Branching Air Supply Device With Baffles for Even Refrigerator Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air-cooled refrigerators face challenges in achieving uniform temperature distribution in storage compartments due to random air circulation, leading to excessive or insufficient refrigeration in different areas, which affects the operating efficiency and food preservation.
Innovation Solution
A branching air supply device with a centrifugal impeller and rotatable baffle plates that control the airflow to specific storage compartments, allowing for adjustable air outlet shielding and circulation, ensuring precise air distribution and quantity control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If refrigeration air flows randomly via the air passage, then the structure is simple, but the temperature distribution in the storage compartments becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The air passage is segmented into multiple independent channels, each leading to different storage compartments or zones. This segmentation allows controlled distribution of refrigeration air to specific areas, ensuring uniform temperature distribution while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the storage compartments are provided with differentiated air supply characteristics through the air passage design. Specific areas receive adjusted air flow rates or temperatures according to their local refrigeration needs, achieving uniform temperature distribution across diverse storage zones.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single storage compartment is divided into multiple storage spaces, then the storage space utilization is optimized, but the air distribution control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The air supply system is segmented to provide independent or independently controllable air passages to each storage space within a compartment. This allows the system to adapt to different storage configurations and items while maintaining manageable control complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The air passage design incorporates universal features that can serve multiple storage spaces simultaneously or independently. The system can operate in different modes (individual control, grouped control, or unified control) to accommodate various storage configurations without requiring completely separate control systems for each space.
3Speed
If the centrifugal fan is arranged at the air outlet position, then the air flow direction is controlled, but the air supply amount is reduced due to shielding
Solution Approach 1:
The centrifugal fan is extracted from the air outlet position and relocated to a position where it does not shield the air outlets. This separation allows the fan to maintain its air flow direction control function while eliminating the harmful shielding effect that reduced air supply amount.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary air passage structure is designed to connect the fan outlet to the storage compartment air outlets. This intermediary passage allows the fan to control air flow direction indirectly without physically blocking the outlets, preserving both direction control capability and maximum air supply amount.
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 solution enhances the preservation performance and operating efficiency of refrigerators by providing accurate air distribution and quantity control, meeting the refrigeration needs of different storage compartments, while maintaining convenient maintenance and reducing air supply loss.
Implementation Method 1
a centrifugal impeller and rotatable baffle plates that control the airflow
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The prevent invention relates to a refrigerator and a branching air supply device thereof. The branching air supply device comprises: a housing provided with an air inlet and a plurality of air outlets; a regulating component configured to completely shield, partially shield or completely expose each air outlet in a controllable manner to adjust respective air discharging areas of the plurality of air outlets; an air feeding device arranged in the housing and configured to prompt the air flow to flow into the housing from the air inlet and to flow out of the housing via one or more air outlets of the plurality of the air outlets; and an air distributing device arranged in the housing and configured to guide air flowing out of the air feeding device and to enable the air flowing out of the air feeding device to flow to each air outlet with a predetermined ratio.The refrigerator and the branching air supply device thereof provided by the invention can accurately realize an air supply ratio of a plurality of storage compartments or different places of one storage compartment, and the air supply amount of the branching air supply device is increased.