Air Guide Duct Layout for Faster Defrost Water Evaporation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators face inefficiencies in evaporation of defrost water due to slow air flow over the evaporating dish, leading to reduced convection-heat transfer and increased space occupation, which also affects the cooling efficiency of the compressor and condenser.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a blowing guide duct with an evaporating dish integrated at its lower portion, where the evaporating dish has an open upper portion to communicate with the duct, and includes a refrigerant pipe to heat the defrost water, enhancing air flow speed and convection-heat transfer efficiency while minimizing space usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the evaporating dish is enlarged to increase contact area between defrost water and air, then the evaporation efficiency of defrost water is improved, but the space occupied by the evaporating dish in the machine room increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial arrangement by integrating the evaporating dish with the blowing guide duct in a vertical configuration. The defrost water is guided to flow down the inner surface of the blowing guide duct, allowing the air flow to act on the water film in a different dimensional space, thereby improving evaporation efficiency without increasing the horizontal space occupied by the evaporating dish.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the blowing guide duct as a surface for water film evaporation. The duct's inner surface serves as an evaporative surface through which defrost water flows, allowing efficient heat and mass transfer between the air flow and the water, achieving high evaporation efficiency in a compact form.
2Productivity
If the evaporating dish is enlarged to increase contact area between defrost water and air, then the evaporation efficiency of defrost water is improved, but the arrangement efficiency of machine room parts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the evaporating dish with the blowing guide duct into a single integrated component. The evaporating dish is formed as part of the blowing guide duct structure, eliminating the need for separate components and simplifying the arrangement of machine room parts while maintaining effective evaporation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The blowing guide duct serves multiple functions: it guides the air flow from the cooling fan, acts as an evaporative surface for defrost water, and structures the machine room air circulation path. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed in the machine room.
3Productivity
If the evaporating dish is enlarged to increase contact area between defrost water and air, then the evaporation efficiency of defrost water is improved, but the airflow interference with the evaporating dish increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a localized water film on the inner surface of the blowing guide duct where the air flow directly contacts the defrost water. This concentrated interaction zone ensures efficient evaporation without requiring a large evaporating dish that would interfere with overall airflow patterns in the machine room.
4Ease of operation
If the air blown by the cooling fan is allowed to diffuse inside the machine room, then the air flow distribution is improved, but the air exhaustion from the machine room becomes difficult and cooling efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the air flow path into distinct zones: the blowing guide duct creates a dedicated channel for high-velocity air flow that contacts the defrost water, while other areas of the machine room allow for more diffuse air distribution. This segmentation enables both efficient evaporation in the duct and adequate cooling throughout the machine room.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension of the blowing guide duct to create an upward air flow path that efficiently exhausts air from the machine room. The defrost water flows down the inner surface while air moves upward, creating effective counter-current heat and mass transfer, and ensuring proper air exhaustion without compromising cooling efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design improves the evaporation efficiency of defrost water and reduces the size of the evaporating dish, optimizing machine room space and enhancing the cooling efficiency of the compressor and condenser by ensuring complete air exhaustion.
Implementation Method 1
a blowing fan blowing air to cool at least one of the compressor and the condenser
Implementation Method 2
the evaporating dish includes a refrigerant pipe to heat the defrost water
Implementation Method 3
heating the defrost water so the defrost water is evaporated
Implementation Method 4
improving evaporation efficiency of defrost water by convection-heat transfer
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a refrigerator in which a space occupied by an evaporating dish can be minimized, evaporation efficiency of defrost water by convection-heat transfer can be improved, air can be easily exhausted in a machine room, and thus the cooling efficiency of a compressor and a condenser can be improved. The refrigerator includes: a cooling apparatus including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator; a blowing fan blowing air to cool at least one of the compressor and the condenser; a blowing guide duct guiding the air blown by the blowing fan to an exterior; and an evaporating dish installed in a lower portion of the blowing guide duct in order to collect and evaporate defrost water, the evaporating dish having an opened upper portion to communicate with a path of the blowing guide duct.