EP2798286A2

EP2798286A2 - A cooling device comprising two side by side doors

Info

Publication number: EP2798286A2
Application number: EP12798663.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Soner Kahraman; Akin Ozdemir; Ali Gokhan GENC; Omer Faruk GULER; Ciprian Virgiliu PARCALABU
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2011-12-26
Filing date: 2012-11-29
Publication date: 2014-11-05
Also published as: CN104024773A; WO2013098023A3; WO2013098023A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) comprising a body (2), at least one opening (3) arranged on the body (2), two doors (4) attached from one of their sides to the side walls of the body (2) so as to cover the opening (3) and to stand side by side when closed, and wherein the gap remaining between the doors (4) is closed airtightly.

Description

A COOLING DEVICE COMPRISING TWO SIDE BY SIDE DOORS

The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising two side-by-side doors.
In cooling devices, particularly in refrigerators named as “French type”, doors are used, that are arranged side-by-side, covering the opening on the body and mounted to the body by one of them being hinged from its left side and the other from its right side so as to rotate around the vertical axis. The doors disposed on the right and left cover a single compartment, for example the fresh food compartment, which is accessed into by means of the opening. When the doors are closed, the doors press on the frame around the opening and airtightness is provided by the gaskets between the door and the frame. In order to provide airtightness between the end-to-end sides of two doors, mullions are used, which are connected to one of the doors and that rotate around the axis whereby it is attached to the door, by going in and out of the bearing disposed at one of the upper or lower sides of the frame facing the opening. When both doors are closed, the mullion provides insulation of the cooling volume by forming a surface against which the gaskets bear. When the door is open, the mullion rests on the side of the door whereto it is connected and forms a surface on which the other door rests by rotating 90 degrees inside the bearing while the door is being closed. Ease of utilization is provided for the user since there are not any fixed mullions on the opening when the two doors are open.
In these state of the art embodiments, the mullion disposed on one of the doors extends from the end of the door whereon it is disposed towards the end of the other door. When the door without the mullion thereon is open and the door with the mullion thereon is in the closed position, the mullion covers some portion of the opening and makes access into the compartment difficult. Particularly, when there are drawers behind the door, almost as wide as the door, the drawer behind the door without the mullion thereon impacts the mullion and cannot be pulled forward while the door with the mullion thereon is closed. In this case, both of the doors have to be opened together and this makes utilization difficult.
In the state of the art United States of America Patent Application No. US2010229592, a cooling device is disclosed, comprising two side by side doors closing one compartment and two side by side drawers behind the doors. In this embodiment, a separator wall is disposed between the drawers and accordingly the drawers can be pulled outwards regardless of which door is open.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device comprising two side-by side doors and wherein the inner volume is utilized efficiently.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises an opening arranged on the body and two doors hinged to opposite side walls of the body so as to close the opening and to stand side by side when closed.
The cooling device of the present invention comprises one mullion mounted rotatably on each of the free sides of the doors that are not hinged to the body. When the doors are in open position, the mullions that are almost vertical to the door surface, start to rotate when the doors get closer to the body and when the doors are entirely closed , they abut end to end and close the gap between the doors. Thus, the air inside the body and the ambient air are prevented from mixing.
Since the distance between the doors is shared by two mullions, the mullions are narrower and thus when a single door is open, the mullion on the closed door occupies less space on the opening.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises at least one drawer, the width of which is almost the same as the door width, which is disposed behind the door such that the lateral sides thereof are almost aligned with the lateral sides of the door. In this embodiment, the width of the drawer is almost the same as the width of the opening formed when the door located at the front thereof is opened. Since the mullion on the closed door cannot extend towards the level of the open door, the drawer can be pulled even when the other door is closed.
In a version of this embodiment, two side-by-side drawers are situated inside the body. The drawers are identical and no gap remains at their sides when they are disposed inside the body. The point where the drawers contact each other is aligned with the center of the gap remaining between the doors. Thus, when one of the doors is opened, the drawer behind the opened door can be pulled out without impacting the mullion on the closed door.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a sealing element is disposed on one of the mullions and a resting surface on the other. When the doors are closed, the sealing element prevents air from passing through the doors by applying pressure on the resting surface. In this embodiment, the sealing element is a gasket and the resting surface is a plate produced from sheet metal. In a version of this embodiment, a magnet is placed inside the gasket.
In a version of this embodiment, the point where the mullions join when the doors are closed is at the portion of the gap, remaining between the doors, that is near the mullion whereon the sealing element is disposed. Thus, while being pulled outside, the drawer behind the door with the mullion having the resting surface thereon, does not impact the sealing element extending outwards from the mullion. And this prevents the airtightness between the mullions from losing effectiveness in the course of time.
In an embodiment of the present invention, at least one pin is disposed on the lower and/or the upper end of the mullions and a bearing at the lower and/or the upper end of the body facing the opening. The pins go into the bearing while the doors are being closed and move inside the bearing so as to allow rotational movement of the mullions.
By means of the present invention, the gap remaining between the doors is provided to be closed effectively, and when one of the doors is open, the opened portion is provided to be utilized efficiently.
The cooling device 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 cooling device.
Figure 2 – is the rear perspective view of the doors while the doors are closed.
Figure 3 – is the perspective view of the cooling device when one of the doors is open.
Figure 4 – is the perspective view of the cooling device when both of the doors are open.
Figure 5 – is the top cross-sectional view of the cooling device.
Figure 6 – is the view of detail A in Figure 5.
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Cooling device
Body
Opening
Door
, 105. Mullion
Drawer
Resting surface
Sealing element
Bearing
Pin

The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2), at least one opening (3) arranged on the body (2) and two doors (4) attached from one of their sides to the side walls of the body (2) so as to cover the opening (3) and to stand side by side when closed (Figure 1).
The cooling device (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises one mullion (5), disposed on the side of each door (4) facing one another when the doors (4) are closed, making rotational movement around the axis where it is attached to the door (4) during opening/closing of the door (4), and airtightly covering the portion of the opening (3) remaining between the doors (4) by contacting one another when both doors (4) are closed (Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5).
The mullion (5) is mounted on the door (4) so as to make rotational movement with respect to the door (4). The mullion (5) rotates almost 90 degrees around the axis whereto it is attached during the closing of the door (4). When both doors (4) are closed, the mullions (5) longitudinally close the gap between the doors (4) and provide the air inside the body (2) to be insulated from the outside environment. Since both doors (4) have mullions (5) thereon and since the mullions (5) meet almost at the midpoint of the gap between the doors (4) when the doors (4) are closed, in the case when only one of the doors (4) is open, the closed door (4) is prevented from hindering utilization of the opening (3). Consequently, the interior volume of the body (2) is provided to be used efficiently.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least one drawer (6), disposed inside the body (2) so as to remain between the side wall whereto the door (4) is attached and the level of the contacting line of the mullions (5) when the doors (4) are closed and which can be pulled forwards when only the door (4) at its front side is opened, without impacting the mullion (5) on the closed door (4). Accordingly, the drawer (6) can be used by only opening the door (4) at the front of the drawer (6). And this provides advantage in utilization especially in situations when one hand of the user is occupied (Figure 3).
In a version of this embodiment, the cooling device (1) comprises two side-by-side drawers (6), disposed inside the body (2) so that each remains behind one of the doors (4) and each having almost the same width as the door (4) behind which it remains. In this embodiment, the drawers (6) are preferably identical. Thus, ease of production and storage is provided. Furthermore, no matter which door (4) is open, the drawer (6) disposed behind it can be used by pulling outwards independently from the position of the other door (4) (Figure 4).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a resting surface (7) on one of the mullions (5), arranged all along the mullion (5), and a sealing element (8) disposed on the other mullion (105), preventing air from entering into the opening (3) from the gap between the doors (4) by applying pressure on the resting surface (7) when the doors (4) are closed. In this embodiment, the sealing element (8) and the resting surface (7) are mounted on the doors (4) so as to apply pressure on one another when the doors (4) are closed. Consequently, air does not pass through between the sealing element (8) and the resting surface (7) and the air inside the body (2) is provided to be insulated effectively. The resting surface (7) mounted on the mullion (5) is preferably shaped as metal plate (Figure 6).
In a version of this embodiment, the mullion (105) having the sealing element (8) thereon, remains farther behind from the midpoint of the gap between the doors (4), when the doors (4) are closed. In this embodiment, there is a distance between the mullion (105) having the sealing element (8) thereon and the midpoint of the gap between the doors (4) as much as the width of the sealing element (8). In other words, when the doors (4) are closed, the sealing element (8) and the resting surface (7) touch one another at the midpoint of the gap between the doors (4). Thus, the drawer (6) disposed behind the door (4) to the side of which, the mullion (5) with the resting surface (7) thereon is mounted, is prevented from impacting the sealing element (8) by sliding a little while being pulled outside. This eliminates the possibility of the sealing element (8) to wear away in the course of time and hence airtightness between the doors (4) to disappear (Figure 6).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least one bearing (9) on the lower and/or upper wall of the body (2) facing the opening (3), disposed at the level of the line where the mullions (5) join when the doors (4) are closed, and at least one pin (10) situated at the lower and/or upper ends of the mullions (5), providing the mullions (5) to rotate by moving inside the bearing (9) during opening/closing of the doors (4).
In a version of this embodiment, the bearing (9) has two inlet ports through which each pin (10) passes. The pins (10) enter into the channels inside the bearing (9) from the inlet ports arranged at the ends of the bearing (9) and provide the mullions (5) to rotate on the door (4) by moving inside these channels.
By means of the present invention, the gap between the doors (4) of a cooling device (1) comprising two side-by-side doors (4) is closed airtightly and when one of the doors (4) is opened, the opening (3) behind the opened door (4) is provided to be used effectively.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to 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 cooling device (1) comprising a body (2), at least one opening (3) arranged on the body (2), two doors (4) attached from one of their sides to the side walls of the body (2) so as to cover the opening (3) and to stand side by side when closed, characterized by one mullion (5), disposed on the side of each door (4) facing one another when the doors (4) are closed, making rotational movement around the axis where it is attached to the door (4) during opening/closing of the door (4), and airtightly covering the portion of the opening (3) remaining between the doors (4) by contacting with one another when both doors (4) are closed
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by at least one drawer (6), disposed inside the body (2) so as to remain between the side wall whereto the door (4) is attached and the level of the contacting line of the mullions (5) when the doors (4) are closed and which can be pulled forwards when only the door (4) at its front side is opened, without impacting the mullion (5) on the closed door (4).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by two side-by-side drawers (6), disposed inside the body (2) so that each remains behind one of the doors (4) and each having almost the same width as the door (4) behind which it remains.
A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by a resting surface (7) on one of the mullions (5), arranged all along the mullion (5), and a sealing element (8) disposed on the other mullion (105), preventing air from entering into the opening (3) through the gap between the doors (4) by applying pressure on the resting surface (7) when the doors (4) are closed.
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by the mullion (105) having the sealing element (8) thereon, remaining farther behind from the midpoint of the gap between the doors (4) when the doors (4) are closed.
A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by at least one bearing (9) on the lower and/or upper wall of the body (2) facing the opening (3), disposed at the level of the line where the mullions (5) join when the doors (4) are closed, and at least one pin (10) situated at the lower and/or upper ends of the mullions (5), providing the mullions (5) to rotate by moving inside the bearing (9) during opening/closing of the doors (4).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 6, characterized by the bearing (9), having inlet ports through which each pin (10) passes.