CN111886461A

CN111886461A - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN111886461A
Application number: CN201880090881.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 剑持正胜
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2018-03-13
Filing date: 2018-03-13
Publication date: 2020-11-03
Also published as: SG11202008753UA; JPWO2019175965A1; AU2018413231A1; TWI722397B; TW201938970A; WO2019175965A1; AU2018413231B9; AU2018413231B2

Abstract

The refrigerator includes a main body including a refrigerating chamber, a freezing chamber disposed below the refrigerating chamber, and a storage chamber disposed between the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber and set to a temperature zone higher than that of the freezing chamber. The refrigerator includes a cooler disposed in an air passage between a storage compartment back wall on a rear surface side of the storage compartment and a main body back wall constituting a rear surface of the main body, and configured to cool air inside the main body. The main body part is provided with: a refrigerating chamber return port through which air in the refrigerating chamber passes when returning to the cooler; a storage chamber return port through which air in the storage chamber passes when returning to the cooler; and a freezing chamber return opening through which air in the freezing chamber passes when the air passes through an air passage provided in a back wall of the storage chamber and returns to the cooler. The refrigerating chamber return port and the storage chamber return port are provided at positions lower than the lower end of the cooler, respectively, and the freezing chamber return port is provided at a position between the lower end and the upper end of the cooler.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a cooler.

Background

Conventionally, a refrigerator having a cooler provided on a rear side of a storage room is known. In such a refrigerator, a cooler and a fan are provided in an air passage partitioned by a wall, and cool air generated by the cooler is blown into the refrigerator including a storage chamber by the fan. That is, the following cool air circulation duct is formed in the refrigerator of the refrigerator: the cold air having passed through the cooler is increased in temperature by the heat load of each part, and is returned to the cooler again (see, for example, patent document 1).

In the refrigerator as described above, for example, moisture evaporated from food stored in the refrigerator or moisture in air entering from outside the refrigerator when the door is opened or closed causes frost formation when cold air containing a large amount of moisture returns to the cooler. The frosting is a phenomenon in which, when the surface temperature of the cooler in contact with the air is lower than the dew point temperature, moisture in the air condenses and accumulates as ice crystals on the surface of the cooler. In the returned cold air from the storage room, particularly the refrigerating room, a large amount of moisture is generally contained. When frost is generated and grown on the surface of the cooler, clogging occurs between the fins of the cooler, air passage resistance increases, and cooling performance decreases.

However, the refrigerator of patent document 1 is provided with a vegetable compartment in the lowermost layer and a freezing compartment in the upper layer. A storage chamber return port through which air returned from the vegetable chamber to the cooler is blown out is provided in the top of the vegetable chamber, and a freezing chamber return port through which air returned from the freezing chamber to the cooler is blown out is provided in a wall on the back side of the freezing chamber.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2008-202823

However, in the refrigerator of patent document 1, when the arrangement of the vegetable compartment and the freezing compartment is reversed, the storage compartment return port is provided in the wall on the back side of the vegetable compartment, and the freezing compartment return port is provided in the ceiling of the freezing compartment. Then, the return cold air from the vegetable room having relatively high humidity and temperature flows into the cooler from above the lower end of the cooler, and the return cold air from the freezing room having relatively low humidity and temperature flows into the cooler from below the lower end of the cooler. Therefore, the following problems are present: the return cold air from the vegetable compartment above the cooler is mixed with the return cold air from the freezing compartment, and frost is generated on the fins, and this frost increases the air-passage resistance, thereby lowering the cooling performance. The same problem occurs not only in the vegetable compartment but also in the case where another storage compartment set to a temperature zone higher than that of the freezer compartment is provided in the upper floor of the freezer compartment.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that improves cooling performance of a cooler even when a storage room having a higher temperature range than that of a freezing room is provided in an upper layer of the freezing room.

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises: a main body portion comprising: a refrigerating chamber; a freezing chamber provided below the refrigerating chamber; a storage compartment provided between the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and set to a temperature zone higher than that of the freezing compartment, and having a storage compartment back wall on a back surface side; and a cooler disposed in an air passage between the storage compartment back wall and a main body back wall constituting a back surface of the main body, for cooling air inside the main body, wherein the main body is provided with: a refrigerating chamber return port through which air in the refrigerating chamber passes when returning to the cooler; a storage chamber return port through which air in the storage chamber passes when returning to the cooler; and a freezing chamber return port through which air in the freezing chamber passes when the air passes through an air passage provided in a back wall of the storage chamber and returns to the cooler, the freezing chamber return port and the storage chamber return port being provided at positions lower than a lower end of the cooler, respectively, and the freezing chamber return port being provided at a position between the lower end and an upper end of the cooler.

According to the present invention, the refrigerating chamber return port and the storage chamber return port are provided below the lower end of the cooler, and the freezing chamber return port connected to the air passage of the storage chamber back wall is provided above the lower end of the cooler. Therefore, air from the refrigerating chamber and the vegetable chamber, which have relatively large moisture content, can be made to flow in from below the cooler, and air from the freezing chamber can be made to flow in from above the lower end of the cooler. Therefore, even when the storage chamber having a higher temperature range than the freezing chamber is provided in the upper layer of the freezing chamber, the cooling performance of the cooler can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator of fig. 1 as viewed from a door side.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the refrigerator of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of the cooling chamber and its periphery of fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating a flow of cold air in the vegetable room of fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a peripheral structure of a cooling chamber of a refrigerator according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiment 1.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator of fig. 1 as viewed from a door side. The overall configuration of the refrigerator 10 according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1 and 2. In fig. 1 and 2, the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 10 corresponds to the x-axis direction, the left-right direction of the refrigerator 10 corresponds to the y-axis direction, and the up-down direction of the refrigerator 10 corresponds to the z-axis direction. That is, the front of the refrigerator 10 corresponds to the positive x-axis direction, and the upper side of the refrigerator 10 corresponds to the positive z-axis direction.

The refrigerator 10 includes a main body 20, and the main body 20 includes a plurality of storage compartments to be cooled. Main body 20 includes refrigerating compartment 1 and freezing compartment 5 provided below refrigerating compartment 1. Main body 20 is provided between refrigerating room 1 and freezing room 5, and includes vegetable room 4 as a storage room set to a temperature zone lower than that of freezing room 5. More specifically, the refrigerator 10 illustrated in fig. 1 includes a refrigerating compartment 1, an ice-making compartment 2, a switching compartment 3, a vegetable compartment 4, and a freezing compartment 5 as a plurality of storage compartments.

The refrigerating compartment 1 is provided at the uppermost layer of the main body 20 and is set as a refrigerating temperature zone. The freezing chamber 5 is provided in the lowermost layer of the main body 20 and is set as a freezing temperature zone. Vegetable compartment 4 is provided above freezing compartment 5 and is set to a temperature slightly higher than the refrigerating temperature range. An ice making chamber 2 and a switching chamber 3 are provided between the refrigerating chamber 1 and the vegetable chamber 4. In the example of fig. 1, the ice making chamber 2 is disposed on the left front side, and the switching chamber 3 is disposed on the right front side.

The ice making chamber 2 is set to a freezing temperature range, and ice automatically produced by an automatic ice maker (not shown) is stored in the ice bank 2 a. The switching chamber 3 can switch the set temperature in a wide range from the freezing temperature zone to the refrigerating temperature zone. That is, the switching room 3 can switch the cold retention temperature zone to various temperature zones such as a freezing temperature zone of about-18 ℃, a refrigerating temperature zone of about 3 ℃, a refrigerating temperature zone of about 0 ℃, and a soft freezing temperature zone of about-7 ℃.

A refrigerating chamber door 11 for opening and closing the refrigerating chamber 1 is provided on the front surface of the refrigerating chamber 1. In fig. 1, the refrigerating chamber door 11 is composed of a first door 11a and a second door 11b, and is formed as two doors of a double-opening type (split type). However, the refrigerating chamber door 11 is not limited to the double-opening type two doors, and may be a single-opening type one door.

The ice making compartment 2, the switching compartment 3, the vegetable compartment 4, and the freezing compartment 5 are opened and closed by drawer-type doors, respectively. That is, an ice making chamber door 12 for opening and closing the ice making chamber 2 is provided in front of the ice making chamber 2. A switching chamber door 13 for opening and closing the switching chamber 3 is provided in front of the switching chamber 3. A vegetable compartment door 14 for opening and closing the vegetable compartment 4 is provided in front of the vegetable compartment 4. A freezing chamber door 15 for opening and closing the freezing chamber 5 is provided in front of the freezing chamber 5. The drawer-type doors are opened and closed in the front-rear direction (depth direction) of the refrigerator 10 by sliding frames fixed to the door main body with respect to guide rails horizontally formed on the left and right inner wall surfaces of each storage room.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 2. The inside of the refrigerator 10 is insulated from the outside of the refrigerator, i.e., external air, by a refrigerating chamber door 11, an ice-making chamber door 12, a switching chamber door 13, a vegetable chamber door 14, a freezing chamber door 15, and an insulating wall 21. The heat insulating wall 21 includes a main body back wall 22 constituting a back surface of the main body 20. A storage compartment back wall 24 is provided on the back surface of vegetable compartment 4 as a wall on the back surface side of vegetable compartment 4. In embodiment 1, the storage room back wall 24 is formed as a wall on the back side of the ice making room 2, the switching room 3, and the vegetable room 4.

A partition plate 25 is provided between the refrigerating compartment 1 and the ice making compartment 2 and the switching compartment 3. A partition plate 26 is provided between the ice making compartment 2 and the switching compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 4. A partition plate 27 is provided between vegetable compartment 4 and freezing compartment 5.

The refrigerator 10 includes a cooler 30, a circulation fan 40, a heater 51, and a compressor 61. The cooler 30 is constituted by, for example, a fin-tube type heat exchanger, and cools air sent from each storage room. The circulation fan 40 blows air cooled by the cooler 30 to each storage chamber in the refrigerator. The air cooled by the cooler 30 is blown to each storage room by the circulation fan 40. That is, the circulation fan 40 contributes to low temperature maintenance of the temperature inside the refrigerator. The air cooled by the cooler 30 and blown into each storage compartment is returned from each storage compartment to the cooler 30 again to be cooled. That is, the refrigerator 10 is configured such that air in the refrigerator circulates in an air passage connecting the cooler 30 and each storage chamber.

The heater 51 is constituted by, for example, a radiation heater, and is provided below the cooler 30 in a state of not being in contact with the cooler 30. The heater 51 is a defrosting device that is provided to defrost the cooler 30 and heats and removes frost adhering to the cooler 30. The compressor 61 is disposed at the lowermost portion of the rear surface side of the refrigerator 10. The compressor 61 is a component constituting a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator 10, and has a function of compressing a refrigerant. The cooler 30 and the heater 51 are provided in the air passage between the storage compartment back wall 24 and the main body back wall 22. That is, the cooler 30 and the heater 51 are housed in the cooling chamber 100 between the storage chamber back wall 24 and the main body back wall 22. In the cooling chamber 100, air flows through the cooler 30 from below to above. The air cooled in cooling chamber 100 is supplied to each storage chamber through a duct from an outlet provided in each storage chamber.

A freezing chamber inlet 5a is provided in an upper outer wall of the freezing chamber 5, and the freezing chamber inlet 5a supplies freezing chamber return cold air C, which is air flowing from the freezing chamber 5 to the cooling chamber 100₅And (4) flowing in. Freezing chamber return port 5b is provided on cooling chamber 100 side of storage chamber back wall 24, and air in freezing chamber 5 passes through freezing chamber return port 5b when returning to cooler 30. As shown in fig. 3, the freezing chamber inlet 5a is provided below the lower end of the cooler 30. The freezing chamber return port 5b is provided at a position between the lower end and the upper end of the cooler 30. Freezing chamber inlet port 5a and freezing chamber return port 5b communicate with the inside of storage chamber back wall 24.

That is, a freezer return air passage P is formed between the freezer inlet 5a and the freezer return inlet 5b₅The return air passage P of the freezing chamber₅Freezer return cold air C flowing in from freezer inlet 5a and blown out from freezer return outlet 5b₅And (4) flowing. Therefore, the cold air C returned from the freezing chamber₅Flows into the freezer return air passage P from the freezer inlet 5a provided below the lower end of the cooler 30₅. Furthermore, the cold air C returned from the freezing chamber₅Return air path P through freezing chamber₅The air is blown out from freezing chamber return port 5b located above the lower end of cooler 30, and flows into the upper portion of the lower end of cooler 30.

A cold air blowing port 5c is provided in the storage compartment back wall 24 on the cooling compartment 100 side above the upper end of the cooler 30. An outlet 5d is provided on the outer wall above the freezing chamber 5, in front of the freezing chamber inlet 5 a. The cold air blowing port 5c and the blowing port 5d communicate with each other inside the storage compartment back wall 24. That is, a freezer compartment air duct Q is formed between the cold air outlet 5c and the outlet 5d₅The refrigerating chamber is provided with a delivery wind path Q₅For the flow of cold air delivered from the cooling compartment 100 to the freezing compartment 5.

When the doors (11-15) of each storage room are opened and closed, outside air containing a large amount of moisture can intrude into each storage room. In general, refrigerating room 1 is opened and closed at a high frequency by a user in comparison with freezing room 5. Thereby, the refrigerating chamber 1 is cooledThe air returned to the cooler 30, i.e., the refrigerating compartment return cold air C₁Is generally lower than the cold air C returned from the freezing chamber₅The amount of water is large. Therefore, the refrigerator 10 is operated for a long time, and the cold storage room return cold air C containing a large amount of moisture is returned₁When heat exchange is performed with the cooler 30, frost may adhere to the surface of the cooler 30.

Fig. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the refrigerator of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 4, the refrigerator 10 includes a refrigerant circuit 60, and the refrigerant circuit 60 is connected to a compressor 61, a piping group 62, an expander 63, and the cooler 30 by refrigerant piping 60a, and circulates a refrigerant such as isobutane.

The compressor 61 adiabatically compresses the refrigerant to become a high-temperature high-pressure gas refrigerant. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant flowing out of the compressor 61 flows into a pipe group 62 buried in the heat insulating wall 21 provided in the refrigerator body, and is radiated into the pipe group 62 to become a liquid refrigerant. Then, the liquid refrigerant flowing out of the piping group 62 is expanded by an expander 63 such as a capillary tube to become a low-temperature two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant. The two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant expanded in the expander 63 exchanges heat with the return air C from each storage chamber in the refrigerator when passing through the cooler 30. The two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant flowing into the cooler 30 absorbs heat of the return air C to become gas at the time of heat exchange with the return air C, and returns to the compressor 61. The air having the temperature lowered by the heat absorption of the cooler 30 is delivered into the refrigerator by the circulation fan 40. In this way, the refrigerant circuit 60 of the refrigerator 10 performs a cooling operation for circulating and cooling air in the refrigerator. The return air C includes refrigerating room return cold air C₁The cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄And cold air returned from the freezer compartment C₅。

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of the cooling chamber and its periphery of fig. 3. That is, fig. 5 is a front view of the cooler 30 and its peripheral structure. Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 5. The structure of the cooler 30 and the air passage will be specifically described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. As described above, cooling chamber 100 is a space between storage compartment back wall 24 and main body back wall 22, and houses circulation fan 40, cooler 30, and heater 51.

As shown in fig. 5, the main body 20 has a cooling compartment 100 on one side thereof, and a cooling air C for returning to the cooling compartment is formed in the cooling compartment₁Passing refrigerating chamber return air passage P₁. In main body 20, refrigerating room return port 1b through which air in refrigerating room 1 passes when returning to cooler 30 is provided. Refrigerating room return port 1b is provided in one side surface of cooling chamber 100 in the left-right direction, below the lower end of cooler 30. That is, the cold air C is returned from the refrigerating chamber₁The air blown out from refrigerating room return port 1b passes through cooler 30 from below to above.

Further, the main body 20 is provided with a storage chamber return port 4b through which air in the vegetable chamber 4 passes when returning to the cooler 30. The storage chamber return port 4b is provided at a position lower than the lower end of the cooler 30 in the other lateral surface of the cooling chamber 100 in the left-right direction. Therefore, the cold air C returned from the storage compartment is blown out from the storage compartment return port 4b₄Also passing through the cooler 30 from below towards above.

On the other hand, as described above, the freezing chamber return port 5b is provided at a position between the lower end and the upper end of the cooler 30. Therefore, the freezer compartment return cold air C blown out from the freezer compartment return port 5b₅Flows into the cooler 30 at an upper side than the lower end thereof, and passes through the cooler 30 from there in an upward direction. That is, according to cooling compartment 100, return of cold air C to the refrigerating compartment with relatively large moisture can be suppressed₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄Cold air returning from freezing chamber C of relatively low temperature₅Mixing, therefore, frost formation on the cooler 30 can be suppressed. Therefore, an increase in air passage resistance due to frost formation of the cooler 30 can be suppressed, and thus the cooling performance of the cooler 30 can be improved.

Refrigerating room return port 1b is provided on one side surface of main body 20, and storage room return port 4b is provided on the other side surface of main body 20. That is, storage chamber return port 4b is provided on the side surface of main body 20 opposite to refrigerating chamber return port 1 b. Therefore, the cold air C can be returned from the refrigerating chamber₁Caused by moisture contained inIs concentrated on one of the left and right sides of the cooler 30, and the cold air C is returned from the storage chamber₄Frost formation due to moisture contained in (b) is concentrated on the other of the left and right sides of the cooler 30. This can prevent variation in the frost formation of the cooler 30. In the example of fig. 5, the cold air C can be returned from the refrigerating compartment₁The frost formation is concentrated on the y-axis positive side, and the frost formation caused by moisture contained in the storage compartment returned cold air C4 is concentrated on the y-axis negative side.

The cooler 30 includes a piping portion 35 in which one or a plurality of heat transfer pipes 33 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the vertical direction. In the pipe portion 35 illustrated in fig. 6, 8 rows of three heat transfer pipes 33 arranged in the front-rear direction are arranged in the vertical direction. The pipe portion 35 has a plurality of connecting pipes 34 formed in a U shape. That is, in the piping unit 35, the plurality of heat transfer pipes 33 are arranged in each of the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, and one end in the left-right direction of two heat transfer pipes 33 adjacent to each other up and down is connected by the connecting pipe 34. Thereby, as shown in fig. 5, the pipe portion 35 is formed integrally with each other.

The cooler 30 has a fin group 32 in which a plurality of fins 31 arranged at intervals in the left-right direction are arranged in a plurality of layers in the up-down direction. The fin group 32 is formed by arranging a plurality of fins 31, through which the heat transfer tubes 33 in one or two rows pass, in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction. Fig. 5 and 6 illustrate a fin group 32 in which a plurality of fins 31, through which three heat transfer tubes 33 aligned in the front-rear direction penetrate, are arranged in 8 layers in the vertical direction, for example, in a row of heat transfer tubes 33.

In the fin group 32, a plurality of fins 31 arranged in the left-right direction in each layer are stacked so that the fin pitch, which is the interval between the fins 31, is constant. In the cooler 30, the interval between the fins 31 is made constant, whereby the heat transfer area is enlarged and the cooling performance is improved.

In embodiment 1, the fin pitch of the lower portion of the fin group 32 is wider than the fin pitch of the upper portion. That is, the fin pitch of the lower layer of the fin group 32 is wider than the fin pitch of the upper layer. The fin group 32 of embodiment 1 has two kinds of fin pitches, and the fin pitch of at least one layer on the lower side is relatively wide.

The fin pitch of the lower two layers of the fin group 32 illustrated in fig. 5 is wider than the fin pitch of the upper six layers. That is, as shown in fig. 5, the fin group 32 includes an upper fin group 32a disposed in an upper region Ra of the cooler 30 and a lower fin group 32b disposed in a lower region Rb of the cooler 30. The interval between the fins 31 included in the upper fin group 32a is wider than the interval between the fins 31 included in the lower fin group 32 b.

If the distance between the fins 31 is adjusted as described above, the cold air C returns even to the refrigerating room containing a large amount of moisture₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄Flows into the lower part of the cooler 30, and also flows into the lower part of the cooler 30, thereby reducing the clogging between the fins 31 due to the frost formation. Therefore, the increase in the air passage resistance can be suppressed. In embodiment 1, the freezing chamber return port 5b is disposed so as to face below the upper fin group 32a having a relatively narrow fin pitch among the fin groups 32. Therefore, the frost formation below the cooler 30 can be suppressed, and the return cold air C from the freezing chamber can be ensured₅The heat exchange efficiency can be improved by passing through the region in the cooler 30.

Further, as the defrosting device, the refrigerator 10 includes, in addition to the heater 51, a plurality of heat transfer heaters 52 formed of, for example, flexible cord heaters and disposed in close contact with the fins 31 of the cooler 30. The heat transfer heaters 52 are disposed on the front surface side and the back surface side of the cooler 30, respectively. The heat transfer heater 52 is inserted between the fins 31 of the cooler 30 in the vertical direction or the like and is in close contact with the fins 31, and heats the fins 31 mainly by heat conduction.

Thus, the refrigerator 10 can melt the frost attached to the cooler 30 by simultaneously generating heat by the heater 51 and the heat transfer heater 52. However, the refrigerator 10 is not limited to the case where the heater 51 and the heat transfer heater 52 are simultaneously heated, and either one of the heater 51 and the heat transfer heater 52 may be heated depending on the state of frost formation of the cooler 30 or the like.

In the example of fig. 6, in the upper fin group 32a, the heat transfer heaters 52 are disposed for each two layers, that is, between two fins 31 and two fins 31 arranged in the vertical direction, on both the front side and the rear side of the cooler 30. In the lower fin group 32b, heat transfer heaters 52 are disposed for each layer, i.e., between the fins 31 and the fins 31 arranged in the vertical direction, on both the front side and the rear side of the cooler 30. However, the arrangement interval of the heat transfer heaters 52 is not limited to the example of fig. 6, and can be changed as appropriate. The position of the heat transfer heater 52 on the front side of the cooler 30 may be shifted from the position of the heat transfer heater 52 on the rear side of the cooler 30. The heat transfer heater 52 may be disposed on either the front side or the rear side of the cooler 30.

However, during defrosting, water dripping from the cooler 30 may fall on the heater 51. Therefore, a heater top cover 51a is disposed above the heater 51, i.e., between the cooler 30 and the heater 51. By providing the heater top cover 51a, water dripping from the cooler 30 can be prevented from directly falling on the heater 51. The water dropped from the cooler 30 is received by the drain pan 55 at the lower part of the cooling chamber 100 and is drained from the drain tank 56.

The storage compartment back wall 24 is composed of a heat insulator 24a and a vacuum heat insulator 24 b. That is, the refrigerating chamber return air passage P₅Is an air passage covered with a heat insulator 24a in the storage compartment back wall 24. As shown in fig. 6, the freezer compartment returns cold air C₅Flows from the inlet 5a of the freezing chamber and passes through the return air passage P of the freezing chamber₅The refrigerant flows into the cooler 30 from the freezing chamber return port 5b, flows upward from below in the cooler 30, and is sent to each part by the circulation fan 40.

In the return air path P of the freezing chamber₅A gap 5n is formed, and water generated when frost and the like generated in the air passage are melted is dropped to fall on water receiving tray 55. If the clearance 5n is large, the cold air C returns to the freezing chamber₅Flows into the cooling chamber 100 from the gap 5 n. Further, the refrigerating room having relatively large moisture is returned with the cold air C below the cooler 30₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄Cold air returning from freezing chamber C of relatively low temperature₅Mixing, frost formation may occur in the cooler 30.

Therefore, the refrigerator 10 according to embodiment 1 is provided with a gap 5n in the portion thereofThe cold air partition plate 70 is a separate member from the storage compartment back wall 24. The refrigerator 10 reduces the gap 5n by the cold air partition 70 to suppress the returning of cold air C from the freezing chamber₅And flows into the cooling chamber 100.

However, the cold air partition 70 is disposed at a portion where heat generated by the heater 51 is transferred. In this regard, the refrigerator 10 is configured to suppress deformation and the like due to heating of the heater 51 by using a metal as the material of the cold air partition 70. The cold air partition 70 is made of metal, and is easy to transfer heat, so that frost and the like are easily melted. Therefore, even when frost is formed, the cold air separator 70 is quickly defrosted by heat from the heater 51.

As shown in fig. 6, the partition plate 27 is formed by laminating a heat insulator 27a and a vacuum heat insulator 27 b. Partition plate 25 and partition plate 26 are configured similarly to partition plate 27. The main body back wall 22 is formed by laminating a vacuum heat insulator 22b on a heat insulator 22 a.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating a flow of cold air in the vegetable room of fig. 1. The flow of cold air in vegetable compartment 4 will be described with reference to fig. 7. Air outlet 4c through which air cooled in cooling compartment 100 is blown out is provided in the upper front surface or upper side surface of storage compartment back wall 24. Fig. 7 illustrates a case where the air outlet 4c is provided on the front surface above the storage compartment back wall 24. Further, a storage chamber return port 4a for returning air in vegetable chamber 4 to cooling chamber 100 is provided in a side surface below storage chamber back wall 24. That is, in vegetable compartment 4, cold air is blown out from outlet port 4c of storage compartment back wall 24, and the air in vegetable compartment 4 is cooled to a set temperature. The air cooled in the vegetable compartment 4 is returned as cold air C to the storage compartment₄And returns to the cooling chamber 100 from the storage chamber return port 4 a.

As described above, refrigerating room return port 1b and storage room return port 4b of refrigerator 10 according to embodiment 1 are provided below the lower end of cooler 30, and freezing room return port 5b connected to the air passage of storage room back wall 24 is provided above the lower end of cooler 30. Therefore, the cold air blown out from refrigerating room return port 1b and storage room return port 4b is passed upward from belowA subcooler 30. The cold air blown out from freezer return port 5b flows into a position above the lower end of cooler 30, and passes through cooler 30 upward therefrom. Accordingly, even when vegetable compartment 4 is provided at the upper layer of freezer compartment 5, return of cold air C to the refrigerating compartment containing relatively much moisture can be suppressed₁And cold storage compartment return air C4 and cold compartment return air C of relatively low temperature₅And (4) mixing. Therefore, an increase in air passage resistance due to frost formation of the cooler 30 can be suppressed, and thus the cooling performance can be improved.

Refrigerating room return port 1b is provided on one side surface of main body 20, and storage room return port 4b is provided on the other side surface of main body 20. That is, the cold air C is returned from the refrigerating chamber₁Return air path P through refrigerating chamber₁And flows into cooler 30 from refrigerating room return port 1 b. In addition, the cold air C is returned from the storage chamber₄Flows into cooler 30 from storage compartment return port 4a located on the side surface of cooling compartment 100 opposite to refrigerating compartment return port 1 b. Further, the cold air C is returned from the refrigerating chamber₁Returning cool air C to the storage chamber₄Flows upward from below the cooler 30, and is sent to each storage room by the circulation fan 40. This makes it possible to return cool air C from the refrigerating compartment of cooler 30₁Frosting position and returning of cold air C based on storage room₄The frost formation positions of (a) are separated, so that variation in frost formation of the cooler 30 can be prevented, and the cold air can be made to flow into the cooler 30 in a well-balanced manner.

However, the cooler of patent document 1 is configured to: the lower fin pitch is narrower than the upper fin pitch in the height direction, thereby promoting the concept of concentrating on the lower portion and preventing the fins in the upper portion from frosting. However, in the refrigerator of patent document 1, when frost is formed on the lower portion of the deflection cooler, clogging due to the frost is generated on the lower portion, and the air passage resistance to the air flowing into the lower portion increases. In the refrigerator disclosed in patent document 1, the bypass air passage is formed in at least one of the front surface side and the back surface side of the cooler, and therefore, even if clogging occurs due to frost formation in the lower portion of the cooler, the cooled air is sent to the upper portion of the cooler. However, in the refrigerator of patent document 1, the air passage resistance of the lower portion of the cooler is increased due to clogging caused by frost formation, and therefore, the bypass air passage needs to be enlarged. Therefore, most of the air sent to the cooler from below flows into the bypass airflow path, and heat exchange with the cooler cannot be sufficiently performed, which results in a problem of lowering cooling performance.

In this respect, in embodiment 1, the fin pitch of the cooler 30 is wider at the lower side than at the upper side. Therefore, the lower side of the cooler 30 is not easily affected by frost formation. That is, even if relatively much frost is generated below the cooler 30, clogging between the fins 31 due to frost formation is alleviated below the cooler 30, and thus an increase in air passage resistance can be suppressed. Further, the fin pitch of at least 1 layer on the lower side of the fin group 32 is relatively wide, and therefore, even if the cold air C returns from the refrigerating compartment₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄Frost formation occurs in the cooler 30, and an air passage below the cooler 30 can be ensured.

Here, in the refrigerator 10, the refrigerating chamber relatively rich in moisture returns cool air C₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄Since the frost flows into the lower side of the cooler 30, a larger amount of frost is generated on the lower side than on the upper side of the cooler 30. In this regard, in the refrigerator 10, the heater 51 is provided below the cooler 30 in the air passage between the storage compartment back wall 24 and the main body back wall 22. Therefore, according to the refrigerator 10, by generating heat from the heater 51, frost can be preferentially removed below the cooler 30, and an increase in air passage resistance can be further suppressed.

Further, the refrigerator 10 has a heat transfer heater 52 which is provided in close contact with the fin 31 and heats the fin 31. In this way, in the refrigerator 10, by generating heat in at least one of the heater 51 and the heat transfer heater 52, frost adhering to the cooler 30 can be efficiently melted.

In addition, in the refrigerating chamber return air passage P₅At least a cold air partition 70 is provided below the cooler 30, and the cold air partition 70 blocks the return of cold air C from the freezing chamber₅Flows into the lower part of the cooler 30. Therefore, the clearance 5n can be reduced to suppress the return of the freezing chamberCold air C₅Flows into the cooling chamber 100. The cold air partition 70 is made of metal. This can suppress deformation of the cold air partition 70 due to heating of the heater 51. In addition, even when frost adheres to the cold air separator 70, the adhered frost can be removed quickly due to the good thermal conductivity of the metal.

Embodiment 2.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a peripheral structure of a cooling chamber of a refrigerator according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. The overall configuration of the refrigerator according to embodiment 2 is the same as that of embodiment 1 described above, and therefore the same reference numerals are used for the same components, and the description thereof is omitted.

The refrigerator 10 according to embodiment 2 is provided with a bypass air passage 80, and the bypass air passage 80 is provided in at least one of the main body back wall 22 and the storage compartment back wall 24 to return cool air C from the storage compartment₁And cold air C returned from the storage chamber₄And (4) passing.

Fig. 8 illustrates a case where the bypass air passage 80 is formed between the cooler 30 and the main body back wall 22. That is, the refrigerator 10 has a bypass groove 81 as a partially provided groove at a position facing the cooler 30 of the main body back wall 22. This enlarges the gap between the cooler 30 and the body back wall 22, and ensures the bypass air passage 80.

More specifically, the bypass groove 81 is composed of a lower inclined surface 81a, a flat surface 81b, and an upper inclined surface 81 c. The lower inclined surface 81a is provided at a position facing the lower end of the cooler 30, and is formed to be inclined from the front to the rear. The flat surface 81b is provided above the lower inclined surface 81a and is formed along a side surface of the rear side of the cooler 30. The upper inclined surface 81c is provided above the flat surface 81b and below the upper end of the cooler 30, and is formed to be inclined from the rear toward the front.

As described above, the refrigerator 10 according to embodiment 2 is provided with the bypass groove 81 to form the bypass air passage 80. Accordingly, even if the fins 31 are clogged due to frost formed below the cooler 30, the air passage resistance increases, and the cold room return air C1 and the cold room return air C4 can pass through the bypass air passage 80, so that the cooling performance can be prevented from being lowered.

Here, fig. 8 illustrates a case where the bypass groove 81 is provided in the main body back wall 22, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the bypass groove 81 may be provided in the storage compartment back wall 24, or may be provided in both the main body back wall 22 and the storage compartment back wall 24. That is, the bypass air passage 80 may be provided in at least one of the main body back wall 22 and the storage compartment back wall 24.

The above-described embodiments are specific preferred examples of the refrigerator, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, although the refrigerator 10 has five storage compartments in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this, and the refrigerator 10 may have only the refrigerating compartment 1, the vegetable compartment 4, and the freezing compartment 5 as a plurality of storage compartments. In addition, the refrigerator 10 may be configured without providing at least one of the ice making chamber 2 and the switching chamber 3. In addition, the refrigerator 10 may have four storage compartments, or may have six or more storage compartments. In this case, the configurations and arrangements of the storage compartments other than refrigerating compartment 1, vegetable compartment 4, and freezing compartment 5 can be variously selected.

In the above description, vegetable compartment 4 is illustrated as a storage compartment provided between refrigerating compartment 1 and freezing compartment 5 and set to a temperature range lower than that of freezing compartment 5, but is not limited thereto. That is, the storage room provided between refrigerating room 1 and freezing room 5 and set to a temperature zone lower than that of freezing room 5 may be a storage room used for purposes other than storage of vegetables.

In fig. 6 and 8, a fin group 32 in which a plurality of fins 31 through which the heat transfer tubes 33 of 1 row pass are arranged in multiple layers in the vertical direction is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The fin group 32 may be formed by arranging a plurality of fins 31, through which the heat transfer tubes 33 of row 1 pass, in multiple layers in the vertical direction. In the above description, the case where the fin group 32 has two fin pitches has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the fin group 32 may have three or more fin pitches. In this case, the fin pitch may be wider with the layer toward the lower side. For example, when there are three fin pitches of the fin group 32, the fin pitch of the lower layer may be the widest and the fin pitch of the upper layer may be the narrowest. In addition, in the above description, the case where the piping portion 35 is configured by the plurality of heat transfer pipes 33 and the plurality of connecting pipes 34 has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the piping portion 35 may be configured by integrally forming the plurality of heat transfer pipes 33 and the plurality of connecting pipes 34.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … cold storage chamber; 1b … refrigerating compartment return port; 2 … ice making chamber; 2a … an ice bank; 3 … switching chamber; 4 … vegetable room; 4a … reservoir return port; 4b … reservoir return port; 4c … outlet port; 5 … freezing chamber; 5a … freezer flow inlet; 5b … freezer return port; 5c … cold air supply outlet; 5d … outlet port; a 5n … gap; 10 … refrigerator; 11 … refrigerating chamber door; 11a … first door; 11b … second door; 12 … ice making chamber door; 13 … switching door; 14 … vegetable room door; 15 … freezer door; 20 … a body portion; 21 … heat insulating wall; 22 … back wall of main body; 22a … insulation; 22b … vacuum insulation; 24 … storage compartment back wall; 24a … insulation; 24b … vacuum insulation; 25 … a divider plate; 26 … a divider plate; 27 … a divider plate; 27a … insulation; 27b … vacuum insulation; a 30 … cooler; a 31 … fin; 32 … fin sets; 32a … upper fin set; 32b … lower fin group; 33 … heat transfer tubes; 34 … connecting tube; 35 … piping parts; 40 … circulating fan; a 51 … heater; 51a … heater top cover; 52 … heat transfer heaters; 55 … water pan; 56 … drainage channel; 60 … refrigerant circuit; 60a … refrigerant piping; 61 … compressor; 62 … piping set; 63 … expander; 70 … cold air baffle; 80 … bypass the air path; 81 … bypass channel; 81a … lower slope; 81b … flat face; 81c … upper inclined surface; 100 … cooling chamber; c … return air; c₁… returning cold air from the cold storage chamber; c₄… cold air is returned from the storage chamber; c₅… returning cold air to the freezing chamber; p₁… refrigerating chamber return air path; p₅… return air path for freezing chamber; q₅… freezing chamber conveying wind path; ra, Rb … region.

Claims

1. A refrigerator is characterized by comprising:

a main body portion comprising: a refrigerating chamber; a freezing chamber provided below the refrigerating chamber; a storage compartment provided between the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and set to a temperature zone higher than that of the freezing compartment, and having a storage compartment back wall on a back surface side; and

a cooler disposed in an air passage between the storage compartment back wall and a main body back wall constituting a back surface of the main body to cool air inside the main body,

the main body is provided with:

a refrigerating chamber return port through which air in the refrigerating chamber passes when returning to the cooler;

a storage chamber return port through which air of the storage chamber passes when returning to the cooler; and

a freezer return port through which air in the freezer passes when returning to the cooler through an air passage provided in a back wall of the storage compartment,

the refrigerating chamber return port and the storage chamber return port are respectively provided at a position lower than a lower end of the cooler,

the freezing chamber return port is provided at a position between a lower end and an upper end of the cooler.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the refrigerating chamber return port is provided on one side surface side of the main body,

the storage chamber return port is provided on the other side surface side of the main body.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2,

the cooler has a fin group in which a plurality of fins arranged at intervals in the left-right direction are arranged in a plurality of layers in the up-down direction,

in the fin group, the fin pitch, which is the interval between the fins in each layer, is wider in the lower layer than in the upper layer.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2,

the cooler has:

a piping part in which one or more heat transfer pipes are arranged in a plurality of rows in the vertical direction; and

a fin group in which a plurality of fins through which one or two rows of the heat transfer tubes pass are arranged in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction,

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3 or 4,

there are two kinds of intervals between a plurality of fins of the fin group,

the fin pitch of at least one layer of the lower side is relatively wide.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5,

the freezing chamber return port is disposed so as to face below a portion of the fin group where the fin pitch is relatively narrow.

7. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 3 to 6,

the heat transfer heater is provided in close contact with the fin and heats the fin.

8. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

a heater for defrosting the cooler is provided below the cooler in an air path between the storage chamber back wall and the main body back wall.

9. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

and a cold air partition plate provided at a position lower than the cooler in a freezer return air passage formed between the freezer inlet and the freezer return opening above the freezer compartment, the cold air partition plate preventing the freezer return cold air, which is the air blown out from the freezer return opening, from flowing into the cooler.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9,

the cold air partition is made of metal.

11. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 10,

a bypass air passage through which cold storage compartment return air, which is air blown out from the cold storage compartment return opening, and cold storage compartment return air, which is air blown out from the cold storage compartment return opening, pass is formed in at least one of the back wall of the storage compartment and the back wall of the main body.