Patent Application
20180274840
The present invention relates to freezing and refrigeration devices, and in particular, to a refrigerator.
In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards and improvement of environmental awareness, the requirements for refrigerators have gradually changed from satisfaction with low-temperature refrigeration to the performance of keeping food fresh. In an air supply manner of supplying air to a refrigeration compartment in an existing refrigerator, an air inlet connecting to the refrigeration compartment is usually directly provided on a freezing duct. Further, an air damper may be disposed at the air inlet to adjust the amount of air that enters the refrigeration compartment. Currently, a single air damper or dual air dampers are commonly used. The structure is relatively complex, the costs are relatively high, and the control status is relatively unvaried.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a novel refrigerator to overcome at least one defect of existing air-cooled refrigerators. In the refrigerator, the amount of air in an air supply duct can be adjusted, to achieve a plurality of states of the air supply duct.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the amount of air in an air supply duct can be simply adjusted and the adjustment precision is high.
A further objective of the present invention is to alleviate the impact of the vibration of an output shaft of a motor on the rotation of an adjustment member and make the adjustment member move stably and turn precisely.
To achieve at least one objective in the foregoing, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising:
a refrigerator compartment, a storage compartment and an air supply duct being defined in the refrigerator compartment, and the air supply duct being configured to transfer cold air into the storage compartment; and
a branched air supply device, disposed in the air supply duct, and the branched air supply device comprising:
a housing, having at least one air inlet and a plurality of air outlets; and
an adjustment member, configured to completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet in a controlled manner, to adjust respective air outlet areas of the plurality of air outlets, so as to adjust the amount of air transferred into the storage compartment through the air supply duct.
Optionally, the air supply duct has at least one air supply port, and each air outlet is connected to any one of the at least one air supply port, to enable cold air flowing from the air outlet to enter the storage compartment through each air supply port.
Optionally, the housing comprises a base and a circumferential wall extending from the base to a side of the base, and the plurality of air outlets are formed on the circumferential wall; and
the adjustment member comprises one or more blocking portions disposed at an interval in a circumferential direction of the base, and the adjustment member is rotatably mounted on the housing about an axis of the circumferential wall, so that when rotating to different rotational positions, the adjustment member enables the one or more blocking portions to completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet.
Optionally, the housing further comprises a distributor cover, covering an end, far away from the base, of the circumferential wall.
Optionally, the plurality of air outlets are grouped into at least two groups, and each group of air outlets has at least one air outlet; the air outlets in each group of air outlets have an equal size; and the size of each air outlet in each group of air outlets is unequal to the size of each air outlet in each of the rest groups of air outlets.
Optionally, the at least one air inlet is further formed on the circumferential wall, and the at least one air inlet is provided between two adjacent air outlets.
Optionally, the adjustment member is further configured to enable, when rotating to a rotational position, the one or more blocking portions to completely block the at least one air inlet, to disconnect the air supply duct.
Optionally, one air inlet is provided;
three air outlets are provided sequentially at an interval in the circumferential direction of the base;
two blocking portions are provided, the two blocking portions are respectively a first blocking portion and a second blocking portion;
the first blocking portion is configured in a way that the first blocking portion is allowed to completely block one air outlet;
the second blocking portion is configured in a way that the second blocking portion is allowed to completely block two air outlets and the second blocking portion is allowed to completely block the air inlet; and
an interval between the first blocking portion and the second blocking portion is configured in a way that the interval is allowed to completely expose one air outlet.
Optionally, the adjustment member further comprises a turntable portion disposed coaxially with the circumferential wall, and each blocking portion extends out from one surface from the turntable portion.
Optionally, the branched air supply device further comprises:
a motor, disposed on a radial outer side of the turntable portion;
a gear, mounted on an output shaft of the motor; and
a gear ring, comprising an annular convex rib that extends out from the other surface of the turntable portion and is coaxial with the turntable portion and a plurality of gear teeth that extend externally out from an outer circumferential surface of the annular convex rib and are disposed at an interval in a circumferential direction of the annular convex rib, where
the gear is engaged with the gear ring, to transfer a rotational movement output by the motor to the adjustment member at a reduced speed.
In the refrigerator of the present invention, a branched air supply device is provided in an air supply duct. Therefore, an adjustment member of the branched air supply device may be used to completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet on a housing of the branched air supply device to adjust the amount of air in the air supply duct. The adjustment and control are simple, and a plurality of states of the amount of air in the air supply duct can be achieved.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the number of opened air outlets may be used to adjust the amount of air in the air supply duct. Therefore, the amount of air can be precisely controlled when the movement is not precise enough. In addition, the sizes of a plurality of air outlets may be unequal to each other, so that different amounts of air can be implemented by opening different air outlets.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the adjustment member can completely block an air inlet on the housing. Therefore, the air supply duct can be controlled to be opened or closed, so that the branched air supply device with a simple structure can provide the air supply duct with a plurality of states.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, a gear and a gear ring of the branched air supply device can transfer a rotational movement output by a motor to the adjustment member at a reduced speed. Therefore, the impact of the vibration of an output shaft of the motor on the rotation of the adjustment member can be alleviated, and the adjustment member can turn accurately. Therefore, the adjustment member can correctly rotate to a predetermined position to ensure that each air outlet is precisely blocked or exposed. In addition, the gear and the gear ring engaged with each other can further have the effects of reducing a speed and increasing a torque, so that a jamming and stalling phenomenon in the rotation of the motor cam be eliminated.
Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the motor of the branched air supply device is disposed on a radial outer side of a turntable portion. Therefore, the overall thickness of the branched air supply device can be reduced. After the branched air supply device is mounted at the rear portion of the refrigerator, the thickness of the refrigerator can be reduced. Therefore, the refrigerator has a small volume or the refrigerator has an increased effective storage space.
According to the detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other objectives, advantages and features will become more apparent to a person skilled in the art.
Some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example but not by way of limitation. The same reference signs indicate the same or similar components or parts in the accompanying drawings. A person skilled in the art should understand that these figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:
Specifically, the branched air supply device 300 may comprise a housing 40 and an adjustment member 50. The housing 40 may have at least one air inlet 421 and a plurality of air outlets, to enable cold air to enter the housing 40 through the at least one air inlet 421 and flow out from the housing 40 through one or more of the plurality of air outlets. The adjustment member 50 may be configured to completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet in a controlled manner, to adjust respective air outlet areas of the plurality of air outlets, so as to adjust the amount of air transferred into the storage compartment 211 through the air supply duct 221. For example, when moving to different positions, the adjustment member 50 can completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet. As shown in
In this embodiment of the present invention, the air supply duct 221 has at least one air supply port, and each air outlet is connected to any one of the at least one air supply port, to enable cold air flowing from the air outlet to enter the storage compartment 211 through each air supply port.
In still some other embodiments of the present invention, the housing 40 further comprises a distributor cover 43, covering an end, far away from the base 41, of the circumferential wall 42, so that the distributor cover, the base 41, and the circumferential wall 42 define a duct space, that is, an internal space of the housing 40. To facilitate the mounting of the distributor cover 43, the housing 40 may further comprise a plurality of clamping arms 44 that extend respectively from a plurality of positions on an edge of the distributor cover 43 towards the base 41. A clamping groove or bump is formed on an inner surface of each clamping arm 44. A plurality of bumps that respectively fit the clamping grooves or a plurality of clamping grooves that respectively fit the bumps are formed on an outer surface of the circumferential wall 42, to enable the distributor cover 43 to be clamped at the base 41.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the at least one air inlet 421 is further formed on the circumferential wall 42, and the at least one air inlet 421 is provided between two adjacent air outlets. Specifically, in some embodiments, one air inlet 421 is provided (in other words, the quantity of the air inlets 421 is one), and two ends of the first section of the circumferential wall 42 in a circumferential direction of the base 41 define the air inlet 421. In some other embodiments, the circumferential wall 42 may further comprise a second section of the circumferential wall 42 extending from the second edge section of the base 41 to a side of the base 41. The second edge section is also preferably designed to have an arc shape that is concentric with the first edge section, so that the first section of the circumferential wall 42 and the second section of the circumferential wall 42 are located on the same cylindrical circumferential wall 42. That is, the first section of the circumferential wall 42 and the second section of the circumferential wall 42 are coaxial. The at least one air inlet 421 is formed on the second section of the circumferential wall 42.
In some alternative embodiments of the present invention, the circumferential wall 42 may further comprise the second section of the circumferential wall 42 extending from the second edge section of the base 41 to a side of the base 41. The at least one air inlet 421 may be provided on the distributor cover 43. In the embodiments, the branched air supply device 300 may further comprise an air supply device configured to drive cold air to flow into the housing 40 from the at least one air inlet 421 and flow out from the housing 40 through the one or more of the plurality of air outlets, so that the air supply efficiency can be significantly improved. For example, the air supply device is a centrifugal impeller and is disposed in the housing 40.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the adjustment member 50 may comprise one or more blocking portions 51 disposed at an interval in the circumferential direction of the base 41. The adjustment member 50 may be rotatably mounted on the housing 40 about an axis of the circumferential wall 42, so that when rotating to different rotational positions, the adjustment member 50 enables the one or more blocking portions 51 to completely block, partially block or completely expose each air outlet. Specifically, at least a part of a surface, facing the circumferential wall 42, of each blocking portion 51 is disposed coaxially with the first section of the circumferential wall 42. For example, each blocking portion 51 may be an arc-shaped blocking plate, to block or expose each air outlet. The blocking portion 51 of the adjustment member 50 may be mounted in the housing 40 or may be mounted outside the housing 40.
If the blocking portion 51 of the adjustment member 50 is mounted in the housing 40 and when the adjustment member 50 rotates about the axis of the circumferential wall 42, in some embodiments, an outer side surface of the arc-shaped blocking plate may stay attached on an inner side surface of the first section of the circumferential wall 42 in a sealed manner In this way, at different rotational positions, the arc-shaped blocking plate can open or close one or more air outlets in a controlled manner In some other embodiments, to facilitate the rotation of the adjustment member 50, a distance between each blocking portion 51 and the circumferential wall 42 may be slightly increased. However, if the distance between the blocking portion 51 and the circumferential wall 42 is increased, air may leak and completely effective blocking cannot be implemented. Cold air may flow from one air outlet to another air outlet through a gap between the circumferential wall 42 and the blocking portion 51. Therefore, the branched air supply device 300 in the embodiments of the present invention may further comprise a sealing device, configured to at least partially prevent cold air from flowing to each air outlet through a gap between an outer surface of each blocking portion 51 and an inner surface of the circumferential wall 42. Specifically, the sealing device may comprise at least two sealing gaskets. Each sealing gasket extends in a direction parallel to a rotational axis of the adjustment member 50. One sealing gasket is respectively provided at two ends of the arc-shaped outer surface of each blocking portion 51 in a rotational direction of the blocking portion 51.
In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in
In some embodiments of the present invention, the branched air supply device 300 may further comprise a motor 60 and a transmission mechanism. The motor 60 may be disposed on a radial outer side of the turntable portion 52. The transmission mechanism is configured to transfer a rotational movement output by the motor 60 to the adjustment member 50 at a reduced speed. During designing, the inventors find that the rotation of the adjustment member 50 is not stable enough, and the reason is the vibration of the motor 60. Therefore, the inventors propose to use the transmission mechanism to alleviate the impact of the vibration of an output shaft of the motor 60, to enable the adjustment member 50 to turn precisely. The functions of reducing a speed and increasing a torque of the transmission mechanism can further eliminate a jamming and stalling phenomenon of the motor 60. The motor 60 is disposed at a special position, so that the overall thickness of the branched air supply device 300 can be reduced, the space is saved, and the branched air supply device is particularly applicable to the refrigerator.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the transmission mechanism is preferably a transmission mechanism of a gear 71. Specifically, the transmission mechanism may comprise the gear 71 and a gear ring 72 engaged with the gear 71. The gear 71 may be mounted on the output shaft of the motor 60. The gear ring 72 may be integrated with the turntable portion 52 or exists independently and is fixed at the turntable portion 52. For example, the gear ring 72 comprises an annular convex rib that extends out from the other surface of the turntable portion 52 and is coaxial with the turntable portion 52 and a plurality of gear teeth that extend externally out from an outer circumferential surface of the annular convex rib and are disposed at an interval in a circumferential direction of the annular convex rib. Alternatively, the gear ring 72 is independent, and is fixed on the other surface of the turntable portion 52 coaxially with the turntable portion 52.
Further, in some embodiments, as shown in
An annular groove 431 may be formed on an inner surface of the distributor cover 43, and the gear ring 72 is mounted in the annular groove 431, so that the adjustment member 50 can move stably. Preferably, the turntable portion 52 may have a ring form. The annular groove 431 may be a stepped groove and is further configured to accommodate the turntable portion 52, so that the movement stability of the adjustment member 50 can further be ensured. To protect the motor 60, the housing 40 further comprises an accommodating portion for the motor 60. The accommodating portion is provided on the outer surface of the circumferential wall 42. An accommodating cavity for accommodating the gear 71 and the motor 60 is defined in the accommodating portion. In some other embodiments, the turntable portion 52 may be mounted on an inner surface of the base 41.
In some embodiments of the present invention, if the at least one air inlet 421 is formed on the circumferential wall 42, the adjustment member 50 is further configured to enable, when rotating to a rotational position, the one or more blocking portions 51 to completely block the at least one air inlet 421, to disconnect the air supply duct 221.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of air outlets of the branched air supply device are grouped into at least two groups, and each group of air outlets has at least one air outlet. The air outlets in each group of air outlets have an equal size. The size of each air outlet in each group of air outlets is unequal to the size of each air outlet in each of the rest groups of air outlets. For example, three air outlets are provided and are respectively a first air outlet 422, a second air outlet 423, and a third air outlet 424. The first air outlet 422 and the third air outlet 424 have an equal size and are in a group. The size of the second air outlet 423 may be 1.2 to 2 times the size of the first air outlet 422, and is separately in a group.
In some embodiments of the present invention, air supply ports are provided on duct walls on both sides of the air supply duct 221. An air outlet located on a side of a central dividing plane of the air supply duct 221 preferably transfers cold air flowing out from the air outlet on the side to an air supply port located on the side of the central dividing plane of the air supply duct 221. Because the air outlet located on the side of the central dividing plane of the air supply duct 221 preferably transfers cold air flowing out from the air outlet to a duct wall, the cold air flows forward along the duct wall, and preferably flows out from the air supply duct 221 from the air supply port on the duct wall on the side. The air outlet located in the middle portion may transfer cold air to a relatively far position, to enable the cold air to enter the storage compartment 211 from an air supply port in a position at an end portion of the air supply duct 221.
For example, three air outlets are provided and are respectively a first air outlet 422, a second air outlet 423, and a third air outlet 424. The first air outlet 422 and the third air outlet 424 are provided on two sides of the second air outlet 423. A first air supply port 222 is provided on a duct wall, close to the first air outlet 422, of the air supply duct 221, and is configured to transfer cold air into the middle portion or the lower portion of the storage compartment 211. A second air supply port 223 is provided at the end portion of the air supply duct 221, and is configured to transfer cold air into the upper portion of a storage space. A third air supply port 224 is provided on a duct wall, close to the third air outlet 424, of the air supply duct 221, and is configured to transfer cold air into the middle portion of the storage compartment 211. When the first air outlet 422 is in an opened state, the amount of cold air that enters the first air supply port 222 may account for 65% to 75% of cold air flowing out from the first air outlet 422. When the second air outlet 423 is in an opened state, the amount of cold air that enters the first air supply port 222 may account for 55% to 65% of cold air flowing out from the second air outlet 423. When the third air outlet 424 is in an opened state, the amount of cold air that enters the first air supply port 222 may account for 50% to 60% of cold air flowing out from the second air outlet 423. By using such a setting, the refrigerator can enable the branched air supply device 300 to open corresponding air outlets according to cold demands at different heights of the storage compartment 211. Optionally, the storage compartment 211 may be divided by a storage tray/storage shelf 230 into a plurality of storage spaces, for example, four storage spaces. The second air outlet 423 may transfer cold air into the uppermost storage space. The first air outlet 422 may transfer cold air into a storage space above the lowermost storage space. The second air outlet 423 may transfer cold air into a storage space below the uppermost storage space.
In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in
When the first blocking portion 511 and the second blocking portion 512 rotate to the positions shown in
Certainly, the first blocking portion 511 and the second blocking portion 512 may alternatively rotate to rotational positions to block a half of the third air outlet 424 and keep the first air outlet 422 and the second air outlet 423 in a completely exposed state. For example, the first blocking portion 511 is in a position of only blocking a half, far away from the second air outlet 423, of the third air outlet 424. The first blocking portion 511 and the second blocking portion 512 may alternatively rotate to rotational positions of completely blocking the third air outlet 424, blocking a half of the second air outlet 423, and keeping the first air outlet 422 in a completely exposed state. For example, the second blocking portion 512 is in a position of completely blocking the third air outlet 424 and blocking a half, far away from the first air outlet 422, of the second air outlet 423.
Up to this, a person skilled in the art should recognize that although a plurality of exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, numerous other variations or modifications meeting the principle of the present invention can be directly determined or derived according to the contents disclosed in the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be construed and considered as covering all of such other variations or modifications.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201510617528.8 | Sep 2015 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2016/085342 | 6/8/2016 | WO | 00 |
