JPH07294089A - Frosting reducer for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the formation of frost on the outer surface of an evaporator without affecting the refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator and to increase the performance coefficient of the refrigerator by reducing the water content of air passing through the evaporator. CONSTITUTION: A partition plate 102 is provided in a return duct 200 communicating with a cold storage room 110 and a freezing room 100. Air that is circulated through the cold storage room 110 and the freezing room 100 passes through the partition plate 102 before returning to an evaporator 104 through the return duct 200. In this case, a large amount of water is eliminated from air by the partition plate and the freezing of frost on the evaporator is fundamentally prevented or reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a frost reduction device for a refrigerator, and more particularly, it reduces frost formation which can reduce the moisture adhering to the evaporator of the refrigerator and improve the refrigerating efficiency of the refrigerator, that is, the coefficient of performance. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A refrigerator is one of household appliances for refrigerating and / or refrigerating various foods by using a refrigerant circulating in a refrigeration cycle. That is, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor, condensed and liquefied, and then evaporated by the evaporator, expanded again through the expansion valve or the expander, and then returned to the compressor. In this case, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings to provide cooling power to the refrigerator while evaporating from the evaporator, and cold air that has received cooling power from the evaporator around the evaporator cools the freezer and / or the freezer. Alternatively, the freezing and / or refrigerating function is performed by circulating the refrigerating chamber.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of an example of a conventional refrigerator 1 showing a flow of cold air in a refrigerator, which receives cooling power through an evaporator and is transmitted to a freezer compartment and / or a refrigerator compartment. As shown in the figure, the refrigerator 1 is provided with a freezing compartment 2 and a refrigerating compartment 3, an evaporator 4 is installed on the rear side of the freezing compartment 2, and a return is provided between the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3. A duct 5 is provided. The cold air that has passed through the evaporator 4 is supplied to the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 through the multi-duct,
The air that has been circulated and warmed in the refrigerating chamber 3 is returned to the evaporator 4 through the return duct 5. At this time, after circulating through the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3, the warmed air contains a large amount of water, and this water is momentarily condensed while the air is cooled while passing through the evaporator. And it is frosted on the evaporator. When frost is formed on the evaporator in this way, the thermal conductivity of the evaporator is lowered, and therefore,
The freezing efficiency of the refrigerator, that is, the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator is greatly reduced. Therefore, in order to prevent such a reduction in refrigeration efficiency, the heater 6 is installed near the evaporator, and the heater 6 is operated while the refrigerator is periodically inoperative so that the refrigerator is adhered to the surface of the evaporator. A method of removing frost was used.

However, in such a method, since the operation of the refrigerator must be stopped while removing the frost, it is difficult to maintain a constant temperature in the freezing room and the refrigerating room, and the storage state of the frozen and refrigerated food is damaged. If there is a large amount of frost, it may cause the refrigerator to stop operating more often,
Alternatively, there is a problem in that the time becomes longer and the heat loss is serious, and the refrigerating and freezing efficiency decreases. In order to overcome such problems, U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,493 is disclosed as a method for removing frost from an evaporator without using a heater. In the defrosting method and apparatus of the above-mentioned patent, defrosting is performed by utilizing the pressure difference between the condenser and the evaporator in the refrigeration cycle process and its change. However, even in the method of the above patent, the frost on the outside of the evaporator is removed by raising the temperature of the evaporator, so that the function of the evaporator, that is, the refrigeration power supply is interrupted, and therefore, the refrigerating capacity and The coefficient may be adversely affected.

Also, as one method for removing the frost deposited on the outside of the evaporator without stopping the supply of refrigerating power to the refrigerator by the evaporator, US Pat.
There is No. 8,884. The housing of the above patent comprises an integral body with opposite ends, a centrally located central chamber, a pair of cylindrical valves and a central cylinder at each end connected to them. A damper member having a profiled wall portion and a pair of air passages extending into each valve chamber at one end and to the outside at the other end. In the housing, ambient air is introduced into the housing from one end by an energy-saving type defrosting device, passes through the frosted coil, and is then discharged through the other end. However, the housing of the above patent has a complicated structure, and there is a problem that defrosting by using the surrounding air not only changes the defrosting ability depending on the temperature of the surrounding air but also significantly reduces the refrigeration efficiency. It was

[0006]

Therefore, the formation of frost is fundamentally prevented without affecting the refrigeration cycle itself so as not to deteriorate the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator and without stopping the provision of refrigerating power to the refrigerator by the evaporator. There has been a strong demand for a defrosting or anti-frosting device for a refrigerator that can be used. The present invention is designed to meet such a need, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the moisture content of the air passing through the evaporator, thereby preventing the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator from being affected. Provided is a frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator that can reduce the formation of frost on the outer surface and increase the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator housing having a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, an evaporator for operating as a refrigeration cycle and providing a cooling power, A multi-duct that is equipped with the evaporator, passes through the evaporator, and communicates with the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment so that cold air that receives cooling power from the evaporator can flow into the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment. The return duct connecting the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment to the multi-duct so that the air circulated in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment can be returned to the multi-duct, and is discharged from the return duct communicating with the return duct. A drainage channel for draining water, and the return duct installed inside the return duct to connect the freezing chamber and the multi-duct to each other. Provided is a frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator that includes a first duct that communicates with the second duct that divides the refrigerating chamber and the multi-duct into a second duct that communicates with each other and that includes a partition plate made of a material having high thermal conductivity. It is in.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the partition plate includes a base plate, which is a rectangular flat plate, a heater installed on the base plate, and brackets provided on both sides of the base plate. Preferably, the base plate is installed so as to incline downward toward the drainage channel.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, each of the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate is provided with a plurality of high heat conductive upper and lower pins, and the upper and lower pins are equally spaced from each other. The upper pin and the lower pin are formed integrally with each other and penetrate the base plate, and the upper and lower pins each have a diameter that decreases toward the end thereof.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the base plate includes a plurality of rectangular upper sections, a plurality of rectangular lower sections, and a plurality of vertical portions connecting the upper and lower sections to each other. The upper surface of the return duct has an upper protrusion corresponding to each lower section, and the lower inner surface has a lower protrusion corresponding to each upper section and two supports for preventing the base plate from sagging. Columns are formed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of through holes are formed in each of the upper section and the lower section, and an air flow passing through the through holes is formed in an upper portion of each of the through holes. It is equipped with multiple flaps for guiding. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the base plate comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending arched plates, and both sides of each arched plate are integrally connected to each other so that the recessed portions of the arched plates are It is installed in the return duct so as to face the second duct on the refrigerating compartment side. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the frost formation reducing apparatus of the present invention, the moisture content of the air passing through the evaporator is fundamentally reduced to prevent frost formation outside the evaporator without stopping the supply of refrigerating power to the refrigerator by the evaporator. Or the reduction is fundamentally done.

[0011]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Embodiment 1] FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator provided with a frost formation reducing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator includes a freezer compartment 100, a refrigerating compartment 110, and a partition wall 102 partitioning these compartments. A return duct 200 is formed in the partition wall 102, and a frost formation reducing partition wall 400 is provided in the return duct 200. Evaporator 104
Is installed in the rear multi-duct 112 of the freezer compartment 100. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the duct 200 in which the frost reduction partition plate 400 is installed. As shown in the figure, the frost formation reducing partition plate 400 divides the return duct 200 into a first duct 201 and a second duct 202. The first duct 201 connects the freezer compartment 100 and the rear multi-duct 112 to each other, and the second duct 202 connects the refrigerating compartment 110 and the rear multi-duct 112 to each other. Rear multi-duct 112
Below the return duct 200 and the rear multi-duct 1
A drainage channel 120 connected to each of the 12 is formed.

The frost formation reducing partition plate 400 includes a base plate 401 and brackets 402 provided on both sides of the base plate 401, as shown in FIG. A heater 403 is installed on the base plate 401. The base plate 401 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity such as zinc or aluminum. The base plate 401 is installed so as to incline downward toward the drainage channel 120. On the other hand, in the refrigerator provided with the frost formation reducing apparatus having the above-described structure according to the present embodiment, the cool air that receives the cooling power from the evaporator while passing through the evaporator 104 in the rear multi-duct 112 is rear multi-duct. Through the freezing room 100 and the refrigerating room 110, respectively.
The air after being circulated in the freezing chamber 100 returns to the rear multi-duct 112 through the first duct 201, and the air after circulating in the refrigerating chamber 110 through the second duct 202 to the rear multi-duct 112. At this time, since the air flowing through the first duct 201 has a relatively lower temperature than the air flowing through the second duct 202, heat is transferred through the base plate 401 having high thermal conductivity and passed through the refrigerating chamber 110. Later, as the air flowing through the second duct 202 is cooled, the relative humidity of the air increases, and the water contained in a large amount in the air is adhered or condensed on the lower surface of the base plate 401. Therefore, after passing through the first and second ducts 201 and 202, the rear multi-duct 11
The total amount of moisture in the air returning to 2 is reduced, and the frost deposited on the evaporator 104 is greatly reduced.

On the other hand, as the amount of frost deposited on the base plate 401 increases, the thermal conductivity of the base plate 401 becomes lower and lower, and if too much frost forms, the return duct 20
It will block the passage of air passing through zero. Therefore, in order to prevent this, when a certain amount of frost is formed, the heater 403 is operated to melt the solidified frost on the base plate 401. The dissolved water flows through the inclined base plate 401 and is discharged to the outside through the drainage channel 120.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of a return duct 540 having a frost formation reducing partition plate 500 of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The anti-frost partition 500 includes a number of rectangular upper sections 51.
0, a number of rectangular lower sections 520, and a number of vertical sections 530 connecting each of them to the base plate 5.
Has 01. Two brackets 502 are provided on both sides of the base plate 501. Each lower section 5
A fan-shaped heater 505 is installed on the unit 20. The upper surface of the return duct 540 has each lower section 5
20 corresponding to each upper section 510, and a lower projection 512 corresponding to each upper section 510 on the lower surface.
Further, two support columns 543 for preventing the base plate 501 from sagging are formed. Reference numerals 541 and 54
Reference numeral 2 denotes a first duct and a second duct, each of which is divided by the base plate 501. In the frost reduction partitioning plate 500 according to the present embodiment, the base plate 501 is not a flat plate but an uneven plate. Therefore, the entire area of the base plate 501, that is, the air flowing in each of the first duct 541 and the second duct 542. The heat transfer area of is increased. Therefore, the effect of reducing frost can be further increased as compared with the case where the base plate is a flat plate.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 7 shows a frost formation reducing partition plate 600 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The frost formation reducing partition plate 600 has a structure similar to that of the partition plate 500 shown in FIG. That is, the anti-frost partition plate 600 includes a plurality of rectangular upper sections 610 and a plurality of rectangular lower sections 6.
20 and has a base plate 601 including a plurality of vertical portions 630 connecting each of them. Base plate 6
Two brackets 602 are provided on both sides of 01. However, unlike the partition plate 500 of FIG. 5, a plurality of through holes 608 are formed in each of the upper section 610 and the lower section 620 of the frost reduction partition plate 600 of FIG.
Further, a plurality of flaps 60 for guiding the flow of air passing through the through holes 608 are provided above the through holes 608.
7 are provided.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the return duct 640 provided with the partition plate of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line KK of FIG. As shown in the figure, the partition plate 600 divides the return duct 640 into a first duct 641 and a second duct 642. A fan heater 605 is installed in each of the lower sections 620. According to the present embodiment, air can flow from the second duct 642 to the first duct 641 through the large number of through holes 608 formed in each of the upper section 610 and the lower section 620 of the frost reduction partition plate 600. The formation of frost does not occur only on the lower portion of the base plate 601, but also on the upper surface thereof. Therefore, the time interval for melting the frost formed on the base plate can be extended. On the other hand, according to the second and third embodiments described above, when the formation of frost on the partition plates 500 and 600 progresses, there is a difference in the amount of heat transfer through the upper sections 510 and 610 and the lower sections 520 and 620. Due to the generation, as shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, the formation of frost concentrates on a specific portion, and eventually the return duct 540,
A phenomenon of blocking 640 may occur. The fourth and fifth embodiments improve and complement such problems.

[Embodiment 4] FIGS. 11 to 13 show a base plate 701 of a frost formation reducing partition plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The base plate 701 is a rectangular flat plate, and a large number of upper pins 702 and lower pins 703 are provided on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate 701. Like the base plate 701, the upper pin 702 and the lower pin 703 are made of a highly heat conductive metal such as zinc or aluminum. In this embodiment, the upper pin 702 and the lower pin 703 are formed integrally with each other and penetrate the base plate 701, and the upper and lower pins 702 and 703 are arranged at equal intervals. Further, the upper pin 702 and the lower pin 703 each have a smaller diameter as they are closer to the ends. Upper pin 70
The second and lower pins 703 may have various shapes, and may have a conical shape as shown in FIG.

According to this embodiment, a large number of heat transfer pins 70 are provided.
Although the heat transfer area is increased due to 2,703, there is almost no possibility that integration occurs between adjacent frosts as in the previous embodiment. In particular, as shown in FIG. 13, the heat transfer pin 7
If 02, 703 are conical, the possibility of frost-to-frost integration next to each other is less likely. 12
(A) to (C) are heat transfer pins 702 of the base plate 701,
703 shows a form in which frost is formed. [Embodiment 5] FIGS. 14 and 15 show a base plate 801 of a reduction diaphragm according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The base plate 801 has a number of arched plates 802 extending in the vertical direction.
The two sides 812 of each arched plate 802 are integrally connected to each other. As shown in FIG. 16, the base plate 801 is installed in the return duct 840 so that the concave portion of the arch-shaped plate 802 faces the second duct 842 on the refrigerating compartment side. 15A to 15C show a base plate 80.
1 shows a form in which frost is formed.

According to the present embodiment, as in the case of the above-mentioned fourth embodiment, the frost and frost adjacent to each other may be integrated as in the previous embodiment while the heat transfer area is increased. There is almost no sex. This is because a relatively large amount of heat exchange occurs on both sides 812 of the arched plates 802 that are integrally connected to each other, and the width of the sides 812 is narrower than the distance between them.

[0020]

As described above, according to the frost formation reducing apparatus for a refrigerator of the present invention, the moisture content of the air passing through the evaporator is fundamentally reduced to provide the refrigerator with a refrigerating power. It is fundamentally possible to prevent or reduce the frost formation outside the evaporator without stopping the operation. Therefore, the formation of frost on the outside of the evaporator is weaker than that of the conventional refrigerator, and the operating time interval of the heater for melting the frost deposited on the outside of the evaporator for defrosting is significantly increased. It can be postponed. As a result, it is possible to maintain a constant temperature in the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and thus it is possible to maintain a good storage state of the frozen and refrigerated food. In addition, the structure of the device is simple and the manufacturing is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a frost formation reducing device which has a low-priced and simple structure, and which has a refrigerator having an outstandingly improved refrigerating capacity or coefficient of performance. Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.
Modifications and improvements can be made within the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator including a frost formation reducing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a return duct in which a frost reduction partition plate is installed inside the refrigerator shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view of a frost formation reducing partition plate installed inside the refrigerator shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a frost formation reducing partition plate according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a return duct in which the frosted blood source partition plate shown in FIG. 5 is installed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a frost formation reducing partition plate according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a side sectional view of a return duct in which the frost reduction partitioning plate shown in FIG. 7 is installed.

9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a return duct in which the frost reduction partitioning plate shown in FIG. 7 is installed.

10A to 10C are views showing a process in which frost is formed on the partition plate shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a frost formation reducing partition plate according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

12A to 12C are views showing a form in which frost is formed on a heat transfer pin included in the frost formation reducing partition plate shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of another form of the heat transfer pin included in the frost reduction partitioning plate shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of a frost formation reducing partition plate according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

15A to 15C are views showing a form in which frost forms on the frost formation reducing partition plate shown in FIG.

16 is a side sectional view of a return duct in which the frost reduction partitioning plate shown in FIG. 15 is installed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Freezing room 102 Partition wall 104 Evaporator 110 Refrigerating room 112 Rear multi-duct 200 Return duct 201 First duct 202 Second duct 400 Frost reduction partition plate 401 Base plate 402 Bracket 500 Frost reduction partition plate 510 Upper section 520 Lower section 600 Frost reduction partition plate 601 Base plate 602 Bracket 608 Through hole 610 Upper section 620 Lower section 640 Return duct 701 Base plate 702 Upper pin 703 Lower pin

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A housing of a refrigerator having a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber; an evaporator for operating as a refrigerating cycle and providing a cooling power to the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber; Means for forming a multi-duct communicating with the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment so that cold air passing through the evaporator and receiving the cooling power from the evaporator can flow into the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment; the refrigerating compartment And second means for forming a return duct connecting the multi-duct with the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment so that the air circulated in the freezing compartment can return to the multi-duct; and inside the return duct. A first installed to connect the return duct to the freezer compartment and the multi-duct to communicate with each other.
An apparatus for reducing frost formation in a refrigerator, which includes a duct, a second duct that connects the refrigerating compartment and the multi-duct to each other, and a third unit that is made of a material having high thermal conductivity. 2. The frost formation reducing apparatus for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the frost formation reduction partition plate includes the third means base plate and brackets provided on both sides of the base plate. 3. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the base plate is a rectangular flat plate. 4. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the third means further comprises a heater installed on the base plate. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising fourth means for forming a drainage channel communicating with the return duct and for discharging water discharged from the return duct.
A frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator as described. 6. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the base plate is installed so as to incline downward toward the drainage channel. 7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the base plate includes a plurality of rectangular upper sections, a plurality of rectangular lower sections, and a plurality of vertical portions connecting the upper and lower sections to each other. 8. The upper surface of the return duct has an upper protrusion corresponding to each lower section, and the inner lower surface has a lower protrusion corresponding to each upper section and prevents the base plate from drooping. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein two support columns for forming are formed. 9. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the third means further comprises a heater installed on the base plate. 10. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 9, further comprising fourth means for forming a drainage channel communicating with the return duct and for discharging water discharged from the return duct. 11. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the base plate is installed so as to be inclined downward toward the drainage channel. 12. A plurality of through holes are formed in each of the upper section and the lower section, and a plurality of flaps for guiding a flow of air passing through the through holes are provided in an upper portion of each of the through holes. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 7. 13. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the third means further comprises a heater installed on the base plate. 14. The frost formation reducing apparatus for a refrigerator according to claim 13, further comprising fourth means for forming a drainage channel communicating with the return duct and for discharging water discharged from the return duct. 15. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein the base plate is installed so as to be inclined downward toward the drainage channel. 16. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of high heat transfer upper and lower pins are provided on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate. 17. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein each of the upper and lower pins is arranged at equal intervals. 18. The apparatus for reducing frost formation in a refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the upper and lower pins are integrally formed with each other and penetrate the base plate. 19. The frost formation reducing apparatus for a refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein each of the upper and lower pins has a diameter that decreases toward the end thereof. 20. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the third means further comprises a heater installed on the base plate. 21. The frost formation reducing apparatus for a refrigerator according to claim 20, further comprising a fourth means for forming a drainage channel communicating with the return duct and for discharging water discharged from the return duct. 22. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 21, wherein the base plate is installed so as to be inclined downward toward the drainage channel. 23. The base plate is provided with a plurality of arch-shaped plates extending in the vertical direction, both side edges of each arch-shaped plate are integrally connected, and the concave portion of the arch-shaped plate is located at the second side of the refrigerating chamber side. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 2, which is installed in the return duct so as to face the duct. 24. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 23, wherein the third means further comprises a heater installed on the base plate. 25. The apparatus for reducing frost formation in a refrigerator according to claim 24, further comprising fourth means for forming a drainage channel communicating with the return duct and for discharging water discharged from the return duct. 26. The frost formation reducing device for a refrigerator according to claim 25, wherein the base plate is installed so as to be inclined downward toward the drainage channel.