U.S. patent application number 15/982575 was filed with the patent office on 2018-09-20 for decorative appliance door.
The applicant listed for this patent is Vinotemp International Corporation. Invention is credited to India Hynes.
Application Number | 20180266698 15/982575 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51679736 |
Filed Date | 2018-09-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180266698 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hynes; India |
September 20, 2018 |
DECORATIVE APPLIANCE DOOR
Abstract
A transparent glass appliance door is provided with a reflective
coating in the shape of a frame, resembling the conventional metal
frame which usually surrounds and supports the glass. The
reflective frame leaves a clear area through which the interior of
the appliance can be viewed.
Inventors: |
Hynes; India; (Laguna Beach,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Vinotemp International Corporation |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51679736 |
Appl. No.: |
15/982575 |
Filed: |
May 17, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14507076 |
Oct 6, 2014 |
9976753 |
|
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15982575 |
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61890786 |
Oct 14, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 3/0434 20130101;
F24C 15/04 20130101; F25D 2400/18 20130101; F25D 23/02
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24C 15/04 20060101
F24C015/04; A47F 3/04 20060101 A47F003/04 |
Claims
1. An appliance, comprising: a body portion defining an interior;
and a door coupled to the body portion by a hinge, which allows the
door to be opened and closed relative to the body portion, wherein
the door comprises: a transparent exterior panel; a transparent
interior panel; and a frame layer configured to mimic the
appearance of a metal frame, the frame layer located between the
exterior panel and the interior panel and affixed to at least one
of an interior surface of the exterior panel and an exterior
surface of the interior panel, the frame layer configured to create
a reflective surface visible at the exterior surface of the door,
wherein the frame layer is located at a periphery of the exterior
panel and the interior panel, wherein the frame layer defines a
completely enclosed loop around the periphery of the exterior panel
and the interior panel such that an interior portion of the
exterior panel and the interior panel within the enclosed loop of
the frame layer remains transparent.
2. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising a U-shaped band
that extends around an outer edge of the door and couples the
exterior panel and the interior panel to one another.
3. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the exterior panel and the
interior panel are separated only by a thickness of the frame
layer.
4. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the door further comprises at
least one handle.
5. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the door further comprises at
least one control panel.
6. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the exterior panel is mounted
to the interior panel by connecting means.
7. The appliance of claim 1, wherein there is vacuum between the
exterior panel and the interior panel.
8. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the frame layer comprises a
reflective material.
9. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the reflective material is a
reflective foil.
10. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the reflective material is a
deposited vapor.
11. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the reflective material is
the result of a sputtering technique.
12. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the reflective material is a
reflective film.
13. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the reflective material is
applied by adhesive.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS
[0001] Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic
priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed
with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference
in their entireties and made a part of the present disclosure.
BACKGROUND
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to appliances utilizing glass
paneled doors such as beverage refrigerators, wine coolers, ovens
and, more particularly, to a decorative door for such
appliances.
Description of the Related Art
[0003] In recent years, it has become popular to equip appliances
such as beverage refrigerators, wine coolers, ovens and others with
doors that incorporated a glass panel through which the interior
and its contents could be viewed. Conventionally, a metal frame
could be employed in which a glass pane could be installed. The
frame could be polished and reflective or could be non reflective
with a brushed textured surface.
[0004] Some appliances have employed a glass door, eliminating the
metal frame. In such embodiments, the glass was thick enough to be
structurally sound and also sufficiently insulative as to maintain
the temperature differentials between the interior and exterior of
the appliance. However, the aesthetics of a reflective frame are
lost when the glass door is used without the metal frame.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to the present invention, a glass door is provided
with a mirror coating which occupies the areas that would normally
be covered by a reflective metal frame. In one embodiment, the
mirroring can be on an external surface of an inner pane and a
clear glass pane serves as outer pane to protect the inner pane
and, incidentally, add to the insulative qualities of the resultant
glass door.
[0006] In alternative embodiments, the mirror coating can be
applied to an inner surface of a glass pane so that it is protected
from exterior elements and is not affected when the exterior of the
pane is cleaned or subjected to potentially harmful encounters. In
this embodiment, a second pane can be adjacent the mirrored surface
to further protect the mirroring.
[0007] The mirroring can be applied in several ways. It can be a
foil or polyester film that is adhered to the glass. It can be
vapor deposited on the glass surface. It also can be applied as a
coating to the glass through techniques such as magnetron
sputtering. The mirroring is applied to the surface adjacent the
edges so that a frame effect is achieved. Yet another technique is
the application of a reflective coating using silk screen printing.
Where displays are provided that are to be viewed through the door,
the mirroring can be absent over the displays.
[0008] While less desirable, the mirror surfacing can be applied to
an exterior surface. This would subject the mirror to potential
environmental hazards as well as the potentially destructive
hazards of cleaning or polishing the door.
[0009] In preferred embodiments, double panes are utilized to
enhance the insulative qualities of the resulting structure. Which
surface provides the reflective effect can be a matter of
aesthetics and design choice. Moreover, it is elementary that a
pane with a mirror coating applied to a surface can be an inner
pane with a clear outer pane cover or an outer pane with the
coating on the inner surface.
[0010] The novel features which are characteristic of the
invention, both as to structure and method of operation thereof,
together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be
understood from the following description, considered in connection
with the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiment
of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be
expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the
purpose of illustration and description only, and they are not
intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art appliance door;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a front view of an appliance door according to the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an appliance door according
to the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a front view of a glass pane according to the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a side section view of the double pane door of
FIG. 2, taken along line 5-5 in the direction of the appended
arrows;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a front view of an appliance door according to an
alternative embodiment of the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 7 is a front view of an appliance door according to
another alternative embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a prior art
appliance door 10, in this case a door for a wine cooler cabinet.
The door 10 includes a handle 12 and hinges 14 which permit the
door 10 to open and close. As shown, the door 10 is bordered by a
reflective metallic frame 16 in which a glass pane 18 is
mounted.
[0019] Through the glass pane 18, the contents of the cabinet can
be seen, here a plurality of wine bottles 20 resting on shelves 22.
A control panel 24 is located in the upper portion of the frame 16.
In the embodiment shown, the control panel 24 is used to set
temperature and other parameters of the interior environment to
maintain the wine at acceptable levels of temperature and humidity
for optimum wine storage and preservation.
[0020] Similar doors can be provided to other appliances in which
it is desirable to view the interior of the appliance. This could
include wine refrigerators, ovens and others. The prior art metal
frame can have a mirror finish to satisfy aesthetic desires.
[0021] Turning next to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown an appliance
door 30 according to the present invention. The door 30 has a
mirrored portion 32 which resembles or mimics the metal frame 16 of
the prior art door 10. As seen, the door is comprised of a pair of
glass panes or panels 34, 36, best seen in FIG. 5. The mirrored
portion 32 can be applied to a back surface of an exterior pane 34
or the front surface of an interior pane.
[0022] It is also possible to apply the mirrored surface to the
back surface of an interior pane or the front surface of an
exterior pane. The placement of the mirrored surface is dependant
upon the thickness and clarity of the glass panes and is chosen
with the goal of most closely resembling a prior art door in
appearance. The panels 34, 36 are held together with u-shaped band
38 that surrounds them. A hinge 40 permits the door 30 to open and
close.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a single pane 50 to which a mirroring surface 52
is applied. The mirroring can be achieved by a polyester foil,
vapor deposition, sputtering, silk screening, or any other
available means. The mirroring surface 52 is applied to the
periphery of the pane and extends to create a "frame", leaving the
central part of the pane transparent so that the interior of the
appliance is visible through the pane 50.
[0024] The pane 50 can be an interior pane or an exterior pane. The
mirroring 52 can be on an interior or exterior surface of the
interior pane or the exterior pane. In some applications, it is
preferable that the mirroring be on the interior surface of an
exterior pane with the reflective surface adjacent the pane so that
it is visible through the pane at the exterior surface.
[0025] Other applications could have the mirroring 52 on the
exterior surface of an interior pane to be viewed through the
exterior pane. Less desirable would be placement of the mirroring
on the interior surface of the interior pane or on the exterior
surface of an exterior pane. For the former, the thickness of the
glass could attenuate the reflectivity while the latter places the
mirroring in greater danger of damage.
[0026] Turning next to FIG. 5, a side sectional view of the door 30
of FIG. 2 is shown. As seen, the mirroring 32 can either be applied
to the front surface 40 of the interior panel 36 or the rear
surface 42 of the exterior panel 34. It will be understood that the
panes have been exaggerated to allow a better understanding of the
covered structure.
[0027] In FIG. 6, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the
appliance door of the present invention. Door 80 is substantially
similar to door 30 of FIG. 2 with the main difference being that
the u shaped channel/band 38 of FIG. 2 is replaced here by
fasteners 82 which hold the panes 84 and 86 (not shown) together.
In all other respects, the door 30 and the door 80 are the
same.
[0028] FIG. 7 shows an appliance door 40 with an alternative
pattern of minoring 42. Rather than the rectangular frame shaped
mirror of the other alternatives, this embodiment permits the minor
frame 42 to have a more decorative pattern. Moreover, an artistic
aesthetic can be employed to provide even more fanciful designs to
surround the clear opening 44 which enables visualization of the
contents of the interior of the appliance for which the door 40 is
intended.
[0029] While the specification describes particular embodiments of
the present invention, those of ordinary skill can devise
variations of the present invention without departing from the
inventive concept.
* * * * *