US20180164022A1

US20180164022A1 - Heat insulation door and refrigeration appliance with the heat insulation door

Info

Publication number: US20180164022A1
Application number: US15/835,548
Authority: US
Inventors: Yuan Ding; JingZuo Lu; Ping Lv; Defeng Men; Yaoguo Xu; Chuan Zhang
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2016-12-12
Filing date: 2017-12-08
Publication date: 2018-06-14
Also published as: EP3332673A1; PL3332673T3; CN108613462A; EP3332673B1

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance with a heat insulation door. The heat insulation door has a door body with a multilayer structure, including: a heat insulation vacuum glass module, the vacuum glass module including superposed first glass and second glass having a first interval, and the first glass is located in front of the second glass along the front-to-rear direction of the door; and a front decoration plate located in front of the vacuum glass module to cover the first glass, and in a width and/or length direction of the first glass, the front decoration plate has a protruding portion that extends out of an edge of the vacuum glass module. The appearance and attractiveness of the heat insulation door is improved, and also the breaking probability of the vacuum glass module is reduced and the user is protected against injury.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of Chinese patent application CN 201611138454.0, filed Dec. 12, 2016; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration, in particular to a refrigeration appliance and a heat insulation door thereof.

Related Art

A door of a traditional refrigeration appliance (such as a refrigerator) is generally formed by foaming, and a user cannot see the interior of a refrigeration appliance from outside. The refrigeration appliance adopting a glass door provides the possibility for the user to observe the interior of a refrigeration space without opening the door. However, for a solution adopting a vacuum glass door, since a distance between two layers of glass in the vacuum glass door is very small, the colorful crystal process cannot be carried out, so that the appearance attractiveness is poor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide an improved heat insulation door in order to solve at least one of the technical problems described above.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a heat insulation door for a refrigeration appliance, comprising a door body of a multilayer structure, wherein the door body comprises: a heat insulation vacuum glass module, wherein the vacuum glass module comprises superposed first glass and second glass having a first interval, and the first glass is located in front of the second glass along a front-to-rear direction of the door; and a front decoration plate located in front of the vacuum glass module to shield the first glass; and in a width and/or length direction of the first glass, the front decoration plate has a protruding portion that extends out of an edge of the vacuum glass module.
Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages: the front decoration plate is disposed in front of the vacuum glass module, the front decoration plate shields the vacuum glass module and extends out of the edge of the vacuum glass module at least along one direction, so that a decoration effect can be achieved by patterns on the front decoration plate, and other parts such as a doorframe can be shielded by a protruding portion, thereby improving the appearance attractiveness of the door.
In some embodiments, along the front-to-rear direction of the door, the protruding portion completely shields the doorframe, so that the doorframe is concealed behind the door, thereby improving the visual attractiveness of the front surface of the heat insulation door.
Optionally, a first sealing portion is disposed between an edge of the first glass and an edge of the second glass to enable the first interval to form an enclosed space.
Optionally, there is a second interval between the front decoration plate and the vacuum glass module.
Optionally, a second sealing portion is disposed between an edge of the front decoration plate and an edge of the vacuum glass module to enable the second interval to form an enclosed space.
Optionally, the door body further comprises a rear protective layer located behind the second glass along a front-to-rear direction and used for shielding the second glass. The rear protective layer is used for protecting the vacuum glass module at the back thereof and can be used as a decorative layer on the inner side of the heat insulation door.
Optionally, in a width and/or length direction of the first glass, the protruding portion of the front decoration plate extends out of the rear protective layer.
Optionally, there is a third interval between the rear protective layer and the vacuum glass module.
Optionally, a third sealing portion is disposed between an edge of the rear protective layer and an edge of the vacuum glass module to enable the third interval to form an enclosed space.
Optionally, the rear protective layer is bonded to the vacuum glass module.
Optionally, the rear protective layer comprises a protective film that adheres to the second glass.
Optionally, the heat insulation door further comprises a doorframe surrounding the vacuum glass module, wherein the doorframe comprises: a first cooperative wall located on a rear side of the protruding portion and connected to the protruding portion; a second cooperative wall located behind the first cooperative wall along the front-to-rear direction; a connecting wall connecting the first cooperative wall and the second cooperative wall; and along the front-to-rear direction, the vacuum glass module is located between the first cooperative wall and the second cooperative wall. As can be seen, along the front-to-rear direction, the vacuum glass module and the rear protective layer are located between the first cooperative wall and the second cooperative wall.
Optionally, the second cooperative wall is located behind the vacuum glass module along the front-to-rear direction, and the vacuum glass module is directly or indirectly connected to the second cooperative wall.
Optionally, the door body is provided with a sealing portion at the edges of two adjacent layer structures having an interval, and projections of the sealing portions are overlapped with each other along the front-to-rear direction.
Optionally, the second cooperative wall covers the sealing portion.
Optionally, the rear protective layer is a toughened glass plate, a colorful crystal glass plate, or a plastic plate.
Optionally, the front decoration plate is a colorful crystal glass plate.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an improved refrigeration appliance, and the refrigeration appliance comprises the above heat insulation door.
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 refrigeration appliance, 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.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a refrigeration appliance of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section schematic diagram of a heat insulation door of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a layer structural schematic diagram of a door body of the heat insulation door of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a local cross-section schematic diagram of the heat insulation door of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a local cross-section schematic diagram of the heat insulation door of another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present embodiment provides a refrigeration appliance R and a heat insulation door D for the refrigeration appliance R. The refrigeration appliance R may be a refrigerator or other electric appliances with a refrigeration space.
As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the heat insulation door D comprises a door body 10 of a multilayer structure and a doorframe 20. The door body 10 comprises a heat insulation vacuum glass module 11, wherein the vacuum glass module 11 comprises superposed first glass 11 a and second glass 11 b having a first interval 10 a, and the first glass 11 a is located in front of the second glass 11 b along the front-to-rear direction X of the door. In addition, the door body 10 further comprises a front decoration plate 12 located in front of the vacuum glass module 11 and used for shielding the first glass 11 a.
It shall be noted that in the present application, without otherwise specified, the “front-to-rear direction” refers to the front-to-rear direction of the door, i.e. a thickness direction of the door. The “front” is a direction pointing to a front surface of the door, and the “back” is a direction pointing to a back surface of the door. The “inner side” refers to one side, close to the center of the door body, of a plane in which the door body is located, i.e. one side away from the edge of the door.
In a width and/or length direction of the first glass 11A, the front decoration plate 12 is provided with a protruding portion 12 a that extends out of the edge of the vacuum glass module 11, and FIG. 2 only shows the protruding portion 12 a on one side. The protruding portion 12 a can be used for shielding other parts, for example, can be used for partially or completely shielding the doorframe 20. In the present embodiment, along the front-to-rear direction of the door, the protruding portion 12 a completely shields the doorframe 20.
The present invention has the advantages that the front decoration plate is disposed in front of the vacuum glass module, the front decoration plate shields the vacuum glass module and extends out of the edge of the vacuum glass module at least along one direction, so that on one hand, the front decoration plate can play a decoration role to improve the appearance attractiveness of the heat insulation door, and can also be used for protecting the glass module to prevent the glass module from being directly exposed to a range that a user can reach, thereby preventing the breaking probability, and also preventing the broken glass module from injuring the user. On the other hand, the protruding portion can be used for shielding a doorframe, so that the doorframe is concealed behind the door, and the attractiveness is better.
The front decoration plate 12 may be a toughened glass plate, a colorful crystal glass plate or a plastic plate, and is preferably the colorful crystal glass plate.
In the door body 10 of a multilayer structure, a sealing portion is disposed between two adjacent layer structures that are spaced so as to form a heat insulation space between two adjacent layer structures. As shown in FIG. 3, a first sealing portion S1 is disposed between an edge of the first glass 11 a and an edge of the second glass 11 b in the vacuum glass module 11 to enable the first interval 10 a to form an enclosed space. Generally speaking, the first sealing portion S1 is in an annular shape surrounding the edge of the vacuum glass module 11.
Meanwhile, there is a second interval 10 b between the front decoration plate 12 and the vacuum glass module 11. A second sealing portion S2 is disposed between an edge of the front decoration plate 12 and an edge of the vacuum glass module 11 to enable the second interval 10 b to form an enclosed space. The first sealing portion S2 is also basically in an annular shape surrounding the vacuum glass module 11. In comparison to the first interval 10 a between the first glass 11 a and the second glass 11 b in the vacuum glass module 11, the second interval 10 b between the front decoration plate 12 and the vacuum glass module 11 can be slightly bigger so as to form a hollow space.
Generally speaking, the second sealing portion S2 is also in an annular shape surrounding the edge of the vacuum glass module 11. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that along the front-to-rear direction of the door, projections of the second sealing portion S2 and the first sealing portion S1 on a same edge are at least partially overlapped.
As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the door body 10 further comprises a rear protective layer 13 located behind the second glass 11 b along the front-to-rear direction X and used for shielding the second glass 11 b. The rear protective layer 13 is used for protecting the vacuum glass module 11 at the back thereof and can be used as a decorative layer on the inner side of the heat insulation door D. The rear protective layer 13 may be a toughened glass layer, a colorful crystal glass layer, or a plastic plate.
The rear protective layer 13 may be disposed at an interval from the vacuum glass module 11 and a third interval 10 c is formed. A third sealing portion S3 is disposed between an edge of the rear protective layer 13 and an edge of the vacuum glass module 11 to enable the third interval 10 c to form an enclosed space. In general, the third sealing portion S3 is also basically in an annular shape surrounding the vacuum glass module 11.
It shall be noted that in a width and/or length direction of the first glass 11 a, i.e. in the length or width direction of the door body 10, the protruding portion 12 a of the front decoration plate 12 extends out of the rear protective layer 13. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that the dimension and the shape of the rear protective layer 13 are basically consistent with the dimension and the shape of the vacuum glass module 11 so as to completely shield the vacuum glass module 11.
It shall be noted that the intervals between the front decoration plate 12 and the vacuum glass module 11 and between the rear protection layer 13 and the vacuum glass module 11 may be an air layer or an inert gas layer.
In some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the rear protective layer 13 may also be bonded to the vacuum glass module 11. In addition, the rear protective layer 13 may also comprise a protective film that adheres to the second glass 11 b, or may be a protective film that adheres to the second glass 11 b.
As shown in FIG. 4, the doorframe 20 surrounds the vacuum glass module 11, the doorframe 20 can be divided into a side frame portion 21 and a rear frame portion 22, the side frame portion 21 is located outside a peripheral surface of the vacuum glass module 11, and the rear frame portion 22 is located at the back of the vacuum glass module 11 along the front-to-rear direction X of the door.
The doorframe 20 is internally provided with a first cooperative wall 21 a located in front of the rear frame portion 22 and located at the back of the protruding portion 12 a, a second cooperative wall 22 a facing the back of the vacuum glass module 11, and a connecting wall 21 b connecting the first cooperative wall 21 a and the second cooperative wall 22 a.
Specifically, the first cooperative wall 21 a and the connecting wall 21 b are disposed on the side frame portion 21, and the second cooperative wall 22 a is disposed on the rear frame portion 22. The connecting wall 21 b is located on the inner side of the side frame portion 21 and the outer side of the rear frame portion 22 and surrounds a peripheral edge of the vacuum glass module 11. Along the front-to-rear direction X, the vacuum glass module 11 and the rear protective layer 13 are located between the first cooperative wall 21 a and the second cooperative wall 22 a. The protruding portion 12 a is connected to the first cooperative wall 21 a, and the vacuum glass module 11 may be directly or indirectly connected to the second cooperative wall 22 a. In the present embodiment, the rear frame portion 22 and the door body 10 are bonded by using glue through the second cooperative wall 22 a.
The second cooperative wall 22 a covers all sealing areas, i.e. the first sealing portion S1, the second sealing portion S2 and the third sealing portion S3 in the door body.
Although the present invention is disclosed as above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made by any technical skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention shall be defined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A heat insulation door for a refrigeration appliance, the heat insulation door comprising:

a door body having a multilayer structure, said door body including:

a heat insulation vacuum glass module, said vacuum glass module including superposed first glass and second glass, having a first interval between the first glass and the second glass, and the first glass is located in front of the second glass along a front-to-rear direction of the door; and

a front decoration plate disposed in front of the vacuum glass module to cover the first glass, the front decoration plate having a protruding portion in a width and/or length direction of the first glass, the protruding portion extending out of an edge of the vacuum glass module.

2. The heat insulation door according to claim 1, wherein a first sealing portion is provided between an edge of the first glass and an edge of the second glass, to enable the first interval to form an enclosed space.

3. The heat insulation door according to claim 1, wherein there is a second interval between the front decoration plate and the vacuum glass module.

4. The heat insulation door according to claim 3, wherein a second sealing portion is provided between an edge of front decoration plate and an edge of the vacuum glass module, to enable the second interval to form an enclosed space.

5. The heat insulation door according to claim 1, wherein the door body further comprises a rear protective layer located behind the second glass along the front-to-rear direction, to cover the second glass.

6. The heat insulation door according to claim 5, wherein the protruding portion of the front decoration plate extends out of the rear protective layer in the width and/or length direction of the first glass.

7. The heat insulation door according to claim 5, wherein there is a third interval between the rear protective layer and the vacuum glass module.

8. The heat insulation door according to claim 7, wherein a third sealing portion is provided between an edge of the rear protective layer and the edge of the vacuum glass module, to enable third interval to form an enclosed space.

9. The heat insulation door according to claim 5, wherein the rear protective layer is bonded to the vacuum glass module.

10. The heat insulation door according to claim 5, wherein the rear protective layer comprises a protective film that adheres to the second glass.

11. The heat insulation door according to claim 1, which further comprises a doorframe surrounding the vacuum glass module, wherein the doorframe includes:

a first cooperative wall, located on a rear side of the protruding portion and connected to the protruding portion;

a second cooperative wall, located behind the first cooperative wall along the front-to-rear direction; and

a connecting wall, connecting the first cooperative wall and the second cooperative wall, wherein

the vacuum glass module is located between the first cooperative wall and the second cooperative wall along the front-to-rear direction.

12. The heat insulation door according to claim 11, wherein the second cooperative wall is located behind the vacuum glass module along the front-to-rear direction, and the vacuum glass module is directly or indirectly connected to the second cooperative wall.

13. The heat insulation door according to claim 11, wherein the protruding portion completely shields the doorframe along the front-to-rear direction of the door.

14. The heat insulation door according to claim 11, wherein the door body is provided with a sealing portion at edges of two adjacent layer structures having an interval, and projections of sealing portions to the front-to-rear direction are overlapped with each other.

15. The heat insulation door according to claim 14, wherein the second cooperative wall covers the sealing portion.

16. The heat insulation door according to claim 5, wherein the rear protective layer is a toughened glass plate, a glass plate, or a plastic plate.

17. The heat insulation door according to claim 1, wherein the front decoration plate is a colorful crystal glass plate.

18. A refrigeration appliance, comprising the heat insulation door according to claim 1.