The present disclosure is a national phase application of International Application No. PCT/CN2018/104015 filed on Sep. 4, 2018, the entireties of which are herein incorporated by reference.
The disclosure relates to the field of refrigerator, and particularly to a refrigerator with a drying compartment.
At present, most refrigerators still do not have the function of regulating and controlling humidity. The humidity in the refrigerator fluctuates greatly, and the relative humidity (RH) generally fluctuates between RH 90% to RH 30%. For dry goods which are sensitive to humidity and need to be stored in the refrigerator, such as dried fruits, biscuits, and medicinal materials, if they are placed in the refrigerator compartment, they will easily get damp. If said dry goods are placed in the freezer compartment, the dry and low-temperature environment of the freezer compartment causes the dry goods to be in an extremely low temperature environment, and thus the dry goods is not suitable to be eaten directly when taken out of the refrigerator. In addition, the fluctuation range of the humidity is extremely wide when the compressor in the freezer compartment starts or stops.
In view of this, an embodiment of the disclosure is intended to provide a refrigerator with a drying compartment.
Therefore, in order to achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the disclosure provides a refrigerator including a freezer compartment, a refrigeration compartment, a drying compartment, an air intake channel, a first sealing device, and a second sealing device. The drying compartment is independently and hermetically arranged in the refrigeration compartment and is formed with an air inlet and an air outlet for communicating the drying compartment with the refrigeration compartment. The air intake channel is used to communicate the freezer compartment with the drying compartment and passes through the air inlet. The first sealing device is arranged in the drying compartment and is configured to be switched between a state in which an outlet of the air intake channel is sealed by the first sealing device and a state in which the first sealing device keeps away from the outlet of the air intake channel. The second sealing device is arranged at the air outlet and is configured to be switched between a state in which the air outlet is sealed by the second sealing device and a state in which the second sealing device keeps away from the air outlet.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator includes an air guiding device. The air guiding device is arranged on the air intake channel to guide the air in the freezer compartment to the drying compartment.
In an embodiment, the first sealing device includes a first baffle and a first elastic member. The first baffle is adapted to the outlet of the air intake channel and covers the outlet of the air intake channel from one side of the drying compartment. The first baffle is connected with the first elastic member to seal against the outlet of the air intake channel under the action of an elastic force of the first elastic member.
In an embodiment, the first sealing device includes a first mounting seat and a guide post located in the first mounting seat. A receiving chamber is formed inside the first mounting seat and has an opening facing toward the outlet of the air intake channel. The first baffle and the first elastic member are received in the receiving chamber. The first elastic member is sandwiched between the first mounting seat and a side of the first baffle away from the outlet of the air intake channel.
The guide post is fixedly installed in the first mounting seat and is slidably connected with the first baffle; or the guide post is fixedly connected with the first baffle, the guide post and the first baffle is slidably in the first mounting seat.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator includes a second mounting seat arranged in the drying compartment and sandwiched between a side wall of the drying compartment and the first mounting seat. A through aperture is formed in the second mounting seat. An inlet end of the through aperture is hermetically connected with the air inlet. An outlet end of the through aperture is formed as the outlet of the air intake channel. The air guiding device is arranged in the through aperture.
In an embodiment, a protuberance is formed on a side of the second mounting seat facing toward the first mounting seat and extends into the first mounting seat. A plurality of first ribs is formed inside the protuberance. The ends of the plurality of first ribs form and surround a first supporting hole. Both ends of the guide post are slidably supported on the first supporting hole and the first mounting seat; or the guide post is fixedly connected with at least one of the first supporting hole and the first mounting seat, and the first baffle is slidably arranged around the guide post.
In an embodiment, a partition is formed between the freezer compartment and the refrigeration compartment and is formed with a through hole through which the air intake channel passes. The through hole is arranged corresponding to the air inlet. The air guiding device is arranged in the through hole.
In an embodiment, the outlet of the air intake channel is formed as the air inlet which forms a plurality of second ribs. The ends of the plurality of second ribs form and surround a second supporting hole. The guide post is fixedly connected with at least one of the second ribs and first mounting seat, and the first baffle is slidably arranged around the guide post; or both ends of the guide post are slidably supported in the second supporting hole and the first mounting seat, and the first baffle is fixedly connected with the guide post.
In an embodiment, the air guiding device is formed as a fan, a blower or an air pump.
In an embodiment, a partition is formed between the freezer compartment and the refrigeration compartment and is formed with a through hole through which the air intake channel passes. The through hole is arranged corresponding to the air inlet. The air guiding device is formed as an air pump which is arranged in the drying compartment. A first sealing device is formed as a self-sealing structure inside the air pump. An air inflow end of the air bump is hermetically connected with the air inlet.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator includes a damper arranged at the inlet of the air intake channel and operatively associated with the air guiding device.
In an embodiment, the second sealing device includes a second baffle and a second elastic member. The second baffle covers the air outlet from one side of the refrigeration compartment and is connected with the second elastic member to seal against the air outlet under the action of an elastic force of the second elastic member.
In an embodiment, the air outlet is formed at a top of the drying compartment. The second sealing device includes a third baffle which covers the air outlet from one side of the refrigeration compartment and seals against the air outlet under the action of gravity.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator further includes a heating element arranged in the drying compartment.
In an embodiment, the heating power of the heating element is less than 20 watts.
In an embodiment, the heating element is a resistance wire or a PTC heater.
According to the refrigerator of the embodiment of the disclosure, the cold air in the freezer compartment enters into the drying compartment and mixes with the air in the drying compartment. As such, the temperature of the cold air increases so that the relative humidity in the drying compartment decreases, realizing the low-temperature dehumidification and drying function in the drying compartment. Furthermore, the outlet of the air intake channel is selectively closed on the inside of the drying compartment by the first sealing device, so that the first sealing device does not affect the drawing operation of the drying compartment and ensures that the drying compartment is kept in a sealed environment when cold air does not need to be introduced. Therefore, moisture in the refrigeration compartment is prevented from flowing back into the drying compartment from the air inlet, and the cold air is prevented from entering into the drying compartment.
In the following description, the words such as “in”, “out”, “top”, and “bottom” should be understood with reference to the structure of the refrigerator of the disclosure.
An embodiment of the disclosure provides a refrigerator, referring to
Referring to
In order to facilitate the installation of the first baffle 22 and the first elastic member 23, referring to
In the illustrated embodiment of the disclosure, referring to
In an embodiment not shown, the guide post 24 is fixedly connected with the first baffle 22, the guide post 24 and the first baffle 22 is slidable in the first mounting seat 21. In one embodiment, one end of the guide post 24 is slidably supported on the end of the first mounting seat 21, and the other end of the guide post 24 is slidably supported on the side wall of the drying compartment 12 or slidably supported on a component fixedly connected with the side wall of the drying compartment 12. In this way, the guide post 24 drives the first baffle 22 to slide in the first mounting seat 21.
The air guiding device 40 is arranged on the air intake channel to guide the air in the freezer compartment 11 to the drying compartment 12, that is, an air flow is forcibly formed between the freezer compartment 11 and the drying compartment 12 by the air intake device to efficiently and actively guide the cold air in the freezer compartment 11 to the drying compartment 12, so that the drying compartment 12 can be rapidly dehumidified within 3 to 5 minutes to meet the requirement of rapid dehumidification of the drying compartment 12.
The air guiding device 40 may be arranged in the drying compartment 12, or may be arranged in the interval between the refrigeration compartment 13 and the freezer compartment 11, or may be arranged in the freezer compartment 11.
In an embodiment, referring to
The position of the air outlet 12b is not limited, and it can be arranged on the top or side of the drying compartment. It can be understood that the relationship between the position of the air outlet 12b and the position of the outlet of the air intake channel should ensures that the air flow discharged from the outlet of the air intake channel and the air in the drying compartment 12 are mixed sufficiently and then discharged from the air outlet 12b, so that the air flow in the drying compartment 12 is replaced at maximum capacity.
The second sealing device includes a second baffle (not shown) and a second elastic member (not shown). The second baffle covers the air outlet 12b from one side of the refrigeration compartment 13 and is connected with the second elastic member to seal against the air outlet 12b under the action of an elastic force of the second elastic member. The second baffle and the second elastic member can adopt the structure of the first baffle 22 and the first elastic member 23 mentioned above, or is formed as a spring door structure. The sealing principle and working process of the second baffle and the second elastic member are similar to the sealing principle and working process of the first baffle 22 and the first elastic member 23 mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.
In another embodiment not shown, the refrigerator includes a third baffle (not shown). When the air outlet 12b is arranged at the top of the drying compartment 12, the second baffle covers the air outlet 12b from one side of the refrigeration compartment 13 and seals against the air outlet 12b under the action of gravity. When the air guiding device 40 is activated, the drying compartment 12 is in a positive pressure state, the third baffle is pushed open under the action of the air pressure, and the air flow in the drying compartment 12 enters into the refrigeration compartment 13 from the air outlet 12b. When the air guiding device 40 is closed, the air pressure in the drying compartment 12 gradually decreases, and the third baffle is gradually reset under the action of gravity. When the air pressure in the drying compartment 12 is less than the gravity of the third baffle, the third baffle firmly abuts against the air outlet 12b, so that moisture in the refrigeration compartment 13 cannot enter into the drying compartment 12 by the third baffle. The third baffle has a simple structure, which facilitates simplify the installation process.
It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the air guiding device 40 may be a device that can generate airflow, such as a fan, a blower, or an air pump.
In the embodiment, the refrigerator further includes a heating element 60 arranged in the drying compartment 12. The heating element 60 may be a resistance wire or a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater. In order to prevent the heating element 60 from greatly increasing the temperature in the refrigerator during operation, in the embodiment, the power of the heating element 60 should be less than 20 watts. Generally, the humidity decreases much faster than the temperature, so it is generally not necessary to activate the heating element 60 for active temperature control. However, in some special cases, for example, if the object having a high humidity and need to be cooled and air-dried is stored in the drying compartment 12, the object continuously emits moisture to the drying compartment 12, so that the humidity in the drying compartment 12 is kept high. At this time, due to the humidity in the drying compartment 12 does not meet the set requirement, the drying compartment 12 will continue to guide the cold air in the freezer compartment 11, so that the temperature in the drying compartment 12 is too low, which may frostbite other foods. In the present embodiment, by providing the heating member 60, the heating member 60 can be turned on when the above-mentioned condition occurs. The heating element 60 gradually increases the temperature in the drying compartment 12 during the low-power slow heating process, so that the temperature in the drying compartment 12 can be kept within a suitable temperature range, reducing the relative humidity in the drying compartment 12. Of course, it can be understood that the opening and closing of the heating element 60 can be controlled according to the temperature and humidity in the drying compartment 12.
A first embodiment of the disclosure will be described below with reference to
Referring to
A second embodiment of the disclosure will be described below with reference to
Referring to
In the third embodiment not shown in the disclosure, the air guiding device is in the form of an air pump (not shown) which is arranged in the drying compartment 12. In one embodiment, an air inflow end of the air bump is hermetically connected with the air inlet 12a of the drying compartment 12, and an air outflow end of the air bump is formed as the outlet of the air intake channel. The cold air in the freezer compartment 11 enters the into drying compartment 12 through the through hole 101, the air inlet 12a and the air pump. Due to the air pump has a self-sealing structure so that effective gas quarantine can be carried out between the air inflow end and the air outflow end of the air pump. In the present embodiment, the first sealing device is formed as a self-sealing structure inside the air pump.
The above are only embodiments of the disclosure and not intended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2018/104015 | 9/4/2018 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/047755 | 3/12/2020 | WO | A |
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20070107457 | Morris | May 2007 | A1 |
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Entry |
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Second OA of Chinese Application No. 201880040146.5. |
The extended European Search Report of EP Application No. 18932916.2. |
First Office Action dated Oct. 11, 2022 regarding the EP counterpart 18932916.2. |
The First OA for CN Application No. 201880040146.5. |
International Search Report of PCT/CN2018/104015. |
Written Opinion of ISA regarding PCT/CN2018/104015. |
Notice of Allowance dated Mar. 22, 2022 regarding the CN counterpart 201880040146.5. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210333037 A1 | Oct 2021 | US |