U.S. patent application number 13/133388 was filed with the patent office on 2011-10-06 for refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH. Invention is credited to Yufa Bai, Jingdong Ma, Xiaoguang Ren, Shiyong Zhao.
Application Number | 20110239689 13/133388 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42316898 |
Filed Date | 2011-10-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110239689 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bai; Yufa ; et al. |
October 6, 2011 |
REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
A refrigerator includes a door and a dispenser mounted on the
door. The door includes a front panel forming at least a part of
the door's front surface. The front panel has a through-hole which
is configured to at least partially correspond to the dispenser.
The front panel is a glass plate, and has an upper region above the
through-hole, a lower region below the through-hole and side
regions which are located between the upper region and the lower
region and which connect with the upper region and the lower
region.
Inventors: |
Bai; Yufa; (Anhui, CN)
; Ma; Jingdong; (Chuzhou, CN) ; Ren;
Xiaoguang; (Chuzhou, CN) ; Zhao; Shiyong;
(Chuzhou, CN) |
Assignee: |
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate
GmbH
Munich
DE
|
Family ID: |
42316898 |
Appl. No.: |
13/133388 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
December 30, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2009/068013 |
371 Date: |
June 8, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/389 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/02 20130101;
F25D 23/126 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/389 |
International
Class: |
F25D 3/00 20060101
F25D003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 8, 2009 |
CN |
200910028341.9 |
Claims
1-14. (canceled)
15. A refrigerator, comprising: a door comprising a front panel
forming at least a part of a front surface of the door and having a
through-hole; and a dispenser mounted on the door, with the
through-hole being configured to at least partially correspond to
the dispenser, wherein the front panel is a glass plate and
comprises an upper region above the through-hole, a lower region
below the through-hole, and side regions which are located between
the upper region and the lower region and which connect with the
upper region and the lower region.
16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the front panel has a
one-pieced structure.
17. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the upper and lower
regions and the side regions are each defined by a longitudinal
length, wherein a sum of the longitudinal lengths of the upper and
lower regions and one of the side regions is substantially equal to
a longitudinal height of the door in value.
18. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the front surface of the
door is substantially formed by the front panel.
19. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein each of the side regions
has a lateral size which is at least 5 cm.
20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the lateral size is 7 to
8 cm.
21. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the door comprises a
first wall forming a back surface of the door, a second wall which
is separated at a predetermined interval from the first wall, and a
thermally insulated layer accommodated between the first wall and
the second wall, said front panel being attached at a front side of
the second wall.
22. The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein a gap is formed in a
front and back direction between the front panel and the second
wall, said door comprising a shelter element for shielding the gap
along the through-hole.
23. The refrigerator of claim 22, wherein the dispenser comprises a
dispenser housing, said shelter element being formed by the
dispenser housing.
24. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the dispenser comprises a
dispensing chamber for accommodating at least a part of an
additional device, and a chamber wall for defining the dispensing
chamber, said chamber wall extending forwards into the
through-hole.
25. A refrigerator, comprising a door comprising a front panel
which forms at least a part of a front surface of the door and has
a through-hole defined by a lateral width which is at least a half
of a lateral width of the front panel, said front panel being made
of glass and comprising an upper region above the through-hole, a
lower region below the through-hole, and side regions which each
are located at a corresponding side of the through-hole and which
connect with the upper region and the lower region.
26. The refrigerator of claim 25, wherein the door has a dispensing
chamber for accommodating at least a part of an additional device,
at least a portion of the through-hole being constructed as an
access to the dispensing chamber.
27. The refrigerator of claim 25, wherein the door comprises a
table-forming door which is used to selectively open or close the
through-hole.
28. The refrigerator of claim 25, further comprising a control
panel which is at least partially accommodated in the
through-hole.
29. The refrigerator of claim 25, wherein the front panel has a
one-pieced structure and substantially forms the front surface of
the door.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, more
particularly to a house-hold or commercial refrigerator.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Recently, consumer has increased requirement for a
multifunctional refrigerator. For example, such a refrigerator is
conventionally well-known, on whose door a dispenser is arranged
such that ice and water stored in the refrigerator can be taken off
via the dispenser without opening the door of the refrigerator.
[0003] Furthermore, since the appearance of the door of the
refrigerator is critical in consideration of the whole appearance
of the refrigerator, factors such as material and color etc. of the
front panel at the front surface of the refrigerator door should be
specially taken into account by a designer. Conventionally, the
front panel for the door of the refrigerator is formed of a
metallic sheet which is bonded with foam material in foaming
procedure of the door of the refrigerator. The refrigerator
manufactory can change color/texture of the metallic sheet by
applying paints having different colors/made of different materials
on the metallic sheet such that the appearance of the refrigerator
can be various as desired. Besides, it is also known in the prior
art that the front panel of the refrigerator is made from glass
plate. Due to specialty of glass, this kind of refrigerator is
usually affected by consumer.
[0004] However, in the prior art, in a case that a refrigerator is
provided with a dispenser, the glass panel of the refrigerator has
to be provided at a location other than the vicinity of the
dispenser such that the glass panel cannot be disturbed by the
dispenser. For example, individual glass panels are arranged above
and below the dispenser respectively and at locations other than
the vicinity of the dispenser (especially not at both sides of it).
This arrangement can cause that regions of the front surface of the
refrigerator door which are above and below and around the
dispenser are made of various materials such that these regions can
hardly be in a same plane. Therefore, in the vicinity of the
dispenser, the front surface of the refrigerator door looks being
divided visually. Furthermore, the glass panels above and below the
dispenser being separated from each other may increase the
assembling cost of the refrigerator door.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention aims to overcome at least one of the
above-mentioned problems and thus to provide an improved
refrigerator.
[0006] Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention,
a refrigerator is provided, which comprises a door and a dispenser
mounted on the door, the door comprises a front panel forming at
least a part of the door's front surface, the front panel has a
through-hole which at least partially corresponds to the dispenser,
characterized in that the front panel is a glass plate and
comprises an upper region above the through-hole, a lower region
below the through-hole and side regions which are located between
the upper region and the lower region and which connect with the
upper region and the lower region.
[0007] Therefore, the front surface of the refrigerator's door
which surrounds the dispenser can be made of glass panel as the
front surface of the remaining portion of the door does such that
it is anticipated that the front panel of refrigerator is
constructed by a glass panel to achieve a neat and simple
appearance.
[0008] Further individual or combined technical features are
explained in the following claims and they are regarded as
possessing the characteristics of the present invention.
[0009] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the front panel has a one-pieced structure.
Therefore, portions of the front panel can be seamlessly connected.
This reduces gap which will be inevitably existed between different
portions of the front panel, and thus a neat and simple appearance
of the refrigerator can be achieved.
[0010] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the sum of the longitudinal lengths of the upper
portion, the lower region and one of the side regions is
substantially equal to the longitudinal height of the door in
value. Particularly and preferably, the front surface of the door
is substantially formed by the front panel.
[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the lateral size of each of the side regions is at least
5 cm, for example 7 to 8 cm. When the upper region, the lower
region and the side regions are integrated with each other, it is
particularly preferable since the risk of breaking off of the front
panel around the through-hole can be reduced. The breaking off may
be caused by insufficient strength of the front panel due to the
existence of the though-hole.
[0012] According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the door comprises a first wall forming a back surface
of the door, a second wall separated at a predetermined interval
from the first wall and a thermally insulated layer accommodated
between the first wall and the second wall, and the front panel is
attached at the front side of the second wall.
[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, a gap is formed in a front and back direction between
the front panel and the second wall. The door comprises a shelter
element for shielding the gap along the through-hole. Therefore,
the gap between the front panel and the second wall is shielded
from a dispensing chamber for the dispenser. This can facilitate
preventing foreign matter from entering into the gap between the
front panel and the second wall, and more particularly can
facilitate obtaining a neat appearance.
[0014] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the dispenser comprises a dispenser housing, and
the shelter element is formed by the dispenser housing.
[0015] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the dispenser comprises a dispensing chamber for
accommodating at least a part of an additional device. At least a
portion of the chamber's wall defining the dispensing chamber
extends forwards into the through-hole. In one aspect, the chamber
wall extending into the through-hole can shield the end face of the
second wall and the gap between the second wall and the front
panel. In another aspect, the gap and the end face of the second
wall which are not in favor of the refrigerator's appearance are
shielded by the chamber wall, which can facilitate reducing
additional components.
[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator comprises a door, which
comprises a front panel forming at least a part of the door's front
surface, the front panel having a through-hole, whose lateral width
is at least a half of the lateral width of the front panel,
characterized in that the front panel is made of glass and
comprises an upper region above the through-hole, a lower region
below the through-hole and side regions which each are located at a
corresponding side of the through-hole and which connect with the
upper region and the lower region.
[0017] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the door has a dispensing chamber for accommodating at
least a part of an additional device. At least a portion of the
through-hole is constructed as an access to the dispensing chamber.
In another preferred embodiment, the door comprises a table-forming
door which can be used to selectively open or close the
through-hole.
[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerator comprises a
control panel which is at least partially accommodated in the
through-hole.
[0019] Particularly and preferably, the front panel has a
one-pieced structure, and the front surface of the door is
substantially formed by the front panel.
[0020] The construction of the present invention and other
objectives and beneficial effects of the present invention will be
well understood by the following description of preferred
embodiments in accompany with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] In order that the present invention can be understood,
preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained in
accompany with the drawings which together with the description is
used to interpret the principle of the present invention. In the
drawings:
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a schematic exploded view of a door of the
refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 3 shows a partially sectional view of the door of the
refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 shows a detailed view of the part "A" in FIG. 3;
and
[0026] FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of the refrigerator
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] Refer to figures, especially FIG. 1. A refrigerator 1
comprises a refrigerator body 18. In this embodiment, the
refrigerator body 18 defines a freezing compartment (not shown) and
a refrigerating compartment (not shown) which are arranged
side-by-side. The refrigerator further comprises a freezing
compartment door 2 and a refrigerating compartment door 2' which
are connected to the refrigerator body 18. The freezing compartment
door 2 and the refrigerating compartment door 2' each are pivotally
connected to a corresponding side of the refrigerator body 18 such
that the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment can
be opened or closed selectively. The freezing compartment door 2
and the refrigerating compartment door 2' each are provided with a
handle 19 thereon such that a user can easily open or close the
corresponding door.
[0028] The freezing compartment door 2 is provided with a dispenser
3. The dispenser 3 is provided so that ice and/or water stored in
the refrigerator 1 can be discharged even in case of the freezing
compartment door 2 being not opened. However, the present invention
is not limited to this. For instance, in an alternative embodiment,
it is also possible that the dispenser 3 is provided on the
refrigerating compartment door 2'.
[0029] In this embodiment, the dispenser 3 has a dispensing chamber
4 which is opened at its front end to receive an additional device
such as a cup. The dispenser 4 is recessed backwards at a depth
from the front surface of the freezing compartment door 2.
[0030] The refrigerator 1 comprises a control panel 17 arranged on
the door 2. In this embodiment, the control panel 17 is arranged
directly adjacent to and above the dispensing chamber 4.
Preferably, the control panel 17 comprises a display screen 20 and
a plurality of switch devices 21. The display screen 20 is used to
display information such as operating status and/or setting
parameter of the refrigerator 1. Preferably, the switch devices 21
are located below the display screen 20 such that the switch
devices 21 are closer to the dispensing chamber 4 than the display
screen 21. In this embodiment, for example, by means of
manipulation of a corresponding one of the switch devices 21, a
user can carry out operations such as water dispensing, flake ice
dispensing and ice cake dispensing and can turn on a lighting
device for illuminating the dispensing chamber 4.
[0031] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the freezing compartment door 2
comprises a first wall 10 forming a back surface of the freezing
compartment door 2 and a front panel 5 forming a front surface of
the freezing compartment door 2. The first wall 10 faces toward the
freezing compartment when the freezing compartment door 2 is
closed. The freezing compartment door 2 further comprises a second
wall 11 located between the first wall 10 and the front panel 5.
The second wall 11 is preferably made of metallic sheet.
[0032] There is an interval between the second wall 11 and the
first wall 10 such that a space is formed between the second wall
11 and the first wall 10 to accommodate a thermally insulated layer
12. The thermally insulated layer 12 is preferably formed by
foaming of thermally insulated foam material.
[0033] The dispenser 3 comprises a dispenser housing 26, which
dispenser housing defines a concave chamber 27 recessed in a front
and back direction. The front end opening of the concave chamber 27
is in a substantially quadrangle shape. The second wall 11 is
provided with an opening 23 corresponding with the concave chamber
27. The position and the size of the opening 23 substantially
correspond to those of the front end opening of the concave chamber
27.
[0034] The concave chamber 27 is divided into an upper portion and
a lower portion by a partition wall 28. More particularly, a
portion of the concave chamber 27 which is below the partition wall
28 is opened at its front end such that a dispensing chamber 4 is
formed to receive an additional device. A portion of the concave
chamber 27 which is above the partition wall 28 is closed by the
control panel 17. An ice discharging opening 30 is provided on the
partition wall 28 such that ice stored in the freezing compartment
is entered into the portion of the concave chamber 27 which is
above the partition wall 28 via an ice transporting chute 29 and
then is entered into the dispensing chamber 4 via the ice
discharging opening 30. When it is not necessary to transport ice,
the ice transporting passage 29 is closed by a closure element
44.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 4, the dispenser housing 26 comprises a
mounting edge 31 which is matably attached to the second wall 11.
Preferably, the front surface of the mounting edge 31 is pressed
against the inner surface of the second wall 11 along the opening
23. Preferably, a sealing device is provided between the front
surface of the mounting edge 31 and the rear surface of the second
wall 11 so as to prevent foam material from escaping during
foaming. Such a sealing device is preferably formed by adhesive
tape, which facilitates the dispenser housing 26 being secured on
the inner surface of the second wall 11. The dispenser housing 26
comprises a connecting slot 32 arranged around the concave chamber
27. Correspondingly, the second wall 11 comprises a connecting
flange 32 extending backwards from the edge of the opening 23. The
connecting flange 33 is inserted into the connecting slot 32 such
that the dispenser housing 26 is secured on the second wall 11. The
dispenser housing 26 does not project beyond the front side of the
second wall 11, and thus partially overlaps with the front surface
of the second wall 11. The front panel 5 can be tightly pressed
against the front side of the second wall 11. The front panel 5 is
explained as follow.
[0036] The front panel 5 is made of tempered glass and comprises a
through-hole 6 adapted for the dispenser 3. The size and the
position of the through-hole 6 substantially correspond to those of
the front end opening of the concave chamber 27. In this
embodiment, the upper portion of the through-hole 6 is closed by
the control panel 17, and the lower portion of the through-hole 6
is constructed as an access to the dispensing chamber 4.
[0037] The front panel 5 is preferably bonded to the front surface
of the second wall 11 by means of adhesive means, which specially
facilitates the front surface of the front wall 5 being completely
exposed outwards. Preferably, the adhesive means is a double-face
adhesive tape which can implement strong adhesion. In this
embodiment, the adhesive means comprises a first adhesive section
24 arranged at the peripheral edge of the front panel 5 and a
second adhesive section 25 arranged along the edge region of the
through-hole 6. The first adhesive section 24 and the second
adhesive section 25 each comprise a plurality of bar-shaped
adhesive tapes which preferably adhere with each other to form a
closed-loop adhesive frame, which can prevent foreign matter such
as dust from entering between the front panel 5 and the second wall
11.
[0038] With respect to the through-hole 6, the front panel 5 is
divided into an upper region 7 above the through-hole 6, a lower
region 8 below the through-hole 6 and side regions 9a and 9b which
each are at a corresponding one of both sides of the through-hole 6
and which connects with the upper region 7 and the lower region
8.
[0039] The front panel 5 has an outline in oblong shape.
Preferably, the widths of the upper region 7 and the lower region 8
are at least substantially identical with the width of the freezing
compartment 2. The sum of the longitudinal lengths of the lower
region 7, the upper region 8 and one of the side regions 9a and 9b
is substantially equal to the longitudinal height of the door 2 in
value. Therefore, the front surface of the second wall 11 can be
completely covered by the front panel 5.
[0040] The front panel 5 has a one-pieced structure such that the
upper region 7, the lower region 8 and the side regions 9a and 9b
connect with each other without any gap. This can facilitate
reducing any possible gap on the front surface of the freezing
compartment such that a neat and perfect appearance of the
refrigerator can be anticipated.
[0041] The lateral width of the through-hole 6 is at least a half
of the width of the front panel 5. Preferably, the side regions 9a
and 9b are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center axis
of the front panel 5. In order to ensure that the front panel 5 has
a sufficient strength, the lateral sizes of the side regions 9a and
9b are larger than 5 cm, for example larger than 7.about.8 cm. In
this embodiment, the width of the front panel 5 is 40 cm, the width
of the through-hole 6 is 24 cm, the width of each of the side
regions 9a and 9b is 8 cm. Of course, it is also possible that the
lateral sizes of the side regions 9a and 9b are different from each
other.
[0042] Small holes 41 are provided on the front panel 5 to mount a
handle 19 therein. A front end of a handle mounting portion 42
secured on the second wall 11 projects into a corresponding one of
the small holes 41 so as to be connected with a connecting root 43
of the handle 19.
[0043] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a gap 13 is formed between the
front panel 5 and the second wall 11 in a front and back direction.
The interval in the front and back direction of the gap 13 is
substantially identical to the thickness of each of the first
adhesive section 24 after being pressed and the second adhesive
section 25 after being pressed. In this embodiment, the gap 13 is
about 1 mm in size.
[0044] In an preferred embodiment according to the present
invention, the end of a chamber wall 15 of the dispenser housing 26
for defining the concave chamber 27 extends beyond the second wall
11 and projects into the through-hole 6 such that the end of the
chamber wall 15 forms a shelter element 14 used to isolate the
second wall 11 and the gap 13 from the concave chamber 27. Since
the dispensing chamber 4 is formed of a portion of the concave
chamber 27, the second wall 11 and the gap 13 are not exposed in
the dispensing chamber 4. Preferably, the dispensing chamber wall
15 extends into the through-hole 6 and not beyond the front surface
of the front panel 5.
[0045] FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator
1'' according to another embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 5, the refrigerator 1'' comprises a refrigerating
compartment door 34 which is provided with a table-forming opening
35. The table-forming opening 35 is provided through the
refrigerating compartment door 34 in a front and back direction.
The table-forming opening 35 is selectively closed or opened by a
table-forming door 16 provided on the refrigerating compartment
door 34.
[0046] The front surface of the refrigerating compartment door 34
is formed by a front panel 36. The front panel 36 is made of glass
and has a one-pieced structure. At a location corresponding to the
table-forming opening 35, a through-hole 37 is formed on the front
panel 36 and its position and size substantially correspond to
those of the table-forming opening 35. The lateral width of the
through-hole 37 is larger than a half of the total width of the
front panel 36. The front panel 36 comprises an upper region 38
above the through-hole 36, a lower region 39 below the through-hole
37 and side regions 40a and 40b which each are located at a
corresponding one of both sides of the through-hole 36 and which
connect with the upper region 38 and the lower region 39.
Therefore, the front surface of the refrigerating compartment door
34 which comprises the surrounding area of the table-forming
opening 35 can be made of only a piece of glass panel. This
facilitates to solve the technical problem that material is not
unified and connect seams are excessive in a case that the
refrigerating compartment door 34 provided with the table-forming
door 16 is made of glass panel.
* * * * *