Patent Publication Number: US-8534091-B2

Title: Refrigerator related technology

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0005007, filed on Jan. 21, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to refrigerator technology. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A refrigerator is used to supply cold air generated at an evaporator to a storage compartment (e.g., a refrigerating and/or freezing compartment) to maintain freshness of various food products stored in the storage compartment. Such a refrigerator includes a body, in which a storage compartment is defined to store food at a low-temperature state. A door is mounted to a front side of the body to open or close the storage compartment. 
     A cooling cycle is included in the refrigerator to cool the storage compartment through circulation of a refrigerant. A machine compartment is also defined in the body to accommodate a plurality of electric elements used to configure the cooling cycle. 
     For instance, the cooling cycle includes a compressor to perform a temperature/pressure increasing operation upon a low-temperature/low-pressure gaseous refrigerant such that the low-temperature/low-pressure gaseous refrigerant is changed into a high-temperature/high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The cooling cycle also includes a condenser to condense the refrigerant supplied from the compressor, using ambient air, an expansion valve to perform a pressure reducing operation upon the refrigerant supplied from the condenser such that the refrigerant is expanded, and an evaporator to evaporate the refrigerant emerging from the expansion valve in a low pressure state, thereby absorbing heat from the interior of the refrigerator. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a refrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment defined in a first portion of the body, a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage compartment, and a cold air generating compartment defined in an upper portion of the body and configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment. The upper portion of the body is positioned above the storage compartment when the refrigerator is oriented in an ordinary operating orientation. The refrigerator also includes an evaporator positioned in the cold air generating compartment and a cold air fan positioned in the cold air generating compartment and configured to promote movement of air within the cold air generating compartment in a flow direction that passes over the evaporator and is perpendicular to a surface of the door when the door is oriented in a closed position. The refrigerator further includes a guide duct arranged in the body to connect the storage compartment and the cold air generating compartment and configured to guide air flow between the storage compartment and the cold air generating compartment. 
     Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the cold air generating compartment may extend across a depth of the body from a front side of the body to a rear side of the body and the guide duct may be configured to guide air flowing from a rear side of the storage compartment to the cold air generating compartment and air flowing from the cold air generating compartment to the rear side of the storage compartment. The guide duct may be configured to guide air flowing from the rear side of the storage compartment to a rear side of the cold air generating compartment and air flowing from a front side of the cold air generating compartment to the rear side of the storage compartment. 
     The guide duct may define a first flow path that guides the air flowing from the rear side of the storage compartment to the rear side of the cold air generating compartment and a second flow path that guides the air flowing from the front side of the cold air generating compartment to the rear side of the storage compartment. The first and second flow paths may be separated from each other. 
     Further, the refrigerator may include a first duct configured to guide the air flowing from the rear side of the storage compartment to the rear side of the cold air generating compartment and a second duct configured to guide the air flowing from the front side of the cold air generating compartment to the rear side of the storage compartment. The first duct may be arranged at the rear side of the storage compartment and the second duct may be arranged to extend along a top wall of the storage compartment and the rear side of the storage compartment. 
     The second duct may include an inlet portion arranged at a front side of the top wall of the storage compartment and configured to receive air from the cold air generating compartment and a guide portion arranged at one side of the top wall of the storage compartment, connected to the inlet portion, and configured to guide, within the top wall, cold air received by the inlet portion to the rear side of the storage compartment without entering the storage compartment at the top wall. The second duct also may include a discharge portion arranged at the rear side of the storage compartment, connected to the guide portion, and configured to guide cold air from the guide portion into the storage compartment at the rear side of the storage compartment. The portions of the second duct arranged at the top wall of the storage compartment may be arranged at a bottom wall of the cold air generating compartment. The portion of the second duct arranged at the rear side of the storage compartment may be parallel to and separated from the first duct. 
     In addition, the refrigerator may include a cold air inlet defined at the first duct and configured to receive cold air from the storage compartment and a cold air outlet defined at the second duct and configured to discharge cold air into the storage compartment. The evaporator may have a vertical length perpendicular to the flow direction of cold air along the evaporator and a horizontal length parallel to the flow direction of cold air such that the vertical length is longer than the horizontal length. 
     The cold air fan may be arranged in the front or rear of the evaporator in the cold air generating compartment and may be configured to guide cold air received from the first duct such that the cold air flows to the second duct after passing through the evaporator. The cold air fan may include one of a centrifugal fan, an axial fan, and a cross-flow fan. The cold air fan may be configured to propel the cold air toward an inlet of the second duct. 
     In another aspect, a refrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment defined in a first portion of the body, and a cold air generating compartment defined in an upper portion of the body. The upper portion of the body is positioned above the storage compartment when the refrigerator is oriented in an ordinary operating orientation. The refrigerator also includes an evaporator positioned in the cold air generating compartment and a cold air fan positioned in the cold air generating compartment and configured to promote movement of air within the cold air generating compartment from a rear side of the cold air generating compartment to a front side of the cold air generating compartment. The refrigerator further includes a first duct arranged at a rear side of the storage compartment and configured to guide air from the rear side of the storage compartment to the rear side of the cold air generating compartment and a second duct that is arranged to extend along the rear side of the storage compartment and a top wall of the storage compartment, that is separated from the first duct, and that is configured to guide air from the front side of the cold air generating compartment to the rear side of the storage compartment. 
     Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the first duct may communicate with a rear side of a bottom wall of the cold air generating compartment and the second duct may communicate with a front side of the bottom wall of the cold air generating compartment. The refrigerator may include an inlet defined at the first duct and configured to guide air from the storage compartment to the first duct and an outlet defined at the second duct and configured to guide air from the second duct to the storage compartment. 
     In addition, the second duct may include an inlet portion arranged at a front side of the top wall of the storage compartment and configured to receive air from the cold air generating compartment. The second guide duct also may include a guide portion arranged at one side of the top wall of the storage compartment, connected to the inlet portion, and configured to guide cold air from the inlet portion to the rear side of the storage compartment without entering the storage compartment at the top wall. The second guide duct further may include a discharge portion arranged at the rear side of the storage compartment, connected to the guide portion, and configured to guide cold air from the guide portion into the storage compartment at the rear side of the storage compartment. 
     In some examples, the refrigerator may include a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage compartment. In these examples, the cold air fan may be configured to promote movement of air within the cold air generating compartment in a flow direction that passes over the evaporator and is perpendicular to a surface of the door when the door is oriented in a closed position. The evaporator may have a vertical length perpendicular to the flow direction of cold air along the evaporator and a horizontal length parallel to the flow direction of cold air such that the vertical length is longer than the horizontal length. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a partial sectional view illustrating a part of a configuration of an example refrigerator; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an example refrigerator; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are a side view and a sectional view illustrating a configuration of an example refrigerator; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of an example refrigerator; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectioned perspective view schematically illustrating an example structure of a guide duct. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example refrigerator. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the refrigerator includes a body  10 . A storage compartment  10 ′ is defined in the body  10  to store food therein. A machine compartment  12  is defined in an upper portion of the body  10 . The machine compartment  12  accommodates a plurality of electric elements used in a cooling cycle including a compressor  14  to compress a refrigerant, etc. 
     A cold air generating compartment  16  also is defined in the upper portion of the body  10  at one side of the machine compartment  12 . An evaporator  18  that generates cold air through heat exchange is arranged in the cold air generating compartment  16 . In some examples, the evaporator  18  is configured such that a vertical length thereof (h) is longer than a lateral length thereof (w). 
     A cold air fan  20  is arranged over the evaporator  18 . The cold air fan  20  draws cold air from the storage compartment  10 ′ in order to allow the cold air to heat-exchange with the evaporator  18 . A guide duct  22  defines a flow path of cold air and is arranged beneath the evaporator  18 . 
     In the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 1 , the cold air generating compartment  16  extends in a vertical direction for a relatively long length because the evaporator  18  and cold air fan  20  are vertically arranged. As a result, the guide duct  22 , etc. arranged beneath the cold air generating compartment  16  protrude into the storage compartment  10 ′. Where the guide duct  22 , etc. protrude into the storage compartment  10 ′, as mentioned above, the capacity of a storage compartment of the refrigerator is reduced. 
     In addition, the evaporator  18  has an enhanced heat exchange efficiency when it has an increased cold air introduction area at a front side thereof. In the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 1 , increasing the cold air introduction area at the front side of the evaporator  18  facing the cold air fan  20  has limitations because a space allowing cold air to flow along the evaporator  18  is provided and the cold air fan  20  is arranged over the evaporator  18 . That is, the evaporator  18  has a length (w) perpendicular to a flow direction of cold air along the evaporator  18  and a length (h) parallel to the flow direction of cold air such that the length (w) is shorter than the length (h). As a result, a reduction in heat exchange efficiency due to flow resistance may exist. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a configuration of an example refrigerator.  FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate an example configuration of the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 5  illustrates an example configuration of the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 6  illustrates an example structure of a guide duct. 
     As shown in the drawings, in a body  100  that defines an appearance and a frame of the refrigerator, a storage compartment  110  is defined. The storage compartment  110  is a space to store food therein. The storage compartment  110  is divided into a refrigerating compartment  120  and a freezing compartment  130 . A plurality of racks  132  are vertically arranged in the storage compartment  110 . A drawer type storage compartment  134  also is defined beneath the racks. 
     A machine compartment  140  is defined in an upper portion of the body  100 . The machine compartment  140  accommodates one or more elements of a refrigeration cycle. Accommodated in the machine compartment  140  are a compressor  142  to perform a temperature/pressure increasing operation upon a low-temperature/low-pressure gaseous refrigerant such that the low-temperature/low-pressure gaseous refrigerant is changed into a high-temperature/high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. A condenser  144  to condense the refrigerant supplied from the compressor  142 , using ambient air, an expansion valve to perform a pressure reducing operation upon the refrigerant supplied from the condenser  144  such that the refrigerant is expanded, and a blowing fan  146  to draw in ambient air, thereby cooling the condenser  144 , are also accommodated in the machine compartment  140 . The machine compartment  140  is screened by a cover member  148  that has at least one through hole  148 ′. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a cold air generating compartment  160  is defined in an upper portion of the body  100  at one side of the machine compartment  140 . The cold air generating compartment  160  is a space in which a configuration to generate cold air to maintain the storage space at low temperature is installed. The cold air generating compartment  160  is separated from the storage compartment  110  by one or more walls. 
     The cold air generating compartment  160  extends from a front side of the body  100  to a rear side of the body  100 . In the cold air generating compartment  160 , an evaporator  162  and a cold air fan  170  are horizontally arranged. The evaporator  162  absorbs heat from the surroundings when a refrigerant emerging from the expansion valve is evaporated in a low temperature state. 
     The cold air generating compartment extends in a horizontal direction. Cold air is introduced into the cold air generating compartment  160  at a front side of the cold air generating compartment  160 , and is discharged out of the cold air generating compartment  160  at a rear side of the cold air generating compartment  160 . Accordingly, the evaporator  162  can extend lengthily in a vertical direction of the cold air generating compartment  160 . That is, the evaporator  162  has a length h perpendicular to a flow direction of cold air along the evaporator  162  and a length w parallel to the flow direction of cold air such that the length h is longer than the length w. 
     An orifice  164 , which has an orifice hole  166 , is arranged around the evaporator  162 . A guide member  168  is arranged at one side of a top of the orifice hole  166 . The guide member  168  guides cold air emerging from the storage compartment  110  to the cold air fan  170 . 
     The cold air fan  170  is arranged at the rear of the evaporator  162  in the cold air generating compartment  160  to guide cold air emerging from a first duct  210  such that the cold air flows across the evaporator  162  to a second duct  230 . The cold air fan  170  may be one of a centrifugal fan, an axial fan, or a cross-flow fan, to move (e.g., expel) cold air toward an inlet of the second duct  230 . As shown, the cold air fan  170  is arranged in the rear of the cold air generating compartment  160  and evaporator  162 . In other examples, the cold air fan  170  may be arranged in the front of the cold air generating compartment  160  and evaporator  162  in accordance with design conditions. 
     A cold air fan motor  170 ′ that drives the cold air fan  170  is provided at the orifice  164  ( FIG. 5 ). The cold air fan motor  170 ′ is arranged at an extension from one side of the orifice  164 . 
     Cold air is introduced into the cold air generating compartment  160  at the rear side of the cold air generating compartment  160 , and is discharged out of the cold air generating compartment  160  at the front side of the cold air generating compartment  160 . The rear side of the cold air generating compartment  160  communicates with the first duct  210 . The front side of the cold air generating compartment  160  communicates with the second duct  230 . A drain pan  190  is arranged beneath the evaporator  162  to collect defrost water generated during a defrosting operation and then to outwardly discharge the collected defrost water. 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a guide duct  200  is provided at the body  100 . The guide duct  200  is arranged adjacent to the storage compartment  110 . The guide duct  200  communicates with the storage compartment  110  and cold air generating compartment  160  to define a cold air circulation path. 
     The guide duct  200  includes first and second ducts  210  and  230 . The first duct  210  extends in a vertical direction at a rear side of the body  100  to define a flow path that guides cold air to the cold air generating compartment  160 . 
     Cold air inlets  212  are provided at the first duct  210 . The cold air inlets  212  guide cold air from the storage compartment  110  to be introduced into the first duct  210 . 
     The second duct  230  is parallel, at a certain portion thereof, to the first duct  210 . The second duct  230  defines a flow path that guides cold air emerging from the cold air generating compartment  160  to the storage compartment  110 . 
     The second duct  230  includes an inlet portion  232 , into which cold air emerging from the cold air fan  170  is introduced, a guide portion  234  that defines a flow path for guiding the cold air introduced into the inlet portion  232  to flow in a forward/rearward direction of the body  100 , and a discharge portion  236  connected to the guide portion  234  extends in parallel to the first duct  210  and discharges the cold air to the storage compartment  110 . 
     The inlet portion  232  corresponds to the inlet of the second duct  230 . The inlet portion  232  extends along an edge of the front side of the body  100 . The guide portion  234  extends in a forward/rearward direction at one side of the top of the body  100  while being flush with the inlet portion  232 . 
     Since the evaporator  162  and cold air fan  170  are arranged in the cold air generating compartment  160 , the guide portion  234  is arranged at one side of the bottom of the cold air generating compartment  160  in order to prevent the guide portion  234  from interfering with the evaporator  162  and cold air fan  170 . The discharge portion  236  is separate from the first duct  210 . The discharge portion  236  extends in the vertical direction of the body  100 , similar to the first duct  210 . 
     Cold air outlets  240  are provided at the second duct  230 . The cold air outlets  240  guide cold air cooled to a low temperature while passing along the evaporator  162  such that the cold air is again introduced into the storage compartment  110 . 
     Examples of operation of the refrigerator having the above-described configuration are described with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     In the body  100 , cold air present in the storage compartment  110  is introduced into the cold air generating compartment  160  after flowing through the cold air inlets  212  and first duct  210 . The cold air is cooled in the cold air generating compartment  160  in accordance with heat exchange thereof with the evaporator  162 . The cold air is then again introduced into the storage compartment  110  after passing through the second duct  230 . For instance, the cold air passes through the inlet portion  232 , the guide portion  234 , the discharge portion  236 , and out of the second duct  230  through the cold air outlets  240 . 
     In accordance with the configurations of the first and second ducts  210  and  220 , the flow path of cold air introduced from the storage compartment  130  into the cold air generating compartment  160  and the flow path of cold air introduced into the storage compartment  130  after being discharged out of the cold air generating compartment  160  may be separate from each other. 
     Further, heat exchange is performed in the cold air generating compartment  160  arranged at the upper portion of the body  100 . Because the cold air generating compartment  160  extends in forward and rearward directions of the body  100  and the evaporator  162  and cold air fan  170  are installed in an aligned state in a longitudinal direction of the cold air generating compartment  160 , the guide duct  200  does not extend into the storage compartment  110  even though it is arranged between the storage compartment  110  and the cold air generating compartment  160 . The evaporator  162 , cold air fan  170 , and guide duct  200  are installed without regard for the height of the cold air generating compartment  160  because the evaporator  162  and cold air fan  170  are not arranged in a vertical direction, but arranged in forward and rearward directions. 
     Also, the evaporator  162  is configured such that the length h thereof perpendicular to the flow direction of cold air along the evaporator  162  is longer than the length w thereof parallel to the flow direction of cold air. In the evaporator  162  having the above-described structure, the length of a flow path, through which cold air flows along the evaporator  162 , is reduced for a constant heat exchange area, as compared to a structure in which the length of the evaporator perpendicular to the flow direction of cold air is shorter than the horizontal length of the evaporator parallel to the flow direction of cold air. As a result, the flow resistance of cold air is reduced, as compared to the latter structure. 
     Even if the guide duct  200 , which defines the cold air introduction and discharge paths, is not arranged at the front side of the body  100 , but arranged at the rear side of the body  100 , the door opening and closing operations of the refrigerator does not interfere with the circulation of cold air. 
     It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. For example, advantageous results still could be achieved if steps of the disclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or if components in the disclosed systems were combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.