A COOLING DEVICE HAVING A HANDLE GROOVE

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cooling device according to the preamble of claim 1.

Background of the Invention

A door of a cooling device is provided to allow access to the interior space of the cooling device and separate the storage compartment from the outside environment. To facilitate the opening and closing of the door, a handle is usually provided on the door. Such handles of the cooling device have various shapes that match the overall shape of the cooling device.

In the art, some handles of the cooling devices are produced in an outward -curving manner in order to match with the doors, to be held easily, and in order to improve esthetic appearance.

A prior art publication in the technical field of the invention may be referred to as W02016009398 (Al), which discloses a refrigerator comprising a door, a user interface housing fixed to a heat-insulating material, a user interface housing having a first receiving space, and the first receiving space being open towards a side of the door to receive the user interface electrical module; and a handle member.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device having a hidden handle with effective packaging properties and desired firmness.

The present invention proposes a cooling device comprising a main body; a storage compartment disposed into the main body; at least one door mounted onto the main body and providing access into the storage compartment wherein the door has an outer panel facing outside and an inner panel provided adjacent to the outer panel. The inner panel has a main outer wall lying between the outer panel and the inner panel, wherein a lateral sidewall of the main outer wall has an outwardly bended free-end portion extending at least partly along a longitudinal axis of the door for creating a volume in which a handle groove arranged to receive fingers of the user is attached.. Thus, a useful volume is created for receiving a hidden handle part which also eliminates the necessity of an external handle. Moreover, eliminating the usage of external handles provides effective packaging. In a possible embodiment, the handle groove is attached to the lateral sidewall of the main outer wall. Thus, the handle groove is placed at the sidewall of the door which is hidden and is held easily by the user.

In a possible embodiment, the handle groove has an inwardly bent handle recess accessible through the handle groove for receiving fingers when opening the door. Thus the door can be held easily by the user.

In a possible embodiment, the handle groove is arranged to extend substantially the entire length of the free-end portion of the main outer wall. Thus, the handle can be held from many different positions desired by the user.

In a possible embodiment, the handle groove is arranged between two mutual flat-shaped cover members. Thus, it is ensured that the handle is kept in a position that provides a better opening. In addition, material savings are provided in terms of production.

In a possible embodiment, the handle groove has an upper portion that is initially gradually curved and then extends parallel with respect to the outer panel. Thus, the user is provided to hold the door more comfortably and well before opening or closing the door.

In a possible embodiment, the free-end portion has a U-shaped cross-section and faces the outer panel. This reverse-shaped arrangement creates additional useful space.

In a possible embodiment, the projection of the outwardly shaped free-end portion is arranged to remain behind a lateral side wall of the outer panel. Thus, accurate positioning between the outer and the inner panels is facilitated for a hidden handle.

In a possible embodiment, the free-end portion of the main outer wall has a fastening hole for receiving a fastening member wherein the fastening member is attached to the lateral side wall for fastening a support member. Thus, the rigidity of the door is increased especially in the regions where needed.

In a possible embodiment, the support member has a substantially U-shaped crosssection. This arrangement provides optimum strength in the proximity of a hidden handle.

In a possible embodiment, a corner bracket is placed in a corner of the main outer wall and is attached to the lateral sidewall with a fastening member. Thus, the rigidity of the door is increased at the corners of the door. In a possible embodiment, the lateral sidewall of the main outer wall has an inwardly bended attachment recess for receiving the handle groove. This arrangement helps to place and hide the handle groove within the created volume.

Both a front wall of the storage compartment extending in a direction parallel to the movable separators and the movable separators are made of transparent material. Therefore, the articles behind the movable separators become visible to the user.

The proposed door may be a rotatable door pivotally connected to the main body of the cooling device or may be a drawer-type door pushably connected to the main body. The door may close one or more storage compartments of the cooling device or may close a part of one or more storage compartments.

The outer panel may be formed of a material, such as glass, resin, metal, wood, or ceramic.

Brief description of the figures

The accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying the invention whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in detail hereinafter:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a cooling device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the cooling device according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the cooling device wherein the upper doors are opened, according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the cooling device wherein the upper doors are opened and the lower drawers are pulled, according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the door of the cooling device showing an inner panel and an outer panel, according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a front view of the door of the cooling device indicating different cross-sections along the longitudinal axis of the door, according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section view taken along A-A line shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section view taken along B-B line shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a partially perspective view of the door, according to the present invention.

Fig. 10 is another partially upper perspective view of the door, according to the present invention. Fig. 11 is an exploded view of the door, according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the figures

Fig. 1 is a front view of a cooling device (100) according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the cooling device (100), embodied as a refrigerator, includes a main body (150) having a storage compartment (160) disposed of side by side. The shown cooling device (100) further includes a pair of oppositely-opened doors (110) connected to the main body (150) to respectively close the corresponding storage compartments (160).

According to the present invention, the cooling device (100) comprises the main body (150); the storage compartment (160) disposed into the main body (150); at least one door (110) mounted onto the main body (150) and providing access into the storage compartment (160). The door (110) of the cooling device (100) has an outer panel (111) facing outside and an inner panel (120) provided adjacent to the outer panel (111). The outer panel (111) and the inner panel (120), preferably, form the door (110) of the cooling device (100) as a single unit. Referring to Fig. 5, each inner panel (120) and the outer panel (111) can be manufactured independently, and then the parts can be fixed (for example, pasted, attached). The outer panel (111) has an outer panel covering (118) forming an outer periphery of the outer panel (111) with an inner material (119) which may be formed of a material, such as glass, resin, metal, wood or ceramic. The inner material (119) is an inner filling member.

Referring to Fig. 7 and 8, the inner panel (120) has a main outer wall (112) with a planar surface lying between the outer panel (111) and the inner panel (120), wherein the main outer wall (112) is one of the main carriers of the door (110). At least one of the lateral sidewalls (128) of the main outer wall (112), facing outside, has an outwardly bended free-end portion (122) extending at least partly along a longitudinal axis of the door (X) for creating a volume in which a handle groove (114) is arranged to receive fingers of the user when opening the door (110). Advantageously, the lateral sidewall (128) is shaped and dimensioned to create a useful volume therein. With this arrangement, the handle groove (114) is arranged to be attached to the inner panel (120). This outwardly bended free-end portion (122) can extend all along the circumference of the lateral sides of the main outer wall (112). The handle groove (114) is arranged to be not visible when looking at the cooling device (100) from the front side, but it is arranged in a discreet way so that the user can insert her hand from the lateral side of the door (110). Referring to Fig. 9 and 10, the main outer wall (112) abuts the outer panel (111) and forms the inner panel (120) of the door (110).

Referring to Fig. 8, the handle groove (114) has an inwardly bended handle recess (123) accessible through the handle groove (114) for receiving fingers when opening or closing the door (110). The handle recess (123) is initially curved in a sloping manner and then extends in a vertical direction with respect to the outer panel (111). When opening or closing the door (110), the user's hand can extend into the handle groove (114).

The handle groove (114) formed as a gradually inwardly bended part. The location and the length of the handle groove (114) can be arranged with respect to the user's desire. Referring to Fig. 5, the handle groove (114) is arranged between two mutual flat-shaped cover members (113). These flat-shaped cover members (113) have a planar sidewall that extends in a vertical manner with respect to the outer panel (111). The handle groove (114) and the cover members (113) form a single part that is attachable to the lateral sidewall (128) of the main outer wall (112). In a possible embodiment, the handle groove (114) is arranged to extend substantially the entire length of the lateral sidewall (128) of the main outer wall (112) which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the door (X). In a possible embodiment, the handle groove (114) is attached to the cover members (113) by means of fastening members at the ends thereof. Referring to Fig. 5, 7, and 8, the handle groove (114) has an upper portion that is initially gradually curved and then extends parallel with respect to the outer panel (111).

Referring to Fig. 7 and 8, the free-end portion (122) has a U-shaped cross-section and the end of the free-end portion faces an inner planar surface of the outer panel (111). The projection of the free-end portion (122) is arranged to remain behind a sidewall (125) of the outer panel (111).

The lateral sidewall (128) of the main outer wall (112) can have a circular fastening hole (126) for receiving at least one fastening member (115) which is attached to the lateral sidewall (128) for fastening a support member (116). As can be seen in Fig. 7 and 8, the support member (116) is attached to an inner wall of the lateral sidewall (128) and has a substantially U-shaped cross-section. Referring to Figs. 7, 10, and 11, a plurality of upper corner brackets (124) and lower corner brackets (129) are also placed at the corners of the main outer wall (112) and are attached to the lateral sidewall (128) with another fastening member (115). The corner brackets (124, 129) have a preferably L-shaped cross-section for increasing the rigidity therein. The outer panel (111) can be made of a glass plate/ceramic plate/resin plate, or the like, during the manufacturing process. Referring to Fig. 2 and 3, the outer panel (111) of the door (110) is provided with a first type handle (130) and/or second type handle (140). Referring to Fig. 1, vertically-oriented first-type handles (130) are provided on a pair of oppositely-opened doors (110). Horizontally-oriented second type handles (140) are provided on each lower drawer of the cooling device (100). Such handles are optional and can be detached in necessity. Detaching the handles from the door (110) can be carried out by using a tool or not using a tool without damaging the door (110). With the help of the handle groove (114), the necessities of the classical type handles are eliminated. The cooling device (100) is supplied to the user without these handles and more comfortable packaging and transportation are provided. According to the user's request, these handles can be attached or removed later.

The inner panel (120) is provided with circumferentially arranged gasket housing (121) for mounting the gasket (127). The gasket (127) is mounted at an inner edge of the inner panel (120) and is in contact with the main body (150) to prevent the cold air in the storage compartment (160) from leaking outside the cooling device (100) when the door (110) is closed.

Fig. 11 is an exploded view of the door (110) in which the preferred parts of the door (110) can be clearly seen. Referring to Fig. 11, the lateral sidewall (128) of the main outer wall (112) has an inwardly bended attachment recess (117) for receiving the handle groove (114). This inwardly extending attachment recess (117) suitably receives the handle recces (123) of the handle groove (114).

The present invention may be to a refrigerator having a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment that is vertically distributed, and or may be applicable to a refrigerator, in which a pair of doors close the same storage compartment. The storage compartment (160) of the cooling device (100) may be used to store food and/or wine. For example, the refrigerator may have at least one storage compartment purely used for storing drinks. Reference list

100. Cooling device

110. Door

111. Outer panel

112. Main outer wall

113. Cover member

114. Handle groove

115. Fastening member

116. Support member

117. Attachment recess

118. Outer panel covering

119. Inner material

120. Inner panel

121. Gasket housing

122. Free-end portion

123. Handle recess

124. Upper corner bracket

125. Sidewall

126. Fastening hole

127. Gasket

128. Lateral sidewall

129. Lower corner bracket

130. First type handle

140. Second type handle

150. Main body

160. Storage compartment

X. Longitudinal axis of the door