Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator in which even if the depth dimension of an evaporating pan is reduced, air can be efficiently blown by a fan, the occurrence of unusual noise of the evaporating pan caused by vibration of the fan can be restrained, and a fan casing can be easily attached and detached.SOLUTION: A refrigerator according to the present disclosure comprises: a machine chamber arranged on a rear side of a lower part of a refrigerator body; an evaporating pan arranged inside the machine chamber; a fan casing arranged on an upper side of the evaporating pan, and comprising a fan; and a fan guide attached to the fan casing, and for sending air sent from the fan, to the evaporating pan. The fan casing supports the fan so that a rotation axis thereof is located in an approximately horizontal plane. The fan casing is arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the evaporating pan in a planar view.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator having a machine compartment at the rear lower part of the refrigerator, and a defrost water evaporator in the machine compartment that evaporates defrost water from an evaporator of the refrigerator, the defrost water evaporator having a container for receiving defrost water, a lid with at least two or more openings on the top surface of the container, air blowing means at the openings, and a drain outlet on the back of the container for discharging the defrost water from the refrigerator to the outside. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-002735 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a refrigerator that can efficiently blow air using a fan even when the depth dimension of the evaporating dish is reduced, can suppress the generation of abnormal noise in the evaporating dish due to fan vibration, and allows the fan casing to be easily attached and detached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The refrigerator of the present disclosure comprises a machine compartment located at the lower rear of the refrigerator body, an evaporation tray located inside the machine compartment, a fan casing located above the evaporation tray and equipped with a fan, and a fan guide attached to the fan casing for sending air sent from the fan to the evaporation tray, the fan casing supporting the fan so that its rotation axis is positioned in an approximately horizontal plane, and the fan casing being positioned at an angle relative to the evaporation tray in a plan view. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] In the refrigerator according to the present disclosure, the depth of the evaporation pan can be reduced by arranging the fan casing at an angle relative to the evaporation pan in a plan view, and the fan guide can efficiently deliver air from the fan to the evaporation pan. Therefore, by reducing the depth of the evaporation pan, the depth of the freezer compartment located at the bottom of the refrigerator can be increased. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an internal structure of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Figure 1 [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a machine room according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a machine room according to a first embodiment; [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a fan casing and an evaporating dish according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fan casing according to a first embodiment, as viewed from below; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a fan casing and an evaporating dish according to a first embodiment. [Figure 8] Enlarged view of part A in Figure 7 [Figure 9] Enlarged view of part B in Figure 7 [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a fan casing and an evaporating dish according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] Enlarged view of part C in Figure 10 [Figure 12] Enlarged view of part D in Figure 10 [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a fan casing and an evaporating dish according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] Cross-sectional view taken along line XX in Figure 13 [Figure 15] Enlarged view of part E in Figure 14 [Figure 16] Enlarged view of part F in Figure 14 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] (Findings that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time when the inventors came up with the idea of the present disclosure, there was a technique in which an evaporation tray for evaporating defrosted water and a fan for blowing air into the evaporation tray were provided in the machine compartment of a refrigerator. However, in recent years, there has been a demand to reduce the volume of the machine compartment in order to ensure the volume of the storage compartment below the refrigerator.

[0009] When the volume of the machine room is reduced in this way, conventional technology limits the location where the fan casing can be installed, and when the fan is installed opposite the evaporating dish as in the past, there is a problem that there is a limit to how much the depth dimension of the evaporating dish can be reduced. Furthermore, if the fan casing is installed so that the fan's rotation axis is positioned horizontally, the depth of the evaporator pan can be reduced, but there is a problem that the fan cannot efficiently deliver air to the evaporator pan. Furthermore, if the fan casing is attached directly to the evaporator pan, there is a problem that vibrations caused by fan operation may cause abnormal noise in the evaporator pan. The inventors also discovered the problem that the fan casing needs to be easily removed from the evaporator pan when cleaning the evaporator pan, and have come to constitute the subject matter of the present disclosure in order to solve this problem. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a refrigerator that can efficiently blow air using a fan even when the depth dimension of the evaporator tray is reduced, can suppress the generation of abnormal noise in the evaporator tray due to fan vibration, and allows the fan casing to be easily attached and detached.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, in some cases, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or redundant explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. [1-1.Configuration] [1-1-1. Overall structure of the refrigerator] Fig. 1 is a front view showing the internal structure of refrigerator 1 according to embodiment 1. In the figure, symbol X indicates the right side of refrigerator 1, symbol Y indicates the front side of refrigerator 1, and symbol Z indicates the upper side. Note that the right side of refrigerator 1 here refers to the right side of a person when viewing refrigerator 1 from the front side.

[0012] Refrigerator 1 has a box-shaped refrigerator body 2 that is open at the front. Refrigerator body 2 is composed of a metal outer box 3, a hard resin inner box 4, and foam insulation material 5 that is foam-filled between the outer box 3 and the inner box 4. The inside of refrigerator body 2 is divided into multiple compartments 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 by heat-insulating partition walls 6, 6A, 7, and 8.

[0013] A refrigerating compartment 11 is formed at the top inside the refrigerator body 2. A plurality of shelves 12 are provided in the refrigerating compartment 11, and a partial compartment 11a is provided at the bottom. The refrigerating compartment 11 is a compartment for storing food in a refrigerator, and is cooled to a low temperature that does not cause freezing, specifically, typically set to 1 to 5°C. The partial compartment 11a provided within the refrigerating compartment 11 is cooled to a temperature that is set to around -3°C, which is lower than the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 11.

[0014] Inside refrigerator body 2, ice-making compartment 13 and switchable compartment 15 are formed side by side below refrigeration compartment 11. Ice-making compartment 13, located on the left side, is a compartment for freezing water to produce ice, and is set to a freezing temperature range. Switchable compartment 15, located to the right of ice-making compartment 13, can switch between a wide range of cooling temperatures, from a freezing temperature range set to, for example, -22 to -18°C, to a refrigeration temperature range set to, for example, 1 to 5°C. Ice making compartment 13 and switching compartment 15 constitute the second freezer compartment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Inside refrigerator body 2, vegetable compartment 17 is formed below ice-making compartment 13 and switchable compartment 15. Vegetable compartment 17 is a compartment set to a temperature equal to or slightly higher than that of refrigerator compartment 11, specifically set to a temperature of 2 to 7°C. This vegetable compartment 17 becomes highly humid due to moisture emitted from stored foods such as vegetables, so condensation can occur if it becomes too cold locally. Therefore, by setting the temperature relatively high, the amount of cooling is reduced, preventing condensation from occurring due to localized excessive cooling.

[0016] Inside the refrigerator body 2, a freezer compartment 19 is formed below the vegetable compartment 17. The freezer compartment 19 is a compartment set to a freezing temperature range, and specifically, is normally cooled to a temperature of -22 to -18°C, but to improve the frozen storage state, it is cooled to a lower temperature such as -30°C or -25°C.

[0017] The compartments 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 can be freely opened and closed by pivoting doors or drawer doors 15a, 17a, and 19a (see FIG. 2) that have the same heat insulating structure as the refrigerator body 2.

[0018] A horizontal plate-like first insulating partition wall 6 is provided in approximately the center in the vertical direction inside refrigerator body 2. First insulating partition wall 6 separates refrigeration compartment 11 from ice-making compartment 13 and switchable compartment 15 into upper and lower compartments.

[0019] Switchable compartment 15 and ice making compartment 13 are separated by a fourth insulating partition wall 6A that extends downward from first insulating partition wall 6. The lower end of fourth insulating partition wall 6A is connected to a horizontal, plate-like second insulating partition wall 7. Second insulating partition wall 7 separates switchable compartment 15 and ice making compartment 13 from vegetable compartment 17.

[0020] Inside the refrigerator body 2, a horizontal plate-like third insulating partition wall 8 is formed below the second insulating partition wall 7. The third insulating partition wall 8 separates the vegetable compartment 17 and the freezer compartment 19 from each other.

[0021] In the following, the space to be cooled in refrigerator 1, which is a combination of refrigeration compartment 11, ice-making compartment 13, switchable compartment 15, vegetable compartment 17, and freezer compartment 19, will be referred to as compartment S to be cooled.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, a cooling compartment 20 is provided behind the vegetable compartment 17, i.e., behind the compartment S to be cooled. The cooling compartment 20 is a space partitioned by a resin cooler cover 24. A cooler 21 is disposed inside the cooling compartment 20. The cooler 21 is a fin-tube heat exchanger, and is part of the refrigeration circuit provided in the refrigerator 1, functioning as an evaporator. Therefore, the surrounding air is cooled when the refrigeration circuit of the refrigerator 1 is activated.

[0023] In cooling compartment 20, cooling fan 23 is provided at a position above cooler 21. Cooling fan 23 is arranged to fit into opening 24a of cooler cover 24. Opening 24a connects the inside and outside of cooling compartment 20 front to back, and cooling fan 23 blows air inside cooling compartment 20 forward through opening 24a. Each of compartments 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 of refrigerator 1 is cooled by the air inside cooling compartment 20 blown by cooling fan 23.

[0024] A tray-shaped water tray 25 is provided at the bottom end of the cooling chamber 20. The water tray 25 is located below the cooler 21 and receives defrosted water generated on the surface of the cooler 21 by the operation of the heater 27. The heater 27 is a heating device that defrosts the cooler 21 when activated. The heater 27 is disposed between the water tray 25 and the cooler 21. In this embodiment, the heater 27 is an electric glass heater.

[0025] Switchable compartment 15 and ice making compartment 13 are separated by a fourth insulating partition wall 6A that extends downward from first insulating partition wall 6. The lower end of fourth insulating partition wall 6A is connected to a horizontal, plate-like second insulating partition wall 7. Second insulating partition wall 7 separates switchable compartment 15 and ice making compartment 13 from vegetable compartment 17.

[0026] [1-1-2. Machine room configuration] Next, the configuration of the machine room will be described. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a machine chamber in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a machine chamber in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a fan casing and an evaporating dish in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the fan casing in the first embodiment, seen from below. FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the fan casing and an evaporating dish in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a side view showing the fan casing and an evaporating dish in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of part C in FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of part D in FIG. 10. FIG. 13 is a side view showing the fan casing and an evaporating dish in the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of part E in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of part F in FIG. 14.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 2, a machine compartment 28 is provided in the lower back side of refrigerator body 2. Machine compartment 28 is provided in an area where the lower back side of refrigerator body 2 is recessed forward.

[0028] 3 and 4, an evaporating dish 30 with an open top is housed in the machine chamber 28. The evaporating dish 30 has a depth dimension corresponding to the depth dimension of the machine chamber 28. 5, a fan casing 41 to which a fan 40 is attached is provided on one upper side of the evaporating dish 30. A fan guide 42 is integrally provided on the rear side of the fan casing 41. The fan guide 42 has an air flow path that faces downward at approximately 90° from the mounting portion of the fan casing 41, and an air outlet 43 that opens toward the evaporator dish 30 is formed at the lower end of the fan guide 42. As a result, the air blown from the fan 40 is guided downward at approximately 90° through the air flow path of the fan guide 42 and is blown into the inside of the evaporating dish 30 through the air outlet 43.

[0029] 5 and 6, a front locking claw 44 that extends downward and is generally L-shaped in front view is provided on the lower edge of the front side of fan casing 41. Two front locking claws 44 are provided at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction of fan casing 41. The tip of front locking claw 44 forms front locking portion 45, and front locking portion 45 has a protrusion 46 that extends in the up-down direction. A cutout space 47, which is cut out in a substantially L-shape in plan view, is formed between the two front locking claws 44 of the fan casing 41. A restricting member 48 that protrudes downward is formed in the area of the fan casing 41 surrounded by the cutout space 47.

[0030] 11 and 16, rear locking claws 50 extending downward with their lower ends bent rearward are formed on the lower edge of the rear surface of fan casing 41. Two rear locking claws 50 are formed at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction of fan casing 41. A rear locking portion 51 protruding upward is formed at the tip of each rear locking claw 50.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 5, an outwardly protruding flange 31 is formed around the entire periphery of the upper end of the evaporating dish 30. As shown in Figs. 5, 7, 9, and 12, a front claw receiving portion 32 is formed on the front upper edge of the flange 31 of the evaporating dish 30, extending downward from the tip of the flange 31 and engaging with the front locking claw 44. As shown in Figures 6, 9, 14, and 15, a protrusion 33 is formed on the inside of the front claw receiving portion 32, which comes into contact with the front locking claw 44 when the front locking claw 44 is inserted.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 8, between the front claw receiving portions 32 of the flange portion 31, a curved support protrusion 34 is formed so as to protrude upward. 10 and 11, a rear claw receiving portion 35, which engages with the rear locking claw 50, is formed on the rear upper edge of the flange portion 31 of the evaporating dish 30. A protrusion 36, which protrudes downward from the tip of the rear claw receiving portion 35 and is used to receive the rear locking portion 51 of the rear locking claw 50, is formed.

[0033] [1-2. Effect] Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, when attaching the fan casing 41 to the evaporating dish 30, first, the fan casing 41 is placed on the flange portion 31 of the evaporating dish 30, and then the fan casing 41 is slid in the left-right direction. This sliding movement causes the regulating member 48 of the fan casing 41 to climb over the flange portion 31 of the evaporator tray 30, with the front locking claw 44 inserted into the front claw receiving portion 32 and the rear locking claw 50 inserted into the rear claw receiving portion 35. As a result, the front locking claws 44 are engaged with the front claw receiving portions 32 and the rear locking claws 50 are engaged with the rear claw receiving portions 35 , and the fan casing 41 is fixed to the evaporation tray 30 .

[0034] At this time, since a regulating member 48 is provided on the fan casing 41, even if the fan casing 41 is slid in the opposite direction to when fixed, the regulating member 48 abuts against the flange portion 31 of the evaporating dish 30, thereby restricting the movement of the fan casing 41.

[0035] In this state, the fan casing 41 is supported on the evaporating dish 30 via the support protrusions 34 of the evaporating dish 30. This results in point contact between the upper surface of the flange portion 31 of the evaporating dish 30 and the lower surface of the fan casing 41, thereby suppressing vibration of the evaporating dish 30 due to vibration of the fan 40. Furthermore, the front locking claws 44 and the front claw receiving portions 32 come into contact with each other via the protrusions 46 provided on the front locking claws 44 of the fan casing 41 and the protrusions 33 provided on the evaporating dish 30. This results in point contact between the front locking claws 44 and the front claw receiving portions 32, thereby suppressing vibration of the evaporating dish 30 caused by vibration of the fan 40.

[0036] When removing the fan casing 41, the restricting member 48 is pressed toward the cutout space 47 to release the contact between the restricting member 48 and the flange portion 31. In this state, by sliding the fan casing 41 in the opposite direction from when it was fixed, the engagement between the front locking claws 44 and the rear locking claws 50 and the front claw receivers 32 and the rear claw receivers 35 can be released, and the fan casing 41 can be removed.

[0037] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the refrigerator of this embodiment includes machine room 28 located at the lower rear of refrigerator body 2, evaporation tray 30 located inside machine room 28, fan casing 41 located above evaporation tray 30 and equipped with fan 40, and fan guide 42 attached to fan casing 41 for sending air sent from the fan to evaporation tray 30. Fan casing 41 supports the fan so that its rotation axis is positioned in a substantially horizontal plane, and fan casing 41 is arranged at an angle relative to evaporation tray 30 in a plan view. As a result, by arranging the fan casing 41 at an angle relative to the evaporating dish 30 in a plan view, the depth dimension of the evaporating dish 30 can be reduced, and the fan guide 42 can efficiently send air from the fan 40 to the evaporating dish 30. Therefore, by reducing the depth dimension of the evaporating dish 30, it is possible to ensure a large depth dimension for the freezer compartment located at the bottom of the refrigerator.

[0038] In addition, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, a front locking claw 44 and a rear locking claw 50 (locking claws) are provided at the lower end of the fan casing 41, and a front claw receiving portion 32 and a rear claw receiving portion 35 (claw receiving portion) are provided at the upper end of the evaporator tray 30, into which the front locking claw 44 and the rear locking claw 50 engage. As a result, by engaging the front locking claws 44 and rear locking claws 50 of the fan casing 41 with the front claw receiving portions 32 and rear claw receiving portions 35 of the evaporating dish 30, the fan casing 41 can be easily attached to and removed from the evaporating dish 30. Therefore, for example, when cleaning the evaporating dish 30, the fan casing 41 can be easily removed, improving workability.

[0039] In addition, the refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with front locking claws 44 and rear locking claws 50 (locking claws) on the front and rear sides of the fan casing 41, respectively, and is configured so that by sliding the fan casing 41 along the evaporator tray 30, the front locking claws 44 and rear locking claws 50 can engage with the front claw receiving portion 32 and rear claw receiving portion 35. As a result, by engaging the front locking claws 44 and rear locking claws 50 of the fan casing 41 with the front claw receiving portions 32 and rear claw receiving portions 35 of the evaporating dish 30, the fan casing 41 can be easily attached to and removed from the evaporating dish 30. Therefore, for example, when cleaning the evaporating dish 30, the fan casing 41 can be easily removed, improving workability.

[0040] In addition, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, the front locking claw 44 (locking claw) has protrusions 33, 46 formed thereon to enable point contact between the front locking claw 44 and the front claw receiving portion 32 (claw receiving portion) when the front locking claw 44 is engaged with the front claw receiving portion 32. As a result, the protrusions 33, 46 cause point contact between the front locking claw 44 and the front claw receiving portion 32, making it less likely that vibrations caused by the operation of the fan 40 will be transmitted to the evaporating dish 30, thereby suppressing the generation of abnormal noise from the evaporating dish 30.

[0041] In addition, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, a support protrusion 34 that protrudes upward is formed at the upper end of the evaporating dish 30, and the fan casing 41 is supported at the upper end of the evaporating dish 30 via the support protrusion 34. As a result, the support protrusion 34 brings the fan casing 41 and the evaporator dish 30 into point contact, making it less likely that vibrations caused by driving the fan 40 will be transmitted to the evaporator dish 30, thereby suppressing the generation of abnormal noise from the evaporator dish 30.

[0042] In addition, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, a cutout space 47 is formed at the front lower end of fan casing 41, which is cut out in an approximately L-shape when viewed in a plane, and a regulating member 48 protruding downward is formed in the area of fan casing 41 surrounded by cutout space 47. As a result, even if the fan casing 41 is slid in the opposite direction from when it is fixed, the restricting member 48 of the fan casing 41 abuts against the evaporating dish 30, thereby restricting the movement of the fan casing 41. Furthermore, when removing the fan casing 41, the restricting member 48 is pressed toward the cutout space 47 to release the abutment between the restricting member 48 and the flange portion 31, thereby allowing the fan casing 41 to be removed from the evaporating dish 30.

[0043] (Other embodiments) Note that the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made.

[0044] (Addendum) The above description of the embodiments discloses the following techniques.

[0045] (Technology 1) A refrigerator comprising: a machine compartment located at the lower rear of the refrigerator body; an evaporation tray located inside the machine compartment; a fan casing located above the evaporation tray and equipped with a fan; and a fan guide attached to the fan casing for sending air sent from the fan to the evaporation tray, wherein the fan casing supports the fan so that its rotation axis is positioned in a substantially horizontal plane, and the fan casing is positioned at an angle relative to the evaporation tray in a plan view. With this configuration, the fan casing is tilted relative to the evaporator dish in a plan view, reducing the depth of the evaporator dish and allowing the fan guide to efficiently direct air from the fan to the evaporator dish. Therefore, reducing the depth of the evaporator dish allows for a larger depth for the freezer compartment located at the bottom of the refrigerator.

[0046] (Technology 2) The refrigerator according to Technology 1, wherein a locking claw is provided at the lower end of the fan casing, and a claw receiving portion into which the locking claw engages is provided at the upper end of the evaporating tray. With this configuration, the fan casing can be easily attached to and removed from the evaporation tray by engaging the locking claws on the fan casing with the claw receivers on the evaporation tray. Therefore, for example, when cleaning the evaporation tray, the fan casing can be easily removed, improving workability.

[0047] (Technology 3) The refrigerator described in Technology 2, wherein the locking claws are provided on the front and rear sides of the fan casing, and are configured so that the locking claws can engage with the claw receiving portions by sliding the fan casing along the evaporating tray. With this configuration, the fan casing can be easily attached to and removed from the evaporation tray by engaging the locking claws on the fan casing with the claw receivers on the evaporation tray. Therefore, for example, when cleaning the evaporation tray, the fan casing can be easily removed, improving workability.

[0048] (Technology 4) The refrigerator according to Technology 2 and Technology 3, wherein the locking claw has a convex portion formed thereon to allow point contact between the locking claw and the claw receiving portion when the locking claw is engaged with the claw receiving portion. With this configuration, the convex portion allows the locking claw and the claw receiving portion to come into point contact, making it difficult for vibrations caused by the fan being driven to be transmitted to the evaporating dish, thereby suppressing the generation of abnormal noise from the evaporating dish.

[0049] (Technology 5) A refrigerator according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 4, wherein a support protrusion that protrudes upward is formed on the upper end of the evaporating dish, and the fan casing is supported on the upper end of the evaporating dish via the support protrusion. With this configuration, the support protrusions provide point contact between the fan casing and the evaporator dish, making it difficult for vibrations caused by the fan being driven to be transmitted to the evaporator dish, thereby suppressing the generation of abnormal noise from the evaporator dish.

[0050] (Technology 6) The refrigerator according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 5, wherein a cutout space is formed in a front lower end portion of the fan casing by being cut out in a substantially L-shape in a plan view, and a regulating member protruding downward is formed in a portion of the fan casing surrounded by the cutout space. With this configuration, even if the fan casing is slid in the opposite direction from when it was fixed, the restricting member of the fan casing abuts against the evaporation tray, thereby restricting the movement of the fan casing. Furthermore, when removing the fan casing, the restricting member can be pressed toward the cutout space to release the abutment between the restricting member and the flange, allowing the fan casing to be removed from the evaporation tray. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] As described above, the present disclosure can be used effectively in refrigerators that can efficiently blow air using a fan even when the depth dimension of the evaporator tray is reduced, can suppress the generation of abnormal noise in the evaporator tray due to fan vibration, and allows the fan casing to be easily attached and detached. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 refrigerator 2 Refrigerator body 3 Outer box 4 Inner box 6. First insulating partition wall 6A 4th Insulated Partition Wall 7 Second insulating partition wall 8. Third insulating partition wall 11 Refrigerator 13 Ice maker 15 Switch Room 17 Vegetable compartment 19 Freezer 20 Cooling room 21 Cooler 23 Cooling fan 24 Cooler cover 27 Heater 28 Machine room 30 Evaporating dish 31 Flange 32 Front claw receiving part 33 Convex part 34 Support protrusion 35 Rear claw receiving part 36 Protrusion 40 fans 41 Fan casing 42 Fan Guide 43 Ventilation vent 44 Front locking claw 45 Front locking part 46 Convex part 47 Cutting space 48 Regulatory member 50 Rear locking claw 51 Rear locking part S Cooled room

Claims

1. a machine room disposed at the rear of the lower part of the refrigerator body; an evaporating tray disposed inside the machine chamber; a fan casing disposed above the evaporating dish and equipped with a fan; a fan guide attached to the fan casing for directing air sent from the fan to the evaporating dish; The fan casing supports the fan so that a rotation axis of the fan is positioned in a substantially horizontal plane, and the fan casing is disposed at an angle with respect to the evaporating dish in a plan view. refrigerator.

2. A locking claw is provided at the lower end of the fan casing, The evaporating tray is provided at its upper end with a claw receiving portion into which the locking claw is engaged. The refrigerator according to claim 1.

3. The locking claws are provided on the front and rear sides of the fan casing, The fan casing is configured to be slid along the evaporation tray, so that the locking claws can be engaged with the claw receiving portions. The refrigerator according to claim 2.

4. The locking claw has a protrusion formed thereon for allowing the locking claw and the claw receiving portion to come into point contact with each other when the locking claw is engaged with the claw receiving portion. The refrigerator according to claim 3.

5. The evaporating dish has an upper end formed with a support protrusion that protrudes upward, The fan casing is supported on the upper end of the evaporating dish via the support protrusion. The refrigerator according to claim 2.

6. A cutout space is formed in a front lower end portion of the fan casing, the cutout space being substantially L-shaped in a plan view, A restricting member protruding downward is formed in a portion of the fan casing surrounded by the cutout space. The refrigerator according to claim 3.

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