HOME APPLIANCE HAVING A HOUSING WITH A SEALING MEMBER AND REFRIGERATOR HAVING THE SEALING MEMBER
A home appliance contains a housing which surrounds an internal space. The housing has an outer side wall facing outside, an inner side wall spaced apart from the outer side wall, a thermal insulation material which fills a spacing between the side walls, and a front flange connected to the inner side wall from one side and to the outer side wall from the other side. An external sealing member is provided on a connection region of the housing where the front flange connects to the inner side wall, so as to provide a barrier to the thermal insulation material.
This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of Turkish Patent Application TR 2020/10143, filed Jun. 29, 2020; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a home appliance having a housing which surrounds an internal space and contains an outer side wall facing outside, an inner side wall spaced apart from the outer side wall, a thermal insulation material which fills a spacing between the side walls, and a front flange connected to the inner side wall from one side and to the outer side wall from the other side.
In general, a thermal insulation material such as a foamed polyurethane resin is used in a housing of a home appliance, particularly in a cooling device such as a refrigerator, for thermal insulation of the home appliance. In refrigerators, the housing is formed such that a closed space provided between the outer side wall and the inner side wall, is filled with a polyurethane resin. Polyurethane resin is being in a liquid state, when it is filled. But it reaches to a foamed state in a defined process time. When the polyurethane resin is in a liquid state, it tries to penetrate every gap. When polyurethane resin penetrates to the inner side of the storage chamber undesirably, it causes a cosmetic problem. If this failure occurs, rework operations take lots of time. Furthermore, during these rework operations, inner side walls of the storage compartment can be scratched undesirably.
Japanese patent application JP2014081176 discloses that a corner of a heat insulating box cannot form a fitting portion, and a gap may be slightly opened. Thus, there is a problem that the foamed heat insulating material leaks. A heat insulation box is formed such that a closed space formed by an inner box and an outer box is filled with a polyurethane resin in a closed space formed by the outer box and the inner box. In the space between the inner box and the outer box, a raw material of the polyurethane resin, a main blowing agent (cyclopentane) having a boiling point of at least approximately zero at atmospheric pressure, and a boiling point of approximately zero or less at approximately atmospheric pressure and a mixture with the liquid auxiliary blowing agent (carbon dioxide). As a result, the carbon dioxide evaporates and foaming starts immediately after the raw material of the foamed polyurethane resin is injected, so that the raw material is in a liquid state and does not reach the portion where the outer box and the inner box are combined but reaches in a foamed state. As a result, the viscosity is high, and leakage from the gap can be made difficult.
There is a need for an improved housing structure to eliminate leakage of the thermal insulation material outside the housing.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn object of the invention is to provide a home appliance with a housing structure suppressing leakage of the thermal insulation material outside the housing.
In order to achieve the objects, the invention is a home appliance with a housing which surrounds an internal space and contains an outer side wall facing outside, an inner side wall spaced apart from the outer side wall, a thermal insulation material which fills a spacing between the side walls, and a front flange connected to the inner side wall from one side and to the outer side wall from the other side. In the invention, an external sealing member is provided on a connection region of the housing where the front flange connects to the inner side wall, so as to provide a barrier to the thermal insulation material. This arrangement prevents leakage of the thermal insulation material from any gap of the connection region to the outside of the spacing of the housing.
Here, the home appliance can be any kind of domestic appliance such as a refrigerator, an oven, a washing machine.
Here, the inner side wall can be a side wall of the home appliance facing inside of the appliance. For example, the inner side wall can be an inner liner of the storage compartment of the refrigerator.
Here, the thermal insulation material can be any kind of insulation material such as a polyurethane resin, which reduces the heat losses between the inner side of the home appliance and outside.
Here, the sealing member can be made of any kind of plastic materials, synthetic resin or rubber is preferred.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the connection region is provided on an inner side of the housing where the thermal insulation material fills the spacing between the side walls. Thus, for the aesthetic appearance of the home appliance, the connection region is not visible from outside.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing member is configured to connect to the front flange from one side and to the inner side wall from the other side. Thus, the sealing member connects to the front flange and to the inner side wall in an easily manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing member has an inner connection channel which receives a first connection end of the front flange extending towards the connection region. Thus, the sealing member connects to the front flange in a tightened manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the first connection end has an essentially L-shaped cross-section and the sealing member is configured to surround at least a part of the first connection end. Thus, the sealing member connects to the front flange in a tightened manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the inner side wall has a receiving section which faces the first connection end and receives at least a part of the sealing member. Thus, the sealing member connects to the inner side wall in a tightened manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the receiving section has an essentially U-shaped cross-section which tightens the sealing member. Thus, the sealing member connects to the inner side wall in a tightened manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the inner side wall has an abutting wall which abuts to a part of the first connection end, when the first connection end connected to the receiving section by means of the sealing member. Thus, during the mounting process, the front flange aligns to the inner side wall.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing member has one or more flexible sealing flaps provided on a side of the sealing member facing a flat side wall of the receiving section. Thus, in order to prevent leakage of the thermal insulation material, the sealing flaps behaves as a barrier to block the thermal insulation material at the connection region.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing flaps are configured on the sealing member so as to extend longitudinally. Thus, leakage of the thermal insulation material is prevented on the housing longitudinally.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, an angle provided between the respective sealing flaps and a side of the sealing member where the sealing flaps are configured, is being 70° in maximum. Thus, in order to prevent leakage of the thermal insulation material, the angle of the sealing flaps is at a value according to the size of the gap. For example, the angle can be at a value of 0°, when the front flange connected to the inner side wall or for example, the angle can be at a value of 65° in order to fill the gap and block the thermal insulation material.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing member has two flexible sealing flaps spaced apart each other in such a way that one of them is not overlapping with the other one, when the angle is 0°. Thus, an improved sealing performance is obtained.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, each of the sealing flaps have a cross-section tapering towards a free end of said sealing flaps. Thus, the flexibility of the sealing flaps is improved.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sealing member has a longitudinal groove formed on an opposite side to the inner connection channel. Thus, the flexibility of the sealing member is improved. When the walls of the receiving section applies a pressure to the sealing member, the sealing member flexes in an easily manner.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the home appliance is being a cooling device, in particular a refrigerator comprising a housing with a sealing member.
In this context, with the indications “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “upward”, “downward”, “inner”, “outer”, “inward”, “outward” etc. the positions and orientations given for intended use and intended arrangement of the cooling device and for a user then standing in front of the home appliance, in particular cooling device in a closed position and viewing in the direction of the device are indicated.
Each possible embodiment disclosed in this text can be combined with the other possible embodiments disclosed in this text if there is no any technical constraint.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a home appliance having a housing with a sealing member, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
In this detailed explanation, the invented subject matter is explained with examples in order to make the subject more understandable without forming any restrictive effect. According to this, in the detailed explanation below, a sealing member 15 is explained to be applied to a housing 11 of a cooling device 1 such as a refrigerator. However, the same embodiment can be applied to any kind of home appliances, such as ovens, washing machines.
The present invention proposes an external sealing member 15 for sealing a connection region 110 of a housing 11 of the home appliance. As can be seen in
According to the first embodiment of the sealing member 15 shown in
According to the second embodiment of the sealing member 15 shown in
During the mounting process of both first and second embodiments, after the inner side wall 12, outer side wall 13 and the front flange 14 connected to each other as explained above in detail, the thermal insulation material 16, such as polyurethane resin, injected to the internal space of the housing 11. When the polyurethane resin injected to the housing 11, it is in a liquid state and tries to penetrate every gap. During the penetration of the polyurethane resin, it also reaches to the sealing flaps 152, 153 of the sealing member 15. While polyurethane resin tries to escape outside of the housing 11 by pushing the sealing flaps 152, 153, the sealing flaps 152, 153 functions as a barrier and do not allow the polyurethane resin to escape outside of the housing 11. With this arrangement, leakage of the thermal insulation material 16 from the gap of the connection region 110 to the outside of the housing 11, is prevented.
The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention:
- 1 Cooling device
- 10 Storage chamber
- 11 Housing
- 110 Connection region
- 12 Inner side wall
- 121 Abutting wall
- 122 Receiving section
- 123 Flat side wall
- 13 Outer side wall
- 14 Front flange
- 141 First connection end
- 142 Second connection end
- 15 Sealing member
- 151 Periphery wall
- 152 First sealing flap
- 153 Second sealing flap
- 154 Inner connection channel
- 155 Free end of the first sealing flap
- 156 Free end of the second sealing flap
- 157 Longitudinal groove
- 158 Inlet opening
- 16 Thermal insulation material
- 17 Support part
- 18 Outer isolation part
- A Angle
Claims
1. A home appliance, comprising:
- a housing surrounding an internal space and having an outer side wall facing outside, an inner side wall spaced apart from said outer side wall, a thermal insulation material filling a spacing between said inner side wall and said outer side wall, a front flange connected to said inner side wall from a first side and to said outer side wall from a second side, and a connection region; and
- an external sealing member disposed on said connection region of said housing where said front flange connects to said inner side wall, so as to provide a barrier to said thermal insulation material.
2. The home appliance according to claim 1, wherein said connection region is disposed on an inner side of the housing where said thermal insulation material fills said spacing between said inner side wall and said outer side wall.
3. The home appliance according to claim 1, wherein said external sealing member is configured to connect to said front flange from one side and to said inner side wall from an other side.
4. The home appliance according to claim 3, wherein said external sealing member has an inner connection channel which receives a first connection end of said front flange extending towards said connection region.
5. The home appliance according to claim 4, wherein said first connection end has an L-shaped cross-section and wherein said external sealing member is configured to surround at least a part of said first connection end.
6. The home appliance according to claim 4, wherein said inner side wall has a receiving section which faces said first connection end and receives at least a part of said external sealing member.
7. The home appliance according to claim 6, wherein said receiving section has a U-shaped cross-section which tightens said sealing member.
8. The home appliance according to claim 6, wherein said inner side wall has an abutting wall which abuts to a part of said first connection end, when said first connection end is connected to said receiving section by means of said external sealing member.
9. The home appliance according to claim 6, wherein said external sealing member has at least one flexible sealing flap disposed on a side of said external sealing member facing a flat side wall of said receiving section.
10. The home appliance according to claim 9, wherein said at least one flexible sealing flap is one of a plurality of flexible sealing flaps configured on said external sealing member so as to extend longitudinally.
11. The home appliance according to claim 10, wherein an angle formed between respective ones of said flexible sealing flaps and a side of said external sealing member where said flexible sealing flaps are configured, is at a maximum of 70°.
12. The home appliance according to claims 11, wherein said external sealing member has two said flexible sealing flaps spaced apart from each other in such a way that one of them is not overlapping with another one, when the angle is 0°.
13. The home appliance according to claim 9, wherein said at least one flexible sealing flap has a cross-section tapering towards a free end of said at least one flexible sealing flap.
14. The home appliance according to claim 4, wherein said external sealing member has a longitudinal groove formed therein on an opposite side to said inner connection channel.
15. The home appliance according to claim 1, wherein the home appliance is a cooling device.
16. A refrigerator, comprising:
- a housing surrounding an internal space and having an outer side wall facing outside, an inner side wall spaced apart from said outer side wall, a thermal insulation material filling a spacing between said inner side wall and said outer side wall, a front flange connected to said inner side wall from a first side and to said outer side wall from a second side, and a connection region; and
- an external sealing member disposed on said connection region of said housing where said front flange connects to said inner side wall, so as to provide a barrier to said thermal insulation material.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 24, 2021
Publication Date: Dec 30, 2021
Inventors: Yigit Akalan (Tekirdag), Samuel Harward (Knoxville, TN), Erhan Kaya (Tekirdag)
Application Number: 17/356,774