Patent Description:
Some refrigerator users have relatively high requirements on the space occupation of refrigerators. Refrigerators need to provide an available volume as large as possible while occupying less space. In a conventional refrigerator, an evaporator is disposed at a back portion of the refrigerator and occupies a large depth space, so it cannot meet the requirements of an ultra-thin refrigerator body. For the above problems, a refrigerator having an evaporator at the bottom appears in the prior art.

However, in a refrigerator having a transversely disposed evaporator in the prior art, the evaporator is horizontally placed, which has various defects. Since the evaporator is transversely disposed at the bottom of the refrigerator, most of the bottom space of the refrigerator is occupied, the space utilization of the refrigerator is reduced. A horizontal arrangement method causes vortex to exist around the evaporator, leading to poor circulative performance of an air path. Defrosting water of the evaporator may also be easily accumulated on the surface of the evaporator, causing evaporator frosting or even freezing.

<CIT> discloses a refrigerator according to the preamble of claim <NUM>, including an insulated cabinet containing a storage compartment and an evaporator compartment, a refrigerant evaporator in the evaporator compartment, electrically operated fan means for circulating air from the storage compartment into heat transfer relation with the evaporator and back to the storage compartment, liquefying means for supplying liquid refrigerant to and withdrawing evaporated refrigerant from the evaporator, electrical defrost heating means associated with the evaporator, defrost initiating means for disabling the fan means and the liquefying means and energizing the heating means to quickly raise the temperature of the evaporator for a quick defrost cycle, a thermostatically operable snap acting defrost limiter switch associated with the evaporator and connected in series with the heating means and the electrically operated fan means for deenergizing the heating means when defrosting is completed and for delaying the operation of the fan means after the defrost cycle, and means responsive to the operation of the limiter switch for restoring the normal operation of the liquefying means.

<CIT> discloses a refrigerator wherein the evaporimeter slope is set up. The refrigerator includes the box, and inside the injecting of box comprises a room, a compressor bin and a cooling chamber between first storing, and a refrigerating system. The refrigerating system is configured to provide cold volume to room between first storing, and includes a compressor and evaporimeter.

<CIT> discloses a heat exchanger for a temperature controlled case. A temperature controlled case includes a housing that defines a temperature controlled space. The housing includes a duct that receives circulated air. A heat exchanger is coupled to the housing and disposed within the duct. The heat exchanger includes an intake face at a non-perpendicular angle relative to an air flow direction in the duct immediately upstream of the heat exchanger.

<CIT> discloses a refrigerated cabinet, comprising spaced apart inner and outer shells fashioned to define a plurality of compartments having an access opening in each; a closure member hingedly mounted on the cabinet and arranged to cover the access openings; refrigeration apparatus operative for cooling the interior of the cabinet; the apparatus including an evaporator cooling element and air circulating means disposed in one of the compartments; a first air communicating means between the compartments; a plurality of separately fashioned food storage receptacles having a wall of catch thereof imperforate and being disposed in vertically spaced relation in the other of said compartments; the receptacles being further arranged so that all their imperforate walls are vertically positioned and disposed in substantially the same plane to provide a baffle-like wall having horizontally extending openings therein; the baffle-like wall being spaced from the inner shell and cooperating therewith to form air duct means extending from the first air communicating means inwardly into the other of the compartments; and having the closure member spaced from the access opening of the one compartment to provide a second air communicating means between the compartments which cooperates with the first air communicating means to effect the flow of air, forced by the air circulating means into intimate heat exchange relation with the evaporator cooling element, successively in a continuous circuit between and through each of the compartments. <CIT> discloses a refrigerator with an air supply fan located at the downstream of an evaporator. The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, the evaporator and the air supply fan, a cooling chamber located at the lower part and at least one storage chamber located above the cooling chamber are defined in the refrigerator body.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having an evaporator disposed at the bottom of a refrigerator body capable of at least solving any one of the above problems.

A further objective of the present invention is to improve the space utilization of the refrigerator.

Another further objective of the present invention is to improve an air path. Particularly, the present invention provides a refrigerator having an evaporator disposed at the bottom of a refrigerator body, including: the refrigerator body having a bottom inner liner, the bottom inner liner defining a cooling compartment and a storage space, and the cooling compartment being disposed below the storage space; and the evaporator arranged in the cooling component and placed inclinedly along the depth direction of the refrigerator with respect to the horizontal direction, with the direction of inclination being upward from front to back.

Further, an inclination angle of the evaporator with respect to the horizontal direction ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°.

Further, the evaporator is generally in the shape of a flat cuboid, and a proportion of a distance between a front side surface and a rear side surface of the evaporator to a distance between a top surface and a bottom surface of the evaporator ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>.

Further, the distance between the front side surface and the rear side surface of the evaporator ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>; and the distance between the top surface and the bottom surface of the evaporator ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>.

Further, a bottom wall of the bottom inner liner includes: a first inclination portion disposed inclinedly downward from a front end of the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner from front to back; a recessed portion disposed at a rear side of the first inclination portion and configured to be inclined upward from a transverse middle to two sides to form a drain hole in the transverse middle, the drain hole being configured to drain water from the cooling compartment; and a second inclination portion disposed inclinedly upward from a rear end of the lower recessed portion from front to back and configured to support the evaporator, a front end of the evaporator abutting against the first inclination portion so that water on the evaporator is gathered at the recessed portion, and a position of the drain hole along the front and rear direction of the refrigerator body is at a front portion of the evaporator.

Further, the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner further includes: a third inclination portion disposed inclinedly upward from a rear end of the second inclination portion from front to back and having an inclination angle greater than that of the second inclination portion. The refrigerator further includes: a refrigeration fan disposed on the third inclination portion and configured to promote formation of a refrigeration airflow sent to the storage space via the evaporator; and an air supply duct disposed at a downstream of an air supply direction of the refrigeration fan and configured to convey the refrigeration airflow to the storage space.

Further, the refrigeration fan is a centrifugal fan, the centrifugal fan includes a volute and an impeller disposed in the volute, the volute is fixed to the third inclination portion, and a suction inlet of the volute faces a front upper side to suck air undergone heat exchange through the evaporator by utilizing the impeller; and an exhaust outlet of the volute is located at a rear side, and the air supply duct is connected with the exhaust outlet, extends upward and is configured to upward guide the refrigeration airflow to the storage space.

Further, the refrigerator body further includes: an evaporator upper cover transversely disposed in the bottom inner liner and used to separate the cooling compartment from the storage space. The evaporator upper cover includes: a first upper cover portion located at the top of the evaporator and basically horizontally disposed; and a second upper cover portion extending inclinedly upward from a rear end of the first upper cover portion and disposed in a manner of being parallel to the centrifugal fan and forming a set distance from the centrifugal fan. Air sucked by the centrifugal fan enters the suction inlet through a gap between the centrifugal fan and the second upper cover portion.

Further, a space between the centrifugal fan and the second upper cover portion is smaller than or equal to <NUM>.

Further, an inclination angle of the third inclination portion with respect to the horizontal direction ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°.

The evaporator of the refrigerator of the present invention is inclinedly disposed along the depth direction of the refrigerator with respect to the horizontal direction, which breaks through the technical constraint that an evaporator needs to be horizontally placed to reduce a depth size in the prior art, and improves the space utilization. Although a length in the front and rear direction may be increased due to inclined placement of the evaporator in the shape of a flat cuboid, the arrangement of other components in the cooling compartment is more reasonable through the inclined placement of the evaporator. Through practical airflow flow field analysis, it is proved that the air path is improved, the airflow can flow more smoothly and uniformly throughout an air return process, and the air circulation efficiency is higher.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the evaporator is in inclined arrangement, so that defrosting water of the evaporator can more easily flow to the drain hole, and the water drainage is smoother. The above objectives are achieved by the invention as defined in claim <NUM>. Further embodiments are defined by the appended claims.

The above and other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Some specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings by way of example and not limitation. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:.

In the description of the present embodiment, it is to be understood that the orientations or position relationships indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "depth", etc. are based on the orientation of the refrigerator in the normal use state as a reference, and may be determined with reference to the orientations or position relationships shown in the drawings, for example, "front" indicating the orientation refers to a side of the refrigerator facing a user. This is merely to facilitate a description of the present invention and to simplify the description, and is not to indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

<FIG> is a schematic front view of a refrigerator body <NUM> in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is a schematic stereogram of the refrigerator body <NUM> shown in <FIG> mainly show a structure of a bottom of the refrigerator body <NUM>.

The refrigerator according to the present embodiment generally may include the refrigerator body <NUM>. The refrigerator body <NUM> may include a casing, an inner liner, a heat insulation layer and other accessories. The casing is an outer layer structure of the refrigerator, and protects the whole refrigerator. In order to isolate heat conduction with the outside, the heat insulation layer is added between the casing and the inner liner of the refrigerator body <NUM>, and the heat insulation layer is generally formed through a foaming process. There may be one or multiple inner liners. For example, the inner liner may be divided into a refrigerating inner liner, a variable-temperature inner liner, a freezing inner liner, etc..

A plurality of inner liners may be vertically arranged and disposed. In the present embodiment, a bottom inner liner <NUM> defines a cooling compartment <NUM> and a storage space <NUM>, and the cooling compartment <NUM> is disposed below the storage space <NUM>. The storage space <NUM> may be a space for storage at the very bottom of the refrigerator. Generally, the bottom inner liner <NUM> is a freezing inner liner, and the storage space <NUM> forms a freezing compartment. A variable-temperature compartment defined in the variable-temperature inner liner, a refrigerating compartment defined in the refrigerating inner liner, etc. may be disposed above the freezing compartment according to requirements. The quantities and functions of specific storage compartments may be set according to the requirements of the refrigerator. Components in the bottom inner liner <NUM> are most complicated and have highest requirements on sizes, integral sizes of other inner liners can be correspondingly set according to the size of the bottom inner liner <NUM>. A door body is also disposed at the front side of the refrigerator body <NUM>, to open or close the storage compartments. In order to show an inside structure of the refrigerator body <NUM>, the door body is not shown in the figures.

In the refrigerator of the present embodiment, a ratio of a volume of the storage space <NUM> to an integral volume of the refrigerator body <NUM> is set to be greater than or equal to <NUM>%, for example, is set to be <NUM>% to improve the space utilization efficiency of the storage space <NUM>. In a preferred embodiment, the volume of the refrigerator body <NUM> may be set to be <NUM> dm3, the volume of the storage space <NUM> is <NUM>, and the ratio of the volume of the storage space <NUM> to the integral volume of the refrigerator body <NUM> is <NUM>%. Through the above arrangement, the effective utilization rate of the storage space <NUM> is improved under the condition of ensuring the space occupation of the refrigerator body <NUM>. The ratio of the volume of the storage space <NUM> to the integral volume of the refrigerator body <NUM> is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and refrigeration performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products. Under the condition of reducing the size of the refrigerator body, the volume of the storage space <NUM> can be enabled not to change, and the volume requirements of the freezing compartment are met.

An evaporator upper cover <NUM> and a longitudinal separation plate <NUM> may be disposed in the bottom inner liner <NUM>. The evaporator upper cover <NUM> is transversely disposed in the bottom inner liner <NUM> and configured to separate the cooling compartment from the storage space <NUM>. The evaporator upper cover <NUM> is used as a bottom wall of the storage space <NUM> and the top of the cooling compartment at the same time, and the storage space <NUM> above the evaporator upper cover is used for article storage.

A compressor compartment <NUM> is formed under the cooling compartment <NUM>, and is configured to install a compressor and a condenser of the refrigerator. A front portion of a compressor compartment top cover <NUM> is parallel to a third inclination portion <NUM>, and the flowability of a foaming layer is improved. Additionally, the compressor compartment top cover <NUM> is disposed with an interval from the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner <NUM>. The parallel space from the front portion of the compressor compartment top cover <NUM> to the third inclination portion <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, for example, may be set to be <NUM>. The parallel space from the front portion of the compressor compartment top cover <NUM> to the third inclination portion <NUM> is set through structure optimization made according to space performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

A foaming layer is disposed at the outer side of the bottom inner liner <NUM>. A thickness of the foaming layer at two sides of the bottom inner liner <NUM> is set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>. An integral width of the refrigerator body <NUM> is <NUM>. After the thickness of the foaming layer is reduced, the volume of the storage space <NUM> may be increased. There is a conflict between the thickness of the foaming layer and the heat insulation performance. The reduction of the thickness of the foaming layer to <NUM> is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and heat insulation performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

A foaming layer may also be disposed between the compressor compartment top cover <NUM> and the bottom inner liner <NUM>, to prevent heat of the compressor compartment <NUM> from affecting the freezing of the storage space <NUM>. Due to the limitation of the space between the compressor compartment top cover <NUM> and the third inclination portion <NUM>, the thickness of the foaming layer at two sides of the bottom inner liner <NUM> is smaller than or equal to <NUM>. This is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and heat insulation performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The longitudinal separation plate <NUM> is disposed in the middle of the storage space <NUM>, and separates the storage space <NUM> into two transversely arranged storage cavities. That is, the storage space <NUM> is provided with a left storage cavity and a right storage cavity, and each of the two storage cavities may be respectively provided with a door body to form a double-door structure.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. A refrigeration system <NUM> may be a refrigeration circulation system composed of a compressor <NUM>, a condenser <NUM>, a throttling device <NUM>, an evaporator <NUM>, etc. The evaporator <NUM> is configured to provide cold directly or indirectly into the storage space <NUM>. The refrigerator realizes circulation of a refrigeration airflow between the evaporator <NUM> and the storage compartment through an air duct system. Since a circulation structure and a working principle of the refrigeration system are well known and can be easily realized by those skilled in the art, the refrigeration system is not illustrated in detail below in order not to obscure the inventive aspects of the present application.

An air supply assembly <NUM> is configured to form airflow circulation between the cooling compartment and the storage space <NUM>, and may specifically include a refrigeration fan <NUM> and an air supply duct <NUM>.

In order to meet the refrigeration requirement of the refrigerator, a rated refrigeration power or a maximum refrigeration power of the refrigeration system according to the present embodiment is set to be not lower than <NUM> W. That is, the refrigeration capacity of the refrigeration system is not lower than <NUM> W.

<FIG> is a schematic section view along a cutting plane line A-A in <FIG>, and shows a longitudinal size of each component. <FIG> is also a schematic section view along a cutting plane line A-A in <FIG>, and shows a depth size of each component in a front and rear direction. <FIG> is a schematic section view along a cutting plane line B-B in <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a longitudinal section at a lower portion of a refrigerator body in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to conveniently show specific components, cutting plane lines are omitted in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, and only component profiles are remained.

The cooling compartment <NUM> is disposed below the storage space <NUM>, and is configured to install the evaporator <NUM> and a part of air supply assembly <NUM>. Compared with a refrigerator having an evaporator <NUM> disposed at a rear portion of the refrigerator body, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment has the evaporator <NUM> disposed in the cooling compartment <NUM>. On one hand, the depth size (a distance in the front and rear direction) of the refrigerator body <NUM> is reduced, and the depth size is possibly used for the storage space <NUM>; and on the other hand, the bottom of the storage space <NUM> is heightened, so that the use inconvenience caused by the article taking and placement operation performed with the need of large bending or squatting of a user is avoided.

The depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment along the front and rear direction is set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>. Through much structure optimization work, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment realizes the arrangement of the evaporator <NUM> of the refrigeration system with the rated refrigeration power or maximum refrigeration power not lower than <NUM> W in the cooling compartment <NUM> under the condition that the depth size is smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and thus the normal operation and energy consumption standard requirements of the refrigerator are met.

The evaporator <NUM> is generally in the shape of a flat cuboid. That is, a thickness size of the evaporator <NUM> vertical to a support surface is obviously smaller than a length size of the evaporator <NUM>. The evaporator <NUM> may be a finned evaporator, and an arrangement direction of fins is parallel to the front and rear depth direction to facilitate an airflow to pass from front to back. In the present embodiment, the evaporator <NUM> may also be set to present other shapes according to requirements under the condition of meeting space requirements. The evaporator <NUM> in the shape of a flat cuboid is an implementation with a relatively compact and simple structure.

According to a refrigerator having an evaporator disposed at the bottom in the prior art, the evaporator is horizontally placed, and when an airflow enters a cooling compartment, it is easily gathered at a front end of the evaporator and cannot smoothly enter the evaporator to realize heat exchange. Additionally, an air suction space at an upper portion of a centrifugal fan is small, the airflow after the heat exchange cannot sufficiently enter the fan, and thus the air return efficiency is reduced. Airflow gathering also easily occurs under the condition that a connecting portion of an exhaust direction of the centrifugal fan and the air duct is too narrow, the airflow cannot be sufficiently blown into the air duct, and the air return and refrigeration efficiency is reduced.

According to the refrigerator of the present embodiment, the evaporator <NUM> is generally in the shape of a flat cuboid, and is inclinedly disposed in the cooling compartment <NUM>, which breaks through the technical constraint that the evaporator <NUM> needs to be horizontally placed to reduce a depth size in the prior art. An inclination angle α of the evaporator <NUM> with respect to the horizontal direction ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, for example, may be set to be <NUM>°, <NUM>° or <NUM>°, and is preferably set to be <NUM>°. Although the length increase in the front and rear direction may be caused by inclined placement of the evaporator <NUM> in the shape of a flat cuboid, the arrangement of other components in the cooling compartment <NUM> is more reasonable through the inclined placement of the evaporator <NUM>. Additionally, through practical airflow flow field analysis, it is proved that the air circulation efficiency is higher, and the water drainage is smoother. A layout of inclined placement of the evaporator <NUM> is one of main technical improvements of the present embodiment. A distance between a front side surface and a rear side surface of the evaporator <NUM> ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>, for example, may be set to be <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, and is preferably set to be <NUM>. A distance between a top surface and a bottom surface of the evaporator <NUM> ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>, for example, may be set to be <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, and may be preferably set to be <NUM>. A proportion of the distance between the front side surface and the rear side surface of the evaporator <NUM> to the distance between the top surface and the bottom surface of the evaporator <NUM> ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>, for example, may be set to be <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, and is preferably set to be <NUM>. Due to inclined placement of the evaporator <NUM>, a hollow groove <NUM> configured to collect condensed water is formed under the evaporator <NUM>. After entering the cooling compartment <NUM>, the airflow may enter the evaporator <NUM> from the front side surface of the evaporator <NUM> to perform heat exchange, and a part of the airflow may also enter the evaporator <NUM> through two parts including the upper portion of the evaporator <NUM> and the bottom hollow groove <NUM> to perform heat exchange, so that the heat exchange is more uniform. Then, the airflow is sent to the air supply duct <NUM> through the refrigeration fan <NUM> to refrigerate the storage space <NUM> at the upper portion.

In order to reduce the depth size in the front and rear direction, the positions and sizes of each component in the cooling compartment <NUM> of the refrigerator of the present embodiment in the front and rear direction are strictly set. A proportion of a length of the horizontal direction projection of the evaporator <NUM> along the front and rear direction to a depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction is lower than <NUM>%, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>%. The depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction refers to a whole horizontal length from a front end to a rear end. The size and arrangement manner of the evaporator <NUM> are set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and refrigeration performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The bottom wall of the bottom inner liner <NUM> further includes a first inclination portion <NUM>, a second inclination portion <NUM>, the third inclination portion <NUM> and a recessed portion <NUM>.

The first inclination portion <NUM> is disposed inclinedly downward from a front end of the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner <NUM> from front to back. The recessed portion <NUM> is disposed at a rear side of the first inclination portion <NUM> and is configured to be inclined upward from a transverse middle to two sides to form a drain hole <NUM> in the transverse middle. The drain hole <NUM> is configured to drain water from the cooling compartment <NUM>. The position of the drain hole <NUM> is generally in a region of the transverse middle portion, but is not strictly required to be in a region of a transverse center. In some embodiments, the drain hole <NUM> may be located in a position properly near one side in the transverse middle portion.

The second inclination portion <NUM> is disposed inclinedly upward from a rear end of the recessed portion <NUM> from front to back and is configured to support the evaporator <NUM>. Additionally, a front end of the evaporator <NUM> abuts against the first inclination portion <NUM>. The evaporator <NUM> is disposed on the second inclination portion <NUM>, so that water on the evaporator <NUM> is gathered at the recessed portion <NUM>, and a position of the drain hole <NUM> along the front and rear direction of the refrigerator body is at a front portion of the evaporator <NUM>. An inclination angle of the evaporator <NUM> keeps consistent with an inclination angle of the second inclination portion <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane, the inclination angle α ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, for example, may be set to be <NUM>°, <NUM>° or <NUM>°, and may be preferably set to be <NUM>°. That is, the recessed portion <NUM> provided with the drain hole <NUM> is formed in a connecting position of the first inclination portion <NUM> and the second inclination portion <NUM>, so that the drain hole <NUM> is used to drain condensed water of the evaporator <NUM>. A height of the drain hole <NUM> with respect to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>. A height from the position of the evaporator <NUM> abutted against the first inclination portion <NUM> to the drain hole <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>. The height of the drain hole <NUM> is reduced to the lowest on the premise of ensuring a water drainage angle. The setting of the height of the drain hole <NUM> with respect to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body <NUM> and the height from the position of the evaporator <NUM> abutted against the first inclination portion <NUM> to the drain hole <NUM> is performed through structure optimization made according to water drain performance requirements and space requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The third inclination portion <NUM> is disposed inclinedly upward from the second inclination portion <NUM> from front to back and has an inclination angle greater than that of the second inclination portion <NUM>. The inclination angle of the third inclination portion <NUM> with respect to the horizontal direction ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, for example, may be set to be <NUM>°, <NUM>° or <NUM>°, and is preferably <NUM>°.

An inclination angle of the recessed portion <NUM> is greater than or equal to <NUM>°, and further, may be greater than or equal to <NUM>°, for example. The inclination angle of the second inclination portion <NUM> and the inclination angle of the third inclination portion <NUM> are also respectively the inclination angle of the evaporator <NUM> and the inclination angle of the refrigeration fan <NUM>. The inclination angle of the recessed portion <NUM> can ensure that water is gathered to the drain hole <NUM>.

The inclination angle of two sides of the recessed portion <NUM> may be greater than or equal to <NUM>° (preferably <NUM>°), so that the water at the two sides is gathered to the drain hole <NUM>. Through a structure of the recessed portion <NUM>, the space from the evaporator <NUM> to the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner <NUM> may be reduced as much as possible, so that heat can be transferred to the recessed portion <NUM> through a heating wire (not shown in the figures) of the evaporator <NUM>, to enable defrosting water to effectively flow to the drain hole <NUM>. According to the structure of the recessed portion <NUM>, the heat of the heating wire of the evaporator <NUM> is used for defrosting, the blockage of the drain hole <NUM> by an ice block is avoided, and additional addition of a heating wire at the drain hole <NUM> is not needed.

By using the structure of the recessed portion <NUM>, parts of regions of the inclined evaporator <NUM> may be suspended to facilitate defrosting and water drainage. Since the evaporator <NUM> is inclinedly disposed, the distance between the evaporator <NUM> and the drain hole <NUM> may be reduced, which not only improves the space utilization of the refrigerator, but also ensures that the heating wire on the evaporator <NUM> can heat the region at the drain hole <NUM>, so that the frosting risk at the drain hole <NUM> can be reduced.

The inclination angle of the second inclination portion <NUM> can also facilitate gathering of water to the drain hole <NUM>, thus improving the water drainage smoothness. A proportion of a portion of the evaporator <NUM> attached to the second inclination portion <NUM> to the bottom surface of the evaporator <NUM> is greater than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>/<NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM>, etc., so that the drain hole <NUM> is located below the front portion of the evaporator <NUM>. That is, the position of the drain hole <NUM> along the front and rear direction of the refrigerator body <NUM> is located at the front portion of the evaporator <NUM>, for example, the drain hole <NUM> may be located below a <NUM>/<NUM> (or <NUM>/<NUM>) position of the integral depth size of the evaporator <NUM>.

According to the refrigerator of the present embodiment, by ensuring the attaching length of the bottom surface of the evaporator <NUM> to the second inclination portion <NUM>, the condition that air does not flow into the evaporator <NUM> but flows through a space between the bottom surface of the evaporator <NUM> and the drain hole <NUM> is avoided, a length of a flowing path of the air through the evaporator <NUM> is increased, and the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator <NUM> is further improved.

Through the structure of the cooling compartment <NUM> and inclined arrangement of components of the evaporator <NUM>, etc., the smooth and sufficient heat exchange of the airflow is ensured, frosting is reduced to a certain degree, and the defrosting and water drainage efficiency is improved.

The air supply assembly <NUM> of the refrigerator of the present embodiment is disposed behind the evaporator <NUM>. The air supply assembly <NUM> may include the refrigeration fan <NUM> and the air supply duct <NUM>. The refrigeration fan <NUM> is inclinedly disposed behind the evaporator <NUM>, a suction inlet of the refrigeration fan <NUM> faces a front upper side, and the refrigeration fan is configured to form a refrigeration airflow sent to the storage space <NUM> via the evaporator <NUM>. The refrigeration fan <NUM> may be a centrifugal fan. The refrigeration fan <NUM> is disposed inclinedly upward behind the evaporator <NUM> from front to back, and includes a volute and an impeller disposed in the volute. The volute is fixed to the upper side of the third inclination portion <NUM>. A suction inlet of the volute faces the front upper side to suck air undergone heat exchange through the evaporator <NUM> by utilizing the impeller. An exhaust outlet of the volute is located at a rear side. The air supply duct <NUM> is connected with the exhaust outlet, extends upward, and is configured to upward guide the refrigeration airflow to the storage space <NUM>. The suction inlet of the refrigeration fan <NUM> is generally located in the center of the volute, and the height of the suction inlet may be higher than the top end of the evaporator <NUM>. The refrigeration fan <NUM> is disposed on the third inclination portion <NUM>, and keeps an inclination angle consistent with that of the third inclination portion <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane. The inclination angle β of the refrigeration fan <NUM> may also ranges from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, for example, may be set to be <NUM>°, <NUM>° or <NUM>°, and is preferably <NUM>°. The volute is formed by a lower case body and an upper cover body through buckling, which facilitates the disassembly and assembly of the volute.

The exhaust outlet of the refrigeration fan <NUM> is located at the rear side, and is configured to supply air to an inclined rear side. The air supply duct <NUM> communicates with the exhaust outlet of the refrigeration fan <NUM>, extends upward, and is configured to convey the refrigeration airflow to the storage space <NUM>. An air supply port <NUM> communicating with the air supply duct <NUM> is formed in a rear wall of the storage space <NUM>, to exhaust the refrigeration airflow into the storage space <NUM>. A proportion of a thickness of an upward extending vertical section of the air supply duct <NUM> along the front and rear direction to the depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction is smaller than <NUM>%, and for example, may be <NUM>%.

A foaming layer of the refrigerator body <NUM> is disposed at the outer side of the cooling compartment <NUM> and the storage space <NUM>, that is, located at the outer side of the bottom inner liner <NUM>, and surrounds the bottom inner liner <NUM>. Additionally, a proportion of the thickness of the foaming layer at the back portion of the storage space <NUM> to the depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction is smaller than <NUM>%, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>%. There is a conflict between the thickness of the foaming layer and the heat insulation performance. The thickness of the foaming layer is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and heat insulation requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The evaporator upper cover <NUM> is transversely disposed in the bottom inner liner <NUM>, and is configured to separate the cooling compartment <NUM> from the storage space <NUM>. An air return cover <NUM> is disposed at a front end of the evaporator upper cover <NUM>, and is used as a front wall of the cooling compartment <NUM>. A proportion of a horizontal distance from a front end of the air return cover <NUM> to the front end of the refrigerator body <NUM> to the depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction is smaller than <NUM>%, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>%. The air return cover <NUM> is provided with a front air return inlet <NUM> communicating with the storage space <NUM> at the front side of the cooling compartment <NUM>, so that an air return airflow of the storage space <NUM> enters the cooling compartment <NUM> through the front air return inlet <NUM> to perform heat exchange with the evaporator <NUM> and complete airflow circulation between the cooling compartment <NUM> and the storage space <NUM>. The distance from the front end of the air return cover <NUM> to the front end of the refrigerator body <NUM> is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and air return performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The evaporator upper cover <NUM> includes a first upper cover portion <NUM>, the first upper cover portion <NUM> is located at a top portion of the evaporator <NUM> and is basically horizontally disposed, and the height of the first upper cover portion <NUM> with respect to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, is <NUM>. The volume of the storage space <NUM> is enabled not to change under the condition of reducing the depth size of the cooling compartment <NUM>, and the utilization rate of the storage space <NUM> is improved. The setting of the height of the first upper cover portion <NUM> with respect to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body <NUM> is set through structure optimization made according to space requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products. The height of the first upper cover portion <NUM> with respect to the ground is reduced to <NUM>, which also increases the effective utilization rate of the storage space <NUM>.

A gap space between the first upper cover portion <NUM> and the evaporator <NUM> is filled with a heat insulation material. A space between the top of the front end of the evaporator <NUM> to the first upper cover portion <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, is <NUM>. A minimum space from the evaporator <NUM> to the first upper cover portion <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, is <NUM>. A thickest portion of the heat insulation material may be <NUM>, and a thinnest portion thereof may be <NUM>. On the premise of ensuring the heat insulation and thermal preservation performance, the thickness of the heat insulation material is compressed to the thinnest. The distance from the evaporator <NUM> to the first upper cover portion <NUM> and the space from the front end of the evaporator <NUM> to the first upper cover portion <NUM> are set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and heat insulation and thermal preservation performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The evaporator upper cover <NUM> further includes a second upper cover portion <NUM> formed by extending inclinedly upward from a rear end of the first upper cover portion <NUM>. The second upper cover portion <NUM> is located above the refrigeration fan <NUM>, and an inclination angle thereof may be set to be consistent with the inclination angle of the refrigeration fan <NUM>. A space between the refrigeration fan <NUM> and the second upper cover portion <NUM> is set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, may be set to be <NUM>. The height of the second upper cover portion <NUM> may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, and for example, set to be <NUM>, so that the refrigeration performance of the refrigerator is not influenced while an air suction space of the refrigeration fan <NUM> is ensured. The setting of the space between the refrigeration fan <NUM> and the second upper cover portion <NUM> and the setting of the height of the second upper cover portion <NUM> are set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and refrigeration performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

The two front air return inlets <NUM> in vertical distribution are formed at the front side of the air return cover <NUM>, the appearance is attractive, and children's fingers or foreign articles can be effectively prevented from entering a cooling space. Additionally, through two vertically distributed air return regions, return air more uniformly flows through the evaporator <NUM> after entering the cooling space, the problem of easy frosting at the front end surface of the evaporator <NUM> can be avoided to a certain degree, the heat exchange efficiency can be improved, the defrosting period can be prolonged, the energy is saved, and the efficiency is high. Through structure detail features of each inclination section of the air return cover <NUM>, condensed water formed on the air return cover <NUM> can be guided to facilitate water drainage, the water dripping sound that can be sensed by human ears can be avoided, and the use experience of users is improved.

There may be two air return covers <NUM> distributed at the left and right along a transverse direction and separated by the longitudinal separation plate <NUM>. The longitudinal separation plate <NUM> is disposed in the middle portion of the storage space <NUM> and separates the storage space <NUM> into two transversely arranged storage cavities. Each storage cavity is provided with one air return cover <NUM>. A heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> is disposed in front of the longitudinal separation plate <NUM>. The heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> is configured to cooperate with the door body of the storage cavity for avoiding the cold from being leaked from the edge of the door body.

A proportion of the thickness of a heat insulation layer of the heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> along the front and rear direction to the depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> along the front and rear direction is smaller than <NUM>%, and a proportion of a horizontal distance from the front end of the evaporator <NUM> to the heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> to the depth size of the refrigerator body <NUM> in the front and rear direction is smaller than <NUM>%. The thickness of the heat insulation layer of the heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> and the position of the heat insulation vertical beam with respect to the evaporator <NUM> are set through structure optimization made according to space requirements and heat insulation performance requirements, and the effect is verified through trail products.

Additionally, in order that the integral depth size of the refrigerator meets the requirements, the thickness of the door body may be set to be smaller than or equal to <NUM>. <FIG> is a schematic structure diagram after a door body <NUM> of a refrigerator <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention is closed. After the door body <NUM> is closed to seal the storage space <NUM>, the integral depth size (integral thickness of the front and rear direction) of the refrigerator <NUM> may be smaller than or equal to <NUM>, so that the size requirement matched with a cupboard is met.

A specific embodiment of a refrigerator with the depth size of a refrigerator body <NUM> being <NUM> will be illustrated in conjunction with the sizes provided in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> hereafter. The volume of the refrigerator body of the refrigerator <NUM> may be the same as that of a conventional <NUM> refrigerator body, and the space utilization efficiency is sufficiently achieved.

The integral depth size L12 of the refrigerator body <NUM> is <NUM>, and a thickness L11 of a door body <NUM> is set to be <NUM>. Therefore, the integral thickness of the refrigerator is only <NUM>. A bottom-mounted refrigeration module includes an evaporator upper cover <NUM>, an evaporator <NUM>, a refrigeration fan <NUM>, a compressor compartment <NUM> and apparatuses in a compartment body of the compressor compartment <NUM>. A height H1 of the whole of the bottom-mounted refrigeration module with respect to the ground is <NUM>, and a height H4 of the bottom surface of the refrigerator body <NUM> with respect to the ground is <NUM>, so that the integral height of the bottom-mounted refrigeration module is only <NUM>.

A depth size L9 of the evaporator <NUM> in the refrigerator <NUM> is <NUM>, a longitudinal size L10 thereof is <NUM>, a left and right transverse size (not shown) thereof is <NUM>, and a longitudinal height H7 thereof is <NUM>. An inclination angle α of the evaporator <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane may be <NUM>°. An inclination angle of a bottom wall portion of a bottom inner liner <NUM> for supporting the evaporator <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane is correspondingly set to be <NUM>°.

Due to inclined arrangement of the evaporator <NUM>, the length L3 of the horizontal direction projection of the evaporator along the front and rear direction is <NUM>. Although the length in the front and rear direction is increased, due to the inclined arrangement of the evaporator, the arrangement of other components in the cooling compartment <NUM> is more reasonable. Through practical airflow flow field analysis, it is proved that the air circulation efficiency is higher, and the water drainage is smoother. At the same time, the inclined arrangement of the evaporator <NUM> can also prevent the blockage of an air return port due to frosting caused by too short distance from the evaporator <NUM> to a heat insulation vertical beam <NUM>.

The refrigeration fan <NUM> is also inclinedly disposed. An inclination angle β of the refrigeration fan <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane may be <NUM>°, and an inclination angle of a bottom wall portion of the bottom inner liner <NUM> for supporting the refrigeration fan <NUM> with respect to the horizontal plane is also correspondingly set to be <NUM>°.

From front to back, the sizes and relative relationships of each component in the cooling compartment <NUM> and a storage space <NUM> are as follows: a horizontal distance L8 from a front end of an air return cover <NUM> to a front end of the refrigerator body <NUM> is <NUM>. A thickness L1 of a heat insulation layer of the heat insulation vertical beam <NUM> along the front and rear direction is set to be <NUM>. A distance L9 from a front side surface to a rear side surface of the evaporator <NUM> is <NUM>, and a distance L10 from a top surface to a bottom surface of the evaporator is <NUM>. A horizontal distance L4 from the front end of the refrigeration fan <NUM> to the evaporator <NUM> is <NUM> to reduce a depth distance between the evaporator <NUM> and the fan <NUM> to a maximum degree under the condition of ensuring no frosting of blades of the refrigeration fan <NUM>. A thickness L6 of an upward extending vertical section of the air supply duct <NUM> along the front and rear direction is <NUM>, and therefore, a length L5 of a horizontal direction projection of an air supply assembly along the front and rear direction may be ensured to be <NUM>. A thickness L7 of the foaming layer at the back portion of the storage space <NUM> is <NUM>. A thickness L13 of the foaming layer at two sides of the storage space <NUM> is <NUM>.

Correspondingly, it can be obtained that L8 is <NUM>% of L12, L6 is <NUM>% of L12, L1 is <NUM>% of L12, L2 is <NUM>% of L12, L3 is <NUM>% of L12, L4 is <NUM>% of L12, L5 is <NUM>% of L12, L7 is <NUM>% of L12, and L9 is <NUM>% of L10. The above sizes, relative positions and proportion relationships are all completed on the basis of rigorous demonstration and precise calculation. Under the condition of very rigorous size requirements, various performance index requirements are met. The sizes and the relative positions are mutually matched to jointly achieve corresponding functions. The change of any one of the above sizes and relative positions may cause a condition that the performance of the refrigerator <NUM> in an aspect cannot meet the requirement or even the function cannot be achieved.

Claim 1:
A refrigerator (<NUM>) having an evaporator (<NUM>) disposed at the bottom of a refrigerator body (<NUM>), comprising:
the refrigerator body (<NUM>), having a bottom inner liner (<NUM>), the bottom inner liner (<NUM>) defining a cooling compartment (<NUM>) and a storage space (<NUM>), and the cooling compartment (<NUM>) being disposed below the storage space (<NUM>); and
the evaporator (<NUM>), arranged in the cooling compartment (<NUM>) and placed inclinedly along a depth direction of the refrigerator (<NUM>) with respect to a horizontal direction, with the direction of inclination being upward from front to back;
characterized in that a bottom wall of the bottom inner liner (<NUM>) comprises:
a first inclination portion (<NUM>), disposed inclinedly downward from a front end of the bottom wall of the bottom inner liner (<NUM>) from front to back;
a recessed portion (<NUM>), disposed at a rear side of the first inclination portion (<NUM>) and configured to be inclined upward from a transverse middle to two sides to form a drain hole (<NUM>) in the transverse middle, the drain hole (<NUM>) being configured to drain water from the cooling compartment (<NUM>); and
a second inclination portion (<NUM>), disposed inclinedly upward from a rear end of the recessed portion (<NUM>) from front to back and configured to support the evaporator (<NUM>), a front end of the evaporator (<NUM>) abutting against the first inclination portion (<NUM>) so that water on the evaporator (<NUM>) is gathered at the recessed portion (<NUM>), and a position of the drain hole (<NUM>) along the front and rear direction of the refrigerator body (<NUM>) being at a front portion of the evaporator (<NUM>);
wherein the recessed portion (<NUM>) provided with the drain hole (<NUM>) is formed in a connecting position of the first inclination portion (<NUM>) and the second inclination portion (<NUM>), so that the drain hole (<NUM>) is used to drain condensed water of the evaporator (<NUM>).