EP0903550B1

EP0903550B1 - Refrigerator with a device for rapid cooling of an object

Info

Publication number: EP0903550B1
Application number: EP19980850114
Authority: EP
Inventors: Magnus Wahlberg; Adam Fjaestad
Original assignee: Electrolux AB
Current assignee: Electrolux AB
Priority date: 1997-09-19
Filing date: 1998-06-26
Publication date: 2003-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2018-06-26
Also published as: SE9703391D0; DE69816547D1; SE9703391L; EP0903550A1; SE510526C2; DE69816547T2

Description

The invention refers to a refrigerator with a device for rapid cooling of an object.
When an object of room temperature, e.g. a bottle or a can containing a beverage, is put into a refrigerator, it can take several hours for the object to be cooled down to a desired temperature.
The object of the invention is to bring about a refrigerator with a device for rapid cooling of an object in it.
This object is reached through the refrigerator according to the invention by a first container having a flexible wall and arranged at a surface of the evaporator of the refrigerator, a second container having a flexible wall and arranged in the refrigerator at a lower level than the first container and containing a liquid, a pipe through which the liquid can move between the containers, a first means for compressing the second container, so that the liquid flows up to the first container, and a second means for bringing the object into contact with the first container, which by that is brought into contact with said surface, so that heat can be conducted from the object through the liquid in the first container to the surface.
Through CH-A-281 565, which corresponds to US-A-2 664 716, is known a refrigerated room in which rigid containers containing an eutectic solution are used for quick freezing of objects in the shape of food packages. The eutectic solution of the containers is allowed to freeze in the room after which the containers are brought into contact with new packages introduced into the room thereby rapidly cooling them during melting of the eutectic solution. But the cooling of the objects will not become as effective as at the present invention where the objects are brought in very close thermal contact with the evaporator via the flexible wall of the first container and the liquid in it.
An embodiment of a device according to the invention is described below in connexion with the enclosed drawings, in which fig. 1 shows a front view of a refrigerator, the door of which having been removed for the sake of clearness, with the device cooling a bottle, fig. 2 shows a side view of the device arranged at an evaporator in the refrigerator, fig. 3 shows how a holder has been turned out from the evaporator for receiving a bottle to be cooled rapidly, fig. 4 shows the holder pressing the bottle against a bag containing a liquid, fig. 5 shows the device with the bottle when the liquid has flowed out of the bag, and fig. 6 shows a sectional view according to the marking VI-VI in fig. 2.
By 10, see fig. 1, is designated a refrigerator, which is refrigerated by a surface 12 of an evaporator, which constitutes a part of a conventional, not shown refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator. A bag 14, see fig. 6, is suspended along the surface 12 in a frame 16, which is connected to a horizontal plate 18, below which a bag 20 containing a liquid is arranged. The bags 14 and 20 communicate with each other through a vertical pipe 22, which extends from an opening 23 in the bag 20 up through the bag 14. A horizontal plate 24 is arranged below the bag 20. When the bag 20 is compressed by the plate 24, the bag 20 is emptied of the liquid,
which unimpeded flows through the pipe 22 and out into the bag 14 through the mouth 26 of the pipe 22 above in the bag 14. When the compressing of the bag 20 ceases the liquid will by gravity slowly flow back to the bag 20 through a small opening 28 in the pipe at the bottom of the bag 14.
The plate 24, see fig. 2, is connected to the plate 18 through a horizontal hinge axis 30 at the outer end of the plate 24. A holder 32 with a concave surface 33 for keeping an object to be cooled is arranged in front of the bag 14 and is between its ends turnably journalled around a horizontal axis 34 relative to the plate 18. A link 36 connects the inner end of the plate 24 with one end of the holder 32. A compression spring 38 is arranged between the plates 18 and 24 and strives to keep these plates away from each other and by that keep the holder 32 in a vertical position in front of the bag 14. The liquid is in fig. 2 located in the bag 20 up to a level 40 in the pipe 22.
In fig. 3 the holder 32 has been turned out from the bag 14, so that the link 36 has lifted the inner end of the plate 24, through which the bag 20 has been compressed and the liquid has flowed up into the bag 14 to a level 42.
In fig. 4 an object in the shape of a bottle 44 has been placed in the concave surface of the holder 32, which by the force of the spring 38 keeps the bottle pressed against the bag 14, which in its turn is pressed against the surface 12. The bottle 44 will at this be cooled by heat being conducted from the bottle through the liquid in the bag 14 to the surface 12.
The surface 12 of the evaporator in a refrigerator can have a temperature which is as low as -30°C. The liquid is therefore chosen so that it will not freeze at this temperature. The bottle is prevented from being too cold by the liquid slowly flowing back to the bag 20 through the opening 28 in the pipe 22 so that the thermal contact between the bottle and the surface 12 via the liquid gradually ceases. In fig. 5 said thermal contact has ceased by the liquid having sunk back to the level 40. When the liquid has left the bag 14, the pipe 22 or some other suitable heat insulating spacing element, which is located between the surface 12 and the bottle 44, prevents the bottle from getting direct contact with the surface 12 via the walls of the empty bag 14.
The plate 18 with the device for rapid cooling according to the invention can be constituted by a shelf, which in conventional way is insertable in and adjustable in vertical direction in horizontal grooves 48 of the inner side walls of the refrigerator 10.

Claims

Refrigerator (10) with a device for rapid cooling of an object (44), comprising a first container (14) having a flexible wall and arranged at a surface (12) of an evaporator of the refrigerator, a second container (20) having a flexible wall and arranged in the refrigerator at a lower level than the first container and containing a liquid, a pipe (22) through which the liquid can move between the containers, a first means (24) for compressing the second container (20), so that the liquid flows up to the first container (14), and a second means (32) for bringing the object (44) into contact with the first container (14), which by that is brought into contact with said surface (12), so that heat can be conducted from the object (44) through the liquid in the first container (14) to the surface (12).
Refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that the pipe (22), which allows the liquid to unimpededly flow from the second container (20) to the first container (14), extends vertically through the first container (14) and opens out (26) above in the first container, and that the pipe (22) below in the first container is provided with a small opening (28), which brings the liquid to flow slowly from the first container (14) back to the second container (20).
Refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second means consists of a holder (32), which with the aid of a spring (38) keeps the object (44) in contact with the first container (14).
Refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that the first means (24) is connected to the holder (32) such that the first means (24) compresses the second container (20), when the holder (32) is drawn away from the first container (14) against the action of the spring (38).