CN110779259A

CN110779259A - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN110779259A
Application number: CN201911072274.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 殷际东; 许以浩
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-05
Filing date: 2019-11-05
Publication date: 2020-02-11

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator, which comprises an ice maker and further comprises: a first inner container defining a first compartment; the second inner container is arranged below the first inner container at intervals, and a second chamber is limited; and the water tank is arranged in the space between the first inner container and the second inner container and is used for supplying water for the ice machine. The refrigerator saves the occupation of the water tank on the effective storage space.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigerating and freezing device, in particular to a refrigerator.

Background

Currently, some refrigerators have an ice making function, and supply water to the ice maker using a water tank, which is generally placed in a refrigerating chamber. The water tank and the partition plate for fixing the water tank can occupy small space, so that the effective storage space is reduced.

The water feeding of the water tank has two modes of manual and automatic. When the manual water tank that adds water lacks water, the user need take out the water tank earlier and add water again, and the operation is comparatively loaded down with trivial details. The water tank capable of automatically adding water does not need manual operation of a user, but is configured on a few high-end refrigerators at present due to high cost, and the requirement of the common public cannot be met.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a refrigerator to save the effective storage space occupied by the water tank.

It is another object of the present invention to simplify manual water addition by a user.

In particular, the present invention provides a refrigerator including an ice maker, further including:

a first inner container defining a first compartment;

the second inner container is arranged below the first inner container at intervals, and a second chamber is limited;

and the water tank is arranged in the space between the first inner container and the second inner container and is used for supplying water for the ice machine.

Optionally, the top wall of the water tank is provided with a water filling port, and a cover body for opening and closing the water filling port is arranged on the top wall of the water tank; a first through hole is formed in the bottom wall of the first inner container, and the cover body is exposed in the first chamber through the first through hole.

Optionally, the water tank is disposed adjacent to one lateral side end of the first inner container.

Optionally, the top wall of the water tank is provided with a convex square annular convex edge, and the square annular convex edge encloses a sliding groove; the water injection port is arranged on one side of the bottom wall of the sliding chute; and the cover body can slide in the sliding groove in an operable mode so as to shield the water filling port when sliding to one side of the bottom wall of the sliding groove and expose the water filling port when sliding to the other side of the bottom wall of the sliding groove.

Optionally, the top surface of the cover body is formed with a recessed cavity for manual operation.

Optionally, the first through hole is adjacent to the front end of the bottom wall of the first liner.

Optionally, the refrigerator further comprises: the center beam extends along the transverse direction of the refrigerator, the upper edge of the center beam is connected with the front end of the bottom of the first inner container, the lower edge of the center beam is connected with the front end of the top of the second inner container so as to cover the front side openings spaced between the first inner container and the second inner container, and the center beam is provided with a second through hole penetrating through the front surface and the rear surface of the center beam; and the water tank is attached to the rear surface of the center sill, the front wall of the water tank is provided with an observation window for observing the internal water level, and the observation window is exposed outside the center sill through the second through hole.

Optionally, the ice maker is disposed within the second compartment; and the bottom wall of the water tank is provided with a water outlet pipe, and the water outlet pipe extends into the second chamber through a hole formed in the top wall of the second inner container so as to be connected with the ice maker.

Optionally, the ice maker is arranged at the rear part of the second chamber, and the water outlet pipe is arranged at the rear part of the bottom wall of the water tank; and the bottom wall of the water tank is gradually inclined downwards from the front to the back so as to be beneficial to the water flow inside the water tank to the water outlet pipe.

Optionally, the outer surfaces of the top wall and the bottom wall of the water tank are respectively provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs so as to be respectively attached to the bottom wall of the first inner container and the top wall of the second inner container.

In the refrigerator, the water tank is arranged in the space between the first inner container and the second inner container, and does not occupy the effective storage space of the compartment. The design of the invention skillfully solves the problem that the water tank occupies the compartment space to influence the storage.

Further, the refrigerator simplifies the operation flow of adding water into the water tank. The cover body of the water tank is exposed in the first chamber. When water needs to be added, only the cover body needs to be opened in the first chamber, the whole water tank does not need to be moved, and the operation is very simple.

Furthermore, in the refrigerator, the water tank is provided with the observation window, and the observation window is exposed outside through the second through hole of the middle beam. Therefore, the user can see the water level in the water tank without taking out the water tank, and timely water supplement is facilitated.

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 structural view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is an assembly view of a first inner container, a second inner container and a water tank in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view at A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded schematic view of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the water tank of FIG. 2 with the cover covering the water inlet;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the water tank of FIG. 2 with the water filling port exposed from the cover;

fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the water tank in fig. 2.

Detailed Description

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 7. In the drawings, the terms "front", "back", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "lateral", and the like denote orientations and positional relationships indicated by the drawings. The transverse direction of the door body is indicated in the figure. As such, it is merely convenient to describe the invention and to simplify the description, and it is not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and is therefore not to be considered limiting of the invention.

The refrigerator of the embodiment of the invention generally comprises a shell, wherein one or more inner containers are arranged in the shell, and the inner containers define compartments for storing articles, such as a refrigerating compartment, a temperature changing compartment, a freezing compartment and the like. One or more door bodies may be provided at the front side of the casing to open and close the compartments. The refrigerator may also be provided with one or more drawers for storing articles. The refrigerator can adopt a vapor compression refrigeration cycle system or other refrigeration systems to realize refrigeration.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, as shown in fig. 1, a refrigerator may include an outer case 60. Two side-by-side door bodies 10 are arranged on the upper part of the front side of the shell 60, and two drawers 30 and 40 are arranged on the lower part. Fig. 1 only illustrates an alternative layout scheme of a refrigerator door and a drawer, and those skilled in the art may also adopt other door and drawer layout schemes, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 2 is an assembly view of a first inner container 61, a second inner container 62 and a water tank 20 in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an enlarged view at A of FIG. 2; fig. 4 is an exploded schematic view of the structure shown in fig. 2, with fig. 4 having ice maker 70 concealed from fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2 to 4, the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention includes an ice maker 70, a first inner container 61, a second inner container 62, and a water tank 20. The first inner container 61 defines a first compartment 610, and the second inner container 62 is disposed below the first inner container 61 at a distance from the first inner container 61 and defines a second compartment 620. Both the inner containers are positioned in the outer shell 60, and a foaming layer is filled between the inner containers and the outer shell 60. The water tank 20 is installed in a spaced space between the first and second

inner containers

61 and 62 for supplying water to the ice maker 70. The water tank 20 may be provided in a horizontal flat structure to sufficiently utilize a relatively narrow space between the first and second

inner containers

61 and 62.

The embodiment of the present invention does not dispose the water tank 20 in any one compartment, but creatively disposes it in the space between the first and

second liners

61 and 62, which makes the water tank 20 not occupy the effective storage space of the compartment. The design of the embodiment of the invention skillfully solves the problem that the water tank 20 occupies the compartment space to influence the storage. Also, in the prior art, even if the water tank 20 is not provided, a certain interval is left between the first and second

inner containers

61 and 62 for heat insulation. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention does not need to specially heighten the interval between the two inner containers for the water tank 20 to affect the compartment height. In other words, compared with the scheme that the water tank is arranged in a certain chamber, the scheme of the invention saves the space of the whole water tank.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of the water tank 20 in fig. 2 when the cover 22 covers the water filling port 232; fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of the water tank 20 in fig. 2 when the water filling port 232 is exposed from the cover 22.

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, a water filling port 232 is opened on the top wall of the water tank 20 for filling water into the water tank 20. The top wall of the water tank 20 is further provided with a cover 22 for opening and closing the water filling port 232. The first inner container 61 has a first through hole 611 formed in a bottom wall thereof, and the cover 22 is exposed in the first compartment 610 through the first through hole 611. When water needs to be added, only the door body of the first compartment 610 needs to be opened, and then the cover body 22 is opened, so that the whole water tank 20 does not need to be moved, and the operation is very simple. Compared with the prior art that the water tank 20 needs to be taken out for adding water, the water adding flow of the water tank 20 is undoubtedly simplified in the embodiment.

The cover 22 may be configured as a slide-type structure. As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the top wall of the water tank 20 has a raised square annular rib 23, and the square annular rib 23 defines a sliding slot 231. The water injection port 232 is opened on the bottom wall side (for example, the left side) of the slide groove 231. The cover 22 is operable to slide within the slide slot 231 to shield the water injection port 232 (see fig. 5) when slid to one side of the bottom wall of the slide slot 231 and to reveal the water injection port 232 (see fig. 5) when slid to the other side (e.g., the right side) of the bottom wall of the slide slot. The top surface of the cover 22 may be formed with a recessed cavity 221 for manual operation.

Of course, the cover 22 may be configured as a flip-over or separate plug.

The first through hole 611 is adjacent to the front end of the bottom wall of the first inner container 61. In cooperation therewith, the water filling port 232 is provided at a position near the front end of the top wall of the water tank 20. This provides the advantage of both positioning the fill port 232 further forward for ease of handling by the user, and preventing the contents of the first compartment 610 from blocking the fill port 232.

Further, the water tank 20 may be disposed adjacent to one lateral side end (left end in the drawing) of the first inner container 61, so that the storage in the first compartment 610 may be prevented from blocking the water filling port 232.

As shown in fig. 2 to 4, the refrigerator may further include a center sill 63. The center sill 63 extends in the transverse direction of the refrigerator, and has an upper edge connected to the bottom front end of the first inner container 61 and a lower edge connected to the top front end of the second inner container 62 so as to cover the front opening spaced between the first inner container 61 and the second inner container 62. Both lateral ends of the center sill 63 may be connected to the inner wall of the case 60. The center sill 63 has a second through hole 631 formed through the front and rear surfaces thereof. The tank 20 is placed against the rear surface of the center sill 63 so that the two can be fastened together by fasteners. The front wall of the water tank 20 has a viewing window 24 for viewing the water level inside, and the viewing window 24 is exposed outside the center sill 63 through the second through hole 631. The viewing window 24 may be glass or clear plastic embedded in the front wall of the tank 20. Thus, the user can see the water level in the water tank 20 without taking out the water tank 20, which is convenient for timely water supplement.

As shown in fig. 2-4, in some embodiments, the ice maker 70 may be disposed within the second compartment 620. The bottom wall of the water tank 20 is provided with a water outlet pipe 21, and the water outlet pipe 21 extends into the second compartment 620 through a hole 621 formed in the top wall of the second inner container 62 so as to be connected with the ice maker 70. Such that the water automatically flows into the ice maker 70 by gravity. Of course, the ice maker may be disposed in the first compartment 610, or in another compartment, and water may be pumped into the ice maker by a pump.

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the water tank 20 in fig. 2. As shown in fig. 2 to 7, the ice maker 70 may be disposed at the rear of the second compartment 620, and the water outlet pipe 21 may be disposed at the rear of the bottom wall of the water tank 20 to connect the ice maker 70. The bottom wall of the tank 20 is gradually inclined downward from front to rear (refer to fig. 7) to facilitate the flow of water inside the tank 20 from front to rear toward the outlet pipe 21.

As shown in fig. 2 to 7, the outer surfaces of the top wall and the bottom wall of the water tank 20 are respectively provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs 25 to respectively abut against the bottom wall of the first inner container 61 and the top wall of the second inner container 62, so that the water tank 20 is clamped by the bottom wall of the first inner container 61 and the top wall of the second inner container 62, and the position thereof is very stable.

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 refrigerator comprising an ice maker, characterized by further comprising:

a first inner container defining a first compartment;

the second inner container is arranged below the first inner container at intervals, and a second chamber is limited; and

and the water tank is arranged in a spacing space between the first inner container and the second inner container and is used for supplying water for the ice maker.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the top wall of the water tank is provided with a water filling port, and a cover body for opening and closing the water filling port is arranged on the top wall of the water tank; and is

A first through hole is formed in the bottom wall of the first inner container, and the cover body is exposed in the first chamber through the first through hole.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2,

the water tank is arranged close to one transverse side end of the first inner container.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2,

the top wall of the water tank is provided with an upwards-convex square annular convex edge, and the square annular convex edge surrounds a sliding groove;

the water injection port is arranged on one side of the bottom wall of the sliding chute; and is

The cover is operable to slide within the chute to shield the water injection port when sliding to one side of the chute bottom wall and to reveal the water injection port when sliding to the other side of the chute bottom wall.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4,

the top surface of the cover body is provided with a concave cavity which is concave downwards so as to be convenient for the operation of a human hand.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 2,

the first through hole is close to the front end of the bottom wall of the first inner container.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

the center beam extends along the transverse direction of the refrigerator, the upper edge of the center beam is connected with the front end of the bottom of the first inner container, the lower edge of the center beam is connected with the front end of the top of the second inner container so as to cover a front side opening at the interval between the first inner container and the second inner container, and a second through hole penetrating through the front surface and the rear surface of the center beam is formed in the center beam; and is

The water tank is attached to the rear surface of the center sill, the front wall of the water tank is provided with an observation window for observing the internal water level, and the observation window is exposed outside the center sill through the second through hole.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the ice maker is arranged in the second chamber; and is

And the water outlet pipe is arranged on the bottom wall of the water tank and extends into the second chamber through a hole formed in the top wall of the second inner container so as to be connected with the ice maker.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8,

the ice maker is arranged at the rear part of the second chamber;

the water outlet pipe is arranged at the rear part of the bottom wall of the water tank; and is

The bottom wall of the water tank is gradually inclined downwards from the front to the back so as to be beneficial to the water inside the water tank to flow to the water outlet pipe.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9,

the outer surfaces of the top wall and the bottom wall of the water tank are respectively provided with a plurality of reinforcing convex ribs so as to be respectively attached to the bottom wall of the first inner container and the top wall of the second inner container.