US2743981A

US2743981A - Freezer cabinet with externally accessible machinery compartment

Info

Publication number: US2743981A
Application number: US318809A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert E Moore
Original assignee: Amana Refrigeration Inc
Current assignee: Goodman Co LP
Priority date: 1952-11-05
Filing date: 1952-11-05
Publication date: 1956-05-01
Anticipated expiration: 1973-05-01

Description

MOORE FREEZER CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE May 1, 1956 R MACHINERY COMPARTMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 5, 1952 five/17 0f Robe/*7 6. Moore y 1 1956 R. E. MOORE 2,743,981

FREEZER CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE MACHINERY COMPARTMENT Filed Nov. 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m ezfor 3066/76. Moore United States Patent 0 FREEZER' CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY. ACCES- SIBLE MACHINERY COMPAR'IMEN T Robert-E.' Moore, Amana, Iowa, assignor "to-Amana*Refrigeration, Inc., Amana, Iowa, at corporation-oiIowa Application November 5, 1952,- SerialNm 318,809

5 Claims. (Cl.- 312'214) This invention relates to a cabinet. for. a freezer of.

the. chest-type witha top. opening.

Such,chests have long;been-constructedw-ith anlouter casing, comprising front, side, and back walls; anda-bot-- tom,.and an inner lining therefor, providing an interior:

space for the storage of articles of food. The spacebe: n

In some freezers of the chest-type, the freezer machine.

unit,- comprising compressor, pump, etc., has been-hung on the back of the chest: The disadvantagesofv this-construction are obvious, in that the chest-cannot .beplaced directly againsta wall.

It.has also been the practice. in a. freezer. of: this.v

type, to provide a compartment or. spacev adjacent the bottom of the. chest, for. the. freezer machinery unit. This space has commonly been provided in-/chest-. typefreezersby having an oif-setinthepbottom'of the outer casing, the ofi-setextendingqto-a, height greater. than-thatof the freezer unit. From this upwardly,- extendingportion, the bottom extends horizontally,- over the machinery unit space to a side wall... The sinner-liner is offset likewise to accommodate the structure of the outer casing and. thus provides-asha-llow interior space in the cabinet directly above the machine compartment.

Since it is necessary-that"!the'aouteri casing be sealed to preventmoisture, etc. from reaching, the thermal-.in: sulationmaterial, it has been common-practice to weld the top of'the machine compartmentrtoa side wallland the. fronLwalL. This results in unsightly weld-Ispptston. the outer casing, and "it is necessary that they be finished off by expensive finishing operations, or covered by expensive trim or bars, or other decoration. It has also been common practice to provide a removable panel in a side wall adjacent the machine compartment, to afford access to the freezer unit. This opening in the side wall greatly weakens the chest construction at or near the point where the outer casing must support the heavy freezer unit. In this type of construction, the side walls adjacent the machinery space, and extending below the horizontal portion of the offset in the bottom, must carry the entire weight of the heavy freezer machinery.

A principal object of the present invention is to overcome these deficiencies and limitations in cabinet structure by providing a cabinet in which it is unnecessary to weld the outer casing to the side wall above the ma chinery space, and unnecessary to have a removable panel in the side wall for access to the freezer unit.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cabinet in which the freezer unit is strongly and firmly held in the base of the outer casing. This is accomplished with a maximum economy of material, and without attaching the machine compartment top to the outer casing at a point where the welding thereof will disfigure the front or sides of the cabinet.

My'present. invention contemplates a-cabi-net in which the machinery; compartment, comprising side walls; and. atop, is positioned in the bottom of. the outer casing; butispaced'from theside walls of the cabinet, .thusaifOrda ing, continuous, uninterrupted front and. sidewalls,. and: greatly improving the appearance. and stylingvof' the:cabi'-.- net,. and. providing strength where the. freezing; unit. is.- supported. My invention further aifordsacabinet in: which'the machinery compartment isalway s easilya'accesesible, and yet has no removable panels-in thecabinet sidewalls; is mounted on a base which isslid into position. within: this 1 machine compartment on channel guides, and thus canrbe conveniently and easily removed-for.- inspection; or. servicing My invention is capable of being utilized in various: forms andwith various modifications; A preferrcdternbodiment is shown in the-2 drawing, in which:

Figure 1. showsa rear perspective view of a-chest-typ e.

freezer cabinet embodying my; invention.

Figure 2v shows. a fragmental rear. elevationalivie-w of. the machine'compartment in v which the freezer. machine unit: is. housed.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional'view takenon thezplane' of-the line 3-3 of Figure:v 5.,- showing 0116"Ofth t6h2.fll1lr membersintowhich the baserof: the freezer-machine unit is'.-slid, to positionv the unit .within: thehousing;

Figure 4' is; an exploded; perspectiveyiew of; theparts; comprising the machine compartment; sh'owing-.;the:said.-i walls-andtop thereofand the channel members support-.- ing the freezer machine unit.

Figu-re:5 is a sectional view of .a cabinetembodying III invention, the.view being taken'on -.the plane ofi;the-line 5-.5. of Fig. 2, and showing; the machinercompartment...

Referring indetailito the-.drawing,;,in Fig.=. l, the chest, indicated generally'by; the numeral .10, has-anouterrcasing comprising; a rear. wall 11; side-walls: 12, .afrontawalhli'afi (see;Fig 5.), HDdrElrbOttOIl-l 14.- A- CO'VQI'i'iSshillgedltO; back wall. 11, toprovide a: top. openingfor.- the chest... Within "the outer. casing; there-.is disposed'anuinnert liner" 1.4a". spaced from the. outer casing.;and providing an;in-.. terior -space wit-hin:the-freezer. for; the-storage:-ofiarticles; of.food.-.. Therspace between-thesinner linerzandouter; casing is filled with .a;thermal insulation rnaterialsto. facili.-; tate the maintenance of the.:desired f temperature within-.-. the; interior. of; the cabinet...

The side Walls 12 and the front wall 13 of the outer casing are continuous and uninterrupted. The bottom of the outer casing is provided with an opening 15 extending from the back edge of the bottom. The opening is spaced from the side edges and front edge of the bottom, and is of suificient size to accommodate the freezer machinery base 16 (see Fig. l), and the channel supports 17 and 18.

The back wall of the outer casing of the cabinet has an opening 19 which at the bottom edge of the back wall is coextensive with the opening 15 in the bottom of the outer casing. The opening 19 is of sufiicient size to permit the freezer machine unit to be moved through it into position in the cabinet.

The vertical panel member 20 is secured along the edge of the opening 15 and provides vertical side walls and the front wall of the machine compartment. A cover 21 is fixed over the panel member 20 to provide a top for the machine compartment. The freezer machinery unit, indicated generally by the numeral 22 (see Fig. 5), is positioned within the compartment afforded by the vertical panel member 20 and the top 21.

With the

channel members

17 and 18 positioned on the side edges of the opening 15 in the outer casing bottom, the freezer unit 22, fixed on its base 16, may be readily In. the structure herein disclosed, the freezer.

slid into position along the channel members. The stops 23 on the channel members prevent any over-riding when the unit base is slid between the channel members.

It will be observed that the herein disclosed structure affords a chest-type freezer cabinet structure in which the bottom of the outer casing contains no ofl-set which is welded to the front and a side wall of the outer casing. The result is that the front and side walls of the cabinet are continuous and uninterrupted, and do not bear any disfiguring weld marks which must be covered by expensive trim or decoration, or removed by expensive finishing operations. The machine compartment is readily accessible in the cabinet structure embodying my invention, and yet the opening affording access is on the back of the cabinet where it is out of view when the cabinet is placed in position for use.

The top of the machine compartment may be made from the portion of the bottom cut out to form the opening 15, thus, accomplishing a substantial saving of material.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and an inner liner therefor providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, said bottom having an opening therein defined by edges spaced from the said front and side walls and extending to said back wall, a housing covering said opening and providing space for a freezer machinery unit, said housing having front and side vertical walls, said back wall having an opening therein adjacent to and affording access to said housing, and means securing the vertical walls of said housing to said edges and said back wall exclusively whereby the sole support for said housing is derived from said bottom and back cabinet walls.

2. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and inner casing providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, said bottom having an opening defined by edges spaced from the said front and side walls and extending to the said back wall, said back wall having an opening forming an extension of said opening in the bottom, a housing covering said openings and affording space for a freezer unit, said housing having front and side vertical walls and a top wall, and means securing the vertical walls of said housing to said edges and said back wall exclusively whereby the sole support for said housing is derived from said bottom and back cabinet walls.

3. In a chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and an inner liner therefor providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, said bottom having an opening therein defined by front and side edges spaced from said front and side walls and extending to the back edge of said bottom, an upwardly turned flange fixedly secured to each of said edges, said back wall having an opening adjacent said bottom opening, and channel members rigidly secured to said upturned flanges and opening toward said rear wall opening to support refrigeration machinery for sliding movement into and out of said opening.

4. In a cabinet, an outer casing and an inner liner therefor providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, said bottom having an opening therein defined by edges spaced from the said front and side walls and extending to said back wall, said edges having upwardly turned flanges fixedly secured thereto and extending around said opening except at the said back wall, an opening in said back wall adjacent said bottom opening, channel members rigidly secured to said upturned flanges and opening toward said back wall opening to support refrigeration machinery for sliding movement into and out of said back wall opening, and a housing having the supporting walls thereof secured to said flanges and said back wall whereby said upturned flanges and said back wall provide the sole support for a housing positioned above said opening in said bottom and said apparatus is covered when positioned in said opening.

5. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and an inner liner therefore providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising continuous, uninterrupted front and side walls, a back wall and a bottom, an edge defining an opening in said bottom, a vertical panel member secured along and to said edge, said panel member being spaced from said .front and said side walls and secured to said back wall, I and a top covering said panel member, thereby affording space within said panel member for housing a freezer machinery unit which space is independent of said front and said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,957,407 Finley May 1, 1934 2,392,727 Dailey Jan. 8, 1946 2,462,115 Luecke Feb. 22, 1949 2,622,753 Philipp Dec. 23, 1952