Patent Publication Number: US-10775093-B2

Title: Refrigerator

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0065572, filed on May 26, 2017, whose entire disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator. 
     2. Background 
     In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance that can keep food at a low temperature in a storage space that is closed by a door. A refrigerator may include a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, or a freezer compartment or a refrigerator compartment. The freezer compartment generally may be maintained at a temperature around 18 degrees below zero Celsius. 
     Refrigerators may include a supercooling compartment that rapidly freezes food by intensively supplying cold air to keep the food fresh. The supercooling compartment may be maintained approximately at a temperature around 35 degrees below zero Celsius. Some of air that has been exchanged heat through an evaporator can be supplied to a freezer compartment through a cold air duct and the other can be supplied to the supercooling compartment through a separate duct. 
     A grill pan assembly has been disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0901033 a supercooling compartment is disposed at the middle portion in a freezer compartment and a freezer duct for discharging cold air is disposed over the supercooling compartment. Cold air is discharged over the supercooling compartment through a plurality of holes formed at the freezer duct and cold air is discharged into the supercooling compartment through an exit formed at the grill pan assembly. 
     A storage chamber for keeping food may be disposed under the supercooling compartment, and in such a case, the supercooling compartment divides the storage chamber and the space over the supercooling compartment, such that cold air may not be smoothly supplied to the storage chamber. Accordingly, the storage chamber under the supercooling compartment is maintained a higher temperature, so the temperature in the freezer compartment except for the supercooling compartment is not uniform. 
     The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view showing a freezer compartment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view showing the freezer compartment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a cold air supply mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing a cold air duct and a cold air guide according to an embodiment of the preset disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a view showing a state in which the cold air guide and an evaporator cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure communicate with each other. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the cold air guide according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cold air guide of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the evaporator cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a cover member according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a view showing a state in which the cover member is combined with the evaporator cover. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing discharge ducts according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a view showing cold air flow in the freezer compartment according to an embodiment of the preset disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , a refrigerator  1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cabinet  11  having a storage chamber and a storage chamber door coupled to the cabinet  11  to open and close the storage chamber. Discharge ducts constituting a cold air guide device are omitted in  FIG. 2  for convenience of illustrating an aspect of the present disclosure. 
     The storage chamber may include a freezer compartment  12  and a refrigerator compartment and objects such as food can be stored in the freezer compartment  12  and the refrigerator compartment. The freezer compartment  12  and the refrigerator compartment can be divided laterally or vertically in the cabinet  11  by a separation wall. A side-by-side refrigerator in which the freezer compartment  12  and the refrigerator compartment are divided laterally by a separation wall is described hereafter. 
     The storage chamber door may include a freezer door  18  for opening/closing the freezer compartment  12  and a refrigerator door  19  for opening/closing the refrigerator compartment. Though not limited, the refrigerator door  19  may further include a sub-door  17  for taking out the objects stored inside the refrigerator door  19  without the refrigerator door  19  being opened. 
     A plurality of drawers  13  and  14  for receiving food may be disposed in the freezer compartment  12 . The drawers  13  and  14  may include a top drawer  13  and a bottom drawer  14 . Though not limited, the top drawer  13  may form a supercooling compartment  15  that is maintained at a lower temperature than the freezer compartment  12 . The bottom drawer  14  is disposed under the supercooling compartment  15  and forms a bottom storage space  16 . In the embodiment, the space over the supercooling compartment  15  in the freezer compartment  12  may be considered as a top storage space. 
     A cold air supply mechanism for supplying and circulating cold air in the freezer compartment  12  is provided for the freezer compartment  12 . The cold air supply mechanism may include an evaporator  20  and a chamber body  22  forming a heat exchange chamber defining a space for providing the evaporator  20 . The evaporator  20  may be provided at a lower space in the chamber body  22 . The upper space of the heat exchange chamber forms a passage for flow of cold air passing through the evaporator  20 . 
     The cold air supply mechanism may further include a cold air duct  30  for discharging cold air into the freezer compartment  12  and an evaporator cover  40  may be provided in front of the evaporator  20  to cover the evaporator  20 . The evaporator cover  40  is placed under the cold air duct  30 . Though not limited, the top of the evaporator cover  40  may be placed under the cold air duct  30 . 
     The evaporator cover  40  may be combined with the chamber body  22 . The evaporator cover  40  can guide some of cold air, which has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20 , to the supercooling compartment  15 . 
     For example, some of the cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  can flow upward in the heat exchange chamber and then can be discharged into the storage space of the freezer compartment  12  by the cold air duct  30 . The other of the cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  can be supplied directly to the supercooling compartment  15  through the evaporator cover  40 . 
     A supercooling fan (not shown) for blowing cold air to the supercooling compartment  15  may be attached to the evaporator cover  40  (first cover) and may be covered with a cover member  45 . The cover member  45  (second cover) may be coupled to the rear side of the evaporator cover  40 . The cold air supply mechanism may further include a suction guide  50  for guiding cold air in the freezer compartment  12  to the evaporator  20 . The cold air guided by the suction guide  50  flows under the evaporator  20 . The cold air supply mechanism may further include a cold air guide device for guiding some of air flowing to the cold air duct  30  to the bottom storage space  16 . The cold air guide device may extend downward from the cold air duct  30  and may extend to the bottom storage space  16  through the space behind the supercooling compartment  15 . 
     The cold air guide device may include a cold air guide  60  connected to the cold air duct  30  to receive cold air and guiding the cold air to the evaporator cover  40 , a guide passage  440  (see  FIG. 11 ) formed by the evaporator cover  40 , and discharge ducts  70  connected to the evaporator cover  40  and discharging cold air supplied through the guide passage  440  (see  FIG. 11 ) to the bottom storage space  16 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a fan motor  311  and a fan  312  that is rotated by the fan motor  311  may be provided in the cold air duct  30 . 
     The cold air duct  30  may have a cold air passage  320  for flow of cold air blown by the fan  312  and a plurality of cold air discharge holes  331 ,  332 , and  333  for discharging cold air in the cold air passage  320 . Cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  is sent to the cold air passage  320  by the fan  312  and is distributed to the cold air discharge holes  331 ,  332 , and  333  from the cold air passage  320 , whereby the cold air is discharged to the freezer compartment  12 , in detail, the top storage space. 
     The cold air discharge holes  331 ,  332 , and  333  may be vertically from each other. Cold air may be uniformly discharged to the top storage space by the cold air discharge holes  331 ,  332 , and  333 . The cold air discharge holes  331 ,  332 , and  333 , though not limited, may include an upper discharge hole  331 , a middle discharge hole  332 , and a lower discharge hole  333 . 
     A bottom discharge hole  334  for discharging cold air to the cold air guide device may be further formed through the bottom of the cold air duct  30 . The bottom discharge hole  334  may communicate with the cold air guide device. For example, the bottom discharge hole  334  may communicate with the cold air guide  60 . A portion of the cold air guide  60  may be inserted in the cold air duct  30  through the bottom discharge hole  334 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 8 , the cold air guide  60  has an inlet  611  and an outlet  622 . The inlet  611  of the cold air guide  60  communicates with the bottom discharge hole  334  of the cold air duct  30  and the outlet  622  of the cold air guide  60  communicates with the guide passage  440  (see  FIG. 11 ) formed in the evaporator cover  40 . 
     The cold air guide  60  has a first guide  610  forming a passage  612  and a second guide  620  extending downward from the first guide  610 . The inlet  611  is formed at a top surface of the first guide  610  and the outlet  622  is formed at a bottom surface of the second guide  620 . The first guide  610  may be formed smaller than the lateral width of the second guide  620 . The smaller the width of the first guide  610 , the smaller the volume of the first guide  610 , so the volume of the freezer compartment  12  can be optimally reduced. 
     The front-rear width of the second guide  620  may be larger than the front-rear width of the first guide  610 . This is for enabling cold air to smoothly flow from the second guide  620  to the guide passage  440  (see  FIG. 11 ). The second guide  620  may be seated on a passage wall  420  (see  FIG. 9 ) forming a supercooling passage  422  (see  FIG. 9 ) in the evaporator cover  40 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4, and 9 to 11 , the evaporator cover  40  is disposed in the freezer compartment  12  and can cover the front of the evaporator  20 . The evaporator cover  40  may include a cover body  410 . The cover body  410  may be coupled to the chamber body  22 . The passage wall  420  forming a space where the supercooling passage  422  is disposed may be formed on the evaporator cover  40 . The passage wall  420  may be recessed away from the evaporator  20 , on a portion of the cover body  410 . In other words, the passage wall  420  may protrude toward the freezer door  18  from the cover body  410 . 
     A fan receiving part or seat  423  in which the supercooling fan (not shown) can be seated may be formed at the passage wall  420 . The fan receiving part  423  may be recessed away from the evaporator  20  at a portion of the passage wall  420 . In other words, the fan receiving part  423  may protrude toward the freezer door  18  from a portion of the passage wall  420 . 
     A cold air outlet  424  may be formed at the fan receiving part  423 . The cold air outlet  424  may be formed to face the top drawer  13  forming the supercooling compartment  15 . For example, the front of the cold air outlet  424  may be positioned to horizontally overlap the top drawer  13  forming the supercooling compartment  15 . 
     The evaporator cover  40  may further have an inlet  430  for guiding the cold air in the freezer compartment  12  to the evaporator  20 . The inlet  430  may be disposed under the passage wall  420 . 
     The suction guide  50  for guiding the cold air in the freezer compartment  12  to the inlet  430  may be coupled to the front of the evaporator cover  40 . The suction guide  50  not only guides the cold air in the freezer compartment  12  to the inlet  430 , but prevents the cold air discharged from the cold air outlet  424  from flowing directly to the inlet  430 . With the suction guide  50  coupled to the evaporator cover  40 , the top of the suction guide  50  is positioned lower than the inlet  430  and a portion of the suction guide  50  may be declined as it goes to the refrigerator door  18 . 
     The space inside the passage wall  420  may be covered by the cover member  45  (third cover). The cover member  45  covers the space inside the passage wall  420  between the evaporator cover  40  and the evaporator  20 . The cover member  45  may include a plate  451 . A cold air inlet  455  for receiving cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  may be formed at the plate  451 . 
     Ribs  429  and  453  for separate the supercooling passage  422  and the guide passage  440  inside the passage wall  420  may be formed respectively on the passage wall  420  and the cover member  45 . The first rib  429  on the passage wall  420  may be formed to surround the fan receiving part  423 . The fan receiving part  423  may be disposed in the area defined by the first rib  429 . The first rib  429  may be spaced from both sides of the passage wall  420 . 
     The second rib  453  on the cover member  45  may be formed in the same shape as the first rib  429 . When the cover member  45  is combined with the evaporator cover  40 , the second rib  453  is in contact with the first rib  429 . The second rib  453  may be formed the surround the cold air inlet  455 . The cold air inlet  455  may be disposed in the area defined by the second rib  453 . Alternatively, a rib may be formed on any one of the passage wall  420  and the cover member  45 . 
     Since the second rib  453  on the cover member  45  is formed in the same shape as the first rib  429 , the second rib  453  is also spaced from both sides of the passage wall  420 . Inside the passage wall  420 , the supercooling passage  422  is positioned inside the ribs  429  and  453  and the guide passage  440  is positioned outside the ribs  429  and  453 . The guide passage  440  may be positioned at both sides of the supercooling passage  422 . 
     A first hole  426  for passing air discharged from the cold air guide  60  is formed through the top surface  425  of the passage wall  420 . Though not limited, a plurality of first holes  426  may be formed through the top surface  425  of the passage wall  420 . The first holes  426  may be spaced from each other in the left-right direction of the refrigerator. The first holes  426  may be formed not to vertically overlap the fan receiving part  423  so that air passing through the first holes  426  can flow to the guide passage  440 . For example, the first holes  426  may be positioned at both sides on the top surface  425  of the passage wall  420 . 
     A second hole  428  for passing cold air discharged from the cold air guide  440  is formed through the bottom surface  427  of the passage wall  420 . Though not limited, a plurality of second holes  428  may be formed through the bottom surface  427  of the passage wall  420 . The second holes  428  may be spaced from each other in the left-right direction of the refrigerator. The second holes  428  may be formed not to vertically overlap the fan receiving part  423  so that air passing through the guide passage  440  can flow smoothly through the second holes  428 . 
     The cold air guide  60  may be seated on the top surface  425  of the passage wall  420 . When the cold air guide  60  is seated on the top surface  425  of the passage wall  420 , the cold air guide  60  covers the first holes  426 . Further, the outlet  622  of the cold air guide  60  communicates with the first holes  426 . The lateral width of the second guide  620  may be the same as or larger than the distance between the first holes  426  so that the cold air guide  60  can cover the first holes  426 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 to 13 , the same number of discharge ducts  70  as the second holes  428  may be connected to the evaporator cover  40 . The discharge ducts  70  may include a first duct  710  having an inlet  712  and a second duct  720  having an outlet  722  and inclined at a predetermined angle from the first duct  710 . The inlets  712  of the first duct  710  communicate with the second holes  428 . The first duct  710  may horizontally extend in the freezer compartment  12  and the second duct  720  may extend downward from an end of the first duct  710  in the freezer compartment  12 . 
       FIG. 14  is a view showing cold air flow in a freezer compartment according to an embodiment of the preset disclosure. Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 14 , the first ducts  710  are positioned over the suction guide  50  when the discharge ducts  70  are connected to the evaporator cover  40 . 
     The first duct may be positioned between the cold air outlet  424  and the inlet  430 . The second duct  720  may extend toward the bottom drawer  14  between the suction guide  50  and the top drawer  13 . That is, the second duct  720  may be positioned ahead of the suction guide  50  and behind the top drawer  13 . 
     The outlet  722  of the second duct  720  may be positioned lower than the bottom of the top drawer  13  and higher than the upper end of the bottom drawer  14 . The outlet  722  of the second duct  720  may be positioned to vertically overlap the bottom storage space  16  of the bottom drawer  14 . According to this structure, it is possible to cold air discharged from the discharge duct  70  from flowing directly to the inlet  430 . The lower end of the suction guide  50  is positioned lower than the upper end of the bottom drawer  14 . 
     The flow of cold air in the freezer compartment is described hereafter. 
     When the fan  312  is rotated by the fan motor  311 , cold air in the freezer compartment  12  is sent into the heat exchange chamber through the inlet  430  of the evaporator cover  40  along the suction guide  50  by the torque of the fan  312 . The air flowing in the heat exchange chamber exchanges heat through the evaporator  20  while rising. 
     Some of the cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  is sent into the supercooling passage  422  through the cold air inlet  455  of the cover member  45  by rotation of the supercooling fan in the fan receiving part  423 . The cold air flowing in the supercooling passage  422  flows through the supercooling fan and is then discharged rearward straight from the supercooling compartment  15  through the cold air outlet  424 . 
     The other of the cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator  20  rises and passes through the fan, flows to the cold air passage  320  in the cold air duct  30 , and is then discharged to the freezer compartment  12  through the cold air discharge holes. 
     Further, some of the cold air in the cold air duct  30  is discharged to the cold air guide  60 . The cold air discharged to the cold air guide  60  flows downward and keeps flowing to the guide passage  440  through the first holes  426  of the passage wall  420 . 
     The cold air flowing into the guide passage  440  flows downward through the guide passage  440  and keeps flowing to the discharge ducts  70  through the second holes  428 . The cold air flowing to the discharge ducts  70  is finally discharged over the bottom drawer  14 . 
     As described above, according to the embodiment, cold air can be smoothly supplied to the top storage space over the supercooling compartment and to the bottom storage space by the cold air guide device. Accordingly, the temperature in the freezer compartment can be uniform. 
     Further, since the outlet of the discharge duct is positioned over the bottom storage space and the suction guide is positioned behind the bottom storage space, the cold air discharged from the discharge duct can be prevented from directly flowing to the suction guide. 
     Further, since a portion of the evaporator cover forms the guide passage  440 , there is no need for a structure for forming the guide passage  440 , so reduction in volume of the freezer compartment can be prevented. 
     The present embodiment provides a refrigerator that can keep temperature in a freezer compartment uniform. 
     Further, the present embodiment provides a refrigerator that can smoothly supply cold air to a storage chamber disposed under a supercooling compartment. 
     A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present disclosure may include a cabinet having a freezer compartment; an evaporator supplying cold air to the freezer compartment; an evaporator cover covering the evaporator and having a supercooling passage for flowing some of cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator to a supercooling compartment of the freezer compartment; a cold air duct for flowing the other of the cold air that has exchanged heat through the evaporator to a top storage space over the supercooling compartment; and a cold air guide device for guiding cold air in the cold air duct to a bottom storage space under the supercooling compartment. 
     It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can be directly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The same applies to the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or joined.” 
     It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented “upper” relative the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference to cross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments. 
     Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.