Refrigerator

Abstract

To secure a sufficient air passage in a refrigerator of a compact design.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 1 includes: a first space where a cooler is disposed; a second space where a storage chamber is formed; a fan 5 for blowing the air in the first space to the second space; and an air passage 2 for guiding the air blown out of the fan 5 to the second space. In the air passage 2, frontward / backward width of the air passage 2 becomes narrower as going back toward the fan 5 from an air exhaust port 16 to the second space formed on the most downstream side of the air passage 2, and at least one of the lateral width and the vertical width of the air passage 2 becomes broader.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, refrigerators have been known in which a cool air duct (air passage) for sending air from a cooling compartment to a storage compartment is provided along a wall surface of the refrigerator (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4741522 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, if one tries to apply the configuration of a conventional refrigerator (see, for example, Patent Document 1) to a compact refrigerator to be placed in, for example, a living room or a bedroom, the internal volume becomes small and the depth of the interior becomes narrow, making it difficult to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The refrigerator of the present invention comprises a first space in which a cooler is arranged, a second space in which a storage compartment is formed, a fan that blows air from the first space to the second space, and an air passage that guides the air blown out from the fan to the second space, and is characterized in that the front-to-rear width of the air passage narrows and at least one of the left-to-right width and the up-to-down width of the air passage widens as the air passage moves upstream from an air outlet to the second space formed at the most downstream side of the air passage toward the fan. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] A front view of a refrigerator with the door removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a front view of the refrigerator from which the shelf board, the duct cover, and the air passage panel shown in FIG. 2 have been further removed. [Diagram 5] 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator showing the positional relationship between an air passage and a cooling compartment (first space). FIG. [Figure 6] 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the refrigerator with the left side surface portion shown in FIG. 4 further removed, showing the air duct as viewed from diagonally below on the left. [Figure 7A] 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the air passage at the portion VIIA in FIG. 2. [Figure 7B] 6 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of the air passage at part VIIB in FIG. 2. [Figure 7C] 3 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of an air passage at a portion VIIC in FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the air passage panel, the duct cover, and the duct panel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] A mode (embodiment) for carrying out a refrigerator of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view of refrigerator 1 with door 20 (see Fig. 1) removed. Note that front-rear, up-down, left-right directions in the following description are based on the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions indicated by arrows in Fig. 1.

[0008] As shown in FIG. 1, refrigerator 1 includes a box-shaped refrigerator body 10 that is open at the front, and a door 20 that opens and closes the opening at the front of refrigerator body 10. The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment is assumed to be a compact design to be placed in a living room, a bedroom, etc. Specifically, the refrigerator 1 is assumed to be 600 mm or less in width, 450 mm or less in depth, and 750 mm or less in height, but is not limited thereto.

[0009] The refrigerator body 10 includes an outer box 11 that includes a top surface portion 11a, a bottom surface portion 11b, a left side surface portion 11c, a right side surface portion 11d, and a back surface portion 11e, and constitutes the outer shell of the refrigerator 1. As shown in Fig. 2, refrigerator body 10 has inner box 12 made of synthetic resin. A heat insulating material such as urethane foam is filled between inner box 12 and outer box 11. As a result, refrigerator body 10 forms storage chamber 13 inside inner box 12, which is insulated from the outside. A plurality of shelves 3 (three shelves in this embodiment) are provided across the left and right inner walls 12a of the inner box 12.

[0010] In Fig. 2, reference numeral 14 denotes an air passage panel that forms the rear wall of the storage chamber 13. An air passage 2, shown by a hidden line (dotted line), is formed on the rear side of the air passage panel 14 (the rear side of the paper surface of Fig. 2). A plurality of air discharge ports 16 are formed in the air passage panel 14 so as to connect the air passage 2 and the storage chamber 13 to each other.

[0011] In this embodiment, the air discharge ports 16 are arranged in a row in the vertical direction along each of the left and right inner walls 12a in a front view of the refrigerator 1. Specifically, on each of the left and right sides of the air passage panel 14, six air discharge ports 16 are arranged in a row, each slightly shifting toward the left and right center as they move from the lower end side to the upper end side of the air passage panel 14. 2, reference numeral 5 denotes a centrifugal fan, shown by hidden lines, that forms airflow Ac in air passage 2. Reference numeral 17 denotes a machine room.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. As shown in Fig. 3, the machine room 17 is arranged with electric devices including the compressor 22, a condenser, a pressure reducer (capillary tube) (not shown), and a control board that controls the refrigerator 1 as a whole. The machine room 17 is an enclosed space except for a ventilation means (not shown) for the outside air. The compressor 22, a condenser and a pressure reducer (not shown) provided in the urethane foam between the inner box 12 and the outer box 11 and in the machine room 17, and a cooler 31 (described next) form a refrigeration cycle.

[0013] 3, the cooler 31 is disposed in a cooling chamber 30 formed between the air passage panel 14 and the inner box 12. In this cooling chamber 30, the cooler 31, a defrost heater, a bucket for receiving defrost water, and the like are disposed, although not shown in the drawings. Further, a centrifugal fan 5 is provided above the cooling chamber 30. This centrifugal fan 5 corresponds to the "fan" set forth in the claims.

[0014] The centrifugal fan 5 blows the air from the cooling chamber 30 into the storage chamber 13 . Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, centrifugal fan 5 generates airflow Ac in air passage 2. Airflow Ac sends air out from air outlet 16 formed at the lowest end side of air passage panel 14 to storage chamber 13 (second space), and also sends air out from other air outlets 16 to storage chamber 13. That is, the cooling chamber 30 corresponds to a first space in the claims, and the storage chamber 13 corresponds to a second space in the claims.

[0015] In addition, the cooling chamber 30 (first space) to which air is blown out by the centrifugal fan 5 draws in air from the storage chamber 13 (second space) through a communication hole 9 provided at the lower end of the cooling chamber 30 (first space), as shown in FIG. In other words, refrigerator 1 uses centrifugal fan 5 to circulate air from cooling chamber 30 (first space) to air duct 2, from air duct 2 to storage chamber 13 (second space), and from storage chamber 13 (second space) to cooling chamber 30 (first space).

[0016] Next, air passage 2 will be described in more detail. In the following, air passage 2 formed on the left side of centrifugal fan 5 when viewed from the front of refrigerator 1 will be described as an example. FIG. 4 is a front view of refrigerator 1 from which shelf board 3, air passage panel 14, and duct cover 32 (see FIG. 8) have been further removed. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the air passage panel 14, the duct cover 32, and the duct panel 4. FIG.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerator 1 has a duct panel 4 on the back side (the rear side of the paper surface of FIG. 2) of the air passage panel 14 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the duct panel 4, the duct cover 32, and the air passage panel 14 are provided in this order from the rear side. In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 5 denotes a centrifugal fan, and the reference numeral 5a denotes a fan casing. The duct cover 32 has a through hole at a position facing the air discharge port 16 provided in the air passage panel 14, whereby the air passage 2 of the duct panel 4 and the air discharge port 16 communicate with each other. In FIG. 8, the reference numeral 2 denotes an air passage, the reference numeral 5 denotes a centrifugal fan, and the reference numeral 9 denotes a communication hole provided at the lower end of the cooling chamber 30 (see FIG. 3).

[0018] The duct panel 4 (see FIG. 4) forms an air passage 2 (see FIG. 2) between itself and a duct cover 32 (see FIG. 8). In addition, the duct panel 4 forms a cooling chamber 30 (first space) between itself and the inner box 12, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0019] As shown in Figure 4, such a duct panel 4 has a cooling chamber forming portion 6 having a flat surface 7 facing the air passage panel 14 (see Figure 2), and a rear wall 8 of the air passage 2 that is offset rearward from the cooling chamber forming portion 6 (toward the back of the paper in Figure 4). Rear wall 8 is laterally adjacent to centrifugal fan 5 to form upstream air passage 2 (hereinafter, may be referred to as upstream air passage 2a). The duct panel 4 also includes a downstream air passage 2c that is offset rearward from the rear wall 8. In Fig. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a cooler indicated by a hidden line (dotted line). Reference numeral 9 denotes a communication hole that communicates between the cooling chamber 30 (see Fig. 3) and the storage chamber 13 (see Fig. 3).

[0020] Fig. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of refrigerator 1 showing the positional relationship between air passage 2 and cooling chamber 30 (first space). In Fig. 5, a projection plane Ps of cooling chamber forming portion 6 onto left side surface portion 11c (see Fig. 1) of refrigerator 1 is shown by a virtual line (two-dot chain line). 5, rear wall 8 of upstream air passage 2a is located behind a projection plane Ps of cooling chamber forming portion 6 onto left side surface 11c of refrigerator 1 (see FIG. 1) in a side view of refrigerator 1. Specifically, rear wall 8 of upstream air passage 2a rises from the upper rear edge of cooling chamber forming portion 6 and is inclined rearward. In Fig. 5, reference symbol 2c denotes a downstream air passage shown shaded.

[0021] Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of refrigerator 1 with left side surface portion 11c and corresponding inner box 12 further removed from refrigerator 1 shown in Fig. 4, and showing air duct 2 as viewed from diagonally lower left. Note that Fig. 6 also shows, by dotted lines, air discharge port 16 (see Fig. 2) formed on the left side of air duct panel 14 (see Fig. 2) and on the lowest end side, in other words, on the most downstream side of air duct 2 (see Fig. 2).

[0022] As shown in Figure 6, when looking up from the downstream side of the air passage 2 defined by the air outlet 16 to the upstream side of the air passage 2 where the centrifugal fan 5 is located, the duct panel 4 has a greater difference in elevation between the flat surface 7 of the cooling chamber forming portion 6 and the downstream air passage 2c than the difference in elevation between the flat surface 7 of the cooling chamber forming portion 6 and the rear wall 8 of the upstream air passage 2a.

[0023] Duct panel 4 has an inclined curved surface 2b1 to fill the step between rear wall 8 of upstream air passage 2a and downstream air passage 2c. This inclined curved surface 2b1 is inclined so as to be gradually displaced backward as it approaches the downstream side, and is curved so as to be convex toward the inside of air passage 2.

[0024] This inclined curved surface 2b1 constitutes connecting air passage 2b that connects upstream air passage 2a and downstream air passage 2c between duct cover 32 (see FIG. 8). This connecting air passage 2b has inclined curved surface 2b1 as an inner wall surface, so that air flowing from upstream air passage 2a to downstream air passage 2c is guided in a twisting manner. This connecting air passage 2b corresponds to a "twisted air passage" as defined in the claims.

[0025] Further, downstream air passage 2c has a plurality of inclined protrusions 21 arranged in the vertical direction. The inclined protrusion 21 has an inclined surface 21a that gradually displaces forward as it extends downward. In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are three inclined protrusions 21, but there is no limit to the number of inclined protrusions 21. Furthermore, when there is a single air outlet, there may be only one inclined protrusion 21.

[0026] Next, a cross section of air passage 2 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of a cross section of air passage 2 at VIIA in FIG. 2. FIG. 7A shows a cross section of upstream air passage 2a adjacent to the side of centrifugal fan 5 (see FIG. 4). FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a cross section of air passage 2 at VIIB in FIG. 2. FIG. 7B shows a cross section of upstream air passage 2a and connecting air passage 2b adjacent to the upper part of cooling chamber forming section 6 (see FIG. 4). FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram of a cross section of air passage 2 at VIIC in FIG. 2. FIG. 7C mainly shows a cross section of downstream air passage 2c. Note that the cross section of air passage 2 in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C is shaded. Also, in FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C, centrifugal fan 5 and fan casing 5a are shown by virtual lines (two-dot chain lines) so as to correspond to air passage 2.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 7A, upstream air passage 2a adjacent to centrifugal fan 5 is formed horizontally long with front-to-rear width Wa1 being shorter than left-to-right width Wb1. Also, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upstream air passage 2a adjacent to the upper part of the cooling chamber forming section 6 (see FIG. 4) has a front-to-rear width Wa1 that is approximately the same as the front-to-rear width Wa1 (see FIG. 7A) except for the connecting air passage 2b, a part of which is formed on the left side. And, connecting air passage 2b shown in FIG. 7B gradually widens in the front-rear direction toward the left, that is, toward the downstream side.

[0028] Also, as shown in FIG. 7C, the front-to-rear width Wa2 of the downstream air passage 2c is wider than the front-to-rear width Wa1 (see FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B) of the upstream air passage 2a due to the connecting air passage 2b (see FIG. 7B) connected to the upstream side thereof (Wa2>Wa1). That is, air passage 2 consisting of upstream air passage 2a, connecting air passage 2b, and downstream air passage 2c shown in Figures 7A, 7B, and 7C has a front-to-rear width that narrows from Wa2 to Wa1 as it moves upstream from the most downstream air outlet 16 shown in Figure 6 toward centrifugal fan 5.

[0029] 7A, the left-right width Wb1 of upstream air passage 2a, the left-right width Wb2 of connecting air passage 2b, and the left-right width Wb3 of downstream air passage 2c, shown in FIG. 7C, narrow in that order. In other words, the front-to-rear width of air passage 2 widens from Wb3 to Wb1 as one moves upstream from air discharge port 16 on the most downstream side shown in FIG. 6 toward centrifugal fan 5 (Wb3 <Wb2<Wb1)。

[0030] In addition, although not shown in the figure, the air passage 2 can maintain a constant flow path cross-section by gradually narrowing the front-to-back width and gradually widening the left-to-right width (i.e., by widening either the left-to-right width or the top-to-bottom width) as it moves upstream.

[0031] Next, the effects and advantages of the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment will be described. In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the front-to-rear width of the air passage 2 becomes narrower (Wa2>Wa1) and the left-to-right width of the air passage 2 becomes wider (Wb3>Wa1) from the air discharge port 16 formed at the most downstream side of the air passage 2 toward the centrifugal fan 5. <Wb2<Wb1)。 According to such refrigerator 1, in order to ensure the amount of airflow from the upstream side to the downstream side in air passage 2 which has a narrow left-right width, air passage 2 is enlarged in the front-rear direction toward the downstream side of air passage 2, thereby ensuring the amount of airflow. As a result, even with refrigerator 1, a predetermined capacity of storage compartment 13 can be maintained, and the width of refrigerator 1 can be set compactly without reducing the interior depth.

[0032] In addition, air passage 2 of refrigerator 1 extends from the centrifugal fan 5 side to the outside in the left-right width direction of refrigerator 1, and downstream air passage 2c on the air outlet port 16 side is shifted further rearward than upstream air passage 2a on the centrifugal fan 5 side. According to such refrigerator 1, the predetermined capacity of storage compartment 13 can be maintained more efficiently, and the width of refrigerator 1 can be set compactly without reducing the interior depth.

[0033] Further, rear wall 8 of upstream air passage 2a of refrigerator 1 is located behind a projection plane Ps of cooling chamber 30 (first space) onto left side portion 11c of refrigerator 1 in a side view of refrigerator 1. According to such refrigerator 1, a larger upstream air passage 2a can be ensured in the front-rear direction.

[0034] In addition, upstream air duct 2a and downstream air duct 2c of refrigerator 1 are connected by connecting air duct 2b (twisted air duct). By making connecting air duct 2b an inclined curved surface, resistance in air duct 2 is suppressed, and air volume can be secured from air discharge port 16 on the most downstream side shown in FIG.

[0035] Further, downstream air passage 2c of refrigerator 1 has a plurality of inclined protruding parts 21 aligned toward the downstream side. The inclined protrusion 21 is provided at a position opposite to the air discharge port 16 or upstream thereof, so that the air can easily flow out into the storage chamber 13 (second space).

[0036] Moreover, air passage 2 of refrigerator 1 can be configured so that the flow passage cross-sectional area is kept constant from the upstream side to the downstream side. According to such refrigerator 1, the air flow speed in air passage 2 can be kept constant.

[0037] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be embodied in various forms. Air passage 2 of refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment is configured so that the lateral width of air passage 2 becomes wider as it goes upstream from air discharge port 16 formed at the most downstream side of air passage 2 toward centrifugal fan 5, but it may also be configured so that the vertical width of air passage 2 becomes wider. Also, it may also be configured so that both the lateral width and the vertical width of air passage 2 become wider as it goes upstream from air discharge port 16 formed at the most downstream side of air passage 2 toward centrifugal fan 5.

[0038] In addition, in the refrigerator 1 of the embodiment, the air passage 2 on the left side when viewed from the front has been described, but the air passage on the right side can be configured in the same manner as the left side. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the centrifugal fan 5 is used, but other fans may also be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1. Refrigerator 2 Wind path 2a Upstream wind path 2b Connected air duct (twisted air duct) 2b1 Slanted curved surface 4 Duct Panel 5 Centrifugal fan (fan) 8 Back wall of upstream air duct 11c Left side of refrigerator (side) 13 Storage room (second space) 14 Air duct panel 16 Air outlet 21 Inclined protrusion 21a Inclined surface of inclined protrusion 30 Cooling room (first space) 31 Cooler 32 Duct cover Ps Projection surface (projection surface of cooling room)

Claims

1. a first space in which a cooler is disposed; A second space in which a storage chamber is formed; A fan that blows air from the first space to the second space; an air passage that guides the air blown out from the fan to the second space; Equipped with The refrigerator is characterized in that the front-to-rear width of the air passage narrows and at least one of the left-to-right width and the up-to-down width of the air passage widens as the air passage moves upstream from an air outlet to the second space formed at the most downstream side of the air passage toward the fan.

2. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the air passage extends from the fan side to the outside in the left-right width direction of the refrigerator, and the downstream air passage on the air outlet side is shifted further rearward than the upstream air passage on the fan side.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2 , wherein the rear wall of the upstream air passage is located rearward of a projection plane of the first space onto a side surface of the refrigerator in a side view of the refrigerator.

4. The upstream air passage and the downstream air passage are connected by a twisted air passage, The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the twist air duct has an inner wall surface that is inclined so as to be gradually displaced rearward as it approaches the downstream side and is curved so as to be convex toward the inside of the twist air duct.

5. The downstream air passage has an inclined protruding portion toward the downstream side, 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the inclined protrusion has an inclined surface that is gradually displaced forward as it approaches the downstream side.

6. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a flow passage cross-sectional area of ​​the air passage is maintained constant from the upstream side to the downstream side.

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