CN110131947B

CN110131947B - Drying chamber subassembly and air-cooled refrigerator that has it

Info

Publication number: CN110131947B
Application number: CN201810129738.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王宁; 任树飞; 王萌; 杨发林
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Co Ltd
Current assignee: Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-02-08
Filing date: 2018-02-08
Publication date: 2020-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 2038-02-08
Also published as: CN110131947A

Abstract

The invention provides a drying chamber component, which is arranged in a storage chamber of a refrigerator, consists of a drawer type sealed container and comprises: the drawer body is used for accommodating articles to be stored, has an upward top opening and is configured to be controllably pulled out of or pushed into the storage compartment; the drawer door is arranged at the front end of the drawer body and used for pushing and pulling the drawer body; the drawer upper cover is arranged above the drawer body so as to close the top opening when the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage compartment and define a drying space together with the drawer body and the drawer door; wherein the drawer body is provided at a lateral side thereof with an air inlet configured to supply an air flow to the drying space. According to the drying chamber assembly, the opening at the top of the drawer body is directly covered and sealed through the upper drawer cover, so that an independent sealed drying space is formed inside the drawer body, structures such as a drawer cylinder and the like do not need to be additionally arranged, the assembly of the drying chamber assembly is simplified, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Description

Drying chamber subassembly and air-cooled refrigerator that has it

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of storage devices, in particular to a drying chamber assembly and an air-cooled refrigerator with the same.

Background

With consumer expectations for a healthier lifestyle, dry food materials such as lycium barbarum, tea leaves, shiitake mushrooms, longan, cordyceps sinensis, etc. have gradually increased specific gravity in dietary structures. However, these dry food materials are very difficult to store and need to be stored in a special dry room in the refrigerator compartment. The existing drying chamber component has a complex structure and occupies a large volume of the refrigerator, and the space in the refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator cannot be effectively utilized. How to simultaneously meet the long-term storage requirement of special articles and reduce the influence on the existing volume of the refrigerator as much as possible is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to address the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art by providing a drying chamber assembly that is simple in construction.

A further object of the present invention is to improve the sealing of the drying chamber components and provide an environment suitable for long-term storage of dry food materials.

Another further object of the present invention is to provide an air-cooled refrigerator having a drying chamber, thereby further providing an environment suitable for long-term preservation of dry food materials.

In particular, the present invention provides a drying chamber assembly provided in a storage compartment of a refrigerator, the drying chamber assembly being composed of a drawer-type sealed container, including:

the drawer body is used for accommodating articles to be stored, has an upward top opening and is configured to be controllably pulled out of or pushed into the storage compartment;

the drawer door is arranged at the front end of the drawer body and used for pushing and pulling the drawer body; and

the drawer upper cover is arranged above the drawer body so as to close the top opening when the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage compartment, and defines a drying space together with the drawer body and the drawer door; wherein

The drawer body is provided at a lateral side thereof with an air inlet configured to supply air to the drying space.

Furthermore, a partition cover plate which is horizontally arranged is arranged in the storage chamber, so that the inner space of the storage chamber is divided into an upper area and a lower area;

the drawer upper cover is movably arranged below the partition cover plate and is configured to be controlled to move vertically along with the movement of the drawer body along the depth direction.

Furthermore, a pair of slideways with opposite openings, which are oppositely arranged and extend along the depth direction, are formed on the chamber plate walls at the two transverse sides of the storage chamber; and

the drawer body is provided with a back plate, a bottom plate and two side plates, wherein the bottom plate is combined with the back plate at the rear end of each drawer body, and the two side plates are respectively positioned at the two transverse sides; and is

The top outer sides of the two side plates are provided with two side convex strips extending along the depth direction, and the two side convex strips are configured to be movably embedded in the pair of slide ways respectively.

Further, the drying chamber assembly further comprises:

a sealing member configured to be disposed at a front end of a lower surface of the divisional cover plate in a lateral direction, the sealing member being configured such that a gap exists between at least a partial region thereof and the divisional cover plate; wherein

The front end of the drawer upper cover is arranged in a gap between the sealing piece and the partition cover plate, and the gap is configured to allow the drawer upper cover to move vertically in the gap;

the rear end of the lower surface of the partition cover plate is provided with a plurality of limiting rings, and the rear end of the drawer cover plate is provided with a plurality of limiting hooks which are configured to be hung on the limiting rings respectively along the vertical movement.

Furthermore, the bottom surface of each side protruding strip is provided with two sliding protrusions protruding downwards, and the sliding protrusions are respectively and continuously in sliding contact with the slide ways in the process that the drawer body is pulled out of or pushed into the storage compartment; and

two sliding protrusions on each side protruding strip are configured to be arranged at the rear part of the side protruding strip at intervals, and the lowest protruding part of one sliding protrusion which is relatively close to the front part is configured to be a plane structure.

Further, the drawer body is configured to abut against the drawer upper cover when being pushed into the storage compartment, so that the drawer upper cover moves vertically upward.

Furthermore, the two transverse sides and the rear part of the upper drawer cover are downwards protruded to form continuous abutting parts, and the abutting parts are configured to abut against the upper ends of the rear back plate and the side plates when the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage compartment.

Further, a mounting plate extending in a transverse direction is formed at a front end of the sealing member;

the drying chamber assembly further comprises:

and the drawer seal is arranged on the mounting plate, so that the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage compartment and is abutted against the inner side of the drawer door.

Further, the drawer upper cover is made of PVC material.

The invention also provides an air-cooled refrigerator, which comprises a freezing chamber, a refrigerating chamber and the drying chamber assembly according to any one of the above parts,

the refrigerating chamber is the storage compartment, the drying chamber assembly is arranged in the lower space in the refrigerating chamber, the air-cooled refrigerator further comprises an air duct assembly arranged on a compartment plate wall at the transverse side part of the refrigerating chamber, and the air duct assembly comprises:

the outer cover shell is configured to be fixed on the outer side of the chamber plate wall, and an outer cavity is defined in the outer cover shell;

an inner housing disposed opposite the outer housing and disposed inside the compartment wall, the inner housing defining an interior cavity therein; wherein

The outer cover casing is provided with an air inlet which is configured to be controlled to be communicated with the freezing chamber so as to allow air in the freezing chamber to enter the outer cavity through the air inlet, the partition wall of the outer cover casing is provided with a vent so as to enable the outer cavity to be communicated with the inner cavity, and the inner cover casing is provided with an air outlet so as to supply the air in the inner cavity to the inside of the refrigerating chamber;

the air inlet is configured to be in direct abutment with the air outlet when the drawer body is fully pushed into the refrigerating chamber, so as to controllably supply the cooling air flow in the freezing chamber into the drying space inside the refrigerating chamber via the air duct assembly.

The drying space is limited by the drawer body, the drawer door and the drawer upper cover which are matched with each other, and then the independent drying space is formed by the contact sealing of the drawer body, the drawer door and the drawer upper cover. The airflow inlet is directly arranged on the drawer body to directly supply the drying airflow to the interior of the drawer body for accommodating articles, a drawer cylinder is not required to be arranged, the assembly of components in the drying chamber is simplified, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Further, the drawer upper cover of the present invention can be vertically moved with the change of the push-in or pull-out state of the drawer body. When the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage chamber, the upper cover of the drawer is stably overlapped on the drawer body under the action of self gravity and the pushing force of the drawer body on the drawer body, so that the top opening of the drawer body is sealed.

Furthermore, the air-cooled refrigerator directly utilizes the cooling air flow in the freezing chamber to realize dehumidification and drying of the drying space in the freezing chamber through the specially arranged air duct assembly, so that the drying chamber has lower relative humidity and lower temperature, the low-temperature and low-humidity environment is particularly suitable for storing dry goods, and the dry goods can be prevented from being wetted and the nutritional ingredients of the dry goods can be ensured.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Some specific embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter, by way of illustration and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar elements or components. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an air duct assembly and a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded view of a duct assembly and a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a compartment having a zoned cover plate disposed therein according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a sectional cover and a drawer top according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side schematic view of a seal and a drawer seal according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side schematic view of a drawer seal according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic exploded view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7a is a schematic, partially enlarged view of the drawer body of the drying chamber assembly of FIG. 7, showing a snap-fit arrangement at an upper portion of the front end of the drawer body;

FIG. 7b is a schematic, partially enlarged view of the drawer body of the drying chamber assembly of FIG. 7, showing a snap-fit arrangement at a lower portion of the front end of the drawer body;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional exploded view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic ductwork diagram with the rotary damper closed for an air-cooled refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic air duct system diagram with the rotary damper open for an air-cooled refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic exploded view of a compartment with an air duct assembly installed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a drawer body according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an air duct assembly and a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded view of a duct assembly and a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a compartment having a zoned cover plate disposed therein according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The drying chamber assembly may be generally disposed in a storage compartment 10 of a storage device such as a refrigerator. The drying chamber assembly may be composed of a drawer type hermetic container including a drawer body 400, a drawer door 500, and a drawer upper cover 600. The drawer body 400 may have a cavity for receiving the articles to be stored and a top opening. The drawer body 400 may be configured to be controllably pulled out of or pushed into the storage compartment 10 for access by a user. The drawer door 500 may be disposed at the front end of the drawer body 400 for pushing and pulling the drawer body 400. The drawer door 500 may be integrally formed with the drawer body 400, or may be detachably coupled to the drawer body by means of a snap-fit connection or other connection. In particular, the drawer upper 600 may be disposed above the drawer body 400 to close the top opening when the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the storage compartment 10 and to define a dry space together with the drawer body 400 and the drawer door 500. Further, the lateral side of the drawer body 400 is provided with an air flow inlet 4001 configured to provide an air flow to the drying space. The drawer body 400 may have a rear back plate 402 and a bottom plate 403 coupled to the rear back plate 402 at respective rear ends thereof and two side plates 401 at both lateral sides thereof, respectively. An air flow inlet 4001 of the drying chamber for ventilation may be provided on the side plate 401 of the drawer body 400.

The drying space of the present invention is defined by the drawer body 400, the drawer door 500 and the drawer upper cover 600 which are cooperatively disposed, and thus, an independent drying space is formed by the contact sealing of the three. The air inlet 4001 is directly opened on the drawer body 400 to directly supply the dry air to the inside of the drawer body 400 accommodating the articles without providing a drawer cylinder, simplifying the assembly of the components of the drying chamber and reducing the manufacturing cost.

Referring to fig. 3, a partition cover 900 is horizontally disposed in the storage compartment 10 to partition an inner space of the storage compartment 10 into upper and lower two regions. The drawer top is movably disposed under the partition cover 900 and configured to be controlled to move vertically with the movement of the drawer body in the depth direction.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a sectional cover and a drawer top according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the partition cover 900 may be provided with a snap structure 901 on both lateral sides, and a corresponding engagement structure may be provided on a wall of the storage compartment, so that the partition cover 900 may be directly fixed to the storage compartment by a push-in snap manner. Further, both lateral sides and the rear end of the partition cover 900 are configured to abut against the compartment panel walls at both lateral sides and the rear portion of the storage compartment, thereby enhancing the sealing performance of the upper and lower regions when the front side door body of the storage compartment is closed.

FIG. 5 is a side schematic view of a seal and a drawer seal according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a side schematic view of a drawer seal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Specifically, the drying chamber assembly may further include a sealing member 907 configured to be disposed at a front end of a lower surface of the partition cover plate 900 in a lateral direction, and the sealing member 907 is configured such that a gap exists between at least a partial region thereof and the partition cover plate 900. The front end of the drawer top is disposed in a gap between the seal 907 and the sectional cover 900, and the gap is configured to allow the drawer top to move vertically. Further, the rear end of the lower surface of the partition cover 900 is provided with a plurality of limiting rings 902, and the rear end of the drawer upper cover is provided with a plurality of limiting hooks 609 configured to be hung on the plurality of limiting rings 902 respectively in a vertically movable manner.

In some embodiments, when the drawer top is inserted into the gap between the sealing member 907 and the partitioned cover 900, the front end of the drawer top may collide with the joint between the sealing member 907 and the partitioned cover 900, so as to limit the movement of the drawer top in the depth direction, and prevent the drawer top from moving forward along with the push and pull of the drawer body. Further, the spacing hook 609 may have a first extension portion extending in a front-rear direction to pass through and overlap the spacing ring 902, and may further have a second extension portion vertically extending downward from a rear end of the first extension portion to prevent the drawer upper cover from moving forward along with the drawer body, and to prevent the spacing hook 609 from unhooking.

In some embodiments, the lateral sides and the rear portion of the drawer upper cover 600 are formed with continuous abutting portions 611 protruding downward, and the abutting portions 611 are configured to abut against the upper ends of the back plate 402 and the side plates 401 when the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the storage compartment. The limit hook 609 is disposed outside the abutting portion 611 at the rear portion of the drawer upper cover 600, and when the limit hook 609 is hooked on the limit ring 902, the abutting portion 611 at the rear portion of the drawer upper cover 600 and the second extending portion can be respectively located at the front side and the rear side of the limit ring 902, so as to prevent the drawer upper cover 600 from moving backwards along with the drawer body 40.

Further, the continuous abutting portion 611 causes the drawer body to abut the drawer upper cover 600 when it is pushed into the storage compartment 10, and pushes the drawer upper cover 600 upward, so that the drawer upper cover 600 moves vertically upward. When the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the storage compartment 10, the drawer upper cover 600 is stably overlapped on the drawer body 400 under the action of self gravity and the pushing force of the drawer body 400 to the drawer body, so that the top opening of the drawer body 400 is sealed.

In some embodiments, the drawer top is made of PVC material to make the drawer top lighter in weight. Therefore, the frictional resistance between the drawer upper cover 600 and the drawer body 400 is smaller in the process of pushing and pulling the drawer body 400, so that the user can push and pull the drawer body 400 conveniently, and the noise generated in the process of pushing and pulling is greatly reduced.

Fig. 7 is a schematic exploded view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention.

In some embodiments, the top outer sides of the two side plates 401 have two side tabs 4010 extending in the depth direction. A pair of opposite slideways 110 with openings extending along the depth direction and arranged oppositely can be formed on the chamber plate wall 11 at two lateral sides of the storage chamber 10. In particular, the compartment panel wall 11 may be an inner container defining the storage compartment 10 of the refrigerator. The two side protruding strips 4010 of the drawer body 400 are configured to be movably inserted into the pair of sliding rails 110, respectively, thereby enabling the drawer body 400 to be moved in and out with respect to the storage compartment 10.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the side bars 4010 may be composed of an upper side bar 4010a disposed flush with the top of the side plate 401 and a lower side bar 4010b located below the upper side bar 4010 a. Further, a plurality of vertically extending reinforcing ribs 4010c are provided between the upper lateral strips 4010a and the lower lateral strips 4010b at intervals in the depth direction to enhance the structural strength and stability of the lateral convex strips 4010. In some embodiments, the upper side bar 4010a may be configured to have the same surface extension shape as the lower surface of the abutment portion 611 at both sides of the drawer upper cover 600, thereby achieving a better sealing effect.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the bottom surface of each side protrusion 4010 has two sliding protrusions 4011 protruding downward, and the sliding protrusions 4011 are continuously in sliding contact with the sliding rails 110 during the process of drawing or pushing the drawer body 400 into or out of the locker room 10, respectively. The two sliding protrusions 4011 on each side convex strip 4010 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other at the rear of the side convex strip 4010, and the lowest projection of the slide protrusion 4011 located relatively forward is disposed in a planar structure.

That is, the lower lateral strip 4010b may be downwardly protruded to form a plurality of sliding protrusions 4011. Specifically, the lower side bar 4010b of each side bar 4010 may be protrudingly formed with two sliding protrusions 4011, respectively, a circular arc sliding protrusion 4011 located at a rear end portion of the side bar 4010 and a planar sliding protrusion 4011 located at a front side of the circular arc sliding protrusion 4011, thereby ensuring stable and smooth movement of the drawer body 400 while reducing a contact point of the side bar 4010 with the slide rail 110 to reduce sliding frictional resistance.

Fig. 8 is a side view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 9 is a side cross-sectional exploded view of a drying chamber assembly according to one embodiment of the invention.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a front end of the sealing member 907 is formed with a mounting plate 9070 extending in a transverse direction, and the drying chamber assembly may further include a drawer seal 700. The drawer seal 700 is configured to be mounted to the mounting plate 9070 to abut against the inside of the drawer door 500 when the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the storage compartment 10. The mounting plate 9070 may be multi-sectional or integrated, and the drawer seal 700 may be made of an elastic material.

The drawer seal 700 may include a seal mounting portion 701 for being snapped to the mounting plate 9070, and a seal abutting portion 702 located on a front side of the seal mounting portion 701. The seal abutting portion 702 is formed in a hollow tubular shape, and is formed in a flat surface on the side close to the seal attaching portion 701, and has an arc shape on the side abutting against the drawer door 500. That is, the seal abutment 702 has a generally "D" shaped cross-section. When the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the storage compartment 10, the seal abutment 702 is pressed by the partition cover 900 and the drawer door 500 and closes the gap between the drawer door 500 and the drawer body 400 and between the drawer door 500 and the partition cover 900. The seal mounting portion 701 has a groove shape opened rearward, that is, has two plate-like mounting bars 701a in parallel. The inner sides of the two plate-shaped mounting bars 701a may be provided with a plurality of inclined beads 701 b. The antislip strip 701b is disposed to extend obliquely from the side of the opening of the strip mounting portion 701 on the inner side surface of each mounting strip 701a toward the side of the seal abutting portion 702, so that the seal mounting portion 701 is engaged with the mounting plate 9070 and is prevented from falling off from the mounting plate 9070.

Referring to fig. 7a and 7b, in some embodiments, the front end of the side plate 401 of the drawer body 400 has a vertically extending front tab 4020 protruding towards the outside, the front tab 4020 being configured such that its upper end is fixedly connected to the front end of the side tab 4010 outside the upper end of the side plate 401. In some further embodiments, both front tabs 4020 and side tabs 4010 may be integrally formed with side panel 401 to enhance structural strength. In a further embodiment, the front end of the bottom plate 403 of the drawer body 400 may be formed with a bottomed convex strip 4030 protruding forward. The bottom protrusion 4030, the front protrusion 4020, and the side protrusion 4010 may be integrally formed with the side plate 401.

The front end surfaces of the front protruding strips 4020 and the bottom protruding strips 4030 can be provided with continuous clamping grooves 4023 with forward openings. The drawer door 500 may include a door panel body 501 and a door handle 502 located on an upper portion of an outer surface of the door panel body 501. The inner side surface of the door panel body 501 may be outwardly protruded to form a card strip 5011, and the card strip 5011 is configured to be continuously extended along both side edges and a bottom edge of the drawer door 500. Thus, the drawer door 500 may be directly snap-mounted to the front end of the drawer body 400 through the snap strip 5011.

Furthermore, a plurality of wedge-shaped protrusions can be arranged on the clamping strip 5011 at the lower part of the inner surface of the door body 501 at intervals, and a plurality of through holes can be correspondingly arranged on the groove wall of the clamping groove 4023 of the bottom convex strip 4030. Therefore, when the drawer door 500 is installed at the front end of the drawer body 400, the wedge-shaped protrusions on the clamping strip 5011 can be clamped in the through holes on the clamping grooves 4023, and the drawer door 500 is prevented from being separated from the drawer body 400. Specifically, a plurality of wedge-shaped protrusions may be provided on the bottom surface of the card bar 5011, and a plurality of through holes may be provided on the lower sidewall of the card slot 4023 to ensure the sealability of the dry space.

In some embodiments, the upper ends of the clip strips 5011 located at both sides of the door panel body 501 have clip blocks 5013 located away from the door panel body 501. That is, a space is left between the latch 5013 and the door panel body 501. The catching block 5013 is disposed to protrude from an upper end portion of the catching bar 5011 toward a lateral center face of the door plate body 501. Correspondingly, clamping cavities 4013 can be formed above the front protruding strips 4020 at the two sides of the drawer body 400, and are configured to enable the clamping blocks 5013 to extend from bottom to top and be clamped in the clamping cavities. Thereby, the stability of the connection between the drawer door 500 and the drawer body 400 is further improved. In addition, the drying chamber component is in embedded connection with the clamping groove 4023 through the clamping strip 5011, so that a gap between the drawer door 500 and the drawer body 400 is avoided, and the sealing performance of the drying chamber component is enhanced.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the drawer door 500 has an inclination angle when being mounted at the front end of the drawer body 400. Specifically, front end surfaces of both side plates 401 of the drawer body 400 are configured to extend obliquely rearward from bottom to top, so that the drawer door 500 is obliquely rearward when mounted on the drawer body 400. Further, a door handle 502 extending in a lateral direction is formed at an upper end outer side of the drawer door 500, and is disposed such that a front surface of the door handle 502 is substantially located at the same vertical plane as a bottom of the door panel body 501. That is, the bottom space inside the drawer body 400 is larger than the top space thereof, so that the articles therein can be stacked and placed conveniently, and the door handle 502 can provide a holding portion spanning the lateral width of the entire drawer door 500, so that the user can pull the drawer body 400, while the drawer door 500 disposed to be inclined backward can also avoid interference with the door body for opening and closing the storage compartment 10.

The drying chamber assembly can be arranged in a common storage chamber 10, is also suitable for being arranged in the storage chamber 10 of a refrigerator, and is particularly suitable for being arranged in a refrigerating chamber of an air-cooled refrigerator. That is, when the drying chamber assembly is disposed within the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator, the fresh food compartment is preferably the storage compartment 10 that houses the drying chamber assembly.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the duct system with the rotary damper closed for an air-cooled refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the duct system with the rotary damper open for an air-cooled refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The invention also provides an air-cooled refrigerator with the drying chamber assembly. Specifically, the air-cooled refrigerator may generally include a refrigerating compartment 10a and a freezing compartment 10 b. A refrigerating chamber door 10a 'and a freezing chamber door 10 b' are provided at front openings of the refrigerating chamber 10a and the freezing chamber 10b, respectively, to open or close the refrigerating chamber 10a and the freezing chamber 10b, respectively. The refrigerating compartment 10a may be disposed laterally adjacent to the freezing compartment 10 b. Or the refrigerating chamber 10a is disposed at a side of the freezing chamber 10b, and a partition is disposed between the refrigerating chamber 10a and the freezing chamber 10 b. The partition may be composed of a partition wall 11 on the side of the refrigerating compartment 10a, a partition wall on the side of the freezing compartment 10b, and a foamed layer therebetween.

As can be understood by those skilled in the art, the air-cooled refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a refrigeration cycle system and an air duct. The refrigeration cycle system may include, for example, a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element, and an evaporator. The air-cooled refrigerator may further include a fan 12 disposed in the air duct, wherein the fan 12 is configured to blow the air flow cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator toward the refrigerating chamber 10a and/or the freezing chamber 10 b.

Further, a drying chamber 40 having an independent drying space, which is constituted by a drying chamber assembly, may be disposed in the lower space of the refrigerating chamber 10 a. The drying principle of the drying chamber 40 is: after the gas cooled by the cold source is sent into a closed environment with a relatively high temperature, the temperature of the gas gradually rises in the closed space along with the low-temperature gas, so that the relative humidity is reduced, and the drying effect is effectively formed.

Generally, the refrigerating compartment 10a stores food such as fruits and vegetables therein, so that the relative humidity in the refrigerating compartment 10a is high. The upper space of the refrigerating compartment 10a may have a higher relative humidity than the lower space thereof. The provision of the drying chamber 40 in the upper space of the refrigerating chamber 10a (i.e., in the upper half of the space of the refrigerating chamber 10a) is disadvantageous for maintaining the dried state in the drying chamber 40. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, it is preferable to dispose the drying chamber 40 in the lower space inside the refrigerating chamber 10 a; in other words, the drying chamber 40 is disposed in the lower half space inside the refrigerating chamber 10 a.

In some embodiments, a ventilation opening 10c is provided on a partition between the refrigerating compartment 10a and the freezing compartment 10b to controllably supply a cooling air flow in a lower portion of the freezing compartment 10b to an inside of the drying compartment 40 within the refrigerating compartment 10a through the ventilation opening 10 c. The air-cooled refrigerator is further provided with an air duct assembly arranged at the ventilation opening 10c, so that the drying space in the drying chamber 40 is controllably communicated with the freezing chamber 10b, and then cooling air flow in the freezing chamber 10b enters the drying space to achieve dehumidification and drying.

FIG. 12 is a schematic exploded view of a compartment with an air duct assembly installed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 12, the duct assembly may include an outer casing 200 and an inner casing 300. The outer shroud shell 200 is configured to be fixed to an outer side of the compartment panel wall 11 defining the compartment (i.e., the refrigerating compartment 10a), and the outer shroud shell 200 internally defines an external receiving chamber. The inner housing 300 is disposed opposite to the outer housing 200 at the inner side of the partition wall 11, and the inner housing 300 internally defines an inner cavity.

Further, an air inlet 2010 may be formed in the outer casing 200 and configured to be in controlled communication with the external environment to allow air in the external environment to enter the external cavity through the air inlet 2010. A vent 123 may be formed in the partition wall 11 to communicate the outer and inner chambers. The inner cover 300 is provided with an air inlet grill 3010, on which an air outlet 3020 is formed to supply air in the inner chamber to the inside of the compartment. That is, the outer and inner sides of the partition wall 11 are respectively provided with an outer shroud 200 and an inner shroud 300 defining a part of the air supply space.

The air duct assembly disclosed by the invention does not need to be attached to an additional auxiliary structure, can be conveniently and quickly installed on a plate body with an air flow through hole at will, and further can be installed at any position of any compartment along with the plate body and supplies external air flow for the compartment.

Specifically, in some embodiments, the outer casing 200 has an outer sidewall 201 with the air inlet 2010 opened therein and an outer sidewall 202 extending perpendicularly from a peripheral side edge of the outer sidewall 201, and the outer casing 200 is configured to shield the ventilation opening 123 from the outside of the partition wall 11. The projection of the outer surface of the outer peripheral wall 202 on the plane of the compartment wall 11 is located outside the ventilation opening 123, and the projection of the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 202 on the plane of the compartment wall 11 falls into the ventilation opening 123.

That is, the outer peripheral wall 202 of the outer shroud shell 200 has a thickness (see fig. 2 and 12) to press both the inner area and the outer area of the ventilation opening 123, thereby ensuring a sealing effect between the outer peripheral wall 202 and the partition wall 11 and preventing the partition wall 11 from being exposed to the flow path from the outer receptacle to the inner receptacle, thereby preventing the partition wall 11 from being directly impacted by the airflow.

The outer cover shell 200 and the inner cover shell 300 for forming the air duct component are correspondingly and respectively arranged on two sides of the same plate body, so that the whole structure of the air duct component is more compact, and the required installation space is smaller. Meanwhile, the air duct assembly can also avoid the direct impact of the transmitted airflow on the plate body.

Preferably, the outer duct 200 is provided on the compartment panel wall 11 of the refrigerating compartment 10a on a side close to the freezing compartment 10b, and may be fixed by a foaming layer. Further, a plurality of positioning grooves may be formed on the partition wall 11. A plurality of positioning posts may be correspondingly disposed on the inner duct 300 to facilitate positioning of the inner duct 300 on the compartment plate wall 11. It will be appreciated that the storage compartment 10 is, in this embodiment, the cold storage compartment 10a of an air-cooled refrigerator. The outer duct 200 is provided at an outer side of the compartment panel wall at a lateral side of the refrigerating compartment 10 a.

Further, the outer casing 200 may be made of a material such as heat insulating foam. Further, in the installation process, the outer casing 200 may be first attached to the partition wall 11 by a sponge strip, and the outer side thereof may be attached with a sponge strip and a sealing strip, and then the outer casing 200 is fixed in the foaming layer and isolated from the foaming material along with the foaming process. Accordingly, the inner housing 300 can be first fixed in its installation position by means of a plurality of correspondingly arranged positioning posts and positioning grooves and then fixed to the compartment plate wall 11 by means of a connecting piece.

Referring to fig. 2 and 12, in some embodiments, the air duct assembly includes a damper assembly. The damper assembly is disposed inside the outer casing 200 to be controlled to connect or block the air supply path from the air inlet 2010 to the air vent 123. Specifically, the damper assembly includes a damper frame 2032a and a rotary damper 2032 b. The wind door frame 2032a may be disposed in the outer cavity. The rotary damper 2032b is configured to be pivotably mounted to the inside of the damper frame 2032a, and is configured to be controllably rotated to an open position to communicate the air supply path from the inlet 2010 to the vent 123, and to be controllably rotated to a closed position to block the air supply path from the inlet 2010 to the vent 123. That is, the damper assembly is configured to be integrally removably mounted within the air duct assembly to simplify assembly of the air duct assembly. Specifically, the outer casing 200 may be first fixedly installed with the foaming layer, then the damper assembly may be directly installed in the outer receptacle from the inside of the refrigerating compartment, and finally the inner casing 300 is fastened to the inside of the compartment wall 11 of the refrigerating compartment to complete the assembly.

When the drying chamber 40 does not need to supply air, the rotary damper 2032b is closed, the cooling air flow inside the freezing chamber 10b does not flow into the drying chamber 40, and the air path in the refrigerator flows as shown in fig. 3 (in the figure, the solid arrow indicates the air supply direction, and the dotted arrow indicates the air return direction); when the drying chamber 40 needs to be supplied with air, the rotary damper 2032b is opened, part of the cooling air flow inside the freezing chamber 10b flows into the drying chamber 40, and the air path in the refrigerator flows to see fig. 4. The opening of the air inlet can also be adjusted by rotating the air door 2032 b. Specifically, when the drying chamber 40 requires a large amount of air, the rotary damper 2032b adjusts the opening degree of the air supply opening of the damper assembly large, and when the drying chamber 40 requires a small amount of air, the rotary damper 2032b adjusts the opening degree of the air supply opening of the damper assembly small.

Further, a freezing side damper (not shown) may be provided on a panel wall of the lateral side of the freezing chamber 10b to control opening and closing of a path of a cooling air flow in the freezing chamber 10b toward a drying chamber assembly in the refrigerating chamber 10a in cooperation with the air duct assembly.

In some embodiments, the outer casing 200 has a partition 203 extending convexly from the outer sidewall 201 toward the partition wall 11 to divide the outer cavity into an upper electrical distribution cavity 2031 and a lower supply cavity 2032. In this embodiment, the damper frame 2032a is configured to be fitted into the blowing cavity 2032, and the inlet 2010 is disposed on the partition wall 11 at a position opposite to the blowing cavity 2032. The damper assembly may be an electrically controlled damper assembly, and the electrical control device in the electrically controlled damper assembly is disposed in the electrical distribution cavity 2031.

That is, both the electrical distribution cavity 2031 and the blowing cavity 2032 are completely exposed from the inside of the ventilation opening 123, thereby simplifying the detachment of the damper assembly. In addition, the rotary ventilation part (i.e., the wind door frame 2032a and the rotary wind door 2032b) and the electric control part (i.e., the electric control device) of the wind door assembly are arranged in the two sub-cavities at a distance from each other, thereby making the inspection, maintenance or replacement operation of the wind door assembly easier.

In some embodiments, the inner casing 300 may have an inner side wall 301 and an inner side peripheral wall 302 disposed corresponding to the outer casing 200, and a projection of the inner side peripheral wall 302 on a plane where the partition wall is located outside the ventilation opening. The inner cover also has an annular partition sidewall 3111 extending perpendicularly from the inner sidewall 301, the partition sidewall 3111 projecting on the inner sidewall 301 outside the air intake grille 3010.

The duct assembly also includes an insulating collar 3111a and a sealing collar 3111 b. The heat insulating ring 3111a is made of a heat insulating material and is disposed to be embedded between the inner peripheral wall 302 and the insulating side wall 3111. A sealing ring 3111b is disposed between the insulating ring 3111a and the wall of the compartment plate to seal the gap between the inner cover and the wall of the compartment plate.

That is, the ambient temperature in the refrigerating chamber is prevented from being affected by the cooling airflow flowing into the drying chamber from the freezing chamber side. An insulating ring 3111a for further isolating the cooling gas flow path from the housing of the inner housing is provided inside the inner housing located in the refrigerating chamber. The insulating ring 3111a prevents the cold carried by the cooling air flow from being conducted to the ambient air in the refrigeration compartment and prevents condensation on the inside wall 301 and the inside peripheral wall 302 of the housing, which is the inner casing.

The air flow inlet 4001 for ventilation of the drying chamber may be provided on the side plate 401 of the drawer body 400, thereby being better fitted with the air duct assembly. Specifically, the air inlet 4001 may be configured to be in direct abutment with the air outlet 3020 when the drawer body 400 is fully pushed into the refrigerator compartment, so as to controllably supply the cooling air flow in the freezer compartment into the drying chamber assembly located inside the refrigerator compartment via the air duct assembly.

That is, the inner cover 300 guides the cooling air flow from the freezing chamber to the refrigerating chamber and directly into the drawer body 400 from the lateral side thereof, achieving the cooling air flow supplied into the drying space through a flow path as short as possible. Further, after the drawer body 400 is completely pushed into the refrigerating chamber, the drawer body 400 abuts against the inner cover 300, and the independent sealing of the drying space is achieved through the air inlet 4001 and the air outlet 3020 which are opposite. It should be noted that the separate sealing of the drying space means that there is no air flow exchange other than the controlled communication with the necessary air duct assembly.

The drying chamber assembly of the present invention receives the cooling air stream only through the air stream inlet 4001 and dehumidifies and dries the air therein during the warming of the cooling air stream. That is, the drying space always has a relatively large air pressure during the dehumidifying and drying process, so that the moist air in the refrigerating chamber is prevented from entering the drying space.

Further, in some embodiments, an airflow outlet may be formed on a side plate 401 of the drawer body 400 facing away from the air duct assembly. In this embodiment, when the drying chamber is in the initial drying stage when the air duct assembly is just connected, the air that was in the drawer body 400 before can flow out from the airflow outlet on the other side under the effect of the cooling airflow that continuously flows in, and then promote the circulation of the air in the drying chamber assembly, increase the speed of dehumidification drying.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the air duct assembly of any of the embodiments described above, while particularly suitable for supplying air to a drying chamber in an air-cooled refrigerator, is also suitable for use with other storage devices. Similarly, the drying chamber assembly may also be disposed within some other storage device requiring controlled ventilation in cooperation with the air chute assembly. The use of the air duct assembly and the drying chamber assembly in an air-cooled refrigerator should not be considered limiting of their use in other environments of use.

Thus, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention may be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be understood and interpreted to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A drying chamber assembly provided in a storage compartment of a refrigerator, the drying chamber assembly being composed of a drawer-type sealed container, comprising:

The lateral side of the drawer body is provided with an airflow inlet configured to provide airflow to the drying space;

the storage chamber is internally provided with a partition cover plate which is horizontally arranged so as to divide the internal space of the storage chamber into an upper area and a lower area;

the drawer upper cover is movably arranged below the partition cover plate and is configured to be controlled to move vertically along with the movement of the drawer body along the depth direction;

the drying chamber assembly further comprises:

the rear end of the lower surface of the partition cover plate is provided with a plurality of limiting rings, and the rear end of the drawer upper cover is provided with a plurality of limiting hooks which are configured to be hung on the limiting rings respectively along the vertical movement.

2. The drying chamber assembly of claim 1,

a pair of slideways with opposite openings, which are oppositely arranged and extend along the depth direction, are formed on the chamber plate walls at the two transverse sides of the storage chamber; and

3. The drying chamber assembly of claim 2,

the bottom surface of each side protruding strip is provided with two sliding protrusions protruding downwards, and the sliding protrusions are respectively and continuously in sliding contact with the sliding ways in the process that the drawer body is pulled out of or pushed into the storage compartment; and

4. The drying chamber assembly of claim 2,

the drawer body is configured to abut against the drawer upper cover when being pushed into the storage compartment, so that the drawer upper cover moves upwards along the vertical direction.

5. The drying chamber assembly of claim 4,

the drawer upper cover is characterized in that two transverse sides and the rear part of the drawer upper cover are downwards protruded to form continuous abutting parts, and the abutting parts are configured to abut against the upper ends of the rear back plate and the side plates when the drawer body is completely pushed into the storage compartment.

6. The drying chamber assembly of claim 1,

the front end of the sealing element is provided with a mounting plate extending along the transverse direction;

the drying chamber assembly further comprises:

7. The drying chamber assembly of claim 1,

the drawer upper cover is made of PVC materials.

8. An air-cooled refrigerator comprising a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment, and a drying chamber assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7,