WO2013007687A2

WO2013007687A2 - Refrigerator with ice-making function

Info

Publication number: WO2013007687A2
Application number: PCT/EP2012/063400
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yegui Huang; Ling Liu
Original assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2011-07-13
Filing date: 2012-07-09
Publication date: 2013-01-17
Also published as: WO2013007687A3; CN202166248U

Abstract

A refrigerator disclosed in the present invention includes a housing (8) having a heat-insulating layer (80) and for limiting a storage chamber (1), an ice maker (2) received in the storage chamber (1), a water inlet nozzle (3) extended from an outside of the housing (8) into the storage chamber (1) to supply water for the ice maker (2), and a first heat-conducting sheet (6) wrapping the water inlet nozzle (3). The water inlet nozzle (3) includes a first segment (31) located in the storage chamber (1), a second segment (32) located in the heat-insulating layer (80) and a third segment (33) located outside the housing (8). The second segment (32) includes an exposed end close to the third segment (33) and not wrapped by the first heat-conducting sheet (6). The first heat-conducting sheet wraps the water inlet nozzle and exposes an end, close to the outside, of the second segment, so that cool air in the storage chamber can not be transferred, through the heat-conducting sheet, to the third segment quickly and effectively, thereby reducing the frequency of clogging of the water inlet nozzle due to ice.

Description

REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE-MAKING FUNCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a household or commercial refrigerator having an ice maker and a water supply pipe supplying water for the ice maker.

Related Art

A refrigerator provided with an ice maker to obtain ice is shown in FIG. 1. An ice maker 100 is usually located in a special area where the temperature is lower than zero degrees in a freezing chamber or a fresh chamber 800 of the refrigerator in order to turn the water into ice. Usually, the water used to make the ice is sent into the ice maker 100 by an external water source (such as a water tank or a water tap) through a water supply pipe 200 extending from an outside into the freezing chamber or the fresh chamber where the ice maker 100 is located. Because the temperature in the freezing chamber or the fresh chamber, where the ice maker 100 is located, is usually below zero degrees, ice may be produced in the water supply pipe 200 with open ends, which clogs the water supply pipe 200.

To solve the clogging problem of the water supply pipe 200, a heater 400 is disposed around an outer surface of the water supply pipe 200, and aluminum foil 600 is disposed between the heater 400 and the outer surface of the water supply pipe 200. The aluminum foil 600 wraps the whole outer surface of the water supply pipe 200 and forms surface contact with the outer surface. Through operating of the heater 400, the temperature of the water supply pipe 200 may be increased, so as to effectively eliminate or prevent clogging caused by the ice produced in the water supply pipe 200. Additionally, heat of the heater 400 is conducted to the water supply pipe 200 through the aluminum foil 600, so that the heat of the heater 400 can be quickly and evenly transferred to the water supply pipe 200 in surface contact with the aluminum foil 600, thereby effectively preventing the occurrence of the situation that a certain part of the water supply pipe 200 ruptures due to overheating.

However, in use, it is found that the frequency and duration of clogging, caused by produced ice, of the water supply pipe having the aluminum foil and the heater are much greater than those of a water supply pipe without the aluminum foil and the heater. Thus, the heater inevitably needs to be turned on and used frequently, which goes against energy saving. And for the water supply pipe without the aluminum foil and the heater, although the clogging frequency thereof is much lower, once the water supply pipe is clogged, due to the lack of easy and convenient relief measures, an ice making chamber is usually disabled to be used for a long time.

Accordingly, it is quite necessary to provide a new water supply pipe structure used for the ice making chamber to solve problems above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, which enables a water supply pipe leading to an ice making chamber not to be frequently clogged due to ice.

To achieve the objective above, the refrigerator provided by the present invention includes: a heat-insulating housing for limiting a storage chamber, where the housing includes a heat-insulating layer surrounding the storage chamber; an ice maker received in the storage chamber; a water inlet nozzle extended from an outside of the housing, through the heat-insulating layer, into the storage chamber to supply water for the ice maker, where the water inlet nozzle includes a first segment located in the storage chamber, a second segment located in the heat-insulating layer, and a third segment located outside the housing; and a first heat-conducting sheet, wrapping the water inlet nozzle.

The second segment includes an exposed end close to the third segment and not wrapped by the first heat-conducting sheet.

Optionally, the exposed end accounts for at least one third of the second segment. Optionally, a heater winding the water inlet nozzle is included, and the heater is in close contact with the first heat-conducting sheet.

Optionally, the heater winds at least a part of the exposed end.

Optionally, the heater and the first heat-conducting sheet wrap the water inlet nozzle in an interlacing manner. Optionally, a second heat-conducting sheet wraps the heater.

Optionally, the first heat-conducting sheet and the second heat-conducting sheet are aluminum foil.

Optionally, the third segment includes a pipe segment part intersected with the second segment, and the pipe segment part extends parallel to a direction of an outer wall of the housing.

Optionally, the first heat-conducting sheet only wraps a part of the second segment and the first segment.

Optionally, two ends of the second segment are provided with stop rings pressed against two sides of the housing to steadily keep the second segment in the heat-insulating layer.

The present invention has the following advantages.

The water inlet nozzle extended from the outside of the housing, through the heat-insulating layer, into the storage chamber to supply water for the ice maker includes the first segment located in the storage chamber, the second segment located in the heat-insulating layer, and the third segment located outside the housing. The first heat-conducting sheet wraps the water inlet nozzle and exposes an end, close to the outside, of the second segment (that is, the end close to the third segment), so that cool air in the storage chamber can not be quickly and effectively transferred to the third segment through the heat-conducting sheet, thereby decreasing the clogging frequency of the water inlet nozzle due to ice.

Furthermore, when the region not wrapped by the first heat-conducting sheet accounts for one third or more of the area of the second segment, the clogging frequency of the water inlet nozzle may further decrease. Furthermore, the heater winding the water inlet nozzle and the heat-conducting sheet can eliminate or avoid the clogging in the water inlet nozzle, enabling the ice maker to be used normally under an extreme bad situation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As a part of the specification and used for providing a further understanding of the present invention, the following accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and describe principles of the present invention together with the specification.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a water supply device used for a refrigerator ice maker described in the related art; and FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a refrigerator having an ice maker and a water supply structure thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to make the objectives, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a refrigerator having an ice maker and a water supply structure thereof. Referring to FIG. 2, the refrigerator includes a storage chamber 1. In the embodiment, the storage chamber 1 is a freezing chamber where the temperature is set to be below zero degrees. The storage chamber 1 is defined by a liner 82, and is opened or closed through a refrigerator door (not shown). A refrigerator 20 includes an outer cover 81 surrounding the liner 82 and a heat-insulating layer 80 sandwiched between the outer cover 81 and the liner 82. The outer cover 81, heat-insulating layer 80 and liner 82 are collectively called a housing 8.

An ice maker 2 for turning water into ice is disposed in the storage chamber 1 , so that a user may obtain ice through, for example, an ice distribution system (not shown) disposed on the refrigerator door.

The refrigerator 20 includes a water inlet nozzle 3 used to supply water for the ice maker 2. An end of the water inlet nozzle 3 extends into the storage chamber 1 , and is located in a place suitable for supplying the water for the ice maker 2. The other end of the water inlet nozzle 3 is connected to a water source (not shown). The material of the water inlet nozzle 3 usually is plastic, which is not a desirable heat conductor. In the embodiment, the water inlet nozzle 3 is a pentatricopeptide repeats (PPR) pipe or a rigid polyvinyl chloride unplastizised (PVC-U) pipe.

A channel (not shown) penetrating through the outer cover 81, the heat-insulating layer 80 and the liner 82 is disposed in a rear portion of the storage chamber 1. The water inlet nozzle 3 passes through the heat-insulating layer 80 through the channel and extends into the storage chamber 1. The water inlet nozzle 3 includes a first segment 31 located in the storage chamber 1, a second segment 32 located in the heat-insulating layer 80 and a third segment 33 located outside the housing 81. Apparently, the water inlet nozzle 3 further includes the other part (not shown) having one end connected to the third segment 33 and the other end connected to the water source (such as a water tank or a water tap).

A heater 4 is disposed around an outer surface of the second segment 32 to provide heat for the water inlet nozzle 3, so as to prevent ice from being produced in the water inlet nozzle 3 or melt frozen ice in the water inlet nozzle 3 for clogging. In the embodiment, the heater 4 is a heating wire base on resistance heating.

Between the heater 4 and the outer surface of the second segment 32, the first heat-conducting sheet 6 made of a material of desirable thermal conductivity is disposed. An outer side of the first heat-conducting sheet 6 is closely attached to the heater 4, and an inner side thereof forms surface contact with the outer surface of the second segment 32. Therefore, the heat generated by the heater 4 may be quickly and evenly transferred to the water inlet nozzle 3, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the situation that the water inlet nozzle 3 ruptures due to uneven heating. In the embodiment, the first heat-conducting sheet 6 is aluminum foil. The first heat-conducting sheet 6 wraps the whole first segment 31 and a part, close to the first segment 31, of the second segment 32, and exposes an end, close to the third segment 33 (called an exposed end below), of the second segment 32 and the whole third segment 33. The exposure of the part of the second segment 32 made by the first heat-conducting sheet 6 only means that the first heat-conducting sheet 6 does not wrap or cover the part of the second segment 32, but does not mean that the part can not be covered by other objects and is exposed. Compared with the structure that the heat-conducting sheet covers the whole water inlet nozzle (as is shown in FIG. 1), clogging frequency of the water inlet nozzle in the embodiment caused by produced ice is greatly decreased, and especially, when the exposed end of the second segment 32 accounts for one third or more of the length (or the area) of the second segment 32, the effect is more outstanding.

According to the understanding of the inventor, a cause of the effect may be: as a desirable heat conductor, the first heat-conducting sheet dose not wrap the end, close to the outside (that is, the end close to the third segment), of the water inlet nozzle, so that cool air in the storage chamber can not be quickly and effectively transferred to the third segment through the heat-conducting sheet, leading to the decrease of the possibility of clogging of the water inlet nozzle. Apparently, this is only a guess made for the cause of the effect by the inventor after an attempt of a truly effective solution, and may not be completely correct. It should be emphasized that, from the technical problem of "the water inlet nozzle is frequently clogged", the cause of the problem can not be easily deduced; as is described above, only after making attempts on various improvements and obtaining concrete results, can the inventor guess the cause of the problem. The refrigerator 20 further includes a second heat-conducting sheet 7 wrapping the outer side of the heater 4 and made of a material with desirable thermal conductivity. The second heat-conducting sheet 7 may also be made of aluminum foil.

An insulating pad 18 is disposed between the second heat-conducting sheet 7 and an inner surface of the channel. Preferably, the insulating pad 18 is made of a rubber material. The insulating pad 18 is in close contact with the inner surface of the channel and an outer surface of the second heat-conducting sheet 7, thereby decreasing or even avoiding the loss of cold energy in the storage chamber 1 through the channel.

The third segment 33 of the water inlet nozzle 3 has one end connected to the second segment 32, and has the other end intersected with the second segment 32 and extending parallel to a direction of an outer wall of the housing 8. In the embodiment, the third segment 33, the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 are of an integral structure.

Two ends of the second segment 32 are provided with stop rings 38 and 39 pressed against two sides of the housing 8 to steadily keep the second segment 32 in the heat-insulating layer 80. In the embodiment, the stop ring 39 is integrally formed at the junction of the second segment 32 and the third segment 33, and the stop ring 38 is mounted at the junction of the second segment 32 and the first segment 31 in a detachable manner.

During assembly, firstly, the second segment 32 may be wrapped with the heat-conducting sheet 6. After that, the outside of the first heat-conducting sheet 6 is surrounded by the heater 4 in the form of a heating wire. And then, the second heat-conducting sheet 7 wraps the heater 4 from the outside and the second heat-conducting sheet 7 is wrapped by the insulating pad 18. Finally, the first segment 31 and the second segment 32 extend into the storage chamber 1 through the channel, and the stop ring 38 is mounted at the junction of the second segment 32 and the first segment 31 , so as to fix the water inlet nozzle 3 on the refrigerator.

The present invention is disclosed above with the preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can utilize the disclosed method and technical content in the above description to make possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent variation and improvement made to the above embodiments within the content of the technical solution of the present invention and based on the technical essence of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a heat-insulating housing (8) for limiting a storage chamber (1), wherein the housing (8) comprises a heat-insulating layer (80) surrounding the storage chamber (1); an ice maker (2) received in the storage chamber (1); a water inlet nozzle (3) extended from an outside of the housing (8), through the heat-insulating layer (80), into the storage chamber (1) to supply water for the ice maker (2), wherein the water inlet nozzle (3) comprises a first segment (31) located in the storage chamber (1), a second segment (32) located in the heat-insulating layer (80), and a third segment (33) located outside the housing (8); and a first heat-conducting sheet (6), wrapping the water inlet nozzle (3); characterized in that, the second segment (32) comprises an exposed end close to the third segment (33) and not wrapped by the first heat-conducting sheet (6).

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, the exposed end accounts for at least one third of the second segment (32).

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising: a heater (4) winding the water inlet nozzle (3), wherein the heater (4) is in close contact with the first heat-conducting sheet (6).

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that, the heater (4) winds at least a part of the exposed end.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, the heater (4) and the first heat-conducting sheet (6) wrap the water inlet nozzle (3) in an interlacing manner.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, a second heat-conducting sheet (7) wraps the heater (4).

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, characterized in that, the first heat-conducting sheet (6) and the second heat-conducting sheet (7) are aluminum foil.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, the third segment

(33) comprises a pipe segment part intersected with the second segment (32), and the pipe segment part extends parallel to a direction of an outer wall of the housing (8).

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first heat-conducting sheet (6) only wraps a part of the second segment (32) and the first segment (31).

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, two ends of the second segment (32) are disposed with stop rings (38, 39) pressed against two sides of the housing (8) to steadily keep the second segment (32) in the heat-insulating layer (80).