JPH11101561A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the work process by integrating a planar heater in a partition with the heater for a water supply pipe. SOLUTION: The extension heater wire 74 of a planar heater 62 is led out through the lead-out hole 46 of a bottom plate 34 which is then applied to the upper surface of an insulator 36. A plurality of engaging holes 34b made in the front face of the bottom plate 34 are engaged with a plurality of engaging claws 38a provided on he front face of a top plate 38 which is thereby secured in place thus assembling a second partition 32. The extension heater wire 74 led out through the lead-out hole 46 of the bottom plate 34 is then wound round the lower part of a water supply pipe 28. In order to secure the wound extension heater wire 74 to the water supply pipe 28, the lower part of the water supply pipe 28 is subjected to taping. The wound part of the extension heater wire 74 serves as a heater 75 for water supply pipe.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with an automatic ice making device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a recent refrigerator, there has been proposed a refrigerator of a so-called vegetable room center type in which a refrigerator room, a vegetable room, and a freezing room are arranged in this order from the top. Even with this vegetable room-centered refrigerator, an automatic ice making device is required,
An ice tray is provided in the lower freezer compartment. In this case, a tank for supplying water to the ice tray is provided in the uppermost refrigerator compartment. Therefore, it is necessary to bypass the vegetable compartment in the middle by a water supply pipe for connecting the water tank in the refrigerator compartment and the automatic ice making device in the freezer compartment.

[0003] The lower part of the water supply pipe has a structure penetrating a partition part separating the vegetable room and the freezing room, but frost may be formed around the lower part of the water supply pipe due to a temperature difference between the vegetable room and the freezer room. . For this purpose, a water supply pipe heater is provided.

[0004] A planar heater is also provided inside the partition to prevent the vegetables in the vegetable compartment from being too cold.

[0005] The water supply pipe heater will be described with reference to an exploded perspective view of the partition section 100 shown in FIG.

[0006] A partitioning section 100 for separating a vegetable compartment and a freezing compartment.
Is a bottom plate 102 of a vegetable room, a ceiling plate 104 of a freezing room,
It has a three-layer structure composed of an insulator 106 having a heat insulating structure provided therebetween. The bottom plate 102, the ceiling plate 104, and the insulator 106 are provided with pipe holes 110, 111, and 113 through which a water supply pipe 108 penetrates.
0 through.

On the upper surface of the insulator 106, a planar heater 116 having a heater wire 114 disposed on a metal plate 112 is provided. On the other hand, a water supply pipe heater 118 composed of a heater wire is also wound around the water supply pipe 108.

A lead wire 126 for supplying power to the sheet heater 116 is drawn out below the ceiling plate 104, and a lead wire 120 from the sheet heater 116 and a lead wire 122 from the water supply pipe heater 118 are connected to a connector. Connected at 124, power is supplied to the water supply pipe heater 118. Thereby, the water supply pipe heater 118 and the planar heater 11
6 is heated. A cover 128 for accommodating the water supply pipe 108 and the connector 124 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 102.

[0009]

However, the water supply pipe heater 118 having the above configuration has the following problems.

The work of mounting the water supply pipe heater 118 is as follows.
After connecting the lead wire 120 and the lead wire 122 with the connector 124, the cover 128 is attached to the bottom plate 102 of the vegetable compartment in the order in which the cover 128 and the bottom plate 1 are attached.
02, there is a problem that the lead wire 122 is sandwiched.

In order to insert the water supply pipe heater 118 into the pipe hole 110 and temporarily store it in the recess 130 on the upper surface of the bottom plate 102, it is necessary to fix the lead wire 122 with tape. In this case, the lead wire 122 is
If it protrudes, there is a problem that the urethane jig may damage the lead wire 122.

Further, since the water leaks from the water supply pipe 108 and the cover 128 is exposed to water, the connector 12
4 corrodes, and the electrical contact reliability is degraded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a refrigerator that facilitates the work of attaching a water supply pipe and a water supply pipe heater, and improves electrical contact reliability.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided the following:
An automatic ice making device provided with an ice tray is arranged in the freezing room, and a tank for supplying water to the ice tray is arranged in the first refrigerator room. In a refrigerator having a water supply pipe connecting the tank and the ice tray, a heater is provided inside a partition section that partitions the second refrigerator compartment and the freezing compartment, and a part of the heater is supplied to the water supply near the ice tray. A refrigerator provided on a pipe.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heater is configured such that a heater wire is formed on a heat transmission plate to be planar, and the heater wire is extended and wound around the water supply pipe. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the water supply pipe penetrates the partition part, and a part of the heater is provided at a position of the water supply pipe penetrating the partition part. 1. The refrigerator according to 1.

The invention according to claim 4 is the refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second refrigerator compartment is a vegetable compartment.

According to the refrigerator of the first aspect, since the heater of the partition provided inside the partition and the heater of the water supply pipe are integrally formed, no connector is required as in the conventional case. The mounting work is facilitated, and the electrical contact reliability is improved.

In the refrigerator according to the second aspect, when the heater of the partition and the heater of the water supply pipe are integrated, the heater of the partition is formed by bending a heater wire into a heat transmission plate to have a planar shape. The water supply pipe heater is configured to extend this heater wire and wind it around the lower part of the water supply pipe.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the water supply pipe of the refrigerator penetrates the partition part, and a heater of the water supply pipe is provided at a position of the water supply pipe penetrating the partition part.

In the refrigerator according to a fourth aspect, the second refrigerator compartment is a vegetable compartment.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment.

In this figure, a refrigerator 12, a vegetable compartment 16, and a freezer compartment 18 are provided in the cabinet 12 of the refrigerator 10 from the top. A first partition 30 is arranged between the refrigerator compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 16, and the vegetable compartment 16 and the freezer compartment 1 are arranged.
8, a second partition 32 is provided.

The freezing compartment 18 is provided with an automatic ice making device 20, which comprises an ice tray 22, a support for rotating and supporting the ice tray 22, and an ice storage box 24. The ice tray 22 is provided in the freezer 1
An ice storage box 24 is arranged below the ice tray 22.

At the bottom of the refrigerator compartment 14 is disposed a tank 26 for storing water supplied to the ice tray 22.

A water supply pipe 28 for supplying water from the tank 26 to the ice tray 22 is provided along the side of the vegetable compartment 16 after penetrating the first partition 30, and furthermore, the vegetable compartment 16 and the freezer compartment are provided. Through the second partition part 18 of 18, it reaches the ice tray 22.

Hereinafter, the second partition part 32 and the water supply pipe 28
Will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the second partition portion 32, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the planar heater 62, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional views near the water supply pipe 28.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second partition 32 is
The bottom plate 34 of the vegetable compartment 16, a plate-like insulator 36, and a ceiling plate 38 of the freezer compartment 18 have a three-layer structure.

The water supply pipe 28 is made of polypropylene, and is bent obliquely in two stages at the lower portion of the side surface of the vegetable compartment 16 to form an inclined portion 28a, and then the lower end portion 28b
Are oriented vertically (see FIG. 3).

On the left side of the upper surface of the bottom plate 34, the water supply pipe 2
A pipe hole 40 through which the pipe 8 penetrates is provided, and a concave portion 42 having an inclined surface such that the pipe hole 40 is located at the bottom. A screw hole 44 is provided at the right end of the concave portion 42, and a drawer hole 46 is opened at the rear end.

On the left side of the insulator 36 formed of polystyrene foam and having a heat insulating structure, a concave portion 52 having an inclined surface such that the pipe hole 50 through which the water supply pipe 28 penetrates and the pipe hole 50 becomes the lowermost portion. Is provided.
The position of the concave portion 52 is provided at a position corresponding to the concave portion 42 of the bottom plate 34. An accommodation recess 48 for accommodating the planar heater 62 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the insulator 36. Further, a connection groove 54 connecting the storage recess 48 and the recess 52 is provided, and a drawing groove 56 is provided from the storage recess 48 toward the left end of the insulator 36. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet heater 62 is formed by bending a heater wire 66 and welding the sheet to a rectangular aluminum foil 64. Specifically, connecting portions 70 and 72 for connecting to the power supply lead wire 68 are provided at one corner of the aluminum foil 64, and the heater wire 66 is connected to the aluminum foil 64 from this position.
Are welded along the periphery. This heater wire 66
Is bent at one side 64a of the aluminum foil 64 and extended in the direction of the opposite side 64b to form an extended heater wire 74.
Is composed. Unlike the other portions, the extension heater wire 74 is not welded to the aluminum foil 64. At the end of the lead wire 68, a connector 76 is provided.

On the left side of the ceiling plate 38, a pipe hole 58 through which the water supply pipe 28 penetrates is provided, and a lead hole 60 for a lead wire 68 penetrates near the pipe hole 58.

The case where the second partition 32 is manufactured in the refrigerator 10 having the above configuration will be described.

The planar heater 62 on which the heater wire 66 and the extension heater wire 74 are arranged is inserted into the housing recess 4 of the insulator 36.
Store in 8. In this case, the lead wire 68 is arranged along the lead groove 56 and is folded back on the lower surface of the insulator 36.

The insulator 36 is placed on the upper surface of a ceiling plate 38 that forms the ceiling of the freezer compartment 18. In this case, the lead wire 68 and the connector 76 provided at the tip of the lead wire 68 are pulled out from the drawing hole 60 and taken out below the ceiling plate 38.
Further, the plurality of protrusions 37 protruding from the front surface 36a of the insulator 36 are fitted into the plurality of openings 34a provided on the front surface of the bottom plate 34 to fix the insulator 36 and the bottom plate 34.

The extended heater wire 74 of the planar heater 62 is pulled out from the extraction hole 46 of the bottom plate 34.

The bottom plate 34 is put on the upper surface of the insulator 36. In this case, a plurality of engagement claws 38a provided on the front surface of the ceiling plate 38 are engaged with and fixed to a plurality of engagement holes 34b provided on the front surface of the bottom plate 34. Thereby, the second partition 32 is assembled.

The extension heater wire 74 drawn from the drawing hole 46 of the bottom plate 34 is wound around the lower part of the water supply pipe 28. In order to fix the wound extension heater wire 74 to the water supply pipe 28, the lower part of the water supply pipe 28 is wound with a tape 88. The wound extension heater wire 74 serves as a water supply pipe heater 75. The position where the extension heater wire 74 is wound is wound on a gentle inclined portion 28 a of the portion of the water supply pipe 28 from the side wall toward the bottom plate 34. This makes it difficult for the wound extension heater wire 74 to slide down from the water supply pipe 28.

The vertically lower end 28 b of the water supply pipe 28 is inserted into the pipe holes 40, 50, 58,
In addition, the inclined portion 28a around which the tape 88 is wound is
(See FIGS. 3 and 4).

The inner box and the outer box forming the cabinet 12 are combined, and the second partition 32 is inserted between the vegetable compartment 16 and the freezing compartment 18 (see FIG. 5). Then, urethane is injected into a space between the inner box and the outer box to perform urethane foaming.

The water supply pipe 28 is covered with the cover 78,
A screw 80 is attached to the screw hole 44. The cover 78 is made of synthetic resin, and the substrate 82 of the cover 78
And a side plate 84 erected from the substrate 82 is attached to the side surface of the vegetable compartment 16. The water supply pipe 28 is covered by a cover 86 provided between the side plate 84 and the substrate 82 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

In the refrigerator 10 having the above-described structure, a connector for mounting the water supply pipe heater 75 and the sheet heater 62 as in the related art is not required. As a result, the following effects can be obtained.

Since a connector is not required, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

When the cover 78 is attached to the bottom plate 34, the connector is not pinched between the bottom plate 34 and the cover 78.

Since there is no need to provide a space for accommodating connectors in the cover 78, the cover 78 can be made smaller than before.

Since it is not necessary to temporarily fix the lead wire having this connector when urethane is foamed, the working process can be simplified.

Since the connector is not required, the connector is not corroded by water and the reliability of the electrical connection can be improved.

[0050]

As described above, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, the work process can be simplified by integrating the planar heater inside the partition and the heater of the water supply pipe, and the electrical connection can be reduced. Reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a partition showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a planar heater.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part viewed from the front of a partition.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a main part as viewed from a side surface of a partition.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional partition.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Refrigerator 14 Refrigerator room 16 Vegetable room 18 Freezer room 20 Automatic ice maker 22 Ice tray 26 Tank 28 Water supply pipe 32 Partition part 34 Bottom plate 36 Insulator 38 Ceiling plate 62 Planar heater 64 Aluminum foil 66 Heater wire 74 Extension heater wire 78 Cover

Claims (4)

-[Claims] 1. An automatic ice making device having an ice tray provided in the order of a first refrigerator compartment, a second refrigerator compartment, and a freezer compartment, and an automatic ice making device provided with the ice tray, wherein a tank for supplying water to the ice tray is provided. In a refrigerator provided in a first refrigerator compartment and having a water supply pipe connecting the tank and the ice tray, a heater is provided inside a partition part that partitions the second refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, and a part of the heater is provided. A refrigerator provided in the water supply pipe near the ice tray. 2. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heater wire is formed by bending a heater wire on a heat transfer plate, and the heater wire is extended and wound around the water supply pipe. The refrigerator as described. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water supply pipe penetrates the partition, and a part of the heater is provided at a position of the water supply pipe penetrating the partition. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said second refrigerator compartment is a vegetable compartment.