KR20110006997A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, comprising: a main body having a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber partitioned vertically by horizontally arranged partition walls; an evaporator disposed inside the partition wall; and on one side of the evaporator. And a first cooling fan disposed to blow cold air into the first cooling chamber, and a second cooling fan disposed on the other side of the evaporator to blow cold air into the second cooling chamber. Thereby, it is possible to increase the use space in the refrigerator without increasing the appearance and to independently cool and simultaneously cool each cooling chamber with a single evaporator.

Refrigerator main body, first cooling chamber, second cooling chamber, partition, evaporator, first cooling fan, second cooling fan

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. More particularly, the present invention relates to a refrigerator, which can increase a space in a refrigerator and enable independent cooling and simultaneous cooling operation of a cooling chamber by one evaporator.

As is well known, a refrigerator is a device that allows food to be stored freshly by refrigeration or freezing. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body in which a plurality of cooling chambers are formed, doors for opening and closing each cooling chamber, and a refrigeration cycle apparatus for providing cold air to the cooling chamber.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus is usually a vapor compression refrigeration system comprising a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser in which the refrigerant is radiated and condensed, an expansion device in which the refrigerant is decompressed and expanded, and an evaporator in which the refrigerant absorbs latent heat of the surroundings and evaporates. It consists of a cycle device.

In general, a cold air circulation passage may be formed on the rear wall of the cooling chamber so that cold air of the cooling chamber may circulate. The cold air circulation passage may be provided with an evaporator to be cooled while passing air. In addition, a cold air supply passage may be formed in the cooling chamber so that cold air passing through the evaporator may be supplied to each cooling chamber.

In such a conventional refrigerator, since the evaporator having a very low temperature compared to the cold air of the cooling chamber is disposed on the rear wall of the cooling chamber, loss of cold air through the rear wall can be increased. In consideration of this, the thickness of the rear wall may be increased.

In addition, in a refrigerator in which a single cooling fan is disposed on one side of a single evaporator, the same evaporator and the cooling fan are operated even when the cooling chamber far away from the place where the evaporator and the cooling fan are installed operates the same evaporator and the cooling fan. Cold air loss may occur in the process of moving. In addition, the configuration of the cold air flow path for supplying the cold air in the cooling chamber located away from the evaporator may be complicated and lengthened. Due to this, the flow resistance of the cold air increases, making it difficult to solve the temperature deviation quickly and the operation time can be extended.

In addition, in such a conventional refrigerator, since a plurality of cooling chambers are cooled by a single evaporator, even if one of the cooling chambers already meets the temperature condition of the bath, the operation is performed to satisfy the temperature conditions of the other cooling chamber. Subcooling can occur in cooling chambers that have already met temperature conditions.

On the other hand, some of the refrigerators may be disposed in each of the cooling chambers in order to independently cool different cooling chambers. Even in this case, since each evaporator is disposed close to the rear wall of the corresponding cooling chamber, the thickness of the rear wall of each cooling chamber is increased to reduce the leakage of cold air through the rear wall of each evaporator, thereby reducing the actual storage space of the cooling chamber. have.

In addition, when the evaporator is disposed in each cooling chamber, the flow path of the refrigerant is increased accordingly, and not only the flow resistance of the refrigerant is increased but also the pressure and heat loss of the refrigerant due to the long pipe are generated and operated. Efficiency may be lowered.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can increase the use space in the refrigerator without increasing the appearance.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can increase the use space in the refrigerator without increasing the appearance and can independently cool and simultaneously cool each cooling chamber by a single evaporator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of varying a cooling capacity of an evaporator in accordance with a cooling chamber for supplying cold air.

The present invention provides a refrigerator main body including a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber partitioned vertically by partition walls arranged horizontally to achieve the object as described above; An evaporator disposed inside the partition wall; A first cooling fan disposed at one side of the evaporator to blow cold air into the first cooling chamber; And a second cooling fan disposed at the other side of the evaporator to blow cold air into the second cooling chamber.

Here, a first cold air suction port and a second cold air suction hole may be formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the partition wall, respectively.

The evaporator may be configured to be inclined downward from front to rear.

The partition wall may be formed to gradually increase as the thickness of the portion disposed above the evaporator is directed backward.

It may be configured to further include a grill pan disposed in the second cooling chamber to guide the flow of air.

The grill pan may be provided with a defrost flow passage for guiding the defrost water flowing from the partition wall.

A drain portion may be formed at the bottom of the grill pan.

The first cooling chamber may be a refrigerating chamber, and the second cooling chamber may be configured as a freezing chamber.

And an ice making chamber formed in the door of the first cooling chamber, a side wall cold air duct for guiding the cold air formed in the evaporator to the ice making chamber, and an ice making fan for blowing cold air to the side wall cold duct.

The ice making fan may be configured to be disposed in the partition wall.

The first branch flow path and the second branch flow path formed on the refrigerant inlet side of the evaporator may further comprise a first capillary and a second capillary pipe disposed in the first branch flow path and the second branch flow path, respectively.

It may be configured to further include an on-off valve for selectively opening and closing the first branch passage and the second branch passage.

The open / close valve may include a first open / close valve and a second open / close valve respectively disposed in the first branch channel and the second branch channel.

The open / close valve may include a flow path switching valve disposed on an upstream side of the first branch flow path and the second branch flow path to switch the flow path.

The evaporator may be arranged to be biased to the freezing compartment side so that the freezer compartment side thickness is thinner than the freezer compartment side thickness.

As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the rear wall due to the arrangement of the evaporator can be reduced by allowing the evaporator having a very low temperature compared to the cold air of the cooling chamber to be arranged inside the partition wall. This provides an effect of increasing the use space in the refrigerator, that is, the food storage space, without increasing the appearance (size) of the refrigerator main body.

In addition, since the evaporator is disposed inside the partition wall, since the cool air of the evaporator is transmitted directly to the cooling chamber without leaking to the outside, the temperature rise of the cooling chamber can be suppressed. Thereby, the cooling operation cycle of a cooling chamber can be extended.

In addition, by arranging the evaporator inside the partition wall and having a first cooling fan and a second cooling fan to blow cold air into each cooling chamber on one side of the evaporator, respectively, it is possible to increase the use space in the interior without increasing the appearance. In addition to the effect, not only can each cooling chamber be cooled simultaneously, but also can be cooled independently, and the effect which can improve operating efficiency is provided. Moreover, according to this, the cold air supply flow path which supplies cold air to each cooling chamber is shortened, a structure becomes simple, and cold air flow loss can be reduced. Thereby, the temperature variation of each cooling chamber can be eliminated more quickly.

Further, by forming a first branch passage and a second branch passage on the refrigerant inlet side of the evaporator, and having the first capillary and the second capillary in the first branch passage and the second branch passage, respectively, to the cooling chamber to supply cold air. Accordingly, the cooling capacity (freezing capacity) of the evaporator can be varied. Accordingly, the operation efficiency can be improved by appropriately adjusting the generation and supply of cold air to the load of the cooling chamber, that is, the load of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber.

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

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the partition wall along line VI-VI of FIG. 5, and FIG. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body including a first cooling chamber 150 and a second cooling chamber 160 divided up and down by partition walls 120 arranged horizontally. 110); An evaporator 250 disposed inside the partition wall 120; A first cooling fan (210) disposed at one side of the evaporator (250) to blow cold air into the first cooling chamber (150); And a second cooling fan 220 disposed on the other side of the evaporator 250 to blow cold air into the second cooling chamber 160. Here, any one of the first cooling chamber 150 and the second cooling chamber 160 may be configured as a refrigerator compartment, and the other may be configured as a freezer compartment. In addition, both the first cooling chamber 150 and the second cooling chamber 160 may be configured as a freezing chamber or both as a refrigerating chamber. Hereinafter, a case in which the first cooling chamber 150 is configured as a refrigerating chamber and the second cooling chamber 160 is configured as a freezing chamber will be described.

An inside space of the refrigerator main body 110 may be provided with a partition wall 120 that is horizontally disposed such that a cooling chamber is divided up and down. The refrigerating chamber 150 may be formed at an upper side of the partition wall 120, and a freezing chamber 160 may be formed at a lower side of the partition wall 120.

The refrigerator body 110 may include an outer case 111a forming an outer appearance, an inner case 111b spaced apart from the inner side of the outer case 111a, and the outer case 111. It may be configured to include a heat insulating material (111c) is filled between the 111a) and the inner case (111b).

The machine room 170 may be formed in the lower rear region of the refrigerator main body 110. The refrigerator main body 110 may be provided with a refrigeration cycle to supply cold air into the freezing chamber 160 and the refrigerating chamber 150. The refrigeration cycle may be composed of a vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is circulated to compress, condense, expand and evaporate. The vapor compression refrigeration cycle will be described later with reference to the drawings.

The refrigerating chamber 150 may be provided with a pair of refrigerating chamber doors 155 to selectively open and close the refrigerating chamber 150. The freezing compartment 160 may be provided with a freezing compartment door 165 to open and close the freezing compartment 160. The refrigerating chamber door 155 may be configured to rotate both sides of the refrigerating chamber 150 with a rotation axis, respectively. The freezer compartment door 165 may be configured as a drawer-type door sliding in the front-rear direction.

An ice making chamber 180 may be provided in any one of the refrigerating chamber doors 155. The ice making chamber 180 may be provided with an ice maker (not shown) for making ice by receiving water from the outside. An ice bank (not shown) may be provided below the ice maker to store the ice.

One sidewall of the refrigerating chamber 150 may be provided with a sidewall cold air duct 190 to supply cold air to the ice making chamber 180. The side wall cold air duct 190 may be configured in a pair. One of the sidewall cold air ducts 190 may form a cold air supply passage, and the other may form a cold air return passage through which cold air returns through the ice making chamber 180.

Meanwhile, an evaporator 250 may be provided inside the partition wall 120. As a result, since the evaporator 250 having a lower temperature than the cold air of the freezer compartment 160 is not installed on the rear wall, the freezer compartment 160 and / or the refrigerating compartment (without increasing the size of the appearance of the refrigerator main body 110) It is possible to increase the size of the actual use space in the 150). In addition, it is possible to suppress leakage of cold air from the evaporator 250 to the outside through the rear wall. In addition, the thickness of the rear wall, which is relatively thick, may be reduced to prevent cold air leakage of the evaporator 250. As a result, the size of the space used inside the freezer compartment 160 and / or the refrigerating compartment 150 may be increased.

The evaporator 250 may include a heat transfer tube 251 through which a refrigerant flows, and a plurality of heat transfer plates 255 coupled to the heat transfer tube 251. The heat pipes 251 may be configured to be arranged in a row on the same plane. The heat transfer pipe 251 may include a straight pipe portion disposed along the left and right directions of the partition wall 120 and a connection pipe portion connecting the straight pipe portion to communicate with the straight pipe portion.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the heat transfer plate 255 may be coupled to the straight pipe portion at a predetermined pitch. The heat transfer plate 255 is a pitch (P1) of the heat transfer plate 255 disposed on the first suction port and the second suction inlet side is disposed on the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 side. The heat transfer plate 255 may be configured to be larger than the pitch P2. As a result, the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160 having a relatively high humidity flows in and is first implanted to reduce air flow resistance of the upstream heat transfer tube 251 and the heat transfer plate 255 having a large amount of implantation. Can be.

An evaporator accommodating part 122 may be formed in the partition 120 to accommodate the evaporator 250. The evaporator accommodating part 122 may be formed to be upwardly open. An evaporator cover 125 may be provided at an upper side of the evaporator accommodating part 122 to block an upper opening of the evaporator accommodating part 122. Discharge ports may be formed in the central region behind the upper surface of the partition wall 120. One side (eg, lower side) of the evaporator 250 may be provided with a defrost heater (not shown) for defrosting the evaporator 250.

The bottom surface of the evaporator accommodating portion 122 may be formed to be inclined downward toward the rear. Accordingly, the evaporator 250 may be accommodated inclined downward downward. The bottom surface of the evaporator accommodating part 122 and the evaporator 250 may be disposed to be inclined approximately 4 degrees to 6 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. As a result, the defrost water during the defrost of the evaporator 250 may be smoothly moved to the rear.

The first suction opening 131 and the second suction opening 132 may be formed in the front region of the partition wall 120 to suck the cold air from the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160. The first suction opening 131 may be formed on an upper surface of the partition wall 120. More specifically, the first suction opening 131 may be formed through the evaporator cover 125. The first suction opening 131 may be formed in plural. The first suction openings 131 may be spaced apart from each other along the left and right directions of the partition wall 120. As a result, the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 may be sucked into both side regions of the evaporator 250 to exchange heat. Here, the first suction openings 131 may be formed in a rectangular shape, respectively. The first suction opening 131 may have a larger width than the length of the first suction opening 131. Thereby, the contact area (heat exchange area) of the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the evaporator 250 can be reduced, and the suction amount of the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 can be increased. According to this, the cold air having a relatively high temperature can be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 150 in a large amount to quickly eliminate the temperature deviation of the refrigerating chamber 150 while preventing local subcooling.

The second suction opening 132 may be formed on the bottom surface of the partition wall 120. The second suction opening 132 may be formed to include a central area of the partition wall 120. As a result, the air of the freezing chamber 160 may be sucked into the central region of the evaporator 250 and may be heat-exchanged in a relatively large region.

 The second suction opening 132 may be formed in a band shape having a longer length than the width. Thereby, the contact area (heat exchange area) of the air of the freezer compartment 160 and the evaporator 250 can be increased, and the suction amount of the air of the freezer compartment 160 can be appropriately maintained. Accordingly, since the air in the freezer compartment 160 exchanges heat with the evaporator 250 in a relatively large area, the air in the freezer compartment 160 may be cooled to a lower temperature, thereby cooling the freezer compartment 160 more quickly.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a refrigerating and cooling air duct 152 may be provided at the rear of the refrigerating chamber 150 to supply cold air to the refrigerating chamber 150. Here, the refrigeration cold air duct 152 may be formed to have a thin thickness and a long length. The refrigeration cold air duct 152 may have a length corresponding to the height of the refrigerating chamber 150 and may have a width at least half of the width of the refrigerating chamber 150. As a result, the thickness of the refrigerating and cooling air duct 152 can be reduced, thereby increasing the actual use space of the refrigerating chamber 150. A plurality of cold air discharge ports 153 may be formed in upper, middle, and lower regions of the cold storage air duct 152 to discharge cold air.

A first cooling fan 210 may be accommodated in the lower region of the refrigeration cold air duct 152. A first cooling fan accommodating part 157 may be formed in the lower region of the refrigeration cooling air duct 152 to accommodate the first cooling fan 210. Here, the first cooling fan 210 may be configured as a centrifugal fan that sucks cold air in the axial direction and discharges it in the radial direction. The first cooling fan 210 may be disposed such that a suction port faces forward and a discharge port faces upward. A lower side of the first cooling fan accommodating part 157 may have a duct suction opening 158 open downward to communicate with the discharge hole 127 of the partition wall 120. The first cooling fan accommodating part 157 may be formed to have a thicker thickness so as to protrude further forward than the periphery (upper part) so as to secure a space at a suction port side for suction of cold air of the first cooling fan 210.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the partition 120 may include an ice making fan 230 that blows cold air into the ice making chamber 180. The ice making fan 230 may be configured as a centrifugal fan that sucks air in the axial direction and discharges it in the radial direction. According to this, the axial length can be reduced, so that the ice making fan 230 can be easily accommodated inside the partition wall 120 without increasing the thickness of the partition wall 120. Accordingly, since the ice making fan 230 does not protrude into the freezing compartment 160 or the refrigerating compartment 150, the ice making fan 230 does not occupy the space of the freezing compartment 160 or the refrigerating compartment 150. It can increase the actual use space.

The ice making fan 230 may be disposed such that a suction hole faces downward and a discharge hole faces a horizontal direction. An ice making fan accommodating part 141 may be provided in the partition wall 120 to accommodate the ice making fan 230. The partition wall 120 may have a cold air flow passage 142 in communication with the ice making fan accommodating part 141 to allow the cold air discharged from the ice making fan 230 to flow. A discharge port 143 may be formed at one side of the cold air flow passage 142 to allow the cold air returned through the ice making chamber 180 to be discharged to the freezing chamber 160. Each lower end of the side wall cold air duct 190 may be connected to one side (left side of the drawing) of the partition wall 120. According to this configuration, the cold air passing through the evaporator 250 is sucked by the ice making fan 230 and discharged to the cold air passage 142, along the side wall cold air duct 190 connected to the cold air passage 142 It is supplied to the ice chamber 180. The cold air supplied to the ice making chamber 180 performs an ice making operation, and again flows downward along the sidewall cold air duct 190, passes through the partition wall 120, and is discharged to the freezing chamber 160.

A second cooling fan 220 may be provided in the rear region of the freezing compartment 160 to blow cool air that has passed through the evaporator 250 to the freezing compartment 160. The second cooling fan 220 may be composed of a so-called centrifugal fan that sucks air in the axial direction and discharges it in the radial direction. The second cooling fan 220 may be configured to suck air to one side and to discharge in the same direction as the suction direction of the air from the other side. Here, the second cooling fan 220 may be disposed in front of the first cooling fan 210, as shown in FIG. As a result, leakage of cold air having a relatively low temperature to the outside through the rear wall can be suppressed.

A grill fan 270 may be provided around the second cooling fan 220 to guide the flow of cold air passing through the evaporator 250. The grill pan 270 is disposed in the rear upper region of the freezing compartment 160 to partition an internal space. That is, the grill pan 270 divides the internal space into an evaporator 250 side space where cold air is formed and a food storage space (substantially a freezer compartment) in which actual food is stored.

8 is a front view of the grill pan of FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the grill pan of FIG. 8.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the grill pan 270 may include an upper plate portion 271 and a fan accommodating portion 281. The upper plate part 271 may have a length corresponding to the left and right widths of the partition wall 120 and may be connected to a rear bottom surface of the partition wall 120. The fan accommodating part 281 may be formed to extend downward from the center of the upper plate part 271 with a left and right width reduced compared to the upper plate part 271. A cold air discharge port 283 may be formed in the fan accommodating part 281 so that the cold air blown by the second cooling fan 220 may be discharged.

Meanwhile, a defrost water guide passage may be formed in the grill pan 270 to guide defrost water that melts frost from the evaporator 250 side. The grill pan 270 may be defined as a flow path forming member in that a cold air flow path and a defrost water flow path are formed therein.

The upper plate part 271 may be formed to be inclined to collect defrost water. The upper plate portion 271 may be formed to have a first inclined portion 272a and a second inclined portion 272b so that defrost water may be collected and moved to one side of the fan accommodating portion 281. Both the first inclined portion 272a and the second inclined portion 272b are formed to be inclined downwardly backward, and at the same time, the defrost water may join in the boundary area between the first inclined portion 272a and the second inclined portion 272b. It may be configured to be inclined in the horizontal direction so that the lowest point can be formed. The defrost water of the first slope portion 272a and the second slope portion 272b joined at the lowest point flows downward along one sidewall of the fan accommodation portion 281.

Flange 273 may be formed at both ends along the longitudinal direction of the upper plate portion 271 so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the partition wall 120, and the flange 273 may be formed at the bottom surface of the partition wall 120. Insertion holes 275 may be formed to be penetrated so that a fastening member (not shown) such as a screw to be fastened can be inserted therein.

An overflow prevention rib 285 may be formed in the rear regions of the upper plate portion 271 and the fan accommodation portion 281 to prevent the collected defrost water from overflowing. Each overflow preventing rib 285 may be formed to have a height such that the defrost water does not overflow. The overflow preventing rib 285 formed in the upper plate portion 271 is a boundary region of the second inclined portion 272b along the rear edge of the first inclined portion 272a via the upper region of the fan receiving portion 281. Can be extended. Accordingly, the defrost water flowing along the first inclined portion 272a does not drop from the upper region of the fan accommodating portion 281 to the cold air outlet 283 of the front portion of the fan accommodating portion 281 and bypasses the front portion to accommodate the pan. It may be moved to one side area of the part 281 and fall. Thereby, it can suppress that defrost water falls to the cold air | gas outlet 283 of the fan accommodation part 281. According to this, since the defrost water does not flow to the front of the fan accommodating portion 281 when the cooling operation resumes, the defrosted water that flows down may be frozen in the cold air discharge port 283 and block the cold air discharge port 283, thereby preventing cold air discharge. none.

A drain portion 287 may be formed at a bottom of the fan accommodating portion 281 to discharge the defrost water. The bottom surface of the fan accommodating part 281 may be inclined so that defrost water may be collected into the drain part 287. A drain pipe 289 may be connected to the drain portion 287. The drain pipe 289 may be drawn out to the machine room 170 formed at the rear lower portion of the main body 110.

10 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 11 is a modification of the on / off valve of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the refrigerator may include a freezing cycle 240 for supplying cold air to the freezing compartment 160 and the refrigerating compartment 150. The refrigeration cycle 240 includes a compressor 241 for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser 243 for dissipating and condensing the refrigerant, an expansion device 247 for depressurizing and expanding the refrigerant, and the refrigerant absorbing latent heat of the surroundings. It may be composed of a so-called steam compression refrigeration cycle including an evaporator 250 is evaporated.

The compressor 241, the condenser 243, and the expansion device 247 may be disposed in the machine room 170, and the evaporator 250 may be disposed in the partition wall 120 as described above.

One side of the condenser 243 may be provided with a blowing fan 245 for blowing to facilitate heat dissipation of the condenser 243. One side of the evaporator 250, the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 to blow the cold air passing through the evaporator 250 to the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160, respectively Each may be provided. In addition, an ice making fan 230 may be provided at one side of the evaporator 250.

Meanwhile, a first branch passage 261 and a second branch passage 262 may be formed at the refrigerant inlet side of the evaporator 250. Opening valves 265 may be provided at end portions of the inlet side of the first branch passage 261 and the second branch passage 262 to selectively open and close them. Here, the on-off valve 265 is a flow path switching valve for moving the refrigerant moved from the condenser 243 to the evaporator 250 through the first branch passage 261 or through the second branch passage 262. 265. In addition, the on-off valve 265 moves the refrigerant through any one of the first branch passage 261 and the second branch passage 262, or the first branch passage 261 and the second branch passage ( 262 may be configured to move simultaneously.

Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the opening / closing valve 265 is disposed in the first branch channel 261 and opens and closes the first branch valve 266 and the second branch channel 261. It may be configured to include a second opening and closing valve 267 disposed in 262 to open and close the second branch passage 262. Here, the first opening and closing valve 266 and the second opening and closing valve 267 may be configured to be operated (driven) by an electric force, respectively.

The expansion device 247 may be provided in the first branch flow path 261 and the second branch flow path 262. The expansion device 247 may include a first capillary tube 248 provided in the first branch channel 261 and a second capillary tube 249 provided in the second branch channel 262. Can be. Here, the first capillary tube 248 and the second capillary tube 249 may be formed to have different diameters (inner diameters) and / or lengths. For example, the inner diameter of the first capillary tube 248 may be larger than that of the first capillary tube 248. In addition, the first capillary tube 248 may be configured to have a longer length than the second capillary tube 249. Herein, each capillary tube 248 and 249 has a larger inner diameter, and a passage flow rate increases, and a longer length of the capillary tubes 248 and 249 may lower the refrigerant temperature. In consideration of this, the inner diameter and the length of the first capillary tube 248 and the second capillary tube 249 may be appropriately adjusted. In the present embodiment, the first capillary tube 248 is considered to be formed to have a larger passage refrigerant flow rate (inner diameter) and a lower refrigerant temperature (longer length) than the second capillary tube 249.

12 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 12, the refrigerator may include a controller 290 implemented as a microprocessor or the like equipped with a control program. The control unit 290 may be connected to the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 291 and the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 292 for detecting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 150 and the freezing compartment 160 to receive a detection signal. In addition, the control unit 290 may be the first cooling fan 210 so that the cold air can be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 150 and / or the freezing chamber 160 according to the detected temperature conditions of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160, respectively. And second cooling fans 220 may be connected to each other in a controllable manner. In addition, the control unit 290 has a flow path switching valve 265 to adjust the refrigerant conditions (refrigerant flow rate and / or refrigerant temperature) flowing into the evaporator 250 in accordance with the operation of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160 ( Alternatively, the first open / close valve and the second open / close valve may be controllably connected.

By such a configuration, when it is desired to supply cold air to the refrigerating compartment 150 based on the detection result of the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 291, the controller 290 may control the first cooling fan 210 to be rotated. have. When the first cooling fan 210 is rotated, the air of the refrigerating compartment 150 is sucked into the partition 120 through the first suction opening 131, and the sucked air passes through the evaporator 250. While being exchanged and cooled. The cooled air is introduced into the refrigeration cold air duct 152 via the first cooling fan 210 (suction and discharge).

The cold air introduced into the refrigeration cold air duct 152 is discharged into the refrigerating chamber 150 through each cold air discharge port 153. In this case, the controller 290 may control the flow path switching valve 265 to allow the refrigerant to flow along the second branch flow path 262. That is, the refrigerant passing through the condenser 243 flows into the second branch channel 262 through the flow path switching valve 265, and is decompressed and expanded while passing through the second capillary tube 249. The refrigerant expanded under reduced pressure through the second capillary tube 249 flows into the evaporator 250, and at this time, the refrigerant absorbed heat of the air sucked through the first suction port 131 is evaporated. The evaporated refrigerant is again sucked into the compressor 241 to perform the cooling operation while repeating the compression and discharge process.

The controller 290 may control the second cooling fan 220 to be rotated when supplying cool air to the freezing compartment 160 based on a detection result of the freezing compartment temperature sensor 292. When the second cooling fan 220 is rotated, the air of the freezing chamber 160 is sucked into the partition wall 120 through the second suction opening 132. The air sucked into the partition wall 120 is cooled while passing through the evaporator 250, is sucked by the second cooling fan 220, and discharged into the freezing chamber 160. In this case, the controller 290 may control the flow path switching valve 265 to allow the refrigerant to flow along the first branch flow path 261.

The refrigerant condensed while passing through the condenser 243 flows into the first branch passage 261 through the flow path switching valve 265, and is decompressed and expanded while passing through the first capillary tube 248. In this case, the first capillary tube 248 has a larger inner diameter and a longer length than the second capillary tube 249, so that the refrigerant having a higher flow rate and a lower temperature may be introduced into the evaporator 250. The refrigerant introduced into the evaporator 250 is evaporated by absorbing heat from the air sucked through the second inlet 132, and the evaporated refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 241 to be compressed and discharged while cooling. Will be performed.

The controller 290 is configured to supply cold air to the refrigerating compartment 150 and the freezing compartment 160 at the same time based on the results of the temperature sensing of the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 291 and the freezing compartment temperature sensor 292. The first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 may be controlled to rotate at the same time. When the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 are rotated, the air of the refrigerating chamber 150 is sucked into the partition wall 120 through the first suction opening 131, and the freezing chamber 160 Air is sucked into the partition wall 120 through the second suction port 132.

The air sucked into the partition wall 120 is cooled in contact with the evaporator 250, and is respectively cooled by the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 to the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160. Discharged. In this case, the controller 290 may control the flow path switching valve 265 to allow the refrigerant passing through the condenser 243 to flow simultaneously into the first branch passage 261 and the second branch passage 262. have. Accordingly, the refrigerant passing through the condenser 243 is decompressed and expanded while passing through the first capillary tube 248 and the second capillary tube 249, respectively, and flows into the evaporator 250. Accordingly, since more cold air can be formed, the freezing chamber 160 and the refrigerating chamber 150 can be simultaneously cooled. Thereby, the temperature deviation of the refrigerating chamber 150 and the freezing chamber 160 can be eliminated at the same time.

The controller 290 may control the ice making fan 230 to rotate when the cold air is to be supplied to the ice making chamber 180. When the ice making fan 230 is rotated, air cooled while passing through the evaporator 250 is sucked into the ice making fan 230 and discharged to the cold air flow path 142. The cold air discharged into the cold air passage 142 flows upward along the sidewall cold air duct 190 and flows into the ice making chamber 180. The cold air introduced into the ice making chamber 180 cools the ice making chamber 180 and flows downward through the side wall cold air duct 190. The cold air flowing downward along the sidewall cold air duct 190 is discharged to the freezing chamber 160 through the discharge hole 143 formed through the partition wall 120.

On the other hand, when a predetermined time elapses, a defrosting operation for removing frost formed on the surface of the evaporator 250 may be performed. During the defrosting operation, the controller 290 may control the first cooling fan 210 and the second cooling fan 220 to be stopped. The defrost heater, not shown, generates heat when power is applied to heat the frost formed on the surface of the evaporator 250. At this time, the defrost water dissolved in the frost is moved to the rear region along the bottom surface of the evaporator accommodating portion (122). The defrost water moved backward is collected by the upper plate portion 271 of the grill pan 270 and moved along the overflow preventing rib 285 of the upper plate portion 271 to fall from the lowest point, which is a confluence region, to accommodate the fan receiving portion 281. It is moved downward to the bottom region of the fan accommodation portion 281 along one side wall of the. The defrost water moved to the bottom of the fan accommodating part 281 is discharged to the machine room 170 through the drain part 287 and the drain pipe 289.

In the above, specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described. However, the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit or essential features thereof, so the embodiments described above should not be limited by the details of the detailed description.

Further, even when the embodiments not listed in the detailed description have been described, it should be interpreted broadly within the scope of the technical idea defined in the appended claims. It is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged view illustrating main parts of FIG. 2;

4 is a front view of FIG. 3;

5 is a perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a partition wall taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

7 is a plan view of the evaporator region of FIG. 2;

8 is a front view of the grill pan of FIG.

9 is a rear perspective view of the grill pan of FIG. 8;

10 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator of FIG. 1,

11 is a modification of the on-off valve of FIG.

12 is a control block diagram of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

110: refrigerator body 120: bulkhead

122: evaporator accommodating part 125: evaporator cover

131: first inlet 132: second inlet

150: first cooling chamber, refrigerating chamber 152: refrigeration cold air duct

155: refrigerator door 160: second cooling chamber, freezing chamber

165: freezer door 170: machine room

180: ice making chamber 190: side wall cold air duct

210: first cooling fan 220: second cooling fan

230: ice making fan 240: refrigeration cycle

241 compressor 243 condenser

247: expansion device 248: first capillary tube

249: second capillary 250: evaporator

251: heat pipe 255: heat transfer plate

261: first quarter euro 262: second quarter euro

265: on-off valve, flow path switching valve

270: grill pan 271: top plate

281: fan housing 285: overflow prevention rib

287: drain portion 290: control portion

Claims (15)

A refrigerator body having a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber divided up and down by horizontally arranged partition walls; An evaporator disposed inside the partition wall; A first cooling fan disposed at one side of the evaporator to blow cold air into the first cooling chamber; And And a second cooling fan disposed at the other side of the evaporator to blow cold air into the second cooling chamber. The method of claim 1, And a first cold air suction opening and a second cold air suction opening are formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the partition wall, respectively. The method of claim 1, The evaporator is a refrigerator, characterized in that arranged inclined downward from the front to the rear. The method of claim 3, The partition wall is characterized in that the refrigerator is formed to gradually increase as the thickness of the portion disposed on the upper side of the evaporator toward the rear. The method of claim 3, And a grill pan disposed in the second cooling chamber to guide the flow of air. The method of claim 5, The grill pan is characterized in that the defrost flow path for guiding the defrost water flowing from the partition wall. The method of claim 6, A refrigerator, characterized in that the drain portion is formed at the bottom of the grill pan. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The first cooling chamber is a refrigerating chamber, the second cooling chamber is characterized in that the refrigerator consisting of a freezer. The method of claim 8, And an ice making chamber formed in the door of the first cooling chamber, a side wall cold air duct for guiding the cold air formed in the evaporator to the ice making chamber, and an ice making fan for blowing cold air to the side wall cold duct. 10. The method of claim 9, And the ice making fan is arranged inside the partition wall. The method of claim 8, A refrigerator further comprising a first branch passage and a second branch passage formed at a refrigerant inlet side of the evaporator, and a first capillary tube and a second capillary tube respectively disposed in the first branch passage and the second branch passage; . The method of claim 11, And a closing valve for selectively opening and closing the first branch passage and the second branch passage. The method of claim 11, And the open / close valve includes a first open / close valve and a second open / close valve respectively disposed in the first branch channel and the second branch channel. The method of claim 11, And the opening and closing valve includes a flow path switching valve disposed at an upstream side of the first branch flow path and the second branch flow path to switch the flow path. The method of claim 8, And the evaporator is arranged biased toward the freezer compartment such that the freezer compartment thickness is thinner than the freezer compartment side thickness.

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