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Designs for filtration systems within appliances

A technology for water filtration and appliances, which can be used in filtration and separation, cartridge filters, mechanical equipment, etc., and can solve the problems of occupying available storage space for appliances and being troublesome and labor-intensive.

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-01-03
3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In addition to separate connections, water filtration systems may be located in hard-to-reach, out-of-the-way locations because refrigerator manufacturers want to limit the amount of cooling space reduction caused by water filtration systems
[0005] For the above reasons, installing a water filtration system in an appliance such as a refrigerator can be a cumbersome and labor-intensive process
Also, the water filtration system can take up a considerable amount of available storage space within the appliance

Method used

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  • Designs for filtration systems within appliances
  • Designs for filtration systems within appliances
  • Designs for filtration systems within appliances

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0032] In order to maintain useful storage space available to consumers while being able to provide filtered water, one or more components of the water filtration device may be incorporated into structural components of the appliance. In particular, the component may be incorporated into the wall of the appliance by placing the component in a mold or frame before or during the formation of the body of the appliance or parts thereof. In particular, refrigerators or other appliances have walls that can be formed by foaming into a mold that is used to form insulating partitions within the appliance. The insulating element may be formed directly between the panels of the appliance, or be used to join visible panels of the appliance. In some exemplary embodiments, a bulkhead connector may be installed to interconnect the distribution member within the appliance wall with the filter member located in the open portion of the internal usable storage space. Alternatively or additional...

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Abstract

Water filtration systems and methods for assembling appliances involve embedded water flow components such that space is preserved within the appliance. In particular, the components can be incorporated into an insulated structure of an appliance by placing the components into a mold or frame prior to or during the formation of the component. For example, the filtration unit components can be incorporated into a wall or door of an appliance by placing the components into a mold or frame prior to or during the formation of the component. A foam-in-place operation, or the like, embeds the water system component, or portions thereof, within the insulated structure such that there is intimate contact between an insulating foam and the components and the component cannot be removed without destroying the structural integrity of the foam.

Description

technical field [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 515,049, filed October 28, 2003, entitled "IMPROVED DESIGNSFOR FILTRATION SYSTEMS WITHIN APPLIANCES," and claims that provisional application is filed under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) Priority, the disclosure of this provisional application is incorporated herein by reference. Background technique [0002] The present invention relates to the installation and application of water filtration systems within appliances, and more particularly to space-saving manufacturing techniques for appliances incorporating liquid water filtration systems. [0003] Liquid water filtration systems, such as those found in household water filtration systems in refrigerators and water coolers, are increasingly being used to remove contaminants from water supplies. Once considered a luxury, the inclusion of water filtration systems in refrigerators is now standard on all but entry-level designs due to ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(China)
IPC IPC(8): F25D23/06F16L5/00F16L59/14A47F3/04B01D35/02B01D27/02F25D11/02F25D23/00F25D23/12
CPCF25D23/126F25D2400/04F25D2400/06F25D11/02F25D23/061
Inventor 威廉·J·莫伊勒纳斯理查德·A·柯克纳卡尔·弗里策大卫·M·博茨
Owner 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO