Patent Grant
10301161
This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of German patent application DE 10 2016 221 210.9, filed Oct. 27, 2016; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a container-valve subassembly for a beverage dispenser which is capable of dispensing various beverages as well as a refrigeration appliance which contains a beverage dispenser having such a subassembly. So that a beverage dispenser may also be used for beverages other than water, it has to be possible to dismantle the subassembly to such an extent that the valve is able to be cleaned. A refrigeration appliance and a container-valve subassembly in which the container and valve are releasably screwed together are disclosed in published, Chinese patent application CN 103 148 665 A.
In this disclosed container-valve subassembly, a closing body is releasable from a valve seat by a displacement driven by a cam mechanism in order to draw off the beverage. In order to supply the beverage to an outlet which is movable with the closing body, after passing the valve seat, two telescopically interlocking sleeves are arranged downstream of the valve seat. If the movement of the closing body is not an accurate translation, there is the risk that the sleeves jam against one another and the valve is no longer tightly sealed.
An object of the present invention is to provide a container-valve subassembly which is of simple construction and which functions reliably.
The object is achieved in a container-valve subassembly for use in a refrigeration appliance, containing a container and a valve which is arranged on the base of the container. At least one closing body of the valve is releasably connected to the container, by the closing body being tiltable between a closed position adjacent to a valve seat and an open position about a pivotal point.
In particular, it may be understood by the term “pivotal point” that the closing body always comes into contact with the valve seat in the pivotal point. In other words, this means that the closing body is in contact with the valve seat in the closed position and the closing body is also in contact with the valve seat in the open position. The pivotal point, therefore, may also be understood as the contact point or contact area or point of contact or area of contact. The closing body is, in particular, movable and/or tiltable and/or pivotable about the pivotal point relative to the closing body.
The releasable connection between the closing body and the container may be ensured by an adapter portion, the closing body being movably, in particular pivotably, mounted thereon about the pivotal point and the closing body in turn being releasably connected to the container.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the adapter portion is screwed to the base of the container. Preferably, to this end the adapter portion and the container comprise complementary threads. In order to reduce the extent of the rotation required for fastening the adapter portion, a bayonet coupling may also be provided instead of a screw thread.
According to a second embodiment, the adapter portion is displaceably guided along a base of the container by rails. In particular, a simple linear displacement of the adapter portion may be sufficient in order to anchor the adapter portion to the container or to release the adapter portion from the container. In an adapter portion guided by rails, a valve which contains parts which are offset laterally toward the valve seat may be accommodated in a space-saving manner.
The rails may comprise, in particular, grooves or tongues which extend on two parallel walls of the adapter portion and which may cooperate with complementary tongues and/or grooves on the base of the container. In other words, a tongue-groove connection may be present between the adapter portion and the container.
In particular, the valve seat may be formed in the adapter portion. Advantageously, in this case the valve seat may also be detached from the container and cleaned.
According to a simplified embodiment, the valve seat may also be part of the container.
In order to ensure a secure closing, the closing body is configured to be acted upon by a spring in the closed position.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned pivotal point may be a point of the valve seat itself, the closing body still being in contact therewith even in the open position.
In particular, in this embodiment the valve seat may extend in an annular manner around an opening of a base plate, the closing body and a cap being able to be arranged on different sides of the base plate and being able to be connected via a connecting element extending through the opening. In order to press the closing body against the valve seat, the spring may be compressed between the cap and the base plate. The connecting element may be a pin.
In this case the base plate may be part of the adapter portion or part of the container.
In order to dismantle the valve completely and, in particular, in order to be able to expose the valve seat for cleaning, the cap and the closing body are configured to be releasably connected via the connecting element, in particular screw-connected.
An actuating portion which protrudes from the closing body in the through-flow direction of the valve may be provided for opening the valve. By the actuating portion being deflected transversely to the through-flow direction, the closing body is tilted and as a result the valve is opened. The greater the length of the lever arm of this actuating portion, the better the relationship between the force required for opening the valve and the sealing force with which the closing body is pressed against the valve seat in the closed state.
A cup-shaped element is expedient in order to collect without loss the beverage which passes through the valve and to conduct the beverage into a collecting receptacle held below the valve, the cup-shaped element being attached to the actuating portion and having an outlet opening for the beverage in the cup base.
In order to ensure that the beverage passing through the opening completely enters the cup-shaped element, a projection which extends around the valve seat and which engages in the cup-shaped element may be provided.
According to an alternative preferred embodiment, the pivotal point is formed by an axis positioned on the adapter portion.
The closing body may in this case form an arm of a two-armed lever which is pressed against the valve seat by the spring being compressed between a second arm of the lever and the base of the container.
A shaft extending along the axis may be a separate component or a component of the adapter portion; preferably it is part of the lever. In the last case the shaft may be extended out of the adapter portion and may bear at least one lever arm which is exposed outside the adapter portion, the lever being able to be actuated thereby for opening the valve.
A sleeve may be formed on the base of the container, the sleeve receiving the closing body in order to deflect downwardly a beverage passing through in the open position of the valve and passing through laterally between the valve seat and the closing body. The axis may be positioned in notches of this sleeve.
The sleeve may also receive the second arm of the lever acted upon by the spring.
In particular, the container may comprise at least one support foot which protrudes downwardly from the base below the valve. Advantageously, in this case the container may be deposited on any flat substrate, even outside the refrigeration appliance, without having to deal with the valve opening inadvertently.
In particular, the container may comprise a lid on its upper face opposing the base. Advantageously, the cleaning and refilling of the container is simplified as a result.
A further subject of the invention is a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, with a thermally insulating housing which surrounds a storage compartment for refrigerated goods and comprises at least one through-opening between the storage compartment and a dispenser niche located outside the thermally insulating housing and in which a container-valve subassembly of the type described above is releasably mounted in the storage compartment, passing through the through-opening.
Preferably a control paddle is arranged on a rear wall of the dispenser niche and is coupled to the valve so that the valve is opened by pressing against the control paddle.
The coupling between the control paddle and the valve may consist in that the control paddle in turn forms an arm of a two-armed lever, the second arm thereof acting on the actuating portion or on the lever arm exposed outside the adapter portion.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a container-valve subassembly for a beverage dispenser, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to
The door subassembly 1 contains a door 4 closing the storage compartment, in the narrower sense, and a cover 5 which is pivotable relative to the door 4 about the same axis 3. In the view of
The cover 5 contains a window pane 6 made of clear or tinted glass or plastic, in this case surrounded by a non-transparent frame 7. An upper strip of the frame 7 is L-shaped in section with a limb 8 extending vertically upward from the window pane 6 and a limb 9 angled back from an upper edge of the limb 8 toward the body 2, extending beyond an upper flank of the door 4. Correspondingly, a right-hand strip of the frame contains a limb 10 extending from the right-hand edge of the window pane 6 in the width direction of the door subassembly 1 and a limb 11 which is angled back toward the body but which is divided into two by a handle recess 12, into an upper and a lower half. A central piece 13 of the handle recess 12 extends from the edge into the limb 10.
A dispenser niche 20 is accessible simply by pivoting the cover 5 about the axis 3, the dispenser niche being recessed in a lower part of the door 4 and in
Level with the central piece 13, however, the edge of the limb 10 is flush with the projection 19 so that a user who grips at the level of the central piece, grasps the handle groove 18 and thus pivots the entire door subassembly 1 about the axis 3 and a storage compartment 21 for refrigerated goods in the interior of the body 2 is accessible.
One respective control paddle 45 is mounted below each beverage container 22 in the dispenser niche 20 and in a manner described below in more detail serves to open a valve and to fill a receptacle, which is pressed against the control paddle 45 in the dispenser niche 20, with a beverage from the container 22 located above.
A partition 26 rises up from a rear edge of the base plate 24, the partition delimiting the niche 23 from the storage compartment 21. On the other side of the partition 26 a door shelf 27 is suspended on the internal wall 15.
In order to simplify the insertion and removal of the substantially cuboidal beverage containers 22 into and out of the niche 23, in each case the containers are provided on the rear face thereof facing the partition 26 with a grip 28, in this case in the form of a projection extending over the entire width of the beverage container 22 which is hollow on its lower face in order to permit the fingers of a user to grasp therein.
An outlet pipe 33 is integrally formed on the base of the container lower part 31, the outlet pipe, when the beverage container 22 is mounted in the niche 23 and rests on the base plate 24, engaging in the through-opening 25 thereof. The outlet pipe 33 has an external thread, an adapter portion 34 of the valve 29 being screwed thereon. The diameter of the adapter portion 34 is dimensioned such that it fills the through-opening 25 over the entire cross section thereof and thus keeps the relatively warm air of the dispenser niche 20 away from the base of the container lower part 31 and thus minimizes the thermal transmission from this air to the contents of the beverage container 22.
The adapter portion 34 has a base plate 35 which covers the lower end of the outlet pipe 33 and in the screwed-on state the contents of the beverage container 22 are located on the upper face thereof. A connecting element 37 extends through a central opening 36 of the base plate 35. The connecting element in this exemplary embodiment is a pin. A cap 38 is screwed onto the upper end of the pin 37 and a helical spring 39 is resiliently compressed between the cap 38 and the upper face of the base plate 35. A circular disk-shaped closing body 40 is fastened to a central portion of the pin 37 and, by the tensioning of the helical spring 39, the closing body is held in an annular manner around the opening 36, pressed sealingly against a valve seat 41 on the lower face of the base plate 35. The valve seat 41 is surrounded in an annular manner by a projection 42 which protrudes downwardly from the base plate 35.
The lower end of the pin 37 forms an actuating portion 58, a cup-shaped element 43 being fastened to the lower end thereof. In the mounted state, the element 43 protrudes from above into the dispenser niche 20. A through-passage for the drawn-off contents of the container 22 is formed on the base of the element 43. The through-passage—optionally formed by a plurality of individual openings—is located outside the cutting plane of
The control paddle 45, which is also shown in section in
The position of the pivotal point 60 on the valve seat 41 is not fixed by the construction of the valve 29 but merely by the direction in which the element 43 is pressed to the side. Therefore, the correct functioning of the valve 29 is not dependent on how far it is screwed onto the outlet pipe 33; it functions in any orientation and, therefore, is always able to be screwed to a sufficient extent as required for a sealed connection on the outlet pipe 33.
When the empty container 22 has been removed, it may be dismantled by a few hand turns into individual parts which may be easily cleaned in a dishwasher. In particular on the valve 29 after it has been unscrewed from the container lower part 31, the cap 38 is unscrewed from the pin 37, whereupon the pin 37 together with the closing body 40 are released from the adapter portion 34 and all surfaces which have come into contact with a drink and/or liquid are exposed in order to be washed. The cup-shaped element 43 may also be unscrewed from the pin 37 in order to simplify access to the interior of the cup-shaped element 43 which is substantially closed by the closing body 40 when in use.
The through-openings 25 in the base plate 24 also unavoidably form a weak point in the thermal insulation, in comparison with the foam layer of the door 3 through which they extend, but this is of little consequence in the refrigeration appliance according to the invention, since the cover 5 prevents a free exchange of air between the dispenser niche 20 and the surroundings of the refrigeration appliance and, for this reason, when the cover 5 for access to the dispenser niche 20 is not pivoted to the side, a considerably lower temperature is present in said dispenser niche than in the surroundings.
In order to achieve a temperature difference which is as great as possible between the dispenser niche 20 and the surroundings, the cover 5 itself may be provided with a foamed thermally insulating layer 48 (see
A first of these details is that the arrangement of the closing body 40 and the cap 38 is exchanged. The closing body 40 is located in this case on an end of the pin 37 facing the container 22; the cap 38 acted upon by the helical spring 39, however, is remote from the container so that the helical spring 39 is not continuously in contact with the contents of the container.
According to a second detail, the cap 38 and the cup-shaped element 43 are joined to form a single component.
According to a third detail, instead of the cap 38 the closing body 40 is screwed to the pin 37.
Fourth, the adapter portion 34 is dispensed with, the base plate 35 on which the valve seat 41′ is located and the projection 42 engaging in the cup-shaped element 43 being in this case integral components of the container 22. Each of these features contributes to the extent to which the projection of the valve 29 downwardly from a base 61 of the container 22 may be reduced.
Fifth, a plurality of support feet 62 are integrally formed on the base 61, for example in this case in the form of L-shaped profiles arranged on the corners of the base 61. The support feet 62 protrude sufficiently far downward that the valve 29 is positioned entirely between said feet. The container 22, therefore, may be placed on a table, for example, in order to fill it from above without the valve 29 being able to open under the load of the container contents.
A short tubular outlet pipe 33 is integrally formed on the base 61 of the container lower part 31. A lower end of the outlet pipe 33 forms a valve seat 41′ of a valve 29′. Around the outlet pipe 33 extends a sleeve 63 which is also joined to the base 61 in one piece. The sleeve 63 has an elongated bottom surface. Two side walls 64 of the sleeve 63 extend parallel to one another in the longitudinal direction. In each case they have a downwardly open cutout 65.
Two ribs 66 protrude from the base 61 on both sides of the side walls. The ribs 66 have a hook-shaped cross section and together define two grooves 67 which are open toward the side walls 64 and extend in the longitudinal direction.
A third hook-shaped rib 68 is arranged transversely to the ribs 66 opposite a front wall 69 of the sleeve and defines a groove 70 which is open toward the front wall 69. The spacing between said rib and the front wall 69 is larger than that between the ribs 66 and the side walls 64 opposing said ribs.
Support feet 62 are integrally formed on the edges of the base 61. The support feet 62 could, for example, be L-shaped profiles arranged on the corners of the base 61, as mentioned with reference to
The cutouts 65 divide the sleeve 63 into two halves, one placed toward the middle of the base 61 which receives the outlet pipe 33 and one adjacent to an edge of the base 61. The latter half provides space for a helical spring 39.
The cutouts 65 are provided in order to receive a shaft 71 of a two-armed lever 72. Two lever arms 73, 74 protrude from a central portion of the shaft 71. When the shaft 71 is placed in the cutouts 65, both lever arms 73, 74 are located inside the sleeve 63. The lever arm 73 and a sealing ring 75 mounted thereon form a closing body 40 of the valve 29′. The helical spring 39 compressed between the base 61 and the lever arm 74 holds the closing body 40 pressed against the valve seat 41′.
Two further lever arms 76 are integrally formed on the ends of the shaft 71 protruding on both sides of the sleeve 63 over the side walls 64, and which, as described in more detail below, cooperate with the control paddle 45 of the dispenser niche 20.
An adapter portion 34′ ensures that the valve 29′ and the container 22 are held together. The adapter portion 34′ has in this case the shape of an elongated box with an open upper face, longitudinal walls 77, front walls 78, 79 and a base plate 80 in which an outlet pipe 81 is located. The box is dimensioned in order to receive the sleeve 63 with clearance in its longitudinal direction. On the longitudinal walls 77 of the box are located two short springs 82, a further spring 83 being located on the front wall 79 remote from the observer in
When the front wall 79 of the adapter portion 34′ and the front wall 69 of the sleeve 63 come into contact with one another, the adapter portion 34′ may be slipped sufficiently far over the sleeve 63 that its walls 77, 78 come into contact with the base 61. By the subsequent displacement of the adapter portion 34′ in the longitudinal direction, the springs 82 spring back into the grooves 67 and the spring 83 springs back into the groove 70. Thus the adapter portion 34′ is anchored on the container 22.
In order to dismantle and clean the valve 29′, it is sufficient to displace the adapter portion 34′ so that the engagement between the springs 82, 83 and 67 and 70 is released again.
In the refrigeration appliance shown in
The lateral edge 55 of the cover remote from the fittings 54 in this case is linear. A handle groove 18 is formed in a flank 56 of the door 4 located behind the edge 55 in the closed position, and a projection 19 which extends between the handle groove 18 and the front face of the door 4 is interrupted in a central portion 57. If a user grips around the edge 55 level with this central portion 57, the door 4 is not grasped so that only the cover 5 is able to be opened. If, however, the user grips around the edge 55 above or below the central portion 57, the rear face of the cover 5 is not grasped, since it is concealed by the projection 19. In this case, the user is only able to grip with the fingers behind the projection 19 in the handle groove 18 and the entire door subassembly is pivoted away from the body 2.
The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2016 221 210 | Oct 2016 | DE | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5142610 | Augustine | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5305927 | Caveza | Apr 1994 | A |
| 5593067 | Shaw | Jan 1997 | A |
| 5678737 | White | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5857596 | Lee | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5862952 | Lee | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5881930 | Lee | Mar 1999 | A |
| 6126046 | Baculy | Oct 2000 | A |
| 7014759 | Radford | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7077290 | Bethuy | Jul 2006 | B2 |
| 7472807 | Black | Jan 2009 | B1 |
| 9868626 | Ench | Jan 2018 | B2 |
| 20060196365 | Garman | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060243754 | Rackwitz | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20090038330 | Lee | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| 20090107166 | Sowers | Apr 2009 | A1 |
| 20110259033 | Froehlich | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20150239725 | Watts | Aug 2015 | A1 |
| 20160370104 | Yang | Dec 2016 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 103148665 | Jun 2013 | CN |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180118548 A1 | May 2018 | US |
