KR20060078999A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in which a coupler having a predetermined size is formed in a reservoir so that a plurality of reservoirs having different capacities for storing food can be mutually combined, and by sharing a machine room where cold air is generated, It can be implemented in the form of a refrigerator, it is easy to replace the old storage, and the cost burden generated during the replacement can meet the user's desire to purchase.

Refrigerator, storage, combination, machine room, coupler

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is an exploded perspective view of a direct-cooling refrigerator according to the present invention.

2 and 3 is a rear view showing the piping of the evaporator connected to each reservoir according to the present invention.

4 is a rear perspective view of the intercooled refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a rear perspective view showing another embodiment of the intercooling refrigerator according to the present invention.

6 is a rear view of FIG. 5.

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the intercooling refrigerator according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on main parts of drawing

100, 200, 300: refrigerator 110, 210, 310: machine room

112, 212, 312: compressor 114, 214, 314: condenser

116, 216, 316: Expansion valve 120, 220, 320: Storage A

124: evaporator A 130, 230, 330: storage B

140, 240, 340: Storage C 144: Evaporator C

150: branch conduit 152: conduit A

154: conduit B 156: conduit C

160, 360: Coupler 311: Bulkhead

313: blower fan 315: blower

324: cold air flow path 326: cold air discharge port

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that can be used in any combination of the user is installed so that each storage for storing food is separated / assembled.

In a typical refrigerator, in order to store food for a long time or to maintain freshness, cold refrigerators are supplied to a storage container in which food formed in the storage is stored. And, the door is opened and closed to one side of the reservoir to prevent the cold air leaks to the outside.

Such refrigerators can be broadly classified into direct cooling and intercooling according to a method of supplying cold air into the storage, and the direct cooling refrigerator includes a machine room having a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve installed at the rear of the refrigerator, and stores the refrigerator at a low temperature. The changed refrigerant flows into the evaporator installed adjacent to the reservoir to provide cold energy to the food stored in the reservoir, thereby preventing food spoilage and maintaining freshness. The refrigerator is divided into a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment according to the degree of cold air supplied to the storage, and the machine compartment, the refrigerator compartment, and the freezer compartment are integrally formed.

In addition, in order to solve the problem of the frost of the direct-cooling refrigerator, the intercooled refrigerator is blown through the duct connected to the reservoir, so that the convection circulation inside the reservoir is active, thereby enabling rapid refrigeration / freezing. Is performed. However, like the direct-cooling refrigerator, the inter-cooling refrigerator is formed integrally with the machine room, the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, and thus does not meet the user's living environment due to the enlargement of the refrigerator.

As the above-mentioned direct-cooling refrigerators and inter-cooling refrigerators are usually sold to users having a uniform size and shape, the user may not select a refrigerator in consideration of the size and shape of the refrigerator suitable for a living environment, Many stores cannot be expanded at will.

In addition, in order to replace the deteriorated storage due to frequent use, the entire refrigerator had to be replaced, and even when a new product with the added function was released, the entire refrigerator had to be replaced without a choice. There is a problem of deterioration.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, it is also possible to combine the storage of the refrigerator in accordance with the user's residential environment to meet the user's purchase needs, can be used by configuring only the frequently used storage if necessary The purpose is to provide a refrigerator.                         

In addition, when the replacement of the storage of the refrigerator is used due to aging, it is not only to replace only the old storage, but also to provide a refrigerator that can be used in combination with a new function added storage.

According to the technical idea of the present invention for achieving the above object, a plurality of reservoirs are built between the inner case and the outer case and the door is installed, and a coupler formed on the outside of the reservoir so that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other; And a machine room connected to the reservoir and generating cold air, and a refrigerator including an inner case installed in each of the plurality of reservoirs and flowing a refrigerant.

On the other hand, in another technical spirit for achieving the above object, a plurality of reservoirs with a built-in insulation between the inner case and the outer case and the door is installed, a coupler formed on the outside of the reservoir so that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other, It may be achieved by a refrigerator including a machine room connected to the reservoir and generating cold air, and a cold air passage for flowing cold air generated in the machine room to each reservoir.

In addition, as another technical idea for achieving the above object, a plurality of reservoirs with a built-in insulation between the inner case and the outer case and the door is installed, and a coupler formed on the outside of the reservoir so that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other; It can be achieved by a refrigerator including a thermoelectric element installed to generate cold air in each of the reservoirs.

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

1 is an exploded perspective view of a direct-cooling refrigerator according to the present invention. Referring to the drawings, the refrigerator 100 includes a machine room 110 in which a compressor 112, a condenser 114, and an expansion valve 116 are installed, and doors 122, 132, and 142 are installed and stored. It is composed of a plurality of reservoirs (120, 130, 140), each having a different capacity to accommodate food. The machine room 110 and the respective reservoirs (120, 130, 140) is blocked to change the size and shape through a combination, in the present embodiment, the reservoir B (130) and the reservoir C positioned up and down The combination of 140 and the storage room A (120) having the same size as the height of the storage room B (130) and the storage room C (140) is combined, the machine room corresponding to the width of the storage room A (120) and the storage room B (130) 110 is combined by the coupler 160 to be installed stably with each other.

Here, the storage is not limited to the combination of the storage A (120), the storage B (130), the storage C (140), but may be made of a combination of each storage facility having a different capacity and a combination of machine rooms associated with it. For example, a combination of the storage A 'having the same capacity as the storage A 120 and a machine room corresponding to the width of the storage A 120 and the storage A' is possible, and as another example, the storage B 130 After the storage compartment C 140 is positioned up and down, and the machine room 110 is combined, the goods of different functions (eg, rice barrels, drawers, etc.) may be installed in the empty space of the storage compartment A 120.

The machine room 110 is provided with a compressor 112, a condenser 114, and an expansion valve 116 on which a direct-cooling refrigeration cycle installed in a normal refrigerator machine room is performed, and heat generated by the condenser 114 is machine room 110. A fan 118 for exhausting to the outside is installed. In addition, a branch conduit 150 for selectively supplying refrigerant to an evaporator installed on the inner case side of each of the reservoirs 120, 130, and 140 is installed.

In addition, the storage (120, 130, 140) associated with the machine room 110 has a built-in insulation between the inner case and the outer case, the door 122 to the side so that food can be stored in the storage or taken out for eating. 132 and 142 are installed. In addition, the coupler 150 is formed in a predetermined region and has a predetermined size to the outside of the reservoir.

The coupler 160 is to fix each of the reservoirs (120, 130, 140) to be installed stably, the outside of each of the reservoirs (120, 130, 140), that is to the outer case at a constant size and interval It is sufficient that a coupler 160 is formed such that the respective reservoirs 120, 130, 140 can be combined with each other. The most representative form of such a coupler 1600 may be implemented by the uneven coupling.

Meanwhile, an evaporator connected to the branch conduit 150 is embedded between the inner case and the outer case of the reservoir, and the evaporator installed in the reservoir is wired in proportion to the size and shape of each reservoir 120, 130, 140. In order to selectively connect with the branch conduit 150 of the machine room 110, the branch conduit 150 has conduits 152, 154, and 156 corresponding to the number (or more) of the reservoirs connected to the machine room. And evaporators 124, 134 and 144 embedded in the respective reservoirs.

In the refrigerator having the above configuration, the connection state of the evaporator installed in the reservoir and the branch conduit installed in the machine room will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 and 3 is a rear view showing the piping of the evaporator connected to each reservoir according to the present invention. Referring to the drawings, the refrigerant flowing into the condenser 114 from the compressor 112 of the machine room 110 passes through the expansion valve 116 and then flows into the evaporator A 124 embedded in the reservoir A 120. The evaporator A 124 embedded in the rear of the reservoir A 120 is connected to the conduit A 152 branched from the branch conduit 150 installed in the machine room 110, and then to the compressor 112. The refrigerant is connected to flow. The evaporator B 134 embedded in the reservoir B 130 is also connected to the conduit B 154 branched from the branch conduit 150 and flows to the compressor 112 to be exchanged with the inside of the storage compartment. In addition, the evaporator C 144 embedded in the reservoir C 140 is also connected to the conduit C 156 branched from the branch conduit 150. The evaporators and conduits embedded behind the reservoir are selectively connected by the number of reservoirs and conduits by a combination of mutual reservoirs, as described above.

Looking at the operation of the refrigerator 100 having the configuration described above, in the compressor 112 installed in the machine room 110, the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant is compressed to a high pressure flow to the condenser 114, the heat exchange with the atmosphere of the refrigerant It is introduced into the expansion valve 116 in a state of lowering the temperature. The refrigerant introduced into the expansion valve 116 is reduced in pressure, and moves to the branch conduit 150 in a very cold state.

In addition, while entering the evaporators 124, 134, and 144 of the respective reservoirs 120, 130, and 140 selectively connected to the branch conduit 150, heat exchange with each of the reservoirs 120, 130, and 140 is performed. The low temperature and low pressure refrigerant heat exchanged with the inside of the reservoir is introduced into the branch conduit 150 installed on the compressor 112 side, and the compressor 112 is compressed to high pressure again and flows to the condenser 114. It will be done repeatedly. In addition, the heated air of the machine room 110 is exhausted to the outside of the machine room 110 by the driving of the fan 118 adjacent to the condenser 114 due to the condenser 114 that exchanges heat with the atmosphere.

Here, the evaporators 124, 134, and 144 embedded in the reservoirs 120, 130, and 140 selectively connected to the branch conduits 150 are introduced into the reservoir by the refrigerant decompressed in the expansion valve 116. You will be given cold energy. Therefore, the branch conduit 150 is connected to each of the reservoir A 120, the reservoir B 130, and the evaporator A 124, the evaporator B 134, and the evaporator C 144 embedded in the reservoir C 140. Conduits A (152), Conduits B (154) and Conduits C (156) are installed. The conduits 152, 154 and 156 installed in the branch conduit 150 can be used in connection with the evaporator of the additionally assembled reservoir, as described above, and in some cases, used value of the mutually combined reservoirs. It can also be used to close the refrigerant so as not to flow into the low evaporator does not, it is possible to use a combination of storage according to the user's living environment.

On the other hand, as another embodiment, the refrigerator may be applied not only to the direct refrigeration cycle but also to the intercooled refrigeration cycle.

This will be described based on FIG. 4. 4 is a rear perspective view of the intercooled refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. The intercooled refrigerator 200 is similar to the direct-cooled refrigerator 100, and a plurality of storage units 220, 230, and 240 each having different capacities in which food is contained between the inner case and the outer case for insulation. Is configured, the doors 232 and 242 are installed in the reservoir.

In addition, the couplers 220, 230, and 240 are formed on the outside of the reservoirs 220, 230, and 240, that is, in the outer case at regular sizes and intervals, and the respective reservoirs 220, 230, and 240 are combined with each other. In addition, a compressor 212, a condenser 214, and an expansion valve 216 are installed in the machine room 210 that supplies cold air to the reservoir, such that the refrigerant flows. In addition, the compressor 212, the condenser 214, the expansion valve 216 is installed on the partition wall 211 on one side, the evaporator 250 is provided.

The heat generated by the operation of the compressor 212, the condenser 214, and the expansion valve 216 by the compartment of the machine room 210 does not affect the evaporator 250, which is installed in the condenser 214. This is because the fan 318 exhausts the heated air out of the machine room. In addition, a blower fan 213 is installed in the divided machine room 210 in which the evaporator 250 is installed, and a blower 215 is formed to correspond to the wind direction of the blower fan 213, and thus, in the evaporator 250. The cold air flow path is formed so that the heat exchanged cold energy may be supplied to each of the storage A 220, the storage B 230, and the storage C 240 through the air outlet 215. The cold air flow path is composed of a flexible duct 224, one end is connected to the tuyere A 252, the tuyere B 254, the tuyere C (256) formed in the machine room 210, the other end, the reservoir It is connected to the A (220), the reservoir B (230), the reservoir C (240), and supplies cold air to each reservoir. Here, the flexible duct 224 connected to each of the reservoirs can be selectively opened and closed, so that the reservoir can be used in combination according to the user's intention.

In addition, the cold air flow path for flowing cold air to the machine room and each reservoir may be formed between the inner case and the outer case of each reservoir to supply the cold air into the interior of each reservoir.

This will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a rear perspective view showing another embodiment of the intercooled refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 6 is a rear view of FIG.

The doors 332 and 342 are installed in the storage units 320, 330 and 340 having different (or the same) storage capacity, and the respective storage units 320, 330 and 340 in the out cases of the storage units 320, 330 and 340. The coupler 360 is formed to combine the design with the user, and the cold storage flow path 324 is formed between the inner case and the outer case of the reservoirs 320, 330, and 340. In addition, the cold air flow passage 324 is connected to the cold air discharge port 326 for shielding the cold air provided in contact with the inner case side. And, the air vents 315 are formed in the machine room 310 so that cold air flows into the cold air passages 324 of the reservoirs 320, 330, and 340, respectively.

The machine room 310 is installed such that the compressor 312, the condenser 314, and the expansion valve 316 are installed in the same manner as the refrigerator 200 in which the flexible duct is installed. It is formed in the partition 311 on one side of the machine room 310, the condenser 314, the expansion valve 316 is installed, the heat movement is separated from the compressor 312, the condenser 314, the expansion valve 316 is installed Evaporator 350 is installed so as not to occur.

In addition, the cold air flow path 324 is formed so that the cool energy heat exchanged in the evaporator 350 can be supplied to each of the reservoir A 320, the reservoir B 330, and the reservoir C 340 through the tuyeres 315. The cold air flow passage 324 is formed between the inner case and the outer case of each of the reservoirs 320, 330, and 340, and is formed in the machine room for the air outlet A 352, the air outlet B 354, and the air outlet C 356. The introduced cold air is formed to be supplied to the storage A 320, the storage B 330, and the storage C 340. Here, when the storage B (330) and the storage C (340) is connected to the up and down combined, it is preferable that the cold air flow path 324 of the storage B (330) is extended to the storage C (340). . That is, a cold air flow path is formed to extend and bypass the cold air flow path from the reservoir to which the cold air is supplied to the storage room where the supply of cold air is not easy. Therefore, the cold air generated in the machine room 310 is supplied to the respective reservoirs 320, 330, and 340 by the configuration as described above through the cold air passage 324.

In addition, the intercooled refrigerator 300 is not only the machine room 310 is installed on the upper surface of the storage (320, 330), as shown in Figure 7, between the storage 320 and the storage (330, 340). It may be installed.

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the intercooling refrigerator according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the machine room 310 may be installed between the storage B (330), the storage C (340) and the storage A (320) combined up and down. In addition, a reservoir B '(not shown) and a reservoir C' (not shown), which are combined up and down by the coupler 360 in place of the reservoir A 320, are formed, and an air vent 354 formed in the machine room 310 is formed. When cold air is supplied to the cold air flow path 324 of the reservoir through the cold air flow path 356, and cold air is supplied to the cold air flow path 324, the cold air discharge ports 326 formed on the inner case side of each of the reservoirs 320, 330, and 340. Through the supply of cold air into the storage compartment.

In this case, it is extremely sufficient that the cooling air flow paths of the ventilation openings and the storage rooms of the machine room are formed in accordance with the shape intended by the user, or, if formed in advance, it is sufficient to close the cooling air by closing a separate cap (not shown) or the cold air discharge port. As a matter of course, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, a heat siphon may be used in place of the cold air flow path formed in the storage evaporator wiring and the storage of the intercooling refrigerator of the direct cooling refrigerator or the direct cooling refrigerator installed in the intercooling refrigerator. The thermosyphon (THERMOSYPHON), the working fluid absorbs the heat generated in a specific portion by the two-phase change in which the liquid is converted to gas in the place where gravity is applied, the working fluid is converted to gas and heat in the opposite direction of gravity Since it serves to quickly move, one end of the heat siphon is connected to the evaporator side heat exchanged with the cold, and the other end may be connected to the inner case side of each reservoir to supply cold air to each reservoir.

Meanwhile, each of the reservoirs may be combined with each other, and the reservoirs may individually generate cold air to continuously maintain the freshness of the food. A thermoelectric element may be installed in each of the reservoirs to supply cold air into the reservoirs. .

The thermoelectric element is commonly referred to as a Peltier element (cold-heat semiconductor), and is formed by bonding two different metals or bonding an n-type semiconductor and a p-type semiconductor to each other. When a direct current is applied to the thermoelectric element, endothermic reaction and heat dissipation reaction occur at both metal surfaces. When the current direction is changed, the heat absorbing surface and the heat radiating surface are changed. Therefore, when a current is applied to the thermoelectric element in one direction, the specific space can be cooled. On the contrary, when a DC current is applied by changing the direction, the specific space can be heated.

The thermoelectric elements are installed in respective reservoirs, and the couplers are formed on the outer side of the reservoirs so that each of the reservoirs in which the thermoelectric elements are installed can be installed in a stable manner. Since it can be implemented as intended, the machine room of the direct-cooling refrigerator or the inter-cooling refrigerator is not required, the refrigerator can be installed according to the user's living environment, and the replacement of the old storage is easy.

The refrigerator according to the present invention can be installed in accordance with the user's living environment by combining the storage of various capacities capable of storing food, and can easily expand the storage of high usage frequency of the user.

In addition, it can be applied to a variety of refrigeration (freezing) method, it is easy to replace the old storage, there is an advantage that can reduce the user's cost burden to meet the user's purchase needs.

On the other hand, the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified and modified within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, the technical idea that such modifications and variations are also included in the claims Should be seen.

Claims (7)

A plurality of reservoirs in which insulation is built-in between the inner case and the outer case and the doors are installed; A coupler formed at an outer side of the reservoir such that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other; A machine room connected to the reservoir and generating cold air; And And an evaporator installed adjacent to an inner case in each of the plurality of reservoirs to flow a refrigerant. The method of claim 1, The machine room has a refrigerator including a branch conduit is installed to be selectively connected to the evaporator of each reservoir. A plurality of reservoirs in which insulation is built-in between the inner case and the outer case and the doors are installed; A coupler formed at an outer side of the reservoir such that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other; A machine room connected to the reservoir and generating cold air; And And a cold air flow path for flowing the cold air generated in the machine room to each storage cell. The method of claim 3, wherein A refrigerator is partitioned so that an evaporator is installed inside the machine room, and a blower is provided to supply cool air generated by the evaporator to each reservoir. The method of claim 3, wherein The cold air flow path is formed of a flexible duct connected to each of the refrigerator. The method of claim 3, wherein And a cold air discharge outlet installed in the storage to discharge cold air introduced from the machine room into the refrigerator. A plurality of reservoirs in which insulation is built-in between the inner case and the outer case and the doors are installed; A coupler formed at an outer side of the reservoir such that the plurality of reservoirs are combined with each other; And And a thermoelectric element disposed to generate cold air in each of the reservoirs.

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