JP2013190149A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve common use of a component for preventing warm air from flowing into a storage chamber during defrosting, to facilitate air passage designing, to surely prevent defrosted warm air from leaking, and to improve cooling efficiency by reducing the pressure loss of the cooling air passage.SOLUTION: A movable air supply hood 29 is disposed at the outside of a delivery opening portion 13a of a cooling chamber 13, and the air supply hood (29) is used to block the delivery opening portion 13a during defrosting, so as to prevent hot air from flowing into a cooling air passage 14 during defrosting. Thus, a common air supply hood 29 can be employed also in refrigerators of other types, and designing of a cooling air passage is facilitated. Since a pressure loss in the opened state of the air supply hood 29 is small, cooling efficiency is improved.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that cools and stores food and the like in a storage chamber, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that can prevent warm air during a defrosting operation from flowing into the storage chamber.

  In this type of refrigerator, when defrosting the cooler, there is a problem that warm air around the cooler heated by the defrost heater flows into the storage chamber and the temperature in the storage chamber rises. Therefore, as a method for preventing warm air during the defrosting operation from entering the storage chamber, a method of providing a damper in the cooling air passage and closing the damper during the defrosting operation is known (for example, Patent Document 1). ).

  FIG. 7 is a front view showing the air path configuration of the refrigerator 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. The refrigerator 100 according to the related art includes inlet dampers 105, 106, 107, and 108, respectively, in the cold air supply air passages 101, 102, 103, and 104 that send the cold air cooled by the cooler to the storage chamber. Further, outlet dampers 113, 114, and 115 are provided in the cool air return air passages 109, 110, and 111 for returning the cool air from the storage chamber to the cooler unit, respectively. In addition, an outlet damper 116 is provided in the cool air return air passage (not shown in the drawing) from the freezer compartment 112. During the defrosting operation, all or part of the inlet dampers 105, 106, 107, 108 and the outlet dampers 113, 114, 115, 116 are closed.

  Further, as another example of the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, air volume control mechanisms 200 and 300 are provided in the fans 205 and 305 provided at the cold air outlet to the storage room. Is known (for example, Patent Document 2).

  A conventional air volume control mechanism 200 shown in FIG. 8 (A) has one side of a plurality of opening / closing plates 201 attached to the discharge side outer frame of an axial blower 205 and connected via a connecting plate 202 and a rotating plate 203. The opening / closing plate 201 is opened and closed by driving a small motor 204.

  In the air volume control mechanism 300 shown in FIG. 8B, an iris shutter 301 is provided on the suction side of the axial flow fan 305. The iris shutter 301 is opened and closed by a solenoid 304 connected through an operation plate 302 and a connecting shaft 303.

JP 2009-250476 A (page 4-5, FIG. 4) JP 2006-300197 A (Pages 7-8, FIGS. 3, 5)

  However, as shown in FIG. 7, in the refrigerator of the prior art in which a damper is provided in the cooling air passage, various types of refrigerators designed according to capacity and function are adapted to each air passage and the air passage for each model. It was necessary to design a damper. For this reason, designing dampers suitable for the air path of each model increases the number of dampers and produces a variety of products in small quantities, which increases the development costs and production costs of the dampers.

  On the other hand, if dampers are made common and the number of types is reduced, it is necessary to determine the shape of each air channel under the constraints of the damper shape and its mounting method, etc. Development takes a lot of time and the development cost increases.

  Further, the method of providing a damper in the cooling air passage has a problem that the air passage in the damper mounting portion becomes narrow and the flow resistance of the damper itself is large, and the pressure loss of the cooling air increases. In particular, when a design is made to reduce the number of dampers, it is necessary to consolidate the cooling air passages in the damper portion, so that the air passage loss in the damper portion becomes very large.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the configuration in which the air volume control mechanism 200 is attached to the blower 205 has a problem that the flow resistance of the air volume control mechanism 200 is large. That is, the air flow on the discharge side of the axial flow fan forms a swirling flow with the vicinity of the fan rotation axis as the central axis, and the air volume restriction mechanism 200 has a configuration in which a plurality of opening / closing plates 201 are arranged in parallel. Therefore, the swirl flow is hindered.

  Further, when the iris shutter 301 shown in FIG. 8B is used on the discharge side of the blower, there is a problem that the pressure loss of the blower discharge portion is large. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A for explaining the embodiment of the present invention, the air flow on the blower discharge side in the refrigerator is larger in the rotational radial flow velocity than in the fan rotational axial flow velocity. Where there is a characteristic, the iris shutter 301 blocks the flow in the rotational radial direction.

  Furthermore, in the method of stopping the warm air flow during defrosting by providing a damper in the cooling air passage as in the prior art shown in FIG. 7, the defrost warm air flows into the damper upstream side inside the cooling air passage. There is also a problem that the cooling air passage is heated by the defrost warm air. That is, in the refrigerator 100, defrost warm air flows into the upstream side of the inlet dampers 105, 106, 107, 108 of the cold air supply air passages 101, 102, 103, 104.

  Furthermore, as another problem, when a large number of dampers are employed as in the refrigerator 100 shown in FIG. 7, since the number of seal portions as the entire damper increases, the sealing performance is reduced, and the storage chamber is reduced. It is mentioned that the warm air leak increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to share parts for preventing warm air during defrosting from flowing into the storage room with other types of refrigerators. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which a cooling air passage can be easily designed.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can reliably prevent warm air during defrosting from flowing into the storage chamber, reduce pressure loss in the cooling air passage, and improve cooling efficiency. There is to do.

  The refrigerator of the present invention includes a storage chamber, a cooling chamber formed with a feed opening and a return opening respectively connected to the storage chamber, and air flowing into the cooling chamber disposed inside the cooling chamber. In a refrigerator including a cooler for cooling, a blower provided in the feed opening, and a defrosting unit for defrosting the cooling chamber, a movable blower cover is provided outside the cooling chamber of the feed opening. The feed opening is closed with the blower cover at least during defrosting by the defrosting means.

  According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the movable blower cover is provided outside the feed opening of the cooling chamber, and the feed opening is closed by the blower cover during the defrosting operation. Therefore, a damper is provided in the cooling air passage. Therefore, it is possible to prevent warm air during defrosting from flowing into the storage chamber. In addition, since the blower cover according to the present invention is attached to the outside of the feed opening of the cooling chamber, that is, the discharge side of the blower, it is commonly used for refrigerators of other models having different air passage shapes. Can do. In addition, it is possible to reliably stop the warm air leakage during the defrosting operation at the feed opening of the cooling chamber, that is, the outlet, without depending on the air path configuration or the presence or absence of the air path damper. The degree is increased, and the air passage design can be easily performed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the development cost and production cost of the cooling air passage and the damper.

  Further, since the blower cover according to the present invention is movable in a direction away from the cooling chamber, the flow loss of the cooling air is extremely low. That is, when using an axial blower in a closed system such as a refrigerator, the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side of the blower is larger than when using an open system, and the air flow on the blower discharge side Tends to increase the flow velocity in the direction of fan rotation radius (see FIG. 6A). The blower cover according to the present invention moves away from the cooling chamber, and an opening for allowing cool air to flow can be formed between the blower cover and the cooling chamber. Therefore, as described above, air on the blower discharge side having a high flow speed in the rotational radius direction can be flowed into the cooling air passage through the opening with a small flow resistance. As a result, the pressure loss of the cooling air circulating in the refrigerator can be reduced and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

  Moreover, according to the refrigerator which concerns on this invention, since the exit part of a cooling chamber is plugged with a fan cover during defrosting, it can prevent that the air warmed by the defrost flows into a cooling air path. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cooling air passage from being warmed by the defrost warm air.

  In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention stops the flow of defrosting warm air only at the outlet of the cooling chamber. Therefore, the refrigerator has fewer sealing portions and a reliable sealing with less leakage compared to the conventional method using a large number of dampers. Can be stopped.

It is a front external view of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view for demonstrating the cooling air path of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the structure of the cooling chamber part of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the air blower and air blower cover of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) shows a state where the blower cover is closed, and (B) shows a state where the blower cover is opened. It is explanatory drawing which shows the result of having analyzed the air flow around an axial-flow fan. (A) shows the analysis result under the condition that the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side is 12 Pa. (B) is an analysis condition in which the pressure difference is 4 Pa and (C) is 2 Pa. It is a front view which shows the example of the refrigerator of a prior art. It is (A) sectional drawing and (B) front view which show the air volume control mechanism of the refrigerator of another prior art.

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated in detail based on drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the cooling air path configuration of the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the cooling chamber 13 portion of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the blower 25 and the blower cover 29 of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 (A) shows a state in which the blower cover 29 is closed, and FIG. The cover 29 is shown open. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the result of analyzing the air flow around the axial blower 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a heat insulating box 2 as a main body, and forms a storage room for storing food and the like inside the heat insulating box 2. The interior of the storage room is divided into a plurality of storage rooms according to storage temperature and usage. As for the arrangement of each storage room, the uppermost stage is divided into the refrigerator compartment 3, the lower stage is divided into right and left, the ice making room 4 on the left side, the freezing room 5 on the right side, the freezing room 6 on the lower stage, and the vegetable room 7 on the lowermost stage. It has become.

  The front surface of the heat insulation box 2 is opened, and the heat insulation doors 8a, 8b, 9, 10, 11, 12 are opened and closed at the openings corresponding to the storage chambers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, respectively. It is provided freely. The refrigerator compartment doors 8a and 8b divide and block the front surface of the refrigerator compartment 3, and the left upper and lower parts of the refrigerator compartment door 8a and the upper right lower part of the refrigerator compartment door 8b are rotatably supported by the heat insulating box 2. Further, the ice making room door 9, the freezing room door 10, the freezing room door 11, and the vegetable room door 12 are integrally combined with a storage container, which will be described later, and are supported by the heat insulating box 2 so that they can be pulled out in front of the refrigerator 1. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heat insulation box 2 which is the main body of the refrigerator 1 is arranged with a steel plate outer box 2a having an opening on the front surface and a gap in the outer box 2a. It is composed of a synthetic resin inner box 2c having an opening, and a polyurethane foam heat insulating material 2b filled and foamed in a gap between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2c. In addition, the back wall portion of the heat insulating box 2 is provided with a vacuum heat insulating material 2d.

  As described above, the storage room is divided into a plurality of storage rooms, and the cold storage room 3 and the ice making room 4 and the freezing room 5 positioned below the storage room are partitioned by the heat insulating partition wall 34. In addition, the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5 are partitioned by a partition wall (not shown in the drawing) in which a vent hole through which cool air can flow is formed. Furthermore, the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5 are separated from the freezing chamber 6 provided in the lower stage by a partition wall 35 in which an opening through which cool air can flow is formed. The freezer compartment 6 and the vegetable compartment 7 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 36.

  Furthermore, a shelf 40 and a storage container 41 for storing food and the like are disposed inside the refrigerator compartment 3. In addition, storage pockets 42 and 43 for storing beverage containers and the like are provided inside the refrigerator compartment doors 8a and 8b. The other storage chambers 4, 5, 6, and 7 are provided with storage containers 44, 45a, 45b, and 46 that can be pulled out integrally with the heat insulating doors 9, 10, 11, and 12, respectively. . The storage container disposed in the ice making chamber 4 does not appear in the drawing. The storage chambers 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in the storage chamber also include other storage shelves and storage containers that do not appear in the drawings. For example, the refrigerator compartment 3 stores ice-making water. Containers and the like are also arranged.

  Further, a machine room 49 is provided on the lower back side of the refrigerator 1. Components such as a compressor 31 for compressing refrigerant, a radiator (not shown), and a heat radiating fan (not shown) are arranged in the machine chamber 49. The compressor 31, a radiator, a capillary tube (not shown) as decompression means, and a cooler 32 are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe to form a vapor compression refrigeration circuit. In the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, isobutane (R600a) is used as the refrigerant. Further, as the pressure reducing means, instead of the capillary tube, other types of pressure reducing means, for example, a temperature type expansion valve, an electronic type expansion valve, a constant pressure type expansion valve, or the like may be employed.

  A cooling air passage 14 a as a cold air supply air passage that guides the air cooled by the cooler 32 to the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 is formed on the back surface and the top surface of the refrigerator compartment 3. The cooling air passage 14 a is a space sandwiched between the air passage partition wall 38 made of synthetic resin and the inner box 2 c of the heat insulating box 2. Further, the air passage partition wall 38 is formed with an air outlet 17 for supplying the cold air flowing through the cooling air passage 14 a to the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3.

  Similarly, a cooling air passage 14 b as a cold air supply air passage is formed on the back and top surfaces of the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5 and the back surface of the freezing chamber 6. The cooling air passage 14 b is partitioned from the storage chambers 4, 5, 6 by an air passage partition wall 39 made of synthetic resin. The air passage partition wall 39 is formed with an air outlet 18 for supplying cold air to the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5 and an air outlet 19 for supplying cold air to the freezing chamber 6. In addition, each blower outlet 18, 19 is arrange | positioned in the position which can supply cold air efficiently with respect to the food etc. which were accommodated in the storage containers 44, 45a, 45b.

  Further, the cooling air passage 14 a and the cooling air passage 14 b communicate with each other via a damper 47. The damper 47 is for controlling the flow rate of the cold air supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3 to appropriately maintain the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 3. Therefore, the cool air supplied to the cooling air passage 14 b flows to the cooling air passage 14 a according to the opening degree of the damper 47.

  The freezer compartment 6 is provided with a return port 23 for returning the circulating cold air to the cooling chamber 13, and the vegetable compartment 7 is provided with a return port 24 for the same purpose.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling air passage 14 a that supplies the cold air to the refrigerator compartment 3 is configured to send the cold air to the uppermost portion in the central portion of the refrigerator compartment 3 and then descend from both sides. . Thereby, cold air can be efficiently supplied to the whole inside of the refrigerator compartment 3.

  In addition, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes a connection air passage 15 for flowing circulating cold air from the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 to the vegetable compartment 7. A return port 21 through which cold air from the cold room 3 flows is formed on the side of the cold air chamber 3 of the connection air passage 15, and an outlet 20 for supplying cold air to the vegetable room 7 is provided on the vegetable room 7 side. It has been.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling chamber 13 is provided inside the heat insulating box 2 and on the back side of the cooling air passage 14 b. The cooling chamber 13 and the cooling air passage 14b or the freezing chamber 6 are partitioned by a cooling chamber partition wall 37 made of synthetic resin.

  Inside the cooling chamber 13, a cooler 32 for cooling the circulating cold air is disposed. The cooler 32 according to the present embodiment is a so-called fin-and-tube heat exchanger in which the inside of a circular tube as a heat transfer tube is a refrigerant flow path and the outside of the tube is an air flow path. In the cooler 32, the liquid refrigerant evaporates inside the heat transfer tube to cool the circulating air outside the tube. Of course, other types of heat exchangers such as a heat exchanger using a flat porous tube or a deformed tube may be employed as the cooler.

  A defrost heater 33 is provided below the cooler 32 as defrosting means for melting and removing frost adhering to the cooler 32. The defrost heater 33 is an electric resistance heating type heater. In addition, as a defrosting means, it is also possible to employ | adopt other defrost systems, such as an off-cycle defrost which does not use an electric heater, and a hot gas defrost, for example.

  Further, a feed opening 13a for sending out the cool air cooled by the cooler 32 is formed in the upper front surface of the cooling chamber 13, that is, the surface on the cooling air passage 14b side. On the other hand, below the cooling chamber 13, a return opening 13 b is formed for sucking the return cold air from the storage chamber into the cooling chamber 13.

  A blower 25 for circulating cold air is attached to the feed opening 13a. Further, a blower cover 29 for closing the feed opening 13a at the time of defrosting is provided outside the feed opening 13a of the cooling chamber 13, that is, on the discharge side of the blower 25.

  The blower 25 includes a rotary propeller fan 26 and a casing 28 in which a wind tunnel 28a is formed. The casing 28 is attached to the feed opening 13 a of the cooling chamber 13 and is a part that serves as a boundary between the suction side and the discharge side of the blower 25.

  The wind tunnel 28a formed in the casing 28 is a substantially cylindrical opening and serves as an air flow path. Further, the suction side of the wind tunnel 28a has a so-called bell mouth shape in which the inner diameter increases toward the end. Further, an appropriate rounded chamfer is also applied to the discharge side end portion of the wind tunnel 28a, that is, the intersection line portion between the wind tunnel 28a and the discharge side end surface 28c.

  And the fan 26 is arrange | positioned coaxially with the wind tunnel 28a inside the wind tunnel 28a. The discharge side end portion 26a of the fan 26 is disposed so as to be on the discharge side end portion of the wind tunnel 28a, that is, on the discharge side end surface 28c of the casing 28, on the outer side, that is, on the discharge side or the cooling air passage 14b side. Yes. Thereby, the resistance to the flow of the discharge air flowing out in the direction of the rotation radius of the fan 26 is small, and cold air can be sent out with a small flow loss.

  In addition, the blower cover 29 has a concave surface formed on the surface facing the cooling chamber 13, that is, the surface facing the blower 25 (29b). A contact portion 29 a that contacts the casing 28 is formed in the peripheral portion 29 c of the recess 29 b. As a result, the blower cover 29 can contact the casing 28 outside the wind tunnel 28a and close the feed opening 13a without contacting the fan 26 protruding to the discharge side from the casing 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the blower 25 includes a fan motor 27 that rotates the fan 26. The fan motor 27 is fixed to the casing 28 by a support frame 48, and the fan 26 is attached to the rotation shaft of the fan motor 27.

  A guide pin 30 is provided on the discharge side end face 28 c of the casing 28 to support the blower cover 29 in a reciprocating manner in the direction of the rotation axis of the fan 26. Thereby, the air blower cover 29 can approach the air blower 25 like FIG. 5 (A), or can separate as shown in FIG. 5 (B). The blower cover 29 is driven by a solenoid (not shown), but other methods such as a motor may be adopted as the driving means.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when the blower cover 29 approaches the blower 25, the casing 28 fits inside the peripheral edge 29 c of the blower cover 29. And the contact part 29a of the air blower cover 29 and the outer peripheral part 28b of the casing 28 contact | abut, and the air flow path of the air blower 25 is block | closed. That is, the blower cover 29 closes the feed opening (see FIG. 4) of the cooling chamber 13 (see FIG. 4) and closes the air flow path. Instead of the configuration in which the blower cover 29 is in contact with the outer peripheral portion 28 b of the casing 28, a configuration in which the blower cover 29 is in contact with the discharge-side end surface 28 c of the casing 28 may be employed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the blower cover 29 moves in a direction away from the blower 25, a gap, that is, an opening through which air flows, is formed between the blower cover 29 and the casing 28. That is, the blower cover 29 is opened. Then, as schematically indicated by an arrow V, the air discharged by the blower 25 flows out from an opening formed between the blower cover 29 and the casing 28.

  Here, the air flow around the blower 25 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the result of analyzing the air flow around the axial blower 25. FIG. 6A shows the analysis result under the condition that the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side is 12 Pa, and FIG. 6B shows the analysis result under the condition that the pressure difference is 4 Pa and (C) is 2 Pa. 6A to 6C, reference numeral V denotes a wind speed vector distribution on the discharge side end face 28c of the casing 28 (see FIG. 4 or FIG. 5B). Reference sign V1 represents the wind speed vector distribution on the surface S1 on the suction side (right side of the paper), and reference sign V2 represents the wind speed vector distribution on the surface S2 on the discharge side (left side of the paper). Each of the wind speed vectors V, V1, and V2 is expressed as a direction in which the direction of the arrow is the direction of each flow, and the length of the arrow is a length proportional to the speed of each flow. In each figure, horizontal lines M drawn above and below the fan 26 are used for calculation and can be ignored because they are not used to explain the analysis results.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, when the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side of the blower 25 is 2 Pa, the wind speed vector V on the discharge side of the blower 25 is slightly inclined in the vertical direction in the figure. You can see that it is facing the left side. The wind speed vector V2 on the discharge side surface S2 also protrudes to the left. That is, it can be seen that under the condition of a pressure difference of 2 Pa, the air flow on the discharge side of the blower 25 has a high speed in the rotation axis direction Z of the fan 26 and a low speed in the rotation radius direction R. In other words, the air discharged by the blower 25 mainly flows forward of the blower 25.

  However, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side of the blower 25 becomes 4 Pa, the wind velocity vector V on the discharge side of the blower 25 becomes slightly larger in the vertical direction in the figure. The wind speed vector V2 on the discharge side surface S2 is shortened. That is, when the pressure difference increases to 4 Pa, the speed of the air flow on the discharge side of the blower 25 increases in the rotational radius direction R of the fan 26.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), when the pressure difference further increases to 12 Pa, the wind speed vector V on the discharge side of the blower 25 is directed substantially in the vertical direction in the figure. Further, the wind velocity vector V2 on the discharge side surface S2 is very short. That is, it can be seen that under the condition where the pressure difference is 12 Pa, the flow of the air discharged from the blower 25 has a very low speed in the rotation axis direction Z of the fan 26 and a high speed in the rotation radius direction R. In other words, the air discharged from the blower 25 does not flow in the forward direction of the blower 25, that is, in the Z direction, but flows out in the rotational radius direction R.

  6A to 6C, the air flow on the discharge side of the blower 25 forms a swirling flow around the rotation axis of the fan 26.

  As described above, the characteristics of the axial blower 25 have been described. In the refrigerator in which the cold air is forcibly circulated in the closed circuit as in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, the pressure difference between the discharge side and the suction side of the blower 25 is It is about 10-12 Pa. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the cool air discharged by the blower 25 spreads in the rotational radius direction R of the fan 26 of the blower 25 and flows.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the blower cover 29 according to the present embodiment moves away from the cooling chamber 13 during the cooling operation, and cold air flows between the blower cover 29 and the cooling chamber 13. An opening for forming is formed. That is, since the blower cover 29 does not come into great contact with the casing 28, the opening is formed on the casing 28 and the cooling chamber partition wall 37 without any obstacles that obstruct the air flow remaining. Therefore, as described above, the discharge air from the blower 25 having a large flow velocity in the rotational radius direction R passes through the opening portion along the casing 28 and the cooling chamber partition wall 37 with a very small flow resistance, and the cooling air It flows out into the path 14b.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the air flowing from the blower 25 toward the front surface is very small from the beginning, and therefore the blower cover 29 moved away from the cooling chamber 13 has an effect on the air path resistance. Will be very small.

  However, the distance X between the discharge-side end face 28c of the casing 28 and the blower-side end face of the blower cover 29, that is, the distance X that forms an opening serving as an air flow path, as shown in FIG. In order not to increase the loss, it is necessary to ensure a predetermined length. Specifically, the distance X should be 30 mm or more, more preferably 50 mm or more. When the distance X is shorter than 30 mm, the flow loss due to the blower cover 29 is increased, and it is difficult to suppress the pressure loss to be smaller than in the case of using a conventional damper or the like.

  On the other hand, if the distance X is secured to 50 mm or more, the increase in pressure loss due to the addition of the blower cover 29 is almost eliminated. Briefly described with reference to FIG. 6A, the discharge-side surface S3 shown in the figure is at a position where the distance X (see FIG. 5B) corresponds to 50 mm. The surface S2 is at a position where the distance X is 80 mm. From this figure, it can be seen that if the opening is secured up to the position of the surface S3, that is, the position where the distance X is 50 mm, most of the air flow can pass through the opening without being obstructed.

  Next, operation | movement of the refrigerator 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. First, in the cooling operation for cooling the storage chamber, the cooling air circulating in the storage chamber is cooled by the above-described vapor compression refrigeration circuit. That is, the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant vapor is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure state by the compressor 31 shown in FIG. 2 and radiated by a radiator (not shown). Then, the liquid refrigerant that has been deprived of heat and condensed in the radiator is squeezed and expanded by a capillary tube (not shown) as decompression means, and flows to the cooler 32. In the cooler 32, the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant exchanges heat with the circulating air and evaporates. As a result, the circulating air is cooled by the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant. The vapor refrigerant evaporated in the cooler 32 is again sucked into the compressor 31 and compressed. The operation described above is repeated continuously to cool the circulating air by the cooler 32 of the refrigeration circuit.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the air cooled by the cooler 32 is discharged from the feed opening 13 a of the cooling chamber 13 to the cooling air passage 14 b by the blower 25. At this time, the blower cover 29 is in an open state, that is, a state away from the blower 25 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a part of the cooling air discharged to the cooling air passage 14 b is adjusted to an appropriate flow rate by the damper 47, flows to the cooling air passage 14 a, and passes from the outlet 17 to the refrigerator compartment 3. Supplied to. Thereby, the food etc. which were stored in the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 can be cooled and preserve | saved at appropriate temperature.

  The circulating cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 flows from the return port 21 to the connection air passage 15 and is supplied from the blower outlet 20 to the vegetable compartment 7. And the cold air which circulated through the vegetable chamber 7 returns to the inside of the cooling chamber 13 through the return opening 24 of the cooling chamber 13 from the return port 24. Therefore, it is cooled again by the cooler 32.

  On the other hand, a part of the cooling air discharged to the cooling air passage 14 b passes through the air outlet 18 and is supplied to the ice making chamber 4 and the freezing chamber 5. The circulating cold air flows into the freezer compartment 6 through an opening formed in the partition wall 35.

  Furthermore, a part of the cooling air discharged to the cooling air passage 14 b is supplied from the outlet 19 to the freezer compartment 6. Then, the air inside the freezer compartment 6 flows through the return port 23 to the inside of the cooling chamber 13 via the return opening 13 b of the cooling chamber 13. As described above, the cold air cooled by the cooler 32 circulates in the storage chamber, and cold storage of food or the like is performed.

  Next, the operation during the defrosting operation will be described with reference to FIGS. If the cooling operation is continued, frost adheres to the air-side heat transfer surface of the cooler 32, hinders heat transfer and closes the air flow path. Therefore, frost formation is determined from a decrease in the refrigerant evaporation temperature or the like, or is determined by a defrost timer or the like, and a defrosting operation for removing frost adhering to the cooler 32 is started.

  When performing the defrosting operation, the operation of the compressor 31 is stopped and the blower 25 is stopped. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the blower cover 29 is closed. Then, the defrost heater 33 is energized.

  Then, the frost attached to the cooler 32 and the cooling chamber 13 is melted by the heat generated by the defrost heater 33. The water after melting the frost flows down to an evaporating dish (not shown) provided in the machine room 49 via a drain pipe (not shown) provided below the cooling chamber 13. And this water evaporates with the heat from the compressor 31 grade | etc., In the said evaporating dish.

  The heat generated by the defrost heater 33 warms the air in the cooling chamber 13, but in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the blower cover 29 closes the feed opening 13 a of the cooling chamber 13. Therefore, it is possible to prevent warm air from flowing out to the cooling air passage 14b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inside of the cooling air passage 14b from being warmed by the defrost warm air. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator 1 can be improved.

  Moreover, since the refrigerator 1 which concerns on this embodiment stops the flow of a defrost warm air only by the feed opening part 13a of the cooling chamber 13, there are few seal locations and a reliable sealing with few leaks is attained.

  When the defrosting of the cooler 32 is completed, energization of the defrost heater 33 is stopped, the compressor 31 is started, and cooling by the refrigeration circuit is started. Then, after detecting that the cooler 32 and the cooling chamber 13 have been cooled to a predetermined temperature, or after a predetermined time has elapsed with a timer or the like, as shown in FIG. 25 operation is started. Thereby, the influence by defrost heat can be suppressed as much as possible, and cooling operation can be restarted.

  As described above, in the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment, during the defrosting, the blower cover 29 closes the feed opening 13a of the cooling chamber 13, so that the warm air at the time of defrosting can be provided without providing a damper in the cooling air passage 14. It can prevent flowing into the storage room. In addition, in order to control the temperature in the storage chamber with high accuracy, it is of course possible to provide dampers in the cooling air passage 14 and the outlets 17, 18, 19 in addition to the blower cover 29 according to the present embodiment.

  Further, since the blower cover 29 according to the present embodiment is attached to the outside of the feed opening 13a of the cooling chamber 13, that is, the discharge side of the blower 25, it is common to other types of refrigerators having different air passage shapes. Can be used. In that case, the blower cover 29 and the blower 25 can be adopted as a single component integrally assembled. As a result, since any defrosting warm air leakage can be prevented regardless of the air path configuration, the degree of freedom in designing the cooling air path is increased, and the air path design can be easily performed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the development cost and production cost of the cooling air passage and the damper.

  In this embodiment, the case where the cooling chamber 13 communicates with the storage chamber via the feed opening 13a and the cooling air passage 14 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cooling chamber 13 may be in direct communication with the storage chamber via the feed opening 13a without providing the cooling air passage 14. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerator 2 ... Thermal insulation box 3 ... Refrigeration room 4 ... Ice making room 5 ... Freezing room 6 ... Freezing room 7 ... Vegetable room 13 ... Cooling room 13a ..Feeding opening 13b ... Return opening 14a, 14b ... Cooling air passage 25 ... Blower 26 ... Fan 28 ... Case 28a ... Case wind tunnel 29 ... Blower cover 32 ... Cooler 33 ... Defrost heater 47 ... Damper

Claims (5)

  A storage chamber, a cooling chamber in which a feed opening and a return opening respectively connected to the storage chamber are formed, a cooler that is disposed inside the cooling chamber and cools air flowing from the return opening, In a refrigerator including a blower provided in the feed opening and a defrosting unit that defrosts the cooling chamber, a movable blower cover is provided outside the cooling chamber of the feed opening, and at least the defrosting During the defrosting by the means, the feed opening is closed with the blower cover.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the blower cover moves in a direction away from the cooling chamber.   The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the blower is an axial blower including a rotary fan, and the blower cover moves in a rotation axis direction of the fan.   The blower is an axial blower including a casing in which a wind tunnel portion is formed and a rotary fan that is disposed in the wind tunnel portion and supported by the casing. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the refrigerator comes into contact with the casing on the outside. The refrigerator according to claim 4, further comprising an air passage that communicates the cooling chamber and the storage chamber via the feed opening, and a damper that controls a flow rate of cool air is provided in the air passage.

Images