EP2370759B1

EP2370759B1 - A cooling device comprising an evaporator

Info

Publication number: EP2370759B1
Application number: EP09775172.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ozgur Bilgic; Vasi Kadir Ertis; Sabahattin Hocaoglu
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2008-12-30
Filing date: 2009-12-11
Publication date: 2016-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 2029-12-11
Also published as: CN102272540A; WO2010076147A2; WO2010076147A3; EP2370759A2

Description

The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising an evaporator.
Cooling devices consist of two compartments situated one over the other, being the freshfood compartment and the freezer compartment. The freezer compartment is situated above and the freshfood compartment is situated below. The cooling of the freezer compartment is performed by means of the evaporator wound around the compartment. In the freshfood compartment, the evaporator is disposed inside the rear wall. In conventional refrigerators, the cooling of the freshfood compartment is performed by natural convection. The warm and humid air rising along the door is provided to dehumidify by being cooled on the rear surface.
Since the freezer compartment evaporator is wound around the compartment, one part of this evaporator is very close to the ceiling of the freshfood compartment. This situation causes the ceiling surface to reach a lower value than the desired temperature value. The humid air, being heated due to this adverse effect, is dehumidified on this surface which is colder than the air. The sweating occurred on the ceiling surface drips on the foods and therefore, causes the foods to be spoiled.
In the state of the art embodiments, for the solution of the above mentioned problem, a heater, which operates when the compressor stops, is added onto the ceiling. However, the heaters used adversely affect the energy consumption of the refrigerator.
In the state of the art embodiment, the Spanish Patent Application No ES2063608 , a cooling device is explained that comprises a metallic element which is located between the freshfood compartment and the freezer compartment, and which provides the temperature of the refrigerator compartment ceiling to be kept above the dew point by acting as a thermal bridge that absorbs at least a portion of the heat dissipated by the condenser.
In another state of the art embodiment, the Japanese Patent Application No JP9026251 , a refrigerator showcase is explained that comprises an air stream passage which is located between the ceiling plate and the protective plate and wherein cold air is circulated in order to prevent the formation of dew on the upper surface of the ceiling plate. The documents US2741095 A and GB1011467 disclose cooling devices with a freshfood and a feezer compartement.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device, on the freshfood compartment ceiling surface of which, the formation of condensation is minimized.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is explicated in the attached claims.
In the cooling device of the present invention, the freezer evaporator comprises a sheet and a tube installed onto the sheet. The sheet is in quadrilateral form and disposed into the freezer compartment inner surface such that it will cover the base, side walls and ceiling of the freezer compartment. The tube is installed to the sheet portion, corresponding to the side walls and ceiling of the freezer compartment, in a serpentine form, but does not correspond to the freezer compartment base. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the tube is installed such that the refrigerant flow direction will be parallel to the short edge of the sheet, and is fixed onto the sheet by a method such as welding.
In the cooling device of the present invention, no tube is disposed in the freezer evaporator on the sheet in the portion which corresponds to the freezer compartment base, in other words, in the portion which is near the freshfood compartment ceiling. Thus, the ceiling is prevented from being cooled more than desired and hence, both waste of energy and sweating of the ceiling are prevented. Furthermore, since the tube is installed onto the sheet in a serpentine form such that the refrigerant flow direction will be parallel to the short edge of the sheet, when the sheet is shaped to cover the freezer compartment, the tube passes once through the portions wherein the sheet is bent. Thus, the tube is also prevented from being deformed by being bent in many points.
In the present invention, the tube is installed on the sheet with variable serpentine distances such that in the tube portion, which corresponds to the freezer compartment side walls, the serpentines will be closer to each other as the freshfood compartment is approached on the side wall.
The cooling device, furthermore, comprises a compressor, a condenser which transfers the thermal energy to the outer environment and a capillary which provides the refrigerant leaving the condenser to expand. The capillary is attached to the freezer evaporator preferably by welding.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the capillary is connected to the freezer evaporator such that it will be in the same direction with the tube. Thus, the capillary and the tube are provided to be attached in a secured and easy manner.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the capillary is connected to the freezer evaporator such that it will be inclined to the tube. Thus, the noise, generated during the passing of the refrigerant from the capillary to the tube, is decreased.
The model embodiments that relate to the cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention are illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the schematic view of a cooling device.
Figure 2 - is the top view of the freezer evaporator when it is open.
Figure 3 - is the detailed view illustrating the tube - capillary connection in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 - is the detailed view illustrating the tube - capillary connection in another embodiment of the present invention.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Cooling device
2. Freshfood compartment
3. Freezer compartment
4. Evaporator
5. Freezer evaporator
6. Capillary
7. Sheet
8. Tube

The cooling device (1) comprises

a fireshfood compartment (2) wherein foods to be cooled are disposed,
a freezer compartment (3) which is shaped as an open-front box having a base, a ceiling and rear and side walls and which is disposed on top of the freshfood compartment (2), and wherein foods to be frozen are disposed, and which is kept at a lower temperature than the freshfood compartment (2),
an evaporator (4) which is disposed onto the rear wall of the freshfood compartment (2) and which draws the thermal energy in the freshfood compartment (2), and
a freezer evaporator (5) which draws the thermal energy in the freezer compartment (3) (Figure 1).

The freezer evaporator (5) has

a sheet (7) which is in quadrilateral form and which is shaped as an open-front and open-back box by being bent and which is disposed onto the inner surface of the freezer compartment (3), and
a tube (8) which is installed to the sheet (7) portions (S, C), corresponding to the side walls and ceiling of the freezer compartment (3), in a serpentine form, and which does not exist in the sheet (7) portion (B) that corresponds to the base of the freezer compartment (3) (Figure 3).

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the tube (8) is installed such that the refrigerant flow direction will be parallel to the short edge of the sheet (7).
Thus, since no tube (8) is disposed near the ceiling of the freshfood compartment (2), the ceiling of the freshfood compartment (2) is prevented from being cooled more than desired and the sweating dependent to this is prevented. On the other hand, since the tube (8) is installed onto the sheet (7) in a serpentine form such that the refrigerant flow direction will be parallel to the short edge of the sheet (7), when the sheet (7) is bent to be disposed onto the inner surface of the freezer compartment (3), the tube (8) passes once through each bending line (H). Thus, the tube is also prevented from being deformed by being bent in many points.
The tube (8) is installed such that the pitch distance (d) of its serpentine coils will be less as moved down on the side walls of the freezer compartment (3). Thus, the amount of pipe (8), which is located in the sheet (7) portion (S) that corresponds to the side walls of the freezer compartment (3), in a location that is near the sheet (7) portion (B) corresponding to the freezer compartment (3) base, in other words, in the location that is near the ceiling of the freshfood compartment (2), is reduced and thus, thermal differences that can occur in this area are tried to be prevented.
The cooling device (1), furthermore, comprises a compressor, a condenser which transfers the thermal energy to the outer environment and a capillary (6) which provides the refrigerant leaving the condenser to expand. The capillary (6) is attached to the freezer evaporator (5) preferably by welding.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the capillary (6) is connected to the freezer evaporator (5) such that it will be parallel with the tube (8). Thus, the connection between the capillary (6) and the freezer evaporator (5) is provided to be performed easily and in a secured manner (Figure 4).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the capillary (6) is connected to the freezer evaporator (5) such that it will be angled to the tube (8). Thus, the noise, which will be generated by the flow, coming from the capillary (6) at high speed, when it enters the tube (8), is minimized (Figure 5).
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

A cooling device (1) comprising
- a freshfood compartment (2) wherein foods to be cooled are disposed,

- a freezer compartment (3) which is shaped as an open-front box having a base, a ceiling and rear and side walls and which is disposed on top of the freshfood compartment (2), and wherein foods to be frozen are disposed, and which is kept at a lower temperature than the freshfood compartment (2),

- an evaporator (4) which is disposed onto the rear wall of the freshfood compartment (2) and which draws the thermal energy in the freshfood compartment (2), and

- a freezer evaporator (5) which draws the thermal energy in the freezer compartment (3), the freezer evaporator (5) having

- a sheet (7) which is in quadrilateral form and which is shaped as an open-front and open-back box by being bent and which is disposed onto the inner surface of the freezer compartment (3),

- a tube (8) which is installed to the sheet (7) portions (S, C), conesponding to the base, side walls and ceiling of the freezer compartment (3), in a serpentine form, characterized in that the tube (8) does not exist in the sheet (7) portion (B) that correspond to the base of the freezer compartment (3), and in that the pitch distance (d) of the serpentine coils of the tube (8) is less as moved down on the side walls of the freezer compartment (3).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the tube (8) which is installed such that the refrigerant flow direction will be parallel to the short edge of the sheet (7).
A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by a compressor, a condenser which transfers the thermal energy to the outer environment and a capillary (6) which provides the refrigerant leaving the condenser to expand and which is attached to the freezer evaporator (5) by welding.
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by the capillary (6) which is connected to the freezer evaporator (5) such that it will be parallel with the tube (8).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by the capillary (6) which is connected to the freezer evaporator (5) such that it will be angled to the tube (8).