JP2002115953A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of a conventional refrigerator such that in case that a combustible HC(hydrocarbon) refrigerant leaks, if there is an ignition source such as a contact or the like under a pipe having caused a leakage, the HC refrigerant falls upon the ignition source, and it bursts, and it leads to an serious accident. SOLUTION: This refrigerator is made in such structure that a refrigerant does not fall upon an ignition source even in case that an ignition source such as a contact or the like is arranged above a pipe and it causes a leakage of refrigerant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a refrigerator using a hydrocarbon refrigerant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the problem of depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere due to chlorofluorocarbon, chlorofluorocarbon (hereinafter referred to as CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (hereinafter HCF)
C) is subject to regulation. As an alternative, a hydrofluorocarbon containing no chlorine in the molecule (hereinafter, referred to as HFC) is effective, but a hydrocarbon (hereinafter, referred to as HC) having extremely little effect on global warming is also being studied. . Specific HCs include propane (R290), isobutane (R600a) and mixtures thereof.

Hereinafter, such an HC will be described with reference to the drawings.
The refrigerator will be described. FIG. 4 is a cross section of a conventional HC refrigerator. In FIG. 4, a refrigerator body 1 includes a heat insulating box 2,
The heat insulation box 2 is composed of an outer box 3, an inner box 4, and a heat insulating material 5. A compressor 8 is installed in the machine room 7. The compressor 8 includes a condenser 9,
The expansion mechanism 10 is connected to the evaporator 11 via a refrigerant pipe 12. Although not shown, this refrigeration cycle includes HC
Refrigerant and refrigerating machine oil are enclosed. As an example of an electrical component having a contact point, a thermostat 13 for adjusting the temperature in the refrigerator is installed below the evaporator pipe connection portion 11a in the inner box 4.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In the refrigerating device including the compressor 8, the condenser 9, and the evaporator 11, the compressor 8 compresses a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant gas, discharges a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant gas, and sends the refrigerant gas to the condenser 9. The refrigerant gas sent to the condenser 9 becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid while releasing the heat into the air via the condenser 9 and the like, and is sent to the expansion mechanism 10. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid passing through the expansion mechanism 10 becomes low-temperature and low-pressure wet vapor by the throttle effect, and the refrigerant entering the evaporator 11 absorbs heat from the surroundings and evaporates to cool the inner box 4. The low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant gas that has passed through the evaporator 11 is sucked into the compressor 8. Hereinafter, the same cycle is repeated.
The thermostat 13 detects the internal temperature and controls the internal temperature by controlling the compressor 8 of the refrigeration cycle.

[0005] Next, the H
The gas leakage of the C refrigerant will be described. It is conceivable that flammable HC refrigerant leaks into or out of the refrigerator due to breakage or corrosion of the joint. The HC refrigerant is heavier than air,
It has the property of moving downward. As is well known, a refrigerator has an ignition source such as a thermostat and a door switch. For this reason, even if the amount of the leaked refrigerant is small, if the refrigerant descends and comes into direct contact with the ignition source, the flammable HC refrigerant may ignite and explode, leading to a serious accident.
The same can be said when an ignition source is located near the outside of the refrigerator depending on the installation location. As a method of detecting a refrigerant leak at an early stage, for example, an invention of giving an odor to an HC refrigerant as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-14675 has been considered.

[0006]

Since the HC refrigerant is flammable, it is conceivable that the HC refrigerant leaks into or out of the refrigerator due to breakage or corrosion of the joint of the refrigeration cycle components. If the refrigerant leaks, even a small amount, it may ignite and explode if it descends and comes into direct contact with the ignition source. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the leaked refrigerant from coming into direct contact with the ignition source.

[0007] In a conventional refrigerator, an electric component having a contact point and a wiring connection portion may be arranged below the piping connection portion inside and outside the refrigerator. If the leaked refrigerant comes down here,
There is a possibility that the HC refrigerant may ignite and explode due to contact spark or heat generated due to poor contact due to half-insertion of the connection part.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which ignition of HC refrigerant is prevented.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an electric component having a contact point and a wiring connection portion are arranged above a pipe connection portion exposed in each room so that refrigerant does not fall to an ignition source. Structured. Further, an exhaust hole is provided in a lower portion or a bottom surface of the cover in order to exhaust the refrigerant that has entered the protective cover that covers the electrical components having the contacts and the wiring connection portion.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The detailed description of the same configuration as the conventional example is omitted, and the same reference numeral is given. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a refrigerator equipped with the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of a refrigerator equipped with the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross section of a thermostat portion of the refrigerator equipped with the present invention. FIG. The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. Compressor 8,
In the refrigerating device including the condenser 9 and the evaporator 11, the compressor 8 compresses the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant gas, discharges the high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant gas, and sends the refrigerant gas to the condenser 9. The refrigerant gas sent to the condenser 9 becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid while releasing the heat into the air via the condenser 9 and the like, and is sent to the expansion mechanism 10. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid passing through the expansion mechanism 10 becomes low-temperature and low-pressure wet vapor by the throttle effect, and the refrigerant entering the evaporator 11 absorbs heat from the surroundings and evaporates to cool the inner box 4. The low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant gas that has passed through the evaporator 11 is sucked into the compressor 8. Hereinafter, the same cycle is repeated. As an example of an electrical component having a contact, an evaporator pipe connection 11
The thermostat 13 installed above “a” detects the temperature in the refrigerator and controls the compressor 8 in the refrigeration cycle to adjust the temperature in the refrigerator.

In an HC refrigerator, if the flammable HC refrigerant leaks into or out of the refrigerator due to breakage or corrosion of the junction of the refrigeration cycle components, even if the amount of the leaked refrigerant is small, the refrigerant becomes an ignition source. When it comes down and comes in direct contact, the flammable H
The refrigerant C may ignite and explode, leading to a serious accident. HC refrigerant is heavier than air and has the property of moving downward. In the refrigerator of the present invention, since the thermostat 13 is installed above the evaporator pipe connection portion 11a, the leaked refrigerant does not fall on the ignition source. So fire,
Explosion can be prevented. In addition, as for electric parts other than the thermostat, such as interior lights and door switches,
The present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, there are two independent rooms, an upper room is a refrigerator room 15, a lower room is a freezer room 16, and each room is provided with an evaporator 11, and each evaporator pipe connection portion is provided. Above 11a, a thermostat 13 is provided as an example of an electrical component having a contact. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the temperature inside the refrigerator is detected by the thermostat 13 in each room, and the temperature inside the refrigerator is adjusted by controlling the compressor 8 and the switching valve 14 of the refrigeration cycle.

Further, as shown in FIG.
3 has a gap 13e between the adjustment dial 13b and the protective cover 13c, and there is a possibility that the leaked refrigerant enters the inside of the protective cover 13c through the gap 13e. Since the HC refrigerant is heavier than air and has a characteristic of moving downward, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the exhaust hole 13 is formed on the bottom surface of the protective cover 13c.
d was provided so that the inside of the protective cover 13c was not filled with the refrigerant. Thereby, the refrigerant does not enter the thermostat main body 13a, and ignition and explosion using the thermostat 13 as an ignition source can be prevented.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, the electric parts having the contact points and the wiring connection parts are arranged above the pipe connection parts exposed in each room, and the flammable HC refrigerant leaks into the refrigerator. Also, the refrigerant does not fall to the ignition source. Further, since the exhaust hole is provided in the protection cover of the electric component having the contact, the inside of the electric component is not filled with the HC refrigerant. As a result, a serious accident such as ignition and explosion of the HC refrigerant can be avoided, and safety against leakage of the HC refrigerant into the storage can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a refrigerator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the refrigerator of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a thermostat section of the refrigerator of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Refrigerator body, 2 ... Insulated box, 3 ... Outer box, 4 ... Inner box,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Insulation material, 6 ... Door, 7 ... Machine room, 8 ... Compressor, 9 ... Condenser, 10 ... Expansion mechanism, 11 ... Evaporator, 11a ... Evaporator piping connection part, 12 ... Refrigerant piping, 13 ... Thermostat ,
13a: thermostat body, 13b: adjustment dial,
13c: protective cover, 13d: exhaust hole, 13e: gap,
14: switching valve, 15: refrigerator compartment, 16: freezer compartment.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhisa Ichimoto 800 Futami Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Inside the Hitachi, Ltd.Cooling Division (72) Inventor Toru Kobayashi 800 Futami Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Stock 3L045 AA07 BA01 CA02 DA02 PA04 PA05

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator having a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, an evaporator, and a refrigerant pipe for connecting the same to a refrigerant cycle, wherein a hydrocarbon refrigerant is sealed in a refrigeration cycle, and an independent room is formed by partition walls and the like. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electric components are arranged above a connection portion of the pipe exposed in the room.