Patent Description:
With the advancement of technology and the improvement of people's living standards, users have higher and higher requirements for refrigerators. The traditional refrigerators with only a refrigerating room, a freezing room and a temperature-variable room can no longer meet users' diverse needs for storage space.

In recent years, a composite door body technology has emerged in the field of refrigerators. As is well-known to all, a traditional refrigerator door body is used to open and close a refrigeration chamber of a refrigerator body. At most, a bottle holder is disposed at an inner lining of the refrigerator door body for placing bottled articles. As for the refrigerator with the composite door body, the structure and functions of the door body are improved, which makes the door body include a main door and a secondary door, and enables the main door to be used for opening and closing the refrigeration chamber. In addition, the main door defines a door body chamber with an open front side, and the secondary door is used to open and close the door body chamber. The secondary door remains closed during rotation of the main door. The door body chamber can be used for placement of stored articles, and only the secondary door needs to be opened when taking and placing the stored articles, without opening the main door. It not only makes the operation more convenient and faster, but also avoids excessive cold energy loss caused by frequent opening of the main door.

However, the refrigerator with the composite door in the prior art also has many defects. For example, in the prior art, the cold air in a first chamber is usually conveyed into a second chamber to refrigerate the second chamber. In this way, the temperature of the second chamber is affected by the first chamber, and it is easy to cause problems such as tainting by other odor. These problems will have a negative impact on user experience and hinder the further development of the composite door refrigerator technology.

Relevant prior art can be found in <CIT> and <CIT>.

An object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, and provide a refrigerator capable of independently controlling the temperature inside a door body chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the problem of tainting by other odor between the door body chamber and a refrigerator body chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the energy efficiency of a semiconductor refrigeration component.

The refrigerator provided by the present invention is a refrigerator according to claim <NUM>, with a composite door. The door body includes a main door and a secondary door, where the main door is used for opening or closing the first chamber defined by the refrigerator body, and the secondary door is used for opening or closing the second chamber defined by the main door. According to the present invention, the semiconductor refrigeration component is specially disposed to refrigerate the second chamber separately, so that the temperature of the second chamber is independently controllable and not affected by the first chamber. As a result, the second chamber can have a storage environment completely different from the first chamber, and the temperature of the second chamber can be higher than or lower than that of the first chamber. Moreover, there is no air exchange between the second chamber and the first chamber, so that the second chamber can be specially used to store some special articles that are not suitable for being stored in the temperature range of the first chamber.

Furthermore, since the second chamber does not need to introduce cold air from the first chamber for cooling, the first chamber and the second chamber are isolated from each other, and the problem of tainting by other odor in the two chambers is also avoided.

Further, according to the refrigerator provided by the present invention, the semiconductor refrigeration component is disposed outside the second chamber. In this way, on the one hand, it does not occupy the limited storage space in the second chamber, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to heat dissipation at the hot end of the semiconductor refrigeration component.

Further, the refrigerator provided by the present invention is provided with the cold-end air supply path and the cold-end air return path, which are both communicated with the refrigerating cavity at the cold end and the second chamber. The cold air formed by refrigerating the air in the refrigerating cavity at the cold end enters the second chamber through the cold-end air supply path, refrigerates the second chamber, leading to rising of the temperature of the cold air, flows back to the refrigerating cavity from the cold-end air return path, is refrigerated at the cold end again, and then enters the cold-end air supply path again. As a result, the air circulates in the refrigerating cavity, the cold-end air supply path, the second chamber and the cold-end air return path, thus forming an efficient cooling cycle, and accelerating the refrigeration speed of the second chamber.

Further, the refrigerator provided by the present invention is provided with the hot-end air outlet path, and the air heated by the hot end is delivered to the cooling room of the refrigerator. In this way, not only is the heat at the hot end discharged outside in time to prevent the heat from affecting the normal refrigeration for all chambers of the refrigerator body and the normal operation of the semiconductor refrigeration component, but the hot air is also directly transported back to the cooling room instead of an air duct of the refrigerator, which avoids the hot air entering all the chambers of the refrigerator body again through the air duct.

In addition, the present invention is also provided with the hot-end air inlet path, and makes the hot-end air inlet path and the hot-end air outlet path both communicate with the cooling cavity at the hot end. That is, the cold air of the cooling room is introduced through the hot-end air inlet path to cool the hot end, and the hot air formed by heating at the hot end returns to the cooling room again through the hot-end air outlet path, which avoids the hot air affecting refrigeration for all the chambers of the refrigerator body. In short, the present invention uses the cold air of the cooling room to cool the hot end, so that the hot end is cooled faster, the energy efficiency of the semiconductor refrigeration component is improved, and the refrigerating capacity of the cold end is higher.

Further, according to the refrigerator provided by the present invention, the two ventilation openings are formed in the rear wall of the main door; when the main door is closed, ports of the cold-end air supply path and the cold-end air return path are separately hermetically connected to one of the ventilation openings so as to transmit the air flow with the second chamber through the two ventilation openings (i.e., the cold-end air supply path provides the cold air to the second chamber through one ventilation opening, and the air in the second chamber flows back to the cold-end air return path through the other ventilation opening). When the main door is opened, the two ventilation openings are kept away from the ports of the cold-end air supply path and the cold-end air return path (there is no fixed connection relationship, and opening the door will cause disconnection). Such a structure is very simple, there is no need to embed any pipeline in a wall body of the main door, and it does not affect the opening and closing of the main door at all.

The above and other objectives, advantages, and features of the present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art according to the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the following part, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary rather than limited manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that these accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In figures:.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; <FIG> is a schematic diagram of an air path circulation of the refrigerator shown in <FIG>, and the air directions are indicated by arrows in the figures; <FIG> is an enlarged view at A in <FIG>; and <FIG> is a schematic block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention generally includes a refrigerator body <NUM>, a door body <NUM> and a semiconductor refrigeration component. A front side (the side where the door body <NUM> is located is used as the front side of the refrigerator provided by the present invention, and the front and rear directions have been shown in the figures) of the refrigerator body <NUM> is open to define a first chamber <NUM>. The door body includes a main door <NUM> and a secondary door <NUM>, where the main door <NUM> is used for opening and closing the first chamber <NUM>, and defining a second chamber <NUM>, and the secondary door <NUM> is used for opening and closing the second chamber <NUM>.

The main door <NUM> can be rotatably installed on the refrigerator body <NUM> at the front side of the refrigerator body <NUM>, a front side of the main door <NUM> is open to define the aforementioned second chamber <NUM>, and the secondary door <NUM> can be rotatably installed on the main body <NUM> at the front side of the main door <NUM>. When the main door <NUM> is opened, a user accesses articles from the first chamber <NUM>. When the main door <NUM> is closed and the secondary door <NUM> is opened, the user can access articles from the second chamber <NUM>.

The semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> includes a cold end <NUM> and a hot end <NUM>. The semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> utilizes the thermoelectric effect of a semiconductor to produce cold energy. After the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> is powered on, the temperature of the cold end <NUM> decreases, and the temperature of the hot end <NUM> increases. The semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> is configured such that the cold end <NUM> provides cold energy to the second chamber <NUM>.

The semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> is specially disposed to refrigerate the second chamber <NUM> separately, so that the temperature of the second chamber <NUM> is independently controllable and not affected by the first chamber <NUM>. As a result, the second chamber <NUM> can have a storage environment completely different from the first chamber <NUM>, and the temperature of the second chamber <NUM> can be higher than or lower than that of the first chamber <NUM>. Moreover, it is not necessary to use the cold air in the first chamber <NUM> for refrigeration, so that there is no air exchange between the second chamber <NUM> and the first chamber <NUM>, which enables the second chamber to be specially used to store some special articles, such as medicines and cosmetics, that are not suitable for being stored in the temperature range of the first chamber <NUM>. Furthermore, since the second chamber <NUM> does not need to introduce cold air from the first chamber <NUM> for refrigeration, and the first chamber and the second chamber are isolated from each other, the problem of tainting by other odor in the two chambers is also avoided.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the refrigerator may include a temperature sensor <NUM> and a controller <NUM>. The temperature sensor <NUM> is used for detecting the temperature of the second chamber <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> is used for receiving detection signals of the temperature sensor <NUM> and controlling a running state of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> according to the temperature of the second chamber <NUM>. The running state of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> includes starting and stopping timing, running time, etc., so as to finally realize the adjustment of the refrigerating capacity of the second chamber <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> is disposed outside the second chamber <NUM>. For example, it can be installed on the refrigerator body <NUM>. In this way, on the one hand, it does not occupy the limited storage space of the second chamber <NUM>, and on the other hand, it is beneficial to the heat dissipation of the hot end <NUM> of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM>.

In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a refrigerating cavity <NUM> is formed at the cold end <NUM> of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM>, and the cold end <NUM> refrigerates air in the refrigerating cavity <NUM>. The refrigerator further includes a cold-end air supply path <NUM>, which communicates the refrigerating cavity <NUM> and the second chamber <NUM>, and is used for conveying the cold air produced by the cold end <NUM> to the second chamber <NUM>.

Preferably, the refrigerator may further include a cold-end air return path <NUM>. The cold-end air return path <NUM> communicates the second chamber <NUM> and the refrigerating cavity <NUM> so that the air in the second chamber <NUM> flows back to the refrigerating cavity <NUM> through the cold-end air return path <NUM>, is refrigerated by the cold end <NUM> to form cold air, and then enters the cold-end air supply path <NUM> again.

Thus, a complete cooling cycle of the second chamber <NUM> is formed as follows: cold air formed by refrigerating the air in the refrigerating cavity <NUM> at the cold end <NUM> enters the second chamber <NUM> through the cold-end air supply path <NUM>, refrigerates the second chamber <NUM>, leading to rising of the temperature of the cold air, flows back to the refrigerating cavity <NUM> from the cold-end air return path <NUM>, is refrigerated at the cold end <NUM> again, and then enters the cold-end air supply path <NUM> again. As a result, the air circulates in the refrigerating cavity <NUM>, the cold-end air supply path <NUM>, the second chamber <NUM> and the cold-end air return path <NUM>, thus forming an efficient cooling cycle, and accelerating the refrigeration speed of the second chamber <NUM>.

The refrigerator may further include a first fan <NUM>, and the first fan <NUM> is disposed in the cold-end air supply path <NUM> to promote cold air of the cold-end air supply path <NUM> to flow toward the second chamber <NUM>. The first fan <NUM> realizes the forced circulation of air flow, and accelerates the operation speed of the cooling cycle.

In some embodiments, two ventilation openings (not shown) may be formed in the rear wall of the main door <NUM>. Furthermore, the refrigerator is configured as follows: when the main door <NUM> is closed, ports of the cold-end air supply path <NUM> and the cold-end air return path <NUM> are separately hermetically connected to one of the ventilation openings so as to transmit the air flow with the second chamber <NUM> (i.e., the cold-end air supply path <NUM> provides the cold air to the second chamber <NUM> through one ventilation opening, and the air in the second chamber <NUM> flows back to the cold-end air return path <NUM> through the other ventilation opening). When the main door is opened, the two ventilation openings are kept away from the ports of the cold-end air supply path <NUM> and the cold-end air return path <NUM> (there is no fixed connection relationship, and opening the door will cause disconnection). Such a structure is very simple, there is no need to embed any pipeline in a wall body of the main door <NUM>, and it does not affect the opening and closing of the main door <NUM> at all. The ports of the cold-end air supply path <NUM> and the cold-end air return path <NUM> may be located on a side wall or top wall of the first chamber <NUM> and open forward so as to face the ventilation openings formed in the rear wall of the main door <NUM> when the door is closed.

In some alternative embodiments, the cold-end air supply path <NUM> and the cold-end air return path <NUM> can also directly extend into an interior of the main door <NUM>. The extending portions thereof may be close to a hinged end of the main door <NUM>, and may be set as deformable pipelines such as hoses so as not to affect the pivoting of the main door <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a cooling cavity <NUM> is formed at the hot end <NUM> of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM>, and air in the cooling cavity <NUM> is used for cooling the hot end <NUM> so as to ensure heat dissipation of the hot end <NUM>, and enable the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> to work normally. Furthermore, the refrigerator further includes a hot-end air outlet path <NUM>. The hot-end air outlet path <NUM> communicates the cooling cavity <NUM> and a cooling room <NUM> of the refrigerator for producing cold air, and is used for conveying the air heated by the hot end <NUM> to the cooling room <NUM>. In this way, not only is the heat at the hot end <NUM> discharged outside in time to prevent the heat from affecting the normal refrigeration for all chambers of the refrigerator body and the normal operation of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM>, but the hot air is also directly transported back to the cooling room <NUM> instead of an air duct of the refrigerator, which avoids the hot air entering all the chambers of the refrigerator body <NUM> again through the air duct.

Further, in some embodiments, the refrigerator further includes a hot-end air inlet path <NUM>. The hot-end air inlet path <NUM> communicates the cooling room <NUM> and the cooling cavity <NUM> so that the air in the cooling room <NUM> enters the cooling cavity <NUM> through the hot-end air inlet path <NUM> to cool the hot end <NUM>, and then returns to the cooling room <NUM> through the hot-end air outlet path <NUM>. That is, the cold air of the cooling room <NUM> is introduced through the hot-end air inlet path <NUM> to cool the hot end <NUM>, and the hot air formed by heating at the hot end <NUM> returns to the cooling room <NUM> again through the hot-end air outlet path <NUM>, which avoids the hot air affecting refrigeration for all the chambers of the refrigerator body <NUM>. In short, the present invention particularly uses the cold air of the cooling room <NUM> to cool the hot end <NUM>, so that the hot end <NUM> is cooled faster, the energy efficiency of the semiconductor refrigeration component <NUM> is improved, and the refrigerating capacity of the cold end <NUM> is higher.

The refrigerator may further include a second fan <NUM>, and the second fan <NUM> is disposed in the hot-end air inlet path <NUM> to promote cold air in the cooling room <NUM> to flow toward the cooling cavity <NUM>, so as to realize the forced flow of the air flow in the hot-end air inlet path <NUM>, accelerate the heat dissipation speed of the hot end <NUM>, and improve the energy efficiency of the semiconductor refrigerating capacity.

The whole refrigerator can be refrigerated by means of a vapor compression refrigeration cycle system, and an evaporator <NUM> is disposed in the cooling room <NUM>. According to the different refrigeration temperatures, all the chambers inside the refrigerator can be divided into a refrigerating room, a freezing room and a temperature-variable room. For example, the temperature in the refrigerating room is generally controlled within a range of <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>. The temperature range in the freezing room is generally controlled at - <NUM> to -<NUM>. The temperature-variable room can be adjusted within a temperature range of - <NUM> to <NUM> to achieve a variable temperature effect. Different types of articles are different in optimal storage temperatures and storage chambers suitable for storage. For example, fruit and vegetable foods are suitable for storage in the refrigerating room, and meat foods are suitable for storage in the freezing room.

Claim 1:
A refrigerator, comprising:
a refrigerator body (<NUM>), a front side of which is open to define a first chamber (<NUM>);
a door body (<NUM>), comprising a main door (<NUM>) and a secondary door (<NUM>), the main door (<NUM>) being used for opening and closing the first chamber (<NUM>) and defining a second chamber (<NUM>), and the secondary door (<NUM>) being used for opening and closing the second chamber (<NUM>); and
a semiconductor refrigeration component (<NUM>), comprising a cold end (<NUM>) and a hot end (<NUM>), and configured to enable the cold end (<NUM>) to provide cold energy to the second chamber (<NUM>), wherein
the semiconductor refrigeration component (<NUM>) is disposed outside the second chamber (<NUM>),
characterized in that
a cooling cavity (<NUM>) is formed at the hot end (<NUM>), and air in the cooling cavity (<NUM>) is used for cooling the hot end (<NUM>); and
the refrigerator further comprises a hot-end air outlet path (<NUM>), which communicates the cooling cavity (<NUM>) and a cooling room (<NUM>) of the refrigerator for producing cold air, and is used for conveying the air heated by the hot end (<NUM>) to the cooling room (<NUM>).