KR100570535B1 - Duct panel of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a duct panel of a refrigerator, and an object thereof is to improve return ducts to prevent air from the storage compartment from entering the evaporator during defrosting operation.

According to the duct panel 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the trap flow path (33a) is formed in the middle of the return duct 33 for communicating the lower part of the freezer compartment (11) and the evaporator 21, the evaporator During the defrosting operation of (21), the cold air of the freezing chamber 11 is prevented from entering the evaporator (21). Accordingly, the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 21 due to the heat of the defrost heater 21c is further improved, and the driving time of the defrost heater 21c is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption.

Description

Duct panel of refrigerator

1 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional refrigerator.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2, showing the internal structure of the return duct.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

20. Cooling chamber 21. Evaporator

21c. Defrost heater 22. Circulation fan

30. Duct panel 33. Return duct

33a.Trap Euro 40.Duct Cover

The present invention relates to a duct panel of a refrigerator, and more particularly to a duct panel of a refrigerator having a return duct for guiding the air in the storage compartment to the bottom of the evaporator.

In general, the refrigerator is configured to prevent the corruption of the stored food and to maintain the freshness for a long time by forcibly supplying the cooling air generated from the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle to the storage compartment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional refrigerator includes a cabinet 1 on an enclosure having a storage compartment 2 formed therein, a door 3 that is hinged to a front surface of the cabinet 1 to open and close the storage compartment 2, and a cabinet ( It includes a refrigeration cycle drive element mounted in 1).

At the rear of the storage chamber 2, a cooling chamber 4 provided with an evaporator 5 and a circulation fan 6 for generating cold air and supplying it to the storage chamber 2 is formed. The cooling chamber 4 is formed to be partitioned from the storage chamber 2 through the duct panel 7 and the duct cover 8, the detailed structure thereof is as follows.

First, the evaporator 5 includes a refrigerant tube bent several times in a “U” shape, a plurality of heat exchange fins inserted into the refrigerant tubes and arranged in parallel, and a defrost heater disposed at an edge of the heat exchange fin for defrosting. It is provided with 5a), and is arrange | positioned in the cooling chamber 4 bottom part. In addition, the circulation fan 6 is installed directly above the evaporator 5 to suck air from the storage compartment 2 toward the evaporator 5 side, and forcedly blows cool air generated while passing through the storage compartment 2. .

In addition, the duct panel 7 and the duct cover 8 is provided to cover the front of the evaporator (5). The duct panel 7 has a plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and the discharge duct 7a and the return duct 7b are provided on the front surface to guide the discharge and return of the cold air. The discharge duct 7a is for guiding the cold air blown by the circulation fan 6 to the storage chamber 2, and is formed in the upper side of the front surface of the duct panel 7, and the circulation fan 6 is positioned above the center. The return duct 7b is provided at the bottom of the duct panel 7 so that the bottom of the storage chamber 2 and the cooling chamber 4 communicate linearly with each other so as to guide the air having undergone heat exchange in the storage chamber 2 toward the evaporator 5 side. .

And the duct cover 8 is provided in a plate shape is coupled to cover the duct panel 7, wherein the cold air discharge port (8a) is formed corresponding to the discharge duct (7a), the air inlet corresponding to the return duct (7b) 8b is formed.

Next, the operation of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described.

First, when power is supplied to the refrigerator to operate the circulation fan 6 and the compressor (not shown), air in the storage compartment 2 flows into the lower portion of the evaporator 5 through the air intake 8b and the return duct 7b. Then, it passes into the evaporator 5 and becomes cold.

Subsequently, the cold air is forcibly blown into the storage compartment 2 through the discharge duct 7a and the cold air discharge port 8a, and the air which has completed the heat exchange in the storage compartment 2 is cooled again by the air intake 8b and the return duct ( By reflowing into the lower part of the evaporator 5 through 8a), the food stored in the storage compartment 2 is kept fresh.

On the other hand, the humidifier of the storage compartment 2 is introduced into the evaporator 5, when the refrigerator is driven for a long time, the frosting phenomenon occurs in the evaporator 5, the air circulation is not made smoothly.

Accordingly, defrost heater 5a disposed on evaporator 5 is operated to perform defrost, which is performed by a defrost timer (not shown). That is, when the compressor is operated for a time longer than that set in the defrost timer, the compressor and the circulation fan 6 are stopped, and then the defrost heater 5a is operated to defrost ice formed on the evaporator 5. At this time, the defrost water generated is discharged to the outside through the drain hose (not shown).

However, in the conventional refrigerator, even when the defrosting operation, cold air of the storage compartment 2 is introduced into the evaporator 5 through the air suction port 8b and the return duct 7b.

That is, the return duct 7b is formed so as to communicate the storage chamber 2 and the cooling chamber 4 in a straight line, so that some cool air is caused by the natural convection phenomenon during the defrosting operation through the return duct 7b. ) Flows into the lower part. As a result, the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 5 by the defrost heater 5a is lowered. As a result, the driving time of the defrost heater 5a is extended, thereby increasing the power consumption.

The present invention is to solve this problem, the object of the present invention is to improve the defrosting efficiency of the defrost heater by preventing the cold air of the storage compartment flow into the evaporator through the return duct during the defrost operation of the evaporator by the defrost heater It is to provide a duct panel of the refrigerator to reduce the power consumption.

The present invention for achieving this purpose, the compartment is installed in the storage compartment and the defrost heater for defrosting and the circulation fan, disposed to cover the evaporator and discharge duct for guiding the cold air blown by the circulation fan to the storage compartment and A refrigerator having a duct panel having a return duct communicating with a storage compartment and a lower part of the evaporator to guide air in the storage compartment to the evaporator,

The return duct is configured to include a trap passage for preventing air from the storage compartment from entering the evaporator during the defrosting operation of the evaporator.

In addition, the trap flow passage is configured to be bent upward in the middle of the return duct.

According to this configuration, during the defrosting operation of the evaporator, the storage chamber air is prevented from entering the evaporator side, so that the defrosting efficiency of the defrost heater is further improved, and power consumption can be reduced.

Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 illustrates an internal structure of a return duct according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cabinet 10 having a freezing compartment 11 and a refrigerating compartment 12 formed therein for storing stored food, a freezing compartment 11 and a refrigerating compartment 12. It includes a door (not shown) hinged to the front of the cabinet 10 to open and close the door.

The freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 are provided to be partitioned vertically by the intermediate partition 13. In the rear of the freezing chamber 11 is formed a cooling chamber 20 (see FIG. 3) in which an evaporator 21, a circulation fan 22, and the like, which are combined with a freezing cycle and a closed circuit to generate cold air, are installed.

That is, the evaporator 21 and the circulation fan 22 are mounted in the cooling chamber 20, and the duct panel 30 and the duct cover 40 are disposed to cover the front of the cooling chamber 20, so that the cooling chamber 20 is a freezing chamber. It is formed to partition with (11).

The evaporator 21 includes a plurality of heat exchange fins 21a arranged in parallel, a refrigerant pipe 21b bent in multiple rows to penetrate several times, and a defrost disposed at an edge of the heat exchange fin 21a for defrosting. The heater 21c is provided, and is installed in the lower part of the cooling chamber 20, and is installed. In addition, the circulation fan 22 and the fan motor 23 are forced to blow the generated cold air into the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 so that a predetermined interval is maintained at the upper portion of the evaporator 21.

The duct panel 30 is mounted to cover the front of the evaporator 21 and the circulation fan 22 so as to partition the freezing compartment 11 and the cooling chamber 20, by foaming epoxy polystyrene (EPS) It consists of a rectangular plate shape with a thickness.

The front and rear surfaces of the duct panel 30 are provided with first and second discharge ducts 31 and 32 and a return duct 33 for guiding supply and return of cold air. The first discharge duct 31 is for guiding a part of the cold air blown by the circulation fan 22 to the freezing compartment 11, and is provided stepped at the upper side of the front surface of the duct panel 30 and has a circular opening ( 31a) is formed so that the circulation fan 22 is located. The second discharge duct 32 is for guiding the remaining part of the cold air blown to the refrigerating chamber duct 12a, and has one end communicating with the first discharge duct 31 and the other end branched to the lower left and right sides of the duct panel 30. Is formed. At this time, the refrigerating chamber duct 12a is installed upright on the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 12 so that cold air is supplied evenly to the refrigerating chamber 12.

In addition, the return duct 33 has a duct panel in which the freezer compartment 11 and the lower part of the evaporator 21 communicate with each other so that the air that has undergone heat exchange in the freezer compartment 11 is re-introduced into the evaporator 21 when the circulation fan 22 is operated. It is formed symmetrically on both lower sides of the 30, as shown in Figure 3, in order to prevent the air in the freezer compartment 11 is introduced into the evaporator 21 when the circulation fan 22 is off, the trap flow path ( 33a). That is, the return duct 33 has one end in communication with the freezing chamber 11 and the other end in communication with the bottom of the cooling chamber 20 equipped with the evaporator 21, and the trap is curved upward in an inverted "V" shape on the center. The flow path 33a is formed to prevent cold air from the freezing chamber 11 from flowing into the evaporator 21 when the circulation fan 22 is turned off.

In addition, a plate-shaped duct cover 40 (see Fig. 2) made of a plastic material is provided to cover the front surface of the duct panel 30. The duct cover 40 is provided with a plurality of cold air discharge ports 41 in a portion corresponding to the first discharge duct 31, the air inlet 42 is provided in a portion corresponding to the return duct 33, respectively.

Next will be described the operation and effect of the duct panel having a return duct according to the present invention configured as described above.

First, when a compressor (not shown) for supplying a refrigerant to the evaporator 21 and a circulating fan 22 installed above the evaporator 21 are driven, the air in the freezer compartment 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 is air intake 42. ) And the return duct 33 (refrigerant return duct is not shown) is sucked into the lower portion of the evaporator 21, and the heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 21b through the refrigerant pipe 21b and the heat exchange fins 21a. It becomes cold.

Subsequently, the cold air is properly supplied to the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 through the forced blowing force of the circulation fan 22 and the first guide duct 31, the cold air discharge port 41, and the second guide duct 32. Dispensing is supplied. In addition, the heat is exchanged again in the freezing compartment 11 and the refrigerating compartment 12, and the air is re-introduced into the lower part of the evaporator 21 through the return duct 33, whereby cold air circulation is performed.

On the other hand, since the humid air of the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 flows into the evaporator 21 having a very low temperature, when the compressor (not shown) and the circulation fan 22 are driven for a long time, moisture condenses and freezes. do. In this case, the defrosting heater 21c is driven to perform defrosting. That is, the driving of the compressor (not shown) and the circulation fan 22 is stopped and the defrost heater 21c is driven according to the time set in the defrost timer (not shown). The defrosting operation in 21 is performed.

At this time, the lower part of the evaporator 21 and the freezing chamber 11 communicate with each other through the return duct 33. A trap flow path 33a curved upward is formed in the middle of the return duct 33, and thus the defrost It is prevented that cold air of the freezer compartment 11 flows into the evaporator 21 side due to natural convection during operation. Accordingly, the defrosting efficiency by the defrost heater 21c is further improved, and the defrosting operation time can be shortened, that is, the driving time of the defrost heater 21c can be reduced.

As described in detail above, according to the duct panel of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the trap flow path is formed to be curved upward in the middle of the return duct for communicating the freezer compartment and the bottom of the evaporator, so that the cold air in the freezer compartment during the defrosting operation of the evaporator Entry into the evaporator is prevented. Accordingly, the evaporator defrosting efficiency due to heat of the defrost heater is further improved, and the driving time of the defrost heater is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption.

Claims (2)

An evaporator and a circulation fan, which are installed in a storage compartment and have a defrost heater for defrosting, are disposed to cover the evaporator, and a discharge duct for guiding the cold air blown by the circulation fan to the storage chamber and the air in the storage chamber to the evaporator. A refrigerator having a duct panel having a return duct for communicating with the storage compartment and a lower portion of the evaporator to guide to The return duct 33 has a trap passage 33a for preventing air from the storage compartment 11 from flowing into the evaporator 21 during the defrosting operation of the evaporator 21. panel. The method of claim 1, The trap flow path (33a) is a duct panel of the refrigerator, characterized in that formed to be bent upward in the middle of the return duct (33).

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