U.S. patent application number 12/707246 was filed with the patent office on 2010-08-19 for refrigerated cabinet.
This patent application is currently assigned to DNA HOLDINGS PTY LTD. Invention is credited to Griff Michael Morris.
Application Number | 20100205992 12/707246 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42562674 |
Filed Date | 2010-08-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100205992 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Morris; Griff Michael |
August 19, 2010 |
REFRIGERATED CABINET
Abstract
A refrigeration system comprising a refrigerated cabinet having
a front opening through which access is gained to the cabinet and
the cabinet being subdivided into at least one compartment. Each
compartment is adapted to be occupied by a drawer, each drawer
being moveable within the compartment from a retracted position at
which it is accommodated within the compartment and an extended
position at which it partly extends forwardly from the compartment
and whereby the interior of the drawer is accessible. The system
further comprises cooling means provided remote from the cabinet.
Each compartment has valved porting means provided in a rear wall
thereof for connecting to the cooling means wherein when the drawer
is in the retracted position, the cooling means is in fluid
communication with the drawer and when the drawer is in an extended
position the cooling means is isolated from the compartment.
Inventors: |
Morris; Griff Michael;
(Western Australia, AU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROOKS KUSHMAN P.C.
1000 TOWN CENTER, TWENTY-SECOND FLOOR
SOUTHFIELD
MI
48075
US
|
Assignee: |
DNA HOLDINGS PTY LTD
Western Australia
AU
|
Family ID: |
42562674 |
Appl. No.: |
12/707246 |
Filed: |
February 17, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10552409 |
Nov 11, 2006 |
|
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PCT/AU04/00447 |
Apr 6, 2004 |
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12707246 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/246 ;
62/441 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 17/065 20130101;
F25D 17/045 20130101; F25D 25/025 20130101; F25D 2400/16
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/246 ;
62/441 |
International
Class: |
A47F 3/04 20060101
A47F003/04; F25D 13/04 20060101 F25D013/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 7, 2003 |
AU |
2003901561 |
Claims
1. A refrigeration system comprising a refrigerated cabinet having
a front opening through which access is gained to the cabinet, the
cabinet being subdivided into at least one compartment, each
compartment adapted to be occupied by a drawer, each drawer being
moveable within the compartment from a retracted position at which
it is accommodated within the compartment and an extended position
at which it partly extends forwardly from the compartment, and
whereby the interior of the drawer is accessible from an upper
portion of the drawer, the system further comprising cooling means
provided remote from the cabinet, each compartment having valved
porting means provided in a rear wall thereof for connecting to the
cooling means wherein when the drawer is in the retracted position,
the cooling means is in fluid communication with the drawer and
when the drawer is in the extended position the cooling means is
isolated from the compartment.
2. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 1, wherein the
refrigerated cabinet is one of a plurality of refrigerated cabinets
and the cooling means is provided to each refrigerated cabinet from
a common cooling source.
3. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 1, wherein the valved
porting means comprises a short connecting duct entering the rear
wall of the compartment and housing a valve which is adapted to be
engaged by a nozzle in the rear wall of the drawer.
4. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 3, wherein the short
connecting duct is one of first and second connecting ducts and the
nozzle is one of respective first and second nozzles.
5. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 4, wherein the first
connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle is located towards an
upper region of the rear wall of the drawer and the compartment,
and the second connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle is
located towards a lower region of the rear wall of the drawer and
the compartment.
6. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 3, wherein the valve
comprises a plurality of resilient leaves normally extending across
the throat of the connecting duct to thereby seal the duct.
7. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 6, wherein the leaves
are readily displaced by the nozzle when the nozzle engages the
valve to permit communication of the chilled air into the drawer
space.
8. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 1, wherein one of the
compartments is provided immediately below bench-top level and is
provided with a transparent viewing panel to enable a user to
identify the contents without opening the drawer.
9. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 8, wherein the
transparent panel is sealingly hinged so that it can be opened to
thereby provide an additional means of access to the drawer.
10. A refrigeration system as claimed at claim 1, wherein
thermostatic control is provided for each compartment, whereby
certain compartments can be configured as freezer units while
others are less cooled for general chilled goods.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 10/552,409 filed Nov. 11, 2006, which is the
U.S. national phase application of PCT application Serial No.
PCT/AU04/00447 filed Apr. 6, 2004, now abandoned, which, in turn,
claims priority to Australian application Serial No. 2003901561
filed Apr. 7, 2003. The disclosures of which are incorporated in
their entirety by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerated cabinet and
refrigeration system.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] It is a characteristic of refrigerated cabinets such as
domestic refrigerators that they provide a storage space and have a
front door which is opened to enable access into the storage space.
A difficulty with conventional domestic refrigerators arises from
the circumstances that when the door is opened, all of the cold air
contained within the storage cabinet is able to readily escape
through the open front opening of the storage space. In addition in
commercial situations it is an established practice to provide cool
rooms with doors which facilitate access into the cool room for the
purposes of extracting goods from the cool room and/or the purposes
of entry. Furthermore in retail sites it is common practice to
provide refrigerated cabinets which have a permanently open front
opening to facilitate access by customers to the goods contained
within that cabinet through the open front opening. In order to
prevent the loss of cool air from the cabinet it is usual practice
to generate a forced air flow through the space which tends to
control the flow of cool air to limit its loss through the open
front opening of the cabinet and/or to provide a curtain-like
closure which provides a temporary closure to the space but which
is readily capable of being displaced to enable access into the
space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to the present invention there is provided a
refrigeration system comprising a refrigerated cabinet having a
front opening through which access is gained to the cabinet, the
cabinet being subdivided into at least one compartment, each
compartment adapted to be occupied by a drawer, each drawer being
moveable within the compartment from a retracted position at which
it is accommodated within the compartment and an extended position
at which it partly extends forwardly from the compartment, and
whereby the interior of the drawer is accessible from an upper
portion of the drawer, the system further comprising cooling means
provided remote from the cabinet, each compartment having valved
porting means provided in a rear wall thereof for connecting to the
cooling means wherein when the drawer is in the retracted position,
the cooling means is in fluid communication with the drawer and
when the drawer is in an extended position the cooling means is
isolated from the compartment.
[0007] Preferably the refrigerated cabinet is one of a plurality of
refrigerated cabinets and the cooling means is provided to each
refrigerated cabinet from a common cooling source.
[0008] Preferably the valved porting means comprises a short
connecting duct entering the rear wall of the compartment and
housing a valve which is adapted to be engaged by a nozzle in the
rear wall of the drawer.
[0009] The invention will be more fully understood in the light of
the following description of several specific embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The invention is described with reference to the
accompanying drawings of which;
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side elevation of a
refrigerated cabinet according to the first embodiment with the
door in a closed position; and
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional side elevation of a
refrigerated cabinet according to the first embodiment with the
door in the open position and a drawer in an extended position.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic isometric view of a refrigerated
compartment according to the fourth embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 4A is a diagrammatic representation of a leaved valve
in a connecting duct according to the fourth embodiment, the valve
being in the closed position.
[0015] FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic representation of a leaved valve
in a connecting duct according to the fourth embodiment, the valve
being in the open position.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional side elevation of a
refrigerated compartment according to the fifth embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a schematic isometric view of a refrigeration
system using three refrigerated compartments according to the
fourth embodiment connected to a common cooling source.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional side elevation of a
refrigeration system according to the fourth embodiment using
refrigerated compartments connected to a common cooling source.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
[0019] The first embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings
relates to a domestic refrigerator which comprises a cabinet 11
which defines a storage space within its interior. The cabinet 11
is open at its front opening and is provided with a door 13 which
is associated with the front opening to be moveable from a closed
position as shown at FIG. 1 to prevent access to the front opening
of the cabinet and an open position as shown at FIG. 2 which
enables access to the front opening of the cabinet. The storage
space of the cabinet includes a zone which is defined by a set of
compartments 15. Each compartment 15 is closed at its lower and
upper face. In addition the rear face of each compartment is closed
by a closure element 17 which is pivotally supported from the lower
wall of the respective compartment such that it is moveable between
a closed position at which the upper edge of the closure 17
substantially sealingly cooperates with the rearmost end of the
upper wall of the compartment and an open position at which the
compartment is declined rearwardly to provide communication into
the compartment through the gap defined between the upper edge of
the closure and the rear edge of the uppermost wall of the
respective compartment.
[0020] The cabinet is associated with a conventional refrigeration
circuit comprises compressor 19 supported in the lower portion of
the cabinet, a condenser 21 supported from the rear exterior face
of the cabinet and a vaporiser 22 which is accommodated at the
upper end of the compartment of the space. If desired the
refrigerator can be provided with a fan which causes air to pass
over the vaporiser and thence through the space.
[0021] The space within the cabinet comprises a plenum 23 defined
between the rear wall 25 of the space at an intermediate wall 27
which is spaced inwardly from the rear wall 25. The intermediate
wall is provided with a plurality of openings 29 which provide
communication between plenum 23 and an intermediate portion 24 of
the space defined between the intermediate wall 27 and the rear
walls of the compartments.
[0022] Each compartment 15 slidably supports a drawer 31 which is
moveable from a retracted position at which it is fully
accommodated within the compartment 15 (as shown in FIG. 1) and an
extended position at which it extends forwardly from the
compartment (as shown in the case of the uppermost compartment of
FIG. 2). Each drawer comprises a lower wall, a front wall 35 and a
rear wall 33 has an open top. The front face 35 of each drawer
sealingly cooperates with the front opening of the cabinet such
that when the drawer is in its retracted position the compartment
is sealingly closed at the front face. The rear wall of 33 of each
drawer cooperates with the closure 17 of each compartment to move
the closure to its open position when the drawer is in its
retracted position. Each closure 17 is biased such that on the
drawer being moved towards its extended position out of engagement
with the closure the closure will move to its closed position.
[0023] As a result of the embodiment the space within the
refrigerated cabinet is divided into a plurality of spaces which
are each defined by the drawers 31. Access to the drawers 31 is
gained by opening the door 13 of the cabinet and moving the
respective drawer 31 to its extended position. In so doing the
communication between the plenum 23 and the respective compartment
15 is closed as a result of the closing of the closure 17. Access
to the contents of drawer 31 are gained through the open top of the
drawer. As a result communication between the plenum 23 and each
compartment is only effected when the drawer contained within the
compartment is in its retracted position. Therefore when the door
13 of the cabinet is open substantially little cold air is lost
from the storage space within the cabinet even when access is
gained to the interior of a drawer. With the door 13 open and a
drawer 31 in its extended position the plenum 23 is closed and
access to the drawer is through the open top only and therefore
little cool air is lost through the compartment. The most
significant loss of cool air is a result of disturbance of the
contents of the drawer.
[0024] In addition the door 13 supports a set of storage zones (not
shown) which are each associated with a separate closure which
enables access into each storage zone. Each storage zone is
connected to a duct in the door which connects with a corresponding
positioned passageway in the upper wall of the cabinet when the
door is closed and which communicates with the space around the
vaporiser to enable cool air to flow into each storage zone to cool
the contents thereof. If desired the passageway can also
communicate with the space defined between the door and the front
opening of the cabinet when the door is in its closed position.
[0025] According to a second embodiment of the invention (not
shown) the closure of each compartment may be accommodated by the
rear wall of the drawer which cooperates with the walls of the
compartment to sealingly close the compartment on a drawer being
moved from the retracted position to the extended position but when
the drawer is in the closed position opens to provide communication
between the source of cool air and the interior of the drawer.
[0026] According to a third embodiment of the invention the drawer
substantially cooperates with the walls of the compartment to
substantially prevent any substantial movement of cool air from the
plenum past the drawer and through the front opening. The
engagement need not be a sealing engagement. In addition the upper
face cooperates with the upper wall of the compartment whereby when
thon the drawer moving to the retracted position the upper open
face of the drawer opens into the plenum space. According to this
embodiment no closure is provided between the respective
compartment and the plenum space to isolate the compartment from
the plenum space when the drawer is moved towards its extended
position.
[0027] Each of the embodiments of the invention described above can
be applied to a domestic refrigerated cabinet, domestic freezers,
commercial cool rooms, commercial refrigerated cabinets and the
like.
[0028] However, by the application of the invention a number of the
constraints to the design of refrigerator systems are removed and a
design is able to provide quite innovative designs which embrace
the invention. In a fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a
refrigeration system is provided which embraces the freedoms
provided by the invention. The embodiment comprises at least one
compartment 111 providing a storage space which in use is installed
within a suitable enclosure 112. Unlike the embodiments previously
described, the enclosure for the compartment of the fourth
embodiment is not a specialised refrigerator cabinet but rather may
be any convenient enclosure such as a conventional kitchen
cabinet.
[0029] The compartment 111 comprises an insulated wall and has a
front opening through which access is gained to the space and
encloses a drawer 114 adapted to slide between an extended position
for access to the drawer and a retracted position wherein the
drawer 114 is substantially enclosed within the compartment 111.
The front, external wall 115 of the drawer is insulated and sealing
means is provided between the drawer and the compartment (not
shown) so that when the drawer is in the retracted position the
contents of the drawer are fully sealed and insulated within the
compartment. A suitable cooling means is provided so that when the
drawer 114 is in its retracted position the cooling means is
adapted to cool the contents of the drawer and when the drawer 114
is not in the retracted position the drawer is isolated from the
cooling means.
[0030] This arrangement allows considerable freedom of choice over
the selection of the cooling means. In the fourth embodiment,
chilled air produced by a remote source is distributed through a
suitable ducting system 121. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, in the
vicinity of a compartment, the ducting system 121 is provided with
valved porting means 122 in the form of a short connecting duct
entering the compartment and housing a valve 123 which is adapted
to be engaged by corresponding porting means in the drawer 114 in
the form of a suitable nozzle 124 at the rear of the drawer 114.
When the drawer 114 is in the retracted position, the nozzle 124
opens the valve 123 and thereby enables chilled air to enter the
drawer space.
[0031] In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A and 4B, the valve in
the connecting duct 122 comprises a plurality of flexible leaves
125 normally extending across the throat of the connecting duct 122
to thereby seal the duct 122. The leaves 125 are readily displaced
by the nozzle 124 to permit communication of the chilled air into
the drawer space. As the chilled air is circulated at low pressure,
absolute sealing is not essential and fairly simple valving
arrangements will be found satisfactory.
[0032] In certain adaptations, the nozzle 124 is also valved
although this is not considered important as external air must
enter space behind the drawer when the drawer is in the extended
position. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of ports is
provided, one inlet and one outlet port, thereby promoting good
circulation of the chilled air. Again, this may not be considered
necessary in certain configurations. The porting arrangement just
described should be considered as an example only of the type of
disengagable connection that might be used and it should be
recognized that one of many other known arrangements could also be
adapted to the embodiment.
[0033] As mentioned earlier, the cooling means may take many forms.
In a fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, chilled coolant is
distributed rather than chilled air. A localised evaporator 211 is
provided in a plenum 212 associated with each compartment and
isolation means is provided between the drawer and the cooling
means which is generally of the form described in relation to the
first embodiment. It is thought that this arrangement may provide a
system whereby localised thermostatic control may be provided to
each drawer in a multi drawer system.
[0034] The arrangements such as those described in relation to the
fourth and fifth embodiments lend themselves to providing a
plurality of separated compartments in a single refrigeration
system, as shown in FIG. 6. The compartments might be produced in a
number of standardised sizes and an interior designer might select
several and locate them at different positions around a kitchen
area. These might be linked to a single, common cooling source
which could be located remote from the compartments thereby
removing the main noise source to another location. Some
compartments could be provided immediately below bench-top level
and provided with a transparent viewing panel to enable a user to
identify the contents without opening the drawer. In such an
arrangement, the transparent panel might be sealingly hinged so
that it could be opened to thereby provide an additional means of
access as well as by extending the drawer. Within such a system,
where individual thermostatic control is provided, certain
compartments could be configured as freezer units while others are
less cooled for general chilled goods. Indeed, other compartments
might only be slightly chilled, for example for storing wine.
[0035] FIG. 7 illustrates another variation of the fourth
embodiment of the refrigeration system according to the present
invention in which a plurality of separated compartments 130 and
132 are provided within a cabinet 134. Each compartment is occupied
by a drawer 131 and 133 respectively. Each drawer 131 and 133 has
insulated walls for keeping the contents thereof in a cooled
condition and the interior of the drawer is accessible from an
upper portion of the drawer. Each drawer 131 and 133 is moveable
within its compartment from a retracted position at which it is
accommodated within the compartment and an extended position at
which it extends forwardly from the cabinet. In the illustrated
embodiment the upper drawer 131 is shown in the retracted position,
whereas the lower drawer 133 is shown in an extended position.
[0036] The refrigeration system further comprises cooling means
provided remote from the cabinet for cooling each of the
compartments in the cabinet. Each compartment has valved porting
means provided in a rear wall thereof for connecting to the cooling
means. When a drawer is in the retracted position, the cooling
means is in fluid communication with the drawer and when the drawer
is in an extended position the cooling means is isolated from the
compartment occupied by the drawer.
[0037] As with the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, chilled
air is produced by a common cooling source 140 provided remote from
the cabinet 134. A ducting system 141 is provided with a valved
porting means 142 for communicating chilled air to each of the
compartments 130 and 132 in the cabinet. The valved porting means
142 typically comprises two short connecting ducts 144 and 144'
entering the rear wall of the compartment and housing a respective
valve 143. The valves 143 are adapted to be engaged by a
corresponding nozzle 146 and 146' in the rear wall of the drawer.
When a drawer is in the retracted position (as per drawer 131 in
FIG. 7) the nozzles 146 open the valves 143 and thereby enable
chilled air to flow through the drawer space. However when a drawer
is moved to an extended position (as per drawer 131 in FIG. 7) the
valves 143 close isolating the cooling means from the
compartment.
[0038] Preferably a pair of connecting ducts and corresponding
nozzles are provide in connection with each compartment and its
drawer, a first connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle being
located towards an upper region of the rear wall of the drawer and
the compartment, and a second connecting duct and its corresponding
nozzle being located towards a lower region of the rear wall of the
drawer and the compartment. Preferably cool air enters the
compartment and its drawer through the second connecting duct and
its corresponding nozzle, and exits the compartment and its drawer
through the first connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle.
Hence the cool circulates through the drawer in a generally
clockwise direction when viewed as shown in FIG. 7.
[0039] All of the embodiments show a considerable improvement in
total efficiency over conventional refrigerators, as a result of
the fact that there is a very substantial reduction in the volume
of cooled air which is lost when a compartment is opened. In
addition, they are more accessible because the goods are arranged
in the drawers rather than being stacked on shelves where the
rearmost items are relatively inaccessible. This is an advantage to
the general user but even more particular to those suffering from a
disability.
[0040] Throughout the specification, unless the context requires
otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or
"comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated
integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other
integer or group of integers.
[0041] It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the
relevant arts that various modifications and improvements may be
made to the foregoing embodiments, in addition to those already
described, without departing from the basic inventive concepts of
the present invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the
scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments
described and is to be determined from the appended claims.
* * * * *