CN102261783A

CN102261783A - Refrigerating appliance

Info

Publication number: CN102261783A
Application number: CN2010101909916A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马敬东; 陶锋; 赵德飞; 贾宝英; 杨振宇
Original assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Current assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-05-28
Filing date: 2010-05-28
Publication date: 2011-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-28
Also published as: PL2577193T3; WO2011147736A2; WO2011147736A3; CN102261783B; EP2577193B1; EP2577193A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerating appliance. The refrigerating appliance comprises a box body (2), a low-pressure storage unit (7), a fluid pipeline (71) and a storage container (6), wherein a storage chamber (4) is formed in the box body (2); the storage chamber (4) has a rear chamber wall (4a) and a side chamber wall (4c) which extends along the longitudinal direction; the low-pressure storage unit (7) has an evacuable storage chamber (32), and is constructed independently of the box body (2) and accommodated in the storage chamber (4); the fluid pipeline (71) is fixed in the box body (2), one end of the fluid pipeline is connected with an air evacuation device (70), and the other end of the fluid pipeline is exposed on a first connector (72), which is in fluid coupling with the low-pressure storage unit (7), of the storage chamber (4); and the storage container (6) is accommodated in the storage chamber (4) in a movable mode and positioned above the low-pressure storage unit (7). According to a suggestion of the invention, the first connector (72) is higher than the low-pressure storage unit (7).

Description

Refrigeration device

[ technical field ]

The present invention relates to a refrigeration device, and more particularly, to a refrigeration device capable of keeping articles in a low-pressure environment.

[ background art ]

In order to provide a variety of storage conditions, refrigerators have been developed in the prior art that can store items in a low pressure environment. Such refrigeration appliances generally have an evacuable storage compartment, and by evacuating the air from the storage compartment, the air content in the storage compartment is reduced, which in turn impairs the oxidation process of the food, thereby extending the shelf life and quality of the food. For example, in a refrigerator having an evacuable storage compartment (also referred to as a "low-pressure chamber") disclosed in chinese patent application CN101342970A, the evacuable storage compartment is defined by a box-like low-pressure storage unit that is constructed independently of the cabinet and is removably received within the refrigerated compartment. The box body is provided with a vacuum pump for pumping air in the storage chamber to reduce the pressure in the storage chamber and a fluid pipeline connected with the vacuum pump. The end of the fluid line is exposed within the refrigerating chamber to be connected with a connection nozzle at the rear end of the low pressure storage unit, so that the vacuum pump can be in fluid communication with the storage chamber.

The volume of the low pressure storage unit generally does not have to be configured to occupy all of the space of the storage compartment having a large volume, in view of facilitating a variety of storage conditions. Therefore, a plurality of storage containers including a low-pressure storage unit are generally arranged in a storage compartment having a relatively large size. In this case, how to arrange the storage containers compactly in the same storage compartment and to facilitate the increase in the volume of the low-pressure storage unit is a technical problem to be overcome.

[ summary of the invention ]

The invention aims to provide a refrigeration appliance which is beneficial to improving the volume of a low-pressure storage unit.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention pertains to a refrigeration appliance comprising: a cabinet defining a storage compartment having a rear compartment wall and longitudinally extending side compartment walls; a low-pressure storage unit having an evacuable storage compartment, and being constructed independently of the cabinet and housed within the storage compartment; the fluid pipeline is fixed in the box body, one end of the fluid pipeline is connected with an air extraction device, and the other end of the fluid pipeline is a first connector which is exposed in the storage compartment and is used for being in fluid connection with the low-pressure storage unit; the storage container is movably accommodated in the storage room and is positioned above the low-pressure storage unit; characterized in that the first connector is arranged higher than the low-pressure storage unit.

Thus, the first connector may not occupy a space in an area where the low pressure storage unit is located, particularly, a space in the lateral and front-rear directions, that is, the low pressure storage unit may have a greater width and length. This not only contributes to the increase in volume of the low-pressure storage unit, but it also offers the possibility of: the two sides of the low-pressure storage module can be arranged in close proximity to the side compartment walls of the storage compartment, with suitable arrangement making the low-pressure storage module, which is constructed separately from the cabinet, look like an integral part of the storage compartment and make the refrigeration appliance more popular.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention, individually or in combination with other features, are set forth in the following appended claims.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the low-pressure storage unit is closer to the rear compartment wall than the storage container, and the first connector is located in a space delimited by a top wall of the low-pressure storage unit, a rear container wall of the storage container and the rear compartment wall. Thus, the width of the storage container may not be limited by the first connector, and thus it is also possible to dispose the respective sides of the storage container in close proximity to the side compartment walls to make the front end of the storage compartment look more concise.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, further comprising a fan assembly at least partially positioned within the storage compartment, the fan assembly being spaced from the side compartment wall, the first connector being positioned between the fan assembly and the side compartment wall. This not only facilitates air circulation within the storage compartment, but also facilitates improved space utilization within the storage compartment by eliminating the need to reduce the space available within the storage compartment, since the space adjacent the fan assembly is not otherwise readily available for storing items.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first connector extends into the storage compartment from a side compartment wall of the storage compartment. Because the first connector that is located the box side sets up on the side compartment wall, in the step with low pressure storing unit and air exhaust device fluid coupling, all operations can be gone on under the condition that the operator visualizes to the connection between low pressure storing unit and the air exhaust device can be more reliable, and then guarantees the gas tightness. Furthermore, the connection between the first connector and the second connector can be diversified and is not limited to the connection using the elastic suction nozzle in the prior art. On the other hand, for a refrigeration device having an evaporator disposed in or adjacent to the rear compartment wall, the provision of the first connector in the side compartment wall where no evaporator is provided reduces the likelihood of blockage by ice in the fluid line.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the low-pressure storage unit comprises a suction channel in fluid communication with the storage compartment, the suction channel comprising a second connector for fluid connection with the first connector, the suction channel being in fluid communication with the storage compartment through a rear wall of the low-pressure storage unit. The arrangement of the air extraction channel on the rear wall of the low-pressure storage container is beneficial to the utilization of the space of the storage compartment on the premise that the storage container including the low-pressure storage unit is usually required to be kept a certain distance from the rear compartment wall to facilitate air circulation, and the rear wall of the low-pressure storage unit is not easy to be observed by a user in the use process of the refrigeration appliance, so that the refrigeration appliance is also beneficial to improving the appearance of the refrigeration appliance.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second connector is located at least at its extremity above the top wall of the low-pressure storage unit. This is particularly advantageous for the user/worker's operation when establishing a fluid connection between the first connector and the second connector.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second connector extends forwardly. This further facilitates the operation of the user/worker in establishing the fluid connection between the first connector and the second connector.

Although it is also possible that the first connector and the second connector directly establish a mechanical connection, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a connection pipe unit configured independently of the first connector and the second connector and mechanically connecting the first connector and the second connector is further included.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the suction valve is provided for selectively closing or opening the suction channel, and the second connector is integrally formed on a valve housing of the suction valve. This facilitates the reduction of parts of the low-pressure storage unit, which in turn reduces the management and manufacturing costs of the refrigeration appliance.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fluid line is at least partially located within a thermally insulating layer of the tank. Particularly preferably, the evaporator for cooling the storage compartment is thermally insulated from the fluid line, so that the fluid line can be arranged around the heat exchanger with a very low temperature, thereby being beneficial to prevent the inside of the fluid line from icing or even blocking due to the approach of the fluid line to the heat exchanger.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the low pressure storage module has a width slightly smaller than that of the storage compartment, and a pair of sidewalls of the low pressure storage module are respectively disposed adjacent to the respective side compartment walls of the storage compartment. So that the low pressure storage unit has a large width so that the volume thereof is increased. This provides the possibility that a low pressure storage unit, which is constructed separately from the cabinet, may appear to be an integral part of the storage compartment, making the refrigeration appliance more popular, provided that by suitable arrangement.

The construction of the present invention and other objects and advantages thereof will be more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[ description of the drawings ]

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherein,

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigeration appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the door of the refrigeration appliance is not shown.

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a refrigerator appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the direction a-a of fig. 1, in which the first connector and the second connector have not yet been connected.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a refrigerator appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the direction B-B in fig. 1, in which the first connector and the second connector have not yet been connected.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a connection pipe unit connected with a first connector and a second connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[ detailed description of the invention ]

Referring to fig. 1, 2 and 3, the refrigeration device 1 includes a heat-insulated box 2, and the box 2 includes a housing 2a, an inner container 2b and a heat-insulating layer 2c therebetween. The cabinet 2 defines a plurality of

insulated storage compartments

3, 4, 5 for storing items such as food. In the present embodiment, these storage compartments are respectively a cold storage compartment 3 located at the upper part, a freezer compartment 5 located at the bottom part and a fresh food compartment 4 located between the two, the temperature of which is kept slightly above zero degrees centigrade. The

storage compartments

3, 4, 5 may be closed by respective doors (as shown in fig. 2).

It should be understood that the present invention should not be limited to a specific distribution of the storage compartments of the refrigeration appliance, but the present invention can also be applied to other forms of refrigeration appliances, such as a refrigerator having a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment in an up/down/up distribution, a side-by-side refrigerator, a refrigerator having a drawer type door and/or a french side-by-side door, and the like.

The refrigeration appliance 1 has an evaporative refrigeration system forming a closed loop. The refrigeration system at least comprises a compressor, a condenser, a throttling device and an evaporator. In the present embodiment, the compressor 60 is installed in a compressor chamber 62 located at the bottom of the case 2. Since such a refrigeration system is a well-known technology, a more detailed description of the refrigeration principle and structure thereof will be omitted.

The refrigerator 1 is provided with a low-pressure storage unit 7 which is constructed separately from the cabinet 2 and is fixed to the cabinet 2. The low pressure storage unit 7 has an evacuable storage chamber 32 that can remain fluid tight.

In this embodiment, the low-pressure storage unit 7 is disposed within the fresh food compartment 4. The fresh-keeping compartment 4 includes a rear compartment wall 4a, a left compartment wall (not shown) extending in the longitudinal direction, a right compartment wall 4c, and upper and

lower compartment walls

4e and 4f extending substantially horizontally. The walls enclose an insulated space with an open front.

In this embodiment, the fresh food compartment 4 is cooled using a direct cooling method. The evaporator 61 corresponding to the fresh-keeping compartment 4 is located in the rear compartment wall 4a and is disposed adjacent to the inner container 2b, and the evaporator 61 is a plate-shaped evaporator. In another embodiment, the evaporator may be located in the fresh food compartment 4 and positioned adjacent to the rear compartment wall 4a, and the evaporator may be a finned evaporator.

In the present embodiment, the low pressure storage unit 7 is substantially in the shape of a flat rectangular parallelepiped, and includes a main body 8 open at one end and a drawer-type container 9 movably housed in the main body 8.

The main body 8 defines a flat housing space having a front end opening. The drawer-type container 9 has a door 10 formed on the front wall thereof for closing the front end opening of the main body 8, and a tray-like container body 12 attached to the rear side of the door 10 for holding the articles. The storage compartment 32 is defined by the main body 8 and the door 10 together, and the tray-shaped container body 12 is located within the storage compartment 32.

The low-pressure storage unit 7 is located at the bottom of the fresh food compartment 4 and is supported on the lower compartment wall 4f of the fresh food compartment 4. The main body 8 is received and fixed in the housing 2, and the main body 8 is preferably detachably fixed in the fresh food compartment 4. The user obtains the articles located in the low pressure storage unit 7 by pulling the drawer type container 9.

The width of the main body 8 and the door 10 are slightly smaller than the width of the fresh food compartment 4, and the left and right sides are disposed adjacent to the left and right compartment walls 4c of the fresh food compartment 4, respectively, with a gap formed therebetween, so that the main body 8 and the door 10 can be inserted into or pulled out of the fresh food compartment 4. In order to shield the gap between both sides of the low pressure storage unit 7 and the left and right compartment walls 4c, the low pressure storage unit 7 may include a deformable shielding member (not shown) provided at the front end of the main body 8 to cover the gap between the main body 8 and the left and right compartment walls 4b, 4 c.

The door 10 is provided with an inflation passage (not shown) for fluidly communicating the inside and outside of the storage chamber 32 and an inflation valve (not shown) for opening or closing the inflation passage. When the air charging valve opens the air charging passage, external air can be introduced into the storage chamber 32 through the air charging passage to release the low pressure state of the storage chamber 32.

In this embodiment, a fresh-keeping container 6 with high humidity and suitable for keeping food such as vegetables is disposed above the low-pressure storage unit 7. The crisper 6 is removably mounted in the fresh compartment 4.

The rear container wall 6a of the fresh food container 6 is spaced apart from the rear compartment wall 4a by a distance that is significantly greater than the distance between the rear wall 16 of the low-pressure storage unit 7 and the rear compartment wall 4 a. In the present embodiment, the front end surfaces of the freshness container 6 and the low-pressure storage unit 7 are substantially located in the same plane, and the length of the freshness container 6 is smaller than the length of the low-pressure storage unit 7 in the front-rear direction.

At the rear of the fresh food container 6, a fan assembly 63 is provided. The fan assembly 63 is at least partially exposed within the fresh compartment 4. The fan assembly 63 is spaced apart from the left and right compartment walls 4c, respectively.

In this embodiment, fan assembly 63 forcibly circulates air within fresh food compartment 4. In other embodiments, the fan assembly 63 may also be used, for example, to disturb the air within the fresh food compartment.

It should be understood that in other embodiments, the low-pressure storage unit 7 may be disposed in other storage compartments, such as the refrigerating compartment 3 or a temperature-changing compartment whose temperature range is switchable between a refrigerating temperature zone and a freezing temperature zone. Obviously, the freshness retaining container 6 may be any common storage container, or even another low-pressure storage container.

The refrigeration appliance 1 comprises a suction device 70 for drawing gas from the storage chamber 32 and a fluid line 71 which is fixed in the cabinet 2 and is connected to the suction device 70. In this embodiment, the gas evacuation device 70 is a vacuum pump and is disposed within the compressor chamber 62.

One end of the fluid line 71 is connected to the suction device 70. After passing through the insulating layer 2c of the housing 2, the other end of the fluid line 71 extends into the fresh food compartment 4 to form a first connector 72 for fluidly connecting the low pressure storage unit 7. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first connector 72 extends from the right-hand compartment wall 4c of the fresh-keeping compartment 4 into the fresh-keeping compartment 4. Thus, the fluid line 71 may be provided in thermal isolation from the evaporator 61, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the fluid line 71 and the evaporator 61 being isolated by the thermal insulation layer 2 c.

The first connector 72 is a rigid tube shape extending into the fresh compartment 4 by a predetermined length such that the first connector 72 and the low pressure storage unit 7 overlap in a longitudinal direction. The first connector 72 is closer to the rear compartment wall 4a than the front opening of the fresh food compartment 4, but is spaced from the rear compartment wall 4 a. The first connector 72 is near the rear end of the low pressure storage unit 7.

The first connector 72 is located between the fresh food container 6 and the rear compartment wall 4a, as viewed from the front-rear direction. The first connector 72 is disposed higher than the low pressure storage unit 7 as viewed in the longitudinal direction. The first connector 72 is located between the fan assembly 63 and the right side compartment wall 4c as viewed in the lateral direction.

That is, in the present embodiment, the first connector 72 is located in the space defined by the top wall 21 of the low-pressure storage unit 7, the rear container wall 6a of the storage container 6, and the rear compartment wall 4 a. Further, the first connector 72 is located in a space defined by the top wall 21 of the low pressure storage unit 7, the rear container wall 6a of the storage container 6, the rear compartment wall 4a, a side of the fan assembly 63 facing the right compartment wall 4c, and the right compartment wall 4 c.

The low pressure storage unit 7 has a suction passage that is in fluid communication with the storage chamber 32 through one wall of the low pressure storage unit 7. In this embodiment, the suction passage is in fluid communication with the storage chamber 32 through the rear wall 16 of the low pressure storage unit 7.

Typically, a suction valve is provided in the suction passage to selectively close or open the suction passage. At the end of the evacuation channel is a second connector 39 for fluid connection with a first connector 72 fixed to the tank 2.

In this embodiment, the second connector 39 is formed of a rigid tube having a certain length. The second connector 39 is connected to the suction valve and is integrally formed on the valve housing 73 of the suction valve.

A second connector 39 is located at the end of the rear wall 16 adjacent the right side compartment wall 4 c. The second connector 39 is closer to the rear compartment wall 4a than the first connector 72.

The evacuation channel extends upwardly beyond the top wall 21 of the low pressure storage unit 7 so that the second connector 39 is disposed higher than the top wall 21 of the low pressure storage unit 7. In the present embodiment, the second connector 39 extends horizontally forward toward the right side compartment wall 4 c. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the second connector 39 may also extend vertically upward or upward and forward.

The refrigeration appliance 1 comprises a connection tube unit for mechanically and fluidly connecting the first connector 72 and the second connector 39, so that the low-pressure storage unit 7 can be brought into fluid connection with the suction device 70.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the connector unit 74 includes a first quick connector 74a mechanically coupled to the first connector 72, a second quick connector 74b mechanically coupled to the second connector 39, and a rigid tube 74c positioned between the first and second

quick connectors

74a, 74 b. Of course, it is also possible that the tube 74c is at least partially soft.

In another embodiment, not shown, the connection tube unit is constituted by a hose having one end mechanically connected to the first connector 72 and the other end mechanically connected to the second connector 39. This solution is particularly advantageous for compartments with a plurality of storage containers, which are compact in space.

During installation, one end of the connecting pipe unit is mechanically connected with the second connector 39, and then the low-pressure storage unit 7 is inserted into the fresh-keeping compartment 4 and fixed in the fresh-keeping compartment 4. Then, the other end of the connection pipe unit is mechanically connected to the first connector 72, thereby fluidly connecting the low pressure storage unit 7 to the vacuum pump 70.

Since the first connector 72 fixed to the housing 2 is provided on the side compartment wall 4c of the fresh food compartment 4, all operations can be performed under the visual sense of the operator in the step of fluidly connecting the low pressure storage unit 7 and the air pumping device 70, so that the connection between the low pressure storage unit 7 and the air pumping device 70 can be more reliable. Also, the connection manner between the first connector 72 and the second connector 39 may be diversified.

For a refrigeration device 1 in which the evaporator 61 is arranged in the rear compartment wall 4a or in the immediate vicinity of the rear compartment wall 4a, the arrangement of the first connector 72 in the side compartment wall 4c in which no evaporator is arranged reduces the likelihood of blockage by ice formation in the fluid line 71.

Furthermore, the second connector 39 located on the low pressure storage unit 7 is located above the low pressure storage unit 7, which also facilitates the connection between the first connector 72 and the second connector 39.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance (1) comprising:

a cabinet (2) defining a storage compartment (4), said storage compartment (4) having a rear compartment wall (4a) and longitudinally extending side compartment walls (4 c);

a low-pressure storage unit (7) having an evacuable storage compartment (32) and being constructed separately from the box (2) and housed within the storage compartment (4);

a fluid line (71) fixed in the box body (2), one end of the fluid line is connected with an air extractor (70), and the other end of the fluid line is a first connector (72) exposed to the storage compartment (4) and used for being in fluid connection with the low-pressure storage unit (7);

a storage container (6) movably accommodated in the storage compartment (4) and located above the low-pressure storage unit (7);

characterized in that the first connector (72) is arranged higher than the low-pressure storage unit (7).

2. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, wherein the low-pressure storage unit (7) is closer to the rear compartment wall (4a) than the storage container (6), the first connector (72) being located in a space bounded by the top wall (21) of the low-pressure storage unit (7), the rear container wall (6a) of the storage container (6) and the rear compartment wall (4 a).

3. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a fan assembly (63) located at least partially within the storage compartment (4), the fan assembly (63) being spaced from the side compartment wall (4c), the first connector (72) being located between the fan assembly (63) and the side compartment wall (4 c).

4. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first connector (72) extends from a side compartment wall (4c) of the storage compartment (4) into the storage compartment (4).

5. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the low-pressure storage unit (7) comprises a suction channel in fluid communication with the storage compartment (32), the suction channel comprising a second connector (39) for fluid connection with the first connector (72), the suction channel being in fluid communication with the storage compartment (32) through the rear wall (16) of the low-pressure storage unit (7).

6. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that said second connector (39) is located at least at its extremity above a top wall (21) of said low-pressure storage unit (7).

7. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 5, wherein said second connector (39) extends forward.

8. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 5, further comprising a connection pipe unit (74) which is constructed separately from the first connector (72) and the second connector (39) and which mechanically and fluidically connects the first connector (72) and the second connector (39).

9. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 1, wherein the fluid line (71) is located at least partially within the thermally insulating layer (2c) of the tank (2).

10. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to claim 9, comprising an evaporator (61) for cooling the storage compartment (4), the evaporator (61) being arranged in thermal isolation from the fluid line (71).

11. The refrigeration appliance (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the width of the low-pressure storage unit (7) is slightly smaller than the width of the storage compartment (4), and a pair of side walls (22) of the low-pressure storage unit (7) are respectively arranged adjacent to the respective side compartment walls (4c) of the storage compartment (4).