U.S. patent application number 10/944891 was filed with the patent office on 2005-03-31 for deodorizer for refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG Electronics Inc.. Invention is credited to Kang, Byeong-Gyu.
Application Number | 20050067501 10/944891 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36128693 |
Filed Date | 2005-03-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050067501 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kang, Byeong-Gyu |
March 31, 2005 |
Deodorizer for refrigerator
Abstract
A deodorizer for a refrigerator is formed of a mesh type
material having fine multiple pores through which the air in the
refrigerator passes and the material having multiple pleats so as
to enlarge a surface area coming in contact with the air, thereby
maximizing a Surface area coming in contact with the cool air and
accordingly, improving deodorizing performance.
Inventors: |
Kang, Byeong-Gyu; (Gimhae,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FLESHNER & KIM, LLP
P.O. BOX 221200
CHANTILLY
VA
20153
US
|
Assignee: |
LG Electronics Inc.
|
Family ID: |
36128693 |
Appl. No.: |
10/944891 |
Filed: |
September 21, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
239/60 ;
239/34 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2317/0415 20130101;
A61L 9/16 20130101; F25D 17/042 20130101; A61L 9/014 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
239/060 ;
239/034 |
International
Class: |
A61L 009/04; A24F
025/00; F25D 023/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 30, 2003 |
KR |
67803/2003 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A deodorizer for a refrigerator, formed of a mesh type material
having multiple pores through which the air in the refrigerator
passes and the material having multiple pleats so as to enlarge a
surface area contacting with the air.
2. The deodorizer of claim 1, wherein the material comprises: a
support member having multiple pores and multiple pleats; and a
carbon nano ball coated on a surface of the support member, for
performing deodorization.
3. The deodorizer of claim 2, wherein the support member is
composed of fiber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a deodorizer for a
refrigerator, and more particularly, to a deodorizer for a
refrigerator capable of improving deodorizing performance by
increasing a surface area coming in contact with the cool air.
[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0004] In general, a refrigerator maintains freshness of food items
as cool air cooled by a freezing cycle is sent to a freezing
compartment (chamber) and a refrigerating compartment (chamber) to
freeze food items stored in the freezing compartment or to maintain
food items stored in the refrigerating compartment at a low
temperature.
[0005] In the refrigerating compartment, food items are stored at a
temperature that is higher than a freezing point, unlike the
freezing compartment in which the food items are stored in a frozen
state. For this reason, the smell (odor) is generated from the food
items stored in the refrigerating compartment. In order to remove
such odor generated from various food items stored in the
refrigerating compartment, a deodorizer is installed inside the
refrigerating compartment.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a general refrigerator.
[0007] A general side by side type refrigerator includes a main
body 10 having a receiving space therein; a freezing compartment 12
disposed at one of left and right sides of the main body 10, for
keeping frozen items; and a refrigerating compartment 14 separated
from the freezing compartment 12 by a mullion wall 16 and disposed
at the other one of the left and right sides of the main body 10,
for keeping cooled items.
[0008] A heat exchanger 18 by which air is cooled while passing
therethrough, and a blowing fan 20 for forcedly sending the air
cooled by the heat exchanger 18 into the refrigerating compartment
14 are installed at a rear upper wall of the freezing compartment
12.
[0009] A cool-air supply passage 22 through which the cool air is
supplied from the blowing fan 20 into the refrigerating compartment
14 is formed at an upper side of the mullion wall 16, and a
cool-air suction passage 24 through which the cool air, which has
completed cooling operation while circulating inside the
refrigerating compartment 14, is introduced to the heat exchanger
18 is formed at a lower side of the mullion wall 16.
[0010] The refrigerating compartment 14 is provided with a rear
cool-air discharge duct 26 communicating with the cool-air supply
passage 22 and installed at a rear wall of the refrigerating
compartment, for discharging the cool air from the rear of the
refrigerating compartment 14; a left cool-air discharge duct 28
installed at the left side of the refrigerating compartment 14, for
discharging the cool air from the left side of the refrigerating
compartment 14; and a right cool-air discharge duct 30 for
discharging the cool air from the right side of the refrigerating
compartment 14.
[0011] The cool-air suction passage 24 is installed with a
deodorizer assembly 32 for removing the odor contained in the cool
air which has completed cooling operation for food items stored in
the refrigerating chamber while circulating inside the
refrigerating chamber.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a deodorizer
assembly according to the conventional art.
[0013] The deodorizer assembly according to the conventional art
includes a case 110 mounted at the cool-air suction passage 24 and
having a receiving space 116 and a plurality of through holes 118
through which cool air passes; a deodorizer 114 mounted in the
receiving space 116, for removing the odor when the cool air passes
therethrough; and a cover 112 mounted at the case 110, protecting
the deodorizer 114 and having a plurality of through holes 120
through which the cool air passes.
[0014] The deodorizer 114 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape
with a certain thickness to be inserted in the receiving space 116
of the case 110, and a plurality of through holes 124 through which
the cool air passes are formed at the deodorizer 114.
[0015] The operation of the deodorizer assembly according to the
conventional art will now be described.
[0016] The cool air which has circulated inside the refrigerating
chamber 14 is sucked through the through holes 120 of the cover 112
and passes through the through holes 124 formed at the deodorizer
114, whereby the odor contained in the cool air is removed. Then,
the deodorized cool air by the deodorizer 114 is introduced to the
cool-air suction passage 24 through the through holes 118 of the
case 110.
[0017] However, the deodorizer assembly according to the
conventional art has following problems.
[0018] Because the odor is removed while the cool air passes
through the through holes 124 formed at the deodorizer 114, if an
area of the through hole 124 is formed to be large, the odor of the
cool air passing through the through hole 124 is partially removed,
which results in deterioration of deodorizing performance. Also, if
the area of the through hole 124 is formed to be small, flow
resistance of the air is generated, and thus the air cannot be
smoothly sucked therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide
a deodorizer for a refrigerator capable of improving deodorizing
performance by forming a mesh type deodorizer and thus maximizing a
surface area coming in contact with cool air.
[0020] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with
the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described herein, there is provided a deodorizer for a refrigerator
formed of a mesh type material having multiple pores through which
the air in the refrigerator passes, and the material having
multiple pleats so as to enlarge a surface area coming in contact
with the air.
[0021] The material is formed by covering a surface of a support
member, which has fine multiple pores and is repeatedly folded,
with carbon nano balls performing deodorizing operation.
[0022] The support member is made of a fiber.
[0023] The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and
advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from
the following detailed description of the present invention when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a unit of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and together with the description serve to explain
the principles of the invention.
[0025] In the drawings:
[0026] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a general side by side type
refrigerator;
[0027] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a deodorizer for a
refrigerator according to the conventional art;
[0028] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a deodorizer for a
refrigerator according to the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a deodorizer for a
refrigerator according to the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 4; and
[0031] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a deodorizer for a
refrigerator according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0033] There may be a plurality of embodiments for a deodorizer for
a refrigerator according to the present invention, and hereinafter,
the most preferred embodiment will be explained.
[0034] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a deodorizer for a
refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a
sectional view of a deodorizer for a refrigerator according to the
present invention.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the
present invention includes a main body 10 having a receiving space
therein; a freezing compartment 12 disposed at one of left and
right sides of the main body 10, for storing frozen food items; a
refrigerating compartment 14 separated from the freezing
compartment 12 by a mullion wall 16, disposed at the other one of
the left and right sides of the main body 10, for storing cooled
food items; and a deodorizer assembly 32 installed at one side of
the refrigerating compartment 14, for removing the odor generated
from the food items stored in the refrigerating compartment 14.
[0036] A heat exchanger 18 by which air is cooled while passing
therethrough and a blowing fan 20 for forcedly sending the air
cooled by the heat exchanger 18 are installed at a rear upper wall
of the refrigerating compartment 12.
[0037] A cool-air supply passage 22 through which the cool air is
supplied from the blowing fan 20 into the refrigerating compartment
14 is formed at an upper side of the mullion wall 16, and a
cool-air suction passage 24 through which the cool air, which has
completed its cooling operation while circulating inside the
refrigerating compartment 14, is introduced to a heat exchanger 18
is formed at a lower side of the mullion wall 16.
[0038] The refrigerating compartment 14 is provided with a rear
cool-air discharge duct 26 communicating with the cool-air supply
passage 22 and installed at a rear wall of the refrigerating
compartment 14, for discharging the cool air from the rear of the
refrigerating compartment 14; a left cool-air discharge duct 28
installed at a left side of the refrigerating compartment 14, for
discharging the cool air from the left side of the refrigerating
compartment 14; and a right cool-air discharge duct 30 installed at
the right side of the refrigerating compartment 14, for discharging
the cool air from the right side of the refrigerating compartment
14.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the deodorizer assembly 32 is
installed on the cool-air suction passage 24 and circulates inside
the refrigerating compartment, removing the odor contained in the
cool air which has completed cooling operation for food items
stored in the refrigerating compartment. Such a deodorizer assembly
may be installed at any position through which the cool air passes
besides the cool-air suction passage 24.
[0040] Such a deodorizer assembly 32 includes a deodorizer 50
formed in a mesh type material having a plurality of fine pores 52;
a case 60 having a receiving space having the deodorizer 50
therein, and mounted in the refrigerating compartment; and a cover
70 detachably mounted to the case 60, for preventing detachment of
the deodorizer 50 from the case 60.
[0041] Here, the case 60 and the cover 70 are provided with
cool-air passages 64 and 74. A hinge portion 76 for rotatably
connecting the cover 70 to the case 60 is formed between the case
60 and the cover 70, a hook 80 is formed at the cover 70, and a
hook hole 84 by which the hook 80 is hooked is formed at the case
60. In such a manner, the cover 70 is fixed to the case 60.
[0042] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the deodorizer 50 includes a
support member 54 having fine multiple pores 52 and multiple pleats
so as to maximize a surface area coming in contact with the cool
air; and carbon nano balls 56 applied on a surface of the support
member 54 by a spraying method, for removing the odor.
[0043] Here, preferably, the support member 54 is made of a fiber
or a synthetic resin material.
[0044] The carbon nano ball 56 is a hollow carbon structure with a
size of 200.about.500 nm and can effectively absorb bad smell
components and an organic material in the air by having pores of a
few nm and surface absorptive capacity. The carbon nano ball 56 has
BET surface area (1450 m.sup.2/g) which is about twice as much as
activated carbon, a mesopore area (880 m.sup.2/g) which is about
six times as much as the activated carbon, and a pore volume (1.27
cm.sup.3/g) which is about twice as much as the activated carbon.
In comparison with the activated carbon, the carbon nano ball has a
malodorous-gas removing force which is eight times as much as
ammonia, ten times as much as methyl mercaptan and twelve times as
much as timethylamine.
[0045] The operation of the deodorizer assembly according to the
present invention will now be described.
[0046] A mesh type deodorizer 50 having fine multiple pores 52 is
stored in the receiving space of the case 60, the case 60 is
covered with a cover 70, and the hook 80 formed at the cover 70 is
hooked by the hook hole 84 formed at the case 60, thereby
completing assembly of the deodorizer assembly. Then, the assembled
deodorizer assembly is mounted at the cool-air suction passage
14.
[0047] When the refrigerator is driven, the blowing fan 20 is
rotated, supplying the cool air cooled by the heat exchanger 18
into the refrigerating compartment 14 through the cool-air supply
passage 22. The supplied cool air performs cooling operation for
various food items stored within the refrigerating compartment 14,
and the cool air which has completed the cooling operation while
circulating inside the refrigerating compartment 14 is
re-circulated to the heat exchanger 18 through the cool-air suction
passage 24. At this time, the cool air passes through the
deodorizer assembly installed at the cool-air suction passage 24,
thereby removing the odor contained in the cool air.
[0048] Here, because the deodorizer 50 is formed in a mesh type
material having fine multiple pores 52, the cool air can pass
therethrough with little flow resistance, making the smooth flow.
Because the deodorizer 50 has a structure of being repetitively
folded, a surface area coming in contact with the cool air can be
maximized, thereby improving a deodorizing effect.
[0049] Effects of the deodorizer assembly for a refrigerator
according to the present invention, constructed and operated as
described above, will now be explained.
[0050] The deodorizer according to the present invention may
maximize deodorizing capacity because carbon nano balls cover its
surface to perform deodorization.
[0051] In addition, because the deodorizer is formed in a mesh type
having fine multiple pores, flow resistance of the cool air is not
generated, and thus the smooth flow of the cool air can be
made.
[0052] Also, the deodorizer has a structure of being repetitively
folded, so that a surface area coming in contact with the cool air
can be maximized, improving deodorizing performance.
[0053] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms
without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics
thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described
embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing
description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be
construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the
appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that
fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of
such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the
appended claims.
* * * * *