Patent Application
20250224160
The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0001266, filed Jan. 4, 2024, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.
The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser.
A refrigerator is a device mostly used to cool foods and beverages or medicines, or store foods or medicines at low temperatures to keep the foods or medicines from spoiling. Refrigerators have become so widely used that a refrigerator is now a common fixture in every household.
Refrigerators have an internal space to store food and drinks, and are known to use refrigerant to cool the internal space. A refrigerator typically consists of: a compressor that compresses the refrigerant to cool the internal space using refrigerant; a condenser that cools and condenses the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; a capillary tube as an expansion device that expands the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser into a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant; and an evaporator that achieves cooling of the internal space by allowing the refrigerant that has passed through the capillary tube to be provided in the internal space of the refrigerator to enable heat exchange between the refrigerant and the air of the internal space.
As the above-mentioned condenser, air-cooled condensers, which use air as cooling medium, are generally used in refrigerators.
Recently, as interest in living rooms, dining spaces, and kitchens has increased among consumers, the preference for built-in home appliances to increase space utilization, which are kitchen appliances such as refrigerators integrated into cabinets and walls, is rapidly growing.
However, when a refrigerator using the air-cooled condenser as described above is integrated into a wall, there is a problem in that the space between the refrigerator and the wall becomes narrow and air flow is hampered. Accordingly, after cooling the condenser, the heated air cannot be sufficiently released to the outside and is trapped in the above-mentioned space, which increases the heat release pressure of the refrigerant in the condenser and increases the load on a compressor, resulting in the consumption of additional electrical energy, ultimately reducing the energy efficiency of the refrigerator.
Moreover, household dust enters the space between the refrigerator and the wall over time but cannot escape, and accumulates in between the refrigerator and the wall. The accumulated dust impedes air transfer to the condenser, which further reduces the heat transfer performance of the condenser, further reducing energy efficiency.
Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure is intended to provide a refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser to prevent energy efficiency issues caused by cooling refrigerant with an air-cooled refrigeration system.
Objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to the objective mentioned above, and other objectives not mentioned can be clearly understood from the description below.
In order to achieve the above objective, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser, the refrigerator including: a cabinet constituting a storage space; an evaporator configured to receive refrigerant from outside and evaporate the received refrigerant to cool the storage space of the cabinet; a compressor connected to the evaporator to receive refrigerant from the evaporator and compress the received refrigerant; a water-cooled condenser connected to the compressor to receive the compressed refrigerant, configured to cool the received refrigerant using cooling water to liquefy the refrigerant, and configured to supply the liquefied refrigerant to the evaporator; and an expansion means provided between the evaporator and the water-cooled condenser, and configured to lower an internal pressure of refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser to the evaporator, so that the refrigerant may evaporate in the evaporator.
A refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser to achieve the above-described objective according to embodiments of the present disclosure according to the above-described configuration has the following effects.
Since refrigerant is cooled using cooling water rather than air, problems such as insufficient discharge of heated air between a refrigerator and an external structure to the outside space or reduced energy efficiency due to household dust can be prevented from occurring when the refrigerator is used as a built-in type.
The above and other objectives, features, and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The embodiments are provided solely to ensure that the disclosure of the present disclosure is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains of the scope of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the claims. Meanwhile, the terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, singular forms include plural forms unless the context specifically dictates otherwise.
Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail for achieving the above-described purpose according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
A refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cabinet 100, an evaporator 200, a compressor 300, a water-cooled condenser 400, an expansion means 500, and a branch valve 600.
The evaporator 200, the compressor 300, the water-cooled condenser 400, and the expansion means 500 may be connected through a transfer pipe 700 such as a pipe, and refrigerant may be transferred by flowing inside the transfer pipe 700.
The cabinet 100 may form a storage space.
The cabinet 100 may form a space for storing items including food or beverages, such as a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment generally provided in a refrigerator.
A plurality of cabinets 100 may be provided, and the cabinets 100 may include, for example, a first cabinet 110 with a storage space, and a second cabinet 120 with a storage space for storing items that must be stored at a lower temperature than the temperature of the first cabinet 110.
The evaporator 200 may receive refrigerant from the outside and evaporate the refrigerant to cool the storage space of the cabinet 100.
The evaporator 200 may receive refrigerant discharged from the water-cooled condenser 400 and passed through the expansion means 500, and may evaporate the refrigerant that has passed through the expansion means 500 to cool the storage space of the cabinet 100.
The evaporator 200 may include a first evaporator 210, a second evaporator 220, and an evaporator fan 230.
The first evaporator 210 may be provided in the first cabinet 110 to receive refrigerant from the outside, and may evaporate the supplied refrigerant to cool the storage space of the first cabinet 110.
The second evaporator 220 may be provided in the second cabinet 120 to receive refrigerant from the outside, and may evaporate the supplied refrigerant to cool the storage space of the second cabinet 120.
The other ends of the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220 may be connected to a first capillary tube 510 and a second capillary tube 520, respectively, through the transfer pipe 700, and the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220 may receive refrigerant that has passed through the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520, respectively, through the transfer pipe 700 connected to the other ends thereof.
One end of each of the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220 may be connected to the transfer pipe 700, and the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220 may discharge refrigerant through the transfer pipe 700 connected to one end of each of the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220.
The evaporator fan 230 may be provided inside each of the first cabinet 110 and the second cabinet 120, and may blow air from the storage space inside the first cabinet 110 and the storage space inside the second cabinet 120 to the evaporator 200.
The evaporator fan 230 may be provided in the first cabinet 110 to blow air inside the first cabinet 110 toward the first evaporator 210, and may be provided in the second cabinet 120 to blow air inside the second cabinet 120 toward the second evaporator 220.
The compressor 300 may be connected to the evaporator 200 to receive refrigerant from the evaporator 200 and compress the received refrigerant.
The compressor 300 may compress the refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator 200 and evaporated to a relatively high-temperature and high-pressure state.
When the refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator 200 passes through the compressor 300 and is compressed, the refrigerant may enter a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous state.
The compressor 300 may be connected to the transfer pipe 700 connected to one end of each of the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220, and may receive refrigerant discharged from the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220 and compress the received refrigerant.
The water-cooled condenser 400 may be connected to the compressor 300 to receive the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 300, may liquefy the supplied refrigerant by cooling the supplied refrigerant using cooling water, and may supply the liquefied refrigerant to the evaporator 200.
The water-cooled condenser 400 may have a structure in which a plurality of plates 430 are alternately stacked. The water-cooled condenser 400 may receive refrigerant from the compressor 300 and receive cooling water from the outside, and may cool the refrigerant using the supplied cooling water to liquefy the refrigerant.
The water-cooled condenser 400 may include an upper plate 410, a lower plate 420, a plate 430, a refrigerant supply pipe 440, a refrigerant discharge pipe 450, a cooling water supply pipe 460, and a cooling water discharge pipe 470.
The upper plate 410 may be connected to the refrigerant supply pipe 440, the refrigerant discharge pipe 450, the cooling water supply pipe 460, and the cooling water discharge pipe 470.
One upper side of the upper plate 410 may be connected to the refrigerant supply pipe 440, and the upper plate 410 may have a first refrigerant passage hole 411 formed on the other lower side thereof through which the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 passes.
The other upper side of the upper plate 410 may be connected to the refrigerant discharge pipe 450, and the upper plate 410 may have a second refrigerant passage hole 412 formed on the other upper side thereof for the refrigerant passing through a passage formed by the plate 430 to pass through.
The refrigerant that has passed through the second refrigerant passage hole 412 may be supplied to the refrigerant discharge pipe 450.
The other lower side of the upper plate 410 may be connected to the cooling water supply pipe 460, and may allow cooling water supplied from the outside to be supplied into a passage formed between the plurality of plates 430.
The upper plate 410 may have a first cooling water passage hole 413 formed on the one upper side thereof, so that the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 may be supplied to the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430.
The cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 may pass through the first cooling water passage hole 413 and be supplied to the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430.
One lower side of the upper plate 410 may be connected to the cooling water discharge pipe 470, so that the cooling water passing through the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430 may be discharged to the outside.
At the one lower side of the upper plate 410, a second cooling water passage hole 414, so that the cooling water passing through the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430 may be supplied to the cooling water discharge pipe 470.
The cooling water that has passed through the second cooling water passage hole 414 may be supplied to the cooling water discharge pipe 470 and discharged to the outside.
The lower plate 420 may be located relatively lower than the upper plate 410.
The upper plate 410, the plurality of plates 430, and the lower plate 420 may be connected to each other.
The plurality of plates 430 may be provided between the upper plate 410 and the lower plate 420.
The plates 430 may be provided to be spaced apart from each other to form a passage through which the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 and the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 pass.
The plate 430 may have a third refrigerant passage hole 431 through which the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 passes, and a third cooling water passage hole 433 through which the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 passes.
The refrigerant supply pipe 440 may have one end thereof connected to the compressor 300 and the other end thereof connected to one upper side of the upper plate 410, so that the refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 300 is supplied to the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430.
The refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 300 may pass through the refrigerant supply pipe 440 and then pass through the first refrigerant passage hole 411 and be supplied to the passage formed between the plurality of plates 430.
The refrigerant discharge pipe 450 may have one end connected to the other upper side of the upper plate 410 and the other end connected to the expansion means 500, and may allow the refrigerant passing between the plates 430 to be supplied to the expansion means 500.
The refrigerant discharge pipe 450 may allow the refrigerant that has passed through the second refrigerant passage hole 412 to be supplied to the expansion means 500.
The refrigerant supply pipe 440 may be the transfer pipe 700 connecting the compressor 300 and the water-cooled condenser 400, and the refrigerant discharge pipe 450 may be the transfer pipe 700 connecting the expansion means 500 and the water-cooled condenser.
The cooling water supply pipe 460 may have one end connected to the other lower side of the upper plate 410 to allow cooling water supplied from the outside to be supplied between the plates 430.
The cooling water supply pipe 460 may be previously installed and have the other end connected to a water pipe through which tap water flows to receive the tap water from the water pipe and supply the supplied tap water as cooling water to the passage formed between the plates 430. The cooling water discharge pipe 470 may have one end connected to the above-mentioned water pipe and the other end connected to the upper plate 410, and may supply the tap water, which is cooling water that has passed through the passage formed between the plates 430 to the water pipe.
That is, the refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure uses tap water as cooling water, but allows the tap water used as the cooling water to be supplied back to the water pipe, thereby ensuring efficient cooling of the refrigerant without incurring additional costs.
The water-cooled condenser 400 is provided with the multiple plates 430 spaced apart from each other, and the inside of the water-cooled condenser 400 is partitioned by the plates 430. Thus, a refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 passes and a cooling water passage through which the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 passes may be formed separately from each other.
The refrigerant passage and the cooling water passage provided inside the water-cooled condenser 400 are separated from each other by the plates 430, but may be formed adjacent to each other, so that the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 and the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 may exchange heat with each other.
The water-cooled condenser 400 may supply the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 to the refrigerant passage, and supply the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 to the cooling water passage.
The plates 430 separate the refrigerant passage and the cooling water passage from each other, and may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity to enable heat exchange between the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant passage and the cooling water passing through the cooling water passage.
The plates 430 may have the third refrigerant passage hole 431 through which the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 440 and passing through the first refrigerant passage hole 411 passes, and may have a fourth refrigerant passage hole 432 through which the refrigerant that has passed through the refrigerant passage passes.
The third refrigerant passage hole 431 may be formed in the plates 430 to communicate with the first refrigerant passage hole 411.
The fourth refrigerant passage hole 432 may be formed in the plates 430 to communicate with the second refrigerant passage hole 412, and the refrigerant that has passed through the fourth refrigerant passage hole 432 may pass through the second refrigerant passage hole 412 and be discharged into the refrigerant discharge pipe 450.
The plates 430 may have the third cooling water passage hole 433 through which the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 460 and passes through the first cooling water passage hole 413, and may have a fourth cooling water passage hole 434 through which the cooling water that has passed the cooling water passage passes.
The third cooling water passage hole 433 may be formed in the plates 430 to communicate with the first cooling water passage hole 413.
The fourth cooling water passage hole 434 may be formed in the plates 430 to communicate with the second cooling water passage hole 414, and the cooling water that has passed the fourth cooling water passage hole 434 may pass through the second cooling water passage hole 414 and be discharged into the cooling water discharge pipe 470.
The expansion means 500 may be provided between the evaporator 200 and the water-cooled condenser 400, and may receive refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 and reduce the internal pressure of the refrigerant so that the refrigerant that has passed through the water-cooled condenser 400 may evaporate in the evaporator 200.
The expansion means 500 may allow the refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 to expand, thereby lowering the internal pressure of the refrigerant.
Refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 300 passes through the water-cooled condenser 400 and is liquefied, then passes through the expansion means 500 so that the internal pressure of the refrigerant decreases, and as the refrigerant travels through the evaporator 200, the refrigerant vaporizes by absorbing heat from the air in the storage space of the cabinet 100, thereby cooling the storage space of the cabinet 100.
The expansion means 500 may include the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520.
The first capillary tube 510 may be provided between the water-cooled condenser 400 and the first evaporator 210, and may allow the refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 to expand and reduce the internal pressure of the refrigerant, so that the refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 to the first evaporator 210 may evaporate in the first evaporator 210.
The second capillary tube 520 may be provided between the water-cooled condenser 400 and the second evaporator 220, and may allow the refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 to expand and reduce the internal pressure of the refrigerant, so that the refrigerant supplied from the water-cooled condenser 400 to the second evaporator 220 may evaporate in the second evaporator 220.
Refrigerant that has passed through the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520 may be supplied to the first evaporator 210 and the second evaporator 220. For this purpose, the first evaporator 210 and the first capillary tube 510 may be connected by the transfer pipe 700, and the second evaporator 220 and the second capillary tube 520 may be connected by the transfer pipe 700.
The branch valve 600 may be provided between the expansion means 500 and the water-cooled condenser 400 so that the refrigerant that has passed through the water-cooled condenser 400 may be branched and supplied to the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520.
The branch valve 600 may be provided between the first and second capillary tubes 510 and 520 and the water-cooled condenser 400, and may allow the refrigerant to be supplied separately to the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520.
The branch valve 600 may be connected to the water-cooled condenser 400 through the refrigerant discharge pipe 450, and connected to the first capillary tube 510 and the second capillary tube 520 through the transfer pipe 700. The refrigerant that passes through the branch valve 600 after being discharged from the water-cooled condenser 400 may be supplied to the first capillary tube 510 through the transfer pipe 700 connecting the first capillary tube 510 and the branch valve 600, and may be supplied to the second capillary tube 520 through the transfer pipe 700 connecting the second capillary tube 520 and the branch valve 600.
Meanwhile, moisture and impurities may be present in the refrigerant discharged from the water-cooled condenser 400.
The refrigerator using a water-cooled condenser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a filter dryer 800.
The filter dryer 800 may be provided between the water-cooled condenser 400 and the branch valve 600, and may remove moisture and impurities that may be present in the refrigerant discharged from the water-cooled condenser 400.
The filter dryer 800 may have one end connected to the water-cooled condenser 400 through the refrigerant discharge pipe 450 to remove moisture and impurities that may be present in the refrigerant discharged from the water-cooled condenser 400.
The filter dryer 800 may have the other end connected to the branch valve 600 through the transfer pipe 700, and the refrigerant that has passed through the filter dryer 800 may be supplied to the branch valve 600 through the transfer pipe 700.
A person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will understand that the present disclosure may be implemented in other specific forms without changing its technical Therefore, the embodiments described idea or essential features. above should be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the scope of the patent claims described later rather than the detailed description above, and all changes or modified forms derived from the scope of the patent claims and their equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2024-0001266 | Jan 2024 | KR | national |
