WO2019037989A1

WO2019037989A1 - A cooler comprising a box housing the mechanical and electronic components

Info

Publication number: WO2019037989A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/069866
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mehmet Ercan KAYMAK; Irem AKINCI; Umut Yilmaz; Zulal OZDEMIR; Burak AKAY
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2017-08-25
Filing date: 2018-07-23
Publication date: 2019-02-28
Also published as: TR201712740A2

Abstract

The cooler (1 ) of the invention comprises a body (2), an inner lining (6) delimiting the internal volume of the body (2), a door enabling access into the body (2), a box (3) in which electronic and mechanical components are placed, mounted on the inner lining (6), consisting of at least two parts through combining a housing (4) and a cover (5), and at least one first attachment member (7) and at least one second attachment member (10) enabling the box (3) to be mounted on the inner lining (6) by fixing the housing (4) on both the inner lining (6) and the cover (5).

Description

A COOLER COMPRISING A BOX HOUSING THE MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

The present invention relates to a cooler in which a box bearing and housing mechanical and electronic components such as lamp, filter, fan, ionizer, etc. is mounted in a body.

Mechanical and electronic components such as lamp, switch, filter, fan, ionizer are mounted in the body within a box. Thus, by means of the box, mechanical and electronic components are protected against external effects in the body, and the internal appearance of the body is maintained. However, a cooler body has a double walled structure and the space between two walls is usually filled with polyurethane. Therefore, mounting a box on the inner lining of the body by means of fastening members such as screws, etc. is not possible as this has adverse affects on insulation and external appearance.

State of the art Japanese patent applications no. JP4359779 and JP10176880 disclose coolers whose switch boxes are insulated.

Another state of the art document, Chinese patent application no. CN205536714 discloses an assembly detail.

State of the art Canadian patent application no. CA2810802 discloses a firm engagement method as the method of assembly.

Another state of the art document is the U.S. patent application no. US2013187527. This document discloses a snap fit application as a method of assembly.

The aim of the present invention is to realize a cooler having a box mounted on the inner lining of its body.

The cooler realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the first claim and the dependent claims, comprises a box mounted on the inner lining of its body, consisting of the combination of a housing and a cover, in which mechanical and electronic components are placed; and at least one first attachment member and at least one second attachment member enabling the housing to be fixed on the inner lining of the body and the cover.

The first attachment member comprises two protrusions parallel to each other, disposed opposite each other on the edge of the housing, and a seat provided between two protrusions. The edge of the inner lining settles in this seat between two protrusions. Whereby, the inner lining is compressed between two protrusions.

The second attachment member comprises at least one peg disposed on the edge of the housing, at a lower elevation than the level of the first attachment member, and on the side of the cover facing inwards at least one tab settling on the peg. A gap remains between the inner lining and the peg when the housing is fixed on the inner lining of the body by means of the first attachment members as described above. The tabs on the cover clinch into this gap when the cover is being mounted on the housing, and the tabs are compressed between the peg and the inner lining. Whereby, the first attachment member and the tab apply pressure on the inner lining from the same side. Simultaneously by means of the peg and the tab, the cover is also mounted on the housing.

All attachment details are concealed within the box when the cover is fixed on the housing by means of the tabs disposed on the side of the cover facing inwards. An observer viewing from outside only sees a box on the inner lining. By this, the appearance of the internal volume of the body is also improved. In addition, the attachment members are prevented from being easily interfered externally.

With the present invention, the housing is firmly fixed on both the inner lining and the cover. Thus, gap formation between the box and the inner lining is prevented and being affected from disadvantages such as polyurethane overflow is avoided. In addition, the box is enabled to be fixed on the inner lining of the body without using screws or similar fastening members. This assembly method saves time and decreases labor costs.

The cooler realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooler and a box.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the housing and the cover.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the housing.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the housing mounted on the inner lining.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cover and the housing.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the cover and the housing on the inner lining.

The elements in the figures are numbered individually and the correspondence of these numbers are given hereinafter.

Cooler
Body
Box
Housing
Cover
Inner lining
First attachment member
Protrusion
Slot
Second attachment member
Peg
Tab

The cooler (1) comprises a body (2), an inner lining (6) delimiting the internal volume of the body (2), a door enabling access into the body (2), a box (3) in which electronic and mechanical components are placed mounted on the inner lining (6), consisting of at least two parts through combining a housing (4) and a cover (5), and at least one first attachment member (7) and at least one second attachment member (10) enabling the box (3) to be mounted on the inner lining (6) by fixing the housing (4) on the inner lining (6) and the cover (5). Whereby, the box (3) is fixed on the inner lining (6) without using screws or any other similar fastening members (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

The first attachment member (7) comprises two protrusions (8) parallel to each other, disposed opposite each other on the vertical plane on the edge of the housing (4), and a seat (9) provided between two protrusions (8) (Figure 3). The edge of the inner lining (6) settles in this seat (9) between two protrusions (8). Whereby, the inner lining (6) is compressed between two protrusions (8) (Figure 4). The height of the seat (9), i.e. the distance between two protrusions (8) is at most equal to the thickness of the inner lining (6). When the housing (4) settles on the opening (not shown in figures) on the inner lining (6), the edge of the inner lining (6) fits into the seat (9) disposed between two protrusions (8), restraining the inner lining (6) between two protrusions (8). In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper protrusion (8) is shaped as a flap and the lower protrusion (8) is shaped as a tab (12) with a surface narrower than the upper protrusion (8). The inner lining (6) is thus compressed between the flap shaped protrusion (8) with a larger compression surface at its rear surface, and the tab (12) shaped protrusion (8) with narrower compression surface at its front surface. The first attachment member (7) is disposed on at least two opposite edges of the housing (4). By this, polyurethane overflows likely to happen from the inner side of the inner lining (6) to the outer side are also avoided.

The second attachment member (10) comprises at least one peg (11) disposed on the edge of the housing (4), at a lower elevation than the level of the first attachment member (7), and on the side of the cover (5) facing inwards at least one tab (12) settling on the peg (11) (Figure 5). In an embodiment of the invention, the flap-shaped protrusion (8) of the first attachment member (7) and the peg (11) are disposed opposite each other. A gap forms between the inner lining (6) and the peg (11) when the housing (4) is fixed on the inner lining (6) of the body (2) by means of the first attachment members (7) as described above. The tabs (12) on the cover (5) clinch into this gap when the cover (5) is being mounted on the housing (4), and the tabs (12) are compressed between the peg (11) and the inner lining (6). The second attachment member (10) is disposed on at least two opposite edges of the housing (4) and the cover (5). Whereby, the first attachment member (7) and the tab (12) apply pressure on the inner lining (6) from the same side, pushing the inner lining (6) against the flap-shaped protrusion (8). The assembly of the box (3) on the inner lining (6) is completed by the cover (5) also being mounted on the housing (4) by means of the peg (11) and the tab (12).

All connection details are concealed within the box (3) when the cover (5) is fixed on the housing (4) by means of the tabs (12) disposed on the side of the cover (5) facing inwards. Only the box (3) on the inner lining (6) can be seen when observed externally. Thus, the appearance of the internal volume of the body (2) is also improved. In addition, the first and the second attachment members (7 and 10) are prevented from being easily interfered externally (Figure 6).

In an embodiment of the invention, the box (3) is mounted on the inner lining (6) on the ceiling of the body (2).

With the present invention, the housing (4) is firmly fixed on both the inner lining (6) and the cover (5). Thus, gap formation between the box (3) and the inner lining (6) is prevented while avoiding being affected from disadvantages such as polyurethane overflow. In addition, the box (3) is enabled to be fixed easily on the inner lining (6) of the body (2) without using screws or similar fastening members. This assembly method saves time and decreases labor costs.

Claims

A cooler (1) comprising a body (2), an inner lining (6) delimiting the internal volume of the body (2), a door enabling access into the body (2), and a box (3) in which electronic and mechanical components are placed, mounted on the inner lining (6), consisting of at least two parts through combining a housing (4) and a cover (5), characterized by at least one first attachment member (7) and at least one second attachment member (10) enabling the box (3) to be mounted on the inner lining (6) by fixing the housing (4) on both the inner lining (6) and the cover (5).
A cooler (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the first attachment member (7) comprising two protrusions (8) parallel to each other, disposed opposite each other on the vertical plane on the edge of the housing (4), and a seat (9) provided between two protrusions (8).
A cooler (1) according to claim 2, characterized by two protrusions (8) with the distance in between being at most equal to the thickness of the inner lining (6).
A cooler (1) according to claim 1, characterized by a second attachment member (10) comprising at least one peg (11) disposed on the edge of the housing (4), at a lower elevation than the level of the first attachment member (7), and on the side of the cover (5) facing inwards at least one tab (12) settling on the peg (11).
A cooler (1) according to claim 4, characterized by the tabs (12) compressed between the peg (11) and the inner lining (6) when the cover (5) is mounted on the housing (4).
A cooler (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the first attachment member (7) and the tab (12) applying pressure on the inner lining (6) from the same side.
A cooler (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the box (3) mounted on the inner lining (6) on the ceiling of the body (2).