DE20303859U1 - Cooling unit with an improved pull-out drawer - Google Patents

Description

GRÜNECKER KINKELDEY STOCKMAIR §

LAW FIRM

GKS & S MAXIMIUANSTRASSE 58 D-80538 MUNICH GERMANY

LAWYERS

MUNICH

DR. HELMUT EICHMANN

GERHARD BARTH

DR. ULRICH BLUMENRÖDER, LLM.

CHRISTA NIKLAS-FALTER

DR. MAXIMILIAN KINKELDEY, LLM.

DR. KARSTEN BRANDT

ANJA FRANKE ₁ LLM.

UTE STEPHANI

DR. BERND ALLEKOTTE, LL.M.

DR. ELVIRAPFRANG, LLM.

KARIN LOCHNER

BABETT ERTLE

PATENT ATTORNEYS

EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS

MUNICH

DR. HERMANN KINKELDEY PETER H. JAKOB WOLFHARD MEISTER HANS HILGERS DR. HENNING MEYER-PLATH ANNELIE EHNOLD THOMAS SCHUSTER DR. KLARA GOLDBACH MARTIN AUFENANGER GOTTFRIED KUTZSCH DR. HEIKE VOGELSANG-WENKE REINHARD KNAUER DIETMAR KUHL DR. FRANZ-JOSEF ZIMMER BETTINA K. REICHELT DR. ANTON K. PFAU DR. UDO WEIGELT RAINER BERTRAM JENS KOCH, M.S. (Uo(PA) M.S.

BERND ROTHAEMEL DR. DANIELA KINKELDEY THOMAS W. LAUBENTHAL DR. ANDREAS KAYSER DR. JENS HAMMER DR. THOMAS EICKELKAMP

YOUR REF.

OUR REF.

PATENT ATTORNEYS EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS

BERLIN

PROF. DR. MANFRED BÖNING

DR. PATRICK ERK, M.S. (MIT)

COLOGNE

DR. MARTIN DROPMANN

CHEMNITZ

MANFRED SCHNEIDER

OF COUNSEL PATENT ATTORNEYS

AUGUST GRÜNECKER DR. GUNTER BEZOLD DR. WALTER LANGHOFF

DR. WILFRIED STOCKMAIR (-1996)

DATE

i>4955-80/df

11.03.2003

ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS CORPORATION N.V. Belgicastraat17

Brussels

BELGIUM

REFRIGERATOR WITH AN IMPROVED PULL-OUT

DRAWER

"GRÜNECKER KINKELDEY I" .

STOCKMAiR & swan houses i

MAXIMILIANSTR. 58 &Idigr;..*

D-80538 MUNICH

GERMANY

¹ 2123.55··· .* PAX '(G Ria) {49*89 22t»*i7. *· •FAX IS R 4) * · ·+ 4*9· 89 21* 66*9? "9S*

http://www.grunecker.de

e-mail: postmaster@grunecker.de

.DEUTSCHE bank Munich JNo. 17 51734 .JaLZ 700 700 SWIFT: DEUT DE MM

Refrigerator with an improved pull-out drawer

The present invention relates to an improved refrigerator in which a compartment is provided containing a pull-out drawer for the preservation of foods which secrete a certain amount of moisture or water, such as fresh vegetables, fruit or even some types of meat.

To preserve these foods, it is common practice to use a fairly large drawer, usually located in the lower, cooler part of the refrigerator, which can also be pulled out to make it easier to load and empty (this drawer is also known as the vegetable drawer).

Drawers of this type are convenient and often used, but their use has a disadvantage which is due to the nature of the foods being preserved: these foods contain a fairly large amount of water which, by its nature, evaporates or is eliminated after a short period of preservation.

The water created by evaporation collects in its composition at the bottom of the drawer and remains there.

At this point, the problem of water rotting or decaying arises, which in turn affects the preservation of the food that comes into contact with the water and, as a result, the cleanliness of the drawer or the entire refrigerator is compromised.

Of course, to overcome this problem, it is possible to pull out the drawer regularly, remove the food contained in the drawer, clean the bottom of the drawer and put the food back into the drawer and put the drawer back into the compartment.

However, this operation should be carried out after checking the bottom of the drawer, which is not always possible and practical, but rather inconvenient.

Then, when this cleaning process is carried out regularly, it is obvious that performing this process is time-consuming and annoying.

It would therefore be desirable, and it is also an object of the present invention, to provide a refrigerator, preferably a domestic refrigerator, with a compartment containing a so-called vegetable drawer for the purpose described above and requiring less frequent cleaning than that which is normally necessary and in which deterioration of the quality of the food contained therein due to the condensate collected on the bottom is avoided.

In addition, such a device should be easy to manufacture using known technologies and practical in daily use by the user.

These objectives are achieved with a particular refrigerating appliance provided with one or more extractable drawers or compartments; some embodiments of these compartments or drawers are described below with reference to the figures, the embodiments described being purely exemplary and not limitative of the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a pull-out drawer according to a special embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the same drawer;

Fig. 3 and 4 show corresponding cross sections according to a vertical and a perpendicular plane, respectively, two different embodiments of a drawer according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section of another embodiment of the drawer according to the present invention.

With reference to the figures, a refrigerating appliance according to the invention comprises a compartment containing a pull-out drawer 1 intended for storing vegetables; this drawer is provided with a double bottom defined at the bottom by the bottom or lower surface 2 of the drawer and at the top by a raised surface 3 located above it, this surface being inserted into this drawer from above up to the immediate vicinity of the lower surface 2, without touching this lower surface 2.

A cavity 4 is therefore created between the two surfaces, which is located at the bottom of the drawer and is used as follows: since the foodstuffs placed in the drawer normally contain a lot of water (vegetables, fruit, etc.), the water evaporates after a certain conservation time.

This water naturally flows downwards and collects on the surface 3; from this surface the water flows further downwards through openings (which will be described later) and into the lower cavity 4; here the water remains and collects on the floor or on the lower surface 2 of the drawer.

The aim is therefore achieved that the food placed in the drawer never lies in its condensation water. Therefore, the quality of the food is not affected, which is beneficial for its preservation.

In order to create a certain distance between the floor 2 and the raised surface 3 above it, a plurality of spacers 5 are preferably used; these spacers are preferably arranged as ribs or projections 7 which extend from the underside of the surface 2.

In order to ensure a more rapid drainage of the water into the cavity 4, the surface 3 is advantageously provided with a plurality of openings 6, by means of which the drainage surface is made larger, so that even a temporary deposit of the water on the surface 2 is avoided. These openings are best used by having edges which extend downwards and thus constitute rib-shaped components 8 which take over the function of the spacers 5 described above.

With reference to Figure 5, an improved embodiment of the surface 3 is described, which has the shape of a funnel 10 provided with at least one opening 9 through which the water can flow into the cavity 4; of course, several parts of the surface can be funnel-shaped and accordingly have several openings. However, this embodiment is self-evident and will not be described in further detail.

Finally, it is advantageous that the tray 3 is removable, both to make use of the entire volume of the drawer and to have access to the bottom of the drawer to remove the water and clean the bottom.

Claims (7)

1. Refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, which has at least one compartment for preserving foodstuffs and at least one pull-out drawer ( 1 ), in particular for preserving foodstuffs containing water, characterized in that the drawer is equipped with a double base defined by the lower surface ( 2 ) of the drawer and by a raised surface ( 3 ) located above it, this surface ( 3 ) being located at a short distance from the lower surface ( 2 ) of the drawer. 2. Cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of spacers ( 5 ) are provided, which are located between the lower surface ( 2 ) and the raised surface above it, so that a hollow space ( 4 ) is formed. 3. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the surface ( 3 ) is provided with a plurality of openings ( 6 ) which ensure the drainage of condensate from the inner space of the drawer into the cavity ( 4 ), the condensate draining through these openings and collecting in this cavity. 4. Cooling device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that these spacers are formed by projections ( 7 ) which extend downwards from the lower side of the surface ( 3 ). 5. Cooling device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that these spacers are formed by components ( 8 ) which extend downwards from the edges of the openings. 6. Cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that the surface ( 3 ) has at least partially the shape of a funnel ( 10 ) which is preferably very wide and ends with a nozzle ( 9 ) extending into the cavity ( 4 ). 7. Cooling device according to one of the above claims, characterized in that the surface ( 3 ) can be pulled out of the drawer.