EP2993428B1 - Door of a household appliance having a cover - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a door for a household appliance, in particular a household refrigerator, comprising a panel for the door of the household refrigerator, in particular the household refrigerator. An outer side of the door to be clad is completely covered by the cladding, the cladding comprising a first cladding element and a second cladding element.

Door cladding for household appliances, e.g. Household refrigeration devices such as refrigerators, freezers or fridge-freezer combinations, dishwashers, washing machines or stoves are generally known. These claddings are intended to change the optical external appearance of a door which is already functional for itself and which can in particular be attached directly to a functional household appliance for a user. Thus, household appliances can be manufactured in a simple manner, which differ from one another in their external appearance, but which use one and the same door, namely either without a covering or with a corresponding covering.

For example, clad household refrigeration appliances or doors of household appliances are known, the cladding of which imitates the style of a household refrigeration appliance from past decades. It is known to provide the functional door with a panel that has a paneling element made of sheet metal that completely covers an outside of the door.

From the JP2000146422A A panel of a door of a domestic refrigeration appliance is known which has a front cover plate, a top cover plate and a bottom cover plate, which are connected to the functional door. The disclosure JP 2004 085 073 A shows a multi-part refrigerator door.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a panel mentioned at the outset with improved properties and to provide a door clad with a panel.

The object is achieved by a door with the features of claim 1.

Accordingly, a door for a household appliance, in particular a household refrigeration device, is provided, comprising a panel for the door of the household appliance, in particular the household refrigerator, by which an outside of the door to be paneled is completely covered, the panel comprising a first paneling element with a front surface and one second cladding element with a front surface, the one of the first cladding element and the second cladding element, the vertical extent of which is smaller, extending vertically at least half the extent of the cladding in the depth direction (Y) and in the width direction (Z) essentially over the entire length Extension of the cladding extends in the width direction (Z), the front surface of the first cladding element and the front surface of the second cladding element being flush with the surface.

The first cladding element and the second cladding element are two separate components which, however, can be connected directly or indirectly to one another.

Because the outside of the door to be covered can be completely covered, the outside is no longer visible to a user. The outside of the door corresponds to the side facing a user of a door mounted and closed on a household appliance.

The cladding element, the vertical extent of which is less, should nevertheless have a noticeable influence on the appearance. It should therefore extend in the width direction (Z) essentially over the entire extent of the cladding in the width direction (Z). “Essentially” is to be understood here to mean that this cladding element either extends over the entire extent of the cladding in the width direction (Z); however, it is also possible that this cladding element extends in the width direction (Z) only up to lateral edge sections of the cladding.

The cladding is suitable and intended to clad a functional door. A functional door can be attached directly to a household appliance, for example via hinges, and as intended as a door of the household appliance by a Users can be used. A functional door therefore in particular does not require any further components such as cladding, outer walls, insulation elements, etc. In the case of a functional door of a free-standing household appliance, the outside faces the door has a high-quality appearance. In the case of a functional door of a built-in household appliance, the outside of the door has connecting means for attaching a furniture front.

Since the covering of the door to be clad is not achieved by a single cladding element, but by at least two cladding elements, the cladding can achieve a high-quality appearance in a simple and inexpensive manner. For example, for one of the two cladding elements, which is intended to cover a larger part of the outside of the door, a less expensive material and / or a material with a higher mechanical strength can be selected. The covering part covering a smaller part of the outside of the door, on the other hand, can have a more visually appealing material, so that overall a high-quality appearance results, but neither the cost nor the stability of the covering suffer. Embodiments of the present invention are specified in the subclaims. According to one embodiment, it is provided that that of the first cladding element and the second cladding element, the vertical extent of which is less, extends vertically at least by a simple amount, preferably by at least 1.5 times the amount, further preferably by at least twice the amount of the extent the cover extends in the depth direction.

According to one embodiment, it is provided that that of the first cladding element and the second cladding element, the vertical extent of which is less, extends vertically by a maximum of 10 times the amount, preferably a maximum of 5 times the amount, further preferably a maximum of twice the amount of the extent the cover extends in the depth direction.

The first and the second cladding element can have different wall thicknesses. In particular, that cladding element which has a greater vertical extension can have a greater wall thickness in order to contribute mainly to the stability of the cladding. In any case, however, are front surfaces of the first trim element and the second Cladding element flush. Since no cladding part protrudes forward over the other in the opposite direction to the depth, possible sharp-edged projections or necessary reworking of these projections and the accumulation of dirt in the projections are avoided. If the first and second cladding elements are directly adjacent to one another, it can be provided that both cladding elements are flush at a joint.

According to the invention it can be provided that a panel mounted on a door can be removed again without being destroyed. If the door or the panel is damaged during use, it can be replaced individually. However, in order not to impair the external appearance of the cladding during disassembly or later reassembly, according to one embodiment it is provided that the first cladding element and the second cladding element cannot be detached from one another without being destroyed. The formation of gaps between the two cladding elements is reliably excluded in this way.

According to one embodiment, it is provided that the first cladding element and the second cladding element are integrally connected to one another, in particular are glued to one another. In this way, additional connecting means such as e.g. Screws or pins are dispensed with, which not only results in a cheaper connection, but also creates a high-quality appearance. It is possible for the two cladding elements to be glued directly to one another and / or to be glued to one another by means of an additional connecting component. The connecting component can be a thin-walled component, e.g. a sheet metal strip, which covers a joint of the two cladding elements on the inside.

According to one embodiment, a hinge is arranged on the cladding. With the hinge, the paneling can be articulated on a body of a household appliance or a paneling of a body of a household appliance. Two hinges are preferably arranged on the cladding, which define a vertical pivot axis.

It is conceivable that the hinge is arranged on the first and / or second cladding element, in particular is carried by the cladding element or elements. However, this requires a correspondingly massive design of the cladding element or elements. In order to continue to enable a cost-effective construction of the cladding, it can therefore be provided that the cladding has at least one stiffening element with fastening means for receiving the hinge. The stiffening element is preferably covered by the first and / or the second cladding element or other components of the cladding for a user. It is preferably made of metal, e.g. it can be a metal bar or a sheet metal bracket. The stiffening element can in particular be formed by a profile element which extends vertically, preferably over both the first cladding element and the second cladding element. The stiffening element can have threaded bores, by means of which the hinge is fastened to the stiffening element. Weight forces between the hinge and the cladding are preferably transmitted exclusively via the connection between the stiffening element and the hinge.

In addition to an outer side facing a user, ie a front side, the cladding preferably also has four narrow sides extending in the depth direction, namely an upper, a lower and two lateral narrow sides. According to one embodiment, it is provided that the first cladding element and / or the second cladding element forms or form at least one narrow side of the cladding that extends in the depth direction of the cladding. In particular, it is possible that all four narrow sides are formed by the first and the second cladding element. For example, a horizontal narrow side (upper or lower narrow side) and a section of the two vertical narrow sides (left and right narrow side) are formed by the first cladding element, while the other horizontal narrow side and also a section of the two vertical narrow sides are formed by the second cladding element.

It is possible that the first and / or the second cladding element can be connected directly to the door or is connected to the door. A more stable construction of the cladding, which can also be easily adapted to accommodate doors with different external dimensions, in particular width and height, is made possible if according to In one embodiment, at least one fastening strut is provided, which is connected on the one hand to the first cladding element and / or the second cladding element and on the other hand can be connected to the door. For example, two vertically arranged fastening struts can be provided which surround two vertical side edges of the door. It is also possible, in addition or as an alternative, to provide one or two horizontally arranged fastening struts which border one or two horizontal side edges of the door. A fastening strut can also be used as a stiffening element for fastening a hinge.

In order to cover gaps and / or fastening areas on the back of the cladding, by means of which the cladding is connected to the door, a cover frame arranged on the rear can be provided. The cover frame can cover an outer edge of the door, i.e. overlap the door to be clad.

According to one embodiment, it is provided that the first cladding element forms a first horizontal edge of the cladding and that the second cladding element forms a second horizontal edge of the cladding.

According to one embodiment, it is provided that the cladding element with the smaller vertical extension has an essentially vertically extending bracket and an essentially horizontally extending end plate. The bracket preferably has a constant cross-sectional profile in the vertical direction. The end plate preferably closes the bracket at a vertical end thereof. It is possible for the bracket to have a fold at its vertical end which runs horizontally along its edge and which is riveted to the end plate. The bracket is preferably made in one piece. It is also possible, in particular, that the bracket extends in the width direction over the entire extent of the cladding in the width direction and at the same time forms sections of the lateral narrow sides. The bracket can have legs adjoining the narrow sides and extending essentially parallel to a front surface of the bracket.

Since the cladding is suitable for holding a ready-to-operate door of a household appliance, there are basically no special requirements for the thermal insulation of the cladding. In principle it is possible to use the cladding to provide additional thermal insulation elements, but it is preferably provided that the cladding has no thermal insulation elements. "Thermal insulation elements" are to be understood in particular as areas filled with insulation material such as polyurethane foam or evacuated areas or components, such as vacuum insulation panels. The two cladding elements, the fastening struts or the cover frame are therefore not to be understood as thermal insulation elements.

In order to make it easy to replace a door of a household appliance accommodated in the cladding, which in particular does not require specialist personnel, it is provided according to one embodiment that the cladding can be connected to a door of a household appliance in a positive and / or non-positive manner. In particular, the cladding can have bores and / or threaded bores for screwing on the door.

An overlap of the first cladding element and the second cladding element in the vertical direction may in principle be possible, but not part of the present invention. In the invention, however, it is provided that the first cladding element and the second cladding element do not overlap in the vertical direction. It is preferably provided that the sum of the extents of the first cladding element and the second cladding element in the vertical direction corresponds to the extent of the cladding in the vertical direction.

It is preferably provided that the extension of the first cladding element and the second cladding element in the width direction is the same and corresponds to the extension of the cladding in the width direction.

The first cladding element and / or the second cladding element are preferably thin-walled components. These can consist of the same or different materials. For example, it can be sheet metal components. Preferably, at least visible surfaces are surface-treated, for example painted or foiled. It is possible that the complete cladding is made of metal.

The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a door of a household appliance, in particular a household refrigerator, with a panel. The cladding can in particular have features according to the previous description and also the following description of the exemplary embodiment.

The door preferably has an outer wall which forms the outside, i.e. the surface facing outwards during normal operation. The outer wall is connected to an inner wall by side walls forming narrow sides. An area filled with thermal insulation material is enclosed by the outer wall, the side walls and the inner wall. The inner wall can have spars on which door racks can be hung.

According to one embodiment, it is provided that the door of the household appliance is screwed to the cladding with a stiffening element arranged behind the outer wall and preferably in contact with the outer wall. The stiffening element can be, for example, a sheet metal strip or an elongated profile element (e.g. L-shaped, U-shaped, or I-shaped cross-sectional profile). According to one embodiment, it is provided that the covering can be removed from the door of the household appliance in a non-destructive manner.

A household appliance, in particular a household refrigerator, with a door that has a cladding according to the invention also has a body with a storage space for items to be stored, e.g. Good to be cooled, on which the panel including the door is attached.

Fig. 1

eine Explosionsdarstellung einer erfindungsgemäßen Verkleidung mit einer Tür eines Haushaltsgerätes,

Fig. 2

die zusammengebaute Verkleidung aus Fig. 1 und

Fig. 3

das zweite Verkleidungselement.

An exemplary embodiment is described below with reference to the figures. Show:

Fig. 1

2 shows an exploded view of a panel according to the invention with a door of a household appliance,

Fig. 2

the assembled panel Fig. 1 and

Fig. 3

the second cladding element.

X denotes the height direction of the cladding, Y the depth direction and Z the width direction.

An exploded view shows Fig. 1 a panel 1 according to the invention of a door 2 of a household appliance using the example of a door of a household refrigerator.

The cladding 1 comprises a first cladding element 3 and a second cladding element 4. In the vertical direction X, that is, in the vertical direction, the sum of the vertical extensions of the first cladding element 3 and the second cladding element 4 is greater than the vertical extension of the door 2. At the same time, the Extension of both cladding elements 3, 4 in the width direction Z, ie their width, is the same size and in each case larger than the width of the door 2. The two cladding elements 3, 4 can thus completely cover an outside 5 of the door. The sum of the vertical dimensions of the two cladding elements 3, 4 corresponds to the vertical dimension of the cladding 1. The horizontal dimension of the cladding elements 3, 4 corresponds to the horizontal dimension of the cladding 1.

The vertical extent 6 of the first cladding element 3 is a multiple, namely a 13-fold, larger than the vertical extent 7 of the second cladding element, while the extent in the depth direction Y of the two cladding parts is identical. Despite the relatively small vertical extent 7 of the second cladding element 4, it has a sufficiently large front surface 8 so that it has a clearly perceptible influence on the outer appearance of the cladding 1.

The vertical extent 7 of the second cladding element 4 is larger, namely 1.5 times, than the extent 9 of the cladding 1 in the depth direction Y.

The first cladding element 3 has an essentially trough-shaped structure, with a front surface 10 and three narrow sides 11a, 11b extending in the depth direction Y, only two of which are visible. The first cladding element 3 has no narrow side at a lower edge 12. It is connected to the second cladding element 4 at the edge 12. On the narrow sides 11a, 11b are followed by legs 28 which run essentially parallel to the front surface 10 and which have bores for fastening a cover frame 18.

The first cladding element 3 consists of painted sheet metal. The narrow sides 11a, 11b are formed by a bent metal strip which is welded to the front surface 10. The front surface 10 is convex and has a centrally arranged flat surface section 10a and a curved surface section 10b enclosing it.

The second cladding element 4, see also Fig. 3 , consists of a chromed metal sheet and consists of a vertically extending bracket 12 and a riveted end plate 13. The substantially flat end plate 13 is riveted to a fold 14 of the bracket 12. The bracket 12 integrally forms both the front surface 8 and two lateral narrow sides 15a, 15b of the second cladding element 4. Legs 24 running essentially parallel to the front surface 8 adjoin these narrow sides 15a, 15b. The end plate 13 has a fold 26 at the rear edge 25 in the depth direction Y, so that a sharp edge is avoided. The bracket 12 and the end plate 13 are stamped and bent parts.

Both the first cladding element 3 and the second cladding element 4 are - as in FIG Fig. 2 shown in more detail - open at the rear and form a receiving space 27 in which the door 2 can be received by the panel 1.

The cladding 1 further comprises three fastening struts 16a, 16b, 16c, which can be connected, namely screwed, via bores 17 to both the door 2 and also to the first cladding element 3 and the second cladding element 4.

The door 2 is screwed to the cover frame 18 and the fastening struts 16a, 16b, 16c and this unit can be screwed to the trim elements 3, 4, in particular to the respective legs 24, 28. The door 2 or the fastening struts 16a, 16b, 16c can be screwed onto the cover frame 18, in particular on legs 30 extending in the depth direction Y. The legs 30 have corresponding bores 31 for this.

The cover frame 18 has holes 19 in order to attach a hinge to the panel. The hinge is held by means of a stiffening element 23, which in this case is formed by one of the lateral fastening struts 16c. The bores 19 also serve to fasten the cover frame 18 to the legs 28 of the first cladding element 3. The cover frame also has bores 29 with which fastening to the legs 28 of the first cladding element 3 is also possible.

The trim 1 further comprises a stabilizing strut 20 which bears against an inner surface of the first trim element 3 by means of a front edge 21. A connecting component 22 made of a sheet metal strip, which abuts both on the inner surface of the first trim part 3 and on the inner surface of the second trim part 4 and by means of which the two trim parts 3, 4 are glued to one another, can be pushed vertically up to the stabilizing strut 20 in order to achieve an exact Enable positioning.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

1

Cover 16a fastening strut

2nd

Door 16b fastening strut

3rd

first cladding element 16c fastening strut

4th

second cladding element 17 bore

5

Outside 18 cover frame

6

vertical extension 19 hole

7

vertical extension 20 stabilizing frame

8th

Front surface 21 edge

9

Extension in the depth direction 22 connecting component

10th

Front surface 23 stiffening component

10a

flat surface section 24 legs

10b

curved surface section 25 edge

11a

Narrow side 26 refolding

11b

Narrow side 27 recording room

12th

Temple 28 legs

13

End plate 29 hole

14

Fold 30 legs

15a

Narrow side 31 hole

15b

Narrow side

Claims (13)

1. Door (2) for a household appliance, in particular a household refrigeration appliance, comprising a casing (1) for the door (2) of the household appliance, in particular of the household refrigeration appliance, by means of which an exterior (5) of the door (2) to be cased is covered completely, the casing (1) comprising a first casing element (3) with a front surface (10) and a second casing element (4) with a front surface (8), wherein that one of the first casing element (3) and second casing element (4), the vertical extension (6, 7) of which is smaller, extends vertically at least across half the amount of the extension (9) of the casing (1) in the depth direction (Y) and extends in the width direction (Z) essentially across the entire extension of the casing (1) in the width direction (Z), characterised in that the front surface (10) of the first casing element (3) and the front surface (8) of the second casing element (4) are flush with the adjacent areas.
2. Door according to claim 1, characterised in that that one of the first casing element (3) and second casing element (4), the vertical extension (6, 7) of which is lower, extends vertically at least across the single amount, preferably across at least 1.5 times the amount, further preferably across at least twice the amount, of the extension (9) of the casing (1) in the depth direction (Y).
3. Door according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that that one of the first casing element (3) and second casing element (4), the vertical extension (6, 7) of which is lower, extends vertically at most across 10-times the amount, preferably across at most 5-times the amount, further preferably at most across twice the amount, of the extension (9) of the casing (1) in the depth direction (Y).
4. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first casing element (3) and the second casing element (4) cannot be detached from one another in a nondestructive manner.
5. Door according to claim 4, characterised in that the first casing element (3) and the second casing element (4) are connected to one another with a material fit, are preferably glued to one another.
6. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a hinge is arranged on the casing (1).
7. Door according to claim 6, characterised in that the casing (1) has at least one reinforcing element (23) with fastening means for receiving the hinge.
8. Door according to claim 7, characterised in that the reinforcing element (23) is formed by a profile element which extends vertically, preferably across both the first casing element (3) and also the second casing element (4).
9. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first casing element (3) and/or the second casing element (4) embodies/embody at least one narrow side (11a, 11b, 15a, 15b) of the casing (1) which extends in the depth direction (Y) of the casing (1).
10. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised by at least one fastening strut (16a, 16b, 16c), which is connected on the one hand to the first casing element (3) and/or the second casing element (4) and can be connected on the other hand to the door (2).
11. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the casing (1) has a cover frame (18) which is arranged to the rear.
12. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the casing element (4) with the smaller vertical extension (7) has an essentially vertically extending bracket (12) and an end plate (13) which extends essentially horizontally.
13. Door (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the door of the household appliance is screwed with the casing (1) to a reinforcing element, which is arranged behind the outer wall of the door (2), preferably in contact with the outer wall.

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