REFRIGERATOR WITH SEPARATELY FORMED COOLING SYSTEM AND INSULATED CABINET

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/397,434 filed Aug. 12, 2022, which is herein expressly incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to refrigerators and, more particularly, to a refrigerator including a cooling system formed separately from an insulated cabinet and functionally mountable to the insulated cabinet.

BACKGROUND

This section merely provides background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Vehicles, including but not limited to, recreational vehicles (“RVs”, in the United States and “Caravans” in Europe), tractor trailers, airplanes, boats, trains and the like, often incorporate refrigerators for the comfort and convenience of the occupants. For example, recreational vehicle campers often find it convenient, or even necessary, to refrigerate food, drinks, and medicine during their journey and while at their campsites. While many prepared camp sites in parks and commercial campgrounds provide for electrical outlets, many do not. Moreover, many highly desirable camping locations exist outside of these prepared sites. Thus, a popular solution has been to equip the recreational vehicle with a built-in refrigerator.

It is generally known to use both compressor refrigerators and absorption refrigerators for mobile applications. Compressor refrigerators and absorption refrigerators conventionally include a cooling system that is integrally formed with an insulated or foamed cabinet. With the exception of servicing, the cooling system is not separable from the foam cabinet.

Known refrigerators for mobile applications and the like have proven to be generally suitable for their intended purposes. A refrigerator having an integrally formed cooling system, however, leads to manufacturing limitations. For example, it is not practical for a first company to manufacture the cooling system and a second company to manufacture the cabinet for subsequent assembly with the cooling system.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

The present teachings provide a refrigerator having a cooling system formed separately from an insulated cabinet and functionally mountable to the insulated cabinet.

According to one particular aspect of the present teachings provide a refrigerator including an insulated cabinet, a cooling system formed separately from the insulated cabinet, and a clamping arrangement including first and second clamping elements sealing a refrigerated compartment of the cabinet from the cooling system. The cooling system is functionally attached to the insulated cabinet after manufacture of the insulated cabinet and the cooling system.

According to another particular aspect of the present teachings provide a method of manufacturing a refrigerator including forming an insulated cabinet and separately forming a cooling system. The method further includes clamping the cooling system to the insulated cabinet with a clamping arrangement including first and second clamping elements to seal a refrigerated compartment of the cabinet from the cooling system to functionally attach the cooling system to the insulated cabinet and insulate the refrigerated compartment.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The present teachings will become more fully understood from the detailed description, any appended claims and the following drawings. The drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portion of a first embodiment of a refrigerator with a separately formed cooling system and insulated cabinet constructed in accordance with the present teachings, the refrigerator illustrated during a first general step of attaching the separately formed cooling system to the insulated cabinet.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 illustrating the first general step of attaching a separately formed cooling system of a refrigerator to an insulated cabinet of the refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is another side view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, illustrating a second general step of attaching a separately formed cooling system of a refrigerator to an insulated cabinet of the refrigerator of the present teachings.

FIG. 3 is another side view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, illustrating a third general step of attaching a separately formed cooling system of a refrigerator to an insulated cabinet of the refrigerator of the present teachings.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, illustrating a fourth general step of attaching a separately formed cooling system of a refrigerator to an insulated cabinet of the present teachings.

FIG. 5 is another side view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, illustrating the fourth general step of attaching a separately formed cooling system of a refrigerator.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a second embodiment of a refrigerator with a separately formed cooling system and insulated cabinet constructed in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the refrigerator of FIG. 6 shown in partial section with a cover removed for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 8 is another perspective view of a portion of the refrigerator of FIG. 6, the refrigerator shown with the cover removed for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a portion of the refrigerator of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

With reference to FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, a first embodiment of a refrigerator 10 constructed in accordance with the present teachings is shown. The refrigerator 10 generally includes a cooling system 12 formed separately from an insulated cabinet 14, the cooling system 12 configured for functional mounting to the insulated cabinet 14. In one particular embodiment, the cooling system 12 is a compressor cooling system and the refrigerator 10 is a mobile, refrigerator for a recreational vehicle, tractor trailer, airplane, boat, train or the like. The present teachings, however, are not limited to any particular type of refrigerator.

In the embodiment illustrated, the cooling system 12 is particularly design to be positioned under the insulated cabinet 14 and an evaporator 16 of the refrigerator 10 protrudes into a refrigerated compartment of the refrigerator 10 through a hole under the cabinet. As particularly shown in FIGS. 1, 1A and 2, the evaporator 16 is inserted into the refrigerated compartment with a turning or rotational motion as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1 and further discussed below.

The cooling system 12 may be clamped to the insulated housing 14 with a clamping arrangement 18. As shown in the drawings, the clamping arrangement 18 may include first and second clamping elements 18A and 18B. In accordance with one particular embodiment, the cooling system 12 may be mounted relative to a lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment. It will be understood, however, that the present teachings are no limited in this regard and may be used in connection with a mounting relative to other walls. As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the first clamping element may defined by a bracket 18A arranged on a first side of the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment. A second clamping element may be defined by a cap 18B carried by the cooling system 12 and located on a second, opposite side of the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment.

The second clamping element 18B be carried by the cooling system 12. As shown throughout the drawings, the second clamping element 18B may be configured to receive a portion of the cooling system 12. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the cooling system 12 has an upper portion with a rectangular shape. The second clamping element 18B, which may be constructed of plastic or other suitable material, may be rectangularly shaped to receive the upper, rectangular portion of the cooling system 12. The second clamping element 18B has an opening 22 through which the evaporator 16 of the cooling system 12 extends. The second clamping element 18B defines a flat surface or flange that peripherally surrounds the evaporator 16 and upon installation of the cooling system 12 abuts a lower side 26 of the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment of the refrigerator 10. The second clamping element 18B may be secured to the cooling system 12 with fasteners, adhesive or any manner well known in the art.

The first clamping element 18A, which may be similarly constructed of plastic or other suitable material, may define a flange 28 for abutting the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment and an opening for receiving the evaporator 16 of the cooling system 12. The first clamping element 18A may be secured to the second clamping element 18B after insertion of the evaporator 16 of the cooling system 12 through an opening 30 in the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment. For example, the first clamping element 18A may be attached to the second clamping element 18B with a plurality of fasteners. As such, the wall 20 (e.g., the lower wall 20 in the embodiment illustrated) of the refrigerated compartment is captured or sandwiched between the flange 28 of the first clamping element 18A and the flange 24 of the second clamping element 18B. The first and second clamping elements 18A and 18B cooperate to clamp the cooling system 12 in place relative to the refrigerator 10 and effectively seal the refrigerated compartment at the cooling system 12 with the evaporator 16 of the cooling system 12 extending into the refrigerated compartment of the refrigerator 10.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a bracket 32 for upwardly supporting the cooling system 12.

With continued reference to the drawings, a method of the present teachings will be described. In accordance with a first general step (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the evaporator 16 of the cooling system 12 is inserted in the opening 30 of the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment with the second clamping element 18B mounted to and carried by the cooling system 12. For purposes of reducing a clearance required at a lower side of the refrigerator 10, the evaporator 16 may be introduced into the opening of the lower wall 20 with the cooling unit 12 at an angle.

In accordance with a second general step of the present teachings, the cooling system 12 may be thereafter turned or rotated in the direction of arrow A (as shown in FIG. 2). Upon such rotation, the cooling system 12 may be supported by the bracket 32 (as shown in FIG. 2) and the flange 24 defined by the second clamping element 18B abuts the lower side of the lower wall of the refrigerator compartment.

In accordance with a third general step of the present teachings, the first clamping element 18A is installed in the direction of arrow B (see FIG. 3). The first clamping element 18A is lower until the flange 28 is adjacent the upper side of the lower wall 20 of the refrigerated compartment and the evaporator 16 extends through the opening in the first clamping element 18A.

In accordance with a fourth general step of the present teachings, the first clamping element 18A is secured to the second clamping element 18B. The first clamping element 18A may be secured to the second clamping element 18B with fasteners.

While the present teachings are described with a clamping arrangement 18 including first and second clamping elements 18A and 18B, it is anticipated that an alternative construction may include a single clamping element. For example, in certain applications, the second clamping element 18B may be eliminated and the first clamping element 18A may be secured directly to the housing of the cooling system 12 with fasteners, for example.

Turning to FIGS. 6 through 9 of the drawings, a portion of a refrigerator 100 constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present teachings is shown. The refrigerator 100 will be understood to be identical in construction to the refrigerator 10 of the first embodiment to the extend not shown or described otherwise. Like reference characters have been used in the drawings to identify similar elements between the refrigerators 10 and 100 of the first and second embodiments.

As with the refrigerator 10 of the first embodiment, the refrigerator 100 generally includes a cooling system 12 formed separately from an insulated cabinet 14, the cooling system 12 configured for functional mounting to the insulated cabinet 14. Again, the refrigerator includes a clamping arrangement 102 for clamping the cooling system 12 to the insulated housing 14 that includes first and second clamping elements 18A and 18B′. Insofar as the present teachings are concerned, the refrigerator 100 primarily differs from the refrigerator 10 by incorporating a different second clamping element 18B′ and additionally incorporating a cover 104 for the second clamping element 18B′.

The second clamping element 18B′ may carry the electronics of the refrigerator 100 for controlling the refrigerator. The second element member 18B′ may also include a fan 106 for distributing cooling air. The fan 106 may be tilted at an angle to save space in the cabinet.

The cover 104 is sized and covered to cover the second clamping element 18B′. In this manner, the electronics of the second clamping element 18B′ are made inaccessible to the end user. The cover 104 is further configured to facilitate the flow of cooling air within the refrigerator 100.

The cooling unit 12 may be introduced into the refrigerated compartment of the refrigerator 100 in the same manner discussed above with regard to assembly of the refrigerator 10. The second clamping element 18B′ and the cover 104 may be secured to the first clamping element 18A with fasteners are in any way well known in the art. As discussed above, in certain embodiments, the first clamping element 18A may be eliminated and the second clamping element 18B′ (and the cover 104) may be directly secured to the cooling unit 12.

It will now be appreciated that the present teachings provide two embodiments of a refrigerator that may include a cooling unit separately manufactured from an insulated cabinet without compromising the integrity of the sealed, refrigerated compartment at the cooling system.

While one or more specific examples have been discussed in the specification and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalence may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present teachings. For example, while the present teachings have been described in connection with a mobile compressor refrigerator, the invention is not so limited and may be extended to other applications. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the present teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it may be intended that the present teachings not be limited to the particular examples illustrated by the drawings and discussed in the specification as the best mode of presently contemplated for carrying out the present teachings but that the scope of the present disclosure will include any embodiments following within the foregoing description and any appended claims.