US20040245900A1 - Surface structure for household appliances and refrigeration equipment - Google Patents

Surface structure for household appliances and refrigeration equipment Download PDF

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Publication number
US20040245900A1
US20040245900A1 US10/852,027 US85202704A US2004245900A1 US 20040245900 A1 US20040245900 A1 US 20040245900A1 US 85202704 A US85202704 A US 85202704A US 2004245900 A1 US2004245900 A1 US 2004245900A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
sheet
surface structure
structure according
refrigeration equipment
edges
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US10/852,027
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English (en)
Inventor
Erkki Parkkinen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HALKAMA FORSTE Oy
Original Assignee
HALKAMA FORSTE Oy
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by HALKAMA FORSTE Oy filed Critical HALKAMA FORSTE Oy
Assigned to HALKAMA FORSTE OY reassignment HALKAMA FORSTE OY ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: PARKKINEN, ERKKI
Publication of US20040245900A1 publication Critical patent/US20040245900A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
    • A47B96/00—Details of cabinets, racks or shelf units not covered by a single one of groups A47B43/00 - A47B95/00; General details of furniture
    • A47B96/20—Furniture panels or like furniture elements
    • A47B96/201—Edge features
    • 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
    • F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
    • 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
    • F25D23/06—Walls
    • 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
    • F25D2400/18—Aesthetic features

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a surface structure for household appliances and refrigeration equipment.
  • the color of household appliances i.e. washing machines, dishwashers and tumble driers
  • refrigeration equipment i.e. refrigerators, freezers and upright freezers
  • the colors of handles, different gratings and the like may vary to some extent, although even these are typically white nowadays.
  • Kitchen fittings or different product fittings are typically of one color, usually white.
  • kitchen fittings have been sold whose surfaces were painted with different paints to provide colorful equipment.
  • solutions have been known where the front surface of a dishwasher or refrigerator, for example, has been a sheet of a given color which has then been fitted by its edges with different angle sections and screws.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide such a surface structure for kitchen fittings or the like with which it is easy to change the appearance of the fittings and which is reasonably inexpensive.
  • the surface structure according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a thin sheet to be mounted upon a door or wall of a household appliance or refrigeration equipment, the sheet forming a visible surface; and that two opposite edges of the sheet are bent at both edges at two bending points at a distance from each other substantially in parallel with each other relative to the sheet, and at the same edge in the same bending direction in such a way that both edges of the sheet are provided with a groove-like space, into which the edges of the door or wall of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment fit when the sheet is mounted in place upon the door or wall of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment, whereby the edges of the sheet become positioned in the space behind the edge of the door or wall of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment and fix the sheet in place.
  • An essential idea of the invention is that loose surface structures are manufactured for a household appliance or refrigeration equipment, which structures can be easily mounted and detached, thus changing the appearance or color of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment. This has been achieved in such a way that a surface that becomes tightly positioned upon the door or wall of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment is formed of a thin sheet by bending opposite edges of the sheet, the surface, when being mounted or detached, yielding in such a way that it can be “clicked” in place such that the remotest narrow edge parts of the sheet edge become positioned in the space behind the part to be coated, such as the door or wall, of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment, locking the sheet firmly in place.
  • An essential idea of a preferred embodiment of the invention is that the bends are made such that the angles formed in the bending are sharper on the side of the door or wall to be coated than the angle of the door or the wall, whereby this presses both sheet edges tightly against the door or wall, keeping the sheet firmly in place.
  • An advantage of the invention is that when the appearance of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment is to be changed, the sheet forming its surface structure can be removed and a new one supplied to replace it. Likewise, if there has earlier been no loose sheet that would form a surface structure, such a sheet can be mounted.
  • FIG. 1 shows schematically a household appliance and/or refrigeration equipment
  • FIGS. 2 a to 2 c show schematically a sheet forming a surface structure and bent in accordance with the invention, as well as details thereof;
  • FIG. 3 shows schematically a sheet mounted in place.
  • FIG. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of a cold store that represents, by way of example, a household appliance and/or refrigeration equipment in which the surface structure according to the invention can be implemented.
  • a cold store 1 represents, by way of example, a household appliance and/or refrigeration equipment in which the surface structure according to the invention can be implemented.
  • the surfaces of doors 2 and 3 and side walls 4 and 5 of a cold store 1 can be covered with a surface structure according to the invention by clicking onto them a thin sheet, the edges of which become positioned around the edges of the doors 2 and 3 and the walls 4 and 5 .
  • FIG. 2 a shows schematically a perspective view of a sheet intended for forming a surface structure according to the invention.
  • a sheet 6 is bent at two opposite edges thereof at two bending points 7 and 8 in parallel.
  • the bending is carried out in the same direction at both bending points in such a way that the edge of the sheet 6 is provided with a groove 9 towards the opposite edge of the sheet.
  • the bending is naturally carried out in the opposite direction in such a way that both edges of the sheet are provided with grooves 9 on the same side of the sheet 6 .
  • FIG. 2 b shows an end view of a sheet according to FIG. 2 a .
  • FIG. 2 c shows the edge of the sheet in more detail, and it can be seen how the sheet is bent at bending points 7 and 8 so as to form the groove 9 .
  • the internal bending radius of the bending points 7 and 8 is dimensioned in such a way that it is at the corresponding point substantially equal to the bending radius of the outer surface of the part upon which the sheet 6 is intended to be mounted.
  • the sheet can be bent in such a way that the angle between the sheet surfaces relative to the bending points is less than 90°. In this way, the edges of the sheets are pressed tightly against the edges of the part to be coated, which keeps the sheet firmly in place.
  • the angles may also be different, depending on the corresponding angles in the household appliance or refrigeration equipment.
  • FIG. 3 shows schematically a sheet mounted upon a door 10 of a cold store, where it forms a visible surface in its proper place. Between the door and the actual cold store, there is a sealing 11 , due to which there remains a space behind the door edges. The narrow bends at the edges of the sheet 6 become positioned in this space behind the edges of the door 10 , fixing the sheet 6 firmly against the door. Correspondingly, a space must be formed adjacent the wall edges of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment, into which space the edges of the sheet 6 fit if a sheet forming a visible surface is to be positioned upon the walls.
  • the end part of the door 10 is provided with a small protrusion extending outside the actual surface sheet of the door, against which protrusion the lower edge of the sheet 6 becomes positioned and which protrusion functions as a locking member, locking the sheet in its place downwards.
  • a sheet may be manufactured of different transparent or non-transparent plastics or metals.
  • Transparent plastic may be colored translucently or it may be colorless.
  • different patterns may be formed upon or on the inner surface of a sheet of transparent material, and different loose patterns may also be positioned between the sheet and the surface of the household appliance or refrigeration equipment.
  • the sheet may be patterned with various impression techniques, such as serigraphy. Either the whole outer surface of the sheet or part of it may be painted or otherwise coated or treated.
  • the sheet surface may also be mechanically treated, for instance by grinding or sand or the like blasting, or otherwise treated with machining or c hemical treatment in such a way that the surface is provided with a symmetric or an asymmetric pattern, which is preferably at least somewhat three-dimensional.
  • the sheet itself may have locking members to lock it immovably in the direction of the bent sides.
  • the sheet yields sufficiently owing to its thinness, so that it is possible to mount it in place by one edge and to press the other edge such that the sheet eventually clicks in place and becomes locked.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Refrigerator Housings (AREA)
  • Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
  • Table Devices Or Equipment (AREA)
  • Polishing Bodies And Polishing Tools (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
  • Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
  • Securing Of Glass Panes Or The Like (AREA)
US10/852,027 2003-05-28 2004-05-24 Surface structure for household appliances and refrigeration equipment Abandoned US20040245900A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FIU20030213 2003-05-28
FI20030213U FI6003U1 (fi) 2003-05-28 2003-05-28 Pintarakenne kodinkoneita ja kylmäkalusteita varten

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20040245900A1 true US20040245900A1 (en) 2004-12-09

Family

ID=8565610

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/852,027 Abandoned US20040245900A1 (en) 2003-05-28 2004-05-24 Surface structure for household appliances and refrigeration equipment

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (1) US20040245900A1 (de)
EP (1) EP1481612B1 (de)
AT (1) ATE366066T1 (de)
DE (1) DE602004007324T2 (de)
DK (1) DK1481612T3 (de)
FI (1) FI6003U1 (de)
HK (1) HK1073985A1 (de)
NO (1) NO20042215L (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090126176A1 (en) * 2007-11-21 2009-05-21 Bruce Arthur Kopf Method and apparatus for providing metal clad facade
US20100282296A1 (en) * 2009-05-06 2010-11-11 Industrial Technology Research Institute Solar Energy Module
US9532660B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2017-01-03 Pepsico, Inc. Refrigerated merchandise display system
WO2022001696A1 (zh) * 2020-06-30 2022-01-06 重庆海尔制冷电器有限公司 可更换门面的冰箱门
WO2023209295A1 (fr) * 2022-04-29 2023-11-02 Renaudin Mickael Panneau de meuble pourvu d'une coque de protection souple et amovible

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE202006013097U1 (de) * 2006-08-25 2007-01-04 Dometic Gmbh Kühl- oder Gefriergerät mit Wechseldekor
DE102008021345A1 (de) * 2008-04-29 2009-11-05 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Tür für ein Haushaltsgerät
AU2010258084B2 (en) * 2009-06-09 2014-07-24 Electrolux Home Products Pty Limited A changeable panel assembly and method of assembling a changeable panel
DE102010049130A1 (de) * 2010-01-14 2011-07-21 moll Funktionsmöbel GmbH, 73344 Abdeckvorrichtung für ein Möbel und damit ausgestattetes Möbel
CN103542674B (zh) * 2012-07-13 2019-08-13 博西华电器（江苏）有限公司 制冷器具

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2031068A (en) * 1928-11-21 1936-02-18 Seeger Refrigerator Co Refrigerator door
US2038634A (en) * 1928-04-14 1936-04-28 Bohn Company Refrigerator door
US2091012A (en) * 1936-06-13 1937-08-24 H B Dodge And Company Venetian blind slat
US2248777A (en) * 1940-11-27 1941-07-08 James F Peelle Metal covered door
US3408127A (en) * 1965-08-26 1968-10-29 Soc Civ D Rech Etudes Ind Office furniture having removable decorative panels
US4229921A (en) * 1978-11-30 1980-10-28 The Maytag Company Appliance door decorator panel construction
US4883001A (en) * 1987-12-18 1989-11-28 Roth Alfred C Picnic table cover
US4966424A (en) * 1988-05-05 1990-10-30 W. Schneider & Co., Ag Metallwarenfabrik Cabinet construction
US5839252A (en) * 1997-04-04 1998-11-24 The Stanley Works Metal door with continuous frame and method

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1300022A (fr) * 1961-09-12 1962-07-27 Ferdinando Zoppas & Figli Porte pour réfrigérateur à joint étanche et masqué
FR2674112A1 (fr) * 1991-03-22 1992-09-25 Goulais Francois Renfort et habillage d'elements de meubles.

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2038634A (en) * 1928-04-14 1936-04-28 Bohn Company Refrigerator door
US2031068A (en) * 1928-11-21 1936-02-18 Seeger Refrigerator Co Refrigerator door
US2091012A (en) * 1936-06-13 1937-08-24 H B Dodge And Company Venetian blind slat
US2248777A (en) * 1940-11-27 1941-07-08 James F Peelle Metal covered door
US3408127A (en) * 1965-08-26 1968-10-29 Soc Civ D Rech Etudes Ind Office furniture having removable decorative panels
US4229921A (en) * 1978-11-30 1980-10-28 The Maytag Company Appliance door decorator panel construction
US4883001A (en) * 1987-12-18 1989-11-28 Roth Alfred C Picnic table cover
US4966424A (en) * 1988-05-05 1990-10-30 W. Schneider & Co., Ag Metallwarenfabrik Cabinet construction
US5839252A (en) * 1997-04-04 1998-11-24 The Stanley Works Metal door with continuous frame and method

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090126176A1 (en) * 2007-11-21 2009-05-21 Bruce Arthur Kopf Method and apparatus for providing metal clad facade
US8668291B2 (en) * 2007-11-21 2014-03-11 Whirlpool Corporation Method and apparatus for providing metal clad facade
US20100282296A1 (en) * 2009-05-06 2010-11-11 Industrial Technology Research Institute Solar Energy Module
US20100281721A1 (en) * 2009-05-06 2010-11-11 Industrial Technology Research Institute Multi-function solar-powered lighting system
US8277072B2 (en) 2009-05-06 2012-10-02 Industrial Technology Research Institute Multi-function solar-powered lighting system
US8809670B2 (en) * 2009-05-06 2014-08-19 Industrial Technology Research Institute Solar energy module
US9532660B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2017-01-03 Pepsico, Inc. Refrigerated merchandise display system
WO2022001696A1 (zh) * 2020-06-30 2022-01-06 重庆海尔制冷电器有限公司 可更换门面的冰箱门
WO2023209295A1 (fr) * 2022-04-29 2023-11-02 Renaudin Mickael Panneau de meuble pourvu d'une coque de protection souple et amovible
FR3134956A1 (fr) * 2022-04-29 2023-11-03 Mickaël RENAUDIN Panneau de meuble pourvu d’une coque de protection souple et amovible

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
HK1073985A1 (en) 2005-10-28
NO20042215L (no) 2004-11-29
EP1481612B1 (de) 2007-07-04
EP1481612A1 (de) 2004-12-01
FIU20030213U0 (fi) 2003-05-28
ATE366066T1 (de) 2007-07-15
FI6003U1 (fi) 2003-11-18
DE602004007324D1 (de) 2007-08-16
DK1481612T3 (da) 2007-08-06
DE602004007324T2 (de) 2007-10-18

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: HALKAMA FORSTE OY, FINLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PARKKINEN, ERKKI;REEL/FRAME:015680/0397

Effective date: 20040602

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION