US1285277A - Refrigerator. - Google Patents

Description

A. J. MCARTHUR.

REFRIGERATOR.

APyucAnoN FILED nec.11.1915.

l ,285,277. Patented N ov. 19, 1918.

/ by any.

UNITED sTA'rEs PATENT ermee.

ANDREW J. MCARTHUR, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNION FIBRE COMPANY, OF WINONA, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

REFRIGERATOB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. MCAR- "mannT a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerators, and its object is to promote efliciency and sanitation in such devices.

More particularly, it is my object to provide in a refrigerator, a cylindrical housing having a central vertical coldair conduit adapted to support individually revoluble provision shelves and to efficiently diffuse cold air through the provision chamber. f

A further object is to provide in a refrigerator of this kind, means for conveniently removing the shelves and other fixtures from the housing for the purpose of cleaning the same.

Novel structural details and combinations of parts will be hereinafter described and pointed out in my claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of al refrigerator-embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse Sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of one of the drain pipe keepers.

Referring to the drawings, I have used the reference letter A to indicate the cylindrical walls, B the kbottom and C the cover, whichform a housing inclosing a refrigerating compartment D. Said body, bottom and cover each comprise inner and outer sheet metal walls 10' and 11 having suitable insulating material 12 between them. The bottom B is integral with the body A and rests on a suitable base 13. The cover C is formed with an annular depending flange 14 thereon which telescopes over the upper end of said body and a hinged section of said cover provides a door 15 which may be lifted to permit access to the ice chamber without removing the cover C. A doorway 16 in the body A is fitted with anvinsulated door frame 17 and an insulated door 18 is hinged on said frame, to close said doorway. An ice pan 19 shaped like a truncated cone has an annular supporting flange 20 at the rim thereof which rests upon the upper edge of the body A. Said pan has a double walled bottom 2l with insulating material 22 therein. A perforated false bottom 23 within the ice pan is adapted to support the ice and a. plurality of holes 24 are formed near the bottom of the pan to discharge water therefrom. An annular gutter 25, ysurrounding the lower edge of the ice'pan, catches the drip issuingfrom said holes 24. and empties into a drain tube 26. A series of air inlet openings 27 is formed in the upper margin of the ice panl9 and a thimble 28 passes centrally through the bottom of said pan and connects with the hereinafter-described cold air conduit. The upper end of this thimble projects high enough above said bottom to exclude water therefrom and the lower end of said thimble depends considerably beneath the pan. The

central pipe E, forming the cold air conduit and shelf support, receives the lowerV end of the thimble 28 and conveys cold air from the ice pan to the bottom of the refrigerator. This pipe E has a plurality of sections 29, 30 and 31, each section being larger in diameter than the one above and smaller in diameter than the one below so that at the unions of said sections horizontal annular shoulders or rests 32 and A33 are formed. The lowest section 31 of the conduit E is provided with a series of outlet openings 34 through which cold air is discharged radially at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment.` Circular supporting trays or shelves l35 and 36 are freely mounted upon the rests 32 and 33 of the central pipe E and are thus adapted to be severally turned to present any desired article upon themat the doorway 1G of the refrigerator; tilting of the shelves being prevented by the sleeves 37 and 38 attached to the shelves and encircling the conduit E. These shelves 35 and 86 are perforated to permit the circulation of air therethrough. The sections29 and 80 of the conduit E are respectively formed with eX- ternalcircumferential ribs 39 and 41 and the sleeves 37 and 38 surrounding said sections are respectively formed with internal circumferential ribs 40 and 42. These ribs provide eiiicient bearings between said conduit and sleeves. The lower side of the shelf 3b has an annular bearing rib d3 which turns upon the shoulder ,33 and said shoulder has a similar rib del upon which said shelf rests. i drain tube e5 is centrally mounted within the cold air pipe E by means of detachable keepers e6. This drain tube a5 receives water from the tube 26 above described and delivers the saine to a third tube #t6 in the bottom B of the refrigerator which leads to a water trap e? beneath said bottom.

ln use, provisions are placedL upon the shelves and each article is easily accessible by turning the particular shelf upon which it rests, to bring said article adjacent to the doorway i6 of the refrigerator. 'lhe cover C- may be removed from the body A to permit the filling of the pan 19 with ice or the door l5 in said cover may be opened. Air within the ice pan is cooled and descends through the conduit E to the bottom of the refrigerator, whence it passes radially through the outlet openings 34- in the pipe E and is diffused throughout the refrigerating compartment, thence upward through the inlet openings 27 into said ice pan, thus completing the circuit through the refrigerator. rlhis circulation of air is rapid and thorough and detrimental eddies and baclr currents, common in refrigerating compartments of ordinary refrigerators, are eliminated. The drip from the openings 2i in the ice pan and the water of condensation forming upon the outer wall thereof is collected in the gutter and discharged through the drain tubes 25, l5 and 4:6 into the water trap l? from which said water escapes through the discharge pipe e8.

ln cleaning the refrigerator, the cover C is removed therefrom, after which the ice pan 19, cold air pipe l@ and shelves 35 and e6 may be withdrawn from the refrigerating compartment. Said shelves are easily removable from the pipe E and so also is the drain tubo l5 from within said cold air pipe. ln reassembling the parts, the shelves 235 and 36 are replaced upon the pipe E in the order named. The drain tube d5 is inserted in the conduit which is then easily returned to central position within the retrigerating compartment by passing the lower end thereof over the annular rib t9 formed in the inner wall l0 of the bottom l. In this position of the conduit, the lower end of the drain tube e5 opens into the mouth Olof the tube e8. The ice pan 19 is next placed within the refrigerator, the lower end of the thimble 28 fitting within the upper end of the conduit E and the lower end of the drain tube 26 opening into the mouth 51 of the rain tube 45. The cover C is finally replaced upon the body flaming described my invention, what cla-im as ne f' and desire to protect by liet ters atent, is:

l. ln a refrigerator, an insulated cylindrical housing, comprising a hollow cylindrical body having a bottom integral therewith and a removable cover, an ice pan shaped like a truncated cone and supplied with a supporting flange at the rim thereof adapted to rest upon the upper edge of said body, said pan having a series of air inlet openings in its upper margin, and a cold air thimble passing centrally through the bottoni of said icepan, a removable pipe centrally arranged within the housing and forming a cold air conduit and shelf support, said conduit communicating at its upper end with said thimble and formed at its lower end with outlet openings, a plurality of shelves revolubly mounted on said pipe, a gutter at the lower edge of the ice pan, a drain tube leading from said gutter to a point below the center of the ice pan, a tube centrally arranged within the conduit to receive the drip from said lirst tube and a third drain tube centrally arranged in the bottom of the refrigerator to catch the drip from said second drain tube.

2. in a refrigerator, an insulated cylindrical housing. an ice pan in the upper end of said housing having an air inlet opening at the top and a central outlet opening in the bottom thereof, a central upright pipe in said housing having horizontal shoulders thereon, said pipe forming a cold air conduit to receive air from said opening in said ice pan and discharge it at the bottom of the housing, shelves revolubly supported on said shoulders, a sleeve secured to each shelf and surrounding said pipe, and ribs on said pipe and sleeves forming bearings therefor.

3. ln a. refrigerator, an insulated cylindrical housing, an ice pan in the upper end of said housing having an air inlet opening at the top and a central outlet opening in the bottom thereof, a central upright pipe in said housing having a horizontal shoulder thereon, said pipe forming a cold `air conduit to receive air from said opening in said ice pani and discharge it at the bottom of the housing, a shelf revolubly supported on the shoulder of said pipe, a sleeve secured to said shelf and surrounding said pipe, an external circumferential rib on the pipe and an internal circumferential rib on said sleeve, said ribs forming bearings between said pipe and sleeve. Y

l. ln a refrigerator, an insulated cylindrical housing, an ice pan in the upper end of said housing having air inlet openings at its top and a central thimble in the bottom thereof, a central vertical pipe in said housing having ay horizontal shoulder thereon, said pipe forming a cold air conduit to receive air from said thimble in said ice pan and discharge it at the bottom of the housand an annular rib on said shoulder, said ing, a, shelf revolubly supported on the ribs forming bearings between said pipe and shoulder of said pipe, a sleeve secured to sleeve and between said shoulder and shelf. 10 said shelf and surrounding seid pipe, an eX- Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my termal circumferential rib on said pipe, an name to this speccetion.

internal circumferential rib on said sleeve,

an annular rib on.' the bottom of said shelf ANDREW J.v MoARTI-IUR.

Copies of this patent may be vobtained for :live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

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