Cooling device

Abstract

Provided is a cooling device including: an evaporator; the heater is arranged below the evaporator; a mounting member which extends downward from the evaporator and to which the heater is mounted; and a cover that covers the evaporator, the heater, and the front side of the attachment member, and that is provided so that air from the return air path of the cold air flows into the region in which the heater is provided. In the cover, the dimension b in the depth direction of the area closer to the back surface than the cover in the area where the mounting component is arranged is larger than the dimension a in the depth direction of the area closer to the back surface than the cover in the area where the evaporator is arranged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cooling device. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-340402 discloses a refrigerator equipped with a defrost heater. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Technical Problem to be Solved by the Invention An object of the present disclosure is to smoothly return air from a cooling chamber such as a refrigerating chamber to the evaporator.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cooling device including: an evaporator; a heater provided below the evaporator; a mounting member extending downward from the evaporator and having the heater mounted thereon; and a cover covering the front sides of the evaporator, the heater, and the mounting member and configured such that air in the return air path of the cold air flows into the area where the heater is provided.

[0005] In the cover, a dimension b in the depth direction of the area where the mounting member is provided and in the area located behind the cover is larger than a dimension a in the depth direction of the area located behind the cover and in the area where the evaporator is provided.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, air from a cooling chamber such as a refrigerating chamber can be smoothly returned to the evaporator. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] Figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0008] Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

[0009] Figure 3 is a front view of a cooling area where an evaporator is arranged according to the first embodiment.

[0010] Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a left-right central portion of a cooling area where an evaporator is arranged according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a position of a refrigerating return duct in a cooling area where an evaporator is arranged according to the first embodiment.

[0012] Figure 6 is a plan cross-sectional view of a lower portion of a cooling area where an evaporator is arranged according to the first embodiment.

[0013] Figure 7 is a rear perspective view of an engine cover according to the first embodiment.

[0014] Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of the fan cover according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 9 is a side sectional view of the position of the recess in the cooling area configured with an evaporator according to the first embodiment. Detailed implementation mode

[0016] [First Embodiment] <Overall Structure of Refrigerator> First, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 to describe the overall structure of the refrigerator 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0017] The outer shape of the refrigerator 100 is mainly composed of a heat-insulating box body 110. The storage space of the refrigerator 100 is formed by this heat-insulating box body 110. The storage space formed by the heat-insulating box body 110 is divided into a refrigerating chamber 111, a vegetable chamber 117, a freezing chamber 112, etc. by a plurality of partitions extending in the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, the freezing chamber 112 includes a first freezing area 113, an ice-making and ice-storing area 114, and a second freezing area 115.

[0018] The refrigerating chamber 111 is provided with a refrigerating chamber door 111X. The vegetable chamber 117 is provided with a pull-out vegetable chamber door 117X. The first freezing area 113 is provided with a pull-out freezing chamber door 113X. The ice-making and ice-storing area 114 is provided with a pull-out ice-making chamber door 114X. The second freezing area 115 is provided with a pull-out freezing chamber door 115X. The freezing chamber door 115X opens and closes the freezing chamber 112 (specifically, at least a part of the freezing chamber 112, specifically, the second freezing area 115) by moving in the front-rear direction. The freezing chamber door 115X slides and moves in the front-rear direction.

[0019] Regarding the refrigerator 100 according to the present embodiment, an upper partition shelf 121 for separating the refrigerating chamber 111 and the vegetable chamber 117 is provided at approximately the center in the vertical direction on the inner side of the heat-insulating box body 110.

[0020] A lower partition shelf 122 for separating the vegetable chamber 117 and the freezing chamber 112 is provided at the lower part on the inner side of the heat-insulating box body 110. By injecting polyurethane inside the lower partition shelf 122, the heat-insulating performance between the vegetable chamber 117 and the freezing chamber 112 is improved.

[0021] A cooling area 161 is provided at the rear of the refrigerator 100. More specifically, an evaporator cover 160 is installed behind the freezer compartment 112, and the area behind the evaporator cover 160 becomes the cooling area 161. An evaporator 151 and a fan 153 are arranged in the cooling area 161. Moreover, the back surface of the cooling area 161 is the back surface of the heat-insulating cabinet 110, and polyurethane and vacuum heat-insulating materials are provided. Below the cooling area 161, a mechanical chamber 162 is provided via polyurethane and vacuum heat-insulating materials. A compressor, a condenser, a condensing fan, etc. (not shown) are arranged in the mechanical chamber 162.

[0022] The cold air cooled by the evaporator 151 in the cooling area 161 is driven by the fan 153, passes through the pipeline 154 and the air outlet, and is supplied to the refrigerating compartment 111, the vegetable compartment 117, and the freezer compartment 112. And, as Figure 3 shown, the cold air in the refrigerating compartment 111 and the vegetable compartment 117 passes through the refrigerating return pipeline 155, flows from above to below along the side of the evaporator 151, and then returns to the lower part of the evaporator 151. Then, as Figure 4 shown, the cold air in the freezer compartment 112 returns to the lower part of the evaporator 151 from the front through the freezing return pipeline 156.

[0023] <Cold air return structure> Hereinafter, with reference to Figures 3 to 9 , a structure for smoothly returning the return cold air from the refrigerating compartment 111 and the freezer compartment 112 to the lower end of the evaporator 151 will be described. In addition, hereinafter, the surface with the door will be referred to as the front or the front surface of the refrigerator, and the opposite surface will be referred to as the back or the back surface. Then, when looking at the refrigerator 100 from the front, the left direction will be referred to as the left direction of the refrigerator 100, the right direction will be referred to as the right direction of the refrigerator 100, the upper direction will be referred to as the upper direction of the refrigerator 100, and the lower direction will be referred to as the lower direction of the refrigerator.

[0024] The refrigerating return pipeline 155 is arranged at the back on the right side of the refrigerator 100. The refrigerating return pipeline 155 is formed from the lower right part of the refrigerating compartment 111 or the lower right part of the vegetable compartment 117 to the lower part of the evaporator 151. The return cold air is output from the lower part of the refrigerating return pipeline 155 by the negative pressure of the fan 153, flows into the lower part of the evaporator 151, and flows upward along the evaporator 151 from bottom to top. The cold air cooled by contacting the evaporator 151 is supplied to the cooling chambers such as the freezer compartment 112 and the refrigerating compartment 111 by this fan 153.

[0025] Here, in the present embodiment, a defrost heater 157 is provided below the evaporator 151. The left and right ends of the defrost heater 157 are held by mounting members 158L and 158R. The left mounting member 158L is a plate-like member, the upper half of which fixes the left parts of a plurality of refrigerant pipes 151X, 151X... at the lower part of the evaporator 151, and the lower half of which holds the left end of the defrost heater 157. The right mounting member 158R is a plate-like member, the upper half of which fixes the right parts of a plurality of refrigerant pipes 151X, 151X... at the lower part of the evaporator 151, and the lower half of which holds the right end of the defrost heater 157.

[0026] Moreover, especially in the present embodiment, as Figure 4 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 9 shown, a concave portion 160X is formed by protruding forward a portion in front of the lower part of the left mounting member 158L in the evaporator cover 160.

[0027] In other words, it is formed such that the distance b from the concave portion 160X to the back surface of the cooling region 161 is longer than the distance a from other portions in the evaporator cover 160, for example, a portion in front of the left and right central portions at the lower part of the evaporator 151, to the back surface of the cooling region 161.

[0028] In addition, it is formed such that the distance b from the concave portion 160X to the back surface of the cooling region 161 is longer than the distance a from other portions in the evaporator cover 160, for example, a portion in front of the upper and lower central portions or the upper portion at the right part of the evaporator 151, to the back surface of the cooling region 161.

[0029] Thereby, the distance between the mounting member 158R and the evaporator cover 160 can be extended, and thus, the air passage of the return cold air from the refrigerating chamber 111 is hardly blocked by frost or ice adhering to the mounting member 158R.

[0030] More specifically, as Figure 9 shown, the concave portion 160X is preferably formed at a position between the lowermost refrigerant pipe 151X of the evaporator 151 and the heater 157. In other words, the uppermost end of the concave portion 160X is preferably located at the same position as or lower than the lowermost refrigerant pipe 151X of the evaporator 151. Moreover, the lowermost end of the concave portion 160X is preferably located at the same height as the upper end portion of the heater 157.

[0031] With such a configuration, even if the right mounting member 158R extends to the lower end of the evaporator 151 or to the right of the heater 157, the cold air flowing out from the refrigerating return pipe 155 can smoothly flow to the lower end of the evaporator 151.

[0032] In addition, in the present embodiment, the distance in the height direction from the heater 157 to the evaporator 151 is configured to be longer than the distance in the height direction to the water receiving tray 158 below the heater 157.

[0033] For example, when the heater 157 is supported from below, a relatively large space can be ensured between the heater 157 and the evaporator 151, and this space is difficult to be blocked by frost or the like. However, when the heater 157 is suspended from the evaporator 151 side, the area between the heater 157 and the evaporator 151 is likely to be blocked. Therefore, it is important to ensure the air passage through the recess 160X.

[0034] In addition, in the present embodiment, the refrigeration return pipe 156 is provided at the lower part of the left - right center of the refrigerating chamber 112. In other words, the refrigeration return pipe 156 is provided in front of and below the evaporator 151. More specifically, the refrigeration return pipe 156 is formed by the front surface of the lower part of the evaporator cover 160 and the back surface of the lower part of the fan cover 165. And, in the present embodiment, as Figure 4 shown, the vertical position of the opening of the cooling area 161 of the refrigeration return pipe 156 is located between the first refrigerant pipe 151X and the second refrigerant pipe 151X from the bottom of the evaporator 151.

[0035] That is, the lowermost end of the rear end of the refrigeration return pipe 156 is located at the same height as or higher than the first refrigerant pipe 151X from the bottom of the evaporator 151. And, the uppermost end of the rear end of the refrigeration return pipe 156 is located at the same height as or higher than the second refrigerant pipe 151X from the bottom of the evaporator 151.

[0036] With such a configuration, the cold air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 155 to the evaporator 151 enters more downward than the cold air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 156 to the evaporator 151. Therefore, it is difficult for either cold air to obstruct the flow of the other cold air. This configuration is particularly important when the cold air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 155 to the evaporator 151 is more than the cold air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 156 to the evaporator 151.

[0037] In other words, since the cold air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 156 to the evaporator 151 flows more downstream than the air flowing from the refrigeration return pipe 155 to the evaporator 151, the temperature of the cold air decreases sequentially from below the evaporator 151, and the efficiency of heat exchange becomes better.

[0038] In addition, in the present embodiment, the bottom surface 160Y of the concave portion 160X of the evaporator cover 160 is formed to be inclined and configured to descend downward as it advances toward the rear of the refrigerator 100. Thus, the heat of the heater 157 is easily transferred to the frost adhering in the concave portion 160X, and the melted water quickly falls onto the water receiving tray 158 disposed below the heater 157.

Claims

1. A cooling device, characterized in that, Comprising: An evaporator; A heater disposed below the evaporator; A mounting member extending downward from the evaporator and mounting the heater; And A cover covering the front sides of the evaporator, the heater, and the mounting member, and configured such that air in the return air path from the cold air flows into the area where the heater is provided; In the cover, a dimension b in the depth direction of the area where the mounting member is provided and in the area located further back than the cover is larger than a dimension a in the depth direction of the area in the area where the evaporator is provided and in the area located further back than the cover.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that At least a part of the portion of the cover located in front of the area where the mounting member is provided is located at a more forward position than at least a part of the portion of the cover located in front of the area at the central part where the heater is provided.

3. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes a tray disposed below the evaporator and the heater and receiving water from the evaporator, A distance L2 from the heater to the evaporator in the height direction is greater than a distance L1 from the tray to the heater in the height direction.

4. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes a tray disposed below the evaporator and the heater and receiving water from the evaporator, The cover extends backward and downward from at least a lower end portion of at least a part of the portion of the cover located in front of the area where the mounting member is provided.

5. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that A part of the cover located in front of the part at the upper and lower center of the evaporator is located at a more rearward position than a part of the cover located in front of the part at the lower end of the evaporator.

6. The cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that The upper half of the at least a part is formed at a position higher than the heater.

7. The cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that At least the lower half of the at least a part is formed at a position lower than the lower end of the evaporator.

8. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes a wind guiding member disposed at the front side of the cover for guiding the return cold air from the freezer compartment to a part located higher than the lower end of the evaporator.

9. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes a housing forming at least one of a refrigerating compartment and a vegetable compartment, and a freezer compartment having a set temperature lower than the set temperature of the at least one, The return air path is a duct through which return cold air from at least one of the refrigerating compartment and the vegetable compartment flows.

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