KR100229484B1 - A refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, comprising: a cold air duct provided on a wall surface of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a plurality of cold air discharge openings opened toward the cooling chamber; A plurality of shutters provided in an opening region of each of the cold air discharge openings to openly move the cold air discharge openings from the closed state; A plurality of guide members for guiding opening and closing of the shutters; A drive motor; And a drive cam rotated by the drive motor to move each shutter in an open direction in contact with the shutters. As a result, the shutter provided at the cold air discharge port can be opened and closed intermittently, so that the amount of cold air supplied into the cooling chamber can be adjusted, so that the inside of the cooling chamber can be kept uniformly cooled, and the aesthetics in the cooling chamber are improved.

Description

Refrigerator

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator in which cold air discharged in a cooling chamber can be uniformly distributed and aesthetics in the cooling chamber are improved.

Refrigerators generally have a refrigeration system for storing food and a refrigeration system for forming cold air, and the cold air generated by the refrigeration system flows along the cold air duct formed on the rear surface of the cooling chamber, and is cooled by the blowing fan. It is supplied to the cooling chamber through the cold air discharge port provided in the duct.

By the way, in the conventional refrigerator, there is a region where the cold air discharged through the cold air discharge port is provided intensively and a relatively small area is provided, and thus the temperature deviation in the cooling chamber is intensified, thereby preventing a uniform cooling state. There is a problem. Thus, various forms of research have been conducted to remedy this problem, and as recently disclosed in WO 95/27278 filed by the present applicant with the PCT application, appropriately distributes the cold air discharged into the cooling chamber to A refrigerator having a cold air distribution device for maintaining a uniform temperature distribution has been proposed.

6 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device disclosed by the present applicant. The refrigerator 101 is provided with a pair of cooling chambers divided into a freezing chamber 2 and a refrigerating chamber 3 by an intermediate partition 5 in a substantially rectangular main body, and in front of the openings of the respective cooling chambers 2 and 3. Opening and closing doors 6 and 7 are respectively provided. In the main body, a refrigeration system including a compressor 11, a condenser and a freezer compartment evaporator 12a and a refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b (not shown) is installed. The cold air generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b is supplied to each cooling chamber by the freezing chamber fan 13a or the cooling chamber fan 13b.

On the other hand, in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 3, a cold air duct 15 through which cold air from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 12b is blown by the cooling chamber fan 13b is provided. The cold air distribution device 110 is installed in the vertical direction. On the rear wall surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, a cold air discharge port 16 through which cold air from the cold air duct 15 is discharged to the refrigerating room 3 is formed, and the cold air distribution device 110 guides the supplied cold air to the cold air discharge port. It supplies to the refrigerating compartment 3 through 16. At the rear of the cold air duct 15, a circulation duct 17 connecting the refrigerating chamber 3 and the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b is formed to be isolated from the cold air duct 15. The cold air which cooled the refrigerator compartment 3 returns to the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b via this circulation duct 17. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cold air distribution device 110 includes a rotation shaft 121, a plurality of cold air distribution blades 111, and a drive motor 131 for rotating the rotation shaft 121. The rotating shaft 121 is rotatably installed on the rear side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the rotating shaft 121 of the driving motor 131 is coupled to the upper portion of the rotating shaft 121. The cold air distribution blades 111 are formed in a plate-shaped body curved in a wave shape with respect to the plane including the axis of the rotation shaft 121, and are spaced apart from each other to correspond to each of the cold air discharge ports 16 along the rotation shaft 121. It is. At the upper and lower ends of each cold air distributing wing 111, a pair of end plates 113 formed of an upper plate 113a and a lower plate 113b is formed, and an intermediate plate is formed between the upper plate 113a and the lower plate 113b. 115 is provided to divide the cold air distribution blade 111 into the first blade portion 117 and the second blade portion 119. Each wing portion 117, 119 is bent to form an S-shaped cross section, and each wing portion 117, 119 of each cold air distribution wing 111 is bent in the opposite direction to each other.

In the refrigerator 101 having the conventional cold air distribution device 110 having such a configuration, when the driving motor 131 rotates the rotary shaft 121 at a low speed, the cold air supplied along the cold air duct 15 is cold air distribution wing 111. The direction of the flow path is changed by the curved plate surface of the shells, and spreads in the refrigerating chamber from side to side and is discharged. On the other hand, when intensive cooling is necessary for a specific site, the rotating shaft 121 is stopped in accordance with the direction of the cold air distribution blade 111 so that cold air is concentrated discharged toward the site. By such a cold air distribution device 110, it becomes possible to realize uniform cooling and concentrated cooling in the refrigerating chamber 3.

By the way, in the refrigerator 101 having the conventional cold air distribution device 110, since the configuration of the cold air distribution device 110 that is manufactured and mounted separately is relatively complicated and difficult to manufacture easily, the production cost of the refrigerator 101 Will rise. In some cases, a malfunction of the cold air distribution device 110 may occur. In this case, there is a problem in that cold air is not discharged to one side or excessive cold air may be supplied to one side without uniform cold air distribution. In the refrigerator 101 having the conventional cold air distribution device 110, the cold air discharge port 16 for discharging the cold air in the cooling chamber still remains open, and thus the inside of the cooling chamber by the cold air discharge ports 16 is thus maintained. There is a problem that the beauty of the view is lowered.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a shutter at a cold air discharge port formed in a cooling chamber and intermittently open and close the shutter in consideration of these problems in the prior art, thereby controlling the amount of cold air supplied into the cooling chamber, and at the same time discharging cold air. It is to provide a refrigerator so that it can be evenly distributed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of cold distribution with improved aesthetics in a cooling chamber.

1 is a front sectional view of a cold air distributable refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a shutter device according to the present invention;

4 and 5 are combined rear view of Fig. 3 showing the operating state of the shutter device according to the invention,

Figure 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with a conventional cold air distribution device,

7 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional cold air distribution device.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

2, 3: Cooling chamber 5: Intermediate bulkhead

6, 7: door 12a, 12b: evaporator

13a, 13b: cooling chamber fan 15: cold air duct

16: cold air outlet 30: shutter device

33a, 33b: shutter 34: cutout

36: through part 35: driven part

37: limiting projection 39: depression

40: cold air grill member 43: drive motor

45: drive cam 47: eccentric action

51: guide member 53: locking jaw

55: elastic spring

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, the object is provided on the wall surface of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and has a plurality of cold air discharge openings opened toward the cooling chamber. Ducts; A plurality of shutters provided in an opening region of each of the cold air discharge openings to openly move the cold air discharge openings from the closed state; A plurality of guide members for guiding opening and closing of the shutters; A drive motor; It is achieved by a refrigerator, which is driven by the drive motor and includes a drive cam for moving the shutters in the open direction in contact with the shutters.

Here, it is more effective that the plurality of cold air discharge ports face in the diagonal direction with respect to the driving motor, and the shutters are preferably opened and closed in parallel sliding directions.

In addition, some of the shutters may be configured to open and close to face each other. And, the drive cam, and a cylindrical portion coupled to the drive motor; It is configured to include an eccentric action portion extending radially outward from one outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion.

On the other hand, further comprising a spring elastically biasing the shutter against the direction of the open movement by the drive cam, and further comprising a resistance damper acting against the return movement of the shutter by the spring. effective.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front sectional view of a cold air distributable refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of FIG. As can be seen from these figures, this refrigerator is divided into a freezer compartment 2 and a refrigerating compartment 3 by an intermediate partition 5 in a substantially rectangular body, as described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. A pair of cooling chambers is provided, and opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are respectively provided on the front surfaces of the openings of the respective cooling chambers 2 and 3.

The refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with a plurality of shelves 8 for placing food, and partitioned into a plurality of food storage zones parallel to each other. The special refrigeration chamber 18 used for storing the food suitable for a specific temperature range is formed in the upper side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the vegetable chamber 19 for storing vegetables is formed in the lower side of the refrigerating chamber 3. As shown in FIG.

In the main body 4, a compressor 11, a condenser, a freezer compartment evaporator 12a, and a refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b, which are not shown, are installed to perform a refrigeration cycle, and cold air is generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b. A freezer compartment fan 13a and a refrigerating compartment fan 13b are installed above the evaporators 12a and 12b to forcibly blow cold air generated in each of the evaporators 12a and 12b to the freezer compartment 2 or the refrigerator compartment 3.

On the rear wall surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, a duct housing 20 is provided which forms a cold air duct 15 that provides a flow path of cold air from the evaporator 12b. The duct housing 20 includes a duct member 21 for forming cold air ducts 15 to insulate cold air insulated, a front plate 23 attached to the front surface of the duct member 21, and a duct member 21. It consists of a seal plate (25) adhered to the back of the) and a partial cylindrical cold air grill member (40) installed in front of the front plate (23).

The cold air discharge member 16 is provided in the cold air grill member 40 at predetermined intervals along its length direction so as to correspond to the storage space of the refrigerator compartment 3, and the cooling air discharge openings 16 that are opened toward the refrigerator compartment 3 are arranged in a horizontal direction. A parallel pair is provided. At the rear of the cold air duct 15, a circulation duct 17 connecting the refrigerating chamber 3 and the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b is formed to be isolated from the cold air duct 15. The cold air blown into the cold air duct 15 by the refrigerating chamber fan 13b is supplied into the refrigerating chamber 3 through each cold air discharging outlet 16, and the cold air discharged as described above to cool the refrigerating chamber 3 is circulated duct 17. Return to the refrigerator compartment evaporator 12b.

On the other hand, in the cold air duct, a shutter device 30 for opening and closing the opening surface of the cold air discharge port 16 formed in the cold air grill member 40 is provided. 3 is an exploded perspective view of such a shutter device. As can be seen in the figure, the cold air grill member 40 is provided with a pair of cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b parallel to the upper and lower portions, respectively. These cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b discharge cold air supplied through the cold air duct 15 into the refrigerating chamber, and are opened and closed by shutters 33a and 33b as described later.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter device according to the invention, Figures 4 and 5 are combined rear view of Figure 3 showing the operating state of the shutter device according to the invention. As can be seen in these figures, the shutters 33a and 33b have a substantially rectangular plate shape, and have a through portion 36 and a blocking portion which are opened to correspond to the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b in the vertical direction of the plate surface. 34) are divided. A pair of guide members 51 are disposed on both sides of the shutters so as to face each other along the longitudinal direction thereof, and are fixedly attached to the rear surface of the cold air grill member 40. The guide member 51 has sliding grooves formed on mutually opposite surfaces, and the sliding edges of the shutters 33a and 33b are fitted into the sliding grooves. The guide member 51 may be integrally injection molded during the injection of the cold air grill member 40. Accordingly, the shutters 33a and 33b are slidable along the longitudinal direction of the sliding groove, and corresponding to the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b and the penetrating portion 36 are opened or blocked when they are raised or lowered. The part 34 corresponds to the closed state.

In the present embodiment, the shutters 33a and 33b are arranged such that the blocking portion 34 faces outward and the penetrating portion 36 is located inside, and at this time, the blocking portions of the shutters 33a and 33b are formed. 34 is provided to keep the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b in a closed state. The pair of upper shutters 33a naturally slide downward due to their own weight, and at this time, in order to limit excessive downward sliding of the shutters 33a, the upper and lower edges of the shutter 33a respectively protrude sideways. (37) is formed. These restricting protrusions 37 come into contact with the edges of the guide member 51 at predetermined positions of the shutter 33a, thereby limiting downward sliding of the shutter 33a, while closing the cold air outlet 16a. The blocking portion 34 is arranged in position.

In addition, the pair of lower shutters 33b are also maintained in a state in which the corresponding cold air discharge ports 16b are closed by the action of the elastic spring 55. That is, recessed portions 39 are provided at both edges of the lower shutters 33b along the longitudinal direction, and elastic springs 55 are interposed therein. In the sliding groove of the corresponding guide member 51, a locking jaw 53 is formed to reciprocate in the depression when the shutter 33b moves up and down. The locking jaw 53 is provided in the lower region in the sliding groove of the guide member 51, and the elastic spring 55 interposed in the recess is supported by the lower end on the upper surface of the locking jaw 53. As a result, the shutter 33a maintains the cold air discharge port 16b in the closed state by the upward biasing force of the elastic spring 55.

On the other hand, the drive cam 45 which can be rotated by the drive motor 43 is provided in the center area | region of the two pairs of shutters 33a and 33b facing up and down. The drive motor 43 is fixedly mounted to a bracket of a predetermined size, which is provided on the inner wall surface of the cold air duct 15, and the drive shaft 44 extending toward the rear surface of the cold air grill member 40 includes the driving cam 45. The rotation axis is formed. The drive motor 43 in this embodiment is capable of forward and reverse driving, and it is preferable to use a stepping motor capable of controlling the stop angle position.

The drive cam 45 has a cylindrical portion 46 coupled to the drive motor and an eccentric action portion 47 protruding in one radial direction. The eccentric action portion 47 forms a gentle curve in the longitudinal edge thereof. have. Correspondingly, the driven parts 35 which interact with the eccentric action parts 47 of the drive cam 45 are provided at the end portions of the shutters 33a and 33b. The driven part 35 has a pivotal cross-sectional shape, so that the driven part 35 can make a smooth mutual contact with the eccentric action part 47 of the drive cam 45. Each driven part 35 is partially in contact with the rotation plane of the eccentric action part 47, and at this time, the driven part 35 is brought into contact at a predetermined rotation angle position of the eccentric action part 47. The shutters 33a and 33b are then pushed toward the corresponding cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. When the eccentric action portion 47 is continuously rotated, the penetrating portion 36 of each shutter 33a, 33b gradually moves upward to correspond to the cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, and at this time, the cold air duct ( The cold air from 15 is discharged into the refrigerating chamber through the opened cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b.

In the shutter device 30 having such a configuration, the drive motor 43 is intermittently driven by a control signal of a controller (not shown), and the driving cam 45 coupled to the drive shaft 44 rotates 360 °. Done. When the driving cam 45 rotates, the eccentric action portion 47 sequentially contacts the driven portions 35 of the shutters 33a and 33b blocking the respective cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. The continuous rotation of the eccentric action portion 47 causes the shutters 33a and 33b to be pushed upward along the sliding groove of the guide member 51, whereby the through-portion 36 moving upwardly has the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. ) Will gradually open up.

On the other hand, when the eccentric action portion 47 rotates so that the mutual contact state with the driven portion 35 is spaced apart, the shutters 33a and 33b slide downward so that the blocking portion 34 is cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. Will be closed. At this time, the upper shutters 33 are stopped at a predetermined position by mutual contact of the restricting protrusion 37 and the guide member 51, and the lower shutters 33b are provided with an elastic spring 55 having an appropriate spring constant. This prevents excessive movement in the closing direction.

In this way, the shutters 33a and 33b which block the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b provided in the storage areas in the respective refrigerating chambers are in the plane of rotation of the eccentric action part 47 which rotates integrally with the drive cam 45. In the eccentric action portion 47 and the driven portion 35 is in contact with each other sequentially. 4 and 5, the shutters 33a and 33b alternately slide along the rotational direction of the eccentric action part 47 to open the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. At this time, cold air from the cold air duct 15 is discharged into the refrigerating chamber through the opened cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b.

On the other hand, in the above-described and illustrated embodiments, a single radially eccentric action portion 47 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive cam 45, but a pair of protrusions protruding in both corresponding directions By forming the eccentric action portion 47, it is possible to integrally open and close the shutter in the diagonal direction corresponding to the cold air discharge ports (16a, 16b). In addition, an eccentric action portion 47 in an appropriate number and direction may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive cam 45, whereby each shutter 33a, 33b is adapted to control the opening and closing movement as desired by the manufacturer. do.

As described above, according to the present invention, a shutter capable of sliding opening and closing is provided in the cold air discharge port formed in the cooling chamber, and by opening and closing these shutters intermittently, the amount of cold air supplied into the cooling chamber can be adjusted. As a result, a refrigerator capable of maintaining uniform cooling in the refrigerator compartment is provided. In addition, according to the present invention, since the cold air discharge ports of the conventionally always opened and monotonous state are sequentially closed, the aesthetics in the cooling chamber are improved.

Claims (7)

In the refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, A cold air duct provided on a wall surface of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a plurality of cold air discharge openings opened toward the cooling chamber; A plurality of shutters provided in an opening region of each of the cold air discharge openings to openly move the cold air discharge openings from the closed state; A plurality of guide members for guiding opening and closing of the shutters; A drive motor; And a drive cam rotated by the drive motor to move the shutters in an open direction in contact with the shutters. The method of claim 1, The plurality of cold air discharge port is characterized in that the refrigerator facing the drive motor in a diagonal direction. The method of claim 2, And the shutters move in a sliding direction parallel to each other. The method of claim 2, And the shutters are opened and closed to face each other. The method of claim 1, The drive cam, A cylindrical portion coupled to the drive motor; And an eccentric action portion extending radially outward from one outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion. The method of claim 1, And a spring elastically biasing the shutter in an opposing direction of the opening movement by the drive cam. The method of claim 6, And a resistance damper acting against the return movement of the shutter by the spring.

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