US2248944A - Refrigerator car - Google Patents

Description

July 1,5, 194 c. D. BoNsVALL. 2,248,944

- i REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed April s, 1939 Patented July 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CAR Charles D. Bonsall, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner to Standard Railway Refrigerator Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Y Application April 6, 1939, Serial No. 266,383

9 Claims. (C1. 653-17) This invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to prevent or retard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat during cold weather and a cooling or heating means depending upon the prevailing outside temperature.

'I'his invention applies particularly to cars in which the cooling means, preferably containers for Water ice, eutectic ice, brine or dry ice, are suspended'immediately below the ceiling of the car. The lading is supported in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicate between the refrigerant compartment and the space under the floor rack to provide a path for the circulation of air. The path is from the refrigerant compartment downwardly through the aforementioned flues, through the space under the floor rack. and upwardly through the lading compartment to the refrigerant compartment. Y

It is an object of the invention to provide means for Ventilating the car. Certain types of commodities give off considerable amounts of heat during the transportation or storage thereof. The heat is the result of chemical changes occurring as, for example, the ripening of fruit. This heat must be removed from the car to prevent it from increasing the temperature of the lading with a consequent acceleration of ripening and even spoiling. I provide means for allowing fresh air from outside the car to enter the lading compartment and displace the warmed air coming from the lading.

Another object of the invention is to incorporate with the aforementioned Ventilating means an arrangement by which solid refrigerant is prevented from entering the lading compartment during loading of the refrigerant. A further object of the invention is to incorporate means to prevent solid refrigerant from escaping into the lading compartment from the refrigerant containers during service movements of the car.`

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial transverse section of a refrigerator car embodying my invention, the section being on line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure shown in' Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified construction.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified construction. i

Fig. 1 shows a refrigerator car having `an insulated roof 2,7wall 3 and floor 4. A refrigerant container 6 is positioned below the roof 2, a hatch 1 being provided in said roof for the'purpose of loading refrigerant into the containers. A floor rack 9 supports the lading in the lading compartment Iand' provides a space l2 between the lading and the floor. A drip pan or partition I4 is spaced below the container 6 to provide the passage I5 and has upstanding from an edge thereof the member I1. The member I1 is spaced from the container li to form the channel I9 and from the similar member I1 on the opposite 'side of the car to provide the duct 2li.

A flue 22 is associated with the wall 3 to complete a path for circulation of air. Air in the passage I5 and channel I9, being cooled by con' tact with the refrigerant/container 5, falls due to its increased density through the flue 22 Vto the space lzfupwardly through the rack 9 to the lading compartment I El, Ythus cooling the lading, and finally returns through the duct 20 to the channel I9. y

The container 6 comprises a bottom 3l), side walls 3l, end walls 32 and a top 33. The hatch 1, being an opening for loading refrigerant, extends through the roof 2 and container top 33. A hatch frame 35 is associated withv the roof 2 and surrounds the hatch 1. As shown in Fig. 1, a portion 31 of the container top 33 is substantially horizontal, thus forming with the pitched roof 2 a passage 39above the container t. 1 The container top 33 may conform throughout its entire length to the slope at the center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. If desired, the Center portion 31 may be made as shown in Fig. 1 and the end portions Ml as shown in Fig. 3, conforming to the slope of the roof 2. l

When it is desired to ventilate the car, a cover is removed from the hatch and. air flows/from outside the car through the hatch 1, passage, 39, opening 42 and duct 2II, thus Ventilating the Y commodity in the lading compartment IG. Fo-

raminous material 43, such as wire netting cna perforated plate, is preferably inserted between thetop 33 of the container 6 and the roof 2. The foraminous material 43 may be positioned at the edge of the container as shown in Figs. `1 and 2 or at the hatch as shown in Fig. 4. 'Ihe foraminous material is intended to prevent solid refrigerant from entering the lading compartment Ity through the duct 20. This would be liable to occur during loading of the refrigerant and during service movements of the car when refrigerant could be splashed from the container.

I do not wish to limit my invention to any particular slope of roof or container top. Figs. 1 and show a portion of the top substantially horizontal while Fig. 4 shows the top inclined at a slope opposite to that of the roof. Neither do I wish to limit my invention to having the container top of a uniform slope throughout its length. The combination of Figs. A1 and 3 shows that I contemplate having a top of one particular slope, not necessarily horizontal, adjacent the hatch and another slope at the ends of the container remote from the hatch.

The refrigerant containers used in a car of the type disclosed are commonly arranged to retain a quantity of liquid refrigerant. There may be openings in the containers, however, which openings may have been caused by mishap or intentionally provided in spaced relation above the bottoms of the containers for overflow of the liquid refrigerant. In either case, such openings usually are much too small to provide adequate Ventilation for the car. Insofar as ventilation of the carl is concerned, containers having such openings are substantially imperforate.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though itis to be understood that the invention is not limited to the-exact details of `construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modificationsl thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled-in the art.

I claim:

I. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment and a roof, a refrigerant container below said roof, a hatch in said roof above said container, said container having a bottom, walls and top which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, a drip pan below said container, a partition upstanding from an edge of said drip pan, means cooperating with said partition to form a duct communicating at its lower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, and a passage providing communication between said hatch and said duct to supply Ventilating air to the lading compart- V ment of the car.

2'. In a refrigeratorcar having a lading compartment, spaced apart walls and a roof, a refrigerant container adjacent each wall and near said roof, a hatch in said roof above each of said containers, said containers each having a top, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in the top aligned with one of said hatches for loading refrigerant into the container, said containers being arranged on opposite' sides of a duct which communicates at its lower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, and a passage providing communication between said duct and each of said hatches to supply' Ventilating air to the lading compartment of the car.

3. A structure as defined in claim 2 including a drip pan below each container and partitions upstanding from the adjacent edges of said drip pans in spaced apart relation to form said duct therebetween.

4; In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having a hatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch and above said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of the lading compartment, a passage communicating between said hatch and said duct to supply Ventilating air to said lading compartment and foraminous material arranged to prevent passage of solid refrigerant through said passage.

5. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having a hatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch and above said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of the lading compartment, said roof being inclined and a part of said top adjacent said duct being substantially horizontal thereby providing a passage communicating between said hatch and said duct to supply Ventilating air to said lading compartment.

6. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having a hatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch and above said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of the lading compartment, said roof being inclined, a part of said top remote from said duct being inclined in substantial conformity with the inclination of said roof and a part of said top adjacent said duct being nonparallel with said roof thereby providing a passage communicating between said hatch and said duct tosupply ventilating air to said lading compartment.

7. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, and a roof, a refrigerant container below said roof and above said lading compartment, a hatch in said roof above said container, said container having an opening in the upper part thereof aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into the container, and a bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate, a drip pan below said container, a partition upstanding from an edge of said drip pan, means cooperating with said partition to form a duct communicating at its lower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, and a passage communicating between said hatch and the upper part of said duct to supply Ventilating air to the lading compartment.

8. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, and a roof, a refrigerant container below said roof and above said lading compartment, a hatch in said roof above said container, said container having a top, bottom and walls, a drip pan below said container, a partition upstanding from an edge of said drip pan, means cooperating with said partition to form a duct communicating at its lower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, a passage communicating between said hatch and the upper part ofsaid duct to supply Ventilating air to the lading compartment, and an opening in said top aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, said top, bottom andA walls being otherwise free of openings adequate for substantial flow of Ventilating air.

part of said lading compartment, one of said containers lcomprising a top, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned with the respective hatch for loading refrigerant into the container,

and a passage communicating between said duct and said last mentioned hatch to supply ventilating air to the lading compartment of the car.

CHARLES D. BONSALL.

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