MXPA96006124A - Assembly of charola for ice cubes pararefrigerado - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to tray assembly for ice cubes for refrigerators comprising: a base adapted to be fitted to a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, a tray box slidably installed in the base and forming an open slot upwards, the slot it includes a bearing surface having first and second cylindrical portions, the first portion extending to a higher portion of the slot, the second portion being recessed with respect to the first portion and ending short of the highest portion of the slot. the groove, and an ice cube tray detachably mounted to the box for rotation about an axis, the tray includes a hinge pin defining the axis, the hinge pin being integral with a manually rotating drive knob, and includes the first and second portions, respectively, the second portion is larger diameter than the first, the goat pin zne being releasably assembled by a snap fit in the slot with the first and second portions of the hinge pin disposed in the first and second portions, respectively, of the slot

Description

ASSEMBLY DK CHAROLA FOR ICE DB CUBES FOR REFRIGERATORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates, in general, to a tray assembly for ice cubes for refrigerators and, more particularly,. to a structural improvement in said assembly not only to rotatably connect the ice cube tray to a sliding tray box of a tray base, but also to prevent undesired separation of the tray from the box when the tray is rotated. tray in order to remove and disperse the ice cubes formed in the tray. 2. Description of the Previous Technique A typical refrigeration system for refrigerators is shown schematically in Figure 1. As shown in the drawing, the typical refrigeration system includes a compressor 4, which receives a low temperature and low pressure refrigerant gas through a pipeline of suction 1 and compresses the refrigerant gas in order to provide high temperature and pressurized refrigerant gas and supplies the hot pressurized refrigerant gas to a condenser 3. The above refrigeration system also includes a capillary tube 5, where the hot refrigerant gas Pressurized emits heat to atmospheric air so that the refrigerant gas is condensed and becomes liquid refrigerant. The cooling system further includes an evaporator 6, wherein the low temperature liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from the air thereby cooling the air. The cold air generated by the evaporator 6 is distributed to the freezer and refrigeration compartment of a refrigerator by means of a blower. The cold air generated by the evaporator of the above cooling system is sucked into the freezer and cooling compartments by the suction force of a motor fan and repeatedly circulates inside the previous compartments. The above motor fan is exclusively turned on when a freezer thermostat, which automatically controls the temperature inside the freezer compartment, is turned on. Figure 2 shows the construction of a conventional refrigerator. As shown in Figure 2, the conventional refrigerator includes a freezer compartment 21, which typically is formed inside the cabinet in a position above the evaporator 6. In the freezer compartment 21 above, a base 10 and a shelf 11 food stand are installed in their places. In addition, three compartments, i.e., a vegetable compartment 22, a fresh food compartment 23 and a refrigeration compartment 24, are formed inside the cabinet below the evaporator 6. The fresh food and vegetable compartments 22 and 23 with their respective doors, are provided inside the refrigeration compartment 24. Each of the compartments for vegetables and for fresh food 22 and 23 maintain the appropriate temperature and an appropriate percentage of humidity and in this way maintains the freshness of the food, which is stored in the compartment, for a long period. A plurality of shelves 29 are provided in the cooling compartment 24. A portion of the cold air, which is sucked from the evaporator 6 by the suction force of a motor fan 25, is introduced into the freezer compartment 21 by the internal cabinet 26 of the freezer compartment 21. The above motor fan 25 is operated by a freezer thermostat (not shown), which automatically controls the temperature inside the freezer compartment 21. The other part of the cold air from the evaporator 6 is introduced to the cooling compartment 24 by the internal cabinet 28 of the cooling compartment 24. In this case, the suction force for introducing the cold air into the cooling compartment 24 is generated by a damper 27, which is installed on a predetermined position within the compartment 24. US Patent No. 4,967,995 discloses a tray assembly for ice cubes suitable for allowing the ice cubes formed to be easily dispersed from the tray for cubes of ice. ice. In the tray assembly of the above US patent, a cover, which has a structure suitable for easy removal of ice cubes formed in the ice cube tray, covers the top of the tray in a manner that the ice cubes formed can be manually dispensed from the tray. However, the above tray assembly presents the problem that it must be removed from the freezer compartment and the tray must be discovered before dispensing the ice cubes formed from the tray. The assembly is thus inconvenient to users. A device for rotating the tray for ice cubes in an automatic ice maker has been proposed, as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,235,487.

Figure 3 shows the construction of a conventional ice cube tray assembly for refrigerators. As shown in Figure 3, a base 7 is installed in a corner of the freezer compartment. The above base 7 includes a sliding box 8, which is supported on the guide rails of the base 7 so that the box 8 can slide back and forth within the base 7. A tray 10 for ice cubes with a plurality of compartments of ice cubes 9 are pivotally mounted in the upper portion of the box 8, so that the tray 10 can be rotated relative to the box 8. The compartments 9 have an equal depth and are arranged in two rows along the length of the tray 10. In the above tray assembly, a first hinge pin 11 which extends longitudinally from one end of the tray 10 is rotatably received in a connection hole 8A of the box 8. In order to deflect the tray 10 thus allowing the tray 10 to automatically return to its original position when the torque of the tray 10 is released, the tray assembly also includes an elastom member rich or spring coiled torsion 14, which is fixed on the first hinge pin 11. Both ends of the torsion spring 14 are captured by a shoulder stop 8C case 8 and the body of the tray 10, respectively. The abutment stop 8C above is also brought into contact with both sides of the tray 10 thus limiting the scale of rotation of the tray 10. A second hinge pin 12, which extends longitudinally from the other end of the tray 10, it is separablely placed by jumping and supported by a bearing 8B of the case 8. The previous bearing 8B opens its upper part in order to form a lip by a jump, which allows the second pin 12 to be placed by jump in the bearing 8B. The tray 10 also has a knob 13 operable with the finger, which is integrated both with the body of the tray 10 and with the second pin 12 in a single body. In order to remove and dispense the ice cubes formed from the compartments 9 of the tray 10, the tray 10 is rotated in a clockwise direction in Figure 3 around the hinge pins 11 and 12 by manually rotating. the knob 13. In this case, since the second pin is only placed by jump on the bearing 8B with the lip by jump, the pin 12 can come out unwanted from the bearing 8B thus separating the tray 10 from the box 8 when the knob 13 is rotated with an excessive torque when dispensing the formed ice cubes. In this regard, the above tray assembly is inconvenient for the users. In order to avoid such unwanted separation of the tray 10 from the box 8, an additional locking device must be provided in the tray assembly. However, the locking device results in an increase in the number of elements of the tray assembly. The tray assembly with the locking device in this way has a complicated construction, reducing the work efficiency while assembling the tray assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structurally improved ice cube tray assembly for refrigerators, where the above problems can be overcome and which avoids an undesirable separation of the ice cube tray. the tray box when the tray is rotated in order to remove and dispense the ice cubes formed from the tray. In order to achieve the above object, a tray assembly for ice cubes for refrigerators according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, comprises a tray box slidably installed in a base of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator and having a bearing with a lip of jump, a tray for cubes of ice giratoriamente mounted to the box of tray by means of a pin of hinge integrated with a knob that is placed by jump in the bearing of the box, and a stop provided in the bearing to prevent unwanted separation of the bearing hinge pin when the tray is rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above objects and other objects, aspects and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a typical refrigeration system for refrigerators; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the construction of a conventional refrigerator; Figure 3 is a plan view showing the construction of a typical ice cube tray assembly; Figure 4 is a plan view showing the construction of the ice cube tray assembly according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; And Figure 5 is a front view of the ice cube tray assembly of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Figure 4 shows the construction of the ice cube tray assembly according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a front view of the tray assembly for ice cubes above. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a base 7 is installed in a corner of the freezer compartment. The above base 7 includes a sliding box 8, which is supported on the guide rails of the base 7 so that the box 8 can slide back and forth within the base 7. The tray 10 for ice cubes with a plurality of compartments 9 for individual ice cubes is pivotally mounted on the upper portion of the box 8 so that the tray 10 can be rotated relative to the box 8. In the previous tray assembly, a first hinge pin 15 , which extends integrally from the box 8, is rotatably coupled with a connection hole 16 of the tray 10. The connection hole 16 of the tray 10 is formed on one end of the tray 10. In order to deflect the tray 10, thus allowing the tray 10 to automatically return to its original position when the torque is released from the tray 10, the tray assembly also includes an elastic member or a torsion spring embo bined 14, which is fixed on the first hinge pin 15. Both ends of the torsion spring 14 are captured by a stop shoulder 8C of the box 8 and the body of the tray 10, respectively. A second hinge pin 12, which extends longitudinally from the other end of the tray 10, is placed in a separate way by jumping and maintained by a bearing 8B of the box 8. The previous bearing 8B opens its upper part with the In order to form a lip by jump, which allows the second pin 12 to be placed by jump in the bearing 8B. The tray 10 also has a knob 13 operable with the finger, which is integrated both with the body of the tray 10 and with the second pin 12 in a single body. The second hinge pin 12 has a projection 12A on its root, while the bearing surface of the bearing 8B is partially compressed in order to form a stop 17, which engages with the projection 12A of the pin 12 thus preventing a separation undesired of the pin 12 of the bearing 8B when the tray 10 is rotated. The operational effect of the tray assembly for ice cubes above will be described below.

In order to remove and dispense the ice cubes formed from the compartments 9 of the tray 10, the tray 10 is rotated in a clockwise direction, in Figure 5, around the hinge pin 12 and 15 making manually turning the knob 13. When the tray 10 has been rotated at an angle of 180 °, the tray 10 is brought into contact with the stop shoulder 8C of the box 8. The tray 10 in the previous state is thus deformed when the Torque is continuously applied to the knob 13. The ice cubes formed in this way are removed and dispensed from the compartments 9 of the tray 10 and dropped into the ice bin (not shown). The ice deposit, which contains the formed ice cubes, dispensed from the tray 10, is slidably mounted to the base 7 in a position below the tray 8. In the tray assembly for ice cubes above, the projection 12A of the second pin The hinge 12 engages with the stop 17 of the bearing 8B so that it is possible to prevent undesired separation of the pin 12 from the bearing 8B when the tray 10 is rotated in order to remove and dispense the ice cubes formed of the compartments 9. As described above, the present invention provides a tray assembly for ice cubes for refrigerators, which prevents unwanted separation of the tray for ice cubes from the tray box when the tray is rotated with In order to remove and dispense the ice cubes formed from the tray. The tray assembly of this invention is thus free of any locking device used to utilize the separation of the tray, so that the assembly has a simple construction, improves work efficiency while assembling the tray assembly, and improves the operational reliability of refrigerators. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as described in the appended claims.

Claims (1)

1. A tray assembly for ice cubes, for refrigerators, characterized in that it comprises: a tray box slidably installed in a base of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, the box has a bearing with a lip of jump; a tray for ice cubes rotatably mounted in said tray box by means of a hinge pin integrated with a knob, placed by jump in the bearing of the box; and a stop provided on the bearing to prevent unwanted separation of the hinge pin from the hub when the tray is rotated.