refrigerator

Abstract

To prevent dew condensation without using a heater or a hot pipe.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises a box 10, a door 20 that closes the opening of the box 10, and an outside air heat conductor 40 that is provided inside the door 20, extends from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator and transfers outside air heat to the surface of the box 10. The outside air heat conductor 40 comprises a first heat transfer path forming member 41 extending from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator, and a second heat transfer path forming member 42 provided at a position closer to the inside of the refrigerator than the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and extending from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] One issue with refrigerators is that the opening near the door gasket tends to get cold, causing condensation when outside air comes into contact with this area (hereinafter, this area will also be referred to as the condensation occurrence area).

[0003] In view of this, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there are conventional refrigerators that aim to prevent condensation by heating the above-mentioned condensation occurrence locations by passing electricity through a condensation prevention heater to generate heat, or by flowing refrigerant from the high-pressure side of the refrigeration cycle through a hot pipe that is placed near the condensation occurrence location to heat the partition.

[0004] However, when a heater or hot pipe is provided in this manner, other problems arise, such as an increase in the number of parts, which leads to an increase in cost, and when a heater is used, an increase in power consumption.

[0005] In response to this, there is a method for preventing condensation without using heaters or hot pipes, as shown in Patent Document 2, in which a thermally conductive material is placed between the door and the box body so that the heat of the outside air is transferred to the area where condensation occurs.

[0006] However, simply placing a thermally conductive material between the door and the box body will result in the cold inside the cabinet being transferred to the thermally conductive material, making it impossible to reliably prevent condensation, as the amount of heat that can be transferred to the area where condensation is occurring will be insufficient. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-85454 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2005-24204 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve all of the above-mentioned problems at once, and its main objective is to make it possible to transfer a sufficient amount of heat to the surface of the box body in order to prevent condensation without using a heater or hot pipe. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In other words, the refrigerator of the present invention comprises a box body, a door that closes an opening of the box body, and an outside air heat conductor that is provided inside the door and extends from the outside of the cabinet to the inside of the cabinet and transfers outside air heat to a surface of the box body, and is characterized in that the outside air heat conductor comprises a first heat transfer path forming member that extends from the outside of the cabinet to the inside of the cabinet, and a second heat transfer path forming member that is provided at a position closer to the interior of the cabinet than the first heat transfer path forming member and extends from the outside of the cabinet to the inside of the cabinet.

[0010] In the refrigerator thus configured, the outside air heat conductor includes not only the first heat transfer path forming member but also the second heat transfer path forming member provided at a position closer to the interior than the first heat transfer path forming member, so that the second heat transfer path forming member plays a role in suppressing the transfer of cold from the low temperature part of the interior to the first heat transfer path forming member. As a result, the first heat transfer path forming member can transfer sufficient outside air heat to the surface of the box body, which contributes to preventing condensation.

[0011] It is preferable that the outside air heat conductor is in contact with an inner surface of a decorative panel constituting the door. The decorative panel is made of resin, and it is difficult to transfer outside heat to the surface of the box body through this decorative panel. However, with the above-described configuration, the outside heat guide is in contact with the inner surface of the decorative panel, so that outside heat can be transferred to areas of the surface of the box body where condensation is likely to occur.

[0012] In order to more reliably transfer the outside air heat to the surface of the box, it is preferable that the outside air heat guide is provided inside the door from the outside to the inside of the box.

[0013] In order to more reliably prevent the cold inside the cabinet from being transmitted to the first heat transfer path forming member, in a configuration in which the interior of the box is divided into multiple cabinet compartments by partition plates, it is preferable that at least the interior end of the second heat transfer path forming member is located closer to the first heat transfer path forming member than the partition surface of the partition plate facing the cabinet compartment.

[0014] It is preferable that the outside air heat guide further includes an intermediate support member that is interposed between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member and that supports these heat-transfer-path forming members. With this configuration, the first heat transfer path forming member, the second heat transfer path forming member, and the intermediate support member are integrated and can be installed inside the door all at once, ensuring manufacturability.

[0015] In order to prevent damage to the outdoor air heat conductor during manufacturing and to prevent the outdoor air heat conductor from shifting in position, it is preferable that the intermediate support member supports the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member without deforming when the foaming resin filled inside the door is foamed.

[0016] It is preferable that the outside air heat guide further includes a heat transfer member covering the intermediate support member, in addition to the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member. With this configuration, the heat of the outside air can be efficiently transferred to the surface of the box body using not only the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member but also the heat transfer member.

[0017] In order to achieve the heat transfer function of the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member, it is preferable that the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are made of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the decorative panel that constitutes the door.

[0018] As a more specific embodiment, the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member preferably have a thickness of 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less.

[0019] The effect can also be expected when the second heat transfer path forming member has a resin through hole through which the foamed resin filled in the door passes. With this configuration, the foaming resin can be filled between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member through the resin through-hole, so there is no need to separately prepare the intermediate support member described above.

[0020] In order to further improve ease of assembly, it is preferable that the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member are integrally formed.

[0021] It is preferable that the refrigerator further comprises one or a plurality of third heat-transfer-path-forming members that are provided between the first heat-transfer-path-forming member and the second heat-transfer-path-forming member and extend from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator. With this configuration, it is possible to increase the number of paths through which outside heat can be transferred to the surface of the box body, thereby improving the amount of heat transfer.

[0022] Even if the door has recesses at multiple locations along its width, for example for handles or recesses for handholds, it is preferable that the outside air heat guide be divided into multiple parts along the width of the door in order to transfer sufficient outside air heat to the surface of the box body. With this configuration, the plurality of divided outside air heat guides can be arranged to avoid the recesses described above, and these outside air heat guides can ensure the amount of heat transferred to the surface.

[0023] It is preferable that the surface of the outside air heat conductor facing the outside of the cabinet is shaped to conform to the exterior surface of the door facing the outside of the cabinet, and that the surface of the outside air heat conductor facing the inside of the cabinet is shaped to conform to the door liner facing the inside of the door. In this way, by arranging the outside air heat conductor with no or almost no gaps from the door surface exterior to the door liner, the outside air heat can be efficiently transferred to the surface of the box body, and the outside air heat conductor can also be prevented from shifting out of position.

[0024] It is preferable that the outside air heat guide is provided integrally with a decorative panel constituting the door. This allows the number of manufacturing steps to be reduced, improving manufacturing efficiency.

[0025] The same effect can be expected even in a configuration in which an air layer is provided between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member. This eliminates the need for the intermediate support member, and reduces the number of parts, thereby enabling cost reduction. Effect of the Invention

[0026] According to the present invention configured in this manner, a sufficient amount of heat can be transferred to the surface of the box, making it possible to prevent condensation without using a heater or hot pipe. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a refrigerator according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an outside air heat guide in the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams showing a method for producing an ambient air thermal inductor in the embodiment; [Figure 4] 4 is experimental data showing the effect of the outside air thermal inductor in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an outside air heat guide in another embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an outside air heat guide in another embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an outside air heat guide in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0029] The refrigerator 100 according to this embodiment is provided with compartments such as a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, a vegetable compartment, an ice-making compartment, and more specifically, as shown in Fig. 1, it is provided with a plurality of boxes 10 and doors 20 provided for each of these boxes 10. The doors 20 may be of a sliding type, or may be of a single-door or double-door type.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the door 20 of this embodiment has at least the front surface formed from sheet metal 21, and the upper and lower surfaces formed from decorative panels 22 made of resin, and the interior is filled with foamed resin 23.

[0031] In addition, a sealing member 30 that seals the interior of the container is provided between the door 20 and the box body 10. As shown in Fig. 2, this sealing member 30 is interposed between the box body 10 and the door 20 when the opening of the box body 10 is closed by the door 20, and specifically, is a gasket configured with a magnet inside.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator 100 further includes an outside air heat conductor 40 that is provided inside the door 20 and extends from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator to transfer outside air heat to the surface of the box 10.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the outside air heat inducer 40 includes a first heat transfer path forming member 41 and a second heat transfer path forming member 42 that form a heat transfer path for the outside air heat, and in this embodiment further includes an intermediate support member 43 interposed between these heat transfer path forming members 41, 42.

[0034] The outside air heat conductor 40 of this embodiment is provided from the outside to the inside of the door 20. In other words, a surface 40a of the outside air heat conductor 40 facing the outside of the cabinet is provided in contact with or near the back side of the front surface of the door 20, and a surface 40b of the outside air heat conductor 40 facing the inside of the cabinet is provided in contact with or near the back side of the back surface of the door 20.

[0035] Furthermore, this outside air heat inducer 40 is in contact with the inner surface of the decorative panel 22 that constitutes the door 20, and specifically, a first heat transfer path forming member 41 described later is arranged to be in contact with the inner surface of the decorative panel 22.

[0036] The first heat transfer path forming member 41 extends from the outside of the container to the inside of the container, and transfers the heat of the outside air to the surface of the container 50 or near the surface.

[0037] The first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 is made of a metal having a thermal conductivity at least higher than that of the decorative panel 22, for example, 200 mW / (m·k) or more, and here extends horizontally from the outside to the inside of the cabinet. The first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 in this embodiment is, for example, a metal foil, metal plate, or metal film having a thickness of 10 μm to 5 mm, and specifically, an aluminum tape is used. However, the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 may be provided at an angle from the horizontal direction, for example, and the thickness and material may be appropriately changed.

[0038] The second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 extends from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator, and is a separate member from the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41. The second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 is provided at a position closer to the inside of the refrigerator than the above-mentioned first heat-transfer-path forming member 41, and receives heat from the outside air to prevent the cold inside the refrigerator from being transferred to the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41.

[0039] The second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 is made of a metal having a thermal conductivity at least higher than that of the decorative panel 22, for example, 200 mW / (m·k) or more, and here extends horizontally from the outside to the inside of the chamber. The second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 in this embodiment is, for example, a metal foil, metal plate, or metal film having a thickness of 10 μm to 5 mm, and specifically, an aluminum tape is used. However, the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 may be provided at an angle from the horizontal direction, and the thickness and material may be appropriately changed, and the material and thermal conductivity of the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 do not necessarily have to be the same as those of the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41.

[0040] Here, the inside of the box 10 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is divided into a plurality of compartments by partition plates 50 as shown in Fig. 2. In this configuration, at least the compartment-inside end portion 42a of the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 is located closer to the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 than the surface 51 of the partition plate 50 that forms the compartment interior, i.e., the partition surface 51 of the partition plate 50 that faces the compartment interior. Here, the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 extends horizontally as described above, and as a result, the entire second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 is located closer to the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 than the partition surface 51.

[0041] The intermediate support member 43 is interposed between the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 and the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 to support these heat-transfer-path forming members 41, .

[0042] This intermediate support member 43 supports the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 and the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 without being deformed when the foaming resin 23 filled inside the door 20 is foamed, in other words, it has a degree of rigidity that does not deform due to the foaming pressure of the foaming resin 23. Specifically, the intermediate support member 43 is made of, for example, resin, and in this case, is made of polystyrene foam.

[0043] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an aluminum tape serving as a first heat transfer path forming member 41 is attached to one face plate portion 43a of the intermediate support member 43, and an aluminum tape serving as a second heat transfer path forming member 42 is attached to the other face plate portion 43b, thereby forming the ambient air heat inducer 40 of this embodiment.

[0044] Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the outdoor air heat guide 40 is attached to the mounting recess 22x provided in the decorative panel 22, and the decorative panel 22 is attached to the metal plate 21 shown in FIG. 2, and the interior is filled with foamed resin 23 to form the door 20 of this embodiment.

[0045] In the refrigerator 100 configured in this manner, the outside air heat inducer 40 includes not only the first heat transfer path forming member 41 but also the second heat transfer path forming member 42 provided at a position closer to the interior of the refrigerator than the first heat transfer path forming member 41. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the second heat transfer path forming member 42 receives outside air heat and thereby plays a role in preventing the coldness from the interior of the refrigerator from being transferred to the first heat transfer path forming member 41. As a result, the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 can transfer sufficient outside heat to the surface of the box 10, which contributes to preventing condensation.

[0046] In addition, since the outside air heat conductor 40 is in contact with the inner surface of the decorative panel 22, the outside air heat can be transferred to the places on the surface of the box body 10 where condensation is likely to occur.

[0047] Furthermore, since the outside air heat conductor 40 is provided inside the door 20 from the outside to the inside of the cabinet, the outside air heat can be transferred to the surface of the box body 10 more reliably.

[0048] Furthermore, since the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 is located closer to the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 than the partition surface 51 of the partition plate 50 that faces the interior of the cabinet, it is possible to more reliably prevent the cold inside the cabinet from being transferred to the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41.

[0049] In addition, since the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 and the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 are supported by the intermediate support member 43, the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41, the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42, and the intermediate support member 43 are integrated and can be installed all at once inside the door 20. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the outside air heat conductor 40 and to prevent the outside air heat conductor 40 from shifting in position, thereby ensuring manufacturability.

[0050] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0051] For example, in the above embodiment, the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 are described as being separate from each other, but as shown in FIG. 5, the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 may be integrally formed. In this case, the outside air heat guide 40 may further include a connecting member 44 provided between the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 along the rear side of the front surface of the door 20. Specifically, for example, the connecting member 44, the first heat transfer path forming member 41, and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 may be formed by bending a single sheet metal into a U-shape.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6, the second heat transfer path forming member 42 may have a resin through hole 42h through which the foamed resin 23 filled in the door 20 passes. In such a configuration, the intermediate support member 43 may be formed by the foamed resin 23 that passes through this resin through hole 42h and fills between the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the outside air heat inducer 40 may further include one or more third heat transfer path forming members 45 that are provided between the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 and extend from the outside to the inside of the cabinet.

[0054] Furthermore, the outside air heat guide 40 may further include a heat transfer member that covers the intermediate support member 43, in addition to the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42. That is, this heat transfer member covers all or part of the front, back and side surfaces of the intermediate support member 43. With this configuration, the heat of the outside air can be efficiently transferred to the surface of the box 50 using not only the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 and the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 but also the heat transfer member.

[0055] Incidentally, the door 20 may be provided with recesses for providing handles or recesses for handholds at multiple locations in the width direction. Even in such a door 20, the outside air heat conductor 40 may be divided into a plurality of parts along the width direction of the door 20 in order to transfer sufficient outside air heat to the surface of the box body 10. That is, by dividing the outside air heat conductor 40 in the width direction into a plurality of divided elements, the amount of heat transferred to the surface can be ensured by providing the divided elements at positions in the width direction of the door 20 avoiding the above-mentioned recessed portion.

[0056] The surface 40a of the outside air heat conductor 40 facing the outside of the cabinet may have a shape that conforms to the exterior surface of the door 20 facing the outside of the cabinet, that is, a shape that conforms to the metal plate 21 that constitutes the front surface of the door 20. Further, the surface 40b of the outside air heat conductor 40 facing the inside of the cabinet may have a shape that conforms to the door liner of the door 20 facing the inside of the cabinet. In this way, by arranging the outside air heat conductor 40 from the exterior surface of the door 20 to the door liner with no or almost no gaps, the outside air heat can be efficiently transferred to the surface of the box body 10, and the positional displacement of the outside air conductor 40 can also be prevented.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the manufacturing method in which the outside air heat guide 40 is attached to the decorative panel 22 constituting the door 20 has been exemplified. However, the outside air heat guide 40 may be provided integrally with the decorative panel 22.

[0058] Furthermore, the external air heat inducer 40 does not necessarily need to include an intermediate support member, and if the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42 are formed as an integrated member, for example as shown in Figure 5, an air layer may be provided between the first heat transfer path forming member 41 and the second heat transfer path forming member 42.

[0059] Furthermore, one or both of the first heat-transfer-path forming member 41 and the second heat-transfer-path forming member 42 are not necessarily limited to metal foils, and may be made of a metal plate having a predetermined thickness.

[0060] The refrigerator 100 according to the present invention may be configured so that the cooling unit is not housed in the case 10, and cold air is supplied to the case 10 from a cooling unit disposed separately. In such a configuration, it may not be practical to place the hot pipe near the condensation generating portion, and the above-mentioned effect of the outside air heat guide 40 can be more significantly exhibited.

[0061] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 100...Refrigerator 10...Box body 20 Door 21 Sheet metal 22 Decorative panel 23... Foamed resin 30...Sealing member 40... Outdoor heat transfer 41 First heat transfer path forming member 42 Second heat transfer path forming member 43 Intermediate support member 50 ···Partition plate

Claims

1. A box body and A door for closing the opening of the box body; An outside air heat guide is provided inside the door and extends from the outside to the inside of the cabinet, and transmits outside air heat to a surface of the box body. The ambient air thermal conductor is A first heat transfer path forming member extending from the outside to the inside of the cabinet; a second heat transfer path forming member provided at a position closer to the interior of the refrigerator than the first heat transfer path forming member and extending from the exterior to the interior of the refrigerator.

2. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the outside air heat conductor is in contact with an inner surface of a decorative panel constituting the door.

3. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the outside air heat guide is provided inside the door from the outside to the inside of the door.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein at least an inner end portion of the second heat-transfer-path forming member is located closer to the first heat-transfer-path forming member than a partition surface facing the interior of the refrigerator.

5. The ambient air thermal conductor is The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising an intermediate support member interposed between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member and configured to support these heat-transfer-path forming members.

6. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate support member supports the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member without being deformed when a foaming resin filled inside the door is foamed.

7. The ambient air thermal conductor is The refrigerator according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising a heat transfer member covering the intermediate support member, in addition to the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member are made of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than a decorative panel constituting the door.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member have a thickness of 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the second heat transfer path forming member has a resin through hole through which a foamed resin filled in the door passes.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member are integrally formed.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more third heat-transfer-path forming members provided between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member and extending from an outside to an inside of the refrigerator.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the outside air heat conductor is divided into a plurality of parts along a width direction of the door.

14. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein a surface of the outside air heat conductor facing the outside of the refrigerator is shaped along a surface exterior of the door facing the outside of the refrigerator, and a surface of the outside air heat conductor facing the inside of the refrigerator is shaped along a door liner of the door facing the inside of the refrigerator.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the outside air heat guide is provided integrally with a decorative panel constituting the door.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein an air layer is provided between the first heat-transfer-path forming member and the second heat-transfer-path forming member.

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