JP2015010770A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator having a refrigeration cycle which can perform defrosting of a cooler efficiently.SOLUTION: A cooler 33 which a refrigerator includes has: a plurality of cooling fins 52; a refrigerant pipe 53 penetrating the cooling fins 52 at two points; a defrosting heater 51 provided below the cooling fins 52; and a heater cover 54 arranged between the cooling fins 52 and the defrosting heater 51. An end part of the heater cover 54 is arranged below the refrigerant pipe 53. Thereby, as hot air heated by the defrosting heater 51 comes into contact with the refrigerant pipe 53 by passing through the end part of the heater cover 54, defrosting can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, as the lowest stage cooling fin 52 and the heater cover 54 are separated, while the cooler 33 is performing cooling, the air returned from a refrigerating room is efficiently introduced between them.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that cools and saves food or the like in a storage chamber, and particularly relates to a refrigerator that contributes to optimization of a defrosting process.

  A general refrigerator includes a refrigeration cycle apparatus, and a cooler included in the refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a plurality of cooling fins arranged in parallel and a refrigerant pipe that contacts the cooling fins.

  When the air in the refrigerator is cooled with this cooler, the temperature of the cooling fins is about −30 ° C., so moisture contained in the air flowing between the cooling fins adheres to the surface of the cooling fins and becomes a solid frost. It becomes. Such a phenomenon is generally called frost formation.

  As this frosting progresses, the gaps between the cooling fins are occupied by frost, which hinders air flow. In order to prevent this phenomenon, a defrosting operation is regularly performed.

  In the defrosting operation, the supply of the refrigerant to the cooler is stopped, and the cooling fins are heated by a heater disposed in the vicinity of the cooler. Thereby, the frost adhering to the cooling fin is removed by heating and melting. After the removal is completed, the refrigeration cycle is operated again.

  A refrigerator having the above-described mechanism for defrosting is described in, for example, Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 4 below.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-183011 JP 2011-7435 A JP 2004-190959 A JP 2003-42637 A

  In a general refrigerator, a cover is disposed between the heater and the cooler in order to prevent water in which frost heated by the heater is liquefied from dripping onto the heater. However, when the cover is disposed above the heater, the rise in warm air heated by the heater is inhibited even partially by the cover, and the heating effect by the heater may not be sufficiently obtained. If it becomes like this, the time required for defrosting will become a long time, the electric power required for operation | movement of a refrigerator will increase, and it will be in the situation contrary to the flow of energy saving.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said situation, and it aims at providing the refrigerator which has a refrigerating cycle which can perform defrosting of a cooler efficiently.

  In the refrigerator of the present invention, a compressor that compresses a refrigerant, a condenser that condenses the refrigerant, an expansion device that expands the condensed refrigerant, and a cooler that evaporates the expanded refrigerant are connected by piping. A refrigerating cycle, a defrosting heater disposed below the cooler, and a heater cover disposed between the heater and the cooler, wherein the coolers are disposed in parallel. And both ends of the heater cover are disposed below the refrigerant pipe, and the cooler is disposed in the depth direction. The distance between the lower end of the lowermost cooling fin and the heater cover in the height direction is longer than the distance between the side wall of the cooling chamber and the end of the heater cover. .

  According to this invention, the both ends of the heater cover arrange | positioned between a cooling fin and a defrost heater are arrange | positioned under the refrigerant | coolant pipe. Therefore, the warm air heated by the defrost heater passes through both ends of the heater cover and satisfactorily contacts the refrigerant pipe, so that defrosting can be performed efficiently.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the lower end of the cooling fin at the lowest stage and the heater in the height direction are more than the distance between the side wall of the cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed in the depth direction of the refrigerator and the end of the heater cover. The distance away from the cover is longer. As a result, the air returned from the refrigerator compartment to the cooling compartment can be introduced between the cooling fin and the heater cover, so that the air path loss can be reduced, the refrigerator compartment can be cooled well, and the cooling can be performed. The efficiency with which the vessel cools the air is improved.

It is a front external view of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front schematic diagram which shows the supply air path of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the supply air path behind the freezer compartment of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (A) is a perspective view which shows a cooler, (B) is sectional drawing of the side surface direction. It is a figure which shows the cooler with which the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (A) And (B) is sectional drawing of the side surface direction which shows the cooler of a comparative example. It is a graph which shows the effect of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated in detail based on drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a front external view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a right side sectional view of the refrigerator 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing an outline of the supply air path of the refrigerator 1. 2 and 3, the flow of cold air supplied to the storage chambers 3 to 7 is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of air returning from the storage chambers 3 to 7 to the cooling chamber 13 is indicated by broken line arrows. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 includes a heat insulating box 2 as a main body, and forms a storage room for storing food and the like inside the heat insulating box 2. The interior of the storage room is divided into a plurality of storage rooms 3 to 7 according to storage temperature and usage. The uppermost stage is the refrigerator compartment 3, the lower left side is the ice making room 4, the right side is the upper freezer room 5, the lower stage is the lower stage freezer room 6, and the lowermost stage is the vegetable room 7. The ice making chamber 4, the upper freezing chamber 5, and the lower freezing chamber 6 are all storage chambers in the freezing temperature range, and these are collectively referred to as freezing chambers 4 to 6 as appropriate in the following description.

  The front surface of the heat insulation box 2 is opened, and heat insulation doors 8 to 12 are provided in the opening portions corresponding to the storage chambers 3 to 7 so as to be freely opened and closed. The refrigerator compartment doors 8a and 8b divide and block the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 3, and the left upper and lower parts of the refrigerator compartment door 8a and the upper right lower part of the refrigerator compartment door 8b are rotatably supported by the heat insulating box 2. Moreover, the heat insulation doors 9-12 are supported by the heat insulation box 2 so that it can be pulled out to the front of the refrigerator 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulation box 2 which is the main body of the refrigerator 2 is disposed with a steel plate outer box 2a having an opening on the front surface and a gap inside the outer box 2a. And an inner box 2b made of synthetic resin having an opening and a heat insulating material 2c made of polyurethane foam filled and foamed in a gap between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2b. Each of the heat insulating doors 8 to 12 adopts the same heat insulating structure as that of the heat insulating box 2.

  The refrigerating room 3 and the freezing rooms 4 to 6 located in the lower stage are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 35. The heat insulating partition wall 35 is a molded product of synthetic resin, and the inside thereof is filled with a heat insulating material.

  Further, the ice making chamber 4 and the upper freezing chamber 5 inside the freezing chambers 4 to 6 are partitioned by a partition wall (not shown in the drawing). The ice making chamber 4 and the upper freezing chamber 5 and the lower freezing chamber 6 provided in the lower stage communicate with each other so that cold air can flow freely. The freezer compartments 4 to 6 and the vegetable compartment 7 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 36.

  In addition, on the back side of the freezer compartments 4 to 6, a freezer compartment supply air passage 14 is defined by a front cover 24 that is a partition member made of synthetic resin. Specifically, the supply air passage 14 for refrigeration is a space formed between the partition body 25 and the front cover 24 assembled in front of the partition body 25, and serves as an air passage through which cool air cooled by the cooler 33 flows. .

  The front cover 24 is formed with an air outlet 15 that is an opening for blowing cool air into the freezer compartments 4 to 6. In addition, a return port 20 for returning air from the freezer compartments 4 to 6 to the cooling chamber 13 is formed in the lower back surface of the lower freezer compartment 6.

  Further, a refrigeration chamber supply air passage 16 for supplying cold air to the refrigeration chamber 3 is formed on the back surface of the refrigeration chamber 3. In the refrigerator compartment supply air passage 16, an air outlet 17 through which cold air flows to the refrigerator compartment 3 is formed. The freezer compartment supply air passage 14 and the refrigerator compartment supply air passage 16 communicate with each other via a refrigerator compartment damper 34 a of the damper device 34. The refrigerator compartment damper 34a is for controlling the flow rate of the cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment 3, and maintaining the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 3 appropriately.

  On the further back side of the freezing chamber supply air passage 14 inside the inner box 2b, there is provided a cooling chamber 13 that is divided and formed by a partition 25. That is, the cooling chamber 13 is a space formed by being sandwiched between the inner box 2 b and the partition body 25. The partition 25 at the top of the cooling chamber 13 is formed with an opening 13a that connects the cooling chamber 13 and the freezing chamber supply air passage 14. The opening 13a is used to supply cold air to the storage chambers 3 to 7. A blower 32 is provided. On the other hand, below the cooling chamber 13, an opening 13 b is formed for sucking the return cold air from the storage chamber into the cooling chamber 13.

  A cooler 33 (evaporator) for cooling the circulating air is disposed inside the cooling chamber 13. The cooler 33 is connected to the compressor 31, a radiator (not shown), and an expansion valve (capillary tube) (not shown) via a refrigerant pipe, and constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle circuit. It is. In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, isobutane (R600a) is used as the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 includes a return air passage 21 that allows air to flow from the refrigerator compartment 3 to the cooling compartment 13 (see FIG. 2). A return port 22 that is an opening connected to the return air passage 21 is formed in the lower part of the refrigerator compartment 3. The air in the refrigerator compartment 3 flows to the return air passage 21 through the return port 22 and flows downward of the cooler 33.

  In addition, a vegetable room supply air path 18 for flowing the air cooled by the cooler 33 to the vegetable room 7 is formed in front of the return air path 21. The vegetable room supply air passage 18 branches upward from the freezer compartment supply air passage 14, changes its direction downward through the inside of the heat insulating partition wall 35 above the freezer compartments 4-6, and the freezer compartments 4-6. Passing through the back of. And it penetrates the heat insulation partition wall 36 and is connected to the vegetable compartment 7. The vegetable compartment 7 is formed with an air outlet 19 that is an opening for blowing cold air from the vegetable compartment supply air passage 18.

  The vegetable room supply air passage 18 on the back side of the heat insulating partition wall 35 is provided with a vegetable room damper 34b for controlling the flow of cold air supplied to the vegetable room. Thereby, the vegetable compartment 7 can be cooled independently of the cooling of the refrigerator compartment 3, and the temperature of the vegetable compartment 7 can be controlled appropriately.

  Moreover, the return opening 29 is formed in the vegetable compartment 7, and the air in the vegetable compartment 7 passes through the return passage 29 through the vegetable compartment return air passage 23 (see FIG. 2) and the opening 13b (see FIG. 2). Then, it flows to the lower part of the cooling chamber 13.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the supply air path behind the freezer compartments 4 to 6 of the refrigerator 1, and represents a cross section taken along line AA in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling chamber 13 is partitioned by a partition 25 assembled to the inner box 2 b, and a cooler 33 is disposed in the cooling chamber 13. Moreover, the freezer compartment supply air path 14 is partitioned and formed by the partition 25 and the front cover 24 attached to the front thereof.

  Both the side edge portions 24b and 25b (seal portions) of the partition body 25 and the front cover 24 are fixed to the inner box 2b by, for example, screws or the like via a seal member (not shown). Thereby, the airtightness of the cooling chamber 13 and the freezer compartment supply air path 14 can be improved.

  A vegetable room air passage cover 26 is attached to the inner box 2b on the right side of the cooling chamber 13 and the freezer compartment supply air passage 14 on the back side of the freezer compartments 4-6. And the space partitioned by the vegetable compartment air duct cover 26, that is, the space sandwiched between the vegetable compartment air duct cover 26 and the inner box 2b, is assembled into a substantially cylindrical shape forming the vegetable compartment supply air passage 18. Insulating members 27 and 28 are provided.

  Further, a return air path 21 is formed in the vegetable room supply air path 18 by the heat insulating member 28 and the inner box 2b. A sealing member 41 made of, for example, a foamed rubber material or the like is interposed between the heat insulating member 28 and the inner box 2b to ensure airtightness.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the structure of the cooler 33 with which the above-mentioned refrigerator 1 is provided is demonstrated. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a configuration in which a cooling device 33 is provided in the cooling chamber 13, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the cooling device 33 as viewed from the side.

  5A, the cooler 33 includes a plurality of cooling fins 52 disposed in the width direction at predetermined intervals, a refrigerant pipe 53 disposed so as to penetrate the cooling fins 52, and a refrigerant. It is comprised from the end plate 65 which hold | maintains the pipe 53 at both ends. A plurality of rows are arranged at equal intervals in the height direction, with a row having a predetermined number of cooling fins 52 arranged in the width direction as a unit. The refrigerant pipes 53 are meandered so as to penetrate the cooling fins 52 in each row. Here, the two refrigerant pipes 53 penetrate each cooling fin 52.

  Below the cooling fins 52, a defrost heater 51 that is energized and generates heat during defrosting is disposed. The defrost heater 51 is configured by a heating element built in a cylindrical glass tube, and has a function of melting frost adhering to the refrigerant pipe 53 and the cooling fin 52.

  A heater cover 54 is disposed between the cooling fin 52 and the defrost heater 51. The heater cover 54 is formed, for example, by molding a single metal plate into a predetermined shape. When the frost attached to the cooling fins 52 is melted in the defrosting process, the moisture composed of the melted frost is removed from the defrost heater 51. It has a function to prevent dripping. With reference to FIG. 6, the length L <b> 9 in the width direction of the heater cover 54 is approximately the same as the width L <b> 8 of the cooler 33.

  The cooler 33, the defrost heater 51, and the heater cover 54 are attached to the inner box 2b via a fixture 64 made of a resin plate. Referring to FIG. 6, fixture 64 has a rib (not shown) that fixes refrigerant pipe 53 and a rib 64 </ b> A that fixes a meandering portion of refrigerant pipe 53. It is attached by supporting.

  The cooler 33 and the like having the above-described configuration are accommodated in the cooling chamber 13 formed between the partition 25 and the inner box 2b.

  The operation of the cooler 33 having the above-described configuration is as follows.

  When the cooler 33 performs cooling, the cooling fins 52 that are in contact with the refrigerant pipe 53 are also cooled by the low-temperature refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe 53. In this state, when the blower 32 shown in FIG. 2 is operated, an upward airflow is generated in FIG. The rising air is cooled by contacting the refrigerant pipes 53 and the cooling fins 52, and the cooled air is supplied to each storage chamber. When the cooling of the air by the cooler 33 is continued, moisture contained in the air adheres to the refrigerant pipe 53 and the cooling fins 52 and forms frost. This frosting progresses around the refrigerant pipe 53. When a large amount of frost adheres to the cooling fins 52, the gaps between the cooling fins 52 are blocked by the frost, and air cannot flow upward, and the cooling efficiency of the cooler 33 is reduced.

  Therefore, the cooler 33 periodically performs a defrosting process. Specifically, first, the operation of the compressor 31 and the blower 32 are stopped, and the cooling of the cooler 33 is stopped. Thereby, progress of frosting stops. Next, the defrost heater 51 is energized and heated, the heated air is raised, and the air passing through the refrigerant pipe 53 and the cooling fins 52 is melted.

  Thereby, the frost which contacted high temperature air melt | dissolves and becomes water, and is dripped below. Since the dropped water is received by the heater cover 54, it does not contact the defrost heater 51, drops onto the dew receiving tray 66 below the cooler 33, and goes out of the refrigerator through a drain hole (not shown). Discharged.

  When a temperature sensor (not shown) attached to the upper part of the cooler 33 becomes equal to or higher than the set temperature, energization to the defrost heater 51 is stopped and the defrost process is ended. Thereafter, the cooling of each storage room temperature is started by operating the compressor and the blower in order after a predetermined time has elapsed.

  With reference to FIG. 5 (B), in this embodiment, the end portion of the heater cover 54 is disposed below the location where the refrigerant pipe 53 penetrates the cooling fin 52. Thereby, the flow of the air (warm air) heated by the defrost heater 51 is made suitable, and efficient defrost is implement | achieved.

  Specifically, when the cooler 33 cools, frost is formed from the refrigerant pipe 53 through which the refrigerant passes, so that the frost gradually adheres around the refrigerant pipe 53. Therefore, in order to perform defrosting efficiently, it is necessary to efficiently supply warm air to the portion where the refrigerant pipe 53 is disposed.

  On the other hand, a heater cover 54 is provided above the defrost heater 51 in order to prevent water from dripping onto the defrost heater 51. Therefore, the warm air warmed by the defrost heater 51 rises so as to escape upward from the end of the heater cover 54. Therefore, the warm air path is greatly affected by the position of the end of the heater cover 54. However, in general, since the relative positional relationship between the refrigerant pipe 53 and the heater cover 54 has not been taken into consideration, the defrosting efficiency may not always be good.

  In this embodiment, the width L2 in the refrigerator depth direction in which the refrigerant pipes 53 penetrating the cooling fins 52 are separated from each other is widened. Specifically, the width L2 is set to 0.6 times or more than the width L1 of the cooling fin 52. Thereby, even if frosting progresses around the refrigerant pipe 53, the gap between the cooling fins 52 is blocked by the frost. If this L2 is short, the passage through which the air rises due to frost concentrated near the refrigerant pipe 53 is blocked, so that the cooling efficiency of the cooler 33 tends to be lower than when the L2 is wide. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to increase the efficiency of defrosting using the defrosting heater 51, both end portions of the heater cover 54 are disposed below the refrigerant pipe 53. For this reason, the width L4 of the heater cover 54 is made substantially the same as the width L2 in the refrigerator depth direction where the refrigerant pipes 53 are separated from each other. As a result, the width L4 of the heater cover 54 is larger than the width L3 of the defrost heater 51 made of a glass tube. For example, L4 is set to be twice or more than L3.

  Thereby, the warm air heated by the defrost heater 51 passes through both end portions of the heater cover 54 and contacts the lowermost refrigerant pipe 53. Therefore, the refrigerant boils inside the refrigerant pipe 53 and heat transfer occurs, the temperature of the upper refrigerant pipe 53 also rises, and the attached frost melts well. Here, the progress of warm-up is indicated by a thick arrow.

  The warm air that has contacted the lowermost refrigerant pipe 53 branches right and left and continues to rise while being in contact with the other refrigerant pipes 53 disposed above. Thereby, since warm air rises in the vicinity of each refrigerant pipe 53, the frost that preferentially adheres to the vicinity of the refrigerant pipe 53 can be efficiently dissolved.

  Here, it is preferable that the positions of both end portions of the heater cover 54 be directly below the center of the refrigerant pipe 53 arranged at the lowermost stage. By doing in this way, most of the air heated with the defrost heater 51 contacts the lowermost refrigerant | coolant pipe 53, and the above-mentioned effect is notably show | played.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower end of the cooling fin 52 at the lowermost stage and the heater cover 54 are separated by a predetermined distance or more. As a result, the air returned from the refrigerator compartment to the cooling chamber 13 is introduced between the lower end of the cooling fin 52 at the lowermost stage and the heater cover 54, thereby reducing the air path resistance of the air returning from the refrigerator compartment. And insufficient cooling of the refrigerator compartment can be prevented.

  Specifically, referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, both ends of the heater cover 54 are disposed below the refrigerant pipes 53 that are separated as described above. The width L4 is formed to be as wide as about 50 mm, for example. As a result, the distance L5 of the gap between the partition 25 (side wall of the cooling chamber 13) and the end of the heater cover 54 is reduced. Similarly, the distance L6 between the inner box 2b (side wall of the cooling chamber) and the end of the heater cover is also reduced. A specific length of L5 and L6 is, for example, 14.5 mm.

  Therefore, when the air returned from the refrigerator compartment is introduced into the cooling chamber 13 from below the heater cover 54, the air rise is prevented by the wide heater cover 54, and the air path resistance is increased, thereby cooling the refrigerator compartment. It is easy to run out. In particular, when the cooler 33 is frosted, it is predicted that the temperature of the refrigerating chamber will increase due to insufficient circulating cold air to the refrigerating chamber.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the distance L7 in which the lower end of the cooling fin 52 at the lowermost stage and the heater cover 54 are separated in the height direction is larger than the above-described L5 and L6, and a large space is secured between them. ing. This distance L7 is 25.5 mm, for example. As a result, air returned from the refrigerator compartment can be satisfactorily introduced into the space between the cooling fins 52 and the heater cover 54 at the lowermost stage, the air path loss can be reduced, and the refrigerator compartment can be cooled satisfactorily. .

  Referring to FIG. 6, when the cooler 33 is cooling, the air returned from the refrigerating chamber to the cooling chamber 13 moves downward in the return air passage 21 and enters the cooling chamber 13 from the return port 50. To do. Thereafter, air enters between the lower end of the lowermost cooling fin 52 and the heater cover 54. Here, the lower end of the lowermost cooling fin 52 exists below the upper end of the return port 50, but the distance L7 between the lower end of the lowermost cooling fin 52 and the heater cover 54 is sufficient as described above. Greatly secured. Therefore, the air introduced into the cooling chamber 13 from the return port 50 is well introduced between them, and then passes between the cooling fins 52 to be cooled, and then escapes above the cooler 33. Supplied to each storage room.

  With reference to FIG. 7, the cooler 33 of a comparative example is demonstrated.

  In the cooler 33 shown in FIG. 7A, the distance L <b> 2 where the refrigerant pipes 53 are separated from each other is as wide as the above, and is 0.6 times or more the width L <b> 1 of the cooling fin 52. Thereby, since the refrigerant pipes 53 are sufficiently separated from each other, it is possible to prevent the air passage from being blocked due to frost adhering around the refrigerant pipe 53. However, here, the width L4 of the heater cover 54 is narrower than that of the present embodiment. Accordingly, both end portions of the heater cover 54 are located not inside the refrigerant pipe 53 but inside the refrigerant pipe 53. Therefore, even if the air is heated by the heat generated by the defrost heater 51 in the defrosting process, the heated air passes through the inside of the refrigerant pipe 53 and rises and does not contact the refrigerant pipe 53 so much. Therefore, there is a possibility that the efficiency of the defrosting process is lowered without the effect of the above-described embodiment.

  In the cooler 33 shown in FIG. 7B, the width L2 between the refrigerant pipes 53 is narrow, and is about 0.5 times the width L1 of the cooling fins 52. On the other hand, both end portions of the heater cover 54 are disposed below the refrigerant pipe 53. Therefore, when the defrosting process is performed by the cooler 33, the air heated by the defrost heater 51 passes through both ends of the heater cover 54 and comes into contact with the lowermost refrigerant pipe 53. Therefore, the frost adhering to the vicinity of the refrigerant pipe 53 is efficiently melted. However, in the cooler 33 shown in this figure, since the distance between the refrigerant pipes 53 is short as described above, the frost formation from the refrigerant pipe 53 causes the gap between the refrigerant pipes 53 to be blocked with frost. Cooling efficiency decreases.

  Compared to the above-described two comparative examples, the cooler 33 of this embodiment has a reduced distance L2 at which the refrigerant pipes 53 are separated from each other, so that a decrease in cooling efficiency due to frost formation is suppressed. Further, by disposing both ends of the heater cover 54 below the refrigerant pipe 53, the air heated by the defrost heater 51 is brought into contact with the refrigerant pipe 53, thereby improving the efficiency of the defrosting process.

  With reference to FIG. 8, the effect of this embodiment described above will be described. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time, and the vertical axis indicates the sensor temperature. Moreover, the result using the cooler 33 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is shown by a solid line, and the result is shown by a dotted line using the comparative example shown in FIG.

  As is clear from this graph, in the cooler 33 of the present embodiment indicated by the solid line, the sensor temperature rises earlier than the comparative example indicated by the dotted line, and the defrosting process is completed earlier. Specifically, in this embodiment, the time for energizing the defrost heater is 31 minutes, while in the comparative example, energization for 35 minutes is required. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is an advantage that the time and power required for defrosting are less than those of the comparative example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Heat insulation box 2b Inner box 3 Refrigeration room 4 Ice making room 5 Upper freezing room 6 Lower freezing room 7 Vegetable room 13 Cooling room 14 Air supply path 16 Air supply path 18 Air supply path 21 Return air path 24 Front cover 25 Partition Body 26 Vegetable room airway cover 27 Heat insulation member 28 Heat insulation member 35 Heat insulation partition wall 36 Heat insulation partition wall 32 Blower 31 Compressor 33 Cooler 34 Damper device 34c Drive motor 40 Seal member 50 Return port 51 Defrost heater 52 Cooling fin 53 Refrigerant Pipe 54 Heater cover 60 Return air path 61 Return port 62 Vegetable room supply air path 63 Air outlet 64 Mounting tool 64A Rib 65 End plate 66 Dew tray

Claims (3)

A refrigeration cycle in which a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser that condenses the refrigerant, an expansion device that expands the condensed refrigerant, and a cooler that evaporates the expanded refrigerant are connected by piping,
A defrosting heater disposed below the cooler;
A heater cover disposed between the heater and the cooler,
The cooler has cooling fins arranged in parallel and a refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant flows through the cooling fin, and both end portions of the heater cover are arranged below the refrigerant pipe,
The lower end of the cooling fin at the lowest stage in the height direction and the heater cover are spaced apart from the distance between the side wall of the cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed in the depth direction and the end of the heater cover. A refrigerator characterized by a longer distance.   2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein air returned from the refrigerating chamber to the cooling chamber is introduced between a lower end of the cooling fin at the lowest stage and the heater cover. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a width in which the refrigerant pipes are separated from each other in a depth direction of the refrigerator is 0.6 times or more a width of the cooling fin in the depth direction of the refrigerator.

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