U.S. patent application number 12/446083 was filed with the patent office on 2010-08-19 for cool air supplying apparatus used in refrigerator and refrigerator having the same.
Invention is credited to Jun-Ho Bae, Chang-Joon Kim.
Application Number | 20100205997 12/446083 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39314164 |
Filed Date | 2010-08-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100205997 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bae; Jun-Ho ; et
al. |
August 19, 2010 |
COOL AIR SUPPLYING APPARATUS USED IN REFRIGERATOR AND REFRIGERATOR
HAVING THE SAME
Abstract
The present invention provides a cool air supplying apparatus
for a refrigerator including a turbo fan configured to a grill
forming a freezing space to blow cool air into the freezing space;
and a shroud configured between a casing and the grill so as to
cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool
air, an orifice formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined
part formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the
orifice, and a flat part formed so as to be integrated with the
inclined part and configured at a constant interval from the grill.
Therefore, it is possible to increase the height of the blades of
the turbo fan without increasing the total size of the refrigerator
and causing resistance to the inflow of cool air.
Inventors: |
Bae; Jun-Ho; (Seoul, KR)
; Kim; Chang-Joon; (Seoul, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KED & ASSOCIATES, LLP
P.O. Box 221200
Chantilly
VA
20153-1200
US
|
Family ID: |
39314164 |
Appl. No.: |
12/446083 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
October 19, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR06/04251 |
371 Date: |
April 17, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/419 ;
62/515 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2317/0683 20130101;
F25D 17/065 20130101; F25D 2500/02 20130101; F25D 2317/0681
20130101; F25D 2400/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/419 ;
62/515 |
International
Class: |
F25D 17/06 20060101
F25D017/06; F25B 39/02 20060101 F25B039/02 |
Claims
1. A cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator comprising: a
turbo fan that is configured to a grill forming a freezing space so
as to blow cool air into the freezing space; and a shroud that is
configured between a casing forming the exterior side of a
refrigerator and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and
includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice that is
formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part that is
formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the
orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be integrated with
the inclined part and configured at a constant interval from the
grill.
2. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein the interval between one end of the inclined part in
connection with the flat part and the grill is equal to the
interval between the flat part and the grill.
3. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein a turbo fan is configured to the grill, and includes a body
in which a hub protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades
formed at the edge of the body, and a fan shroud mounted to the
blades so as to fix the blades.
4. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 3,
wherein the fan shroud is located at one side of the inclined
part.
5. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 3,
wherein the fan shroud is formed to bend such that one end of the
fan shroud is located at one side of the orifice, and the other end
is located at one side of the inclined part.
6. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein the opening part and the orifice protrude further than the
flat part.
7. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein a height C of the inclined part is set in the range of 20
to 30% of an interval A between the flat part and the grill.
8. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein a width D of the inclined part is set in the range of 50 to
150% of an interval A between the flat part and the grill.
9. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1,
wherein an interval B between the flat part and the casing is set
in the range of 90 to 110% of an interval A between the flat part
and the grill.
10. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 8,
wherein the width D of the inclined part is a length that is
obtained when the inclined part is projected on the grill.
11. A refrigerator comprising: a casing forming the exterior side
of the refrigerator; a grill that is configured at a distance from
the casing to form a freezing space; a turbo fan that is configured
to the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the
center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a
fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades; a shroud
that is configured between the casing and the grill so as to cover
the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an
orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined
part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end
of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be
integrated with the inclined part and configured at a constant
interval from the grill, in which the interval between one end of
the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is
equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill; and an
evaporator that is configured below of the turbo fan to generate
cool air.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a cool air supplying
apparatus used in a refrigerator and a refrigerator having the
same, and more particularly, to a cool air supplying apparatus for
a refrigerator in which an inclined part is formed in the vicinity
of an orifice of a shroud forming a flow path for the inflow of
cool air so as to make the orifice protrude, and a refrigerator
having the same.
[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0004] A refrigerator is an appliance for keeping fresh food that
is stored in its room by performing a refrigerating cycle.
[0005] First, the construction and operation of the refrigerator,
more particularly, of parts for discharging cool air will be
described hereafter with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0006] Here, FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according
to a conventional art, when doors are opened. FIG. 2 is a view
illustrating that an evaporator is configured at the rear side of a
rear side wall of a freezing chamber in the refrigerator according
to the conventional art. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a turbo
fan that blows cool air of the evaporator into the chamber.
[0007] Generally, a refrigerator is divided into a freezing chamber
1 and a refrigerating chamber 2, the front side of these is opened
and closed by a door 3 which is rotatably coupled with a
refrigerator casing 10 that forms the exterior side.
[0008] The freezing chamber 1 stores meat and fish that should be
stored for a long time, the refrigerating chamber 2 stores
vegetables, fruits, beverages and dishes that should be kept fresh
and stored for a short time, and the freezing chamber 1 has a lower
temperature than the refrigerating chamber 2.
[0009] To keep the temperature of the freezing chamber 1 (or the
refrigerating chamber 2) low, cool air should be generated by a
compressor 6 performing a refrigerating cycle and an evaporator 7
and then introduced into the freezing chamber 1.
[0010] To be more specific, a blower fan or a turbo fan 9 is
configured at the rear side of a freezing chamber grill 4 forming a
freezing space to blow the cool air that is supplied by the
evaporator 7 into the freezing chamber 1.
[0011] The turbo fan 9 is configured at the grill 4, and a shroud 8
is configured at the upper side of the turbo fan 9.
[0012] The shroud 8 covers the turbo fan 9 so as to guide the cool
air that has passed through the turbo fan 9 toward a cool air
discharging port 5 of the grill 4. Accordingly, the cool air is
discharged into the freezing chamber 1, and the temperature of the
freezing chamber 1 can be kept at a set temperature.
[0013] The turbo fan 9 is composed of a body 9a having a
ring-shaped edge and a hub 9a' protruding so as to concentrate at
the center, blades 9b that are configured at the edge of the body
9a at predetermined intervals to guide the cool air that is
introduced toward the hub 9a' in the radial direction, and a fan
shroud 9c that is formed in a ring shape and connected to the
blades 9b at the opposite side to the hub 9a'.
[0014] Performance of the turbo fan 9 involves in keeping the
temperature of the chamber at the set temperature and causing noise
of the refrigerator.
[0015] Here, the larger the height of the blades 9b of the turbo
fan 9, that is, the distance between the body 9a and the fan shroud
9c, the better the soundproof effect and cooling efficiency of the
turbo fan 9.
[0016] However, if the height of the shroud 8 is increased to make
large the height of the blades 9b, in other words, if the shroud 8
gets closer to the casing 10, the flow path for the cool air that
is formed by the grill 4 and the shroud 8 becomes narrow, thus
increasing loss in the flow of the cool air toward the hub 9a'.
Enlarging the casing 10 to prevent the loss causes a problem in
that the total size of the refrigerator increases.
[0017] Therefore, there has been a continuous demand for improving
the structure of the shroud 8 such that the height of the blades 9b
of the turbo fan 9 is increased without affecting the flow of the
cool air along the path from the evaporator 7 toward the hub 9a' of
the turbo fan 9 and increasing the total size of the casing 10.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The present invention has been finalized in view of the
drawbacks of the conventional art; therefore, an object of the
present invention is to provide a cool air supplying apparatus for
a refrigerator capable of increasing the height of blades of a
turbo fan without causing a noticeable resistance to the inflow of
the cool air and a refrigerator having the same.
[0019] 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 cool air supplying apparatus
for a refrigerator which includes: a turbo fan that is disposed to
a grill forming a freezing space so as to blow cool air into the
freezing space; and a shroud that is disposed between a casing
forming the exterior side of a refrigerator and the grill so as to
cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool
air, an orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an
inclined part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from
one end of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be
integrated with the inclined part and disposed at a constant
interval from the grill.
[0020] As such, the cool air supplying apparatus may have high
efficiency and small noise by forming an inclined part.
[0021] In the meantime, the interval between one end of the
inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is
equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill.
[0022] As such, it is possible to increase the height of the blades
while ensuring a sufficient flow path for cool air that is formed
by the casing and the shroud. Further, a turbo fan is configured to
the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the
center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a
fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades.
In this case, preferably, the fan shroud is located at one side of
the inclined part. That is, preferably, the fan shroud is formed to
bend such that one end of the fan shroud is located at one side of
the orifice, and the other end is located at one side of the
inclined part.
[0023] The opening part and the orifice protrude further than the
flat part.
In this case, preferably, the height of the inclined part is set in
the range of 20 to 30% of an interval between the flat part and the
grill.
[0024] Further, preferably, the width of the inclined part is set
in the range of 50 to 150% of an interval between the flat part and
the grill.
[0025] Furthermore, preferably, an interval between the flat part
and the casing is set in the range of 90 to 110% of an interval
between the flat part and the grill.
[0026] In this case, the width of the inclined part is a length
that is obtained when the inclined part is projected on the
grill.
[0027] In order to achieve the object, there is provided a
refrigerator which includes: a casing forming the exterior side of
the refrigerator; a grill that is disposed at a distance from the
casing to form a freezing space; a turbo fan that is configured to
the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the
center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a
fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades; a shroud
that is disposed between the casing and the grill so as to cover
the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an
orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined
part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end
of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be
integrated with the inclined part and disposed at a constant
interval from the grill, in which the interval between one end of
the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is
equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill; and an
evaporator that is disposed below of the turbo fan to generate cool
air.
[0028] 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
[0029] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and together with the description serve to explain
the principles of the invention.
[0030] In the drawings:
[0031] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to a
conventional art, when doors are opened;
[0032] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating that an evaporator is disposed
at the rear side of a rear side wall of a freezer compartment in
the refrigerator according to the conventional art;
[0033] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a turbo fan that blows cool
air of the evaporator into the room;
[0034] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cool air
supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments
about power consumption when a turbo fan using a shroud of the cool
air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated; and
[0036] FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments
about noise when the turbo fan using the shroud of the cool air
supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0038] Hereinafter, a cool air supplying apparatus for a
refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention and a refrigerator having the same will be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0039] In the embodiment, the same components as those of FIGS. 1
to 3 will be denoted by different reference numerals, but
description thereof will be omitted.
[0040] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the cool air
supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
[0041] As shown in the drawing, a shroud 300 is disposed between a
casing 100 forming the exterior side of a refrigerator and a grill
110 forming a freezing space so as to cover a turbo fan 200 which
blows cool air.
[0042] That is, the turbo fan 200 is configured to the grill 110,
the shroud 300 is configured at the upper side of the turbo fan 200
so as to cover the turbo fan 200, and the casing 100 is located at
a distance from the shroud 300.
[0043] Here, the space between the shroud 300 and the casing 100
forms a flow path for the cool air that has passed through an
evaporator (7 of FIG. 2).
[0044] The shroud 300 has, at the center, an opening part 310 which
sucks cool air, and the cool air that is generated by the
evaporator (7 of FIG. 2) is introduced into the turbo fan 200.
[0045] Further, an orifice 310' is formed at a circular end that
defines the opening part 310 to protrude to the outside of the
turbo fan 200 so as to have a semicircular shape in section. In the
meantime, an inclined part 330 is formed so as to incline toward
the grill 110 from one end of the orifice 310', and a flat part 320
is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part 330 and
configured at a constant interval from the grill 110.
[0046] Here, the opening part 310 of the shroud 300 is formed to
protrude further outward, toward the casing 100, as compared to the
flat part 320. To make this structure, an inclined part 330 is
formed between the center part 310 and the flat part 320 to
protrude inclinedly to the outside of the turbo fan 200 thus to
connect the center part and the flat part.
[0047] In this case, an interval between one end of the inclined
part 330 in connection with the flat part 320 and the grill 110 is
equal to an interval between the flat part 320 and the grill
110.
[0048] In addition, the turbo fan 200 is configured to the grill
110, and includes a body 210 in which a hub 220 protrudes at the
center, a plurality of blades 230 formed at the edge of the body
210, and a fan shroud 240 mounted to the blades 230 so as to fix
the blades 230.
[0049] Since the shroud 300 has the inclined part 330, it is
possible to increase the height of the blades 230 to improve
efficiency of the turbo fan 200.
[0050] Although the height of the blades 230 can be increased by
simply increasing an interval A between the shroud 300 and the
grill 110, it is not preferable since it narrows a path for the
inflow F of the cool air into the turbo fan 200.
[0051] In other words, the shroud 300 having the inclined part 330
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is
designed taking into consideration improving efficiency of the
turbo fan 200 and reducing resistance of cool air to the flow
path.
[0052] For this, the fan shroud 240 is formed so as to be located
at one side of the inclined part 330.
[0053] That is, the fan shroud 240 is formed to bend such that one
end of the fan shroud 240 is located at one side of the orifice
310', and the other end is located at one side of the inclined part
330.
[0054] With this structure, the fan shroud 240 that is mounted at
one end of the blades 230 to limit the height of the blades 230 may
be formed at the lower side of the inclined part 330 or at one side
of the inclined part.
[0055] Accordingly, even when the height of the blades 230 is
increased in order to improve efficiency of the turbo fan 200, the
inclined part 330 prevents the flow path, formed by the casing 100
and the flat part 320 of the shroud 300, from decreasing, thus
preventing flow loss of the cool air.
[0056] On the other hand, the same effects can be obtained even
when the inclined part 330 is not linearly formed and the opening
part 310 and the orifice 310' protrude further than the flat part
320.
[0057] More particularly, design factors of the inclined part 330
are as follows.
[0058] First, the height C of the inclined part 330 that is the
interval between the flat part 320 and the opening part 310 is
preferably 20 to 30% of the interval A between the grill 110 and
the flat part 320. The above range is based on the following.
[0059] In order to minimize resistance of cool air against the
path, the interval A and the interval (B, the interval between the
flat part 320 and the casing 100) have substantially the same
value. In other words, A/B is in the range of 0.9 to 1.1. To be
more specific, when either the interval A or interval B relatively
decreases while the sum of the interval A and the interval B is
constant, the loss of the flow is caused at a smaller side. In this
respect, the A/B is obtained in the above range taking the loss
into consideration.
[0060] However, if the interval B is in a range 20 to 30% smaller
than that of the interval A, the loss is insignificant. However, if
the interval A becomes larger than the interval B beyond the above
range, the loss significantly increases. This is because resistance
of the cool air against the path exponentially increases as the
area of the path decreases.
[0061] When it comes to the relationship with the height C of the
inclined part 330, if the height C of the inclined part 330
increases 30% or more as compared to the interval A between the
grill 110 and the flat part 320, the opening part 310 of the shroud
300 gets too much close to the casing 100, which decreases the area
of the flow path thus causing flow loss as well as noise.
[0062] Therefore, it is preferable that the height C of the
inclined part 330 is set to 20 to 30% of the interval A between the
flat part and the grill.
[0063] Next, when it comes to designing a width D of the inclined
part 330 that is the distance between the opening part 310 of the
inclined part 330 and the flat part 320, the distance can be
obtained when the opening part 310 of the inclined part 330 and the
flat part 320 are projected on the grill 110, it is preferable that
the width D is defined in the percentage range of 50 to 150% with
respect to the interval A.
[0064] If the width D has the percentage of 50% or less with
respect to the interval A, the inclined part 330 of the shroud 300
is inclined by 40 degrees or more. If so, rather than being guided
by the inclined part 330 of the shroud 300, the cool air flowing
into the turbo fan 200 through the flow path between the shroud 300
and the casing 100 hits heavily the inclined part 330 of the shroud
300, thus causing a great flow loss.
[0065] In addition, if the width D has the percentage of 150% or
more with respect to the interval A, the inclined part 330 occupies
more space of the shroud 300, which causes an obstacle to designing
the shroud 300.
[0066] In other words, since the freezing chamber has more
influence in defining the width of the shroud 300 than in defining
the height of shroud 300, if the width D exceeds the above value,
the inclined part 330 that is inclined in the height direction of
the shroud 300 is shortened.
[0067] Accordingly, the inclined part 330 becomes to have an
asymmetric shape in the circumferential direction, thus causing
difficulties in manufacturing.
[0068] When using the shroud 300 having the above-described
structure, it is possible to increase exclusively the height of the
blades 230 while sustaining the total size. Therefore, performance
of the turbo fan 200 is improved without increasing the total size
and affecting the inflow of refrigerant.
[0069] In the meantime, the present invention provides a
refrigerator which includes: the casing 100 forming the exterior
side of the refrigerator; the grill 110 that is configured at a
distance from the casing 100 and forms a freezing space; the turbo
fan 200 that is configured to the grill 110, and includes the body
210 in which the hub 220 protrudes at the center, the plurality of
blades 230 formed at the edge of the body 210, and the fan shroud
240 mounted to the blades 230 so as to fix the blades 230; the
shroud 300 that is configured between the casing 100 and the grill
110 so as to cover the turbo fan 200 and includes the opening part
310 which sucks cool air, the orifice 310' that is formed at an end
of the opening part 310, the inclined part 330 that is formed so as
to incline toward the grill 110 from one end of the orifice 310',
and the flat part 320 that is formed so as to be integrated with
the inclined part 330 and configured at a constant interval from
the grill 110, in which the interval between one end of the
inclined part 320 in connection with the flat part 320 and the
grill 110 is equal to the interval between the flat part 320 and
the grill 110; and the evaporator (7 of FIG. 2) that is disposed
below of the turbo fan 200 to generate cool air.
[0070] When using the shroud 300 with the above-described
structure, operation of the turbo fan 200 and power consumption and
noise due to the operation will be described with reference to
FIGS. 5 and 6.
[0071] FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments
about power consumption when the turbo fan using the shroud of the
cool air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.
[0072] As shown in FIG. 5, as compared to a turbo fan having blades
with the height of 25 mm according to the conventional art, when
the height of the blades 230 is increased to 30 mm in accordance
with the structure of the shroud 300 having the inclined part 330
of the present invention, power consumption is reduced by 1 W or
more as a whole when using the shroud 300 of the present invention
than in the conventional art.
[0073] In addition, as the quantity of flow increases, power
consumption according to the present invention is significantly
reduced. For example, when the quantity of flow is 1.6 m.sup.3/min,
power consumption can be reduced by up to 1.7 W.
[0074] FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments
about noise when the turbo fan using the shroud of the cool air
supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.
[0075] With reference to FIG. 6, noise is reduced by 1 dB or more
as a whole in the present invention, as compared to the
conventional art.
[0076] Furthermore, as the quantity of flow increases, noise can be
reduced by a greater level. For example, when the quantity of flow
is 1.6 m.sup.3/min, noise can be reduced by up to 2 dB.
[0077] As described above, when using the cool air supplying
apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention, it
is possible to improve blow efficiency by enlarging blades of the
turbo fan without increasing the total size of the
refrigerator.
[0078] Moreover, the height of the blades can be increased by
changing the structure of the shroud without increasing the total
size, but resistance of the cool air flowing into the turbo fan is
not increased due to the increased height, thereby preventing noise
or flow energy loss.
[0079] 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 equivalents of
such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the
appended claims.
* * * * *