EP2678623B1 - Refrigeration appliance having an evaporation tray - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular a household refrigerator, which is equipped with an evaporation tray to eliminate condensation, which is reflected during operation of the refrigerator in the interior of an evaporator.

Such an evaporation tray is generally accommodated in a machine room at a rear side of the body of the refrigeration device in order to utilize waste heat from a compressor also placed there for evaporating the condensed water.

Frequently, such an evaporation tray is mounted on a housing of the compressor to efficiently initiate the waste heat of the compressor through the direct contact in the evaporation tray and the water contained therein. To ensure the required large-area close contact with the compressor housing, the evaporation tray must be precisely manufactured and adapted to the shape of the compressor housing. If different compressor models with different housing shapes can be used in series production of the refrigeration device, a special evaporation tray is required for each model, which considerably increases the production outlay. In addition, free air space above the evaporation tray is required to allow the outflow of moisture saturated air from the engine room. The space requirement of such an evaporation tray is therefore considerable.

In order to reduce the space requirement and the production cost, it has therefore already been proposed to mount an evaporation tray near the bottom of the machine room, below the compressor. This solution is particularly practicable when a fan provides sufficient air exchange between the engine room and the environment and in particular for a strong air circulation over the water level of the evaporation tray. However, a disadvantage of this design is that, since electrical components are located in the machine room above the evaporation tray, supply cables run above it. Especially with a power cord there is a possibility that this, if it is not completely off is pulled out of the engine room, hangs in the evaporation tray. This results in a safety risk, unless the insulating sheath of the power cord is made of a suitable and approved material for permanent contact with water. However, such insulated cables are considerably more expensive than those commonly used for household electrical appliances. To exclude the possibility of immersion of a supply cable in the evaporation tray, it is common to close the engine room with a rear wall. However, even though it is broken, it significantly impedes the air exchange between the engine room and the environment, and resulting heat accumulation in the engine room impairs the efficiency of refrigeration and therefore leads to increased energy consumption.

The publication JP H06 4574 U discloses a refrigerator with a collecting tray.

The publication KR 2007 0107355 A discloses a refrigerator with an evaporation tray.

The publication JP H06 313670 A shows a refrigerator with an evaporation tray and a live cable that can be placed in an air space above the evaporation tray.

The publication JP 2001 133129 A shows a refrigerator with a closed forced-ventilated evaporation tray. A refrigerator according to the preamble of claim 1 is made JP H08 14729 A known.

The object of the invention is to provide a refrigeration device in which the risk of immersion of a live cable is eliminated in an evaporation tray, without hindering the exchange of air between an air space above the evaporation tray and the environment of the refrigerator.

A refrigeration appliance is understood in particular to be a household refrigeration appliance, that is to say a refrigeration appliance which is used for household purposes or possibly also in the gastronomy sector, and in particular for storing food and / or drinks in household quantities at specific temperatures, such as, for example, a refrigerator, a freezer , a fridge freezer, a freezer or a wine storage cabinet.

The object is achieved by a refrigeration device having the features of claim 1.

In a conventional AC power supply cable, a distance between adjacent grating bars of several centimeters is sufficient to prevent immersion of the cable in the condensed water, even if its water level is only a few millimeters below the support grid.

According to a preferred embodiment, the support grid may be at least partially formed by upper edges of ribs dipping into the evaporation tray. These ribs can be supported on the side walls or on the bottom of the evaporation tray, but they can also be integrally formed with the evaporation tray.

However, the support grid can also be formed at least partially by webs extending over a water surface of the evaporation shell.

A support grid, which is not integral with the evaporation shell, may conveniently be anchored to the evaporation tray, in particular at its edges, in a form-fitting manner. It is also conceivable, however, a positive anchoring of the support grid to a support of the evaporation tray, especially if this carrier also determines the position of the evaporation tray.

It is also expedient if the support grid and the carrier of the evaporation tray cooperate in order to limit a receptacle in which the evaporation tray is fixed.

A carrier of the evaporation tray may also be useful to support a compressor disposed above the evaporation tray.

To assist the compressor, it may be useful for posts connecting the compressor to the carrier to extend through passages of the evaporation tray. Thus, the compressor can be easily mounted directly above the water level of the shell and effectively heat the water in the evaporation tray.

Preferably, the evaporation tray is arranged at the bottom of a machine room of the refrigerator.

In order to facilitate the attachment of the support grid and the compressor over the evaporation tray, it is expedient that the support grid has an open-edge cutout, in which the compressor is arranged.

Conveniently, the support grid may also have a pipe socket for receiving a condensate supply. By fixing the pipe socket to the condensate supply pipe, it can be safely excluded that it, e.g. is bent during transport or assembly of the device, and therefore that condensation water misses the evaporation tray.

In order to accommodate a sufficient length of the pipe socket, it is preferred that this extends beyond the support grid upwards.

The condensate supply line, which opens into the evaporation tray, can be obtained directly from a storage chamber of the refrigeration device. According to a preferred variant, the condensate supply line forms an overflow of an evaporation container, which is arranged above the evaporation tray. By using the evaporation tank in addition to the evaporation tray, the evaporation capacity of the refrigerator can be increased, which is particularly important for high-efficiency, little waste heat generating refrigerators.

The evaporation container may in turn be mounted on the compressor to use on the housing wall heat dissipated. Since the free water surface of the evaporation tank need not be as large as in a refrigerator in which the entire accumulating condensate must be evaporated by a shell mounted on the compressor, the dimensions of the evaporation tank and the free air space can be kept small above him, so that the space requirement of the engine room remains low despite the evaporation tank.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Maschinenraums eines Kältegerätes gemäß einer ersten Ausgestaltung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 2

eine geschnittene perspektivische Ansicht einer Verdunstungsschale gemäß einer zweiten Ausgestaltung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 3

eine Verdunstungsschale gemäß einer dritten Ausgestaltung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 4

eine Verdunstungsschale gemäß einer vierten Ausgestaltung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 5

eine einteilige Verdunstungsschale gemäß einer fünften Ausgestaltung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 6

eine Verdunstungsschale mit Rohrstutzen zum Aufnehmen einer Kondenswasserzuführleitung und nicht Gegenstand der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 7

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Stützgitters gemäß der Erfindung;

Fig. 8

eine perspektivische, teilgeschnittene Ansicht einer Verdunstungsschale, an der das Stützgitter der Fig. 7 verwendbar ist; und

Fig. 9

einen schematischen Schnitt durch einen Aufbau mit einer Verdunstungsschale und einem Stützgitter gemäß Fig. 8 bzw. Fig. 7, einem Verdichter und einem auf dem Verdichter montierten Verdunstungsbehälter.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures.

Fig. 1

a perspective view of a machine room of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 2

a sectional perspective view of an evaporation tray according to a second embodiment and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 3

an evaporation tray according to a third embodiment and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 4

an evaporation tray according to a fourth embodiment and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 5

a one-piece evaporation tray according to a fifth embodiment and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 6

an evaporation tray with pipe socket for receiving a condensate supply and not the subject of the present invention;

Fig. 7

a perspective view of a support grid according to the invention;

Fig. 8

a perspective, partially sectioned view of an evaporation tray on which the support grid of Fig. 7 is usable; and

Fig. 9

a schematic section through a structure with an evaporation tray and a support grid according to Fig. 8 respectively. Fig. 7 , a compressor and an evaporator tank mounted on the compressor.

Fig. 1 shows in a perspective partial view of the lower portion of the back of a refrigerator housing, such as a household refrigerator, freezer or a Fridge-freezer. A machine room 1 is formed as an open to the rear of the device body, sideways bounded by side walls 3 and up through a ceiling wall niche. From the side walls 3 jump near the bottom support strips 5 into the interior of the machine room 1. On these support strips 5 rest narrow edges 9 of a substantially rectangular in plan view evaporation tray 7, which is formed for example by deep drawing of plastic sheet or sheet metal.

Above the evaporation tray 7, a compressor 11 is mounted; several posts 13 keep it away from the bottom of the evaporation tray 7. The posts 13 may be part of a housing of the compressor 11 and be secured to the bottom of the shell 7; but they can also be applied to the evaporation tray 7, e.g. during deep drawing, as formed by the bottom of protruding projections.

About the evaporation tray 7, a support grid 15 extends from crossed, extending in the width or depth direction of the machine room 1 bars, the ends of each rest on the narrow and longitudinal edges 9 of the evaporation tray 7.

A power cord 17 is shown here starting from the compressor 11, but it could also emanate from a bus bar on a wall of the engine room 1 or any other electrical load of the refrigerator. The power cord 17 is not completely pulled out of the engine room 1 and therefore does not run straight, but forms a loop 19. The loop 19 rests on the support grid 15 and therefore can not intervene in the evaporation tray 7 below the support grid 15.

The need to prevent the power cord 17 from submerging in the evaporation tray by means of the support grid 15 exists even if the power cord is not removed from the compressor 11, but e.g. from a (not shown) attached to a wall of the machine room 1 junction box or a connection point outside the engine room 1 emanates.

On the rear wall of the refrigeration body above the engine room 1, a wire tube condenser 21 fed by the compressor 11 is mounted in a manner known per se. This in turn is connected in series with an evaporator inside the body, the one or more storage chambers of the refrigerator cools. Condensation, which is reflected on the evaporator, is led out via a pipe 23 to the rear wall of the device. The pipe 23 ends above the evaporation tray 7, so that the discharged condensate drips into the evaporation tray 7.

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of the evaporation tray 7 and the support grid 15 in a perspective partial view. The evaporation tray 7 has a flat bottom 25, steeply rising side walls 27, and, subsequent to the upper edge of the side walls 27, horizontal edges 9 forming a frame surrounding the evaporation tray 7 on all four sides.

The support grid 15 is here in one piece, e.g. made of sheet metal. In the sheet a plurality of openings 29 is cut so that only two narrow webs 31 remain between two adjacent openings 29. Around the openings 29 around a rigid frame 33 is left, which rests on the edge 9 of the shell on all four sides. The openings 29 are here rectangular and arranged in a row and column pattern, so that the webs 31 between them each extending continuously from one side of the frame 33 to the opposite. Of course, other shapes and arrangements of the openings 29 are also contemplated, e.g. Triangles or hexagons, provided that the total area of the openings 29 is only large enough so that the webs 31 not appreciably affect the exchange of air between the interior of the shell 7 and the air space above the support grid 15.

On one of the four sides of the evaporation tray 7, the frame 33 is bent in a U shape to form a U-profile 35 extending over the entire width of the tray 7. By the U-profile 35 surrounds the edge 9, it defines an axis about which the support grid 15 with respect to the evaporation tray 7 is pivotable. At the opposite side of the U-profile 35 of the frame 33, one or two protruding tongues 37 are bent into hooks 37, each of which ends in an insertion bevel 39 towards the bottom. The support grid 15 can thus be easily and quickly attached to the evaporation tray 7 by first the U-profile 35 of the obliquely held support grid 15 is brought into engagement at one of the edges 9 and then the support grid 15 is pivoted against the evaporation tray 7. In this case, first the insertion bevel 39 abuts against its opposite edge 9 of the shell 7, and the Hook 37 is elastically bent until the insertion bevel 39 has completely passed this opposite edge 9 and it engages in the hook 37.

In order to increase the carrying capacity of the support grid 15, it is possible, as in Fig. 3 shown to widen individual of the webs 31 to ribs 41, which extend down to the bottom 25 of the evaporation tray 7 and supported on this. Such a load-bearing support grid 15 could possibly also directly carry the compressor 11, so that the in Fig. 1 shown, through the support grid 15 cross-through post 13 could be omitted.

The support grid 15 of Fig. 3 can not like that one Fig. 2 be punched out of flat material; Here comes instead a production by molding, for example by injection molding of plastic, into consideration.

At the in Fig. 4 shown embodiment of the support grid 15, ribs 41, 43 extend in two different directions. By the ends of these ribs 41, 43 abut against the side walls 27 of the evaporation tray 7, the support grid 15 is fixed in the shell 7, without the need for a lock.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment in which the support grid 15 is realized in one piece with the evaporation tray 7. The support grid 15 is formed here by upper edges of a plurality of intersecting ribs 45, which divide the interior of the evaporation tray 7 into a plurality of compartments 49. The ribs 45 are interrupted in places by extending to the bottom 25 extending notches 51 to ensure that the compartments 49 communicate with each other and not individual compartments 49 can dry.

Fig. 6 shows the example of a support grid 15 of in Fig. 2 type shown a pipe socket 53 which can receive the lower end of the pipe 23 so as to ensure that this is always on the evaporation tray 7 and no condensation can be lost. The length of the pipe socket 53 is greater than the height of the shell, so that it must extend partially over the support grid. A height of the pipe socket 53 of several cm is desirable to ensure that the end of the pipe 23 is held securely in the pipe socket 53, despite possibly being able to move from one device to the other of the pipe member 23 in a fluctuating manner. The pipe socket 53 also prevents splashes that occur when the end of the pipe 23 does not touch the water surface of the evaporation tray 7 and drops fall from the end of the pipe 23, distribute outside of the evaporation tray 7.

Fig. 7 shows a plastic injection molded support grid 15 according to the invention in a perspective view. Like the support grid of the Fig. 2 it is equipped on one longitudinal side with a U-profile 35 and on the opposite longitudinal side with a plurality of hooks 37 for latching to the edges 9 of an evaporation tray 7. A large-area recess 55 is open to the edge 37 carrying the hooks. The dimensions of the recess 55 are adapted to that of the compressor 11 to allow snapping the support grid 15 on the evaporation tray by pivoting about the axis defined by the U-profile 35, even if the compressor 11 is already mounted on the evaporation tray 7 ,

Fig. 8 shows in a partially sectioned perspective view of an evaporation tray 7 and a support 57, which expediently with the support grid 15 of Fig. 7 can be combined. The carrier 57 has here substantially in Fig. 1 for the evaporation tray 7, with a flat, rectangular bottom plate 59, the bottom plate 59 on four sides surrounding steep walls 61 and one of the upper edges of the walls 61 outwardly projecting horizontal edge web 63, each at the narrow sides of the support 57 at the support strips 5 is supported. From the bottom plate 59 four tabs 65 are cut free and angled upwards to form posts 13 for the assembly of the compressor 11.

The evaporation tray 7 can be very light and thin-walled here, since it is supported almost on its entire surface by the carrier 57. Openings 67 in the bottom 25 of the evaporation tray 7, through which the posts 13 extend, are surrounded by one-piece raised walls 69 of the tray 7 to prevent the water from flowing out of the tray 7.

Along the inner sides of the walls 61, between these and the side walls 27 of the evaporation tray 7, extends a refrigerant line 71 which is arranged in the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator between the compressor 11 and the condenser 21 or between the condenser 21 and a throttle point leading to the evaporator. The small wall thickness of the evaporation tray 7 promotes the transfer of heat from the refrigerant line 71 to condensate in the evaporation tray 7; the contact of the refrigerant line 71 with wall 61 and bottom plate 59 of the carrier 57 promotes the propagation of the heat within the carrier 57 and thus the passage to the condensed water on a large surface.

Fig. 9 shows a cross section of the engine room 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. A portion of the ceiling, which is bounded above the engine room 1, denoted by 73. From this ceiling 73 spaced by an air space 75, a flat cup-shaped evaporation tank 77 is mounted on the compressor 11, which is heated by direct contact with the compressor 11. The pipe 23, which discharges condensed water from the inside of the refrigerator housing, opens here into the evaporation tank 77. A vertical overflow pipe 79 extends through the bottom of the evaporation tank 77, and its upper end projecting into the compression tank 77 defines the highest achievable water level 81 in the compression tank 77. When the influx of condensed water through the pipe 23 exceeds the evaporation capacity of the compression tank 77 and the water level 81 is reached, water drains through the overflow pipe 79 into the evaporation tray 7 attached below the compressor 11. The evaporation tray 7 is as in Fig. 8 shown held in a support 57 and heated by the extending between the support 57 and the shell 7 refrigerant pipe 71. On the edges of the support 57 is a support grid 15, eg from in Fig. 6 shown type, snapped on. Support 57 and supporting grid 15 complement each other to form a housing enclosing the evaporation tray 7, so that additional fixing of the evaporation tray 7 is not required.

Claims (14)

1. Refrigeration appliance, in particular household refrigeration appliance, having an evaporation tray (7) and a live cable (17) which can be placed in an air space above the evaporation tray (7), wherein a support grid (15) extends above a water level of the evaporation tray (7), characterised in that the support grid (7) has an open-edged recess (55) in which a compressor (11) is arranged.
2. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the support grid (15) is at least partially formed by upper edges of ribs (41, 43) dipping into the evaporation tray (7).
3. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the support grid (15) is formed at least partially by webs (31) extending above a water surface of the evaporation tray (7).
4. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the support grid (15, 45) is formed integrally with the evaporation tray (7).
5. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the support grid (15) is anchored in form-fit manner on the evaporation tray (7), in particular on edges (9) of the evaporation tray, or on a carrier (57) of the evaporation tray (7).
6. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the support grid (15) and a carrier (57) of the evaporation tray (7) delimit a receptacle in which the evaporation tray (7) is fixed.
7. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 6, characterised in that the carrier (57) further supports a compressor (11) arranged above the evaporation tray (7).
8. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 7, characterised in that posts (13) which connect the compressor (11) to the carrier (57) extend through passages (67) of the evaporation tray (7).
9. Refrigeration appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the support grid (15) is supported on a bottom surface (25) of the evaporation tray (7).
10. Refrigeration appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a machine space (1), on the bottom of which the evaporation tray (7) is arranged.
11. Refrigeration appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the support grid (15) has a pipe socket (53) for receiving a condensate water supply line (23; 79).
12. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 11, characterised in that the pipe socket (53) extends upwards beyond the support grid (15).
13. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 11 or 12, characterised in that the condensate water supply line (79) forms an overflow of an evaporation container (77), which is arranged above the evaporation tray (7).
14. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 13, characterised in that the evaporation container (77) is mounted on a compressor (11).

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