Refrigerator

Abstract

To reduce a size of an inverter electrical box while taking measures against noise and heat generated from a drive circuit, and to improve a degree of freedom of a layout in a machine room, in a refrigerator.SOLUTION: An electrical box 17 is constituted of a first electrical box 17A for accommodating a power supply baseboard 52 of an inverter device and a main control baseboard 50 for integrally controlling an operation of a refrigerator, and a second electrical box 17B for accommodating only a drive baseboard 61 of the inverter device. The first electrical box 17A comprises a case 25 having a rear opening 24, and formed with an accommodation space 27 at the inside, and a cover 26 fixed to the case 25, and closing the rear opening 24. The second electrical box 17B is fixed to an outer face of the cover 26 of the first electrical box 17A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an electrical equipment box in a machine compartment, and more particularly to a refrigerator that controls the internal temperature by controlling the rotation speed of a compressor using an inverter. [Background technology]

[0002] It is a well-known technique to use an inverter power supply to control the frequency of a compressor drive motor that constitutes a compressor for a refrigerant compressor according to the load. The inverter device used for such frequency control is composed of a converter circuit that converts AC to DC and a drive circuit that controls the AC voltage and frequency. However, since noise and heat are generated from the drive circuit that is driven at high frequency, it is a well-known technical issue that noise and heat countermeasures are required.

[0003] As a countermeasure against noise from the drive circuit, for example, in the cooling storage cabinet of Patent Document 1, an electrical box (control box) for the inverter housing a power circuit (converter circuit) and an inverter circuit (drive circuit) is attached to the outer surface of the evaporator chamber, and another electrical box (another control box) equipped with an operating unit, display unit, etc. is mounted on the front of the evaporator chamber, thereby preventing noise generated from the inverter circuit (drive circuit) from reaching the electronic devices in the separate electrical box (separate control box) (see paragraphs

[0018] to

[0021] of Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-167856 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the configuration of Patent Document 1, since both the converter circuit board and the drive circuit board are housed in an electrical box (control box) for the inverter, it is unavoidable that the external dimensions of the electrical box for the inverter are large. As a result, the proportion of the electrical box for the inverter in the machinery room increases, and the degree of freedom in designing the interior of the machinery room decreases accordingly.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can reduce the size of an electrical box for an inverter while implementing measures against noise and heat generated from a drive circuit, and can improve the design freedom in the machine compartment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is directed to a refrigerator in which a cooling device 2 including a condensing device 2A and an evaporating device 2B and an electrical box 17 accommodating various control boards are accommodated inside a machine room 3. An inverter device constituting the condensing device 2A includes a power supply board 52 on which a power supply circuit for driving a compressor is mounted, and a drive board 61 on which a semiconductor module for driving the compressor is mounted. The electrical box 17 is composed of a first electrical box 17A accommodating a power supply board 52 of the inverter device and a main control board 50 for controlling the overall operation of the refrigerator, and a second electrical box 17B accommodating only the drive board 61 of the inverter device. The first electrical box 17A includes a case 25 having a rear opening 24 and in which an accommodating space 27 is formed, and a cover 26 fixed to the case 25 and closing the rear opening 24. The second electrical box 17B is characterized in that it is fixed to the outer surface of the cover 26 of the first electrical box 17A.

[0008] The cover 26 is fixed so as to close the rear opening 24 formed in the case 25 of the first electric box 17A, and the second electric box 17B is fixed to the rear surface of the cover 26. The second electric box 17B includes a housing 58 having a front opening 56 and a side opening 57, and a heat sink 59 attached so as to close the side opening 57. The drive board 61 is fixed to a side surface of the heat sink 59. When the second electric box 17B is fixed to the cover 26, a gap 86 is formed between the heat sink 59 and the cover 26.

[0009] The housing 58 includes a rear wall 70 having a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction, upper and lower walls 71 and 72 extending forward from upper and lower peripheral edges of the rear wall 70, and a side wall 73 extending forward from one of the left and right peripheral edges of the rear wall 70. Guide rails 76 and 76 are formed on the peripheral edges of the upper and lower walls 71 and 72 facing the side opening 57, respectively, and the heat sink 59 is configured to be attached so as to close the side opening 57 of the housing 58 by sliding the heat sink 59 rearward from the front opening 56 along the guide rails 76 and 76.

[0010] The electrical box mounting structure for mounting the second electrical box 17B to the rear surface of the cover 26 includes an upper mounting structure 78 formed between the cover 26 and an upper end of the housing 58, and a lower mounting structure 79 formed between the cover 26 and the lower end of the housing 58. The upper mounting structure 78 is configured as a fastening structure including through holes 45·81 formed in the cover 26 and the housing 58, a screw 83 screwed into both the through holes 45·81, and a nut 84 fastened to the screw 83. The lower mounting structure 79 is configured as an engagement structure including a slit 44b opened in the cover 26 and a locking piece 85 formed in the housing 58 and locked in the slit 44b.

[0011] A bulge 74 extending outward to the left and right is formed on the side wall 73 of the housing 58 that faces the drive board 61 in the left-right direction, and a recess 19 that receives the bulge 74 is formed on the outer surface of the insulated case 13 that houses the evaporator 15 and circulation fan 16 that constitute the evaporation equipment 2B. Effect of the Invention

[0012] As in the present invention, when the power supply board 52 and the main control board 50 of the inverter device are accommodated in the first electric box 17A and only the drive board 61 of the inverter device is accommodated in the second electric box 17B, the drive board 61 and the other electronic devices (the power supply board 52 and the main control board 50) can be arranged in different spaces, respectively, so that it is possible to prevent the other electronic devices from malfunctioning due to the influence of noise generated from the drive board 61. It is also possible to prevent the other electronic devices from malfunctioning due to the influence of heat generated from the drive board 61. In addition, according to the present invention, the outer dimensions of the second electric box 17B, which is the electric box 17 dedicated to the inverter device, can be significantly reduced, so that the proportion of the second electric box 17B in the machine room 3 can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in designing the machine room 3 can be improved. In addition, it is possible to incorporate the inverter device into a small refrigerator, which was difficult to incorporate an inverter device into in the past.

[0013] If the second electric box 17B includes a housing 58 having a front opening 56 and a side opening 57, and a heat sink 59 attached to close the side opening 57, and if a gap 86 is formed between the heat sink 59 and the cover 26 when the second electric box 17B is fixed to the cover 26, the gap 86 can be used as a heat exhaust path to release heat generated from the drive board 61 to the outside of the second electric box 17B. If the heat sink 59 is in contact with the cover 26 when the second electric box 17B is fixed to the cover 26, there is a risk that vibrations generated from the drive board 61 will be transmitted to the cover 26 via the heat sink 59 and cause rattling noises. However, if a gap 86 is formed between the heat sink 59 and the cover 26 as in the present invention, the gap 86 can prevent vibrations from being transmitted from the heat sink 59 to the cover 26, and thus the rattling noises can be prevented.

[0014] If the heat sink 59 is configured to be mounted so as to close the side opening 57 of the housing 58 by sliding the heat sink 59 from the front opening 56 rearward along the guide rails 76-76 formed on the housing 58, the mounting structure of the heat sink 59 and the drive board 61 to the housing 58 can be simplified, the number of parts of the mounting structure can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator can be reduced. In addition, since the heat sink 59 and the drive board 61 can be mounted to the housing 58 simply by sliding the heat sink 59 along the guide rails 76-76, the workability of mounting the heat sink 59 and the drive board 61 to the housing 58 can be improved.

[0015] If the electrical box mounting structure for mounting second electrical box 17B to the rear surface of cover 26 includes upper mounting structure 78 formed between cover 26 and an upper end portion of housing 58, and lower mounting structure 79 formed between cover 26 and a lower end portion of housing 58, and upper mounting structure 78 is configured as a fastening structure including through holes 45·81 formed in cover 26 and housing 58, screws 83 screwed into both through holes 45·81, and nuts 84 fastened to screws 83, and lower mounting structure 79 is configured as an engagement structure including slit 44b opened in cover 26 and locking piece 85 formed in housing 58 and locked to slit 44b, it is possible to reduce the number of parts of the electrical box mounting structure and also reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator, compared to the case where both the upper and lower mounting structures are fastening structures.

[0016] If a bulging portion 74 projecting outward in the left-right direction is formed on a side wall 73 of the housing 58 facing the drive board 61 in the left-right direction, the rigidity of the side wall 73 and the housing 58 can be improved by the amount of the unevenness of the side wall 73. If a recessed portion 19 for receiving the bulging portion 74 is formed on the outer surface of the heat-insulating case 13 in which the evaporator 15 and the circulation fan 16 constituting the evaporation device 2B are housed in correspondence with the bulging portion 74, for example, when mounting the second electrical box 17B to the first electrical box 17A, the mounting position of the second electrical box 17B to the first electrical box 17A can be determined simply by aligning the bulging portion 74 with the recessed portion 19. This makes it easier to position the second electrical box 17B, and improves the workability of mounting the second electrical box 17B. The cold heat from the evaporator 15 is more easily transferred to the second electrical box 17B by the amount that the bulge 74 penetrates into the recessed portion (recessed portion 19) of the heat insulating case 13, and the inside of the second electrical box 17B can be cooled more efficiently. In this case, if the bulge 74 is formed to protrude outward on the side wall 73 that faces the drive board 61 in the left-right direction, the distance between the drive board 61 and the bulge 74 can be increased, so that even if condensation occurs inside the bulge 74, the condensation can be prevented from getting on the drive board 61. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the drive board 61 from malfunctioning due to condensation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view of an electrical equipment box of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first electric component box and a second electric component box. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating a mounting structure of the second electric component box to the cover of the first electric component box. [Figure 8] 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] (Embodiment) Fig. 1 to Fig. 8 show an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention. In this embodiment, front, rear, left, right, and up and down refer to the crossed arrows shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc. and the indications of front, rear, left, right, and up and down written near each arrow. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the refrigerator is configured in a square box shape, and a refrigeration chamber 1 in which an object to be cooled is stored is partitioned on the right half side of the interior, and a machine chamber 3 in which a cooling device 2 is stored is provided on the left side of the refrigeration chamber 1. The refrigeration chamber 1 is surrounded by a heat-insulating wall, and the opening on the front side is closed by a door 4 that swings open and closed. The opening on the front side of the machine chamber 3 is closed by a removable machine chamber panel 5. An operation cover 6 that covers a control panel that operates the operating state of the cooling device 2 is arranged on the upper part of the machine chamber panel 5, and a louver structure 7 for taking cooling air into the inside of the machine chamber 3 is opened on the lower part of the cover 6.

[0019] 3 and 4, the cooling device 2 is composed of a condensing unit 2A and an evaporating unit 2B, and both units 2A and 2B are integrated and fixed on a unit base 9. The unit base 9 is guided and supported so as to be movable into and out of the machine room 3.

[0020] The condensing device 2A is composed of a compressor 10, a condenser 11, and a blower fan 12, which are fixed to a unit base 9. The compressor 10 is an inverter type compressor in which the rotation speed of the compressor motor is changed and controlled according to the load. The evaporating device 2B is composed of a rectangular box-shaped insulating case 13, an evaporator 15 housed in a heat exchange chamber 14 formed inside the insulating case 13, and a circulation fan 16. The insulating case 13 is formed by filling a foam insulating material between an inner case and an outer case made of a plastic molded product, and an electrical box 17 that houses various electrical components is fixed to the outer surface of the outer case. Specifically, a first electrical box 17A is fixed to the front surface of the outer case, and a second electrical box 17B is attached to the rear surface of the first electrical box 17A. As shown in FIG. 4, a recessed portion 19 that receives a part of the second electrical box 17B is recessed and formed on the left side of the outer case.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the first electrical box 17A includes a container-shaped case 25 having a front wall 20, left and right side walls 21, and upper and lower walls 22 and 23 and a rear opening 24, and a cover 26 detachably fixed to the case 25 so as to close the rear opening 24. Various electrical components are housed in an accommodation space 27 defined by the case 25 and the cover 26. The upper fastening piece 30 formed at the rear end of the upper wall 22 is composed of a vertical piece 30a extending upward from the rear end of the upper wall 22 and a horizontal piece 30b extending rearward continuous with the upper edge of the vertical piece 30a. The lower fastening piece 31 formed at the rear end of the lower wall 23 is composed of a vertical piece 31a extending downward from the rear end of the lower wall 23 (see Fig. 4). Screw bosses 32 are protruded from the left and right ends of the vertical pieces 30a and 31a of the upper and lower fastening pieces 30 and 31. The case 25 is an injection-molded resin product in which the front wall 20, side walls 21, upper and lower walls 22, 23, upper and lower fastening pieces 30, 31, screw bosses 32, etc. are integrally formed. The front wall 20 is formed of a vertical wall 20a formed on the lower side and an inclined wall 20b that is continuous with the upper edge of the vertical wall 20a and inclines obliquely upward toward the upper wall 22. A window 33 for a main power switch 54 (described later) is provided on the left side of the inclined wall 20b. The inclined wall 20b also has a window for a control panel, but this is omitted in the drawings. The rear opening 24 is formed in a vertically long rectangle.

[0022] 4 to 6, the cover 26 is a press-formed product made of stainless steel plate, and includes a vertically long rectangular base wall 35 that closes the rear opening 24 of the case 25, leg walls 36, 36 formed by bending forward from the left and right edges of the base wall 35, an upper fixing piece 37 formed by bending at the upper edge of the base wall 35, and a lower fixing piece 38 formed by bending at the lower edge of the base wall 35. The upper fixing piece 37 is composed of a horizontal piece 37a extending rearward from the upper edge of the base wall 35 and a vertical piece 37b extending upward from the rear edge of the horizontal piece 37a. Through holes 39 for fixing screws 40 used to fix the first electrical box 17A to the thermal insulation case 13 are provided at three places, the center and the left and right ends of the vertical piece 37b. The lower fixing piece 38 is composed of a horizontal piece 38a extending rearward from the center of the lower edge of the base wall 35, and a vertical piece 38b extending downward from the rear edge of the horizontal piece 38a. A recess 41 for receiving the fixing screw 40 is formed in the center of the vertical piece 38b.

[0023] Each of the four corners of the base wall 35 has a through hole 43 for a connecting screw 42 corresponding to the screw boss 32 of the case 25. In addition, the base wall 35 is formed with a pair of upper and lower slits 44 (44a, 44b) for attaching the second electric box 17B to the cover 26, through holes 45 for screws 83, a wiring hole 46, and the like, and a wiring hole cap 47 is attached to the wiring hole 46. These will be described in detail later.

[0024] In storage space 27 of first electrical box 17A constituted by case 25 and cover 26 as described above, there are accommodated a main control board 50 which is responsible for overall control of the refrigerator, a main power supply board 51 which is responsible for supplying power to blower fan 12 and the like, an inverter power supply board (power supply board) 52 on which a power supply circuit for driving compressor 10 constituting the inverter device is mounted, reactor 53 which constitutes the inverter device, a main power switch 54, and the like (see FIG. 1).

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the second electric box 17B is composed of a housing 58 having a front opening 56 and a side opening 57, and a heat sink 59 attached so as to close the side opening 57. A drive board 61 (drive circuit) constituting the inverter device is accommodated inside an accommodation chamber 60 defined by the housing 58 and the heat sink 59. The drive board 61 is a board on which a semiconductor module for driving the compressor 10 is mounted, and is fixed to one side of the heat sink 59. In this embodiment, the drive board 61 is fixed to the right side of the heat sink 59. The heat sink 59 is a metal molded product in the shape of a square plate, and a recess 63 having a receiving surface 62 is formed in a stepped shape in the center of the board surface. The board constituting the drive board 61 is formed in a square shape. 8(a) and (b), a pair of upper and lower through holes are provided in the receiving surface 62, and the drive substrate 61 is fastened to the heat sink 59 by fixing screws 64, 64 inserted into each through hole. In Fig. 8(a) and (b), reference numeral 65 denotes a nut that is screwed and fixed to the male thread portion of the screw 64 protruding from a through hole formed in the drive substrate 61, and reference numeral 66 denotes a spacer that is attached to the male thread portion of the screw 64 between the heat sink 59 and the drive substrate 61.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 5, Fig. 7, and Fig. 8(a) and (b), the housing 58 includes a vertically long rectangular rear wall 70, an upper wall 71 extending forward from the upper edge of the rear wall 70, a lower wall 72 extending forward from the lower edge of the rear wall 70, and a side wall 73 extending forward from the right edge of the rear wall 70. The side wall 73 is hat-shaped with a bulging portion 74 extending rightward at its vertical center. That is, the side wall 73 of the housing 58 facing the drive board 61 to the right is formed with the bulging portion 74 extending rightward, and the opposing distance between the drive board 61 and the side wall 73 of the housing 58 is increased by the amount of the bulging portion 74 (see Fig. 8(b)). The recessed portion 19 of the heat-insulating case 13 is recessed to correspond to the bulging portion 74 (see Fig. 4).

[0027] The heat sink 59 is attached to the housing 58 by a rail structure. More specifically, a guide rail 76 consisting of a groove 75 (see FIG. 8(b)) running in the front-rear direction is formed on each of the opening peripheries of the upper and lower walls 71 and 72 constituting the housing 58 facing the side opening 57. Therefore, the rear end of the heat sink 59 is aligned with the front end edges of the upper and lower guide rails 76 and the heat sink 59 is engaged with the upper and lower grooves 75, and then the heat sink 59 is slid from front to rear along the guide rails 76, so that the heat sink 59 can be attached to the housing 58. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7, the front end of the top wall defining the groove 75 of the upper guide rail 76 and the front end of the bottom wall defining the groove 75 of the lower guide rail 76 are provided with small protrusions 77 that bulge inwardly in the vertical direction for fixing the heat sink 59 attached in the guide rails 76.

[0028] Between the second electric box 17B and the cover 26, an electric box mounting structure is formed for mounting the second electric box 17B to the rear surface of the cover 26. The electric box mounting structure is composed of an upper mounting structure 78 formed between the cover 26 and the upper end of the housing 58, and a lower mounting structure 79 formed between the cover 26 and the lower end of the housing 58. The upper mounting structure 78 is composed of an upper slit 44a opened in the cover 26 and extending in the horizontal direction, an upper locking piece 80 connected upward from the upper wall 71 of the housing 58 and locked to the upper slit 44a, a through hole 81 formed in the upper locking piece 80, a through hole 45 formed in the cover 26 corresponding to the through hole 81, a screw 83 inserted from the rear side into both the through holes 81 and 45, and a nut 84 fastened to the male thread portion of the screw 83 protruding from the through hole 45. The lower mounting structure 79 is composed of a lower slit 44b that is opened in the cover 26 and extends horizontally, and a lower locking piece 85 that is connected downward from the lower wall of the housing 58 and is locked to the lower slit 44b.

[0029] 7, the upper locking piece 80 is composed of a vertical arm wall 80a connected upward from the front end of the upper wall 71, a horizontal arm wall 80b extending forward from the upper end of the vertical arm wall 80a, and an engagement wall 80c connected upward from the front end of the horizontal arm wall 80b, and a through hole 81 is opened in the center of the vertical arm wall 80a. Similarly, the lower locking piece 85 is composed of a vertical arm wall 85a connected downward from the front end of the lower wall 72, a horizontal arm wall 85b extending forward from the lower end of the vertical arm wall 85a, and an engagement wall 85c connected downward from the front end of the horizontal arm wall 85b, and a through hole 81 is opened in the center of the vertical arm wall 85a.

[0030] As described above, the small protrusions 77 for fixing the heat sink 59 are formed at the front ends of the grooves 75 of the upper and lower guide rails 76, but the rear edges of these small protrusions 77 are located rearward of the front edges of the vertical arm walls 80a, 85a of the upper and lower locking pieces 80, 85 (see FIG. 7). Therefore, when the heat sink 59 is attached to the housing 58 via the guide rails 76, the front edge of the heat sink 59 is located rearward of the front edges of the vertical arm walls 80a, 85a, and therefore, when the second electric box 17B is fixed to the cover 26 of the first electric box 17A and in a fixed state, a long gap 86 can be formed in the vertical direction between the heat sink 59 of the second electric box 17B and the cover 26.

[0031] An upper slit 44a extending horizontally from left to right is formed in the upper part of cover 26 in correspondence with upper locking piece 80. A through hole 45 is formed below upper slit 44a of cover 26 in correspondence with through hole 81 on the upper locking piece 80 side. Further, a lower slit 44b extending horizontally from left to right is formed in the center of cover 26 in the up-down direction in correspondence with lower locking piece 85.

[0032] When the second electric box 17B is attached to the cover 26 using the electric box attachment structure configured as described above, first, the engagement wall 85c of the lower locking piece 85 is inserted into the lower slit 44b, and the engagement wall 80c of the upper locking piece 80 is inserted into the upper slit 44a. This allows the engagement walls 80c and 85c of the upper and lower locking pieces 80 and 85 to engage with the upper and lower slits 44a and 44b, bringing the second electric box 17B into a provisionally fixed state. From this provisionally fixed state, the screw 83 is inserted from the rear side through the through hole 81 of the upper locking piece 80 and the through hole 45 of the cover 26, and the nut 84 is fastened to the male thread of the screw 83 protruding from the through hole 45, thereby fixing the second electric box 17B to the cover 26. As described above, in a state in which second electric component box 17B is fixed to cover in this manner, gap 86 is formed between heat sink 59 of second electric component box 17B and cover .

[0033] In the above, a refrigerator (machine room left type) having a configuration in which the machine room 3 is provided on the left side of the refrigerator room 1 as shown in FIG. 2 has been described, but the refrigerator shown in this embodiment can also be used in a configuration in which the machine room 3 is provided on the right side of the refrigerator room 1 (machine room right type) by sharing various components. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, when the upper slit 44a, the through hole 45, the wiring hole 46, and the lower slit 44b are defined as one set of fixing structural elements in order from the top on the plate surface of the cover 26, two sets of fixing structural elements are arranged on the left and right sides of the cover 26. In the left-machine room type refrigerator as shown in FIG. 1, the second electrical box 17B can be fixed to the cover 26 using the fixing structural element on the left side, but in the right-machine room type refrigerator, the second electrical box 17B can be fixed to the cover 26 using the fixing structural element on the right side as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 6. In addition, in the housing 58 constituting the second electrical box 17B, a through hole 81 that allows the insertion of a screw 83 is provided not only in the vertical arm wall 80a of the upper locking piece 80 but also in the vertical arm wall 85a of the lower locking piece 85, so that even when the housing 58 is in an upside-down position (see the imaginary line in Figure 6) in order to accommodate the configuration of the right-hand type machine room, the through hole 81 is arranged in the vertical arm wall 85a of the lower locking piece 85 located on the upper side. In addition, in the left-machine-compartment-room type refrigerator, when first electrical box 17A is fixed to heat-insulating case 13, only two points, the center and the right end, of the upper part of cover 26 are fixed with fixing screws 40 (see FIG. 4), but in this embodiment, through holes 39 for fixing screws 40 are formed not only in the center and the right end of the upper end part of cover 26 but also in the left end, and by inserting fixing screws 40 into the two through holes 39 at the center and the left end, first electrical box 17A can be fixed to heat-insulating case 13 without any trouble even in a right-machine-compartment-room type refrigerator. As described above, various parts constituting first electrical box 17A and second electrical box 17B of this embodiment can be used not only in left-machine-compartment-room type refrigerators but also in right-machine-compartment-room type refrigerators.

[0034] As described above, in the refrigerator of the present embodiment, the inverter power supply board 52 is accommodated together with the main control board 50 in the first electrical box 17A, and only the drive board 61 of the inverter device is accommodated in the second electrical box 17B. This allows the drive board 61 and other electronic devices (the main control board 50 and the inverter power supply board 52) to be arranged in different spaces, so that it is possible to prevent the other electronic devices from malfunctioning due to the influence of noise generated from the drive board 61. It is also possible to prevent the other electronic devices from malfunctioning due to the influence of heat generated from the drive board 61. In addition, according to the present embodiment, the outer dimensions of the second electrical box 17B, which is the electrical box 17 dedicated to the inverter device, can be significantly reduced, so that the proportion of the second electrical box 17B in the machine room 3 can be reduced, and the design freedom of the machine room 3 can be improved. In addition, it is possible to incorporate the inverter device into a small refrigerator, in which it was difficult to incorporate an inverter device in the past.

[0035] The second electric box 17B includes a housing 58 having a front opening 56 and a side opening 57, and a heat sink 59 attached to close the side opening 57. When the second electric box 17B is fixed to the cover 26, a gap 86 is formed between the heat sink 59 and the cover 26. This gap 86 serves as a heat exhaust path, allowing heat generated from the drive board 61 to be released to the outside of the second electric box 17B. In a configuration in which the heat sink 59 contacts the cover 26, there is a risk that vibrations generated from the drive board 61 will be transmitted to the cover 26 via the heat sink 59, causing rattling noise. However, in this embodiment, when the gap 86 is formed between the heat sink 59 and the cover 26, the gap 86 effectively prevents vibrations from being transmitted from the heat sink 59 to the cover 26, and therefore rattling noise can be reliably prevented.

[0036] Since guide rails 76 are formed in housing 58 and heat sink 59 and drive board 61 are mounted to housing 58 by sliding heat sink 59 from front opening 56 rearward along guide rails 76, the mounting structure of heat sink 59 and drive board 61 to housing 58 can be simplified, the number of components of the mounting structure can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator can be reduced. Also, since heat sink 59 and drive board 61 can be mounted to housing 58 simply by sliding heat sink 59 along guide rails 76, the workability of mounting heat sink 59 and drive board 61 can be improved.

[0037] The electrical box mounting structure for mounting second electrical box 17B to the rear surface of cover 26 includes upper mounting structure 78 formed between cover 26 and an upper end portion of housing 58, and lower mounting structure 79 formed between cover 26 and a lower end portion of housing 58. Upper mounting structure 78 is configured as a fastening structure including through holes 45·81 formed in cover 26 and housing 58, screws 83 screwed into both through holes 45·81, and nuts 84 fastened to screws 83. Lower mounting structure 79 is configured as an engagement structure including lower slit (slit) 44b opened in cover 26 and lower locking piece (locking piece) 85 formed in housing 58 and locked to lower slit (slit) 44b. Compared with the case where both the upper and lower mounting structures are fastening structures, the number of parts of the electrical box mounting structure can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator can be reduced.

[0038] Since the bulging portion 74 projecting outward in the left and right directions is formed on the side wall 73 of the housing 58 facing the drive board 61 in the left-right direction, the rigidity of the side wall 73 and the housing 58 can be improved by the amount of the unevenness of the side wall 73. Since the recessed portion 19 for receiving the bulging portion 74 is formed in the heat-insulating case 13 of the evaporator 2B, when the second electric box 17B is attached to the first electric box 17A or when the first electric box 17A to which the second electric box 17B is attached is fixed to the heat-insulating case 13, the mounting position and the fixing position can be specified by aligning the bulging portion 74 with the recessed portion 19, which makes it easier to position the second electric box 17B or the first electric box 17A, thereby improving the mounting and fixing workability. The cold heat from the evaporator 15 is more easily transferred to the second electrical box 17B by the amount that the bulge 74 penetrates into the recessed portion (recessed portion 19) of the heat insulating case 13, and the inside of the second electrical box 17B can be cooled more efficiently. Since the bulge 74 is formed by protruding outward from the side wall 73 that faces the drive board 61 in the left-right direction, the distance between the drive board 61 and the bulge 74 is increased, so that even if condensation occurs inside the bulge 74, the condensation can be prevented from getting on the drive board 61. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the drive board 61 from malfunctioning due to condensation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 2 Cooling device 2A condensing equipment 2B Evaporation Equipment 3 Machine room 13 Insulating case 15 Evaporator 16 Circulation Fan 17 Electrical box 17A First Electrical Box 17B 2nd electrical box 19 Hollow 24 Case opening (rear opening) 25 cases 26 Cover 27 Containment Space 44b Slit (lower slit) 50 Main control board 52 Power supply board (inverter power supply board) 56 Front opening of housing 57 Housing side opening 58 Housing 59 Heat sink 61 Drive Board 70 Rear wall of housing 71 Upper wall of housing 72 Bottom wall of housing 73 Housing side wall 74 Bulge 76 Guide Rail 78 Upper mounting structure 79 Bottom mounting structure 83 Screw 84 Nut 85 Locking piece (lower locking piece) 86 Gap

Claims

1. A refrigerator in which a cooling device (2) composed of a condensing device (2A) and an evaporating device (2B) and an electrical box (17) accommodating various control boards are accommodated inside a machine room (3), The inverter device constituting the condensing device (2A) includes a power supply board (52) on which a power supply circuit for driving the compressor is mounted, and a drive board (61) on which a semiconductor module for driving the compressor is mounted, The electrical equipment box (17) is composed of a first electrical equipment box (17A) that houses a power supply board (52) of the inverter device and a main control board (50) that performs overall control of the operation of the refrigerator, and a second electrical equipment box (17B) that houses only a drive board (61) of the inverter device, The first electrical box (17A) includes a case (25) having a rear opening (24) and an accommodation space (27) formed therein, and a cover (26) fixed to the case (25) and closing the rear opening (24); A refrigerator characterized in that a second electrical box (17B) is fixed to an outer surface of a cover (26) of a first electrical box (17A).

2. The cover (26) is fixed so as to close a rear opening (24) formed in a case (25) of the first electrical box (17A), and the second electrical box (17B) is fixed to a rear surface of the cover (26); The second electrical box (17B) includes a housing (58) having a front opening (56) and a side opening (57), and a heat sink (59) attached so as to close the side opening (57). The drive board (61) is fixed to the side of the heat sink (59), 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a gap (86) is formed between the heat sink (59) and the cover (26) when the second electrical box (17B) is fixed to the cover (26).

3. The housing (58) includes a rear wall (70) having a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction, upper and lower walls (71, 72) that are connected forward from upper and lower peripheral edges of the rear wall (70), and a side wall (73) that is connected forward from one of the left and right peripheral edges of the rear wall (70), 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein guide rails (76, 76) are formed on the periphery of the openings facing the side openings (57) of the upper and lower walls (71, 72), and the heat sink (59) is attached so as to close the side openings (57) of the housing (58) by sliding the heat sink (59) along the guide rails (76, 76) from the front opening (56) toward the rear.

4. an electrical box mounting structure for mounting the second electrical box (17B) to a rear surface of the cover (26) includes an upper mounting structure (78) formed between the cover (26) and an upper end portion of the housing (58), and a lower mounting structure (79) formed between the cover (26) and a lower end portion of the housing (58); The upper mounting structure (78) is composed of a fastening structure including through holes (45, 81) formed in the cover (26) and the housing (58), a screw (83) screwed into both the through holes (45, 81), and a nut (84) fastened to the screw (83), 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the lower mounting structure (79) is configured as an engagement structure including a slit (44b) opened in the cover (26) and a locking piece (85) formed in the housing (58) and locked in the slit (44b).

5. A side wall (73) of the housing (58) facing the drive board (61) in the left-right direction is formed with a bulge (74) that protrudes outward to the left and right, 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a recess (19) for receiving the bulge (74) is formed in an outer surface of an insulating case (13) in which an evaporator (15) and a circulation fan (16) constituting an evaporating device (2B) are housed, in correspondence with the bulge (74).

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