EP2522936B1

EP2522936B1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: EP2522936B1
Application number: EP11755849.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kouichi c/o Panasonic Corp. NISHIMURA
Original assignee: Panasonic Corp
Current assignee: Panasonic Corp
Priority date: 2010-03-18
Filing date: 2011-03-08
Publication date: 2016-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-08
Also published as: CN102753918A; JPWO2011114656A1; CN102753918B; EP2522936A4; EP2522936A1; WO2011114656A1

Description

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to refrigerators, and especially to a refrigerator which has a machine compartment in a lower rear part and cools the machine compartment by an air blower.

[Background Art]

In the case of a conventional refrigerator, a compressor and a condenser included in a cooling cycle unit are arranged side by side in a left-right direction in a machine compartment provided in a lower rear part of the refrigerator. Moreover, since the compressor and the condenser heat up to a high temperature, an air blower provided in the machine compartment cools the compressor and the condenser in order to increase cooling cycle efficiency (see Patent Literature (PTL) 1, for instance).
Since such a conventional refrigerator is placed with its rear close to a wall or the like, an air inlet and an air outlet of the air blower are mainly provided on the bottom of the refrigerator. This has required an increase in a cross-section area of an air path that is a path of air generated by the air blower.

[Citation List]

[Patent Literature]

[PTL1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-42636
[PTL 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-222466 a refrigerator according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from KR 2001 0108669 .

[Summary of Invention]

[Technical Problem]

It is, however, preferable that the space of the machine compartment is reduced as much as possible so that the internal capacity of the refrigerator is increased. On one hand, when it is intended to expand the air inlet and the air outlet in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator so as to ensure the cooling performance in the machine compartment provided in the lower rear part of the refrigerator, the frontal insulated wall of the machine compartment needs to be at least slanted. This results in the reduction in the internal capacity of the refrigerator, and thus there is a possibility that the usability of the refrigerator is reduced.
Moreover, when it is intended to expand the air inlet and the air outlet in the left-right direction of the refrigerator, the air inlet and the air outlet each open up to a part nearer to a fan than to the compressor and the condenser. This causes the air generated by the air blower to flow into the air inlet and the air outlet near the air blower, and thus there is a possibility that the air shortcuts without cooling the compressor and the condenser.
In such a circumstance, the inventors of the present invention found an air path structure in which the area of the air inlet and the air outlet is increased so as to cool throughout the machine compartment, without reducing the internal capacity of the refrigerator as much as possible.
The present invention is conceived based on the above findings, and has the object of providing a refrigerator which has, in a lower rear part, a machine compartment containing a compressor and a condenser, and is capable of contributing to energy conservation by reducing a cooling cycle performance decline as well as increasing the energy efficiency of the cooling cycle.

[Solution to Problem]

According to the invention the object above is achieved by a refrigerator as defined in claim 1.
Moreover, the front air inlet may open with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator to a vicinity of a center of the condenser in the left-right direction.
With this, even when the area of the bottom air inlet and the bottom air outlet is increased, it is possible to cool the compressor and the condenser without shortcutting the cooling air generated by the air blower. In addition, it is possible to increase the area of the front air inlet without shortcutting the cooling air generated by the air blower. Therefore, it is possible to enhance the energy efficiency of the cooling cycle unit.
Furthermore, the front air outlet may open with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator to a vicinity of a center of the compressor in the left-right direction.
With this, it is possible to increase the area of the front air outlet without shortcutting the cooling air generated by the air blower, and thus further enhance the energy efficiency of the cooling cycle unit.

[Advantageous Effects of Invention]

The present invention provides the refrigerator which is capable of contributing to the energy conservation while maintaining and enhancing the refrigeration performance.
Moreover, the present invention provides the refrigerator which includes the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment that are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and provides the efficient cooling while increasing the capacity of the storage compartments.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

[FIG. 1]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a refrigerator.
[FIG. 2]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator of which a third door and a fourth door are open.
[FIG. 3]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator of which a first door and a second door are open.
[FIG. 4]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator from which the first door and the second door are omitted.
[FIG. 5]
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a cooling cycle unit.
[FIG. 6]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing constituent elements of the cooling cycle unit which are attached to a refrigerator.
[FIG. 7]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a lower rear part of a refrigerator seen from the rear of the refrigerator.
[FIG. 8]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the lower rear part of the refrigerator seen from above the refrigerator.
[FIG..9]
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the lower rear part of the refrigerator seen from a side of the refrigerator.
[FIG. 10]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an opening state of each of a front air inlet and a front air outlet.

[Description]

The following describes a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a refrigerator.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator of which a third door and a fourth door are open.
A refrigerator 100 is an apparatus which keeps, in refrigeration storage or cold storage, a storage item to be stored inside. The refrigerator 100 includes a main body 150, a first door 111, a second door 121, a third door 112, a through hole 113, and a fourth door 122. In addition, the refrigerator 100 is a rectangular body having a height that is largest among the height, width, and depth.
The first door 111 is a door that covers, to allow opening and closing, an opening on the right with respect to the main body 150. In this embodiment, the first door 111 is attached to the main body 150 using a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate centering on an axis that vertically extends in front of the right wall of the main body 150. In addition, the first door 111 has a vertically long rectangular shape, and is provided from top to bottom of the refrigerator 100 with the axis passing through a right-end rim portion of the first door 111.
The second door 121 is a door that covers, to allow opening and closing, an opening on the left with respect to the main body 150. In this embodiment, the second door 121 is attached to the main body 150 using a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate centering on an axis that vertically extends in front of the left wall of the main body 150. In addition, the second door 121 has a vertically long rectangular shape, and is provided from top to bottom of the refrigerator 100 with the axis passing through a left-end rim portion of the second door 121.
The through hole 113 is a hole penetrating the first door 111 in a thickness direction. The through hole 113 is a hole through which a storage item stored behind the first door 111 is taken out or a storage item is stored behind the first door 111, without opening the first door 111.
The third door 112 is a door that covers, to allow opening and closing, the through hole 113. In this embodiment, the third door 112 is attached to the first door 111 using a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate centering on an axis that horizontally extends along a lower end rim of the through hole 113. In addition, the third door 112 has a substantially square shape (with rounded corners) when viewed from the front, and the axis passes through a lower end rim portion of the third door 112.
The fourth door 122 is a door that covers, to allow opening and closing, a feed opening 123 of a water cooling device 114 which is connected to a water tap, and cools, using a cooling cycle unit 110 of the refrigerator 100, tap water supplied to the inside of the refrigerator 100.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator of which the first door and the second door are open.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator from which the first door and the second door are omitted.
It is to be noted that. FIG. 3 also shows a storage item A stored in the refrigerator 100.
As shown by the figures, the refrigerator 100 includes the first body 151, the second body 152, and an outer case 156.
The first body 151 is a vertically long body with a heat insulation property which has an opening in a front face and forms a refrigerator compartment. In this embodiment, the first body 151 is provided in the right side of the refrigerator 100 in an entire vertical direction of the refrigerator 100. It is to be noted that the refrigerator compartment is a compartment which keeps a temperature within a range that is lower than a temperature outside the refrigerator 100 and higher than a water-freezing temperature, and stores a storage item such as a vegetable.
The second body 152 is a vertically long body with a heat insulation property which has an opening in a front face and forms a freezer compartment. In this embodiment, the second body 152 is provided in the left side of the refrigerator 100 in the entire vertical direction of the refrigerator 100. It is to be noted that the freezer compartment is a compartment which keeps a temperature lower than the temperature in the refrigerator compartment, and stores a storage item such as a frozen food.
The outer case 156 is a metal plate covering the first body 151 and the second body 152 that are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.
Here, in this embodiment, the main body 150 is produced in the following manner. An inner case 157 that separates the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment by a partition 153 is produced by casting with resin. The outer case is provided outside the inner case 157 at predetermined intervals from the inner case 157 so as to cover the inner case 157. A space is provided inside the partition 153 which communicates with the space between the outer case 156 and the inner case 157. The space provided between the outer case 156 and the inner case 157 or the space inside the partition 153 is filled with a heat insulating material such as a rigid urethane foam. The main body 150 is thus produced.
Consequently, in this embodiment, the wall to which the first body 151 and the second body 152 are adjacent is an integral part, and the partition 153 is shared by the first body 151 and the second body 152 as a wall portion.
Next, the following describes a cooling cycle unit provided to the refrigerator 100, and other elements.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the cooling cycle unit.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing constituent elements of the cooling cycle unit which are attached to the refrigerator.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a lower rear part of the refrigerator seen from the rear of the refrigerator.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the lower rear part of the refrigerator seen from above the refrigerator.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the lower rear part of the refrigerator seen from a side of the refrigerator.
The cooling cycle unit 110 functions to forcibly transfer heat from one space to another by causing the condenser 102 to release the heat and an evaporator 103 to absorb the heat. In the cooling cycle unit 110, the evaporator 103 is provided at a position for cooling the inside of the refrigerator 100, and the condenser 102 is provided outside the refrigerator 100, thereby cooling the inside of the refrigerator 100. As shown by those figures, the cooling cycle unit used by the refrigerator 100 is a device including the compressor 101, the condenser 102, and the evaporator 103, and achieves a cooling cycle by connecting circularly the elements with a main pipe 104 that is a path of a refrigerant, and circulating the refrigerant. In this embodiment, the refrigerator 100 further includes a bypass pipe 105, and a machine compartment 120 which contains a switching valve 106, a valve 107, an evaporating pan 140, and an air blower 141.
The compressor 101 is a device which compresses a gaseous refrigerant circulating in the main pipe 104, to increase the pressure of the refrigerant. The compressor 101 is provided inside the machine compartment 120 located in the lower rear part of the refrigerator 100. The compressor 101 is attached to the machine compartment 120 via an insulator 115 in a manner that the vibration of the compressor 101 is less likely to propagate to the refrigerator 100.
The condenser 102 is a device which cools the gaseous refrigerant having the increased pressure by releasing the heat of the refrigerant, to convert the refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant having a high pressure. In this embodiment, the condenser 102 includes a first condenser 124, a second condenser 125, and a third condenser 126.
The first condenser 124 is a condenser which provides direct heat exchange with the air. The first condenser 124 is provided below the first body 151 that is the refrigerator compartment, and is provided inside the machine compartment 120 located in the lower rear part of the refrigerator 100, being exposed to the air.
The second condenser 125 is a condenser which is provided in a meandering manner between an outer side wall of the first body 151 and the outer case 156, and provides heat exchange with the air via the metal outer case 156. It is to be noted that the heat insulating material between the second condenser 125 and the inside of the first body 151 makes it difficult for heat generated by the second condenser 125 to influence the inside of the first body 151. In addition, because the inside of the first body 151 is the refrigerator compartment having a relatively high temperature, a heat gradient between the second condenser 125 and the inside of the first body 151 is small, and the heat is not conducted therebetween easily.
The third condenser 126 is a condenser provided along the rim of the opening of the second body 152, and functions to cool the refrigerant and prevent dew condensation by raising the temperature of the rim of the opening of the second body 152.
With the above structure of the condenser 102, even when the first condenser 124 exposed to the air has a performance decline due to accumulation of dust or the like, the second condenser 125 complements the performance as the condenser 102. As a result, it is possible to maintain the performance of the cooling cycle unit 110 over a long period of time without any maintenance.
Moreover, the prevention of the dew condensation of the opening of the freezer compartment prevents frost formation from reducing sealing performance of the second door 121, and thus it is possible to enhance or maintain the energy efficiency of the refrigerator 100.
The evaporator 103 is a device which evaporates a refrigerant internally, and absorbs heat of the surrounding air or the like. In this embodiment, the evaporator 103 includes a first evaporator 131 and a second evaporator 132 that are connected in series by the main pipe 104.
The first evaporator 131 is an evaporator which is connected in series with the third condenser 126 and provided in the rear part of the first body 151. The first evaporator 131 assumes a role of cooling the inside of the first body 151. It is to be noted that the first evaporator 131 is designed to be smaller in size than the second evaporator 132, because the first evaporator 131 is for cooling the refrigerator compartment.
The second evaporator 132 is an evaporator which is connected in series with the first evaporator 131 and provided in the rear part of the second body 152. The second evaporator 132 assumes a role of cooling the inside of the second body 152. It is to be noted that the second evaporator 132 is designed to be larger in size than the first evaporator 131, because the second evaporator 132 is for cooling the freezer compartment.
Although a fin and tube heat exchanger is used together with the first evaporator 131 and the second evaporator 132 in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. It is possible to use a given heat exchanger such as a heat exchanger having a corrugated fin and a fattened tube.
As stated above, the refrigerator includes, as separate devices, the first evaporator 131 for cooling the first body 151 (the refrigerator compartment) and the second evaporator 132 for cooling the second body 152 (the freezer compartment), and thus makes it possible to provide cooling suitable for respective preset temperature ranges of the first evaporator 131 and the second evaporator 132.
In particular, when the refrigerator includes the vertically long freezer compartment as described in this embodiment, the refrigerator needs to include an evaporator having a sufficient cooling capacity so that a difference in temperature in the vertical direction of the freezer compartment is reduced. There is, however, a possibility that the refrigerator compartment is cooled excessively when such an evaporator is located in the rear part of the refrigerator compartment, and thus it is necessary to insulate sufficiently the refrigerator compartment and the evaporator. In this case, a heat insulating material decreases the capacity of the refrigerator compartment. In view of this, it is possible to attempt increasing the capacity of the refrigerator compartment by providing, in the rear part of the first body 151 (the refrigerator compartment) and in the rear part of the second body 152 (the freezer compartment), the first evaporator 131 suitable for cooling the refrigerator compartment and the second evaporator 132 suitable for cooling evenly the freezer compartment, respectively, as in the present invention.
The air blower 141 is a device capable of generating a flow of air. In this embodiment, the air blower 141 uses an axial fan. The air blower 141 is provided, in an upright state, between the first condenser 124 and the compressor 101 in the machine compartment 120. In addition, the air blower 141 is oriented so as to generate the flow of air from the first condenser 124 toward the compressor 101.
This sends the air from the first condenser 124 toward the compressor 101, that is, from a lower temperature side toward a higher temperature side, and thus it is possible to cool efficiently the compressor 101 and the first condenser 124 and prevent the bearing of the air blower 141 from being exposed to high-temperature air resulting from cooling the compressor 101. Consequently, it is possible to enhance reliability of the air blower 141.
As shown by FIGS. 8 and 9, the machine compartment 120 is a space provided in the lower rear part of the refrigerator 100, and includes a rear space in which the first condenser 124, the air blower 141, and the compressor 101 are arranged side by side in this order, and a front space separated by a lateral rib 161.
In this embodiment, the rear space has a rectangular parallelepiped (substantially cubic) shape, and the front space is extended in the left-right direction to have a triangle pole shape. The machine compartment 120 is a space formed by raising the bottom of the main body 150, and includes a wall surface formed by the bottom of the main body 150, a base panel 160 provided on the bottom, and a space surrounded by a cover 165 provided on the rear. The front space of the space separated in the front-rear direction by the lateral rib 161 is further separated horizontally by a vertical rib 162 provided ahead of the lateral rib 161.
Moreover, the lateral rib 161 is shorter in width than the refrigerator 100. A front air inlet 166 is provided on the first condenser 124 side of the lateral rib 161 in the left-right direction, and a front air outlet 167 is provided on the compressor 101 side of the lateral rib 161 in the left-right direction.
A bottom air inlet 163 and a bottom air outlet 164 are provided to a part of the base panel 160 which is ahead of the lateral rib 161. In this embodiment, the bottom air inlet 163 and the bottom air outlet 164 each are formed by slits provided to the base panel 160, and the slits on the side of the first condenser 124 and the slits on the side of the compressor 101 that are separated by the vertical rib 162 function as the bottom air inlet 163 and the bottom air outlet 164, respectively.
The switching valve 106 is a three-way valve which selects between supplying a refrigerant from the third condenser 126 to the first evaporator 131 and directly supplying the refrigerant from the third condenser 126 to the second evaporator 132.
The valve 107 is a valve which is connected to a water tap and selects between supplying tap water to the refrigerator 100 and blocking the supply of the tap water to the refrigerator 100.
The valve 107 is a device included in the water cooling device 114. Here, the water cooling device 114 is a device which is connected to a water pipe 116, and is for causing the feed opening 123 to supply the tap water cooled by the first evaporator 131 and for supplying water to an automatic ice-making device (not shown).
The bypass pipe 105 is a pipe which directly connects through the switching valve 106 the third condenser 126 and the second evaporator 132. Here, the direct connection means not that the refrigerant is introduced into the second evaporator 132 through the first evaporator 131 but that the refrigerant is directly introduced into the second evaporator 132 from the switching valve 106 by bypassing the first evaporator 131.
The refrigerant for use in the cooling cycle unit 110 of the refrigerator 100 is not particularly limited. For example, a hydrocarbon refrigerant can be used.
Here, examples of the hydrocarbon refrigerant include propane and isobutane. These are preferable because of their very small influence on global warming in comparison to hydrochlorofluorocarbon and hydrofluorocarbon.
As stated above, providing the bypass pipe 105 and the switching valve 106 makes it possible to select the introduction of the refrigerant into the first evaporator 131 while maintaining the introduction of the refrigerant into the second evaporator 132. Thus, it is possible to perform control suitable for the first body 151 (the refrigerator compartment) on the first evaporator 131 even when the second evaporator 132 is continuously operated for a long period of time so as to prevent a temperature variation from occurring in the second body 152 (the freezer compartment) that is vertically long.
Moreover, it is possible to arrange the first evaporator 131 and the second evaporator 132 side by side, and thus reduce the length of a bypass path, that is, the length of the bypass pipe 105. As a result, it is possible to enhance the cooling efficiency of the second evaporator 132 when the refrigerant is introduced into only the second evaporator 132.
With the refrigerator 100 thus configured, it is possible to enhance the entire energy efficiency, and thus contribute to the energy conservation.
Moreover, it is possible to expand the bottom air inlet 163 and the bottom air outlet 164, and thus increase an amount of air generated by the air blower 141. Furthermore, because the lateral rib 161 forms the air path in the machine compartment 120 in a U-shape, air which is sucked in through the bottom air inlet 163 cools the first condenser 124 by way of the front air inlet provided on the side of the lateral rib 161, and air which is generated by the air blower 141 cools the compressor 101 and is blown out through the bottom air outlet 164 by way of the front air outlet provided on the other side of the lateral rib 161. Consequently, it is possible to enhance the cooling efficiency of the first condenser 124 and the compressor 101, and thus enhance the cooling efficiency of the cooling cycle unit 110.
In the cooling cycle unit 110 of the refrigerator 100, the compressor 101 and the first condenser 124 are respectively provided below the second body 152 forming the freezer compartment and the first body 151 forming the refrigerator compartment, and the second condenser 125 is provided on the outer sidewall of the first body 151. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the length of the pipes connecting these, and thus enhance the energy efficiency of the cooling cycle unit 110. In addition, simple piping installation at the time of assembly of the refrigerator 100 facilitates the assembly of the refrigerator 100.
Moreover, the compressor 101 is lower in height than the first condenser 124 provided in the machine compartment 120, and thus it is possible to expand sufficiently a space between the second body 152 and the compressor 101 without sacrificing the capacity of the second body 152. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the influence of the heat generated by the compressor 101 on the second body 152. Furthermore, the space between the second body 152 and the compressor 101 allows the evaporating pan 140 to be provided in the space. This makes it possible to further reduce the influence of the heat generated by the compressor 101.
Moreover, it is possible to expand the bottom air inlet 163 and the bottom air outlet 164 without causing the air generated by the air blower 141 to short-circuit the first condenser 124 and the compressor 101, and thus enhance the cooling efficiency of the first condenser 124 and the compressor 101.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing in detail an opening state of each of the front air inlet 166 and the front air outlet 167.
As shown by the figure, the lateral rib 161 extends in the left-right direction from a vicinity of the center of the first condenser 124 to a vicinity of the center of the compressor 101. The front air inlet 166 is on the first condenser 124 side of the lateral rib 161 in the left-right direction, and the front air outlet 167 is on the compressor 101 side of the lateral rib 161 in the left-right direction. Thus, the front air inlet 166 opens with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator, that is, an inner wall of the machine compartment 120 to a vicinity of the center of the condenser 124 in the left-right direction. In addition, the front air outlet 167 opens with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator, that is, the inner wall of the machine compartment 120 to a vicinity of the center of the compressor 101 in the left-right direction.
As described above, expanding the bottom air inlet 163 and the bottom air outlet 164 for the air generated by the air blower 141 and opening the front air inlet 166 and the front air outlet 167 respectively to the vicinities of the centers of the condenser 124 and the compressor 101 allow the air generated by the air blower 141 to flow directly to the first condenser 124 through the bottom air inlet 163 and flow out directly from the compressor 101 through the bottom air outlet 164, and thus it is possible to enhance the cooling efficiency of the first condenser 124 and the compressor 101 without shortcutting the air.

[Industrial Applicability]

The present invention is applicable to household or industrial refrigerators, and refrigerators in which a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.
In addition, the present invention provides a refrigerator which includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment that are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and provides efficient cooling while capacity of the storage compartments is intended to increase. Accordingly, the present invention is useful as refrigerators and the like of various types and sizes for household and industrial uses, and so on.

[Reference Signs List]

100: Refrigerator
101: Compressor
102: Condenser
103: Evaporator
104: Main pipe
105: Bypass pipe
106: Switching valve
107: Valve
108: Cooling fan
110: Cooling cycle unit
111: First door
112: Third door
113: Through hole
114: Water cooling device
115: Insulator
116: Water pipe
120: Machine compartment
121: Second door
122: Fourth door
123: Feed opening
124: First condenser
125: Second condenser
126: Third condenser
131: First evaporator
132: Second evaporator
133: Water guide path
134: Second water guide path
140: Evaporating pan
141: Air blower
143: Recessed portion
145: Inclined portion
147: Introduction hole
150: Main body
151: First body
151a: Inclined face
152: Second body
153: Partition
156: Outer case
156a: Main plate
156b: Rear plate
156c: Bottom plate
157: Inner case
160: Base panel
161: Lateral rib
162: Vertical rib
163: Bottom air inlet
164: Bottom air outlet
165: Cover
166: Front air inlet
167: Front air outlet

Claims

A refrigerator (100) which includes a compressor (101), a condenser (102) connected to the compressor (101), and an evaporator (103) that is connected to the condenser (102) and evaporates a refrigerant, and further includes, in a lower rear part, a machine compartment (120) that contains the compressor (101), the condenser (102), and an air blower (141) that generates air that cools the condenser (102) and the compressor (101) in this order, the refrigerator (100) comprising:
a base panel (160) on which the condenser (102), the air blower (141), and the compressor (101) contained in the machine compartment (120) are mounted side by side in a left-right direction;

characterized by a lateral rib (161) which is in contact with the base panel (160) and extends in the left-right direction and in an upright state with respect to the base panel (160), the lateral rib (161) separating, in a front-rear direction, a front space and a rear space in which the condenser (102), the air blower (141), and the compressor (101) contained in the machine compartment (120) are provided, and being located in front of the rear space;

a front air inlet (166) which is provided on one of right and left sides of the lateral rib (161), and passes air in the front-rear direction;

a front air outlet (167) which is provided on the other of the right and left sides of the lateral rib (161), and passes air in the front-rear direction;

a vertical rib (162) which is in contact with the base panel (160), and separates the machine compartment (120) in the left-right direction at a position ahead of the lateral rib (161);

a bottom air inlet (163) which is on the condenser side of the base panel (160) and opens ahead of the lateral rib (161) in a forward direction; and

a bottom air outlet (164) which is on the compressor side of the base panel (160) and opens ahead of the lateral rib (161) in the forward direction.
The refrigerator (100) according to claim 1,
wherein the front air inlet (166) opens with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator (100) to a vicinity of a center of the condenser (102) in the left-right direction.
The refrigerator (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2,
wherein the front air outlet (167) opens with a width starting from a side wall of the refrigerator (100) to a vicinity of a center of the compressor (101) in the left-right direction.