenser is mounted on the platform 8 and is preferably of the water cooled type, the water circulating pipes being indicated by the characters 28 and 29.

Thus it will be seen that a precooling unit has been provided which can be economically manufactured and maintained in operation and can be conveniently moved from one place to another and quickly brought into use with a car or some other confined area for the purpose of lowering the temperature therein so as to chillthe contents of said area. By having theunits I4 and i5 constructed as shown and described permits a tight fit to be brought about between said units and the room or car to which the de-' vice is adapted and an efficient chilled aircan be rapidly brought-about throughof the car or room for the purpose, as before stated, of efliciently chilling the contents.

Hi and I5 have mounted thereon circulation of It is believed that the foregoing description, when taken in connection with the drawings. will fully set forth the construction and advantages of this invention to those skilled in the art to which such a device relates, so that further detailed description will not be required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: v y

In a precooling device, a plurality of converging air conduits, a. nozzle connecting said conduits at the converging ends thereof and said 1 nozzle tapering toward its free end and having said end and the sides thereof open, groups of arcuately curved deflectors mounted in the nozzle and extending inwardly from the open sides of said nozzle and arranged in groups with the deflectors of each group progressively increasing in length toward the open end of the nozzle for directing air through the open sides and the open end of the nozzle, a casing connected to said condu'its, a. chilling means in said-casing, a power driven blower in the casing between said chilling means and the conduits for forcing air through the latter, and an air intake unit underlying the conduits and a portion of the nozzle and connected to said casing.

I'RICE M. BELL.

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