KR19990018984A - Refrigerator with cold air distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a cooling chamber, comprising: a cold air duct provided on a side wall of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a cold air outlet opening toward the cooling chamber, and adjacent to the cold air outlet in the cold air duct. And at least one cold air distributing blade rotatably installed with a parallel axis in the vertical direction, driving means fixed to an upper side of the cold air distributing blade, interposed between the driving means and the cold air distributing blade, It includes a transmission unit for rotating the left and right each of the cold air distribution wing within a predetermined range when the drive means. As a result, the cold air discharged into the cooling chamber can be evenly distributed, and if necessary, the cold air can be discharged intensively in a specific region. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and since the vortex is not generated around the cold air outlet, the cold air distribution efficiency is improved.

Description

Refrigerator with cold air distributor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device that distributes the cold air discharged into the cooling chamber evenly and, if necessary, to intensively supply the cold air to a specific region.

Refrigerators generally have a cooling chamber for storing food and a refrigeration system for forming cold air, and the cold air is formed around the evaporator by the operation of the refrigeration system. The cold air thus formed flows along the cold air duct formed on the rear surface of the cooling chamber by the blowing fan, and is supplied into the cooling chamber through the cold air discharge outlet provided in the cold air 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.

7 is a side 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. 8, 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 which distributes the cold air evenly supplied into the cooling chamber is relatively complicated and difficult to produce easily, the refrigerator ( 101) the production cost will rise. In addition, since the cold air distribution blade 111 forms a smooth S-shaped bend, the cold air discharged through the cold air discharge port 16 forms a vortex around the cold air discharge port 16. This vortex acts as a load on the operation of the cold air distribution device 110, thereby reducing the efficient operation of the cold air distribution device 110, and thus, there is a limit to uniformly cooling the inside of the refrigerating chamber that is becoming larger.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention, in view of such a problem in the prior art, can evenly distribute the cold air discharged into the cooling chamber, and if necessary, the cold air can be intensively discharged in a specific region, and a relatively simple configuration It is to provide a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device, which does not generate vortex around the cold air discharge port, thereby improving operating performance and thus improving cold air distribution efficiency.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device according to the present invention;

2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air distribution device according to the present invention;

4 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembled state of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

6 is an operating state of FIG.

7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device,

8 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: blower fan 15: cold air duct

16a, 16b, 16c: cold air outlet

20: duct housing

21: duct member 27: duct cover

28: flange portion 30: cold air distribution device

33a, 33b: cold-distribution wing

35 wings

37: rotating pin 39: fixing protrusion

40: hinge pin 49: support bracket

61 drive unit 63 drive motor

65: rotating cam 69: guide groove

71: transmission member 75: action protrusion

According to the present invention, in the refrigerator having a cooling chamber, a cold air duct provided on a side wall of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a cold air discharge port opened toward the cooling chamber, and in the cold air duct. At least one cold air distributor blade rotatably installed adjacent to the cold air discharge port and having an axis parallel to the vertical direction, drive means fixed to an upper side of the cold air distributor blade, between the drive means and the cold air distributor blade Interposed therebetween, it is achieved by a refrigerator characterized in that it comprises a transmission unit for rotating the left and right each of the cold air distribution wing within a predetermined range when the drive means is driven.

Here, the transmission part is coupled to the drive shaft of the drive means coaxially rotates integrally, and the horizontally coupled in the axial direction with each of the cold air distribution wings, and movable horizontally, and interacts with the rotary cam By doing so, it can be simply configured to include a transmission member for rotating each of the cold air distribution wings integrally. At this time, each of the cold air distribution wing is formed with a fixing projection protruding toward the rear, each of the fixing projections is provided with a hinge pin protruding upward, the hinge pin of each of the cold air distribution blade in the longitudinal direction of the transmission member. It is preferable that the pin hole is formed so as to be swingable, and the transmission member has a working protrusion projected toward the rotary cam by being eccentrically predetermined from the center.

In addition, the bottom surface of the rotary cam may be provided with a guide groove which is recessed inwardly in an elliptical shape to form a closed loop, wherein the guide groove is engaged with the actuating projection of the transmission member to rotate the rotary cam. When circulating along the closed loop, each of the cold air distribution wing is rotated in conjunction with the circulation movement of the action protrusion.

On the other hand, the cooling chamber is partitioned into a plurality of storage zones arranged in the upper and lower layers, the cold air discharge port is attached to each of the storage zones, each of the cold air distribution wings may be configured to be caught entirely in each of the cold air discharge outlet. .

The cold air duct may include a duct cover in which the cold air discharge port is formed, and a duct member coupled to each other at a predetermined interval to form a predetermined cold air flow path between the duct cover. At this time, the duct cover is provided with a support bracket on which the driving means is fixed and supported on the upper rear surface, and a flange portion having a rotation shaft hole for rotatably accommodating the rotation shaft of the cold air distribution blade at the lower edge thereof. It is preferable.

More preferably, the drive means may be composed of a stepping motor capable of controlling the forward and reverse rotation and stop angle position.

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

1 is a front view of a door open state of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. As described with reference to FIG. 7 of the related art, the refrigerator 1 includes a pair of cooling chambers divided into a freezing chamber 2 and a refrigerating chamber 3 by an intermediate partition 5 in an almost rectangular main body. Opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are respectively provided on the opening fronts 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 guiding the cold air insulated, a front plate 23 attached to the front surface of the duct member 21, and a seal plate bonded to the rear surface of the duct member 21. (25) and a duct cover (27) which is coupled to the front surface at a predetermined distance from the duct member (21) below the front plate (23). The duct cover 27 has a partial cylindrical shape protruding from the rear wall surface, and forms a predetermined cold air flow path, that is, a cold air duct 15, between the duct member 21 and the duct member 21. The duct cover 27 is provided with a cold air discharge port 16 opened toward the refrigerating chamber 3 in the central region thereof, and the cold air flowing along the flow path of the cold air duct 15 is connected to the cold air discharge port 16. It is discharged into the refrigerating chamber through.

The cold air discharging device 30 in the cold air duct is provided with a cold air distribution device 30 which will be described later in detail for uniformly distributing the discharged cold air into the refrigerating chamber. 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 by the duct housing 20. The cold air blown into the cold air duct 15 by the refrigerating chamber fan 13b is supplied into the refrigerating chamber 3 through the cold air discharge outlet 16, and the cold air discharged to cool the refrigerating chamber 3 is circulated duct 17. Through the return to the refrigerator compartment evaporator (12b).

3 is an exploded perspective view of the cold air distribution device according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembled state of FIG. As can be seen from these figures, the cold air distribution device 30 is provided inside the duct cover 27, and has a vertical axis parallel to the rear of the cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, and 16c, and rotates left and right. It consists of the drive part 61 which rotates the pair of cold air | distribution wings 33a and 33b and the cold air | distribution wings 33a and 33b as much as possible. In the duct cover 27, the longitudinal center region of the duct cover 27 is protruded with respect to the reference plane, and three cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, and 16c are provided on the protruding plate surface corresponding to the storage area for partitioning the refrigerating chamber 3. . Accordingly, the cold air flowing through the cold air duct 15 and guided by the cold air distribution device 30 is distributed in the refrigerating chamber 3 at a large discharge angle range.

The cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b are provided in pairs at the rear of the cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, and 16c at predetermined intervals, and are formed at the rear edges of the plate-shaped wing part 35 and the wing part 35. Each of the rotating pins 37 extends in the vertical direction from both side ends. The wing part 35 is provided over the predetermined length of the axis line which connects the up-and-down rotation pin 37 mutually. The lower pivot pin 37 is rotatably received in each pivot pin hole 29 provided in the flange portion 28 extending in the vertical direction from the bottom edge of the rear surface of the duct cover 27, at this time, the wing portion 35 Is formed to be entirely caught by the three cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, 16c formed in the duct cover 27. In addition, the pivot pins 37 of each of the cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b are provided with a fixing protrusion 39 protruding in the opposite direction to the wing portion 35, and the hinge pins protruding upward from the fixing protrusion 39. 40 is formed.

On the other hand, the drive unit 61, the drive motor 63, the rotary cam 65 is rotatably coupled to the drive motor 63, and the cold air distribution wing (33a) by interacting with the rotary cam (65) , 33b) has a transmission member 71 for rotating left and right integrally. The drive motor 63 is fixedly mounted to a support bracket 49 fixed to an upper portion of the duct cover 27 to maintain a predetermined distance from the upper cold air discharge port 16a. The drive motor 63 is composed of a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation and stop angle position control.

The rotation cam 65 is coupled to the drive shaft 64 of the drive motor 63 so as to be coaxially rotatable. The rotary cam 65 has a cylindrical cam body 66 having a predetermined cross-sectional diameter, and an almost elliptical guide groove 69 is provided on the bottom surface of the cam body 66. As can be seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the guide groove 69 forms a closed loop having a long radius and a short radius, and the action protrusion 75 of the transmission member 71 is accommodated. By the interaction of the action protrusion 75 and the guide groove 69, the transmission member 71 is movable left and right.

The transmission member 71 has a circular rod shape, and pin holes 73 are provided in both end regions. In these pin holes 73, hinge pins 40 formed on the pair of cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b, respectively, are swingably accommodated. Accordingly, when the transmission member 71 is moved left and right in the horizontal direction, the pair of cold air distribution wings (33a, 33b) is left and right rotated within a predetermined range. The transmission member 71 is further provided with a working projection 75 which protrudes upward from the center at a predetermined eccentricity. The action protrusion 75 moves along the closed loop of the guide groove 69 when the rotating cam 65 rotates, thereby rotating the cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b by the horizontally moving transmission member 71. This becomes possible.

5 and 6 are cross-sectional views taken along the line I-I of FIG. 4 and show the operating states of the cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b according to the present invention. The motor 63 driven by the control signal of the control part which is not shown in figure rotates the rotating cam 65 by 360 degrees. Then, the action projection 75 of the transmission member 71 is moved along the closed loop of the guide groove 69 formed on the bottom surface of the rotary cam 65. Then, the transmission member 71 is horizontally moved in the left and right direction, and thus the left and right distribution blades 33a and 33b are rotated in the left and right direction. At this time, while the rotary cam 65 rotates continuously and the working protrusion 85 circulates along the closed loop of the guide groove 65, the left and right distributing wings 33a and 33b are continuously within a predetermined limited range. It will rotate left and right.

The rotated state of the cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. As such, when the left and right distribution blades 33a and 33b are rotated by the continuous driving of the driving motor 63, the cold air flowing through the cold air duct 15 is evenly distributed by the inside of the air to be supplied to the refrigerating chamber. do. Accordingly, a uniform cooling state can be maintained in the refrigerating chamber.

On the other hand, when warm air is introduced from the outside due to the opening of the door 7, etc., a predetermined temperature deviation may occur in the refrigerating chamber. At this time, the control unit detects that a temperature deviation has occurred by applying a temperature signal from a temperature sensor not shown installed in the refrigerating chamber. At this time, the controller checks a region having a low temperature. Then, the control signal is sent to the drive motor 63 to stop the cold air distribution blades 33a and 33b so that the cold air can be concentrated in the corresponding area. In the cold air distribution device 30 according to the present invention, the drive motor 63 is composed of a stepping motor capable of controlling the stop angle position, so that the left and right distribution blades 33a and 33b face the low temperature region. When the operation is stopped, the cold air discharged through the cold air discharge ports 16a, 16b, and 16c is guided toward the corresponding region. Through such intensive cooling, an area in which a temperature deviation has occurred can be quickly removed, thereby keeping the refrigerating chamber in a uniform temperature distribution.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device capable of evenly distributing the cold air discharged into the cooling chamber and, if necessary, discharging the cold air in a specific region. It can maintain a uniform temperature distribution. In addition, the present cold air distribution device has a relatively simple configuration can reduce the manufacturing cost, and also has no vortices around the cold air discharge port to improve the operating performance, thereby improving the cold air distribution efficiency excellent effect Is provided.

Claims (11)

In the refrigerator having a cooling chamber, A cold air duct provided on a side wall of the cooling chamber to guide the flow of cold air and having a cold air discharge port opened toward the cooling chamber; At least one cold air distributing wing installed in the cold air duct, adjacent to the cold air discharge port, and rotatably installed with an axis parallel to the vertical direction; Drive means fixed to the upper side of the cold air distribution wing; And a transmission unit interposed between the driving means and the cold air distribution vane to rotate the cold air distribution vanes left and right within a predetermined range when the driving unit is driven. The method of claim 1, The transmission unit, A rotary cam coupled coaxially to the drive shaft of the drive means and integrally rotating; And a transmission member which is horizontally coupled to the respective cold air distribution blades in the axial direction and movable horizontally, and which rotates the cold air distribution blades integrally by interacting with the rotary cam. The method of claim 2, Each of the cold air distribution wings is formed with a fixing projection protruding toward the rear, Each fixing protrusion is provided with a hinge pin protruding upwards, And a pin hole is formed in the longitudinal direction of the transmission member to swing the hinge pins of the respective cold air distribution blades. The method of claim 3, The transmission member is a refrigerator characterized in that it has a working protrusion protruding toward the rotary cam eccentrically predetermined from the center. The method of claim 4, wherein Refrigerator, characterized in that the bottom surface of the rotating cam is provided with a guide groove which is recessed inward in an elliptical shape to form a closed loop. The method of claim 5, The guide groove is engaged with the action projection of the transmission member, characterized in that the refrigerator circulates along the closed loop during rotation of the rotary cam. The method of claim 6, Refrigerator, characterized in that each of the cold air distribution wing is rotated in conjunction with the circulation movement of the action projections. The method of claim 1, The cooling chamber is divided into a plurality of storage zones arranged in the upper and lower layers, The cold air outlet is attached to each of the storage zones, Each of the cold air distribution wing is characterized in that the entire cold air outlet is caught in the refrigerator. The method of claim 1, The cold air duct, The duct cover is formed with the cold air outlet, And a duct member coupled to the duct cover at a predetermined interval to form a predetermined cold air flow path therebetween. The method of claim 9, The duct cover, A support bracket on which the driving means is fixed is provided on the upper rear surface, And a flange portion having a rotating shaft hole for rotatably accommodating the rotating shaft of the cold air distributing blade at the lower edge thereof. The method of claim 2 or 10, The drive means is a refrigerator, characterized in that the stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation and stop angle position control.