JPH07225076A - Machine room structure for refrigerator or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently externally exhaust warm air after heat exchanging, to prevent overheating in a machine room and to efficiently cool a condenser by longitudinally disposing an electric device box and a cooling box set to substantially the same length as an inner width of the room under the condenser. CONSTITUTION:An air-cooled condenser 16 is installed in a machine room 12 formed in a body 10 of a refrigerator, etc. The atmosphere is sucked from a plurality of suction holes 22a opened at the front surface 22 of the body 10 by a cooling fan disposed on a back surface side of the condenser 16 to air-cool the condenser 16. On the other hand, warm air after heat exchanging is externally exhausted from a plurality of exhaust ports 24a, 26a opened at the surface 24, the side face 26 of the body 10. In this case, an electric device box 48 and a cooling box 14 set to substantially the same length as an inner width of the room 12 are longitudinally disposed above the condenser 16. Thus, warm air diffused from the fan is guided to a front surface exhaust port 22b via passages 44, 46 of the box 14 and passages 50, 52 of the box 48.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention contacts an air-cooled condenser arranged in a machine room to perform an air-cooling operation, and efficiently discharges air (warm air) whose temperature has risen after heat exchange to the outside. The present invention relates to a machine room structure such as a refrigerator to be obtained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Vegetables, fruits and other fresh foods such as meat and fish (hereinafter referred to as "ingredients") are stored in a refrigerator or freezer (hereinafter referred to simply as "refrigerator") for a long period of time, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a horizontal refrigerator having a horizontally long cabinet is known. Inside this horizontally long box-shaped main body (cabinet) 10, there is a storage (not shown) for cooling and storing foodstuffs, and a machine room 12 adjacent to the storage with a wall between them. Is defined. A cooling box 14 communicating with the storage is disposed above the machine room 12, and inside the cooling box 14, a cooler and an internal fan (both not shown) functioning to cool the inside of the storage. ) Is stored. Further, a refrigerating mechanism 20 including a condenser 16, a cooling fan 18, a compressor (not shown) and the like is arranged below the inside of the machine room 12, and the refrigerating mechanism 20 cools the cooler. There is. A fin-and-tube type is generally used as the condenser 16, and a cooling fan 18 disposed between the condenser 16 and the compressor is operated to perform forced air cooling of the heat generating portions of the condenser 16 and the compressor. Be done.

In the refrigerator having the air-cooled condenser described above, the front panel 22 which covers the front of the machine room 12 is generally
A suction port 22a for sucking air at a position facing the condenser 16
Are drilled. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the machine room 1
2 on the side panel 24 and the back panel 26 defining
The outlets 24a and 26a are provided respectively for the cooling fan 18
The air sucked from the suction port 22a due to the rotation of the air contacts the condenser 16 and cools it, and then is discharged to the outside from the respective discharge ports 24a and 26a as warm air.

[0004]

When the refrigerator according to the machine room structure as described above is used in a limited space such as a kitchen, the refrigerator is not compatible with other cooking devices according to the recent tendency of the system kitchen. In most cases, it is installed adjacent to kitchen equipment such as a sink or a sink, and its back surface is usually installed in close contact with the wall surface at the installation location. That is, since the outlets 24a and 26a opened on the side and the back of the refrigerator are blocked by the kitchen equipment and the wall surface, smooth discharge of the external air sucked from the inlet 22a is often obstructed. It was there.

Therefore, a structure has been adopted in which a discharge port 22b is formed in the front panel 22 and the warm air that has contacted the condenser 16 and has undergone heat exchange is discharged from the discharge port 22b to the outside. In this case, since the inside of the machine room 12 is not configured to guide the hot air after heat exchange to the exhaust port 22b, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the side panel 2
The warm air blown to the No. 4 or the rear panel 26 may become a turbulent flow and may not be efficiently discharged from the discharge port 22b, but may convection in the machine room 12. Further, since the suction port 22a and the discharge port 22b formed in the front panel 22 are close to each other, a part of the hot air discharged from the discharge port 22b is sucked again from the suction port 22a, which is a so-called wraparound phenomenon. It was happening. Then, in such a case, there is a serious problem that the effective cooling of the heat generating portion such as the condenser 16 and the compressor is hindered, and the cooling capacity is lowered due to insufficient cooling of the condenser 16.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the above-mentioned prior art, and is proposed in order to suitably solve the drawbacks. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for discharging, preventing overheating in a machine room, and achieving efficient cooling of a condenser.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides an air-cooled condenser in a machine room defined inside a main body. By rotating the cooling fan provided on the back side, the outside air is sucked in through multiple suction ports provided on the front side of the main body to perform an air cooling function, and hot air after heat exchange is formed on the back side or side of the main body. In a refrigerator or the like that discharges to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports, an electrical equipment box having a length substantially equal to the internal width dimension of the machine room above the condenser arranged in the machine room. And the cooling box are arranged in a front-rear relationship.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, another invention of the present application is, in the above-mentioned refrigerator or the like, above the condenser disposed in the machine room, and having a length substantially equal to the internal width dimension of the machine room. Arrange the set electrical box and cooling box in a front-back relationship,
A back air passage is defined between the cooling box and the rear surface of the main body, and an upper air passage is defined between the cooling box and the electrical equipment box and the ceiling surface of the main body, so that the warm air after the heat exchange is transferred to the back portion. After flowing through the air passage and the upper air passage, the air is discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge holes formed in the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box.

In order to achieve the above object, another invention of the present application is, in the above-mentioned refrigerator or the like, above the condenser arranged in the machine chamber and having a length substantially equal to the internal width dimension of the machine chamber. Arrange the set electrical box and cooling box in a front-back relationship,
A middle air passage that faces above the cooling fan is defined between the electrical equipment box and the cooling box, and an upper air passage is defined between the electrical equipment box and the ceiling surface of the main body. The hot air is circulated through the middle air passage and the upper air passage, and is then discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge holes formed in the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box. .

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a further invention of the present application is, in the above-mentioned refrigerator or the like, above the condenser arranged in the machine room, a length substantially equal to the internal width dimension of the machine room. The electrical equipment box and the cooling box set to the above are arranged in a front-rear relationship by defining a middle air passage above the cooling fan, and a back air passage is defined between the cooling box and the rear surface of the main body. Along with, the upper air passage is defined between the cooling box and the electrical equipment box and the main body ceiling surface, and the air after the heat exchange is circulated to the upper air passage through the middle air passage and the back air passage. It is characterized in that it is configured to be discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports formed on the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a machine room structure such as a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an exploded main part of a refrigerator to which the present invention is preferably applied. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the inside of a machine room.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the inside of a machine room. The same members as those already described in FIGS. 6 and 7 described in the section of the prior art will be denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the horizontally long box-shaped main body (cabinet) 10 in the refrigerator shown in the figure, a storage cabinet 28 for cooling and storing foodstuffs, and a storage wall 30 in the storage cabinet 28 are provided.
A machine room 12 that is adjacent to the machine room 12 is defined. The machine room 12 is covered by a front panel 22, a side panel 24, a back panel 26 and a ceiling panel 38,
Above the inside thereof, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooling box 14 communicating with the storage case 28 through an opening 30a formed in the wall 30.
Is provided. Inside the cooling box 14, a cooler 32 that functions to cool the inside of the storage case 28 and an internal fan 34 are stored. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a condenser 16 and a cooling fan 18 constituting a refrigerating mechanism 20 for cooling the cooler 32 are provided below the inside of the machine room 12.
The compressor 36 is arranged in order from the front side of the machine room 12.

A front panel 22 disposed on the front surface of the machine room 12 is configured to be openable and closable via a hinge (not shown), and a position corresponding to the front surface of the condenser 16 on the front panel 22. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of suction ports 22a for the outside air are formed in each of them. A plurality of discharge ports 24a, 26a are formed in the side panel 24 that covers the side surface of the machine chamber 12 and the rear panel 26 that covers the back surface. That is, the air sucked from the suction port 22a of the front panel 22 by the rotation of the cooling fan 18 comes into contact with the condenser 16 to perform cooling by heat exchange, and then becomes warm air to become the exhaust ports 24a, It is discharged to the outside via 26a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooling box 14 is disposed directly above the compressor 36 with a required space 42 therebetween, and has an internal width dimension of the machine chamber 12 (in the front-rear direction). (Dimension in the direction that intersects with) is set to a width dimension almost the same as
It is configured so that a gap is hardly defined between the drawing wall 30 and the side panel 24. The cooling box 14 is arranged with a required space between the back panel 26 and the ceiling panel 38, and the back air passage 4 is provided between the cooling box 14 and the back panel 26.
4 and also defines an upper air passage 46 with the ceiling panel 38. The two passages 44, 46 communicate with each other, and the back air passage 44 has the space 42.
Is in communication with. That is, heat is exchanged with the condenser 16 to be blown out from the cooling fan 18, and the space 42 is not discharged to the outside from the discharge ports 24a and 26a.
The warm air that has returned to No. 2 flows into the upper air passage 46 via the back air passage 44 (see FIG. 4). In addition,
As shown in FIG. 5, the upper corner of the cooling box 14 facing the side panel 24 is notched at a required angle in the direction away from the ceiling panel 38 over the entire length (length in the front-rear direction) of the cooling box 14. The notch 14a is formed so as to increase the cross-sectional area of the upper air passage 46.

In front of the cooling box 14 and above the condenser 16, an electrical equipment box 4 for accommodating a microcomputer board for controlling the operation of the refrigerator, a temperature setting switch, a power switch, etc.
8 are provided. Like the cooling box 14, the electrical equipment box 48 is set to have a width dimension substantially the same as the internal width dimension of the machine room 12, and is configured so that a gap is hardly defined between the drawing wall 30 and the side panel 24. There is. Also, electrical equipment box 48
As shown in FIG. 3, they are arranged at a required distance from the cooling box 14, and a middle air passage 50 is provided between the boxes 14 and 48.
Is defined. The cooling fan 18 that constitutes the refrigeration mechanism 20 is set below the middle air passage 50. Further, an upper air passage 52 communicating with the upper air passage 46 defined above the cooling box 14 is defined between the electrical equipment box 48 and the ceiling panel 38. That is, a part of the warm air blown out from the cooling fan 18 passes through the middle air passage 50 and then reaches the upper air passage 5.
The warm air flowing through the upper air passage 46 on the cooling box side flows into the upper air passage 52 while flowing into the upper air passage 52.

A transparent window 54 is provided on the front panel 22 at a position corresponding to the electrical equipment box 48 disposed in the machine room 12, and the display of the microcomputer board can be seen through the window 54. . Also, the window 54 on the front panel 22
A plurality of discharge ports 22b are formed at positions facing the upper part of
It functions to discharge the warm air flowing through the upper air passage 52 to the outside. The discharge port 22b is greatly separated with the suction port 22a and the electrical equipment box 48 sandwiched therebetween so that the warm air discharged from the discharge port 22b is not sucked again from the suction port 22a. .

[0017]

Next, the operation of the mechanical room structure of the refrigerator or the like according to the embodiment will be described. When the cooling fan 18 is rotated, as shown in FIG. 4, external air is sucked into the machine room 12 through a plurality of suction ports 22a formed in the lower portion of the front panel 22. This air is sucked into the condenser 16 and exchanges heat, and then is cooled by the cooling fan 18 into the space 4
2 is discharged as warm air and is discharged to the outside through the discharge ports 24a and 26a formed in the side panel 24 and the back panel 26.

Here, when the refrigerator is installed in a kitchen or the like,
If a sufficient gap can be provided on the side surface or the back surface side, as described above, the warm air that has been heat-exchanged with the condenser 16 in the machine room 12 can be efficiently discharged to the outside via the respective outlets 24a and 26a. The internal overheating of the machine room 12 can be prevented. However, as described in the section of the prior art, in most cases, the side and back of the refrigerator are blocked by the kitchen equipment and the wall surface, which hinders efficient discharge of warm air from the outlets 24a and 26a. It was supposed to be done. Therefore, in the embodiment, the warm air is efficiently discharged from the discharge port 22b of the front panel 22 through the back air passage 44, the upper air passages 46, 52 and the middle air passage 50.

That is, when the side surface or the back surface of the refrigerator is closed by the kitchen equipment and the wall surface, the cooling fan 18 is used.
The warm air blown out from the side panel 24 and the rear panel 2
No. 6 discharge port 24a, 26a returns to the space 42 without being discharged to the outside. As shown in FIG. 4, a part of this warm air rises in the back air passage 44 of the cooling box 14 and flows into the upper air passage 46, and then from the passage 46 into the upper air passage 52 of the electrical equipment box 48. After that, it is discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports 22b formed in the upper portion of the front panel 22. As shown in FIG. 5, since the notch 14a formed in the upper portion of the cooling box 14 is set so that the cross-sectional area of the upper air passage 46 becomes large, the upper air passage 4
It is possible to smoothly distribute a large amount of warm air. Further, a part of the warm air blown out from the cooling fan 18 has a middle air passage 50 defined between the cooling box 14 and the electrical equipment box 48.
Rises and flows into the upper air passage 52, and then the outlet 22
It is discharged from b.

As described above, the warm air blown out from the cooling fan 18 is guided to the discharge port 22b through the passages 44, 46, 50 and 52, so that the warm air is blown into the machine room 12.
It can be efficiently discharged without staying inside. Further, since the suction port 22a and the discharge port 22b formed in the front panel 22 are largely separated vertically, the discharge port 2
It is possible to effectively prevent the wraparound phenomenon in which the warm air discharged from 2b is sucked again from the suction port 22a. As a result, insufficient cooling of the heat generating portions such as the condenser 16 and the compressor due to overheating in the machine room can be prevented, and efficient operation of the condenser 16 and the compressor can be achieved.

[0021]

As described above, according to the machine room structure of the refrigerator or the like according to the present invention, the electrical equipment box and the cooling box are set to have substantially the same length as the internal width dimension of the machine room. It is possible to effectively prevent the hot air blown from the fan from convection in the machine room and being sucked into the condenser again. In addition, the cooling box and the electrical equipment box arranged inside the machine room define a passage for guiding the warm air blown out from the cooling fan to the exhaust port formed in the front of the machine room, so that the warm air is prevented. It can be efficiently discharged to the outside. Further, since the air intake port and the air exhaust port are formed in the upper and lower sides with the electrical equipment box sandwiched, it is possible to prevent the hot air exhausted from the exhaust port from being re-inhaled. That is, it is possible to prevent insufficient cooling of the condenser due to overheating in the machine room due to the ineffective discharge of warm air to the outside, and to achieve efficient operation of the condenser. Moreover, since the passage is defined without using a separate member, the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Furthermore, by forming a notch in the cooling box to increase the cross-sectional area of the upper air passage,
The warm air can be circulated smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an exploded main part of a refrigerator adopting a machine room structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part showing a state in which a front panel is removed from the refrigerator according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state where a side panel is removed from the refrigerator according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory side view showing the flow of air in the machine chamber.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory front view showing the flow of air in the machine chamber.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an exploded main part of a refrigerator according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory side view showing the flow of air in the machine room of the refrigerator according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 main body, 14 cooling box, 14a notch, 12 machine room, 16 condenser 18 cooling fan, 22a suction port, 22b discharge port, 2
4a exhaust port 26a exhaust port, 44 back air passage, 46 upper air passage, 48 electrical equipment box 50 middle air passage, 52 upper air passage

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yu Hirosawa, 16th Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd., Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Koji Ueno 16th, 3rd South Building, Sakaemachi, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akiyoshi Yoshida 3-16 South Building, Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A machine room (12) defined inside a main body (10) is provided with an air-cooled condenser (16), and a cooling fan (18) provided on the back side of this condenser (16) By rotation, the outside air is sucked through the multiple suction ports (22a) formed in the front surface of the main body (10) to perform an air cooling function, and the hot air after heat exchange is perforated on the rear surface or the side surface of the main body (10). In a refrigerator or the like configured to discharge to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (24a, 26a) provided, the machine room (12) is provided above the condenser (16) arranged in the machine room (12). The electrical box (4
A machine room structure such as a refrigerator in which the cooling box (14) and the cooling box (14) are arranged in a front-rear relationship. 2. A machine room (12) defined inside the main body (10) is provided with an air-cooled condenser (16), and a cooling fan (18) provided on the back side of the condenser (16) is provided. By rotation, the outside air is sucked through the multiple suction ports (22a) formed in the front surface of the main body (10) to perform an air cooling function, and the hot air after heat exchange is perforated on the rear surface or the side surface of the main body (10). In a refrigerator or the like configured to discharge to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (24a, 26a) provided, the machine room (12) is provided above the condenser (16) arranged in the machine room (12). The electrical box (4
8) and the cooling box (14) are arranged in a front-rear relationship to define a back air passage (44) between the cooling box (14) and the rear surface of the main body, and the cooling box (14) and the electrical equipment box. An upper air passage (46, 52) is defined between (48) and the ceiling surface of the main body, and the warm air after the heat exchange is circulated through the back air passage (44) and the upper air passage (46, 52). After that, a machine room structure such as a refrigerator is configured to be discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (22b) formed on the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box (48). 3. A machine room (12) defined inside the main body (10) is provided with an air-cooled condenser (16), and a cooling fan (18) provided on the back side of this condenser (16) By rotation, the outside air is sucked through the multiple suction ports (22a) formed in the front surface of the main body (10) to perform an air cooling function, and the hot air after heat exchange is perforated on the rear surface or the side surface of the main body (10). In a refrigerator or the like configured to discharge to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (24a, 26a) provided, the machine room (12) is provided above the condenser (16) arranged in the machine room (12). The electrical box (4
8) and the cooling box (14) are arranged in a front-rear relationship, and the cooling fan is provided between the electrical equipment box (48) and the cooling box (14).
While defining the central air passage (50) facing above (18),
An upper air passage (52) is defined between the electrical equipment box (48) and the main body ceiling surface, and the hot air after the heat exchange is passed through the middle air passage (50) and the upper air passage (52). After that, the machine room structure such as a refrigerator is configured to be discharged to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (22b) formed in the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box (48). 4. A machine room (12) defined inside the main body (10) is provided with an air-cooled condenser (16), and a cooling fan (18) provided on the back side of the condenser (16). By rotation, the outside air is sucked through the multiple suction ports (22a) formed in the front surface of the main body (10) to perform an air cooling function, and the hot air after heat exchange is perforated on the rear surface or the side surface of the main body (10). In a refrigerator or the like configured to discharge to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (24a, 26a) provided, the machine room (12) is provided above the condenser (16) arranged in the machine room (12). The electrical box (4
8) and the cooling box (14) are arranged in a front-rear relationship by defining a middle air passageway (50) above the cooling fan (18), and between the cooling box (14) and the rear surface of the main body. A back air passageway (44) is defined in the upper air passageway (46, 52) between the cooling box (14) and the electrical equipment box (48) and the ceiling surface of the main body. Air was circulated to the upper air passages (46, 52) through the middle air passageway (50) and the back air passageway (44), and then bored on the front surface of the main body facing the upper side of the electrical equipment box (48). A machine room structure such as a refrigerator, which is configured to discharge to the outside through a plurality of discharge ports (22b). 5. A notch (14a) separated from the ceiling surface is provided in an upper portion of the cooling box (14) facing the ceiling surface of the main body.
The machine room structure for a refrigerator or the like according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the machine room structure is formed over the entire length of the upper air passage (46).