WO2015027885A1

WO2015027885A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2015027885A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/085124
Authority: WO
Inventors: 青木均史; 大汤英树; 町田典正; 馆野恭也; 山口龙彦
Original assignee: 海尔亚洲国际株式会社; 青岛海尔股份有限公司
Priority date: 2013-08-29
Filing date: 2014-08-25
Publication date: 2015-03-05
Also published as: JP6254385B2; JP2015045480A

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator (1), comprising: a storage compartment at least divided into a refrigerated compartment (3) and a freezer compartment (4-6); and a cooling chamber (13) equipped with a cooler (32) for cooling air supplied to the storage compartment; the cooling chamber (13) is formed having a first air supply opening (14) into the freezer compartment (4-6) and a second air supply opening (15) into the refrigerated compartment (3); the refrigerator (1) independently and efficiently supplies cool air cooled by the cooler (32) to the refrigerated compartment (3) and the freezer compartment (4-6) respectively with relatively little pressure loss; the freezer compartment (4-6) is disposed below the refrigerated compartment (3); the cooling chamber (13) is provided behind the freezer compartment (4-6). The first air supply opening (14) is formed in the front wall of the cooling chamber (13), and the second air supply opening (15) is formed on the top surface of the cooling chamber (13), thus keeping the pressure loss of the air path at a relatively low degree, and ensuring a larger accommodation capacity.

Description

Refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator for refrigerating and storing foods and the like in a storage room, and more particularly to a refrigerator capable of efficiently cooling a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment by means of a single cooler. Background technique

In the prior art, it is known that a refrigerator uses a cooler to supply cold air to a storage compartment having different cold storage temperatures such as a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment. In the refrigerator, a blower is provided at the air supply port of the cooling chamber in which the cooler is accommodated, and the cold air sent from the blower is branched and supplied to the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment (for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2).

Further, a refrigerator is known in which a damper (refrigerator damper) is provided in a supply air passage (refrigeration chamber supply air passage) for sending cold air sent from the blower to a refrigerating compartment, and the plenum can be controlled by the refrigerating compartment damper The amount of cold air to the refrigerator compartment (for example, Patent Document 1). Thereby, when it is not necessary to cool the cold room, the refrigerating compartment damper can be closed to prevent the refrigerating compartment from being too cold.

Further, a refrigerator is known in which a damper (freezer damper) is also provided at an inlet of a supply air passage (freezer compartment supply air passage) for conveying the cold air sent from the blower to the freezer compartment, and the freezer damper is used. The amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerating compartment can be controlled (for example, Patent Document 2). In the refrigerator having such a configuration, by performing the cooling operation in a state where the refrigerating compartment damper is opened and the freezing compartment damper is closed, only the cold air can be supplied to the refrigerating compartment.

Further, there is also known a refrigerator provided with two coolers, a cooler for cooling the refrigerating chamber (a refrigerating cooler) and a cooler for cooling the freezing chamber (a refrigerating cooler) (for example, a patent) Literature 3). In such a refrigerator, the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment can be alternately cooled by supplying the refrigerant to one of the coolers.

The prior art documents cited herein are as follows:

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. JP 4739926 (page 4-5, Figure 2-3);

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 2013-2664 (page 5-6, Fig. 4); Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 2013-72577 (page 4-5, Fig. 1).

However, in such a structure in which the cold air sent out from the blower is branched and supplied to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment downstream of the blower, there is a problem in that it is difficult to appropriately independently cool the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment. For example, as shown in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is only from the blower to the refrigerating compartment In the refrigerator in which the damper (refrigerator damper) is provided in the cold air supply air passage, it is not possible to supply only the cold air to the refrigerator. That is to say, when the cooling operation of the cooling and refrigerating compartment is performed by operating the compressor or the blower, the cold air sent from the blower is inevitably supplied to the freezing compartment. Therefore, even in the case where it is not necessary to cool the freezer compartment, cold air is supplied to the freezer compartment, so that the cooling operation cannot be performed efficiently.

Further, in the cooler, in order to cool the freezer compartment, it is necessary to cool to a sufficiently low temperature (freezing temperature) when cooling, so that frost is often formed, and electric power is required to be heated for melting. In addition, the low cooling temperature also causes drying of the refrigerating compartment and the vegetable compartment.

Further, as shown in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, in the refrigerator in which the damper (freezer damper) is provided at the entrance of the freezer supply air passage that supplies the cold air to the freezing compartment, the cold air blown by the blower is collected and Passing it through the freezer damper has a problem of large pressure loss.

Further, since it is necessary to form an air passage for the cold airflow blown by the blower fan on the rear side of the freezer compartment supply air passage, that is, the freezer-refrigerated common air passage on the upstream side of the freezer compartment damper, there is a problem that the storage space of the freezer compartment is narrowed.

Further, as shown in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 3, in a refrigerator provided with two coolers, there is a problem that the refrigeration cycle is complicated, and the component cost and assembly cost increase. In addition, complicated control is required due to the need to switch the supply of refrigerant to the two coolers. Further, switching of the refrigerant circuit causes heat loss, and thus there is a problem that cooling efficiency is lowered. Further, in order to arrange the refrigerating cooler, it is necessary to form a cooling chamber on the rear side of the refrigerating compartment, so that there is a problem that the refrigerating compartment housing volume becomes small. Summary of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can efficiently cool a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment by means of a cooler and can secure a large receiving volume.

The refrigerator of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a storage compartment partitioned at least into a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment; a cooler that cools air supplied to the storage compartment; and a cooling compartment equipped with the cooler; the cooling The chamber is formed with a first air supply opening to the freezing compartment and a second air supply opening to the refrigerating compartment.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a first air supply port leading to the freezing compartment and a second air supply opening to the refrigerating compartment are formed in the cooling chamber provided with the cooler. Thereby, a cooler-cooled cold air is independently and efficiently supplied to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, respectively, with a small pressure loss. Further, a freezing chamber is formed below the refrigerating chamber, a cooling chamber is formed behind the freezing chamber, and the first air blowing port may be formed on the partition body that partitions the front wall of the cooling chamber, and the top surface of the cooling chamber is formed. The second air supply port is described. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the loss of the force of the air passage to each of the storage compartments, and it is possible to ensure a large storage volume per storage compartment.

Further, the refrigerator includes a first blower disposed in the first air blowing port, a movable blower cover that closes the first blower, and a supply wind that is disposed to connect the second air supply port and the refrigerating chamber The second blower and the damper in the road, and the control device for controlling these components, can be appropriately cooled according to the respective cooling loads of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment.

Further, the refrigerator includes a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor and a freezing compartment temperature sensor that respectively detect a temperature of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, and the control apparatus may control the second blower according to a refrigerating compartment temperature detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor. The rotational speed of the first blower may also be controlled according to the temperature of the freezer compartment detected by the freezer compartment temperature sensor. Thereby, an appropriate amount of cold air can be supplied to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, respectively.

Moreover, in a case where it is determined that the control device cooler is frosted and the temperature of the refrigerating chamber is higher than a predetermined threshold, the first blower may be stopped, the blower cover is closed to the first air supply opening, and opened The damper operates the second blower. Thereby, the frost adhering to the cooler can be removed without heating by the defrosting heater or the like, and the refrigerator can be cooled by the heat of fusion of the frost without the compressor being operated. Further, since the high-humidity cold air generated by the defrosting can be supplied to the refrigerating compartment and the vegetable compartment, it is possible to prevent the food or the like stored therein from drying out and improving the fresh-keeping effect.

Further, the blower cover according to the present invention is provided on the air outlet side of the first blower, and is movable in a direction approaching the cooling chamber to close the first air supply port. Thereby, the air having a large flow velocity in the direction of the radial direction of the air blower side of the first blower can flow into the freezer compartment supply air passage by the small flow resistance.

Further, in the refrigerator in which the freezer compartment damper is provided at the entrance of the freezer compartment supply air passage shown in the prior art, a freezer-refrigerated common air blown by the blower is formed between the freezer compartment supply air passage and the cooling compartment. The air passage, however, does not need to form such a refrigerating and refrigerating common air passage in the present invention, so that the freezer compartment can have a large storage space. DRAWINGS

1 is a front outward view of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a front schematic view for explaining a supply air passage of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of a cooling chamber of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of a first blower and a shutter of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) the blower cover is in a closed state, and (B) the blower cover is in an open state.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the results of air flow analysis around the axial flow fan under different conditions, where (A) the difference between the outlet side and the suction side is 12 Pa, and (B) the difference between the outlet side and the suction side 4Pa, (C) The difference between the bleed side and the suction side is 2Pa.

The reference numerals used in the figure are as follows:

1 refrigerator;

2 insulation box;

3 cold storage room;

4 ice making room (freezer);

5 upper freezer (freezer);

6 lower freezer (freezer);

7 vegetable room;

13 cooling room;

14 first air supply opening;

15 second air supply port;

16 return port;

17 Supply air path (refrigeration room supply air path)

18 Supply air path (freezer supply air path)

19 Supply airway (vegetable room supply airway)

35 first blower;

40 blocking device;

41 blower cover;

32 cooler;

50 second blower; 51 damper (refrigerator damper);

55 separator;

61 refrigerator temperature sensor;

62 Freezer temperature sensor. detailed description

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a front outward view of a schematic structure of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a heat insulating box 2 as a main body, and the inside of the heat insulating box 2 forms a compartment for storing food or the like. According to the storage temperature and the use, the interior of the storage compartment is divided into a plurality of storage compartments 3 to 7, wherein the uppermost layer of the storage compartment is the refrigerating compartment 3, and the lower left side of the refrigerating compartment 3 is the lower compartment of the ice making compartment 4 and the refrigerating compartment 3 The upper side is the upper freezing compartment 5, the lower layer of the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 is the lower freezing compartment 6, and the lowermost layer of the storage compartment is the vegetable compartment 7. Further, the ice making compartment 4, the upper freezing compartment 5, and the lower freezing compartment 6 are storage compartments whose temperatures are in the freezing temperature range, and will be collectively referred to as freezing compartments 4 to 6 in the following description.

The front side of the heat insulating box 2 is opened, and the heat insulating doors 8 to 12 which are openable and closable are provided in the opening portions corresponding to the respective storage chambers 3 to 7. The heat insulating doors 8a, 8b are separated on the front side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and cover the front side of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the left upper and lower portions of the heat insulating door 8a and the right upper and lower portions of the heat insulating door 8b are rotatably supported by the heat insulating box On body 2. Further, the heat insulating doors 9 to 12 are integrally combined with the corresponding storage containers, and are supported by the heat insulating box 2 so as to be pulled out in front of the refrigerator 1.

Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the heat insulating box 2 as the main body of the refrigerator 1 includes a steel plate outer casing 2a having an opening on the front side, and a synthetic resin inner casing 2b provided in the inner space of the outer casing 2a and having an opening on the front side. And a foamed polyurethane heat insulating material 2c formed by filling and foaming in a gap between the outer casing 2a and the inner liner 2b. Further, each of the heat insulating doors 8 to 12 may have the same heat insulating structure as that of the heat insulating box 2.

The refrigerating compartment 3 is separated from the freezing compartments 4 to 6 located thereunder by an insulated partition wall 28. The ice making compartment 4 inside the freezing compartments 4 to 6 and the upper freezing compartment 5 are separated by a partition wall (not shown). Further, the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 communicate with the lower freezing compartment 6 provided below them, and cold air can flow therebetween. Further, the freezing compartments 4 to 6 and the vegetable compartment 7 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 29.

On the rear side of the refrigerating compartment 3, a refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 which is partitioned by a synthetic resin separator 54 and supplies cold air to the refrigerating compartment 3 is formed. The refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 is formed to allow the cold airflow to be refrigerated The outlet 22 of the chamber 3. The refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 is communicated to the second air blowing port 15 of the cooling chamber 13 via the refrigerating compartment damper 51. The refrigerating compartment damper 51 is for controlling the flow rate of the cold air supplied to the refrigerating compartment 3, thereby keeping the inside of the refrigerating compartment 3 at an appropriate temperature.

Further, a second blower 50 for allowing cold air to flow from the cooling chamber 13 into the cold chamber 3 is provided on the downstream side of the refrigerating compartment damper 51 in the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17. The second blower 50 may be a turbo blower such as a centrifugal type. Further, the second blower 50 is disposed above the upper side of the refrigerating compartment 3. Thus, the centrifugal blower is used as the second blower 50, and is placed in the upper inner corner portion of the relatively difficult refrigerating compartment 3 such as food and food, thereby ensuring the convenience of food storage.

Further, the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 is also formed on the top surface of the refrigerating compartment 3 and extends forward. The air outlet 22a formed in the upper front portion of the refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with a flap 53 capable of adjusting the direction of the air blown from the refrigerator compartment supply air passage 17 to the cold chamber 3.

By appropriately adjusting the angle (opening) of the flap 53, it is possible to position and cool a specific portion. Further, by swinging the flap 53, the air in the refrigerating compartment 3 can be effectively agitated, so that the temperature can be made uniform and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

A freezer compartment supply air passage 18 is formed on the rear side of the freezing compartments 4 to 6, and the cold airflow for cooling the cooler 32 is directed to the freezing compartments 4 to 6. The freezer compartment supply air passage 18 is formed with a cooling chamber 13 on the rear side, and a cooler 32 (evaporator) for cooling the circulating air in the refrigerator is disposed inside.

The cooler 32 is connected to a compressor 31, a radiator (not shown), and an expansion valve (capillary tube) (not shown) via a refrigerant pipe to constitute a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Further, isobutyl hydrazine (R600a) is used as the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment.

Further, the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 61 for detecting the internal temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3, a freezing compartment temperature sensor 62 for detecting the internal temperature of the freezing compartments 4 to 6, and other temperature sensors not shown. Further, the refrigerator 1 is provided with a door opening and closing sensor 63 for detecting opening and closing of the heat insulating door 8 at a hinge portion for supporting the heat insulating door 8. For example, various switches that open and close the contact points by pressing a part of the heat insulating door 8 may be employed as the door opening and closing sensor 63.

Further, the refrigerator 1 includes a control device (not shown) that performs predetermined algorithm processing based on input values of the respective sensors to control the compressor 31, the first blower 35, the second blower 50, the shutter device 40, and the refrigerator. Each of the components such as the damper 51.

FIG. 3 is a front schematic view showing a schematic configuration of a supply air passage of the refrigerator 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 conveys cold air to the uppermost portion in the central portion of the refrigerating compartment 3, and then the cold air is lowered from both sides, and is supplied to the cold chamber 3. Thereby, the cold air can be efficiently supplied to the cold The entire interior of the chamber 3.

The refrigerator 1 includes a return air path 20 that allows air to flow from the refrigerating chamber 3 back to the cooling chamber 13 (see Fig. 2). A lower portion of the refrigerating compartment 3 is formed with a return port 25 which is an opening of the refrigerating compartment 3 to the return air passage 20. The air in the refrigerating compartment 3 flows to the return air passage 20 via the return port 25, and flows to the lower side of the cooler 32.

Further, a vegetable chamber supply air passage 19 for allowing air cooled by the cooler 32 to flow to the vegetable compartment 7 is formed in front of the return air passage 20. The vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 is branched upward from the freezing compartment supply air passage 18, and extends through the inside of the heat insulating partition wall 28 (see FIG. 2) above the freezing compartments 4 to 6, and then becomes the freezer compartment. The rear side of 4 to 6 extends downward. Then, connect to the vegetable compartment 7 through the insulated partition wall 29 (see Figure 2). The vegetable compartment 7 is formed with an air outlet 24 which serves as an opening for blowing cold air from the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 into the vegetable compartment 7.

The vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 is provided with a vegetable compartment damper 52 for controlling the flow of cold air supplied to the vegetable compartment 7. Thereby, the vegetable compartment 7 can be cooled independently of the cooling of the refrigerating compartment 3, so that the temperature of the vegetable compartment 7 can be appropriately controlled.

Further, the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 may be configured to be branched from the side or the lower side of the freezer supply air passage 18. Thereby, the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 can be shortened, and the loss of the force can be reduced.

Further, the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 can be communicated with the return air passage 20 for returning the cold air from the refrigerating compartment 3. Thus, the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 can be configured to be branched from the return air passage 20, whereby the cost can be reduced by omitting the vegetable compartment damper 52.

The vegetable compartment 7 is formed with a return port 27, and the air in the vegetable compartment 7 flows from the return port 27 through the vegetable compartment back to the air passage 21 (see Fig. 2) and the return port 16 (see Fig. 2) to the lower portion of the cooling chamber 13.

Fig. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the cooling chamber 13 of the refrigerator 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the cooling chamber 13 is disposed inside the heat insulating box 2 on the rear side of the freezer compartment supply air passage 18. The cooling chamber 13 is partitioned from the freezer compartment supply air passage 18 or the freezing compartments 4 to 6 by a synthetic resin separator 55. That is, the cooling chamber 13 is a space formed by sandwiching the inner liner 2b and the separator 55.

A second air supply port 15 is formed on the top surface of the cooling chamber 13, which is an opening to the refrigerating chamber 3. As described above, the second air supply port 15 is connected to the refrigerating compartment supply air path 17. Thus, by forming the second air blowing port 15 connected to the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 on the top surface of the cooling chamber 13, the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 at the lower rear portion of the refrigerating compartment 3 can be disposed further rearward than the prior art. s position. Thereby, the storage space in the lower portion of the refrigerator compartment 3 can be enlarged.

Further, in the prior art refrigerator, the air splits sent from the blower are separately supplied to the refrigerator. In the configuration of the chamber and the freezer compartment, in order to provide the freezer compartment damper, it is necessary to form a refrigerating and refrigerating common air passage between the supply duct and the cooling compartment dedicated to the freezer compartment. However, in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to provide a refrigerating and refrigerating common air passage between the freezing compartment supply air passage and the cooling chamber, and thus it is possible to ensure that the freezing compartments 4 to 6 have a large storage space.

The freezer compartment supply air passage 18 formed in front of the cooling chamber 13 is a space formed between the partition body 55 and a front cover 56 made of synthetic resin (mounted in front of the partition body 55), which is cooled by the cooler 32. The wind path through which cold air flows. The front cover 56 is formed with an air outlet 23 which is an opening for blowing cold air into the freezing chambers 4 to 6.

A return port 26 for returning air from the freezing compartments 4 to 6 to the cooling chamber 13 is formed on the lower rear surface of the lower freezing compartment 6. Further, below the cooling chamber 13, a return port 16 connected to the return port 26 and sucking the return cold air from the storage chamber into the inside of the cooling chamber 13 is formed.

Further, below the cooler 32, a defrosting heater 33 is provided which serves as a defrosting device for melting and removing the frost attached to the cooler 32. The defrosting heater 33 is a resistance heating heater. Further, as the defrosting means, for example, other defrosting means such as power-off defrosting or hot air defrosting without using an electric heater can be employed.

The partition 55 at the upper portion of the cooling chamber 13 is formed with a first air supply port 14 as an opening connected to the freezing chambers 4 to 6. BP, the first air supply port 14 is an opening for supplying the air passage 18 to the cooling chamber 13 and the freezing chamber. The first air supply port 14 is provided with a first air blower 35 that supplies cold air to the freezing rooms 4 to 6 and the like.

The first blower 35 is an axial flow blower including a rotary screw fan 37 and a fan case 36, and the fan case 36 is formed with a wind tunnel 36a having a substantially cylindrical opening. The first air supply port 14 to which the fan case 36 is attached to the cooling chamber 13 is a member provided on the boundary between the suction side and the air outlet side of the first blower 35.

Further, a fan 37 is provided coaxially with the wind tunnel 36a on the fan casing 36. Further, the air outlet side end portion of the fan 37 is closer to the outer side than the air outlet side end portion of the wind tunnel 36a, that is, closer to the air outlet side or the freezer compartment than the air outlet side end portion. On the side of the road 18. Thereby, the flow resistance of the air discharged in the radial direction of the fan 37 can be reduced, and the air can be sent out with a small flow loss.

Further, the outside of the first air supply port 14 of the cooling chamber 13, i.e., the air outlet side of the first blower 35, is provided with a shielding device 40, and the shielding device 40 includes a blower cover 41 for closing the first air supply port 14. For example, the shutter 40 is mounted such that its support base 42 is in close contact with the casing 36 of the first blower 35.

The surface of the blower cover 41 facing the cooling chamber 13, that is, the one facing the first blower 35 A surface is formed into a concave surface (41b). Further, a peripheral portion of the concave portion 41b is formed with an abutting portion 41a that abuts against the support base 42. Thereby, although the fan 37 protrudes toward the air outlet side more than the fan case 36, the blower cover 41 does not come into contact with the fan 37, but abuts against the support base 42 on the outer side of the wind tunnel 36a, thereby blocking the first air supply port 14 .

5(A) and (B) are perspective views showing the structure of a first blower 35 and a shutter 40 of the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) the blower cover 41 is in a closed state, and (B) a blower cover 41 is open. Further, in Figs. 5(A) and (B), the opening and closing mechanism of the blower cover 41 is omitted.

As shown in Figs. 5(A) and (B), the first blower 35 includes a fan motor 38 for rotationally driving the fan 37. The fan motor 38 is fixed to the fan case 36 via a support frame 39, and the rotary shaft of the fan motor 38 is mounted on the fan 37.

The air outlet side end faces of the fan case 36 are fixed together in close contact with the support base 42 of the shutter unit 40. The support base 42 is a substantially flat member having a cold air flowable opening at a substantially central portion. The main surface 42a of the support base 42 facing the freezing compartments 4 to 6 (see FIG. 4) is provided with a guide post 46, and the blower cover 41 is reciprocally supported on the guide post 46 in the rotation axis direction (Z direction) of the fan 37. on. That is, the guide post 46 extending in the direction of the rotation axis (Z direction) of the fan 37 is slidably inserted into the support hole 41b formed in the blower cover 41. Thereby, the blower cover 41 can approach the first blower 35 as shown in Fig. 5(A); or can be separated from the first blower 35 as shown in Fig. 5(B).

As shown in FIG. 5(A), if the blower cover 41 approaches the first blower 35, the abutting portion 41a at the periphery of the blower cover 41 abuts against the main surface 42a of the support base 42, thereby closing the air flow of the first blower 35. road. That is, the first air supply port 14 (see Fig. 4) of the cooling chamber 13 (see Fig. 4) is closed by the blower cover 41 so that the air flow path is closed. Further, instead of the configuration in which the blower cover 41 abuts against the main surface 42a of the support base 42, the blower cover 41 can be used to abut against the outer peripheral surface of the support base 42 or the wind-side end surface or the outer peripheral surface of the fan case 36.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5(B), if the blower cover 41 is moved away from the first blower 35, a gap is formed between the blower cover 41 and the support base 42, that is, an opening for air flow is formed. That is, the blower cover 41 is in an open state. Further, as indicated by an arrow V, the air blown by the first blower 35 flows out from the opening formed between the blower cover 41 and the support base 42.

Further, various methods can be employed for the mechanism and the driving method for opening and closing the blower cover 41. For example, the blower cover 41 can be opened and closed by a motor, a solenoid, or the like. Further, the structure in which the member corresponding to the support base 42 of the shielding device 40 is fixed to the front cover 56 (see Fig. 4) can be used to achieve the abutment of the blower cover 41 and the fan case 36.

Here, the air flow around the first blower 35 will be explained in more detail with reference to Figs. 6(A) to (C). Figure 6 (A) to (C) are schematic diagrams showing the results of air flow analysis around the axial flow blower under different conditions, where (A) the difference between the outlet side and the suction side is 12 Pa, (B) the wind The difference in the force between the side and the suction side was 4 Pa, and (C) the difference between the side of the wind side and the side of the suction side was 2 Pa.

In Figs. 6(A) to (C), the symbol V is the wind speed vector distribution on the main surface 42a (see Fig. 5) of the support base 42. Further, in the case where the support base 42 is not attached to the fan case 36 (see Fig. 5), the symbol V corresponds to the wind speed vector distribution on the wind-side end face of the fan case 36. Further, the symbol VI indicates the wind speed vector distribution on the surface S1 on the suction side (right side of the paper), and the symbol V2 indicates the wind speed vector distribution on the surface S2 on the air outlet side (left side of the paper surface). The wind speed vectors V, VI, and V2 are expressed as follows: The direction of the arrow is the direction of each airflow, and the length of the arrow is proportional to the speed of each airflow. Further, in each of the figures, the horizontal line M drawn above and below the fan 37 is used for convenience calculation, and is not intended to illustrate the analysis result, and the horizontal line can be ignored.

As shown in FIG. 6(C), when the difference in the force between the air outlet side and the suction side of the first blower 35 is 2 Pa, the wind speed vector V on the air outlet side of the first blower 35 is slightly in the vertical direction of the figure. Tilt, but basically towards the left. Further, the wind speed vector V2 on the surface S2 on the air outlet side also protrudes to the left side. BP, it can be seen that, under the condition that the force difference is 2 Pa, the airflow on the air outlet side of the blower 35 is large in the direction of the rotation axis Z of the fan 37, and the speed in the direction of the rotation radius R is small. In other words, the air blown by the blower 35 mainly flows toward the front of the blower 35.

However, as shown in FIG. 6(B), if the difference in the force between the air outlet side and the suction side of the first blower 35 is 4 Pa, the wind speed vector V on the air outlet side of the first blower 35 is expanded in the vertical direction of the figure. When it is slightly larger, the wind speed vector V2 on the surface S2 on the air outlet side becomes shorter. BP, if the force difference becomes as large as 4 Pa, the speed of the air flow on the air outlet side of the first blower 35 in the direction of the rotational radius R of the fan 37 becomes large.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6(A), if the force difference is further increased to 12 Pa, the wind speed vector V on the air outlet side of the first blower 35 is substantially oriented in the vertical direction of the drawing. Further, the wind speed vector V2 on the surface S2 on the air outlet side becomes very short. BP, it can be seen that, under the condition that the force difference is 12 Pa, the speed of the air flow blown by the first blower 35 in the direction of the rotational axis Z of the fan 37 becomes very small, and the speed in the direction of the rotational radius R becomes large. . In other words, the first blower 35 The blown air does not flow to the front of the first blower 35 (i.e., in the Z direction) but flows in the direction of the radius of rotation R.

Further, in any of the conditions of Figs. 6 (A) to (C), the air flow on the air outlet side of the first blower 35 forms a swirl flow centering on the rotating shaft of the fan 37.

The characteristics of the axial flow fan as the first blower 35 have been described above. As shown in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, in the refrigerator for forcibly circulating the cold air in the closed circuit, the air outlet side and the suction side of the first blower 35 The difference in force is about 10~12Pa. That is, as shown in Fig. 6(A), the cold air blown by the first blower 35 is expanded toward the radius R of the radius of the fan 37 of the first blower 35.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4, the blower cover 41 according to the present embodiment moves in a manner of leaving the cooling chamber 13 during the cooling operation, and an opening for the flow of the cold air is formed between the blower cover 41 and the cooling chamber 13. Therefore, as described above, the air blown by the first blower 35 having a large flow velocity in the direction of the radius of rotation R passes through the opening along the fan casing 36 and the partition 55, and flows into the freezer compartment with a very small flow resistance. Wind road 18. At this time, as shown in Fig. 6(A), since the air flowing toward the front of the first blower 35 starts very little, the blower cover 41 that has been moved away from the cooling chamber 13 has a very small influence on the air passage resistance.

However, as shown in Fig. 5(B), in order to prevent the loss of the force caused by the blower cover 41 from increasing, it is necessary to ensure the main surface 42a of the support base 42 and the end surface (abutment portion 41a) of the blower 35 of the blower cover 41. The distance X (i.e., the distance X forming the air flow path opening) has a specific length. Specifically, it should be ensured that the distance X is equal to or greater than 30 mm, preferably greater than or equal to 50 mm. If the distance X is shorter than 30 mm, the flow loss caused by the blower cover 41 is increased, and it is difficult to suppress the loss of the force to a small extent as compared with the case of using a damper of the prior art.

On the other hand, if the distance X is ensured to be equal to or larger than 50 mm, the increase in the force loss due to the increase of the blower cover 41 can be almost eliminated. This can be briefly explained with reference to Fig. 6 (A), and the wind-side surface S3 shown in the drawing is at a position where the distance X (see Fig. 5 (B)) is equal to 50 mm. Further, the surface S2 is at a position where the distance X is 80 mm. As can be seen from the figure, as long as the position of the opening to the surface S3 is secured, i.e., to a position where the distance X is 50 mm, the airflow is hardly hindered through the opening.

Next, the operation of the refrigerator 1 having the above-described structure will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5 again.

First, an operation of cooling the refrigerating compartment 3 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, the compressor 31 is made In operation, the refrigerating compartment damper 51 is opened, and the second blower 50 is operated to cool the refrigerating compartment 3. BP, the air cooled by the cooler 32 sequentially passes through the second air blowing port 15 of the cooling chamber 13, the refrigerating compartment damper 51, the refrigerating compartment supply air path 17, and the air outlet 22, and is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 3. Thereby, the foodstuff etc. stored in the refrigerator compartment 3 can be cooled and stored at the appropriate temperature.

Further, as shown in Fig. 3, the circulating cold air supplied into the refrigerating compartment 3 is returned from the return port 25 to the cooling chamber 13 via the return air passage 20. Therefore, the cooler 32 will cool it again.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, since the first air blowing port 14 leading to the freezing compartments 4 to 6 and the second air blowing port 15 leading to the refrigerating compartment 3 are formed in the cooling chamber 13, the refrigerator compartment 4 can be provided with respect to the freezing compartment 4 The cooling operation of 6 independently performs the cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment 3. Specifically, when the blower cover 41 closes the first air blowing port and the first blower 35 is stopped, the second blower 50 is operated by opening the refrigerating compartment damper 51, and only the cold air can be supplied to the refrigerating compartment 3.

Further, by forming the second air blowing port 15 at the top of the cooling chamber 13, the air passage from the cooling chamber 13 to the refrigerating chamber supply air passage 17 can be formed in a substantially linear shape. However, in the prior art refrigerator, cold air is blown from the cooling chamber 13 to the front by a blower provided in front of the cooling chamber 13, and a part of the cold air flows to the supply air passage located obliquely upward on the rear side, with this The above-described shunt structure of the embodiment of the present invention can reduce the flow loss as compared with the structure.

Next, the operation of cooling the freezing compartments 4 to 6 will be explained. As shown in Fig. 2, the compressor 31 is operated to operate the first blower 35, and the blower cover 41 is opened, whereby the freezing compartments 4 to 6 can be cooled. Specifically, the blower cover 41 is in a state of leaving the first blower 35 as shown in Fig. 5(B). Thereby, the air cooled by the cooler 32 is sent out through the first blower 35 disposed at the first air blowing port 14 of the cooling chamber 13, and sequentially passes through the freezing compartment supply air passage 18 and the blowout port 23, and is supplied to the freezing compartments 4 to 6 .

Therefore, it is possible to cool and store foods and the like stored in the freezing compartments 4 to 6 at an appropriate temperature. Further, the air in the freezing compartments 4 to 6 flows back into the cooling chamber 13 through the return port 16 of the cooling chamber 13 through the return port 26 formed on the rear side of the lower freezing compartment 6.

Here, the cooling operation of the freezing compartments 4 to 6 is independently performed with respect to the cooling of the refrigerating compartment 3. That is, by stopping the second blower 50, the refrigerating compartment damper 51 is closed, the blower cover 41 is opened, and the first blower 35 is operated, and only the cold air can be supplied to the freezing compartments 4 to 6.

Next, the supply of cold air to the vegetable compartment 7 will be explained. By opening the vegetable compartment damper 52, a part of the air sent to the freezing compartment supply air passage 18 by the first blower flows to the vegetable compartment supply air passage 19 as shown in FIG. 3, and is then blown from the blowout outlet 24 to the vegetable compartment 7. Thus, the vegetable room 7 can be The interior is cooled. Then, the cold air circulating in the vegetable compartment 7 is returned to the cooling chamber 13 through the vegetable compartment return air passage 21 and the return port 16 of the cooling chamber 13 from the return port 27 shown in FIG. 2 in this order.

As described above, in the refrigerator 1, the cold air cooled by one cooler 32 can be efficiently supplied to the respective storage compartments 3 to 7 independently with a small pressure loss. Thereby, the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartments 4 to 6 can be appropriately cooled in accordance with the respective cooling loads.

Further, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention can alternately cool the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartments 4 to 6 as in the prior art refrigerator including two coolers by only one cooler 32. Here, the ice box 1 does not require complicated refrigerant circuit and circuit switching control, so that each of the storage rooms 3 to 7 can be efficiently cooled with less heat loss.

Further, the refrigerator 1 does not require a refrigerator dedicated for refrigerating, so that the space of the refrigerating compartment 3 can be enlarged. Further, the cooling temperature of the cooler 32 (the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant) can be adjusted in accordance with the target cooling temperature of the storage chamber to which the cold air is to be supplied, whereby the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle can be further improved.

Moreover, the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention may include the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 61 and the freezing compartment temperature sensor 62 that respectively detect the temperatures of the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartments 4 to 6, and thus may also be based on the refrigerating compartment 3 detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 61. The temperature is used to control the number of revolutions of the second blower 50, and the number of revolutions of the first blower 35 is controlled based on the temperatures of the freezer compartments 4 to 6 detected by the freezer compartment temperature sensor 62. Thereby, an appropriate amount of cold air is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 3 and the freezing compartments 4 to 6, respectively.

Next, the actions performed during the defrosting operation will be described with reference to Figs. 2, 4 and 5. The cooling operation is continuously performed, and the air-side heat transfer surface of the cooler 32 adheres to the frost, hinders heat transfer, and blocks the air flow path. Therefore, the frost is judged from the decrease in the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant, or the frosting is performed by the defrosting timer or the like, and the defrosting cooling operation or the defrosting operation is started to remove the frost attached to the cooler 32.

First, a defrosting cooling operation for cooling the refrigerating compartment 3 by the latent heat of the frost attached to the cooler 32 will be explained. In the case of the defrosting cooling operation, the compressor 31 is stopped, and the first blower 35 is stopped. And, as shown in Fig. 5 (A), the blower cover 41 is in a closed state. Further, the refrigerating compartment damper 51 is opened to operate the second blower 50.

Thereby, air can be circulated between the refrigerating compartment 3 and the cooling chamber 13, and the circulating air is used to melt the frost adhering to the cooler 32. BP can perform defrosting without heating by the defrosting heater 33. At the same time, instead of operating the compressor 31, the refrigerating compartment 3 is cooled by the melting heat of the frost.

That is, according to the refrigerator 1 of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the heater input for defrosting and The input of the compressor for cooling reduces the power consumption of the refrigerator 1 and comprehensively improves the cooling efficiency. Further, since cold air having a high humidity due to defrosting can be supplied to the refrigerating compartment 3, it is possible to prevent the food or the like stored therein from being dried and to improve the fresh-keeping effect. In addition, by providing a supply air passage for supplying cold air to the vegetable compartment 7 without passing through the freezer compartment supply air passage 18, even the vegetable compartment 7 can be cooled and rewound by the defrosting latent heat.

Here, the aforementioned defrosting cooling operation is performed under the condition that it is judged that the cooler 32 is frosted and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 is higher than a predetermined threshold. Even if it is detected that the cooler 32 is frosted, but the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 3 is lower than the predetermined threshold, it is not necessary to perform the cooling of the refrigerating compartment 3, so that the defrosting cooling operation may be omitted, but the defrosting heater 33 may be used for the conventional Defrost operation.

In the conventional defrosting operation, the compressor 31 is stopped, and the defrosting heater 33 is energized to melt the frost adhering to the cooler 32. At this time, the blower cover 41 closes the first air supply port 14, and the refrigerating room damper 51 closes the second air supply port 15. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the air in the cooling chamber 13 heated by the defrosting heater 33 from flowing into the refrigerating compartment supply air passage 17 and the freezing compartment supply air passage 18. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved.

Further, when the defrosting of the cooler 32 is completed, the energization of the defrosting heater 33 is stopped, and the compressor 31 is started to start the cooling by the refrigerating circuit. And, after detecting that the cooler 32 and the cooling chamber 13 are cooled to a predetermined temperature, or after a predetermined time elapses with the timer, the blower cover 41 or the refrigerating chamber damper 51 is opened to start the first blower 35 or the second blower 50. Running. Thereby, the influence caused by the defrosting heat is suppressed to a small extent as much as possible, and the cooling operation is started again.

Next, the process of forming the air curtain will be explained with reference to Fig. 2 . When the user opens the insulated door 8, the door opening and closing sensor 63 detects that the heat insulating door 8 is open. When the control device of the refrigerator 1 detects that the heat insulating door 8 is in the open state, the refrigerating compartment damper 51 is opened to operate the second blower 50, and the flap 53 is opened.

Thereby, the air blower 22a formed from the upper front portion of the refrigerating compartment 3 blows cold air downward, and a wind curtain is formed at the front opening of the cold storage compartment 3. Here, by adjusting the angle (opening degree) of the flap 53, it is possible to form a proper air curtain for preventing the inside of the refrigerating compartment 3 from leaking cold air to the outside of the refrigerator.

Thereafter, the user closes the heat insulating door 8, and the door opening and closing sensor 63 detects that the heat insulating door 8 is closed. When the closed state in which the heat insulating door 8 is detected is detected, the control device of the refrigerator 1 performs the aforementioned conventional cooling operation.

Further, the second blower 50 can be continuously operated for a predetermined period of time after the heat insulating door 8 is closed, and the flap 53 can be swung. Thereby, the refrigerating compartment 3 which is warmed by opening the heat insulating door 8 can be effectively cooled. The inside is particularly the housing wall box 57 inside the heat insulating door 8.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

Rights request

A refrigerator comprising:

a storage compartment that is at least divided into a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment;

a cooler that cools air supplied to the storage compartment;

a cooling chamber equipped with the cooler;

The refrigerator is characterized in that

The cooling chamber is formed with a first air supply port leading to the freezing chamber and a second air supply port leading to the refrigerating chamber.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein

The freezing chamber is formed below the refrigerating chamber;

The cooling chamber is formed at a rear of the freezing chamber;

The first air supply opening is formed on a partition that partitions a front wall of the cooling chamber; and the second air supply opening is formed on a top surface of the cooling chamber.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising:

a first blower disposed in the first air supply port;

a second blower disposed in the supply air passage connecting the second air supply port and the refrigerating chamber;

a blower cover disposed on an air outlet side of the first blower, movable to approach the cooling chamber to close the first air supply port;

a damper disposed on an upstream side of the second blower in the supply air passage; and a control device that controls the first blower, the second blower, the blower cover, and the damper.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, comprising:

a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor that detects a temperature of the refrigerator compartment;

a freezer compartment temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the freezer compartment,

The control device controls a rotation speed of the second blower based on a temperature of the refrigerating compartment detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor, and controls the first based on a temperature of the freezing compartment detected by the freezing compartment temperature sensor The speed of the blower.

The refrigerator according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that

When the control device determines that the cooler is frosted and the temperature of the refrigerating compartment detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined threshold, the first blower is stopped, and the blower cover is closed. The first air supply opening is opened, the damper is opened, and the second blower is turned.