WO2012130560A2

WO2012130560A2 - Modular appliance body

Info

Publication number: WO2012130560A2
Application number: PCT/EP2012/053741
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bertram Wolf
Original assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2011-03-28
Filing date: 2012-03-05
Publication date: 2012-10-04
Also published as: DE102011006238A1; WO2012130560A3

Abstract

A thermally insulating body, in particular for a domestic appliance, comprises at least two wall panels which each have an outer face, an inner face and a narrow face. The narrow face of a first panel faces the second panel. An inner wall plate is fitted on the inner face of each panel, said inner wall plate delimiting a groove which is adjacent to the narrow face of the panel. A connecting profile engages in the grooves.

Description

Modular device body

The present invention relates to a heat-insulating body, in particular for a household appliance, with a modular structure.

In most domestic refrigeration appliances currently available on the market, the body is assembled from a one-piece plastic deep-drawn inner container, outer wall panels which surround the inner container at a distance, and one

Interspace between inner container and outer wall panels fills

Foam layer obtained by injecting and expanding a

Resin material is obtained in the space. This technique allows for easy and inexpensive fabrication, as the foam layer during the

Foaming automatically adapts to the shape of the existing gap. However, the insulating effect of the foam layer is limited by the fact that the blowing gas required for foaming remains in the pores of the foam layer and contributes to the heat conduction there. In order to improve the insulating effect of the body, it would be desirable in itself if the pores contained a vacuum instead of the propellant gas. However, a foaming of the cavity without propellant gas is not possible, and its subsequent elimination fails because of the closed-pore structure of the foam layer.

One known technique of using vacuum for heat insulation in a device housing is called vacuum insulation panels. A vacuum insulation panel is generally composed of a highly diffusion-proof plastic film and a porous filler such as silica, zeolite, glass fiber, polyurethane foam or the like, which is airtightly sheathed with the film and held under a negative pressure. Such a vacuum insulation panel can be made by cutting a filler block to size and encasing it with the film, and evacuating the interior of the film prior to sealing. Another possibility is to form the film into a bag, place it in a mold, fill it with the pourable filling material, evacuate the interior of the film and then seal the film. In one case, as in the other case, the evacuation causes a compression of the porous filling, with the result that the dimensions of a manufactured in this way Vacuum insulation panels in not exactly controllable manner vary. Such uncontrollable fluctuations and the fact that vacuum insulation panels can not be fastened to each other by screws or the like without destroying the vacuum makes it difficult to assemble a heat-insulating body of such vacuum insulation panels in a rational manner suitable for mass production.

From EP 747 646 A1, therefore, the proposal has become known in a

Refrigeration appliance housing, whose walls each have an outer wall plate and a

The inner wall panel and an insulating layer enclosed between the wall panels include forming the insulating layer in part by a vacuum insulation panel, and foaming that part of the space between the wall panels which the vacuum insulation panel does not occupy. Since the foam adapts to the available volume of the gap, it can compensate for dimensional variations of the vacuum insulation panels installed therein. Because the

Vacuum insulation panels, however, fill only a portion of the walls, here too, the insulation effect remains well behind the ideally achievable.

From US 2006 008 0920 A1 a connection profile with two mutually perpendicular grooves is known, in which the two grooves are respectively provided to receive rectangularly oriented mutually wall panels of a heat-insulating housing and to fix each other. However, this connection profile is only limited able to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of the wall panels. In addition, the angle profile has a web which, when the wall panels are joined to form a refrigerator body, extends continuously between an inner and an outer surface of the body and forms a thermal bridge.

Object of the present invention is to provide a heat-insulating body, in particular for a household appliance with at least two wall panels, which can be manufactured despite exactly fluctuating dimensions of the wall panels with exactly predetermined dimensions and avoids thermal bridges.

The object is achieved by providing in a heat-insulating body, in particular for a household appliance, with at least two wall panels, each having an outer side, have an inner side and a narrow side, wherein the narrow side of a first of the panels facing the second panel, on the inside of each panel, an inner plate is mounted, that in at least one of the panels, the inner wall panel defines an adjacent to the narrow side of the panel groove and an on the respective other panel fastened connection profile engages in the groove of this at least one panel. By this type of connection of the panels, the dimensions of a body assembled from the panels are dictated by the dimensions of the inner wall panels, even if the dimensions of the panels vary. The

Interior wall panels can, for. B. by cutting from flat material, with high

Dimensional accuracy can be made.

Preferably also in the other panel, the inner wall panel defines a groove adjacent the narrow side of the panel, and the connection profile is secured to the other panel by engaging in this groove.

The narrow side of the first panel may face an edge region of the inside of the second panel that is not attached to the second panel

Inner wall plate is covered. This makes it possible to give the panels an easily realizable, in particular cuboidal shape.

It is also conceivable that the narrow side of the first panel faces the narrow side of the second panel. Although then in general the narrow sides will not be oriented at right angles to the inner and outer sides of the panels, but this results in the possibility to realize the mutually facing edge regions of the two panels with identical cross sections and in this way the production

streamline.

Dimensional tolerances of the panels cause a gap generally to exist between the narrow side of the first panel and the second panel. In order to minimize the heat flow through this joint, it is preferably filled with insulating material, in particular foamed. Preferably, the filling is also waterproof, for example, to prevent uncontrolled discharge of condensation. The damping material filling the joint can simultaneously serve as an adhesive for connecting the panels together.

The joint should be covered on the outside, preferably by an angle profile, which contacts the outside of the first and the second panel. The overlap prevents uncontrolled escape of foam expanding in the joint. The contact of the outer side of the second panel with the angled profile limits the width that the gap may have and thus facilitates the manufacture of a body with tight tolerances, despite possibly varying dimensions of the panels used.

At least one of the wall panels should carry on its outside an outer wall panel. Such an outer wall panel can be made of different materials, such as cardboard, plastic or sheet metal, depending on whether the panel belongs to a side wall or rear wall of the carcass or whether the household appliance is a free-standing device or a built-in device.

Conveniently, the Wnkelprofil can widen such an outer wall panel on the narrow side of the at least one wall panel addition.

In particular, in the case of a rear wall of the body, it is useful if the

Outer wall plate is widened at least two of its edges by Wnkelprofile, e.g. to pick up the panels from two side walls. Thus, the width of the body is exactly predetermined by the width of the outer wall panel.

In order to fix the connection profile on the body, preferably already before the joining of the first and second panels, it is preferably provided with at least one groove into which an edge of one of the inner wall panels engages. Preferably, the edge of the inner wall panel is clamped in this groove.

If three connecting profiles encounter one another in one corner of the body, one of the connecting profiles preferably has a section of rectangular cross-section engaging in the interior of the body, on the flanks of which the two others Angle profiles can butt stump. This simplifies the packaging of the

Angle profiles, as no mitres need to be cut.

Alternatively, one of the connection profiles can also have recesses into which the ends of the other connection profiles engage.

Into the interior of the body engaging portions of the two other Wnkelprofile are preferably formed as flutes to occupy as little space in the interior of the carcass.

Preferably, the panels are vacuum insulation panels, but the invention is also applicable to other panels, e.g. on cut expanded polystyrene plates, applicable. In order to simplify the recycling of the household appliance, the inner wall panels (and, if present, the outer wall panels) are preferably glued to the panels, in particular adhesively bonded.

Preferably, the household appliance is designed as a household refrigerator.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. From this description and the figures are also features of the

Embodiments, which are not mentioned in the claims. Such features may also occur in combinations other than those specifically disclosed herein. Therefore, the fact that several such features are mentioned in the same sentence or in a different type of textual context does not justify the conclusion that they can occur only in the specific combination disclosed;

instead, it must be assumed that, of several such characteristics, it is also possible to omit or modify individual ones, provided that this is the case

Functionality of the invention is not in question. Show it:

1 is an exploded perspective view of a rear wall and a side wall of a refrigerator body. Fig. 2 is a horizontal partial section through the arrangement of Fig. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a section analogous to FIG. 2 in the assembled state; FIG.

4 shows a section similar to FIG. 3 according to a second embodiment of FIG

Invention;

FIG. 5 shows a section analogous to FIG. 3 according to a third embodiment; FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a section analogous to FIG. 3 according to a fourth embodiment; FIG.

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view of inner wall panels and they

connecting profiles in a corner of the body; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 according to a further developed

Design.

Fig. 1 shows in a perspective exploded view of a rear wall 1 and a side wall 2 of a body of a household refrigerator, such as a refrigerator or freezer. Both walls 1, 2 each comprise an insulating panel 3, 4, an inner wall panel 5, 6 and an outer wall panel 7 and 8, respectively. The panels 3, 4 may be, in particular, vacuum insulation panels with the above

described structure, act with an airtight wrapper and enclosed by the enveloping film, under vacuum standing filling. The inner wall panels 5, 6 are cut from sheet metal or plastic, and their edge lengths are each smaller by a few mm to a few cm than the associated panels 3, 4, so that when the inner wall panels 5, 6 on the inner sides 9 of the panels 3, 4 on through on the

Inner sides 9 recorded dotted rectangles labeled positions are glued, around the inner wall panels 5, 6 each a narrow edge zone remains free.

The edge lengths of the outer wall plate 7 of the rear wall 1 are each greater by twice the thickness of the panels 3, 4 than the corresponding edge lengths, the

Rear wall panel 3, taking into account its manufacturing accuracy maximum can, so that when the latter is glued to the outer wall panel 7, an edge strip 1 1 projects around the panel 3, the width of each of which corresponds at least to the wall thickness of the panels 3, 4. The outer wall plate 7 may be a flat blank, for example made of cardboard, at the edges of each angle profiles are secured with forwardly projecting legs 12. The Wnkelprofile but also in one piece with the

Outer wall panel 7, e.g. be realized by injection molding of plastic.

The edge lengths of the outer wall panel 8 of the side wall 2 correspond to the maximum edge lengths that the panel 4 may have in consideration of its manufacturing accuracy. That Ideally, the edge lengths of the panel 4 and the

Outer wall plate 8 identical; usually the edge lengths of the panel 4 are slightly smaller than those of the outer wall panel. 8

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged scale a horizontal section through adjacent edge regions of the rear wall 1 and the side wall 2, as shown in FIG. 1 in exploded view. Here it can be clearly seen that the edge zone 10 not covered by the inner wall panel 6 is larger in the case of the side wall panel 4 by approximately the wall thickness of the panels 3, 4 than the width of the corresponding edge zone 10 of the rear wall panel 3, so that if a narrow side 13 the rear wall panel 3 is placed opposite the edge zone 10 of the side wall panel 4, the narrow side 13 of the latter is substantially flush with the outer side 14 of the rear wall panel 3 and can engage in a groove formed by the leg 12 of the outer wall panel 7 and the narrow side 13 of the rear wall panel 3. The inner sides 9 of the panels 3, 4 are not completely flat, but slightly stepped along the edges of the inner wall panels 5, 6, to each of the narrow sides 13 to form open grooves 15. A groove 15 delimiting edge 16 of the inner wall panels 5, 6 is provided to engage in one of two grooves 17 of a connection profile 18 by clamping.

When the walls 1, 2 are joined together, as shown in Fig. 3, remains between the narrow side 13 and the rear wall panel 3 and the edge zone 10 of the

Seitenwandpaneels 4 a gap 19, whose width depending on the edge length of the

Rear wall panel 3 may vary. By injecting and expanding leave Polyurethane resin, the gap 19 is filled and the panels 3, 4 are glued together. To the interior of the body towards the gap 19 is closed foam-tight by the connection profile 18. The pressure of the expanding polyurethane resin drives the outer wall panel 8 or, if it does not reach far enough to the edge of the

Sidewall panel 4 extends, the outer side 14 against the leg 12 of the outer wall plate 7, so that the width of the finished body only by the

Dimensional accuracy of the outer wall plate 7, but not determined by that of the panel 3. In an analogous manner, dimensional tolerances of the side wall panel 4

be compensated by the expanding polyurethane resin also penetrates into a gap 20 between the narrow side 13 of the side wall panel 4 and the outer wall plate 7. In order to simplify the shape and thus also the manufacture of the panels 3, 4, it may be expedient, the inner wall panels 5, 6 as shown in Fig. 4, for the realization of the grooves 15 at their edges 16 with a reduced wall thickness, so that the panels 3, 4 can be purely cuboid. According to an expedient modification shown in Fig. 5, both the panels 3, 4 cuboid and the inner wall panels 5, 6 are formed with constant, the width of the grooves 17 corresponding wall thickness, and the grooves 15 are obtained by between the inner wall panels 5, 6 and the panels 3, 4 each one

Spacer layer 21, e.g. in the form of a foam mat with a slightly smaller edge length than that of the inner wall panels 5, 6, is arranged.

Fig. 6 shows a modification in which the structure of the rear wall 1 and side wall 2 is largely unified. In both, the width of the rim surrounding the inner wall panel 5 and 6, respectively, 10 of the panels 3, 4 is equal, and the outer wall panels 7, 8 are not substantially on the panels 3, 4 via. The narrow sides 13 extend at an angle of 135 ° to the inner sides 9 of the panels 3, 4, and the limited by them, filled with polyurethane foam gap 19 is closed by an attached to the outer wall panels 7, 8 Wnkelprofil 22. Fig. 7 shows in a perspective view pieces of inner wall panels 5, 6, 23 of the rear wall 1, the side wall 2 and a bottom of the body, which meet in a corner. Panels of the rear wall 1, the side wall 2 and the bottom are omitted in the figure. The vertical wall connecting the inner wall panels 5, 6

Connecting profile 18 has an interior of the body engaging portion 24 of substantially square cross-section with the inner wall panels 5, 6 parallel flanks 25, 26. Wnkelprofile 27, which connect the inner wall panel 23 with the inner wall panels 5, 6, have engaging inside the body Sections 28, whose

Edge lengths are not greater than the widths of the flanks 25, 26, so that the right angles cut profiles 27 can abut against the flanks 25, 26, without laterally over them. To affect the use of the interior as little as possible, the sections 28 as flutes, with a

Quarter-cylindrical recess 29, formed. Fig. 8 shows a view similar to Fig. 7, in which the cross sections of

Connection profiles 18, 27 are the same as in Fig. 7. At the ends of the vertical connection profile 22 recesses 30 are milled out at both flanks 25, 26, which are complementary in cross-section to the sections 28 of the profiles 27. Thus, their ends can be hidden inside the profile 18, so that

Manufacturing tolerances in the length of the profiles 27 are not visible.

Claims

Heat-insulating body, in particular for a domestic appliance, having at least two wall panels (3, 4) each having an outer side (14), an inner side (9) and a narrow side (13), the narrow side (13) of a first (3) the panel facing the second panel (4), characterized in that on the inner side (9) of each panel (3; 4) an inner wall panel (5; 6) is mounted such that in at least one of the panels (3; 4) Inner wall panel (5; 6) delimits a groove (15) adjacent to the narrow side (13) of the panel (3; 4) and that a connecting profile (18) attached to the other panel (4; 3) engages in the groove (15) ,

Heat-insulating body according to claim 1, characterized in that also in the other panel (4; 3) the inner wall plate (6; 5) delimits a groove (15) adjacent to the narrow side (13) of this other panel (4; 3), and the connection profile (18) is secured to the other panel (4; 3) by engagement with the groove (15).

Heat-insulating body according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the narrow side (13) of the first panel (3) not one of the second panel (4) mounted inside wall panel (6) covered edge region (10) of the inside (9) of the second Panel (4) faces.

Heat-insulating body according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the narrow side (13) of the first panel (3) of the narrow side (13) of the second panel (4) faces.

Heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a joint (19) between the narrow side (13) of the first panel (3) and the second panel (4) filled with insulating material, in particular foamed, is.

A heat-insulating body according to claim 5, characterized in that the joint (19) is covered on the outside by an angle profile (7, 12; 22) contacting the outside (14) of the first and second panels (3, 4).

7. Heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the panels (3; 4) carries on its outer side (14) an outer wall plate (7; 8).

8. A heat-insulating body according to claim 7, as far as dependent on claim 6, characterized in that the Wnkelprofil the outer wall plate (7) on the narrow side (13) of the at least one wall panel (3) also widened.

9. A heat-insulating body according to claim 8, characterized in that the outer wall plate (7) is widened at least two of its edges by Wnkelprofile (7, 12, 22).

10. A heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting profile (18) has at least one groove (17) in which an edge (16) of one of the inner wall panels (5; 6) engages.

11. Heat-insulating body according to claim 10, characterized in that the edge (16) in the groove (15) is clamped.

12. Heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a corner of the body three connection profiles (18, 27, 27) meet one another, and that one (18) of the connection profiles has an engaging into the interior of the body section (24) having rectangular cross-section, on whose flanks (25, 26) abut the two other connecting profiles (27) butt.

13. Heat-insulating body according to one of claims 1 to 1 1, characterized

characterized in that in a corner of the body three connecting profiles (18, 27, 27) meet, and in that one (18) of the connecting profiles has recesses (30), engage in the ends of the other connecting profiles.

14. A heat insulating body according to claim 12, characterized in that in the interior of the body engaging portions (28) of the other two

Connecting profiles (27) are formed as chamfers.

15. Heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the panels are vacuum insulation panels.

16. A heat-insulating body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner wall panels (5; 6) glued to the panels (3; 4), in particular releasably glued, are.