JPS6322468Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a cooler and a damper plate for opening and closing the circulation path are provided in a circulation path through which air in a freezing chamber is circulated.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In refrigerators that cool the freezer compartment by forced circulation of cold air, defrosting of the cooler in the circulation path is performed by a defrosting heater. Air in the road flows into the freezer compartment and the temperature of the freezer compartment increases,
In order to prevent the frost in the cooler from melting into water droplets, which are further heated and turned into water vapor and flowing into the freezing chamber, a damper plate is provided in the circulation path to open and close the circulation path. The opening operation of the damper plate is performed by the urging force of a spring, and the closing operation is performed by a bellows that extends against the urging force of the spring. However, if a large amount of frost forms on the spring during the cooling operation, the elasticity of the spring will be impaired, causing a problem in that the opening and closing operations of the damper plate will be hindered.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object thereof is to provide a refrigerator that can prevent frost formation on the springs as much as possible, and that can reliably open and close the damper plate.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention includes a cooler in a circulation path through which air in the freezer is circulated, and a damper plate located above the cooler to open and close a discharge opening of the circulation path to the freezer. is configured to close when the cooler is defrosted, wherein a spring that biases a damper plate that opens and closes the circulation path in the opening or closing direction is arranged so as to be exposed to the cold air passing through the circulation path. The feature is that the frost adhering to the spring is sublimated as much as possible.

[Example of idea]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 1, 1 is a heat insulating box of a refrigerator, 2 is a freezer compartment formed in this heat insulating box 1, and a door 3 is provided at the front opening of this room so as to be openable and closable. Reference numeral 4 denotes a circulation path which is partitioned by partition plates 5 and 6 over the bottom and back of the freezer compartment 2, and the partition plates 5 and 6 have an inlet port 7 and an outlet port that communicate the circulation path 4 with the inside of the freezer compartment 2. A fan 10 driven by a fan motor 9 is disposed at the exhaust port 8 . A first cooler 11 is disposed in the circulation path 4 at the lower back of the freezer compartment 2, and the cold air generated by the first cooler 11 is passed through the fan 10. As shown by arrow A in Fig. 1, the liquid is circulated through the circulation path 4 and the freezer compartment 2. Reference numeral 12 denotes a second cooler disposed in the form of a shelf approximately in the center of the freezer compartment 2, and this second cooler 12 is used to place food and directly cool it. Furthermore, the first
The cooler 11 is maintained at a lower temperature than the second cooler 12, so that frost is concentrated on the first cooler 11. 13 is circulation path 4
This damper device is located above the first cooler 11 and attached to the back plate 14 of the freezer compartment 2, and will be described below. Reference numeral 15 denotes a substantially rectangular cylindrical ventilation body with both upper and lower surfaces open, and inside thereof, an oblique partition frame 17 having an opening 16 in the center is formed over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral surface. Reference numeral 18 denotes a damper plate for opening and closing the opening 16 of the partition frame 17 from below, and this damper plate is rotatably supported on a pivot 19 having an upper end formed in the partition frame 17. Reference numeral 20 denotes a spring made of, for example, a tension coil spring, which is located above the opening 16 of the partition frame 17 between the projecting piece 21 projecting from the upper part of the damper plate 18 and the front wall 15a of the ventilation body 15. It is located in The damper plate 18 is always urged by the spring 20 in the direction of opening the opening 16 and thus the circulation path 4. 22 is the rear wall 15 of the ventilation body 15
A bellows is surrounded by a surrounding wall 23 on the rear side of b, and includes a push rod 2 that projects forward.
4 is provided, and a heat-sensitive tube 25 is connected to the rear part. The tip of the push-up rod 24 is connected to the rear wall 25b.
The heat-sensitive portion 25 a formed at the tip of the heat-sensitive tube 25 is in contact with the first cooler 11 . Therefore, bellows 22
expands and contracts according to the temperature of the heat-sensitive part 25a of the heat-sensitive tube 25, that is, the temperature of the first cooler 11, and when the temperature of the first cooler 11 becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, it expands and moves through the push rod 24. The damper plate 18 is rotated closed against the biasing force of the spring 20, and when the temperature of the first cooler 11 becomes lower than a predetermined temperature, the damper plate 18 is contracted and rotated open due to the biasing force of the spring 20. .

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. First, during normal cooling operation, the temperature of the first cooler 11 is low and the bellows 22 is in a contracted state, and the damper plate 18 opens the opening 16 of the ventilation body 15 and thus the circulation path 4, and the first The cold air generated by the cooler 11 is circulated through the circulation path 4 and the freezer compartment 2 by the fan 10. At this time, frost also forms on the spring 20 located above the opening 16, but since this spring 20 is exposed to the cold air passing through the circulation path 4, the frost forms on the spring 20, which is cooler than the spring 20. While being sublimated to the cooler 11 of 1,
Its sublimation is promoted by the flow of cold air, and most of it is removed. Therefore, the cooling operation is performed in a state where the spring 20 is almost free of frost. and,
At the start of defrosting of the first cooler 11, the first cooler 11 and the fan motor 9 are cut off, and
A defrosting heater (not shown) provided in the first cooler 11 is energized. While the first cooler 11 is heated by this defrosting heater, the heat-sensitive portion 25a of the heat-sensitive tube 25 is also heated by the defrosting heater, and the temperature of the heat-sensitive portion 25a becomes higher than a predetermined temperature in a short time.
Approximately at the same time as the defrosting heater is energized, the bellows 22 extends and the damper plate 1 resists the biasing force of the spring 20.
8 is closed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2, and the damper plate 18 closes the opening 16 and thus the circulation path 4 (as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). During this folding, since almost no frost is attached to the spring 20, the elasticity and stretchability of the spring 20 is not impaired, and therefore the closing operation of the damper plate 18 by the bellows 22 is performed reliably. When the damper plate 18 is completely closed, the first cooler 11
defrosting is performed. In this way, the first cooler 1
During defrosting in step 1, the circulation path 4 is closed by the damper plate 18, so the air in the circulation path 4 heated by the defrosting heater flows into the freezer compartment 2 and the air inside the freezer compartment 2 is This prevents the temperature from rising, and also prevents the frost in the first cooler 11 from melting and turning into water, which is further heated to turn into water vapor and flow into the freezing chamber 2. When the defrosting of the first cooler 11 is completed, the defrost heater is cut off, while the cooling operation of the first cooler 11 is started with the opening 16 kept closed by the damper plate 18. be done. The cooling operation of the first cooler 11 gradually cools the inside of the first cooler 11 and the circulation path 4, and when the temperature of the first cooler 11 becomes lower than a predetermined temperature, the bellows 22 contracts and the tension spring 20 The damper plate 18 is rotated open by the biasing force, and the opening 16 and thus the circulation path 4 are opened. After the damper plate 18 is released, the fan motor 9 is energized and returns to the normal cooling operation state.

In the above embodiment, the opening action of the damper plate is performed by a spring and the closing action is performed by a bellows, but conversely, the opening action of the damper plate may be performed by a bellows, and the closing action is performed by a spring. Moreover, the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist, such as supplying the cold air cooled by the first cooler 11 to the refrigerator compartment.

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above description, the present invention includes a cooler in a circulation path through which air in the freezing chamber is circulated, and a damper located above the cooler that opens and closes a discharge opening of the circulation path to the freezing chamber. plate, and the damper plate is closed when the cooler is defrosted, wherein a spring that biases the damper plate for opening and closing the circulation path in the opening or closing direction is connected to a spring that biases the damper plate in the direction of opening or closing the cold air passing through the circulation path. Since the damper plate is disposed so as to be exposed to air, the frost adhering to the spring can be sublimated to the extent possible to prevent frost formation as much as possible, and the damper plate can be opened and closed reliably, which is an excellent effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a longitudinal sectional side view of the upper part of the refrigerator, and FIG. 2 being an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the main parts. In the drawing, 2 is a freezing chamber, 4 is a circulation path, and 11 is a first
18 is a damper plate, and 20 is a spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cooler is provided in a circulation path through which air in the freezing chamber is circulated, and a damper plate is provided above the cooler and opens and closes a discharge opening of the circulation path to the freezing chamber. 1. A refrigerator that is closed when the container is defrosted, characterized in that a spring that biases the damper plate in the opening or closing direction is disposed so as to be exposed to cold air passing through the circulation path.