WO2015087300A1

WO2015087300A1 - Refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2015087300A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/066860
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniele Angeletti
Original assignee: Indesit Company S.P.A.
Priority date: 2013-12-13
Filing date: 2014-12-12
Publication date: 2015-06-18
Also published as: ITTO20131016A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance (1), in particular for household use, comprising: - a cabinet (10); - at least one housing (20) adapted to define at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22) in said cabinet (10) for storing foodstuffs; - a lighting system (30) for illuminating said at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22). The invention is characterized in that said lighting system (30) comprises at least one lighting device (31) associated with an external surface of the housing (20), said housing (20) being made of a substantially transparent material allowing the light generated by said at least one lighting device (31) to illuminate said at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22).

Description

"REFRIGERATION APPLIANCE, IN PARTICULAR FOR HOUSEHOLD

USE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF"

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing said refrigeration appliance.

The invention is applicable to the field of refrigeration appliances, in particular for household use, comprising a lighting system for illuminating at least one compartment for storing foodstuffs.

As is known in the art, refrigeration appliances comprise a cabinet and at least one housing adapted to define at least one compartment in said cabinet for storing foodstuffs.

Refrigeration appliances of types known in the art typically comprise two internal refrigeration compartments kept at different temperatures, thus providing at least two different food preservation states, in particular a refrigerator compartment suitable for preserving fresh food at a temperature between 0°C and 10°C and a freezer compartment suitable for preserving frozen food at a temperature between -15°C and -30°C; such refrigeration appliances are commonly referred to by those skilled in the art of household refrigeration as "double-door" or "combined" refrigerators, depending on the relative position of the two refrigeration compartments; in a "double- door" refrigeration appliance, the freezer compartment is arranged above the refrigerator compartment, whereas in a "combined" refrigeration appliance the freezer compartment is located at the bottom.

As a consequence, the refrigeration appliances known in the art further comprise a first and a second doors, each door being adapted to close one of said refrigeration compartments; also, each door is connected to the cabinet by means of one of more hinges that allow for constrained outward rotation of the door for opening the same.

It is also known in the art that a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, usually comprises a lighting system for illuminating said at least one refrigeration compartment for storing foodstuffs. In particular, the lighting systems of types known in the art are typically activated or deactivated, respectively, by an open or closed condition of a door associated with a respective refrigeration compartment; as a consequence, when the door is in an open condition, the lighting system is activated in order to allow a user to better see and pick the foodstuffs positioned in said refrigeration compartment and/or place foodstuffs into a certain position within the refrigeration compartment.

According to a first embodiment, prior-art refrigeration appliances are equipped with a lighting system comprising a single light point located within the housing, which is adapted to define said at least one refrigeration compartment, said single light point being usually located in proximity to a top wall or a bottom wall of said housing.

However, refrigeration appliances designed in accordance with said first embodiment suffer from a few drawbacks.

In particular, a lighting system comprising a single light point necessarily has a significantly limited lighting capability, because it can only adequately illuminate a portion of the refrigeration compartment, immediately adjacent to the light point; as a consequence, it is apparent that the light cannot be diffused evenly within the whole refrigeration compartment. In this regard, it must be taken into account that the lighting capability of such a known lighting system may be further reduced by foodstuffs positioned within the refrigeration compartment, since it is clear that said foodstuffs may block or partially shield the light produced by the lighting system.

A further drawback of the above-described lighting system is that the installation of such a system within the housing that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment necessarily and disadvantageously limits the internal capacity of the refrigeration appliance, resulting in less volume available for foodstuffs inside the housing that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment.

In accordance with a second embodiment, known refrigeration appliances are equipped with a lighting system comprising light sources positioned within a ventilation duct, said lighting system further comprising a plurality of reflecting elements positioned within the ventilation duct and allowing the light to illuminate the refrigeration compartment; it is clear that such a lighting system is mainly used in no-frost refrigeration appliances, which are fitted with a system for the circulation of cooling air, which includes at least one ventilation duct formed inside the housing that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment, and wherein the circulating cooling air subtracts heat by forced convection from the foodstuffs and from the refrigeration compartment.

One example of such a no-frost refrigeration appliance comprising light sources positioned within a ventilation duct is shown in document EP1857757.

However, refrigeration appliances designed in accordance with said second embodiment suffer from some drawbacks as well.

In particular, the light sources and reflecting elements positioned inside a ventilation duct inevitably lead to worse cooling air circulation, resulting in less ability to remove heat from foodstuffs and from the refrigeration compartment.

Moreover, such an arrangement of the light sources and reflecting elements inevitably leads to a more expensive final product, mainly because of the difficulty in supplying power to the light sources and correctly positioning the reflecting elements within the ventilation duct.

Furthermore, such a solution excessively complicates the operations required for replacing and/ or maintaining the components of the lighting system, in that such operations can only be carried out, at the very least, after removing the ventilation duct.

In this frame, it is the main object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, and a manufacturing method thereof, which are adapted to overcome the above-described drawbacks, said refrigeration appliance comprising a lighting system conceived and implemented in such a way as to adequately illuminate the entire space within the housing that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment, in particular said lighting system being adapted to diffuse the light evenly throughout the refrigeration compartment.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, which is so designed as to comprise a lighting system that avoids that the presence of foodstuffs might impair the diffusion of light within the refrigeration compartment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, which comprises a lighting system conceived and implemented in such a way as to not limit the internal capacity of the refrigeration appliance and, as a consequence, to keep unchanged the volume available for foodstuffs within the housing that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, comprising a lighting system conceived and implemented in such a way as to not impair the capability of subtracting heat from foodstuffs and from the refrigeration compartment. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, which is so designed as to include a lighting system that allows keeping the costs of the final product as low as possible.

Said objects are achieved by the present invention through a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, and a manufacturing method thereof, incorporating the features set out in the appended claims, which are intended to be an integral part of the present description.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the annexed drawings, which are supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeration appliance according to the present invention;

- Fig. 2 is a sectional top view of the refrigeration appliance according to the present invention;

- Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a component of the refrigeration appliance according to the present invention;

- Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of the refrigeration appliance according to the present invention.

Referring now to the annexed drawings, reference numeral 1 designates as a whole a refrigeration appliance, in particular for household use, according to the present invention.

Said refrigeration appliance 1 comprises:

- a cabinet 10;

- at least one housing 20 adapted to define at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22 in said cabinet 10 for storing foodstuffs.

In particular, the cabinet 10 comprises a first side wall 11, a second side wall 12, a back wall 13, a top wall 14 and bottom wall 15, which may also be so designed as to not show any evident separations; for example, said walls 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 may be so designed as to comprise a profile that joins the points of contact of said walls 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

Moreover, said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22 may comprise a refrigerator compartment 21 for preserving fresh food (usually kept at a temperature between 0°C and 10°C) and a freezer compartment 22 for preserving frozen food (usually kept at a temperature between -15°C and -30°C). It is however clear that the refrigeration appliance 1 may be so designed as to comprise just one refrigeration compartment 21, 22 or a larger number of internal refrigeration compartments 21, 22, in particular having different temperatures, thus allowing foodstuffs to be kept in different preservation states.

The refrigeration appliance 1 according to the present invention preferably comprises a first door 21P and a second door 22P for closing the refrigerator compartment 21 and the freezer compartment 22, respectively; moreover, each door 21P, 22P is connected to the cabinet 10 by means of one or more hinges (not shown) that allow for constrained outward rotation of the door 21P, 22P for opening the same (as shown in Fig. 1). Preferably, the refrigeration appliance 1 further comprises a gasket 23 (visible in Fig. 2) ensuring an optimal coupling between said at least one door 21P, 22P and the cabinet 10 and/ or the housing 20.

The refrigeration appliance 1 represented in the annexed drawings also shows some elements (see Fig. 1) commonly included in a refrigeration appliance 1, such as, for example, a plurality of shelves 2 and a plurality of containers 3 arranged at different levels in said refrigerator compartment 21, and a plurality of drawers 4 and/ or a plurality of shelves that can be closed by means of a hinged front panel, which can be rotated to allow access to the shelf, arranged at different levels in said freezer compartment 22. Figure 1 also shows door storage compartments 5 associated with said first door 21P of the refrigerator compartment 21, said door storage compartments 5 being adapted to receive containers, bottles and foodstuffs.

In addition, in the representation of the refrigeration appliance 1 shown in Fig. 1 the refrigerator compartment 21 is located above the freezer compartment 22; consequently, the refrigeration appliance 1 shown in Fig. 1 is of the "combined" type; it is however clear that, in accordance with the present invention, the relative positions of the two compartments 21, 22 may be different, e.g. the refrigeration appliance 1 may also be of the "double- door" type.

Preferably, the housing 20 defines an interspace 24 together with the cabinet 10, said interspace 24 being adapted to accommodate a plurality of insulating panels, e.g. vacuum insulation panels (not shown in the drawings), and/ or an insulating material, e.g. a foam made of plastic material, in particular polyurethane (also not shown in the drawings). Said insulating panels and/ or material provide further insulation of said at least one compartment 21, 22 for preserving foodstuffs from the surrounding environment, so as to keep the temperature of said at least one compartment 21, 22 within the housing 20 as stable as possible.

As can be noticed especially in Figures 2 to 4, the refrigeration appliance 1 comprises a lighting system (designated as a whole by reference numeral 30) for illuminating said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

In accordance with the present invention, said lighting system 30 comprises at least one lighting device 31 associated with an external surface of the housing 20, said housing 20 being made of a substantially transparent material allowing the light generated by said at least one lighting device 31 to filter through the housing 20 in order to illuminate said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

It should be noted that, in accordance with the provisions of the present invention, the term "external surface" refers to that surface of the housing 20 which, in a working condition (i.e. a condition wherein foodstuffs can be stored and preserved in the refrigeration appliance 1), faces towards the walls 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 of the cabinet 10.

In particular, the housing 20 is made of plastic material having opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency; such an implementation of the housing 20 allows the light generated by said at least one lighting device 31 to filter through the housing 20 while at the same time hiding from a user's view the components that are present between the housing 20 and the cabinet 1, e.g. the insulating panels and/ or material that may be positioned in the interspace 24 for the purpose of further insulating said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22 from the surrounding environment.

Preferably, the housing 20 is made as one piece through a mixing with an opalescent and/ or lactescent solution as masterbatch followed by a thermoforming process.

It is clear that other known technologies may alternatively be used, such as, for example, the injection moulding technology.

In a preferred embodiment, said at least one lighting device 31 comprises a plurality of lighting devices 31 fastened to the external surface of the housing 20, in particular by glueing.

It is thus apparent that the particular provision of the housing 20 and of the lighting system 30 according to the present invention allows realizing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so conceived and implemented as to adequately illuminate the whole space within the housing 20 that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22, in particular said lighting system 30 being adapted to diffuse the light evenly throughout the refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

Furthermore, the provisions of the present invention allow providing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so designed as to include a lighting system 30 that avoids that the foodstuffs present inside the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 might impair light diffusion in the refrigeration compartment 21, 22. In fact, the peculiar design of the housing 20, characterized by opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency, and the presence of a plurality of lighting devices 31 fastened to the external surface of said housing 20, allow the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 formed inside the housing 20 to be illuminated from different directions and points, so that the lighting will not be substantially affected by any foodstuffs that may be present in said refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

The fact that the lighting system 30 is so designed as to comprise a plurality of lighting devices 31 fastened, in particular glued, to the external surface of the housing 20, then allows the refrigeration appliance 1 to be so realized as to not limit the internal capacity of the housing 20 and of the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 defined by it.

In addition, such a provision allows keeping the costs of the final product as low as possible, in that the fastening of the lighting devices 31 to the external surface of the housing 20 simplifies the steps required for manufacturing the refrigeration appliance 1.

The peculiar provisions of the present invention also allow providing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so designed as to comprise a lighting system conceived in a manner such as to not impair the capability of subtracting heat from foodstuffs and from said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22, in that the lighting devices 31 do not obstruct the flow of cooling air, which can thus circulate freely without encountering any obstacle within the housing 20, and do not cause any heating of the air inside said housing 20.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, each lighting device 31 according to the present invention comprises at least one LED diode 32.

Furthermore, each lighting device 31 comprises:

- a reflector 33 associated with said at least one LED diode 32,

- an electric connection 34 associated with the assembly consisting of the

LED diode 32 and the reflector 33. Each lighting device 31 further comprises a container 35 adapted to at least partially accommodate the assembly consisting of the LED diode 32 and the reflector 33; preferably, said container 35 is fitted with a frame 35A (visible in Fig. 4, which is an exploded perspective view of a lighting device 31, i.e. a view wherein the LED diode 32 and the reflector 33 are extracted from the container 35), which is adapted to be fastened to the external surface of the housing 20, in particular by glueing.

The provision of the LED diodes 32 as a light source advantageously allows the lighting system 30 to ensure long durability of the light source; moreover, such a design considerably reduces the consumption of electric energy by the lighting system 30.

A method for manufacturing a refrigeration appliance 1, in particular for household use, will now be described, which comprises:

- a cabinet 10;

- a housing 20 adapted to define at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22 in said cabinet 10 for storing foodstuffs.

According to the present invention, said method comprises the steps of: a) manufacturing said housing 20 from a substantially transparent material; b) associating at least one lighting device 31 with an external surface of the housing 20, so as to allow the light generated by said at least one lighting device 31 to filter through the housing 20 and illuminate said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

In particular, said step a) is achieved by manufacturing the housing 20 from a plastic material having opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency. Preferably, such an implementation of the housing 20 is attained through a mixing with an opalescent and/ or lactescent solution as masterbatch followed by a thermoforming process.

Said step b) is preferably carried out by fastening a plurality of lighting devices 31 to the external surface of the housing 20, in particular said fastening being achieved by glueing.

Furthermore, said step b) is carried out in a manner such that each lighting device 31 comprises at least one LED diode 32.

The manufacturing method according to the present invention preferably comprises the following additional steps:

c) associating a cabinet 10 with the housing 20, so as to define an interspace 24 between said cabinet and the external surface of the housing 20;

d) positioning a plurality of insulating panels, in particular vacuum insulation panels, and/ or an insulating material within said interspace 24. The features and advantages of the refrigerating appliance and manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are apparent from the above description.

In particular, it is clear that the particular provisions of the housing 20 and of the lighting system 30 according to the present invention allow realizing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so conceived and implemented as to adequately illuminate the whole space within the housing 20 that defines said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

In addition, the lighting system 30 according to the present invention turns out to be particularly suitable for diffusing the light evenly throughout the refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

It should also be noted that the provisions of the present invention allow providing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so designed as to include a lighting system 30 that avoids that the foodstuffs present inside the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 might impair light diffusion in the refrigeration compartment 21, 22. In fact, the peculiar design of the housing 20, characterized by opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency, and the presence of a plurality of lighting devices 31 fastened to the external surface of said housing 20, allow the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 formed inside the housing 20 to be illuminated from different directions and points, so that the lighting will not be substantially affected by any foodstuffs that may be present in said refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

The fact that the lighting system 30 is so designed as to comprise a plurality a lighting devices 31 fastened, in particular glued, to the external surface of the housing 20, furthermore, allows the refrigeration appliance 1 to be so realized as to not limit the internal capacity of the housing 20 and of the refrigeration compartment 21, 22 defined by it; also, such a provision allows keeping the costs of the final product as low as possible, in that the fastening of the lighting devices 31 to the external surface of the housing 20 is such as to simplify the steps required for manufacturing the refrigeration appliance 1.

The peculiar provisions of the present invention also allow providing a refrigeration appliance 1 which is so designed as to comprise a lighting system conceived in a manner such as to not impair the capability of subtracting heat from foodstuffs and from said at least one refrigeration compartment 21, 22.

It is however clear that many changes may be made to the refrigeration appliance and to the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, and that in its practical implementation the various components may have different shapes and arrangements or be replaced with other technically equivalent elements without departing from the novelty spirit of the inventive idea.

In particular, the present description has illustrated in detail a refrigeration appliance which is particularly suitable for use in a household environment; however, the present invention is also conveniently applicable to refrigeration appliances for the nautical or hotel industry.

It can therefore be easily understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described refrigeration appliance and manufacturing method thereof, but may be subject to many modifications, improvements or replacements of equivalent parts and elements without departing from the inventive idea, as clearly specified in the following claims.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance (1), in particular for household use, comprising:

- a cabinet (10);

- at least one housing (20) adapted to define at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22) in said cabinet (10) for storing foodstuffs;

- a lighting system (30) for illuminating said at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22),

characterized in that

said lighting system (30) comprises at least one lighting device (31) associated with an external surface of the housing (20), said housing (20) being made of a substantially transparent material allowing the light generated by said at least one lighting device (31) to illuminate said at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22).

2. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said housing (20) is made of plastic material having opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency.

3. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said housing (20) is made as one piece through a mixing with an opalescent and/ or lactescent solution as masterbatch followed by a thermoforming process.

4. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one lighting device (31) comprises a plurality of lighting devices (31) fastened to the external surface of the housing (20), in particular by glueing.

5. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each lighting device (31) comprises at least one LED diode (32).

6. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that each lighting device (31) comprises a reflector (33) associated with said at least one LED diode (32).

7. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that each lighting device (31) comprises an electric connection (34) associated with the assembly consisting of a LED diode (32) and a reflector (33).

8. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to one or more of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that each lighting device (31) comprises a container (35) adapted to at least partially accommodate the assembly consisting of a LED diode (32) and a reflector (33).

9. A refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that said container (35) is fitted with a frame (35A) adapted to be fastened to the external surface of the housing (20), in particular by glueing.

10. A method for manufacturing a refrigeration appliance (1), in particular for household use, comprising:

- a cabinet (10);

- a housing (20) adapted to define at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22) in said cabinet (10) for storing foodstuffs;

characterized in that

said method comprises the following steps:

a) manufacturing said housing (20) from a substantially transparent material;

b) associating at least one lighting device (31) with an external surface of the housing (20), so as to allow the light generated by said at least one lighting device (31) to filter through the housing (20) and illuminate said at least one refrigeration compartment (21, 22).

11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that said step a) is achieved by manufacturing the housing (20) from a plastic material having opalescent and/ or lactescent transparency.

12. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that said manufacturing of the housing (20) is achieved through a mixing with an opalescent and/ or lactescent solution as masterbatch followed by a thermoforming process.

13. A method according to one or more of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that said step b) is carried out by fastening a plurality of lighting devices (31) to the external surface of the housing (20), in particular said fastening being achieved by glueing.

14. A method according to one or more of claims 10 and 13, characterized in that said step b) is carried out in a manner such that each lighting device

(31) comprises at least one LED diode (32).

15. A method according to one or more of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

c) associating a cabinet (10) with the housing (20) so as to define an interspace (24) between said cabinet and the external surface of the housing (20);

d) positioning a plurality of insulating panels, in particular vacuum insulation panels, and/ or an insulating material within said interspace (24).