US1984977A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1934. E. w. MIZE REFRIGERATOR Filed June 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 II/II/I/II. 4

Zhwentor E. WMZze 17 WNW 4- Patented Dec. 18, 1934 1,984,977 REFRIGERATOR Earl W. Mize, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor of onefourth to Robert W. Forbes, one-fourth to Joseph A. Fitzslmmons, and one-fourth to Joseph M. Bryant, all of Jacksonville, Fla.

Application June 26, 1934, Serial No. 732,521

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in refrigerators and has for an object to provide an auxiliary compartment for refrigerators accessible from the exterior without opening the man compartment of the refrigerator.

Lnother object of the invention is to provide adiitional refrigerating space in a refrigerator, wl ich space is over and above that now supplied interiorly of the refrigerator cabinet, the additional space being secured by forming a compartment in the massive door of the refrigerator and providing a secondary door mounted in and carried by the main or primary door for. giving access to the compartment within the primary door without opening said primary door.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a refrigerator having a separate compartment as above described, means for controlling the temperature in the auxiliary compart- 20 ment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator of the character described in which the communication between the auxiliary compartment and the main-internal refrigerator space will be closed automatically when the secondary door is opened.

With the foregoing and. other objects in view,

the invention will be more fully described-hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several v1ews,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an improved refrigerator constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing the various doors and compartments in open position.

Figure 2 is a front elevation with parts broken away and parts shown in section of the improved door and compartment construction.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are detail views taken on an enlarged scale showing the method of mounting and removing the receptacles.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on an enlarged scale through a slightly modified form of refrigerator and door construction illustrating a shutter mechanism.

Figure '7 is a similar view with the door shown in the closed position.

Figure 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 8-8 in Figure .6, and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the shutter mechanism.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 designates generally a refrigerator cabinet having the electric or other refrigerating unit 11 therein and containing internal refrigerating space 12 which contains various shelves 13 according to a standard practice well known in this commercial art. 1

The refrigerator is usually closed by a rather massive door embodying in its construction considerable insulating material. It is the space of this door that I purpose to utilize as additional refrigerating space and I accordingly provide a compartment 14 in the door 15 and construct a secondary door 16 for the purpose of giving access to the compartment '14. The secondary door 16 is carried by hinges 17 which may be mounted upon the main door 15 or upon the cabinet wall. The main door 15 is supported by hinges 18 of any desired character which hinges of course are in turn supported by the cabinet wall.

The secondary door 16 will preferably be of insulated material so as'to prevent as much as possible the dissipation of cold from the additional space within the compartment 14. Cold air is permitted to circulate from the internal refrigerating space 12 of the cabinet into the auxiliary compartment 14 through numbers of perforations. These perforations are preferably mounted in horizontal rows 19. Each row may contain any number of desired perforations.

Such perforations are shown in the drawings as being a desirable number and as permitting I the perforations to be spaced sufliciently far apart and yet allow for the entire horizontal group to be embraced within the cut-out portion 20 of the rear wall 21 of the receptacles 22 which are mounted in any suitable number and arrangement in the auxiliary compartment 14 for the holding of fresh vegetables or such other foodstuffs as it may be desired to place therein.

Referring more particularly to Figures 4 and 5, it will be seen that the rear walls 21 of such trays or receptacles are provided with keyhole slots 23, such keyhole slots having their larger rounded portions lowermost to receive therein the heads 24 of rivets or other suitable fastenings mounted in the rear insulated wall 25 of the compartment 14 in the door 15 in which the rows of perforations 19 are also made. In one form of the invention shown in the drawings, the rivets 24 are mounted in horizontal line with the respective rows of perforations 19 so that when the trays are being fitted to place, as indicated in Figure 5, and the large openings of the keyhole slots are placed over the heads 24 of the rivets, the rear wall 21 of the receptacles 22 will mask the perforations 19. However when the receptacles 22 are allowed to descend to the position indicated in Figure 4, by virtue of the elongated upper portions of the keyhole slots 23 sliding down over the shanks of the rivets 24, the perforations 19 will be unmasked by the cut-out portions 20 of the rear receptacle walls 21v and at the same time the heads 24 will overlap the side portions of the narrow parts of the keyhole slots thus effectually locking the receptacles in place. Thus the end portions 26 of the rear walls 21 of the receptacles 22 are continued upwardly and form no part of the cut-out portions 20, whereby the narrow slotted portions of the keyhole slots 23 may reach up into the end blank portions 26 for the purpose of permitting the receptacles to descend sufiiciently far down, as indicated in Figure 4, to reveal the row of openings 19.

As shown more particularly in Figure 1, a side wall, or both side and rear walls of the cabinet 10, may be provided with internal compartments 27 containing shelves or the like 28 on which bottled goods or other material or substances may be placed and these compartments 27 may be made to communicate with the internal cold space 12 of the refrigerator through one or more or groups of openings 29. A supplemental door 30 may be used to close such compartments and to give access to same.

Referring more particularly to Figures 6 to 9, the rows of openings 19 are adapted to be opened and closed by the use of a shutter arrangement consisting of a number of horizontal strips 31 corresponding in number to the number of the horizontal rows of openings 19.

These strips 31 are provided with horizontal rows 32 of openings adapted to register with the openings 19 in one position of the strips. The strips 31 are all connected together by a vertical bar 33 having pins 34 about which engage coil springs 35. The shutter device is slidably mounted in the main door 15 or in the rear wall 25 thereof and the strips 31 may slide on the rivets 24. The strips 31 are provided with slots 38 received slidably on the pis or rivets 24. The end walls of the horizontally elongated slots 38 will act as stops so that when the lugs 36 and 37 cooperate on the closing of the secondary door 16, the perforations will be brought into correct registry. A lug 36 projecting outwardly at substantially right angles or other angle from the vertical bar 33 is disposed in the path of 9. lug 37 on the secondary door 16.

In the operation of this device, the springs 35 will normally project the bar 33 and the strips 31 forwardly to a position where the perforations 32 will be out of registry with the perforations 19. When the secondary door 16 is closed, the lug 37 will encounter the lug 36 and push the bar 33 and the strips 31 backwardly against the influence of the coil springs 35 thus bringing the perforations 32 into registry with the perforations 19. Thus during the entire time that the secondary door 16 is closed, cold air from the main internal refrigerator compartment 12 .may enter through the registry openings 32 and 19 and thus place the auxiliary compartment 14 in a cold air circuit with the main compartment.

As soon as the secondary door 16 is opened the lug 37 carried thereon is withdrawn from the companion lug 36, thus freeing the coil springs 35 which will immediately expand and shift the bar 33 and its strips 31 over to a position where the perforations 32 will be shifted out of alinement with the rows of perforations 19.

In such case the cold air from the internal compartment 12 of the refrigerator will be cut off from the auxiliary compartment 14. In other words during all of the interval to whichthe secondary door 16 remains open, no cold air'from the refrigerator may escape and dissipate ,into the surrounding atmosphere which is always the cause of expense whenever refrigerator doors are opened. When such refrigerator doors are opened the internal cold air escapes, thus inviting spoilation and creating a risein temperature such that the electrical apparatus is very frequently turned on to regain the lost low degree of temperature and thus additional expense is involved in the operation of the refrigerator. When the main door of the refrigerator is opened, the valve parts 35 and 33 separate, but the engagement of the parts 36 and 3'7 will hold the ports 19 and 32 in open position, so that when the main refrigerator door 15 is restored to closed position, the springs 35 will be automatically compressed to the condition shown in Figure 7. Thus automatically whenever both doors are closed, the door compartment will be placed in communication with the interior refrigerator space. Figure 9 shows the relative arrangement of the valve plate 33 and the pins 34 and springs 35, although such pins and springs are separate from the valve plate 33.

The various receptacles 22 may be lifted out from time to time and when so removed they afford conveniences in the matter of removing and replenishing same apart from the refrigerator that are absent when such trays or compartments are fixtures in the refrigerator structure.

By the use of the invention, increased capacity for holding food-stuffs is afforded without sacrificing any of the insulating features of the door construction as the cold space of the auxiliary compartment will itself form a refrigerating space in the main door 15. Moreover, the secondary door 16 and the rear compartment wall 25 may be insulated to prevent rapid dissipation of the cold temperature.

The openings and the means for closing same may vary in number, size, arrangement and spacing of said openings, and the means for closing the openings may also be varied in construction and arrangement and I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction as herein shown and described.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not mean to limit the invention to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. In a refrigerator having an interior refrigerating space, a main door for the refrigerator having an auxiliary refrigerating compartment therein with a rear insulating wall having perforations therein establishing communication between the compartment and the interior refrigerating space, and a secondary door for opening and closing said compartment independently of the opening or closing movement of said main door.

2. In a refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space, a main door for the refrigerator having an auxiliary refrigerating space therein with a rear insulating wall having horizontal rows of perforations, trays having cut-out portions to receive said rows of perforations, means for detachably suspending the trays with the cut-out portions extending about said rows of perforations, and a secondary door for closing and opening said compartment without regard to the movement of said main door.

3. In a refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space, a main door for the refrigerator having an auxiliary refrigerating space with a rear insulating wall having horizontal rows of perforations disposed one above the other, headed pins carried by said wall in substantial alignment with the horizontal rows of perforations, trays having rear walls with cut-out portions and keyhole slots, said keyhole slots adapted to removably and lockingly cooperate with said headed pins for holding the receptacles with the cut-out portions extending about the perforations, and a secondary door for closing said auxiliary compartment.

4. In a refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space, a main door for the refrigerator having an auxiliary refrigerating space, and a rear insulating wall having perforations therein, a secondary door for closing the auxiliary compartment, and means for opening and closing said perforations.

5. In a refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space, a main door for the refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space therein and a rear insulating wall provided with perforations, a

" secondary door for opening and closing said auxiliary compartment, and means actuated by said secondary door for opening said perforations when the secondary door is closed, and closing the perforations when said secondary door is opened.

6. In a refrigerator having an internal refrigerating space, a main door having an auxiliary refrigerating compartment provided with a rear wall having openings therethrough, a, shutter arrangement including perforated strips slidably mounted with reference to said perforations for opening and closing said perforations, a bar carrying said strip guide pins on the bar, coil springs associated with the guide pins for urging the bar and strips to a position closing the perforations, a secondary door for opening and closing the auxiliary compartment, and lugs arranged between said secondary door and said bar whereby to shift the bar and strips to open the perforations when said secondary door is closed.

EARL W. MIZE.

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