REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURE
A storage assembly including a vacuum insulated cabinet, a refrigeration system, and a drawer. The vacuum insulated cabinet is formed by a number of insulated panels. The vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system collectively form a refrigerated compartment. The drawer is configured to move between an open position, in which an interior portion of the drawer is accessible, and a closed position, in which the drawer is disposed in the refrigerated compartment and the interior portion of the drawer is inaccessible. The refrigeration system includes a first heat exchanger, including one of a thermoelectric device or an evaporator, disposed between the drawer and a rear portion of the insulated cabinet, and a second heat exchanger, including one of a condenser or thermoelectric device, disposed in a machine compartment adjacent to the refrigerated compartment.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/286,322 filed Dec. 6, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to a household appliance such as a refrigerator or a refrigerated storage cabinet.
BACKGROUNDRefrigerators must maintain a low temperature to prevent food and beverages from spoiling while being stored within a food storage space. The food storage space may be insulated to block or mitigate heat from outside air from penetrating the food storage space. The food storage space may be formed of an insulative structure and may include one or more heat exchangers that may absorb heat inside the food storage space or dissipate heat to an area external to the food storage area.
SUMMARYA storage assembly includes a vacuum insulated cabinet, a refrigeration system, and a drawer. The vacuum insulated cabinet may be formed by a number of insulated panels. The vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system may collectively form a refrigerated compartment. The drawer may be configured to move between an open position, in which an interior portion of the drawer is accessible, and a closed position, in which the drawer is disposed in the refrigerated compartment and the interior portion of the drawer is inaccessible. The refrigeration system may include a first heat exchanger, that may be disposed between the drawer and a rear portion of the insulated cabinet, and a second heat exchanger that may be disposed in a machine compartment adjacent to the refrigerated compartment.
A storage assembly includes a vacuum insulated cabinet, a base, a refrigeration system, and a drawer. The vacuum insulated cabinet may be formed by a number of insulated panels. The vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system may collectively form a refrigerated compartment. The base may be disposed beneath the vacuum insulated cabinet and may partially define a machine compartment. The refrigeration system may include an evaporator that may be disposed in the refrigerated compartment and a condenser that may be disposed between the base and the vacuum insulated cabinet.
A storage assembly includes a vacuum insulated cabinet, a refrigeration system, and a drawer. The vacuum insulated cabinet may be formed by a number of insulated panels. The vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system may collectively form a refrigerated compartment. The drawer may be configured to move between an open position, in which an interior portion of the drawer is accessible, and a closed position, in which the drawer is disposed in the refrigerated compartment and the interior portion of the drawer is inaccessible. The refrigeration system may include a first thermoelectric device, that may be disposed between the drawer and a rear portion of the insulated cabinet, and a second thermoelectric device that may be disposed in a machine compartment adjacent to the refrigerated compartment.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Under certain circumstances, it may be desirable for a storage assembly to have a compartment with a dedicated refrigeration system. As an example, a storage assembly may include a number of drawers, one or more of which may be intended to store food or beverage items and the others for storing non-perishable goods in a non-refrigerated portion. While refrigerating the entire assembly may be feasible, doing so is not efficient and requires additional energy that would not otherwise be required. As such, it may be desirable to provide a compact refrigeration system that is specifically configured to only refrigerate a portion of the storage assembly, such as a drawer. One of the challenges associated with such a refrigeration assembly is integrating and insulating the drawer while maintaining useful storage space. The present disclosure aims to resolve this issue among others.
Referring to
An insulated cabinet gasket 62 may be fixed to front portions of the insulated side panels 36 and insulated top and bottom panels 64, 66 that extend between the insulated side panels 36. When the drawer 26 (not illustrated) is in the retracted or closed position, the cabinet gasket 62 may surround an outer periphery of the front insulated panel 20. The insulated cabinet gasket 62 may be formed by one or more plastic or polymeric materials including but not limited to a thermoplastic elastomer material. One or more vents such as an air grille 68 may be fixed to a front portion of the drain pan 58. The air grille 68 may be configured to permit air flow into the drain pan 58 to prevent water or fluid held in the drain pan 58 from being stagnate. As another example, the air grille 68 may be configured to provide an outlet path in which heated air from the machine compartment 30, or the hot plate 42, or both may travel through.
One or more guides such as glide rails 60 may be fixed to one or more of the insulated side panels 36 and the drawer 26 may be fixed to a moveable portion of the glide rails so that the drawer may move, after application of a required force applied to the drawer, between the deployed or open position and the retracted or closed position.
The insulated panels may be formed by creating or pulling a vacuum through the liner 70 and the wrapper 72 and the insulation material 76 disposed therebetween. This process removes air between the liner 70 and the wrapper 72 that may otherwise permit cold air to escape and hot air to enter in the refrigerated compartment. The passthrough grommet 46, passthrough gasket 48, and inner gasket 78, the liner 70, and wrapper 72 may be collectively configured to provide a sealed vacuum insulated structure for each of the insulated panels.
In one or more embodiments, the passthrough gasket 48 may include a horizontal wall 88, a first vertical wall 90, and a second vertical wall 92. A protrusion 94 may extend from the horizontal wall 88 and the protrusion 94 may be spaced apart from the first vertical wall 90 to form a space configured to receive the flange 82 of the wrapper 72 to fix the position of the wrapper 72 with respect to the thermoelectric device 34. The second vertical wall 92 may be fixed to the liner flange 80 by an adhesive such as an adhesive tape 96. The liner flange 80 may be fixed to the second vertical wall 92 prior to installing the insulation materials 76 or more specifically prior to applying a vacuum to install the insulation materials 76.
The drawer assembly 106 may include a base 116 that may support the insulated cabinet 22 and may form portions of the machine compartment 30 disposed rearward of the insulated cabinet 22. The base 116 may be configured to support a compressor 110, a drain pan 112, and a fan 114 each of which constitute portions of the refrigerator system 109.
The controller 122 may include a memory provided with stored instructions that may be used to actuate the compressor 110, the fan 114 or other components of the refrigeration system 109, as required. As an example, the controller 122 may be configured to control the activation, duty cycle, and operation of the compressor 110.
The compressor 110 is configured to circulate and change refrigerant from a liquid state to a gas state by routing the refrigerant through the evaporator 108 so that the refrigerant undergoes an evaporation process in order to cool the air within the refrigerated space 24. During the evaporation process, heat is transferred to the refrigerant. After evaporating, the compressor 110 increases the pressure, an in turn, the temperature of the refrigerant. The gas refrigerant is then routed to the condenser 118 so that it is condensed into a liquid and the excess heat is rejected to the ambient surroundings. The process then repeats.
The compressor 110 may be supported by the base 116 and positioned adjacent to the drain pain 112 and the fan 114. By positioning the compressor 110, drain pan 112, and the fan 114 in the machine compartment 30 and by positioning the evaporator 108 on the rear insulated panel 38 and the condenser 118 beneath the drawer 26, relatively little space is required from the refrigeration system 109. By minimizing space required for the refrigeration system 109 permits a larger refrigerated space 24.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
Claims
1. A storage assembly comprising:
- a vacuum insulated cabinet formed by a number of insulated panels;
- a refrigeration system, wherein the vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system collectively form a refrigerated compartment; and
- a drawer configured to move between an open position, in which an interior portion of the drawer is accessible, and a closed position, in which the drawer is disposed in the refrigerated compartment and the interior portion of the drawer is inaccessible, wherein the refrigeration system includes a first heat exchanger, disposed between the drawer and a rear portion of the insulated cabinet, and a second heat exchanger disposed in a machine compartment adjacent to the refrigerated compartment.
2. The storage assembly of claim 1, further comprising:
- a base disposed beneath the vacuum insulated cabinet and partially defining the machine compartment.
3. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger is a thermoelectric cooling plate configured to refrigerate the refrigerated compartment.
4. The storage assembly of claim 3, further comprising:
- a fan fixed to the thermoelectric cooling plate and configured to direct air towards the drawer.
5. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the second heat exchanger is a thermoelectric heating plate configured to dissipate heat away from the refrigerated compartment.
6. The storage assembly of claim 5, further comprising:
- a fan fixed to the thermoelectric heating plate and configured to direct air away from the insulated cabinet.
7. The storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the rear portion is formed by a rear insulated panel, of the number of insulated panels, defining an aperture configured to receive at least one of the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger.
8. The storage assembly of claim 7, further comprising:
- a first sealing member lying along an outer periphery of the second heat exchanger; and
- a second sealing member lying along the first sealing member, wherein a first insulated panel of the number of insulated panels forces the second sealing member into contact with the first sealing member.
9. The storage assembly of claim 8, wherein the second sealing member includes a first vertical leg, a second vertical leg, and a horizontal leg extending therebetween, and the first insulated panel includes a liner sheet fixed to the second leg of the second sealing member.
10. The storage assembly of claim 9, wherein the first insulated panel includes a wrapper sheet and a portion of the wrapper sheet lies along the first leg.
11. The storage assembly of claim 9, further comprising:
- an adhesive disposed between and fixing the liner sheet to the second leg of the second sealing member.
12. The storage assembly of claim 9, wherein the first sealing member includes a lip disposed between the first heat exchanger and the second leg of the second sealing member.
13. The storage assembly of claim 12, wherein the lip is formed of an elastomeric material, and the second leg of the second sealing member and the liner sheet are positioned to contact the lip such that the lip elastically deforms from a nominal position.
14. A storage assembly comprising:
- a vacuum insulated cabinet formed by a number of insulated panels;
- a base disposed beneath the vacuum insulated cabinet and partially defining a machine compartment.
- a refrigeration system, wherein the vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system collectively form a refrigerated compartment; and
- a drawer selectively disposed in the refrigerated compartment, wherein the refrigeration system includes an evaporator disposed in the refrigerated compartment and a condenser disposed between the base and the vacuum insulated cabinet.
15. The storage assembly of claim 14, further comprising:
- a compressor disposed in the machine compartment, wherein the number of insulated panels includes a rear insulated panel provided with a first side and a second side, the first side disposed closer to the drawer than the second side, and wherein a portion of the machine compartment is formed by the second side.
16. The storage assembly of claim 15, wherein the base includes a first portion and a second portion, the first portion carrying the compressor and the second portion carrying the condenser.
17. The storage assembly of claim 16, further comprising:
- a drain pan disposed in the machine compartment and carried by the second portion.
18. A storage assembly comprising:
- a vacuum insulated cabinet formed by a number of insulated panels;
- a refrigeration system, wherein the vacuum insulated cabinet and the refrigeration system collectively form a refrigerated compartment; and
- a drawer configured to move between an open position, in which an interior portion of the drawer is accessible, and a closed position, in which the drawer is disposed in the refrigerated compartment and the interior portion of the drawer is inaccessible, wherein the refrigeration system includes a first thermoelectric device, disposed between the drawer and a rear portion of the insulated cabinet, and a second thermoelectric device disposed in a machine compartment adjacent to the refrigerated compartment.
19. The storage assembly of claim 18, further comprising:
- a sealing member lying along and between an outer periphery at least one of the first thermoelectric device or the second thermoelectric device and an inner periphery of an aperture formed by a rear insulated panel of the number of insulated panels.
20. The storage assembly of claim 19, further comprising:
- a drain catchment assembly including a funnel and a spout, wherein the funnel is disposed beneath the first thermoelectric device and the spout extends through at least one of the rear insulated panel or the sealing member and terminates in the machine compartment.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 4, 2022
Publication Date: Jun 8, 2023
Inventors: Vishal CHAUHAN (Nallasopara (E)), Rahul CHHAJED (Pune), Daniel CHOW (St. Joseph, MI), Mansi KATKAR (Pune), Mandar KULKARNI (Pune), Deepak MANKAR (Pune), Manjunathraddi NAVALGUND (Pune)
Application Number: 17/959,772