KR100577424B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a main body having a storage chamber, a cold air generating unit provided in the main body to generate cold air, a duct provided to supply cold air from the cold air generating unit to the storage chamber, and supplying cold air to the storage chamber. A refrigerator having a damper provided to be retained or blocked, the damper comprising: a frame provided in the duct and having an opening formed to allow cold air to pass therethrough; A blocking portion having a hinge shaft rotatably coupled to the frame, and a blocking plate rotatably integrated with the hinge shaft to rotate between an open state of opening the opening and a blocking state of blocking the opening; An arm spaced apart from the rotation axis of the hinge axis, the arm rotatably coupled around the rotation axis of the hinge axis and the hinge axis; A cam member that contacts the arm and rotates the arm; A rotation motor supported by the frame and coupled to the cam member to rotate the cam member in a unidirectional direction; It includes a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the storage chamber, and a position sensor for detecting the position of the cam member, and a control unit for controlling the rotation motor to maintain the open state of the blocking plate according to the temperature of the storage compartment. It is characterized by the above-mentioned. As a result, the manufacturing price can be lowered and the barrier plate can be easily operated.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a front view of a conventional damper for a refrigerator,

2 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view of a damper provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 2,

4 is an exploded perspective view of the damper of FIG. 3;

5 and 6 are V-V operating cross-sectional view of the blocking region provided in the damper of FIG.

7 and 8 are sectional views of the cam member and the arm region of the damper of FIG.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

1: refrigerator 2: door

10: main body 11: storage room

15 duct 17 discharge port

20: damper 21: frame

23: opening 24: sealing member

25: motor casing 31: cutout

33: blocking plate 35: torsion coil spring

37: hinge axis 39: arm

41: rotating motor 43: motor shaft

45: cam member 46: motor shaft coupling portion

47: arm contact portion 51: position sensor

53 Magnet 55: Reader Switch

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having an improved structure of a damper provided to block cold air supplied to a storage compartment.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a main body having a storage compartment such as a freezer compartment or a refrigerating compartment, a cold air generation unit provided in the main body to generate cold air, a duct provided to supply cold air from the cold air generation unit to the storage compartment, and a door that opens and closes the storage compartment. door).

The cold air generating unit generally generates cold air by an evaporator connected to a compressor or the like. Then, the generated cold air is introduced into the storage compartment through the duct. The duct is provided with a damper that maintains and blocks the supply of cold air so that the temperature of the storage compartment such as the refrigerating compartment maintains a constant temperature.

The conventional technology for a refrigerator damper is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0285567. This conventional damper, as shown in Figure 1, the output shaft cap 132 protrudes on one side edge in the longitudinal direction, the rotating support shaft cap 134 protrudes on the other side baffle (130) )and; A gear mounting step motor 120 having an output shaft 122 inserted into the output shaft cap 132 to reciprocally rotate the baffle 130; And a partition in which an output shaft insertion hole into which the output shaft 122 is rotatably inserted is formed, and in which the gear mounting step motor 120 is mounted, and a coaxial shaft of the output shaft insertion hole. And an opening that is opened and closed by a rotation support shaft 112 inserted into the support shaft cam 134, and a baffle 130 mounted to reciprocate around the output shaft 122 and the rotation support shaft 112. By providing a damper 100 for a refrigerator using a gear-mounted step motor including a frame 110, it is not necessary to provide a separate gear train, so the space occupied by the gear train can be reduced. There is an advantage of being less constrained by this refrigerator damper.

However, such a conventional damper has a problem of increasing the manufacturing price of the refrigerator by using a relatively expensive step motor. Therefore, the development of a damper that can be easily operated while lowering the manufacturing price of the refrigerator is required.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a damper which can lower the manufacturing price and which is easy to operate.

The object of the present invention is to provide a main body having a storage compartment, a cold air generating portion provided in the main body to generate cold air, a duct provided to supply cold air from the cold air generating portion to the storage chamber, and the duct to the storage chamber. A refrigerator having a damper provided to maintain or block supply of cold air, the damper comprising: a frame provided in the duct and having an opening formed to allow cold air to pass therethrough; A blocking portion having a hinge shaft rotatably coupled to the frame, and a blocking plate rotatably integrated with the hinge shaft to rotate between an open state of opening the opening and a blocking state of blocking the opening; An arm spaced apart from the rotation axis of the hinge axis, the arm rotatably coupled around the rotation axis of the hinge axis and the hinge axis; A cam member that contacts the arm and rotates the arm; A rotation motor supported by the frame and coupled to the cam member to rotate the cam member in a unidirectional direction; It includes a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the storage chamber, and a position sensor for detecting the position of the cam member, and a control unit for controlling the rotation motor to maintain the open state of the blocking plate according to the temperature of the storage compartment. It is achieved by the refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned.

Here, it is preferable that the blocking plate further includes an elastic member for elastically pressing the blocking plate to rotate from the open state to the blocking state.

Preferably, the elastic member includes a torsion coil spring having one side coupled to the blocking plate and the other side coupled to the frame.

The opening is preferably provided with a sealing member in close contact with the blocking plate.

The sealing member preferably includes an elastic material.

The position sensor preferably includes a magnet provided in the cam member and integrally rotated, and a reed switch coupled to the frame such that the blocking plate is adjacent to the magnet when the blocking plate is in the open state.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a main body having a storage compartment such as a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment, a cold air generation unit provided in the main body to generate cold air, and a door that opens and closes an opening of the storage compartment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the storage compartments are provided on the left and right sides of the main body, respectively, and have a double door type refrigerator having a door for rotating opening and closing the front opening of each storage compartment.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention includes a main body 10 having a storage chamber 11 having a front opening to store a predetermined article, and a main body 10 inside the main body 10. A cold air generating unit (not shown) for generating cold air, a door 2 for rotating and opening the front of the storage chamber 11, and a cold air generating unit for supplying cold air generated from the cold air generating unit (not shown) to the storage chamber 11. The duct 15 and the damper 20 provided in the duct 15 is provided to maintain or block the supply of cold air to the storage compartment (11).

The cold air generating unit (not shown) is preferably an evaporator (not shown) provided in the main body 10 and connected to a compressor (not shown) to generate cold air to be supplied to the storage chamber 11. However, the cold air generating unit may be provided as a thermoelectric semiconductor element. The cold air generating unit is connected to the duct 15 to supply cold air to the storage chamber 11.

One side of the duct 15 is connected to the cold air generating unit, the other side is preferably formed in the storage chamber 11 is connected to at least one discharge port 17 for discharging cold air. In addition, at least one of the one side and the other side of the duct 15 is preferably provided with a blowing fan (not shown) to suck the cold air from the cold air generating portion into the storage chamber (11). However, such a blowing fan may be provided in one region of one side and the other side of the duct 15 and may be provided in the cold air generating unit or the discharge port 17 region.

The storage chamber 11 forms a storage space for storing a predetermined article in the main body 10. In addition, the storage compartment 11 in which the damper 20 is mounted is preferably a refrigerating compartment that must maintain a predetermined temperature range so that the stored article does not freeze, but may also be a freezing compartment.

The damper 20 is integrated in the frame 21 having an opening 23 formed in the duct 15 to allow cold air to pass through, and the hinge shaft 37 and the hinge shaft 37 rotatably coupled to the frame 21. A blocking portion 31 having a blocking plate 33 rotatably provided between the open state A for opening the opening 23 and the blocking state B for blocking the opening 23, and a hinge shaft. An arm 39 which is spaced apart from the rotation axis of (37) and rotatably coupled about the rotation axis of the hinge axis 37 and the hinge axis 37, and the arm 39 comes into contact with the arm 39 to rotate the arm 39; The cam member 45 to be supported, the rotation motor 41 which is supported by the frame 21 and is coupled to the cam member 45 to rotate the cam member 45 in one direction, and blocked according to the temperature of the storage chamber 11. The plate 33 includes a control unit (not shown) for controlling the rotation motor 41 to maintain the open state (A). In addition, the damper 20 is coupled to the blocking plate 33 and the frame 21 to elastically move the blocking plate 33 so that the blocking plate 33 rotates from the open state (A) to the blocking state (B). It is preferable to further include an elastic member for pressing.

The frame 21 is disposed in the duct 15 in the transverse direction in the flow direction of cold air, but is preferably coupled to the duct 15 by screws or the like, but may also be coupled by an adhesive or the like. One side of the opening 23 of the frame 21 is disposed between the motor casing 25 and the motor casing 25 and the opening 23 provided to accommodate and support the rotating motor 41 and the cam member 45. It is preferable that the shaft support plate 27 is provided with a hinge shaft support portion 29 is provided to support the hinge shaft 37.

The opening 23 is preferably formed large so that cold air can be sufficiently supplied. In addition, the sealing member 24 may be provided in the opening 23 in contact with the blocking plate 33 so as to be in close contact with the blocking plate 33 and prevent cold air from leaking.

Sealing member 24 is mounted to the entire circumference of the opening 23, it is preferably provided with a material having an elastic force, such as rubber or sponge. Accordingly, the blocking plate 33 is in close contact with the sealing member 24 in the blocking state to block the opening 23 to prevent leakage of cold air, thereby causing dew formation and freezing around the opening 23 and the blocking part 31. You can prevent it. In addition, when the blocking plate 33 blocks the opening 23 by the elastic force of the sealing member 24, noise may be suppressed.

Motor casing 25 is preferably provided in the duct 15, of course, may be provided on the outside of the duct (15). And, the motor casing 25 is preferably coupled to a screw or the like to the duct 15, of course, may be coupled to the adhesive or hook.

The blocking plate 33 of the blocking unit 31 may be provided to block the opening 23 in correspondence with the shape of the opening 23. That is, when the opening 23 penetrates in a square shape, the blocking plate 33 is also preferably provided in a square plate shape. In addition, the hinge shafts 37 of the blocking unit 31 are provided as a pair and rotatably inserted into the hinge shaft support unit 29 provided in the frame 21. The arm 39 is coupled to a hinge shaft 37 adjacent to the rotational motor 41 among the pair of hinge shafts 37. The blocking unit 31 is preferably provided to open and close the storage chamber 11 side of the opening 23. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the blocking plate 33 of the blocking unit 31 is preferably mounted on the storage chamber 11 side of the opening 23 so that cold air is easily supplied to the storage chamber 11.

The elastic member preferably includes a torsion coil spring 35 having one side coupled to the blocking plate 33 and the other side coupled to the frame 21. And, one side and the other side of the torsion coil spring 35 is mounted to the spring coupling portion 36 provided in the blocking plate 33 and the frame 21, respectively, the coil area in the center is the same center as the hinge shaft 37 It is preferable that the spring support 38 is inserted and supported along the axis. Thus, the elastic member provides an elastic force so that the blocking plate 33 always blocks the opening 23.

Arm 39 is integrally coupled with the hinge shaft 37 of the blocking portion 31 is provided rotatably in a circle along the rotation axis of the hinge shaft 37. The arm 39 is then rotated in sliding contact with the arm contact portion 47 of the cam member 45 to be described later.

The cam member 45 is coupled to the rotating motor 41 to rotate the arm 39 by rotating by the rotating motor 41. In addition, the cam member 45 is cam-shape eccentrically to one side with respect to the motor shaft coupling portion 46 and the motor shaft coupling portion 46 coupled to the motor shaft 43 of the rotating motor 41 to be described later. And an arm contact portion 47 in sliding contact with the arm 39. And the arm contact part 47 is equipped with the magnet 53 mentioned later. Thus, the arm contact portion 47 of the cam member 45 is rotated in contact with the arm 39 to rotate the blocking plate 33 from the blocking state (B) to the open state (A).

The rotation motor 41 is preferably provided so that the cam member 45 can be rotated in one direction. That is, the rotational motor 41 is only required to rotate the cam member 45 in one direction, so it is not necessary to use a relatively expensive two-way rotational motor, and a low-cost one-way rotational motor may be used. In addition, the unidirectional rotational motor is preferably a geared motor. However, the rotating motor 41 may be a motor that can be rotated in both directions.

The controller (not shown) preferably includes a temperature sensor (not shown) for sensing the temperature of the storage chamber 11 and a position sensor 51 for sensing the position of the cam member 45. Then, the control unit uses the temperature sensor and the position sensor 51 when the temperature of the storage compartment 11 is above the set reference temperature range, the blocking plate 33 is in an open state (A), the temperature of the storage compartment 11 is set The rotational motor 41 is controlled so that the blocking plate 33 is in the blocking state B when it is within the reference temperature range or below.

A temperature sensor (not shown) is mounted on the storage compartment 11 to sense the temperature of the storage compartment 11.

The position sensor 51 is provided on the cam member 45 to integrally rotate the magnet 53 and the frame 21 to be adjacent to the magnet 53 when the blocking plate 33 is in the open state (A). ) And a reed switch 55 coupled to.

The magnet 53 is mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the arm contact portion 47 of the cam member 45 to rotate integrally with the cam member 45.

The reed switch 55 is preferably mounted on the shaft support plate 27 so as to be close to the magnet 53 in a state where the cam member 45 rotates to rotate the blocking plate 33 to the open state A. FIG. . However, the reed switch 55 may be mounted on the rotational motor 41 or the frame 21 instead of the shaft support plate 27. Accordingly, when the mark net 53 is close to the reed switch 55, the reed switch 55 is operated to stop the rotation of the rotation motor 41, the open state (A) of the blocking plate 33 is maintained. do.

By such a configuration, the operation of the damper 20 provided in the refrigerator 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

First, power is applied to the refrigerator 1. The controller periodically detects the temperature of the storage chamber 11 and compares the temperature with the set reference temperature range. That is, when the temperature of the storage chamber 11 is within the reference temperature range or lower than the reference temperature range, as shown in FIG. 5, the blocking plate 33 blocks the opening 23 of the frame 21 by the elastic member. As shown in FIG. 7, the control member does not rotate the rotational motor 41 so that the cam member 45 is not in contact with the arm 39.

When the temperature of the storage chamber 11 is higher than the reference temperature range, as shown in FIG. 6, the blocking plate 33 overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member and opens the opening 23 of the frame 21. In the state (A), the control unit rotates the rotation motor 41, the arm contact portion 47 of the cam member 45 is rotated in contact with the arm 39, integrally with the arm 39, the blocking plate This is because (33) is rotated to the open state (A). Then, when the blocking plate 33 reaches the open state (A), the magnet 53 provided in the arm contact portion 47 is adjacent to the reader switch 55 to operate the reader switch 55, such a leader switch By stopping the rotation of the rotation motor 41 by the operation of the 55, the blocking plate 33 can maintain the open state (A). As a result of sensing the temperature of the storage chamber 11 again, if the temperature of the storage chamber 11 is higher than the reference temperature range, the rotation of the rotation motor 41 is continuously stopped to allow the cool air to be supplied to the storage chamber 11. Then, when the temperature of the storage chamber 11 is sensed again when the temperature of the storage chamber 11 is within the reference temperature range or lower than the reference temperature range, the control unit may rotate the motor so that the arm 39 does not come into contact with the cam member 45. By turning the 41 to only a predetermined angle, the blocking plate 33 is placed again in the blocking state B which blocks the opening 23 of the frame 21 by the elastic member as shown in FIG. 5.

Thus, the refrigerator according to the present invention uses a relatively expensive step motor by having a damper including a rotating motor and a cam-shaped cam member provided to rotate or unidirectionally to keep the cool air from being supplied to the storage duct. It is not possible to lower the manufacturing price and can easily operate the blocking plate by using a cam member or the like. In addition, by providing a sealing member in the opening of the frame, it is possible to prevent leakage of cold air to prevent dew condensation and freezing around the opening and the blocking portion, and the sealing member is made of an elastic material to prevent noise when the blocking plate blocks the opening. This can be suppressed from occurring.

As described above, according to the present invention, the manufacturing price can be lowered, and the barrier plate can be easily operated.

In addition, by providing a sealing member in the opening of the frame, it is possible to prevent leakage of cold air to prevent dew condensation and freezing around the opening and the blocking portion, and the sealing member is made of an elastic material to prevent noise when the blocking plate blocks the opening. This can be suppressed from occurring.

Claims (7)

Maintaining or blocking a main body having a storage chamber, a cold air generating unit provided in the main body to generate cold air, a duct provided to supply cold air from the cold air generating unit to the storage chamber, and supply of cold air to the storage chamber in the duct. In the refrigerator provided with a damper, The damper is, A frame provided in the duct and having openings formed therein to allow cold air to pass therethrough; A blocking portion having a hinge shaft rotatably coupled to the frame, and a blocking plate rotatably integrated with the hinge shaft to rotate between an open state of opening the opening and a blocking state of blocking the opening; An arm spaced apart from the rotation axis of the hinge axis, the arm rotatably coupled around the rotation axis of the hinge axis and the hinge axis; A cam member that contacts the arm and rotates the arm; A rotation motor supported by the frame and coupled to the cam member to rotate the cam member in a unidirectional direction; It includes a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the storage chamber, and a position sensor for detecting the position of the cam member, and a control unit for controlling the rotation motor to maintain the open state of the blocking plate according to the temperature of the storage compartment. A refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, And an elastic member for elastically pressing the blocking plate so that the blocking plate rotates from the open state to the blocking state. The method of claim 2, The elastic member is a refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a torsion coil spring, one side is coupled to the blocking plate and the other side is coupled to the frame. The method of claim 2, And the sealing member is provided in the opening to be in close contact with the blocking plate. The method of claim 4, wherein The sealing member is a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises an elastic material. delete The method of claim 1, The position sensor includes a magnet provided in the cam member and integrally rotated, and a reed switch coupled to the frame such that the blocking plate is adjacent to the magnet when the blocking plate is in the open state.

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