US1589306A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

June 15 1926.

J. M. SHORT REFRIGERATOR Filed March 9 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS J. M. SHORT REFRIGERATOR Filed March 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /hw unu June 15, 1926.

' INVENTOR ATTORNEYS way/NW2? o, A

Patented June 15, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrics.

JAMES MASELLUS SHORT, 01? NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

REFRIGERATOR.

Application filed larch 9, 1925. Serial Io. 14,160.

compartment of a refrigerator for a given time, and to provide a refrigerator having means for supporting articles of food so that such articles will be moved to position within the food compartment of the refrigerator when the door of such compartment is closed, and will be extended from the food compartment when the door of such compartment is opened so that the individual articles can he handled without moving the remaining articles and all articles supported by the device will be conveniently accessible and visible when the door of the food compartment has been opened.

A. further object of the invention is the provision of a refrigerator having a food compartment adjacent to a refrigerant compartment and having also a service opening normally closed by a swinging door in combination with a secondary closure which carries means for, supporting articles of food and is movable within the food compartment to position to close the service opening I when the primary door for closing such opening has been swung to open position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a refrigerator embodying the invention with the shelves for supporting articles of food -ex tended from the food chamber and the primary door of the food chamber opened,

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the refrigerator, one of the shelves being indicated in dash lines, and illustrating the motion transmitting mechanism connecting the main swinging door of the food chamber with the slidable secondary door so that the position of the latter in the food chamber is changed as the primary door is swung between open and closed positions,

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the refrigerator with the primary door of the foizld chamber swung to partly open position, an

Figure 4 is a section along the line H of F gure 2. T

In carrying out the invention, I provide a refri orator casing, generally indicated at 1, whic is shown as being substantially rectangular in cross sectional contour, and as being formed to provide an 11 per chamber 2 for the reception of ice an a lower and relatively large chamber 3 for the reception.

of articles of food and the like. The casing 1 may be provided with an opening in its top which is normally closed by a door 4: and through which ice ma be inserted in the ice chamber 2. The re rigerator casing also is formed with an opening 5 in a vertical wall thereof for the purpose of per-' initting access to the interior of the food chamber 3. The opening 5 is shown as being rectangular and as having therein across sect-ion slightly less than the area of the food compartment 3 in transverse vertical section. A door 6 for closing the openin 5 is attached to the refrigerator casing 1 hinges, as at 7 and is swingable horizontal y.

The parts described so far are ordinary in construction and may vary considerably in details from thoseexhibited in the ac companying. drawings without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as will be understood from the following description. I

, Asecondary door and carrying member, indicated at 8, is adapted when it is disposed edgewise, as shown, to fit rather closel in the food compartment 3, but to be cap-ab e of flatwise sliding movement from the back of the food compartment toward the plane of the doorway opening 5. The member 8 is supported for flatwise sliding movement on horizontal guides 9 which extend from the back of the food compartment 3 to the front thereof and. engage with rabbets or other suitable cnt'outs 10 in the'inarginal edge of the member 8. As best seen in Figure 4, a pair of these guides 9 may be provided at the upper end of the food chamber and a second pair of the guides=9 may be provided at the bottom of the food chamber.. The sliding movement of the member 8 may be facilitated and stabilized by placing strips 11 of wear resisting material in grooves 12 in the lower shaft 18.

faces of the upper guide members 9 and in like grooves 13 in the upper faces of the bottom guides 9, the strips 11 having transversely extending teeth 14: in their outer faces. A pair of peripherally toothed wheels l i on a horizontal shaft 15 which is sup ported by brackets 16 at the rear of the upper portion of the member 8 are in rolling contact with the toothed faces of the upper strips 11. A pair of similar toothed wheels 17 on a horizontal shaft 18 which is support ed by brackets 19 at the rear of the lower portion of the member 8 are in rolling contact with the toothed faces of the lower strips 11. The wheels 14 and 17 are connected to move in unison by motion transmitting means which comprises a vertical shaft 20 journaled in bearings 21 on the rear face of the member 8 and being provided at its upper end 1 with a beveled gear 22 secured thereto and in mesh-with a bevel gear 23 which is secured on the shaft 15. A bevel gear 24 is secured in the lower end portion of the shaft 20 in mesh with a bevel gear 25 on the lower horizontal It will be manifestthat the member 8 will remain in any position to which it has been moved within the food compartment 3 because the engagement of the teeth on the wheels 14 and 17 with the teeth on the strips 11 will cause sufficient friction to prevent accidental movement of the member 8, but will not prevent the member 8 from being moved easily as a result of the exerclse of force.

The member 8 carries means for supporting articles of food or the like. Such article supporting means are shown as being shelves 26 made of foraminous material and having side guards as indicated at 27, such shelves being secured at their rearward ends to the member 8 to extend forwardly of the latter substantially at right angles thereto. Each shelf 26 is of such size that it will be completely disposed within the food chamber 3 when the combined carrying and secondary door 8 has been slid flatwise against the vertical stops 28 which are provided at the rear of the food compartment. lVhen the memher 8 has been slid forward in the food compartment to the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, the shelves will be extended through the doorway opening 5 and the marginal edge portions of the member 8 will abut the inner faces of the portions of the casing 1 which surround the doorway opening 5, so .that the space within the food chamber 3 will be closed against the ingress of warm air from the space surrounding the refrigerator casing and escape of cool air from the food chamber 3 also be prevented. At this time, the position of the shelves 26 will permit complete and thorough inspection of all the articles on the shelves and will permit the handling of any one of such articles.

The invention provides a motion transmitting means connecting the carrying slide nember and the secondary door 8 with the .nain door 6 for the food chamber so that opening of the main door will cause the secondary door 8 to be slid forward in the food compartment to dispose the articles on the shelves 26 in readily accessible positions and to cause the doorway opening to be covered by the member 8. Such motion transmitting means may comprise a toggle joint includw of the main door 6 at the inner side of the,

latter.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. When the main-door 6 is swung to closed position, the toggle joint which connects the maindoor with the shelf carrying slide member and secondary door 8 will function to move such member flatwise in the food chamber toward the plane of the door Way opening 5. As the swinging movement of the door 6 from closed position to fully open position continues the shelves 26 will be projected from the space within the food compartment 3 and articles can be placed thereon or removed therefrom conveniently.

As hereinbefore stated, the member 8 covers the doorway opening 5 when the main door 6 has been swung to fully open position as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2. Return movement of the door 6 from fully open position to closed position will be accompanied by flatwise movement of'the member 8 rearwardly in the food compartment 3 so that the shelves 26 will be withdrawn into the food compartment and completely housed in the latter when the main door 6 is in closed position. It therefore will be manifest that an economy in the use of ice is effected beyond that ordinarily required to maintain articles at a desirable temperature with a refrigerator of a given size for a given time, since-the doorway opening of the food compartment will be closed almost instantly after it has been opened by the opening of the main door and will remain closed while articles are belng placed on or removed from the shelves. Moreover, the supporting of the shelves from movement to and from position within thefood compartment insures desirable accessibility and visibility of the respective articles which maybe supported on such shelves. 7

Obviously, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and I therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptations thereof as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a refrigerator having a lateral doorway opening and a horizontally swingable door for closing said opening, a vertical edgewise secondary door slidable flatwise within said compartment in parallel relation to the plane of said doorway opening and adapted when at the front of said compartment to cover said doorway opening, horizontal rails at the upper and lower ends of said compartment, said rails extending from the back to the front of said compartment, and wheels at the upper and lower ends of said secondary door in rolling contact with said rails, motion transmitting means con necting said secondary door with said swinging door, whereby opening of said swinging door will cause flatwise slidable movement of the secondary door in the compartment and return swinging movement of said first door will move the secondary door rearwardly in said compartment, and shaft and gear means connecting the wheels at the upper and lower ends of said secondary door to turn in unison. V

2. In a refrigerator having a lateral door- Way opening and a horizontally swingable door for closing said opening, a vertical edgewise secondary door slidable fiatwise within said compartment in parallel relation to the plane of said doorway opening.

and adapted when at the front of said con1 partment to cover said doorway opening, horizontal rails at the upper and lower ends of said compartment, said rails extending from the back to the front of said compartment, and wheels at the upper and lower ends of said secondary door in rolling contact with said rails, and motion transmitting means connecting said secondary door with said swinging door, whereby opening of said swinging door will cause flatwise slidable movement of the secondary door in the compartment and return swinging movement of said first door will move the secondary door rearwardly in saidcompartment, each of said rails and the wheel which is associated therewith having teeth in mesh with each other. JAMES MASELLUS SHORT.

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