EP3418581B1

EP3418581B1 - Refrigerator and fan assembly thereof

Info

Publication number: EP3418581B1
Application number: EP18176205.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hongfu Bao; Jia Chen; Xiupeng Chen; Huake Wang; Shiyu WANG
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2017-06-20
Filing date: 2018-06-06
Publication date: 2021-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-06-06
Also published as: PL3418581T3; EP3418581A1; CN207333306U

Description

The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration devices, and in particular, to a refrigerator and a fan assembly of the refrigerator.
As most common appliance products in homes, refrigerators undertake daily works of retaining food freshness for users.
To resolve a problem of nonuniform cooling of a static cooling refrigerator, a fan is additionally disposed in a storage room of an existing refrigerator, cold air circulation within the storage room is strengthened by using the fan, thereby implementing a more uniform temperature of the storage room. High-speed operation of the fan easily generates noise. How to better resolve the noise problem is always concerned by a person skilled in the art. A refrigerator and a fan assembly therefore according to the preambles of claims 7 and 1, respectively, is disclosed in DE 20 2005 014370 U1 .
According to this prior art, the first connecting member of the housing is either a tubular member sleeved on a first part of the vibration reduction element, or it is a pin engaging a passage of the vibration reduction element, and a second connecting member is a hole engaged by a second part of the vibration reduction element. In the first case, there is no form-fitting engagement between the vibration reduction element and the housing, and there is a risk of both being displaceable with respect to each other. In the second case, a form-fitting engagement is achieved by a barbed hook formed at the distal end of the pin, but the barbed hook makes the connection difficult to detach again.
Compared with the prior art, the technical solutions of the present utility model have the following advantages:
The housing of the fan and a body of a refrigerator are indirectly flexibly connected by using the vibration reduction element without being directly rigidly connected any longer. Therefore, vibration energy of the housing of the fan is absorbed by the vibration reduction element without being directly transferred to the body of the refrigerator, thereby greatly reducing noise generated by high-speed operation of the fan.
The vibration reduction element is sleeved on the second connecting member, and the first connecting member is engaged with the vibration reduction element.
At least a part of the second connecting member passes though the vibration reduction element and exceeds a preset length of an end portion that is of the vibration reduction element and that is far away from the reinforcement member.
The second connecting member includes a fastener and a gasket connected to the fastener, the vibration reduction element is sleeved on the gasket, and at least a part of the gasket passes through the vibration reduction element and exceeds the preset length of the end portion that is of the vibration reduction element and that is far away from the reinforcement member.
Optionally, the reinforcement member further includes a body plate, and the fastener is located at one side that is of the body plate and that faces the housing.
Optionally, the fastener and a plate surface of the body plate are intersected, the fastener is provided with a through hole extending along a length direction, and the through hole runs through the body plate.
Optionally, the screw has a limiting step, and after the screw is driven into the through hole, the limiting step abuts against a hole edge of the through hole, to implement a limitation.
Another aspect of the present application provides an improved refrigerator, to resolve at least one of the foregoing technical problems. The refrigerator includes a body having a storage room and the fan assembly according to any one of the foregoing implementations, and the fan assembly is located in the storage room and is fastened to the body by using the mounting base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inner structure of a refrigerator in a square view direction according to an embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an inner structure of a refrigerator in a right view direction according to an embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a fan assembly in a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of the fan assembly in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded view of a fan assembly according to a second embodiment of the present application; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic exploded view of a fan assembly according to a third embodiment of the present application;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the above objectives, features, and advantages of the present application clearer and more comprehensible, specific embodiments of the present application are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present application provides a refrigerator 1 and a fan assembly 10 disposed in the refrigerator 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an inner structure of the refrigerator 1 in FIG. 1 in a right view direction. The refrigerator 1 includes a body 3 having one or more storage rooms 2, and the fan assembly 10 is disposed in the storage room 2, and is generally disposed at one side that is of the storage room 2 and that is far away from a door of the refrigerator, that is, at an inner side of the storage room 2.
Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the fan assembly 10 includes a mounting base 20 and a fan 30 that is fastened to the mounting base 20. The fan assembly 10 is fastened to the body 3 by using the mounting base 20. The mounting base 20 includes a housing 21 accommodating the fan 30, and a reinforcement member 22 that fastens the housing 21 to a to-be-mounted structure; the housing 21 is provided with a first connecting member 211 and the reinforcement member 22 is provided with a second connecting member 221 that matches and that is connected to the first connecting member 211; and the first connecting member 211 is indirectly connected to the second connecting member 221 by using a vibration reduction element 40.
An advantage of the solution is that the housing of the fan and the body of the refrigerator are indirectly flexibly connected by using the vibration reduction element without being directly rigidly connected any longer. Therefore, vibration energy of the housing of the fan is absorbed by the vibration reduction element without being directly transferred to the body of the refrigerator, thereby greatly reducing noise generated by high-speed operation of the fan.
In the fan assembly 10, a function of the fan 30 is accelerating air flowing in the storage room 2, so that temperature distribution within the storage room 2 is more uniform. Generally, an air exhaust vent of the fan 30 is close to an inner wall of the storage room 2, and an air intake vent faces a relatively large space, so that air in the storage room 2 flows towards the air intake vent, enters the fan 30 from the air intake vent, and flows out from the air exhaust vent after being mixed by the fan 30, thereby achieving a uniform air temperature. Therefore, it can be understood that when a user opens the door, one side of the air exhaust vent of the fan 30 is located at a relatively concealed location and is not easily seen.
It can be learned from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 that, the fan assembly 10 is located at the inner side of the storage room 2, and an air intake vent 10a of the fan 30 is located at one side that is of the door and that faces the refrigerator 1, and an air exhaust vent 10b is located at one side that is of the door and that is away from the refrigerator 1. In this way, when a user opens the door, the user can see the air intake vent 10a of the fan 30, but cannot see the air exhaust vent 10b of the fan 30.
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the mounting base 20 includes the housing 21 accommodating the fan 30, and the reinforcement member 22 that fastens the housing 21 to the to-be-mounted structure. The reinforcement member 22 includes a body plate 222 and the second connecting member 221. In this embodiment, the second connecting member 221 includes a fastener 221a and a gasket 221b that may be connected together. In a process of mounting or dismounting the mounting base 20, the fastener 221a and the gasket 221b may be separated from each other.
The fastener 221a extends towards one side that is of the body plate 222 and that faces the housing 1. The fastener 221a and a plate surface of the body plate 222 are intersected. The plate surface of the body plate 222 has a first surface facing the housing 21, and a second surface away from the housing 21. The gasket 221 b has an end portion that is close to the body plate 222 and an end portion that is far away from the body plate 222. Particularly, the radial width of the end portion that is of the gasket 221b and that is close to the body plate 222 is greater than that of the end portion that is far away from the body plate 222. The end portion that is of the gasket 221b and that is close to the body plate 222 is connected to the fastener 221a. The end portion that is of the gasket 221b and that is far away from the body plate 222 passes through the vibration reduction element 40, that is, the vibration reduction element 40 is sleeved on the end portion that is of the gasket 221b and that is far away from the body plate 222. Preferably, the vibration reduction element 40 is made of a silica gel material and has a good vibration isolation effect. The first connecting member 211 of the housing 21 is engaged with the vibration reduction element 40. In this way, the first connecting member 211 is indirectly connected to the second connecting member 221 by using the vibration reduction element 40, so that the housing of the fan and the body of the refrigerator are indirectly flexibly connected by using the vibration reduction element without being directly rigidly connected any longer. Therefore, vibration energy of the housing of the fan is absorbed by the vibration reduction element without being directly transferred to the body of the refrigerator, thereby greatly reducing noise generated by high-speed operation of the fan.
Both the fastener 221a and the gasket 221b are provided with through holes that extend along a length direction and that are communicated with each other, and a screw 50 is driven into the through hole, to better implement a fixed connection between the housing 21 and the reinforcement member 22. Preferably, the end portion that is of the gasket 221b and that is far away from the body plate 222 exceeds a preset length, for example, 2-3 millimeters, of an end portion that is of the vibration reduction element 40 and that is far away from the body plate 222. In this way, after the screw 50 is driven into the gasket 221b, a head of the screw 50 may be prevented from pressing against the vibration reduction element 40, thereby ensuring that vibration isolation performance of the vibration reduction element 40 is not affected. Preferably, a gasket 51 is further disposed on the end portion that is of the vibration reduction element 40 and that is far away from the body plate 222, to further prevent the head of the screw 50 from excessively pressing against the vibration reduction element 40.
FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded view of a fan assembly according to a second embodiment of the present application. A difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment at least lies in that the second connecting member of the reinforcement member 22 is formed by extending the fastener 221a' through the vibration reduction element 40 to the side that is of the body plate 222 and that faces the housing 1. That is, in this embodiment, the second connecting member is basically formed by extending the fastener 221a', so that disposition of the gasket 221b is omitted. Preferably, the end portion that is of the fastener 221a' and that is far away from the body plate 222 exceeds the preset length, for example, 2-3 millimeters, of the end portion that is of the vibration reduction element 40 and that is far away from the body plate 222. In this way, after the screw 50 is driven into the fastener 221a', the head of the screw 50 may be prevented from excessively pressing against the vibration reduction element 40, thereby ensuring that vibration isolation performance of the vibration reduction element 40 is not affected.
FIG. 6 is a schematic exploded view of a fan assembly according to a third embodiment of the present application. A difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment at least lies in that the second connecting member of the reinforcement member 22 is basically directly formed by using the fastener 221a in FIG. 4, so that disposition of the gasket 221b is omitted. In addition, a screw 50' has a limiting step 52', and after the screw 50' directly passes through the vibration reduction element 40 and is driven into the through hole of the fastener 221a, the limiting step 52' of the screw 50' abuts against a hole edge 221c of the through hole of the fastener 221a, to implement a limitation, so that the screw 50' is prevented from further being driven into the through hole, and the head of the screw 50' may be prevented from excessively pressing against the vibration reduction element 40, thereby ensuring that vibration isolation performance of the vibration reduction element 40 is not affected.
Although the present application has been disclosed above, the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A fan assembly (10), comprising a mounting base (20), wherein the mounting base (20) comprises a housing (21) accommodating a fan (30), and a reinforcement member (22) that fastens the housing (21) to a to-be-mounted structure;
the housing (21) is provided with a first connecting member (211) and the reinforcement member (22) is provided with a second connecting member (221) that matches and that is connected to the first connecting member (211), and the first connecting member (211) is indirectly connected to the second connecting member (221) by using a vibration reduction element (40),
characterized in that the vibration reduction element (40) is sleeved on the second connecting member (221), the first connecting member (211) is engaged with the vibration reduction element (40), at least a part passes though the vibration reduction element (40) and exceeds a preset length of an end portion of the vibration reduction element (40) that is far away from the reinforcement member (22),
the fan assembly (10) further comprising a screw (50) driven into a through hole of second connecting member (221), the part of the second connecting member (221) which exceeds the end portion of the vibration reduction element (40) preventing a head of the screw (50) from excessively pressing against the vibration reduction element (40).
The fan assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the second connecting member (221) comprises a fastener (221a) and a gasket (221b) connected to the fastener (221a), the vibration reduction element (40) is sleeved on the gasket (221b), and at least a part of the gasket (221b) forms said part of the second connecting member that passes through the vibration reduction element (40) and exceeds the preset length of the end portion of the vibration reduction element (40) and is far away from the reinforcement member (22).
The fan assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the second connecting member comprises a fastener (221a'), and at least a part of the fastener (221a') forms said part of the second connecting member that passes through the vibration reduction element (40) and exceeds the preset length of the end portion of the vibration reduction element (40) that is far away from the reinforcement member (22).
The fan assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the second connecting member comprises a fastener (221a\221a'), the reinforcement member (22) further comprises a body plate (222), and the fastener (221a\221a') is located at one side of the body plate (222) that faces the housing (21).
The fan assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the fastener (221a\221a') and a plate surface of the body plate (222) are intersected, the fastener (221a\221a') is provided with a through hole extending along a length direction, and the through hole runs through the body plate (222).
The fan assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that the screw (50') has a limiting step (52'), and after the screw (50') is driven into the through hole, the limiting step (52') abuts against a hole edge (221c) of the through hole, to implement a limitation.
A refrigerator (1) comprising a body (3) having a storage room (2), characterized in that the refrigerator (1) comprises a fan assembly (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and the fan assembly (10) is located in the storage room (2) and is fastened to the body (3) by using the amounting base (20).