JP2019203639A - Defrosting device and refrigerator including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a defrosting device which performs defrosting of a cooler efficiently and is inexpensive, and to provide a refrigerator including the defrosting device.SOLUTION: A defrosting device 50 of the invention includes: a heater wire 51 which generates heat during defrosting to increase an indoor temperature of a cooling chamber 26 and is a heating element; a glass pipe 52 which encloses the heater wire 51 from a periphery thereof; a heater cover 54 which covers the heater wire 51 from above; and a heat sink 55 disposed between the glass pipe 52 and the heater cover 54. The defrosting device 50 is formed into the structure to allow part of the heat generated by the heater wire 51 to be discharged actively to the outside via the heat sink 55. Thus, overheating of the glass pipe 52 can be prevented.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a defrosting device and a refrigerator including the same.

  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 a cooler, the temperature of the cooling fins is about -30 degrees, so moisture contained in the air flowing between the cooling fins adheres to the surface of the cooling fins and becomes solid and becomes frost. Become. Such a phenomenon is generally called frost formation.

  As the frosting progresses, the gap between the cooling fins is occupied by the frost, and the air circulation in the gap is hindered. Furthermore, when thick frost exists between the air to be cooled and the cooling fin, the frost hinders heat exchange between the air and the cooling fin. In order to prevent this phenomenon, the refrigerator is periodically defrosted.

  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.

  The refrigerator having the above-described defrosting mechanism is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3 below.

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 the defrost water heated by the heater from dripping onto the heater. However, when the cover is disposed above the heater, the increase in warm air warmed by the heater is hindered 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. Further, for the same reason, there is a problem that the heater heats up due to the cover and the surface of the heater is overheated.

  Furthermore, in general, defrosting heaters have a built-in heating wire in a cylindrical glass tube, and a double-structured glass tube is used to lower the surface temperature of the glass tube in order to meet legal requirements. Has been. However, since the glass tube which has a double structure is expensive, there existed a subject which pushed up the cost of a defroster and a refrigerator. In addition, if the power consumption of the heating wire is lowered to lower the surface temperature of the glass tube in order to satisfy the statutory regulations, there is a problem that the amount of heat generated from the defrost heater is reduced and the defrosting effect is reduced. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an inexpensive defrosting device that can efficiently perform defrosting of a cooler and a refrigerator including the defrosting device.

  The present invention is a defrosting device that increases the indoor temperature of the cooling chamber by generating heat during defrosting, a heating element, a glass tube surrounding the heating element from the surroundings, a heater cover that covers the glass tube from above, And a heat sink disposed between the glass tube and the heater cover.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the said heat sink has an inclined surface part which inclines so that it may spread toward upper direction, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the said heat sink has a contact part of the shape corresponding to the upper part of the said glass tube, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the notch part extended elongate along the axial direction of the said glass tube is formed in the said heat sink.

  In the defrosting device of the present invention, the glass tube has a single structure.

  Moreover, the refrigerator of the present invention includes the defrosting device having the above-described configuration.

  The present invention is a defrosting device that increases the indoor temperature of the cooling chamber by generating heat during defrosting, a heating element, a glass tube surrounding the heating element from the surroundings, a heater cover that covers the glass tube from above, And a heat sink disposed between the glass tube and the heater cover. Therefore, since the heat generated from the heating element is released via the heat radiating plate disposed between the glass tube and the heater cover, the heating of the glass tube can be suppressed. Further, the warm air heated by the heating element and the glass tube rises by avoiding the heater cover by coming into contact with the heat radiating plate. Therefore, it is possible to effectively defrost by promoting the circulation of the warm air.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the said heat sink has an inclined surface part which inclines so that it may spread toward upper direction, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Therefore, since the warm air heated by the glass tube spreads around along the inclined surface portion of the radiator plate, it is possible to increase the effect of blowing the warm air upward while avoiding the heater cover.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the said heat sink has a contact part of the shape corresponding to the upper part of the said glass tube, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Therefore, the heat generated from the heating element can be further radiated through the contact portion of the heat dissipation plate by bringing the contact portion of the heat dissipation plate into contact with the glass tube.

  Moreover, in the defrosting apparatus of this invention, the notch part extended elongate along the axial direction of the said glass tube is formed in the said heat sink. Therefore, the heat from the heater cover is not transmitted at the notch, so that overheating of the heater cover is suppressed and generation of evaporative noise when defrost water adheres to the heater cover can be suppressed.

  In the defrosting device of the present invention, the glass tube has a single structure. Therefore, the cost of the defroster can be reduced by adopting an inexpensive single structure as the glass tube.

  In addition, the refrigerator of the present invention includes the above-described defrosting device. Therefore, the energy required for defrosting can be reduced by employing a defrosting device with good heat dissipation efficiency.

It is a front view which shows the external appearance of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the expanded sectional side view which shows the structure of the cooling chamber vicinity of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the defrosting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a disassembled perspective view. It is a figure which shows the defrosting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (A) and (B) are sectional drawings. It is a side view which shows the defrosting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a defrosting device 50 and a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and repeated description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a front external view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 10 includes a heat insulating box 11 as a main body, and forms a storage room for storing food and the like inside the heat insulating box 11. As this storage room, it has the refrigerator compartment 15, the upper freezer compartment 18, the lower freezer compartment 19, and the vegetable compartment 20 from upper direction. The upper freezer compartment 18 and the lower freezer compartment 19 are both storage compartments in the freezing temperature range, and these may be collectively referred to as the freezer compartment 17 in the following description. Here, the upper freezer compartment 18 may be divided | segmented into right and left, and one side may be used as an ice making room.

  The front surface of the heat insulation box 11 is open, and heat insulation doors 21 and the like are provided in the openings corresponding to the storage chambers so as to be freely opened and closed. The heat insulating door 21 divides and covers the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 15 in the left-right direction, and the outer upper and lower ends in the width direction of the heat insulating door 21 are rotatably attached to the heat insulating box 11. The heat insulating doors 23, 24, and 25 are each integrally combined with the storage container, and are supported by the heat insulating box 11 so that they can be pulled out to the front of the refrigerator 10. Specifically, the heat insulation door 23 closes the upper freezer compartment 18, the heat insulation door 24 closes the lower freezer compartment 19, and the heat insulation door 25 closes the vegetable compartment 20.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 10. Here, the vicinity of the cooling chamber 26 is shown enlarged. The heat insulation box 11 which is the main body of the refrigerator 10 is a steel plate outer box 12 whose front surface is opened, and a synthetic resin inner box 13 which is disposed with a gap in the outer box 12 and has a front surface opened. It consists of and. A heat insulating material 14 made of polyurethane foam is filled and foamed in the gap between the outer box 12 and the inner box 13. In addition, each above-mentioned heat insulation door 21 grade | etc., Employ | adopts the heat insulation structure similar to the heat insulation box 11. FIG.

  The refrigerator compartment 15 and the freezer compartment 17 located in the lower stage thereof are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 42. Further, the upper freezer compartment 18 and the lower freezer compartment 19 communicate with each other so that cold air, which is cooled air, can flow freely. The freezer compartment 17 and the vegetable compartment 20 are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 43.

  On the back side of the refrigerator compartment 15, a refrigerator compartment supply air passage 29 is formed as a supply air passage for supplying cold air to the refrigerator compartment 15. The refrigerating room supply air passage 29 is formed with an air outlet (not shown) through which cold air flows to the refrigerating room 15.

  On the far side of the freezer compartment 17, there is formed a freezer compartment supply air passage 31 through which the cool air cooled by the cooler 45 flows to the freezer compartment 17. A cooling chamber 26 is formed on the further back side of the freezing chamber supply air passage 31, and a cooler 45, which is an evaporator for cooling the air circulating in the refrigerator, is disposed therein. .

  The cooler 45 is connected to a compressor tube (not shown), a radiator (not shown), and a capillary tube (not shown) via a refrigerant pipe, and constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle circuit.

  The cooling chamber 26 is provided inside the heat insulating box 11 and on the far side of the freezer compartment supply air passage 31. The cooling chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 17 are partitioned by a synthetic resin partition 66.

  The freezing chamber supply air passage 31 formed in front of the cooling chamber 26 is a space formed between the cooling chamber 26 and a synthetic resin front cover 67 assembled in front of the cooling chamber 26, and is cooled by the cooler 45. It becomes an air passage for flowing cool air to the freezer compartment 17. The front cover 67 is formed with an air outlet 34 that is an opening for blowing cool air into the freezer compartment 17.

  A return port 38 for returning air from the freezing chamber 17 to the cooling chamber 26 is formed in the lower back surface of the lower freezing chamber 19. A return port 28 is formed below the cooling chamber 26, which is connected to the return port 38 and sucks the return cold air from each storage chamber into the cooling chamber 26. Cool air returning to the return port 28 via the return port of the vegetable compartment 20 and the return air passage also flows into the return port 28.

  A defroster 50 is provided below the cooler 45 to melt and remove frost that has grown on the surface of the cooler 45. The defrosting device 50 is an electric resistance heating type heater, and its structure will be described in detail below.

  In the upper part of the cooling chamber 26, an air outlet 27, which is an opening connected to each storage chamber, is formed. The air blowing port 27 allows the cooling chamber 26 to communicate with the refrigerator compartment supply air passage 29 and the freezer compartment supply air passage 31. A blower 47 that sends cold air from the front toward the freezer compartment 17 and the like is disposed at the blower opening 27.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the structure of the defrosting apparatus 50 is explained in full detail. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the defrosting device 50, and FIG. 3B is an exploded perspective view showing the defrosting device 50.

  3 (A) and 3 (B), defroster 50 includes heater wire 51 as a heating element, glass tube 52 that accommodates heater wire 51, and a resin that plugs both ends of glass tube 52. The end support part 60 which consists of, the heater cover 54 which closes the glass tube 52 from upper direction, and the heat sink 55 arrange | positioned between the glass tube 52 and the heater cover 54 are comprised mainly. As described above, the defrosting device 50 is a device for melting and removing the frost that has grown in the cooler 45 by raising the room temperature of the cooling chamber 26.

  The heater wire 51 is made of a high electric resistance wire, and a winding portion 53 is formed by forming an intermediate portion in a spiral shape. Both ends of the heater wire 51 penetrate the end support portion 60 and are electrically connected to an external DC power source. In the defrosting process, the heater wire 51 generates heat by applying a DC voltage, and the air in the cooling chamber 26 is heated by this heat.

  The glass tube 52 is made of glass formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is a container that accommodates the heater wire 51. As the glass tube 52, both a single structure and a double structure can be adopted. In this embodiment, since the heat dissipation plate 55 that contributes to heat dissipation is provided, a single-layered glass tube 52 can be employed. Since the single-structure glass tube 52 is cheaper than the double-structure glass tube 52, the single-structure glass tube 52 can be used to reduce the manufacturing cost of the defroster 50 and thus the refrigerator 10. By housing the heater wire 51 in the glass tube 52, the heater wire 51 can be electrically insulated from the surroundings.

  Both ends of the glass tube 52 are closed by end support portions 60 made of synthetic resin. The heater wire 51 incorporated in the glass tube 52 is connected to an external power source via a conducting wire that penetrates the end support portion 60.

  The heater cover 54 is made of a substantially flat long steel plate and covers the glass tube 52 from above. Fixed portions 61 are formed at both ends of the heater cover 54. The fixing portion 61 is a portion where the end portion of the heater cover 54 is bent at a right angle downward and is fitted to the end support portion 60 from above. By disposing the heater cover 54 above the glass tube 52, defrost water generated at the time of defrosting is received by the heater cover 54 to prevent the defrost water from contacting the glass tube 52, It is possible to prevent evaporating noise from being generated by the contact.

  The heat radiating plate 55 is disposed between the heater cover 54 and the glass tube 52 and is formed of a substantially flat steel plate. The upper end of the heat sink 55 is joined to the heater cover 54, and the lower end of the heat sink 55 is in contact with the glass tube 52. By disposing the heat radiating plate 55, the heat generated from the heater wire 51 can be positively released to the outside via the glass tube 52 and the heat radiating plate 55, and the glass tube 52 can be prevented from being overheated. For this reason, a single glass tube 52 can be used. Furthermore, the warm air heated by the glass tube 52 rises along the heat radiating plate 55, so that the rising air current is not interfered by the heater cover 54. Therefore, warm air can be efficiently raised to warm the inside of the cooling chamber 26 at an early stage, and the defrosting efficiency can be improved.

  Further, a notch 59 is formed by notching the upper portion of the heat dissipation plate 55. The notch 59 is elongated along the axial direction of the glass tube 52, that is, on the paper surface in the lateral direction. Details of the cutout 59 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the defrosting apparatus 50 is further explained in full detail. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the end of the defroster 50, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing an intermediate part of the defroster 50. Here, in FIG. 4A, the flow of warm air that is heated by the glass tube 52 and rises is indicated by a thick solid line.

  With reference to FIG. 4 (A), the heat sink 55 is comprised from the contact part 56, the inclined surface part 57, and the connection part 58. As shown in FIG. The contact portion 56 is a portion that is curved so as to protrude upward, and is in surface contact with the upper portion of the glass tube 52. The curved shape of the contact portion 56 is substantially the same as the curved shape of the upper portion of the glass tube 52. By doing so, the lower surface of the contact portion 56 and the upper surface of the glass tube 52 are in surface contact with each other, and the heat generated from the heater wire 51 passes through the glass tube 52 and the inclined surface portion 57 and is externally satisfactorily Can be conducted. Therefore, overheating of the glass tube 52 can be prevented.

  The inclined surface portion 57 is a flat portion that extends obliquely upward from both end portions of the contact portion 56. The inclined surface portion 57 is inclined upward and outward from both widthwise end portions of the contact portion 56. Since the inclined surface portion 57 is inclined in this manner, the heat transmitted from the glass tube 52 is transferred toward the upper outside along the inclined surface portion 57.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the warm air flow from interfering with the heater cover 54, so that the cool air in the cooling chamber 26 can be efficiently heated. That is, the warm air warmed through the surface of the glass tube 52 rises well while spreading laterally along the inclined surface portion 57, and spreads well to the upper end of the cooling chamber 26. For this reason, warm air does not accumulate in the vicinity of the heater cover 54. Further, the heat generated from the heater wire 51 is radiated through the inclined surface portion 57 of the heat radiating plate 55.

  By adopting the above configuration, in the present embodiment, the surface temperature of the glass tube 52 can be reduced by 50 ° C. to 100 ° C. as compared with the case where the heat radiating plate 55 is not provided. As a result, the surface temperature of the glass tube 52 can be lowered, so that the provisions of laws and regulations can be observed. Furthermore, since the resistance value of the heater wire 51 can be increased, a large amount of heat energy can be generated from the heater wire 51 to efficiently perform defrosting.

  The connecting portion 58 is a portion where the vicinity of the upper end formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the heat sink 55 is bent inward, and is in surface contact with the portion where both ends in the longitudinal direction of the heater cover 54 are bent. Yes. The connecting portion 58 and the heater cover 54 are connected by a joining structure such as caulking.

  Referring to FIG. 4B, a notch 59 is formed in the inclined surface portion by partially opening the inclined surface portion 57. The notch 59 is formed near the upper end of the inclined surface portion 57. Further, the length L11 of the notch 59 is not more than half the length L10 of the inclined surface portion 57. By forming the cutout portion 59 in this way, excessive conduction of heat via the inclined surface portion 57 is suppressed. Therefore, the heater cover 54 is not excessively heated by the heat generated from the heater wire 51. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the generation of a large evaporation sound by the defrosting water dropping on the overheated heater cover 54. Moreover, since the notch part 59 is formed in the upper end part of the inclined surface part 57, along with the lower part of the inclined surface part 57, the warm air heated with the glass tube 52 is guide | induced to an upper outer side, and the flow of warm air is made smooth be able to. Further, since the cool air flows through the notch 59 during normal cooling, the radiator plate 55 does not hinder the cooling efficiency during the cooling operation of the refrigerator 10.

  In FIG. 5, the side view which looked at the defrosting apparatus 50 from the front is shown. In this figure, the notch 59 is indicated by hatching. With reference to this figure, the notch 59 is formed over most of the inclined surface portion 57 in the lateral direction. Further, the heat radiating plate 55 is attached to the heater cover 54 via connection portions 58 formed at both ends thereof. By doing in this way, since the notch part 59 intervenes in most part between the glass tube 52 and the heater cover 54, the excessive heat conduction via the heat sink 55 is suppressed, and the heater wire 51 is provided. The effect of preventing the heater cover 54 from being overheated due to heat generation can be increased.

  The connecting portion 58 is formed at locations corresponding to both ends of the winding portion 53 of the heater wire 51. The connection portion 58 may be disposed outside the end portion of the winding portion 53 in the width direction, or may be disposed inside the end portion of the winding portion 53.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Refrigerator 11 Heat insulation box 12 Outer box 13 Inner box 14 Heat insulation material 15 Refrigeration room 17 Freezer room 18 Upper freezer room 19 Lower freezer room 20 Vegetable room 21 Thermal insulation door 23 Thermal insulation door 24 Thermal insulation door 25 Thermal insulation door 26 Cooling room 27 Air outlet 28 Return port 29 Refrigeration room supply air path 31 Freezer room supply air path 34 Air outlet 38 Return port 42 Heat insulation partition wall 43 Heat insulation partition wall 45 Cooler 47 Blower 50 Defroster 51 Heater wire 52 Glass tube 53 Winding part 54 Heater Cover 55 Heat sink 56 Abutting portion 57 Inclined surface portion 58 Connection portion 59 Notch portion 60 End support portion 61 Fixing portion 66 Partition body 67 Front cover

Claims (6)

It is a defrosting device that raises the indoor temperature of the cooling chamber by generating heat during defrosting,
A heating element;
A glass tube surrounding the heating element from the surroundings;
A heater cover covering the glass tube from above;
A defroster comprising: a heat radiating plate disposed between the glass tube and the heater cover.   The defroster according to claim 1, wherein the heat radiating plate has an inclined surface portion that is inclined so as to spread upward.   The defroster according to claim 1, wherein the heat radiating plate has a contact portion having a shape corresponding to an upper portion of the glass tube.   The defrosting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heat sink is formed with a notch extending elongated along the axial direction of the glass tube.   The defroster according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the glass tube has a single structure.   A refrigerator comprising the defroster according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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