Abstract:
A cooler unit has a control housing that is mounted to a floor of a cabinet liner that is sloped in a downward direction toward the opening of the cooler unit. The control housing retains consumable items that are stored on the floor of the cabinet liner so that the items do not fall out of the cooler unit. Particularly, the control housing can retain wine bottles. The control housing houses a controller that controls the operation of the cooler unit. The control housing can include a display and user inputs so that a user can easily manage the cooler unit.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/681,852, filed Mar. 5, 2007, hereby incorporated by reference as is full set forth herein, and this application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/795,821, filed on Apr. 28, 2006, and entitled “Control for Cooler Unit,” hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
     STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    This invention relates to cold storage units, such as coolers and refrigerators, and in particular, the invention relates to cooler units with an improved control unit housings capable of retaining consumable items stored on the liner floors of the cold storage units. 
         [0004]    Cold storage units, such as refrigerators, freezers and beverage coolers, are well known, virtually indispensable appliances. Compact refrigerators, especially built-in undercounter beverage and wine coolers, have especially attractive attributes because they can be installed in homes, offices, boats, and recreational vehicles. There has thus been numerous refinements and improvements made to these devices to address and correct deficiencies in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,712, which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a cooler unit with improved storage and accessibility features. 
         [0005]    An issue with compact cooler units is the maximal use of interior space for storage. Such units typically have a liner on the interior of the cabinet with a liner floor that slopes in a downward direction towards the door, either for drainage or because of the draft angle required to remove the liner from the mold. It is sometimes possible to store food and beverage items (i.e., consumable items) on the liner floor; however, the liner floor can prove to be unsuitable for food and beverage item storage because the slope can cause the food and beverage items to rest against the door of the unit when the door is closed. When the door is subsequently opened, the food and beverage items are no longer restrained by the door and can fall out of the cooler unit. Thus, a user is not able to use the liner floor to store food and beverage items, and this available storage space is wasted. 
         [0006]    Another problem with retaining is that consumable items stored on the floor of a cooler unit may be disturbed by the door when the door is opened and closed. The jarring of the consumable item can negatively impact the quality of the consumable item. For example, carbonated and sparkling beverages can build up excessive pressure when agitated. 
         [0007]    Another issue with compact cooler units is the placement of the controller, display and user inputs. The display should be positioned so that it can be easily viewed and the user inputs should be positioned to be easily accessible. The controller should be positioned to maximize interior space and to protect the control components from excessive heat. These design constraints can be difficult to meet for compact cooler units. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    In one aspect, the present invention provides a cooler unit cabinet defining a storage cavity having a back side an opening at a front side closed by a door. The cooler unit can include a liner disposed in the cabinet, the liner having a bottom wall that may be sloped downward from the rear of the cabinet to the cabinet opening. A control unit housing can be mounted to the liner floor near the cabinet opening. The control unit housing can be configured to retain consumable items stored on the liner floor. The control unit housing can housing a controller that controls the operation of the cooler unit. The control unit housing may further include a display window and user inputs. The consumable items can be beverage items such as wine bottles, which includes sparkling wine bottles. The wine bottles can be stored parallel to the control unit housing and/or perpendicular to the control unit housing. 
         [0009]    In another aspect, the present invention provides a control housing having a base wall, a display wall and a retaining wall. The control housing can be attached to a front portion of a bottom wall of the liner and extend across a width of the bottom wall of the liner. The base wall can be positioned adjacent the bottom wall of the liner. The display wall can extend from the base wall. The retaining wall can extend between the display wall and the base wall. The display wall can face the front of the storage cavity and the retaining wall can face the back side of the storage cavity. The retaining wall can include an essentially curved section and an essentially planar section, the essentially curved section extending between the display wall and the planar section and the planar section extending between the curved section and the base wall. The planar section can be essentially perpendicular to the base wall. The display wall can form an angle with the base wall that is between 45 and 90 degrees. 
         [0010]    The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In this description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration preferred embodiments of the invention. Such embodiments do not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference must be made therefore to the claims for interpreting the scope of the invention. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the cooler unit of the present invention with a pair of beverage items stored in a parallel configuration; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial side cross-sectional view within arc  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view take along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a partial side cross-section view taken along line  5 - 5  of Fig. including a beverage item stored in a perpendicular configuration; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a partial side cross-section view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4  not including a beverage item. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a partial exploded assembly view of a base of a control unit housing, a control unit with a display, a display cover, a front face of a control unit housing cover, and an overlay; 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of the control unit housing and the control unit with the display cover removed, and the control unit housing cover separated from the base and rotated to show a plurality of ribs; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of the control unit housing of the control unit with the display cover attached to the display, and the control unit housing separated from the base. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]      FIG. 1  shows a cooler unit  10 , the term used herein to mean any self-contained cold storage unit, for example, a refrigerator, freezer, ice maker, a wine and/or beverage cooler, and combinations thereof. The cooler unit  10  generally includes a thermally insulated cabinet  12  defining a storage cavity with an access opening at the front face of the cabinet  12 . The opening is sealed by a thermally insulated door  14  pivotally mounted to the front of the cabinet  12 . The cooler unit  10  includes a compressor, a capillary tube, and interior and exterior heat exchanger coils containing a standard refrigerant, as known in the art, for lowering the temperature of the air inside the cabinet  12 . The compressor and exterior coils are contained in a compartment in the bottom of the cabinet  12  accessible from the back side of the unit (not shown). 
         [0021]    A control unit housing  16  contains a control unit comprising a circuit board with a low-voltage portion and a high-voltage portion. The control unit is configured to receive a desired storage cavity air temperature to be maintained from a user input, receive and/or determine the storage cavity air temperature, maintain the storage cavity air temperature at the desired temperature by controlling the cooler unit  10 , provide a switch to power an internal light, and provide a switch to power on/off the cooler unit  10 . The control unit is electrically coupled to a high-voltage power supply, compressor, and other electrically activated and/or powered components. High-voltage power supply generally means the line-in voltage for a building, such as 110/120 VAC or higher. 
         [0022]    An overlay  18  is attached to the control unit housing  16  and includes a plurality of flexible pads  20  and a translucent display window  22 . As discussed hereinafter, the pads  20  are associated with switches of the control unit and can include symbols and/or text to indicate with which switch they are associated. The display window  22  may be tinted, colored, and/or treated to otherwise enhance the display. The inside of the cabinet  12  is fit with an insert liner  24  supporting a plurality of shelves (not shown). The control unit housing  16  sits on top of the insert liner floor  26  and is attached to the cabinet  12 . The perimeter of the door  14  mounts a flexible magnetic seal typically used with conventional refrigerators. A pair of beverage items  28  are shown placed on the insert liner floor  26  and retained by the control unit housing  16 . 
         [0023]    Turning now to  FIG. 2 , control unit housing  16  is configured to maximize storage space in the cabinet  12  and to act as a retainer that prevents the beverage items  28  placed in the bottom of the storage space from exiting the cooler unit  10 . The insert liner floor  26  slopes an angle A (A is shown as 1° in  FIG. 2 ) in a downward direction towards the door  14  as a result of the manufacturing process for the liner  24 . As is known in the art, an insert liner floor may slope more or less than 1° depending on how the cabinet is configured. The slope can depend on design factors other than the limits/results of the manufacturing process. Beverage and/or food items (i.e., consumable items) placed on the insert liner floor  26  can tend to roll and/or slide downward towards the door  14  and would exit the cooler unit  10  when the door  14  is open if the control unit housing  16  did not stop the items from exiting the unit  10 . The beverage items  28  are retained by the control unit housing  16 . The control unit housing  16  prevents valuable beverage and food items from falling out of the cooler unit  10  and becoming damaged. The control unit housing  16  also prevents beverage and food items from being disturbed by the door when the door is opened and closed. The floor of the cabinet  12  is typically the coldest area in a cooler unit; accordingly, the control unit housing  16  allows for the storage of food and beverage items. Additionally, the floor of a cooler unit interior may include an angled rack for storing beverage and food items in a semi-upright position, the control unit housing  16  can act as a retainer so that the beverage and food items can be stored in such a position (see  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0024]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3-9 , the control unit housing  16  is attached to the cooling unit  10  by a plurality of fasteners  31 . The control unit housing  16  includes a base plate  42  and a housing cover  46 . Housing cover  46  includes a front wall  44  and a retaining wall  45 , which includes a curved section  47  and a planar section  49 . The base plate  42  is positioned on the insert liner floor  26  and is attached to the cooling unit  10  by fasteners  31 . Housing cover  46  is attached to base plate  42  with snap-fit connectors  51  extending from base plate  42  that engage snap-fit recesses  53  formed in housing cover  46  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ). Additionally, fasteners  55  can be used to attach housing cover  46  to base plate  42  (see  FIG. 4 ). As discussed below, front wall  44  forms an angle with base plate  42  that is less than 90 degrees and planar section  49  is essentially perpendicular to the base plate  42 . In an embodiment, the planar section  49  of the retaining wall  45  can have a height greater than a maximum radius of a standard wine bottle and/or a standard sparkling wine bottle. The height of the control unit housing  16  can be less than a maximum diameter of a standard wine bottle and/or standard sparkling wine bottle. In one embodiment, the control unit housing  16  has a height of 1.9 inches. 
         [0025]    Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the ramp shape of the retaining wall  45  allows for consumable items, particularly beverage containers, to be carefully placed in and removed from the cooling unit  10 . When placing a consumable item on the insert liner floor  26 , the consumable item can be gently ramped or rolled down along the retaining wall  45 . If a first consumable item is already stored against the retaining wall  45 , the ramp shape of the retaining wall  45  allows for a second consumable item to be gently wedged between the retaining wall  45  and the first consumable item. The retaining wall  45  also serves as a ramp that allows for consumable items to be gently removed. Additionally, when a first consumable item rests against the retaining wall  45  and a second consumable item rests against the first consumable item, the ramp shape of the retaining wall  45  allows for the second consumable item to move gradually toward the retaining wall  45  as the first consumable item is removed. This prevents the sudden movement of the second consumable item toward the retaining wall  45 , which would result in disturbing the contents of the second consumable item. The shape of the retaining wall  45  can also allow consumable items, especially beverage containers such as wine bottles, to be stacked on the control unit housing  16 . 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3-9 , a control unit  30  is mounted to the control unit housing  16 . The control unit  30  comprises a printed circuit board  32  with a display  34 . The control unit  30  includes a control circuit (not shown) on the printed circuit board  32  comprising various components (not shown) to control the cooler unit  10 . The printed circuit board  32  includes the electrical components necessary to receive power from a power supply and condition and/or transform the power to be used by the control circuit and the refrigeration components of the cooler unit  10 . The display  34  can be an LCD display, LED display, other conventional display, or an unconventional display configured to provide a visual indication of temperature or other information provided by the control circuit. A bottom edge  36  of the printed circuit board  32  rests in a plurality of slots  38  formed in a plurality of ribs  40  of base plate  42  for the control unit housing  16 . The slots  38  are formed in a line that is parallel to front wall  44  of housing cover  46  of the control unit housing  16 . A top edge  48  of the printed circuit board  32  fits within a plurality of slots  50  formed in a plurality of ribs  52  of the housing cover  46 . The slots  50  are formed in a line that is parallel to the front wall  44 . The slots  38  and  50  hold the control unit  30  so that the control unit  30  is parallel to the front wall  44  and so that the circuit board  32  remains a fixed distance from the front wall  44 . A display window  54  and a pair of notches  56  are formed within the front wall  44 , the notches  56  being disposed on opposite sides of the display window  54 . A planar display cover  58  includes a pair of flanges  60 , the flanges  60  each having a flange first portion  62  that extends perpendicularly down from a front side  64  of the planar display cover  58  and a flange second portion  66  that extends perpendicularly away from the first portion  62  in a direction that is away from the front face  64 . The display cover  58  is sized to overlay the display  34  so that the first portions  62  of the flanges  60  can be friction fitted and/or compression fitted to opposite sidewalls  68  of the display  34 . Thus, the display cover  58  is removably attached to the display  34 . The display window  54  is sized to fit within the display window  54 . The notches  56  formed in the front wall  44  of the housing cover  46  are sized so that the first portions  62  of the flanges  60  of the display cover  58  can fit within the notches  56 . The flange second portions  66  of the display cover  58  are configured to engage an inner face  70  of the front wall  44  of the housing cover  46 . Thus, the control unit  30  is mounted to the housing  16  in a fixed position. To prevent the control unit  30  from moving within the housing  16 , a pair of shallow slots may be formed in the inner face  70  of the front wall  44  of the housing cover  46  where the flange second portions  66  engage the inner face  70  (not shown). Similarly, a portion of the display  34  can extend into the display window  54  so that the sidewalls of the display  34  overlap the sidewalls of the housing front wall  44  that define the display window  56 , the sidewalls of the housing front wall  44  blocking the display  34  and thus the control unit  30  from moving (not shown). 
         [0027]    To allow a user to view the display  34  when the display is positioned below eye level, the front wall  44  of the control unit housing  16 , which is parallel to the display  34 , forms an angle B (shown in  FIG. 3 ) with the base plate  42 , which is generally parallel to the insert liner floor  26 . Angle B can be adjusted depending on at what height the cooling unit  10  will be installed. In an embodiment, angle B can be between 90 and 45 degrees. Alternatively, the angle that the display  34  forms with the control unit housing  16  can be adjusted to allow a user to view the display. 
         [0028]    To allow a user to input various commands, the control unit  30  includes a plurality of user inputs. For example, the control unit  30  may allow a user to power on/off the cooler unit  10 , control an interior light(s), and input the desired interior air temperature with cooler and warmer switches. In an embodiment of the invention, the control unit  30  includes a plurality of switches  72  that are mounted to the circuit board  32  and in electrical communication with the control circuit of the control unit  30 . A plurality of paddles  74  are formed in the front wall  44  of the housing cover  46 , the paddles  74  are each connected to the front wall  44  by a living hinge  76  so that the paddles  74  can be pressed and moved towards the inside of the housing cover  46 . Each paddle  74  includes a square boss  78  that is positioned adjacent to one of the switches  72  when the control unit  30  is installed in the housing  16 . The paddles  74  do not activate the switches  72  unless pressed. Each paddle  74  is associated with an adjacent flexible pad  20  when the overlay  18  is attached to the control unit housing  16 . The flexible pads  20  have symbols and/or text on their outward showing faces so that a user may select which pad  20  to press for a desired input command. For example, a light bulb could be printed on a flexible pad  20 , the flexible pad  20  associated with a switch  72  that controls the interior light(s). A user presses a selected flexible pad  20  which in turn causes the paddle  74  and its boss  78  to move towards its associated switch  72  thereby depressing the switch  72  and, thus, sending an input command signal to the control unit  30 . Once released, the paddle  74  is caused to return to its un-pressed position by the paddle&#39;s associated living hinge  76 , and the switch  72  is no longer depressed. 
         [0029]    The printed circuit board  32  of the control unit  30  may include a combination of high-voltage components, high-power components, low-voltage components, and low-power components. Therefore, various regulations and standards concerning consumer products, such as those developed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.®, may require for safety purposes that the circuit board  32  be housed in a structure composed of materials having certain properties (e.g., flame resistance, electrical characteristics, thermal characteristics) and dimensions (e.g., thickness). For example, the housing  16 , display cover  58 , and paddles  74  may be required to have a certain flame rating with an acceptable range. Additionally, there may be further standards or requirements for the structures positioned nearest to the circuit board  32 . 
         [0030]    In one embodiment of the invention, the display cover  58  is molded out of Polyone® M4810 RPVC and has a thickness of 2 mm, which gives the display cover  58  an Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.® flame rating of 5 VA or 5 VB. In an embodiment of the invention, the paddles  74 , including bosses  78 , have a thickness of 5 mm. Furthermore, the housing  16 , display cover  58 , and paddles  74  can be made of materials that electrically and/or mechanically isolate the circuit board  32  and a display  34  from the control unit housing  16  to prevent injury to a user. The thicknesses of the display cover  58  and paddles  74  may also serve to thermally insulate the display  34  and switches  72 , respectively, from an area outside of the display cover  58  and control unit housing  16 , respectively. 
         [0031]    Illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for the purpose of disclosing a practical, operative structure whereby the invention may be practiced advantageously. However, the apparatus described is intended to be illustrative only, and the novel characteristics of the invention may be incorporated in other structural forms without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, to apprise the public of the full scope of the invention, the following claims are made: