JP4959474B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with cooling chambers adjacent to the left and right.

  A conventional refrigerator is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this refrigerator, a freezer compartment is arranged below the refrigerator compartment, and an ice making compartment and a temperature switching chamber are provided adjacent to each other between the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment. The temperature switching chamber can switch the room temperature from the freezing temperature zone to the refrigeration temperature zone. A cooler that generates cool air is disposed at the center of the back of the freezer compartment, and a cool air passage through which cool air from the cooler flows is provided via a damper on the back of the refrigerator compartment. In addition, a blower is provided on the back surface of the ice making chamber in a communication passage communicating with the cold air passage of the refrigerator compartment.

  The cold air cooled by the cooler is sent out to the ice making chamber by a blower and circulates through the freezing chamber communicating with the ice making chamber. In addition, the cold heat of the cooler is transmitted to the freezer compartment through the back wall of the freezer compartment, and the cold heat of the cold air flowing through the communication path is transmitted to the icemaker compartment through the back wall of the ice compartment. Thereby, the ice making room and the freezing room are cooled.

  When the refrigerator opens the damper, the cool air cooled by the cooler is guided to the cool air passage of the refrigerator room by the blower, and flows through the cool air passage and is discharged to the refrigerator chamber. Further, the cold heat of the cold air flowing through the cold air passage is transmitted to the refrigerating room through the back wall of the refrigerating room. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment is cooled. Cold air flowing through the communication path branched downstream of the blower is discharged into the temperature switching chamber, and the temperature switching chamber is cooled.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-270956 (page 3 to page 8, FIG. 4)

  However, according to the conventional refrigerator, the cooler is arranged in the center of the back surface of the freezer compartment, and the blower is arranged on one side. For this reason, the cold air heat-exchanged by the cooler bends and circulates in the communication passage toward the blower, and further bends after passing through the blower and flows into the cold air passage of the refrigerator compartment. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the air passage length becomes long and the pressure loss increases due to the bending, resulting in poor ventilation efficiency. In particular, when the width of the refrigerator is widened, the air passage length becomes longer, and the blowing efficiency is further deteriorated.

  Patent Document 1 also discloses a refrigerator in which a blower is arranged on the center line of a cooler. However, according to this refrigerator, the cold energy generated by the cooler when the temperature switching chamber is maintained in the refrigeration temperature zone is taken away by the temperature switching chamber via the back wall of the temperature switching chamber. For this reason, there is a problem that the amount of cold heat transmitted to the ice making room having a temperature lower than that of the temperature switching room is reduced, and the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator is deteriorated. In particular, when the temperature switching chamber can be maintained at a temperature higher than room temperature, the cooling efficiency is further lowered because the cooling is taken away by the temperature switching chamber that does not require cooling.

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

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a second and a third storage chamber are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction between a freezing chamber and a first storage chamber that are spaced apart in the vertical direction. In the refrigerator comprising a cooler that is disposed behind and generates cool air flowing into each chamber, and a cool air passage that is disposed on the back surface of the first storage chamber and through which cool air from the cooler flows, the cool air passage is The second storage chamber has a lower inflow width in the left-right direction on the downstream side of the inflow portion, and the second storage chamber has a lower temperature than the third storage chamber. And the inflow portion and the cooler are arranged to be biased toward the second storage chamber.

  According to this configuration, the cold air generated by the cooler behind the freezer compartment flows into the cold air passage arranged behind the first storage compartment via the inflow portion. The cold air flows through the cold air passage and is discharged into the first storage chamber. The inflow portion and the cooler are arranged to be biased toward the second storage chamber, and the cool air discharges cold heat to the second storage chamber having a temperature lower than that of the third storage chamber, and flows into the cool air passage from the inflow portion.

  In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the cool air passage is disposed above the cooler, and a blower with an exhaust side facing upward is provided in the inflow portion. According to this configuration, the cool air generated by the cooler by driving the blower is guided to the cool air passage behind the first storage chamber.

  In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the inflow portion is provided with a heat insulating material on the front surface side. According to this structure, discharge | release of the cold heat | fever into the 1st storage chamber by the cold air which distribute | circulates an inflow part is suppressed by a heat insulating material.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the inflow portion has an inclined surface on the front side which is receded upward on the exhaust side of the blower. According to this configuration, the depth of the inflow portion is formed wide to accommodate the blower, and the upper portion is narrowed by the inclined surface.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the cold air passage may include a first passage extending upward from the inflow portion and a second passage extending upward through a lateral passage extending laterally from the inflow portion. A cold air discharge port is opened in front of the horizontal passage, and a first isolation chamber facing the discharge port is provided in front of the horizontal passage and on the side of the inflow portion.

  According to this configuration, the cold air that has flowed into the cold air passage from the inflow portion rises in the first passage, branches into the lateral passage, rises in the second passage, and the cold air is discharged into the first storage chamber. Further, a part of the cold air flowing through the horizontal passage is disposed on the side of the inflow portion and discharged to the first isolation chamber having a large depth through the discharge port.

  According to the present invention, in the refrigerator configured as described above, a water tank chamber in which an ice-making water tank is disposed on a side of the inflow portion away from the first isolation chamber is provided, and the water tank chamber, the first isolation chamber, A second isolation chamber is provided between the two. According to this configuration, the second isolation chamber is provided in front of the inflow portion, and the water tank chamber and the first isolation chamber having a large depth are provided on both sides of the second isolation chamber. A water tank is installed in the water tank room, and ice making is performed.

  According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, a water tank chamber in which a water tank for ice making is disposed on one side of the inflow portion is provided. According to this configuration, the water tank is mounted in the water tank chamber having a wide depth provided on the side of the inflow portion, and ice making is performed.

  In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the second storage chamber communicates with the freezing chamber and is maintained below the freezing point, and the third storage chamber can be maintained at a temperature higher than the freezing point.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, the third storage chamber is characterized by comprising a temperature switching chamber in which the room temperature can be switched between a low temperature side for storing and storing stored items and a high temperature side higher than normal temperature.

  According to the present invention, the second and third storage chambers are provided adjacent to the left and right between the first storage chamber and the freezing chamber, and the cooler behind the freezing chamber and the inflow portion of the cold air passage behind the first storage chamber are provided. Since the second storage chamber is biased toward the second storage chamber, which is cooler than the third storage chamber, it is possible to release the cold heat of the cool air guided to the inflow portion to the second storage chamber. Therefore, the cold heat of the cold air is not taken away by the third storage room having a temperature higher than that of the second storage room, and the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator can be improved. Further, since the passage between the cooler and the inflow portion can be formed without bending, the pressure loss can be reduced and the blowing efficiency can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the blower with the exhaust side directed to the upper cool air passage is provided in the inflow portion, the cool air can be easily guided to the cool air passage.

  According to the present invention, since the inflow portion is provided with a heat insulating material on the front surface, the heat insulating material prevents condensation in the first storage chamber in front of the inflow portion and suppresses the release of cold heat to the first storage chamber. As a result, when the isolation chamber is provided in the first storage chamber, it is possible to easily keep the isolation chamber at a low temperature by guiding the cool air flowing into the cool air passage into the isolation chamber without reducing it.

  Further, according to the present invention, the inflow portion has an inclined surface on the exhaust side of the blower that is retreated upward, so that the blower can be easily disposed in the inflow portion and the depth of the cold air passage is narrowed to define the contents of the first storage chamber The product can be increased.

  According to the invention, the cold air passage has the first passage extending upward from the inflow portion and the second passage extending upward through the lateral passage extending laterally from the inflow portion. It is possible to guide the cold air easily. In addition, since the cool air discharge port is opened in the front of the horizontal passage and the first isolation chamber is provided on the front side of the horizontal passage and on the side of the inflow portion, the first isolation chamber is formed by the cold air immediately after flowing into the cool air passage. While being able to maintain at low temperature easily, the depth of the 1st isolation chamber can be formed widely.

  According to the present invention, the water tank chamber in which the water tank for ice making is disposed on the side of the inflow portion away from the first isolation chamber is provided, and the second isolation chamber is provided between the water tank chamber and the first isolation chamber. Since it is provided, the depth of the water tank chamber can be formed widely, and the capacity of the water tank can be increased. Further, the second isolation chamber having a depth smaller than that of the first isolation chamber is maintained at a higher temperature than the first isolation chamber by the inflow portion. Thereby, the convenience of a refrigerator improves by using the 1st, 2nd isolation room properly according to a store.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the water tank chamber in which the water tank for ice making is arranged on one side of the inflow portion is provided, the depth of the water tank chamber can be widely formed, and the capacity of the water tank can be increased.

  According to the present invention, the second storage chamber communicates with the freezing chamber and is maintained below the freezing point, and the third storage chamber can be maintained at a temperature higher than the freezing point. The cooling efficiency can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, the third storage chamber is composed of the temperature switching chamber capable of switching the room temperature between a low temperature side for storing stored items in a cold state and a high temperature side higher than the normal temperature, so that the third storage chamber having a higher temperature than the normal temperature. Therefore, the cooling efficiency can be improved without taking away the cold heat of the cold air.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a front view and a right side view showing a refrigerator according to one embodiment. The refrigerator 1 is provided with a refrigeration room 2 (first storage room) at the top, and below the refrigeration room 2 an ice making room 4 (second storage room) and a temperature switching room 3 (third storage room) are arranged side by side. Is done. A freezing room 6 is arranged below the temperature switching room 3 and the ice making room 4, and a vegetable room 5 is arranged below the freezing room 6.

  The refrigerator compartment 2 stores stored items in a refrigerator, and the vegetable compartment 5 cools and preserves vegetables at a room temperature (about 8 ° C.) higher than the refrigerator compartment 2. As will be described later in detail, the temperature switching chamber 3 can be switched by the user at room temperature. The ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 6 communicate with each other and are maintained below the freezing point. The freezer 6 stores the stored items in a frozen state, and the ice making chamber 4 makes ice and stores the ice.

  FIG. 3 shows a front view of the main body of the refrigerator 1. The main body of the refrigerator 1 has a heat insulating box filled with a foam heat insulating material. The ice making chamber 4 and the temperature switching chamber 3 are separated from the refrigerator compartment 2 by a heat insulating wall 7, and the freezer compartment 6 and the vegetable compartment 5 are separated from each other by a heat insulating wall 8. Further, the temperature switching chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 6 are isolated by a heat insulating wall 35, and the temperature switching chamber 3 and the ice making chamber 4 are isolated by a vertical heat insulating wall 36.

  The vegetable compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 6 are provided with storage cases 45 and 46 made of resin molded products. The storage cases 45 and 46 are formed in two slidable upper and lower stages. Moreover, the upper surface of the storage case 45 of the vegetable compartment 5 is closed by a slidable lid 45a. A metal storage case 43 is provided in the temperature switching chamber 3. The ice making chamber 4 is provided with an ice making device 72 having an ice making tray 73. Below the ice making device 72, there is provided an ice storage case 44 of a resin molded product for storing ice formed in the ice making tray 73.

  The refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a plurality of partition shelves 41 on which stored items are placed. The lower part of the lower shelf 41 is partitioned by vertically extending partition walls 61 and 62, and a chilled chamber 21, an accessory storage chamber 65, and a water tank chamber 70 serving as isolation chambers are provided side by side.

  The chilled chamber 21 (first isolation chamber) is provided with a storage case 42 made of a resin molded product, and the front upper portion of the storage case 42 is covered with an openable / closable cover 42a. The inside of the chilled chamber 21 is maintained in a chilled temperature zone (about −2 ° C. to 0 ° C.) lower than the other regions of the refrigerator compartment 2.

  The accessory storage chamber 65 is provided with storage cases 47 and 48 each made of a resin molded product. The upper storage case 47 is provided with an egg container 49 having a plurality of circular holes for storing eggs. The water tank chamber 70 stores a water tank 71 that supplies water to the ice making device 72.

  FIG. 4 shows a front sectional view of the refrigerator 1. FIG. 5 shows a side sectional view through the accessory storage chamber 65 of the refrigerator 1. A machine room 50 is provided behind the vegetable room 5, and a compressor 57 is disposed in the machine room 50. The compressor 57 is connected to a condenser, an expander (not shown), and a cooler 11, and a refrigerant such as isobutane is circulated by driving the compressor 57 to operate a refrigeration cycle. Thereby, the cooler 11 becomes the low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle.

  Behind the freezer compartment 6 is provided a cold air passage 31 partitioned by a back plate 6a. The cool air passage 31 is partitioned into a front part 31a and a rear part 31b by a partition plate 31c, and the cooler 11 is arranged in the rear part 31b. Further, the cooler 11 is arranged to be biased to the left where the ice making chamber 4 is arranged. The front portion 31a is partitioned up and down by a partition plate 31d, and the cool air discharged to the freezer compartment 6 circulates above the partition plate 31d.

  The cooler 11 is formed by meandering refrigerant pipes 11a through which refrigerant flows, and left and right ends of the refrigerant pipes 11a are supported by end plates 11b. A large number of fins (not shown) for heat dissipation are provided in contact with the refrigerant pipe 11a. A gas-liquid separator 11c is connected to the upper part of the refrigerant pipe 11a.

  A freezer compartment return port 22 that opens to the front surface of the cooler 11 is provided below the partition plate 31d. Since the cooler 11 is arranged on the back side of the freezer compartment 6, the cold heat of the cooler 11 is released to the freezer compartment 6 side through the partition plate 31c, the front portion 31a, and the back plate 6a. Thereby, the freezer compartment 6 is efficiently indirectly cooled and the cooling efficiency is improved.

  The cooler 11 on the low temperature side of the refrigeration cycle exchanges heat with the air flowing through the cold air passage 31 to generate cold air. A defrost heater 33 for defrosting the cooler 11 is provided below the cooler 11. Below the defrost heater 33, a drain pan 83 for receiving water by defrost is provided. The drain pan 83 is provided with a drain pipe 84, and defrosted water is guided to the evaporating dish 85 (see FIG. 6) disposed in the machine room 50 via the drain pipe 84.

  Behind the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided a cold air passage 32 communicating with the cold air passage 31 via the refrigerator compartment damper 20. The cold air passage 32 is provided with an inflow portion 32 a on the side where the cold air flows from the cold air passage 31. The inflow portion 32a is arranged behind the accessory storage chamber 65 while being biased to the left. For this reason, the upper part of the cold air passage 31 communicates with the inflow portion 32a from the cooler 11 biased to the left through the ice making chamber 4 behind. Thereby, the cold heat of the cold air flowing through the upper part of the cold air passage 31 is released to the ice making chamber 4 and the ice making chamber 4 is cooled.

  The inflow portion 32a is narrower in the left-right direction than the downstream side, and the cool air passage 32 is provided to extend in the left-right direction on the downstream side of the inflow portion 32a. That is, the downstream side of the inflow portion 32a branches into a first passage 32b arranged on the left side of the refrigerator compartment 2 and a second passage 32c arranged on the right side. The first passage 32b is formed to extend upward from the inflow portion 32a that is biased to the left. The second passage 32c is formed to extend upward from a lateral passage 32d extending in the lateral direction from the inflow portion 32a.

  At the upper ends of the first and second passages 32b and 32c, a discharge port 2a for discharging cold air to the refrigerator compartment 2 toward the side is provided. In addition, a plurality of discharge ports 2b are opened side by side on the side wall of the second passage 32c. A refrigeration chamber return port 2 c through which cold air flows out from the refrigeration chamber 2 opens at the lower right side of the refrigeration chamber 2.

  Since the first passage 32b extends directly upward from the inflow portion 32a, the cool air flows more easily than the second passage 32c. However, by providing a plurality of discharge ports 2b in the second passage 32c and arranging the refrigerator return port 2c on the right side, cold air is led from the inflow portion 32a arranged to the left to the second passage 32c on the right side. It becomes easy. Therefore, it is possible to distribute the cold air uniformly to the first and second passages 32b and 32c. Also, the same effect can be obtained by providing the same outlet as the outlet 2b in the first passage 32b so that the opening area of the outlet 2b on the second passage 32c side is larger than that on the first passage 32b side. Obtainable.

  A space 32e is provided between the first and second passages 32b and 32c. Thereby, even if the refrigerator compartment 2 is large, the flow path area of the 1st, 2nd channel | paths 32b and 32c can be maintained to a required magnitude | size, and the remarkable fall of the flow rate of cold air can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to keep cool air in the refrigerator compartment 2. Note that the space 32e may be omitted if the refrigerating room blower 23 has a sufficient blowing capacity. At this time, it is preferable to provide a laterally extending guide wall that guides cool air to the discharge port 21 a of the chilled chamber 21.

  A discharge port 21a that discharges cold air to the chilled chamber 21 opens at a lower portion of the horizontal passage 32d. Since the cold air flowing into the cold air passage 32 from the inflow portion 32a is immediately discharged from the discharge port 21a, the chilled chamber 21 can be maintained at a low temperature.

  Further, a heat insulating material 39 is provided on the front side of the inflow portion 32a. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the cold heat flowing into the inflow portion 32a from being taken away by the accessory storage chamber 65 having a temperature higher than that of the chilled chamber 21, and the chilled chamber 21 can be efficiently cooled. Further, it is possible to prevent dew condensation in the accessory storage chamber 65 and freezing of the eggs due to the low temperature cold air immediately after flowing into the inflow portion 32a.

  As will be described later, the inflow portion 32a is widened in the depth direction because the refrigerator compartment fan 23 is disposed. The partition walls 61 and 62 are provided outside the side wall of the inflow portion 32a, and the water tank chamber 70 and the chilled chamber 21 are not disposed in front of the inflow portion 32a. 6 and 7 show side cross-sectional views through the water tank chamber 70 and the chilled chamber 21 of the refrigerator 1, respectively. As shown in these drawings, since the water tank chamber 70 and the chilled chamber 21 are not arranged in front of the inflow portion 32a, there is no protrusion on the back surface and the depth can be widened.

  Thereby, even if the water supply pump 74 for supplying water from the water tank 71 to the ice tray 73 is installed at the rear of the water tank chamber 70, the capacity of the water tank 71 can be increased. Further, the internal volume of the chilled chamber 21 can be increased. Therefore, the convenience of the refrigerator 1 is improved.

  In addition, in the accessory storage chamber 65 in front of the inflow part 32a, a space can be effectively used for storing accessories with a small depth. Moreover, the accessory storage chamber 65 is maintained at a higher temperature than the chilled chamber 21, and the accessory storage chamber 65 and the chilled chamber 21 can be used properly according to the stored items. Further, an accessory storage chamber 65 having a temperature higher than that of the chilled chamber 21 is provided between the chilled chamber 21 and the water tank chamber 70 so that the chilled chamber 21 and the water tank chamber 70 are not adjacent to each other. For this reason, freezing of the water tank 71 can be prevented.

  The freezer compartment blower 12 and the refrigerating compartment blower 23 (blower) are arranged in the upper part of the cold air passage 31 and the inflow part 32a, respectively. As will be described in detail later, the cold air generated by the cooler 11 flows through the front portion 31 a of the cold air passage 31 by driving the freezer compartment fan 12, and is supplied to the freezer compartment 6, the ice making chamber 4, and the temperature switching chamber 3. . The cold air is supplied to the cold room 2, the chilled room 21 and the vegetable room 5 through the cold air passage 32 by driving the cold room fan 23 after opening the cold room damper 20.

  The freezer compartment fan 12 is composed of an axial fan and is disposed with the exhaust side facing forward. The cold air passage 31 opens the front surface of the freezer compartment blower 12, and the freezer compartment blower 12 sends cold air to the front part 31 a of the cold air passage 31 and discharges it to the ice making chamber 4.

  The refrigerating room blower 23 is composed of an axial fan, and is disposed with the exhaust side obliquely upward. As a result, it is possible to efficiently distribute cool air upward and to reduce noise and save energy. Moreover, the refrigerator compartment fan 23 is arrange | positioned in the same horizontal surface so that a part may overlap with the heat insulation wall 7 in front projection. Thereby, the area | region where the refrigerator compartment fan 23 is arrange | positioned behind the refrigerator compartment 2 with a high usage frequency can be decreased, and the volume of the refrigerator compartment 2 can be ensured widely.

  Further, the inflow portion 32a is provided with the refrigerator compartment blower 23, so that the depth of the lower portion is wide, the upper portion has an inclined surface 32f that recedes backward, and the depth of the upper portion is narrow. The depth of the lower part of the inflow part 32a is formed in 80 mm, for example, and the depth of the upper part is formed in 12 mm, for example. The refrigerating room blower 23 is inclined and arranged at the lower part of the depth of the inflow part 32a. Thereby, while suppressing the protrusion amount of the inflow part 32a in the front-back direction, the space on the intake side and the exhaust side of the refrigerator compartment blower 23 can be easily secured.

  The refrigerator compartment fan 23, the refrigerator compartment damper 20, and the freezer compartment fan 12 are arranged substantially side by side in the vertical direction. That is, the refrigerating room blower 23, the refrigerating room damper 20, and the freezing room blower 12 are arranged so as to overlap in the planar projection. Thereby, while being able to narrow the width of the upper part of cold air passage 31, and inflow part 32a in the horizontal direction, cold air passages 31 and 32 can be shortened and volume efficiency and ventilation efficiency can be improved more.

  The cold air passage 31 has a large width in the lower part where the cooler 11 is arranged, and a narrow width in the upper part where the freezer compartment fan 12 is arranged via the inclined surfaces 31e and 31f. The use of the inclined surfaces 31e and 31f eliminates a useless space in the cool air passage 31, and the cool air can be smoothly guided from the entire cooler 11 without generating turbulent flow. Therefore, the cooling efficiency by the cooler 11 can be improved.

  The refrigerating room return port 2 c at the lower back of the refrigerating room 2 is connected to a vegetable room inlet 5 a provided on the right side of the vegetable room 5 by a connecting path 34 passing through the back surface of the temperature switching room 3. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 5 communicate. The connection path 34 is provided on the side of the temperature switching chamber blower 18 via a heat insulating layer. A return passage 19 communicating with the cold air passage 31 is provided at the upper back of the vegetable compartment 5. The return passage 19 is arranged to be deviated to the left of the center of the vegetable compartment 5.

  Since the cooler 11 is biased to the left, the connecting path 34 passing through the side of the cooler 11 should have a sufficient thickness of the side heat insulating layer (not shown) even if the width in the left-right direction is increased. Can do. Furthermore, the width of the connecting path 34 in the front-rear direction can be reduced, and the thickness of the heat insulating layer (not shown) on the inner side can be sufficient. For this reason, the dew condensation which generate | occur | produces in the connection path 34 with the cold heat of the freezer compartment 6 can be reduced. Further, heat conduction from the cold air having a relatively high temperature flowing through the connection path 34 to the freezer compartment 6 can be reduced, and heat loss can be reduced.

  In the upper part of the cold air passage 31, an introduction ventilation path 15 that leads the cold air to the temperature switching chamber 3 is branched and provided. A temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37 is disposed in the introduction ventilation path 15. The cold air flows into the temperature switching chamber 3 by opening the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37. The amount of air flowing into the temperature switching chamber 3 from the introduction ventilation path 15 is adjusted by the opening / closing amount of the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37.

  A heater 16 and a temperature switching chamber blower 18 are disposed above the temperature switching chamber 3. A temperature switching chamber return damper 38 having openings 38a and 38b (see FIG. 8) is disposed at the lower part of the temperature switching chamber 3. The temperature switching chamber return damper 38 is connected to the cool air passage 31 by a return passage 17 extending downward. As shown in FIG. 7, the return passage 17 is disposed behind the connection path 34.

  The air flowing from the temperature switching chamber 3 through the return passage 17 is returned to the cooler 11 through an outlet 17 a provided in the middle in the vertical direction of the cooler 11. Further, the cold air flowing out from the freezer compartment 6 through the freezer compartment return port 22 returns to the lower part of the cooler 11, and the cold air flowing out from the vegetable compartment 5 and passing through the return passage 19 returns to the lower part of the cooler 11.

  Therefore, the cold air flowing out from each storage chamber is returned to the cooler 11 in a dispersed manner. For this reason, the frost by the cold air containing the water | moisture content which circulated through each store room and returned does not generate | occur | produce intensively, but disperse | distributes and generate | occur | produces to the cooler 11 whole. Thereby, clogging of the cold air flow due to frost is prevented, and a decrease in cooling performance of the cooler 11 can be prevented.

  In addition, the cold air that has flowed through the temperature switching chamber 3 with a small volume is cooled at the upper part of the cooler 11, and the cold air that has flowed through the large-sized refrigerating chamber 3, the vegetable room 5, and the freezer room 6 Cooled by. Therefore, the cold air flowing out from the temperature switching chamber 3 is not heat exchanged with the cooler 11 more than necessary, and the heat exchange efficiency of the cooler 11 can be improved.

  Further, the cold air flowing out from the freezer compartment 6 through the freezer return port 22 is guided between the end plates 11b on both sides. The cold air flowing out from the vegetable compartment 5 is guided through the return passage 19 to the entire left and right direction inside and outside the end plates 11 b on both sides of the cooler 11.

  Thereby, the heat exchange area of the cold air flowing out from the vegetable compartment 5 becomes larger than the heat exchange area of the cold air flowing out from the freezer compartment 6. Therefore, the low temperature cold air returning from the freezer compartment 6 is not cooled more than necessary, and the high temperature cold air returning from the vegetable compartment 5 is cooled by the entire cooler 11 so that the heat exchange efficiency of the cooler 11 can be further improved.

  Since the temperature switching chamber 3 may be maintained at the freezing temperature, the end plate 11 b is provided with a notch (not shown) at a position facing the outlet 17 a of the return passage 17. Thereby, the cold air that has flowed out of the temperature switching chamber 3 can be guided between the end plates 11b on both sides to disperse the cold air. Therefore, the condensation of the cooler 11 can be dispersed and clogging can be further prevented.

  FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the temperature switching chamber 3. The upper and lower surfaces of the temperature switching chamber 3 are insulated from the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 6 by heat insulation walls 7 and 35. The front surface of the temperature switching chamber 3 can be opened and closed by a pivotable door 3a. The back surface of the temperature switching chamber 3 is covered with a back plate 40. An air inlet 40 a through which air flows into the temperature switching chamber 3 is provided at the upper part of the back plate 40. An air outlet 40 b through which air flows out from the temperature switching chamber 3 is provided at the lower part of the back plate 40.

  The temperature switching chamber blower 18 is provided facing the air inlet 40a, and the heater 16 is disposed between the temperature switching chamber blower 18 and the air inlet 40a. The heater 16 is formed of a heat radiation type glass tube heater, and raises the temperature of the temperature switching chamber 3 by radiant heat released through the back plate 40. The temperature switching chamber blower 18 is disposed so as to blow toward the surface of the heater 16. Thereby, the surface temperature of the heater 16 can be lowered and safety can be improved. A temperature sensor 24 that detects abnormal heating by the heater 16 is provided above the heater 16. A temperature sensor 25 that detects the temperature in the temperature switching chamber 3 is provided at the air outlet 40b.

  A temperature switching chamber return damper 38 is disposed behind the air outlet 40b. The temperature switching chamber return damper 38 has openings 38a and 38b formed on the back and top surfaces, respectively, and has a baffle 38c that opens one side and closes the other by turning. The opening 38 a faces the return passage 17 extending downward, and the opening 38 b faces the communication passage 30. The communication path 30 connects the intake side of the temperature switching chamber blower 18 and the opening 38b. The introduction ventilation path 15 (see FIG. 4) is connected to the communication path 30.

  When the opening 38 a of the temperature switching chamber return damper 38 is opened, the opening 38 b is closed, and the air flowing out from the air outlet 40 b returns to the cooler 11 through the return passage 17. When the opening 38b of the temperature switching chamber return damper 38 is opened, the opening 38a is closed, and the air flowing out from the air outlet 40b is guided to the intake side of the temperature switching chamber blower 18. Therefore, when the opening 38a and the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37 (see FIG. 4) are closed and the temperature switching chamber blower 18 is driven, the air in the temperature switching chamber 3 can be circulated through the communication passage 30.

  FIG. 9 is a cold air circuit diagram showing the flow of cold air in the refrigerator 1. The freezer compartment 6, the refrigerator compartment 2, and the temperature switching chamber 3 are each arranged in parallel. The vegetable compartment 5 is arranged in series with the refrigerator compartment 2. The cold air generated by the cooler 11 is sent to the freezer compartment 6 that communicates with the ice making compartment 4 by driving the freezer compartment fan 12. The cold air flowing through the ice making chamber 4 and the freezer compartment 6 flows out from the freezer return port 22 and returns to the cooler 11. As a result, the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 6 are cooled.

  The cold air branched on the exhaust side of the freezer compartment fan 12 is sent to the refrigerating compartment 2 including the chilled compartment 21 through the refrigerating compartment damper 20 by driving the refrigerating compartment blower 23. The cold air discharged into the refrigerator compartment 2 flows through the partition shelf 41 and flows down, and the cold air discharged into the chilled chamber 21 flows through the storage case 42. And it distribute | circulates the downward direction of the storage case 42, and flows out from the refrigerator compartment return port 2c of the chilled room 21 back.

  Cold air that has flowed out of the refrigerator compartment 2 through the refrigerator compartment return port 2c flows through the connecting path 34 and flows into the vegetable compartment 5 through the vegetable compartment inlet 5a (see FIG. 4) arranged on the right side. The cold air flowing into the vegetable compartment 5 flows under the storage case 45 and rises in front of the storage case 45, and flows backward between the lid 45 a of the storage case 45 and the heat insulating wall 8. Thereby, the inside of the storage case 45 is indirectly cooled. The cold air that has circulated through the vegetable compartment 5 returns to the cooler 11 via a return passage 19 that is provided to the left of the center. Thereby, the inside of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 5 is cooled, and when it becomes preset temperature, the refrigerator compartment damper 20 will be closed.

  Further, the cold air branched on the exhaust side of the freezer compartment fan 12 flows into the temperature switching chamber 3 through the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37 by driving the temperature switching chamber blower 18. The cold air that has flowed into the temperature switching chamber 3 flows through the temperature switching chamber 3, flows out of the temperature switching chamber return damper 38, and returns to the cooler 11 through the return passage 17. Thereby, the inside of the temperature switching chamber 3 is cooled.

  As described above, the temperature switching chamber 3 can switch the room temperature by a user's operation. The operation mode of the temperature switching chamber 3 is wine (8 ° C.), refrigerated (3 ° C.), chilled (0 ° C. to −2 ° C.), soft frozen (−8 ° C.), and frozen (−15 ° C.). Each cooling mode is provided.

  Thus, the user can store the refrigerated product at a desired temperature by refrigeration or refrigeration. The room temperature can be switched by varying the amount of opening of the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37. For example, the heater 16 may be energized to switch the temperature from the refrigerated room temperature to the refrigerated room temperature. Thereby, it can switch to desired room temperature rapidly.

  Further, by energizing the heater 16, the room temperature of the temperature switching chamber 3 can be switched from a low temperature side where the stored items are cooled and stored to a high temperature side higher than normal temperature. Thereby, temporary heat insulation, warm cooking, etc. of the cooked heated food can be performed.

  When the temperature switching chamber 3 is switched to the high temperature side, the opening 38a of the temperature switching chamber return damper 38 and the temperature switching chamber discharge damper 37 are closed as shown in FIG. Then, the temperature switching chamber blower 18 and the heater 16 are driven, and the temperature in the temperature switching chamber 3 is raised by circulating hot air.

  Since the growth temperature of the main food poisoning bacteria is 30 ° C. to 45 ° C., the indoor temperature on the high temperature side is preferably set to 50 ° C. or more in consideration of the tolerance of the heater capacity, the temperature distribution in the temperature switching chamber 3, and the like. Thereby, propagation of food poisoning bacteria can be prevented. Moreover, since the heat-resistant temperature of the general resin parts used for a refrigerator is 80 degreeC, when the room temperature of a high temperature side shall be 80 degrees C or less, it can implement | achieve cheaply. In addition, in order to sterilize food poisoning bacteria, for example, in the case of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (pathogenic E. coli O157), heating at 75 ° C. for 1 minute is required. Therefore, it is more desirable to set the indoor temperature on the high temperature side to 75 ° C. to 80 ° C.

The following are the test results on the sterilization of food poisoning bacteria at 55 ° C. In the initial state, E. coli 2.4 × 10 ³ CFU / mL, Staphylococcus aureus 2.0 × 10 ³ CFU / mL, Salmonella 2.1 × 10 ³ CFU / mL, Vibrio parahaemolyticus 1.5 × 10 ³ CFU / ML, Cereus 4.0 × 10 ³ CFU / mL. This test sample was heated from 3 ° C. to 55 ° C. over 40 minutes, kept at 55 ° C. for 3.5 hours, then returned from 55 ° C. to 3 ° C. over 80 minutes, and the amount of each bacterium was examined again. As a result, all the bacteria were reduced to a level of 10 CFU / mL or less (not detected). Therefore, even if the set temperature on the high temperature side of the temperature switching chamber 3 is 55 ° C., there is a sufficient sterilization effect.

  According to this embodiment, the ice making chamber 4 (second storage chamber) and the temperature switching chamber 3 (third storage chamber) are provided adjacent to each other between the refrigerator compartment 2 (first storage chamber) and the freezer compartment 6. Since the inflow portion 32a of the cooler 11 behind the freezer compartment 6 and the cold air passage 32 behind the refrigerating chamber 2 is arranged to be biased toward the ice making chamber 4 at a lower temperature than the temperature switching chamber 3, the cold air introduced into the inflow portion 32a Cold heat can be released to the ice making chamber 4. Therefore, the cooling energy of the cold air is not deprived to the temperature switching chamber 3 higher than the ice making chamber 4, and the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved. Further, since the cool air passage 31 between the cooler 11 and the inflow portion 32a can be formed without bending, the pressure loss can be reduced and the blowing efficiency can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 2 may be disposed below the freezer compartment 6, and the ice making chamber 4 and the temperature switching chamber 3 may be disposed between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 6. Moreover, the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making room 4, and the temperature switching room 3 may be other storage rooms. That is, the second and third storage chambers may be arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction between the freezer compartment 6 and the first storage chamber, and the second storage chamber may be maintained at a lower temperature than the third storage chamber. . Thereby, the same effect can be acquired by arrange | positioning the inflow part 32a and the cooler 11 toward the 2nd storage chamber side.

  A damper may be provided at the outlet of the vegetable compartment 5. Thereby, when the temperature switching chamber 3 is switched from the high temperature side to the low temperature side, it is possible to prevent the hot air from the temperature switching chamber 3 from flowing backward into the vegetable chamber 5 by closing the damper. In addition, when the freezer compartment fan 12 is stopped when the temperature switching chamber 3 is switched from the high temperature side to the low temperature side, a passage opening / closing mechanism (for example, a damper) is provided so that the freezer compartment return port 22 is closed. Also good. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the hot air from flowing backward from the freezer return port 22 into the freezer compartment 6 by driving the temperature switching chamber blower 18.

  According to this invention, it can utilize for the refrigerator provided with the cooling chamber adjacent to right and left.

The front view which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The right view which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention The front view of the main-body part of the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Front sectional drawing which shows the refrigerator of embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing on the right side showing a section through the accessory storage chamber of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention Sectional drawing on the right side showing a section through the water tank chamber of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention Sectional drawing on the right side showing a section through the chilled chamber of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention Cross section of the right side showing the temperature switching chamber of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention Cold air circuit diagram showing the flow of cold air in the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention Cold air circuit diagram showing the flow of cold air when the temperature switching chamber of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention is set to the high temperature side

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigeration room 3 Temperature switching room 4 Ice making room 5 Vegetable room 6 Freezer room 7, 8, 35 Heat insulation wall 9 Door 11 Cooler 11a Refrigerant pipe 11b End plate 11c Gas-liquid separator 12 Freezer room blower 15 Introducing ventilation path 16 Heater 17, 19 Return passage 18 Temperature switching chamber blower 20 Refrigeration chamber damper 21 Chilled chamber 22 Freezer compartment return port 23 Refrigeration chamber blower 24, 25 Temperature sensor 31, 32 Cold air passage 32a Inflow portion 32b First passage 32c Second passage 32d Horizontal Passage 36 Vertical heat insulating wall 37 Temperature switching chamber discharge damper 38 Temperature switching chamber return damper 38a, 38b Opening 38c Baffle 39 Heat insulating material 41 Partition shelf 50 Machine room 57 Compressor 61, 62 Partition wall 65 Small article storage room 70 Water tank room 71 Water tank 72 Ice making equipment 74 Water supply pump

Claims (4)

The second and third storage chambers are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction between the freezer compartment and the first storage chamber that are spaced apart in the vertical direction, and the cool air that flows behind the freezer compartment and flows into each chamber In a refrigerator comprising a cooler that generates a cold air passage that is arranged on the back surface of the first storage chamber and through which cool air from the cooler flows.
Disposing the cold air passage above the cooler;
The cold air passage has an inflow portion with a narrow passage width in the left-right direction on the side from which the cool air flows from the cooler, and is formed to extend in the left-right direction on the downstream side of the inflow portion,
The cold air passage has a first passage extending upward from the inflow portion, and a second passage extending upward through a lateral passage extending laterally from the inflow portion,
A cold air outlet is opened in front of the lateral passage, and a first isolation chamber facing the outlet is provided in front of the lateral passage and on the side of the inflow portion,
A first blower with the exhaust side facing upward is provided in the inflow portion, and a water tank chamber is provided in which a water tank for ice making is disposed on the side of the inflow portion on the side away from the first isolation chamber,
The first storage chamber is separated from the second and third storage chambers by a heat insulating wall, and the first blower is arranged in the same horizontal plane so as to partially overlap the heat insulating wall in front projection,
A refrigerator characterized in that the second storage chamber can be maintained at a lower temperature than the third storage chamber, and the inflow portion and the cooler are biased toward the second storage chamber.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a second isolation chamber is provided between the water tank chamber and the first isolation chamber.   A second blower is provided below the first blower and in the vicinity of the cooler, and the second blower is disposed on the side of the third storage chamber and at substantially the same height as the third storage chamber. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second storage chamber communicates with the freezing chamber and is maintained below the freezing point, and the third storage chamber can be maintained at a temperature higher than the freezing point. .

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