Refrigerator

Abstract

The refrigerator comprises a storage chamber, a cold air supply duct, a heater and a heat insulation part, the cold air supply duct communicates with the storage chamber, and an evaporator is arranged in the cold air supply duct; the heater is arranged in the cold air supply duct, located below the evaporator and used for heating to defrost the evaporator. The heat insulation part is arranged in the cold air supply duct and located between the evaporator and the storage chamber, and the heat insulation part is used for being unfolded to separate the evaporator and the heater from the storage chamber when the refrigerator defrosts and being folded when the refrigerator stops defrosting. According to the refrigerator, in the defrosting stage, the heat insulation part is unfolded to isolate heat generated by the heater, the heat is prevented from entering the storage chamber to cause temperature rise of the storage chamber, food storage is facilitated, more heat can flow to the position close to the evaporator, the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator is improved, and defrosting power consumption is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of refrigerators, and in particular, relates to a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of refrigerator technology, the market share of frost-free air-cooled refrigerators is increasing. The way to achieve defrosting in frost-free refrigerators is that the steel tube heater at the bottom of the evaporator generates heat during the periodic defrosting period to melt the frost on the evaporator, thereby achieving the defrosting effect.

[0003] The existing defrosting method takes a long time for the defrosting process, which not only increases the power consumption of the refrigerator, but also due to the long defrosting time, a large amount of defrosting heat is not used to melt the frost on the evaporator, but enters the freezer of the refrigerator through the freezing mask, causing the temperature of the freezer to rise, which can easily cause the food stored in the freezer to thaw and cause the food to spoil. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiment of the present application provides a refrigerator that can solve the problem that the defrosting efficiency of existing air-cooled refrigerators is low and easily causes the temperature of the freezer compartment to rise.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A refrigerator, comprising:

[0007] Storage room;

[0008] A cooling air duct is communicated with the storage compartment, and an evaporator is arranged in the cooling air duct;

[0009] A heater is arranged in the cooling air duct and below the evaporator, and is used to generate heat to defrost the evaporator;

[0010] A heat insulating member is arranged in the cooling air duct and is located between the evaporator and the storage compartment. The heat insulating member is used to be unfolded when the refrigerator is defrosting to separate the evaporator and the heater from the storage compartment, and is retracted when the refrigerator stops defrosting.

[0011] In some embodiments, the cooling air duct includes a first side wall, the first side wall has an air supply port connected to the storage compartment, the thermal insulation is located between the first side wall and the evaporator, and when the thermal insulation is unfolded, it separates the evaporator and the heater from the first side wall.

[0012] In some embodiments, the cooling air duct further includes a second side wall opposite to the first side wall, and the second side wall is provided with a return air port;

[0013] The refrigerator further includes a return air duct, one end of which is connected to the storage compartment, and the other end of which is connected to the return air port, and the return air port discharges air toward the heater.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cooling air duct also includes a bottom wall close to the bottom of the refrigerator, the bottom wall is connected to the first side wall and the second side wall, the heater is installed on the bottom wall, and the return air outlet is arranged on the second side wall close to the bottom wall.

[0015] In some embodiments, the refrigerator further comprises:

[0016] A transmission shaft, the transmission shaft extends transversely and is located above the evaporator or flush with the top surface of the evaporator, and the first end of the thermal insulation member is fixedly connected to the transmission shaft;

[0017] A power unit is connected to the transmission shaft and is used to drive the transmission shaft to rotate along its axial direction so as to unfold or roll up the thermal insulation member.

[0018] In some embodiments, the thermal insulation element includes a second end opposite to the first end, and a counterweight is connected to the second end.

[0019] In some embodiments, two opposite ends of the evaporator in the horizontal direction are respectively connected with fixing members, and the fixing members are fixed to the inner wall of the cooling air duct;

[0020] The two fixing members are respectively provided with through holes extending in the horizontal direction, and the two ends of the transmission shaft are respectively passed through one of the through holes.

[0021] In some embodiments, the thermal insulation member is a thermal insulation film layer.

[0022] In some embodiments, the refrigerator further includes a fan, which is mounted on the first side wall and disposed at the air supply port, and is used to accelerate air convection between the cooling air duct and the storage compartment.

[0023] In some embodiments, during the defrosting process of the refrigerator, the fan rotates at a first speed, and during the refrigeration process of the refrigerator, the fan rotates at a second speed;

[0024] The first rotation speed is lower than the second rotation speed.

[0025] The refrigerator provided in the embodiment of the present application, during the defrost stage, expands the insulation to isolate the heat generated by the heater, thereby preventing the heat from entering the storage compartment and causing the storage compartment to heat up, which is beneficial to the storage of food and facilitates more heat to flow to the vicinity of the evaporator, thereby improving the defrost efficiency of the evaporator and reducing the defrost power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative work.

[0027] In order to more completely understand the present application and its beneficial effects, the following description will be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals represent the same parts.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A first cross-sectional view of a refrigerator is shown.

[0030] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A partial enlargement of the cross-sectional view shown.

[0031] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A second cross-sectional view of a refrigerator is shown.

[0032] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlargement of the cross-sectional view shown.

[0033] Figure 6 for Figure 1 A third cross-sectional view of a refrigerator is shown.

[0034] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial enlargement of the cross-sectional view shown.

[0035] Description of reference numerals:

[0036] 100. Refrigerator;

[0037] 110, storage room; 120, cooling air duct; 130, heater; 140, heat insulation; 150, evaporator; 160, fan; 170, return air duct; 180, transmission shaft; 190, power unit; 1100, fixing parts;

[0038] 111, refrigerating chamber; 112, freezing chamber; 121, first side wall; 122, air supply port; 123, second side wall; 124, air return port; 125, bottom wall; 141, first end; 142, second end. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0040] The present application embodiment provides a refrigerator, which may be a single-door refrigerator or a multi-door refrigerator. Figure 1-Figure 3 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 for Figure 1 A first cross-sectional view of a refrigerator is shown, Figure 3 for Figure 2 The refrigerator 100 includes a storage compartment 110 , a cooling air duct 120 , a heater 130 , a heat insulator 140 , and an evaporator 150 .

[0041] The storage room 110 is, for example, a refrigerator, a freezer, or a temperature-changing room. The cooling air duct 120 is in communication with the storage room 110, and an evaporator 150 is disposed in the cooling air duct 120. It is understood that the evaporator 150 is used to perform heat exchange with the surrounding air to form cold air, and the cooling air duct 120 provides a cooling air flow to the storage room 110 through an air supply port. The heater 130 is disposed in the cooling air duct 120 and is located below the evaporator 150, and is used to generate heat to defrost the evaporator 150.

[0042] The heat insulating member 140 is disposed in the cooling air duct 120 and is located between the evaporator 150 and the storage compartment 110. The heat insulating member 140 is used to be unfolded when the refrigerator 100 is defrosting to separate the evaporator 150 and the heater 130 from the storage compartment 110, and to be retracted when the refrigerator 100 stops defrosting.

[0043] In actual application, for example, when the controller of the refrigerator 100 receives a defrosting instruction, it controls the compressor of the refrigerator 100 to stop, controls the heater 130 to start working, and controls the heat insulation 140 to unfold. The heat generated by the heater 130 cannot enter the storage compartment 110 due to the heat insulation of the heat insulation 140, but flows to the surface of the evaporator 150 under the action of air convection to defrost the evaporator 150. After the evaporator 150 is defrosted, the controller of the refrigerator 100 controls the heater 130 to stop heating, controls the compressor of the refrigerator 100 to start, and controls the heat insulation 140 to retract.

[0044] The refrigerator 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, during the defrosting stage, expands the heat insulating member 140 to isolate the heat generated by the heater 130, thereby preventing the heat from entering the storage compartment 110 and causing the storage compartment 110 to heat up, thereby facilitating the storage of food and facilitating more heat to flow to the vicinity of the evaporator 150, thereby improving the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150 and reducing the power consumption of defrosting.

[0045] Optionally, the cooling air duct 120 includes a first side wall 121, and the first side wall 121 is provided with an air outlet 122 connected to the storage compartment 110. The heat insulating member 140 is located between the first side wall 121 and the evaporator 150. When the heat insulating member 140 is unfolded, the evaporator 150 and the heater 130 are separated from the first side wall 121. It can be understood that the heat insulating member 140 is unfolded when the refrigerator 100 is defrosted to separate the evaporator 150 and the heater 130 from the first side wall 121, so that the heat generated by the heater 130 cannot reach the storage compartment 110 through the air outlet 122 on the first side wall 121.

[0046] The refrigerator 100 further includes a fan 160, which is used to accelerate air convection between the cooling air duct 120 and the storage compartment 110, so as to deliver the cold air in the cooling air duct 120 into the storage compartment 110 through the air supply port 122. The fan 160 is, for example, disposed opposite to the portion of the cooling air duct 120 that forms the air supply port 122.

[0047] For further information, see Figure 4-Figure 5 , Figure 4 for Figure 1 A second cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown, Figure 5 for Figure 4 The cooling air duct 120 further includes a second side wall 123 opposite to the first side wall 121, and a return air port 124 is provided on the second side wall 123. The refrigerator 100 further includes a return air duct 170, one end of which is connected to the storage compartment 110, and the other end is connected to the return air port 124, and the return air port 124 discharges air toward the heater 130.

[0048] In some embodiments, the storage compartment 110 includes a refrigerating compartment 111 and a freezing compartment 112, and the cooling air duct 120 is installed at the back of the freezing compartment 112 and communicates with the freezing compartment 112 through the air supply port 122. One end of the return air duct 170 is communicated with the refrigerating compartment 111, and the other end is communicated with the return air port 124, so that the refrigerating compartment 111 returns air to the cooling air duct through the return air duct 170.

[0049] In actual application, when the refrigerator 100 is defrosting, the heat insulating member 140 is unfolded to form a relatively closed space relative to the evaporator 150 and the heater 130. At the same time, the fan 160 rotates at a low speed to allow the return air port 124 to slowly discharge air to the heater 130, thereby accelerating the air flow rate in the space. Compared with natural convection, the above arrangement can accelerate the heat generated by the heater 130 to flow to the entire surface of the evaporator 150, improve the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150, shorten the defrosting time, and reduce energy consumption.

[0050] The embodiment of the present application also provides a control method for a refrigerator, the control method comprising the following steps:

[0051] Step 1: When receiving the defrost instruction, the compressor and the fan 160 of the refrigerator are controlled to stop, and the heater 130 is controlled to start working;

[0052] Step 2: Control the heat insulating member 140 to unfold to cover one side of the evaporator 150;

[0053] Step 3: After the heater 130 runs for the first time period, the fan 160 is controlled to start running at the second speed.

[0054] It should be noted that, during the refrigeration process of the refrigerator, the fan 160 rotates at a first speed, which is greater than the second speed. It is understandable that during the defrosting process, the fan 160 rotates at a low speed, so that the return air port 124 slowly discharges air to the heater 130, and brings the heat generated by the heater 130 to the vicinity of the evaporator 150 to melt the frost layer on the surface of the evaporator 150, which can improve the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150 and prevent the heat from entering the storage compartment 110 through the return air duct 170 before being used for defrosting due to the excessive return air speed.

[0055] Step 4: When the defrosting is detected to be complete, the heater 130 is controlled to stop working;

[0056] Step 5: Control the compressor of the refrigerator 100 to start running so that the evaporator 150 is precooled;

[0057] Step 6: After the evaporator 150 is precooled for the second time period, the heat insulating member 140 is controlled to be retracted, and the fan 160 is controlled to rotate at the first speed.

[0058] It can be understood that by precooling the evaporator 150 to eliminate the residual heat in the cooling air duct 120, and retracting the insulation 140 after the precooling time reaches the second time to prevent the residual heat from entering the storage compartment 110 and avoid causing the storage compartment 110 to warm up, it is beneficial to food storage.

[0059] The cooling air duct 120 further includes a bottom wall 125 near the bottom of the refrigerator 100, and the bottom wall 125 is connected to the first side wall 121 and the second side wall 123. Preferably, the heater 130 is mounted on the bottom wall 125, and the return air port 124 is disposed on the second side wall 123 near the bottom wall 125. The return air port 124 is, for example, directly facing the heater 130.

[0060] In actual application, the air flow from the return air port 124 passes through the heater 130 to form hot air, and under the blocking effect of the heat insulation 140, the hot air flows from the bottom to the top through the surface of the evaporator 150 and flows out from the top of the evaporator 150. It can be understood that through the above-mentioned setting, the uniformity of heating of various parts of the evaporator 150 can be improved, and the situation that the lower part of the evaporator 150 defrosts quickly while the upper part defrosts too slowly can be prevented, thereby improving the overall defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150.

[0061] In some embodiments, see Figure 6-Figure 7 , Figure 6 for Figure 1 A third cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown, Figure 7 for Figure 6 The refrigerator 100 further includes a transmission shaft 180 and a power unit 190 .

[0062] The transmission shaft 180 extends transversely and is located above the evaporator 150 or flush with the top surface of the evaporator 150. Preferably, the axial direction of the transmission shaft 180 is the same as the horizontal direction. The first end 141 of the thermal insulation member 140 is fixedly connected to the transmission shaft 180. The power unit 190 is connected to the transmission shaft 180 and is used to drive the transmission shaft 180 to rotate along its axial direction to unfold or roll up the thermal insulation member 140. Optionally, the thermal insulation member 140 is a thermal insulation film layer. The power unit 190 is, for example, a power device such as an electric motor or a motor.

[0063] To prevent the heat insulating element 140 from curling when unfolded and affecting the heat insulating effect, a counterweight block can be connected to the second end 142 of the heat insulating element 140, and the second end 142 is opposite to the first end 141. The counterweight block stretches the second end 142 under the action of gravity, so that the heat insulating element 140 is unfolded more smoothly.

[0064] In some embodiments, the evaporator 150 is connected to two opposite ends in the horizontal direction with fixing members 1100. The fixing members 1100 are fixed to the inner wall of the cooling air duct 120, for example, fixed to the second side wall 123. The two fixing members 1100 are respectively provided with through holes extending in the horizontal direction, and the two ends of the transmission shaft 180 are respectively passed through one through hole. Through the above-mentioned setting, the fixing members 1100 can be used for dual purposes, and there is no need to add a bracket for supporting the transmission shaft 180. In some other embodiments, a bracket can also be added separately to support the transmission shaft 180 and the power unit 190.

[0065] The refrigerator 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, during the defrosting stage, expands the heat insulating member 140 to isolate the heat generated by the heater 130, thereby preventing the heat from entering the storage compartment 110 and causing the storage compartment 110 to heat up, thereby facilitating the storage of food, and facilitating more heat to flow to the vicinity of the evaporator 150, thereby improving the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150 and reducing the power consumption of defrosting. In addition, by controlling the fan 160 to rotate at a low speed so that the return air port 124 slowly discharges air toward the heater 130, so that the hot air flows from the bottom to the top through the surface of the evaporator 150 and flows out from the top of the evaporator 150, the uniformity of heating of various parts of the evaporator 150 can be improved, and the situation that the lower part of the evaporator 150 defrosts quickly while the upper part defrosts too slowly can be prevented, thereby further improving the overall defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 150.

[0066] The refrigerator provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced in detail above. Specific examples are used herein to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method and core idea of ​​the present application. At the same time, for technical personnel in this field, according to the idea of ​​the present application, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, characterized in that: include: Storage room; A cooling air duct is communicated with the storage compartment, and an evaporator is arranged in the cooling air duct; A heater is arranged in the cooling air duct and below the evaporator, and is used to generate heat to defrost the evaporator; A heat insulating member is arranged in the cooling air duct and is located between the evaporator and the storage compartment. The heat insulating member is used to be unfolded when the refrigerator is defrosting to separate the evaporator and the heater from the storage compartment, and is retracted when the refrigerator stops defrosting.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling air duct includes a first side wall, the first side wall is provided with an air supply port connected to the storage compartment, the thermal insulation is located between the first side wall and the evaporator, and when the thermal insulation is unfolded, the evaporator and the heater are separated from the first side wall.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cooling air duct further comprises a second side wall opposite to the first side wall, and the second side wall is provided with a return air port; The refrigerator further includes a return air duct, one end of which is connected to the storage compartment, and the other end of which is connected to the return air port, and the return air port discharges air toward the heater.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cooling air duct also includes a bottom wall close to the bottom of the refrigerator, the bottom wall is connected to the first side wall and the second side wall, the heater is installed on the bottom wall, and the return air port is arranged on the second side wall close to the bottom wall.

5. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Also includes: A transmission shaft, the transmission shaft extends transversely and is located above the evaporator or flush with the top surface of the evaporator, and the first end of the thermal insulation member is fixedly connected to the transmission shaft; A power unit is connected to the transmission shaft and is used to drive the transmission shaft to rotate along its axial direction so as to unfold or roll up the thermal insulation member.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, characterized in that: The heat insulating member comprises a second end opposite to the first end, and a counterweight is connected to the second end.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 5, characterized in that: The two opposite ends of the evaporator in the horizontal direction are respectively connected with fixing members, and the fixing members are fixed to the inner wall of the cooling air duct; The two fixing members are respectively provided with through holes extending in the horizontal direction, and the two ends of the transmission shaft are respectively passed through one of the through holes.

8. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The thermal insulation component is a thermal insulation film layer.

9. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: It also includes a fan, which is installed on the first side wall and arranged at the air supply port, and is used to accelerate air convection between the cooling air duct and the storage compartment.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, characterized in that: During the defrosting process of the refrigerator, the fan rotates at a first speed, and during the refrigeration process of the refrigerator, the fan rotates at a second speed; The first rotation speed is lower than the second rotation speed.

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