JPH0363488A - Temperature control device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make thin a duct panel forming a cold air passage, and improve an effective volume within a refrigerator by a method wherein a rotor having a vane mounted within a cold air duct, having an outlet port communicating with a cold air inlet port and further having an opening in a housing provided with an opening is provided. CONSTITUTION:As a predetermined temperature is sensed by a temperature sensor, a rotor 18 is rotated by a DC motor and when a vane 19' closes an opening 13 of a hosing 10 and when the vane 19' reaches a position where a flow rate resistance is the least value, a vane 19'' may abut against a projection 21 so as to restrict a rotating position of the rotor 18. A erctangular housing 10 is provided with an outlet communicating with a cold air inlet in flush with it, the opening is opened or closed with three vanes fixed in spaced-apart at about 120 deg., so that it is not necessary to apply a displacement margin in view of a thickness of the housing 10 and a cold air blowing direction in the duct panel and further a duct panel can be made thin and further an effective capacity within the refrigerator can be expanded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a temperature control device for a refrigerator, etc., which controls the internal temperature of a refrigerator by opening and closing a cold air intake port.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a refrigerator equipped with a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, cold air from the freezer compartment is sent into the refrigerator compartment through a duct. For example, in the inlet part of the duct,
Refrigerator temperature control device shown in Publication No.-23673 (
(hereinafter referred to as damper thermostat) is installed,
When the temperature inside the refrigerator rises, the damper thermo is opened to allow cold air to flow in. When the temperature inside the refrigerator is decreased, the damper thermo is closed to stop the flow of cold air.

The prior art will be explained using FIGS. 6 and 7.

1 is a rectangular duct through which cold air flows, and the cold air is produced by a refrigerator evaporator (not shown) and sent into the duct 1 by a fan (not shown). Reference numeral 2 denotes an opening through which cold air is discharged from the duct 1, and a damper thermostat 3 is attached thereto. The damper thermo 3
The cold air coming out of the duct is discharged into the refrigerator through an air passage 6 formed in the duct spring 4 forming a cold air passage.

Further, the damper thermo 3 includes a frame 6 provided in the opening 2, an opening 7 in the frame, and the opening 7.
It is opened and closed by a rotatably provided flap 8. The flap 8 is biased in the flap closing direction by a spring 9, and is opened and closed by a drive section (motor) 10.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above configuration, damper thermo 3
Since the flag 8 rotates in the cold air blowing direction to open and close the opening 7, it is necessary to ensure enough movement for the flap 8 in the cold air blowing direction, and the duct panel 4 that forms the cold air flow path must be secured. It has the disadvantage that it is thicker and protrudes into the refrigerator, reducing the effective usable volume inside the refrigerator.

The present invention aims to provide a damper thermostat that reduces the thickness of a duct panel so that the effective volume inside the refrigerator can be increased.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is provided in a cold air inlet duct and has a cold air inlet and an outlet.

The housing includes an opening between an inlet and an outlet that is opened and closed by the blades of a rotary rotor, and a drive source that drives the rotor according to the temperature inside the refrigerator.

Operation The opening and closing of the cold air inflow is performed by the rotation of a rotor with vanes provided in the housing by a drive source.

Example An embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 6.

10 is a square housing, with a cold air inlet 11 on the negative side.
, communicating with the inlet 11 and on the same plane,
In addition, it has two outlets 12 on the sides perpendicular to the inlet 11. There is approximately 120 mm between the inlet 11 and the outlet 12.
There are two openings 13 corresponding to the exits 12, which form openings 13 forming an outer frame at an angle of .degree.

A cylindrical protrusion 14 fits in the center of the housing 1o.
The protrusion 14 is hollow. Further, a flat motor 16 serving as a drive source, its output gear 16', and a disc 17 to which the motor 15 is attached and holding a reduction gear 1e are housed in the hollow part of the protrusion 14. , the final stage 16' of the reduction gear 16 protrudes from the circular hole 14' of the protrusion 14. Further, the rotor 18 rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the protrusion 14 has a hollow cylindrical portion 18' and approximately 120 mm.
A gear 18'' is formed inside the hollow cylindrical portion 18', and meshes with the final stage 16' of the reduction gear 16. Two of the blade parts 19 are attached with a high-density foam sealing material 20 for sealing 19', and are adapted to come into contact with and separate from the opening 13 of the housing 1o by multiple rotations.The blade part 19 One of the remaining pieces 1e" is the housing 1
The movement of the rotor 18 is restricted by using the two protrusions 21 provided at the rotor 1 as stoppers.

The rotor 18 has a hole 23 in the center thereof through which the holding shaft 22 passes, and is held thereby. Furthermore, housing 1
o! ? This cover 24 is attached to the housing 10 by a flyer 25. Among them, a sealing form (not shown) is pasted between the cover 24 and the housing 1o.

Here, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When a temperature sensor (not shown) inside the refrigerator reaches a predetermined temperature, a drive signal is input to the motor 16, and the motor 15 rotates the rotor 18 via the reduction gear 16. Here, the blade portion 19' of the rotor 18 is connected to the opening 1 of the housing 1o.
It will be separated from 3.

In addition, since the remaining blade portion 19'' can freely come into contact with the two protrusions 21 provided on the housing 1o, the blade portion 19'
when the opening 13 of the housing 10 is closed and the opening 1
3 is opened, and when the blade 19 reaches the position where the flow resistance is the least, it comes into contact and regulates the rotational position of the rotor 18. Since the drive motor 16 has a DCC morph, the rotor 18 can rotate in both forward and reverse directions.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the damper thermometer of the present invention is attached to a refrigerator. 3o is a duct through which cold air flows, and 31 is a damper thermo of the present invention. The cold air inlet 11 opens perpendicularly to the duct and is buttoned, and the outlet 12 communicates with an air passage 133 formed in the side duct panel 32.

As mentioned above, the angular housing has the cold air inlet and the outlet communicating with each other on the same plane, and the space between the inlet and the outlet is approximately 120 mm.
The button has two openings with an angular difference of 1200 degrees, and is attached at an angle of about 1200 degrees to a substantially cylindrical part that is rotatably attached to a hollow cylindrical part formed in the center of the housing. Since the above opening is opened and closed by three blades, (1) the opening and closing of the opening is not displaced in the cold air blowing direction, but is rotational, so the temperature of the damper thermostat and the cold air blowing direction of the flap part are controlled; There is no need to take the displacement allowance for the duct panel, the heat of the duct panel can be reduced, and the effective usable volume inside the refrigerator can be expanded.

(2) By installing the cold air inlet vertically to the duct, the duct and damper thermostat can be integrated, the duct panel can be made extremely thin, and when the opening is open, the cold air flows from the top to the bottom. The position of the rotor blades is maintained at a position where the cold air flows with less resistance due to the 7-) collar, so the cold air flows smoothly from the inlet to the outlet without being trapped at the bottom. Therefore, the predetermined characteristics can be obtained without increasing the opening area, so the damper thermo and duct spring can be used in a symbiotic manner.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a housing that is installed at a cold air duct mouth, has an outlet section that communicates with a cold air inlet section, and has an opening between the inlet section and the outlet section; It consists of a rotor that is rotatably provided in the housing and has blades that open and close the opening, and a drive source that drives the rotor, so the opening and closing of the opening can be done in the cold air blowing direction as in the conventional case. Since the flaps can be opened and closed by the rotation of the rotor without displacing the flaps, the thickness in the cold air blowing direction can be reduced, making it possible to thin the duct panels that form the cold air passages, increasing the effective volume of the inside of the refrigerator, and improving practical use. Very useful.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the refrigerator temperature control device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with the cover removed and the opening in the closed state, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device with the cover removed. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same device, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the device installed in a duct, and Figure 6 is a conventional temperature control device installed in a duct. FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional temperature control device. 1o...Housing, 11...Cold air inlet, 12...Outlet, 13...Opening, 15...Drive source, 18...Rotor, 19...Blade portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A housing installed at a cold air inlet duct opening, having an outlet communicating with the cold air inlet, and having an opening between the inlet and the outlet; A temperature control device for a refrigerator comprising a rotor that is freely provided and has a blade portion that opens and closes the opening, and a drive source that drives the rotor.