CN105737483A

CN105737483A - Refrigeration tool

Info

Publication number: CN105737483A
Application number: CN201410768147.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大卫·德马克; 王明辉
Original assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2014-12-12
Filing date: 2014-12-12
Publication date: 2016-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2034-12-12
Also published as: EP3032199A1; CN105737483B

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigeration tool. The refrigeration tool (1) comprises a storage chamber (12) with a front opening (10) and evaporators (2 and 3) arranged along a top wall (14); and the storage chamber (12) is provided with the top wall (14). According to the suggestion, the refrigeration tool further comprises an air guide piece (7) which is arranged along the top wall (14) and is close to the front opening (10), the air guide piece (7) comprises a downward flow guide wall (71), and the flow guide wall (71) upwards inclines in the direction from front to back. Air at a relatively higher temperature can be guided to the back position so that frost can be relatively concentrated on the evaporators or areas which are cooled by the evaporators and are not prone to being observed.

Description

Refrigeration device

[ technical field ]

The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance, and in particular to a domestic refrigeration appliance having an evaporator disposed along a top wall.

[ background art ]

For a refrigeration appliance having a storage compartment, when a user opens the door, warm air enters the storage compartment and has a tendency to flow upward, toward a cold source (e.g., an evaporator). Surfaces that have lower temperatures are susceptible to frost formation when warm air contacts the surfaces. When the evaporator is provided along the top wall of the storage compartment, "warm air" having a relatively high temperature, which has just entered the storage compartment from the outside, tends to move toward the top of the storage compartment and to frost in this area.

[ summary of the invention ]

It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems occurring in the prior art and to provide an improved refrigeration appliance.

The above object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the figures, the description and the dependent claims.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance. The refrigeration appliance comprises: a storage compartment having a front opening, the storage compartment having a top wall; and an evaporator disposed along the top wall; the air guide device is characterized by further comprising an air guide member which is arranged along the top wall and close to the front opening, wherein the air guide member comprises a downward guide wall, and the guide wall is inclined upwards in the front-to-back direction.

Thus, when warmer air flows towards the vicinity of the cooler ceiling, the warmer air can be guided by the upwardly inclined guide wall in the front-to-rear direction and flow backwards to the cold zone cooled by the evaporator and/or the evaporator, and the moisture in the air is removed there, which is advantageous in increasing the concentration of frost, for example, the amount of frost in front of the ceiling can be reduced by reducing the warm air that is trapped at the front edge of the ceiling, or even completely avoided there. On the other hand, as the frost can be concentrated in the cold area behind the flow guide wall, the refrigerator capable of automatically defrosting/manually defrosting is beneficial to improving the defrosting speed; in addition, because the flow guide wall has a structure with a low front part and a high back part, the frost behind the flow guide wall is not easy to observe by a user, and for the refrigerator for artificially defrosting, the defrosting period is favorably prolonged.

The refrigerator appliance may be a refrigerator (freezer and/or freezer), a wine cabinet or the like to store the goods to be cooled. The air guide piece is particularly suitable for a freezing chamber with the storage temperature lower than zero.

The evaporator provided along the top wall may comprise an evaporator provided along a side of the top wall facing the storage compartment and/or an evaporator provided along a side of the top wall facing away from the storage compartment (e.g. a side facing the insulation layer). The evaporator may be attached to the top wall or may be spaced from the top wall. In addition to being disposed along the top wall, the evaporator may be disposed along other walls, for example, the evaporator may be wrapped around the top wall, a pair of side walls and the bottom wall of the storage compartment.

The top wall of the storage compartment may be formed by the top wall of the box-type liner. In an alternative embodiment, when an insulation panel for thermally isolating the two storage compartments is fixed in the cabinet, the top wall of the storage compartments may also be formed by the lower plate of such an insulation panel.

In a possible embodiment, the guide wall has a curved surface concave toward the top wall. This is particularly advantageous for the air flowing backwards and upwards towards the area of the top wall behind the guide wall.

In one possible embodiment, the guide wall and the top wall have a gap therebetween, the gap increasing in a direction from rear to front. This reduces the heat exchange between the top wall and the guide wall, which is advantageous for preventing the guide wall from being cooled to a temperature at which moisture in the air condenses/frosts, thereby preventing frosting at the guide wall. On the other hand, since the gap between the guide wall and the top wall is gradually increased, the temperature of the portion of the guide wall closer to the front opening is higher, which is particularly advantageous for frost formation in an area most easily observed by a user.

In one possible embodiment, the air guide member includes a front cover wall located adjacent to the front opening, a front surface of the front cover wall and a front surface of the front container wall are located in the same plane, or the front surface of the front cover wall is closer to the front opening than the front surface of the front container wall. When the warm air moves upwards along the front container wall of the storage container and flows backwards from between the storage container and the air guide, the front covering wall of the air guide is not positioned behind the front container wall, so that the situation that the warm air is blocked by the front covering wall of the air guide when moving above the storage container and is retained at the position to frost can be avoided.

In one possible embodiment, the front container wall includes a handle portion having a handle groove, the guide wall and a top surface of the handle portion form an air passage therebetween, an inlet of the air passage is located between a lower end of the front cover wall and the handle portion, and the air passage is gradually increased in a front-to-rear direction. By forming the air passage between the grip portion and the guide wall to be gradually increased in the front-to-rear direction, smooth backward and upward flow of air is facilitated.

In a possible embodiment, the lower end of the front covering wall is connected with the front end of the flow guide wall, and the included angle between the front covering wall and the flow guide wall is an acute angle. Since the guide wall is inclined upward in the front-to-rear direction and the included angle between the front cover wall and the guide wall is an acute angle, the guide wall is hardly visible to a user.

In a possible embodiment, said air guide is fixed to said top wall by screws or by snap-in structures.

In one possible embodiment, the evaporator comprises a first evaporator located outside the storage compartment and along an outer surface of the top wall facing an insulating layer.

In one possible embodiment, the evaporator includes a second evaporator located in the storage compartment and disposed along the top wall, and a support strip for supporting the second evaporator, the air guide member is located in front of the support strip, and the support strip has a plurality of vent holes penetrating through the support strip, and air from the air passage flows backward through the vent holes. Therefore, even if other functional components are arranged on the rear side of the air guide piece, air can still smoothly flow backwards. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the at least one ventilation aperture has a width greater than 5 cm and/or an area greater than 4.5 cm. Particularly preferably, the total area of the plurality of vent holes accounts for at least 35% of the projected area of the air passage in the plane of the vent holes. Thus, the air from the air passage can smoothly flow backward, for example, to the second evaporator via the vent hole. Experiments have shown that substantially no air remains in the air passage when the area of the ventilation opening amounts to at least 35% of the projected area of the air passage in the plane of the ventilation opening.

In a possible embodiment, the supporting bar and the wind guide member are integrally formed.

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

[ description of the drawings ]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial perspective view of a refrigeration appliance according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the door not shown;

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a brace bar according to a first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a refrigeration appliance according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic partial sectional view of a refrigeration appliance according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[ detailed description of the invention ]

Referring to fig. 1, 2 and 3, the refrigeration appliance 1 includes an insulated cabinet 11 having a storage compartment 12. The front opening 10 of the storage chamber 12 may be selectively closed and opened by an insulated door (not shown) connected to the cabinet 11.

The box 11 has a box-shaped inner container 13 including a top wall 14, a rear wall (not shown) facing the front opening 10, a bottom wall 15, and a pair of side walls 16. The inner surface of the inner container 13 faces the storage chamber 12 to define the boundary of the storage chamber 12, and thus, the top wall of the storage chamber 12 is formed by the top wall 14 of the inner container 13. The outer surface of the inner container 13 faces and is tightly bonded to a heat insulating layer (not shown).

A plurality of storage containers 17 are provided in the storage chamber 12. In the present embodiment, the storage container 17 is a drawer. The storage container 17, which is located uppermost in the storage compartment 12, is adjacent to the top wall 14, but is spaced apart from the top wall 14.

The storage container 17 has a front container wall 171 near the front opening 10 and the top wall 14, and a top surface 172 of the front container wall 171 has a gap in the vertical direction from the top wall 14. In this embodiment, the upper end of the front container wall 171 is provided with a handle portion 173 having a handle groove 174, and the user can pull the storage container 17 out of the storage chamber 12 or push it into the storage chamber 12 by grasping the handle portion 173. The handle portion 173 may be integrally formed on the front container wall 171 or may be attached to the storage container 17 as a separate component.

The refrigeration appliance 1 comprises a first evaporator 2 arranged along the outer surface of the top wall 14, the bottom wall 15 and the side walls 16. The first evaporator 2 is embedded in the heat insulating layer and may be fixed to the inner container 13 by being wound around the outside of the inner container 13. The first evaporator 2 has the evaporating tubes close to the front opening 10 and thus has a lower temperature in the area of the top wall 14 close to the front opening 10.

The refrigeration appliance 1 comprises a second evaporator 3 arranged along the inner side of the top wall 14. The second evaporator 3 and the first evaporator 2 may be arranged in parallel or in series.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, the refrigeration device 1 includes a support strip 5 for supporting the second evaporator 3. The stay 5 is fixed to the top wall 14 and has a receiving portion 51 for receiving the front end of the second evaporator 3. In particular, the support bar 5 comprises a mounting portion 52 to be fixed to the top wall 14. The mounting portion 52 is located above the receiving portion 51, and the mounting portion 52 has a snap fit structure 6 adapted to snap fit with the downwardly extending top wall 14. The mounting portion 52 may have a front mounting wall 521 facing the front opening 10, the front mounting wall 521 having a pair of first ventilation holes 54 exposed to the front opening 10, each first ventilation hole 54 corresponding to a corresponding snap structure 6. Thus, a tool can be passed through the front mounting wall 521 via the first vent hole 54 to release the snap-fit fixation of the snap structure 6 with the support bar 5.

The refrigerator 1 includes an air guide 7 connected to a front end of the support bar 5, and specifically, the air guide 7 is connected to an upper end of the front mounting wall 521 and extends forward. Thereby being secured together to the top wall 14 by the support strip 5. In the present embodiment, the supporting strip 5 and the wind guide 7 are integrally formed.

The air guide 7 extends over the entire width of the storage chamber 12, and both ends of the air guide 7 and the corresponding side walls 16. In the vertical direction, the air guide 7 overlaps the evaporating tubes of the first evaporator 2 which are arranged along the top wall 14 and close to the front opening 10.

The air guide 7 includes a guide wall 71 facing downward toward the storage container 17. The guide wall 71 is gradually inclined upward in a front-to-rear direction (i.e., a direction from the front opening 10 toward the rear wall of the storage chamber 12). The baffle wall 71 may have a constant cross-sectional shape in the width direction of the storage chamber 12. In this embodiment, the guide wall 71 has a curved surface that is concave toward the top wall 14. The guide wall 71 has a gap with the ceiling wall 14, and the gap between the guide wall 71 and the ceiling wall 14 gradually decreases in the front-rear direction, as shown in fig. 2. The air guide 7 may be provided with a plurality of spaced apart strip-like reinforcing ribs 73 (as shown in fig. 3) on the side facing the top wall 14.

In the vertical direction, the guide wall 71 at least partially overlaps the top surface 172 of the front container wall 171 with a gap therebetween, which gradually expands in the front-rear direction. Thereby, the air passage 8 gradually increasing in the front-to-rear direction is formed between the guide wall 71 and the top surface 172.

The air guide 7 includes a front cover wall 72 facing the front opening 10. The upper end of the front cover wall 72 is connected to the top wall 14, and the lower end of the front cover wall 72 is connected to the front end of the guide wall 71, forming an acute angle therebetween.

In the present embodiment, the front surface of the front cover wall 72 and the front surface of the grip portion 173 are located in the same plane, and the inlet of the air passage 8 is located between the lower end of the front cover wall 72 and the grip portion 173. In an alternative embodiment, the front surface of the front cover wall 72 may also be closer to the front opening 10 than the front surface of the grip portion 173.

The front mounting wall 521 has a plurality of second ventilation holes 53 wider than the first ventilation holes 54, in addition to the first ventilation holes 54 corresponding to the snap structures 6. The first vent hole 54 and the second vent hole 53 are located at the end of the air passage 8 and are in fluid communication with the air passage 8 and a cooler area located behind the front mounting wall 521. In the present embodiment, the first ventilation hole 54 has a width greater than 2 cm and a ventilation area greater than 1.5 cm; the second vent 53 has a width greater than 5 cm (e.g., 6 cm to 7 cm) and an area greater than 4.5 cm. So that the total ventilation area on the mounting wall 521 is greater than 16 square centimeters. Preferably, the ventilation area on the mounting wall 521 occupies not less than 35% of the total area of the mounting wall 521, in other words, the total area of the plurality of ventilation holes 53, 54 occupies at least 35%, for example 45%, of the projected area of the air passage 8 on the plane in which the ventilation holes 53, 54 lie.

In this way, air from the air channel 8 can flow via the ventilation holes 53 to behind the supporting strips 5, in particular to the second evaporator 3 and to the top wall 14 cooled by the first evaporator 2 and the second evaporator 3.

When the user closes the storage compartment 12, the "warm air" having relatively high temperature just entering the storage compartment 12 flows upward in the gap between the door and the storage container 17, enters the air passage 8 near the top wall 14 and smoothly enters the ventilation holes 53 to flow backward under the guidance of the guide wall 71, so that the "warm air" can flow to the support bars 5 and then be removed by contacting the second evaporator 3 and the top wall cooled by the first evaporator 2, which is advantageous in gathering the frost in the storage compartment 12 at a position not easily observed by the user, so that the user does not have to defrost too frequently, and also in enhancing the defrosting efficiency since the frost can be relatively concentrated.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a refrigeration device 1a according to a second embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5 follows the reference numerals in fig. 1 to 4 for the same technical features as the first embodiment. The embodiment of fig. 5 differs from the above embodiments mainly in that: in this embodiment, the first evaporator 2 is provided on the outside of the top wall 14, but the second evaporator provided along the inside of the top wall 14 inside the storage chamber 12 is eliminated. Accordingly, the supporting bars for supporting the second evaporator are also eliminated. The air guide 7 may be fixed directly to the top wall 14 by screws. As an alternative embodiment, the air guide 7 may also be fixed to the top wall 14 by means of a snap-fit structure 6 similar to that of the first embodiment.

Air flows backward from the air passage 8 between the air guide 7 and the storage container 17 and is blown toward the top wall 14, moisture in the air can be removed from the air by contacting a portion of the top wall 14 located behind the air guide 7, so that frost can be relatively intensively formed in an area located behind the air guide 7.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a refrigeration device 1b according to a third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 follows the reference numerals in fig. 1 to 4 for the same technical features as the first embodiment. The embodiment of fig. 6 differs from the first embodiment mainly in that: in the present embodiment, the front container wall 171b of the storage container 17b is substantially straight in the vertical direction. The front surface of the front container wall 171b and the front surface of the front cover wall 72 are in the same plane, and when air flows upward between the front container wall 171b and the guide wall 71, a portion of the air flows into the storage container 17, and another portion of the air is guided by the guide wall 71 to flow rearward, so that the air is not trapped in the front edge area of the top wall 14 but can be guided to flow rearward, and thus frost can be prevented from being accumulated in an area most easily observed by a user, that is, it is advantageous to extend the defrosting period of the refrigerator.

The various embodiments of the individual components described in connection with fig. 1 to 6 may be combined with each other in any given way to achieve the technical effect of the invention. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and other means than those shown may be generally used as long as the same effects are obtained.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) comprising:

a storage compartment (12) having a front opening (10), the storage compartment (12) having a top wall (14); and

-an evaporator (2, 3) arranged along said top wall (14);

characterized by further comprising a wind guide member (7) arranged along the top wall (14) and adjacent to the front opening (10), the wind guide member (7) comprising a downward flow guide wall (71), the flow guide wall (71) being inclined upward in a front-to-rear direction.

2. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, wherein said deflector wall (71) has a curved surface concave towards said top wall (14).

3. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, wherein said deflector wall (71) and said top wall (14) have a gap therebetween, said gap increasing in a direction from the rear to the front.

4. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, comprising a storage container (17) located within the storage compartment (12), said storage container (17) comprising a front container wall (171) located adjacent to the front opening (10), said air deflector (7) comprising a front covering wall (72) facing the front opening (10), a front surface of the front covering wall (72) and a front surface of the front container wall (171) being located in the same plane, or a front surface of the front covering wall (72) being closer to the front opening (10) than a front surface of the front container wall (171).

5. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 4, wherein said front container wall (171) comprises a handle portion (173) having a handle groove (174), said deflector wall (71) and a top surface (172) of said handle portion (173) forming an air passage (8) therebetween, an inlet of said air passage (8) being located between a lower end of said front cover wall (72) and said handle portion (173), said air passage (8) being gradually increased in a front-to-rear direction.

6. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the lower end of said front covering wall (72) is connected to the front end of said deflector wall (71), and the angle between said front covering wall (72) and said deflector wall (71) is acute.

7. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, wherein said air guide (7) is fixed to said top wall (14) by screws or to said top wall (14) by snap-in structures (6).

8. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, wherein said evaporator (2, 3) comprises a first evaporator (2) located outside said storage compartment (12) and along an outer surface of said top wall (14) facing an insulation layer.

9. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1 or 8, wherein said evaporator (2, 3) comprises a second evaporator (3) located inside the storage compartment (12) along said top wall (14), and a support strip (5) for supporting said second evaporator (3), said air guide (7) being located in front of said support strip (5), and said support strip (5) having a plurality of ventilation holes (53, 54) extending through said support strip (5), through which holes (53, 54) air from said air channel (8) flows backwards.

10. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 9, wherein the at least one ventilation hole (53) has a width greater than 5 cm and/or an area greater than 4.5 cm.

11. The refrigeration appliance (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 9, wherein the total area of the plurality of ventilation holes (53, 54) accounts for at least 35% of the projected area of the air passage (8) in the plane of the ventilation holes (53, 54).

12. The refrigeration device (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 9, wherein said support strip (5) and said air guide (7) are integrally formed.