Refrigerator and / or freezer with one illuminated drawer

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator and / or freezer with at least one illuminated drawer and a drawer for a refrigerator and / or freezer.

[0002] Refrigerators and / or freezers require interior lighting, including any drawers located inside, so that a user can see the food and / or items stored in the refrigerator and / or freezer.

[0003] Traditionally, refrigerators and / or freezers are illuminated by means of a lighting module, which is located in a control panel or the top of the appliance, in front of the drawers from the perspective of a user operating the refrigerator and / or freezer.

[0004] This has the disadvantage that when lighting is provided by the control panel, the front of the container acts like a screen, preventing light from entering the interior of the refrigerator and / or freezer, and therefore also preventing light from reaching the drawers when they are closed or retracted.

[0005] The CN 108 955 066 B, the CN 206 094 732 U, the JP H11 94456 A, the WO 2013 / 126961 A1 and the DE 10 2009 000848 A1 each disclose lighting for a refrigerator and / or freezer.

[0006] Against this background, the present invention aims to mitigate or even completely eliminate the problems of the prior art. In particular, the present invention aims to provide lighting for a refrigerator and / or freezer that illuminates the drawers in both the closed and extended positions.

[0007] This problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims. Accordingly, a refrigerator and / or freezer is provided with at least one drawer, which preferably has a light guide at least partially on its side facing a door of the refrigerator and / or freezer, and a light source which is designed to couple light into the light guide of the drawer when the drawer is inserted.

[0008] The invention enables the drawers of a refrigerator and / or freezer to be illuminated evenly and reliably by means of light coupled into the light guides of the drawers. The drawers are illuminated whether they are fully closed or fully extended. This principle can also be used to illuminate drawers in other appliances (cabinets, chests of drawers, etc.). Therefore, the invention is not limited to refrigerators and / or freezers.

[0009] Preferably, the light guide extends completely or partially over one or more sides of the at least one drawer of the refrigerator and / or freezer.

[0010] In practice, it has proven advantageous if the light guide is designed as a flat strip extending vertically along at least one side of the drawer facing the door of the refrigerator and / or freezer. Preferably, the at least one drawer is equipped with a light guide on at least one side facing the door of the refrigerator and / or freezer, and thus on the side facing a user of the drawer. Alternatively or additionally, the drawer can also be equipped with a light guide on another side or on all sides.

[0011] The light guide can be manufactured separately from the drawer or as a single unit with the drawer, preferably using injection molding. For example, the light guide can be produced as a separate extruded profile or injection-molded part and attached to the drawer front (other positions, such as the drawer's side walls, are not excluded), e.g., by clipping, snapping, screwing, or gluing. Another option is to manufacture the light guide together with the drawer as a single injection-molded part.

[0012] According to the invention, a cooling and / or freezing appliance comprises several drawers, each of which has a light guide, wherein the light guides of the several drawers are connected to one another via coupling structures such that a common light guide is formed in which the light from the light source can propagate. According to the invention, each drawer has a light guide on at least one side, at least partially, which extends vertically across the side.

[0013] This makes it possible to illuminate the device or all drawers from top to bottom, regardless of the device height and number of drawers used, by means of a preferably integrated light guide in the drawer.

[0014] A refrigerator and / or freezer according to the invention has a light source for coupling light into the light guides of the drawers in a ceiling and / or a floor of the refrigerator and / or freezer. If light sources are present in both the ceiling and the floor, particularly bright illumination can be achieved or a particularly large number of drawers can be illuminated, since light is introduced from both sides into the common light guide formed by the light guides of the drawers.

[0015] For example, a light source, which may contain LEDs, is located on the top of the appliance and couples light into the vertical light guide of the top drawer. Although the light guides of the individual drawers of a multiple drawers in the refrigerator and / or freezer are interrupted between each drawer, the light is still transmitted from one light guide to the next: The coupled light exits at the end of the light guide of the first drawer and then couples into the light guide of the second drawer, and so on, up to the nth drawer (the last drawer). To increase the efficiency of the system, a second light module can also be located in the base of the appliance and thus couple light additionally at both ends into the light guide formed by the light guides of several drawers.

[0016] According to one embodiment, a light guide of at least one drawer is structured by means of laser engraving, screen printing and / or extraction geometries such that a receiving area of ​​the drawer can be uniformly illuminated with light from the light guide. In other words, the light guides can be structured (e.g., screen printing, laser engraving, extraction geometries, etc.) so that light is defined and uniformly extracted into the respective drawer body or receiving area of ​​the drawer and illuminates it.

[0017] Additionally, by defining the structure of the light guide, light can be extracted in such a way that, for example, a symbol or lettering can be illuminated or displayed in the drawer front or another area of ​​a drawer.

[0018] If a drawer is pulled out, the light path is interrupted at that point if light is coupled in from one side (e.g., from the ceiling or the floor of the device), but the pulled-out drawer is still illuminated either directly by the light source (in the case of the drawer closest to the light source, e.g., the top drawer) or, in the case of all other drawers, by the light coupling at the end of the light guide of the drawer above the pulled-out drawer (i.e., the adjacent drawer closer to the light source).

[0019] According to a further embodiment, the bottom of at least one drawer has at least a section containing a light guide and / or is designed to be transparent or translucent at least section by section and is equipped with at least one coupling geometry, preferably a deflecting cone and / or a groove, such that when the drawer is extended, light from a surrounding structure, preferably an adjacent drawer, can be fed into the bottom of the drawer.

[0020] For example, with a drawer extended and two light sources, the light exiting the upper end of the light guide below the extended drawer can be coupled back into the drawer bottom via a coupling geometry (e.g., a deflecting cone, a groove, or similar). This illuminates the drawer bottom or body, which is preferably at least partially or completely transparent and / or translucent, in addition to the illumination from the light source or light exiting the light guide above the extended drawer.

[0021] The shape or design of the light guide is conceivable in all embodiments and is not limited to rectangular, square, round, etc. The light guide is not limited in its dimensions and can, for example, extend across the entire drawer front or any other arbitrary part of the drawer.

[0022] The position of the light sources is not fixed to the top of the appliance, but can, for example, also be located in the control panel. The design of the light sources is arbitrary, but they usually include LEDs. Another aspect of the invention relates to a drawer for a refrigerator and / or freezer according to the present invention, wherein the drawer has, at least partially, a light guide on at least one side, preferably a side facing the user when the drawer is being pulled out. This light guide preferably extends vertically across the side in the form of a flat strip. Vertical extension here means that the light guide extends from the bottom of the drawer to the upper edge of a receiving area of ​​the drawer.

[0023] According to the invention, light coupling and / or light coupling structures are provided on two opposite sides of the light guide of the drawer.

[0024] Furthermore, it has proven advantageous in practice if the bottom of the drawer has at least a section with a light guide and / or is designed to be transparent or translucent at least in sections and is equipped with at least one coupling geometry, preferably with a deflection geometry, such as a deflection cone and / or a groove, so that light can be fed into the bottom of the drawer.

[0025] In addition, the light guide of the drawer can be structured at least in sections in such a way that a symbol, lettering, pattern, ornament or other representation can be illuminated, preferably on a side which is facing a user when the drawer is being pulled out.

[0026] Furthermore, the present invention includes the use of a drawer according to the invention in or with a refrigerator and / or freezer according to the invention.

[0027] Further advantages, features, and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which identical or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals. Here, [the following is shown] Fig. 1 schematically an inner container of a cooling and / or freezing appliance according to the invention, in which three drawers are arranged; Fig.2 Two views each of a refrigerator and / or freezer with a light source in the ceiling of the appliance (left side in Fig. 2 ) and a refrigerator and / or freezer, each with a light source in the ceiling and floor of the appliance (right side in Fig. 2 ) and Fig. 3 Two views each of a refrigerator and / or freezer with a light source in the ceiling of the appliance and the third drawer extended (left side in Fig. 3 ) and a refrigerator and / or freezer, each with a light source in the ceiling and floor of the appliance, with a second drawer extended (right side in) Fig. 3 ).

[0028] Fig. 1 schematically shows an inner container 1 of a Fig. 1 The refrigerator and / or freezer according to the invention (not shown) in which three drawers 2 are arranged. Each drawer comprises a drawer front 3, which forms a user-facing side of the drawer 2. Each drawer 2 comprises a receiving area or drawer body 4 for receiving chilled goods.

[0029] A light source 5 is arranged in both the ceiling and the floor of the refrigerator and / or freezer, feeding light into the light guides 6 of the drawers 2. The light guides 6 are designed as flat strips extending vertically (from the ceiling to the floor of the refrigerator and / or freezer) across the drawer fronts 3.

[0030] Each optical fiber has a deflection contour 7 at at least one end for planar light coupling. Using this deflection contour 7, light from the optical fiber 6 can be coupled into the base of an adjacent drawer when the drawer is extended.

[0031] Fig. 2 shows two views, each of a refrigerator and / or freezer, with a light source in the ceiling of the appliance (left side in Fig. 2 ) and a refrigerator and / or freezer, each with a light source in the ceiling and floor of the appliance (right side in Fig. 2 ) and 4 drawers 2 each when closed, each equipped with a light guide 6.

[0032] This illustration clearly shows that the light is introduced from both sides (right side in Fig. 2 ) the drawers can be illuminated particularly brightly, but also with only one light source (left side in Fig. 2 ) the drawers are reliably and evenly illuminated.

[0033] It is also evident how the light propagates through the common light guide formed by the individual light guides 6 of the individual drawers 2.

[0034] Fig. 3 shows two views of a refrigerator and / or freezer, each with a light source in the ceiling of the appliance and the third drawer extended (left side in Fig. 3 ) and a refrigerator and / or freezer, each with a light source in the ceiling and floor of the appliance, with a second drawer extended (right side in) Fig. 3 ).

[0035] Especially on the right side in fig. 3 It can be seen how, when a drawer is pulled out, light from the drawer below is coupled into the drawer bottom, thus illuminating the drawer evenly.

Claims

1. A refrigerator and / or freezer comprising at least one drawer (2), which preferably on its side facing a door of the refrigerator and / or freezer at least sectionally includes a light guide (6), and a light source (5) which is designed to couple light into the light guide (6) of the drawer (2) preferably with the drawer (2) pushed in, characterized in that a plurality of drawers (2) are present, wherein each drawer (2) on at least one side at least sectionally includes a light guide (6) which extends in the vertical direction across the side, wherein the light guides (6) of the plurality of drawers (2) are connected to each other via coupling structures in such a way that a common light guide is formed, in which the light from the light source (5) can propagate, wherein the refrigerator and / or freezer includes a light source (5) in a ceiling and / or a bottom of the refrigerator and / or freezer.

2. The refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 1, characterized in that the light guide (6) completely or sectionally extends across one or more sides of the drawer (2).

3. The refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the light guide (6) is configured as a flat strip which extends on a side of the drawer (2) facing a door of the refrigerator and / or freezer.

4. The refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized that the light guide (6) is formed separately from the drawer (2) or in one piece with the drawer (2), preferably by injection molding.

5. The refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized that a light guide (6) of at least one drawer (2) is structured by means of laser engraving, screen printing, and / or decoupling geometries in such a way that a receiving area of the drawer (2) can be evenly illuminated by light from the light guide (6).

6. The refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of the preceding claims, characterized that the bottom of at least one drawer (2) at least sectionally includes a light guide (6) and / or at least sectionally is of transparent or translucent design and is equipped with at least one coupling geometry, preferably a deflection geometry, such as a deflection cone and / or a groove, in such a way that in the extended state of the drawer (2) light from a surrounding structure, preferably an adjacent drawer (2), can be fed into the bottom of the drawer (2).

7. A drawer (2) for a refrigerator and / or freezer according any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that on at least one side, preferably on a side which during an extension operation of the drawer (2) faces a user, the drawer (2) at least sectionally includes a light guide (6) which preferably in the manner of a flat strip extends in the vertical direction across the side, wherein on two opposite sides of the light guide (6) light coupling and / or light decoupling structures are present.

8. The drawer (2) for a refrigerator and / or freezer according to claim 7, characterized that the bottom of the drawer (2) at least sectionally includes a light guide (6) and / or at least sectionally is of transparent or translucent design and is equipped with at least one coupling geometry, preferably a deflection cone and / or a groove, in such a way that light can be fed into the bottom of the drawer (2).

9. The drawer (2) for a refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of claims 7 to 8, characterized in that the light guide (6) of the drawer (2) at least sectionally is structured in such a way that preferably on a side which faces a user during an extension operation of the drawer (2) a symbol, a lettering, a pattern, an ornament or some other depiction can be illuminated.

10. Use of a drawer (2) according to any of claims 7 to 9 in or with a refrigerator and / or freezer according to any of claims 1 to 6.