Household appliance cabinet ground connection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10962276-B2
Application number	US-201715827757-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2017
Priority date	Dec 2, 2016
Publication date	Mar 30, 2021
Grant date	Mar 30, 2021

Abstract

A household refrigeration appliance has a housing and at least one electronics module in the housing. The electronics module is covered at least in sections by a metallic cover plate and the cover plate is in electrical contact with a further metal component, in particular with a metal sheet, of the household refrigeration appliance. The cover plate is thereby connected by way of the metal component to an electrical ground connection. The ground connection has a metallic grounding claw, separate from the cover plate and from the metal component, by way of which the cover plate and the metal component are connected to at least one connection element.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a household refrigeration appliance;
said household refrigeration appliance including a housing;
said household refrigeration appliance including an electronics module arranged in said housing;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metallic cover plate covering said electronics module at least in sections thereof;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metal component;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metallic grounding claw separate from said cover plate and from said metal component;
said metallic grounding claw and at least one connection element connecting said cover plate and said metal component to one another and said metallic grounding claw forming an electrical ground connection connecting said cover plate to electrical ground via said metal component;
said metallic grounding claw including a base plate and a plurality of tabs integrally formed on said base plate and projecting from a plane of said base plate;
said plurality of tabs pressing against said cover plate and said metal component at positions located at only one side of the plane of said base plate and; and
said cover plate and said metal component overlapping in at least one overlap region, and said cover plate and said metal component not overlapping in at least one other region;
wherein said grounding claw is disposed on a housing of said electronics module.

2. An apparatus, comprising:
a household refrigeration appliance;
said household refrigeration appliance including a housing;
said household refrigeration appliance including an electronics module arranged in said housing;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metallic cover plate covering said electronics module at least in sections thereof;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metal component;
said household refrigeration appliance including a metallic grounding claw separate from said cover plate and from said metal component;
said metallic grounding claw and at least one connection element connecting said cover plate and said metal component to one another and said metallic grounding claw forming an electrical ground connection connecting said cover plate to electrical ground via said metal component;
said metallic grounding claw including a base plate and a plurality of tabs integrally formed on said base plate and projecting from a plane of said base plate;
said plurality of tabs pressing against said cover plate and said metal component at positions located at only one side of the plane of said base plate and; and
said cover plate and said metal component overlapping in at least one overlap region, and said cover plate and said metal component not overlapping in at least one other region.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said grounding claw has a guide boss for guiding said connection element at least in sections.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein at least one of said tabs is formed on an edge section of said base plate.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said tabs are bending tabs.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said tabs are oriented in a direction of said cover plate and, in an assembled state, press into said cover plate and/or into said metal component.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said metal component is a metal sheet and said tabs are oriented in a direction of said cover plate and, in an assembled state, press into said cover plate and into said metal sheet.

8. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said grounding claw has a guide boss for guiding said connection element, and wherein said guide boss and said tabs are arranged on mutually opposite sides of said base plate and project in opposite directions from said base plate.

9. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said cover plate and said metal component overlap one another in certain regions in at least one spatial direction, and a connection to said grounding claw is formed in an overlap region.

10. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said metal component is a metal sheet overlapping with said cover plate in an overlap region and a connection to said grounding claw is formed in said overlap region.

11. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said grounding claw is disposed on a housing of said electronics module.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein said grounding claw is arranged in a receiving pocket in said housing of said electronics module.

13. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said base plate has a polygonal shape and at least one of said tabs is formed on each side length of said base plate.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein said base plate is substantially rectangular and each side of said base plate carries at least one of said tabs.

15. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said connection element comprises a screw and said grounding claw is screwed to said cover plate and said metal component by way of said screw.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein said metal component is a metal sheet.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein said screw has a serrated flange.

18. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said metal component is a metal sheet that forms a rear wall of the housing of the household refrigeration appliance.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein said metal sheet forms the rear wall of the housing of the household refrigeration appliance in sections thereof.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein said metal sheet forms the rear wall of the housing of the household refrigeration appliance substantially completely.

Assignees

• Bsh Hausgeraete Gmbh

Inventors

• Lindel Andreas
• Krapp Michael
• Dai Yun

Classifications

• F25D29/005 Primary

  Mounting of control devices · CPC title

• H01R4/64

  Connections between or with conductive parts having primarily a non-electric function, e.g. frame, casing, rail · CPC title

• H01R4/34

  Conductive members located under head of screw · CPC title

• F25D2400/40

  Refrigerating devices characterised by electrical wiring · CPC title

• F25D23/00

  General constructional features (F25D21/00 takes precedence) · CPC title