US1768642A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July 1, 1930. o. M. SUMMERS REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

Filed July 30, 1927 Patented July 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orFrcE OTTO M. SUMMERS, F DAYTON, OH IO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'TO FRIGID- AIRE CORPORATION, A GORFORATION OF DELAWARE REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS Application flled' July 30,

Thisinvention relates to mechanical household refrigerators and particularly to devices for freezing blocks or cubes of ice for table use.-

It is among the objects of the present in- 7 vention to provide a container or tray for ice blocks which is convenient to handle and easy to fill, which freezesice uickly, and which facilitatesthe removal ov the frozen 10 blocks.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved container which is economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a pre ferred form of embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an inverted ice tray constructed in accordance with my invention; 1 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of such a tray 2 right side up; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section thru an ice vtray in the freezing chamber of a mechanical household refrigerator.

In almost every mechanical household refrigerator in use at the present time, some provision is made for freezing cubes or blocks of ice for table use. As shown in Fig.

: 3, in connection with the present invention,

this is usually in the form of a shallow pan or tray 10, which is placed in a support 11 in a freezing chamber 12 provided for that purpose in connection with the evaporator or cooling unit 13 of the refrigerating system. Such trays are usually subdivided into compartments or else are provided with partitions, such as removable rids, for the purpose of defining the blocks 0 ice.

The previously known trays have not been entirely satisfactory because it is difficult to remove the ice blocksafter they are frozen. It has usually been necessary to melt loose the entire contents of the tray, separate the desired number of blocks from the mass, and

"then replace the remainder. This is unsatisfactory and annoying. Attempts to solve this 1927. Serial No. 209,548.

problem have been made by freezing the blocks in cups arranged in racks so as to be individually removable. But this proposal has not met with success because such arrangements froze ice slowly, because they seriously reduced the ice capacity of the tray,

because it is tedious to fill a lot of little cups,

into compartments.

Each cup 16 is preferably drawn or stamped from a single thin sheet of metal, such as copper, and as shown in the drawings, each cup is roughly cubical, being more accurately described as the-frustum of a foursided pyramid having rounded corners. The openends 17 ofthe cups are rectangular, or as nearly so as can be conveniently formed in manufacturing. Any desired number of cups are assembled with their upper edges in contact, and are so secured together to form a unitary, partitioned container. Preferably the cups are placed within a'frame, or

band 18, flush with the top edges 17, and

while so assembled, the band and cups are dipped in molten solder, or other suitable bonding material, which effectively solders together the edges 17 of the cups and solders the group of cups into the frame.

' The frame '18 which holds the cups together may be of any form which'is suitable to manufacturingconditions and the vevaporatorwith which the apparatus is to be employed. Asshown for the sake of illustration in the drawing this frame comprises a U-shaped member 18 whose ends 18 are turned in to facilitate attachment to the plate 19 which serves both as a handle and as a closure for the freezing chamber as is well known in the art.- Across member 18 is placed in the U- which is subdivided into a partments by mutually transverse sets of holformed between the U-shaped member 18 and the cross member the desired number of cups are placed. The dimensions of the cups and the frame are such that. the frame binds the cups quite firmly together and holds them in this assembled. relation while they are being dipped in molten solder.

As is seen in Fig. 2, the corners of the upper edges of the cups are not perfectly square, but are rounded slightly. This is due to the manufacturing rocess, it being difficult and expensive to ma e cups with perfectly sharp corners. Each of the spaces between the corners may be filled with ahead of solder 19, after the dipping operation, in order to make an imperforate container, in case the dipping operation does not fill the openings. Each cup may taper for its full depth so as to contact with adjacent cups at the upper edges only, as shown in the left hand portion of Fig. 3, or each c'up may have sides which are parallel for a substantial distance down from the top, so that the cups will be in contact thruout a substantial portion of their height, as shown in the right hand portion of the same figure. The former arrangement facilitates removal of ice blocks by allowing hot waterto come in contact with a greater portion of the cups, while the latter arrangement considerably facilitates assemblage of the cups in the frame during manufacturing. Either arrangement reduces to a ne ligible quantity, that is, to a thin edge, the'tgistanc'e between the tops of adjacent cups.' Consequently, in filling the'cups, all that is necessary is to pour water into the group of cups. Due to the thin edges between cups, all of such water must fall into the cups. None can run off between cups, and all water overflowing from any cup. except the outside ones,

must necessarily flow into adjacent cups. 7 No water can flow down between cups, and this minimizes the likelihood of getting water on the bottom or sides of the tray, which would cause it to freeze to' its support 11 in the freezin chamber. Dueto t eir tapering form, the cups are separated from each other thruout a substantial portion of their height, and the bottom of the tra is thus subdivided by a number of mutua transverse grooves, which, it will be note extend continuously across the full length and breadth of the tray, and as has been noted, may-eitend substantiall the full thickness of the container, that is, rom bottom to top of the ice tray. I In other words, this form .ofv construction provides a tray p urality of comow-walls, and the walls have sharp upper edges for deflecting into the compartments all water which may be poured into the tray.

When it is desired to fill the tray, the

tipped slightly for an instant to equalize the level of the water in all the cups, and to bring this level to the desired point. Excess water flows off the side of the tray, can not get between cups, and is not likely to get on the bottom of the tray in any appreciable quantity. The tray may then'be placed in the freezing chamber without likelihood of bein frozen to its support.

W an it is desired to remove one or more ice blocks from the tray, the latter is inverted, as shown in F i 1 and "held under a warm water faucet. no to the particular conformation of the bottom of the tray, the warm water may flow over any given block or group of blocks so as to dislodge the blocks or group of blocks selected without disturbing the remaining blocks in the pan. For example, suppose it is desired to remove the block in cup 20 in Fig. 1. The cup 20 is held directly under the faucet, and warm water flows over and entirely around this cup. All four walls of the cup being warmed, the block is immediately dislodged. The warm water flows ofi' thru the grooves between the other blocks, for instance thru grooves 21, 22 and 23. This naturally can melt loose one side of each of blocks and 31, sides 32 and 33 of block 34, sides 35 and 36 of block 37 and sides 38 and 39 of block 40. But it will be noticed that the pan can be held so that all the water runs off thru grooves 21, 22 and 23. Therefore the sides not mentioned of blocks 30, 31, 34, 37 and 40'willnot be melted away from the cups and these blocks will consequently :remain frozen'in the tray. Likewise suppose it is desired to remove an. entire group of blocks, such as 41, 42 and 43. In this case the row 41, 42 and 43 is passed back and forth under the warm water faucet so that the water flows entirely around each of the blocks mentioned. The water flows ofi thru the grooves between-the other blocks but does not completely surround any other block. Thus all other blocks are left with one or more sides frozen to the cups and are consequentl etained in osition. 7 Other groups, di erepnly arrange may be removed in a similar anner. This arrangement is of great advantage since it ermits the freezing of blocks of different. avors and colors at the same time in the same pan and permits the removal of any one or any group of such flavors or colors without disturbing the re. maining blocks. a

' Another advantage resulting from construction is the rapidit with which the blocks may be frozen. Eac cup rests directly on the support 11 in the freezing and is thus in good thermal contact with such support. Each block of ice is completely surrounded by metal conducting elements which are integral with each other and with the bottom which contacts with the support in the freezing chamber. This provides an excellent multiple path for conducting the heat out of the water.

Y It has also been found that the form of ice tray shown is considerably cheaper to manufacture than the present conventional type of tray, that is,'one having a removable grid which is placed within the pan. The grids have. proved to be particularly expensive to manufacture, and altho it may not be self evident, it has been found from actual trial that it is much more-economical to stam the individual cups and assemble them in a ame than it is to manufacture a pan and a grid. While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it'is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A container for making a plurality of ice blocks'in household refrigerators having its under side divided into sections by mu tually transverse sets of continuous grooves of substantially the same depth, the grooves being adapted to receive warm water for disengaging the ice blocks and extending through the sides of the container to permit water to drain from the grooves.

ice blocks in mechanical household refrigerators having mutually transverse partitions dividing the interior of the container into compartments, the under side of the container being divided into sections corresponding to the compartments by grooves of substantially the same de th extendin con-'- tinuously across the un er side and t rough the, sides of the container and adapted to receive warm water for disengaging the blocks.

- 3. A container for making a plurality of ice blocks in mechanical household refriger ators having mutually transverse sets of double-walled partitions extending from the bottom to the top of the container and dividing the interior of the container into compartments.

, 4. A container for making a lurality of ice blocks in mechanical househod refriger- 2. A container for making a plurality ofnature.

ators comprising a plurality of cups each adapted to make a block of convenient size for table use, said cups being joined at their open ends to form a partitioned container, and being separated at their closed ends to permit passage of warm water around individual cups, whereb one or more individual blocks of ice may e disenga ed from the container without loosening e remaining blocks. a

6. A containerfor making a plurality of ice blocks in mechanicaLhonsehold refrigerators comprising a plurality of cups each adapted to make ablock of convenient size for table use, said cups being joined at their open ends to form a partitioned container, and being separated at their closed ends to permit passage of warm water around individual cups, the joints between the cups forming edges adapted to deflect into thecups all water poured into the container.

7. A container for making a plurality of I ice blocks in mechanical household refrigerators comprising a plurality of cups each adapted to make a block of convenient size for table use, said cups being joined at their open ends to form a partitioned container,

and being separated at their closed ends to permit passage of warm water around indi-- vidual cups, the spaces between the cups being closed and forming edges adapted to deflect into the cups all water poured into the container.

I 8. A container for making a lurality of ice blocks-in mechanical househo d refrigerators comprising in combination a U-shaped frame, a cross member between the arms of 1 the frame said arms extending beyond the cross mem er,'a plurality of cups secured to each other and secured within the space between said cross member and the frame, and a handle secured to theends of the arms.

9. A container for making a plurality of ice blocks in household refrigerators having its under side divided into sections by mu-' tually transverse sets of continuous grooves extendingsubstantially the full height of .the container, the grooves being adapted to receive warm water for disengaging the ice blocks. p i

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my sigo'r'ro M. SUMMERS.

ators having mutually transverse sets of double-walled partitions dividing the interior of the container into compartments, the

under side of'the container having grooves 6 ice blocks in mechanical household'refrigerof substantially the same depth extending-

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