refrigerator

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that more reliably prevents condensation near pre-foamed molded insulation boards. [Solution] The refrigerator of the present invention is provided with a vacuum insulation material (11) and a pre-foamed molded insulation board (12) having a suction pipe inside the rear part (10b) of the insulation box (1H), at least a portion of the suction pipe is embedded in the molded insulation board (12), and the inside of the insulation box (1H) is filled with on-site foamed insulation material (13).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a refrigerator is known in which a pre-foamed molded heat insulation plate having a suction pipe is disposed on the rear wall of a refrigerator body (for example, see Patent Document 1). Specifically, in this refrigerator, a suction pipe is disposed in a groove formed in the molded heat insulation plate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in a conventional refrigerator (for example, see Patent Document 1), a suction pipe through which a low-temperature refrigerant flows may exchange heat with the atmosphere from the open side of the groove portion to cause condensation. In addition, in a conventional refrigerator (for example, see Patent Document 1), since a pre-foamed molded heat insulation plate is disposed so as to be aligned with the side of a vacuum heat insulation material in the rear wall, condensation may occur in the gap between the molded heat insulation plate and the vacuum heat insulation material due to cold air from the inside of the refrigerator.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that more reliably prevents condensation in the vicinity of a pre-foamed molded heat insulation plate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The refrigerator of the present invention, which solves the aforementioned problems, is equipped with a vacuum insulation material and a pre-foamed molded insulation board having a suction pipe on the inside of the rear surface of the insulation box, at least a portion of the suction pipe is embedded in the molded insulation board, and the inside of the insulation box is filled with on-site foamed insulation material. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that more reliably prevents condensation near pre-foamed molded insulation boards. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an overall perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated box that makes up the refrigerator. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the insulated box that makes up the refrigerator. [Figure 4] Figure 2 is an overall perspective view of the partition members that make up the box-shaped structure. [Figure 5A] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the molded insulation board that makes up the refrigerator. [Figure 5B] This is a cross-sectional view of the VB-VB section in Figure 5A. [Figure 6A] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the insulated box of a refrigerator, illustrating the movement of the foamed insulation material when it is filled into the box during the manufacturing process. [Figure 6B] Figure 6A is a cross-sectional view of a box-shaped structure illustrating the movement of the foamed insulation material in the VIB-VIB section. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes in detail embodiments of the refrigerator of the present invention, with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Figure 1 is an overall perspective view of refrigerator 1. As shown in Figure 1, the refrigerator 1 has, from top to bottom, a refrigerator compartment 2r, an ice-making compartment 3r, an upper freezer compartment 4r, a lower freezer compartment 5r, and a vegetable compartment 6r.

[0010] The front front of the top refrigerator compartment 2r is fitted with the left refrigerator door 2a and the right refrigerator door 2b. The second ice maker compartment 3r and the upper freezer compartment 4r are fitted with the ice maker door 3 and the upper freezer door 4, respectively. The front front of the third lower freezer compartment 5r is fitted with the lower freezer door 5. The front front of the bottom vegetable compartment 6r is fitted with the vegetable door 6. The left refrigerator door 2a and the right refrigerator door 2b open like double doors to the insulated box 1H, which will be explained in more detail later. The left refrigerator door 2a is rotatable towards the front by an upper hinge 7a and a lower hinge 8a. The right refrigerator door 2b is rotatable towards the front by an upper hinge 7b and a lower hinge 8b.

[0011] The second ice-making compartment door 3, the upper freezer compartment door 4, the third lower freezer compartment door 5, and the bottom vegetable compartment door 6 shown in Figure 1 can be pulled out towards the front of the page in Figure 1. At the rear of the ice-making compartment door 3, the upper freezer compartment door 4, the lower freezer compartment door 5, and the vegetable compartment door 6, an ice-making compartment container 3u, an upper freezer compartment container 4u, a lower freezer compartment container 5u, and a vegetable compartment container 6u are integrally provided, respectively.

[0012] Refrigerator 1 is thermally isolated from the outside by closing the opening 1H0 of the insulated box 1H with the aforementioned left refrigerator door 2a, right refrigerator door 2b, ice maker door 3, upper freezer door 4, lower freezer door 5, and vegetable door 6.

[0013] Next, we will explain the insulated box 1H (see Figure 1). Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the insulated box 1H shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 2, the insulated box 1H is mainly composed of a box body 10, vacuum insulation material 11, molded insulation board 12 (pre-foamed board), and on-site foamed insulation material 13.

[0014] The box body 10呈U-shaped in a cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2 and is open at the front. The box body 10 has an outer box 1s that forms the approximate outer shape of the box body 10 and a U-shaped inner box 1u that is integrally formed with the outer box 1s inside the outer box 1s. A vacuum heat insulating material 11 is disposed inside the pair of side portions 10a of the box body 10 (inside the side surface). Also, a vacuum heat insulating material 11 and a formed heat insulating plate 12 are disposed inside the rear portion 10b of the box body 10 (inside the rear surface). Specifically, the formed heat insulating plate 12 is disposed inside the vacuum heat insulating material 11. And the vacuum heat insulating material 11 is in contact with the formed heat insulating plate 12. Also, the formed heat insulating plate 12 is in contact with the inner box 1u of the heat insulating box 1H. Note that the vacuum heat insulating material 11 is disposed in most parts excluding the corner portions 10c between the outer box 1s and the inner box 1u. Here, the corner portions 10c refer to four side portions that extend in the longitudinal direction of the box body 10 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2) at the four corners of the box body 10.

[0015] In FIG. 2, the symbol R is a reinforcing frame. The reinforcing frame R is disposed at each of the four corner portions 10c of the box body 10. Inside the side portion 10a of the box body 10 (inside the side surface) and inside the rear portion 10b of the box body 10 (inside the rear surface), a foam heat insulating material 13 of on-site foam is filled so as to embed the vacuum heat insulating material 11, the formed heat insulating plate 12, and the reinforcing frame R. In FIG. 2, the symbol G is a gas vent groove when filling the foam heat insulating material 13 of on-site foam inside the side portion 10a of the box body 10 (inside the side surface) and inside the rear portion 10b of the box body 10 (inside the rear surface). The symbol Ar is a gas vent hole that communicates the inside and outside of the gas vent groove G. Such a box body 10 will be described in detail later.

[0016] The vacuum heat insulating material 11 in this embodiment is formed by evacuating an exterior material having a core material inside, although not shown in the figure. Examples of the core material include, but are not limited to, hollow powder of silica beads, synthetic resin fibers, glass wool, etc.

[0017] Examples of exterior materials include flexible sheets in which a heat-sealed layer and a gas barrier layer are sequentially laminated from the core material side. The heat-sealed layer may be made of a thermoplastic resin or the like. The gas barrier layer is preferably made of a resin sheet with a metal vapor-deposited film of 0.1 μm or less formed on one side.

[0018] In this embodiment, the molded insulation board 12 is assumed to be a pre-foamed board made of, for example, rigid polyurethane foam. However, the material of the molded insulation board 12 is not limited to this, and other foamed insulation materials can be used. In this embodiment, the molded heat insulating plate 12 is intended to be a retaining plate that holds the suction pipe P (see Figure 3) inside the rear surface portion 10b (see Figure 2) of the box body 10 (see Figure 2). This molded insulation board 12 will be explained in detail later.

[0019] The on-site foamed insulation material 13 (see Figure 2) is formed by injecting the foaming solution Us (see Figure 5A) into a predetermined injection port 30 (see Figure 3) of the box body 10 (see Figure 2), and then allowing it to harden after foaming. For the foamed insulation material 13 (see Figure 2) that is applied in-situ, a vacuum insulation material 11 (see Figure 2), which has superior insulation performance than the foamed insulation material 13, is fixed around the vacuum insulation material 11. In this embodiment, the foamed insulation material 13 that is foamed in place has a hardened density of 20 to 80 kg / m³. 3 We are assuming a certain degree of rigid polyurethane foam.

[0020] Next, we will explain the box body 10 (see Figure 2) in more detail. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the box body 10 (see Figure 2). As shown in Figure 3, the box body 10 comprises an inner box 1u, an outer box 1s, and a reinforcing frame R. In Figure 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a vacuum insulation material, and reference numeral 12 denotes a molded insulation material used as a retaining plate for the suction pipe P.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, the inner box 1u is composed of a top plate 1u1, a pair of left and right side plates 1u2, a rear plate 1u3, and a bottom plate 1u4. The bottom plate 1u4 and the bottom member 15 of the outer box 1s, which is attached to the bottom plate 1u4 from below, are formed in a stepped shape to correspond to the machine room (not shown) of the refrigerator 1 (see Figure 1). Furthermore, the inner box 1u is equipped with a partition member 20. The partition member 20 is connected to the inside of the box body 10 (inner box 1u) and divides the inside of the box body 10 (inner box 1u) vertically. In this embodiment, there are multiple partition members 20 (two in this embodiment). The partition members 20 form a shelf section inside the box body 10 (inner box 1u). In Figure 3, reference numeral 23 denotes a hole formed in the side plate 1u2 to correspond to the mounting position of the partition member 20. Although not shown in the figure, a hole 23 is also formed in the rear plate 1u3. These holes 23 will be described in detail later, along with the specific configuration of the partition member 20.

[0022] The inner box 1u described above is assumed to be made by vacuum forming a sheet of thermoplastic resin. Examples of thermoplastic resins include, but are not limited to, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS resin), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Among these, ABS resin is particularly preferred because of its excellent affinity with the rigid polyurethane foam, which is the foamed insulation material 13 applied in-situ.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3, the outer box 1s comprises an outer box body 14, a bottom member 15, and a rear member 16. These outer box body 14, bottom member 15, and rear member 16 are formed from thin steel plates, for example, with a thickness of about 0.5 mm to 0.4 mm. As shown in Figure 3, the outer box body 14 has a U-shape when viewed in the front-to-back direction. Specifically, the outer box body 14 includes a top surface portion 14a arranged to correspond to the top plate 1u1 of the inner box 1u, and a pair of side portions 14b arranged to correspond to the pair of side plates 1u2 of the inner box 1u. The outer box body 14 is positioned to cover the top plate 1u1 and a pair of side plates 1u2 of the inner box 1u via a reinforcing frame R positioned between it and the inner box 1u. The outer box body 14 is positioned at a predetermined distance from the inner box 1u. Furthermore, vacuum insulation material 11 is placed on the inner surfaces of the top surface 14a and side surface 14b of the outer box body 14.

[0024] As described above, the bottom member 15 is positioned along the lower surface of the bottom plate 1u4 of the inner box 1u and is welded to the lower end of the outer box body 14. Furthermore, a vacuum insulation material 11 is placed on the upper surface of the bottom member 15.

[0025] The rear member 16 is interposed between the rear plate 1u3 of the inner box 1u and the molded heat insulating plate 12 and the vacuum heat insulating material 11, and is welded to the rear edge of the outer box body 14 of the outer box 1s and the rear edge of the bottom member 15. This completes the box body 10 in which the inner box 1u, the outer box 1s and the reinforcing frame R are integrated. In Figure 3, reference numeral 30 denotes an inlet for injecting the foaming liquid Us (see Figure 6A) of the field-foamed foam insulation material 13. The inlet 30 is formed at each of the four corners of the rear member 16. The molded insulation board 12 will be explained in detail later.

[0026] Next, we will explain the partition member 20 in more detail. Figure 4 is an overall perspective view of the partition member 20 that constitutes the box body 10 shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 4, the partition member 20 is a hollow member that is rectangular (including square) in plan view. Specifically, the partition member 20 is composed of a box-shaped member that is thin in the vertical direction.

[0027] Furthermore, holes 22 are formed on the left side, right side, and rear side of the partition member 20, allowing communication between the inside and outside of the partition member 20. The holes 22 are formed to be offset towards the front and rear ends on the left and right sides, respectively. Furthermore, the holes 22 are formed to be offset towards the left and right ends on the rear side.

[0028] These holes 22 are designed to overlap with the holes 23 (see Figure 3) of the inner box 1u (see Figure 3) when the partition member 20 is connected to the inside of the inner box 1u (see Figure 3). In other words, the inner space of the partition member 20 is in communication with the inner space formed between the outer box 1s (see Figure 3) and the inner box 1u (see Figure 3) via the holes 23 (see Figure 3) and 22 (see Figure 4).

[0029] Next, we will explain the molded insulation board 12 (see Figure 3) in more detail. Figure 5A is an enlarged overall perspective view of the molded insulation board 12 shown in Figure 3. Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of Figure 5A along the VB-VB line. Note that, for the sake of drawing convenience, the suction pipe P shown in Figures 3 and 5A is depicted as being exposed on the surface of the molded insulation board 12. However, in reality, the suction pipe P is insert-molded into the molded insulation board 12 and embedded within it. Furthermore, the embedding of the suction pipe P into the molded insulation board 12 is not limited to insert molding (where the suction pipe P is placed in a foaming mold, and then foamed and molded), but can also be configured by fitting the suction pipe P into a groove (not shown) formed in the molded insulation board 12, and then embedding the suction pipe P inside the groove with on-site foamed insulation material 13. Alternatively, after fitting the suction pipe P into a groove (not shown) formed in the molded insulation board 12, a foamed insulation block molded to cover the suction pipe P inside the groove can also be fitted.

[0030] As shown in Figure 5A, the molded insulation board 12 is a roughly rectangular plate in plan view. Specifically, the molded insulation board 12 is a pre-foamed molded insulation board. In this embodiment, the molded insulation board 12 is assumed to be made of urethane foam material, but the material is not limited to this. Furthermore, the molded heat insulating board 12 has gas venting grooves G formed in it. The gas venting groove G should ideally extend horizontally when the foaming concentrate Us, described later, is filled into the container. Furthermore, multiple gas venting grooves G can be provided in the molded insulation board 12. As shown in Figure 2, this venting groove G forms an air passage between itself and the inner box 1u. In addition, as shown in Figure 2, multiple venting holes Ar are formed in the inner box 1u facing the venting groove G. Furthermore, the thickness of the molded insulation board 12 does not have to be uniform. For example, the thickness of the portion located behind the ice-making compartment 3r, the upper freezer compartment 4r, and the lower freezer compartment 5r, which are in the freezing temperature range, may be increased compared to the thickness of the portion located behind the refrigerator compartment 2r, which is in the refrigeration temperature range, in order to improve insulation performance. As shown in Figure 5B, a suction pipe P is embedded in the molded insulation board 12. The outer circumference of the suction pipe P is completely covered by the molded insulation board 12.

[0031] Next, we will explain the manufacturing method of the insulated box 1H (see Figure 2). Figure 6A is a perspective view of the box 10 illustrating the movement of the foaming liquid Us of the foamed insulation material 13 (see Figure 2) when the box 10 is filled with the foaming liquid Us. Figure 6B is a cross-sectional view of the box 10 illustrating the movement of the foaming liquid Us in the VIB-VIB section of Figure 6A. When filling the box 10 with the foaming liquid Us, the box 10 is in a so-called prone position, with the rear member 16 (see Figure 3) of the outer box 1s (see Figure 3), which has the inlet 30 (see Figure 3), facing upwards. Therefore, the arrows in Figures 6A and 6B only indicate the up and down directions. Furthermore, in Figures 6A and 6B, the movement of the foaming concentrate Us is represented by dotted arrows.

[0032] As shown in Figure 6A, the foaming liquid Us is injected into the inside of the box body 10 through the inlet 30. At this time, since the inlet 30 is located in a position that avoids the vacuum insulation material 11, the foaming liquid Us flows into the inner corner portion 10c of the box body 10 without interference from the vacuum insulation material 11. The foaming liquid Us then flows preferentially through the parts where the vacuum insulation material 11 is not present. Specifically, the foaming liquid Us first flows downwards in the areas where the vacuum insulation material 11 is not present, on the upper surface 14a side and the bottom member 15 side. The foaming liquid Us that has flowed downwards then flows along the longitudinal direction of the box body 10 through a pair of corner sections 10c located at the bottom of the box body 10.

[0033] Next, as shown in Figure 6B, the foaming liquid Us flows from the lower corner portion 10c through the holes 22 and 23 into the inside of the partition member 20. Inside the partition member 20, as the foaming liquid Us rises in liquid level and fills the inside of the partition member 20 with foaming liquid Us, the foaming liquid Us inside the partition member 20 flows into the pair of upper corner portions 10c through the holes 22 and 23.

[0034] Returning to Figure 6A, the foaming liquid Us that has flowed from the inside of the partition member 20 into the pair of upper corner sections 10c flows along the pair of upper corner sections 10c in the longitudinal direction of the box body 10. Furthermore, the foaming liquid Us flows into the area around the vacuum insulation material 11 provided on the upper surface 14a of the box body 10 and the area around the vacuum insulation material 11 provided on the bottom member 15 via the corner portion 10c. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6B, the foaming liquid Us also flows around the molded insulation board 12.

[0035] Then, as this foaming liquid Us hardens, the insulated box 1H shown in Figure 2 is completed. In such an insulated box 1H, as shown in Figure 2, foaming insulation material 13 is formed at the four corner portions 10c, extending vertically (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 2) along the front and rear edges of the vacuum insulation material 11, respectively. In addition, the foaming insulation material (not shown) formed around the vacuum insulation material 11 of the upper surface portion 14a and around the vacuum insulation material 11 of the bottom member 15 is connected to the foaming insulation material 13 extending vertically (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 2) and becomes one unit.

[0036] <Effects> Next, the effects and advantages of the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the refrigerator 1 is equipped with a vacuum insulation material 11 and a pre-foamed molded insulation board 12 having a suction pipe P inside the rear surface portion 10b of the insulated box 1H, with at least a portion of the suction pipe P embedded in the molded insulation board 12, and the inside of the insulated box 1H is filled with on-site foamed insulation material 13.

[0037] Unlike conventional refrigerators (see, for example, Patent Document 1), this refrigerator 1 has a suction pipe P embedded in a molded insulation board 12, thus preventing condensation from occurring due to heat exchange with the atmosphere in the suction pipe P through which the low-temperature refrigerant flows. Furthermore, in this refrigerator 1, since the inside of the insulated box 1H in which the vacuum insulation material 11 and the molded insulation board 12 are arranged is filled with on-site foamed insulation material 13, unlike conventional refrigerators 1 (see, for example, Patent Document 1), condensation does not occur in the gap between the molded insulation board 12 and the vacuum insulation material 11 due to cold air from inside the refrigerator. According to refrigerator 1, condensation near the molded insulation board 12 can be prevented more reliably.

[0038] Furthermore, in such a refrigerator 1, the insulated box 1H has an injection port 30 for the on-site foamed insulation material 13, and the molded insulation board 12 has a gas vent groove G for when the on-site foamed insulation material 13 is injected through the injection port 30. With this type of refrigerator 1, the on-site foamed insulation material 13 injected from the injection port 30 can be efficiently filled into the inside of the rear surface 10b of the box body 10 where the molded insulation board 12 is placed.

[0039] Furthermore, in such a refrigerator 1, the vacuum insulation material 11 is in contact with the molded insulation board 12. With this type of refrigerator 1, the vacuum insulation material 11 can be protected across the entire surface of the molded insulation board 12 where the suction pipe P is not exposed on the surface, and damage to the vacuum insulation material 11 due to scratches on the exterior material can be effectively prevented.

[0040] Furthermore, in such a refrigerator 1, the molded insulation board 12 is in contact with the inner box 1u of the insulated box 1H. In this type of refrigerator 1, the molded heat insulating plate 12, on which the suction pipe P is not exposed on the surface, comes into contact with the inner box 1u, so that no marks are formed on the inner box 1u from the suction pipe P pressing against it.

[0041] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be implemented in various forms. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 1H Insulated Box 10b Rear part 11 Vacuum insulation material 12 Molded insulation board 13. Foam insulation 30 Inlet G Gas vent groove P Suction Pipe

Claims

1. A vacuum insulation material and a pre-foamed molded insulation board with a suction pipe are provided on the inside of the rear surface of the insulated box. At least a portion of the suction pipe is embedded in the molded insulation board, The refrigerator has the inside of the aforementioned insulated box filled with foamed insulation material applied on-site.

2. The aforementioned insulated box has an injection port for the in-situ foamed insulation material, The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the molded insulation board has a gas vent groove for injecting the in-situ foamed insulation material from the injection port.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum insulation material is in contact with the molded insulation board.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the molded heat insulating board is in contact with the inner box of the heat insulating box.

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