WO2018064866A1

WO2018064866A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2018064866A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/113467
Authority: WO
Inventors: 片桐贤宏; 馆野恭也
Original assignee: 青岛海尔股份有限公司; 海尔亚洲株式会社
Priority date: 2015-10-09
Filing date: 2016-12-30
Publication date: 2018-04-12
Also published as: EP3524907B1; CN106679269A; EP3524907A4; JP2017072336A; US20210278122A1; JP6709347B2; EP3524907A1; CN106679269B

Abstract

A refrigerator (1), shortening the time for passing through the maximum ice crystal generation zone by efficiently blowing cool air to a to-be-frozen object (19). The refrigerator (1) is provided, on the upper portion of an upper layer freezer (5), with a first air supply duct (24) for supplying cool air during normal refrigeration and a second air supply duct (25) for supplying cool air during quick refrigeration; during quick refrigeration, a blower (23) operates, and the cool air supplied by a supply duct (14) is supplied to the upper layer freezer (5) via the second air supply duct (25) and an air outlet (28).

Description

refrigerator

The present application claims the priority of the Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201610878087.1, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Technical field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator for storing and storing foods in a storage room, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a function of rapidly freezing a food in a freezer compartment.

Background technique

Among the well-known conventional refrigerators, there is a refrigerator which is provided with a fan for rapidly freezing the food in the freezer compartment in addition to the main fan which is responsible for the cooling air circulation in the entire refrigerator. For example, the refrigerator described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei. No. Hei.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-1331 discloses a refrigerator capable of rapidly freezing foods and the like without affecting the storage performance of the freezing compartment. FIG. 9 shows the refrigerator 100 described in Patent Document 3. In the refrigerator 100 shown in the figure, a refrigerating compartment 101, an upper freezing compartment 103, and a lower freezing compartment 102 are provided from top to bottom. The upper portion of the upper freezer compartment 103 is partitioned by a partition 112 which is provided with a blower 111 for blowing cold air during rapid cooling operation. Further, a rear side of the upper freezing compartment 103 is provided with a supply duct 108 for blowing cold air, and a cooling chamber 107 for accommodating a cooler not shown in the drawing is provided behind. A fan 109 for blowing cold air is provided on the partition wall separating the cooling chamber 107 and the air supply duct 108. Further, the partition 112 is provided with an air outlet 113 for supplying cold air to the upper freezing compartment 103.

According to the refrigerator 100 of the above configuration, the normal cooling operation is as follows. First, the fan 109 is rotated according to the instruction of the control unit, and the air inside the cooling chamber 107, which is not shown in the drawing, is blown into the air supply duct 108. The cold air blown into the air supply duct 108 is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 101, the upper freezing compartment 103, and the lower freezing compartment 102 via a blowing duct not shown in the drawing. Further, the cold air supplied to the upper freezing compartment 103 passes through the air outlet 110 and the air outlet 113 on the partition 112. Here, the fan 111 provided in the upper freezing compartment 103 does not operate during the normal cooling operation.

According to the refrigerator 100 of the above configuration, the operation at the time of rapid freezing is as follows. The cold air blown to the air supply duct 108 is supplied to the upper portion of the partition 112 via the air outlet 110, and then the blown fan 111 is blown toward the object 114 to be frozen. Thereby, the frozen object 114 is quickly frozen, and the frozen object 114 is frozen while being locked in its freshness. Further, since the blower 111 for blowing cold air to the object to be frozen 114 is provided in the upper portion of the upper freezer compartment 103, it is possible to ensure a large depth of the upper freezer compartment 103.

However, from the viewpoint of improving the cooling efficiency, the refrigerator described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-1331 can be further improved. Specifically, in order to lock the freshness of the frozen object 114 such as a food while freezing, it is necessary to shorten the time of passing through the maximum ice crystal formation zone. Here, the maximum ice crystal formation region refers to a temperature region in which the temperature of the frozen object 114 is lowered from -1 ° C to -5 ° C. On the other hand, referring to Fig. 9, the cold air blown to the upper freezing compartment 103 is blown through the air outlet 113 during the normal freezing process, but is blown by the blower 111 during the rapid cooling operation. However, in either case, the cold air is supplied by the same air outlet 110, which is not an optimized structure for the rapid freezing process, and is disadvantageous for increasing the wind speed during the rapid cooling operation and shortening the passage through the maximum ice crystal formation area. time.

Further, the refrigerator described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-1331 has a problem in that the upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 103 is provided with a fan 111 as an axial fan, and the presence of the fan 111 occupies the upper layer. The layer height of the freezing compartment 103 makes it difficult to make the upper freezing compartment 103 have a large volume.

Summary of the invention

In order to at least solve one of the above technical problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which is capable of blowing air-cooled efficiently To the frozen object, the time to pass through the maximum ice crystal formation zone is shortened.

In order to achieve one of the objects of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator having: a storage compartment for accommodating a frozen object; a cooler for cooling air supplied to the storage compartment; and cooling a chamber for accommodating the cooler; a supply duct for flowing the air cooled by the cooler from the cooling chamber to the storage compartment; a first supply duct disposed in the storage compartment Near the top surface, during normal cooling operation, cold air supplied from the supply duct to the storage compartment passes through the first supply duct; and a second supply duct is disposed near the top surface of the storage compartment. Separately disposed separately from the first supply air passage, cold air supplied from the supply air passage and blowing toward the object to be frozen passes through the second supply air passage during a rapid cooling operation.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator has a fan for rapid freezing, and is used for blowing cold air to the second supply duct during the rapid cooling operation.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the quick freezing fan is disposed at a rear end portion of the second supply duct.

According to a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the rapid freezing fan blows air coming out of the cooling chamber to the second supply duct, and allows air existing in the storage chamber to pass through the first A supply duct loop.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first supply duct and the second supply duct are located at an upper portion of the storage compartment, and are partitioned by a partition wall extending in the up and down direction.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, an interior of the storage compartment is provided with an indoor fan for blowing cold air to the object to be frozen via the second supply duct.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, a damper is disposed between the first supply air duct and the supply air passage, and in the fast cooling operation, the damper is placed in a closed state to enable the supply Air supplied by the duct is supplied to the second supply duct.

As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the supply duct extends toward the first supply duct side near the first supply duct and the second supply duct.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

A refrigerator according to the present invention, comprising: a storage compartment for accommodating a frozen object; a cooler for cooling air supplied to the storage compartment; and a cooling compartment for accommodating the cooler; Supplying a duct for flowing the air cooled by the cooler from the cooling chamber to the storage compartment; a first supply duct disposed near a top surface of the storage compartment during normal cooling operation The cold air supplied from the supply air duct to the storage compartment passes therethrough; the second supply air duct is disposed near the top surface of the storage compartment, and is separately provided separately from the first supply air duct, During rapid cooling operation, cold air supplied by the supply duct may be blown toward the object to be frozen therefrom. Therefore, when the frozen object is rapidly frozen, the cold air is supplied to the storage chamber from the second supply air duct which is independent of the cold air flow passage during the normal freezing operation, that is, the first supply air passage, so that the wind speed of the cold air reaches a certain level or higher. . Thereby, the time for generating the temperature region by the maximum icing can be shortened, and the frozen object such as a food can be frozen while being frozen.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized by having a fan for rapid freezing for blowing cold air to the second supply duct during the rapid cooling operation. Therefore, it is possible to rapidly blow cold air from the second supply duct to the object to be frozen by using the fan for rapid freezing, thereby further shortening the time required for freezing the object to be frozen, and better maintaining the freshness of the food.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized in that the quick freezing fan is disposed at a rear end portion of the second supply duct, closer to a side of the cooler. Therefore, the fan for rapid freezing is not exposed to the storage compartment side, and it is possible to ensure a large capacity of the storage compartment.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized in that the quick freezing fan is present in the storage compartment while blowing air coming out of the cooling chamber to the second supply duct The air is circulated through the first supply duct. Therefore, the cold air supplied from the cooling chamber can be blown to the frozen object together with the cold air in the storage chamber, so that more cold air is concentrated on being frozen. On the object.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized in that the first supply duct and the second supply duct are located at an upper portion of the storage compartment, and are partitioned by a partition wall extending in an up and down direction. Therefore, the partition wall in which the first supply duct and the second supply duct extend in the up and down direction in the upper portion of the storage compartment can be arranged in the left-right direction, thereby preventing the arrangement of the first supply duct and the second supply duct from occupying the storage compartment. Volume.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized in that an interior of the storage compartment is provided with an indoor fan for blowing cold air to the object to be frozen via the second supply duct. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a more efficient cooling of the object to be frozen by using the indoor fan to blow the cold air to the object to be frozen.

In addition, the present invention provides a refrigerator, wherein a damper is disposed between the first supply air duct and the supply air passage, and the damper is placed in a closed state during the rapid cooling operation, so that The air supplied from the supply duct is supplied to the second supply duct. Therefore, it is possible to supply cold air to the first supply duct by closing the damper, and to blow a large amount of cold air to the object to be frozen via the second supply duct.

Further, the present invention provides a refrigerator characterized in that the supply duct extends toward the first supply duct side near the first supply duct and the second supply duct. Therefore, during normal cooling operation, air is preferentially supplied to the first supply duct, and the amount of air supplied to the second supply duct is correspondingly reduced, so that it is possible to avoid excessive cooling of individual places in the storage compartment.

DRAWINGS

1 is a front elevational view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the schematic structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the structure around the upper freezer compartment of the refrigerator, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of a supply duct leading to an upper freezer compartment of a refrigerator, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a rear perspective structural view of a refrigerator air duct according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a structural view of a periphery of a freezer compartment of an upper refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a side sectional view, and (B) is a perspective view of a supply air passage leading to an upper freezing compartment;

Figure 7 is a structural view showing a periphery of a freezer compartment of an upper refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a side sectional view, and (B) is a perspective view of a supply air passage leading to the upper freezer compartment, ( C) is a rear view structure of the air duct;

Figure 8 is a side cross-sectional view showing the structure around the upper freezer compartment of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a portion of a freezer compartment shown in an example of a refrigerator according to the background art.

detailed description

Hereinafter, the refrigerator 1 shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the description will be made in the up, down, front, rear, left, and right directions as appropriate. The left and right sides refer to the left and right when the refrigerator 1 is viewed from the front.

Fig. 1 is a front external view showing a schematic configuration of a refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment. Referring to the figure, the refrigerator 1 is mainly constituted by the heat insulating box 2, and a storage chamber for storing food or the like is formed inside the heat insulating box 2. The storage compartment has a topmost refrigerating compartment 3, an ice making compartment 4 on the left side of the lower layer, an upper freezing compartment 5 on the right side of the ice making compartment 4, a lower freezing compartment 6 in the lower layer, and a bottommost fruit and vegetable compartment 7. Here, the ice making compartment 4, the upper freezing compartment 5, and the lower freezing compartment 6 are small freezing compartments in which one freezing compartment is formed separately, and these may be collectively referred to as a freezing compartment.

An opening is provided in front of the heat insulating box 2, and the opening of the heat insulating box 2 is provided with various tops 8 to 12 which can be freely opened and closed. Specifically, the opening portion of the refrigerating chamber 3 is closed by the heat insulation 8; the ice making chamber 4 is closed by the heat insulation 9; the upper freezing chamber 5 is closed by the heat insulation 10; the lower freezing chamber 6 is closed by the heat insulation 11; the fruit and vegetable room 7 is passed Top 12 is off. Here, the upper right side and the lower right side of the hot spot 8 are placed on the heat insulating box 2, and are freely rotatable. Further, the top 9 to the door 12 are placed on the heat insulating box 2, and can be freely pulled out from the front of the refrigerator 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, as the main body of the refrigerator 1, the heat insulating box 2 includes an outer box 2a made of a steel plate and having an opening at the front, and an inner box 2b made of a synthetic resin with an opening at the front and being disposed outside. The inside of the box 2a is left with a gap. Further, a gap between the outer case 2a and the inner case 2b is filled with a heat insulating material 2c made of urethane foam. In addition, the above-mentioned heat insulation 8 to door 12 also has the same heat insulating structure as the heat insulating box 2.

The refrigerating compartment 3 is separated from the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 located in the lower layer by a heat insulating partition wall 36.

Further, the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 are separated by a partition wall not shown in the drawing. Further, the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 communicate with the lower freezing compartment 6 provided in the lower layer, and the cold air can pass freely. Then, the lower freezing compartment 6 and the vegetable compartment 7 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 37.

Further, a supply duct 15 is provided on the rear surface and the top surface of the refrigerating compartment 3 inside the inner box 2b for allowing the cooled air to flow to the refrigerating compartment 3. Similarly, the depth side of the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 is provided with a supply duct 14 which is partitioned by a partition member 38 made of synthetic resin.

A damper 41 as a duct switching unit is provided in the passage of the supply duct 14. The damper 41 is in an open state during normal cooling operation and is placed in a closed state during rapid cooling operation. When the damper 41 is in the open state, the cold air blown by the blower 32 is supplied to both sides of the lower freezing compartment 5 and the lower freezing compartment 6. On the other hand, when the damper 41 is in the closed state, the cold air blown by the blower 32 is concentratedly supplied only to the upper freezing compartment 5 to promote rapid freezing in the upper freezing compartment 5.

Here, a fan damper may be provided to block the fan 23 from the front instead of the damper 41. In this case, the fan damper does not turn off the fan 32 during normal cooling operation, and the cold air blown by the fan 32 is supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5 and the lower freezing compartment 6 on both sides. On the other hand, during the rapid cooling operation, the fan damper turns off the fan 32, and the cold air blown by the fan 32 is concentrated only to the upper freezing compartment 5.

The upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 5 is partitioned by a partition member 20 made of synthetic resin, and communicates with the second supply duct 25 of the supply duct 14 so as to be independent of the first supply duct 24 to be described later. Further, a fan 23 is provided behind the second supply duct 25 for blowing cold air to the upper freezing compartment 5 via the second supply duct 25. The fan 23 is a quick-cooling fan used in the rapid cooling operation, and related matters will be described later with reference to FIG. 3 and the like.

The cooling duct 13 is provided at a deeper portion of the supply duct 14 inside the inner box 2b, and is partitioned by a partition member 39. The partition member 39 at the upper portion of the cooling chamber 13 is provided with a blowing port 13a for connecting the cooling chamber 13 and the supply duct 14, and the blowing port 13a is provided with a blower 32 for circulating air. An opening 13b is provided below the cooling chamber 13 for drawing the recirculated cold air from the storage chamber into the interior of the cooling chamber 13.

Then, the inside of the cooling chamber 13 is provided with a cooler 16 as an evaporator for cooling the circulating air. The cooler 16 is connected to the compressor 42 through a refrigerant pipe, a heat sink not shown in the drawings, and a capillary not shown in the drawing to constitute a vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

Further, the refrigerator 1 has a control unit not shown in the drawings, and the indoor temperature in each storage chamber is measured by a thermometer not shown in the drawing, and an electric signal indicating the indoor temperature is input to the control unit. Further, the control unit controls the compressor 42, the blower 32, the blower 23, the damper 41, the defrosting heater not shown in the drawing, and the like in accordance with an electric signal input from the thermometer or the like.

Next, the basic cooling operation of the refrigerator 1 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the air in the cooling chamber 13 is cooled by the cooler 16 in the vapor compression refrigeration cycle described above in accordance with an instruction from the control unit. Then, the control unit rotates the blower 32 to blow the cooled air that has passed through the cooler 16 to the supply duct 14 from the blowing port 13a of the cooling chamber 13.

The cooling air sprayed to the supply duct 14 is partially adjusted to an appropriate flow rate by the damper 18 controlled by the control unit, and flows to the supply duct 15 to be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3. In this way, it is possible to ensure that the food or the like accommodated inside the refrigerator compartment 3 is stored and stored at a suitable temperature.

The cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerating compartment 3 is supplied to the fruit and vegetable compartment 7 through a connecting duct not shown in the drawing. Then, the cold air circulating in the fruit and vegetable compartment 7 is returned to the inside of the cooling chamber 13 through the return air passage 17 and the opening 13b of the cooling chamber 13. There, it is cooled again by the cooler 16.

Further, a part of the cooling air blown to the supply duct 14 is supplied to the ice making compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 6, and a part thereof is supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5. Then, the air inside the ice making compartment 4 and the upper freezing compartment 5 flows toward the lower freezing compartment 6 which is in communication therewith, The air inside the layer freezer compartment 6 flows again below the lower layer freezer compartment 6, and flows into the interior of the cooling compartment 13 through the opening 13b of the cooling chamber 13. At this time, the control unit places the damper 41 in an open state, and the cold air is supplied to the lower freezing compartment 6 via the damper 41.

As described above, the cooled air obtained by the cooler 16 is circulated in the storage chamber, and the food and the like are frozen and cooled and stored.

Next, a structure for quickly freezing the frozen object 19 accommodated in the upper freezing compartment 5 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 8 .

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 1 and showing a structure around the upper freezing compartment 5. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the partition member 20 and the like, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the partition member 20, and FIGS. 6 to 8 show other embodiments of the second supply duct 25.

Referring to Fig. 3, the upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 5 is provided with a second supply duct 25 which is spaced apart from the upper freezing compartment 5 by a partition member 20 made of synthetic resin. That is, the second supply duct 25 is a space formed between the partition member 20 and the heat insulating partition wall 36, and is a passage passage of cold air during the rapid cooling operation.

The front end portion of the second supply duct 25 extends above the shelf 22 on which the frozen object 19 is placed, and an opening, that is, an air outlet 28 is provided downward. Further, the rear end portion of the second supply duct 25 extends to the rear end of the upper freezing compartment 5, and the fan 23 is provided at the boundary between the rear end of the second supply duct 25 and the supply duct 14.

The function of the blower 23 is to rotate the blown cold air during the rapid cooling operation, preferably at a position further rearward than the rear end portion of the upper freezer compartment 5, that is, on the side of the cooling chamber 13. Since the fan 23 is installed at such a position, the space of the upper freezing compartment 5 is not occupied, so that the upper freezing compartment 5 can be ensured to have a large volume.

The upper freezing compartment 5 is provided with a storage container 29 for accommodating the frozen object 19 such as food. The storage container 29 is made of synthetic resin and is an approximately box-shaped container having an opening above. The storage container 29 is mounted on a frame not shown in the drawing, the latter being fixed to the hot spot 10 and being free to be pulled forward together with the heat insulation 10.

A shelf 22 is provided at the bottom of the storage container 29 for placing the frozen object 19. The shelf 22 is a metal plate made of aluminum or the like and has a rectangular shape as viewed from above. Such a shelf 22 is placed on the bottom surface of the storage container 29, and the frozen object 19 is placed on the shelf 22, and the heat of the frozen object 19 can be sucked by the shelf 22, so that the frozen object 19 can be quickly frozen. Further, the bottom surface of the storage container 29 may be marked with a position at which the frozen object 19 can be placed.

Referring to the oblique view of Fig. 4, the structure of the partition member 20 for partitioning the air passage will be described in the upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 5. The partition member 20 has a bottom surface portion 26 which is approximately rectangular when viewed from above, a side surface portion 27a extending upward from the left side edge of the bottom surface portion 26, and a side surface portion 27b extending upward from the right side edge of the bottom surface portion 26; the side surface portion 27c, The front side portion of the bottom surface portion 26 extends upward; the side surface portion 27d extends upward from the rear side edge of the bottom surface portion 26.

The rear side surface portion 27d is opened to form

openings

30 and 35. The opening portion 30 is provided with a fan 23 which is constituted by a fan 23a and a casing 23b for supporting. Further, the opening portion 35 communicates with the supply duct 14 described above.

The rear portion of the bottom surface portion 26 is an inclined surface that is inclined rearward and downward, and functions to introduce cold air into the air passage. Further, the front portion of the bottom surface portion 26 is provided with an elongated air outlet opening 21 that opens in the left-right direction, and during normal cooling operation, cold air is blown to the upper freezing compartment 5 via the air outlet 21 .

In the present embodiment, the internal space of the partition member 20 is partitioned by the partition wall 31 to form the first supply duct 24 and the second supply duct 25.

The partition wall 31 is a wall-like member which is arranged in such a manner that the right rear portion of the inner space of the partition member 20 is partitioned into a rectangular shape, the rear end portion thereof is connected to the side surface portion 27d, and the front end portion thereof is connected to the side surface portion 27b. Further, a region surrounded by the partition wall 31 in the bottom surface portion 26 is opened to form an air outlet 28.

The first supply duct 24 is an air passage formed on the left side of the partition wall 31, and in the internal space of the partition member 20, refers to the duct from the opening portion 35 to the air outlet 21. On the other hand, the second supply duct 25 is an air passage formed on the right side of the partition wall 31, and in the internal space of the partition member 20, refers to the duct from the opening portion 30 to the air outlet 28. The left and right widths of the second supply duct 25 are narrower than the first supply duct 24, so that the cold air passing through the second supply duct 25 can be accelerated and the frozen object 19 can be quickly frozen. The operation of blowing cold air through the first supply duct 24 and the second supply duct 25 will be described later.

Referring to FIG. 5, the partition member 20 having the above structure includes an opening portion 35 that connects the first supply duct 24, as seen from the rear. It is located on the left side of the partition member 20; an opening portion 30 that connects the second supply duct 25, which is located on the right side of the partition member 20. In the use state, cold air is supplied to the first supply duct 24 and the second supply duct 25 via the supply duct 14, but at a position close to the first supply duct 24 and the second supply duct 25, the air duct 14 is supplied. It extends toward the side of the first supply duct 24 . Here, the supply duct 14 extends to the upper left.

In this way, during the normal cooling operation, it is possible to prevent the quenching angle of the installation shelf 22 shown in Fig. 3 from being too cold. Specifically, in the normal cooling operation, the fan 23 disposed on the second supply duct 25 side is in a stopped state, and the cold air blown by the fan 32 shown in FIG. 3 is supplied to the first supply duct 24 via the supply duct 14 . Further, it is supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5 through the tuyere 21 shown in FIG. In Fig. 5, the cold air passages supplied to the first supply duct 24 are indicated by solid arrows. In the present embodiment, the supply duct 14 extends toward the first supply duct 24 side, so the cold air blown through the supply duct 14 is mostly supplied to the first supply duct 24, and the cold air supplied to the second supply duct 25 is supplied. The amount is reduced accordingly. Therefore, referring to Fig. 3, in the normal cooling operation, a large amount of cold air is not blown from the air outlet 28 of the second supply duct 25 to the inside of the upper freezing compartment 5, so that the vicinity of the shelf 22 can be prevented from being excessively cooled.

On the other hand, in the rapid cooling operation, the control unit rotates the fan 23 on the second supply duct 25 side, so that most of the cold air supplied via the supply duct 14 is blown toward the second supply duct 25 side. In the figure, the cold air current blown to the second supply duct 25 is indicated by a broken line arrow.

Next, the operation of the upper freezing compartment 5 during the normal freezing operation and the operation during the rapid freezing operation will be described with reference to the above respective drawings.

Referring to Fig. 3, during normal cooling operation, the control unit operates the blower 32 to cause a portion of the cold air blown from the cooling chamber 13 to the supply duct 14 to flow into the first supply duct 24 through the opening portion 35 shown in Fig. 4 . Further, as described above, in the normal cooling operation, a part of the cold air supplied to the air duct 14 is supplied to the ice making chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 6 shown in Fig. 2, and a part thereof is supplied to the refrigerating chamber through the supply duct 15. 3.

The cold air flowing into the first supply duct 24 from the supply duct 14 flows into the upper freezing compartment 5 through the air outlet 21 located on the partition member 20. Further, a part of the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14 is supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5 via the opening 30, the second supply duct 25, and the air outlet 28.

The cold air supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5 flows outward beyond the peripheral wall of the storage container 29. Then, the cold air passes between the peripheral wall and the inner wall of the upper freezing compartment 5, and flows into the lower lower freezing compartment 6 below. At this time, the damper 41 shown in FIG. 1 is in an open state, so cold air is also supplied to the lower freezing compartment 6 via the supply duct 14.

Next, the flow of cold air during rapid cooling operation will be described.

Referring to Figure 4, the control unit operates the fan 23 during a fast cooling operation. As a result, most of the cold air in the supply duct 14 is sucked by the blower 23 and flows to the second supply duct 25. As a result, the cold air flowing from the supply duct 14 to the first supply duct 24 is greatly reduced.

At this time, the control unit puts the damper 41 shown in FIG. 1 in the closed state, so that cold air is not supplied to the lower freezing compartment 6, and is concentrated only to the upper freezing compartment 5. Further, at this time, in order to concentrate the cold air more on the upper freezing compartment 5, the control unit may also place the damper 18 connected to the refrigerating compartment 3 in a closed state.

Then, the cold air in the second supply duct 25 is sent to the inside of the upper freezing compartment 5 by the blower 23. Here, since the cold air in the second supply duct 25 is forcibly ejected by the blower 23, almost all of the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14 is concentrated to the air outlet 28. Referring to Fig. 3, cold air blown from the air outlet 28 is blown toward the object 19 to be frozen placed on the shelf 22. Therefore, the sensible heat and the latent heat of solidification which the frozen material 19 has can be sucked away by the blown cold air, so that the time of the temperature range by the maximum icing formation is shortened, for example, about 25 minutes. Further, for example, the frozen product 19 such as a food can be frozen while being frozen.

As described above, by operating the fan 23, the control unit can supply more cold air to the upper freezing compartment 5, thereby enhancing the freezing capacity in the upper freezing compartment 5. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the cold air is supplied through the second supply air duct 25 for rapid freezing, the air-conditioning speed of the cold air supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5 by the air outlet 28 can be further increased, and the refrigeration capacity can be further enhanced.

Further, referring to Fig. 4, in the present embodiment, in addition to the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14, the cold air in the upper freezing compartment 5 is circulated. In the figure, the passage of the cold air circulation is indicated by a chain line arrow. That is, when the control unit rotates the fan 23, The cold air in the upper freezing compartment 5 is returned to the first supply duct 24 via the air outlet 21. Thereafter, the cool air that has flowed back into the first supply duct 24 is blown from the air outlet 28 to the upper freezing compartment 5 via the opening 35, the supply duct 14, the opening 30, and the second supply duct 25. In this way, a larger amount of cold air can be supplied to the upper freezing compartment 5, and the cooling capacity can be further improved.

Next, the control operation at the time of the quick freezing operation will be described. In this embodiment, the quick freeze operation is initiated according to the user's instruction. The user's instruction is issued by an input unit such as an operation button not shown in the drawing.

After the quick freezing operation is started, as described above, the control unit operates the fan 23. At this time, the control unit causes the fan 32 and the compressor 42 to operate as in the normal cooling operation. Here, it is also possible to adopt a control capable of enhancing the freezing ability of the cooler 16 during the rapid cooling operation. Specifically, the control unit may take measures such as increasing the operating frequency of the compressor 42, increasing the rotational speed of the radiator fan, and opening the expansion valve. In this way, the freezing capacity during rapid freezing operation can be further enhanced.

Then, after a certain period of time has elapsed after the quick freezing operation is started, the control unit stops the second fan 23, ends the rapid freezing operation, and returns to the normal cooling operation. Here, the certain time means the time required to freeze the frozen object 19, which is preset. Further, the control unit may determine whether or not to stop the quick freezing operation based on the internal temperature of the upper freezing compartment 5 or the temperature of the frozen object 19 detected by the temperature detecting unit not shown in the drawing.

Referring to Fig. 6, a description will be given of a refrigerator 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6(A) is a side sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the upper freezing compartment 5 of the refrigerator 1 according to another embodiment, and Fig. 6(B) is a perspective view of the partitioning member 20. The configuration and operation of the refrigerator 1 shown in the figure are substantially the same as those described above, except that the fan 43 which is an indoor fan for rapid freezing is provided above the upper freezing compartment 5.

Referring to Fig. 6(A), here, the fan 43 is disposed at an upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 5. If, for example, referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that in the above embodiments, the fan 23 is disposed behind the second supply duct 25, and here, the fan 43 is disposed in the passage of the second supply duct 25. In this way, by providing the fan 43 at the upper portion of the upper freezing compartment 5, the distance between the frozen object 19 and the blower 43 can be shortened, so that the wind speed of the cold air blown toward the frozen object 19 can be increased. Here, the blower 43 is, for example, a blower mounted on the partition member 20, and a thin blower is used as the blower 43, and the upper freezer compartment 5 can be ensured to have a large layer height.

Here, the second supply duct 25 for the cold airflow at the time of the rapid cooling operation is a space surrounded by the partition member 20. The rear top surface of the second supply duct 25 is provided with an opening portion 44 for sucking cold air, and the front bottom surface of the second supply duct 25 is provided with an air outlet port 28 for blowing cold air.

The operation at the time of the quick freezing operation will be described with reference to Figs. 6(A) and 6(B). After the quick freezing operation is started, the control unit not shown in the drawing rotates the fan 43, and the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14 is blown to the second supply duct 25 through the opening 35 and the opening 44 shown in FIG. 6(A). Thereafter, the cold air blown to the front second supply duct 25 is blown from the air outlet 28 to the object 19 to be frozen stored in the upper freezer compartment 5. On the other hand, during the normal cooling operation, the fan 43 does not operate, and the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14 is supplied from the air outlet 21 to the upper freezing chamber 5 via the first supply duct 24.

Still another embodiment of the refrigerator 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 7(A) is a side sectional view showing the refrigerator 1 according to another embodiment, Fig. 7(B) is a perspective view of the partition member 20, and Fig. 7(C) is a rear view of the partition member 20. The basic structure and operation of the refrigerator 1 shown here are the same as those described above, except that the damper 34 is provided.

Referring to Fig. 7 (A) and Fig. 7 (B), the quick freezing fan 23 shown in Fig. 4 is not provided here, and the damper 34 is provided in the opening portion 35 on the first supply duct 24 side. That is, the damper 34 is disposed at the boundary between the supply duct 14 and the first supply duct 24, and is disposed at a position closer to the rear end portion of the upper freezing compartment 5 in order to secure a larger volume of the upper freezing compartment 5. . On the other hand, the opening portion 30 on the side of the second supply duct 25 is not provided with a damper.

The operation when the damper 34 is provided is as follows. First, in the normal cooling operation, the control unit places the damper 34 in an open state, and the cold air supplied from the supply duct 14 is blown to the upper freezing compartment 5 via the damper 34, the second supply duct 25, and the air outlet 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 7(C), the supply duct 14 faces the opening portion 35 side, that is, the damper 34 side, and if the damper 34 is in the open state, the cold air supplied along the supply duct 14 is supplied. Most of it will be supplied to the first supply duct 24 via the damper 34. In the figure, the cold air that travels in the direction of the damper 34 is indicated by solid arrows.

On the other hand, during the rapid cooling operation, the control unit places the damper 34 in the closed state. Therefore, referring to Figure 7 (C), supply The cold air supplied from the air duct 14 is not supplied to the first supply duct 24, but travels toward the opening portion 30 as indicated by a broken line arrow. Thereafter, referring to FIG. 7(B), the cold air is blown to the frozen object 19 stored in the upper freezing compartment 5 via the second supply duct 25 and the air outlet 28.

In the case of the above-described refrigerator 1, it is possible to concentrate the cold air on the second supply duct 25 without using the fan for rapid freezing, so that the refrigerating capacity can be improved with a compact structure.

Still another embodiment of the refrigerator 1 will be described with reference to a side sectional view of Fig. 8 . The structure and operation of the refrigerator 1 shown in the figure are the same as described above, except that a variable greenhouse 5A is provided instead of the upper freezing compartment 5. That is, the partition member 20 shown in FIG. 4 and the like is located above the variable greenhouse 5A. Here, the variable greenhouse 5A is a storage compartment that can change the indoor temperature from the refrigerating temperature region to the freezing temperature region depending on the intended use.

When the greenhouse 5A is provided, a heat insulating partition wall 40 is provided between the variable greenhouse 5A and the lower freezing compartment 6. In addition, the heat insulating partition wall is not provided between the ice making chamber 4 and the variable greenhouse 5A shown in FIG.

A partition member 20 is provided above the variable greenhouse 5A, and a first supply duct 24 and a second supply duct 25 as shown in FIG. 4 are formed between the partition member 20 and the heat insulating partition wall 36. In the rapid cooling operation, a fan 23 is provided between the second supply duct 25 for the cold airflow and the supply duct 14. Further, a damper 45 is provided in the passage of the supply duct 14 connected to the blower 23, and as an air duct adjusting unit, the indoor temperature of the variable greenhouse 5A is adjusted. Here, a roller blind or the like may be used instead of the damper 45. During rapid cooling operation, the damper 45 is placed in an open state.

When the variable greenhouse 5A is used as a freezer compartment, cold air is supplied to the frozen object 19 via the second supply duct 25, so that the frozen object 19 can be quickly frozen, and the frozen object 19 can be frozen while being locked. .

On the other hand, when the variable greenhouse 5A is used as the refrigerating chamber, the cold air blown by the blower 23 is supplied to the inside of the changing greenhouse 5A via the second supply duct 25, and the inside of the changing chamber 5A is quickly cooled.

In the above, the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, comprising:

a storage compartment for accommodating the frozen object;

a cooler for cooling air supplied to the storage compartment;

a cooling chamber for accommodating the cooler;

Supplying a duct for flowing air cooled by the cooler from the cooling chamber to the storage compartment;

a first supply duct disposed near a top surface of the storage compartment, through which the cold air supplied from the supply duct to the storage compartment passes during a normal cooling operation;

a second supply duct disposed near the top surface of the storage compartment, separately provided separately from the first supply duct, and supplied from the supply duct and blown to the object to be frozen during a rapid cooling operation The cold air passes through the second supply air duct.
A refrigerator according to claim 1, comprising a fan for rapid freezing for blowing cold air to said second supply duct during said rapid cooling operation.
The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the quick freezing fan is disposed at a rear end portion of the second supply duct.
The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the rapid freezing fan blows air coming out of the cooling chamber to the second supply duct and causes the storage chamber to exist Air is circulated through the first supply duct.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first supply duct and the second supply duct are located at an upper portion of the storage compartment, separated by a partition wall extending in an up and down direction open.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an interior of the storage compartment is provided with an indoor fan for blowing cold air to the object to be frozen via the second supply duct.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a damper is disposed between the first supply air passage and the supply air passage, and the damper is placed in a closed state during the rapid cooling operation, so that The air supplied from the supply duct is supplied to the second supply duct.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the supply duct is toward the first supply duct near the first supply duct and the second supply duct Side extension.