[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigeration apparatus according to the preamble
of claim 1.
[0002] Refrigeration apparatus comprise a cabinet being suitable for containing one or more
refrigeration cells. At least one door is present for closing the refrigeration cells;
very often there is a door for each cell. The door is connected to the cabinet by
means of hinges.
[0003] Refrigeration apparatus include refrigerators for domestic use; the following description
will refer to said apparatus, without the invention being strictly limited thereto.
[0004] As far as domestic-use refrigerators are concerned, the cells are suitable for containing
food; often there is a cell for fresh food and a cell for frozen food.
[0005] Domestic-use refrigerators, and more in general refrigeration apparatus, quite often
require a tubular element being inserted into the cabinet on the one side and into
the door on the other side.
[0006] Said tubular element may be, for instance, the sheath of an electric cable; said
electric cable may be used, for instance, to supply power to a light source being
mounted on the door and facing inward, i.e. directed toward the refrigeration cell.
[0007] Alternatively, said tubular element may be, for instance, a pipe carrying a liquid;
said pipe may be used, for instance, to supply a refrigerated water distributor being
mounted on the door and facing outward.
[0008] It should be noted that distributor-fitted refrigerators have only recently begun
to spread in Europe, whereas they have been used for decades in the USA. Actually,
the European market demands products being rather different from those required by
the American market, i.e. products being much less bulky (60 or 70 cm wide) and offering
distribution of refrigerated water only, not of ice as well; moreover, said products
must have a low cost and therefore must use simple but effective technical solutions.
[0009] Of course, if there is a tubular element inserted between the cabinet and the door,
being the door hinged to the cabinet and rotating, it is necessary to adopt a solution
which allows the door to rotate without being disturbed by the tubular element and
without damaging the tubular element.
[0010] A solution dating back to the '30s, being suitable for electric cables, consisted
in fastening the cable to the door on the one side and to the cabinet on the other
side in positions being close to a hinge, where the relative motion between the door
and the cabinet is limited; of course, this solution required a cable being long enough
and flexible to follow the door movement. However, a frequent use of the door caused
wear on the cable and especially on its sheath, thereby leading to a very dangerous
exposure of the electric leads; this solution is hardly applicable to liquid carrying
pipes due to their rigidity.
[0011] The American Patent No. 2,148,787, granted in 1937, describes a refrigerator using
said solution.
[0012] In the '50s, it was thought of inserting the tubular element through the hinge; thus
there is no substantial movement of the tubular element.
[0013] Since then, this idea has been the basis of a lot of old and new solutions.
[0014] As regards electric cables, we may indicate, for instance, the American Patents No.
2,700,139 of 1955, No. 3,076,163 of 1963, No. 3,089,202 of 1963, and No. 3,156,019
of 1964, whose solutions are based on said idea.
[0015] As regards liquid carrying pipes, we may indicate the American Patent No. 3,429,140
of 1969, whose solution is based on said idea.
[0016] There are also more recent solutions being based on said idea, which are described,
for example, in the American Patents No. 4,036,620 of 1977, No. 4,543,800 of 1985
and No. 4,609,234 of 1986.
[0017] New solutions based on said idea have been proposed even very recently, e.g. in the
American Patent No. 5,941,619 of 1999 and in the European Patent No. 1139043 of 2001.
[0018] It almost seems that this idea has become a standard.
[0019] The present invention aims at providing a new and improved solution compared to the
state of the art.
[0020] This object is achieved by the refrigeration apparatus having the features described
in claim 1; advantageous aspects of the present invention are detailed in dependent
claims.
[0021] The idea at the basis of the present invention is to keep the tubular element separated
from the hinges.
[0022] This solution provides more flexibility in positioning and designing both the hinges
and the structure for inserting the tubular element.
[0023] The present invention will become more apparent from the following description and
from the annexed drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a refrigeration apparatus according to
the present invention,
Fig. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of a first embodiment example
of a refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention,
Fig. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a detail of a second embodiment example
of a refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention,
Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of a detail of a third embodiment example of a refrigeration
apparatus according to the present invention (in this figure, the door is fully open
and the cabinet is sectioned), and
Fig. 5 shows a schematic sectional view of the mouth area of a pipe seat according
to the present invention.
[0024] Both said description and said drawings are to be considered as non-limiting examples.
[0025] Fig. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a domestic-use refrigerator according
to the present invention, indicated as a whole with the reference number 1.
[0026] Said refrigerator comprises a cabinet 2 being placed on a base 11; in the illustration,
the cabinet walls are very thick to indicate the presence of a thick layer of thermo-insulating
material; in general, the thickness of the insulating material depends on the type
of cell (in practice, on the operating temperatures of the cell) and, of course, on
the type of insulating material employed; this is a common feature being well known
to those skilled in the art.
[0027] Said refrigerator comprises two refrigeration cells, being indicated as a whole with
the reference number 10; a cell 10A is used for fresh food and is located in the upper
portion of the cabinet 2, and a cell 10B is used for frozen food and is located in
the lower portion of the cabinet 2.
[0028] Two doors are provided, being indicated as a whole with the reference number 3, for
closing the refrigerating cells 10; in particular, there is an upper door 3A for the
cell 10A and a lower door 3B for the cell 10B.
[0029] The refrigerator 1 is fitted with a refrigerated water distributor, being indicated
as a whole with the reference number 6, which is mounted on a door of the refrigerator;
in the illustrated embodiment example, the distributor is mounted on the upper door
3A.
[0030] The refrigerated water distributor of the refrigerator according to the embodiment
example of Fig. 1 is connected to the public drinking water supply. The water arrives
at the refrigerator 1 from the supply through a pipe; the figure only shows a short
length of said pipe; the supply pipe is connected to the inlet of a first solenoid
valve 12; the outlet of the solenoid valve 12 is connected to a pipe being indicated
with the reference number 4. In the illustration, the connection of the distributor
6 to the supply is represented as a single tubular element (being both simple and
effective, and therefore preferable); other embodiments of the present invention may
however comprise a number of interconnected tubular elements.
[0031] The pipe 4 starts from a cavity obtained in the lower portion of the cabinet 2 (also
housing the solenoid valve 12) and then enters the rear wall of the cabinet 2, runs
within the insulating material up to the top of the cabinet 2, enters the upper wall
of the cabinet 2, runs within the insulating material, leaves the cabinet 2 and enters
the door 3A; the pipe 4 then runs within the insulating material of the door 3A and
reaches the distributor 6.
[0032] The above-mentioned cavity is also used, for example, for housing the refrigerator
compressor.
[0033] The distributor 6 comprises a tank 61, which receives water through the pipe 4; the
tank 61 is located within the refrigeration cell 10A, so that the water being present
in said tank is refrigerated.
[0034] The distributor 6 also comprises a duct 62, being connected to the tank 61 through
a second solenoid valve 63, which is used for distributing refrigerated water to the
user.
[0035] A refrigerated water filter may be inserted downstream the tank 61 and upstream the
valve 63. Of course, it is necessary to employ means for controlling the supply of
water to the tank 61 and means for controlling the distribution of water through the
duct 62; these means comprise the solenoid valves 12 and 63 and an electronic control
system (not illustrated), and are generally known to those skilled in the art.
[0036] The upper door 3A of the refrigerator according to the embodiment example of Fig.
1 has a recess 7 where the duct 62 comes out; the recess 7 is open outward and is
used to receive, for example, a glass 8 (without the possibility of an effective rest),
to be filled with water coming out from the duct 62.
[0037] In the example of Fig. 1, said recess is not deep and therefore does not extend inside
the refrigeration cells; thus the recess 7 does not subtract volume from the refrigeration
cells, and the door 3A keeps a (thinner) layer of thermo-insulating material even
in the area of the recess 7.
[0038] The refrigerator doors 3A and 3B are connected to the cabinet through hinges allowing
the doors to be opened and closed by the user with a rotary movement about a vertical
axis. The hinges are not shown in Fig. 1 for simplicity's sake; in the field of refrigeration
apparatus, different types of hinges are commonly used, which are generally known
to those skilled in the art.
[0039] In general, according to the present invention, the refrigeration apparatus comprises
a cabinet, at least one door and a tubular element being inserted into the cabinet
on the one side and into the door on the other side; the door is connected to the
cabinet through hinges, which allow it to rotate about an axis, and is fitted with
an inner tubular seat allowing to insert the tubular element through a suitable mouth
of said seat; said seat is substantially coaxial to the hinges; furthermore, the seat
mouth is located on the door in a position being distant from the hinges.
[0040] Fig. 2 uses the same reference numbers as Fig. 1 to indicate corresponding elements;
in particular, the cabinet is indicated with 2, the door with 3, and the tubular element
with 4; besides, one of the hinges is indicated as a whole with 5, the hinge axis
with 50, the tubular seat (inside the door 3) with 31 and its mouth with 311.
[0041] Thanks to the above-specified solution, in particular to the substantial coaxiality
achieved, the door can rotate without been disturbed by the tubular element and without
damaging the tubular element.
[0042] Furthermore, being the passage of the tubular element independent from the structure
of the hinges, the passage of the tubular element and the hinges can be both positioned
and designed more freely, thereby achieving a proper optimization of the same.
[0043] The above-specified solution is used by all of the embodiment examples of Fig. 2,
Fig. 3 and
[0044] Fig. 4; said figures use the same reference numbers to indicate corresponding elements.
[0045] The tubular seat inside the door may have, for instance, a circular cross-section;
alternately, the shape of the cross-section may also be, for example: triangular,
square, hexagonal, octagonal, ....
[0046] The tubular element may be a pipe for carrying a liquid, like in all embodiments
illustrated in the drawings; in this case, the present invention turns out to be rather
useful, in that such a pipe is quite rigid and therefore it is on one hand more subject
to damage due to the rotary movement of the door, and on the other it is more capable
of disturbing the rotary movement of the door.
[0047] Such a case finds a typical application in refrigerators being fitted with refrigerated
water distributors, wherein a damaged pipe may cause at first water leaks from the
pipe itself and then a failure of the distributor.
[0048] The tubular element may alternately be a sheath of an electric cable; in this case,
the present invention is at any rate useful in that the sheath is subject to wear
even though it is not extremely rigid.
[0049] This case finds many practical applications in refrigerators wherein a damaged sheath
may cause short circuits or, even worse, electric shocks to the users.
[0050] Very often, in refrigerators being fitted with a refrigerated water distributor it
is necessary to supply water as well as electric power to the distributor, as for
example in the refrigerator of Fig. 1, which requires electric power to energize the
solenoid valve 63.
[0051] In this case, still according to the present invention, two or more tubular elements
may be provided; typically, said tubular elements will be adjacent to each other and
inserted in the same seats.
[0052] Alternately, there may be a single tubular element consisting of a sheath being suitable
for containing a liquid-carrying pipe and one or more electric cables.
[0053] Typically the door rotation axis, corresponding to the axis of the hinges, is substantially
vertical; the door can thus be opened with a limited effort.
[0054] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mouth of the tubular
seat is located on an edge of the door, preferably on the upper edge of the door -
the examples of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 adopt this solution; the door has therefore no cavities
for the insertion of the tubular element, and the tubular element turns out to be
well protected and not easily accessible to the user.
[0055] In the example of Fig. 4, the tubular element leaves the cabinet wall in the area
corresponding to an insertion cavity 33 obtained on the door; the mouth of the tubular
seat is located on the surface of said cavity. In this way, for instance, the tubular
element is not required to reach the top of the refrigerator.
[0056] The refrigerator hinges may be different to one another depending on their position;
a hinge may comprise a first hinge element being fastened to the cabinet and a second
hinge element being fastened to the door, mounted on the first hinge element and rotating
about an axis, i.e. the hinge axis; in the examples of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the hinge
element fastened to the cabinet 2 is indicated with 51, and the hinge element fastened
to the door 3 is indicated with 52.
[0057] In the examples of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the two hinge elements are pivoted to each
other through a pin 53; in the example of Fig. 4, a hinge element, being indicated
with 51, is fastened externally to the cabinet and is fitted with a pin (not shown
in the illustration), and the other hinge element (also not shown) is fastened internally
to the door and is mounted on said pin.
[0058] According to preferred embodiment examples of the present invention (Fig. 2 and Fig.
3), the hinge elements consist of brackets.
[0059] The hinge element fastened to the cabinet may be, for example, an "L" shaped bracket.
This solution is used in the example of Fig. 2, which refers to the upper hinge being
located in the area of the refrigerator top; in this way, the hinge does not protrude
above the refrigerator top.
[0060] The hinge element fastened to the door may be, for example, a "Z" shaped bracket.
This solution is used in the example of Fig. 2, which refers to the upper hinge being
located in the area of the refrigerator top; in this way, the hinge does not protrude
from the refrigerator door. Brackets being shaped as described are very easy to mount.
[0061] Fig. 3 shows an embodiment example of the upper hinge, being alternative to that
of Fig. 2.
[0062] In general, one of the hinge elements may be advantageously fastened to an edge of
the door, in order to facilitate the assembly; for the purposes of the present invention,
i.e. when it is necessary to lay a tubular element between the cabinet and the door,
the hinge element is preferably fastened to the upper edge of the door.
[0063] The cabinet may be advantageously fitted with an inner tubular seat in order to insert
the tubular element through a mouth of said seat on the cabinet. All of the embodiment
examples illustrated in the annexed drawings use this solution - in Fig. 2 and Fig.
3, said tubular seat (within the cabinet 2) is indicated with 21 and its mouth with
211; in particular, in the example of Fig. 2 said seat is located in the middle of
the thermo-insulating material of the cabinet, whereas in the example of Fig. 3 said
seat is located on the outer surface of the cabinet.
[0064] In order to limit the space occupied by the tubular element in the cabinet, the cabinet
inner tubular seat may advantageously be substantially perpendicular to the hinge
axis; if the hinge axis is substantially vertical (as in most cases), the tubular
seat will be substantially horizontal. This solution is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3;
in the example of Fig. 4, the tubular element runs within a side wall of the cabinet,
and therefore the tubular seat may be either horizontal or sloping (as shown).
[0065] In order that the tubular element is distant from one of the refrigerator hinges
(the one being closer), it is advantageous to provide that said hinge element being
fastened to the door defines a distance between said hinge element being fastened
to the cabinet and the door edge. This solution is used in the examples of Fig. 2
and Fig. 3, wherein the edge of the door 3 is kept distant from the element 51 thanks
to the shape of the element 52; in the example of Fig. 4, the distance (between the
hinge element being fastened to the cabinet 2 and the mouth of the tubular element
in the door 3) is achieved thanks to the structure of the door 3, in particular to
the cavity 33.
[0066] When the above-described solution is used, it may also be advantageous to locate
the mouth of the cabinet tubular seat on the cabinet between the hinge element and
the door edge. This solution is used in the examples of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, wherein
the mouth 211 is located between the edge of the door 3 and the element 51.
[0067] An important feature of the present invention is the insertion of the tubular element
into the tubular seats through suitable mouths of the latter, in particular as regards
the door, being it movable.
[0068] On this matter, it may be advantageous to provide a bush being inserted into the
mouth of the door tubular seat and having a hole for the insertion of the tubular
element; this solution is shown in Fig. 5, wherein the bush is indicated with 32,
the seat with 31 and the tubular element with 4; the bush can thus protect the tubular
element from damage.
[0069] If the bush is allowed to rotate within the door tubular seat, sliding will tend
to occur between the bush and the seat and not between the tubular element and the
bush. In this case, the seat has preferably a circular inner cross-section and the
bush has preferably a circular outer cross-section; also, these two diameters are
nearly equal.
[0070] According to the present invention, the axis of the door tubular seat is substantially
coaxial to the hinges.
[0071] It may however be advantageous that the hole of the bush is not perfectly coaxial
to the bush axis (and therefore to the axis of the tubular seat); in fact, in this
case the rigidity of the tubular element will prevent the bush from moving, so that
any sliding can only occur between the bush and the tubular seat.
[0072] In the example of Fig. 5, the bush 32 is totally inserted into the tubular seat 31
of the door 3. The bush may also be fitted with a guide protruding from the mouth
of the door tubular seat.
[0073] Of course, further elements may also advantageously be provided for protecting the
tubular element against access by the user in the area where it is neither inserted
in the door nor in the cabinet.
[0074] As already mentioned, the above-described solutions may clearly be advantageously
applied to refrigeration apparatus, in particular to refrigeration apparatus being
fitted with a refrigerated beverage distributor being mounted on the door and supplied
through a tubular element.
[0075] In this regard, Fig. 1 schematically shows the section of a domestic-use refrigerator
having a refrigerated water distributor being connected to the public drinking water
supply.
[0076] The refrigerated beverage distributor is advantageously provided with a refrigerated
beverage tank; in this case, a non-refrigerated beverage flows in the pipe.
[0077] If the refrigeration apparatus has a cell for fresh food being located in the upper
portion of the cabinet and having its own door, and a cell for frozen food being located
in the lower portion of the cabinet and having its own door, it is appropriate that
the refrigerated beverage distributor is mounted on the door of the cell for fresh
food.
1. Refrigeration apparatus (1) comprising a cabinet (2), at least one door (3) and a
tubular element (4) being inserted into the cabinet (2) on the one side and into the
door (3) on the other side; the door (3) being connected to the cabinet through hinges
(5), which allow it to rotate about an axis (50), and being fitted with an inner tubular
seat (31) allowing to insert the tubular element (4) through a mouth (311) of said
seat, said seat (31) being substantially coaxial to the hinges (5),
characterized in that
the mouth (311) of said seat (31) is located on the door (3) in a position being distant
from the hinges (5).
2. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein said axis (50) is substantially
vertical.
3. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mouth (311) of
the seat (31) is located on an edge of the door (3), preferably on the upper edge
of the door (3).
4. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, wherein at least one (5)
of said hinges comprises a first hinge element (51) being fastened to the cabinet
(2) and a second hinge element (52) being fastened to the door (3), mounted on the
first hinge element (51) and rotating about said axis (50).
5. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 4, wherein said first hinge element
(51) is a bracket.
6. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said second hinge element
(52) is a bracket.
7. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 4 or 5 or 6, wherein said second hinge
element (52) is fastened to an edge of the door (5), preferably to the upper edge
of the door.
8. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, wherein the cabinet
(2) is fitted with an inner tubular seat (21) for the insertion of the tubular element
(4) through a mouth (211) of said seat on the cabinet (2), said seat (21) being preferably
substantially perpendicular to said axis (50).
9. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of claims from 4 to 8, wherein said second
hinge element (52) defines a distance between said first hinge element (51) and said
edge of the door (3).
10. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claims 8 and 9, wherein the mouth (211) of
the tubular seat (21) of the cabinet (2) is located on the cabinet (2) between said
first hinge element (51) and said edge of the door (3).
11. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, comprising a
bush (32) being inserted into the mouth (311) of the tubular seat (31) of the door
(3) and having a hole for the insertion of the tubular element (4).
12. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 11, wherein the bush (32) can rotate
within the tubular seat (31).
13. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the hole of the bush
(32) is not coaxial to the axis of the bush (32).
14. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, wherein the tubular
element (4) is a pipe carrying a liquid.
15. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, wherein the tubular
element (4) is a sheath of an electric cable.
16. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, wherein the tubular
element (4) is a sheath being suitable for containing a pipe carrying a liquid and
one or more electric cables.
17. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to one of the previous claims, comprising a
refrigerated beverage distributor (6), preferably refrigerated water, being mounted
on the door (3A) and supplied through said pipe (4).
18. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 17, wherein the refrigerated beverage
distributor (6) is fitted with a refrigerated beverage tank (61).
19. Refrigeration apparatus (1) according to claim 17 or 18, comprising:
- a cell for fresh food (10A) being located in the upper portion of the cabinet and
having its own door (3A), and
- a cell for frozen food (10B) being located in the lower portion of the cabinet and
having its own door (3B);
wherein the refrigerated beverage distributor (6) is mounted on the door (3A) of the
cell for fresh food (10A).