KR100545424B1 - A cooling structure for a soda water producing apparatus of refrigerators - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carbon dioxide gas generator cooling apparatus of a refrigerator configured to cool a carbon dioxide gas maker by cold air in a freezer compartment, and is provided to a door of a refrigerator to supply water from a water tank and to receive carbon dioxide gas from a carbon dioxide gas container to dissolve carbonated water. And a carbonated water maker 11 configured to generate carbonated water and discharge carbonated water through the dispenser 12, the refrigerator being formed inside the freezer compartment door 10 and having a plurality of protrusions at the bottom, side, and top of the refrigerator. The concave groove 20 in which the carbonated water producer 11 is spaced apart from each other, the concave groove is sealed and a space 31 for accommodating the coolant is formed therein, and the coolant communicates with the space of the concave groove to form a coolant circulation passage. Including the cover 30 formed with the inlet 32 and the outlet 33, it is stored in the space in the cover using the cold air of the freezer compartment There is an advantage that the refrigerant can be efficiently cooled while being circulated by convection, without having a separate cooling driving device.

Refrigerator Carbonated Water Maker Chiller

Description

Carbonated water maker chiller for refrigerator {A COOLING STRUCTURE FOR A SODA WATER PRODUCING APPARATUS OF REFRIGERATORS}

       1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigerator having a conventional carbonated water maker.

       Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a carbonated water producer of a refrigerator to which the present invention is applied.

       Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a cooling device of the refrigerator carbonated water producer according to the present invention.

       4 is a left side view of the cover member of FIG.

       Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

       11: carbonated water maker 12: dispenser

       20: groove 30: cover

       31: space part 32: inlet

       33: outlet

The present invention relates to a cooling device that can cool the carbonated water producer so that the carbonated water can be easily consumed in a general household refrigerator, and more particularly, to a cooling device that can efficiently cool the carbonated water producer using cold air in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. will be.

Recently, the refrigerator is not only a unique function of refrigerating and storing food, but also various functions are added according to the improvement of living standard. Accordingly, in the case of a large refrigerator, a dispenser is provided on the door so that cold and hot drinking water can be easily provided. In addition, in the case of carbonated beverages enjoyed by many people, when the carbonated beverages in the container are purchased and stored in the refrigerator, the refrigerator is frequently opened for drinking carbonated water, resulting in an increase in power consumption due to cold air loss of the refrigerator and Because of the difficulty in maintaining the freshness of the fridge, carbonated beverages can be produced directly from the refrigerator and carbonated water can be easily provided through a dispenser, thereby increasing the utility of the refrigerator.

One example of a refrigerator having such a carbonated water production function is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,866,949, which is shown in FIG. 1 for reference. The US patent discloses a refrigerator having a carbonated water maker 3 for supplying carbonated water through a dispenser 2 provided in the refrigerator door 1.

However, the dissolution of carbon dioxide in water is influenced by temperature and pressure, that is, the higher the pressure and the lower the temperature, the higher the solubility of the carbon dioxide, so that the carbonated water is kept at a lower temperature in order to keep the carbon dioxide dissolved in water. This is because when the temperature rises, the solubility of carbon dioxide is lowered and the vaporization in the container increases, so that there is a risk of bursting the container and the softness of the carbonated beverage is lowered.

Accordingly, in the above-described US patent, a condenser of a refrigerator is separately installed in a freezer compartment door and a separate refrigerant is introduced into a separate evaporator installed in the door of the refrigerating compartment, and a carbonated water maker is installed in the evaporator to maintain a low temperature using the refrigerant. It was made.

However, the carbonated water cooling structure using the refrigerant as described above complicates the internal structure of the refrigerator door of a limited thickness and causes an increase in manufacturing cost, and thus there is a problem that it cannot be generally applied to a refrigerator.

Therefore, it was desired to improve the cooling structure of the carbonated beverage maker of the refrigerator more simply and energy-saving.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a simple and energy-efficient carbonated water producer cooling device using the freezer cold air of the refrigerator without the additional cooling means in the refrigerator provided with the carbonated water maker described above.

The carbon dioxide gas producer cooling apparatus of the refrigerator of the present invention for achieving the above object is provided to the door of the refrigerator water supply from the water tank and supplied with carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas container to dissolve the carbonated water to produce carbonated water In the refrigerator provided to discharge the carbonated water through the dispenser, a groove formed on the inside of the freezer compartment door of the refrigerator and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the bottom, side and top surface of the refrigerator to be spaced apart from the carbonated water producer, the groove is sealed A space portion for accommodating the refrigerant therein and a cover formed with a refrigerant inlet and an outlet to communicate with the space of the recess and the refrigerant circulation passage so that the refrigerant is cooled by the cold air in the freezer compartment to cool the carbon dioxide gas producer. It consists of.

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

As shown in FIG. 2, the carbonated water maker 11 provided in the door 10 of the refrigerator to which the present invention is applied receives water from the water tank 13 for supplying drinking water to the dispenser 12, and also receives carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the bottom of the carbonated water maker in the container 15 to store, and bubbles are generated in the water so that the carbon dioxide is dissolved in contact with the water to generate carbonated water and discharged to the dispenser 12 of the refrigerator. In the drawing, reference numeral 16 denotes an exhaust pipe provided with a valve to discharge the carbon dioxide gas to the outside in order to prevent the internal pressure of the carbonated water maker from excessively rising.

Figure 3 shows the structure of the cooling apparatus according to the present invention for cooling the carbonated water producer 11 provided in the door as a partial cross-sectional view, according to the present invention the groove portion 20 in the door toward the freezer compartment And a plurality of small protrusion-like protrusions 21 are formed on the bottom, side, and top of the recess, so that the carbonated water producer disposed in the recess is formed from the bottom, side, and top in the recess by the protrusions. Spaced apart to form an empty space.

The recess is closed by the cover 30 in a manner of being fastened by a screw, and a protrusion is formed on the inner side of the cover to keep the carbonated water producer spaced apart. The coupling portion between the cover and the refrigerator is omitted in the drawing, but it is preferable that a conventional seal member is provided so that liquid does not leak.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 and the side view of FIG. 4, the cover 30 has a space 31 for storing the refrigerant therein, and the inlet ( 32 and an outlet 33 are formed.

Accordingly, the refrigerant is charged in the space 31 of the cover 30 and the space between the carbonated water producer 12 supported by the groove 20 and the protrusion 21 spaced apart from the bottom and side surfaces of the groove. Thus, through the inlet and outlet of the cover is in communication with the groove portion to allow the refrigerant to flow.

Since the inside of the cover faces the freezer compartment of the refrigerator, the refrigerant contained in the space part of the cover is cooled by the cold air of the freezer compartment, and the cooled refrigerant is discharged to the lower side of the recess 20 through the outlet 33 of the lower side. , The temperature rises in the recess by convection and is returned to the space 31 of the cover through the inlet formed on the upper side of the cover. It can be maintained.

According to the present invention, the carbonated water producer is mounted in the recess inside the door of the home refrigerator spaced apart by the protrusion, and the recess is sealed with a cover in which a refrigerant storage space is formed therein so that the space between the carbonated water maker and the recess and the inside of the cover are closed. The refrigerant can be charged in the space of the freezer, and the refrigerant contained in the space in the cover is cooled using the cold air of the freezer compartment, and is circulated by the convection action to efficiently cool the carbonated water producer without having a separate cooling driving device. There is this.

Claims (1)

In the refrigerator provided in the door of the refrigerator provided with water from the water tank and supplied with carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas container to dissolve the carbonated water to produce carbonated water and to discharge the carbonated water through the dispenser 12 The recess 20 is formed inside the freezer compartment door 10 of the refrigerator, and a plurality of protrusions are disposed on the bottom, side, and top of the refrigerator, so that the carbonated water producer 11 is spaced apart, and seals the recess to accommodate the refrigerant therein. The coolant is cooled by the cold air of the freezer compartment, including a cover 30 having a coolant inlet 32 and an outlet 33 formed so as to communicate with the space of the recess portion and the coolant circulation passage. A carbon dioxide gas producer cooling device of a refrigerator, characterized in that configured to cool a carbon dioxide gas producer.

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