U.S. patent application number 10/582923 was filed with the patent office on 2009-02-05 for cooling device, and chilled goods support thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERATE GMBH. Invention is credited to Christoph Becke, Hans-Kersten Hrubesch.
Application Number | 20090033188 10/582923 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31970182 |
Filed Date | 2009-02-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090033188 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Becke; Christoph ; et
al. |
February 5, 2009 |
COOLING DEVICE, AND CHILLED GOODS SUPPORT THEREOF
Abstract
A chilled goods support for a cooling device comprising a liquid
crystal temperature display unit. A supporting element of said
chilled goods support is used as a thermal buffer to which the
liquid crystal temperature display unit is fixed in a planar
manner.
Inventors: |
Becke; Christoph;
(Grosskarolinenfeld, DE) ; Hrubesch; Hans-Kersten;
(Bruckmuehl, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BSH HOME APPLIANCES CORPORATION;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPARTMENT
100 BOSCH BOULEVARD
NEW BERN
NC
28562
US
|
Assignee: |
BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERATE
GMBH
Munich
DE
|
Family ID: |
31970182 |
Appl. No.: |
10/582923 |
Filed: |
December 7, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
December 7, 2004 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2004/053319 |
371 Date: |
October 10, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/404 ;
312/405; 312/408 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2400/04 20130101;
F25D 2325/022 20130101; F25D 29/00 20130101; F25D 25/02 20130101;
F25D 2700/123 20130101; F25D 2400/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/404 ;
312/405; 312/408 |
International
Class: |
A47B 96/00 20060101
A47B096/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 15, 2003 |
DE |
203 19 460.8 |
Claims
1-10. (canceled)
11. A chilled goods support for a cooling device comprising a
liquid crystal temperature display, wherein a supporting element of
the chilled goods support acts as a thermal buffer to which the
liquid crystal temperature display unit is fixed in a planar
manner.
12. The chilled goods support according to claim 11, wherein the
thermal buffer is formed by a frame mounted on a plate of the
chilled goods support.
13. The chilled goods support according to claim 12, wherein the
liquid crystal temperature display unit is attached to an outer
side of the frame oriented obliquely to the plate.
14. The chilled goods support according to claim 12, wherein a
portion of the frame which supports the liquid crystal temperature
display unit is an extruded profile.
15. The chilled goods support according to claim 12, wherein the
frame is injection molded on the plate in one piece.
16. The chilled goods support according to claim 11, wherein the
liquid crystal temperature display unit is back-molded with the
supporting element.
17. The chilled goods support according to claim 11, wherein the
liquid crystal temperature display unit is divided into a plurality
of discrete elements with different color change temperatures.
18. The chilled goods support according to claim 11, wherein the
liquid crystal temperature display unit comprises a display zone in
which a transition zone is continuously movable between a
low-temperature color and a high-temperature color depending on
temperature.
19. The chilled goods support according to claim 18, wherein
reference marks are formed on the supporting element adjacent to
the display zone.
20. The chilled goods support according to claim 18, wherein the
cooling device comprises an interior enclosed by a heat-insulating
housing.
21. A refrigerator comprising: a housing having side walls and a
compartment disposed within the compartment; a door coupled to the
housing for opening and closing the compartment; a chilled goods
support for supporting goods within the compartment and at least
partially defining a region within the compartment, the chilled
goods support extending between the side walls and including a
front edge facing the door and having a downwardly sloping surface;
and a liquid crystal temperature display unit disposed on the
sloping surface of the chilled goods support indicating the
temperature within the region.
22. The refrigerator according to claim 21, wherein the chilled
goods support includes a plate and a frame extending around the
perimeter of the plate.
23. The refrigerator according to claim 22, wherein the plate is
formed from a glass material and the frame is formed from a plastic
material injection molded on the plate in one piece.
24. The refrigerator according to claim 21, wherein the liquid
crystal temperature display unit is divided into a plurality of
discrete elements that change color change in response to the
temperature within the region.
25. The refrigerator according to claim 24, wherein the color of
the liquid crystal temperature display unit indicates a type of
chilled good that is suitable to be stored on the chilled goods
support.
26. The refrigerator according to claim 21, wherein the liquid
crystal temperature display unit comprises a display zone in which
a transition zone is continuously movable between a low-temperature
color and a high-temperature color depending on temperature.
27. The refrigerator according to claim 26, further comprising
reference marks formed adjacent to the display zone.
28. The refrigerator according to claim 21, further comprising
multiple chilled goods supports at least partially defining
corresponding regions above each chilled goods support, each
chilled goods support including a front edge with a downwardly
sloping surface and a liquid crystal temperature display unit
disposed on the sloping surface, the temperature display unit
indicating the temperature within the corresponding region.
29. A refrigerator comprising: a housing having side walls and a
compartment disposed within the compartment; a door coupled to the
housing for opening and closing the compartment; a plurality of
chilled goods supports extending between the side walls and spaced
vertically apart from one another within the compartment, each
chilled goods support at least partially defining a corresponding
region above the respective chilled goods support and including a
front edge with a downwardly sloping surface; a liquid crystal
temperature display unit disposed on the downwardly sloping surface
of each chilled goods support indicating the temperature within the
corresponding region, each liquid crystal temperature display unit
changing color in response to the temperature within the
corresponding region wherein the color of the liquid crystal
temperature display unit indicates a type of chilled good that is
suitable to be stored on that respective chilled goods support.
30. The refrigerator according to claim 29, wherein the chilled
goods support includes a plate formed from a glass material and a
frame extending around the perimeter of the plate and being formed
from a plastic material injection molded on the plate in one piece.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device,
especially a chilled goods support for such a cooling device.
[0002] The temperature distribution in the interior of a cooling
device is not homogeneous, which especially in cooling devices with
an internal temperature above the freezing point, allows
differently temperature-controlled areas of the interior to be used
for different types of chilled goods which make different demands
on the storage temperature. However, a specific usage of the
temperature differences in the interior for this purpose assumes
that the user knows, at least qualitatively, the temperatures
prevailing in the different compartments of the interior. For this
purpose, an interior configuration for a cooling device has been
proposed in DE 102 05 589 A1 wherein a plurality of liquid crystal
temperature displays are distributed on the different compartments
of the interior of a cooling device to allow the user to optimally
utilise the suitability of each individual compartment for storing
different groups of chilled goods.
[0003] These temperature displays can be placed in a compartment at
different locations, it being dependent on a favourable choice of
location whether the temperature detected by the display is
representative for the compartment of the interior where it is
attached. From the point of view of a representative temperature
recording, it would be desirable per se to attach a temperature
display in a compartment centrally between the heat sink, usually
the rear wall of the interior chamber bearing the evaporator, and
the main heat source, i.e. the door seal. For this purpose however,
the temperature display would need to be attached to a side wall of
the inner container and such a display would be difficult for a
user to read. From the point of view of readability, attachment to
the front edge of a chilled goods support, facing the door of the
cooling device, is to be preferred: However, such a display is
subjected to strong disturbing influences from warm air which
penetrates into the interior when a user opens the door so that the
temperature recorded and indicated by such a display is possibly no
longer representative of the stationary state of the cooling device
even after opening the door for a short time.
[0004] In order to obviate this problem, it is proposed in DE 102
05 589 A1 that the heat-sensitive liquid crystals of such a liquid
crystal temperature display should be held in contact with a
thermal buffer accommodated in a housing of the display in order to
thus impart a desired inertia to the display.
[0005] It is the object of the present invention to provide a
chilled goods support or a cooling device with such a chilled goods
support which can achieve the advantages of the known interior
configuration described above by simpler and more cost-effective
means.
[0006] The object is achieved by a chilled goods support having the
features of claim 1 or a cooling device having the features of
claim 9.
[0007] Since, according to the invention, a supporting element of
the chilled goods support is used as a thermal buffer for the
liquid crystal temperature display, which supporting element
generally has a not insignificant mass and therefore thermal
capacity as a result of its function, it is superfluous for the
temperature display to have its own thermal buffer so that space
and costs can be saved.
[0008] The thermal buffer is preferably formed by a frame moulded
on a plate of the chilled goods support. The temperature display
unit can be located directly on this frame on a side facing the
door of the cooling device in the mounted state of the chilled
goods support so this can be conveniently read by a user who has
opened the door.
[0009] In the interests of good readability, it is also preferable
if the liquid crystal temperature display unit is attached to an
outer side of the frame oriented obliquely to the plate, which
points obliquely upwards in the mounted state.
[0010] As a consequence of a first embodiment, a portion of the
frame which supports the liquid crystal temperature display unit is
an extruded profile which can be formed of plastic or metal.
[0011] The liquid crystal temperature display unit can also be
arranged on a frame which is moulded in one piece around the plate
of the chilled goods support.
[0012] In order to facilitate readability, the liquid crystal
temperature display unit is divided into a plurality of discrete
elements each having different colour change temperatures.
Alternatively, a display zone of the liquid crystal temperature
display unit can be provided wherein a transition zone is
continuously movable between a low-temperature colour and a
high-temperature colour depending on temperature so that a user can
estimate the temperature from the location of the transition zone.
In order to quantify the estimate, a scale can be constructed on
the supporting element adjacent to the display zone.
[0013] Further features and advantages of the present invention are
obtained from the following description of the exemplary
embodiments with reference to the appended figures. In the
figures:
[0014] FIG. 1 is perspective view of a cooling device according to
the invention with the door open;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a chilled
goods support according to the invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of a second embodiment of a
chilled goods support;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of a third embodiment of a
chilled goods support;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a section along the line V-V from FIG. 4;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of a fourth embodiment of a
chilled goods support; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is a section through the chilled goods support from
FIG. 6 along the line VII-VII.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooling device according
to the invention with the door 7 open. The cooling device shown
comprises a refrigerator-freezer combination with a chilled
compartment 1 at the top and a freezing compartment 2 at the
bottom. Although it can fundamentally also be applied to the
freezing compartment 2, the invention is described hereinafter only
with reference to the chilled compartment 1.
[0022] The chilled compartment 1 is divided into a plurality of
part compartments of regions 5, 5' by chilled goods supports 4
suspended on the side walls 3 of the housing. The two lowest
regions 5' are each defined by a pull-out box 18, the regions 5
located thereabove are open towards the door 7. They are cooled by
an evaporator located behind the rear wall 6 of the chilled
compartment 1 at the height of region 5 which is not visible in the
figure. In each of these regions 5 there exists a non-vanishing
temperature gradient from a coldest point on the rear wall 6 to a
warmest point near the door 7. Since the cold air in the chilled
compartment 1 tends to sink, the lower-lying regions 5 are
generally colder than the higher ones, i.e. the global temperature
difference between the warmest and the coldest point of the entire
chilled compartment 1 is greater than the temperature differences
existing in the individual regions 5.
[0023] A group of comparatively warm regions 5'' is formed by
box-shaped door compartments 8 mounted on the inside of the door 7
as chilled goods supports.
[0024] Each region 5 is allocated respectively one liquid crystal
temperature display unit 9 which is arranged at the front edge of a
frame of that compartment base 4 which terminates the relevant
region 5 at the bottom. The temperature display 9 is therefore
closely adjacent to the region located thereunder but the
temperature to which it is exposed is representative of the region
located above the compartment base 4 since when the door is closed,
cold air from the relevant region flows downwards over the front
edge of the compartment base.
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a compartment base 4 as a first
exemplary embodiment for a chilled goods support according to the
invention. The compartment base is substantially constructed of a
plate 10 made of safety glass having a frame 11 made of plastic
injection moulded on in one piece around its circumference. In each
case, a web 12 and a pin 13 project in a manner known per se from
the lateral flanks of the frame 11, which serve to support the
compartment base in grooves on the side walls 3 of the chilled
compartment so that it can be withdrawn. A front edge 14 of the
frame 11 facing the door is sloping similar to a desk, where a
liquid crystal temperature display unit 9 is attached to the
sloping surface 15 of the front edge 14. In this embodiment the
display 9 is divided by webs 16 into a plurality of fields 17, each
being enclosed between two films and having a liquid crystal
composition with a different colour transition temperature. Usually
temperature-sensitive liquid crystal compositions appear green at
their transition temperature, reddish thereunder and blue
thereover. A user can determine the temperature of a region at a
glance from the position of the green field 17 in the arrangement
of the display 9 or from the number of reddish or blue fields and
from this can rapidly identify the suitability of a region for
storing a certain type of chilled goods such as vegetables, milk
products or meat goods.
[0026] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of a
compartment base 4 where the temperature display 9 has a continuous
display zone whose liquid crystal composition varies from left to
right so that, depending on the temperature to which the display is
exposed, a boundary 19 between the blue and reddish region moves
continuously over the display zone with temperature. Since in this
embodiment, the display zone is not divided into individual fields,
a user cannot easily deduce the temperature or the suitability of a
region 5 for a certain type of chilled goods from the number of
fields in a certain colour; instead, the frame 11 is provided with
a row of reference marks 20 next to the temperature display 9 so
that a user can determine the suitability of the relevant region
for a certain cooling device from the position of the boundary 19
in relation to reference marks 20.
[0027] Naturally, as shown in FIG. 4, the temperature display 9 can
also be provided with a scale, for example in the form of
numeral-shaped windows 21 in a non-transparent cover layer through
which the liquid crystal material is visible and which allow a user
to quantitatively read off the temperature of the relevant region
5.
[0028] FIG. 5 shows a schematic section through the front edge 14
of the frame 11 and the glass plate 10 enclosed thereby along the
line V-V from FIG. 4, where it is understood that a corresponding
section in the embodiments in FIGS. 2 and 3 could have the same
shape. The front edge 14 which is moulded onto the glass plate 10
encloses this in a closed material fashion. The temperature display
9 is let into an indentation 22 on the upwardly sloping surface 15
of the front edge 14. It is attached to the inner side of a rigid
disk 23, e.g. made of transparent plastic, which is enclosed in the
material by moulding with the material of the frame 11 along its
edges, thus holding the display 9 securely and protected.
[0029] FIGS. 6 and 7 show a fourth embodiment of a compartment base
4 in a partial plan view or in a section along the line VII-VII
from FIG. 6. As in the case in FIG. 2, the compartment base has a
glass plate 10 which in the present case is not moulded with a
frame but an extruded profile is placed on its front and rear (not
shown) edges as a frame element. The profile forming the front edge
14 has a groove 24 on its rear side facing the glass plate 10, into
which the glass plate 10 is inserted, wherein a rubber or
foam-material strip 25 which is affixed to a lower leg 26 of the
front edge 14 bordering the groove 24, is elastically compressed so
that it presses the upper side of the glass plate 10 flat against
the opposite side of the upper leg 27. The large-area contact
allows good heat transfer between the glass plate 10 and the front
edge 14 so that the glass plate 10 can also serve as a thermal
buffer for the liquid crystal temperature display unit 9 which is
glued to the sloping surface 15 of the front edge 14.
[0030] In this fourth exemplary embodiment the temperature display
9 is the same as in the third exemplary embodiment since it is
comparatively laborious to construct features such as the webs 12
or the reference marks 20 which make it easier to read the display
9 in an extruded profile.
* * * * *