US20160116206A1 - Refrigeration Appliance Comprising a Door-Opening Aid - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance has a storage compartment and a door-opening aid for facilitating the opening of a door of the storage compartment. The storage compartment is controlled by a pressure sensor exposed to air pressure prevailing in the storage compartment. The pressure sensor is a differential pressure sensor which is also exposed to outside pressure prevailing in the surroundings of the refrigeration appliance.

Description

• The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance with a storage chamber and a door-opening aid to facilitate the opening of a door of the storage chamber, which is controlled by a pressure sensor exposed to the air pressure prevailing in the storage chamber. A refrigeration appliance of this type is known from DE 10 2006 061 083 A1. The door-opening aid of this known refrigeration appliance comprises an actuator which, when the pressure sensor detects a reduced pressure in the storage chamber caused by a user pulling on the door, is extended in order to stretch a sealing profile of the door from its contact surface on a frame of the carcass and so to induce a pressure equalization between storage chamber and the surrounding area.
• The force with which a user should be able to activate the door-opening aid should lie in the order of magnitude of several N. Distributed over the surface of a typical refrigerator door, this force corresponds to a pressure fluctuation of a few Pa. Using the atmospheric pressure of approximately 11⁵Pa as background knowledge, it is difficult to detect such a small fluctuation in a reliable manner.
• The object of the present invention is to specify a refrigeration appliance with a door-opening aid, which enables a reliable detection of the pressure fluctuations in the storage chamber caused by a user.
• This object is achieved in that, in the case of a refrigeration appliance with a storage chamber and a door-opening aid, which is controlled by a pressure sensor exposed to the air pressure prevailing in the storage chamber, the pressure sensor is a differential pressure sensor which is furthermore exposed to the outside pressure prevailing in the surrounding area of the refrigeration appliance. The differential pressure sensor enables a detection of the pressure fluctuations which is essentially free of background knowledge and, on the basis thereof, a reliable controlling of the door-opening aid.
• A refrigeration appliance is understood to refer in particular to a domestic refrigeration appliance, in other words a refrigeration appliance which is used for domestic management in households or possibly also in the catering industry, and in particular which is used to store food and/or beverages in quantities typical for households at certain temperatures, such as a refrigerator, an upright freezer, a combination fridge-freezer or a wine storage cabinet for example.
• Preferably, the pressure sensor is disposed outside of an insulating layer surrounding the storage chamber and communicates with the storage chamber via a pipeline extending through the insulating layer.
• Furthermore, the pressure sensor can communicate with the interior via a reinforcement part which is inset in an opening of a wall of an inner container delimiting the storage chamber.
• A reinforcement part of this type preferably has a flexible skirt which abuts a side of the wall of the inner container facing away from the storage chamber, encircling the opening, in order to exclude the passage of insulating material through the opening.
• The reinforcement part can have a housing engaging through the opening into the storage chamber, wherein a wall of the housing has at least one catch tappet engaging on the edge of the opening, in order to fix the reinforcement part to the opening and, if necessary, to hold the flexible skirt pressed against the wall.
• The housing should have at least one air passage. Preferably it has two air passages, in order to not only enable a pressure equalization with the storage chamber, but also to facilitate the air circulation between the interior of the housing and the storage chamber.
• In particular, this benefits the accuracy of a temperature sensor which can be accommodated in the reinforcement part.
• The reinforcement part can also have a pipe connection nozzle to which a pipe leading through the insulating layer to the pressure sensor can be connected.
• Preferably, this pipe connection nozzle is orientated in parallel with the wall of the inner container, so that the pipe also runs in parallel to the wall for at least a part of its length. A pipe which crossed the insulating material layer on a path which is too short is not expedient, as it would act as a thermal bridge between the storage chamber and the surrounding area.
• Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description of exemplary embodiments provided below, with reference to the attached figures.
• In the Figures:
• FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a domestic refrigeration appliance according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 shows a detail of a wall of the refrigeration appliance fromFIG. 1, partly in a perspective view, partly in a cross-sectional view.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a domestic refrigeration appliance with a door-opening aid in accordance with the present invention. A standing type refrigerator is shown, although it should be clear to the person skilled in the art on the basis of the following description that the invention can also simply be applied to other types of refrigeration appliances.
• A thermally-insulating housing of the refrigerator comprises a carcass1 and adoor2 hinged thereto, which is shown here in a partly open position, so that astorage chamber3 can also he seen in the interior of the carcass1. In a manner customary to those skilled in the art, thedoor2 has a magnetic seal4 on its inner side facing towards the carcass1 which, in the closed position of thedoor2, abuts afront frame5 of the carcass1 extending around thestorage chamber3.
• An electronic circuit board6, on which various circuits for controlling the operation of the refrigerator and for the visualization of its operating state are disposed, is accommodated here in a recess of an insulating foamed material layer filling the walls of the carcass1 behind an operating anddisplay panel7. In the freestanding appliance shown here, the operating anddisplay panel7 is in the front edge of aworktop8 forming the top side of the carcass1, while in other types of appliance it could be located in theframe5, preferably in a region of theframe5 which, when thedoor2 is closed, is not covered thereby and is thus easily accessible and well visible for the user.
• A door-opening aid9 is mounted to the electronic circuit board6, in the case considered here to the underside thereof. It comprises anelectronic actuator11 and aslider10 which can be extended under the control of theactuator11 from an opening of theframe5.FIG. 1 shows thisslider10 in an extended position projecting beyond theframe5 in which, if thedoor2 is in a closed position, theslider10 would withdraw the magnetic seal4 thereof from theframe5 locally and thus enable a pressure equalization between thestorage chamber3 and the surrounding area.
• Theactuator11 is controlled by adifferential pressure sensor12 which is likewise disposed on the electronic circuit board6. Since the recess in the insulating material, in which the electronic circuit board6 is accommodated, communicates with the surrounding area via various joints, one of two pressure terminals of thedifferential pressure sensor12 can lead directly into the recess, in order to detect the ambient pressure. A second terminal of thedifferential pressure sensor12 is connected to areinforcement part14 via apipeline13 extending through the insulating material of the carcass1, saidreinforcement part14 being mounted in a side wall of the carcass1 reaching into thestorage chamber3.
• This side wall of the carcass1 conventionally comprises a deep-drawninner container15 made of plastic, which forms theframe5 as well as essentially flat wall surfaces delimiting thestorage chamber3 on five sides. Anopening17 is cut out in one of thesewall surfaces16, as shown inFIG. 2, in which thereinforcement part14 is mounted. The reinforcement part comprises aninner housing part18, which projects through theopening17 into thestorage chamber3, anouter housing part19, which is disposed on the side of thewall surface16 facing towards the insulatinglayer20 made of foam material, and aflexible skirt21, which is clamped between thehousing parts18,19 plugged into one another and which shields theinner housing part18 and if necessary a gap present between saidhousing part18 and the edge of theopening17 from theinsulating layer20 by abutting thewall surface16 encircling theopening17 along adotted line22.
• In twohorizontal walls23 of theinner housing part18, elasticallydeflectable catch tappets24 can be seen which are deflected through theopening17 into thehousing part18 when theinner housing part18 is inserted through, and return into their original position in an elastic mariner once theopening17 has been passed through, in order to latch thereinforcement part14 in theopening17.
• Twoair passage openings25 of theinner housing part18 secure a free exchange of air with thestorage chamber3, so that the temperature detected by a temperature sensor accommodated in thereinforcement part14 and controlling a compressor of the refrigerator matches the temperature in the interior of thestorage chamber3 well. Asupport26 for the temperature sensor (not shown in the Figure) with an elongated cylindrical shape is formed on theouter housing part19.
• Starting from a rear side of theouter housing part19, apipe27 extends into theinsulating layer20. Thepipe27 describes a bending, so that apipe connection nozzle28 on the end of thepipe27, widened to receive an end of thepipeline13, is oriented in parallel with thewall surface16 and thepipeline13 inserted therein extends in parallel to thewall surface16 up to the ceiling height of the carcass1.
REFERENCE CHARACTERS
• 1 carcass
• 2 door
• 3 storage chamber
• 4 magnetic seal
• 5 frame
• 6 electronic circuit board
• 7 operating/display panel
• 8 worktop
• 9 door-opening aid
• 10 slider
• 11 actuator
• 12 differential pressure sensor
• 13 pipeline
• 14 reinforcing part
• 15 inner container
• 16 wall surface
• 17 opening
• 18 inner housing part
• 19 outer housing part
• 20 insulating layer
• 21 skirt
• 22 line
• 23 wall
• 24 catch tappet
• 25 air passage opening
• 26 support
• 27 pipe
• 28 pipe connection nozzle

Claims (10)

1-10. (canceled)

11. A refrigeration appliance, comprising:

a storage chamber with a storage chamber door, and an inner container delimiting an interior of said storage chamber, said inner container having a wall surface formed with an opening;

a reinforcement part inset into said opening of said wall surface of said inner container and containing a temperature sensor;

a door-opening aid for facilitating an opening of said door of said storage chamber;

a differential pressure sensor for controlling said door-opening aid communicating with an interior of said storage chamber via said reinforcement part, said differential pressure sensor being exposed to an air pressure prevailing in the interior of said storage chamber and to an outside pressure prevailing in a surrounding area of the refrigeration appliance.

12. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 11, which further comprises an insulating layer surrounding said storage chamber, wherein said pressure sensor is disposed outside of said insulating layer and communicates with said storage chamber via a pipeline extending through said insulating layer.

13. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 11, wherein said reinforcement part includes a flexible skirt which abuts a side of said wall surface of the inner container facing away from said storage chamber, encircling the opening.

14. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 13, wherein said reinforcement part comprises an outer housing part and an inner housing part, which are plugged into one another and clamp said skirt therebetween.

15. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 11, wherein said reinforcement part has a housing portion engaging through said opening into said storage chamber, and wherein a wall of said housing portion is formed with at least one catch tappet engaging on an edge of said opening.

16. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 15, wherein said housing portion is formed with at least one air passage opening.

17. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 16, wherein said housing portion is formed with at least two air passage openings.

18. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 11, wherein said reinforcement part has a pipe connection nozzle.

19. The refrigeration appliance according toclaim 18, wherein said pipe connection nozzle is oriented parallel to said wall surface of said inner container.

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