| Title of Invention | "BAFFLE TRAY FOR THE REFRIGERATOR" |
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| Abstract | A baffle tray comprising a pair of ribs provided at the rear left and right side of the baffle tray, a pair of roller protruding out of the baffle tray conforming to the cavity of the ribs press fitted on to the said ribs providing free and smooth movement of the baffle tray outwardly and inwardly, cabinet linear guide provided on both side of the baffle tray for smooth sliding of the baffle tray an air flow controller provided in the cabinet liner for controlling the passage of air, means provided either side of baffle tray to restrict flow of foreign particles into sprout attached the rear side of baffle tray. |
| Full Text | The present invention relates to a baffle tray for the refrigerator reducing the drag force while doing in/out operation of baffle tray and to control air flow between freezer and main compartment and to prevent the entry of unwanted particles into drain pipe that block the water passage. PRIOR ART The conventional baffle tray assembly of the refrigerator lacks in utility as the user has to take out the baffle tray from the refrigerator to throw away the water collected in baffle tray. The operating force of baffle tray is very high causing clearly audible noise. While taking out the baffle tray, the wear and tear of the main liner guides is caused as there is a surface contact between the baffle tray and main linear guides. Moreover, there is no control of cold air in the refrigerator so the food chamber gets very cold and so the chances of foodstuff getting affected are very high. In the conventional baffle tray assembly there is no provision to avoid the blockage of water due to any foreign material leading to high customer dissatisfaction and customer complaints. Thus in the conventional baffle tray the operating force is very high due to the line contact between baffle tray and rib in main liner as a result there is wear and tear in the main liner guides and more surface area is in contact with the main liner due to which more force is required. Another problem faced (during winter) in the prior art is the escape of cold air between freezer and baffle tray to the main compartment. As the temp. get reduced in the main compartment there are chances of getting food spoiled. There is no special arrangement for summer and winters in this case. Further slots are provided in the baffle tray for air flow which are required during summer due to high amient temp, but highly-unacceptable during winters as the temp, is already low. The conventional baffle tray has no arrangement to restrict the foreign material to flow with water in sprout which can lead to blockage of water. It is thus the object of the present invention to provide an improved baffle tray assembly avoiding the inherent disadvantages of the conventional baffle tray assembly. Another object of the invention is that the operating force to be used for the baffle tray is reduced drastically thereby reducing the noise. It is still another object of the invention to reduce the wear and tear of the main liner guides. It is still another object of the invention to provide the mechanical mechanism to control the cold air flow in different seasons between the freezer compartment and food compartment as per the consumer requirement thereby controlling the temperature all over the refrigerator. There are two rollers required on left and right hand rear side of baffle tray in the subject matter of the invention. The colour of rollers is natural white and material is nylon. In this design there are two holding ribs on left and right hand side at rear position of baffle tray.The holding ribs of baffle tray have a cut of a shape so that the roller can be press fitted in to it.The said press fitted roller is allowed to rotate freely about the defined axis in that cut, to perform the desired function. While designing the rollers and the holding ribs of baffle tray it is accounted that roller should not come out while operating the baffle tray. There is a provision for taking out the roller while servicing if required with the help of special tool. The rollers, always in loading or no loading condition protrudes out from baffle tray, so that only roller is in contact with the cabinet liner guides, at rear on both the sides and the baffle tray is up in air at rear position. There are cabinet liner guides on both sides just below the roller on which the baffle tray slide. There are small ribs provided, on both the sides of the roller to avoid friction between baffle tray and roller, while roller is rotating due to ribs there is a line contact instead of surface contact. While assembling the rollers on both sides, only the rollers are the contact part between baffle tray and mainliner, so as to eliminate the surface contact and thereby getting the line contact. By this line contact and the rollers having the tendency to rotate, the pull force is very less. As there is only line contact between baffle tray assembly and mainliner guides, the wear and tear or cutting of mainliner is much less. The rubbing noise while operating is much less than the rubbing noise was there before, because of change from surface to line contact. As rollers material is Nylon, that's also reduce the cutting or rubbing of cabinet liner guides. The operation of baffle tray is smooth and required less operative force. In this baffle tray of the subject application, the sliding motion is converted into rotatory motion leading to less operating force. The wear and tear in long time in cabinet is comparatively less. The baffle tray of the subject invention is simple in design and gives maximum benefits to the customer. It yet another object of the invention to restrict the foreign material to flow with water which may further lead to blockage of water. The subject invention resides to the baffle tray assembly comprising a pair of rollers on the left hand rear side of the baffle tray, a pair of holding ribs on the left and right hand side at rear position of baffle tray. Further, the cabinet liner guides are provided on both the sides just below the roller on which the baffle tray slides. An airflow control slider with a holder is provided on one side of the tray and a slider operates the rear flap which is free to rotate about its axis on application of nominal force. A step is provided in the rear of baffle tray, in sprout area to break the flow of water and there is a taper from both the sides toward the center of sprout area so that the water can not collect any where in baffle tray and should not come towards the sprout. According to the present invention relates to a baffle tray comprising a pair of ribs provided at the rear left and right side of the baffle tray, a pair of roller protruding out of the baffle tray conforming to the cavity of the ribs press fitted on to the said ribs providing free and smooth movement of the baffle tray outwardly and inwardly, cabinet linear guide provided on both side of the baffle tray for smooth sliding of the baffle tray an air flow controller provided in the cabinet liner for controlling the passage of air, means provided either side of baffle tray to restrict flow of foreign particles into sprout attached the rear side of baffle tray. The invention will be described in brief with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure - 1 shows the baffle tray assembly. Figure - 2 shows the roller area. Figure - 3 shows the airflow control slide. Figure - 4 shows the rear flap area operated by air flow control slide. Figure - 5 shows the vertical ribs with step area Figure - 6 shows the second roller area Figure - 7 shows the view of the roller area Figure - 8 shows the view of the air control slide Figure - 9 shows the roller Figure - 10 shows the airflow control slide mechanism. Figure - 11 shows the air flow control slide Figure - 12 shows the step in the sprout area Figure - 13 shows the view of the step in the sprout area Figure - 14 shows the vertical ribs in the baffle tray. Figure - 15 shows the view of the vertical ribs in the baffle tray. The baffle tray of the subject invention is provided with the airflow control slider with a holder on one side and slider operates the rear flap. There is a flap at rear of baffle tray which controls the flow of air and is free to rotate about it's axis on application of little force. The little force required to operate the flap at rear is provided by the Air flow Control Slide. This airflow control slide is used to control the flow of air in the refrigerator between freezer compartment and food compartment. Air flow control slide converts the little horizontal movement made by consumer into a rotating movement of flap to control the air flow providing the better temperature control all over the refrigerator. The ribs are provided for better grip on the holder in front. The Air flow control slides get the holder in front so that it is very easy for the consumer to operate. The consumer can adjust the flow of cold air in different seasons as per his/her requirement. The mechanical mechanism provided in direct cool refrigerator to control air flow between freezer compartment and food compartment as per the consumer requirement. It controls the cold air flow immediately as we move the Air flow control slide as per the requirement giving maximum satisfaction to consumer. The baffle Tray is provided with vertical ribs with step in sprout area to restrict the foreign material to flow with water in sprout, which may further lead to blockage of water. The vertical ribs restricts any particle of more then desired size to flow with water and choke the drain pipe, which helps in flowing the drainage water from drain cup to defrost water tray. The Step provided in the rear of baffle tray, in sprout area, is provided to break the flow of water. The step allows settling down the foreign material below and thus allowing the drainage water to flow freely into drain cup. This step not only breaks the flow of water but also maintain the path of water falling freely in to drain cup. There is a taper from both the sides toward the center of sprout area so that the water can not collect anywhere in baffle tray and should come towards the sprout. These ribs and a step are constructed and included into the design of baffle tray and there is no add on part, so the cost involved is very less. This avoid water storage in Baffle tray and maintain the good control on the flow and path of drainage water to drain cup and thus placed in a very compact space. This is simple in design and give maximum satisfaction to consumer without extra cost. It is understood that modifications can be made to the baffle tray of the refrigerator mentioned above without departing from the scope of the invention. The subject invention is a mere statement of the invention and should not be construed to restrict the scope of the invention. We Claim: 1. A baffle tray for a refrigerator, the baffle tray comprising: a pair of ribs provided at the rear left and right side of baffle tray, a pair of rollers protruding out of the baffle tray and conforming to a cavity of the pair of ribs, the pair of rollers being press fitted on to the said pair of ribs for providing free and smooth outward and inward movement of the baffle tray; a cabinet liner guide provided on both side of the baffle tray for smooth sliding of the baffle tray; an air flow controller provided on the baffle tray for controlling flow of cold air in the refrigerator between freezer compartment and food compartment thereof; and a means provided on a rear side of the baffle tray to restrict flow of foreign particles into a sprout attached to the rear side of the baffle tray. 2. A baffle tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pair of rollers are made of nylon. 3. A baffle tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air flow controller comprises an air flow control slider with a holder on one side of the baffle tray and a flap at the rear side of the baffle tray to control the flow of cold air between the freezer compartment and the food compartment 4. A baffle tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for restricting the flow of foreign particles into the sprout comprises vertical ribs with steps. 5. A baffle tray, substantially as hereinbefore, described with reference to accompanying drawings. |
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| Patent Number | 269012 | |||||||||
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| Indian Patent Application Number | 6/DEL/2003 | |||||||||
| PG Journal Number | 40/2015 | |||||||||
| Publication Date | 02-Oct-2015 | |||||||||
| Grant Date | 28-Sep-2015 | |||||||||
| Date of Filing | 01-Jan-2003 | |||||||||
| Name of Patentee | WHIRLPOOL OF INDIA LIMITED | |||||||||
| Applicant Address | Plot No. 40, Sector-44, Gurgaon 122 002, Haryana | |||||||||
Inventors:
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| PCT International Classification Number | F25D 21/14 | |||||||||
| PCT International Application Number | N/A | |||||||||
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