WO2010076171A2

WO2010076171A2 - A cooling device comprising a water dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2010076171A2
Application number: PCT/EP2009/067081
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seyhan Ceyhan; Derya Erturk; Mutlu Kartkaya
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2008-12-30
Filing date: 2009-12-14
Publication date: 2010-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2011-06-30
Also published as: WO2010076171A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) that comprises a water dispenser (4) having a reservoir (5), the volume of which can be changed by means of the movable compartments (13, 113) it has, and thus, that provides the inner surface of the door (3) to be efficiently utilized by a volume adjustment being performed according to the size of the items to be disposed on the shelves (R) and the water amount desired in the water dispenser (4).

Description

PatXML 1/8 BB1860-7.829

Description

A COOLING DEVICE COMPRISING A WATER DISPENSER

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device having a water dispenser.

[0002] In cooling devices, for example in some refrigerators, water dispensers, which enable the user to obtain water without opening the refrigerator door, are situated. The said water dispensers comprise a tap on the refrigerator door front surface facing the outside and, on the inner surface of the door, a water reservoir wherein the water is stored. The reservoir, which is located on the inner surface of the door and wherein the water is stored, occupies a large area on the inner surface of the door. The water dispenser reservoir, which is designed according to the need in the summer, is not used in full capacity in the winter wherein relatively small amount of water is consumed. When not used in full capacity, the water reservoir causes some of the area that it occupies on the inner surface of the door to remain inactive.

[0003] In the state of the art United States Patent Document No US20070089452, a refrigerator wherein the water reservoir, which can be removed from the door when desired, is located on the internal panel of the door is described.

[0004] In the state of the art United States Patent Document No US5542264, the water reservoir of the water dispenser, which provides water to be taken from refrigerators, extends within limits due to its structural properties in the event that the water inside it freezes.

[0005] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device, the door inner surface of which can be shared between the shelves and the water dispenser reservoir according to the need of the user.

[0006] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is explicated in the claims.

[0007] The cooling device comprises a water dispenser, the reservoir volume of which can be changed by the user. The reservoir consists of at least two telescopic compartments, at least one of which is movable. The user changes the reservoir volume by moving the said compartments. PatXML 2/8 BB1860-7.829

[0008] The water dispenser, furthermore, comprises at least one fixing mechanism which provides the compartment being moved to be fixed in the desired position by the user after the movement.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present invention, the reservoir comprises an upper compartment, the lower surface of which is open, and a lower compartment, the upper surface of which is open, and both of which are telescopic.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the water dispenser consists of two compartments and the change of the reservoir volume is performed by means of the lower compartment which is movable. In this embodiment, in order that the hose, by means of which the water transmission to the tap is performed and which extends between the reservoir and the tap, is not damaged, an L-shaped channel is located on the inner surface of the door.

[0011] In another embodiment of the present invention, the water dispenser consists of two compartments and the change of the reservoir volume is performed by means of the upper compartment which is movable.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing mechanism comprises at least one rail which is located on the inner surface of the door, at least one extension which is located on the movable compartment and which is mounted onto the said rail, and at least one pin which is mounted onto the extension.

[0013] The cooling device of the present invention comprises a sealing element, which is located between the compartments and which extends in the shape of an accordion when one of the compartments move, in order that the water leakage is prevented while the compartments in the water dispenser reservoir move.

[0014] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0015] Figure 1 - is the perspective view of a cooling device.

[0016] Figure 2 - is the perspective view of the door when the reservoir is in the minimum volume in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 - is the perspective view of the door when the reservoir is in the maximum volume in an embodiment of the present invention. PatXML 3/8 BB1860-7.829

[0018] Figure 4 - is the front view of the door when the reservoir is in the maximum volume in an embodiment of the present invention. [0019] Figure 5 - is the view of cross-section A-A in Figure 4. [0020] Figure 6 - is the perspective view of the door when the reservoir is in the minimum volume in another embodiment of the present invention. [0021] Figure 7 - is the perspective view of the door when the reservoir is in the maximum volume in another embodiment of the present invention. [0022] Figure 8 - is the front view of the door when the reservoir is in the maximum volume in another embodiment of the present invention. [0023] Figure 9 - is the view of cross-section A-A in Figure 8. [0024] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Cooling device

2. Body

3. Door

4. Water dispenser

5. Reservoir

6. Lid

7. Tap

8. Hose

9. Sealing element

10. Rail

11. Extension

12. Pin

13. , 113. Compartment

14. Fixing mechanism

[0025] The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2), at least one door (3) which is located on the body (2) and which isolates the cooling compartment from the outer environment, one or more shelves (R) which are located on the inner surface of the door (3) and whereon items are disposed, and at least one water dispenser (4) which is located on the door (3) and which enables water to be provided without requiring the user to open the door (3) (Figure 1).

[0026] The water dispenser (4) comprises at least one reservoir (5) which is PatXML 4/8 BB1860-7.829

located on the inner surface of the door (3) and wherein the water is stored.

[0027] The water dispenser (4) comprises at least two compartments (13, 113) which form the reservoir (5) and which are telescopic, and at least one of which is movable. By means of the movement of at least one of the said compartments (13, 113), the volume of the reservoir (5) is increased and decreased.

[0028] The water dispenser (4), furthermore, comprises a lid (6) which is located on the top portion of the reservoir (5) and which provides water to be filled into the reservoir (5), a tap (7) which is located on the front surface of the door (3) and which enables the user to take water, and a hose (8) which provides the water transmission from the reservoir (5) to the tap (7) (Figure

2).

[0029] In order that any water leakage, which can occur from the reservoir (5) towards the outer environment during the movement of the compartments (13, 113), is prevented, the water dispenser (4) comprises at least one sealing element (9) which is disposed between the compartments (13, 113). The said sealing element (9) is preferably produced from silicon.

[0030] The water dispenser (4), furthermore, comprises at least one fixing mechanism (14) which provides the compartment being moved (13, 113) to be fixed in the desired position by the user after the movement.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing mechanism (14) comprises at least one rail (10) which is located on the inner surface of the door (3), at least one extension (11) which is located on the movable compartment (13 or 113) and which is mounted onto the said rail (10), and at least one pin (12) which is mounted onto the extension (11). The extension (11) provides the movable compartment (13 or 113) to slide on the rail (10). The pin (12) fixes the extension (11) in the desired position on the rail (10).

[0032] In an embodiment of the present invention, the reservoir (5) comprises two compartments (13, 113), the lower surface of one of which and the upper surface of the other of which are open.

[0033] In a variation of this embodiment, the reservoir (5) consists of an upper PatXML 5/8 BB1860-7.829

compartment (13), the lower surface of which is open and on the upper surface of which a lid (6) is disposed, and a lower compartment (113), the upper surface of which is open. By means of the open lower surface of the upper compartment (13), the water filled in the reservoir (5) is provided to pass to the lower compartment (113). By means of the open upper surface of the lower compartment (113), the upper compartment (13) is enabled to be inserted into the lower compartment (113).

[0034] In this embodiment of the present invention, while the reservoir (5) has the minimum volume, the upper compartment (13) is located inside the lower compartment (113) (Figure 2). When the volume of the reservoir (5) is desired to be increased, the lower compartment (113) is slid downwards and thus, the volume of the reservoir (5) is provided to be increased. For this, first of all the pin (12) located under the lower compartment (13) is provided to release the extension (11) and thus, the extension (11) is made movable on the rail (10). Then, the lower compartment (13) is slid downwards on the rail (10). When the lower compartment (13) reaches the desired level, the lower compartment (13) is fixed in the present position by the pin (12) locking the extension (11) (Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5). While the lower compartment (13) is slid downwards along the rail (10), the sealing element (9) opens in the shape of an accordion and thus, a leakage that can occur is prevented. The cooling device (1) comprises a preferably L-shaped channel (K) on the door (3) for the hose (8), which provides the water in the reservoir (5) to be transmitted to the tap (7), not to be deformed during the movement of the lower compartment (113). By means of the said channel (K), while the lower compartment (113) is slid downwards, also the hose (8), connected to the lower compartment (113), moves downwards together with the lower compartment (113) without meeting any obstacle. In order that the hose (8) does not meet any obstacle during the movement, the height of the channel (K) at its end which faces the inner surface of the door (3) is equal to, or greater than, the maximum distance the lower compartment (113) will cover while moving downwards.

[0035] In a variation of this embodiment, while the reservoir (5) has the minimum PatXML 6/8 BB1860-7.829

volume, the upper compartment (113) is located inside the lower compartment (13) (Figure 6). When the volume of the reservoir (5) is desired to be increased, the upper compartment (113) is slid upwards and thus, the volume of the reservoir (5) is provided to be increased. For this, first of all the pin (12) located above the upper compartment (113) is provided to release the extension (11) and thus, the extension (11) is made movable on the rail (10). Then, the upper compartment (113) is slid upwards on the rail (10). When the upper compartment (113) reaches the desired level, the upper compartment (113) is fixed in the present position by the pin (12) locking the extension (11) (Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9). While the upper compartment (113) is slid upwards along the rail (10), the sealing element (9) opens in the shape of an accordion and thus, a leakage that can occur is prevented. In this embodiment, since the lower compartment (113) is stationary, the hose (8) channel (K) is not required to be specially shaped. The said channel (K) extends preferably under the reservoir (5) in the vertical direction.

[0036] In the cooling device (1) of the present invention, the volume of the reservoir (5) can be changed as a result of the movement of the compartments (13, 113) located in the reservoir (5). Thus, the said volume adjustment is performed according to the size of the items to be disposed on the shelves (R) and the water amount desired in the water reservoir dispenser (4), and hence, the inner surface of the door (3) is provided to be efficiently utilized.

[0037] 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

PatXML 7/8 BB1860-7.829Claims

1. A cooling device (1 ) comprising a body (2), at least one door (3) which is located on the body (2) and which isolates the cooling compartment from the outer environment, a water dispenser (4) that has a reservoir (5) which is located on the inner surface of the door (3) and wherein the water is stored, and characterized by the water dispenser (4) that has the reservoir (5) consisting of at least two compartments (13, 113) which are telescopic and at least one of which is movable.

2. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 , characterized by the water dispenser (4) that comprises at least one fixing mechanism (14) which provides the compartment being moved (13, 113) to be fixed in the desired position by the user after the movement.

3. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by the fixing mechanism (14) that comprises at least one rail (10) which is located on the inner surface of the door (3), at least one extension (11) which is located on the movable compartment (13 or 113) and which is mounted onto the said rail (10), and at least one pin (12) which is mounted onto the extension (11).

4. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterized by the reservoir (5) that consists of an upper compartment (13), the lower surface of which is open, and a lower compartment (113), the upper surface of which is open.

5. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by the upper compartment (13), which is located inside the lower compartment (113), and the lower compartment (113), which is slid downwards when the volume of the reservoir (5) is desired to be increased.

6. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by the lower compartment (13), wherein the upper compartment (113) is located, and the upper compartment (113), which is slid upwards when the volume of the reservoir (5) is desired to be increased.

7. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by at least one sealing element (9) which is located between the compartments (13, 113) and which prevents the water leakage from the reservoir (5) out. PatXML 8/8 BB1860-7.829

8. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 7, characterized by the sealing element (9) which opens in the shape of an accordion by the movement of at least one compartment (13, 113).

9. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the water dispenser (4) that comprises a tap (7) which is located on the front surface of the door (3) and which enables the user to take water, and a hose (8) which provides the water transmission from the reservoir (5) to the tap (7), and by an L-shaped channel (K), which is located on the door (3), for the hose (8), providing the water in the reservoir (5) to be transmitted to the tap (7), not to be deformed during the movement of the lower compartment (113).