household appliance

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance, in particular a refrigerator and / or freezer, with an electronic unit and thermal insulation arranged to insulate the appliance at least partially, wherein the thermal insulation comprises a vacuum insulation body.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a household appliance, in particular a refrigerator and / or freezer, having an electronic unit and a thermal insulation arranged to thermally insulate the appliance at least in certain areas.

[0002] Known devices from the state of the art have thermal insulation with foam insulation, e.g. with polyurethane foam.

[0003] Foam insulations exhibit a high degree of geometric flexibility, as almost any geometries can be foamed, allowing inner containers, doors and / or receiving geometries for accommodating an electronic unit to be manufactured without great design and manufacturing effort.

[0004] In the case of refrigerators and / or freezers that are thermally insulated using foam insulation, cables, etc. can easily be routed through the foam insulation.

[0005] However, foam insulation has the disadvantage that it requires a large foam volume to achieve good insulation.

[0006] It is also known to thermally insulate refrigerators and / or freezers with one or more vacuum insulation bodies. However, vacuum insulation bodies exhibit less geometric flexibility, as a vacuum must be created and maintained within them. For example, feedthroughs and recesses in a vacuum insulation body cannot be realized in any way, which complicates the integration of an electronics unit into a household appliance with a vacuum insulation body.

[0007] Against this background, the present invention is based on the object of improving an above-mentioned household appliance, in particular with regard to thermal insulation and the arrangement and / or operation of an electronic unit.

[0008] This object is achieved by the subject matter having the features of independent claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0009] Accordingly, the invention provides that the thermal insulation comprises a vacuum insulation body.

[0010] Preferably, the device is provided with full vacuum insulation.

[0011] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit has or is a control unit, a lighting unit, a display and / or operating unit, a sensor unit and / or a connection unit.

[0012] Preferably, the electronic unit is designed to control a solenoid valve, a fan, an air damper, a lighting device, a display and / or operating unit and / or a sensor, a compressor, motor, stepper motor, heater, switch, ultrasonic generator or nebulizer.

[0013] It is preferably provided that the electronics unit is arranged at least partially on one or more sides of a cooled interior of the device, preferably vertically and / or horizontally, and / or serves as a support for a storage shelf.

[0014] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit can be supplied with light, in particular from a light source arranged outside the electronic unit.

[0015] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit is integrated or contained in a, preferably electrical or electronic, component or assembly, and is preferably designed as an uplight, which can be supplied with light in particular from a light source in a base area of ​​the device, and / or as a downlight.

[0016] It is preferably provided that the electronics unit is arranged at least partially on or in a partition plate of the device.

[0017] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit is arranged at least partially in an, in particular upper or lower, end piece of a closure element and / or at least partially in an upper or lower horizontal part of a body.

[0018] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit is arranged at least partially on or in an interior door and / or at least partially on or in an exterior door, in particular in the area of ​​a handle or recessed handle.

[0019] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit has spring-mounted contacts, means for inductive energy transmission and / or an electrical energy storage device.

[0020] It is preferably provided that the electronic unit has a light frame and / or a light bar, which is arranged on a front side of the device, in particular on an inner container, preferably on or in a bevel.

[0021] Preferably, the device and / or the electronic unit comprises a wiring harness.

[0022] Preferably, the device comprises a fastening means for at least partially fastening the electronic unit.

[0023] It is preferably provided that the fastening means comprises or is an injection-molded part, a cable guide, a receiving means for receiving and / or fastening a sensor and / or a sealable material.

[0024] The fastening means is preferably a component that enables the installation and / or assembly of the electronic unit.

[0025] The fastening means preferably consists of or preferably comprises a sealable material which can be connected to one or more other sealable elements of the device, in particular an inner container, the vacuum insulation body, a body or housing.

[0026] The fastening device is preferably manufactured by injection molding.

[0027] The fastening means preferably has areas for receiving and / or fastening a sensor.

[0028] Preferably, the fastening means is first connected to the vacuum insulation body and then locked and / or sealed to a, in particular outer, surface or wall.

[0029] Preferably, the cable harness is designed and arranged to connect external electronics to an internal node at which one or more, preferably all, internal electronic units can be connected to the electronics.

[0030] Preferably, the cable harness leads to a central distribution point, which is preferably part of a component that can be connected or is connected to the body.

[0031] The fastening means can be designed to have a large surface area and / or be connected to a visible sheet metal, in particular in order to achieve a high level of flatness of a visible surface of the sheet metal.

[0032] One or more cable guides can be integrated into the fastening device.

[0033] In order to keep the number of fastening devices to a minimum, these preferably have several receptacles or functions.

[0034] The vacuum insulation body is preferably arranged between an inner container and / or an inner wall of the device and an outer wall of the device.

[0035] Preferably, a general electronic control of an electronic unit is provided to control the household appliance.

[0036] Preferably, an arrangement, a control, an operation and / or partial assembly of different electronic units, such as solenoid valves, fans, air flaps, lighting, displays for information, controls and sensors, in particular taking into account the vacuum insulation body, is provided.

[0037] Preferably, power is transmitted and / or routed to a display that is arranged in or on a closure element of the device.

[0038] The electronic unit may also comprise means for lighting, means for operating the device, means for interruptibly and electrically connecting electronic components in a closure element of the device to electronics in the body and / or housing of the device, means for electronic control and / or means for regulating a temperature in one or more temperature zones, or may be one of the aforementioned means.

[0039] The storage shelf can have or be a glass top.

[0040] Preferably, the electronics unit is supplied with light via a light guide from a light source mounted outside the electronics unit, wherein the light source is located close to an electronics board or is a component of this electronics board.

[0041] The inner container is preferably made entirely or partially of a light-conducting material.

[0042] Preferably, the device has a built-in component that is entirely designed as a light guide and / or can emit light over a large area. A built-in component is, for example, a partition plate or an air duct cover, particularly on a rear wall.

[0043] The electronics unit can, for example, be arranged at least partially in a partition plate, air duct cover, in a partition between two temperature zones of the device and / or in housing components of refrigeration and / or water-carrying assemblies.

[0044] The closure element can be a door, a flap and / or a lid.

[0045] The connection unit is or preferably comprises a means for the interruptible current-carrying connection of an electronic component in a closure element with electronics in a body or housing.

[0046] Preferably, the spring-mounted contacts are designed and arranged in such a way that an electrical connection is interrupted when the closure element is opened.

[0047] Preferably, the means for inductive energy transmission comprise a transmitting coil and a receiving coil.

[0048] The electrical energy storage device is preferably arranged in the closure element. The electrical energy storage device can be a rechargeable battery, a capacitor, and / or a non-rechargeable battery, or comprise one or more of the aforementioned elements.

[0049] An uplight is preferably designed and arranged to emit light mostly or predominantly upwards. A downlight is preferably designed and arranged to emit light mostly or predominantly downwards.

[0050] The electronics unit or the lighting unit, in particular an uplight and / or a downlight, are preferably integrated or arranged in or on a partition panel and / or in or on a side wall of the device, in particular to enable area lighting on a rear wall of the device and / or on a side wall of the device. The partition panel preferably has a connection point, in particular an electrical one.

[0051] The downlight is preferably located in a freezer compartment and / or the uplight is preferably located in a refrigerator compartment. A dry rear wall is preferably used to couple out the light.

[0052] Preferably, the electronics unit or the lighting is integrated, in particular with cabling, in particular into a dry rear wall of a cooling part.

[0053] Preferably, energy is transferred to the electronic unit without a cable.

[0054] Preferably, energy is transferred to the electronic unit by inductive current transmission.

[0055] Preferably, data is transmitted to an electronic unit, in particular a display and / or operating unit, which is preferably arranged in or on a closure element, via radio, such as Bluetooth.

[0056] Preferably, the electronic unit has an electrical energy storage device which is charged in particular only when the closure element is closed, in particular via sliding contacts or the like.

[0057] Preferably, the device, an inner container of the device and / or the electronics unit has printed circuit tracks.

[0058] The electronics unit, in particular the sensor unit, preferably has a sensor system for detecting the closure element in an end piece of the closure element. The electronics unit, in particular the sensor unit, is preferably arranged at the bottom of or in a refrigerator compartment and / or preferably at the top of or in a freezer compartment.

[0059] The sensor system for detecting a closure element is preferably designed and arranged to detect a relative movement of the closure element to a body.

[0060] Preferably, the electronic unit, which in particular should not necessarily be arranged on, for example, a ceiling of the device, is arranged in an area of ​​or close to the base of the device.

[0061] Preferably, the electronics unit is or comprises a bus node. This allows components to be arranged in locations where the arrangement is technically simple to implement.

[0062] Preferably, the device has a bus line, particularly within the device. Various bus nodes, such as a lighting unit, a fan, etc., can be connected to the bus line. The bus node(s) can be controlled via the bus.

[0063] The electronics unit, in particular the display and / or control unit, is preferably not arranged centrally in the middle, but rather across the entire width in an upper area, particularly where thermal insulation is not necessarily required. The electronics unit, in particular the display and / or control unit, can be arranged behind a closed closure element.

[0064] The electronic unit, in particular the display and / or operating unit, preferably has a foil display, e.g. an ePaper and / or is preferably glued to the closure element.

[0065] The electronic unit, in particular the display and / or operating unit, preferably has a flat plug-in system, in particular in order to be removable and replaceable.

[0066] The electronic unit, in particular the display and / or operating unit, is preferably designed to be as flat as possible, in particular for surface integration.

[0067] The electronics unit, in particular the lighting unit, is preferably arranged in or on a support frame for storage shelves.

[0068] The electronic unit, in particular the lighting unit, is preferably a vertical and / or narrow light column.

[0069] The electronics unit, in particular the lighting unit, is preferably arranged in or on a storage shelf. The storage shelf is preferably designed as a light guide, at least in some areas, and / or is used as a light guide.

[0070] The device preferably has several electronic units.

[0071] The vacuum insulation body may contain zeolite.

[0072] Preferably, the device has full vacuum insulation and / or the vacuum insulation body is designed in one piece or in several pieces.

[0073] Full vacuum insulation is preferably understood to mean thermal insulation that consists exclusively or predominantly, in particular to more than 80% or more than 90%, of a vacuum insulation body with an evacuated region filled with a core material, such as perlite or perlite rock. The boundary of this region can be formed, for example, by a vacuum-tight, in particular multi-layer, film and preferably by a high-barrier film with a very low gas transmission coefficient. Thus, between an inner wall of the device and an outer skin of the device, the only thermal insulation that can be present is a film body that has a region surrounded by a vacuum-tight film, in particular a high-barrier film, in which a vacuum prevails and in which a core material is arranged.Foaming and / or vacuum insulation panels as thermal insulation or any other thermal insulation other than full vacuum insulation, in particular between the inside and outside of the device, are preferably not provided.

[0074] The film is preferably a gas-tight film and particularly preferably a high-barrier film. The term "high-barrier film" preferably refers to a film by means of which the gas ingress into the vacuum insulation body is reduced to such an extent that the increase in the thermal conductivity of the vacuum insulation body caused by gas ingress is sufficiently low over its service life. A service life can be assumed, for example, to be 15 years, preferably 20 years, and particularly preferably 30 years. The increase in the thermal conductivity of the vacuum insulation body caused by gas ingress over its service life is preferably < 100% and particularly preferably < 50%. The area-specific gas transmission rate of the high-barrier film is preferably < 10-5 mbar * l / s *m 2 and particularly preferably < 10-6 mbar * l / s *m 2(measured according to ASTM D-3985). This gas transmission rate applies to nitrogen and oxygen. For other gases (especially water vapor), low gas transmission rates also exist, preferably in the range of < 10-2 mbar * l / s * m 2 and particularly preferably in the range of < 10-3 mbar * l / s * m 2 (measured according to ASTM F-1249-90). Preferably, these low gas transmission rates achieve the aforementioned low increases in thermal conductivity. High-barrier films, in the context of the present invention, are preferably understood to mean single- or multi-layer films (which are preferably sealable) with one or more barrier layers (typically metallic layers or oxide layers, with aluminum or an aluminum oxide preferably being used as the metal or oxide) that meet the above-mentioned requirements (increase in thermal conductivity and / or area-specific gas transmission rate) as a barrier against gas ingress.

[0075] The term "household appliance" is to be understood broadly in the context of this invention. This includes both appliances intended and suitable for private use and commercial appliances.

[0076] It should be noted here that the terms "a" and "an" do not necessarily refer to exactly one of the elements, although this represents a possible embodiment, but can also refer to a plurality of the elements. Likewise, the use of the plural also includes the presence of the element in question in the singular, and conversely, the singular also encompasses several of the elements in question. Furthermore, all features of the invention described herein can be combined with one another as desired or claimed in isolation from one another.

[0077] Further advantages, features and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments.

[0078] A first embodiment relates to an embodiment of a household appliance according to the invention in the form of a refrigerator and / or freezer, with an electronics unit and a thermal insulation which is arranged in such a way as to thermally insulate the appliance at least in regions, wherein the thermal insulation has a vacuum insulation body.

[0079] The device has full vacuum insulation.

[0080] The electronics unit is a lighting unit, has lighting means and is designed to control the lighting means.

[0081] The lighting devices have light guides and are supplied with light by a light source in the form of one or more LEDs.

[0082] The electronics unit is arranged at least partially horizontally on both sides of a cooled interior of the device and thus serves as a support for a storage shelf.

[0083] A second embodiment relates to an embodiment of a household appliance according to the invention in the form of a refrigerator and / or freezer, with an electronic unit and a thermal insulation which is arranged in such a way as to thermally insulate the appliance at least in regions, wherein the thermal insulation has a vacuum insulation body.

[0084] The electronics unit is integrated into an electrical or electronic assembly and is designed as an uplight that can be supplied with light from a light source in a base area of ​​the device.

[0085] The device has an additional electronic unit designed as a downlight.

[0086] The device has a fastening device for attaching the electronics unit.

[0087] The device also includes another electronic unit, designed as a connection unit. Part of the connection unit is located in the body of the device and part in the door.

[0088] The connecting unit comprises a means in the form of spring-loaded contacts for the current-carrying connection of the part in the door with the part in the body, which can be interrupted when the door is open.

[0089] The spring-loaded contacts are designed and arranged in such a way that an electrical connection is interrupted when the door is opened.

[0090] The connection unit can be used to supply power to another electronic unit, which is arranged in the door in the form of a display and control unit, when the door is closed.

[0091] The display and control unit has a rechargeable battery that can supply power to the display and control unit when the door is opened, thus interrupting the electrical connection in the connection unit. This eliminates the need for a complex mechanism that supplies power to the display and control unit from the body even when the door is opened, left open, or moved.

[0092] The electronic units of the device are supplied with power via a cable harness arranged in the body, which is secured by one or more fasteners sealed with the foil of the vacuum insulation body.

Claims

[1] Household appliance, in particular a refrigerator and / or freezer, with an electronic unit and thermal insulation arranged in such a way as to thermally insulate the appliance at least in certain areas, characterized by that the thermal insulation has a vacuum insulation body. [2] Household appliance according to claim 1, characterized by that the device has full vacuum insulation. [3] Household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the electronic unit has or is a control unit, a lighting unit, a display and / or operating unit, a sensor unit and / or a connection unit. [4] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit is designed to control a compressor, motor, stepper motor, heater, switch, ultrasonic generator, nebulizer, solenoid valve, fan, air damper, lighting, a display and / or operating unit and / or a sensor. [5] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronics unit is arranged at least partially on one or more sides of a cooled interior of the device, preferably vertically and / or horizontally, and / or serves as a support for a storage shelf. [6] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit can be supplied with light, in particular from a light source arranged outside the electronic unit. [7] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit is integrated or contained in a, preferably electrical or electronic, component or assembly, and is preferably designed as an uplight, which can be supplied with light in particular from a light source in a base area of the device, and / or as a downlight. [8] Household appliance according to claim 7, characterized bythat the electronic unit is at least partially arranged on or in a partition plate of the device. [9] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit is arranged at least partially in an, in particular upper or lower, end piece of a closure element and / or at least partially in an upper or lower horizontal part of a body. [10] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit is arranged at least partially on or in an interior door and / or at least partially on or in an exterior door, in particular in the area of a handle or recessed handle. [11] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit has spring-loaded contacts, means for inductive energy transmission and / or an electrical energy storage device. [12] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electronic unit has a light frame and / or a light bar which is arranged on a front side of the device, in particular on an inner container, preferably on or in a bevel. [13] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the device and / or the electronic unit has a wiring harness. [14] Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the device has a fastening means for at least partially fastening the electronic unit. [15] Household appliance according to claim 14, characterized by that the fastening means comprises or is an injection-molded part, a cable guide, a receiving means for receiving and / or fastening a sensor and / or a sealable material.