Cooling box

Abstract

To provide a cooling box that suppresses reduction in capacitance of an electrolyte capacitor, and has high stability of electrical performance.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises a housing having a cooling chamber, a top plate arranged above a top surface of the housing, and a control unit arranged between the top surface of the housing and the top plate in a height direction. The control unit includes a substrate, and an electrolyte capacitor and a heat-generating component arranged on the substrate. The top plate has a protrusion part on a surface facing the substrate, the protrusion part located between the electrolyte capacitor and the heat-generating component on the top plate in a top view and protruding toward the substrate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to refrigerators. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator having a control board. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-148463 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In some cases, a control board is equipped with an electrolytic capacitor and a heat-generating component. In such cases, the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor rises due to the heat generated by the heat-generating component (such as a power element). The electrolytic capacitor's capacitance may decrease due to evaporation of the electrolyte caused by the temperature rise.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator that suppresses the decrease in capacitance of an electrolytic capacitor and has highly stable electrical performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a housing having a cooling chamber; a top plate disposed above the top surface of the housing; and a control unit disposed between the top surface and the top plate of the housing in the height direction. The control unit includes a substrate, an electrolytic capacitor, and a heat-generating component disposed on the substrate. The top plate has a protrusion on the surface facing the substrate that is located between the electrolytic capacitor and the heat-generating component of the top plate in a top view and that protrudes toward the substrate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that suppresses a decrease in the capacitance of an electrolytic capacitor and has highly stable electrical performance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view showing the main parts of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their names and functions are also the same.

[0010] <Cooler> In this disclosure, the term "cooling cabinet" generally refers to a cabinet that has an internal space (cooling compartment) that is kept at a temperature lower than the outside air temperature and can lower the temperature of stored items. The cooling cabinet may be, for example, a refrigerator or a freezer. The cooling cabinet may have only one cooling compartment, or may have multiple cooling compartments. When the cooling cabinet has multiple cooling compartments, the multiple cooling compartments may include at least two of a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, a vegetable compartment, a chilled compartment, a partial compartment, etc.

[0011] 1, refrigerator 1 includes a housing 5 (insulated box) as a heat insulating structure for insulating each storage space from the surroundings. Housing 5 includes a heat insulating layer, an outer box that forms the outer shape of refrigerator 1, an inner box that forms the storage space of refrigerator 1, and the like. The insulating layer includes foam insulating material and vacuum insulating material. The foam insulating material can be formed, for example, from foamed polyurethane (also known as rigid urethane foam). The vacuum insulating material is a thin sheet-like or plate-like insulating material. The vacuum insulating material is arranged, for example, on the side, top, bottom, and back of the refrigerator 1.

[0012] In this specification, the surface on which the door 12 is provided is referred to as the front or front face of the refrigerator 1. Then, based on the arrangement of the refrigerator 1 when installed in a normal state with the front face as the reference, the respective faces of the refrigerator 1 are referred to as the back, top, bottom, and side faces. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the front and back faces is referred to as the front-to-back direction, the direction perpendicular to the top and bottom faces is referred to as the up-down direction, and the direction perpendicular to both side faces is referred to as the width direction A (see Figure 1). Note that the orientation of each component that constitutes the refrigerator 1 may also be expressed based on the arrangement of the refrigerator 1.

[0013] The storage space formed by the housing 5 may be divided into an upper cooling compartment 11 (refrigerating compartment) and other lower cooling compartments 11 (vegetable compartment and freezing compartment) by a horizontally extending partition. In this way, the housing 5 has cooling compartments 11 (refrigerating compartment, vegetable compartment, freezing compartment, etc.). The arrangement of each cooling compartment is not limited to this. A drawer-type storage cabinet may be provided in the vegetable compartment, freezer compartment, etc. The drawer-type storage cabinet may be, for example, a chilled compartment or a partial compartment.

[0014] For example, a space (compressor chamber) for arranging a cooler (not shown) that generates cool air is provided on the lower rear side inside the housing 5. Note that the temperature inside the compressor chamber rises when the cooler is operated, so the compressor chamber is arranged outside the housing 5. The cooler includes a refrigeration cycle, a control unit, etc. The refrigeration cycle is made up of a compressor, a condenser, an expander, an evaporator, etc., which are connected via refrigerant pipes through which a refrigerant flows.

[0015] (Top plate, control unit) The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment further includes a top plate 3 and a control unit 4. The top plate 3 is disposed above the top surface of the housing 5. The control unit 4 is disposed between the top surface of the housing and the top plate 3 in the height direction H.

[0016] The top plate 3 is provided so as to cover at least a part of the top surface of the housing 5 when viewed from above. 1, the top panel 3 is a plate-like body that forms the top surface of a case that covers a space (controller housing chamber) from the top surface 51 of the housing 5 to a predetermined height above the top surface 51. The controller 4 is disposed in such a controller housing chamber.

[0017] 2 and 5, the control unit 4 includes a substrate 41, an electrolytic capacitor 42 and a heat generating component 43 arranged on the substrate 41. As shown in the figure, the board 41 is preferably arranged horizontally in the control unit housing chamber.

[0018] (Convex part) In this embodiment, the top plate 3 has a protrusion 31 on the surface facing the substrate 41 that is located between the electrolytic capacitor 42 and the heat-generating component 43 of the top plate 3 when viewed from above (plan view from above; see Figure 5), and protrudes toward the substrate 41 (see Figure 2). In the control unit 4, there may be one or more heat-generating components 43. In addition, there may be one or more electrolytic capacitors 42. If there are multiple gaps between the electrolytic capacitors 42 and the heat-generating components 43, multiple protrusions 31 corresponding to the number of gaps may be provided.

[0019] By providing the protrusion 31, it becomes difficult for the high-temperature air heated by the heat-generating components 43 to reach the electrolytic capacitor 42 along the top plate 3, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the electrolytic capacitor 42 (see FIG. 3). Therefore, in this embodiment, a decrease in the capacitance of the electrolytic capacitor 42 is suppressed, and a refrigerator 1 with highly stable electrical performance can be provided.

[0020] It is preferable that the protrusion 31 extends below the upper end 43a of the heat-generating component 43 (see FIG. 4). The protrusion 31 preferably extends downward below the upper end 42a of the electrolyte capacitor 42 (see FIG. 4). It is more preferable that the protrusion 31 extends downwardly beyond the upper end 43a of the heat-generating component 43 and also below the upper end 42a of the electrolyte capacitor 42 (see FIG. 4). In these cases, high-temperature air heated by the heat generated by heat-generating component 43 can be more reliably prevented from reaching electrolytic capacitor 42, so that a rise in temperature of electrolytic capacitor 42 can be more effectively prevented.

[0021] It is preferable that the protrusion 31 includes an elongated protrusion (for example, the protrusion 31 shown in FIG. 5) having an elongated shape in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the electrolytic capacitor 42 and the heat-generating component 43 when viewed from above (the direction of the line segment D connecting the centroids of both when viewed from above). In this case, it is possible to prevent high-temperature air heated by heat generation from the heat-generating components 43 from reaching the electrolyte capacitor 42 over a wide range in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction, thereby more effectively suppressing the temperature rise of the electrolyte capacitor 42. However, the shape of the convex portion when viewed from above is not limited to this shape, and may be, for example, a square, a circle, or another shape.

[0022] The heat generating component 43 is not particularly limited as long as it is a component that generates heat, but may be, for example, a power element, such as a diode or a power module.

[0023] It is preferable that the heat generating component 43 and the electrolytic capacitor 42 are arranged so that there is a portion where the heat generating component 43 and the electrolytic capacitor 42 directly face each other. Note that "the portion where the heat-generating component 43 and the electrolytic capacitor 42 directly face each other" means the portion where the heat-generating component 43 and the electrolytic capacitor 42 face each other with a gap between them, and where, if the protrusion 31 were not present, there would be nothing between them. In this case, since the heat generated by the heat-generating component 43 is particularly likely to reach the electrolyte capacitor 42 in the "directly facing portion," by providing a protrusion 31 between the heat-generating component 43 and the electrolyte capacitor 42 in this portion when viewed from above, the temperature rise of the electrolyte capacitor 42 can be more effectively suppressed.

[0024] When the top plate 3 is made of metal, the protrusions 31 can be formed, for example, by pressing the top plate 3. The protrusions 31 may also be formed by processing the top plate 3 using another method, or by adding (adhering) a member separate from the top plate 3 to the top plate 3.

[0025] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. Furthermore, configurations obtained by combining the configurations of the different embodiments described in this specification are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1: Refrigerator 11: Cooling room 3: Top plate 4: Control section 41: Substrate 42: Electrolytic capacitor 43: Heat generating parts 5: Housing 51: Top D: Line segment H: Height direction

Claims

1. a housing having a cooling chamber; a top plate disposed above the top surface of the housing; a control unit disposed between the top surface and the top plate of the housing in a height direction, the control unit includes a substrate, an electrolytic capacitor and a heat-generating component disposed on the substrate, The top plate has a protrusion on the surface facing the substrate, the protrusion being positioned between the electrolytic capacitor and the heat-generating component when viewed from above and protruding toward the substrate.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion extends below an upper end of the heat generating component.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion extends below an upper end of the electrolytic capacitor.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusions include elongated protrusions that are elongated in a direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the electrolytic capacitors and the heat-generating components when viewed from above.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the heat generating component includes a power element.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the heat generating component and the electrolytic capacitor are arranged so that there is a portion where the heat generating component and the electrolytic capacitor directly face each other.

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