CN110736289A

CN110736289A - Pipeline assembly, condensation pipeline assembly and refrigerator comprising same

Info

Publication number: CN110736289A
Application number: CN201811516634.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李将宇
Original assignee: Daewoo Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: WiniaDaewoo Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-18
Filing date: 2018-12-12
Publication date: 2020-01-31
Also published as: KR20200009355A; US20200025436A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an pipe assembly installed in a refrigerator to be used as a condensation line and including a pipe extending from an evaporator of the refrigerator and inclined downward to drain water, and a second pipe connected to a downstream end of the pipe to receive water, the second pipe extending from the pipe to incline downward at a steeper slope than the pipe, the pipe includes a connection fastened to the second pipe and a water guide extending downward from the connection .

Description

Pipeline assembly, condensation pipeline assembly and refrigerator comprising same

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is based on and claims the priority of korean patent application No. 10-2018-.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an duct assembly and a refrigerator including the same.

Background

a refrigerator is an appliance for storing items such as food, beverages, and the like for a long time, for example, a refrigerator may store items in a frozen state or a refrigerated state depending on the type of items to be stored.

The refrigerator maintains a temperature in a storage chamber at a predetermined value by supplying cool air generated by a refrigeration cycle into the storage chamber, to this end, the refrigerator includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, the compressor, the condenser, the expansion valve, and the evaporator are accommodated in a machine room located at a side of the refrigerator , and are configured to supply the cool air into the storage chamber.

For example, the refrigerant is sent to the compressor so that its state becomes a high-temperature high-pressure state. When the refrigerant passes through the condenser, condensation heat is radiated to the outside. The refrigerant evaporates as it passes through the expansion valve. The refrigerant absorbs latent heat (caused by evaporation) from the air around the cooling chamber through the evaporator and evaporates to produce cold air. During this cooling process, condensed water is produced in the evaporator. The condensed water is discharged to the outside of the evaporator through the pipe assembly.

In another aspect , at least portion of such a duct assembly may be disposed about a return duct or the like having a lower temperature.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide duct assemblies capable of preventing water from infiltrating into, leaking into, or stagnating in an inter-duct connection portion of , which is a condensed water line of a refrigerator, and refrigerators including the duct assemblies.

According to embodiments, there is provided a duct assembly installed in a refrigerator and including a th duct extending from an evaporator of the refrigerator and inclined downward to drain water, a second duct connected to a downstream end of the th duct to receive the drain water, the second duct extending from the th duct and configured to incline downward at a steeper inclination than the th duct, wherein the th duct includes a connection fastened to the second duct and a water guide extending downward from the th connection step .

In embodiments, at least the portion of the water guide may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the second conduit.

The water guide may be further spaced from the inner surface of the second conduit as the water guide extends toward the end portion.

The second conduit may include a second connector portion connected to the connector portion of the th conduit, and wherein the second connector portion surrounds an outer surface of the th connector portion.

The second duct may also include a bend extending from the second connection in a direction away from the th duct and bending downward.

The bent portion may have a lower portion spaced downward from the water guide portion.

According to another aspect, there is provided a refrigerator including a storage compartment configured to store food and food ingredients, an evaporator configured to cool air by absorbing heat from the air using an evaporable refrigerant, a return duct configured to communicate the storage compartment and the evaporator with each other, and a duct assembly configured to drain condensed water generated in the evaporator, wherein the duct assembly includes a th duct extending from the evaporator and inclined downward to drain the condensed water from the evaporator, and a second duct connected to a downstream end of the th duct to receive the condensed water, the second duct extending from the th duct and configured to incline downward at a steeper slope than the th duct, the th duct including a connection fastened to the second duct and a water guide extending downward from the th connection into .

The th connection and the water guide may be provided at a position to which cold energy of cold air flowing through the return duct is applied.

The evaporator may include a heat exchanger configured to allow air and refrigerant to exchange heat with each other, and a condensed water collector configured to collect condensed water generated in the heat exchanger, and wherein an th tube of the duct assembly is connected to the condensed water collector and configured to receive the condensed water generated in the heat exchanger.

The lower central portion of the condensate collector may have a downwardly concave shape to collect the condensate, the th duct may be connected to the lower central portion of the condensate collector, and the return duct may be connected to the rear central portion of the condensate collector in embodiments.

The pipe assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may prevent water from infiltrating into, leaking into, or staying in the inter-pipe connection portion of the condensed water line of the refrigerator appliance. In addition, the refrigerator including such a pipe assembly may advantageously prevent the condensed water from freezing when the condensed water is discharged from the evaporator.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator including a duct assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of a refrigerator showing a duct assembly and an evaporator according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a conduit assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion denoted by a in fig. 3.

Detailed Description

The following description is among the various patentable aspects of the disclosure and may constitute part of the detailed description of the invention.

However, in describing the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of known configurations or functions, which may obscure portions of the present disclosure, may be omitted.

The present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and embodiments. Specific embodiments will be shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail in the detailed description of the embodiments. It should be understood, however, that they are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments, but rather, to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

As used herein, the terms including ordinal numbers such as "" and "second" may be used to describe and not limit various components.

When referring to the member being "connected" or "coupled" to another member, it is understood that the front member may be directly connected or coupled to the rear member or a third member may be interposed between the two members.

The specific terminology used in the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, expressions used in the singular include expressions in the plural.

Hereinafter, duct assemblies according to embodiments of the present disclosure and a refrigerator including the same will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in embodiments, the duct assemblies are used in a condensed water line of a refrigerator appliance.

Referring to fig. 1, a refrigerator 1 according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include a storage chamber 10, an evaporator 30, a compressor 40, a condenser 50, a return duct 60, and a duct assembly 70, the duct assembly 70 serving as a condensed water line of a refrigerator appliance to remove excess liquid partially condensed at as a refrigeration cycle of the appliance.

The storage chamber 10 is a space for storing items to be cooled including food and food ingredients. The storage chamber 10 may include a refrigerating chamber in which food and food ingredients may be stored in a refrigerated state and a freezing chamber in which food and food ingredients may be stored in a frozen state.

The evaporator 30 cools the ambient air by allowing the ambient air to exchange heat with a refrigerant according to a heat transfer cycle, also referred to as a refrigeration cycle, the evaporator 30 may cool the ambient air to supply chilled air to at least of the fresh food and freezer compartments.

According to the heat transfer cycle, the compressor 40 may receive hot refrigerant heated by the evaporator 30 and may compress the refrigerant. The compressor 40 may include a pump or the like.

The condenser 50 may cool the refrigerant to a low temperature by allowing the refrigerant to exchange heat with ambient air.

In the evaporator 30, a refrigerant may cool ambient air and may be evaporated according to a heat transfer cycle, the evaporated hot refrigerant is sent to the compressor 40 and compressed by the compressor 40, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 40 is liquefied while radiating condensation heat to the outside through the condenser 50, the liquefied refrigerant passing through the condenser 50 is sent to the evaporator 30, the liquefied refrigerant sent to the evaporator 30 is evaporated by heat exchange with the ambient air, thereby absorbing the ambient heat, the liquefied refrigerant of the evaporator 30 receives heat from the ambient air, the liquefied refrigerant of the evaporator 30 is partially or is converted into a gaseous refrigerant according to the heat transfer cycle, thereafter, the gaseous refrigerant is separated from the liquid refrigerant and is introduced into the compressor 40 again, in the evaporator 30, the refrigerant absorbs heat from air existing outside the evaporator 30, the evaporator 30 cools air in the refrigerator by the heat exchange, in the cooling process, the condenser 50 radiates heat of the refrigerant to the outside, hereinafter, the evaporator 30 will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 2, the evaporator 30 cools ambient air through heat exchange with refrigerant. The evaporator 30 may include a heat exchanger 31 for allowing refrigerant and ambient air to exchange heat with each other, and a condensed water collector 32.

The heat exchanger 31 may include a pipe through which a refrigerant flows. The heat exchanger 31 cools the ambient air by heat exchange between the ambient air and the refrigerant present in the pipe. The low-temperature refrigerant flows in the tubes of the heat exchanger 31 to cool the ambient air. The air surrounding the duct may be uncooled air having a relatively high temperature. Therefore, in the heat exchanger 31, condensed water may be generated due to cooling of the ambient air.

The condensate collector 32 may collect condensate water generated in the heat exchanger 31, the condensate collector 32 may be a container widely extending in a horizontal direction and may be disposed below the heat exchanger 31, the condensate water generated in the heat exchanger 31 may drop or flow into the condensate collector 32, and the condensate water in the condensate collector 32 may flow toward the duct assembly 70, the condensate collector 32 may be disposed at portions of a housing or frame of the evaporator 30, a lower central portion of the condensate collector 32 may have a downwardly concave shape to effectively collect the condensate water, in another aspect , the duct assembly 70 may be connected to a lower central portion of the condensate collector 32, and the return duct 60 may be connected to a rear central portion adjacent to the lower central portion of the condensate collector 32.

The return duct 60 may communicate the storage chamber 10 and the evaporator 30 with each other to recover cool air having a relatively high temperature. For example, in a refrigerator in which the freezing chamber is located at a lower side and the refrigerating chamber is located at an upper side, the return duct 60 may be installed between a lower portion of the refrigerating chamber and an upper portion of the freezing chamber. The return duct 60 may be connected to a rear central portion (which is adjacent to a lower central portion of the condensate collector 32). The duct assembly 70 will be described with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, the duct assembly 70 or the condensed water line 70 may be connected to the condensed water collector 32 of the evaporator 30 to drain the condensed water from the evaporator 30. the condensed water drained through the duct assembly 70 may be generated from the condensed air during the cooling process of the air in the evaporator 30. the duct assembly 70 may be disposed adjacent to the return duct 60, for example, the duct assembly 70 may be arranged such that at least of the connection 120, the water guide 130, and the second connection 220 may be positioned in a region or area to which the cooling energy of the cool air flowing in the return duct 60 may be applied.

The duct assembly 70 may include an th duct 100 and a second duct 200.

A end of a th pipe 100 is connected to the condensate collector 32 and another 0 end is connected to the second pipe 200. a 2 end of a 1 th pipe 100 may be disposed at an upstream side to serve as an inflow portion where condensate is introduced from the condensate collector 32, and another 4 end of a 3 th pipe 100 may be disposed at a downstream side to serve as a drain portion where condensate is drained from a 5 th pipe 100. a th pipe 100 may extend from a end to another end and be configured to be inclined downward with respect to a horizontal direction. in other words, a th pipe 100 is formed to be inclined downward at a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal plane. in addition, a th pipe 100 may be formed of a non-flexible material having a certain level or higher rigidity.another end of a th pipe 100 may include a th connection portion 120 for fastening the second pipe 200, and a water guide portion 130.

The connection 120 may be connected to the second connection 220 at the end of the second pipe 200. grooves or protrusions for fastening the second pipe 200 may be provided on the outer circumferential surface of the connection 120. the connection 120 may provide a space through which condensed water may flow.the connection 120 may have a circumferential contact surface with the second pipe 200. the contact surface of the connection 120 may be the inner circumferential surface of the connection 120.

The water guide 130 may be disposed at an end of the th connection 120 and may be formed like a protrusion extending downward from the end of the th connection 120, a lower surface of the water guide 130 may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the second pipe 200, the water guide 130 may be disposed to be further spaced apart from the inner surface of the second pipe 200 as it extends from the th connection 120 side toward the end side, the water guide 130 may extend straight without being bent, for example, the water guide 130 may extend about 15mm from the end of the th connection 120, the end of the water guide 130 may be positioned at the center of the cross-section of the second pipe 200.

The end of the second tube 200 may be connected to the th tube 100, and the remaining portion of the end of the second tube 200 may be further inclined downward to extend more downward than the th tube 100. for example, as shown in fig. 3, the second tube 200 may be formed to have a steeper slope than the th tube 100 as a whole.

The end of the second conduit 200 may include a connection portion 220 connected to the th conduit 100 and a downwardly curved bend 230.

The second connection part 220 may be connected to the th connection part 120 at an end of the th pipe 100, a groove or protrusion for fastening the second pipe 200 may be provided on an inner circumferential surface of the second connection part 220, the groove or protrusion of the second connection part 220 may be formed to be engaged with the groove or protrusion of the th connection part 120, the second connection part 220 may provide a space through which condensed water may flow, the second connection part 220 may have a contact surface formed in a circumferential direction to be in contact with the th pipe 100, the contact surface of the second connection part 220 may be an inner circumferential surface of the second connection part 220.

The bent portion 230 may extend from the second connection portion 220 away from the th pipe 100 and may be bent downward, a lower portion of the bent portion 230 may be spaced downward from the water guide portion 130.

Advantageously, the duct assembly 70 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may prevent condensate flowing therethrough from seeping into, leaking into, or remaining in the inter-duct connections.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The exemplary embodiments disclosed in the specification of the present disclosure do not limit the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is to be interpreted by the following claims, and all techniques within the scope equivalent thereto are to be interpreted as falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1, a duct assembly operatively mountable in a refrigerator, comprising:

a th duct extending from an evaporator of the refrigerator and inclined downward to discharge water, and

a second conduit connected to a downstream end of the th conduit and operable to receive water, the second conduit extending from the th conduit and sloping downward at a steeper slope than the slope of the th conduit,

wherein the th conduit includes a th connector secured to the second conduit and a water guide extending steps down from the th connector.

2. The conduit assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the water guide is spaced apart from an inner surface of the second conduit.

3. The conduit assembly of claim 2, wherein the water guide is further spaced from the inner surface of the second conduit as the water guide extends toward an end of the water guide.

4. The conduit assembly of claim 3, wherein the second conduit comprises a second connection connected to a connection of the th conduit, and wherein the second connection surrounds an outer surface of the th connection.

5. The conduit assembly of claim 4, wherein the second conduit further comprises a bend extending from the second connection in a direction away from the th conduit and bending downward.

6. The plumbing assembly of claim 5, wherein said bend has a lower portion spaced downwardly from said water guide.

A condensate line assembly of the type , operably installed in an appliance having an evaporator, the assembly comprising:

an th conduit operable to extend from the evaporator and slope downward to drain water from the evaporator, and

8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the water guide is spaced from an inner surface of the second conduit.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the water guide is further spaced from the inner surface of the second conduit as the water guide extends toward the end.

10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the second conduit includes a second connection connected to a connection of the th conduit, and wherein the second connection surrounds an outer surface of the th connection.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the second conduit further comprises a bend extending from the second connection in a direction away from the th conduit and bending downward, and

wherein the bent portion has a lower portion spaced downwardly from the water guide portion.

12, a refrigerator comprising:

a storage compartment configured to store articles to be cooled;

an evaporator configured to cool air by absorbing heat therefrom using a refrigerant;

a return duct configured to communicate the storage chamber and the evaporator with each other; and

a pipe assembly configured to discharge condensed water generated in the evaporator,

wherein the pipe assembly comprises:

an th pipe extending from the evaporator and inclined downward to drain condensed water from the evaporator, and

a second pipe coupled to a downstream end of the th pipe to receive condensed water, the second pipe extending from the th pipe and being inclined downward at a steeper slope than that of the th pipe, wherein the th pipe includes a th connection part fastened to the second pipe, and a water guide part extending downward from the th connection part .

13. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein the th connection part and the water guide part are provided at a position to which a cooling energy of the cooling air flowing through the return duct is applied.

14. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein the evaporator comprises:

a heat exchanger configured to allow air and refrigerant to exchange heat with each other; and

a condensate collector configured to collect condensate water produced in the heat exchanger, and wherein an th conduit of a conduit assembly is connected to the condensate collector to receive condensate water produced in the heat exchanger.

15. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein a lower central portion of the condensed water collector has a downwardly concave shape and is configured to collect condensed water, wherein the th duct is connected to the lower central portion of the condensed water collector, and the return duct is connected to a rear central portion of the condensed water collector.