US2724524A

US2724524A - Freezer divider

Info

Publication number: US2724524A
Application number: US314022A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert E Moore
Original assignee: Amana Refrigeration Inc
Current assignee: Goodman Co LP
Priority date: 1952-10-10
Filing date: 1952-10-10
Publication date: 1955-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 1972-11-22

Description

Nov. 22, 1955 R. E. MOORE FREEZER DIVIDER Filed Oct. 10, 1952 omg FREEZER mvrnnn Robert E.Moore, Amana, Iowa, assignor to Amana Refrigeration, Inc., Amana, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application October 10, 1952, Serial No. 314,022

3 Claims. c1. 220-22 This invention relates to a divider construction for a top-opening freezer cabinet.

Freezers of the] top-opening type have long been constructedwith an outer casing or shell and an inner casing, with space provided between the outer and inner casings to contain thermalinsulation material.

In a freezer adapted to be opened at the top, it is impractical to provide shelves for the storage of food because of the inaccessibility of the shelves. It has, therefore, been common practice to provide vertical space dividers for segmenting the interior space of the freezer chest into compartments or sections, so that the articles of food may be placed within the sections or compartments and held against lateral displacement.

Numerous difficulties have been encountered in providing a practical, commercially feasible divider which can be quickly and readily placed in position and removed, and yet will have sufficient support to hold the food against sidewise displacement. A particular problern has been caused by the bulging of the side walls of the chest liner when the freezer is loaded excessively withfood. This bulging has caused the divider supports, and also the supports for baskets used in conjunction with the dividers, to be spread so far apart that the dividers and baskets would fall between the supports, thus rendering the entire divider and basket construc- 'tion inoperative and useless to the housewife or other freezer user.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved divider construction for a freezer in which the divider is firmly and positively held in position by supports positioned on the liner walls, and yet the divider can be quickly and easily removed from the freezer. The positive engagement between the divider and the wall supports, as here disclosed, prevents the divider from falling through the supports, under pressure from the stacked articles of food.

A further object of this invention is to provide a divider support which is secured tothe interior of opposite vertical side walls of the chest liner and affords a strong stiffening element which prevents bulging of the side walls, with consequentdisplacement of the divider supports.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a construction, including a divider and means for mounting the divider, in which it is unnecessary to provide anchoring means at the bottom of the divider for retaining the divider in an upright position in the chest. More specifically, the invention contemplates a construction having channel members horizontally secured on the side walls of the interior of the freezer and a divider mounted and supported by said channel members. Each flange of the channel member has spaced longitudinally thereon vertically aligned openings for receiving hooked members on the divider, whereby the divider is retained against sidewise displacement by the articles stacked in the freezer. Such a structure provides for a simple and economical divider construction whereby the housewife "ice or freezer user can quickly and readily place the divider in positive engagement with the supporting channel members on the side walls, and yet quickly and readily remove the divider. The vertically aligned apertures are placed at suitable distances longitudinally along the flanges of the channel members, so that the divider may be conveniently placed in different positions to provide the desired compartmentation or segmentation.

The herein disclosed invention is capable of many embodiments and modifications. A preferred embodiment is shown in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective cut-away view of a freezer cabinet to which the divider construction of my invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line :22 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a view partially in cross-section showing the channel member fixed to the side wall and a portion of the divider with the downwardly extending hook member thereof positively engaging the channel member.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the downwardly extending hook member of the divider.

Referring now to the details of the drawing, Figure 1 illustrates at 10 the freezer cabinet to which my invention is applied. The cabinet structure comprises an outer casing 11 and an inner liner 12, with thermal insulating material 13 filling the space between. The inner and outer casings with said thermal insulation constitute the side walls and bottom of the freezer chest. A cover 14 provides a closure for the interior space of the cabinet and is hinged to the cabinet chest, so that it may be readily opened and closed. Refrigeration apparatus (not shown) is positioned in the base of the chest to maintain the desired temperatures within the interior space.

On each oftwo opposite interior walls of the inner lining of the cabinet are horizontally mounted support members 15. Each of these comprises a channel element extending along the entire wall. The open side of the channel is positioned against the liner wall, with the flanges in horizontal position, extending from the. web t the wall of the inner liner.

The channel members are secured to the side wall of the inner liner by means of bolts 16 which are inserted through a hole in the web and extend through an opening in the side wall of the inner liner. These bolts are screwed into nuts 17, spot-Welded to the outside of the inner lining wall.

At suitable intervals along the length of channel members 15 are pairs of vertically aligned openingslS. As shown in the drawing, each of these openings takes the form of angular slots extending partly into the web and a flange of the channel, but any suitable opening may be used.

The dividers may be of any suitable height. As'shown in Fig. 1, the divider indicated by the numeral 19 extends approximately half the height of the interior space in the cabinet. The divider indicated by 20 extends adjacent the top of the interior space. The divider 19 includes a top horizontal rod member 21, extending substantially across the interior of the cabinet. Vertical rods 22 are secured to the horizontal rod 21, adjacent its ends and are integral with the bottom horizontal rod, forming the base of the divider. Vertical rods 23 ex tend between the horizontal bottom rod and the horizontal top rod 21 at spaced intervals, thus forming a grill work suitable for holding stacked articles of food. The top horizontal bar 21 has at each end thereof a downwardly extending hook portion 24, as best shown in Fig. 4, this hook being adapted to be inserted in vertically aligned apertures in the channel member 15 to provide positive engagement between the divider and the supporting. channel.

The divider 20 is composed of horizontal and vertical rods forming a grill work, as in the case of the divider 19. A horizontal rod 25 is so positioned that when the divider is placed in the freezer, the rod 25 is approximately the same height as the top flange of the channel support members The ends of the rod have ddwnwardly'extending hook portions 26 (as best shown inFigureS), which are adapted to fit intovertically aligned openings 18 in the channel members to provide positive engagement and support for the divider.

Th6. divider is inserted into the freezer chest by lowering it into position between the channel members and inserting the hooked portions of the horizontal bar into appropriate vertically aligned openings in the channel inmben' The hooksextend through the openings in both the top flange and the bottom flange of the channel, and thereby positively and firmly hold the divider in position against sidewise displacement.

It will be observed that the divider can be easily and quickly removed 'from the freezer cabinet by merely raising it in a vertical plane until the hooked portions are free and clear of the channel members. Thus the divider is held by a positive engagement, but at the same time it can be quickly and easily removed.

The channel support members provide a strong, sturdy, stiffening element for the thin side walls of the inner liner, and thereby prevent bulging of the side walls and consequent displacement of the divider supports. My invention thus provides a simple, economical, strong divider support construction which enables a housewife to easily and quickly remove the divider and replace it in the desired position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a divider and reinforcing construction for a top-opening load carrying cabinet having substantially vertical side walls and an interior space, the combination comprising channel members positioned horizontally on the. interior of two opposite side walls, said channel members, being positioned with their open sides against said side walls and their flanges extending horizontally, said channel members comprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, a first integral slot forming a horizontal saddle in said top flange and a vertical saddle on the top side of said web, a second integral slot of like structure vertically aligned with said first integral slot, securing means extending through said web into fixed engagement with a receiving means exterior said vertical side walls, and a divider element having a horizontal rod member and vertical rod members rigidly secured together, the ends of said horizontal member having downwardly extending integral hook portions adapted to be received in oppositely disposed slots in said channel members, wheresaid divider element is positively and firmly engaged by said channel members and held against lateral displacement.

2. 111 a divider and reinforcing construction for a topopening freezer cabinet having substantially vertical side walls and an interior space, the combination comprising channel members positioned horizontally on the interior of two opposite side walls, said channel members being positioned with their open sides against said side walls, said channel members comprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, a first integral slot forming a horizontal saddle in said top flange and a vertical saddle on the top side of said web, a second integral slot vertically aligned with said first integral slot, said second integral slot forming an aperture in said bottom flange and on the bottom side of said web, and a divider element including a horizontal rod member having on each end thereof a downwardly extending integral hook portion adapted to be received in said slots in said channel members, said horizontal rod having a plurality of vertical members rigidly secured thereto, whereby said divider element is removably held by said channel members against lateral or tilting displacement and said channel members and said side walls are maintained against bulging.

3. A divider and reinforcing construction for top opening freezer cabinets having substantially vertical side walls forming an interior load supporting storage space comprising, channel members positioned horizontally on the interior of at least two opposite side walls, said channel members being positioned with their open sides against said side walls and comprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, a first integral slot forming an aperture in said top flange and web, a second integral slot verticallyaligned with said first integral slot, said second integral slot forming an aperture in said bottom flange and said web, securing means extending through said web into fixed. engagement with a receiving means on said vertical side Walls, and a divider element including a horizontal rod member having a downwardly extending. hook portion having a pointed end thereon at each end thereof and adapted to be received in said slots in said channel members, and vertically extending compart'ment wall means rigidly secured to said horizontal rod member to provide separate storage compartments, said horizontal rod member and hooks providing means for maintaining said side walls in a predetermined fixed position relative to each other in the presence of heavy loads in said compartment tending to urge said walls apart and simultaneously preventing tilting of said vertically extending walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,126,923 Ulrich Feb. 2, 1915 1,712,177 Duthie-Strachan May 7, 1929 2,274,203 Kern Feb. 24, 1942 2,610,101 Bufiington et al Sept. 9, 19.52

FOREIGN PATENTS 144,018 Switzerland Feb .16, 19,31