CN112313462B - Shielding device and refrigerator with same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a shielding device capable of reducing occupied volume and a refrigerator. The shielding device (70) of the invention is a device for appropriately blocking an air path for blowing cold air in a refrigerator (10). Specifically, the shielding device (70) includes: a plurality of rotary shielding walls (71) which surround a blower (47) rotated by the blower motor from the outside in the radial direction; and a shielding wall drive mechanism (60) for driving the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall (71). Further, the shielding device (70) is disposed in a path for blowing the cold air, and the shielding wall drive mechanism (60) is disposed in a region partitioned from the air passage.

Description

Shielding device and refrigerator with same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a shielding device and a refrigerator having the same, and more particularly, to a shielding device for appropriately blocking an air passage connected from a cooling chamber to a storage chamber and a refrigerator having the same.

Background

Conventionally, as described in patent document 1, a refrigerator in which a plurality of storage compartments are appropriately cooled by 1 cooler is known.

Fig. 51 schematically shows a refrigerator 1100 described in this document. In the refrigerator 1100 shown in the figure, a refrigerating chamber 1101, a freezing chamber 1102, and a vegetable chamber 1103 are formed from above. A cooling chamber 1104 for housing a cooler 1108 is formed on the back side of freezing chamber 1102, and an opening 1106 for supplying cold air to each storage chamber is formed in a partition wall 1105 that partitions cooling chamber 1104 and freezing chamber 1102. A blowing fan 1107 for blowing cold air is disposed in the opening 1106, and a blower housing 1110 covering the blowing fan 1107 is disposed on the freezing chamber 1102 side. A damper (damper)1114 is disposed in the middle of an air passage 1109 through which cooled air supplied to refrigerating room 1101 flows.

Referring to fig. 52, the blower case 1110 described above will be described in detail. The blower casing 1110 has a substantially rectangular recess 1111 formed therein, and an opening 1113 is formed by partially cutting off an upper portion of the recess 1111. Here, in a state where the blower housing 1110 covers the blower fan 1107, the opening 1113 of the blower housing 1110 communicates with the air passage 1109 on the refrigerator main body side.

The refrigerator 1100 having the above-described configuration operates as follows. First, when cooling both the refrigerating room 1101 and the freezing room 1102, the blower housing 1110 is separated from the blower fan 1107, and the shutter 1114 is opened, and the blower fan 1107 is rotated in this state. Then, part of the cold air cooled by the cooler 1108 inside the cooling chamber 1104 is blown to the freezing chamber 1102 by the blowing force of the blowing fan 1107. Another part of the cold air is blown to refrigerator 1101 through air path 1109, baffle 1114, and air path 1109. Thereby, both the freezer compartment 1102 and the refrigerator compartment 1101 are cooled.

On the other hand, when cooling only the refrigerating room 1101, the blower fan 1107 is covered by the blower housing 1110, the shutter 1114 is opened, and the cool air cooled by the cooler 1108 is blown by the blower fan 1107 in this state. When the blower housing 1110 is closed, the opening 1113 formed in the upper portion of the blower housing 1110 communicates with the air passage 1109. Therefore, the cold air blown by blower fan 1107 is supplied to refrigerating room 1101 through opening 1113, shutter 1114, and air passage 1109 described above.

As described above, by using the blower casing 1110 having the opening 1113 formed therein, it is possible to appropriately cool the plurality of storage compartments by 1 cooler 1108.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-2664

Disclosure of Invention

However, the blower housing 1110 having the above-described configuration is moved backward to close the opening 1106 of the cooling chamber 1104, and is moved forward to open the opening 1106 of the cooling chamber 1104. In addition, a driving mechanism for moving the blower housing 1110 in the front-rear direction is required. If cold air is blown to the driving mechanism, the driving mechanism freezes, and the blower case 1110 may not be opened and closed.

Further, the blower housing 1110 requires a space for opening and closing in the front-rear direction. Therefore, a large space is required for opening and closing the blower housing 1110 inside the refrigerator 1100. As a result, the indoor volume of freezing chamber 1102 formed in front of blower housing 1110 is squeezed, and the amount of stored material that can be stored in freezing chamber 1102 is limited. Further, when the blower housing 1110 is moved in the front-rear direction by the motor, a driving sound is generated, and if the driving sound is large, the user may feel unpleasant.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a shielding device which does not freeze a driving mechanism, does not cause a squeezing of an indoor volume, and has a small driving sound, and a refrigerator having the same.

The shielding device of the invention is a shielding device for blocking an air path for blowing cold air in a refrigerator, and is characterized by comprising: a rotary shielding wall surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a shielding wall driving mechanism that drives the rotary shielding wall, the shielding wall driving mechanism being disposed in an area outside the wind path.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shutter wall drive mechanism includes: a disk-shaped rotating plate having a moving shaft sliding groove formed therein; a cam having a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove and rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall; and a driving motor that rotates the rotating plate, wherein the moving shaft of the cam slides in the moving shaft sliding groove, and thereby the rotating shield wall is opened and closed.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the moving shafts of the plurality of cams are engaged with 1 of the moving shaft sliding grooves.

Further, the present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage through which cool air is blown into a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls which are arranged in parallel to surround the blower from the outside in the radial direction and which open and close the air passage by rotation; and a shield wall driving mechanism that drives the rotary shield wall, the shield wall driving mechanism including a driving source and a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the driving source to the rotary shield wall.

Further, the present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage through which cool air is blown into a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a plurality of shield wall drive mechanisms for driving the rotary shield wall.

Further, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, in the shielding device, since the shielding wall driving mechanism that drives the rotating shielding wall is disposed outside the air passage through which the cool air is blown, the shielding wall driving mechanism can be prevented from freezing.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shutter wall drive mechanism includes: a disk-shaped rotating plate having a moving shaft sliding groove formed therein; a cam having a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove and rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall; and a driving motor for rotating the rotating plate, and causing the rotating shielding wall to open and close by sliding the moving shaft of the cam in the moving shaft sliding groove. Accordingly, the shielding device can easily drive the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall by the rotation operation of the rotary plate, and thus the volume occupied by the shielding device can be reduced without squeezing the indoor volume as compared with a conventional shielding device in which the members constituting the shielding device move in the front-rear direction. In the shielding device of the present invention, the moving shaft of the cam slides in the moving shaft sliding groove to open and close the rotary shielding wall, so that the generated driving noise can be greatly reduced.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the moving shafts of the plurality of cams are engaged with 1 of the moving shaft sliding grooves. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the rotary shielding wall is opened and closed by the cam that slides by the rotation of the rotary plate, and therefore the shielding device is thin and can secure a large indoor volume of the storage chamber. Further, by engaging the moving shafts of the plurality of cams with 1 sliding groove, the meandering shape of the sliding groove can be made smooth. Therefore, the sliding operation of the sliding groove and the moving shaft and the rotating operation of the rotating shielding wall can be smoothly performed. Further, the number of sliding grooves can be reduced, and the structure of the shielding device can be simplified.

Further, the present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage through which cool air is blown into a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls which are arranged in parallel to surround the blower from the outside in the radial direction and which rotate to open and close the air passage; and a shield wall driving mechanism that drives the rotary shield wall, the shield wall driving mechanism including a driving source and a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the driving source to the rotary shield wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the air passage is opened and closed by the rotary shielding wall surrounding the blower from the periphery, so that the size of the entire shielding device in the thickness direction can be reduced, and the entire device can be downsized. Further, by transmitting power from the drive source to the rotary shielding wall using the power transmission mechanism, the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall can be performed satisfactorily.

Further, the present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage through which cool air is blown into a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a plurality of shield wall drive mechanisms for driving the rotary shield wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, by providing a plurality of shielding wall driving mechanisms, the rotatable shielding walls can be individually operated, and the degree of freedom of the opening and closing operation of the entire rotatable shielding wall can be improved.

In addition, the refrigerator of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path. This reduces the internal volume of the chamber occupied by the shielding device, and therefore ensures a large effective volume of each storage chamber. In addition, the air passage resistance of the shielding device is small, so that a large blowing amount can be obtained with less energy, and the storage chamber can be effectively cooled.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an external appearance of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a structure in the vicinity of a cooling chamber of a refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a state in which the shielding device used in the refrigerator according to embodiment 1 of the present invention is assembled, (a) is a perspective view, (B) is a sectional view seen from a cut-off line a-a, and (C) is a view showing an air passage structure seen from the rear.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a shield device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, wherein (a) is an exploded perspective view, and (B) is an exploded sectional view showing a shield wall driving mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, (a) is an exploded perspective view partially showing the shielding device, and (B) is a perspective view showing a cam.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, where (a) is a view showing a rotatable shielding wall of the shielding device as viewed from the front, and (B) is a view showing a structure of a rotating plate as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shading device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shading device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a sectional diagram of the shading device as viewed from a cut-off line B-B of fig. 8(a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged sectional diagram of fig. 8 (B).

Fig. 9 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the shielding device as viewed from a cut line C-C of fig. 9(a), (C) is a view showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of fig. 9 (B).

Fig. 10 is a view showing a state where only cold air is supplied to the lower freezing chamber in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the rear, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a state of an air passage when cool air is supplied only to the lower freezer compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from behind.

Fig. 12 is a view showing a state where only cold air is supplied to the freezing chamber in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a state of an air duct when cool air is supplied only to the freezer compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 14 is a view showing a state where only cold air is supplied to the upper freezing chamber in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 15 is a view showing a state of an air passage when cool air is supplied only to the upper freezer compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 16 is a view showing a state where cold air is not supplied in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 17 is a view showing a state of an air passage when no cold air is supplied in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 18 is a view showing a state where only cold air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 19 is a view showing a state of an air passage when only cold air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a state where cold air is supplied to the upper freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the rear direction, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device, and (B) is a diagram showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing a state of an air passage when cool air is supplied to the upper freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 22 is a view showing a state where cold air is supplied to the whole freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber when viewed from the rear in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating plate.

Fig. 23 is a view showing a state of an air passage when cool air is supplied to the whole freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment in the shielding device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 24 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, wherein (a) is a perspective view and (B) is an exploded perspective view.

Fig. 25 is a view showing a shield device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, where (a) is an exploded view showing a rotary shield wall of the shield device viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view showing a portion where gears mesh with each other.

Fig. 26 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shielding device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a perspective view showing a front cover in which the shielding device is incorporated.

Fig. 27 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shielding device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a perspective view showing a front cover incorporating the shielding device.

Fig. 28 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view showing the shielding device in a closed state, and (B) is a perspective view showing the shielding device in an open state.

Fig. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 30 is a diagram showing a shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a diagram showing an operation in which the shielding device is in an open state, and (B) is a diagram showing an operation in which the shielding device is in a closed state.

Fig. 31 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, wherein (a) is an exploded perspective view, and (B) is an exploded sectional view.

Fig. 32 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, where (a) is an exploded perspective view partially showing the shielding device, and (B) is a perspective view showing a cam.

Fig. 33 is a view showing the shading device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing a rotary shading wall of the shading device as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view showing a structure of a rotary plate as viewed from the front.

Fig. 34 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shading device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shading device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a sectional diagram of the shading device as viewed from a sectional line D-D of (a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotating plate and the like as viewed from the front, and (D) is a partially enlarged sectional diagram of (B).

Fig. 35 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the shielding device as viewed from a cross-sectional line E-E of (a), (C) is a view showing the rotating plate and the like as viewed from the front, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of (B).

Fig. 36 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, wherein (a) is an exploded perspective view, and (B) is an enlarged sectional view showing a shielding wall driving mechanism.

Fig. 37 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the shielding device as viewed from a cut-off line F-F of (a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotating plate and the like as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of (B).

Fig. 38 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shade device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shade device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a sectional view of the shade device as viewed from a cross-sectional line G-G of (a), (C) is a view showing the rotating plate and the like as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged sectional view of (B).

Fig. 39 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 40 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, wherein (a) is an exploded perspective view, and (B) is an exploded sectional view.

Fig. 41 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, where (a) is an exploded perspective view partially showing the shielding device, and (B) is a perspective view showing a cam.

Fig. 42 is a view showing the shielding device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, where (a) is a view showing a rotatable shielding wall of the shielding device viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view showing a structure of a rotating plate viewed from the rear.

Fig. 43 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shielding device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the shielding device as viewed from a cut-off line H-H of (a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of (B).

Fig. 44 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shielding device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shielding device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the shielding device as viewed from a cross-sectional line I-I of (a), (C) is a view showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of (B).

Fig. 45 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, where (a) is an exploded perspective view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a perspective view showing a cam.

Fig. 46 is a view showing a shielding device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, (a) is an exploded perspective view partially showing the shielding device, and (B) is an exploded perspective view showing a structure in which a cam is housed.

Fig. 47 is a view showing the shielding device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, where (a) is a view showing a rotatable shielding wall of the shielding device viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view showing a structure of a rotating plate viewed from the rear.

Fig. 48 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shading device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shading device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a diagram showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (C) is a cut-off perspective view of the shading device.

Fig. 49 is a view showing a fully opened state of the shade device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the shade device as viewed from the rear, (B) is a view showing the rotating plate as viewed from the rear, and (C) is a cut-off perspective view of the shade device.

Fig. 50 is a view showing the 1 st sliding range and the 2 nd sliding range as viewed from the rear in the shading device according to embodiment 5 of the present invention.

Fig. 51 is an enlarged sectional view showing a refrigerator according to the background art.

Fig. 52 is a perspective view showing a blower case used in the refrigerator according to the background art.

Description of the reference numerals

10 refrigerator

11 heat insulation box

12 outer case

13 inner box

14 Heat insulation material

15 refrigerating chamber

17 freezing chamber

18 upper freezing chamber

19 lower part freezing chamber

20 vegetable room

21 heat insulation door

22 baffle plate

23 Heat insulation door

24 heat insulation door

25 heat insulation door

26 Cooling chamber

27 blowing port

28 Return port

29 refrigerating chamber supply air path

30 gear

31 refrigerating chamber supply wind path

32 rib

33 discharge port

34 the outlet

37 vegetable room return air path

38 return port

39 return port

42 thermally insulating partition wall

43 thermally insulating partition wall

44 compressor

45 cooler

46 defrost heater

47 blower

48 swivel joint

49 gear groove

50 wind path dividing wall

51 refrigerating chamber supply air passage

52 upper freezing chamber supply air passage

53 lower part freezing chamber supply wind path

54 swivel joint

55 pin

Partition wall of 56 wind path

57 cover part

58 side wall part

59 open part

60 shield wall drive mechanism

61. 611, 612, 613, 614, 615, 616 cam

62 cam receiving part

63 support base

64 rotating joint

65 separating body

66 partition body

67 front surface cover

68 swivel joint

69 pin

70 shielding device

71. 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716 rotating shielding wall

73 rotating plate

74 driving motor

75 rotating shaft

76. 761, 762, 763, 764, 765, 766 moving axis

77 Gear part

79 sliding groove of rotating shaft

80. 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806 moving shaft sliding groove

8011. 8012, 8013 trough

8021. 8022, 8023, 8024, 8025, 8026 trough portions

8031. 8032, 8033, 8034 trough portions

8041. 8042, 8043, 8044 the trough portion

8051. 8052, 8053, 8054 the trough part

8061. 8062, 8063, 8064, 8065, 8066 trough portions

235 cover plate

236 opening part

254 drive shaft

258 projection

259 at the opening part

260 shield wall drive mechanism

263 supporting base body

264 rotating joint

270 shielding device

271. 2711, 2712, 2713, 2714 to rotate the shield wall

274 drive motor

2811. 2812, 2813, 2814, 2815, 2816 and 2817 gears

282 opening part

283. 284 line fixing part

285 groove

286 line rotator

287 blower mounting part

288 line lid

289 driving motor

290 shielding device

291 rotating shielding wall

292 line

2921. 2922 line end

293 swivel joint part

294 blower

295 wire through part

296 support base

297 cover part

298 rotating joint part

299 cover part

348 rotating the joint

355 Pin

358 side wall part

360. 3601, 3602 shielding wall driving mechanism

361. 3611, 3612, 3613, 3614, 3615 cam

363 support base

364. 368 swivel joint

369 Pin

370 shading device

371. 3711, 3712, 3713, 3714, 3715 turn the shield wall

373. 3731, 3732, 3733, 3734, 3735 rotating plate

374. 3741, 3742, 3743, 3744, 3745 drive motor

376. 3761, 3762, 3763, 3764, 3765 moving axes

380. 3801, 3802, 3803, 3804, 3805 moving axis sliding groove

381 solenoid

382 abutting part

3851. 3852 coiling part

3861. 3862, 3863, 3864 line

387 moving part

430 gear

441 frame portion

448. 454 rotating connecting part

455 pin

458 side wall part

460 shield wall drive mechanism

461. 4611, 4612, 4613, 4614, 4615 cam

462 cam receiving part

463 supporting base body

464. 468 rotary joint part

469 Pin

470 shading device

471. 4711, 4712, 4713, 4714, 4715 rotary shielding wall

473 rotating plate

474 drive motor

475 rotation axis

476. 4761, 4762, 4763, 4764, 4765 moving axes

477 Gear part

479 sliding groove of rotary shaft

480. 4801, 4802, 4804, and 4805 sliding shaft grooves

48011. 48012, 48013, 48021, 48022, 48023, 48024, 48025, 48026, 48027, 48028, 48029, 48041, 48042, 48043, 48044, 48051, 48052, 48053, 48054, 48055, and 48056

548 rotating joint part

549 gear groove

560 shield wall driving mechanism

561. 5611, 5612, 5613, 5614, 5615, 5616 cam

562 cam receiving part

563 supporting base

564. 568 rotating joint

569 Pin

570 screening arrangement

571. 5711, 5712, 5713, 5714, 5715 rotating shield wall

573 rotating plate

574 driving motor

576. 5761, 5762, 5763, 5764, 5765 moving axis

580. 5801, 5802, 5803, 5804, 5805, 5806, 5807, 5808, 5809, 58010, 58011, 58012, 58013, 58014 sliding grooves

5811. 5812, 5813, 5814, 5815, 5816, 5817, 5818, 5819, 58110, 58111, 58112 change points

583 frame-shaped part

585 concave part

586 through hole

1100 refrigerator

1101 refrigerating chamber

1102 freezing chamber

1103 vegetable room

1104 cooling chamber

1105 dividing wall

1106 opening part

1107 blower fan

1108 cooler

1109 wind path

1110 blower housing

1111 recess

1113 opening part

1114 baffle

Detailed Description

(embodiment 1)

Hereinafter, the shielding device 70 and the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. In the following description, directions such as up, down, front, rear, right, and left are used as appropriate, and the right and left indicate the right and left when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the rear. In the following description, the rotation direction is expressed in clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and the rotation direction indicates a direction when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the rear side. In the following description, clockwise is sometimes referred to as forward direction and counterclockwise is sometimes referred to as reverse direction. Further, the structures described in the drawings and the like can be combined with each other.

Fig. 1 is a front external view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, the refrigerator 10 includes a heat insulating box 11 as a main body, and a storage chamber for storing foods and the like is formed inside the heat insulating box 11. As the storage compartments, the uppermost part is refrigerating compartment 15, the lower part of refrigerating compartment 15 is upper freezing compartment 18, the lower part of upper freezing compartment 18 is lower freezing compartment 19, and the lowermost part is vegetable compartment 20. Upper freezer compartment 18 and lower freezer compartment 19 are storage compartments having freezing temperature ranges, and these storage compartments may be collectively referred to as freezer compartment 17 in the following description. Here, upper freezer compartment 18 may be divided into left and right sides, and one side may be used as an ice making compartment.

The heat insulation box 11 has an opening on the front surface thereof, and each heat insulation door 21 and the like is openably and closably provided in an opening corresponding to each storage room. Since the heat insulation door 21 closes the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 15 by dividing it in the left-right direction, the outer upper and lower ends of the heat insulation door 21 in the width direction are rotatably attached to the heat insulation box 11. The heat-insulating doors 23, 24, and 25 are integrally combined with the storage containers, and are supported by the heat-insulating box 11 so as to be able to be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator 10. Specifically, heat-insulating door 23 closes upper freezing chamber 18, heat-insulating door 24 closes lower freezing chamber 19, and heat-insulating door 25 closes vegetable compartment 20.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 10. The heat insulation cabinet 11 as a main body of the refrigerator 10 includes: a steel plate outer case 12 having an opening on the front surface; and an inner case 13 made of synthetic resin and having an opening on the front surface, and disposed in the outer case 12 with a gap. A heat insulating material 14 made of foamed polyurethane is foamed and filled in a gap between the outer box 12 and the inner box 13. The above-described heat-insulating doors 21 and the like also have a heat-insulating structure similar to the heat-insulating box body 11.

The refrigerating chamber 15 and the freezing chamber 17 located at the lower portion thereof are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 42. In addition, cooled air, which is air cooled between upper freezer compartment 18 and lower freezer compartment 19 provided in the lower portion thereof, is allowed to flow freely. Freezing compartment 17 and vegetable compartment 20 are partitioned by heat-insulating partition wall 43.

A refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 is formed in the rear surface of refrigerating compartment 15, and refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 is partitioned by a partition 65 made of synthetic resin and serves as a supply air passage for supplying cold air to refrigerating compartment 15. Refrigerating compartment supply air duct 29 has discharge port 33 for allowing cool air to flow into refrigerating compartment 15.

Freezer compartment supply air duct 31 for allowing cold air cooled by cooler 45 to flow into freezer compartment 17 is formed on the back side of freezer compartment 17. Cooling compartment 26 is formed further on the rear side of freezer compartment supply air duct 31, and inside thereof, cooler 45 as an evaporator for cooling air circulating in the interior is disposed. Freezer supply air duct 31 is a space surrounded by front cover 67 and partition 66 from the front-rear direction.

The cooler 45 is connected to the compressor 44, a radiator, not shown, and a capillary tube, not shown, as expansion means via refrigerant pipes, and constitutes a vapor compression type circulation refrigeration circuit.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing a structure in the vicinity of the cooling chamber 26 of the refrigerator 10. Cooling chamber 26 is provided inside heat insulation box 11 on the rear side of freezer supply air duct 31. Cooling chamber 26 and freezing chamber 17 are partitioned by a synthetic resin partition 66.

Freezer supply air duct 31 formed in front of cooling chamber 26 is a space formed between cooling chamber 26 and front cover 67 made of synthetic resin and attached in front thereof, and serves as an air duct for flowing cold air cooled by cooler 45 to freezer compartment 17. Front surface cover 67 has discharge port 34 formed as an opening for discharging cold air to freezing room 17.

A return port 38 for returning air from freezing chamber 17 to cooling chamber 26 is formed in the lower rear surface of lower freezing chamber 19. A return port 28 is formed below the cooling compartment 26, and the return port 28 is connected to the return port 38 to suck the return cold air from each storage compartment into the cooling compartment 26. The cold air returned through return port 39 (see fig. 2) of vegetable compartment 20 and vegetable compartment return air duct 37 also flows into return port 28.

Further, a defrosting heater 46 is provided below the cooler 45 as defrosting means for melting and removing frost adhering to the cooler 45. The defrosting heater 46 is a resistance heating type heater.

A blowing port 27 as an opening connected to each storage chamber is formed in an upper portion of the cooling chamber 26. The blowing port 27 is an opening through which the cold air cooled by the cooler 45 flows, and communicates the cooling chamber 26 with the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 and the freezing compartment supply air passage 31. A blower 47 that sends cold air from the front toward freezer compartment 17 and the like is disposed at blower port 27. Further, since the shutter functions as a rotary shielding wall 71 of the shielding device 70 described later, the shutter can be omitted.

A shielding device 70 is provided outside the outlet 27 of the cooling chamber 26, and the shielding device 70 is used to appropriately block the air passage connected from the outlet 27. The shielding device 70 is covered from the front by a front surface cover 67.

The structure of the assembly of the shielding device 70 for restricting the air passage will be described with reference to fig. 4. Fig. 4(a) is a perspective view showing the partition body 66 to which the shielding device 70 is assembled, fig. 4(B) is a sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 4(a), and fig. 4(C) is a view showing an air passage structure when the front cover 67 is viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 4(a), a circular outlet 27 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in the partition 66 at the upper part, and a blower 47 and a shielding device 70 are disposed in front of the outlet 27. Here, the shielding device 70 is concealed from the partition body 66. Opening portion 59 formed on the upper end side of partition 66 communicates with refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 shown in fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 4(B), as described above, freezing compartment supply air duct 31 is formed as a space surrounded by partition 66 and front surface cover 67. As described later, the freezer supply air passage 31 is divided into a plurality of air passages. Further, a shielding device 70 and a shielding wall driving mechanism 60 are disposed between the partition 66 and the front cover 67. The shielding device 70 shields the blower 47, and the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 drives the shielding device 70. The structures of the shielding device 70 and the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 are described later with reference to fig. 5 and the like.

Referring to fig. 4(C), a plurality of blowing paths are formed by partitioning the inner space of the front surface cover 67. Specifically, rib-shaped air passage partition walls 50 and 56 are formed to extend rearward from the rear main surface of the front cover 67. The rear ends of the air passage partition walls 50 and 56 are in contact with a partition body 66 shown in fig. 4 (B).

Here, the blowing path through which the cool air is blown is divided into refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51, upper freezing compartment supply air passage 52, and lower freezing compartment supply air passage 53 from above. Refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51 allows the flow of cold air blown into refrigerating compartment 15, upper freezing compartment supply air duct 52 allows the flow of cold air blown into upper freezing compartment 18, and lower freezing compartment supply air duct 53 allows the flow of cold air blown into lower freezing compartment 19. The cold air flowing through refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51 is blown to refrigerating compartment 15 shown in fig. 2 through opening portion 59. Cold air flowing in upper freezer supply air duct 52 is blown to upper freezer 18 shown in fig. 2 through discharge port 34. Cold air flowing through lower freezer supply air duct 53 is blown to lower freezer compartment 19 shown in fig. 2 through discharge port 34. Here, refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51, upper freezer supply air passage 52, and lower freezer supply air passage 53 are formed to extend around shielding device 70.

Refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51 and upper freezer supply air passage 52 are partitioned by air passage partition wall 50. Upper freezer supply air duct 52 and lower freezer supply air duct 53 are partitioned by an air duct partitioning wall 56.

The structure of the shielding device 70 will be described with reference to fig. 5. Fig. 5(a) is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 70, and fig. 5(B) is a side sectional view showing the shielding wall drive mechanism 60 exploded.

Referring to fig. 5(a) and 5(B), the shielding device 70 includes a support base 63, a rotary shielding wall 71, a rotary plate 73, a cover member 57, and a shielding wall drive mechanism 60. The shielding device 70 is a device that shields the air passage of the cold air blown by the blower 47. When the shielding device 70 is opened, the air passage connecting the cooling compartment 26 and each storage compartment is communicated, and when the shielding device 70 is closed, the air passage is cut off.

The blower 47 is disposed at the center of the front surface of the support base 63 via a fastening member such as a screw. Although not shown here, the blower 47 includes, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a turbo fan and a blower motor that rotates the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air radially outward.

The support base 63 is a member formed of synthetic resin having a substantially disk shape in front view. As shown in fig. 5(B), the peripheral portion of the support base 63 is bent substantially perpendicularly forward. The support base 63 is formed with a cam housing 62, which will be described later with reference to fig. 6.

A side wall portion 58 is formed at the periphery of the support base 63. The side wall portion 58 is a wall-shaped portion extending rearward from the support base 63. A plurality of the side wall portions 58 (6 in the present embodiment) are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the support base 63. The rear end of the side wall portion 58 is fastened to the partition body 66 shown in fig. 4(B) by a fastening member such as a screw.

The rotary shielding wall 71 is a rectangular plate-like member made of synthetic resin, and has a long side along the tangential direction of the outer edge of the support base 63. The rotary shielding wall 71 is attached to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the support base 63 so as to be rotatable rearward about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base 63. A plurality of (6 in the present embodiment) rotary shielding walls 71 are arranged near the peripheral edge of the support base 63. The rotary shielding wall 71 is disposed in a path through which the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows, and shields the air passage.

The rotating plate 73 is formed of a steel plate having a substantially circular disk shape in a front view, and is rotatably disposed on the front side of the support base 63. The rotary plate 73 is formed with a moving shaft sliding groove 80 for rotating the rotary shielding wall 71. A gear portion 77 for transmitting torque is formed at a peripheral edge portion of the rotating plate 73. As will be described later, the drive motor 74 is driven to transmit torque via the gear portion 77 of the rotating plate 73, and the rotating plate 73 is rotated, whereby the shield wall 71 is rotated to perform an opening and closing operation.

The cover member 57 is a plate-like member that covers the rotating plate 73 from the front, is formed slightly larger than the rotating plate 73, and has a substantially circular shape when viewed from the front.

A flange to which a drive motor 74 for rotationally driving the rotary plate 73 is attached is formed at the left side portion of the support base 63, and a gear 30 for transmitting the rotational speed and the torque is disposed between the drive motor 74 and the rotary plate 73. The gear 30 meshes with the rotating plate 73, and the torque of the drive motor 74 is transmitted to the rotating plate 73.

Referring to fig. 6, a description will be given of a shield wall driving mechanism 60 for driving the rotary shield wall 71. Fig. 6(a) is an exploded perspective view showing a lower portion of the shielding device 70, and fig. 6(B) is a perspective view showing the cam 61.

Referring to fig. 6(a), the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 includes a cam 61 and a rotating plate 73.

The cam 61 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped member formed of a synthetic resin. As shown in fig. 6(B), a rotation connecting portion 48 is formed at one end of the cam 61, and a hole portion through which the pin 55 can be inserted is formed in the rotation connecting portion 48. The cam 61 is housed in a cam housing 62 of the support base 63.

The cam housing 62 is a hollow formed in the support base 63, and is formed to be elongated in the radial direction of the support base 63. The cam receiving portions 62 are formed corresponding to the respective rotary shielding walls 71. The cam housing 62 is sized to house the cam 61 and the cam 61 is slidable in the radial direction.

As shown in fig. 6(B), the moving shaft 76 is a columnar protrusion protruding from the front surface of the cam 61. The diameter of the moving shaft 76 is slightly smaller than the width of the moving shaft sliding groove 80 formed in the rotating plate 73. The moving shaft 76 is slidably engaged with a moving shaft slide groove 80 of the rotating plate 73.

As shown in fig. 6(a), the rotary shielding wall 71 is formed with a rotary coupling portion 68 projecting obliquely from the base end portion of the rotary shielding wall 71. The pivot coupling portion 68 is formed with a hole through which the pin 55 can be inserted. In addition, the pivotal coupling portions 64 are formed near both end portions of the upper side of the pivotal shielding wall 71. The pivot coupling portion 64 is formed with a hole through which the pin 69 can be inserted.

The rib 32 and the pivot coupling portion 54 are formed near the peripheral edge of the support base 63. The rib 32 and the pivotal coupling portion 54 are provided corresponding to the pivotal blocking walls 71.

The rib 32 is a wall-shaped portion protruding rearward of the support base 63, and is formed to linearly connect adjacent side wall portions 58. Each end of the rib 32 is connected to the side wall 58. The end of the rotary coupling portion 68 on the rotary shielding wall 71 abuts against the rib 32.

The pivotal coupling portion 54 is formed in the vicinity of each rib 32. The pivot coupling portion 54 is formed with a hole through which the pin 69 can be inserted.

The cam 61 and the rotary shielding wall 71 are connected to be rotatable about the pin 55 by inserting the pin 55 into the hole of the rotary coupling portion 48 and the hole of the rotary coupling portion 68.

The support base 63 and the pivotal shielding wall 71 are pivotally connected to each other by inserting the pin 69 into the hole of the pivotal connection portion 54 and the hole of the pivotal connection portion 64.

By configuring the shielding wall drive mechanism 60 as described above, the drive motor 74 is driven to rotate the rotating plate 73, whereby the moving shaft 76 slides in the moving shaft sliding groove 80. Thereby, the cam 61 slides in the cam housing 62. By sliding the cam 61, the rotary shielding wall 71 can be rotated about the pin 55. Specifically, if the cam 61 is slid toward the peripheral edge portion side of the support base 63, the rotary shielding wall 71 rotates so as to be raised with the rotary connecting portion 64 as a rotation center, and the rotary shielding wall 71 is in a state perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 63. On the other hand, if the cam 61 is slid toward the center of the support base 63, the rotary shielding wall 71 rotates so as to be in a lying state with the rotary coupling portion 64 as the rotation center, and the rotary shielding wall 71 is in a state of being substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 63.

Therefore, the rotary shielding wall 71 can be closed by forming the moving shaft sliding groove 80 on the peripheral edge portion side of the support base 63. Conversely, if the moving shaft sliding groove 80 is formed on the center side of the support base 63, the rotary shielding wall 71 can be opened. By utilizing this principle, the open/close state of each rotary shielding wall 71 can be set arbitrarily by selecting the shape of the moving shaft sliding groove 80 corresponding to each rotary shielding wall 71. Thus, without adopting a complicated configuration, the rotary shielding wall 71 can be brought into the fully open state or the fully closed state, and a part of the rotary shielding wall 71 can be brought into the closed state or the open state.

As shown in fig. 5(B), the rotating plate 73 and the cam 61 constituting the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 are disposed in a region sandwiched between the support base 63 and the cover member 57. Therefore, referring to fig. 4(B), the components constituting the shielding wall drive mechanism 60 are not exposed in the freezer compartment air supply duct 31 through which the cold air flows. Therefore, the cold air is not sprayed to the shielding wall driving mechanism 60, and therefore the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 can be prevented from freezing.

Referring to fig. 6(a), side wall portions 58 are formed at the respective longitudinal ends of the rotary shielding wall 71. When the rotary shielding wall 71 is closed, the longitudinal ends of the rotary shielding wall 71 abut against the side wall portions 58. By forming the side wall portions 58 at the respective longitudinal end portions of the rotary shielding wall 71 in this manner, the airtightness when the rotary shielding wall 71 is in the closed state can be improved, and therefore leakage of cold air during cooling or inflow of hot air during defrosting can be reliably suppressed.

Referring to fig. 6(a), by forming the rib 32 in the support base 63, when the rotary shielding wall 71 is closed, the end of the rotary connecting portion 68 of the rotary shielding wall 71 abuts against the rib 32. This can further improve the airtightness when the rotary shielding wall 71 closes the opening.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the shielding device 70, fig. 7(a) is a view showing a rotary shielding wall of the shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and fig. 7(B) is a view showing a structure of a rotary plate as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 7(a), the shielding device 70 includes rotary shielding walls 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716 as the rotary shielding wall 71 described above. The rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 have a rectangular shape and have long sides substantially parallel to the tangential direction of the support base 63. The rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 are rotatably attached to the peripheral edge of the support base 63 shown in fig. 5 (a).

The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 711 is rotatably connected to a cam 611 on which a moving shaft 761 is formed. Similarly, the radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 712 is rotatably connected to a cam 612 on which a moving shaft 762 is formed. The radially inner end of the rotating shielding wall 713 is rotatably coupled to a cam 613 having a moving shaft 763 formed therein. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 714 is rotatably connected to a cam 614 having a moving shaft 764 formed thereon. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 715 is rotatably coupled to a cam 615 on which a moving shaft 765 is formed. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 716 is rotatably coupled to a cam 616 having a moving shaft 766 formed thereon.

Referring to fig. 7(B), the rotating plate 73 is a steel plate formed in a substantially circular plate shape, and a plurality of moving shaft sliding grooves 80 for controlling the opening and closing operations of the rotating shielding wall 711 and the like are formed. A gear groove 49 is formed in a part of the peripheral edge of the rotating plate 73, and the rotating plate 73 is rotated by the torque of the drive motor 74 by the gear 30 shown in fig. 5(a) meshing with the gear groove 49.

The rotating plate 73 has moving axis sliding grooves 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, and 806 as the moving axis sliding grooves 80. The moving shaft sliding grooves 801 to 806 are groove-shaped portions formed along the circumferential direction of the rotating plate 73. In order to slide the cams 611 to 616 shown in fig. 7(a), the moving shaft sliding grooves 801 to 806 are formed in a predetermined bent shape. Further, the moving shafts 761 to 766 engage with the moving shaft sliding grooves 801 to 806.

The moving shaft sliding groove 801 is formed of groove portions 8013 to 8011. The groove portion 8013 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side, the groove portion 8012 is inclined to the radially inner side in the clockwise direction, and the groove portion 8011 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially inner side.

The moving shaft sliding groove 802 is constituted by a groove portion 8026 to a groove portion 8021. The groove portion 8026 is inclined to the radially inner side in the clockwise direction, the groove portion 8025 extends in the circumferential direction to the radially inner side, and the groove portion 8024 is inclined to the radially outer side in the clockwise direction. The groove portion 8023 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side. The groove portion 8022 is inclined inward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction, and the groove portion 8021 extends inward in the radial direction along the circumferential direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 803 is constituted by a groove portion 8034 to a groove portion 8031. The groove portion 8034 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially inner side, and the groove portion 8033 is inclined toward the radially outer side in the clockwise direction. The groove portion 8032 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side, and the groove portion 8031 is inclined toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 804 is formed from a groove portion 8044 to a groove portion 8041. The groove portion 8044 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially inner side, and the groove portion 8043 is inclined toward the radially outer side in the clockwise direction. The groove portion 8042 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side, and the groove portion 8041 is inclined toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 805 is formed from a groove portion 8054 to a groove portion 8051. The groove portion 8054 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially inner side, and the groove portion 8053 is inclined toward the radially outer side in the clockwise direction. The groove portion 8052 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side, and the groove portion 8051 is inclined to the radially inner side in the clockwise direction on the radially inner side.

The moving shaft sliding groove 806 is composed of a groove portion 8066 to a groove portion 8061. The groove portion 8066 is inclined to the inside in the radial direction in the clockwise direction, the groove portion 8065 extends in the circumferential direction on the inside in the radial direction, and the groove portion 8064 is inclined to the outside in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The groove portion 8063 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially outer side, the groove portion 8062 is inclined to the radially inner side in the clockwise direction, and the groove portion 8061 extends in the circumferential direction on the radially inner side.

In addition, a rotation shaft sliding groove 79 extending in the circumferential direction is formed in the inner portion of the rotation plate 73. Here, the rotation shaft sliding grooves 79 are formed at equal intervals in 3 numbers. The rotating plate 73 is held by the support base 63 via a rotating shaft 75 (see fig. 8C) slidably engaged with the rotating shaft sliding groove 79.

Here, the moving shaft 761 and the like shown in fig. 7(a) are engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 801 and the like shown in fig. 7 (B). Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

Fig. 8 shows a structure of the shielding device 70 in the fully closed state. Fig. 8(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in a fully closed state as viewed from the rear, fig. 8(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 8(a), fig. 8(C) is a view of the rotating plate 73 and the like in the fully closed state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 8(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 8 (B). Here, the fully closed state is a state in which the blowing port 27 shown in fig. 4 is closed by shielding the periphery of the blower 47 with the rotating shielding wall 71. In this fully closed state, the blower 47 does not rotate.

Referring to fig. 8(a), the shielding device 70 prevents air from flowing out of the blower 47 to the outside in the fully closed state. That is, in the fully closed state, all of shielding devices 70 are in the standing state, and communication with the air duct for supplying cold air is cut off, and cold air is not supplied to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17. In the defrosting process for defrosting cooler 45 shown in fig. 2, shielding device 70 is fully closed, so that hot air does not flow from cooling chamber 26 into refrigerating chamber 15 and freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 8(B), in the fully closed state, the rotary shielding wall 71 is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 63. Here, all the rotary shield walls 71 of the shield device 70 are in a closed state. In this state, the rear end of the rotary shielding wall 71 abuts against the partition body 66 shown in fig. 4 or is disposed at a position closest to the partition body 66. Thus, airtightness when the air passage is closed by the rotary shielding wall 71 can be improved.

Referring to fig. 8(C), when the shielding device 70 is fully closed, the drive motor 74 is first driven to rotate the rotating plate 73 via the gear 30. Here, by rotating the rotating plate 73, the moving shafts 76 slide in the moving shaft slide grooves 80, and the moving shafts 76 are moved radially outward. As a result, as shown in fig. 8(D), the cam 61 moves outward in the radial direction. The pivotal shielding wall 71 rotatably coupled to the cam 61 is pivoted about the vicinity of the pivotal coupling portion 68 as a pivot center, and is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 63. Fig. 8(D) shows the rotary shield wall 71 at a halfway stage of transition from the open state to the closed state.

Fig. 9 shows a structure of the shielding device 70 in a fully open state. Fig. 9(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in a fully open state as viewed from the rear, fig. 9(B) is a sectional view taken along line C-C of fig. 9(a), fig. 9(C) is a view of the rotating plate 73 and the like in the fully open state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 9(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 9 (B). Here, the fully open state is a state in which the rotary shielding wall 71 does not shield the communication between the periphery of the blower 47 and the air passage through which the cold air is supplied, and the cold air blown by the blower 47 is diffused to the periphery.

Referring to fig. 9(a), the shielding device 70 does not obstruct the flow of air from the blower 47 to the outside in the fully open state. That is, in the fully opened state of shielding device 70, the cold air blown from blower 47 is blown to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 without interfering with rotary shielding wall 71. As shown in fig. 9(a), in the fully opened state, all the rotary shielding walls 71 are opened toward the periphery.

Referring to fig. 9(B), in the fully opened state, the rotary shielding wall 71 is in an opened state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 63. By opening all the rotary shielding walls 71 of the shielding device 70, the rotary shielding walls 71 are not present in the air passage blown from the blower 47, so that the flow path resistance of the air passage can be reduced and the blowing amount of the blower 47 can be increased.

Referring to fig. 9(C), when the shutter device 70 is set to the fully open state, the drive motor 74 is driven to rotate the rotary plate 73 via the gear 30, thereby sliding each of the moving shafts 76 in the moving shaft sliding groove 80. Thereby, each of the moving shafts 76 moves radially inward. Thus, as shown in fig. 9(D), the cam 61 moves inward in the radial direction. As a result, the rotary shielding wall 71 rotatably connected to the upper end portion of the cam 61 rotates around the vicinity of the rotary connecting portion 68 as a rotation center, and a main surface of the rotary shielding wall 71 is substantially parallel to a main surface of the cam housing portion 62.

Fig. 10 shows a state where cold air is supplied only to lower freezer compartment 19 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a view of shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 11 is a diagram of a state of an air passage when cold air is supplied only to lower freezer compartment 19, as viewed from the rear in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 12 shows a view in which (a) is a view of shielding device 70 viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view in which rotating plate 73 is viewed from the rear, when cold air is supplied only to freezing room 17 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13 is a diagram of a state of an air passage when only cold air is supplied to freezer compartment 17, as viewed from the rear in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 14 shows a state in which only cold air is supplied to upper freezing chamber 18 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view of shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 15 is a diagram of a state of an air passage when cold air is supplied only to upper freezer compartment 18, as viewed from the rear, in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 16 shows a state where no cold air is supplied to the shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 17 is a view of the state of the air passage when no cool air is supplied, as viewed from the rear in the shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 shows a state where only cold air is supplied to refrigerating room 15 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view of shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 19 is a diagram of a state of an air passage when only cold air is supplied to refrigerating compartment 15, as viewed from the rear in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 20 shows a state where cold air is supplied to upper freezer compartment 18 and refrigerator compartment 15 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a view of shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 21 is a diagram of a state of an air passage when cold air is supplied to upper freezer compartment 18 and refrigerator compartment 15, as viewed from the rear in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 22 shows a state where cold air is supplied to the whole freezing chamber 17 and refrigerating chamber 15 in shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a view of shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view of rotating plate 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 23 is a diagram of an air passage when cool air is supplied to the entire freezer compartment 17 and the refrigerator compartment 15 in the shielding device 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

The operation of opening/closing and switching the air passage by opening/closing the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 by rotating the rotary plate 73 of the shielding device 70 will be described below with reference to fig. 10 to 23. In the following drawings, a clockwise direction is referred to as "forward direction", and a counterclockwise direction is referred to as "reverse direction". In the following description, the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the rotating plate 73 will be simply referred to as the radial direction and the circumferential direction.

Fig. 10 and 11 show a state in which cold air is supplied to lower freezer compartment 19. Fig. 10(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 10(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 11 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 10(a), in a state where cold air is supplied only to lower freezer compartment 19, rotary shielding walls 712, 711, and 716 are closed, and rotary shielding walls 713, 714, and 715 are opened. By setting the open/close state as described above, the blower 47 can blow cold air only to the lower freezing chamber 19.

Referring to fig. 10(B), in this state, the moving shafts 761 to 766 are disposed at the opposite ends of the moving shaft sliding grooves 801 to 806. Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at an opposite end of the groove 8013 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at an opposite end of the groove 8026 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at an opposite end of the groove 8034 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove portion 8044 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove portion 8054 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove portion 8066 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 761, 762, 766 are disposed radially outward, and the rotary shielding walls 711, 712, 716 are closed. On the other hand, the moving shafts 763, 764, 765 are disposed radially inward, and the blocking walls 713, 714, 715 are turned to the open state.

Referring to fig. 11, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 10, rotary shielding walls 713, 714, and 715 are in the open state, and therefore, cold air is blown into lower freezer supply air duct 53. Cold air flowing into lower freezer supply air duct 53 is discharged to lower freezer 19 shown in fig. 2 through discharge port 34.

On the other hand, by closing rotary shielding walls 711, 712, and 716, cold air is not blown to refrigerating room 15 and upper freezing room 18 shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 12 and 13 show a state where only cold air is supplied to freezing chamber 17. Fig. 12(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 12(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 13 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 12(a), in a state where only cold air is supplied to freezing chamber 17, rotary shielding wall 711 is in a closed state, and rotary shielding walls 712, 713, 714, 715, and 716 are in an open state. By setting the open/close state as described above, cold air can be blown to freezing room 17 shown in fig. 2 by blower 47.

Referring to fig. 12(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 10 (B).

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at an intermediate portion of the groove portion 8013 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at a forward end portion of the groove portion 8026 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at a forward end portion of the groove portion 8034 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8044 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8054 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8066 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

As described above, the movement axis 761 is arranged radially outward, and the rotary shielding wall 711 is kept closed. On the other hand, the moving shafts 762, 763, 764, 765, 766 are disposed radially inward, and the blocking walls 712, 713, 714, 715, 716 are turned to the open state.

Referring to fig. 13, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 12, by rotating shielding walls 712 and 716 to the open state, cold air is blown into upper freezer compartment supply air passage 52 and is discharged into upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2 through discharge port 34. In addition, when rotary shielding walls 713, 714, and 715 are also opened, cool air is blown into lower freezer supply air duct 53 and is discharged to lower freezer compartment 19 shown in fig. 2 through discharge port 34.

On the other hand, by turning shielding wall 711 to the closed state, cold air is not blown to refrigerating room 15.

Fig. 14 and 15 show a state where cold air is supplied only to upper freezer compartment 18. Fig. 14(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 14(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 15 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 14(a), in a situation where only cold air is supplied to upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2, rotary shielding walls 711, 713, 714, and 715 are in a closed state, and rotary shielding walls 712 and 716 are in an open state. By setting the open/close state as described above, the blower 47 can blow cold air only to the upper freezing chamber 18.

Referring to fig. 14(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 12 (B).

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed in the middle portion of the groove portion 8013 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at the forward end portion of the groove portion 8025 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at the forward end portion of the groove portion 8033 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8043 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8053 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8065 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 761, 763, 764, 765 are arranged radially outward, and the rotating shielding walls 711, 713, 714, 715 are closed. On the other hand, the moving shafts 762 and 766 are disposed radially inward, and the rotary shielding walls 712 and 716 are opened.

Referring to fig. 15, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 14, by rotating shielding walls 712 and 716 to the open state, cold air is blown into upper freezer supply air duct 52 and is discharged into upper freezer compartment 18 through discharge port 34.

On the other hand, since rotary shielding wall 711 is in a closed state, cold air is not blown to refrigerating room 15. In addition, since the rotary shielding walls 713, 714, 715 are also in the closed state, cold air is not blown to the lower freezing chamber 19.

Fig. 16 and 17 show a fully closed state in which the shielding device 70 closes all the air passages. Fig. 16(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 16(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 17 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 16(a), in the fully closed state, the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 are in the closed state. In this state, air can be prevented from flowing through each air passage.

Referring to fig. 16(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 14 (B).

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at a forward end portion of the groove portion 8013 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at a forward end portion of the groove portion 8024 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at an intermediate portion of the groove portion 8032 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8042 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8052 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8064 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 761 to 766 are disposed radially outward, and the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 are closed.

Referring to fig. 17, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 16, the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 are in the closed state, and air is not supplied to all the storage chambers. In other words, the cooling chamber 26 and each air passage can be shielded by the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716. Therefore, when the interior of cooling compartment 26 is heated by the defrosting process, hot air inside cooling compartment 26 can be prevented from leaking into each storage compartment through each air passage. In the present embodiment, the air passages can be shielded with high airtightness by the rotating shielding walls 711 to 716, and therefore the shielding effect can be improved.

Fig. 18 and 19 show a state where only cold air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 15. Fig. 18(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 18(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 19 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 18(a), in a state where cold air is supplied only to upper freezer compartment 18, rotary shielding wall 711 is opened, and rotary shielding walls 712 to 716 are closed. By being in such an open-closed state, as will be described later, the blower 47 can blow only the cold air to the refrigerating compartment 15.

Referring to fig. 18(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 16 (B).

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8012 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8023 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at the middle portion of the groove portion 8032 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8042 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8052 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8063 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 762 to 766 are disposed radially outward, and the rotary shielding walls 712 to 716 are closed. On the other hand, the moving shaft 761 is disposed radially inward, and the rotary shielding wall 711 is opened.

Referring to fig. 19, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 18, cold air is blown into refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51 and discharged into refrigerating compartment 15 through refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 by rotating shielding wall 711 to be in the open state. In addition, a part of the cold air blown into refrigerating compartment 15 can be blown into vegetable compartment 20.

On the other hand, rotary shielding walls 712 to 716 are closed, and thus cold air is not discharged to freezing room 17.

Fig. 20 and 21 show a state where shielding device 70 supplies cold air to refrigerating room 15 and upper freezing room 18. Fig. 20(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 20(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 21 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 20(a), in a state where cold air is supplied to refrigerating room 15 and upper freezing room 18 shown in fig. 2, rotary shielding walls 711, 712, and 716 are opened, and rotary shielding walls 713 to 715 are closed. By setting the open/close state as described above, cool air can be blown to refrigerating room 15 and upper freezing room 18 by blower 47.

Referring to fig. 20(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 18 (B).

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed in the middle portion of the groove portion 8011 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at the forward end portion of the groove portion 8022 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at the forward end portion of the groove portion 8032 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8042 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8052 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8062 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 763 to 765 are arranged radially outward, and the rotating shielding walls 713 to 715 are closed. On the other hand, the moving shafts 761, 762, 766 are disposed radially inward, and the rotating shielding walls 711, 712, 716 are in the opened state.

Referring to fig. 21, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 20, cold air is blown to refrigerating compartment 15 through refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29 by opening shielding wall 711. When shielding walls 712 and 716 are opened, cold air is blown into upper freezer supply air duct 52 and is discharged into upper freezer 18 through discharge port 34.

On the other hand, since the rotary shielding walls 713 to 715 are in a closed state, cold air is not blown to the lower freezing chamber 19.

Fig. 22 and 23 show a fully opened state in which cold air is supplied to both of refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17. Fig. 22(a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state as viewed from the rear, fig. 22(B) is a view of the rotating plate 73 in this state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 23 is a view of the state of the air passage in this state as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 22(a), in a state where cold air is supplied to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 shown in fig. 2, rotary shielding walls 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, and 716 are in an open state. By setting the fully opened state, as will be described later, the blower 47 can blow cold air to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the freezing compartment 17.

Referring to fig. 22(B), in this state, the rotating plate 73 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in fig. 20 (B). The moving shafts 761 to 766 are disposed at the forward end portions of the moving shaft sliding grooves 801 to 806.

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at a forward end of the groove 8011 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801, the moving shaft 762 is disposed at a forward end of the groove 8021 of the moving shaft sliding groove 802, and the moving shaft 763 is disposed at a forward end of the groove 8031 of the moving shaft sliding groove 803. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8041 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8051 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805, and the moving shaft 766 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8061 of the moving shaft sliding groove 806.

At this time, the moving shafts 761 to 766 are disposed radially inward, and the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 are opened.

Referring to fig. 23, when shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 22, cold air is blown into refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51 by opening shielding wall 711, and is discharged into refrigerating compartment 15 through refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29. When shielding walls 712 and 716 are opened, cold air is blown into upper freezer supply air duct 52 and is discharged into upper freezer 18 through discharge port 34. Further, by turning shielding walls 713 to 715 to an open state, cold air can be supplied to lower freezer compartment 19 through lower freezer compartment supply air duct 53 and discharge port 34.

As described above, the shielding device 70 according to the present embodiment can switch the open/close state of each of the rotary shielding walls 711 to 716 by rotating the rotary plate 73 shown in fig. 5. Therefore, the components are not displaced in the axial direction of the blower 47. Therefore, the thickness dimension occupied by the shielding device 70 can be reduced. Further, referring to fig. 3, since the volume occupied by shielding device 70 can be reduced, the indoor volume of freezing chamber 17 formed in front of shielding device 70 can be increased, and more objects to be frozen can be stored in freezing chamber 17.

(embodiment 2)

Referring to fig. 24 to 30, a description will be given of a masking device 270 according to embodiment 2. The basic structure of the shielding device 270 according to embodiment 2 and the structure applied to the refrigerator 10 are the same as those of embodiment 1, and therefore, the differences will be mainly described. In the present embodiment, the opening and closing of the shielding device 270 is driven by a gear mechanism or a wire mechanism.

The structure of the masking device 270 will be described with reference to fig. 24. Fig. 24(a) is a perspective view showing the shielding device 270, and fig. 24(B) is an exploded perspective view showing the shielding device 270.

Referring to fig. 24(a) and 24(B), the shield device 270 includes a support base 263, a rotary shield wall 271, and a shield wall drive mechanism 260. The shielding device 270 is a device that shields the air passage of the cold air blown by the blower 47. The air passage connecting the cooling compartment 26 and each storage compartment is communicated by opening the shielding device 270, and the air passage is shut off by closing the shielding device 270.

Referring to fig. 24(B), the blower 47 is disposed at the center of the support base 263 via fastening members such as screws. Although not shown here, the blower 47 includes, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a turbo fan and a blower motor that rotates the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air toward the outside in the radial direction.

The support base 263 is a member formed of an integrally molded synthetic resin, and has a substantially square shape when viewed from the rear. A rotary shielding wall 271 is rotatably disposed on each side of the support base 263. A plurality of protruding portions 258 are formed by protruding a part of the supporting base 263 to the rear side. A cover plate 235 is mounted to the rear end of the projection 258.

The cover plate 235 is a substantially square plate-like member when viewed from the rear, and has an opening 236 formed in the center. The cold air sucked from the opening 236 is blown toward the surroundings by the blower 47.

The shielding wall driving mechanism 260 drives the opening and closing operation of the rotating shielding wall 271. The shielding wall drive mechanism 260 includes: a drive motor 274 as a drive source, and a gear 2811 as a power transmission mechanism for transmitting the power of the drive motor 274 to the rotary shielding wall 271. The specific structure of the shielding wall drive mechanism 260 is described later with reference to fig. 25.

The drive motor 274 is disposed on the left lower end side of the support base 263 and generates a drive force for opening and closing the rotary shield wall 271.

The rotary shielding wall 271 is a rectangular plate-like member formed of synthetic resin and is constituted by a rotary shielding wall 2711 to a rotary shielding wall 2714. Details of the rotary shield wall 271 are described later with reference to fig. 25.

Referring to fig. 25, the masking device 270 will be described in detail. Fig. 25(a) is an exploded view showing the shielding device 270, and fig. 25(B) is an enlarged view showing a portion where the rotary shielding wall 2711 and the rotary shielding wall 2714 are drivingly connected. In fig. 25(a), support base 263 and blower 47 are covered with cover plate 235.

Referring to fig. 25(a), the rotary shield wall 271 is constituted by rotary shield walls 2711 to 2714. The rotary shielding wall 271 has long sides along each side of the support base 263. The rotary shielding wall 271 is attached to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the support base 263 so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base 263. The rotary shielding wall 271 is disposed in a path through which the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows, and shields each air passage. Further, the inner sides of the rotary shield wall 2711 to 2714 are rotatably attached to the support base 263 via a rotary connecting portion 264.

Gears 2811 and the like are disposed on the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 as a power transmission mechanism for transmitting power from the drive motor 274. Specifically, gear 2812 and gear 2813 are disposed at both inner ends of rotary shielding wall 2711, and gear 2814 and gear 2815 are disposed at both inner ends of rotary shielding wall 2712. Further, gear 2816 and gear 2817 are disposed at both inner ends of gear 2813, and drive shaft 254 and gear 2811 are disposed at both ends of rotation blocking wall 2714. The drive shaft 254 is a shaft rotated by a drive motor 274.

Gear 2811 of the rotary shielding wall 2714 meshes with gear 2812 of the rotary shielding wall 2711. Gear 2813 of the rotary shielding wall 2711 meshes with gear 2814 of the rotary shielding wall 2712. Gear 2815 of rotating shield wall 2712 meshes with gear 2816 of rotating shield wall 2713.

Referring to fig. 25(B), the gear 2811 that rotates the shielding wall 2714 and the gear 2812 that rotates the shielding wall 2711 constitute, for example, bevel gears. By adopting such a configuration, power can be transmitted from rotating shield wall 2714 to rotating shield wall 2711 in the orthogonal direction. Such a structure is also adopted for the structure of gear 2813 and 2814 of rotating shielding wall 2711 and 2712, and for the structure of gear 2815 and 2816 of rotating shielding wall 2712 and 2713 shown in fig. 25 (a).

Referring again to fig. 25(a), the opening and closing operation of the shielding device 270 will be described, in which when the driving motor 274 is rotated in one direction, the driving force is transmitted to the rotary shielding wall 2711 via the gear 2811 and the gear 2812, transmitted to the rotary shielding wall 2712 via the gear 2813 and the gear 2814, and transmitted to the rotary shielding wall 2713 via the gear 2815 and the gear 2816. As a result, the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 rotate so as to be in an upright state, which is a state in which they are orthogonal to the main surface of the support base 263 at the same time.

When the driving motor 274 is rotated in the reverse direction, the driving force is transmitted to the rotating shield walls 2711 to 2714, and the rotating shield walls 2711 to 2714 are rotated so as to be in a lying state substantially parallel to the main surface of the supporting base 263 at the same time, in the same manner as described above.

Fig. 26 shows a structure of the shielding device 270 in the fully closed state. Fig. 26(a) is a diagram of the fully closed shielding device 270 viewed from the rear, and fig. 26(B) is a diagram of the front cover 67 to which the fully closed shielding device 270 is attached viewed from the rear. The fully closed state is a state in which all the air passages for supplying the cool air are shielded by the rotary shielding wall 271.

Referring to fig. 26(a), the driving force of the driving motor 274 is transmitted to the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 by the gear 2811 or the like as the power transmission mechanism, so that the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 are set to an erected state erected with respect to the main surface of the support base 263, that is, a closed state in which the air passages connected to the respective storage compartments are closed. In this fully closed state, the blower 47 does not rotate.

Referring to fig. 26(B), the shielding device 270 prevents air from flowing out of the blower 47 to the outside in the fully closed state. That is, in the fully closed state, rotary shielding wall 2711 to rotary shielding wall 2714 are in the standing state, and communication with the air duct for supplying cold air is blocked, so that cold air is not supplied to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 shown in fig. 2. In the defrosting process for defrosting cooler 45 shown in fig. 2, shielding device 270 is fully closed, so that hot air does not flow from cooling chamber 26 into refrigerating chamber 15 and freezing chamber 17.

Fig. 27 shows the structure of the shielding device 270 in the fully open state. Fig. 27(a) is a view of the fully open shielding device 270 viewed from the rear, and fig. 27(B) is a view of the front cover 67 to which the fully open shielding device 270 is attached viewed from the rear. The fully opened state is a state in which communication with an air passage for supplying cold air is not blocked by the rotary blocking wall 271, and thus the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows so as to spread to the surroundings.

Referring to fig. 27(a), the shielding device 270 does not block the flow of air from the blower 47 to the outside in the fully opened state. That is, in the fully opened state, the driving force of the driving motor 274 causes the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 to lie in a lying state lying substantially parallel to the main surface of the supporting base 263. Therefore, with the shielding device 270, the cold air blown from the blower fan 47 is blown to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the freezing compartment 17 without interfering with the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714.

Referring to fig. 27(B), by turning all of the rotary shielding walls 2711 to 2714 of the shielding device 270 to be in the horizontal open state, the flow path resistance can be reduced and the blowing amount of the blower 47 can be increased. Specifically, cold air is blown into refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51 by opening rotary shielding wall 2711, and is discharged into refrigerating compartment 15 shown in fig. 2 through refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29. By opening rotary shielding wall 2712 and rotary shielding wall 2714, cold air is blown into upper freezer compartment supply air duct 52 and is discharged through discharge port 34 into upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2. Further, by opening rotary shielding wall 2713, cold air can be supplied to lower freezer compartment 19 through lower freezer supply air duct 53 and discharge port 34 (see fig. 2).

Here, the above-described rotatable shielding walls 2711 to 2714 can be in a half-opened state. Specifically, when the fully closed state shown in fig. 26(a) is switched to the fully open state shown in fig. 27(a) based on an instruction of a control device not shown here, the driving motor 274 as a stepping motor is stopped in the middle, and the rotating shield walls 2711 to 2714 can be set to the half-open state. By setting rotatable shield wall 2711 to rotatable shield wall 2714 in the half-open state, the amount of cold air blown into freezing room 17 can be precisely adjusted.

Referring to fig. 2, shutter 22 is attached to refrigerating room supply air passage 29, and rotary shielding wall 2711 shown in fig. 26(a) can be omitted. That is, the shielding device 270 includes only the rotating shielding wall 2712, the rotating shielding wall 2713, and the rotating shielding wall 2714. Further, the rotary shielding wall 2712, the rotary shielding wall 2713, and the rotary shielding wall 2714 can be in a fully closed state, a fully opened state, and a half opened state. In this way, the degree of freedom of blowing air to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 can be freely adjusted.

The structure and the like of the shielding device 290 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 28 to 30. Fig. 28(a) is a perspective view showing the shielding device 290 in a closed state, fig. 28(B) is a perspective view showing the shielding device 290 in an open state, and fig. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing the shielding device 290 in detail. Fig. 30(a) is a diagram showing a method of fully opening the shielding device 290, and fig. 30(B) is a diagram showing a method of fully closing the shielding device 290.

Referring to fig. 28(a), the shielding device 290 includes a plurality of rotary shielding walls 291 which surround the blower 294 from the periphery to open and close the air passage. The blower 294 is disposed in the center portion of the rear surface of a support base 296 having a substantially disk shape. An end portion of the rotary shielding wall 291 is rotatably attached to a peripheral portion of the support base 296 via a rotary joint 293. For example, 12 rotary shielding walls 291 are attached to the peripheral portion of the support base 296. In the closed state, the rotary shielding wall 291 is in an upright state standing upright on the main surface of the support base 296. In other words, an annular wall body formed of a plurality of rotary shielding walls 291 is formed on the peripheral portion of the support base 296.

The shielding device 290 has a wire 292 as a power transmission member for transmitting a driving force for opening and closing the shielding wall 291. Specifically, a wire insertion portion 295 is formed at an inner end portion of each rotary shielding wall 291. The wire 292 is inserted into the wire insertion portion 295 of each rotary shielding wall 291, and has a substantially annular shape as a whole. Therefore, if the diameter of the wire 292 is reduced by tightening, the rotary shielding wall 291 rotates so as to rise from the rotary connecting portion 293, and is in a rising state substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 296. By closing the shielding device 290, the blowing to each storage room can be stopped as shown in fig. 26 (B).

Fig. 28(B) shows the shielding device 290 in a fully open state. Here, each of the rotary shielding walls 291 is in a fully open state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 296. By feeding out the wire 292 so as to expand the annular shape of the wire 292, the rotary shielding wall 291 is rotated so as to lie laterally outward in the radial direction, and the rotary shielding wall 291 can be brought into a fully opened state. By setting the shielding device 290 to the fully opened state, cool air can be blown into each storage room as shown in fig. 27 (B).

A specific structure of the shielding device 290 will be described with reference to an exploded perspective view of fig. 29. The shielding device 290 includes a cover 297, a blower 294, a wire cover 288, a rotary shielding wall 291, a support base 296, a wire rotary member 286, a cover 299, and a driving motor 289 from the rear side.

Cover 297 has a substantially circular outer shape and is formed with an opening 282 for sucking cold air blown by blower 294. The cover 297 blocks the blower 294 from the rear side.

Like the blower 47 described above, the blower 294 blows the cold air sucked through the opening 282 outward in the circumferential direction. The blower 294 is mounted to the support base 296 via a blower mounting portion 287.

The wire cover 288 is formed of a plate material formed in a substantially annular shape, and protects the wire 292 from behind, thereby ensuring a space for allowing the movement of the wire 292.

A plurality of rotary shielding walls 291 are disposed around the blower 294, and the rotary shielding walls open and close the air passage extending from the blower 294 to the periphery.

The support base 296 is formed of a substantially annular plate material, and the rotary shielding wall 291 and the wire 292 are arranged. A rotation coupling portion 298 is formed around the support base 296 so as to correspond to the rotation coupling portion 293 (see fig. 28 a) of the rotation shielding wall 291. Each pivot coupling portion 293 of the pivot shielding wall 291 is pivotably coupled to the pivot coupling portion 298 of the support base 296. Further, one end of the wire 292 is fixed to the support base 296. Further, a groove 285 is formed in the inner portion of the support base 296. The grooves 285 are formed to be elongated in the circumferential direction. The end of the wire 292 is connected to the wire rotator 286 via the slot 285.

The wire rotator 286 is formed of a plate material formed in a substantially disk shape, and is disposed in front of the support base 296. The wire rotator 286 connects the other end side of the wire 292. The wire rotator 286 is drivingly connected to the driving motor 289 via a gear not shown here. Therefore, when the drive motor 289 rotates in one direction, the wire rotator 286 also rotates in one direction. Conversely, when the drive motor 289 rotates reversely, the wire rotator 286 also rotates reversely.

The cover 299 is a plate material having a substantially disk shape that protects the wire rotator 286 from the front. A drive motor 289 is attached to the cover 299.

The wire 292 includes a wire end 2921 on one end side and a wire end 2922 on the other end side. The wire end 2921 is fixed to the pivotal coupling portion 298 via a wire fixing portion 284, which will be described later, and the position thereof does not change even when the wire rotator 286 rotates. The wire end 2922 is fixed to the wire rotator 286 via a wire fixing portion 283 described later, and is displaced in the circumferential direction of the wire rotator 286 in accordance with the rotation of the wire rotator 286.

A specific method of opening and closing the rotary shielding wall 291 by the operation wire 292 will be described with reference to fig. 30. Fig. 30(a) shows the shielding device 290 in an open state, and fig. 30(B) shows the shielding device 290 in a closed state.

Referring to fig. 30(a), as described above, one end of the wire 292 is fixed to the support base 296 shown in fig. 29 via the wire fixing portion 284. The position of the wire fixing part 284 is not changed. On the other hand, the other end of the wire 292 is fixed to the wire rotator 286 shown in fig. 29 via a wire fixing portion 283. As the wire rotator 286 rotates, the position of the wire fixing part 283 moves along the groove 285. Here, when the wire rotator 286 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by the driving force of the driving motor 289 shown in fig. 29, the wire fixing part 283 also moves in the counterclockwise direction inside the groove 285. Accordingly, the wire 292 is fed out in the reverse circumferential direction, and thus the annular wire 292 is expanded in diameter. As described above, the wire 292 is inserted into the wire insertion portion 295 of each rotary shielding wall 291. Therefore, the respective rotary shielding walls 291 are rotated to fall down around at the same time, and the lying state is achieved. In this state, the cold air blown by the rotation of blower 294 is supplied to refrigerating room 15, freezing room 17, and vegetable room 20 shown in fig. 2, for example, through refrigerating room supply air passage 51, upper freezing room supply air passage 52, and lower freezing room supply air passage 53 shown in fig. 27 (B).

A method of closing the rotary shielding wall 291 will be described with reference to fig. 30 (B). First, the wire rotator 286 is rotated in the reverse direction, that is, in the clockwise direction by the driving force of the driving motor 289 shown in fig. 29. Then, the wire fixing portion 283 serving as a connection point of the wire rotator 286 and the wire 292 also moves clockwise inside the groove 285. Thereby, the annular wire 292 is reduced in diameter, and the rotary shielding walls 291 simultaneously rotate so as to rise with respect to the main surface of the shielding device 290. As a result, each rotary shielding wall 291 is in a closed state standing so as to surround the blower 294 from the periphery. When the shielding device 290 is in the closed state, the air is not blown to each storage room shown in fig. 2.

In the above-described shielding device 290, the rotary shielding wall 291 can be opened by expanding the diameter of the single annular wire 292, and the rotary shielding wall 291 can be closed by reducing the diameter of the single annular wire 292. Therefore, the opening and closing operation of the shielding device 290 can be performed with a simple configuration. Further, the shielding device 290 is opened and closed in the radial direction of the blower 294, and the components do not move in the axial direction of the blower 294, that is, in the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. Therefore, in the depth direction of refrigerator 10, the volume occupied by shielding device 290 can be reduced, and the effective volume used as a storage chamber can be increased.

Here, the shielding device 290 described above can be set to the half-open state. Specifically, when the fully closed state shown in fig. 28(a) is switched to the fully open state shown in fig. 28(B) based on an instruction from a control device not shown here, the rotary shielding wall 291 can be set to the half-open state by stopping the drive motor 289, which is a stepping motor, in the middle. By setting the rotary shielding wall 291 to the half-open state, the amount of cold air blown to the freezing chamber 17 can be precisely adjusted.

Referring to fig. 2, the shutter 22 is attached to the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29, and the rotary blocking wall 291 at the upper end portion shown in fig. 28(a) can be omitted. Further, the rotary shielding wall 291 can be in a fully closed state, a fully opened state, and a half opened state. In this way, the degree of freedom of blowing air to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 can be freely adjusted.

The following invention can be understood based on the above-described embodiment 2.

The invention is a shielding device for blocking an air path for blowing cool air in a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls which are arranged in parallel to surround the blower from the outside in the radial direction and which open and close the air passage by rotation; and a shield wall driving mechanism that drives the rotary shield wall, the shield wall driving mechanism including a driving source and a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the driving source to the rotary shield wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the air passage is opened and closed by the rotary shielding wall surrounding the blower from the periphery, so that the size of the entire shielding device in the thickness direction can be reduced, and the entire device can be downsized. Further, by transmitting power from the drive source to the rotary shielding wall using the power transmission mechanism, the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall can be performed satisfactorily.

Further, in the shielding device of the present invention, the shielding device further includes: the power transmission mechanism is a gear mechanism disposed between the adjacent rotary shielding walls. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the power transmission mechanism transmits power to the rotary shielding walls, whereby the opening and closing operations of the plurality of rotary shielding walls can be controlled by the power transmission mechanism.

Further, in the shielding device of the present invention, the shielding device further includes: the rotary shielding wall is disposed in a substantially annular shape so as to surround the blower, and the power transmission mechanism is a wire inserted through the rotary shielding wall, the wire being inserted through a wire insertion portion formed in the rotary shielding wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the diameter of the wire is shortened by screwing, so that the rotary shielding wall can be brought into the standing state, and conversely, the diameter of the wire is increased by sending the wire, so that the rotary shielding wall can be brought into the lying state.

Further, the refrigerator of the present invention includes: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path. Therefore, according to the refrigerator of the invention, the size of the whole shielding device in the thickness direction can be reduced, and the effective volume of each storage chamber can be increased.

(embodiment 3)

Referring to fig. 31 to 39, a masking device 370 according to embodiment 3 will be described. The basic structure of the shielding device 370 according to embodiment 3 and the structure applied to the refrigerator 10 are the same as those of embodiment 1, and therefore, the differences will be mainly described. In the present embodiment, the shielding device 370 has a separate opening/closing drive mechanism.

The structure of the shielding device 370 will be described with reference to fig. 31. Fig. 31(a) is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 370, and fig. 31(B) is a side sectional view of the shielding device 370.

Referring to fig. 31(a) and 31(B), the shielding apparatus 370 includes a support base 363, a rotary shielding wall 371, and a shielding wall driving mechanism 360. The shielding device 370 is a device for shielding the air passage of the cold air blown by the blower 47. When the shielding device 370 is opened, the air passage connecting the cooling compartment 26 and each storage compartment is communicated, and when the shielding device 370 is closed, the air passage is cut off.

The blower 47 is disposed at the center of the support base 363 via a fastening member such as a screw. Although not shown here, the blower 47 includes, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a turbo fan and a blower motor that rotates the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air toward the outside in the radial direction.

The support base 363 is a member formed of an integrally molded synthetic resin. Each rotary shield wall 371 is rotatably disposed on the rear surface side of the support base 363.

A side wall portion 358 is formed at the peripheral portion of the support base 363. The side wall portion 358 extends rearward from the support base 363. The side wall portions 358 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the support base 363. The side wall portions 358 are disposed between the rotary shield walls 371. The rear end of the side wall portion 358 is fastened to the partition body 66 shown in fig. 4(B) via a fastening member such as a screw.

The rotary shielding wall 371 is a rectangular plate-like member made of synthetic resin and has a long side along a tangent to the outer edge of the blower 47. The rotary shielding wall 371 is attached to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the support base 363 so as to be rotatable rearward about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base 363. Further, a plurality of (5 in the present embodiment) rotary shielding walls 371 are arranged. The rotary shielding wall 371 is disposed in a path through which the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows, and shields the air passage.

The shutter wall drive mechanism 360 includes a cam 361, a rotary plate 373, and a drive motor 374 that rotates the rotary plate 373. Here, each rotary shielding wall 371 has a shielding wall drive mechanism 360. That is, 5 shield wall drive mechanisms 360 are disposed for the 5 rotatable shield walls 371. With such a configuration, each of the shielding wall driving mechanisms 360 rotates the rotary shielding wall 371 based on an instruction from a control device, not shown, thereby enabling a change in the rotation pattern of the rotary shielding wall 371 without limitation. The specific shape and function of the shielding wall drive mechanism 360 will be described later.

Referring to fig. 32, a description will be given of a shield wall drive mechanism 360 for driving the above-described rotatable shield wall 371. Fig. 32(a) is an exploded perspective view showing the shield wall drive mechanism 360, and fig. 32(B) is a perspective view showing the cam 361.

Referring to fig. 32(a), the shielding wall driving mechanism 360 includes a cam 361, a rotating plate 373 that engages with a moving shaft 376 of the cam 361, and a driving motor 374 that rotates the rotating plate 373.

The cam 361 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped member formed of a synthetic resin. As shown in fig. 32(B), a rotation connecting portion 348 is formed at the right end of the cam 361, and a hole through which the pin 355 can be inserted is formed in the rotation connecting portion 348. The cam 361 is slidably accommodated in a cam accommodation portion formed by forming a concave shape on the front surface of the support base 363 shown in fig. 31 (a).

The rotating plate 373 is a plate-like member having a substantially tongue-like shape, and the left end is connected to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 374 so as not to rotate relative thereto. Therefore, the rotating plate 373 is rotated by driving the motor 374. Further, a moving shaft sliding groove 380 for moving the moving shaft 376 of the cam 361 is formed on the right side of the rotating plate 373. The moving shaft sliding groove 380 is curved in an arcuate shape, and the moving shaft 376 of the cam 361 is slidably engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 380.

The rotary shielding wall 371 is formed with a rotary coupling portion 368 obliquely protruding from a base end portion of the rotary shielding wall 371. The pivot coupling portion 368 is formed with a hole through which the pin 355 can be inserted. A pivot coupling portion 364 is formed near both end portions of the side of the pivot shielding wall 371. The pivot coupling portion 364 has a hole through which the pin 369 can be inserted.

As shown in fig. 32(B), the moving shaft 376 is a columnar protrusion protruding from the front surface of the cam 361. The diameter of the moving shaft 376 is slightly smaller than the width of the moving shaft sliding groove 380 formed in the rotating plate 373. The moving shaft 376 is slidably engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 380.

Referring again to fig. 32(a), the cam 361 and the rotary shielding wall 371 are connected to be rotatable about the pin 355 by inserting the pin 355 into the hole of the rotary coupling portion 348 of the cam 361 and the hole of the rotary coupling portion 368 of the rotary shielding wall 371. The rotary shielding wall 371 is rotatably coupled to the support base 363 shown in fig. 31(a) via a pin 369 inserted through the rotary coupling portion 364 of the rotary shielding wall 371.

Referring to fig. 32(a), according to such a configuration, the movable shaft sliding groove 380 can be rotated by the driving motor 374, thereby performing an opening/closing operation of the rotary shielding wall 371. Specifically, when the rotary plate 373 is rotated by the driving motor 374, the moving shaft 376 moves in the left-right direction along the moving shaft sliding groove 380, that is, the cam 361 moves in the left-right direction. As the cam 361 moves, the rotary shielding wall 371 rotatably coupled to the cam 361 is opened and closed by rotating about the rotary coupling portion 364.

Here, as shown in fig. 4(B), the parts constituting shield wall driving mechanism 360 are not exposed in freezer compartment supply air duct 31 through which cool air flows. Therefore, the cold air is not sprayed onto the shielding wall drive mechanism 360, and therefore the shielding wall drive mechanism 360 can be prevented from freezing.

Fig. 33 is a diagram showing the shielding device 370 according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 33(a) is a diagram showing the rotary shielding wall 3711 and the like of the shielding device 370 as viewed from the rear, and fig. 33(B) is a diagram showing the structure of the rotary plate as viewed from the front.

Referring to fig. 33(a), the shielding device 370 includes rotary shielding walls 3711, 3712, 3713, 3714, 3715 as the rotary shielding walls 371. The rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3715 have rectangular shapes and have long sides substantially parallel to a tangent line of the outer edge of the blower 47 shown in fig. 31 (a). The rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3715 are rotatably attached to the peripheral edge of the support base 363 shown in fig. 31 (a).

A radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 3711 is rotatably connected to a cam 3611 on which a moving shaft 3761 is formed. Similarly, the radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 3712 is rotatably connected to a cam 3612 having a moving shaft 3762. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 3713 is rotatably coupled to a cam 3613 on which a moving shaft 3763 is formed. Further, the radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 3714 is rotatably coupled to a cam 3614 on which the moving shaft 3764 is formed. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 3715 is rotatably coupled to a cam 3615 on which a moving shaft 3765 is formed.

The cams 3611 to 3615 are rotatably coupled to the inner sides of the rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3715, respectively. Thus, the cams 3611 to 3615 are arranged outside, and the shielding wall 3711 to the shielding wall 3715 are rotated to be in the standing state. On the other hand, by disposing the cams 3612 to 3615 inside, the shielding walls 3712 to 3715 are rotated to be in the lying state.

Referring to fig. 33(B), the moving shaft 3761 of the cam 3611 slidably engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 3801 of the rotating plate 3731. The moving shaft 3762 of the cam 3612 slidably engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 3802 of the rotating plate 3732. The moving shaft 3763 of the cam 3613 slidably engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 3803 of the rotating plate 3733. The moving shaft 3764 of the cam 3614 slidably engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 3804 of the rotating plate 3734. The moving shaft 3765 of the cam 3615 slidably engages with the moving shaft sliding groove 3805 of the rotating plate 3735. With such a configuration, by rotating the rotating plates 3731 to 3735, the cams 3611 to 3615 can be slid in a predetermined direction, and the rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3715 can be opened and closed.

Fig. 34 shows a structure of the shielding device 370 in a fully closed state. Fig. 34(a) is a view of the shielding device 370 in the fully closed state as viewed from the rear, fig. 34(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along a section line D-D in fig. 34(a), fig. 34(C) is a view of the rotating plate 373 and the like in the fully closed state as viewed from the front, and fig. 34(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 34 (B). Here, the fully closed state is a state in which the blowing port 27 shown in fig. 4 is closed by shielding the periphery of the blower 47 with the rotary shielding wall 371. In this fully closed state, the blower 47 does not rotate.

Referring to fig. 34(a), the shielding device 370 prevents air from flowing out of the blower 47 to the outside in the fully closed state. That is, in the fully closed state, all the rotary shielding walls 371 are in the standing state, and communication with the air passage for supplying cold air is cut off, and cold air is not supplied to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17. In addition, in the defrosting process for defrosting cooler 45 shown in fig. 2, shielding device 370 is also fully closed, so that hot air does not flow from cooling chamber 26 into refrigerating chamber 15 and freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 34(B), in the fully closed state, the rotary shielding wall 371 is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 363. Here, all the rotary shutter walls 371 of the shutter 370 are in a closed state. In this state, the rear end of the rotary shielding wall 371 abuts on the partition 66 shown in fig. 4 or is disposed at a position closest to the partition 66. Thus, the airtightness of the air passage closed by the rotary shielding wall 371 can be improved.

Referring to fig. 34(C), when the shielding device 370 is fully closed, the rotary plate 373 is rotated by driving the drive motor 374. Here, by rotating the rotary plate 373 counterclockwise, the moving shaft 376 slides in the moving shaft sliding groove 380, and the moving shaft 376 is disposed at the outer end of the moving shaft sliding groove 380. As a result, as shown in fig. 34(D), the cam 361 moves outward in the radial direction. Then, the rotary shielding wall 371 rotatably coupled to the cam 361 rotates around the vicinity of the rotary coupling portion 368 as a rotation center, and is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 363.

Fig. 35 shows the structure of the shielding device 370 in a fully open state. Fig. 35(a) is a view of the shielding device 370 in a fully open state as viewed from the rear, fig. 35(B) is a sectional view taken along a sectional line E-E of fig. 35(a), fig. 35(C) is a view of the rotating plate 373 and the like in the fully open state as viewed from the front, and fig. 35(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 35 (B). Here, the fully opened state is a state in which communication between the periphery of the blower 47 and the air passage for supplying the cold air is not blocked by the rotary blocking wall 371, and the cold air blown by the blower 47 is diffused to the periphery.

Referring to fig. 35(a), the shielding device 370 does not obstruct the flow of air from the blower 47 to the outside in the fully opened state. That is, in the fully opened state of shielding device 370, the cold air blown from blower fan 47 is blown to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 without interfering with rotary shielding wall 371. As shown in fig. 35(a), in the fully opened state, all the pivotable shielding walls 371 are in a lying state in which they are tilted down toward the radially outer side.

Referring to fig. 35(B), in the fully opened state, all the pivotable shield walls 371 are in a lying state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 363. By opening all the rotary shielding walls 371 of the shielding device 370, the rotary shielding walls 371 are not present in the air passage blown from the blower 47, so that the flow path resistance of the air passage can be reduced and the blowing amount of the blower 47 can be increased.

Referring to fig. 35(C), when the shielding device 370 is fully opened, the driving motor 374 is driven to rotate the rotary plate 373 clockwise, and the moving shaft 376 slides in the moving shaft sliding groove 380. Thereby, the moving shaft 376 moves toward the inner end of the moving shaft sliding groove 380. Thus, as shown in fig. 35(D), the cam 361 moves inward in the radial direction. As a result, the rotating shielding wall 371 connected to the end of the cam 361 so as to be rotatable rotates around the vicinity of the rotating connection portion 368 as a rotation center, falls down, and the main surface of the rotating shielding wall 371 becomes substantially parallel to the main surface of the supporting base 363.

As described above, in the shielding device 370 according to the present embodiment, the rotary plates 3731 to 3735 are independently rotated by the drive motors 3741 to 3745, whereby the rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3715 shown in fig. 33(a) can be independently rotated to be opened and closed. Therefore, the rotational movement of rotary shielding wall 3711 to rotary shielding wall 3715 can be freely controlled, and therefore the amount of cold air to be blown can be precisely controlled according to the indoor temperatures of refrigerating room 15, freezing room 17, and vegetable room 20 shown in fig. 3.

Further, referring to fig. 3, since the volume occupied by shielding device 370 can be reduced, the indoor volume of freezing chamber 17 formed in front of shielding device 370 can be increased, and more objects to be frozen can be stored in freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 36 to 38, a masking device 370 according to another embodiment will be described. The structure of the shield device 370 explained with reference to these drawings is different in that a solenoid 381 is provided as a drive source of the shield wall drive mechanism 360, and therefore, the explanation will be centered on this point.

Referring to fig. 36, a configuration of a shielding device 370 according to another embodiment will be described. Fig. 36(a) is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 370, and fig. 36(B) is a sectional view showing the shielding wall drive mechanism 360.

Referring to fig. 36(a), the shielding device 370 is provided with the blower 47, the rotary shielding wall 371, the support base 363, and the shielding wall drive mechanism 360 from the rear side. Here, the shielding wall drive mechanism 360 is disposed corresponding to each of the rotary shielding walls 371. The parts other than the structure of the shield wall driving mechanism 360 are the same as the shield device 370 shown in fig. 31.

Referring to fig. 36(B), the shield wall driving mechanism 360 includes a cam 361 formed with an abutting portion 382 and a solenoid 381.

The cam 361 is formed of an integrally molded synthetic resin or the like, and an upper end of the cam 361 is rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall 371. Further, a contact portion 382 protruding forward is formed at a lower portion of the cam 361. Fig. 32(a) shows a structure in which the cam 361 and the rotary shielding wall 371 are rotatably coupled.

A movable portion 387 is formed downward from the lower end of the solenoid 381. The lower end of the movable portion 387 of the solenoid 381 is connected to the abutting portion 382 of the cam 361. The movable portion 387 is disposed above when the solenoid 381 is energized, and the movable portion 387 is disposed below when the solenoid 381 is not energized.

By controlling the energization or non-energization of the solenoid 381 by the shield wall driving mechanism 360 having such a configuration, the cam 361 is moved to rotate the rotary shield wall 371, and the rotary shield wall 371 can be opened or closed.

Fig. 37 shows the structure of the shielding device 370 in the fully closed state. Fig. 37(a) is a view of the shielding device 370 in a fully closed state as viewed from the rear, fig. 37(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along a cut line F-F in fig. 37(a), fig. 37(C) is a view of the solenoid 381 and the like in the fully closed state as viewed from the front, and fig. 37(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 37 (B).

Referring to fig. 37(a) and 37(B), the shielding device 370 prevents air from flowing out of the blower 47 to the outside in the fully closed state. In the fully closed state, the rotary shielding wall 371 is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 363. Here, all the rotary shutter walls 371 of the shutter 370 are in a closed state.

Referring to fig. 37(C), when the shading device 370 is fully closed, the solenoid 381 is first driven to move the movable portion 387 radially outward. As a result, as shown in fig. 37(D), the cam 361 connected to the movable portion 387 of the solenoid 381 via the contact portion 382 moves radially outward. The cam 361 moves upward on the paper. Then, the rotary shielding wall 371 rotatably coupled to the cam 361 rotates around the vicinity of the rotary coupling portion 368 as a rotation center, and is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 363.

Fig. 38 shows the structure of the shielding device 370 in a fully open state. Fig. 38(a) is a view of the shielding device 370 in a fully open state as viewed from the rear, fig. 38(B) is a sectional view at a cut-off line G-G of fig. 38(a), fig. 38(C) is a view of the solenoid 381 and the like in the fully open state as viewed from the front, and fig. 38(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 38 (B).

Referring to fig. 38(a) and 38(B), in the fully opened state, shielding device 370 does not obstruct the flow of air from blower 47 to the outside. In the fully open state, all the rotary shielding walls 371 are in a lying state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 363.

Referring to fig. 38(C), when the masking device 370 is fully opened, the solenoid 381 is driven to project the movable portion 387. As a result, as shown in fig. 38(D), the movable portion 387 presses the contact portion 382, and the cam 361 moves inward in the radial direction. As a result, the rotary shielding wall 371 connected to the end of the cam 361 so as to be rotatable rotates around the vicinity of the rotary coupling portion 368 as a rotation center and falls down, and the main surface of the rotary shielding wall 371 is substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 363.

As described above, even when solenoid 381 is provided as the drive source of shield wall drive mechanism 360, the same effect as that of the case where drive motor 374 is provided as the drive source of shield wall drive mechanism 360 can be obtained. That is, the opening and closing of each of the rotary shielding walls 371 can be individually controlled, and the degree of freedom in the opening and closing control of the air passage can be improved, thereby adjusting the indoor temperature of the storage compartment with high accuracy.

Referring to fig. 39, a configuration of a shielding device 370 according to still another embodiment will be described. In the above-described shield device 370, as shown in fig. 31(a), for example, a shield wall drive mechanism 360 is disposed for each rotatable shield wall 371. On the other hand, in the shielding device 370 shown in fig. 39, the opening and closing operations of the rotary shielding wall 3711 to the rotary shielding wall 3714 are driven by the shielding wall driving mechanism 3601 and the shielding wall driving mechanism 3602. That is, the opening and closing operations of the 4 rotary shielding walls 3711 to 3714 are driven by the 2 shielding wall drive mechanisms 3601 and 3602. Here, the shield wall 3711 is rotatably attached to the support base 363 shown in fig. 38(a) and the like to the inner side edge of the shield wall 3714.

The shield wall drive mechanism 3601 includes a winding portion 3851, a drive motor 3741, a wire 3861, and a wire 3862. The drive motor 3741 rotates the substantially rod-shaped winding portion 3851 in the normal rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction. One end of the wire 3861 is connected to the rotary shielding wall 3711, and the other end is connected to the winding portion 3851. One end of the wire 3862 is connected to the rotary shielding wall 3712, and the other end is connected to the winding portion 3851. Shield wall drive mechanism 3601 drives opening and closing operations of rotary shield wall 3711 and rotary shield wall 3712.

With this configuration, when the drive motor 3741 is rotated in the normal rotation direction, the winding portion 3851 rotates to wind the wires 3861 and 3862, and the rotary shielding wall 3711 and the rotary shielding wall 3712 are changed from the horizontal state to the vertical state, thereby closing the air passage. On the other hand, when the drive motor 3741 is rotated in the reverse direction, the winding portion 3851 is rotated to feed the wires 3861 and 3862, and the rotary shielding wall 3711 and the rotary shielding wall 3712 are changed from the standing state to the lying state, and the air passage is released.

The shield wall drive mechanism 3602 includes a winding portion 3852, a drive motor 3742, a wire 3863, and a wire 3864. The drive motor 3742 rotates the substantially rod-shaped winding portion 3852 in the normal rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction. One end of the wire 3863 is connected to the rotary shielding wall 3713, and the other end is connected to the winding portion 3852. One end of the wire 3864 is connected to the rotary shielding wall 3714, and the other end is connected to the winding portion 3852. The shielding wall drive mechanism 3602 drives the opening and closing operations of the rotary shielding wall 3713 and the rotary shielding wall 3714.

With this configuration, when the drive motor 3742 is rotated in the normal rotation direction, the winding portion 3852 is rotated to wind the wires 3863 and 3864, and the rotational shielding wall 3713 and the rotational shielding wall 3714 are changed from the horizontal state to the vertical state, thereby closing the air passage. On the other hand, when the drive motor 3742 is rotated in the reverse direction, the winding portion 3852 is rotated to feed the wires 3863 and 3864, and the rotary shielding wall 3713 and the rotary shielding wall 3714 are changed from the standing state to the lying state, thereby being opened to release the air passage.

As described above, by driving the opening and closing operations of the rotary shielding wall 3711 to the rotary shielding wall 3714 by the shielding wall drive mechanism 3601 and the shielding wall drive mechanism 3602 independently, the degree of freedom of the opening and closing operations of the rotary shielding wall 3711 to the rotary shielding wall 3714 can be secured, and the structure of the shielding device 370 can be simplified.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, referring to fig. 32(a), the rotary shielding wall 371 can be set in a half-open state by disposing the moving shaft 376 in the middle portion of the moving shaft sliding groove 380. By such an arrangement, the volume of cold air blown into the storage chamber can be finely controlled.

The following invention can be understood based on the above-described embodiment 3.

The present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage for blowing cool air in a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a plurality of shield wall drive mechanisms for driving the rotary shield wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, by providing a plurality of shielding wall driving mechanisms, the rotatable shielding walls can be individually operated, and the degree of freedom of the opening and closing operation of the entire rotatable shielding wall can be improved.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shielding wall driving mechanism is disposed for each of the rotary shielding walls. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the shielding wall drive mechanism is disposed so as to correspond to each of the rotary shielding walls, and the rotary shielding walls can be independently rotated, whereby the degree of freedom of the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding walls can be further improved.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shielding wall driving mechanism includes: a cam rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall; a rotating plate which is formed with a groove for sliding the cam and rotates; and a drive motor that rotates the rotating plate. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the rotary shielding wall can be opened and closed with a simple structure including the driving motor.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shutter wall drive mechanism includes: a cam rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall; and a solenoid that moves the cam. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the rotary shielding wall can be opened and closed with a simple structure including the solenoid.

The refrigerator of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path. Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, since the rotary shielding wall of the shielding device is driven by the plurality of shielding wall driving mechanisms, the supply of cold air to the storage room can be finely set, and the indoor temperature of the storage room can be controlled with high accuracy.

(embodiment 4)

Referring to fig. 40 to 44, a description will be given of a shielding device 470 according to embodiment 4. The basic structure of the shielding device 470 according to embodiment 4 and the structure applied to the refrigerator 10 are the same as those of embodiment 1, and therefore, the differences will be mainly described. In this embodiment, the rotary shielding wall 471 is tilted inward in the radial direction, and the air passage is opened.

The structure of the masking device 470 will be described with reference to fig. 40. Fig. 40(a) is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 470, and fig. 40(B) is a side sectional view of the shielding device 470.

Referring to fig. 40(a) and 40(B), the shielding device 470 includes a support base 463, a rotary shielding wall 471, and a shielding wall driving mechanism 460. The shielding device 470 is a device for shielding the air passage of the cold air blown by the blower 47. When the shielding device 470 is opened, the air passage connecting the cooling compartment 26 and each storage chamber is communicated, and when the shielding device 470 is closed, the air passage is cut off.

The blower 47 is disposed at the center of the front surface of the support base 463 via a fastening member such as a screw. Although not shown here, the blower 47 includes, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a turbo fan and a blower motor that rotates the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air radially outward.

The support base 463 is a member formed of an integrally molded synthetic resin. Each of the pivoting shielding walls 471 is rotatably disposed on the rear surface side of the support base 463. Further, a cam housing 462 for housing the cam 461 is formed on the front surface side of the support base 463. The cam receiver 462 will be described later with reference to fig. 41. A rotating plate 473 is rotatably attached to the front surface side of the support base 463. Further, a drive motor 474 is attached to the support base 463, and the drive motor 474 generates a driving force for rotating the rotary shielding wall 471.

A side wall 458 is formed at a peripheral portion of the support base 463. The side wall portion 458 is a portion extending rearward from the support base 463. The plurality of side wall portions 458 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the support base 463. The side wall portions 458 are disposed between the rotary shield walls 471. The rear end of the side wall portion 458 is fastened to the partition body 66 shown in fig. 4(B) via a fastening member such as a screw.

The rotation shielding wall 471 is a rectangular plate-like member formed of synthetic resin, and has a long side along the outer edge of the rotation plate 473. The rotating shielding wall 471 is attached near the peripheral edge of the support base 463 so as to be rotatable rearward about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base 463. Further, a plurality of (5 in the present embodiment) rotating shielding walls 471 are disposed near the peripheral edge of the support base 463. The rotary shielding wall 471 is disposed in a path through which the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows, and shields the air passage.

The rotating plate 473 is formed of a steel plate or a synthetic resin plate, having a substantially circular disk shape in front view, and is disposed on the front side of the support base 463 so as to be rotatable. The rotation plate 473 is formed with a movement shaft slide groove 480 for rotating the rotation shielding wall 471. A gear portion 477 for transmitting torque is formed at the peripheral edge of the rotating plate 473. As will be described later, the driving motor 474 is driven to transmit torque through the gear portion 477 to rotate the rotating plate 473, thereby rotating the shielding wall 471 to open and close the shielding wall.

A flange to which a drive motor 474 that rotationally drives the rotating plate 473 is attached is formed in the right side portion of the support base 463. A gear not shown here is disposed between the gear portion 477 of the rotating plate 473 and the drive motor 474.

Referring to fig. 41, a description will be given of a shield wall driving mechanism 460 for driving the above-described rotary shield wall 471. Fig. 41(a) is an exploded perspective view showing a left side portion of the shielding device 470, and fig. 41(B) is a perspective view showing the cam 461.

Referring to fig. 41 a, the shielding wall driving mechanism 460 includes a cam 461, a rotating plate 473 with which the moving shaft 476 of the cam 461 engages, and a driving motor 474 (see fig. 40 a) for rotating the rotating plate 473.

The cam 461 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped member formed of a synthetic resin. As shown in fig. 41(B), a pivot coupling portion 448 is formed at one end of the cam 461, and a hole through which the pin 455 can be inserted is formed in the pivot coupling portion 448. The cam 461 is accommodated in the cam accommodating portion 462 of the support base 463.

As shown in fig. 41(B), the moving shaft 476 is a columnar protrusion protruding from the front surface of the cam 461. The diameter of the moving shaft 476 is slightly smaller than the width of the moving shaft sliding groove 480 formed in the rotating plate 473. The moving shaft 476 is slidably engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove 480.

The cam receiving portion 462 is a hollow formed in the support base 463, and is formed to be elongated in the radial direction of the support base 463. The cam receiving portions 462 are formed corresponding to the respective rotary shielding walls 471 such that the support base 463 is recessed from the front surface. The cam receiving portion 462 is sized to receive the cam 461 and the cam 461 is slidable in a radial direction.

As shown in fig. 41(a), a pivotal coupling portion 468 obliquely protruding from a base end portion of the pivotal shielding wall 471 is formed in the pivotal shielding wall 471. A hole through which the pin 455 can be inserted is formed in the pivotal coupling portion 468. In addition, pivotal coupling portions 464 are formed near both end portions of the lateral sides of the pivotal shielding wall 471. The pivotal coupling portion 464 has a hole through which the pin 469 can be inserted.

A pivot connection portion 454 is formed near the peripheral edge portion of the support base 463. The pivotal coupling portion 454 is provided corresponding to the pivotal coupling portion 464 of each pivotal shielding wall 471. The pivotal coupling portion 454 is formed with a hole through which the pin 469 can be inserted.

The cam 461 and the pivotal shielding wall 471 are connected to be pivotable about the pin 455 by inserting the pin 455 into the hole portion of the pivotal coupling portion 448 of the cam 461 and the hole portion of the pivotal coupling portion 468 of the pivotal shielding wall 471. Further, the support base 463 and the pivotal shielding wall 471 are pivotably coupled to each other by inserting a pin 469 into a hole portion of the pivotal coupling portion 454 of the support base 463 and a hole portion of the pivotal coupling portion 464 of the pivotal shielding wall 471.

By configuring the shielding wall drive mechanism 460 as described above, the drive motor 474 is driven to rotate the rotating plate 473, and the moving shaft 476 slides in the moving shaft slide groove 480. Thereby, the cam 461 slides in the cam receiving portion 462. By sliding the cam 461, the rotary shielding wall 471 can be rotated around the pin 455.

Specifically, when the cam 461 is slid toward the center of the support base 463, the rotating shielding wall 471 rotates so as to be raised about the rotating connecting portion 464, and the rotating shielding wall 471 is perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 463. On the other hand, when the cam 461 is slid toward the peripheral edge of the support base 463, the pivotal shielding wall 471 pivots about the pivotal connection portion 464 so as to be in a lying state, and the pivotal shielding wall 471 is in a state of being substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 463.

Therefore, if the moving-shaft sliding groove 480 is formed on the peripheral portion side of the support base 463, the pivoting shielding wall 471 can be opened. On the other hand, if the moving shaft sliding groove 480 is formed on the center side of the support base 463, the rotary shielding wall 471 can be closed. By utilizing this principle, the opening/closing state of each of the pivotal shielding walls 471 can be arbitrarily set by selecting the shape of the movable shaft sliding groove 480 corresponding to each pivotal shielding wall 471. Thus, the rotating shielding wall 471 can be fully opened or fully closed without using a complicated configuration, and a part of the rotating shielding wall 471 can be closed or opened.

Here, as shown in fig. 41(a), the rotating plate 473 and the cam 461 that constitute the shielding wall driving mechanism 460 are disposed on the front side of the support base 463. Therefore, referring to fig. 4(B), the components constituting shielding wall drive mechanism 460 are not exposed in freezer compartment air supply duct 31 through which cool air flows. Therefore, the cold air is not sprayed to the shielding wall driving mechanism 460, so that the shielding wall driving mechanism 460 can be prevented from freezing.

Referring to fig. 41(a), when the rotary shielding wall 471 is closed, each end in the longitudinal direction of the rotary shielding wall 471 abuts against the side wall 458. By forming the side wall portions 458 at the respective ends in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shielding wall 471 in this manner, airtightness when the rotating shielding wall 471 is closed can be improved, and therefore leakage of cold air during cooling and inflow of hot air during defrosting can be reliably suppressed.

Further, a frame portion 441 is formed between the side wall portions 458. The size of the frame portion 441 is substantially the same as that of the rotary shielding wall 471. When the rotary shielding wall 471 is in the above-described standing state, the rotary shielding wall 471 abuts from the inside. With this configuration, the peripheral edge of the rotary shielding wall 471 is in close contact with the frame 441, and the air passage can be further sealed with high airtightness.

Fig. 42 is a diagram showing a shielding device 470 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 42(a) is a diagram showing a rotary shielding wall of the shielding device as viewed from the rear, and fig. 42(B) is a diagram showing a structure of a rotary plate as viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 42(a), the shielding device 470 includes rotary shielding walls 4711, 4712, 4713, 4714, 4715 as the rotary shielding wall 471 described above. The rotary shielding walls 4711 to 4715 have a rectangular shape and have long sides substantially parallel to the tangential direction of the rotary plate 473. The rotary shielding walls 4711 to 4715 are rotatably attached to the peripheral edge of the support base 463 shown in fig. 40 (a).

The radially inner end of the rotary blocking wall 4711 is rotatably connected to a cam 4611 on which a moving shaft 4761 is formed. Similarly, the radially outer end of the rotary blocking wall 4712 is rotatably connected to a cam 4612 on which a moving shaft 4762 is formed. The radially outer end of the rotary blocking wall 4713 is rotatably coupled to a cam 4613 on which a moving shaft 4763 is formed. Further, a radially outer end of the rotary blocking wall 4714 is rotatably coupled to a cam 4614 on which the moving shaft 4764 is formed. The radially outer end of the rotary blocking wall 4715 is rotatably coupled to a cam 4615 on which a moving shaft 4765 is formed.

Here, the cam 4611 is rotatably coupled to an inner side edge of the rotary shielding wall 4711. Thus, the rotary shielding wall 4711 is in the standing state by the cam 4611 being disposed on the outer side, and the rotary shielding wall 4711 is in the lying state by the cam 4611 being disposed on the inner side.

On the other hand, the cams 4612 to 4615 are rotatably coupled to the outer side edges of the rotary shield walls 4712 to 4715, respectively. Thus, the shield walls 4712 to 4715 are rotated to be in the standing state by arranging the cams 4612 to 4615 inside. On the other hand, by disposing the cams 4612 to 4615 on the outer side, the shielding wall 4712 is rotated to rotate the shielding wall 4715 to be in the lying state.

Referring to fig. 42(B), the rotating plate 473 is a steel plate formed in a substantially disc shape and is formed with a plurality of moving shaft sliding grooves 480, and the plurality of moving shaft sliding grooves 480 are used to control the opening and closing operations of the rotating blocking wall 4711 and the like described above. Further, a gear portion 477 is formed in a part of the peripheral edge portion of the rotating plate 473, and the driving motor 474 shown in fig. 40(a) is meshed with the gear portion 477, whereby the rotating plate 473 is rotated by the torque of the driving motor 474.

The rotating plate 473 has moving axis sliding grooves 4801, 4802, 4804, and 4805 formed as the moving axis sliding grooves 480. The moving shaft sliding grooves 4801 to 4805 are groove-shaped portions formed along the circumferential direction of the rotating plate 473. The moving shaft sliding grooves 4801 to 4805 are formed in a predetermined bent shape so that the cams 4611 to 4615 shown in fig. 42(a) slide in the radial direction.

The movement axes 4761 to 4765 shown in fig. 42(a) engage with the movement axis sliding grooves 4801 to 4805. Specifically, movement shaft 4761 engages with movement shaft sliding groove 4801, movement shaft 4762 and movement shaft 4763 engage with movement shaft sliding groove 4802, movement shaft 4764 engages with movement shaft sliding groove 4804, and movement shaft 4765 engages with movement shaft sliding groove 4805.

The moving shaft sliding groove 4801 includes groove portions 48011 through 48013. The groove portion 48011 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove portion 48012 is inclined toward the inside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, and the groove portion 48013 extends in the circumferential direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 4802 includes groove portions 48021 to 48029. The groove portion 48021 is inclined to the inside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, the groove portion 48022 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove portion 48023 is inclined to the outside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, and the groove portion 48024 extends in the circumferential direction. The groove portion 48025 is inclined inward in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, the groove portion 48026 extends in the circumferential direction, and the groove portion 48027 is inclined outward in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction. Further, the groove portion 48028 extends in the circumferential direction, and the groove portion 48029 is inclined inward in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 4804 includes groove portions 48041 to 48044. The groove portion 48041 extends circumferentially, the groove portion 48042 is inclined radially outward in the counterclockwise direction, the groove portion 48043 extends circumferentially, and the groove portion 48044 is inclined radially inward in the counterclockwise direction.

The moving shaft sliding groove 4805 includes groove portions 48051 to 48056. The groove portion 48051 is inclined to the inside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, the groove portion 48052 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove portion 48053 is inclined to the outside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, and the groove portion 48054 extends in the circumferential direction. The groove portions 48055 are inclined toward the inside in the radial direction in the counterclockwise direction, and the groove portions 48056 extend in the circumferential direction.

In addition, a rotation shaft sliding groove 479 extending in the circumferential direction is formed in the inner portion of the rotation plate 473. Here, 3 rotation shaft sliding grooves 479 are formed at equal intervals. The rotating plate 473 is held by the support base 463 via a rotating shaft 475 (see fig. 43C) slidably engaged with the rotating shaft sliding groove 479.

Fig. 43 shows the structure of the shielding device 470 in the fully closed state. Fig. 43(a) is a view of the shielding device 470 in the fully closed state as viewed from the rear, fig. 43(B) is a sectional view taken along a section line H-H in fig. 43(a), fig. 43(C) is a view of the rotating plate 473 and the like in the fully closed state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 43(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 43 (B). Here, the fully closed state is a state in which the blowing port 27 shown in fig. 4 is closed by shielding the periphery of the blower 47 with the rotary shielding wall 471. In this fully closed state, the blower 47 does not rotate.

Referring to fig. 43(a), in the fully closed state, the shielding device 470 prevents air from flowing out of the blower 47 to the outside. That is, in the fully closed state, all of rotary shielding walls 471, namely rotary shielding walls 4711 to 4715, are in the standing state, and communication with the air passage for supplying cold air is cut off, and cold air is not supplied to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17. In the defrosting process for defrosting cooler 45 shown in fig. 2, shielding device 470 is fully closed, so that hot air does not flow from cooling chamber 26 into refrigerating chamber 15 and freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 43(B), in the fully closed state, the rotary blocking wall 4715 and the rotary blocking wall 4712 are in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 463. In this state, the rear end portions of the rotary shielding wall 4715 and the rotary shielding wall 4712 are in contact with the partition body 66 shown in fig. 4 or are disposed at the portion closest to the partition body 66. With this arrangement, the airtightness of the air passage can be improved when the rotary shielding wall 471 closes the air passage.

Referring to fig. 43(C), when the shielding device 470 is fully closed, the driving motor 474 is first driven to rotate the rotating plate 473 via the gear 430. Here, by rotating the rotating plate 473, the moving shaft 4761 is arranged at the outer part in the radial direction of the moving shaft sliding groove 4801. Further, the movement axis 4762 and the movement axis 4763 are disposed in the radially inner portion of the movement axis sliding groove 4802. Further, the movement axis 4764 is disposed in the radially inner portion of the movement axis sliding groove 4804, and the movement axis 4765 is disposed in the radially inner portion of the movement axis sliding groove 4805.

As a result, as shown in fig. 43(D), the cam 4615 moves radially inward by disposing the moving shaft 4765 radially inward. The pivotal blocking wall 4715 rotatably coupled to the cam 4615 is pivoted radially outward about the vicinity of the pivotal coupling portion 468 as a pivot center, and is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 463.

Fig. 44 shows the structure of the shielding device 470 in the fully open state. Fig. 44(a) is a view of the fully-opened shielding device 470 as viewed from the rear, fig. 44(B) is a sectional view taken along a sectional line I-I in fig. 44(a), fig. 44(C) is a view of the rotating plate 473 and the like in the fully-opened state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 44(D) is an enlarged view of a main portion of fig. 44 (B). Here, the fully opened state is a state in which communication between the periphery of the blower 47 and the air passage for supplying the cold air is not blocked by the rotary blocking wall 471, and the cold air blown by the blower 47 is diffused to the periphery.

Referring to fig. 44(a), in the fully opened state, shielding device 470 does not obstruct the flow of air from blower 47 to the outside. That is, in the fully opened state of shielding device 470, the cold air blown from blower 47 is blown to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 without interfering with rotary shielding wall 471, i.e., rotary shielding wall 4711 to rotary shielding wall 4715. As shown in fig. 44(a), in the fully open state, the rotary blocking wall 4711 is in a lying state of being tilted downward toward the outer side in the radial direction, and the rotary blocking walls 4712 to 4715 are in a lying state of being tilted downward toward the inner side in the radial direction.

Referring to fig. 44(B), in the fully opened state, the rotary shielding wall 4715 and the rotary shielding wall 4712 are in a lying state substantially parallel to the principal surface of the support base 463. By opening all the rotary shielding walls 471 of the shielding device 470, the rotary shielding walls 471 are not present in the air passage blown from the blower 47, so that the flow path resistance of the air passage can be reduced and the blowing amount of the blower 47 can be increased.

Referring to fig. 44(C), when the shielding device 470 is fully opened, the driving motor 474 is driven to rotate the rotating plate 473 via the gear 430, and the moving shafts 476 slide in the moving shaft slide grooves 480. Specifically, the moving shaft 4761 is disposed at the radially inner portion of the moving shaft sliding groove 4801. Further, the movement axis 4762 and the movement axis 4763 are disposed at the outer part in the radial direction of the movement axis sliding groove 4802. Further, the movement axis 4764 is disposed at the outer portion in the radial direction of the movement axis sliding groove 4804, and the movement axis 4765 is disposed at the outer portion in the radial direction of the movement axis sliding groove 4805. As a result, as shown in fig. 44(D), the cam 4615 moves radially outward by disposing the movement shaft 4765 radially outward. The pivotal shielding wall 4715 turnably connected to the upper end portion of the cam 4615 is turned radially inward around the vicinity of the pivotal connection portion 468 as a rotation center and falls down, and a main surface of the pivotal shielding wall 4715 is substantially parallel to a main surface of the cam housing 462.

As described above, the shutter device 470 according to the present embodiment can switch the open/closed state of each of the rotary shutter walls 4711 to 4715 by rotating the rotary plate 473 shown in fig. 40. Therefore, the components are not displaced in the axial direction of the blower fan 47, i.e., in the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. Therefore, the thickness dimension occupied by the masking device 470 can be reduced. Further, referring to fig. 3, since the volume occupied by shielding device 470 can be reduced, the indoor volume of freezing chamber 17 formed in front of shielding device 470 can be increased, and more objects to be frozen can be stored in freezing chamber 17.

The present embodiment can understand the following invention.

The present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage for blowing cool air in a refrigerator, comprising: a rotary shielding wall surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a shielding wall driving mechanism that drives the rotary shielding wall, wherein the rotary shielding wall is rotated so as to fall down toward the inside in the radial direction to release the air passage, and rotated so as to rise toward the outside in the radial direction to block the air passage. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the air passage is shielded by rotating the shielding wall radially outward, and therefore, the direction in which the rotating shielding wall rotates during shielding substantially coincides with the blowing direction of the blower, and therefore, airtightness during shielding can be improved.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shutter wall drive mechanism includes: a disk-shaped rotating plate having a moving shaft sliding groove formed therein; a cam in which a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove is formed and which is rotatably coupled to the rotary shielding wall; and a driving motor that rotates the rotating plate, wherein the cam moves radially inward when the moving shaft slides in the moving shaft sliding groove by rotating the rotating plate, the air passage is blocked by the rotating blocking wall, and the cam moves radially outward when the moving shaft slides in the moving shaft sliding groove by rotating the rotating plate, and the air passage is released by the rotating blocking wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, since the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall can be easily driven by the rotating operation of the rotary plate, the volume occupied by the shielding device can be reduced and the indoor volume is not squeezed as compared with a conventional shielding device in which the members constituting the shielding device move in the depth direction.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the shield device further includes a support base to which the rotary shield wall is rotatably attached and in which a cam receiving portion is formed, the cam being received in the cam receiving portion in a state of being slidable in a radial direction. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the movement direction of the cam is limited to the radial direction inside the cam housing portion of the support base, whereby the opening and closing of the rotary shielding wall can be appropriately driven by the sliding operation of the cam.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: a space for allowing the rotary shielding wall to fall down inward in the radial direction is formed between the blower and the rotary shielding wall. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, a space for allowing the rotary shielding wall to fall down can be secured between the blower and the rotary shielding wall when the rotary shielding wall is in the open state. On the other hand, when the rotary shielding wall is in the open state, a space through which cool air can flow can be sufficiently secured between the rotary shielding wall and the blower.

The refrigerator of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path. Therefore, according to the refrigerator of the invention, the indoor volume occupied by the shielding device can be reduced, and therefore, the effective volume of each storage chamber can be ensured to be large. In addition, since the air passage resistance of the shielding device is small, a large blowing amount can be obtained with a small amount of energy, and the storage chamber can be cooled efficiently.

(embodiment 5)

Referring to fig. 45 to 50, a description will be given of a shielding device 570 according to embodiment 5. The basic structure of the shielding device 570 according to embodiment 5 and the structure applied to the refrigerator 10 are the same as those of embodiment 1, and therefore, differences will be mainly described. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the moving shafts 576 of the plurality of cams 561 engage with the slide grooves 580 of the rotating plate 573.

The structure of the shielding device 570 will be described with reference to fig. 45. Fig. 45(a) is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 570, and fig. 45(B) is a perspective view showing the cam 561.

Referring to fig. 45(a), the shielding apparatus 570 includes a support base 563, a rotation plate 573, a cover member 57, and a shielding wall driving mechanism 560.

The shielding device 570 is a device for shielding the air passage of the cool air blown by the blower 47. When the shielding device 570 is opened, the air passage connecting the cooling compartment 26 and each storage compartment is communicated, and when the shielding device 570 is closed, the air passage is cut off.

The blower 47 is disposed at the center of the rear surface of the support base 563 via a fastening member such as a screw. The blower 47 includes, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a turbo fan and a blower motor for rotating the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air toward the outside in the radial direction.

The rotary shielding wall 571 is a rectangular plate-like member made of synthetic resin and has a long side extending in a tangential direction of the outer edge of the rotary plate 573. The rotary shielding wall 571 is attached to the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the support base 563 so as to be rotatable rearward. A plurality of (4 in the present embodiment) rotary shielding walls 571 are arranged. The rotary shielding wall 571 is disposed in the path through which the cold air blown by the blower 47 flows, and appropriately shields the air passage.

A frame-shaped portion 583 that surrounds the rotary shielding wall 571 in the standing state is adjacent to a base end portion of the rotary shielding wall 571 as a rotation center. The frame-shaped portion 583 is formed of a synthetic resin molded into a frame shape, and is disposed on the rear surface of the support base 563 so as to surround the blower 47. The frame-shaped portion 583 is disposed corresponding to each of the rotary shielding walls 571, and the rotary shielding walls 571 close the opening of the frame-shaped portion 583, thereby closing the air passage.

The rotating plate 573 has a substantially disc-shaped shape as viewed from the rear, and is disposed rotatably on the front surface side of the support base 563. The rotation plate 573 is formed with a slide groove 580 for rotating the rotary shield wall 571. A slide groove 580 is formed as a bottomed groove surrounded by a rib on the rear surface of the rotation plate 573. A gear groove 549 for transmitting torque is formed in a peripheral edge portion of the rotation plate 573. As will be described later, the driving motor is driven to rotate the rotation plate 573, thereby rotating the shielding wall 571 to open and close.

The cover member 57 is a plate-shaped member that covers the rotating plate 573 from the front, is formed slightly larger than the rotating plate 573, and has a substantially circular shape when viewed from the front.

The shield wall drive mechanism 560 that performs the opening and closing operations of the pivotal shield wall 571 includes a rotary plate 573, a cam 561, and a drive motor 574 (see fig. 48 a) that rotates the rotary plate 573.

Referring to fig. 45(B), the cam 561 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped member formed of a synthetic resin. A pivot coupling portion 548 is formed by projecting the left end of the cam 561 rearward. The pivot coupling portion 548 is formed with a hole through which a pin 569 described later can be inserted. Further, a moving shaft 576 is formed to protrude substantially cylindrically from the front surface of the right end side of the cam 561. The moving shaft 576 engages with the slide groove 580 of the rotating plate 573 and slides with the slide groove 580 in a use state. In order to enable this sliding, the diameter of the moving shaft 576 is set to be the same as or slightly shorter than the width of the sliding groove 580 in the radial direction.

Referring to fig. 46, a structure relating to the rotating shielding wall 571, the support base 563, and the cam 561 will be described. Fig. 46(a) is an exploded perspective view of the rotation shielding wall 571, the support base 563, and the cam 561 viewed from the left rear side, and fig. 46(B) is an exploded perspective view of the rotation coupling portion 568 and the cam 561 viewed from the left front side.

Referring to fig. 46(a), the pivotal shielding wall 571 is formed with a pivotal connection portion 568 projecting obliquely from a base end portion of the pivotal shielding wall 571. A hole through which the pin 569 can be inserted is formed in the rotation coupling portion 568. Further, a pivotal connection portion 564 projecting in a substantially cylindrical shape is formed at the front end portion of both upper and lower side surfaces of the pivotal blocking wall 571. The rotation coupling portion 564 is inserted into a cylindrical recessed portion 585 formed in the inner wall of the frame portion 583. With such a configuration, the rotating shielding wall 571 is provided rotatably on the support base 563.

A through hole 586 is formed so as to penetrate the support base 563 in a rectangular shape. The pivotal coupling portion 568 of the pivotal shielding wall 571 is inserted into the through hole 586 from the rear. The rotation connecting portion 548 of the cam 561 is also inserted into the through hole 586 from the front. The pin 569 is inserted into a hole portion of the rotation coupling portion 568 of the rotation shielding wall 571 and a hole portion of the rotation coupling portion 548 of the cam 561. With such a configuration, the rotary shielding wall 571 and the cam 561 are rotatably connected with the support base 563 interposed therebetween.

Referring to fig. 46(B), a cam receiving portion 562 is formed on the front surface of the support base 563. The cam housing 562 is a rectangular region surrounded by ribs, and the through hole 586 is formed inside the cam housing 562. The cam 561 is housed in the cam housing portion 562 and slides. Here, the direction in which the cam 561 slides inside the cam housing portion 562 is the left-right direction, in other words, the radial direction of the rotating plate 573 shown in fig. 45 (a).

With the above-described configuration, the driving motor 574 is driven to rotate the rotation plate 573, whereby the movement shaft 576 slides in the slide groove 580. Thereby, the cam 561 slides in the cam housing portion 562. By sliding the cam 561, the rotary shielding wall 571 can be rotated around the pin 569. Specifically, when the cam 561 is slid toward the peripheral edge portion of the rotating plate 573, the rotating shielding wall 571 rotates so as to be raised about the rotating connection portion 564, and the rotating shielding wall 571 is perpendicular to the principal surface of the support substrate 563. On the other hand, when the cam 561 is slid toward the center of the rotating plate 573, the rotating shielding wall 571 is rotated so as to be in a lying state with the rotating connection portion 564 as the center of rotation, and the rotating shielding wall 571 is in a state substantially parallel to the principal surface of the support substrate 563.

Therefore, if the slide groove 580 is formed on the peripheral edge portion side of the rotating plate 573, the rotary shielding wall 571 can be closed. On the other hand, if the slide groove 580 is formed on the center side of the rotating plate 573, the rotary shielding wall 571 can be opened. By utilizing this principle, the open/close state of the pivotal shielding wall 571 can be set arbitrarily by selecting the shape of the slide groove 580. Accordingly, the rotary shielding wall 571 can be brought into the fully open state or the fully closed state without using a complicated structure.

Fig. 47(a) is a view showing the rotary shield wall 5711 and the like of the shield device 570 viewed from the rear. The shielding apparatus 570 includes rotary shielding walls 5711 to 5714 as the rotary shielding wall 571. The rotary shielding walls 5711 to 5714 have a rectangular shape and have long sides substantially parallel to the tangential direction of the rotary plate 573. The rotary shielding walls 5711 to 5714 are rotatably attached to the peripheral edge of the support base 563 shown in fig. 45 (a).

A base end portion of the rotary shielding wall 5711 is rotatably connected to a cam 5611 formed with a moving shaft 5761. Similarly, the radially inner end of the rotary shield wall 5712 is rotatably connected to a cam 5612 on which a moving shaft 5762 is formed. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 5713 is rotatably coupled to a cam 5613 having a moving shaft 5763 formed therein. The radially inner end of the rotary shielding wall 5714 is rotatably coupled to a cam 5614 on which a moving shaft 5764 is formed.

Here, the direction in which the cam 5611 slides is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rotary shielding wall 5711. Thus, when the rotary shielding wall 5711 is opened and closed, the distance over which the cam 5611 slides can be shortened. This structure is also the same for the other rotary shield walls 5712 and the like.

Referring to fig. 47(B), the rotary plate 573 is a steel plate or a synthetic resin plate formed into a substantially disk shape, and is formed with a slide groove 580 for controlling the opening and closing operations of the rotary shielding wall 5711 and the like described above.

A gear groove 549 is formed in most of the peripheral edge portion of the rotation plate 573, and as shown in fig. 48(a), a gear 30 described later meshes with the gear groove 549, whereby the rotation plate 573 is rotated by the torque of the drive motor 574 shown in fig. 48 (a). The gear groove 549 may be formed over the entire circumference of the rotating plate 573, but here, the gear groove 549 is not formed in a part of the outer circumference of the rotating plate 573. That is, the gear groove 549 has both end portions. Since the gear groove 549 has an end portion, the position of the rotation plate 573 in the rotation direction can be easily detected by rotating the gear 30, which will be described later, to the end portion of the gear groove 549.

The slide groove 580 is formed in a substantially annular shape near the outer peripheral edge of the rotation plate 573. Further, when the rotating plate 573 is viewed from the rear, the shape of the slide groove 580 is not a perfect circle, but a meandering shape meandering along the circumferential direction of the rotating plate 573. Specifically, the slide groove 580 is formed of slide grooves 5801, 5802, 5803, 5804, 5805, 5806, 5807, 5808, 5809, 58010, 58011, and 58012 in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5801 is curved outward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5802 extends substantially parallel to the circumferential direction. The slide groove 5803 is curved inward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5804 is curved outward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5805 is curved toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5806 is curved outward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5807 is curved toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5808 is curved outward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 5809 is curved toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction. The slide groove 58010 is curved outward in the radial direction in the clockwise direction. The sliding groove 58011 extends substantially parallel to the circumferential direction. The slide groove 58012 curves toward the radially inner side in the clockwise direction.

A change point at which the curved shape of the groove changes is set in the slide groove 580. Specifically, a variation point 5812 is set between the slide groove 5801 and the slide groove 5802, and a variation point 5813 is set between the slide groove 5802 and the slide groove 5803. Further, a variation point 5814 is set between the slide groove 5803 and the slide groove 5804, and a variation point 5815 is set between the slide groove 5804 and the slide groove 5805. Further, a variation point 5816 is set between the slide groove 5805 and the slide groove 5806, and a variation point 5817 is set between the slide groove 5806 and the slide groove 5807. Further, a variation point 5818 is set between the slide groove 5807 and the slide groove 5808, and a variation point 5819 is set between the slide groove 5808 and the slide groove 5809. Further, a changing point 58110 is set between the slide groove 5809 and the slide groove 58010, and a changing point 58111 is set between the slide groove 58010 and the slide groove 58011. Further, a variation point 58112 is set between the slide groove 58011 and the slide groove 58012, and a variation point 5811 is set between the slide groove 58012 and the slide groove 5801.

The change point 5812, the change point 5813, the change point 5815, the change point 5817, the change point 5819, the change point 58111, and the change point 5812 are arranged radially outward of the rotating plate 573. On the other hand, the change point 5811, the change point 5814, the change point 5816, the change point 5818, and the change point 58110 are disposed radially inward of the rotating plate 573.

Fig. 48 shows the structure of the shielding device 570 in the fully closed state. Fig. 48(a) is a view of the fully closed shielding device 570 as viewed from the rear, fig. 48(B) is a view of the rotating plate 573 and the like in the fully closed state as viewed from the rear, and fig. 48(C) is a cut-off perspective view of the shielding device 570 in the fully closed state.

Referring to fig. 48(a), in the fully closed state, the shielding device 570 prevents air from flowing out from the blower 47 to the outside. That is, in the fully closed state, all the shutters 570, i.e., the rotary shutter wall 5711 to the rotary shutter wall 5714, are in the standing state. Therefore, communication with the air duct for supplying cold air is cut off, and cold air is not supplied to freezer compartment 17. In the defrosting process for defrosting cooler 45 shown in fig. 1, shielding device 570 is fully closed, so that hot air does not flow from cooling chamber 26 into refrigerating chamber 15 and freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 48(B), when the shielding device 570 is fully closed, the driving motor 574 shown in fig. 48(a) is first driven to rotate the rotation plate 573 via the gear 30. Here, by rotating the rotation plate 573, the movement shaft 5761 and the like slide in the slide groove 580 and move radially outward. Specifically, the moving shaft 5761 is disposed at the changing point 5813 of the slide groove 580, and the moving shaft 5762 is disposed at the changing point 5815 of the slide groove 580. The moving axis 5763 is disposed at a changing point 5817 of the slide groove 580, and the moving axis 5764 is disposed at a changing point 5819 of the slide groove 580.

As a result, referring to fig. 48(C), the cam 5611 moves outward in the radial direction. Then, the rotating shielding wall 5711 rotatably coupled to the cam 5611 rotates around the vicinity of the rotating coupling portion 568 as a rotation center, and is in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 563. As a result, the opening of the frame 583 is closed by the rotary shielding wall 5711, and the air passage is shielded. The same applies to the other rotary shielding walls 5712 and the like.

Fig. 49 shows the structure of the shielding device 570 in the fully open state. Fig. 49(a) is a view of the fully open shielding device 570 from the rear, fig. 49(B) is a view of the rotating plate 573 and the like in the fully open state from the rear, and fig. 49(C) is a cut perspective view of the shielding device 570 in the fully open state.

Referring to fig. 49(a), in the fully opened state, shielding device 570 does not prevent air from flowing from blower 47 to the outside. In the fully open state, all the rotary shielding walls 5711 and the like are opened toward the periphery. That is, in the fully opened state of shielding device 570, the cold air blown from blower 47 is blown to refrigerating room 15 and freezing room 17 without interfering with rotary shielding wall 571.

Referring to fig. 49(B), when the shielding device 570 is fully opened, the drive motor 574 shown in fig. 48(a) is first driven to rotate the rotation plate 573 via the gear 30. Here, by rotating the rotation plate 573, the movement shaft 5761 and the like slide in the slide groove 580 and move radially inward. Specifically, the moving axis 5761 is disposed at the changing point 5814 of the slide groove 580, and the moving axis 5762 is disposed at the changing point 5816 of the slide groove 580. The moving shaft 5763 is disposed at the changing point 5818 of the slide groove 580, and the moving shaft 5764 is disposed at the changing point 58110 of the slide groove 580.

As a result, referring to fig. 49(C), the cam 5611 moves radially inward. Then, the rotating shielding wall 5711 rotatably coupled to the cam 5611 rotates around the vicinity of the rotating coupling portion 568 as a rotation center, and falls down substantially in parallel to the main surface of the support base 563 to be in an opened state. As a result, the opening of the frame portion 583 is not closed by the rotary shielding wall 5711, and the flow path resistance of the air passage can be reduced, thereby increasing the blowing amount of the blower 47. This structure is also the same for the other rotary shield wall 5712 and the like.

In the present embodiment, referring to fig. 45, since the opening and closing operation of the pivotal shield wall 571 is performed by the rotation of the rotation plate 573, the thickness of the shield device 570 can be reduced as compared with the background art described above. Therefore, referring to fig. 2, the volume of freezing chamber 17 formed in front of shielding device 570 can be increased.

Further, according to the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 47(B), a slide groove 580 is formed in the rotating plate 573 in a substantially annular shape, and the plurality of moving shafts 5761 to 5764 are engaged with the slide groove 580. When the rotation plate 573 is rotated, the movement shafts 5761 to 5764 slide in the slide groove 580 and slide in the radial direction of the rotation plate 573. When the moving shafts 5761 to 5764 slide, the cams 5611 to 5614 also slide, and as a result, the rotary shielding walls 5711 to 5714 are opened and closed.

Therefore, since the plurality of moving shafts 5761 to 5764 slide while engaging with 1 sliding groove 580, the distance from the moving shaft 5761 to the sliding groove 580 in which the moving shaft 5764 can slide can be increased. Therefore, the sliding groove 580 can be formed by smoothly bending in the circumferential direction, and the pressure generated when the moving shafts 5761 to 5764 slide in the sliding groove 580 can be reduced, so that the opening and closing operation of the rotary shielding wall 5711 can be smoothly performed.

Further, the ranges in which the plurality of cams 5611 and the like slide in the slide groove 580 overlap. Specifically, referring to fig. 50, the 1 st sliding range, which is the range in which the moving shaft 5761 of the cam 5611 (the 1 st cam) slides in the sliding groove 580, and the 2 nd sliding range, which is the range in which the moving shaft 5762 of the cam 5612 (the 2 nd cam) slides in the sliding groove 580, overlap in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the slide groove 580 is almost entirely the 1 st slide range and the 2 nd slide range. Therefore, the sliding groove 580 can be shared by a plurality of cams 5611 and the like, and the structure of the shielding device 570 can be simplified.

The following invention can be understood based on the above-described embodiment 5.

The present invention is a shielding device for blocking an air passage for blowing cool air in a refrigerator, comprising: a plurality of rotary shielding walls surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction; and a shield wall drive mechanism that drives the rotary shield wall, the shield wall drive mechanism including: a rotating plate having a sliding groove formed along a circumferential direction; a plurality of cams, each of which is rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall, and on which a moving shaft engaged with the slide groove is formed; and a motor configured to rotate the rotating plate, wherein the moving shafts of the plurality of cams are engaged with 1 of the sliding grooves. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the rotary shielding wall is opened and closed by the cam that slides by the rotation of the rotary plate, and therefore the shielding device is thin and the indoor volume of the storage chamber can be ensured to be large. Further, by engaging the moving shafts of the plurality of cams with 1 sliding groove, the meandering shape of the sliding groove can be smoothed. Therefore, the sliding operation of the sliding groove and the moving shaft and the rotating operation of the rotating shielding wall can be smoothly performed. Further, the number of sliding grooves can be reduced, and the structure of the shielding device can be simplified.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the cam comprises a 1 st cam and a 2 nd cam, wherein a 1 st sliding range of the 1 st cam sliding in the sliding groove and a 2 nd sliding range of the 2 nd cam sliding in the sliding groove are overlapped. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, by overlapping the 1 st sliding range and the 2 nd sliding range, the sliding range of the moving shaft of each cam can be secured to be large, and the sliding operation of the sliding groove and the moving shaft and the rotating operation of the rotating shielding wall can be performed more smoothly.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the sliding groove is formed in a ring shape. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the sliding groove is formed in an annular shape, so that the structure of the shielding wall driving mechanism can be simplified.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the sliding groove is formed in a partial ring shape. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the initial position of the rotating plate can be easily detected by sliding the engagement portion of the cam to the end of the slide groove.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the sliding grooves include a 1 st sliding groove and a 2 nd sliding groove formed at an inner side of the 1 st sliding groove in a radius direction. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the control system can be made different between the rotary shielding wall rotated by the cam engaging with the 1 st sliding groove through the engaging portion and the other rotary shielding wall rotated by the cam engaging with the 2 nd sliding groove through the engaging portion, and the control method of the rotary shielding wall can be diversified.

Further, the shielding device of the present invention is characterized in that: the motor rotates the rotating plate via a gear that meshes with a gear groove formed around the rotating plate, and the gear groove is not formed in a portion of the periphery of the rotating plate. Thus, according to the shielding device of the present invention, the position of the rotating plate in the rotation direction can be easily detected by rotating the rotating plate to the end of the gear groove.

Further, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes: a cooler for cooling the air supplied to the storage compartment through the air passage; a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which a blowing port connected to the storage chamber is formed; the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and the shielding device at least partially blocks the air path. Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, the thin shielding device having the plurality of rotary shielding walls surrounding the blower from the outside in the radial direction can reduce the volume occupied by the shielding device and increase the indoor volume of the storage room. Further, the blowing switching operation of each storage chamber can be smoothly performed by smoothly opening and closing the rotary shielding wall.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (6)

1. A shielding device for blocking an air passage of cool air blown by a blower inside a refrigerator, comprising:

a rotary shielding wall that surrounds the blower disposed on the support base from the outside in the radial direction and opens and closes the air passage by rotating about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base; and

a shield wall driving mechanism for driving the rotary shield wall,

the rotary shielding wall is disposed in the air passage,

the shielding wall driving mechanism is configured in an area outside the wind path.

2. A screening arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the shutter wall drive mechanism includes:

a disk-shaped rotating plate having a moving shaft sliding groove formed therein;

a cam having a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove and rotatably connected to the rotary shielding wall; and

a drive motor for rotating the rotating plate,

the moving shaft of the cam slides in the moving shaft sliding groove, thereby opening and closing the rotary shielding wall.

3. A screening arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that:

the moving shafts of the plurality of cams are engaged with 1 of the moving shaft sliding grooves.

4. A shielding device for blocking an air passage of cool air blown by a blower inside a refrigerator, the shielding device comprising:

a plurality of rotary shielding walls which are arranged in parallel so as to surround the blower arranged on the support base from the outside in the radial direction and which open and close the air passage by rotating about an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base; and

a shield wall driving mechanism for driving the rotary shield wall,

the shielding wall driving mechanism includes a driving source and a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the driving source to the rotating shielding wall.

5. A shielding device for blocking an air passage of cool air blown by a blower inside a refrigerator, comprising:

a plurality of rotary shielding walls that surround the blower disposed on the support base from the outside in the radial direction and open and close the air passage by rotating around an axis parallel to the main surface of the support base; and

a shield wall driving mechanism for driving the rotary shield wall,

the shielding wall driving mechanism is provided in plurality.

6. A refrigerator, characterized by comprising:

a cooler for cooling circulation, which cools the air supplied to the storage chamber through the air passage;

a cooling chamber configured with the cooler and formed with a blowing port connected with the storage chamber;

the blower blowing the air supplied from the blowing port toward the storage chamber; and

the shutter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the air path is at least partially blocked.

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