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US 12,222,155 B2Granted
Flexible passthrough insulation for VIS
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsGiulia Marinello, Rafael D. Nunes, Sanjesh Kumar Pathak, Manoj T. Sambrekar, Arpit Vijay
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator includes an insulated cabinet having a sidewall with a passthrough opening through the sidewall. A resilient insulating member is disposed in the passthrough opening. The resilient insulating member includes flaps that form an airtight seal between the resilient insulating member and the passthrough opening. At least one utility line extends through an aperture in the resilient insulating member. The utility line may comprise fluid conduit, electrical line, or the like that operably connect one or more components through the sidewall of the cabinet.
Claims20
A refrigerator comprising:
- a vacuum insulated cabinet having a food storage space and an enlarged access opening permitting items to be placed in the food storage space and removed from the food storage space, the vacuum insulated cabinet including a sidewall having a liner on an inner side, a wrapper on an outer side, and a transverse wall extending between the inner and outer sides to form a passthrough opening, the transverse wall having a transverse passthrough surface extending around and facing the passthrough opening, wherein the liner, the wrapper, and the transverse wall form an airtight vacuum space;
- porous filler material disposed in the airtight vacuum space;
- a resilient insulating member comprising a resilient material, wherein the resilient insulating member is disposed in the passthrough opening, the resilient insulating member including at least one outwardly-projecting flexible flap engaging the transverse passthrough surface of the passthrough opening and forming an airtight seal between the resilient insulating member and the transverse passthrough surface of the passthrough opening, the resilient insulating member further including at least first and second apertures extending through the resilient insulating member, and wherein the resilient insulating member includes a cut extending between the first aperture and an outer surface of the resilient insulating member whereby the resilient insulating member can be flexed in the region of the cut to open the cut;
- an electrical line extending through the first aperture;
- an evaporator assembly disposed inside of the sidewall;
- a condenser assembly disposed outside of the sidewall;
- at least one fluid conduit having an inner end fluidly connected to the evaporator assembly and extending through the second aperture of the resilient insulating member, the fluid conduit having an outer end fluidly connected to the condenser assembly.
4 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a vacuum insulated cabinet having a food storage space and an enlarged access opening permitting items to be placed in the food storage space and removed from the food storage space, the vacuum insulated cabinet including a sidewall having inner and outer sides, and a passthrough surface that is transverse to the inner and outer sides and forming a passageway extending between the inner and outer sides, wherein the sidewall includes a wrapper and a liner that are spaced apart to form a vacuum space therebetween;
- a resilient insulating member comprising a resilient material, wherein the resilient insulating member is disposed in the passthrough opening, the resilient insulating member including at least one outwardly-projecting annular flexible flap, the at least one outwardly-projecting flexible flap extending around an outside of the resilient insulating member and engaging the passthrough surface of the passageway and forming an airtight seal between the resilient insulating member and the passthrough surface of the passageway, the resilient insulating member further including an aperture extending through the resilient insulating member;
- and wherein the passageway has an inner opening on the inner side of the sidewall and an outer opening on the outer side of the sidewall, and wherein a dimension of a first one of the inner and outer openings is greater than a second one of the inner and outer openings, whereby the resilient insulating member can be inserted into the first one of the inner and outer openings, and the resilient insulating member cannot pass through the second one of the inner and outer openings;
- an evaporator assembly disposed inside of the sidewall;
- a condenser assembly disposed outside of the sidewall;
- and
- at least one conduit having an inner end fluidly connected to the evaporator assembly and extending through the aperture of the resilient insulating member, the fluid conduit having an outer end fluidly connected to the condenser assembly.
4 more elements
A method of making a refrigerator, the method comprising:
- forming a vacuum insulated cabinet having a food storage space and an enlarged access opening permitting items to be placed in the food storage space and removed from the food storage space, the vacuum insulated cabinet including a sidewall having inner and outer sides, and a passageway extending between the inner and outer sides;
- providing a resilient insulating member comprising a resilient material and including at least one flexible flap and an aperture extending through the resilient insulating member;
- positioning a conduit in the aperture of the resilient insulating member;
- followed by positioning the resilient insulating member in the passageway of the vacuum insulated cabinet with the at least one flexible flap engaging a surface of the passageway to form an airtight seal;
- fluidly connecting an inner end of the conduit to an evaporator assembly disposed inside the sidewall;
- and
- fluidly connecting an outer end of the conduit to a condenser assembly disposed outside of the sidewall.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.