Double cabinet vacuum insulated refrigerator with a structural foamed mullion

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11971208-B2
Application number	US-202117546527-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2021
Priority date	Apr 14, 2016
Publication date	Apr 30, 2024
Grant date	Apr 30, 2024

Abstract

An insulation system for an appliance includes a first vacuum insulated structure having a first set of sidewalls that define a first refrigerating compartment, a second vacuum insulated structure having a second set of sidewalls that define a second refrigerating compartment and a medial insulation structure having a rigid perimeter wall. The rigid perimeter wall includes a front portion that defines at least one hinge support adapted to support an appliance door. The rigid perimeter wall defines an insulating cavity that is filled with an insulating material. The first vacuum insulated structure engages a first edge of the perimeter wall and the second vacuum insulated structure engages a second edge of the perimeter wall.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An insulation system for an appliance, comprising:
a first vacuum insulated structure having a first set of sidewalls that define a first refrigerating compartment;
a second vacuum insulated structure having a second set of sidewalls that define a second refrigerating compartment; and
a medial insulation structure having a rigid perimeter wall that extends around an outer perimeter of the medial insulation structure and having a first edge and a second edge that define an insulating cavity that is filled with an insulating material, the first edge opposing the second edge, wherein
the insulating material is contained within the rigid perimeter wall and between the first edge and the second edge; and
the first vacuum insulated structure engages and is supported by the first edge of the rigid perimeter wall and the second vacuum insulated structure engages the second edge of the rigid perimeter wall to separate the first vacuum insulated structure and the second vacuum insulated structure from one another, including separating a first outer wrapper of the first vacuum insulated structure from a second outer wrapper of the second vacuum insulated structure.

2. The insulation system of claim 1 , wherein the rigid perimeter wall includes a front portion that defines at least one hinge support adapted to support an appliance door.

3. The insulation system of claim 2 , wherein the first vacuum insulated structure includes an upper rigid support that defines an upper hinge support adapted to at least partially support the appliance door.

4. The insulation system of claim 3 , wherein the rigid perimeter wall includes a cross section defining a mullion wall, an upper flange that extends from the first edge and a lower flange that extends from the second edge, wherein the at least one hinge support is defined in the mullion wall.

5. The insulation system of claim 4 , wherein the first vacuum insulated structure engages the upper flange and the second vacuum insulated structure engages the lower flange.

6. The insulation system of claim 5 , wherein the upper rigid support is attached to the exterior of an outer wrapper of the first vacuum insulated structure.

7. The insulation system of claim 1 , wherein the rigid perimeter wall includes an insulation port through which the insulating material is disposed within the insulating cavity.

8. The insulation system of claim 7 , wherein the insulating material is a foam-type injected insulation.

9. The insulation system of claim 1 , wherein a mechanical fixture is disposed within the insulating cavity of the medial insulation structure.

10. A structural cabinet for an appliance comprising:
a first vacuum insulated structure defining a first refrigerating compartment, the first vacuum insulated structure having an injection molded first trim breaker that partially defines a front face of the first vacuum insulated structure;
at least one door that is operable to at least partially enclose the first refrigerating compartment; and
an interior mullion that further defines the first refrigerating compartment and having a medial insulation structure with a rigid perimeter wall, wherein:
the rigid perimeter wall is a continuous perimeter wall that defines a metallic outer frame of the interior mullion;
the rigid perimeter wall includes a front portion that defines at least one hinge support adapted to support the at least one door;
the front portion is co-planar with the front face of the first vacuum insulated structure;
upper and lower flanges extend from the rigid perimeter wall to define an insulating cavity that is at least partially filled with an insulating material; and
the first vacuum insulated structure abuts and is supported by the upper flange of the rigid perimeter wall and remains separated from the lower flange.

11. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , further comprising:
a second vacuum insulated structure defining a second refrigerating compartment, wherein the second vacuum insulated structure abuts the lower flange of the rigid perimeter wall to partially define the second refrigerating compartment, and wherein the second vacuum insulated structure remains separated from the upper flange.

12. The structural cabinet of claim 11 , wherein the rigid perimeter wall separates the first and second refrigerating compartments.

13. The structural cabinet of claim 11 , wherein the interior mullion entirely separates the first and second vacuum insulated structures from one another.

14. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , wherein the at least one door includes right and left French doors, and wherein the at least one hinge support includes right and left hinge supports that support the right and left French doors, respectively.

15. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , wherein the first vacuum insulated structure includes an upper rigid support that defines an upper hinge support adapted to at least partially support the at least one door.

16. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , wherein the second vacuum insulated structure includes a respective trim breaker that forms a respective front face of the second vacuum insulated structure.

17. The structural cabinet of claim 16 , wherein the front portion of the rigid perimeter wall and the respective front face of the second vacuum insulated structure are co-planar.

18. The structural cabinet of claim 16 , wherein the front face of the first vacuum insulated structure and the respective front face of the second vacuum insulated structure are co-planar.

19. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , wherein a mechanical fixture is disposed within the medial insulation structure.

20. The structural cabinet of claim 10 , wherein the first vacuum insulated structure includes a first metallic outer wrapper, wherein the rigid perimeter wall of the interior mullion engages the first vacuum insulated structure in a co-planar relationship with the first metallic outer wrapper.

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Deka Lakshya J

Classifications

• F16L59/065

  using vacuum (F16L59/075 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16L59/07

  the air layer being enclosed by one or more layers of insulation · CPC title

• F25D23/062 Primary

  defining a cabinet · CPC title

• F25D11/02

  with cooling compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D23/069 Primary

  Cooling space dividing partitions · CPC title