WO1995025254A1

WO1995025254A1 - A combined refrigerating cabinet

Info

Publication number: WO1995025254A1
Application number: PCT/BR1995/000023
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rodolfo Floeter, Jr.
Original assignee: Multibrás S/A. Eletrodomésticos
Priority date: 1994-03-17
Filing date: 1995-03-17
Publication date: 1995-09-21
Also published as: BR9400865A

Abstract

A combined refrigerating cabinet, of the type comprising at least two adjacent internal compartments (A1, A2) with different temperatures, which are closed by respective doors (D1, D2) and which are separated from each other by a dividing wall (10), which has at least one window (11), which is selectively opened and closed by a movable lid (20), which is manually moved at least when it is moved from the closed position to the open position, said window (11) being disposed so as to allow the access to the compartment of lower temperature.

Description

A COMBINED REFRIGERATING CABINET

Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a combined refrigerating cabinet having compartments with different temperatures, such as freezer/refrigerator, freezer/refresher, etc. Background of the Invention In the combined products, the space available to dispose the ice trays and eventually the container for the ice cubes is defined in the compartment of lower temperature in the refrigerating cabinet of these products. To have access to these ice trays and ice cubes, it is necessary to open the door of said compartment, which results in a high thermal exchange, usually of a high temperature gradient, between the place where the refrigerating cabinet is installed and the inside of the refrigerated compartment. The calorie increase in the compartment under refrigeration may actuate the refrigerating system, which will operate until an ideal temperature operating condition is reached again. The maximum temperature may be reached in function of the time and frequency in which occurs the opening of the door of said refrigerating cabinet.

The temperature variation in the refrigerating cabinet, besides prejudicial to the food placed therein, causes an undesirable increase in the energetic consumption. Other deficiencies of the known combined products are the non-maximization of the internal space of their refrigerating cabinet and the construction of the dividing wall, which presents ducts for refrigeration or for the drainage of the deiced water and which is difficult to clean. Disclosure of the Invention

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combined refrigerating cabinet, which allows the access to at least part of the inside of the compartment with lower temperature, without the need to open the door thereof, thus avoiding energetic loss and temperature variation in said compartment. Another object of the present invention is to maximize the internal space of the combined refrigerating cabinets.

These and other objectives of the present invention are achieved with a combined refrigerating cabinet, of the type comprising at least two adjacent internal compartments with different temperatures, which are closed by respective doors and which are separated from each other by a dividing wall, said dividing wall having at least one window, communicating the inside of both adjacent internal compartments and being selectively opened and closed by a movable lid, which is manually moved at least when it is moved from the closed position to the open position, said window being disposed so as to allow the access to the compartment of lower temperature.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described below, based on the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates schematically a perspective view of a combined refrigerator/freezer, in which the door of each compartment is open, according to the present invention; and

Fig. 2 illustrates schematically a vertical longitudinal sectional view of part of the cabinet of fig. 1, which is adjacent to both the refrigerator and freezer compartments.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention According to the figures, there is illustrated a combined refrigerating cabinet of the vertical type, comprising a refrigerating cabinet C, inside which there are defined first and second internal compartments Al, A2 of different temperatures, each closed by a respective door DI, D2, said compartments being separated from each other by a dividing wall 10, having a window 11 defined at a front portion of said dividing wall 10 and connecting said internal compartments Al, A2, said window 11 being closed by a respective movable lid 20, mounted to said dividing wall 10 and accessible through the compartment of higher temperature, in order to selectively close and open the window 11.

In this construction, the second compartment A2 is inferiorly disposed relative to the first compartment Al and defines the refrigerating compartment of lower temperature (freezer) of the combined cabinet, part of its inside being accessible through the first compartment Al when the door DI thereof is open and when the door D2 of the second compartment A2 is closed. In the preferred constructive option, the movable lid 20 is of the retractible type and has a closing position, when the front seating edge 21 of said movable lid 20 is disposed against a front peripheral edge 12 of the window 11, and an opening position, defined when the movable lid 20 is retracted under a portion of the dividing wall 10 posterior to the front portion thereof where the window 11 is defined and which defines a lid housing 13 for the movable lid 20. The lid housing 13 is defined at an unleveled region of a lower surface of the dividing wall 10. The lid housing 13 is provided with lateral tracks 15, which extend to the front edge 12 of the window 11 and which guide the movement of the movable lid 20 to and from its opening position. The opening position of said movable lid 20 is defined when a rear edge thereof reaches a rear wall 14 of said lid housing 13. This position may be also defined with the provision of a stop element 22, projecting from the upper surface of the movable lid 20 to the rear edge of the window 11. The closing position is obtained when the front edge 21 of said movable lid 20 is seated against a step 16 provided at the front edge 12 of the window 11. In this construction, the front portion of the dividing wall 10 is frontwardly downwardly inclined en relation to a horizontal plane containing the dividing wall 10 and a front region R thereof for connecting the compartments Al, A2, where the doors DI, D2 are mounted, in such a way that the front edge 12 of the window 11 has not the same level as the rear edge 17 of said window 11 opposed to the front edge 12, said level difference being sufficient to allow the horizontal movement of the ice trays T through the window 11 to and from the inside of the second compartment A2. In the preferred illustrated construction, the ice trays T are disposed in the second compartment A2 on a sustaining support 30, disposed adjacent to the lower surface of the dividing wall 10, preferably in the form of guides projecting from the lateral walls of the second compartment A2 and from the lower surface of the dividing wall 10, said guides being parallel to said lateral walls of the second compartment A2, so as to guide the movement of the ice trays T. In this construction, the sustaining support 30 further receives an ice container 31, disposed in the second compartment A2 in vertical alignment with the window 22, so that its inside may be accessible through said window. The ice container 31 has its transversal extension substantially equal to the longitudinal length of an ice tray T, in order to permit the disposition of said tray onto its peripheral edge, so as to release the ice from said trays directly to the inside of the ice container 31. In another possible construction, said support could be provided in the form of a supporting shelf, defined under the dividing wall 10, or a structure fittable or otherwise mounted at the lower portion of the dividing wall 10.

The upper plane of the peripheral edges of the ice container 31 is substantially coplanar with the front edge 12 of the window 11, so as to allow the horizontal movement of the ice trays T. Though not illustrated, the movable lid 20 could be tiltable, with or without automatic return, or removable from the inside of the first compartment, in order to obtain its open operating position.

Claims

1. A combined refrigerating cabinet, of the type comprising at least two adjacent internal compartments (Al, A2) with different temperatures, which are closed by respective doors (DI, D2) and which are separated from each other by a dividing wall (10) , characterized in that said dividing wall (10) has at least one window

(11) , communicating the inside of both adjacent internal compartments (Al, A2) and being selectively opened and closed by a movable lid (20) , which is manually moved at least when it is moved from the closed position to the open position, said window (11) being disposed so as to allow the access to the compartment of lower temperature.

2. Cabinet, as in claim 1, characterized in that the window (11) is provided at a front wall portion of the dividing wall (10) .

3. Cabinet, as in claim 2, characterized in that the window (11) is provided on a dividing wall (10) , which is downwardly forwardly inclined from the horizontal plane containing said dividing wall (10) up to a front connecting region (R) .

4. Cabinet, as in claim 3, characterized in that the window (11) has front and rear opposite edges, the level difference therebetween being sufficient to allow the horizontal movement of the ice trays (T) through the opened window (11) .

5. Cabinet, as in claim 4, characterized in that it includes, adjacent to the lower surface of the dividing wall (10) and in the compartment of lower temperature (A2) , a sustaining support (30) for the ice trays (T) .

6. Cabinet, as in claim 5, characterized in that the support (30) carries at a front portion thereof an ice container (31) for the separated ice cubes, which is vertically aligned relative to the window (11) .

7. Cabinet, as in claim 4, characterized in that the opening and closing positions of the movable lid (20) are obtained by sliding said lid on guiding tracks provided adjacent to the lateral walls of the compartment of lower temperature (A2) and to the dividing wall (10) to and from the lid housing (13) .

8. Cabinet, as in claim 7, characterized in that the lid housing (13) is defined by a recession of a lower surface portion of the dividing wall (10) located behind the window (11) .