EP2059741B1 - Multi-door refrigerator comprising a heatable door bar - Google Patents

Abstract

The doors (4,5) of a refrigeration appliance body (1) meet at a vertical line at the edges which is sealed by a bar (9) near the edge of the first door (4) which is turned by pegs (11) and guide grooves (10) to provide a surface (12) in line with the housing face (6) against which the magnetic seal (8) of the second door (5) comes into contact. A heating element (17) is provided to keep the doors free of condensation.

Description

Single door refrigerators generally have a body with a front frame and a door at the rear of a circumferential sealing profile is arranged, which rests in the closed position on the frame and seals an interior of the refrigerator. In a multi-door refrigerator in which doors hinged on opposite sides of the body close a same interior, an analog sealing effect can be achieved if the opening of the frame is divided into two by a spar, so that each of the doors can completely cover a partial opening. However, this solution is often perceived as unsatisfactory, since a permanently mounted spar difficult access to the interior. There are therefore two-door refrigerators have been proposed in which the spar is mounted on a first of the doors and in the closed position of the first door, the frame of the body supplemented so that a sealing profile of the second door substantially completely abut either on the frame or the spar and so the interior can seal satisfactorily. However, a problem with these refrigerators is that an outside of the spar is exposed to the influx of ambient air through a gap between opposing flanks of the two doors, with the result that humidity will condense on the spar if no appropriate countermeasures are taken.

It is a common practice to heat the frame of refrigeration appliances to prevent the formation of condensation. The heating is usually done with the help of a laid in the body along the frame refrigerant pipe, which is arranged in the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator between a compressor and a condenser and consequently flows through warm refrigerant at high pressure. Such a refrigerant piping would also be caused by the rail mounted on one of the doors and movable with this, would cause prohibitive costs, so that for heating such a spar usually an electric heater is provided. In a simple, in particular uniaxial construction of the hinge connecting the door and the body, it is possible without excessive difficulties to guide a supply circuit of the electric heating device over the hinge, be it in the form of a hinge axis extending between the carcass and the door electrical cable or by the usually formed of metal hinge itself is used as an electrical conductor.

In particular, in built-in devices or more generally in devices whose doors are veneered by decorative panels of any kind to adapt their appearance to that of adjacent furniture or equipment, often more complicated hinge structures are required to guide the door movement so that the opening and closing of the Door is not obstructed by adjacent decorative panels. These hinge designs usually have several axes which are movable during the pivoting movement and are not suitable for passing a cable, and also the electrical conductivity of the hinge as a whole is not always guaranteed.

A refrigerator with a body and a door, which together define a first interior, and the door includes an electric heater is off GB 857,999 known.

Object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with at least two doors, one of which carries a heatable spar, in which the supply of an electric heater of the spar with heating current regardless of the design of the doors and the body interconnecting hinges on simple and reliable manner is ensured.

The object is achieved in that in a refrigerator with a body and a pair of hinged on opposite sides of the body doors, which together define a first interior, wherein a first door of the pair carries a spar, which in the closed position of the first door in engages the interior, which has a contact surface against which in the closed position of both doors a rear side of the second door, and which includes an electric heater, on the body at least one supply contact is attached, via which a supply circuit of the electric heater is guided and the when the first door is closed with a complementary contact of the first door is electrically connected.

Advantageously, the supply contact is assigned to a lying in the electrical circuit of the refrigerator electrical component such as a display, an operating unit or interior lighting or the like or arranged on these components.

Since these components, e.g. the interior lighting for their operation must be supplied with electrical energy anyway and for this purpose, if necessary, a supply line is passed through the wall of the body, the heater of the spar can be supplied via this line in a simple way, without having to be specially painstakingly sealed Passage through the corpus wall would have to be created.

A second core of the supply circuit may be guided by a hinge which connects the first door to the body, as long as the type and materials of hinge used permit this.

Alternatively, a second supply contact can preferably be arranged on the housing of the interior lighting, which is electrically connected with the first door closed with a further complementary contact of the first door.

The interior lighting may be arranged to illuminate the first interior.

However, a configuration in which the interior lighting is arranged in order to illuminate a second interior is particularly expedient.

In this case, the housing of the interior lighting is preferably mounted on a partition wall between the first and the second inner space.

The second interior preferably includes a pull-out drawer. This can be well and completely illuminated by the interior lighting in the pulled-out state, even if it is completely arranged on a front edge of the partition wall and does not engage in the second interior.

A front panel of the drawer can expediently form a door of the second interior.

As a supply contact can serve in particular a slide, in the housing of the interior lighting in a conventional manner by opening and closing a Door is slidably arranged to turn on and off the interior lighting depending on the opening state of the door.

The complementary contact can also be displaceable and acted upon by a spring against the first supply contact.

Preferably, the spar is pivotally connected to the first door to allow the first door to be opened and closed without having to open the second door therefor.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht schräg von unten eines Kältegerätes gemäß einer ersten Ausgestaltung der Erfindung;

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Kältegerätes gemäß einer zweiten Ausgestaltung der Erfindung;

Fig. 3

einen Teilschnitt durch das Kältegerät der Fig. 2 bei geschlossenen Türen; und

Fig. 4

einen zu Fig. 3 analogen Teilschnitt gemäß einer Abwandlung.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

Fig. 1

a perspective view obliquely from below a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2

a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3

a partial section through the refrigerator of the Fig. 2 with closed doors; and

Fig. 4

one too Fig. 3 analog partial section according to a modification.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view obliquely from below a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the invention. The refrigerator has a body 1, on whose two side walls 2, 3 each have a door 4 and 5 is articulated. The body 1 has a contiguous interior 7. At the front of the body 1 extends around the interior 7, a planar frame. 6

The doors 4, 5 each carry at their in the closed position the body 1 facing backs frame-shaped circumferential magnetic sealing profiles 8. At the narrower 4 of the two doors, a vertical spar 9 is hinged. The spar 9 has at upper and lower end faces in each case a guide groove 10. The guide grooves 10 are arranged so that when the door 4 is pivoted from the position shown in the figure in the voltage applied to the frame 6 closed position, arranged on the ceiling and bottom of the body 1 guide pin 11 engage in the grooves 10 and, by in this slide along, a pivotal movement of the spar 9 with respect to the door 4 drive. At the end of this pivoting movement, when the door 4 rests against the frame 6, a wide front side 12 of the spar 9 is flush with the frame 6. Now, when the door 5 is pivoted to the closed position, the sealing profile 8 is on the one hand on the frame 6 and on the other hand on the front side 12 of the spar 9 close to the plant.

The guided by the pins 11 and grooves 10 pivoting movement of the spar 9 allows the door 4 to open or close even when the door 5 is closed.

Each door 4, 5 is assigned to a arranged on the ceiling of the body 1 interior lighting 13 and 14, respectively. Each interior lighting 13, 14 comprises a housing, in the rear, facing away from the doors 4, 5, the light-transmitting area, a light source such as a light bulb, LEDs or the like is housed, and in the front region of a spring-loaded slide 15 is guided. When the door is open, the tips of the slides 15 are advanced by their springs respectively over the front of the frame 6, so that they come into contact with the back of the doors 4, 5 and are pushed back. The movement of the slider 15 is actuated in a conventional manner housed in the housing of the interior lighting 13 and 14 switch, which turns on the lamp when the door is open and turns off when the door is closed. The slider 15 is at least in the case of the interior lighting 13 made of metal and is acted upon by its spring with a low electrical voltage. If the lighting means is a low-voltage lighting means such as a halogen bulb or an LED array, the slider 15 is expediently acted upon by the supply voltage of the lighting means. This supply voltage can be applied to the slide 15 constantly, both open and closed door 4, or it can be provided that the light-actuated switch is used to supply the power either with the door closed to the slider 15 and the door open to apply to the bulb. Thus, a simple, two-core supply cable, which is passed through the wall of the body 1, to supply both the interior lighting 13 and the slide 15 with voltage.

At the rear of the door 4, a metallic contact pad 16 is arranged so that it forms a galvanic contact with the slider 15 when the door 4 is closed. From this contact pad 16, an electrical supply line, not visible in the figure, passes through the door 4, the hinge connecting the door 4 and the rail, and the rail 9 to an electric heating device which, as in FIG Fig. 1 indicated by hatching, extends in the interior of the spar 9 strip-shaped over its entire height. This electric heater 17 heats the surface of the spar 9 everywhere where in the closed position of the doors 4, 5 can pass through a gap between opposite narrow sides of the doors 4, 5 ambient air to the spar 9, and thus prevents the formation of condensation or Ripe on the spar 9.

A second supply line required for closing a circuit by the heater 17 may be guided back into the body 1 through a hinge connecting the door 4 to the side wall 2. Alternatively, it is possible to provide on the interior lighting 13 two mutually electrically insulated slides 15 and complementary to those on the back of the door 4, two contact fields 16 through which the supply circuit of the heater 17 extends.

A second embodiment of the invention is in Fig. 2 shown in a perspective view. Elements that are common to this embodiment and the foregoing are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the body 1 of the refrigerator has two different internal spaces 7, 20, which are separated from each other by a horizontal partition 21. The upper interior 7 is as in the case of the embodiment of Fig. 1 closed by two doors 4, 5, of which the one door 4 carries a hinged rail 9, on the front side 12 in the closed position sealing profiles of the doors 4, 5 abut. At the front edge of the intermediate wall 21, two lighting housing 22 are arranged, which are covered with closed doors 4, 5 of these, however, which are provided here to illuminate a recorded in the lower, second interior 20 drawer 23. A front of the drawer simultaneously forms a third door 24 of the refrigerator. This third door 24 carries on its not visible in the figure back as the doors 4, 5 a circumferential Sealing profile which rests in the closed position of the door 24 on the frame 6 and the intermediate wall 21.

The two lighting housing 22 each carry on a front two contact fields 25, which are at least in the case of the left lighting housing 22, which is opposite to the spar 9 supporting door 4, connected to a supply voltage for the heater 17 of the spar 9. At the back of the door 4, two spring-loaded contact pins 26 are placed so that they meet the contact fields 25 when the door 4 is closed.

Fig. 3 shows a partial section through the doors 4, 24 and the intermediate wall 21 of the refrigerator of the Fig. 2 , The doors 4, 24 and the intermediate wall 21 are each realized substantially as filled with insulating hollow body; in the case of the door 4, a support block 27 is added to the lower edge of the hollow body, in which the contact pins 26 are slidably supported and by springs, not shown, against the contact pads 25 of the lighting housing 22 to produce a galvanic contact with them.

On the outer sides of the doors 4, 24 a decorative plate 28 is mounted in built-in devices known per se.

An electrical supply cable 29 is guided by the insulating material of the intermediate wall 21 in the lighting housing 22. The two wires of the supply cable 29 are each connected directly to one of the two contact fields 25. Connected between the two wires are a low-voltage lighting means 30 and a switch, of which only the actuated him, held by the door 24 in the depressed position slide 31 is visible. From the contact pins 26 of the support block 27 from another supply cable 32 extends through the insulating material of the door 4 to the heater 17th

Deviating from the presentation of Fig. 3 Of course, a switch for actuating the lighting means 30 may also be arranged separately from the lighting housings 22. Such a switch can in particular simultaneously switch the lighting means of both lighting housings 22. In this case, the supply cable 29 three-wire, with a Masseader, a continuously leading the supply voltage for the heater 17 and a vein wire that supplies the light source 30.

In the event that the doors 4, 24 are not covered by decorative panels, but remain visible on the finished refrigeration device, the support block 27 can also, as in Fig. 4 shown, be recessed on the back of the door 4, so that it is not visible from the outside when the door 4 is closed.

Claims (13)

1. Refrigerating appliance with a body (1) and a pair of doors (4, 5), which abut at opposite sides (2, 3) of the body (1) and which together bound a first interior space (7), wherein a first door (4) of the pair carries a post (9) which in closed setting of the first door (4) engages in the interior space (7), has a contact surface (12) against which in the closed setting of the two doors (4, 5) a rear side of the second door (5) bears and contains an electric heating device (17), wherein mounted at the body (1) is at least one current supply contact (15; 25) via which a power supply circuit of the electric heating device (17) is led and which when the first door (4) is closed is electrically conductively connected with a complementary contact (16; 26) of the first door (4).
2. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the current supply contact (15; 25) is associated with an electrical component, which lies in the current circuit of the refrigerating appliance, of the refrigerating appliance.
3. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterised in that the electrical component is constructed as an interior space lighting means (13; 22), at the housing of which the current supply contact (15; 25) is arranged.
4. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the power supply circuit is further led by way of a hinge which connects the first door (4) with the body (1).
5. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that a second current supply contact (25) is arranged at the housing (22) of the interior space lighting means and is electrically conductively connected with a complementary contact (26) of the first door (4) when the first door (4) is closed.
6. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the interior space lighting means (13) is arranged to illuminate the first interior space (7).
7. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the interior space lighting means (25) is arranged to illuminate a second interior space (20).
8. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 7, characterised in that the housing of the interior space lighting means (22) is mounted on a partition wall (21) between the first and the second interior space (7, 20).
9. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the second interior space (20) contains a withdrawable drawer (23).
10. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 9, characterised in that a front plate of the drawer (23) forms a door (24) of the second interior space (20).
11. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that a slide (15), which is slidably guided in the housing of the interior space lighting means (13) for switching on and switching off the interior space lighting means, forms the first current supply contact.
12. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the complementary contact (26) is displaceable and loaded by a spring towards the first current supply contact (25).
13. Refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the post (9) is pivotably connected with the first door (4).

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