US2339816A

US2339816A - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: US2339816A
Application number: US380343A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph N Roth
Original assignee: GIBSON REFRIGERATOR CO
Current assignee: GIBSON REFRIGERATOR Co
Priority date: 1940-01-19
Filing date: 1941-02-24
Publication date: 1944-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 1961-01-25

Description

Jan. 25, 1944. .1. N; ROTH REFRIGERATOR Original Filed Jan. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 25,1944.

J. N. ROTH REFRiGERA'IOR Original Filed Jan. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-sheaf; 2

I 29 a9 7 I J ZZZZ/67 Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Joseph N. Roth,'Belding,. Micln', assignor, by mesne assignments, to- Gibson Refrigerator Company, Greenville, Micln, a corporation of Michigan Original application January 19, 1940, Serial No.

314,704. Divided and this application February 24. 1941, Serial'No. 380,343

g Claims. (01. 62-5) This invention relates to a refrigerator, and

more particularly to an improved control arrangement for a domestic refrigerator.

The present application is a divisional/of my application, Serial No. 314,704, filed January 19,

1940, which has now become Patent No. 2,305,640.

One feature of this invention is that it provides an improved and more convenient location of the manual control associated with control apparatus for varying the amount of refrigeration in a domestic refrigerator; another feature of this invention is that the control apparatus is located in convenient and desirable relationship with the refrigerant circulating apparatus of the refrigerator; yet another feature of this invention is that the control mechanism and control knob are so associated that operative connection between them may beconveniently and simply made; other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following specifi cation and the drawings, in which:

Figure l is a back elevational view of a domestic refrigerator embodying my invention, with part of the food compartment broken away to show the control; 'Figure 2 is a partial vertical sectional view transverse to Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

While my improved control arrangement is adapted for use with any type .of refrigerant circulating apparatus, it is here illustrated and described in a domestic refrigerator of the continuous absorption type. The system is based on the type of refrigerating apparatus shown in Schurtz Patent No. 1,414,527, which issued May 2, 1922. The basic system there shown has been considerably modified and improved by said Schurtz and myself to adapt it particularly for domestic refrigerators, and a number of the fea-;

tures and improvements of the refrigerant circulating apparatus and its operation and arrangement are the subject of copending applications by the said Schurtz and myself, either jointly or solely. The present application is directed entirely to the location and arrangement 'of the mechanism for manual control elements for efiecting variation in the-rate of refrigeration;

. and the rest of the system will, therefore, be only described briefly.

In the particular embodiment of my invention disclosed herewith the flame from a burner l5 heats a combination of liquid refrigerant and absorbent.(as ammonia and water) in a still l6, preferably encased with heat insulating material. The refrigerant vapor boiled oil by this application of heat passes up through an analyzer tower l8 and an air-cooled rectifier I9 to condenser coils 20 where it is liquefied. Ammonia liquefied in this condenser is forced up, by the vapor pressure behind it, through the pipe 2| to the receiver 22. A conventional float actuated expansion or pressure reduction valve admits the refrigerant from this receiver to an evaporator located in the food compartment 23 in the upper part of the cabinet 24, where the expansion of the refrigerant Vaporabsorbs heat in the food compartment and keeps it cold.

Therefrigerant vapor, now at low pressure,

to .the still, and to deliver weak liquor periodi-.

' cally to the absorber, means is provided for circulating refrigerant liquid periodically between the still and the absorber. Inasmuch as the absorber usually operates at a pressure between ten.

and fifteen pounds and the still at a pressure of ten to twenty times this pressure, no difiiculty is occasioned in the movement of the weak liquor from the still to the absorber, this taking place through the pipe 30 and being controlled by a float actuated valve in the absorber. Thus whenever the level of the liquid in the absorber drops, weak liquor moves up from the still. Return of rich liquor from thelow pressure portion of the system to the high pressure portion of the system, however, is more diificult; and is. accomplished in the general manner'taught in the above-mentioned Schurtz patent. The transfer apparatus includes a transfer chamber 3| and transfer valve mechanism 32. A fluid thermostat in the still operates, through liquid in the pipe 34, to'efiect movement of the transfer valves at desired times. In general, it may be stated that normally the top of the transfer chamber 3| is open to low pressure vapor in the top of the absorber 29, and the bottom of the chamber 3| is connected to a pipe containing liquid, in turn connected to the absorber, so that the trans fer chamber fills with rich liquor at low pressure. When the concentration of liquor in the still has boiled down to a pretedermlned' desired minimum the fluid thermostat moves the valves to block the connections of the transfer chamber to the absorber and to connect its top to a pipe containing high pressure vapor, and its bottom to the still. When these connections are efiected the liquid in the transfer chamber drains by gravity to the still, and thereupon the valves return to their previous setting and the transfer chamber refills from the absorber. This cycle may, for example, take place about once every seven or eight minutes. It will be thus seen that despite theconstant boiling off of refrigerant vapor from the -still, and the absorption of such vapor in the absorber, desired quantities and concentrations of liquor are maintained in the various parts of the system.

It is apparent that the rate of boiling off of refrigerant vapor (and thus-indirectly the rate of transfer action) is a direct function of the amount of heat supplied to the still, which is in turn a function of the amount of fuel supplied to the burner. Since the float actuated expanequipment with which this application is parsion valve in the receiver 22 will pass refrigerant fore varies the amount of refrigeration'in acupon opening of the food compartment door.

Heretofore control knobs have generally been located alongside the evaporator, either deeply inside the food compartment in a relatively inaccessible place, or sometimes requiring the opening of a second smaller door on the front of the evaporator to gain access to the control knob. Moreover, this location of the control knob in the bottom frame member enables the control mechanism to beimmediately adjacent and in convenient relationship to the apparatus in the machinery compartment, where such is beneath the food compartment. This desirable location is attained, moreover, without the necessity of lon or complicated connection between the control knob in' the upper part of the food compartment and mechanism in the machinery compartment.

ticularly concerned, and which will now be described more fully.

The fuel for the burner l5,-,preferably gas, is supplied to the refrigerator'through the pipe 35. This pipe leads through flow control mechanism 36 to the pipe 31, which then delivers the fuel to the burner. The flow control mechanism 38, in accordance with conventional practice, includes a valve element for regulating the flow and mechanism for moving the valve. Movement of the valve is effected by thermostatic means responsive to the temperature in the food compartment, the amount of movement or position of the valve member-for any given food compartment temperature being regulated by,man-

ually operable control means associated with the thermostat. Thus the amount of refrigeration, responsive primarily to the thermostatic portion of the control, may be varied by operation of the manual control.

The food compartment is completely open in the front, in accordance with conventional practicejand the opening is surrounded or bordered j by a rectangular frame, the bottom horizontal member of the frame being here identified as-38.

This frame is mounted in the cabinet and adapted to have the refrigerator door received therein to make sealing engagementv therewith, to provide. the desired closure of the food compartment. In the bottom frame member 38 is mounted a knob or manual control means 39, this being rotatable. The knob 39 fis connected tothe refrigerator control mechanism by a simple and short connection, the rod 40 extending down through the front end of the insulating wall beneath the food compartment, in this case being shown as extending through a wooden cross piece. Manual rotation of the knob 39 effects adjustment in the control mechanism 36, and there- As will be apparent from Figure 3, the control knob 33 is encircled with an annular metal indicator plate 4i. While the details are not'shown here because of thesize Of the view, this plate will normally bear on it inscriptions indicating which way the knob should be rotated to raise the temperature in the food compartment, and which movement effect a reduction of temperature in the food compartment. There may also be certain arbitrary numbers or symbols on this encircling dial member H to enable an instruction booklet to be used wherein instructions are given as to the desired setting of the control knob for certain food preparation, as the freezing of ice cream or the like. The location of the control knob and encircling indicating dial (rigidly mounted) in the bottomframe member is also desirable since it calls them to 'ones attention each time the refrigerator door i opened. The control knob and encircling indicator dial are preferably of light colored metal or plastic, to

contrast with a dark colored door frame.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments Of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications.- -Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A refrigerator of the character described, including: acabinet having a food compartment in the upper part thereof and a machinery compartment in the lower 'part; an opening in the front of the food compartment; .a frame surrounding said opening; a door adapted to fit into the frame to close the opening; refrigerant circulating apparatus; means for controlling the rate of circulation, said means being in the machinery compartment; and regulating means extending from the control means through the bottom portion of the frame and provided with means for manual operation located immediately adjacent said bottom frame portion and accessible only when the door is open.

2. A continuous absorption refrigerator of the character described, including: a. cabinet having a food compartment in the upper part thereof 2,886,816 and a machinery compartment in the lower part;

an opening in the front ofthe food compartment; a frame surrounding said opening; a door adapted to fit into the frame to close the opening; refrigerant circulating apparatus; means for controlling the rate of flow of fuel to control the rate of circulation, said means being in the machinery compartment; and regulating means extending from the control means through the bottom portion of the frame and provided with means for manual operation located immediately adjacentsaid bottom frame portion and ble only when e door is open.

3. A refrigerator of the character described, including: a cabinet having a food compartment in accessithe upper part thereof and a machinery compartment in the lower part; an opening in the front of the food compartment; a frame surrounding said opening and having an approximately horizontal bottom portion; a door adapted to fit into the frame to close the opening; refrigerant circulating apparatus; means for controlling the rate of circulation, said means being in the machinery compartment; and regulating means comprising a rigid shaft extending from the control means through the bottom portion of and a machinery compartment in the lower part;

an opening in the front of the food compartment; a frame surrounding said opening and having an approximately horizontal bottom portion; a door adapted to fit into the frame to close the opening; refrigerant circulating apparatus; means for controlling the rate of circulation, said means being in the machinery compartment; and regu-' lating means comprising a shaft extending from the control means through said bottom portion and carrying a control knob immediately adjacent and parallel to said bottom frame portion and accessible only when the door is open.

5. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 4, wherein the knob is of heat insulating material and a. heat insulating member encircles the shaft beneath the knob.

JOSEPH N. ROTH.