JPH1089836A - Drainage system for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easiness of an assembling operation to dispose a drain guide at an inside of a refrigerator without necessity of cleaning by drawing the refrigerator to a front side at the time of cleaning refuse clogging of a drain passage. SOLUTION: A cooler 27 disposed on a top surface of an inner case, a defrosted water receiving plate 28 at a lower part of the cooler 27, a drain guide 29 formed integrally with a drain passage 29a connected to the plate to guide defrosted water out of the refrigerator and a decorative cover 29b, a drain pipe 30 embedded in a heat insulator coupled to the guide 29, and an evaporating container 33 for receiving the defrosted water drained from the drain pipe to evaporate it are provided in a machine room 31. Thus, the drainage system of the refrigerator can be assembled by a simple operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator drainage device for discharging defrost water from the inside of a refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 11 to 12 and 13 show, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 64-5744 or Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 58-294.
No. 35 discloses a conventional defrosting water drainage device for a refrigerator, in which 1 is a refrigerator body, 2 is an outer box of the refrigerator, and 3 is an inner box. The space between the inner box 3 is filled with a foamed heat insulating material 4 such as a polyurethane foam to form a heat insulating box. Reference numeral 5 denotes a middle partition, 6 denotes a freezing room partitioned by the middle partition 5, 7 denotes a refrigerator room, 8 denotes a cooler room partitioned and formed in the freezer room 6, and 9 denotes a cooler room 8
The cooler accommodated therein is a blower for forced air circulation located at the upper part of the cooler room 8, the defrost heater 11 located at the lower part of the cooler room 8, the freezing room 6 and the cooler room 8 is a partition wall, 13 is a cool air path formed in the partition wall 12, 14 is a cool air path formed in the middle partition 5, and 15 is located at a position substantially vertically above and substantially in the center of the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment 7. Cold air dust, 16 is a cold air path in the air, 17 is a cold air dust 16
18 is a decorative cover for covering the front surface of the cool air duct 15, 19 is a water receiving portion located at the bottom of the cooler room 8,
Reference numeral 20 denotes a drain pipe penetrating from the water receiving portion 19 to the top of the refrigerator compartment 7, reference numeral 21 denotes a drain pipe buried in the heat insulating material 4 on the back of the refrigerator compartment 7, reference numeral 22 denotes a connection pipe connecting the drain pipes 20 and 21, and reference numeral 23 denotes a drain pipe. A machine room located at the lower part of the refrigerator 1, 24 is a compressor housed in the machine room 23, 25 is an evaporating dish of defrosted water located in front of the machine room 23, 26 is a drain pipe penetrating the ceiling of the machine room 23. 21 is a drain pipe extending to the upper surface of the evaporating dish 25.

[0003] The operation of the drainage device for a refrigerator configured as described above will be described below.

First, the cool air cooled by the cooler 9 is forcibly circulated through the freezing room 6 and the refrigerator room 7 by the blower 10 to cool each room. The cooled cold air which has been cooled and returned to the cooler room 8 is returned to the cooler room 8, and the moisture forms frost on the cooler 9 to form frost.
Frost is generated every time the refrigerator operates at a certain time.
Is defrosted. The defrosted frost becomes defrost water, is guided to the evaporating dish 25 via the drain pipe 20, the connecting pipe 22, and the drain pipes 21 and 26, and is forcibly evaporated by the evaporating dish 25.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when cleaning the drainage pipes due to clogging with water deposits, dust, etc., the refrigerator is once pulled out to the front and the drainage pipe 26 in the machine room 23 is removed. From the inside of the drain pipe 21 was cleaned.

In addition, since the connection between the drain pipe 21 and the connection pipe 22 is performed in the heat insulating material 4, a sealing work is required to prevent the heat insulating material 4 from entering from the joint, which is very troublesome. In the unlikely event that insulation 4 enters, repair is impossible,
In addition, since the entry of the heat insulating material 4 cannot be visually confirmed, the drainage device has low reliability.

A drain pipe 21 embedded in the heat insulating material 4
Since a rigid plastic molded product was used so that it would not be crushed by the pressure at the time of foaming of the heat insulating material, work was required in the assembly process of the refrigerator in which the drain pipe 21 was introduced into the machine room 23 through the outer box 2. Since it is very difficult, the mounting position is shifted, and there is a problem that the heat insulating material enters the drain pipe and leaks the heat insulating material into the machine room.

Further, the warm air in the high-temperature and high-humidity machine room 23 rises through the drain pipes 26 and 21 to generate ice nuclei in the low-temperature connecting pipe 22 and the drain pipe 20 under the cooler 9 to freeze the drain. Had.

The present invention solves the conventional problems and can clean the inside of the drain pipe without pulling out the refrigerator, the drain pipe is not crushed by the pressure at the time of foaming of the insulating material, and there is no leakage of the insulating material into the drain pipe. And It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator drainage device capable of preventing warm air from entering and maintaining good drainage performance.

[0010]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a drainage passage for discharging defrost water from the inside of the inner case to the outside of the inner case, and a decorative cover covering the entire periphery of the drainage passage. An integrated drain guide allows the inside of the drain to be cleaned without pulling out the refrigerator. In addition, a drainage device can be provided as a drain guide installed in the refrigerator without feeling uncomfortable and inferior in design.

In addition, since the drainage end of the drain guide made of a plastic molded article is inserted into the outside of the drainage pipe having elasticity such as rubber, the drainage pipe is not crushed by the pressure when the heat insulating material is foamed. . Also, there is no need to insert a crush prevention placing jig into the drain pipe.

Further, since a convex projection is formed on the inner box of the inner flange surface of the drain pipe buried in the heat insulating material, the defrost water and the water droplets adhering to the inner box are drained from the inner box. Water can be prevented from entering the heat insulating material from the flange of the pipe.

Further, by integrally forming the fin at the end of the drainage passage of the drain guide, it is possible to prevent outside air from entering.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an outer box, an inner box, a heat insulating material filled between the two boxes, a cooler provided on a top surface of the inner box, and a cooler provided below the cooler. A defrosting water receiving plate, a drain guide having a drainage path for guiding the defrosting water from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator, a drainage pipe connected to the drain guide for discharging the defrosting water to the outside of the refrigerator, and a drainage pipe. The drain guide includes an evaporation container that stores and evaporates defrost water, and the drain guide includes the drainage channel,
A makeup cover that covers the entire circumference of the front of the drainage channel is integrally formed and installed inside the refrigerator. In the unlikely event that the drainage channel of the drain guide becomes clogged with water deposits, dust, etc., the drain guide needs to be cleaned. The refrigerator can be cleaned from the inside of the refrigerator without having to pull out the refrigerator and work. In addition, since the drainage channel and the makeup cover are integrated drain guides, the drainage device can be formed with a good design sense without impairing the beauty of the inside of the refrigerator. Furthermore, since the joints are connected inside the refrigerator, there is no need to join drainage pipes in the heat insulating material and in the machine room.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the drain guide of the drain guide extends, penetrates the inside and outside of the compartment, and enters the inside of the outside of the drain pipe embedded in the heat insulating material. It is arranged, and the drainage pipe will not be crushed and blocked by the pressure at the time of foaming the heat insulating material. In addition, it is not necessary to insert a separate jig for preventing crushing due to foaming pressure in the drain pipe before foaming, and the tip of the drain passage of the drain guide also serves as the jig.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inner box bottom hole,
A convex projection is formed on the inner box inside the drainage pipe which is fitted over the bottom plate hole of the outer box and buried in the heat insulating material.The leaked defrost water and water droplets attached to the inner box are Even if it flows near the drain pipe at the bottom of the inner box along the inner box, water is passed through the flange of the drain pipe and the inner box hole because the inner box of the drain pipe flange fitting surface is formed in a convex shape. Can be prevented from entering the inside.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a fin formed so as to surround a drain port is formed at a tip of a drain channel of a drain guide and has a U-shaped notch at a part of the fin. When there is no flow of defrost water in the road, the flow of high-temperature and high-humidity air in the machine room is prevented in a substantially fully closed state, so that drain freezing can be prevented. In addition, when the defrosted water is discharged, the fins are opened downward so that a gap is formed between the fins and the fins, and the fins are drained, so that it is possible to provide a drainage device capable of maintaining good drainage performance.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a refrigerator drainage device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a door of a drainage device of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is removed. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 1 of the embodiment. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the drain guide of the embodiment.

1 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body, 2
Is an outer box, and 3 is an inner box. A space between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3 is filled with a foamed heat insulating material 4 to form a heat insulating box. 7 is a refrigeration room, 27 is a cooler arranged on the top surface of the inner box 3, 28 is a defrost water receiving plate located below the cooler 27, 29 is a defrost water receiving plate 28
A drainage channel 29a for guiding defrost water from inside to outside of the storage from
A plastic drain guide disposed inside the refrigerator integrally formed with a decorative cover 29b that covers the entire periphery of the drainage channel 29a, and a rubber 30 embedded in the heat insulating material 4 on the bottom surface of the inner box 3 of the refrigerator compartment 7 A drainage pipe having elasticity of 31, a machine room in a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere located at a lower part of the refrigerator body 1,
Reference numeral 32 denotes a compressor housed in the machine room 31, and reference numeral 33 denotes an evaporation container for defrosted water located beside the compressor 32.

In this embodiment, a drain guide 29 formed of a hard plastic material forms a drainage channel 29a dedicated to defrosting water draining from a defrosting water receiving plate 28, and furthermore, a drainage channel 29a.
Are formed integrally with a decorative cover 29b and a mounting hole 29c that do not impair the aesthetics of the inside of the refrigerator.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the drain guide of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the drainage device of the same embodiment.

The drain guide 29 extends downward at the tip end 29d of the drainage channel 29a. Reference numeral 30 denotes an elastic drainage pipe made of rubber or the like embedded in the heat insulating material 4 on the bottom surface of the inner box 3, and is disposed so as to penetrate from the inside of the storage to the outside of the machine room 31.
The distal end port 29d has a structure in which the drainage pipe 30 is wrapped so as to enter the inside of the machine room 31 near the outside of the storage.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing the drainage device of the embodiment. FIG. 7 shows a drainage device of the embodiment, II-
It is II sectional drawing.

6 and 7, reference numeral 3a denotes a bottom hole of the inner box 3, 2a denotes a bottom plate hole of the outer box 2, and one of the drain pipes 30 has a sealing flange 30a on the outer periphery and the other has a sealing flange on the outer periphery. 30b are formed, respectively, are fitted in the bottom hole 3a and the bottom plate hole 2a, respectively, and are embedded in the heat insulating material 4. Reference numeral 3b denotes a protrusion protruding from the surface of the sealing flange 30a of the drain pipe 30 in a convex shape. On the other hand, 3c is a depression formed in a concave shape.

In this embodiment, the inner box bottom surface 3d and the projection 3b
The vertical positional relationship between the lower part 3c and the lower part 3c is such that the lower part 3c and the inner box bottom 3d have the same height, and the projection 3b is formed higher than the lower part 3c and the inner box bottom 3d.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing a normal state of the defrost water drainage channel of the drainage device of the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of the defrosting water drainage channel of the drainage device of the embodiment at the time of drainage. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of part A of the drainage device in FIG. 9.

8 to 10, the drain guide 29
The fin 29e has a very thin inner wall extending from the tip end 29d of the drainage channel 29a, and a U-shaped notch 29f is provided at the base of the fin 29e. The fin 29e is formed so as to have a very small gap with the drain port 29g and to surround the entire circumference.

The operation of the drainage device for a refrigerator configured as described above will be described below.

The cooler 27 is cooled and becomes frost to form frost. The frost is naturally defrosted every time the compressor 32 is stopped at a certain time,
The defrosted frost becomes defrosted water, is guided to the evaporating dish 33 via the defrosted water receiving plate 28, the drain passage 29a of the drain guide 29, and the drain pipe 30, and is forcibly evaporated by the evaporating container 33. To attach the drain guide 29, insert the distal end 29 d extending from the drain passage 29 a to the inside of the drain pipe 30 buried in the heat insulating material 4, and mount the drain guide 29.
The drainage device can be fixed to the inner box 3 with screws or the like via 9c.

After the drain pipe 30 buried in the heat insulating material 4 is attached as described in the first embodiment, the state of the drain guide is attached to the drain pipe 29a.
The drain guide 29 is disposed so as to enter the inside of the inside of the space 0, that is, near the outside of the machine room 31 warehouse.

The sealing flange 30b of the drain pipe 30
Since the inner box fitting surface of (a) forms the convex protrusion 3b,
The leaked defrost water does not flow into the heat insulating material 4 by flowing through the inner box bottom surface 3d. The lower portion of the drain guide 29 is sealed by contacting the inner box bottom surface 3d so that the decorative cover 29b surrounds the entire surface of the drain passage 29a.

In a normal case where the defrost water does not flow out into the drain passage 29a, as shown in FIG. 8, the fin 29e has a very small gap with the drain port 29g, but is almost closed. At the time of outflow, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a gap is generated between the drainage port 29g and the tip of the fin 29e by the gravity of water with the U-shaped notch 29f provided at the base of the fin 29e as a fulcrum. The defrost water is pushed down and opened, and the defrost water flows down to the evaporating dish 33. When the defrost water in the drainage channel 29a runs out, the fin 29
Using the elasticity of e, the fin 29e returns to a substantially closed position using the U-shaped notch 29f as a fulcrum.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a drain guide for discharging defrost water from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator, the drainage channel dedicated to the defrosting water discharge and the entire circumference of the drainage channel are designed. A drain guide with an integral cosmetic cover that does not impair the beauty of the inside of the refrigerator is located inside the refrigerator. The door can be easily opened and removed from the inside of the cabinet without any need for cleaning. Also, since the drainpipe is not embedded in the insulation, it is very difficult to assemble the drainpipe in the refrigerator, so the placement position is not shifted and the insulation inside the drainpipe does not leak and urethane does not leak. No hassle is required. Furthermore, since the drain guide can be formed with a cosmetic cover having a good appearance without the drainage channel appearing naked in the refrigerator, there is no inferior in design as a component installed in the refrigerator.

In addition, since the end of the drain guide made of a plastic molded product is wrapped to the inside of the drainage pipe embedded in a heat insulating material having elasticity such as rubber, the drainage pipe is deformed by the pressure when the heat insulating material is foamed. I can't be crushed. Moreover, it is a structure which can reduce the number of work steps which do not require a jig placed in a separately disposed drainage pipe.

Further, since the sealing flange fitting surface of the drain pipe is protruded from the bottom surface of the ordinary inner box, the defrosted water leaking from the drainage channel and the water droplets adhering to the inner box are inevitable. Even if the water flows into the bottom inner box, water does not enter the sealing flange and the inner box hole and enter the heat insulating material, so that the heat insulating material does not deteriorate. Furthermore, since the decorative cover is in contact with the entire periphery of the inner box convex protrusion and is sealed, water leaked into the drain guide does not leak to the bottom surface in the inner box storage.

Further, since an elastic fin is formed at the tip of the drain guide, warm air in the high-temperature and high-humidity machine room flows backward, and drain freezing occurs due to abnormal ice nuclei inside the drainage passage and near the cooler. Thus, it is possible to provide a refrigerator drainage device that can maintain good drainage performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a door of a drainage device of a refrigerator according to the present invention is removed.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the drainage device of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II of the drainage device of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a drain guide of a drainage device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drain guide of a drainage device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing a drainage device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the drainage device of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 6, taken along the line II-II.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing a normal state of a defrost water drainage channel of the refrigerator drainage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of the defrosting water drainage channel of the refrigerator drainage device according to the present invention at the time of drainage.

10 is an enlarged view of part A of the refrigerator drainage device according to the present invention shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state in which a door of a conventional refrigerator is removed.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional refrigerator shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of part B of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Outer Box 2a Bottom Plate Hole 3 Inner Box 3a Bottom Hole 3b Convex Projection 4 Heat Insulation Material 27 Cooler 28 Defrosted Water Receiving Plate 29 Drain Guide 29a Drainage Channel 29b Makeup Cover 29d Tip Opening 29e Fin 29f Notch 29g Drain Mouth 30 Drainage pipe 33 Evaporation vessel

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An outer box, an inner box, a heat insulating material filled between the two boxes, a cooler provided on a top surface of the inner box, and a defrost water receiving plate located below the cooler. , A drain guide having a drainage channel for guiding defrost water from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator, a drain pipe connected to the drain guide for draining the defrost water out of the refrigerator, and collecting and evaporating the drained defrost water. In a refrigerator provided with an evaporating container, the drain guide is a defrosting water draining device in which the drainage channel and a decorative cover that covers the entire front surface of the drainage channel are integrally formed and installed inside the refrigerator. 2. The drain guide of a drain guide is extended, penetrated inside and outside of a warehouse, and is disposed so as to enter the inside of a drain pipe embedded in a heat insulating material outside of the warehouse. The drainage device for defrost water according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A drainage pipe inner fitting inside a bottom hole of the inner box and a hole of a bottom plate of the outer box and embedded in a heat insulating material.
The drainage device for defrosted water according to claim 1, further comprising a convex protrusion. 4. A fin formed so as to surround a drain port at a tip end of a drain channel of a drain guide and having a U-shaped notch at a part of the fin root. Defrost water drainage device.