JP6747714B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator that reduces a collision noise generated when ice made in an ice tray falls, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a soundproof partition in a storage container that stores the ice.

The following structure is known as a storage container for storing ice made in a conventional ice tray. FIG. 6A shows a sectional view of the refrigerator 100, and FIG. 6B shows a sectional view of the freezer compartment 107. As shown in FIG. 6A, the main body 101 of the refrigerator 100 mainly includes an inner box 102, an outer box 103, and a foamed polyurethane heat insulating material 104 filled between the inner box 102 and the outer box 103. Has been done. The inner box 102 of the refrigerator 100 is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition wall 105, and a refrigerating room 106, a freezing room 107, and a vegetable room 108 are provided from the top. As shown in the figure, the interior of the freezer compartment 107 is not partitioned by a partition wall, but the interior of the compartment is of a two-tier structure.

FIG. 6B shows a sectional view of the inside of the freezer compartment 107 on the upper side, but the inside of the freezer compartment 107 is divided into two parts, the left upper part is an automatic ice making machine 109, and the lower part is an ice storage container. 110, an upper container 111 is arranged on the upper stage on the right side, and a lower container 112 is arranged on the lower stage. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, one container 113 is arranged on the lower side of the freezing compartment 107 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3568313

In the above-described refrigerator 100, the ice storage container 110 is arranged immediately below the automatic ice maker 109, and the ice made by the automatic ice maker 109 automatically falls into the ice storage container 110. Then, the automatic ice making machine 109 repeatedly performs the ice making work, so that a certain amount of ice is stored in the ice storage container 110. At this time, the ice dropped from the automatic ice maker 109 directly collides with the bottom surface of the ice storage container 110 or the ice stored in the ice storage container 110, and the collision sound when the ice falls is loud and becomes noise. There is a problem. In particular, when there is no ice in the ice storage container 110 or when the ice storage container 110 contains a small amount of ice, the falling distance of the ice from the automatic ice making machine 109 is long and the ice colliding vigorously causes The collision sound at the time of the fall also becomes loud.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6(A), the freezing compartment 107 is partitioned into upper and lower parts by the containers 110 to 113, and the upper part of the freezing compartment 107 is partitioned into left and right parts by the containers 110 to 112. There is. This structure has a problem that the size of the ice storage container 110 cannot be changed according to the user's request. For example, when the frequency of use of ice increases, such as in the summer, there is a demand to enlarge the ice storage container 110 and store a large amount of ice, but the size of the ice storage container 110 cannot be changed, and the ice storage container 110 cannot be changed. It was not possible to store and store ice larger than the size of the container 110.

On the other hand, in response to the above-mentioned desire to store and store a large amount of ice, if the size of the ice storage container 110 can be increased by utilizing the space on the lower side of the freezing room 107, the ice dropped from the automatic ice maker 109 There is a new problem that the above collision noise becomes even louder.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6(B), in the structure in which the inside of the freezing compartment 107 is partitioned into left and right, the sizes of the individual ice storage container 110, the upper container 111, and the lower container 112 cannot be changed, There is a problem that the storage space in the freezer compartment 107 cannot be arranged according to the size and shape of the food to be stored.

Further, when stocking large-sized frozen pizza and the like in preparation for a visitor, it is difficult to store it in the upper container 111 and the lower container 112 of the freezing compartment 107, and the storage amount of the lower container 113 is also limited. For example, when the frequency of use of ice decreases, such as in winter, there is a demand to increase the storage space for frozen foods and the like rather than the storage space for ice, but the size of each container 110-113 can be changed. Therefore, it was not possible to increase the storage space for frozen foods.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, in which a soundproof partition is disposed below the ice tray, and the ice falling from the ice tray collides with the sound barrier and is then stored in the storage container. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing collision noise when ice falls and effectively utilizing the storage space in the freezing compartment.

The refrigerator of the present invention is a refrigerator provided with a freezer, and the freezer has at least an ice tray for making ice from water, and a storage container for storing the ice made by the ice tray. The storage container is provided with a soundproof partition extending in the depth direction of the freezer, and the soundproof partition collides with the ice falling from the ice tray before the bottom surface of the storage container. It is characterized in that an inclined surface is formed.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the inclined surface of the soundproof partition is a curved surface that is convex toward the ice tray side, and the soundproof partition in which the inclined surface is arranged and the bottom surface of the storage container. The space is used as a storage space.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, one storage container is provided for the freezer compartment, the storage container has a storage space defined by at least the soundproof partitioning body, is located below the ice tray, and has the soundproofing partition. A region surrounded by a body and the storage container is used as an ice storage space for the ice.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the ice tray is disposed with a space apart from the side surface of the storage container on the front side of the freezer compartment, and the soundproofing is provided so that the ice storage space is narrowed below the space. The partition is characterized by being curved.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, a storage container for storing the ice made in the ice tray is provided in the freezing compartment, and a soundproof partition is provided in the storage container below the ice tray. The soundproof partition body has an inclined surface against which the ice falling from the ice tray collides. With this structure, the falling distance until the falling ice collides with the inclined surface is shortened, the impact at the time of collision is mitigated, and the collision noise at the time of ice falling is reduced.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the inclined surface of the soundproof partition is formed as a curved surface that is convex toward the ice tray side, so that the contact area with the falling ice is reduced, and the collision noise when the ice falls is reduced. Is reduced. Furthermore, since the lower part of the inclined surface of the soundproof partition is used as a storage space, the storage efficiency in the storage container of the freezer compartment is improved.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, one storage container is arranged in the freezer compartment, and the area partitioned by the soundproof partitioning body in the storage container is used as the ice storage space. With this structure, the storage container can be deepened and the amount of ice storage can be increased. On the other hand, by using the soundproof partitioning body, it is possible to prevent the collision sound from becoming loud when the ice drops.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the ice tray is disposed on the inner side of the freezing compartment rather than the side surface on the front side of the storage container, so that the collision sound at the time of falling of ice hardly leaks to the outside of the freezing compartment. .. Furthermore, since the front side of the soundproof partition is curved in the direction in which the ice storage space is narrowed, the adjacent storage space can be expanded, and the storage efficiency in the storage container is improved.

It is a figure which shows the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (A) perspective view, (B) sectional drawing. It is a (A) perspective view and a (B) top view explaining the arrangement situation in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view (A) explaining a soundproof partitioning body used for a storage container stored in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator concerning an embodiment of the present invention, a (B) top view, and a (C) sectional view. It is an (A) perspective view and a (B) sectional view explaining the arrangement situation of the freezer compartment of the refrigerator concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is an (A) perspective view and a (B) perspective view explaining a storage container arranged in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is an (A) sectional view and a (B) sectional view explaining a conventional refrigerator.

Hereinafter, a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the up-down direction indicates the height direction of the refrigerator 1, the left-right direction indicates the width direction of the refrigerator 1, and the front-back direction indicates the depth direction of the refrigerator 1.

FIG. 1(A) is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(B) is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1(A), the refrigerator 1 includes a heat insulating box 2 as a main body, and a storage chamber for storing food and the like is formed inside the heat insulating box 2. In addition, as a storage room, specifically, a refrigerating room 9 (see FIG. 1(B)), a freezing room 10 (see FIG. 1(B)), and a vegetable room 11 (see FIG. 1(B)) are provided from the top. Has been formed.

The front surface of each storage chamber of the heat-insulating box 2 is open, and heat-insulating doors 3, 4, and 5 are provided in the openings so as to be opened and closed. The heat insulating door 3 is, for example, a door whose upper and lower ends at the right end when viewed from the front are rotatably supported by the heat insulating box body 2 and which closes the opening of the refrigerating chamber 9 from the front so as to be openable and closable. The heat insulating door 4 and the heat insulating door 5 are provided so as to be drawn out in the front-rear direction with respect to the heat insulating box body 2 and close the openings of the freezing compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 11 from the front.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the heat insulating box body 2 which is the main body of the refrigerator 1 is provided with an outer box 6 made of a steel plate having an opening on the front side, and the outer box 6 is provided with a gap, And an inner box 7 made of synthetic resin having an opening. A heat insulating material 8 made of polyurethane foam is filled and foamed in the gap between the outer box 6 and the inner box 7. The heat insulating doors 3, 4, and 5 described above also have a heat insulating structure like the heat insulating box 2. Further, in FIG. 1B, the direction in which air flows is indicated by an arrow.

The refrigerating compartment 9 and the freezing compartment 10 and the freezing compartment 10 and the vegetable compartment 11 are partitioned by heat insulating partition walls 12 and 13, respectively. And the heat insulation partition walls 12 and 13 also have the heat insulation structure like the heat insulation box body 2 mentioned above.

Inside the inner box 7 and behind the freezing chamber 10, a cooling chamber 15 is formed by being partitioned by a partition member 14 made of a synthetic resin plate or the like. Inside the cooling chamber 15, a cooler 16 which is an evaporator for cooling the air circulating in the refrigerator 1 is arranged. The cooler 16 is connected to a compressor 17, a radiator (not shown) and a capillary tube (not shown) or an expansion valve (not shown) via a refrigerant pipe (not shown), It constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle circuit.

As will be described later in detail, in the freezer compartment 10, an ice tray 18 is disposed below the heat insulating partition wall 12, and one storage container 19 is disposed so as to include the lower portion of the ice tray 18. The storage container 19 has a structure in which the storage space can be freely changed by the soundproof partition body 24 (see FIG. 3A) and the partition bodies 28 and 29 (see FIG. 5B).

The refrigerator 1 includes a control device (not shown), and the control device executes a predetermined arithmetic process based on an input value from a sensor (not shown) such as a temperature sensor, and compresses it. Each component device such as the machine 17 is controlled.

2A is a perspective view illustrating the storage container 19 and the ice making device 20 arranged in the freezer compartment 10 of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a top view explaining the storage container 19 and the ice making device 20 shown to (A). In FIG. 2B, the ice tray 18, the rotary twisting portion 22, and the ice storage amount detecting portion 23 are shown, so that a part of the ice making device 20 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the storage container 19 is stored in the freezer compartment 10 (see FIG. 1B). The shape of the storage container 19 is roughly a rectangular parallelepiped shape according to the shape of the internal space of the freezer compartment 10, and the upper surface thereof is open. A pair of left and right side frames (not shown) extending in the pull-out direction are attached to the heat insulating door 4 (see FIG. 1A), and the side frames integrally form the storage container 19 and the heat insulating door 4. Support. As described above, the heat insulating door 4 can be pulled out in the front-back direction with respect to the heat insulating box 2 (see FIG. 1A), but the storage container 19 is also pulled out from the heat insulating box 2 by the pulling operation of the heat insulating door 4. And can be pulled out in the front-back direction.

Here, the ice making device 20 mainly includes a water supply tank (not shown), a water supply unit (not shown) for supplying water in the water supply tank to the ice tray 18 (see FIG. 2B), An ice making section 21 that supports the ice making tray 18, and a rotary twisting section 22 (see FIG. 2B) that is disposed in front of the ice making section 21 and that automatically drops the ice made in the ice making tray 18. An ice storage amount detection unit 23 (see FIG. 2B), which is disposed on the front side of the ice making unit 21 and detects the amount of ice storage in the storage container 19, is provided. The water supply tank and the water supply unit are arranged in the refrigerating compartment 9, and water is repeatedly supplied from the water supply tank to the ice tray 18 at regular intervals according to the detection status of the ice storage amount detection unit 23.

As shown in the figure, the ice making section 21 is located on the upper left side of the center of the storage container 19, and the rear end surface of the ice making section 21 is disposed at substantially the same position as the rear side surface 19A of the storage container 19. There is. On the other hand, a separation area L1 is formed between the front end surface of the ice making section 21 and the front side surface 19B of the storage container 19. That is, the ice making unit 21 is arranged inside the storage container 19 with respect to the side surface 19B.

As shown in FIG. 2B, in the ice making unit 21, the ice tray 18, the ice storage amount detecting unit 23, and the rotary twisting unit 22 are arranged in this order from the rear side to the front side in the refrigerator. There is. A separation area L2 is formed between the front end surface of the ice tray 18 and the side surface 19B of the storage container 19. The ice making tray 18 is further arranged from the side surface 19B of the storage container 19 to the inside of the refrigerator by arranging the separated region L2 deeper in the refrigerator than the separated region L1.

With this structure, the position where the ice falling from the ice tray 18 and the soundproof partitioning body 24 collide is as close to the inside of the refrigerator as possible, so that the collision sound when the ice falls is unlikely to leak to the outside of the refrigerator. Alternatively, the collision sound is attenuated, and the volume leaked to the outside of the refrigerator is reduced.

In the ice storage amount detection unit 23, the detection lever 23A is rotated, and for example, the ice storage amount in the storage container 19 is detected according to the rotation amount, and a fixed interval from the water supply tank is reached until the specified rotation amount is reached. The water is repeatedly supplied to the ice tray 18 at.

FIG. 3(A) is a perspective view illustrating the soundproof partitioning body 24 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3(B) is a top view of the soundproof partitioning body 24 shown in FIG. 3(A). FIG. 3C is a sectional view of the soundproof partitioning body 24 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the soundproof partitioning body 24 is, for example, a plate-shaped member made of synthetic resin. The area of the soundproof partitioning body 24 indicated by the sand-like hatching is formed as the inclined surface 24A. Specifically, the inclined surface 24A is formed as a curved surface that inclines from the right side to the left side in the width direction of the soundproof partitioning body 24 and the upper side of the freezer compartment 10 (see FIG. 1A) is convex. There is.

Further, in the lower region L3 of the ice tray 18 (see FIG. 2B), the inclined surface 24A is entirely formed in the height direction of the soundproof partition 24 from near the upper end to near the lower end. On the other hand, in the area on the front side of the inside of the refrigerator with respect to the ice tray 18, in other words, in the separation area L2, the inclined surface 24A is formed such that the formation area thereof gradually narrows toward the front side. The soundproof partition 24 also serves as a partition in the storage container 19, and its height is formed uniformly in the extending direction.

As shown in FIG. 3(B), in the separated region L2 in front of the ice tray 18, the soundproof partition 24 has an ice storage space 25 (see FIG. 4(A)) of the storage container 19 narrowed toward the front side thereof. And then again formed into a straight line. Although the details will be described later, since the inclined surface 24A has a structure that collides with the ice dropped from the ice tray 18, the inclined surface 24A is formed wide in the width direction of the storage container 19 below the ice tray 18. Since the soundproof partition body 24 does not need the inclined surface 24A toward the front side, the width W1 of the soundproof partition body 24 on the front end side is narrower than the width W2 on the rear end side thereof.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partitioning body 24 is formed as a curved surface that is convex toward the ice making section 21 side. As described above, in the lower region L3 of the ice tray 18, the inclined surface 24A is curved toward the ice storage space 25 side, so that the lower side of the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partitioning body 24 stores the frozen food or the like in the adjacent section. It is used as a space 26 (see FIG. 4A).

FIG. 4(A) is a perspective view illustrating the storage container 19 and the soundproof partitioning body 24 arranged in the freezer compartment 10 of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a trajectory of ice that automatically falls from the plate 18.

As shown in FIG. 4(A), the soundproof partition 24 is arranged in the storage container 19 such that its longitudinal direction coincides with the depth direction of the freezer compartment 10 (see FIG. 1B). As shown in FIG. 2B, the rear end of the soundproof partition 24 is in contact with the side surface 19A of the storage container 19, and the front end of the soundproof partition 24 is in contact with the side surface 19B of the storage container 19. With this structure, the storage container 19 is partitioned by the soundproof partition 24, is located below the ice tray 18 (see FIG. 4B), and the partitioned area on the left side of the storage container 19 is used as the ice storage space 25. .. Further, due to the structure in which one storage container 19 is provided for the freezer compartment 10, a deep storage container 19 can be used. The ice storage space 25 (see FIG. 4A) has a large capacity, and the ice storage amount can be increased.

On the other hand, the partition area on the right side of the storage container 19 is used as a storage space 26 for frozen food and the like. Then, as shown in FIG. 3(C), the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partitioning body 24 has a structure that curves toward the ice storage space 25 side, and the storage space 26 is formed widely such as frozen pizza. The structure will make it easy to store frozen foods.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partition 24 is disposed below the ice tray 18, and the ice dropped from the ice tray 18 first collides with the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partition 24. After that, it collides with the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19 and the ice stored in the storage container 19. In the lower region L3 (see FIG. 2B) of the ice tray 18, at least when the ice is not stored in the storage container 19, the soundproofing is performed so that the falling ice always first collides with the inclined surface 24A. The partition body 24 is arranged in the storage container 19. That is, the inclined surface 24A is located between the ice tray 18 and the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19.

Here, in the rotational twisting portion 22 (see FIG. 2(B)) of the ice making unit 21, the front side of the ice making unit 21 is more leftward or rightward than the rear side of the ice making unit 21 around the rotation shaft 22A. By rotating to, the ice tray 18 is twisted and the ice drops into the storage container 19.

As shown in the figure, the ice dropped from the ice tray 18 collides with the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partition 24, so that the falling distance is shorter than that of the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19, and the impact at the time of collision is also reduced. It is small, and the collision noise when the ice falls is low. The ice that has collided with the inclined surface 24A bounces from the inclined surface 24A and collides with the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19 and the ice stored in the storage container 19. At the time of this collision, the force of the falling ice has already weakened and a collision noise is generated, but the noise is not so loud.

Further, the ice made in the ice tray 18 has a polygonal and angular shape, and the inclined surface 24A has a curved surface which is convex toward the ice tray 18 side. With this structure, the contact area between the ice falling from the ice tray 18 and the inclined surface 24A is reduced as much as possible, and the collision noise can be reduced.

Furthermore, due to the structure of the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partition 24, the ice storage space 25 has a wider shape toward the upper side of the storage container 19, and the ice storage space 25 has, for example, an inverted triangular shape. With this structure, the ice dropped from the ice tray 18 is likely to be evenly stacked in the storage container 19, and a large amount of ice can be stored.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the soundproof partitioning body 24 is curved to the left of the storage container 19 on the front side of the ice tray 18.

FIG. 5(A) is a perspective view illustrating a storage container 19 arranged in the freezer compartment 10 of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5(B) is shown in FIG. 5(A). It is a perspective view explaining the storage space of the storage container 19 shown.

As shown in FIG. 5A, a plurality of recesses 27 along the depth direction of the freezer compartment 10 (see FIG. 1B) are formed on the bottom surface of the storage container 19 at regular intervals in the width direction of the storage container 19. Multiple are formed. With this structure, a plurality of concave and convex shapes are repeatedly arranged on the bottom surface of the storage container 19 in the width direction of the storage container 19, so that the strength of the bottom surface of the storage container 19 is improved.

The plurality of recesses 27 also function as mounting rails for the soundproof partitioning bodies 24 and the partitioning bodies 28, and the soundproof partitioning bodies 24 and partitioning bodies 28 are detachably mounted to the recessed portions 27. For example, when the frequency of use of ice decreases, as in winter, the ice making operation of the ice making device 20 (see FIG. 2A) may be stopped and the storage container 19 may be used as one storage space. .. As described above, when the storage amount of frozen food such as frozen pizza temporarily increases due to the holding of a home party or the like, the storage space of the storage container 19 can be appropriately changed. At this time, the ice making section 21 (see FIG. 2(A)) arranged above the storage container 19 can be removed, and when the ice making operation is stopped, the ice making section 21 can be further removed. The storage amount in the freezer compartment 10 can be increased.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the ice making operation of the ice making device 20 is stopped, the inside of the storage container 19 should be divided into four storage spaces by using the two partition bodies 28 and 29. You can also For example, when the partition body 28 is attached to the storage container 19 via the recess 27, the storage space in the left-right direction inside the storage container 19 is partitioned, and the partition body 29 is fitted into the partition body 28 to store the partition space. A storage space is defined in the container 19 in the front-rear direction. It is also possible to divide the inside of the storage container 19 into smaller parts. Since the soundproof partitioning body 24 and the partitioning body 28 can be detachably attached to the storage container 19, various storage spaces can be arranged in the storage container 19 according to the purpose of the user. Becomes

In this embodiment, the case where the soundproof sheet is not provided on the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19 or the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partitioning body 24 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this case. For example, a soundproof sheet may be provided on the bottom surface 19C of the storage container 19 or the inclined surface 24A of the soundproof partitioning body 24 to further reduce the collision sound of ice falling from the ice tray 18. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 Refrigerator 2 Insulation Box 10 Freezer 18 Ice Making Plate 19 Storage Container 19A, 19B Side 19C Bottom 20 Ice Making Device 21 Ice Making Part 22 Rotating Twisting Part 23 Ice Storage Detecting Part 24 Soundproof Partition 24A Inclined Surface 25 Ice Storage Space 26 Storage Space 27 Recess 28 Partition body 29 Partition body

Claims (4)

A refrigerator with a freezer,
The freezing room has at least an ice tray for making ice from water, and a storage container for storing the ice made in the ice tray,
A soundproof partitioning body extending in the depth direction of the freezer is arranged in the storage container, and the soundproofing partition body has a slope at which the ice falling from the ice tray collides before the bottom surface of the storage container. Refrigerator characterized in that the surface is formed. The inclined surface of the soundproof partition is a curved surface that is convex toward the ice tray side, and the space between the soundproof partition in which the inclined surface is arranged and the bottom surface of the storage container is used as a storage space. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: One storage container is provided for the freezer compartment, the storage container has a storage space defined by at least the soundproof partitioning body, is below the ice tray, and is surrounded by the soundproofing partitioning body and the storage container. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opened area is used as an ice storage space for the ice. The ice tray is arranged so as to have a separation area from the side surface of the storage container on the front side of the freezer compartment, and the soundproof partition is curved so that the ice storage space is narrowed below the separation area. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein:

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