JPH0362994B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a refrigerator that supplies cold air into a storage chamber to cool the chamber and that forms a cold room within the chamber.

(b) Conventional Technology Conventionally, this type of refrigerator has divided the storage chamber to form a cold room with a lower temperature than other spaces to accommodate the diversification of stored foods. This cold room usually has an inner door inside the door body of the cold room part in order to prevent the inflow of outside air as much as possible, and the inner door is a transparent plate so that you can check the stored parts inside just by opening the outer door body. I have to.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention The cold air supplied into the storage room other than the cold room must be returned to the cooling room where a cooler is installed, but usually the cold air passage avoiding the cold room is insulated, for example. It was formed in the insulation material of the box, complicating the structure. In addition, moisture from the outside air that flows in when the door is opened condenses on the outer surface of the inner door of the cold room and adheres to it as dew, which hinders the ability to see inside.

(d) Means for solving the problem In order to solve the problem, the present invention divides the storage room into upper and lower parts by partition walls 20 and 8, forms a cold room 12 above, and Door 22 at the opening edge of
A transparent inner door 11 of the low-temperature chamber 12 is provided, and the cold air from the lower storage room 9 is passed through the cold air passage 64 between the door 22 and the inner door 11.
The air is returned to the upper cooling chamber 13 through the cooling chamber 13.

(e) Effects According to the present invention, the cold air in the lower storage chamber is returned to the cold air passage through the cold air passage between the low-temperature indoor door and the door in front of it, so there is no need to form a special return passage in the heat insulating material. In addition, upward air currents are constantly generated on the outer surface of the inner door, thereby preventing dew formation.

(f) Examples Examples will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows a refrigerator 1 as an example. Reference numeral 2 denotes a heat insulating box that opens to the front, 3 a heat insulating partition wall that partitions the inside of the refrigerator, and a freezer compartment 4 is formed above the partition wall. Reference numeral 5 denotes a partition plate which is located at the lower part of the refrigerator interior and defines a vegetable compartment 7 below which is constituted by a container 6. The internal space between the partition wall 3 and the partition plate 5 is further divided into upper and lower sections by a heat-insulating partition plate 8, and the lower part thereof is a refrigerating chamber 9 which is cooled to a refrigerating temperature such as +3°C. Between the partition plate 8 and the partition wall 3, there is an ice temperature 12 as a compartment, which is constituted by a case 10 attached to the partition plate 8 and opened to the front and downward, the partition plate 8, and a transparent inner door 11. It is formed. A cooling chamber 13 is formed within the partition wall 3, and a cooler 14 included in the refrigeration cycle is housed therein. Ducts 15 and 16 are formed at the rear of the cooling chamber 13 to communicate therewith and extend vertically, and a blower 17 is also provided. Blower 17
is operated to transfer cold air from the cooler 14 to the duct 1
5 and 16 directions, from the duct 15 to the freezer compartment 4
Discharge into. The duct 16 discharges cold air from a discharge port 18 that opens in the back wall of the heat insulating box 2 at the rear of the case 10, and this discharge port 18 is controlled to open and close by a damper thermometer 19 that senses the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 9. The partition plate 8 is located behind a front member 20 provided laterally on the lower opening edge of the partition wall 3, and together constitute a partition wall. Further, 21, 22, 23 and 24 are insulating doors that can open and close the openings of the freezer compartment 4, the front of the ice room 10, the refrigerator compartment 9, and the vegetable compartment 7, respectively.

FIG. 1 shows an enlarged side sectional view of the ice chamber 12, and FIG. 2 shows a front sectional view thereof. Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the ice chamber 12. 25 is a damper thermo cover, which has a heat insulating material inside;
It is located between the case 10 and the back wall of the insulation box body 2,
It has a side discharge port 26 that allows the cold air flowing out from the discharge port 18 to flow directly into the refrigerator compartment 9, and a discharge port 35 that discharges the cold air forward. case 10
On the rear upper surface of the case 10, there is a groove 27 that spans the entire width of the case 10.
is formed, and a molded heat insulating material 29 that is open upwardly and laterally and constitutes a cold air passage 28 for distribution extending from side to side is housed in this groove 27. As shown in FIG. 2, the left and right side surfaces of the case 10 have a cold air passage 30 that communicates with the cold air passage 28 at a distance from both sides of the inner surface of the insulating box body 2.
It consists of At this time, the opening edge and back surface of the case 10 are in contact with both sides of the lower surface of the partition wall 3 and the inner surface of the heat insulating box 2. The upper surface of the case 10 has a small distance between the partition walls 3, and has a projection 31 projecting upward in the center. An operating arm 32 is rotatably fixed to this protrusion 31.
A damper plate 34 rotatably engages with a long hole 33 formed at the rear end. The damper plate 34 is formed by integrally forming an opening/closing plate 40 located at the innermost part and a closing plate 41 located at the front thereof. The discharge port 35 of the damper thermo cover 25 opens at the center of the cold air passage 28, and the opening/closing plate 40 is located in the cold air passage 28 immediately in front of the discharge port 35. Arm 32
A knob 42 at the front end is exposed on the back side of the inner door 11, and by operating this knob 42 left and right, the amount of cold air flowing into the cold air passage 28 from the discharge port 35 can be adjusted. Furthermore, a rib 43 that protrudes upward is formed on the front edge of the groove 27 to prevent cold air from flowing into the upper surface of the case 10, and a notch 44 is formed for movement of the arm 32. A notch 29A is also formed in the heat insulating material 29 correspondingly. The closing plate 41 is located immediately in front of this notch 44. This closing plate 41 always closes the notch 44 even if the arm 32 moves left and right. Since the closing plate 41 and the rib 43 prevent cold air from flowing into the upper surface of the case 10, the problem of frost formation on the upper surface of the case 10 due to the cold air remaining here is prevented. 45 is a cover that closes the upper opening of the molded heat insulating material 29.

4 and 5 show enlarged views of the side and front parts of the partition plate 8, respectively. 46 and 47 are the outer box and inner box that constitute the insulation box body 2, and 48 is the both boxes 4.
This is a heat insulating material filled between 6 and 47. Partition board 8
Both consist of an upper plate 50, a lower plate 51, and a molded heat insulating material 52 loaded between the two plates 50, 51, both of which are recessed on the inside than the edges. The heat insulating material 52 is provided along the upper surface of the lower plate 51, and is spaced from the upper plate 50 at least laterally. Further, the lower plate 51 has a plurality of through holes 53 closer to the center than the edge, and the heat insulating material 5
2 also has a through hole 54 that corresponds to this through hole 53 and communicates with the interval. Furthermore, a plurality of through holes 55 are formed on both side edges of the upper plate 50. This through hole 55
connects the cold air passage 30 with the space between the upper plate 50 and the heat insulating material 52, and these through holes 50, 5
4 and 53 constitute a cold air passage 56 that communicates the cold air passage 30 and the refrigerator compartment 9 inside the partition plate 8. The case 10 is fixed to the upper edge of the inclined surface of the upper plate 50 inside the through hole 55, and the cold air passage 56 is connected to the through hole 55 due to the shape of the inclined portion 8A around the partition plate 8.
It slopes further inward and descends, wrapping around the lower surface of the upper plate 50.

The partition plate 8 assembled in this manner is installed substantially horizontally by engaging both side edges with grooves 57 formed on both side walls of the inner box 47 above the front member 20, but the central horizontal part is Since it is recessed from the edge, it is located at the rear of the front member 20. Therefore, the dead space inside the refrigerator behind the front member 20 can be used effectively, and the partition plate 8 is recessed and the case 1
There is only need to be a space above 0 to accommodate the arm 32, and the internal volume of the ice chamber 12 can be expanded by allowing the upper surface of the case 10 to be brought close to the lower surface of the partition wall 3 without forming a cold air passage.

The front member 20 has a stepped portion 2 that is one step lower at the rear of the upper surface.
0A is formed and has one or more ribs 60 protruding rearward on the rear surface. on the other hand,
At the front end of the lower plate 51 corresponding to the inclined portion 8A of the partition plate 8, one or more support walls 61 extending vertically are provided in correspondence with the ribs 60. This prevents the front member 20 from sagging due to weight or its own weight.
The distance between the rear surface or stepped portion 20A of the partition plate 8 and the inclined portion 8A of the partition plate 8 is maintained. At this time, the front edge of the upper plate 50 of the partition plate 8 extends to above the stepped portion 20A of the front member 20, and covers the stepped portion 20A with a gap therebetween, and further has a plurality of through holes 62 formed therein. Also, door 2
The upper end communicates with the cooling chamber 13 through a suction hole 63 formed in the lower front part of the partition wall 3, and the lower end communicates with the refrigerator compartment 9 through a through hole 62. It constitutes a cold air return passage 64. Here, 65 is a cold air suction hole on the side of the freezer compartment 4.

Next, cold air circulation will be explained. The cold air blown out from the discharge port 35 of the damper thermo cover 25 flows into the cold air passage 28 and is temporarily transferred to the molded heat insulating material 29.
It collides with the front wall of the building and is distributed to the left and right. At this time, due to the presence of the molded heat insulating material 29, frost will not form on the outer surface of the concave groove 27 of the case 10.
It flows into the cold air passage 30 on the 0 side and descends, passing through the through hole 55.
The cold air flows into the cold air passage 56. Due to the inclined shape of the passage 56, the cold air flowing into the cold air passage 56 does not immediately flow down through the through holes 53, 54 at the side ends, and most of the cold air is well guided toward the center. As a result, the inside of the ice room 12 is indirectly cooled by both sides of the case 10 and the upper plate 50 of the partition plate 8. Here case 10
Although it is possible to prevent fog from forming on the top surface and expand the internal volume of the ice room 12 by not circulating cold air over the top surface, the cooling effect may be insufficient. Therefore, through holes 66 are formed on both sides of the bottom wall of the molded heat insulating material 29 corresponding to the cold air passages 28, and corresponding through holes 67 are formed in the case 10 as well. As a result, a small amount of cold air in the cold air passage 28 is directly introduced into the ice room 12, and the ice room 12 is cooled when the refrigerator 1 is installed.
This speeds up the cooling rate and eliminates insufficient cooling due to indirect cooling. Also, at this time, the cold air flowing in through the through holes 67 flows into the ice chamber 12 from both sides and has a speed to the left and right, so it flows forward along the inside of the side surface of the case 10, enveloping the stored food. It flows like. Furthermore, since the amount of cold air flowing in is small, drying of the stored food is suppressed to a small amount.
Through such indirect and direct cooling, the inside of the icehouse 12 is kept cooled to the freezing storage temperature. Here, the freezing temperature storage temperature is a temperature range such as 0℃ to -2℃, which is below the freezing point but just before meat and vegetables freeze.By storing food at this freezing temperature storage temperature, it can be prevented from freezing. It suppresses the growth of bacteria inside and can be stored for a relatively long time (about a week in experiments).

The cold air flowing into the cold air passage 56 passes through the through holes 53 and 54.
After flowing down into the refrigerator compartment 9 and circulating with the cold air from the side outlet 26 inside the refrigerator compartment 9 and around the container 6 for heat exchange, the partition plate 8 flows as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The cold air passes through the space between the front member 20 and the inner door 11 , ascends along the outer surface of the inner door 11 , ascends the cold air return passage 64 , and returns to the cooling chamber 13 through the suction hole 63 . In the vicinity of the door 22 or 23, an upward air current is likely to occur due to heat leakage from outside the refrigerator, and this cold air return operation is also smoothly achieved. In addition, since an upward air current is constantly generated in front of the inner door 11, the transparent inner door 11 does not become cloudy due to condensation, and the visibility inside the low-temperature ice room 12 is always maintained well. become.

Since the damper thermometer 19 senses the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 9, changing the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment 9 will also change the amount of cold air flowing into the cold air passage 28.
2, by moving the damper plate 34 from side to side and adjusting it appropriately, the temperature inside the ice room 12 can be maintained at a predetermined ice temperature storage temperature.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the cold air in the storage room below the compartment wall can be returned to the cooling room above via the cold air passage between the transparent inner door of the cold room and the door at the opening edge. There is no need to form a special return passage in the heat insulating material, and the structure is simplified. Further, an upward air current is likely to be generated near the opening edge due to heat leakage from the outside air, so that the cool air return operation is performed smoothly. Furthermore, since upward air currents are always generated on the outside of the inner door, condensation is less likely to form on the outer surface of the inner door, and the internal transparency can always be maintained well, and the area around the inner door will not get dirty due to dew condensation. None.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the ice chamber, FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the same, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ice chamber components, and FIG. Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts, Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the main parts of Figure 1, and Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the main parts of Figure 1.
The figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the refrigerator. 8... Division board, 11... Inner door, 12... Ice greenhouse, 13... Cooling room, 20... Front member, 22...
Door, 64...cold passage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A box consisting of an insulating top wall, left and right side walls, back wall, and bottom wall and forming a storage room inside, and a duct placed inside the box that leads air cooled by a cooler to the storage room. In the refrigerator, an insulating partition wall is arranged in the storage chamber to divide the storage chamber into upper and lower chambers, and a case consisting of a top plate, left and right side plates, a bottom plate, and a back plate is attached to the box body. It is arranged on the partition wall so as to form left and right cold air passages between the left and right side walls and the left and right side plates of the case, respectively, and a cold air passage is formed between the partition wall and the bottom plate of the case, and the cold air is A refrigerator characterized in that a passage communicates with left and right cold air passages and a chamber below a partition wall.