REFRIGERATOR CABINET BODY DESIGN

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a refrigerator comprising a unit having at least one storage compartment and a refrigeration arrangement arranged to cool said storage compartment.

PRIOR ART A refrigerator is a self evident necessity in modern homes of today's society. A large variety of different kinds of refrigerators are known. A disadvantage that is related to all different kinds of known refrigerators of today is that the power consumption thereof is substantially equal independent of the actual need for cooling. In other words an empty refrigerator requires almost the same amount of power as a filled up refrigerator. A related problem is that refrigerators of today's design do require a relatively large amount of space, independent of the actual need of refrigeration space. Yet another well-known problem in relation to refrigerators is that they are relatively bulky an therefore difficult to move. All in all the above mentioned characteristic features of known refrigerators also lead to a rather costly product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to eliminate or at least minimize at least some of the problems mentioned above, which is achieved by means of a refrigerator according to claim 1.

Thanks to the invention it is possible to adapt the size of the refrigerator in accordance with the actual need of refrigeration space. This in turn leads to savings of energy which is known to be an acute need in today's society. Furthermore it also facilitates to adapt the size of the refrigerator to exterior needs, e.g. making it possible to position the refrigerator in space having limited height. Furthermore it also brings about the advantage that the refrigerator will be easier to move around and indeed facilitates cost- effective designs.

According to further aspects of the invention: • said unit is portable, and preferably provided with at least one handle, which provides the advantage that the refrigerator will be extremely easy to move.

• said unit includes at least two storage compartments, each storage compartment being provided with an independent closure means, which provides the advantage that the refrigerator can be adapted in a flexible manner to different needs and also the ability to arrange storage compartments having different temperatures, including the possibility of having a storage compartment not being directly cooled at all.

• at least one telescopic support rod fixedly attached to an end portion of said unit to support each one of the compartments and to support and/or protect flow lines of said refrigeration arrangement, which provides the advantage that cost efficient design may be achieved.

• said refrigeration arrangement comprises a plurality of evaporating devices wherein at least one evaporating device being attached to said telescopic rod to be collapsible therewith, which provides the advantage of making the refrigerator collapsible in an easy handled manner. • said telescopic support rod is centrally attached to the bottom portion of said unit, wherein preferably the configuration of the cross-section of said rod is arranged to eliminate rotation between interacting telescopic members, which provides the advantage that merely one telescopic support rod may be needed.

• said storage compartment being collapsible/extendible in a vertical direction and by providing at least some elements of said refrigeration arrangement at a bottom portion of said unit, which provides the advantage that it normally is more easy to provide for space in a vertical direction and also that gravity will assist during collapsing and extension of the refrigerator.

• a side wall of at least one collapsible storage compartment is made of a flexible heat insulating material, which provides an extremely cost efficient feature for a refrigerator according to the invention.

• the form of each cross section of each collapsible storage compartment is circular, which provides a form that in combination with a flexible material is especially production friendly, and also beneficial from many practical view points.

• the closure means for at least one storage compartment is in the form of a zipper device, which is a very cost efficient and easy handled means to arrange the closure of a refrigerator.

• a fan is arranged in an end portion of said unit, which is a practical way of positioning a fan, especially if the end portion is also the bottom portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings wherein:

Fig.1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment according to the invention, in a somewhat schematic manner,

Fig. 2 shows a preferred refrigeration arrangement according to the invention in a schematic manner, Fig. 3 shows the principles of a refrigeration arrangement according to the invention, Fig. 4 shows the support structure of a refrigerator as shown in Fig. 1, seen in a side view,

Fig. 5 shows a partial view seen in perspective of the support structure of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 shows a locking/releasing mechanism for a flexible support rod according to the invention, Fig. 7 shows a perspective view seen from above of a refrigerator according to Fig.

1,

Fig. 8 shows the refrigerator according to Fig. 1 in an exemplary mode of use, Fig. 9-11 show different sizes possible to achieve by means of the invention, and Fig. 12 shows a modified embodiment according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In Fig. 1 there is shown a side view, disclosing some essential elements of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. There is shown a vertically extending unit 1 having its stand at a bottom compartment 6 and four storage compartments 2, 3, 4, 5 on top of each other, extending from the bottom compartment 6 vertically upwards. In the bottom compartment 6, which is rather limited in its vertical extension, there are arranged some vital elements in relation to the refrigeration arrangement 7, e.g. a compressor 70, a condenser 71 and a fan 9. At the bottom of the compartment 6 there is fixedly attached a centrally positioned hexagonal rod 55, providing the lower member of a telescopic support rod 25, 35, 45, 55, further comprising a second rod member 45 telescopically arranged into the lower most member 55, a third rod member 35, telescopically arranged within the second rod member 45, and a fourth rod member 25 telescopically arranged within the third rod member 35. Each rod member 25, 35, 45, 55 belongs to a separate storage compartment 2, 3, 4, 5. The partitioning between each storage compartment is in the form of platelike elements 22, 31; 32, 41; 42, 51. Each of said partitions 22, 31 is fixedly attached to a dedicated member 35 of the telescopic rod. Accordingly the upper partition 22, 31 will

follow the movement of the rod member 35 within the second storage compartment 3 (counted from above). Each partition wall also forms the bottom of a storage compartment. Accordingly the upper most partition wall 22, 31 forms the bottom support 22 for the upper storage compartment 2, the next one 32, 41 for the second compartment, etc. (As is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 each partition wall also includes an evaporator element 73', 73", 73'"). The cooling fluid to each evaporator element 73', 73", 73'" is transferred by means of capillary channels 72' within the support rod 55 as indicated by the arrows presenting that cooled cryogenic fluid in liquid phase is transported upwards likewise the other arrows indicate that the evaporated gases are moved downwards through the support rod, 35, 45, 55.

Each compartment 2, 3, 4, 5 is provided with its own separate closure device 23, 24; 32, 33, etc. In the preferred embodiment the wall material 20, 30, 40, 50 is a flexible, clothlike heat insulated sheetlike material and the closure means 23, 24, etc being in the form of a zipper. Finally Fig. 1 shows that on top of the upper surface 21 of the unit 1 there is provided a handle 8.

In Fig. 2 there are shown some essential elements of the refrigeration arrangement 7. There is shown a compressor 70 positioned in-between a lowermost positioned condenser 71 and the lower most evaporator 73, which is intended for cooling of the lower most compartment 5. It is indicated that the lower most evaporator 73 is supplied with cryogenic liquid through channel 72 and that evaporated gases from said evaporator 73 is transferred by means of another channel 74 to the compressor 70. Furthermore there is shown a portion of the lower member 55 of the central support rod, i.e. that portion which is positioned within the lower most compartment 5. Within that member 55 there are three supply channels 72', 72", 72"' for supply of cryogenic liquid to each one of the other three evaporators (see Fig. 4) and also return lines 74', 74", 74"' for the evaporated gases. These supply lines may be designed either telescopically or by using flexible, extendible lines.

In Fig. 3 there is shown the working principle of a refrigeration arrangement 7 according to the invention. There is shown a compressor 70 supplying compressed gaseous cryogenic fluid to the condenser 71. The condenser (having four similar supply lines) supplies cryogenic cool liquid to the supply lines 72 ,etc, which by means of capillary force transfers the liquid to its evaporator 73, etc. In the evaporator 73, 73', etc., the cryogenic liquid will evaporate and thereby take heat from the ambient air, i.e. cooling at least within one storage compartment. Thereafter the gases will be

recirculated in its dedicated return line 74', etc., back to the compressor 70 (which accordingly also has four inlets to function in accordance with the shown preferred embodiment, i.e. having four evaporator elements 73). However, the connection 75 between the compressor 70 and the condenser 71 may beneficially be achieved by a single supply line 75.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a side view of the support structure within a unit 1 according to the invention, i.e. without the peripheral sidewalls of the unit. It is shown that the upper edge 35A, etc of each member 35 of the telescopic support rod is provided at a distance t from the upper surface 22 of the partition 22, 31 being attached thereto. The reason for this arrangement is to allow for sufficient space for the flexible wall member 20 in a collapsed stage. Moreover Fig. 4 discloses that the telescopic arrangement is achieved by arranging an upper rod member, e.g. 35, to have an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the rod member 45 below, such that the upper member 35 may telescopically slide into the lower member 45. In its fully extended position each rod portion will snap into a spring biased locking means, to be securely fixed in that position. To unlock a rod member from a fixed position a push button (not shown) has to be activated to move the locking member out of its locking position (see Fig. 6). In- between each one of the partitions 22, 31, etc there is positioned an evaporator element 73', etc., (see Fig. 5). Thanks to the use of upper and under plate members 22, 31 in each partition the evaporator element 73', etc., is arranged in a protective manner. As already described the supply lines and recirculation lines for cryogenic fluid are arranged within the support rod 35, 45, 55. Fig. 4 also shows that feet 10 may advantageously be provided as stands at the bottom of the lower most compartment 6. The outer surface of each one of the portions 35, 45, 55 of the support rod is beneficially arranged with some kind of heat insulating layer 12 (see Fig. 6).

In Fig. 5 there is shown a perspective view of a part shown in Fig. 4, i.e. the upper end wall 21, the partition 22, 31 between the upper most 2 and next 3 storage compartment and a part of the next partition wall 32, seen from underneath. As is evident the configuration of each one of them is circular. Accordingly also the flexible material 20, 30, etc supported thereby will be circular in each cross section perpendicular in relation to the extension of the unit 1. Moreover Fig. 5 shows that the outer configuration of each member of the support rod preferably is non round, e.g. hexagonal, to arrange for a connection between the partitions 22, 31, etc and the support rod that eliminates rotation. Furthermore there is indicated that within the shown member 35 of the support rod there is arranged both the supply line 72'" and the return line 74'" for the

evaporator 73'" arranged between the upper and lower plates 22, 31 of the upper most partition wall.

In Fig. 6 there is shown one embodiment of how to arrange fixed positions of each section including a partition wall and rod member 45 at the upper most, extended position. This is achieved by arranging an attachment means 113 at one side of the inner wall, at the lower portion, of the upper rod member 45 and a through hole 114 at the opposite side thereof, through which a locking member 1 11 can be urged by means of a resilient spring 112. The lower support rod member 55 is also arranged with a through hole 1 15, but adjacent its upper end. In line with the through hole 115 in the lower rod member 55, between the plates 42, 51 in the partition, there is provided a push rod 1 10 extending to the periphery, which by means of pushing can move the locking member 11 1 inwardly thereby exposing the conical surface of the locking member to the transition zone between the upper 45 and lower rod 55 such that when pressing from above the locking member 111 will be urged to move further inwards to thereby release the upper rod member 45 to freely move downwards into the lower rod 55. When again moving the upper rod member 45 upwards the locking member 1 11 will automatically snap into its locking position when reaching the level of the through hole 1 15. By this arrangement it will be feasible to collapse a storage compartment from outside, i.e. without having to open the closure.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a perspective view from above showing a unit 1 provided with the outer walls 20, 30, 40, 50. Also there is shown a detailed cross sectional view of each one of the zippers that are preferably used according to the invention. As can be seen it is a zipper having a 3 point structure known per se which is watertight and airtight, end e.g. having a tooth alloy of Cu/Ni/Pb (e.g. C7451) and a zipper stopper of bronze.

In Fig. 8 there is shown the same embodiment as Fig. 7 but seen in a side view and depicting that the upper most storage compartment 2 has been opened to thereby expose the interior of the storage compartment 7 having food stuff 13 therein. The second storage compartment 3 is only partially shown to be opened. Also here is shown a detailed view of a more traditional kind of zipper embodiment that may also be used together with the invention.

In Figs. 9, 10 and 11 there is shown a successive change of the size of the refrigerator unit 1 according to the preferred embodiment. In Fig. 9 the refrigerator 1 is shown in its full size having all four compartments 2, 3, 4, 5 fully extended. In Fig. 10 the upper most compartment 2 has been collapsed, such that the flexible material 20 is stored in- between the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 22 of the top compartment 2. In Fig. 1 1 there is shown that all three of the collapsible compartments 2, 3, 4 have been collapsed and that merely the lower most compartment 5 is ready for use. According to the preferred embodiment also a locking means (not shown) is provided to lock the rod members in their mostly collapsed form, as shown in Fig. 11. Hence the unit 1 will be very easy to carry and move around in its fully collapsed form. Preferably the refrigerator 1 is also fully functional in the fully collapsed form. Hence a household having a situation where very few products need to be kept cold they may use the refrigerator 1 in the collapsed form as shown in Fig. 11, whereas the same household in another situation where a lot of products need to be kept cold may use the refrigerator 1 in its fully extended form as shown in Fig. 9. It is realized that the flexible arrangement of the refrigerator as is achieved by means of the invention provides for a number of advantages, such as energy savings, room savings, etc in a flexible and cost efficient manner.

In Fig. 12 - 14 there is shown modified embodiments of the invention. There are no evaporator elements within the storage compartment 2, 3, 4, 5. Instead a dynamic cooling system is used. This means that a fan pumps cooled air 72* forcibly through the support rod 55, 45, 35 and from there out through outlets into each storage compartment. In the embodiment of fig. 12, the rod itself is provided with a number of outlets and the cooled air 72* cools each storage compartment and is thereafter returned 74* back to the bottom compartment 6 where it is again cooled before recirculation. Each plate 22,32 etc. has openings connecting the compartments to enable for said return flow 74* back to the bottom compartment 6. In the embodiment of fig. 13, the plates 21,22,32 etc, are provided with said outlets and the cooled air 72* coming from from the rod is forced downwards by said plate outlets into each storage compartment. Also here each plate 22,32 etc. has openings connecting the compartments to enable for said return flow 74* back to the bottom compartment 6.

The embodiment of fig. 14 corresponds to the embodiment of fig. 12. In this embodiments there is also an inner flexible wall (marked with dotted lines) that is included together with the outer walls 20,30,40,50 is flexible material. This enables for an additional airflow through the rod to a space above the first plate 21. This airflow is

then forced into the space between said inner and outer walls and is thereafter returned 74* back to the bottom compartment 6 where it is again cooled before recirculation. The temperature of this airflow between the walls is preferably some degrees higher (for instance 10 degress Celsius compared with five degrees) than for the airflow 74* through the storage compartments 2, 3, 4, 5. This will improve the flexible wall heat insulation, which is essential for the functionality. Moreover, the rod is provided with a at least a second channel for this airflow (to the space between the walls) with has a higher temperature. The two or more rod channels can be arranged in a numerous ways.

The invention is not limited by the above described embodiments but may be varied within the scope of the claims. For instance it is evident that not all compartments need to be cooled (by its own evaporator), but that in some instances it might be an advantage to have for example a top compartment that is not cooled at all but still providing the advantage of being collapsible. In its extreme form this would mean that merely two compartments could be provided, one that is cooled by a single evaporator at its bottom (corresponding to evaporator 73) without any cooling arrangements within the telescopic support rod. It is evident that also according to such an embodiments the upper compartment, despite not being directly cooled, would still have a lower temperature than the ambient air. Further it is realised that a variety of different locking mechanisms, known per se, may be used to secure the rod elements to each other at the predetermined levels (e.g. a spring biased ball interacting with the upper edge of the rod member below or through hole/pin-mechanism interacting with the upper edge of the rod member below) and also for securing the different collapsed parts/compartments to each other (e.g. straps attached at the bottom compartment having Velcro fasteners interacting with fasteners attached at suitable positions) to securely keep the unit in its collapsed state when carried in the handle. It is also evident that the number of compartments may be varied widely and that one closure means might extend to cover two or more compartments.

Moreover it is evident that the compartments can be arranged to be collapsible without using a totally flexible wall material, e.g. using bellow like segments that may be extended in relation to each other or non flexible wall members being telescopically arranged in relation to each other. Further it is evident that the invention may be used having other forms than a circular cross section, e.g. rectangular, and also that it is possible to use more than one support rod, e.g. four support rods in each corner if a rectangular form is used, whereby for instance each support rod may be arranged to supply cryogenic fluid to and from each one of the evaporator elements. Another

possible embodiment within the ambit of the invention is to let the unit be extendible in another direction than vertical, e.g. horizontally and that in such an embodiment the refrigeration arrangement 7 including the most vital parts might be positioned either at a side wall or at the bottom portion thereof. Finally it is realized that other closure means than zippers may of course be used, e.g. buttons, Velcro fastening, etc.

Furthermore it is evident that the cross-sectional configuration of the support rod (and of course each rod member) may be varied within a lot but still achieving the desired function of eliminating rotation between the rod members and/or the partitions, e.g. octagonal, oval, cylindrical with guiding means, etc. Moreover it is evident that the invention may be used without the need of capillary forces, i.e. instead using pumping means to circulate the cooling fluid.