Patent Application
20190226748
The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliances, and more particularly to air ducts for directing air within a refrigerator appliance.
Certain appliances, such as a refrigerator appliance, utilize convection cooling systems for cooling one or more chilled chambers. For instance, a common cooling system for a refrigerator appliance includes an evaporator and an air duct. During operations, the air duct may direct a flow of air across the evaporator and to/from the chilled chamber(s). A convective heat transfer between the flow of air and the evaporator generally serves to cool the flow of air before it is directed to the chilled chamber(s). In some such systems, air is recirculated across the evaporator and to at least one chilled chamber. Through this heat transfer, a chilled chamber may be maintained at the desired temperature. In certain conventional refrigerator appliances, the air duct is positioned within a cabinet of the refrigerator appliance and attached to an internal liner that defines the chilled chamber. Insulation may surround the internal liner or air duct.
Challenges often exist with these conventional appliances. As an example, it may be difficult to construct or maintain a suitable seal between an air duct and an internal liner. Gaps may form between the air duct and the internal liner. During operations, air may thus leak from the air duct (e.g., into an undesired portion of the cabinet), decreasing the efficacy and efficiency of the cooling system. If insulation is placed within the cabinet, it is possible for foam to enter the air duct (e.g., during assembly) and hinder the flow of air through the duct. Some existing systems utilize multi-piece gaskets or O-rings fitted between an air duct and liner. However, these systems may be difficult to assemble and prone to defects. Moreover, these systems may increase the overall cost and complexity of the appliance.
Therefore, there is a need for further improvements to the cooling systems of various appliances. It would be advantageous to provide an air duct or appliance with one or more features to address the above-identified issues. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide an air duct that can easily establish a suitable seal between the air duct and a mating surface.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet, an internal liner, and an air duct. The internal liner may be positioned within the cabinet and define a chilled chamber. The air duct may include a duct body and a plurality of resilient fingers. The duct body may extend between a first end to a second end. The duct body may define a fluid exchange path between the first end and the second end. The duct body may further define a first fluid opening at the first end in fluid communication with the fluid exchange path. The plurality of resilient fingers may be radially-spaced apart about the fluid opening. The plurality of resilient fingers may extend integrally from the duct body against the internal liner at the first end of the duct body.
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an air duct positionable within a refrigerator appliance is provided. The air duct may include a duct body and a plurality of resilient fingers. The duct body may define a fluid exchange path between the first end and the second end. The first fluid opening at the first end in fluid communication with the fluid exchange path. The plurality of resilient fingers may be radially-spaced apart about the fluid opening. The plurality of resilient fingers may extend integrally from the duct body against an internal liner of the refrigerator appliance at the first end of the duct body.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
The terms “includes” and “including” are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Similarly, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The terms “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components.
Turning to the figures,
As shown, cabinet 102 generally defines chilled chambers for receipt of food items for storage. In particular, cabinet 102 defines a fresh food chamber 122 proximal to bottom 106 of cabinet 102 and a freezer chamber 124 arranged proximal to top 104 of cabinet 102. Freezer chamber 124 is spaced apart from fresh food chamber 122 along the vertical direction V. As such, refrigerator appliance 100 is generally referred to as a top mount refrigerator. It is recognized, however, that the benefits of the present disclosure apply to other types and styles of refrigerator appliances such as, for example, a bottom mount refrigerator appliance or a side-by-side style refrigerator appliance. Consequently, the description set forth herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any aspect to any particular appliance configuration.
According to the illustrated embodiment, various storage components are mounted within fresh food chamber 122 to facilitate storage of food items therein as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In particular, the storage components include bins 170, drawers 172, and shelves 174 that are mounted within fresh food chamber 122. Bins 170, drawers 172, and shelves 174 are positioned to receive of food items (e.g., beverages, solid food items, etc.) and may assist with organizing such food items. As an example, drawers 172 can receive fresh food items (e.g., vegetables, fruits, or cheeses) and increase the useful life of such fresh food items. In some embodiments, a lateral mullion 116 is positioned within cabinet 102 and separating freezer chamber 124 and the fresh food chamber 122 along a vertical direction V.
A refrigerator door 128 is rotatably hinged to an edge of cabinet 102 for selectively accessing fresh food chamber 122 and extending across at least a portion of fresh food chamber 122. In addition, a freezer door 130 is rotatably hinged above refrigerator door 128 for selectively accessing freezer chamber 124 and extending across at least a portion of freezer chamber 124. Refrigerator door 128 and freezer door 130 are each shown in the closed position in
Operation of the refrigerator appliance 100 can be generally controlled or regulated by a controller 190. In some embodiments, controller 190 is operably coupled to a user interface panel 148 (e.g., mounted within fresh food chamber 122) or various other components of refrigerator appliance 100. In some embodiments, user interface panel 148 provides selections for user manipulation of the operation of refrigerator appliance 100. As an example, user interface panel 148 may provide for selections of temperature settings or specific modes of operation. In response to one or more input signals (e.g., from user manipulation of user interface panel 148 or one or more sensor signals), controller 190 may operate various components of the refrigerator appliance 100 according to the current mode of operation.
Controller 190 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of refrigerator appliance 100. The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH. In some embodiments, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. For certain embodiments, the instructions include a software package configured to operate appliance 100. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. Alternatively, controller 190 may be constructed without using a microprocessor (e.g., using a combination of discrete analog or digital logic circuitry—such as switches, amplifiers, integrators, comparators, flip-flops, AND gates, and the like) to perform control functionality instead of relying upon software.
Controller 190, or portions thereof, may be positioned in a variety of locations throughout refrigerator appliance 100. In example embodiments, controller 190 is located within the user interface panel 148. In other embodiments, the controller 190 may be positioned at any suitable location within refrigerator appliance 100, such as for example within cabinet, a door 128 or 130, etc. Input/output (“I/O”) signals may be routed between controller 190 and various operational components of refrigerator appliance 100. For example, user interface panel 148 may be operably coupled to controller 190 via one or more signal lines or shared communication busses.
As illustrated, controller 190 may be operably coupled to the various components of dispensing assembly 140 and may control operation of the various components. For example, the various valves, switches, etc. may be actuatable based on commands from the controller 190. As discussed, interface panel 148 may additionally be operably coupled to the controller 190. Thus, the various operations may occur based on user input or automatically through controller 190 instruction.
As shown, an ice making assembly or icemaker 152 may be positioned or mounted within freezer chamber 124, along with an optional storage bin 154. Icemaker 152 may be any suitable assembly for generating ice from liquid water, such as a rigid cube, soft-ice, or nugget ice making assembly. Ice storage bin 154 may be positioned to receive or store ice from icemaker 152. In the illustrated embodiments, ice storage bin 154 is positioned below icemaker 152 and receives ice therefrom.
An internal liner 120 generally defines fresh food chamber 122 and freezer chamber 124. Specifically, an inner surface 141 of internal liner 120 may define one or both of fresh food chamber 122 and freezer chamber 124. An opposite outer surface 143 of internal liner 120 may face away from inner surface 143 and the respective fresh food chamber 122 or freezer chamber 124. Internal liner 120 may be formed from a single continuous integral component or, alternatively, from multiple connected pieces.
In the illustrated embodiments, internal liner 120 includes a plurality of walls defining chambers 122, 124. Specifically, internal liner 120 includes a first and a second fresh food sidewall (310 and 312) spaced apart along the lateral direction L, as well as an upper and a lower fresh food wall (314 and 316) spaced apart along the vertical direction V. A rear fresh food wall 318 may join upper fresh food wall 314, lower fresh food wall 316, and fresh food sidewalls 310, 312 to define an internal extreme of fresh food chamber 122 along the transverse direction T (i.e., a point or plane of fresh food chamber 122 most proximal to rear side 114 of cabinet 102). Rear fresh food wall 318 may further be positioned opposite an opening defined between the transverse fresh food walls 310, 312, 314, 316 and selectively covered by door 128. Internal liner 120 may further include a first and a second freezer sidewall (320 and 322) spaced apart along the lateral direction L, as well as an upper and a lower freezer wall (324 and 326) spaced apart along the vertical direction V. A rear freezer wall 328 may join upper freezer wall 324, lower freezer wall 326, and freezer sidewalls 320, 322 to define an internal extreme of freezer chamber 124 along the transverse direction T (i.e., a point or plane of freezer chamber 124 most proximal to rear side 114 of cabinet 102). Rear freezer wall 328 may further be positioned opposite an opening defined between the transverse freezer walls 320, 322, 324, 326 and selectively covered by door 130.
As shown especially in
Turning briefly to
Within sealed cooling system 180, gaseous refrigerant flows into compressor 182, which operates to increase the pressure of the refrigerant. This compression of the refrigerant raises its temperature, which is lowered by passing the gaseous refrigerant through condenser 184. Within condenser 184, heat exchange (e.g., with ambient air) takes place so as to cool the refrigerant and cause the refrigerant to condense to a liquid state.
Expansion device 186 (e.g., a valve, capillary tube, or other restriction device) receives liquid refrigerant from condenser 184. From expansion device 186, the liquid refrigerant enters evaporator 188. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment of
Turning now to
In the illustrated embodiments of
As noted above, air duct 200 may permit fluid communication between freezer chamber 124 and fresh food chamber 122 through fluid exchange path 210A or 210B. A first fluid opening 216A or 216B may be defined at upper end 212 (e.g., in fluid communication with freezer chamber 124). A second fluid opening 218A or 218B may be defined at lower end 214 (e.g., in fluid communication with fresh food chamber 122). Corresponding liner openings are defined through internal liner 120 and aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with one or more of the fluid openings 216A, 216B, 218A, 218B. For instance, a discrete liner opening 220A may be defined through lower freezer wall 326 in axial alignment with a corresponding first fluid opening 216B. Another discrete liner opening 220A may be defined through lower freezer wall 326 in axial alignment with a corresponding first fluid opening 216A. Similarly, a discrete liner opening 220B may be defined through the upper fresh food wall 314 in axial alignment with a corresponding second fluid opening 218B. Yet another discrete liner opening 220B may be defined through upper fresh food wall 314 in axial alignment with a corresponding second fluid opening 218A.
A single fluid exchange path 210A or 210B may thus generally extend along the axial direction A between the fluid openings (e.g., between one pair of openings 216A and 218A or, alternatively, between another pair of openings 216B and 218B). First instance, fluid exchange path 210A or 210B may be defined in parallel to the axial direction A or, alternatively, at an angle (e.g., non-parallel and non-perpendicular) relative to the axial direction A. Moreover, although a fluid exchange path 210A or 210B is illustrated as being substantially linear, it is recognized that alternative embodiments may include a fluid exchange path 210A or 210B formed according to another suitable path shape (e.g., curved, serpentine, helical, etc.).
As noted above, during use, relatively cool air flowed across evaporator 188 within freezer chamber 124 may pass (e.g., via natural or forced convection airflow) to fresh food chamber 122 through air duct 200. Additionally or alternatively, relatively warm air within fresh food chamber 122 may pass to freezer chamber 124 (e.g., via natural or forced convection airflow).
In some embodiments, air duct 200 is formed as a bi-directional duct permitting multiple simultaneous or discrete airflows. For instance, duct body 202 may define two discrete fluid exchange paths 210A, 210B (e.g., a first fluid exchange path 210A and a second fluid exchange path 210A). As shown, the fluid exchange paths 210A, 210B may be defined in fluid parallel. In other words, first fluid exchange path 210A may have a first fluid opening 216A that is parallel to a first fluid opening 216B of second fluid exchange path 210B. Similarly, first fluid exchange path 210A may have a second fluid opening 218A that is parallel to a second fluid opening 218B of second fluid exchange path 210B.
In terms of geometry, each fluid exchange path 210A and 210B may be directionally parallel (e.g., parallel to the axial direction A) or, alternatively, non-parallel (e.g., at separate unique angles relative to the axial direction A). In some embodiments, both first fluid openings 216A, 216B are defined at upper end 212, and both second fluid openings 218A, 218B are defined at lower end 214. First fluid openings 216A, 216B may be spaced apart from each other along a radial direction R (e.g., such that a solid, non-permeable portion of duct body 202 separates first fluid openings 216A, 216B perpendicular to the axial direction A). Second fluid openings 218A, 218B may be spaced apart from each other (e.g., such that a solid, non-permeable portion of duct body 202 separates first fluid openings 216A, 216B perpendicular to the axial direction A). The radial spacing between the first fluid openings 216A, 216B and the second fluid openings 218A, 218B may be equal (e.g., in embodiments wherein the paths 210A and 210B are directionally parallel). Alternatively, the radial spacing between the first fluid openings 216A, 216B and the second fluid openings 218A, 218B may be unique (e.g., in embodiments wherein the paths 210A and 210B are directionally non-parallel).
Turning especially to
Each of the plurality of fingers 230 is radially-spaced apart about the first fluid opening(s) 216A, 216B (e.g., along the radial direction R). As a result, a radial space 236 is defined between adjacent fingers 230 (e.g., a radially-innermost finger 232 and a radially-outermost finger 234). Fingers 230, including radial space 236, may extend continuously along a perimeter of air duct 200 (e.g., at upper end 212). In some embodiments, such as those shown in
In some embodiments, at least one finger (e.g., radially-outermost finger 234) of the plurality of resilient fingers 230 extends to the internal liner 120 at a non-parallel angle relative to the axial direction A (e.g., non-orthogonal relative to a planar contact segment of outer surface 143 of the internal liner 120). For instance, the angled finger (e.g., radially-outermost finger 234) may be flared outward relative to the duct body 202(e.g., away from the axial direction A). In some embodiments, the radially-outermost finger 234 defines an acute angle α relative to the axial direction A. The acute angle α may remain constant (e.g., along the perimeter of duct body 202) or, alternatively, may vary along the perimeter. Contact with internal liner 120 may further deflect the radially-outermost finger 234 away from the axial direction A (e.g., during assembly). Additionally or alternatively, a radially-outermost finger 234 may contact a non-planar curved portion of internal liner 120 (e.g., at a corner or transition portion connecting walls 326 and 328).
In additional or alternative embodiments, another finger (e.g., radially-innermost finger 232) of the plurality of resilient fingers 230 extends to the internal liner 120 at a substantially parallel angle relative to the axial direction A (e.g., substantially perpendicular relative to a planar segment of outer surface 143). For instance, the non-angled finger (e.g., radially-innermost finger 232) may be a linear member parallel that is to the axial direction A and extends vertically from duct body 202.
As shown, especially at
As shown, duct body 202 defines an outer surface 206 opposite the fluid exchange path 210A or 210B (i.e., opposite inner surfaces 204). In some embodiments, a foam insulation 240 is sprayed or flowed into the surrounding portion of cabinet 102 about internal liner 120. When assembled, foam insulation 240 may be between the internal liner 120 and the cabinet 102 against the outer surface 206 of the duct body 202. During and after assembly, fingers 230 contacting internal liner 120 may advantageously seal liner openings 220A and corresponding fluid openings 216A, 216B from the surrounding environment of cabinet 102 (
In certain embodiments, such as those shown in
In additional or alternative embodiments, duct body 202 includes a raised collar 244 extending about a corresponding fluid opening (e.g., first fluid opening 216A). For instance, raised collar 244 may extend from duct body 202 toward internal liner 120 at the upper end 212. Optionally, raised collar 244 may extend through internal liner 120 (e.g., through a liner opening 220A into freezer chamber 124). Moreover, raised collar 244 may be positioned radially-inward from the plurality of resilient fingers 230 such that the plurality of fingers 230 surrounds raised collar 244. During use, air from a corresponding fluid path (e.g., fluid exchange path 210A) may thus be restricted from flowing radially to a non-corresponding liner opening (e.g., liner opening 220A corresponding to first fluid opening 216).
In further additional or alterative embodiments, a portion of air duct 200 is attached to internal liner 120 by a suitable mechanical or adhesive member. For instance, lower end 214 may include a radial flange 246 extending radially outward from duct body 202. Radial flange 246 may rest on an outer surface 143 of internal liner 120 (e.g., upper fresh food wall 314) opposite the plurality of fingers 230. Additionally or alternatively, a suitable adhesive may bond radial flange 246 to internal liner 120.
Turning now to
As described above, at least one finger (e.g., radially-outermost finger 234) of the plurality of fingers 230 may extend to the internal liner 120 at a non-parallel angle (e.g., angle α) relative to the axial direction A. Additionally or alternatively, another at least one finger (e.g., radially-innermost finger 232) of the plurality of fingers 230 may extend to the internal liner 120 at a unique non-parallel angle relative to the axial direction A. For instance, the radially-innermost finger 232 may be flared inward relative to the duct body 202 (e.g., toward the axial direction A). Moreover, the radially-innermost finger 232 may define an acute angle β relative to the axial direction A—the acute angle β being directed toward fluid openings 216A, 21B. The acute angle β may remain constant (e.g., along the perimeter of duct body 202) or, alternatively, may vary along the perimeter. In certain embodiments wherein the acute angle β varies, the angled finger 232 may transition from one angle that is directed toward the fluid openings 216A, 21B to another angle that is directed away from fluid openings 216A, 218B, as shown in
Turning now to
In certain embodiments, such as those shown in
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
