EP3708934B1

EP3708934B1 - Assembly set including drip tray for a compact machine compartment and refrigerator using a drip tray

Info

Publication number: EP3708934B1
Application number: EP20171546.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Myungkeun Yoo; Yongdae Kim; Hohyun SON
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2017-10-23
Filing date: 2018-10-23
Publication date: 2022-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-23
Also published as: EP3708934A1; EP3473954A1; EP3473954B1

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to an assembly set comprising a drip tray and a fan assembly, it further refers to refrigerator having a compact machine compartment.

2. Background

A machine compartment may be provided in a rear lower portion of a refrigerator. The machine compartment may accommodate a compressor and a condenser that generate heat in a refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator. A drip tray configured to receive defrosted water as generated in an evaporator used to cool a cabinet of the refrigerator may be provided in the machine compartment.
The defrosted water stored in the drip tray may be evaporated by the heat released from the compressor and condenser of the machine compartment. The drip tray may have a flat and wide shape to widen a surface area in contact with the atmosphere. The machine compartment may include a fan which generates an air flow through the compressor and the condenser. The air flow may be used to evaporate the water contained in the drip tray.
As shown in FIG. 1, a drip tray 8 may have a form of a tray having a rectangular broad bottom member 87 and an outer wall 85 having a small vertical dimension and extending upwardly from an edge of the bottom member. The defrosted water may be received in a space defined by the bottom member and the outer wall.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, defrosted water W may be stored in the drip tray 8. Thus, a fan assembly 9 may be provided above the bottom member 87 of the drip tray 8. In this connection, the fan assembly 9 may be placed on a fan assembly support 89 provided inside the drip tray 8 and may be fixed to the fan assembly support 89 by a fastener such as a screw b. Further, a lower end of the fan assembly 9 may be interposed between two outer walls 85 of the tray drip 8.
A height h of the machine compartment housing the drip tray 8 and the fan assembly 9 may be determined by a distance between a bottom boundary 13 extending horizontally from the bottom member 87 of the tray drip 8 and a top boundary 14 extending horizontally from a top of the fan assembly 9. That is, the height h of the machine compartment according to FIGs. 1 and 2 may be equal to a sum of a height of the fan assembly support 89 and a height of the fan assembly 9.
Furthermore, a depth d of the machine compartment according to FIGs. 1 and 2 may be determined by a distance between the two parallel and spaced outer walls 85 of the drip tray 8 defining a space receiving the lower end of the fan assembly 9. According to the combined structure of the drip tray 8 and the fan assembly 9 in FIGs. 1 and 2, reducing the height h and depth d of the machine compartment should result from the reduction of the size of the fan assembly 9. However, when the size of the fan assembly 9 is reduced, there may be a problem that a fan flow rate is reduced correspondingly.

CN201262505 Y describes a device including a drip tray, a compressor and a fan assembly. The fan assembly is located outside the drip area. The fan is discharging the air in direction of the compressor.
JP 4 555 142 B2 describes a drip tray having a space for mounting a fan which is surrounded by walls.
KR101 564 099 B1 describes a drip tray having a fan assembling mounted on top of the drip tray.
JP 2001 133129 A describes a machine compartment of a refrigerator, wherein the fan is dis-closed on top of the drip tray.
US 4,490,990 A describes refrigerator having a drip tray. The fan is arranged on top of the drip tray. A circular space inside the drip tray is accommodating the compressor.
WO 2007/012157 describes an evaporation unit of an air conditioner.

The object is therefore to provide a drip tray for a refrigerator allowing the fan assembly to be assembled into a machine compartment or installation space of the refrigerator to have a reduced installation height and more efficient space utilization of the machine compartment or installation space to further increase the storing space of the refrigerator without increasing outside dimensions. Furthermore, the efficiency of the fan with respect to the amount of water stored in the drip tray should be increased.
Another object is to provide a drip tray and fan assembly which may be easily placed inside a compact machine compartment.
The object is solved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are given in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drip tray used in a related refrigerator machine compartment;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a coupled state between a drip tray and a fan assembly housed in the related machine compartment;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a drip tray used in a refrigerator machine compartment;
FIG. 4 is a side view of a fan assembly used in a refrigerator machine compartment;
FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a coupled state between the drip tray of FIG. 3 and the fan assembly of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of an arrangement of a compressor, a drip tray, a fan assembly, and a heat-exchanger in a machine compartment;
FIG. 7 shows internal perspective and enlarged views of a coupled state between the drip tray and the fan assembly;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an arrangement of the compressor, drip tray, fan assembly, and heat-exchanger of FIG. 6 in the machine compartment;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a drip tray used in a refrigerator machine compartment;
FIG. 10 is a side view of a fan assembly used in a refrigerator machine compartment; and
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of a coupled state between the fan assembly of FIG. 10 and the drip tray of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The above objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art in the art to easily practice the technical idea of the present disclosure.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

[Tray drip]

An embodiment of a drip tray provided in a machine compartment includes as shown in FIG. 3, a bottom member or panel 77 formed of a plate having a substantially rectangular shape, and an outer or first wall 75 that extends upward from an edge of the bottom panel 77. The bottom panel 77 may be made of metal or plastic.
The bottom panel 77 may have a rectangular shape including short sides and long sides. Along a predetermined length at the long side edge of the bottom panel 77, an opening 78 at which the outer wall is not formed is defined. That is, the outer wall extends upward from the edge of the bottom panel 77 along a periphery of the bottom panel 77 except for the opening 78 region.
Further, the drip tray 7 includes an inner or second wall 76 that extends from both ends of the opening 78 of the bottom panel 77. The inner wall 76 may extend in a perpendicular manner to the long side of the bottom panel 77 and may extend along the bottom panel 77. That is, the inner wall 76 extends inward from the long side of the bottom panel 77. The direction in which the inner wall 76 extends inward from the long side of the bottom panel 77 may be parallel to the extending direction of the short side of the bottom panel 77.
The inner wall 76 extends upward from the bottom panel 77. The inner wall 76 is connected to the outer wall 75 at the opening 78. The inner wall 76 may have a "⊃" shape (U-shape). That is, an opposite portion to the opening 78 may be closed. The inner wall 76 includes a first inner wall and a second inner wall, and both extend in a direction parallel to the short side of the bottom panel 77, and a third inner wall that connects distal ends of the first and second inner walls to each other. That is, the proximal ends of the first inner wall and the second inner wall may be connected to the outer wall 75 of the bottom panel 77, while the distal ends of the first inner wall and the second inner wall may be interconnected via the third inner wall.
The first inner wall and the second inner wall extend parallel to each other and are parallel to the short side of the bottom panel 77. The third inner wall may be shorter than each of the first and second inner walls. The third inner wall may be parallel to the long side of the bottom panel 77.
According to an embodiment, the drip tray 7 may include outer walls that define two short sides and one long side of the rectangular shaped bottom panel 77, and an outer wall that defines the other long side except for the opening 78. That is, the outer wall 75 may define all the edges of the bottom panel 77 except for the opening 78.
Further, the inner wall 76 is connected to the outer wall 75 and extends inward from an edge of the bottom panel 77. Accordingly, the outer wall 75 and the inner wall 76 of the drip tray 7 form a closed loop.
A space defined by the bottom panel 77 and the closed loop formed by the outer wall 75 and the inner wall 76 defines a defrosted water storage space (or water storage space) 71. The water storage space 71 for defrosted water may be divided into two spaces. The two spaces are divided by the inner wall 76, in particular by the inner wall 76 protruding from the edge of the bottom panel 77 to the inside of the area of the bottom panel 77. A first storage space 711 may be defined to one side of the inner wall 76 along the longitudinal direction of the long side of the bottom panel 77, while a second storage space 712 may be defined to the other side of the inner wall 76 along the longitudinal direction of the long side of the bottom panel 77.
The second storage space 712 may occupy a wider area than the first storage space 711. In the second storage space, a heat-exchanger condenser to be described later may be provided.
The first storage space 711 and the second storage space 712 may communicate with each other through a communication space 713. The communication space 713 may be defined between the third inner wall and the outer wall. Since the defrosted water is a liquid, the defrosted water contained in the first storage space 711 and the defrosted water contained in the second storage space 712 may communicate with each other through the communication space 713 and may have the same water level.
On the bottom panel 77, a space excluding the defrosted water storage space 71 defined by the first storage space 711, the second storage space 712, and the communication space 713 may define a fan assembly accommodation space (or fan assembly mounting space) 73 into which the defrosted water w does not invade. The fan assembly accommodation space 73 may have a form of an elongated rectangular shape. The space 73 may be defined by the inner wall 76 defining two long sides and one short side. The other short side of the space 73 may be defined by the opening 78.
The fan assembly accommodation space 73 may not accommodate defrosted water therein. Thus, in the location of the fan assembly accommodation space 73, a portion or all of the bottom panel 77 may be removed. When a portion or all of the bottom panel 77 is removed in this manner, the water w may drain immediately therefrom even when the defrosted water w penetrates into the fan assembly accommodation space 73. This may reduce a risk that water will penetrate into the motor 42 of the fan assembly 3, which will be described later, provided in the fan assembly accommodation space 73.
The fan assembly accommodation space 73 may have one short side that defines the opening 78. Thus, although the bottom panel 77 is not removed in that region, the water drain may be realized. Therefore, for drainage, the portion or all of the bottom panel 77 may not be removed intentionally.
However, when, in the region of the fan assembly accommodation space 73, the bottom panel 77 is not removed, an overall stiffness of the drip tray 7 may increase. On the other hand, when, in the region of the fan assembly accommodation space 73, the bottom panel 77 is removed, the fan assembly 3 as described later may be accommodated more deeply within the machine compartment, thereby reducing the entire height of the machine compartment.
The absence or presence of the bottom panel 77 on the fan assembly accommodation space 73 may be determined by a method of manufacturing the drip tray 7. For example, when the drip tray 7 is manufactured by bending a metal plate, the inner wall 76 may be formed by bending a bottom plate upwards in the region of the fan assembly accommodation space 73. In this case, the bottom panel 77 may be removed. The material and manufacturing method of the drip tray 7 may be variously selected so that defrosted water stored in the defrosted water storage space 71 may not leak.
In the fan assembly accommodation space 73, the fan assembly 3 may be fixedly received. To this end, the inner wall 76 may include a first retainer or hook 79 which may be fastened to the fan assembly 3 and fix the fan assembly 3. The first retainer 79 may include a cantilever extension that extends horizontally from the inner wall toward the fan assembly accommodation space, and a hook structure formed at distal end of the cantilever extension. The first retainer 79 may extend from the third inner wall surface, however, the disclosure is not limited thereto.

[Fan assembly]

Hereinafter, the fan assembly 3 provided in the fan assembly accommodation space 73 of the drip tray 7 is described.
The fan assembly 3 includes a fan 41 and a frame 30 that supports the fan, and it may further include a motor 42 which may also be supported by the frame 30.
The frame 30 may include a square outer frame 31 and a circular inner frame 32 provided inside the outer frame 31. Between the outer frame 31 and the inner frame 32, a blocking plate 33 that closes a space between the outer frame and the inner frame may be provided.
The outer frame 31 may define an outer face of the fan assembly 3 and may be a rigid structure that supports the fan assembly 3 as a whole. The outer frame 31 may have a width wide enough to secure the rigidity to support the fan assembly 3 as a whole and to stably support the fan assembly 3.
The inner circumferential face of the inner frame 32 may have a curved surface that guides air flow from the fan 41. The fan 41 may be provided within a fan air flow cross-section defined by the inner circumferential face of the inner frame 32. The fan 41 may be directly coupled to a rotation shaft of the motor 42 and may rotate together with the rotation shaft of the motor.
The motor 42 may be located at the center of the fan air flow cross-section. The frame 30 may include support arms 38 which may radially extend from the center of the fan air flow cross-section and which may be thinly formed so as not to interfere with fan air flow. The support arms 38 may support a motor fixing portion 39 that fixes the motor 42.
Referring to FIG. 4, at the inner lower position of the fan assembly 3, a cutout 34 may be formed by partially cutting the frame 30. The cutout 34 may be formed by cutting a portion of the outer frame 31 and a portion of the blocking plate 33. The cut-out 34 may have a shape approximately corresponding to a cross-section shape of the communication space 713 of the drip tray 7.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the first retainer 79 may include an extension that extends laterally outward toward the fan assembly accommodation space 73 from the upper end of the inner wall 73 and a hook that protrudes upward from the distal end of the extension. Correspondingly, in an inner face portion of the cutout 34, a second retainer 35 may be defined. The second retainer 35 may be engaged with the first retainer 79 provided in the fan assembly accommodation space 73 of the drip tray 7 described above. Referring to FIG. 4, the second retainer or notch 35 may have a stopper onto which the hook may be hooked.
In one embodiment, a fixing support 36 may extend upward from the top portion of the frame 30. A through-hole 361 may be defined in the fixing support 36. The through-hole 361 may be a hole through which a screw or bolt passes. Thus, the fan assembly 3 may be fixed to the machine compartment.

[Machine compartment]

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 8, a combined structure between the drip tray 7 and the fan assembly 3 according to the first embodiment will be described.
Upper and lower ends and a front end of the machine compartment 10 may be closed, while a rear end of the machine compartment 10 may be opened. Thus, the machine compartment 10 may have a rectangular parallelepiped structure in which air channels are formed through which the air may circulate. That is, the machine compartment may have an elongate and flat rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The drip tray 7 may be provided on the bottom of the machine compartment 10. The long side of the drip tray 7 may be parallel to the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the opening 78 of the drip tray 7 may face out of the machine compartment 10 in a rearward direction.
A compressor 20 may be provided on a first or left side of the drip tray 7. The compressor 20 may be provided on the bottom of the machine compartment 10 away from or outside of the drip tray 7. Furthermore, the first storage space 711 of the drip tray 7 may be arranged closer to the compressor 20. The compressor 20 may be provided above the first storage space 711 of the drip tray 7.
A heat-exchanger condenser 50 may be provided in the second storage space 712 of the drip tray 7. Within the machine compartment 10, the fan assembly accommodation space 73 may be arranged between the compressor 20 and the heat-exchanger 50. That is, the heat exchanger 50 may be arranged on the air discharge side of the fan assembly 3, while the compressor 20 may be provided on the air suction side of the fan assembly 3.
The fan assembly 3 may be inserted into the machine compartment 10 from a rear of the machine compartment 10, thereby placing the fan assembly 3 in the fan assembly accommodation space 73. The fan assembly 3 is configured to be guided in the length direction along the first and second inner walls of the fan assembly accommodation space 73.
When the fan assembly 3 is inserted up to an insertion depth, the hook, which may be the first retainer 79 of the drip tray 7 may be hooked onto the stopper which may be the second retainer 35 of the fan assembly 3. The hook may have an upper inclined surface facing out of the machine compartment 10. The inner face of the hook may be vertical. Therefore, during the insertion of the fan assembly 3, the first retainer may be elastically deformed. When the fan assembly 3 is completely inserted, the first retainer may be resiliently restored and may be engaged with the second retainer as shown in FIG. 7. Once the stopper and the hook are fastened to each other, the hook may not easily escape from the stopper.
A width of the first retainer 79 may be greater than a thickness of the blocking plate 33 of the fan assembly 3. Therefore, when the fan assembly 3 is to be separated and removed, a portion of the first retainer 79 exposed toward a side face of the blocking plate 33 of the fan assembly may be pushed downward as shown in FIG. 7 and the fan assembly 3 may be taken out of the machine compartment. After inserting the fan assembly 3 into the machine compartment, a fastener such as a screw may be inserted through the through-hole 361 of the fixing support 36 to further secure the fan assembly 3 to the machine compartment.
Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, when the drip tray 7 and fan assembly 3 are placed in machine compartment 10, an inner portion of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3 which is disposed inside the machine compartment 10 may be aligned with an inner portion of the outer wall 75 of the drip tray 7 which may be provided inside the machine compartment 10. Thus, an inner boundary 12 of the machine compartment 10 may be aligned with the inner portion of the outer wall 75 of the drip tray 7 and the inner portion of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3.
Further Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8, when the drip tray 7 and fan assembly 3 are placed in machine compartment 10, an outer portion of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3 may be provided further forward with an outer portion of the outer wall 75 of the drip tray 7. An outer boundary 11 of the machine compartment 10 may be arranged between the outer portion of the outer wall 75 of the drip tray 7 and the outer portion of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3. That is, the outer boundary 11 of the machine compartment 10 may be provided outside of the outer portion of the outer wall 75 of the drip tray 7, while the outer boundary 11 may be arranged inside of the outer portion of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3.
Thus, the depth d of the machine compartment may correspond to the length of the short side of the drip tray 7. The fan assembly 3 may be longer than the short side length of the drip tray 7.
In one embodiment, referring to Figures 5 and 8, a bottom boundary 13 of the machine compartment may be aligned with the lower face of the bottom panel 77 of the drip tray 7. Furthermore, a top boundary 14 of the machine compartment may be aligned with the upper end of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3. Thus, the height h of the machine compartment may be determined as the distance between the bottom face of bottom panel 77 of drip tray 7 and the top face of outer frame 31 of fan assembly 3.
The fan assembly accommodation space 73 into which defrosted water does not leak may be defined within or inside the region of the defrosted water storage space 71. So, the fan assembly accommodation space 73 is surrounded at three sides by the water storage space 71. Thus, unlike the related art, the lower end of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3 may be in contact with the bottom panel 77 of the drip tray 7. Further, when, in the region of the fan assembly accommodation space 73, the bottom panel 77 is removed, the lower end of the outer frame 31 of the fan assembly 3 may be in contact with the bottom of the machine compartment 10. Thus, according to the present disclosure, the height h of the machine compartment may be determined solely by the height of the fan assembly 3.
Thus, the height h of the machine compartment 10 may correspond only to the height of the fan assembly 3, which may be smaller than a height of a fan assembly in the related art. Further, the depth d of the machine compartment 10 may be equal to or smaller than the depth of the fan assembly. That is, the area of the fan assembly 3 may be increased while reducing the volume of the machine compartment. Thus, heat exchange efficiency and defrosted water removal efficiency may be increased. Thus, the storage capacity of the refrigerator may be further increased.
In particular, while the machine compartment 10 maintains a contour frame thereof and the drip tray 7 is provided in the machine compartment 10, the fan assembly 3 may be inserted into the machine compartment 10 in a sliding manner. Thus, the assembly of the machine compartment 10 may be very simple while reducing the height h of the machine compartment 10 to substantially the same height as the height of the fan assembly 3.

Claims

An assembly set including a drip tray (7) and a fan assembly (3), wherein the assembly set is configured to be provided in a machine compartment (10) of a refrigerator, wherein the fan assembly (3) includes:
a fan (41) configured to generate air flow by rotation thereof; and

a frame (30) configured to support the fan (41);
wherein the drip tray (7) includes:
a bottom panel (77);

an outer wall (75) extending upwardly from the bottom panel (77);

an opening (78) defined at the outer wall (75);

an inner wall (76) extending upwardly from the bottom panel (77), wherein the inner wall (76) is connected to the outer wall (75) at the opening (78) and extends inward from the outer wall (75) so that the outer wall (75) and the inner wall (76) form a closed loop;

a water storage space (71) defined by the closed loop and the bottom panel (77);

a fan assembly mounting space (73) defined by a space surrounded by the inner wall (76) and the opening (78), in which at least a portion of the fan assembly (3) is mounted; wherein the opening (78) is laterally and outwardly open to communicate with the fan assembly mounting space (73);

wherein the fan assembly (3) is configured to be at least partially inserted into or withdrawn out of the fan assembly mounting space (73) through the opening (78); and

wherein the inner wall (76) is configured to guide insertion of the frame (30) of the fan assembly (3) laterally into the fan assembly mounting space (73),

wherein the inner wall (76) includes a first inner wall and a second inner wall, and both extend in a direction parallel to a short side of the bottom panel (77), and a third inner wall that connects distal ends of the first and second inner walls to each other,

characterized in that

the inner wall (76) supports the fan assembly (3) when the fan assembly (3) is received in the fan assembly mounting space (73), and the fan assembly (3) is configured to be guided in the length direction along the first and second inner walls of the fan assembly accommodation space (73).
The assembly set of claim 1, wherein the drip tray (7) includes a first retainer (79) and the fan assembly (3) includes a second retainer (35) configured to engage with the first retainer (79).
The assembly set of claim 2, wherein one of the first retainer (79) and the second retainer (35) includes a cantilevered extension tab that extends in a horizontal direction and a hook provided at a distal end of the extension tab, and
wherein the other of the first retainer (79) and the second retainer (35) includes a notch configured to be hooked onto the hook.
The assembly set of claim 3, wherein a width of the extension tab is greater than a width of the notch, such that a portion of the extension tab is exposed adjacent to the notch and is configured to be pressed in order to be separated from the notch.
The assembly set of any one of preceding claims, wherein the inner wall (76) extending inward from the opening (78) has a substantially U-shape.
The assembly set of any one of preceding claims, wherein the bottom panel (77) is provided at the water storage space (71) and/or the bottom panel (77) is only partially provided or fully not provided at the fan assembly mounting space (73).
The assembly set of claim 1, wherein the fan assembly mounting space (73) divides the water storage space (71) into a first storage space (711) and a second storage space (712), and
wherein at least one communication space (713) is provided that allows the first storage space (711) and the second storage space (712) to communicate with each other.
The assembly set of claim 7, wherein the communication space (713) is defined between the fan assembly mounting space (73) and the outer wall (75).
The assembly set of claim 7, wherein at least one communication space (713) is disposed opposite to the opening (78).
The assembly set of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein an area of the second storage space (712) is larger than that of the first storage space (711), and a heat-exchanger (50) is disposed at the second storage space (712).
The assembly set of any one of preceding claims, wherein the frame (30) includes:
an outer frame (31) that defines an outer face of the fan assembly (3);

an inner frame (32) provided inside the outer frame (31) that defines an inner face of the fan assembly (3); and

a blocking plate (33) that connects the outer frame (31) and the inner frame (32).
The assembly set of any one of preceding claims, wherein the frame (30) includes at least one cut-out (34), and wherein the at least one cut-out (34) overlaps a portion of the water storage space (71) and the inner wall (76) when the fan assembly (3) is arranged in the fan assembly mounting space (73), preferably the cut-out (34) includes at least a cut-out in a bottom corner of frame (30).
A machine compartment (10) of a refrigerator provided with the assembly set of any one of preceding claims, wherein a fixing support (36) extends upward from a top of the frame (30), and the fixing support (36) is fixed to the machine compartment (10) while being disposed outside the machine compartment (10).
Refrigerator comprising an assembly set according to any one of the preceding claims 1-12 or comprising a machine compartment as claimed in claim 13.