REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

A refrigerator supplies cool air generated by a cooler to a plurality of storage compartments by cooling fan (27). Cooling fan (27) is formed of multi-blade fan (27a) which blows cool air in a circumferential direction. Guide case (33) of cooling fan (27) has discharge opening portion (35) which supplies cool air to the plurality of storage compartments at one portion.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator preferably used for preservation of wines or the like, and more particularly to a refrigerator such as a wine cellar that is preferably used in a state that the wine cellar is built in an integrated kitchen configuration or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, it is often the case where a refrigerator used for storing and preserving wine bottles and cans, for example, a wine cellar is used in a state that the wine cellar is built in an integrated kitchen configuration or the like.

Although depending on kinds of wines which are preserved in the wine cellars, that is, white wine, red wine and the like, it is considered preferable to preserve wines in such a wine cellar at a temperature of approximately 14° C. to 18° C. inclusive, and a temperature suitable for drinking is 7° C. to 9° C. inclusive.

Accordingly, among wine cellars for preserving wine bottles, there is a wine cellar having a plurality of storage compartments which differ from each other in preservation temperature zone. This type of wine cellar is configured such that cool air cooled by a cooling compartment in a cooling compartment disposed on a body back portion is supplied to respective storage compartments by a cooling fan so that wines stored in the respective storage compartments are cooled and preserved at predetermined temperatures (for example, see PTL 1).

FIG. 16 shows a conventional wine cellar described in PTL 1. Conventional wine cellar 100 shown in FIG. 16 is an electronic cooling type wine cellar, and wine cellar 100 has a plurality of storage compartments 102, 103 in body 101. Such conventional wine cellar 100 is configured such that cool air is generated by coolers in cooling compartments 104 disposed on back surface portions of storage compartments 102, 103, and the generated cool air is supplied to storage compartments 102, 103 by cooling fans 106 so that storage compartments 102, 103 are respectively cooled.

Since conventional wine cellar 100 has the plurality of storage compartments 102, 103 which differ from each other in preservation temperature zone, such conventional wine cellar 100 has an advantage that wine cellar 100 is user friendly. However, conventional wine cellar 100 requires a plurality of coolers and a plurality of cooling fans 106 corresponding to storage compartments 102, 103 and hence, wine cellar 100 becomes expensive. Further, a propeller fan which supplies air frontward is used as cooling fan 106 and hence, it is necessary to provide an air passage portion extending frontward from a discharge port of cooling fan 106. Accordingly, in the wine cellar, a dimension of cooling compartment 104 in a front-back direction is increased. On the other hand, in an under-counter-type wine cellar which is built in an integrated kitchen configuration and where a depth dimension is restricted, storage compartments 102, 103 having small depth dimensions are required. Accordingly, such wine cellar has a drawback that a storage capacity of the wine cellar becomes small relative to a dimension of an external profile of the body.

To overcome such a drawback, the configuration is considered where one cooler is used and cool air generated by the cooler is supplied to respective storage compartments in a distributed manner, and a cooling fan is formed using a multi-blade fan which can supply air in a circumferential direction and can reduce its dimension in a front-back direction (for example, see PTL 2).

FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B show a cool air supply configuration of a conventional refrigerator described in PTL 2. Although conventional refrigerator 200 described in PTL 2 is not like a wine cellar, the number of coolers used in refrigerator 200 is one. Cooling fan 206 is formed using a multi-blade fan which can supply air in a circumferential direction and can reduce its dimension in the front-back direction compared to a propeller fan which supplies air frontward. Further, discharge ports 207, 208 are disposed on and along left and right side walls of a fan casing of the multi-blade fan. Ducts 209, 210 which communicate with the respective storage compartments are connected to discharge ports 207, 208 respectively.

With the use of the cool air supply configuration described in PTL 2, the plurality of storage compartments can be cooled by one cooler. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a refrigerator at a low cost. Further, with the use of the multi-blade fan, a dimension in a front-back direction of a cooling compartment portion can be reduced and hence, a storage capacity of the storage compartment can be increased by an amount of reduction in dimension of the cooling compartment portion.

However, in the conventional cool air supply configuration described in PTL 2, it is necessary to provide the plurality of discharge ports 207, 208 to cooling fan 206. Further, it is necessary to provide the configuration where cool air from cooling fan 206 is supplied along a curved side wall of cooling fan 206. Accordingly, a distance between ducts 209, 210 which are connected to the plurality of respective storage compartments is increased. Accordingly, although the cool air supply configuration described in PTL 2 is applicable to the case where the cool air supply configuration is used in a refrigerator which forms a single body, the configuration cannot be directly used as an under counter-type wine cellar where the wine cellar is built in a lower portion of an integrated kitchen configuration. That is, in the case of the under-counter-type wine cellar, in view of the relationship with other devices built in the lower portion of the integrated kitchen configuration, a dimension of the wine cellar in the width direction is also restricted. Accordingly, a refrigerator having the conventional cool air supply configuration described in PTL 2 cannot be used as the under-counter-type wine cellar since a lateral width of the refrigerator is excessively large. Further, in the conventional cool air supply configuration, amounts of cool air supplied to the plurality of respective storage compartments are not controlled and hence, it is difficult to perform appropriate cooling for respective storage compartments.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

PTL 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. H11-159910

PTL 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-309633

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator which can increase a storage capacity while suppressing a lateral width dimension of a body of the refrigerator within a predetermined dimension.

To be more specific, a refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a refrigerator body; a plurality of storage compartments which are disposed on the refrigerator body; a cooling compartment located closer to a back surface than the plurality of storage compartments in the refrigerator body; a cooler disposed in the cooling compartment; and a cooling fan which supplies cool air generated by the cooler to the plurality of storage compartments. The cooling fan is formed of a multi-blade fan which supplies air in a circumferential direction. A guide case of the cooling fan has a discharge opening portion for supplying cool air to the plurality of storage compartments. The discharge opening portion is preferably disposed on one predetermined portion of the guide case of the cooling fan.

With such a configuration, a distance between ducts connected to the cooling fan can be narrowed and hence, it is possible to suppress a lateral width dimension of the refrigerator body within a predetermined dimension. Further, by reducing a dimension in a front-back direction of the cooling compartment where the cooler and the cooling fan are disposed, a dimension in the front-back direction of the storage compartment can be increased. With such a configuration, a storage capacity of the storage compartment can be increased without causing large-sizing of the refrigerator body.

The refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure may further include a damper device which covers the discharge opening portion. In this case, the damper device may include: a first opening portion; a first flap which opens/closes the first opening portion; a second opening portion disposed adjacently to the first opening portion; and a second flap which opens/closes the second opening portion.

With such a configuration, amounts of cool air supplied to the plurality of respective storage compartments can be controlled so that the respective storage compartments can be cooled at predetermined temperatures with certainty. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a refrigerator which can achieve a high degree cooling control, has a large storage capacity, and is minimally affected by restriction in installing the refrigerator.

In the refrigerator according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the guide case of the cooling fan and the case of the damper device may be integrally formed with each other.

With such a configuration, it is possible to realize the reduction of the number of parts, and it is also possible to prevent leakage of cool air from a connection portion between the guide case of the cooling fan and the case of the damper device. Accordingly, it is possible to realize both the simplification of the configuration and the enhancement of quality of the refrigerator simultaneously.

In the refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure, the guide case may have a side wall which covers an outer periphery of the multi-blade fan in a rotational direction. In this case, the side wall may be formed in an Archimedean spiral form using a rotary shaft of the multi-blade fan as the center of axis of the spiral (a shape where a diameter is gradually increased in a rotational direction of the rotary shaft with the rotary shaft of the multi-blade fan set as the center).

With such a configuration, air supply loss of cool air discharged from the multi-blade fan can be minimized thus realizing efficient cooling.

In the refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure, the rotary shaft of the multi-blade fan of the cooling fan may be disposed in an offset manner toward one opening portion positioned on a rotational direction side of the cooling fan out of the first opening portion and the second opening portion.

With such a configuration, although cool air from the multi-blade fan is liable to be supplied in a direction opposite to the fan rotational direction such that a supply amount of cool air to such a side is larger than a supply amount to the other side, cool air can be supplied to the first opening portion and the second opening portion substantially uniformly thus efficiently cooling the plurality of storage compartments.

The refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure may include a first blow-off air passage which communicates with the first opening portion and has a first blow-off port, and a second blow-off air passage which communicates with the second opening portion and has a second blow-off port. In this case, the refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure may be configured such that, out of the first blow-off air passage and the second blow-off air passage, one blow-off air passage on a side where a larger amount of cool air is supplied from the cooling fan is longer than the other blow-off air passage.

With such a configuration, the air passage which communicates with the opening portion of the damper device on a side where a larger amount of cool air is supplied is longer and has a larger resistance. Accordingly, an amount of cool air blown off from the first blow-off air passage and an amount of cool air blown off from the second blow-off air passage can be made substantially equal to each other and hence, the plurality of respective storage compartments can be efficiently cooled.

The refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure may further include a wall surface unit which partitions the inside of the refrigerator into the plurality of storage compartments and the cooling compartment. In this case, the wall surface unit may have: a cooling compartment side wall surface plate; and a storage compartment side wall surface plate. The wall surface unit may be configured to include: a blow-off air passage that is formed between the cooling compartment side wall surface plate and the storage compartment side wall surface plate and communicates with the plurality of storage compartments; the cooling fan and the damper device which are mounted on a surface of the cooling compartment side wall surface plate on a cooling compartment side, and a through hole that is formed in the cooling compartment side wall surface plate and that allows the damper device and the blow-off air passage to communicate with each other.

With such a configuration, cool air from the cooling fan is directly supplied to the blow-off air passage through the through hole formed between the damper device mounted on the cooling compartment side wall surface plate and the air passage. Accordingly, compared to the configuration where the cooling fan and the blow-off air passage are connected to each other by way of duct members or the like, a distance between the cooling fan and the blow-off air passage can be minimized with respect to their positional relationship in the front-back direction and in the vertical direction. With such a configuration, storage capacities of the storage compartments can be increased.

In the refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure, the wall surface unit may further include a return air passage for cool air returned from the plurality of storage compartments between the cooling compartment side wall surface plate and the storage compartment side wall surface plate. In this case, the return air passage is divided in two in the lateral direction by a blow-off air passage for cool air to the storage compartment positioned on a lower side out of the plurality of storage compartments. Return ports for cool air of the plurality of storage compartments may be provided to left and right end portions of the laterally-divided return air passages.

With such a configuration, cool air which flows toward the return air passage from the storage compartments through the return ports is distributed to both side portions of the storage compartments. Accordingly, cool air can be made to flow substantially uniformly in the storage compartments. With such a configuration, non-uniformity of cooling can be suppressed so that the plurality of storage compartments can be cooled substantially uniformly.

In the refrigerator according to one example of the present disclosure, the wall surface unit may include a first blow-off air passage and a second blow-off air passage for supplying cool air to the plurality of respective storage compartments. In this case, at least one of a portion where the first blow-off air passage and the second blow-off air passage are disposed adjacently to each other and a portion where the return air passage and the first blow-off air passage are disposed adjacently to each other may be formed of a multi-layered wall having a heat insulation layer.

With such a configuration, even when the first blow-off air passage and the second blow-off air passage are disposed adjacently to each other, the first blow-off air passage and the return air passage are disposed adjacently to each other, or the second blow-off air passage and the return air passage are disposed adjacently to each other, the heat movement between both air passages can be minimized thus realizing efficient cooling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a refrigerator according to one example of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a half-cut perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a bottom surface side in a state where a door of the refrigerator is opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an inner box of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an indoor illumination unit mounted on an inner-box-side surface of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor illumination unit mounted on the inner-box-side surface of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a half-cut perspective view of an indoor illumination unit mounted on a ceiling surface of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a refrigerator body, a wall surface unit, and a door of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a storage compartment side.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a cooling compartment side.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a cooling compartment side.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a storage compartment side.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view for describing mounting of a cooling fan on the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 17A is a front view showing a cool air supply configuration of another conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 17B is a side view of the cool air supply configuration of the other conventional refrigerator.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. It must be noted that the following exemplary embodiment do not limit the present disclosure.

Exemplary Embodiment

First, the entire configuration of a refrigerator according to one example of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a half-cut perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a bottom surface side in a state where a door of the refrigerator is opened. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an inner box of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an indoor illumination unit mounted on an inner-box-side surface of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line 6-6 in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a half-cut perspective view of an indoor illumination unit mounted on a ceiling surface of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, refrigerator 80 according to one example of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes refrigerator body 1. In refrigerator body 1, partition plate 2 is provided. Partition plate 2 partitions an inside of refrigerator body 1 into two compartments, that is, upper and lower storage compartments 3, 4. In respective storage compartments 3, 4, shelves 5 on which wine bottles or the like are placed are disposed. Partition plate 2 may have or may not have a heat insulating material in the inside thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, refrigerator body 1 is formed of: metal-made (for example, iron-made) outer box 66 having an open front side; inner box 7 made of a hard resin (for example, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin); and a foamed heat insulating material (not shown in the figure) such as hard urethane which is filled by foaming between outer box 66 and inner box 7. As shown in FIG. 3, illumination units 8, 9 for illuminating the inside of storage compartments 3, 4 are mounted on both left and right side portions (hereinafter simply referred to as both side portions) and a ceiling surface of refrigerator body 1. As shown in FIG. 4, illumination-use openings 10 in which illumination units 8, 9 are respectively stored are formed in inner box 7.

As shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, out of illumination units 8, 9, each of illumination units 8 mounted on both side portions of refrigerator body 1 is formed of: pedestal 11 mounted on an inner side of illumination-use opening 10 of inner box 7; illumination substrate 82 mounted on pedestal 11; LEDs 13 which are mounted on illumination substrate 82 and are arranged in a row in a vertical direction; and cover 14 which covers front surfaces of LEDs 13.

As shown in FIG. 5, cover 14 is formed in an approximately L shape in cross section. As shown in FIG. 6, cover 14 is routed around front end surface 7a of inner box 7 and is disposed so as to cover front end surface 7a. Cover 14 has front surface cover portion 14a, and side surface cover portion 14b. As shown in FIG. 6, side surface cover portion 14b has engaging ribs 15. As shown in FIG. 6, engaging ribs 15 are mounted in an inclined manner toward a side opposite to a front end surface 7a side. Cover 14 is mounted on the refrigerator by press-fitting engaging ribs 15 into holding holes 16 formed in pedestal 11. With such a configuration, in cover 14, front surface cover portion 14a is brought into pressure contact with front end surface 7a of inner box 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, illumination unit 9 mounted on the ceiling surface of refrigerator body 1 is assembled to recessed portion 9a which is formed on a front end portion of the ceiling surface of inner box 7 of refrigerator body 1 (a portion close to the opening of refrigerator body 1). The pedestal of illumination unit 9 is formed to have a wide lateral width so as to form the ceiling wall surface of refrigerator body 1. A cover of illumination unit 9 has a flat surface shape, for example.

Front surfaces of respective storage compartments 3, 4 of refrigerator body 1 are formed in an openable and closeable manner by rotatable door 20 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 2, door 20 has center plate 21 which is formed of a triple-layered glass plate unit in which a heat insulation gas such as an argon gas is sealed or the like. Door 20 is formed such that the inside of storage compartments 3, 4 can be visually recognized from the outside while acting as a heat insulation door. Grip 22 is mounted on door 20.

At the substantially center of an upper portion of door 20 in the lateral direction, operation display portion 23 (see FIG. 8) is disposed. Temperatures of respective storage compartments 3, 4 are set and displayed on operation display portion 23. An operation of operation display portion 23 is performed by touching operation display portion 23 from a front surface side of door 20. Contents displayed on operation display portion 23 can be visually recognized from a front side.

As shown in FIG. 2, cooling compartment 25 is disposed on a back surface side in refrigerator body 1. In cooling compartment 25, cooler 26 and cooling fan 27 are disposed. A machine compartment 28 is disposed below cooling compartment 25 on a lower portion of refrigerator body 1. Due to evaporation of refrigerant which is compressed by compressor 29 assembled to machine compartment 28, cool air is generated by cooler 26 in cooling compartment 25. Cooling fan 27 supplies cool air generated in cooling compartment 25 to respective storage compartments 3, 4 and, thereafter, the cool air is recovered to cooling compartment 25, and is circulated to respective storage compartments 3, 4 again.

Hereinafter, a cool air supply configuration of refrigerator 80 according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 15.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a storage compartment side. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a cooling compartment side. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a cooling compartment side. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a front view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as viewed from a storage compartment side. FIG. 14 is a perspective view for describing mounting of the cooling fan on the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. A part (a) of FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state before the cooling fan is mounted on the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. A part (b) of FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state after the cooling fan is mounted on the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the wall surface unit of the refrigerator according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

In refrigerator 80 according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the air passages for supplying cool air to respective storage compartments 3, 4 are formed in wall surface unit 30 that partitions the inside of refrigerator 80 into respective storage compartments 3, 4, and cooling compartment 25 (see FIG. 8 and FIG. 9).

As shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10 and the like, wall surface unit 30 is constituted by fitting engagement between storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly faces respective storage compartments 3, 4 and cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 which opposedly faces cooling compartment 25.

Cooling fan 27 is mounted on a portion of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 which opposedly faces storage compartment 3 on an upper side of a cooling compartment 25 side surface (hereinafter referred to as upper storage compartment 3). Cooling fan 27 is constituted of a multi-blade fan which supplies air in a circumferential direction such as a blower fan. Cooling fan 27 is configured such that multi-blade fan 27a having a plurality of blades disposed in parallel to a rotary shaft is covered by guide case 33. Guide case 33 has a main surface portion which covers a cooling compartment 25 side surface of multi-blade fan 27a, and a side wall portion (side wall) which surrounds an outer periphery of multi-blade fan 27a in a rotational direction. Suction opening portion 34 is formed in a main surface portion of guide case 33. Discharge opening portion 35 is formed in an upper portion of the side wall portion.

A main portion of the side wall portion is formed in an Archimedean spiral form where a diameter is gradually increased in a rotational direction of the rotary shaft about the rotary shaft of multi-blade fan 27a.

Damper device 36 is mounted on discharge opening portion 35 of cooling fan 27. As shown in FIG. 9, damper device 36 includes damper frame body 39 in which first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 are formed, and first flap 40 and second flap 41 which are driven by a drive source (not shown in the figure) such as a motor thus opening/closing first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 respectively.

First opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 of damper device 36 are disposed adjacently to each other with the drive source interposed therebetween. First opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 are positioned corresponding to discharge opening portion 35 of cooling fan 27. In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 11 and the like, case 42 of damper device 36 is integrally formed on an upper portion of guide case 33 of cooling fan 27 thus covering multi-blade fan 27a and damper device 36. That is, cooling fan 27 and damper device 36 are integrated with each other and are directly connected to each other.

As indicated by an arrow in FIG. 13, the rotational direction of the rotary shaft of multi-blade fan 27a is a counterclockwise direction as viewed from a storage compartment 3, 4 side. That is, the rotary shaft is rotated from a first opening portion 37 side described later toward a second opening portion 38 side. First opening portion 37 is an opening portion formed in a reverse rotational direction of the rotary shaft, and second opening portion is an opening portion formed in the rotational direction of the rotary shaft.

The rotary shaft of cooling fan 27 is disposed in an offset manner toward the second opening portion 38 side which is an opening portion positioned on a rotational direction side of cooling fan 27 out of the opening portions of damper device 36. First blow-off air passage 47 which is communicated with first opening portion 37 is longer than second blow-off air passage 48 which is communicated with second opening portion 38.

Further, cooling fan 27, damper device 36, guide case 33, and case 42 are mounted on cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32, and are unitized with wall surface unit 30. With such a configuration, by mounting wall surface unit 30 on refrigerator body 1, constitutional elements such as cooling fan 27 and the like can be assembled to refrigerator body 1.

Guide case 33 of cooling fan 27 and case 42 of damper device 36 may be constituted as bodies separated from each other, and the separated bodies may be assembled to refrigerator body 1 later.

On a portion of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 which opposedly faces damper device 36, first through hole 43 and second through hole 44 are formed corresponding to first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 of damper device 36, respectively (see FIG. 9).

As shown in FIG. 9, between a surface of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 and a surface of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly face each other, air-passage-forming ribs 45, 46, first blow-off air passage 47 which supplies cool air from first through hole 43 to lower storage compartment 4, and second blow-off air passage 48 which supplies cool air from second through hole 44 to upper storage compartment 3 are formed. Further, between a surface of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 and a surface of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly face each other, return-air-passage-forming ribs 49 are mounted, and return air passage 50 used for upper storage compartment 3 and lower storage compartment 4 in common is provided. Return air passage 50 is an air passage for returning cool air supplied to respective storage compartments 3, 4 to cooling compartment 25.

In portions of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly face first blow-off air passage 47 of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32, lower blow-off ports 51a (first blow-off port) are formed, and in portions of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly faces second blow-off air passage 48 of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32, upper blow-off ports 51b (second blow-off port) are formed. Further, in a portion of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly faces lower storage compartment 4, lower return port 52a is formed, and in a portion of storage compartment side wall surface plate 31 which opposedly faces upper storage compartment 3, upper return ports 52b are formed. On a lower end portion of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32, a cutout opening, that is, cool air return port 52 for returning cool air from return air passage 50 to cooling compartment 25 is formed.

That is, first blow-off air passage 47 includes first through hole 43 on one end thereof, and includes lower blow-off ports 51a at least on the other end. Second blow-off air passage 48 includes second through hole 44 on one end thereof, and includes upper blow-off ports 51b at least on the other end thereof.

In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, first blow-off air passage 47 is configured to supply cool air to lower storage compartment 4 through approximately center portion of return air passage 50 in the lateral direction. The plurality of upper return ports 52b are disposed on both left and right sides of first blow-off air passage 47 in a distributed manner. In other words, return air passage 50 is divided in the lateral direction by first blow-off air passage 47. Upper return ports 52b are provided corresponding to end portions of air passages formed by laterally dividing return air passage 50.

As shown in FIG. 15, at a portion where first blow-off air passage 47 and return air passage 50 are disposed adjacently to each other, air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47, and return-air-passage-forming rib 49 which forms return air passage 50 are disposed with a gap therebetween. That is, heat insulation layer 54 which forms an air layer is formed between air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47 and return-air-passage-forming rib 49 which forms return air passage 50. That is, a portion between air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47 and return-air-passage-forming rib 49 which forms return air passage 50 is formed of a multi-layered wall (multi-layered wall structure), and heat insulation layer 54 is formed between air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47 and return-air-passage-forming rib 49 which forms return air passage 50.

In the same manner, at a portion where first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 are disposed adjacently to each other, air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47, and air passage-forming rib 46 which forms second blow-off air passage 48 are disposed with a gap therebetween. That is, heat insulation layer 54 which forms an air layer is formed between air-passage-forming rib 45 which forms first blow-off air passage 47 and air-passage-forming rib 46 which forms second blow-off air passage 48.

The present exemplary embodiment exemplifies the configuration of refrigerator 80 where only a part of the portion where first blow-off air passage 47 and return air passage 50 are disposed adjacently to each other has the multi-layered structure. However, it is preferable that refrigerator 80 be configured to have the multi-layered wall structure with respect to all regions where air passages are disposed adjacently to each other.

The description is made with respect to the configuration where respective air-passage-forming ribs (air-passage-forming rib 45, air-passage-forming rib 46, and return-air-passage-forming rib 49) which form first blow-off air passage 47, second blow-off air passage 48, and return air passage 50 are formed on both of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 and storage compartment side wall surface plate 31. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the respective air-passage-forming ribs may be formed on either one of cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 and storage compartment side wall surface plate 31.

Next, the manner of operation of refrigerator 80 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described.

First, the flow of cool air is described. Cool air is generated in cooling compartment 25 on which cooler 26 is mounted due to driving of compressor 29. Cool air generated in cooling compartment 25 is sucked by cooling fan 27 and is supplied to first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 from first through hole 43 and second through hole 44 through damper device 36 respectively (see FIG. 9).

Cool air supplied to first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 is supplied to upper storage compartment 3 and lower storage compartment 4 from upper blow-off ports 51b and lower blow-off port 51a thus cooling wine bottles in upper storage compartment 3 and lower storage compartment 4.

After cooling upper storage compartment 3, cool air is sucked into return air passage 50 from upper return port 52b. After cooling lower storage compartment 4, cool air is sucked into return air passage 50 from lower return port 52a. That is, cool air which is used for cooling upper storage compartment 3 and cool air which is used for cooling lower storage compartment 4 are sucked into and are merged with each other in return air passage 50, and are recovered to cooling compartment 25 through cool air return port 52.

Amounts of cool air supplied to respective storage compartments 3, 4 are individually regulated by damper device 36 so that respective storage compartments 3, 4 are cooled to predetermined temperatures.

Further, cooling temperatures of respective storage compartments 3, 4 can be set by operating operation display portion 23 mounted on the front surface upper portion of door 20 by a touch operation. A user can also know cooling temperatures of respective storage compartments 3, 4 based on temperatures displayed on operation display portion 23.

Wine bottles stored in respective storage compartments 3, 4 can be visually recognized through center plate 21 of door 20. Accordingly, a user can quickly take out a desired wine bottle by opening door 20 without looking for the desired wine bottle.

Refrigerator 80 according to the present exemplary embodiment is configured such that cool air generated by one cooling compartment 25 is supplied to two storage compartments 3, 4 so that respective storage compartments 3, 4 are cooled. Refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment is also configured such that cool airs supplied to respective storage compartments 3, 4 are controlled by damper device 36. With such a configuration, storage compartments 3, 4 can be cooled in temperature zones different from each other. Further, damper device 36 is configured to individually and independently control cool airs supplied to respective storage compartments 3, 4 by first flap 40 and second flap 41. With such a configuration, respective storage compartments 3, 4 can be cooled to predetermined temperatures accurately.

In refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment, cooling fan 27 which supplies cool air to respective storage compartments 3, 4 is formed of multi-blade fan 27a which supplies air in the circumferential direction. With such a configuration, it is unnecessary to provide an air passage directed frontward such as a propeller fan which blows air frontward. Further, it is also unnecessary to provide damper device 36 in front of a fan. Accordingly, a dimension in a front-back direction of cooling compartment 25 where cooler 26 and cooling fan 27 are disposed can be reduced and hence, dimensions of storage compartments 3, 4 in the front-back direction can be increased by an amount corresponding to the reduction of the dimension of the cooling compartment 25. Accordingly, storage compartments 3, 4 have large capacities.

Particularly, in refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment, damper device 36 of cooling fan 27 and first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 are made to communicate with each other by forming first through hole 43 and second through hole 44 in cooling compartment side wall surface plate 32 of wall surface unit 30 which partitions the inside of refrigerator 80 into storage compartments 3, 4 and cooling compartment 25. With such a configuration, a dimension of cooling compartment 25 in the front-back direction can be further reduced. That is, cool air from cooling fan 27 is directly supplied to first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 through first through hole 43 and second through hole 44. Accordingly, compared to the configuration where cooling fan 27 and first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 are connected to each other by way of duct members or the like, a distance between cooling fan 27 and first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 can be minimized with respect to their positional relationship in the front-back direction and in the vertical direction. With such a configuration, storage capacities of storage compartments 3, 4 can be further increased.

With the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to acquire the refrigerator which can make air passage configuration for cool air compact, has a large storage capacity relative to a dimension of an external profile of refrigerator body 1, and can achieve a high degree of cooling control.

In refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment, one discharge opening portion 35 is formed on guide case 33 of cooling fan 27. Discharge opening portion 35 is covered by damper device 36, and first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 of damper device 36 are disposed adjacently to discharge opening portion 35. With such a configuration, first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 which are connected to first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38 respectively are also disposed adjacently to each other and hence, a distance between first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 can be narrowed. With such a configuration, a lateral width dimension of refrigerator body 1 can be suppressed within a predetermined dimension and hence, the refrigerator can be easily applicable also to an under-counter-type wine cellar where a lateral width of refrigerator body 1 is restricted.

In refrigerator 80 according to the present exemplary embodiment, guide case 33 of cooling fan 27 and case 42 of damper device 36 are integrally formed with each other. With such a configuration, it is possible to realize the reduction of the number of parts. Further, it is possible to prevent leakage and the like of cool air which may occur in the case where guide case 33 of cooling fan 27 and case 42 of damper device 36 are provided as separate parts from each other and guide case 33 and case 42 are connected to each other. Accordingly, with such a configuration, it is possible to enhance quality of the refrigerator while simplifying the configuration of the refrigerator.

On the other hand, with respect to guide case 33 of cooling fan 27, the side wall which covers the outer periphery of multi-blade fan 27a is formed in an Archimedean spiral form using the rotary shaft of multi-blade fan 27a as the center of the Archimedean spiral. With such a configuration, an air supply loss of cool air discharged from multi-blade fan 27a can be minimized thus realizing efficient cooling.

Further, the rotary shaft of cooling fan 27 is disposed in an offset manner toward the opening portion of damper device 36 positioned on a rotational direction side of cooling fan 27, that is, toward a second opening portion 38 side in the present exemplary embodiment. With such a configuration, although cool air from multi-blade fan 27a which is liable to be supplied toward a side opposite to the fan rotational direction such that an amount of air to such a side is larger than the amount of air to the other side, cool air can be substantially uniformly supplied to first opening portion 37 and second opening portion 38. With such a configuration, respective storage compartments 3, 4 can be cooled efficiently.

In the case where non-uniformity of cool air remains in wall surface unit 30, as exemplified in the present exemplary embodiment, a length of first blow-off air passage 47 which communicates with first opening portion 37 to which a larger amount of cool air is liable to be supplied is set longer than a length of second blow-off air passage 48 which communicates with second opening portion 38. With such a configuration, an air passage resistance on first opening portion 37 side where a larger amount of cool air is supplied is increased and hence, an amount of cool air blown off from first blow-off air passage 47 and an amount of cool air blown off from second blow-off air passage 48 can be made more uniform thus efficiently cooling respective storage compartments 3, 4.

In addition, in refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment, upper return ports 52b for returning cool air from upper storage compartment 3 to return air passage 50 are disposed in a distributed manner on left and right sides of first blow-off air passage 47. With such a configuration, cool air in upper storage compartment 3 is distributed to both left and right side portions of upper storage compartment 3. With such a configuration, upper storage compartment 3 can be cooled uniformly by reducing non-uniform distribution of cool air.

In refrigerator 80 of the present exemplary embodiment, the portion where first blow-off air passage 47 and second blow-off air passage 48 are disposed adjacently to each other, the portion where first blow-off air passage 47 and return air passage 50 are disposed adjacently to each other, and the portion where second blow-off air passage 48 and return air passage 50 are disposed adjacently to each other are each formed of the multi-layered wall having heat insulation layer 54. With such a configuration, heat transfer between the respective air passages can be minimized thus realizing efficient cooling.

Although refrigerator 80 according to one example of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiment, it is needless to say that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned exemplary embodiment, and can be modified in a various manner within the scope where the object of the present disclosure can be achieved.

For example, as the refrigerator according to one example of the present exemplary embodiment, the under-counter-type refrigerator is exemplified where the refrigerator is used in a state where the refrigerator is built in an integrated kitchen configuration or the like. However, a refrigerator which is used in the form that the refrigerator is not built in the integrated kitchen configuration may be also used. In the present exemplary embodiment, the refrigerator is exemplified as a refrigerator suitable for preservation of wines. However, the present invention may be also applicable to a normal refrigerator for cooling and preserving foodstuff.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the description has been made with respect to the case where the refrigerator has two storage compartments. However, the refrigerator may have two or more storage compartments, and temperature zones of two or more storage compartments may differ from each other.

As has been described above, it must be construed that the exemplary embodiment disclosed in this specification is illustrative and is not limitative in all aspects. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description made above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As has been described heretofore, the present disclosure provides a refrigerator which can increase a storage capacity while suppressing a lateral width dimension of a body of the refrigerator within a predetermined dimension. Accordingly, the present disclosure is widely applicable to an under-counter-type refrigerator which is built in an integrated kitchen configuration or the like regardless of whether or not the under-counter-type refrigerator is a refrigerator for household use or a refrigerator for business use, not to mention the case where under-counter-type refrigerator is a wine cellar.

REFERENCE MARKS IN THE DRAWINGS

1: refrigerator body

3: storage compartment (upper storage compartment)

4: storage compartment (lower storage compartment)

5: shelf

7: inner box

8, 9: illumination unit

9 a: recessed portion

11: pedestal

13: LED

14: cover

14 a: front surface cover portion

14 b: side surface cover portion

15: engaging rib

16: holding hole

20: door

21: center plate

22: grip

25: cooling compartment

26: cooler

27: cooling fan

27 a: multi-blade fan

28: machine compartment

29: compressor

30: wall surface unit

31: storage compartment side wall surface plate

32: cooling compartment side wall surface plate

33: guide case

34: suction opening portion

35: discharge opening portion

36: damper device

37: first opening portion

38: second opening portion

39: damper frame body

40: first flap

41: second flap

42: case

43: first through hole

44: second through hole

45: air-passage-forming rib

46: air-passage-forming rib

47: first blow-off air passage

48: second blow-off air passage

49: return-air-passage-forming rib

50: return air passage

51 a: lower blow-off port (first blow-off port)

51 b: upper blow-off port (second blow-off port)

52 a: lower return port

52 b: upper return port

52: cool air return port

54: heat insulation layer

66: outer box

80: refrigerator

82: illumination substrate

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a lower storage compartment;an upper storage compartment located upper than the lower storage compartment in the refrigerator;a cooling compartment located closer to a back surface of the refrigerator than the lower storage compartment and the upper storage compartment;a cooler disposed in the cooling compartment;a wall surface unit that partitions an inside of the refrigerator into the cooling compartment and a set of the lower storage compartment and the upper storage compartment, the wall surface unit having a first surface facing the cooling compartment, a second surface facing the lower storage compartment, and a third surface facing the upper storage compartment;a cooling fan disposed on the first surface of the wall surface unit, the cooling fan being configured to supply cool air generated by the cooler in a circumferential direction;a damper device disposed on the first surface of the wall surface unit, the damper device having at least a first opening portion for supplying the cool air to the lower storage compartment, and a second opening portion for supplying the cool air to the upper storage compartment;a first blow-off port that is formed in the second surface of the wall surface unit, the first blow-off port being configured to supply cool air to the lower storage compartment;a second blow-off port that is formed in the third surface of the wall surface unit, the second blow-off port being configured to supply cool air to the upper storage compartment;a first discharge air passage that is formed in the wall surface unit, the first discharge air passage allowing the first opening portion and the first blow-off port to communicate with each other; anda second discharge air passage that is formed in the wall surface unit, the second discharge air passage allowing the second opening portion and the first blow-off port to communicate with each other.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the damper device is disposed above the cooling fan.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the damper device and the cooling fan are covered by an integrally formed case.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a portion of the integrally formed case which covers an outer periphery of the cooling fan is formed in an Archimedean spiral form.

5. A wine cellar for preserving wines, the wine cellar comprising: a lower storage compartment;an upper storage compartment located upper than the lower storage compartment in the wine cellar;a cooling compartment located closer to a back surface of the wine cellar than the lower storage compartment and the upper storage compartment;a cooler disposed in the cooling compartment;a wall surface unit that partitions an inside of the refrigerator into the cooling compartment and a set of the lower storage compartment and the upper storage compartment, the wall surface unit having a first surface facing the cooling compartment, a second surface facing the lower storage compartment, and a third surface facing the upper storage compartment;a cooling fan disposed on the first surface of the wall surface unit, the cooling fan being configured to supply cool air generated by the cooler in a circumferential direction;a damper device disposed on the first surface of the wall surface unit, the damper device having at least a first opening portion for supplying the cool air to the lower storage compartment, and a second opening portion for supplying the cool air to the upper storage compartment;a first blow-off port that is formed in the second surface of the wall surface unit, the first blow-off port being configured to supply cool air to the lower storage compartment;a second blow-off port that is formed in the third surface of the wall surface unit, the second blow-off port being configured to supply cool air to the upper storage compartment;a first discharge air passage that is formed in the wall surface unit, the first discharge air passage allowing the first opening portion and the first blow-off port to communicate with each other; anda second discharge air passage that is formed in the wall surface unit, the second discharge air passage allowing the second opening portion and the first blow-off port to communicate with each other.

6. The wine cellar according to claim 5, wherein the damper device is disposed above the cooling fan.

7. The wine cellar according to claim 6, wherein the damper device and the cooling fan are covered by an integrally formed case.

8. The wine cellar according to claim 7, wherein a portion of the integrally formed case which covers an outer periphery of the cooling fan is formed in an Archimedean spiral form.

9. The wine cellar according to claim 5, further comprising a door which covers both the lower storage compartment and the upper storage compartment.

10. The wine cellar according to claim 9, further comprising a glass plate unit which allows a user to visually recognize an inside of the lower storage compartment and an inside of the upper storage compartment without opening the door.

11. The wine cellar according to claim 9, further comprising an operation portion which allows a user to perform setting of a temperature of the lower storage compartment and setting of a temperature of the upper storage compartment is mounted on the door.