US2196476A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

April 9, 1940. b. H. REEVES REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Don/0L9 6. PEA-v5.5.

April 9, 1940. n. H. REEVES I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 19:57 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Don/440 6 Wart ts, @m 544.... 4 3-6 l/IS ATTORNEYS April 9, 1940. REEVES 2,196,476

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jun; 6. Pt: was.

ws ATTORNEYS.

pr l 9, 1940. D. H. REEVES 2,196,476

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. DEA 44v 6. P4: (5:,

bl-S ATTORNEY',

Patented Apr. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,196,476 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Donald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio,

eral Motors Corporation, Dayton,

I poration of Delaware assignor to Gen- Ohio, a cor- Application March 6, 1937, Serial No. 129,443

9 Claims.

This invention relates to freezing apparatus for liquids such as ice trays employed in mechanically refrigerated household refrigerator cabinets.

This invention relates more particularly to an ice tray and grid structure therefor of the general type disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 98,213 filed August 27, 1936, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved grid structure possessing characteristics similar to those of the structure disclosed in my copending application but which is of increased structural strength, more efficient in operation, of simplified construction and consequently capable of being manufactured at reduced cost.

' In carrying out the features of the foregoing object in the production of a metallic grid strucof Fig. 2 showing the locking arrangement of the ture for an ice tray from which ice blocks can be mechanically removed without applying artificial heat to the structure, it is another object of my invention to provide an ice tray grid construction which will permit substantially the entire interior of the tray to be utilized for receiving substances to be frozen.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved ice tray grid structure which has movable transverse walls extending parallel to one another and normally. disposed at a predetermined angle relative to a line extended perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of the structure that are progressively rotatable out of their angled disposition for enlarging the ice compartments to cause ice blocks to be released therefrom.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a metallic grid structure having longitudinal dividing members disposed one above the other in substantially the same vertical plane and a plurality of transverse members all of which members are movable relative to one another for breaking the bond between the members and ice formed in the structure to release ice blocks therefrom.

Still further and more specific objects and advantages reside in details of construction of my improved grid structure and in novel combinations and arrangements of parts thereof as will more fully appear in the course of the followingdescription:

In the drawings: v Fig. l is a top plan view of an ice tray having a grid positioned theren and constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 1 and is taken on the 'line 2-2 thereof;

v of Fig. 2 showing the Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the grid together with ice blocks frozen therein and adhering thereto elevated relative to the tray;

Fig. 4 is a view disclosing the grid and ice blocks adhering. thereto removed from the .tray and showing certain walls of the grid structure moved relative to other walls thereof for releasing ice blocks therefrom;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the position of walls of the grid structure after having been moved to release all ice blocks therefrom;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 locking arrangement of the grid. transverse walls between the movable portions of the longitudinal wall;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 movable portions of the longitudinal grid wall within the end transverse wall thereof;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the grid walls showing their association during assembly thereof to construct the unitary structure;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view. taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 showing one position of the longitudinal members within the end transverse member during assembly of the grid structure;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 9 showing another position of the longitudinal members within the end transverse member during assembly of the grid structure; I

Fig. 11 is a sectional view similar to Figs. 9 and 10 showing a further position of the longitudinal members within the ing assembly of the grid structure;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary top plan view of an end of a modified grid structure; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the modified grid structure taken on the line l3-l3 of Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 a metal ice tray I0 having side walls I I (see Figs. 6 and '7), a bottom wall l2 and opposed end walls l3 and M. The tray side walls II and the front. end wall l3 thereof converge outwardly toward the top of the tray. The tray back wall It is converged outwardly toward the top of the tray a greater distance than other walls thereof for a purpose which will become apparent hereinafter. The walls ll, their upper edge rolled over to form a rim l5 which extends continuously around the top of the tray. A portion of the metal tray I0 is extended downwardly from rim I5, as at [6, at the front end transverse member du'r- I3 and i4 of'tray II) have end thereof and provides a mounting fora metal 56 .*thereto.

ing system and a cam surface l9 formed thereon functions, upon actuating handle I8, to break an ice bond between the tray and its support to permit removal of the tray and its frozen contents ;from the cooling element as is well known in the art.

A unitary metallic grid structure, generally represented by the reference character 20, is removablydisposed within tray l0 and divides the interior of the tray into a plurality of rows of open-top molds, cells or compartments 2|. The grid structure 26 includes two sections which are movable relative to one another and which are in the form of longitudinal dividing members 22 and 23 disposed one above the other in substantially the same vertical plane. By disposing the members 22 and 23 one above the other respectively they form complementary portions of a longitudinal wall of single thickness which wall is common to a plurality of the ice block compartments 2|. Member 22 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart slots or notches 24 extending upwardly from its bottom edge 25. These slots or notches 24 include side walls 26 and 21' cut at opposed angles to one another and a top horizontal wall 28. Member 23 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart slots or notches 29 extending downwardly from its top edge 3 I. The slots or notches 29 include side walls 32 and 33 cut at "opposed angles to one, another and a bottom horizontal wall 34. A slot 35 disposed at an angle but having substantially parallel side Walls extends downwardly from the top edge 36 of member 22 near the end thereof positioned toward the front wall I3 of tray It). A slot 31 having walls similar in configuration to the walls of slots 29 extends upwardly from the bottom edge 38 of member 23. It is to be noted that a portion of the bottom edge 25 of longitudinal member 22 is tapered upwardly from the point 39 below slot 35 to the end ofv member 22, as indicated at 46, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The slots or notches 24 in member 22 and slots or notches 29 in member 23 register with one another and receive a web portion 4| of members 42 provided-between a pair of notches or slots 43 and 44 cut therein (see Fig.

6) and which members extend transversely to the longitudinal members. Thus the transverse members 42 extend and are locked between the two longitudinal members 22 and 23 forming the single longitudinal wall of thegrid. Slot or notch 35 in longitudinal member 22 and slot 31 in longitudinal member 23 cooperate to'receive another transverse member 45. The longitudinal. members 22 and'23 pass through an opening 46 provided in transverse member 45 and are movably locked relative to one another in this end transverse member in a manner which will be more fully described hereinafter. By referring again to Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be noted that the walls 26 of slots 24 and walls 33 of slots 29 are disposed in slightly spaced .apart parallel planes. These slots 24 and 29 cooperate with one another to cause the walls 26 of slots 24 to abut the upper part of one side of the web portion 4| of transverse members 42 and to cause the walls 33 of slots 29 to abut the lower part of the opposite at an angle to a line extended perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of grid structure 20 or to the bottom wall |2 of tray Ill. The slots 35 and 31 provided in members 22 and 23 respectively are also shaped and arranged to cooperate in maintaining the one transverse member 45 at a predetermined angle parallel to the other transverse members 42. This normal angled disposition of transverse members 42 is for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully described. -The end, opposite the end tapered as at 46, of longitudinal member 22 is bent outwardly as at 41 out of the plane of an upwardly directed extension 48 provided on longitudinalmember 23 and overlaps this extension 48.

A lever 5|, having a short extending end portion 52 and a relatively long handle end portion 53, is provided with a pair of legs 54 and 55 which straddle the bent end portionv 41 of longitudinal member 22 and the upwardly extended portion 48 on longitudinal member 23. A pin 51 secured to the one leg 54 of lever 5| and passing through a suitable opening provided in extension 48 pivotally attaches the lever 5| to longitudinal member-23. A second pin 58 is secured to the other leg 55 of lever 5| and passes through a suitable opening provided in end portion 41 pivotally attaches the lever 5| to the longitudinal member 22. The pin 58 is located below pin 51 and the spaced apart pivoting centers of these pins form a toggle connection which serves to maintain the lever 5| in its lowered or normal non-operative position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The toggle connection thereby prevents accidental raising of levers 5| into a position where it will interfere with removal of the tray from the cooling element. Thus it will be seen that in addition to the ends of longitudinal members 22 and 23 disposed at the front of tray l0 being movably locked together by cross member 45 the opposite ends thereof are also movably locked together by .the pins 51 and 58 and lever 5| to provide a unitary grid structure.

It is tobe noted that the walls 26 of slots or notches 24 are equally spaced apart along the member 22 while the walls 21 thereof are progressively spaced a greater distance from the walls 26 from the lever end to the opposite end of the grid structure to thus provide successively wider slots or notches toward the end of the grid disposed at the front of tray ID. The slots or notches 29 are spaced an equal distance from one another and the walls 32 and 33 thereof are also uniformly spaced apart. Therefore upon moving the longitudinal member 22 lengthwise of longimembers 42 progressively from the lever end to a the other end of the grid structure.

By referring now to Figs.- 7 to 11 inclusive of the drawings I will describe the method of assem.- bling the wall parts of the grid together to provide the unitary structure. It is to be noted that the opening 46 in the one end transverse member 45 includes a vertically elongated portion 6| and a shorter wide portion 62 which has its top converging into the elongated portion 6| by an angled wall 63. In assembling the parts of the grid structure 20 the one end of longitudinal member 22 is first inserted into the opening 46 and is moved through the opening until the slot or notch 35 provided therein aligns or registers with the opening 46. By virtue of the slot 35 longitudinal member 22 can then be moved over into the wide portion 62 of opening 46 as shown elongated portion longitudinal member in Fig; 9 of the drawings thus leaving the elongated portion 2| of opening 46 open for the reis lowered, by virtue of notch 31, within the elongated portion 6| of opening 46 so that its bottom edge 36 aligns with the bottom edge of transverse member 45 as shown in Fig. 10. This downward movement of longitudinal member 23 leaves the upper part of elongated portion 6| of opening 46 free to receive the web portion below notch 35 of longitudinal member'22. Therefore member 22 may now be turned, by virtue of the angled wall portion 63 of opening 46, and raised so that the web part thereof below notch 35 attains the tilted elevated position within portions 6| and 62 of opening 46 as shown in Fig. 11. The opposite ends of the longitudinal members 22 and 23 are then moved away from one another into a position resembling that shown in Fig. 8 and the transverse members 42 may be placed between the longitudinal members with their bot-' tom notches or slots 44 straddling the web portions of member 23 below the notches 29 provided therein. After all the transverse members 42 have been placed in'straddling position upon 23 the spaced apart opposite ends of the members 22 and 23 are brought together with the notches 24 in member 22 registering with the notches 43 provided in the upper part of transverse members 42. Thereafter longitudinal member 22 is moved upwardly into the 6| of opening 46 from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The longitudinal members are thus positioned one above the other within the portion 6| of opening 46 in substantially the same vertical plane. The walls bounding the portion 6| of opening 46 are arranged to maintain the longitudinal members 22 and 23 in vertical alignment as long as the lever ends of these members are retained in close together relationship. The brought together lever ends of the longitudinal members 22 and 23 are now ready to be movably secured to one another. Lever 5| is therefore placed over the lever ends of members 22 and 23 with the holes therein regholes provided for pins 51 and 41 and 46 of the longitudinal members. Pins 51 and 58 are driven into their respective openings provided in the legs 54 and 55 of lever 5| and project into the openings provided therefor in members 22 and 23. Lever 5| is thereby secured to longitudinal member 22 member 23 by the pins 51 and 58 to thus complete the assembly to form the unitary'grid construction 26. The dividing walls 22, 23, 42 and 45 of the unitary grid structure 26 are constructed preferably of sheet aluminum to afford good heat conductivity and fast freezing of the contents of the metal tray l6. The metallic dividing elements 22, 23, 42 and 45 of istering with the 58 in the portions the grid structure may be impregnated and coathandle H! has been manipulated to remove the tray from the element and it is now desirable to remove the ice blocks 65 from the unitary grid structure 26. The handle end 53 of lever 5| is therefore elevated to pivot the lever 5| about pin 51 and to cause the short end portion 52 of the lever to engage the rim l5 of tray I6 and exert a force against the tray. tray l6 causes the unitary grid structure 26, together with the ice blocks 65 adhering thereto, to be elevated relative to the tray. This initial movement of lever 5| overcomes the force afforded by the toggle connection, formed by the normal disposition of pivot pin 51 below pin 56, and causes pin 58 secured to the upper longitudinal member 22 to rotate about pin 51. Rotation of pin 58 about pin 51, during the initial movement of lever 5| described, applies force between the longitudinal members 22 and 23 and elevates member 22 relative to member 23 (see Fig. 3) during elevation of the structure 26 and ice blocks 65 adhering thereto relative to the tray. The tapered edge surface 46 provided-on longitudinal member 22 permits movement of the opposite end of member 22 downwardly relative to member 23 and this longitudinal member 22 fulcrums upon the edge 3| of member 23 at the juncture 39 of the tapered edge 46 with the straight flat bottom edge 25. Further movement of lever 5| about its pivot 51 continues to elevate the longitudinal member 22 and also slides member 22 lengthwise of longitudinal member. 23 toward the lever end of the structure by virtue of rotating pin 58 secured to member 22 about pin 51 (see Fig. 4). The initial sliding movement of member 22 relative to member 23 moves the side wall 26 of the slot 24, nearest the lever end of the structure, away from the first transverse member 42 and causes the opposite side wall 21 of slot 24 to engage the web portion 4| of transverse member 42 and move this first member 42 out of its normal predetermined angle of disposition. The transverse member 42 pivots about the bottom wall 34 of slot 29 provided in mem-- ber 23 and about the lower portion of the ice block. 65 and may also be moved upwardly relative to member 23 due to the now elevated position of longitudinal member 22. It will be seen that substantially a rotary motion is imparted to the transverse members 42 to thereby substantially peel the first two ice blocks 65 away from the first transverse member and to break the blocks loose from the lower longitudinal member to 1 which they have adhered during movement of the This force applied to' end of the structure 26 the side walls 21 thereof will be progressively brought into engagement with the webs 4| of transverse members 42.

' Therefore the transverse members are moved out .of their predetermined angled position progressively from one end to the other end of the grid structure to thereby release all ice blocks 65 therefrom. The slots 35 and 31 are of such size and configuration as to insure that the transverse member 45 will be moved last to provide progressive releasing of the ice blocks 65 which occurs in moving the lever 5|, through its single direcnormal position This thereby increases the size,

of the compartments 2| to enlarge same relative to the ice blocks 65 and when the ice blocks are tilted by movement of succeeding transverse members, their dimension, taken on a line perpendicularto the parallel sides thereof which normally abut the transverse members, will be less than the distance between the transverse members to thus permit ice blocks to'freely fall from the enlarged compartments. Therefore it will be seen that the normal angled disposition of the transverse members has a definite purpose in the function of the improved grid structure.

In Figs. 12 and 13 of the drawings I have dis' closed a modified grid-structure having all the characteristics of and operated in substantially the same manner as the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 11 inclusive but which modified structure is of slightly different construction. Referring to Fig. 13 it will be noted that the bottom edge a and the top edge 31a of the longitudinal members 220, and 23a respectively are cut on angles to a line extending parallel with the lonitudinal extension of the structure 20a to .form somewhat of a zigzag structure. In Fig. 12 it will be seen that the ends of the two longitudinal members 22a and 23a disposed toward the. front of the tray are locked together in movable relation to one another by a pin 51 secured to member 23a. Pin 61 passes through elongated slot 68 provided in member 22a (see Fig. 13) which slot permits lengthwise movement of member 22a relative to member 23a for the same purpose described relative to the grid structure 20. The

structure 20a instead of employing the slightly difierent cut transverse member 45 as in the structure 20.

From the foregoing it wilLbe seen that I have provided an improved ice tray grid' structure which is of low cost, strong and durable, capable of being operated with a minimum of force and effective to remove ice blocks therefrom without unduly shattering the blocks and which device is constructed entirely of metal to thereby retain the fast freezing characteristics of metal tray and grid combinations. The improved grid structure is of the single wall type and the struc ture is devoid of large operating shafts or other such members which ordinarily reduce the cubical capacity of the tray or which project a substantial distance above the top of the tray to occupy valuable space in the compartment adapted to receive the tray. By employing portions of the ice block compartment forming walls for moving certain of the walls or parts thereof relative to one another in my improved construetion the entire interior of the tray may be utilized for storage of the liquid or other substance to be frozen without jeopardizing the operation of moving parts of the grid structure. By constructing a grid structure so that the ice blocks are progressively released therefrom a minimum of force releases all ice blocks therefrom to thus overcome objections to prior devices wherein ut most effort is required to release ice blocks. In the present device I have provided a single lever which is operable, in the same direction of motion, to remove the unitary grid together with "ice blocks adhering thereto from the trayand to release ice blocks from the grid structure.

While the forms of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms mightbe adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In liquid congealing apparatus, 'the'combination of an ice pan, a grid member removably disposed therein for dividing the ice pan into a plurality of ice cube forming cells, said grid member comprising a central longitudinal wall member formed of two superposed parts both of which divide the ice pan longitudinally thereof and one of which is movable lengthwise relative to the other and a plurality of transverse wall members movably attached to said longi-- tudinal wall member, each of said transverse wall members being provided with vertically-extending slots in the top and bottom thereof to the longitudinal wall members when one ofsaid longitudinal wall members ,is moved lengthwise relative to the other, after the grid member has been at least partially removed from the ice pan.

2. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition in an ice tray comprising, a longitudinal wall member formed of two superimposed parts one of which is movable relative to the other and a plurality of spaced apart transverse wall members movably connected to said longitudinal wall member to provide a plurality of ice block compartments, each of said transverse wall members being provided with vertically extending slots in the top and bottom thereof for receiving said longitudinal wall member parts,

said slots beingof suificient width that the longitudinal wall parts may move freely therein, said top longitudinal wall part being provided with a series of vertical slots in the bottom thereof and said bottom longitudinal wall part being provided with a series of vertical slots in the top thereof, the slots in said longitudinal wall parts receiving said transverse wall members and being of sufiicient width to permit movement of said transverse wall members in a direction lengthwise of said longitudinal wall 'member when one of said longitudinal wall parts is moved lengthwise relative to the other to break the bond between ice blocks and their compartment walls.

3. A structure in accordance with claim 2 rality 0! wherein a lever is connected to one o! the' parts of the longitudinal wall member and engages the other part thereof for moving the parts relative to one another.

4. A structure in accor ance with claim 2 wherein the transverse wall members are nor-- mally disposed in an inclined position and are movable toward the vertical to enlarge the ice block compartments.

5'. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein the vertical slots in the movable longitudinal wall part are of increased width relative to one another and toward one end of the grid structure-for causing the movable'longitudinal wall part to sequentially "engage the plurality of transverse wall members and progressively move same.

6. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition ln an ice tray comprising, a longitudinal wall member formed of two superimposed substantially non-flexible metal parts one of which is movable lengthwise relative to the other and a plurality of. spaced apart substantially nonflexible metal transverse wall members mova-' bly connected to said longitudinal wall member to provide a plurality of ice block compartments, each of said transverse wall members being provided with vertically extending slots in the top and bottom thereof for receiving said longitudinal wall member .parts, said slots being of sufficient width that the longitudinal wall parts may move freely therein, said top part being provided with a series of vertical.

longtudinal wall slots in the bottom thereof and said bottom longitudinal wall part being provided with a seslots in'the top thereof, the slots parts receiving said being of greater ries of vertical in said longitudinal wall transverse wall members and width at their open end than at their closed end to permit angular movement of said-transverse wall members therein relative to the longitudinal wall parts when one ofsaid' longitudinal wall parts is moved lengthwise relative to the other, and the vertical slots in one of said longitudinal wall'parts being of increased width relative to one another and toward one end or the grid structure for causing the movable longitudinal wall part to' sequentially engage and move the plunection of certain of other part of said longitudinal transverse wall members to progressively break the bond between ice blocks and their compartment walls. I

7. A structure in accordance with claim 6 wherein a lever is connectedto one of the parts of the longitudinal wall member and engages the other part thereof for moving the parts lengthwise of one another.

8. A structure in accordance with claim 6 wherein the slots in the longitudinal wall member parts cooperate to normally maintain the transverse wall members in an inclined position and the walls thereof upon engaging the transverse wall members move same toward the ver-.

tical to enlarge the ice block compartments.

9. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition in an ice tray comprising, a longitudinal partitioning member formed oi. two superimposed parts one of which is movable relative to the other and a plurality of spaced apart transverse partitions movably connected to said longitudinal partitioning member to form walls of a plurality of ice block compartments, the consaid transverse partitions with said longitudinal partioning member permitting elevation of at least a portion of one part 'of said longitudinal partitioning member and lengthwise movement thereof relative to the partitioning member for moving said transverse partitions in t a direction lengthwise of the grid structure to break the bond between ice 'blocks and their compartment walls, means normally securing said parts of said longitudinal partitioning member together at one end of the grid structure, the connection of one of said transverse partitions with the parts of said longitudinal partitioning member adjacent the opposite end of the structure being constructed and arranged to movably lock said two parts of said longitudinal partitioning member together at said opposite end of the grid structural and said means including means for applying .force between the parts of said longitudinal'partitioning member to cause said movement of the. ice'biock compartment walls. DONALD E.

Images