US2278221A - Refrigeration - Google Patents

Description

Man 31. '1942.

A. D. SIEDLE REFRIGERATION Filed Sept. 5, 1939 Af nold fi. 61:33:

5 @Za/A ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1942 REFRIGERATION Arnold D. Siedle, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio Application September 5, 1939, Serial No. 293,396

Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to an ice tray adapted to be positioned in the freezing compartment of a domestic refrigerator.

When ice trays having a removable grid assembly are placed on the evaporator shelf of a refrigerator and allowed to remain until the ice is frozen the tray will be frozen to the evaporator shelf, the grid assembly, and attached cubes will be frozen into the tray and the cubes will be frozen to the grid assembly. It is therefore necessary to break the bond between the tray and the evaporator shelf, to break the bond between the tray walls and the ice and also to break the bonds between the ice and'the grid assembly;-

The usual procedure is'to pry the tray loose from the evaporator shelf by means of some implement, pour water over the bottom of the tray until the ice is melted loose therefrom, after which it is necessary to pour additional water over the grid assembly and attached cubes until the cubes are melted loose therefrom. This procedure is a bothersome and untidy task and results in a considerable wastage of ice since the cubes are considerably reduced in size by the melting operation.

It has also been proposed to remove the grid assembly and attached cubes from the tray by means of mechanical leverage mechanism and then to remove the attached cubes from the grid assembly by hand or by some other leverage means.

These devices have not been entirely satisfactory due to the fact that it requires the application of a considerable force to remove the grid assembly and attached cubes from the tray and the cubes from the grid assembly. These prior devices are also complicated and expensive to manufacture and wear out easilynecessitating their periodical replacement.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an ice tray with a grid assembly removably positioned therein having means thereon for raising the tray from the evaporator shelf, for raising the grid assembly in the tray and for breaking the bond between the grid assembly' (Cl, 62-1085) I It is another object of this invention to provide an ice tray and grid assembly which is efficient in operation, simple to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 showsthe device of the invention positioned on the evaporator shelf of a domestic refrigerator; l

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the grid assembly according to the invention in which the grid assembly is shown removed from the tray, and;

Figure '3 shows the grid assembly in a position for breaking the bond between the grid assembly and ice frozen thereto.

'Referring to the drawing, the numeral it represents the freezing compartment of a domestic refrigerator having a bottom I I and a back wall l2.- A bracket I3 is secured to the back wall it of the freezing compartment. I

The tray it is of standard construction except that a reinforcing plate I5 is suitably secured to the upper edge thereof at its rear end.

The grid assembly is generally indicated at it a and comprises a longitudinal grid member i1 and lateral grid members 22 to form a plurality of ice compartments when positioned in thetray i l.

The longitudinal grid member If is made up of upper and lower sections it and it secured together by links 20 and 29. The upper and lower sections is and it are slotted as shown at 23 and 2% to receive the lateral grid members 22 which are slotted at their top and bottom edges to receive the upper and lower sections it and IQ of the longitudinal grid member.

The link 2| is extended upwardly above the upper section it of the longitudinal grid member and a lever 25 of channel shape in crosssection is pivoted thereto as shown at 26. The lever 25 has a handle portion 21 extending downwardly in front of the tray and an extended portion 28 which extends beyond the rear end of the tray it when the grid assembly is positioned therein. 'The extension 28 has cam ,portions it which cooperate with the reinforcing plate for raising the grid assembly in the tray. The link if has a portion 36 which cooperates with the bottom of the channel member 25 for moving the upper. and lower sections it and it longitudinally relative to each other. As shown the slots 23 and 2 8 are enlarged on opposite sides of the lateral grid members '22 so that when the upper and lower sections I8 and is are moved longitudinally relative to each other the lateral grid members will be canted from a straight vertical position. i

The portion 28 of the handle 25 could be.bent downwardly and extended to adjacent the bottom II or the evaporator so that when the lever is raised the extended portion would contact with the bottom I land thus raise the tray l4 from the evaporator shelf. In this case the bracket i3 would be omitted and it would not be necessary to modify the evaporator housing.

placed in the freezing compartment iiiand the water allowed to freeze. When the water is frozen the handle portion 2'! of the lever 25 is grasped and the lever 25 raised through'a short are as shown in dotted lines of Figure 1.

tact with the bracket l3 on the back wall iii of the freezing compartment and thus break the bond between the bottom of the tray M and the evaporator shelf H.

The tray I4 with the grid assembly therein is then removed from the evaporator and the lever 25 movedqthrough a still greater are till the cam portions 29 contact with the plate 55 which will break the bond between the ice and the tray wall. The grid assembly and attached ice cubes is then removed from the tray and the lever 25 moved through a still greater arc 'until the portion 30 of the link 2| contacts with the bottom of the channel lever 25 as shown in Figure 3 which will move the upper section l8 longitudinally relative to the lower section IQ of the longitudinal grid member. This movement will cant the lateral grid members 22 from a true vertical position and thus break the bond between the cubes and grid assembly.

Since the lever 25 extends the entire length of the tray and is positioned closely adjacent thereto there will be ample leverage for first breaking the bond between the evaporator shelf This will cause the portion 28 of the lever to conand the tray, secondly breaking the bond be- I tween the ice and the tray wall and then breaking the bond between the individual cubes and the grid assembly and which at the same time will not take up excessive space in the freezing compartment.

When the sections l8 and I9 are moved longitudinally of each other and the lateral grid members 22 are canted from a true vertical position the ice is sheared from the longitudinal grid member l8 and at the same time the bond between the ice and the lateral grid members is broken.

As can be seen from the foregoing the device of this invention provides a grid assembly adapted to be positioned in a standard i'ce tray, combined in'a single mechanism with means for first breaking the bond between the tray and the evaporator shelf, then between the tray walls and the ice and then between the grid assembly and the ice, in which there are no parts which can be lost 'or misplaced which is eficient in operation, simple and economical to manufacture and which cannot get out of order.

While Ihave shown but one embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an evaporator of a refrigerator having a support for an ice tray, an ice tray positioned on said support, a grid assembly removably positioned in said tray and means carried by said grid assembly to cooperate with said evaporator for raising the tray from the support, said means being so constructed as to raise said grid assembly and attached cubes from the tray and separate the attached cubes from the grid assembly.

2. In combination with an evaporator of a reirigerator having a support for an ice tray, an

ice tray positioned on said support, a grid assembly removably positioned in said tray and lever means carried by said grid assembly so constructed and arranged as to cooperate with said evaporator and tray to sequentially raise said tray from said support and said grid assembly and attached cubes from said tray, said means being operative to separate ice cubes from said grid assembly.

3. In combination with an evaporator of a refrigerator having an ice tray supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, a grid assembly removably positioned in said tray and means on said evaporator cooperating with means carried by said grid assembly for raising said tray from said shelf, said last named means being so constructed and arranged as'to raise said grid assembly and-attached cubes from said tray and break the attached cubes from the grid assembly.

.positioned in said tray, said grid assembly comprising longitudinal and lateral grid members, said longitudinal grid member comprising upper and lower sections so constructed as to be movable longitudinally of'each other, said lateral grid members being so. secured to said longitudinal grid member as to be canted when said sections are moved relative to each other,-a lever pivoted on said longitudinal grid member having means thereon to contact means on said evaporator for raising said tray from the shelf when the lever is moved through a short are, means on said lever adapted to cooperate with the edge of the tray for raising the grid assembly in the tray when the lever is moved through a greater are and means on said lever so constructed as to move the sections of the longitudinal grid member I relative to each other when the lever is moved through a still greaterarc, whereby the lateral grid members are canted to break the bond be? tween the grid assembly and ice cubes frozen thereto.

5. In combination with an evaporator having a support for an ice tray, an ice tray on said support, a grid assembly removably positioned, in said tray, said grid assembly comprising longitudinal and lateral grid members, said lateral grid members being movable relative to said longitudinal grid member, 1 and means mounted on said grid assembly including means to cooperate with said evaporator to raise said tray from said support, to cooperate with said tray to raise said grid assemblyand attached cubes in said tray and to move said lateral grid members relative to said longitudinal grid member to release ice from said grid assembly. I

ARNOLD D. SIEDLE.

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