A refrigerator with multiple cooled compartments

Abstract

A refrigerator with a first and a second compartment is provided. The refrigerator has fan assembly (100) comprising a fan (110) a fan volute (130) comprising at least two air outlets (125, 126), and a damper arrangement (120) configured to distribute air blown by the fan to the first compartment and the second, respectively. The invention also extends to a refrigerator fan assembly (100).

Description

[0001] A REFRIGERATOR WITH MULTIPLE COOLED COMPARTMENTS TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The invention relates to a refrigerator (refrigeration appliance). In particular, the present invention relates to a refrigerator having multiple cooled compartments. A first cooled compartment such as a fresh-food compartment, and a second cooled compartment such as a drawer. The invention also relates to a refrigerator fan assembly that can be used to control circulation of cold air in a refrigerator appliance.

[0003] BACKGROUND

[0004] Conventional refrigerators, such as domestic refrigerators, typically have both a fresh-food compartment and a freezer compartment or section. The fresh-food compartment is where food items such as fruits, vegetables, and beverages are stored, and the freezer compartment is where food items that are to be kept in a frozen condition are stored. A typical refrigerator includes a freezer compartment that operates at a temperature below freezing and a fresh-food compartment that operates at a temperature between the ambient temperature (that is, the temperature in the space outside the refrigerator cabinet) and freezing. The refrigerators are provided with a cooling / refrigeration system for the purpose of generating and dispersing cold air into the refrigeration cavities. The refrigeration system typically maintains the freshfood compartment at temperatures around and above 0°C, such as between 2 °C and 10 °C and the freezer compartments at a lower temperature, such as typically temperatures below 0 °C, such as between 0 °C and -20 °C. Air is circulated inside the refrigerator such that air can be cooled by an evaporator and delivered to cooled compartments of the refrigerator and returned back to the evaporator.

[0005] In addition, other compartments can be provided such as a crisper. A crisper is a designated compartment in a refrigerator, specifically designed to store fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. Its primary function is to maintain a specific level of humidity that helps keep produce fresh for a longer period.

[0006] Another particular type of compartment is a chiller (multichill drawer). A multichill drawer is a refrigeration feature designed to provide precise temperature control for different types of food items stored within a refrigerator, for example meat. A multichill drawer can typically have a dedicated temperature control: For example, the multichill drawer can allow users to set specific temperatures, typically ranging from about -7°C to 5°C, to cater to the varying needs of different food items. This helps in preserving the freshness and extending the shelf life of fruits, vegetables, meats, and other perishables. Additional control can also be provided such as humidity control.

[0007] Thus, additional cooled compartments with other temperature settings than the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment can be provided in a domestic refrigerator appliance. The additional cooled compartments can typically be implemented as drawers but can have other configurations.

[0008] Further, in refrigerators cooling air can be split, channeled, ducted, and then delivered into different cooled compartments of the refrigerator for example cool air can be split between a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment. For example, a damper or baffle can be arranged within a passageway or a duct to selectively allow cooling air to pass into one, the other, or both of the freezer and the fresh-food compartments or to other compartments, in particular a crisper or another type of cooled compartment, in particular a drawer such as a multichill drawer.

[0009] The refrigerators can include an electronic control system to control the refrigeration components, such as the compressor, condenser, evaporator, etc. The control system can use several factors, such as temperature of the freezer and freshfood compartments other cooled compartments, the ambient temperature, upper and lower temperature limits, etc., to vary parameters of the refrigeration components, such as turning on and off the compressor, or the speeds of the compressor, the condenser fan, the evaporator fan, other components such as additional fans, dampers, baffles and other components. Temperature sensors can be provided inside and outside the refrigerator to measure the temperature inside the freezer and fresh-food compartments and other cooled compartments, as well as the ambient temperature.

[0010] There is a constant desire to improve refrigerators. Hence, there exists a need for an improved refrigerator.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved refrigerator.

[0013] These objects and or others are obtained by a refrigerator as set out in the appended claims.

[0014] In accordance with the invention a refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator comprises a first compartment configured for storing food items at a first target temperature and a second compartment configured for storing food items at a second target temperature. The refrigerator further comprises an evaporator for cooling air and a cooling air channel for transport of cool air from the evaporator to the first and second compartments. Also, the refrigerator comprises a fan assembly provided in the cooling air channel. The fan assembly comprises a fan and a fan volute comprising at least two air outlets and a damper arrangement configured to distribute air blown by the fan to the first compartment and the second, respectively.

[0015] Hereby a compact and easy to assemble assembly for directing cool air to a plurality of cooled compartment in the refrigerator is provided. The first compartment can for example be a fresh food compartment and the second compartment can be a drawer, such as a multichill drawer.

[0016] In accordance with one embodiment, the fan is a radial fan. Hereby a compact implementation is provided.

[0017] In accordance with one embodiment, the refrigerator comprises a temperature sensor in the second compartment and a controller configured to obtain a temperature from the temperature sensor and to control the damper arrangement based on the obtained temperature from the temperature sensor such that the temperature in the second compartment can be maintained at a different temperature than in the first compartment. Hereby an efficient cooling of the second compartment can be obtained that is different from the cooling of the first compartment.

[0018] In accordance with one embodiment, the controller is configured to control the fan based on the temperature obtained from the temperature sensor.

[0019] Hereby improved temperature control in the second compartment can be obtained.

[0020] In accordance with one embodiment, the damper arrangement comprises at least one flap valve. Hereby an efficient implementation can be obtained for directing air flow to the different cooled compartments. Advantageously the damper arrangement is driven by a motor.

[0021] In accordance with one embodiment, the fan volute comprises at least two air outlets. Hereby a compact implementation can be obtained by forming multiple air flows inside the fan volute.

[0022] The invention also relates to a refrigerator fan assembly in accordance with the above.

[0023] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a refrigeration appliance, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cooling system, and Fig. 3 illustrates a fan assembly.

[0026] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, like or similar components of different embodiments can be exchanged between different embodiments. Some components can be omitted from different embodiments. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0028] In Fig. 1 , a general view of an exemplary refrigerator 10 s shown. The refrigerator 10 can be a typical household refrigerator 10 comprising a Fresh Food (FF) compartment 12 and a Freezer (FZ) compartment 16. The exemplary refrigerator 10 in Fig. 1 is of the type known as side by side. However, the cooling distribution and related devices as described herein can be employed in any type of refrigerator such as a French door type, top freezer type, bottom freezer type, or any other type of refrigerator. A door 14, shown in FIG. 1 as open, is mounted to the refrigerator body by hinges and serves to close the front of the fresh food compartment 12 as well as provide access to the interior of the fresh food compartment 12. A door 18, shown in Fig. 1 as open, also is mounted to the refrigerator body by hinges and serves to close the front of the freezer compartment 16 as well as provide access to the interior of the freezer compartment 16. The fresh food and freezer compartments can include a variety of shelves 20, and basket-like drawers 24 for storing articles of food and the like. Additional cooled compartments 22 such as chiller (multichill drawer) or a crisper can be provided. The additional cooled compartments 22 can typically be drawers. The additional cooled compartments 22 can be used for special purposes and can require special control of temperature, but also humidity. Also, other configurations of the household refrigerator 10 can be envisaged depending on the type of refrigerator and to meet different needs.

[0029] To cool the refrigerator 10 a cooling system 30 is provided. The cooling system 30 comprises at least one evaporator. The evaporator(s) can be arranged to cool different compartments. For example, one evaporator can cool a refrigerator compartment 12 and another evaporator can cool a freezer compartment 16. To cool additional compartments 22, cool air from an existing evaporator can be directed to such an additional compartment 22.

[0030] An exemplary cooling system 30 will now be described in more detail in conjunction with Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, a cooling system 30 is illustrated. The cooling system 30 has a compressor 32. The compressor 32 drives a flow of refrigerant in a cooling circuit formed by a condenser 34 followed downstream by an expansion valve 36 of some kind such as a capillary tube and an evaporator 37. The evaporator 37 can, for example, be an evaporator arranged to cool a fresh food compartment 12. Further, air temperature sensors 41 , 42 can be arranged in different compartments such as in the fresh food compartment 12 and in an additional compartment 22.

[0031] In the refrigerator 10, cooling air can be split, channeled, ducted, and then delivered into different compartments of the refrigerator 10. For example, cool air can be split between a fresh food compartment 12 and an additional compartment 22. To divide cooled air between different cooled compartments an arrangement 100 can be provided. For example, a damper or baffle can be arranged within the passageway to selectively allow cooling air to pass into one, the other, or both of the fresh-food compartment 12 or the additional compartment 22. The arrangement 100 can be placed in a cooling air channel 27 from the evaporator 37. The arrangement 100 can distribute cool air to the first compartment 12 via an air channel 43 and cool air to the second compartment 22 via an air channel 44. The arrangement 100 can be controlled by a controller 50 based on some suitable input data and settings. For example, the controller 50 can control the arrangement 100 based on some user settings and temperature data obtained from the temperature sensors 41 , 42 located in the cooled compartments 12 and 22, respectively. Hereby temperature can be controlled individually in the cooled compartments 12, 22 using one single evaporator 37. However, as has been realized, providing distribution of cool air between different compartments in a conventional manner requires several separate components that needs to be assembled in a small space.

[0032] In Fig. 3, a fan assembly 100 that can be used as an arrangement 100 to distribute air to different cooled compartments of a refrigerator 10 is shown. For example, the fan assembly 100 can be arranged to divide cool air between two cooled compartments 12, 22. One cooled compartment 12 can be a fresh food compartment 12 and the other cooled compartment 22 can be an additional cooled compartment, such as an individually cooled drawer 22. The drawer 22 can for example be a crisper or a chiller (multichill drawer).

[0033] The fan assembly 100 can be described as a fan and a volute comprising an embedded damper arrangement. Thus, the fan assembly 100 is formed as fan 110 and a volute 130 comprising an embedded damper arrangement 120, where the damper arrangement 120 can direct air to, at least, two air outlets 125, 126 of the fan assembly. The at least two air outlets can be formed in the fan volute 130 of the fan assembly 100. The air outlets 125, 126 can be connected to different cooled compartments 12, 22 that are cooled by cool air from the evaporator 37. For example, the air outlet 125 can provide cool air to a fresh food compartment 12 and the air outlet 126 can provide cool air to a cooled drawer 22 or similar. The air outlets 125, 126 can have different sizes. For example, the air outlet 125 connecting the fan assembly with the fresh food compartment 12 via the air channel 43 can be larger than the air outlet 126 connecting the fan assembly with the drawer 22 via the air channel 44.

[0034] The damper arrangement 120 can in accordance with one embodiment be driven by a motor 124. The fan assembly 100 can in accordance with some embodiments be powered via a power cord 135. The power cord can also be used to transmit control signals to the fan assembly. Power and control signals can in alternative embodiments be provided to the fan assembly in other well-known manners used for controlling a fan and / or a damper arrangement.

[0035] The damper arrangement can in accordance with some embodiments comprise a flap valve 122 having at least one flap. The at least one flap valve 122 is configured to individually control the air flow to two air outlets 125, 126 from the fan assembly 100. For example, the at least one flap valve can be provided inside the fan volute 130 and can in accordance with some embodiments be moved as an On / Off control, as a simple way to guide all of the airflow to only one of the different cooled compartments 12, 22. In accordance with some embodiments, the at least one flap valve 122 can be configured to be positioned to form a more refined control of the distribution of the amount of airflow between the compartments so as to divide the airflow between the cooled compartments in any desired ratio, such as 30 / 70%, 50 / 50% or 60 / 40 or any other desired distribution. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the flap valve 122 is in a position where the flap valve completely covers the air outlet 126 such that no air is delivered to the second cooled compartment 22.

[0036] By providing the damper arrangement 120 in the same assembly as the fan 110, a more compact arrangement for air distribution can be provided that saves space in the refrigerator. Also, assembly of the refrigerator 10 is made easier and the number of components required for providing an efficient air distribution can be reduced. The fan 110 can advantageously be a radial fan. The damper arrangement 120 can be completely located inside the fan volute 130 of the fan assembly 100 or the damper arrangement 120 can be located, at least partially at the outlet from the fan volute 130. The fan 110 can be provided to enhance the flow of cool air from the evaporator 37 in the cooling air channel 27. Thus, the damper arrangement 120 can be located inside the fan volute 130 of the fan assembly 100. The damper arrangement 120 can be configured to direct air blown by the fan to the first compartment 12 and / or the second cooled compartment 22, respectively. The total amount of air can be controlled by controlling the speed of the fan 110. In particular the controller 50 can be configured to control the speed of the fan 110 and / or the position of the damper arrangement 120 such that the amount of air to the respective cooled compartments 12 and 22 can be individually controlled by the fan assembly 100.

[0037] The fan assembly 100 can be made very compact so as to fit inside a duct from an evaporator. In an exemplary embodiment cool air is blown via the cooling air channel 27 to the fresh food compartment 12 from the evaporator 37. Some or all of the cool air to the fresh food compartment 12 can be directed to a second cooled compartment 22 such as a drawer.

[0038] In accordance with some embodiments, the fan 110 and the damper arrangement 120 can be controlled such that both the air flow is controlled by the fan 110 and also the amount of air directed to the respective cooled compartments 12, 22. For example all air can be directed to one of the cooled compartments or the air flow can be split in some ratio between the two cooled compartments. Hereby a very efficient control can be obtained where temperature fluctuation in the cooled compartments can be reduced. This is particularly so for a drawer or similar cooled compartment because all cool air from the evaporator 37 can be directed to the second cooled compartment. The high air flow will reduce the time to reach the target temperature inside the second cooled compartment 22 (such as a drawer) without affecting the behavior of the fresh food compartment 12.

Claims

SET OF CLAIMS1 . A refrigerator (10), comprising: a first compartment (12) configured for storing food items at a first target temperature; a second compartment (22) configured for storing food items at a second target temperature; an evaporator (37) for cooling air; a cooling air channel (27) for transport of cool air from the evaporator to the first and second compartments; a fan assembly (100) provided in the cooling air channel; the fan assembly comprising:- a fan (110),- a fan volute (130) comprising at least two air outlets (125, 126), and- a damper arrangement (120) configured to distribute air blown by the fan to the first compartment and the second compartment, respectively.

2. The refrigerator (10) according to claim 1 , wherein the fan (110) is a radial fan.

3. The refrigerator (10) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a temperature sensor (42) in the second compartment (22) and a controller (50) configured to:- obtain a temperature from the temperature sensor and,- control the damper arrangement (120) based on the obtained temperature from the temperature sensor such that the temperature in the second compartment can be maintained at a different temperature than in the first compartment.

4. The refrigerator (10) according to claim 3, wherein the controller (50) configured to:- control the fan (110) based on the temperature obtained from the temperature sensor.

5. The refrigerator (10) according to any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein the first compartment is a fresh food compartment.

6. The refrigerator (10) according to any one of claims 1 - 5, wherein the second compartment is a drawer (22).

7. The refrigerator (10) according to any one of claims 1 - 6, whereinthe damper arrangement (120) comprises at least one flap valve (122).

8. The refrigerator (10) according to claim 7, wherein the damper arrangement (120) is driven by a motor (124).

9. A refrigerator fan assembly (100) adapted to be placed in a cooling air channel (27) of a refrigerator (10) for selectively directing cool air to two different compartments (12, 22) of the refrigerator: the fan assembly comprising:- a fan (110),- a fan volute (130) comprising at least two air outlets (125, 126), and,- a damper arrangement (120) configured to distribute air blown by the fan to the first compartment and the second compartment, respectively.

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