JP2010014332A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the cooling efficiency of a refrigerator while reducing power consumption by suppressing the temperature rise of a cooler without being heated more than necessary in a position close to a defrosting heater. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator comprises: storage chambers 2, 3 storing stored food; the cooler 10 having a large number of fins and cooling the storage chambers 2, 3 by cold air heat-exchanged by the fins; the defrosting heater for defrosting the cooler 10; and a heat transfer member formed of a good heat conductor having a heat receiving part disposed near the defrosting heater and formed so that the short side width D of a surface facing the defrosting heater is larger than the thickness of the fin, and an extended part extending between the fins continuously with the heat receiving part in a direction away from the defrosting heater and abutting on the cooler 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a defrost heater for defrosting a cooler.

  A conventional refrigerator is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This refrigerator is equipped with a cooler for generating cool air behind the storage room. The cooler has a large number of fins, and air flowing between the fins exchanges heat with the fins to generate cold air. The cold air generated by the cooler is sent to the storage chamber by driving a blower fan provided above the cooler. Thereby, the storage room which accommodated the store thing is cooled.

  A defrost heater is provided below the cooler. When the storage chamber is cooled for a predetermined time, the blower fan is stopped and the defrosting heater is driven. The cooler is defrosted by the radiant heat of the defrost heater or the heat of the air exchanged with the defrost heater, and the cooling capacity of the cooler is prevented from being lowered.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-165552 (page 4 to page 11, FIG. 1)

  However, according to the conventional refrigerator, when defrosting the cooler, it takes time until radiant heat or hot air is transmitted to a position away from the defrost heater, and the amount of heat transmitted is reduced. For this reason, the cooler is heated more than necessary at a position close to the defrost heater, which requires a lot of electric power and increases the temperature of the cooler. Therefore, there has been a problem that the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator is lowered.

  An object of this invention is to provide the refrigerator which can improve cooling efficiency.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention eliminates a storage chamber for storing a stored item, a cooler that has a large number of fins and cools the storage chamber with cold air that exchanges heat with the fins, and the cooler. A defrosting heater for frosting, a heat receiving portion disposed in the vicinity of the defrosting heater and facing the defrosting heater in a short direction width greater than the thickness of the fin, and the fins continuously to the heat receiving portion And a heat transfer member made of a good heat conductor having an extending portion in contact with the cooler and extending in a direction away from the defrosting heater.

  According to this configuration, the cool air exchanged with the fins of the cooler flows through the storage chamber and the surroundings of the storage chamber to cool the storage chamber. The cooler is periodically defrosted by driving a defrosting heater. A heat transfer member is attached to the cooler, and a heat receiving portion of the heat transfer member faces the defrost heater and is arranged near the defrost heater. The heat receiving portion is heated by the radiant heat of the defrost heater and the heat of the air heated by the defrost heater, and is transferred to the extending portion. As a result, the cooler is heated from the vicinity of the defrosting heater and the portion in contact with the extended portion, and the temperature is raised. Since the width of the heat receiving portion in the short direction is larger than the thickness of the fin, a large amount of heat can be received from the defrost heater and transmitted to the extending portion.

  Further, the present invention provides the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, wherein the cooler includes a refrigerant pipe arranged in parallel by meandering, and the extension portion extends in a direction in which the refrigerant pipes are arranged, and the extension portion is connected to the refrigerant pipe. It is characterized by being wound around. According to this configuration, for example, the refrigerant pipes extending in the left-right direction are bent at the left and right ends and meander, and are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. The extending portion of the heat transfer member is arranged extending vertically between the fins, and is wound around, for example, an upper refrigerant pipe to contact the refrigerant pipe. The extending portion may be wound around the refrigerant pipe in a U shape or may be wound in a spiral shape.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that in the refrigerator configured as described above, the heat receiving portion is formed to extend from the extending portion to a side of the defrost heater. According to this configuration, for example, the defrost heater is disposed below the cooler, and the heat receiving portion is extended from the extending portion that extends vertically. Thereby, a heat receiving part is extended and arranged by the side of a defrost heater.

  In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the refrigerator includes a blower fan that is provided above the cooler so as to be biased to one of the left and right with respect to the cooler, and that sends cold air to the storage chamber. The defrosting heater is disposed in the heat exchanger, and the heat transfer member is disposed in the same direction on the left and right as the blower fan with respect to the cooler.

  According to this configuration, the cold air generated by the cooler is sent to the storage chamber by the blower fan, and the storage chamber is cooled. For example, the cooler is arranged to be biased to the left, and the blower fan is arranged at the center in the left-right direction. Thereby, a ventilation fan is biased and arrange | positioned rightward with respect to a cooler. The cold air that exchanges heat with the cooler is guided to the blower fan and circulates on the right side in the upper part of the cooler. Thereby, the frost formation on the right side of the cooler is increased, and heat is transferred to the right side of the upper part of the cooler by the heat transfer member arranged to be shifted to the right side from the lower defrost heater.

  According to the present invention, the width of the surface in the short direction of the surface that is disposed near the defrost heater and faces the defrost heater is larger than the thickness of the fin, and the space between the fins is continuous from the defrost heater from the defrost heater. A heat transfer member made of a good thermal conductor having an extending portion that extends in a direction away from the cooler and is in contact with the cooler is provided, so that the defrost can be quickly performed in a portion away from the defrost heater of the cooler quickly and without reducing the amount of heat. Heat from the heater can be transferred. Thereby, it is not heated more than necessary at a position near the defrosting heater, and power consumption can be reduced and an increase in the temperature of the cooler can be suppressed. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a front sectional view and a right side sectional view showing a refrigerator according to one embodiment. The refrigerator 1 is provided with a freezer compartment 2 at the top and a refrigerator compartment 3 below the freezer compartment 2. The freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 are partitioned by a partition wall 4 filled with a heat insulating material. The front surface of the freezer compartment 2 is opened and closed by a door 2a, and the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened and closed by a door 3a.

  A machine room 20 provided with a compressor 21 is provided at the lower rear of the refrigerator compartment 20. One end of a condenser (not shown) is connected to the compressor 21, and a capillary tube (not shown) is connected to the other end of the condenser. One end of the cooler 5 is connected to the capillary tube, and the compressor 21 is connected to the other end of the cooler 5. Thus, a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant flows in the order of the compressor 21, the condenser, the capillary tube, and the cooler 5 and returns to the compressor 21 is configured. Cold air is generated by the cooler 5 disposed on the low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle.

  Behind the freezer compartment 2 is provided a freezer compartment duct 10 in which a cooler 5 is arranged. Above the cooler 5, a blower fan 6 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the left-right direction. The blower fan 6 is composed of a propeller fan. The blower fan 6 may be formed by a centrifugal fan such as a sirocco fan, an ion wind generator using electrode wires, or the like. In the upper part of the freezer compartment duct 10, a discharge port 10 a that faces the blower fan 6 and discharges cool air is opened. In the lower part of the freezer compartment duct 10, a return port 10b from which the cold air returns from the freezer compartment 2 opens.

  A defrost heater 12 that defrosts the cooler 5 is provided below the cooler 5 in the freezer compartment duct 10. The defrost heater 12 consists of a glass tube heater. The defrost heater 12 may be formed by a wire heater or a far infrared heater. A drain receiver 13 for receiving defrost water is disposed below the defrost heater 12. A drain pipe (not shown) for draining to an evaporating dish (not shown) provided in the machine room 20 is connected to the drain receiver 13 via a drain port (not shown).

  A communication passage 7 connected to the exhaust side of the blower fan 6 is provided on the side of the cooler 5. As a result, the cooler 5 is arranged to be biased to the left, and the blower fan 6 disposed at the substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the freezer compartment 2 is disposed to be biased to the right with respect to the cooler 5. A discharge passage 8 that communicates with the communication passage 7 extends in the vertical direction at a central portion in the left-right direction on the back surface of the refrigerator compartment 3. Discharge ports 8 a for discharging cool air are opened on both sides of the discharge passage 8. In the partition wall 4, a return passage 9 having a return port 9 a that opens at the front of the refrigerator compartment 3 is provided. The return passage 9 is connected to the freezer compartment duct 10 of the freezer compartment 3 below the cooler 5.

  In the refrigerator 1 having the above configuration, the cold air generated by exchanging heat with the cooler 5 is discharged into the freezer compartment 2 from the discharge port 10a as shown by the arrow D1 by driving the blower fan 6. The cold air discharged into the freezer compartment 2 circulates in the freezer compartment 2 and returns to the cooler 5 through the return port 10b of the freezer compartment duct. Thereby, the inside of the freezer compartment 2 is cooled.

  Further, the cold air flowing through the freezer compartment duct 10 branches on the exhaust side of the blower fan 6 and flows through the communication passage 7 and the discharge passage 8 as shown by the arrow D2. The cold air flowing through the discharge passage 8 is discharged from the discharge port 8a into the refrigerator compartment 3 as indicated by an arrow D3. The cold air discharged into the refrigerator compartment 3 flows through the refrigerator compartment 3, and flows into the return passage 9 from the return port 9a at the front portion of the refrigerator compartment 3 as indicated by an arrow D4. The cold air flowing through the return passage 9 returns to the cooler 5 through the freezer compartment duct 10 as indicated by an arrow D5.

  3 and 4 are a front view and a side view showing details of the cooler 5. In the cooler 5, a plurality of fins 16 are attached to the refrigerant pipe 15 through which the refrigerant flows at predetermined intervals. The refrigerant pipe 15 is formed of a copper pipe or the like, extends in the left-right direction, bends at the left and right ends, and meanders. Thereby, the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15 is arranged in parallel with the up-down direction.

  The fins 16 are formed of a thin plate (for example, a thickness of 0.5 mm) such as copper or aluminum, and are disposed so as to extend in the vertical direction with respect to the refrigerant pipe 15. Thereby, the pressure loss of the cold air | gas which distribute | circulates the freezer compartment duct 10 to an up-down direction can be made low. A heat transfer member 17 made of a good heat conductor is disposed between the fins 16.

  FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the main part of FIG. The heat transfer member 17 is formed of, for example, a round bar made of aluminum having a diameter of 2 mm, and includes a heat receiving portion 17a and an extending portion 17b. The heat receiving portion 17 a extends in the horizontal direction and is disposed facing the defrost heater 12. The end of the heat receiving portion 17 a is bent upward and is engaged with the refrigerant pipe 15.

  Since the heat receiving portion 17 a is formed of a round bar, the width W (see FIG. 3) of the surface facing the defrosting heater 12 is formed to be thicker than the fin 16. Thereby, the heat receiving part 17a receives and heats the radiant heat of the defrost heater 12 and the heat of the air rising by heat exchange with the defrost heater 12 in a wide range.

  The extending portion 17b is formed to extend in the vertical direction continuously to the heat receiving portion 17a. U-shaped first and second U-shaped portions 17c and 17d are formed at the end of the extending portion 17b away from the heat receiving portion 17a, and a linear portion 17e extending vertically from the second U-shaped portion 17d is provided. The extending portion 17b is wound around the refrigerant pipe 15 at the upper first U-shaped portion 17c. As a result, the extended portion 17 b contacts the refrigerant pipe 15 at a position away from the defrost heater 12.

  For example, the refrigerant tube 15 has a diameter of about 7 mm. The first U-shaped portion 17c having a diameter of 2 mm is formed such that the radius of curvature of the bending neutral axis is bent to about 5 mm and the inner diameter is about 8 mm. Thereby, the 1st U-shaped part 17c can be easily hooked to the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15, and can be contact | connected. When the inner diameter of the first U-shaped 17a is made larger than the outer diameter of the refrigerant pipe 15 by about 0.5 mm to 2 mm, the heat transfer member 17 can be easily attached with good workability. The second U-shaped portion 17d is bent so that the radius of curvature of the bending neutral axis is about 3 mm.

  FIG. 6 shows a front view of the heat transfer member 17 before being attached to the cooler 5. The heat transfer member 17 is formed with an extending portion 17b and a heat receiving portion 17a (see FIG. 4) in a straight line before the cooler 5 is attached. First and second U-shaped portions 17c and 17d are formed on the heat transfer member 17 by bending.

  FIG. 7 shows a state when the heat transfer member 17 is attached. The heat transfer member 17 is inserted so that the lower part of the first U-shaped part 17c is sewn between the refrigerant pipes 15 by grasping the linear part 17e. Thereby, the 1st U-shaped part 17c is wound around the upper refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15, and is latched. And the lower part is bent and the heat receiving part 17a extended horizontally as shown in FIG. 5 is formed, and the edge part of the heat receiving part 17a is engaged with the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15. As shown in FIG. The first U-shaped portion 17c may be spirally wound around the refrigerant pipe 15. Thereby, the adhesion degree of the heat-transfer member 17 and the refrigerant pipe 15 can be improved.

  When the compressor 21 is driven for a predetermined time, the compressor 21 and the blower fan are stopped and the defrost heater 12 is driven. The cooler 5 is heated by the radiant heat generated by the heat generated by the defrost heater 12 or the heat generated by air exchanged with the defrost heater 12, and the cooler 5 is defrosted. At this time, the heat transfer member 17 receives heat at the heat receiving portion 17a facing the defrosting heater 12, and is transferred to the upper portion of the cooler 5 in contact with the extended portion 17b via the extended portion 17b. As a result, heat is quickly transferred to the upper part of the cooler 5 away from the defrosting heater 12, and defrosting is performed while reducing heat radiation while heat is transferred to the upper part.

  According to the present embodiment, the heat receiving portion 17a that is disposed in the vicinity of the defrosting heater 12 and faces the defrosting heater 12 in the short-side direction is larger than the thickness of the fin 16 and the heat receiving portion 17a. Since the heat transfer member 17 made of a good thermal conductor having an extending portion 17b extending between the fins 16 in a direction away from the defrost heater 12 and in contact with the cooler 5 is provided, the defrost heater 17 of the cooler 5 The heat of the defrost heater 12 can be transmitted to the distant part quickly and without reducing the amount of heat. Thereby, it is not heated more than necessary at a position close to the defrost heater 12, and power consumption can be reduced and an increase in temperature of the cooler 5 can be suppressed. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved.

  The heat transfer member 17 may be a good heat conductor, and may be formed of copper, stainless steel, or the like. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the heat transfer member 17 may be an ellipse or a polygon. At this time, by making the maximum width and the minimum width of the cross section larger than the thickness of the fin 16, a wide area of the heat receiving portion 17a facing the defrost heater 12 can be secured. Moreover, the adhesiveness of the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15 and the heat-transfer member 17 can be improved with the plane part of a cross-sectional polygon.

  In addition, when the maximum width and the minimum width (corresponding to the outer diameter in the case of a round bar) of the heat transfer member 17 are 2 mm to 5 mm, the heat transfer member 17 can be easily bent by human hands. Assembling workability can be improved by securing a wide area.

  Further, the cooler 5 has the refrigerant pipes 15 arranged in parallel with each other, and the extension part 17b extends in the direction in which the refrigerant pipes 15 are arranged in parallel, and the extension part 17b is wound around the refrigerant pipe 15, The part 17b can be easily placed in contact with a position away from the defrosting heater 12 of the cooler 5.

  In addition, since the heat receiving portion 17a is bent with respect to the extending portion 17b and is attached to the refrigerant pipe 5, the heat receiving portion 17a facing the defrost heater 12 can be easily formed, and the heat transfer member 17 can be securely attached.

  Similarly to FIG. 7 described above, the heat receiving portion 17a may be disposed on the side of the defrost heater 12 with the heat receiving portion 17a extending downward continuously from the extending portion 17b. Thereby, it receives heat by the heat receiving part 17a extended up and down, heat is transmitted by the extended part 17b, and the same effect can be acquired. In particular, if the lower part of the heat transfer member 17 is extended to the vicinity of the drain outlet of the drain receiver 13, the vicinity of the drain outlet can be prevented from freezing. It is more desirable to bend the heat receiving portion 17a in the shape of an arc of the cross section and arrange it around the defrost heater 12 because the area facing the defrost heater 12 increases.

  Further, since the communication path 7 is provided on the right side of the cooler 5, the cooler 5 is arranged to be biased leftward, and the blower fan 6 is arranged to be biased rightward with respect to the cooler 5. For this reason, a lot of cool air led to the intake side of the blower fan 6 in the freezer compartment duct 10 circulates in the upper right part of the cooler 5. As a result, since the amount of frost formation at the upper right part of the cooler 5 is the largest, the heat transfer member 17 can be arranged biased to the right side of the cooler 5 to efficiently defrost the cooler 5.

  When there is a position where the amount of frost formation is large in other parts due to the flow of air, the heat transfer member 17 is arranged at the position where the amount of frost formation is the largest and the extended portion 17b is provided in contact with the cooler 5 in the same manner. An effect can be obtained. Further, if a plurality of heat transfer members 17 are provided between the plurality of fins 16, a greater effect can be obtained. Even if the heat transfer member 17 is not in contact with the cooler 5, if the heat transfer member 17 is close to the frosting portion, the effect of melting the frosting portion can be obtained by the heat transfer effect of the heat transfer member 17.

  In this embodiment, although the defrost heater 12 is arrange | positioned under the cooler 5, you may arrange | position upwards. However, when the defrost heater 12 is disposed below the cooler 5, the air heated by heat exchange with the defrost heater 12 rises and contacts the cooler 5, thereby improving the energy efficiency during defrosting. be able to.

  Further, a shielding plate (heater protection plate) made of aluminum or the like may be provided above the defrosting heater 12. At this time, the radiant heat of the defrost heater 12 is reduced, but the same effect as described above can be obtained by the air heated by exchanging heat with the defrost heater 12.

  Moreover, the refrigerator 1 by which the defrost heater 12 is arrange | positioned at the side of the horizontal cooler 5 in which the refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube 15 was arranged in parallel with the horizontal direction may be sufficient. At this time, if the extending portion 17b extending substantially horizontally is disposed below the cooler 5, it is more desirable because the heat of the heat transfer member 17 rises and defrosting is promoted.

  Moreover, although the cooler 5 of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle has been described, it may be a cooler including a low-temperature part of another cooling device (for example, a cooling device using a Peltier element or a Stirling refrigerator). In this case as well, the same effect can be obtained by providing a heat transfer member having a width larger than the thickness of the fin between the fins.

  According to this invention, it can utilize for the refrigerator provided with the defrost heater which defrosts a cooler.

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 The front view which shows the refrigerator cooler of embodiment of this invention The side view which shows the refrigerator cooler of embodiment of this invention Detailed view of the main part of FIG. The front view which shows the state before attachment of the heat-transfer member of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the state at the time of attachment of the heat-transfer member of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Freezing room 3 Refrigerating room 4 Partition wall 5 Cooler 6 Blower fan 7 Communication path 8 Refrigerating room duct 10 Freezing room duct 15 Refrigerant pipe 16 Fin 17 Heat-transfer member 17a Heat receiving part 17b Extension part 17c 1st U-shaped part 17d 2nd U-shaped part 20 Machine room 21 Compressor

Claims (4)

A storage room for storing stored items;
A cooler that has a plurality of fins and cools the storage chamber with cold air that exchanges heat with the fins;
A defrost heater for defrosting the cooler;
A heat receiving portion disposed in the vicinity of the defrost heater and having a width in a short direction of a surface facing the defrost heater larger than a thickness of the fin, and the defrost heater between the fins continuously to the heat receiving portion. A heat transfer member made of a good heat conductor having an extending portion that extends in a direction away from the cooler and contacts the cooler;
A refrigerator characterized by comprising.   The said cooler has a refrigerant | coolant pipe arranged in parallel by meandering, The said extension part extended in the parallel arrangement direction of the said refrigerant | coolant pipe, The said extension part was wound around the said refrigerant | coolant pipe | tube. The refrigerator according to 1.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat receiving portion is formed to extend from the extending portion to a side of the defrosting heater.   A blower fan is provided above the cooler and biased to the left or right with respect to the cooler and sends cool air to the storage chamber. The defrost heater is disposed below the cooler, and the transmission The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heat member is arranged to be deviated in the same direction on the left and right as the blower fan with respect to the cooler.

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