REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form one surface of the second storage compartment.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator configured to cool a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment respectively using a single evaporator.

2. Description of Related Art

A refrigerator is an apparatus configured to keep foods fresh by including a body having a storage compartment and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment. The storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment for refrigerating the food by being kept at about 0 to 5° C. and a freezing compartment for freezing the food by being kept at about 0 to −30° C.

The refrigerator may be classified according to the position of the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and the type of the door. That is, the refrigerator may be classified into a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the upper side and the freezing compartment is provided on the lower side, a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment is provided on the lower side and the freezing compartment is provided on the upper side, and a side by side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the freezing compartment is provided on the left side and the refrigerating compartment is provided on the right side. In addition, the BMF type refrigerator includes a French door refrigerator (FDR) type in which a refrigerating compartment doors configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment is provided in a pair and a 4-door type in which a refrigerating compartment door configured to open and close the refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment door configured to open and close the freezer are provided in a pair.

The refrigerator may be classified into a mono-cycle type and a twin-cycle type depending on the number of evaporators. In particular, in the mono-cycle type in which a single evaporator is provided, cold air generated from the evaporator is discharged to a refrigerating compartment to directly cool an inside of the refrigerating compartment, and then sucked back to a duct at a rear side and then moved to the evaporator and mixed with cold air that is sucked after cooling a freezing compartment. Air that is sucked from the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment is cooled again while passing through the evaporator, and then the cold air cools the inside of the refrigerator while circulating again. At this time, the cold air of the freezing compartment is mixed with the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and thus smell of food stored in the refrigerating compartment may be left on food stored in the freezing compartment. Further, it is difficult to make the humidity of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment different from each other.

The refrigerator is cooled by two evaporators and thus the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled by one evaporator, respectively. Therefore, a flow path of the refrigerating compartment and a flow path of the freezing compartment are not overlapped and the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are cooled independently of each other. Independent cooling may improve the freshness of food stored in the refrigerator, but material cost may be increased.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form one surface of the second storage compartment.

The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment.

The first blower fan configured to blow the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct.

The cooling plate may form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.

The cold air duct may further include a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate.

The cooling plate forms a rear surface of the second storage compartment, the cold air duct comprises a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate, the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the rear duct.

The refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.

The rear duct may include an inlet provided to supply the cold air to the rear portion of the cooling plate, and an outlet provided to discharge the cold air from the rear portion of the cooling plate.

The cooling plate may form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.

The cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment. Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path.

The second intermediate flow path may be disposed adjacent to the cooling plate and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.

The first blower fan may circulate the cold air in the first intermediate flow path, and the refrigerator may further include a second blower fan provided adjacent to the evaporator and connected to the second intermediate flow path so as to directly supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the second intermediate flow path.

The refrigerator may further include a controller configured to control a rotation of the first blower fan and the second blower fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.

The second intermediate flow path may include an inlet flow path provided to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate, and an outlet flow path provided to discharge the cold air from the one surface of the cooling plate.

The refrigerator may further include a circulation fan provided in the second storage compartment so as to circulate cold air that is generated by heat exchange between the second storage compartment and the cooling plate and placed in the second storage compartment.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air to be supplied to the first storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator to receive the cold air, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.

The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling plate.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet, a second storage compartment formed in the cabinet to be separated from the first storage compartment, an evaporator connected to the first storage compartment to supply cold air to the first storage compartment, an intermediate wall provided to define the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment, a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided inside the intermediate wall, and a cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air in the cold air duct and provided to form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.

The refrigerator may further include a first blower fan connected to the evaporator so as to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling chamber.

The cold air duct may include a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment. Cold air in the first intermediate flow path may exchange heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path. The second intermediate flow path and the cooling plate may be adjacent to each other and thus the cold air in the second intermediate flow path may exchange heat with the cooling plate.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described in the disclosure and configurations shown in the drawings are merely examples of the embodiments of the disclosure, and may be modified in various different ways at the time of filing of the present application to replace the embodiments and drawings of the disclosure.

In addition, the same reference numerals or signs shown in the drawings of the disclosure indicate elements or components performing substantially the same function.

Also, the terms used herein are used to describe the embodiments and are not intended to limit and/or restrict the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, the terms “including”, “having”, and the like are used to specify features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more of the features, elements, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, but elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, a first element may be termed as a second element, and a second element may be termed as a first element. The term of “and/or” includes a plurality of combinations of relevant items or any one item among a plurality of relevant items.

In the following detailed description, the terms of “front side”, “rear side”, “left side”, “right side” and the like may be defined by the drawings, but the shape and the location of the component is not limited by the term.

It is an aspect of the disclosure to provide a refrigerator capable of cooling a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment with a single evaporator without mixing cold air in the refrigerating compartment with cold air in the freezing compartment.

It is another aspect of the disclosure to provide a refrigerator with material cost that is reduced in comparison with a case in which a plurality of evaporators is provided.

The disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator 1 may include a body 10, a first storage compartment 50 and, a second storage compartment 60 provided under the first storage compartment 50, first door 31 and 32 configured to open and close the first storage compartment 50, second door 33 and 34 configured to open and close the second storage compartment 60, and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60.

The first storage compartment 50 may be a freezing compartment, and the second storage compartment 60 may be a refrigerating compartment. The first doors 31 and 32 may be freezing compartment doors and the second doors 33 and 34 may be refrigerating compartment doors. That is, the refrigerator 1 may be a top mounted freezer (TMF) type refrigerator including four doors.

However, the scope of the disclosure is applied to not only the TMF type refrigerator including four doors, but also a structure as long as including a storage compartment partitioned into on the upper and lower sides, regardless of the number and shape of the door. Further, the scope of the disclosure may be applied to a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type as well as the TMF type. In addition, the refrigerator may be a side-by-side (SBS) type refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50 are disposed left and right.

The body 10 may include an inner cabinet 11 forming the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60, an outer cabinet 12 coupled to the outside of the inner cabinet 11, and an insulating material provided between the inner cabinet 11 and the outer cabinet 12. The outer cabinet 12 may be formed of a metal material having good strength and aesthetics, and the inner cabinet 11 may be formed of a plastic material. The insulating material may be urethane foam insulation or vacuum insulation. The inner cabinet 11 may be referred to as a cabinet 11.

In another aspect, the body 10 has a substantially box shape with an open front surface, and the body 10 includes an upper wall 15, a bottom 16, a rear wall 17, left and right side walls, and an intermediate wall 18 provided to define the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60. The insulating material may be filled in empty spaces of the upper wall 15, the bottom 16, the rear wall 17, the left and right side walls, and the intermediate wall 18.

The freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 are storage compartments configured to store food, and may be classified according to usage and internal temperature. The refrigerating compartment 60 is a storage compartment configured to refrigerate and store food without freezing, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to 5° C. The freezing compartment 50 is a storage compartment configured to freeze and store food, and may be maintained at approximately 0 to −30° C.

Because a difference between a temperature of the freezing compartment 50 and a room temperature is greater than a difference between a temperature of the refrigerating compartment 60 and the room temperature, a thickness of the insulating material of the freezing compartment 50 may be greater than a thickness of the insulating material of the refrigerating compartment 60.

A size of the refrigerating compartment 60 may be greater than a size of the freezing compartment 50. In general, this is because an amount of food to be stored in the refrigerating compartment 60 is greater than an amount of food to be stored in the freezing compartment 50.

In the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60, shelves 51 and 61 provided to place food and a box 62 provided to store food in a sealed state may be provided.

The doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 may be hinged-coupled to the body 10 so as to be rotatable. Handles 31a, 32a, 33a, and 34a provided to be gripped to facilitate opening and closing of the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 may be provided on a front surface of the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34. The doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 may include insulating materials 31b and 32b for insulating the storage compartments 50 and 60. The doors 31 and 32 of the freezing compartment 50 may include an insulating material that is thicker than an insulating material of the refrigerating compartment 60.

The doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 may include door guards 35 and 36 provided on a rear surface thereof to store food. Gaskets 37 and 38 may be provided on the rear surface of the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 so as to be in close contact with the body 10 to seal the storage compartment.

The gaskets 37 and 38 may be formed of a rubber material, and may be provided on rear edges of the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34. A magnet may be provided inside the gaskets 37 and 38, and thus the body 10 and the doors 31, 32, 33, and 34 may be in close contact with each other by the magnetic force.

The refrigerator may include a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartments 50 and 60. The cold air supply device may include a compressor 25 installed in a machine room 24 to compress a refrigerant, a condenser (not shown) installed in the machine room 24 to condense the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve (not shown) configured to expand the refrigerant condensed by the condenser (not shown), an evaporator 41 installed at a rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 to generate cold air, a blower fan 90 configured to guide cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to be supplied to the storage compartments 50 and 60, and cold air ducts 70 and 100 configured to guide and discharge the cold air, which is guided by the blower fan 90, to the storage compartments 50 and 60.

The refrigerator may further include a cooling chamber 40. The cooling chamber 40 is provided at the rear of the storage compartments 50 and 60 and may accommodate the evaporator 41. In addition, in order to supply cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60, the cooling chamber 40 may be connected to the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 through the cold air ducts 70 and 100 described later.

The cold air ducts 70 and 100 may be provided at the rear of the storage compartment 20 to supply cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment 60 and the freezing compartment 50. The cooling chamber 40 may include the cold air ducts 70 and 100.

The cold air ducts 70 and 100 may include a refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 disposed at the rear of the refrigerating compartment 60 and a freezing compartment cold air duct 100 disposed at the rear of the freezing compartment 50.

The refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may be disposed in the rear side of the refrigerating compartment 60. The refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may be connected to the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 by a connection duct 80. A portion of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided to the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 by a first blower fan 91, which is to be described later, and discharged to the freezing compartment 50. The remaining portion of the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 may be guided from the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 by a second blower fan 93 to be described later. The cold air guided to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may exchange heat with the refrigerating compartment 60 through a cooling plate 140.

The first blower fan may supply cold air to the first storage compartment, and may supply cold air to the cold air duct on the cooling plate side through the connection duct. Accordingly, both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be efficiently cooled by using the single evaporator 41.

The cooling plate 140 may form one surface of the second storage compartment 60. In the drawing, it is formed on a rear surface. The cooling plate 140 may exchange heat with the cold air in the cold air duct 70 and directly cool the second storage compartment 60. Therefore, the cooling plate 140 may efficiently cool the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60.

The refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may form a rear flow path 70a to allow heat exchange to be performed between the cooling plate 140 and cold air. The rear flow path 70a may include an inlet flow path 72, an outlet flow path 74, and a U-shaped flow path 75 to be described later.

The refrigerator may further include a circulation fan 63. The circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to the front portion of the cooling plate 140. The circulation fan 63 may circulate the cold air, which is generated by heat exchange between the cooling plate 140 and the second storage compartment 60, in the second storage compartment 60 to the entire second storage compartment 60.

The cooling chamber 40 mentioned above is the first cooling chamber 40, and the refrigerator may include a second cooling chamber 64 provided in the second storage compartment 60. The circulation fan 63 may be provided in the second cooling chamber 64 to circulate cold air, in which heat is exchanged with the cooling plate 140, to the air of the inside of the second storage compartment 60.

The freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be disposed in the rear side of the freezing compartment 50. The freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be provided in front of the evaporator 41. The freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may be connected to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 through the connection duct 80.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the freezing compartment cold air duct 100 may include a first cold air duct 110 disposed in front of the evaporator 41, a second cold air duct 120 disposed in front of the first cold air duct 110, and a cold air duct cover 130 disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120. A first flow path P1 provided to guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to the freezing compartment 50 by the first blower fan 91 may be formed between the first cold air duct 110 and the second cold air duct 120.

The first cold air duct 110 may include a fan mounting portion 111 with a first blower fan mounting portion 112 to which the first blower fan 91 is mounted, a refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 provided to form a portion of a second flow path P2 provided to allow the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to be guided to the refrigerating compartment 60 by the first blower fan 91, a first guide portion 115 provided to form a remaining portion of the second flow path P2 by being connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114, and a cold air discharge portion 116 provided to connect the first guide portion 115 to the connection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P2 to be discharged to the connection duct 80.

The first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to the first flow path P1. Further, the first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is generated by the evaporator 41, to the second flow path P2.

The refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may form a portion of the second flow path P2 provided to guide the cold air generated by the evaporator 41 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70. The cold air generated in the evaporator 41 may be guided to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 by the first blower fan 91.

The first guide portion 115 may be provided in a lower portion of the first cold air duct 110 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114. The first guide portion 115 may be provided in a pair. The first guide portion 115 may be formed to protrude from the front surface of the first cold air duct 110 to the front side. The first guide portion 115 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path

P2 together with a second guide portion 123 of the second cold air duct 120 to be described below.

The cold air discharge portion 116 may be provided under the first guide portion 115. The cold air discharge portion 116 may connect the first guide portion 115 to the connection duct 80 so as to allow the cold air of the second flow path P2 to be discharged to the connection duct 80.

The second cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 provided to discharge the cold air of the first flow path P1 to the freezing compartment 50, and the second guide portion 123 provided to form the remaining portion of the second flow path P2 together with the first guide portion 115 of the first cold air duct 110.

The plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may discharge the cold air, which is guided to the first flow path P1 by the first blower fan 91, to the freezing compartment 50. The plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 formed in the cold air duct cover 130. The cold air guided to the first flow path P1 by the first blower fan 91 may be discharged to the freezing compartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131.

The second guide portion 123 may be provided in a lower portion of the second cold air duct 120 to be connected to the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 of the first cold air duct 110. The second guide portion 123 may be provided in a pair. The second guide portion 123 may be formed to protrude from the rear surface of the second cold air duct 120 to the rear side. The second guide portion 123 may form the remaining portion of the second flow path P2 together with the first guide portion 115 of the first cold air duct 110. That is, the second flow path P2 may be formed by the refrigerating compartment guide duct 114, the first guide portion 115 and the second guide portion 123.

The cold air duct cover 130 may be disposed in front of the second cold air duct 120. The cold air duct cover 130 may include the plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131. The plurality of second freezing compartment discharge holes 131 may be provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first freezing compartment discharge holes 121 of the second cold air duct 120. Accordingly, the cold air, which is generated from the evaporator 41 and guided to the first flow path P1 by the first blower fan 91, may be discharged to the inside of the freezing compartment 50 through the plurality of first freezing discharge holes 121 and the plurality of second freezing discharge holes 131.

The second cold air duct 120 may include a plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 provided to suck cold air from the freezing compartment and discharge the cold air from the second flow path P2 to the refrigerating compartment. The cold air introduced through the first freezing compartment suction hole may be supplied to the refrigerating compartment through the second flow path.

The plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 may be formed at positions corresponding to a plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132 formed in the cold air duct cover 130. The cold air guided to the freezing compartment by the first blower fan 91 may be discharged to the second flow path P2 through the plurality of first freezing compartment suction holes 122 and the plurality of second freezing compartment suction holes 132.

The refrigerator may include a flow control device 150 provided in the connection duct 80. The flow control device 150 may be configured with a damper 150. The flow control device 150 may regulate the air supplied from the blower fan 90 to the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 to allow the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 to be controlled at respective set temperatures. The flow control device 150 may be controlled by a controller 200 to be described later.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include three modes in which a temperature is varied.

In a first mode, the first blower fan 91 may cool the first storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41, to the first flow path P1. In addition, the first blower fan 91 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, to the second flow path P2 so as to flow to the cooling plate 140. Because the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of the refrigerating compartment 60, in the first mode, both the freezing compartment 50 and the refrigerating compartment 60 may be cooled using the first blower fan 91 and the single evaporator 41.

In a second mode, the first blower fan 91 may cool only the first storage compartment 50. At this time, the cold air, which is introduced into the first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, may flow to the second flow path P2. However, because the flow control device 150 in the connection duct 80 blocks a flow of air, the cold air may not be transmitted to the cooling plate 140.

In a third mode, the first blower fan 91 may cool only the first storage compartment 50 in the same as the second mode. Therefore, the first storage compartment 50 may be used at a temperature that is higher than a usual freezing compartment temperature by controlling a rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 by the controller 200 described later. That is, it is possible to allow the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 to be similar with a usual refrigerating compartment temperature.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a freezing compartment cold air duct of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 when viewed from a different angle.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a blower fan 90 may further include a second blower fan 93.

A refrigerating compartment guide duct 114 may be formed to allow cold air generated from an evaporator 41 to flow through the second blower fan 93.

A blower fan mounting portion 111 may further include a second blower fan mounting portion 113 to which the second blower fan 93 is mounted. The second blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41, to a second flow path P2.

A refrigerator according to another embodiment of the disclosure may include five modes in which a temperature is varied.

In a first mode, a first blower fan 91 may cool a first storage compartment 50 by guiding the cold air, which is generated in the evaporator 41, to a first flow path P1. In addition, the second blower fan 93 may guide the cold air, which is introduced into first and second freezing compartment suction holes 122 and 132, to the second flow path P2 so as to flow to a cooling plate 140. Because the cooling plate 140 forms one surface of a second storage compartment 60, in the first mode, both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be cooled using the first blower fan 91, the second blower fan 93 and the single evaporator 41. At this time, because the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140, only the first storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment.

In a second mode, only the first storage compartment 50 may be cooled at a freezing compartment temperature by using the first blower fan 91 and the flow rate control device 150, as described above.

In a third mode, as described above, the first storage compartment may be used at a temperature higher than the temperature of the freezing compartment by allowing the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 to be slow. That is, the first storage compartment may be used at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because the flow control device 150 formed in the connection duct 80 prevents cold air from flowing to the cooling plate 140, only the first storage compartment 50 may be used like a refrigerating compartment.

In a fourth mode, both the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be used at a higher temperature than the freezing compartment by using only the first blower fan 91. That is, the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 may be cooled at the temperature of the refrigerating compartment. At this time, because the flow rate control device 150 is opened to allow cold air to flow to the cooling plate 140, the second storage compartment 60 may also be cooled.

In a fifth mode, only the refrigerating compartment may be cooled. The first blower fan 91 does not operate and only the second blower fan 93 operates, and thus the cold air generated in the evaporator 41 may be guided to the second flow path P2 to cool the second storage compartment 60. That is, because the first blower fan 91 is not used, it is possible to cool only the second storage compartment 60 using the second blower fan 93 without cooling of the first storage compartment 50.

The second blower fan 93 may supply cold air to the cold air duct 70 at the rear of the second storage compartment 60 to allow the cold air to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cooling plate and a rear duct in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the refrigerating compartment cold air duct 70 may include a rear duct 70. That is, the refrigerator may include the rear duct 70 provided at the rear of the cooling plate 140 and provided to allow cold air, which passes through the connection duct 80, to flow. The rear duct 70 may be formed to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140.

The rear duct 70 may include an inlet 71 through which cold air is introduced to allow the cold air of the rear duct 70 to exchange heat with the cooling plate 140, and an outlet 73 provided to allow air, in which heat is exchanged, to return to the evaporator.

As the cooling plate 140 is coupled to the rear duct 70, the inlet 71, the outlet 73, the inlet flow path 72, and the outlet flow path 74 may be formed, respectively. The cold air may enter the inlet 71, exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet flow path 72, and then discharged to one or more outlets 73 through the U-shaped flow path 75 and the outlet flow path 74 in sequence. The number of outlets 73 is not limited to two shown in the drawing, and thus may be one or two or more.

The inlet flow path 72 may include a step 72a provided closer to the cooling plate 140 than the inlet 71. It is to make heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 more smooth.

The cooling plate 140 may include a metal plate. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and other materials may be included as long as smoothly performing heat exchange with the second storage compartment 60 to perform cooling.

Although not shown in FIG. 6, a circulation fan 63 may be mounted adjacent to a front portion of the cooling plate 140.

The cooling plate 140 may include a square 141 on a surface. The square 141 may be formed to enlarge a heat transfer area of the second storage compartment 60 and the cooling plate 140. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a guide (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the cooling plate 140 in accordance with a flow direction of the circulation fan 63 in order to increase a heat transfer amount by increasing the heat transfer area and increasing a convective heat transfer coefficient.

The cooling plate 140 may include brackets 142 provided on opposite side surfaces of a front portion where the square 141 is formed. The bracket 142 may be coupled to the rear duct 70 to form a flow path 70a through which cold air passes.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, a cooling plate 140 may form an upper surface of a second storage compartment 60. The cooling plate 140 may cool the second storage compartment 60 by exchanging heat with cold air in a second intermediate flow path 180 to be described later. Redundant configurations such as doors are omitted. Based on the cooling plate 140 being disposed on the upper surface of the second storage compartment 60, heat loss to the rear surface may be reduced.

A refrigerator 1 may include a first intermediate flow path 160, a first intermediate duct 170, the second intermediate flow path 180, and a second intermediate duct 190. The first intermediate flow path 160 may be a flow path through which cold air generated in an evaporator 41 circulates through the first storage compartment 50 by a first blower fan 91 and returns to the evaporator 41. The first intermediate duct 170 may be formed in an intermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the first intermediate flow path 160 through which cold air flows from a first storage compartment 50 to the evaporator 41. The second intermediate flow path 180 may allow cold air generated in the evaporator 41 to flow to the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 by a second blower fan 93 and then flow back to the evaporator 41. The second intermediate duct 190 may be formed in the intermediate wall 18 and may form a portion of the second intermediate flow path 180 through which cold air flows from the upper surface of the cooling plate 140 and return to the evaporator 41.

The cold air in the first intermediate duct 170 and the cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may exchange heat with each other. The cold air in the second intermediate duct 190 may heat exchange with the cooling plate 140 to cool the second storage compartment 60. Therefore, the cold air in the first intermediate flow path 160 and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with each other. The cold air in the second intermediate flow path 180 may exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 to cool the second storage compartment 60.

The circulation fan 63 may be disposed in a second cooling chamber 64. The cold air of the second storage compartment 60 cooled by the cooling plate 140 may be circulated in the entire second storage compartment 60 by the circulation fan 63. That is, the circulation fan 63 may allow cold air to circulate along a refrigerating compartment flow path 65.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a part of an intermediate wall in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 8, in the second intermediate flow path 180, an inlet flow path 161 and an outlet flow path 162 may be formed for heat exchange with the cooling plate 140. The cold air may exchange heat with the cooling plate 140 through the inlet flow path 161 and then be discharged through the U-shaped flow path 164 and the outlet flow path 162 in sequence. Due to the shape of the flow path, it is possible to smoothly exchange heat with the cooling plate 140. The number of outlet flow path 162 is not limited to two shown in the drawings, but may be one or two or more.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control flow according to embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the refrigerator may further include a temperature input device 210 and the controller 200.

In response to that a user sets a desired temperature of the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60, the controller 200 may adjust the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 by controlling the first blower fan 91, the second blower fan 93, and the flow control device 150. Therefore, the three modes or five modes mentioned above may be possible.

For example, in an embodiment or another embodiment of the disclosure, in response to that a user sets the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 to be low, the controller 200 may lower the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 by allowing the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 to be increased. Further, in response to that a user sets the temperature of the second storage compartment 60 to be low, the controller 200 may control the temperature of the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 by allowing both or one of the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91 and the rotational speed of the second blower fan 93 to be increased. The controller 200 may allow the temperature difference between the first storage compartment 50 and the second storage compartment 60 to be large by controlling the flow control device 150. In this case, even when the first blower fan 91 is rotated rapidly, the flow control device 150 may block cold air in the connection duct 80, thereby preventing the second storage compartment 60 from being cooled.

In still another embodiment of the disclosure, in response to the increase of the rotational speed of the first blower fan 91, the controller 200 may maintain only the first storage compartment 50 at a low temperature. In response to the increase of the rotational speed of the second blower fan 93, the controller 200 may maintain the second storage compartment 60 at a temperature similar to the temperature of the freezing compartment 50.

As is apparent from the above description, the refrigerator may cool the refrigerating compartment by using the cooling plate without cold air leaking to the refrigerating compartment, thereby preventing the cold air of the refrigerating compartment and the cold air of the freezing compartment from being mixed with each other.

The refrigerator may reduce material cost because a single evaporator is used.

Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet;a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet;a second storage compartment formed separate from the first storage compartment in the cabinet;a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air generated to be supplied to the first storage compartment;a cold air duct connected to the cooling chamber which includes the evaporator to receive the cold air generated by the evaporator; anda cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air received in the cold air duct and to form one surface of the second storage compartment.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the fan is configured to blow the cold air toward the cooling plate through the cold air duct.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the one surface of the second storage compartment formed by the cooling plate is a rear surface of the second storage compartment.

5. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the cold air duct further comprises a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate.

6. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the fan is a first fan, the one surface of the second storage compartment formed by the cooling plate is a rear surface of the second storage compartment,the cold air duct comprises a rear duct formed on a rear portion of the cooling plate to exchange heat with the cooling plate,wherein the refrigerator further comprises a second fan connected to the evaporator and the rear duct to supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the rear duct.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, further comprising: a controller configured to control a rotation of the first fan and the second fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.

8. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the rear duct comprises an inlet provided to supply the cold air to the rear portion of the cooling plate, and an outlet provided to discharge the cold air from the rear portion of the cooling plate.

9. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the one surface of the second storage compartment formed by the cooling plate is an upper surface of the second storage compartment.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein the cold air duct comprises a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment,wherein cold air in the first intermediate flow path exchanges heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the second intermediate flow path is disposed adjacent to the cooling plate and the cold air in the second intermediate flow path exchanges heat with the cooling plate.

12. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the fan is a first fan and the first fan circulates the cold air in the first intermediate flow path, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a second blower fan provided adjacent to the evaporator and connected to the second intermediate flow path so as to directly supply the cold air generated by the evaporator to the second intermediate flow path.

13. The refrigerator of claim 12, further comprising: a controller configured to control a rotation of the first fan and the second fan according to a set temperature of the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment.

14. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the second intermediate flow path comprises an inlet flow path provided to supply the cold air to one surface of the cooling plate, and an outlet flow path provided to discharge the cold air from the one surface of the cooling plate.

15. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a fan provided in the second storage compartment so as to circulate cold air that is generated by heat exchange between the second storage compartment and the cooling plate and placed in the second storage compartment.

16. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet;a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet;a second storage compartment formed separate from the first storage compartment in the cabinet;a cooling chamber including an evaporator configured to generate cold air, the cooling chamber connected to the first storage compartment to allow the cold air generated to be supplied to the first storage compartment;a cold air duct connected to the cooling chamber which includes the evaporator to receive the cold air generated by the evaporator; anda cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air received in the cold air duct and to form a rear surface of the second storage compartment.

17. The refrigerator of claim 16, further comprising: a fan provided in the cooling chamber and configured to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and the cooling plate.

18. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet;a first storage compartment formed in the cabinet;a second storage compartment formed separate from the first storage compartment in the cabinet;an evaporator connected to the first storage compartment to supply cold air to the first storage compartment;an intermediate wall provided to define the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment;a cold air duct connected to the evaporator and provided inside the intermediate wall; anda cooling plate configured to exchange heat with cold air received in the cold air duct and to form an upper surface of the second storage compartment.

19. The refrigerator of claim 18, further comprising: a fan connected to the evaporator so as to supply the cold air to the first storage compartment and a cooling chamber which includes the evaporator.

20. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein, the cold air duct comprises: a first intermediate flow path provided to allow the cold air to circulate in the first storage compartment, and a second intermediate flow path provided adjacent to the second storage compartment,wherein cold air in the first intermediate flow path exchanges heat with cold air in the second intermediate flow path,wherein the second intermediate flow path and the cooling plate are adjacent to each other such that the cold air in the second intermediate flow path exchanges heat with the cooling plate.