EP1293739B1 - Refrigeration apparatus with two storage compartments on top of each other and a fan-assisted evaporator - Google Patents

Refrigeration apparatus with two storage compartments on top of each other and a fan-assisted evaporator Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1293739B1
EP1293739B1 EP02015765A EP02015765A EP1293739B1 EP 1293739 B1 EP1293739 B1 EP 1293739B1 EP 02015765 A EP02015765 A EP 02015765A EP 02015765 A EP02015765 A EP 02015765A EP 1293739 B1 EP1293739 B1 EP 1293739B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
compartments
refrigeration apparatus
evaporator
conduit
compartment
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP02015765A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1293739A3 (en
EP1293739A2 (en
Inventor
Paolo Marega
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Electrolux Home Products Corp NV
Original Assignee
Electrolux Home Products Corp NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Electrolux Home Products Corp NV filed Critical Electrolux Home Products Corp NV
Publication of EP1293739A2 publication Critical patent/EP1293739A2/en
Publication of EP1293739A3 publication Critical patent/EP1293739A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1293739B1 publication Critical patent/EP1293739B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D17/00—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces
    • F25D17/04—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection
    • F25D17/06—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation
    • F25D17/062—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation in household refrigerators
    • F25D17/065—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation in household refrigerators with compartments at different temperatures
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
    • F25B39/02—Evaporators
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2400/00—General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
    • F25D2400/04—Refrigerators with a horizontal mullion

Definitions

  • the present patent application refers to an improved type of refrigeration apparatus provided with two cold storage compartments arranged on top of each other and cooled by a same fan-assisted evaporator battery.
  • a refrigeration apparatus comprising a lower freezer compartment and an upper refrigerated, i.e. cold storage compartment, in which said two compartments are separated from each other by a horizontal partition wall.
  • the evaporator is of the "roll-bond" type and is provided in a corner-like arrangement in the lower freezer compartment, from which there departs a vertical conduit connecting this compartment with the upper zone of the compartment arranged thereupon.
  • said vertical conduit is provided with an appropriate fan
  • said horizontal partition wall is in turn provided of an appropriate through-aperture for the return flow of the air, i.e. the flow of air moving back to the evaporator.
  • the control of the temperatures in the two compartments is ensured by means of at least two thermostats provided in the respective compartments and appropriately connected with the control arrangement provided to switch the fan on and off.
  • the evaporator is of the "roll-bond" type with a planar configuration and is arranged inside a vertical conduit which connects the upper compartment to the lower compartment and extends through said horizontal partition wall.
  • the circulation of the air from and to the two compartments is not only ensured by said conduit passing through the partition wall, but also by a further aperture provided in the horizontal wall at a short distance from the door of the appliance, as well as by a fan that is arranged at the upper mouth of said vertical conduit.
  • the evaporator is located at the height of the upper compartment; however, the cooled air first flows through the lower freezing compartment and then returns, at a lower temperature, to the upper compartment.
  • a refrigeration apparatus preferably for residential use, i.e. of the household type, that is provided with two distinct storage compartments arranged on top of each other, i.e. an upper cold storage compartment and a lower compartment for storing food at a lower temperature, preferably at approx. 0°C, which do away with all of the afore described drawbacks, while at the same time enabling the availability of space actually utilizable to storage purposes to be improved, through the use of a single evaporator and by forcing the air to circulate throughout both compartments.
  • such an apparatus shall be capable of being easily implemented and manufactured with the use of existing, readily available techniques, and shall be competitive in both its construction and its use. In particular it shall be capable of using a single and same refrigerating circuit as a source of cold.
  • a refrigeration apparatus comprises an upper storage compartment 1, a lower storage compartment 2, an outer casing provided with an insulated rear wall 3, at least a door 4 providing access to said compartments, which are separated from each other by a partition wall 5, a vertical conduit 6 located in proximity of the inner rear wall 7 of said upper compartment and connecting said two compartments with each other, and a fan 8 arranged in correspondence of the intake mouth 9 of said conduit, in which said mouth is provided on top of said conduit and lies in the upper zone of said upper compartment 1.
  • the lower outflow mouth 10 of said conduit is directed towards an evaporator 11 of the finned-tube battery kind, and means are provided that are adapted to ensure that all of the air leaving said evaporator after having so been cooled down by it is actually let solely and only into said lower compartment 2.
  • Such means preferably, and most generally, include the fact that said evaporator 11 is located inside said lower compartment 2, i.e. below the level of said partition wall 5, and said conduit 6 extends therefore downwards, at least to such an extent as to enter said lower compartment.
  • the finned-tube battery-type evaporator is largely known in the art, so that it shall not be described here any further.
  • a further advantage ensured by the present invention lies therefore in the fact that, thanks to the invention, use is made to this purpose of the existing fan provided to ensure the circulation of the cold air between the two storage compartments, so that, with this solution, it is actually a single fan that is advantageously used to perform two different and independent tasks, i.e.:
  • the evaporator 11 is housed in a receptacle 12 into which debouches the lower outflow mouth 10 of said conduit 6; said receptacle is open downwards and is so shaped as to quite tightly enclose said evaporator, so that substantially all air flowing from said counduit is forced to pass through the battery-type evaporator 11, thereby optimizing the heat-exchange efficiency thereof.
  • a useful improvement of the present invention is obtained if the portion of conduit that acts as a connection between the upper conduit and said receptacle 12 is so shaped as to show a tapered portion 13, so as this is illustrated in Figure 2 .
  • Such a conformation of the conduit in fact, enables the uniformity of the air flow, and therefore of the air flow-rate through the entire thickness of the finned battery, to be facilitated, thereby further improving the heat-exchange process.
  • a passage 17 is actually obtained between said inner wall, or door liner, and said partition wall 5, and this passage provides the required communication between the storage compartments for the air flow to be able to follow its return path into the upper compartment.
  • Such a solution has a twofold advantage in that it introduces a simplification from a construction point of view, while at the same time ensuring a circulation of the cold air in the lower compartment throughout the depth "L" thereof, unlike what would most probably, if not even certainly occur in the case that such a passage of the air between the two compartments is provided in the form of an aperture in a central position of said partition wall 5.
  • conduit 6 does not feature a large front surface, that would take up a lot of space, but is rather provided as a simple channel or duct 16 with a rectangular or markedly elongated cross-section, arranged in an approximately central position on the rear wall, as this is best shown in Figures 4 and 5 .
  • said duct can be used to easily insert some possible air-handling provisions 18, such as deodorizers, sterilizers, ionizers or the like, in the same duct, while this is largely known to be by far more difficult in the case of a duct sized to an extremely flattened shape, so as it is used in the prior art.
  • some possible air-handling provisions 18, such as deodorizers, sterilizers, ionizers or the like in the same duct, while this is largely known to be by far more difficult in the case of a duct sized to an extremely flattened shape, so as it is used in the prior art.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
  • Cold Air Circulating Systems And Constructional Details In Refrigerators (AREA)
EP02015765A 2001-09-12 2002-07-15 Refrigeration apparatus with two storage compartments on top of each other and a fan-assisted evaporator Expired - Lifetime EP1293739B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT2001PN000060A ITPN20010060A1 (it) 2001-09-12 2001-09-12 Apparecchio frigorifero con due compartimenti sovrapposti ed evaporatore ventilato
ITPN20010060 2001-09-12

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1293739A2 EP1293739A2 (en) 2003-03-19
EP1293739A3 EP1293739A3 (en) 2004-03-03
EP1293739B1 true EP1293739B1 (en) 2009-03-11

Family

ID=11453303

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02015765A Expired - Lifetime EP1293739B1 (en) 2001-09-12 2002-07-15 Refrigeration apparatus with two storage compartments on top of each other and a fan-assisted evaporator

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1293739B1 (it)
AT (1) ATE425425T1 (it)
DE (1) DE60231459D1 (it)
IT (1) ITPN20010060A1 (it)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102011006251A1 (de) 2011-03-28 2012-10-04 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Kältegerät mit Lüfter

Family Cites Families (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3019619A (en) * 1960-12-19 1962-02-06 Gen Electric Evaporator structure for household refrigerators
US3111818A (en) * 1961-03-30 1963-11-26 Hupp Corp Refrigerators and components
GB1485666A (en) 1976-02-20 1977-09-14 Lec Refrigeration Ltd Dual-compartment refrigerators
DE4131211C1 (it) 1991-09-19 1992-10-29 Bosch-Siemens Hausgeraete Gmbh, 8000 Muenchen, De
DE29603848U1 (de) 1996-03-01 1997-05-28 Liebherr-Hausgeräte GmbH, 88416 Ochsenhausen Kühlschrank mit einem Kühlfach und einem Kaltlagerfach
US5715703A (en) * 1996-07-02 1998-02-10 Kopf; Bruce A. Multiple fan air distribution system for appliances
IT1286409B1 (it) * 1996-11-27 1998-07-08 Candy Spa Struttura frigorifera con ventilazione forzata variabile
JP3464949B2 (ja) * 1999-09-21 2003-11-10 株式会社東芝 冷蔵庫

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1293739A3 (en) 2004-03-03
DE60231459D1 (de) 2009-04-23
ATE425425T1 (de) 2009-03-15
ITPN20010060A1 (it) 2003-03-12
EP1293739A2 (en) 2003-03-19

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