Refrigerator

Abstract: In a refrigerator, cooling air is supplied to a cooling chamber (3) through apertures (16). The cooling air is directed through the apertures (16) by rotary blades (33; 43, 44). The rotary blades (33; 43, 44) are vertical and planar and are grouped together so that the blades (33; 43, 44) for any one aperture (16) are plane parallel. Additional blades (51, 61; 71) may be provided to directing cooling air up and down through the apertures (16).

Description: The present invention relates to a refrigerator including a cooling compartment (3), a plurality of apertures, spaced one above another, opening into the cooling compartment and a rotary cooling air directing device rotatable through 360° about a vertical axis for directing cooling air through the apertures into the cooling compartment, said axis being vertical when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. A known refrigerator has a cabinet containing a pair of cooling compartments, i.e. a freezing compartment and a fresh food compartment. The compartments are separated by a partition wall. Doors are provided for both the freezing and fresh food compartments. The refrigerator includes a heat pump for supplying the freezing compartment and the fresh food compartment with cool air. The heat pump comprises a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. The cool air generated by the evaporator is driven by a fan along a supply duct at the back of each compartment and into the compartments through cool air discharge ports. In this refrigerator, however, there exist an area in which the cool air discharged through the cool air discharge ports is concentrated, and an area into which a relatively small amount of cool air is supplied. Consequently, there occurs a variation of temperature in the cooling compartments and uniform cooling cannot be achieved. In order to solve this problem, a so-called tri-dimensional cooling method has been proposed. In the refrigerator employing the tri-dimensional cooling method, the cool air discharge ports are provided in both side walls as well as at the rear wall of the cooling compartment in order to promote the uniform cooling. However, in such a refrigerator, there may be a dead-zone at an edge area which is not supplied with cool air sufficiently because the cool air is discharged through the cool air discharge ports in fixed directions. Also, the space for storing food is reduced and the manufacturing cost increased due to the increased number of components and processes because cooling air supply ducting has to be provided not only in the rear wall but also in the side walls. The uniform distribution of cool air has become an important problem because of the growth in refrigerator size. Figures 1 to 3 show a refrigerator as disclosed in WO-A-95/27278. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a refrigerator having a device for dispersing cool air has a two cooling compartments 2, 3 in a cabinet 1, which are separated from each other by a partition wall 5. The cooling compartments 2, 3 are respectively a freezing compartment 2 and a fresh food compartment 3. Doors 6, 7 are provided for closing the compartments 2,3. A heat pump, comprising a compressor 11, a condenser (not shown), a freezing compartment evaporator 12a and a fresh food compartment evaporator 12b, is installed in the cabiner 1. The cool air generated by the evaporators 12a, 12b is supplied to the associated compartments 2, 3 by respectively a freezing compartment fan 13a and a fresh food compartment fan 13b. A partially cylindrical duct plate 9, having cool air discharge ports 16 opening into the fresh food compartment 3, is attached to an inner wall plate 23 forming a rear inner wall surface of the fresh food compartment 3. A supply duct 15 and a return duct 17, separated from each other by a seal plate 25, are provided between the duct plate 9 and a rear wall 4 of the cabinet 1. In the supply duct 15 is installed a duct member 21 for guiding the cool air blown by the fresh food compartment fan 13b downwards. The cool air generated by the fresh food compartment evaporator 12b is blown by the fresh food compartment fan 13b, and then supplied to the fresh food compartment 3 via the supply duct 15 and the cool air discharge ports 16. A cool air dispersing device 130 is installed in the supply duct 15. The cool air dispersing device 130 comprises a vertical rotational shaft 131, cool air dispersing blades 132 mounted to the rotational shaft 131 in alignment with respective cool air discharge ports 16, and a driving motor 135 for rotating the rotational shaft 131. Each of the cool air dispersing blades 132 comprises three discs 136, 137, 138, disposed parallel to each other and one above the other, and first and second blade parts 133, 134 disposed between pairs of the discs 136, 137, 138. The blade parts 133, 134 are bent so that their cross sections are somewhat S-shaped. The blade parts 133, 134 are bent to the opposite directions to each other. When the driving motor 131 rotates the rotational shaft 131 at a low speed, the cool air flowing along the supply duct 15 changes its flowing direction along the bent surface of the cool air dispersing blades 132, and is discharged into the fresh food compartment 3, dispersing horizontally. However, when concentrated cooling in a particular area is needed, the driving motor 135 stops the rotational shaft 131 in accordance with the direction of the cool air dispersing blades 132 so that the cool air is concentrated on the specific area. Since the blade parts 133, 134 are somewhat S-shaped, the left and right sides of the fresh food compartment 3 may not be supplied with sufficient cool air and the smooth flow of cool air may be impeded by a vortices in the cool air formed about the cool air discharge ports 16. A refrigerator according to the present invention is characterised in that the directing device comprises a pair of vertical planar blade members mounted side-by-side on respective sides of said axis, connected at their upper and lower ends and fixedly plane parallel to each other for directing air through each of the apertures, the vertical planar blade members lying in vertical planes when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. A stepper motor may be used for rotating and orientating the blade members about the vertical axis. The known cool air dispersing device does not ensure that the vertical distribution of the cool air is sufficiently uniform. Preferably, therefore, the directing device includes auxiliary means for directing cooling air upwards or downwards through the aperture when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. More preferably, the auxiliary means comprises an auxiliary blade member pivotable about an axis which is horizontal when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. The auxiliary blade member may be mounted to one or both of said planar blade members. Alternatively, the auxiliary blade member may be mounted between the planar blade members and the aperture. In this case, the directing device preferably includes a cam member having a guide groove engaged by a projection drivingly coupled to the auxiliary blade member, the guide groove and the projection co-operating such the rotation of the planar blade members is accompanied by pivoting of the auxiliary blade member about an axis which is horizontal when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 4 to 30 of the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a known refrigerator having cool air dispersing blades; Figure 2 is a partial enlarged sectional view of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main elements of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a front view of a first refrigerator according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a side sectional view of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a partial enlarged sectional view of Figure 5; Figure 7 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main elements of Figure 6; Figures 8 through 11 are enlarged sectional views showing successive stages of the cool air dispersing process performed by the horizontal-dispersing blades; Figure 12 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main elements of the cool air dispersing device of a second refrigerator according to the present invention; Figure 13 is a front view of a third refrigerator according to the present invention; Figure 14 is an enlarged side sectional view of the main part of Figure 13; Figure 15 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main elements of Figure 14; Figure 16 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of Figure 15; Figure 17 is a partial enlarged exploded perspective view of Figure 15; Figure 18 is a front view of a fourth refrigerator according to the present invention; Figure 19 is a side sectional view of Figure 18; Figure 20 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of main elements of Figure 19; Figure 21 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the assembled state of Figure 20; Figures 22 through 24 are side sectional views showing successive operational stages; Figures 25 through 28 are figures showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention, which correspond to Figures 20, 22, 23 and 24, respectively; Figure 29 is an exploded perspective view of main elements of a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 30 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of Figure 29. Parts the same as or similar to parts shown in Figures 1 through 3 comprised in the state of the art will be referred to with the same reference numerals. The description of the parts in each embodiment which are substantially the same with the parts known in the state of the art will be omitted. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, a refrigerator has a cabinet 1 containing a freezing compartment 2 and a fresh food compartment 3 which are separated by a partitioning wall 5 and are disposed one above the other. Doors 6, 7 are provided for closing the compartments 2, 3. Shelves 8 for food are installed in the compartments 2, 3. The shelves 8 divide the fresh food compartment 3 into three stratified areas, i. e. an upper area, a middle area, and a lower area. A special fresh chamber 18 for storing food, which requires a specific temperature range, is formed at the upper part of the fresh food compartment 3, and a vegetable chamber 19 for storing vegetables is formed at the lower part of the fresh food compartment 3. A heat pump is installed in the cabinet 1. The heat pump comprises a compressor 11, a condenser (not shown), a freezing compartment evaporator 12a and a fresh food compartment evaporator 12b. Cool air generated by the evaporators 12a, 12b is supplied into the associated cooling compartments 2, 3 by the freezing compartment fan 13a and the fresh food compartment fan 13b. A duct plate 9 is attached to the inner wall plate 23 forming the rear inner wall of the fresh food compartment 3. The duct plate 9 is in the form of a partial cylinder so as to produce an arcuate protrusion from the inner wall plate 23 into the fresh food compartment 3. The duct plate 9 has cool air discharge ports 16 opening into respective storing areas of the fresh food compartment 3. Another cool air discharge port 16' is provided in an upper part of the inner wall plate 23 and opens into the special fresh chamber 18. A supply duct 15 and a return duct 17, which are separated from each other by a seal plate 25, are provided between the duct plate 9 and the rear wall 4 of the cabinet 1. A duct member 21 for guiding the cool air blown downwards by the fresh food compartment fan 13b is installed in the supply duct 15. The cool air generated by the fresh food compartment evaporator 12b is blown by the fresh food compartment fan 13b so as to be supplied into the fresh food compartment 3 via the supply duct 15 and the cool air discharge ports 16. A device 30 for dispersing the cool air horizontally is installed in the supply duct 15. Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the horizontal-dispersing device 30 has a vertical rotational shaft 31, three pairs of planar horizontal-dispersing blades 33 and a driving motor 35 for rotating the rotational shaft 31. The three pairs of horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are disposed near to respective cool air discharge ports 16. The horizontal-dispersing blades 33 in each pair are disposed parallel to each other on opposite sides of the rotational shaft 31, and are connected to each other by connecting bars 37. The rotational shaft 31 is integrally formed with the connecting bars 37. A coupling part 39 couples the upper end of the rotational shaft 31 to the drive shaft of the motor 35 and a journal part 32, received rotatably in a bearing hole formed at the bottom of the duct plate 9, is provided at the lower end of the rotational shaft 31. It is preferable that the driving motor 35 be a stepping motor whose angular position can be controlled. When the driving motor 35 operates, the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are rotated by the rotational shaft 31, and thereby cool air discharged through the cool air discharge ports 16 is dispersed horizontally. Referring to Figures 8 through 11, the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 of the cool air dispersing device 30 rotate through 360 degrees as the driving motor 35 operates. When the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are directed to the front as shown in Figure 8, the cool air in the supply duct 15 is discharged forwards through the spaces between the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 and outside the horizontal-dispersing blades 33. When the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are directed transverse to the cool air discharge ports 16 as shown in Figure 10, the discharge of the cool air to the front is blocked and cool air is discharged so as to be dispersed to the left and to the right. The discharge direction of the cool air changes as the angular position of the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 is changed, so the cool air is dispersed into the fresh food compartment 3 uniformly. Moreover, since the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are planar, vortices are not caused by the rotation of the horizontal-dispersing blades 33. If the supply of the cool air is to be concentrated on a specific area such as the left side or the right side, the driving motor 35 is stopped when the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are directed to that area. In such a situation, temperature sensors placed at a plurality of positions in the fresh food compartment 3, as well as a control part for controlling the driving motor 35 on the basis of the sensing signal from the temperature sensors, have to be provided. In the above-described embodiment, a pair of horizontal-dispersing blades 33 are disposed in adjacent to each cool air discharge port 16. However, it is possible to use a single pair of horizontal-dispersing blades of sufficient length to operated in conjunction with all of the cool air discharge ports 16. Referring to Figure 12, a second cool air dispersing device 40 has substantially the same construction with the first cool air dispersing device 30 described above. Both ends of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 of each pair are connected to form a unit by disc-shaped connecting plates 47. The rotational shaft 41 is coupled at the centres of the connecting plates 47. A coupling part 49 for connecting with the driving motor 45 is provided at the upper end of the rotational shaft 41, and a journal part 32 is provided at the lower end thereof. In this embodiment, the connecting plates 47 function not only to connect the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 with each other but also to guide cool air so that the cool air flowing downward along the supply duct 15 strikes them and is directed towards the cool air discharge ports 16. Referring to Figures 13 to 17, a third cool air dispersing device 50 has, like the horizontal-dispersing device 40 shown in Figure 12, a rotational shaft 41, horizontal-dispersing blades 43, connecting plates 47, and a driving motor 45. It also has a coupling part 49 for coupling axially with the driving motor 45 at its upper end and a journal part 42 at its lower end. The duct plate 9 has a lower support part 9a and an upper support part 9c which extend horizontally at the upper and lower ends thereof. The lower support part 9a is formed with a bearing hole 9b for receiving the journal part 42, and the upper support part 9c is formed with another bearing hole 9d for receiving the upper end of the rotational shaft 41. Unlike the second embodiment, the present embodiment further comprises outer auxiliary blades 51 attached to the outer surface of respective horizontal-dispersing blades 43, and a central auxiliary blade 61 disposed between pairs of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43. The outer auxiliary blade 51 is formed into the shape of a semi-disc and is attached to the surface of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 so as to be orthogonal thereto. The central auxiliary blade 61is rectangular and is disposed between a pair of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 so as to be transverse thereto. The outer auxiliary blade 51 is formed with a pair of installation pins 52 protruding toward a horizontal-dispersing blade 43. The installation pins 52 are spaced from each other and the horizontal-dispersing blade 43 is formed with a circular fixing hole 55 and an elongate fixing hole 57. The circular fixing hole 55 form-fittingly receives one of the installation pins 52 and the elongate fixing hole 57 extends to form an arc about the circular fixing hole 55. If the outer auxiliary blade 51 is operated to pivot about the circular fixing hole 55 while the installation pins 52 of the outer auxiliary blade 51 is inserted into respective fixing holes 55, 57, the tilt of the outer auxiliary blade 51 can be controlled. The central auxiliary blade 61 also has a pair of installation pins 63. These protrude towards the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 on either side end thereof. The horizontal-dispersing blade 43 is formed with a circular fixing hole 67 and an elongate fixing hole 69, into which the installation pins 63 are inserted respectively. The circular fixing hole 67 form-fittingly receives one of the installation pins 63 and the long fixing hole 69 forms an arc about the circular fixing hole 67. If the central auxiliary blade 61 is operated to pivot about the circular fixing hole 67 while the installation pins 63 of the central auxiliary blade 61 are inserted into respective fixing holes 67, 69, the tilt of the central auxiliary blade 61 can be controlled. Both of the auxiliary blades 51, 61 function to guide the cool air such that cool air flowing downwards along the supply duct 15 is discharged through the cool air discharge ports 16 so as to be dispersed vertically. By controlling the tilt of the auxiliary blades 51, 61, uniform vertical distribution of cool air is promoted. Therefore, uniform vertical distribution of cool air is achieved along with uniform horizontal distribution thereof achieved by the horizontal-dispersing blades 43. Referring to Figures 18 to 21, in a third embodiment, two vertical-dispersing blades 71 are appended to each of the horizontal-dispersing blade 33 of the first embodiment. The constitution and the function of the horizontal-dispersing device 30 are the same with those of the first embodiment, so the description of them will not repeated. In this embodiment, the refrigerator has a plurality of vertical-dispersing blades 71 associated with each of the cool air discharge ports 16, and hereinafter the set of the vertical-dispersing blades 71 will be called a vertical-dispersing blade set 70. The vertical-dispersing blades 71 are arcuate plates so as to accommodate the horizontal-dispersing blades 33, and a horizontal rotational shaft 72 extends along the horizontal axis thereof at the left and right ends thereof. In correspondence with it, the duct plate 9 has flange parts 9e which extend backward from the rear surface of both side edges thereof and face each other. The flange parts 9e are formed with a plurality of shaft holes 9f for receiving and rotatably supporting the horizontal rotational shaft 72. The vertical-dispersing blades 71 are capable of pivoting in the cool air discharge ports 16 while the horizontal rotational shaft 72 is inserted into the shaft holes 9f. Between the vertical-dispersing blade set 70 and the horizontal-dispersing device 30 is disposed a link member 80 which is parallel with the rotational shaft 31. The link member 80 is rod-shaped and has a plurality of hinge assembly parts 81 which are each in the form of a partial ring and protrude towards the vertical-dispersing blades 71. In correspondence with the hinge assembly parts 81, each of the vertical-dispersing blades 71 has a hinge part 73 at the inner central area thereof, which is in the form of a horizontal cylinder. The hinge assembly parts 81 are engaged with the hinge parts 73 so as to be capable of rotating relative thereto. Also, an elevation/de-elevation cam 85, having a cylindrical surface, is provided on the rotational shaft 31 of the horizontal-dispersing device 30. A cam groove 86 is formed on the outer surface of the elevation/de-elevation cam 85. The cam groove 86 is a closed loop having an elevational/de-elevational cam profile along the cylindrical surface. On the link member 80 is provided an operation part 82 protruding transversely of the longitudinal direction thereof and the free end of the operation part 82 is inserted into the cam groove 86 of the elevation/de-elevation cam 85. The link member 80 has a guiding piece 88 protruding toward the duct plate 9. The guiding piece 88 is accommodated in the elevation/de-elevation guiding part 87 formed on the inner wall of the duct plate 9. The elevation/de-elevation guiding part 87 accommodates the guiding piece 88 so as to be capable of guiding it up and down and preventing the link member 80 from rotating with respect to the axis thereof. When the horizontal-dispersing device 30 operates to rotate the rotational shaft 31, the elevation/de-elevation cam 85 rotates with it and the link member 80 is elevated/de-elevated by the operation part 82 engaged with the cam groove 86 of the elevation/de-elevation cam 85. The elevational and de-elevational movement of the link member 80 causes the pivoting of the vertical-dispersing blades 71 with respect to the horizontal rotational shaft 72 through the hinge assembly part 81 and the hinge part 73 of the vertical-dispersing blades 71. Referring to Figures 22 and 23, while the vertical-dispersing blades 71 are kept horizontal, the cool air is discharged horizontally. When the rotational shaft 31 rotates by about 90 degrees, the vertical-dispersing blades 71 are tilted upward as shown in Figure 23 and, in this situation, the cool air is discharged upward into the upper area of the fresh food compartment 3. As the rotational shaft 31 further rotates by about 90 degrees from the position shown in Figure 23, the vertical-dispersing blades 71 is returned to the horizontal state as shown in Figure 22, and as it further rotates by about 90 degrees, the vertical-dispersing blades 71 is tilted downward as shown in Figure 24. In this situation, the cool air is discharged downwards. As the above-described operations are repeated, cool air is supplied uniformly in the vertical direction. During such operations, since the horizontal-dispersing blades 33 also rotate, the cool air is dispersed uniformly in the horizontal direction. Figure 25 is an exploded perspective view of a fifth cool air dispersing device according to the present invention, which corresponds to Figure 20. The present embodiment has substantially the same construction with the fourth embodiment shown in Figure 20, but adopting the horizontal-dispersing device 40 shown in Figure 12 in substitution for the horizontal-dispersing device 30 shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, three vertical-dispersing blades 71 are appended to each of the cool air discharge ports 16. Moreover, the link member 80 is disposed not between the vertical-dispersing blade set 70 and the horizontal-dispersing device 40 but between the duct plate 9 and the vertical-dispersing blade set 70. The construction of the other components, such as the elevation/de-elevation cam 85 for elevating/de-elevating the link member 80, the cam groove 86, the operation part 82, and the hinge assembly parts 81, is substantially the same with that of the embodiment shown in Figure 20, so the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the connecting plate 47 for connecting both of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 with each other functions to guide the cool air flowing downward through the supply duct 15 toward the cool air discharge ports 16. Furthermore, since the link member 80 is disposed between the duct plate 9 and the vertical-dispersing blade set 70, the vertical-dispersing blades 71 and the horizontal-dispersing blades 43 can be closer to each other. Therefore, the combined effect of dispersing the cool air uniformly in the horizontal and vertical directions can be much more enhanced. Referring to Figures 26 through 28, the rotation of the horizontal-dispersing blades 43, the pivoting of the vertical-dispersing blades 71 caused thereby, and the dispersing of the cool air according to the operation thereof are the same with those of the embodiment shown in Figures 22 through 24, so the description thereof is not repeated here. Figure 29 is an exploded perspective view of a sixth cool air dispersing device according to the present invention and Figure 30 is a perspective view showing the assembled state thereof. The present embodiment has substantially the same construction with the fifth embodiment shown in Figures 25 through 28. The only difference is that an additional horizontal-dispersing blade 44 is installed between each pair of horizontal-dispersing blades 43. The additional horizontal-dispersing blades 44 are spaced from and disposed parallel to the existing horizontal-dispersing blades 43. This embodiment shows that the number of the horizontal-dispersing blades can be increased in consideration of the situation and that cool air can be more uniformly dispersed when the number of the horizontal-dispersing blades is increased. As described above, in a refrigerator having a cool air dispersing device according to the present invention, a stable cool air flow and a uniform distribution of the cool air can be achieved without vortices in the cool air flow about the cool air discharge ports. Furthermore, the uniform distribution of the cool air can be achieved not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction.

Claims: A refrigerator including a cooling compartment (3), a plurality of apertures (16), spaced one above another, opening into the cooling compartment (3) and a rotary cooling air directing device (30; 40; 50) rotatable through 360° about a vertical axis for directing cooling air through the apertures (16) into the cooling compartment (3), said axis being vertical when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation, characterised in that the directing device (30; 40; 50) comprises a pair of vertical planar blade members (33; 43) mounted side-by-side on respective sides of said axis, connected at their upper and lower ends and fixedly plane parallel to each other for directing air through each of the apertures (16), the vertical planar blade members (33; 43) lying in vertical planes when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. A refrigerator according to claim 1, including a stepper motor (35; 45) for rotating and orientating the blade members (33; 43) about said vertical axis. A refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the directing device (30; 40; 50) includes auxiliary means (51, 61; 71) for directing cooling air upwards or downwards through the aperture (16) when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. A refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary means comprises an auxiliary blade member (51, 61; 71) pivotable about an axis which is horizontal when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation. A refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary blade member (51, 61) is mounted to one or both of said planar blade members (43). A refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary blade member (71) is mounted between the planar blade members (33) and the aperture (16). A refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the directing device (30) includes a cam member (85) having a guide groove (86) engaged by a projection (82) drivingly coupled to the auxiliary blade member (71), the guide groove (86) and the projection (82) co-operating such the rotation of the planar blade members (33) is accompanied by pivoting of the auxiliary blade member (71) about an axis which is horizontal when the refrigerator is in its operational orientation.

Inventors: JI JOON DONG, KIM JAE IN, JI, JOON DONG, KIM, JAE IN
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: F25D11
IPC codes: F25D17, F24F13