KR19990021330A - Refrigerator with cold air distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, 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; A cold air distributing wing having a pair of distributing wings formed in the cold air duct at a predetermined interval along a vertical axis of rotation and an axis of the rotary axis; A drive cam fixed in the horizontal direction between the pair of distribution blades; A drive motor for rotating the drive cam; An electric transmission part interposed between the drive cam and any one of the pair of distribution blades to transmit the rotational force of the drive cam to the corresponding distribution blades to rotate the cold air distribution blades within a predetermined range; Include. As a result, the cold air from the cold air duct can be more effectively distributed and supplied to the cooling chamber, and if necessary, the cold air can be supplied to a specific region intensively, thereby maintaining the inside of the cooling chamber at a uniform temperature distribution.

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 for uniformly distributing cold air discharged into a cooling chamber.

A general refrigerator has a main body having a pair of cooling chambers divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment partitioned by an intermediate partition, and a freezer compartment door and a refrigerator compartment door for opening and closing each cooling compartment. In the main body, a refrigeration system consisting of a compressor, a condenser (not shown), a freezer compartment evaporator and a refrigerator compartment evaporator is installed. The cold air generated in each evaporator flows along the cold air duct formed on the rear surface of the cooling chamber, and is supplied to each cooling chamber through the cold air discharge port provided in the cold air duct by blowing the blower fan.

However, in the conventional refrigerator, there is a region in which cold air discharged through the cold air discharge port is provided intensively and a relatively small area is provided. Accordingly, the temperature deviation in the cooling chamber is intensified, thereby preventing uniform cooling. There is this. Therefore, a refrigerator that performs a so-called three-dimensional cooling method has been proposed that improves this problem. The three-dimensional cooling method of the refrigerator provides a plurality of cold air discharge outlets on the rear wall and both side walls of the cooling chamber, respectively, so as to achieve intensive cooling air supply in a specific direction as needed, so that the cooling chamber can be uniformly cooled. One is a fridge.

By the way, in such a three-dimensional cooling method refrigerator, too, since the cold air is discharged in a predetermined direction through the cold air discharge port, a four-segment section in which no cold air is supplied is formed in the corner region, and in particular, the side wall of each cooling chamber Since the cold air duct must be provided, there is a problem that the food accommodation space is reduced, and the manufacturing cost is increased due to the increase of parts and manufacturing process. These problems are becoming a real problem in the refrigerator which is gradually increasing in size, and accordingly, a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device that can maintain a uniform temperature distribution by eliminating four sections in the cooling chamber has recently been proposed.

A refrigerator having such a cold air distribution device is proposed in PCT application WO 95/27278 by the applicant of the present invention. 8 to 10 is a view of a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device. In the following, a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device which can be seen in the drawings will be described with reference to the PCT application WO 95/27278 disclosed above.

In the refrigerator 101 having a conventional cold air distribution device, 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 is provided. Opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are provided on the front openings 2 and 3, respectively. 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 refrigerating chamber fan 13b.

On the other hand, in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 3, a cold air duct 15 is provided in which cold air from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 12b is blown by the refrigerating chamber fan 13b and flows therein. 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 can be seen in FIG. 10, the cold air distribution device 110 includes a rotation shaft 121, a plurality of cold air distribution wings 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.

However, the conventional cold air distribution apparatus 110 installed in such a refrigerator has a limitation in uniformly distributing the cold air from the cold air duct 15 due to its configuration, and thus cannot be applied to a refrigerator that is gradually being enlarged. . That is, in the conventional cold air distribution device 110, vortices are formed around the cold air discharge port 16 by cold air flowing along the wings 117 and 119 having a gentle S-shaped cross section, and the vortices are cold air. Since it acts as a load on the smooth operation of the distribution device 110, the efficient operation of the cold air distribution device is to be lowered.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device that allows for efficient distribution of cold air by operating more efficiently because no vortex is generated around the cold air discharge port in view of these problems in the related art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device that can supply cold air intensively to a specific area if necessary.

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.

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

4 is an assembled rear view of FIG. 3.

5 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. 4.

6 and 7 are a partially enlarged perspective view of Figure 4, showing an operating state of the cold air distribution device according to the present invention.

8 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator having a conventional cold air distribution device.

9 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 8;

10 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: cold air outlet 20: duct housing

21: duct member 27: duct cover

28, 31, 33: flange portion 29, 32: rotary shaft hole

35: drive cam support 37: drive motor support

40: cold air distribution device 41: cold air distribution wing

43a, 43b: distribution blade portion 45: rotation axis

49: action groove 51: drive cam

55: cam groove 59: drive motor

61: electric drive 63: guide member

65: sliding guide groove 67: guide groove

68: protruding rib 69: action bar

According to the present invention, a refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, 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 discharge opening opened toward the cooling chamber; ; A cold air distributing wing having a pair of distributing wings formed in the cold air duct at a predetermined interval along a vertical axis of rotation and an axis of the rotary axis; A drive cam fixed in the horizontal direction between the pair of distribution blades; A drive motor for rotating the drive cam; An electric transmission part interposed between the drive cam and any one of the pair of distribution blades to transmit the rotational force of the drive cam to the corresponding distribution blades to rotate the cold air distribution blades within a predetermined range; It is achieved by a refrigerator comprising a.

Here, the transmission unit, the guide member is fixed between the drive cam and the corresponding distribution blade portion having a sliding guide groove parallel to the axis of the drive cam; An actuating groove formed on one side edge of the distributing wing portion corresponding to the driving cam in a predetermined length section; It is movable along the sliding guide groove of the guide member, one end is accommodated in the working groove, the other free end can be configured to include a working bar extending to interact with the drive cam, wherein, A protruding rib protruding in the radial direction of the cross section is formed in the central region of the action bar; The sliding guide groove of the guide member is configured such that a guide groove for slidably receiving the protruding rib of the acting bar is provided along the sliding direction, thereby preventing the detachment of the acting bar.

The drive cam may include: a cam body which is coaxially coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor and integrally rotates; And a cam groove having a continuous wave shaped camp profile on the cylindrical surface of the cam body, and the cam groove of the drive cam meshes with the other free end of the action bar to form a camp profile when the drive cam rotates. It can be left and right to move continuously along. Then, when the other side of the free end of the action bar is moved left and right, one end of the action bar swings in the action groove of the distribution wing portion and rotates the cold air distribution wing.

On the other hand, the cold air duct, and the duct cover is formed with the cold air outlet; A duct member coupled to the duct cover at predetermined intervals to form a cold air flow path; Preferably, the driving cam is rotatably fixed to the rear central region of the duct cover. At this time, the cold air discharge port formed in the duct cover may be provided with a plurality of vertical distribution wings having a parallel axis in the horizontal direction.

The cooling chamber is partitioned into a plurality of storage zones arranged in upper and lower layers. The cold air discharge port is preferably formed to correspond to each of the storage areas.

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

1 is a front view of a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device, and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. As described with reference to FIG. 7 of the related art, the refrigerator 1 having the present cold air distribution device is a pair of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 separated by the intermediate partition 5 in a substantially rectangular body. Cooling chambers are provided, and opening / closing doors 6 and 7 are provided on the opening fronts of the respective cooling chambers 2 and 3, respectively.

The refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with a plurality of shelves 8 for placing food to partition the refrigerator compartment 3 into a plurality of food storage areas in the vertical direction. In the upper side of the refrigerating chamber 3, a special refrigerating chamber 18 for storing food suitable for a specific temperature range is formed, and the lower side of the refrigerating chamber 3 is provided with a vegetable chamber 19 for storing vegetables. 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 forms a cold air duct 15 to guide the cold air insulated, the front plate 23 attached to the front surface of the duct member 21, and the duct member 21. Seal plate 25 is bonded to the back of the, and the front plate 23 is composed of a partial cylindrical duct cover 40 is installed in a form surrounding the cold air distribution device 40. The duct cover 40 and the duct member 21 are coupled at a predetermined distance, and forms a cold air duct 15 for guiding the flow of cold air therebetween. The duct cover 40 is provided with cold air outlets 16 opened toward the refrigerating chamber 3 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction thereof.

On the other hand, a cold air distribution device 40 is provided in the cold air duct 15. 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 distribution device 40. At this time, the cold air distribution device 40 operating as described later in detail is Evenly distribute the cold air to the fridge. 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 through this circulation duct 15. As shown in FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of the cold air distribution device according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of the assembled state of FIG. As can be seen in these figures, the present cold air distribution device 40 is provided at the rear side of the duct cover 27 in which the cold air discharge port 16 is formed, and is a pair of distributions rotatable vertically in the cold air duct. Rotating between the cold air distribution blade 41 having the wing portions 43a and 43b, and the drive cam 51 and the drive cam 51 rotatably provided between the pair of distribution blade portions 43a and 43b. The driving motor 59 and the transmission part 61 interposed between the drive cam 51 and the cold air distribution blade 41 for converting the rotational force of the drive cam 51 to the left and right rotations of the cold air distribution blade 41 are provided. Have. The upper and lower pairs of cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b are formed in the duct cover 27.

The cold air distribution blade 41 has the rotary shaft 45 and the distribution blade parts 43a and 43b formed at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of this rotary shaft 45. The distributing blade portions 43a and 43b have a substantially rectangular plate shape, and the rotary shaft 45 is formed along the rear longitudinal edges of the distributing blade portions 43a and 43b. Both ends of the rotating shaft 45 are rotatably supported, respectively. The rotary shaft holes 29 and 32 supporting them are formed in the flange portions 28 and 31 provided rearward from the upper and lower rear surfaces of the duct cover 27.

On the other hand, the drive cam 51 is disposed in the horizontal direction between the plate surface of the duct cover 27 and the rotation shaft 45 of the cold air distribution blade 41. The drive cam support part 35 which fixes the drive cam 51 rotatably in the horizontal direction is provided between the upper and lower pair of cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b among the center back surface of the duct cover 27. The drive cam 51 rotatably supported by the drive cam support part 35 is continuously connected to the cam body 53 which is coaxially coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor 59 and the cylindrical surface of the cam body 53. It has a cam groove 55 having a cAMP profile of a typical waveform. One rotation pin 56 of the drive cam 53 is rotatably supported by the flange portion 33 extending from the side edge of the duct cover 27. On the central rear surface of the duct cover 27, a drive motor support portion 37 for holding and supporting the drive motor 59 is formed. The drive motor 59 of this embodiment is constituted by a stepping motor capable of controlling forward and reverse rotation and stop angle position.

The transmission part 61 includes a guide member 63 fixed with a sliding guide groove 65 disposed in a horizontal direction between the drive cam 51 and the upper distribution blade part 43a of the cold air distribution blade 41, It is reciprocating along the sliding guide groove (65) of the guide member (63) and has an action bar (69), one end of which interacts with the drive cam (51) and the other end of which acts with the cold air distribution wing (41). The guide member 63 has a substantially rectangular bar shape, and sliding guide grooves 65 are formed along the longitudinal direction thereof. In the central region of the action bar 69, protruding ribs 68 are formed which are enlarged in the cross-sectional radius direction. Protruding rib 68 serves to prevent the separation when the action bar 69 moves along the longitudinal direction of the sliding guide groove 65 of the guide member 63, for this purpose sliding in the sliding guide groove 65 Guide grooves 67 are formed which are recessed in the direction to receive the protruding ribs 68.

On the other hand, in the upper distribution blade portion 43a of the cold air distribution blade 41, a working groove 49 recessed in a predetermined length section of the lower edge thereof is formed. One end of the action bar 69 is accommodated in the action groove 49 in a flowable manner. One end of the action bar 69 moves along the longitudinal direction of the action groove 49 when the action bar 69 reciprocates along the sliding guide groove 65 of the guide member 63 and correspondingly dispenses. The blade 43a is rotated left and right about the axis of rotation 45. At this time, the lower distributing blade portion 43b formed integrally with the single rotating shaft 45 is also interlocked left and right. The other end of the action bar 69 is accommodated in the cam groove of the drive cam 51. Thus, when the drive cam 51 is rotated to move along the camp profile, thereby the action bar 69 moves along the sliding guide groove 65 of the guide member 63, the left and right distribution wings 41 Rotates within a predetermined range.

5 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are partially enlarged perspective views of FIG. 4, illustrating an operating state of the cold air distribution device 40 according to the present invention. When power is applied to the control unit (not shown), the control unit operates the refrigeration system to form cold air around the evaporator 12b and operates the blower fan 13b to blow cold air toward the cold air discharge ports 16a and 16b. Then, a control signal is sent to the drive motor 59 to rotate the drive cam 51 at a predetermined speed. Then, the other end of the action bar 69 which is installed to be movable along the sliding guide groove 65 of the guide member 63 is moved in the left and right directions along the cam groove 55 of the driving cam 51 which rotates. It will move back and forth.

6 and 7, one end of the action bar 69 accommodated in the action groove of the upper distribution wing portion 43a of the cold air distribution wing 41 is the action bar 69. It moves along the sliding of) and rotates the distribution blade portion 43a in the left and right directions. The reason why the working groove 49 is formed in the distributing blade portion 43a of the cold air distributing blade 41 is that the cam groove of the drive cam 51 is rotated because the distributing blade portion 43 is formed in an arc shape. It is for the movement of one end of the action bar 69 made in a linear direction along the (55). In addition to the rotation of the upper distribution blade portion 43a, the lower distribution blade portion 43b formed on a single rotating shaft is also rotated integrally. In this way, the flow cold air from the cold air duct 15 is guided in accordance with the rotational positions of the distribution blade parts 43a and 43b while the upper and lower distribution blade parts 43a and 43b of the cold air distribution blade 41 rotate left and right. To be dispensed.

On the other hand, in the refrigerating chamber, temperature sensing sensors 19a and 19b are provided in plural places. These sensors 19a and 19b sense the temperature in the refrigerating compartment and generate a detection signal to the control unit. The control unit applying the detection signal determines whether or not a temperature deviation occurs in the refrigerating compartment. Therefore, when the temperature deviation becomes a predetermined value or more, the control signal is output to the drive motor 59, and the cold air distribution blade 41 is stopped to rotate so that cold air can be concentrated in the corresponding area. As a result, the temperature deviation generated in the refrigerating chamber is eliminated within a short time.

On the other hand, in the above-described and illustrated embodiments, a description has been made of the provision of the transmission portion 61 between the drive cam 51 and the upper distribution blade portion 43a, but the drive cam 51 and the lower distribution blade portion 43b. It is a matter of course that the same purpose and effect as described above can be achieved by providing a transmission unit 61 in between. And a pair of upper and lower transmission parts 61 can also be provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a cold air distribution device capable of distributing the cold air discharged to the cooling chamber through the cold air discharge port to the left and right. The cold air distribution device of the refrigerator can operate more efficiently without generating vortices around the cold air discharge port during its operation, thereby effectively distributing the cold air, and, if necessary, supply the cold air intensively to a specific area. Thus, the inside of the cooling chamber can be maintained at a uniform temperature distribution.

Claims (9)

In the refrigerator having a cooling chamber for cooling and storing food, 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; A cold air distributing wing having a pair of distributing wings formed in the cold air duct at a predetermined interval along a vertical axis of rotation and an axis of the rotary axis; A drive cam fixed in the horizontal direction between the pair of distribution blades; A drive motor for rotating the drive cam; An electric transmission part interposed between the drive cam and any one of the pair of distribution blades to transmit the rotational force of the drive cam to the corresponding distribution blades to rotate the cold air distribution blades within a predetermined range; Refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 1, The transmission unit, A guide member fixed between the drive cam and the corresponding distribution blade and having a sliding guide groove parallel to the axis of the drive cam; An actuating groove formed on one side edge of the distributing wing portion corresponding to the driving cam in a predetermined length section; And a working bar movable along the sliding guide groove of the guide member, one end of which is received in the working groove and the other free end of which extends to interact with the drive cam. The method of claim 2, A protruding rib protruding in the cross-sectional direction is formed in the central region of the action bar; The sliding guide groove of the guide member is provided with a guide groove for slidably receiving the protruding rib of the action bar is provided along the sliding direction The method of claim 2, The drive cam, A cam body which is coaxially coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor and rotates integrally; And a cam groove having a continuous wave shaped camp profile on the cylindrical surface of the cam body. The method of claim 4, wherein And a free end portion of the action bar is engaged with the cam groove of the drive cam to continuously move horizontally along the camp profile when the drive cam is rotated. The method of claim 5, The left and right movement of the free end of the other side of the action bar, one end of the action bar swings in the action groove of the distribution wing portion, characterized in that the refrigerator for rotating the cold air distribution wing. The method of claim 1, The cold air duct, A duct cover on which the cold air outlet is formed; A duct member coupled to the duct cover at predetermined intervals to form a cold air flow path; And a driving cam is rotatably fixed to a central region of the rear surface of the duct cover. The method of claim 7, wherein The cold air discharge port formed in the duct cover is a refrigerator, characterized in that a plurality of vertical distribution wings having a parallel axis in the horizontal direction is installed. The method of claim 1, The cooling chamber, It is divided into a plurality of storage zones arranged in the upper and lower layers; The cold air outlet is formed to correspond to each of the storage areas.