Refrigerator

May 24, 1938.

2,118,735

R. H. MONEY

REFRIGERATOR

Filed Jan. 15, 1935

<img file="US2118735A_D0001.tif" />

Patented May 24, 1938

2,118,735

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,118,735

REFRIGERATOR

Roland H. Money, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Crosley Radio Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio

Application January 15, 1935, Serial No. 1,909

Claims.

My invention relates to the provision of means to impede in a simple and effective way the loss of cold air from domestic refrigerators, and at the same time increase rather than decrease the ₆ convenience thereof in use.

When the door of a refrigerator is opened and immediately closed again, there is not much increase of heat diie to influx of outer air and efflux of cold air within the refrigerator. How10 ever, upon holding the door open for longer periods of time, this loss becomes more of a factor. What happens is that the cold air flows out from the bottom of the refrigerator, to be replaced by warm air from without flowing in at the top.

ig It is my object to impede the flowing of cold ah· out of the bottom of the refrigerator by means of a plate which is movable and preferably hingedly connected to the refrigerator across the lower portion thereof and inside of the door thereof. This plate will then maintain a pool ²⁰ of the coldest air in the lower portion of the refrigerator where objects are kept which must be at the lowest temperature, and at the same time will make it hard for cold air to flow out of the refrigeration compartment.

²⁸ It is my object, further, to make of this plate when it is opened to gain easier access to the lower portion of the refrigerator compartment, a tray upon which articles can be moved in order ₃₀ to make it easier to select a given article by merely placing intervening articles on the said tray.

I believe, furthermore, that the presence of this plate across the lower portion of the refrigerator 35 compartment, when the door is open, will deflect air currents from without so that there Will be a reduced tendency of cold air spilling out of the compartment above the plate.

I accomplish my objects by that certain con40 struction and arrangement of parts of which an example will be specifically described and the novelty of which will be set forth in the appended claims to which reference is hereby made.

In the drawing:—

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken centrally of a refrigerator at the compartment portion thereof.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the lower portion of a refrigerator with the plate open.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section along the line 3—3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section along the line 4—4 of Figure 1.

I have illustrated my invention in connection 55 with a door which is constructed in accordance (Cl. 62—89) with West Reissue Patent No. 19,008, and my invention has some points in connection with such a door, which are distinctive, as well as having relation to refrigerators in general.

The refrigerator of the mechanical type, as 5 illustrated, has a casing I which is insulated and surrounds a compartment 2, in which compartment is located the refrigeration unit 3, having ice trays 4 therein. This unit is located in the upper part of the compartment so as to set up io proper circulation of air therein, to maintain the entire compartment cold.

The door, as shown, has a body S, which has a hollow chamber 6 in its inner side, surrounded by a wall of insulated nature. In this hollow 15 chamber there is arranged a rack of open wire shelves 7, on which many articles can be located, for ready availability when the door is open.

•The insulation strip or “breaker” strip separating conductively the compartment lining from _?0the outside of the box, is shown at 8. ^w

The shelves 9 within the refrigerator can be arranged as noted, leaving at least part way across the refrigerator a relatively high space 10 for storing of bottles of milk or other beverage, large pieces of meat and the like. In the particular form shown, this space is only shown as extending partly across the bottom of the refrigerator.

Located on hinges ί I set between the box wall and the breaker strips near the bottom of the refrigerator compartment, is a plate 82, which is of a size to close off from the outside the lower portion of the said compartment. Ordinarily this plate will be as high as the high space for bottles, etc. above referred to.

Spring socket plates S3 or other suitable retaining means serving to engage the edge of the plate, in this instance a knob 13α, and keep it in erect position as shown in Figure 1, will be provided on one or both of the side walls of the refrig- 40 erator compartment.

The plate need not be movably mounted in the manner noted, as some other means for removably retaining it in place would serve. However, by articulating the plate at the bottom it 45 can be used as an article supporting tray. To this end one way of arranging the structure will be to place rubber bumpers !4, IS, on the outside of the plate, which bumpers will rest upon the breaker strip when the plate is turned down, and 50 hold the plate in a horizontal position.

The convenience of being able to arrange articles on the tray is apparent, but it has particular advantages at the bottom of the food compartment because of its use in relieving conges- 55

3,118,730 tion of articles there, while removing or inserting others.

The plate when erected will probably not be lowered except occasionally in the use of the re0 frigerator. It will not interfere with access to the ice trays, nor to the upper shelves, and the shelves in the door will, of course, be available.

In connection with the shelved door compartment, the tray will act to assist in maintaining 10 a separate current of air in the door compartment. I do not believe that it will be necessary even in hot climates to provide any vent holes in the plate to assist in refrigeration, action In the door compartment. Also, if shelves were 15 placed on the inside of a door, rather than in a compartment in a recess therein, the presence of the plate would assist in setting up a different current of cold air washing the door from that which moves through the body of the refrigerator. 20 So far as saving in loss of cold air when opening the door is concerned, it should be noted that the easy way for cold air to get out of the food compartment is at the bottom, and that it is at the bottom where the coldest air is normally 25 found. The plate not only impedes flow of cold air out of the refrigerator which drains the coldest portion of the compartment, but it greatly impedes the loss of cold air from above because of the air currents within and without the box 89 tending to maintain themselves.