JP2009270765A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of improving cooling efficiency to save energy. <P>SOLUTION: In the refrigerator 1, a heat insulating case body 6 filled with a foamed heat insulating material 12 is arranged between an outer case 10 and an inner case 11. Reinforcement plates 13 having thermal conductivity higher than that of stainless steel is provided on inner faces of stainless steel sheets forming at least part of the outer case 10, and refrigerant pipes 14 where a refrigerant is made to flow are arranged on the reinforcement plates 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a heat insulating box.

  A conventional refrigerator is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this refrigerator, a main body is formed by a heat insulating box filled with a foam heat insulating material between an outer box and an inner box. The outer box is formed of a decorative steel plate, and the inner box is formed of a hard resin. On the inner surface of the outer box, a refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant flows by operation of the refrigeration cycle is arranged.

  A cooler is disposed on the low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle, and cold air is generated by air exchanged with the cooler. The refrigerant pipe arranged on the high temperature side of the refrigeration cycle contacts the outer box, and heat is radiated through the outer box made of steel plate.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator used for a showcase. This refrigerator is formed of a stainless steel plate whose outer box has a glossy surface. Thereby, the aesthetics of a refrigerator can be improved and a clean feeling can be given.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-138050 (page 3 to page 5, FIG. 2) JP-A-9-184679 (2nd page-4th page, Fig. 1)

  However, according to the conventional refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 2, stainless steel has low thermal conductivity, and the refrigerant pipe does not sufficiently radiate heat from the outer box. Accordingly, there is a problem that the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator is lowered and the energy consumption is increased.

  An object of this invention is to provide the refrigerator which can improve cooling efficiency and can aim at energy saving.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator provided with a heat insulating box filled with a foam heat insulating material between an outer box and an inner box, on an inner surface of a stainless steel plate forming at least a part of the outer box. A reinforcing plate having a higher thermal conductivity than stainless steel is provided, and a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant flows is arranged on the reinforcing plate. According to this configuration, the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant pipe by the operation of the refrigeration cycle, and heat is radiated from the refrigerant pipe arranged on the high temperature side of the refrigeration cycle through the outer box formed of the reinforcing plate and the stainless steel plate.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that in the refrigerator configured as described above, a vacuum heat insulating material is provided between the refrigerant pipe and the inner box.

  In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the top plate and the side plate of the outer box are integrally formed of a stainless steel plate, and the reinforcing plate and the refrigerant pipe are provided on the side plate. According to this configuration, the stainless steel plate in which the top plate and the side plate are integrated is bent by press working to form the top and side surfaces of the outer box. A reinforcing plate and a refrigerant tube are disposed on the side plate, and heat is radiated from the refrigerant tube through the reinforcing plate and the side plate.

  According to the present invention, in the refrigerator configured as described above, the reinforcing plate is made of an iron plate.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that in the refrigerator configured as described above, a quick-drying liquid is infiltrated between the outer box and the reinforcing plate. According to this structure, liquids, such as press oil and water, permeate and air between the outer box and the reinforcing plate is removed.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator configured as described above, an adhesive member having high thermal conductivity is disposed between the outer box and the reinforcing plate. According to this configuration, the air between the outer box and the reinforcing plate is removed by the highly heat conductive adhesive member such as butyl rubber mixed with metal powder.

  According to the present invention, the reinforcing plate having high thermal conductivity is provided on the inner surface of the stainless steel plate forming the outer box, and the refrigerant pipe is arranged on the reinforcing plate, so that the heat of the refrigerant pipe can be sufficiently radiated by the reinforcing plate. . Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator in which the outer box is formed of a stainless steel plate can be improved to save energy.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment. The refrigerator 1 is provided with a refrigerator compartment 2, a freezer compartment 3, and a vegetable compartment 4 in a main body 5 (see FIG. 2). Front opening portions of the refrigerator compartment 2, the freezer compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 4 are opened and closed by doors 2a, 3a, and 4a, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the main body 5. 3 shows an AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 shows a BB cross-sectional view of FIG. The main body 5 has a heat insulating box 6 filled with a foam heat insulating material 12 such as urethane foam between the outer box 10 and the inner box 11. A machine room 19 in which a compressor (not shown) is arranged is provided below the rear part of the heat insulating box 6. The back surface of the machine room 19 is covered with a machine room back plate 20.

  The inner box 11 is made of hard resin, and partition walls 11a and 11b are attached to divide the refrigerator compartment 2, the freezer compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 4. The partition walls 11a and 11b have communication holes (not shown) on their side surfaces, and the foamed heat insulating material 12 is filled into the partition walls 11a and 11b through the communication holes when the heat insulating box 6 is formed. Thereby, the partition walls 11a and 11b are integrated with the heat insulation box 6. A partition wall 11a, 11b in which a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam is provided in the rear part in advance may be attached to the inner box 11, and the front part may be filled with the foam heat insulating material 12. Thereby, while being able to make the intensity | strength of the main-body part 5 strong, the filling amount of the foam heat insulating material 12 can be reduced.

  The outer box 10 includes a top plate 10a, a side plate 10b, a back plate 10c, and a bottom plate 10d that form the top, side, back, and bottom surfaces of the heat insulating box 6, respectively. The top plate 10a, the side plate 10b, the back plate 10c, and the machine room back plate 20 are formed of stainless steel plates, and their outer surfaces are glossy finished. Thereby, while improving the aesthetics of the external appearance of the main-body part 5 and giving a clean feeling, impact resistance and corrosion resistance can also be improved.

  The top plate 10a and the side plates 10b on both sides are integrally formed. A plurality of reinforcing plates 13 are attached to the inner surfaces of the side plates 10b on both sides. A refrigerant pipe 14 is disposed on the inner surface side of the reinforcing plate 13. The refrigerant pipe 14 is connected to the compressor, and the refrigerant flows through the operation of the refrigeration cycle. The refrigerant pipe 14 on the reinforcing plate 13 is arranged on the high temperature side of the refrigeration cycle. Cold air is generated by air that exchanges heat with a cooler (not shown) disposed on the low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle.

  A vacuum heat insulating material 14 is disposed between the refrigerant pipe 14 and the inner box 11. The vacuum heat insulating material 14 covers a core material such as glass wool with an outer packaging material, and the inside of the outer packaging material is formed in a vacuum state. The outer packaging material is made of a laminated film including an aluminum deposited film and has a high gas barrier property.

  FIG. 5 shows a developed view of the top plate 10a and the side plate 10b. The both side plates 10b are formed by bending along a fold line D with respect to the top plate 10a. A plurality of reinforcing plates 13 are installed on the inner surface of each side plate 10b via a predetermined gap. The reinforcing plate 13 is formed of an iron plate having a higher thermal conductivity than stainless steel.

  An adhesive member having a high thermal conductivity such as butyl rubber mixed with metal powder is disposed between the reinforcing plate 13 and the side plate 10b. Thereby, the air between the reinforcing plate 13 and the side plate 10b is removed, and the reinforcing plate 13 adheres to the side plate 10b via the adhesive member. As a result, the thermal resistance between the reinforcing plate 13 and the side plate 10b can be reduced. Air between the reinforcing plate 13 and the side plate 10b may be removed by impregnating a quick-drying liquid such as press oil or water between the reinforcing plate 13 and the side plate 10b.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the refrigerant pipe 14 and the vacuum heat insulating material 15 are attached on the reinforcing plate 13. The meandering refrigerant tube 14 is attached in close contact with the reinforcing plate 13 with an adhesive tape 18. The vacuum heat insulating material 15 is disposed on the refrigerant tube 14 and attached to the reinforcing plate 13 with an adhesive tape 17. At this time, the refrigerant pipe 14 is arranged in the groove 15a (see FIG. 4) provided in the vacuum heat insulating material 15, and the vacuum heat insulating material 15 can be installed stably and easily.

  The adhesive tape 17 is composed of a craft tape or a masking tape having a weak adhesion to the foam heat insulating material 12, and is provided at a position facing the partition walls 11a and 11b. As the foam insulation 12 becomes thicker, the amount of shrinkage due to cooling increases. For this reason, the foam heat insulating material 12 with which the partition walls 11a and 11b are filled has a large shrinkage in the left-right direction. By causing the adhesive tape 17 having a weak adhesion to the foam heat insulating material 12 to face the partition walls 11a and 11b, the side plate 10b can be prevented from being deformed due to the shrinkage of the foam heat insulating material 12 of the partition walls 11a and 11b.

  Further, the end portions on the top plate 10 a side of the refrigerant pipe 14 and the reinforcing plate 13 are integrally attached to the side plate 10 b by the adhesive tape 16. An adhesive tape 17 is provided on each reinforcing plate 13, and an adhesive tape 18 is provided straddling each reinforcing plate 13. As a result, the integrated reinforcing plates 13 are temporarily fixed to the side plate 10 b by the adhesive tape 16. Moreover, since the adhesive tape 16 is provided only at one end of the side plate 10b, disassembly can be improved.

  An outer box 10 is formed by attaching a back plate 10c and a bottom plate 10d to a side plate 10b bent along a fold line D with respect to the top plate 10a. The back side of the inner box 11 is covered with an outer box 10 through a predetermined gap, and a stock solution of foam heat insulating material 12 such as urethane foam is injected from an inlet (not shown) provided in the back plate 10c. The foam heat insulating material 12 is foamed and filled between the inner box 11 and the outer box 10. Thereby, the refrigerant pipe 14 and the vacuum heat insulating material 15 are embedded in the foam heat insulating material 12.

  According to the present embodiment, the reinforcing plate 13 having high thermal conductivity is provided on the inner surface of the stainless steel plate forming the outer box 10, and the refrigerant pipe 14 is arranged on the reinforcing plate 13. Can sufficiently dissipate heat. Moreover, even if the outer box 10 is not formed using a thick stainless steel plate, the heat radiating performance and strength can be obtained by the reinforcing plate 13. Thereby, the outer box 10 made of a stainless steel plate is thinly formed, the thermal resistance is lowered, and the heat radiation effect from the reinforcing plate 13 to the outside through the outer box 10 is further improved. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved and energy saving can be achieved.

  In addition, since the thickness of the outer box 10 can be reduced, production equipment such as a conventional press device can be used as it is. Therefore, the capital investment can be suppressed and the loss of switching production in multi-model mixed production can be reduced. At this time, deformation due to shrinkage of the foamed heat insulating material 12 of the outer box 10 formed thin can be prevented by the reinforcing plate 13.

  Moreover, since the vacuum heat insulating material 15 was provided between the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 14 and the inner case 11, heat transmitted from the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 14 to storage rooms, such as the refrigerator compartment 2, can be reduced, and the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved more. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the reinforcing plate 13 and the refrigerant pipe 14 may be provided on the top plate 10a and the back plate 10c made of stainless steel plates. However, it is more desirable to provide the reinforcing plate 13 and the refrigerant pipe 14 on the side plate 10b integrated with the top plate 10a as in this embodiment. That is, a wide heat radiation area can be obtained by the reinforcing plates 13 provided on the both side plates 10b. Moreover, the reinforcement board 13 and the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 14 can be attached to the both-sides board 10b by the same process, and productivity improves.

  Moreover, although the top plate 10a, the side plate 10b, and the back plate 10c are formed of a stainless steel plate, only the side plate 10b may be a stainless steel plate. In addition, although the reinforcement board 13 is formed with the iron plate, plate-shaped members, such as another metal plate, may be used if it is a member whose heat conductivity is higher than a stainless steel plate.

  Further, the doors 2a, 3a, and 4a may be provided with a stainless steel plate on the outer side and the reinforcing plate 13 on the inner side in the same manner as the side plate 10b. Thereby, the deformation | transformation by the shrinkage | contraction of the foam heat insulating material 12 of the stainless steel plate formed thin can be prevented with the reinforcement board 13. FIG. Further, by using stainless steel for the doors 2a, 3a, 4a, the side plate 10b, and the top plate 10a, it is possible to improve the appearance and corrosion resistance and to save energy.

  According to the present invention, the outer box can be used for a refrigerator having a heat insulating box formed of stainless steel.

The front view which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Front sectional drawing which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Side surface sectional drawing which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Top sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The expanded view which shows the top plate and side plate of the outer case of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The expanded view which shows the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube attachment state of the top plate and side plate of the outer case of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigerated room 3 Freezer room 4 Vegetable room 5 Main body part 6 Heat insulation box 10 Outer box 10a Top plate 10b Side plate 10c Back plate 10d Bottom plate 11 Inner box 12 Foam insulation 13 Reinforcement plate 14 Refrigerant tube 15 Vacuum insulation 16 , 17, 18 Adhesive tape 19 Machine room 20 Machine room back plate

Claims (6)

  In a refrigerator having a heat insulating box filled with a foam heat insulating material between an outer box and an inner box, a reinforcing plate having higher thermal conductivity than stainless steel on the inner surface of the stainless steel plate forming at least a part of the outer box And a refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant flows is arranged on the reinforcing plate.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a vacuum heat insulating material is provided between the refrigerant pipe and the inner box.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the top plate and the side plate of the outer box are integrally formed of a stainless steel plate, and the reinforcing plate and the refrigerant pipe are provided on the side plate.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing plate is made of an iron plate.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a quick-drying liquid is infiltrated between the outer box and the reinforcing plate.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an adhesive member having high thermal conductivity is disposed between the outer box and the reinforcing plate.

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