CN115388591A

CN115388591A - Refrigerator and electrolytic oxygen removal device thereof

Info

Publication number: CN115388591A
Application number: CN202110554228.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵弇锋; 刘浩泉; 费斌; 刘茴茴
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-20
Filing date: 2021-05-20
Publication date: 2022-11-25
Also published as: WO2022242241A1

Abstract

The invention provides a refrigerator and an electrolytic oxygen removal device thereof, wherein the electrolytic oxygen removal device is used for separating oxygen in air flowing through the electrolytic oxygen removal device through an electrolytic reaction and comprises a shell and a cathode composite plate, the shell is provided with an opening, the cathode composite plate is arranged at the opening so as to define a liquid storage cavity for containing electrolyte together with the shell, and the cathode composite plate is configured to electrolyze the oxygen in the air flowing through the cathode composite plate to generate negative ions and allow the negative ions to penetrate through the electrolyte in the liquid storage cavity. The electrolytic oxygen removal device disclosed by the invention utilizes the cathode composite plate to seal the shell, so that the sealing effect of the opening of the shell can be ensured, the corrosion of strong alkaline electrolyte can be resisted, and the service life of the electrolytic oxygen removal device is prolonged.

Description

Refrigerator and electrolytic oxygen removal device thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigeration and freezing technology, in particular to a refrigerator and an electrolytic oxygen removal device thereof.

Background

In the prior art, a refrigerator with a function of removing oxygen has appeared, which utilizes the electrolysis principle to electrolyze air introduced into the interior of a deaerating device so as to separate oxygen, and nitrogen is left or discharged into a storage chamber of the refrigerator, thereby realizing fresh keeping. Specifically, the electrolytic chamber of the oxygen removing device is provided with a waterproof breathable film to prevent electrolyte leakage and ensure that external air can enter the electrolytic chamber to carry out electrolytic reaction.

However, since this electrolytic reaction usually requires the use of a strongly basic electrolyte, this oxygen removing device is poor in practicality because it seals the electrolytic chamber only with a waterproof and gas-permeable membrane, and is not only less likely to be corroded by the electrolyte but also easily leaks.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a refrigerator and an electrolytic oxygen removal device therefor.

A further object of the present invention is to utilize the cathode composite plate to seal the electrolytic oxygen removal device.

It is another further object of the present invention to fix the spacing between the cathode composite plate and the anode plate by means of a separator.

It is yet another further object of the present invention to secure the cathode composite plate at the opening of the housing.

In particular, the present invention provides an electrolytic oxygen removal device for separating oxygen from air flowing over it by an electrolytic reaction, the electrolytic oxygen removal device comprising:

a housing having an opening; and

the cathode composite board is arranged at the opening to jointly define a liquid storage cavity for containing electrolyte with the shell, is configured to electrolyze oxygen in air flowing through the cathode composite board to generate negative ions, and allows the negative ions to penetrate through the electrolyte in the liquid storage cavity.

Further, the shell is flat; and is

The opening is opened in the wider side of the shell.

Further, the electrolytic oxygen removal device also comprises:

the anode plate and the cathode composite plate are arranged in the liquid storage cavity at intervals and are configured to oxidize negative ions in the electrolyte into oxygen and discharge the oxygen out of the liquid storage cavity so as to separate the oxygen from air flowing through the electrolytic oxygen removal device.

Furthermore, the anode plate and the cathode composite plate are arranged in parallel; and is provided with

The distance between the anode plate and the cathode composite plate is configured to be between 5mm and 10 mm.

Further, the electrolytic oxygen removal device also comprises:

the separator sets up in the stock solution intracavity to be located between negative pole composite sheet and the anode plate, one side of going towards the anode plate on the separator is formed with a plurality of bellyings, and the bellyings is contradicted on the anode plate, in order to separate negative pole composite sheet and anode plate, prevents electrolysis deaerating plant short circuit.

Further, the electrolytic oxygen removal device also comprises:

and the fixing component is arranged on the outer side of the cathode composite plate and is configured to fix the cathode composite plate at the opening.

Further, the fixing assembly further comprises:

the metal frame is attached to the outer side of the cathode composite plate and protrudes outwards to form a surrounding part; and

support piece sets up in the outside of metal frame to it has the outer lane and is located the inside inner circle of outer lane, outer lane and casing fixed connection, and the inboard of inner circle is formed with the inserting groove, encloses the portion of standing and stretches into to the inserting groove in, is fixed in the opening part with metal frame and negative pole composite sheet.

Furthermore, reinforcing ribs are arranged between the outer ring and the inner ring and inside the inner ring to fix the outer ring and the inner ring.

Furthermore, the cathode composite board comprises a catalysis layer, a first waterproof breathable layer, a conductive layer and a second waterproof breathable layer which are sequentially arranged from inside to outside.

In particular, the invention also provides a refrigerator comprising the electrolytic oxygen removal device.

In the electrolytic deoxygenating device, the cathode composite plate is arranged at the opening of the shell and defines the liquid storage cavity together with the opening, and the liquid storage cavity is sealed by the cathode composite plate.

Furthermore, in the electrolytic oxygen removal device, the separator is arranged in the liquid storage cavity and is positioned between the cathode composite plate and the anode plate, a plurality of protrusions are formed on one side of the separator, which faces the anode plate, and the protrusions abut against the anode plate, and the cathode composite plate abuts against one side of the separator, which faces away from the protrusions, so that a preset gap is formed between the cathode composite plate and the anode plate, and therefore, the oxygen removal efficiency of the electrolytic oxygen removal device is ensured, and the safety of the electrolytic oxygen removal device is improved.

Furthermore, in the electrolytic oxygen removal device of the invention, the cathode composite board is fixed at the opening of the shell through the fixing component, the metal frame is in direct contact with the cathode composite board, the support member covers the metal frame, when the surrounding part of the metal frame enters the inserting groove of the support member, the outer ring of the support member is fixedly connected with the shell, the metal frame can be fixed and positioned by the support member, so that the metal frame compresses the cathode composite board,

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 drawn to scale. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is an exploded view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cabinet is hidden;

fig. 3 is an exploded view of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a cabinet is hidden;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an electrolytic oxygen removal device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a cathode composite plate in an electrolytic oxygen scavenging device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an electrolytic oxygen scavenging device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view at A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a support in an electrolytic oxygen removal device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is an enlarged view of fig. 8 at B.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is an exploded view of the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a cabinet 10 is hidden. The invention provides a refrigerator 1 which generally comprises a refrigerator body 10 and a door body 20.

The cabinet 10 may include an outer case positioned at the outermost side of the integrated refrigerator 1 to protect the entire refrigerator 1, and a plurality of inner containers 40. The plurality of inner containers 40 are wrapped by the outer shell, and the space between the outer shell and the inner containers 40 is filled with heat insulation materials (forming a foaming layer) so as to reduce the heat dissipation of the inner containers 40 to the outside. Each inner container 40 may define a storage space opened forward, and the storage space may be configured as a refrigerating chamber, a freezing chamber, a temperature changing chamber, etc., and the number and function of the specific storage space may be configured according to a predetermined requirement.

The door 20 is movably disposed in front of the inner container 40 to open and close the storage space of the inner container 40, for example, the door 20 may be hingedly disposed at one side of the front portion of the cabinet 10 to pivotally open and close the storage space.

Referring to fig. 1 and 3, fig. 3 is an exploded view of a refrigerator 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a cabinet 10 is hidden. In some embodiments, the refrigerator 1 may further include a drawer assembly 30, the drawer assembly 30 may be disposed in the inner container 40, and a user may open and close the drawer assembly 30 by pulling to take food therein.

Specifically, the drawer assembly 30 may further include a cylinder 32 and a drawer body 34, the cylinder 32 may be directly fixedly installed in one of the liners 40, the interior of the drawer body 34 defines a storage space, and the drawer body 34 is drawably connected to the cylinder 32 through a slide rail assembly 36.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, in some embodiments, the refrigerator 1 may further include an electrolytic oxygen removing device 100, and the electrolytic oxygen removing device 100 may be disposed on the inner container 40 or the drawer assembly 30, separate oxygen from air flowing over the electrolytic oxygen removing device through an electrolytic reaction, and retain nitrogen in the storage space of the inner container 40 or the drawer body 34, so as to achieve fresh-keeping storage of food.

Referring to fig. 2, for example, the electrolytic oxygen removing device 100 can be disposed at the rear of the outer portion of the inner container 40. The back wall of the inner container 40 can be provided with a plurality of vents 42 for guiding out the air in the inner container, and the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 can be fixedly arranged at the vents 42 to suck the air in the inner container 40 into the inner container and separate the oxygen from the air to be discharged out of the inner container 40, so that the oxygen content of the air in the inner container 40 is reduced, and the fresh-keeping performance of food is improved.

Referring to fig. 3, for another example, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 can also be disposed outside and behind the drawer assembly 30. A plurality of vent holes 42 may be opened on the rear wall of the cylinder 32 of the drawer assembly 30, and the electrolytic oxygen removing device 100 may be disposed at the vent holes 42. Correspondingly, a recess 342 is formed at a position of the rear wall of the drawer body 34 opposite to the ventilation hole 42, so that air of the drawer body 34 is guided out from the ventilation hole 42.

Of course, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 can be disposed in the inner container 40 or other positions of the drawer assembly 30 after the technical solution of the present embodiment is known to those skilled in the art. For example, the positions of the side wall, bottom wall or top wall of the inner container 40, the top wall or front wall of the inner cylinder of the drawer assembly 30, etc. are not listed here.

Referring to fig. 4 to 6, fig. 4 is a schematic view of an electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 5 is an exploded view of a cathode composite plate 120 in the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 6 is an exploded view of the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 can further comprise a housing 110 and a cathode composite plate 120. The shell 110 has an opening, and the cathode composite plate 120 is disposed at the opening to electrolyze oxygen in air flowing through the opening to generate negative ions, and allow the negative ions to penetrate through the cathode composite plate and enter the electrolyte in the liquid storage cavity. And the cathode composite plate 120 may also define a reservoir with the housing 110 for holding electrolyte. That is, the cathode composite plate 120 of the present embodiment can be directly used as one of the wall surfaces of the casing 110 for sealing the liquid storage cavity.

Referring to fig. 4, in some embodiments, the housing 110 is a hollow structure, and a fluid infusion port 112 for infusing electrolyte and a gas exhaust port 114 for exhausting oxygen are opened thereon.

Referring to fig. 5, the cathode composite plate 120 may be composed of a catalytic layer 122, a first waterproof and breathable layer 124, a conductive layer 126 and a second waterproof and breathable layer 128, which are sequentially arranged from the inside to the outside, and the term "from the inside to the outside" is understood to mean a direction from the inside to the outside of the casing 110. Catalytic layer 122 may be a noble metal or noble metal catalyst, such as platinum metal, gold metal, silver metal, manganese metal, rubidium metal, or the like. First waterproof ventilative layer 124 and the waterproof ventilative layer 128 of second can be waterproof ventilated membrane to make electrolyte can't ooze from the stock solution chamber, and the air can permeate first waterproof ventilative layer 124 and the waterproof ventilative layer 128 of second and get into the stock solution chamber. The conductive layer 126 can be made into a corrosion-resistant metal current collecting net, such as metal nickel, metal titanium, etc., so that it not only has better conductivity, corrosion resistance and supporting strength.

As described in the background art, the deaerating device in the prior art only uses the waterproof and breathable membrane to seal the electrolytic chamber, and is not only difficult to resist corrosion of the electrolyte, but also easy to leak and poor in practicability.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 of the present embodiment integrally uses the cathode composite plate 120 as one wall surface of the housing 110 to define a liquid storage cavity together with the housing 110, and the liquid storage cavity is sealed by the cathode composite plate 120. And because cathode composite sheet 120 itself has certain intensity, can satisfy the sealing strength demand of stock solution chamber completely, cathode composite sheet 120 adopts two-layer waterproof ventilative layer (be first waterproof ventilative layer 124 and second waterproof ventilative layer 128) also can prevent effectively because the leakage that electrolyte corrosion arouses in addition.

Referring to fig. 2 to 6, in some embodiments, the housing 110 may be flat, and the opening is opened at a wider side of the housing 110. Because the cathode composite plate 120 covers the opening, the larger the area of the cathode composite plate 120, and thus the larger the contact area between the cathode composite plate 120 and air, the higher the electrolysis efficiency of the electrolytic deoxygenating device 100 is. In addition, the flat housing 110 can also shorten the width of the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100, reduce the thickness of the electrolytic oxygen removal device, and save space.

Referring to fig. 6, in some embodiments, the electrolytic oxygen-removing device 100 may further include an anode plate 140, and the anode plate 140 may be made of a material with strong corrosion resistance and reducibility, such as metal foam nickel, nickel mesh, and the like.

The anode plate 140 may be disposed in the liquid storage cavity at a distance from the cathode composite plate 120, and has an anode power supply terminal 142 extending out of the casing 110 and connected to the positive electrode of an external power source. During electrolysis, the anode plate 140 is used to reduce negative ions in the electrolyte to oxygen and discharge the oxygen out of the liquid storage chamber, so as to separate oxygen from air flowing through the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100.

In operation, air in the storage space of the drawer assembly 30 or the inner container 40 contacts the cathode composite plate 120 at the opening of the casing 110 through the vent 42, and oxygen in the air undergoes a reduction reaction at the cathode composite plate 120, that is: o is ₂ +2H ₂ O+4e-→4OH-；O ₂ +H ₂ O+2e-→HO ₂ + OH-; along with the reduction reaction on the cathode composite board 120 goes on, the negative ion OH "that electrolyzes can permeate cathode composite board 120 and get into in the electrolyte of stock solution intracavity to take place oxidation reaction on anode plate 140, promptly: 4OH- → O ₂ +2H ₂ O+4e-；HO ₂ +OH-→O ₂ +H ₂ O +2e-, oxygen finally generated on the anode plate 140 is discharged from the exhaust port 114 on the shell 110, so that oxygen in the air is separated, the oxygen content of the storage space is reduced, and the freshness of food is guaranteed.

In some embodiments, the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 may be disposed in parallel to increase their relative areas and promote the forward progress of the electrolytic reaction.

In addition, the inventor finds out through a plurality of experiments that: the distance between the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 is set to be within a range from 5mm to 10mm (for example, 5mm, 7mm or 10mm and the like), so that not only can the low reaction efficiency caused by the overlarge distance between the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 be avoided, but also the influence on the reaction process caused by the fact that oxygen generated by the anode plate 140 cannot be discharged in time due to the too small distance can be avoided, and the technical effect of the method is verified in trial-manufacture products.

Referring to fig. 6, in some embodiments, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 may further include a separator 130, wherein the separator 130 is disposed in the liquid storage chamber and between the cathode composite plate 120 and the anode plate 140, and is configured to separate the cathode composite plate 120 from the anode plate 140 to prevent short-circuiting of the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100.

Because the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 have opposite polarities during electrolysis and the distance between the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 is small, the anode plate 140 and the cathode composite plate 120 may approach or even directly contact under the action of attractive force, which not only changes the distance parameter between the cathode and the anode of the original design, but also may cause a short circuit. Therefore, the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 of the embodiment employs the separator 130 disposed between the cathode composite plate 120 and the anode plate 140 to avoid the above-mentioned situation, which not only ensures the oxygen removal efficiency of the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100, but also improves the safety of the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100.

Referring to fig. 6, specifically, a plurality of protrusions 132 are formed on one side of the separator 130 facing the anode plate 140, the protrusions 132 abut against the anode plate 140, and the cathode composite plate 120 abuts against one side of the separator 130 facing away from the protrusions 132 to form a predetermined gap between the cathode composite plate 120 and the anode plate 140, so as to separate the cathode composite plate 120 from the anode plate 140.

Referring to fig. 6 to 9, fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion a of fig. 6, fig. 8 is a schematic view of a supporting member 154 of the electrolytic oxygen removing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion B of fig. 8.

In some embodiments, the electrolytic oxygen scavenging device 100 can further include a securing assembly 150, the securing assembly 150 being disposed on the outside of the cathode composite plate 120 and configured to secure the cathode composite plate 120 at the opening.

Specifically, the fixing assembly 150 may further include a metal bezel 152 and a support 154. The metal frame 152 is attached to the outer side of the cathode composite plate 120, and the metal frame 152 is formed with an outwardly protruding surrounding portion 152a. The supporting member 154 is disposed at the outer side of the metal frame 152, and has an outer ring 1542 and an inner ring 1544 located inside the outer ring 1542, the outer ring 1542 is fixedly connected to the housing 110, an insertion groove 1544a is formed at the inner side of the inner ring 1544, and the surrounding portion 152a extends into the insertion groove 1544a to fix the metal frame 152 and the cathode composite plate 120 at the opening.

In this embodiment, the metal frame 152 is in direct contact with the cathode composite plate 120, the metal frame 152 may function to press the cathode composite plate 120, and the metal frame 152 may further be provided with a cathode power supply terminal 152b of the cathode composite plate 120 to be connected to an external power supply.

The surrounding portion 152a is formed on the metal frame 152 and extends outward to be inserted into the inner ring 1544 insertion groove 1544a of the supporting member 154, so as to position the metal frame 152. Since the outer ring 1542 of the supporting member 154 is fixedly connected to the casing 110, when the surrounding portion 152a of the metal frame 152 enters the inserting groove 1544a of the supporting member 154, the metal frame 152 can be fixed and positioned by the supporting member 154, so that the metal frame 152 presses the cathode composite plate 120.

Referring to fig. 8, in some embodiments, a reinforcing rib 1546 is further formed between the outer ring 1542 and the inner ring 1544 of the supporting member 154 and inside the inner ring 1544, for fixedly connecting the outer ring 1542 and the inner ring 1544 of the supporting member 154, and shaping the outer ring 1542 and the inner ring 1544 of the supporting member 154 to prevent the outer ring 1542 and the inner ring 1544 from being deformed by an external force.

When assembling the electrolytic oxygen removal device 100 of the present embodiment, firstly, the anode plate 140 may be fixedly disposed in the housing 110; pressing the side of the separator 130 with the convex part 132 on the anode plate 140; compressing the cathode composite plate 120 at the other side of the separator 130 to prevent the cathode composite plate 120 from contacting the anode plate 140; then, the metal frame 152 is pressed to the outer side of the cathode composite plate 120, the support 154 is covered on the outer side of the metal frame 152, the outer ring 1542 of the metal frame 152 is fixedly connected with the shell 110, the standing part 152a of the metal frame 152 extends into the inserting groove 1544a, positioning and fixing are completed, then an adhesive (such as polyurethane PU (polyurethane) adhesive, epoxy resin AB (epoxy resin AB) adhesive and the like) is arranged between the outer ring 1542 and the inner ring 1544 of the support 154, and the region between the cathode composite plate 120 and the shell is glued to realize final encapsulation; and finally, filling electrolyte through a liquid supplementing port 112 on the shell 110 to complete the assembly.

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. An electrolytic oxygen removal device for separating oxygen from air flowing thereover by an electrolytic reaction, said electrolytic oxygen removal device comprising:

a housing having an opening; and

the cathode composite plate is arranged at the opening to define a liquid storage cavity for containing electrolyte together with the shell, and the cathode composite plate is configured to electrolyze oxygen in air flowing over the cathode composite plate to generate negative ions and allow the negative ions to penetrate through the cathode composite plate to enter the electrolyte in the liquid storage cavity.

2. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 1 wherein

The shell is flat; and is provided with

The opening is arranged on the wider side face of the shell.

3. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 1 further comprising:

and the anode plate and the cathode composite plate are arranged in the liquid storage cavity at intervals, are configured to oxidize the negative ions in the electrolyte into oxygen and discharge the oxygen out of the liquid storage cavity so as to separate the oxygen in the air flowing through the electrolytic oxygen removal device.

4. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 3 wherein

The anode plate and the cathode composite plate are arranged in parallel; and is provided with

The spacing between the anode plate and the cathode composite plate is configured to be between 5mm and 10 mm.

5. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 3 further comprising:

the separator, set up in the stock solution intracavity, and be located the cathode composite panel with between the anode plate, move towards on the separator one side of anode plate is formed with a plurality of bellyings, the bellyings contradict in on the anode plate, in order to separate the cathode composite panel with the anode plate prevents electrolysis deaerating plant short circuit.

6. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 1 further comprising:

7. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 6 wherein the stationary assembly further comprises:

the metal frame is attached to the outer side of the cathode composite plate, and a surrounding part is formed by the outward protrusion of the metal frame; and

the support piece is arranged on the outer side of the metal frame and provided with an outer ring and an inner ring positioned in the outer ring, the outer ring is fixedly connected with the shell, an insertion groove is formed in the inner side of the inner ring, and the surrounding part extends into the insertion groove so as to fix the metal frame and the cathode composite plate at the opening.

8. The electrolytic oxygen scavenging device of claim 7 wherein

And reinforcing ribs are arranged between the outer ring and the inner ring and inside the inner ring to fix the outer ring and the inner ring.

9. The electrolytic oxygen removal device of claim 1 wherein

The cathode composite board comprises a catalytic layer, a first waterproof breathable layer, a conductive layer and a second waterproof breathable layer which are sequentially arranged from inside to outside.

10. A refrigerator comprising an electrolytic oxygen removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.