WO2019086257A1

WO2019086257A1 - A refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2019086257A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/078527
Authority: WO
Inventors: Semih Erol; Ozgun Atac Gultekin; Tayfun ERSOZ; Cagdas FIDAN; Altýnal CALISKAN
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2017-11-06
Filing date: 2018-10-18
Publication date: 2019-05-09
Also published as: EP3707446B1; EP3707446A1; PL3707446T3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator (1) in which the air blowing holes can be configured by a user, comprising at least two air holes provided on a recess (3), enabling blowing the cold air obtained from an evaporator, and at least one front cover (7) covering at least one of the air holes (4) and blocking air outflow therefrom.

Description

A REFRIGERATOR

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which the air outflow ducts can be opened and closed by a user.

Prior Art

Refrigerators are appliances enabling particularly food products to be stored for a long time without being spoiled. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungus, can rapidly reproduce particularly on food products, causing them to become spoiled. In general, compared to cold environments, said microorganisms act and reproduce faster in warm environments. Therefore, the food products stored in warm environments tend to spoil faster than those stored in cold environments. Thanks to keeping the food products in a cold environment in a chamber, refrigerators slow down the vital activities of microorganisms, thereby delaying spoilage of said food products.

Different food products require different cooling profiles. For example, some food products require being stored in a drier environment while others require being stored in a more humid environment. To that end, adjustment members may be provided particularly in crispers of refrigerators enabling or delimiting air circulation therein.

In refrigerators, the air passed over an evaporator is cooled, and said air is distributed in the refrigerator by means of air ducts. Since said ducts are stationary, a user cannot control the air flowing out from said ducts.

State of the art South Korean patent document no. KR19990020424 mentions a cold air providing structure for crispers of refrigerators.

None of the state of the art documents include a solution such as the one in the present invention.

Brief Description of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is to realize a refrigerator in which air blowing holes can be configured without requiring a modification.

Another aim of the present invention is to realize a refrigerator in which air blowing holes can be configured by a user.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The refrigerator realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1: is an exploded view of a section of the refrigerator of the invention,
Figure 2: is a sectional view of the refrigerator in an embodiment of the invention.

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

Refrigerator
Evaporator cover
Recess
Air hole
Seat
Evaporator cover magnet
Front cover
Seat
Front cover magnet

The refrigerator (1) whose air blowing holes can be configured by a user, comprises in its preferred embodiment :

- at least one evaporator cover (2) having a wall thickness, covering the evaporator line,
- at least one recess (3) provided in a region of the evaporator cover (2), the recess being the region where the wall thickness of the evaporator cover (2) narrows,
- at least two air holes (4) provided on the recess (3), enabling blowing the cold air obtained from the evaporator,
- at least two evaporator cover magnets (6) placed in the recess (3),
- at least one front cover (7) slidably movable in the recess (3), preferably of a smaller size than the recess (3), capable of inhibiting air outflow from at least one of the air inlets (4) by covering it,
- at least two front cover magnets (9) placed on the front cover (7).

In its most basic form, the refrigerator (1) whose air blowing holes can be configured by a user, comprises at least one evaporator cover (2) having a wall thickness, covering the evaporator line provided generally on the rear panel of the refrigerator (1). For sake of clarity, the evaporator cover (2) can be assumed as a rectangular panel with a wall thickness. A recess (3) is provided in a region of the evaporator cover (2) where the wall thickness of the evaporator cover (2) narrows. In order to provide symmetry, the recess (3) is preferably vertically symmetrical with respect to the center line of the evaporator cover (2), but it can also assume a desired shape. For sake of clarity, the recess (3) can be assumed as rectangular. At least two air holes (4) are provided on the recess (3), enabling blowing the cold air obtained from the evaporator to the interior of the refrigerator (1). One of the two air holes (4) is disposed on the region of the recess (3) closer to the ground (its lower part), and the other is disposed on the region of the recess (3) further from the ground (its upper part). At least two evaporator cover magnets (6) are provided in the recess (3). One of said evaporator cover magnets (6) is disposed at the region of the recess (3) closer to the ground, and the other is disposed at the region of the recess (3) further from the ground. At least one front cover (7) is placed in the recess (3), having a size preferably smaller than the size of the recess (3). For sake of clarity, the front cover (7) can be assumed as rectangular but sized smaller than the recess (3). Preferably, the front cover (7) is sized such that in the recess (3), it is unable to move on the horizontal axis but is slidably movable in the vertical axis. The air hole (4) below the recess (3) opens when the front cover (7) is slid upwards within the recess (3). The air hole (4) above the recess (3) opens when the front cover (7) is slid downwards within the recess (3). At least two front cover magnets (9) are provided on the front cover (7), one of which is arranged opposite the evaporator cover magnet (6) above the recess (3) when the front cover (3) is slid upwards, and the other of which is arranged opposite the evaporator cover magnet (6) below the recess (3) when the front cover (7) is slid downwards. The evaporator cover magnet (6) attracts and thereby holds the opposite front cover magnet (9). The front cover (7) can thus rest without falling into the recess (3). A user can open the preferred air hole (4) by sliding the front cover (7) in a direction, thereby enable cooling the region before that air hole (4).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least two seats (5) are provided in the recess (3), in which the evaporator cover magnets (6) are placed. Each evaporator cover magnet (6) is placed in a seat (5), thereby preventing projection of the evaporator cover magnet (6) from the surface. In other terms, the evaporator cover magnet (6) is placed in said seat (5) so as not to protrude from the recess (3) surface.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least two seats (8) are provided on the front cover (7), in which the front cover magnets (9) are placed. Each front cover magnet (9) is placed in a seat (8), thereby preventing projection of the front cover magnet (9) from the surface. In other terms, the front cover magnet (9) is placed in said seat (8) so as not to protrude from the front cover (7) surface.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, in the recess (3) region, the amount of narrowing of the evaporator cover (2) wall thickness is almost equal to the wall thickness of the front cover (7). Thus, the front cover (7) does not create a projection on the evaporator cover (2) surface when it is placed in the recess (3).

In an embodiment of the invention, preferably the front cover (7) has sizes inhibiting it to move on the vertical axis in the recess (3), but enabling it to slidably move in the horizontal axis. In this embodiment, the air holes (4), seats (5), evaporator cover magnets (6), seats (8) and the front cover magnets (9) are placed to the right and left parts of the recess (3) instead of the upper and lower parts. A user can thus adjust the air flow for two compartments resting side-by-side.

In an embodiment of the invention, the refrigerator (1) of the invention comprises at least four evaporator cover magnets (6) and at least four front cover magnets (9). In this embodiment, the evaporator cover magnets (6) and the front cover magnets (9) are placed at the regions of the recess (3) closer to corners. In other terms, the magnets (6, 9) are placed at the lower left, lower right, upper left and upper right parts of the recess (3). In this embodiment, the air holes (4) are placed at the right and the left parts of the recess (3). The right part air hole (4) opens when a user slides the front cover (7) to the left, and the left part one opens when a user slides the front cover (7) to the right. In this embodiment, when the front cover (7) is slid leftwards, the front cover magnets (9) on the left part of the front cover (7) adhere to the evaporator cover magnets (6) on the left part of the recess (3). When the front cover (7) is slid rightwards, the front cover magnets (9) on the right part of the front cover (7) adhere to the evaporator cover magnets (6) on the right part of the recess (3).

In the refrigerator (1) of the invention, the number of evaporator cover magnets (6) are not necessarily equal to the number of front cover magnets (9). Any configuration can be used in which the position of the front cover (7) can be changed by sliding.

In an embodiment of the invention, the refrigerator (1) of the invention comprises an evaporator cover magnet (6) and a front cover magnet (9). In this embodiment, instead of sliding, a user positions the front cover (7) by rotating. In this embodiment, the evaporator cover magnet (6) is provided almost in the center of the recess (3), and the front cover magnet (9) is offset from the center of the front cover (7). Thus, placement of the front cover (7) in one direction, and its placement by being rotated 180 degrees with respect to said direction enables opening separate air holes (4).

In an embodiment of the invention, the evaporator cover magnets (6) and the front cover magnets (9) are placed such that the front cover (7) can be positioned to allow air outflow from at least one of the air holes (4), or all of the air holes (4). In this embodiment, there are at least three positions in which the front cover (7) can be fixed.

Claims

A refrigerator (1) whose air blowing holes can be configured by a user, characterized by

- at least one evaporator cover (2) having a wall thickness, covering the evaporator line,

- at least one recess (3) provided in a region of the evaporator cover (2), the recess being the region where the wall thickness of the evaporator cover (2) narrows,

- at least two air holes (4) provided on the recess (3), enabling blowing the cold air obtained from the evaporator,

- at least two evaporator cover magnets (6) placed in the recess (3),

- at least one front cover (7) slidably movable in the recess (3), preferably of a smaller size than the recess (3), capable of inhibiting air outflow from at least one of the air inlets (4) by covering it,

- at least two front cover magnets (9) placed on the front cover (7).
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least two seats (5) provided in the recess (3), in which the evaporator cover magnets (6) are placed.
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 2, comprising an evaporator cover magnet (6) placed in said seat (5) so as not to protrude from the recess (3) surface.
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least two seats (8) provided on the front cover (7), in which the front cover magnets (9) are placed.
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 4, comprising a front cover magnet (9) placed in said seat (8) so as not to protrude from the front cover (7) surface.
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the recess (3) region, the amount of narrowing of the evaporator cover (2) wall thickness is almost equal to the wall thickness of the front cover (7).
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, comprising a front cover (7) having sizes inhibiting it to move on the horizontal axis but enabling it to slidably move in the vertical axis, in the recess (3).
A refrigerator (1) according to claim 1, comprising a front cover (7) having sizes inhibiting it to move on the vertical axis but enabling it to slidably move in the horizontal axis, in the recess (3).