US2183678A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Patented Dee. 1 9, 1939 Clifton E. Herman, Columbus, Ohio Application October 8, 1938, Serial No. 234,024

6 Claimm This invention relates broadly to refrigerators and is specifically directed to an improvement in domestic type of refrigerators. The primary object of the invention resides in the'provision of a refrigerator having a vertical partition to divide the interior ofthe cabinet intofront and rear compartments in order thatv when the door is opened, the entire interior of therefrigerator will not-be exposed to the external atmosphere but l@ aportion at the rear of the partition will be protected therefrom. This feature will result in a conservation of the cool air of theA refrigerator inasmuch as that behind the partition will be prevented from escaping.

E@ It is also an object of the invention to provide a partition having an internal passage, the inlet of which is disposed in closed proximity to the cooling unit'. The outlet ofthe passage is arranged adjacent the lower portion of the cabinet whereby improved circulation of the' cooling air will be effected. This improved circulation will not be interferred with by the order in which the articles to be cooled are disposed upon the shelves in the refrigerator.

A still further object-rests in the provision of novel means for mounting the partition in the cabinet so that it will be free to rotate to permit of access to the shelves on either side of the par,

tition.

It is also an object to provide the refrigerator with an improved shelf construction in which the rear portion of the shelf engaging the support is provided with means to effect the support of the shelf, the outer portion of which is not supported., i j

An object of uthe invention also resides in the formation of a novel cabinet design, the cabinet being provided with a semicircular vertical rear `wall which `will conform to the contour oi the 4 shelves carried by the rotatable partition. The

rounded rear wall makes the cabinet more easily Fig. 2 is a typical horizontalsectional view taken through the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the refrigerator on the plane indicated by the lineIII-III of Fig. 2 and shows the i wall 3, front and side walls i and 5 and a rounded rear Walid. These walls cooperate to form an E@ enclosure?, in the upper portion of which is disposed a cooling unit 8 VThe front wall d is provided with a door i3 through which access to the compartment i is obtained. The bottom' wall t is provided at the center for the radius oi the 2o arcuate back wall with a base plate l@ having an upstanding projection il in which is formed a threaded opening i2. The threaded lower end of a vertically extending tubular column i3 is positioned in the opening l2, the vertical position as of the column being maintained by the secure engagement of the plate with the lower wall of the cabinet. n

The upper end of the column i3 receives a plug i@ having a central socket for the reception of 30 a felt Wick i5. The upper surface of the plug is depressed as at it to receive and support a steel y ball il which furnishes an antifriction bearing for the rotatable support of a partition it. The

partition includes a rectangular wooden frame 35 i having upper and lower bars i9 and 2li, the outer ends oi which are connected by vertical bars 2l. The center of the lower bar 20 is formed with, an opening for the reception of ansleeve 22 through which thercolumn I3 extends. At the 40 center of the lupper bar, there is secured a fitting 23 having a socket formed in its under surface for the reception of the ball il. 'lhe Weight lof the partition rests upon the ball and is free to rotate around 'the' vertical axis provided by, the 4s column i3. l

A pair of brace rods 2d vextend diagonally between the upper bar i9 and the lower bar 2B and serve to strengthen the framework and maintain its rigidity. `The front and rear surfaces of the frame have metallic plates Z5 lsecured thereto to complete the' partition, the4 frame serving to space the plates and provide -a passage therebetween. The sides of the upper bar of the frame are relieved as at 26 to provide 55 an entrance to the passage at the top of the partition. At the lower ends, the side plates 2l include a plurality of openings 21 which constitute the outlets of the passage'and permit cool air which enters the passage at the top to pass outwardly from the interior ofthe partition to the .lower portion of the refrigerator cabinet.

The sides of the partition are provided with outwardly projecting hooks 28 to receive and support semi-circular shelves ,29 whichinclude a peripheral frame 30 formed of a metallic strip, the ends of which are bent downwardly at right angles to the remaining portion of the bar. .A The downwardly projecting portion 3l' of the strap engages the partition below' the hooks and serves to hold the shell in a true horizontal position. To complete the shelves, there is provided a plurality of wires 32 which extend from the strap 3|! to a transverse brace 33 extending between the end portions of the straps 30. The wires 32 may be secured to the members Ill and 33 by welding or any other suitable means. The.

intermediate portions of the wires I2 are braced by one or more transverse wires 34 extending between the sides of the strap 30.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there has been provided an improved refrigerator construction in which means'are provided to dividey the interior of the refrigerator cabinet into front and rear compartments and that when the door` is opened to provide access to the interior, the entire interior will not be exposed to the external atmosphere but a portion behind the partition will be protected and the air and commodities contained therein unexposed to the atmosphere. By revolving the shelf upon its pivotal support. access may be had to the articles on the shelves oni either side of the partition. y

While I have shown and described thev invention in its preferred form, it Will be understood that numerousL minor variations may be made therein, such as increasing the number of compartments, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. I.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, cooling means disposed in the upper portion of said cabinet, a vertically extending hollow partition positioned in said cabinet with its open upper endl in close proximity to said cooling means, said partition being provided with outlets adjacent its lower end, semicircular shelves supported by the sides of said partition, and means for supporting said partition for swinging movement around its longitudinal axis.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, cooling means disposed in the upper portion of said cabinet, a vertically extending hollow partition positioned in said cabinet with its open upper end in close proximity to said cooling means, said pai'- tition being provided with laterally directed outlets adiacent its lower end, semicircular shelves supported by the sides of said partition, and.

means for supporting said partition for swinging movement around its longitudinal axis.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having top, bottom, front and side walls and a semicircular vertical rear wall, a base plate secured to the bottom wall in spaced relation to the side walls, a column supported in a vertical position by said base plate, a rectangular-frame journaled for movement around the axis of said column,

side-plates secured to said frame in spaced relation to provide a passage having an open top,v

walls, a column supported in a vertical position by said base plate, a rectangular frame journaled for movement around the axis of said column substantially diagonally extending brace means connected with said frame, side plates secured to said frame in spaced relation to provide a passage having an open top, the lower portions of said side plates being provided with openings, and shelf means to the sides of saidV frame. Y

5. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having top, bottom, front, side and rear walls, the rear wall being arcuate in horizontal cross section, a column rigidly positioned in said cabinet on the center for the arc of said rear wall, a partition including a a rectangularI frame journaled around the longitudinal axis of said column, plate means secured to the front and rear of said frame to form a passage extending the full length of said partition, said passage having an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom, and shelf means secured to the sides of said partition.

6. A refrigerator comprising 5. cabinet having a semicircular vertically extending rear wall,' a vertically extending partition positioned in said cabinet to divide the interior thereof into front and rear compartments, a passageway extending vertically of said partition, a plurality of outlets provided in spaced relation from the upper end of said passageway and establishing communication between said passageway and said compartments, semicircular food'supporting shelves carried by said partition, and means for supporting said partition for swinging movement about its vertical axis to alternately position the shelves on each side in the front and rear compartments.

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