Benasutti, Louis D. (Fairborn, OH)
Chernek, Joseph D. (Springfield, OH)

05/311309

01/29/1974

12/01/1972

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General Motors Corporation (Detroit, MI)

62/339

F25D23/12; F25D23/12

62/338,339,389 242/86.2

Perlin, Meyer

Barthel, Edward P.

We claim

1. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a compartment therein provided with an access opening and a hollow movable door hinged to one side of said cabinet normally closing said opening, a liquid storing and dispensing device associated with said cabinet, said device including a tank stationarily mounted in said cabinet and exposed to the low temperature within said compartment, said tank being connected to a source of water supply for chilling water received therein from said supply thereof, a nozzle on said door for discharging liquid from said device, a flexible tube for conveying water from said tank to said nozzle, wherein the improvement comprises a retractor unit on a side wall of said compartment adjacent the hinged portion of said door, said retractor unit normally enclosing a predetermined portion of said tube disposed intermediate said cabinet and said door, first and second threading means in said retractor unit for maintaining said tube in a double looped configuration therein, said first threading means forming the first loop of said tube upon its entrance into said retractor unit from said tank, said second threading means including a reel member forming the second loop of said tube, said reel member rotatably supported on yieldable means such that said reel is normally biased in a retracted position away from the forward end of said retractor unit, means for anchoring said tube to said door whereby upon said door being moved to its closed position said yieldable means is operative to move said reel to its normal retracted position causing said predetermined portion of said tube to be returned into said retractor unit so as to obviate kinking of said tube.

2. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a compartment therein provided with an access opening and a hollow movable door hinged to one side of said cabinet normally closing said opening, a liquid storing and dispensing device associated with said cabinet, said device including a tank stationarily mounted in said cabinet and exposed to the low temperature within said compartment, said tank being connected to a source of water supply for chilling water received therein from said supply thereof, a nozzle on said door for discharging liquid from said device, a flexible tube for conveying water from said tank to said nozzle, wherein the improvement comprises a retractor unit on a side wall of said compartment on the hinged side thereof, said retractor unit normally enclosing a predetermined portion of said tube disposed intermediate said cabinet and said door, first and second threading means in said retractor unit for maintaining said tube in a double-looped configuration therein, said first means in the form of a plurality of fixed guide members forming the first loop of said tube upon its entrance into said retractor unit from said tank, said second threading means including a reel member forming the second loop of said tube, said reel member rotatably supported on torsion spring means such that said reel is normally biased in a retracted position away from the forward end of said retractor unit, means for anchoring said tube at its entrance into said door, bushing means at the forward end of said retractor unit for slidably receiving said intermediate portion of said tube upon said door being moved to its closed position whereby said torsion spring means pivots said reel to its normal retracted position causing said predetermined portion of said tube to return into said retractor unit so as to obviate kinking of said tube.

3. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a compartment therein provided with an access opening and a hollow movable door hinged to one side of said cabinet normally closing said opening, a liquid storing and dispensing device associated with said cabinet, said device including storage means stationarily mounted in said cabinet and exposed to the low temperature within said compartment, said storage means being connected to a source of water supply for chilling water received therein from said supply thereof, a nozzle on said door for discharging liquid from said device, a flexible tube for conveying water from said storage means to said nozzle, wherein the improvement comprises a retractor unit on a side wall of said compartment on the hinged side thereof, said retractor unit normally enclosing a length of the tube therein including a predetermined length of said tube disposed intermediate said cabinet and said door, a coiled wire sheath enclosing said predetermined length of the tube, first and second threading means on said retractor unit for maintaining the length of tube therein in a double-looped configuration oriented in a common vertical plane parallel to said side wall, said first means in the form of a plurality of fixed guide members forming the first loop upon the entrance of the tube into said retractor unit from said storage means at the rearward end of said retractor unit, said second threading means including a reel member and a guide bushing forming the second loop of said tube, yieldable means supporting said reel comprising a coiled spring body mounted on said retractor unit with its axis being generally perpendicular to the plane of said side wall, said coiled spring body extending into an arm at both axial ends thereof each of which are transverse to the axis of said coiled spring body, one of said arms being anchored to said retractor unit and the other of said arms terminating in a transverse pivot pin, said reel member rotatably supported on said other arm pivot pin such that said reel is normally biased in a retracted position away from the forward end of said retractor unit, means for anchoring one end of said sheathed tube at its entrance into said door, said guide bushing longitudinally positioned at the forward end of said retractor unit for slidably receiving a portion of said sheathed tube, whereby upon movement of said door to an open position said reel is pivoted forwardly on said coiled spring body other arm by the resultant pull on said second loop to an extended position, and upon return movement of said door to its closed position said other arm pivots said reel and said second loop to their normal retracted position, causing a portion of the sheathed tube to slide through said guide bushing thereby obviating crimping of the tube when said door is opened and closed.

4. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a compartment therein provided with an access opening and a hollow movable door hinged to one side of said cabinet normally closing said opening, a liquid storing and dispensing device associated with said cabinet, said device including storage means stationarily mounted in said cabinet and exposed to the low temperature within said compartment, said storage means being connected to a source of water supply for chilling water received therein from said supply thereof, a nozzle on said door for discharging liquid from said device, a flexible tube for conveying water from said tank to said nozzle, wherein the improvement comprises a retractor unit on a side wall of said compartment adjacent the hinged portion of said door, said retractor unit normally enclosing a predetermined length of said tube disposed intermediate said cabinet and said door, threading means in said retractor unit for maintaining said length of said tube in a serpentine configuration therein, said threading means including a reel member and a guide bushing forming a loop in said tube around said reel member through an angle of at least 180° immediately prior to the exit of the tube from said retractor unit, said reel member rotatably supported on yieldable means such that said reel is normally biased in a retracted position away from the forward end of said retractor unit, said guide bushing positioned at the forward end of said retractor unit allowing a portion of said predetermined length of tube to be slidably movable therein, means for anchoring said tube to said door whereby upon movement of said door to an open position said reel is pivoted forwardly aginst the bias of said yieldable means by the resultant pull on said loop, and whereby upon said door being moved to its closed position said yieldable means is operative to pivot said reel to its normally retracted position causing a portion of said tube to be returned into said retractor unit so as to obviate kinking of said tube.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said length of said tube disposed intermediate said cabinet and said door being enclosed by a coiled wire sheath, and said anchoring means including a C-clamp member formed with bifurcated ends having a counterbore thereon aligned with said door entrance, a bushing telescoped within said counterbore and provided with a plurality of longitudinal slots therein, fastener means connecting said bifurcated ends whereby upon said fastener being tightened said sheathed tube end is clamped within said bushing.

This invention relates to a domestic refrigerator and particularly to a refrigerator having a cold water dispensing arangement which allows the extension and retraction of a flexible water line associated with the cabinet into a door hingedly secured thereto.

An object of this invention is to provide a means on a refrigerator cabinet having an exterior cold water service area located on the exterior surface of the refrigerator door which allows the water line communicating with a cooling tank within the refrigerator cabinet and leading therefrom into the door to slide into and out of the door upon the closing and opening thereof and thereby reduce bending or flexing of the water line at the point the line is directed into the door to thereby increase the life of the water line.

A further object of this invention is to provide a yieldably biased reel member positioned on the side wall of a refrigerator cabinet such that a water line leading from a cooling tank within the cabinet to a service area within the refrigerator door is received around the reel in a serpentine fashion so as to pivot the reel with respect to the cabinet when the door is open for minimizing bending and flexing of the water line during movement of the door and which retracts the water line for return movement into the refrigerator cabinet upon the door being returned to its closed position.

Further objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet incorporating the present invention with the lower compartment door shown in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the water line retractor located in the refrigerator compartment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical fragmentary enlarged vertical section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front view of the door service area.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a refrigerator cabinet 10 having an upper freezing compartment enclosed by an upper door 11 and a lower fresh food storage compartment 12. The cabinet includes an insulated top outer wall 13, insulated side walls 14 and 15, the inner surfaces of which extend rearwardly from the cabinet front opening, and having disposed therebetween in the lower compartment a plurality of shelves 16 and lower storage pans 17 and 18 located above compartment insulated bottom wall 19. The lower fresh food compartment 12 has an access opening 20 thereto closed by a lower insulated door 22. The lower door 22 includes an outer sheet metal wall 24 having a water service area 25 provided in the face of the door. Such a service area is shown and described in co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 309,935 assigned to the assignee of the instant application, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

The door 22 is provided with an inner door pan 26 preferably of sheet plastic material such as high impact polystyrene or ABS copolymer. The door pan 26 is bordered by a peripheral rib 27 having shelves 28 extending between the vertical portions of the rib. The inside of the door 22 includes an enclosure 30 positioned opposite the service area for enclosing portions of water dispensing means such as, for example, the dispensing unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,338 issued Mar. 26, 1957 to C. H. Wurtz et al. and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.

As seen in FIG. 1, a water coller receptacle tank for supplying cold water to the service area is positioned in the rear portion of the fresh food compartment 12 and generally indicated by the numeral 32 is connected through a solenoid operated valve 33 to a high pressure water supply line 34. The control valve is located in the machine compartment of the refrigerator and is acutuated in response to the energization and deenergization of an electric solenoid 35 associated therewith. The water tank 32 is exposed to the low temperature within the food compartment so as to be effectively cooled thereby.

A pipe 37 extends upwardly in the cabinet from the control valve 35 to the underside of the tank 32. A conduit cover 38 on the back wall of the compartment 12 encloses a length of tubing 39 which connects the tank 32 to a manually actuated selector valve 23 and nozzle 28 in the exterior service area 25 on the door of the type disclosed in the Wurtz et al patent. As seen in FIG. 2 a length of the tubing 39 exits the conduit and extends through a retractor unit 40 secured on the side wall 15 of the cabinet adjacent the front access opening 20 adjacent the hinged edge of the door 22. The tube 39 is a readily mobile or flexible member preferably constructed of plastic or rubber-like material having an outer diameter of about 0.25 inches in the disclosed form. Within the retractorunit 40 the flexible tube 39 is formed into a double-looped or serpentine configuration oriented in a common vertical plane parallel to the side wall 15.

The water line retractor unit 40 includes a housing cover 42 and base plate 44 made of any suitable material, for example impact polystyrene plastic, and constructed in any suitable manner, for example, by molding. The cover comprises an outer wall 45, opposed front 46 and rear 47 walls and bottom wall 48, and is secured to the base plate 44 by suitable threaded screws indicated at 52 received in integrally molded threaded embossments such as shown at 53 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The base plate 44 is secured as at 54 to the cabinet wall 15 so as to be removably attached thereto. The face of the base plate 44 includes first threading means forming a first loop of the tubing 39 including a plurality of integrally molded arcuate guides 56, 57 and 58 and a semi-circular guide 72 between which the first loop of the flexible tube 39 is threaded in its initial pass 39a into the retractor unit 40 through lower opening 59 in rear wall 47.

Second threading means including a retractor reel 60, preferably molded of nylon plastic, is rotatbly mounted on a transverse pivot pin 62 formed on the upper end of a pivoting straight tangential arm portion 64 of yieldable means in the form of a wire coiled torsion spring body 66 telescoped over the integrally molded drum 67 such that the axis of its coiled body portion is perpendicular to base plate 44. The coiled body 66 extends into a hooked arm 68 at its inner axial end transverse to the axis of the coiled spring body 66 so as to be anchored around integrally molded base plate peg 69. The coiled body 66 extends into the arm 64 at its outer axial end transverse to the axis of the coiled spring body 66. In this manner the reel 60 is normally resiliently biased in a retracted position inwardly or towards the rear wall 47 of the cover 42, as viewed in dashed lines in FIG. 2, so that the reel is continuously urged in its retracted dashed line position by the torsion spring body 66.

As viewed in FIG. 2 the first loop of the tube 39 is threaded around the semi-circular guide 72, adjacent front wall 46, through an angle of about 200° with respect to its return pass portion 39b within the retractor unit. The second loop of the tube is threaded in peripheral groove 74 of the reel 60 through an angle of about 200° with respect to the tube's final return pass 39c which is slidably received within a longitudinally extending guide bushing 78 postioned at the forward end of unit 40. The guide bushing 78, preferably formed of plastic material such as nylon, is disposed in an opening 76 in the cover front wall 46 and is secured to the cabinet side wall by screws 77. Slidably movable within the guide bushing's axial bore 79 is a length of the tube 39 including a predetermined length of the tube disposed intermediate the cabinet and the door which is enclosed by a flexible tube sheath in the form of helical coil spring 80 which is dimensioned for smooth slidable movement in the bore 79.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 an opening 82 is provided in the door pan upper rib portion 27 for reception of a bifurcated C-clamp member 84, preferably formed of nylon, having a counterbored portion 86 therein aligned with opening 82. A hat-shaped bushing 90 preferably of impact polystyrene material, is telescoped within the bore 86 and is provided with a plurality of longitudinal slots 92, there being three equally spaced slots in the form shown. The c-clamp bifurcated ends 93 and 94 are apertured for reception of threades machine screw 96 such that upon the end of coil 80 being seated in bore 86, with the tube portion 39d extending through clamp opening 97 and bushing opening 98 to pass within the door, the screw 96 is tightened about the slotted bushing 90 allowing the sheath 80 and tube 39 to be clamped therein.

Thus, in operation when the door 22 is opened the tube 39 being clamped or anchored at its entrance into the door pulls, by means of its second loop portion, upon the reel 60 causing the reel 60 to be pivoted foward to its solid line position of FIG. 2 which corresponds to the door being moved through an arc of about 90°. A predetermined length of the sheathed portion of the tube's second loop is slidably withdrawn through the guide bushing of the retractor unit 40 by moving about the freely rotatable reel 60. The reel may be pulled forwardly in pivotal fashion about the axis of the coiled torsion spring permitting rotation of the door to an open position through an arc of at least 180 degreees or any lesser arc such that the proper withdrawn sheathed tube length is achieved. As the door is subsequently moved to its closed position, the tension spring pivots the reel to its normal retracted position and retracts a portion of the sheathed tube through the guide bushing 78 into the retractor unit 40 to prevent or obviate crimping of the tube.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.