US3225564A

US3225564A - Compact refrigerator

Info

Publication number: US3225564A
Application number: US386651A
Authority: US
Inventors: Julins B Horvay
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1964-07-31
Filing date: 1964-07-31
Publication date: 1965-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 1982-12-28

Description

Dec. 28, 1965 J. B. HORVAY COMPACT REFRIGERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1964 INVENTOR. :ru\ \us B. H R M BY a +\S AT TORNEY Dec. 28, 1965 J. B. HORVAY COMPACT REFRIGERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1964 INVENTOR. Iuuus a. HORVAY \\\s ATTORNEY United States Patent @flice 3,225,554 Patented Dec. 28, 1965 3,225,564 CGMPACT REFRiGERAT-GR Iuiius 3. Harvey, Louisriile, Ky, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed .lniy 31, 1%4, Ser. No. 386,651 3 Claims. (Cl. 62377) The present invention relates to compact or small refrigerators as, for example, refrigerators of about a two cubic foot capacity and adapted to be mounted on the wall of a den, studio or the like.

The advantages of small refrigerators for use in dens, studios or the like has long been recognized. For maximum usefulness, it has also been realized that such refrigerators should combine ice freezing facilities with maximum fresh food storage capacity at a minimum cost. To meet these requirements, it is necessary to employ the same evaporator both for freezing and for the cooling of the storage compartment, or in other words, the fresh food storage area must be continuously maintained at above freezing temperatures by an evaporator operating at below freezing temperatures.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a small or compact refrigerator comprising an evaporator adapted to form a below freezing compartment and a fresh food storage area, all of which area is maintained at above freezing temperatures even though tie evaporator operates at below freezing temperatures.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact refrigerator including a fresh food storage compartment, a below freezing evaporator for cooling the contents of that compartment, a pair of doors for closing the access opening to the compartment and including door shelves exposed directly to the cooling effect of the evaporator and means for maintaining these shelves at above freezing temperatures.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a compact refrigerator including a rectangular cabinet comprising insulated walls defining a storage compartment having an access opening at the front thereof. The cabinet includes a reentrant portion in a lower rear corner thereof forming an area outside of the storage compartment for housing a por tion of the refrigeration system. To provide sufficient space for the refrigeration equipment, the reentrant portion is approximately one-half the width of the storage compartment and includes a vertical front wall, which is closely adjacent the access opening to the compartment, and a horizontal wall spaced from the top wall of the compartment. The refrigerator also includes a refrigeration system comprising an evaporator operating continuously at below freezing temperatures for the freezing of ice. This evaporator is disposed in an upper corner of the compartment above the horizontal wall component of the reentrant portion and a compressor is housed in the area outside the storage compartment. Closure means for closing the access opening to the compartment include a pair of side-by-side doors one of which is substantially coextensive with the area occupied by the evaporator and the reentrant portion. The doors are provided with inner liners having projections defining a door shelf recess and the recess in the door opposite the evaporator is in close proximity to the evaporator so that the evaporator tends to cool the recess and its contents to below freezing temperatures. For the purpose of maintaining this recess storage area at above freezing temperatures, or in other words to counteract the cooling effect of the evaporator on this area, the vertical front wall of the reentrant portion opposite the door recess and below the evaporator is so constructed as to have a heat conductivity such that there is sufiicient heat leakage from the compressor to maintain the shelf recess at above freezing temperatures.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which FIG- URE 1 is a front elevation view of the refrigerator of the present invention with the doors removed;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a-vertical sectional view taken generally along line 33 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator taken generally along line 44 of FIG- URE 2.

With reference to the drawings, the refrigerator of the present invention comprises a rectangular cabinet 1 including an inner shell or liner 2 and an outer shell 3 spaced from one another with the space between the two being filled generally with suitable heat insulating material 4. The liner 2, which forms a storage compartment 5 for the storage of refrigerated products at above freezing temperatures has an access opening at the front thereof closed by a pair of side-by-side doors 6 and 7.

The substantially coextensive liner 2 and outer shell 3 are formed in a suitable manner to provide a cabinet top wall 8, a bottom wall 9, opposed side walls 10 and 11 so that the access opening at the face or front of the cabinet is rectangular. The cabinet also includes a back wall 14, one lower corner of which is formed with a reentrant portion 15 comprising a top wall portion 16, a front wall portion 17 and forms an area or housing outside of the storage compartment 5 for housing a portion of the refrigeration system.

To provide maximum storage within the compartment 5, one or more shelves 18 are supported within the cabinet to one side of the reentrant portion 15 while the insulated doors 6 and 7 are each formed with inner liners or panels 20 shaped to include projections 21 defining storage recesses 22 in each of the doors adapted to contain one or more door shelves 23 in accordance with the usual refrigerator cabinet practice.

The refrigeration system or unit for maintaining the storage compartment 5 at refrigerated temperatures comprises a compressor 25 mounted within the area defined by the reentrant portion 15, that is, outside of the storage compartment 5, a condenser 26 mounted on the back wall 14 of the cabinet and an evaporator 27 supported by brackets 28 on the top wall 8 of the cabinet above the top wall portion 16 of the reentrant portion. A tray 30 supported on the horizontal wall 16 provides storage for meats or the like and also functions as a drip tray during defrosting of the evaporator 27. It will be understood that the compressor, condenser, suitable flow restricting means and the evaporator are connected in closed seriesflow connection.

The evaporator 27 is of the open type, that is, open on both the front and rear sides thereof, and is designed to function as a small freezer for the freezing of water in one or more freezing trays 34 and for the storage of frozen foods on a shelf 31 within the enclosure formed by the Walls of the evaporator. Thus, the evaporator is intended to operate continuously at below freezing temperatures and at the same time to maintain the remaining areas within the storage compartment 5 at above freezing temperatures for the storage of non-frozen foods. The cooling of the storage compartment results from the natural circulation of air within the compartment into heat exchange relationship with the evaporator 27.

From the above description, it will be seen that the various storage doors 6 and 7 which are vertically mounted on the face of the cabinet by means of the hinges 33 cooperate to close the access opening to the storage compartment. One of the doors, specifically door 7, faces the general area occupied by one or more of the shelves 18 and the recess shelves provided in the recess 21 of this door operate at substantially the same temperatures as the area surrounding shelf 18.

On the other hand, the other door 6 is substantially coextensive with and opposite the portion of the cabinet interior occupied by the reentrant portion and the evaporator 27 mounted in the space above the reentrant portion.

The temperatures maintained in a cabinet of this type in which a below freezing evaporator is employed to maintain the storage compartment at above freezing temperatures will vary from point to point within the storage compartment and will be substantially colder at all points close to the evaporator. As a result, the recess 22 in the door 6, which is directly opposite and relatively close to the front end of the evaporator 27 tends to operate at a much lower temperature than the remaining portion of the storage compartment 5. Also, as most of the storage space is in the opposite side of the compartment, even under heavy usage of the refrigerator, the door 6 is not opened too frequently since it provides access only to the shelves on the door 6 and to the freezer volume within the evaporator 27. Therefore, in the absence of some means for maintaining the shelf area within the recess 22 of the door 6 at suitable above freezing temperatures, the foodstuffs stored therein may freeze.

The present invention is based on the discovery that suitable above freezing temperatures can be maintained within the recess 22 of the door 6 by controlled heat leakage of heat from the compressor through one or more of the Wall portions forming the reentrant portion 15. Preferably, as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing, all or part of the insulation contained within the space between the outer shell and liner in the vertical wall portion 17 is omitted to obtain a controlled heat leakage from the compressor 25 into the door recess 22. Alternatively this wall area can be thinned down to provide the required heat leakage. With either construction, the warm air warmed by this heat leakage passes upwardly through the recess 22 and counteracts the cooling resulting from the proximity of the evaporator 27 to the upper portion of the recess 22 in the door 6.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention the usual temperature control switch means 37 including a regular knob 38 for controlling the operation of the compressor 25 is also mounted in the vertical wall 17. The mounting of this control 37 at this point provides a convenient arrangement for the control knob 38 and also provides the required heat leakage path between the compressor and the recess 22. It will be understood, of course, that the control includes a temperature sensing element positioned at some point within the storage compartment or in contact with the evaporator 27 in order to maintain the desired operating temperatures.

The refrigerator construction of the present invention also has additional advantages. As two doors are employed, only the right hand door 7 will be opened frequently for access to the major storage area. As the left door 6 is opened only occasionally, the evaporator is exposed directly to warm ambient area less frequently than if a single door were used to close the access opening with a resultant lower power consumption and compressor running time.

While it has been shown and described a specific embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A refrigerator including a cabinet comprising insulated walls including an insulated back wall defining a storage compartment, having an access opening at the front thereof,

said back wall including reentrant portion in a lower corner and including front, top and side wall portions defining an area outside said storage compartment,

closure means including a door for closing said access opening having an inner liner including spaced vertical projections extending into said compartment when the door is closed and defining a recess, at least one storage shelf supported in said recess and means for pivotally supporting said door on the front of said cabinet,

the inner surface of said front wall portion being closely adjacent said vertical projections,

a refrigeration system including an evaporator and a compressor, said evaporator Operating at below freezing temperatures and being disposed in an upper corner of said compartment, above said reentrant portion, in a position exposed directly to said recess,

said compressor being disposed in said area outside said storage compartment,

said front wall portion between said area and said recess in said door having a heat conductivity suflicient to maintain the contents of said recess at above freezing temperatures by heat leakage from said compressor.

2. In a refrigerator, a rectangular cabinet comprising insulated walls including a top wall defining a storage compartment having an access opening at the front thereof,

said cabinet including a reentrant portion in a lower rear corner thereof of about one half the width of said compartment and defining an area outside storage compartment,

said reentrant portion including a vertical front wall adjacent said access opening and a horizontal wall spaced from said top wall,

a refrigeration system including an evaporator operating at below freezing temperatures disposed in an upper corner of said compartment above the horizontal wall portion of said reentrant portion and a compressor disposed in said area outside said storage compartment,

closure means including a pair of side-by-side doors for closing said access opening, one of said doors being substantially coextensive with said vertical front wall portion and having an inner liner including spaced vertical projections defining a door shelf recess opposite and in close proximity to said evaporator whereby said evaporator tends to cool said recess to below freezing temperatures,

said front vertical wall between said area and said recess in said door having a heat conductivity sufficient to counteract the cooling effect of said evaporator and maintain said recess at above freezing temperatures by heat leakage from said compressor.

3. In a refrigerator, a rectangular cabinet comprising insulated walls including a top wall defining a storage compartment having an access opening at the front thereof,

said cabinet including a reentrant portion in a lower rear corner thereof of about one-half the width of said compartment and defining an area outside said storage compartment,

said front vertical wall between said area and said recess in said door containing less insulation than the remaining wall areas whereby heat leakage from said compressor will maintain said recess at above freezing temperatures.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,992,011 2/1935 Knight 62453 X 2,393,238 1/1946 Dailey 62--442 X 2,509,614 5/1950 Philipp 62-453 X 2,666,302 1/1954 Philipp 62-453 X 3,063,772 11/1962 Kennedy 62441 X MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner.

LLOYD L. KING, Examiner.

Claims

1. A REFRIGERATOR INCLUDING A CABINET COMPRISING INSULATED WALLS INCLUDING AN INSULATED BACK WALL DEFINING A STORAGE COMPARTMENT, HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING AT THE FRONT THEREOF, SAID BACK WALL INCLUDING REENTRANT PORTION IN A LOWER CORNER AND INCLUDING FRONT, TOP AND SIDE WALL PORTIONS DEFINING AN AREA OUTSIDE SAID STORAGE COMPARTMENT, CLOSURE MEANS INCLUDING A DOOR FOR CLOSING SAID ACCESS OPENING HAVING AN INNER LINER INCLUDING SPACED VERTICAL PROJECTIONS EXTENDING INTO SAID COMPARTMENT WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED AND DEFINING A RECESS, AT LEAST ONE STORAGE SHELF SUPPORTED IN SAID RECESS AND MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID DOOR ON THE FRONT OF SAID CABINET, THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID FRONT WALL PORTION BEING CLOSELY ADJACENT SAID VERTICAL PROJECTIONS, A REFRIGERANT SYSTEM INCLUDING AN EVAPORATOR AND A COMPRESSOR, SAID EVAPORATOR OPERATING AT BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND BEING DISPOSED IN AN UPPER CORNER OF SAID COMPARTMENT, ABOVE SAID REENTRANT PORTION, IN A POSITION EXPOSED DIRECTLY TO SAID RECESS, SAID COMPRESSOR BEING DISPOSED IN SAID AREA OUTSIDE SAID STORAGE COMPARTMENT, SAID FRONT WALL PORTION BETWEEN SAID AREA AND SAID RECESS IN SAID DOOR HAVING A HEAT CONDUCTIVITY SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN THE CONTENTS OF SAID RECESS AT ABOVE FREEZING TEMPERATURES BY HEAT LEAKAGE FROM SAID COMPRESSOR.