EP0829600B1 - Locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator - Google Patents

Locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0829600B1
EP0829600B1 EP19970202424 EP97202424A EP0829600B1 EP 0829600 B1 EP0829600 B1 EP 0829600B1 EP 19970202424 EP19970202424 EP 19970202424 EP 97202424 A EP97202424 A EP 97202424A EP 0829600 B1 EP0829600 B1 EP 0829600B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
door
bolt
handle
compartment
locking device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19970202424
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0829600A1 (en
Inventor
Silvano Fumagalli
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Candy SpA
Original Assignee
Candy SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Candy SpA filed Critical Candy SpA
Publication of EP0829600A1 publication Critical patent/EP0829600A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0829600B1 publication Critical patent/EP0829600B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05C—BOLTS OR FASTENING DEVICES FOR WINGS, SPECIALLY FOR DOORS OR WINDOWS
    • E05C19/00—Other devices specially designed for securing wings, e.g. with suction cups
    • E05C19/06—Other devices specially designed for securing wings, e.g. with suction cups in which the securing part if formed or carried by a spring and moves only by distortion of the spring, e.g. snaps
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05C—BOLTS OR FASTENING DEVICES FOR WINGS, SPECIALLY FOR DOORS OR WINDOWS
    • E05C3/00—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively
    • E05C3/12—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action
    • E05C3/14—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action with operating handle or equivalent member rigid with the latch
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
    • E05B15/00—Other details of locks; Parts for engagement by bolts of fastening devices
    • E05B15/04—Spring arrangements in locks
    • E05B2015/0451—Folded springs
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D23/00—General constructional features
    • F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
    • F25D23/025—Secondary closures
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D23/00—General constructional features
    • F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
    • F25D23/028—Details
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2500/00—Problems to be solved
    • F25D2500/02—Geometry problems

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly to a locking device for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator.
  • a door is provided for closing said compartment.
  • the door is provided with a locking device which cooperates with an harpoon provided on one edge of the freezing compartment opening, and with an handle placed on the front of the door.
  • the locking device comprises an elastically flexible bolt having a hook suitable for engaging the harpoon to keep the door locked in a close position.
  • the bolt and the handle are formed as an integral body, and the bolt engagement or disengagement with the harpoon is exclusively left to the elastic bending ability of the bolt hook.
  • a device of this kind presents the disadvantage that to close the door it is necessary to exert a certain pressure on the door itself, in order to guarantee the bolt hook bending so as to snap-engaging the harpoon; therefore, if the pressure exerted on the door is not enough, the door remains unintentionally open, with the predictable bad consequences.
  • Another disadvantage of this kind of device consists in that it is not able to compensate for the dimensional variations caused by the manufacturing tolerances, that are inevitably present if one considers that both the compartment and the door are typically formed by moulded plastic material, and by the thermal expansion caused by temperature variations.
  • GB-A-2 129 046 and US-A-4 492 396 disclose a locking device for a door as defined in the preamble of claim 1.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a locking device which is not affected by said disadvantages.
  • a locking device which, even if comprising an handle and a bolt forming an integral body as in the case of the known devices previously described, does not present the disadvantages of said devices: actually, being the handle hinged to the door, the hook provided on the bolt can be withdrawn to allow for opening and closing the door, and the presence of the elastic biassing means guarantees in any case that once the handle is released, this is automatically brought back in the hook leaning out position, in order to be able to engage with the harpoon provided on the edge of the door.
  • a freezing compartment 1 of a refrigerator 2 is shown in perspective view, with the respective door 3 in an half-closed position.
  • the door 3 is hinged on one side thereof to refrigerator 2.
  • a harpoon 5 is fixed by mounted on one edge 4 of the opening of the compartment 1.
  • a handle 6 is mounted on, viewable enlarged scale in Fig. 2, formed of moulded plastic material.
  • the handle 6 is hinged to door 3 by two rod pins 7 leaning out from the under side of the handle itself, those rod pins being fulcrated on respective bearings 8 (viewable in Fig. 3-5) extending from a side wall 18 of the door 3 and integral therewith; thus, the handle 6 can rotate on vertical axis as to door 3, and therefore it is angularly orientable as to the door itself.
  • the door 3 comprises a gasket 9 to guarantee sealing, when closed.
  • a bolt 10 is formed integrally with the handle itself and obtained by moulding.
  • the bolt 10 consists of a portion of the handle 6 partially detatched on three sides from the remaining part of the handle by two cuts 11 transversal to the handle rotating axis, and shaped to present some corrugations, so that said handle portion has in transversal section substantially the shape of a serpentine, with three loops substantially perpendicular to the door surface (Fig. 3-4).
  • the bolt is shaped to form, at his end, a longitudinal hook 12 extending for the bolt 10 for the entire length thereof and leaning out of the edge of door 3 in rest condition, in order to be able to engage the harpoon 5.
  • the bolt corrugated shape together with the elastic deformation properties of the material of which the handle 6 is made of, allow the bolt elastic deformation.
  • the central portion 13 of the bolt 10 is also detatched from the lateral parts 16 and from the hook 12 of the bolt itself by an "U" cut 14; corresponding to said central part 13 of the bolt 10, the corrugation of the material making up the handle 6 is more marked, so that the central loop 17 extends up to touch the wall 18 of the door 3, which acts as an abutment (Fig.5); in this way, the central part 13 of the bolt 10 acts as an elastic member biassing the handle 6 in a rest position in which the handle is substantially aligned to the front surface of door 3.
  • door 3 in a simpler way, although not entirely correct, drawing door 3 near to the compartment 1 opening edge, and then exerting a certain pressure on the door itself substantially at his end provided with handle 6, without rotating the handle itself; in this way, thanks to the bolt 10 particular corrugated shape which allows for the elastic deformation, the hook 12 can bend so as to recede while passing in correspondence of the harpoon 5, and then extend again so as to engage with the harpoon 5 and guarantee the door being closed.
  • the handle-bolt integral block dimensioning that proved suitable to reach the desired object.
  • the characteristic dimensions are shown in Fig. 5 with A, A1, B, B1, D, D1.
  • the dimensions value depends on the elastic characteristics of the plastic material used to form the handle 6.
  • the dimension B value can be of about 3 mm (value which is also ideal for the moulding operation);
  • the thickness D1 of the material corresponding to the bolt 10 is preferably equal to about a half of thickness D, that is 0,75 mm.;
  • the dimension A is about twice as much dimension B.
  • dimension A1 must be about twice as much dimension B1.
  • the values just provided can vary depending on the used plastic material: for example, using PVC (which is softer than ABS), dimension B can be greater, by example 4 mm.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Refrigerator Housings (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
  • Bidet-Like Cleaning Device And Other Flush Toilet Accessories (AREA)
  • Lighters Containing Fuel (AREA)

Description

  • The present invention relates to a locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly to a locking device for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator.
  • In refrigerators having a freezing compartment a door is provided for closing said compartment. The door is provided with a locking device which cooperates with an harpoon provided on one edge of the freezing compartment opening, and with an handle placed on the front of the door.
  • In a known type of device, that can be defined as a "pull-type device", the locking device comprises an elastically flexible bolt having a hook suitable for engaging the harpoon to keep the door locked in a close position. The bolt and the handle are formed as an integral body, and the bolt engagement or disengagement with the harpoon is exclusively left to the elastic bending ability of the bolt hook.
  • A device of this kind presents the disadvantage that to close the door it is necessary to exert a certain pressure on the door itself, in order to guarantee the bolt hook bending so as to snap-engaging the harpoon; therefore, if the pressure exerted on the door is not enough, the door remains unintentionally open, with the predictable bad consequences.
  • Another disadvantage of this kind of device consists in that it is not able to compensate for the dimensional variations caused by the manufacturing tolerances, that are inevitably present if one considers that both the compartment and the door are typically formed by moulded plastic material, and by the thermal expansion caused by temperature variations.
  • GB-A-2 129 046 and US-A-4 492 396 disclose a locking device for a door as defined in the preamble of claim 1.
  • In view of the state of the art described, an object of the present invention is to provide a locking device which is not affected by said disadvantages.
  • According to the present invention, that object is achieved by means of a locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance as defined in claim 1.
  • Thanks to the present invention, a locking device is provided which, even if comprising an handle and a bolt forming an integral body as in the case of the known devices previously described, does not present the disadvantages of said devices: actually, being the handle hinged to the door, the hook provided on the bolt can be withdrawn to allow for opening and closing the door, and the presence of the elastic biassing means guarantees in any case that once the handle is released, this is automatically brought back in the hook leaning out position, in order to be able to engage with the harpoon provided on the edge of the door.
  • The features and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, described by way of non-limiting example in the annexed drawings, wherein:
  • Fig. 1 shows in perspective view a refrigerator freezing compartment with a door having a locking device according to the invention;
  • Fig. 2 shows in top-plan view the door handle of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 3 is a sectional view, along a horizontal plane marked with line III-III of Fig. 2, of the door and refrigerator compartment assembly with the door closing the compartment;
  • Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3, but refers to an opening position of the door; and
  • Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the door and compartment assembly, along a horizontal plane marked with line V-V in Fig. 2, with the door closing the compartment.
  • Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 a freezing compartment 1 of a refrigerator 2 is shown in perspective view, with the respective door 3 in an half-closed position. The door 3 is hinged on one side thereof to refrigerator 2. A harpoon 5 is fixed by mounted on one edge 4 of the opening of the compartment 1.
  • In front of the door 3, substantially in correspondance of side opposite to the side hinged to the refrigerator, a handle 6 is mounted on, viewable enlarged scale in Fig. 2, formed of moulded plastic material. The handle 6 is hinged to door 3 by two rod pins 7 leaning out from the under side of the handle itself, those rod pins being fulcrated on respective bearings 8 (viewable in Fig. 3-5) extending from a side wall 18 of the door 3 and integral therewith; thus, the handle 6 can rotate on vertical axis as to door 3, and therefore it is angularly orientable as to the door itself.
  • As also viewable in Fig. 3-4, the door 3 comprises a gasket 9 to guarantee sealing, when closed.
  • On the middle part of the front side 15 of the handle 6 a bolt 10 is formed integrally with the handle itself and obtained by moulding. The bolt 10 consists of a portion of the handle 6 partially detatched on three sides from the remaining part of the handle by two cuts 11 transversal to the handle rotating axis, and shaped to present some corrugations, so that said handle portion has in transversal section substantially the shape of a serpentine, with three loops substantially perpendicular to the door surface (Fig. 3-4). The bolt is shaped to form, at his end, a longitudinal hook 12 extending for the bolt 10 for the entire length thereof and leaning out of the edge of door 3 in rest condition, in order to be able to engage the harpoon 5. The bolt corrugated shape together with the elastic deformation properties of the material of which the handle 6 is made of, allow the bolt elastic deformation.
  • The central portion 13 of the bolt 10 is also detatched from the lateral parts 16 and from the hook 12 of the bolt itself by an "U" cut 14; corresponding to said central part 13 of the bolt 10, the corrugation of the material making up the handle 6 is more marked, so that the central loop 17 extends up to touch the wall 18 of the door 3, which acts as an abutment (Fig.5); in this way, the central part 13 of the bolt 10 acts as an elastic member biassing the handle 6 in a rest position in which the handle is substantially aligned to the front surface of door 3.
  • During the use, to close door 3 it is necessary to grip the handle 6, to rotate it for moving it away from the front surface of door 3 so as the hook 12 of the bolt 10 recedes as much as not to interfere with the harpoon 5, to draw the door 3 near to the compartment 1 opening edge, then to release the handle 6, which is automatically brought back in rest position by the elastic force exerted by the central portion 13 of the bolt 10; in this way, the hook 12 engages in abutment with the harpoon 5, and guarantees the door 3 being kept closed. The particular shape of bolt 10, together with the elastic properties of the material of which it is made up, guarantee the hook 12 engagement with the harpoon 5 even against the push exerted by the gasket 9.
  • However it is also possible to close door 3 in a simpler way, although not entirely correct, drawing door 3 near to the compartment 1 opening edge, and then exerting a certain pressure on the door itself substantially at his end provided with handle 6, without rotating the handle itself; in this way, thanks to the bolt 10 particular corrugated shape which allows for the elastic deformation, the hook 12 can bend so as to recede while passing in correspondence of the harpoon 5, and then extend again so as to engage with the harpoon 5 and guarantee the door being closed.
  • To open the door, it is necessary to grip and rotate the handle 6, overcoming the elastic reaction of the central portion 13 of the bolt 10; in this way, the hook 12 recedes and disengages itself from the harpoon 5, and it is possible to open the door.
  • By way of example only, some data are given regarding the handle-bolt integral block dimensioning that proved suitable to reach the desired object. The characteristic dimensions are shown in Fig. 5 with A, A1, B, B1, D, D1. The dimensions value depends on the elastic characteristics of the plastic material used to form the handle 6. For example, using ABS, with an handle thickness D of about 1,5 mm the dimension B value can be of about 3 mm (value which is also ideal for the moulding operation); the thickness D1 of the material corresponding to the bolt 10 is preferably equal to about a half of thickness D, that is 0,75 mm.; the dimension A is about twice as much dimension B. Regarding dimensions A1 and B1, it has been verified that for having a good elastic reaction by the hook 12 against the harpoon 5, and at the same time enough rotating angle of the handle 6, preferably dimension A1 must be about twice as much dimension B1. The values just provided can vary depending on the used plastic material: for example, using PVC (which is softer than ABS), dimension B can be greater, by example 4 mm.

Claims (4)

  1. Locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, comprising a handle (6) and an elastically deformable bolt (10) with a hook (12) suitable for cooperating with a harpoon (5) provided on one edge (4) of said compartment (1) to keep said door closed, the handle and the bolt being integral and made of an elastically deformable material, said handle being hinged to said door so as to be orientable in a first angular position in which said hook projects out of one edge of the door for engaging with said harpoon and in a second angular position in which said hook is withdrawn as to the edge of the door for disengaging from said harpoon, said bolt further comprising elastic biasing means (13) for keeping the handle in said first position characterized in that said bolt (10) is made up of a portion of the handle (6) shaped to have a corrugated surface, so that said handle portion has substantially the shape of a serpentine.
  2. Locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that said hook (12) comprises a final appendix of the handle (6) portion making up the bolt (10).
  3. Locking device according to claim 2, characterized in that said elastic biassing means (13) are made up of a portionof the bolt (10) also having a corrugated surface so as to form a spring, a loop (17) of said corrugated surface leaning against an abutment wall (18) of said door (3).
  4. Locking device according to claim 3, characterized in that said bolt portion making up the elastic biassing means (13) is detatched on three sides from the bolt (10).
EP19970202424 1996-09-16 1997-08-04 Locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator Expired - Lifetime EP0829600B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITMI960612U 1996-09-16
ITMI960612 IT240884Y1 (en) 1996-09-16 1996-09-16 LOCKING DEVICE FOR A DOOR OF A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE, PARTICULARLY FOR THE COMPARTMENT DOOR

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0829600A1 EP0829600A1 (en) 1998-03-18
EP0829600B1 true EP0829600B1 (en) 2002-05-15

Family

ID=11373804

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19970202424 Expired - Lifetime EP0829600B1 (en) 1996-09-16 1997-08-04 Locking device for a door of a compartment of a household appliance, particularly for the freezing compartment door of a refrigerator

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0829600B1 (en)
DE (1) DE69712579T2 (en)
ES (1) ES2175263T3 (en)
IT (1) IT240884Y1 (en)

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE29811815U1 (en) * 1998-07-02 1998-09-10 REHAU AG + Co., 95111 Rehau cover
WO2003018943A1 (en) * 2001-08-24 2003-03-06 Arcelik, A.S. Locking mechanism
TW555046U (en) * 2002-10-22 2003-09-21 Uniwill Comp Corp Latch device and electrical apparatus with latch device
DE202006007722U1 (en) * 2006-05-15 2006-07-13 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Refrigerator comprises an integrated freezer compartment having a door body and a handle part having protrusions orientated across a pivoting axle
EP2372252A1 (en) * 2010-04-05 2011-10-05 Vestel Beyaz Esya Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. Safety lock for oven doors
WO2013098038A2 (en) * 2011-12-26 2013-07-04 Arcelik Anonim Sirketi A cooling device comprising a locking mechanism
KR101732168B1 (en) * 2015-06-17 2017-05-11 동부대우전자 주식회사 Refrigerator having locking device for ice burcket and method for installation of locking device of ice burcket
KR101696850B1 (en) * 2015-06-17 2017-01-16 동부대우전자 주식회사 Refrigerator having locking device for ice burcket and method for installation of locking device of ice burcket
KR101696817B1 (en) * 2015-06-17 2017-01-16 동부대우전자 주식회사 Refrigerator having locking device for ice burcket and method for installation of locking device of ice burcket
DE102017115372A1 (en) * 2017-07-10 2019-01-10 Liebherr-Hausgeräte Ochsenhausen GmbH Fridge and / or freezer

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE7631103U1 (en) * 1976-10-05 1977-06-30 Bosch-Siemens Hausgeraete Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart LOCKING FOR A DOOR FITTED TO A BOX-SHAPED CONTAINER, IN PARTICULAR FREEZER DOOR FOR A REFRIGERATOR OR THE LIKE.
US4492396A (en) * 1981-10-28 1985-01-08 Siemens-Allis, Inc. One-piece, slam-type latch for snap-in installation
GB2129046B (en) * 1982-10-29 1986-01-22 Arnold J W Door catch

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE69712579T2 (en) 2002-12-19
ITMI960612U1 (en) 1998-03-16
ITMI960612V0 (en) 1996-09-16
DE69712579D1 (en) 2002-06-20
IT240884Y1 (en) 2001-04-11
ES2175263T3 (en) 2002-11-16
EP0829600A1 (en) 1998-03-18

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