Refrigerator

A refrigerating appliance contains an inner chamber that is surrounded by a heat-insulating housing and a door, and can be divided into an upper region and a lower region by a partition wall. The refrigerating appliance also contains a plate-type evaporator that is supported on a wall of the inner chamber. The evaporator extends over at least part of the wall pertaining to the lower region, and the cooling performance of the evaporator, in its part pertaining to the upper or lower region, is such that the temperature reached in the upper region of the inner chamber is lower than that reached in the lower region.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a refrigerator having an interior which is enclosed by a heat-insulating housing and a door. The refrigerator has a panel-shaped evaporator which is disposed on a wall of the interior which is located opposite the door.

In refrigerators which are commonly available at present, for example table refrigerators or built-in refrigerators, combined appliances, etc., a shelf for drink containers is generally provided on an inner side of the door. A reason for drink containers preferably being disposed in the region of the door is that, on account of a relatively high incidence of heat in this region, a relatively high temperature prevails here in comparison with the rest of the interior. The relatively high temperature making it possible for drinks to be kept at a pleasant drinking temperature and for other items accommodated in the rest of the interior of the refrigerator to be kept at a lower temperature.

In order to reduce the energy consumption of the refrigerators, it is desirable for these also to be provided with highly effective insulation in the door region. A consequence of such improved insulation is the reduction in the above-mentioned difference in temperature, with the result that, in order for drinks to be kept at a pleasant temperature, it is necessary to set a temperature in the interior which is not optimum for the storage of other items, or that, if the storage temperature for these other items is selected to be optimum, there is a risk of the drinks stored in the door region being excessively cooled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a refrigerator which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which, even with the presence of heat insulation which is highly effective all the way round, allows the formation of a zone, within the interior, which is suitable for accommodating drink containers.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a refrigerator. The refrigerator contains a heat-insulating housing enclosing an interior and having a wall, the interior defining a top zone and a bottom zone. A door is connected to the housing. A panel-shaped evaporator is supported by the wall of the housing. The evaporator is provided for cooling the interior and extends over at least part of the wall that belongs to the bottom zone of the interior when the refrigerator is in an operating position. A cooling capacity of the evaporator of the top zone and of the bottom zone is such that a lower temperature is reached in the top zone of the interior than in the bottom zone. The evaporator has a rectangle form with a section having been cut away at one of its corners in that part of the evaporator that extends over the bottom zone. A drawer is disposed in the interior in front of the section.

A straightforward possibility of achieving the temperature distribution is to fit the evaporator such that the region of the wall that belongs to the bottom zone is covered by the evaporator to a lesser extent than the part that belongs to the top zone. The top zone is usually completely filled by the evaporator.

The evaporator is usually defined as a rectangular panel. According to the invention, in order to reduce the cooling capacity of the evaporator in the bottom zone, a section has been cut away from a bottom corner of the panel. In this way a region of reduced cooling capacity is easily provided.

It is also conceivable, however, instead of doing away altogether with the evaporator panel in this section, merely for the density of the refrigerant lines in this section to be selected to be lower than over the rest of the surface area of the evaporator, or, in the extreme case, for the refrigerant lines to be done away with altogether.

A drawer is preferably disposed in the interior of the refrigerator, in front of the cut-away section or the section of reduced cooling capacity. The drawer makes it possible for a plurality of packs to be positioned one behind the other in the depth wise direction of the interior and for easy access to be gained to each of the packs by virtue of the drawer being pulled out.

The height of the cut-away or reduced-cooling-capacity section is expediently selected such that the drawer, e.g. in the form of a pull-out compartment, is capable of accommodating a drink pack in an upright position. It is possible to use here, as a measure of the height, a common type of pack, for example a Tetrapack, a standard 0.7 liter mineral-water bottle or a 1.5 liter or 2 liter PET bottle.

Refrigerators usually have a recessed portion in the bottom region of their interior, the refrigerating machine being accommodated on the outside of this recessed portion. In the case of the refrigerator according to the invention, the recessed portion is preferably offset laterally in relation to the cut-away or reduced-cooling-capacity section of the evaporator, with the result that, in order to store the drink packs, it is possible to utilize that region on the base of the interior that is located alongside the recessed portion.

In order to regulate the extent of cooling of the drink-storage zone in a suitable manner, it is possible to dispose in the interior a partition wall which is aligned with at least part of the periphery of the region of reduced cooling capacity and, although not necessarily preventing an exchange of heat between the drink-storage zone and the rest of the interior by way of convection, at least limits the exchange of heat. The partition wall may be formed, for example, by a shelf with two shelf sections that extend on different horizontal levels and are connected by a vertical wall. It is also conceivable to have a partition wall that contains a vertical intermediate wall and a shelf which extends from the intermediate wall to a side wall of the interior.

The evaporator of the refrigerator is preferably a coldwall evaporator.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, toFIG. 1thereof, there is shown a perspective view of a refrigerator1with an open door6. A heat-insulating housing2of the refrigerator1is constructed from a solid outer wall e.g. made of sheet metal, an inner wall3, that is thermoformed in one piece from plastic, and a foam layer which fills an interspace between the inner wall3and the outer wall. In the region of its bottom right-hand corner, the inner wall3has an approximately cuboidal recessed portion4, behind which a refrigerating machine is accommodated. A coldwall evaporator, which is connected to the refrigerating machine, is disposed on a rear wall5of the housing, between the inner wall3and the foam layer, and cannot be seen in theFIG. 1. A partition wall for dividing up the interior into a top zone and bottom zone has been left out ofFIG. 1.

The configuration of the coldwall evaporator is indicated as a dashed outline inFIG. 2, which illustrates a front view of the refrigerator1without the door6. The evaporator7is in the form of a rectangle that extends from the top periphery of the rear wall5to the topside of the recessed portion4and over the entire width of the rear wall5.

A horizontal shelf27subdivides the interior of the refrigerator1into a top zone31, the rear wall5here being virtually completely filled by the panel of the evaporator7, and a bottom zone32, in which the rear wall5is only partly filled by the evaporator7. The height of the shelf27is selected such that a drink bottle14can be placed in an upright position in the bottom zone32.

AsFIG. 3shows, the partition wall27need not extend over the entire width of the interior; it may also be formed, as is the case here, from a vertical intermediate wall26and a shelf which extends from one side wall to just as far as the intermediate wall26.

FIG. 4shows, in a manner similar toFIGS. 2 and 3, a front view of the refrigerator1in accordance with a preferred configuration. The partition wall between the top and bottom zones has been left out here in order for it to be possible for the configuration of the evaporator7to be illustrated more clearly. The evaporator7is essentially in the form of a rectangle that, in the top zone31of the refrigerator1, fills the rear wall5over its entire width, and, in the region of its bottom left-hand corner, has a rectangular cut-away section or cutout8. A rectangular section9of the rear wall5that does not have the evaporator7as a backing is bounded by the edges10,11of the cutout8by a sidewall12of the recessed portion4and by a base and by a sidewall13of the housing2. The height of the section9corresponds approximately to that of the drink bottle14, as illustrated in outline.

FIG. 5shows a front view of the evaporator7fromFIG. 4; it is constructed from a metal panel15, which is provided for its adhesive bonding to the inner wall3, and from a refrigerant line16, which runs in a serpentine fashion over the rear side of the metal panel15, the rear side being directed toward the foam layer.

FIG. 6shows a modification of the evaporator7, in which the metal panel15is precisely rectangular and does not have a cut-away section. However, the refrigerant line16does not extend into a section17in the region of the bottom left-hand corner, the section17being delimited by a dashed line. The section17is thus cooled, if need be, by thermal conduction via the metal panel15from the periphery and only has a low cooling capacity in comparison with the rest of the surface area of the evaporator7.

In the case of the modification of the evaporator7which is shown inFIG. 7, the refrigerant line16does indeed extend into the section17, but the density of the refrigerant line16in section17, it being possible to define this density as length of line per unit surface area, is lower in section17than over the rest of the surface area of the metal panel15, with the result that it is also the case with this configuration of the evaporator that the section17has a relatively low cooling capacity in comparison with the rest of the surface area of the evaporator.

FIG. 8shows a perspective view of the inner wall3of the refrigerator1according to the invention in a modification ofFIG. 1. In the case of this modification, the recessed portion4is extended over essentially the entire depth of the interior, as a result of which the height of the recessed portion4that is necessary for accommodating the refrigerating machine is reduced. The outline of the evaporator7on the rear wall5is, once again, indicated as a dashed line.

FIG. 9shows the bottom region of the inner wall3fromFIG. 8, a drawer18which can be pulled out on telescopic rails19being fitted on the base of the interior, in front of the evaporator-free section9of the rear wall5. By virtue of the drawer18being pulled out, it is easily possible to gain access to a drink container that is located in the drawer18directly adjacent to the rear wall5, without other containers having to be first removed.

A shelf20with two shelf sections22,23which are connected by a vertical wall21delimits the drink-storage zone24, which together with a volume located between the topside of the recessed portion4and the shelf section23forms the bottom zone32of the interior, from the top zone31of the interior located above. The top shelf section22extends approximately level with the horizontal edge10(which is concealed inFIG. 9) of the cutout8; the vertical wall21is aligned with the sidewall12of the recessed portion4and with the vertical edge11of the cutout8.

The shelf20does not extend right up to the rear wall5, with the result that the otherwise continuous panels which the shelf sections22,23and the wall21contain do indeed limit, but do not fully preclude, an exchange of heat by airflow between the drink-storage zone24or the bottom zone32and the top zone31of the interior. The size of the necessary through-passage cross sections between the drink-storage zone24and the top zone31depends, from case to case, on the desired temperature conditions and on the insulation and on whether the evaporator is an evaporator according toFIG. 5, which does not have any cooling capacity in the region of the drink-storage zone24, or whether use is made of an evaporator according toFIG. 6or7, the cooling capacity of which is merely reduced in the region of the drinks-storage zone24.

In the case of the modification ofFIG. 10, the partition wall between the drink-storage zone24and the rest of the interior of the refrigerator1is formed by a vertical intermediate wall26, which is aligned with the side wall12of the recessed portion4and the vertical edge11of the cutout8, and by a shelf27, which extends from the top end of the intermediate wall26, approximately level with the horizontal edge10of the cutout8, to the right-hand side wall13of the housing2. Here too, for the above-mentioned reasons, the partition wall does not extend right up to the rear wall5. On its side that is directed away from the drink-storage zone24, the intermediate wall26bears a plurality of rails28which, together with complementary rails28, on the sidewall30of the housing2, may serve as a rest for a reduced-width shelf29.

Further non-illustrated shelves that extend over the entire width of the interior may, of course, be provided above the drink-storage zone24.