KR20210101513A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator that can implement cooling without mixing of cold air between a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment while using a single evaporator. The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator for generating cold air and connected to the first storage compartment to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate forming one surface of the second storage compartment while exchanging heat with the cold air duct.

Description

refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of respectively cooling a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment using a single evaporator.

BACKGROUND ART A refrigerator is a device for keeping food fresh by having a storage chamber for storing food and a cold air supply device for supplying cold air to the storage chamber. The storage compartment is maintained at approximately 0 to 5 degrees Celsius and includes a refrigerator compartment for refrigerated storage of food, and a freezer compartment maintained at approximately 0 to minus 30 degrees Celsius to freeze and store food.

Refrigerators may be classified according to positions of refrigerating and freezing compartments and a shape of a door. That is, the refrigerator includes a BMF (Bottom Mounted Freezer) type in which a refrigerating compartment is provided on an upper side and a freezing compartment on a lower side, a TMF (Top Mounted Freezer) type in which a refrigerating compartment is provided on a lower side and a freezing compartment is provided on an upper side, and a freezer compartment is provided on the left side. It can be classified as an SBS (Side By Side) type in which the refrigerator is provided on the right side. In addition, the BMF type refrigerator is a French Door Refrigerator (FDR) type in which a pair of refrigerating compartment doors are provided to open and close the refrigerating compartment, and a 4 Door type in which a refrigerating compartment door to open and close the refrigerating compartment and a freezer compartment door to open and close the freezer compartment are provided as a pair. include

Refrigerator can be divided into Mono-cycle and Twin-cycle depending on the number of evaporators. In particular, in the case of a mono-cycle, when there is only one evaporator, the cold air generated by the evaporator is discharged to the refrigerating chamber and directly cooled in the refrigerating chamber. . The air sucked in from the freezing and refrigerating chambers passes through the evaporator and is cooled and circulated again to cool the inside of the refrigerator. In this case, the cold air in the freezer and the cold air in the refrigerating chamber mix with each other, and the smell of food in the refrigerating chamber may be absorbed by the food stored in the freezing chamber. In addition, it is difficult to vary the humidity of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, respectively.

Since the refrigerator uses two evaporators to cool the refrigerating compartment and the freezer compartment respectively by an evaporator, the freezing compartment flow path and the refrigerating compartment flow path are independently cooled without mixing with each other. Independent cooling improves the freshness of food stored in the refrigerator, but may increase the cost of ingredients.

One aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator capable of cooling without mixing cold air in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment using a single evaporator.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator in which material cost is reduced compared to a plurality of evaporators.

A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention includes a cabinet, a first storage room formed in the cabinet, a second storage room formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage room, and an evaporator for generating cold air, A cooling chamber connected to the first storage chamber to be supplied to the first storage chamber, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate that heat-exchanges with the cold air duct and forms one surface of the second storage chamber can

A first blowing fan provided in the cooling chamber to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber may be further included.

A first blowing fan for blowing the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct may be further included.

The cooling plate may form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.

The cold air duct may further include a rear duct formed on a rear surface of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate.

The evaporator may further include a second blowing fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated in the evaporator to the rear duct.

A controller for controlling rotation of the first blowing fan and the second blowing fan according to the set temperatures of the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber may be further included.

The rear duct may include an inlet for supplying the cold air to the rear surface of the cooling plate, and an outlet through which the cold air is discharged from the rear surface of the cooling plate.

The cooling plate may form an upper surface of the second storage chamber.

The cold air duct includes a first intermediate passage through which the cold air circulates in the first storage chamber and a second intermediate passage provided adjacent to the second storage chamber, wherein the cold air in the first intermediate passage and the second The cold air in the intermediate flow passage can exchange heat with each other.

The second intermediate passage may be disposed adjacent to the cooling plate, and cold air in the second intermediate passage may exchange heat with the cooling plate.

The first blowing fan circulates the cold air in the first intermediate passage, and is provided adjacent to the evaporator so as to directly supply the cold air generated in the evaporator to the second intermediate passage and is connected to the second intermediate passage. 2 It may further include a blower fan.

A controller for controlling rotation of the first blowing fan and the second blowing fan according to the set temperature of the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber may be further included.

The second intermediate flow path may include an inlet flow path formed to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate and an outlet flow path formed to allow the cold air to flow out from one surface of the cooling plate.

The second storage chamber may further include a circulation fan provided in the second storage chamber to circulate the cold air generated in the second storage chamber by heat exchange between the cooling plate and the second storage chamber.

A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention includes a cabinet, a first storage room formed in the cabinet, a second storage room formed separately from the first storage room in the cabinet, and an evaporator for generating cold air, A cooling chamber connected to the first storage chamber to be supplied to the first storage chamber, a cold air duct communicating with the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate that exchanges heat with the cold air duct and forms a rear surface of the second storage chamber can

It may further include a first blowing fan provided in the cooling chamber to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber and the cooling plate.

A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention includes a cabinet, a first storage room formed in the cabinet, a second storage room formed in the cabinet and divided from the first storage room, and cold air is supplied to the first storage room. An evaporator connected to the first storage chamber, an intermediate wall dividing the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, and a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided in the intermediate wall and the cold air duct, the upper surface of the second storage chamber It may include a cooling plate to form a.

A first blower fan connected to the evaporator to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber and the cooling plate may be further included.

The cold air duct includes a first intermediate passage through which the cold air circulates in the first storage chamber and a second intermediate passage provided adjacent to the second storage chamber, and includes the cold air in the first intermediate passage and the second intermediate passage. The cold air in the flow passage exchanges heat with each other, and the second intermediate flow passage and the cooling plate are disposed adjacent to each other so that the cold air in the second intermediate flow passage and the cooling plate exchange heat with each other.

According to the spirit of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the cooling plate cools the refrigerating compartment without cold air leaking into the refrigerating compartment, so that the cold air between the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment does not mix.

According to the spirit of the present invention, since a single evaporator is used, it is possible to provide a refrigerator with reduced material cost.

1 is a view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a side cross-section of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air duct in a freezer compartment in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air duct in a freezer compartment in a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view showing FIG. 4 from another direction.
6 is a view showing a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG.
7 is a view showing a cross-sectional side view of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7 .
9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in this specification is only a preferred example of the disclosed invention, and there may be various modifications that can replace the embodiments and drawings of the present specification at the time of filing of the present application.

In addition, the same reference numbers or reference numerals in each drawing in the present specification indicate parts or components that perform substantially the same functions.

In addition, the terms used herein are used to describe the embodiments, and are not intended to limit and/or limit the disclosed invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features It does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of figures, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, terms including an ordinal number such as "first", "second", etc. used herein may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms are It is used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. The term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

Meanwhile, the terms "front", "rear", "left" and "right" used in the following description are defined based on the drawings, and the shape and position of each component is not limited by these terms.

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

1 is a view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a side cross-section of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .

1 and 2 , the refrigerator 1 includes a main body 10 , a first storage compartment 50 , a second storage compartment 60 provided under the first storage compartment 50 , and a first storage compartment The first door (31,32) for opening and closing (50), the second door (33,34) for opening and closing the second storage chamber (60), and cold air in the first storage chamber (50) and the second storage chamber (60) It may include a cold air supply device for supplying the.

The first storage compartment 50 may be a freezing compartment, and the second storage compartment 60 may be a refrigerating compartment. The first doors 31 and 32 may be freezer compartment doors, and the second doors 33 and 34 may be refrigerating compartment doors. That is, the refrigerator 1 may be a TMF (Top Mounted Freezer) type refrigerator having four doors.

However, the idea of the present invention is not applied only to the TMF-type refrigerator having such a four-door, and if it has a structure in which storage rooms partitioned from each other are provided on the upper and lower sides, it can be applied regardless of the number and shape of the doors, and not only the TMF type but also the BMF type. (Bottom Mounted Freezer) type can also be applied. In addition, the refrigerator may be a side-by-side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50 are disposed left and right.

The body 10 includes an inner cabinet 11 forming a first storage chamber 50 and a second storage chamber 60 , an outer cabinet 12 coupled to the outside of the inner cabinet 11 , and an inner cabinet 11 . and an insulating material provided between the outer cabinet 12 . The outer cabinet 12 may be formed of a metal material having good strength and aesthetics, and the inner cabinet 11 may be formed of a plastic material. The insulation material may be a urethane foam insulation material or a vacuum insulation material. The inner cabinet 11 may be referred to as a cabinet 11 .

In another aspect, the main body 10 has a substantially box shape with an open front surface, and includes an upper wall 15 , a bottom 16 , a rear wall 17 , left and right side walls, and a first storage compartment 50 , and an intermediate wall 18 dividing the second storage chamber 60 . An insulating material may be filled in the empty spaces of the upper wall 15 , the floor 16 , the rear wall 17 , the left and right side walls, and the middle wall 18 .

The freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 are storage compartments for storing food, and may be divided into uses and internal temperatures. The refrigerating compartment 60 is a storage compartment for refrigerated storage of food without freezing, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to 5 degrees Celsius. The freezing compartment 50 is a storage compartment for frozen storage of food, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to -30 degrees Celsius.

Since the difference from the room temperature of the freezing compartment 50 is greater than that of the refrigerating compartment 60 , the thickness of the insulating material of the freezing compartment 50 may be greater than the thickness of the insulating material of the refrigerating compartment 60 .

The size of the refrigerating compartment 60 may be larger than the size of the freezing compartment 50 . This is because, in general, the amount of food to be stored in the refrigerating compartment 60 is greater than the amount of food to be stored in the freezing compartment 50 .

In the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 , shelves 51 and 61 for placing food and a box 62 for sealingly storing food may be provided.

The doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may be rotatably hinged to the body 10 . Handles 31a , 32a , 33a , 34a that can be gripped to easily open and close the doors 31 , 32 , 33 and 34 may be provided on the front surfaces of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 . The doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may include insulating materials 31b and 32b for insulating the storage compartments 50 and 60 . The doors 31 and 32 of the freezing compartment 50 may have a thicker insulating material 32b than the doors 33 and 34 of the refrigerating compartment 60 .

The doors 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 may have door guards 35 , 36 provided on the rear surface to store food. Gaskets 31c and 32c may be provided on the rear surfaces of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 so as to be in close contact with the main body 10 to seal the storage compartment.

The gaskets 31c and 32c may be formed of a rubber material, and may be provided on the rear edge of the door 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 . A magnet is provided inside the gaskets 31c and 32c, so that the main body 10 and the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 are kept in close contact with each other by magnetic force.

The refrigerator may include a cold air supply device for supplying cold air to the storage compartments 50 and 60 . The cold air supply device includes a compressor 25 installed in the machine room 24 to compress the refrigerant, a condenser (not shown) installed in the machine room 24 to condense the compressed refrigerant, and a condenser (not shown) condensed by the condenser (not shown). An expansion valve (not shown) for expanding the refrigerant, an evaporator 41 installed on the rear surface of the storage chambers 50 and 60 to generate cold air, and cold air generated in the evaporator 41 are supplied to the storage chambers 50 and 60 Including a blowing fan 90 that guides so as to be possible, and cold air ducts 70 and 100 for guiding the cold air induced by the blowing fan 90 to the storage chambers 50 and 60 and discharging it to the storage chambers 50 and 60, etc. can be configured.

The refrigerator may further include a cooling chamber 40 . The cooling chamber 40 is provided at the rear of the storage chambers 50 and 60 and can accommodate the evaporator 41 . In addition, the cooling chamber 40 has the freezing chamber 50 and the refrigerating chamber 60 through cold air ducts 70 and 100 to be described later in order to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the freezing chamber 50 and the refrigerating chamber 60 . can be connected with

Cold air ducts 70 and 100 may be provided at the rear of the storage compartment 20 to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50 . The cooling chamber 40 may include cold air ducts 70 and 100 .

The cold air ducts 70 and 100 may include the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 disposed at the rear of the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 disposed at the rear of the freezing compartment 50 .

The refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may be disposed at the rear of the refrigerating compartment 60 . The cold air duct 70 of the refrigerating compartment may be connected to the cold air duct 100 of the freezing compartment by a connection duct 80 . A portion of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided to the freezing chamber cold air duct 100 by a first blowing fan 91 to be described below and discharged to the freezing chamber 50 . The remaining part of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided from the freezing chamber cold air duct 100 to the refrigerating chamber cold air duct 70 by a second blowing fan 93 to be described later. The cold air guided to the cold air duct 70 of the refrigerating chamber may exchange heat with the refrigerating chamber 60 through the cooling plate 140 .

The first blowing fan may supply cold air to the first storage chamber, and may supply cold air to the cold air duct on the cooling plate side through the connection duct. Accordingly, both the first storage chamber 50 and the second storage chamber 60 can be efficiently cooled by using a single evaporator 41 .

The cooling plate 140 may form one surface of the second storage chamber 60 . In the drawing, it is formed on the back side. Since the cooling plate 140 exchanges heat with the cold air in the cold air duct 70 and can directly cool the second storage chamber 60, the use of a single evaporator 41 allows the first storage chamber 50 and the second storage chamber ( 60) can all be efficiently cooled.

The cold air duct 70 of the refrigerating compartment may form a rear flow path 70a so that the cooling plate 140 and cold air can exchange heat. The rear flow path 70a may include an inflow flow path 72 , an outflow flow path 74 , and a U-shaped flow path 75 , which will be described later.

The refrigerator may further include a circulation fan 63 . The circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to the front portion of the cooling plate 140 . The circulation fan 63 may circulate the cool air in the second storage chamber 60 to the entire second storage chamber 60 by heat exchange between the cooling plate 140 and the second storage chamber 60 .

The aforementioned cooling chamber 40 is a first cooling chamber 40 , and the refrigerator may include a second cooling chamber 64 provided in the second storage chamber 60 . The circulation fan 63 may be provided in the second cooling chamber 64 to circulate the cold air heat-exchanged with the cooling plate 140 in the second storage chamber 60 .

The freezing chamber cold air duct 100 may be disposed at the rear of the freezing chamber 50 . The freezing chamber cold air duct 100 may be provided in front of the evaporator 41 . The freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be connected to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 by a connection duct 80 .

3 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air duct in a freezer compartment in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 includes a first cold air duct 110 disposed in front of the evaporator 41 and a second cold air duct 120 disposed in front of the first cold air duct 110 . and a cold air duct cover 130 disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120 . Between the first cold air duct 110 and the second cold air duct 120 , there is a first flow path P1 through which the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 is guided to the freezing chamber 50 by the first blowing fan 91 . can be formed.

The first cold air duct 110 is guided to the refrigerating chamber 60 by the blowing fan mounting part 111 to which the first blowing fan 91 is mounted, and the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 by the first blowing fan 91 . a refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 forming a part of the second flow path P2 to be , a cold air discharge unit 116 connecting the first guide unit 115 and the connection duct 80 so that the cold air of the second flow path P2 is discharged to the connection duct 80 may be included.

The first blowing fan 91 may guide the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the first flow path P1 . Also, the first blowing fan 91 may guide the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the second flow path P2 .

The refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may form a part of the second flow path P2 for guiding the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 . The cold air generated in the evaporator 41 may be guided to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 by the first blowing fan 91 .

The first guide part 115 may be provided under the first cold air duct 110 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 . The first guide part 115 may be provided as a pair. The first guide part 115 may be formed to protrude forward from the front surface of the first cold air duct 110 . The first guide part 115 may form the remaining part of the second flow path P2 together with the second guide part 123 of the second cold air duct 120 to be described below.

The cold air discharge unit 116 may be provided under the first guide unit 115 . The cold air discharge unit 116 may connect the first guide unit 115 and the connection duct 80 to discharge the cold air of the second flow path P2 to the connection duct 80 .

The second cold air duct 120 includes a plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 for discharging the cold air of the first flow path P1 to the freezing chamber 50 , and a first guide part 115 of the first cold air duct 110 . ) together with the second guide part 123 forming the remaining part of the second flow path P2.

The plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 may discharge cold air induced to the first flow path P1 by the first blowing fan 91 into the freezing chamber 50 . The plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 may be formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of second freezing chamber discharge holes 131 formed in the cold air duct cover 130 . The cold air induced into the first flow path P1 by the first blowing fan 91 is to be discharged into the freezing chamber 50 through the plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing chamber discharge holes 131 . can

The second guide part 123 may be provided under the second cold air duct 120 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 of the first cold air duct 110 . The second guide part 123 may be provided as a pair. The second guide part 123 may be formed to protrude rearward from the rear surface of the second cold air duct 120 . The second guide part 123 may form the remaining part of the second flow path P2 together with the first guide part 115 of the first cold air duct 110 . That is, the second flow path P2 may be formed by the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 , the first guide part 115 , and the second guide part 123 .

The cold air duct cover 130 may be disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120 . The cold air duct cover 130 may include a plurality of second freezing chamber discharge holes 131 . The plurality of second freezing chamber discharge holes 131 may be provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 of the second cold air duct 120 . Accordingly, the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 and induced to the first flow path P1 by the first blowing fan 91 is a plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 and a plurality of second freezing chamber discharge holes 131 . It may be discharged into the freezing chamber 50 through the.

The second cold air duct 120 includes a plurality of first freezing chamber discharge holes 121 for discharging the cold air of the first flow path P1 to the freezing chamber 50 , and a first guide part 115 of the first cold air duct 110 . ) together with the second guide part 123 forming the remaining part of the second flow path P2.

The second cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing chamber suction holes 122 provided to suck cold air from the freezing chamber and discharge the cold air from the second flow path P2 to the refrigerating chamber. The cold air introduced through the first freezing chamber suction hole may be supplied to the refrigerating chamber through the second flow passage.

The plurality of first freezing chamber suction holes 122 may be formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of second freezing chamber suction holes 132 formed in the cold air duct cover 130 . The cold air induced into the freezing chamber by the first blowing fan 91 may be discharged to the second flow path P2 through the plurality of first freezing chamber suction holes 122 and the plurality of second freezing chamber suction holes 132 .

The refrigerator may include a flow rate control device 150 provided in the connection duct 80 . The flow rate control device 150 may be configured as a damper 150 . The flow rate control device 150 may control the air supplied from the blowing fan 90 to the cold air duct 70 of the refrigerating compartment so that the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 can be controlled at respective set temperatures. The flow rate controller 150 may be controlled by a controller 200 to be described later.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention may include three modes in which the temperature can be varied.

In the first mode, the first blowing fan 91 may cool the first storage chamber 50 by inducing the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the first flow path P1 . In addition, the first blowing fan 91 guides the cold air flowing into the first freezing chamber suction hole 122 and the second freezing chamber suction hole 132 into the second flow path P2 to flow to the cooling plate 140 . can Since the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of the refrigerating compartment 60 , in the first mode, both the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 can be cooled using the first blowing fan 91 and the single evaporator 41 .

In the second mode, the first blowing fan 91 can cool only the first storage chamber 50 . At this time, the cold air introduced into the first freezing chamber suction hole 122 and the second freezing chamber suction hole 132 may flow into the second flow path P2, and the flow rate control device 150 in the connection duct 80 controls the amount of cold air. Since the flow is blocked, cold air may not be transmitted to the cooling plate 140 .

In the third mode, since the first blowing fan 91 can cool only the first storage chamber 50 as in the second mode, the rotational speed of the first blowing fan 91 is controlled by the controller 200 to be described later. It can be used at a temperature higher than the freezer temperature. That is, the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 may be controlled to a temperature similar to the normal temperature of the refrigerating compartment.

4 is an exploded perspective view of a cold air duct in a freezer compartment in a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a view showing FIG. 4 from another direction.

4 and 5 , the blowing fan 90 may further include a second blowing fan 93 .

The refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may be formed so that cold air generated in the evaporator 41 flows through the second blowing fan 93 .

The blowing fan mounting unit 111 may further include a second blowing fan mounting unit 113 on which the second blowing fan 93 is mounted. The second blowing fan 93 may guide the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the second flow path P2 .

The refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention may include five modes in which the temperature can be varied.

In the first mode, the first blowing fan 91 may cool the first storage chamber 50 by inducing the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to the first flow path P1 . In addition, the second blowing fan 93 guides the cold air flowing into the first freezing chamber suction hole 122 and the second freezing chamber suction hole 132 into the second flow path P2 to flow to the cooling plate 140 . can Since the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of the second storage chamber 60 , in the first mode, the first storage chamber 50 using the first blowing fan 91 , the second blowing fan 93 and a single evaporator 41 . Both and the second storage chamber 60 may be cooled. At this time, since the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140 , only the first storage compartment 50 can be used as a refrigerating compartment.

In the second mode, as described above, only the first storage compartment 50 can be cooled to the temperature of the freezing compartment by using the first blowing fan 91 and the flow rate control device 150 .

In the third mode, as described above, the rotation speed of the first blowing fan 91 is controlled to be slow, so that the first storage compartment can be used at a temperature higher than that of the freezing compartment. That is, it can be used as the temperature of the refrigerating chamber. At this time, since the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140 , only the first storage compartment 50 can be used as a refrigerating compartment.

In the fourth mode, using only the first blowing fan 91 , both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be used at a higher temperature than that of the freezing compartment. That is, the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be cooled to the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, since the flow rate control device 150 is opened to allow cold air to flow to the cooling plate 140 , the second storage chamber 60 can also be cooled.

In the fifth mode, only the refrigerator compartment can be cooled. The first blowing fan 91 does not operate, but only the second blowing fan 93 is operated to induce cool air generated in the evaporator 41 into the second flow path P2 to cool the second storage chamber 60 . . That is, since the first blowing fan 91 is not used, only the second storage chamber 60 can be cooled by using the second blowing fan 93 without cooling the first storage chamber 50 .

The second blowing fan 93 may supply cold air to the cold air duct 70 at the rear of the second storage chamber 60 to smoothly heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 .

6 is a view showing a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the cold air duct 70 of the refrigerating compartment may include a rear duct 70 . That is, the refrigerator may include a rear duct 70 provided so that cold air passing through the connection duct 80 from the rear of the cooling plate 140 flows. The rear duct 70 may be formed to smoothly heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 .

The rear duct 70 has an inlet 71 through which cold air is introduced so that the cold air in the rear duct 70 can exchange heat with the cooling plate 140, and an outlet 73 provided so that the air after heat exchange can return to the evaporator. ) may be included.

As the cooling plate 140 and the rear duct 70 are coupled, an inlet 71 , an outlet 73 , an inlet passage 72 , and an outlet passage 74 may be formed, respectively. Cold air may enter the inlet 71 and exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet passage 72 , and may flow out to one or more outlets 73 through the U-shaped passage 75 and the outlet passage 74 in turn. The number of outlets 73 is not limited to the two shown in the drawings, and may exceed two or only one.

The inflow passage 72 may have a step 72a provided to be closer to the cooling plate 140 than to the inlet 71 . This is to enable smoother heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 .

The cooling plate 140 may include a metal plate. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and other materials may be included as long as the heat exchange with the second storage chamber 60 is smoothly performed to allow cooling.

Although not shown in FIG. 6 , the circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to the front portion of the cooling plate 140 .

The cooling plate 140 may include a square 141 on the surface. The square 141 may be formed to enlarge the heat transfer area of the second storage chamber 60 and the cooling plate 140 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a guide (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the cooling plate 140 according to the flow direction of the circulation fan 63 in order to enlarge the heat transfer area and increase the convective heat transfer coefficient to improve the heat transfer amount. .

The cooling plate 140 may include brackets 142 provided on both sides of the front portion where the square 141 is formed. The bracket 142 may be combined with the rear duct 70 to form a flow path 70a through which cold air may pass.

7 is a view showing a cross-sectional side view of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the cooling plate 140 may form an upper surface of the second storage chamber 60 . The cooling plate 140 may cool the second storage chamber 60 by exchanging heat with the cold air in the second intermediate flow path 180 to be described later. Overlapping components such as doors are omitted. When the cooling plate 140 is disposed on the upper surface of the second storage chamber 60 , heat loss to the rear portion can be reduced.

The refrigerator 1 may include a first intermediate passage 160 , a first intermediate duct 170 , a second intermediate passage 180 , and a second intermediate duct 190 . The first intermediate flow path 160 may be a flow path in which the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 circulates in the first storage chamber 50 by the first blowing fan 91 and returns to the evaporator 41 again. The first intermediate duct 170 is formed in the intermediate wall 18 and may constitute a part of the first intermediate flow path 160 through which cold air flows from the first storage chamber 50 to the evaporator 41 . The second intermediate flow path 180 may allow the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to flow to the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 by the second blowing fan 93 and to flow back to the evaporator 41 . The second intermediate duct 190 is formed in the intermediate wall 18 and may form a part of the second intermediate flow path 180 through which cold air flows from the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 back to the evaporator 41 .

The cold air in the first intermediate duct 170 and the cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may exchange heat with each other. The cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may heat-exchange with the cooling plate 140 to cool the second storage chamber 60 . Therefore, the cold air in the first intermediate passage 160 and the cold air in the second intermediate passage 180 can exchange heat, and the cold air in the second intermediate passage 180 exchanges heat with the cooling plate 140 to the second storage chamber 60 . can cool

The circulation fan 63 may be disposed in the second cooling chamber 64 . The cold air of the second storage chamber 60 cooled by the cooling plate 140 may be circulated throughout the second storage chamber 60 by the circulation fan 63 . That is, the circulation fan 63 may circulate the cold air along the refrigerating compartment flow path 65 .

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7 .

Referring to FIG. 8 , in the second intermediate passage 180 , an inflow passage 161 and an outflow passage 162 may be formed to exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 , respectively. The cold air may exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet passage 161 and flow out through the U-shaped passage 164 and the outlet passage 162 in turn. Due to the shape of the flow path, heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 can be smoothly performed. The number of the outflow passages 162 is not limited to the two illustrated in the drawings, and may exceed two or only one.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the refrigerator may further include a temperature input device 210 and a controller 200 .

When the user sets the desired temperature of the first storage chamber 50 and the second storage chamber 60 , the controller 200 controls the first blowing fan 91 , the second blowing fan 93 , and the flow rate control device 150 . By adjusting the temperature of the first storage chamber 50 and the second storage chamber 60 can be adjusted, respectively. Accordingly, the above-mentioned three modes or five modes may be possible.

For example, in one embodiment or another embodiment of the present invention, when the user sets the temperature of the first storage chamber 50 low, the first storage chamber 50 is controlled to increase the rotational speed of the first blowing fan 91 . ) can lower the temperature. In addition, even when the temperature of the second storage chamber 60 is set low, both the rotational speeds of the first blowing fan 91 and the second blowing fan 93 are increased or only the respective rotational speeds are controlled to the first storage chamber ( 50) and the temperature of the second storage chamber 60 can be controlled. In the case of the flow control device 150 , the temperature difference between the first storage chamber 50 and the second storage chamber 60 may be controlled to be large. In this case, even when the first blowing fan 91 rotates rapidly, the flow rate control device 150 blocks cold air in the connection duct 80 so that the second storage chamber 60 is not cooled.

In another embodiment of the present invention, when only the first blowing fan 91 increases the rotation speed, only the first storage chamber 50 can be maintained at a low temperature. Even when the rotation speed of the second blowing fan 93 is increased, the second storage compartment 60 may be maintained at a temperature similar to that of the freezing compartment 50 .

In the above, specific embodiments have been shown and described. However, it is not limited only to the above-described embodiments, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains can make various changes without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims below. .

One; refrigerator 10; main body
18: middle wall 27; evaporator
40; cooling chamber 50; storage room 1
60; a second storage room 70; refrigeration room cold air duct
80; connecting duct 90; blower fan
100; Freezer cold air duct 140; cooling plate
150; flow control device 200; controller

Claims (20)

cabinet;
a first storage room formed in the cabinet;
a second storage room formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage room;
a cooling chamber including an evaporator for generating cold air and connected to the first storage chamber so that the cold air is supplied to the first storage chamber;
a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air; and
and a cooling plate provided to exchange heat with the cold air in the cold air duct and forming one surface of the second storage compartment. According to claim 1,
The refrigerator further comprising a first blowing fan provided in the cooling chamber to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber. 3. The method of claim 2,
The refrigerator further comprising a first blowing fan for blowing the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct. 4. The method of claim 3,
The cooling plate forms a rear surface of the second storage compartment. 5. The method of claim 4,
The cold air duct further includes a rear duct formed on a rear surface of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate. 6. The method of claim 5,
The refrigerator further comprising a second blowing fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the rear duct. 7. The method of claim 6,
and a controller for controlling rotation of the first blowing fan and the second blowing fan according to the set temperatures of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment. 6. The method of claim 5,
The rear duct includes an inlet for supplying the cold air to a rear surface of the cooling plate and an outlet through which the cold air is discharged from the rear surface of the cooling plate. 4. The method of claim 3,
The cooling plate forms an upper surface of the second storage compartment. 10. The method of claim 9,
The cold air duct includes a first intermediate flow path provided to circulate the cold air through the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment,
A refrigerator in which the cold air in the first intermediate passage and the cold air in the second intermediate passage exchange heat with each other. 11. The method of claim 10,
The second intermediate passage is disposed adjacent to the cooling plate, and the cold air in the second intermediate passage exchanges heat with the cooling plate. 11. The method of claim 10,
The first blowing fan circulates the cold air in the first intermediate flow path,
The refrigerator further comprising a second blowing fan provided adjacent to the evaporator and connected to the second intermediate flow path to directly supply the cold air generated in the evaporator to the second intermediate flow path. 13. The method of claim 12,
and a controller for controlling rotation of the first blowing fan and the second blowing fan according to the set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment. 11. The method of claim 10,
The second intermediate flow path includes an inflow path formed to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate and an outlet flow path formed so that the cold air is discharged from one surface of the cooling plate. According to claim 1,
and a circulation fan provided in the second storage chamber to circulate the cold air generated in the second storage chamber by heat exchange between the second storage chamber and the cooling plate. cabinet;
a first storage room formed in the cabinet;
a second storage compartment formed separately from the first storage compartment in the cabinet;
a cooling chamber including an evaporator for generating cold air and connected to the first storage chamber so that the cold air is supplied to the first storage chamber;
a cold air duct communicating with the evaporator to receive the cold air; and
and a cooling plate provided to exchange heat with the cold air in the cold air duct and forming a rear surface of the second storage compartment. 17. The method of claim 16,
The refrigerator further comprising a first blowing fan provided in the cooling chamber to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber and the cooling plate. cabinet;
a first storage room formed in the cabinet;
a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet and partitioned from the first storage compartment;
an evaporator connected to the first storage chamber to supply cold air to the first storage chamber;
an intermediate wall dividing the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber;
a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided in the intermediate wall; and
and a cooling plate provided to exchange heat with the cold air in the cold air duct and forming an upper surface of the second storage compartment. 19. The method of claim 18,
and a first blowing fan connected to the evaporator to supply the cold air to the first storage chamber and the cooling plate. 19. The method of claim 18,
The cold air duct includes a first intermediate flow path provided to circulate the cold air through the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment,
The cold air in the first intermediate passage and the cold air in the second intermediate passage exchange heat with each other,
The second intermediate flow passage and the cooling plate are disposed adjacent to each other to exchange heat between the cold air in the second intermediate flow passage and the cooling plate.

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