KR20030068931A - Evaporator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An evaporator is provided to allow defrosting by heating the whole of the evaporator with even temperature. CONSTITUTION: An evaporator(40) includes a plurality of heat exchange fins(41); and a refrigerant tube(42) perpendicularly penetrating the heat exchange fins and arranged zigzag. The heat exchange fins are made of square sheets, and having penetrating holes(43) formed thereon to allow the refrigerant tube to be inserted and joined thereto. A defrosting unit(50) is fixed to the evaporator as a condensing part(53) of a heat pipe is inserted to the penetrating holes formed on middle parts of the heat exchange fins. The heat pipe of the defrosting unit is placed between the refrigerant tube arranged in two rows to transfer heat to the heat exchange fins so as to efficiently remove frost formed on the heat exchange fins and the refrigerant tube. High pressure gas refrigerant goes up along an evaporating part(52) and flows in the condensing part. Condensing heat of the gas refrigerant is transferred to the heat exchange fins through the condensing part to thaw frost formed on the evaporator.

Description

Evaporator

The present invention relates to an evaporator comprising a refrigerant pipe zigzag formed to form a plurality of stages, and a plurality of heat exchange fins through which the refrigerant pipe is vertically penetrated, and more particularly attached to the evaporator in accordance with the operation of the refrigeration cycle. The present invention relates to an evaporator having a defrosting device for removing frost.

In general, an evaporator is a device constituting a refrigeration cycle used in a refrigerator and an air conditioner. The evaporator is installed between a refrigerant expansion device and a compressor, and is arranged in a zigzag manner to form a plurality of stages, and is arranged perpendicular to the refrigerant pipe. It is composed of a plurality of heat exchange fins, so that the heat exchange between the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe and the heat exchange fins and the refrigerant flowing through the inside of the refrigerant pipe to generate cold air for cooling the surrounding space.

1 shows an evaporator according to the prior art. As shown therein, the conventional evaporator 1 includes a plurality of heat exchange fins 2 arranged in parallel, a refrigerant pipe 3 vertically penetrating the heat exchange fins, and arranged in a zigzag manner in multiple stages, and a defrost. It comprises a defrost heater (4) arranged in a zigzag manner along the front and rear portions of the heat exchange fin (2) to perform the operation.

The heat exchange fins 2 are made of a substantially rectangular thin plate, and the through-holes 2a are perforated so that the refrigerant pipe 3 is fitted into the surface thereof.

The defrost heater 4 is a kind of electric heater, and is composed of a tube 4a arranged in a zigzag manner along the front and rear surfaces of the heat exchange fins 2 and a heating coil 4b provided inside the tube 4a.

Referring to the case where the conventional evaporator 1 configured as described above is applied to the refrigerator as an example, first, the air in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment flows into the lower side of the evaporator 1 as the blowing fan and the compressor installed at the rear of the refrigerator are driven. As a result, it passes through the evaporator 1, and as a result of being heat-exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 3 of the evaporator 1, it is cooled and supplied to the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber. That is, the air discharged from the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 3 through the heat exchange fins 2, and thus, changes to a cooler and is sent back to the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

Since the air flowing into the evaporator 1 from the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment in the cold air circulation process of the refrigerator is relatively hot and humid compared to the cold air passing through the evaporator 1, the air is supplied to the evaporator 1 having a very low temperature. As the hot and humid air comes into contact with each other, the temperature drops below the dew point temperature, and condenses by the low temperature of the heat exchange fins 2 and the refrigerant pipe 3. It is conceived on the outside.

Here, there are portions to which a relatively large amount of frost is attached to the evaporator, and portions to which a relatively small amount of frost is attached to the evaporator, thereby preventing uniform idea on the surface of the evaporator. That is, despite attempts to achieve an overall uniform idea, such as adjusting the spacing of the heat exchange fins, uniformity across the entire surface of the evaporator is due to various factors, such as the location of the evaporator and the on / off cycle of the refrigerator. There is no idea, and there are parts where a relatively large amount of sex is attached and a part where a relatively small amount of sex is attached.

When frost is caught in the evaporator 1 as described above, the defrost heater 4 is operated to perform the defrosting operation. That is, after deactivating the compressor and the fan, the defrost heater 4 is operated for a predetermined time or until the freezer compartment reaches the set temperature, and then defrosting is performed. The generated cold air is supplied to the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

In the conventional evaporator 1, the defrost heater 4 for performing a defrosting operation consists of the tube 4a and the heating coil 4b installed in the inside of this tube 4a, and the heating coil 4b. Since the defrosting is performed by conducting heat generated from the heat transfer fin 2 through the tube 4a, the same heat flux is generated in each part of the tube 4a. The same amount of heat is supplied to the part.

However, as described above, the amount of implantation generated in the evaporator 1 is not uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the evaporator 1, and the portions in which a large amount of implantation is locally formed and a small amount of implantation are formed. Since the parts are present, when defrosting by supplying the same amount of heat to each part of the evaporator 1 as in the conventional defrost heater 4, defrosting is continued in the part with a large amount of defrosting but defrosting in the part with a small amount of defrosting. Even after this is completed, a phenomenon in which heat is continuously applied appears.

By this phenomenon, the temperature rises locally in the part where the amount of implantation is small, whereby the temperature of the ambient air rises and hot air flows into the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment by natural convection. The ice or meat stored in the freezer is melted by the high temperature air, and the decay rate of the food stored in the refrigerating compartment is increased.

On the other hand, in order to prevent such a phenomenon as a whole stop when the defrosting operation is not completed, the efficiency of the evaporator is reduced by operating in a state where the frost is attached to some parts of the evaporator.

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a defrosting device that can be defrosted by heating the entire area of the evaporator to a uniform temperature and at the same time, the defrosting operation can be done quickly. To provide one evaporator.

1 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an evaporator equipped with a conventional defroster.

2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal structure of a refrigerator to which an evaporator according to the present invention is applied.

3 is a front view of a defrosting apparatus for an evaporator according to the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

5 is a perspective view schematically showing a state in which the defrosting apparatus of FIG. 3 is installed in an evaporator.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

40: evaporator 41: heat exchange fins

42: refrigerant pipe 50: defrosting device

51: heat pipe 52: evaporation unit

53: condenser 54: heater

57: liquid refrigerant adsorption member 60: liquid refrigerant

The present invention for achieving this object, a plurality of heat exchanger fins arranged in parallel, a refrigerant pipe disposed in multiple stages through the heat exchange fins, and a defrost for removing frost formed on the refrigerant pipe and the heat exchange fins In an evaporator with a device,

The defrosting apparatus includes a heat pipe formed in a closed circuit, a refrigerant encapsulated in the heat pipe, and a heater embedded in the heat pipe to heat the refrigerant.

The heat pipe is bent in a zigzag form from an upper end of the evaporator to perform a defrosting operation using a vaporization unit vertically provided to heat and vaporize a refrigerant existing in a liquid state in a lower portion of the heat pipe and vaporized refrigerant. It consists of a condenser connected to the bottom of the evaporator.

The heater is disposed below the evaporator to extend to a position higher than the level of the liquid refrigerant contained in the lower portion of the heat pipe.

In addition, a liquid refrigerant adsorption member may be installed on an outer surface of the heater to raise the liquid refrigerant to the upper portion of the heater by capillary force.

Preferably, the condensation part of the heat pipe is inclined downward at an angle to return the condensed refrigerant to the lower part of the heat pipe.

The heat pipe is installed to penetrate through the heat exchange fins, so that the heat pipe is disposed at an approximately center portion with respect to the front and rear directions of the heat exchange fins.

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

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall structure of a refrigerator equipped with an evaporator equipped with a defrosting apparatus of the present invention.

In the refrigerator to which the present invention is applied, the freezer compartment 11 for storing the frozen food and the refrigerating compartment 12 for storing the refrigerated food are provided to be partitioned up and down by the intermediate partition 30. Doors 11a and 12a for opening and closing are hingedly coupled to the front part of the main body 10 so as to be rotatable.

At the rear of the freezing chamber 11, a cooling chamber 20 is formed, and an evaporator 40 for generating cold air and a circulation fan 22 for forcibly blowing the cold air generated by the evaporator 40 are installed. The freezing chamber duct 23 and the refrigerating chamber duct 24 are provided in the rear side walls of the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 to guide the supply of cold air. In the freezing chamber duct 23 and the refrigerating chamber duct 24, a plurality of cold air outlet holes 23a and 24a are arranged up and down, so that the cold air is evenly distributed in the freezing chamber 11 and the entire refrigerating chamber 12 and supplied.

In addition, the air, which circulates through the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber 12 and finishes the heat exchange operation, is introduced into the evaporator 40 to be cooled again. The return ducts 25 and 26 are provided in the intermediate partition 30 to return the cold air. Formed. Reference numeral 13 denotes a compressor installed in a machine room formed under the main body 10.

In the refrigerator configured as described above, when the circulation fan 22 is rotated, the cold air generated in the evaporator 40 is freezing chamber through the cold air outlet holes 23a and 24a of the freezing chamber duct 23 and the refrigerating chamber duct 24. (11) and the refrigerating chamber (12) to cool the stored foods, the heat exchanged with the food air is raised to the temperature again through the return ducts (25, 26) to the evaporator (40) after being cooled again As the process of being supplied to the freezing compartment 11 and the refrigerating compartment 12 is repeated, food stored in the freezing compartment 11 and the refrigerating compartment 12 can be stored in a fresh state for a long time.

On the other hand, when the refrigerator operates for a predetermined time, the air in the refrigerating chamber 12 discharged through the return duct 26 becomes relatively high in temperature and high humidity, and the high temperature and high humidity air is lowered into the evaporator 40. When introduced, the moisture contained in the air drops below the dew point temperature and condenses on the surface of the evaporator 40, thereby degrading heat exchange efficiency.

As described above, when frost is formed on the surface of the evaporator 40, the operation of the compressor 13 and the blowing fan 22 should be stopped, and defrosting should be performed by applying heat to the surface of the evaporator 40.

3 shows a defrosting device 50 according to the present invention installed in the evaporator 40 to remove frost formed on the evaporator 40.

As shown in the drawing, the defrosting device 50 according to the present invention includes a heat pipe 51 formed in one closed circuit, and a liquid refrigerant 60 filled and filled in a predetermined height in the heat pipe 51. ) And a heater 54 for heating and vaporizing the liquid refrigerant 600.

The heat pipe 51 is vertically disposed to provide a space for vaporizing the liquid refrigerant, and both ends thereof are coupled to the upper and lower ends of the evaporator 52 and are zigzag. Consists of a condensation unit 53 formed. Due to this structure, the liquid refrigerant 60 is converted into gas by the heat emitted from the heater 54 in the evaporator 52 and sent to the inlet of the condenser 53 connected to the upper end of the evaporator 52. The gaseous refrigerant 60a is condensed while passing through the condensation unit 53 arranged in a zigzag to release the heat of condensation to the evaporator 40. The heat pipe 51 is made of a material having high conductivity such as aluminum or copper so that the heat of condensation of the refrigerant can be quickly transferred to the evaporator 40 through the heat pipe 51.

On the other hand, as the refrigerant 60a in the gas state circulating through the condensation unit 53 releases heat and condenses, the liquid refrigerant 60b, which has been phase-changed again, is zigzag-shaped to be smoothly returned to the evaporation unit 52. The condensation unit 53 is formed to be inclined downward at a predetermined angle. The inclination angle only needs to be able to smoothly flow downward by the liquid refrigerant (60b), preferably in the range of 5 degrees to 15 degrees.

The heater 54 is disposed below the evaporator 52 of the heat pipe 51, and an electric wire 55 for supplying current to the heater 54 is connected to the lower end of the heater 54. Therefore, when a current is supplied through the wire 55, the heater 54 generates heat to heat the liquid refrigerant 60 filled in the lower portion of the evaporator 52.

The heater 54 extends to a position slightly higher than the level of the liquid refrigerant 60 in the state in which the heater 54 is not generated in the evaporator 52, and the liquid refrigerant is formed on the outer surface of the heater 54. A suction member wick 57 is provided. The liquid refrigerant absorbing member 57 is for raising the refrigerant filled in the lower portion of the heater 54 to the upper portion of the heater 54 so that the liquid refrigerant can be evaporated quickly.

4 is a view illustrating a structure in which the liquid refrigerant absorbing member 57 is disposed to surround the outside of the heater 54. As shown in the drawing, the liquid refrigerant absorbing member 57 is made of a heat resistant material such as iron, and has a structure that forms a fine mesh so that its surface area is wide, so that a relatively large amount of the liquid refrigerant 60 is applied to the capillary force. It will rise to the top along the fine mesh. Therefore, the liquid refrigerant adsorbed to the liquid refrigerant adsorption member 57 by the heat of the heater 54 is rapidly evaporated, whereby the liquid refrigerant 60 under the evaporation unit 52 again becomes the liquid refrigerant adsorption member. It is to be pulled up to the top of the heater 54 along the mesh of 57 to continuously evaporate the liquid refrigerant (60).

As shown in FIG. 3, the heater 54 and the liquid refrigerant absorbing member 57 are attached to a sealing member 56 that seals the lower end of the evaporator 52 in the state in which the liquid refrigerant 60 is sealed. It is fixed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a state in which the defroster 50 configured as described above is mounted on the evaporator 40.

As shown in the drawing, the evaporator 40 includes a plurality of heat exchange fins 41 arranged in parallel as in the related art, and a refrigerant pipe arranged vertically through the heat exchange fins 41 and arranged in a zigzag manner in a plurality of stages. 42). The heat exchange fins 41 are made of a substantially rectangular thin plate, and the through-holes 43 are perforated so that the refrigerant pipe 42 is fitted into the surface thereof.

Defrosting device 50 according to the present invention is installed to remove frost formed on the surface of the evaporator 40 configured as described above.

The defroster 50 is fixed to the evaporator 40 by fitting the condensation portion 53 of the heat pipe 51 to the through holes 44 formed at approximately intermediate points of the heat exchange fin 41. Therefore, the heat pipe 51 of the defroster 50 in the state of being installed in the evaporator 40 is disposed between the refrigerant pipes 42 of the evaporator 40 arranged in two rows so that the heat exchange fin 41 is in the front-rear direction. By transferring heat to the frost formed on the heat exchange fin 41 and the refrigerant pipe 42 is effectively removed.

However, the defrosting apparatus 50 according to the present invention has a defrosting effect even if the condensation portion 53 of the heat pipe 51 is installed on both sides or one side of the heat exchange fins 41 of the evaporator 40 as in the prior art. Can be performed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the defrosting device 50 configured as described above and installed in the evaporator 40 will be described.

When the frost is formed on the surface of the evaporator 40 by operating the refrigerator for a predetermined time, the defrosting device 50 is operated to remove the frost. That is, when the heater 54 is heated by applying an electric current to the wire 55 connected to the heater 54, the liquid refrigerant adsorbed to the liquid refrigerant adsorption member 57 is heated to raise the temperature while increasing the temperature. The phase change is caused by the refrigerant 60a (see FIG. 3).

The high-pressure gas refrigerant 60a rises along the evaporator 52 to pass through the heat exchange fins 41 of the evaporator 40, and the condensation unit 53 in which the inside thereof is relatively low temperature and low pressure. Flows to The gaseous refrigerant 60a passing through the condenser 53 is condensed by emitting heat of condensation to the heat exchange fins 41 through the condenser 53 of the heat pipe 51 in each part of the condenser 53. It condenses with the refrigerant | coolant 60b of a state.

Therefore, heat is conducted to the heat exchange fin 42 through the condensation unit 53 of the heat pipe 51 whose temperature is increased by the heat of condensation of the gas refrigerant 60a, and thus frost formed on the evaporator 40 It will melt.

Meanwhile, the refrigerant 60b condensed at each portion of the condensation portion 53 of the heat pipe 51 flows downward along the condensation portion 53 disposed to be inclined downward by gravity to be evaporated 52. The liquid refrigerant 60 is returned to the lower portion of the process, and the liquid refrigerant 60 again rises along the liquid refrigerant absorbing member 57 and is heated by the heater 54 to phase change into a high-pressure gaseous refrigerant 60a. This will continue, and accordingly the defrost work will continue.

As described above, since the defrosting device 50 according to the present invention performs the defrosting operation using the evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant which is the working fluid, the temperature of the heat pipe 51 can be maintained almost the same over the entire length. . In addition, the liquid refrigerant 60 is rapidly vaporized by the heater 54 to use the heat of condensation, so that the responsiveness is very excellent so that the defrosting operation can be performed in a short time.

Therefore, as in the present invention, according to the defrosting device 50 for performing the defrosting operation using the evaporation and condensation of the working fluid, compared with the conventional defrost heater using a heating coil, the localization of the evaporator according to the difference in the amount of implantation It is possible to prevent the phosphorus temperature rise and thus the temperature rise in the furnace.

That is, as in the conventional art, the heat transfer by the heating coil emits the same heat to all parts of the evaporator regardless of the amount of implantation. Nevertheless, the temperature is raised in the part which is less frosted by the heat continuously applied, and thus it becomes impossible to maintain a uniform temperature as a whole.

However, when the heat of condensation of the gas refrigerant is used as in the present invention, the temperature is constantly raised over the entire length of the heat pipe by the refrigerant flowing in the heat pipe, so that a zone in which the temperature is partially raised does not occur. Will not. Therefore, when the defrosting is completed in a part of the evaporator by the defrosting apparatus of the present invention, while the temperature of the heat pipe slightly rises in that part, the amount of heat generated in other parts of the defrosting operation is increased, thereby reducing the defrosting time. The heat pipe temperature rises slightly in proportion to the decrease in frost, thereby preventing the internal temperature from rising due to the local temperature rise on the surface of the evaporator generated by the defrosting operation of the conventional defrost heater, thereby being stored in the refrigerator. It is to keep food fresh.

As described in detail above, the evaporator having a defrosting apparatus according to the present invention performs the defrosting operation by using the heat of condensation according to the evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant filled in the heat pipe, so that at a part of the evaporator according to the difference in the amount of implantation The rapid rise of the temperature does not occur so that the temperature in the refrigerator during the defrosting operation can be prevented from increasing, and the defrosting operation can be performed quickly by the rapid evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant.

Accordingly, when the evaporator provided with the defrosting apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the refrigerator, not only the food can be stored more freshly, but also the effect of increasing the efficiency of the evaporator increases the consumer's preference.

Claims (8)

In the evaporator having a plurality of heat exchange fins arranged in parallel, a refrigerant pipe arranged in multiple stages through the heat exchange fins, and a defrosting device for removing frost formed on the refrigerant pipe and the heat exchange fins, The defrosting apparatus includes a heat pipe formed in a closed circuit, a refrigerant encapsulated in the heat pipe, and a heater embedded in the heat pipe to heat the refrigerant. According to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is an evaporator provided vertically to heat and vaporize the refrigerant present in the liquid state in the lower portion of the heat pipe, and the upper end of the evaporator to perform a defrosting operation using the vaporized refrigerant Evaporator, characterized in that consisting of a condensation portion bent from the zigzag connected to the lower end of the evaporator. The evaporator of claim 2, wherein the heater is disposed under the evaporator. The evaporator of claim 3, wherein the heater extends to a position higher than a level of the liquid refrigerant contained in the heat pipe. The evaporator according to claim 4, wherein the heater has a rod shape, and a liquid refrigerant absorbing member is installed on an outer surface of the heater to raise the liquid refrigerant to the upper portion of the heater by capillary force. The evaporator of claim 2, wherein the condenser is inclined downward at an angle to return the condensed refrigerant to the lower portion of the heat pipe. The evaporator of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is installed to penetrate through the heat exchange fins, and the heat pipe is disposed at an approximately center of the heat exchange fins. The evaporator of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is arranged to be placed on the side portions of the heat exchange fins.