CN113874666A

CN113874666A - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN113874666A
Application number: CN202080036518.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 森治
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Aqua Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Aqua Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-17
Filing date: 2020-05-09
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Also published as: EP3971495A1; WO2020233419A1; EP3971495A4; JP2020186887A

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator 1 comprising a refrigerant circuit 10, the refrigerant circuit 10 comprising: an aluminum suction pipe 17 having a recess 171 formed in a longitudinal direction and recessed inward in a radial direction; and a capillary 15; capillary 15 fits into recess 171. The invention makes the joint operation of the suction pipe and the capillary easier by embedding the capillary into the concave part of the aluminum suction pipe, and improves the heat exchange efficiency between the refrigerant circulating in the suction pipe and the capillary.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background

Generally, a refrigerator is provided with a refrigerant circuit configured to: the refrigerant discharged from the compressor circulates through the condenser, the capillary tube, the evaporator, and the suction pipe in this order, and returns to the compressor again from the suction pipe.

The refrigerant in the evaporator absorbs heat from the refrigerator and evaporates. However, in a case where the refrigerant in the evaporator is not sufficiently vaporized, a situation where liquid refrigerant flows from the evaporator into the suction pipe may occur. The suction pipe is also connected to the compressor, and if no countermeasures are taken, the liquid (heavier) refrigerant will return to the compressor, which may be one of the causes of the compressor failure.

To prevent this, a structure is adopted in which the outer surface of the suction tube and the outer surface of the capillary tube are in thermal contact. The temperature of the refrigerant passing through the capillary tube is relatively high, and heat exchange between the refrigerant passing through the suction tube and the capillary tube is performed by thermal contact between the suction tube and the capillary tube. As a result, the refrigerant in the suction pipe is vaporized, and the vaporized refrigerant flows into the compressor, so that the liquid refrigerant can be prevented from flowing into the compressor.

Incidentally, although a copper suction pipe has been used so far in many cases, from the viewpoint of reducing the product cost, a suction pipe made of aluminum, which is cheaper, has been developed for use in a refrigerant circuit of a refrigerator. Patent document 1 listed below discloses a refrigerant circuit having an aluminum suction pipe.

Prior art documents: patent document 1 japanese patent laid-open No. 2013-92287. The technology disclosed in patent document 1 relates to a refrigerant circuit including an aluminum suction pipe and a capillary tube made of an aluminum alloy, and is structured such that the suction pipe and the capillary tube are joined in a molten state, and a refrigerator including the refrigerant circuit.

However, the suction pipe and the capillary tube of the refrigerant circuit according to patent document 1 are joined by laser light irradiated from a laser welding machine. When joining the suction pipe and the capillary tube, a pressure roller is used to bring the suction pipe and the capillary tube into a pressure-contact state.

For this reason, a dedicated device must be introduced to manufacture the refrigerant circuit of patent document 1. Further, in order to operate these devices to properly join the suction tube and the capillary tube, a difficult operation for a relatively long time is required. Therefore, although the refrigerant circuit according to patent document 1 uses an aluminum suction pipe which is cheaper than copper, it has a problem of high production cost.

Further, the suction tube and the capillary tube according to patent document 1 are thermally contacted only by a substantially linear fusion-bonded portion. Therefore, since the formed thermal contact regions are local, there is a space for improving the heat exchange efficiency of the refrigerant flowing through each of them.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can reduce the cost of the product, facilitate the joining operation of a suction pipe and a capillary tube, and improve the heat exchange efficiency between refrigerants flowing through the both.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a refrigerant circuit including:

an aluminum suction pipe including a recess formed in a length direction and recessed inward in a radial direction; and a capillary tube embedded in the recess.

Further, the recess includes:

a bottom wall located radially inside the suction tube, the capillary tube being placed on the bottom wall;

a first side wall connected to the first side edge of the bottom wall and rising radially outward, the first side wall being in contact with the capillary tube; and

a second side wall connected to the second side edge of the bottom wall and rising radially outward, the second side wall being in contact with the capillary;

the bottom wall is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary tube in a cross-sectional view, and the bottom wall is in surface contact with the capillary tube.

Further, the first side wall has a flat plate shape in cross section, or the first side wall is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary, and the first side wall is in surface contact with the capillary.

Further, the second side wall has a flat plate shape in cross section, or the second side wall is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary, and the second side wall is in surface contact with the capillary.

Further, it further comprises an auxiliary heat exchange member installed at the suction tube to cover the recess and the capillary tube embedded in the recess.

Further, the auxiliary heat exchange member is an aluminum strip.

Further, it still includes the pyrocondensation pipe, the pyrocondensation pipe holds the suction tube that has imbedded the capillary, the pyrocondensation pipe is pressed the capillary to the recess.

Further, a topmost portion of the capillary tube is received within the recess. .

The invention has the following effects:

the invention relates to a refrigerator, which can reduce the product cost by using an aluminum suction pipe. Further, according to the present invention, since the capillary tube is fitted into the recess formed in the suction tube, the suction tube and the capillary tube can be easily joined to each other, and the suction tube and the capillary tube can be kept in good thermal contact with each other; therefore, the loss of heat transfer between the refrigerant flowing through the suction pipe and the refrigerant flowing through the capillary tube can be reduced.

Further, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, the capillary tube is in contact with each of the bottom wall, the first side wall, and the second side wall of the suction pipe recess, and is in surface contact with the bottom wall, so that the structure is simple, and the loss of heat transfer between the suction pipe and the capillary tube can be further reduced.

Further, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, since the auxiliary heat exchange member covering the capillary tube fitted in the concave portion of the suction tube is attached to the suction tube, it is possible to further reduce the loss of heat transfer between the refrigerant flowing through the suction tube and the refrigerant flowing through the capillary tube.

Further, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, since the capillary tube is pressed toward the concave portion side by the heat shrinkable tube, the thermal contact between the suction tube and the capillary tube can be maintained more favorably; therefore, the loss of heat transfer between the refrigerant flowing through the suction pipe and the refrigerant flowing through the capillary tube can be reduced.

Further, the refrigerator according to the present invention can prevent the heat shrinkable tube from bulging due to the heat shrinkable tube being pressed toward the topmost portion, because the topmost portion of the capillary tube is received in the concave portion; therefore, the work of incorporating the suction tube in which the capillary tube is embedded into the heat shrinkable tube can be performed easily, and the heat shrinkable tube having a shorter diameter can be used; as a result, the product cost can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side vertical sectional view of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view (perspective view) of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, showing a refrigerant circuit.

Fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of the refrigerant circuit, illustrating the form of the thermal contact area of the suction tube and the capillary tube.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the refrigerant circuit illustrating the thermal contact area of the suction tube with the capillary tube.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in describing the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the "up-down" direction corresponds to the height direction of the refrigerator 1, the "left-right" direction corresponds to the width direction of the refrigerator 1, and the "front-rear" direction corresponds to the depth direction of the refrigerator 1.

First, the overall structure of the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1. Here, fig. 1 is a side vertical sectional view of the refrigerator 1. As shown in the drawings, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a heat insulating box 2, which corresponds to a main body of the refrigerator. The heat-insulated box 2 includes a plurality of storage compartments for storing foods and the like therein. Further, the plurality of storage compartments correspond to the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartment 4 in this order from the top, although not particularly limited.

The front of each storage compartment provided in the insulated cabinet 2 has an opening, and insulated doors D1 and D2 are provided to openably close the openings. Here, the heat insulating door D1 closes the front opening of the refrigerating chamber 3 so that the right side (for example, when viewed from the front of the refrigerator) has upper and lower end portions supported on the heat insulating box 2 to be rotatable back and forth. Further, the heat insulating door D2 is provided to seal the front opening of the freezer compartment 4 so as to be able to be pulled out or pushed in the front-rear direction with respect to the heat insulating box 2.

Further, the heat-insulated box body 2 includes an outer box 2a made of a steel plate, an inner box 2b made of a synthetic resin, and a heat-insulating material 2c made of foamed polyurethane (urethane foam), the heat-insulating material 2c filling a gap formed between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2 b. An adiabatic partition wall (for example, a member denoted by reference numeral 6 in fig. 1) is disposed inside the adiabatic casing 2. The refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartment 4 are partitioned by the adiabatic partition 6.

Further, the structure of the refrigerant circuit 10 will be described with reference to fig. 2, and a compressor 11 for compressing refrigerant is disposed in a machine chamber M provided at the rear side of the bottom of the refrigerator. The compressor 11 is one of the components of the refrigerant circuit 10. Here, the refrigerant circuit 10 is a passage through which a refrigerant for cooling the inside of the storage chamber of the refrigerator 1 flows.

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view (perspective view) of the refrigerator 1, showing the refrigerant circuit 10. As shown in fig. 2, the refrigerant circuit 10 includes a compressor 11, a condenser (crest condenser) 12, a frame-type pipe 13 for preventing condensation, a dryer 14 for dehumidifying the refrigerant, a capillary tube 15, an evaporator 16, and a suction pipe 17.

The components of the refrigerant circuit 10 in the present embodiment are connected in the order described above. Further, the suction pipe 17 is connected to the compressor 11, thereby forming a circulation passage of the refrigerant. Further, the suction pipe 17 in the present embodiment is made of aluminum, which is less expensive than copper. In addition, the outer surface of the suction pipe 17 is preferably coated to prevent galvanic corrosion. Further, the capillary 15 according to the present embodiment is made of copper, but is not limited thereto.

The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11 is discharged toward the condenser 12 (e.g., extended to both left and right side walls and a bottom wall of the refrigerator 1), and then flows through the condenser 12 and toward the frame type piping 13 connected to the condenser 12 (e.g., extended to the periphery of a front opening of a storage chamber, etc.). Further, the refrigerant reaches the evaporator 16 via the dryer 14 and the capillary tube 15, and then returns to the compressor 11 via the suction pipe 17.

As shown in fig. 2, the capillary tube 15 and the suction tube 17 are laid adjacent to the rear side of the refrigerator 1. More specifically, thermal contact is made in the regions HC1, HC2, and HC3 (hereinafter, this region is referred to as "thermal contact region. As a result of the heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through capillary tube 15 and the refrigerant flowing through suction tube 17, the temperature of the refrigerant in capillary tube 15 decreases and the temperature of the refrigerant in suction tube 17 increases.

The higher the heat exchange efficiency of both, the more efficiently the refrigerant in the suction pipe 17 is vaporized and returned to the compressor 11. Therefore, a situation in which the liquid refrigerant is returned from the suction pipe 17 to the compressor 11 is prevented, and damage to the compressor 11 can be effectively prevented. However, the thermal contact area between the capillary 15 and the suction pipe 17 is not limited to the illustrated one.

Next, the form of the thermal contact area of the capillary 15 and the suction tube 17 will be explained with reference to fig. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of the refrigerant circuit 10 showing the thermal contact area of the capillary tube 15 and the suction line 17. Further, fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view thereof.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the suction pipe 17 includes a concave portion 171, and the concave portion 171 is recessed inward in the radial direction of the suction pipe 17. The recess 171 is open on the upper surface side. Further, as shown in fig. 3, the recess 171 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 17.

Capillary 15 in this embodiment fits into recess 171. According to the present embodiment, capillary 15 and suction tube 17 can be brought into thermal contact with each other by fitting capillary 15 into recess 171 of suction tube 17. Therefore, the contact (joining) operation between the two can be performed easily, and the production cost of the product can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 4, the recess 171 according to the present embodiment includes a first side wall 171S1, a second side wall 171S2, and a bottom wall 171B. The first side wall 171S1 is connected to the first side edge 171B1 of the bottom wall 171B and rises radially outward. Further, the raised foremost end edge 171T1 of the first side wall 171S1 is joined to one end edge 1721 of the main body portion 172 (portion other than the recessed portion 171) of the circular arc-shaped cross section of the suction pipe 17.

Similarly, the second side wall 171S2 is connected to the second side edge 171B2 of the bottom wall 171B and rises radially outward. Further, the raised foremost end edge 171T2 of the second side wall 171S2 is joined to the other end edge 1722 of the main body portion 172 having the circular arc-shaped cross section of the suction pipe 17.

Further, the lengthwise direction of the bottom wall 171B, the first side wall 171S1, and the second side wall 171S2 is formed along the lengthwise direction of the suction pipe 17. In addition, the bottom wall 171B, the first side wall 171S1, and the second side wall 171S2 are described as particular components for ease of illustration, but they may be integral in structure.

Capillary 15 embedded in recess 171 is in contact with both first sidewall 171S1 and second sidewall 171S2 of recess 171, and is placed on bottom wall 171B. In this way, the capillary 15 and the suction tube 17 (concave portion 171) can be in contact at a plurality of places. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the simple joining operation of the both, even when aluminum is used instead of the raw material of the suction pipe 17, the thermal contact between the capillary 15 and the suction pipe 17 can be maintained well.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, bottom wall 171B is preferably curved with a curvature 15R corresponding to capillary outer surface 15S. Since the bottom wall 171B has such a curved structure, the bottom wall 171B and the capillary 15 are in surface contact. As a result, thermal contact between capillary tube 15 and suction pipe 17 can be further maintained well, and heat transfer loss between the refrigerant in capillary tube 15 and the refrigerant in suction pipe 17 can be greatly reduced.

Further, although both the first side wall 171S1 and the second side wall 171S2 are illustrated as being substantially flat plate-shaped, they may be in a form curved corresponding to the curvature of the capillary outer surface 15S and in surface contact with the capillary 15, like the bottom wall 171B. By thus bending first side wall 171S1 and second side wall 171S2, thermal contact between capillary 15 and suction tube 17 can be further maintained well.

Further, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the thermal contact area of the capillary tube 15 and the suction tube 17 in the refrigerant circuit 10 preferably further includes an auxiliary heat exchange member 18 for improving the heat exchange efficiency of the two. The auxiliary heat exchange member 18 is installed at the suction pipe 17 to cover the capillary tube 15 fitted into the recess 171.

The kind of the auxiliary heat exchange member 18 is not particularly limited as long as it can serve as a medium for heat exchange between the capillary tube 15 and the suction tube 17, but it is preferably an aluminum tape having low cost and suitable thermal conductivity. Further, in the case where the auxiliary heat exchange member 18 is an aluminum tape, the following is preferable: the capillary tube 15 can be fixed by a simple operation of bridging the auxiliary heat exchange member 18 from the end edge 171T1 to the end edge 171T2 of the recess 171 to be attached to the outer surface of the suction tube 17.

Further, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the refrigerant circuit 10 is preferably provided with a heat shrinkable tube 19 that accommodates the suction tube 17 in which the capillary tube 15 is embedded (covers the outer surface of the suction tube 17). Since suction tube 17 is accommodated in heat shrinkable tube 19, capillary 15 can be fitted into recess 171 in a state of being pressed toward recess 171; therefore, the thermal contact between capillary 15 and suction tube 17 can be further favorably maintained.

As shown in fig. 4, the following is more preferable: the topmost portion 15T of capillary 15 is received in recess 171 of suction tube 17. Unlike the present embodiment, in the case of the configuration in which the topmost portion 15T of the capillary 15 protrudes outward beyond the concave portion 171, the diameter of the heat shrinkable tube 19 must be increased in proportion to the protruding portion. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the topmost portion 15T of the capillary 15 is accommodated in the concave portion 171, the suction tube 17 in which the capillary 15 is fitted can be accommodated by the heat shrinkable tube 19 having a short diameter. Since the heat shrinkable tube 19 having a shorter diameter can be used, further reduction in product cost can be achieved.

According to the present embodiment shown in fig. 3 and 4, the heat exchange length can be shortened by about 20% as compared with the prior art form in which the capillary tube is simply placed on the tubular suction tube in which the recess 171 is not formed and the heat shrinkable tube is wound thereon to fix both (in the case of the prior art form, the heat exchange length is about 1800mm, and in the case of the present embodiment, the heat exchange length can be shortened to 1500 mm.). Accordingly, the amount of metal parts such as the suction pipe can be reduced, and thus the cost of the product can be further reduced.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the foregoing description is for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the contents of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the description of the present invention. The present invention may include those which can be modified and improved without departing from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention includes equivalents of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, characterized by comprising a refrigerant circuit comprising:

an aluminum suction pipe including a recess formed in a length direction and recessed inward in a radial direction;

and a capillary tube embedded in the recess.
The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the recess includes:

a bottom wall located radially inside the suction tube, the capillary tube being placed on the bottom wall;

a first side wall connected to the first side edge of the bottom wall and rising radially outward, the first side wall being in contact with the capillary tube; and

a second side wall connected to the second side edge of the bottom wall and rising radially outward, the second side wall being in contact with the capillary;

the bottom wall is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary tube in a cross-sectional view, and the bottom wall is in surface contact with the capillary tube.
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the first sidewall has a flat plate shape in a sectional view, or is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary, and is in surface contact with the capillary.
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the second sidewall has a flat plate shape in a sectional view, or is curved with a curvature corresponding to an outer surface of the capillary, and is in surface contact with the capillary.
The refrigerator according to claim 1,

it further includes an auxiliary heat exchange member installed at the suction tube to cover the recess and the capillary tube embedded in the recess.
The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the auxiliary heat exchange member is an aluminum tape.
The refrigerator according to claim 1,

the heat-shrinkable tube is used for accommodating the suction tube embedded with the capillary tube, and the heat-shrinkable tube extrudes the capillary tube to the concave part.
The refrigerator according to claim 7,

the topmost portion of the capillary is received within the recess.