Patent Application
20250180273
The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliances, and more particularly to a features for generating and distributing chilled air within refrigerator appliances, such as chilled air systems which include a single evaporator for multiple chilled chambers of the refrigerator appliances.
Refrigerator appliances generally include a cabinet that defines chilled chambers for receipt of food items for storage. Insulated, sealing doors are provided for selectively enclosing the chilled food storage chambers.
Refrigerator appliances typically utilize sealed systems for cooling the chilled chambers. A typical sealed system includes an evaporator and a fan, however, such refrigerator appliances usually include a separate evaporator for each chamber to achieve different temperatures in each of the chilled chambers.
Additional evaporators may result in added costs, more complicated assembly, a more complex refrigerant plumbing configuration, and reduced proportion of usable space within the internal volume of the refrigerator appliance.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance including a single evaporator for providing chilled air to multiple chambers therein is desired in the art.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet with a fresh food chamber and a freezer defined in the cabinet. The freezer chamber is spaced apart from the fresh food chamber and separated from the fresh food chamber by an insulated mullion. A bridge chamber is defined in the cabinet. The bridge chamber is positioned between the fresh food chamber and the freezer chamber. The bridge chamber includes a first inlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a first outlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a second inlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber, and a second outlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance also includes an evaporator positioned in the bridge chamber and a fan positioned in the bridge chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a movable damper assembly configured to move between a first position and a second position. The second inlet and the second outlet are obstructed by the damper assembly in the first position and the first inlet and the first outlet are obstructed by the damper assembly in the second position.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method of operating a refrigerator appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet with a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber defined in the cabinet. The freezer chamber is spaced apart from the fresh food chamber and separated from the fresh food chamber by an insulated mullion. The refrigerator appliance also includes a bridge chamber defined in the cabinet. The bridge chamber is positioned between the fresh food chamber and the freezer chamber. The bridge chamber includes a first inlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a first outlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a second inlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber, a second outlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance also includes a movable damper assembly, an evaporator positioned in the bridge chamber, and a fan positioned in the bridge chamber. The method includes moving the movable damper assembly to a first position, whereby the second inlet and the second outlet are obstructed by the damper assembly in the first position, and moving the movable damper assembly to a second position, whereby the first inlet and the first outlet are obstructed by the damper assembly in the second position.
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.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention.
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.
As used herein, 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. 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”).
Terms such as “inner” and “outer” refer to relative directions with respect to the interior and exterior of the refrigerator appliance, and in particular the food storage chamber(s) defined therein. For example, “inner” or “inward” refers to the direction towards the interior of the refrigerator appliance. Terms such as “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” or “bottom” are used with reference to the perspective of a user accessing the refrigerator appliance. For example, a user stands in front of the refrigerator to open the doors and reaches into the food storage chamber(s) to access items therein.
Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “generally,” “about,” “approximately,” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value, or the precision of the methods or machines for constructing or manufacturing the components and/or systems. For example, the approximating language may refer to being within a ten percent margin, i.e., including values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. In this regard, for example, when used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction, e.g., “generally vertical” includes forming an angle of up to ten degrees in any direction, e.g., clockwise, or counterclockwise, with the vertical direction V.
Referring now to the figures,
As illustrated in
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 top mount refrigerator appliance, a quad door refrigerator appliance, a side-by-side refrigerator, or other similar refrigerator appliances. Consequently, the description set forth herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any aspect to any particular household appliance, such as the present subject matter is not limited to any particular refrigerator chamber configuration. Accordingly, it should be recognized that aspects of the present disclosure may be used with a variety of refrigerator appliances.
The refrigerator doors 128 may be rotatably hinged to an edge of the cabinet 102 for selectively accessing the fresh food chamber 122. In addition, a freezer door 130 may be arranged below the refrigerator doors 128 for selectively accessing the freezer chamber 124. The freezer door 130 may be coupled to a freezer drawer 132 (see, e.g.,
In some embodiments, various storage components may be mounted within the fresh food chamber 122 to facilitate storage of food items therein. In particular, the storage components may include storage bins 116, drawers 118, and shelves 121 that may be mounted within the fresh food chamber 122. As such, the storage bins 116, drawers 118, and shelves 121 are configured for receipt of food items, for example, beverages or solid food items, and may assist with organizing such food items. As an example, the drawers 118 can receive fresh food items, for example, vegetables, fruits, or cheeses, and increase the useful life of such fresh food items.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator appliance 100 may also include a dispensing assembly 140 for dispensing liquid water or ice. The dispensing assembly 140 may include a dispenser 142, for example, positioned on or mounted to an exterior portion of the refrigerator appliance 100, such as on one of the refrigerator doors 128. Moreover, as shown in
Still referring to
In further embodiments, for example, as shown in
In additional or alternative embodiments, chilled air from a sealed system of the refrigerator appliance 100 may be directed into components within the sub-compartment 162. For instance, the sub-compartment 162 may receive cooling air from a chilled air supply duct 165 and a chilled air return duct 167 (see, for example,
In optional embodiments, for example, as illustrated in
Refrigerator appliance 100 further includes a controller 160. Operation of the refrigerator appliance 100 is regulated by controller 160 that is operatively coupled to user interface panel 148. In some exemplary embodiments, user interface panel 148 may represent a general purpose I/O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. In some exemplary embodiments, user interface panel 148 may include input components, such as one or more of a variety of electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical input devices including rotary dials, push buttons, touch pads, and touch screens. User interface panel 148 can be communicatively coupled with controller 160 via one or more signal lines or shared communication busses. User interface panel 148 provides selections for user manipulation of the operation of refrigerator appliance 100, e.g., whereby a user may provide one or more set point temperatures for the various chilled chambers 122 and 124. In response to user manipulation of the user interface panel 148, controller 160 operates various components of refrigerator appliance 100. For example, controller 160 is operatively coupled or in communication with various airflow components, e.g., dampers and fans, as discussed below. Controller 160 may also be communicatively coupled with a variety of sensors, such as, for example, chamber temperature sensors or ambient temperature sensors. Such chamber temperature sensors and/or ambient temperature sensors may be or include thermistors, thermocouples, or any other suitable temperature sensor. Controller 160 may receive signals from these temperature sensors that correspond to the temperature of an atmosphere or air within their respective locations.
As used herein, the terms “processing device,” “computing device,” “controller,” or the like may generally refer to any suitable processing device, such as a general or special purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a logic device, one or more central processing units (CPUs), a graphics processing units (GPUs), processing units performing other specialized calculations, semiconductor devices, etc. In addition, these “controllers” are not necessarily restricted to a single element but may include any suitable number, type, and configuration of processing devices integrated in any suitable manner to facilitate appliance operation. Alternatively, controller 160 may be constructed without using a microprocessor, e.g., using a combination of discrete analog and/or digital logic circuitry (such as switches, amplifiers, integrators, comparators, flip-flops, AND/OR gates, and the like) to perform control functionality instead of relying upon software.
Controller 160 may include, or be associated with, one or more memory elements or non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, EPROM, flash memory devices, magnetic disks, or other suitable memory devices (including combinations thereof). These memory devices may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. In addition, these memory devices can store information and/or data accessible by the one or more processors, including instructions that can be executed by the one or more processors. It should be appreciated that the instructions can be software written in any suitable programming language or can be implemented in hardware. Additionally, or alternatively, the instructions can be executed logically and/or virtually using separate threads on one or more processors.
For example, controller 160 may be operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with an operating cycle of refrigerator appliance 100. In this regard, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations, such as running one or more software applications, displaying a user interface, receiving user input, processing user input, etc. Moreover, it should be noted that controller 160 as disclosed herein is capable of and may be operable to perform any methods, method steps, or portions of methods as disclosed herein. For example, in some embodiments, methods disclosed herein may be embodied in programming instructions stored in the memory and executed by controller 160.
The memory devices may also store data that can be retrieved, manipulated, created, or stored by the one or more processors or portions of controller 160. The data can include, for instance, data to facilitate performance of methods described herein. The data can be stored locally (e.g., on controller 160) in one or more databases and/or may be split up so that the data is stored in multiple locations. In addition, or alternatively, the one or more database(s) can be connected to controller 160 through any suitable network(s), such as through a high bandwidth local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). In this regard, for example, controller 160 may further include a communication module or interface that may be used to communicate with one or more other component(s) of refrigerator appliance 100, controller 160, an external appliance controller, or any other suitable device, e.g., via any suitable communication lines or network(s) and using any suitable communication protocol. The communication interface can include any suitable components for interfacing with one or more network(s), including for example, transmitters, receivers, ports, controllers, antennas, or other suitable components.
Referring now to
The refrigerator appliance 100 may further include a bridge chamber 200. The bridge chamber 200 may be partially, e.g., on at least one side, defined by the insulated mullion 170. The bridge chamber 200 may further be defined by one or more additional insulated partitions 202, such that the bridge chamber 200 may be operated at a distinct temperature from the operating temperature of one or both of the fresh food chamber 122 and freezer chamber 124. The bridge chamber 200 may include a first inlet 204 in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber 122 and a first outlet 206 in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber 122. The bridge chamber 200 may further include a second inlet 208 in fluid communication with the freezer chamber 124 and a second outlet 210 in fluid communication with the freezer chamber 124. The refrigerator appliance 100 may further include a movable damper assembly, such as a first curved damper 212 and a second curved damper 214. The movable damper assembly may be movable, e.g., rotatable, between a first position, e.g., for a fresh food mode, and a second position, e.g., for a freezer mode.
The refrigerator appliance 100 may further include a sealed cooling system, as is generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the sealed cooling system may include a sealed refrigerant loop with heat exchangers coupled in line with the sealed refrigerant loop (e.g., for series flow through the sealed refrigerant loop and successively through the heat exchangers). The heat exchangers may include a condenser (not shown), in which vapor phase refrigerant condenses to liquid phase, thereby releasing heat to the external environment at the condenser, and an evaporator 220, in which liquid phase refrigerant absorbs heat from the external environment (e.g., air around the evaporator 220) and thereby vaporizes, such that a flow of chilled air may be generated at and around the evaporator 220. A fan 222 may be positioned proximate to the evaporator 220, such that the fan 222 is sufficiently close to the evaporator 220 to urge the chilled air generated at the evaporator 220 to or towards one of the chilled chambers (fresh food chamber 122 and freezer chamber 124) of the refrigerator appliance 100.
In particular, the evaporator 220 and the fan 222 may be positioned in the bridge chamber 200, such that the flow of chilled air urged by the fan 222 may be directed from the bridge chamber 200 to one or the other (or both) of the fresh food chamber 122 and the freezer chamber 124. For example, the flow of chilled air from the bridge chamber 200 (urged by fan 222) may be obstructed from one of the chambers and directed to the other of the chambers by the movable damper assembly. As mentioned above, the movable damper assembly may be movable between a first position and a second position, such as the first curved damper 212 may obstruct the second outlet 210 in the first position (
In at least some embodiments, the evaporator 220 in the bridge chamber 200 may be the only evaporator 220 in the sealed cooling system, such as the evaporator 220 in the bridge chamber 200 may be the only evaporator of the refrigerator appliance 100. Thus, for example, the movable damper assembly may provide selective cooling to one or the other of the fresh food chamber 122 and the freezer chamber 124, such that the single evaporator 220 for the entire refrigerator appliance 100 may provide cooling to both chilled chambers 122 and 124. In at least some embodiments, the movable damper assembly may also be movable to one or more intermediate positions between the first position and the second position, such that chilled air from the bridge chamber 200 may be directed to both chilled chambers 122 and 124 at the same time, such as in a cool down mode. For example, the cool down mode may be implemented when the refrigerator appliance is first commissioned, after a power outage, or in other cases when a temperature in each chamber 122 and 124 (such as may be measured by chamber temperature sensor(s), as described above) is significantly greater than a respective set temperature or target temperature for each chamber 122 and 124.
Still referring to
Also by way of example, the refrigerator appliance 100 may include a second plenum 234 within the bridge chamber 200 downstream of the fresh food chamber 120 and/or freezer chamber 124, such as the first plenum 230 may be upstream of the fan 222, e.g., immediately upstream of the fan 222 as illustrated. Thus, in some embodiments, e.g., as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the first damper 212 may be positioned in and movable through the first plenum 230, and the second damper 214 may be positioned in and movable through the second plenum 234. In some embodiments, the evaporator 220 and the fan 222 may be spaced apart from each other, such that an intermediate plenum 232 may be defined between the evaporator 220 and the fan 222, such as directly and immediately between the evaporator 220 and the fan 222, e.g., as illustrated.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator appliance 100, e.g., the sealed cooling system thereof, may further include a variable speed compressor 224 (
An exemplary fresh food mode is illustrated in
An exemplary freezer mode is illustrated in
Turning now to
For example, method 700 may be usable for operating a refrigerator appliance which includes a cabinet, a fresh food chamber defined in the cabinet, and a freezer chamber defined in the cabinet. For example, the freezer chamber may be spaced apart from the fresh food chamber and separated from the fresh food chamber by an insulated mullion. Such refrigerator appliance which may be operated according to method 700 may also include a bridge chamber defined in the cabinet. The bridge chamber may be positioned between the fresh food chamber and the freezer chamber. The bridge chamber may include a first inlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a first outlet in fluid communication with the fresh food chamber, a second inlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber, and a second outlet in fluid communication with the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance may further include a movable damper assembly, an evaporator positioned in the bridge chamber, and a fan positioned in the bridge chamber. As illustrated in
An exemplary refrigerator appliance which may be operated according to method 700 may also include a variable speed compressor. In such embodiments, method 700 may further include (720) operating the variable speed compressor at a first speed while the damper assembly is in the first position. Method 700 may also include (730) moving the movable damper assembly to a second position, whereby the first inlet and the first outlet are obstructed by the damper assembly in the second position. As illustrated at (740) in
In some embodiments, moving the damper assembly to the first position may include rotating the damper assembly to the first position, and moving the damper assembly to the second position may include rotating the damper assembly to the second position. In some embodiments, the movable damper assembly may include a first curved damper and a second curved damper. In such embodiments, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may further include guiding, by the first curved damper and the second curved damper, a flow of air to the fresh food chamber while the damper assembly is in the first position, and guiding, by the first curved damper and the second curved damper, a flow of air to the freezer chamber while the damper assembly is in the second position.
In some embodiments, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may further include operating the fan to urge air to the fresh food chamber from the bridge chamber while the movable damper assembly is in the first position, and operating the fan to urge air to the freezer chamber from the bridge chamber while the movable damper assembly is in the second position. In such embodiments, the first outlet may be upstream of an air tower in the fresh food chamber, and operating the fan while the movable damper assembly is in the first position may include urging, by the fan, air from the bridge chamber to the air tower. In some embodiments, the second outlet may open directly into the freezer chamber, and, in such embodiments, operating the fan while the movable damper assembly is in the second position may include urging, by the fan, air from the bridge chamber directly into the freezer chamber.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator appliance may further include a first plenum defined within the bridge chamber and a second plenum defined within the bridge chamber. In such embodiments, the movable damper assembly may include a first damper and a second damper, and moving the movable damper assembly to the first position may include moving the first damper within the first plenum and moving the second damper within the second plenum, and moving the movable damper assembly to the second position may include moving the first damper within the first plenum and moving the second damper within the second plenum.
In some embodiments, the movable damper assembly may include a first curved damper and a second curved damper. For example, the first curved damper may selectively obstruct one of the outlets of the bridge chamber while the second curved damper selectively obstructs one of the inlet of the bridge chamber. In such embodiments, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may further include obstructing, by the first curved damper, the second outlet while the damper assembly is in the first position, obstructing, by the first curved damper, the first outlet while the damper assembly is in the second position, obstructing, by the second curved damper, the second inlet while the damper assembly is in the first position, and obstructing, by the second curved damper, the first inlet while the damper assembly is in the second position.
Exemplary refrigerator appliances and methods of operating such appliances according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide numerous advantages. For example, operating a single evaporator as if it were two (e.g., operating the single evaporator as both a fresh food evaporator in a fresh food mode and as a freezer evaporator in a freezer mode) may advantageously provide energy savings as compared to multiple, e.g., two, separate evaporators. As another example, operating the compressor at different speeds in the different modes provides an overall savings in energy. For another example, using the single evaporator may provide an overall smaller cooling system as compared to systems with two or more evaporators. Additional exemplary advantages which may be provided include reduced part count and reduced costs for materials and assembly, and increased usable internal volume within the cabinet of the refrigerator appliance. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional advantages may also be provided as well as or instead of the exemplary advantages described herein, and the advantages described herein are provided by way of example only and without limiting the present disclosure, e.g., the exemplary advantages are not required in some or all embodiments of the present disclosure.
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.
