CN116745566A

CN116745566A - Refrigerator with a refrigerator body

Info

Publication number: CN116745566A
Application number: CN202180086475.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 星野仁; 小松肇; 豊岛昌志
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Aqua Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Aqua Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-24
Filing date: 2021-12-23
Publication date: 2023-09-12
Also published as: JP2022100914A; CN114674104A; WO2022135533A1; CN114674104B

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a storage container provided in a fresh food compartment, a high thermal conductive member provided in the storage container, and a cool air discharge unit discharging cool air to the high thermal conductive member. Therefore, the sealing degree of the storage container arranged in the fresh-keeping chamber can be ensured, and the problem of condensation in the storage container can be properly solved.

Description

Refrigerator with a refrigerator body

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background

The humidity in the fresh food compartment for storing vegetables which are vital for fresh food is kept higher than the humidity in other storage compartments such as a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. When cold air for cooling the refrigerator passes through the fresh-keeping chamber with high humidity, condensation is generated in the storage container arranged in the fresh-keeping chamber. Therefore, the humidity required for keeping vegetables fresh in the fresh-keeping chamber is required, and the problem of condensation is also solved. For example, patent document 1 discloses a refrigerator for solving such a problem.

[ Prior Art literature ]

[ patent literature ]

[ patent document 1] Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2018-13296

The refrigerator disclosed in patent document 1 includes a structure including: a storage chamber for storing articles; a storage container which is housed in the storage chamber and can be pulled out to the front side, and whose upper portion is opened to store the stored article; and a cover provided to cover the opening of the storage container, wherein a communication hole is formed in the cover to communicate the inside and outside of the storage chamber, a resin fiber member is provided on the lower surface of the cover, moisture in the storage chamber is absorbed by the resin fiber member, and the absorbed moisture is discharged to the outside of the storage chamber through the communication hole.

However, in the invention disclosed in patent document 1, the resin fiber member attached to the cover overlaps the communication hole. According to patent document 1, the resin fiber member is a braid composed of resin fibers such as PET fibers, and is a member that cuts off liquid and passes air. That is, air in the fresh-keeping chamber (in the storage container) can flow out from the overlapping portion between the resin fiber member and the communication hole. Therefore, the invention disclosed in patent document 1 has a problem in terms of the sealing property of the storage container, and the humidity in the storage chamber is unexpectedly lowered.

In view of this, there is a need for an improvement over existing refrigerators to solve the above-described problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a refrigerator which can not only maintain the tightness of a storage container arranged in a fresh-keeping chamber, but also properly improve the problem of condensation generated in the storage container.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising: a storage container provided in the fresh food compartment; a high thermal conductivity member provided in the storage container; and a cool air discharge unit that discharges cool air to the high thermal conductive member.

Further, the high thermal conductive member is installed to block an opening formed at a rear surface of the storage container, and the cool air discharging unit includes: a cooler; and a guide flow path that is provided on both sides of the storage container that are provided opposite to the high thermal conductive member, and guides cool air cooled by a cooler to the high thermal conductive member.

Further, the refrigerator is further provided with a refrigerating chamber which is sequentially arranged up and down with the fresh-keeping chamber, a first light-transmitting part is arranged on the upper surface of the storage container, and a second light-transmitting part which is opposite to the first light-transmitting part is arranged on the bottom surface of the refrigerating chamber.

Further, the refrigerator further includes a water absorbing part installed at the storage container to absorb dew generated at the high thermal conductive member, the water absorbing part being disposed at an area where cold air from the cold air discharging unit can reach.

Further, the front surface of the high thermal conductive member faces the inside of the storage container, and the guide flow path is provided on the back surface side of the high thermal conductive member.

Further, the cool air discharging unit further includes a valve controlling cool air to flow into the guide flow path and a fan disposed above the cooler.

Further, the valve includes a first valve and a second valve, the first valve is disposed opposite to the inflow port of the guide flow path, and cold air from the cooler flows into the guide flow path as the first valve is opened, and the cold air flowing into the guide flow path is discharged to the high thermal conductive member after passing through the guide flow path.

Further, the refrigerator further has inner and outer covers installed at the rear of the storage container, the high thermal conductive member is sandwiched by the inner cover installed at the inside of the storage container and the outer cover installed at the outside of the storage container.

Further, the inner cover body comprises a notch, a first window and a second window, the notch is located above the first window and the second window, the width of the notch is larger than that of the first window and the second window, and the storage container is further provided with a switch with the same width as that of the first window or the second window so as to open and close the first window or the second window.

Further, the refrigerator further has a cover body mounted on the storage container to close an upper side opening of the storage container.

The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows: the refrigerator of the present invention can concentrate the condensation generating region in the storage container on the high thermal conductive member, and can solve the problem of condensation generated in the storage container even if the portion which always communicates with the inside and outside of the storage container is not provided as in the arrangement of the resin fiber member and the communication hole disclosed in patent document 1. Therefore, the sealing degree of the storage container provided in the fresh food compartment can be maintained. Further, according to the present invention, the inside of the storage container can be cooled by the high thermal conductive member. Therefore, when the sealing degree of the storage container is improved, even if the normal circulating cold air supplied to the fresh food compartment is cut off, the inside of the storage container can be cooled to a desired temperature range.

Further, according to the present invention, since the high thermal conductive member is attached to the back surface of the storage container and the cold air cooled by the cooler can be guided to the high thermal conductive member through the guide flow path provided on the rear side of the high thermal conductive member, the cold air can be discharged to a position close to the high thermal conductive member, and the structure of the cold air discharge unit for discharging the cold air to the high thermal conductive member can be simplified and the cold air can be reliably made to reach the high thermal conductive member.

Further, according to the present invention, since the high thermal conductive member is attached to the back surface of the storage container, the condensation hardly adheres to the first light-transmitting portion provided on the upper surface of the storage container (fresh-keeping chamber), and thus the light transmittance of the first light-transmitting portion is not hindered. In this way, the fresh food compartment (storage container) can be maintained in a state in which the fresh food compartment is viewable from the refrigerator compartment including the second light-transmitting portion opposed to the first light-transmitting portion.

Meanwhile, the present invention can make the cold air from the cold air discharge unit reach the water absorbing portion, so that the condensation from the high thermal conductive member absorbed by the water absorbing portion can be dried using the cold air. In this way, the condensation adhering to the inner side of the high thermal conductive member can be efficiently discharged to the outside of the storage container.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of the present invention taken along line A-A' of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a storage container in the fresh food compartment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a storage container in the fresh food compartment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

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

First, a structural overview of the refrigerator 1 of the present invention is explained with reference to fig. 1. Here, fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator 1. As shown in fig. 1, the refrigerator 1 of the present invention includes a heat insulation box 2 as a refrigerator main body. The heat insulating box 2 includes a plurality of storage compartments 3, 4, 5. The storage chambers are sequentially and correspondingly provided with a refrigerating chamber 3, a fresh-keeping chamber 4 and a freezing chamber 5 from top to bottom. However, the order of arrangement of the respective storage compartments is not limited to this (for example, a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and a fresh food compartment may be arranged in this order from top to bottom).

The front surface of each storage compartment provided in the heat-insulating box 2 is provided with an opening, and the refrigerator 1 is provided with heat-insulating doors 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d for openably and closably closing the openings. The heat insulation doors 6a and 6b are rotatably supported at the heat insulation box 2 at upper and lower ends of the right and left sides of the refrigerator to close the opening of the front surface of the refrigerating chamber 3. The heat-insulating door 6c is provided so as to be capable of being pulled out in the front-rear direction with respect to the heat-insulating box 2, to close the opening in the front surface of the fresh food compartment 4. Also, the heat insulating door 6d is provided to be capable of being pulled out in the front-rear direction with respect to the heat insulating box 2 to close the opening of the front surface of the freezing chamber 5.

Next, an internal structure of the refrigerator 1 is explained with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the refrigerator 1 taken along a line A-A' of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the heat insulating box 2 includes an outer box 2a made of steel plate, an inner box 2b made of synthetic resin, and a heat insulating material 2c made of foamed polyurethane (polyurethane foam) filled in a gap formed between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2 b.

The refrigerator 1 of the present invention further includes: a storage container 10 provided in the fresh food compartment 4 for storing vegetables and the like; and a cool air discharge unit 40 for discharging cool air to the high thermal conductive member 13 described later. In addition, the refrigerator 1 of the present invention preferably further includes a cover 20 for improving the sealability of the storage container 10. When the lid 20 is attached to the storage container 10, the upper surface of the storage container 10 corresponds to the lid 20.

First, the storage container 10 of the present embodiment will be described. The storage container 10 is a container having an opening 11 on an upper surface thereof, and the opening 11 is closed by a cover 20, whereby the sealing degree in the storage container 10 can be improved. The first light-transmitting portion 21 (e.g., glass, acrylic plate, etc.) is provided on the front side of the lid 20, so that the interior of the storage container 10 can be viewed from above.

A second light-transmitting portion 32 (for example, glass, an acrylic plate, or the like) is provided on a bottom surface 31 of the refrigerator compartment 3 provided directly above the fresh food compartment 4. As shown in fig. 2, the second light-transmitting portion 32 is disposed opposite to the first light-transmitting portion 21. As described above, when the heat-insulating door of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened, the inside of the fresh food compartment 4 (the storage container 10) can be observed from the refrigerator compartment 3.

As shown in fig. 2, a high thermal conductive member 13 is attached to the opening 121 of the back surface 12 of the storage container 10. That is, the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13 faces the inside of the storage container 10, whereas the back surface 132 of the high thermal conductive member 13 faces the outside of the storage container 10.

In the present embodiment, the high thermal conductive member 13 is an aluminum plate, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and in other examples of the high thermal conductive member 13, a member made of a thermally conductive plastic may be used in addition to a member made of a metal such as copper or stainless steel or a member made of a metal compound. The form of the high thermal conductive member 13 is not limited to a plate, and in other embodiments other than a plate, a concave-convex shape or the like is formed at the front surface 131 or the like in order to increase the contact area with air.

Next, the cool air discharging unit 40 of the present embodiment will be described. The cool air discharge unit 40 includes a cooler (evaporator) 41 and a guide flow path 421 provided on both sides opposite to the high thermal conductive member 13 with respect to the storage container 10, and guides cool air cooled by the cooler 41 to the high thermal conductive member 13, the guide flow path 421 being provided on the rear surface side of the high thermal conductive member 13. The cool air discharge unit 40 may further include valves 43 and 45 (for example, a shutter, a switch, etc. opened and closed by a stepping motor, etc.) for controlling inflow of cool air into the guide flow path 421, and a fan 44 provided above the cooler 41.

Further, as shown in fig. 2, the cooler 41 of the present embodiment is provided in the rear surface region of the freezing chamber 5, and passes the refrigerant that exchanges heat with the cold air that cools each storage chamber and returns. The guide flow path 421 is provided in the cool air duct 42, and the cool air duct 42 is provided on the back side (back region of the refrigerator compartment 3 and the fresh food compartment 4) of the storage container 10.

In addition, the cool air duct 42 of the present embodiment includes a main flow path 422 extending to the side of the refrigerating chamber 3. The main flow path 422 is provided at the rear side of the guide flow path 421. That is, the guide flow path 421 and the main flow path 422 are arranged in the cold air duct 42 in the front-rear direction, but the position of the guide flow path 421 is not limited thereto.

The valve includes a first valve 43 and a second valve 45, the first valve 43 is disposed opposite to the inflow port 4211 of the guide flow path 421, and when the first valve 43 is opened, cool air from the cooler 41 flows into the guide flow path 421, and cool air flowing into the guide flow path 421 is discharged to the high thermal conductive member 13 after passing through the guide flow path 421. At this time, the second valve 45 (for example, a shutter) is preferably closed, and the second valve 45 (for example, a shutter) controls the opening and closing of the main flow path 422. On the other hand, as the first valve 43 is closed, the cold air flowing into the guide flow path 421 is blocked, and the cold air discharged to the high thermal conductive member 13 stops flowing.

According to the present embodiment, the cool air can be discharged to the high thermal conductive member 13 via the guide flow path 421. In other words, the cold air can be discharged to a position close to the high thermal conductive member 13, and therefore the structure of the cold air discharge unit 40 can be simplified, and the cold air can be reliably made to reach the high thermal conductive member 13.

Next, the flow of cold air in the refrigerator 1 will be described. As the fan 44 of the cool air discharging unit 40 rotates, the cool air cooled by the cooler 41 rises, and a part of the rising cool air flows into the cool air transporting duct 42. At this time, with the first valve 43 opened and the second valve 45 closed, the cool air flows through the guide flow path 421 of the cool air conveying duct 42. Then, the cool air is discharged to the back surface 132 of the high thermal conductive member 13. Eventually, the temperature of the back surface 132 subjected to the cool air is transferred to the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13, and the temperature of the entire high thermal conductive member 13 decreases.

As described above, the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductivity member 13 faces into the storage container 10. In addition, the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13 that transmits cool air is lower than the temperature inside the storage container 10. Therefore, the moisture-containing air in the storage container 10 is condensed on the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13, and the condensation adheres to the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13. On the other hand, since the temperature of the storage container 10 is higher than that of the high thermal conductive member 13 at a portion other than the portion where the high thermal conductive member 13 is attached, dew is hardly attached, and therefore dew can be collected on the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13.

Conversely, with the first valve 43 closed and the second valve 45 open, the cold air flowing into the cold air duct 42 flows in the main flow path 422 of the cold air duct 42. Thereafter, the cool air is blown to the refrigerating chamber 3 through a plurality of air outlets (only the air outlet 33 provided at the lowermost position is shown in fig. 2) formed in the height direction of the refrigerating chamber 3.

Then, the cool air passes through the inside of the refrigerating chamber 3 and then reaches the fresh food compartment 4 through the vent provided at the bottom surface 31 of the refrigerating chamber 3. Then, the cool air flowing into the fresh food compartment 4 passes through the fresh food compartment 4, reaches a cool air return duct, not shown, and returns to the cooler 41. Note that, hereinafter, the cold air cooled by heat exchange with the cooler 41 and returned again to the vicinity of the cooler 41 through the cold air feed duct 42 (main flow path 422), the refrigerating compartment 3, the fresh air compartment 4, and the cold air return duct is referred to as "circulating cold air".

However, in order to improve the sealing degree of the storage container 10, the opening 11 of the upper surface of the storage container 10 is closed by the cover 20. Therefore, the cool air (circulating cool air) that reaches the fresh food compartment 4 from the refrigerator compartment 3 does not flow into the storage container 10. It is conceivable that the inside of the storage container 10 cannot be cooled to a desired temperature range only by circulating cold air. However, according to the present embodiment, the high thermal conductive member 13 can be cooled by the cool air discharged from the cool air discharge unit 40, and the temperature in the storage container 10 can be reduced by the cool air from the cooled high thermal conductive member 13.

Next, the storage container 10 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4. Here, fig. 3 is a perspective view of the storage container 10 and the cover 20 in a separated state. Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the storage container 10.

As shown in fig. 3, the storage container 10 of the present invention includes an opening 121 for attaching (or fitting) the high thermal conductive member 13, and the position of the opening 121 is not particularly limited, and may be formed on the back surface 12 of the storage container 10. As shown in fig. 4, the high thermal conductive member 13 of the present invention is sandwiched between an inner cover 14 and an outer cover 15, the inner cover 14 is attached to the inside of the storage container 10, and the outer cover 15 is attached to the outside of the storage container 10. The rear surface 12, the inner cover 14, and the outer cover 15 are sometimes collectively referred to as "the rear surface of the storage container".

The inner housing 14 includes a notch 141, a first window 142, and a second window 143. The notch 141 is located above the first window 142 and the second window 143, and the width of the notch 141 is larger than the width of both the first window 142 and the second window 143. In addition, the first window 142 and the second window 143 are provided side by side in the width direction of the inner cover 14.

In the storage container 10 having such a structure, the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13 is exposed in the region of the notch 141 when the back surface 12 is viewed from the inside. The storage container 10 is further provided with a switch 16 having a width substantially identical to the first window 142 (or the second window 143). The switch 16 is disposed between the first window 142 (or the second window 143) and the high thermal conductivity member 13. The switch 16 is capable of sliding along the width direction of the inner housing 14 to block one of the first window 142 and the second window 143.

As shown in fig. 3, the groove 133 provided on the high thermal conductive member 13 is formed at a position opposite to the second window 143. When the switch 16 is located at a position opposite to the first window 142, the slot 133 of the high thermal conductive member 13 side is in an open state. On the other hand, when the switch 16 is located at a position opposite to the second window 143, the slot 133 on the side of the high thermal conductive member 13 is in a closed state.

That is, the switch 16 opens and closes the groove 133 on the side of the high thermal conductive member 13. When the switch 16 is moved to be opposite to the first window 142, the second window 143 and the slot 133 of the high thermal conductive member 13 are opened, and the inside and outside of the storage container 10 are communicated, so that the inside of the storage container 10 can be humidified.

In the present embodiment, the groove 133 of the high thermal conductivity member 13 is provided at a position opposite to the second window 143. In other embodiments, it may be disposed opposite to the first window 142, where the slot 133 of the high thermal conductivity member 13 is in an open state when the switch 16 is disposed opposite to the second window 143, and the slot 133 of the high thermal conductivity member 13 is in a closed state when the switch 16 is disposed opposite to the first window 142.

Preferably, the inner cover 14 further includes a water absorbing portion 17 that absorbs condensation generated at the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13. In the present embodiment, the water absorbing portion 17 is located below the opening 121. The water absorbing portion 17 penetrates the inner cover 14 and extends to the outside of the storage container 10. The form of the water absorbing portion 17 is not limited as long as it can absorb the condensation generated on the front surface 131 of the high thermal conductive member 13. For example, the water absorbing portion 17 may be a fibrous filter.

The water absorbing part 17 extends to the outside of the storage container 10 so as to be exposed to a region accessible to cold air from the cold air discharging unit 40. In this way, the cold air discharged to cool the high thermal conductive member 13 can reach the water absorbing portion 17, so that the dew absorbed by the water absorbing portion 17 can be dried, and the dew adhering to the inside of the high thermal conductive member 13 can be efficiently discharged to the outside of the storage container 10.

The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention and not for limiting the same, and although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications and equivalents may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, comprising:

a storage container provided in the fresh food compartment;

a high thermal conductivity member provided in the storage container; and

and a cool air discharge unit that discharges cool air to the high thermal conductive member.
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the high thermal conductive member is installed to block an opening formed at a rear surface of the storage container, and the cool air discharging unit includes:

a cooler; and

and a guide flow path which is provided on both sides of the storage container, which are provided to face the high thermal conductive member, and which guides the cold air cooled by the cooler to the high thermal conductive member.
The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a refrigerating chamber provided in order from the fresh food compartment, wherein a first light-transmitting portion is provided on an upper surface of the storage container, and a second light-transmitting portion provided opposite to the first light-transmitting portion is provided on a bottom surface of the refrigerating chamber.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a water absorbing part installed at the storage container to absorb condensation generated at the high thermal conductive member, the water absorbing part being provided at a region where cold air from the cold air discharging unit can reach.
The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a front surface of the high thermal conductive member faces the inside of the storage container, and the guide flow path is provided on a rear surface side of the high thermal conductive member.
The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the cool air discharging unit further includes a valve controlling inflow of cool air into the guide flow path and a fan disposed above the cooler.
The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the valve includes a first valve and a second valve, the first valve is disposed opposite to an inflow port of the guide flow path, cold air from the cooler flows into the guide flow path as the first valve is opened, and the cold air flowing into the guide flow path is discharged to the high thermal conductive member after passing through the guide flow path.
The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising inner and outer covers mounted at the rear of the storage container, the high thermal conductive member being sandwiched by the inner cover and the outer cover, the inner cover being mounted inside the storage container, and the outer cover being mounted outside the storage container.
The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the inner cover includes a notch, a first window and a second window, the notch is located above the first window and the second window, the notch has a width larger than that of the first window and the second window, and the storage container is further provided with a switch having the same width as the first window or the second window to open and close the first window or the second window.
The refrigerator of claim 3, further comprising a cover body mounted on the storage container to close an upper side opening of the storage container, wherein the first light-transmitting portion is disposed at a front side of the cover body.