US2684172A

US2684172A - Stabilizing device for ice-cream tubs

Info

Publication number: US2684172A
Application number: US227356A
Authority: US
Inventors: George E Ruppert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-05-21
Filing date: 1951-05-21
Publication date: 1954-07-20
Anticipated expiration: 1971-07-20

Description

July 20, 1954 G. E. RUPPERT 2,684,172

STABILIZING DEVICE FOR ICE-CREAM TUBS Filed May 21 1951 GED/FEE E2 RL/PPERT INVENTORZ Patented July 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerated dispensing cabinets wherein ice-cream tubs are placed and from which ice cream is withdrawn by the use of a scoop or the like.

Ordinarily these ice-cream tubs are placed one upon the other and progressively used from the top to the bottom. One difiiculty with such an arrangement has been that the top tub from which ice cream is being scooped will rotate with respect to the supporting tub beneath it and therefore requires the use of both hands of the operator, one to hold the tub to resist rotation while the other hand is scooping the ice cream.

Accordingly, it is one of the principal objects of my invention to provide means in the form of a supporting base adapted to be placed upon the top of a lower tub or any other support within the cabinet and to provide means in the base for automatically gripping the tub supported by the base and to prevent rotation of the tub with respect to the base and the support.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character which is of lightweight, durable and inexpensive construction which may be cast as a single unit or formed by a simple stamping operation.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a refrigerated storage and dispensing cabinet with a fragment broken away for convenience in illustrating my invention operatively engaged with ice-cream tubs disposed within the cabinet.

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the invention.

Figure 3 is an edgewise view of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view illustrating the manner in which the base automatically engages the bottom edge or rim of an ice-cream tub.

Referring now more particularly to the draw- In Figure 1 reference numeral l indicates, generally, a refrigerated storage and dispensing cabinet having one or more storage compartments provided therein as indicated at 2 and 3. These compartments are of square formation in plan view and separated by partition walls 5. The ice-

cream tubs

5 and 6 are of cylindrical formation. Ordinarily the tubs are placed one upon the other within the cabinet as shown and when 2 the top tub is emptied it is placed in the bottom of the cabinet. It is to be understood of course that a top tub need not necessarily be supported by an empty tub on the bottom since obviously a box or any other suitable support of the proper height may be used.

Regardless of the type of bottom support used however, the top tub will rotate about its axis under the tangential pressure applied to it by the operator in scooping out its contents. To prevent this rotation and to hold the top tub securely in place upon the bottom tub or support I provide a supporting frame generally indicated at l which is of square formation and made up of side members 8, 9, Iii and II secured to or formed integral with a ring member i2 formed with intersecting braces It. At equally spaced points about the circumference of the ring [2 on one of its sides I provide a plurality of vertically disposed fins I4 sharpened to a knife edge as at 15 and tapering downwardly toward the center of the ring. The distance between the top pointed ends of diametrically opposing fins is greater than the diameter of standard ice-cream tubs while the distance between the bottom inner ends of the fins is of less diameter than the standard tubs. Ice-cream tubs in some cases are made entirely of metal while in other cases as shown in Figure 4 the tub and bottom wall may be made of cardboard, fibre board or the like and secured together by a metallic rim I6.

When a loaded tub of either type of construction as aforesaid is lowered into the cabinet and comes to rest upon the fins M the knife edges of the fins will automatically form indentations in the rim is of the tub and by means of which the tub is locked to the frame and held against rotation while the frame which is of square formation is prevented from rotating within the square compartment.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my'invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

In a refrigerated cabinet having one or more compartments of square formation in plan view and receiving tubs of cylindrical formation stacked one upon the other or one upon a suitable support within said compartment, the combination of a flat frame of square formation in plan view placed within a compartment, a flat ring member formed integral with said frame and disposed on the interior thereof, fiat intersecting braces formed integral with the inner periphery of the ring, a plurality of diametrically opposed vertical fins extending upwardly from said ring and each tapering inwardly toward the center of the ring and each sharpened along its tapered portion, the distance between the top ends of the fins being greater than the diameter of one of said tubs placed. thereon and the distance between the inside bottom ends of the fins being less than the diameter of the tub whereby the tub will be held in an elevated position with respect to the frame when resting upon the fins, and whereby said sharpened portions of the fins will grip the bottom rim of the tub by means of the sharpened portions of said fins forming indentations in said rim to prevent rotation of the tub with respect to the frame and whereby said square frame will be held against rotation by placement within said square compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 114,450 Laurence May 2, 1871 232,761 Boelofs Sept. 28, 18 497,999 Windus May 23, 1893 667,895 Stone et a1. Feb. 12, 1901 775,191 Reeve Nov. 15, 1904 1,973,216 Manning Sept. 11, 1934 2,350,075 Smith May 30, 1944 2,466,875 Brandt 1 Apr. 12, 1949 2,601,935 Auch July 1, 1952