EP2454540A2

EP2454540A2 - Defrosting heater for refrigerator and refrigerator having the same

Info

Publication number: EP2454540A2
Application number: EP10799982A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Yeonwoo Cho; Gyeyoung Song; Kwangwoon Ahn
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2009-07-15
Filing date: 2010-07-01
Publication date: 2012-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-01
Also published as: EP2454540B1; WO2011007971A3; EP2454540A4; US20120096887A1; WO2011007971A2; KR20110006996A; KR101637443B1

Abstract

Disclosed are a defrosting heater for a refrigerator and a refrigerator having the same, the refrigerator including an evaporator disposed in a refrigerator main body and configured to generate cold air, a fan configured to blow cold air flowed through the evaporator to circulate within the refrigerator main body, and a defrosting heater configured to defrost the evaporator and the fan by applying heat to the evaporator and the fan, wherein the defrosting heater comprises an evaporator defrosting unit configured to defrost the evaporator and a fan defrosting unit configured to defrost the fan, the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit being integrally formed, whereby the evaporator and the fan can simultaneously be defrosted.

Description

DEFROSTING HEATER FOR REFRIGERATOR AND REFRIGERATOR HAVING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a defrosting heater for a refrigerator and a refrigerator having the same, and particularly, to a defrosting heater for a refrigerator capable of simultaneously defrosting an evaporator and a cooling fan, and a refrigerator having the same.

As well known, a refrigerator is a device for freshly keeping groceries (e.g., foods) in a cold or frozen state. Such refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body having a plurality of cooling chambers therein, doors for opening and closing the cooling chambers and a refrigeration cycle device for providing cold air into each cooling chamber.

Typically, the refrigeration cycle device includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing a refrigerant by emitting heat, an expansion apparatus for depressurizing and expanding the refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant by making the refrigerant adsorb peripheral latent heat.

Generally, a cold air circulation passage may be formed at a rear wall of the cooling chamber for circulation of cold air. The cold air circulation passage may be provided with a cooling fan for facilitation of air flow. An evaporator may be provided in the cold air circulation passage such that air can be cooled while passing through the evaporator. Here, the evaporator may be disposed at each of the plurality of cooling chambers.

In the meantime, upon elapse of a usage time, moisture in the air may be frozen (implanted) on a wall near the evaporator or on the cooling fan as well as the surface of the evaporator. Frost, as the frozen moisture, impedes heat exchange between air and a refrigerant and also increases an air flow resistance. Also, an operable portion of the cooling fan is frozen, so the operation of the cooling fan can be restricted.

With the configuration of the related art refrigerator, a defrosting heater is present at one side (e.g., a lower side) of the evaporator to perform a defrosting function, accordingly, components (e.g., the cooling fan) located relatively away from the defrosting heater may not be properly defrosted, thereby increasing an overall defrosting time. If a longer time is taken for the defrosting, the temperature of foods stored in the refrigerator may increase, resulting in further increase in power consumption.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a defrosting heater for a refrigerator capable of simultaneously defrosting an evaporator and a cooling fan, and a refrigerator having the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a defrosting heater for a refrigerator capable of defrosting a plurality of components with a single defrosting heater, and a refrigerator having the same.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a refrigerator including an evaporator disposed in a refrigerator main body and configured to generate cold air, a fan configured to blow cold air flowed through the evaporator to circulate within the refrigerator main body, and a defrosting heater configured to defrost the evaporator and the fan by applying heat to the evaporator and the fan, wherein the defrosting heater comprises an evaporator defrosting unit configured to defrost the evaporator and a fan defrosting unit configured to defrost the fan, the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit being integrally formed.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a defrosting heater for a refrigerator, the defrosting heater including an evaporator defrosting unit disposed at one side of an evaporator, the evaporator being present in a refrigerator main body, and configured to heat the evaporator, and a fan defrosting unit disposed in the refrigerator main body and configured to heat a fan, wherein the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit are integrally formed.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The refrigerator includes an evaporator disposed in a refrigerator main body and configured to generate cold air, a fan configured to blow cold air flowed through the evaporator to circulate within the refrigerator main body, and a defrosting heater configured to defrost the evaporator and the fan by applying heat to the evaporator and the fan, wherein the defrosting heater comprises an evaporator defrosting unit configured to defrost the evaporator and a fan defrosting unit configured to defrost the fan, the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit being integrally formed, whereby the evaporator and the fan can simultaneously be defrosted.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a defrosting heater in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partially cut-out perspective view of a barrier taken along the line ?-? of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a planar view of an evaporator area of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the evaporator area of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a disassembled perspective view of an evaporator and a defrosting heater of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a main body of a refrigerator having a defrosting heater in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a front view of the defrosting heater of FIG. 10.

Description will now be given in detail of the preferred embodiments according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a defrosting heater in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a partially cut-out perspective view of a barrier taken along the line ?-? of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a planar view of an evaporator area of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator having a defrosting heater according to the present invention may include a refrigerator main body 110 having a cooling chamber therein, an evaporator 250 located in the refrigerator main body 110, a cooling fan disposed at one side of the evaporator 250 for blowing cold air into the cooling chamber, and a defrosting heater 270 including an evaporator defrosting unit 271 disposed at one side of the evaporator 250 for heating the evaporator 250, and a fan defrosting unit 281 integrally extending from the evaporator defrosting unit 271 for heating the cooling fan.

Here, the cooling chamber may refer to both a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, and the refrigerator main body 110 may be configured to have either the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber.

The refrigerator main body 110 may include a first cooling chamber 150 and a second cooling chamber 160 which are partitioned up and down by a barrier 120 disposed in a horizontal direction.

The refrigerator main body 110 may include a refrigeration cycle (not shown) for supplying cold air into the cooling chamber. The refrigeration cycle may be configured as a vapor compression refrigeration cycle, which includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for extracting heat from a refrigerant, an expansion apparatus for decompressing and expanding a refrigerant, and the evaporator 250 for urging a refrigerant to adsorb ambient latent heat to be evaporated.

A machine chamber 170 may be defined at a rear lower area of the refrigerator main body 110. The compressor, the condenser and the expansion apparatus may be located in the machine chamber 170, and the evaporator 250 may be disposed within the cooling chamber.

Hereinafter, description will be given of an embodiment in which the first cooling chamber 150 is a refrigerating chamber, the second cooling chamber is a freezing chamber, and the evaporator 250 is disposed inside the barrier 120.

A pair of refrigerating chamber doors 155 for selectively opening and closing the refrigerating chamber 150 may be provided at the refrigerating chamber 150. The refrigerating chamber doors 155 may be rotatable at both sides of the refrigerating chamber 150 about rotational shafts. A freezing chamber door 165, which is slidable back and forth for opening and closing the freezing chamber 160, may be provided at the freezing chamber 160.

An ice-making chamber 180 may be disposed at one of the refrigerating chamber doors 155. An ice maker (not shown) for making ice pieces with water provided from the exterior may be disposed in the ice-making chamber 180. An ice tank (not shown) for storing ice pieces made may be disposed below the ice maker.

A sidewall cold air duct 190 which allows supply of cold air into the ice-making chamber 180 may be disposed at one sidewall of the refrigerating chamber 150. The sidewall cold air duct 190 may be provided in pair to be parallel with each other. One of the sidewall cold air ducts 190 may form a cold air intake passage through which cold air is supplied into the ice-making chamber 180, and another may form a cold air outlet passage through which cold air flowed through the ice-making chamber 180 is restored into the freezing chamber 160.

Meanwhile, the evaporator 250 may be present inside the barrier 120. Accordingly, since the evaporator 250, which has a temperature lower than that of the cold air within the freezing chamber 160 or the refrigerating chamber 150, is not installed adjacent to a rear wall of the main body 110, it is possible to increase the size of a usable space of the freezing chamber 160 and/or the refrigerating chamber 150 without increase in the size of an outer appearance of the refrigerator main body 110. It is also possible to prevent cold air within the evaporator 250 from being leaked out through the rear wall of the refrigerator main body 110, and to decrease a thickness of the rear wall of the main body 110, the rear wall being formed to be relatively thick enough to prevent the leakage of the cold air within the evaporator 250. Consequently, the size of the usable space of the freezing chamber 160 and/or the refrigerating chamber 150 can further increase that much.

An evaporator accommodation portion 122 in which the evaporator 250 is accommodated may be formed inside the barrier 120. The evaporator accommodation portion 122 may be formed, having an opening at an upper side thereof. An evaporator cover 125 for closing the upper opening of the evaporator accommodation portion 122 may be disposed at an upper side of the evaporator accommodation portion 122.

The evaporator accommodation portion 122 may be downwardly slant toward the rear side.

The barrier 120 present on the upper side of the evaporator 122 may be configured such that its thickness can gradually increase toward the rear side. The configuration can prevent supercooling of a lower surface of the refrigerating chamber 150. Also, the cold air of the evaporator 250 can flow into the freezing chamber 160 via a lower wall portion of the evaporator 250 which is relatively thin in thickness, thereby preventing an increase in a temperature of the freezing chamber 160. Hence, the period for supplying cold air of the freezing chamber 160 can extend, so as to prevent an increase in power consumption due to a frequent driving of a second cooling fan 220.

A defrosting heater 270 may be disposed at one side, more particularly, a lower side of the evaporator 250. The defrosting heater 270 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An outlet 127 may be formed at a rear central portion of an upper surface of the barrier 120.

A first intake 131 and a second intake 132 through which cold air of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160 can be sucked in may be formed at a front area of the barrier 120. The first intake 131 may be formed at an upper surface of the barrier 120. In more particular, the first intake 131 may be formed through the evaporator cover 125. The first intake 131 may be provided in plurality. The first intakes 131 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in right and left directions of the barrier 120. Accordingly, air within the refrigerating chamber 150 can be sucked into both side areas of the evaporator 250 so as to be heat-exchanged. Here, the first intake 131 may be in a rectangular form. The first intake 131 may be formed to have a width relatively greater than a length. Such structure can decrease a contact area (heat-exchange area) between air of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the evaporator 250, and increase an amount of sucked air of the refrigerating chamber 150. Hence, a great deal of cold air having a relatively high temperature can be supplied into the refrigerating chamber 150, thereby preventing the partial supercooling and also rapidly overcoming the temperature deviation of the refrigerating chamber 150.

The second intake 132 may be formed at a lower surface of the barrier 120. The second intake 132 may be formed at a front area of the barrier 120. The second intake 132 may alternatively be formed even over the central area of the barrier 120. Accordingly, air within the freezing chamber 160 can be sucked into a relatively wider area including the central area of the evaporator 250 so as to undergo heat exchange.

The second intake 132 may have a length longer than a width and be formed in a shape of a short bend having a relatively narrow width, whereby the contact area (heat-exchange area) between air within the freezing chamber 160 and the evaporator 250 can increase and an appropriate amount of sucked air within the freezing chamber 160 can be retained. Consequently, the air within the freezing chamber 160 can be heat-exchanged with the air of the evaporator 250 in the relatively wider area, thereby being cooled to be lower in temperature, thus allowing a rapid cooling of the freezing chamber 160.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 7, a refrigeration cold air duct 152 through which cold air can be supplied into the refrigerating chamber 150 may be disposed at a rear side of the refrigerating chamber 150. Here, the refrigeration cold air duct 152 may be formed to be thin in thickness and long in length. The refrigeration cold air duct 152 may have a length corresponding to a height of the refrigerating chamber 150 and a width wider than a half of the width of the refrigerating chamber 150. Such structure can reduce the thickness of the refrigeration cold air duct 152, thereby increasing an actually usable space of the refrigerating chamber 150. A plurality of cold air outlets 153 through which cold air is discharged may be formed at upper, central and lower areas of the refrigeration cold air duct 152, respectively.

A first cooling fan 210 may be installed at a lower portion of the refrigeration cold air duct 152 in an accommodated state. A first cooling fan accommodation portion 157 in which the first cooling fan 210 is accommodated may be formed at a lower portion of the refrigeration cold air duct 152. Here, the first cooling fan 210 may be configured as a centrifugal fan by which cold air is sucked in an axial direction and blown out in a radial direction. The first cooling fan 210 may be disposed such that an intake thereof faces forward and an outlet thereof faces upward. A duct intake 158 which communicates with the outlet 127 of the barrier 120 may be formed at one side of a lower portion of the first cooling fan accommodation portion 157. The first cooling fan accommodation portion 157 may have a thickness thick enough to protrude forwardly more than its surrounding for cold air suction of the first cooling fan 210.

The barrier 120, as shown in FIG. 6, may be provided with an ice-making fan 230 for blowing cold air into the ice-making chamber 180. The ice-making fan 230 may be configured as a centrifugal fan by which air is sucked in an axial direction and blown out in a radial direction. With the configuration of the centrifugal fan, the ice-making fan 230 can be shorter in an axial length, thereby being easily accommodated in the barrier 120. Accordingly, the projection of the ice-making fan 230 to the freezing chamber 160 and/or the refrigerating chamber 150 can be prevented, resulting in an increase in an actually usable space of the freezing chamber 160 and/or the refrigerating chamber 150. The ice-making fan 230 may be disposed such that an intake thereof faces downward and an outlet thereof faces a horizontal direction. The barrier 120 may be provided with an ice-making fan accommodation portion 141 in which the ice-making fan 230 is accommodated.

The barrier 120 may further include a cold air passage 142 through which cold air blown out of the ice-making fan 230 flows, and an outlet 143 formed at one side of the ice-making fan 230 for allowing cold air passed through the ice-making chamber 180 to flow into the freezing chamber 160. Each lower end of the sidewall cold air ducts 190 may be connected to one side (e.g., a left side in the drawing) of the barrier 120. With this configuration, cold air flowed through the evaporator 250 is sucked in by the ice-making fan 230 so as to be blown into the cold air passage 142, thereby being supplied into the ice-making chamber 180 along the sidewall cold air ducts 190 connected to the cold air passage 142. The cold air supplied in the ice-making chamber 180 is used for an ice-making operation. The cold air then flows downwardly along the sidewall cold air duct 190, thereby being introduced into the freezing chamber 160 via the barrier 120.

A second cooling fan 220 for blowing cold air flowed through the evaporator 250 into the freezing chamber 160 may be provided at a rear area of the freezing chamber 160. The second cooling fan 220 may be configured as a centrifugal fan by which air is sucked in an axial direction and blown out in a radial direction. The second cooling fan 220 may be configured such that air can be sucked at one side thereof and discharged at another side thereof in the same direction as the air sucked direction. Here, the second cooling fan 220, as shown in FIG. 2, may be located to be more forward than the first cooling fan 210.

A grill fan 240 for guiding the air flowed through the evaporator 250 may be disposed near the second cooling fan 220. The grill fan 240 may be located at an upper portion of a rear side of the freezing chamber 160, thus partitioning an inner space. That is, the grill fan 240 partitions the inner space into a space for the evaporator 250 in which cold air is generated and a food storage space for actually keeping foods. The grill fan 240 may include an upper plate portion 241 connected to a lower portion of the barrier 120 and a fan accommodation portion 245 downwardly extending from the upper plate portion 241. The upper plate portion 241 may have a length corresponding to a bilateral width of the barrier 120. The fan accommodation portion 245 may have a bilateral width which is reduced more than the length of the upper plate portion 241, and accommodate the second cooling fan 220 therein. A cold air outlet 246 through which cold air flowed out of the second cooling fan 220 is introduced into the freezing chamber 160 may be formed through a front portion of the fan accommodation portion 245. The upper plate portion 241 of the grill fan 240 may be formed to be slant backwardly so that defrosted water generated at the side of the evaporator 250 can be collected and drained out. The fan accommodation portion 245 may be provided with a drain portion 247 such that defrosted water dropped from the upper plate portion 241 can be discharged therethrough. The drain portion 247 may be connected with a water pipe 249. The water pipe 249 may be drawn into the machine chamber 170.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the evaporator area of FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a disassembled perspective view of an evaporator and a defrosting heater of FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the evaporator 250 may include a heat pipe 251 in which a refrigerant flows, and a plurality of heat plates 255 coupled to the heat pipe 251.

The heat pipe 251 may include a plurality of linear pipe zones 253 aligned in parallel with one another, and a plurality of curved connection pipe zones 254 by which the linear pipe zones 253 can communicate all together.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the linear pipe zones 253 may be aligned in right and left directions of the barrier 120. Each heat plate 255 may be in the form of a rectangular plate. Each heat plate 255 may have an insertion hole 256 for inserting the corresponding linear pipe zone 253 therein. The heat plates 255 may be aligned to be spaced with a preset pitch in a lengthwise direction of the linear pipe zone 253. Here, the pitches of the heat plates 255 may be configured such that a pitch P1 of the upstream heat plate 255 is larger than a pitch P2 of the downstream heat plate 255. Accordingly, an increase in air flow resistance due to frost at the upstream zone having a relatively great amount of frost generated can be prevented. The linear pipe zones 253 may be aligned in a single line on the same surface. Also, the evaporator 250 may be aligned up and down in plural lines.

In the meantime, the defrosting heater 270 may be disposed at a lower side of the evaporator 250. The defrosting heater 270 may include a protection pipe 270a, and a thermal line 270b disposed inside the protection pipe 270a for generating heat. Also, an insulating material 270c for insulation of the thermal line 270b may be filled in the protection pipe 270a.

The protection pipe 270a may be made of an aluminum (Al) member having characteristics of easy heat transfer and easy plastic deformation.

The defrosting heater 270 may include an evaporator defrosting unit 271 for defrosting the evaporator 250, and a cooling fan defrosting unit 281 for defrosting the cooling fan.

The evaporator defrosting unit 271 may be formed to be curved in a zigzag form, such as the heat pipe 251 of the evaporator 250, at the lower side of the evaporator 250. The evaporator defrosting unit 271 may include linear zones 272a and curved zones 272b. Here, the linear zones 272a may have the same length and be disposed with the same gap, as those of the linear pipe zones 253 of the heat pipe 251. Accordingly, since the evaporator defrosting unit 271 is formed to be long in length, the defrosting heater 270 may be configured to provide a relatively less amount of heat for each unit length and a relatively low surface temperature.

Meanwhile, the second cooling fan 220 and the ice-making fan 230 may be configured as a centrifugal fan by which air is sucked in an axial direction and blown out in a radial direction. Each of the second cooling fan 220 and the ice-making fan 230 may include a casing 231 having an intake 233 and an outlet 234, a fan 237 rotatably disposed in the casing 231, and a motor 239 for rotating the fan 237.

The intake 233 may be formed at one side of the casing 231 in an axial direction of the fan 237, and the outlet 234 may be formed at one side of the casing 231 in a radial direction of the fan 237. Each intake 233 of the second cooling fan 220 and the ice-making fan 230 may have a scroll 235 protruded from a circumference in a semi-circular sectional shape and extending in the circumferential direction.

The cooling fan defrosting unit 281 may include an ice-making fan defrosting portion 283 and a second cooling fan defrosting portion 285 for heating the ice-making fan 230 and the second cooling fan 220, respectively. Here, the ice-making fan defrosting portion 283 and the second cooling fan defrosting portion 285 may be curved to come in contact with the scrolls 235 formed at the intakes 233 of each casing 231 of the ice-making fan 230 and the second cooling fan 220, respectively. That is, the ice-making fan defrosting portion 283 and the second cooling fan defrosting portion 285 may be curved in a semi-circular shape having radii of curvatures corresponding to the sizes of the ice-making fan 230 and the second cooling fan 220, respectively.

With such configuration, upon supplying air into the refrigerating chamber 150, the first cooling fan 210 rotates. The rotation of the first cooling fan 210 allows air within the refrigerating chamber 150 to be sucked into the barrier 210 via the first intake 131. The sucked air is cooled while passing through the evaporator 250 and then introduced into the refrigeration cold air duct 152 due to the first cooling fan 210. The cold air introduced into the refrigeration cold air duct 152 is thusly supplied into the refrigerating chamber 150 via each cold air outlet 153.

For supplying cold air into the freezing chamber 160, the second cooling fan 220 rotates. The rotation of the second cooling fan 220 allows air within the freezing chamber 160 to be sucked into the barrier 120 via the second intake 132. The introduced air is cooled while passing through the evaporator 250, and then sucked by the second cooling fan 220, thereby being introduced into the freezing chamber 160 via the grill fan 240.

For supplying air simultaneously into the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160, the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 simultaneously rotate. Accordingly, air within the refrigeration chamber 150 is sucked into the barrier 120 via the first intake 131 and air within the freezing chamber 160 is sucked into the barrier 120 via the second intake 132. Here, the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 sucked into the barrier 120 flows along an upper area of the evaporator accommodation portion 122 and the air of the freezing chamber 160 flows along a lower area of the barrier 120. The air, which has been cooled while passing through the evaporator 250, is partially introduced into the refrigeration cold air duct 152 by virtue of the first cooling fan 210 to be discharged into the refrigerating chamber 150 and partially sucked by the second cooling fan 220 to be discharged into the freezing chamber 160.

Upon supplying cold air into the ice-making chamber 230, the ice-making fan 230 rotates. Upon the rotation of the ice-making fan 230, air which has been cooled while passing through the evaporator 250 is sucked by the ice-making fan 230 to be introduced into the sidewall cold air duct 190. The air flowing upwardly along the sidewall cold air duct 190 cools the ice-making chamber 180 and then flows downwardly along the sidewall cold air duct 190 to be introduced into the freezing chamber 160.

In the meantime, in response to the repetition of the cold air supply into the refrigerating chamber 150, the freezing chamber 160 and/or the ice-making chamber 180, moisture in the air is frosted (implanted) on the surface of the evaporator 250. If approximately a preset amount of moisture is frosted on the evaporator 250, a defrosting operation starts. During the defrosting operation, each of the cooling fans (i.e., the first cooling fan 210, the second cooling fan 220 and the ice-making fan 230) is stopped, and power is supplied to the defrosting heater 270. Upon the power supply to the defrosting heater 270, the evaporator defrosting unit 271 and the cooling fan defrosting unit 281 generate heat, respectively, to defrost the evaporator 250 and each cooling fan, in more detail, the ice-making fan 230 and the second cooling fan 220. Here, defrosted water, which is generated due to frost being melted, flows backwardly along a lower surface of the evaporator accommodation portion 122, and gathered in the upper plate portion 241 of the grill fan 240, thereby flowing down into the fan accommodation portion 245. The defrosted water flowed into the fan accommodation portion 245 is then discharged into the machine chamber 170 via the drain portion and the water pipe.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a main body of a refrigerator having a defrosting heater in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a front view of the defrosting heater of FIG. 10.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the same and/or similar components as/to the aforesaid configuration will not be illustrated for the sake of brief drawings and detailed description thereof will thusly be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 10, a refrigerator having a defrosting heater according to the present invention may include a refrigerator main body 310 having a cooling chamber therein, evaporators 350a and 350b disposed in the refrigerator main body 310, cooling fans disposed at one side of the evaporators 350a and 350b for blowing cold air into the cooling chamber, and defrosting heaters 360a and 360b each including an evaporator defrosting unit 361 for heating the evaporators 350a and 350b, and a cooling fan defrosting unit 371 integrally extending from the evaporator defrosting unit 361 for heating the cooling fans.

A first cooling chamber 330 and a second cooling chamber 340 may be disposed within the refrigerator main body 310 with a barrier 120 therebetween, which is located in a longitudinal direction. Hereinafter, description will be given of an example in which the first cooling chamber 330 and the second cooling chamber 340 are a freezing chamber 330 and a refrigerating chamber 340, respectively, and the evaporators include a first evaporator 350a and a second evaporator 350b disposed in the first and second cooling chambers, respectively.

A circulation passage through which air of the freezing chamber 330 can circulate may be formed at a rear area of the freezing chamber 160. The first evaporator 350a for cooling air may be installed in the circulation passage. A freezing chamber fan 355a for facilitation of air flow may be provided at one side of the first evaporator 350a. The freezing chamber fan 355a may be installed at an upper side of the first evaporator 350a. A freezing cold air duct 333 may be provided at an upper side of the freezing chamber fan 355a. A plurality of cold air outlets 334 may be formed at the freezing cold air duct 333. Air intakes 332 through which air of the freezing chamber 330 is sucked may be formed at a lower area of the first evaporator 350a.

A circulation passage through which air of the refrigerating chamber 340 can circulate may be formed at a rear area of the refrigerating chamber 340. The second evaporator 350b for cooling air may be installed in the circulation passage. A refrigerating chamber fan 355b for facilitation of air flow may be disposed at one side of the second evaporator 350b. The refrigerating chamber fan 355b may be installed at an upper side of the second evaporator 350b. A refrigeration cold air duct 343 may be formed at an upper side of the refrigerating chamber fan 355b. Air intakes 342 in which air of the refrigerating chamber 340 is sucked may be formed at a lower area of the second evaporator 350b.

In the meantime, a first defrosting heater 360a and a second defrosting heater 360b may be disposed at rear sides of the first evaporator 350a and the second evaporator 350b, respectively.

Here, the configurations of the first defrosting heater 360a and the second defrosting heater 360b may depend on shapes, sizes and positions of the first and second evaporators 350a and 350b and the freezing chamber fan 355a and the refrigerating chamber fan 355b. However, the configurations are similar, so, the description of the second defrosting heater 360a will be omitted, hereinafter, and the first defrosting heater 360a will be exemplarily described.

The first defrosting heater 360a, as shown in FIG. 11, may include an evaporator defrosting unit 361 for defrosting the first evaporator 350a, and a cooling fan defrosting unit 371 for defrosting the freezing chamber fan 355a. The evaporator defrosting unit 361 may have approximately the same size and shape as those of a heat pipe of the first evaporator 350a. The cooling fan defrosting unit 371 may extend upwardly from an end of the evaporator defrosting unit 361, and be curved in a semi-circular shape corresponding to the shape of a scroll of the freezing chamber fan 355a so as to come in contact with the scroll.

With such configuration, upon executing a defrosting operation, the operation of the freezing chamber fan 355a is stopped, and power is supplied to the first defrosting heater 360a. Upon the power supply to the first defrosting heater 360a, the evaporator defrosting unit 361 and the cooling fan defrosting heater 371 are simultaneously heated up, thereby simultaneously defrosting the first evaporator 350a and the freezing chamber fan 355a.

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 rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

A refrigerator comprising:

an evaporator disposed in a refrigerator main body and configured to generate cold air;

a fan configured to blow cold air flowed through the evaporator to circulate within the refrigerator main body; and

a defrosting heater configured to defrost the evaporator and the fan by applying heat to the evaporator and the fan,

wherein the defrosting heater comprises an evaporator defrosting unit configured to defrost the evaporator and a fan defrosting unit configured to defrost the fan, the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit being integrally formed.
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerator main body comprises a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber with a barrier longitudinally partitioning therebetween,

wherein the evaporator is disposed inside the barrier.
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the evaporator comprises:

a heat pipe in which a refrigerant flows; and

a plurality of heat plates coupled to the heat pipe,

wherein the heat plates comprise defrosting heater accommodation portions for accommodation of the evaporator defrosting unit.
The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the defrosting heater accommodation portion is formed by engraving a lower end surface of each of the heat plates.
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the evaporator defrosting unit is accommodated in the heat plates in correspondence with the shape of the heat pipe.
The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the refrigerator main body comprises a first cooling fan configured to blow cold air into the first cooling chamber, and a second cooling fan configured to blow cold air into the second cooling chamber,

wherein the fan defrosting unit is coupled to one of the first cooling fan and the second cooling fan.
The refrigerator of claim 6, further comprising an ice-making fan disposed at one side of the evaporator and configured to blow cold air into an ice-making chamber, wherein the fan defrosting unit is coupled to the ice-making fan.
The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein the cooling fan coupled with the fan defrosting unit is provided with a scroll at an intake thereof, wherein the fan defrosting unit is coupled in engagement with the shape of the scroll.
A defrosting heater for a refrigerator comprising:

an evaporator defrosting unit disposed at one side of an evaporator, the evaporator being present in a refrigerator main body, and configured to heat the evaporator; and

a fan defrosting unit disposed in the refrigerator main body and configured to heat a fan,

wherein the evaporator defrosting unit and the fan defrosting unit are integrally formed.
The defrosting heater of claim 9, wherein the evaporator defrosting unit is coupled to heat plates configuring the evaporator.
The defrosting heater of claim 10, wherein the evaporator comprises:

a heat pipe in which a refrigerant flows; and

a plurality of heat plates coupled to the heat pipe,

wherein the evaporator defrosting unit is coupled to defrosting heater accommodation portions formed at the heat plates.
The defrosting heater of claim 11, wherein the defrosting heater accommodation portion is formed by engraving a lower end surface of each of the heat plates.
The defrosting heater of claim 9, wherein the evaporator defrosting unit is accommodated in the heat plates in correspondence with the shape of the heat pipe.
The defrosting heater of claim 9, wherein the fan defrosting unit is installed at an intake side of the fan.
The defrosting heater of claim 14, wherein the fan defrosting unit is formed in an arcuate shape such that at least part thereof is wound on a scroll formed at a circumference of an intake of the fan.