EP2875293B1 - Process for assembling a cooling device, and cooling device - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for assembling a refrigeration device, in which a machine room of the refrigeration device is partially covered by a side wall element. The invention further relates to a refrigeration device with a machine room and a housing, with a side wall element partially covering the machine room being fastened to the housing.

Refrigeration appliances, in particular refrigeration appliances designed as household appliances, are known and are used for housekeeping in households or in the catering sector, in order to store perishable food and / or beverages at certain temperatures.

the EP 2 236 961 A2 describes a refrigeration device with a covered machine room, an access opening to the machine room being closed by a cover part which has a hinge.

From the DE 10 2010 045 A1 a refrigeration device is known which has a machine room in which components of the refrigerant circuit, such as a compressor, are arranged. The machine room is covered by two side wall elements during assembly. To facilitate assembly, the side wall elements have lead-in bevels which, after assembly, but before the refrigeration device body is filled with foam, must be manually sealed by inserting additional elements.

The object on which the invention is based is therefore to provide a method for assembling a refrigeration device and a refrigeration device in which such additional elements can be dispensed with.

This object is achieved by the method and the refrigeration device with the features of the independent claims. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

The present invention is based on the knowledge that a particularly simple assembly without such additional elements is made possible in that the joining movement for assembling the side wall element with the housing of the refrigeration device is broken down into two components in different directions.

According to a first aspect, the object according to the invention is achieved by a method in which the side wall element is displaced in a first direction and then in a second direction different from the first direction. This achieves the technical advantage that a sealing element molded onto the side wall element can be brought into a position in which it seals the refrigerator body in a foam-tight manner without manual installation of an additional element. This simplifies assembly.

• In-Eingriff-Bringen eines als Anschlag ausgebildeten Abdichtelements des Seitenwandelements mit einer Falz des Gehäuses des Kältegeräts,
• Verlagern des Seitenwandelements in die erste Richtung, bis das Verlagern in die erste Richtung durch das Abdichtelement gestoppt wird, und
• Verlagern des Seitenwandelements in die zweite Richtung, bis das Seitenwandelement seine das Seitenwandelement mit dem Gehäuse durch Formschluss schaumdicht verbindende Endposition erreicht hat.

According to the invention, the method has the following steps:

• Bringing a sealing element, designed as a stop, of the side wall element into engagement with a fold of the housing of the refrigeration device,
• Displacing the side wall element in the first direction until the displacement in the first direction is stopped by the sealing element, and
• Displacement of the side wall element in the second direction until the side wall element has reached its end position which connects the side wall element to the housing in a foam-tight manner by means of a form fit.

This has the technical advantage that the two-part displacement of the side wall element first brings the sealing element into engagement with the fold of the housing of the refrigerator by moving it in the first direction, and then, after this displacement has stopped, the side wall element is moved into the second Direction is brought into its end position. By engaging the fold, the sealing element seals the fold in a foam-tight manner.

The side wall member has a tenon which is engaged with the rebate during the engagement of the sealing member with the rebate. This has the technical advantage that the side wall element is additionally stabilized during displacement in the first direction and thus, for example, unwanted tilting is reliably prevented.

A refrigeration device is understood to mean, in particular, a household device, i.e. a refrigeration device that is used for housekeeping in households or in the catering sector, and in particular serves to store food and / or beverages at certain temperatures, such as a refrigerator, a freezer, a A fridge-freezer, a freezer or a wine fridge.

In an advantageous embodiment, the sealing element is displaced in the first direction by a linear movement. This has the technical advantage that assembly can be carried out particularly easily.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the sealing element is displaced in the second direction by a pivoting movement. This has the technical advantage that no additional guidance is necessary for the second direction. A side wall element with a particularly simple structure can thus be used.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the axis of the first direction and the axis of the second direction coincide. This has the technical advantage that assembly is further simplified.

In a further advantageous embodiment, a contact surface of the sealing element slides on a mating contact surface of the housing during the displacement in the second direction. This has the technical advantage that the side wall element is also guided in the second direction while it is being moved, thus reliably preventing unwanted tilting, for example.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the side wall element is locked in its end position with the housing. This has the technical advantage that the side wall element is secured in its end position. By locking securing in the end position without fasteners such as screws or rivets is possible, which simplifies assembly.

According to a second aspect, the object according to the invention is achieved by a refrigeration device with a machine room and a housing, a side wall element partially covering the machine room being attached to the housing, the side wall element being connected to the housing in a foam-tight manner by a positive fit. This achieves the technical advantage that the formation of the form fit also creates a seal, so that additional elements are no longer necessary.

The side wall element has a sealing element designed as a stop. The sealing element engages in a fold of the housing. This has the technical advantage that the sealing element seals the fold, so that additional elements are no longer necessary.

The side wall element has a pin which engages in the fold. This achieves the technical advantage that the position of the side wall element in the direction of a further axis is clearly defined.

When a refrigeration device body of the refrigeration device is filled with foam, no foam can penetrate through the form fit between the fold and the sealing element or between the fold and the pin. The fold extends in the direction of its longitudinal extent in the depth direction of the refrigerator. When assembling the side wall element, in which both the sealing element and the pin engage in the fold, the side wall element can be displaced by a linear movement in a first direction that extends in the depth direction of the refrigerator, the sealing element and the pin being engaged in the fold form a guide which guides the side wall element during this displacement.

In an advantageous embodiment, a contact surface of the side wall element is in contact with a mating contact surface of the housing. This has the technical advantage that the contact between the two surfaces stops the shift in the first direction. This simplifies assembly.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the stop is in contact with a counter stop of the housing. This has the technical advantage that the position of the side wall element is clearly defined in this way.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the side wall element has a latching hook which dips into a latching recess in the housing. This has the technical advantage that it can be secured in the end position without fasteners such as screws or rivets, which simplifies assembly.

The side wall element is designed to be fastened to the housing of the refrigeration device, the side wall element being designed to form the foam-tight form fit with the housing. This achieves the technical advantage that the formation of the form fit also creates a seal, so that additional elements are no longer necessary.

Brief description of the drawings

• Fig. 1 eine Teilansicht der Rückseite eines Kältegerätes,
• Fig. 2 eine perspektivische Darstellung der Montage eines Seitenwandelements, wobei sich das Seitenwandelement in einer Ausgangsposition befindet,
• Fig. 3 eine perspektivische Darstellung der Montage eines Seitenwandelements, wobei sich das Seitenwandelement in einer Zwischenposition befindet,
• Fig. 4 eine perspektivische Darstellung der Montage eines Seitenwandelements, wobei sich das Seitenwandelement in einer Endposition befindet und
• Fig. 5 eine Detaildarstellung der Fig. 4.

Further exemplary embodiments are explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

• Fig. 1 a partial view of the rear of a refrigerator,
• Fig. 2 a perspective view of the assembly of a side wall element, wherein the side wall element is in an initial position,
• Fig. 3 a perspective view of the assembly of a side wall element, wherein the side wall element is in an intermediate position,
• Fig. 4 a perspective view of the assembly of a side wall element, wherein the side wall element is in an end position and
• Fig. 5 a detailed representation of the Fig. 4 .

Fig. 1 shows a refrigerator as an exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration device 100 with a machine room 102. The refrigerator is used, for example, to cool food and comprises a refrigerant circuit with an evaporator (not shown), a compressor 104, a condenser (not shown) and a throttle element (not shown) shown). The compressor 104 is fastened to a support rail 108 in the machine room 102.

The evaporator is designed as a heat exchanger in which, after expansion, the liquid refrigerant is evaporated by absorbing heat from the medium to be cooled, ie air inside the refrigerator.

The compressor 104 is a mechanically driven component that sucks refrigerant vapor from the evaporator and ejects it to the condenser at a higher pressure.

The condenser is designed as a heat exchanger in which, after compression, the evaporated refrigerant is liquefied by giving off heat to an external cooling medium, i.e. the ambient air.

The throttle device is a device for the constant reduction of the pressure by reducing the cross-section.

The refrigerant is a fluid that is used for heat transfer in the cold generating system, which absorbs heat at low temperatures and low pressure of the fluid and gives off heat at higher temperature and higher pressure of the fluid, usually including changes in state of the fluid.

The machine room 102 is clad on both sides by side wall elements 106 which, in the present exemplary embodiment, are manufactured from plastic by injection molding.

Fig. 2 shows that the side wall element 106 comprises a sealing element 204. In the present exemplary embodiment, the sealing element 204 is formed in one piece and of the same material with the side wall element 106. Furthermore, the sealing element 204 has three pegs 206, which in the present exemplary embodiment are also formed in one piece and of the same material with the side wall element 106. Finally, the side wall element 106 has two latching hooks 208.

The sealing element 204 and the pins 206 are designed to engage in a fold 202 which is assigned to a housing 200 of the refrigeration device 100. In the present exemplary embodiment, the housing 200 is formed by a first folded sheet metal rail 210 with the fold 202 and by a second folded sheet metal rail 212. The sheet metal rails 210, 212 run along portions of the outer edge of the machine room 102.

Since the representation of the Fig. 2 compared to the representation of the Fig. 1 is rotated 90 ° counterclockwise, the first sheet metal rail 210 extends with the fold 202 in the direction of its longitudinal extent in the refrigeration appliance depth direction X, while the second sheet metal rail 212 extends with its longitudinal extent in the direction of the refrigeration appliance vertical direction Z.

The two latching hooks 208 are designed to dip into the latching recess 214 of the second sheet metal rail 212 of the housing 200.

To assemble the side wall element 106, in a first step the side wall element 106 is brought into the starting position above the housing 200.

In a further step, the side wall element 106 is lowered onto the housing 200 in the direction of the widthwise direction Y of the refrigerator, in such a way that both the sealing element 204 and the pegs 206 engage in the fold 202.

Subsequently, in a further step, the side wall element 106 is displaced by a linear movement in a first direction I, which extends in the refrigeration device depth direction X, until the in Fig. 3 shown intermediate position is reached. Here, the sealing element 204 and the pegs 206, through their engagement in the fold 202, form a guide which guides the side wall element 106 during this displacement.

In the in Fig. 3 The position shown, the sealing element 204 with its contact surface 300 hits a mating contact surface 302 of the second sheet metal rail 212 of the housing 200. This contact of the contact surface 300 with the mating contact surface 302 prevents further displacement of the side wall element 106 or this displacement movement is stopped.

In a further step, the side wall element 106 is then displaced in a second direction II. The side wall element 106 is pivoted here. The pivoting movement causes the side wall element 106 to rotate about an axis A which is identical to the axis along which the side wall element 106 was displaced in the first direction I. In other words, the two axes coincide so that the pivoting movement takes place about an axis which extends in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the first sheet metal rail 210.

Here, the mating contact surface 302 now serves as a sliding surface on which the contact surface 300 slides during the displacement in the second direction II and thus forms a guide during this displacement of the side wall element 106.

By shifting the side wall element 106 in the second direction II, the in Fig. 4 The illustrated end position for the side wall element 106 is reached. In this end position, the latching hooks 208 of the side wall element 106 dip into the latching recesses 214 of the second sheet metal rail 212 and thus fix the side wall element 106 in its end position on the first sheet metal rail 210 and the second sheet metal rail 212.

Fig. 5 shows that in the end position both the sealing element 204 and the pins 206 form a form fit with the fold 202 and seal it in a foam-tight manner. Thus, when a refrigeration device body is subsequently filled with foam, no foam can penetrate through the form fit between the fold 202 and the sealing element 204 or the fold 202 and the peg 206.

In summary, the sealing element 204 first takes on the guiding function during the displacement of the side wall element 106 in the first direction I, then the function of a sliding surface during the displacement of the side wall element 106 in the second direction II, and finally a sealing function when the end position of the side wall element is reached 106, in which the sealing element 204 seals the fold 202 in a foam-tight manner.

List of reference symbols

100

Refrigeration device

102

Engine room

104

compressor

106

Side wall element

108

Mounting rail

200

Housing

202

Fold

204

Sealing element

206

Cones

208

Locking hook

210

Sheet metal rail

212

Sheet metal rail

214

Locking recess

300

Contact area

302

Mating contact surface

I.

first direction

II

second direction

A.

axis

X

Refrigeration device depth direction

Y

Refrigerator width direction

Z

Refrigerator vertical direction

Claims (9)

1. Method for assembling a refrigeration appliance (100), in which a machine compartment (102) of the refrigeration appliance (100) is clad in part by a side wall element (106), wherein in order to connect the side wall element (106) with a housing (200) of the refrigeration appliance (100), the side wall element (106) is moved in a first direction (I) and then in a second direction (II) which differs from the first direction (I), said method having the steps:

   - making a sealing element (204), embodied as a stop, of the side wall element (106) engage with a fold (202) of the housing (200),

   - moving the side wall element (106) in the first direction (I) until the movement in the first direction (I) is stopped by the sealing element (204), and

   - moving the side wall element (106) in the second direction (II) until the side wall element (106) has reached its end position which connects the side wall element (106) in a foam-tight manner with the housing (200) by means of a form fit, and that the side wall element (106) has a pin (206), which is made to engage with the fold (202) during the engagement of the sealing element (204) with the fold (202).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the sealing element (204) is moved in the first direction (I) by means of a linear movement.
3. Method according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterised in that the sealing element (204) is moved in the second direction (II) by means of a pivot movement.
4. Method according to claim 3, characterised in that the axis of the first direction (I) and the axis of the second direction (II) coincide.
5. Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterised in that a contact surface (300) of the sealing element (204) slides on a counter contact surface (302) of the housing (200) during the movement in the second direction (II).
6. Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, characterised in that in its end position the side wall element (106) is latched with the housing (200).
7. Refrigeration appliance (100), with a machine compartment (102) and a housing (200), wherein a side wall element (106) cladding the machine compartment (102) in part is fastened to the housing (200), wherein the side wall element (106) is connected in a foam-tight manner with the housing (200) by means of a form fit, wherein the side wall element (106) has a sealing element (204) embodied as a stop, wherein the sealing element (204) engages in a fold (202) of the housing (200) and the side wall element has a pin (206), which engages in the fold (202), wherein when a refrigeration appliance carcass of the refrigeration appliance (100) is foamed, because of the form fit foam is not able to penetrate between the fold (202) and the sealing element (204) or between the fold (202) and the pin (206), and wherein the fold (202) extends in the direction of its longitudinal extent in the refrigeration appliance depth direction (X) and upon assembly of the side wall element (106), in which both the sealing element (204) and also the pin (206) engage in the fold (202), the side wall element (106) can be moved by a linear movement in a first direction (I), which extends in the refrigeration appliance depth direction (X), wherein the sealing element (204) and the pin (106) form a guide as a result of their engagement in the fold (202), said guide guiding the side wall element (106) during this movement.
8. Refrigeration appliance (100) according to claim 7, characterised in that a contact surface (300) of the side wall element (106) is in contact with a counter contact surface (302) of the housing (200).
9. Refrigeration appliance (100) according to one of the preceding claims 7 to 8, characterised in that the side wall element (106) has an engagement hook (208), which hooks into a catching recess (214) of the housing (200).

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