Refrigerator and/or freezer

Abstract: A refrigerator and/or freezer is disclosed and includes a housing (10) and a door (30) each having sealing faces that co-operate to seal the housing (10) when the door is closed (30). A lever (41) is rotatably mounted to the door (30) and includes a handle (45) at one end, the opposite end defining an arcuate path that extends beyond a plane defined by the sealing face on the door (30) on rotation of the lever (41) and, when the door (30) is closed, contacts the housing (10) to force the sealing faces apart.

Description: The present invention relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer including a housing, a door for sealingly closing the housing and a handle mounted to the door, the handle connected to one end of a door opening lever mounted to the door, and the other end of the lever being arranged to bear against the housing to assist opening of the door in response to operation of the handle for opening of the door. A refrigerator of this type is known from GB 840 661, EP 849 551 or WO 97/38273. A refrigerator is an appliance in which foodstuffs are stored to keep them fresh by supplying cool air to compartments in which the food has been placed. There is an increased demand for refrigerators of a large size to enable more food to be stored thereby avoiding the need to shop so often and enabling bulk purchases to be made to take advantage of any associated discounts. Most large domestic refrigerators have a vertical partition that divides the cabinet forming the housing of the refrigerator into a refrigerator and freezer on either side of the partition respectively. Accordingly, the doors on the front of each compartment are also arranged in side by side relation to close the cabinet and enable access to the refrigerator and freezer to be obtained. The doors are mounted on hinges extending from the front corners of the cabinet. In conventional refrigerators of the type discussed above, the doors are provided with handles attached to their outer surfaces. Gaskets for sealing the compartments when the doors are closed are also provided on their inner surfaces and are generally made of a rubber material that are attached to the edge of the inner surface of each door so that they contact the front surface of the cabinet when the doors are closed to make the food storage compartments airtight. The gaskets contain permanent magnets that are attracted to the front metal surface of the refrigerator cabinets to secure the door in a closed position. When a refrigerator of the type described is in use, the air within the refrigerator is cooled and condensed using an evaporator resulting in a reduction of the pressure inside the refrigerator relative to outside. As a result, a considerable force is sometimes required to pull the door open due to the magnetic attraction between the magnets in the gasket and the front metal surface of the refrigerator cabinet and due to the pressure difference between the inside of the refrigerator relative to outside. However, all known refrigerators have door handles that project outwardly from the front of the door and so the overall size of the refrigerator is increased by an amount corresponding to the projecting portion of the door handle. Therefore, the size of the packaging in which the refrigerator is supplied must be large enough to accommodate the cabinet and the handle. This increase in volume increases the cost of storing and transportation of the refrigerator. A refrigerator and/or freezer according to the invention is characterised in that the lever comprises first and second lever members, the handle being connected to one end of the second lever member, the second lever member being connectable to the first lever member in a first operating position and a second storage position. Preferably, the handle is arranged to be operated by applying a force substantially perpendicularly away from the door. Preferably, the end of the first lever member remote from the second lever member defines an arcuate path that extends beyond a plane defined by a sealing face on the door in response to operation of the handle to bear against the housing and assist in opening the door. In one preferred embodiment the handle and end of the first lever member remote from the second lever member are disposed on opposite sides of a plane extending at right angles from the plane defined by the sealing face of the door and through the axis of rotation of the lever. Preferably, the refrigerator and/or freezer includes support means rotatably mounting the lever at a point on the first lever member to the door, and biasing means to return the lever to its initial position when the handle is released. The end of the first lever member remote from the second lever member preferably includes a roller mounted thereto for engagement with the housing on rotation of the lever. Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is perspective view of a refrigerator incorporating a door handle according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of the refrigerator shown in Figure 1 showing the door handles when the doors are closed; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operative part of the door handle; Figure 5 is a plan view of the door handle the same view as that of Figure 2 but when the doors have just opened; and Figure 6 is a plan view of the door handle device is the same view as that shown in Figure 2 and Figure 5 but with the door handles folded for transportation. A side-by-side type refrigerator/freezer is illustrated in Figure 1 and includes a housing 10 having a vertical partition so as to define storage compartments 20 on the right and left sides to form a refrigerator and freezer respectively. Left and right doors 30 for opening and closing the respective storage compartments 20 are mounted on the front of the cabinet 10 and include shelves 32 on their inner surface. The storage compartments 20 are also provided with shelves 21. The doors 30 are hingedly secured to the cabinet 10 by hinges 33, 34 provided at the front corners of the cabinet 10. Gaskets 31 with magnets therein are attached to the edges of the inner surfaces of the doors 30 to seal the compartments 20 in an airtight manner when the doors 30 are closed. Door handles 45 are mounted on the front of each door 30 adjacent to the edge of each door remote from its hinges 33, 34 to enable a user to pull the doors 30 open. Each door handle 45 includes a handle device 40 at either end to facilitate the opening of each door 30. The construction of each door handle device 40 will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 2 to 4. The door handle device 40 includes upper and lower operating levers 41 and 42 extending substantially at right angles from either end of each handle 45 at the top and bottom of each door 30 and upper and lower support means 43 to rotatably mount and support the respective operating levers 41, 42. The construction of each door handle device 40 will now be described. It will be appreciated that the device on each end of the handle is identical and therefore only one device will be described hereinafter. The door handle device 40 includes an operating lever 41 comprising a first and second lever member 41 a, 41 b. The free front end of the first lever member 41 a is in contact with the front surface 11 of the housing 10 when the door 30 is closed and the opposite rear end of the first lever member 41a is connected to the front end of the second lever member 41b via a connecting mechanism 46. The opposite rear end of the second lever member 41b is connected to the upper end of the door handle 45. The operating lever 41 is formed in an approximately " ∫ " or shallow "S" shape, so that the front end of the first lever member 41a in contact the front surface 11 of the housing 10 is disposed on the opposite side from the rear end of the second lever member 41b relative to a line Y-Y (see, e.g., Figure 2) extending through a longitudinal axis of a central portion of the operating lever 41. A roller 44 of a flattened donut or annular shape is secured by a connecting pin 44a to the free front end of the first lever member 41a and is in contact with the front surface 11 of the housing 10 for reasons that will become apparent from the following description. As shown most clearly in Figures 3 and 4, the connecting mechanism 46 includes a tongue 46a formed on the rear end of the first lever member 41a, which is received in a recess 46e formed on the front end of the second lever member 41b. First, second and third pin holes 46b, 46c, 46d are provided in the tongue 46a and fourth and fifth pin holes 46f, 46g are formed in the second lever member 41 b in the region of the recess 46e. Connecting pins 46h, 46i are provided for connecting the tongue 46a to the second lever member 41b once it has been inserted in the recess 46e. As shown in Figure 4, the tongue 46a has a flat semi-circular shape which is thinner than the remaining portion of the first lever member 41a. The recess 46e is a slot which is a little larger than the thickness of the tongue 46a to receive the tongue 46a therein. The first and second pin holes 46b and 46c, and the fourth and fifth pin holes 46f and 46g are disposed approximately on the line Y-Y which, as noted above, is the longitudinal centre line of the operating lever 41 and the connecting pins 46h, 46i are received in the fourth and fifth pin holes 46f, 46g in the second lever member 41b and in the pin holes 46b, 46c in the tongue 46a to connect the first and second lever members 41 a, 41 b together. The third pin hole 46d is disposed adjacent one edge of the tongue 46a for reasons which will become apparent from the following description. The top surface of the door 30 includes an aperture 43a to receive a cylindrical support member 43c. A biasing means 43e such as a coil spring is disposed in the support member 43c, and a connecting shaft 43b extends through an aperture in the first lever member 41a and rotatably mounts the first lever member 41a to the door 30. The support member 43c includes a flange extending outwardly across the upper surface of the door and has a plurality of screw holes into which screws 43g may be passed to mount the support member 43c to the top of the door 30. The connecting shaft 43b passes through the first lever member 41a and is received in a boss 43d inside and concentric with the support member 43c to rotatably connect the first lever member 41a to the support means 43. Further, the biasing means 43e is disposed in a recess surrounding the boss 43d and exerts a returning or restoring force to the first lever member 41 a. As can be seen in Figure 4, a lower downwardly projecting end of the biasing means 43e is affixed to the lower end of the support member 43c, and a laterally projecting upper end thereof is affixed to a projection 43f (see Figure 3) which is formed on the underside of the first lever member 41a. The door handle 45, which is tubular in shape (see Figure 3), has a bush 45a received in each end. The door handle 45 is connected to the second lever member 41b by passing a screw 45b through an aperture in the second lever member 41b into the bush 45a. The operation of the door handle device 40 will now be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 6 shows a plan view of the refrigerator in which the handles 45 are stored for transportation. In this configuration, the tongue 46a is inserted in the recess 46e, and the first pin hole 46b is aligned with the fourth pin hole 46f and the third pin hole 46d is aligned with the fifth pin hole 46g (see Figure 4). Connecting pins 46h and 46i are received in the respective pin holes, as shown in Figure 6 to maintain the door handle 45 in this orientation in which it is disposed in close proximity to the refrigerator door 30, thereby reducing the depth (front to back dimension) of the refrigerator. Accordingly, the packaging or carrying crate for the refrigerator can be decreased in size to enable a significantly greater number of products to be stored in a given space. Moreover, the reduced packaging size makes it more convenient to transport and install the refrigerator at the desired location at, e.g. in a purchaser's house. When the refrigerator is to be used, the connecting pin 46i is removed and the handle is rotated into a position in which the second pin hole 46c is aligned with the fifth hole 46g, and the connecting pin 46i is then re-fastened to the second pin hole 46c through the pin hole 46g, so that the door handle 45 is disposed spaced relation to the front of the refrigerator door 30 as illustrated in Figure 2. When the door is closed the magnet is attracted to the edge of the inner surface of the door 30 to maintain the gasket is a sealing relationship to the front surface 11 of the cabinet 10. When the door handle 45 is pulled, the operating lever 41 rotates about the support means 43, as shown by arrow A in Figure 5, to push the free front end of the first lever member 41a against the door 30. The roller 44, which is mounted to the front end of the first lever member 41a, rolls along the front surface 11 of the door as the first lever member 41a rotates and urges the door 30 away from the front surface 11 and separates the gasket 31 from the cabinet 11 to form a gap G, as indicated in Figure 5. As a result, outside air is introduced into the storage compartment 20, and therefore, the storage compartment 20 is charged to a pressure equal to that of the outside. There is then no pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the refrigerator, thus the further opening of the door 30 is facilitated. During rotation of the first lever member 41a, when the handle 45 is pulled, the biasing means 43e of the support means 43, i.e., the coil spring 43e, is compressed so that if the user releases the door handle 45, the operating lever and the door handle 45 returned back to their original positions due to the resilience of the coil spring 43e. It will be evident from the foregoing that the door handle device according to this invention has the advantage that the door can be easily and smoothly opened, because the internal pressure within the refrigerator is equalised to the ambient or outside pressure. Further, the door handle device according to this invention has the further advantage in that the transporting and storage of the associated refrigerator is easier, and the transporting and storage costs can be reduced, because the door handle can be repositioned so as to be disposed adjacent to the front surface of the door thus reducing the profile of the refrigerator.

Claims: A refrigerator and/or freezer including a housing (10), a door (30) for sealingly closing the housing and a handle (45) mounted to the door (30), the handle (45) connected to one end of a door opening lever (41) mounted to the door (30), and the other end of the lever (41) being arranged to bear against the housing (10) to assist opening of the door (30) in response to operation of the handle (45) for opening of the door (30) characterised in that the lever (41) comprises first and second lever members (41a,41b), the handle (45) being connected to one end of the second lever member (41 b), the second lever member (41b) being connectable to the first lever member (41a) in a first operative position and a second storage position. A refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1, wherein the handle (45) is arranged to be operated by applying a force substantially perpendicularly away from the door (30). A refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the end of the first lever member (41a) remote from the second lever member (41b) defines an arcuate path that extends beyond a plane defined by a sealing face on the door (30) in response to operation of the handle (45) to bear against the housing (10) and assist in opening the door (30). A refrigerator and/or freezer according to claim 3, wherein the handle (45) and the end of the first lever member (41a) remote from the second lever member (41b) are disposed on opposite sides of a plane (Y-Y) extending at right angles from the plane defined by the sealing face of the door (30) and through the axis of rotation of the lever (41). A refrigerator and/or freezer according to any preceding claim, including a support means (43) rotatably mounting the lever (41) at a point on the first lever member (41a) to the door (30) and biasing means (43e) to return the lever (41) back to its initial position when the handle (45) is released. A refrigerator and/or freezer according to any preceding claim, wherein the end of the first lever member (41a) remote from the second lever member (41b) includes a roller (44) mounted thereto for engagement with the housing (10) on rotation of the lever (41). A refrigerator according to any preceding claim wherein the first lever member (41a) and the second lever member (41b) include co-operating means (46) to connect the first lever member (41a) to the second lever member (41b) in either of said positions. A refrigerator according to claim 7 wherein the co-operating means (46) includes a tongue (46a) for engagement in a corresponding slot (46e). A refrigerator according to claim 8 wherein the tongue (46a) is formed on the first lever member (41) and the slot is formed in the second lever member (41 b), and a plurality of holes (46g, 46f) extend through the walls of the slot (46e) and through the tongue (46a), one hole (46g) in the wall of the slot (46e) being aligned with one of two holes (46c, 46d) in the tongue (46a) and a pin (46i) being inserted through said aligned holes (56g, 46c, 46d) to connect the handle (45) to the lever (41) in the operative position, said pin (46i) being removable to enable said hole (46g) in the wall of the slot (46e) to be aligned with the other hole (46d) in the tongue (46a), so that the pin (46i) can be replaced to connect the handle (45) to the lever (41) in the storage position. A refrigerator according to any of claims 5-9 wherein the support means (43) comprise an aperture (43a) formed in the top surface of the door (30), a cylindrical support member (43c) disposed in the aperture (43a) and including a boss (43d) for rotatably supporting the lever (41), biasing means (43e) mounted at an outer peripheral part of the boss (43d) so as to exert a restoring force to the upper operating lever, and a connecting shaft extending through the lever (41) and connected to the boss (43d). A refrigerator according to claim 10 wherein the biasing means (43e) comprises a coil spring having a first end affixed to the lever (41) and a second end affixed to the support member (43c). A refrigerator according to any preceding claim, wherein the lever (41,42) is mounted to the top and/or bottom edge of the door (30).

Inventors: NAM JEONG-NAM, YOON CHA-SOO, NAM, JEONG-NAM, YOON, CHA-SOO
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO. LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: F25D23
IPC codes: E05C19, E05B65, E05B7, E05B17, F25D23