Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ICEBOX WITH EXTERNAL CONTROLS AND TEMPERATURE DISPLAY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] An icebox is an insulated container having a cooling mechanism, such as
a
compressor or a thermoelectric device, for cooling its interior. Iceboxes
often have a single
compartment or two or more compartments. For example, an icebox may have a
freezer
compartment, the interior maintained at a temperature below 32 degrees
Fahrenheit and a
refrigerator compartment, the interior of which is maintained at a temperature
above 32 degrees
Fahrenheit. The refrigerator compartment may include one or more vegetable
boxes, which are
typically compartments at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment used for
storing fruits and
vegetables. The interiors of vegetable boxes often are maintained at a
different teinperature or
humidity than the remainder refrigerator compartment in order to store fruits
and vegetables in
ideal conditions, which may vary from conditions ideal for other items.
[0002] Each compartment of an icebox may be cooled by a separate cooling
mechanism or
one or more compartments may be cooled by separate cooling mechanisms.
Iceboxes typically
contain control mechanisms for controlling one or more cooling mechanisms. In
general, control
mechanisms work together with one or more temperature sensors in the
compartments of the
icebox to determine whether to operate a cooling mechanism in order to reduce
the temperature
of a compartment of the icebox. Typically, the control mechanism receives the
temperature of a
compartment from a temperature sensor and compares the temperature to a
predetermined
temperature. If the temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature
by a set amount,
such as one degree Fahrenheit, than the control mechanism operates the cooling
mechanism until
the temperature of the compartment reaches the predetermined temperature. If
the temperature is
lower than the predetermined temperature, the control mechanism will not
operate the cooling
mechanism, but allow the compartment to absorb heat. The absorption of heat
may be facilitated
by vents, fans, heaters, or other mechanisms for exchanging cold air from
inside the icebox with
warmer air from outside the ice box, or by heating the air inside the icebox.
[00031 Typically an icebox with a refrigerator compartment and freezer
compartment has
one coldness control for controlling the temperature inside of the
refrigerator compartment. The
freezer is maintained at some temperature below the freezing point of water
and the coldness
setting of the coldness control determines the size of a passageway between
the freezer
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compartment and the refrigerator compartment. The larger the passageway, the
more cold air
from the freezer compartment passes to the refrigerator compartment and,
therefore the colder
the refrigerator compartment gets. Likewise, typically the temperature inside
a vegetable box in
the refrigerator compartment is controlled by changing, often manually, the
size of a passageway
between the vegetable box and the refrigerator compartment.
[0004] However, often iceboxes include one or more coldness controls, which is
typically a
dial having markings of a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 corresponding to a first
temperature, 1
corresponding to a second temperature lower than the first temperature, and
the markings
between I and 10 corresponding to temperatures between the first and second
temperature. The
operation of the control mechanism may be determined by the coldness control,
as described
above. Often the coldness control is located somewhere in the interior of the
icebox such as in a
convenient location in a refrigerator portion of an icebox, One coldness
control may affect the
temperature of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment
together or each
compartment may have a separate coldness control. Because coldness controls
are most often
located on the interior of iceboxes, it is necessary to open the icebox in
order to adjust the
coldness settings. Unnecessarily opening the icebox causes cold air to escape
from the icebox
and therefore the energy spent cooling that air to be wasted. In addition,
opening the icebox to
adjust coldness settings is inconvenient, especially when any controls for
adjusting the coldness
settings are located in the back of the interior of the icebox.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An icebox is provided in accordance with an embodiment. The icebox
comprises an
insulated compartment, a temperature sensor in the insulated compartment, a
cooling mechanism
for cooling the interior of the insulated compartment, and a control mechanism
for controlling
the cooling mechanism. The icebox also includes a first and second display on
the exterior of the
insulated compartment, the first display for displaying the temperature of the
insulated
compartment and the second display for displaying the coldness setting of the
insulated
compartment. An input is provided to allow a user to selectively change the
coldness setting to
cause a control mechanism to operate the cooling mechanism until the interior
of the insulated
compartment achieves a temperature corresponding to the selected coldness
setting.
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[0006] In accordance with another embodiment, an icebox is provided. The
icebox
comprises an insulated compartment, a temperature sensor in the insulated
compartment, a
cooling mechanism for cooling the interior of the insulated compartment, and a
control
mechanism for controlling the cooling mechanism. The icebox includes a display
for displaying
a coldness setting on the exterior of the insulated container, and an input
for selectively changing
the coldness setting of the display and causing the control mechanism to
operate the cooling
mechanism until the interior of the insulated container achieves a temperature
corresponding to
the selected coldness setting.
[00071 In accordance with another embodiment, an icebox is provided, the
icebox comprises
an insulated compartment, a temperature sensor in the insulated compartment,
and a cooling
mechanism for cooling the interior of the insulated compartment until the
internal temperature
reaches a predetermined temperature. An input on the exterior of the insulated
container allows
selection of the predetermined temperature which is displayed on the exterior
of the insulated
container by a display.
[0008] In accordance with yet another embodiment, a kit for retrofitting an
icebox with an
external temperature display is included. The kit includes a temperature
display mountable on an
external surface of the icebox. A plurality of temperature sensors in wireless
communication
with the temperature display are located in various compartments of the
icebox. The temperature
display displays the temperature as recorded by each temperature sensor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0009] Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of an icebox with its doors
opened in
accordance with an embodiment;
[0010] Figure 2 shows a front perspective view of the icebox of Figure 1 with
its doors
closed;
[0011] Figure 3 shows a front view of a control panel of the icebox of Figure
1;
[0012] Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of an icebox with its doors
open in
accordance with an embodiment;
[0013] Figure 5 shows a front perspective view of the icebox of Figure 4 with
its doors
closed; and
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[0014] Figure 6 shows a front view of a control panel of the icebox of Figure
4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TI-IE INVENTION
[00151 Figure 1 shows an icebox 100 in accordance with an embodiment. The
icebox 100
includes a freezer compartznent 102, a refrigerator compartment 104, and a
vegetable box 106,
although it may have more or less than three compartments. In an embodiment,
the freezer
compartment 102 and refrigerator compartment 104 are rectangular insulated
chambers
connected at their sides and the vegetable box 106 is a subcompartment of the
refrigerator
compartment 104 located inside the refrigerator compartment 104 at the bottom
of the
refrigerator compartment 104. The icebox 100 can have alternative
configurations such as a
configuration with either the freezer compartment 102 or the refrigerator
compartment 104
located atop the other.
[0016] In an embodiment, the interior of the vegetable box 106 is separated
from the
remainder of the interior of the refrigerator compartment 104 so that the
interior of the vegetable
box 106 may be maintained at a different temperature or humidity. The
vegetable box 106
includes a door for accessing items stored in the interior of the vegetable
box 106. Alternatively,
the vegetable box 106 may be slid out from the refrigerator compartment 104 in
order to expose
an opening into the vegetable box 106 to allow access to contents stored in
the vegetable box
106. In this alternate embodiment, vents can be provided at the rear of the
vegetable box 106 in
order to receive cold air from the cooling mechanism into the interior of the
vegetable box 106.
[0017] A freezer door 107 is hingedly attached to the icebox 100 so as to
selectively provide
access to the freezer compartment 102. Similarly, a refrigerator door 108 is
hingedly attached to
the icebox 100 so as to selectively provide access to the interior of the
refrigerator
compartment 104. A magnetic strip or other fastener secures the freezer door
107 and
refrigerator door 108 to the freezer compartment 102 and refrigerator
compartment 104,
respectively, although other mechanisms for maintaining the freezer door 107
and refrigerator
door 108 in a closed configuration can be used.
[0018] In an embodiment, a freezer temperature sensor 110 is located on the
interior of the
freezer compartment 102. Freezer temperature sensors are known in the art and
in general are
devices capable of measuring the temperature of surrounding air. In an
embodiment, the freezer
temperature sensor is located at the top interior surface of the freezer
compartment 102, but it
CA 02647922 2008-12-24
can be located in any portion of the freezer compartment 102 or on a portion
of the freezer
door 107 oriented towards the freezer compartment 102 when the freezer door
107 is closed, or
in any location suitable for measuring the interior of the freezer compartment
102. The freezer
temperature sensor 110 may include features such as a display for displaying
current temperature
measurements.
[0019] In an embodiment, a refrigerator temperature sensor 120, which may be
similar to the
freezer temperature sensor 110, is located on the interior of the refrigerator
compartment 104 or
in any location suitable for measuring the interior of the refrigerator
compartment 104, such as
on a portion of the refrigerator door 108 oriented towards the interior of the
refrigerator
compartment 104 when the refrigerator door 108 is closed. A vegetable box
temperature
sensor 130, which may be similar to the freezer temperature sensor 110, is
located on the interior
of the vegetable box 106 or in any location suitable for measuring the
interior of the vegetable
box 106.
[0020) Referring to Figure 2, the icebox 100 includes a control panel 210
located on an
exterior surface of the icebox 100, such as on an exterior surface of the
freezer door 107. In an
embodiment, the control panel 210 is in communication with the temperature
sensors I 10, 120,
and 130. For example, the temperature sensors 110, 120, 130 can be directly or
indirectly wired
to the control panel 210 or they can communicate with the control panel 210
wirelessly, for
example, through a wireless communication using the Bluetooth wireless
connectivity
standard, or other wireless standards. If the temperature sensors 110, 120,
130 are wired directly
to the control panel 210, the wire can pass from the icebox 100 to the control
pane1210 via the
hinge of the freezer door 107, where there is little movement of the freezer
door 107 relative to
the icebox 107 and where a wire would not interfere with opening or closing
the door 107.
Alternate mechanisms for wireless communications between devices may also be
used. For
instance, each temperature sensor 110, 120, 130 can include a transmitter for
transmitting signals
using a particular radio frequency and the control pane1210 may include one or
more receivers
tuned to receive the signals transmitted by the temperature sensors 110, 120,
130.
[0021] Figure 3 shows the control pane1210 in greater detail. In an
embodiment, the control
panel 210 comprises a freezer subpanel 310, a refrigerator subpanel 320, and a
vegetable box
subpane1330. The freezer subpane1310 includes a freezer coldness display 340
and a freezer
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temperature display 342. In an embodiment, the freezer coldness display 340 is
liquid crystal
display that digitally displays a coldness setting of 1 through 10 digitally
and the freezer
temperature display 342 may display one of ten temperatures corresponding to
each of the
possible values for the freezer coldness display.
[00221 In an embodiment, the freezer subpane1310 includes a freezer warmer
button 344 and
a freezer colder button 346. Pressing the freezer warmer button 344 causes the
freezer coldness
display 340 to increase by one, unless the freezer coldness display 340 is at
a predetermined
upper limit, such as 10, in which case pressing the freezer warmer button 244
does not cause a
change of the freezer coldness display 340. Similarly, pressing the freezer
colder button 346
causes the freezer coldness display to decrease by one, unless the freezer
coldness display 340 is
already at a predetermined lower limit, such as 1, in which case pressing the
freezer colder
button does not cause a change of the freezer coldness display 240.
[0023] When the freezer coldness display 340 changes from one setting to a
lower setting, a
control mechanism, which can be located in the control panel 210 or may be in
another location,
but in communication with the control panel 210, causes a cooling mechanism to
cool the freezer
compartment 102 until the temperature of the interior of the freezer
compartment 102 reaches a
temperature corresponding to the new coldness setting displayed by the freezer
coldness display
340. For example, if a coldness setting of 2 corresponds to a predetermined
temperature of 26
degrees Fahrenheit and a coldness setting of 1 corresponds to a predetermined
temperature of 25
degrees Fahrenheit, and the interior of the freezer compartment 102 was 26
degrees Fahrenheit,
pressing the freezer colder button 346 once causes the freezer coldness
display to change to 1,
which causes the control mechanism to operate the cooling mechanism until the
interior of the
freezer compartment 102 reaches 25 degrees Fahrenheit. If 1 is a lower limit
for the freezer
coldness display 340, pressing the freezer colder button 346 an additional
time does not cause
freezer coldness display 340 to change or the control mechanism to operate the
cooling
mechanism.
[0024] When the freezer coldness display 340 changes from one setting to a
higher setting,
the control mechanism will not operate the cooling mechanism until the freezer
compartment
102 has absorbed enough heat such that the interior of the freezer compartment
102 rises to a
temperature of a predetermined amount, such as one degree Fahrenheit, above a
temperature
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corresponding to the higher setting. Continuing with the previous example, if
the freezer
coldness display 340 changes from 2 to 3, and 3 corresponds to 27 degrees
Fahrenheit, pressing
the freezer warmer button 344 causes the freezer coldness display to display
"3" and the control
mechanism will not operate the cooling mechanism until the freezer compartment
102 reaches
exceeds a temperature above 27 degrees Fahrenheit, such as by reaching 28
degrees Fahrenheit.
[0025] If neither the freezer warmer button 344 nor freezer colder button 346
is pressed, the
control mechanism operates in an automatic state in which it maintains the
interior of the freezer
compartment at a temperature corresponding to the currently displayed coldness
setting on the
freezer coldness display 340. Specifically, the control mechanism may
periodically receive a
temperature of the interior of the freezer compartment 102 from the freezer
temperature sensor
110 and, if the temperature of the interior compartment 102 rises to a
predetermined amount,
such as one degree Fahrenheit above the temperature corresponding to the
current coldness
setting displayed on the freezer coldness display, the control mechanism will
operate the cooling
mechanism until the interior of the freezer compartment 102 reaches the
temperature
corresponding to the coldness setting displayed on the freezer coldness
display. Continuing with
the previous example, if the freezer coldness display 340 displays 3, the
control mechanism will
receive temperature measurements from the temperature sensor 110 until the
interior of the
freezer compartment 102 reaches a temperature a set amount above 27 degrees.
For instance, the
control mechanism, in an embodiment, receives temperature measurements from
the temperature
sensor 110 until the control mechanism receives a measurement indicating that
the interior of the
freezer compartment has reached 28 degrees Fahrenheit or more. At this point,
the control
mechanism operates the cooling device until the control mechanism receives a
measurement
from the temperature sensor indicating that the temperature of the interior of
the freezer
compartment 102 has reached a desired level, such as 27 degrees Fahrenheit.
[0026] In accordance with an embodiment, the freezer temperature display 342
displays the
temperature corresponding to the coldness setting displayed by the freezer
coldness display 340.
As in the previous example, if the freezer coldness display 340 shows a
coldness setting of 2, the
freezer temperature display 342 will display 26 degrees Fahrenheit. If the
freezer warmer button
344 is pressed, the freezer coldness display 340 will display a setting of 3
and the freezer
temperature display will display a temperature of 27 degrees Fahrenheit.
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[0027] In an embodiment, the refrigerator subpanel 320 and vegetable box
subpanel 330 of
the control pane1210 operate similarly to the freezer subpane1310. The
refrigerator subpanel
320 includes a refrigerator coldness display 350, a refrigerator temperature
display 352, a
refrigerator warmer button 354, and a refrigerator colder button 356, which
operate similarly to
the freezer coldness display 340, the freezer temperature display 242, the
freezer warmer button
244, and the freezer colder button 246, respectively. Likewise, in an
embodiment the vegetable
box subpanel includes a vegetable box coldness display 360, a vegetable box
temperature display
362, and a vegetable box warmer button 364 which operate similarly to the
freezer coldness
display 340, the freezer temperature display 242, the freezer warmer button
244, and the freezer
colder button 246, respectively.
[0028] In an embodiment, the refrigerator subpane1320 determines the operation
of the
control mechanism with respect to the refrigerator compartment 104 in
accordance with the
manner in which the freezer subpane1310 determines the operation of the
control mechanism
with respect to the freezer compartment 102, as described above. In
particular, a user can use the
refrigerator warmer button 354 and the refrigerator colder button 356 in order
to select the
coldness setting displayed on the refrigerator coldness display 350. The
refrigerator temperature
display 352 can display the current temperature of the interior of the
refrigerator compartment
104, or the temperature corresponding to the current coldness setting
displayed by the
refrigerator coldness display 350. The control mechanism operates the cooling
device so as to
maintain the temperature of the interior of the refrigerator compartment 104
in a manner similar
to the manner in which the control mechanism operates the cooling device so as
to maintain the
temperature of the interior of the freezer compartment 102, as described
above.
[0029] Likewise, in an embodiment, the vegetable box subpane1330 determines
the
operation of the control mechanism with respect to the vegetable box 106 in
accordance with the
manner in which the freezer subpanel 310 determines the operation of the
control mechanism
with respect to the freezer compartment 102, as described above. In
particular, a user can use the
vegetable box warmer button 364 and the vegetable box colder button 356 in
order to select the
coldness setting displayed on the vegetable box coldness display 360. The
vegetable box
temperature display 352 can display the current temperature of the interior of
the interior of the
vegetable box 106, or the temperature corresponding to the current coldness
setting displayed by
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the vegetable box coldness display 360. The control mechanism operates the
cooling device so
as to maintain the temperature of the interior of the vegetable box
compartment 106 in a manner
similar to the manner in which the control mechanism operates the cooling
device so as to
maintain the temperature of the interior of the freezer compartment 102, as
described above.
[0030] Figure 4 shows an icebox 400 in accordance with another embodiment. The
icebox 400 can be configured similarly to the icebox 100 shown in Figure 1 and
can include a
freezer compartment 402, a refrigerator compartment 404, and a vegetable box
406 configured
similarly to the freezer compartment 102, the refrigerator compartment 104,
and the vegetable
box 106, respectively. In addition, the icebox 400 includes a freezer door
407, similar to the
freezer door 107 and a refrigerator door 408 similar to the refrigerator door
108. Also, the
icebox 400 includes a freezer temperature sensor 410 similar to the freezer
temperature
sensor 110, a refrigerator temperature sensor 420 similar to the refrigerator
temperature
sensor 120, and a vegetable box temperature sensor 430 similar to the
vegetable box temperature
sensor 130.
[0031] In accordance with an embodiment, the icebox 400 includes a control
knob 440,
which can be located at a bottom portion of the icebox 400 below the freezer
door 407, or in any
suitable location on the exterior of the icebox 400, such as on the freezer
door 407. In an
embodiment, the angular orientation of the control knob 400 determines the
coldness setting of
the freezer compartment 402, the refrigerator compartment 404, and the
vegetable box 406. The
control knob 440 may be rotatable about a central pivot point and may have
markings of a
coldness scale, such as 1 to 10, located near the perimeter of the control
knob 440. In an
alternate embodiment, the icebox 400 includes a separate control knob similar
to the control
knob 440 for the freezer compartment 402, the refrigerator compartment 404,
and the vegetable
box 404. In general, any number of control knobs can be used, each control
knob for controlling
any number of compartments of an icebox.
[0032] Referring to Figure 5, the icebox 400 includes a display panel 510
located on an
exterior surface of the icebox 400. As shown in Figure 6, in an embodiment,
the display
pane1510 is divided into a freezer display subpanel 610, a refrigerator
display subpanel 620, and
a vegetable box display subpanel 630. The freezer display subpanel 620
includes a freezer
coldness display 640 and a freezer temperature display 642, the refrigerator
display subpanel 630
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includes a refrigerator coldness display 650 and a refrigerator temperature
display 652, and the
vegetable box subpanel 630 includes a vegetable box coldness display 660 and a
vegetable box
temperature display 662. The coldness displays 640, 650, and 660 display the
coldness setting
determined by the control knob 640. If more than one control knob is included,
in an
embodiment, each coldness display 640, 650, 660 displays the coldness setting
determined by its
respective control knob.
[0033] In accordance with an embodiment, the temperature displays 642, 652,
662 each
display a temperature corresponding to the coldness setting determined by the
control knob 640,
or by a respective control knob if multiple control knobs are included. For
example, if the
control knob 640 is rotated so as to select a coldness setting of 3, the
freezer temperature display
642 can display 27 degrees Fahrenheit, the refrigerator temperature display
652 can display 34
degrees Fahrenheit, and the vegetable box temperature display 662 can display
35 degrees
Fahrenheit, where 27 degrees Fahrenheit, 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and 35 degrees
Fahrenheit
correspond to coldness settings for the freezer compartment 402, refrigerator
compartment 404,
and vegetable box 406, respectively, and are the temperatures around which the
control
mechanism maintains the interiors of the freezer compartment 402, refrigerator
compartment
404, and vegetable box 406, respectively, when the control knob indicates a
setting of 3.
[0034] In an alternate embodiment, the temperature displays 642, 652, and 662
display the
temperatures of the interiors of the freezer compartment 402, refrigerator
compartment 404, and
vegetable box 406, as communicated by the temperature sensors 410, 420, and
430, respectively.
[0035] In yet another alternate embodiment, the temperature sensors 410, 420,
and 430 are in
wireless communication with the display panel 510 and the display panel 510 is
externally
mountable on the icebox 400. In an embodiment, the display panel 510 is
removably mounted
on the icebox 400 by magnets. Other mechanisms, such as adhesive tape, screws,
hooks
configured to hang from a door, handle, or other structure of the icebox 400,
and other
mechanisms can be used as an alternative to or in addition to magnets. In this
embodiment, the
coldness settings 640, 650, 660 be absent or the coldness settings 640, 650,
660 can display
coldness settings corresponding to predefined temperatures. In this manner,
the display panel
510 and temperature sensors 410, 420, 430 can be sold as a kit to retrofit
iceboxes with an
external temperature display.
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[00361 All references, including publications, patent applications, and
patents, cited herein
are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference
were individually
and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth
in its entirety herein.
[0037] The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in
the context of
describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims)
are to be construed to
cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or
clearly contradicted
by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including," and "containing"
are to be
construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,")
unless otherwise
noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a
shorthand method
of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range,
unless otherwise
indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the
specification as if it were
individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in
any suitable order
unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by
context. The use of any
and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is
intended merely to
better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of
the invention unless
otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as
indicating any non-
claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
[0038] Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including
the best
mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of
those preferred
embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the
foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such
variations as
appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced
otherwise than as
specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all
modifications and
equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as
permitted by applicable
law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible
variations
thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or
otherwise clearly
contradicted by context.
