JPH11132645A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator which enables foam molding to improve the strength of the bottom surface of a freezing chamber in a two-chamber structured type in which a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber are separated by a heat insulating partition wall. SOLUTION: A hollowed part 44 is provided on the top surface of a midpartition heat insulating material 22 comprising a urethane foam or the like to be inserted from behind between 29 a freezing chamber part 1B and a refrigerating chamber 5B in an inner box 21 corresponding to the bottom surface of the freezing chamber part and urethane inflow parts 47 and 48 are formed at the front end part thereof. The injected urethane foam is filled into the hollowed part 44 to enhance the strength of the bottom surface of the freezing chamber part. The bleeding of air is made utilizing a drain port 32 of a drip part 31 provided in the midpartition heat insulating material 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a freezer compartment at the top and a refrigerator compartment at the bottom, and more particularly to a structure for increasing the strength of the bottom of the freezer compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a small refrigerator-freezer (hereinafter, generally referred to as a refrigerator) used for a single person or the like, a cooler and a blower are arranged at the back of a freezer compartment.
The cool air cooled by the cooler is blown out to the freezer compartment and sent to the refrigerator compartment by the duct to cool the refrigerator compartment.

[0003] Here, the main body of the refrigerator is filled with urethane foam between a resin inner box and a metal outer box in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment are integrally formed by molding. It forms an insulated box.

[0004] As a result, a heat-insulating partition wall is formed between the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment of the inner box, dividing the upper and lower compartments into upper and lower compartments. In this case, in view of saving urethane foam, a production method has been proposed in which a partitioning heat material such as styrene foam is inserted into a partition wall to foam the partition wall.

[0005]

Here, by inserting the intermediate cutting heat material into the heat insulating partition wall, the heat insulating material can be saved. On the other hand, the intermediate cutting heat material is formed of styrene foam having insufficient strength. Therefore, there is a concern that the strength of the partition wall is weakened. Since the heat insulating partition wall also serves as a bottom support for the freezer compartment, it is required that the heat insulating partition wall be strong enough to support the bottom surface of the freezer compartment without sticking.

In addition, if air (gas) between the inner and outer boxes is not evacuated smoothly during foam molding, insufficient filling will occur, so it is important to secure a gas vent path. Further, the quality of the filled state of the urethane foam also affects the structural strength for supporting the partition wall so as not to stick to the bottom of the freezer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has a structure in which a portion corresponding to the bottom of a freezing compartment of a middle-section cutting heat member is recessed and filled with urethane foam. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator configured to improve the strength of the bottom of the refrigerator and to smoothly perform degassing by using components.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to an intermediate cutting heat material made of a molded heat insulating material such as styrofoam between a freezing compartment formed in an inner box and a refrigerator compartment. Insert from the back, combine the outer box with the inner box,
In a refrigerator in which a body is formed by filling a heat-insulating material of an in-situ foaming method such as urethane foam between the inner and outer boxes, a concave portion having a width corresponding to a bottom surface of the freezing compartment portion is provided on an upper surface side of the intermediate cutting heat material. A heat insulating material such as urethane foam filled between the inner and outer boxes is provided at a front end portion of the concave portion to provide a heat insulating material inflow portion into which the heat insulating material flows and flows in, and the concave portion is filled with a heat insulating material such as urethane foam. It is.

Further, the present invention provides a middle section cutting heat material, wherein a drain port for defrost water is provided adjacent to the concave portion, and a gas expelled by a heat insulating material filling the concave portion is discharged from the drain port. It is like that.

Further, according to the present invention, the concave portion has a thickness of about 10 mm.
Formed at a depth of.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator, FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator for explaining how cold air is supplied from a cooling chamber to a refrigerator compartment by a cool air discharge duct, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an inner box partitioned into a compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and a partition cutting heat material used for the upper and lower compartments.

In each of the drawings, first, the refrigerator 10 is filled with a heat-insulating material 16 of a foamed-in-place type such as urethane foam, and the inside of a heat-insulating box 17 opened forward is partitioned vertically by a heat-insulating partition wall 18. The freezer 1 is located above the heat insulating partition 18.
Refrigeration room 5 is formed below, and the front openings of the freezing room 1 and the refrigeration room 5 are rotatable heat insulating doors 19a and 19.
It is openably and closably closed by b.

The heat-insulating box 17 is made of a metal outer box 20 such as a painted steel plate, a freezer compartment 1B and a refrigerator compartment 5B.
B is integrally formed with an inner box 21 made of a synthetic resin such as ABS as shown in FIG. 3 with a required space therebetween, and a space 29 formed between the inner and outer boxes is insulated with a heat insulating material such as urethane foam. The material 16 is formed by foam filling. In this case, in the heat-insulating partition wall 18 existing between the freezing compartment 1B and the refrigerator compartment 5B, styrene foam or the like which performs a heat-insulating action together with urethane foam filled in the heat-insulating partition 18 is used. The molded intermediate heating material 22 is stored,
It is configured to be inserted as one member forming the heat insulating partition wall 18. Also, as described later, the intermediate heat material 22
A cold air passage for sending cold air from the freezing room 1 to the refrigerator compartment 5 and a drainage passage for discharging defrost water from the cooler are formed in the refrigerator.

A cooling chamber 2 is defined at the rear of the freezing chamber 1, in which a cooler 3 is provided at a lower portion and a blower 4 is provided at an upper portion. Is provided with a gutter-shaped upper dew receiving portion 19 for easily receiving defrost water dropped from the cooler 3 at the time of defrosting. Through the drain passage 50 and the drain pipe 50 in the intermediate heating material 22, the water is drained from the refrigerator compartment 5 to the outside of the refrigerator.

Then, in the freezer compartment 1, the cool air cooled by the cooler 3 is supplied to the cool air outlet 1 as shown by an arrow in FIG.
The air is circulated by the blower 4 so as to blow out from the outlet 5a and return to the cooling chamber 2 from the suction port 15b, so that the freezing chamber 1 is cooled.

On the other hand, the cool air cooled by the cooler 3 is:
As shown in FIG. 2, the cold air blown to the freezing room 1 is diverted from the cold air and is also sent to the cold room 5 by the cold air supply duct 23 extending to the cold room 5. The cool air supply duct 23 opens to a cool air outlet 26 provided in the refrigerator 5, and cool air is blown into the refrigerator 5 from the lower outlet 27 a and the front outlet 27 b. In this case, the space between the cool air discharge duct 23 and the cool air
The cooling air from the refrigeration chamber 5 is returned to the cooling chamber 2 through the cold air return passage 28 formed in the middle cutting material 22. It has a simple structure. Thereby, the cool air from the cooling chamber 2 is blown out and circulated to the refrigerating chamber 5 as shown by an arrow, and is cooled.

FIG. 4 shows structural components forming a cold air return port, a cold air outlet, a cold air return passage 28 and the like which also serve as a drainage port for defrosting water together with the intermediate cutting heat material 22. In the back end, on one side, a rectangular hole-shaped cold air inlet 30 penetrating vertically is provided,
The cool air inlet 30 and the lower end of the cool air supply duct 23 are connected to each other. A gutter-shaped dew receiving portion 31 is provided alongside the cool air inlet 30 so as to receive drain water from the cooler 3 so that the bottom surface is inclined so as to become lower from both sides toward the center. A square hole 32 is formed in the center of 31 to serve as an outlet for dew and an upper cool air return port for returning cool air from the refrigerator compartment 5 to the cooling compartment 2. In addition, the upper surface of the dew receiving portion 31 is provided so as to cover the dew receiving plate 33 made of aluminum.

Reference numeral 35 designates a styrofoam made of the same material as that of the intermediate cutting material 22. The upper opening is a cold air inlet 36 communicating with the cold air inlet 30, and the cool air is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 5 downward and forward. Lower outlet 3
7a and a blow-out duct provided with a front blow-out port 37b, and the blow-out duct 35 is fitted from below into a recess provided at a lower portion corresponding to the cold air inlet 30 of the intermediate cutting heat material 22 so as to be attached thereto. It has become. As a result, when the intermediate cut heat material 22 is inserted into the space 29 between the freezer compartment 1B and the refrigerator compartment 5B of the inner box 21 before foam molding, the cold air blowing duct 35 Since it is present as a protruding portion projecting at the lower portion, the inner box 21 is provided with the refrigerating compartment portion 5 so that the protruding blow-out duct 35 can be received.
A fitting portion 60 having a shape conforming to the blow-out duct 35 provided by recessing the front side of B in a stepped manner is integrally formed so as to protrude inside the refrigerator compartment 5.

Reference numeral 38 is also made of styrene foam or the like, and is fitted from below into a mounting recess in the front-rear direction formed at the lower portion of the center of the intermediate cutting heat material 22.
It is a cool air return duct heat insulating material forming a cool air return duct 28 in which cool air from the refrigerating room 5 is returned to the cooling room 2. Then, the cold air return duct heat insulating material 38 is provided at the front end of the cold room 5.
A cold air inlet 28a is provided, and at the rear end,
A lower cool air return port 39 communicating with an upper cool air return port (square hole) 32 provided in the intermediate cutting heat material 22a is formed to be concave in a gutter shape. The lower cool air return port 39 is a square hole having an opening area larger than that of the upper cool air return port 32, and a synthetic resin dew receiving plate 40 is fitted therein. Again, this dew receiving plate 40
The upper opening of the refrigeration compartment 5
It also serves as a cool air return port for returning cold air from the upper cool air return port 32 to the cooling chamber 2.

The dew receiving plate 40 has a drain hole 41 on its inner bottom surface, and a drain pipe connecting tube 42 to which the tip of a drain pipe 50 is connected projects from the bottom. Is cold air return duct insulation 38
Receiving hole 4 formed in the center of the lower cool air return port 39 in FIG.
3 is to be inserted.

Now, in the middle cut-off heating material 22, a flat concave portion 44 having a uniform depth with an open front end is formed on the upper surface thereof corresponding to the bottom surface 1d of the freezer compartment 1B of the inner box 21. Is formed. The depth of the concave portion 44 can be, for example, about 10 mm. The concave portion 44 has a weir-like protruding edge portion 46 around it, and the adjacent dew receiving portion 31 is also separated by a lower protruding portion 46b at the protruding edge portion 46b.

Therefore, before foam molding, the intermediate cutting heat material 22 is inserted from the back into the space 29 between the freezing compartment 1B and the refrigerator compartment 5B of the inner box 21. The bottom surface of the freezer compartment 1B at the top opening of the concave portion 44 of the material 22;
That is, the bottom surface 1d of the freezing room 1 substantially contacts, and a space of about 10 mm is created between the intermediate cutting heating material 22 and the bottom surface 1d of the freezing room portion 1B.

The urethane foam 16 to be filled between the inner box 1 and the outer box 5 wraps around the concave surface 44 between the bottom surface 1d of the freezer compartment 1 and the opening at the front end thereof. Will be filled. Then, the weir-shaped protruding edge 46 on one side of the front end of the concave surface portion 44 is set so that urethane foam flows in.
Is cut out to form a urethane foam inflow portion 47. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, when the intermediate cut heat material 22 is inserted into the space 29 between the freezer compartment 1B and the refrigerator compartment 5B of the inner box 1, the space between the front end 22c and the inner box back 21c is formed. As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, urethane foam also flows in from the structural gap 48 generated in the above.

As shown in FIG. 8, the urethane foam is injected by using the upper foam jig 51 and the inner foam jig 52 so that the combined inner box 21 and outer box 20 are placed with the door opening side down. Pressing, and as shown in FIG. 7, an inlet 5 provided near the end of the box, for example, near the bottom of the refrigerator compartment 5B.
8 and so on. Urethane injected from there,
While foaming, as shown by the arrow, it flows along the left and right sides of the box body and wraps around the back, and flows toward the top as a whole and is filled. On the way, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the urethane foam goes around from the left and right from the gap urging part 48 which is the right urethane foam inflow part 47 and the left urethane foam inflow part of the middle cut heat material 22. To fill the concave surface portion 44 on the upper surface of the intermediate cutting heat material 22.

As a result, when the urethane foam 16 is filled and solidified, a hard surface made of urethane foam having a uniform thickness comes into contact with the back side of the bottom surface 1d of the freezing compartment 1, so that the bottom 1d of the freezing compartment 1 It becomes possible to have a robust structure that can be firmly supported from the back side, and even if a large amount is stored in the freezing room 1, the bottom surface 1d of the freezing room 1 does not stick.

The concave portion 4 of the intermediate heat material 22
In the process of filling the foam 4 with urethane foam, gas (air) expelled from the inside of the box, as shown in FIGS.
The vehicle passes over the protruding edge portion 46b (a structural gap between the protruding edge portion and the inner box that is in contact with the protruding edge portion) as a partition wall with the dew receiving portion 31 and exits into the dew receiving portion 31 to be exposed. Gas is extracted from the opening and the square hole 32. Therefore, degassing can be performed using the dew receiving portion 31, that is, the drainage port for draining defrost water, so that a separate degassing path does not need to be formed and a simple structure is obtained.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the inner box and the outer box in which the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are integrally provided by molding are combined, and the heat insulating material is foam-filled therebetween. In a refrigerator body having a structure in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment are formed by a heat insulating partition wall, before foaming on site, a portion of the inner box between the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment is used as a part of the heating material. A concave portion is formed on the upper surface of the intermediate cutting heat material to be inserted into the refrigerator so as to correspond to the bottom surface of the freezing compartment, and a heat insulating material inflow portion is provided at an end of the concave portion, and heat insulation such as injected urethane foam is provided. Since the material flows into the concave portion and is filled therein, when the heat insulating material is solidified, the hard surface completely supports the back side of the bottom surface of the freezer compartment, and a solid bottom structure is obtained. Therefore, the strength of the bottom surface of the freezing room is improved, and a refrigerator free from worrying about sticking even when stored in large quantities can be provided.

Further, since the degassing accompanying the foaming and filling of the heat insulating material can be smoothly performed using the drain port of the defrost water provided adjacent to the concave portion of the intermediate cutting heat material, it has a sophisticated structure. , It does not become complicated structure.

Further, if the depth of the concave portion formed in the intermediate cutting heat material is about 10 mm, a sufficiently strong bearing surface can be formed, and the bottom of the freezing compartment is strengthened and the heat insulating partition wall is a constituent material. It is possible to effectively achieve material savings by reducing the usage fee of a heat insulating material such as urethane.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator illustrating how cold air is sent to a refrigerator compartment by a duct to cool the refrigerator compartment.

FIG. 3 is an inner box in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment are formed, and a cut-off material made of polystyrene foam interposed between the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment of the inner box before foam molding. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of various components that are combined with the intermediate cutting heat material and that constitute a drainage unit and the like that guides defrost water toward the refrigerator compartment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an aspect in which a heat insulating material is foam-filled in a concave portion on the upper part of the intermediate cutting heat material.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an aspect in which a heat insulating material is foam-filled in a concave portion similar to the above-described purpose as viewed from the entire inner box.

FIG. 7 is an overall view of foam molding showing a mode in which urethane foam fills a space between the inner and outer boxes and is further filled in a concave portion on the upper part of the intermediate cutting heat material.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram showing a state in which an inner box and an outer box are set in a foaming jig.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 freezer compartment 3 cooler 4 blower 5 refrigerating compartment 16 urethane foam 18 heat-insulating partition wall 19 dew receiving section 21 inner box 22 intermediate cutting heat material 32 dew drain 44 depressed surface 46 protruding edge

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoki Kawaguchi 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inner box made of a molded heat insulating material such as styrofoam is inserted from the rear between a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment formed in an inner box, and an outer box is combined with the inner box.
In a refrigerator in which a body is formed by filling an in-situ foaming insulation material such as urethane foam between the inner and outer boxes, a concave portion having a width corresponding to a bottom surface of the freezing compartment portion is provided on an upper surface side of the intermediate cutting heat material. A heat-insulating material inflow portion into which the heat-insulating material such as urethane foam filled between the inner and outer boxes is formed and provided at the front end of the concave portion, and the concave portion is filled with a heat-insulating material such as urethane foam. A refrigerator characterized by the following. 2. A defrosting water drainage port is provided adjacent to the concave portion in the intermediate cutting heat material, so that gas expelled by the heat insulating material filling the concave portion is removed from the drainage hole. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed to a depth of about 10 mm.