WO2010091957A2

WO2010091957A2 - Refrigerator with internal evaporator

Info

Publication number: WO2010091957A2
Application number: PCT/EP2010/050935
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mehmet Ciyanoglu; Silvia Gerstner
Original assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2009-02-13
Filing date: 2010-01-27
Publication date: 2010-08-19
Also published as: DE102009000852A1; PL2396612T3; EP2396612A2; DE102009000852B4; CN102317719B; CN102317719A; EP2396612B1; WO2010091957A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerator with a storage chamber (3), an evaporator (5), arranged in the storage chamber (3) at a distance from a wall (4) of the storage chamber (3) due to a cavity (13) and a trap channel (6) arranged below the evaporator (4) for condensation water wherein the trap channel (6) has a grove at a distance from the wall (4) guiding the condensation water parallel to the wall (4).

Description

Refrigeration unit with internal evaporator

The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, with a storage chamber and an evaporator, which is arranged in the interior of the storage chamber.

As refrigerators with plate evaporators especially so-called coldwall devices were common in the recent past. In these devices, an evaporator is arranged on the outside of an inner container and, if in the course of manufacture the inner container is surrounded by an insulating material layer, embedded in the insulating material. The production of a Coldwall device is simple and inexpensive, since it is sufficient to glue the evaporator to the outside of the inner container, and no tight positioning tolerances must be met. A disadvantage of this design, however, is that the evaporator can only absorb heat from the storage chamber at one of its two main surfaces and, moreover, heat transfer from the storage chamber to the evaporator is affected by the non-vanishing thermal resistance of the intermediate inner container wall and adhesive layer.

In order to dissipate condensate, which is reflected during operation of the refrigerator to the cooled by the evaporator wall of the inner container, a collecting channel is formed in refrigerators with Coldwall evaporator conventionally on the cooled wall below the evaporator, in which collects downflowing water, and of the lowest point of which is passed through a conduit through the wall of the device, through which the condensed water can flow to a arranged outside the storage chamber evaporation tank.

In an effort to develop refrigerators with optimum efficiency, device types are increasingly being considered in which the evaporator is disposed within the storage chamber and separated from an adjacent wall by a gap. The efficiency of such an evaporator is inherently greater than that of a coldwall evaporator because the internal evaporator can receive heat from the storage chamber over its entire surface and there are no insulating layers between the evaporator and the storage chamber. A problem of the inside Evaporator, however, is the discharge of condensed water. Although it is in principle possible to form a collecting channel below the evaporator in a manner similar to that of a coldwall device, the condensation water can not flow gradually along the wall into the collection channel, but it can only drop in from above. In order to catch the dripping water, the collecting channel must be wider than the space between the evaporator and the adjacent wall. If the drip height is too large, a portion of the water from the collection channel injected again and moistened adjacent deposited refrigerated goods. The space between the lower edge of the evaporator and the gutter is not usable because of the dripping water there to accommodate refrigerated goods.

Although it would be conceivable in principle to place the collecting trough so closely below a lower edge of the evaporator, that the falling water droplets do not splash, but this requires an exact adaptation of the shape of the inner container to the evaporator. Any change in the dimensions of the evaporator, which may be caused for example by an improvement in the thermal insulation, by the design of the device for different ambient temperatures, etc., then requires an adjustment of the shape of the inner container. The resulting variety of inner container models not only increases the logistical effort in the device assembly, but also increases the cost of their production due to the variety of tools required for molding the various inner container.

A known approach to solving this problem is to mount on a wall of the storage chamber below the evaporator a condensate collecting tray placed close enough to the evaporator to prevent spattering and through which the condensate can be fed to a collecting channel without splashing , A known such rail has a substantially V-shaped cross section, with one leg of the V is mounted on the wall of the device and the other leg so far obliquely upwardly protrudes from the wall, that drops of water that detach from a lower edge of the evaporator fall on it. Through openings at the lower apex of the collecting rail the collected water drains and flows along the wall or drips in the immediate vicinity of the wall in the collecting channel below. Although this known solution improves the space utilization, since the distance of the falling water droplets is reduced by the wall and, accordingly, the distance that the refrigerated goods below the evaporator must comply with the wall, is reduced, but a safe suppression of splashing is not yet reached.

Another problem arises from the fact that the sloping leg of the collecting rail practically closes the space between the wall and the evaporator downwards and thus impairs a free flow of air through the intermediate space. Thus, since cooled air in the gap can no longer flow freely and spread in the storage chamber, the efficiency of the evaporator suffers.

Object of the present invention is therefore to provide a refrigerator with an internal evaporator, which allows optimal utilization of space and eliminates the problem of splashing.

The object is achieved by providing in a refrigerator with a storage chamber, an evaporator, which is arranged in the storage chamber and spaced from a wall of the storage chamber by a gap, and arranged under the evaporator collecting rail for condensed water, the collecting rail as one of the wall and the condensed water is formed parallel to the wall leading channel.

In this way, the distance between wall and gutter can be made large enough to avoid affecting the air circulation in the space.

Refrigeration appliance is here understood to mean a domestic refrigeration appliance, that is to say a refrigeration appliance that is used for household management, such as, for example, a refrigerator or a refrigerated freezer combination.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the channel leads the water to a laterally adjacent wall in order to allow it to flow down therefrom. However, problems due to manufacturing tolerances of the inner container are easier to avoid when a first branched off from the gutter a gap between the collecting rail and Bridging the wall along which the collecting rail passes, in order to bring the condensation from the channel to this wall and drain it.

Preferably, the collecting rail is attached to the evaporator, in particular by a snap connection. However, other types of attachment are possible, such as screw, adhesive or formations. Thus, the collecting rail need not be considered in the manufacture of an inner container for the refrigeration device, and existing models of inner containers can be used cost-effectively for the refrigeration device according to the invention.

In order to affect the air circulation in the space little, the width of the gap should be at least half the size of the gap.

The first web preferably unconnected touches the side wall. Thus, not only eliminates the need to make any adjustment to the web on the surface of the side wall, but also the water can seep in direct contact with the side wall between this and the end of the web, thereby ensuring that it instead of dripping , flows in contact with the wall downwards.

The channel may expediently comprise two branches sloping down to the first bridge.

A second and a third land may each extend between one of the branches and the wall to stabilize the position of the collection rail relative to the wall.

In order to collect water flowing down, a collecting channel known per se is expediently formed on a lower edge of the wall.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a first

Embodiment of the invention;

2 shows a section through the suspension of a collecting rail at a lower edge of an evaporator of the refrigerator.

Fig. 3 shows a further section through the collecting rail and its

Surroundings;

4 shows a plan view of the collecting rail;

5 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

6 is a partial plan view of the collecting rail of the refrigerator of FIG .. 5

Fig. 1 shows in a perspective view of an inventive household refrigerator with a body 1 and a door 2, which limit a storage chamber 3. In front of a rear wall 4 of the storage chamber, a plate evaporator 5 is mounted at a small distance from this. From a lower edge of the plate evaporator 5, a collecting rail 6 is suspended for condensate dripping from the evaporator 5. The plastic injection molded collection rail 6 has two of a median plane of the body 1 from obliquely upwardly diverging branches 7, of which in the view of FIG. 1 is largely covered by a side wall of the body 1.

The evaporator 5 fills the rear wall 4 only about halfway in an upper area thereof. At a lower end of the rear wall 4, a collecting channel 8 is formed familiar in the expert of Coldwall refrigerators forth, from the lowest point of a line is guided through the rear wall 4 to condensate water from the collecting channel 8 (not shown) in evaporation tray to supply a machine room filling the rear lower corner of the carcass. The collecting rail 6 is anchored to the evaporator 5 by means of two integrally formed arms 9. Fig. 2 shows a vertical section through the collecting rail 6, the lower portion of the evaporator 5 and an adjacent piece of the rear wall 4 in a plane passing through one of the arms 9 cutting plane. In the evaporator 5, a detent opening 10 is cut adjacent to its lower edge. Two fingers 1 1 at the top of the arm 9 engage around the evaporator 5 at the front and back, wherein a locking lug 12 of the front finger 11 engages in the latching opening 10. Since the front finger 1 1 remains accessible after attachment of the collecting rail 6, it can easily be removed again if necessary, by the finger 11 is bent so far that the latch 12 disengages from the opening 10.

The collecting rail 6 has a channel-like cross-section with a shot bottom, the lowest point of which lies vertically below the lower edge of the plate evaporator 5. In order to be able to reliably catch drops falling from the evaporator 5, the rail 6 must approach closer to the rear wall 4 than the evaporator 5 does. However, in order not to interfere with a free air circulation through a gap 13 between the rear wall 4 and the evaporator 5, the distance d of the collecting rail 6 from the rear wall 4 is not less than half the width D of the gap thirteenth

Condensation, which has dropped from the lower edge of the evaporator 5 into the collecting rail 6 or flowed along the arm 9, flows parallel to the wall 4 in the rail 6 down to the point where the two branches 7 meet. Fig. 3 shows a second vertical section in the plane of this point. A perpendicular to the branches

7 oriented web 14 of the collecting rail 6 extends obliquely downward towards the rear wall 4 and touches them. Since the end of the web 14 rests only loosely on the rear wall 4, the condensate can seep freely between the end of the web 14 and the wall 4 and runs at this down to the collecting channel. 8

4 shows a plan view of a collecting rail 6 according to a slightly modified embodiment. It differs from that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 by the presence of two additional webs 15, each extending between the branches 7 and the rear wall 4. The webs 15 may be shaped so that condensation from higher, outer regions of the branches 7 flows over them to the rear wall 4, but they can also serve only by their contact to stabilize the alignment of the collecting rail 6 parallel to the rear wall 4 with the rear wall 4 and to prevent the collecting rail 6 in contact with pushed against refrigerated goods in an inclined position, could drip in the condensate from the evaporator 5 to the rail 6.

Instead of a derivative of the condensate water to the rear wall 4 in principle also a derivative of a side wall of the body 1 into consideration. Fig. 5 shows an analogous to Fig. 1 view of a refrigeration device with such a side-leading collecting rail 16. This collecting rail 16 is evenly sloping down over the entire width of the rear wall 4 out. In the plan view of Fig. 6, the lower end of the collecting rail 16 can be seen. A branch 17 angled towards the rear wall 4 contacts the side wall 18 of the body 1, and as indicated by a dashed line along the collection rail 16, the bottom profile of the rail 16 is shaped such that the water reaches a lowest point 19 in contact with the side wall 18 tends. This lowest point 19 is above the collecting channel 8, which catches the water flowing down.

Claims

claims

1. Refrigerating appliance with a storage chamber (3), an evaporator (5) disposed in the storage chamber (3) and from a wall (4) of the storage chamber (3) by a gap (13) is spaced, and one below the

Evaporator (4) arranged collecting rail (6; 16) for condensed water, characterized in that the collecting rail (6; 16) as a spaced from the wall (4) and the condensate parallel to the wall (4) leading channel is formed.

2. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the collecting rail (6; 16) is attached to the evaporator (5).

3. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the collecting rail (6, 16) on the evaporator (5) by a snap connection (10, 1 1, 12) is attached.

4. Refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one first of the channel branching web (14) bridges a gap between the collecting rail (6) and the wall (4) to the condensate from the gutter to the wall ( 4) introduce.

5. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 4, characterized in that the width (d) of the gap is at least half as large as the width (D) of the intermediate space (13).

6. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the first web (14), the side wall (4) touches unconnected.

7. Refrigerating appliance according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the channel comprises two to the first web (14) down sloping branches (7).

8. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 7, characterized in that a second and a third web (15) each extend between one of the branches (7) and the wall (4).

9. Refrigerating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a collecting channel (8) for the condensed water at a lower edge of the wall (4) is formed.