US1998705A - Ice cracker - Google Patents

Description

April 23, J. 5. BRADLEY ET AL 1,998,705

l 7 ICE CRAGKER Filed Sept. 25, 1931 ATToRNEY- Patented A r. 23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,998,705 or; CRACKER John S. Bradley, New York, N. Y., and John Dyer, South 0range,-N. J.

Application September 23, 1931, Serial No. 564,530

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to devices for cracking ice, and in particular ice cubes, such as are manufactured in modern household mechanical refrigerators.

Present clayv mechanical refrigerators for houseout being pulverized.

Previous devices of this general character have been, in effect, grinders which, in various ways, grind up the ice or in the nature of shavers which chip a thin layer from the surface. All of these forms reduce the ice to a substantially pulverized state. For many purposes, particularly shaker drinks, the ice should not be so finely ground because it melts too rapidly diluting the beverage and, for the same reason, failing to function effectively as one of the chief agents in thoroughly mixing and aerating it.

One of the major novel results which our invention has attained is the cracking of ice cubes into chunks substantially all of which are of appreciable size as compared with the snow and thin chips to which the ice is reduced by other devices, such as grinders and shavers. We have observed that ice and an ice cube in particular when subjected to a crushing pressure, as distinguished from a grinding or shaving action, resists the strain up to a certain critical point and then suddenly burstsv asunder into chunks of the proper size and with the production of only a very minor amount of pieces small enough to be compared with those produced by grinding or shaving. Our invention is so designed that a heavy pressure may be applied to an ice cube with little effort to crack it as described above and in this it is to be distinguished from rotary and other devices which chew up or pick at the ice.

Two forms of our invention are illustrated by the accompanying drawing;

Figure 1 is a view in perspective partly broken away of one form of our invention;

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of another form.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the cracking cylinder illustrating one manner in which the cylinder may be mounted and in which the operatinghandle may be attached thereto;

and

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary plan view of one form of cracking cylinder.

In the forms illustrated, our inventioncomprises a box-like body I composed of sides! and 3 and end 4. Top 5 and end Bmay be left open although, if desired, the top may also be closed and the end 6 provided with-a hinged closure Ii which can be opened by means of ahandle v6 to permit the insertion of an ice cube. Preferably the bottom I is open save'for aseries of slats or ribs 8 suitably spaced to'suppo'rt an icev cube. Preferably the upper-surface of each rib. is in the form of an inverted V so that the ice cube will rest upon sharp edges, and it is also desirable that the ribs run in a fore-and-aft direction, as shown. However, these details are not essential.

In suitable bearings in sides 2 and 3 a crushing cylinder II is eccentrically mounted. It may be ternate, large and smaller diameters I I and I I respectively, having sloping sides to form, in effect, knife edges. It may also be cross cut longitudinally, if desired, so that the surface takes the form of a series of small pyramids.

Beyond the bearing at each end of the cylinder, and projecting outwardly from the sides 2 and 3, is a short stub I2 which may be square, hexagonal, fluted, or otherwise shaped to form a suitable operating connection between the crushing cylinder I I and ahandle I3. The handle I3 terminates in a fork I4, I5, at the ends of which holes or sockets are provided of suitable shape and size to operatively engage with stubs I2. Of course any other suitable form of connection between handle I3 and cylinder I I may be employed. The design shown is simple, inexpensive and satisfactory and permits of adjustment of the handle I3 to the position most convenient for the cracking of ice cubes of any given thickness. 7

The exact size and location of cylinder II may be left to those skilled in the art. It should be of such a size and so positioned that when in the position shown in Fig. 1 the space between its under, side and the ribs 8 is rather small and in any event substantially less than the thickness of an ice cube,'whereas when in the position gained by rotating the handle I3 through degrees, the space between the then under side of convenient receptacle. In the form shown in, Fig.

2 the cracker is provided with legs I 6 and I! by means of which it may be mounted upon a base 53 or secured to a table and there is also included a tray is adapted to slide under the cracker be-' tween the legs to receive the cracked ice.

The cracker operates as follows: Handle I3 is first swung from the position shown in the drawing to prepare the cracker for the reception of an ice cube by elevating cylinder I I as muchasnecessary. An ice cube is then inserted and handle is is swung back towards its original position, which will also cause rotation" of cylinder ll. Since cylinder H is eccentrically mounted, as described above, such rotation will cause its surface to contact with the ice cubeand/as the rotation continues to exert a constantly increasing pressure upon it..unti1 it cracks or, tobe more accurately descriptive, bursts into a number of smaller chunks. In short, the "cylinder is in the nature of an elongated cam capable of producing greatpressure with easel The progressive character of the pressurethus produced, together with the knife edged or pyramidal contour of the? cyl- 1 inder and the ribs,.will causethe ice to burst as heretofore described, rather. than to chip .or

cient strength to withstand the considerable pressures developed. This will be understood and provided for by any one skilled in the art.

Our device is obviously susceptible of many modifications. For example, the top may be closed, if desired, or the bottom may be solid. The crushing means may be of some other general shape than that shown and its surface may be smooth or provided with other sorts of irregularities and, of course, the device may be made of suflicient size to accommodate more than a single ice cube. However, such modifications would not constitute departures from our invention. The particular forms which we have shown and described are for purposes of illustration only, and not-intended as limitations of the invention.

We claim:

l. A device for cracking ice cubes which consists of a receptacle having two sides, a surface for supporting an ice cube and an abutment adjacent one end of said surface and at substantially a right angle thereto for limiting the movement of the cube in that direction, a cracking element supported between the sides and having a cracking surface swingable simultaneously towards said supporting surface and towards said abutment to crack a cube held therebetween.

2. A device for cracking ice cubes which consists of a receptacle having two sides, a surface for supporting'an ice cube and an abutment adjacent one end of said surface and at substantially a right angle thereto for limiting the movement of the cube in that direction, a cracking element having a substantially cylindrical cracking surface and swingably supported between said sides upon an axis other than the normal axis of said cylindrical surface, and means for swinging said cylindrical surface simultaneously towards said supporting surface and said abutment.

JOHN S. BRADLEY. JOHN W. DYER.

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