US1852479A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DONALD REEVES, OI? DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR .lO FBIGIDAIBE CORPORATION, 01'

DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION 01' DELAWARE BEFRIGERATING APPARATUS Application filed February 27, 1928. Serial 1T0. 857,888.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to an improved construction of refrigerating element and its arrangement in a refrigerating-cabinet. One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement for supporting the refrigerating element within a refrigerator cabinet.

Another object is to provide an improved to refrigerating element which is smooth and readily cleaned, and of pleasing appearance.

Another object is to provide an 1mproved form of refrigerating element such as an evaporator with an enclosing casing or shell which is readily removable and which is in intimate thermal contact with the refrigerating element.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of refrigerating element which is effective to freeze ice as well as to cool a refrigerating cabinet.

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

in the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a refrigerating cabinet provided with the improved refrigerating element;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the refrigerating element and a portion of the cabinet;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged views of portions of Fig. 3.

Evaporators of the type including a header forming a reservoir for liquid refrigerant and depending loops of pipe connected to the header for enclosing ice-making receptacles and for circulating refrigerant to cool a cabinet have been known heretofore and are exemplified by the patent to King, 1,654.504, December 27, 1927. While such evaporators are very effective from a refrigerating standpoint, they are diflicult to clean and are rather unsightly when placed in a refrigerator cabinet, and for the latter reason it has been usual to conceal the evaporators in refrigerator cabinets by a special lining or partition. This partition has merely concealed the evaporators from view, the air in the cabinets circulating directly over the evaporator, which because of its complicated shape is diflicult to clean, and is rendered still more diflicult to clean by the presence of the partition. My invention is concerned amon other things with eliminating of the above mentioned disadvantages.

In Fig. 1, 10 represents a refrigerator cabinet of any suitable construction, which is provided with a refrigerated compartment 11 and which may have a machine compartment 12 for enclosing any suitable refrigerating apparatus for circulating refrigerant through a cooling element generally denoted by 14. The cabinet includes vertical walls 15, storage shelves 16, and one or more openings closed by doors 17.

The cooling element preferably includes an evaporator having a header forming a reservoir for liquid refrigerant which may be admitted thereto under the control of a float valve 21, and depending sets of duct loops 22 and 23 for circulating refrigerant, which duct loops form an enclosure for compartments 24 adapted to receive trays 25 for freezing ice. The evaporator construction as thus far described is more fully disclosed in the patent to King referred to above.

As shown in Fig. 3 the evaporator is supported entirely by the back wall of the cabinet preferably by means of a pair of brackets 26 which are secured to the wall in any suitable manner as by screws 27 passing through the lining 28 of the back wall and threaded into a reinforcing plate 29. The brackets in turn support a cradle consisting of complementary clamping members 30 and 31 which secure the header 20 to the brackets and thus to the wall. Refrigerant is circulated through the evaporator in the wellknown manner by means of conduits 33 having valved connections 34 to the header and passing through an opening 35 in the back wall of the cabinet.

A casing or shell surrounds and totally encloses the evaporator. The casing 40 is supported upon a back wall and is secured thereto by any suitable means such as screws 41, a resilient insulating gasket 42 bein preferably interposed between the edge of t e casing and the back wall of the cabinet, which also protects the surface of the wall from injury and forms a tight joint between the easing and the wall. The casing has an opening 43 (see Figs. 3 and 5) which afl'ords access to the valved connections 31 and which is closed by a removable cap 44 secured in place by a screw 45 which is received in a stud 46 on the header. Preferably the opening 43 is surrounded by a flange 430: over which the cap 44 fits, the purpose of this arrangement being to prevent water from leaking into the casing when the cooling element is defrosted. The casing also has an opening 47 which registers with the compartments 24 and permits insertion of the ice freezing trays 25. This opening is surrounded by a bead 48 which may be secured to the shell by screws 49, the opening 48 being also surrounded by a flange 49a (see Fig. 6) to prevent water from leaking into the casing. The ice trays 25 are provided with the usual tray fronts 50 which, when the trays are in place, close the opening 47.

The shell which encloses the evaporator provides the means for cooling the cabinet.

To this end the shell is cooled by the evaporator which is connected in intimate thermal contact therewith by resilient plates 52. These plates are generally L-shaped as shown in Fig. 3, one side 53 of the L being soldered both to a duct 22 and a duct 23, and the other side of the L being in contact with the shell. The evaporator, including the plates 52, is normally wider than the shell, and the shell is forced over the evaporator, bending the resilient members within their elastic limit. The members then efiect good thermal contact with the shell through their inherent tendency to resume their former positions. Preferably the sides 54 are slotted as shown in Fig. 4 in order to-insure better contact with the surface of the shell.

The shell being chilled by the refrigerant ducts and resilient members, cools the air in its immediate vicinity, setting upcirculation of air and refrigerating the cabinet in the well-known manner. It will be noticed that the evaporator proper is completely protected from air currents. consequently the frost which is usually deposited on the cooling units will collect almost entirely on the outside of the shell. Frost ordinarily collects odors from the cabinet and is what necessitates the periodic cleaning of the refrigerating unit. Since the frost is in this instance collected on smooth fiat surfaces, it will be apparent that the cooling element can be readily cleaned.

Furthermore the shell being perfectly the cooling unit and to promote sanitation I prefer to coat the shell 40 and the cap 44 with vitreous enamel. The removal and replace ment of trays 25 is often attended by some jarring and concussion, particularl by contact of the tray fronts and the bee 48 when the trays are slid into the compartments. For this reason the bead and tray fronts are preferably not coated with enamel but. are made of some non-corroding and attractive metal, such as monel.

While the form of embodiment of the 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. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, a cabinet having vertical walls, a casing supported entirely by one of the vertical walls, and a refrigerating element supported within the casing and in intimate contact with the casing.

2. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, a cabinet having a door opening and a vertical wall opposite the opening, a. refrigerating element supported entirely by the vertical wall, and a casing slidably mounted on the element in intimate thermal contact therewith, said ca-sing being removable from the element through the opening.

3. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, pairs of spaced ducts for circulating refrigerant, and one or more resilient plates, each of which is secured to both ducts of a pair and projecting beyond the ducts for connecting the ducts in intimate thermal con tact with a device to be cooled.

4. A cooling unit for mechanical refrigeration comprising: an elongated header, a plurality of duct loops depending from said header, and arranged in staggered relation and forming two sets of loops, each set having its loops substantially in longitudinal alignment and offset laterally from the loops of the other set, and one or more resilient members each of which is attached to a loop in each set, said members projecting beyond the loops for connecting the loops in intimate thermal contact with a device to be cooled.

In a refrigerating apparatus, a cooling unit including an elongated header, opposed duct means extending downwardly from the header in spaced apart upright planes extending longitudinally of the header, and means supported between and in intimate metallic contact with said opposed duct means for carrying an ice-tray, and one or more resilient members attached to the duct means and projecting therefrom for connecting the cooling unit in intimate thermal contact with a device to be cooled.

6. Refrigeratin apparatus comprising in combination, a ca inet having vertical walls, a casing supported entirely by one of the vertical walls, and a refrigerating element supported within the casin and in intimate contact with the casing, sald casing being insulated from the walls.

7. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, a cabinet having a vertical wall, a refrigerating element supported entirely by the vertical wall, and a casing slidably mounted on the element in intimate thermal contact therewith, said casing being removable from the element.

8. A cooling unit for mechanical refrigeration comprising a plurality of ducts arranged in staggered relation and forming two sets of ducts, each set having its ducts substantially in longitudinal alignment and ofi'set laterally from the ducts of the other set, and one or more resilient members each of which is attached to a duct in each set, said members projecting beyond the ducts for connecting the ducts in intimate thermal contact with a device to be cooled.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

DONALD H. REEVES.

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