US1738162A

US1738162A - Grid for ice pans

Info

Publication number: US1738162A
Application number: US281320A
Authority: US
Inventors: Weeks James Rodney; Harold A Greenwald
Original assignee: Whitehead and Kales Co
Current assignee: Whitehead and Kales Co
Priority date: 1928-05-28
Filing date: 1928-05-28
Publication date: 1929-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1946-12-03

Description

Dec. 3, 1929. J. R. WEEKS ET AL GRID FOR ICE FANS Filed May 28. 1928 jvwe ntow till Patented Dec. 3, 1929 rrED STATES PATENT OFFICE J'Elll'flilh RODNEY WEEKS AND HAROLD A. GREENWALD, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AS-

SIGNUlF-LS T0 WHITEHEAD AND KALES COMPANY, OF RIVER ROUGE, MICHIGAN, A

lJURPUllVATIUN U15 MICHIGAN GRID FOR 10E Pans Application filed May 28,

This invention relates generally to grid constructions for ice pans of mechanical and/ or electrical refrigerating apparatus and consists of certain novel features of construction combinations and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the present state of the art, grids, as well as ice pans, having parallel or substantially parallel walls have been used in the formation of ice cubes and it has been found that the water or other liquid in freezing expands slightly thereby causing the sides of the cubes to be forced firmly against the parallel walls of the grid and/0r pan with the result that the grid cannot readily be removed from the pan and the cubes cannot readily be removed from the grid. Usually a thawing out process is required to loosen the parts so that the grid and cubes can be removed from the pan and the cubes then removed from the grid. ldioreover, grids having such parallel walls are quite stid and rigid and therefore cannot be used to facilitate or assist in the removal of the grid and/or cubes from the pan. Such grids are not satisfactory either from the manufacturers view point as considerable laher and time is required to first form the separate wall strips and then assembled the same in crossed relation to form the parallel wall constructions referred to.

"With the present invention however, the objectional features just set forth have been entirely overcome by the provision of a gridhaving angularly disposed walls that not only obviate entirely all possibility of the ice sticking thereagainst due to the expansion of the liquid in freezing,'but actually facilitate and aid the removal of the ice therefrom, especially when such walls are polished or chromium plated. Preferably our grid is constructed and arranged in such a way that it may be formed of one piece of metal, may be readily removed from a pan, and after removal may be bent or flexed slightly longitudinally to facilitate the removal of the ice therefrom.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an ice pan 1928. Serial No. 281,320.

with a pan embodying our invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is an end view thereof.

Figure 4; is a longitudinally sectional view taken on the line H of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the gri Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing a slightly modified construction.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the grid shown in Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 is an open top ice pan which may or may not as desired, be of conventional form, and 2 is a grid embodying our invention. As shown, the pan 1 has a substantially flat elongated bottom 3 provided along its longitudinal edges with upwardly diverging side walls a and 5 respectively, and provided along its transverse edges with upwardly diverging end walls 6 and 7. Preferably the end and side Walls are of the same height and have their meeting edges secured rigidly together in a suitable manner to prevent leakage.

Flanges

8, 9, 10 and 11 respectively project laterally from the upper edges of the

walls

4, 5, 6 and 7 and an inverted substantially L-shaped tongue 12 projects laterally from the end flange 11 and constitutes a handle or finger piece by which the pan may be moved into and out of the usual freezing chamber (not shown) of a suitable refrigerator.

The grid 2 preferably comprises a single transversely corrugated relatively heavy gauge spring metal strip having a width slightly less than the width of the bottom 3 of the pan and having the corrugations 13 thereof substantially equal in depth to the depth of the walls of the pan. Preferably each corrugation 13 is substantially V-shaped throughout its width so that when the grid is in the pan successive corrugations thereof open alternately upwardly from and downwardly toward the bottom 3 of the pan. All of the corrugations 13 are preferably the same size and are devoid of end walls.

To facilitate the removal of the grid 2 from the pan 1, the upwardly inclined side wall 1% of the end corrugation 13 preferably has a "pendicularly disposed with 1 to assist in the laterally projecting flange 15 constituting a handle or finger piece. Normally this handle 15 overlaps an end flange 10 or 11 of the pan and may be readily grasped to lift the grid.

In use, the pan 1 with the grid 52 therein as shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be filled with a liquid to be frozen and then placed in the usual freezing chamber of arefrigerator. W hen filled the liquid will be above and below the grid, due to the clearance between the sides thereof and the sides of the pan, hence such liquid will be in the downwardly opening corrugations as well as in the upwardly opening ones. As the liquid freezes into wedge-shaped blocks of ice, expansion thereof will cause the resulting blocks of ice in the downwardly opening corrugations to slide on the diverging walls 16 and 17 away from the apices 18 of such corrugations and cam upwardly the grid and ice in the upwardly opening corrugations. Freezing of the liquid above the grid will also cause the ice blocks in said upwardly opening corrugations to cam themselves upwardly in said corrugations away from the apices 19 thereof. Thus the ice has a tendency to loosen itself in the respective V-shaped molds or corrugations so that it may be readily removed from both the grid and the pan.

lVhen it is desired to remove the grid from the pan, the said grid may be lifted by the handle 15 at one end thereby causing the other i. e. the lower edge 19 of the downwardly opening end corrugation to fulcrum on the bottom 3 of the pan. After being re moved the grid may be bent or flexed slightly longitudinally to flip therefrom any ice still carried thereby.

Thus, from the foregoing description, it will be readily apparent that we have provided a grid that may be more readily removed from a pan and that facilitates and assists very materially in the removal of the ice from both the pan and grid. As the grid is formed of one piece of material and'is corrugated. it will also be apparent that assembly expenses have been obviated and it may be readily rolled or pressed to the desired shape at a comparatively low cost. Moreover the spring construction thereof enables the grid to readily bend or flex longitudinally, for instance when fulcruming on the bottom 3 of the pan, or when bent after being removed removal of the ice therefrom.

If desired, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the grid walls 20 may be vertically or perrespect to bot tom 3 of the pan so that successive corrugations 21 thereof-open alternately toward the

longitudinal side walls

4 and 5 respectively of the pan. In this instance the vertical edge 22 of the end corrugation 23 could be fulcrumed on the upper edge 24: of an end Wall of the pan and the grid may be so moved by a handle 25 projecting at substantially right angles from the vertical corrugation 27.

lVhile it is believed that from the foregoing description, the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, we desire to have it understood that we do not limit ourselves to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

hat we claim as our invention is:

1. A receptacle for the prmlnction of fro- Zen fluid in mechanical refrigerators comprising an open top pan, and a removable grid in said pan comprising a strip of flexible material provided longitudinally thereof with transversely extending substantially V-shaped corrugations of substantially uniform depth, certain of said corrugations having their apices extending transversely of the pan adjacent the upper edges thereof and having their side walls diverging downwardly from said apices toward the bottom of said pan.

2. A receptacle for the production of frozen fluid in mechanical refrigerators com prising an open top pan, and a removable grid in said pan comprising a strip of sheet metal provided loi'igitudinally thereof with transversely extending substantially V-shaped corrugations of substantially uniform depth, certain of said corrugations having their apices extending across and resting upon the bottom of said pan and having their side walls diverging upwardly from said apices toward the upper edges of said pan, one of said side walls having a lateral projection projecting over an edge of said pan and constituting a handle by which said grid may be removed from said pan.

3. A receptacle for the production of frozen fluid in mechanical refrigerators comprising an open top pan and a remov: ble grid in the pan comprising a. strip of pliable niaterial provided longitudinally thereof with transversely extendingsubstanti ally V-sha ped corrugations of substantially uniform depth, successive corrugations opening alternately upwardly from and downwardly toward the bottom of said pan.

4. A receptacle for edge 26 of the end the production of frozen fluid in mechanical refrigerators com prising an open top pan, and a removable grid in said pan comprising a strip of pliable material provided longitudinally thereof with transversely extending substantially V-sh a pod corrugations, successive corrugations opening alternately upwardly from and downwardly toward the bottom of said pan, the apices of the downwardly opening corrugations being in a common plane at the upper edges of said pan.

5. A receptacle for the production of frozen fluid in mechanical refrigerators comprising an open top pan and a removable grid in said pan comprising a strip of pliable material provided longitudinally thereof with transversely extending substantially V-shaped corrugations of substantially uniform depth, successive corrugations opening upwardly from and downwardly toward the bottom of said pan, one of said corrugations having a lateral extension projecting over an edge of said pan and constituting a handle by which the grid may be removed from said pan.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures.

JAMES RODNEY WEEKS.

HAROLD A. GREENWALD.