KR20070071094A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to control chilled air supply for first and second storing chambers by a chilled air converter having a single rotation damper according to a rotation angle of the rotation damper. A refrigerator comprises first and second storing chambers(11,12) defined in a main body respectively, an evaporator(16) mounted at a side of the main body, a chilled air path(17) for discharging chilled air passing through the evaporator, and first and second discharge ducts(18,19) branched from the chilled air path to be connected to the first and second storing chambers respectively. A chilled air converter(20) is mounted at an intersection between the first and second discharge ducts and the chilled air path for converting chilled air flow. The chilled air converter has a rotation damper, wherein chilled air flow conversion is carried out through four modes according to a rotation angle of the rotation damper to supply the chilled air to one of the first and second storing chamber alternatively or simultaneously to the both, or block the chilled air supply for the both.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

      1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a conventional refrigerator.

      2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

      3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of the cold air switching device in the first mode state.

      4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of the cold air switching device in the second mode state.

      5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of the cold air switching device in the third mode state.

      6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of the cold air switching device in the fourth mode state.

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

     10: main body, 11: first storage room,

     12: second storage room, 13: door

     15: compressor, 16: evaporator,

     17: cold air flow path, 18: first discharge duct,

     19: second discharge duct, 20: cold air switching device,

     21: flow path switching room, 23: rotary damper,

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator including a cold air switching device for selectively or simultaneously guiding cold air formed through an evaporator to two storage compartments or blocking cold air to the two storage compartments.

The refrigerator is a cooling apparatus using a steam refrigeration cycle, and two or more storage compartments controlled at different temperatures are generally provided therein.

As a method of controlling the temperature of the storage chamber by one evaporator, there is a method of controlling the cold air by installing a cold air switching damper in a cold air flow path directed to each storage chamber.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an installation configuration of a cold air switching damper in a conventional refrigerator.

As shown in the drawing, the first storage chamber 2 and the second storage chamber 3 divided up and down from each other are provided in the main body 1, and an evaporator 4 serving as a cooler is provided on the rear surface of the main body 1. have.

The cold air passing through the evaporator 4 is discharged into the cold air flow passage 5 by a cooling fan, and the cold air flow passage 5 is a first discharge passage communicating with the first storage chamber 2 and the second storage chamber 3, respectively. 6) and the second discharge passage 7.

At this time, the cold air that opens and closes each flow path in the first discharge passage 6 and the second discharge passage 7 so that the temperature is controlled differently by adjusting the cold air supplied to the first storage chamber 2 and the second storage chamber 3. Switching dampers 8 and 9 are respectively provided.

However, such a cold air switching structure requires the installation of cold air switching dampers 8 and 9 in each flow path, so that the material cost of using two cold air switching dampers 8 and 9 is, of course, a process according to the installation. There was a problem that the production cost is increased as a whole.

The present invention is to solve this problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that is possible to distribute the cold air to the two storage compartments through one cold air switching damper to reduce the production cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment each formed in a main body; An evaporator installed at one side of the main body; A cold air passage through which the cold air passing through the evaporator is discharged; A first discharge duct and a second discharge duct branched from the cold air passage to communicate with the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, respectively; And a cold air switching device installed at an intersection point between the cold air flow path and the first discharge duct and the second discharge duct to switch the flow of the cold air.

The cold air switching device may include a flow path switching chamber provided at the intersection, a rotation damper rotatably installed in the flow path switching chamber, and an inner wall of the flow path switching chamber, and the rotary damper rotates as one end of the rotation damper. And a plurality of separating walls which are adjacent to each other, and an inlet, a first discharge port, and a second discharge port provided between the separation walls and communicating with the cold air flow path, the first discharge duct and the second discharge duct, respectively. A first mode in which the cold air is guided to the first discharge port, a second mode guided to the second discharge port, a third mode guided to the first discharge port and the second discharge port as the rotary damper rotates, Or it is characterized in that the switch to the fourth mode in which the inflow of the cold air is blocked.

In the first mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall provided between the first discharge port and the second discharge port, and the other end of the rotary damper is disposed between the inlet port and the second discharge port. Adjacent to the partition wall is characterized in that the cold air is guided to the first storage chamber.

In the second mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall provided between the first outlet and the inlet, and the other end of the rotary damper is located between the first outlet and the second outlet. Adjacent to the dividing wall is characterized in that the cold air is guided to the second storage chamber.

In the third mode, one end of the rotary damper faces the inlet port, and the other end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall between the first discharge port and the second discharge port. And guided to the second storage compartment.

In the fourth mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall between the inlet and the first discharge port, and the other end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall between the inlet and the second discharge port. It characterized in that the cold air is blocked.

In addition, the first storage chamber is provided as a normal refrigerating chamber, the second storage chamber is characterized in that it is provided as a real taste chamber which is temperature controlled differently from the first storage chamber.

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

Referring to the drawings, in the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body 10 composed of an inner box and an outer box, a first storage room 11 and a second storage room 12 partitioned up and down within the main body 10. Include.

A rotatable door 13 is installed on the opened front surfaces of the first storage chamber 11 and the second storage chamber 12 to open and close the interior, and the two storage chambers 11 and 12 are controlled at different temperatures.

In the present embodiment, the first storage chamber 11 is used as a refrigerating chamber for general use, and the second storage chamber 12 is used as a real taste chamber, which is a temperature switching room controlled at a different temperature from the first storage chamber 11 which is a normal refrigerating chamber.

Real taste room is a storage room that is used when special temperature setting is different from the first storage room 11, which is generally controlled at about 4 degrees Celsius in consideration of the type of food to be stored and the storage period, such as long-term storage of meat, etc. In order to store the temperature of about 2 degrees Celsius just below freezing just before freezing, on the contrary, it is a storage room that can be set to a somewhat higher temperature than the first storage room 11 for storage of aqua, etc.

In addition, a machine room 14 is provided under the rear of the main body 10, and the machine room 14 is provided with a compressor 15, which is a component of a refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 15 is a condenser (not shown). Is sent to the evaporator 16 via a capillary tube (not shown). The evaporator 16 is installed in the cooling passage 17 provided at the rear of the main body.

The cooling passage 17 communicates with the first storage chamber 11 and the second storage chamber 12, respectively, and the first discharge passage 18 and the second discharge passage are disposed on the rear sides of the two storage chambers 11 and 12, respectively. Connected with (19).

In addition, at the intersection branched from the cold air flow passage 17 to the first discharge flow passage 18 and the second discharge flow passage 19, the cold air discharged by the cooling fan 16a through the evaporator 16 is stored in both storage chambers 11. The cold air switching device 20 is provided to selectively or simultaneously guide the air flow paths 12 and switch the flow paths to block cold air to the two storage chambers 11 and 12.

The cold air switching device 20 includes a flow path switching room 21 provided at an intersection point between the cold air flow path 17, the first discharge duct 18, and the second discharge duct 18, and the flow path switching room 21. Rotation damper 23 is rotatably installed.

The flow path switching room 21 is a space in which the rotary damper 23 can rotate, and is formed in a circular shape and has a plurality of separation walls 22a, 22b, and 22c guiding cold air in the circumferential direction. An opening is provided between the wall and the other separation wall so that cold air flows into the flow path switching chamber 21 or is discharged from the flow path switching chamber 21 to the first discharge duct 18 or the second discharge duct 19. For convenience of description, the inlet port 24a, the first discharge port 24b, and the second discharge port 24c will be referred to, respectively.

As the rotary damper 23 rotates, the inflow port 24a, the first discharge port 24b, and the second discharge port 24c and the partition walls 22a, 22b, and 22c provided therebetween can be switched to each other. It has a corresponding positional relationship.

That is, an opening is formed in a range in which the other end of the rotary damper 23 rotates within the rotation range in which one end of the rotary damper 23 is adjacent to the separation walls 22a, 22b, and 22c.

2 to 4 show the positional relationship between the separation walls 22a, 22b, and 22c and the openings. When the state in which cold air is supplied to the first storage chamber 11 as shown in FIG. In the mode state, one end of the rotary damper 23 is adjacent to the separating wall 22b between the first discharge port 24b and the second discharge port 24c, and the other end is between the second discharge port 24c and the inlet port 24a. It is in a state adjacent to the dividing wall 22c.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when cold air is supplied to the second storage chamber 12 as the second mode, one end of the rotary damper 23 is in the second mode and the first discharge port 24b and the second discharge port ( The separating wall 22b between 24c and the other end are adjacent to the separating wall 24a between the inlet port 24a and the first discharge port 24b, respectively.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, when cold air is simultaneously supplied to the first storage chamber 11 and the second storage chamber 12 as the third mode, one end of the rotary damper 23 in the third mode may have a first discharge port. The separating wall 22b between the 24b and the second discharge port 24c and the other end face toward the inlet port 24a.

At this time, as the rotary damper 23 is not parallel to the cold air flow passage 17 and is biased to one side at the inlet port 24a, cold air directed to the first storage chamber 11 and the second storage chamber 12 is differentially distributed. It can be adjusted.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, when the state in which the cold air is supplied to the first storage chamber 11 and the second storage chamber 12 is blocked as the fourth mode, one end of the rotary damper 23 in the fourth mode is connected to the inlet port 24a. ) And the other end is adjacent to the separation wall 22c between the inlet port 24a and the second discharge port 24c.

The cold air switching device 20 included in the refrigerator according to the present invention is controlled in four modes as described above, wherein the opening and the separation walls 22a, 22b, and 22c are formed to have approximately the same center angle. desirable.

In this case, one opening or the separation wall has a central angle of approximately 60 °. In the other modes except for the third mode, both ends of the rotary damper 23 should be adjacent to the two separation walls. ) And the second discharge port 24c are preferably formed smaller than other openings and separation walls, i.e., by an area corresponding to a smaller center angle.

The rotary damper 23 rotates about the rotary shaft, and the driving of the rotary damper 23 is performed by a driving motor (not shown) connected to the rotary shaft.

Since the rotation damper 23 is to be controlled with a relatively precise angle, the drive motor is preferably provided as a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation and easy rotation speed control.

Hereinafter will be described the operation and effects of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the compressor 15 is operated for the operation of the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant is continuously circulated in the order of the compressor-condenser-capillary tube or the expansion valve-evaporator. In particular, the evaporator 16 continuously evaporates the refrigerant, Cooling generates cold air.

On the other hand, the evaporator 16 is configured such that cold air circulates through the cold air flow passage 17 connected to the cooling fan 16a and installed to circulate the storage chambers 11 and 12. The cold air discharged from the air is controlled by the cold air switching device 20.

The cold air switching device 20 is rotated in the flow path switching room 21 and guided to or discharged from each of the discharge ports 24b and 24c by a rotary damper 23 connected to the driving motor to control the cold air. ) And the second storage chamber 12 can be controlled to different temperatures.

Specifically, it is controlled according to the four modes as described above, which is achieved by a method of adjusting the angle of the rotary damper 23 by adjusting the number of rotations of the drive motor by a controller (not shown).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and in the case where a cold air switching device is installed to supply cold air to two storage chambers through one evaporator, the use and storage structure of the storage chambers are different. It can be.

As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention can control the discharge of the cold air by switching the flow path through the cold air switching device composed of one rotary damper.

Therefore, the number of parts is reduced and the assembly process is also reduced compared to the case in which the control damper is installed in each flow path, thereby reducing the overall production cost of the product.

Claims (7)

A first storage chamber and a second storage chamber partitioned in the main body; An evaporator installed at one side of the main body; A cold air passage through which the cold air passing through the evaporator is discharged; A first discharge duct and a second discharge duct branched from the cold air passage to communicate with the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, respectively; And a cold air switching device installed at an intersection point between the cold air flow path and the first discharge duct and the second discharge duct to switch the flow of the cold air. According to claim 1, wherein the cold air switching device is a flow path switching chamber provided at the intersection point, a rotary damper rotatably installed in the flow path switching chamber, and the inner wall of the flow path switching chamber to form the rotation damper as the rotation damper rotates; A plurality of separation walls having one end of the rotary damper adjacent to each other, and an inlet, a first discharge outlet, and a second discharge outlet provided between the separation walls and communicating with the cold air flow path, the first discharge duct and the second discharge duct, respectively. Including; the first mode, the second mode is guided to the first discharge port, the cold air is guided to the first discharge port as the rotary damper rotates, respectively, and guided to the second discharge port The refrigerator is switched to the third mode or the fourth mode in which the inflow of the cold air is blocked. The method of claim 2, wherein in the first mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall provided between the first discharge port and the second discharge port, and the other end of the rotary damper is the inlet port and the second discharge port. And the cool air is guided to the first storage chamber adjacent to the dividing wall between discharge ports. According to claim 2, In the second mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall provided between the first discharge port and the inlet, the other end of the rotary damper is the first discharge port and the second And the cool air is guided to the second storage chamber adjacent to the dividing wall between discharge ports.       3. The coolant of claim 2, wherein in the third mode, one end of the rotary damper faces the inlet, and the other end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the separation wall between the first discharge port and the second discharge port. A refrigerator, characterized in that guided to the first storage room and the second storage room.       3. The method of claim 2, wherein in the fourth mode, one end of the rotary damper is adjacent to the dividing wall between the inlet and the first outlet, and the other end of the rotary damper is located between the inlet and the second outlet. The refrigerator characterized in that the cold air is cut adjacent to the partition wall.       The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first storage compartment is provided as a normal refrigerating compartment, and the second storage compartment is provided as a real taste chamber which is temperature controlled differently from the first storage compartment. .

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