Refrigerators
AssigneeAerofoil Energy Limited
InventorPaul McAndrew
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator has an open front and an air curtain system having at least one upper air egress with an outer edge and at least one lower air-recovery ingress. The air curtain system is adapted to produce a substantially vertical air curtain over at least part of the open front of the refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises at least one shelf between the egress and the ingress, the shelf having a front edge, and at least one elongate air-guiding strip extending across at least part of the open front of the fridge. The strip is located substantially in the plane of the shelf and spaced from the front edge of the shelf. The strip is located substantially vertically beneath the outer edge of the upper air egress.
Claims19
A refrigerator, comprising:
- a body defining a storage space;
- a plurality of shelves disposed within the storage space, each shelf of the plurality of shelves having a front edge;
- an air curtain system having at least one air egress and at least one air-recovery ingress, the air curtain system being configured to produce an air curtain in front of the plurality of shelves, the air curtain having a flow direction;
- and
- a plurality of asymmetrical airfoils extending across at least part of the body, each airfoil being spaced from the front edge of a corresponding one of the shelves, each airfoil being substantially aligned with the flow direction of the air curtain and located within the air curtain;
- each airfoil comprising a pressure surface facing towards the corresponding one of the shelves and a suction surface facing away from the corresponding one of the shelves, so as to create a pressure differential between a first portion of the air curtain located between the pressure surface and the corresponding shelf and a second portion of the air curtain extending from the suction surface away from the corresponding shelf.
A refrigerator, comprising:
- a body defining a storage space;
- a plurality of shelves disposed within the storage space, each shelf of the plurality of shelves having a front edge;
- an air curtain system having at least one air egress and at least one air-recovery ingress, the air curtain system being configured to produce an air curtain in front of the plurality of shelves, the air curtain having a flow direction;
- and
- a plurality of air-guiding strips extending across at least part of the body, each air-guiding strip being spaced from the front edge of a corresponding one of the shelves, each air-guiding strip being substantially aligned with the flow direction of the air curtain and located within the air curtain so as to stabilize a flow of the air curtain and straighten a flow of the air curtain;
- each air-guiding strip comprising a backing portion and a front portion, the front portion comprising a housing for displaying one or more product labels, wherein each backing portion and front portion together comprise an asymmetrical airfoil, each asymmetrical airfoil comprising a pressure surface facing towards the corresponding one of the shelves and a suction surface facing away from the corresponding one of the shelves.
A method of improving the efficiency of a refrigerator which comprises a body defining a storage space, a plurality of shelves disposed within the storage space, each shelf of the plurality of shelves having a front edge, and an air curtain system having at least one air egress and at least one air-recovery ingress, the air curtain system being configured to produce an air curtain in front of the plurality of shelves, the air curtain having a flow direction, of the method comprising:
- fitting within the body a plurality of asymmetrical airfoils each extending across at least part of the body, such that each airfoil is spaced from the front edge of a corresponding one of the shelves, each airfoil being substantially aligned with the flow direction of the air curtain and located within the air curtain;
- wherein each airfoil comprises a pressure surface facing towards the corresponding one of the shelves and a suction surface facing away from the corresponding one of the shelves, so as to create a pressure differential between a first portion of the air curtain located between the pressure surface and the corresponding shelf and a second portion of the air curtain extending from the suction surface away from the corresponding shelf.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.