Patent Publication Number: US-7594412-B1

Title: Refrigerating appliance

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Application PCT/SI2005/000034, filed Nov. 14, 2005, which International Application was published on Jun. 15, 2006, as International Publication No. WO 2006/062488 A1 in the English language. The International Application claims priority of Slovenian Patent Application P-200400338, filed Dec. 8, 2004. 
   BACKGROUND 
   The present invention refers to a refrigerating appliance, preferably for cooling drinks, comprising a cooling section with a freezing unit arranged therein, having a freezing section where an ice making device is arranged, said cooling and/or freezing section being optionally divided into several compartments by means of partition walls, and having an evaporator for creating and supplying cold air into the freezing and cooling section, where several cooling channels are formed in the body of the refrigerating appliance for distributing cooling air via several discharging slots into each separate compartment. 
   The aforementioned refrigerating appliance comprising a cooling section with an ice making device arranged therein is well known, where an insulated body is inserted in the cooling section in which there is located an ice making device, an evaporator, and a fan arranged above said evaporator, said fan forcing cooled air over the ice making device. The drawback of the aforementioned solution is that the forced cooling air circulation in the cooling section is not satisfactory resulting in relatively high temperature gradients in the cooling section. There also exists a constant danger of moisture precipitation and/or ice creation on the walls dividing the cooling section from the ice making device which are not insulated or not insulated enough, respectively. 
   SUMMARY 
   It is the object of the present invention to create a refrigerating appliance where the cooling section is fed by a cooling air without fear that the foodstuff placed in the cooling section freezes locally, and where minimal temperature gradients are obtained in said cooling section. 
   The object as set above is solved according to the invention by a vertical partition wall made of material having a good thermal conductivity, said partition wall being arranged in a cooling section and spaced from a back of the refrigerating appliance and extending over the entire free inner surface of said back. Thus, a channel for cooling air flow is created between said back and said partition wall. Said channel is conveniently divided in two vertical channels separated by means of a vertical web, where the first channel is intended to supply cooling air into the cooling section, and the second channel is intended to draw the air to an evaporator. Said vertical partition wall is formed in each compartment provided in the cooling section and in the area of the first vertical channel, with an array of suitable slots for supplying the cooling air into each compartment. Moreover, said vertical partition wall is formed, in the area of the second vertical channel, with an array of suitable slots for extracting the cooling air from the cooling section over the second vertical channel into the interspace between a freezing unit and the back of the refrigerating appliance where the evaporator is located. The freezing section is connected to the first vertical channel by means of a connecting channel, the aperture thereof can be opened and closed by means of a flap. The cooling air is blown into the cooling section and into the freezing section by means of a fan arranged in the partition wall which divides the evaporator from the freezing section. The air stream which is cooled down in the freezing section and which cools the ice making device returns through the slot in the partition wall that divides the evaporator from the freezing section into said interspace where the evaporator is located in order to be cooled down again. 
   In order to obtain as good cooling results as possible, the first vertical channel for supplying cooling air extends in height from the lowest compartment, with which it is connected, and up to the top of the refrigerating appliance, and in width, it extends approximately from the freezing unit to the body. The second vertical channel extends from the lowest compartment, to which it is connected, and up to the freezing unit, and in width, it extends for the width of the freezing unit. 
   In order to prevent freezing the drinks located directly by the vertical partition wall in the upper compartment, said vertical partition wall is lined with an insulation over the entire height of the channel in the area of entrance of the cold air stream into the first vertical channel and up to the discharging slots in the upper compartment. Thus, the possible freezing of drinks is prevented on one hand, and unwanted formation of water drops on the vertical partition wall on the other hand. According to the invention, said vertical partition wall is preferably made of metal. Furthermore, said slots for the entry of cooling air into the cooling section which are formed in said vertical partition wall are preferably arranged in the area of the outer wall of the refrigerating appliance. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  a front view of a refrigerating appliance according to the invention, with the door removed; 
       FIG. 2  a cross-sectional view of the refrigerating appliance along the line II-II of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  a cross-sectional view of the refrigerating appliance along the line III-III of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  a cross-sectional view of the refrigerating appliance along the line IV-IV of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
   A refrigerating appliance according to the invention has a body  1  which is closed by a door  1 ′ and comprises a cooling section  2  being optionally divided into several compartments  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9  by means of horizontal partition walls  3 ,  4 ,  5 , and further comprises a freezing unit  10  arranged in the cooling section  2  and closed by a door  10 ′ and comprising a freezing section  12  enclosed by means of a casing  11 . Said partition walls  3 ,  4 ,  5  are intended for depositing and storing of food and/or drinks. Said freezing unit  10  is preferably arranged under the ceiling and by the wall of the cooling section  2 . An ice making device  14  and an evaporator  15  for cooling down the cooling air are located in the freezing section  12  and directly under ceiling  13  of the freezing unit  10 . Said evaporator  15  is arranged in the interspace between a back  16  of the refrigerating appliance and a vertical partition wall  17  in the freezing unit  10 . Fan  18  is arranged in the upper area of the vertical partition wall  17  which divides the air stream A cooled down at the evaporator  15  into the air stream B flowing around the ice making device  14  and cooling down the freezing section  12  simultaneously and into air stream C which cools down the cooling section  2 . After the ice making device  14  and the freezing section  12  are cooled down the cold air stream B returns through a slot  19  in the lower area of the partition wall  17  into said interspace where the evaporator  15  is located. 
   Horizontally spaced from the back  16  of the refrigerating appliance, there is arranged over the entire height a partition wall  20  made of a material with a good thermal conductivity, preferably of metal. In width, said partition wall  20  extends over the entire width of the refrigerating appliance only in the area under the freezing unit  10 , whereas the width of said partition wall  20  equals, in the height of the freezing unit  10 , only the distance between the freezing unit  10  and the body  1  (cf.  FIG. 4 ). Thus, a channel for a cooling air flow is created between said back  16  and said partition wall  20 , said channel being divided into two vertical channels  21 ,  22 , mutually divided in width by means of a vertical web  23  extending from the freezing unit  10  to the area under the partition wall  5 . The first vertical channel  21  extends in height from the lowermost compartment  9 , with which it is connected, up to the top of the refrigerating appliance, and in width only from the freezing unit  10  to the body  1 , whereas the second vertical channel  22  extends from the lowermost compartment  9 , with which it is connected, up to the freezing unit  10 , and in width only for the amount of the width of the freezing unit  10 . 
   The partition wall  20  is formed in each compartment  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9  and in the area of the first vertical channel  21  with an array of respective slots  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27  for discharging of the cooling air into each compartment, whereas the partition wall  20  is formed in the area of the second vertical channel  22  with an array of respective slots  28 ,  29  for extracting the air. Here, each of said slots is preferably formed in the area directly under the partition wall  3 ,  4 ,  5 . The freezing section  12  is connected by means of a connecting channel  30  to the first vertical channel  21 , a flap being arranged at the aperture of the connecting channel  30 , by means of which the amount of cold air is controlled which enters the vertical channel  21  from the freezing section  12 . The amount of the air stream A is divided by means of a deflector  32  to the part B cooling down the freezing section  12 , and the part C streaming through the connecting channel  30  into the first vertical channel  21 , said deflector being arranged in the freezing unit  10  at the outlet side of the fan  18 . 
   Thus, the cold air stream C passing through said flap  31  and the connecting channel  30  into the first vertical channel  21  travels downwards over said channel  21  and enters through said slots  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27  in each compartment  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9  of the cooling section  2  where it cools down the foodstuff located therein. In order to prevent in the upper compartment  6 , freezing of the drinks located directly next to the partition wall  20 , the latter is lined by means of an insulation  33  over the entire height of the channel  21  from the area of the cold air stream C entrance into the first vertical channel  21  to the discharging slots  24 . The air stream cooling down the foodstuff flows between the door  1 ′ of the refrigerating appliance and each partition wall  3 ,  4 ,  5  into the lowermost compartment  9 , and from there, through the slots  28 ,  29  into the second vertical channel  22  and further into the interspace between the back  16  and the partition wall  17  where the evaporator  15  is located, where it joins the air stream B and cools down again, and afterwards the entire process repeats itself. According to the invention, it is preferable that the slots formed in said vertical partition wall  20  are located in the area of the outer wall of the refrigerating appliance. The temperature in the cooling section  2  and in the freezing unit  12 , as well as the fan are controlled in a manner known per se and not shown in detail.