CN113906266B - Shielding device and refrigerator with same - Google Patents

Abstract

A shielding device (70) capable of reducing the volume of a storage compartment and a refrigerator (10, 100), the shielding device (70) being used for properly closing an air path (109) for blowing cool air inside the refrigerator (10, 100). The shielding device (70) includes: a plurality of rotary cover walls (71, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715) surrounding the blower (47) from the outer side in the radial direction, and a cover wall driving mechanism (60) for driving the opening and closing operations of the rotary cover walls (71, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715). The shielding device (70) is tilted inward by rotating the shielding walls (71, 711, 712, 713, 714, 715) so that the air duct (109) is in an open state.

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 capable of properly closing an air path connecting a cooling chamber and a storage chamber, and a refrigerator having the same.

Background

Conventionally, a refrigerator is known, as described in patent document 1 (JP 2013-2664 a), in which a plurality of storage compartments are appropriately cooled by a single cooler.

Fig. 24 schematically shows a refrigerator 100 described in this document. In the refrigerator 100 shown in the drawing, a refrigerating chamber 101, a freezing chamber 102, and a vegetable chamber 103 are formed from above. A cooling chamber 104 accommodating a cooler 108 is formed inside the freezing chamber 102, and an opening 106 is formed in a partition wall 105 that separates the cooling chamber 104 and the freezing chamber 102, the opening 106 being for supplying cool air to each storage chamber. A blower fan 107 that blows cool air is disposed at the opening 106, and a blower cover 110 that covers the blower fan 107 is disposed on the freezing chamber 102 side. A damper 114 is disposed in the air duct 109 through which cool air supplied to the refrigerating compartment 101 flows.

The blower cover 110 described above is described in detail with reference to fig. 25. The blower cover 110 has a recess 111 formed in a substantially square shape, and an opening 113 is formed by grooving the upper side of the recess 111. Here, when the blower cover 110 covers the blower fan 107, the opening 113 of the blower cover 110 communicates with the air passage 109 on the refrigerator main body side.

When both the refrigerator 101 and the freezer 102 are cooled simultaneously during operation of the refrigerator 100 having the above-described configuration, the blower cover 110 is separated from the blower fan 107, the damper 114 is opened, and the blower fan 107 is rotated in this state. In this way, a part of the cool air cooled by the cooler 108 inside the cooling chamber 104 is blown into the freezing chamber 102 by the blowing force of the blower fan 107. Further, other portions of the cool air are blown into the refrigerator compartment 101 via the air duct 109, the damper 114, and the air duct 109. Thereby cooling both the freezing chamber 102 and the refrigerating chamber 101.

On the other hand, when only the cooling compartment 101 is required to be cooled, the blower fan 107 is covered with the blower cover 110, and the damper 114 is opened, and the blower fan 107 blows cool air cooled by the cooler 108 in this state. When the blower cover 110 is closed, an opening 113 formed in an upper portion of the blower cover 110 communicates with the air passage 109. Accordingly, the cool air blown by the blower fan 107 is supplied into the refrigerating compartment 101 through the opening 113, the damper 114, and the air passage 109.

As described above, by using the blower cover 110 having the opening 113 formed therein, a plurality of storage compartments can be cooled by one cooler 108.

However, the blower cover 110 having the above-described configuration closes the opening 106 of the cooling chamber 104 by moving backward, and opens the opening 106 of the cooling chamber 104 by moving forward. Further, a driving mechanism for moving the blower cover 110 in the front-rear direction needs to be provided.

The blower cover 110 requires a space for opening and closing operations in the front-rear direction. Accordingly, a large space is required for opening and closing the blower cover 110 in the refrigerator 100. As a result, the following problems exist: the inner volume of the freezing chamber 102 formed in front of the blower cover 110 is compressed, limiting the amount of stored objects that the freezing chamber 102 can accommodate. In addition, a driving sound is generated when the blower cover 110 is moved in the front-rear direction by the motor, and the driving sound may be uncomfortable for the user when it is large.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a shielding device which does not occupy the internal volume of a refrigerator and has a small driving sound, and a refrigerator having the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shielding device for closing an air path for blowing cool air inside a refrigerator, the shielding device having a rotating shielding wall surrounding a blower from a radially outer side; and a cover wall driving mechanism for driving the rotary cover wall, wherein the rotary cover wall rotates to incline to open the air passage and rotates to stand to close the air passage.

Further, the shielding device has: a disk-shaped rotating disk formed with a movable shaft sliding groove; a cam formed with a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove and rotatably coupled to the rotating cover wall; and a drive motor that rotates the rotary disk, wherein the rotary disk rotates the rotary disk, and the moving shaft slides in the moving shaft sliding groove, so that the rotary cover wall closes the wind path when the cam moves radially inward; the movable shaft slides in the movable shaft sliding groove by rotation of the rotary disk, whereby the rotary cover wall opens the air passage when the cam moves radially outward.

Further, the shielding device further has a support base formed with a cam receiving portion in which the cam is slidably received in a radial direction, the rotating shielding wall being rotatably mounted to the support base.

Further, a space is formed between the blower and the rotating cover wall, which allows the rotating cover wall to tilt inward in the radial direction.

The present invention also provides a refrigerator having: a refrigerating circuit having a cooler for cooling air supplied to the storage chamber via the air passage; a cooling chamber having an air supply port connected to the storage chamber, the cooling chamber having the cooler disposed therein; a blower that blows air supplied from the air supply port to the storage chamber; a screening arrangement at least partially closing the wind path and as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

The invention has the following effects: according to the shielding device, the rotating shielding wall rotates to the outer side in the radial direction to cover the air path, so that the direction of the rotating shielding wall when the rotating shielding wall covers is approximately consistent with the direction of the air flow blown by the blower, and the air tightness during covering can be improved.

In addition, compared with the prior shielding device of which the member forming the shielding device moves along the depth direction, the volume occupied by the shielding device can be reduced, and the volume in the refrigerator is not occupied.

Further, according to the present invention, by restricting the movement direction of the cam to the radial direction in the cam housing portion of the support base, the opening and closing of the pivotable cover wall can be preferably driven by the sliding operation of the cam.

Further, according to the present invention, when the rotary cover wall is in the open state, a space in which the rotary cover wall can be tilted can be ensured between the blower and the rotary cover wall. On the other hand, when the rotary cover wall is opened, a space through which cool air can flow can be ensured between the rotary cover wall and the blower.

In addition, the refrigerator can reduce the internal volume of the refrigerator occupied by the shielding device, so that the effective volume of each storage chamber can be ensured to be large. Further, since the air passage resistance of the shielding device is small, a large amount of air can be blown with a small amount of energy, and the storage compartment can be cooled efficiently.

Drawings

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

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

Fig. 4 is a view showing an assembled state of a shielding device used in a refrigerator according to an example of the present invention, in which (a) is a perspective view, (B) is a cross-sectional view from a section line A-A, and (C) is a view showing a configuration of an air duct from the rear.

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

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a shielding device according to an embodiment 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 a shield device according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view showing a rotating shield wall of the shield device when viewed from the rear, and (B) is a view showing a configuration of a rotating disk when viewed from the rear.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a fully closed state of the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device as seen from the rear, (B) is a cross-sectional view showing the shielding device as seen from a section line B-B of (a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotary disk as seen from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of (B).

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a fully opened state of the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the shielding device as seen from the rear, (B) is a sectional view of the shielding device as seen from a section line C-C of (a), (C) is a diagram showing the rotary disk as seen from the rear, and (D) is a partially enlarged sectional view of (B).

Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in which cold air is supplied only to the lower freezer compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating disk.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a state of an air path when cold air is supplied only to a lower-stage freezer compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

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

Fig. 13 is a view showing a state of an air passage when only cool air is supplied to a freezing chamber in a shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear.

Fig. 14 is a view showing a state in which cold air is supplied only to the upper freezer compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating disk.

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

Fig. 16 is a view showing a state in which cold air is not supplied to the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating disk.

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

Fig. 18 is a view showing a state in which only cold air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotary disk.

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

Fig. 20 is a view showing a state in which cold air is supplied to the upper freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotary disk.

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

Fig. 22 is a view showing a state in which cold air is supplied to the entire freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment in the shielding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when viewed from the rear side, (a) is a view showing the shielding device, and (B) is a view showing the rotating disk.

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

Fig. 24 is an enlarged sectional view showing a refrigerator related to the background art.

Fig. 25 is a perspective view showing a blower cover employed in a refrigerator according to the related art.

Detailed Description

The drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the present patent; for the purpose of better illustrating the embodiments, certain elements of the drawings may be omitted, enlarged or reduced and do not represent the actual product dimensions; it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain well-known structures in the drawings and descriptions thereof may be omitted.

Hereinafter, the shielding device 70 and the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In the following description, the same members are given the same symbols in principle, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. Further, in the following description, the directions of up, down, front, rear, left, and right are appropriately used, wherein left and right represent left and right in the case of viewing the refrigerator 10 from the rear. Further, in the following description, the rotation directions are expressed in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and these rotation directions represent directions when viewed from the back of the refrigerator 10. In the following description, the clockwise direction will be referred to as a clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction will be referred to as an inverse direction.

Fig. 1 is a front external view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator 10 of 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 food and the like is formed inside the heat-insulating box 11. As the storage chamber, the uppermost layer is a refrigerating chamber 15, the lower layer thereof is an upper-layer freezing chamber 18, the further lower layer thereof is a lower-layer freezing chamber 19, and then the lowermost layer is a vegetable chamber 20. The upper-stage freezing chamber 18 and the lower-stage freezing chamber 19 are storage chambers in a freezing temperature range, and in the following description, they are sometimes collectively referred to as a freezing chamber 17. Here, the upper freezer compartment 18 may be partitioned left and right, and one side may be used as an ice making compartment.

The heat-insulating box 11 has an opening at the front face thereof, and heat-insulating doors 21 and the like are provided at openings corresponding to the respective storage compartments, and these heat-insulating doors can be opened and closed freely. The refrigerating chambers 15 are partitioned in the left-right direction and are closed by respective heat-insulating doors 21, and the heat-insulating doors 21 are rotatably attached to the heat-insulating box 11 at outer upper and lower ends in the width direction. The heat-insulating doors 23, 24, 25 are integrally assembled with the respective storage containers, are capable of being pulled out along the front of the refrigerator 10, and are supported by the heat-insulating box 11. Specifically, the heat-insulating door 23 closes the upper-stage freezing chamber 18, the heat-insulating door 24 closes the lower-stage freezing chamber 19, and the heat-insulating door 25 closes the vegetable chamber 20.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 10. The main body heat insulating box 11 of the refrigerator 10 is composed of a steel plate casing 12 having a front opening, and a synthetic resin liner 13 having a front opening and disposed in the casing 12 with a gap therebetween. A gap between the outer shell 12 and the inner liner 13 is filled with a heat insulating material 14 made of foamed polyurethane. The heat insulating doors 21 and the like have the same heat insulating structure as the heat insulating box 11.

The refrigerating compartment 15 and the freezing compartment 17 located at the lower layer thereof are partitioned by an insulating partition wall 42. In addition, the upper freezer compartment 18 communicates with the lower freezer compartment 19 disposed below the upper freezer compartment, and the cooled air, i.e., cool air, can freely circulate. Further, between the freezing compartment 17 and the vegetable compartment 20, a partition wall 43 is partitioned by heat insulation.

A refrigerator compartment supply air duct 29 serving as a supply air duct for supplying cool air to the refrigerator compartment 15 is formed on the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 15 by a synthetic resin separator 65. In the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 29, an air outlet 33 through which cool air flows into the refrigerating compartment 15 is formed.

Inside the freezing chamber 17, a freezing chamber supply air passage 31 is formed, and cool air cooled by the cooler 45 flows into the freezing chamber 17 in this air passage. A cooling chamber 26 is formed inside the rear of the freezer compartment supply air duct 31, and a cooler 45, which is an evaporator for cooling air circulating in the refrigerator, is disposed inside the cooling chamber. The freezer compartment supply air duct 31 is a space surrounded in the front-rear direction by the front cover 67 and the partition 66.

The cooler 45 is connected to the compressor 44, a radiator not shown, and a capillary tube not shown as an expansion means via refrigerant piping, and is a member constituting a vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

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

The freezer compartment supply air duct 31 formed in front of the cooling compartment 26 is a space formed between the cooling compartment 26 and the synthetic resin front cover 67 assembled in front of the cooling compartment 26, and is an air duct through which cool air cooled by the cooler 45 flows into the freezer compartment 17. The front cover 67 is formed with a blowout port 34, which is an opening for blowing cool air to the freezing chamber 17.

The lower back surface of the lower freezer compartment 19 is formed with a return air inlet 38 for returning air from the freezer compartment 17 to the cooling compartment 26. A return air inlet 28 is formed below the cooling chamber 26 and connected to the return air inlet 38, and returns cool air from each storage chamber to the inside of the cooling chamber 26. Cold air returned via return air port 39 (fig. 2) of vegetable room 20 and vegetable room return air duct 37 also flows into return air port 28.

Further, a defrosting heater 46 is provided below the cooler 45 to melt frost adhering to the cooler 45, the defrosting heater 46 being a resistance heating type heater.

An air outlet 27, which is an opening connected to each storage chamber, is formed in an upper portion of the cooling chamber 26. The air supply port 27 is an opening into which cool air cooled by the cooler 45 flows, and communicates the cooling chamber 26, the refrigerator supply air duct 29, and the freezer supply air duct 31. The air outlet 27 is provided with an air blower 47 for sending cool air from the front to the freezing chamber 17 and the like. Further, the function of the damper is assumed by the rotational cover wall 71 of the shutter 70 described later, and therefore the damper can be omitted.

Outside the air supply opening 27 of the cooling chamber 26, a shielding device 70 is provided for appropriately closing the air passage connected to the air supply opening 27. The shielding device 70 is covered from the front by a front cover 67.

A structure 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 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 the air passage configuration in the case where the front cover 67 is seen from the rear.

Referring to fig. 4 (a), a blower port 27 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in an upper portion of the partition 66, and a blower 47 and a shielding device 70 are disposed in front of the blower port 27. Here, the shielding means 70 is hidden by the partition 66. The opening 59 formed at the upper end side of the partition 66 communicates with the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 29 shown in fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 4 (B), as described above, the freezer compartment supply air duct 31 is formed as a space surrounded by the partition 66 and the front cover 67. As will be described later, the freezer compartment supply air duct 31 is divided into a plurality of air ducts. 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 covers the blower 47, and the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 drives the shielding device 70. The configuration of the shielding device 70 and the shielding wall driving mechanism 60 will be described later with reference to fig. 5.

Referring to fig. 4 (C), a plurality of air-sending passages are formed by partitioning the inner space of the front cover 67. Specifically, rib-shaped air path dividing walls 50, 56 are formed to extend rearward from the rear main surface of the front cover 67. The rear ends of the air duct dividing walls 50, 56 are adjacent to the partition 66 shown in fig. 4 (B).

Here, the cool air blowing duct is divided into a refrigerating compartment supply duct 51, an upper freezer compartment supply duct 52, and a lower freezer compartment supply duct 53 from above. The refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51 circulates cool air blown to the refrigerating compartment 15, the upper freezer compartment supply air passage 52 circulates cool air blown to the upper freezer compartment 18, and the lower freezer compartment supply air passage 53 circulates cool air blown to the lower freezer compartment 19. The cool air flowing through the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51 is blown to the refrigerating compartment 15 shown in fig. 2 through the opening portion 59. The cool air flowing through the upper refrigerating compartment supply air duct 52 is blown to the upper freezing compartment 18 shown in fig. 2 through the air outlet 34. The cool air flowing through the lower refrigerating compartment supply air duct 53 is blown to the lower freezing compartment 19 shown in fig. 2 through the air outlet 34. Here, the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51, the upper freezer compartment supply air duct 52, and the lower freezer compartment supply air duct 53 are dispersed around the shielding device 70.

The refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51 and the upper freezer compartment supply air duct 52 are partitioned by the air duct partition wall 50. Further, the upper freezer compartment supply air duct 52 and the lower freezer compartment supply air duct 53 are partitioned by an air duct partition 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 showing the shielding device 70, and fig. 5 (B) is a side sectional view showing the shielding device 70.

Referring to fig. 5 (a) and 5 (B), the shielding device 70 has a support base 63, a rotating shielding wall 71, and a shielding wall driving mechanism 60. The shielding device 70 is a device that covers the air path through which the blower 47 blows cool air. The air passage connecting the cooling chamber 26 and each storage chamber is communicated by opening the shielding device 70, and the air passage is shut off by closing the shielding device 70.

The blower 47 is disposed at the front center portion of the support base 63 by fastening with screws or the like. Although not shown here, the blower 47 includes a centrifugal fan such as a turbofan, and a blower motor for rotating the centrifugal fan, and blows cool air radially outward.

The support base 63 is a member formed of an integrally molded synthetic resin. On the rear surface side of the support base 63, respective rotary cover walls 71 are rotatably disposed. Further, a cam accommodating portion 62 accommodating the cam 61 is formed on the front surface side of the support base 63. The cam housing 62 is described later with reference to fig. 6. Further, a rotary disk 73 is rotatably mounted on the front surface side of the support base 63. A driving force motor 74 for generating a driving force for opening and closing the rotary cover wall 71 is attached to the support base 63.

The side wall portion 58 is formed on the peripheral portion of the support base 63. The side wall portion 58 extends rearward from the support base 63. The side wall portions 58 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the support base 63. The side wall portions 58 are disposed between the rotating cover walls 71. The rear end of the side wall portion 58 is fastened to the partition 66 shown in fig. 4 (B) by fastening means such as screws.

The rotary cover wall 71 is a rectangular plate-like member formed of synthetic resin, and has a long side along the outside of the rotary disk 73. The rotary cover wall 71 is mounted near the edge portion of the support base 63 so as to be rotatable rearward about an axis parallel to the plane of the support base 63. Further, a plurality (5 in the present embodiment) of the rotary cover walls 71 are disposed near the peripheral portion of the support base 63. The rotary cover wall 71 is disposed on a path along which cool air blown by the blower 47 flows, and covers the air passage.

The rotary disk 73 is formed of a steel plate or a synthetic resin plate having a substantially disk shape when viewed from the front, and is rotatably disposed on the front side of the support base 63. The rotary disk 73 is formed with a moving-shaft sliding groove 80 for rotating the rotary cover wall 71. A gear portion 77 for transmitting torque is formed at the peripheral portion of the rotary disk 73. As will be described later, the driving motor 74 is driven, torque is transmitted through the gear portion 77 of the gear 30, and the rotary disk 73 is rotated, so that the cover wall 71 is rotated to perform opening and closing operations.

A flange is formed at the right portion of the support base 63 for mounting a driving force motor 74 for rotationally driving the rotating disk 73. A gear, not shown here, is disposed between the gear portion 77 of the rotary disk 73 and the drive motor 74.

The cover wall driving mechanism 60 that drives the above-described rotary cover wall 71 will be described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 (a) is an exploded perspective view showing a left portion of the shielding device 70, and fig. 6 (B) is a perspective view showing the cam 61.

Referring to fig. 6 (a), the cover wall driving mechanism 60 has: a cam 61, a rotary disk 73 engaged with a movement shaft 76 of the cam 61, and a drive motor 74 for rotating the rotary disk 73 (see fig. 5 a).

The cam 61 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped member formed of synthetic resin. As shown in fig. 6 (B), one end of the cam 61 is formed with a rotation coupling portion 48, which is formed with a hole portion through which the pin 55 can pass. The cam 61 is accommodated in a cam accommodating portion 62 of the support base 63.

As shown in fig. 6 (B), the moving shaft 76 is a cylindrical protrusion protruding from the front surface of the cam 61. The diameter of the movable shaft 76 is slightly smaller than the width of the movable shaft sliding groove 80 formed in the rotary plate 73. The movable shaft 76 slidably engages the movable shaft sliding channel 80.

The cam housing portion 62 is a groove formed in the support base 63, and is formed to be elongated in the radial direction of the support base 63. The cam housing portions 62 are formed in correspondence with the respective rotation cover walls 71, and are formed by recessing the support base 63 from the front. 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 (a), the rotating cover wall 71 is formed with a rotating coupling portion 68 that protrudes obliquely from an end portion of the rotating cover wall 71. A hole portion through which the pin 55 can pass is formed in the rotation coupling portion 68. Further, a rotation coupling portion 64 is formed near both end portions of the side edge of the rotation cover wall 71. A hole portion through which the pin 69 can pass is formed in the rotation coupling portion 64.

A rotation coupling portion 54 is formed near the peripheral portion of the support base 63. The rotation coupling portions 54 are provided corresponding to the rotation coupling portions 64 of the respective rotation cover walls 71. A hole portion through which the pin 69 can pass is formed in the rotation coupling portion 54.

The pin 55 passes through the hole of the rotation coupling portion 48 of the cam 61 and the hole of the rotation coupling portion 68 of the rotation cover wall 71, and the cam 61 is connected to the rotation cover wall 71 so as to be rotatable about the pin 55. Further, the support base 63 is slidably coupled to the rotary cover wall 71 by the pins 69 passing through the hole portions of the rotary coupling portion 54 of the support base 63 and the hole portions of the rotary coupling portion 64 of the rotary cover wall 71.

By configuring the cover wall driving device 60 as described above, the driving motor 74 is driven to rotate the rotary disk 73, and 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 rotating cover wall 71 can be rotated about the pin 55.

Specifically, when the cam 61 is slid toward the center of the support base 63, the rotary cover wall 71 is rotated to the raised state about the rotary coupling portion 64, and the rotary cover wall 71 is in a state perpendicularly intersecting the main surface of the support base 63. On the other hand, when the cam 61 is slid toward the peripheral side of the support base 63, the rotary cover wall 71 is rotated to a recumbent state with the rotary coupling portion 64 as a rotation center, and the rotary cover wall 71 is in a state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 63.

Therefore, if the movable shaft sliding groove 80 is formed on the peripheral portion side of the support base 63, the rotary cover wall 71 can be put in an open state. Conversely, if the movable shaft slide groove 80 is formed on the center side of the support base 63, the rotary cover wall 71 can be brought into the closed state. If the shape of the movement axis sliding groove 80 corresponding to each of the rotary cover walls 71 is selected by using this principle, the open/close state of each of the rotary cover walls 71 can be arbitrarily set. Accordingly, the rotary cover wall 71 can be placed in the fully opened state or the fully closed state without using a complicated configuration, and a part of the rotary cover wall 71 can be placed in the closed state or the opened state.

Here, as shown in fig. 6 (a), the rotary plate 73 and the cam 61 constituting the cover wall driving mechanism 60 are disposed on the front side with respect to the support base 63. Therefore, referring to fig. 4 (B), the members constituting the cover wall driving mechanism 60 are not exposed to the freezing compartment supply air path 31 through which the cool air flows. Therefore, the cool air does not blow the cover wall driving mechanism 60, and the cover wall driving mechanism 60 can be prevented from freezing.

Referring to fig. 6 (a), when the rotary cover wall 71 is in the closed state, each end portion in the longitudinal direction of the rotary cover wall 71 abuts the side wall portion 58. By forming the side wall portions 58 at the longitudinal ends of the rotating cover wall 71 in this manner, the air tightness of the rotating cover wall 71 in the closed state can be improved, and thus leakage of cool air during cooling and inflow of warm air during defrosting can be reliably suppressed.

Further, a frame portion 41 is formed between the side wall portions 58. The frame 41 is about equal in size to the rotary cover wall 71. When the pivotal cover wall 71 is in the raised state, it is adjacent to the frame 41 from the inside. With this configuration, the peripheral portion of the rotary cover wall 71 is in close contact with the frame 41, and the air passage can be closed with further high air tightness.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a shielding device 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 7 (a) is a diagram showing a rotating shielding wall of the shielding device when viewed from the rear, and fig. 7 (B) is a diagram showing a structure of a rotating disk when viewed from the rear.

Referring to fig. 7 (a), the shielding device 70 has rotating shielding walls 711, 712, 713, 714, 715 as the above-described rotating shielding wall 71. The rotating cover walls 711 to 715 have a rectangular shape having long sides substantially parallel to the tangential direction of the rotating disk 73. Further, the rotary cover wall 711 to the rotary cover wall 715 are rotatably mounted on the peripheral portion of the support base 63 shown in fig. 5 (a).

The radially inner end portion of the rotary cover wall 711 is rotatably connected to a cam 611 forming a moving shaft 761. Likewise, the radially outer end portion of the rotary cover wall 712 is rotatably connected to a cam 612 forming a moving shaft 762. The radially outer end portion of the rotary cover wall 713 is rotatably connected to a cam 613 forming a moving shaft 763. The radially outer end portion of the rotary covering wall 714 is rotatably connected to a cam 614 forming a moving shaft 764. The radially outer end portion of the rotating cover wall 715 is rotatably connected to a cam 615 forming a moving shaft 765.

Here, the cam 611 is rotatably coupled to the inner side edge of the rotary cover wall 711. Thus, the rotating cover wall 711 is placed on the outside by the cam 611, and the rotating cover wall 711 is placed on the inside by the cam 611, so that the rotating cover wall 711 is placed in the recumbent state.

On the other hand, cams 612 to 615 are rotatably coupled to the outer side edges of the rotating cover walls 712 to 715, respectively. Thus, the rotational cover wall 712 to the rotational cover wall 715 are in the standing state by the cams 612 to 615 being disposed inside. On the other hand, the rotating cover wall 712 to the rotating cover wall 715 are in a recumbent state by the cams 612 to 615 being arranged outside.

Referring to fig. 7 (B), the rotary disk 73 is a steel plate formed in a substantially disk shape, and a plurality of movable shaft sliding grooves 80 are formed for controlling the opening and closing operations of the rotary cover wall 711 and the like. Further, a gear portion 77 is formed at a part of the peripheral portion of the rotary disk 73, and the rotary disk 73 is rotated by torque of the drive motor 74 by the drive motor 74 shown in fig. 5 (a) meshing with the gear portion 77.

The rotating disk 73 is formed with moving axis sliding grooves 801, 802, 804, 805 as the moving axis sliding grooves 80. The moving-axis sliding grooves 801 to 805 are groove-like portions formed along the circumferential direction of the rotating disk 73. The movement axis sliding grooves 801 to 805 have a predetermined meandering shape so that the cams 611 to 615 shown in fig. 7 (a) slide in the radial direction.

The moving-axis sliding grooves 801 to 805 cooperate with the moving axes 761 to 765 shown in fig. 7 (a). Specifically, the movable shaft sliding groove 801 is engaged with the movable shaft 761, the movable shaft sliding groove 802 is engaged with the movable shaft 762 and the movable shaft 763, the movable shaft sliding groove 804 is engaged with the movable shaft 764, and the movable shaft sliding groove 805 is engaged with the movable shaft 765.

The movable shaft sliding groove 801 is constituted by groove portions 8011 to 8013. The groove portion 8011 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove portion 8012 is inclined toward the radial direction inside counterclockwise, and the groove portion 8013 extends in the circumferential direction.

The movable shaft sliding groove 802 is constituted by groove portions 8021 to 8029. The groove 8021 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise, the groove 8022 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove 8023 is inclined outward in the radial direction counterclockwise, and the groove 8024 extends in the circumferential direction. Further, the groove 8025 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise, the groove 8026 extends in the circumferential direction, and the groove 8027 is inclined outward in the radial direction counterclockwise. Further, the groove 8028 extends in the circumferential direction, and the groove 8029 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise.

The movable shaft sliding groove 804 is constituted by groove portions 8041 to 8044. The groove 8041 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove 8042 is inclined outward in the radial direction counterclockwise, the groove 8043 extends in the circumferential direction, and the groove 8044 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise.

The movable shaft sliding groove 805 is constituted by groove portions 8051 to 8056. The groove 8051 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise, the groove 8052 extends in the circumferential direction, the groove 8053 is inclined outward in the radial direction counterclockwise, and the groove 8054 extends in the circumferential direction. The groove 8055 is inclined inward in the radial direction counterclockwise, and the groove 8056 extends in the circumferential direction.

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

Fig. 8 shows the structure of the shielding device 70 in the fully closed state. Fig. 8 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in the fully closed state seen 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 rotary disk 73 or the like in the fully closed state seen from the rear, and fig. 8 (D) is an enlarged view of the gist of fig. 8 (B). Here, the fully closed state is a state in which the periphery of the blower 47 is covered by the rotating cover wall 71, thereby closing the air outlet 27 shown in fig. 4. In this fully closed state, the blower 47 does not rotate.

Referring to fig. 8 (a), the shielding device 70 prevents the air from flowing out from the blower 47 to the outside in the fully closed state. That is, in the fully closed state, all of the rotating cover walls 71, that is, the rotating cover walls 711 to 715 are in the raised state, and the communication with the air passage for supplying cool air is cut off, so that cool air is not supplied to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the freezing compartment 17. In addition, during defrosting of the cooler 45 shown in fig. 2, the shielding device 70 is also in the fully closed state, so that warm air does not flow from the cooling chamber 26 into the refrigerating chamber 15 and the freezing chamber 17.

Referring to fig. 8 (B), in the fully closed state, the rotary cover wall 715 and the rotary cover wall 712 are in a closed state standing substantially perpendicular to the main surface of the support base 63. In this state, the rear end portions of the rotating cover wall 715 and the rotating cover wall 712 are adjacent to the partition 66 shown in fig. 4 or are disposed close to the partition 66. By doing so, the air tightness when the wind path is closed by the rotating cover wall 71 can be improved.

Referring to fig. 8 (C), when the shutter 70 is in the fully closed state, the drive motor 74 is first driven to rotate the rotary disk 73 via the gear 30. Here, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at the radially outer portion of the moving shaft sliding groove 801 by rotating the rotating disk 73. Further, the movable shaft 762 and the movable shaft 763 are disposed at the radially inner portion of the movable shaft slide groove 802. The movable shaft 764 is disposed at a radially inner portion of the movable shaft sliding groove 804, and the movable shaft 765 is disposed at a radially inner portion of the movable shaft sliding groove 805. As a result, as shown in fig. 8 (D), the cam 615 moves radially inward by being disposed radially inward of the moving shaft 765. Then, the rotation cover wall 715 rotatably coupled to the cam 615 rotates radially outward about the vicinity of the rotation coupling portion 68, and is in a closed state standing substantially at right angles to the main surface of the support base 63.

Fig. 9 shows the configuration of the shielding device 70 in the fully open state. Fig. 9 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in a fully opened state seen from the rear, fig. 9 (B) is a C-C line sectional view of fig. 9 (a), fig. 9 (C) is a view of the rotary disk 73 or the like in a fully opened state seen from the rear, and fig. 9 (D) is an enlarged view of the gist of fig. 9 (B). Here, the fully opened state is a state in which the cooling air blown by the blower 47 is diffused to the surroundings by covering communication between the blower 47 and the air path for supplying the cooling air without turning the cover wall 71.

Referring to fig. 9 (a), the shielding device 70 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 cool air blown from the blower 47 to the shielding device 70 is not interfered by the rotating cover wall 71, that is, the rotating cover wall 711 to the rotating cover wall 715, and is blown to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the freezing compartment 17. As shown in fig. 9, in the fully opened state, the rotating cover wall 711 is in a recumbent state in which it is tilted outward in the radial direction, and the rotating cover wall 712 is in a recumbent state in which it is tilted inward in the radial direction.

Referring to fig. 9 (B), in the fully opened state, the rotary cover wall 715 and the rotary cover wall 712 are in a lying state substantially parallel to the main surface of the support base 63. By setting all the rotary cover walls 71 of the shielding device 70 to an open state, the rotary cover walls 71 are not present in the air passage of the blower blow 47, so that the flow resistance of the air passage can be reduced and the air blowing amount of the blower 47 can be increased.

Referring to fig. 9 (C), when the shutter 70 is in the fully open state, the driving motor 74 is first driven to rotate the rotary disk 73 via the gear 30, and the movement shafts 76 are slid in the movement shaft sliding grooves 80. Specifically, the movable shaft 761 is disposed at a radially inner portion of the movable shaft sliding groove 801. Further, the movable shaft 762 and the movable shaft 763 are disposed at the radially outer portion of the movable shaft slide groove 802. The movable shaft 764 is disposed at the radially outer portion of the movable shaft sliding groove 804, and the movable shaft 765 is disposed at the radially outer portion of the movable shaft sliding groove 805. As a result, as shown in fig. 9 (D), the cam 615 moves radially outward by being disposed at the radially outer portion of the moving shaft 765. The rotatable cover wall 715 rotatably coupled to the upper end portion of the cam 615 is rotated and tilted inward in the radial direction with the vicinity of the rotation coupling portion 68 as a rotation center, and the main surface of the rotatable cover wall 715 is substantially parallel to the main surface of the cam accommodating portion 62.

A method of switching the air passage using the shielding device 70 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to fig. 10 to 23.

Fig. 10 shows a state in which cold air is supplied only to the lower freezer compartment 19, fig. 10 (a) shows the shielding device 70 as seen from the rear, and fig. 10 (B) shows the rotary disk 73 as seen from the rear. Fig. 11 is a view of the air passage when cold air is supplied only to the lower freezer compartment 19, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 12 shows a case where only cold air is supplied to the freezing chamber 17, fig. 12 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 seen from the rear, and fig. 12 (B) is a view of the rotating disk 73 seen from the rear. Fig. 13 is a view of the state of the air passage when cold air is supplied only to the freezing chamber 17, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 14 shows a state in which cold air is supplied only to the upper freezer compartment 18, fig. 14 (a) shows the shielding device 70 as seen from the rear, and fig. 14 (B) shows the rotating disk 73 as seen from the rear. Fig. 15 is a view of the air passage when cold air is supplied only to the upper freezer compartment 18, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 16 shows a state in which no cold air is supplied, fig. 16 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 seen from the rear, and fig. 16 (B) is a view of the rotating disk 73 seen from the rear. Fig. 17 is a view of the air passage when no cold air is supplied, as seen from the rear.

Fig. 18 shows a state in which only cold air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 15, fig. 18 (a) shows the shielding device 70 as seen from the rear, and fig. 18 (B) shows the rotary disk 73 as seen from the rear. Fig. 19 is a view of the air passage when cold air is supplied only to the refrigerator compartment 15, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 20 shows a state in which cold air is supplied to the upper freezer compartment 18 and the refrigerator compartment 15, fig. 20 (a) shows the shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and fig. 20 (B) shows the rotary disk 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 21 is a view of the state of the air passage when cool air is supplied to the upper freezer compartment 18 and the refrigerator compartment 15, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 22 shows a state in which cold air is supplied to the entire freezing compartment 17 and the refrigerating compartment 15, fig. 22 (a) shows the shielding device 70 as viewed from the rear, and fig. 22 (B) shows the rotary disk 73 as viewed from the rear. Fig. 23 is a view of the state of the air passage when cold air is supplied to the entire freezing compartment 17 and the refrigerating compartment 15, as viewed from the rear.

In the following drawings, the clockwise direction will be referred to as "clockwise direction" and the counterclockwise direction will be referred to as "reverse direction" in some cases. In the following description, the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the rotating disk 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 the lower freezer compartment 19. Fig. 10 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state, fig. 10 (B) is a view of the rotary disk 73 in this state, as seen from the rear, and fig. 11 is a view of the air passage in this state, as seen from the rear.

Referring to fig. 10 (a), in the case where only the lower freezer compartment 19 is supplied with cold air, the rotating cover wall 711, the rotating cover wall 712, and the rotating cover wall 715 are in a closed state, and the rotating cover wall 713 and the rotating cover wall 714 are in an open state. By setting the opened/closed state, the air blower 47 can blow cool air only to the lower-stage freezing chamber 19.

Referring to fig. 10 (B), the moving shaft 761 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8011 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801. The movable shaft 762 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8022 of the movable shaft slide groove 802, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8027. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove 8043 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, and the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the reverse end of the groove 8052 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially outward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in a closed state. Further, by disposing the moving shaft 762 and the moving shaft 765 inside in the radial direction, the rotating cover wall 712 and the rotating cover wall 715 are in a closed state. Further, by disposing the moving shaft 763 and the moving shaft 764 on the outer side in the radial direction, the rotary cover wall 713 and the rotary cover wall 714 are in an open state.

Here, referring to fig. 10 (a), in the present embodiment, the rotary cover wall 712 and the rotary cover wall 715 are opened by being tilted inward in the radial direction, and therefore the rotary cover wall 712 and the rotary cover wall 715 are sufficiently separated from the blower 47. With this configuration, the cold air generated by the rotation of the blower 47 can pass well between the rotating cover wall 712 and the rotating cover wall 715 and the blower 47.

Referring to fig. 11, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 10, the rotating shielding walls 713, 714 are in an open state, and thus cool air is blown from the lower freezer compartment supply air path 53. The cool air flowing into the lower-stage freezer compartment supply air duct 53 is blown out to the lower-stage freezer compartment 19 shown in fig. 2 through the air outlet 34.

On the other hand, by rotating the cover walls 711, 712, 715 in a closed state, cold air is not blown to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the upper-stage freezing compartment 18 shown in fig. 2.

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

Referring to fig. 12 (a), when only cold air is supplied to the freezing chamber 17, the rotating cover wall 711 is in a closed state, and the rotating cover walls 712, 713, 714, 715 are in an open state. By setting the open/close state, the air blower 47 can blow cool air to the freezing chamber 17 shown in fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 12 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 10 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the forward direction.

Specifically, the movement shaft 761 is disposed at the end of the movement shaft sliding groove 801 in the opposite direction to the groove portion 8011. The movable shaft 762 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8023 of the movable shaft slide groove 802, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed at the middle of the groove 8028. The movement shaft 764 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8043 of the movement shaft sliding groove 804, and the movement shaft 765 is disposed in the opposite end of the groove portion 8053 of the movement shaft sliding groove 805.

By setting in the above manner, the moving shaft 761 is disposed radially outward, and the rotary cover wall 711 is maintained in the closed state. On the other hand, the movable shafts 762, 763, 764, 765 are arranged radially outward, and the rotary cover walls 712, 713, 714, 715 are in an open state.

Referring to fig. 13, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 12, by rotating the shielding walls 712, 715 in the opened state, cool air is blown to the upper freezer compartment supply air path 52, and blown out to the upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2 via the air outlet 34. Further, by rotating the cover walls 713, 714, cool air is blown to the lower freezer compartment supply air path 53 and blown out to the lower freezer compartment 19 shown in fig. 2 via the air outlet 34.

On the other hand, by rotating the cover wall 711 in the closed state, no cool air is blown to the refrigerating compartment 15.

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

Referring to fig. 14 (a), when only the upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2 is supplied with cool air, the rotating cover walls 711, 713, 714 are closed, and the rotating cover walls 712, 715 are opened. By setting the open/close state, the air blower 47 can blow cool air only to the upper freezer compartment 18.

Referring to fig. 14 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 12 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the reverse direction.

Specifically, the movement shaft 761 is disposed at the end of the movement shaft sliding groove 801 in the forward direction of the groove portion 8011. The movable shaft 762 is disposed at the end of the movable shaft slide groove 802 in the forward direction of the groove 8021, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed at the middle of the groove 8026. The movement shaft 764 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8041 of the movement shaft sliding groove 804, and the movement shaft 765 is disposed at the forward end of the groove portion 8051 of the movement shaft sliding groove 805.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially outward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in a closed state. Further, by disposing the moving shaft 762 and the moving shaft 765 on the outer side in the radial direction, the rotating cover wall 712 and the rotating cover wall 715 are in an open state. Further, by disposing the moving shaft 763 and the moving shaft 764 radially inward, the rotary cover wall 713 and the rotary cover wall 714 are in a closed state.

Referring to fig. 15, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 14, by rotating the shielding walls 712, 715 in the open state, cool air is blown to the upper freezer compartment supply air duct 52, and blown out to the upper freezer compartment 18 via the air outlet 34.

On the other hand, the rotating cover wall 711 is in a closed state, and thus cold air is not blown to the refrigerating compartment 15. Further, the rotating cover walls 713, 714 are also in the closed state, and therefore, no cool air is blown to the lower-layer freezer compartment 19.

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

Referring to fig. 16 (a), in the fully closed state, the rotating cover wall 711 is in a closed state to the rotating cover wall 715. By setting this state, air can be prevented from flowing into each air passage.

Referring to fig. 16 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 14 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the forward direction.

Specifically, the movement shaft 761 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8011 of the movement shaft sliding groove 801, the movement shaft 762 is disposed in the opposite end of the groove portion 8021 of the movement shaft sliding groove 802, and the movement shaft 763 is disposed in the opposite end of the groove portion 8026. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8041 of the moving shaft sliding groove 804, and the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8051 of the moving shaft sliding groove 805.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially outward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in a closed state. The movable shafts 762 to 765 are disposed radially inward, and the rotary cover walls 712 to 715 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 715 are in the closed state, and no air is supplied to all the storage chambers. In other words, the cooling chamber 26 and each air passage can be covered by rotating the cover wall 71. Therefore, when the inside of the cooling chamber 26 is heated during defrosting, the warm air in the cooling chamber 26 can be prevented from leaking to each storage chamber through each air passage. In the present embodiment, the air passage can be covered with high air tightness by rotating the cover wall 71, and therefore the covering effect can be increased.

Fig. 18 and 19 show a state in which only cold air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 15. Fig. 18 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state, fig. 18 (B) is a view of the rotary disk 73 in this state, as seen from the rear, and fig. 19 is a view of the air passage in this state, as seen from the rear.

Referring to fig. 18 (a), when only cool air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 15, the rotary cover wall 711 is opened, and the rotary cover walls 712 to 715 are closed. By setting the open/close state, as will be described later, only the cooling air can be blown into the refrigerator compartment 15 by the blower 47.

Referring to fig. 18 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 16 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the forward direction.

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed at the end of the moving shaft sliding groove 801 in the opposite direction to the groove 8013. The movable shaft 762 is disposed in the middle of the groove 8026 of the movable shaft slide groove 802, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed in the opposite end of the groove 8029. The moving shaft 764 is disposed at the end of the moving shaft sliding groove 804 in the opposite direction from the groove 8044, and the moving shaft 765 is disposed at the end of the moving shaft sliding groove 805 in the opposite direction from the groove 8056.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially inward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in an open state. The movable shafts 762 to 765 are disposed radially inward, and the rotary cover wall 712 is turned until the rotary cover wall 715 is closed.

Referring to fig. 19, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 18, by rotating the shielding wall 711 in the open state, cool air is blown to the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 51, and blown out to the refrigerating compartment 15 via the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29. In addition, a part of the cool air blown to the refrigerating compartment 15 can be blown to the vegetable compartment 20. On the other hand, by rotating the cover walls 712 to 715 in the closed state, no cool air is blown out of the freezing chamber 17.

Fig. 20 and 21 show a state in which the shielding device 70 supplies cool air to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the upper freezer compartment 18. Fig. 20 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state, fig. 20 (B) is a view of the rotary disk 73 in this state, as seen from the rear, and fig. 21 is a view of the air passage in this state, as seen from the rear.

Referring to fig. 20 (a), when cold air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 15 and the upper freezer compartment 18 shown in fig. 2, the rotating cover walls 711, 712, 715 are opened, and the rotating cover walls 713, 714 are closed. By setting the open/close state, cool air can be blown into the refrigerator compartment 15 and the upper freezer compartment 18 by the blower 47.

Referring to fig. 20 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 18 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the reverse direction.

Specifically, the moving shaft 761 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8013 of the moving shaft sliding groove 801. The movable shaft 762 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8025 of the movable shaft slide groove 802, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8028. The movement shaft 764 is disposed at the end of the movement shaft sliding groove 804 in the opposite direction of the groove 8043, and the movement shaft 765 is disposed at the end of the movement shaft sliding groove 805 in the opposite direction of the groove 8055.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially inward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in an open state. At this time, by disposing the moving shafts 762, 765 radially inward, the rotating cover walls 712, 715 are in an open state. On the other hand, by disposing the movable shafts 763, 764 radially outward, the rotary cover walls 713, 714 are in the closed state.

Referring to fig. 21, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 20, by rotating the shielding wall 711 in the open state, cool air is blown out to the refrigerating compartment 15 via the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 29. Further, by turning the cover walls 712, 715 in an open state, cool air is blown to the upper-stage freezer compartment supply air path 52, and blown out to the upper-stage freezer compartment 18 via the outlet 34. On the other hand, the rotating cover walls 713 to 714 are in the closed state, and therefore, no cool air is blown to the lower-layer freezer compartment 19.

Fig. 22 and 23 show a fully opened state in which cold air is supplied to both the refrigerator compartment 15 and the freezer compartment 17. Fig. 22 (a) is a view of the shielding device 70 in this state, fig. 22 (B) is a view of the rotary disk 73 in this state, as seen from the rear, and fig. 23 is a view of the air passage in this state, as seen from the rear.

Referring to fig. 22 (a), when cold air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 15 and the freezer compartment 17 shown in fig. 2, the rotating cover walls 711, 712, 713, 714, 715 are in an open state. By setting the fully opened state, cool air can be blown into the refrigerator compartment 15 and the freezer compartment 17 by the blower 47 as will be described later.

Referring to fig. 22 (B), in this state, the state shown in fig. 20 (B) is shifted to a state in which the rotating disk 73 is rotated in the reverse direction.

The moving shaft 761 is disposed at the end of the moving shaft sliding groove 801 in the opposite direction from the groove portion 8012. The movable shaft 762 is disposed at the opposite end of the groove 8024 of the movable shaft slide groove 802, and the movable shaft 763 is disposed at the middle of the groove 8028. The movement shaft 764 is disposed in the middle of the groove portion 8043 of the movement shaft sliding groove 804, and the movement shaft 765 is disposed in the opposite end of the groove portion 8054 of the movement shaft sliding groove 805.

At this time, by disposing the moving shaft 761 radially inward, the rotary cover wall 711 is in an open state. The movable shafts 762 to 765 are disposed radially outward, and the rotary cover walls 712 to 715 are opened.

Referring to fig. 23, when the shielding device 70 is in the state shown in fig. 22, cold air is blown to the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 51 by rotating the shielding wall 711 in the open state, and the cold air is blown out to the refrigerating compartment 15 via the refrigerating compartment supply air duct 29. Further, by turning the cover walls 712, 715 in an open state, cool air is blown to the upper-stage freezer compartment supply air path 52, and blown out to the upper-stage freezer compartment 18 via the outlet 34. Further, by turning the cover walls 713 and 714 open, cool air can be supplied to the lower-stage freezer compartment 19 via the lower-stage freezer compartment supply air duct 53 and the air outlet 34.

As described above, the shielding device 70 of the present embodiment can switch the open/close states of the respective rotating shielding walls 711 to 715 by rotating the rotating disk 73 shown in fig. 5. Therefore, the member does not move in the axial direction of the blower 47, i.e., the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. Therefore, the thickness dimension occupied by the shielding device 70 can be reduced. Further, referring to fig. 3, since the volume occupied by the shielding device 70 can be reduced, the refrigerator inner volume of the freezing chamber 17 formed in front of the shielding device 70 can be increased, and more objects to be frozen can be stored in the freezing chamber 17.

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

Claims (9)

1. A shielding device for closing an air path for blowing cool air inside a refrigerator, the shielding device comprising:

a rotary cover wall surrounding the blower from the outer side in the radial direction; and

a cover wall driving mechanism which drives the rotary cover wall,

the rotational cover wall opens the air passage by rotating to topple over to the inside in the radial direction, and closes the air passage by rotating to stand up to the outside in the radial direction, the cover device includes:

a disk-shaped rotating disk formed with a movable shaft sliding groove;

a cam formed with a moving shaft engaged with the moving shaft sliding groove and rotatably coupled to the rotating cover wall; and

a driving motor which rotates the rotating disk,

the moving shaft slides in the moving shaft sliding groove by the rotation of the rotating disk, and therefore, when the cam moves to the inner side in the radial direction, the rotating cover wall closes the air path;

the moving shaft slides in the moving shaft sliding groove by the rotation of the rotating disk, thereby, when the cam moves to the outside in the radial direction, the rotating cover wall opens the air passage,

the rotary cover wall is provided with a plurality of movable shaft sliding grooves for controlling the opening and closing actions of the rotary cover wall;

The rotating cover wall includes a first rotating cover wall rotatably connected to a first cam forming a first movement axis;

the rotating cover wall includes a second rotating cover wall rotatably connected to a second cam forming a second moving axis;

the rotating cover wall includes a third rotating cover wall rotatably connected to a third cam forming a third movement axis;

the rotary disk is provided with a first movable shaft sliding groove and a second movable shaft sliding groove, and the first movable shaft sliding groove and the second movable shaft sliding groove are groove-shaped parts formed along the circumferential direction of the rotary disk;

the first moving shaft sliding groove is matched with the first moving shaft, and the second moving shaft sliding groove is matched with the second moving shaft and the third moving shaft.

2. The shielding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a support base formed with a cam receiving portion, the rotating shielding wall being rotatably mounted to the support base, the cam being slidably received in the cam receiving portion in a radial direction.

3. A screening arrangement according to any one of claims 1-2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a space is formed between the blower and the rotating cover wall, which space allows the rotating cover wall to tilt radially inwards.

4. A shielding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end of the cam is formed with a rotation coupling portion formed with a hole portion through which a pin can pass.

5. The shielding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving shaft is a cylindrical protrusion protruding from a front face of the cam, the moving shaft slidably engaging with the moving shaft sliding groove.

6. A shielding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a side wall portion is formed at a peripheral portion of the support base; the side wall part is a part extending backward from the supporting base; the side wall portions are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the support base; when the rotary cover wall is in the closed state, each end portion in the longitudinal direction of the rotary cover wall is abutted against the side wall portion.

7. The shielding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a frame portion is formed between the side wall portions; the size of the frame part is equal to that of the rotary covering wall; when the rotary cover wall is in the raised state, the rotary cover wall is adjacent to the frame from the inside.

8. The shielding device according to claim 1, further comprising a support base body formed with a cam receiving portion, wherein an inner portion of the rotating disk is formed with a rotating shaft sliding groove extending in a circumferential direction, and wherein the rotating disk is held on the support base body via a rotating shaft slidably engaged with the rotating shaft sliding groove.

9. A refrigerator, characterized in that it has:

a refrigerating circuit having a cooler for cooling air supplied to the storage chamber via the air passage,

a cooling chamber formed with an air supply port connected to the storage chamber, the cooling chamber being provided with the cooler,

a blower blowing air supplied from the air supply port to the storage room, and

a screening arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 8, at least partly closing the wind path.

Images