Patent Publication Number: US-2016223244-A1

Title: Liner for a refrigerator appliance

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present subject matter relates generally to appliances, such as refrigerator appliances, and liners for the same. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Certain refrigerator appliances utilize sealed systems for cooling chilled chambers of the refrigerator appliances. A typical sealed system includes an evaporator and a fan, the fan generating a flow of air across the evaporator and cooling the flow of air. The cooled air is then provided through an opening into the chilled chamber to maintain the chilled chamber at a desired temperature. Air from the chilled chamber is circulated back through a return duct to be re-cooled by the sealed system during operation of the refrigerator appliance, maintaining the chilled chamber at the desired temperature. 
     Under ideal conditions, the air circulation through the chilled chamber provides for a desired temperature uniformity throughout the chilled chamber. Frequently, however, food or other items to be refrigerated disrupt the air circulation through the chilled chamber, which can lead to undesirable temperature gradients in the chilled chamber. For example, food or other items to be refrigerated may be placed adjacent to the opening through which cooled air is provided, blocking or redirecting a flow of cooled air from the inlet. 
     Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance including one more features for ensuring a more uniform temperature throughout the chilled chamber would be useful. More particularly, a refrigerator appliance including one more features for ensuring a more uniform temperature throughout the chilled chamber despite the positioning of any food or other items to be refrigerated in the chilled chamber would be especially beneficial. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
     In a first exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance includes a sealed system for cooling air and a cabinet including a liner. The liner has a plurality of walls, the plurality of walls defining a chilled chamber. The liner defines an inlet for receiving chilled air from the sealed system and a plurality of airflow delivery conduits. The plurality of airflow delivery conduits are in flow communication with the inlet and extend through or adjacent to one or more of the plurality of walls. The liner also defines a plurality of orifices defined in one or more of the plurality of walls connecting the plurality of airflow delivery conduits to the chilled chamber such that chilled air from the sealed system is distributed throughout the chilled chamber through the plurality of airflow delivery conduits. 
     In an exemplary aspect, a method is provided for forming a liner for a refrigerator appliance. The method includes determining three-dimensional information of the liner and converting the determined three-dimensional information of the liner into a plurality of slices. Each slice of the plurality of slices defines a respective cross-sectional layer of the liner. The method also includes successively forming each cross-sectional layer of the liner with an additive process. After successively forming each cross-sectional layer of the liner with an additive process: (1) the liner includes a plurality of walls defining a chilled chamber; (2) the liner defines an inlet for receiving chilled air from a sealed system; (3) the liner further defines a plurality of airflow delivery conduits in flow communication with the inlet; and (4) the liner further defines a plurality of orifices connecting the plurality of airflow delivery conduits to the chilled chamber. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures. 
         FIG. 1  provides a front, elevation view of a refrigerator appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 2  provides a front, elevation view of the exemplary refrigerator appliance of  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 2 , refrigerator doors of the exemplary refrigerator appliance are shown in an open position in order to reveal a fresh food chamber of the exemplary refrigerator appliance. 
         FIG. 3  provides a perspective view of a liner of the exemplary refrigerator appliance of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         FIG. 4  provides a cross-sectional view of a plurality of airflow delivery conduits defined in the liner of the exemplary refrigerator appliance of  FIGS. 1 and 2  taken along Line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  provides a cross-sectional view of an airflow delivery conduit defined in the liner of the exemplary refrigerator appliance of  FIGS. 1 and 2  taken along Line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  provides a flow diagram of an exemplary method for forming a liner in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 
       FIG. 1  provides a front, elevation view of a refrigerator appliance  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter with refrigerator doors  122  of the refrigerator appliance  100  shown in a closed position.  FIG. 2  provides a front view of refrigerator appliance  100  with refrigerator doors  122  shown in an open position to reveal a fresh food chamber  118  of refrigerator appliance  100 . 
     Refrigerator appliance  100  includes a cabinet or housing  102  that extends between a top  104  and a bottom  106  along a vertical direction V, between a first side  108  and a second side  110  along a lateral direction L, and between a front side  112  and a rear side  114  along a transverse direction T. Additionally, cabinet  102  includes a liner  116  ( FIG. 2 ), and the liner  116  defines a chilled chamber for receipt of food items for storage. In particular, liner  116  defines two chilled chambers—a fresh food chamber  118  positioned at or adjacent top  104  of cabinet  102  and a freezer chamber  120  arranged at or adjacent bottom  106  of cabinet  102 . As such, refrigerator appliance  100  is generally referred to as a bottom mount refrigerator. It is recognized, however, that the benefits of the present disclosure apply to other types and styles of refrigerator appliances such as, e.g., a top mount refrigerator appliance or a side-by-side style refrigerator appliance. Consequently, the description set forth herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any aspect to any particular refrigerator chamber configuration. 
     Refrigerator doors  122  are rotatably hinged to an edge of cabinet  102  for selectively accessing fresh food chamber  118 . In addition, a freezer door  124  is arranged below refrigerator doors  122  for selectively accessing freezer chamber  120 . Freezer door  124  is coupled to a freezer drawer (not shown) slidably mounted within freezer chamber  120 . As discussed above, refrigerator doors  122  and freezer door  124  are shown in the closed configuration in  FIG. 1 , and refrigerator doors  122  and freezer door  124  are shown in the open position in  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring now particularly to  FIG. 2 , various storage components are mounted within fresh food chamber  118  to facilitate storage of food items therein as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In particular, the storage components include bins  126 , drawers  128 , and shelves  130  that are mounted within fresh food chamber  118 . Bins  126 , drawers  128 , and shelves  130  are configured for receipt of food items (e.g., beverages and/or solid food items) and may assist with organizing such food items. As an example, drawers  128  can receive fresh food items (e.g., vegetables, fruits, and/or cheeses) and increase the useful life of such fresh food items. 
     As also may be seen in  FIG. 2 , refrigerator doors  122  include outer panels  132  and inner liners  134 . Each refrigerator door of refrigerator doors  122  includes a respective one of outer panels  132  and inner liners  134  mounted to each other. Insulation, such as sprayed polyurethane foam, may be disposed between outer panels  132  and inner liners  134  within refrigerator doors  122  in order to assist with insulating fresh food chamber  118  when refrigerator doors  122  are in the closed position. Outer panels  132  and inner liners  134  may be constructed of or with any suitable materials. For example, outer panels  132  may be constructed of or with a metal, such a stainless steel or painted steel, and inner liners  134  may be constructed of or with a suitable plastic material. Freezer door  124  may be constructed in a similar manner as refrigerator doors  122 . 
     Although not depicted, refrigerator appliance  100  further includes a sealed system for cooling air and a delivery system for delivering such cold air to fresh food chamber  118  and freezer chamber  120 . In certain embodiments, the sealed system may include a condenser, an expansion device, evaporator, and a compressor. Such a sealed system may manipulate a refrigerant such that the refrigerant passing through the evaporator defines a relatively low temperature. Moreover, as will be discussed in greater detail below, the delivery system for delivering chilled air includes a plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  and a plurality of orifices  166  defined in liner  116  and a fan  152 . The fan  152  may be configured to generate or otherwise provide a flow of air over the evaporator (generating a flow of chilled air) and through the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  and orifices  166  to provide such chilled air to the chilled chamber, i.e., fresh food chamber  118  or freezer chamber  120 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a schematic view of liner  116  of exemplary refrigerator appliance  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  is provided. As shown, liner  116  includes a plurality of walls defining the chilled chambers. More particularly, liner  116  generally includes a rear wall  154 , a first side wall  156 , a second and opposite side wall  158  along the lateral direction L, a top wall  160 , and a bottom wall  162 . Rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top and bottom walls  162 ,  164  together at least partially define fresh food chamber  118 . Liner  116  additionally includes a similar configuration of walls defining freezer chamber  120 . 
     Additionally, as previously stated, liner  116  includes a delivery system for delivering chilled air from the sealed system (not shown) to the chilled chambers defined by liner  116 . More particularly, liner  116  defines an inlet  164  for receiving chilled air from the sealed system. For the embodiment depicted, inlet  164  is defined in rear wall  154  of liner  116 . Additionally, refrigerator appliance  100  includes a fan  152  configured to provide a flow of air over, e.g., an evaporator of the sealed system and into inlet  164  defined by liner  116 . 
     From inlet  164 , chilled air flows through a plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  in flow communication with inlet  164  and defined by liner  116  in the walls of liner  116 . Notably, for the exemplary embodiment depicted, one or more outside layers of liner  116  are removed to expose the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150 . Liner  116  further defines a plurality of orifices  166  in the walls of liner  116  connecting the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  to fresh food chamber  118  (see also  FIG. 2 ). With such a configuration, chilled air from the sealed system may be distributed throughout fresh food chamber  118  through the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  and orifices  166 . For the embodiment depicted, the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  and orifices  166  are defined in rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top wall  160 . Moreover, as depicted schematically in  FIG. 3 , rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top wall  160  each define a density of orifices  166 . As used herein, “density of orifices” refers to an amount of orifices  166  defined in a particular wall of line  116  divided by an interior surface area of such wall of liner  116  (i.e., a surface area of the wall of liner  116  facing the chilled chamber). For the embodiment depicted, rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top wall  160  each define a density of orifices  166  of at least one orifice  166  per square foot. 
     It should be appreciated, however, that in other exemplary embodiments, one or more of rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top wall  160  may define any other suitable density of orifices  166 . For example, in other embodiments, one or more of rear wall  154 , first and second side walls  156 ,  158 , and top wall  160  may define a density of orifices  166  of at least three orifices  166  per square foot, of at least five orifices  166  per square foot, of at least seven orifices  166  per square foot, or of at least ten orifices  166  per square foot. Additionally, or alternatively, in still other exemplary embodiments, the plurality of orifices  166  may not be defined in one or more of rear wall  154 , first side wall  156 , second side wall  158 , and top wall  160 . Further, in yet another exemplary embodiment, one or more of the plurality of orifices  166  may additionally or alternatively be defined in bottom wall  162 . 
     Referring still to exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  include a primary delivery conduit  168  and a plurality of secondary delivery conduits  170  branching from the primary delivery conduit  168 . The primary delivery conduit  168  defines a larger cross-sectional area than a cross-sectional area of any of the secondary delivery conduits  170 , and at least certain of the secondary delivery conduits  170  vary in size. In general, for the exemplary embodiment depicted, the primary delivery conduit  168  and plurality of secondary delivery conduits  170  are sized to allow approximately an even amount of airflow to each of the plurality of orifices  166 . It should be appreciated, that as used herein, terms of approximation, such as “approximately,” refer to being within a ten percent margin of error. Alternatively, however, primary delivery conduit  168  and plurality of secondary delivery conduits  170  may be sized such that more airflow is provided to, e.g. orifices  166  defined in rear wall  154  as compared to orifices  166  defined in first side wall  156 , second side wall  158 , or top wall  160 . 
     Referring still to the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3 , each of the plurality of orifices  166  are depicted defining a consistent cross-sectional size. For example, each of the plurality of orifices  166  define a cross-sectional area of less than or equal to about three quarters of a square inch (0.75 in 2 ). Alternatively, however, in other embodiments, each of the plurality of orifices  166  may define a cross-sectional area of less than or equal to about one half of a square inch (0.5 in 2 ), of less than or equal to about one quarter of a square inch (0.25 in 2 ), or of less than or equal to about one eighth of a square inch (0.125 in 2 ). By contrast, however, in still other exemplary embodiments, a cross-sectional size of each of the plurality of orifices  166  may be varied. For example, in certain exemplary embodiments, the pattern of airflow provided via the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  may be varied by appropriately varying a size of each of the plurality of orifices  166 . For example, in certain exemplary embodiments, a cross-sectional size of each orifice  166  may generally increase with a distance from inlet  164 . 
     It should be appreciated, that although liner  116  depicted in  FIG. 3  only defines airflow delivery conduits  150  and orifices  166  in walls defining fresh food chamber  118 , in other exemplary embodiments, liner  116  may additionally or alternatively define similar airflow delivery conduits  150  and orifices  166  in freezer chamber  120 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , cross-sectional views of the airflow delivery conduits  150  are provided. More particularly,  FIG. 4  provides a cross-sectional view of four airflow delivery conduits  150  taken along Line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 ; and  FIG. 5  provides a cross-sectional view of an exemplary airflow delivery conduit  150  taken along Line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 3 . As shown, each of the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  may generally define a longitudinal direction L ( FIG. 5 ) extending along a length of the respective airflow delivery conduit  150  (i.e., along an airflow path of the respective airflow delivery conduit  150 ) and a cross direction C ( FIG. 4 ) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. For the exemplary embodiment depicted, the airflow delivery conduits  150  each define an elliptical cross-sectional shape in the cross direction C ( FIG. 4 ). Moreover, as is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , liner  116  is formed integrally around the plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  such that the airflow delivery conduits  150  are defined within the walls of liner  116 . In certain exemplary embodiments, liner  116  may be formed integrally using an additive manufacturing process, described in greater detail below. 
     It should be appreciated, however, that in other exemplary embodiments, the liner  116  may be formed using any other suitable method. For example, in certain exemplary embodiments, the liner may be formed as a base portion and a separate ductwork portion. The base portion may include the plurality of walls defining the chilled chambers, with the plurality or orifices extending through the walls. Additionally, the ductwork portion may be formed of a plurality of airflow delivery ducts having a shape that complements an outside of the base portion of the liner. More particularly, the ductwork portion may be configured to wrap around and attach to the plurality of walls of the base portion of the liner. The ductwork portion may thus deliver chilled air through the plurality of airflow delivery ducts, through the orifices in the walls of the base portion, and to the chilled chambers. For example, the airflow delivery ducts of the ductwork portion may be glued to the walls of the base portion or may snap into place (e.g., each airflow delivery duct may have an opening that extends into a respective orifice in a wall of the base portion). The ductwork portion may be formed using an additive manufacturing process, or alternatively may be formed by molding. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a method  200  is illustrated for forming a liner for a refrigerator appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. Method  200  may be used to form any suitable liner. For example, method  200  may be used to form liner  116  described above with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . Method  200  permits formation of various features of liner, as discussed in greater detail below. Thus, method  200  is discussed in greater detail below with reference to liner  116  of the exemplary refrigerator appliance  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     Method  200  includes fabricating liner  116  as a unitary liner, e.g., such that liner  116  is integrally formed of a single continuous piece of plastic, metal or other suitable material. More particularly, method  200  includes manufacturing or forming liner  116  using an additive process, such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Stereolithography (SLA), Digital Light Processing (DLP), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Laser Net Shape Manufacturing (LNSM), electron beam sintering and other known processes. An additive process fabricates plastic or metal components using three-dimensional information, for example a three-dimensional computer model, of the component. The three-dimensional information is converted into a plurality of slices, each slice defining a cross section of the component for a predetermined height of the slice. The component is then “built-up” slice by slice, or layer by layer, until finished. 
     Accordingly, at step  202 , three-dimensional information of liner  116  is determined. As an example, a model or prototype of liner  116  may be scanned to determine the three-dimensional information of liner  116  at step  202 . As another example, a model of liner  116  may be constructed using a suitable CAD program to determine the three-dimensional information of liner  116  at step  202 . At step  204 , the three-dimensional information is converted into a plurality of slices that each defines a cross-sectional layer of liner  116 . As an example, the three-dimensional information from step  202  may be divided into a plurality of equal sections or segments. Thus, the three-dimensional information from step  202  may be discretized at step  204 , e.g., in order to provide planar cross-sectional layers of liner  116 . 
     After step  204 , liner  116  is fabricated using the additive process, or more specifically each layer is successively formed at step  206 , e.g., by applying heat to melt and fuse a thermoplastic or by polymerizing a resin using laser energy. The layers may have any suitable size. For example, each layer may have a size between about five ten-thousandths of an inch and about one thousandths of an inch. Liner  116  may be fabricated using any suitable additive manufacturing machine as step  206 . For example, any suitable laser sintering machine, inkjet printer or laser-jet printer may be used at step  206 . 
     Utilizing method  200 , liner  116  may have fewer components and/or joints than known liners. Specifically, liner  116  may require fewer components because liner  116  may be a single piece of continuous plastic or metal, e.g., rather than multiple pieces of plastic or metal joined or connected together. In addition, method  200  may permit formation of a liner  116  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure including a plurality of airflow delivery conduits  150  and a plurality of orifices  166 . As a result, liner  116  may provide the desired chilled air delivery benefits described above with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.