KR20000002099U - Defrost heater unit installation structure of the refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an improved defrost heater unit installation structure of a refrigerator.

The present invention corresponds to the outer periphery of a coupling slot formed at each of the lower ends of both end plates, each of which has a coupling slot for inserting and fixing a defrost heater in a radial direction and a fixing slit at an upper side of the coupling slots, and insulating caps installed at both ends. Defrost heaters are formed in the radial direction of the engaging grooves for inserting the respective edges of the coupling slots, and insertion grooves for inserting the insulating caps of the defrost heater in the radial direction at both ends are formed in the upper direction of the defrost heater A top cover having a plurality of hooks elastically fitted to the fixing slit of the end plate at the end protruding upward, and a top cover having a plurality of slots located at the top of the defrost heater and a plurality of slots through which the hooks of the bottom cover penetrate. It is configured to include.

Accordingly, the present invention can easily install the defrost heater without a separate support as in the prior art, as well as minimizes the fear of damage caused by external forces during assembly.

Description

STRUCTURE FOR MOUNTING A HEATER UNIT OF A REFRIGERATOR

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a structure for installing a defrost heater unit (heater unit) for removing frost formed on the evaporator.

As is well known, a refrigerator is a device that cools food by the heat of evaporation of a refrigerant using a cooling cycle, and is a direct-cooling type that cools by direct heat of the cooler. There is an intercooling (시키는 式) to circulate and cool the cold air, and the recent refrigerator has a configuration of a complex type that usually adopts the intercooling and partially direct cooling.

The dual intercooled refrigerator is generally installed in the rear of the freezer compartment, thereby cooling the cold air by circulating the cold air into the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment by a fan motor, and circulating the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment. The recovered cold is returned to the cooler through a return duct and cooled.

However, since a large amount of water is contained in the cold air recovered from the refrigerating chamber, the saturated water vapor pressure drops rapidly due to the instantaneous temperature difference as it comes into contact with the cooler, thereby condensing the contained water, thereby generating a large amount of condensate. Most of the condensate generated in this way is collected and drained to a drain pan provided at the bottom of the cooler, but some of the condensate is frosted on the cooler.

Accordingly, when the refrigerator is operated for a long time, the frost is thickly implanted in the cooler, causing a decrease in cooling efficiency due to poor heat transfer. Therefore, a defrost heater is usually installed at the lower part of the cooler so that the cooler is properly defrosted as necessary. It is common.

FIG. 1 shows the contents described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-13948 as an example of a conventional structure in which such a defrost heater unit is installed in a cooler. It has a substantially C-shaped clip (clip 12) at both ends of the inside of the drain pan (8) consisting of an outer pan (9) made of synthetic resin and an inner pan (10) made of aluminum. Install two supports (11) and fix the insulation caps (4) on both ends of the defrost heater (3) made of insulating material. And the lower cover (6) is coupled from the lower side of the defrost heater (3) so that the U-shaped insertion groove (6a) formed in both ends in the upper direction to insert the insulating cap (4) of the defrost heater (3), respectively The end of the cooler 1 is formed by penetrating a plurality of hooks 7 protruding upward from both distal ends of the lower cover 6 through corresponding slots 5a of the top cover 5. The defrost heater 3 is attached to the cooler 1 by elastically hanging on the locking slit 2a formed in the lower part of the end plate 2, respectively.

By the way, such a conventional installation structure has to provide a separate support 11 in the drain pan 8 to support the defrost heater 3 not only complicated installation structure but also complicated production of the drain pan 8 There was. In particular, since the defrost heater 3 is pressed against the clip 12 of the support 11 from above, the defrost heater 3 is very likely to be damaged during assembly. In addition, in order to prevent the flow of the defrost heater (3) in the mounted state, there was a problem that the engaging projection (4a) located in the opening of the clip 12 on the outer circumference of the insulating cap (4).

It is an object of the present invention to provide a defrost heater unit installation structure of a refrigerator which can be installed easily and stably in a cooler without providing a separate support in view of the above-described conventional problems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a defrost heater unit installation structure of the refrigerator that can effectively prevent the risk of damage to the defrost heater due to external forces when assembling the defrost heater.

In order to achieve the above objects, the defrost heater unit installation structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooler for cooling the inside of the refrigerator, a defrost heater positioned under the cooler to remove frost formed on the cooler, and the defrost heater. A refrigerator having a condensate generated in the cooler and a drain pan for collecting and discharging defrost water by defrosting, the refrigerator being formed at a lower end of both end plates to open at one side thereof in a radial direction. An upper cooler having a coupling slot inserted into the fixing slot and a fixing slot above the coupling slots; A defrost heater having radially formed locking grooves for inserting edges of the coupling slots corresponding to the outer circumference of the insulating cap installed at both ends thereof; Insertion grooves for radially inserting the insulating caps of the defrost heater at both ends are formed in the upper direction and located at the bottom of the defrost heater, a plurality of hooks that are elastically fitted to the fixing slit of the end plate at both ends upwards A protruding lower cover; Located on the upper portion of the defrost heater, the upper cover having a plurality of slots in the front end of each of the hooks of the lower cover; characterized in that it comprises a.

According to one preferred feature of the present invention, the coupling slot of the end plate is formed in an approximately L shape having a horizontal portion drawn horizontally from one side thereof and a vertical portion extending downward from the rear end of the horizontal portion.

Accordingly, the present invention directly installs the defrost heater to the lower part of the cooler, so that the defrost heater can be easily installed without a separate support as in the related art, and the damage caused by external force is minimized even during assembly, thereby making the refrigerator manufacturable. It will have a great effect on improvement.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a conventional defrost heater unit installation structure,

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a defrost heater unit installation structure according to the present invention,

3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a coupling state thereof;

4 is an excerpted side view taken along IV in FIG. 3,

Figure 5 is an excerpt side view showing the assembly method of the present invention defrost heater sequentially.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

21: evaporator

24: end plate (of cooler)

25: coupling slot (of end plate)

25a, 25b: horizontal and vertical (in combination slots)

26: locking slit (of end plate)

27: defrost heater 28: insulation cap (of defrost heater)

28a: Locking groove (of insulation cap) 29: Top cover

29a: slot 30 (lower cover)

31: Hook of the bottom cover 32: Insertion groove of the bottom cover

33: drain pan

Such specific features and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 to 4, the illustrated configuration is a defrost heater unit of the refrigerator, which is installed in the lower part of the cooler 21 to remove frost formed on the cooler 21 at the rear of a freezer compartment (not shown). (27) and upper and lower covers (29) and (30) of metal materials positioned at the upper and lower portions of the defrost heater (27), respectively, to protect the defrost heater (27) from condensate and defrost water falling from the cooler (21). And a drain pan 33 positioned below the defrost heater 27 to collect and discharge the condensed water and the defrost water from the cooler 21.

According to a feature of the present invention, a cooler for integrally supporting a tube (22) through which a refrigerant flows and a plurality of radiating fins (23) coupled to an outer circumference of the tube 22 to promote heat dissipation of the refrigerant ( The lower ends of the two end plates 24 of 21 are properly extended, and coupling slots 25 radially inserting and fixing the defrost heater 27 are formed to face each other so that one side thereof is opened. . This coupling slot 25 is preferably approximately having a horizontal portion 25a extending horizontally from one side of the end plate 24 and a vertical portion 25b extending downward from the rear end of the horizontal portion 25a. L-shaped In addition, fixing slits 26 for fixing the lower cover 30 are formed in the two end plates 24 to the upper side of each coupling slot 25 in the horizontal direction.

The defrost heater 27 is provided with an insulating cap 28, such as a silicon material for electrical insulation at both ends thereof, the coupling slot of the end plate 24 on the outer circumference of the insulating cap (28) 25) A locking groove 28a is formed in its radial direction to insert the edge and to prevent the flow in the assembled state with positioning relative to the end plate 24. Even if only one locking groove 28a is provided in each insulating cap 28, the effect of the present invention does not interfere, but preferably, two locking grooves 28a are formed in each insulating cap (as shown). 28) It is formed side by side so as to correspond to one side and the other side of the outer circumference to ensure a firm position fixing to the end plate (24).

On both sides of both ends of the lower cover 30, a pair of hooks 31 elastically fitted to the corresponding fixing slits 25 of the end plate 24 are bent and extended to protrude upward. As a result, an approximately U-shaped insertion groove 32 is formed between the pairs of hooks 31 upwardly, and the insertion grooves 32 form insulating caps 28 at both ends of the defrost heater 27. Inserted and supported radially from the bottom side, respectively.

In addition, a plurality of slots 29a through which hooks 31 of the lower cover 30 pass are formed near both ends of the upper cover 29.

On the other hand, the drain pan 33 is composed of an outer fan 34 made of synthetic resin and an inner fan 35 made of a metal material such as aluminum bonded to the inside of the outer fan 34, and condensed water collected at each bottom thereof. The drainage holes 34a and 35a for discharging the defrost water to the outside are formed coaxially. The drain pan 33 of the present invention is directly on the inside of the refrigerator cabinet (cabinet) to be located in the lower part of the cooler 21, unlike the conventional support that is supported by the cooler (1 in Figure 1) by the lower cover (6 in Figure 1). It is fixed.

The method of assembling the defrost heater unit to the cooler 21 by the present invention installation structure configured as described above will be described in parallel with FIG. 5.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the defrost heater 27 is fitted into the coupling slots 25 formed on both end plates 24 of the cooler 21 through the engaging grooves 28a of the insulating cap 28. Fix the position.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the pair of engaging grooves 28a of each insulating cap 28 are positioned to correspond to the upper and lower edges of the coupling slots 25 of the corresponding end plates 24, and the horizontal portion 25a thereof. Fit inside. Then, the upper and lower edges of the coupling slot 25 horizontal part 25a are respectively inserted into the pair of engaging grooves 28a of the insulating cap 28 to prevent the defrost heater 27 from flowing in the horizontal direction.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the defrost heater 27 is rotated 90 ° clockwise at the bent portion of the coupling slot 25 so that the coupling slot 25 is vertical as shown in FIG. 5 (c). It rests in the part 25b. Then, the left and right edges of the coupling slot 25 vertical part 25b are fitted to the pair of engaging grooves 28a of the insulating cap 28 to prevent the flow of the defrost heater 27 in the horizontal and front direction, thereby preventing the defrost heater. 27 is stably positioned on the end plate 24 of the cooler 21.

Next, the lower cover 30 is coupled from the lower side of the defrost heater 27 so that the insulating caps 28 of the defrost heater 27 are inserted into the insertion groove 32. Subsequently, the upper cover 29 is disposed above the defrost heater 27 such that each hook 31 of the lower cover 30 protruding upward of the defrost heater 27 passes through corresponding slots 29a of the upper cover 29. ). Then, the upper and lower covers 29 and 30 are respectively positioned at the upper and lower portions of the defrost heater 27 to be integrally assembled.

In this state, the hooks 31 of the lower cover 30 protruding upward of the upper cover 29 are fitted into the corresponding fixing slits 26 of the cooler 21 end plate 24 from the inside thereof. Then, each hook 31 of the lower cover 30 is elastically coupled and fixed in the form of pressing from the inner side to the outer direction to the two end plates 24 so that the defrost heater unit is fixed to the cooler 21.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the defrost heater is directly coupled to and fixed to the end plate of the cooler, there is no need to provide a separate support for supporting the defrost heater in the drain pan as in the prior art. Not only is it easy to manufacture, but also the assembly structure of the defrost heater is very simple.

In particular, the present invention is to fit the insulating cap of the defrost heater to the coupling slot of the cooler end plate, there is no fear of damage because the external force is not applied to the defrost heater as in the prior art during assembly.

In addition, since the locking groove of the insulating cap is fixed by inserting the left and right edges of the coupling slot vertical portion, there is no need to configure the locking projection for preventing the flow of the defrost heater on the outer periphery of the insulating cap as in the prior art.

Therefore, the present invention has an excellent effect of improving the manufacturability of the refrigerator.

Claims (3)

A cooler for cooling the inside of the refrigerator, a defrost heater disposed under the cooler to remove frost formed on the cooler, a condensed water generated in the cooler located under the defrost heater, and defrost water by defrosting A refrigerator provided with a drain pan for discharging, One side of each of the end plates 24 are formed so that one side is opened, and a coupling slot 25 for inserting and fixing the defrost heater 27 in a radial direction, and a fixing slit 26 above the coupling slots 25. The cooler 21 and having; The defrost heater 27 having radially formed locking grooves 28a for inserting edges of the coupling slots 25 corresponding to the outer circumference of the insulating cap 28 installed at both ends thereof; Insertion grooves 32 for inserting the insulating caps 28 of the defrost heater 27 in the radial direction at both ends are formed in the upper direction and located below the defrost heater 27, the end plate at both ends A lower cover 30 in which a plurality of hooks 31 elastically fitted to the fixing slit 25 of the 24 protrude upward; And an upper cover (29) positioned at an upper portion of the defrost heater (27) and having a plurality of slots (29a) at both ends thereof through which the hooks (31) of the lower cover (30) pass. Defrost heater unit installation structure of the refrigerator. The horizontal portion 25a of which the coupling slot 25 of the end plate 24 extends horizontally from one side thereof and the vertical portion 25b extending downward from the rear end of the horizontal portion 25a. Defrost heater unit installation structure of the refrigerator, characterized in that formed in an approximately L shape. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking grooves 28a of the defrost heaters 27 are formed on one side and the other side of each insulation cap 28 and arranged side by side so as to correspond to each other. Defrost heater unit installation structure.