US2249261A - Sharp freezing mold - Google Patents

Description

July 15, 1941- l R. M'sTQRER A- y2,249,261

SHARP FREEZING MOLD Filed July 5. 193s 1 ff/@HARD M. sro/921;? TOR ATT RNEYS.

-. jarfmeERAucm-f Patllf 1y 1s, 1941 SEARCH R UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 15 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved freezing mold for mechanical refrigerators.

It is an object of the invention to provide novel mechanism for loosening the ice bodies frozen in such a mold.

Another object is to provide means for progressively freeing ice bodies in a freezing mold to thereby reduce the amount of effort required.

A further object is to provide a grid for an ice tray, having novel mechanism to facilitate its bodily removal from a freezing tray.

Still another object is the provision of a grid of this character having mechanism adapted to force ice bodies carried therein after its removal from the tray, outwardly of the grid to facilitate their removal therefrom.

Other objects and advantages reside in details of design and construction which will Ibe more fully disclosed in the following description and in the drawing wherein like parts have been similarly designated and in which:

Figure 1 is a. longitudinal section taken through a typical tray and grid assembly that is constructed according to a preferred form of this invention;

Figure 2 is a similar sectional view showing a step in the operation of the mechanism;

Figure 3 is an elevation partly in section of the grid assemb1y of Figures 1 and 2, after it has been removed from the tray, and with its operating mechanism in an advanced position;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view on line 44, Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross section on line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 of Figure 3; and

Figure 'l is a sectional view along line I-l of Figure 2. l

In the instant illustration of an embodiment of this invention reference character I5 denotes a tray adapted to hold liquid for freezing and provided with upstanding edge portions along its sides and ends as shown at I6. A grid element designated as a whole by reference character I1, is adapted to removably lit into the tray I5 to form a plurality of freezing cells in which the liquid in the tray may be frozen into separable ice bodies.

'I'he grid element I1 in the present instance is constructed of a central longitudinal support I8 on which are mounted grid walls I9 positioned transversely thereto. Adjacent the ends of the supporting member I8 are pivoted lever handles 20 and 2l that are adapted for limited angular or rotary movement about their pivotal axes as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. Positioned along a normally vertical side of the support I8 is a relatively movable cell-wall 22 having a downwardly and inwardly inclined surface 23 and on the opposite side of the supporting member is a similar cell-wall memlber 24 having a similarly inwardly inclined surface 25. 'Ihe wall members 22 and 24 are held on the support I8 for limited independent movement relative thereto in planes parallel and normally vertical.

Each lever handle is provided with a cam on one side thereof, as shown at 26, that is positioned and adapted to act upon the wall member 22 to impart movement thereto relative to the central support I8, as above set forth. And each lever handle has another cam, as shown at 21, on the other side thereof to engage and move the other wall member 24 that has the inclined surface 25, relative to the central support I8, as explained above. The two cams on each lever are different or are positioned d ierently so that upon operation of either or both of the lever handles the longitudinal wall members 22 and 24 will be moved differentially.

As shown in Figure 4, when the lever handles and 2| are in their normal inactive position, as in Figure 1, the longitudina1 structure members are in symmetrical position. Upon raising the lever handles to an upright position, the nclined longitudinal wall members are first raised with reference to the support I8 and the tray I5 if the grid is positioned therein, and upon continuation of the rotary or angular movement of the lever handles to the position shown in Figure 3, the wall members 22 and 24 having the inwardly converging surfaces 23 and 25 respectively, are lowered with reference to the support member I8. It will, therefore, be seen that each wall member, 22 and 24, is capable of moving in two directions, which normally is up and down, with reference to the grid construction and, further, that their movements are differential with reference to each other Ibecause of the differential functions of the cams on each lever. It will be understood that the respective cams comprising each pair may be identical in shape but positioned differentially on the levers, or the cams may be of different perimetrical contour.

The differential positions of the longitudinal wall members 22 and 24 are clearly illustrated in Figures 5 and 7. A slot, as indicated at 28, is provided at each end portion of each longitudina1 wall 22 and 24 to provide for the relative movements, above set forth, of the longitudina1 walls with reference to the central support I8, the pivots 28 and 30 passing therethrough to provide fulcrnms or pivotal axes for the lever handles 2li and 2|.

Operation In use, the grid assembly I1 is placed in the tray I which is filled with liquid, usually water, to be frozen into ice bodies in the well known manner. When it is desired to remove the ice bodies from the tray, the lever handles 20 and 2| are rotated about their respective axes in opposite directions, as shown in Figure 2, which movement rst differentially raises the two longitudinal wall members 22 and 24 with reference to the central support I8 and the tray I5, which will relieve outward pressure of the frozen bodies against the upstanding tray sides that cooperate with the grid members to form the freezing cells. This movement also breaks the bond between the ice bodies and the inclined surfaces of the wall members.

Upon continuation of the rotary or angular movement of the lever handles 20 and 2|, they will bear upon the upstanding ends of the tray, as shown in Figure 2, to exert leverage thereagainst and thereby facilitate the bodily raising of the grid las a Whole with reference to the tray. Normally, the ice bodies will cling to the grid and be removed from the tray Ithereby. Small apertures 3| may be provided through the lower portion of the central support I8 at the end cells to facilitate the removal of the ice bodies in these cells, with the grid.

After the grid assembly with the ice bodies has been removed from the tray, continued rotary movement of the lever handles will differentially lower the inclined central w-all surfaces so that the ice bodies will be forced outwardly tow-ard the open ends of the respective cells to facilitate their nal and selective removal from the grid. The downward movement of the inclined surfaces 23 and 25 will exert an outward component of force or cam-like action against the ice blocks, but the ice will not necessarily be completely ejected from the grid but rather it will continue to lightly adhere to the transverse wall members of the grid merely by friction, surface tension and atmospheric pressure. From this final position the ice bodies easily may be selectively removed, and any not removed for use may be readily replaced in the tray with the grid.

The two-directional or up and down movements of the longitudinal wall members 22 and 24 obviously could be simultaneous and the same, but by the provision of the differential cams to impart differential movement to the inclined wall surfaces, less physical effort is required to accomplish the objective set forth since the work done is spread out over `a slightly longer time period by such `differential movement. Furthermore, the yall members having inclined surfaces could function to release the ice bodies by downward mc rement only, and the initial upward movement could be dispensed with.

Therefore, by operating the respective levers 20 vand 2| differentially, the opposite ends of the respective longitudinal members 22 and 24 are caused to move differentially, while the cams acting on the opposite ends of each of such members 22 and 24 may be differentially positioned as well in the manner previously explained.

. The disclosed illustration of an embodiment of the present invention clearly shows that itis well adapted to accomplish the objectives set forth,

and while this specification discloses preferred means for reducing the present invention to practice and a preferred embodiment of the invention, changes may occur to those skilled in the art and may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

What I claim and desire to Patent is:

l. A grid for an ice tray, comprising a longitudinal support, transverse wall members thereon, a longitudinal wall member held adjacent one side of the support for limited movement relative thereto, another longitudinal wall member movably held at the opposite side of the support, the two longitudinal wall members having converging surfaces, a lever pivoted on the support, a pair of cams on the lever to be rotated by angular movement thereof and 'acting on the said 1ongltudinal wall members to move them independently with reference to each other.

2. A grid for an ice tray, comprising a longitudinal support, transverse wall members thereon, -a longitudinal wall member held adjacent one side of the support for limited movement relative thereto, another longitudinal wall member movably held at the opposite side of the support, Athe two longitudinal wall members having converging surfaces, a lever pivoted on the support, a pair of cams on the lever to be rotated by angular movement thereof and acting on the said longitudinal wall members. k3. In a device of the character described a pluality of vertically disposed members cooperatively assembled to define a freezing cell, with one of said members mounted for movement rela.- tive to another cell-defining member, the iceengaging surface of the movable member being disposed angularly to the vertical plane of the other cell-defining members, and mechanism acting on the movable member to impart vertical movement thereto independently of and relative to frozen matter in the cell in a bond breaking action.

4. In a device of the character described a plurality of members cooperatively assembled to define a freezing cell, with one of said members of wedge-shaped contour and mounted for movement relative to another cell-defining member, and mechanism for moving the wedge-shaped member vertically independently of and relative to frozen matter in the cell in a bond breaking action.

5. In a device of the character described a plurality of members cooperatively assembled to define a freezing cell, with one of said members of wedge-shaped contour and mounted for movement relative to another cell-denlng member, and mechanism acting on the movable member to impart a downward movement thereto to break the bond between frozen matter and the cell.

6. In a device of the character described, a movable end-wall and a plurality of side-walls defining a freezing cell, the end wall having a wedge-shaped ice-engaging surface, and mechanism acting on the end-wall member to cause its movement downwardly through the cell in a wedging action against matter frozen therein.

7. In a. device of the character described, a plurality of members cooperatively assembled to define an open-ended freezing cell, the member opposite said open end having its ice-engaging surface tapering toward the bottom of the cell, and mechanism acting on the tapered surface to secure by Letters cause its movement downwardly through the cell against matter frozen therein.

8. A 4device of the character described, comprisingza tray and a removable grid element in the tray defining a plurality of freezing cells and comprising a partition extending lengthwise of said element, a plurality of transverse members mounted thereon, with the ice-engaging surfaces of said partition disposed in angular relation to the associated transverse members and mounted for movement relative thereto, and mechanism acting to move said surfaces and impart thereto a wedging action against matter frozen in the cells.

9. A device of the character described, comprising a tray and a removable grid element in the tray defining a plurality of freezing cells and comprising a partition extending lengthwise of said element, a plurality of transverse members mounted thereon, with the ice-engaging surfaces of said partition disposed in angular relation to the associated transverse members and mounted for movement relative thereto, and mechanism acting to move said surfaces and impart thereto a wedging action against matter frozen in the t cells.

10. A device of the character described, comtramand a removable grid element' in comprising a partition extending lengthwise of the element having wedge-shaped ice-engaging surfaces mounted for movement in the tray, a plurality of transverse members, and mechanism acting at the opposite ends of said partition differentially to move such ends independently and thereby cause a wedging action between the surfaces and the frozen matter in the cells.

11. A device of the character described, comprising a tray and a removable grid element in the tray defining a plurality of freezing cells and comprising a partition extending lengthwise of the element and including wedge elements having surfaces movable vertically with reference to other parts of the grid, and mechanism acting SEARCH Roo at the opposite ends of said partition differentially to move such ends independently and thereby cause a wedging action between the surfaces and the frozen matter in the cells.

12. A device of the character described, comprising a tray and a removable grid element in the tray defining a plurality of freezing cells inclusive of a partition extending lengthwise of the element and providing a surface inclined relative to the tray and mounted on the grid element for vertical movement relative thereto, and mechanism inclusive of a cam acting at the opposite ends of said partition differentially to move such ends independently and thereby cause a wedging action between the surfaces and the frozen matter in the cells.

13. A device of the character described, comprising a tray and a removable grid element in the tray dening a plurality of freezing cells and comprising cross wall members and a lengthwise member having opposed surfaces inclined relative to the tray and movably mounted on the grid, and mechanism inclusive of cams acting on the inclined surfaces for independently imparting movement thereto in a wedgingaction against matter frozen in the cells.

14. An ice tray comprising a longitudinal wall member and transverse wall members defining a plurality of freezing cells, the longitudinal member having converging ice-engaging surfaces mounted for limited vertical movement relative to the grid, and mechanism on the grid acting on said converging surfaces independently.

15. In a, grid of the character described a plurality of cell-forming walls, a member extending along the cells having an inclined g surface and mounted for movement in the cells, and two independently actuated levers associated with opposite ends of the movable member for moving the same independently throughout the cells of the series in a wedging action against matter frozen therein.

RICHARD M. STORER.

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