Temperature control apparatus and installations

Claim 1

A TEMPERATURE CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING A CLOSED FLUID CIRCUIT HAVING A TEMPRATURE CONTROL FLUID THEREIN ADAPTED TO BE CIRCULATED THERETHROUGH, THE CIRCUIT INCLUDING A HEAT AND COLD ACCUMULATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY HEATING OR COOLING SAID FLUID THEREIN, AT LEAST ONE RADIATOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH THE ACCUMULATOR IN THE CIRCUIT, MEANS FOR CIRCULATING THE FLUID THROUGH THE CIRCUIT COMPRISING A ROTATABLY MOUNTED CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER HAVING A DIAMETRICAL PARTITION DIVIDING THE CONTAINER INTO TWO CHAMBERS OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL CAPACITY, THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE CONTAINER BEING HORIZONTAL AND LYING SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF SAID PARTITION SO THAT THE CONTAINER MAY BE ROTATED TO ALTERNATELY BRING EACH OF THE CHAMBERS TEMPORARILY INTO A POSITION IN WHICH IT IS LOCATED WHOLLY ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE OTHER OF SAID CHAMBERS, THE CONTAINER BEING POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO THE REMAINDER OF SAID CLOSED CIRCUIT SO THAT HEN EITHER OF SAID CHAMBERS IS IN UPPERMOST POSITION IT IS POSITIONED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF SAID REMAINDER OF THE CLOSED CIRCUIT WHEREBY THE FLUID FLOWS BY GRAVITY FROM THE UPPER CHAMBER THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE CLOSED CIRCUIT AND BACK INTO THE LOWER CHAMBER, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE CONTAINER, AIR ESCAPE MEANS COMPRISING TWO PIPES EXTENDING RESPECTIVELY ONE INTO THE TEMPORARILY UPPER CHAMBER AND THE OTHER INTO THE TEMPORARILY LOWER CHAMBER, EACH SUCH PIPE HAVING ONE END OPEN AND THE OTHER END CLOSED, SAID CLOSED END BEING PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURED SIDE WALL PROJECTING INTO THE OTHER CHAMBER WHEREBY WHEN THE TEMPORARILY LOWER CHAMBER IS BEING FILLED WITH FLUID AIR CAN ESCAPE FROM THE LOWER CHAMBER THROUGH THE PIPE INTO THE TEMPORARILY UPPER CHAMBER, THE APERTURED SIDE WALL IN THE PIPE IN THE TEMPORARILY UPPER CHAMBER BEING POSITIONED ABOVE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF FLUID IN THE TEMPORARILY LOWER CHAMBER, AND VALVE MEANS IN EACH OF SAID PIPES FOR CLOSING THE OPEN END OF THE PIPE IN THE TEMPORARILY UPPER CHAMBER TO PREVENT FLUID THEREIN FROM PASSING DIRECTLY THROUGH THE PIPE INTO THE TEMPORARILY LOWER CHAMBER AND FOR OPENING THE OPEN END OF THE PIPE WHEN THE TEMPORARILY UPPER CHAMBER HAS BEEN ROTATED INTO LOWERMOST POSITION.