EP2577195A2

EP2577195A2 - Refrigerator with auxiliary door on the main door

Info

Publication number: EP2577195A2
Application number: EP11723081.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sati Mutlu Bozay; Kutay Edis; Gozde Arig Gizlice; Mehmet Cemal Hacioglu
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2010-06-07
Filing date: 2011-06-06
Publication date: 2013-04-10
Also published as: WO2011154342A2; WO2011154342A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator (1) comprising a body (2), a refrigerator door (3) a rear wall forming the body (2), two opposite side walls (4), one or more shelf (5) disposed inside the body (2), more than one shelf support (6) disposed on the side walls (4), supporting the shelves (5) and whereon the shelves (5) can move in the horizontal direction, a window-shaped opening (7) arranged on the refrigerator door (3) having a bottom side, a top side and two lateral sides and an auxiliary door (8) that opens/closes by rotating around an axis on the horizontal or vertical side of the opening (7).

Description

REFRIGERATOR WITH AUXILIARY DOOR ON THE MAIN DOOR

The present invention relates to a refrigerator comprising an auxiliary door on the main refrigerator door.
When the door of the refrigerator is opened, the cool air contained therein quickly goes outside, causing loss of cooling. For example, the door is opened for taking only a beverage can or bottle out of the refrigerator and even if it stays open for a short while, the temperature of the refrigerator interior volume increases. As the time the door stays open and frequency of opening/closing increase so does the compressor operation time and the energy consumption. In order to solve this problem, a small auxiliary door is mounted on the door of the refrigerator, that can be opened by rotating around a vertical or horizontal axis. In the state of the art, the user opens the auxiliary door on the refrigerator door and reaches the door shelves behind the refrigerator door. In some embodiments, the door shelf is for example mounted to the door to be movable upwards/downwards or the door shelf is integrated with the auxiliary door, thereby reaching of the user to the door shelves by opening the auxiliary door is facilitated. Even though the auxiliary door is advantageous in reaching the door shelves, it does not provide convenience for reaching the body shelves in the interior. The user prefers to open the refrigerator door instead of the auxiliary door for getting an item on the body shelf and the problem of cold air loss and energy consumption continues. In the refrigerator explained in Japanese Patent Application No. JP2003269853, items stored on the shelves at the inner side of the refrigerator door can be reached by opening a small door disposed on the door without opening the door.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a refrigerator that comprises an auxiliary door installed on the refrigerator door and wherein the items stored on the body shelves can be easily accessed.
The refrigerator realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims, comprises a window shaped opening situated on the main refrigerator door and an auxiliary door providing the opening to be opened/closed, the sliding tray at the middle of the body shelf inside the body aligned with the opening can be taken out from the opening by being pulled outwards.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a support extension is situated on at least one lateral opposite sides of the opening, whereon the pulled out sliding tray is seated.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a bottle holder is mounted under the sliding tray and the shelf that supports the sliding tray is placed inside the body at a level at which the bottle holder or the bottle or beverage can inside the bottle holder can pass from the opening when the sliding tray is pulled out from the opening.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the sliding tray is seated on the open auxiliary door, when pulled outwards from the opening.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a handle is disposed at the front side of the sliding tray, extending towards the opening.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the shelf comprises a frame that surrounds the side plates on the right and left side of the sliding tray, connecting the side plates to each other and bearing the sliding tray between the side plates and guide channels are disposed on the frame arms at the right and left sides of the tray, providing the tray to be slidably mounted to the frame.
In the refrigerator of the present invention, the sliding tray which is a part of the body shelf can be taken out of the opening by being pulled, thus the user can easily reach the items on the body shelves through the opening on the refrigerator door.
The refrigerator realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
Figure 1 – is the perspective view of a refrigerator comprising an auxiliary door on the refrigerator door.
Figure 2 – is the perspective view of the refrigerator shelf comprising a sliding tray.
Figure 3 – is the perspective view of the refrigerator shelf when the sliding tray in the middle is pulled.
Figure 4 – is the perspective view of the refrigerator when the sliding shelf tray is pulled outwards from the opening on the refrigerator door.
Figure 5 – is the schematic view of a refrigerator in another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 – is the detailed view of a refrigerator door and a sliding tray pulled outwards through the opening on the door.
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Refrigerator
Body
Refrigerator door
Side wall
Shelf
Shelf support
Opening
Auxiliary door
Side plate
Tray
Support extension
Bottle holder
Handle
Frame
Guide channel

The refrigerator (1) comprises a body (2), a refrigerator door (3), a rear wall forming the body (2), two opposite side walls (4), one or more shelf (5) disposed inside the body (2), more than one shelf support (6) disposed on the side walls (4), supporting the shelves (5) and whereon the shelves (5) can move in the horizontal direction, a window-shaped opening (7) arranged on the refrigerator door (3) having a bottom side, a top side and two lateral sides and an auxiliary door (8) that opens/closes by rotating around an axis on the horizontal or vertical side of the opening (7).
The shelf (5) comprises
-two side plates (9) disposed on the right and left side thereof and
-a tray (10) slidably engaged between the side plates (9) in the horizontal direction, aligned with the opening (7), disposed inside the body (2) at a level between the top side and bottom side of the opening (7), that can be accessed by the user through the opening (7) when the refrigerator door (3) is closed and the auxiliary door (8) is open and that is wide enough to pass through the opening (7).
If the user desires to reach an item on the shelf (5) aligned with the opening (7) when the refrigerator door (3) is closed, he/she accesses the tray (10) through the opening (7) by opening the auxiliary door (8) and pulling the tray (10) forwards. The tray (10) is pulled towards the opening (7) by making sliding movement between the side plates (9), passes through the opening (7) and the food and beverage items thereon can be accessed without requiring the refrigerator door (3) to be opened. Furthermore, the tray (10) can be entirely taken out of the refrigerator (1).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator (1) comprises at least one support extension (11) situated on the lateral sides of the opening (7) and that supports the tray (10) when pulled outside through the opening (7). The tray (10), when pulled outwards through the opening (7) and not entirely taken out, is supported inside the opening (7) by being seated on the support extensions (11) (Figure 5).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator (1) comprises a bottle holder (12) mounted under the tray (10) (Figure 5). In this embodiment the shelf (5) is disposed inside the body (2) at such a level that the bottle holder (12) or the bottle or beverage can supported by the bottle holder (12) can pass through the opening (7), when the tray (10) is pulled outside through the opening (7). Consequently, when the tray (10) is pulled outside through the opening (7), the user can easily take the bottle or beverage can on the bottle holder (12) under the tray (10).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator (1) comprises the auxiliary door (8) that opens from the top downwards by rotating around the horizontal axis at the lower side thereof and the shelf (5) is disposed inside the body (2) at such a level that it can be supported from below by the open auxiliary door (8) when the tray (10) is pulled out through the opening (7) (Figure 6).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the shelf (5) comprises a handle (13), extending towards the opening (7) from the front side of the tray (10) and facilitating the user to access the tray (10) and pull towards the opening (7) (Figure 6). By means of the handle (13) the distance the user has to extend his/her arm inside the body (2) for reaching the tray (10) through the opening (7) decreases.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the shelf (5) comprises a frame (14) that connects the side plates (9) to each other by surrounding and bearing the tray (10) between the side plates (9) and two guide channels (15) situated on the frame (14) arms on the right and left sides of the tray (10), providing the tray (10) to be slidably engaged with the frame (14) (Figure 2, Figure 3). The tray (10) is mounted to the frame (14) by means of pins (P) or wheels that can move inside the guide channels (15) and can be moved between the side plates (9).
In the refrigerator (1) of the present invention, the sliding tray (10), which is a part of the body (2) shelf (5), can be taken out by being pulled through the opening (7) thus the user can easily access the items on the body (2) shelves (5).
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator (1) comprising a body (2), a refrigerator door (3), one or more shelf (5) disposed inside the body (2), a window-shaped opening (7) arranged on the refrigerator door (3) having a bottom side, a top side and two lateral sides and an auxiliary door (8) that opens/closes by rotating around an axis on the horizontal or vertical side of the opening (7), characterized by the shelf (5) comprising - two side plates (9) disposed on the right and left thereof and -a tray (10) slidably engaged between the side plates (9) in the horizontal direction, aligned with the opening (7), disposed inside the body (2) at a level between the top side and bottom side of the opening (7), that can be accessed by the user through the opening (7) when the refrigerator door (3) is closed and the auxiliary door (8) is open and that is wide enough to pass through the opening (7).
A refrigerator (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by at least one support extension (11) situated on the lateral sides of the opening (7) that supports the tray (10) when pulled outside through the opening (7).
A refrigerator (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by a bottle holder (12) mounted under the tray (10) and the shelf (5) that is disposed inside the body (2) at such a level that the bottle holder (12) or the bottle or beverage can supported by the bottle holder (12) can pass through the opening (7), when the tray (10) is pulled outside through the opening (7).
A refrigerator (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the auxiliary door (8) that opens from the top downwards by rotating around the horizontal axis at its lower side and the shelf (5) that is disposed inside the body (2) at such a level that it can be supported from below by the auxiliary door (8) when the tray (10) is pulled out through the opening (7).
A refrigerator (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by the shelf (5) comprising a handle (13), extending towards the opening (7) from the front side of the tray (10).
A refrigerator (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by the shelf (5) comprising a frame (14) that connects the side plates (9) to each other by surrounding and bearing the tray (10) between the side plates (9) and two guide channels (15) situated on the frame (14) arms on the right and left sides of the tray (10) and providing the tray (10) to be slidably engaged with the frame (14).