JP6921309B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cooling storage, particularly a refrigerator, in which the cooler is defrosted.

Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that defrosts a cooler by radiant heat from a heater and discharges the defrosted water from a drain hole provided below the cooler. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, a heat transfer pipe having a heat receiving plate is inserted into the drain hole, and radiant heat from the heater is conducted to the drain hole via the heat transfer pipe to prevent the drain hole from freezing. The refrigerator to be used is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-318656

However, in the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to separately arrange a heat transfer pipe having a heat receiving plate in the drain hole, and the number of parts constituting the refrigerator increases, so that the work process may increase. Therefore, the refrigerator of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the assembling property is not improved and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator may not be reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing refreezing of defrosted water in a drain hole at low cost.

The refrigerator of the present invention is arranged below a cooler that exchanges heat between warm air and cold air, a heater that defrosts the cooler, and below the cooler and above the heater. The box body includes a heater roof, a drain tray for discharging defrosted water from the cooler, and a box body containing the cooler, the heater, the heater roof, and the drain tray. A storage chamber capable of accommodating the object to be stored and a cooling chamber communicating with the storage chamber and circulating the cold air heat exchanged by the cooler to the storage chamber are provided, and the drain tray is provided with the cooling. It has a drain hole for draining the defrosted water from the vessel, and the drain hole extends from the drain portion arranged below the heater and the drain portion to collect the defrosted water from the cooler. A drain pan portion that guides the drain pan portion, a mounting portion that extends from the drain pan portion and fixes the drain tray to the wall surface of the cooling chamber, and a mounting portion that is integrally formed with the mounting portion and from the mounting portion to the cooling chamber. extending toward the inner space, the radiant heat from the heater by the attachment have a heat receiving portion for conducting the drain pan and the drain portion, the heat receiving portion is projected the heat receiving portion vertically downward At that time, the drainage portion and the projection surface do not overlap .

According to the configuration of the present invention, the radiant heat from the heater received in the heat receiving portion of the drain tray can be efficiently conducted to the drain pan portion and the drain portion. Further, since the heat receiving portion of the drainage tray has a structure extending from the mounting portion of the drainage tray, it is not necessary to separately provide a heat transfer component. Therefore, according to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing energy and manufacturing cost by efficient heat conduction.

It is a schematic front view which showed an example of the appearance structure of the refrigerator 100 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic partially enlarged view which showed the area of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 2 enlarged in the front view. It is a partially enlarged view which showed the internal structure of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 3 in the right-side view. It is a perspective view which roughly showed the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which roughly showed the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which roughly showed the structure of the drainage tray 7 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which showed schematic the structure of the drainage tray 7 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the refrigerator 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic partially enlarged view showing an enlarged area of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 10 in a front view. It is a partially enlarged view which showed the internal structure of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 11 in the right-side view. It is a perspective view which roughly showed the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a top view which showed schematic the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

Embodiment 1.
The refrigerator 100 will be described as an example of the cooling storage according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of the appearance configuration of the refrigerator 100 in the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment. In addition, the positional relationship between each component of the refrigerator 100 in the following description, for example, the positional relationship such as up / down, left / right, front / back, outside / inside, front / back, or vertical / horizontal, is installed in a state where the refrigerator 100 can be used in principle. It is the positional relationship when it is done. Further, in the following drawings including FIG. 1, the dimensional relationship and shape of each component may differ from the actual ones. Further, in the following drawings, the same or similar members or parts are designated by the same reference numerals or omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 100 includes a box body 1 having an opening 1e in the front direction and a storage chamber door 2 covering the opening 1e of the box body 1. The box body 1 and the storage room door 2 form the outer shell of the refrigerator 100. Since the opening 1e cannot be shown in FIG. 1, its position is indicated by a leader line with an arrow.

The box body 1 is a heat-insulating housing capable of accommodating a stored object such as food inside the box body 1.

The storage chamber door 2 is a lid that opens or seals the internal space of the box 1. The design surface of the storage chamber door 2, that is, the front surface and the peripheral surface, is made of glass or the like. The back surface of the storage chamber door 2 is made of plastic resin or the like. The storage room door 2 has a space inside the storage room door 2. The internal space of the storage chamber door 2 is filled with a vacuum heat insulating material having heat insulating properties, urethane resin, or the like, and when the internal space of the box body 1 is sealed, the cold insulation performance of the internal space of the box body 1 is improved. It is configured to be sustainable.

The storage room door 2 can be configured to have one or more storage room doors 2 depending on the form and use of the refrigerator 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the refrigerator 100 is configured as a two-door type freezer / refrigerator, the storage room door 2 can be configured to have a freezer door 2a and a refrigerator door 2b. The storage chamber door 2 can be configured as a rotary single door, a rotary double door, or a drawer door attached to the box 1 via a hinge.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the box body 1 has an opening 1e in the front direction. Further, the box body 1 is filled in a space provided between the outer box 1a forming the outer shell of the refrigerator 100, the inner box 1b forming the inner space of the refrigerator 100, and the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b. It is provided with a heat insulating material 1c. The outer box 1a is configured as a housing made of steel such as stainless steel. The inner box 1b is configured as a housing made of resin such as plastic. The heat insulating material 1c is made of a vacuum heat insulating material, urethane resin, or the like.

The internal space of the inner box 1b can be configured such that one or more heat insulating partition walls 1d are provided, and one or more storage chambers 10 capable of accommodating a stored object such as food are partitioned from the opening 1e. For example, when the refrigerator 100 is configured as a two-door type freezer / refrigerator, the storage chamber 10 can be configured to have a freezing chamber 10a and a refrigerating chamber 10b as shown in FIG. The inside of the partition wall 1d is filled with a vacuum heat insulating material, urethane resin, or the like so that heat conduction is not performed between the freezing chamber 10a and the refrigerating chamber 10b via the partition wall 1d.

The box 1 is provided with a cooling chamber 20 that communicates with the storage chamber 10 and circulates cold air in the storage chamber 10, and a machine room 30 that houses the drive equipment of the refrigerator 100 and the like.

Further, a drainage pipe 35 is arranged in the space between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b on the back side of the box body 1. The lower end portion 35a of the drainage pipe 35 penetrates into the machine room 30. The cooling chamber 20 communicates with the machine chamber 30 via the internal space of the drain pipe 35. The drainage pipe 35 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity so that the inside of the drainage pipe 35 does not freeze. The drainage pipe 35 is configured as, for example, a drainage pipe made of aluminum such as an aluminum alloy.

The cooling chamber 20 can be provided inside the storage chamber 10 by arranging a grill wall 15 having a plurality of slits 15a on the back side of the freezing chamber 10a, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the cooling chamber 20 is partitioned into a space surrounded by the back side of the grill wall 15, the inner box 1b, and the upper surface of the partition wall 1d. Further, the cooling chamber 20 can communicate with the freezing chamber 10a through the plurality of slits 15a of the grill wall 15 to circulate cold air in the freezing chamber 10a. The grill wall 15 is configured as a plate-shaped member made of resin such as plastic, and can be detachably attached to a region surrounded by the inner box 1b and the upper surface portion of the partition wall 1d.

Further, in FIG. 2, the cooling chamber 20 communicates with the refrigerating chamber 10b via the air passage 25, and cold air can be circulated to the refrigerating chamber 10b as well. The air passage 25 can be formed inside the partition wall 1d above the refrigerating chamber 10b, for example, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the machine room 30 is provided between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b at the lower back surface of the box body 1. The machine room 30 can be easily maintained inside the machine room 30 by providing the removable machine room panel 30a at the lower part of the back surface of the outer box 1a. Further, the machine room panel 30a is provided with a plurality of ventilation holes that take in cold air from the outside air and release warm air generated inside the machine room 30. Although the machine room panel 30a is not shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement position of the machine room panel 30a is indicated by a leader line with an arrow.

Inside the machine room 30, a compressor, a drive device for the refrigerator 100 such as a machine room fan, and an evaporating dish 30b are provided. In the following drawings including FIG. 2, the components housed inside the machine room 30 are not shown except for the evaporating dish 30b.

A compressor is a fluid machine that compresses a sucked low-pressure refrigerant and discharges it as a high-pressure refrigerant. The compressor is configured as a reciprocating compressor, a rotary compressor, a scroll compressor, or the like. Further, the compressor may be configured as a vertical compressor or a horizontal compressor.

The discharge side of the compressor is connected to the condenser via a refrigerant pipe. The condenser is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant flowing inside the condenser and a low-temperature medium flowing around the condenser. In the refrigerator 100, the condenser may be referred to as a "radiator".

The condenser is composed of, for example, a heat radiating pipe arranged between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b on the side surface portion or the back surface portion of the box body 1. The condenser composed of the heat radiating pipe has the high pressure refrigerant flowing through the heat radiating pipe and the outside air flowing outside the outer box 1a by thermally contacting the heat radiating pipe with the outer box 1a made of steel having thermal conductivity. It is configured so that heat exchange takes place between them.

The condenser may be configured as a plate type heat exchanger or a cross fin type fin and tube type heat exchanger depending on the form and application of the refrigerator 100. When the condenser is a plate heat exchanger, the condenser can be configured to exchange heat by natural convection. Further, when the condenser is a cross-fin type fin-and-tube heat exchanger, the condenser can be configured to exchange heat with the outside air via a machine room fan or the like. Further, the condenser may be housed inside the machine room 30, or may be arranged in another partition space of the box body 1. In the following drawings including FIGS. 1 and 2, the condenser is not shown inside the box 1.

The machine room fan circulates air by the rotation of the machine room fan, takes in outside air through the ventilation hole of the machine room panel 30a, and transfers the heat inside the machine room 30 to the outside through the ventilation hole of the machine room panel 30a. It is a rotating machine that discharges. The machine room fan can be configured as an axial blower such as a propeller fan, a centrifugal blower such as a sirocco fan or a turbo fan, a mixed flow blower, a cross flow blower, or the like, depending on the form and application of the refrigerator 100.

The evaporating dish 30b is a heat conductive container that temporarily stores and vaporizes the water discharged from the cooling chamber 20 by the heat inside the machine room 30. The evaporating dish 30b is arranged below the lower end portion 35a of the drainage pipe 35 penetrating the inside of the machine room 30 so that the water discharged from the cooling chamber 20 and flowing through the drainage pipe 35 can be received. The evaporating dish 30b can be made of a material having high thermal conductivity, for example, a material made of aluminum such as an aluminum alloy, steel such as stainless steel, or a material made of copper.

In the machine room 30, heat generated by driving the compressor is supplied to the evaporating dish 30b by the rotation of the machine room fan. When the machine room 30 houses the condenser, the warm air heat-exchanged by the condenser may be supplied to the evaporating dish 30b. The water stored in the evaporating dish 30b is vaporized by the heat supplied to the evaporating dish 30b. The vaporized water is attracted to the air flow generated by the rotation of the machine room fan, and is discharged to the outside of the machine room 30 through the ventilation hole of the machine room panel 30a.

The refrigerator 100 is not limited to the above configuration, and may have an ice making room, a switching room, and a vegetable room depending on the form and use of the refrigerator 100, or any one of the freezing room 10a and the refrigerating room 10b. A configuration having only one of them may be used. In the present invention, the refrigerator 100 also includes a cooling storage having only the freezing chamber 10a.

Further, the refrigerator 100 may be configured to have a plurality of storage chambers 10 for the same purpose depending on the form and use of the refrigerator 100.

Further, in FIG. 1, the opening 1e of the box 1 is provided in the front direction of the refrigerator 100. However, as in the refrigerator 100 for business use, the opening 1e of the box 1 is the refrigerator 100. The configuration may be provided in the direction of the upper surface of the above.

Further, in FIG. 2, the cooling chamber 20 is provided in the internal space of the inner box 1b above the partition wall 1d, but it may be arranged in another space of the box body 1. For example, the cooling chamber 20 may be provided in the internal space of the inner box 1b below the partition wall 1d, or is partitioned between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b of the box body 1 and communicates with the storage chamber 10. It may be a space.

Further, the cooling chamber 20 may have a configuration in which a plurality of independent cooling chambers 20 are provided for each storage chamber 10.

Further, in FIG. 2, the evaporating dish 30b is housed in the machine room 30, but is housed in another space between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b of the box body 1 of the box body 1. May be. Further, the water generated in the cooling chamber 20 may be directly discharged to the outside of the box 1 without providing the evaporating dish 30b and the drain pipe 35 inside the box 1.

Next, the internal structure of the cooling chamber 20 in the refrigerator 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 in addition to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling chamber 20 includes a cooler 4, a heater 5, a heater roof 6, a drain tray 7, and a cooling chamber fan 8. FIG. 3 is a schematic partially enlarged view showing an enlarged area of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 2 in a front view of the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the internal structure of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 3 in the right side view of the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The cooler 4 is an air-cooled heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a low-temperature low-pressure two-phase refrigerant flowing inside the cooler 4 and warm air passing through the cooler 4. That is, the cooler 4 is an air-cooled heat exchanger that exchanges heat between warm air and cold air. The cooler 4 is also referred to as an "evaporator" or "vaporizer".

Although not shown in the drawings below, including FIGS. 1 to 3, the inlet of the cooler 4 is connected to the condenser described above via a decompression device. Further, an accumulator 9 is connected between the outlet of the cooler 4 and the suction port of the compressor described above. The compressor, condenser, decompression device, cooler 4, and accumulator 9 constitute a refrigerant circuit that circulates the refrigerant inside the refrigerator 100.

The decompression device is a throttle device that expands and depressurizes the high-pressure liquid refrigerant that has flowed in from the condenser and discharges it as a low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. The pressure reducing device can be configured as an expansion valve such as a linear electronic expansion valve whose opening degree can be adjusted in multiple stages or continuously. In the refrigerator 100, the decompression device can be configured as a capillary tube instead of being configured as a device such as an expansion valve. The decompression device may be housed in the machine room 30, the cooling room 20, or may be arranged in another partition space of the box body 1, for example. The linear electron expansion valve may be abbreviated as "LEV".

The accumulator 9 is a liquid storage container having a refrigerant storage function for storing excess refrigerant and a gas-liquid separation function for separating the liquid phase component of the inflowing refrigerant and causing the gas phase component of the refrigerant to flow out. The accumulator 9 separates and stores the liquid phase component of the low-pressure gas phase refrigerant or the low-pressure two-phase refrigerant having a high degree of dryness flowing out from the cooler 4 from the gas phase component, and causes the compressor to suck only the gas phase component. It is configured as follows.

In addition to the above-mentioned components, the refrigerant circuit may have a receiver, an oil separator, a solenoid valve, a condensing pipe, a flow rate adjusting valve, and the like. Further, the refrigerant circuit can be configured not to have the accumulator 9. Further, the refrigerator 100 can be configured to include a control device for controlling the compressor and the decompression device, and a detection device such as a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor, if necessary.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cooler 4 can be configured as a cross-fin type fin-and-tube heat exchanger. The cooler 4 includes a plurality of plate fins 4a and a heat transfer tube 4b penetrating the plurality of plate fins 4a. The plate fin 4a is configured as a plate-shaped member made of aluminum. The heat transfer tube 4b is configured as a copper or aluminum circular tube or a flat tube. The cooler 4 is fixed to the left and right wall surfaces 20a of the cooling chamber 20 by the fixing member 4c.

As shown in FIG. 3, each plate fin 4a is aligned so that the plate surface portion 4a1 of each plate fin 4a faces in the left-right direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plate surface portions 4a1 of each plate fin 4a are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the longitudinal direction of the plate surface portion 4a1 of each plate fin 4a is arranged so as to extend in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the two end portions of the heat transfer tube 4b are configured as an inlet and an outlet of the refrigerant in the cooler 4. One end of the heat transfer tube 4b is connected to the above-mentioned decompression device as an inlet for the refrigerant. The other end of the heat transfer tube 4b is connected to the accumulator 9 as an outlet for the refrigerant.

The heat transfer tube 4b has a plurality of straight tube portions 4b1 and a plurality of curved tube portions 4b2. The heat transfer tube 4b is configured by alternately connecting the straight tube portion 4b1 and the curved tube portion 4b2 in series. Each straight pipe portion 4b1 is arranged so that the axial direction of the straight pipe portion 4b1 faces the left-right direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of straight pipe portions 4b1 penetrate through the plate surface portion 4a1 of the plate fins 4a of each stage so as to be aligned in the longitudinal direction of the plate surface portions 4a1 of the plate fins 4a. There is.

The fixing member 4c has a first heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c1, a second heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c2, and a beam portion 4c3. The first heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c1 is a plate member extending in the vertical direction, and is fixed by penetrating the left end portion of the straight tube portion 4b1. The second heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c2 is a plate member extending in the vertical direction, and is fixed by penetrating the right end portion of the straight tube portion 4b1. The beam portion 4c3 is a plate member extending in the left-right direction, and is connected below the first heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c1 and below the second heat transfer tube fixing plate 4c2. Both ends of the beam portion 4c3 are fixed to the left and right wall surfaces 20a of the cooling chamber 20. The fixing member 4c is made of a steel material such as stainless steel.

The cooler 4 is configured such that the fin pitch of the lower plate fins 4a is larger than the fin pitch of the upper plate fins 4a. The air flowing on the upstream side of the cooler 4 contains a larger amount of water than the air on the downstream side of the cooler 4, so that frost formation may be unevenly generated on the downstream side of the cooler 4. be. In the cooling chamber 20, air is sucked from the air passage 25 by the rotation of the cooling chamber fan 8 above the cooler 4, so that the lower side of the cooler 4 becomes the upstream side of the air flow and the lower stage of the cooler 4. Frost formation is more likely to occur on the side than on the upper side of the cooler 4. Therefore, by making the fin pitch of the plate fins 4a on the lower stage side of the cooler 4 larger than the fin pitch of the plate fins 4a on the upper stage side, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of frost formation and avoid deterioration of the cooling efficiency. can.

The cooler 4 may keep the fin pitch of the plate fins 4a constant at a distance that can suppress the occurrence of frost to avoid deterioration of the cooling efficiency. Further, the cooler 4 may use corrugated fins, louver fins, slit fins or the like instead of the plate fins 4a. Further, header pipes are connected to the inlet and outlet of the cooler 4 so that the low-pressure two-phase refrigerant flowing from the decompression device can be evenly distributed to the straight pipe portion 4b1 of each heat transfer pipe 4b. You can also do it. Further, the heat transfer tube 4b may have a configuration in which a U-shaped tube in which two straight tube portions 4b1 and one curved tube portion 4b2 are integrally formed and a curved tube portion 4b2 are alternately connected in series.

The heater 5 is arranged below the cooler 4 and is configured as a defrosting heater for defrosting the cooler 4. As the heater 5, a rod-shaped glass tube heater in which resistance wires are installed inside the glass tube 5a and both ends of the glass tube 5a are sealed with rubber caps 5b or the like is used. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the glass tube 5a is arranged so as to face the left-right direction, and the rubber cap 5b is fixed to the left and right wall surfaces 20a of the cooling chamber 20.

A heater roof 6 is arranged below the cooler 4 and above the heater 5. The heater roof 6 extends in the left-right direction and covers the upper part of the heater 5 so that the heater 5 is completely hidden when viewed downward from the cooler 4. The left and right ends of the heater roof 6 may be fixed to the left and right wall surfaces 20a of the cooling chamber 20, or may be attached to the fixing member 4c of the cooler 4. The heater roof 6 can be made of an aluminum material such as an aluminum alloy. By making the heater roof 6 made of aluminum, the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be reflected downward.

The drain tray 7 is provided with a drain hole 70a for draining the defrosted water from the cooler 4. The drain hole 70a is configured to be arranged below the heater 5. The drain tray 7 can be made of an aluminum material such as an aluminum alloy. By making the drain tray 7 made of aluminum, the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be conducted to the entire drain tray 7.

The cooling chamber fan 8 is a rotating machine that convects and circulates air by the rotation of the cooling chamber fan 8. As described above, the cooling chamber fan 8 is arranged above the cooler 4. The cooling chamber fan 8 is configured to take in the warm air generated in the storage chamber 10 into the cooling chamber 20 through the air passage 25 or the plurality of slits 15a of the grill wall 15. The cooling chamber fan 8 is configured to send the cold air heat exchanged by the cooler 4 from the cooling chamber 20 to the storage chamber 10. The cooling chamber fan 8 can be configured as an axial blower such as a propeller fan, a centrifugal blower such as a sirocco fan or a turbo fan, a mixed flow blower, a cross flow blower, or the like, depending on the form and application of the refrigerator 100.

Next, the specific structure of the heater roof 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the heater roof 6 is arranged on one surface of an elongated shielding portion 6a having a rectangular flat surface portion 6a1 and a flat surface portion 6a1 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the flat surface portion 6a1. It has an existing linearly shaped ridge 6b. Further, the shielding portion 6a is arranged on one long side of the flat surface portion 6a1 and has a first edge portion 6a2 extending in a direction opposite to the tip end direction of the raised portion 6b with respect to the flat surface portion 6a1. Further, the shielding portion 6a is arranged on the other long side of the flat surface portion 6a1 and has a second edge portion 6a3 extending in a direction opposite to the tip end direction of the raised portion 6b with respect to the flat surface portion 6a1. The second edge portion 6a3 is configured to face the first edge portion 6a2.

The heater roof 6 is arranged so that the raised portion 6b faces the cooler 4. By having the raised portion 6b, the heater roof 6 can improve the heat transfer area of the radiant heat from the heater 5. Therefore, the water defrosted by the cooler 4 and dropped on the heater roof 6 can be efficiently evaporated by the radiant heat from the heater 5.

Further, since the heater roof 6 has the raised portion 6b, the warm air from the air passage 25 and the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be efficiently guided to the cooler 4, so that the defrosting of the cooler 4 is promoted. Can be done.

Further, the heater roof 6 is defrosted by the cooler 4 by having the first edge portion 6a2 and the second edge portion 6a3, and the water dropped on the heater roof 6 is the first edge portion 6a2 and the second side. It is dropped from the edge portion 6a3 and is reliably guided to the drainage tray 7. Therefore, since the heater roof 6 has the first edge portion 6a2 and the second edge portion 6a3, it is possible to prevent water from wrapping around to the lower surface side of the flat surface portion 6a1, so that the glass tube 5a of the heater 5 drops water droplets. It is possible to prevent the damage due to the above.

Next, the specific structure of the drainage tray 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the drain tray 7 in the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a top view schematically showing the structure of the drain tray 7 in the refrigerator 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the drainage tray 7 has a drainage portion 70, a drain pan portion 72, a mounting portion 74, and a heat receiving portion 76.

The drainage unit 70 is provided with a drainage hole 70a for discharging the defrosted water from the cooler 4. The drainage portion 70 is positioned so that the drainage hole 70a is arranged below the heater 5. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drain hole 70a can be configured to have a plurality of drain holes 70a depending on the form and use of the refrigerator 100. For example, the drainage hole 70a can be configured to have a circular hole 70a1 arranged near the center of the drainage portion 70. The drain hole 70a is a first arc-shaped slit 70a2 arranged around the circular hole 70a1 and a second arc-shaped slit 70a3 arranged on the opposite side of the first arc-shaped slit 70a2 with the circular hole 70a1 interposed therebetween. It can be configured to further have and.

Although the drainage portion 70 has a rectangular shape in FIGS. 7 and 8, it may have another polygonal shape or a circular shape. Further, in FIG. 9, the drainage portion 70 has a flat plate shape, but may have a concave curved surface shape as long as the drainage hole 70a has a shape on the lowermost surface.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the drainage tray 7 may have a configuration in which a connecting pipe 78 for communicating the drainage pipe 35 and the drainage tray 7 is provided below the drainage portion 70, or has a connecting pipe 78. It may be configured not to. The connecting pipe 78 can be made of an aluminum material such as an aluminum alloy, like the other members of the drain tray 7. Further, the connecting pipe 78 may be integrally formed with the drainage portion 70, or may be connected as a separate member.

The drain pan portion 72 is configured to extend laterally from the drainage portion 70, collects the defrosted water from the cooler 4, and guides it to the drainage hole 70a. For example, the drain pan portion 72 can be configured to have one or more inclined portions 72a that incline downward toward the drainage portion 70, depending on the shape and arrangement position of the drainage portion 70. For example, when the shape of the drainage portion 70 is rectangular, the drain pan portion 72 has a configuration including a first inclined portion 72a1, a second inclined portion 72a2, a third inclined portion 72a3, and a fourth inclined portion 72a4. can. The first inclined portion 72a1, the second inclined portion 72a2, the third inclined portion 72a3, and the fourth inclined portion 72a4 may be integrally formed or may be connected as separate members. ..

The mounting portion 74 is configured to extend upward from the drain pan portion 72. The drainage tray 7 is fixed to the wall surface 20a of the cooling chamber 20 by the mounting portion 74. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the mounting portion 74 can be configured as a plate-shaped member extending upward from one side of the peripheral edge portion of the drain pan portion 72. More specifically, the mounting portion 74 is upward from one side of the peripheral edge portion of the drain pan portion 72, which is formed by connecting the first inclined portion 72a1, the second inclined portion 72a2, and the third inclined portion 72a3. It can be configured as a plate-shaped member extending to. In addition, in FIGS. 7 to 9, the mounting portion 74 is configured to be mounted on the wall surface 20a on the back side of the cooling chamber 20, but depending on the form of the cooling chamber 20 or the mounting portion 74, the mounting portion 74 is other than the back side. It may be configured to be attached to the wall surface 20a.

The heat receiving portion 76 extends from the mounting portion 74 toward the internal space of the cooling chamber 20, and is configured to conduct radiant heat from the heater 5 to the drain pan portion 72 and the draining portion 70 via the mounting portion 74. ..

The heat receiving portion 76 can be formed integrally with the mounting portion 74. According to this configuration, it is not necessary to separately provide a heat transfer component for applying radiant heat from the heater 5 to the entire drainage tray 7. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the refrigerator 100 at the time of manufacture and improve the assembleability of the refrigerator 100.

Further, the heat receiving unit 76 can be configured to be inclined downward toward the internal space of the cooling chamber 20. According to this configuration, since the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be received by the entire flat member 76d of the heat receiving portion 76, the effect of increasing the amount of heat conducted to the drain pan portion 72 and the drainage portion 70 can be obtained.

Further, the heat receiving portion 76 is provided with the first slit 74b and the second slit 74c downward from the upper edge portion 74a of the mounting portion 74, and the mounting portion of the flat region 74d surrounded by the first slit 74b and the second slit 74c. The connecting portion 74e with the 74 can be configured as a bent rectangular member. According to this configuration, since the heat receiving portion 76 can be easily formed from the mounting portion 74, the effect that the assembling property of the refrigerator 100 can be further improved can be obtained.

Further, the angle a between the heat receiving portion 76 and the lower mounting portion 74 of the connecting portion 74e shown in FIG. 9 is an acute angle, and the water from the cooler 4 is dropped from the heat receiving portion 76 without staying. Can be configured as According to this configuration, since water does not stay in the heat receiving section 76, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the amount of radiant heat from the heater 5 to the drain pan section 72 and the drainage section 70 due to the retention of water. The effect of being able to do it is obtained.

Further, the length b of the heat receiving portion 76 in the extending direction shown in FIG. 7 can be configured so that the drainage portion 70 and the projection surface do not overlap when the heat receiving portion 76 is projected vertically downward. According to this configuration, since the heater 5 does not block the radiant heat directly provided to the drainage unit 70, there is an effect that the drainage unit 70 can be prevented from being re-frozen by the water defrosted from the cooler 4. can get.

Further, the width c of the tip portion 76a of the heat receiving portion 76 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 can be configured to have a length that does not interfere with the natural convection of the cooling chamber 20. According to this configuration, since the natural convection of the cooling chamber 20 is not hindered by the heat receiving unit 76, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven frost formation in the cooling chamber 20.

Further, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line L in FIG. 8, the heat receiving portion 76 is configured so that the center position of the tip portion 76a of the heat receiving portion 76 overlaps with the center position of the drain hole 70a. According to this configuration, the path from the heat receiving unit 76 to the draining unit 70 on the drainage tray 7 is the minimum distance, so that the radiant heat from the heater 5 received by the heat receiving unit 76 is more efficiently conducted to the draining unit 70. can do.

Based on the angle a, length b, and width c of the heat receiving portion 76 described above, the heat receiving portion 76 is configured so that the shortest distance d from the heater 5 is minimized. The amount of heat received per unit area received by the heat receiving unit 76 is inversely proportional to the square of the shortest distance d from the heater 5. Therefore, according to the configuration, when the shortest distance d is approached, the amount of radiant heat received from the heater 5 by the heat receiving unit 76 increases, so that the drainage unit 70 and the drain pan unit 72 are more efficiently defrosted. be able to.

Next, the defrosting operation in the refrigerator 100 will be described together with the operation of the refrigerant circuit.

The high-temperature and high-pressure vapor-phase refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows into the condenser. The refrigerant that has flowed into the condenser is heat-exchanged by releasing heat to the outside air in the condenser, and becomes a high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant. The high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant flows into the decompression device. The high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant that has flowed into the decompression device is expanded and decompressed to become a low-temperature low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. The low temperature and low pressure two-phase refrigerant flows into the cooler 4. In the cooler 4, the low-temperature low-pressure two-phase refrigerant absorbs heat from the warm air supplied to the cooler 4 and evaporates to become a highly dry two-phase refrigerant or a low-temperature low-pressure vapor-phase refrigerant. The liquid phase component of the highly dry two-phase refrigerant or the low-temperature low-pressure gas phase refrigerant flowing out of the cooler 4 is separated by the accumulator 9, and the gas phase component of the refrigerant is sucked into the compressor. The refrigerant sucked into the compressor is compressed to become a high-temperature and high-pressure vapor-phase refrigerant, which is discharged from the compressor. The above cycle is repeated in the refrigerant circuit.

In the state where the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator 100 is operating as described above, after cooling the stored object, the warm air returned from the storage chamber 10 is cooled from the air passage 25 or the plurality of slits 15a of the grill wall 15. It flows into the room 20. The warm air that has flowed into the cooling chamber 20 is heat-exchanged in the cooler 4 by natural convection generated by the rotation of the cooling chamber fan 8. The heat-exchanged cold air is discharged to the storage chamber 10 by the rotation of the cooling chamber fan 8. In the cooling chamber 20, the temperature of the storage chamber 10 is maintained at a low temperature by repeating the above cycle.

When the warm air is heat-exchanged with the cold air in the cooler 4, frost is formed on the cooler 4. When frost formation increases between the plate fins 4a, the amount of warm air passing through the plate fins 4a decreases. Therefore, if the frost is not melted, the temperature of the cold air flowing out to the storage chamber 10 rises, and the stability and reliability of the refrigerator 100 may not be ensured.

In the refrigerator 100, the frost on the cooler 4 is melted by the radiant heat of the heater 5, and the melted water is dropped on the drain tray 7. The water dropped on the drain tray 7 is discharged from the drain hole 70a without being frozen by the radiant heat of the heater 5. The water discharged from the drain hole 70a is stored in the evaporating dish 30b housed in the machine room 30 via, for example, the drain pipe 35. The water stored in the evaporating dish 30b is evaporated by the heat generated in the machine room 30 and discharged to the outside of the refrigerator 100.

As described above, the refrigerator 100 includes a cooler 4 that exchanges heat between warm air and cold air, a heater 5 that is arranged below the cooler 4 and defrosts the cooler 4, and a heater below the cooler 4. It is provided with a heater roof 6 arranged above the 5. Further, the refrigerator 100 further includes a drain tray 7 for discharging the defrosted water from the cooler 4, and a box body 1 in which the cooler 4, the heater 5, the heater roof 6, and the drain tray 7 are housed. The box 1 communicates with the storage chamber 10 capable of accommodating the stored object through the opening 1e of the box 1, accommodates the cooler 4, the heater 5, the heater roof 6, and the drain tray 7, and forms the storage chamber 10. A cooling chamber 20 that communicates with the cooling chamber 20 is provided. The cooling chamber 20 is configured to circulate the cold air heat-exchanged by the cooler 4 to the storage chamber 10. The drain tray 7 has a drain hole 70a for discharging the defrosted water from the cooler 4, and has a drain portion 70 in which the drain hole 70a is arranged below the heater 5. Further, the drainage tray 7 further has a drain pan portion 72 extending laterally from the drainage portion 70, collecting defrosted water from the cooler 4, and guiding the defrosted water to the drainage hole 70a. Further, the drainage tray 7 extends upward from the drain pan portion 72, and further has a mounting portion 74 for fixing the drainage tray 7 to the wall surface 20a of the cooling chamber 20. Further, the drain tray 7 extends from the mounting portion 74 toward the internal space of the cooling chamber 20, and conducts the radiant heat from the heater 5 to the drain pan portion 72 and the draining portion 70 via the mounting portion 74. Have more.

According to this configuration, the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be efficiently conducted to the drain tray 7 via the heat receiving unit 76. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the water defrosted from the cooler 4 from refreezing in the drain tray 7, so that the water defrosted from the cooler 4 can be reliably drained. The effect of being able to do it is obtained.

Although the drainage tray 7 has a configuration in which the heat receiving portion 76 is integrally formed with the mounting portion 74, the drainage portion 70 and the drain pan portion 72 may also be integrally formed with the heat receiving portion 76 and the mounting portion 74. good.

Embodiment 2.
The refrigerator 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the refrigerator 100 of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic partially enlarged view showing an enlarged region of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 10 in a front view. FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view showing the internal structure of the cooling chamber 20 of FIG. 11 when viewed from the right side. FIG. 13 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a top view schematically showing the structure of the heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

The heater roof 6 in the refrigerator 100 of the second embodiment has a shielding portion 6a arranged so as to cover the heater 5 and a rib portion 6c extending from the shielding portion 6a in the direction of the heat receiving portion 76 of the drain tray 7. It is a structure to have. Since the configurations other than the heater roof 6 are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the heater roof 6 has a rib portion 6c extending from the second edge portion 6a3 of the shielding portion 6a toward the heat receiving portion 76 of the drain tray 7. By providing the heater roof 6 with the rib portion 6c, the radiant heat from the heater 5 can be efficiently conducted by the heat receiving portion 76 of the drain tray 7. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the water defrosted from the cooler 4 from refreezing in the drain tray 7, and thus the drainage of the defrosted water from the cooler 4 is more reliable. You can get the effect that you can do it.

Further, the rib portion 6c can be integrally formed with the shielding portion 6a. According to this configuration, it is not necessary to separately provide a heat transfer component for applying radiant heat from the heater 5 to the entire drainage tray 7 on the heater roof 6. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the refrigerator 100 at the time of manufacture and improve the assembleability of the refrigerator 100.

Further, the rib portion 6c can be made of aluminum. By making the rib portion 6c made of aluminum, the rib portion 6c can more efficiently reflect the radiant heat from the heater 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the rib portion 6c can be configured to be inclined downward in the direction of the wall surface 20a of the cooling chamber 20 to which the mounting portion 74 is fixed. For example, the angle e between the flat surface portion 6a1 and the rib portion 6c of the shielding portion 6a is an obtuse angle, and the inclination angle is obtained by adding 90 degrees to the angle a of the heat receiving portion 76 described in the first embodiment. Can be configured. According to this configuration, the radiant heat from the heater 5 reflected by the rib portion 6c is more easily conducted to the heat receiving portion 76, so that the water defrosted from the cooler 4 in the drain tray 7 is more likely to be re-frozen. It can be surely prevented.

Further, the width f of the rib tip portion 6c1 of the rib portion 6c can be made the same as the width c of the heat receiving portion 76. Further, the length g of the rib portion 6c in the extending direction can be set to a length that does not come into contact with the wall surface 20a of the drainage tray 7 and the cooling chamber 20. That is, the rib tip portion 6c1 of the rib portion 6c can be configured to have a constant gap h between the rib portion 6c and the heat receiving portion 76. According to this configuration, since the rib portion 6c does not hinder the natural convection of the cooling chamber 20, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven frost formation in the cooling chamber 20.

Other embodiments.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the configuration of the above-described embodiment can be applied not only to the refrigerator 100 but also to other cooling storages having a refrigerant circuit and cooling and storing the stored object, for example, a vending machine, a showcase, and the like. ..

1 Box, 1a Outer box, 1b Inner box, 1c Insulation, 1d Partition wall, 1e Opening, 2 Storage room door, 2a Freezer door, 2b Refrigerator door, 4 Cooler, 4a Plate fin, 4a1 Plate surface, 4b heat transfer tube, 4b1 straight tube part, 4b2 curved tube part, 4c fixing member, 4c1 first heat transfer tube fixing plate, 4c2 second heat transfer tube fixing plate, 4c3 beam part, 5 heater, 5a glass tube, 5b cap, 6 heater roof , 6a Shield, 6a1 Flat, 6a2 1st Edge, 6a3 2nd Edge, 6b Raised, 6c Rib, 6c1 Rib Tip, 7 Drain Tray, 8 Cooling Room Fan, 9 Accumulator, 10 Storage Room, 10a Freezer room, 10b Refrigerator room, 15 Grill wall, 15a Slit, 20 Cooling room, 20a Wall surface, 25 Air passage, 30 Machine room, 30a Machine room panel, 30b Evaporator, 35 Drain pipe, 35a Lower end, 70 Drainage part, 70a drainage hole, 70a1 circular hole, 70a2 first arc-shaped slit, 70a3 second arc-shaped slit, 72 drain pan part, 72a inclined part, 72a1 first inclined part, 72a2 second inclined part, 72a3 third Inclined part, 72a4 4th inclined part, 74 mounting part, 74a upper edge part, 74b first slit, 74c second slit, 74d plane area, 74e connecting part, 76 heat receiving part, 76a tip part, 76d plane member, 78 connecting Tube, 100 refrigerators.

Claims (10)

A cooler that exchanges heat between warm air and cold air,
A heater that is placed below the cooler and defrosts the cooler,
A heater roof located below the cooler and above the heater,
A drainage tray that discharges defrosted water from the cooler,
A box body containing the cooler, the heater, the heater roof, and the drain tray is provided.
In the box body
A storage room that can accommodate items to be stored and
A cooling chamber that communicates with the storage chamber and circulates the cold air that has been heat-exchanged by the cooler to the storage chamber is provided.
The drain tray
A drainage portion having a drainage hole for draining defrosted water from the cooler, and the drainage hole is arranged below the heater.
A drain pan section that extends from the drainage section, collects defrosted water from the cooler, and guides it to the drainage hole.
A mounting portion that extends from the drain pan portion and fixes the drain tray to the wall surface of the cooling chamber.
It has a heat receiving portion that is integrally formed with the mounting portion, extends from the mounting portion toward the internal space of the cooling chamber, and conducts radiant heat from the heater to the drain pan portion and the drainage portion via the mounting portion. death,
The heat receiving portion is a refrigerator in which the drainage portion and the projection surface do not overlap when the heat receiving portion is projected vertically downward. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the heat receiving portion is inclined downward toward the internal space of the cooling chamber. The heat receiving portion is provided with a first slit and a second slit downward from the upper edge portion of the mounting portion, and a connecting portion of the flat region surrounded by the first slit and the second slit is connected to the mounting portion. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, which is a bent rectangular member. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drain tray is made of aluminum. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drain pan portion has an inclined portion that inclines downward toward the drainage portion. The heater roof
A shielding portion arranged to cover the heater and
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which has a rib portion extending from the shielding portion in the direction of the heat receiving portion of the drain tray. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the rib portion is integrally formed with the shielding portion. The refrigerator according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the rib portion is inclined downward toward the wall surface of the cooling chamber to which the mounting portion is fixed. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the rib portion has a gap between the rib portion and the heat receiving portion. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the heater roof is made of aluminum.

Images