JPH11304345A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the defrosted water from staying between an inner box and a drain trough, and simplify the seal structure between the inner box and the drain trough. SOLUTION: A drain trough 41 is arranged at the lower part of a cooler storage 31 made of an inner box 23. This refrigerator is provided with a plurality of ribs 45 at the outside of the drain trough 41, and a space part 46 is made between the drain trough 41 and the inner box 23 by these ribs 45. The bottom face 31a of the cooler storage 31 is inclined downward toward a freezing room 28 in the front part. Even if defrosted water penetrates between the inner box 23 and the drain trough 41, the defrosted water flows to the under area of the cooler storage 31, passing through the space part 46, and flows to the side of the freezing room 28, passing on the bottom face 31a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a drain gutter at a lower portion of a cooler housing formed by an inner box inside a main body.

[0002]

A conventional example of this type of refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIGS. 6 and 7, a cooler storage unit 3 is formed by an inner box 2 in a lower portion of a rear portion in a main body 1 of the refrigerator. A cooler 4 is disposed in the cooler storage unit 3, a fan 5 for circulating cool air is disposed above the cooler 4, and below the cooler 4, as shown in FIG. As shown, a container-shaped drain gutter 7 to which a defrost heater 6 is attached is provided. A drain port 7a is provided at the bottom of the drain gutter 7.
A drain pipe 9 buried in a foam insulating material 8 made of urethane foam is connected to the drain port 7a, and a lower end of the drain pipe 9 is disposed in the machine room 10. It faces the provided evaporating dish 11.

In the above configuration, when the defrost heater 6 is energized and generates heat to perform defrost on the cooler 4 and its surroundings, the defrost water melted by the heat is discharged to the drain gutter 7.
And is stored in the evaporating dish 11 through the drain pipe 9 from the drain port 7a, and evaporates here.

The drain gutter 7 is connected to the cooler storage 3
In order to make the defrost water easy to receive in the drain gutter 7, the outer surface of the drain gutter 7 is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the cooler storage section 3 in the inner box 2, and the inner box 2 and the drain gutter are In order to improve the sealing performance of the water between the drain gutter 7 and the heat conductivity from the defrosting heater 6 to the cooler 4, the aluminum tape 12 is attached to the rear wall 7b of the drain gutter 7 and the left and right side walls 7c, 7d. At the same time, these aluminum tapes 12 are attached to the inner box 2 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). FIG.
As shown in (1), a sealant 13 such as a soft tape may be attached to the outer surface of the drain gutter 7 to seal against water.

However, the above-described conventional configuration has the following disadvantages. For example, defrosting water enters between the aluminum tape 12 and the inner box 2 through gaps such as wrinkles, floating, peeling, or torn portions of the aluminum tape 12, and the defrosting water further flows into the inner box 2 and the drain gutter 7. Infiltrate between
As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the gap between the inner box 2 and the drain gutter 7 at the bottom of the cooler storage unit 3 due to the repetition of freezing and thawing of the defrost water accompanying the repetition of cooling and defrosting. 14
Can spread, causing a lot of water to accumulate here. In this case, the inner box 2 may be torn, or the temperature near the drain port 7a may not sufficiently rise during defrosting, and the drain port 7a may be blocked.

Also, as described above, the inner box 2 and the drain gutter 7
In order to prevent the defrosting water from entering the space between them, a strong water seal using an aluminum tape 12, a sealing material 13, or the like is required. For this purpose, it is necessary to carefully adhere the aluminum tape 12 and the sealing material 13, which requires much labor and time, and increases the cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent accumulation of defrost water between an inner box and a drain gutter, and to prevent the inner box and the drain gutter from being accumulated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of simplifying a sealing structure between the refrigerators.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cooling device having a cooling unit, which is provided in a lower portion of a cooling unit formed by an inner box inside a main body. In a refrigerator provided with a drain gutter for receiving defrost water from a cooler and discharging the same to the outside, a space is formed between an outer surface of the drain gutter and the inner box facing the drain gutter, and The bottom surface of the cooler accommodating portion of the box is inclined downward toward the storage room.

In the above configuration, even if defrost water enters between the inner box and the drain gutter, the defrost water passes through the space formed between the inner box and the drain gutter, and ,
Since it flows to the storage room side through the bottom surface of the cooler storage part, it is possible to prevent defrost water from collecting between the inner box and the drain gutter as much as possible. In addition, since there is no problem even if the defrost water enters between the inner box and the drain gutter, there is no problem even if the method of applying the aluminum tape or the like becomes slightly complicated. In this case, it is preferable to provide a projection for forming a space on the outer surface of the drain gutter.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 3 showing a schematic configuration of the entire refrigerator, a main body 2 of the refrigerator is shown.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a heat-insulating box 22 having a vertically long rectangular box shape with an open front.
It has a configuration having storage chambers in upper and lower three stages. As is well known, the heat insulating box 22 is made of a plastic inner box 2.
A foam insulation material 25 such as urethane foam is filled between the base material 3 and an outer box 24 made of a steel plate by a so-called in-situ foaming method.

The three storage compartments in the main body 21 are, in order from the top, a refrigeration compartment 26, a vegetable compartment 27, and a freezing compartment 28. The refrigeration compartment 26 and the vegetable compartment 27 are partitioned by a partition 29. Further, the vegetable compartment 27 and the freezing compartment 28 are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 30. On the front of the main body 21, a pivotable door 26 for opening and closing the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 26 is provided.
a, a drawer-type door 27a that opens and closes the front opening of the vegetable compartment 27, and a drawer-type door 28a that opens and closes the front opening of the freezer compartment 28.

Behind the freezer compartment 28, a cooler storage section 31 is formed by the inner box 23, and the cooler storage section 3 is formed.
A cooler 32 is provided in 1. Above the cooler 32, a fan 33 for circulating the air in the refrigerator is provided, and a damper device 34 is provided above the fan 33. The cooler 21 is provided in the freezer compartment 2
8, the damper device 34 and the fan 33 are covered with the evaporator cover 35 from the front.
Is covered by the cover 36 from the front. A machine room 37 is formed in the lower part of the rear part of the main body 21. In the machine room 37, a compressor 38 constituting a part of a refrigeration cycle is provided.
An evaporating dish 39 is provided at the upper part of 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom surface 31a of the cooler storage portion 31 is inclined downward toward the freezer compartment 28 at the front, and the bottom surface 31a of the cooler storage portion 31 has a lower portion. , A container-shaped drain gutter 41 positioned below the cooler 32.
Are arranged. The drain gutter 41 is made of plastic, and has a heater 42 for defrosting inside. The drain gutter 41 has a drain port 43 projecting downward at the bottom thereof.
And a boss 44 (see FIG. 2) are integrally provided, and a plurality of ribs 45 each forming a protrusion are integrally provided from the rear outer surface to the bottom outer surface. Each of the ribs 45 extends vertically at the rear of the drain gutter 41, and at the bottom of the drain gutter 41,
1 extends in the front-rear direction, which is the direction of inclination of the bottom surface 31a.

In a state where the drain gutter 41 is disposed in the cooler accommodating portion 31, the rib 45 forms a space 4 between the outer surface of the drain gutter 41 and the inner box 23 opposed thereto.
6 are formed. At the front end of the drain gutter 41 on the freezer compartment 28 side, a hanging plate portion 47 is provided integrally so as to cover the space portion 46 from the front. A small gap 48 is formed between the plate portion 47 and the inner box 23. In this case, also in this case, the rear wall 41 of the drain gutter 41 is used.
a and an aluminum tape 49 on the left and right side walls 41b and 41c.
To be pasted on.

A drain pipe 51 connected to the drain port 43 is provided below the inner box 23 under the cooler storage section 31.
Is screwed, and the lower end of the drain pipe 51 faces the evaporating dish 39 from above in the machine room 37. In this case, the drain pipe 51 and the drain gutter 41
Is attached to the inner box 23 before foam-filling the foam heat-insulating material 25, and the foam heat-insulating material 25 is foam-filled, so that the drain pipe 51 is buried in the foam heat-insulating material 25.

In the above-described configuration, when the defrost heater 42 is energized and generates heat to perform defrost on the cooler 32 and its surroundings, the defrost water melted by the heat is drained by the drain gutter 41.
And is stored in the evaporating dish 39 from the drain port 43 through the drain pipe 51, and evaporates here.

If defrost water enters between the inner box 23 and the outer periphery of the drain gutter 41, the defrost water is formed between the inner box 23 and the drain gutter 41. Space part 4
6, flows to the lower side of the cooler storage unit 31, flows on the bottom surface 31 a of the cooler storage unit 31 to the front side along the rib 45, and the plate portion 47 of the drain gutter 41 and the inner box 23 To flow down into the freezing room 28 from the gap 48 between
Accumulation of defrost water between the inner box 23 and the drain gutter 41 can be prevented as much as possible. Note that the defrost water flowing to the freezing room 28 is not particularly problematic because it evaporates or sublimes there.

In addition, even if the defrost water enters between the inner box 23 and the drain gutter 41, no trouble is caused.
It is no longer necessary for the aluminum tape 49 used for the purpose of water sealing and thermal conductivity to have a function of water sealing. Along with this, there is no problem even if the method of applying the aluminum tape 49 or the like becomes a little complicated, so that the sealing structure can be simplified, assemblability can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the following points. That is, the spacing A1 between the adjacent ribs 45 is set smaller and the number of the ribs 45 for forming the space in the drain gutter 41 is larger than that in the first embodiment.

In the case of such a configuration, the drain gutter 4
In the vicinity of 1, even if the inner box 23 receives the foaming pressure of the foam heat insulating material 25, it is possible to prevent the space portion 46 from being closed by the inner box 23 as much as possible. Therefore, the inner box 23
A space portion 46 between the drainage gutter 41 and the drainage gutter 41 can be more reliably secured, and the defrost water that has entered the space portion 46 can be discharged more favorably.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the following points. That is, the ribs 45 for forming the space in the drain gutter 41 are arranged such that the intervals A2 and A3 between the adjacent ribs 45 are alternately large and small.

In the case of such a configuration, the inner box 23 receives the foaming pressure of the foam insulation 25 near the drain gutter 41, so that the space 46a in which the interval A2 between the ribs 45 is larger is formed inside. Even if the space 23 is closed by the box 23, it is possible to prevent the space 46 b having the smaller interval A3 between the ribs 45 from being closed by the inner box 23. Therefore, at least the space portion 4 where the interval A3 is smaller.
Since 6b can be secured, the same operation and effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be modified or expanded as follows. As a means for securing the space 46 between the drain gutter 41 and the inner box 23, a partial protrusion or a boss for screwing may be used instead of the rib 45.

[0024]

As apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following functions and effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a refrigerator provided with a drain gutter below the cooler storage portion formed by the inner box, a space is formed between the drain gutter and the inner box, and cooling in the inner box is performed. Even if defrost water infiltrates between the inner box and the drain gutter, the bottom of the container storage section is inclined downward toward the storage room. Accumulation can be prevented, and the sealing structure between the inner box and the drain gutter can be simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the space between the drain gutter and the inner box can be formed favorably by the projection provided on the outer surface of the drain gutter. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the protrusion provided on the outer surface of the drain gutter can satisfactorily guide the defrost water flowing on the bottom surface of the cooler storage section to the storage room side.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to secure a space between at least the smaller protrusions. According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the space portion is covered by the plate portion provided in the drain gutter, so that it is possible to prevent the appearance from being deteriorated as much as possible while forming the space portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drain gutter.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the entire refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

6 shows a conventional example, and is a longitudinal side view of a portion along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a cooler housing portion.

8 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view of a portion B in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which aluminum tape is attached to a drain gutter.

FIG. 10 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8, showing another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 is a main body, 23 is an inner box, 28 is a freezing room (storage room), 3
1 is a cooler storage part, 31a is a bottom surface, 32 is a cooler, 39
Is an evaporating dish, 41 is a drain gutter, 45 is a rib (projection), 46,
46a and 46b are spaces, 47 is a plate, 49 is an aluminum tape, and 51 is a drain pipe.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A drain for receiving defrost water from a cooler disposed in a cooler storage section and discharging the same to a lower portion of a cooler storage section formed by an inner box inside the main body. A gutter is provided, and a space is formed between an outer surface of the drain gutter and the inner box facing the drain gutter, and a bottom surface of the cooler storage portion in the inner box is inclined downward toward the storage room. A refrigerator characterized in that: 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a projection for forming a space is provided on an outer surface of the drain gutter. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of protrusions are provided, and each of the protrusions extends along an inclined direction of a bottom surface of the cooler accommodating portion. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the protrusions are arranged so that the intervals between adjacent protrusions are alternately large and small. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a hanging plate portion provided at an end of the drain gutter on the storage room side to cover the space.