CN110671861A

CN110671861A - Refrigerator and shelf for refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN110671861A
Application number: CN201910129349.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金东宣
Original assignee: Daewoo Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: WiniaDaewoo Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-03
Filing date: 2019-02-21
Publication date: 2020-01-10
Also published as: US20200011595A1; KR20200004214A

Abstract

A refrigerator includes: a main body having one or more storage spaces; one or more doors for opening and closing at least a portion of the storage space; one or more shelves provided in the storage space and in the form of a plate capable of loading food having a predetermined thickness; a cold air supply device for supplying cold air to maintain the storage space at a predetermined temperature; and a multi duct member including a first cool air discharge port for receiving cool air from the cool air supply device, providing the cool air on a rear surface of the storage space, and discharging the cool air. The shelf includes a body formed at an inner side thereof with a flow path through which cool air can flow. One side of the body is formed with a cool air inlet connected to the first cool air discharge port to introduce cool air into the flow path. The other side of the body is provided with a third cool air discharge port for discharging cool air from the flow path to the storage space.

Description

Refrigerator and shelf for refrigerator

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and a shelf for the refrigerator.

Background

The refrigerator may be a device for storing food at a low temperature, and may be configured to store food for freezing or refrigerating according to the type of food to be stored. To this end, the refrigerator may include a cool air supply device implementing a cooling cycle. The cool air supply device is configured to subject the refrigerant to a process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation to generate cool air while the refrigerant circulates in the cooling cycle. Cold air generated from an evaporator of the cold air supply device is supplied to a storage space of the refrigerator, and the cold air supplied to the storage space of the refrigerator circulates by convection so that food inside the refrigerator can be stored under a desired temperature condition. Generally, a main body of a refrigerator has a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose front surface is open. The main body is provided inside with a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber. The front surface of the main body is provided with a refrigerating chamber door and a freezing chamber door for selectively covering the opening.

Such a refrigerator may be broadly classified into: a Top Mount Type (Top Mount-Type) in which a freezing chamber is disposed at an upper Side of a refrigerating chamber, a bottom freezer Type (bottom freezer-Type) in which a freezing chamber is disposed at a lower Side of a refrigerating chamber, and a Side-By-Side Type (Side By Side-Type) in which a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber are disposed in two directions.

On the other hand, in order to retrieve food stored in the refrigerator, a user must open the refrigerating chamber door or the freezing chamber door, whereby hot air outside the refrigerator flows into the inside of the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber. The external air supplied from the outside heats the inside of the refrigerator, and it is necessary to activate the cool air supply device to maintain a proper temperature.

The cool air supplied through such a cool air supply device may be discharged through a multi duct member provided at a rear wall of the refrigerator to circulate the cool air in the inner space of the refrigerating chamber. However, in the conventional multi duct member of the refrigerating chamber, the cool air is always discharged at a predetermined position regardless of the position of the foods stored in the refrigerating chamber. Therefore, there is a problem in that the cool air cannot be supplied efficiently.

Further, since the cool air is supplied only to the cool air discharge ports of the multi-duct member, there are disadvantages in that: it takes a long time to supply cool air to the entire inside of the refrigerator.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure are proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provide a refrigerator and a shelf for the refrigerator that can shorten the time to supply cool air to the entire inside of the refrigerator.

Further, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a refrigerator and a shelf for the refrigerator that efficiently supply cool air to the entire inside of the refrigerator.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including: a main body having one or more storage spaces; one or more doors for opening and closing at least a portion of the storage space; one or more shelves provided in the storage space and in the form of a plate capable of loading food having a predetermined thickness; a cold air supply device for supplying cold air to maintain the storage space at a predetermined temperature; and a multi duct member including a first cool air discharge port for receiving the cool air from the cool air supply device, providing the cool air on a rear surface of the storage space, and discharging the cool air, wherein the shelf includes a body formed at an inner side thereof with a flow path through which the cool air can flow, one side of the body is formed with a cool air inlet connected to the first cool air discharge port to introduce the cool air into the flow path, and the other side of the body is provided with a third cool air discharge port for discharging the cool air from the flow path to the storage space.

This aspect relates to a refrigerator, wherein the first cool air discharge port is provided on a front surface of the multi duct member.

This aspect relates to a refrigerator, wherein the first cool air discharge port protrudes in a front direction thereof and is communicatively connected to the cool air inlet.

The aspect relates to a refrigerator, wherein the multi duct member is formed to be long in a vertical direction of the storage space, and a plurality of the first cool air discharge ports are disposed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the multi duct member.

The aspect relates to a refrigerator, wherein a side surface of the body is connected to an inner side surface of the storage space.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shelf for a refrigerator, the shelf being disposed in a storage space of the refrigerator and connected to a multi-duct part supplied with cool air of a cool air supplying apparatus of the refrigerator, the shelf comprising: a cold air inlet communicatively connected to the multi-duct piece; and a cool air discharge port for discharging the cool air supplied through the cool air inlet, wherein a flow path for discharging the cool air supplied from the multi-duct member to the storage space is formed.

The aspect relates to a shelf in which a plurality of storage spaces are provided, the cool air inlet is provided on a rear surface of the shelf, and the cool air discharge port is provided on a lower surface of the shelf.

This aspect relates to a shelf in which the cool air discharged from the cool air discharge port is supplied to food stored in another shelf provided at a lower portion thereof.

This aspect relates to a shelf, wherein a side surface of the shelf is connected to an inner side surface of the storage space, and the cool air inlet is communicatively connected to the multi duct member.

This aspect relates to a shelf in which the cool air inlet is fitted with a protruding discharge port of the multi-duct member.

In the refrigerator and the shelf for the refrigerator according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is an advantage in that a rate of supplying cool air to the entire inside of the refrigerator may be increased.

Further, there is an effect in that cool air is effectively supplied to the entire inside of the refrigerator.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a general refrigerator;

fig. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-tubing piece and shelf of fig. 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Further, in the following description of the present disclosure, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present disclosure rather unclear.

Further, in the following description, it is understood that the front direction may be a direction toward a front surface side of the refrigerator, the rear direction may be a direction toward a rear surface side of the refrigerator, and the left and right directions may be one-side and the other-side directions.

Fig. 1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a general refrigerator. Specifically, a top mount is shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to fig. 1, a refrigerator 1 is for storing foods in a low temperature state, and may include a main body 10 having

storage spaces

11 and 12 for one or more foods and at least one door 13 and 14 for opening and closing at least a portion of the

storage spaces

11 and 12. As an example, the main body 10 may have a refrigerating chamber 11 and a freezing chamber 12 as storage spaces, and a front surface of the main body 10 may be provided with a refrigerating chamber door 13 for selectively covering the refrigerating chamber 11 and a freezing chamber door 14 for selectively covering the freezing chamber 12.

The refrigerator 1 has a structure in which a freezing chamber 12 is provided at an upper side of a refrigerating chamber 11, and cool air generated in an evaporator 17 provided in a rear direction of an inner casing of a main body 10 may be discharged from a rear surface of the freezing chamber 12.

The refrigerator 1 may include a cool air supply device to supply cool air through a cooling cycle to maintain the storage space at a predetermined temperature, and the cool air supply device may include a compressor, an expansion valve, an evaporator 17, a condenser, and the like.

A compressor and an expansion valve of the cool air supplying apparatus may be provided in a machine room 16 provided at one side of the refrigerator 1. The refrigerant supplied from the machine room 16 may be supplied to the evaporator 17 located in the rear direction of the freezing chamber 12 to generate cold air by passing air through the evaporator 17 and absorbing heat into the refrigerant.

The cool air generated by the evaporator 17 may be discharged to the inner space of the freezing chamber 12 by the fan 18. In this case, a part of the cool air discharged from the fan 18 may be guided to the refrigerating chamber 11 side by the guide plate 18 a. The cool air guided by the guide plate 18a may be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 12 side through a cool air supply passage 19 formed in a partition defining the refrigerating chamber 11 and the freezing chamber 12.

A plurality of shelves 15, storage boxes, etc. for storing and preserving foods may be provided in the refrigerating chamber 11 and the freezing chamber 12. The rear surfaces of the doors 13 and 14 may be provided with a plurality of baskets for storing food. A user can efficiently store food in a storage space inside the refrigerator by using a food storage device that defines a storage space such as a shelf 15, a storage box, a basket, etc., and stores food.

The refrigerating compartment 11 may be provided with a multi-duct 20 for discharging cool air at a plurality of points. The multi duct member 20 may be fixed to a rear surface of the refrigerating chamber 11 to discharge cool air supplied through the cool air supply passage 19 to the inside of the refrigerating chamber 11. To this end, a cool air inlet (not shown) may be formed at an upper side of the multi-duct part 20 to supply cool air thereto. Further, the multi duct member 20 may be formed to be long in the vertical direction of the refrigerating chamber 11 to discharge the cool air at a plurality of points in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the cool air generated from the cool air supply device may be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 11 through the multi-duct unit 20.

The multi duct member 20 may be provided with a fan assembly by which the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 11 may be uniformly distributed by circulating the cool air inside the refrigerating chamber 11, and the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 11 may be rapidly brought to an appropriate temperature by the cool air supplied to the inside of the refrigerating chamber 11.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-duct part and the shelf of fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the refrigerator 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plurality of duct members 120 and a plurality of shelves 130.

The multi duct member 120 is fixed to a rear surface of the refrigerating compartment 111 of the main body 110, and discharges cool air to the inside of the refrigerating compartment 111. The multi duct member 120 may include a plurality of first and second cool air discharge ports 121 and 122. Specifically, the multi duct member 120 may be formed to be long in a vertical direction of the refrigerating compartment 111, and may include a plurality of first and second cool air discharge ports 121 and 122 spaced apart in the vertical direction.

The first cool air discharge port 121 may be provided on a front surface of the multi duct member 120, and the first cool air discharge port 121 may be provided to protrude in a front direction thereof. Accordingly, the cool air flowing into the inner space of the multi duct member 120 may be discharged to the front of the multi duct member 120. In this embodiment, the multi duct member 120 is provided in the refrigerating compartment 111 as an example, but the position and shape of the multi duct member 120 are not limited thereto. For example, the multi duct member 120 may be formed in the freezing chamber 112, or may have a long extended shape in the left-right direction. Further, in this embodiment, as an example, three first cool air discharge ports 121 are provided. However, the number of the first cool air discharge ports 121 is not limited thereto. For example, four or more first cool air discharge ports 121 may be provided on the front surface of the multi duct member 120.

The second cool air discharge port 122 may be provided on a front surface or a side surface of the multi duct member 120. In this case, the inside cool air of the multi duct member 120 may be discharged to the refrigerating chamber 111 through the second cool air discharge port 122.

The multi-channeled member 120 may be coupled to a plurality of shelves 130. A plurality of shelves 130 may be provided in the refrigerating compartment 112 or the freezing compartment 113 to form a space for storing food. Specifically, the shelf 130 may have a predetermined thickness, and may be provided in the form of a plate on which food may be placed. In addition, a cool air inlet 131 through which cool air is supplied may be formed at one side of the shelf 130.

The cool air inlet 131 may be formed at one side of the shelf 130, and may be provided in a shape corresponding to the first cool air discharge port 121 of the multi-duct unit 120. Specifically, the cool air inlet 131 may be provided on the rear surface of the shelf 130, and may be assembled with the first cool air discharge port 121. In addition, a side surface of the shelf 130 may be connected to an inner side surface of the refrigerating compartment 111 or the freezing compartment 112. Accordingly, the cool air discharged through the first cool air discharge port 121 may be introduced into the inside of the shelf 130 fixed in the refrigerating compartment 111 or the freezing compartment 112 through the cool air inlet 131. In this embodiment, the multi-duct member 120 and the shelf 130 are assembled together as an example, but the combination of the multi-duct member 120 and the shelf 130 is not limited thereto. For example, the multi-duct piece 120 and the shelf 130 may be connected by a separate connecting member.

The third cool air discharge port 132 may be provided on a lower surface of the shelf 130. The third cool air discharge port 132 may discharge cool air inside the shelf 130, and a plurality of third cool air discharge ports 132 may be provided on a lower surface of the shelf 130. Accordingly, the cool air supplied from the multi duct member 120 to the inside of the shelf 130 may be discharged to the outside of the shelf 130 through the third cool air discharge port 132. That is, the space inside the shelf 130 may be a flow path of the cool air. In this embodiment, as an example, three third cool air discharge ports 132 are provided on the lower surface of the shelf 130. However, the number and position of the third cool air discharge ports 132 are not limited thereto. For example, four or more third cool air discharge ports 132 may be included on the lower surface of the shelf 130. Alternatively, a plurality of third cool air discharge ports 132 may be provided on a side surface of the shelf 130.

Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the refrigerator 100 having the above-described structure will be described.

First, the multi duct member 120 may be fixed on the rear surface of the refrigerating compartment 111, and cool air may be supplied to the multi duct member 120 through the evaporator 117. In addition, the multi duct member 120 may include a plurality of first cool air discharge ports 121 protruding in a front direction thereof. In this case, the plurality of first cool air discharge ports 121 may be disposed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the multi duct member 120. In this embodiment, as an example, the cool air generated by the evaporator 117 is supplied to the multi duct member 120 along a single flow path. However, according to the embodiment, it is possible to have the following configuration: so that the cool air of the freezing chamber 112 can be supplied to the multi duct member 120.

The first cool air discharge port 121 protruding toward the front of the multi duct member 120 may be connected to the shelf 130. Specifically, the shelf 130 may include a body (not shown) formed with a flow path through which the cool air may flow into an inside of the body, and the shelf 130 may include a cool air inlet 131 in which the first cool air discharge port 121 is connected to one side of the body to introduce the cool air. In addition, the other side of the body may include one or more third cool air discharge ports 132 for discharging cool air from the cool air flow path to the inside of the refrigerating compartment 111. The cool air inlet 131 may be formed to protrude rearward from the rear surface of the shelf 130, and a plurality of third cool air discharge ports 132 may be provided on the lower surface of the shelf 130.

The cool air inlet 131 of the shelf 130 may be connected to and communicate with the first cool air discharge port 121 of the multi duct member 120. Specifically, the cool air inlet 131 and the first cool air discharge port 121 may be communicatively connected such that the cool air discharged from the multi duct member 120 may be introduced into the inside of the shelf 130 through the cool air inlet 131. In addition, the cool air inside the shelf 130 may be discharged through a plurality of third cool air discharge ports 132 provided on the lower surface.

When the cool air is discharged from the lower portion of the shelf 130, the cool air may be supplied to the food stored in another shelf 130 disposed at the lower portion.

Further, when the shelf 130 extending in the horizontal direction becomes a flow path of the cool air, the cool air can be efficiently supplied to the entire inside of the refrigerator, thereby shortening the time for supplying the cool air to the inside of the refrigerator.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates the disclosure by way of example. Furthermore, the foregoing is intended to illustrate and explain preferred embodiments of the disclosure, and the disclosure may be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the concept of the disclosure disclosed in the specification, the scope of the disclosure, and the equivalent scope and/or skill or knowledge of the disclosure. The embodiments described are intended to explain the best modes for carrying out the technical concepts of the disclosure and may be modified in various ways for specific applications and uses of the disclosure. Therefore, the detailed description of the disclosure is not intended to limit the disclosure to the disclosed embodiments. Furthermore, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

a main body having one or more storage spaces;

one or more doors for opening and closing at least a portion of the storage space;

one or more shelves provided in the storage space and in the form of a plate capable of loading food having a predetermined thickness;

a cold air supply device for supplying cold air to maintain the storage space at a predetermined temperature; and

a multi duct member including a first cool air discharge port for receiving the cool air from the cool air supply device, providing the cool air on a rear surface of the storage space, and discharging the cool air,

wherein the shelf includes a body formed at an inner side thereof with a flow path through which the cool air can flow,

a cool air inlet connected to the first cool air discharge port to introduce the cool air into the flow path is formed at one side of the body, and

the other side of the body is provided with a third cool air discharge port for discharging the cool air from the flow path to the storage space.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first cool air discharge port is provided on a front surface of the multi duct member.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the first cool air discharge port protrudes in a front direction thereof and is communicatively connected to the cool air inlet.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the multi duct member is formed to be long in a vertical direction of the storage space, and

the plurality of first cool air discharge ports are disposed at predetermined intervals in a vertical direction of the multi duct member.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a side surface of the body is connected to an inner side surface of the storage space.

6. A shelf for a refrigerator, the shelf being disposed in a storage space of the refrigerator and connected to a multi-duct member supplied with cool air of a cool air supplying apparatus of the refrigerator, the shelf comprising:

a cold air inlet communicatively connected to the multi-duct piece; and

a cool air discharge port for discharging the cool air supplied through the cool air inlet port,

wherein a flow path for discharging the cool air supplied from the multi-duct member to the storage space is formed.

7. A shelf according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of storage spaces are provided,

the cool air inlet is provided on a rear surface of the shelf, and

the cool air discharge port is provided on a lower surface of the shelf.

8. The shelf of claim 7, wherein the cool air discharged from the cool air discharge port is supplied to food stored in another shelf provided at a lower portion thereof.

9. The shelf according to claim 7, wherein a side surface of the shelf is connected to an inner side surface of the storage space, and

the cool air inlet is communicatively connected to the multi-duct member.

10. The shelf of claim 9, wherein the cool air inlet is fitted with a protruding discharge port of the multi-duct piece.