IP Library Granted Patent US 10,267,553
Granted Patent B2
US 10,267,553 · App. 15/622,339 · Granted Apr 23, 2019

Household refrigerator with an icemaker unit and a cooling device having a pressure chamber for cooling the icemaker unit

Inventors: Michaela Malisi (Heidenheim, DE); Ulrich Kriegsmann (Ulm, DE)
Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
F25D21/08F25C5/22F25D17/062F25D17/067
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,267,553
App. No.
15/622,339
Granted
Apr 23, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

A household refrigerator has a housing formed with a receiving space. An icemaker unit for dispensing ice is arranged in the receiving space. The icemaker unit has a tray in which shaping regions are formed for specifying a shape of shaped ice elements that are produced from liquid poured into the tray. The icemaker unit has a cooling device with which a cooling air flow is produced for cooling the tray. The cooling device has an evaporator and a fan. A fan wheel of the fan blows the cold produced by the evaporator in a cooling air flow. The fan wheel is arranged in a separate pressure chamber.

Claims (34)

1. A household refrigerator, comprising:

a housing formed with a receiving space;

an icemaker unit disposed in said receiving space for dispensing ice, said icemaker unit including a tray formed with shaping regions for specifying a shape of shaped ice elements to be produced from liquid poured into said tray and a cooling device for producing a cooling air flow for cooling said tray;

said cooling device including an evaporator and a fan with a fan wheel configured to generate the cooling air flow with cold produced by said evaporator; and

said cooling device including a separate pressure chamber housing said fan wheel, said pressure chamber having a chamber wall disposed between said fan and said tray and formed with an opening through which the cooling air flow is conducted towards said tray; and

wherein said tray has a base and said opening is configured to purposefully conduct the cooling air flow only under said base of said tray.

2. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein, viewed in a height direction of said icemaker unit, said opening is arranged below said tray and above said evaporator.

3. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , which comprises a flow conduit protruding at said opening from said chamber wall in a direction of said tray.

4. The household refrigerator according to claim 3 , wherein said flow conduit is beak-shaped.

5. The household refrigerator according to claim 3 , wherein said flow conduit terminates under a base of said tray.

6. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein said chamber wall has a cup-shaped region, to form a pressure chamber volume delimited by chamber walls of said pressure chamber with a pressure chamber volume region radially adjoining a longitudinal axis of said cup-shaped region at said cup-shaped region and which is formed as a pressure chamber volume ring.

7. The household refrigerator according to claim 6 , wherein, viewed in a direction of a longitudinal axis of said cup-shaped region, said fan wheel is arranged adjacent to a base of said cup-shaped region.

8. The household refrigerator according to claim 7 , wherein a radial dimension of said fan wheel is less than or equal to a radial dimension of the base of said cup-shaped region.

9. The household refrigerator according to claim 6 , wherein, viewed in a radial direction to a longitudinal axis, said flow conduit is formed at a wall region of said chamber wall that outwardly follows a cup-shaped region of said flow conduit in the radial direction.

10. The household refrigerator according to claim 6 , wherein said flow conduit is an axial extension of said pressure chamber volume ring.

11. The household refrigerator according to claim 3 , wherein, viewed in a radial direction to a longitudinal axis, said flow conduit is formed at a wall region of said chamber wall that outwardly follows a cup-shaped region of said flow conduit in the radial direction.

12. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein said evaporator is arranged in a housing of said cooling device and said housing is provided, at least in certain regions thereof, with a thermal insulating material.

13. A household refrigerator, comprising:

a housing formed with a receiving space;

an icemaker unit disposed in said receiving space for dispensing ice, said icemaker unit including a tray formed with shaping regions for specifying a shape of shaped ice elements to be produced from liquid poured into said tray and a cooling device for producing a cooling air flow for cooling said tray;

said cooling device including an evaporator and a fan with a fan wheel configured to generate the cooling air flow with cold produced by said evaporator; and

said cooling device including a separate pressure chamber housing said fan wheel, wherein, viewed in a height direction of said cooling device, said fan is arranged above said evaporator and, viewed in a plane perpendicular to the height direction, said fan is arranged offset from said evaporator.

14. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein said cooling device comprises a heating unit for defrosting said evaporator.

15. The household refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein said fan is a radial fan.

16. A household refrigerator, comprising:

a housing formed with a receiving space;

an icemaker unit disposed in said receiving space for dispensing ice, said icemaker unit including a tray formed with shaping regions for specifying a shape of shaped ice elements to be produced from liquid poured into said tray and a cooling device for producing a cooling air flow for cooling said tray;

said cooling device including an evaporator and a fan with a fan wheel configured to generate the cooling air flow with cold produced by said evaporator; and

said cooling device including a separate pressure chamber housing said fan wheel, said pressure chamber having a chamber wall disposed between said fan and said tray and formed with an opening through which the cooling air flow is conducted towards said tray; and

said chamber wall having a cup-shaped region, to form a pressure chamber volume delimited by chamber walls of said pressure chamber with a pressure chamber volume region radially adjoining a longitudinal axis of said cup-shaped region at said cup-shaped region and which is formed as a pressure chamber volume ring.

17. The household refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein, viewed in a direction of a longitudinal axis of said cup-shaped region, said fan wheel is arranged adjacent to a base of said cup-shaped region.

18. The household refrigerator according to claim 17 , wherein a radial dimension of said fan wheel is less than or equal to a radial dimension of the base of said cup-shaped region.

19. The household refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein, viewed in a radial direction to a longitudinal axis, said flow conduit is formed at a wall region of said chamber wall that outwardly follows a cup-shaped region of said flow conduit in the radial direction.

20. The household refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein said flow conduit is an axial extension of said pressure chamber volume ring.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 26, 2017
From: MALISI, MICHAELA; KRIEGSMANN, ULRICH
To: BSH HAUSGERAETE GMBH
Reel/Frame 042810/0926 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2016 210 706 · Jun 15, 2016 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170363339A1 · Dec 21, 2017