General Electric Company

Bruce L Ruark

John Keith Besore

Jerry C Martin

Martin Mitchell Zentner

William J McCarty

George E Stocking

Adam C Kennedy

Michael Joseph McCauley

Edward Raleigh

Duane Jubenville

Joseph Murphy Miller

Phillip D Baker

Bernard W Schoenbachler

John Joseph Domagala

Gordon Turner Walker

Thomas M Benton

Dennis Paul Matz

Michael Stephen Csernik

Gerald Lee Mitchell

Mark Walter Steiner

Charles William Nelson

A refreshment center having a modular construction and including a mini door and a frame is described. The mini door is fabricated and assembled separate from the frame, and the mini door includes a hinge system and a trigger. The mini door provides quick and convenient access to the refreshment center by being simple and easy to open and close. The frame, in an exemplary embodiment, is a one piece plastic molded part which serves as the main structural member of the assembly. The frame includes first and second spaced apart planar members, and further includes a keeper slot and a keeper for being inserted within the slot. The keeper extends from the slot and at least partially through a keeper slot in the door trim. The frame further includes a switch cavity for housing at least a portion of a switch assembly. A switch bracket is provided to be secured over the switch cavity and is engaged to the frame by a screw. The mini door is secured to the frame by a hinge system which includes a hinge arm which extends between, and is secured to, the mini door and the frame. More specifically, at the frame, the hinge arm is secured to a slide located between the frame first and second planar members. Hinge pins are secured to the mini door outer door member and extend from the outer door member and through the bushings of pivot slides. The pivot slides are secured to the frame by retainers, and springs are provided to maintain the pivot slides in position within the retainer. The switch assembly includes a switch having a switch actuator arm. Wires extend from the switch to a harness which mates with a receptacle. The receptacle is in electric circuit with a light in the fresh food compartment. The light used to illuminate the refreshment center can be one of the existing lights used in current side-by-side refrigerators since the inner cover is transparent.

Modular refreshment center for refrigerator fresh food compartment

A mechanism to control the temperature in the freezer and fresh food compartments of a side-by-side refrigerator includes an elongated support plate mounted in the upper portion of the fresh food compartment. A fresh food thermostat is mounted under the plate adjacent to the mullion separating the compartments and its control shaft is aligned with an opening in the plate. A pinion gear is connected to the shaft and is positioned above the plate. A freezer thermostat is mounted under the plate at a position more remote from the mullion and its control shaft is aligned with an opening in the plate. A pinion gear is connected to the control shaft and is positioned above the plate. A fresh food rack gear is slidingly mounted on the plate remote from the mullion and includes an elongated arm with teeth that engage the fresh food pinion gear. A freezer rack gear is slidingly mounted on the plate close to the mullion and includes an elongated arm with teeth that engage the teeth on the freezer pinion gear. Each rack gear includes a tab for user movement of that rack gear to adjust the setting of the corresponding thermostat.

Refrigerator with improved control mechanism

A side by side refrigerator has a vertical evaporator formed from an elongated tube wrapped with a ribbon of material having spine fins extending substantially perpendicular from the elongated tube. The elongated tube has elongated straight runs joined by return bent ends to define a vertically extending evaporator having a generally oval spiral or configuration. In one embodiment, the elongated straight runs are spaced from each other throughout the vertical length of the evaporator to provide a space of constant area for air flow. In other embodiments, the lower end of the evaporator has the elongated straight runs spaced from each other to provide an entrance passage for air with the remainder of the evaporator having some of the elongated straight runs at predetermined locations on at least one side of the evaporator offset inwardly towards the other side of the evaporator so that the fins on the offset elongated straight runs overlap the fins on the elongated straight runs on the other side of the evaporator to enhance 'mixing' of the air flow around the various runs of the evaporator. The evaporator may have one of the elongated straight runs on one side of the evaporator moved into vertical alignment with adjacent elongated straight runs on the other side of the evaporator to which they are connected to provide a space intermediate the length of the evaporator for a defrost heater.

Spine fin refrigerator evaporator having generally oval spiral

A spine fin refrigerator evaporator is formed of lower and upper sections of elongated straight runs, which have fins thereon and have their ends connected to each other by return bent ends. The lower section is formed with two rows of the elongated straight runs in an A shape to provide a passage therebetween through which air initially flows through the evaporator so that frost can be gathered without blocking air flow therethrough. The upper section has three rows of the elongated straight runs with the fins of adjacent rows overlapping each other to provide an efficient heat transfer from the refrigerant in the elongated straight runs to the air whereby the lower and upper sections combine to provide a practical and efficient evaporator. If desired, the upper and lower sections can be vertically spaced from each other to have a defrost heater disposed therebetween.

Spine fin refrigerator evaporator

A pair of packing supports prevents movement during shipment of two shelves, which are slidably supported on vertically spaced shelf supports integral with inner side liners of a refrigerator cabinet. Each packing support, which is formed of corrugated cardboard, for example, has a shelf support portion wedged between two shelf supports on one of the inner side liners to prevent vertical and fore and aft motion of the packing support. Each packing support has a shelf retaining portion formed integral with the shelf support portion and bent at approximately 180.degree. thereto. The shelf retaining portion receives one end of each of the shelves whereby it is compressed so that there is no motion of the packing supports towards each other.

Packing support for slidably mounted articles within a cabinet

A household refrigerator shelf assembly comprising a removable rigid unitary frame having two spaced apart shelf brackets, a front horizontal support member and a rear horizontal support member, both being rigidly attached to and spanning the distance between the brackets. The rear horizontal support member as viewed in lateral cross-section has a vertical wall at the top and a depending rearwardly directed horizontal flange terminating in a downwardly directed terminal end portion spaced rearwardly from the vertical wall, the bottom of the vertical wall having a forwardly directed horizontal flange with a downwardly directed rib. There is a reflector member attached to the rear horizontal support member and spanning the distance between the brackets. The reflector member as viewed in lateral cross-section has an upper vertical portion with a right angle bend at the bottom and a bottom portion. The bottom portion has a rearwardly directed horizontal section supported by the top of the rearwardly directed horizontal flange of the rear support member and has a downwardly directed vertical section with a right angle bend at the bottom and a substantially horizontal flange section extending forwardly from the right angle bend. The flange section has an upwardly directed projection capturing the terminal end of the downwardly directed terminal end of the rear support member between it and the right angle bend and a curved section forward of the projection that frictionally engages the rib of the rear support member. The shelf assembly has a cover supported on the frame.

Household refrigerator shelf assembly

In a self-contained air conditioner unit of the reversible refrigeration system type having cooling and heating cycles, a no-drain heat pump is provided wherein in the heating cycle, water collected on the outdoor heat exchanger operating as the system evaporator is transferred to the indoor section. The condensate is atomized and directed into the indoor air flow and against the relatively warm indoor heat exchanger operating as the condenser to humidify the air.

Air conditioning apparatus

The present invention relates to a heat pump that utilizes unidirection refrigerant flow wherein the condenser and evaporator retain their functions, but the air directed across them is redirected for different operations. While the heat pump is operating in the cooling mode, outdoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the condenser for liquefying the refrigerant and outside again; and indoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the evaporator for cooling the air circulated again. Conversely, in the heating mode, outdoor air passed in heat exchange relationship with the evaporator for vaporizing the refrigerant, then outside again; and indoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the condenser for heating the air and circulated again.

Air valve heat pump

The present invention relates to a heat pump that utilizes unidirection refrigerant flow wherein the condenser and evaporator retain their functions, but the air directed across them is redirected for different operations. While the heat pump is operating in the cooling mode, air dampers are positioned so that outdoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the condenser for liquefying the refrigerant and outside again; and indoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the evaporator for cooling the air circulated again. Conversely, in the heating mode, the air dampers are positioned so that outdoor air passed in heat exchange relationship with the evaporator for vaporizing the refrigerant, then outside again; and indoor air is passed in heat exchange relationship with the condenser for heating the air and circulated again.

The present invention provides an air conditioning system for use in a mobile home. The system includes securing a mounting means to the support structure of the mobile home and an air conditioning unit that is adapted to be removably secured to the mounting means. When installed on the mounting means, the air conditioning unit is aligned to deliver conditioned air into the interior of the mobile home through its built-in air distribution system.

Air conditioning mounting system for a mobile home

The present invention provides an air conditioning system for a mobile home. The system includes securing a mounting means to the support structure of the mobile home and an air conditioning unit that is adapted to be removably secured to the mounting means. When installed on the mounting means, the air conditioning unit is aligned to deliver conditioned air into the interior of the mobile home through its built-in air distribution system.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Bruce L Ruark