Patent Grant
9844279
This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of Turkish patent application TR 2014/15403, filed Dec. 18, 2014; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates to a household appliance and, in particular, to a beverage bottle storage cabinet, with a beverage bottle receiving space delimited by an upper wall, and with an illuminating device for illuminating the beverage bottle receiving space.
Household appliances for receiving beverage bottles are known. In this context so-called wine bottle storage cabinets are known, in which the appropriate bottles can be stored. With these household appliances it is usually provided that a door for closing the beverage bottle receiving space is transparent so that the beverage bottles stored therein are at least partially visible even when the door is closed. Usually also an illumination can be activated permanently or intermittently so that the beverage bottles stored therein can be illuminated and seen from outside when the door is closed.
Besides, also household appliances in the form of domestic cooling appliances are known, which besides a cooling space also have a separate compartment and thus a beverage bottle receiving space, in which beverage bottles can be stored and cooled. Moreover, with such domestic cooling appliances it is in particular provided that the entire receiving space additionally has a second partial volume, in which other foodstuffs can be stored.
However, in the known embodiments the illumination of the beverage bottles is limited in that these can be illuminated only partially and thus insufficiently homogenously, i.e. visibility is restricted.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a domestic appliance such as a beverage bottle storage cabinet with specific bottle illumination which overcomes the above-mentioned and other disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which provides for an improved illumination of beverage bottles stored therein.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a household appliance, comprising:
The household appliance according to the invention is in particular formed as a beverage bottle storage cabinet. The household appliance comprises a beverage bottle receiving space that is delimited by an upper wall. Besides, the household appliance also has an illuminating device for illuminating the beverage bottle receiving space. An primarily important concept of the invention is to be seen in that the upper wall has at least one light transmission opening through which light of a light module of the illuminating device can be irradiated into the beverage bottle receiving space. Adjacent to the light transmission opening there is a distance adapter, by means of which the further light module arranged thereon is spaced from the wall outside the beverage bottle receiving space and by means of which light from the light module can be directed to the light transmission opening and by means of which beverage bottles in the in the beverage bottle receiving space are illuminated. By means of such an embodiment an improved targeted illumination of beverage bottles arranged in the beverage receiving space is achieved. Thus, the illuminating device is improved quite specifically for the illumination of beverage bottles. By means of the arrangement of the light module outside this beverage bottle receiving space and in such a way that it no longer extends into this receiving space the available space is not reduced and the insertion and removal of beverage bottles is made easier. A bumping against the light module is as it were prevented. Besides by means of this specific positioning of the light module light distribution and light irradiation into the beverage bottle receiving space and to the beverage bottles are more homogenous so that the beverage bottles are illuminated more evenly and homogenously even if the beverage bottle receiving space is filled up to quite an extent, i.e. with a plurality of bottles. Besides by means of this positioning of the light module outside the beverage bottle receiving space and in addition by means of the distance adapter which is spaced from the upper wall a blinding of a person looking into the beverage bottle receiving space is prevented.
It is preferably provided that an inner side of the distance adapter opens out from the light module towards the light transmission opening like a funnel. By means of this embodiment light distribution and light irradiation into the receiving space are again enhanced, since more homogenous light irradiation is achieved and by means of this embodiment of the distance adapter a widening light cone is irradiated into the beverage bottle receiving space or generated.
It is preferably provided that the distance adapter is formed as a separate component, which is fastened to this upper wall. In this context, for example an adhesive connection or a welded connection can be envisaged. It is also possible that the distance adapter is screwed to this upper wall. Other connections are possible as well.
It is preferably provided that the distance adapter is made of plastic. This embodiment can be made in one piece, for example as an injection moulded component. Besides, by means of this embodiment the distance adapter is highly weight-minimized.
It is preferably provided that in its bottom, which faces away from the beverage bottle receiving space, the distance adapter has a continuous hole, which is delimited by a circumferential abutment flange on which the light module is arranged. For one thing, by means of this embodiment an arrangement requiring minimum space is achieved; for another, a mechanically stable fastening of the light module to the distance adapter is enabled.
It is preferably provided that a plane featuring the abutment flange is not parallel to a plane of a front flange of the distance adapter facing the wall. It is particularly provided that these two planes are arranged at an angle of between 30° and 70°, in particular of between 30° and 50°, to each other.
In a particularly advantageous manner a positioning of the light module can be achieved which can emit light diagonally towards the front and downwards into the beverage bottle receiving space. Thus, on the one hand a blinding of a user who looks at the beverage bottles is prevented; on the other hand, however, a very bright and evenly illuminated beverage bottle receiving space can be obtained.
It is preferably provided that the plane of the front flange is a horizontal plane and the plane of the abutment flange, viewed in a depth direction of the household appliance, joins a rear edge of the wall. Thus, a very even positioning perpendicular to a horizontal viewing direction of an observer, which is oriented in a depth direction of the household appliance, is achieved since thus a line of intersection, as it were, between the two planes runs in a straight line in a width direction of the household appliance, which provides for a particularly even and bright as well as low-glare illumination when the beverage bottles are viewed from the front, i.e. when an observer looks into the beverage bottle receiving space.
It is preferably provided that the light module is arranged such that a main radiation direction of the light emitted by the light module is perpendicular to the plane featuring the abutment flange. This further contributes to the desired homogenous and extensively even illumination of the beverage bottle receiving space.
It can be provided that the light module is arranged at the abutment flange via latching. To this end, the light module in particular has a housing, to which a plurality of latching elements are formed in one piece, which in a mounted state abut on an outer side of the abutment flange facing away from the beverage bottle receiving space and thus, viewed from the beverage bottle receiving space, engage behind this abutment flange. By means of this embodiment a particularly mechanically stable connection with the abutment flange can be created. Additionally and in particular, by means of this embodiment of the housing of the light module an abutting of the light module on the abutment flange of the distance adapter is achieved on both sides so that here as well a clamping fit of a kind is achieved, as it were.
It is preferably provided that an inner side of the distance adapter is stepped. Thus, specific and individualized light irradiation into the beverage bottle receiving space can be effected.
In this context it can be provided that these steps are formed completely circumferential around a longitudinal axis of the distance adapter and thus the homogeneity of the optical effect of these steps is increased.
It is preferably provided that in an alternative embodiment an inner side of the distance adapter is stepless.
In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the upper wall is a shelf which separates the beverage bottle receiving space from a further receiving space for food which viewed in a vertical direction of the household appliance is formed on top of it.
Further features of the invention are apparent from the claims, the figures and the description of the figures. The features and features combinations previously mentioned in the description and the features and feature combinations mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or shown in the figures alone are usable not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or else alone, without leaving the scope of the invention. Thus, also embodiments are to be regarded as comprised and disclosed by the invention, which are not explicitly shown and explained in the figures, but which derive and producible from the illustrated explanations by separated feature combinations. Also, embodiments and feature combinations are to be regarded as disclosed which thus do not exhibit all features of an originally formulated independent claim.
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 household appliance, in particular beverage bottle storage cabinet with specific bottle illumination, 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.
In the figures identical or functionally equivalent elements are identified with the same reference numerals throughout.
Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to
In the exemplary embodiment shown in
The beverage bottle receiving space 4 is delimited downwards by a bottom 6 and upwards by an upper wall 7. The upper wall 7 can be a fixed wall which cannot be removed; however, it can also be a removable shelf. Preferably, the upper wall 7 is a fixed wall which thus completely separates the beverage bottle receiving space 4 from the further partial volume 5 formed on top of it. To the rear, the entire receiving space 4 is delimited by a rear wall 8. At the front a charging aperture 9 of the beverage bottle receiving space 4 is formed, wherein this charging aperture 9 is closable by a door 10, which in the embodiment illustrated is shown in the closed state. In this context it is provided that the remaining partial volume 5 can also be closed by a front door 11, which can be operated separately from and independently of the door 10.
Preferably, the door 10 is transparent so that to an eye 12 of an observer outside the beverage bottle receiving space 4 visibility of the beverage bottles 13 (
Besides, the household appliance 1 further comprises an illuminating device 14, which is configured and arranged to illuminate the beverage bottle receiving space 4. To this end it is provided that the upper wall 7 has at least one light transmission opening 15, through which light of a light module 16 of the illuminating device 14 can be irradiated into the beverage bottle receiving space 4. Adjacent to the light transmission opening 15 a distance adapter 17 is arranged which is formed as a separate component. The light module 16 is arranged on this distance adapter 17 such that it is spaced from an underside 7a of the wall 7 with an upward offset and thus faces away from the beverage bottle receiving space 4. Moreover, by means of this distance adapter 17 the light emitted by the light module 16 can be directed to the light transmission opening 15 and from there into the beverage bottle receiving space 4 in a targeted manner. As can be seen from the illustration of
As can be seen, rays of light 18 of the light module 16 are emitted diagonally downwards and rearwards into the beverage bottle receiving space 4 and thus so as to face away from the door 10.
In
By way of the recessed placement of the light module 16 also a blinding of the eye 12 is prevented and, also, when the beverage bottle receiving space 4 is inspected in accordance with the position of the eye 12 the light module 16 cannot be directly seen.
As it is shown in
In
In
The distance adapter 17 is made of plastic and formed in one piece. In one embodiment it is envisaged that the inner side 24 (
However, it is also possible to form the inner side 24 is stepless and thus with flat walls.
Advantageously it can be gathered from
As can further be gathered from
To prevent incorrect mounting of the light module on the distance adapter 17, an assembly coding is provided. For this purpose, in the abutment flange 19 recesses 30 are formed into which engaging elements 31 which are formed on the housing 29 engage or through which they extend.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 15403 | Dec 2014 | TR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5508898 | McGovern | Apr 1996 | A |
| 6827463 | Chuang | Dec 2004 | B2 |
| 7588342 | Buelow, II | Sep 2009 | B2 |
| 20100180615 | Linder | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20140254136 | Oraw | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160174733 A1 | Jun 2016 | US |
