WO2024067235A1

WO2024067235A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2024067235A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/119616
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王春利; 陈建全; 吕福顺; 李康; 崔展鹏; 程学丽
Original assignee: 青岛海尔特种制冷电器有限公司; 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司; 海尔智家股份有限公司
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2023-09-19
Publication date: 2024-04-04
Also published as: CN117847906A

Abstract

A refrigerator, which comprises: a box body, which is provided with an inner container located at a lower portion thereof; a cover plate, which is arranged in the inner container and divides inner space of the inner container into a storage compartment located at the top and a cooling compartment located at the bottom; and an evaporator, which is arranged in the cooling compartment and is configured to provide cooling energy to the storage compartment. The cover plate comprises a transverse section extending from back to front and a vertical section obliquely extending forwards from top to bottom from the front end of the transverse section to a bottom wall of the inner container, and the cooling compartment is located on a rear side of the vertical section; and the vertical section is provided with a rear air return opening used for allowing a return air flow from the storage compartment to return to the cooling compartment. As a consequence, the rear air return opening is not prone to ice or frost buildup, and the problem of frost blockage at the rear air return opening is prevented.

Description

refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to refrigeration and freezing technology, in particular to a refrigerator.

Background technique

In daily life, people mainly use refrigerators to refrigerate and store food. The evaporators of most refrigerators are located at the back, and the air duct outlet and return air directions are messy, which is not conducive to cooling and preservation. In recent years, bottom-mounted refrigerators with evaporators located at the bottom of the inner tank have been developed and promoted. This evaporator layout can achieve parallel air duct outlet and return air, that is, parallel flow refrigeration.

The existing bottom-mounted evaporator solution is mainly used for French refrigerators, which have only one bottom-mounted cooling chamber. Since the horizontal space of the cooling chamber is large, the frost holding space under the evaporator is large, and the problem of frost blockage at the return air outlet is less likely. However, for T-type and double-door refrigerators that need to be equipped with double bottom-mounted evaporators and double bottom-mounted cooling chambers, the horizontal space of the cooling chamber is small, and the problem of ice and frost at the return air outlet is very prominent.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with a bottom-mounted evaporator and a return air outlet where frost blockage is not likely to occur.

A further object of the present invention is to increase the speed at which condensed water flows down at the return air outlet.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising:

A box body having an inner tank located at a lower portion thereof;

A cover plate is disposed in the inner container and divides the inner space of the inner container into a storage compartment at the top and a cooling compartment at the bottom;

An evaporator is disposed in the cooling chamber and is configured to provide cooling for the storage compartment;

The cover plate includes a transverse section extending from the back to the front and a vertical section extending from the front end of the transverse section from the top to the bottom of the inner tank, and the cooling chamber is located at the rear side of the vertical section; the vertical section is provided with a rear return air outlet for returning the return air flow from the storage compartment to the cooling chamber.

Furthermore, there are multiple rear return air outlets, which are arranged at intervals in the transverse direction, and each of the rear return air outlets is a strip-shaped outlet extending in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, the front side of the vertical section is also provided with a guide rib protruding forward; and the guide rib extends obliquely or curvedly downward from the lateral middle of the vertical section to the lateral sides of the vertical section.

Furthermore, the guide rib extends obliquely upward from the back to the front.

Furthermore, the cover plate also includes a flange located at its edge for cooperating with the inner container; and gaps are formed between the two lateral ends of the guide rib and the two side flanges located on the lateral sides of the vertical section.

Furthermore, the cover plate also includes a flange located at its edge for cooperating with the inner container; and a bottom flange located below the vertical section extends forward and upward from the lower end of the vertical section.

Furthermore, the bottom wall of the inner container has a ridge portion extending in the transverse direction and protruding upward, and the bottom flange of the cover plate overlaps the top of the ridge portion.

Furthermore, the bottom wall of the inner tank located below the evaporator and adjacent to the vertical section extends downwardly and obliquely from front to back, and the vertical section is inclined forwardly and downwardly from top to bottom at an angle such that the vertical section is perpendicular to the bottom wall.

Furthermore, the refrigerator further comprises:

A return air cover is arranged at the front side of the cover plate and has a transverse cover plate extending from the rear to the front and a vertical cover plate extending downward from the front end of the transverse cover plate; and

A front return air port is provided on the vertical cover plate, and the vertical cover plate is spaced apart from the vertical section of the cover plate to define a return air space between the return air cover, the vertical section of the cover plate, and the bottom wall and two lateral side walls of the inner tank.

Furthermore, a downwardly recessed water collecting groove is formed on the bottom wall of the return air space so as to collect condensed water flowing from the return air cover and/or the cover plate into the return air space through the water collecting groove.

The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

The refrigerator of the present invention has a bottom-mounted evaporator and a bottom-mounted cooling chamber. The cover plate for separating the bottom-mounted cooling chamber from the storage compartment not only has a horizontal section extending from the back to the front, but also has a vertical section extending from the front end of the horizontal section from the top to the bottom of the inner tank. A rear return air outlet is provided on the vertical section. Therefore, condensed water at the rear return air outlet flows toward the bottom wall of the inner tank in a timely manner along the vertical section under the action of its own gravity, and finally flows to the water receiving tray or other water collecting structure on the bottom wall of the inner tank. Therefore, ice or frost is not easy to form at the rear return air outlet, thereby avoiding the problem of frost blockage at the rear return air outlet.

Furthermore, since the cover plate has both a transverse section and a vertical section, the transverse section and the vertical section are equivalent to being an integrated part that is smoothly connected. This facilitates the condensed water dripping from the storage room above the transverse section to flow directly to the bottom wall of the inner tank along the inclined vertical section, without flowing out of the box to affect the user experience or dripping onto the evaporator to cause serious frosting of the evaporator.

Furthermore, the present invention configures the shape of the rear return air outlet opened on the vertical section of the cover plate to be a strip air outlet extending vertically, which is conducive to the condensed water flowing downward along the edge of the strip air outlet and increases the speed at which the condensed water flows downward.

Furthermore, the present invention sets forward-protruding guide ribs on the front side of the vertical section, and the guide ribs extend downward from the middle to both sides in an inclined manner or curved manner. When the condensed water encounters the guide ribs, it can flow along the guide ribs to the lateral sides of the vertical section, and then flow to the bottom wall of the inner tank, which timely avoids the condensed water flowing down from the top of the cover plate and adhering to the rear return air outlet to cause ice or frost. In addition, the upper and lower parts of the guide ribs have return air flow passing through them, which can prevent the occurrence of local large-area frost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the section line AA in FIG1 ;

FIG3 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inner container, a cover plate and a return air cover after being assembled according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG6 is a schematic enlarged view of portion B in FIG5 ;

FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of an inner container according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an assembled inner container, a cover plate and an air return cover according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

The present invention provides a refrigerator, FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the section line A-A in FIG1, and FIG3 is a schematic exploded view of a partial structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG1 to FIG3, the refrigerator 1 of the present invention includes a box body 10, a cover plate 30 and an evaporator 20.

The box body 10 has an inner tank 11 at the lower part thereof. The cover plate 30 is disposed in the inner tank 11 and divides the inner space of the inner tank 11 into a storage compartment 111 at the upper part and a cooling compartment 112 at the lower part. The evaporator 20 is disposed in the cooling compartment 112 and is configured to provide cooling for the storage compartment 111. That is, the evaporator 20 is a bottom-mounted evaporator disposed at the bottom of the box body 10, and the cooling compartment 112 is a bottom-mounted cooling compartment disposed at the bottom of the box body 10.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cover plate 30 includes a transverse section 31 extending from the back to the front and a vertical section 32 extending obliquely from the front end of the transverse section 31 to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 from the top to the bottom, and the cooling chamber 112 is located at the rear side of the vertical section 32. The vertical section 32 is provided with a rear return air port 321 for returning the return air flow from the storage compartment 111 to the cooling chamber 112.

The refrigerator 1 of the present invention has a bottom-mounted evaporator 20 and a bottom-mounted cooling chamber 112. The cover plate 30 for separating the bottom-mounted cooling chamber 112 from the storage compartment 111 not only has a transverse section 31 extending from the back to the front, but also has a vertical section 32 extending from the front end of the transverse section 31 from the top to the bottom and extending forward to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11. A rear return air port 321 is provided on the vertical section 32. Therefore, condensed water at the rear return air port 321 flows toward the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 in a timely manner along the vertical section 32 under the action of its own gravity, and finally flows to the water receiving tray or other water collecting structure on the bottom wall of the inner tank 11. Therefore, ice or frost is not easy to form at the rear return air port 321, thereby avoiding the problem of frost blockage at the rear return air port 321.

Existing refrigerators with bottom-mounted evaporators and bottom-mounted cooling chambers also use a cover to separate the cooling chamber from the storage chamber. However, the cover in the prior art only has a horizontal section, but no vertical section. A return air hood must be set on the front side of the cover to isolate the cooling chamber from the user's sight. When condensed water is generated in the storage chamber, the condensed water drips onto the cover or the return air hood. The condensed water dripping onto the cover drips into the cooling chamber from the assembly gap between the cover and the return air hood, and it is easy to drip onto the evaporator, causing severe frost on the evaporator; the condensed water dripping onto the return air hood directly flows out of the box, affecting the user's experience.

The cover plate 30 of the present invention has both a transverse section 31 and a vertical section 32, which is equivalent to the transverse section 31 and the vertical section 32 being a smoothly connected integral piece, which is conducive to the condensed water dripping in the storage compartment 111 above the transverse section 31 to flow directly to the bottom wall of the inner tank along the inclined vertical section 32, without flowing out of the box body 10 to affect the user experience or dripping on the evaporation The evaporator 20 is seriously frosted.

In some embodiments, there are multiple rear return air vents 321, and the multiple rear return air vents 321 are arranged in a horizontal interval, and each rear return air vent 321 is a strip air vent extending vertically. In other words, the bars 322 used to separate two adjacent rear return air vents 321 extend vertically, which is consistent with the flow trend of condensed water on the vertical section 32. Therefore, condensed water will hardly stay on the bars 322, which is conducive to the condensed water flowing downward faster along the bars 322, increasing the speed of the condensed water flowing downward, and more effectively avoiding the problem of ice or frost at the rear return air vents 321.

Specifically, the width of the rear air return port 321 is preferably less than 5 mm to prevent child users from inserting their fingers into the rear air return port 321 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the inner tank, the cover plate and the return air cover after being combined according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic enlarged view of part B in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the front side of the vertical section 32 is further provided with a guide rib 323 protruding forward. The guide rib 323 extends downwardly or bends downwardly from the lateral middle of the vertical section 32 to the lateral sides of the vertical section 32. On the one hand, when the condensed water flowing from top to bottom on the vertical section 32 encounters the guide rib 323, it can flow along the guide rib 323 to the lateral sides of the vertical section 32, and then flow to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11. This part of the condensed water will not flow through the area below the guide rib 323 of the rear return air outlet 321, thereby reducing the amount of condensed water attached to the rear return air outlet 321, thereby reducing the amount of ice or frost generated at the rear return air outlet 321, and even avoiding the problem of ice or frost at the rear return air outlet 321. On the other hand, the guide ribs 323 extend downward from the middle to both sides, which is not only conducive to the rapid flow of condensed water, but also can ensure that the top and bottom of at least most sections of the guide ribs 323 are in the air flow path of the rear return air outlet 321, that is, it ensures that return air flows through the top and bottom of at least most sections of the guide ribs 323, thereby preventing large-scale local frost from forming at the guide ribs 323.

Furthermore, the middle of the guide rib 323 is adjacent to the top of the vertical section 32, and both ends of the guide rib 323 are adjacent to the middle of the vertical section 32 in the vertical direction, so that the guide rib 323 is located in the upper part of the vertical section 32. On the one hand, the flow path of the condensed water on the grid bar 322 is shortened as much as possible, thereby reducing the amount of condensed water attached to the rear return air outlet 321 as much as possible; on the other hand, the guide rib 323 is also made to have a sufficient inclination or curvature so that the condensed water flows down from the guide rib 323 as soon as possible, avoiding the problem of frost or ice on the guide rib 323.

FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of an inner tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG7 , it can be understood that a water receiving tray 113 is formed on the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 below the evaporator 20, and a drain port 114 is provided at the bottom of the water receiving tray 113. Therefore, condensed water flowing to the water receiving tray 113 can be discharged from the drain port 114 in a timely manner and will not be retained in the cooling chamber to form frost.

To this end, in some embodiments, the guide rib 323 extends upwardly and obliquely from the back to the front. As a result, the condensed water on the guide rib 323 has a tendency to flow to its lateral sides and backward. Even if the amount of condensed water on the guide rib 323 is large, the condensed water will not overflow the guide rib 323 forward, but will flow along the guide rib 323 or the grid bar 322 to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 located at the rear side of the vertical section 32, that is, to the water receiving tray 113, so that the condensed water can be discharged through the drain port 114 at the bottom of the water receiving tray 113.

Specifically, the angle between the guide rib 323 and the horizontal plane is preferably greater than 7°.

In some embodiments, the cover plate 30 further includes a flange 33 located at its edge for matching with the liner 11. Specifically, the flange 33 may include two side flanges 331 located at the two lateral edges of the cover plate 30 and a bottom flange 332 located at the bottom edge of the cover plate 30.

Furthermore, gaps are formed between the two lateral ends of the guide rib 323 and the two side flanges 331 located on the lateral sides of the vertical section 32, so that the condensed water flowing down from the guide rib 323 can flow downward to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 through the gap without forming condensed water accumulation.

Furthermore, the bottom flange 332 located below the vertical section 32 extends upward and tilted forward from the lower end of the vertical section 32. As a result, the condensed water flowing down from the vertical section 32 to the bottom flange 332 will flow backward along the bottom flange 332, rather than forward along the bottom flange 332, thereby preventing part of the condensed water from flowing out of the cabinet 10 from the front of the inner tank 11. The condensed water flowing backward along the bottom flange 332 flows to the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 located below the evaporator 20, that is, flows to the water receiving tray 113, so that the condensed water can be discharged in time through the drain port 114.

Specifically, the angle between the bottom flange 332 and the horizontal plane is preferably greater than 7°, which is more conducive to the backward flow of condensed water.

In some embodiments, the bottom wall of the inner pot 11 has a ridge 115 extending in the transverse direction and protruding upward, and the bottom flange 332 of the cover plate 30 overlaps the top of the ridge 115. The ridge 115 can block the forward and backward flow of condensed water, thereby preventing the condensed water on the bottom wall of the inner pot located at the rear side of the vertical section 32 from flowing to the bottom wall of the inner pot located at the front side of the vertical section 32.

In some embodiments, the bottom wall 116 of the inner tank 11 , which is located below the evaporator 20 and adjacent to the vertical section 32 , extends downwardly and obliquely from front to back, which helps the condensed water to flow to the drain port 114 faster.

Furthermore, the vertical section 32 is tilted forward from top to bottom at an angle such that the vertical section 32 is perpendicular to the bottom wall 116. In other words, the included angle between the vertical section 32 and the bottom wall 116 of the inner tank below the evaporator 20 is approximately 90°, so that the vertical section 32 can play a significant wind guiding role and can guide the return air flow to the evaporator 20 as much as possible, so that the evaporator 20 and the return air flow can exchange heat more fully.

Furthermore, the vertical section 32 extends forward in an inclined manner, and a frost containing space can be formed between the vertical section 32 and the evaporator 20, which is beneficial to the flow of the return air flow.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator 1 further includes a return air hood 40, which is disposed on the front side of the cover plate 30 and has a transverse cover plate 41 extending from the rear to the front and a vertical cover plate 42 extending downward from the front end of the transverse cover plate 41. A front return air port 421 is provided on the vertical cover plate 42, and the vertical cover plate 42 is spaced apart from the vertical section 32 of the cover plate 30 to define a return air space 50 between the return air hood 40, the vertical section 32 of the cover plate 30, and the bottom wall and two transverse side walls of the inner container 11.

That is to say, the return air flow in the storage compartment 111 flows into the cooling chamber 112 after passing through the front return air port 421 and the rear return air port 321 in sequence. Since the front return air port 421 is located at the bottom front side of the entire inner tank 11, the return air flow from the storage compartment 111 to the cooling chamber 112 must undergo a reversing process. The return air space 50 provides a buffer space for the reversing and steady flow of the return air flow, and the flow resistance is small. The return air flow flows through the return air space with small flow resistance before flowing to the cooling chamber 112, avoiding a large impact of the reversal on the flow rate of the return air flow. In addition, the moisture in the return air flow can also be condensed in advance at the front return air port 421, the return air space 50 and the rear return air port 321, reducing the moisture condensed on the evaporator 20, thereby alleviating the frosting of the evaporator 20.

It is understandable that for a refrigerator 1 with a smaller size in the depth direction, the cover plate 30 can be used directly to separate the storage compartment 111 and the cooling compartment 112 and connect the two through the return air port, without the need to provide the return air cover 40. For a refrigerator 1 with a larger size in the depth direction, it is also necessary to set a return air cover 40 on the front side of the cover plate 30, which can also meet the purpose of isolating the storage compartment 111 and the cooling chamber 112 and connecting the two through the return air port. It can be seen that the cover plate 30 of the present invention has strong versatility and is suitable for refrigerators of different sizes, saving mold costs.

In addition, setting an air return cover on the front side of the cover can also play a decorative role and unify the front appearance.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator 1 further includes a drain pipe 61 , which extends from the cooling chamber 112 to the evaporation dish of the refrigerator 1 , so as to discharge the condensed water in the cooling chamber 112 to the evaporation dish.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the inner liner, the cover plate and the return air cover after being combined according to another embodiment of the present invention. In other embodiments, the bottom wall of the return air space 50 is formed with a downwardly concave water collecting groove 51, so that the condensed water flowing into the return air space 50 from the return air cover 40 and/or the cover plate 30 is collected through the water collecting groove 51, so as to prevent the condensed water from flowing out from the front side of the inner liner 11 and affecting the user experience.

In some embodiments, the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 has a ridge portion 115 extending in the transverse direction and convex upward, the bottom wall of the return air space 50 is located in front of the ridge portion 115, and the bottom wall of the cooling chamber 112 is located in the rear of the ridge portion 115. In other words, the ridge portion 115 divides the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 into two parts, front and back. Since the ridge portion 115 convexes upward, it can prevent condensed water from flowing between the front and back parts, that is, it prevents condensed water from flowing between the return air space 50 and the cooling chamber 112.

Furthermore, the cover plate 30 also includes a bottom flange 332 located below the vertical section 32, the bottom flange 332 overlaps the top of the ridge 115, and the front section of the bottom flange 332 extends forward from the bottom of the vertical section 32, tilts upward, and then bends and extends downward, so as to make the condensed water flowing from the vertical section 32 to the bottom flange 332 flow backward along the bottom flange 332 as much as possible, and then flow to the water receiving tray 113 at the bottom of the cooling chamber 112, so that the condensed water is discharged in time through the drain port 114. When the amount of condensed water flowing from the vertical section 32 to the bottom flange 332 is too large, it is inevitable that some of the condensed water flows down to the front side of the bottom flange 332. At this time, the condensed water flowing down from the front side of the bottom flange 332 will also be collected in the water collecting groove 51, and will not flow out of the inner tank 11 forward.

Furthermore, the rear section of the bottom flange 332 extends downward and backward from the bottom of the vertical section 32 to guide the condensed water to flow backward more quickly.

In some embodiments, a flow gap is formed between at least a portion of the bottom of the vertical cover plate 42 and the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 to allow condensed water on the bottom wall of the inner tank 11 located on the front side of the vertical cover plate 42 to flow into the water collecting groove 51 through the flow gap. The formation of the flow gap provides a flow channel for the condensed water on the front side of the vertical cover plate 42 to flow backward, reduces the flow resistance of the condensed water, and facilitates the condensed water to flow backward quickly.

In some embodiments, the vertical cover plate 42 extends forward and tilted downward from top to bottom. Thus, the condensed water dripping on the return air cover 40 can flow downward along the vertical cover plate 42, and then flow backward into the water collecting groove 51 through the gap between the bottom of the vertical cover plate 42 and the bottom wall of the inner tank, thereby preventing the condensed water from flowing to the outside of the box body 10 as much as possible.

Furthermore, the bottom wall of the inner pot located on the front side and both lateral sides of the water collecting groove 51 extends downwardly and obliquely toward the water collecting groove 51, which is conducive to the condensed water dripping on the bottom wall of the inner pot around the water collecting groove 51 to be collected in the water collecting groove 51 more quickly, thereby improving the collection efficiency of the condensed water.

In some embodiments, the side walls of the water collecting groove 51 are inclined and extend downward from the top to the middle of the water collecting groove 51. The condensed water flowing into the water collecting groove 51 is further guided to be collected in the water collecting groove 51 .

In some embodiments, a duct assembly 70 is further provided on the rear side of the inner liner 11, and the interior of the duct assembly 70 defines an air supply duct connecting the storage compartment 111 of the inner liner 11 and its freezer compartment 112, and an air supply fan is provided in the air supply duct to promote the cooling airflow generated in the cooling compartment 112 to flow to the storage compartment 111 through the air supply fan.

In some embodiments, there are two inner tanks 11, and the two inner tanks 11 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. A cover plate 30 is arranged in each inner tank 11, and an evaporator 20 is arranged in a cooling chamber 112 formed at the lower part of each inner tank 11. In other words, the refrigerator 1 has two bottom-mounted cooling chambers 112 and two bottom-mounted evaporators. The two cooling chambers 112 are independent of each other and are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction.

Furthermore, at least two cover plates 30 have the same structure.

Furthermore, the two inner containers 11 may also have the same or similar structure.

Furthermore, when the refrigerator 1 further includes a return air cover 40, the number of the return air cover 40 is two, and the two return air covers 40 also have the same structure. When the refrigerator 1 further includes an air duct assembly 70, the structures of the two air duct assemblies 70 and the matching relationship between them and the inner container 11 are also basically the same, and will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the two inner tanks 11 may be a freezing tank and a variable temperature tank, respectively, and the two storage compartments defined in the two inner tanks 11 may be a freezing compartment and a variable temperature compartment, respectively. The temperature of the freezing compartment is usually between -24°C and -14°C, and the temperature of the variable temperature compartment can be adjusted to between -24°C and 8°C at will.

In some embodiments, the body 10 of the refrigerator 1 also includes another inner tank located above the two inner tanks 11, the other inner tank defines another storage compartment 121 and another cooling compartment 122 located at the rear side of the other storage compartment 121, and the other cooling compartment 122 is provided with another evaporator 21 to provide cooling to the other storage compartment 121 through the other evaporator 21.

Specifically, the other storage compartment 121 may be a refrigerated compartment, the temperature of which is usually 2°C to 10°C.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, characterized by comprising:

A box body having an inner tank located at a lower portion thereof;

A cover plate is disposed in the inner container and divides the inner space of the inner container into a storage compartment at the top and a cooling compartment at the bottom;

An evaporator is disposed in the cooling chamber and is configured to provide cooling for the storage compartment;

The cover plate includes a transverse section extending from the back to the front and a vertical section extending from the front end of the transverse section from the top to the bottom of the inner tank, and the cooling chamber is located at the rear side of the vertical section; the vertical section is provided with a rear return air outlet for returning the return air flow from the storage compartment to the cooling chamber.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 is characterized in that there are multiple rear return air outlets, the multiple rear return air outlets are arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction, and each of the rear return air outlets is a strip-shaped air outlet extending in the vertical direction.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 is characterized in that a guide rib protruding forward is also provided on the front side of the vertical section; and the guide rib extends obliquely or curvedly downward from the lateral middle of the vertical section to the lateral sides of the vertical section.
The refrigerator according to claim 3 is characterized in that the guide rib extends upwardly and obliquely from back to front.
The refrigerator according to claim 3 is characterized in that the cover plate also includes a flange located at its edge for cooperating with the inner container; and gaps are formed between the two lateral ends of the guide rib and the two side flanges located on the lateral sides of the vertical section.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 is characterized in that the cover plate also includes a flange located at its edge for cooperating with the inner container; and the bottom flange located below the vertical section extends forward and upward from the lower end of the vertical section.
The refrigerator according to claim 6 is characterized in that the bottom wall of the inner container has a ridge portion extending in the transverse direction and protruding upward, and the bottom flange of the cover plate overlaps above the ridge portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 is characterized in that the bottom wall of the inner tank located below the evaporator and adjacent to the vertical section extends downwardly from front to back, and the angle at which the vertical section is inclined forward from top to bottom is set so that the vertical section is perpendicular to the bottom wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising:

A return air cover is arranged at the front side of the cover plate and has a transverse cover plate extending from the rear to the front and a vertical cover plate extending downward from the front end of the transverse cover plate; and

A front return air port is provided on the vertical cover plate, and the vertical cover plate is spaced apart from the vertical section of the cover plate to define a return air space between the return air cover, the vertical section of the cover plate, and the bottom wall and two lateral side walls of the inner tank.
The refrigerator according to claim 9 is characterized in that the bottom wall of the return air space is formed with a downwardly concave A water collecting groove is used to collect condensed water flowing into the return air space from the return air cover and/or the cover plate.
The refrigerator according to claim 10 is characterized in that the bottom wall of the inner tank has a ridge portion extending laterally and protruding upward, the bottom wall of the return air space is located on the front side of the ridge portion, and the bottom wall of the cooling chamber is located on the rear side of the ridge portion; the cover plate also includes a bottom flange located below the vertical section, the bottom flange overlaps the top of the ridge portion, and the front section of the bottom flange extends forwardly and upwardly from the bottom of the vertical section and then bends and extends downward, and the rear section of the bottom flange extends backwardly and downwardly from the bottom of the vertical section.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 is characterized in that there are two inner tanks, which are arranged side by side in the transverse direction; each inner tank is provided with a cover plate, and each cooling chamber formed at the lower part of the inner tank is provided with an evaporator; and at least two cover plates have the same structure.