KR20060128590A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to hinder outdoor air from flowing in a storage, discharge defrosting water, and suck outdoor air in the storage to allow a door to be easily opened by maintaining the balance between the pressure of the storage and outdoors through a simplified structure of a drain valve. A refrigerator comprises a body(1) having at least a storage; an evaporator(9) generating cool air supplied with the storage, a discharging unit having a drain pipe to accept defrosting water from the evaporator and discharge defrosting water; and a drain valve(30) combined with the end unit of the drain pipe(23) to discharge the defrosting water and selectively suck and block outdoor air. The drain valve comprises a connection unit connected with the discharging unit; a body unit connected with the connection unit, and formed with a flow hole communicated with the discharging unit along the moving direction of the defrosting water, an air inlet horizontally communicating with the flow hole against the moving direction of the defrosting water; a backflow prevention unit communicating with the body unit, outwardly discharging the defrosting water, and preventing outdoor air from flowing in; an opening and closing member formed with a through-hole communicating with the flow hole along the moving direction of the defrosting water, and inserted in the body unit to go up and down between the connection unit and the backflow prevention unit.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a view showing a door open state of the refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is a schematic view of a drain valve installation region according to the present invention;

3 is a view illustrating a state in which the connection part and the opening / closing member of the drain valve according to FIG. 2 are disassembled from the main body part;

4 is a view showing a state in which the opening and closing member of the drain valve according to FIG. 2 closes the air inlet of the main body;

5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

6 is a view showing a state in which the opening and closing member of the drain valve according to FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 6.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: refrigerator body 2: bulkhead

3a, 3b: Storage room 4a: Cold air outlet

5: machine room 7a, 7b: door

9: evaporator 21: drain

22: drain receiving portion 23: drain pipe

30: drain valve 31: connection

32: flow port 33: air inlet

34: support part 35: main body part

36: incision 37: backflow prevention

40: opening and closing member 41: body portion

42: through hole 43: flange

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, when the pressure of the storage compartment and the external pressure are balanced in a simplified structure and prevent external air from flowing into the storage compartment while defrost water is discharged to the outside. And, when the pressure of the storage compartment changes after opening and closing the door relates to a refrigerator that can easily open the door by introducing external air into the storage compartment.

Generally, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body provided with a cooling chamber, a machine room in which equipment such as a compressor and a condenser are accommodated, and a door for opening and closing an opening of the cooling chamber.

The refrigerator body is provided with an evaporator for generating cold air, a defrost heater for removing frost formed on the evaporator, and a drain accommodating part for receiving defrost water from the evaporator generated during defrosting. The defrost water received in the drain accommodating part is discharged to the collection tray provided in the machine room through the discharge pipe.

In such a conventional refrigerator, when the door is opened and then closed again, external air having a higher temperature than the inside of the cooling chamber is introduced into the cooling chamber, whereby the temperature difference between the air inside the cooling chamber and the air introduced into the cooling chamber from the outside is caused. As a result, the air inside the cooling chamber is contracted, and the internal air of the cooling chamber is driven to the evaporator side by driving the cooling fan to lower the temperature of the elevated cooling chamber. There is a problem that the door does not open smoothly due to the change in the pressure of the cooling chamber, there has been proposed a negative pressure removing device for solving this.

As an example of such a negative pressure removing device, Korean Patent Application No. 1997-0067582 is provided with an auxiliary suction pipe provided on one side of a drain hose, and an opening and closing piece which is coupled to an end of the auxiliary suction pipe and opens and closes an air suction port according to the flow of air. Disclosed is a negative pressure removing device including a valve body.

When the door is open, the opening and closing piece opens the air inlet and through the outside air flows into the cooling chamber, the difference between the pressure of the cooling chamber and the external pressure of the refrigerator is eliminated, thereby opening the door smoothly. In addition, after the air is introduced into the air, the opening and closing piece again closes the air intake port so that external air does not flow into the air.

However, in the conventional negative pressure removing device, since the valve body for introducing external air and the drain hose through which defrost water passes must be separately manufactured and assembled, there is a problem in that the manufacturing is not easy and the assembling work is cumbersome.

In addition, the valve body for introducing outside air corresponds to the opening and closing piece for restricting the inflow of air, the fastener to which the opening and closing piece is fixed, the coupling hole corresponding to the fastener, the groove formed on the inner surface of the opening and closing piece, the valve cover, the fixing protrusion, the fixing protrusion Since it has a complicated configuration such as a locking jaw, a fixing groove into which the fixture is inserted, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and manufacturing is not easy.

As such, since the valve body having a complicated configuration is installed to protrude from one side of the bath hose, its appearance is not slim, and there is a problem in that it takes up a lot of installation space.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to have a simplified structure and to prevent external air from flowing into the storage compartment when the pressure of the storage compartment and the external pressure are balanced, while defrost water is discharged to the outside, and the storage compartment after opening and closing the door. When the pressure of the to change the inlet to the outside air into the storage compartment to provide a refrigerator that can easily open the door.

The object of the present invention is a refrigerator having a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment and an evaporator forming cold air supplied to the storage compartment, according to the present invention, the drain for receiving and discharging defrost water from the evaporator. An outlet having a tube; Coupled to the end of the drain pipe, the defrost water is discharged and the external air is achieved by a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a drain valve for selectively introducing and blocking the inlet.

According to the present invention, a refrigerator having a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment, and an evaporator for forming cold air supplied to the storage compartment, the discharge unit for receiving and discharging defrost water from the evaporator; ; It is coupled to the discharge portion, the defrost water is discharged and the external air includes a drain valve for selectively inlet and inlet shut-off, the drain valve is connected to the discharge portion, and along the direction of movement of the defrost water A main body portion coupled to the connection portion having a flow port communicating with the discharge portion and an air inlet communicating with the flow hole in a transverse direction with respect to the moving direction of the defrost water, and coupled to communicate with the main body portion to externally form the defrost water And a reverse flow prevention part for discharging the air and preventing the inflow of external air, and a passage hole communicating with the flow hole along the moving direction of the defrost water, and being provided in the main body so as to be able to move up and down between the connection part and the reverse flow prevention part. It is also achieved by a refrigerator characterized by having an opening and closing member.

Here, the opening and closing member and the body portion is formed with the passage hole; It is preferable to include a flange portion formed in at least one end region of the body portion.

In addition, it is preferable that a support part is provided inside the main body to support the opening and closing member while being held by the flange while the opening and closing member closes the air inlet.

In addition, the backflow prevention unit is preferably formed with a cutout opening by the load of the defrost water flowing into the backflow prevention unit.

Here, the reverse flow prevention portion preferably has a funnel cross-sectional shape.

In addition, the air inlet is preferably formed through the main body portion in the circumferential direction so as to communicate with the flow port.

On the other hand, the discharge portion receives the defrost water from the evaporator, the drain receiving portion is formed with a drain hole; One side may include a drain pipe connected to the drain port and the other side connected to the drain valve to guide defrost water from the drain accommodating part to the drain valve.

According to the present invention, the object of the present invention is a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment, a machine compartment accommodating various equipment parts, at least one door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and cold air provided to the storage compartment and supplied to the storage compartment. A refrigerator having an evaporator for forming a gas, the refrigerator comprising: a drain accommodating part for collecting defrost water from the evaporator when the evaporator is defrosted; A drain pipe for discharging the defrost water collected in the drain accommodating part to the machine room; A refrigerator comprising a drain valve coupled to an end of the drain pipe in a longitudinal direction of the drain pipe and selectively introducing and blocking air in the machine room in a direction perpendicular to a discharge direction of the defrost water; It is also achieved by

Here, the drain valve is connected to the drain pipe; A main body portion having a flow port communicating with the drain pipe along the moving direction of the defrost water and an air inlet communicating with the flow port in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the defrost water; A backflow prevention unit coupled to communicate with the main body to discharge the defrost water to the outside and block inflow of external air; It is preferable to include an opening and closing member provided in the main body portion having a passage hole in communication with the flow port along the discharge direction of the defrost water to be able to rise and fall between the connection portion and the backflow prevention portion.

And, the opening and closing member and the body portion is formed with the passage hole; It is preferable to include a flange portion formed in at least one end region of the body portion.

In addition, the main body portion is preferably provided with a support portion for holding the opening and closing the flange in the closed state to close the air inlet to support the opening and closing member.

In addition, the backflow prevention part is preferably formed with a cutout opening by the load of the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention part.

According to the present invention, the object of the present invention is a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment, a machine compartment accommodating various equipment parts, at least one door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and cold air provided to the storage compartment and supplied to the storage compartment. A refrigerator having an evaporator forming a gas, the refrigerator comprising: a drain pipe communicating with an inside of the storage chamber and the machine chamber, and discharging defrost water from the evaporator; It is provided at the end of the drain pipe, the air inlet for introducing air in the transverse direction with respect to the discharge direction of the defrost water, and is provided to be liftable to open and close the air inlet opening and closing to pass the defrost water when the air inlet is closed It is also achieved by a refrigerator characterized by including a member and a drain valve disposed below the opening and closing member to discharge the defrost water by its own weight and to prevent the inflow of external air.

And, the opening and closing member and the body portion formed with a passage opening for passing the defrost water; It is preferable to include a flange portion formed in at least one end region of the body portion.

Here, the drain valve accommodates the opening and closing member and the flow inlet is formed in the air inlet along the circumferential direction and communicates with the passage opening therein along the discharge direction of the defrost water so that the defrost water can pass through It is preferable to further include a main body portion is formed.

In addition, the backflow prevention part is preferably formed with a cutout opening by the load of the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention part.

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

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes storage chambers 3a and 3b provided as a refrigerator compartment 3a and a freezer compartment 3b partitioned up and down by a partition wall 2, and various equipment parts. The refrigerator main body 1 which has this machine room 5 accommodated, and the doors 7a and 7b which open and close each storage chamber 3a and 3b are included.

An evaporator 9 for generating cold air is provided at the rear of each of the storage compartments 3a and 3b. Through the storage chamber (3a, 3b) is introduced, the castle is implanted in the evaporator (9) is removed by a defrost heater (not shown). 1 and 2, only one evaporator 9 and one cold air outlet 4a are shown, but the evaporator is disposed at the rear side of the refrigerating compartment 3a and the rear side of the freezing compartment 3b, respectively. Moreover, it is formed in the refrigerator compartment 3a and the freezer compartment 3b, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the defrost heater (not shown) is operated under the evaporator 9, the defrost water generated in the evaporator 9 is received and discharged toward the collection tray 6 provided in the machine room 5. Discharge parts 21, 22, and 23 are provided.

The discharge parts 21, 22, and 23 receive defrost water from the evaporator 9, and are connected to the drain receiving part 22 in which the drain hole 21 is formed, and connected to the drain hole 21. A drain pipe 23 for discharging the defrost water toward the collecting tray 6 is included.

On the other hand, a drain valve 30 is coupled to the distal end of the drain pipe 23 to discharge the defrost water moving downward along the drain pipe 23 to the collecting tray and to allow air to flow into and out of the storage chamber.

The drain valve 30 is coupled to the connecting portion 31 connected to the drain pipe 23, the main body portion 35 coupled with the connecting portion 31 and the air inlet 33 is formed, and the main body portion 35. It includes a reverse flow prevention portion 37 for discharging the defrost water to the outside and blocking the inflow of outside air, and the opening and closing member 40 to be opened and lowered in the main body portion 35 to open and close the air inlet (33).

In the connecting portion 31, the central region penetrates in the vertical direction so that the inside thereof has an empty tubular shape. Accordingly, a partial region of the drain pipe 23 may be accommodated in the connection part 31 so that the drain pipe 23 communicates with the internal space of the main body part 35.

The main body 35 has a flow port 32 penetrating in the vertical direction, which is a moving direction of the defrost water, to communicate with the drain pipe 23, and the air inlet penetrated in the side direction so as to communicate with the flow port 32. 33 is formed along the circumferential direction. The defrost water passing through the drain pipe 23 is introduced into the flow port 32, the outside air flows into the air inlet 33 in the lateral direction.

The opening / closing member 40 has a closed position (see FIG. 5) for closing the air inlet 33 and an open position for opening the air inlet 33 between the connecting portion 31 and the backflow prevention portion 37. It is installed in the main body so as to move the liver.

As the opening / closing member 40 opens and closes the doors 7a and 7b, the outside air having a relatively higher temperature than the internal temperatures of the storage compartments 3a and 3b flows into the storage compartments 3a and 3b. Until the change is made to maintain the closed state (see Figs. 5 and 6) to close the air inlet 33 so that outside air does not flow into the drain valve (30).

When the doors 7a and 7b are opened and then closed again, the pressure of the storage chambers 3a and 3b generated as the outside air flows into the storage chambers 3a and 3b and the air in the storage chambers 3a and 3b contracts. Due to the change, the opening and closing member 40 closing the air inlet 33 is moved upward, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The outside air is introduced into the open air inlet 33, and the introduced outside air passes through the passage 42 and the flow opening 32, which will be described later, and flows into the storage chamber through the drain hose.

The opening and closing member 40 has a body portion 42 formed with a through-hole 42 penetrating in the vertical direction, the moving direction of the defrost water, and the flange portion 43 formed in both end regions of the body portion 42, respectively. Include.

When the defrost water introduced into the flow opening 32 of the body portion 35 passes through the passage opening 42 and the air inlet opening 33 is opened, external air introduced into the air inlet opening 33 passes.

The pair of flanges 43 are supported by the support part 34 formed in the main body 35 in the closed position (see FIG. 5) of the opening / closing member 40 to support the closed position of the opening / closing member 40 (see FIG. 5). Done.

The backflow prevention portion 37 has a funnel shape that narrows in diameter from the upper side to the lower side, and is coupled to the lower side of the main body part 35. Here, the backflow prevention unit may be provided with a rubber material.

The non-return portion 37 communicates with the main body 35 and the opening / closing member 40 through the upper opening to pass through the flow opening 32 of the main body 35 and the passage 42 of the opening / closing member 40. One defrost can enter.

The lower end region of the backflow prevention portion 37 is provided with a cutout for discharging the defrost water. Accordingly, the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention part 37 moves downward and is discharged to the water collecting tray 6 through the cutout 36.

The cutout 36 is opened by the load of the defrost water accumulated in the lower distal end region of the backflow prevention part 37, and is closed again when the defrosting water is discharged from the backflow prevention part 37 through the open cutout 36. Therefore, external air does not flow into the backflow prevention part 37 through the cutout 36.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 will be described the operation of the opening and closing member of the drain valve according to the storage chamber pressure change after opening and closing the door.

First, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the closing state in which the opening / closing member 40 closes the air inlet 33 of the main body 35 will be described as an initial state. Here, as the flange portion 43 of the opening and closing member 40 is held by the support portion 34 of the body portion 35, the opening and closing member 40 closes the air inlet 33 of the body portion 35. The closed position is maintained, and the passage opening 42 of the opening and closing member 40 communicates with the drain pipe 23, the flow opening 32, and the backflow preventing portion 37.

Accordingly, the defrost water generated in the evaporator 9 during the defrost falls first to the drain accommodating part 22 and moves downward along the drain pipe 23 through the drain port 21, and then moves along the drain pipe 23. Is discharged to the collecting tray 6 through the drain valve (30). Here, the defrost water introduced into the drain valve 30 from the drain pipe 23 passes through the flow port 32 of the main body part 35 and the passage port 42 of the opening / closing member 40 to prevent the backflow prevention part 37. Falling to the lower region, in which case the cutout 36 of the backflow prevention part 37 is opened by the load of the defrosting water, and the defrosting water is discharged to the collection tray 6 through the open cutout 36. Since the cutout 36 opened by the load of the defrosting water is closed again after the defrosting water is discharged, air does not flow into the drain valve 30 through the cutout 36.

On the other hand, when the user opens the doors 7a and 7b and then closes the doors 7a and 7b again, outside air flows into the storage chambers 3a and 3b. At this time, the contraction of the air in the storage chambers 3a and 3b occurs, and the opening / closing member 40 of the drain valve 30 moves upward as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 due to the pressure change of the storage chambers 3a and 3b. Will move. The air inlet 33 of the main body 35 is opened by the upward movement of the opening / closing member 40 which closes the air inlet 33, and external air is introduced into the main body 35 through the air inlet 33. Inflow. The air introduced into the main body part 35 is introduced into the drain pipe 23 through the passage opening 42 and the flow opening 32 of the opening and closing member 40. As the air introduced into the drain pipe 23 continuously moves upward and finally flows into the storage chambers 3a and 3b, the pressure changes in the storage chambers 3a and 3b are eliminated, so that the doors 7a and 7b can be easily removed with a small force. I can open it. Here, after the pressure change of the storage chambers 3a and 3b is eliminated due to the inflow of the air into the storage chambers 3a and 3b, the opening / closing member 40 of the drain valve 30 is moved downward by its own weight and again shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It will return to the closed position shown.

As described above, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, an opening and closing member 40 having a passage opening 42 through which air is introduced into and out of the storage compartments 2a and 3b and allowing defrost water to pass therethrough is provided with Since it is provided in the main body 35 to be elevated, the air inlet means having a complicated structure for injecting the discharge means for discharging the defrost water and the air into the storage compartment, respectively, simplified and unlike the conventional It is possible to provide a drain valve 30 having a structure that can perform two roles of discharging defrost water and introducing air into the storage compartment.

In addition, since the drain valve 30 has a slim appearance, the drain valve 30 can be easily installed in a narrow installation space. In addition, the inner diameter of the passage hole 42 and the inner diameter of the drain tube 23 are substantially similar, so that external air can be introduced into the drain tube 23 quickly.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the pressure of the storage compartment and the external pressure are balanced by the drain valve having a simplified structure, the defrost water is discharged to the outside while preventing the inflow of external air into the storage compartment. When the pressure of the storage compartment is changed after opening and closing the door, external air may be introduced into the storage compartment so that the door can be easily opened.

Claims (17)

A refrigerator having a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment and an evaporator forming cold air supplied to the storage compartment, A discharge part having a drain pipe to receive and discharge the defrost water from the evaporator; Coupled to the end of the drain pipe, the defrost water is discharged, characterized in that the refrigerator comprises a drain valve for selectively introducing and blocking the inlet air. A refrigerator having a refrigerator main body having at least one storage compartment and an evaporator forming cold air supplied to the storage compartment, A discharge part for receiving and discharging defrost water from the evaporator; It is coupled to the discharge portion, the defrost water is discharged and the external air comprises a drain valve for selectively inlet and inlet block, The drain valve has a connection part connected to the discharge part, a flow port communicating with the discharge part along the moving direction of the defrost water, and an air inlet communicating with the flow port in a transverse direction with respect to the moving direction of the defrost water. A main body portion coupled to the connection portion, a backflow prevention portion coupled to communicate with the main body portion to discharge the defrost water to the outside and blocking the inflow of external air, and communicating with the flow port along the moving direction of the defrost water. And a opening and closing member provided in the main body so as to be movable up and down between the connecting portion and the backflow preventing portion. The method of claim 2, The opening and closing member is A body portion having the passage hole formed therein; And a flange portion formed in at least one end portion region of the body portion. The method of claim 3, And a support part provided inside the main body to support the opening and closing member while being held by the flange in a closed state in which the opening and closing member closes the air inlet. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, The backflow prevention unit is a refrigerator, characterized in that the incision is opened by the load of the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention unit. The method of claim 5, The reflux preventing unit has a funnel cross-sectional shape. The method of claim 6, And the air inlet is formed to penetrate the main body in a circumferential direction so as to communicate with the flow port. The method of claim 2, The discharge portion A drain receiving portion receiving the defrost water from the evaporator and having a drain hole; And a drain pipe connected to the drain port on one side thereof and connected to the drain valve to guide defrost water from the drain accommodating portion to the drain valve. A refrigerator having at least one storage compartment, a refrigerator body having a machine compartment accommodating various equipment parts, at least one door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and an evaporator provided at the rear of the storage compartment to form cold air supplied to the storage compartment. In A drain accommodating part for collecting defrost water from the evaporator when the evaporator is defrosted; A drain pipe for discharging the defrost water collected in the drain accommodating part to the machine room; A refrigerator comprising a drain valve coupled to an end of the drain pipe in a longitudinal direction of the drain pipe and selectively introducing and blocking air in the machine room in a direction perpendicular to a discharge direction of the defrost water; . The method of claim 9, The drain valve A connecting portion connected to the drain pipe; A main body portion having a flow port communicating with the drain pipe along the moving direction of the defrost water and an air inlet communicating with the flow port in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the defrost water; A backflow prevention unit coupled to communicate with the main body to discharge the defrost water to the outside and block inflow of external air; And an opening / closing member provided in the main body so as to be movable up and down between the connection portion and the backflow prevention portion and having a passage hole communicating with the flow opening along the discharge direction of the defrost water. The method of claim 10, The opening and closing member is A body portion having the passage hole formed therein; And a flange portion formed in at least one end portion region of the body portion. The method of claim 11, And a support part provided inside the main body to support the opening and closing member while being held by the flange in a closed state in which the opening and closing member closes the air inlet. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, The backflow prevention unit is a refrigerator, characterized in that the incision is opened by the load of the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention unit. A refrigerator having at least one storage compartment, a refrigerator body having a machine compartment accommodating various equipment parts, at least one door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and an evaporator provided at the rear of the storage compartment to form cold air supplied to the storage compartment. In A drain pipe communicating with the storage chamber and the machine chamber and discharging the defrost water from the evaporator; It is provided at the end of the drain pipe, the air inlet for introducing air in the transverse direction with respect to the discharge direction of the defrost water, and is provided to be liftable to open and close the air inlet opening and closing to pass the defrost water when the air inlet is closed And a drain valve disposed at a lower side of the opening and closing member to discharge the defrost water by its own weight and to prevent the inflow of external air. The method of claim 14, The opening and closing member is A body portion having a passage opening through which the defrost water passes; And a flange portion formed in at least one end portion region of the body portion. The method of claim 15, The drain valve accommodates the opening and closing member and the air inlet is formed along the circumferential direction and the flow port communicating with the passage opening therein along the discharge direction of the defrost water so that the defrost water can pass through A refrigerator further comprising a main body. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, The backflow prevention unit is a refrigerator, characterized in that the incision is opened by the load of the defrost water introduced into the backflow prevention unit.

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