DE29713613U1 - Refrigerator and / or freezer - Google Patents

Description

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08.07.1997

AEG Hausgeräte GmbH . D-90429 Nuremberg.

Description Refrigerator and/or freezer

The invention relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer with a door that rests on a support edge of the housing via an elastic seal and with an adjustable handle on the door, the actuation of which opens up an air path into the refrigerator compartment, whereby a limited section of the seal can be lifted off the support edge by actuating the handle.

Such a cooling device is known from DE-PS 36 02 200. This creates an opening aid that causes a pressure equalization between the cooling chamber and the environment to be brought about in a simple manner. This pressure equalization is necessary because a negative pressure is created in the cooling chamber, which is due to the fact that the comparatively warm air that enters the device when the door is last opened is cooled and loses volume in the process.

The disadvantage of this solution is that only at one point on the seal, when it is lifted, an air path with a very small cross-section is created, possibly due to manufacturing tolerances or due to the lever not being seated correctly.

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08.07.1997

The object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator and/or freezer in which a sufficiently large air path is opened into the interior of the device with each operation.

This object is achieved according to the invention in a refrigerator and/or freezer of the type mentioned at the outset in that at least two levers are provided for lifting the seal, and in that means are provided which cause the levers to move the same distance independently of the point of application on the handle.

In this way, it is first of all provided that not only one area of the door seal is lifted at a single point to open an airway, but that two areas are provided. Due to the means provided according to the invention, it is irrelevant at which point the user grasps the handle and pulls the door open. This always results in an airway with a total cross-section sufficient for the required pressure equalization.

In a structurally simple manner, the means are rocker arms by means of which the levers communicate with each other. The rocker arms can be connected to each other in a structurally simple manner in such a way that a rocking path generated on one rocker arm is transmitted to the other rocker arms in a mirror image.

08.07.1997

In order to achieve a visually clean handle appearance and to ensure the function of the handle, it can be provided that the rocker arms are arranged inside the door handle and coupled to the levers.

Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail using a drawing. Shown here are:

Fig.1 . a partial view of a refrigerator or freezer with a seal between a device housing and a door and a lifting device in front view;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the arrangement according to Fig. 1; ...

Fig. 3 a section of "Fig. 2 with.operated ..'■ handle; and '

Fig. 4 the compensation mechanism integrated into the door handle for evenly lifting the door seal.

In a housing 1 of a refrigerator and/or freezer, which is only shown in part, a seal 4 with its inserted magnetic strip 5 rests on a support edge 3 that encloses a cooling chamber 2 at the front. The seal 4 is located on a door 6 and has a hollow

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08.07.1997

chamber profile 7 with an expansion fold 8 running in the longitudinal direction of the seal 4. The expansion fold 8 runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of the support edge 3. The hollow chamber profile 7 between the magnetic strip 5 and the supporting inner surface 9 of the door 6 serves to compensate for tolerances in the gap width between the support edge 3 and the inner surface 9 when the door 6 is closed. A fixed handle 10 with a molded-on foot end 11 is attached to the door 6. Between the front of the door 6 and the handle 10 there is an access opening 12 into which the fingers of one hand can be inserted to open the door 6.

The door 6 is also assigned a handle which has an actuating lever 14 which, with a one-ended bend 15, engages behind the expansion fold 8 on its flank facing the magnetic strip. The handle 13 is formed by bending the end of the actuating lever 14 facing away from the seal, with this handle 13' lying between the front surface of the door 6 facing the user and the actual handle 10. The handle 13 thus protrudes into the access opening 12 as a button. The handle 13 is at a distance from both the front surface 6 or the base 11 of the handle and, on the other hand, also from the handle 10 in the non-actuated position. The operating lever 14 is between the narrow outer front side 16 of the door 6 and a leg 17 of the foot 11 that overlaps the same, perpendicular to the plane of the support edge 3 or the front side.

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08.07.1997

The handle 13 can extend over part of the opening height of the door 6. As shown, the handle 13 can extend over approximately the full clear height of the opening height.

If, after opening and then closing, the door is drawn towards the support edge 3 by the negative pressure that subsequently occurs in the cooling room, the negative pressure caused by the cooling of the air cannot equalize with the outside atmosphere due to the tightly closing seal 4. The door 6 then rests on the support edge 3 with considerable pressure and cannot be opened or can only be opened with a corresponding amount of force if no pressure equalization is achieved.

In order to achieve this pressure equalization, a finger can be inserted between the base of the handle 10 and the handle 13 when grasping the handle 10. The pulling movement required for opening then causes the bend 15 to come into contact with the expansion fold 8 in the seal 4 via the operating lever 14, which is lifted off in the immediately adjacent section 18 as shown in Fig. 1 when the handle 13 is pulled further towards the handle 10, compressing the hollow chamber 7. In this area of section 18, air can then flow from outside into the cooling chamber 2 and bring about pressure equalization. The expansion fold 8 is not compressed more than necessary because when the magnetic strip 5 is lifted off, the handle 13 presses against the inside of the handle.

08.07.1997

handle 10 and further compression is prevented.

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the handle 10, which has a compensating mechanism. The compensating mechanism essentially comprises two rocker arms 20a, 20b, which engage the operating levers 14a, 14b located inside the door handle 10. If the handle opening 12 is now engaged at any point, the handle 13 moves towards the handle 10, whereby at least one of the two operating levers 15 is raised. The lifting movement of this operating lever 15 leads to at least one of the two rocker arms 20a, 20b carrying out a rocking movement, which is transmitted to the other rocker arm at the point of contact of the rocker arms 20a, 20b as a result of the toothing of the connection there, and thus to the operating lever 15 arranged on the other side. In this way, it is ensured that even with... When the handle 13 is operated on one side, both operating levers 15 open an air path into the device, which is intended to compensate for the negative pressure that inevitably occurs in the device after the last door opening.

Claims (4)

08.07.1997 AEG Hausgeräte GmbH D-90429 Nuremberg Claims 1. Refrigerator and/or freezer (1) with a door (6) which rests on a support edge (3) of the housing via an elastic seal (4) and with an adjustable handle (13, 14) on the door (6), the actuation of which opens an air path into the refrigerator compartment (2), whereby the actuation of the handle (13, 14) allows a limited section (18) of the seal (4) to be lifted off the support edge (3), characterized in that at least two levers (15) are provided for lifting the seal (4), and that means (20a, 20b) are provided which, regardless of the point of application on the handle (13, 14), cause the levers (15) to move by the same distance. 2. Refrigerator and/or freezer (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that rocker arms (20a, 20b) are provided as means by which the levers (15) communicate with each other. 3. Refrigerator and/or freezer (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the rocker arms (20a, 20b) are connected to one another in such a way that a rocker travel generated on one rocker arm (20a, 20b) is transmitted in a mirror image to the other rocker arms (20a, 20b). .* ■·;■ _&bgr; : I y :jl IJS-19-96/014 '..· .!. *.»*. &iacgr; ··* Ös/Ve 08.07.1997 4..Refrigerator and/or freezer (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the rocker arms (20a, 20b) are arranged within the door handle (10) and coupled to the levers (15).