JP2006046718A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator structure realizing uniform frost formation of a cooler without sacrificing in-chamber space. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator 1 is provided with a refrigeration chamber 20, a thaw chamber 25, and a freezing chamber 30 in a heat insulating casing 10. Cold air is produced by the cooler 72 installed in a cooling duct 80, and the cold air is distributed to each room through a cooling duct 81 to provide desired temperatures. Air is the refrigeration chamber 20 is returned to the cooler 72 through a return duct 87, and air in the freezing chamber 25 is returned to the cooler 72 through a return duct 88. An outlet 87b of the return duct 87, and an outlet 88b of the return duct 88 are faced toward different portions of the cooler 72. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Current refrigerators use a system that cools air with a cooler and sends this cooling air (cold air) to each compartment in the cabinet with a fan, and obtains the temperature required for that compartment by the amount of cold air sent. Most of them. The cold air that has cooled each compartment is returned to the cooler through the return duct. An example of the structure of such a refrigerator can be seen in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-183011 (page 3, FIG. 1-4)

  The return air from the refrigerator compartment and vegetable compartment contains a lot of moisture. When such return air touches the cooler, moisture contained in the return air becomes frost. When the return air flows from one of the coolers, frost is formed on one of the coolers, causing clogging, resulting in a decrease in cooling performance. In order to prevent this, in the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, a guide plate is provided between a defrosting heater installed below the cooler and a dew receiving tray installed further below the defroster. After the return air and the return air from the refrigerator compartment are mixed, the return air is uniformly sucked into the lower part of the cooler.

  The method for uniform frost formation disclosed in Patent Document 1 complicates the refrigerator structure. Moreover, a space for mixing the return air from the freezer compartment and the return air from the refrigerator compartment is required under the cooler, which presses the effective internal volume of the refrigerator.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said point, and it aims at providing the refrigerator structure which can implement | achieve frost uniformization of a cooler, without sacrificing the space in a store | warehouse | chamber.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator in which cold air generated by a cooler is supplied to a refrigerator compartment through a cooling duct, and air in the refrigerator compartment is returned to the cooler through a return duct. A thawing chamber is provided adjacent to the refrigeration chamber. The thawing chamber is provided with a damper for taking in cold air from the cooling duct as necessary, a return duct for returning the internal air to the cooler, and a return from the refrigeration chamber. The outlet of the duct and the outlet of the return duct from the thawing chamber are respectively directed to different parts of the cooler.

  According to this configuration, since the return air from the refrigeration chamber and the thawing chamber, which are moisture generation sources, is directed to different parts of the cooler, frosting that is biased to the cooler does not occur. For this reason, thick frost does not clog only at one place of the cooler, and the performance of the cooler is stably maintained.

  In addition, it is not necessary to arrange a structure for mixing the return air or sucking the cooler uniformly under the cooler, the structure is simplified, and the space efficiency in the warehouse is improved. .

  (2) Moreover, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the present invention is characterized in that the return duct from the thawing chamber is provided by using one of the return ducts from the refrigerator compartment. .

  According to this configuration, there is no need to prepare a return duct exclusively for the thawing chamber, and the structure of the refrigerator does not increase in complexity.

  (3) Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator configured as described above, the thawing room can be switched to a refrigerator room or a freezer room.

  According to this configuration, when there is no use for thawing, the thawing room can be used as a refrigeration room or a freezing room, and no useless space is generated in the storage.

  According to the present invention, since the return air from the refrigerator compartment and the thawing chamber is directed to different parts of the cooler, only one part of the cooler is not thickly clogged with frost and the performance of the cooler Is maintained stably. If the return duct from the thawing chamber is provided using one of the plurality of return ducts from the refrigerator compartment, it can be realized without increasing the complexity of the refrigerator structure.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling cycle, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of how a secondary refrigerant flows, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of how cold air flows, and FIG. 5 is a function of a thawing chamber. It is a schematic block diagram explaining these.

  The refrigerator 1 is for food preservation, and the heat insulating housing 10 constitutes the main body. The interior of the heat insulating housing 10 is partitioned into two upper and lower stages by a horizontal partition wall 11, and the upper stage is set as a refrigerator compartment 20 and a thawing room 25, and the lower stage is set as a freezer compartment 30. The front (left side in FIG. 1) of the refrigerator compartment 20, the thawing compartment 25, and the freezer compartment 30 is an opening for taking in and out food, and the heat insulating doors 21 and 31 are closed.

  A plurality of shelf boards 22 are provided inside the refrigerator compartment 20. Adjacent to the lowermost part of the refrigerator compartment 20 is a thawing chamber 25 having a heat insulating structure. The thawing chamber 25 shares a heat insulating door 21 with the refrigerator compartment 20 and also has a unique heat insulating door 26.

  The thawing chamber 25 has a function of controlling temperature and humidity in order to thaw frozen food. Its function is achieved by the elements shown in FIG. That is, the air circulation duct 100 is provided outside the inner wall of the thawing chamber 25. The air circulation duct 100 has an inlet part 100a at the lower part of the thawing chamber 25 and an outlet part 100b at the upper part. A blower 101 for generating a circulating airflow is installed inside the air circulation duct 100. A heater 102 is installed downstream of the blower 101, and a humidifying tray 103 is installed further downstream. Water is dripped to the humidifying tray 103 through a water supply unit 105 from a water tank 104 arranged outside the air circulation duct 100. This water is heated by a heater 106 installed at the bottom of the humidifying pan 103 to generate water vapor. The water supply part 105 is comprised with a pump and a valve.

  On the bottom surface of the thawing chamber 25, a heat conduction plate 107 made of a metal having good heat conductivity such as aluminum is installed. A temperature sensor 108 for monitoring the surface temperature of the food to be thawed is installed on the ceiling of the thawing chamber 25. For example, an infrared sensor can be used as the temperature sensor 108. A drain pan 109 for receiving condensed water and drainage from the water supply pipe from the water tank 104 is installed under the thawing chamber 25.

  A total of four freezing containers 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d are stored in the freezer compartment 30 so as to overlap each other. The freezing containers 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d are respectively supported on the inner surface of the freezing chamber 14 by the side edges, and can be pulled out by sliding forward.

  A machine room 40 is formed on the back surface of the heat insulating housing 10. The machine room 40 is a rectangular parallelepiped structure configured by combining sheet metal parts, and the back side is open. A Stirling refrigerator 50 is accommodated in the machine room 40.

  After the Stirling refrigerator 50 is installed, the back side opening of the machine room 40 is closed with a lid 44. The lid 44 is formed with a ventilation port 45 for taking in air for cooling the high-temperature side condenser described later and an opening 47 for connecting an outlet of an air-cooling duct described later.

  A part of the Stirling refrigerator 50 becomes a heat radiating portion 51, and a high temperature side evaporator 61 is attached thereto (see FIG. 2). A high temperature side condenser 62 is installed on the Stirling refrigerator 50. The high temperature side evaporator 61 and the high temperature side condenser 62 are connected by a secondary refrigerant pipe, and constitute a high temperature side secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 60. The secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 60 is sealed with water (including an aqueous solution) or a hydrocarbon refrigerant. The high temperature side evaporator 61 has a shape in which a hollow ring divided into two is combined, and the inside of each half of the ring is an evaporation chamber 61a independent of each other (see FIG. 3).

The other part of the Stirling refrigerator 50 becomes a heat absorption part 52, and a low temperature side condenser 71 is attached thereto (see FIG. 2). A cooler 72 that is a low temperature side evaporator is installed in the back of the freezer compartment 30. The low temperature side condenser 71 and the cooler 72 are connected by a secondary refrigerant pipe to constitute a low temperature side secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 70. The secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 70 is filled with a natural refrigerant such as CO ₂ . The low temperature side condenser 71 is a single hollow ring shape, and the inside becomes the condensation chamber 71a (refer FIG. 3).

  If the high-temperature side evaporator 61 has a single ring shape, it is necessary to strictly manage the shape and secure the fitting accuracy in order to firmly contact the heat radiation part 51 of the Stirling refrigerator 50. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the high temperature side evaporator 61 has a shape in which the hollow ring is halved. Therefore, by adjusting the tightening pressure when the radiating portion 51 of the Stirling refrigerator 50 is sandwiched between the half rings. The contact pressure can be controlled. That is, the contact pressure becomes insufficient due to the shape error, and the heat transfer coefficient with the heat radiating portion 51 is unlikely to fall. The same is true if the ring is divided into more blocks.

  The high-temperature side condenser 62 has a structure in which a pipe made of a metal having good heat conductivity such as copper, copper alloy, or aluminum is bent, and a plurality of heat radiation fins 63 made of a metal having high heat conductivity are attached to the pipe. Similarly, the cooler 72 has a structure in which a large number of heat absorbing fins 73 made of a metal having good heat conductivity are attached after a pipe made of a metal having good heat conductivity such as copper, copper alloy, or aluminum is bent.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the outgoing side secondary refrigerant piping 64 is led out from the two evaporation chambers 61 a of the high temperature side evaporator 61. The two forward-side secondary refrigerant pipes 64 merge outside the high-temperature side evaporator 61 and are connected to the high-temperature side condenser 62 as one pipe. The return side secondary refrigerant pipe 65 returns from the high temperature side condenser 62, and the return side secondary refrigerant pipe 65 also branches before the high temperature side evaporator 61 to form two pipes. One by one is connected to the evaporation chamber 61a.

  Cooling ducts 80 and 81 extending in the vertical direction along the inner wall on the back side are provided inside the heat insulating housing 10. The cooling duct 80 is located on the back side, and the cooling duct 81 is located on the near side thereof. The cooling duct 80 ends at a height up to the middle of the refrigerator compartment 20, but the duct 81 continues to the ceiling of the refrigerator compartment 20.

  At the lower end of the cooling duct 80, an air inlet 82 for sucking the internal air from the freezer compartment 30 is provided. A cooler 72 is installed above the intake port 82, and a blower 83 that blows out air to the cooling duct 81 is further provided above the cooler 72.

  The thawing room 25 is not only used for thawing frozen foods, but can also be switched to a refrigerated room or a freezer room. For this reason, the thawing chamber 25 communicates with the cooling duct 81 via a damper 86 (see FIG. 1). When used as a refrigeration chamber, the thawing chamber 25 receives an amount of cold air necessary for obtaining a refrigeration temperature from the cooling duct 81. When used as a freezing room, the cooling duct 81 receives a quantity of cold air necessary for obtaining a freezing temperature.

  A return duct for collecting air from the refrigerator compartment 20 and the thawing compartment 25 is provided in the heat insulating casing 10. FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the ducts. There are two return ducts 87,88. The return duct 87 on the right side as viewed from the front of the refrigerator 1 is for returning the air in the refrigerator compartment 20 to the cooler 72, and has an inlet 87 a in the refrigerator compartment 20 and an outlet 87 b in the cooler 72. It faces to the lower right corner of (viewed from the front of the refrigerator). The return duct 88 on the left side is for returning the air in the thawing chamber 25 to the cooler 72, has an inlet 88 a in the thawing chamber 25, and directs the outlet 88 b toward the lower left corner of the cooler 72. Yes.

  Lattice grills are provided at the inlets 87a and 88a of the return ducts 87 and 88, respectively. The return duct 88 may be a return duct from the refrigerating chamber 20 like the return duct 87, and an air inlet from the thawing chamber 25 may be provided in the middle.

  The air cooling duct 90 is combined with the high temperature side condenser 62 in order to efficiently release the condensation heat from the high temperature side condenser 62 and improve the operation efficiency of the Stirling refrigerator 50. The air cooling duct 90 is a synthetic resin molded product having a rectangular cross section of the ventilation path, and its inlet portion is applied to the upper surface of the high temperature side condenser 62 and its outlet portion is applied to the opening 47 of the lid 44. When viewed from the side, the air cooling duct 90 extends obliquely upward from the entrance to the exit at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the horizontal.

  A blower 91 is inserted into the air cooling duct 90. The blower 91 has two propeller fans arranged in the depth direction of FIG. 1, and the blowing direction coincides with the axis of the air cooling duct 90. The blower 91 can be taken in and out from the outlet of the air cooling duct 90, and is fixed to a mounting protrusion 93 that protrudes from the inner surface of the air cooling duct 90 in a form perpendicular to the duct axis with screws (not shown).

  When the blower 91 is operated, external air is sucked from the vent 45 of the lid 44. The air that has entered the machine room 40 passes through the high temperature side condenser 62 and takes away the heat of condensation released by the high temperature side condenser 62. The air deprived of heat is sucked into the air-cooling duct 90, further sucked into the blower 91, and discharged from there to the outside obliquely upward.

  The lid 44 of the machine room 40 is not a simple flat plate, but has a shape in which the center protrudes toward the back side and the four circumferences are inclined. Out of these slope portions, the outlet of the air cooling duct 90 opens to the slope portion facing obliquely upward. For this reason, a certain gap or more is generated between the outlet of the air cooling duct 90 and the wall surface of the room, and the air flows smoothly. In order to air-cool the high temperature side condenser 62, a large amount of air is required, but the Stirling refrigerator 50 can always be operated efficiently by securing the air discharge path in this way.

  Next, the operation of the refrigerator 1 will be described. When the Stirling refrigerator 50 is operated, the heat dissipating part 51 becomes high temperature and the heat absorbing part 52 becomes low temperature. The heat of the heat radiating portion 51 is transmitted to the high temperature side condenser 62 through the secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 60. The cold heat of the heat absorption part 52 is transmitted to the cooler 72 via the secondary refrigerant circulation circuit 70.

  When the blower 83 is operated here, the air in the freezer compartment 30 is sucked from the inlet 82 at the lower end of the cooling duct 80 and passes through the cooler 72. Further, the air in the refrigerator compartment 20 and the thawing compartment 25 is sucked into the cooling duct 80 through the return ducts 87 and 88, and similarly passes through the cooler 72. The air passing through the cooler 72 is cooled and becomes cold.

  The cold air is blown into the cooling duct 81 by the blower 83, and enters the refrigerating chamber 20 through the air outlet 84 provided in the upper part of the duct 81 (the part above the horizontal partition wall 11) and the lower part of the cooling duct 81 (the horizontal partition). Each is sent into the freezer compartment 30 through the outlet 85 provided in the part below the wall 11. If the damper 86 is open, cold air is also sent to the thawing chamber 25. In this way, the refrigerating room 20, the thawing room 25, and the freezing room 30 are each fed with a necessary amount of cold air (or not sent), and the refrigerating room 20, the thawing room 25, and the freezing room 30 are each set to a predetermined temperature. To be cooled. A control unit (not shown) controls the operation control.

  When thawing frozen food, the heat insulating door 26 of the thawing chamber 25 is opened, and the food F is placed on the heat conduction plate 107 as shown in FIG. Then, necessary information such as the type and amount of food F is input from the operation panel (not shown) of the refrigerator 1 and the defrost key is pressed. This starts thawing.

  The control unit drives the blower 101 to form a circulating airflow that returns from the thawing chamber 25 to the thawing chamber 25 through the air circulation duct 100. The circulating air is heated by the heater 102. When the steam generated in the humidifying pan 103 is added to the heated air, the air in the thawing chamber 25 has a temperature (25 ° C.) and humidity (90%) suitable for thawing. Note that the small circle drawn in FIG. 5 is a symbol of water vapor.

  The water vapor condenses when it comes into contact with the surface of the food F and gives the food F condensation heat. This facilitates thawing. The moisture given by the water vapor also serves to prevent the food F from drying out. The heat conduction plate 107 laid under the food F collects heat energy in the air and transmits it to the food F to promote thawing from the bottom side.

  The temperature sensor 108 monitors the change in the surface temperature of the food F and transmits the data to the control unit. Based on this, the control unit controls various elements such as blowing, heating, and humidification so that thawing is performed under optimum conditions.

  The air flowing from the thawing chamber 25 into the return duct 88 naturally contains moisture. Further, the air flowing into the return duct 87 from the refrigerator compartment 20 also contains moisture. The air containing the moisture is different in the cooler 72 from the refrigerator compartment 20 to the lower right corner portion of the cooler 72 and from the thawing chamber 25 to the lower left corner portion of the cooler 72. Sprayed to the site. For this reason, the water derived from the refrigerator compartment 20 has the right half of the cooler 72 as the frosting region, and the water derived from the thawing chamber 25 has the left half of the cooler 72 as the frosting region.

  As described above, since moisture is distributed to the left and right of the cooler 72, thick frost is not formed on one side and clogging occurs, and the performance of the cooler 72 is stably maintained. In addition, this can be realized simply by directing the outlets 87b and 88b of the return ducts 87 and 88 to different parts of the cooler 72, and a structure for mixing the return air and sucking the cooler uniformly into the cooler is provided. It is not necessary to provide it under 72, and the space in the warehouse is not compressed.

  Further, when the defrosting heater is disposed under the cooler 72, the distribution of the heat generation amount is changed so as to match the difference in the amount of frost formation between the return duct 87 side and the return duct 88 side. Defrosting can be realized.

    Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

    The present invention is widely applicable to refrigerators for home use or business use.

The vertical sectional view of the refrigerator concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. Schematic configuration diagram of cooling cycle Illustration of how the secondary refrigerant flows Illustration of how cold air flows Schematic configuration diagram explaining the function of the thawing chamber

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 10 Heat insulation housing | casing 20 Refrigeration room 25 Thawing room 30 Freezing room 40 Machine room 50 Stirling refrigerator 72 Cooler 80, 81 Cooling duct 87, 88 Return duct

Claims (3)

In the refrigerator, the cool air generated by the cooler is sent to the refrigerator compartment through the cooling duct, and the air in the refrigerator compartment is returned to the cooler through the return duct.
A thawing chamber is provided adjacent to the refrigeration chamber. The thawing chamber is provided with a damper for taking in cold air from the cooling duct as needed, a return duct for returning the internal air to the cooler, and the refrigeration chamber. The refrigerator is characterized in that the outlet of the return duct from the outlet and the outlet of the return duct from the thawing chamber are respectively directed to different parts of the cooler.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of return ducts from the thawing chamber are provided using one of the return ducts from the refrigerator compartment.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thawing room can be switched to a refrigerator room or a freezer room.

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