U.S. patent application number 12/678303 was filed with the patent office on 2010-07-29 for cooling device having a condensation water channel.
This patent application is currently assigned to BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERATE GMBH. Invention is credited to Martin Buchstab, Jurgen Diebold, Irene Dumkow, Klaus Flinner, Markus Hanichl, Bernd Heger, Peter Nalbach, Gunter Raubold, Gerald Schmidt, Martin Schweyer.
Application Number | 20100186437 12/678303 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38721697 |
Filed Date | 2010-07-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100186437 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Buchstab; Martin ; et
al. |
July 29, 2010 |
COOLING DEVICE HAVING A CONDENSATION WATER CHANNEL
Abstract
A cooling device having a housing, an ice passage that extends
through a wall of the housing, and a condensation water channel
that extends from the outer end of the ice passage downward in the
interior of the wall.
Inventors: |
Buchstab; Martin;
(Bopfingen, DE) ; Diebold; Jurgen; (Hermaringen,
DE) ; Dumkow; Irene; (Sontheim, DE) ; Flinner;
Klaus; (Zoschingen, DE) ; Hanichl; Markus;
(Heidenheim, DE) ; Heger; Bernd; (Haunsheim,
DE) ; Nalbach; Peter; (Iserlohn, DE) ;
Raubold; Gunter; (Neu-Ulm, DE) ; Schmidt; Gerald;
(Dettingen, DE) ; Schweyer; Martin; (Bissingen,
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: |
38721697 |
Appl. No.: |
12/678303 |
Filed: |
September 4, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
September 4, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP08/61691 |
371 Date: |
March 16, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/291 ; 62/340;
62/440 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/028 20130101;
F25D 21/14 20130101; F25D 2400/40 20130101; F25C 5/22 20180101;
F25D 2321/146 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/291 ; 62/340;
62/440 |
International
Class: |
F25D 21/14 20060101
F25D021/14; F25C 1/00 20060101 F25C001/00; F25D 11/00 20060101
F25D011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 17, 2007 |
DE |
20 2007 013 031.7 |
Claims
1-16. (canceled)
17. A cooling device, comprising: a housing having a wall, the wall
having an interior; an ice passage extending through the wall of
the housing and having an outer end; and a condensation water
channel that extends from the outer end of the ice passage downward
in the interior of the wall.
18. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the wall has an outer
skin and an insulating layer, and wherein the condensation water
channel extends between the outer skin and the insulating layer of
the wall.
19. The cooling device of claim 18, wherein the insulating layer of
the wall has a watertight layer toward the condensation water
channel.
20. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the condensation water
channel is used as a cable channel at least over a predetermined
section of a length of the condensation water channel.
21. The cooling device of claim 17, wherein the wall of the housing
has a dispensing recess; wherein the dispensing recess has a rear
wall; wherein the ice passage opens into the dispensing recess; and
wherein the condensation water channel is concealed behind the rear
wall of the dispensing recess.
22. The cooling device of claim 17, further comprising a flap,
wherein the outer end of the ice passage is closed off by the
flap.
23. The cooling device of claim 22, wherein a drip edge is formed
by at least one of the outer end of the ice passage and a lower
edge of the flap.
24. The cooling device of claim 23, further comprising a collection
region that is provided below the drip edge and serves as an inlet
for the condensation water channel.
25. The cooling device of claim 24, wherein the dispensing recess
has a cover; wherein the cover has an indentation; and wherein the
outer end of the ice passage, the flap, and the inlet of the
condensation water channel are arranged in the indentation.
26. The cooling device of claim 21, wherein the dispensing recess
is structured in a multilayered manner from a molded part and a
panel that covers the molded part, and wherein the panel forms the
rear wall of the dispensing recess.
27. The cooling device of claim 26, wherein the dispensing recess
has a rear face and a first base, and wherein the molded part
extends at least along the rear face and below the first base of
the dispensing recess.
28. The cooling device of claim 27, wherein the molded part has a
second base; wherein a cable groove is embedded in the second base
of the molded part; and wherein at least one traverse that extends
over the second base is arranged on the molded part adjacent to the
cable groove.
29. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the traverse is
attached to the second base by means of an adhesive.
30. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the traverse is formed
by adhesive.
31. The cooling device of claim 28, wherein the cable groove opens
into a cable channel.
32. The cooling device of claim 31, wherein the cable channel opens
at a lower end into an evaporation tray.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device having an
ice dispenser.
[0002] In cooling devices having an integrated ice maker, an ice
dispenser generally comprises a passage routed through a housing
wall, in particular the door, of the cooling device, it being
possible to close off its outer end by means of a flap, in order to
prevent warm air passing through the passage into the interior of
the cooling device when the ice dispenser is not in use. The flap
is thermally insulated and has a seal running round the flap, so
that when the flap is closed, the ice dispenser can be protected as
effectively as possible from warm air entering from the outside.
Normally the flap is only opened when ice is to be dispensed from
the ice dispenser.
[0003] When ice, in particular crushed ice, is dispensed, ice
residues can remain behind in the passage, which melt and collect
as water at the lower end of the passage in front of the closed
flap. Also when ice cubes are agitated from time to time in the ice
maker, to prevent them freezing together, ice residues can get into
the passage and melt. And finally moisture can collect in the
passage due to condensation, in particular from warm outside air
getting into the passage when ice is dispensed. The seal closing
off the edges of the flap means that this water is unable to flow
away but builds up behind the closed flap. When the flap moves
slightly, as can happen for example when the device door is being
closed due to a brief rise in pressure in the interior of the
cooling device, the condensation water present can run out of the
lower end of the passage and then has to flow down toward a
dispensing recess of the ice dispenser.
[0004] There is generally a drip tray located at the base of the
dispensing recess, to catch small quantities of water resulting
when ice is removed. If the cooling device also comprises a
drinking water dispenser, which is normally arranged in the same
dispensing recess as the ice dispenser, it is also possible for an
excess of water after drinking water has been dispensed, which
drips from a dispensing valve arranged above the drip tray directly
down into the drip tray, to be caught there. Such an arrangement is
described in the patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,518 B1,
which uses a water drain connected to the drip tray to direct the
water from the drip tray into the interior of the cooling device,
collects it in a tray and causes it to evaporate there.
[0005] The drip tray is in principle also suitable for receiving
the condensation water from the passage. However since the lower
end of the passage ends at a rear wall of the dispensing recess,
the condensation water cannot drip from the passage into the drip
tray but runs down along the rear wall. In the long term this
causes limescale on the rear wall of the ice and drinking water
dispenser, which adversely affects the appearance of the cooling
device and is unpleasant for the user of the device. One possible
solution here would be for the lower end of the passage to project
slightly beyond the rear wall of the dispensing recess and end in
an apron molded in place there, so that the condensation water
would actually drip away there. This would prevent the limescale
but the continuous dripping onto the drip tray would mean that the
condensation water would produce noise which would also be
irritating for a user.
[0006] The object of the present invention is therefore to specify
a cooling device, in which condensation water can be drained
imperceptibly and reliably from the ice passage of the ice
dispenser.
[0007] This object is achieved by a cooling device having a housing
and an ice passage extending through a wall of the housing, which
encompasses a condensation water channel, which extends downward in
the interior of the wall from an outer end of the ice passage.
Because the condensation water channel conducts the condensation
water away in the interior of the wall, the condensation water can
be drained in a manner that cannot be perceived by a user of the
cooling device. In particular it is possible to prevent water
traces, in particular limescale, being deposited in a visible
manner on the outside of the wall.
[0008] The condensation water channel here preferably extends
between an outer skin and an insulating layer of the wall. As it is
not necessary to cool the condensation water as it flows away, the
condensation water channel can be conducted outside the insulating
layer and can be covered by the outer skin. The insulating layer of
the wall can thus remain closed in the region of the condensation
water channel.
[0009] If the insulating layer of the wall has a watertight layer
toward the condensation water channel, it is possible in particular
to prevent insulating material becoming saturated with condensation
water and the characteristics of the material changing.
[0010] Advantages in respect of the manufacture of the cooling
device result if the condensation water channel is used as a cable
channel at least over some of its length. It is thus possible to
use cutouts in the wall provided for supply lines as a channel for
draining condensation water at the same time, simplifying the
shaping of components.
[0011] If the ice passage opens into a dispensing recess in the
wall of the housing, the condensation water channel is preferably
concealed behind a rear wall of the dispensing recess, so that the
condensation water can drain away unnoticed. Any measures for
directing or catching the condensation water in order to discharge
the condensation water reliably, which are not to be perceived by a
user of the device, can be performed behind the rear wall of the
dispensing recess. Also no further visible containers or lines,
which could adversely affect the visual appearance of the cooling
device, are required to catch the condensation water.
[0012] It is also advantageous for the energy efficiency of the
cooling device, if the outer end of the ice passage can be closed
off by means of a flap. It is thus possible to prevent a sustained
introduction of heat from outside into an interior of the cooling
device.
[0013] In order reliably to prevent the condensation water
depositing water traces below the ice passage, a drip edge is
preferably formed by the outer end of the ice passage and/or by a
lower edge of the flap. This allows the condensation water to drip
into the condensation water channel and prevents it running along a
wall of the dispensing recess above the condensation water channel
into said condensation water channel so that water traces on the
wall can be avoided here too.
[0014] If a collection region, which at least largely collects the
condensation water dripping off the drip edge, is provided below
the drip edge, the condensation water is defined locally in a
simple manner.
[0015] It is particularly favorable if the collection region is
configured as an inlet for the condensation water channel.
[0016] If an indentation is provided on a cover of the dispensing
recess, in which indentation the outer end of the ice passage, the
flap and an inlet of the condensation water channel are arranged,
these parts of the ice dispenser can be concealed from a user. The
problem of condensation water drainage is completely imperceptible,
particularly because the inlet of the condensation water channel is
not visible.
[0017] An advantageous structure of the cooling appliance also
results if the dispensing recess is structured in a multilayered
manner from a molded part and a panel covering the molded part,
with the rear wall of the dispensing recess being formed by the
panel. The molded part can form a substructure for the dispensing
recess, containing all the structurally necessary depressions and
projections and on which the panel of the dispensing recess can be
positioned separately. The molded part here can also comprise the
insulating layer or can cover or seal off the insulating layer as a
separate part in the direction of the dispensing recess. Because
the rear wall is formed by the panel, the condensation water can
run down in an intermediate space between the rear wall and the
molded part so that additional separate lines are not required.
[0018] If the molded part extends in particular at least along a
rear face and below a base of the dispensing recess, it is possible
to prevent a gap forming between adjacent components, through which
the draining condensation water can enter the cooling device in an
unwanted manner due to a capillary effect.
[0019] It is also particularly advantageous if a cable groove is
embedded in a base of the molded part and at least one traverse
extending over the base is arranged on the molded part adjacent to
the cable groove. The condensation water running along the molded
part can collect in the cable groove, it being possible for a
barrier for the condensation water to be formed by the traverse
along a surface of the molded part, so that said condensation water
can be conducted specifically into the cable groove and does not
flow randomly out over the base.
[0020] Advantages in respect of the manufacture of the molded part
result here, if the traverse is attached to the base by means of an
adhesive. The traverse itself is preferably formed by adhesive and
can be easily applied to the base of the molded part in any desired
form in the manner of a hot melt adhesive coating so that no
further separate components are required to manufacture the molded
part.
[0021] The cable groove of the molded part preferably opens into a
cable channel, which is conducted down from the dispensing recess
for example along a device door. It is thus possible to use a cable
channel known per se, which conventionally conducts supply lines
for an ice dispenser, to drain the condensation water away through
this. No additional water line is therefore necessary, which would
require further structural changes. Since the quantity of
condensation water to be drained away is small and there is still
space available in the cable channel despite a cable being
conducted there, the condensation water can reliably flow away
through it.
[0022] If the cable channel opens at a lower end into an
evaporation tray, this also has the advantage that the condensation
water can collect there and can be made to evaporate by waste heat
from the cooling appliance. It is thus possible to achieve
completely maintenance-free discharge of the condensation
water.
[0023] Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge
from the description which follows of exemplary embodiments with
reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a schematic section through an inventive
cooling device with an ice dispenser;
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a schematic section through a dispensing recess
of the ice dispenser;
[0026] FIG. 3 shows a section along a plane A-A from FIG. 2;
[0027] FIG. 4 shows a section along the plane A-A with the panel of
the dispensing recess removed;
[0028] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a cutout from the door
of the cooling device, viewed from the front; and
[0029] FIG. 6 shows a perspective schematic diagram of a lower rear
region of a door of the inventive cooling device.
[0030] The cooling device shown in a schematic section in FIG. 1
has a thermally insulating body 1 and a door 2, which bound an
interior 3. The interior 3 is cooled by an evaporator, which is
housed in an evaporator chamber 4, which is compartmentalized in
the upper region of the body 1.
[0031] An automatic ice maker 5 is arranged in direct proximity to
the evaporator chamber 4 in the interior 3. Below the ice maker 5
is a collector 6, which catches ice cubes made by the ice maker 5.
A conveyor screw 7 on the base of the collector 6 serves to convey
ice cubes to an outlet 8 at the door end of the collector 6.
[0032] A recess 12 is formed in a central region of the door 2, in
which a user can position a container to dispense ice from the
collector 6. An upper wall of the recess 12 lies below the outlet 8
of the collector 6. A tubular or funnel-shaped passage, also
referred to as the ice chute 9, extends through this wall. The ice
chute 9 is generally blocked at its lower end by a thermally
insulating flap 18, so that warm air from the recess 12 cannot pass
through the ice chute 9 of the cooling device.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows a section through the recess 12 and through the
regions of the cooling device adjacent to the recess 12, the flap
18 resting against the lower end of the ice chute 9 in a closed
position.
[0034] The flap 18 comprises an insulating body 22 shaped
essentially as a flat cylinder. The body 22 rests closely against
an outlet opening 23 of the ice chute 9 in the position shown.
Circumferential heating wires 21 are arranged around the body 22 to
prevent the body 22 of the flap 18 freezing to the edge of the
outlet opening 23.
[0035] The body 22 is latched with the aid of hooks 24 molded as a
single piece to a plate 23, which forms a single piece with a shaft
26 running across the sectional plane. A control facility (not
shown here) drives the shaft 26 by way of known means, for example
a motor or electromagnets, to open the flap 18 from time to time.
When the flap 18 is opened, it is pivoted about the axis of the
shaft 26.
[0036] A small quantity of condensation water 19 has collected in
the lower region of the ice chute 9 and cannot initially flow away
because the flap 18 in the closed position rests against the outlet
opening 23 with a seal (not shown) running around the body 22.
[0037] The lowest point 23' of the opening of the ice chute 9
projects slightly beyond the edge of the recess rear wall abutting
below it into the recess 12, thereby forming a drip edge. A drip
edge is likewise formed by a lower edge 28 of the flap 18, on which
the condensation water 19 can drip down when the flap 18 is moved a
short distance from the closed position.
[0038] A cold water dispenser 27 is positioned on the side of the
plate 25 facing away from the ice chute 9, being connected firmly
to the rear face of the plate 25. The cold water dispenser 27 is
connected by a flexible rubber hose 29 to a tank 14 (see FIG. 1)
let into the door 2. When the flap 18 is opened by the control
facility, the cold water dispenser 27 is also pivoted about the
axis of the shaft 26, with the rubber hose 29 being slightly
deformed in the process.
[0039] An ice dispensing shaft 30 is arranged in an upper region of
the recess 12, in the form of a hollow housing made of plastic,
which encloses the outlet opening 23 of the ice chute 9, the flap
18 and the drinking water dispenser 27 attached thereto and covers
these for visual purposes. The ice dispensing shaft 30 extends
essentially over the entire width of the recess 12 and has a closed
front wall facing the user of the ice dispenser, in front of which
a control panel 31 is positioned. On a lower face the ice
dispensing shaft 30 has a large circular opening 32, through which
ice cubes are dispensed when the ice dispenser is in use or through
which water is dispensed when the drinking water dispenser 27 is in
use. The ice dispensing shaft 30 is held against walls of the
recess 12 with standard securing means, for example by means of one
or more screws, which engage in corresponding drilled holes in
walls of the recess 12. The securing means are not illustrated in
the view shown.
[0040] In a region adjacent to the bottom of the outlet opening 23
and extending to a base of the recess 12 walls of the recess 12 are
formed by a molded part formed from an insulating body 34 and a
watertight layer 46 and a covering part with walls 47, 48, 49, 49'
covering the molded part 34, 36. The rear wall 47 of the covering
part fills a rear face 33 of the recess 12, its base plate 48
covers a base 38 of the recess 12 and its side walls 49, 49' (not
shown here) cover side walls of the recess 12. In the illustrated
embodiment the covering part is embodied as a cohesive single-piece
component 47, 48, 49, 49' but in an alternative embodiment it can
also be made up of the individual walls 47, 48, 49, 49' joined
together.
[0041] With the exception of the recess 12 the entire front face of
the door 2 of the cooling device is covered by a decor panel 51,
which tailors the device visually to the user's requirements. The
decor panel 51 lies flush at a visible surface with outer edges of
the base plate 48 and side walls 49, 49' of the covering part and
with a surface of the control panel 31.
[0042] In a rear segment of the ice dispensing shaft 30 facing the
opening 23, 23' of the ice chute 9 and arranged below the opening
23, 23' an essentially tubular passage 35 is molded onto said ice
dispensing shaft 30. At an upper end facing the ice shaft 30 the
passage 35 has an inlet opening 36, which is arranged directly
below the lowest point 23' of the outlet opening 23 of the ice
chute 9.
[0043] The passage 35 extends down from the inlet opening 36 into a
gap formed by the rear wall 47 of the covering part and the molded
part 34, 46 and opens at a lower end into this gap, which forms a
condensation water channel 37. The condensation water channel 37
extends along behind the panel 47 of the recess rear face 33 to
below the panel 48 of the recess base 38.
[0044] If the flap 18 opens for a brief moment, for example due to
the user opening and closing the door 2, during which process a
higher pressure results in the cooling device and escapes through
the flap 18, the condensation water 19 runs through the gap formed
by the lower edge of the outlet opening 23' and the flap 18 and
flows downward. Since the inlet 36 to the passage 35 is arranged
directly below the lowest point 23' of the outlet opening 23 and is
molded so that condensation water drips reliably into the inlet 36
from the drip edge at the lowest point 23' of the opening of the
ice chute and at the lower edge 28 of the flap 18, the condensation
water 19 is necessarily collected from the inlet 36 so that it
flows into the passage 35 and is conducted there into the
condensation water channel 37 behind the panel 47 of the recess
rear face 33.
[0045] A cable groove 39 is formed in the molded part 34, 46 in the
region of the recess base 38, running from the rear face 33 of the
recess 12 in a roughly central manner forward over the recess base
38. A supply line 44 for the ice dispenser and cold water dispenser
extends in the cable groove 39. The supply line 44 runs out from a
cable channel 42 rising on a front face of the door 2 through the
cable groove 39 in the direction of the rear face of the recess 12
and is conducted in a gutter 50 in the molded part 34, 46 over a
side wall of the recess to the tank 14 (not shown in this view),
which the supply line 44 supplies with drinking water and to
electrical connections of the ice dispenser and drinking water
dispenser, for which the supply line 44 has power cables. The
gutter also forms a seepage barrier, preventing the penetration of
dripping water from the channel 37 between the side walls 49, 49'
of the covering part and the watertight layer 46 to the outside of
the door.
[0046] Traverses 40, 40' are arranged on both sides of the cable
groove 39 on the surface of the molded part, of which in the
diagram in FIG. 2 only the traverse 40' on a side of the recess 12
facing away from the observer is shown. The traverses 40, 40'
extend in a slightly oblique arrangement in each instance between
the cable groove 39 and the panel 49, 49' of the side walls of the
recess 12. Since the condensation water runs down to the base at
any points between the condensation water channel 37 formed by the
panel 47 and the molded part 34, 46, it can enter the region below
the panel 48 of the base 38 behind the entire width of the panel
47. The traverses 40, 40' here form barriers for the condensation
water and force the condensation water to drain into the cable
groove 39. The traverses 40, 40' are applied to the base 38 in the
manner of a hot melt adhesive coating. In alternative embodiments
the traverses 40, 40' can also be adhered to the base as separate
parts or can already be molded to the base 38.
[0047] FIG. 3 shows a section through the recess 12 along a plane
A-A marked in FIG. 2.
[0048] The walls 47, 49, 49' of the covering part shown in cross
section cover inner faces 33, 45, 45' of the recess 12. The base
plate 48 and side walls 49, 49' of the covering part project out
forward beyond a front edge of the recess 12, since the covering
part lies flush with the surface of the decor plate 51 (not shown
here) which is to be applied to the front face of the door 2.
[0049] Parts of the rear wall 47 and side walls 49, 49' of the
covering part rest against the watertight layer 46 of the molded
part 34, 46. In the region of the rear face 33 of the recess 12 the
rear wall 47 together with the layer 46 forms the condensation
water channel 37, with the gutter 50 formed in the molded part 34,
46 and holding the supply cable 44 forming a seepage barrier for
the condensation water 37 outside the channel 37. The diagram in
FIG. 4 shows the cross section in FIG. 3 with the panel 47, 48, 49,
49' being removed from the recess 12, so that the watertight layer
46 of the molded part is visible on the base of the recess 12.
[0050] In this view the traverses 40, 40' are visible, being
arranged on both sides of the cable groove 39 let into the molded
part 34, 46, in order to conduct the condensation water flowing out
of the condensation water channel 37 in the region of the rear face
33 of the recess 12 specifically into the cable groove 39. At a
front edge of the base 38 the cable groove 39 opens into a cable
channel 42, which conducts the condensation water further down in
the region of the door 2 of the cooling device.
[0051] The lower part of the cable channel 42 is shown in FIG. 5,
which shows a partial view of the door 2 from the front. The front
face of the door 2 here has not yet been covered with a decor
panel, the diagram showing the door 2 in an uncovered state.
[0052] The cable channel 42 extends along the front face of the
door 2 from a lower end of the recess 12 to beyond a lower edge of
the door 2. The cable channel 42 is embodied as a closed plastic
profile with a rectangular cross section and is embedded in
correspondingly molded depression in the door, so that a front face
of the cable channel 42 lies flush with the front face of the door
2. The supply line 44 conducted in the cable channel 42 does not
fill the entire cross section of the cable channel 42 so that there
is sufficient space present in the cable channel 42 to allow the
flow of condensation water.
[0053] At a lower end which projects down over the edge of the door
2 the cable channel 42 has an elongation 43, which projects at a
right angle and serves primarily to guide the supply line 44 in the
direction of a hinge (not shown) arranged on the edge of the door
2, by way of which hinge the supply line 44 is guided into a body
of the cooling device.
[0054] In the region of the elongation 43 the cable channel 42 is
not molded in the manner of a closed profile but forms a tray which
is molded onto the profile and is open at the top, in which tray
the condensation water running down through the cable channel 42
collects. Because of its arrangement below the door 2, the
elongation 43 is exposed to waste heat from a compressor (not
shown) of the cooling device, so that the elongation forms an
evaporation tray for the condensation water. The dimensions of the
evaporation tray 43 are selected so that the condensation water
collected there can never overflow and a sufficient quantity can
evaporate so that the condensation water is generally discharged in
a maintenance-free manner.
[0055] The decor plate 51 to be applied to the front face of the
door 2 extends down to beyond the lower end of the cable channel 42
so that the cable channel 42 and the evaporation tray 43 are
completely concealed.
[0056] The view in FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a lower
region of the door 2 with an alternative embodiment of the
evaporation tray 43, viewed perspectively from below to a rear face
of the door 2.
[0057] The decor plate 51 is secured to the front face of the door
2, projecting down beyond a lower edge of the door 2. The downward
cable channel 42 concealed between the front face of the door and
the decor plate 51 in the region of the door 2 also projects down
beyond the lower edge of the door 2. In this embodiment the
evaporation tray 43 is not molded onto the cable channel 42 but is
secured as a separate component below the end of the cable channel
42 to a rear face of the decor panel 51. The supply cable 44 exits
from the cable channel 42 at a lower end and is guided down into
the evaporation tray 43, leaving it again at one side of said
evaporation tray 43. Because the lower end of the cable channel is
few mm from the decor panel 51, it is possible to prevent water
flowing over the decor panel 51 into the evaporation tray 43. The
clearance of the cable channel 42 is preferably only a few mm
greater than the diameter of the cable 44; this prevents dripping
off the lower end of the cable channel; instead there is a silent
flow along the supply channel 44 into the evaporation tray 43.
* * * * *