Home appliance device and method for assembling a home appliance device

Abstract

For the purpose of improving properties regarding construction a home appliance device, in particular a home chiller appliance device, is proposed. The device has at least one main body defining at least one storage space; at least one door mounted to the main body and featuring at least one sealed door section that forms at least a portion of a front wall of the storage space; and at least one protrusion unit arranged next to the sealed door section outside the storage space and protruding from the door towards the main body.

Claims

1. A home appliance device comprising: at least one main body defining at least one storage space; at least one door mounted to the main body, said at least one door having an inside face, an outside face, and an outer perimeter bounding said inside face and said outside face; said at least one door featuring at least one sealed door section, on the inside face, that forms at least a portion of a front wall of the storage space in a closed position of said at least one door; at least one protrusion unit arranged next to the sealed door section, within the outer perimeter and on the inside face of said at least one door, outside the storage space and protruding from the inside face of the at least one door towards the main body, said at least one protrusion unit comprising a contact element having a contact surface and an air separator adjoining the contact surface and extending substantially vertically and between the at least one door and the main body to form two separate air spaces outside the storage space and between the door and the main body; and a door opening assisting unit mounted in said main body, said door opening assisting unit having a door opening element configured to push against said contact surface on said at least one protrusion unit in order to assist in opening said at least one door.

2. The home appliance device according to claim 1, the protrusion unit featuring a smaller horizontal extent than the sealed door section.

3. The home appliance device according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface is aligned at least substantially parallel to a main extension plane of the door.

4. The home appliance device according to claim 1, the contact element being implemented as a bent sheet metal piece.

5. The home appliance device according to claim 1, the contact element featuring at least one contact element side wall with a step-shaped contour.

6. The home appliance device according to claim 1, comprising a fixing unit featuring at least one fixing element, the contact element being fixed to the fixing element, and the fixing element being arranged inside a foamed gap space of the door.

7. The home appliance device according to claim 1, the air separator featuring at least one sealing element that contacts the main body.

8. The home appliance device according to claim 1, the air separator being connected to the contact element.

9. The home appliance device according to claim 8, the air separator being partly inserted in the contact element.

10. The home appliance device according to claim 8, the contact element featuring at least two mounting holes for the air separator which have different hole axes.

11. The home appliance device according to claim 1, comprising at least one liquid line which runs through the protrusion unit.

12. A home appliance, in particular a home chiller appliance, comprising at least one home appliance device according to claim 1.

13. The home appliance device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one protrusion unit is disposed substantially centrally between a right-hand edge and a left-hand edge of said at least one door, and adjacent a lowermost edge of said at least one door.

14. The home appliance device according to claim 1, wherein said opening element is a push rod.

15. A method for assembling a home appliance device, in particular a home chiller appliance device, comprising: at least one main body defining at least one storage space; at least one door mounted to the main body and featuring at least one sealed door section that forms at least a part of a front wall of the storage space; at least one door opening assisting unit having at least one opening element; and at least one protrusion unit arranged next to the sealed door section outside the storage space, which protrudes from the door towards the main body and which features at least one contact element for the opening element and at least one air separator adjoining the contact element and extending substantially vertically and between the at least one door and the main body thereby separating two adjacent air spaces located outside the storage space and arranged between the door and the main body; wherein the air separator is attached to the contact element.

16. The method according to claim 15 configured for assembling a home chiller appliance device according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 a home appliance comprising a home appliance device, in a perspective view,

(2) FIG. 2 a portion of the home appliance device, including a door and a protrusion unit of the home appliance device, in a perspective view,

(3) FIG. 3 a portion of the home appliance device, including a door opening assisting unit of the home appliance device, in a schematic sectional lateral view,

(4) FIG. 4 a portion of the home appliance device, including a machine compartment of the home appliance device, in a schematic sectional top view,

(5) FIG. 5 a portion of the door of the home appliance device, including the protrusion unit, in a perspective view,

(6) FIG. 6 a contact element of the protrusion unit, in a perspective view,

(7) FIG. 7 the contact element, in a schematic lateral view,

(8) FIG. 8 the contact element, in an additional schematic lateral view,

(9) FIG. 9 the protrusion unit, in a schematic exploded view,

(10) FIG. 10 a schematic flow chart of a method for assembling a home appliance device,

(11) FIG. 11 an alternative home appliance comprising an alternative home appliance device, in a perspective view,

(12) FIG. 12 a protrusion unit of the alternative home appliance device, comprising a contact element and an air separator, in a schematic exploded view,

(13) FIG. 13 a support element of the air separator, in a schematic front view,

(14) FIG. 14 the support element, in a schematic lateral view,

(15) FIG. 15 the contact element and a fixing unit of the alternative home appliance device, in a perspective view,

(16) FIG. 16 a further alternative home appliance device in a perspective view,

(17) FIG. 17 a contact element of a protrusion unit of the further alternative home appliance device, in a perspective view,

(18) FIG. 18 the contact element, in a further perspective view, and

(19) FIG. 19 a portion of the further alternative home appliance device, including the contact element and a liquid line, in a perspective view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(20) FIG. 1 shows a home appliance 58a in a perspective view. The home appliance 58a comprises a home appliance device 10a. The home appliance 58a is implemented as a home chiller appliance. In the case shown the home appliance 58a is implemented as a refrigerator. The home appliance device 10a is implemented as a home chiller appliance device.

(21) The home appliance device 10a comprises a main body 12a. Furthermore, the home appliance device 10a comprises a door 16a mounted to the main body 12a. The main body 12a has a height direction 66a. The height direction 66a is a vertical direction.

(22) FIG. 2 shows a portion of the home appliance device 10a, including the door 16a and the main body 12a, in a perspective view. The main body 12a defines a storage space 14a. The main body 12a comprises an outer liner 62a and an inner liner 64a, which is arranged within the outer liner 62a.

(23) The door 16a features a sealed door section 18a that forms at least a portion of a front wall 20a of the storage space 14a. The sealed door section 18a comprises a sealing lip 60a, which seals the storage space 14a in a closed state.

(24) The home appliance device 10a comprises a protrusion unit 22a arranged next to the sealed door section 18a outside the storage space 14a. The protrusion unit 22a protrudes from the door 16a towards the main body 12a. The door 16a features a non-sealed door section 68a arranged next to the sealed door section 18a. The non-sealed door section 68a is arranged below the sealed door section 18a with respect to the height direction 66a. The protrusion unit 22a is connected to the door 16a. The protrusion unit 22a is connected to the non-sealed door section 68a. It is conceivable that a non-sealed door section and/or a protrusion unit is arranged above a sealed door section. Furthermore, it is conceivable that a protrusion unit is connected to a main body.

(25) The protrusion unit 22a features a smaller horizontal extent 24a than the sealed door section 18a, in particular parallel to a horizontal direction 72a of the door 16a. The horizontal direction 72a of the door 16a is oriented perpendicularly to the height direction 66a and parallel to a main extension plane of the door 16a.

(26) The horizontal extent 24a of the protrusion unit 22a is smaller than 20% of a horizontal extent 70a of the sealed door section 18a. The horizontal extent 24a of the protrusion unit 22a is significantly smaller than the horizontal extent 70a of the sealed door section 18a.

(27) The home appliance device 10a comprises a door opening assisting unit 26a which has an opening element 28a. The opening element 28a is implemented as a push rod. The opening unit 26a is configured for partly opening the door 16a upon a user request for a door opening.

(28) FIG. 4 shows a portion of the home appliance device 10a, including the door opening assisting unit 26a, in a schematic lateral sectional view. Upon a user request of a door opening, the opening element 28a is moved towards the door 16a in order to partly push the door 16a open.

(29) The protrusion unit 22a features a contact element 30a for the opening element 28a. The contact element 30a is connected to the door 16a. The contact element 30a is provided for transmitting an opening force onto the door 16a. The opening element 28a is provided for being pushed against the contact element 30a. The contact element 30a is arranged opposite the opening element 28a.

(30) The contact element 30a features a contact surface 32a for the opening element 28a, which contact surface 32a is aligned parallel to the main extension plane of the door 16a. The contact element 30a protrudes from the door 16a towards the main body 12a. The opening element 28a therefore has to be moved only over a short distance for opening the door 16a.

(31) FIG. 4 shows a portion of the home appliance device 10a in a schematic sectional top view. The protrusion unit 22a comprises an air separator 40a which separates two adjacent air spaces 42a, 44a, namely a first air space 42a and a second air space 44a, which are located outside the storage space 14a and are arranged between the door 16a and the main body 12a.

(32) The home appliance device 10a comprises a machine compartment 74a. The machine compartment 74a is arranged below the storage space 14a with respect to the height direction 66a. The machine compartment 74a features a first sub-compartment 76a and a second sub-compartment 78a. The first sub-compartment 76a is arranged behind the first air space 42a. The second sub-compartment 78a is arranged behind the second air space 44a. The first sub-compartment 76a and the second sub-compartment 78a are separated from each other by a divisional wall 80a. The first sub-compartment 76a is connected to the first air space 42a and the second sub-compartment 78a is connected to the second air space 44a via at least one ventilation grille 82a. The ventilation grille 82a is not shown in FIG. 3 for reasons of clarity. The first sub-compartment 76a comprises a fresh-air entrance 84a, which is connected to the first air space 42a. The second sub-compartment 78a comprises a heated-air exit 86a, which is connected to the second air space 44a. The first air space 42a and the second air space 44a are delimited by the sealed door section 18a on a top side. The first air space 42a and the second air space 44a are open towards an outside, in particular towards a bottom side of the main body 12a.

(33) FIG. 5 shows a portion of the door 16a of the home appliance device 10a, including the protrusion unit 22a, in a perspective view. The air separator 40a is connected to the door 16a. The air separator 40a is connected to the non-sealed door section 68a. In a closed state of the door 16a, the air separator 40a is in contact with the door 16a and with the main body 12a. The air separator 40a is plate-shaped. A main extension plane of the air separator 40a is oriented perpendicularly to the main extension plane of the door 16a and parallel to the height direction 66a. A main extension direction of the air separator 40a is oriented parallel to the height direction 66a. The air separator 40a is arranged next to the contact element 30a, in particular below the contact element 30a. The air separator 40a is in contact with the contact element 30a. In the shown case the air separator 40a is made of plastic.

(34) The air separator 40a features a sealing element 46a that contacts the main body 12a, in particular in the closed state of the door 16a. The sealing element 46a is implemented as a sealing lip. A main extension direction of the sealing element 46a is oriented parallel to the height direction 66a. The air separator 40a features an additional sealing element 88a that contacts the door 16a, in particular the non-sealed door section 68a. Furthermore, the air separator 40a features a support element 90a. The sealing element 46a is connected to the support element 90a. The additional sealing element 88a is connected to the support element 90a. The additional sealing element 88a is significantly shorter than the sealing element 46a. The additional sealing element 88a features a length which is smaller than 50% of a length of the sealing element 46a. The sealing element 46a is made of rubber. The additional sealing element 88a is made of rubber.

(35) The air separator 40a is connected to the contact element 30a. The air separator 40a is partly inserted in the contact element 30a. The contact element 30a covers the air separator 40a on a top end. The support element 90a is partly inserted in the contact element 30a. The contact element 30a is open towards a bottom side of the main body 12a. The protrusion unit 22a features a cover element 92a that covers a portion of the non-sealed door section 68a. The additional sealing element 88a contacts the cover element 92a.

(36) The contact element 30a and the air separator 40a are further shown in FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 6 shows the contact element 30a, in a perspective view. FIG. 7 shows the contact element 30a, in a schematic lateral view from a first lateral side. FIG. 8 shows the contact element 30a in an additional schematic lateral view from a second lateral side that is opposite the first lateral side. FIG. 9 shows the protrusion unit 22a, in a schematic exploded view.

(37) The contact element 30a is implemented as a bent sheet metal piece. The contact element 30a has a closed-corner design. The contact element 30a features a contact element side wall 34a with a step-shaped contour 98a. The contact element side wall 34a is a lateral side wall. The step-shaped contour 98a is arranged on a top side 96a of the contact element 30a. The contact element 30a features a second contact element side wall 94a with a step-shaped contour 100a. The second contact element side wall 94a is a lateral side wall. The contact element 30a features a contact element top wall 102a which follows the step-shaped contour 98a. The contact element top wall 102a forms a step 104a. The contact element 30a is step-shaped. The contact element 30a is configured for transmitting a force 106a exerted onto the contact surface 32a along at least two different force transmission paths 108a, 110a.

(38) The contact element top wall 102a is connected to the door 16a. In the case shown the contact element 30a is connected to the door 16a via screws.

(39) The contact element 30a comprises a contact element front wall 112a which comprises the contact surface 32a. The contact element side wall 34a, the second contact element side wall 94a and the contact element top wall 102a are connected to the contact element front wall 112a. The contact element 30a is made of one piece.

(40) The contact element 30a features two mounting holes 48a, 50a for the air separator 40a which have different hole axes 52a, 54a. The air separator 40a is connected to the contact element 30a via screws that are not shown in the figures and are arranged in the mounting holes 48a, 50a.

(41) FIG. 10 shows a schematic flow chart of a method for assembling the home appliance device 10a. In a first assembly step 114a the contact element 30a is attached to the door 16a. In a second assembly step 116a the air separator 40a is attached to the contact element 30a. In the second assembly step 116a the air separator 40a is slid into the contact element 30a from below. Subsequently, the air separator 40a is fixed to the contact element 30a by means of screws which are screwed through the mounting holes 48a, 50a into the air separator 40a.

(42) FIGS. 11 to 19 show further exemplary embodiments of the invention. The following description is substantially limited to the differences between the exemplary embodiments, wherein regarding structural elements, features and functions that remain the same the description of the other exemplary embodiments, in particular the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 10, may be referred to. For distinguishing the exemplary embodiments, the letter a of the reference numerals in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 10 has been substituted by the letters b and c in the reference numerals of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 11 to 19. Regarding structural elements having the same denomination, in particular regarding structural elements having the same reference numerals, principally the drawing and/or the description of the other exemplary embodiments, in particular of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 10, may be referred to.

(43) FIG. 11 shows an alternative home appliance 58b comprising an alternative home appliance device 10b, in a perspective view. The home appliance device 10b comprises a main body 12b and a door 16b which is mounted to the main body 12b.

(44) FIG. 12 shows a protrusion unit 22b of the alternative home appliance device 10b, in a schematic exploded view. The protrusion unit 22b is implemented analogously to the protrusion unit 22a of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 10.

(45) The protrusion unit 22b comprises a contact element 30b and an air separator 40b. The air separator 40b comprises a support element 90b, a sealing element 46b and an additional sealing element 88b. In an assembled state the sealing element 46b contacts the main body 12b. The additional sealing element 88b is shorter than the sealing element 46b by approximately 25%.

(46) The contact element 30b comprises a contact surface 32b for an opening element of a door opening assisting unit of the alternative home appliance device. The contact element 30b is implemented as a bent sheet metal piece. In the assembled state the air separator 40b is partly inserted in the contact element 30b.

(47) FIG. 13 shows the support element 90b of the air separator 40b, in a schematic front view. FIG. 14 shows the support element 90b, in a schematic lateral view. The support element 90b features a head portion 118b. In an assembled state, the head portion 118b is arranged within the contact element 30b. The head portion 118b features receiving elements 120b, 122b for fastening elements. The contact element 30b features mounting holes 48b, 50b for the air separator 40b. The air separator 40b is connected to the contact element 30b by means of fastening elements which are arranged in the mounting holes 48b, 50b and are connected to the receiving elements 120b, 122b. The receiving elements 120b, 122b are arranged in a staggered manner.

(48) FIG. 15 shows the contact element 30b and a fixing unit 36b of the alternative home appliance device 10b, in a perspective view. The fixing unit 36b comprises a fixing element 38b. In the assembled state the contact element 30b is fixed to the fixing element 38b. Furthermore, in the assembled state the fixing element 38b is arranged inside a foamed gap space of the door 16b. The contact element 30b is screwed to the fixing element 38b from a bottom side 124b of the fixing element 38b. The fixing element 38b is made of metal.

(49) In the case shown the fixing unit 36b comprises a support element 125b which the fixing element 38b is connected to. The fixing element 38b is screwed to the support element 125b. The support element 125b is a metal plate. The support element 125b is arranged outside the foamed gap space of the door 16b. The support element 125b is arranged within the door 16b. The support element 125b is arranged on a side of the foamed gap space of the door 16b which faces away from the main body 12b.

(50) FIG. 16 shows a further alternative home appliance 58c, in a perspective view. The further alternative home appliance 58c comprises a further alternative home appliance device 10c. The further alternative home appliance 58c is implemented as a refrigerator. The further alternative home appliance device 10c is implemented as a home chiller appliance device. The further alternative home appliance device 10c comprises a main body 12c that defines a storage space 14c. The further alternative home appliance device 10c comprises a door 16c mounted to the main body 12c, which door 16c features a sealed door section 18c that forms a portion of a front wall 20c, in particular the entire front wall 20c, of the storage space 14c. The further alternative home appliance device 10c comprises a protrusion unit 22c which is arranged next to the sealed door section 18c outside the storage space 14c and protrudes from the door 16c towards the main body 12c.

(51) The protrusion unit 22c features a smaller horizontal extent 24c than the sealed door section 18c.

(52) The further alternative home appliance device 10c comprises a door opening assisting unit 26c which has an opening element 28c. The protrusion unit 22c features a contact element 30c for the opening element 28c. The contact element 30c is shown in two different perspective views in FIGS. 17 and 18. The contact element 30c features a contact surface 32c for the opening element 28c, which contact surface 32c is aligned parallel to a main extension plane of the door 16c.

(53) The protrusion unit 22c features an air separator 40c which separates two adjacent air spaces 42c, 44c located outside the storage space 14c and arranged between the door 16c and the main body 12c.

(54) The home appliance device 10c comprises an ice water dispenser unit 126c. The ice water dispenser unit 126c is connected to the door 16c. The ice water dispenser unit 126c is arranged inside the storage space 14c in a closed state of the door 16c. It is also conceivable that an ice water dispenser unit is arranged outside a storage space.

(55) FIG. 18 shows a portion of the further alternative home appliance device 10c, in a perspective view. The ice water dispenser unit 126c comprises a liquid line 5c. The liquid line 56c is a water supply line. The liquid line 56c runs through the protrusion unit 22c. The liquid line 56c runs through the contact element 30c. The liquid line 56c runs through the protrusion unit 22c in a direction parallel to a height direction 66c of the main body 12c. The contact element 30c is open towards a top side 128c of the contact element 30c in order to provide an opening 130c for the liquid line 56c. The contact element 30c comprises a connection element 132c for fixing to the door 16c. The connection element 132c is wing-shaped. The connection element 132c is bent outward with respect to the opening 130c. The contact element 30c comprises an additional connection element 134c for fixing to the door 16c. The additional connection element 134c is implemented mirror-symmetrically with respect to the connection element 132c. The connection element 132c and the additional connection element 134c are screwed to the door 16c. The connection element 132c implements a force transmission point 136c towards a contact element top wall 102c and a contact element front wall 112c, which contact element front wall 112c features the contact surface 32c. An opening force is transmitted from the contact surface 32c, via the force transmission point 136c, towards the connection element 132c and to the door 16c. Analogously, the additional connection element 134c implements an additional force transmission point 138c.

(56) The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: 10 home appliance device 12 main body 14 storage space 16 door 18 sealed door section 20 front wall 22 protrusion unit 24 horizontal extent 26 door opening assisting unit 28 opening element 30 contact element 32 contact surface 34 contact element side wall 36 fixing unit 38 fixing element 40 air separator 42 air space 44 air space 46 sealing element 48 mounting hole 50 mounting hole 52 hole axis 54 hole axis 56 liquid line 58 home appliance 60 sealing lip 62 outer liner 64 inner liner 66 height direction 68 non-sealed door section 70 horizontal extent 72 horizontal direction 74 machine compartment 76 sub-compartment 78 sub-compartment 80 wall 82 ventilation grille 84 fresh-air entrance 86 heated-air exit 88 sealing element 90 support element 92 cover element 94 contact element side wall 96 top side 98 contour 100 contour 102 contact element top wall 104 step 106 force 108 path 110 path 112 contact element front wall 114 assembly step 116 assembly step 118 head portion 120 receiving element 122 receiving element 124 bottom side 125 support element 126 ice water dispenser unit 128 top side 130 opening 132 connection element 134 connection element 136 force transmission point 138 force transmission point