Refrigerator with anti-sweat hot liquid loop

• US 4,735,062 A
• Filed: 06/22/1987
• Issued: 04/05/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cushing, Donald S., Woolley, Samuel J., Sisler, Robert R., Jenkins, Thomas E., Gerdes, Keith W.
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Lloyd L.
• Application Number:
  US07/064,593
• Time in Patent Office: 288 Days
• Field of Search: 62/81, 62/277, 312/296, 312/214
• US Class Current: 62/277
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/04 Preventing the formation of frost or condensate
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/062 defining a cabinet

Abstract

A cabinet assembly for a refrigerator having a freezer compartment on top, a fresh food compartment on the bottom and a hot liquid anti-sweat loop. The cabinet assembly outer sheet metal shell has a top panel, side panels and a front face with the front face formed to provide a first U-shaped portion which includes a first outer wall perpendicular to the side panel to form a corner and a second inner wall spaced from the first outer wall and both walls being connected by a first reverse bend portion. The second inner wall being reversely bent to form a third wall and provide a second U-shaped portion formed between the second inner wall and the third wall. The first, second and third walls being in spaced parallel planes and the third wall being bent at a right angle to form a flange having a free edge. Braces are located at both of the top front corners of the cabinet and these braces have two formed sections at right angles to each other and each section is formed as an inwardly open U-shaped channel having a base, a first leg and a second leg spaced apart and integrally joined to the base. The base is adjacent the rear surface of the third wall of the front face with the first leg parallel to and abutting the side panel of the cabinet and the second leg parallel to and abutting the flange of the front face. The second leg of the corner brace is fastened to the flange of the third wall of the front face and the hot liquid anti-sweat loop is secured to the braces.

Claims

1. A cabinet assembly for a refrigerator having a freezer compartment on top with two top front corners, a fresh food compartment on the bottom, a mullion partition between the compartments and a hot liquid anti-sweat loop comprising:

an outer sheet metal shell having a top panel, side panels and a front face, said front face is formed to provide a first U-shaped portion which includes a first outer wall perpendicular to the side panel to form a corner and a second inner wall spaced from the first outer wall, both walls being connected by the first U-shaped portion, said second inner wall being reversely bent to form a third wall and provide a second U-shaped portion formed between the second inner wall and the third wall, said first, second and third walls being in spaced parallel planes with the third wall bent at a right angle to form a flange having a free terminal edge;

a brace located at each of the two top front corners of the cabinet and having two formed sections at right angles to each other and each section is formed as an inwardly open U-shaped channel having a base, a first leg and a second leg spaced apart and integrally joined to the base, said base being adjacent the rear surface of the third wall of the front face with the first leg parallel to and abutting the side and top panels of the cabinet and the second leg parallel to and abutting the flange of the front face;

fastening means for rigidly attaching each of the second leg of the corner braces to the flange of the third wall of the front face; and

means to secure a portion of the hot liquid anti-sweat loop to the braces.

2. The cabinet assembly of claim 1 wherein the fastening means for rigidly attaching each of the second leg of the corner braces to the flange of the third wall of the front face is by metal stitching means.

3. The cabinet assembly of claim 1 wherein the second U-shaped portion of the front face formed between the second inner wall and the third wall is formed to provide a groove to receive the hot liquid anti-sweat loop and hold the loop against the corner of the outer sheet metal shell formed between the first outer wall of the front face and the side panel around a major portion of the freezer compartment.

4. The cabinet assembly of claim 1 wherein each formed section of the braces have cut-out slots and the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has two curved bump sections with a right angle bend between the bump sections and each bump section has a length slightly less than the length of the cut-out slots in each formed section of the braces and the bent curved bump sections are snapped into a cut-out slot in each formed section of the braces to retain the loop in place at the two top front corners of the cabinet.

5. The cabinet assembly of claim 4 wherein the hot liquid loop is formed to have both sides of the loop extend from the bottom rear of the fresh food compartment along the side panels of the outer sheet metal shell to the front face near the top of the fresh food compartment.

6. The cabinet assembly of claim 4 wherein the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has an inwardly directed U-shaped bend on each side of the mullion partition.

7. The cabinet assembly of claim 6 wherein the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has a short vertical section on each side of the refrigerator outer metal shell in close proximity to the U-shaped bends and includes a compound curve portion and a diverging portion inclined toward the side panels and the short vertical section is retained in position under the second U-shaped portion of the front face.

8. A cabinet assembly for a refrigerator having a freezer compartment on top with two top front corners, a fresh food compartment on the bottom, a mullion partition between the compartments and a hot liquid anti-sweat loop comprising:

an outer sheet metal shell having a top panel, side panels and a front face, said front face is formed to provide a first U-shaped portion which includes a first outer wall perpendicular to the side panel to form a corner and a second inner wall spaced from the first outer wall, both walls being connected by the first U-shaped portion, said second inner wall being reversely bent to form a third wall and provide a second U-shaped portion formed between the second inner wall and the third wall, said second U-shaped portion having a groove to receive the hot liquid anti-sweat loop and hold the loop against the corner of the outer sheet metal shell formed between the first outer wall of the front face and the side panel around a major portion of the freezer compartment, said first, second and third walls being in spaced parallel planes with the third wall bent at a right angle to form a flange having a free terminal edge;

a brace located at each of the two top front corners of the cabinet and having two formed sections at right angles to each other and each section is formed as an inwardly open U-shaped channel having a base, a first leg and a second leg spaced apart and integrally joined to the base, said base being adjacent the rear surface of the third wall of the front face with the first leg parallel to and abutting the side and top panels of the cabinet and the second leg parallel to and abutting the flange of the front face, said braces having cut-out slots and the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has two curved bump sections with a right angle bend between the bump sections and each bump section has a length slightly less than the length of the cut-out slots in each formed section of the braces and the bent curved bump sections are snapped into a cut-out slot in each formed section of the braces to retain the loop in place at the two top front corners of the cabinet; and

fastening means for rigidly attaching each of the second leg of the corner braces to the flange of the third wall of the front face.

9. The cabinet assembly of claim 8 wherein the hot liquid loop is formed to have both sides of the loop extend from the bottom rear of the fresh food compartment along the side panels of the outer sheet metal shell to the front face near the top of the fresh food compartment.

10. The cabinet assembly of claim 8 wherein the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has an inwardly directed U-shaped bend on each side of the mullion partition.

11. The cabinet assembly of claim 10 wherein the hot liquid anti-sweat loop has a short vertical section on each side of the refrigerator outer metal shell in close proximity to the U-shaped bends and includes a compound curve portion and a diverging portion inclined toward the side panels and the short vertical section is retained in position under the second U-shaped portion of the front face.