CN115218584A

CN115218584A - Refrigerating and freezing device

Info

Publication number: CN115218584A
Application number: CN202110420100.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 房雯雯; 孙永升; 陶瑞涛; 李靖; 冯茹丹; 赵向辉
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-19
Filing date: 2021-04-19
Publication date: 2022-10-21
Also published as: WO2022222887A1

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerating and freezing device. The refrigerating and freezing device comprises a box body, at least one door body, an ice making unit arranged in the door body, and a refrigerating system used for providing cold energy for at least one storage compartment and the ice making unit. The refrigeration system is a vapor compression refrigeration system, and the box body is limited with a compressor chamber for accommodating a compressor of the refrigeration system. The refrigerating and freezing apparatus further includes a drainage system configured to collect defrost water generated by the ice making unit and blow the defrost water in a gaseous state into the compressor chamber. According to the invention, by collecting the defrosting water generated by the ice making unit and blowing the gaseous defrosting water into the press chamber, the condensation of the gaseous defrosting water can be reduced by utilizing the higher temperature of the press chamber, so that the defrosting water is more effectively discharged and treated, the structure of the door body is simplified, the production difficulty and the production cost are reduced, and the door body has larger ice making and storage space.

Description

Refrigerating and freezing device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and freezing, in particular to a refrigeration and freezing device with an ice making unit arranged on a door body.

Background

At present, the refrigerators with the ice making chambers on the door body mostly guide the cold energy of the freezing chambers into the ice making chambers of the door body through air ducts, so that the air ducts are complex in structure, condensation is easily generated at the butt joint positions of the refrigerator body and the air ducts of the door body, the ice making time is long, and the ice making chambers are easily tainted with the freezing chambers and influence the cleanliness of ice blocks. However, if the direct cooling ice making is performed on the door body, not only is the refrigerant pipeline connection complicated and difficult, the transmission distance is too long, but also effective defrosting and draining needs to be realized in a narrow space, and the technical problems which the skilled person wants to solve and cannot solve are always solved.

In view of the above, there is a need in the art to provide a refrigerator/freezer having an ice-making unit with a door, which can efficiently drain water and treat defrosted water.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least one of the technical disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a refrigeration and freezing apparatus having an ice-making unit with a door.

A further object of the present invention is to improve drainage efficiency and shorten drainage cycle.

It is a further object of the invention to prevent further water vapour from condensing in the water collector.

In particular, the present invention provides a refrigeration and freezing apparatus comprising:

the refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, a storage compartment and a door, wherein at least one storage compartment is defined in the refrigerator body;

the door body is used for opening and closing the at least one storage compartment;

an ice making unit provided in one of the door bodies; and

the refrigerating system is used for providing cold energy for the at least one storage compartment and the ice making unit; wherein

The refrigeration system is a vapor compression refrigeration system, and the box body is limited with a press chamber for accommodating a compressor of the refrigeration system; and the refrigerating and freezing device further comprises:

and a drainage system configured to collect the defrost water generated by the ice making unit and blow the vaporous defrost water into the press chamber.

Optionally, the drainage system comprises:

the water collector is arranged on the door body and used for collecting the defrosting water generated by the ice making unit;

a water discharge duct configured to communicate the water collector and the press chamber; and

a drainage fan configured to force air from the water collector to flow into the press chamber, thereby causing the gaseous defrosting water to flow into the press chamber; wherein

And one end of the water collector, which is far away from the water drainage air channel, is communicated with an indoor environment.

Optionally, the drainage fan is arranged in the press chamber and close to the drainage air duct; and is provided with

The drainage fan is arranged to promote air in the drainage air duct to flow along the top of the press chamber.

Optionally, the periphery of the water collector is provided with an insulating layer.

Optionally, the door defines an ice making compartment, the ice making unit is disposed in the ice making compartment, and the ice making unit includes:

the ice-making box is limited with at least one ice-making groove and is used for containing water or ice blocks;

the heat exchange fins are arranged to be in thermal connection with the refrigerating tubes so as to provide cold energy for the ice making chamber;

the separator is used for driving the ice blocks in the ice making groove to move; and

the heating pipe is used for heating the heat exchange fins to defrost; wherein

The heating pipe and the drainage fan are set to work after the separator finishes driving the ice cubes each time.

Optionally, a heating wire is arranged at the bottom of the water collector; and is provided with

Under the condition that the temperature more than or equal to of indoor environment predetermines the temperature threshold value and humidity is more than or equal to and predetermines the humidity threshold value, the heater strip sets up to be in the separator accomplishes work behind the drive to the ice-cube, drainage fan sets up to be in work behind the heater strip work predetermined time.

Optionally, under the condition that the temperature of the indoor environment is less than the preset temperature threshold and the humidity is less than the preset humidity threshold, the drainage fan is set to start to work when the heating pipe starts to serve as the heat exchange fin, and work until the height of the frost water in the water collector is less than or equal to the preset height threshold.

Optionally, the drain duct includes:

the door body section is arranged on the door body, and one end of the door body section is communicated with the water collector; and

the box body section is arranged on the box body, and one end of the box body section is communicated with the press chamber; wherein

The door body section is connected and communicated with the box body section when the door body is in a closed state.

Optionally, the tank section is arranged to extend vertically or obliquely downwards.

Optionally, the drainage system further comprises:

the evaporating dish is arranged in the pressing machine chamber; and is provided with

The bottom of the water discharge air duct is provided with a water outlet, and the projection of the water outlet on the horizontal plane falls into the evaporation dish.

According to the invention, by collecting the defrosting water generated by the ice making unit and blowing the gaseous defrosting water into the press chamber, the condensation of the gaseous defrosting water can be reduced by utilizing the higher temperature of the press chamber, so that the defrosting water is more effectively discharged and treated, the structure of the door body is simplified, the production difficulty and the production cost are reduced, and the door body has larger ice making and storage space.

Furthermore, the drainage fan is arranged in the press chamber, and the drainage fan promotes the air in the drainage air channel to flow along the top of the press chamber, so that the low-temperature air in the drainage air channel can be fully diffused in the press chamber, heat is dissipated to heating devices (such as a compressor and a condenser) in the press chamber, even if tiny water drops are blown out along with the air, the tiny water drops can be quickly evaporated under the action of the heating devices, the drainage efficiency is improved, the drainage period is shortened, and the energy consumption required by the heat dissipation of the heating devices is reduced.

Furthermore, under the condition that the temperature and the humidity of the indoor environment are high, the heating wires are used for heating the water collector, the evaporation efficiency of the defrosting water can be improved, and more water vapor is prevented from being condensed in the water collector; under the condition that the temperature and the humidity of the indoor environment are lower, the heating pipe and the drainage fan start to work simultaneously, the water collector can be preheated by utilizing the ambient air, defrosting and drainage are carried out simultaneously, and the drainage period is further shortened.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Some specific embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter by way of example and not by way of limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar elements or components. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a schematic isometric view of a refrigerated freezer in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic isometric view of the door body of FIG. 1 with portions of the outer shell and ice-making liner of the door body removed;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ice-making unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the water receiving assembly of FIG. 3;

fig. 5 is a schematic isometric view of the water collector of fig. 1, viewed from below upwards;

FIG. 6 is a schematic isometric view of the case of FIG. 1 from the rear to the front with a rear back panel and one side panel of the case removed;

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial rear view of the case of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 is a schematic isometric view of a water collector and its return air duct in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a refrigeration freezer 100 according to one embodiment of the invention; fig. 2 is a schematic isometric view of the door body 120 of fig. 1, with portions of the housing 121 and ice making bladder 122 of the door body 120 removed. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the refrigerating and freezing apparatus 100 may include a cabinet 110 defining at least one storage compartment, at least one door body for opening and closing the at least one storage compartment, an ice-making unit 130 disposed in the one door body 120, and a refrigerating system for providing cold to the at least one storage compartment and the ice-making unit 130. In the present invention, at least one is one, two, or more than two.

The door 120 may include a case 121, an ice making inner container 122 disposed inside the case 121, and an insulating layer disposed between the case 121 and the ice making inner container 122. The ice making inner container 122 may define an ice making compartment, and the ice making unit 130 may be disposed in the ice making compartment to increase a storage space of the storage compartment 111.

The refrigeration system may be a vapor compression refrigeration system including a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element, and an evaporator disposed within the storage compartment 111.

The tank 110 may define a compressor chamber 112 for housing a compressor and a condenser of the refrigeration system. The press chamber 112 may be located at the rear bottom of the case 110.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ice making unit 130 of fig. 1. Referring to fig. 3, the ice making unit 130 may include an ice making housing 131, a refrigerating pipe 132, heat exchanging fins 133, a heating pipe 135, and a separator 136.

The ice-making housing 131 may define at least one ice-making groove for receiving water or ice cubes. The number of the ice making grooves may be plural and distributed in a longitudinal direction of the ice making housing 131.

Heat exchanging fins 133 may be provided in thermal connection with the refrigerating tubes 132 to provide cold to the ice making compartment. In the present invention, the refrigerating pipe 132 may be a refrigerant evaporating pipe, which is connected to the portion of the refrigerating system located in the cabinet 110 through a flexible hose and connected in parallel with the evaporator.

The heat exchange fins 133 may be disposed below the ice making housing 131, and the cooling pipe 132 is interposed between the ice making housing 131 and the cooling pipe, so that the ice making housing 131 and the heat exchange fins 133 are cooled at the same time, thereby improving the structural compactness of the ice making unit 130 and reducing the occupied space.

A heat insulator 134 may be disposed between the cooling duct 132 and the ice making housing 131 to reduce the ice making speed and improve the transparency of the made ice.

The heating pipe 135 may also be interposed between the ice making housing 131 and the heat exchanging fins 133, and is used to heat the ice making housing 131 to de-ice and/or heat the heat exchanging fins 133 to defrost.

Alternatively, the refrigerating pipe 132 and the heating pipe 135 may be fixed to the heat exchanging fins 133, and the heat exchanging fins 133 are thermally connected to the ice making housing 131.

The separator 136 may be configured to drive the movement of the ice pieces within the ice-making groove. Illustratively, the decoupler 136 may include a shift lever and a drive that drives the shift lever for movement.

The ice-making unit 130 may further include a box cover 137. The cover 137 may be disposed above the ice making housing 131 and guide the ice cubes driven by the separator 136 to below the ice making housing 131. An ice bank may be disposed below the ice making unit 130 to receive the dropped ice cubes.

The ice-making unit 130 may also include a fan assembly 138 to facilitate air circulation within the ice-making compartment.

The fan assembly 138 may include a circulating fan and a fan support. The circulation fan may be provided to promote the air in the ice making compartment to flow through the heat exchange fins 133. The fan support may be configured to be fixedly connected to the box cover 137 and to support the circulating fan.

In some embodiments, the ice-making unit 130 may also include a water receiving assembly 139. The water receiving assembly 139 may be disposed below the heat exchanging fins 133, and is configured to receive the defrosting water generated by the heat exchanging fins 133.

Fig. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the water receiving assembly 139 of fig. 3. Referring to fig. 4, the water receiving assembly 139 may include a water receiving pan 1391, heating wires 1392, insulation materials 1394, and a lower cover 1393.

A water pan 1391 may be disposed below the heat exchanging fins 133 to receive the defrosting water generated from the heat exchanging fins 133 when the heating pipe 135 operates.

A heating wire 1392 may be provided at a bottom wall of the water tray 1391 to prevent the defrosting water from being frozen in the water tray 1391, so that the defrosting water is smoothly discharged.

The heating wire 1392 may be disposed below the water tray 1391 to avoid potential safety hazards and improve the safety of the ice making unit 130.

Insulation 1394 can be provided below heater wire 1392 to reduce the temperature effects of heating on the environment below heater wire 1392.

A lower cover 1393 may be disposed below the insulation material 1394 to support the water pan 1391, heating wire 1392, and insulation material 1394. The lower cover 1393 may be fixedly connected to at least one of the driving unit of the separator 136 and the cover 137 to fix the water receiving assembly 139, thereby facilitating the production and transportation of the ice making unit 130.

The lower cover plate 1393 may be provided with a water outlet 1444 and a wire passing hole, so that the defrosting water in the water pan 1391 is discharged through the water outlet 1444, and the heating wire 1392 is electrically connected through the wire passing hole.

The projection of the heat exchange fins 133 on the vertical plane may be located in the lower cover 1393 to improve the structural compactness of the ice making unit 130.

The lower cover plate 1393 may be formed with a vent hole penetrating the circumferential side wall of the lower cover plate 1393 in a horizontal direction to allow the heat exchange fins 133 to exchange heat with the surrounding environment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic isometric view of the case 110 of fig. 1 viewed from the rear to the front, with a rear back panel and one side panel of the case 110 removed; fig. 7 is a schematic partial rear view of the case 110 shown in fig. 6. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, 6 and 7, the refrigerated freezer 100 may also include a drainage system.

In particular, the drainage system may be configured to collect the defrosting water generated by the ice making unit 130 and blow the gaseous defrosting water into the press chamber 112, so as to reduce condensation of the gaseous defrosting water by using a higher temperature of the press chamber 112, achieve more effective defrosting water drainage and treatment, simplify the structure of the door 120, reduce production difficulty and production cost, and enable the door 120 to have a larger ice making and storage space.

The drain system may include a water collector 141, a drain duct, and a drain fan 145. The water collector 141 may be disposed on the door 120, and is communicated with the water pan 1391 through a pipe 142, for collecting defrosting water generated by the ice making unit 130.

A drain duct may be provided to communicate the sump 141 and the press chamber 112. The drain fan 145 may be configured to force air from the water collector 141 toward the press chamber 112, thereby causing the flow of the vaporized frost water into the press chamber 112.

In some embodiments, the drain chute may include a door section 143 and a box section 144. A tank section 144 may be disposed in tank 110 and communicate at one end with press chamber 112.

The door body section 143 may be disposed at the door body 120 and have one end communicating with the sump 141. The door section 143 may be disposed to be in contact with and communicate with the cabinet section 144 when the door 120 is in a closed state, so that the defrosting water may be transferred to the press chamber 112. The door section 143 and the chest section 144 may be formed with a door interface 1431 and a chest interface 1441, respectively, for docking communication.

For example, the door 120 may be partially disposed in the storage compartment 111 when in a closed state. The door interface 1431 may be disposed at a portion of the door 120 located in the storage compartment 111, and is disposed at a side wall close to a rotation axis of the door 120. The box body section 144 may be at least partially pre-installed in the insulation layer of the box body 110, and the box body interface 1441 may be disposed on a sidewall of the storage compartment 111 close to the rotation axis of the door body 120.

Tank section 144 may further include a pre-buried portion 1442 partially pre-installed in the foam layer of tank 110, and a cover 1443 disposed in press chamber 112 and in communication with pre-buried portion 1442 to facilitate installation of tank section 144.

The drainage fan 145 may be disposed in the press chamber 112 and close to the drainage duct (i.e., the housing 1443), and is configured to promote the air in the drainage duct to flow along the top of the press chamber 112, so as to make the low-temperature air in the drainage duct fully diffuse in the press chamber 112, and dissipate heat of the heat generating device (e.g., compressor, condenser) in the press chamber 112, and even if there is a tiny water droplet blown out along with the air, the tiny water droplet can be quickly evaporated under the action of the heat generating device, thereby improving drainage efficiency, shortening drainage period, and reducing energy consumption required by heat dissipation of the heat generating device.

The tank section 144 may be arranged to extend vertically or obliquely downwards to avoid accumulation of liquid defrost water therein.

The drain system may also include a boat 146 disposed within the press chamber 112. The compressor and condenser may be disposed within the evaporator pan 146.

A water outlet 1444 may be formed at the bottom of the water outlet duct (i.e. the bottom of the housing 1443), and a projection of the water outlet 1444 on a horizontal plane falls into the evaporation pan 146, so that the liquid defrosting water can fall into the evaporation pan 146.

Fig. 8 is a schematic isometric view of the water collector 141 and its return air duct 148 according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 8, an end of the water collector 141 remote from the drain duct may be disposed to communicate with the indoor environment through the return duct 148 to achieve circulation of air.

Illustratively, the door 120 may also be provided with a water dispenser, and the housing 123 of the water dispenser may have a cavity recessed rearward. The return air duct 148 can be disposed through the housing 123 of the water dispenser in communication with the cavity to draw in room air.

In some embodiments, the heating duct 135 and the drain fan 145 may be configured to operate after the separator 136 completes driving the ice cubes each time, that is, defrosting the heat exchanging fin 133 and treating the defrosting water each time ice making is completed, so as to reduce the amount of the defrosting water generated by a single defrosting.

Fig. 5 is a schematic isometric view of the sump 141 of fig. 1 viewed from below upward, and referring to fig. 5, the bottom of the sump 141 may be provided with a heating wire 147 to heat defrosted water within the sump 141.

In case that the temperature of the indoor environment is equal to or higher than the preset temperature threshold and the humidity is equal to or higher than the preset humidity threshold, the heater wire 147 may be set to operate after the separator 136 completes driving of the ice cubes, and the drain fan 145 may be set to operate after the heater wire 147 operates for a preset time, so as to improve the evaporation efficiency of the defrosting water and prevent more water vapor from being condensed in the sump 141.

Under the condition that the temperature of the indoor environment is less than the preset temperature threshold and the humidity is less than the preset humidity threshold, the drainage fan 145 may be set to start working while the heating pipe 135 starts to be the heat exchanging fin 133, and work until the height of the frost water in the water collector 141 is less than or equal to the preset height threshold, so as to preheat the water collector 141 by using the ambient air, and enable the frost and drainage to be performed simultaneously, thereby further shortening the drainage period.

The preset height threshold may be 0, i.e., the drain fan 145 is operated to completely remove the defrosted water in the sump 141.

An insulating layer may be provided on the outer circumference of the water collector 141 to prevent condensation of the outer wall of the water collector 141 and reduce the influence of the cold of the ice-making compartment on the temperature of the water collector 141. The water collector 141 may be directly disposed in the foaming layer of the door 120, or may be disposed outside the foaming layer of the door 120 and separately coated with a heat insulating material.

Thus, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention may be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be understood and interpreted to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A refrigeration freezer apparatus comprising:

a case defining at least one storage compartment;

an ice making unit provided in one of the door bodies; and

2. The refrigeration chiller of claim 1, wherein the drainage system comprises:

the drainage fan is arranged to promote air to flow from the water collector to the press chamber, so that the gaseous defrosting water flows into the press chamber; wherein

And one end of the water collector, which is far away from the water drainage air duct, is communicated with the indoor environment.

3. The refrigeration and freezing apparatus according to claim 2,

the drainage fan is arranged in the press chamber and close to the drainage air duct; and is

4. The refrigeration and freezing apparatus according to claim 2,

and a heat insulation layer is arranged on the periphery of the water collector.

5. The refrigerator-freezer of claim 2, wherein the door defines an ice making compartment, the ice making unit is disposed in the ice making compartment, and the ice making unit comprises:

the heating pipe is used for heating the heat exchange fins to defrost; wherein

The heating pipe and the water discharge fan are set to work after the separator finishes driving the ice cubes each time.

6. The refrigeration and freezing apparatus according to claim 5,

the bottom of the water collector is provided with a heating wire; and is

7. The refrigeration and freezing apparatus according to claim 6,

and under the condition that the temperature of the indoor environment is smaller than the preset temperature threshold and the humidity is smaller than the preset humidity threshold, the drainage fan is set to start working when the heating pipe starts to serve as the heat exchange fin, and the drainage fan works until the height of the frost water in the water collector is smaller than or equal to the preset height threshold.

8. The refrigeration chiller of claim 2, wherein the drain duct comprises:

9. The refrigeration freezer of claim 8,

the tank section is arranged to extend vertically or obliquely downwards.

10. The refrigerated freezer of claim 2, wherein the drainage system further comprises:

The bottom of the water drainage air duct is provided with a water outlet, and the projection of the water outlet on the horizontal plane falls into the evaporation dish.