WO2008061840A2

WO2008061840A2 - Cooling shelf for refrigerator, and refrigerator incorporating this shelf

Info

Publication number: WO2008061840A2
Application number: PCT/EP2007/060697
Authority: WO
Inventors: Armando Luisi
Original assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Current assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Priority date: 2006-11-22
Filing date: 2007-10-09
Publication date: 2008-05-29
Anticipated expiration: 2009-05-22
Also published as: ITMI20060410U1; WO2008061840A3

Abstract

A shelf (10) for an upright refrigerator (1), a chest freezer or the like, comprises a body (11) presenting an upper surface (12) and a lower surface (13), a front edge (14), a rear edge (15) and lateral edges (17), these latter arranged to cooperate with supports (8) provided in a compartment (3) of the refrigerator (1) in which the shelf (10) is to be positioned to support foods or other elements to be refrigerated. The body (11) of the shelf (10) is hollow (at 20), a eutectic material being disposed in said cavity (20).

Description

COOLING SHELF FOR REFRIGERATOR, AND REFRIGERATOR INCORPORATING THIS SHELF

The present invention relates to a refrigerator shelf in accordance with the introduction to the main claim. The present invention also relates to a refrigerator provided with this shelf.

In the present document the term "refrigerator" means a household electrical appliance for preserving foods or other elements, such as medicinal products, said foods and/or elements generally defined hereinafter as "products". Such a refrigerator can therefore be an upright refrigerator, a chest freezer or another equivalent type of refrigerator/freezer of known type.

It is well known that in such a refrigerator, the temperature in the preservation and/or freezing compartment can rise rapidly in the case of a fault in, or incorrect operation of the refrigeration circuit, especially if the respective door is opened frequently. To counteract this temperature rise and maintain each product in the appliance preserved for the longest possible time, it is known to use within said compartment a container containing a material able to change its physical state with temperature: said material (defined as "eutectic") retains cold during normal refrigerator operation and releases it, to change state, whenever the temperature within the refrigerator compartment rises beyond a predefined value, a property of the material itself.

The most common eutectic compositions comprise a solution of water with calcium chloride or sodium chloride and are often disposed in plastic bags to be inserted in the refrigeration and/or freezer compartment of the refrigerator. These compositions can evidently be different depending on the compartment in which they are used, and can also be appropriately "weighted" in the composition, depending on this use. However, these containers or bags are elements disposed on a usual shelf in that refrigerator compartment in which they are used, and are additional to the products to be preserved and/or frozen, present on the shelf. The use of these containers therefore limits the shelf capacity or limits the space available for products thereon. It is also known from FR2710736 to use a rapid freezer comprising two flat plates connected together and spring-loaded towards each other so that they are normally in mutual contact. These plates are hollow and each contains a eutectic material. In this manner, when rapid freezing is in operation in the refrigerator, a product can be placed between the plates while spaced apart, they then closing onto each other to retain the product between them. Because of the presence of the eutectic material, said product is rapidly cooled and maintained at the desired temperature. This solution firstly involves the need for considerable space within the refrigerator to enable the two plates to move relative to each other and to enable the preserved products to be inserted between them. Moreover these products must be substantially flat to enable the plates to be closed onto each other. Consequently the aforedeschbed prior patent is hardly practical and its use is limited.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator shelf having dimensions substantially equivalent to those of normal shelves present in a refrigerator, to enable these latter to be completely replaced, while enabling a contribution to be made to the maintenance of cold within the refrigerator.

Another object is to provide a shelf of the stated type which is of simple construction and can be disposed in any compartment of any form in a generic refrigerator, without this latter having to undergo adaptation to accommodate and/or support said shelf.

A further object is to provide a shelf of the stated type which does not limit the space available for products within the refrigerator.

Another object is to provide a shelf of the stated type which does not become problematic to use due to the presence of other shelves above or below it within the compartment in which said shelf of the invention is positioned.

These and other objects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by a shelf in accordance with the accompanying claims.

The invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings, which are provided by way of non-limiting example, and in which: figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a refrigerator provided with a shelf according to the invention; figure 2 is a perspective view of a shelf of the invention; figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of figure 2; figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of figure 2; and figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of figure 2.

With reference to said figures, a refrigerator 1 comprises a cabinet 2 in which a product preservation compartment 3 is provided. The compartment comprises opposing side walls 4, 5, a rear wall 6 and an aperture 7 to be closed by a usual door (not shown). On the side walls 4, 5 there are positioned usual supports 8 (rectilinear guides in the example) provided at different heights on said walls, to support shelves 10 on which said products to be refrigerated are placed.

Each shelf 10 comprises a body 11 presenting two opposing flat surfaces 12, 13, a front edge 14 to be positioned in front of the aperture 7, a rear edge 15 to be positioned at the rear wall 6 of the compartment 3, and lateral edges 17 to cooperate with said supports 8 either directly or via projecting pins 18.

According to the invention, the body 11 of at least one of said shelves 10 is hollow at 20 and contains a eutectic material in its interior. Preferably the cavity 20 is open at 21 in a part of the body 11 , for example at its rear edge 15; a removable stopper 23 closes the aperture 21 of the cavity 20. This enables this latter to be filled with a suitable eutectic material depending on the desired use of the shelf 10 i.e. on whether it is to be inserted in a preservation compartment as in the example, or in a freezer compartment.

The body 11 can instead be filled with eutectic material during its production, aperture through which said material is inserted into the shelf then being closed permanently.

The body 11 of the shelf 10 is made of a plastic material which is compatible with food, and is resistant to cracking, to impact and to abrasion. The body can be at least partially coloured or transparent; in this case (but not only this), the eutectic material can have its own colour. Materials usable for forming the body 11 can be chosen from ABS, PP (polypropylene), PC (polycarbonate), PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) and PETG (polyethyleneterephthalate glycol). The surfaces 12, 13 of the shelf 10 containing eutectic material can be completely flat or present recesses or channels in one of its surfaces: in this case it can appear as shown in figures 3-5 in which the upper surface 12 is flat and the lower surface 13 comprises depressions 30 and is in contact with or at least close to the upper surface. The upper surface 12 can be smooth or can present surface machining, for both appearance reasons and to create a non-slip layer for the products to be preserved. The body 11 of the shelf 10 can include apertures 50 for the passage of cooling air circulating within the compartment 3 of the refrigerator/freezer.

The shelf 10 can be of the type obtained by extrusion-blow moulding, or by thermoforming, for example using a double sheet. These methods enable a shelf to be obtained which is perfectly shaped, completely sealed, of good finish and with an optimal support capacity for the eutectic material.

The shelf 10 of the invention could incorporate lighting elements (not shown) for the refrigerator compartment 3, and/or indicators for the state of cooling of the compartment and shelf, for example a thermometer. By virtue of the invention, a shelf is obtained having a large surface 12 for supporting products to be preserved and able to provide high heat transfer efficiency with said products, and which can also ensure that an appropriate temperature is maintained, even during a temporary failure of the mains electricity. The shelf can be supplied directly with the refrigerator or be purchased separately and inserted into the refrigerator compartment as it presents the same dimensions as for example a normal glass or grid-like shelf, which is to be replaced. Moreover, as it can be variously coloured, it can give a particularly attractive appearance to the refrigerator compartment in which it is disposed.

Claims

1. A shelf (10) for a refrigerator (1 ), freezer or similar device, said shelf (10) comprising a body (11 ) presenting an upper surface (12) and a lower surface (13), a front edge (14), a rear edge (15) and lateral edges (17), these latter arranged to cooperate with support means (8) provided in a compartment (3) of the refrigerator (1 ) in which the shelf (10) is to be positioned, characterised in that the body (11 ) of the shelf (10) is hollow (at 20), a eutectic material being disposed in said cavity (20).

2. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that its body (11 ) is of plastic material.

3. A shelf as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said body (11 ) is at least partially coloured.

4. A shelf as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said body (11 ) is transparent.

5. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that said eutectic material is coloured.

6. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the upper surface (12) of said body (11 ) is smooth.

7. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the upper surface

(12) of said body (11 ) is non-slip.

8. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the body (11 ) includes air passage apertures (50).

9. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the lower surface

(13) of said body (11 ) presents recesses, said lower surface (13) being at least close to the upper surface (12) in correspondence with depressions (30).

10. A refrigerator or freezer comprising a cabinet (2) containing at least one product preservation compartment (3), at least one shelf (10) being present in said compartment to support said products, characterised in that said shelf is in accordance with claim 1.