WO2010021434A1

WO2010021434A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2010021434A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/007496
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ju-Hyun Kim
Original assignee: Lg Electronics Inc.
Priority date: 2008-08-21
Filing date: 2008-12-17
Publication date: 2010-02-25
Also published as: KR20100023352A

Abstract

The present embodiment provides a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a main body, a barrier, a first evaporator and a second evaporator. At least a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber are formed in the main body. The barrier partitions the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber. The first evaporator is positioned on the rear side part of the first storage chamber. The second evaporator is positioned on the side surface part.

Description

REFRIGERATOR

Technical Field

[1] The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator.

Background Art

[2] A refrigerator is an apparatus for storing foods at a low temperature. The refrigerator includes a main body in which at least one storage chamber is provided and a door movably coupled to the main body to open/close the storage chamber. The storage chamber may include a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber. At least one evaporator may be provided in the main body. The evaporator may be positioned on the rear of an inner case defining the storage chamber. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[3] An object of the present embodiment is to provide a refrigerator that increases capacity of a storage chamber by improving a position where an evaporation is mounted.

[4] Another object of the present embodiment is to provide a refrigerator having a storage chamber whose inside temperature distribution is improved. Technical Solution

[5] According to one aspect of the present embodiment, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body in which at least a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber are formed; a barrier partitioning the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber; a first evaporator positioned on the rear side part of the first storage chamber; and a second evaporator positioned on the side surface part.

[6] According to another aspect of the present embodiment, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body; a barrier partitioning the inside of the main body into a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber; a first evaporator in which air for supplying cold air to the first storage chamber is heat-exchanged; a second evaporator in which air for supplying cold air to the second storage chamber is heat- exchanged; a first evaporator cover covering the first evaporator; and a second evaporator cover covering the second evaporator, wherein the first evaporator cover is coupled to a rear surface part of the first storage chamber, and the second evaporator cover is coupled to a side surface part of the second storage chamber.

Advantageous Effects

[7] With the proposed embodiment, an evaporator cooling any one storage chamber (for example, a refrigerating chamber) of a plurality of storage chambers is provided on a barrier partitioning the plurality of storage chambers, making it possible to increase inside capacity of any one storage chamber compared to the prior art.

[8] Also, only a portion of the evaporator is received in the barrier, making it possible to prevent deterioration of insulating performance.

[9] Also, cold air is discharged from a side surface of the chamber, making it possible to improve temperature distribution inside the refrigerator. Brief Description of the Drawings

[10] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[11] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention whose door is opened;

[12] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I'of FIG. 1; and

[13] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II'of FIG. 1.

Mode for the Invention

[14] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[15] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention whose door is opened.

[16] Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a main body 10 in which a freezing chamber 100 and a refrigerating chamber 200 are provided, a freezing chamber door 20 and a refrigerating chamber door 21 movably coupled to the main body 10 to selectively open/close the freezing chamber 100 and the refrigerating chamber 200. The freezing chamber 100 and the refrigerating chamber 200 are partitioned right and left by a barrier 400.

[17] More specifically, a freezing chamber duct 110 supplying cold air generated from a freezing chamber evaporator (see 320 of FIG.. 2) to the freezing chamber 100 is mounted at a rear wall of an inner case 101 defining the freezing chamber 100. And, a freezing evaporator 320 for cooling the freezing chamber is provided in the lower direction of the cold air duct 110, and the freezing chamber evaporator 320 is covered by a first evaporator cover 310 coupled to the inner case 101.

[18] Therefore, the cold air generated from the freezing evaporator 320 ascends along the freezing chamber duct 110 to be discharged into the inside of the freezing chamber 100 through an outlet 111 formed on the freezing chamber duct 110.

[19] Also, door baskets receiving foods can be mounted on a rear surface of the freezing chamber door 2. And, an ice-making apparatus 24 can be mounted on the freezing chamber door 20. Ice made in the ice-making apparatus 24 can be taken out from the external when a dispenser (not shown) is provided on the freezing door 20.

[20] And, door baskets 22 receiving foods can also be provided on a rear surface of the refrigerating chamber 21. Also, a home bar 26, which can draw out foods stored inside the refrigerator, for example, beverage, without opening the refrigerating chamber door 20, can be provided in the refrigerating chamber 21.

[21] Also, drawer 12 which receive foods and shelves 14 on which foods are placed can be provided in the freezing room 100 and the refrigerating room 200.

[22] Meanwhile, a refrigerating evaporator (see 520 of FIG. 3) for cooling the refrigerating chamber 200 is mounted on the barrier 400 partitioning the refrigerating chamber 200 and the freezing chamber 100, and the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is covered by a second evaporator cover 510 coupled to the barrier 400.

[23] Hereinafter, a mounting structure of the freezing chamber evaporator 320 and a cold air flow of the freezing chamber 100, and a mounting structure of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 330 and a cold air flow of the refrigerating chamber 200 will be described in detail.

[24] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' of FIG. 1.

[25] Referring to FIG. 2, a first chamber 300 receiving the freezing chamber evaporator

320 to generate cold air is formed between an inner case 101 forming the freezing chamber 100 and the first evaporator cover 110. The freezing chamber duct 110 is extended upward and downward on an upper side of the first evaporator cover 310. And, a first cold air flow passage 112 is formed between the freezing chamber and the inner case 101.

[26] Therefore, the cold air generated from the freezing chamber evaporator 320 moves upward and then is discharged to the freezing chamber 100 through an outlet 111 of the freezing chamber 110.

[27] The outlet 111 may be formed in plural, wherein they are spaced upward and downward for smoothly discharging the cold air.

[28] And, a freezing chamber ventilation fan 120 is provided between the freezing chamber duct 110 and the inner case 101 in order to smoothly discharge cold air to the inside of the freezing chamber 100.

[29] Here, when the first evaporator cover 310 covers an upper side part of the freezing chamber evaporator 320, an opening part 312 can be formed on an upper side of the first evaporator cover 310 so that cold air can move to an air flow passage where the freezing chamber ventilation fan 120 is positioned.

[30] Also, at least one cold air inlet 311 allowing cold air circulating the freezing chamber

100 to flow again to the first chamber 300 is formed on the first evaporator chamber cover 310. Here, although not shown, an inlet fan for smoothly inhaling cold air may be formed on the first chamber 300, specifically, on the position adjacent to the cold air inlet 311.

[31] Here, in the present embodiment, the freezing chamber duct 110 is explained to be separated from the first evaporator cover 310. However, the freezing chamber duct 110 may be formed integrally with the first evaporator cover 310.

[32] Meanwhile, a machine chamber 19, in which a condenser (not shown) and a compressor 191 constituting a freezing cycle, etc. are provided, is positioned on a downside of the refrigerator 1.

[33] With the constitution as described above, the cold air generated from the freezing chamber evaporator 320 is discharged to the inside of the freezing chamber 100 through the cold air outlet 111. And, the cold air cools foods stored inside the freezing chamber 100 and then, moves again to the first chamber 300 through the cold air inlet 311.

[34] In other words, the cold air is discharged from the rear upper side of the freezing chamber 100 to the front upper side thereof, and the discharged cold air circulates the freezing chamber 100 to be inhaled from the front lower side of the freezing chamber 100 to the rear lower side thereof.

[35] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II- II' of FIG. 1.

[36] Referring to FIG. 3, the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 for cooling the refrigerating chamber 200 is provided in the side part of a refrigerator side surface 401, separately from the freezing chamber evaporator 320.

[37] More specifically, a receiving part 410 receiving at least a portion of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is embeddingly formed on the refrigerating side surface 401. In other words, the depth of the receiving part 410 is equal to or less than the thickness of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520. And, the receiving part 410 is covered by the second evaporator cover 510 in a state where the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is received in the receiving part 410. And, the side surface 401 of the barrier and the second evaporator cover define a second chamber 500 where the refrigerating chamber evaporator is positioned.

[38] When the refrigerating chamber door 21 is opened by the second evaporator cover

510, the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is not exposed to the external. And, the side surface 401 of the barrier and the second evaporator cover define a second chamber 500 where the refrigerating chamber evaporator is positioned.

[39] The refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is operated independently from the freezing chamber evaporator 320, making it possible to generate necessary cold air according to conditions of the refrigerating chamber 200. More specifically, cold air circulating the refrigerator 1 is dividingly supplied to the freezing chamber evaporator 320 and the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520, respectively, such that a control part (not shown) controlling the operation of the refrigerator 1 can control the cold air to be independently supplied to the freezing chamber 100 and the refrigerating chamber 200.

[40] As described above, the refrigerating evaporator 520 is positioned on one side surface of the barrier 400, such that the length from the front to the rear of the storage space of the refrigerating chamber 200 is lengthened. Therefore, it leads to acting effect that the internal storage capacity of the refrigerator 200 increases.

[41] Also, the receiving part 410 is provided in the barrier 400 so that a portion of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is received in the barrier 400, making it possible to more increase the storage capacity of the refrigerating chamber 200.

[42] Also, the embedding depth of the receiving part 410 is restricted so that only a portion of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 can be received, making it possible to prevent deterioration of insulation performance. More specifically, foaming liquid for insulation is filled in the inside of the barrier 400. At this time, if the receiving part 410 is formed so that the entirety of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is received or the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is formed in the inside of the barrier 400, the thickness of the barrier 400 becomes thinner to the extent thereof. In other words, a foaming layer becomes thinner so that it may cause a problem in insulation.

[43] Therefore, if the receiving part 410 is formed so that only a portion of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 can be received, it can prevent such an insulation problem and increase storage capacity.

[44] A refrigerating chamber duct 210 guiding the cold air generated from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 to an upper side of the refrigerating chamber 200 is provided in the upper direction of the second chamber 500. The refrigerating chamber duct 210 and the side surface of the barrier define a second cold air flow passage 212 where cold air flows.

[45] An outlet 211 discharging cold air to the refrigerating chamber 200 is formed in the refrigerating chamber duct 210. The outlet 211 may be formed in plural that are spaced upward and downward in order to smoothly discharge the cold air.

[46] Also, the plurality of outlets 211 may be provided to be spaced at predetermined intervals forward and backward to the refrigerator. In this case, the cold air can be transferred evenly to the front and rear of the drawer 12 or the shelf 14.

[47] At this time, a groove that is embedded on the position corresponding to the refrigerating chamber duct 210 at a predetermined depth is provided on the refrigerator side surface 401 of the barrier 400, making it possible to widen the size of the cross-section where the cold air can flow.

[48] Furthermore, at least one inlet 513 inhaling the cold air which has circulated in the refrigerating chamber 200 is provided on the lower side of the second evaporator cover [49] And, when the second evaporator cover 510 covers the upper side of the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520, an opening 512 can be formed on the upper side of the second evaporator cover 510 so that the cold air can move between the side surface 401 of the barrier and the refrigerating chamber duct 210.

[50] Meanwhile, a plurality of drawers 12 and shelves 14 for storing foods are provided in the refrigerating chamber 200, wherein some of them may be positioned on the side part of the second evaporator cover 510. At this time, ribs 511 guiding the drawing in/ out of the drawers 12 or the shelves 14 can be provided on the side surface of the second evaporator cover 510.

[51] Furthermore, a refrigerating chamber ventilation fan 530 for smoothly discharging the cold generated from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is provided in the second chamber 500. The refrigerating chamber ventilation fan 530 may also be positioned on the second cold air flow passage 212.

[52] When the refrigerating chamber ventilation fan 530 is provided in the second chamber 530, the second evaporator cover 510 may be formed by being divided into a part covering the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 and a part covering the refrigerating chamber ventilation fan 530.

[53] In this case, a nozzle or a diffuse, etc. is formed on the portion shielding the refrigerating chamber ventilation fan 530 of the second evaporator cover 510, making it possible to more smoothly move the cold air to the second cold air flow passage 212.

[54] With the constitution as described above, the cold air generated from the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 is discharged to the inside of the refrigerating chamber 200 passing through the cold air outlet 211. And, the cold air cools the foods stored inside the refrigerating chamber 200 and then moves again to the second chamber 520 through the cold air inlet 511.

[55] In other words, the cold air is discharged from the upper side surface (left side surface in FIG. 3) of the refrigerating chamber 200 to the other side surface (right side surface in FIG. 3) thereof. The discharged cold air circulates the refrigerating chamber 200 and then is inhaled to the second chamber 500 through the inlet 511 provided on the lower side of the second evaporator cover 510. In other words, the cold air circulates inside the refrigerating chamber 200 in a clockwise direction.

[56] As described above, the cold air is discharged from the side part of the refrigerating chamber 200 so that the cold air is transferred evenly to both the front and rear of the drawer 12 or the shelves 14. Therefore, foods are evenly cooled irrespective of the storage order that a user stores foods on the drawer 12 or the shelves 14.

[57] Also, the cold air naturally circulates upward and downward by difference in density so that the temperature distribution in the entirety of the refrigerating chamber 200 becomes even. [58] Meanwhile, the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 may be positioned not only on the barrier 400 but also on the side surface (right side surface in FIG. 3: 420) facing the barrier 400. In this case, the receiving part 410 and the refrigerating chamber duct 210 will also be provided on the side surface (right side surface in FIG. 3) facing the barrier 400.

[59] Furthermore, the freezing chamber evaporator 320 may be provided on any one of both sides of the freezing chamber 100, and the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 may be provided on a rear side of the refrigerating chamber 200.

[60] At this time, since two evaporators are provided in the refrigerator according to the present embodiment, an evaporator positioned on the rear surface wall and an evaporator positioned on the side surface wall on the basis of the evaporator position may be called as a first evaporator and a second evaporator, respectively. For example, in the present embodiment, the freezing chamber evaporator 320 and the refrigerating chamber evaporator 520 may be called as a first evaporator and a second evaporator, respectively. Of course, when the freezing chamber evaporator 320 is positioned on the side surface of the barrier, the freezing chamber evaporator may be called as a second evaporator, and when the refrigerating chamber evaporator is positioned on the rear side of the refrigerating chamber, the refrigerating chamber evaporator may be called as a first evaporator.

[61] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptions and specific embodiments disclosed in the foregoing description may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other embodiments for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that such equivalent embodiments do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

[ 1 ] A refrigerator comprising: a main body in which at least a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber are formed; a barrier partitioning the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber; a first evaporator positioned on the rear side part of the first storage chamber; and a second evaporator positioned on the side surface part. [2] The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a receiving part receiving the second evaporator is embeddingly formed on the side surface part. [3] The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the side surface part is one side part of the barrier. [4] The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the embedding depth of the receiving part is smaller than the thickness of the second evaporator. [5] The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising: a first evaporator cover covering the first evaporator; and a second evaporator cover covering the second evaporator. [6] The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein at least one inlet for inhaling cold air is formed on the respective evaporator covers. [7] The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the second evaporator cover is coupled to the barrier. [8] The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the second evaporator cover includes ribs guiding the drawing in/out of at least one of drawers or shelves. [9] The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the first evaporator and the second evaporator operate independently. [10] A refrigerator comprising: a main body; a barrier partitioning the inside of the main body into a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber; a first evaporator in which air for supplying cold air to the first storage chamber is heat-exchanged; a second evaporator in which air for supplying cold air to the second storage chamber is heat-exchanged; a first evaporator cover covering the first evaporator; and a second evaporator cover covering the second evaporator, wherein the first evaporator cover is coupled to a rear surface part of the first storage chamber, and the second evaporator cover is coupled to a side surface part of the second storage chamber. [11] The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein inlets for inhaling cold air are formed on the respective covers. [12] The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the respective covers define a chamber receiving the respective evaporators in the relation with the respective storage chambers. [13] The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the side surface part of the second storage chamber is one side surface of the barrier. [14] The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein a receiving part for receiving a part of the second evaporator is formed on one side surface part of the barrier. [15] The refrigerator according to claim 13, further comprising: a cold air duct coupled to the barrier and guiding flow of cold air heat-exchanged with the second evaporator. [16] The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein the cold air duct includes a plurality of cold air outlets, the plurality of cold air outlets being spaced forward and backward.