Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6209342
-
Patent Number
6,209,342
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, September 15, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 3, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 062 441
- 062 443
- 062 444
- 062 447
- 062 414
- 062 419
- 062 426
- 312 407
- 312 4071
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A refrigerator cabinet has 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 liner has a partition with upper and lower walls extending rearwardly of a front mullion wall and between sidewalls of the liner. The upper sidewall has a cut-out recess adapted to receive an evaporator tray housing that is seated on edges of the upper wall of the partition. The tray supports an evaporator coil, motor, and fan. The tray has a cover that forms, together with the upper wall of the partition, the floor of the freezer compartment. By locating the evaporator tray recessed in the partition, in the partition space between the two compartments can be filled with rigid foam that extends between the upper and lower food compartments and to the exterior shell of the cabinet.
Description
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.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention reference may be had by way of example to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a top mount refrigerator;
FIG. 2
is an exploded view of the refrigerator cabinet showing the interior plastic liner, the mullion strap and the exterior cabinet shell;
FIG. 3
an exploded perspective view showing the details of the construction of the evaporator housing relative to the interior plastic liner of the refrigerator cabinet;
FIG. 4
is a front sectional view taken along lines
4
—
4
of
FIG. 1
showing the evaporator tray housing located within the refrigerator cabinet;
FIGS. 5 and 6
are enlarged partial views of
FIG. 4
for the evaporator tray housing;
FIG. 7
is a side sectional view showing the evaporator housing located in the refrigerator cabinet between the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment;
FIG. 8
is a side sectional view similar to
FIG. 7
, where the section is taken through passage air inlets and the drain tube is located inside the fresh food compartment; and
FIG. 9
is a side sectional view similar to
FIG. 8
showing the most preferred embodiment with the air inlet passage from the upper compartment extending through the mullion grill and the drain tube located within the partition wall.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to
FIG. 1
, there is shown a refrigerator
10
having an exterior cabinet shell
12
. The shell
12
is a thin sheet metal material. The refrigerator
10
includes an interior plastic liner
14
. Interior liner
14
defines upper and lower food compartments
16
and
18
separated by a partition
17
. The refrigerator cabinet
10
is a top mount refrigerator with the upper food compartment
16
is a freezer compartment and the lower food compartment
18
is a fresh food compartment. Access to the freezer compartment
16
and the fresh food compartment
18
is permitted at the front of the refrigerator
10
by opening doors
20
. Doors
20
have handles
22
which facilitate opening of the doors
20
. The bottom of the refrigerator
10
has a decorative kick plate
25
. Wile the preferred embodiment of the present invention is for a top mount refrigerator
10
, it should be understood that the invention alternatively may be used on a bottom mount refrigerator where the freezer compartment is located below the fresh food compartment.
FIG. 2
is an exploded illustrative view of the cabinet
26
components. During manufacture the interior liner
14
is inserted into open side
28
of the exterior cabinet shell
12
. This is represented by arrow
30
. A metal mullion strap
15
is shown positioned in the exterior cabinet shell
12
behind the liner
14
. Strap
15
extends across the open side
28
of the cabinet
26
inside partition
17
.
The exterior cabinet shell
12
has a shell edge flange
32
extending around the open side of the top wall
29
, bottom wall
31
and sidewalls
33
towards the opening of the open side
28
. The exterior cabinet shell
12
is made from sheet metal and includes a rear wall
35
.
The interior liner
14
is adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell
12
. The interior liner
14
includes an outwardly extending liner flange
34
. The liner
14
is a one-piece or uni-partite plastic material molded piece. A breaker strip (not shown) interconnects the liner flange
34
with the shell edge flange
32
. The liner
14
further includes openings
41
through which hinges (not shown) extend for the mounting of the refrigerator doors
20
.
The partition
17
separates the fresh food compartment
18
from the freezer compartment
16
. The partition
17
includes an upper partition wall
36
, a lower partition wall
38
and a front mullion wall
40
. The upper and lower partition walls
36
and
38
are spaced apart by the front mullion wall
40
. The upper and lower walls
36
and
38
, extend generally horizontally and rearwardly of the front mullion wall
40
. Preferably the walls
36
and
38
are angled slightly. The bottom partition wall is the upper wall of the lower food compartment
18
and the top partition wall
36
is the lower liner wall of the upper freezer compartment
16
. The upper partition wall
36
has an enlarged central opening
39
. Opening
39
is located rearwardly of the mullion wall
40
and extends back to the rear wall
44
of the upper food compartment
16
of the liner
14
. It is into opening
39
that the evaporator tray housing
46
of the present invention is seated in a recessed manner.
Referring now to
FIGS. 3 through 9
, the construction of the evaporator tray housing
46
for different preferred embodiments of the present invention with respect to the refrigerator cabinet is shown. In
FIG. 3
, a preferred construction for the evaporator tray housing
46
relative to the liner is shown.
FIG. 4
is illustrative of the preferred tray housing
46
construction relative to the refrigerator liner
14
and the shell
12
of the refrigerator cabinet.
FIG. 5
is an exploded view in more detail the relationship between the evaporator tray housing
46
and the interior liner
14
of the present invention.
FIGS. 7
to
9
are cross-sectional views showing in detail the placement of the tray housing
46
relative to the interior liner
14
.
The evaporator tray housing
46
includes a tray cover
48
. The tray
46
has a floor portion
50
contoured to support evaporator coil
52
, motor
54
and fan blade
56
(see FIG.
8
). The floor portion
50
is further provided with moisture runoff groove
58
and drain hole
60
connected to drain tubing
68
back through an opening in the lower partition wall
38
as shown in FIG.
8
.
In
FIG. 9
, the drain tube is located within partition
17
above the lower partition wall. The drain tubing
68
permits water to drain from the evaporator tray housing
46
when a defrost cycle for the refrigerator is initiated. During a defrost cycle, any frost build up on the evaporator coils is melted.
In accordance with the present invention the evaporator tray housing
46
is seated on the upper partition wall
36
recessed within the space of the partition
17
. After the insertion of the tray
46
into the freezer or upper freezer compartment
16
, a decorative grill
69
is secured on and over the mullion front wall
40
, the front portion of the top liner wall
36
and an edge portion of the tray
46
. A metallic plate or pan
72
is laid on the floor portion
50
of the tray housing
46
. The evaporator coil
52
, fan blade
56
, defrost heater
53
and motor
54
are assembled within the tray housing and suitable wiring extends through openings
74
located in a rear wall of the tray housing
46
(see FIG.
3
). The cover
48
is placed over the tray housing
46
to close the evaporator tray
46
recessed within the partition
17
. A freezer floor plate
49
overlaps the cover
48
.
The metallic pan
72
is contoured to follow the shape of the floor portion
50
of the tray housing
46
. The pan
72
protects the plastic floor portion
50
by evenly dissipating heat generated from the evaporator coils during the defrost cycle and by preventing over-heating of plastic housing
46
. The plate
72
also drains water from underneath the evaporator coil to hole
60
. The pan
72
further includes a rear cut-out section
73
that allows heat transfer from the defrost heater
53
into the areas adjacent the fan blade
56
, the motor
54
and the drain area
58
. The defrost heater
53
is placed amongst coils
52
and is activated to accelerate the melting of frost during a defrost cycle. The heater
53
includes a metal shield cover
55
that deflects radiant heat away from the plastic cover
48
. Optionally, as shown in
FIG. 8
, an aluminum foil
57
with a drain heater attached is placed below the floor
50
of the tray housing
46
adjacent the fan blade
56
and motor
54
. The aluminum foil drain heater
57
is activated during a defrost cycle to prevent ice formation during and after the defrost cycle in the drain area
58
and the area of the fan blade
56
.
Referring to
FIGS. 4
to
6
, the preferred constructions of the evaporator tray housing
46
within the partition
17
is described. The upper partition wall
36
has two elongated edges
70
that extend along the sides of the opening
39
. As best seen in
FIG. 6
, each of the edges
70
includes a depressed apron
172
extending downwardly from the upper wall
36
of the partition
17
. The depressed apron
172
further includes an in-turned flange
174
that extends from the apron
172
into the opening
39
. The in-turned flange
174
is a hook shape having an edge lip
176
.
The evaporator tray housing
46
includes at least two out-turned rib portions
178
extending outwardly from tray upstanding wall
80
. The out-turned ribs
178
are adapted to overlie a corresponding one of the in-turned flanges
174
of the upper wall
36
of the partition
17
. The floor portion
50
of the evaporator tray housing
46
is thus spaced from the bottom wall
38
of the partition
17
and the tray side walls
80
are spaced from the partition mullion wall
40
and the side walls
33
of the exterior cabinet shell
18
. Each of the out-turned rims
178
of the evaporator tray housing
46
has a downwardly depending rib
90
that rests on a corresponding in-turned flange
174
of the upper wall
36
of the partition
17
. The out-turned rims
178
of the evaporator tray housing
46
are shown with the downwardly extending rib
90
resting on the in-turned flange
74
between the apron
172
and the edge lip
176
of the edge
70
of the partition
17
. The out-turned rims
178
further include a sealing spacer gasket member
92
which is attached either to the rim
90
or to the apron
172
. This allows for a close fit of the tray
46
within the opening
39
of the partition
17
and seals to prevent insulation from leaking into the open area
16
.
Referring to
FIG. 7
, the evaporator tray housing front wall
80
has a hooked shape flange
96
that hooks over the forward wall or forward portion
97
of the upper wall
36
of partition provided immediately behind the mullion wall
40
to seat the tray
46
relative to the front of upper wall
36
. The evaporator tray
46
further includes an upstanding rear wall
80
which has a hook portion
98
into which the rear wall
44
of the liner is hooked into place.
The cover
48
of the evaporator tray housing
46
is press fitted into the tray housing
46
and over the evaporator coils
52
. The freezer floor plate
49
has an edge portion
112
with a hooked that is held recessed groove
110
forming a rear extension from the mullion grill
69
. The freezer floor plate
49
also slides into engagement with the back wall of the freezer compartment and is secured relative to upper partition wall
36
by fastening screws (not shown).
Referring to
FIGS. 7
to
9
, side cross-sectional views of the tray housing
46
, tray cover
48
evaporator coils
52
, and the airflow through the housing
46
are shown. The primary difference between the embodiment of FIG.
8
and the preferred embodiment of
FIG. 9
is that the drain tube
68
of
FIG. 9
is located within the partition
17
whereas the drain tube
68
of
FIG. 8
is located within the fresh food compartment
18
.
In
FIGS. 7
to
9
, the airflow through housing
46
is depicted by arrows
200
. Motor
54
is activated to drive fan
56
which creates the airflow
200
through the evaporator tray housing
46
. Air
200
is cooled as it passes over the evaporator coils
52
.
The evaporator tray housing
46
has at least one lower inlet passage
120
and at least one lower outlet passage
122
extending through corresponding openings
124
and
126
in the lower wall
38
of the partition
17
to permit the air flow between the lower food compartment
18
and through the evaporator tray housing
46
. Additional supporting spacers
130
interconnect the lower air inlet passage and the lower air outlet passages with the corresponding lower partition wall
38
. Spacers
130
further support the evaporator tray housing
46
recessed within the partition
17
and prevent the escape of insulation from the partition
17
into the lower food compartment
18
.
For air circulation into the upper food compartment
16
, the lower wall
38
has a plurality of openings
140
(
FIG. 9
) and the grill
70
has openings
132
(
FIG. 8
) located adjacent the front mullion wall
40
. The refrigerator cabinet further includes a vent stack
150
extending upwardly from the evaporator tray housing
46
behind the cover
48
and over the interior liner rear wall
44
. The vent stack
150
includes a plurality of air outlet openings
152
that permit the air flow between the upper food compartment
16
and the evaporator tray housing
46
in through the cover inlet openings and out through the vent openings.
As best seen in
FIGS. 4
,
5
, and
7
to
9
, the upstanding sidewalls
80
of the tray
46
are surrounded by foam in place insulation
100
. The rigid insulation
100
is blown into the space between the liner
14
and the walls of the exterior cabinet shell
12
. The foam
100
during curing expands to fill voids between the freezer compartment
16
and the fresh food compartment
18
and thereby rigidly hold the evaporator tray housing
46
recessed within the partition
17
. The foam
100
extends from the sidewalls
33
of the exterior cabinet shell
12
around the liner
14
and across the partition
17
between the food compartments
16
and
18
. Further, the use of the spacers or grommets
130
at the air outlets, and the overlapping and sealing relationship between the out-turned rims
90
of the tray
46
, the in-turned flanges
174
of the freezer floor
36
and the sealing gasket member
92
prevent foam insulation from leaking into the evaporator tray housing
16
.
Claims
- 1. A refrigerator cabinet comprising:(a) an exterior cabinet shell having a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, side walls and an open front side; (b) an interior liner adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell and spaced therefrom by insulation, said interior liner having integrally formed therewith a partition which together define lower and upper food storage compartments, the partition including 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 having an opening therein, (c) an evaporator tray housing recessed within the opening of the upper wall of the partition, the evaporator tray housing having a floor portion for supporting an evaporator coil a motor and a fan blade connected to said motor, the evaporator tray housing having 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 being spaced from the lower wall of the partition and the tray side walls being spaced from the front mullion wall and the side walls of the exterior cabinet shell, and the insulation further extending into the partition between the upper wall, the evaporator tray housing the lower wall and the front mullion; and, (d) a cover for overlaying the tray housing.
- 2. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 1 wherein the evaporator tray housing includes a front upstanding wall having a flange that overlaps the front mullion wall.
- 3. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 1 wherein the opening in the upper wall of the partition is spaced rearwardly of the front mullion wall.
- 4. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 1 wherein the upper wall of the partition has at least two opposing edges extending along the opening each including a depressed apron and an in-turned flange extending from the apron into the opening, and each of the out-turned rims is adapted to overlay a corresponding one of the in-turned flanges of the upper wall of the partition.
- 5. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 4 wherein each of the out-turned rims of the evaporator tray housing includes a downwardly depending rib that rests on the corresponding in-turned flange of the upper wall of the partition.
- 6. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 5 further including a sealing gasket member positioned between the depending rib and the in-turned flange.
- 7. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 4 wherein each of the in-turned flanges is hooked and has an edge lip that supports the out-turned rim of the evaporator tray housing.
- 8. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 7 wherein each of the out-turned rims of the evaporator tray housing includes a downwardly depending rib that rests on the corresponding in-turned flange of the upper wall of the partition between the apron and the edge lip.
- 9. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 8 further including a sealing gasket member positioned between the depending rib and the in-turned flange.
- 10. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 8 wherein the evaporator tray housing includes a front upstanding wall having a hooked shaped flange that overlaps the mullion front wall.
- 11. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 8 wherein the evaporator tray housing includes an upstanding rear wall that attaches to a rear wall of the plastic interior liner.
- 12. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 1 wherein the cover includes a plurality of air inlet openings adjacent the front mullion wall, and the refrigerator cabinet further includes a vent stack extending upwardly from the evaporator tray housing behind the cover and over the interior liner rear wall into the upper food compartment, the vent stack includes a plurality of air outlet openings permitting air flow between the upper food compartment and the evaporator tray housing in through the cover inlet openings and out through the vent outlet openings.
- 13. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 4 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a metallic pan positioned on the floor portion and on which the evaporator coil is located.
- 14. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 13 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a defrost heater positioned on the metallic pan to heat the evaporator coils during a defrost cycle.
- 15. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 13 wherein the metallic pan has a rearwardly positioned cut out portion adjacent the fan blade.
- 16. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 4 further including a heater foil located below the floor of the tray housing adjacent the fan blade.
- 17. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 14 further including a heater foil located below the floor of the tray housing adjacent the fan blade.
- 18. A refrigerator cabinet comprising:(a) an exterior cabinet shell having a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, side walls and an open front side; (b) an interior liner adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell and spaced therefrom by insulation, said interior liner having integrally formed therewith a partition which together define lower and upper food storage compartments, the partition including 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 having an opening therein, (c) an evaporator tray housing recessed within the opening of the upper wall of the partition, the evaporator tray housing having a floor portion for supporting an evaporator coil, a motor and a fan blade connected to said motor, and the insulation further extending into the partition between the upper wall, the evaporator tray housing, the lower wall and the front mullion; (d) a cover for overlaying the tray housing; and, (e) the front mullion wall having a grill that extends rearwardly to support the cover.
- 19. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 18 wherein the cover includes a plurality of air inlet openings adjacent the front mullion wall to permit air flow from the upper food compartment into the evaporator tray.
- 20. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 19 wherein the refrigerator cabinet further includes a vent stack extending upwardly from the evaporator tray housing behind the cover and over the interior liner rear wall into the upper food compartment, the vent stack includes a plurality of air outlet openings permitting air flow between the upper food compartment and the evaporator tray housing in through the cover inlet openings and out through the vent outlet openings.
- 21. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 18 wherein the grill includes a plurality of air inlet openings adjacent the front mullion wall permitting air flow from the upper food storage compartment into the evaporator tray housing.
- 22. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 21 wherein the refrigerator cabinet further includes a vent stack extending upwardly from the evaporator tray housing behind the cover and over the interior liner rear wall into the upper food compartment, the vent stack includes a plurality of air outlet openings permitting air flow between the upper food compartment and the evaporator tray housing in through the grill inlet openings and out through the vent outlet openings.
- 23. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 20 wherein the floor portion of the evaporator tray housing includes at least one lower air inlet passage and at least one lower air outlet passage extending through corresponding opening in the lower wall of the partition to permit air flow between the lower food compartment and the evaporator tray housing.
- 24. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 22 wherein the floor portion of the evaporator tray housing includes at least one lower air inlet passage and at least one lower air outlet passage extending through corresponding opening in the lower wall of the partition to permit air flow between the lower food compartment and the evaporator tray housing.
- 25. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 18 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a metallic pan positioned on the floor portion and on which the evaporator coil is located.
- 26. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 25 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a defrost heater positioned on the metallic pan to heat the evaporator coils during a defrost cycle.
- 27. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 14 wherein the metallic pan has a rearwardly positioned cut out portion adjacent the fan blade.
- 28. A refrigerator cabinet comprising:(a) an exterior cabinet shell having a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, side walls and an open front side; (b) an interior liner adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell and spaced therefrom by insulation, said interior liner having integrally formed therewith a partition which together define lower and upper food storage compartments, the partition including 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 having an opening therein; (c) an evaporator tray housing recessed within the opening of the upper wall of the partition, the evaporator tray housing having a floor portion for supporting an evaporator coil, a motor and a fan blade connected to said motor, the insulation further extending into the partition between the upper wall, the evaporator tray housing, the lower wall and the front mullion, and the floor portion of the evaporator tray housing having at least one lower air inlet passage and at least one lower air outlet passage extending through corresponding opening in the lower wall of the partition to permit air flow between the lower food compartment and the evaporator tray housing; (d) a cover for overlaying the tray housing; and, (e) supporting spacers interconnecting the lower air inlet passage and the lower air outlet passage with the corresponding lower partition wall openings to further support the evaporator tray housing recessed in the partition and to prevent escape of insulation from the partition into the lower food compartment.
- 29. The refrigerator of claim 28 wherein the lower inlet and the lower outlet passages are integrally formed from a floor portion of evaporator tray housing.
- 30. A refrigerator cabinet comprising:(a) an exterior cabinet shell having a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, side walls and an open front side; (b) an interior liner adapted to fit within the exterior cabinet shell and spaced therefrom by insulation, said interior liner having integrally formed therewith a partition which together define lower and upper food storage compartments, the partition including 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 having an opening therein; (c) an evaporator tray housing recessed within the opening of the upper wall of the partition, the evaporator tray housing having a floor portion for supporting an evaporator coil, a motor and a fan blade connected to said motor, the insulation further extending into the partition between the upper wall, the evaporator tray housing, the lower wall and the front mullion, the floor portion of the evaporator tray housing having at least one lower air inlet passage and at least one lower air outlet passage extending through corresponding opening in the lower wall of the partition to permit air flow between the lower food compartment and the evaporator tray housing, and the evaporator tray housing having an upstanding rear wall that attaches to a rear wall of the plastic interior liner; and (d) a cover for overlaying the tray housing.
- 31. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 30 wherein the front mullion wall includes a grill that extends rearwardly to support the cover, and the grill includes a plurality of air inlet openings adjacent the front mullion wall, and the refrigerator cabinet further includes a vent stack extending upwardly from the evaporator tray housing behind the cover and over the interior liner rear wall into the upper food compartment, the vent stack includes a plurality of air outlet openings permitting air flow between the upper food compartment and the evaporator tray housing in through the grill inlet openings and out through the vent outlet openings.
- 32. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 31 wherein the upper wall of the partition has at least two opposing edges extending along the opening each including a depressed apron and an in-turned flange extending from the apron into the opening, and the evaporator tray housing including at least tray two side walls upstanding from the floor portion each with an out-turned rim adapted to overlay a corresponding one of the in-turned flanges of the upper wall of the partition, the floor portion of the evaporator tray housing being spaced from the lower wall of the partition and the tray side walls being spaced from the mullion wall and the side walls of the exterior cabinet shell.
- 33. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 32 wherein each of the out-turned rims of the evaporator tray housing includes a downwardly depending rib that rests on the corresponding in-turned flange of the upper wall of the partition.
- 34. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 32 wherein each of the in-turned flanges is hooked and has an edge lip that supports the out-turned rim of the evaporator tray housing.
- 35. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 34 wherein each of the out-turned rims of the evaporator tray housing includes a downwardly depending rib that rests on the corresponding in-turned flange of the upper wall of the partition between the apron and the edge lip.
- 36. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 33 further including a sealing gasket member positioned between the depending rib and the in-turned flange.
- 37. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 36 wherein the evaporator tray housing includes a front upstanding wall having a hooked shaped flange that overlaps the mullion front wall.
- 38. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 37 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a metallic pan positioned on the floor portion and on which the evaporator coil is located.
- 39. The refrigerator cabinet of claim 38 wherein the evaporator tray housing further includes a defrost heater positioned on the metallic pan to heat the evaporator coils during a defrost cycle.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2257703 |
Jan 1999 |
CA |
|
US Referenced Citations (14)