US1768599A - Refrigerating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July 1, 1930. c. HQLBROOK 1,768,599

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 17, 1927 17 23 Refriyerafof' Cabin e1 I2 Drain Pan ,rza

, Q as l Patented July 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics WILLIAM C. HOLBROOK, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY,MES1\TE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FRIGIDAIRE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE REFRIGEBATING- APPARATUS Application filed October 17, 1927; Serial No. 2213,5 17.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to arrangements for draining the interior of refrigerating cabinets.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved form of drain trap for refrigerators which can be re adily 1nspected at all times, one which is sanitary and can be readily cleaned, one which is readily removable to make room for the installation and servicing of refrigerating machinery associated with the cabinet, and one which can be easily removed without spilling water.

Still another object is to provide an arrangement of trap and drain pan which con serves space and facilitates removal of the drain pan for emptying.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

The single figure of the accompanying drawing shows a vertical section of a portion of the refrigerator cabinet including a drain and trap constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Refrigerating apparatus such as that dis-' closed in the patent to Jesse G. King, No. 1,578,114, February 16, 1926, generally includes a refrigerator cabinet having a food storage compartment, which includes or surrounds a cooling compartment, and which is disposed above and insulated from a machine compartment, which latter contains refrigerating apparatus for supplying refrigerant to an evaporator disposed in the cooling compartment. As is well known in the art, such evaporators gradually become coated with frost and conse quently must be defrosted from time to time.' The water resulting from the melting frost is ordinarily removed through a drain pipe which passes through the lower wall of the storage compartment and leads to a drain pan or similar receptacle placed in the machine compartment. Arrangements of this sort heretofore known have several disadvantages. The drain tube above mentioned, if open, forms a' path for the conduction of heat from the atmosphere into the storage compartment; Consequently it has been proposed to provide a water Q seal or trap for this conduit. However, since such apparatus is defrosted comparatlvely infrequently, for instance at intervals of two weeks, and since during this time allof the water contained in the trap may evaporate, the trap is not effective as a heat seal, and there is no way of detecting when the water is gone. Moreover such traps have presented the following dilemma.

Either the trap has been formed by bends or equivalent devices in the drain pipe, or it has been formed of a separate container placed outside the storage compartment. In

the former case the liquid capacity of the trap is necessarily small'and it has been my experience that all of the water in the trap may be blown out by slamming the door of the cabinet. In the latter case the trap, if large enough to hold sufiicient waterto last between defrosting periods, has taken up so much room that itis in the way of installing and servicing the machinery in the machine compartment. The improved trap and drain arrangement described herein eliminates these disadvantages.

In accordance with my invention construction of the drain is as follows. Referring to the drawing, 10 designates a refrigerator cabinet having a storage compartment 11 and a machine compartment 12, separated by a wall including insulating material 18 and an impervious lining 14: and facing 15. An opening 16 is formed through the wall. Preferably the lining 14 has a depression 17 surrounding the opening. A pipe 20 having a shoulder 21 at one end is placed in the opening and the wall is clamped between this shoulder and a nut 22 threaded on the opposite end of the pipe. Preferably gaskets 23 of resilient material are placed between the shoulder and nut and the wall.

A container closure in the form of an inverted threaded cup, such as. the familiar metal fruit j ar'cover, is pierced with a hole and placed on the drain pipe. The closure is sealed to the pipe by being clamped beneath the gasket 23 by the nut 22. If desired a spacer 24 may separate the closure from the wall. The tube 20 projects beyond the nut to about the level of the edge of the closure. A glass container 26 is threaded into the closure 25 and thus encloses the end of the drain 20. Preferably the joint between the container and the closure is sealed by a resilient gasket 27 In order to form a liquid trap within the container 26 the tube 20 is provided with a removable extension 28 which may be threaded on the end of the tube and which reaches near the bottom ofthe container. A removable drain tube 29 connected with the cooling compartment, not shown, is inserted in the end of the pipe 20, to conduct the defrosting water to the trap.

Water flowing into the container is drained off through a waste conduit 30 which passes through and is sealed to the side wall of the closure 25 above the top of the container and which has a portion 31 extending into the container below its top.

Pipe 30 leads to a drain pan to which is supported so as to be readily removable on ledges 41 secured to the wall of the cabinet. Preferably the outer end of the pipe 30 is be low the portion extending into the container 26 so that the Waste pipe forms a siphon. Thus normally water will stand in the trap at the level indicated by LL. However, when the evaporator is defrosted the water will gradually rise until the siphon is filled and any excess will be drained off. When defrosting stops the siphon will drain the water down to the level LL, which is appreciably below the top of the container and this permits the removal of the container without spilling any water.

The trap is made of sufficient capacity so that all of the water between the level L-L and the lower end of the pipe 28 will not evaporate between ordinary defrosting periods. This requires a container of considerable capacity and one which therefore takes up an appreciable amount of room in the machine compartment. In order not to interfere with the removal of the drain pan the trap is placed at one side of the drain pan as explained above, so that the drain pan can be slid out along the ledges 4-1 without any interference whatever. The entire trap is also readily removed by unscrewing type which prevents blowing water out by opening and closing the door. If the door is closed rapidly so as to drive air out of the cabinet, this will bubble through the water in the container and escape through the conduit 30. Because the container is transparent it may be readily inspected and thus the user of the refrigerator can tell at a glance whether it needs cleaning or whether there is sufiicient water present to seal the end of the drain pipe. The trap is preferably placed near the front of the cabinet, and where it is used on cabinets of the type described, it is at a considerable height above the floor. Thus the trap is easily seen. The ready removability of the trap not only facilitates cleaning the trap itself but facilitates cleaning of the entire refrigerator cabinet. When the container is removed the drain pipe may discharge directly to a suitable receptacle. The interior of the cooling compartment may be washed out and the pipe 29 removed to permit washing and draining of the storage compartment. Thus all water will be removed and there will be no foul wash water remaining in the trap after the cleaning operation.

The trap has been described as applied to a mechanical refrigerator cabinet for the sake of illustration, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this type, but is equally applicable to any cabinets which require draining. Moreover, while the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cabinet having a wall; a drain through the wall; and a drain trap including a container closure fixed with relation to the wall, a

container removably secured to the closure,

and a removable extension connected to the drain and extending near the bottom of the container.

2. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cabinet having a wall; a drain through the .wall; and a drain trap including a container closure fixed with relation to the wall, a container removably secured to the closure and a waste conduit for the container entering the container closure above the top of the container and having a portion extending below the top of the container.

3. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cabinet having a wall; a drain through the wall; and a drain trap including a container closure having vertical and-horizontal portions, the horizontal portion being secured to the wall, a container removably secured to the closure and a waste conduit for the container passing through the vertical portion of the closure.

4:. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cabinet having a wall; a drain through the wall; and a drain trap including a container be attached to .a drain conduit, and a Waste conduit for said container passing through and secured to the closure.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

WILLIAM'C. HOLBROOK.

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