US20090320515A1 - Refrigerating device comprising a pressure compensation opening - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerating device having a body and a door that enclose a refrigerated interior, have frame surfaces oriented toward each other and delimit a gap filled by a seal, the refrigerating device including at least one wall in at least one frame surface being forming with a passage therein, said passage being configured to bridge the seal, thereby allowing the interior to communicate with the environment.

Description

• The present invention relates to a refrigerating device, such as, say, a refrigerator or freezer, having a pressure compensation opening which serves to prevent a negative pressure being generated in the interior of the refrigerating device.
• Every time the door of a refrigerating device is opened, warm air enters its interior, cools down therein after the door is closed and generates a negative pressure by means of which the door is sucked against the front of the body. The effect of this negative pressure is that after being closed the door is very difficult to open again until the pressure between the interior and the environment is equalized once more. Although a pressure equalization is in fact always reestablished after a relatively long time on account of the fact that the seal conventionally fitted between the door and the front of the body of the refrigerating device does not close so as to be completely airtight, efforts are generally nonetheless directed at keeping the leakage rate of said seal to a minimum, since air that is exchanged by way of leakages in the seal between the interior and the environment also always leads to an undesirable introduction of heat and humidity into the interior. The higher the precision with which the refrigerating device has been manufactured and consequently the smaller the leakage rate, the longer the negative pressure persists after the door is closed.
• This problem makes itself particularly clearly felt in the case of refrigerating devices in which the frame surfaces of body and door that are disposed opposite one another and typically sealing off one another by means of a magnetic seal are embodied as a single piece and as a result form a contact surface that is practically free of irregularities for the magnetic seal and allows a very tight closure.
• DE 102 33 216 A1 discloses a refrigerating device having an air passage which allows ambient air to enter the interior when the door is closed. The air passage of said known refrigerating device is provided in order to prevent refrigerated items stored therein, such as, say, the corks of wine bottles, from drying out. A secondary effect which is not considered in DE 102 33 216 A1 is that the passage prevents a negative pressure from being generated in the interior after the door is closed. The air passage of said known refrigerating device is implemented as a bored hole which extends through a wall of the body or of the door. A passage of said kind necessitates considerable manufacturing overhead, since its walls must tightly adjoin an inner and outer skin of the body or door in order to prevent insulating material that is being used to fill out the walls from escaping via the passage. The possibility of accommodating the passage in the magnetic sealing strip is cited as an alternative. However, conventional magnetic sealing strips are not suitable per se for enabling an opening to be formed therein.
• An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerating device having a pressure compensation opening which, with minimal manufacturing overhead, effectively prevents a negative pressure from being generated after the door is closed.
• The object is achieved in that in the case of refrigerating device comprising a body and a door which enclose a refrigerated interior and have frame surfaces that are oriented toward each other and delimit a gap that is filled with a seal, a passage bridging the seal is recessed into at least one of the frame surfaces, thereby allowing the interior to communicate with the environment. Thus, instead of creating a passage in the body, in the door or in the seal in the conventional way, by means of the passage according to the invention a connection is created which extends in each case between the seal and the body or between the seal and the door. Since no passage hole is formed, the sealing problem does not arise. The passage can be formed without additional overhead at the same time as the frame surfaces of door or body are molded, in particular by means of a deep-drawing process. The passage can have the shape of a trench, a channel or a plurality of interconnected trench or channel sections.
• In order to prevent as far as possible an exchange of air through the passage which goes beyond the unavoidable amount due to the temperature fluctuations of the interior, it is furthermore preferred that the passage bridges the seal by a non-straight path.
• A non-straight path of said kind can furthermore be considerably longer than the width of the bridged seal, such that there is available in the passage a large surface on which the moisture from the aspirated air can condense. This reduces the probability that condensed moisture will fill the cross-section of the passage and obstruct the flow of air in the passage.
• In order to achieve a passage of great length it can be provided in particular that the passage includes at least one section running in the longitudinal direction of the seal.
• If the seal is fixed in a groove in one of the two frame surfaces, it is particularly easy to form the passage on the other frame surface.
• The passage can be formed on the same frame surface as the groove in a particularly inconspicuous manner; in this case the groove extends diagonally across the passage, and at most the two ends of the passage are visible on different sides of the seal.
• If a rib is formed in the base of the groove so as to engage in a longitudinal channel of the seal, said rib is preferably interrupted locally in order to form the passage.
• In addition, at least one end of the passage is preferably disposed at a corner of the frame surface, since the corners are generally the warmest areas of the refrigerating device housing and therefore the tendency to form condensate in the passage is relatively low at these points.
• In order to prevent frost from forming in the passage and blocking it in the course of the operation of the refrigerating device, the passage is preferably heatable. Heating can be effected without additional costs by means of a frame heater which is provided in many refrigerating devices in order to prevent dew from forming on outer surfaces of the body or door that are adjacent to the seal.
• If the frame heater is formed by means of a refrigerant pipe extending annularly in a discontinuous manner on the frame surface of the body, the passage is advantageously formed on the frame surface of the body at the level of the interruption.
• In addition to the passage, a pressure compensation valve extending through a wall of the body or door can also be provided on a refrigerating device of the above-described type, which valve allows an inflow of air from the environment into the interior, but blocks an outflow of air from the interior. Since a valve of said type prevents an uncontrolled exchange of air between interior and environment and consequently an undesirable introduction of heat into the housing, it can have a substantially greater free cross-section than the passage without appreciably increasing the inflow of heat to the interior and consequently allow a faster pressure compensation than said passage after the door is closed. It has been demonstrated that pressure compensation valves of said kind tend to freeze up in continuous operation, and that the presence of the passage removes this tendency to freeze up.
• Further features and advantages of the invention may be derived from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerating device according to a first embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 2 shows a partial section through a wall of the body of the refrigerating device along the plane designated by II inFIG. 1;
• FIG. 2ashows a detail view of a corner of the body of the refrigerating device according to a variant of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 3 shows a section through a pressure compensation valve;
• FIG. 4 shows a bottom corner of the internal wall of a refrigerating device door according to a second embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 5 shows a section through the internal wall and the sealing profile fixed therein along the plane designated by V inFIG. 4;
• FIG. 6 shows a section along the plane designated by VI inFIG. 4;
• FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a corner of the internal wall of a refrigerating device door and a sealing profile accommodated therein according to a third embodiment of the invention; and
• FIG. 8 shows a section along the plane designated by VIII inFIG. 7.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerating device having abody1 and adoor2 attached thereto which enclose a refrigeratedinterior3. The walls of the body and the door each have, in a manner known per se, a solid outer skin and a solid inner skin which delimit an intermediate space filled with insulating foam material. The inner skin of the walls and aframe surface5 surrounding the front opening of thebody1 are formed in one piece from a plastic sheet in a deep-drawing process. Amagnetic seal4 is fixed in a manner known per se in a front frame of thedoor2 that is located opposite thefront frame5 when thedoor2 is in the closed position. A passage in the form of atrench8 is recessed into thefront frame5 in such a way that when thedoor2 is closed, one end of thetrench8 comes to lie on the outside and the other on the inside of theseal4.
• FIG. 2 shows a section along the plane designated by II inFIG. 1 through thetrench8 and its environment. In the sectional view shown inFIG. 2, two sections15,15′ of a pipe which acts as a frame heater can be seen. The section15 conducts warm, compressed refrigerant from a compressor (not shown) housed in a rear region of thebody1 and bends adjacent to thetrench8 in order to extend along a bottom horizontal section of theframe surface5. The pipe runs along theentire frame surface5 and finally arrives from above, as section15′, at thetrench8 once again, where it bends in the depth direction of thebody1 and runs onward to a condenser mounted externally on the rear wall of thebody1. The frame heater thus extends annularly along theentire frame surface5, with the exception of a gap between the two segments15,15′ into which thetrench8 engages. Thus, thetrench8 does not obstruct a routing of the frame heater in direct contact with theframe surface5.
• Thetrench8 shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 bridges themagnetic seal4 in a straight line and at right angles. In order on the one hand to realize a low conductance value of the passage formed through thetrench8 and on the other hand to be able to make the cross-section of thetrench8 large enough so that not just a drop of condensed water will suffice to close thetrench8, it is desirable to increase the length of thetrench8, e.g. by its bridging theseal4 at an acute angle, or, as shown in the detail view ofFIG. 2a,by its comprising a section parallel to theseal4 which runs inside an area of theframe surface5 which is covered by theseal4 when thedoor2 is closed and is delimited by dashed lines inFIG. 2b.
• Thetrench8 can form the only passage between theinterior3 and the environment of the refrigerating device which supports a pressure compensation between theinterior3 and the environment after thedoor2 is closed. According to a developed embodiment, a pressure compensation valve is provided in addition for that purpose, for example in anopening6 formed in the lower area of the door. An example of a possible structure of the pressure compensation valve is shown inFIG. 3, which shows a perspective longitudinal section through thepressure compensation valve7.
• Asleeve11 secured in a foam-tight manner on theinternal wall10 by means of a bayonet joint extends between anexterior panel9 of thedoor2 and aninternal wall10 deep-drawn from plastic. Amembrane12 held under flexural stress in the interior of thesleeve11 has edges tightly adjoining the walls of thesleeve11 and is held in position by means of anintermediate wall13 extending transversely through the interior of thesleeve11 and acap part14. In the event of a negative pressure in theinterior3, air flows through between the edges of themembrane12 and thesleeve11 in order to compensate for the negative pressure; a positive pressure in theinterior3, on the other hand, would press themembrane12 against thesleeve11, thus increasing the sealing effect of thevalve7; the pressure is therefore equalized by way of thetrench8.
• If thevalve7 were provided as the only pressure compensation means between theinterior3 and the environment, air from outside would slowly flow through thevalve7 when theinterior3 cools down in an operating phase of the compressor. In this case there is a risk that the air will cool down sharply already when passing through theopening6 and moisture contained therein will condense out at thevalve7 and so lead to the freezing of thevalve7. However, since thetrench8 is provided according to the invention and contains no membrane obstructing the air flow, in such a case the air will flow into theinterior3 exclusively by way of thetrench8. Consequently thevalve7 cannot freeze up, and thetrench8 is protected against freezing up by virtue of its close proximity to theframe heater41.
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bottom corner of theinternal wall10 of thedoor2 as well as of themagnetic seal4 secured to theinternal wall10 according to a second embodiment of the invention. In this second embodiment, thetrench8 on theframe surface5 of thebody1 is replaced by acorresponding trench8′ formed on the frame surface of theinternal wall10, two ends of which can be seen inFIG. 4.
• On a rear face of themagnetic seal4 facing away from a chamber containing amagnetic strip16 there are formed twoprojections17,18, of which one,17, is populated by barbed hooks. Theprojections17,18 engage in agroove19 of theinternal wall10 which is subdivided into an inner and anouter section21,22 by means of arib20 running in the longitudinal direction of thegroove19. The barbed hooks of theprojection17 are locked in place on undercuts of theinner section21. Atransverse wall23 extending in the width direction of themagnetic seal4 and bulging forward into thesection22 is held by means of the locking mechanism in a flexurally loaded position in which it holds theprojection18 pressed into theouter section22 of thegroove19. A thin,flexible wall section24 of themagnetic seal4 is bent inward by an edge of theouter section22, such that thewall section24 rests essentially tightly against this edge. Formed on an opposing edge of thetransverse wall23 is alip25 which is pressed tightly against ashoulder26 of theinternal wall10 adjoining theinner section21 by means of the locking mechanism of theprojection17. Thewall section24, thelip25 and the barbed hooks of theprojection17 form a plurality of sealing lines between theinternal wall10 and themagnetic seal4.
• However, said sealing lines do not extend over the entire length of themagnetic seal4, but are interrupted by thetrench8′ at the corner of thedoor2 shown. Thetrench8′ is formed by an indentation in theinternal wall10 being drawn at the point where a horizontal and a vertical section of thegroove19 meet. Anouter contour28 of said indentation can be seen inFIG. 5, which shows a section through theinternal wall10 and themagnetic seal4 along the plane designated by V inFIG. 4.
• FIG. 6 shows a section along the sectional plane inclined at 45° to the horizontal and designated by VI inFIG. 4. The sectional plane runs along thetrench8′, and it can be seen that neither thewall section24 nor the barbed hooks or thelip25 touch theinternal wall10 along said sectional plane. A passage extending between themagnetic seal4 and thedoor2 is created by means of saidtrench8′.
• Thetrench8′ allows a pressure compensation between interior and exterior while bypassing thepressure compensation valve7, although the course of thetrench8′ frequently changing its direction in the manner of a labyrinth seal limits the exchange of air between interior and exterior to the degree necessary for the pressure compensation. Since on the one hand thetrench8′ is heated by means of thefront5 and on the other hand air which has passed thetrench8′ must still pass a temperature-compensatinggap29 between theinternal wall10 and theframe surface5 before reaching theinterior3, there is no risk of thetrench8′ becoming blocked due to excessive condensation.
• A third embodiment of the invention is described with reference toFIGS. 7 and 8. LikeFIG. 4,FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a corner of theinternal wall10, wherein thegroove19 of theinternal wall10 is shown fitted with themagnetic seal4 only on one part of its length in order to be able to show acutout30 formed in therib20 separating thesections21,22 of thegroove19 from each other. The cross-sections of thegroove19 and themagnetic seal4 are the same as shown inFIG. 5. As can be seen with reference to the section ofFIG. 8 analogous toFIG. 6, thepassage8′ is interrupted by therib20 in the sectional plane of said figure. As can be seen with reference toFIG. 5, however, in bothsections21,22 of thegroove19 there are in each caselongitudinal channels31,32 delimited by the walls of thegroove19 on the one hand and by themagnetic seal4 itself on the other hand, of which one channel31 communicates with the environment at the level of the corner shown inFIG. 7 via anexternal section33 of thepassage8′ (seeFIG. 8) and theother channel32 communicates with theinterior3 via aninternal section34 of thepassage8′. The twolongitudinal channels31,32 are connected to each other via thecutout30. Since thecutout30 is disposed at a great distance from the corner in which the twosections33,34 are disposed, the length of theentire passage8′ can easily be made greater than the edge length of thedoor2. In an extreme case thecutout30 could even be formed at the corner of thedoor2 diametrically opposite the corner shown inFIG. 7. In spite of a possibly large cross-section of the individual sections of the passage, the great length of thepassage8′ results in a low conductance value by means of which an exchange of air between the interior3 and the environment which goes beyond the amount caused by temperature fluctuations of theinterior3 is reliably suppressed.

Claims (12)

1-11. (canceled)

12. A refrigerating device having a body and a door that enclose a refrigerated interior, have frame surfaces oriented toward each other and delimit a gap filled by a seal, the refrigerating device comprising at least one wall in at least one frame surface being forming with a passage therein, said passage being configured to bridge the seal, thereby allowing the interior to communicate with the environment.

13. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 wherein the passage extends through the frame surface in a non-linear path.

14. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 wherein the passage includes at least one section extending in the longitudinal direction of the seal.

15. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 and further comprising a heater mounted at a front of the body wherein the passage extends through an area of the housing heated by the heater.

16. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 wherein the seal is fixed in a groove formed in a first one of two frame surfaces and the passage is formed on the second one of two frame surface.

17. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 wherein the seal is fixed in a groove of one of the two frame surfaces and the passage is formed on the same frame surface as the groove to extend between the walls of the groove and an anchoring section of the sealing profile engaged in the groove.

18. The refrigerating device according toclaim 17 wherein the groove is transversely divided by a rib which engages in a longitudinal channel of the seal, and wherein the rib has a cutout through which the passage extends.

19. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 wherein at least one end of the passage is disposed at a corner of a frame surface.

20. The refrigerating device according toclaim 12 and further comprising a frame heater disposed on a frame surface of the body.

21. The refrigerating device according toclaim 20 wherein the frame heater is formed using a refrigerant pipe extending annularly in a discontinuous manner on the frame surface of the body thereby defining an interruption of the refrigerant pipe, wherein the passage is formed on the frame surface of the body generally at the level of the interruption.

22. The refrigerating device according toclaim 20 and further comprising a pressure compensation valve extending through a wall of at least one of the body and the door thereby proving an inflow of air from the environment into the interior and to thereby block an outflow of air from the interior into the environment.

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