WO2010133509A2

WO2010133509A2 - A cooling device comprising a water dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2010133509A2
Application number: PCT/EP2010/056630
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fatih Demiray; Soner Kahraman; Ahmet Onur Moza; Gokhan Ozseker
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2009-05-22
Filing date: 2010-05-13
Publication date: 2010-11-25
Also published as: WO2010133509A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) comprising a body (2), at least one door (3) which is located on the body (2) and which isolates the body from the outer environment, one or more shelves (R) which are located on the inner wall 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).

Description

A COOLING DEVICE COMPRISING A WATER DISPENSER

[0001] The present invention relates to the effective utilization of the door shelves in 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 faucet on the front surface of the refrigerator door facing the outside and a water tank on the inner wall of the door, wherein the water is stored. In many embodiments wherein a water dispenser is located on the door, a housing wherein the user places the glass is disposed on the door. If this housing is on the side of the door which faces inside of the body, it forms a protrusion as much as its depth. The tank which is located on the inner wall of the door and wherein the water is stored occupies a large area on the inner wall of the door and is disposed on this protrusion by being centered. In order that the bottles can be emplaced on the shelves located on both sides of the protrusion, the width of the tank cannot be more than the width of the protrusion (Figure 2). Otherwise, the bottles emplaced on the shelves below the tank may hit the tank and therefore the bottles cannot be emplaced. Due to this design limit, in other words because the width of the tank cannot be greater than the width of the housing of the water dispenser, the volume of the water tank is kept small and the water tank is required to be frequently filled by the user, especially in the summer days where the cold water consumption is high.

[0003] 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.

[0004] In the state of the art United States Patent No. US6574984 a portable water dispenser which can be disposed in the inner wall of the door is explained.

[0005] The aim of the present invention is the increasing of the utilization effectiveness of the door shelves in the refrigerators which have water dispensers.

[0006] The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a water tank which can be fixed on the inner wall of the door at two different positions by being rotated around a vertical rotational axis.

[0007] Thus, a wider water tank can be utilized such that it does not prevent tall bottles from being emplaced on the door shelves on both sides of the water tank.

[0008] Furthermore, the most suitable door shelf for the ergonomic use of the door shelves is the closest shelf to the user. By means of the present invention, first of all this door shelf is enabled to be used. Furthermore, since the center of gravity of the water tank can be moved closer to the door hinge by being changed by means of the rotational movement, the lifetime of the hinge can be increased by the load acting on the hinge being decreased.

[0009] By means of the present invention, the rear wall of the water tank faces the inner part of the body when being rotated by the user, whereas the front wall faces the inner part of the body. In other words, the water tank moves from one side wall of the door to the other by rotating.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises a pivot arm mounted on the tank lid and a tank outlet disposed on the base of the tank and which is located on the same vertical axis with the pivot arm which provides the water in the tank to be transferred to the faucet. The water tank moves by rotating between the pivot arm located on the same axis with the tank and the tank outlet. When the user desires to fill the tank with water, he/she disconnects the tank from the lid by stretching the pivot arm, and then he/she can dismount the tank from the door by detaching the tank outlet from where it is connected to the faucet.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, a recess is disposed on the inner wall of the door wherein the tank is mounted in order that the edge close to the rotational axis of the tank does not hit the inner wall of the door during the rotational movement of the tank. Thus, when the tank is being rotated, this edge which covers almost 180 degrees enables the tank to move without hitting the inner wall of the door by moving inside the recess without hitting the inner wall of the door.

[0012] By means of the present invention, the bottles can be emplaced on the shelves such that the water tank does not pose an obstacle. Furthermore, the door shelves which have the most ergonomic use are provided to be utilized by the long bottles being emplaced thereon by the user. Moreover, since the center of gravity does not coincide with the rotational axis, the center of gravity of the water tank can be moved closer to the door hinge and the load acting on the hinge is provided to be decreased even if it's a small amount.

[0013] A cooling device designed to fulfill the object of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0014] Figure 1 - is the schematic view of a cooling device.

[0015] Figure 2 - is the front view of the prior art.

[0016] Figure 3 - is the perspective view of a door before the tank is mounted.

[0017] Figure 4 - is the cross-sectional view of a door before the tank is mounted.

[0018] Figure 5 - is the sideways view of the water dispenser.

[0019] Figure 6 - is the front view of the water dispenser.

[0020] Figure 7 - is the perspective view of the tank when it is rotated in a direction.

[0021] Figure 8 - is the perspective view of the tank when it is rotated in the other direction.

[0022] Figure 9 - is the perspective view of the door and the shelf when the tank is rotated in a direction.

[0023] Figure 10 - is the perspective view of the door and the shelf when the tank is rotated in the other direction.

[0024] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Cooling device

2. Body

3. Door

4. Water dispenser

5. Tank

6. Lid 7. Housing

8. Outlet

9. Faucet

10. Hose

11. Pivot arm

12. Retainer

13. Recess

[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 body (2) from the outer environment, one or more shelves (R) which are located on the inner wall 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 a tank (5) which is located on the inner wall of the door (3) and which can be fixed at two different positions by being rotated 180 degrees around a vertical rotational axis (E). Thus, even if a large water tank (5) is produced, the tank (5) is avoided from preventing the placement of long bottles on the door shelves (R). In this case, the door shelves (R) located just below the tank (5) can be utilized such that long bottles can be emplaced thereon (Figure 9 and Figure 10).

[0027] The tank (5) is mounted on the inner wall of the door (3) such that the rotational axis (E) of the tank (5) is close to one edge of the tank (5). In this case, the rotational axis (E) and the center of gravity of the tank (5) do not coincide. Thus, the center of gravity is displaced by means of the rotation of the tank (5). This provides the reduction of the moment arm by the center of gravity of the tank (5) being moved closer to the door (3) hinge and therefore provides the lifetime of the hinge to be increased by the load acting on the hinge being decreased (Figure 7 and Figure 8). In this embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a recess (13) disposed on the inner wall of the door (3) and behind the tank (5), and the depth of which is at least equal to the distance of the edge close to the rotational axis (E) to the rotational axis (E). By means of this recess (13), the edge close to the rotational axis (E) is prevented from hitting the inner wall of the door (3) during the rotational movement of the tank (5).

[0028] Furthermore, since the tank (5) can rotate almost 180 degrees, the user is enabled to utilize the closest shelf (R) to him/her which is the most suitable one for the ergonomic use of the door shelves (R).

[0029] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a housing (7) located on the front surface of the door (3), preferably in the middle of the door (3) and wherein the user can emplace a glass, a tank (5) disposed on the protrusion formed by the housing (7) on the inner wall of the door (3) and wherein the water is stored, a lid (6) located at the upper portion of the tank (5) and which enables the water to be filled into the tank (5), an outlet (8) located on the base of the tank (5) and which provides the water to be transmitted outside the tank (5), a tap

(9) located in the housing (7) and which enables the user to take water in the tank (5) and a hose (10) which provides the water transmission from the tank (5) to the faucet (9) by one end thereof being connected to the outlet (8) and the other end to the faucet (9). While the end of the hose

(10) connected to the outlet (8) of the tank (5) is movable such that it will allow the tank (5) to rotate, the end thereof connected to the faucet (9) is fixed (Figure 3 and Figure 4).

[0030] The cooling device (1) furthermore comprises a pivot arm (11) in the form of a protrusion, located on the inner wall of the door (3), just above the lid (6) which extends towards the body (2). The pivot arm (11) and the outlet (8) are on the same vertical axis and this vertical axis forms also the rotational axis (E) of the tank (5) (Figure 5 and Figure 6).

[0031] The tank (5) is seated on the housing (7) by one end of the faucet (9) being connected to the outlet (8) located on the base of the tank (5). The tank (5) is also mounted to the pivot arm (11) by means of the upper portion of the lid (6). Thus the tank (5) is supported from above by the pivot arm (11) and from below by the outlet (8). In this case the tank (5) can be rotated 180 degrees by the user around the pivot arm (11) and the outlet (8) which are located on the same vertical axis.

[0032] When the user desires to emplace a long bottle on a shelf (R) just below the tank (5), he/she moves the tank (5) towards the other side of the housing (7) by rotating the tank (5) 180 degrees around the rotational axis (E) such that an empty space is provided above the shelf (R) on which a bottle is desired to be emplaced. Thus, since the tank (5) does not pose any obstacle above the shelf (R), the emplacement of bottles at desired lengths on this shelf (R) is enabled.

[0033] When the user desires to fill the tank (5), he/she can detach the pivot arm (11) from the lid (6) by stretching the pivot arm (11) and dismount the tank (5) by detaching the outlet (8) from the faucet (9).

[0034] In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing (7) is located in the middle of the door (3) and door shelves (R) are disposed on both sides of the housing (7). In this embodiment, the cooling device (1) comprises at least two retainers (12) oppositely located on the side wall of the door (3) and on the side wall of the housing (7) in the same horizontal alignment and which provides the shelves (R) to be mounted thereon.

[0035] In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a locking mechanism which provides the tank (5) to be kept at the position to which it was rotated.

[0036] 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

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 body (2) from the outer environment, one or more shelves (R) which are located on the inner wall 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) and characterized by the water dispenser (4) having a tank (5) located on the inner wall of the door (3) and which can be fixed at two different positions by being rotated 180 degrees around a vertical rotational axis (E).

2. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 , characterized by the tank (5) which is mounted on the inner wall of the door (3) such that the rotational axis (E) is close to one edge of the tank (5).

3. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the tank (5) which rotates around the rotational axis (E) which does not coincide with the center of gravity.

4. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 , characterized by a housing (7) located on the front surface of the door (3), preferably in the middle of the door (3) and wherein the user can emplace a glass, a tank (5) disposed on the protrusion formed by the housing (7) on the inner wall of the door (3) and wherein the water is stored, a lid (6) located at the upper portion of the tank (5) and which enables the water to be filled into the tank (5), an outlet (8) located on the base of the tank (5) and which provides the water to be transmitted outside the tank (5), a faucet (9) located in the housing (7) and which enables the user to take the water in the tank (5) and a hose (10) which provides the water transmission from the tank (5) to the faucet (9) by one end thereof being connected to the outlet (8) and the other end to the faucet (9) and a pivot arm (11) in the form of a protrusion, located on the inner wall of the door (2), just above the lid (6), which extends towards the body (2) and which is located on the same vertical axis with the outlet (8) and which forms the rotational axis (E) of the tank (5).

5. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 , characterized by a recess (13) disposed on the inner wall of the door (3) and behind the tank (5), and the depth of which is at least equal to the distance of the edge close to the rotational axis (E) to the rotational axis (E).

6. A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by the hose (10) the end of which is connected to the faucet (9) is fixed, while the end thereof connected to the outlet (8) of the tank (5) is movable such that it will allow the tank (5) to rotate.

7. A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a locking mechanism which provides the tank (5) to be kept at the position to which it was rotated.