EP2431687B1

EP2431687B1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: EP2431687B1
Application number: EP11181359.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Chanho Jeon; Juyeong Heo; Sunam Chae; Sung Jhee
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2010-09-16
Filing date: 2011-09-15
Publication date: 2019-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-15
Also published as: CN102401526A; EP2431687A3; CN102401526B; EP2431687A2; US20120067075A1

Description

This specification relates to a refrigerator having a machine room for accommodating a refrigerant compression cycle apparatus such as a compressor and a condenser.
In general, a refrigerator includes a plurality of storage spaces for keeping, for example, food therein, and a refrigerant compression cycle apparatus for maintaining the storage spaces in a predetermined temperature range by supplying cold air into the storage spaces. Several components of the refrigerant compression cycle apparatus are disposed in a separate space, namely, a machine room, partitioned from the storage spaces. The machine room is generally located at a lower portion of a rear surface of a refrigerant main body.
The machine room accommodates a compressor to compress a refrigerant, a condenser to condense the compressed refrigerant, a blow fan and the like. For a normal operation of the refrigerant compression cycle apparatus, the inside of the machine room should be maintained within an appropriate temperature range. To this end, external air should continuously be supplied into the machine room, and the supplied external air should be smoothly drawn out.
For the purpose, a machine room for a typical refrigerator has an inlet port for introduction of external air and an outlet port for discharge of air. In addition, the machine room has a fan to generate air flow through the inlet port and the outlet port.
Here, to make air more smoothly flow, a rotation speed (RPM) or size of the fan may be increased, but it may cause an increase in power consumption and generation of noise. Hence, it is necessary to optimize an air passage within the machine room such that heat within the machine room can be exhausted smoothly even by use of a small capacity fan. Especially, when the number of components are disposed within the machine room, for example, when two compressors are employed within the machine room, the size (capacity) of the machine room should be increased, but it may result in a decrease of a storage space. Consequently, there is a limitation in the increase in the capacity of the machine room. Therefore, air exhaust efficiency is deteriorated due to installation of many components within the limited machine room.
JPH07146054A describes, inside the main body of a refrigerator, a refrigerating cycle apparatus constructed of a compressor, a main condenser, an evaporator, connected sequentially in a closed loop. The compressor and a fan device supplying cooling air thereto are provided inside a machine chamber provided on the back side of the bottom part of the main body. An oil condenser which cools down a refrigerant discharged from the compressor and then returns it to the compressor so as to cool down a compressor oil is attached to the refrigerating cycle. The oil condenser is provided in the vicinity of a heat exhaust port formed in the upper part of a back cover in the machine chamber.
CN1839288A describes a refrigerator including a machine room formed on a lower part of a rear of a main body of the refrigerator; a refrigerant compressor installed offset to one side in the machine room in a width direction; and a cooler for receiving a refrigerant from the refrigerant compressor and cooling an inside of a storage chamber; wherein the cooler is arranged inside the refrigerator via a heat insulating wall of the main body above the refrigerant compressor arranged on one side of the machine room and at a position on an opposite side of the refrigerant compressor in a width direction; and control and power source boards of the refrigerator are arranged in another wide space of the refrigerant compressor in the machine room in a width direction.
DE102008045779A1 describes a refrigerator having a main body cabinet, wherein the main body cabinet includes a first storage area, a second storage area adjacent to the first storage area, and a receiving portion which is disposed in a lower part of the first and second storage areas. The receiving part includes a device region arranged on at least a portion of the lower part of the first storage area, a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, and a free receiving space for receiving an article for storage.
Therefore, to overcome those problems of the related art, an aspect of the detailed description aims to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing an increase in a capacity of a machine room and increasing radiation efficiency.
In one aspect, a refrigerator according to claim 1 is disclosed.
In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of a rear surface of a refrigerator of a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a side view showing an inside of a machine room of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the inside of the machine room of the refrigerator of FIG.1 ;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a condenser cover included in the first exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the condenser cover;
FIG. 6 is a view showing a lower surface of the refrigerator of FIG.1;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of a rear surface of a refrigerator of an example useful for understanding the disclosure;
FIG. 8 is a rear view showing an inside of a machine room i of the refrigerator of FIG. 7; and
FIG. 9 is a view showing a lower surface of the refrigerator of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, in the first embodiment, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body 100, which is partitioned into a refrigerating chamber 110, a freezing chamber 120 and a machine room 130, and a refrigeration cycle apparatus 200 having a plurality of components, some of which are installed in the machine room 140.
The refrigerating chamber 110 and the freezing chamber 120 are partitioned by a first barrier 131, which is erected within the refrigerator main body 100. The machine room 140 is be located below the refrigerating chamber 110 and the freezing chamber 120 within a rear side of the refrigerator main body 100.
Here, a lower frame 160 is installed at the bottom of the refrigerator main body 100.
The machine room 140 includes a first region ① located between the refrigerating chamber 110 and the lower frame 160, and a second region ② located below the refrigerating/freezing chamber 110/120. Here, a lower surface of the refrigerating/freezing chamber 110/120 is inclined such that its height can be increased towards an upper side at the right side in FIG. 2.
The condenser 220 of the refrigeration cycle apparatus 200 is disposed in the first region ①, and two compressors 210 are disposed in parallel in the second region ②.
The refrigerator main body 100 includes an insulation foam 300 for blocking heat transfer from the inner space to the exterior. The insulation foam 300 is located between the refrigerating chamber 110 or the freezing chamber 120 and an outer surface of the main body 100. Based on a lower portion of the main body 100, the insulation foam 300 is located between the refrigerating chamber 110 or the freezing chamber 120 and the lower frame 160. The insulation foam 300 is formed by foaming urethane, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The insulation foam 300 located below the refrigerating chamber 110 has an insertion groove 310 in which the condenser 220 is inserted. The insertion groove 310 defines an approximately rectangular parallelepiped space, in which the condenser 220 may be disposed to face a ground surface of a space where the refrigerator main body 100 is installed. That is, the condenser 220 is located in the first region ①.
Also, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a condenser cover 400 is installed at the lower frame 160 where the condenser 220 is located. The condenser cover 400 opens or closes an opening 161 formed at the lower frame 160, is coupled to the lower frame 160 by bolts.
Here, the condenser cover 400 has a cover body 410 having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape. The cover body 410 has inclined side walls such that its area is gradually narrowed downwardly in FIG. 2. A plurality of inlet ports 420 are formed through the side walls.
The inlet ports 420 includes front inlet ports 421 facing a front surface of the refrigerator, namely, a side where doors for opening or closing the refrigerating chamber 110 and the freezing chamber 120 are disposed, and side inlet ports 422 facing right and left sides of the refrigerator main body 100. Among others, the side inlet ports 422 may not be formed all over the side walls of the cover body 410, but formed only at a first half located at the front (i.e., corresponding front portions of the side walls, which are located close to the front). Accordingly, it is possible to prevent direct introduction of exhaust air present within a rear end region of the refrigerator main body 100, in which the compressors 210 are located, and allow introduced air to evenly flow through the entire surface of the condenser 220.
Consequently, the inlet ports 420 allow for formation of a passage (a), such that external air at the front of the refrigerator main body 100 can be guided into the condenser 220 via the lower portion of the refrigerator main body 100.
Hereinafter, description will be given of an arranged state of the compressors 210 in the second region ②. First, as shown, the second region ② may communicate with the first region ①.
The second region ② may be shown having two compressors 210 and 212 disposed in parallel in right and left directions of the refrigerator main body 100. The two compressors 210 and 212 may be mounted on the lower frame 160.
Also, the second region ② may be shown having a blow fan 230 mounted at a right side of the compressor 212 (based on FIG. 1). Here, the blow fan 230 may be located below the freezing chamber 120, and fixed onto the lower frame 160.
With the configuration, when the blow fan 230 is run, external air may generate air flow of being introduced into the first region ① through the inlet ports 420, flowing into the second region ② via the condenser 220, and being discharged outside via outlet ports 151 formed at a rear cover 150, which is installed at a rear end of the machine room 140.
Hereinafter, description will be given of an operation of the first exemplary embodiment.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the condenser and the compressors of the refrigerant compression cycle apparatus 200 in the first exemplary embodiment, as aforementioned, are disposed within the machine room 140 partitioned into the refrigerating chamber 110 and the freezing chamber 120. The machine room 140 may be divided into the first region ① and the second region ②. Here, the first region ① may be lower than the second region ② in height, thereby minimizing the capacity occupied by the machine room 140.
Especially, the first region ① is formed similar to the shape of the condenser 220. Hence, the capacity occupied by the machine room 140 can be more reduced as compared to the related art structure that the compressor and the condenser are disposed in the same region.
The condenser 220 may be cooled by external air introduced via the inlet ports 420 of the condenser cover 400, which is installed at the opening 161 of the lower frame 160. That is, the external air introduced into the machine room initially contacts the condenser 220 to exchange heat, accordingly, the condenser 220 having a relatively great heat emission load can be effectively cooled.
When the blow fan 230 is run, external air present at the front of the refrigerator main body 100 flows toward the lower portion of the refrigerator main body 100 and is then introduced into the condenser cover 400 via the inlet ports 420 of the condenser cover 400. This structure allows for introduction of external air present at the front having a relatively low temperature than the rear surface of the refrigerator, thereby more improving heat emission efficiency.
Such external air introduced via the inlet ports 420 of the condenser cover 400 may cool the condenser 220 in the first region ①, and flow into the second region ②. Here, a connected portion between the first region ① and the second region ② may have a shape like a diffuser, which is gradually increased in height. Hence, the external air can be evenly diffused into the second region ②.
The diffused external air may cool the pair of compressors 210 and 212 in a sequential manner. Here, considering heat emission efficiency, a compressor located at the upstream of the air passage may emit heat relatively smoothly. Therefore, a compressor for taking care of a region with a large cooling load, of the compressors, may be disposed at the upstream of the external air flow.
The external air passed through the two compressors in the sequential manner may then flow through the blow fan 230 and thereafter be discharged to the rear side of the refrigerator main body 100 via the outlet portions 151, which are formed through the rear cover 150 covering the machine room 140 at the rear of the refrigerator main body 100.
In the meantime, the present disclosure may not be limited to the aforementioned structure, but also applicable to a structure that the blow fan is located between the two compressors.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show an example refrigerator useful for understanding the disclosure. For the sake of brief description with reference to the drawings, the same or equivalent components will be provided with the same reference numbers, and description thereof will not be repeated.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, in accordance with the example useful for understanding the disclosure, two compressors 210 and 212 and a blow fan 230 may be disposed within the machine room 140 in the right and left directions of the refrigerator. The blow fan 230 may be located between the two compressors 210 and 212. When the compressors 210 and 212 are spaced apart from each other as shown in the drawings, a tasking space can be ensured upon connecting a refrigerant pipe or the like to the compressors, thereby facilitating an assembly task. The blow fan 230 may be installed after completely assembling the compressors.
A first defrosted water storing container 510 may be installed between the two compressors 210 and 212. The first defrosted water storing container 510 may serve to temporarily collect and store defrosted water generated from an evaporator, which manages cooling of the refrigerating chamber 110. Also, as the first defrosted water storing container 510 is disposed between the two compressors 210 and 212, a space previously ensured by installation of the blow fan 230 can be utilized, and accordingly the capacity of the machine room 140 can be more reduced. Here, the blow fan 230 may alternatively be disposed above the first defrosted water storing container 510.
A second defrosted water storing container 520 for collecting defrosted water generated from an evaporator, which manages cooling of the freezing chamber 120, may further be disposed. The second defrosted water storing container 520 may be located above the compressor 212. A pipe P may be disposed above each of the defrosted water storing containers 510 and 520, so as to guide defrosted water generated from each evaporator into each of the defrosted water storing containers 510 and 520.
The water stored in the respective defrosted water storing containers may contribute to lowering an internal temperature of the machine room. That is, the defrosted water, which is transferred from the evaporators, has a relatively low temperature, so as to lower the internal temperature of the machine room. Also, the defrosted water may partially be evaporated by the external air passed through the machine room, and accordingly adsorb evaporation heat, which results in further lowering the internal temperature of the machine room.
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments.
As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but should be construed within its scope as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A refrigerator comprising:
a refrigerator main body (100) having a refrigerating chamber (110), a freezing chamber (120) and a machine room (140) to accommodate at least part of a refrigerant compression cycle apparatus (200);

a condenser (220) disposed within the machine room;

a lower frame (160) installed at the bottom of the refrigerator main body (100);

at least one compressor (210, 212) disposed within the machine room (140); and

a fan (230) arranged to introduce external air into the machine room (140) and then discharge out of the machine room;

an insulation foam (300) located between the refrigerating chamber (110) or the freezing chamber (120) and the lower frame (160), wherein the insulation foam is formed of foamed urethane;

a condenser cover (400) installed at the lower frame (160) where the condenser (220) is located and provided with a plurality of inlet ports (420) for introduction of external air therethrough; and

the fan (230) is arranged to form an air passage through which external air passed through the condenser (220) is supplied to the at least one compressor (210, 212) and discharged out of the machine room;

the machine room (140) is provided with a first region located between the refrigerating chamber (110) and the lower frame (160), and a second region located below the refrigerating chamber and freezing chamber (110, 120) and connected with the first region, wherein the condenser (220) is disposed in the first region and the at least one compressor (210, 212) is disposed in the second region,

the insulation foam (300) is provided with an insertion groove (310) in which the condenser (220) is inserted,

the condenser cover (400) is installed at an opening (161) formed at the lower frame (160) to cover an outside of the condenser (220), so that when the external air is introduced into the condenser cover (400) through the inlet ports (420) of the condenser cover (400), it cools the condenser (220) in the first region, and then flows into the second region to cool the at least one compressor (210, 212).
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the condenser cover (400) has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an open surface facing the condenser (220).
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the plurality of inlet ports (420) comprise:
front inlet ports formed (421) through a side wall of the condenser cover facing a front surface of the refrigerator; and

side inlet ports formed (422) through side walls of the condenser cover facing side surfaces of the refrigerator,

wherein the blow fan is disposed at the rear side of the refrigerator main body (100) more than the front and side inlet ports (421, 422).
The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the front inlet ports (421) are formed through an entire side wall of the condenser cover (400) facing the front surface of the refrigerator.
The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the side inlet ports (421) are formed through a front portion of each side wall of the condenser cover facing the side walls of the refrigerator.