JP2002022340A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the dew condensation in a damper part and also to contrive the effective utilization of in-refrigerator space, in a refrigerator which controls the quantity of chill to be supplied into a refrigeration chamber from a cooler by means of a damper thermometer. SOLUTION: A cooler 28 is arranged under a refrigeration chamber 12 provided on an upper stage, and also a blow-up duct 32 extending vertically for blowing up the chill from the cooler 28 to the upper end of the refrigeration chamber 12 is provided behind the refrigeration chamber 12, and a damper part 34 is provided at the upper end of this blow-up duct 32, and a damper thermometer 36 which controls the quantity of chill to be supplied into the refrigeration chamber 12 from the cooler 28 is arranged in the damper part 34. Moreover, a blow-out duct 38 for blowing out the chill from the damper part 34 from the specified position within the refrigeration chamber 12 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator for controlling an amount of cold air supplied from a cooler into a refrigerator compartment by a damper thermostat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a refrigerator in which the amount of cold air supplied from a cooler into a refrigerator compartment is adjusted by opening and closing a damper in accordance with the temperature of the refrigerator compartment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example of this type of refrigerator.

[0003] The refrigerator 100 has a refrigerator compartment 10
1, a freezing refrigerator having a freezing room 102 in the middle and a vegetable room 103 in the lower, and a cooler 104 behind the freezing room 102
And a blower fan 105 are provided. A duct 106 extending in the vertical direction is provided behind the refrigerating room 101, and cool air generated by the cooler 104 is blown by a blower fan 105.
Is blown up inside this duct 106,
The air is blown from the outlet 107 on the front of the duct 106 into the refrigerator compartment 101.

In the refrigerator 100, the duct 10
6, a damper portion 108 is provided at the lower end. That is, the damper unit 108 is provided behind the chilled room 109 which is a low-temperature section provided at the lowermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 101. The damper unit 108 includes the cooler 10
A damper thermometer 110 for controlling the amount of cool air supplied from the cooler 104 into the duct 106 by opening and closing the cool air flow path from the cooler 104 is provided.

[0005]

Generally, a damper thermostat is a damper that changes the degree of opening and closing of a baffle by expansion and contraction of gas due to a change in temperature of a refrigerator, and is also called a gas pressure damper thermostat or a mechanical damper. Such a damper thermometer has a linear opening and closing operation, unlike a motor damper in which a motor is operated by a signal corresponding to the refrigerator compartment temperature to open and close the baffle. Therefore, depending on the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, there may be a case where a small amount of cold air leaks without completely closing the damper. In such a case, in the arrangement of the conventional damper thermo 110 shown in FIG.
06, the cold air is trapped around the baffle 110a of the damper thermo 110, so that the damper unit 10
8 will cause condensation and icing. for that reason,
Conventionally, a dew-proof heater 111 is provided in the damper unit 108. However, if the dew-proof heater 111 is used, cost increases,
A problem such as an increase in power consumption occurs.

In the above-mentioned conventional structure, the damper 10
8 is provided behind the chilled room 109, the depth dimension of the chilled room 109 and the door pocket 112, which are frequently used, is reduced, and there is a problem that the space in the refrigerator cannot be used effectively.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in a refrigerator in which the amount of cold air supplied from a cooler to a refrigerator compartment by a damper thermostat is prevented, dew condensation at a damper portion is prevented and a space inside the refrigerator is prevented. The aim is to make effective use of

[0008]

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a cooler is disposed below a refrigerator, and cool air from the cooler is blown to the upper end of the refrigerator behind the refrigerator. An extended blow-up duct is provided, and a damper portion is provided at an upper end of the blow-up duct, and a damper thermo for adjusting an amount of cool air supplied from the cooler into the refrigerator compartment is provided in the damper portion.

In the refrigerator according to the present invention, the cool air of the cooler disposed below the refrigerator compartment is blown up to the upper end of the refrigerator compartment through a blow-up duct provided behind the refrigerator compartment, and is provided at the upper end portion. In the damper section, the flow rate is adjusted by the damper thermometer and blown out into the refrigerator compartment.

According to the present invention, since the damper portion is provided at the upper end of the blow-up duct behind the refrigerating compartment, even if a small amount of cool air leaks in a state where the damper thermo is not completely closed, the cool air naturally flows from the damper portion. And the cold air does not remain in the damper part. Therefore, dew condensation and icing at the damper portion can be prevented, and a dew-proof heater is not required.

Further, since the damper portion is provided at the upper end of the refrigerator compartment, a large depth dimension of a low-temperature section such as a chilled room provided at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment can be ensured. Further, since the back of the uppermost shelf of the refrigerator compartment in which the damper unit is disposed is a part that is originally inconvenient to use, such an inconvenient space can be effectively utilized.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, a blow duct for blowing cool air from the damper portion from a predetermined position in the refrigerator compartment may be provided. In this case, the cool air adjusted by the damper thermometer is blown out of the blowout duct into the refrigerator compartment.

In this case, it is preferable that the blow-up duct is provided at the center in the width direction behind the refrigerating compartment, and the blow-out duct extending vertically is provided on both left and right sides of the blow-up duct behind the refrigerating compartment. Thereby, the temperature distribution in the refrigerator compartment can be made uniform.

The damper section has an inlet connected to an upper end of the blow-up duct and opened and closed by a baffle of the damper thermometer, and an outlet connected to the blow-off duct, wherein the outlet is located below the inlet. Preferably, it is provided. Specifically, it is preferable that the lower edge of the outlet of the damper portion is set lower, that is, lower than the lower edge of the inlet. This allows the cool air flowing into the damper from the inlet to flow from the outlet to the outlet duct without stagnation,
More reliable prevention of dew condensation can be achieved.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, a low-temperature compartment may be provided in the refrigerator compartment, and the blow-up duct may be provided with an opening opened to the low-temperature compartment. In this case, since the cool air flowing through the blow-up duct can be directly supplied to the low-temperature compartment such as a chilled room, the temperature difference between the low-temperature compartment and the other refrigerator compartments can be easily made.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the refrigerator 10.

The refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment is a refrigerator having a refrigerator compartment 12 in an upper stage, a vegetable compartment 14 in a middle stage, and a freezer compartment 16 in a lower stage. Inside the refrigerator compartment 12, storage shelves 18 are provided in a plurality of stages vertically, and a chilled room 20, which is a low-temperature compartment, is provided in the lowest stage. A door pocket 22 is provided on the back of the door 13 of the refrigerator compartment 12. The vegetable room 14 and the freezing room 16 are drawer-type storage rooms provided with storage containers 24 and 26 that are pulled out together with the respective doors 15 and 17.

A cooler 28 is provided behind the freezing compartment 16 and behind the vegetable compartment 14 above it.
An air blower fan 30 for circulating the cool air generated in the inside of the refrigerator is provided.

A blow-up duct 32 extending vertically is provided at the center of the refrigerator compartment 12 at the width direction thereof. The blow-up duct 32 has a lower end connected to a cool air passage 29 in which the cooler 28 and the blower fan 30 are arranged, extends upward therefrom, and terminates at the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 12. Thereby, the cool air from the cooler 28 arranged below is blown up by the action of the blower fan 30 through the inside of the blow-up duct 32 to the upper end of the refrigerator compartment 12, that is, the uppermost stage.

At the upper end of the blow-up duct 32, a damper section 34 for adjusting the amount of cool air supplied from the cooler 28 into the refrigerator compartment 12 is provided, and a damper thermo 36 is disposed on the damper section 34. Have been.

Behind the refrigerator compartment 12, there is also a damper unit 3.
A blowing duct 38 for blowing out the cool air from 4 into the refrigerator compartment 12 extends downward from the damper section 34. The blow-out duct 38 is provided on both the left and right sides of the blow-up duct 32, and a blow-out port 40 for blowing out cool air into the refrigerator compartment 12 is provided on the front surface. The outlet 40 is provided for each shelf 18 of the refrigerator compartment 12.

The damper section 34 is formed by a damper insulation 42 made of styrene foam, and a damper thermo 36 is disposed inside the damper insulation 42 as shown in FIGS. A damper inlet 44, which is a rectangular opening connected to the upper end of the blow-up duct 32, is provided on the back surface of the damper insulation 42. On both left and right sides of the damper inlet 44, rectangular dampers connected to the upper end of the blow-out duct 38 are provided. A damper outlet 46, which is a shaped opening, is provided. The damper outlet 46 is provided below the damper inlet 44 so that the cool air flowing into the inside of the damper part 34 from the center inlet 44 flows into the blow-out duct 38 without stagnation.
That is, the lower edge 46a of the damper outlet 46 is
4 is set at a position lower than the lower edge 44a, that is, at a lower position in the vertical direction of the refrigerator 10, and furthermore, there is no convex portion provided between the inlet 44 and the outlet 46 as a trap for cold air. .

The damper thermo 36 includes a baffle 48 for opening and closing the inlet 44 from the inside of the damper section 34, and a damper insulation 4
A heat-sensing portion 49 drawn out from the outside, the heat-sensing portion 49 detects the temperature in the refrigerating compartment 12, changes the degree of opening and closing of the baffle 48 by expansion and contraction of the gas due to the temperature change, and changes the blow-up duct 32. Then, the amount of cool air blown into the damper section 34 is adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 3, a knob 50 serving as a temperature controller for the damper thermo 36 is provided on the front surface of the damper section 34 facing the refrigerator compartment 12. This knob 50
Can be operated from the front of the refrigerator compartment 12 so that the refrigerator compartment 1 can be operated.
2 is provided to be exposed. The front surface of the damper portion 34 is covered with a cover 51 except for a place where the knob 50 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, outlets 52 for blowing cool air to the uppermost shelf 18a of the refrigerating compartment 12 are provided on the front surface of the damper portion 34 and on the right and left sides of the upper portion thereof. . The cool air is blown from the inside of the damper section 34 into the refrigerating room 12 as it is without passing through the damper outlet 46 from the outlet 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 54 opened to the chilled room 20 is provided in the central blowing duct 32.
Is provided. The opening 54 is provided in the blow-up duct 3.
2 is an opening for directly supplying the cool air flowing through the inside 2 to the chilled room 20, and has an opening of about の the size of the outlet 40 provided in the outlet duct 38.

In the refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment as described above, the cool air of the cooler 28 disposed below the refrigerator compartment 12 is blown by the blower fan 30 to the central blow-up duct 32.
It is blown up to the damper section 34 provided at the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 12 through the inside. Then, while the flow rate is adjusted by the baffle 48 of the damper thermo 36 at the inlet 44 of the damper portion 34, the gas enters the damper portion 34, and a part is blown into the refrigerating room 12 from the outlet 52 on the front surface of the damper portion 34, and the remaining The cool air flows from the outlet 46 of the damper section 34 to the left and right outlet ducts 38, and is blown into the refrigerator compartment 12 from the outlet 40 on the front surface thereof. Cooling air flows directly from the opening 54 provided in the blow-up duct 32 into the chilled room 20, and the chilled room 20 is cooled more than other sections in the refrigerator compartment 12.

In the refrigerator 10, the damper section 34 is provided at the uppermost stage of the refrigerator compartment 12, so that the
Even if a small amount of cool air leaks into the damper section 34 in a state where the 6 is not completely closed, the cool air naturally flows downward from the damper section 34, and the cool air does not remain in the damper section 34. for that reason,
Dew condensation and icing in the damper part 34 can be prevented.

Further, the damper outlet 46 is provided below the damper inlet 44 so that the cool air flowing into the damper section 34 from the inlet 44 flows into the outlet duct 38 from the outlet 46 without stagnation, so that a more reliable cooling air can be obtained. Prevents dew condensation.

In addition, the depth dimension of the chilled room 20, which is frequently used, and the door pocket 22 on the lower side inside the door 13 are large. In addition, since the back of the uppermost shelf 18a of the refrigerator compartment 12 provided with the damper portion 34 is a part that is originally inconvenient to use, the space that is inconvenient to use is effectively used.

Further, the blow-up duct 32 is connected to the refrigerator compartment 12.
Provided at the center in the width direction of the
Since cold air is blown into the refrigerating compartment 12 symmetrically, the temperature distribution in the refrigerating compartment 12 can be made uniform.

The opening 5 provided in the blow-up duct 32
Since cold air can be supplied directly from the chilled room 20 to the chilled room 20, a temperature difference between the chilled room 20 and other sections in the refrigerator compartment 12 can be easily provided.

Further, as compared with the conventional structure in which the damper portion is provided behind the chilled room, the temperature control portion of the damper thermo 36 can be installed so as to be exposed from the front of the refrigerator compartment 12, so that the temperature control portion can be used. Can be directly attached to the damper thermometer 36, and the number of parts can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the refrigerator having the vegetable compartment 14 in the middle stage and the freezer compartment 16 in the lower stage has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a freezer compartment in the middle stage and a vegetable compartment in the lower stage. it can.

[0036]

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, since the damper portion is provided at the upper end of the blow-up duct behind the refrigerator compartment, even if a small amount of cold air is leaked in a state where the damper thermo is not completely closed, the damper portion is provided. Cold air is not trapped, so that dew condensation and icing at the damper part can be prevented, and a dew-proof heater is not required. In addition, it is possible to secure a large depth dimension of a low-temperature section such as a chilled room provided at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment, and furthermore, the depth of the uppermost shelf of the refrigerator compartment in which the damper portion is disposed is a part that is originally inconvenient. Therefore, effective use of such an inconvenient space can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerator room of the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a damper portion of the refrigerator.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Refrigerator 12 Refrigerator room 20 Chilled room 32 Blow-up duct 34 Damper section 36 Damper thermo 38 Blow-out duct 44 Damper inlet 46 Damper outlet 48 Baffle 54 Opening

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator is disposed below a refrigerator compartment,
A vertically extending blow-up duct for blowing cold air from the cooler to the upper end of the refrigerator compartment is provided behind the refrigerator compartment, a damper portion is provided at an upper end of the blow-up duct, and the damper portion is provided with the damper portion from the cooler. A refrigerator comprising a damper thermostat for adjusting an amount of cold air supplied to a refrigerator compartment. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a blow duct for blowing cool air from said damper section from a predetermined position in said refrigerator compartment. 3. The blow-up duct is provided at the center in the width direction behind the refrigerator compartment, and the blow-out ducts extending in the vertical direction are provided on both left and right sides of the blow-up duct behind the refrigerator compartment. Item 3. The refrigerator according to Item 2. 4. The damper section has an inlet connected to an upper end of the blow-up duct and opened and closed by a baffle of the damper thermometer, and an outlet connected to the blow-off duct, wherein the outlet is located below the inlet. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerator is provided. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a low-temperature compartment is provided in the refrigerator compartment, and the blow-up duct is provided with an opening opened to the low-temperature compartment.