Ice Maker And Ice Service Drawer Arrangement

Abstract

The invention provides an ice maker and ice receiving and dispensing drawer combination which is disposed within a freezer or the freezer compartment of a refrigerator, with the ice maker placed adjacent the rear wall thereof so that cool air moving in a duct contained in the rear wall may efficiently freeze the water within the ice maker. The receiving drawer is disposed on runners affixed to the freezer compartment inner walls for movement inwardly and outwardly, and extends from front to back a sufficient distance so that its rearward portion is disposed under the dispensing means for the ice maker unit while its forward portion is at the front of the freezer refrigerator. The ice maker drawer includes a bottom member which is slanted from rear to front so that ice deposited within the receiving drawer is urged by gravity towards the front portion of the drawer for easy access by the user. The forward portion of the receiving drawer includes a front piece arrangement which forms a front panel of a refrigerator or freezer of which it is a part. The receptacle portion for the drawer is removable from the remainder of the drawer so that it may be utilized as a separate dispensing means when situated outwardly of the refrigerator or freezer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an ice maker and receiving drawer means therefor and, more particularly, relates to an ice maker and receiving drawer arrangement disposed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator or in a freezer.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The use of an ice maker and ice receiving means utilized therewith is old in the art, such being shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,225 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,656, issued Oct. 4, 1966 and Jan. 24, 1967, respectively. However, it can be seen in both of the devices of these patents that the ice maker is situated in a position occupying a forward part of the freezer compartment.

The use of slanted base receiving means is also old, the same being shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,844, issued Aug. 9, 1966. However, this patent discloses an ice maker disposed from front to back so that this unit also occupies a forward part of the freezer compartment. The use of refrigerator front portions formed from the front face of a sliding drawer is also old and well known. The same being shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,038,774 and 3,077,749. However, neither of these patents contemplate the use of such a drawer in an ice maker combination having provision for delivery of the ice to the forward portion of the drawer.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an ice maker and ice receiving means arrangement in which the ice maker was situated adjacent the rear cooled wall of the freezer compartment to provide a good heat transfer relationship therewith and to limit its obtrusive character within the freezer compartment. It would also be advantageous to utilize an ice receiving means that was positively guided in its inward and outward movement and included a positive structural arrangement which lent itself to movement of the ice towards the front of the drawer, and with the receptacle means being removable from its guide arrangement so that it might be used as a separate dispensing means handy to the housewife. It would add still another advantage if such an ice maker and receiving drawer arrangement did not require that the freezer or refrigerator door be opened to obtain dispensed ice. Instead the ice could be conveniently dispensed with the ice receiving means functioning as a drawer or a separate receptacle so that the amount of cold air spilled out of the freezer or freezer compartment was limited to a large degree.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an ice maker mounted adjacent to or against the rear wall of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, freezer or the like so as to obtain a good heat transfer from the cool air ducting contained in this rear wall, and also to limit its obstructive protrusion into the usable volume of the freezer compartment. Disposed below the ice maker and extending forwardly thereof is an ice receiving drawer that is positively mounted to the sides of the freezer compartment by a guide arrangement so as to be slidably guided in its inward and outward movement relative to the freezer compartment. A receptacle means is provided mounted within a generally fixed frame to serve as the drawer so that it and its frame may slidably move relative to the fixed guides of the freezer compartment. The receptacle means of the drawer is removable from its frame, so that the drawer can be slid out and the receptacle means removed with its use then being as a separate container or dispensing means, placed in a more convenient location for access to the ice contained therein. The receptacle means includes a bottom which tilts or slants from back to front so that gravity urging of ice dispensed by the ice maker arrangement and deposited in the rearward portion of the receptacle tends to move forward to be convenient to the user.

The drawer arrangement includes a front piece that forms a front panel for the refrigerator or freezer with mullion means also at the front of the refrigerator or freezer separating the drawer from a door or doors of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator normally utilized for such an arrangment as just described is a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer, wherein the freezer-portion includes an upper and lower door between which is disposed the drawer arrangement However, the described arrangement could be utilized with other types of refrigerators or freezers.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the preferred embodiment, exemplary of the invention, shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a refrigerator arrangement incorporating the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the same refrigerator with a side of the refrigerator and the fixed guide means attached thereto removed and partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the refrigerator showing the drawer arrangement of the instant invention with the front roller on the right side removed; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the drawer framework and its guide means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now most particularly to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 10 is provided with a freezer side 11 having an upper door 12 and a lower door 14, with a receiving drawer 16 disposed therebetween. A fresh food side 13 is also included in the refrigerator 10 having a door 15. Mullions 18 and 20 provide means against which the doors 12 and 14 and drawer 16 abut to seal the front side of the refrigerator 10.

As was indicated, the refrigerator 10 normally is a side by side, although, for purposes of illustration, the food side of the refrigerator has been shown only in outline. It contains the food compartment or compartments. It is to be understood also that the drawer 16 could be advantageously applied to a refrigerator arrangement in which the required width of the drawer between the sides of the refrigerator was not extended to such a great degree as to make the movement and handling of the drawer unwieldy to the user thereof. Thus, it is within the contemplation of this invention that the drawer 16 be utilized in a refrigerator having a relatively narrow width between its sides, whether the same be a side by side refrigerator or an individual compact refrigerator, such as now is making its appearance in the marketplace. Further, although the doors 12 and 14 would, in the exemplary refrigerator, normally provide closure means for an upper freezer compartment 22 and a lower freezer compartment 24, it is within the contemplation of this invention that the compartment 24 be a fresh food compartment and a dividing means (not shown) disposed behind the mullion 20 separate the upper freezer compartment 22 from the fresh food compartment disposed therebelow. It is also within the contemplation of this invention that one of the doors and its compartment be dispensed with entirely.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 to 4, the detailed arrangement of the invention may be more easily seen. Guide means 26 includes a pair of channel means 28 and 30, which are fixedly attached to the sides of the refrigerator 10 by any conventional means (not shown) and extend for nearly the full depth of the refrigerator 10 from front to rear so as to provide a guidance arrangement for the inward and outward movement of the drawer 16. The channel members 28 and 30 are disposed with bight portions 32, 32 of each of these channel members abutting the side walls of the refrigerator so that the channel members open inwardly to provide a fixed track for the aforementioned guidance.

Disposed inwardly, relative to the channel members 28 and 30, are a pair of guide members 34 and 36 of guide means 26 which are fixed in a framework 38 of drawer 16 so that the framework 38 moves relative to the channel members 28 and 30. The guide members 34, 36, in front view (FIG. 4), assume a stepped configuration providing a pair of parallel vertically spaced flats 40 and 42, with the lower surface of outer flats 42, 42 serving as a tracking means for the guide means 26, and the upper surface of the inner flats 40, 40 providing support means for a receptacle 41 of drawer 16. The receptacle 41 is normally disposed within and resting upon the framework 38.

A forwardmost portion 44 of each of channel members 28, 30 has a part of it non-bent to assume a horizontal position similar to the correspondingly parallel extending flats 42, 42 so that the guide arrangement 26 may be disassembled by forward and then upward movement of the framework 38 relative to the channel members 28 and 30. A more detailed description of this disassembly will be furnished later.

Adjacent the rearward portion of framework 38 and attached to each of the guide members 34, 36 is a roller 46 made of nylon or the like with the axis of these rollers centrally disposed relative to the height of the channel members 28 and 30 so that the rollers 46 can rotate relative to the guide members 34 and 36. Thus, a roller 46 of guide arrangement 26 is disposed within each of the channel members 28 and 30 so that a smaller diameter portion 48 thereof physically abuts upper and lower leg member 50 and 52 of each of the channel members 28 and 30. Each of the rollers 46 also includes a larger diameter portion 51 which is disposed inwardly relative to the channel members 28 and 30 with a most outwardly disposed face 53 thereof abutting against the inward terminations of the legs 50 and 52 of each of the channel members 28 and 30 so as to prevent a metal to metal contact between the channel members 28 and 30 and the guide members 34 and 36. Frame 38 is thereby guided at its rear by the rollers 46, 46 affixed thereto rotating within the channel members 28 and 30 as the frame 38 moves forwardly relative to the front of the refrigerator 10.

In order to provide support to the front of the frames 38, guide arrangement 26 includes a pair of rollers 54, 54, each of nylon or the like and having a small diameter portion 56 and a large diameter portion 58. These rollers are fixed adjacent the front of the channel members 28 and 30 on the forwardmost portions 44, 44. The small diameter portions 56 of each roller abuts against the bottom face of the upper horizontal portion 42 of each of guide members 34, 36 so that the front rollers 54 provide a front guidance means for the drawer 16 as it moves inwardly and outwardly of the refrigerator 10. It should be noted that the large diameter portion 58 of one of the front rollers 54 is disposed between each of the vertically extending portions of guide members 34 and 36 and the terminations of the legs 50 and 52 of the channel members 28 and 20. This places a relatively easily slidable and low friction surface between the channel members 28, 30 and the guide members 34, 36 to prevent a metal to metal contact. The guide arrangement 26 thereby provides an easily slidable drawer 16 which is positively guided in its inward and outward movements relative to the refrigerator 10.

The frame 38 of the drawer 16 is completed by a front cap arrangement 60 and a rear transverse extending strengthening member 62 so that the frame 38 comprises a rigid assembly which does not tend to warp or twist when the drawer 16 is loaded or moved inwardly or outwardly relative to the refrigerator 10. The rear strengthening member 62 is U-shaped in cross section to provide to two downwardly extending legs 66 and 68 and a bight 70 to form a substantially rigid reinforcing arrangement at the rear of the frame 38. The reinforcing member 62 is mounted with the guide members 34 and 36 by means of inwardly directed bentover tab portions 72 and 74 situated at and integral with the rearward ends of the guide members 34 and 36, respectively. The tab portions 72 and 74 are, of course, connected to the rear reinforcing member 62 by any conventional means such as riveting or the like, with the rear reinforcing member 62 being disposed beneath the tabs 72 and 74 and having its ends abutting the vertical portions of each of the guide members 34 and 36.

The front cap arrangement 60 of drawer 16 includes an outer door section 76 and an inner door section 78. Both the inner and outer door sections 76, 78 are formed from plastic molded pieces, with the inner door section 78 including a pair of side panels 80 (only one shown) which attach at each side by screws 82, 82 or the like to the guide members 34 and 36. The inner door section 78 also includes top and bottom walls 84 and 86 which integrally join to the side panels 80, 80 and also integrally join to a front piece 88 so that the total configuration of the inner door section 78 is that generally of an open receptacle received over the ends of the guide members 34, 36.

The front piece 88 of the inner door section 78 also includes a series of three counter bores 90 (only one shown), with these bores extending through the front piece 88 and also extending through a series of three bosses 91 (only one shown) which are integral with the inner door section and serve as an attachment means for the outer door section 76. The bosses 91 and bores 90, advantageously, may be aligned and located at the same vertical distance above the bottom of the drawer 16 so that they provide an attachment means (see below) between the inner and outer door sections 76, 78, slightly below a handle portion 92 of the outer door section 76. This arrangement transfers the user pulling force applied to this handle portion directly to the inner door section 78 and from it to a drawer framework 38.

Abutting with each boss 91 is a mating boss 94 formed on outer door section 76. These bosses thereby conform with each other so that abuttment of the bosses 91 and 94 and the use of a threaded screw fastening means disposed within them provides a fairly secure condition between the inner and outer door sections.

Outer door section 76 includes a pair of side walls 95 (only one shown), and a top piece 96 and a bottom piece 98, with the side pieces 94, top piece 96 and bottom piece 98 dimensioned so as to be slightly larger in peripheral dimension than a molded border 100 which extends around and is an integral part of inner door section 78, this border being displaced slightly forwardly from the front piece 88 of the inner door section 78. By this arrangement, then, the inner door section 78 and outer door section 76 are connected in a fairly rigid manner with the outer door section 76 covering the outer edges of the border 100 of the inner door section 78 so that the same is not discernible from the front of the refrigerator 10 and a pleasing and attractive appearance is presented. Insulation (not shown) may be provided between inner and outer door sections 78, 76, respectively, to limit heat transfer in this area of the refrigerator 10.

The outer door section 76 thereby forms a discernable and integral part of the front of the refrigerator 10 and, as previously mentioned, includes the handle portion 92, with this part of the outer door section having a curved configuration that merges into a straight vertical portion 102, that forms the actual handle for drawer 16.

The mullions 18 and 20 for the refrigerator 10 are formed from an integral, molded plastic frame 106, including a top hollow wall 108, a bottom hollow wall 110, a pair of side walls 112 (only one shown) that form together an opening 114 for reception of the drawer 16. The hollow wall 108, of course, also forms the mullion 18 and the hollow walls 110 forms the mullion 20 so that the doors 12 and 14 may close against the same of their lower and upper ends, respectively. The molded frame 106 may be conveniently attached to the sides of the refrigerator 10 through bores 116 formed therein, a series of three of these bores being provided in each of the side walls 112.

In order to seal the drawer 16 relative to the mullions 18 and 20, a gasket means 118 is attached to the inner face of the molded border 100 of inner door section 78. This gasket means may be conveniently formed from polyvinyl chloride in a shape substantially as shown and provided with magnets (not shown) within the gasket means 118 so as to urge the drawer 16 in tight sealing relationship with the mullions 18 and 20, through the aegis of a magnetic means 120 affixedly mounted on these mullions. The arrangement and connection of such a gasket and its cooperating magnetic means is generally old and well known in the refrigerator art so no further description of the same will now be offered.

To form the receptacle means for the drawer 16, an open receptacle 41 is mounted within the framework 38 of the drawer 16. The receptacle 41 includes a pair of side walls 124, 124 which extend vertically and terminate in horizontally extending edges 126. A front wall 128 and a rear wall 130 are integrally molded with the side walls 124. The front wall 128 may terminate at its upper end in a lip 132 so as to provide a substantially rounded edge in the area where the user may place his hands. The rear portions of the side walls 124, 124 include a cutout portion 134 which permits the receptacle 41 to be moved beneath an icemaker 136 that provides a supply of ice to the receptacle 41. The open receptacle 41 has its configuration completed by a bottom panel 138 which extends from the front to the rear of the receptacle 41 in a slanting manner so that rear portions of the bottom panel 138 are considerably higher than its forward portions, thus providing for gravity urging of ice cubes or ice from the rear to the front of the receptacle 41. The bottom panel 138, it has been found, insures movement of ice towards the front of the receptacle 41 when the same is disposed at at least an angle of 18.degree. from the horizontal. A larger angle, of course, may be utilized with the limit on this angle being obtained when the bottom panel 138, at its rearward portion, is at the general height of the rear end of the cutout 134.

Ice maker 136 is shown only in general outline in the drawings and includes a supply tube 138 for the water supply for the forming of ice. This ice maker may take, conveniently, the form of the ice maker illustrated in either of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,276,225 or 3,299,656. Other ice makers might also be utilized, with those of a relatively narrow depth being preferred so that the projection forwardly from the rear wall of the freezer compartment is as small as is practically possible. This permits an advantageous use of the remainder of the freezer volume for the storage and cooling of foodstuffs. The mounting of the ice maker on or near the rear wall also yields the advantage of only a short supply tube 138 being required since it may conveniently pass through the rear wall of the refrigerator 10. Also this location for the ice maker 136 limits damage to it by the user of the refrigerator and lessens the possibility of the user of the refrigerator being damaged by it.

As is illustrated in each of the aforementioned patents, ice delivery from ice maker 136 is by means of a series of rotating fingers (not shown) which move the ice to a ledge arrangement, from which the ice falls into a receptacle disposed therebelow. In a similar manner, ice maker 136 of the instant invention includes a slanted ledge 140 so that ice being dispensed from the ice maker 136 slides down this ledge and drops into the rear portion of the receptacle 41. As ice is deposited in this rearward portion of receptacle 41, it slides forwardly thereof until it abuts against the front wall 128 or until it abuts against a pile of ice cubes or ice already positioned against this front wall. Ice maker 138, of course, includes a sensing means, including a pivoted rod 140 that is disposed so as to be at or near the top of the rear portion of receptacle 122 to indicate to the ice maker 136 when the receptacle 122 is loaded with ice cubes or ice so that the operation of the ice maker 136 may halt.

Ice maker 136 is mounted immediately forward of the rear wall of the freezer compartment. In the embodiment illustrated it is preferred that the ice maker 136 actually mount against a rear wall 144 of the freezer compartment since the cooling air for cooling of this freezer compartment is carried by a duct 146 within the rear wall. A communicating aperture 148 may be provided in this duct for the direct supply of a quantity of cooling air against the ice maker 136. The use of the aperture 148, however, is not mandatory, and it may be dispensed with and the cool air contained in the air duct 146 being depended upon for conduction of the heat load of the ice maker 136.

As was set out in the beginning portion of the description, the receptacle 41 is removable, this feature being shown most clearly in FIG. 1, so that a positioning means 151 is provided within the framework 38 to insure that the receptacle 41 is easily positioned properly from front to rear. Each of the guide members 34 and 36 includes a pair of inwardly directed, struck out tabs 150 and 152, with the tab 150 being the forwardmost tab and the tab 152 being the rearwardmost tab so that the receptacle 41, when being placed within the framework 38 is set between the struck out tabs 150 and 152. Thus, quick positioning of the receptacle 41 is had by merely utilizing the tabs 150, 152 as guiding means and permitting the receptacle 41 to move downwardly until it rests upon the horizontal portions 40 of the guide members 34 and 36.

In order to remove the drawer framework 38 from guiding channel members 28, 30, the drawer 16 is pulled forwardly until a stop formed on each guide member 34 and 36 by a struck out bent tab 154 abuts against a struck out bent tab 156 formed on each channel member 28, 30. With the guide members 34, 36 of framework 38 at this forward position, the rollers 46, 46 are in the area of the forward portions 44, 44 of the channel members 28, 30. The drawer 16 may then be rotated upwardly clearing the stop formed by bent tabs 156, 156 so that bent tabs 154, 154 and then the rollers 46, 46 are free for vertical movement. Drawer 16 may then be lifted from channel members 28, 30.

It should be clear to one skilled in the art that many modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiment described that would still fall within the spirit and purview of the descrription offered. For example, the inner and outer door sections could be made from an integral element and this element utilized as the front piece for the drawer 16. Also, instead of the utilization of the magnetic catch arrangement, in conjunction with magnetic carrying gaskets, at the forward portion of the drawer 16, the same could be provided with an overcenter latch at its rearward end, which could be easily overcome by the user manipulating the drawer to its forwardmost positon to release the latch and its retention of the drawer 16 against the mullions 18 and 20. Also a slanted bucket could be utilized for the receptacle 41, with the same being located within the frame 38 slanted relative to it, so that no slanted bottom need be formed.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer having laterally adjacent, vertically-extending freezer and refrigerator compartments:

a door for said refrigerator compartment;

an upper and a lower door for said freezer compartment, said freezer door being spaced apart at an intermediate height of said freezer compartment to provide an intermediate space therebetween;

a pull-out drawer structure at said intermediate height of said freezer compartment, said drawer structure including an exteriorly finished front member in the plane of said freezer doors occupying said intermediate space when said drawer structure is in a closed position;

an automatic ice cube maker mounted at the rear of said freezer compartment in a generally sideways extending orientation so that its front-to-rear projection is as small as is practically possible;

an ice cube receptacle removably carried by said drawer, said receptacle having a forward end portion adjacent said front member of said drawer and extending rearwardly with the rearward end portion of said receptacle in a position to receive ice cubes dispensed by said ice cube maker;

said drawer and said receptacle being carried in said freezer compartment so that the bottom of said receptacle is sufficiently inclined from front to rear that as ice cubes are built-up in said rearward portion, at least a part of them will move individually and collectively toward the forward end portion of said receptacle by gravity.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said drawer structure further includes a substantially rigid frame for receiving said receptacle and defining means to positively locate said receptacle properly disposed within said frame.