The present invention relates to a cooling appliance, in particular to a cooling appliance having a hinge bracket.

The cooling appliances comprises the hinge brackets that are used for pivotally mounting the doors to the cooling appliances’ body. Due to the limited space in most kitchens, the opening direction of the door may need to be changed. The cooling appliances comprise a first side wall and a second side wall located on both sides of the cooling appliances. In order to change the direction of opening of the doors, specialized hinge brackets are provided that allows the door to be pivotally mounted onto the first side wall and onto the second side wall depending on the needs of the customer. In such cases, the customer is provided with two different hinge brackets, the first one to be used on the right side and the second one to be used on the left side. The problem with such hinge brackets is that there are structural differences between the said hinge brackets which increases mold related costs. Another problem with using multiple hinge brackets is that the unused hinge bracket is prone to get lost after a long time of nonuse. This increases the maintenance costs if the user wants to change the opening direction of the door.

A prior art publication in the technical field of the present invention may be referred to as US2015059126A1 among others, the document disclosing a cooling appliance having a hinge.

An objective of the present invention is to decrease part related costs occurring due to multiple and structurally different hinge bracket parts. Another objective of the present invention is to ensure correct installation of the hinge bracket depending on the direction of the opening of the door.

The method realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the first claim and the dependent claims comprises a cooling appliance having a body. The body comprises a first side panel and a second panel extending parallel to each other and a rear wall connecting the said side panels. The cooling appliances further comprises a hinge bracket that is utilized to pivotably attach a door onto the body. The hinge bracket comprises a first fixing hole and a second fixing hole. The said fixing holes are in mirror symmetry with respect to a first central line passing along the hinge bracket. The first central line divides the hinge bracket into two parts wherein the said parts are mirror symmetric with respect to the first central line. The hinge bracket is placed close to the corner of the first side panel from below and is attached to the first side panel via a fixing means wherein the fixing means passes through the first fixing hole. This way, the door will be opening towards left. Likewise, if the user attaches the hinge bracket to the comer of the second side panel from below via the fixing means, the door will be opening towards right. After attaching the hinge bracket to one of the said side panels, the door is placed onto the hinge bracket via the pin provided on the hinge bracket. The pin is cylindrical shaped and allows the door to pivot. By means of the hinge bracket of this invention, a single type of hinge bracket is utilized providing simplicity for the users and the technicians.

In an embodiment of the invention, the door comprises a pair slots underneath. The first slot is located towards the right and the second slot is located towards the left. A counter hinge part is provided and is accommodated inside one of the said slots depending on the direction of the opening of the door. In the first position, the door opens towards left by means of attaching the hinge bracket to the first side panel wherein the fixing means passes through the first fixing hole. The pin protrudes upwards and is inserted inside the counter hinge part, providing pivot movement for the door. Likewise, in the second position, the door opens towards left by means of attaching the hinge bracket to the second side panel wherein the fixing means passes through the second fixing hole. Afterwards, the counter hinge par pivotably places onto the pin.

In an embodiment of the invention, the counter hinge part is placed inside the first slot or the second slot via a pair of tabs. The user, by pressing the tabs, inserts the hinge bracket inside the said slots. Likewise, the user may easily remove the hinge bracket from the said slots by pressing the tabs.

In an embodiment of the invention, the slots are symmetrically located with respect to a second central line passing along the height of the door. By this means, misalignment of the door is prevented.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hinge bracket comprises a foot unit. The foot unit is rotatably accommodated on the hinge bracket. As the user changes the opening direction of the door, the foot unit will be transferred from one side of the cooling appliance to the other side. In the cooling appliance of the present invention, the hinge bracket having a symmetrical structure with respect to the first central line passing along the extension direction of the hinge bracket is provided, thereby enabling the change of the opening direction of the door via a single hinge bracket.

The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.

Figure 1 - is a front view of the cooling appliance

Figure 2 - is an enlarged view of the dashed A-A lines in Figure 1

Figure 3 - is a view of the cooling appliance from below with the door opening towards right Figure 4 - is a view of the cooling appliance from below with the door opening towards left Figure 5 - is an enlarged view of the dashed C-C lines in Figure 4

Figure 6 - is an enlarged view of the dashed B-B lines in Figure 3

Figure 7 - is the hinge bracket

The following numerals are assigned to different parts demonstrated in the drawings and referred to in the present detailed description of the invention:

1. Cooling appliance

2. Body

3. First side panel

4. Second side panel

5. Door

6. Hinge bracket

7. First fixing hole

8. Second fixing hole

9. Fixing means

10. Pin

11. First slot

12. Second slot

13. Counter hinge part

14. Tab 15. Foot unit

The present invention relates to a cooling appliance (1) comprising; a body (2) wherein the body (2) comprises a first side panel (3) and a second side panel (4), a door (5), a hinge bracket (6) comprising a first fixing hole (7) and a second fixing hole (8) that are symmetrically located with respect to a first central line (X) passing along the hinge bracket (6), and via which the hinge bracket (6) is attachable to one of the said side panels (3,4) from below via a fixing means (9) and wherein the hinge bracket (6) further comprises a pin (10) onto which the door (5) is pivotable attached.

The present invention relates to a cooling appliance (1) further comprising the door (5) that is configured to open towards left in a first position during which the hinge bracket (6) is attached to the first side panel (3) via the first fixing hole (7) and is configured to open towards right in a second position during which the hinge bracket (6) is attached to the second side panel (4) via the second fixing hole (8). The hinge bracket (6) comprises the first fixing hole (7) and the second fixing hole. In the case, the user wants the door (5) to be opened towards left, the hinge bracket (6) is attached to the first side panel (3) from below via the fixing means (9). The fixing means (9) passes through the first fixing hole (7) and at least partly enters the first side panel (3). On the other hand, if the user wants the door (5) to be opened towards right, the hinge bracket (6) is attached to the second side panel (4) from below via the fixing means (9). The fixing means (9) passes through the second fixing hole (8) and at least partly enters the second side panel (4). The hinge bracket (6) comprises the pin (10) protruding upwards in the position wherein the hinge bracket (6) is attached to one of the said side panels (3,4). The door (5) is placed onto the pin (10) pivotably. The first fixing hole (7) and the second fixing hole (8) are arranged symmetrical with respect to the first central line (X) passing along the hinge bracket (6). The first central line (X) divides the hinge bracket (6) into two symmetrical part with respect to the first central line (X). The first fixing hole (7) and the second fixing hole (8) are equidistant from the said first central line (X) by a predetermined distance (D). This distance (D) can be changed according to different models of cooling appliances. This distance (D) helps to adjust the location of the door (5) if the opening direction of the door (5) needs to be changed. The position of the pin (10) on the hinge bracket (6) is stationary and as the user changes the opening direction of the door (5), the door (5) abuts against one of the said side panels (3,4) depending on which side panel (3,4) the hinge bracket (6) is attached. The distance (D) between the fixing holes (8,9) helps adjust the position of the door (5) with respect to the body (2). The fixing means (9) can be any means that is used to attach the hinge bracket (6) to one of the side panels (3,4). In a preferred embodiment, the fixing means is a screw. The hinge bracket (6) is provided with indicators adjacent to the first fixing hole (7) and to the second fixing hole (8). The indicators inform the user which fixing hole (7,8) to use as the hinge bracket (6) is attached to one of the said side panels (3,4). Indicator can be a single letter clarifying the direction of the opening of the door such“R” for right and“L” for left. By means of the hinge bracket (6), a single type of hinge bracket (6) is sufficient to change the direction of the door (5), decreasing mold related costs. Another advantageous effect of being able to change the opening direction of the door (5) with a single type hinge bracket (6) is that the users are not provided with a pair of hinge brackets (6) that are prone to get lost after a certain amount time due to nonuse. This helps decrease maintenance related costs.

In another embodiment, the cooling appliance (1) comprises a first slot (11) and a second slot (12) underneath the door (5) wherein the first slot (11) and second slot (12) are configured to accommodate a counter hinge part (13) in the first position and the second position respectively. The counter hinge part (13) is placed inside the first slot (11) in the first position. The pin (10) is inserted inside a hole provided on the counter hinge part (13). Likewise, as the user changes the opening direction of the door (5), the counter hinge part (13) is removed from the first slot (11) rotated by 180 degrees and is placed inside the second slot (12). By this means, part related costs are minimized. Use of the counter hinge part (13) also provides ease of use.

In another embodiment the counter hinge part (13) is placed inside one of the said slots (11,12) via a pair of tabs (14). Upon placing the counter hinge part (13) inside one of the said slots (11,12), the tabs (14) interlock with the periphery of the said slots (11,12). The counter hinge part (13) is easily removable from the said slots (11,12) upon compressing the tabs (14) thereby releasing the counter hinge part (13) form the associated slots (11,12).

In another embodiment the said slots (11,12) are symmetrically located with respect to a second central line (Y) passing along the height of the door (5). By this means, the correct position of the door (5) with respect to the door (5) is ensured.

In another embodiment, the cooling appliance (1) comprises a foot unit (15) rotatable attached to the hinge bracket (6) to adjust the height of the body (2). The hinge bracket (6) accommodated the foot unit (15) and as the user changes the opening direction of the door (5), the foot unit (15) is transferred to the other side panel (3,4).

In another embodiment, the first fixing hole (7) and the second fixing hole (8) are placed so as to partly overlap. By this means, the fixing means (9) are not needed to be totally removed from the hinge bracket (6). As the user changes the opening direction of the door (5), the fixing means (9) is loosened, and is slided to the other fixing hole (8) which provides ease of use for the user.

In the cooling appliance (1) of the present invention, direction of the opening of the door (5) can be changed with a single type of hinge bracket (6), decreasing the part and mold related costs. Use of hinge bracket (6) of the present invention also disposes of the possibility of improper door (5) installation.