JPH1194434A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve assembling property while obtaining sealing property between an insulating partitioning wall and an insulating box body and, further, simplify the constitution of a return duct, in a refrigerator provided with a cooler or the like at a height across the insulating partitioning wall separating upper and lower chambers. SOLUTION: An insulating partitioning wall 11, having integrally with a return duct for a V chamber, is mounted previously in the forming process of an insulating box body 2, then, both side rims of the insulating partitioning wall 11 are adhered and fixed strongly to the inside wall of an inner box 3 by the foaming pressure of expandable heat insulating material. A cooler 19 and a cold air flowing mechanism 20 are incorporated into an incorporating space 34, formed behind the insulating partitioning wall 11. In this case, a fan device 26 is attached to the fan mounting unit 27 of an air cover 23 previously and, at the same time, a damper unit 24 is constituted by fitting an insulating body 31, constituted of a damper device 32 and a rear insulating material 33, which are incorporated into a damper cover 30, while an assembled unit, wherein these instruments are combined, is incorporated by fitting the same from the upper side of the insulating partitioning wall 11. Further, a freezing chamber side fore cover 25 is incorporated into the back surface of a freezing chamber 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator which is suitable for, for example, a so-called bottom freezer type in which a freezing room is arranged at the lowermost portion in an insulated box body and has an improved structure for assembling components around a cooler.

[0002]

In a home refrigerator, a freezer compartment is generally provided in the middle or upper stage, but in recent years, a freezer compartment is provided in the lower stage. The so-called bottom freezer type, which has a vegetable room, is also being offered. In this case, in the refrigerator, the cooler and its peripheral components (fan device,
Cold air distribution mechanism consisting of cold air supply duct, damper device, etc.)
Is arranged on the inner wall of the freezer (the inner side of the inner box). In the above-mentioned bottom freezer type refrigerator, a machine room for installing a compressor and the like is provided at a lower part on the back side of the main body. Since they are provided, it is necessary to shift their arrangement positions upward by that much. For this reason, a situation has arisen in which a cooler and its peripheral components must be provided at a height that extends over and below a heat-insulating partition wall that vertically separates the vegetable compartment and the freezing compartment.

[0003] For this reason, in a conventional bottom freezer type refrigerator, as shown in, for example, JP-A-8-247638, a heat insulating partition wall for partitioning a vegetable compartment and a freezing compartment is divided into two front and rear portions. The first partition wall on the front side is attached to the heat-insulating box in advance, and the work of assembling the cooler and its peripheral components is performed by utilizing the space of the part where the second partition wall is removed. The second partition wall on the rear side is attached to form the entire heat insulating partition wall.

[0004] Here, since the temperature zone differs greatly between the vegetable room and the freezing room, there is a situation in which a high sealing property is required between the peripheral portion of the heat insulating partition wall separating the inside and the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box. . However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-247638 describes
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, the first partition wall among the heat insulating partition walls is attached in advance at the time of foaming of the foamed heat insulating material of the heat insulating box, so that the side edge of the first partition wall is formed by the foaming pressure. Although high adhesion and adhesion between the heat-insulating box (inner box) and the heat-insulating box (inner box) can be obtained, the second partition is detachably attached to the second heat-insulating foam after foaming. There is a disadvantage that the adhesion between the heat insulating box and the heat insulating box is naturally reduced, and sufficient sealing performance cannot be obtained as it is, and that a measure such as providing a separate sealing material and tightly sealing is required.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the heat insulating partition wall is divided into two parts and a part thereof is detachably attached, so that the structure is relatively complicated and the assemblability is not necessarily good. In addition, even during the service, the cooling device and the cooling air distribution mechanism cannot be inspected or replaced unless the second partition wall is once removed, resulting in poor serviceability.

Incidentally, in addition to the above-described cold air distribution mechanism,
A return duct for returning the air in the vegetable compartment to the lower part of the cooler is also provided on the inner wall of the heat insulating box. Conventionally, as a method of forming such a return duct,
A tubular body is attached to the inner box in advance, and the surrounding area is filled with foamed heat insulating material to form a return duct buried in the heat insulating box. The lower end of the heat insulating box is almost L-shaped. A return duct forming member is attached to the inner box to form a return duct with the inner surface of the inner box.

However, in the former, in which a return duct is formed in a state of being buried in a heat insulating box from a tubular body, an opening for accommodating the tubular body must be formed in the inner box and the tubular body must be attached. In addition, when foaming, the end face of the tubular body or the opening of the inner box must be sealed, and the structure is complicated and assembly is inferior. In addition, the tubular body is deformed by the foaming pressure of the foam insulation. Therefore, there is a possibility that a necessary passage cross-sectional area of the return duct cannot be secured. On the other hand, when the return duct forming member is attached to the inner surface of the inner box,
In order to obtain a sufficient sealing property between the return duct forming member and the inner box, it is necessary to provide a sealing material or the like, which also complicates the configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cooler and a cool air distribution mechanism located at a height extending vertically above and below a heat insulating partition. While ensuring high sealing performance between the wall and the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box, it is possible to improve the assemblability and serviceability, and to further simplify the structure of the return duct. To provide a refrigerator that can be.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a plurality of storage compartments having different temperature zones vertically divided by a heat insulating partition inside a heat insulating box having a front opening. On the inner wall side of the heat insulating box, a cooler and a cool air circulation mechanism for sending cool air from the cooler are provided at a height straddling the heat insulating partition wall. In the state where the heat insulating partition is attached to the heat insulating box, the cooler and the cool air flow are supplied to an assembly space formed between the inner surface of the heat insulating box and the heat insulating partition. It is configured to be capable of assembling the members constituting the mechanism, and the heat-insulating partition wall is located at a side of the mounting space portion, and the air in the storage room above the heat-insulating partition wall is removed. A return duct for returning to the cooler part is provided integrally. Having the features the time.

According to this, in the state where the heat insulating partition is attached to the heat insulating box, an installation space is formed between the inner surface of the heat insulating box and the heat insulating partition. On the other hand, the members constituting the cooler and the cool air distribution mechanism can be assembled. Therefore, it is not necessary to divide the heat-insulating partition wall into two parts or to retrofit the heat-insulating partition wall for assembling the cooler and the cool air distribution mechanism provided at the height extending over and below the heat-insulating partition wall. Can be formed beforehand in a heat insulating box.

The return duct for returning the air in the storage chamber above the heat insulating partition to the cooler is located on the side of the assembly space and is provided integrally with the heat insulating partition. Therefore, the structure can be simplified as compared with a structure in which the return duct is embedded in the heat insulating box or a separate return duct forming member is attached.

In the refrigerator according to a second aspect of the present invention, by providing a heat insulating partition wall inside the heat insulating box, a freezing compartment is formed below the heat insulating partition wall, and the freezing compartment is formed above the heat insulating partition wall. A storage chamber in a temperature zone higher than the room, wherein a return duct for returning the air in the storage chamber downward through the heat-insulating partition wall is provided integrally with the heat-insulating partition wall. Having.

As described above, the freezer compartment is formed below the heat-insulating partition wall, and the storage room in the high temperature zone is formed above the heat-insulating partition wall, so that the air in the upper storage room is insulated by the heat-insulating partition wall. It is necessary to return to the lower part of the heat-insulating partition wall, and a return duct for this purpose can be provided integrally with the heat-insulating partition wall, whereby the unit price can be reduced during the construction.

In these cases, the return duct can be positioned at the front part of the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box (the invention of claim 3), whereby processing such as drilling of the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box can be performed. It can be unnecessary. Further, the inlet at the upper end of the return duct can be provided in a form that is convex upward from the upper surface of the heat insulating partition wall and is inclined downward toward the front side (the invention of claim 4). According to this, it is possible to effectively prevent the entrance portion of the return duct from being blocked due to a fall of the stored material in the storage room above the heat insulating partition wall.

Further, the outlet at the lower end of the return duct may be arranged above the vicinity of the defrost heater provided below the cooler (the invention of claim 5). Even if there is frost, it becomes possible to defrost by the heat of the defrost heater. The return duct may be configured as a straight tube extending in the up-down direction (the invention of claim 6), whereby the formation of the return duct can be further facilitated.

Further, the storage room in the heat-insulating box body can be constituted by a freezing room below the heat-insulating partition wall, and a refrigerator room and a vegetable room provided above and below the heat-insulating partition wall. Item 7)). According to this, since the vegetable room is located almost in the middle of the heat insulation box, it is possible to provide a vegetable room in which vegetables can be easily taken in and out.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 2 schematically shows a configuration of a main body 1 of a refrigerator of a bottom freezer type according to the present embodiment. Here, the main body 1 is configured to have storage chambers in three upper and lower stages in a vertically long rectangular box-shaped heat insulating box 2 having an open front surface. As is well known, the heat insulating box 2 is formed by filling a foam heat insulating material 5 such as urethane foam between a plastic inner box 3 and a steel plate outer box 4 by a so-called in-situ foaming method. I have.

The three storage compartments formed in the main body 1 are, in order from the top, a refrigerator compartment 6, a vegetable compartment 7, and a freezer compartment 8, of which the refrigerator compartment 6 has the largest volume (height). (Directional dimension). In this case, the refrigerating room 6 and the vegetable room 7 are both set to a temperature zone of, for example, about 3 ° C., and the space between the two rooms is vertically divided by a partition 9. As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the partition 9 includes a front-side partition 9a and a rear-side plastic bottom plate 9b. Various electrical components and wiring are provided in the partition 9a. , An anti-dew pipe and the like are provided.
A water supply unit 10 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) for supplying water to an automatic ice making device (not shown) provided in an upper part of the freezing compartment 8 is provided on the partition 9. I have.

The freezing compartment 8 is, for example, about -18
It is set to a temperature zone of ° C., and the vegetable compartment 7 and the freezing compartment 8 are vertically partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulating partition wall 11 is formed by providing a heat insulating material 11b such as styrene foam in a plastic outer shell 11a having a substantially thin rectangular box shape. Also, at the front end of the heat insulating partition 11,
A partition cover 12 in which a dew-proof pipe or the like is disposed is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 to 9, in the present embodiment, the heat insulating partition wall 11 is integrally formed with a projecting portion 11c projecting rearward from the rear right end. A V-room return duct 13 for returning cool air from the vegetable compartment 7 to a cooler 19 described later is integrally provided at the protruding portion 11c. Therefore, the heat-insulating partition wall 11 has a form in which a horizontally-long rectangular notch is formed at a portion other than the right end of the rear side when viewed from above, and the notch portion is an assembling space portion as described later. 3
It is set to 4. The details of the return duct 13 will be described later.

Although not described in detail, doors 14 for opening and closing the storage rooms 6, 7, 8 are provided on the front surface of the main body 1.
15 and 16 are provided. Among them, the doors 15 and 16 of the vegetable compartment 7 and the freezing compartment 8 are both draw-out type and have storage containers 7a and 8a on the back side, respectively. Further, a machine room 17 is provided at a lower portion on the back side of the main body 1, and a compressor 18, a cooling fan, a defrost water evaporating dish (all shown in FIG. Zu) etc. are arranged. A portion such as an inclined heat-insulating wall on the front side of the machine room 17 and a bottom portion of the main body 1 are separately formed and attached to the heat-insulating box 2.

The heat insulating partition wall is provided on the inner wall surface side of the main body 1 (heat insulating box body 2) (part of the assembly space 34 formed between the inner surface of the inner box 3 and the heat insulating partition wall 11). A cooler 19 and a cool air circulation mechanism 20 for sending out cool air from the cooler 19 are provided at the upper and lower sides of 11, that is, at a height straddling the vegetable room 7 and the freezing room 8. At this time, the cooler 19 is disposed along the inner surface of the inner box 3 of the heat-insulating box 2, and the cool air distribution mechanism 20 is provided with a cool air supply duct 29 described below from the front side to the upper part of the cooler 19. Is formed.

Further, on the inner wall surface side of the refrigeration room 6, a refrigeration room duct for supplying refrigeration air into the refrigeration room 6 so as to be continuous with the upper end of the chill air distribution mechanism 20 (the refrigeration supply duct 29). 21 and the cool air outlet 22
A duct forming member 22 having a (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is provided. Hereinafter, the configuration of the cold air distribution mechanism 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 and the like, the cold air distribution mechanism 20 is provided with an evaporator cover 23 and a damper unit 24. 25 can be attached. Among them, the evaporator cover 23 is made of plastic and has a substantially rectangular shape as a whole, and the lower half thereof has a plate shape arranged so as to cover the front surface of the cooler 19.
A continuous upper half is formed in a lid-like shape which swells forward to form a space between itself and the inner surface of the inner box 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, a bell mouth 23a is provided on the left side of the upper half of the evaporator cover 23.
The fan mounting part 27 (refer to FIG. 1) to which is mounted is provided. Further, in this embodiment, several engaging claws 23c to which the damper unit 24 is detachably connected are provided on the front surface of the flange portion 23b around the upper half portion (upper and left and right) of the evaporator cover 23. ing. As will be described later, the evaporator cover 23 is attached to the inner surface of the inner box 3 in a state of being integrated with the damper unit 24. At this time, the inner box 3 is attached to the fan mounting portion 27. Corresponding concave portions 3a (see FIGS. 4 and 6) are provided.

Thus, a chamber for accommodating the cooler 19 is formed between the evaporator cover 23 and the inner surface of the inner box 3, and the fan device 26 is driven. Thus, the air is passed through the cooler 19 from below to be cooled, and then blown forward.

At this time, a heater 28 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 9) for defrosting is provided below the cooler 19, and a drain gutter 35 is provided below the heater 28 for defrosting. Is provided. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the drain gutter 35 is provided to extend substantially completely in the left-right direction in the inner box 3. The cold air that contributed to the cooling of food etc. in each storage room 6, 7, 8
A return duct including the V-chamber return duct 13 (not shown as a whole) returns to the lower part of the cooler 19.

The freezer compartment side front cover 25 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the air conditioner has a cool air outlet 25a to the freezing room 8. This freezer front cover 25 is provided with
Is positioned slightly forward of the lower half, and is mounted in such a manner as to be vertically extended between the lower surface of the rear end of the heat insulating partition wall 11 and the inclined heat insulating wall on the rear side of the freezing compartment 8. Has become. Thus, the freezer compartment front cover 25 is
And a lower portion of the cool air supply duct 29 is formed between the rear surface and the air cover 23.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the damper unit 24 includes a damper cover 30 and a heat insulator 3.
1, a damper device 32, and a rear heat insulating material 33. The heat insulator 31 is made of a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam, and as shown in FIG. 5, covers the upper half of the evaporator cover 23 from the front and supplies cold air between the evaporator cover 23 and the upper half of the evaporator cover 23. A base portion 31a constituting an upper portion of the duct 29, and a damper storage portion 31b extending upward from an upper left portion of an upper side portion of the base portion 31a.
On the back side, a concave portion for forming the cool air supply duct 29 is formed extending vertically.

In the damper storage section 31b, the damper device 3
2 is fitted and fixed from the back side. Further, the rear heat insulating material 33 is press-fitted and fixed to the concave portion of the damper storage portion 31b so as to press the rear side of the damper device 32. With this, the damper device 3
2 is provided in a form inserted in the middle (upper end portion) of the cool air supply duct 29.

Although not shown and described in detail, the damper device 32 is constructed by incorporating a damper plate 32a (see FIG. 1) and a motor for driving the same in a case, and opening and closing the damper plate 32a. Cold air supply duct 2
The supply amount of the cool air supplied from above 9 is controlled.

On the other hand, the damper cover 30 is made of plastic in a shape that covers the front surface of the thermal insulator 31 and the upper, lower, left and right peripheral portions. As shown in FIG. 5, the damper cover 30 is formed with a flange portion 30a that is in close contact with the flange portion 23b of the evaporator cover 23, and the flange portion 30a engages with the engaging claw 23c. Engagement hole 30b is formed.

Thus, the heat insulator 31 with the damper device 32 and the rear heat insulator 33 assembled in the damper cover 30 is provided.
However, the damper unit 24 is configured by being fitted from the rear side, and the damper unit 24 is configured such that the flange portion 30 a of the damper cover 30 is detachably engaged with the flange portion 23 b of the evaluation cover 23. It can be attached by. As a result, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the damper cover 30 constitutes the back of the vegetable compartment 7, and the
The upper portion of the cool air supply duct 29 is formed between the heat exchanger 31 and the heat insulator 31, and the upper end of the cool air supply duct 29 is connected to the lower end of the refrigerator compartment duct 21 (the duct forming member 22). I have.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, a fitting recess 11d is formed at the rear end of the upper surface of the heat insulating partition wall 11, and the lower side 24 of the damper unit 24 is formed.
a is fitted into the fitting recess 11d. Further, in this embodiment, the height position of the upper end of the damper unit 24 is configured to be lower than the partition 9 (the bottom plate 9b) by a predetermined dimension. With this, damper unit 2
4 can be removed in the vegetable compartment 7 by an operation such as pulling it slightly to the front side. Of course, the damper unit 24 can be mounted in the reverse order.

As will be described later in the description of the assembling process, in the present embodiment, the cooling device 19 and the cool air distribution mechanism 20 having the above-described structures are assembled to the refrigerator body 1 (insulating box 2). In a state where the heat insulating partition plate 11 is attached to the heat insulating partition plate 11 in advance, a freezing room 8 is attached to an assembly space 34 (see FIGS. 6, 7 and the like) formed between the heat insulating partition plate 11 and the inner box 3. Attach the cooler 19 from the side, and then
3 to which a damper unit 24 is attached is inserted from the refrigerator compartment 6 through the vegetable compartment 7 and assembled.
The procedure is performed such that the freezer compartment side front cover 25 is assembled from the side.

At this time, when the heat insulating partition plate 11 is formed (foaming work), the foam heat insulating material 5 constituting the heat insulating box 2 is formed.
It is attached (temporarily fixed) inside the inner box 3 in advance. The total length (length) of the assembly in which the damper unit 24 is attached to the evaporator cover 23 is slightly longer than the height of the vegetable compartment 7 (smaller than the height of the refrigerator compartment 6). Therefore, the assembling is performed in a state where at least the bottom plate 9b of the partition 9 is not attached.

The V provided on the heat insulating partition plate 11 will now be described.
6 to 9 for the return duct 13 for the room.
Will be described with reference to FIG. This V room return duct 13
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, has a rectangular tube shape that is slightly longer in the front-rear direction when viewed from above, and has a straight tube that extends further downward from the lower surface side portion of the heat insulating partition plate 11. In this case, the V-chamber return duct 13 is configured such that a heat insulating material made of styrene foam is provided inside an outer shell provided integrally with the outer shell 11 a of the heat insulating partition plate 11. The V-chamber return duct 13 (protruding portion 11 b) has a rear wall surface provided in close contact with the front portion of the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box 2, that is, the inner surface of the inner box 3. Section.

The inlet 13a at the upper end of the V-chamber return duct 13 is open at the upper surface of the heat-insulating partition plate 11 (the bottom of the vegetable compartment 7).
As shown in FIG. 8, the inlet portion 13a is provided with the heat insulating partition plate 1.
1 is provided so as to be convex upward from the upper surface and to be gently downwardly inclined forward. The entrance 13
The opening a has a louver shape. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, an outlet 13 b opening at the lower end of the V-chamber return duct 13 is located slightly above the drain gutter 35 and below the cooler 19. The frost heater 28 is located above and in the vicinity.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, on the upper surface of the protruding portion 11c of the heat insulating partition wall 11, the right edge of the assembling space (the left side of the V-room return duct 13).
Is provided along the seal wall portion 36 which rises upward. The upper end of the seal wall 36 is located higher than the entrance 13a of the V-chamber return duct 13, and is inclined downward and forward. Although not shown in detail, a lower end portion of the right side wall portion of the damper unit 24 is formed in an inclined shape and is in close contact with an upper end of the seal wall portion 36.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When assembling the refrigerator main body 1 having the above-described configuration, first, in the step of forming the heat-insulating box 2, the heat-insulating partition wall 11 is attached in advance. Specifically, in order to manufacture the heat-insulating box 2, the inner box 3 and the outer box 4 are assembled, and for example, a urethane stock solution is injected into a space formed between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4. By curing, the foamed heat insulating material (urethane foam) 5 is filled. At the time of the foaming, the heat insulating partition wall 11 is previously placed inside the inner box 3.
Is attached.

Then, by the foaming pressure of the foam insulating material 5,
The inner box 3 receives a force in a direction in which the inner box 3 expands inside, so that both side edges of the heat insulating partition wall 11 and the inner side wall of the inner box 3 come into close contact with a strong force, and a high sealing property therebetween. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform strict sealing in post-processing by using an expensive sealing material. At this time, FIG.
As shown in (2), between the rear side of the heat-insulating partition wall 11 and the inner box 3 (on the left side of the protruding portion 11c), an assembling space portion 34 to which the cooler 19 and the cool air circulation mechanism 20 are assembled is secured. Will be. At the same time, the V-chamber return duct 13 integrally provided on the heat-insulating partition wall 11 is disposed on the right side of the assembly space 34.

Then, the step of assembling the cooler 19 and the members constituting the cool air distribution mechanism 20 into the assembling space 34 inside the inner box 3 of the heat insulating box 2 is performed as follows. Done. That is, first, the cooler 19 is assembled along the inner surface of the inner box 3. The cooler 19 is assembled from the freezer compartment 8 below the heat insulating partition wall 11 or the upper vegetable compartment 7 depending on the size of the opening of the freezer compartment 8 and the vegetable compartment. In addition to the assembly of the cooler 19, the assembly of the defrost heater 28 is also performed from the freezer compartment 8 side.

Next, the assembling of the evaporator cover 23 and the damper unit 24 is performed.
The fan device 26 is mounted on the fan mounting portion 27 of the evaporator cover 23, and the damper unit 24 is configured by fitting the damper device 32 and the thermal insulator 31 in which the rear thermal insulating material 33 is assembled into the damper cover 30. deep. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the assembly in which the damper unit 24 is attached to the evaporator cover 23 is fitted and assembled from the refrigerator compartment 6 and the vegetable compartment 7 above the heat insulating partition wall 11.

At this time, although the size in the height direction becomes large when the damper unit 24 is attached to the evaporator cover 23, the work can be easily performed in a state where the partition 9 is not yet attached in the inner box 3. Can be. At the same time, the freezer compartment side front cover 25 is assembled from the freezer compartment 8 side. Thereafter, the duct forming member 22 and the partition 9 are assembled in the inner box 3. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooler 19 and the cooler 1 are located at a height straddling the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating partition wall 11 on the inner wall surface side in the heat insulating box 2.
The cool air circulation mechanism 20 including the fan device 26 for sending out the cool air from the cooler 9, the cool air supply duct 29, the damper device 32, and the like, and the V-room return duct 13 can be easily assembled.

During the operation of the refrigerator, the cooling air supplied to the vegetable compartment 7 and contributing to the cooling of the storage (vegetables) is returned to the lower portion of the cooler 19 through the return duct 13 for the V compartment. Will do. At this time, if the storage container 7a in the vegetable compartment 7 is full of storage, the small storage product is stored in the storage container 7a.
There is a possibility that the water may overflow and fall into the interior of the vegetable compartment 7 (on the protruding portion 11c of the heat insulating partition wall 11). However, in the present embodiment, the inlet 13a of the V-chamber return duct 13 is
Since it is configured to be inclined downward and forward, it is possible to prevent the entrance 13a from being blocked by such a falling object.

In the refrigerator, the refrigeration cycle is stopped at an appropriate time, the defrosting heater 28 is turned on, and the defrosting operation for heating the cooler 19 is performed. Since the outlet portion 13b at the lower end of the room return duct 13 is provided near the upper portion of the heater 28 for defrosting,
The frost in the room return duct 13 is also melted and defrosted by the heat of the defrost heater 28.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cooler 19 and the cool air circulation mechanism 20 are provided at the height extending over and below the heat insulating partition wall 11, and are provided in the inner box 3 in advance. Since the components of the cooler 19 and the cool air distribution mechanism 20 can be assembled in a state where the heat insulating partition wall 11 is attached, the heat insulating partition wall 11 does not need to be divided or retrofitted. 11, the foaming operation of the heat insulating box 2 can be performed. Therefore, even if the temperature zone is significantly different between the upper and lower chambers (vegetable compartment 7 and freezing compartment 8) of the heat insulating partition wall 11, there is no need to provide a separate sealing material and perform strict sealing later. Thus, a high sealing property between the heat insulating partition wall 11 and the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box 2 can be ensured.

The cooling air distribution mechanism 20 is constituted by an evaporator cover 23 to which a fan device 26 is attached, and a damper unit 24 in which a damper device 32 is incorporated into a thermal insulator 31 to form a unit. Partition wall 1
Since it is configured so that it can be fitted and attached from above, a great improvement in assemblability can be achieved. In particular, in this embodiment,
Since the structure in which the damper unit 24 is attached to the evaluation cover 23 can be assembled at a time, the assemblability can be extremely improved.

Further, the damper unit 24 and the evaporator cover 23 can be easily removed without removing the heat insulating partition wall 11, and the work such as inspection of the cooler 19 and the cool air distribution mechanism 20 and replacement of parts can be facilitated. Serviceability can be improved. In this case, particularly in this embodiment,
Since the damper unit 24 is configured to be detachable from the vegetable compartment 7 without removing the partition 9, the serviceability can be further improved.

Further, in this embodiment, since the V-chamber return duct 13 is provided integrally with the heat insulating partition wall 11, the return duct can be embedded in the heat insulating box or a separate return duct forming member can be attached. The configuration of the V-chamber return duct 13 can be simplified as compared with the conventional one that is configured as described above. In this case, since the V-chamber return duct 13 is located on the inner wall surface of the inner box 3, there is no need for drilling or complicated processing in the inner box 3, and the structure of the inner box 3 itself can be simplified. Can be. Further, since the V-chamber return duct 13 is formed as a straight tube extending in the up-down direction, its formation can be further facilitated.

In this embodiment, the inlet 13a of the V-chamber return duct 13 projects upward and is inclined forward and downward.
Since the third outlet 13b is disposed above the heater 28 for defrosting, the inlet 13a of the V-room return duct 13 is prevented from being blocked by storage. Further, it is possible to obtain an advantage that frost in the V-room return duct 13 can be removed without providing a separate heater or the like.

In the above embodiment, the structure in which the damper unit 24 is mounted on the evaporator cover 23 in the assembling space portion 34 is assembled at one time. However, the evaporator cover 23 on which the fan device 26 is mounted, and the damper unit 24 may be separately assembled, and even with such a configuration, the assemblability can be sufficiently improved. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a configuration may be employed in which a partitioning section that separates a refrigerator compartment and a vegetable compartment is located immediately above a damper unit, and a configuration of an evaporator cover and a damper unit. Further, the configuration of the return duct portion and the like can be variously modified, and can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the gist.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator and a cool air distribution mechanism which are located at a height straddling the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating partition wall. ,
In a state where the heat insulating partition is attached to the heat insulating box, a cooler and a cool air distribution mechanism are provided for an assembly space formed between the inner surface of the heat insulating box and the rear end of the heat insulating partition. Since the constituent members can be assembled and the return duct is provided integrally with the heat insulating partition wall, a high sealing property between the heat insulating partition wall and the inner wall surface of the heat insulating box is ensured. This makes it possible to improve the assemblability and serviceability, and to simplify the structure of the return duct, thereby achieving an excellent practical effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal sectional side view of a main part.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cool air distribution mechanism and the like are assembled to a heat insulating box.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a state when each member is assembled to the heat insulating box.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a damper unit and an evaluation cover.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an assembly opening portion.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view of a return duct portion.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side view of a return duct portion.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a lower end portion of the return duct.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a main body, 2 is a heat insulating box, 3 is an inner box, 4 is an outer box, 5 is a foamed heat insulating material, 6 is a refrigerator room, 7 is a vegetable room, 8 is a freezing room, 9 is a partition, 11 Is a heat insulating partition, 1c is a protrusion,
13 is a return duct, 13a is an inlet portion, 13b is an outlet portion, 19 is a cooler, 20 is a cool air circulation mechanism, 23 is an evaporator cover, 24 is a damper unit, 25 is a freezer compartment side front cover, 26 is a fan device, and 27 is a fan device. Fan mounting part, 29 is a cool air supply duct, 30 is a damper cover, 31 is a heat insulator,
32 denotes a damper device, 33 denotes a rear heat insulating material, and 34 denotes an assembly space.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Keiichi Higashiguchi 1-6 Ota Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Osaka Plant Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshichika Ishikawa 1-6 Ota Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Osaka factory

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of storage compartments having different temperature zones vertically separated by a heat insulating partition wall are provided inside a heat insulating box body having an open front surface, and the heat insulating partition is provided on a back wall side in the heat insulating box body. It is provided with a cooler and a cool air circulation mechanism for sending out cool air from the cooler, which is located at a height straddling the upper and lower sides of the wall, and a heat insulating partition wall is mounted in the heat insulating box. In this state, the members that constitute the cooler and the cool air distribution mechanism can be assembled to an assembly space formed between the inner surface of the heat insulating box and the heat insulating partition wall. A return duct for returning the air in the storage room above the heat insulating partition wall to the cooler is provided integrally with the heat insulating partition wall, which is located on a side portion of the assembly space portion. A refrigerator characterized by being used. 2. A freezing compartment is formed below the heat-insulating partition by providing a heat-insulating partition inside the heat-insulating box, and a storage of a higher temperature zone than the freezer is provided above the heat-insulating partition. A refrigerator, wherein a return duct for returning the air in the storage room downward through the heat insulating partition wall is provided integrally with the heat insulating partition wall. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the return duct is located at a front portion of a back wall surface of the heat insulating box. 4. An inlet portion at an upper end of the return duct is provided so as to be convex upward from an upper surface of the heat insulating partition wall and to be inclined forward and downward.
A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The return duct according to claim 1, wherein the outlet at the lower end of the return duct is disposed near and above a heater for defrosting provided below the cooler. refrigerator. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the return duct has a straight tubular shape extending in a vertical direction. 7. The storage room in the heat-insulating box body comprises a freezing room below the heat-insulating partition, and a refrigerator room and a vegetable room provided above and below the heat-insulating partition. Item 7. The refrigerator according to any one of Items 1 to 6.