KR20070044247A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, comprising: a main body forming a storage compartment having a front opening, a door for pivoting opening and closing the front opening, a machine compartment partitioned from the storage compartment, and a compressor provided in the machine compartment; A refrigerator comprising a dispenser unit provided in the door and a water supply device for supplying water to the dispenser unit, wherein the water supply device comprises: a water supply source for introducing water into the air from the outside; A water tank connected to the water supply source and provided in the storage compartment to store a predetermined amount of water; A first selection valve provided to branch from a lower portion of the water tank; A cold water flow passage branched from the first selection valve and connected to the dispenser; The preheating section, which is branched from the first selection valve, contacts the compressor to heat the water introduced from the water tank primarily, and the water heated primarily in the preheating section is secondly supplied to the dispenser unit. It characterized in that it comprises a hot water flow passage having a heater to. This provides a refrigerator capable of instantaneously supplying hot water and reducing power consumption.

Refrigerator, hot water, heater, compressor

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment according to the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing the operation of the first embodiment according to the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing the operation of the second embodiment according to the present invention;

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings *

1: body 3: storage room

7: machine room 8: compressor

10: door 20: water supply pipe

30: water supply device 40: water supply source

41: external connection 43: water purification

50: first selection valve 53: preheating section

55: heater 60a: second selection valve

70: water tank 80: ice maker

90: dispenser parts C1, C2: cold water flow path

W1, W2: Hot water flow passage I1, I2: Ice making flow passage

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and to a refrigerator capable of instantaneously supplying hot water and reducing power consumption.

Recently released refrigerators are equipped with a variety of additional units considering the functionality and usability in addition to the basic device for keeping food fresh. In accordance with this trend, installation of home bars and dispensers provided in front of the doors is increasing.

Since the dispenser can take out water or ice inside without opening the door, it is possible to prevent cold air inside the refrigerator from leaking out. In addition, recently, a refrigerator having a hot water supply device capable of supplying hot water as well as cold water as a dispenser has been released.

As an example of such a conventional refrigerator, the refrigerators disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 1998-119072 and Korean Patent Registration No. 1999-199980 have pre-heated water and store it in a hot water storage tank to generate and extract hot water. In case of necessity, the method of taking water was mainly used. Since a certain amount of water needs to be heated in advance, there is not only unnecessary power loss, but also hygiene problems may occur in the hot water storage tank.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of instantaneously supplying hot water and reducing power consumption.

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body forming a storage compartment having a front opening, a door for pivoting opening and closing the front opening, a machine compartment partitioned from the storage compartment, and a compressor provided in the machine compartment; A refrigerator comprising a dispenser unit provided in the door and a water supply device for supplying water to the dispenser unit, wherein the water supply device comprises: a water supply source for introducing water into the air from the outside; A water tank connected to the water supply source and provided in the storage compartment to store a predetermined amount of water; A first selection valve provided to branch from a lower portion of the water tank; A cold water flow passage branched from the first selection valve and connected to the dispenser; The preheating section, which is branched from the first selection valve, contacts the compressor to heat the water introduced from the water tank primarily, and the water heated primarily in the preheating section is secondly supplied to the dispenser unit. It is achieved by including a hot water flow passage having a heater to.

In this case, the preheating section preferably comprises a heat-resistant metal material.

Here, the heater is preferably disposed in the door.

On the other hand, the water supply source, the external connection portion for introducing water from the outside into the high; It is preferable to include a water purification unit for purifying the water introduced from the external connection.

Wherein the body further comprises an ice maker for producing ice; Preferably, the water supply device further includes a second selection valve provided between the water purification unit and the water tank, and an ice making water passage branched from the second selection valve and connected to the ice maker.

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body forming a storage compartment having a front opening, a door for pivoting opening and closing the front opening, a machine compartment partitioned from the storage compartment, and a compressor provided in the machine compartment; A refrigerator comprising a dispenser unit provided in the door and a water supply device for supplying water to the dispenser unit, wherein the water supply device comprises: a water supply source for introducing water into the air from the outside; A second selection valve connected to the water supply source and branched; A water tank branched from the second selection valve and provided in the storage chamber to store a predetermined amount of water, and a cold water flow passage for supplying water from the water tank to the dispenser; The preheating section, which is branched from the second selection valve and contacts the compressor to heat the water introduced from the water supply source, and the first heated water in the preheating section, are heated secondly and supplied to the dispenser unit. It can also be achieved by further comprising a hot water flow passage having a heater to.

In this case, the preheating section preferably comprises a heat-resistant metal material.

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

Prior to the description, in describing the embodiment of the present invention, a side by side type refrigerator will be described as an example, but the application of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 1 forming a storage compartment 3 having a front opening, a door 10 pivotally opening and closing the front opening, a machine chamber 7 partitioned from the storage compartment 3, and a machine room. The compressor 8 provided in (7), the dispenser part 90 provided in the door 10, and the water supply device 30 which supplies water to the dispenser part 90 are included.

Referring to the drawings, in the storage compartment 3 of the refrigerator of the present invention, the refrigerating compartment 5 and the freezing compartment 4 are partitioned left and right by an intermediate partition 6. The front opening of the storage chamber 3 is provided with the door 10 for opening and closing the opening, and the door guide (not shown) which can accommodate a parallel flow etc. is arrange | positioned up and down inside the door 10. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the refrigerator according to the present invention further comprises a machine room (7) partitioned with the storage compartment (3). The machine room 7 is a space formed to accommodate various components and devices such as a compressor 8 and a condenser (not shown) constituting a refrigeration cycle.

As shown in FIG. 1, various parts such as a compressor 8 and a condenser (not shown) are installed inside the machine room 7. Compressor 8 is a mechanism for compressing a refrigerant circulating through the components constituting the refrigeration cycle. The compressor 8 receives a low pressure gas refrigerant from another element constituting the refrigerating cycle, compresses the gas refrigerant, and introduces a high temperature high pressure gas refrigerant into a condenser (not shown). In the condenser (not shown) receiving the high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant from the compressor (8), the gas refrigerant and the air passing through the surface of the condenser (not shown) are exchanged to convert the gas refrigerant into a low temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant, The machine room 7 is transferred to a capillary tube (not shown). Here, the compressor 8 generates heat in the process of performing a cycle of sucking, compressing, and discharging the refrigerant. This heat serves to primarily heat the water in the preheating section 53 to be described later.

In the freezer compartment 4, an ice maker 80 for ice making is installed at an upper portion thereof. In addition, a front surface of the freezer compartment 11 is provided with a dispenser 90 capable of supplying ice iced from the ice maker 80 and drinking water from the outside. The dispenser unit 90 includes a water dispenser 93 for supplying drinking water and an ice dispenser 95 for supplying ice, and a button unit 97 formed of a plurality of buttons on the dispenser unit 90. ), The user can select ice, cold or hot water. The button unit 97 may be provided as a general button or may be provided as a touch screen method using a display. Although the dispenser unit 90 may be provided at the front side of the freezer compartment door 11, the dispenser unit 90 may be provided at the front side of the refrigerator compartment door 12.

The water supply device 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a water supply source 40 for introducing water from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator; The preheating section 53 disposed in the machine room 7 and in contact with the compressor 8 to heat the water flowing in from the water supply source 40 first, and the water heated primarily in the preheating section 53 It includes a hot water flow passage (W1) having a heater 55 that is heated to supply to the dispenser unit 90 to be automatically heated.

The water supply source 40 according to the present invention may include an external connection part 41 for introducing water from the outside to the interior of the air and a water purification part 43 for purifying water introduced from the external connection part 41.

The external connection portion 41 is connected to a device capable of supplying water such as an external tap water 100 or a water purifier (not shown) so that water is introduced from the outside to the inside of the furnace, and the other end removes impurities from the introduced water. It is connected to the water purification part 43.

The water purifying part 43 is preferably provided as a water purifying filter to remove impurities of water introduced into the chamber through the external connection part 41.

The hot water flow passage W1 includes a water supply pipe 20 and a heater 55. The hot water flow passage W1 refers to a path through which water introduced from the outside is heated by the heater 55 through the preheating section 53 of the water supply pipe and discharged to the dispenser unit 90.

The feed pipe 20 refers to a flow path of water between the devices until the water introduced from the outside is supplied to the dispenser unit 90. The feed pipe is made of plastic or rubber. Here, in the predetermined region of the water supply pipe 20 A preheating section 53 is provided to surround the outer circumferential surface of the compressor 8 so as to primarily heat the purified water in the purified water unit 43.

The preheating section 53 refers to a section in contact with the compressor 8 so as to primarily heat the water supplied from the water purification unit 43. The preheating section 53 is preferably provided with a heat-transmissive metal material. For example, the material may be made of aluminum or copper. Here, of course, it may be provided with an alloy such as aluminum or other, or may include other heat-transfer metal. Thus, water can be preheated primarily using heat generated by the compressor 8, thereby reducing the power consumption. The preheating section 53 is in contact with the compressor 8 to heat exchange. The preheating section 53 may be provided in the shape of winding the compressor 8 a plurality of times.

The heater 55 is provided between the preheating section 53 and the dispenser unit 90 to heat the water heated primarily in the preheating section. The heater 55 is preferably provided in the door 10. The heater 55 is preferably disposed around the dispenser 90, which is the end of the hot water flow passage W1. The heater 55 is interlocked with the hot water button of the dispenser 90. That is, the heater 55 is set to operate only when the user selects hot water in the dispenser unit 90. Thus, power consumption can be reduced. The heater 55 may be provided in one, or may be provided in two. When two heaters 55 are provided, it is preferable to be connected in series.

The water supply device 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention is branched from the first selection valve 50 and the first selection valve 50 provided between the water supply source 40 and the preheating section 53 and the dispenser unit 90. It may further include a cold water passage (C1) connected to.

The first selection valve 50 is provided to branch the water supplied from the purified water unit 43 into the dispenser unit 90 and the preheating section 53, respectively. That is, the first selection valve 50 branches to the hot water flow passage W1 and the cold water flow passage C1. It is preferable that the inlet port 56 is provided on the purified water part 43 side of the first selection valve 53 and the three holes provided with a pair of outlet ports 57 and 58 on the opposite side. One of the pair of outlets 57 and 58 is connected to the dispenser unit 90 to supply cold water, and the other 58 is connected to the preheating section 53 to supply hot water. The first selection valve 50 may be provided anywhere in the refrigerator. For example, it may be provided in the refrigerating chamber 5, may be provided in the intermediate partition 6, or may be provided in the door 10. The first selection valve 50 may serve to selectively supply cold water and hot water by a user's selection. The first selection valve 50 may be provided with various types of valves, but preferably, it is provided with a solenoid valve.

The cold water passage C1 is connected to the dispenser unit 90 from the first selection valve 50 to supply water. The cold water flow passage C1 branched from the first selection valve 50 to the dispenser unit 90 serves to supply cold water cooled in the water tank 70 to the dispenser unit 90. The water supply pipe 20 forming the cold water flow passage C1 is preferably embedded in the foam space of the main body 1.

The water supply device 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention may further include a water tank 70 for storing a predetermined amount of water between the purified water unit 43 and the first selection valve 50. The water tank 70 is provided in the storage chamber 3 to cool and store a predetermined amount of water. The water tank 70 is provided around an evaporator (not shown) provided behind the main body 1 to cool the water stored by the evaporator (not shown).

The water supply device 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention is branched from the second selection valve 60a and the second selection valve 60a provided between the water purification unit 43 and the water tank 70 and connected to the ice maker 80. It may further include an ice making water passage (I1).

The second selection valve 60a is provided to branch the water supplied from the water tank 70 to the ice maker 80 and the water tank 70, respectively. It is preferable that the inlet 61a is provided on the purified water part 43 side of the second selection valve 60a, and the three holes provided with a pair of outlets 62a and 63a on the opposite side. One (62a) of the pair of outlets (62a, 63a) is connected in the direction of the ice maker 80 to produce ice, the other (63a) is connected in the direction of the water tank 80 to the water tank 80 Allow water to be supplied. The second selection valve 60a may be provided anywhere in the refrigerator. For example, it may be provided at the rear of the refrigerator or may be provided in the machine room 7. The second selection valve 60a may be provided with a flow sensor (not shown) for adjusting the amount of water supplied to the ice maker 80 to produce a predetermined amount of ice. Here, the flow path of the water branched from the second selection valve 60a and connected to the ice maker 80 is an ice making water passage I1. The second selection valve 60a may be provided with various types of valves, but is preferably provided with a solenoid valve.

The heater 55 of the water supply device 30 of the refrigerator according to the present invention is preferably linked to the hot water button of the button unit 97 of the dispenser unit 90.

The first embodiment and the operation of the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as follows.

The operation of the cold water supply is as follows.

First, when the user selects the cold water button of the button unit 97 of the dispenser unit 90, water is supplied from the second selection valve 60a to the water tank 70. At this time, the cold water stored in the water tank 70 is introduced into the first selection valve 50, and the cold water flows along the cold water passage C1 branched from the first selection valve 50 to the dispenser unit 90. It is supplied to the dispenser unit 90.

Looking at the operation of the hot water supply as follows.

First, when the user selects the hot water button of the button portion 97 of the dispenser 90, the water is supplied from the second selection valve 60a to the water tank 70. At this time, the cold water stored in the water tank 70 flows into the first selection valve 50, branches from the first selection valve 50, and moves water to the preheating section 53. In the preheating section 53, the water that has been primarily heated in advance is moved to the heater 55, and the newly introduced water is primarily heated while passing through the preheating section 53 and moved to the heater 55. Water primarily heated in the preheating section 53 moves to the heater 55. At the same time, the heater 55 operates to heat the water secondaryly. When the heater 55 is heated with hot water of a desired temperature, the hot water is supplied to the dispenser unit 90.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. Here, the descriptions of the first embodiment will be omitted.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a water supply unit 40, a second selection valve 60b, a water tank 70, a preheating section 53, and a heater 55.

The second selection valve (60b) is provided with a four-hole valve and the inlet for the water inlet from the water purifier side; It includes an ice maker 80, a preheating section 53, and three outlets connected to the water tank 70, respectively. The flow path connected to the ice maker 80 in the second selection valve 60b is an ice making water flow passage I2, the flow passage connected to the preheating section 53 is a hot water flow passage W2, and the flow passage connected to the water tank 70 is cold water. The flow path C2.

The hot water flow passage W2 heats the water supplied from the second selection valve 60b through the preheating section 53 to the heater 55 to supply hot water to the dispenser unit 90.

The cold water channel C2 cools the water supplied from the second selection valve 60b in the water tank 70 and supplies cold water to the dispenser unit 90.

The ice making water passage I2 is a passage connecting the water supplied from the second selection valve 60b to the ice maker 80.

By this configuration, cold water and hot water can be appropriately supplied by the user's choice, and hot water can be instantaneously supplied by heating the water preheated in the preheating section 53 in the heater 55 and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, since the heater 55 operates only when the user selects hot water from the button unit 97 of the dispenser unit 90, power consumption may be reduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of instantaneously supplying hot water and reducing power consumption.

Claims (7)

A main body forming a storage compartment having a front opening, a door for pivoting opening and closing the front opening, a machine compartment partitioned from the storage compartment, and a compressor provided in the machine compartment; In the refrigerator comprising a dispenser unit provided in the door and a water supply device for supplying water to the dispenser unit, The water supply device, A water supply source for introducing water from the outside to the inside of the air; A water tank connected to the water supply source and provided in the storage compartment to store a predetermined amount of water; A first selection valve provided to branch from a lower portion of the water tank; A cold water flow passage branched from the first selection valve and connected to the dispenser; The preheating section, which is branched from the first selection valve, contacts the compressor to heat the water introduced from the water tank primarily, and the water heated primarily in the preheating section is secondly supplied to the dispenser unit. And a hot water flow passage having a heater. The method of claim 1, The preheating section is a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a heat-resistant metal material. The method of claim 2, And the heater is disposed in the door. The method of claim 3, The water supply source, An external connection portion for introducing water from the outside to the inside of the air; And a water purifying unit for purifying water introduced from the external connection unit. The method of claim 4, wherein The body further comprises an ice maker for making ice; The water supply device further comprises a second selection valve provided between the water purification unit and the water tank, and an ice making water passage branched from the second selection valve connected to the ice maker. A main body forming a storage compartment having a front opening, a door for pivoting opening and closing the front opening, a machine compartment partitioned from the storage compartment, and a compressor provided in the machine compartment; In the refrigerator comprising a dispenser unit provided in the door and a water supply device for supplying water to the dispenser unit, The water supply device, A water supply source for introducing water from the outside to the inside of the air; A second selection valve connected to the water supply source and branched; A water tank branched from the second selection valve and provided in the storage chamber to store a predetermined amount of water, and a cold water flow passage for supplying water from the water tank to the dispenser; The preheating section, which is branched from the second selection valve and contacts the compressor to heat the water introduced from the water supply source, and the first heated water in the preheating section, are heated secondly and supplied to the dispenser unit. And a hot water flow passage having a heater. The method of claim 6, The preheating section is a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a heat-resistant metal material.

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