KR102024228B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is disclosed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator includes an evaporator that generates cold air, an ice making device that generates ice using the cold air, a defrost heater installed in the evaporator, and a defrost heater that removes frost formed on the evaporator. A cold air duct for guiding the cold air to the ice making device and a lower side of the ice making tray so that the cold air supplied from the cold air duct is applied to a lower surface of the ice making tray provided in the ice making device and containing water for generating ice. A cold air supply flow path disposed and a buffer portion connecting the cold air duct and the cold air supply flow path, wherein heat generated while the defrost heater is operated is supplied to the ice making device through the cold air duct, and the supplied heat is The buffer portion can temporarily stay.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

The refrigerator is a device for low temperature storage of food, and may be configured to freeze or refrigerate food according to the type of food to be stored. The inside of the refrigerator is cooled by continuously supplied cold air, and the cold air is continuously generated by the heat exchange action of the refrigerant by a refrigeration cycle (Cycle) undergoing a process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. The cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is evenly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator by convection, so that food in the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.

In general, the refrigerator body may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an open front surface, and a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment may be provided inside the body. In addition, a front side of the main body may be provided with a refrigerator compartment door and a freezer compartment door for selectively shielding the opening, and the plurality of drawers, shelves and storage for storing various foods in an optimal state in the storage space inside the refrigerator. A box or the like may be provided.

Conventionally, a top mount type refrigerator having a freezer compartment located at an upper side and a refrigerator compartment located at a lower side has been mainstream, but recently, a bottom freeze type refrigerator having a freezer compartment located at the bottom to increase user convenience. Is also being released. Here, in the case of the bottom freeze type refrigerator, a frequently used refrigerating compartment is located on the upper side, and a relatively less freezing compartment is located on the lower side, and thus the user can conveniently use the refrigerating compartment. However, since the freezer compartment is located at the bottom of the bottom freeze type refrigerator, the user needs to bend the waist to open the freezer compartment door to take out the ice.

In order to solve this problem, a refrigerator having a dispenser for discharging ice in a refrigerator compartment door located above the bottom freeze type refrigerator has been recently released. In this case, an ice maker may be provided in the refrigerating compartment door or the refrigerating compartment to generate ice using cold air generated by an evaporator.

On the other hand, since the surface temperature of the evaporator is lower than the temperature in the refrigerator, condensed water may be generated on the surface of the evaporator during the heat exchange between the air circulating in the refrigerator and the refrigerant. Furthermore, the condensate is frozen on the surface of the evaporator and implanted into the frost. If the frost is implanted to the evaporator more than a certain degree, the amount of heat lost by the air in the air is significantly reduced, so that the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator is deteriorated. have.

Accordingly, in order to remove the frost formed on the evaporator, a defrosting operation must be performed to dissolve the frost formed on the evaporator while the cooling operation is stopped. A defrost heater may be provided below the evaporator for such defrosting operation.

However, during defrosting operation, the heat generated from the defrosting heater may flow into the ice making apparatus, and in this case, since the heat flowing into the ice making apparatus may melt ice generated in the ice making apparatus, the de-icing efficiency of the ice making apparatus is deteriorated. There is.

Patent Literature: Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0072774 (published Jul. 4, 2012)

Embodiments of the present invention are to provide a refrigerator that can minimize the heat of the defrost heater to enter the ice making apparatus during the defrosting operation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an evaporator for generating cold air, an ice making device for producing ice using the cold air, a defrost heater installed in the evaporator, to remove the frost formed on the evaporator, the generated from the evaporator A cold air duct for guiding cold air to the ice making device, and disposed below the ice making tray so that the cold air supplied from the cold air duct is applied to a lower surface of the ice making tray provided in the ice making device and containing water for generating ice. A cold air supply passage and a buffer portion connecting the cold air duct and the cold air supply passage, wherein heat generated while the defrost heater is operated is supplied to the ice making apparatus through the cold air duct, and the supplied hot air is A refrigerator may be provided which is temporarily held by the buffer part.

The buffer unit may include a curved surface formed above the end of the cold air duct and curved upward.

The buffer part may further include an inlet part connected to the cold air duct, an outlet part connected to the cold air supply passage, and a retention part connecting the inlet part to the outlet part and having the curved surface formed therein, and having a cross-sectional area of the outlet part. May be wider than the cross-sectional area of the inlet.

In addition, the curved surface is formed to be inclined at a first angle from the outlet portion, the first collision surface, the first collision surface and the first collision surface where the cold air or the heat transmitted from the cold air duct primarily collide with the first collision surface. A second collision surface which is connected to and is closer to the inlet side than the first collision surface, and wherein the cold air or the heat transmitted from the cold air duct collides secondly, and is inclined at a second angle from the inlet portion It may include an introduction surface extending and a connecting surface connecting the introduction surface and the second collision surface.

In addition, the second collision surface may be formed to be inclined at a third angle smaller than the first angle.

In addition, a connection point of the first collision surface and the outlet portion may be formed at a lower level than a connection point of the introduction surface and the inlet portion.

In addition, the buffer unit may be made of expanded polystyrene (EPS).

According to another aspect of the present invention, an evaporator for generating cold air, an ice making device for producing ice using the cold air, a defrost heater installed in the evaporator, to remove frost formed on the evaporator, the generated from the evaporator The cold air duct provided in the ice making device and the cold air duct provided in the ice making device to be connected to the cold air duct and to receive the cold air supplied from the cold air duct to a lower surface of the ice making tray which receives water for generating ice; And a cold air supply flow passage disposed below the ice making tray, wherein the cold air duct is formed such that an end portion is disposed inside the ice making apparatus and an inner upper surface of the end portion disposed inside the ice making apparatus is curved upward. Is generated while the defrost heater is operating and is supplied to the ice maker through the cold air duct As the opening is formed by the vortex impact on the curved surface, the refrigerator is temporarily stay in the end of the cold air ducts can be provided.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a refrigerator may be provided that may minimize the introduction of heat of the defrost heater into the ice making apparatus during the defrosting operation.

1 is a view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a side cross-section of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.
3 is a view illustrating a side of an ice making apparatus provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 1.
4 is a diagram illustrating a buffer unit provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of forming a vortex in the buffer unit of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 with an arrow.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the configuration and operation according to the embodiment of the present invention. The following description is one of several aspects of the invention that can be claimed, and the following description may form part of the detailed description of the invention.

However, in describing the present invention, a detailed description of known configurations or functions may be omitted to clarify the present invention.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

When a component is said to be 'connected' or 'connected' to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that another component may exist in between Should be.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1 is a view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a view showing a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of Figure 1 schematically.

1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has an appearance and has a food storage space formed inside the main body 2 having a food storage space and an upper side of the main body 2. Barriers (4) partitioning the refrigerator compartment (R) and the freezer compartment (F) at the lower side, and the refrigerator compartment door (3) provided at both edges of the front surface of the main body (2) and selectively shielding the refrigerator compartment (R) by rotational movement. , A freezer compartment door 5 that shields the front opening of the freezer compartment F, an evaporator 100 that generates cold air, an ice making device 200 that generates ice using the cold air, and an evaporator 100 installed in the evaporator 100. 100 is provided in the defrost heater 300 to remove the frost formed on the ice, the cold air duct 400 for guiding the cold air generated from the evaporator 100 to the ice making apparatus 200, the ice making apparatus 200, Supply from the cold air duct 400 to the lower surface of the ice making tray 210 for receiving water for production It may include a cold air supply flow passage 500 and the cold air duct 400 and the buffer unit 600 connecting the cold air supply flow passage 500 disposed on the lower side of the ice tray 210 so that the cool air is applied.

The evaporator 100 is one configuration that performs a cooling cycle for generating cold air required for the refrigerator 1. The cooling cycle of the general refrigerator 1 may be a process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation of a refrigerant, and as such cycle is repeatedly circulated, cold air is generated.

Specifically, the low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 6 into the high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, and the condenser 7 converts the high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant into the high-temperature, high-pressure liquid state refrigerant. In the expander (not shown), the high-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant is expanded to a low-temperature, low-pressure liquid state. Subsequently, when the low temperature low pressure liquid refrigerant is transferred to the evaporator 100, the low temperature low pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates heat from the surroundings. As a result, the air around the evaporator 100 loses heat and becomes cold air.

3 is a view illustrating a side of an ice making apparatus provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a buffer unit provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

3 and 4, the ice making apparatus 200 may generate ice by using the cold air generated by the evaporator 100. For example, in the bottom freeze type refrigerator in which the ice maker 200 is installed in the refrigerating compartment door 3, the cold air cooled by the evaporator 100 is branched and discharged into the freezing compartment F and the refrigerating compartment R. The cold air discharged to the freezing compartment F side flows to the ice making apparatus 200 along the cold air duct 400 embedded in the side wall of the main body 2 of the refrigerator 1, and then flows inside the ice making apparatus 200. Ice the water while

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the ice making apparatus 200 is illustrated as an example provided on an upper side of the refrigerating chamber R, but this is only an example, and the ice making apparatus 200 may be located at another position of the refrigerating chamber R, or It may be installed at another position such as the refrigerating compartment door 3.

In addition, in the ice making apparatus 200, cold air is supplied to the lower side of the ice making tray 210 so that the cold air supplied from the cold air duct 400 is applied to the lower surface of the ice making tray 210 containing water for producing ice. The flow path 500 may be disposed.

The cold air moved in the cold air supply flow path 500 may exchange heat with the ice making tray 210, thereby freezing water contained in the ice making space 212 of the ice making tray 210. In addition, the ice thus produced may fall into the bucket 220 disposed under the ice tray 210.

Furthermore, when the transfer member 240 is rotated by the driving device 230, the ice stored in the bucket 220 moves the ice between the transfer member 240 toward the outlet, and the ice moved to the outlet side is crushed. It may be crushed by the 250 and discharged to the outside.

On the other hand, since the surface temperature of the evaporator 100 is lower than the temperature in the refrigerator, condensed water may be generated on the surface of the evaporator 100 during the heat exchange between the air circulating in the refrigerator and the refrigerant. Furthermore, the condensate is frozen on the surface of the evaporator 100 to form a frost. If the frost is formed on the evaporator 100 to a certain degree or more, the amount of heat deprived by the air in the air is significantly reduced. , There is a problem that the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 100 falls.

Thus, in order to remove the frost formed on the evaporator 100, a defrosting operation must be performed to dissolve the frost formed on the evaporator 100 while the cooling operation is stopped, and the lower side of the evaporator 100 is used for such defrosting operation. Defrost heater 300 may be provided.

The defrost heater 300 is disposed below the evaporator 100, and may generate heat to remove frost formed on the evaporator 100. However, in the defrost mode in which the defrost heater 300 operates, since the cooling mode in which the evaporator 100 generates cold air is stopped, the heat generated from the defrost heater 300 is defrosted by the cold air duct 400. There is a problem to increase the temperature inside the ice making apparatus 200 flows into the apparatus 200.

Thus, the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided with a buffer unit 600 to minimize the heat introduced into the ice making apparatus 200.

The buffer unit 600 may connect the cold air duct 400 and the cold air supply passage 500. In addition, the buffer unit 600 may be formed of, for example, expanded polystyrene (EPS) material. However, this is only an example, and the material of the buffer unit 600 is not necessarily limited thereto.

On the other hand, the buffer unit 600 may temporarily retain the heat generated while the defrost heater 200 is operating. Here, as described above, when the buffer unit 600 is formed of expanded polystyrene, the heat generated from the defrost heater 300 remaining in the buffer unit 600 is external (for example, the ice making apparatus 200). Can be more reliably prevented.

To this end, the buffer unit 600 includes an inlet 610 connected to the cold air duct 400, an outlet 620 connected to the cold air supply passage 500, and an inlet 610 and an outlet 620. It may include a retention portion 630 to connect and the curved surface 605 is formed.

The curved surface 605 is formed above the end of the cold air duct 400, and means a portion curved upward. Here, the curved surface 605 formed in the buffer unit 600 is formed above the end of the cold air duct 400, and thus the hot air having a property to rise impinges on the curved surface 605 while the buffer unit 600 Can stay within.

The curved surface 605 is connected to the first collision surface 606, the first collision surface 606, which is formed to be inclined at a first angle θ1 from the outlet 620, and the first collision surface ( The second collision surface 607 disposed closer to the inlet portion 610 than the inlet portion 606, the introduction surface 608 and the introduction surface 608 extending inclined at a second angle θ2 from the inlet portion 610. And a connection surface 609 connecting the second collision surface 607.

Meanwhile, the first collision surface 606 and the second collision surface 607 may be viewed as a surface constituting the outlet portion 620 of the buffer portion 600, and the connection surface 609 may be the buffer portion 600. It can be seen as a surface constituting the retention portion 630 of the, and the introduction surface 608 is a surface constituting the inlet portion 610 of the buffer unit 600.

In addition, the cross-sectional area of the outlet 620 may be wider than that of the inlet 610. Accordingly, the heat introduced from the inlet 610 may not first collide with the introduction surface 608 of the inlet 610, but may first collide with the first collision surface 606 of the outlet 620. have.

Specifically, cold air or heat delivered from the cold air duct 400 may be primarily impacted on the first collision surface 606. In addition, cold air or hot air impinged on the primary collision surface 606 may secondaryly collide with the secondary collision surface 607. In this case, the second collision surface 607 may be formed to be inclined at a third angle θ3 smaller than the first angle θ1. In this case, the first angle θ1 to the third angle θ3 mean angles at which the planes are bent with respect to the extension line extending in the x-axis direction in FIG. 4.

As described above, since the inclination angle of the first collision surface 606 and the inclination angle of the second collision surface 607 are different, the connection point between the first collision surface 606 and the outlet portion 620 is the introduction surface 608. ) May be formed at a lower height than the connection point of the inlet 610. Thus, the movement direction of the cold air or the hot air introduced from the cold air duct 400 may be switched, and further, the vortex of the cold air or the hot air is formed in the buffer unit 600. The vortex formation process of the cold air or the hot air will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of forming a vortex in the buffer unit of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 with an arrow.

Referring to FIG. 5, the defrost heater 300 is operated to remove frost formed on the evaporator 100. At this time, the heat generated from the defrost heater 300 is moved by the cold air duct (400).

Specifically, the hot air moved on the cold air duct 400 is raised by the convection of heat, and thus, the hot air flows into the inlet 610 of the buffer unit 600. At this time, the heat introduced into the inlet 610 is moved to the outlet 620 along the retention portion 630.

In this process, since the outlet portion 620 is formed of the first collision surface 606 formed to be inclined at the first angle θ1, the heat is moved when it meets the slope of the first collision surface 606. The direction can be reversed.

Specifically, the heat introduced into the inlet 610 is changed by the collision with the first collision surface 606 and moved in a direction different from the initial movement direction to meet the second collision surface 607. will be.

Since the second collision surface 607 is formed to be inclined at a third angle θ3 smaller than the first angle θ1, the moving direction of the heat may be changed again.

Subsequently, the hot air whose direction of movement is changed again by the second collision surface 607 is moved along the connection surface 609 in the x-axis direction in FIG. 5 and meets the introduction surface 608. Since the introduction surface 608 is formed to be inclined at a second angle θ2 smaller than the first angle θ1 and larger than the third angle θ3, the moving direction of the heat is directed toward the outlet 620 again. You can switch.

By the above-described process, the hot air can form a vortex and temporarily stay within the curved surface 605. Therefore, since the heat during operation of the defrost heater 300 can be stored in the buffer unit 600, the inflow of heat to the ice making apparatus 200 can be minimized. Furthermore, since the ice making efficiency of the ice making apparatus 200 is improved and a separate damper member is not required to be installed in the cold air duct 400 to control the heat, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the manufacturing process can be simplified. have.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. I can understand that. For example, those skilled in the art can change the material, size, etc. of each component according to the application field, or combine or replace the embodiments in a form that is not clearly disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, this is also the present invention It will not go beyond the scope of the. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and such modified embodiments should be included in the technical spirit described in the claims of the present invention.

1: refrigerator 2: body
3: refrigerator door 4: barrier
5: freezer door 100: evaporator
200: ice maker 210: ice tray
300: defrost heater 400: cold air duct
500: cold air supply flow path 600: buffer portion
605: curved surface 606: first collision surface
607: 2nd collision surface 608: entrance surface
609: connection surface 610: inlet
620: exit portion 630: retention portion

Claims (8)

An evaporator that generates cold air;
An ice making device that generates ice using the cold air;
A defrost heater installed in the evaporator and removing frost formed on the evaporator;
A cold air duct for guiding the cold air generated from the evaporator to the ice making device;
A cold air supply flow path provided in the ice making device and disposed below the ice making tray so that the cold air supplied from the cold air duct is applied to a lower surface of the ice making tray containing water for producing ice; And
A buffer portion which connects the cold air duct and the cold air supply flow path, is formed above the end of the cold air duct, includes a curved surface curved upward, and temporarily retains heat generated while the defrost heater is in operation. Including,
The buffer unit,
An inlet connected to the cold air duct;
An outlet connected to the cold air supply passage; And
Connecting the inlet and the outlet, and including a retention portion in which the curved surface is formed,
The cross-sectional area of the outlet portion is wider than the cross-sectional area of the inlet portion,
The curved surface,
A first collision surface which is formed to be inclined at a first angle from the outlet, and has a first collision with the heat transmitted from the cold air duct, thereby primarily switching the moving direction of the heat;
A second connecting to the first collision surface and disposed closer to the inlet portion side than the first collision surface, wherein the heat transmitted from the cold air duct collides second to secondly change the moving direction of the heat; Car crash surface;
An introduction surface formed to be inclined at a second angle smaller than the first angle from the inlet portion, and the heat transmitted from the cold air duct collides three times to change the moving direction of the heat thirdly; And
A connection surface connecting the introduction surface and the second collision surface;
The second collision surface is formed to be inclined at a third angle smaller than the first angle and the second angle,
The first collision surface is formed at a lower level than the introduction surface such that the heat introduced into the inlet portion collides first with the first collision surface than the introduction surface,
The heat collided with the first collision surface collides sequentially with the second collision surface and the introduction surface,
The hot air collided with the introduction surface collides with the first collision surface again to form a vortex of the heat in the buffer part,
The buffer unit,
The refrigerator is formed of expanded polystyrene (EPS) material to prevent the heat remaining in the buffer portion to leak to the outside. delete delete delete delete delete delete An evaporator that generates cold air;
An ice making device that generates ice using the cold air;
A defrost heater installed in the evaporator and removing frost formed on the evaporator;
A cold air duct for guiding the cold air generated from the evaporator to the ice maker, and having an end portion disposed inside the ice maker; And
A cold air supply flow path provided in the ice making device and connected to the cold air duct, and disposed below the ice making tray so that the cold air supplied from the cold air duct is applied to a lower surface of the ice making tray containing water for generating ice. Including,
An end portion of the cold air duct disposed inside the ice making device,
Inlet;
An outlet connected to the cold air supply passage; And
A retention part connecting the inlet part and the outlet part and having a curved surface with an inner upper surface curved upward;
The cross-sectional area of the outlet portion is wider than the cross-sectional area of the inlet portion,
The curved surface,
A first collision surface which is formed to be inclined at a first angle from the outlet, and which firstly collides with heat generated while the defrost heater is in operation to primarily change a moving direction of the heat;
It is connected to the primary collision surface, and disposed closer to the inlet side than the primary collision surface, the heat generated during the operation of the defrost heater is secondary collision to switch the direction of movement of the heat secondary To make a second impact surface;
An introduction surface extending obliquely from the inlet portion at a second angle smaller than the first angle, the introduction surface for terminating a third collision of the heat generated during the operation of the defrost heater by terminating the heat; And
A connection surface connecting the introduction surface and the second collision surface;
The second collision surface is formed to be inclined at a third angle smaller than the first angle and the second angle,
The first collision surface is formed at a lower level than the introduction surface such that the heat introduced into the inlet portion collides first with the first collision surface than the introduction surface,
The heat collided with the first collision surface collides sequentially with the second collision surface and the introduction surface,
The hot air collided with the introduction surface again collides with the first collision surface to form a vortex of the heat in the curved surface,
The curved surface,
A refrigerator formed of expanded polystyrene (EPS) material to prevent the heat remaining in the curved surface from flowing out.

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