Classifications

• • 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
  • F25D23/12—Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove
  • F25D23/126—Water cooler
• • 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
  • F25C—PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE
  • F25C2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
  • F25C2700/14—Temperature of water
• • 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
  • F25D2317/00—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass
  • F25D2317/06—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation
  • F25D2317/066—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation characterised by the air supply
  • F25D2317/0666—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation characterised by the air supply from the freezer
• • 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
  • F25D2323/00—General constructional features not provided for in other groups of this subclass
  • F25D2323/122—General constructional features not provided for in other groups of this subclass the refrigerator is characterised by a water tank for the water/ice dispenser
• • 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
  • F25D2400/00—General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
  • F25D2400/02—Refrigerators including a heater

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a refrigerator with a water tank.
• Refrigeration appliances such as refrigerators or freezers with such a water tank, which supplies a tapping point mounted outside the appliance with chilled drinking water, are becoming increasingly popular with consumers.
• the water in such a tank must never freeze, on the one hand, because the expansion of the water associated with the freezing could destroy the tank, on the other hand, because no water can be tapped from an iced tank.
• the water tank must therefore not have too close thermal contact with an interior if it can be cooled to temperatures below 0 ° C.
• Refrigeration appliances are known in which an attempt is made to fulfill this requirement by embedding the tank in a wall of the refrigerator housing, so that it is surrounded by an insulating layer both to the outside and to the interior.
• the ratio of the thermal conductivities of these layers as well as the indoor and ambient temperatures determine the temperature which the contents of the tank assume under steady state conditions.
• the interior temperature and - to an even greater extent than these - also the ambient temperature are variable.
• a refrigeration appliance designed for use in temperate latitudes can not satisfactorily cool the tank contents when used in a tropical environment.
• Object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration device that can be used under highly variable ambient temperatures.
• the object is achieved by extending in a refrigerator with a water tank having at least one side wall and a bottom surface, arranged to prevent the freezing of the tank contents on the water tank surface heating extends at least partially over the bottom surface of the tank and in heat-conducting contact with this stands.
• a rapid distribution of the heated water in the tank and thus a uniform temperature distribution is ensured, so that the freezing of the tank contents can be reliably avoided.
• the bottom surface of the water tank is completely in contact with the planar heating in heat-conducting contact.
• the bottom surface is generally considerably smaller than the side wall.
• the heater expediently extends over the side wall and is in heat-conducting contact with this.
• the heater provided with the side wall is preferably facing an outer side of the housing, so that it is still insulated against an interior of the refrigerator by the tank and its contents.
• a second side wall of the tank preferably adjoins a cavity which communicates with a cooled interior of the refrigeration device to allow, if necessary, a rapid cooling of the contents of the water tank.
• the water tank can be advantageously provided with clamping devices. So can on a bonding of the heater to the tank be omitted, since here, if it is not made sufficiently accurate, there is the risk of air bubbles between the water tank and the heater or wrinkling.
• a close contact between a flexible heater and the surface of the water tank can be easily ensured if the surface of the water tank is convex between two clamping projections.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic section through an inventive refrigeration device with a mounted in a niche of the door water tank.
• Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the water tank
• Fig. 4 shows a second detail in section according to a further developed embodiment.
• Fig. 1 shows a schematic section through a refrigeration device with water tank according to the present invention.
• the refrigerator shown may be a freezer or the freezer compartment of a side-by-side combination appliance.
• the walls of the body 1 and door 2, which enclose the interior 3 of the device are realized in a conventional manner in each case with a solid outer skin and inner skin, which enclose a filled with insulating resin gap.
• the inner skin 4 of the door 2 is molded in one piece from plastic and has in a central region a projecting into the interior 3 projection 5.
• the outer skin is composed of a substantially flat front panel 6, which is here shown disguised with a furniture panel 7, and in which a central window is cut, and a substantially cuboid, open at the front, molded plastic injection-molded housing 8, which engages in the projection 5 of the inner skin 4 and the window of the front panel 6 fills.
• Two steps 9 on the bottom and top wall of the housing. 8 The niche formed in its interior is divided into an inner area 10 and an outer area 1, which is open towards the front of the device.
• the inner area 10 is defined by a heat-insulating plate 12, which is inserted from the front into the housing 8 and bears against the steps 9 Essentially closed.
• a water tank 13 is housed. Lines 14 and 15 connect the water tank 13 on the one hand to the drinking water network and on the other hand with a tapping point 16 in the outer region 11 of the housing eighth
• a cavity 17 between a rear side of the approximately cuboid water tank 13 and a rear wall of the housing 8.
• An At least one of these passages 18 is a control, not shown in Fig. 1, such as a flap or a fan arranged, which allows to restrict the air circulation between the cavity 17 and the interior 3 to a minimum, when the one of the tank 13 water sensor temperature is low enough, or allow air circulation or drive when, for example, after the influx of fresh water to the tank 13, the water temperature in the tank 13 is above the target value.
• an automatic ice maker 19 In the interior 3 there are an automatic ice maker 19 and a reservoir 20, in which the ice maker 19 outputs finished pieces of ice.
• Dispensing opening of the reservoir 20 is located above a shaft 21 which extends through the wall of the door 2 and opens at the ceiling of the outer region 11 in the housing 8.
• a container placed in the outer region 11 can be filled with both cooled water from the tank 13 and ice pieces from the reservoir 20.
• Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the water tank 13, seen from its the niche 1 1 facing front side.
• the water tank 13 is of substantially parallelepipedal shape. It is composed essentially of a flat shell 22, which forms a front wall 23, a bottom surface 24, a ceiling 25 and side walls 26 of the tank 13, and a rear wall 28 which surrounds a bottom surface 24, ceiling 25 and side walls 26 extending collar 27 of the shell 22 is welded.
• Inlet and outlet ports 29, 30 are from upper corners of the front Wall 23 off.
• Adjacent to the outlet port 30, a bag 31 made of plastic film is welded to one of the side walls 26, which is provided to receive a temperature sensor inserted from above for detecting the water temperature in the tank 1.
• the tank 13 is sealed by a planar welding, designated in Fig. 4 with 39, between the collar 27 and the rear wall 28th
• two brackets 32 are formed, which hold a foil heater 33 against the wall 23.
• the film heater extends over the greater part of the front wall 23 and the bottom surface 24 to near the collar 27, where it is held by other, not shown in the view brackets.
• an upper and a lower edge of the foil heater 33 is a stiff, rod-shaped one Keder 34 looped around.
• This piping 34 gives the otherwise flexible film heater 33 the necessary rigidity to be inserted into the clamp 32 and ensures a permanent hold by positive locking.
• the clip 32 elastically spread by the welt 34 from the wall 23 at the same time exerts an upward pull on the film heater 33 so that it is held under tension and bears snugly against the surface of the tank 13.
• the anchoring of the lower edge of the film heater 33 to the bottom surface 24 can be done by means of brackets 32 analog to the brackets; Fig. 4 shows a contrast modified type of anchorage.
• the edge of the film heater 33 is wrapped around a rod-shaped piping 34 around.
• the circumferential collar 27 of the shell 22 is extended to the outside in each case by an angled web 36, so that at the front of the collar 27, a groove 35 results, which receives the piping 34.
• the rear wall 28 is provided with a circumferential ridge 37, the one beyond the web 36 projecting and the groove 35 partially occlusive Projection 38 carries.
• the web 37 and projection 38 together act as a clamp which holds the piping 34 and with it the lower edge of the film heater 33 in the groove 35.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
• Removal Of Water From Condensation And Defrosting (AREA)
• Cold Air Circulating Systems And Constructional Details In Refrigerators (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=40845976

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 2008
  • 2008-02-19 DE DE102008009788A patent/DE102008009788A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2009
  • 2009-02-16 WO PCT/EP2009/051775 patent/WO2009103676A1/de active Application Filing
  • 2009-02-16 US US12/865,401 patent/US20100326120A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2009-02-16 RU RU2010135808/13A patent/RU2010135808A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2009-02-16 EP EP09711827A patent/EP2242972A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-02-16 CN CN2009801055314A patent/CN101946146A/zh active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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