Claims
- 1. A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet having at least a first, a second, and a third compartment of which at least two are maintained at different temperatures;
- a cooling system having a single evaporator for cooling the air in the refrigerator;
- a duct system fluidly connecting the first, second and third compartments; and
- an air flow controller having
- a blower for forcing air over the evaporator and the air flow controller directing the forced air through the duct system to the first, second, and third compartments as needed to maintain their respective temperatures;
- a first fan disposed in said duct, said first fan operable at a first speed for moving air into the first compartment, and, at a second speed, lower than said first speed, for preventing air flow out of the first compartment; and
- a second fan disposed in said duct, said second fan operable at a first speed for moving air into said second compartment and at a second speed, lower than said first speed, for preventing air flow out of said second compartment.
- 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said duct system has a first inlet portion for supplying air into said first compartment and a second inlet for supplying air into said second compartment, said first fan is disposed adjacent said first inlet, and said second fan is disposed adjacent said second inlet.
- 3. A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet having at least a first, a second, and a third compartment of which at least two are maintained at different temperatures;
- a cooling system having
- a single evaporator for cooling the air in the refrigerator;
- a compressor fluidly interconnected with said evaporator for moving refrigerant through said evaporator;
- a latching relay for selectively connecting said compressor to a power supply;
- a first switch for selectively connecting said first fan to a power supply;
- a second switch for selectively connecting said second fan to a power supply; and
- control means for receiving user input and operating said latching relay to energize or de-energize said compressor and for firing said first and second switches such that said first and second fans can be selectively operated at said first and second speeds;
- a duct system fluidly connecting the first, second, and third compartments; and
- an air flow controller having a blower for forcing air over the evaporator and the air flow controller directing the forced air through the duct system to the first, second, and third compartments as needed to maintain their respective temperatures.
- 4. A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet having at least a first, a second, and a third compartment of which at least two are maintained at different temperatures;
- a cooling system having a single evaporator for cooling the air in the refrigerator;
- a duct system fluidly connecting the first, second, and third compartments; and
- an air flow controller having a blower for forcing air over the evaporator and the air flow controller directing the forced air through the duct system to the first, second, and third compartments as needed to maintain their respective temperatures; said air flow controller comprises a single proportional baffle to proportionally direct the cooled air from the evaporator, through the duct system, to the compartments as needed.
- 5. A refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the proportional baffle comprises a movable deflector positioned in the duct system near the outflow of the forced air and between at least two of the first, second, and third compartments to proportionally deflect the forced air between the first, second, and third compartments.
- 6. A refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the air flow controller includes a microprocessor control connected to a temperature sensor in at least one of the first, second, and third compartments and a motor connected to the deflector, wherein the position of the deflector relative to the outflow of forced air is adjusted by the microprocessor control in response to the at least one temperature sensor to alter the proportion of forced air between the first, second, and third compartments.
- 7. A refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the duct system comprises a first portion extending between the forced air outflow and the first compartment, a second portion extending between the forced air outflow and the third compartment, and a return portion extending between the first portion and the second compartment, and wherein the deflector is positioned at the junction of the first and second portions of the duct away from the return portion.
- 8. A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet having at least a first, a second, and a third compartment of which at least two are maintained at different temperatures;
- a cooling system having a single evaporator for cooling the air in the refrigerator;
- a duct system fluidly connecting the first, second, and third compartments; and
- an air flow controller having a blower for forcing air over the evaporator and the air flow controller directing the forced air through the duct system to the first second, and third compartments as needed to maintain their respective temperatures; said air flow controller comprising a proportional baffle to proportionally direct the cooled air from the evaporator, through the duct system to the compartments as needed; and
- said blower is positioned at the outflow of the forced air and within the duct system, and the proportional baffle comprises a movable air dam movably mounted to the blower, whereby moving the air dam proportionally splits the forced air outflow where it is directed to the first, second, and third compartments through the duct system.
- 9. A refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the air dam comprises a disk having an upstanding wall extending along a portion of the circumference of the disk.
- 10. A refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the duct system comprises a first portion extending between the forced air outflow and the first compartment, a second portion extending between the forced air outflow and the third compartment, and a return portion extending between the first portion and the second compartment, and wherein the air dam is positioned at the junction of the first and second portions of the duct away from the return portion.
- 11. A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet having at least a first, a second, and a third compartment of which at least two are maintained at different temperatures;
- a cooling system having a single evaporator for cooling the air in the refrigerator and said evaporator is operable at a plurality of different pressures;
- a duct system fluidly connecting the first second, and third compartments; and
- an air flow controller having a blower for forcing air over the evaporator and the air flow controller directing the forced air through the duct system to the first, second, and third compartments as needed to maintain their respective temperatures.
- 12. The refrigerator according to claim 4 wherein said baffle further comprises:
- a main damper;
- means for rotating said main damper for directing said air flow to said first or third compartments;
- a slide damper supported adjacent said main damper and having a cam-like engagement with said main damper such that rotation of said main damper operates to laterally move said slide damper such that said slide damper can be positioned to direct air flow to said second compartment.
- 13. A refrigerator, comprising:
- at least three separately cooled compartments;
- an evaporator chamber having an outlet;
- an evaporator disposed in said evaporator chamber;
- means for moving air over said evaporator and through said outlet;
- a single baffle means disposed at said outlet for selectively directing independent air flow to said at least three separately cooled compartments.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/815,261, filed Mar. 12, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,512.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5209073 |
Thomas et al. |
May 1993 |
|
5377498 |
Cur et al. |
Jan 1995 |
|
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
815261 |
Mar 1997 |
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