Refrigerator with contactlessly powered movable member
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A refrigerator (1) comprising:
- a cabinet (2) having outer walls (3) and inner walls (4) defining a compartment (5), and a door for closing the compartment (5), the cabinet (2) being provided with a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternate voltage power supply (8) and supplying electrical power to at least one first inductor (9, 9′
) placed between one of the outer walls (3) and one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5); and
at least one movable member (6) associable to the cabinet (2) so as to be entirely received within said compartment and movable in a plurality of operative positions vertically inside said compartment (5), the movable member (6) being provided with a secondary electrical circuit (11) comprising a second inductor (12, 12′
),wherein the secondary electrical circuit (11) is powered contactlessly by the primary electrical circuit (7) and the secondary electrical circuit (11) supplies electrical energy to a power consuming device (14) associated with the secondary electrical circuit (11),wherein along a line from an interior of the cabinet (2) to an exterior of the cabinet (2) and perpendicular to one of the outer walls (3), the cabinet (2) has a single one of the outer walls (3) and a single one of the inner walls (4) and the first inductor (9, 9′
) is positioned between the single one of the outer walls (3) and the single one of the inner walls (4) and is fixed to the single one of the inner walls (4), andwherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) extends vertically as an elongated loop for generating an elongated magnetic field along a vertical length of the single one of the inner walls (4) when said movable member (6) is housed inside the compartment (5) in any operative position along a vertical length of the first inductor (9, 9′
), wherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) are located on opposite sides of the single one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5) in a way that the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) face each other.
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Abstract
A refrigerator (1) includes a cabinet (2) provided with a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternate voltage power supply and at least one movable member (6) associable to the cabinet (2) and provided with a secondary electrical circuit (11). The secondary circuit (11) is powered contactlessly by the primary circuit (7) and the secondary circuit (11) supplies electrical energy to a power consuming device (14).
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A refrigerator (1) comprising:
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a cabinet (2) having outer walls (3) and inner walls (4) defining a compartment (5), and a door for closing the compartment (5), the cabinet (2) being provided with a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternate voltage power supply (8) and supplying electrical power to at least one first inductor (9, 9′
) placed between one of the outer walls (3) and one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5); andat least one movable member (6) associable to the cabinet (2) so as to be entirely received within said compartment and movable in a plurality of operative positions vertically inside said compartment (5), the movable member (6) being provided with a secondary electrical circuit (11) comprising a second inductor (12, 12′
),wherein the secondary electrical circuit (11) is powered contactlessly by the primary electrical circuit (7) and the secondary electrical circuit (11) supplies electrical energy to a power consuming device (14) associated with the secondary electrical circuit (11), wherein along a line from an interior of the cabinet (2) to an exterior of the cabinet (2) and perpendicular to one of the outer walls (3), the cabinet (2) has a single one of the outer walls (3) and a single one of the inner walls (4) and the first inductor (9, 9′
) is positioned between the single one of the outer walls (3) and the single one of the inner walls (4) and is fixed to the single one of the inner walls (4), andwherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) extends vertically as an elongated loop for generating an elongated magnetic field along a vertical length of the single one of the inner walls (4) when said movable member (6) is housed inside the compartment (5) in any operative position along a vertical length of the first inductor (9, 9′
), wherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) are located on opposite sides of the single one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5) in a way that the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) face each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A refrigerator (1) comprising:
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a cabinet (2) having outer walls (3) that form an exterior of the cabinet (5) and inner walls (4) that form boundaries of a compartment (5), and a door for closing the compartment (5), the cabinet (2) being provided with a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternate voltage power supply (8), the primary electrical circuit (7) comprising a first inductor (9′
) located outside said inner walls (4); andat least one movable member (6) received within the inner walls (4) and movable in a plurality of operative positions vertically inside said compartment (5), said member (6) being provided with a secondary electrical circuit (11) comprising a second inductor (12′
) coupled to the first inductor (9′
),wherein said secondary circuit (11) is powered contactlessly by said primary electrical circuit (7) and supplies electrical energy to a power consuming device (14) associated with the secondary electrical circuit (11), wherein along a line from an interior of the cabinet (2) to an exterior of the cabinet (2) and perpendicular to one of the outer walls (3), the cabinet (2) has a single one of the outer walls (3) and a single one of the inner walls (4) and the first inductor (9′
) is positioned between the single one of the outer walls (3) and the single one of the inner walls (4) and is fixed to the single one of the inner walls (4), andwherein the first inductor (9′
) extends vertically as an elongated loop for generating an elongated magnetic field along a vertical length of the single one of the inner walls (4) when said movable member (6) is housed inside the compartment (5) in any operative position along a vertical length of the first inductor (9′
), wherein the first inductor (9′
) and the second inductor (12′
) are located on opposite sides of the single one of the inner walls (4) in a way that the first inductor (9′
) and the second inductor (12′
) face each other.
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17. A refrigerator comprising:
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a cabinet (2) having outer walls (3) and inner walls (4), said inner walls (4) defining a compartment (5) for storing food, said cabinet (2) having a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternative voltage power supply (8) which supplies electrical power to at least one first inductor (9), wherein the first inductor (9) is installed between the outer walls (3) and the inner walls (4) in such a way that the first inductor (9) is not visible from inside the compartment (5) and from outside the cabinet (2); a plurality of movable members (6) dividing the compartment (5) in a plurality of portions, wherein each of the movable members (6) is movable in a plurality of operative positions vertically inside said compartment (5) and wherein each of the movable members (6) comprises a secondary electrical circuit (11) having a second inductor (12), said first inductor (9) and said second inductor (12) being installed facing each other and forming an electric transformer, wherein the secondary circuit (11) is contactlessly powered by the primary circuit (7) by way of a magnetic circuit formed by the first inductor (9) and the second inductor (12), said secondary circuit (11) supplying electrical power to at least one power consuming device (14) connected to the secondary circuit (11), wherein along a line from an interior of the cabinet (2) to an exterior of the cabinet (2) and perpendicular to one of the outer walls (3), the cabinet (2) has a single one of the outer walls (3) and a single one of the inner walls (4) and the first inductor (9) is positioned between the single one of the outer walls (3) and the single one of the inner walls (4) and is fixed to the single one of the inner walls (4), and wherein the first inductor (9) extends vertically as an elongated loop for generating an elongated magnetic field along a vertical length of the single one of the inner walls (4) when each of the movable members (6) is housed inside the compartment (5) in any operative position along a vertical length of the first inductor (9), wherein the first inductor (9) and the second inductor (12) are located on opposite sides of the single one of the inner walls (4) in a way that the first inductor (9) and the second inductor (12) face each other.
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18. A refrigerator (1) comprising:
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a cabinet (2) having outer walls (3) and inner walls (4) defining a compartment (5), and a door for closing the compartment (5), the cabinet (2) being provided with a primary electrical circuit (7) connected to a main alternate voltage power supply (8) and supplying electrical power to at least one first inductor (9, 9′
) placed between one of the outer walls (3) and one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5); andat least one movable member (6) associable to the cabinet (2) so as to be entirely received within said compartment and movable in a plurality of operative positions vertically inside said compartment (5), the movable member (6) being provided with a secondary electrical circuit (11) comprising a second inductor (12, 12′
),wherein the secondary electrical circuit (11) is powered contactlessly by the primary electrical circuit (7) and the secondary electrical circuit (11) supplies electrical energy to a power consuming device (14) associated with the secondary electrical circuit (11), and wherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) extends vertically as an elongated loop for generating an elongated magnetic field along a vertical length of one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5) when said movable member (6) is housed inside the compartment (5) in any operative position along a vertical length of the first inductor (9, 9′
), wherein the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) are located on opposite sides of one of the inner walls (4) of the compartment (5) in a way that the first inductor (9, 9′
) and the second inductor (12, 12′
) face each other.
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Specification