JP2008304074A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of securing high reliability by suppressing the rise of warm moisture generated during defrosting a cooler, and preventing frost formation in an ice-making compartment. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator provided with a freezing compartment 104 at least at a lower part of the ice-making compartment 103, comprises a discharge air trunk 108 for the ice-making compartment for distributing the cold air from a cooling compartment 110 defined and formed at a back part of the freezing compartment 104 to the ice-making compartment 103, and an ice-making compartment return air trunk 109 for returning the cold air from the ice-making compartment 103 to the cooling compartment 110, the ice-making compartment return air trunk 109 is composed of an air trunk for directly returning to the cooling compartment 110 and an air trunk for returning the cold air of the ice-making compartment 103 to the cooling compartment 110 through the inside of the freezing compartment 104. As the quantity of warm moisture to the ice-making compartment 103 can be reduced in defrosting a cooler 105, and frost formation in the ice-making compartment can be reduced, the reliability of the ice-making compartment 103 can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air path configuration of a refrigerator provided with an ice making chamber.

  In recent years, refrigerators with various layouts have been put on the market (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Refrigerators are multi-chambered, and each room has a discharge air passage and a return air passage, and cold air is circulated directly to the cooling chamber. FIG. 4 shows a conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body 1, a refrigerating room 2 provided at the top of the main body, a switching room 13 provided under the refrigerating room, and a switching room under the refrigerating room 2. 13, an ice making chamber 3 provided in parallel, a freezing chamber 4 provided at the lower part of the main body, a switching chamber 13 provided in parallel and a vegetable room 14 provided between the ice making chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 4, A cooler 5 for generating cold air, a fan 6 for internal stirring that sends cold air to each chamber, an air volume adjustment device 15 for adjusting the amount of cold air discharged to the refrigerator compartment 2, and an ice making chamber 3 discharge In order to supply cold air to the freezer compartment 4, the ice making room air volume adjusting device 16 for adjusting the amount of cool air to be supplied and the switching chamber air volume adjusting device 17 for adjusting the amount of cool air discharged to the switching chamber 13 are provided. A freezing chamber discharge air passage 18 and an ice making chamber air volume adjusting device 16 for supplying cold air to the ice making chamber 3. The ice making chamber discharge air passage 8, the switching chamber discharge air passage 19 having the switching chamber air volume adjusting device 17 for supplying cold air to the switching chamber 13, and the refrigerating chamber for supplying cold air to the refrigerating chamber 2. A cooling chamber discharge air passage 21 having an air flow adjusting device 15, an ice making chamber return air passage 9 for returning cold air from the ice making chamber 3 to the cooler 5, and a switching chamber return air passage returning from the switching chamber 13 to the cooler 5. 20, a refrigerator compartment return air passage 22 for returning from the refrigerator compartment 2 to the vegetable compartment 14, a vegetable compartment return air passage 23 for returning the cold air sent to the vegetable compartment 14 to the cooler 5, and a cooler from the freezer compartment 4 It is comprised from the freezer compartment return air path which returns to 5. FIG.
JP 2001-221555 A

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the discharge air passages 8, 18, 19, and 21 are provided with the air volume adjusting devices 15, 16, and 17 such as the internal stirring fan 6 and the damper, and the chambers 2, 3, and 4 are provided. , 13, and 14 are divided into air passages 8, 18, 19, and 21, and are complicated, narrowed, and enlarged, and each of the chambers 2, 3, 4, 13, and 14 Since the resistance is larger than that of the return air passages 9, 20, 22, and 23 configured substantially linearly, the return air passages 9 of the chambers 2, 3, 4, 13, and 14 are defrosted when the cooler 5 is defrosted. Warm and humid air is likely to rise from the side of the 20, 22, 23 side, and there is a problem of frosting in the internal parts of the chambers 2, 3, 4, 13, 14 and the respective air passages. Moreover, in order to prevent the rise of warm humidity at the time of defrosting, there existed a subject that the air volume adjusting device (damper) 15,16,17 had to be installed, and cost increased.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides a refrigerator having a simple structure and high frosting reliability while minimizing the flow of warm and humid air from the return air passage into the cabinet. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention is a refrigerator in which a plurality of storage chambers are formed inside a heat insulating box and a freezing chamber is disposed at least below the ice making chamber. A compartment formed cooling chamber, a cooler disposed in the cooling chamber, a defrost heater disposed below the cooler, and an ice making chamber for blowing cold air from the cooling chamber to the ice making chamber A discharge air passage, and an ice making chamber return air passage for returning cold air from the ice making chamber to the cooling chamber, the air passage returning directly to the ice making chamber return air passage and the cold air in the ice making chamber And an air passage returning to the cooling chamber via the inside of the freezing chamber.

  Thus, when the cooler defrosts, the defrost heater is energized, and when the temperature of the cooling chamber rises, natural convection occurs, and warm humidity tends to rise to the ice making chamber installed above the cooling chamber. However, the ice making chamber return air channel is composed of an air channel that returns directly to the cooling chamber and an air channel that returns the cold air from the ice making chamber to the cooling chamber through the freezer compartment. The amount of warm and humid air to the chamber can be reduced, and frost formation in the ice making chamber can be reduced.

  The refrigerator of the present invention can reduce the amount of warm and humid air to the ice making room at the time of defrosting the cooler, and reduce frost formation in the ice making room, at least in the refrigerator having the freezing room below the ice making room. Therefore, the reliability of the ice making room can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a refrigerator in which a plurality of storage chambers are formed inside the heat insulating box, and at least a freezing chamber is disposed below the ice making chamber, and a cooling chamber partitioned and formed behind the freezing chamber; A cooler disposed in the cooling chamber, a defrost heater disposed below the cooler, an ice making chamber discharge air passage for blowing cool air from the cooling chamber to the ice making chamber, and the ice making An ice making chamber return air passage for returning cold air from the chamber to the cooling chamber, the air passage returning directly to the ice making chamber return air passage, and the cold air of the ice making chamber in the freezer compartment And the air passage returning to the cooling chamber via, can reduce the amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber when defrosting the cooler, and reduce frost formation in the ice making chamber As a result, the reliability of the ice chamber can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, air path resistance means is provided in the air path returning directly to the cooling chamber among the ice making chamber return air paths. The amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber can be surely reduced during defrosting of the cooler, and frost formation in the ice making chamber can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the air path resistance means is provided in the vicinity of the cooling chamber in the ice making chamber return air path, and more reliably of the cooler. The amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber can be reduced during defrosting, and frost formation in the ice making chamber can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the air passage resistance means is a member for locally reducing a cross-sectional area in the ice making chamber return air passage. While reducing the cost by a simple structure, the amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber can be more reliably reduced during defrosting of the cooler, and frost formation in the ice making chamber can be reduced.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, an outlet of an air passage that directly returns to the cooling chamber among the return passages of the ice making chamber is connected to the cooling chamber. It is disposed below, and the amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber can be more reliably reduced during defrosting of the cooler, and frost formation in the ice making chamber can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a cooling chamber, an ice making chamber discharge air passage, and an ice making chamber return air passage in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the front. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a cooling chamber and an ice making chamber return air path in the refrigerator according to the embodiment viewed from the right side, and FIG. 3 is a cooler, a defrosting heater, and an ice making chamber return air in the refrigerator according to the embodiment. It is the principal part enlarged view which looked at the road from the front.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerator main body 101 that is a heat insulating box includes a refrigerator compartment 102 provided above the refrigerator main body 101 for storing food and the like, and ice making and ice storage provided under the refrigerator compartment 102. A chamber 103, a freezer chamber 104 provided in the lower part of the refrigerator main body 101 for freezing food, a cooler 105 for generating cold air, a fan device 106 for supplying cold air to the chambers 102, 103, 104, a cooler A defrost heater 107 for defrosting 105 is disposed.

  Further, the fan device 106 blows cold air to the ice making chamber through the ice making chamber discharge air passage 108 and cools the ice making chamber 103, and then passes through the ice making chamber return air passage 109 and returns to the cooler 105 again. To do.

  In the vicinity of the end of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 facing the cooling chamber 110, a shielding member 111 is installed as an air passage resistance means so that only a part of the cool air returns directly to the cooling chamber 110. And the opening part 112 connected to the freezer compartment 104 from the middle of the ice-making room return air path 109 is provided. Although not shown, each storage chamber has a discharge air passage and a return air passage.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooling chamber 110 in which the cooler 105, the fan device 106, and the defrost heater 107 are arranged is separated from the freezing chamber 104 by a heat insulating wall made of a heat insulating material.

  At this time, as long as the temperature difference between the cooling chamber 110 and the storage chamber adjacent to the cooling chamber 110 is small, the partition wall may be made of a material having a high thermal conductivity such as plastic (in this embodiment, the cooling wall is cooled). The chamber 110 is arranged behind the freezing chamber 104).

  Thereby, the volume of a store room can be enlarged. Moreover, you may install the vegetable compartment used as the temperature suitable for the preservation of vegetables between the ice-making room 103 and the freezer compartment 104. FIG. In this case, the convenience of the vegetable room can be improved.

  The shielding member 111 as the air path resistance means is a member for locally reducing the cross-sectional area in the ice making chamber return air passage 109, and may be a separate member from the constituent members of the ice making chamber return air passage 109. Alternatively, it may be configured integrally with the constituent members of the ice making chamber return air passage 109.

  Further, an outlet of the air passage that includes the air passage resistance means (shielding member 111) of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 and returns a part of the cool air directly to the cooling chamber 110 is disposed below the cooling chamber 110.

  Further, a shielding member 111 as an air path resistance means is formed in a plate shape at a terminal portion facing the cooling chamber 110 of the ice making chamber return air passage 109, and water droplets falling during defrosting in the ice making chamber return air passage 109 are cooled. The plate member may be provided with a communication hole for flowing to 110. In this case, the reliability of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 at the time of defrosting can be improved.

  About the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  The cool air generated by the cooler 105 passes through the ice making chamber discharge air passage 108 via the fan device 106 to cool the ice making chamber 103, and then most of the cool air from the ice making chamber 103 is in the middle of the ice making chamber return air passage 109. The freezer 104 enters the freezer compartment 104 through the opening 112 communicating with the freezer compartment 104, and then returns to the cooler 105 from the freezer return air passage (not shown).

  In addition, a part of the cold air from the ice making chamber 103 returns to the cooler 105 through the gap of the shielding member 111 as an air path resistance means provided near the end of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 facing the cooling chamber 110, and the ice making chamber 103 is efficiently cooled to a predetermined temperature. And in order to remove the frost adhering to the cooler 107, the defrost heater 120 is periodically energized.

  At this time, a rising air flow is generated by the heat of the defrost heater 107, and a phenomenon occurs in which a part of the warm and humid air in the cooling chamber attempts to flow backward to the storage chamber located above the cooler 105.

  In particular, since ice is stored in the ice making chamber 103, it may be affected by the above-mentioned warm and humid conditions, resulting in a frosting phenomenon in the cabinet, and further, the ice melts and adheres to each other, resulting in poor usability. However, in the present embodiment, most of the cold air from the ice making chamber 103 enters the freezing chamber 104 through the opening 112 communicating with the freezing chamber 104 from the middle of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 and then returns to the freezing chamber. It returns to the cooler 105 from an air path (not shown).

  Also, a part of the cold air from the ice making chamber 103 returns to the cooler 105 through the gap of the shielding member 111 as an air path resistance means provided near the end of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 facing the cooling chamber 110. Therefore, when the defrost heater 120 is energized, most of the warm and humid air flows back into the freezer compartment return air passage and flows into the freezer compartment 104 and is released, so that the warm and humid air further flows back through the ice making compartment return air passage 109 and the ice making chamber. 103 does not flow.

  Therefore, when the cooler 105 is defrosted, warm and humid air hardly flows into the ice making chamber 103, and a highly reliable refrigerator with a simple structure can be provided.

  In addition, the ice-making room return cold air mostly enters the freezing room 104 through the opening 112 communicating with the freezing room 104 from the middle of the ice-making room return air passage 109 from the ice making room 103, and passes from the freezing room return air passage to the cooler 105. Since there is a return flow and a flow in which only a part of the cool air returns directly to the cooling chamber 110 from the ice chamber return air passage 109, the cooling performance of the ice making chamber 103 is improved by reducing the total air passage resistance. be able to.

  Further, the ice making chamber return air passage at the time of defrosting is provided by providing a shield member 111 as an air passage resistance means for providing a communication hole for flowing water droplets falling during the defrosting in the ice making chamber return air passage 109 to the cooling chamber 110. 109 reliability can be improved.

  Further, the shielding member 111 as the air path resistance means is a member for locally reducing the cross-sectional area in the ice making chamber return air passage 109 and is provided in the vicinity of the end of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 facing the cooling chamber 110. The amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber 103 can be more reliably reduced at the time of defrosting the cooler 105 while reducing the cost by a simple structure, and frost formation in the ice making chamber 103 can be reduced. it can.

  In addition, since the air passage resistance means (shielding member 111) of the ice making chamber return air passage 109 is provided and the outlet of the air passage for returning a part of the cool air directly to the cooling chamber 110 is arranged below the cooling chamber 110, The amount of warm and humid air to the ice making chamber 103 can be more reliably reduced when the cooler 105 is defrosted, and frost formation in the ice making chamber 103 can be reduced.

  As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention can suppress an increase in warm and humid air from the return passage of the ice making room at the time of defrosting, and therefore can prevent frost formation in the ice making room and Therefore, it can be applied to all refrigeration equipment equipped with an ice making chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Schematic which looked at the cooling chamber in the refrigerator by Embodiment 1 of this invention, the discharge air path for ice-making rooms, and the ice-making room return air path from the front Schematic of the cooling chamber and ice making chamber return air path in the refrigerator according to the embodiment viewed from the right side The principal part enlarged view which looked at the cooler, the defrost heater, and ice-making room return air path in the refrigerator by the same embodiment from the front Schematic of a conventional refrigerator air passage viewed from the front

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Refrigerator main body 102 Refrigerating room 103 Ice making room 104 Freezing room 105 Cooler 107 Defrost heater 108 Ice making room discharge air path 109 Ice making room return air path 110 Cooling room 111 Shielding member 112 Opening part

Claims (5)

  In the refrigerator in which a plurality of storage chambers are formed inside the heat insulation box and the freezing chamber is disposed at least below the ice making chamber, the cooling chamber is formed in the cooling chamber partitioned at the rear of the freezing chamber, and disposed in the cooling chamber. A cooler, a defrost heater disposed below the cooler, an ice making chamber discharge air passage for blowing cool air from the cooling chamber to the ice making chamber, and returning the cold air from the ice making chamber to the cooling chamber An ice making chamber return air path, and the ice making chamber return air path directly returning to the cooling chamber, and the cold air in the ice making chamber returns to the cooling chamber via the inside of the freezing chamber. A refrigerator characterized by comprising an air passage.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an air path resistance means is provided in an air path that directly returns to the cooling chamber in the ice making chamber return air path.   The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the air path resistance means is provided in the vicinity of the cooling chamber in the ice making chamber return air path.   The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the air path resistance means is a member for locally reducing a cross-sectional area in the ice making chamber return air path.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an outlet of an air passage that returns directly to the cooling chamber among the return passages of the ice making chamber is disposed below the cooling chamber.

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