Insulation divider for refrigerator cabinet

• US 3,868,829 A
• Filed: 11/30/1973
• Issued: 03/04/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John A. Kemper, Leonard J. Mann
• Original Assignee: John A. Kemper, Leonard J. Mann
• Inventors: Mann, Leonard J., Kemper, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wye, William J.
• Application Number:
  US05/420,528
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 62/285,447,288,289
• US Class Current: 62/285
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/14 Collecting or removing condensed and defrost water; Drip trays
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/069 Cooling space dividing partitions

Abstract

A refrigerator cabinet having a transverse partition for dividing the cabinet into an upper freezer compartment and a lower food storage compartment. The partition includes a composite insulation separator and drain trough structure in the form of a molded moisture impervious sealed plastic separator shell completely filled with unfused pre-expanded polystyrene contacting beads, each of the beads being substantially spherical in shape and having a diameter of the order of 0.060 to 0.100 inches whereby convection heat transfer between the upper and lower shell walls is obviated.

Claims

1. A refrigerator including a cabinet having insulated walls enclosing a compartment, a laterally extending dividing means within said compartment dividing said compartment into an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment, door means for closing said compartments, said dividing means including a bottom supporting wall, a drain pan spaced above said supporting wall for supporting an evaporator thereon, wherein the improvement comprises an insulation separator on said supporting wall, said separator comprising an outer molded moisture impervious plastic shell having upper, bottom, front, rear and side walls forming an air-tight sealed chamber, said shell upper and bottom walls substantially conforming to and contiguous with said drain pan and said supporting wall, respectively;

said sealed chamber completely filled with unfused, pre-expanded polystyrene contacting beads;

each of said beads being substantially spherical in shape and having a diameter of about 0.060 to 0.100 inches, said beads forming a plurality of air spaces therebetween so that static air is confined in the air spaces whereby convection heat transfer between the upper and lower walls of said separator shell is obviated.

2. A refrigerator including a cabinet having insulated walls enclosing a compartment, a laterally extending dividing means within said compartment dividing said compartment into an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment, door means for closing said compartments, said dividing means including a bottom supporting wall, a drain pan spaced above said supporting wall for supporting an evaporator thereon, said drain pan including an integral frusto-conical drainage funnel formed therein having an exit orifice, wherein the improvement comprises;

a composite insulation separator and drain trough supported on said bottom supporting wall, said separator comprising an outer molded plastic shell having upper, bottom, front, rear and side walls forming a sealed chamber, recess means molded in said upper wall surface for conducting drainage water from said funnel to a wall of said cabinet, said chamber being completely filled with unfused, pre-expanded polystyrene contacting beads, said beads being substantially spherical in shape and having a diameter within the range of about 0.060 to 0.100 inches, and a density of the order of two pounds per cubic foot;

said beads forming a plurality of air spaces therebetween so that static air is confined in the spaces whereby convection heat transfer between said upper and lower walls of said separator shell is obviated.

3. A refrigerator including a cabinet having insulated top, bottom, rear and side walls enclosing a compartment;

a laterally extending dividing means within said compartment dividing said compartment into an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment, door means for closing said compartments, said dividing means including a bottom sheet metal wall having a high front portion and a low rear portion with an inclined connecting portion in between, a drain pan spaced above said sheet metal wall low rear portion for supporting an evaporator thereon, said drain pan including an integral frusto-conical drainage funnel formed therein having an exit orifice, wherein the improvement comprises;

a composite insulation separator and drain trough supported on said sheet metal wall low rear portion, said separator comprising an outer molded shell of polyethylene plastic material having upper, bottom, front, rear and side walls forming a sealed chamber;

said sealed chamber completely filled with unfused, pre-expanded polystyrene contacting beads having a substantially spherical shape and having a diameter within the range of about 0.060 to 0.100 inches, said beads forming a plurality of air spaces therebetween so that static air in said chamber is confined in the spaces whereby convection heat transfer between the upper and lower walls of said separator shell is obviated, and said seParator upper wall surface having a plurality of inwardly sloping walls defining a recess extending longitudinally from the rear wall of said separator and terminating adjacent the center of said upper surface in an arcuate portion conforming with said frusto-conical drainage funnel, the base of said recess being sloped toward said separator rear wall for directing the flow of drainage water from said drainage funnel to said refrigerator cabinet rear wall.