The present invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, and in particular, to a refrigerator with an improved evaporator installation structure.
In the existing refrigerator, an evaporator is generally located at the rear part of a bottommost storage space, which reduces the front-rear direction volume of the storage space, limits the depth of the storage space, and makes the storage space inconvenient to place articles that are large and difficult to separate.
In view of the above problems, an objective of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that overcomes the above problems or at least partially solves the above problems.
A further objective of the present invention is to simplify the installation structure of an evaporator.
The present invention provides a refrigerator, including:
Optionally, the limit structures are ribs integrally formed with the storage liner.
Optionally, the limit structure at the front part of the evaporator includes: at least one first rib extending in the left-right direction; and
Optionally, the evaporator includes:
Optionally, the first extension portion is formed by extending downward from the front side of the cover body; and
Optionally, the evaporator further includes an upper cover plate arranged above the main body part, and at least two mounting holes arranged at intervals are formed on a front part of the upper cover plate;
Optionally, the storage liner further includes protrusions formed between left and right side walls and the bottom wall, and front end surfaces of the two protrusions are provided with at least one mounting hole respectively;
Optionally, the refrigerator further includes:
Optionally, the refrigerator further includes:
Optionally, the return air frame includes a first flow guide inclined section extending backward and upward from an upper end of the front wall surface of the return air frame, and a second flow guide inclined section extending backward and downward from a position near a lower end of the front wall surface of the return air frame;
The bottommost space of the refrigerator of the present invention is a cooling space, which increases the height of the storage space above the cooling space, reduces user's bending when picking and placing articles in the storage space, and improves user experience; in addition, the evaporator is placed on the bottom wall of the storage liner, and the bottom wall is provided with a limit structure at the front part and rear part of the evaporator respectively, thereby realizing the front and rear limits of the evaporator with a simple and ingenious structure.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, ribs integrally formed with the storage liner are used as the limit structures, which hardly affects the manufacturing process of the refrigerator and does not require additional steps of setting the limit structures.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the evaporator is fixed with the top cover, which realizes the front and rear, left and right limits of the evaporator; and preferably, the top cover is also fixed with the storage liner to further enhance the fixation of the evaporator in the cooling space.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the top cover and the air supply duct have specially designed structures, which avoids the falling of the air supply duct under external force, so that the installation of the air supply duct is more stable, and the refrigeration effect of the refrigerator can thus be ensured during the operation.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, two return air inlets distributed up and down are formed on the front side of the return air hood, which is not only visually attractive, but also can effectively prevent children's fingers or foreign objects from entering the cooling space; and two return air areas distributed up and down can make the return air flow through the evaporator more uniformly after entering the cooling space, which can avoid the problem of easy frosting on the front end surface of the evaporator to a certain extent, improve the heat exchange efficiency, extend the defrosting cycle, save energy and achieve high efficiency.
Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and those skilled in the art will better understand the above and other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention.
Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary rather than restrictive manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like or similar components or parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:
This embodiment provides a refrigerator 100. The refrigerator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
Particularly, in this embodiment, the refrigerator 100 further includes a top cover 103, which is arranged to divide the bottommost storage liner 130 into a storage space 132 at the upper part and a cooling space at the lower part, and the evaporator 101 is arranged in the cooling space. As shown in
In a traditional refrigerator 100, the bottommost space of the refrigerator 100 is generally a storage space. Because the storage space is at a relatively low position, a user needs to bend over or squat down to pick and place articles in the bottommost storage space, which is inconvenient for users, especially the elderly to use. In addition, because an evaporator occupies the rear area of the bottommost storage space, the depth of the bottommost storage space is reduced. Moreover, because a compressor chamber is generally located at the rear part of the bottommost storage space, the bottommost storage space inevitably has to give way to the compressor chamber, resulting in an abnormal shape of the bottommost storage space, which is inconvenient for the storage of articles that are large and difficult to separate. In the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, the bottommost space of the refrigerator 100 is a cooling space, which increases the height of the storage space 132 above the cooling space, reduces user's bending when picking and placing articles in the storage space 132, and improves user experience. In addition, the depth of the storage space 132 is ensured; and the compressor chamber can be located at the lower rear part of the storage space 132, and the storage space 132 no longer needs to give way to the compressor chamber, thus presenting a large and regular rectangular space, which facilitates the placement of articles that are large and difficult to separate, and can solve the pain point of not being able to place large articles in the storage space 132.
The evaporator 101 cools an airflow entering the cooling space to form a cooling airflow. At least part of the cooling airflow is delivered to the storage space 132 through an air supply duct 141. The air supply duct 141 may be arranged on the inner side of the rear wall of the storage liner 130 and connected to the cooling space. The air supply duct 141 is provided with a plurality of air supply outlets communicated with the storage space 132.
The refrigerator 100 further includes a variable-temperature air duct (not shown) that delivers the cooling airflow to the variable-temperature space. The variable-temperature air duct can be controlled to connect the air supply duct 141 through a variable-temperature air door (not shown), so as to guide part of the cooling airflow in the air supply duct 141 into the variable-temperature air duct. The refrigerator 100 may further include a refrigeration air duct (not shown) that delivers the cooling airflow to the refrigeration space. The refrigeration air duct can be controlled to connect the air supply duct 141 through a refrigeration air door, so as to guide part of the cooling airflow in the air supply duct 141 into the refrigeration air duct. In some alternative embodiments, another evaporator may be arranged in the refrigeration liner 120 to cool the refrigeration space 121 by means of air cooling or direct cooling, so as to form a refrigerator 100 with a dual refrigeration system to prevent odor crossing between the storage space 132 and the refrigeration space 121.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the limit structures 200 are ribs integrally formed with the storage liner 130. The limit structures 200 may be formed by adding limit members to the bottom wall 130b, and preferably, the limit structures 200 are formed by ribs integrally formed with the storage liner 130, which hardly affects the manufacturing process of the refrigerator and does not require additional steps of setting the limit structures 200. As shown in
As shown in
The lower cover plate 112 is arranged at the lower part of the main body part 110, and includes a cover body 112a, a first extension portion 112b and a second extension portion 112c. The cover body 112a is attached to the main body part 110. Four corners of the cover body are provided with fixing holes 112d, and the middle part of the cover body is provided with a plurality of drainage holes 112e. The first extension portion 112b is formed by extending downward from the front side of the cover body 112a, and the second extension portion 112c is formed by extending upward from the rear side of the cover body 112a. As shown in
The upper cover plate 111 is arranged above the main body part 110, and two mounting holes 111a in spaced arrangement are formed on the left and right sides of the front part of the upper cover plate. As shown in
The left end plate 113 is substantially U-shaped, and has a fixed portion 113a, a front end portion 113b, and an extension portion 113c connected in sequence. The fixed portion 113a is in a shape similar to the fins 110a, in contact with the main body part 110, and provided with fixing holes 113d. The front end portion 113b is formed by extending leftward from the fixed portion 113a, and the extension portion 113c is formed by extending backward from the front end portion 113b. A space among the fixed portion 113a, the front end portion 113b and the extension portion 113c is used to provide a return air pipe connecting pipeline. The fixing holes 113d of the left end plate 113, the fixing holes 111b of the upper cover plate 111, and the fixing holes 112d of the lower cover plate 112 are fixed by screws to realize the assembly of the left end plate 113.
The right end plate 114 is substantially U-shaped, and has a fixed portion 114a, a front end portion 114b and an extension portion 114c connected in sequence. The fixed portion 114a is in a shape similar to the fins 110a, in contact with the main body part 110, and provided with fixing holes 114d. The front end portion 114b is formed by extending leftward from the fixed portion 114a, and the extension portion 114c is formed by extending backward from the front end portion 114b. The fixing holes 114d of the right end plate 114, the fixing holes 111b of the upper cover plate 111, and the fixing holes 112d of the lower cover plate 112 are fixed by screws to realize the assembly of the right end plate 114.
As shown in
When installing, the evaporator 101 is first placed on the bottom wall 130b of the storage liner 130, and limited on the front and rear by means of the first rib 201 and the second ribs 202; then, the top cover 103 is buckled on the evaporator 101, the positioning pins 301 are inserted into the mounting holes 111a of the upper cover plate 111 of the evaporator 101 to limit the left and right, front and rear positions; and finally, the top cover 103 is fixed to the protrusions 130c on both sides by screws to further fix the evaporator 101 while limiting the air supply duct 141.
Further in particular, as shown in
As shown in
Further in particular, the bearing portion 141b extends obliquely downward from back to front, the upper end surface of the supporting portion 103b includes a first inclined section 103b1 extending obliquely downward from back to front, and the condensate water can flow forward and downward along the inclined surface of the bearing portion 141b and the inclined surface of the first inclined section 103b1 to the top cover body 103a. The front end surface of the supporting portion 103b may include a vertical section 103b2 extending vertically, the vertical section 103b2 is connected to the first inclined section 103b1 through a first transition section, and the vertical section 103b2 guides the condensate water sliding off along the first inclined section 103b1 to the top cover body 103a.
As shown in
A positioning protrusion 103c protruding backward is formed at the rear end of the top cover 103, and a positioning groove (not shown) corresponding to and adapted to the positioning protrusion 103c in a one-to-one manner is formed on the rear wall of the storage liner 130. Two positioning protrusions 103c may be formed, and the two positioning protrusions 103c are near two lateral sides of the rear end of the top cover 103 respectively, and are both located below the supporting portion 103b. Accordingly, the top cover 103 is assembled on the storage liner 130.
In some embodiments, as shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, each return air hood 102 includes a return air frame 1021 on the front side and a return air rear cover 1022. The front wall surface of the return air frame 1021 is provided with a first opening 102c, and the rear end of the return air frame is open. The return air rear cover 1022 is inserted into the return air frame 1021 from an open position at the rear end of the return air frame 1021, and is arranged to divide the first opening 102c into a first front return air inlet 102b at the upper part and a second front return air inlet 102a at the lower part, to facilitate return air in the storage space 132 flowing back to the cooling space through the first front return air inlet 102b and the second front return air inlet 102a to be cooled by the evaporator 101, thereby forming air circulation between the storage space 132 and the cooling space. In this embodiment, two return air inlets (the first front return air inlet 102b and the second front return air inlet 102a) distributed up and down are formed on the front side of the return air hood 102, which is not only visually attractive, but also can effectively prevent children's fingers or foreign objects from entering the cooling space; and two return air areas distributed up and down can make the return air flow through the evaporator 101 more uniformly after entering the cooling space, which can avoid the problem of easy frosting on the front end surface of the evaporator 101 to a certain extent, improve the heat exchange efficiency, extend the defrosting cycle, save energy and achieve high efficiency.
The return air rear cover 1022 includes a first shielding portion 1022e extending backward and upward to the front end of the top cover 103, the first shielding portion 1022e is configured to shield the section of the upper surface of the evaporator 101 that is not shielded by the top cover 103, and the first shielding portion 1022e is spaced from the upper surface of the evaporator 101, so that return air can enter the evaporator 101 from the vent holes 111c at the upper part of the evaporator 101.
In addition, a space between the top cover 103 and the upper surface of the evaporator 101 opposite to the top cover is filled with an air shield foam. This ensures that even when a front end surface of the evaporator 101 is frosted, return air still enters the evaporator 101 to exchange heat with it, thereby ensuring the refrigeration effect of the evaporator 101, solving the problem of reduction in the refrigeration effect due to frosting on the front end surface of the evaporator 101 in the existing refrigerator 100, and improving the refrigeration performance of the refrigerator 100.
Generally, there are two return air hoods 102, and the two return air hoods 102 are distributed transversely with a spacing therebetween. A vertical beam is arranged between the two return air hoods 102, and the vertical beam extends vertically upward to the top wall of the storage liner 130 to separate the front side of the storage liner 130 into two transversely distributed areas. Two side-by-side doors (not shown) may be arranged on the front side of the storage liner 130, and the two doors are respectively used for opening and closing the two areas separated by the vertical beam.
Further in particular, as shown in
The first flow guide inclined section 1021a, the third flow guide inclined section 1022a, and the fourth flow guide inclined section 1022b confine a first return air duct (not numbered) behind the first front return air inlet 102b, and the third flow guide inclined section 1022a is provided with the second openings 102d. Return air entering from the first front return air inlet 102b enters the cooling space via the first return air duct and the second openings 102d, and enters the evaporator 101 from the upper section of the evaporator 101 to exchange heat with the evaporator 101. The second openings 102d are in the shape of vertical bars, and the plurality of second openings 102d are sequentially distributed in the transverse direction to disperse the return air, so that the return air enters the upper section of the evaporator 101 more uniformly. The second flow guide inclined section 1021c and the sixth flow guide inclined section 1022d confine a second return air duct (not numbered) behind the second front return air inlet 102a. Return air entering from the second front return air inlet 102a enters the cooling space via the second return air duct, and enters the evaporator 101 from the lower section of the evaporator 101 to exchange heat with the evaporator 101. The return air enters the cooling space through the upper and lower return air ducts, so that the return air passes through the evaporator 101 more uniformly, to improve the heat exchange efficiency. In addition, the design of each inclined section of the return air frame 1021 and the design of each inclined section of the return air rear cover 1022 guide the condensate water condensed on the return air hood 102 to facilitate drainage.
The sixth flow guide inclined section 1022d may be provided with a plurality of third openings (not shown) sequentially distributed in the transverse direction. The return air passing through the second return air duct is shunted by the respective third openings and then enters the cooling space, so that the return air enters the lower section of the evaporator 101 more uniformly. The sixth flow guide inclined section 1022d is provided with two mounting portions distributed transversely with a spacing therebetween. Correspondingly, the second flow guide inclined section 1021c of the return air frame 1021 is provided with mating portions mating the corresponding mounting portions to assemble the return air frame 1021 and the return air rear cover 1022.
The first shielding portion 1022e extends backward and upward from the third flow guide inclined section 1022a to the front end of the top cover 103, and the first shielding portion 1022e is spaced from the upper surface of the evaporator 101 to form an air flow bypass communicated with the second openings 102d. At least part of the return air entering through the second openings 102d can enter the evaporator 101 from the vent holes 111c at the upper part of the evaporator 101 via the air flow bypass. In addition, the space between the top cover 103 and the upper surface of the evaporator 101 opposite to the top cover is filled with the air shield foam. That is, the rear part of the air flow bypass is filled with the air shield foam, so that the return air passing through the air flow bypass all flows into the evaporator 101. This ensures that even when the front end surface of the evaporator 101 is frosted, return air still enters the evaporator 101 to exchange heat with it, thereby ensuring the refrigeration effect of the evaporator 101, solving the problem of reduction in the refrigeration effect due to frosting on the front end surface of the evaporator 101 in the existing refrigerator 100, and improving the refrigeration performance of the refrigerator 100.
The return air frame 1021 further includes a second shielding portion 1021b bent and extending backward and upward from the first flow guide inclined section 1021a to the top cover 103. The second shielding portion 1021b completely shields the first shielding portion 1022e to maintain the attractive appearance of the return air hood 102. Further in particular, the junction of the fourth flow guide inclined section 1022b and the fifth flow guide inclined section 1022c is located below the first flow guide inclined section 1021a. Condensate water formed in the return air frame 1021 drips right down to the junction of the fourth flow guide inclined section 1022b and the fifth flow guide inclined section 1022c below (that is, the corner between the fourth flow guide inclined section 1022b and the fifth flow guide inclined section 1022c) along the inclined surface of the first flow guide inclined section 1021a, and then drips to the second flow guide inclined section 1021c along the inclined surface of the fifth flow guide inclined section 1022c, and flows to the lower part of the evaporator 101. A water receiving area is generally provided under the evaporator 101, and the water receiving area is provided with a water outlet to drain the condensate water. In this way, the condensate water formed on the return air hood 102 is guided and drained, so as to avoid the sound of water droplets perceivable by human ears, and improve the user experience. The condensate water formed on the return air hood 102 is guided by the respective inclined sections of the return air frame 1021 and the return air rear cover 1022, flows along the front flow guide inclined section 133 to the horizontal straight section 134, and is finally drained by the water outlet 136.
So far, those skilled in the art should realize that although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications that conform to the principle of the present invention may still be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and deemed to cover all these other variations or modifications.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201910866595.1 | Sep 2019 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/642,315, filed Mar. 11, 2022, which is a national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/114255, filed Sep. 9, 2020, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201910866595.1, filed Sep. 12, 2019, which are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17642315 | Mar 2022 | US |
Child | 19016194 | US |