The present invention relates to a subassembly element for a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit and to a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.
A so-called subassembly is usually formed for refrigerator units in which the refrigeration unit, the fan and the condenser are arranged in the unit base, said subassembly then being screwed to the already foamed unit housing or to the carcass. This is relatively complicated and/or expensive since the subassembly which is heavy in relative terms has to be screwed to the foamed unit housing.
A further disadvantage is furthermore that these units have a so-called horizontal air duct, i.e. that an abrupt change in the direction of air guidance is present in these units which is due, for instance, to a deflection plate which effects a compulsory deflection in the vertical direction of the inflowing air. An irregular flow through the condenser thus arises and also an irregular action of cooling air on the compressor. Flow losses furthermore arise in that a non-directed deflection by up to 180° takes place from the fan over the condenser up to the compressor and to the front-side air outlet. The heat exchange thus takes place in a very ineffective manner.
A refrigerator unit is already known from DE 297 01 474 U1 which has a unit base with a wide air inlet passage and a wide air outlet passage arranged parallel thereto. The inflowing air is, however deflected in a Z shape at the air inlet side, i.e. the air flows through the front grill in a first horizontal plane, is then abruptly deflected into a second horizontal plane via a deflection wall and is directed by the unit base to this second horizontal plane. The air discharged from the unit base likewise takes place after a Z-shaped deflection so that this unit base has a horizontal air guidance which, as already indicated above, is disadvantageous due to the flow losses.
EP 0 650 680 B1 discloses a base for a built-in refrigerator unit which is placed on support rails with adjustable feet and is arranged in a recess for furniture. This base is made in trough shape and does not have any separate air guidance so that the air flowing in at the front side for cooling purposes is likewise swirled when flowing through the base and thus high flow losses occur.
A unit base flowed through by refrigerating air is also known from DE 44 45 286 A1 which directs the air through the base in a labyrinth-like manner. Flow losses likewise arise due to this multiple deflection which are not insignificant and which as a rule have to be compensated by an increased speed of the fan.
A unit base is known from EP 0 444 461 A2 in which the air is guided on one side of the base via an inlet passage into the motor space arranged at the rear side, flows through the motor space there without any further guidance by a 90° deviation and then exits the unit base via the air deflection passage again by a 90° deviation.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to further develop a subassembly element of the initially named kind in an advantageous manner, in particular such that a subassembly element can be constructed in a simple manner, has an improved flow guidance and is preferably easy to assemble.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention by a subassembly element having the features herein. Provision is thereby made that a subassembly element for a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit has a front side, a rear side and two side regions, at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet, with at least one air guidance means being provided in the subassembly element by means of which air in the subassembly element can be guided from the air inlet to the air outlet and with at least one heat exchanger, which is located at the rim side in the side regions of the subassembly element, being arranged in a part of the air guidance means
Provision can furthermore be made that at least one fan is arranged downstream or upstream of the at least one heat exchanger in the air guidance element.
It is furthermore possible that the heat exchanger is a condenser, in particular a spiral condenser, a wire tube condenser made as a molded part or a coiled wire tube condenser.
It is advantageously conceivable that the air guidance means expands to a reception space for a compressor, with fastening means, in particular fastening receivers, being provided for the compressor in the reception space.
Provision can be made that the fan is arranged downstream of the heat exchanger and/or at the point in the air guidance means at which the air guidance means expands to the reception space.
It is furthermore possible that the subassembly element has a cut-out for the reception and/or fastening of the inner container of the refrigerator and/or freezer unit. A simple assembly of the subassembly element with the inner container thereby becomes possible. For the cut-out can be utilized as an adhesive surface which engages around a part of the inner tank and which is adhered to the inner container by pouring in heat insulation material, preferably insulting foam. A screwing of the subassembly to the already foamed unit housing can thus be dispensed with; an installation of the subassembly with the inner container and the outer wall is possible simply by the foaming which has anyway to be carried out.
Provision can furthermore be made that the cut-out is arranged at the middle or centrally and/or that the cut-out is molded into the subassembly element in the manner of a trough on the upper side. The advantage thereby results of being able to insert the inner container simply into the cut-out, optionally with spacers for a positioning to prepare for the installation. Foam is then advantageously injected in the region between the cut-out and the inner container, which preferably has a molding adapted to the shape of the cut-out, so that the subassembly element and the inner container are connected to one another.
It is furthermore conceivable that the air guidance means extends, starting from the air inlet, laterally past the cut-out, via the reception space located in the rear region of the subassembly element and again laterally past the cut-out to the air outlet, with a heat exchanger being arranged in the part of the air guidance means which starts from the air inlet and with a further heat exchanger simultaneously being provided in the part of the air guidance means which leads to the air outlet.
Provision can moreover be made that the air guidance means is made in passage manner and/or that the air guidance means has a round, oval or rectangular cross-section, at least sectionally, with the oval or rectangular cross-section of the air guidance means preferably being arranged vertically. A vertical alignment of the oval or rectangular cross-section is advantageously achieved in that the height of the air guidance means is larger than the width at this point.
It is particularly advantageous if the subassembly element is a unit base and/or an injection molded part. A simple and inexpensive production is made possible by the injection molding process. It is preferred if an impact resistant plastic is used for this purpose.
It is furthermore conceivable that the rim-side parts of the air guidance means are partly formed by a side cover, with the side cover preferably having one or more winding domes for the winding up of a heat exchanger tube and with the side cover further preferably being produced from a metallic material.
It is furthermore possible that the subassembly element has a rear wall cover which forms a closed air guidance path in conjunction with the air guidance means.
Provision can furthermore be made that a condensate collection tray or an evaporation tray is provided, with the condensate collection tray or the evaporation tray being arranged in a front region of the subassembly element and/or in a region of the subassembly element accessible from the front. The advantage thereby results that the condensate collection tray or the evaporation tray can be removed and emptied easily. After the emptying, a simple insertion into the subassembly element can take place. This is in particular advantageous for hygienic reasons since a dwelling of liquid in the condensate collection tray or the evaporation tray can hereby be avoided.
For example, the condensate collection tray or the evaporation tray can be integrated into the side cover of the subassembly element and can be removed and reintroduced from the side. A lateral removal for cleaning purposes is thereby possible advantageously and simply.
Provision can be made that the subassembly element is made such that the at least one condenser can be inserted from the front side. The advantage thereby results of being able to realize an inexpensive installation of the condenser since it is sufficient to push a condenser plate through the air inlet or the air outlet into the side air guidance passage(s) of the subassembly element and to fasten it there e.g. by latching in a shape-matched manner.
The invention furthermore relates to a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit having the features herein. Provision is thereby made that a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit has at least one subassembly element in accordance with the features herein. The refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit can be a fully integrated built under unit which is used in a built-in kitchen. It is furthermore conceivable that the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is a built under unit suitable for a décor panel or an insertion compartment unit which can be built under. A use as a stand-alone unit is also conceivable.
It is furthermore conceivable that the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit is a side-by-side unit.
It is particularly advantageous if the units of the side-by-side unit arranged next to one another each have a subassembly element and if the subassembly elements are made and/or can be used in mirror-inverted manner to one another.
Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.
There are shown:
Without this being shown in any more detail in
The pallet-like unit base 10 has a trough-like cut-out 20 at it is upper side which is provided for the reception of the inner container of the refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit.
The air inlet for the air L, whose flow path through the unit base 10 is indicated by means of corresponding arrows, takes place through the front-side part 12 or through the air inlet 12 of the air guidance means which is expanded at this point. The air guidance means or the air guidance passage narrows in width in the side part section 14 of the air guidance means or of the air guidance passage, but expands slightly in the vertical direction since the base 15 of the side part section 14 drops slightly obliquely in the downward direction.
The air L is thus guided, starting from the air inlet 12, substantially horizontally and without any abrupt changes of direction with respect to the vertical through the side part section 14 of the air guidance passage to the motor space 16 which is formed by an expansion of the air guidance passage in the rear part of the unit base 10.
After flowing through the motor space 16, the heat L heated there enters into the side part section 18 of the air guidance passage disposed at the other side so that the air is guided past the cut-out 20 to the air outlet 19 not visible in
The structure shown in
An air separation means 30 is provided to separate the air inlet 12 and the air outlet 19 from one another, i.e. in particular to avoid short-circuit flows. The air separation means 30 can be formed by corresponding projections 44 in the front panel 40 which engage into a corresponding cut-out 22 in the unit base 10. Provision can alternatively or simultaneously be made that the air separation means 30 includes a molded foamed part 32 which is inserted between the projections 44 and the cut-out 22 and is held in a clamping manner there.
A fastening means 17 for the compressor 70 (see
In
Cold environmental air L enters through oblique slats in the front panel 40 into the air inlet 12 of the unit base 10 and then flows through the side passage 14 which has a cross-section of substantially rectangular shape with a vertical alignment, i.e. is higher than wide. The air L is guided in the passage 14 onto the condenser 50 and cools it.
A fan 60 is preferably provided downstream of the condenser 50 (see also
It is achieved due to the vertical alignment of the side passages 14 and 18 that the actual air inflow substantially takes place at the outwardly disposed part of the air inlet 12, while the outflow of the air L heated in the unit base 10 takes place at the outwardly disposed part of the air outlet 19. The inflowing cold airflow L and the outflowing hot airflow L are thus maximally spaced apart from one another.
The airflow is furthermore substantially guided on a horizontal plane, whereby flow losses can be avoided. The air inlet and the air outlet as well as the air guidance in the unit base 10 extend horizontally on the same plane, with the expansion in the side passages 14 and 18 being neglected in this observation. There is thus no deflection of the airflow with respect to the vertical in accordance with the invention so that the flow resistances are kept small. It thereby becomes possible to operate the fan 60 at a comparatively low speed so that the noise level in operation can be reduced.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102009039908.9 | Sep 2009 | DE | national |
102009056423.3 | Dec 2009 | DE | national |