CN106716030B

CN106716030B - Refrigeration device with a plurality of storage compartments

Info

Publication number: CN106716030B
Application number: CN201580049639.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: F·奇弗罗代利; R·普拉德尔; R·韦泽
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2014-09-15
Filing date: 2015-09-04
Publication date: 2020-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-04
Also published as: PL3194869T3; WO2016041791A1; EP3194869B1; CN106716030A; EP3194869A1; DE102014218411A1

Abstract

A refrigerator, in particular a domestic refrigerator, comprises an evaporator (16) arranged in an evaporator chamber (15) and at least two storage chambers (2, 3) which are cooled by air exchange with the evaporator chamber (15). An inlet volume (17) is set free in the evaporator chamber (15) upstream of the inflow side (18) of the evaporator (16), said inlet volume being connected to the first storage chamber (2) via a first intake opening (27) and to the second storage chamber (3) via a second intake opening (29). The guide ribs (31) extend in the inlet volume (17) in the longitudinal direction of the inflow side (18) and extend from a wall (32) opposite the inflow side (18) toward the inflow side (18). The first and second suction openings (27, 29) are arranged on different sides of the guide rib (31).

Description

Refrigeration device with a plurality of storage compartments

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular a domestic refrigerator, having a housing in which a plurality of storage compartments, in particular storage compartments for different operating temperatures, for example a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, are arranged.

Background

Such domestic refrigeration appliances are often implemented as completely frost-free appliances. In such appliances, the individual storage compartments are cooled by a common sheet evaporator, which is arranged in an evaporator compartment which is usually branched off from the coldest storage compartment. When the air warmed in the storage compartment circulates through the sheet evaporator, the moisture carried by the air condenses on the sheets of the evaporator and forms a layer of frost thereon which, on the one hand, impedes the heat exchange between the sheets and the circulating air and, on the other hand, narrows the passage between the evaporator sheets and thus also makes air circulation difficult. The frost layer must therefore be defrosted regularly. Uneven distribution of frost in the evaporator leads to: the thin frost region of the evaporator becomes ice-free faster than the thick frost region, and the thin frost region is heated to a temperature significantly above freezing during the time required for defrosting in the thick frost region. This results in a high energy consumption, on the one hand due to the long duration of defrosting, and on the other hand because the unnecessarily heated part of the evaporator must be recooled before the evaporator can cool the storage compartment again.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is to provide a refrigeration device of the frost-free construction type, in which the evaporator can defrost quickly and energy-efficiently.

This object is achieved in the following manner: a refrigerator has an evaporator arranged in an evaporator chamber and at least two storage chambers cooled by air exchange with the evaporator chamber, wherein an inlet volume is open in the evaporator chamber upstream of an inflow side of the evaporator, which inlet volume is connected to a first storage chamber via a first intake opening and to a second storage chamber via a second intake opening, wherein a guide rib extends in the inlet volume in the longitudinal direction of the inflow side and from a wall opposite the inflow side toward the inflow side, and wherein the first opening and the second opening are arranged on different sides of the guide rib.

The guide ribs ensure that: the air from the two compartments can be distributed over the entire width of the evaporator so that there are no distinct zones across the entire width of the evaporator, which are frosted thicker than other zones because they are more strongly subjected to air from the warmer storage compartments, which generally carries more moisture. The guide ribs, which serve for small pressure losses in the air circuit between the evaporator chamber and the storage chamber, prevent the air flows from the first and second storage chambers from mixing in turbulence in the inlet volume, so that the fan for driving the air circulation can have a lower power if necessary.

The guide ribs enable the intake volume to assume the function of the ejector pump, i.e. the stronger of the two air streams entrains the weaker air stream without impeding the flow of these air streams due to the swirl. This also helps to ensure that the two air flows enter the evaporator one above the other over the entire width of the inflow side.

On the other hand, the restricted turbulence in the entry volume causes: the air flows from the first and second storage chambers enter the evaporator largely unmixed, i.e. one air flow above the guide ribs and the other air flow below the guide ribs. Although the non-occurring or incomplete mixing can lead to the formation of frost relatively quickly in the region of the inflow side which is subjected to moist air compared to the region which is subjected to the drying air flow, the resulting uneven distribution of the frost has only a small effect on the defrosting time because of the small distance between the two regions.

Due to the limited mixing, the snow formation, which occurs when the warm moist air from one storage compartment is cooled in contact with the cooler air from the other storage compartment, is always limited to a small region of the inlet volume between the edge of the guide rib and the inflow side. Thus, the snow that may form does not fall to the bottom in the inlet volume, but is flushed into the evaporator, where it is stuck and can then be melted smoothly.

Furthermore, the lamellae of the evaporator can be oriented transversely to the guide ribs, so that each lamella affects both the regions of the evaporator which are strongly frosted and the regions which are weakly frosted, and an effective heat transfer between the two regions can be ensured during defrosting.

The evaporator compartment can be arranged in a space-saving manner in the partition between the first and second storage compartments. The longitudinal direction of the inflow side is here generally horizontal, which typically corresponds to the width direction of the refrigeration device.

In order to maintain different operating temperatures in these storage compartments in an energy-saving manner, the evaporator compartment is expediently separated from the first storage compartment by a thermal insulation layer and from the second storage compartment by a shell, which has a weaker thermal insulation than the thermal insulation layer.

The housing can form at least a part of a wall of the inlet volume opposite the inflow side, wherein the second opening connected to the second storage chamber can then be arranged in the housing itself or between the housing and the insulation layer.

Expediently, the guide rib divides the inlet volume into two partial chambers extending lengthwise along the inflow side of the evaporator, in which second partial chamber a second opening is situated opposite the inflow side, so that a strong air flow with a minimum change of direction is achieved from the second storage chamber to the evaporator, which strong air flow can exert a jet pumping action on the air flow caused by the first storage chamber. In this way, the following steps are carried out: even when the first opening, via which the air flow reaches the inlet volume, is arranged at the longitudinal end of the first sub-chamber, the air flow caused by the first storage chamber can still be distributed over the entire width of the evaporator.

The first opening is preferably connected to the first storage compartment by a conduit extending through the insulating layer.

Expediently and in order to avoid blockages due to objects arranged at the bottom of the first storage chamber, in particular due to drawers, these lines can each extend at least over a part of their length in the side wall of the first storage chamber.

In order to simplify the assembly of the refrigeration device, the guide ribs can be constructed integrally with the housing.

In an alternative embodiment, the guide rib is formed integrally with the heat insulation layer.

A ventilator may be provided to simultaneously drive the air exchange with both storage chambers. The length and cross-section of the lines connecting the evaporator chamber to the first and second storage chambers can be designed in such a way that they correspond to the average refrigeration requirement of the two storage chambers: so that the cooling power of the evaporator is distributed to the two storage chambers as required. The costly valves for controlling the air exchange with the two storage chambers can then be eliminated.

Since the second storage chamber generally has a lower operating temperature than the first storage chamber and accordingly requires a greater proportion of the cooling power of the evaporator, the air flow through the second opening should be greater than the air flow through the first opening.

Drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention result from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawings. The figures show:

fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view in the depth direction of a domestic refrigeration appliance according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along section line II-II of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 shows an enlarged detail of a refrigeration device according to a second configuration in a sectional view in the depth direction; and

fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to fig. 3, according to a third configuration.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a frost-free combined refrigerator in a schematic sectional view in the depth direction. In the body 1 of the refrigeration device, the two storage compartments 2, 3 (in this case the cold compartment and the freezer compartment) are separated from one another by a horizontal intermediate wall 4. In a conventional manner in the art, the body 1 comprises an inner container 5, which is integrally deep-drawn from plastic, an outer skin 6, which is composed of a plurality of plate-like elements, and a thermal insulation layer 7, which is composed of plastic foamed between the inner container 5 and the outer skin 6. In the inner container 5, the two

storage chambers

2, 3 can be designed as recesses which are separated from one another, so that the intermediate wall 4 is also an integral component of the inner container 5.

In the case shown here, the inner container 5 has only one recess into which the intermediate wall 4 engages as a separate component. The intermediate wall 4 comprises a plate-like insulating layer 8, preferably made of expanded polystyrene, which is covered at least on its upper side 9, on the end sides 12 facing the

doors

10, 11 which serve to close the

storage compartments

2, 3, and on the front region 13 of its lower side by a plate made of the same plastic as the inner container 5. On the lower rear edge of the plate, a plastic injection-molded housing 14 is fastened, which separates the evaporator chamber 15 from the lower second storage chamber 3. There may be no plates in the area of the intermediate wall 4 covered by the shell 14, so that the insulation 8 directly delimits the evaporator chamber 15. Since the lower second storage compartment 3 is provided as a freezing compartment, no strong thermal insulation is required between the lower second storage compartment and the evaporator compartment 15. The shell 14 is thus made of unfoamed plastic, which has a smaller insulating effect than the insulating layer 8.

The flat, square-shaped sheet evaporator 16 fills the majority of the evaporator chamber 15 and divides it into an inlet volume 17 located before the inflow side 18 of the sheet evaporator 16 and an outlet volume 19 located behind the opposite side of the sheet evaporator 16.

Below the lamella evaporator 16 are mounted: a defrosting heater 38, here in the form of an aluminium plate, the bottom surface of which is substantially equal to the bottom surface of the lamella evaporator 16; and a hot gas line which is fastened on the one hand to the aluminum plate and which is clamped in a groove in the lower edge of the sheet of the evaporator 16 on the other hand.

A ventilator 20 is arranged in the discharge volume 19 to drive the air circulation through the lamella evaporator 16. The air delivered by the ventilator 20 is distributed to the two

storage chambers

2, 3 via a channel 21 extending in the rear wall of the body 1 and via discharge openings 22 distributed along the channel 21 over the inner container 5.

The air heated in the storage chamber 2 flows back into the evaporator chamber 15 via opposite passages 24 in the side wall 23 of the body 1, a pipe 25 extending in said side wall, a pipe 26 of the intermediate wall 4 plugged into said pipe, and an opening 27 at the upper side of the inlet volume 17. The aisles 24 are positioned on the side walls in a height in which they are not blocked by drawers 28 arranged in a conventional manner on the bottom of the storage compartment 2.

The air heated in the second storage chamber 3 is returned to the evaporator chamber 15 via openings 29 which are provided in the end wall 30 of the housing 14 facing the door 11 and/or between the upper edge of the end wall 30 and the intermediate wall 4. These openings 29 are distributed over the entire width of the housing 14 and of the evaporator 16 arranged therein, so that the gas flow from the second storage chamber 2 is also distributed uniformly over the entire width of the inflow side 18.

As is apparent from the sectional view in fig. 2, the openings 27 which are connected to the first storage chamber 2 are each located at a lateral end of the inlet volume 17. When the air flows through the

openings

27 and 29 meet in the inlet volume 17 in an uncontrolled manner, it is then to be taken into account that the relatively humid air flowing in via the opening 27 flows through the evaporator 16 substantially only in a side region of the evaporator which is located directly behind the opening 27 and which thus frosts substantially more quickly than in a central region of the evaporator 16 which is flowed through substantially only by the air flow from the storage chamber 3. To prevent this, the inlet volume 17 is divided over its entire width by guide ribs 31 which, as can be seen in fig. 2, extend horizontally in the width direction of the body 1 from one side wall 23 of the body 1 toward the other side wall and which extend in the depth direction from a front wall 32 of the inlet volume 17 as far as close to the inflow side 18. The front wall 32 is formed in the lower region by the end wall 30 of the housing 14, and above the guide ribs 31 by the flanks of the insulating layer 8. The guide ribs 31 divide the inlet volume 17 into: an upper sub-chamber 33 in which the air flowing in from the storage chamber 2 can be distributed over the entire width of the inlet volume 17 without being impeded by the air flow caused by the second storage chamber 3; and a lower partial chamber 35, which is located between the guide rib 31 and the floor 34 of the housing 14, in which the air flow from the second storage chamber 3 is guided horizontally in a substantially laminar flow and a dynamic underpressure is generated between the inflow side 18 and the rear edge of the guide rib 31 opposite the inflow side, by means of which underpressure air is drawn out of the upper partial chamber 33 and sucked through the evaporator 16.

As can also be seen in fig. 2, the lamellae 36 of the lamella evaporator 16 are each oriented transversely to the guide ribs 31. Each single sheet 36 is thus subjected in its upper region mainly to air coming from the storage compartment 2 and in its lower region mainly to air coming from the storage compartment 3. This results in, though: in operation, the frost layer on the upper part of the foil 36 grows slightly faster than on the lower part, but this uneven frost-up at best results in a slight downward displacement of the air flow in the evaporator chamber 15 and thus has no great influence on the distribution of the cooling power to the two

storage chambers

2, 3. Further, since heat is quickly and efficiently transferred from the defrosting heater 38 into each sheet 36 during defrosting, a small temperature gradient occurs at most even if the sheet 36 requires a longer time to defrost in its upper region than in its lower region when the evaporator 16 defrosts. Thereby ensuring rapid and energy-efficient defrosting.

In the configuration of fig. 1, the guide rib 31 is shown as a separate member which is fixed to the underside of the intermediate wall 4. In the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 3, the guide rib 31 is an integral component of the housing 14, which projects from the upper edge of the end wall 30 into the entry volume 17 and is anchored to a plate, here designated by 37, which covers the insulating layer 8.

In an alternative embodiment shown in fig. 4, the guide rib 31 is an integral component of the insulating layer 8.

List of reference numerals

1 body 21 channel

2 storage chamber 22 discharge opening

3 side wall of storage chamber 23

4 intermediate wall 24 aisle

5 inner container 25 piping

6 outer skin 26 pipeline

7 opening of heat insulation layer 27

8 thermal insulation layer 28 drawer

9 upper side 29 opening

10 door 30 side wall

11 door 31 guide rib

12 end side 32 front wall

13 front region 33 upper subchamber

14 case 34 bottom plate

15 evaporator chamber 35 lower sub-chamber

16-sheet evaporator 36 sheet

17 into volume 37 plate

18 heater for defrosting on inflow side 38

19 volume of discharge

20 air ventilator

Claims

1. A refrigerator having a first storage chamber (2) and a second storage chamber (3), an evaporator chamber (15) which is arranged in a separating wall (4) between the storage chambers (2, 3) and is separated from the first storage chamber (2) by a heat insulating layer (8) and from the second storage chamber (3) by a housing (14), and an evaporator (16) which is arranged in the evaporator chamber (15), wherein the storage chambers (2, 3) are cooled by air exchange with the evaporator chamber (15), wherein an inlet volume (17) which is connected to the first storage chamber (2) via a first intake opening (27) and to the second storage chamber (3) via a second intake opening (29) is emptied in the evaporator chamber (15) before an inflow side (18) of the evaporator (16), wherein a guide rib (31) extends in the inlet volume (17) in the longitudinal direction of the inflow side (18) and from a wall (32) opposite the inflow side (18) towards the inflow side (18), and wherein the inlet volume (17) is divided into two sub-chambers (33, 35) extending longitudinally along the inflow side (18), wherein the first and second suction openings (27, 29) are arranged on different sides of the guide rib (31), and wherein the second suction opening (29) is opposite the inflow side (18) in a second sub-chamber (35), wherein the first suction opening (27) is arranged at a longitudinal end of the first sub-chamber (22), and wherein the guide rib hinders turbulent mixing of the air flows from the first and second storage chambers in the inlet volume.

2. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the lamellae (36) of the evaporator (16) are oriented transversely to the guide ribs (31).

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shell (14) forms at least a part of a wall (32) of the inlet volume (17) opposite the inflow side (18), and in that the second suction opening (29) is arranged in the shell (14) or between the shell (14) and the thermally insulating layer (8).

4. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first suction opening (27) is connected to the first storage chamber (2) by a line (26) which extends through the thermally insulating layer (8).

5. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide rib (31) is constructed integrally with the shell (14).

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide rib (31) is constructed integrally with the insulation layer (8).

7. The refrigerator appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a ventilator (20) is arranged to drive the air exchange with both storage compartments (2, 3) simultaneously.

8. A cold appliance according to claim 7, wherein the air flow through the second suction opening (29) is larger than the air flow through the first suction opening (27).

9. A refrigerator appliance as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 8, wherein said refrigerator appliance is a domestic refrigerator appliance.