US3443785A

US3443785A - Ice cube tray

Info

Publication number: US3443785A
Application number: US594540A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerald M Ewers
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
Current assignee: CBS Corp
Priority date: 1966-11-15
Filing date: 1966-11-15
Publication date: 1969-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 1986-05-13

Description

May 13, 1969 G. M. EWERS ICE CUBE TRAY Filed NOV. 15, 1966 FILL LINE WITNESSES INV'ENTOR Gerald M. Ewers ATTOR 3,443,785 ICE CUBE TRAY Gerald M. Ewers, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to Westing.

house Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 594,540 Int. Cl. B29c 7/00; B28b 7/24 US. Cl. 249-53 Claims This invention relates to improvements in ice cube tray structure.

An object of the invention is the provision of an ice cube tray and cover structure which facilitates filling the tray and transporting it to the cube freezing location without spillage.

A structure according to the invention includes a flexible lower tray section of the general type in which the tray is racked to release the cubes, and an overlying partial cover section sealingly joined to the tray upper perimetric rim along three sides. The open fourth side serves as a mouth to admit water to the pocket defined between the cover and tray sections when the structure is held in a generally upright position. The proper water quantity is indicated by a level mark located to indicate that quantity which the cube molds can properly accommodate when the structure is returned to a horizontal position for freezing, and the water distributes itself to the molds. After the cubes are frozen, they are released by racking the tray section. The cubes then may be dumped out of the mouth of the pocket formed between the cover and tray sections. To render the cover section more flexible and reduce resistance to this racking, section, pleat means or accordion fold portions are preferably provided in the side walls of the cover section.

The invention will be described in connection with one currently preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the structure in an upright position in which it is adapted to be filled;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the structure in a horizontal position which it occupies during the freezing period; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of the structure in its horizontal position.

The structure includes two main parts, the tray or lower section 10, and the cover or upper section 12. The general structure of the tray section is conventional in most respects and includes a number of upwardly-open, tapered, cube molds 14 separated from each other by longitudinal divider walls 16, and transverse divider walls 18. The upper edges of the

divider walls

16 and 18 are notched as at 20 to provide for distribution of the water to the molds. The cube molds as a whole are encompassed by a perimetric rim 22 on the upper face of the tray section.

The upper section includes a top wall 24,

opposite side walls

26 and 28, and end wall 30. The lower edges of the side walls and end wall are integrally joined to the bottom section perimetric rim 22 so that the pocket formed between the sections does not leak water when the structure is held upright.

The currently preferred construction includes longitudinally extending

pleats

32 and 34 in the

side walls

26 and 28, respectively, and a pleat 36 in the end wall 30, of the upper section. These pleats enhance the flexibility of the cover section so that the tray section 10 may be more easily racked to release the ice cubes from their molds. It will be appreciated of course that with sufficiently flexible material forming the cover section, the pleats may be omitted.

The top of the cover section as shown in FIGURE 1 is open to form the mouth through which water is adatent O mitted when the structure is held in a generally upright position for filling. Indicia such as the fill line legend and mark 40 is provided on the cover section top wall 24 to aid the user during filling. Thus it is preferable that the water level in the pocket be observable through at least the tray or cover section during filling. A polyethylene plastic which is sufliciently pervious to light, and is sufficiently flexible to permit release of the cubes by racking, may conveniently be used.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that in use the structure is held in a generally upright position as shown in FIGURE 1 for filling and transport to the freezing compartment, and is then turned down to its normal horizontal position for distributing the water to the molds for freezing. After the cubes are frozen, the tray is removed and racked by twisting opposite corners to release the cubes.

The cover section not only functions to prevent spillage of water during transport and filling, but also prevents those cubes underlying the top wall 24 from popping out beyond the confines of the tray during racking. The cover may also serve as a collecting space for the ice cubes after they have been released from their molds and gives some directional control of the ice cubes during dumping.

It will be appreciated that the cover section is preferably of greater depth than the depth of the tray section to insure that the cubes may be readily dumped out of the pocket after they are released from their individual molds. Ordinarily any wedging of an ice cube between the tray section and the cover section in a diagonal orientation may be readily released by flexing the cover.

The structure may be made by molding the sections separately and then joining the edges of the cover section with the rim of the tray section; or the entire structure may be molded as an integral unit in a flow molding operation for example.

I claim as my invention:

1. An ice tray comprising:

a cube-freezing lower section having a series of upwardly-open cube molds encompassed by an upperface perimetric rim, said lower section being constructed of a material sufiiciently flexible to permit manual racking for releasing frozen cubes from said cube molds; and

an upper section, also of a flexible material, including three closed wall sides, a fourth open-face side, and a top wall overlying only a part of said lower section, said three walls having their lower edges connecting said perimetric rim in a water sealing relation, said open-face side forming the mouth of an upwardly-open, generally pocket-shaped vessel for receiving water formed between said upper and lower sections when said tray is positioned in a gen erally upright position for filling, said mouth overlying the mold area of said lower section. I

2. A tray according to claim 1 wherein:

said top section includes pleat means for reducing resistance to said racking.

3. A tray according to claim 2 wherein:

said pleat means extend lengthwise along said three side walls.

4. A tray according to claim 1 wherein:

said flexible material comprises a plastic material sufficiently pervious to light to permit viewing a Water level therethrough; and

marking means is provided on said tray to indicate a proper fill level in said vessel in said upright position.

5. A tray according to claim 1 wherein:

said upper section has a depth in excess of the depth of said lower section to reduce the likelihood of 3 4 frozen cubes becoming wedged in the space between 3,129,568 4/ 1964 Knepper 249130 X said lower and upper section after their release. 3,306,567 2/ 1967 Frei 249-127 X References Cited J. HOWARD FLINT, 111., Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Us. CL XR 699,856 5/1902 StHtZ 249--1 249121, 127, 129

2,591,261 4/1952 Holahan 2491 19 X

Claims

1. AN ICE TRAY COMPRISING: A CUBE-FREEZING LOWER SECTION HAVING A SERIES OF UPWARDLY-OPEN CUBE MOLDS ENCOMPASSED BY AN UPPERFACE PERIMETRIC RIM, SAID LOWER SECTION BEING CONSTRUCTED OF A MATERIAL SUFFICIENTLY FLEXIBLE TO PERMIT MANUAL RACKING FOR RELEASING FROZEN CUBES FROM SAID CUBE MOLDS; AND AN UPPER SECTION, ALSO OF A FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, INCLUDING THREE CLOSED WALL SIDES, A FOURTH OPEN-FACE SIDE, AND A TOP WALL OVERLYING ONLY A PART OF SAID LOWER SECTION, SAID THREE WALLS HAVING THEIR LOWER EDGES CONNECTING SAID PERIMETRIC RIM IN A WATER SEALING RELATION, SAID OPEN-FACE SIDE FORMING THE MOUTH OF AN UPWARDLY-OPEN, GENERALLY POCKET-SHAPED VESSEL FOR RECEIVING WATER FORMED BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS WHEN SAID TRAY IS POSITIONED IN A GENERALLY UPRIGHT POSITION FOR FILLING, SAID MOUTH OVERLYING THE MOLD AREA OF SAID LOWER SECTION.