DISTRIBUTION UNIT OF A REFRIGERATOR AND ASSOCIATED REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

A refrigerator, including a distribution unit and a recess that has a rear wall. The rear wall includes a removable cover; and the refrigerator further includes at least one lead-guiding device that is provided in a region behind the removable cover towards the rear wall.

Description

The present invention relates to a distribution unit of a refrigerator, comprising a recess with a removable rear wall that is equipped with a cover. The distribution unit is used primarily for the distribution of water and ice cubes or crushed ice.

A refrigerator distribution unit of the type in question is described in DE 10 2004 013 432 A1. A refrigerator door comprising a dispenser is disclosed therein. Said dispenser comprises an outer shell which determines its external appearance. A first assembly frame and a second assembly frame are assembled on the two lateral ends of the refrigerator door, featuring a first assembly slot and a second assembly slot which are formed therein such that they face each other longitudinally. The dispenser is removably connected to the front side of the outer shell and comprises a housing, wherein said housing determines the external appearance of the dispenser and has a hollow section. Excluding an area in which the dispenser is installed, an external plate section is connected to the front side of the outer shell in order to determine the appearance of the refrigerator door.

In addition to an optically attractive exterior of the cover itself, it is also important to ensure that any installation components are not obvious to the user. Until now, therefore, all installations have been done from a housing interior of the distribution unit, in order that the installations are concealed. In a repair situation, it is however disadvantageous that the installations are performed in the interior of the housing, because the appliance must be opened and resource-intensive disassembly and assembly steps must be carried out in order to resolve the fault or to replace defective installation components.

The object of the invention is to provide an easily accessible mounting location for installation components, which is nonetheless largely concealed.

The object is achieved by a refrigerator having the features in claim 1. By virtue of a lead-guiding device, which is also easily rendered invisible by the cover, electrical leads or other leads can be securely installed in their correct positions. By virtue of the arrangement of the lead-guiding device behind the cover, said cover acts as paneling for the lead-guiding device at the same time, such that paneling parts can be economized.

As a result of equipping the rear wall with at least one lead-guiding device, the installations between an upper region of the distribution unit and a lower drip shelf can be guided behind a cover. In combination with the removability of the cover, the lead-guiding devices can easily be made accessible thus. It is particularly advantageous to integrate the lead-guiding device in the rear wall. The lead-guiding device is preferably formed in the rear wall as a unitary part in this case. Alternatively, the lead-guiding device can also be provided in the gap between the cover and the rear wall or also on the rear side of the cover. It is particularly advantageous if the lead-guiding device is integrated in the rear side.

In the context of the inventive distribution unit for water and ice cubes or crushed ice, the installation components and in particular the electrical leads of a water level sensor and a water outlet hose are tucked away in a manner that is as far as possible invisible to the user. The water outlet hose is used to guide drops of water or melted water, e.g. from an ice cube storage container which is arranged above the distribution unit, downwards into a drip shelf in a hidden manner, without any drops of water being discharged visibly. The hose that is required for this purpose is also guided downwards in a hidden manner, i.e. invisible to the user. The lead-guiding device is integrated into the rear wall and in particular can form a unitary part with said rear wall.

In this case, the lead-guiding device can be formed by a groove-shaped installation channel which is open towards the cover. The installations are therefore no longer guided in the interior of the appliance, i.e. no longer on an inner side of the rear wall facing away from the cover. Instead, the groove-shaped installation channel can be arranged on that side of the rear wall which faces towards the cover. As a result of this, the installations which are guided in the groove-shaped installation channel or channels are freely accessible immediately after the cover is removed, i.e. can easily be reached for the purpose of resolving faults such as hose blockages or replacing defective electrical leads, for example. The easier access also means simpler disassembly and assembly of the installation components. In order to keep the leads and installation channels hidden, they are lined by the cover. The hoses or electrical leads can therefore be held such that they run between rear wall and cover.

For the purpose of holding the leads, provision can be made for retaining tabs which at least partially cover an open longitudinal side of the installation channel. The retaining tabs therefore form hooks, behind which the cable or cables can be inserted. The retaining tabs or hooks can be made of plastic and, in particular, can be produced as a unitary part with the rear wall. In order to fasten the leads behind the retaining tabs, catch tappets which surround the leads can be provided at the free ends of the retaining tabs, or a plurality of retaining tabs which open in opposite directions can be arranged at intervals one above the other.

The groove-shaped installation channel can be provided for guiding electrical leads of a liquid level sensor. The liquid level sensor has two metallic contact pins which extend into the drip shelf. Starting from these two contact pins, a shared electric lead or two separate electric leads can extend from the drip shelf upwards to an analysis unit. The groove-shaped installation channel is used to create a free space, in order that the electrical leads can be guided between rear wall and cover.

A lead-guiding device can be formed by means of at least one holder for a cable strap. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more leads can be fastened to the rear wall by means of cable straps. The cable straps can replace the retaining tabs which are otherwise required.

The holder can be formed by two openings in the rear wall, through which the cable strap is guided. As a result of configuring the holder as just two openings in the rear wall in each case, the leads or hoses can be held on either side of the rear wall, either facing the cover or facing away from the cover. In this way, the cable straps have the advantage that the lead or the hose can be disassembled by severing the cable strap from a front side of the rear wall when the cover is removed, and the thus released leads or hoses can be pulled out (e.g. in a vertical direction) without having to open the housing of the appliance.

The holder for guiding the lead can therefore be configured on a rear wall side which faces away from the cover. This can be advantageous in particular if the lead is a hose for discharging water, said hose generally having a larger diameter than an electrical lead due to its function. It is therefore possible that the hose has a diameter that is too large for it to be guided between rear wall and cover. It is then effective to have the hose running down a rear side of the rear wall, i.e. facing away from the cover, since there is generally more space available there. Even if the hose is held on the inner side of the rear wall, it can nonetheless be released easily because the cable straps still remain accessible from a front side of the rear wall via the recess of the distribution unit.

Consequently, the holder can be provided in particular for guiding a hose for the discharge of water from an upper region of the distribution unit into a drip shelf.

In all of the embodiments according to the invention, the cover can be formed by a stainless steel sheet that hides the at least one lead-guiding device.

The invention relates in particular to refrigerators, in particular for domestic purposes, which have a distribution unit according to the invention.

An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to a distribution unit which is illustrated by way of example in the figures. Further general features and advantages of the present invention are also derived from the detailed description of this specific exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a distribution unit of a refrigerator for domestic purposes in a furniture door;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the distribution unit with cover removed;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the distribution unit as per FIG. 2 along the line A-A with leads installed;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view through the distribution unit as per FIG. 2 along the line B-B without leads;

FIG. 5 shows a magnified perspective partial view with a device for holding the leads at a retaining tab;

FIG. 6 shows a magnified perspective partial view with a holder for a cable strap.

A distribution unit 1 as per FIG. 1 has a water dispenser and/or ice dispenser 2, which is arranged on a rear side of a furniture door 3. The furniture door 3 has an opening for a recess 4 of the distribution unit 1. The recess 4 is surrounded by a recess frame 5. A delivery chute 6 for either ice or water is arranged at an upper end of the recess 4. A drip strainer 7 which covers a drip shelf 8 is located at a lower end of the recess 4. Between delivery chute 6 and drip shelf 8, a cover 9 extends into the recess. The cover 9 has a concave section 10 and two opposing edge sections 11a and 11b. The edge section 11a, shown on the left in FIG. 1, lies on a first front seating surface 12a of the recess frame 5. The edge section 11b, shown on the right in FIG. 1, lies on a second front seating surface 12b of the recess frame 5.

In FIG. 2, the distribution unit 1 is shown without a furniture door 3 and with cover 9 removed. A rear wall 13 of the distribution unit is therefore substantially illustrated. The rear wall 13 is curved in a trough-shaped manner, corresponding to the shape of the recess 4. The rear wall 13 extends vertically in a groove-shaped manner in this way, i.e. the rear wall 13 has a C-shaped horizontal cross section. A lead-guiding device 14a runs vertically along an inner side of the rear wall 13, in the left-hand half of the rear wall 13 in FIG. 2. The lead-guiding device 14a is used to support two electrical leads 15 and 16 which are electrically connected to a liquid level sensor 17. The liquid level sensor 17 comprises a first contact sensor part 18 and a second contact sensor part 19. The two contact sensor parts 18 and 19 are arranged in the region of the drip shelf 8. The contact sensor parts 18 and 19 terminate at a height H above the floor 20 of the drip shelf 8, determining the maximum level. Extending from the two contact sensor parts 18 and 19, the two electrical leads 15 and 16 run parallel with each other in a vertical direction upwards along the lead-guiding device 14a. The lead-guiding device 14a has a groove-shaped installation channel 21. The installation channel 21 should have a shape which defines a gap in which the electrical leads 15 and 16 have sufficient space to be guided upwards between the rear wall 13 and the cover 9. In order that the electrical leads 15 and 16 remain in the lead-guiding device 14a even during assembly, i.e. in order that they do not slip, provision is made for a plurality of retaining tabs 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d. One possible shape for a retaining tab 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d is shown in FIG. 5 in a magnified detailed view. The retaining tabs 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d project alternately from a right-hand edge 23 and a left-hand edge 24 of the groove-shaped installation channel 21, and towards the other side in each case. During assembly of the electrical leads 15 and 16, they are inserted in the groove-shaped installation channel 21 by means of each electrical lead 15 and 16 in turn being first introduced or squeezed behind one retaining tab 22a, then into the second retaining tab 22b and then into the further retaining tabs 22c and 22d. Instead of two electrical leads 15 and 16, provision can also be made for a single lead which can have one or more electrical wires.

A further lead-guiding device 14b runs vertically along the inner side of the rear wall 13, in the right-hand half of the rear wall 13 in FIG. 2. The lead-guiding device 14b is used to support a hose 29. The hose 29 can be used in particular for the discharge of water, e.g. condensation water from an ice cube container, from an upper region of the distribution unit into the drip shelf 8. The lead-guiding device 14b has e.g. a first holder 28a and a second holder 28b for a respective cable strap 25a and 25b. In addition, each holder 28a, 28b has two openings 26a, 26b and 27a, 27b respectively. The openings 26a, 26b, 27a, 27b can be circular apertures in the rear wall 13. In addition, each opening 26a, 26b, 27a, 27b has a diameter which is at least somewhat larger than the width of the cable strap 25a, 25b. For the purpose of fastening the hose 23, the cable straps 25a, 25b are first pushed through the two openings 26a, 26b or 27a, 27b and guided around the hose. The manner in which the hose 29 is fastened to the supports 28a and 28b by means of the cable straps 25a, 25b is shown more clearly in a magnified detailed view in FIG. 6. The hose 29 terminates in a lower hose opening 30 just above the drip shelf 8.

FIG. 3 shows the distribution unit as per FIG. 2 along the line A-A with leads installed. In the mounting location that is shown, the cover 9 is situated in its operating position in front of the rear wall 13. The drip shelf 8 has a first recess-like bulge 31, which forms a space for accommodating the two contact sensor parts 18 and 19 of the liquid level sensor 17. Opposite this first bulge 31 is a second bulge 32, which forms a filler neck for the discharge of water emerging from the hose opening 30 into the drip shelf 8.

FIG. 4 shows the distribution unit as per FIG. 2 along the line B-B without leads. FIG. 4 shows a higher cross section than the section along the line A-A. A first lead-guiding device 14a in the rear wall 13 is illustrated on the left-hand side, and a second lead-guiding device 14b in the rear wall 13 is illustrated on the right-hand side. Above the drip shelf, the lead-guiding devices 14a and 14b have groove-shaped installation channels 21a, 21b for the electrical leads 15 and 16 and the hose 29. The groove-shaped installation channels 21a, 21b form gaps for guiding the electrical leads 15 and 16 and the hose 29 between the rear wall 13 and the cover 9 or a housing 33 of the distribution unit 1.

FIG. 5 shows a magnified perspective partial view of the device for holding the electrical leads 15 and 16 at one of the retaining tabs 22a. A first partial section of the rear wall 13 is shown. The retaining tab 22a is molded onto the rear wall 13. In order to prevent undercuts, the rear wall 13 is equipped with a window 34, such that the rear wall and the retaining tab 22a can be manufactured as a unitary part using tools of simple design, e.g. by means of the plastic injection molding method. Starting from a longitudinal edge 35 of the window 34, a retaining section 36 extends perpendicularly outwards relative to the plane of the rear wall 13. The actual tab section 37 extends therefrom, approximately at right angles, on a plane that is parallel with the plane of the rear wall 13. A gap 38 for accommodating the leads 15 and 16 is therefore created between the rear wall 13 and the tab section 37.

FIG. 6 shows a magnified perspective partial view of the holder 28a for one of the cable straps 25a. A second partial section of the rear wall 13 is illustrated. The two circular openings 26a and 26b are made in the rear wall 13. Using the plastic injection molding method for manufacture, the openings 26a and 26b can already be incorporated in the rear wall at low cost in this work stage. The cable strap 25a is threaded first through the first opening 26a from one side of the rear wall 13, and then through the second opening 26b from the other side of the rear wall 13. The hose 29 is then placed in position and fastened to the rear wall 13 by means of tightening the cable strap 25a.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A refrigerator, comprising: a distribution unit;a recess having a rear wall, the rear wall including a removable cover; andat least one lead-guiding device provided in a region behind the removable cover towards the rear wall.

16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the rear wall has the lead-guiding device.

17. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lead-guiding device is integrated in the rear wall.

18. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lead-guiding device is connected to the rear wall as a unitary part.

19. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lead-guiding device is provided on a rear side of the removable cover facing the rear wall.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the lead-guiding device is integrated in the removable cover.

21. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lead-guiding device is a groove-shaped installation channel that is open towards the removable cover.

22. The refrigerator of claim 21, further comprising retaining tabs to hold leads and to at least partially cover an open longitudinal side of the groove-shaped installation channel.

23. The refrigerator of claim 21, further comprising a liquid level sensor having electrical leads, wherein the groove-shaped installation channel is configured to guide the electrical leads of the liquid level sensor.

24. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the lead-guiding device is formed by at least one holder for a cable strap.

25. The refrigerator of claim 24, wherein the at least one holder is formed by two openings in the rear wall through which the cable strap is guided.

26. The refrigerator of claim 24, wherein the at least one holder is configured on a side of the rear wall that faces away from the removable cover.

27. The refrigerator of claim 24, wherein the at least one holder is configured to guide a hose from an upper region of the distribution unit into a drip shelf in order to discharge water.

28. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the removable cover is formed by a stainless steel sheet which hides the at least one lead-guiding device.