Refrigeration – Cooled enclosure – Plural cooled compartments
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-15
2001-04-03
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Cooled enclosure
Plural cooled compartments
C312S407000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209342
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an evaporator housing for a refrigerator where the evaporator housing is recessed within the floor of the upper food storage compartment from a single liner. The present invention more specifically relates to a novel evaporator housing for use in a top mount or bottom mount refrigerator cabinet where the evaporator housing is held in place by foamed in place insulation as a portion of the partition wall between freezer and fresh food compartments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many present day household refrigerators include a freezer compartment maintained at a below-freezing temperature for the storage of frozen foods and a fresh food compartment maintained at an above-freezing temperature for storage of fresh foods. In many such refrigerators, an evaporator for providing cooling for both the frozen food compartment and the fresh food compartment is positioned outside both compartments and air is circulated over the evaporator and then through the compartments to cool the compartments. The evaporator itself is maintained at a temperature substantially below freezing. In order to maintain the greatly differing temperatures required in the two compartments, a substantially greater portion of the air flowing over the evaporator is directed to the frozen compartment. The air flow over the evaporator and into the freezer and fresh food compartments is controlled by baffles that regulate or reduce the air flow into the fresh food compartment.
In some refrigerators, the evaporator is mounted behind a false partition rear wall in the freezer compartment. The construction of the evaporator behind a rear wall of freezer compartment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,157 issued Jul. 31, 1990 to Jenkins et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,874 issued Nov. 10, 1987 to Thompson et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,229 issued Mar. 7, 1978 to Gelbard et al. In each of these patents the refrigerator cabinet has a single cavity liner positioned within an exterior metal shell and a mullion partition divider mounted between the freezer compartment and the fresh compartment. The divider is secured relative to the liner side walls and rear wall. The evaporator is housed behind the false partition wall above the mullion partition.
In other refrigerators, the evaporator is mounted in the partition inserted into the single cavity plastic liner secured relative to the side walls and rear wall of the plastic liner. The construction of the evaporator in the partition divider dividing the single cavity of the refrigerator liner into a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,442 issued Aug. 17, 1991 to Robert S. Hanson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,976 issued Oct. 23, 1973 to Gelbard et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,090 issued to Gelbard et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,538 issued Sep. 23, 1980 to Braden et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,799 issued to Oct. 1, 1985 to Horvay et al. While each of these patents locates the evaporator in the mullion partition divider between the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment, the mullion partition is a separate component of the refrigerator cabinet that is inserted into the liner cavity of the refrigerator and secured relative to the rear and side walls of the liner. The mullion partition has a structural strength limitation that is dependent upon the mechanical fastening of the mullion partition to the rear and side walls of the liner cavity.
There is a need for an evaporator housing to be located within the partition wall between the freezer and fresh food compartments and forms a portion of the partition wall of the refrigerator and where the partition wall is integrally formed with the remainder of the rear and side wall of the refrigerator liner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a refrigerator cabinet having an exterior cabinet shell and a plastic liner insert defining a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment where foamed in place insulation extends between the exterior cabinet shell and the interior liner. The partition separating the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment is filled with rigid insulation to provide a rigid structure. The present invention has a recessed evaporator housing in the partition between the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment. The evaporator housing is inserted through an opening in the floor of the freezer compartment. This construction of the evaporator housing has the advantage associated with locating the evaporator in the space between the two compartments permitting for good air flow over the evaporator coils and into the freezer and fresh food compartments while at the same time enjoying the advantage associated with the rigid foam in place construction of the partition and liner to the exterior shell of the cabinet. It should be understood that the present invention has equal application in both top and bottom mount styles of refrigerator cabinets. That is refrigerator cabinets where the freezer is located respectively either above or below the fresh food compartment.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator cabinet comprising an exterior cabinet shell having a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, side walls and an open front side. The cabinet includes an interior liner adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell and spaced therefrom by insulation. The interior liner has integrally formed therewith a partition which together define lower and upper food storage compartments. The partition includes a front mullion wall and spaced apart upper and lower walls extending generally horizontally and rearwardly of the front mullion wall within the plastic interior liner. The upper generally horizontal wall of the partition has an opening therein. The evaporator tray housing is recessed within the opening of the upper wall of the partition. The evaporator tray housing has a floor portion for supporting an evaporator coil, a motor and a fan blade connected to said motor. Insulation within cabinet further extends into the partition between the upper wall, the evaporator tray housing, the lower wall and the front mullion wall. The cabinet further includes a cover for overlaying the tray housing.
The evaporator tray housing preferably has tray side walls upstanding from the floor portion of which at least two of the tray side walls each includes an out-turned rim adapted to overlay a portion of the upper wall of the partition. The floor portion of the evaporator tray housing is spaced from the lower wall of the partition and the tray side walls are spaced from the mullion wall and the side walls of the exterior cabinet shell. The evaporator tray housing preferably includes a front upstanding wall having a hooked shaped flange that overlaps the mullion front wall to provide support on an additional surface.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2576208 (1951-11-01), Benson
patent: 3320761 (1967-05-01), Gelbard
patent: 3599442 (1971-08-01), Hanson
patent: 3766976 (1973-10-01), Gelbard et al.
patent: 4009589 (1977-03-01), Webb et al.
patent: 4075866 (1978-02-01), Williamitis
patent: 4077229 (1978-03-01), Gelbard et al.
patent: 4211090 (1980-07-01), Gelbard et al.
patent: 4223538 (1980-09-01), Braden et al.
patent: 4543799 (1985-10-01), Horvay et al.
patent: 4704874 (1987-11-01), Thompson et al.
patent: 4944157 (1990-07-01), Jenkins et al.
patent: 5199277 (1993-04-01), Granstrom et al.
patent: 5263535 (1993-11-01), Philo et al.
Banicevic Nedo
Klaas Murray
Camco Inc.
Tapolcai William E.
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