REFRIGERATION APPLIANCE WITH DUCTING PIPE

Abstract

A body of a refrigeration appliance has an outer membrane, an inner membrane which delimits a cooled storage compartment which is accessible from a front side of the body, and a foamed material layer filling an intermediate space between the outer and inner membrane. A machine compartment is recessed on the rear of the body. A ducting pipe extends from the machine compartment to the front side. The outer membrane is built in two layers on a bottom side of the carcass and the ducting pipe extends between an inner and an outer layer of the outer membrane.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance, comprising: a body, containing: a front side; a bottom side; an outer membrane; an inner membrane delimiting a cooled storage compartment being accessible from said front side of said body; a foamed material layer filling an intermediate space between said outer and inner membranes; a rear side having a recess formed therein defining a machine compartment; a ducting pipe extending from said machine compartment to said front side; and said outer membrane being built up in two layers on said bottom side of said body, said two layers including an inner layer and an outer layer, said ducting pipe extending between said inner layer and said outer layer.

2. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, wherein: said outer membrane has side wall elements; and at least a first of said layers extends beyond an entire width of said bottom side and is connected to said side wall elements of said outer membrane.

3. The refrigeration appliance according claim 2, wherein said first layer is formed from sheet metal.

4. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 2, wherein said first layer also forms a lining of said machine compartment.

5. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 4, wherein said first layer is disposed below a second layer of said layers.

6. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 5, wherein said lining has a through opening formed therein, to an edge of said through opening said second layer connects.

7. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 5, wherein: said first layer in a section in a transverse direction of said body is flat; and said second layer has side parts resting against said first layer and a central part disposed between said side parts, said central part is at a distance from said first layer and delimits said ducting pipe.

8. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 5, wherein said second layer is a molded part made from plastic.

9. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8, wherein said second layer extends across an entire width of said bottom side and is connected to said side wall elements of said outer membrane.

10. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8, wherein said second layer has a holder for a door opening sensor.

11. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, wherein said outer membrane has a lower front area strip, which extends below said cooled storage compartment on said front side of said body and said ducting pipe leads into an air passage in said lower front area strip.

12. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 5, wherein said second layer has a reinforced front edge.

13. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 12, wherein said reinforced front edge is a profile which is open toward said front side.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0026] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, sectional view through a lower part of a refrigeration appliance according to the invention;

[0027] FIG. 2 is a partially cut rear view of the lower part;

[0028] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the plane III-III shown in FIG. 4;

[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bottom panel and a plastic molded part of the refrigeration appliance; and

[0030] FIG. 5 is a section view in a width direction through the lower part of a refrigeration appliance according to a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a schematic section in a depth direction through a body or carcass 1 of an inventive domestic refrigeration appliance. The body 1 conventionally contains an outer membrane 2 assembled from a number of elements and an inner membrane 3 in the form of a deep-drawn inner container made from plastic, which delimits a storage compartment 4 which opens toward the front side of the appliance and can be closed off by a door (not shown in FIG. 1). The inner membrane 2 and outer membrane 3 together form an intermediate space 5 which is filled with a thermal-insulating foamed material layer. The elements of the outer membrane 2 which are visible in the FIG. 1 are a lower front area strip 6 on the front side of the appliance, a rear wall plate 7 and a bottom plate 8, which is composed of an upper layer 8a and a lower layer 8b.

[0032] The lower layer 8b is formed cut from sheet metal and is curved along a number of edges which are parallel to one another in order to create a front horizontal segment 10, which, separated from a floor 11 by a narrow gap 9, extends from the front side below the storage compartment 4, and a lining of the machine compartment 13. The lining includes a step 12 which rises from the rear edge of the horizontal segment 10, and which forms a front wall of a machine compartment 13 and a rear horizontal segment 14 which upwardly completes the machine compartment 13.

[0033] The machine compartment 13 is delimited downward by a bottom plate 15, the front edge of which rests tightly against the horizontal segment 10, and rearward by a rear wall 16, which for its part connects tightly to the bottom plate 15 and the rear wall plate 7.

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the lower part of the body 1. Air inlet openings 17 are cut out on the left edge of the rear wall 16. One piece of the rear wall 16 is recessed in the view in FIG. 2, in order to be able to show built-in components of the machine compartment 13 which are disposed therebehind. These built-in components contain a condenser 18, a ventilator 19, a compressor 20 and an evaporation pan 21 mounted on the compressor 20. The machine compartment 13 has a clearance immediately behind the air inlet openings 17 (in the view in FIG. 2), in which clearance fresh air taken in by the ventilator 19 via the air inlet openings 17 is deflected, before it flows in parallel to the plane of the drawing from left to right through the condenser 18 and the ventilator 19. The condenser 18 is a compact condenser with an MPE refrigerant pipe.

[0035] A ducting pipe 22 via which the air which is heated on the condenser 18 and compressor 20 and which is saturated with humidity at the evaporation pan 21 leaves the machine compartment again is largely concealed behind the condenser 20 in the view in FIG. 2.

[0036] FIG. 3 shows a section in the depth direction of the body 1 through a front lower corner of the machine compartment 13. The ducting pipe 22 is upwardly delimited here by a central part 27 of the upper layer 8a, downwardly delimited by the horizontal segment 10 of the lower layer 8b of the bottom plate 8. An opening 23 cut into the lower layer 8b on the lower edge of the step 12 forms the input of the ducting pipe 22. To seal against the foamed material of the intermediate space 5, the upper layer 8a has a web 24 which, adjacent to the edge projects through the opening 23 into the machine compartment 13 and a flange 25, which rests against the step 12 along the edge of the opening 23.

[0037] FIG. 4 shows the bottom plate 8 in a perspective view. The rear horizontal segment 14 of the lower layer 8b and a large part of the step 12 are exposed. The lower edge of the step 12 and the front horizontal segment 10 are covered by the upper layer 8a. The central part 27 with the ducting pipe 22 running there below runs obliquely across the horizontal segment 10 from the input at its left edge to an output 28 in the center of a front edge of the bottom plate 8. On both sides of the central part 27 side parts 26 of the upper layer 8a lie directly on the horizontal segment 10. A part 29 of the upper layer 8a which is distanced further from the lower layer 8b extends across the entire width of the bottom plate between these side parts 26 and the step 12. Together with the lower layer 8b it delimits a duct 30 which is provided to receive cables for a side wall heating system.

[0038] A front edge 31 of the upper layer 8a is formed as a U-profile which opens forward and is divided into a plurality of chambers by means of vertical intermediate walls. A central chamber 32 above the exit 28 is provided to form a holder 34 for a door opening sensor (not shown). The door opening sensor may in a manner known per se be a mechanical switch with an actuation segment, which projects through an opening of the lower front area strip 6, in order to be touched and moved by the door when it is opened and closed; it is preferably a contactless, e.g. magnetoresistive sensor, which is able to record the presence of the door by means of magnetic interaction, without requiring an opening in the lower front area strip 6 for this purpose.

[0039] As is apparent in FIG. 1, the lower front area strip 6 is fastened directly to the front edges of the U profile and its intermediate walls so that the chambers are sealed by the front area strip 6. The front area strip 6 is penetrated in front of the exit 28.

[0040] The bottom plate 8 in FIG. 4 must be assembled as a unit and connected tightly to the front area strip 6 and the rear wall plate 7, before the intermediate space 5 can be foamed in order to form the thermal insulation layer, since the shoulder 12 and the rear horizontal segment 14 of the lower layer 8b are required in order to render the outer membrane tight.

[0041] As a result of an alternative embodiment, not shown, the upper layer 8a is extended beyond the machine compartment 13 up to the lower edge of the rear wall plate 7. In this case, it is sufficient to connect the upper layer 8a to the lower front area strip 6 and rear wall plate 7 in order to seal the outer membrane. The ducting pipe 22 and the duct 30 remain open until after the foaming process and assembly work therein such as for instance the laying or connecting of cables for the side wall heating system running in the duct 30 can be performed after the foaming process.

[0042] It is also conceivable to embody the lower layer 8b from sheet metal and to firstly mount one part of it, which contains the shoulder 12 and the rear horizontal segment 14, together with the outer layer 8a, then to foam it and finally to close off the ducts 22, 30 with the front horizontal segment 10.

[0043] As a result of a simplified variant, an upper layer 8c of the bottom plate 8 is formed from sheet metal and comprises horizontal segments and a shoulder disposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. 5, and a lower layer 8d made of plastic. The upper layer 8c extends across the entire width of the base, attaches to the front and rear of the front area strip and the rear wall plate and is tightly connected at its side edges to side wall plates 33 so that the intermediate space 5 can firstly be foamed here and the bottom plate 8 can then be completed by attaching the lower layer 8d. On account of its minimal width, the lower layer 8d is cost-effective to manufacture, since it projects downward from the flat layer 8c, the height of the gap 9 is larger on both sides than with the first embodiment, as a result of which the first embodiment permits an improved space utilization.

[0044] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0045] 1 Carcass [0046] 2 Outer membrane [0047] 3 Inner membrane [0048] 4 Storage compartment [0049] 5 Intermediate space [0050] 6 Front area strip [0051] 7 Rear wall plate [0052] 8 Bottom plate [0053] 8a,c Upper layer [0054] 8b, d Lower layer [0055] 9 Gap [0056] 10 Horizontal segment [0057] 11 Floor [0058] 12 Step [0059] 13 Machine compartment [0060] 14 Horizontal segment [0061] 15 Bottom plate [0062] 16 Rear wall [0063] 17 Air inlet opening [0064] 18 Condenser [0065] 19 Ventilator [0066] 20 Compressor [0067] 21 Evaporation pan [0068] 22 Ducting pipe [0069] 23 Opening [0070] 24 Web [0071] 25 Flange [0072] 26 Side part [0073] 27 Central part [0074] 28 Exit [0075] 29 Part of the upper layer [0076] 30 Duct [0077] 31 Front edge [0078] 32 Chamber [0079] 33 Side wall plate [0080] 34 Holder