Refrigerating appliance comprising an internal OLED lighting system

• US 7,588,340 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2004
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerã¤Te GmbH (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Hell, Erich, Hagele, Fritz, Bauer, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Shea; Sandra L
• Assistant Examiner(s): APENTENG, JESSICA MCMILLAN
• Application Number:
  US10/567,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20060201181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,842 Days
• Field of Search: 362/92, 362/222, 362/800, 362/223, 362/154, 362/85, 362/147, 362/362, 622/64, 622/46
• US Class Current: 362/92
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 33/0044 Household appliances, e.g. washing machines or vacuum cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/305 for refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/00 Planar light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/15 Organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 27/00 Lighting arrangements in general F21
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode

Abstract

A refrigerating appliance, especially a refrigerating or freezing appliance, including an inside area and an internal lighting system. The appliance internal lighting system includes at least one organic light-emitting diode (OLED) for substantially uniformly illuminating the inside area of the appliance.

Claims

1. A refrigerating appliance comprising:

a housing defining an interior space including a plurality of internal walls;

an internal lighting system disposed within said housing for illuminating at least a portion of said interior space, said internal lighting system including at least one organic light-emitting diode (OLED) for illuminating at least a portion of said interior space, said OLED including a substrate having applied thereto an electrode, at least one layer of organic material and a counter-electrode, said substrate formed as a transparent plate, wherein said OLED is supported in said housing for forming a luminous surface from at least one of said internal walls and a built-in component located in said interior space, said OLED being integrated into at least one of said internal walls and a surface of said built-in component.

2. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein said built-in component of the appliance comprises opposite surfaces, wherein respectively one organic light-emitting diode is applied to the opposite surfaces.

3. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein said housing includes a cavity filled with an insulating material, said OLED forming at least a portion of a wall of said cavity facing said interior space.

4. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein component includes at least one of a base plate, a shell or a door compartment.

5. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 4, wherein a luminous area of said OLED substantially completely fills at least one inner wall of said interior space, the underside or the upper side of a base plate located in said interior space.

6. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 5, wherein said luminous area is located on at least one of the following inner walls of said interior space, a rear wall, one of a plurality of side walls, a base area, a ceiling area or a door inner wall.

7. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein said OLED includes a luminous area filling between 20% and 50% of an inner wall of at least one of said interior space, the underside or the upper side of a base plate located in said interior space.

8. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1 wherein the housing is joined together from a plurality of housing panels forming inner walls of said interior space.

9. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 8, wherein at least one OLED is applied to at least one of said housing panels or integrated therein.

10. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 9, wherein said interior space includes a built-in component with opposed surfaces, said opposed surfaces are each formed from transparent plates, forming substrates for OLEDs disposed between said transparent plates.

11. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 10, wherein said built-in component with opposed surfaces is a base plate having an underside surface and an upper side opposed surface.

12. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein said transparent plate is formed from glass.

13. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, wherein said interior lighting system includes a plurality of OLEDs, each with light-emitting layers, and at least some of said OLEDs emit light having different color spectra from one another.

14. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a display panel and a control panel, said panel backlit using at least one organic light-emitting diode.

15. The refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, further comprising a display panel for displaying symbols, said symbols formed by organic light-emitting diodes.