REFRIGERATOR WITH DISPENSER

Abstract

A refrigerator contains a dispenser for ice and/or liquid. A dispenser housing covers an opening in an outer shell of the refrigerator. The dispenser housing delimits a dispenser recess that extends outward and upward over an upper edge of the opening and is assembled from at least one main part, which extends from a lower edge of the opening over a rear wall to a front edge of a ceiling of the dispenser housing, and a filling part, which extends from the front edge to an upper edge of the opening.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising: an outer shell having an opening formed therein; a dispenser for at least one of ice or liquid and having a dispenser housing covering said opening in said outer shell of the refrigerator, said dispenser housing delimiting a dispenser recess extending outward and upward over an upper edge of said opening; and said dispenser housing being assembled from at least one main part having a rear wall and a ceiling having a front edge, said main part extending from a lower edge of said opening along said rear wall to said front edge of said ceiling of said dispenser housing, said dispenser housing further having a filling part extending from said front edge to said upper edge of said opening.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising an operating component being mounted on said upper edge of said opening adjacently in said dispenser housing.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said filling part has a wall panel which delimits said dispenser recess and is separated from said outer shell by a gap.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein said filling part has ridges which extend to said outer shell.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising foam and said gap is at least partially filled with said foam.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein said filling part has a ventilation passage formed therein and leading into said dispenser recess.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein said dispenser has a mandrel projecting from said wall panel into said gap and said ventilation passage extends inside said mandrel.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein one of said ridges extends over an entire width of said wall panel and divides said gap into an upper, open-ended section and a lower section bounded on all sides.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein said dispenser has a prefabricated insulation body inserted into said gap.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: said filling part has a grooved formed therein; and said outer shell has an edge strip angled on said upper edge of said opening and engages into said groove of said filling part.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: said main part has a groove formed therein; and said outer shell has an edge strip angled on a lateral or lower edge of said opening and is accommodated in said groove of said main part.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said main part and said filling part are connected by means of a tongue-and-groove joint.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein an insertion direction of said tongue-and-groove joint is perpendicular to said outer shell.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein: said outer shell has an edge strip; said filling part has a tongue; and said main part has a linear groove formed therein for accommodating said edge strip of said outer shell in a lower area and said tongue of said filling part in an upper area.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0028] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective external view of a refrigerator with a dispenser according to the invention;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part and two different filling parts of a dispenser housing;

[0030] FIG. 3 is an enlarged, perspective partial view of the main part and an inserted filling part;

[0031] FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the door of a refrigerator with a small operating component;

[0032] FIG. 5 is a sectional view through the door of a refrigerator with a large operating component;

[0033] FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view through an upper edge of an opening in an outer shell of the door and an area surrounding it;

[0034] FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view through a lateral edge of the opening in the outer shell of the door at a level of the filling part; and

[0035] FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view through the lateral edge of the opening at the level of the operating component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a perspective external view of a refrigerator 1 with a dispenser 2 according to the present invention. The refrigerator 1 shown here is a combination appliance with double doors 3, 4, which together close a contiguous storage area, or which each close their own storage area, and a storage area formed below the double doors as a drawer 5. The dispenser 2 is flush-mounted into the door 3 in a manner that is known per se. For this purpose an opening 7, behind which a dispenser housing 8 is installed, is cut into a metallic outer shell 6 of the door 3. The dispenser housing 8 surrounds a dispenser recess, in which a receptacle to be filled with ice or water can be placed. An upper area of the opening 7 is occupied by an operating component 9, which, in the usual way, has buttons or other control elements (not shown in FIG. 1) for controlling the output of ice and/or water by the dispenser 2 and/or an operating status indicator. The operating component 9 conceals outlets for ice and water in an upper area of the dispenser recess. A filler tube 47, which is partially visible below the operating component 9, marks the position in which a receptacle can be placed for filling. Outlets for ice and water are arranged in a manner that is known per se above the filler tube 47 in such a way that dispensed ice only touches the inner surfaces of the filler tube on the way to the receptacle, and a dispensed water stream passes freely through the filler tube 47 without touching it. An operating paddle 10 on a rear wall of the dispenser housing 8 can be activated by the receptacle placed in the recess, in order to dispense ice or water into the receptacle.

[0037] FIG. 2 shows a deconstructed perspective view of a main part 11 and two different filling parts 12, 13, which may optionally be assembled with the main part 11 to form the complete dispenser housing 8. The main part 11 is essentially shaped as a cuboid with the front side open. Front edges 14 of side walls 15 and a floor plate 16 of the main part 11 extend in the same vertical plane and are each provided with a groove 17 that opens to the front

[0038] A front edge 18 of a ceiling 19 of the main part 11 is recessed against this plane. It is likewise provided with a groove 20 that is open toward the front. A passage is made in a vertex 21 of the ceiling 19, through which, in the fully assembled appliance, a water conduit is extended to an outlet in the upper area of the dispenser housing 8, above the filler tube 47. In an inclined wall section between the ceiling 19 and a rear wall 22, a hole 23 can be seen, which will form the outlet of an ice chute, as well as projections 24 for fastening a pivoting flap for closing the hole 23 when it is not in use.

[0039] The two filling parts 11, 12 are identical in terms of their construction; they differ only in the height at which they are located. A ridge 26, 27, 28 protrudes respectively along the lateral edges and the lower edge of a side of a vertical wall panel 25 facing toward the observer; a further ridge 26 parallel to the lower edge links the lateral ridges 26, 27. As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, a groove 30 is made in the edge of the lower ridge 28 facing toward the observer. A tongue 31 protrudes from an upper edge of the wall panel 25 on the side facing away from the observer. The function of a ventilation mandrel 34, which protrudes from the wall panel above the ridge 29, will be explained later.

[0040] The ridges 26, 27 are widened into a flange 32 on their edge facing toward the observer, from the rear side of which a tongue 33 in turn protrudes.

[0041] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the upper area of the main part 11 and the filling part 12 joined to the main part 11 by the interlocking of the tongues and grooves in a direction perpendicular to the outer shell 6 and to the wall panel 25. The tongue 31 has disappeared into the groove 20 on the front edge 18 of the ceiling 19; the tongues 33 engage into the grooves 17 of the side walls 15. The interlocking can easily be seen here particularly on an angled upper end of the ridge 26. The flanges 32 and the vertices of the ridges 28, 29 are located on a plane with the front edges 14 of the side walls 15.

[0042] FIG. 4 shows a vertical section through the dispenser housing 8 already installed in the door 3. An edge strip 35, 36 of the outer shell 6 on the upper and lower edge of the opening 7 is angled in each case toward the interior of the door. The lower edge strip 36 engages into the groove 17 at the front edge of the floor plate 16. The upper edge strip 35 engages into the groove 30 of the ridge 28. A gap 37 between the wall panel 25 and the outer shell 6 above the opening 7 is divided by the ridge 29 into an upper section 38 open at the top and a lower section 39 enclosed on all sides. When, following the installation of the dispenser housing 8 and the joining of the outer shell 6 to an inner wall (not shown) of the door 3, the cavity thus obtained is filled with foam, the foam can thus penetrate unimpeded from above into the upper section 38; to reach the lower section 39, however, is only possible if the ridge 29 does not rest closely against the outer shell 6 along its entire length. Any leakage of foam is precluded both on the upper edge of the wall panel 25 by the tongue 31 being engaged in the groove 20 and on its lower edge by the edge strip 35 being engaged in the groove 30.

[0043] The operating component 9 is installed directly below the ridge 28 and closes the opening 7 above an edge 40.

[0044] FIG. 5 shows a section analogous to FIG. 4 through a dispenser housing with an operating component 41, the installation level of which is Δh higher than that of the operating component 9. The level of the opening 7 in the outer shell 6 is likewise increased by Δh; in contrast the distance between the groove 30 and the tongue 31 on the filling part 13 is Δh smaller than on the filling part 12, so that the useful level of the opening 7, between the edge 40 and the edge strip 36, is the same as in FIG. 4. The main part 11 is the same in both figures.

[0045] FIG. 6 shows a further enlarged detail from FIG. 4. Narrow passages 42 can be seen here in the ventilation mandrel 34, which extend from a front surface 43 of the ventilation mandrel 34 opposite and at a short distance from the outer shell, through the wall panel 25 and into the dispenser recess. The air enclosed in the upper section 38 of the gap 37 can escape via these passages 42 while the foam is penetrating into the upper section 38. The small gap between the front surface 43 and the outer shell 6 ensures that the foam only advances to the front surface 43 when the ventilation mandrel 34 is completely surrounded by foam. The cross-section of the passages 42 is even smaller in comparison to the gap between front surface 34 and outer shell 6; if it is at or below the same order of magnitude as the bubble size of the foam, the foam cannot pass through the passages 42.

[0046] The pressure of the foam may cause the outer shell 6 to be pushed away from the ridge 29 slightly. To prevent the foam from penetrating over the ridge 29 and into the lower section 39, the latter can be filled in advance by insertion of a preformed insulation body 44, e.g. made from expanded polystyrene; it may however already be sufficient if the gap between the ridge 29 and the outer shell 6 is narrow enough to inhibit the penetration of the foam so that the quantity of foam passing through to constrict the gap is too small to fill the lower section 39.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows a horizontal section through the lateral ridge 26 and a section of the wall panel 25 of the filling part 12. The flange 32 and the front edge 14 of the side wall 15 rest against the outer shell 6. A latching projection 45 can be formed on the tongue 33, which securely interlocks the filling part 12 in the groove 17.

[0048] FIG. 8 shows a further horizontal section at the level of the opening 7 and of the operating component 9. As on the upper and lower edge of the opening, an edge strip 46 is also angled inwardly toward the interior of the door 3 on each of the lateral edges. The edge strip 46 engages into a lower area of the same groove 17, the upper area of which is filled by the tongue 32 of the filling part 12 as shown in FIG. 7. The length of the section of the groove 17, which is filled by one or the other, varies depending on the level of the opening 7 and of the filling part 12 or 13.

[0049] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0050] 1 Refrigerator [0051] 2 Dispenser [0052] 3 Door [0053] 4 Door [0054] 5 Drawer [0055] 6 Outer shell [0056] 7 Opening [0057] 8 Dispenser housing [0058] 9 Operating component [0059] 10 Operating paddle [0060] 11 Main part [0061] 12 Filling part [0062] 13 Filling part [0063] 14 Front edge [0064] 15 Side wall [0065] 16 Floor plate [0066] 17 Groove [0067] 18 Front edge [0068] 19 Ceiling [0069] 20 Groove [0070] 21 Passage [0071] 22 Rear wall [0072] 23 Hole [0073] 24 Projection [0074] 25 Wall panel [0075] 26 Ridge [0076] 27 Ridge [0077] 28 Ridge [0078] 29 Ridge [0079] 30 Groove [0080] 31 Tongue [0081] 32 Flange [0082] 33 Tongue [0083] 34 Ventilation mandrel [0084] 35 Edge strip [0085] 36 Edge strip [0086] 37 Gap [0087] 38 Upper section [0088] 39 Lower section [0089] 40 Edge [0090] 41 Operating component [0091] 42 Passage [0092] 43 Front surface [0093] 44 Insulation body [0094] 45 Latching projection [0095] 46 Edge strip [0096] 47 Filler tube