JP3372170B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assure a sufficient amount of air and stable cooling performance while a size of a refrigerator is being attained. SOLUTION: An evaporator 17 is constructed by a plurality of continuous refrigerant pipes 35 arranged substantially in parallel to each other where refrigerant flows therein and many cooling fins 33 arranged at the refrigerant pipes 35. A fan 37 is arranged at an upper position displaced from a central location of the evaporator 17 and also at its rotating direction side to cause cooling air passed through the evaporator 17 to be guided toward the fan 37 through an induction duet 53 having an induction guiding surface 55 formed therein.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which efficient cooling can be obtained while miniaturizing a heat exchanger that constitutes a cooling device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a refrigerator cooling device, a refrigerant discharged from a compressor passes through a condenser, a throttle valve, and an evaporator.
It constitutes a refrigeration cycle that returns to the compressor again.

The heat exchanger serving as an evaporator comprises a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant flows, a large number of cooling fins provided on the refrigerant pipe, and a fan for passing air between the cooling fins and the cooling fins. When air passes between the fins and the cooling fins, heat is exchanged between the air and the refrigerant, and the cooled air is sent into the refrigerator.

[0004]

The air volume of the air supplied by the fan is an important factor for cooling the inside of the refrigerator.

By the way, in order to improve the efficiency of the fan, it is necessary to maintain a predetermined distance between the evaporator and the fan so that a large space is provided around the fan, and frost adheres between the cooling fins. It is possible to prevent this from happening and to ensure the flow of air. However, recent refrigerators tend to increase the volume inside the refrigerator. For this reason, the installation space for the cooling device and the like is suppressed, the heat exchanger such as the evaporator is required to be downsized, and it becomes difficult to provide a large space around the fan. In addition, there is a problem in that frost is easily attached between the cooling fins.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the efficiency of the fan can be increased while the evaporator is downsized.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is, firstly, to provide a plurality of continuous refrigerant pipes arranged substantially in parallel and through which a refrigerant flows, and a large number of cooling pipes provided in the refrigerant pipes. A cooling device having an evaporator constituted by fins and a fan arranged in the cool air passage for sending cold air that has undergone heat exchange in the evaporator to the inside of the refrigerator, the fan being displaced from a central portion of the evaporator The upper side of the cooling pipe is located on the side of the fan in the rotating direction, and
A short length refrigerant pipe is extended along the fan, and a guide duct having a guide surface for guiding the cool air passing through the evaporator toward the fan is provided in the cold air passage.

[0008]

Secondly , a plurality of substantially parallel refrigerant pipes in which the refrigerant flows, an evaporator composed of a plurality of cooling fins provided in the refrigerant pipe, and an evaporator arranged in the cold air passage. A cooling device having a fan for sending the cold air that has undergone heat exchange into the inside of the refrigerator, and the fan is arranged at the upper position deviated from the central part of the evaporator on the fan rotation direction side, while Refrigerant pipe,
An obliquely parallel layout structure in which the fan side is lowered is provided, and a guide duct having a guide surface for guiding the cool air passing through the evaporator toward the fan is provided in the cold air passage.

In a preferred embodiment, the fan has an integral structure fixedly supported in the induction duct.

Alternatively, the inner inner wall surface, which is the inner side of the cold air passage, is a vertical surface, and the outer inner wall surface, which is the outer side, is a tapered surface whose distance gradually increases downward from the vertical surface.
The evaporator is arranged so as to contact the tapered surface side.

Alternatively, the cooling fin of the evaporator is provided with a concave fin having a recess at the bottom end of the fin and a fin at the bottom end of the fin.
A convex fin having a convex portion narrower than the concave width is provided at a position corresponding to the concave portion, and the convex fin and the concave fin are alternately arranged.

Alternatively, the cooling fins of the evaporator include a first fin formed in an arc shape having a fin lower end portion directed inward, and a second fin formed in an arc shape having a fin lower end portion directed outward. The first fin and the second fin are alternately arranged.

According to such a refrigerator, air is passed between the cooling fins by the operation of the fan, so that heat is exchanged with the refrigerant by flowing in the refrigerant pipe. By this heat exchange, the refrigerant becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gaseous state, and the air is cooled and sent into the inside of the refrigerator. During this operation, the air passing between the cooling fins is guided toward the fan by the guide surface of the guide duct, so that a predetermined air volume is secured even if there is no space around the fan, and Since the space can be made smaller, the overall size can be reduced.

On the other hand, even if frost forms on each fin,
The combination of the first fins and the second fins, the combination of the concave fins and the convex fins, or the arrangement of the evaporators along the tapered surface ensures a sufficient passage for air. A large amount of air can be obtained.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body of the refrigerator 3, which is a refrigerating compartment 5, a freezing compartment 7, and a vegetable compartment 9 from above.
The freezing compartment 7 is divided into three compartments so that the opening and closing doors 11, 12, and 13 can be opened and closed to be taken in and out.

Inside the back wall of the refrigerator body 1 is a cold air passage 15 which communicates with the refrigerator compartment 5, the freezer compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 9, and an evaporator 17 constituting a cooling device is arranged therein.
Further, a condenser 21, a throttle valve 23, and a compressor 25 are arranged in the machine room 19 below the back wall of the refrigerator main body 1, respectively. As shown in FIG. → Throttle valve 23 → Evaporator 17 and compressor 2 again
Returning to 5, the refrigeration cycle is configured.

As shown in FIG. 4, the evaporator 17 has an inner inner wall surface 27 on the inside of the cold air passage 15 as a vertical surface, and an outer inner wall surface 29 on the outer side as the inner inner wall surface 27 downward. The tapered surface has a gradually increasing distance, and is arranged so as to contact the outer inner wall surface 29 on the tapered surface side. As a result, even if frost occurs on the upstream side (lower side in the drawing) of the cooling fins and the gap between the cooling fins 33 and the fins 33 is completely closed, the air flow is ensured by the passages 31 along the inner inner wall surface 29. At the same time, when defrosting, the water drops are set so as to be quickly dropped by concentrating the water drops from one corner 33b of the cooling fin 33 at the lowermost end onto one location.

As shown in FIG. 1, the structure of the evaporator 17 is arranged substantially parallel to each other, and the continuous refrigerant pipe 3 through which the refrigerant flows.
5 and a large number of cooling fins 33 provided on the refrigerant pipe 35.
And a fan 37 is arranged above the evaporator 17.

One end of the refrigerant pipe 35 is connected to the compressor 25, and the other end thereof is connected to the throttle valve 23. The cooling fins 33 are set such that the arrangement pitch of the fins becomes gradually smaller from the upstream side (lower side in FIG. 1) toward the downstream side (upper side in FIG. 1), and the maximum arrangement pitch P on the most upstream side where frost formation is likely to occur. Even if frost is formed, the flow of air is not interrupted in a short time, and a passage through which the air flows from the upstream side to the downstream side is secured.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cooling fin 33 has a concave fin 41 having a recess 39 at the bottom edge of the fin, and a recess 3 at the bottom edge of the fin at a position corresponding to the recess 39.
It has a structure in which convex fins 45 having convex portions 43 narrower than 9 widths are alternately arranged, and a passage 47 along the refrigerant pipe 35 is formed due to a dimensional difference between the concave portions 39 and the convex portions 43. Has become.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the cooling fin 33 is provided with an arc surface 49 whose lower end edge is directed inward.
a and a second fin 51 formed on an arc surface 51a whose fin lower end edge extends outward.
A structure in which and are alternately arranged may be adopted.

On the other hand, the fan 37 is located above the center of the evaporator 17 as shown in FIG.
Is arranged on the rotation direction side, that is, on the left side which is the counterclockwise direction (arrow A direction in this embodiment), and has a unit structure in which it is integrally arranged and fixed in the guide duct 53.

In this case, when the rotation direction of the fan 37 is clockwise, the fan 37 is displaced rightward and upward from the central portion. This direction of rotation of the fan 37, for example, is a counterclockwise direction, the air flow is set based on the right side of the drawing increases Experiment 1, the exemplary form
In this state, the rotation direction of the fan 37 is counterclockwise.
The guide duct 53 is provided with a guide surface 55 for guiding the air passing through the evaporator 17 toward the fan 37 arranged on the left side .

According to the refrigerator 3 thus constructed,
By operating the fan 37, the cooling fin 33 and the cooling fin 3
By passing the air between 3 and 3, heat exchange is performed with the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe 35. Due to this heat exchange, the refrigerant becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gaseous state, and the cooled air is sent by the fan 37 to the path circulating through the refrigerating compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 9 and the path circulating through the freezing compartment 5. Cool the inside. The return air that has cooled the inside of the refrigerator repeats the circulation from the upstream side, which is below the evaporator 17, to the downstream side. During this operation, the air that has passed through the evaporator 17 is efficiently guided toward the fan 37 by the guide surface 55 of the guide duct 53, so that a predetermined air volume can be obtained even if there is no space around the fan. By reducing the space, the overall size can be reduced.

On the other hand, even if frost forms on each fin 33 and grows, the combination of the fan arrangement pitch P, the concave fan 41, and the convex fan 45 causes the fins to grow. As shown in FIG. 7, the passage through which the air flows is secured and does not significantly affect the air volume. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the frost on the upstream side and the lower side in the drawing grows greatly and the spaces between the fins 33 are closed, the passage 31 along the inner inner wall surface 27 does not affect the air volume. Without, stable cooling performance can be obtained for a long time.

Next, at the time of defrosting, the melted water droplets are concentrated and dripped from the lowermost corner portion 33b of the cooling fin 33, so that the cooling fin 33 is drained well. Further, even if the last water drop does not drop and remains cold after defrosting is released, the frozen region is specified at the lowermost corner portion 33b, which has the adverse effect of narrowing the passage between the cooling fins 33. Does not happen.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the evaporator 17.

That is, the evaporator 17 is constituted by a plurality of continuous cooling medium pipes 35 in which the cooling medium flows and a large number of cooling fins 33 provided in the cooling medium pipe 35, and a fan 37 is provided above the evaporator 17. To place. Fan 37
Is the upper position deviated from the central portion of the evaporator 17, in the rotation direction of the fan 37, in this embodiment (counterclockwise direction).
It is located on the left side.

On the right side of the fan 37, the refrigerant pipe 3 is provided.
5 has a structure in which a short-sized refrigerant pipe 35a having cooling fins 33a is arranged. When the fan 37 rotates, a partition wall 57 is formed so that a large amount of air flows in the region of the short-sized refrigerant pipe 35a. Is provided.

Since the other constituent elements are the same as those in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, by rotating the fan 37 in the counterclockwise direction, in addition to the above effects,
The air on the downstream side of the evaporator 17 from the bottom of the drawing is separated by the partition wall 57.
Due to the short circuit (pass the left side of the partition wall 57)
As a result, the heat exchange rate can be increased for the basin of the short refrigerant pipe 35a.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the evaporator 17.

That is, the fan 37 is arranged at an upper position deviated from the central portion of the evaporator 17, in the rotation direction of the fan 37, that is, on the left side which is (counterclockwise) in this embodiment, while the evaporator 17 is arranged. The refrigerant pipe 35 of the fan 37
A short refrigerant pipe 3 having a diagonally parallel layout structure with lower sides and cooling fins 33a on the lower right side.
5a is extended and provided.

The evaporator 17 is provided with a partition wall 59 for partitioning the evaporator 17 into right and left.

Since the other components are the same as those in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, by rotating the fan 37 in the counterclockwise direction, in addition to the above effects,
The air on the downstream side of the evaporator 17 from the bottom of the drawing is separated by the partition wall 59.
Due to the short circuit (pass the left side of the partition wall 59)
As a result, the heat exchange rate can be increased by the area of the short refrigerant pipe 35a.

[0039]

As described above, according to the refrigerator of the present invention , a sufficient air volume can be ensured by the guide surface provided in the guide duct without securing a large space around the fan. , Stable cooling performance can be obtained. Moreover, since it is not necessary to create a large space around the fan, the overall size can be reduced accordingly.

Further, even if frost forms on the upstream side of the cooling fins, a passage can be ensured from the upstream side to the downstream side, so that efficient cooling performance can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement position of an evaporator and a fan according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view in which the cooling fins are concave fins and convex fins.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram in which concave fins and convex fins are alternately combined.

7 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a refrigeration cycle.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 5, showing another embodiment of the cooling fin.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram in which the fins of FIG. 9 are alternately combined.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 1, showing another embodiment of the evaporator.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 1, showing still another embodiment of the evaporator.

[Explanation of symbols]

17 Evaporator 33 cooling fins 35 Refrigerant pipe 37 fans 53 induction duct 55 Guideway

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-127961 (JP, A) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-60370 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 17/06 304 F25D 19/00 520

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An evaporator comprising a plurality of continuous refrigerant pipes arranged substantially parallel to each other, through which a refrigerant flows, and a plurality of cooling fins provided in the refrigerant pipe, and an evaporator arranged in a cold air passage to generate heat in the evaporator. A cooling device having a fan for sending the replaced cool air into the inside of the refrigerator, the fan being disposed on the fan rotation direction side at an upper position deviated from the central part of the evaporator, and the fan from the refrigerant pipe. A cooling medium pipe having a short dimension is extended along with, and a guide duct having a guide surface for guiding the cool air passing through the evaporator toward the fan is provided in the cold air passage. refrigerator. 2. An evaporator comprising a plurality of continuous refrigerant pipes arranged substantially parallel to each other, through which a refrigerant flows, and a plurality of cooling fins provided in the refrigerant pipe, and an evaporator arranged in a cold air passage to generate heat in the evaporator. A cooling device having a fan for sending the exchanged cool air into the refrigerator, the fan being arranged on the rotation direction side of the fan at an upper position deviated from the central part of the evaporator, and a refrigerant pipe of the evaporator. Is a diagonally parallel layout structure in which the fan side is lowered, and a guide duct having a guide surface for guiding the cool air that has passed through the evaporator toward the fan is provided in the cool air passage. . 3. A fan, a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein it has a fixed supported integral structure in the guiding duct. 4. An inner inner wall surface that is the inside of the cold air passage is a vertical surface, and an outer outer wall surface that is an outer surface is a tapered surface that gradually extends downwardly from the vertical surface, and contacts the tapered surface side. Refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the disposing the evaporator as. 5. An evaporator cooling fin, a concave fin having a concave portion at a lower end portion of the fin, and a convex fin having a convex portion narrower than a concave portion at a position corresponding to the concave portion at a lower end portion of the fin. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerator is configured by and the convex fins and the concave fins are alternately arranged. 6. A cooling fin for an evaporator, comprising: a first fin formed in an arc shape having a fin lower end portion facing inward; and a second fin formed in an arc shape having a fin lower end portion extending outward. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerator is configured with the first fin and the second fin are alternately arranged.