US2383354A

US2383354A - Refrigerating apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2383354A
Application number: US508141A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilford H Teeter
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1943-10-29
Filing date: 1943-10-29
Publication date: 1945-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 1962-08-21

Description

Aug. 21, 1945. w. H. TEETER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Wmronw H- Tan-715R.

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Patented Aug. '21, 1945 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Wilford H. Teeter, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application October 29, 1943, Serial No. 508,141

3 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to ice cream storage refrigerators.

Conventional ice cream storage refrigerator cabinets, in stores were bulk'ice cream is dispensed, have an opening or openings in the top wall of the cabinet providing access to a freezing chamber therein containing cans of bulk ice cream. During the act of placing a can or cans of ice cream in the freezing chamber of such cabinets, the cans must be manually lifted upwardly and swung over the top of. the cabinet and thereafter lowered into the chamber. Such cans are ordinarily formedof metal and when filled with ice cream are quite heavy. Frequently, a can is not elevated high enough to clear the top of a cabinet and consequently the bottom portion or edge of such can strikes the top corner portion of the cabinet while endeavoring to swing the can over the cabinet. The exterior wall surfaces of ice cream storage refrigerators are usually covered with metal panels or the like, and when a can of ice cream strikes the corner portion of a cabinet the metal top wall or sidewall thereof or both metal walls are bent and damaged. If the metal exterior cabinet walls are painted 'or coated with porcelain enamel, the paint or enamel is chipped off and these walls soon rust and become deteriorated. It is necessary to frequently replace such damaged metal cabinet walls in order to maintain a sanitary condition and neat appearance of ice cream storage cabinets in stores or the like. This replacement of the cabinet metal walls is an expensive practice as well as beinga difficult task.

Anobject of my invention is to provide an improved refrigerator cabinet construction which will reduce, to a minimum the necessity of replacing damaged exterior walls of ice cream storage refrigerators.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved corner structure particularly for ice cream cabinets, which structurecan be repeatedly struck by heavy objects without da'maging same.

A further object of my invention is to provide an exterior wall surface for a corner structure of an ice cream storage cabinet which will prevent other parts of the cabinet walls from being damaged when the corner structure is struck by heavy objects.

, cabinet showing a refrigerating system diagramof formed of rubber 'or the like resilient material to prevent these corners from being damaged upon being struck by. cans of ice cream.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of.

the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator matically associated therewith;

Fig. 2 isan enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a top'corner of the cabinet and is taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a side portion of the cabinet with the corner strip or wall broken away;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 of a top three-way corner of the cabinet; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top three-way corner of the cabinet showing the mounting for a metal corner member.

Referring to the drawings, for illustrating the present invention, I have shown in Fig. 1 thereof a refrigerating apparatus of the ice cream' storage type wherein the rectangularly-shaped refrigerator cabinet is designated'by the reference numeral l0. Cabinet l0 includes vertical metal exterior shells, walls or finish panels II, a top metal exterior member 12 and an interior metal lining member M- forming walls of a food storage chamber l5(see Fig. 2) within the cabinet. The cabinet I0 hasan opening or openings in its top wall providing access to the chamber I5. A door or doors I3 normally close the chamber access openings. The frame of the cabinet comprises a relatively heavy metal member l6 extending around the top portion of cabinet I0 and butt welded to corner posts (not shown). This frame supports a relatively heavy sub-top member II which may be secured thereto by bolts or the like l8 (see Fig. 2). The exterior finish top panel 12 rests upon the sub-top member' l1 and has its outer edge portions l9 bent down and secured to the sub-top member by screws or bolts 2|. Any suitable insulating ma- A still further and more specific object of my.

invention is to provide an, ice cream storage cabinet with corner walls about the top thereterial 22 may be disposed between the panels ll, sub-top I! and the liner N to effectively insulate the chamber IS. A metal channel member 25,

having

leg portions

26 and 21 spaced from mem-.

ber l6 for a purpose to be presently described, is welded upon the frame member l6 and is coextensive therewith at the top corners of cabinet Ill. The leg portion 21 of corner channel member 25 has cut-out portions 28 (see Fig. 3) spaced about twelve inches apart along the sides of cabinet III to provide openings whereby the screws 2| may be fastened in place.

Before proceeding with further description of the cabinet structure, I wish to set forth that a closed refrigerating system is associated with the cabinet "I, 'I-nis system includes an evaporator comprising a conduit 3| wrapped around and secured to the liner l4 of chamber l5 for .cooling the interior of the chamber. Evaporator 3| is. connected with a refrigerant translating and circulating unit mounted on a base 32. This unit comprises a sealed motor-compressor 33, a condenser 34 and a snap acting switch 35.- Evaporated refrigerant is withdrawn from evaporator 3|, by compressor 33, through conduit 35. Vaporized refrigerant. entering the compressor 33 is compressed and circulated, under pressure,

, through a conduit 31, into the condenser 34. The compressed refrigerant is cooled and liquefied in condenser 34 and is directed through a conduit 38 into the evaporator 3| under the control of a restrictor or expansion valve 39. A closed thermo:

corner and particularly a top corner which will not be damaged under the conditions hereirtbefore described, a resilient element 5|. formed of rubber, synthetic rubber, or a plastic material, is located at the top corners of the cabinet. In making this element of rubber the rubber is formed into a long one-piece strip by conventional extruding methods and has a predetermined cross-sectional contour. This'cross-sectional contour of element 5| includes a relatively thick main body cushioning portion 52 having a round hole 53 provided centrally thereof and coextensive therewith (see Fig. 2). An integral web or bead 54 formed on element 5| interlocks with or fits under the leg portion 21 of channel member 25 to hold one .edge of element 5| on cabinet l in abutting relation to the turned down edge portion l3 of.top panel [2. Another integral web or head 55 formed on element interlocks with or fits under the leg portion 26 of channel member 25 and over the top edge of side panel II to secure the lower portion of element 5| to the cabinet II]. This abutment of web or bead 54 with th edge portion IQ of panel |2 in addition to concealing the edge of this panel is of such tightness that it insures against entrance corners. The hole 53 in element-5| adds resiliency to the main body portion 52 thereof so as to increase its'cushioning effect when the wall is struck by a can of ice cream or the like. At the corners where the cabinet top, end and adjacent side walls meet, a slot 55 is cut in the resilient element 5| (see'Fig. 5) so that the element may be bent, stretched or extended around these corners of the cabinet I0. without buckling. At each of these three-way corners of cabinet ID, the corner portion of frame member I6 has a metal piece 53 welded thereto (see Fig. 4). -The metal piece 59 is provided with a tapped hole at 6| (see Fig. 5) to receive a screw 52 which holds a corner metal trim member 53 in place. The metal corner trim 53, while concealing the slot 58 in element 5|, also adds to the neat appearance of the cabinet.

In assembling the strip of corner wall-forming element 5| to cabinet l0, its linear head or web portion 55 is first pushed into the spacebetween the leg 25 of channel member 25, frame l6 and the top edge of side panel [I to lock the one edge of the element upon the cabinet. Thereafter, the element-5| is stretched t permit its linear bead or web portion'54 to be pushed or forced into the space between the leg 21 of member 25, frame l6 and the downwardly belt edge portion 'of the cabinet top I2 to lock the other edge of the element upon the cabinet. A soap solution or the like may be applied to. element 5| to facilitate slipping oi the rubber beads or webs into place. Each metal corner trim member 63 is located in place by a screw 62 threaded into the tapped hole 5| of metal piece 59, after the strip 5| is bent around the three-way corners of the cabinet and secured thereto as described.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an improved refrigerator cabinet corner wall structure and particularly a top corner wall structure for ice cream storage or the like cabinets. My invention provides an exterior wall for top corners of ice cream storage or the like cabinets which is resilient and which'will not be of water or other foreign matter to a point beneath the member 5| to thereby prevent rusting and/or corrosion of metal parts inwardly of the corner wall surface. extends outwardlyand depends from the lower portion of lement 5| and overlaps the top edge the main body portion 52 of the element'in abutting relation-with the cabinet top corner structure to form the exterior wall surface of these An integral flexible lip 56 marred or damaged upon being struck by heavy objects and also affords protection to the metal cabinet walls immediately adjacent such corners;

By virtue of the resiliency of the exterior corner wall, it can be quickly and easily assembled in place.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A refrigerator cabinet having a bottom wall, a top wall and an upright wall structure forming a food storage chamber within said cabinet, means in said cabinet top wall providing an access opening for said chamber, movable means normally closing said chamber access opening, a sheet member disposed over said cabinet top wall, a sheet member disposed over said cabinet upright wall structure, the juncture of said top wall with said upright wall structure providing an exposed corner extending horizontally around the top of said cabinet, said first andsaid second named sheet members having their edges at said corner terminating short thereof and in spaced apart relation to one another, and a non-metallic resilient element interposed between and concealing the spaced apart edges of said members and being secured to said cabinet to form the exterior wall of said corner. A

2. A refrigerator cabinet having a bottom wall,

2,888,854 a top wall and an upright wall structure iorming a food storage chamber. within said cabinet,

means in said cabinet top wall providing an access opening for said chamber, movable means normally closing said chamber access opening, a sheet member disposed over said cabinet top wall,

a sheet memberdisposed over said cabinet upright wall structure, the juncture of said top wall with said upright wall structure providing an exposed corner extending horizontally around the top of said cabinet; .said first and said second named sheet members having their edges at said comer tei'minating short thereof and in spaced apart relation to one another, a non-metallic element interposed between and concealing the 3. A refrigerator cabinet having a bottom wall, a top wall and an upright wall structure forming a food storage chamber within said cabinet, means in 'said cabinet top'wall providing an ac- 'cess opening for said chamber, movable means normally closing said chamber access'opening, a

sheet member disposed over said cabinet top wall,

a sheet member disposed over said cabinet upright wall structure, the juncture of said top wall with-said upright wall structure providing an exposed comer extending horizontally around the top orsaid cabinet, said first and said second named sheet members having their edges at said corner terminating short thereof and in spaced apart relation to one another, a non-metallic element interposedbetween and concealing the spaced apart edges of said members and being secured to said cabinet, and said element having a relatively thick resilient portion iorming the go exterior wall of said corner.

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