MX2011013075A - Air flow. - Google Patents

Abstract

An air flow system for distribution the cooling air in a household refrigerator of the type that comprises a first and second compartment divided by a mullion; said air flow system comprises: an evaporator for cooling the air that flows through said evaporator chamber and which is distributed in the inner portion of the compartments of the refrigerator through an evaporation cover and the rear cap of a freezing compartment; discharge ports are arranged in the upper portion of the rear cap of a first compartment and backflow ports for the hot air being arranged in the lower portion of the rear cap of the first compartment; a duct housed is arranged inside the mullion of the refrigerator and which has a cooling air supply duct intended to distribute the cooling air inside the refrigeration compartment, and a hot air backflow duct for flowing back the hot air from said refrigeration compartment to the evaporator chamber; a tower duct, connected to the duct through an inlet located in the upper portion thereof, is vertically coupled to the rear portion of the rear wall of the refrigeration compartment for distributing the cooling air lengthwise different levels or heights within said refrigeration compartment by means of a plurality of air outlets.

Description

AIR FLOW Field of Invention The present invention relates to an air flow system for distributing the cooling air uniformly within the compartments of a domestic refrigerator. More specifically, it is an arrangement of ducts through which the cooling air is directed into said cooler in such a way as to allow uniform cooling in all areas thereof.

Description of the Prior Art.

Usually conventional domestic refrigerators have a main body that includes a freezing compartment and a food compartment, separated from each other by a barrier commonly known in the field as mullion. Within these compartments, different panels and containers are arranged at different heights to place the food to be cooled, which is why it has been imperative to achieve a uniform temperature in all compartment areas, regardless of their proximity or distance to the part rear, top or refrigerator doors.

To achieve the above, refrigerators normally have a cooling air flow system consisting mainly of an evaporator, an evaporator chamber, a fan and various ducts for the distribution and return of air inside the compartments of both freezing like fresh food. In general, said system drives the cold air coming from the evaporator chamber, partly towards the interior of the freezing compartment and partly towards the interior of the fresh food refrigeration compartment, by means of different ducts and orifices. Once the air circulates inside the compartments extracting the heat of the food disposed inside them, said air (already hot) is directed through holes and return ducts back to the evaporator chamber to be cooled again by the evaporator and to be pushed back by the fan into the compartments .; Commonly, refrigerators with airflow systems of this type have the problem that although the air is circulated within the compartments of freezing and refrigeration of fresh food, a uniform temperature is not achieved in the different zones thereof. , because due to the design and distribution of the air vents, it does not reach to cool some remote areas or close to the doors. For this reason, attention has been focused on the design and distribution and circulation of cold air inside the compartments, due to which a uniform temperature in all areas of the same depends on guaranteeing the conservation of food regardless of its location.

For example, in United States Patent 5,704,224 a cooling air circulation structure for a refrigerator is disclosed having a duct vertically disposed in the rear part within the refrigeration compartment with multiple discharge ports distributed at different heights of said compartment. The cooling air is supplied to said vertical duct directly from the evaporator chamber by means of a bifurcated tube which in turn supplies cold air to a discharge unit 'from the roof of the refrigeration compartment. The vertical duct also has an air return duct integrally formed along it and with return ports distributed over its surface to capture the hot air and take it back to the evaporator by means of a tube that connects them. The freezer compartment has a grid with cold air supply ports connected directly to the evaporator chamber on top, and return ports on the bottom. It is specific layout and geometry of. the ducts and ports in the refrigerator compartments, as described in the document, serve to achieve a better flow of cooling air through said ducts and inside both compartments; however, the fact of having both the cold air discharge ports and the adjacent air return ports in the rear of the cooling compartment, does not allow a continuous circulation of the cold air inside said compartment and therefore a uniform cooling in all its zones. At the same time, having the vertical air distribution duct attached to the internal part of the refrigeration compartment, steals valuable storage space in said compartment and results in an expensive element for the material and the finish that it must have as it is a piece that is visible to the user.

Therefore, according to the above, there is a need to have a cooling air distribution system inside a refrigerator- by means of which it is actually achieved that said distribution is uniform in all areas of the refrigerator compartments , thus ensuring the perfect preservation of all foods or 1 arranged within them regardless of their location. In addition, this system must be functional, economical and reliable, to solve effectively and reliably the problems presented by the prior art described above.

Brief description of the invention.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an air flow system for distributing the cooling air uniformly within the compartments of a domestic refrigerator. More specifically, it is an arrangement of ducts through which the cooling air is directed towards the interior of said refrigerator in such a way that it is possible to ensure a uniform cooling in all the zones thereof, j The air flow system of the present invention is designed to be installed in a domestic refrigerator of the type comprising a main body, which includes a freezing compartment and a. cooling compartment of fresh food, arranged respectively one above the other and separated from each other by a barrier commonly known as mullion, and wherein each compartment has an independent access door.

Also, each of said compartments has different panels and / or containers distributed inside them to place the food to be cooled, creating with this different cooling zones within the compartments. Due to the creation of said different cooling zones, mainly along the fresh food refrigeration compartment, it is that an efficient air flow system like the one of the present invention is needed, to ensure a uniform temperature in all of them regardless of its proximity or distance to the back, top or refrigerator doors.; Said air flow system of the present invention consists mainly of an evaporator arranged in an evaporator chamber formed in the rear part of the freezer compartment behind an evaporator cover. A fan with motor supported on the back of said evaporator cover and specially placed to force the cooling air coming from the evaporator chamber through the evaporator cover, which, in its front part incorporates a series of walls with a specific geometry to form a pressure chamber and generate areas of high air pressure to later distribute it to the freezing and cooling compartments. A back cover of the freezer compartment placed in front of the evaporator cover covering it completely and remaining as the visible part for the user in the bottom of the freezing compartment. A plurality of air outlet holes are conveniently made in the upper part of said back cover to supply through them the cooling air coming from the pressure chamber of the evaporator cover and driven by the fan from the evaporator towards the freezing compartment. Also, a plurality of air return orifices are conveniently made in the lower part of said back cover to allow through them, and other holes made coincidentally in the evaporator cover, the hot air return (or less cooled) to the evaporator chamber to be cooled again and start the new circulation cycle.

The arrangement of walls of the evaporator cover that form the pressure chamber allows part of the air coming from the evaporator to be distributed to the fresh food refrigeration compartment by means of a mullion duct preferably made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and disposed in the inside the dividing barrier between the freezing and cooling compartments called mullion. Said mullion duct is specially designed to comprise a cooling air supply duct and a hot air return duct (or less cold); similarly, it is designed so that the cooling air supply duct of the mullion is connected on the one hand with the pressure chamber of the evaporator cover and on the other with the distribution elements of said cooling air to the cooling chamber. refrigeration. Likewise, the air return duct of the mullion connects on the one hand the cooling compartment and on the other directly with the evaporator chamber, allowing the return of hot (or less cold) air from the refrigeration compartment back to the evaporator for its cooling and recirculated.

The exit end of the cooling air supply duct of the mullion is divided into two end portions forming two cooling air discharge orifices, so that one of said orifices is directed downwardly directly connecting to the cooling compartment from the upper wall thereof, while the other of said holes is directed towards the rear and is connected with an elongated tower duct which is vertically coupled to the rear part of the rear wall of the cooling compartment to distribute the air of cooling along different heights within the compartment by means of multiple discharge orifices made along said tower duct and which are coincident with holes made in the rear wall of said cooling compartment. Said tower assembly is formed of a plastic housing and an EPS lid coupled to the front thereof and on which the discharge orifices are made.

Due to this type of cooling air supply inside the cooling compartment, a uniform distribution can be ensured in all the zones of the same, since on the one hand, the distribution of air through multiple exits at different heights allows this cooling air to the different levels and containers inside the compartment, working in conjunction with the upper or overhead air outlet, by means of which it is achieved that said air flow runs along the walls and a constant circulation is maintained from it to the areas furthest away from the discharge orifices. On the other hand, the location of the air return hole or port in the upper front part of the refrigeration compartment, ensures that the air is returned to the evaporator until it has actually circulated efficiently within said compartment by absorbing as much of the air as possible. heat of the foods contained there. This position of said return hole is achieved thanks to the special flat and elongated design of the mullion duct that allows it to be housed within the same mullion barrier. Another important feature is that the tower assembly is coupled outside the cooling compartment, which prevents the storage space of said compartment from being reduced as in the case of some documents of the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent when reference is made to the description taken in conjunction with the following figures.

Brief Description of the Figures.

The particular features and advantages of the invention, as well as other objects of the invention, will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 is a conventional perspective view of the main body of a domestic refrigerator having installed the air flow system of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the main body of the domestic refrigerator of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front view of the main body of the domestic refrigerator of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view 1 of Figure 3 along the line? - TO' .

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 3 along line B-B '.

Figure 6 is a detailed view of the area near the evaporator chamber, taken from Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a conventional perspective view of the evaporator cover with the fan coupled thereto.

Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of the evaporator cover with the fan coupled thereto.

Figure 9 is a front view of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a side view of Figure 7.

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 9 along line A-A '.

Figure 12. is a conventional perspective view of the back cover of the freezing compartment coupled with the evaporator cover.

Figure 13 is a front view of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a side view of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 13 along line A-A '.

Figure 16 is an exploded view of Figure 12.

Figure 17 is a rear exploded view of Figure 12.

Figure 18 is a conventional perspective view of the evaporator cover, the back cover of the freezing compartment, the mullion duct and the tower duct, coupled together and isolated from the body of the refrigerator for a better appreciation of their coupling. You can also see an independent satellite duct.

Figure 19 is a rear perspective view of the coupling of Figure 18.

Figure 20 is a front view of the coupling of Figure 18.

Figure 21 is a side view of the coupling of Figure 18.

Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 20 along line A-A '.

Figure 23 is a detailed view of the coupling area of the ducts, taken from Figure 22.

Figure 24 is a conventional perspective view of the mullion duct.

Figure 25 is an exploded view of the mullion duct.

Figure 26 is a top view of the mullion duct.

Figure 27 is a side view of the mullion duct.

Figure 28 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 26 along line A-A ', where the full path of the cooling air supply duct is seen. , Fig. 29 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 26 along line B-B ', where the full path of the return duct is appreciated.

Figure 30 is a conventional perspective view of the tower duct.

Figure 31 is a rear perspective view of the tower duct.

Figure 32 is a front view of the tower duct.

Figure 33 is a side view of the tower duct.

Figure 34 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 28 along line A-A '.

Figure 35 is an exploded view of Figure 30.

Figure 36 is an exploded view of Figure 31. Figure 37 is a detailed view of the area where the satellite duct is located in the refrigerator, taken from Figure 5.

Figure 38 is a detailed view of the area where the satellite duct is located, taken from Figure 37; with a particular approach of said satellite pipeline.

Figure 39 is a conventional perspective view of the satellite duct.

Figure 40 is a rear perspective view of the satellite duct.

Figure 41 is a top view of Figure 39 !.

Figure 42 is a side view of Figure 39.

Figure 43 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 41 along line A-A '.

Detailed Description of the Invention.

As previously described, the present invention relates to an air flow system for distributing the cooling air uniformly within the compartments of a domestic refrigerator. More specifically, it is an arrangement of ducts through which the cooling air is directed towards the interior of said refrigerator in such a way that uniform cooling is allowed in all the zones thereof.

Now, referring to the appended figures, and particularly to figures 1 to 6,. it can be appreciated that the air flow system of the present invention is designed to be installed in a domestic refrigerator of the type comprising a main body (1) or cabinet including a freezing compartment (2) and a cooling compartment of fresh foods (3) arranged respectively one above the other and separated from each other by a barrier commonly known as mullion (4), and where each of the compartments has an independent access door (not shown). Also, each of said compartments (2,3) has various panels and / or containers (not shown) distributed: inside them to place the food to be cooled, creating with this different cooling zones within the compartments (2,3). Due to the creation of said different cooling zones, mainly along the fresh food refrigeration compartment (2), it is that an efficient air flow system like the one of the present invention is needed to ensure a temperature uniform in all areas regardless of proximity or distance to the back, top or refrigerator doors.

Said air flow system of the present invention is formed by a series of elements that together achieve the main object of the same, as described below.

As can be seen in greater detail in figure 6, there is an evaporator (5) arranged in an evaporator chamber (6) formed in the rear part of the freezer compartment (2) behind an evaporator cover (7). Said evaporator (5) is responsible for cooling and removing moisture from the air that enters the chamber (6) and which is passed through it, maintaining a cycle of recirculation inside the refrigerator.

As shown in Figures 7 to 11, a fan (8) with motor (9) is fastened on the back of said evaporator cover (7) and is arranged in a special way to force the cooling air coming from the evaporator chamber (6) through the evaporator cover (7). The motor (9) of said fan (8). Is controlled automatically and according to the temperature sensors inside the refrigerator, to be activated only when it is necessary to force the recirculation of cooling air in the system. The evaporator cover (7) incorporates in its front a series of deflection walls (10) arranged with a specific geometry so as to form a pressure increase chamber (11) to generate zones of high cooling air pressure coming from the evaporator (5) and forced inside by means of the fan (8). This cooling air supplied to the pressure boosting chamber (11) is subsequently directed partly towards the freezing compartment (2) directly through holes or discharge ports (12) made in the rear compartment lid (13) of freezing, and partly to the fresh food refrigeration compartment (3) by means of a downwardly directed channel (14) formed by the same deflection walls (10) forming the pressure increase chamber (11). An air flow regulator (15) is additionally placed in said pressure increase chamber (11) to regulate the amount of cooling air supplied to the compartments (2,3) by modifying and adjusting the desired temperature: in the compartment of freezing (2).

As can be seen in figures 12 to 17, a back lid (13) of freezing compartment is arranged in front of the evaporator cover (7) and is attached to it covering it completely and remaining as the visible part for the user at the bottom of the freezing compartment (2). A plurality of cooling air discharge ports or ports (12) are conveniently made in the upper part of said rear cover (13), preferably in the area near the fan (8), to supply through them the cooling air from the pressure increase chamber (11) driven by the fan (8) from the evaporator (5) to the freezing compartment (2). Likewise, a plurality of holes or air return ports (16) are conveniently made in the lower part of said rear cover (13) to allow, through them, and other ports (17) made coincidentally in the evaporator cover (7), the return of hot air (or less cold) to the evaporator chamber (6) to be cooled again and start the circulation cycle again.

As seen in isolation in figures 18 to 23, the evaporator cover (7) is coupled with a mullion duct (18), which is so named because it is arranged inside the dividing barrier between the compartments of freezing (2) and refrigeration (3) called mullion (4). Said mullion duct (18) is preferably manufactured from expanded polystyrene (EPS) and is specially designed to comprise a cooling air supply duct (19) that allows. distribute the air coming from the channel (14) to the fresh food refrigeration compartment (3), and a return duct for hot (or less cold) air (20) that allows hot air to return to the evaporator chamber (6) to cool it down and recirculate it. In this way, the channel (14) formed by the deflection walls (10) of the evaporator cover (7) is connected in fluid communication with the inlet end (21) · of said cooling air supply duct ( 19) of the mullion duct (18) to bring the air to the outlet end (22) thereof. Said outlet end (22) of the cooling air supply duct (19) of the mullion duct (18) is divided into two final parts forming two cooling air outlets, so that the first part (23) of said outlets it is directed downwards to connect with a top or top air discharge port (24) coupled in the upper wall of the cooling compartment to supply the air directly in said compartment (3) from the upper wall thereof; while the second part (25) of said outlets is directed towards the rear to distribute cooling air to a tower duct (28) described later.

On the other hand, the air return duct (20) of the mullion duct (18) goes from its inlet port (26) in the front part of the upper wall of the refrigeration compartment (3) to its outlet ports (27). ) in the evaporator chamber (6), allowing return of the hot air from the refrigeration compartment (3) back to the evaporator (5) for cooling and recirculation. Due to the geometry of the mullion duct (18), said air return duct (20) is also divided into two parts at a point in its trajectory so as not to interfere with the cooling air supply duct (19) passing through the center, thus forming two return ports (27) of hot air return connected with the evaporator chamber (6).

It is also important to note that said duct 'mullion (18) is made up of two EPS shaped pieces coincident with each other to form the ducts (19,20) mentioned above, allowing a low manufacturing cost and especially a particular design of the same to achieve an efficient flow and distribution of the air inside the refrigeration compartment (3) (see figures 24 to 29).

In a complementary manner, an elongated tower duct (28) shown in Figures 30 to 36, is constructed by means of a plastic housing (29) and an EPS cover (30) coupled thereto, forming an air distribution duct of cooling between both pieces, which has an air inlet (31) in its upper part and multiple air outlets (32) made and distributed along the EPS lid (30). Specifically and as it is more clearly seen in figures 18 to 23, the air inlet (31) of said tower duct (28) is connected in fluid communication with the second air outlet (25) that is directed towards the rear formed at the outlet end (22) of the cooling air supply duct (19) of the mullion duct (18). Also, the tower duct assembly (28) is vertically coupled to the rear part of the rear wall of the cooling compartment (3) to distribute the cooling air coming from the mullion duct (18) along different levels or heights inside said cooling compartment (3), by means of the multiple air discharge outlets (32) made along the cover (30) of said tower duct (28) and which are comcidentes with holes or ports of discharge (33) made in the rear wall of said cooling compartment (3). Additionally, a series of fins (34) and / or recesses (35) can be formed inside the tower duct (28) to direct and distribute the air circulating therethrough. Preferably said fins (34) and recesses (35) are formed integrally in the EPS lid (30) and / or in the plastic housing (29).

Due to this particular form of supply of the cooling air inside the fresh food refrigeration compartment (3) a uniform distribution in all the areas thereof can be ensured, since on the one hand the distribution of the air by means of multiple exits (33) at different heights it allows this cooling air to reach the different levels and / or containers' inside the compartment (3), working in conjunction with the upper or overhead air outlet (24), by means of which it is achieved that said air flow runs along the walls and a constant circulation of the same is maintained to the most remote areas of the different discharge ports. On the other hand, the location of the entrance port (26) of the air return duct (20) in the upper front part of the refrigeration compartment (3), makes it possible to ensure that the air is returned to the evaporator (5) until it really has circulated efficiently within said compartment (3) absorbing the greatest amount of heat of the foods contained therein. This position of said inlet port (26) of the return duct (20) is achieved thanks to the special flat and elongated design of the mullion duct (18) that allows it to be housed inside the mullion (4) of the refrigerator. Another important feature of the system of the invention is that the elongated tower assembly (28) is coupled from the cooling compartment (3), which prevents the storage space of said compartment (3) from being reduced as in the case of some documents of the state of the art.

In a preferred embodiment, illustrated in detail in Figures 37 to 43, the air flow system; of the present invention further comprises a satellite duct (40) arranged independently in the front part of the mullion (4) of the refrigerator, passing said mullion (4) from the freezing compartment (2) to the cooling compartment of fresh food ( 3 ) . More specifically, said satellite duct (40) has: as a purpose to supply cooling air, by pressure differential, from the freezing compartment (2) to -an independent container (not shown) coupled to the door of the refrigeration compartment (3). ), which is desired to keep inside it a lower temperature than said refrigeration compartment (3), without reaching the temperature of the freezing compartment (2).

Conveniently, said satellite duct (40) is preferably formed of EPS and directly connects an orifice or air inlet port (41) made in the bottom wall of the freezing compartment (2), with a port or outlet port. of air (42) made in the upper wall of the refrigeration compartment (3), which in turn coincides, when the door of the refrigeration compartment is closed, with an air inlet port formed in said independent container (not shown) ). Said air inlet port of the independent container may have a flexible silicone gasket assembled to achieve a substantially hermetic coupling between the air outlet port (42) of the satellite duct (40) and the container inlet port.

On the other hand, in the air inlet port (41) of the satellite duct (40) a "check" type non-return valve assembly (43) is fitted to prevent the return of hot and humid air to the freezing compartment. (2) when the door of the refrigeration compartment is opened and therefore the independent container of the duct (40) is uncoupled. Said valve. (43) can be of any type commonly known, however, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the valve (43) consists of a housing (44) with an air intake window (46); in said casing (44) a hinged gate (45) made of light material and which is kept in an open or free-flowing position is coupled until a pressure difference in the air overcomes its weight and pushes it towards a sealing position. or closed, thus preventing that air from entering the freezing chamber (2). Also preferably said hinged gate (45) can have a spring-type push element to facilitate the return to its original position.

It should be noted that the particular shape of said casing (44) prevents the user from having direct access to the satellite duct through the air inlet window (46), which in turn can have a grid through which the prevents any stored product; in the freezing compartment (2) can enter through said window (46) into the duct (40).

Alterations of the structure described herein may be foreseen by those with art in the matter. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiments of the invention, which is for illustrative purposes only, and should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. All modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention should be considered within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims An air flow system for uniformly distributing the cooling air within a domestic refrigerator of the type comprising a freezing compartment and a cooling compartment disposed respectively one above the other and divided by a mullion barrier; said air flow system comprises: an evaporator chamber that houses an evaporator which is responsible for cooling the air circulating through said evaporator chamber and which will be distributed to the interior of the refrigerator compartments; a fan with motor arranged in an evaporator cover for forcing the cooling air coming from the evaporator chamber through said evaporator cover and towards a pressure increasing chamber formed between said evaporator cover and a rear cover of the evaporator compartment. freezing, and by means of which zones of high cooling air pressure are generated by means of deflection walls formed integrally in the front part of the evaporator cover; a plurality of discharge ports formed in the upper part of the rear lid of the freezing compartment through which the cooling air coming from the pressure increasing chamber is distributed to the interior of said freezing compartment; a plurality of hot air return ports formed in the lower part of the rear lid of the freezing compartment through which hot air is recirculated to the evaporator chamber; a mullion duct lodged inside the mullion barrier of the refrigerator and which has a | cooling air supply duct that allows to distribute cooling air to the cooling compartment, and with a hot air return duct that allows hot air to be recirculated from said cooling compartment to the evaporator chamber; said cooling air supply duct of the mullion duct is connected at its inlet end to the pressure increase chamber by means of a channel formed therein and is divided in two at its outlet end, forming a first outlet that it is directed downward to connect with a top or overhead air discharge port attached to the upper wall of the cooling compartment to supply the air directly in said compartment from the upper wall thereof, and a second outlet that is directed towards the back to distribute cooling air to a tower duct; said hot air return duct of the mullion duct also divides in two towards its final part and goes from its inlet port in the front part of the upper wall of the refrigeration compartment to its outlet ports, both in the chamber of evaporator; wherein said tower duct connected to the second cooling air outlet of the mullion duct through an inlet in the upper part thereof, is vertically coupled to the rear part of the rear wall of the cooling compartment! to distribute the cooling air along different levels or heights within said cooling compartment by means of multiple air discharge outlets made along said tower duct and which are coincident with orifices or discharge ports made in the rear wall of said cooling compartment.

The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: the motor of said fan is controlled automatically and according to the temperature sensors inside the refrigerator, to be operated only when it is necessary to force the recirculation of cooling air in the system.

The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: at least one air flow regulator is placed in said air flow system for regulating the amount of cooling air supplied to the refrigerator compartments.

The air flow system according to claim 3, wherein: at least one air flow regulator is placed in said pressure increasing chamber to regulate the amount of cooling air supplied to the freezing compartment. The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: a plurality of air return ports or ports are additionally made in the evaporator cover in a manner coincident with the air return ports formed in the rear cover of the freezing compartment, to allow the passage of hot air through them to the evaporator chamber.

The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: said mullion duct is formed by two pieces preferably molded of EPS coinciding with each other to form between them the supply ducts and air return thereof.

The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: said tower duct is formed by a plastic housing and an EPS lid coupled thereto.

The air flow system according to claim 7, wherein: the multiple air outlets of the tower duct are made and distributed along the EPS lid.

The air flow system according to claim 8, wherein: a series of fins and / or recesses are formed inside the tower duct to direct and distribute the air circulating therethrough.

The air flow system according to claim 9, wherein: said fins and / or recesses are formed integrally in either the EPS potato and / or the carcass.

. The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: by means of the upper or overhead air outlet disposed in the cooling compartment it is achieved that the cooling air flow runs along the walls and keep a constant circulation of it to the most distant areas of the different discharge ports.

. The air flow system according to claim 1, wherein: said system further comprises a satellite duct disposed independently at the front of the mullion barrier of the refrigerator, said mullion barrier passing from the freezing compartment to the compartment of refrigeration to supply cooling air, by pressure differential, from the freezing compartment to a separate container attached to the door of the refrigeration compartment.

The air flow system according to claim 12, wherein: said satellite duct is preferably formed of expanded polystyrene (EPS).

The air flow system according to claim 12, wherein: said satellite duct directly connects an air inlet port made in the lower wall of the freezing compartment, with an air outlet port made in the upper wall of the cooling compartment, which in turn is specially designed to coincide, when the door of the cooling compartment is closed, with an air inlet port formed in said independent container.

The air flow system according to claim 14, wherein: in said air inlet port of the satellite duct a "check" non-return valve assembly is fitted to prevent the return of hot and humid air towards the freezing compartment when the door of the refrigeration compartment is opened and therefore the independent container is disconnected from the duct. 16. The airflow system in accordance with the claim 15, wherein: said valve comprises [of a housing with an air inlet window; a articulated gate coupled to said housing and made of light material to be kept in a open or free-flowing position until a pressure difference in the air overcomes its weight and pushes it towards a closed or closed position, thus preventing that air from entering the freezing chamber. 17. The air flow system according to claim 16, wherein: said articulated gate has a push element type springs to facilitate the return to its original position. 18. A domestic refrigerator of the type comprising a first compartment and a second compartment divided by a mullion, the refrigerator comprises: a cooling system capable of cooling and forcing air circulation in the first and second compartment, in wherein the first compartment receives air by means of at least one discharge opening formed in a substantially superior part of a rear cover of the first compartment and wherein the air circulated in the first compartment is returned to the cooling system by means of at least one return opening formed in a substantially lower part of the rear lid of the first compartment; a duct housed inside the mullion in direct communication with the cooling system and with the second compartment, where the pipeline has a discharge section and a return section, and where the discharge section has a first zpna of air discharge through at least one opening directly in a substantially front and upper part of the second compartment and a second unloading zone in a rear part of the second compartment, and the return section has a feed inlet part located in the substantially front and upper part of the second compartment and has a discharge part in communication with the cooling system divided into two sections; and i a tower duct with a plurality of discharge openings along its height, where the tower duct I it is in communication with the second discharge area of the duct housed inside the mullion and the second compartment, and wherein the tower duct is coupled at the rear of the refrigerator outside the second compartment. 19. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the tower duct comprises in its interior a plurality of ducts and a plurality of recesses that direct and distribute air circulating inside said tower duct. 20. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the refrigerator additionally comprises: a satellite duct formed in a front part of the mullion communicating to the first compartment with the second compartment, the satellite duct adapted to supply air from an entrance opening of the first compartment to a discharge opening of the second compartment, wherein said supply is carried out by pressure differential between the compartments. 21. The refrigerator of claim 20, wherein close to the inlet opening in the first compartment, a valve is fitted which closes the return of air to the first compartment, wherein said valve comprises: a housing with an air inlet window; an articulated gate coupled to said housing, wherein the gate has a tension means to maintain a free flow of air as long as the pressure difference in the air of the compartments does not overcome the weight of said gate and the tension of the tension medium .

Summary An air flow system for distributing the cooling air in a domestic refrigerator of the type comprising a first and second compartment and divided by a mullion; said air flow system comprises: an evaporator which cools the air circulating through said evaporator chamber and which will be distributed to the interior of the refrigerator compartments through an evaporator cover and into a pressure increase chamber formed between said evaporator cover and a back cover of the freezing compartment; ^ discharge ports formed in the upper part of the rear lid of a first compartment and hot air return ports formed in the lower part of the rear lid of the first compartment; a duct housed inside the mullion of the refrigerator and which has a cooling air supply duct that allows to distribute cooling air to the cooling compartment, and with a hot air return duct that allows to recirculate the hot air from said cooling compartment towards the evaporator chamber; A tower duct connected to the duct through an inlet in the upper part of it, is vertically coupled to the rear part of the rear wall of the cooling compartment to distribute the cooling air along different levels or heights within of said cooling compartment by means of multiple air discharge outlets.

FIG. 2 FIG. 3 6/36 FIG.6 7/36 FIG.7 8/36 FIG.8 9/36 FIG.9 10/36 FIG.10 11/36 FIG.11 12/36 13/36 FIG.13 14/36 FIG. 15 16/36 17/36 19/36 FIG.19 21/36 FIG.21 22/36 FIG.22 23/36 FIG.23 24/36 FIG.24 25/36 FIG.25 26/36 FIG.27 FIG. 29 28/36 FIG.30 29/36 30/36 ^ 1/36 32/36 33/36 34/36 FIG.38 FIG. 40