WO2015124431A1

WO2015124431A1 - Refrigeration appliance comprising a panel heating unit

Info

Publication number: WO2015124431A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/052369
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jürgen DIEBOLD; Christian Hein; Markus Hopf; Hans Ihle; Armin Weber; Daniel Wengert
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2014-02-19
Filing date: 2015-02-05
Publication date: 2015-08-27
Also published as: DE102014203014A1

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance, in particular a household refrigeration appliance, comprises a carcass (1) and a door. The carcass (1) comprises at least one inner wall (3) delimiting at least one storage compartment (4, 5), an outer wall (2) and a heat-insulating layer (7) enclosed between the outer wall (2) and the inner wall (3). The outer wall (2) extends over lateral flanks (9, 11) of the carcass up to a front face (6) of the carcass (1) facing the door. A panel heating unit (12) is inserted between the outer wall (2) and the heat-insulating layer (7) on at least one first lateral flank (11).

Description

Refrigeration device with a Flächenheizeinrichtung

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular a household refrigerator, with an outer wall comprising a surface heater for preventing condensation on the outer wall.

In the document WO 2009 003 636 A1, it is pointed out that, especially at the door of built-in refrigerators, condensate can form, which runs down between the refrigerator door and a furniture door and can lead to damage to the kitchen furniture. In order to avoid the formation of this condensate, it is proposed to provide a heater on an outer wall of the door. The possibility of also providing a heater on an outer wall of the body is also contemplated, but such a heater can obviously combat condensation on the door only to the extent that the door is heated by it. In order to heat the door, the heater must be located on a front facing the body, but there is the isolation from the storage chamber of the refrigerator particularly effective, so that a considerable heating power is required and also a lot of heat from the

Heating device enters the storage chamber, which increases the energy consumption of the refrigerator.

The object of the invention is to provide a refrigeration device that is effectively protected against condensation on the outer wall with low energy consumption. The object is achieved by, in a refrigerator with a body and a door, wherein the body at least one inner wall which defines at least one storage chamber, an outer wall and between the outer wall and inner wall

includes enclosed thermal barrier coating and the outer wall extends over lateral flanks of the body to a door facing the front of the body, a Flächenheizeinrichtung is inserted at least one of the lateral flanks between the outer wall and the thermal barrier coating. Because with such a

Heating means the way the heat has to travel along the outer wall in order to entering the storage chamber is long, the amount of heat that enters this way in the storage chamber, low, and correspondingly low is the power that the heater needs to be effective. At the same time, it heats

Heater the air in the immediate vicinity of the outer wall, and the more effective, the closer it is to a wall of another household appliance or furniture, and thus lowers the relative humidity of the air, so that their tendency to condense, effectively reduced.

The area heater may be electrically operated. Since it is safely protected under the outer wall against contact by a user, it can be supplied with a same supply voltage as a compressor of the refrigerator. Therefore, no voltage transformer is needed, which reduces the cost of the heater.

The surface heater may include a heating tube extending over an inner side of the outer wall.

If the refrigeration device is a combination device, d. H. if the body contains a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber, the operating temperature is lower than that of the first storage chamber, it can be assumed that the

Heat flux at a first part of the side edge, which is opposite to the first storage chamber, is less than at a second storage chamber opposite part. This fact can be exploited to reduce energy consumption

Minimize heater by the ratio between the length of the part of the lateral edge attributable to the portion of the heating tube and the

Surface area of this part is larger in the second part than in the first part.

The surface heater can be attached to the outer wall quickly and safely by clinching. The surface heating device may be separated from the thermal barrier coating by an adhesive tape to prevent the thermal barrier coating from penetrating between them

Surface heater and the outer wall and prevent a related impairment of heat dissipation to the outer wall. The adhesive tape may further comprise an infrared reflecting layer to also minimize the heat release from the surface heater to the thermal barrier coating and, as a consequence, the outflow of heat from the panel heater to the storage chamber.

A second of the side flanks of the body may be free of the surface heating device; In order to avoid condensation on this flank, the thermal barrier coating should be more effective there than on the first side. In order to achieve a high effectiveness of the thermal insulation, at the same time however the

To reduce the space requirement of the thermal barrier coating, the thermal barrier coating on the second lateral edge may comprise a vacuum insulation panel. Thus, despite an internally asymmetric structure of the body, a right-left symmetry of the outer shape can be maintained. Such symmetry is e.g. advantageous to produce devices with right and left door stop efficiently or to change the door stop on the finished device can.

An asymmetric internal structure of the refrigerator body is particularly useful when the refrigerator is provided for use in a side-by-side arrangement together with another refrigerator. In this case, the one with the

Surface heating device provided lateral edge preferably facing the other refrigeration device. Since in such a structure, the heated outer wall heated only a narrow gap between the devices, which exchanges little air and heat with the environment, a very low heat output is sufficient to avoid condensation here. Since the surface heating device also heats the flank of the other refrigeration device facing it, in the case of the other refrigeration appliance it is possible to install a corresponding one

Flächenheizeinrichtung be disregarded.

The invention further relates to a method for mounting a body of a refrigeration device with the steps:

a) providing an outer wall and an inner wall,

b) forming a lateral flank and a front side area at the

Outer wall, c) mounting a surface heater on an inner side of the lateral flank, d) joining the outer and inner wall along the front side region and producing the thermal barrier coating.

The mounting of the surface heating device is preferably carried out by clinching, wherein in particular during clinching, a projection on an outer side of the

Formed outside wall and the projection can then be flattened again to minimize the conspicuousness of the clinch attachment.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator body; Fig. 2 is a schematic horizontal section through the refrigerator body of the

Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, the lateral edge of an outer wall of the refrigerator, from the side

Seen direction;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a portion of the heating tube of

Surface heating device and a bracket used for Clinchbefestigung the heating tube on the outer wall; and

Fig. 6 shows schematically the process of clinching the bracket on the side wall.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a body 1 of a combination refrigerator. The body 1 comprises in a customary manner an outer wall 2, which is formed from flat material, in particular a thin lacquered steel sheet, by bending, and a thermoformed plastic, typically of plastic, which limits the two storage chambers 4, 5 of the body 1. The inner wall 3 may be one piece be formed or composed of two each one of the chambers 4, 5 limiting parts.

Outer and inner wall 2, 3 are connected to each other at a front side 6 of the body 1 to one filled with a thermal barrier coating 7 (see FIG. 2)

To form hollow body. Typically, the thermal barrier coating 7 is obtained by

Injecting a foam precursor, typically a polyurethane resin, into the cavity and allowing the resin to expand until it completely fills the cavity. In the case shown in Fig. 2, only a part of the heat-insulating layer of polyurethane foam 8, on a side flank 9 of the outer wall 2, a vacuum insulation panel 10 is mounted inside, with the result that, although the

Thermal insulation layer 7 is the same on both sides of the storage chamber 4, the

Insulating effect on the part of the vacuum insulation panel 10 is significantly better than on the side of the opposite flank 1. 1 If the refrigerator is set up in a side-by-side configuration, the

Heat inflow over the other device facing edge 1 1 of the outer wall 2 very low, so that the cost of using a vacuum insulation panel on this flank 1 1 not by a significant energy savings in the operation of the

Refrigerating appliance are justified. Because it helps to avoid condensation on the

Flank 1 1 is not required to keep this to ambient temperature, but only a temperature above the dew point must be maintained, the installation of a surface heater 12 of low power on the inside of the flank 1 1, to the flank 1 1 and optionally one keep their opposite flank of the neighboring device warm enough.

Fig. 3 shows a detail of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale. The outer wall 2 is bent in several steps, on the one hand, the flat lateral edge 1 1, a extending over the front 6 of the body 1 strip 13 and, at a the

Bearing chambers 4 and 5 facing edge of the strip 13 to form a clamping spring 14, in which an edge 15 of the inner wall 3 is inserted and clamped.

The strip 13 occupies most of the front 6, since, when a door of the refrigerator in the closed position rests against the front 6, in per se known Way a magnetic seal the door should provide support, including the inner wall 3 from

Plastic is not suitable.

The surface heater 12 is formed here by a heating tube 16, that is, a

thin-walled metal tube, inside which a heating resistor 17 extends. An aluminum-coated adhesive tape 18 is adhered to the heating tube 16 substantially over its entire length and glued to both sides of the heating tube 16 on the inside of the flank 1 1, to infiltrate the polyurethane foam 8 in gusset 19 between the heating tube during foaming of the body 1 16 and the flank to prevent 1 1 and so to ensure unimpeded heat transfer from the heating tube 16 to the flank 1 1.

An infrared reflective aluminum layer of the adhesive tape 18 counteracts the outflow of heat from the heater 12 in the direction of the storage chamber 4 or 5. The heating tube 16 begins and ends near the ceiling of the body 1, since there is an electronics unit for controlling the refrigerator is installed and supply ports 20 of the heating tube 16 can be contacted at this convenient. Due to the protected position of the heater 12 between the outer wall 2 and the thermal barrier coating 7 there is no risk that a user comes into contact with live parts of the heater 12. An operation with

Low voltage is therefore not required, the heater 12 may be supplied with the same power supply voltage as a compressor of the refrigerator. In the simplest case, the surface heating device 12 is supplied with voltage during the entire operating time of the refrigeration device, and is in contrast to the compressor

continuously in operation. It is also conceivable to operate the surface heating device 12 in each case simultaneously with the compressor. On the electronics module can a

Switching between these two modes of operation be provided to allow continuous operation of the heater 12 when the device is set up in a side-by-side configuration, and when alone when the

Heat input into the flank 1 1 from the environment is higher than in the side-by-side configuration, and accordingly less heating power is required to the Flank 1 1 to keep above the dew point, by intermittent operation of the

Heating device 12 to save energy.

In the arrangement shown here, the upper storage chamber 4 forms a normal refrigeration compartment and the lower storage chamber 5 a freezer compartment. As a result of the different temperatures of the compartments 4, 5, the heat flow from the flank 1 1 inside the device in an upper portion 21 of the flank 1 1, at the level of the normal refrigeration compartment 4 is less than in a lower portion 22, at the level of the freezer. 5 In order to keep the edge 1 1 above the dew point, therefore, in the range 21, a lower power density of

Surface heating device than in the area 22. Accordingly, the ratio between the length of a portion 23 of the heating tube 16 in the upper portion 21 to the surface thereof is smaller than that between the length of a portion 22 attributable to the lower portion 24 of the heating tube 16 and the surface of the area 22nd While the heating tube 16 passes through the region 22 four times in the vertical direction, it does so only twice in the region 21.

Fig. 5 illustrates the anchoring of the heating tube 16 on the inside of the flank 1 1 by means of brackets 25, each having a heating tube 16 embracing head portion and a voltage applied to the flank 1 1 and anchored to this flat foot area.

The bracket 25 are attached to the flank 1 1 by a clinching process, the sequence is shown schematically in Fig. 6. In a first step of the method, shown in part a) of Fig. 6, the bracket 25 is pressed by a mandrel 26 of a clinching tool to the outer wall 2, which in turn externally by a die 27 of the

Clinching tool is supported. When the mandrel 26 penetrates into the bracket 25, as shown in part b) material of both the bracket 25 and the outer wall 2 are displaced into the cavity of the die 27. In the next step c), a shorter mandrel 28 on the side of the bracket 25 and a flat punch 29 on the outside of the outer wall 2 are placed. The projection 30 previously formed in the cavity of the die 27 is pressed flat by the punch 29 (see part d)), so that the outside of the flank 1 1 becomes flat again. The mandrel 28, which in the meantime engages in the bracket 25, prevents the depression previously created there from being closed again, and forces the material of the bracket 25 to spread radially within the outer wall 2, as a result of which Part f) shown a positive, resilient connection between the bracket 25 and the flank 1 1 is obtained.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 corpus

2 outer wall

3 inner wall

4 storage chamber

5 storage chamber

6 front side

7 thermal barrier coating

8 polyurethane foam

9 flank

10 vacuum insulation panel

1 1 edge

12 surface heating device

13 strips

14 clamping spring

15 edge of the inner wall 3

16 heating pipe

17 heating resistor

18 tape

19 gusset

20 supply connection

21 upper region of the flank 1 1

22 lower portion of the flank 1 1

23 upper portion of the heating tube 16th

24 lower portion of the heating tube 16th

25 stirrups

26 thorn

27 matrix

28 thorn

29 stamp

30 advantage

Claims

Refrigerating appliance, in particular household refrigerating appliance, with a body (1) and a door, wherein the body (1) has at least one inner wall (3), the at least one

Bearing chamber (4, 5) limited, an outer wall (2) and between the outer wall (2) and inner wall (3) enclosed thermal barrier coating (7) and the outer wall (2) via lateral flanks (9, 1 1) of the body to on a front facing the door (6) of the body (1), characterized in that a Flächenheizeinrichtung (12) on at least a first of the lateral flanks (1 1) between the outer wall (2) and the thermal barrier coating (7) is inserted ,

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the

Surface heating device (12) is electrically operated.

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the

Surface heater (12) and a compressor with a same

Supply voltage are applied.

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the

Surface heating device (12) comprises a heating tube (16) extending over an inner side of the outer wall (2).

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 4, characterized in that the body contains a first storage chamber (4) and a second storage chamber (5) whose

Operating temperature is lower than that of the first storage chamber (4), wherein a first part (21) of the lateral edge (1 1) of the first storage chamber (4)

is opposite and a second part (22) of the lateral edge (1 1) of the second bearing chamber (5) opposite, and wherein the ratio between the length of the part (21, 22) of the lateral edge (1 1) attributable portion (23 , 24) of the heating tube (16) and the surface area of the part (21, 22) in the second part (22) is greater than in the first part (21). Refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface heating device (12) on the outer wall (2) is fixed by clinching.

Refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface heating device (12) by an adhesive tape (18) of the

Thermal insulation layer (7) is separated.

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 7, characterized in that the adhesive tape (18) has an IR-reflecting layer.

Refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a second (9) of the lateral flanks of the surface heater (12) is free and that the thermal barrier coating (7) on the second lateral edge (9) is more effective than on the first lateral flank (1 1).

Refrigerating appliance according to claim 9, characterized in that the

Thermal insulation layer (7) on the second lateral edge (9)

Vacuum insulation panel (10).

Side-by-side refrigerating appliance arrangement with two refrigerating appliances, of which at least one is a refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims and the lateral flank (11) provided with the surface heating device (12) faces the other refrigerating appliance.

Method for mounting a body of a refrigerating appliance, in particular a household refrigerating appliance, with the steps:

a) providing an outer wall (2) and an inner wall (3),

b) forming a lateral flank (1 1) and a front side region (13) on the outer wall (2),

c) mounting a surface heating device (12) on an inner side of the lateral flank (11),

d) joining the outer and inner wall (2, 3) along the

Front side region (13) and generating the thermal barrier coating (7). A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the

Surface heater (12) is secured by clinching.

A method according to claim 13, characterized in that during clinching only a projection (30) formed on an outer side of the outer wall (2) and the projection (30) is then flattened.