Air Damper Units With Improved Air Flow

Abstract

A sliding door air damper unit for a refrigerator includes a base plate having an aperture, a sliding door slidably mounted on the base plate for controlling air flow through the aperture, and a modular driving assembly for driving the sliding door. The modular driving assembly includes a housing defining an inner space, a cam device suspended from the housing and a motor mounted on the housing. The sliding door is driven by the cam device to move back and forth and can slide through a gap between the cam device and the base plate. The travel distance of the sliding door is increased and thus the aperture can be made larger to allow more air to flow through the aperture. The sliding door air damper unit allows a refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator to quickly reach a predetermined temperature setting.

1 . An air damper unit for controlling air flow through an air passageway of a partition wall of a refrigerator, comprising:
 a sliding door slidably movable in a plane substantially parallel to the partition wall to substantially cover and uncover the air passageway;   a support; and   a cam device for driving the sliding door to move back and forth, the cam device moveably mounted to the support,   wherein the cam device and the sliding door are movable relative to one another to a position such that a portion of the door overlaps a portion of the cam device in a direction substantially perpendicular to the partition wall.   
   
   
       2 . The air damper unit of  claim 1  wherein a gap is formed between the cam device and the partition wall, and the sliding door is movable through the gap. 
   
   
       3 . The air damper unit of  claim 1 , further comprising one of a unidirectional motor or a bidirectional motor for driving the cam device. 
   
   
       4 . The air damper unit of  claim 3  wherein the cam device is driven by the motor through an angle of rotation of 360°. 
   
   
       5 . The air damper unit of  claim 3 , wherein the motor is mounted on the support. 
   
   
       6 . The air damper unit of  claim 3 , wherein the cam device, the motor and the support form a modular unit. 
   
   
       7 . The air damper unit of  claim 1 , wherein the support includes a support housing defining an inner space, the cam device received in the inner space. 
   
   
       8 . The air damper unit of  claim 7 , wherein a motor is mounted on and outside the support housing. 
   
   
       9 . The air damper unit of  claim 8 , wherein the motor drivingly engages the cam device through an opening of the support housing. 
   
   
       10 . The air damper unit of  claim 7 , further comprising a base plate to be mounted to the partition wall of the refrigerator, the base plate having an aperture communicating with the air passageway, the support housing mounted to the base plate. 
   
   
       11 . The air damper unit of  claim 10 , wherein the support housing and the base plate include mating features for connecting the support housing and the base plate. 
   
   
       12 . The air damper unit of  claim 1 , further comprising a follower slot provided on the sliding door for engaging the cam device. 
   
   
       13 . The air damper unit of  claim 12 , wherein the follower slot approximately defines a shape selected from a group consisting of an S-shape, a straight line, and a curved shape. 
   
   
       14 . The air damper unit of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch device provided adjacent to the cam device for providing feedback of movement of the cam device. 
   
   
       15 . An air damper unit for controlling air flow through an air passageway of a partition wall of a refrigerator, comprising:
 a sliding door slidably movable on a plane substantially parallel to the partition wall, the sliding door having a follower slot;   a cam device including a rod received in the follower slot, whereby rotation of the cam device moves the rod that slidably moves the sliding door between a position substantially covering the air passageway and a position substantially uncovering the air passageway; and   a motor for driving the cam device.   
   
   
       16 . The air damper unit of  claim 15 , further comprising a base plate having an aperture communicating with the air passageway, a housing mounted to the base plate, wherein the housing defines an inner space and the cam device is suspended in the inner space. 
   
   
       17 . The air damper unit of  claim 16 , wherein the motor includes an output shaft extending through an opening of the housing for engaging the cam device. 
   
   
       18 . The air damper unit of  claim 15 , wherein the motor is one of a unidirectional motor or a bidirectional motor. 
   
   
       19 . The air damper unit of  claim 18  wherein the cam device is driven by the motor through an angle of rotation of 360°. 
   
   
       20 . A modular driving assembly for an air damper unit having a sliding door, comprising:
 a cam device for driving the sliding door back and forth;   a motor for driving the cam device; and   a housing defining an inner space and having a wall, the cam device received in the inner space and suspended from the wall.   
   
   
       21 . The driving assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the motor is mounted on the wall and outside the housing; the motor includes an output shaft extending through an opening of the wall; and the motor drivingly engages the cam device through the opening of the wall. 
   
   
       22 . The driving assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the modular driving assembly is mounted to an adjacent component by connecting the housing to the adjacent component. 
   
   
       23 . An air damper unit of the type comprising a motor driven cam that rotates about an axis and engages a door to drive the door back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the axis to open and close an aperture, the air damper unit comprising:
 a support housing comprising a first wall a least partially lying in a plane generally perpendicular to the axis;   a planar base generally parallel to and offset from the first wall, the aperture extending through the base;   the support housing and the base combining to define an interior space of the unit to which an inner surface of the first wall and an inner surface of the base are adjacent;   the door disposed on the inner surface of the base and cooperable with the base for sliding movement thereon such that in a first position the door covers the aperture and in a second position the door uncovers the aperture; and wherein   the cam is mounted on the inner surface of the first wall such that it is disposed within the interior space and spaced apart from the door in a direction along the axis so as to create a gap.   
   
   
       24 . The air damper unit of  claim 23  wherein the door travels through the gap as it moves from one of the first position or the second position to the other of the first position or the second position. 
   
   
       25 . The air damper unit of  claim 24  wherein the motor is one of a unidirectional motor or a bidirectional motor; and
 wherein the cam is driven by the motor through an angle of rotation of 360°.