US20210247112A1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents
Refrigerator Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20210247112A1 US20210247112A1 US17/172,399 US202117172399A US2021247112A1 US 20210247112 A1 US20210247112 A1 US 20210247112A1 US 202117172399 A US202117172399 A US 202117172399A US 2021247112 A1 US2021247112 A1 US 2021247112A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- cold air
- storage compartment
- refrigerator
- flow path
- cooling plate
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 120
- 238000007710 freezing Methods 0.000 description 83
- 230000008014 freezing Effects 0.000 description 83
- 235000013305 food Nutrition 0.000 description 14
- 239000011810 insulating material Substances 0.000 description 8
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000003507 refrigerant Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 2
- JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethyl urethane Chemical compound CCOC(N)=O JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000007769 metal material Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
- F25B39/02—Evaporators
- F25B39/022—Evaporators with plate-like or laminated elements
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D17/00—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces
- F25D17/04—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection
- F25D17/06—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation
- F25D17/062—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation in household refrigerators
- F25D17/065—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation in household refrigerators with compartments at different temperatures
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D23/00—General constructional features
- F25D23/06—Walls
- F25D23/065—Details
- F25D23/068—Arrangements for circulating fluids through the insulating material
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
- F25B39/02—Evaporators
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D11/00—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
- F25D11/02—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators with cooling compartments at different temperatures
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D17/00—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces
- F25D17/04—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection
- F25D17/06—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation
- F25D17/08—Arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces for circulating air, e.g. by convection by forced circulation using ducts
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D23/00—General constructional features
- F25D23/06—Walls
- F25D23/065—Details
- F25D23/066—Liners
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D31/00—Other cooling or freezing apparatus
- F25D31/001—Plate freezers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
- F28F3/00—Plate-like or laminated elements; Assemblies of plate-like or laminated elements
- F28F3/02—Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations
- F28F3/025—Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations the means being corrugated, plate-like elements
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
- F25B2700/17—Speeds
- F25B2700/173—Speeds of the evaporator fan
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2317/00—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass
- F25D2317/06—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation
- F25D2317/068—Details or arrangements for circulating cooling fluids; Details or arrangements for circulating gas, e.g. air, within refrigerated spaces, not provided for in other groups of this subclass with forced air circulation characterised by the fans
- F25D2317/0682—Two or more fans
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
- F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
- F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
- F28D2021/0068—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for refrigerant cycles
- F28D2021/0071—Evaporators
Definitions
- the disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator configured to cool a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment respectively using a single evaporator.
- a refrigerator is an apparatus configured to keep foods fresh by including a body having a storage compartment and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment.
- the storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment for refrigerating the food by being kept at about 0 to 5° C. and a freezing compartment for freezing the food by being kept at about 0 to ⁇ 30° C.
- the refrigerator may be classified according to the position of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and the type of the door. That is, the refrigerator may be classified into a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the upper side and the freezing compartment is provided on the lower side, a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the lower side and the freezing compartment is provided on the upper side, and a side by side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the freezing compartment is provided on the left side and the refrigerating compartment is provided on the right side.
- BMF bottom mounted freezer
- TMF top mounted freezer
- SBS side by side
- the BMF type refrigerator includes a French door refrigerator (FDR) type in which a refrigerating compartment doors configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment is provided in a pair and a 4-door type in which a refrigerating compartment door configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment door configured to open and close the freezer are provided in a pair.
- FDR French door refrigerator
- the refrigerator may be classified into a mono-cycle type and a twin-cycle type depending on the number of evaporators.
- the mono-cycle type in which a single evaporator is provided, cold air generated from the evaporator is discharged to a refrigerating compartment to directly cool an inside of the refrigerating compartment, and then sucked back to a duct at a rear side and then moved to the evaporator and mixed with cold air that is sucked after cooling a freezing compartment. Air that is sucked from the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment is cooled again while passing through the evaporator, and then the cold air cools the inside of the refrigerator while circulating again.
- the cold air of the freezing compartment is mixed with the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and thus smell of food stored in the refrigerating compartment may be left on food stored in the freezing compartment. Further, it is difficult to make the humidity of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment different from each other.
- the refrigerator is cooled by two evaporators and thus the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled by one evaporator, respectively. Therefore, a flow path of the refrigerating compartment and a flow path of the freezing compartment are not overlapped and the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled independently of each other. Independent cooling may improve the freshness of food stored in the refrigerator, but material cost may be increased.
- a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form one surface of the second storage compartment.
- the refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment.
- the first blower fan configured to blow the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct.
- the cooling plate may form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.
- the cold air duct may further include a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- the cooling plate forms a rear surface of the second storage compartment
- the cold air duct comprises a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate
- the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the rear duct.
- the refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.
- the rear duct may include an inlet provided to supply the cold air to the rear portion of the cooling plate, and an outlet provided to discharge the cold air from the rear portion of the cooling plate.
- the cooling plate may form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.
- the cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment. Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path.
- the second intermediate flow path may be disposed adjacent to the cooling plate and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- the first blower fan may circulate the cold air in the first intermediate flow path
- the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan provided adjacent to the evaporator and connected to the second intermediate flow path so as to directly supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the second intermediate flow path.
- the refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.
- the second intermediate flow path may include an inlet flow path provided to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate, and an outlet flow path provided to discharge the cold air from the one surface of the cooling plate.
- the refrigerator may further include a circulation fan provided in the second storage compartment so as to circulate cold air that is generated by heat exchange between the second storage compartment and the cooling plate and placed in the second storage compartment.
- a circulation fan provided in the second storage compartment so as to circulate cold air that is generated by heat exchange between the second storage compartment and the cooling plate and placed in the second storage compartment.
- a refrigerator in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.
- the refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling plate.
- a refrigerator in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, an evaporator connected to the first storage compartment to supply cold air to the first storage compartment, an intermediate wall provided to define the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided inside the intermediate wall, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.
- the refrigerator may further include a first blower fan connected to the evaporator so as to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling chamber.
- the cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment.
- Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path.
- the second intermediate flow path and the cooling plate may be adjacent to each other and thus the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure
- FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure.
- FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle
- FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure.
- FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7 ;
- FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, but elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, a first element may be termed as a second element, and a second element may be termed as a first element.
- the term of “and/or” includes a plurality of combinations of relevant items or any one item among a plurality of relevant items.
- FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .
- a refrigerator 1 may include a body 10 , a first storage compartment 50 and, a second storage compartment 60 provided under the first storage compartment 50 , first door 31 and 32 configured to open and close the first storage compartment 50 , second door 33 and 34 configured to open and close the second storage compartment 60 , and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 .
- the first storage compartment 50 may be a freezing compartment
- the second storage compartment 60 may be a refrigerating compartment.
- the first doors 31 and 32 may be freezing compartment doors and the second doors 33 and 34 may be refrigerating compartment doors. That is, the refrigerator 1 may be a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator including four doors.
- TMF top mounted freezer
- the scope of the disclosure is applied to not only the TMF type refrigerator including four doors, but also a structure as long as including a storage compartment partitioned into on the upper and lower sides, regardless of the number and shape of the door. Further, the scope of the disclosure may be applied to a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type as well as the TMF type.
- the refrigerator may be a side-by-side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50 are disposed left and right.
- SBS side-by-side
- the body 10 may include an inner cabinet 11 forming the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 , an outer cabinet 12 coupled to the outside of the inner cabinet 11 , and an insulating material provided between the inner cabinet 11 and the outer cabinet 12 .
- the outer cabinet 12 may be formed of a metal material having good strength and aesthetics, and the inner cabinet 11 may be formed of a plastic material.
- the insulating material may be urethane foam insulation or vacuum insulation.
- the inner cabinet 11 may be referred to as a cabinet 11 .
- the body 10 has a substantially box shape with an open front surface, and the body 10 includes an upper wall 15 , a bottom 16 , a rear wall 17 , left and right side walls, and an intermediate wall 18 provided to define the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 .
- the insulating material may be filled in empty spaces of the upper wall 15 , the bottom 16 , the rear wall 17 , the left and right side walls, and the intermediate wall 18 .
- the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 are storage compartments configured to store food, and may be classified according to usage and internal temperature.
- the refrigerating compartment 60 is a storage compartment configured to refrigerate and store food without freezing, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to 5° C.
- the freezing compartment 50 is a storage compartment configured to freeze and store food, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to ⁇ 30° C.
- a thickness of the insulating material of the freezing compartment 50 may be greater than a thickness of the insulating material of the refrigerating compartment 60 .
- a size of the refrigerating compartment 60 may be greater than a size of the freezing compartment 50 . In general, this is because an amount of food to be stored in the refrigerating compartment 60 is greater than an amount of food to be stored in the freezing compartment 50 .
- shelves 51 and 61 provided to place food and a box 62 provided to store food in a sealed state may be provided.
- the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may be hinged-coupled to the body 10 so as to be rotatable. Handles 31 a, 32 a, 33 a, and 34 a provided to be gripped to facilitate opening and closing of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may be provided on a front surface of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 .
- the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may include insulating materials 31 b and 32 b for insulating the storage compartments 50 and 60 .
- the doors 31 and 32 of the freezing compartment 50 may include an insulating material that is thicker than an insulating material of the refrigerating compartment 60 .
- the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may include door guards 35 and 36 provided on a rear surface thereof to store food.
- Gaskets 37 and 38 may be provided on the rear surface of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 so as to be in close contact with the body 10 to seal the storage compartment.
- the gaskets 37 and 38 may be formed of a rubber material, and may be provided on rear edges of the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 .
- a magnet may be provided inside the gaskets 37 and 38 , and thus the body 10 and the doors 31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 may be in close contact with each other by the magnetic force.
- the refrigerator may include a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartments 50 and 60 .
- the cold air supply device may include a compressor 25 installed in a machine room 24 to compress a refrigerant, a condenser (not shown) installed in the machine room 24 to condense the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve (not shown) configured to expand the refrigerant condensed by the condenser (not shown), an evaporator 41 installed at a rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 to generate cold air, a blower fan 90 configured to guide cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41 , to be supplied to the storage compartments 50 and 60 , and cold air ducts 70 and 100 configured to guide and discharge the cold air, which is guided by the blower fan 90 , to the storage compartments 50 and 60 .
- the refrigerator may further include a cooling chamber 40 .
- the cooling chamber 40 is provided at the rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 and may accommodate the evaporator 41 .
- the cooling chamber 40 may be connected to the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 through the cold air ducts 70 and 100 described later.
- the cold air ducts 70 and 100 may be provided at the rear of the storage compartment 20 to supply cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50 .
- the cooling chamber 40 may include the cold air ducts 70 and 100 .
- the cold air ducts 70 and 100 may include a refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 disposed at the rear of the refrigerating compartment 60 and a freezing compartment cold air duct 100 disposed at the rear of the freezing compartment 50 .
- the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may be disposed in the rear side of the refrigerating compartment 60 .
- the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may be connected to the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 by a connection duct 80 .
- a portion of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided to the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 by a first blower fan 91 , which is to be described later, and discharged to the freezing compartment 50 .
- the remaining portion of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided from the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 by a second blower fan 93 to be described later.
- the cold air guided to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may exchange heat with the refrigerating compartment 60 through a cooling plate 140 .
- the first blower fan may supply cold air to the first storage compartment, and may supply cold air to the cold air duct on the cooling plate side through the connection duct. Accordingly, both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be efficiently cooled by using the single evaporator 41 .
- the cooling plate 140 may form one surface of the second storage compartment 60 . In the drawing, it is formed on a rear surface.
- the cooling plate 140 may exchange heat with the cold air in the cold air duct 70 and directly cool the second storage compartment 60 . Therefore, the cooling plate 140 may efficiently cool the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 .
- the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may form a rear flow path 70 a to allow heat exchange to be performed between the cooling plate 140 and cold air.
- the rear flow path 70 a may include an inlet flow path 72 , an outlet flow path 74 , and a U-shaped flow path 75 to be described later.
- the refrigerator may further include a circulation fan 63 .
- the circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to the front portion of the cooling plate 140 .
- the circulation fan 63 may circulate the cold air, which is generated by heat exchange between the cooling plate 140 and the second storage compartment 60 , in the second storage compartment 60 to the entire second storage compartment 60 .
- the cooling chamber 40 mentioned above is the first cooling chamber 40
- the refrigerator may include a second cooling chamber 64 provided in the second storage compartment 60 .
- the circulation fan 63 may be provided in the second cooling chamber 64 to circulate cold air, in which heat is exchanged with the cooling plate 140 , to the air of the inside of the second storage compartment 60 .
- the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be disposed in the rear side of the freezing compartment 50 .
- the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be provided in front of the evaporator 41 .
- the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be connected to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 through the connection duct 80 .
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .
- the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may include a first cold air duct 110 disposed in front of the evaporator 41 , a second cold air duct 120 disposed in front of the first cold air duct 110 , and a cold air duct cover 130 disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120 .
- a first flow path P 1 provided to guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41 , to the freezing compartment 50 by the first blower fan 91 may be formed between the first cold air duct 110 and the second cold air duct 120 .
- the first cold air duct 110 may include a fan mounting portion 111 with a first blower fan mounting portion 112 to which the first blower fan 91 is mounted, a refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 provided to form a portion of a second flow path P 2 provided to allow the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41 , to be guided to the refrigerating compartment 60 by the first blower fan 91 , a first guide portion 115 provided to form a remaining portion of the second flow path P 2 by being connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 , and a cold air discharge portion 116 provided to connect the first guide portion 115 to the connection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P 2 to be discharged to the connection duct 80 .
- the first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41 , to the first flow path P 1 . Further, the first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41 , to the second flow path P 2 .
- the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may form a portion of the second flow path P 2 provided to guide the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 .
- the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 may be guided to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 by the first blower fan 91 .
- the first guide portion 115 may be provided in a lower portion of the first cold air duct 110 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 .
- the first guide portion 115 may be provided in a pair.
- the first guide portion 115 may be formed to protrude from the front surface of the first cold air duct 110 to the front side.
- the first guide portion 115 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path
- the cold air discharge portion 116 may be provided under the first guide portion 115 .
- the cold air discharge portion 116 may connect the first guide portion 115 to the connection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P 2 to be discharged to the connection duct 80 .
- the second cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 provided to discharge the cold air of the first flow path P 1 to the freezing compartment 50 , and the second guide portion 123 provided to form the remaining portion of the second flow path P 2 together with the first guide portion 115 of the first cold air duct 110 .
- the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may discharge the cold air, which is guided to the first flow path P 1 by the first blower fan 91 , to the freezing compartment 50 .
- the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 formed in the cold air duct cover 130 .
- the cold air guided to the first flow path P 1 by the first blower fan 91 may be discharged to the freezing compartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 .
- the second guide portion 123 may be provided in a lower portion of the second cold air duct 120 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 of the first cold air duct 110 .
- the second guide portion 123 may be provided in a pair.
- the second guide portion 123 may be formed to protrude from the rear surface of the second cold air duct 120 to the rear side.
- the second guide portion 123 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path P 2 together with the first guide portion 115 of the first cold air duct 110 . That is, the second flow path P 2 may be formed by the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 , the first guide portion 115 and the second guide portion 123 .
- the cold air duct cover 130 may be disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120 .
- the cold air duct cover 130 may include the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 .
- the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 may be provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 of the second cold air duct 120 . Accordingly, the cold air, which is generated from the evaporator 41 and guided to the first flow path P 1 by the first blower fan 91 , may be discharged to the inside of the freezing compartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing discharge holes 131 .
- the second cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 provided to suck cold air from the freezing compartment and discharge the cold air from the second flow path P 2 to the refrigerating compartment.
- the cold air introduced through the first freezing compartment suction hole may be supplied to the refrigerating compartment through the second flow path.
- the plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132 formed in the cold air duct cover 130 .
- the cold air guided to the freezing compartment by the first blower fan 91 may be discharged to the second flow path P 2 through the plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 and the plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132 .
- the refrigerator may include a flow control device 150 provided in the connection duct 80 .
- the flow control device 150 may be configured with a damper 150 .
- the flow control device 150 may regulate the air supplied from the blower fan 90 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 to allow the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 to be controlled at respective set temperatures.
- the flow control device 150 may be controlled by a controller 200 to be described later.
- the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include three modes in which a temperature is varied.
- the first blower fan 91 may cool the first storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41 , to the first flow path P 1 .
- the first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132 , to the second flow path P 2 so as to flow to the cooling plate 140 . Because the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of the refrigerating compartment 60 , in the first mode, both the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 may be cooled using the first blower fan 91 and the single evaporator 41 .
- the first blower fan 91 may cool only the first storage compartment 50 .
- the cold air which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132 , may flow to the second flow path P 2 .
- the flow control device 150 in the connection duct 80 blocks a flow of air, the cold air may not be transmitted to the cooling plate 140 .
- the first blower fan 91 may cool only the first storage compartment 50 in the same as the second mode. Therefore, the first storage compartment 50 may be used at a temperature that is higher than a usual freezing compartment temperature by controlling a rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 by the controller 200 described later. That is, it is possible to allow the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 to be similar with a usual refrigerating compartment temperature.
- FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure.
- FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle.
- a blower fan 90 may further include a second blower fan 93 .
- a refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may be formed to allow cold air generated from an evaporator 41 to flow through the second blower fan 93 .
- a blower fan mounting portion 111 may further include a second blower fan mounting portion 113 to which the second blower fan 93 is mounted.
- the second blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41 , to a second flow path P 2 .
- a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure may include five modes in which a temperature is varied.
- a first blower fan 91 may cool a first storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41 , to a first flow path P 1 .
- the second blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132 , to the second flow path P 2 so as to flow to a cooling plate 140 . Because the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of a second storage compartment 60 , in the first mode, both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be cooled using the first blower fan 91 , the second blower fan 93 and the single evaporator 41 . At this time, because the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140 , only the first storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment.
- only the first storage compartment 50 may be cooled at a freezing compartment temperature by using the first blower fan 91 and the flow rate control device 150 , as described above.
- the first storage compartment may be used at a temperature higher than the temperature of the freezing compartment by allowing the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 to be slow. That is, the first storage compartment may be used at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140 , only the first storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment.
- both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be used at a higher temperature than the freezing compartment by using only the first blower fan 91 . That is, the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be cooled at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because the flow rate control device 150 is opened to allow cold air to flow to the cooling plate 140 , the second storage compartment 60 may also be cooled.
- only the refrigerating compartment may be cooled.
- the first blower fan 91 does not operate and only the second blower fan 93 operates, and thus the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 may be guided to the second flow path P 2 to cool the second storage compartment 60 . That is, because the first blower fan 91 is not used, it is possible to cool only the second storage compartment 60 using the second blower fan 93 without cooling of the first storage compartment 50 .
- the second blower fan 93 may supply cold air to the cold air duct 70 at the rear of the second storage compartment 60 to allow the cold air to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 .
- FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 .
- the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may include a rear duct 70 . That is, the refrigerator may include the rear duct 70 provided at the rear of the cooling plate 140 and provided to allow cold air, which passes through the connection duct 80 , to flow.
- the rear duct 70 may be formed to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 .
- the rear duct 70 may include an inlet 71 through which cold air is introduced to allow the cold air of the rear duct 70 to exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 , and an outlet 73 provided to allow air, in which heat is exchanged, to return to the evaporator.
- the inlet 71 , the outlet 73 , the inlet flow path 72 , and the outlet flow path 74 may be formed, respectively.
- the cold air may enter the inlet 71 , exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet flow path 72 , and then discharged to one or more outlets 73 through the U-shaped flow path 75 and the outlet flow path 74 in sequence.
- the number of outlets 73 is not limited to two shown in the drawing, and thus may be one or two or more.
- the inlet flow path 72 may include a step 72 a provided closer to the cooling plate 140 than the inlet 71 . It is to make heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 more smooth.
- the cooling plate 140 may include a metal plate. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and other materials may be included as long as smoothly performing heat exchange with the second storage compartment 60 to perform cooling.
- a circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to a front portion of the cooling plate 140 .
- the cooling plate 140 may include a square 141 on a surface.
- the square 141 may be formed to enlarge a heat transfer area of the second storage compartment 60 and the cooling plate 140 .
- a guide (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the cooling plate 140 in accordance with a flow direction of the circulation fan 63 in order to increase a heat transfer amount by increasing the heat transfer area and increasing a convective heat transfer coefficient.
- the cooling plate 140 may include brackets 142 provided on opposite side surfaces of a front portion where the square 141 is formed.
- the bracket 142 may be coupled to the rear duct 70 to form a flow path 70 a through which cold air passes.
- FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure.
- a cooling plate 140 may form an upper surface of a second storage compartment 60 .
- the cooling plate 140 may cool the second storage compartment 60 by exchanging heat with cold air in a second intermediate flow path 180 to be described later. Redundant configurations such as doors are omitted. Based on the cooling plate 140 being disposed on the upper surface of the second storage compartment 60 , heat loss to the rear surface may be reduced.
- a refrigerator 1 may include a first intermediate flow path 160 , a first intermediate duct 170 , the second intermediate flow path 180 , and a second intermediate duct 190 .
- the first intermediate flow path 160 may be a flow path through which cold air generated in an evaporator 41 circulates through the first storage compartment 50 by a first blower fan 91 and returns to the evaporator 41 .
- the first intermediate duct 170 may be formed in an intermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the first intermediate flow path 160 through which cold air flows from a first storage compartment 50 to the evaporator 41 .
- the second intermediate flow path 180 may allow cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to flow to the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 by a second blower fan 93 and then flow back to the evaporator 41 .
- the second intermediate duct 190 may be formed in the intermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the second intermediate flow path 180 through which cold air flows from the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 and return to the evaporator 41 .
- the cold air in the first intermediate duct 170 and the cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may exchange heat with each other.
- the cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 to cool the second storage compartment 60 . Therefore, the cold air in the first intermediate flow path 160 and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with each other.
- the cold air in the second intermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 to cool the second storage compartment 60 .
- the circulation fan 63 may be disposed in a second cooling chamber 64 .
- the cold air of the second storage compartment 60 cooled by the cooling plate 140 may be circulated in the entire second storage compartment 60 by the circulation fan 63 . That is, the circulation fan 63 may allow cold air to circulate along a refrigerating compartment flow path 65 .
- FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7 .
- an inlet flow path 161 and an outlet flow path 162 may be formed for heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 .
- the cold air may exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet flow path 161 and then be discharged through the U-shaped flow path 164 and the outlet flow path 162 in sequence. Due to the shape of the flow path, it is possible to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 .
- the number of outlet flow path 162 is not limited to two shown in the drawings, but may be one or two or more.
- FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- the refrigerator may further include a temperature input device 210 and the controller 200 .
- the controller 200 may adjust the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 by controlling the first blower fan 91 , the second blower fan 93 , and the flow control device 150 . Therefore, the three modes or five modes mentioned above may be possible.
- the controller 200 in response to that a user sets the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 to be low, the controller 200 may lower the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 by allowing the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 to be increased. Further, in response to that a user sets the temperature of the second storage compartment 60 to be low, the controller 200 may control the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 by allowing both or one of the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 and the rotational speed of the second blower fan 93 to be increased. The controller 200 may allow the temperature difference between the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 to be large by controlling the flow control device 150 . In this case, even when the first blower fan 91 is rotated rapidly, the flow control device 150 may block cold air in the connection duct 80 , thereby preventing the second storage compartment 60 from being cooled.
- the controller 200 in response to the increase of the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 , the controller 200 may maintain only the first storage compartment 50 at a low temperature. In response to the increase of the rotational speed of the second blower fan 93 , the controller 200 may maintain the second storage compartment 60 at a temperature similar to the temperature of the freezing compartment 50 .
- the refrigerator may cool the refrigerating compartment by using the cooling plate without cold air leaking to the refrigerating compartment, thereby preventing the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and the cold air of the freezing compartment from being mixed with each other.
- the refrigerator may reduce material cost because a single evaporator is used.
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Abstract
Description
- This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0015586, filed on Feb. 10, 2020, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
- The disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator configured to cool a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment respectively using a single evaporator.
- A refrigerator is an apparatus configured to keep foods fresh by including a body having a storage compartment and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment. The storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment for refrigerating the food by being kept at about 0 to 5° C. and a freezing compartment for freezing the food by being kept at about 0 to −30° C.
- The refrigerator may be classified according to the position of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and the type of the door. That is, the refrigerator may be classified into a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the upper side and the freezing compartment is provided on the lower side, a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the lower side and the freezing compartment is provided on the upper side, and a side by side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the freezing compartment is provided on the left side and the refrigerating compartment is provided on the right side. In addition, the BMF type refrigerator includes a French door refrigerator (FDR) type in which a refrigerating compartment doors configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment is provided in a pair and a 4-door type in which a refrigerating compartment door configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment door configured to open and close the freezer are provided in a pair.
- The refrigerator may be classified into a mono-cycle type and a twin-cycle type depending on the number of evaporators. In particular, in the mono-cycle type in which a single evaporator is provided, cold air generated from the evaporator is discharged to a refrigerating compartment to directly cool an inside of the refrigerating compartment, and then sucked back to a duct at a rear side and then moved to the evaporator and mixed with cold air that is sucked after cooling a freezing compartment. Air that is sucked from the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment is cooled again while passing through the evaporator, and then the cold air cools the inside of the refrigerator while circulating again. At this time, the cold air of the freezing compartment is mixed with the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and thus smell of food stored in the refrigerating compartment may be left on food stored in the freezing compartment. Further, it is difficult to make the humidity of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment different from each other.
- The refrigerator is cooled by two evaporators and thus the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled by one evaporator, respectively. Therefore, a flow path of the refrigerating compartment and a flow path of the freezing compartment are not overlapped and the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled independently of each other. Independent cooling may improve the freshness of food stored in the refrigerator, but material cost may be increased.
- In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form one surface of the second storage compartment.
- The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment.
- The first blower fan configured to blow the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct.
- The cooling plate may form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.
- The cold air duct may further include a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- The cooling plate forms a rear surface of the second storage compartment, the cold air duct comprises a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate, the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the rear duct.
- The refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.
- The rear duct may include an inlet provided to supply the cold air to the rear portion of the cooling plate, and an outlet provided to discharge the cold air from the rear portion of the cooling plate.
- The cooling plate may form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.
- The cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment. Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path.
- The second intermediate flow path may be disposed adjacent to the cooling plate and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- The first blower fan may circulate the cold air in the first intermediate flow path, and the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan provided adjacent to the evaporator and connected to the second intermediate flow path so as to directly supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the second intermediate flow path.
- The refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.
- The second intermediate flow path may include an inlet flow path provided to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate, and an outlet flow path provided to discharge the cold air from the one surface of the cooling plate.
- The refrigerator may further include a circulation fan provided in the second storage compartment so as to circulate cold air that is generated by heat exchange between the second storage compartment and the cooling plate and placed in the second storage compartment.
- In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.
- The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling plate.
- In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, an evaporator connected to the first storage compartment to supply cold air to the first storage compartment, an intermediate wall provided to define the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided inside the intermediate wall, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.
- The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan connected to the evaporator so as to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling chamber.
- The cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment. Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path. The second intermediate flow path and the cooling plate may be adjacent to each other and thus the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.
- Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.
- These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
-
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure; -
FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure; -
FIG. 5 is a view ofFIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle; -
FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure; -
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 7 ; and -
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure. - Embodiments described in the disclosure and configurations shown in the drawings are merely examples of the embodiments of the disclosure, and may be modified in various different ways at the time of filing of the present application to replace the embodiments and drawings of the disclosure.
- In addition, the same reference numerals or signs shown in the drawings of the disclosure indicate elements or components performing substantially the same function.
- Also, the terms used herein are used to describe the embodiments and are not intended to limit and/or restrict the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, the terms “including”, “having”, and the like are used to specify features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more of the features, elements, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.
- It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, but elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, a first element may be termed as a second element, and a second element may be termed as a first element. The term of “and/or” includes a plurality of combinations of relevant items or any one item among a plurality of relevant items.
- In the following detailed description, the terms of “front side”, “rear side”, “left side”, “right side” and the like may be defined by the drawings, but the shape and the location of the component is not limited by the term.
- It is an aspect of the disclosure to provide a refrigerator capable of cooling a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment with a single evaporator without mixing cold air in the refrigerating compartment with cold air in the freezing compartment.
- It is another aspect of the disclosure to provide a refrigerator with material cost that is reduced in comparison with a case in which a plurality of evaporators is provided.
- The disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings
-
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 . - Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2 , arefrigerator 1 may include abody 10, afirst storage compartment 50 and, asecond storage compartment 60 provided under thefirst storage compartment 50,first door 31 and 32 configured to open and close thefirst storage compartment 50,second door second storage compartment 60, and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60. - The
first storage compartment 50 may be a freezing compartment, and thesecond storage compartment 60 may be a refrigerating compartment. Thefirst doors 31 and 32 may be freezing compartment doors and thesecond doors refrigerator 1 may be a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator including four doors. - However, the scope of the disclosure is applied to not only the TMF type refrigerator including four doors, but also a structure as long as including a storage compartment partitioned into on the upper and lower sides, regardless of the number and shape of the door. Further, the scope of the disclosure may be applied to a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type as well as the TMF type. In addition, the refrigerator may be a side-by-side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the
refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezingcompartment 50 are disposed left and right. - The
body 10 may include aninner cabinet 11 forming thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60, anouter cabinet 12 coupled to the outside of theinner cabinet 11, and an insulating material provided between theinner cabinet 11 and theouter cabinet 12. Theouter cabinet 12 may be formed of a metal material having good strength and aesthetics, and theinner cabinet 11 may be formed of a plastic material. The insulating material may be urethane foam insulation or vacuum insulation. Theinner cabinet 11 may be referred to as acabinet 11. - In another aspect, the
body 10 has a substantially box shape with an open front surface, and thebody 10 includes anupper wall 15, a bottom 16, arear wall 17, left and right side walls, and anintermediate wall 18 provided to define thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60. The insulating material may be filled in empty spaces of theupper wall 15, the bottom 16, therear wall 17, the left and right side walls, and theintermediate wall 18. - The freezing
compartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60 are storage compartments configured to store food, and may be classified according to usage and internal temperature. The refrigeratingcompartment 60 is a storage compartment configured to refrigerate and store food without freezing, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to 5° C.The freezing compartment 50 is a storage compartment configured to freeze and store food, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to −30° C. - Because a difference between a temperature of the freezing
compartment 50 and a room temperature is greater than a difference between a temperature of therefrigerating compartment 60 and the room temperature, a thickness of the insulating material of the freezingcompartment 50 may be greater than a thickness of the insulating material of therefrigerating compartment 60. - A size of the
refrigerating compartment 60 may be greater than a size of the freezingcompartment 50. In general, this is because an amount of food to be stored in therefrigerating compartment 60 is greater than an amount of food to be stored in the freezingcompartment 50. - In the freezing
compartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60,shelves box 62 provided to store food in a sealed state may be provided. - The
doors body 10 so as to be rotatable.Handles doors doors doors materials doors 31 and 32 of the freezingcompartment 50 may include an insulating material that is thicker than an insulating material of therefrigerating compartment 60. - The
doors door guards Gaskets doors body 10 to seal the storage compartment. - The
gaskets doors gaskets body 10 and thedoors - The refrigerator may include a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartments 50 and 60. The cold air supply device may include a
compressor 25 installed in amachine room 24 to compress a refrigerant, a condenser (not shown) installed in themachine room 24 to condense the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve (not shown) configured to expand the refrigerant condensed by the condenser (not shown), anevaporator 41 installed at a rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 to generate cold air, ablower fan 90 configured to guide cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to be supplied to the storage compartments 50 and 60, andcold air ducts blower fan 90, to the storage compartments 50 and 60. - The refrigerator may further include a cooling
chamber 40. The coolingchamber 40 is provided at the rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 and may accommodate theevaporator 41. In addition, in order to supply cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to the freezingcompartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60, the coolingchamber 40 may be connected to the freezingcompartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60 through thecold air ducts - The
cold air ducts evaporator 41 to therefrigerating compartment 60 and the freezingcompartment 50. The coolingchamber 40 may include thecold air ducts - The
cold air ducts cold air duct 70 disposed at the rear of therefrigerating compartment 60 and a freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 disposed at the rear of the freezingcompartment 50. - The refrigerating compartment
cold air duct 70 may be disposed in the rear side of therefrigerating compartment 60. The refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 may be connected to the freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 by aconnection duct 80. A portion of the cold air generated by theevaporator 41 may be guided to the freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 by afirst blower fan 91, which is to be described later, and discharged to the freezingcompartment 50. The remaining portion of the cold air generated by theevaporator 41 may be guided from the freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 to the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 by asecond blower fan 93 to be described later. The cold air guided to the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 may exchange heat with therefrigerating compartment 60 through acooling plate 140. - The first blower fan may supply cold air to the first storage compartment, and may supply cold air to the cold air duct on the cooling plate side through the connection duct. Accordingly, both the
first storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 may be efficiently cooled by using thesingle evaporator 41. - The
cooling plate 140 may form one surface of thesecond storage compartment 60. In the drawing, it is formed on a rear surface. Thecooling plate 140 may exchange heat with the cold air in thecold air duct 70 and directly cool thesecond storage compartment 60. Therefore, thecooling plate 140 may efficiently cool thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60. - The refrigerating compartment
cold air duct 70 may form arear flow path 70 a to allow heat exchange to be performed between the coolingplate 140 and cold air. Therear flow path 70 a may include aninlet flow path 72, anoutlet flow path 74, and aU-shaped flow path 75 to be described later. - The refrigerator may further include a
circulation fan 63. Thecirculation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to the front portion of thecooling plate 140. Thecirculation fan 63 may circulate the cold air, which is generated by heat exchange between the coolingplate 140 and thesecond storage compartment 60, in thesecond storage compartment 60 to the entiresecond storage compartment 60. - The cooling
chamber 40 mentioned above is thefirst cooling chamber 40, and the refrigerator may include asecond cooling chamber 64 provided in thesecond storage compartment 60. Thecirculation fan 63 may be provided in thesecond cooling chamber 64 to circulate cold air, in which heat is exchanged with thecooling plate 140, to the air of the inside of thesecond storage compartment 60. - The freezing compartment
cold air duct 100 may be disposed in the rear side of the freezingcompartment 50. The freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 may be provided in front of theevaporator 41. The freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 may be connected to the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 through theconnection duct 80. -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 . - Referring to
FIG. 3 , the freezing compartmentcold air duct 100 may include a firstcold air duct 110 disposed in front of theevaporator 41, a secondcold air duct 120 disposed in front of the firstcold air duct 110, and a coldair duct cover 130 disposed in front of the secondcold air duct 120. A first flow path P1 provided to guide the cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to the freezingcompartment 50 by thefirst blower fan 91 may be formed between the firstcold air duct 110 and the secondcold air duct 120. - The first
cold air duct 110 may include afan mounting portion 111 with a first blowerfan mounting portion 112 to which thefirst blower fan 91 is mounted, a refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114 provided to form a portion of a second flow path P2 provided to allow the cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to be guided to therefrigerating compartment 60 by thefirst blower fan 91, afirst guide portion 115 provided to form a remaining portion of the second flow path P2 by being connected to the refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114, and a coldair discharge portion 116 provided to connect thefirst guide portion 115 to theconnection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P2 to be discharged to theconnection duct 80. - The
first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to the first flow path P1. Further, thefirst blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by theevaporator 41, to the second flow path P2. - The refrigerating
compartment guide duct 114 may form a portion of the second flow path P2 provided to guide the cold air generated by theevaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70. The cold air generated in theevaporator 41 may be guided to the refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114 by thefirst blower fan 91. - The
first guide portion 115 may be provided in a lower portion of the firstcold air duct 110 to be connected to the refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114. Thefirst guide portion 115 may be provided in a pair. Thefirst guide portion 115 may be formed to protrude from the front surface of the firstcold air duct 110 to the front side. Thefirst guide portion 115 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path - P2 together with a
second guide portion 123 of the secondcold air duct 120 to be described below. - The cold
air discharge portion 116 may be provided under thefirst guide portion 115. The coldair discharge portion 116 may connect thefirst guide portion 115 to theconnection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P2 to be discharged to theconnection duct 80. - The second
cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 provided to discharge the cold air of the first flow path P1 to the freezingcompartment 50, and thesecond guide portion 123 provided to form the remaining portion of the second flow path P2 together with thefirst guide portion 115 of the firstcold air duct 110. - The plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may discharge the cold air, which is guided to the first flow path P1 by the
first blower fan 91, to the freezingcompartment 50. The plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 formed in the coldair duct cover 130. The cold air guided to the first flow path P1 by thefirst blower fan 91 may be discharged to the freezingcompartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131. - The
second guide portion 123 may be provided in a lower portion of the secondcold air duct 120 to be connected to the refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114 of the firstcold air duct 110. Thesecond guide portion 123 may be provided in a pair. Thesecond guide portion 123 may be formed to protrude from the rear surface of the secondcold air duct 120 to the rear side. Thesecond guide portion 123 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path P2 together with thefirst guide portion 115 of the firstcold air duct 110. That is, the second flow path P2 may be formed by the refrigeratingcompartment guide duct 114, thefirst guide portion 115 and thesecond guide portion 123. - The cold
air duct cover 130 may be disposed in front of the secondcold air duct 120. The coldair duct cover 130 may include the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131. The plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 may be provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 of the secondcold air duct 120. Accordingly, the cold air, which is generated from theevaporator 41 and guided to the first flow path P1 by thefirst blower fan 91, may be discharged to the inside of the freezingcompartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing discharge holes 131. - The second
cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 provided to suck cold air from the freezing compartment and discharge the cold air from the second flow path P2 to the refrigerating compartment. The cold air introduced through the first freezing compartment suction hole may be supplied to the refrigerating compartment through the second flow path. - The plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132 formed in the cold
air duct cover 130. The cold air guided to the freezing compartment by thefirst blower fan 91 may be discharged to the second flow path P2 through the plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 and the plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132. - The refrigerator may include a
flow control device 150 provided in theconnection duct 80. Theflow control device 150 may be configured with adamper 150. Theflow control device 150 may regulate the air supplied from theblower fan 90 to the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 to allow the freezingcompartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60 to be controlled at respective set temperatures. Theflow control device 150 may be controlled by acontroller 200 to be described later. - The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include three modes in which a temperature is varied.
- In a first mode, the
first blower fan 91 may cool thefirst storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in theevaporator 41, to the first flow path P1. In addition, thefirst blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, to the second flow path P2 so as to flow to thecooling plate 140. Because thecooling plate 140 forms one surface of therefrigerating compartment 60, in the first mode, both the freezingcompartment 50 and therefrigerating compartment 60 may be cooled using thefirst blower fan 91 and thesingle evaporator 41. - In a second mode, the
first blower fan 91 may cool only thefirst storage compartment 50. At this time, the cold air, which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, may flow to the second flow path P2. However, because theflow control device 150 in theconnection duct 80 blocks a flow of air, the cold air may not be transmitted to thecooling plate 140. - In a third mode, the
first blower fan 91 may cool only thefirst storage compartment 50 in the same as the second mode. Therefore, thefirst storage compartment 50 may be used at a temperature that is higher than a usual freezing compartment temperature by controlling a rotational speed of thefirst blower fan 91 by thecontroller 200 described later. That is, it is possible to allow the temperature of thefirst storage compartment 50 to be similar with a usual refrigerating compartment temperature. -
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 5 is a view ofFIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle. - Referring to
FIGS. 4 and 5 , ablower fan 90 may further include asecond blower fan 93. - A refrigerating
compartment guide duct 114 may be formed to allow cold air generated from anevaporator 41 to flow through thesecond blower fan 93. - A blower
fan mounting portion 111 may further include a second blowerfan mounting portion 113 to which thesecond blower fan 93 is mounted. Thesecond blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is generated in theevaporator 41, to a second flow path P2. - A refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure may include five modes in which a temperature is varied.
- In a first mode, a
first blower fan 91 may cool afirst storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in theevaporator 41, to a first flow path P1. In addition, thesecond blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, to the second flow path P2 so as to flow to acooling plate 140. Because thecooling plate 140 forms one surface of asecond storage compartment 60, in the first mode, both thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 may be cooled using thefirst blower fan 91, thesecond blower fan 93 and thesingle evaporator 41. At this time, because theflow control device 150 formed in theconnection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to thecooling plate 140, only thefirst storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment. - In a second mode, only the
first storage compartment 50 may be cooled at a freezing compartment temperature by using thefirst blower fan 91 and the flowrate control device 150, as described above. - In a third mode, as described above, the first storage compartment may be used at a temperature higher than the temperature of the freezing compartment by allowing the rotational speed of the
first blower fan 91 to be slow. That is, the first storage compartment may be used at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because theflow control device 150 formed in theconnection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to thecooling plate 140, only thefirst storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment. - In a fourth mode, both the
first storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 may be used at a higher temperature than the freezing compartment by using only thefirst blower fan 91. That is, thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 may be cooled at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because the flowrate control device 150 is opened to allow cold air to flow to thecooling plate 140, thesecond storage compartment 60 may also be cooled. - In a fifth mode, only the refrigerating compartment may be cooled. The
first blower fan 91 does not operate and only thesecond blower fan 93 operates, and thus the cold air generated in theevaporator 41 may be guided to the second flow path P2 to cool thesecond storage compartment 60. That is, because thefirst blower fan 91 is not used, it is possible to cool only thesecond storage compartment 60 using thesecond blower fan 93 without cooling of thefirst storage compartment 50. - The
second blower fan 93 may supply cold air to thecold air duct 70 at the rear of thesecond storage compartment 60 to allow the cold air to smoothly exchange heat with thecooling plate 140. -
FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 1 . - Referring to
FIG. 6 , the refrigerating compartmentcold air duct 70 may include arear duct 70. That is, the refrigerator may include therear duct 70 provided at the rear of thecooling plate 140 and provided to allow cold air, which passes through theconnection duct 80, to flow. Therear duct 70 may be formed to smoothly exchange heat with thecooling plate 140. - The
rear duct 70 may include aninlet 71 through which cold air is introduced to allow the cold air of therear duct 70 to exchange heat with thecooling plate 140, and anoutlet 73 provided to allow air, in which heat is exchanged, to return to the evaporator. - As the
cooling plate 140 is coupled to therear duct 70, theinlet 71, theoutlet 73, theinlet flow path 72, and theoutlet flow path 74 may be formed, respectively. The cold air may enter theinlet 71, exchange heat with thecooling plate 140 through theinlet flow path 72, and then discharged to one ormore outlets 73 through theU-shaped flow path 75 and theoutlet flow path 74 in sequence. The number ofoutlets 73 is not limited to two shown in the drawing, and thus may be one or two or more. - The
inlet flow path 72 may include astep 72 a provided closer to thecooling plate 140 than theinlet 71. It is to make heat exchange with thecooling plate 140 more smooth. - The
cooling plate 140 may include a metal plate. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and other materials may be included as long as smoothly performing heat exchange with thesecond storage compartment 60 to perform cooling. - Although not shown in
FIG. 6 , acirculation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to a front portion of thecooling plate 140. - The
cooling plate 140 may include a square 141 on a surface. The square 141 may be formed to enlarge a heat transfer area of thesecond storage compartment 60 and thecooling plate 140. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a guide (not shown) may be formed on the surface of thecooling plate 140 in accordance with a flow direction of thecirculation fan 63 in order to increase a heat transfer amount by increasing the heat transfer area and increasing a convective heat transfer coefficient. - The
cooling plate 140 may includebrackets 142 provided on opposite side surfaces of a front portion where the square 141 is formed. Thebracket 142 may be coupled to therear duct 70 to form aflow path 70 a through which cold air passes. -
FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure. - Referring to
FIG. 7 , acooling plate 140 may form an upper surface of asecond storage compartment 60. Thecooling plate 140 may cool thesecond storage compartment 60 by exchanging heat with cold air in a secondintermediate flow path 180 to be described later. Redundant configurations such as doors are omitted. Based on thecooling plate 140 being disposed on the upper surface of thesecond storage compartment 60, heat loss to the rear surface may be reduced. - A
refrigerator 1 may include a firstintermediate flow path 160, a firstintermediate duct 170, the secondintermediate flow path 180, and a secondintermediate duct 190. The firstintermediate flow path 160 may be a flow path through which cold air generated in anevaporator 41 circulates through thefirst storage compartment 50 by afirst blower fan 91 and returns to theevaporator 41. The firstintermediate duct 170 may be formed in anintermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the firstintermediate flow path 160 through which cold air flows from afirst storage compartment 50 to theevaporator 41. The secondintermediate flow path 180 may allow cold air generated in theevaporator 41 to flow to the upper surface of thecooling plate 140 by asecond blower fan 93 and then flow back to theevaporator 41. The secondintermediate duct 190 may be formed in theintermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the secondintermediate flow path 180 through which cold air flows from the upper surface of thecooling plate 140 and return to theevaporator 41. - The cold air in the first
intermediate duct 170 and the cold air in the secondintermediate duct 190 may exchange heat with each other. The cold air in the secondintermediate duct 190 may heat exchange with thecooling plate 140 to cool thesecond storage compartment 60. Therefore, the cold air in the firstintermediate flow path 160 and the cold air in the secondintermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with each other. The cold air in the secondintermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with thecooling plate 140 to cool thesecond storage compartment 60. - The
circulation fan 63 may be disposed in asecond cooling chamber 64. The cold air of thesecond storage compartment 60 cooled by thecooling plate 140 may be circulated in the entiresecond storage compartment 60 by thecirculation fan 63. That is, thecirculation fan 63 may allow cold air to circulate along a refrigeratingcompartment flow path 65. -
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown inFIG. 7 . - Referring to
FIG. 8 , in the secondintermediate flow path 180, aninlet flow path 161 and anoutlet flow path 162 may be formed for heat exchange with thecooling plate 140. The cold air may exchange heat with thecooling plate 140 through theinlet flow path 161 and then be discharged through theU-shaped flow path 164 and theoutlet flow path 162 in sequence. Due to the shape of the flow path, it is possible to smoothly exchange heat with thecooling plate 140. The number ofoutlet flow path 162 is not limited to two shown in the drawings, but may be one or two or more. -
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure. - Referring to
FIG. 9 , the refrigerator may further include atemperature input device 210 and thecontroller 200. - In response to that a user sets a desired temperature of the
first storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60, thecontroller 200 may adjust the temperature of thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 by controlling thefirst blower fan 91, thesecond blower fan 93, and theflow control device 150. Therefore, the three modes or five modes mentioned above may be possible. - For example, in an embodiment or another embodiment of the disclosure, in response to that a user sets the temperature of the
first storage compartment 50 to be low, thecontroller 200 may lower the temperature of thefirst storage compartment 50 by allowing the rotational speed of thefirst blower fan 91 to be increased. Further, in response to that a user sets the temperature of thesecond storage compartment 60 to be low, thecontroller 200 may control the temperature of thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 by allowing both or one of the rotational speed of thefirst blower fan 91 and the rotational speed of thesecond blower fan 93 to be increased. Thecontroller 200 may allow the temperature difference between thefirst storage compartment 50 and thesecond storage compartment 60 to be large by controlling theflow control device 150. In this case, even when thefirst blower fan 91 is rotated rapidly, theflow control device 150 may block cold air in theconnection duct 80, thereby preventing thesecond storage compartment 60 from being cooled. - In still another embodiment of the disclosure, in response to the increase of the rotational speed of the
first blower fan 91, thecontroller 200 may maintain only thefirst storage compartment 50 at a low temperature. In response to the increase of the rotational speed of thesecond blower fan 93, thecontroller 200 may maintain thesecond storage compartment 60 at a temperature similar to the temperature of the freezingcompartment 50. - As is apparent from the above description, the refrigerator may cool the refrigerating compartment by using the cooling plate without cold air leaking to the refrigerating compartment, thereby preventing the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and the cold air of the freezing compartment from being mixed with each other.
- The refrigerator may reduce material cost because a single evaporator is used.
- Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
Claims (20)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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KR10-2020-0015586 | 2020-02-10 | ||
KR1020200015586A KR20210101513A (en) | 2020-02-10 | 2020-02-10 | Refrigerator |
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US20210247112A1 true US20210247112A1 (en) | 2021-08-12 |
Family
ID=77178248
Family Applications (1)
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US17/172,399 Abandoned US20210247112A1 (en) | 2020-02-10 | 2021-02-10 | Refrigerator |
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US (1) | US20210247112A1 (en) |
KR (1) | KR20210101513A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2021162332A1 (en) |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20180066884A1 (en) * | 2016-09-06 | 2018-03-08 | Whirlpool Corporation | Cold Plate Shelf Assembly for a Refrigerator |
US20190329285A1 (en) * | 2018-04-27 | 2019-10-31 | Air Science Usa Llc | Apparatus and method for developing fingerprints at cool temperatures |
Family Cites Families (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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JP3602248B2 (en) * | 1996-03-21 | 2004-12-15 | 松下冷機株式会社 | refrigerator |
KR20070031721A (en) * | 2005-09-15 | 2007-03-20 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Refrigerator |
JP2008121939A (en) * | 2006-11-09 | 2008-05-29 | Toshiba Corp | Refrigerator |
KR102336200B1 (en) * | 2014-12-24 | 2021-12-08 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Refrigerator |
KR101852677B1 (en) * | 2016-05-26 | 2018-04-26 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Refrigerator |
-
2020
- 2020-02-10 KR KR1020200015586A patent/KR20210101513A/en unknown
-
2021
- 2021-02-03 WO PCT/KR2021/001432 patent/WO2021162332A1/en active Application Filing
- 2021-02-10 US US17/172,399 patent/US20210247112A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20180066884A1 (en) * | 2016-09-06 | 2018-03-08 | Whirlpool Corporation | Cold Plate Shelf Assembly for a Refrigerator |
US20190329285A1 (en) * | 2018-04-27 | 2019-10-31 | Air Science Usa Llc | Apparatus and method for developing fingerprints at cool temperatures |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
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Noguchi et al., Refrigerator, 05/29/2008, JP2008121939A, Whole Document (Year: 2008) * |
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