U.S. patent application number 13/000023 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-03 for electric refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to Haier Group & Qingdao Haier Joint Stock Co., LTD. Invention is credited to Lei Chen, Jie Ma, Wei Ren, Minghua Zhao.
Application Number | 20110266288 13/000023 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41433715 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110266288 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ma; Jie ; et al. |
November 3, 2011 |
ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
A refrigerator has a refrigerating chamber (2) and a freezing
chamber (3). The freezing chamber (2) is provided with plural
drawer door bodies (7, 8) and a sealing member (5). The sealing
member (5) is used for sealing a clearance between the adjacent two
drawer door bodies (7, 8). The sealing member (5) is provided at an
opening of the freezing chamber (4) and comprises a support frame
(5a) and a decorative plate (5c).
Inventors: |
Ma; Jie; (Shandong, CN)
; Zhao; Minghua; (Shandong, CN) ; Chen; Lei;
(Shandong, CN) ; Ren; Wei; (Shandong, CN) |
Assignee: |
Haier Group & Qingdao Haier
Joint Stock Co., LTD
Laoshan Qingdao (Shandong)
CN
|
Family ID: |
41433715 |
Appl. No.: |
13/000023 |
Filed: |
June 19, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
June 19, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2009/072353 |
371 Date: |
March 22, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/592.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/087 20130101;
F25D 23/021 20130101; F25D 25/025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/592.02 |
International
Class: |
F25D 23/02 20060101
F25D023/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 20, 2008 |
CN |
200810126724.5 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising a refrigerating chamber (2) and a
freezing chamber (3), characterized in that, the freezing chamber
(3) is provided with plural drawer door bodies (7, 8) and a sealing
member (5) for sealing the clearance between the adjacent drawer
door bodies (7, 8).
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that,
the sealing member (5) is provided at an opening of the freezing
chamber (4) and comprises a support frame (5a) and a decorative
plate (5c).
3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that, a
mounting trough (15a) is formed in the support frame (5a); a
thermal preservation bar (5b) is provided between the support frame
(5a) and the decorative plate (5c); and the thermal preservation
bar (5b) is provided in the mounting trough (15a) of the support
frame (5a).
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that,
plural reinforced ribs (25a) are provided in the mounting trough
(15a) of the support frame (5a).
5. The refrigerator according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized
in that, an auxiliary sealing bar (15b) is provided on the surface
of the side of the thermal preservation bar (5b) adjacent to the
decorative plate (5c).
6. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
characterized in that, through holes (21, 22) are provided on the
end parts of the support frame (5a) and the decorative plate (5c),
and the support frame (5a) and the decorative plate (5c) are
mounted via bolts (23) passing through the through holes (21, 22)
onto the opening of the freezing chamber (4) of the
refrigerator.
7. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
characterized in that, the drawer door bodies (7, 8) are provided
as two sets.
8. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
characterized in that, the refrigerating chamber (2) is enclosed by
a set of opposite-opening door bodies (2a, 2b).
9. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
characterized in that, the refrigerating chamber (2) is arranged at
the upper part, and the freezing chamber (3) is arranged at the
lower part.
Description
FILED OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in
particular to a refrigerator with a drawer door body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A refrigerator, as a household refrigerating/freezing
device, is being currently used by a large majority of families,
The refrigerator is classified into many types, one type of which
is designed as locating a freezing chamber on the upper side of the
refrigerator and a refrigerating chamber on the lower side of the
refrigerator, and another type of which is designed as locating a
freezing chamber on the lower side of the refrigerator and a
refrigerating chamber on the upper side of the refrigerator. As for
the latter type of refrigerator, the door body of the freezing
chamber is classified into several types of a single door body, a
double door body, or a drawer type door body, etc.
[0003] In recent years, a refrigerator, commonly referred to as a
French opposite-opening door refrigerator, emerges. The upper part
of said refrigerator is a refrigerating chamber which is enclosed
by a set of opposite-opening doors, and the lower part thereof is a
freezing chamber which is enclosed by a drawer type door body. In
order to obtain larger storage space, the freezing chamber at the
lower part of this type of refrigerator is generally designed to
have a relatively large volume.
[0004] During realizing the present invention, the inventor found
that at least the following problem is present in the prior art:
since the freezing chamber is merely provided with one drawer door
body for accommodating objects, when pulling the drawer door body
forward and taking out objects, the whole freezing chamber is open
to external environment, resulting in excessive leakage of cool
air, thereby prolonging the subsequent refrigerating process or
frequently starting up a refrigerating system, so as to cause more
consumption of electric energy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In view of the above, the object of the present invention is
to provide a refrigerator having one freezing chamber and plural
drawing-pulling door bodies.
[0006] In order to realize the above object, one embodiment of the
present invention provides a refrigerator having a refrigerating
chamber and a freezing chamber, wherein the freezing chamber is
provided with plural drawer door bodies and sealing members; and
the sealing member is used for sealing a clearance between adjacent
drawer door bodies. In this way, the internal structure of the
freezing chamber is not reconstructed, but only a sealing member is
added at the opening part. Therefore, each time that one drawer
door body is opened for taking out an object, the opening of the
freezing chamber laid open to the external environment is
relatively small to reduce cool air leakage and energy
consumption.
[0007] Preferably, the sealing member is provided at the opening of
the freezing chamber, and comprises a support frame and a
decorative plate. Arranging the sealing member at the opening
allows a simple structure and easy assembly. Moreover, the sealing
member comprises a support frame and a decorative plate, with the
support frame capable of having a better supporting function and
the decorative plate abutting against the drawer door body for
sealing.
[0008] Preferably, a mounting trough is formed on the support
frame; a thermal preservation bar is provided between the support
frame and the decorative plate; and the thermal preservation bar is
provided in the mounting trough of the support frame. By using such
a structure, better effects of thermal preservation and heat
insulation can be achieved and the leakage of cool air from the
freezing chamber can be further prevented.
[0009] Preferably, plural reinforced ribs are provided in the
mounting trough of the support frame. Thus, the strength of the
support frame can be improved.
[0010] Preferably, an auxiliary sealing bar is provided on the
surface of the side of the thermal preservation bar adjacent to the
decorative plate. In this way, the effects of thermal preservation
and heat insulation can be improved better and the leakage of cool
air from the freezing chamber can be further prevented.
[0011] Preferably, through holes are provided on the end parts of
the support frame and the decorative plate, and the support frame
and the decorative plate are mounted via bolts passing through the
through holes onto the opening of the freezing chamber of the
refrigerator. In this way, the assembly structure is further
simplified.
[0012] Preferably, the drawer door bodies are divided into two
sets. By arranging two sets of drawer door bodies, the door bodies
are made to be less, which allows more utilization of the space of
the freezing chamber.
[0013] Preferably, the refrigerating chamber is enclosed by a set
of opposite-opening door bodies. So taking out the objects inside
the refrigerating chamber is easy.
[0014] Preferably, the refrigerating chamber is arranged at the
upper part, and the freezing chamber is arranged at the lower
part.
[0015] Plural drawer door bodies are provided in the freezing
chamber and a sealing member is provided between adjacent drawer
door bodies. In this way, on one hand, only one freezing chamber is
provided, which facilitates the overall design of the refrigerator
and the layout of the refrigeration units; and on the other hand,
plural drawer door bodies are provided, each of which can be opened
and closed independently. Thus, when each drawer door body is
opened separately, the freezing chamber only has an opening part
corresponding to the drawer door body opening to the external
environment, thereby reducing cool air leakage and accordingly
reducing energy consumption. In addition, providing plural drawer
door bodies means that plural drawers are available, such that the
objects are accommodated more assortatively, for facilitating
utilization for a user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the refrigerator in FIG. 1
when the lower drawer thereof is pulled out; and
[0018] FIG. 3 is an explanatory exploding view of partition bars of
a sealing member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the refrigerator of the
present invention is described with reference to the drawings. In
addition, in the following description, if no special explanation
is made, the so-called left side and right side represent the left
hand side and the right hand side of a person facing the
refrigerator, and the upper side and the lower side represent an
upper side and a lower side based on human sensory feeling.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, it is an embodiment of a refrigerator 1
of the present invention. Said refrigerator 1 is commonly called as
a French refrigerator, viz. the upper part of the refrigerator 1 is
a refrigerating chamber 2, which, thus, facilitates operation.
Obviously, the refrigerating chamber 2 can also be located at the
lower part of the refrigerator 1, whose opening is enclosed by a
set of opposite-opening door bodies 2a, 2b. The lower part of the
refrigerator 1 is a freezing chamber 3, which is also shown in FIG.
2. Of course, the freezing chamber 3 of the refrigerator 1 can also
be located at the upper part. The opening of the freezing chamber 3
is enclosed by two drawer door bodies 7, 8. Obviously, the drawer
door body of the freezing chamber 3 can be divided into three or
more drawer door bodies. In addition, although it is not indicated
in detail in the figure, said freezing chamber 3 is a single
freezing chamber. In other words, said freezing chamber 3 performs
the refrigeration by one refrigeration unit (no shown in the
figure). The spaces corresponding to the above two drawer door
bodies are communicated with each other.
[0021] In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a cool drink supply
mechanism is provided at the left door body 2a of the
opposite-opening door bodies 2a, 2b. Since the mechanism is only
slightly related with the inventive key of the present invention,
the description related to the mechanism is omitted.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment of the present invention
provides a refrigerator 1 comprising a refrigerating chamber 2 and
a freezing chamber 3, wherein the freezing chamber 3 is provided
with plural drawer door bodies 7, 8 and a sealing member 5; and the
sealing member 5 is used for sealing a clearance between the
adjacent drawer door bodies 7, 8. In this way, when each drawer
door body is opened independently, the opening of the freezing
chamber 3 only has the part corresponding to the drawer door body
opening to the external environment, thereby reducing cool air
leakage and accordingly reducing energy consumption. Arranging
plural drawer door bodies implies that plural drawers are
available, such that the objects are accommodated more
assortatively, facilitating utilization of the user.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the refrigerating chamber is
located at the upper part and the freezing chamber 3 is located at
the lower part. In this way, the refrigerating chamber 2 with
higher utilization rate is placed at the position of easy
opening/closing, which facilitates usage. Of course, the freezing
chamber 3 can also be located at the upper part, and the
refrigerating chamber 2 can also be located at the lower part.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting trough is provided in the
right and left edges of the opening of the freezing chamber 3,
respectively. A sealing member 5 is mounted at the opening of the
freezing chamber by the mounting troughs. The sealing member 5
partitions the opening 4 into an upper opening 4a and a lower
opening 4b. As described above, although the opening 4 of the
freezing chamber 3 is partitioned to form the upper opening 4a and
the lower opening 4b, the inner sides thereof are communicated with
each other. In addition, the drawer door body 7 corresponds to the
upper opening 4a, and the drawer door body 8 corresponds to the
lower opening 4b. When the drawer door body 7 is pushed in the
direction indicated by an arrow into the upper opening 4a, a
sealing bar (not shown) mounted on the face of the side of the
drawer door body 7 adjacent to the freezing chamber 3 is used for
sealing the upper opening 4a. When the drawer door body 8 is pushed
in the direction indicated by an arrow in the figure into the lower
opening 4b, a sealing bar (not shown) mounted on the drawer door
body 8 is used for sealing the lower opening. These two sealing
bars can be arranged in many manners of the prior art. No
description thereof is made herein.
[0025] In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a square drawer is provided
and connected to the drawer door body 7, and a sealing bar is
mounted at the side of the drawer door body 7 adjacent to the
drawer (inner surface side). Sliding rails 7a (although only one
sliding rail is indicated in the figure, the other identical
sliding rail is provided on the other side) are mounted at two
sides of the drawer. Said sliding rails 7a fit with guide rails 7b
mounted at the corresponding position of the inner wall of the
freezing chamber 3 (only the right guide rail is shown in the
figure, however, a guide rail is provided at the left side of the
inner wall as well). The drawer door body 7 is supported and guided
by the guide rails 7b. Since the connection and fitting
relationships between the sliding rails 7a and the guide rails 7b
are the prior art, no description thereof is made herein.
[0026] In addition, a drawer with a square opening is also mounted
at the drawer door body 8.
[0027] Due to the structure of the refrigerator, the lower the
position of the drawer is, the smaller the area of the cross
section thereof in a horizontal direction is. Similar to the
structure of the above drawer door body 7, two sliding rails 8a are
also arranged in the drawer door body 8. Moreover, two guide rails
8b are also arranged at the corresponding position of the inner
wall of the freezing chamber 3. Since the structure thereof is
similar to that of the above drawer door body 7 and is a common
structure in the prior art, no description thereof is made
herein.
[0028] Hereinafter, the particular structure of the sealing member
5 of the present invention is described in detail with reference to
FIG. 3.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, on the sealing member 5, there are
sequentially provided a support frame 5a, a thermal preservation
bar 5b, and a decorative plate 5c in a direction from the freezing
chamber 3 to the external environment.
[0030] The support frame 5a is an elongated member, inside which a
mounting trough 15a is formed. Thus, its longitudinal cross section
approximately renders a U shape, with one side being opening and
the other side of a curved surface. Two through holes 21, 21 are
provided at both ends of the support frame 5a. In addition, plural
reinforced ribs 25a are formed at the inner side of the support
frame 5a along the interior of the mounting through 15a. As shown
in FIG. 3, since the support frame 5a is in a thin plate structure,
these reinforced ribs 25a are provided to further enhance its
strength and ability of standing against deformation and twist. In
addition, the structure of said support frame 5a is not limited
thereto, but can merely be in form of a thin plate with plural
reinforced ribs formed around its periphery and a mounting hole
formed in the middle.
[0031] The thermal preservation bar 5b is also a elongated member,
with the length equivalent to or slightly smaller than the length
of the above mounting trough 15a, the width equivalent to or
slightly smaller than the gap (the width of the mounting trough 15a
in the up and down direction) formed by the above reinforced ribs
25a in the up and down direction, and the thickness equivalent to
or slightly smaller than the depth of the reinforced rib 25a in a
horizontal direction. Therefore, the thermal preservation bar 5b
can be embedded into the above mounting trough 15a.
[0032] In addition, auxiliary sealing bars 15b, 15b, extending
along the horizontal direction, are arranged on the face of the
thermal preservation bar 5b adjacent to the outer side. Moreover,
the height of the auxiliary sealing bars 15b, 15b is designed to
satisfy the following conditions, viz. when an adjusting bar is
mounted in the mounting trough 15a, the auxiliary sealing bars 15b,
15b protrude more outwardly than the support frame 5a and abut
against the decorative plate 5c.
[0033] The decorative plate 5c is an elongated flat member made of
resin, metal or other hard materials. When the decorative plate 5c
is mounted onto the support frame 5a, its inner surface abuts
against the auxiliary sealing bars 15b, 15b of the thermal
preservation bar 5b. Moreover, the thermal preservation bar 5b is
sandwiched between the decorative plate 5c and the support frame
5a. In addition, the decorative plate 5c is provided with though
holes 22, 22 at both ends, and when the decorative plate 5c is
mounted onto the support frame 5a with the thermal preservation bar
5b interposed therebetween, the through holes 22, 22 correspond to
the through holes 21, 21 of the mounting frame 5a,
respectively.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 3, when the bolts 23, 23 pass through the
through holes 22, 22 and the through holes 21, 21 to fix the
sealing member 5 into the mounting trough on the edge of the
opening 4 of the freezing chamber 3, said decorative plate 5c
substantially flushes with the opening 4 of the freezing chamber 3
in a forth and back direction,. Thus, when the drawer door body 7
(or drawer door body 8) is closed, the sealing bar mounted on the
drawer door body 7 (or the drawer door body 8) abuts against the
decorative plate 5c and the opening 4 of the freezing chamber 3 to
realize sealing the upper opening 4a (or the lower opening 4b) of
the freezing chamber 3.
[0035] In addition, the drawer door bodies 7, 8 are coupled to and
mounted in the freezing chamber 3 via sliding rails in the above
embodiments, however, it is not limited thereto. Other types of
door bodies can be used, for example, a door body which can be
opened directly, a sliding door, etc.
[0036] The descriptions above are only preferable embodiments of
the present invention, which are not used to restrict the present
invention. Any amendments, equivalent substitutions, improvements
etc. within the spirit and principle of the present invention are
all concluded in the scope of protection of the present
invention.
* * * * *