CN113396307A

CN113396307A - Refrigerator with direct cooling door inner chamber

Info

Publication number: CN113396307A
Application number: CN202080012648.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: B·M·肖克; J·K·贝索尔
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Haier US Appliance Solutions Inc
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Haier US Appliance Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2019-02-06
Filing date: 2020-01-14
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-14
Also published as: WO2020160697A1; CN113396307B; US20200248950A1

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance (100) includes a cabinet (120) defining a cooling chamber. Doors (126, 128) are rotatably mounted to the cabinet (120) at a front portion of the cooling chamber. A food storage compartment (123, 300) is defined within the door (126, 128). The refrigeration appliance (100) further comprises a sealed system (60) configured for generating cold air. The sealed system (60) is in direct fluid communication with the in-door food storage compartment (123, 300) to provide cool air directly to the in-door food storage compartment (123, 300).

Description

Refrigerator with direct cooling door inner chamber

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to refrigeration appliances. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a refrigeration appliance having a door-in-door compartment or chamber that is directly cooled by a sealed cooling system of the refrigeration appliance.

Background

Refrigeration appliances typically include a cabinet that defines a cooled chamber for receiving food items for storage. One or more thermally insulated sealing doors are provided for selectively enclosing the cooled food storage compartment. Consumers often prefer cooling chambers that facilitate visibility and accessibility to the food items stored therein.

In some refrigeration appliances (commonly referred to as double-door refrigeration appliances), a fresh food compartment is positioned within the cabinet beside the freezer compartment. This configuration may allow easy access to food items stored on the door of the refrigeration appliance. However, the cabinet may be deep and narrow, making access to the food items in the rear of the fresh food and/or freezer compartments difficult.

In other refrigeration appliances, the freezer compartment is positioned above or below the fresh food compartment in the cabinet, commonly referred to as top-loading or bottom-loading refrigeration appliances. For example, such a configuration may provide a relatively wider fresh food and/or freezer compartment than a double door configuration. However, the depth of the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment may make it difficult to access the food items at the rear of the refrigeration appliance.

Accordingly, a refrigeration appliance having features for assisting in accessing food items stored therein would be useful.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

In an exemplary embodiment, a refrigeration appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance defines a vertical direction, a lateral direction and a transverse direction. The vertical direction, the lateral direction and the transverse direction are perpendicular to each other. The refrigeration appliance includes a cabinet extending in a vertical direction from a top to a bottom. The cabinet also extends from left to right in a lateral direction. The cabinet defines a fresh food compartment. The fresh food compartment extends in a vertical direction between the top and bottom of the cabinet, in a lateral direction between the left and right sides of the cabinet, and in a transverse direction between the front and rear portions. A front portion of the fresh food storage compartment defines an opening for receiving food items. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet at a front portion of the fresh food storage compartment such that the door rotates between a closed position, in which the door sealingly encloses at least a portion of the fresh food storage compartment, and an open position for allowing access to the fresh food storage compartment. The door includes a housing including an insulated wall defining a door interior chamber within the housing and a front panel rotatably mounted to the door housing such that the door front panel allows access to the door interior chamber when the door is in a closed position. The refrigerator also includes a sealed system configured for generating cold air and a conduit fluidly connecting the sealed system directly with the door interior to provide cold air directly from the sealed system to the door interior.

In another exemplary embodiment, a refrigeration appliance is provided. The refrigeration appliance includes a cabinet defining a cooling chamber. The cooling chamber includes a front portion and an opening for receiving the food product. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet at a front portion of the cooling compartment such that the door rotates between a closed position, in which the door sealingly encloses at least a portion of the cooling compartment, and an open position for allowing access to the cooling compartment. The door includes a housing including an insulated wall defining a door interior chamber within the housing and a front panel rotatably mounted to the door housing such that the door front panel allows access to the door interior chamber when the door is in a closed position. The refrigerator also includes a sealed system configured for generating cold air and a conduit fluidly connecting the sealed system directly with the door interior to provide cold air directly from the sealed system to the door interior.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Drawings

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.

Fig. 1 provides a perspective view of an exemplary refrigeration appliance with a front panel of the doors in an open position and the doors each in a closed position according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter.

Fig. 2 provides a perspective view of the refrigerator appliance of fig. 1 with both the first fresh food compartment door and the second fresh food compartment door in an open position.

FIG. 3 provides a schematic diagram of an example sealed cooling system that may be used with one or more embodiments of the present subject matter.

Fig. 4 provides a side cross-sectional view of the exemplary refrigeration appliance of fig. 1 and 2 taken along the right side door.

Fig. 5 provides a side cross-sectional view of the exemplary refrigeration appliance of fig. 1 and 2 taken along the left side door.

Fig. 6 provides a schematic illustration of a cold air supply to a door inner chamber of a refrigeration appliance according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter.

Fig. 7 provides a schematic illustration of a cold air supply to a door inner chamber of a refrigeration appliance, according to one or more additional embodiments of the present subject matter.

Detailed Description

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment, can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, the terms "first," "second," and "third" may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another component and are not intended to denote the position or importance of the various components. Terms such as "inner" and "outer" refer to relative directions with respect to the interior and exterior of the refrigeration appliance (and in particular the food storage chamber(s) defined therein). For example, "inner" or "inwardly" refers to a direction toward the interior of the refrigeration appliance. Terms such as "left", "right", "front", "rear", "top" or "bottom" are used with reference to the perspective of a user approaching the refrigeration appliance. For example, a user opens a door at the front of a refrigerator and accesses food storage compartment(s) to access items therein.

As used herein, approximate terms such as "approximately", "about" or "approximately" include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated values. When used in the context of an angle or direction, these terms include ranges greater than or less than 10 degrees from the recited angle or direction, e.g., "substantially vertical" includes forming an angle of up to 10 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise from vertical V.

Fig. 1 and 2 provide perspective views of an exemplary refrigeration appliance 100 according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. The refrigeration appliance 100 defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L and a transverse direction T, each perpendicular to one another. For example, as can be seen in fig. 1, the refrigeration appliance 100 includes a cabinet or housing 120 extending in a vertical direction V between the top 101 and bottom 102, in a lateral direction L between the left 104 and right 106 sides, and in a transverse direction T between the front 108 and rear 110. The cabinet 120 defines a cooling chamber for receiving food items for storage. As used herein, a chamber may be "cooled" in that the chamber may be operated at a temperature below room temperature, e.g., less than about 75 degrees fahrenheit (75 degrees fahrenheit). In the exemplary embodiment, the cabinet 120 also defines a mechanical compartment at or near the bottom 102 of the cabinet 120 for receiving the sealed cooling system 60. One or more pipes or conduits (such as

conduits

54, 56, and 58 shown in fig. 1) may extend between the sealed cooling system 60 and the cooling chamber to provide fluid communication therebetween, such as to provide cool air from the sealed cooling system to one or more of the cooling chambers, whereby the cooling chamber may operate at a temperature below room temperature.

In particular, the cabinet 120 defines a fresh food chamber 122 (fig. 2) and a freezer compartment 124 spaced from the fresh food chamber 122 in a vertical direction V. For example, in the illustrated embodiment of fig. 1 and 2, the fresh food compartment 122 is positioned at or adjacent the top 101 of the cabinet 120, and the freezer compartment 124 is disposed at or adjacent the bottom 102 of the cabinet 120. Based on this, the refrigeration appliance 100 is generally referred to as a bottom-mount refrigerator. However, it should be appreciated that the benefits of the present disclosure may be applied to other types and styles of refrigeration appliances, such as top-loading refrigeration appliances or double-door refrigeration appliances. Accordingly, the description set forth herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limited in any way to any particular refrigerator compartment configuration.

As can be seen in fig. 2, the fresh food compartment 122 extends in a vertical direction V between the top 101 and bottom 102 of the cabinet 120 and in a lateral direction L between the left side 104 and right side 106 of the cabinet 120. For example, the fresh food chamber 122 may extend in a vertical direction V from the top 101 to the bottom 102 of the cabinet 120 (e.g., in a double door configuration), or may extend from one of the top 101 or bottom 102 to the freezer compartment 124 (such as in a top-mount or bottom-mount configuration), e.g., in the bottom-mount embodiment shown, the fresh food chamber 122 extends in a vertical direction V from the top 101 to the freezer compartment 124 of the cabinet 120. Fresh food compartment 122 also extends from front portion 134 to rear portion 136 along transverse direction T. The front portion 134 of the fresh food storage compartment 122 defines an opening 138 for receiving food items.

Refrigerator compartment doors

126 and 128 are rotatably mounted (e.g., hinged) to the edges of the cabinet 120 for selective access to the fresh food compartment 122. Since the

refrigerating compartment doors

126 and 128 correspond to the fresh food compartment 122, the

refrigerating compartment doors

126 and 128 may also be referred to as fresh food compartment doors. The

refrigeration compartment doors

126 and 128 may be mounted at or near a front portion 134 of the fresh food storage compartment 122 of the cabinet 120 such that the

doors

126 and 128 rotate between a closed position (fig. 1) in which the

doors

126 and 128 cooperate to sealingly enclose the fresh food storage compartment 122 and an open position (fig. 2) for allowing access to the fresh food storage compartment 122. The

doors

126 and 128 may be substantially mirror images, for example, each

door

126, 128 may be the same overall shape and size as the

other door

126, 128, but with possible internal variations. In addition, a freezing compartment door 130 is disposed below the

refrigerating compartment doors

126 and 128 for selectively accessing the freezing compartment 124. The freezer door 130 is coupled to a freezer drawer 132 (fig. 4 and 5) slidably mounted within the freezer compartment 124.

Refrigeration compartment doors

126, 128 and freezer compartment door 130 are shown in a closed configuration in fig. 1.

For example, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, various storage components are installed in the cooling chamber to facilitate storage of food items therein, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In particular, the storage components may include various combinations of bins 202, drawers 204, and shelves 206 mounted in one or more of the cooling compartments. The bins 202, drawers 204, and shelves 206 are configured to receive food items (e.g., beverages and/or solid food items) and may help to collate the food items.

In addition to the fresh food compartment 122 and the freezer compartment 124, one or more cooling compartments may be defined in one or both of the

doors

126 and 128. For example, one or both of the refrigeration compartment doors (e.g., right door 126 and left door 128 as shown in the example) may include an outer housing 121 (fig. 2) that includes an insulated wall 125 (fig. 2) defining one or more cooling compartments therein. For example, the right door 126 may include one or more fresh food storage compartments 123 (fig. 1 and 4), and the left door 128 may include at least one cooling compartment 300. In some embodiments, the compartment 300 in the door 128 may be, for example, the first freezer compartment 300. The freezer compartment 300 may be referred to as an in-door freezer compartment because the compartment 300 may be disposed within one or both of the doors 126 and 128 (e.g., the left door 128 in the example shown) such that the in-door freezer compartment 300 may be accessed without opening the respective door. As shown, each

door

126 and 128 may include a front panel 127 rotatably mounted to the housing 121 of each

door

126 and 128 such that when the

door

126 or 128 is in the closed position, the front panel 127 allows access to the cooling compartments within the respective door, e.g., the fresh food storage compartment 123 in the right door 126 and the compartment 300 in the left door 128, as shown in the example of fig. 1. In other embodiments, the chamber 300 may be provided in either of the right door 126 or the left door 128 alone or in combination with another door interior chamber (e.g., door interior chamber 123) in the other of the right door 126 or the left door 128.

In various embodiments, the fresh

food storage chambers

122 and 123 may be selectively operated within a first temperature range, and the freezer compartment 300 may be selectively operated within a second temperature range including lower temperatures than the first temperature range. For example, the compartment 300 may be an in-door freezer compartment, as the compartment 300 may be operated at a temperature that is lower than the temperature of the fresh food storage compartment 122 or 123 (including temperatures at or below the freezing point of water). Additionally, where the in-door freezer compartment 300 is directly fluidly connected to the sealed cooling system 60, the in-door freezer compartment 300 may operate independently of the freezer compartment 124, including operating at a temperature below the temperature of the freezer compartment 124.

For example, the first temperature range of the fresh food compartment 122 may be between about 33 degrees fahrenheit (33 degrees fahrenheit) and about 40 degrees fahrenheit (40 degrees fahrenheit), such as between about 35 degrees fahrenheit (35 degrees fahrenheit) and about 38 degrees fahrenheit (38 degrees fahrenheit). Also by way of example, the second temperature range may include temperatures less than 32 degrees fahrenheit (32 ° f), such as about 10 degrees fahrenheit (10 ° f), such as about 0 degrees fahrenheit (0 ° f), and temperatures greater than 40 degrees fahrenheit (40 ° f), such as about 45 degrees fahrenheit (45 ° f) or higher, such as about 60 degrees fahrenheit (60 ° f) or higher, such as about 70 degrees fahrenheit (70 ° f). Still further, it should be understood that the fresh

food storage compartments

122 and 123 and the freezer compartment 300 may be selectively operated at any number of various temperatures and/or temperature ranges as needed or desired for each application. For example, the door inner chamber 300 may also or alternatively be a flex chamber or a fresh food chamber.

The sealed system 60 may be in fluid communication with various cooling chambers to provide cool air to the chambers, either individually or in various combinations. In particular, sealed system 60 may be in direct fluid communication with door interior chamber 300. For example, a first conduit 54 may extend between and provide fluid communication between the sealed system 60 and one or both of the fresh

food storage compartments

122 and 123, a second conduit 56 may extend between the sealed system 60 and the inner door compartment 300 to provide direct fluid communication from the sealed system 60 to the inner door compartment 300, and a third conduit 58 may extend between and provide fluid communication between the sealed system 60 and the freezer compartment 124.

Fig. 3 provides a schematic view of a refrigeration appliance 100, and in particular its sealed cooling system 60. As shown in fig. 3, the refrigeration appliance 100 includes a mechanical compartment 62 that at least partially contains components for performing a known vapor compression cycle for cooling air. These components include a compressor 64, a heat exchanger or condenser 66, an expansion device 68, and an evaporator 70 connected in series and charged with refrigerant. The evaporator 70 is also a heat exchanger that transfers heat from air passing through the evaporator to refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 70, thereby evaporating the refrigerant. Based on this, the cooling air C is generated and used to cool the

compartments

122, 123, 124, and 300 of the refrigerator appliance 100. The cooling air C may be directed to the

food storage compartments

122, 123, 124 and 300 by the fan 74.

The vaporized refrigerant flows from the evaporator 70 to the compressor 64, which operates to increase the pressure of the refrigerant. This compression of the refrigerant raises its temperature, which is lowered by passing the gaseous refrigerant through a condenser 66, where heat exchange with ambient air takes place in order to cool the refrigerant. The fan 72 is used to pull air through the condenser 66 (as indicated by arrow a) to provide forced convection for more rapid and efficient heat exchange between the refrigerant and the ambient air.

The expansion device 68 further reduces the pressure of the refrigerant exiting the condenser 66 before being fed as a liquid to the evaporator 70. In general, the vapor compression cycle components, associated fans, and associated compartments in the refrigeration circuit are sometimes referred to as a sealed refrigeration system, which is operable to force cold air through the refrigeration compartments 122, 123, 124, and 300. The refrigeration system 60 depicted in fig. 3 is provided as an example only. Other configurations using a refrigeration system are also within the scope of the present invention. For example, the fan 74 may be repositioned to push air through the evaporator 70, a dual evaporator may be used with one or more fans, and many other configurations may be employed.

As can be seen in fig. 4, the door inner fresh food storage compartment 123 and the door 126 may be substantially coextensive. For example, as seen in fig. 6, chamber 123 and door 126 may be generally coextensive along vertical direction V, e.g., the vertical height of door inner chamber 123 may be about the same as the vertical height of door 126 (except for the thickness of the insulating walls defining chamber 123). Referring again to fig. 4, the in-door fresh food storage compartment 123 may extend in a vertical direction from a bottom 152 of the door 126 to a top 154 of the door 126. The inner door fresh food storage compartment 123 and the door 126 may also be generally coextensive in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction V, such as at least one of the lateral direction L and the transverse direction T, depending on the orientation of the door 126, such as whether the door 126 is in the closed or open position. For example, when the door 126 is in the closed position, the door 126 may extend between the left and right sides, e.g., along the lateral direction L, as shown in fig. 1. In such embodiments, the spring chamber 123 may extend from the left side of the door 126 to the right side of the door 126 such that the spring chamber 123 is substantially coextensive with the door 126 along a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction V (e.g., the lateral direction L).

Fig. 5 provides a cross-sectional view taken along the second fresh food compartment door 128, including a food storage compartment 300 (which may be, but is not necessarily, a freezer compartment, as described above) defined within the door 128. Door interior chamber 300 may be substantially coextensive with door 128, similar to chamber 123 and door 126 described above. In the illustrated example embodiment of fig. 5, the door inner chamber 300 includes a plurality of shelves 206 therein. In other embodiments, various additional storage components may be installed within the freezer 300, such as various combinations of bins 202 and/or drawers 204, and/or in place of the shelves 206.

Fig. 6 provides a schematic illustration of a cool air supply to a door inner chamber 300 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the cool air supply includes a direct fluid connection from the sealed system 60 (e.g., the evaporator 70 thereof) to the door inner chamber 300 via the conduit 56. For example, due to the direct connection from the sealed system 60 to the door inner chamber 300, cool air from the sealed system 60 may travel to the door inner chamber 300 without passing through the freezer compartment 124. In some embodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the blower 160 may be disposed proximate the evaporator 70. The blower 160 is operable to propel cool air 1000 from the evaporator 70 into the duct 56 at the inlet 156 of the duct 56. In some embodiments, the blower 160 may be a variable speed blower 160, wherein the speed of the variable speed blower 160 may be adjusted based on a temperature setting or set point of the door interior chamber 300. In other embodiments, the blower 160 may be a single speed or fixed speed blower. As shown, the second conduit 56 extends from the inlet 156 to the outlet 158 in the door inner chamber 300, and a switching device or valve (e.g., a two-way shuttle valve 162) is located in the conduit 56.

Still referring to fig. 6, the bi-directional shuttle valve 162 selectively diverts a portion of the air flow (which may be as little as zero percent (0%)) from the second conduit 56 to the third conduit 58. For example, as shown in fig. 6, a two-way shuttle valve 162 may be connected to an inlet 164 of the third conduit 58. As shown, the third conduit 58 extends from an inlet 164 to an outlet 166 in the freezing chamber 124. The shuttle valve 162 may thus direct airflow from the blower 160 to one or both of the

freezer compartments

124 and 300 in any proportion, including directing all (e.g., one hundred percent (100%)) of the cold air to the freezer compartment 124, all (e.g., one hundred percent (100%)) of the cold air to the door inner compartment 300, or any split or proportion therebetween.

Also shown in fig. 6 is a fourth conduit 170 that extends the door inner chamber 300 to the freezer compartment 124, such as from an inlet 168 in the door inner chamber 300 to an outlet 172 in the freezer compartment 124. Thus, cool air 1000 may flow from the door inner chamber 300 back to the sealed system 60 via the freezer compartment 124. For example, when the shuttle valve 162 is set to direct one hundred percent (100%) of the cool air from the blower 160 to the door inner chamber 300, the freezer compartment 124 may be secondarily cooled, e.g., the freezer compartment 124 may be downstream of the door inner chamber 300 and may be cooled by the cool air 1000 from the door inner chamber 300. For example, when the temperature set point of the door inner 300 is the same as or lower than the temperature set point of the freezer compartment 124, the freezer compartment 124 may be secondarily cooled. In other cases, for example, when the temperature set point of the freezer compartment 124 is less than the temperature set point of the door interior chamber 300, the shuttle valve 162 may divert some or all of the cool air from the blower 160 into the third conduit 58. In various circumstances, the position of shuttle valve 162 (e.g., the proportion of cool air 1000 directed to each chamber 124 and 300) may be adjusted based on the temperature set points of

chambers

124 and 300 and based on temperature measurements from one or more temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors) in each of

chambers

124 and 300. It should be understood that the various conduits described herein (e.g., the second conduit 56, the third conduit 58, and the fourth conduit 170) may be foamed in place, for example, the cabinet 120 of the refrigeration appliance 100 may be insulated with foam insulation, and the

conduits

56, 58, and/or 170 may be embedded within the insulation so that the conduits do not intrude into the available food storage space of the

various chambers

122, 124, and/or 300. Accordingly, the cabinet 120 may include a plurality of insulated walls, and the

conduits

56, 58, and/or 170 may extend through insulation of at least one of the plurality of insulated walls.

Fig. 7 provides a schematic illustration of a cool air supply to the door inner chamber 300 according to one or more additional embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, such as the exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 7, a blower 160 (which may be a variable speed blower, as described above with reference to fig. 6) may be directly connected to the inlet 156 of the second conduit 56. In such an embodiment, an axial fan 174 may be provided to propel air directly from the sealed system 60 into the freezer compartment 124. Accordingly, by circulating the axial fan 174, the flow of the cool air 1000 may be distributed between the door inner 300 and the freezer compartment 124. In an example embodiment, axial fan 174 may be a single speed axial fan, such that cycling axial fan 174 includes turning axial fan 174 on or off depending on the temperature set points of

chambers

124 and 300 and/or the temperatures monitored by the various temperature sensors therein. As mentioned, the blower 160 may be a variable speed blower, wherein the speed of the variable speed blower 160 may be adjusted based on a temperature set point and/or a monitored temperature. In some cases, for example, when the temperature setpoint of the freezer compartment 124 is lower than the temperature setpoint of the door inner chamber 300, the axial fan 174 may be activated to directly cool the freezer compartment 124. Additionally, the check valve 176 may be disposed in a fourth conduit 170 extending from the door inner chamber 300 to the freezer compartment 124. The check valve 176 may be oriented and configured to allow air to flow from the door inner chamber 300 to the freezer compartment 124 while blocking or preventing air flow in the opposite direction (e.g., from the freezer compartment 124 to the door inner chamber 300). Thus, for example, when the axial flow fan 174 is activated, such as when the temperature set point of the freezer compartment 124 is less than the temperature set point of the door inner chamber 300, backflow of the cool air 1000 from the freezer compartment 124 into the door inner chamber 300 may be prevented or limited.

Accessing the compartment 300 through the front panel 127 of the door 128 may advantageously increase the accessibility of the food items stored in the compartment 300. For example, when the door inner chamber 300 is a freezer compartment, smaller food items (such as a bag of frozen vegetables) may be stored in the freezer compartment 300 to prevent or reduce the items from being obscured under or behind larger items (such as frozen turkeys, frozen pizzas, etc.) as compared to providing only a single compartment or portion of the refrigeration appliance 100 to store the frozen items. Additionally, reducing the number of times the door 130 is opened may also advantageously reduce the energy consumption of the refrigeration appliance, wherein a relatively smaller volume of the door inner chamber 300 may be more easily cooled after opening only the front panel 127 than if the entire freezer compartment 124 were cooled after opening the door 130.

Direct fluid communication from the sealed system 60 to the door inner chamber 300 (such as described in the context of the various example embodiments above) provides a number of advantages. For example, when the door inner chamber 300 is in direct fluid communication with the sealed system 60, rather than downstream of the freezer compartment 124 with respect to the flow of cool air 1000, the door inner chamber 300 may operate over a wider temperature range. For example, the door inner chamber 300 may operate at a temperature lower than the temperature of the freezer compartment 124. As another example, the door inner chamber 300 may operate at a temperature higher than the temperature of the freezer compartment 124, such as by adjusting the shuttle valve 162 (fig. 6) or cycling the axial fan 174 (fig. 7).

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction and a transverse direction, said vertical direction, lateral direction and transverse direction being mutually perpendicular, said refrigeration appliance comprising:

a cabinet extending from a top to a bottom along the vertical direction, the cabinet further extending from a left side to a right side along the lateral direction, the cabinet defining a fresh food chamber extending in the vertical direction between the top and the bottom of the cabinet, in the lateral direction between the left and right sides of the cabinet, and in the transverse direction between a front portion and a rear portion, the front portion of the fresh food storage chamber defining an opening for receiving food items;

a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet at the front portion of the fresh food storage chamber such that the door rotates between a closed position at which the door sealingly encloses at least a portion of the fresh food storage chamber and an open position allowing access to the fresh food chamber, the door including an enclosure including an insulated wall defining a door inner chamber within the enclosure, the door further including a front panel rotatably mounted to the enclosure of the door such that the front panel of the door allows access to the door inner chamber when the door is in the closed position;

a sealed system configured for generating cold air; and

a conduit fluidly connecting the sealed system directly with the door inner chamber to provide the cool air directly from the sealed system to the door inner chamber.

2. The refrigeration appliance of claim 1, further comprising a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel the cool air from the sealed system into the duct and directly from an evaporator of the sealed system into the door interior chamber.

3. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, wherein said cabinet further defines a freezer compartment extending in said vertical direction between said top and said bottom of said cabinet and spaced from said fresh food compartment in said vertical direction, wherein said conduit is a first conduit and further includes a second conduit extending from said door inner chamber to said freezer compartment.

4. The refrigeration appliance of claim 3, further comprising a valve in the first conduit configured to divert a portion of the cool air to a third conduit extending from the valve to the freezer compartment.

5. The refrigeration appliance of claim 4, further comprising a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel the cool air from the sealed system into the first duct.

6. The refrigeration appliance of claim 3, further comprising: a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel a first portion of the cold air from the sealed system into the first conduit; and an axial fan in fluid communication with the sealed system to push a second portion of the cool air from the sealed system directly into the freezer compartment.

7. The refrigeration appliance of claim 6, further comprising a check valve in said second conduit oriented within said second conduit such that air flow from said freezer compartment to said door interior chamber through said second conduit is blocked by said check valve.

8. The refrigeration appliance of claim 1, wherein the cabinet includes a plurality of insulated walls, and the conduit extends from the sealed system through insulation of at least one of the plurality of insulated walls to the door interior chamber.

9. The refrigeration appliance of claim 1, wherein the door is a first fresh food compartment door, further comprising a second fresh food compartment door that mirrors the first fresh food compartment door, whereby the first fresh food compartment door and the second fresh food compartment door cooperate to sealingly close the fresh food compartment when the first fresh food compartment door is in the closed position and the second fresh food compartment door is in the closed position, the second fresh food compartment door comprising a second housing and a second thermally insulating wall that defines a fresh food storage chamber within the second housing.

10. A refrigeration appliance, the refrigeration appliance comprising:

a cabinet defining a cooling chamber including a front portion and an opening defined at the front portion for receiving food items;

a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet at the front portion of the cooling chamber such that the door rotates between a closed position at which the door sealingly encloses at least a portion of the cooling chamber and an open position allowing access to the cooling chamber, the door including a housing including an insulated wall defining a door interior chamber within the housing, the door further including a front panel rotatably mounted to the housing of the door such that the front panel of the door allows access to the door interior chamber when the door is in the closed position;

a sealed system configured for generating cold air; and

11. The refrigeration appliance of claim 10, further comprising a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel the cool air from the sealed system into the duct and directly from an evaporator of the sealed system into the door interior chamber.

12. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 10, wherein said cabinet further defines a freezer compartment positioned below and spaced from said fresh food compartment, wherein said conduit is a first conduit and further includes a second conduit extending from said door inner compartment to said freezer compartment.

13. The refrigeration appliance of claim 12, further comprising a valve in the first conduit configured to divert a portion of the cool air to a third conduit extending from the valve to the freezer compartment.

14. The refrigeration appliance of claim 13, further comprising a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel the cool air from the sealed system into the first duct.

15. The refrigeration appliance of claim 14, further comprising: a variable speed blower in fluid communication with the sealed system to propel a first portion of the cold air from the sealed system into the first conduit; and an axial fan in fluid communication with the sealed system to push a second portion of the cool air from the sealed system directly into the freezer compartment.

16. The refrigeration appliance of claim 15, further comprising a check valve in said second conduit oriented within said second conduit such that air flow from said freezer compartment to said door interior chamber through said second conduit is blocked by said check valve.

17. The refrigeration appliance of claim 10, wherein the cabinet includes a plurality of insulated walls, and the conduit extends from the sealed system through insulation of at least one of the plurality of insulated walls to the door interior chamber.

18. The refrigeration appliance of claim 10, wherein the door is a first fresh food compartment door, further comprising a second fresh food compartment door that mirrors the first fresh food compartment door, whereby the first fresh food compartment door and the second fresh food compartment door cooperate to sealingly close the fresh food compartment when the first fresh food compartment door is in the closed position and the second fresh food compartment door is in the closed position, the second fresh food compartment door comprising a second housing and a second thermally insulating wall, the second thermally insulating wall defining a fresh food storage chamber within the second housing.