U.S. patent application number 14/035710 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-17 for refrigerator for preventing dewing on door gasket.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation. Invention is credited to Woo Cheol CHEON.
Application Number | 20140103791 14/035710 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49322250 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140103791 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEON; Woo Cheol |
April 17, 2014 |
REFRIGERATOR FOR PREVENTING DEWING ON DOOR GASKET
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a refrigerator for preventing dewing
on door gaskets, including one or more doors, each door having a
rear or internal surface; a door gasket along one or more edges of
the rear or internal surface of at least one of the one or more
doors to prevent cool air in an interior of the refrigerator from
leaking to outside the refrigerator; and a cool air shield between
a door inside surface and the door gasket, configured to separate
the door gasket and the interior of the refrigerator from each
other.
Inventors: |
CHEON; Woo Cheol; (Incheon,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Dongbu Daewoo Electronics
Corporation
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
49322250 |
Appl. No.: |
14/035710 |
Filed: |
September 24, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/405 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 21/04 20130101;
F25D 23/028 20130101; F25D 23/087 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/405 |
International
Class: |
F25D 23/02 20060101
F25D023/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 12, 2012 |
KR |
10-2012-0113535 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising: one or more doors, each door having
a rear or internal surface; a door gasket along one or more edges
of the rear or internal surface of at least one of the one or more
doors, configured to prevent cool air in an interior of the
refrigerator from leaking to outside the refrigerator; and a cool
air shield between a door inside surface and the door gasket,
configured to separate the door gasket and the interior of the
refrigerator from each other.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the door inside
surface extends from the edge of the rear or internal surface of
the at least one of the one or more doors toward the interior of
the refrigerator.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the cool air
shield comprises a sealing surface portion contacting the door
inside surface of the at least one of the one or more doors; and a
shielding portion extending from one side of the sealing surface
portion, configured to separate the door gasket and the interior of
the refrigerator from each other.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the cool air
shield is further configured to shield a space between the door
inside surface and the interior of the refrigerator.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the shielding
portion is bent or curved.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein one side of the
sealing surface portion is in a coupling groove on the rear or
internal surface of the at least one of the one or more doors and
in contact with the door inside surface.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein an end portion of
the one side of the sealing surface portion is inserted into the
coupling groove and is bent or curved along an inner surface of the
coupling groove.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein a portion of the
door gasket is in the coupling groove and allows the end portion of
the one side of the sealing surface portion to resist and/or press
the inner surface of the coupling groove.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the shielding
portion has a front end portion bent or curved toward the door
gasket.
10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the front end
portion of the shielding portion contacts an inner surface of the
refrigerator when the at least one of the one or more doors is
closed.
11. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cool air
shield comprises a sealing surface portion contacting an inside
surface of the at least one of the one or more doors, and a
shielding portion extending from one side of the sealing surface
portion, configured to separate the door gasket and the interior of
the refrigerator.
12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the shielding
portion is further configured to shield a space between the inside
surface of the at least one of the one or more doors and the
interior of the refrigerator.
13. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the one side of
the sealing surface portion is in a coupling groove on the rear or
internal surface of each door and in contact with the door inside
surface.
14. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein an end portion
of the one side of the sealing surface portion is curved along an
inner surface of the coupling groove, and a portion of the door
gasket is in the coupling groove and presses the curve end portion
of the one side of the sealing surface portion to the inner surface
of the coupling groove.
15. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the shielding
portion has a front end portion bent or curved toward the door
gasket.
16. The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein the front end
portion of the shielding portion contacts an inner surface of the
refrigerator when the at least one of the one or more doors is
closed.
17. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
of the one or more doors is a freezer door, and the interior of the
refrigerator is an interior of a freezer.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more
particularly, to a refrigerator for preventing dewing of door
gaskets. The refrigerator is capable of preventing cool air within
the refrigerator from causing dew to form directly in the door
gaskets.
[0003] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0004] Generally, a refrigerator is partitioned into a freezer room
or space and a cold room or space, in which food items are stored
in frozen and cold states, respectively. So as to selectively open
and close the freezer room or space and the cold room or space, a
freezer door and a cold room door are separately mounted.
[0005] The interior of the refrigerator is cooled by means of the
cool air supplied continuously thereto, and the cool air is
continuously produced through the heat exchanging operation of
refrigerant, wherein the refrigerant is repeatedly compressed,
condensed, expanded and evaporated.
[0006] The cool air supplied to the interior of the refrigerator is
evenly sent thereto by convection so that the food items stored
within the refrigerator can be maintained at a desired
temperature.
[0007] On the other hand, if the cool air supplied to the interior
of the refrigerator meets external air of high temperature and
humidity, the gaskets, cabinet side surfaces and cover plate of the
refrigerator are maintained below a dew point, thereby condensing
dew thereon.
[0008] So as to prevent dewing on the gaskets, a hot pipe is
coupled to the inside of the cabinet in the conventional practice,
thereby allowing the temperature of a portion where dewing is
expected to be raised to greater than the dew point
temperature.
[0009] In case of the refrigerators developed recently for the
purpose of energy saving, however, the prevention of dewing cannot
be ensured just with the conventional hot pipe type structure.
[0010] For example, the improvement of the insulation structure of
the refrigerator or the improvement of the performance of the
cooling cycle of the refrigerator has been recently made to obtain
energy saving.
[0011] To improve the performance of the cooling cycle of the
refrigerator, the efficiency of a compressor, the heat transfer
efficiency of a condenser, and the evaporation efficiency of an
evaporator should be improved, and through the improvements, the
evaporation temperature at which the refrigerant is evaporated in
the evaporator can be lowered.
[0012] Such improvements are advantageous to energy saving, but
they do not solve the problem(s) caused by dewing on the
refrigerator door gaskets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of
the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is
an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator for
preventing dewing on door gaskets. The refrigerator is capable of
preventing cool air within the refrigerator from reaching the door
gaskets, and reducing the temperature deviation or difference at a
location where internal air and external air meet each other at or
near the door gaskets to prevent dewing around the door
gaskets.
[0014] To accomplish the above object(s), according to the present
invention, there is provided a refrigerator for preventing dewing
on door gaskets, including one or more doors, each door having a
rear or internal surface; a door gasket along one or more edges of
the rear or internal surface of at least one of the one or more
doors, configured to prevent cool air in an interior of the
refrigerator from leaking to outside the refrigerator; and a cool
air shield between a door inside surface and the door gasket,
configured to separate the door gasket and the interior of the
refrigerator from each other. The door inside surface may extend
from the edge of the rear or internal surface of the door(s) toward
the interior of the refrigerator.
[0015] According to the present invention, desirably, the cool air
shield includes a sealing surface portion contacting the internal
surface of the door(s); and a shielding portion extending from one
side of the sealing surface portion, configured to shield a space
between the door inside surface of the door(s) and the inner
surface of the refrigerator and/or to separate the door gasket and
the interior of the refrigerator from each other.
[0016] According to the present invention, desirably, one side of
the sealing surface portion is in a coupling groove on the rear or
internal surface of the door(s) and in contact with the door inside
surface.
[0017] According to the present invention, desirably, one side end
portion of the sealing surface portion is bent or curved along an
inner surface of the coupling groove, and a portion of the door
gasket fits with the coupling groove and allows the bent or curved
portion of the sealing surface portion to resist and/or press the
inner surface of the coupling groove.
[0018] According to the present invention, desirably, the shielding
portion has a front end portion bent or curved toward the door
gasket.
[0019] According to the present invention, desirably, the front end
portion of the shielding portion contacts an inner surface of the
refrigerator when the door(s) is/are closed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will be apparent from the following detailed
description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a refrigerator for
preventing dewing on door gaskets according to the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the part
of dotted portion of FIG. 1 with the freezer door 3 in the closed
position;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cool air shield to be
disposed in the refrigerator for preventing dewing on the door
gaskets according to the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing temperature regions
of FIG. 2; and
[0025] FIG. 5 is a graph showing the temperature of a door gasket
relative to the dew point according to the present invention and
the conventional practice.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] Hereinafter, an explanation of a refrigerator for preventing
dewing on door gaskets according to the present invention will be
given in detail given with reference to the attached drawings.
[0027] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a refrigerator for
preventing dewing of door gaskets according to the present
invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing part
of the dotted portion of FIG. 1 with the freezer door 3 in the
closed position, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cool
air shield for preventing dewing on the door gaskets according to
the present invention.
[0028] Further, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing
temperature regions of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a graph showing the
temperatures of the door gaskets relative to the dew point
according to the present invention and the conventional
practice.
[0029] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a freezer door 3 and a cold room
or cold storage space door 4 are mounted on the cabinet of a
refrigerator so as to open and close the freezer 1 and the cold
room or cold storage unit 2 when items like food are put thereinto
and/or withdrawn therefrom.
[0030] A door gasket 5 is mounted along one or more edges of the
rear or internal surface of each of the freezer door 3 and the cold
room door 4 to prevent the cold air within the refrigerator from
leaking through a space between the door and the refrigerator
cabinet. For example, one door gasket 5 can be mounted on or fixed
to the internal surface of the freezer door 3 along and/or near a
lower edge thereof, and another door gasket can be mounted on or
fixed to the internal surface of the cold room door 4 along and/or
near an upper edge thereof.
[0031] The door gasket 5 includes a coupling portion 5a inserted
into and/or fixed to a coupling groove 6 along the edges of the
rear or internal surface of each of the freezer door 3 and the cold
room door 4, a buffering portion 5b extending from the coupling
portion 5a and configured to buffer the impact generated when the
door is closed, and a contact portion 5c extending from the
buffering portion 5b and contacting the front surface of the
refrigerator body or cabinet when the freezer door 3 is closed.
[0032] Further, a cover plate 8 is on or over a partition 7 that
divides the freezer 1 and the cold room 2 from each other. A magnet
9 is inserted into the contact portion 5c of the door gasket 5 and
holds the freezer door 3 closed when the contact portion 5c
contacts the cover plate 8 on the front surface of the refrigerator
body or cabinet.
[0033] The coupling portion 5a of the door gasket 5 is inserted
into and/or fixed to the coupling groove 6 along one or more edges
of the rear or internal surface of each of the freezer door 3 and
the cold room door 4, so that the door gasket 5 is fixed to the
door frame of each of the freezer door 3 and the cold room door 4
and prevents the cold air within the refrigerator from leaking
through the door to the outside.
[0034] On the other hand, the freezer 1 and the cold room 2 have a
plurality of shelves 10 disposed therein on which items are stored
and a plurality of pockets 11 inside the freezer door and the cold
room door 4 to accommodate food containers or drinks therein.
Pocket bars (not shown) are inside the pockets 11 so as to prevent
the food containers or drinks in the pockets 11 from escaping or
falling.
[0035] According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a
thin cool air shield 100 is disposed between the door gasket 5 and
a door inside surface 3a to separate the interior of the freezer 1
from the door gasket 5. That is, the cool air shield 100 is adapted
to shield the space between the door inside surface 3a and an inner
surface 1a of the freezer 1 at a relatively distant point from the
door gasket 5 toward the interior of the freezer 1. The door inside
surface 3a as shown in FIG. 2 extends from one or more edges of the
rear or interior surface of the freezer door 3, toward the interior
of the refrigerator (or freezer). However, when the freezer door 3
does not have a lower portion that extends into the freezer 1, the
door inside surface 3a may be an internal surface of the freezer
door 3 just above the door gasket 5 and/or the cool air shield
100.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the cool air shield 100 has a sealing
surface portion 101 that contacts the door inside surface 3a of the
freezer door 3 and a shielding portion 102 that is bent and that
extends from one side of the sealing surface portion 101 to shield
the space between the door inside surface 3a of the freezer door 3
and the inner surface 1a of the freezer 1. Alternatively, the
shielding portion 102 is configured to shield the space between the
door gasket 5 and an interior of the freezer 1.
[0037] In more detail, one side or edge of the sealing surface
portion 101 of the cool air shield 100 is inserted into the
coupling groove 6 and/or brought into close contact with the
coupling groove 6, together with the door gasket 5. At the same
time, an opposite side or edge of the sealing surface portion 101
extends toward the interior of the freezer 1 along the door inside
surface 3a of the freezer door 3, spaced apart from the door gasket
5.
[0038] The end portion of the sealing surface portion 101 toward
the interior of the freezer 1 elastically contacts the door inside
surface 3a of the freezer door 3, so that even if a long period of
time has passed, the sealing surface portion 101 does not separate
from the door inside surface 3a of the freezer door 3 due to its
own weight or temperature changes.
[0039] When the freezer door 3 is closed, the door gasket 5 may
push the sealing surface portion 101 toward the door inside surface
3a, thereby allowing the sealing surface portion 101 to be in
contact with the door inside surface 3a.
[0040] Furthermore, when the sealing surface portion 101
elastically pushes toward the door inside surface 3a of the freezer
door 3, as the shielding portion 102 shields the door gasket 5 from
the inner surface 1a and/or interior of the freezer 1, separation
of the sealing surface portion 101 from the door inside surface 3a
can be prevented.
[0041] Further, the shielding portion 102 may comprise or be made
of a flexible material that may have a curtain shape and/or extend
from the sealing surface portion 101 toward the inner surface 1a of
the freezer 1 and shield the space communicating with the door
gasket 5 (e.g., the space under the door inside surface 3a, between
the shielding portion 102 and the door gasket 5).
[0042] Further, the shielding portion 102 has a front end portion
bent toward the door gasket 5 to inhibit or prevent locking when
the freezer room door 3 is closed.
[0043] Accordingly, the formation of the cool air shield 100
prevents the cool air supplied to the freezer 1 from directly
coming into contact with the door gasket 5, thereby avoiding the
freezing of the door gasket 5 (or cooling of the door gasket 5 to
below the dew point), and thus reduce the deviation or difference
of the temperature at a location where freezer internal air and
external air meet each other at or near a boundary of the door
gasket 5 to prevent dewing on or around the door gasket 5.
[0044] That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the door gasket 5 is not
directly between a low temperature dry region A within the freezer
1 and a high temperature and high humidity region C outside the
refrigerator. Rather, a temperature drop suppressing region B is
formed between the door gasket 5 and the low temperature dry region
A within the freezer 1 by the cool air shield 100, thereby reducing
drastic temperature deviations and/or differences and thus
preventing the formation of dew on or near the door gasket 5.
[0045] The shielding portion 102 may contact the inner surface 1a
of the freezer 1, but even when spaced apart therefrom by a small
distance or gap, the temperature drop suppressing region B can be
effective.
[0046] According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the
temperature of the door gasket 5 or the cover plate 8 is increased
much more than when compared with the conventional practice, so
that the time that the door gasket 5 or the cover plate 8 is below
the dew point becomes shorter than in the conventional practice,
and the lowest temperature of the door gasket 5 or the cover plate
8 becomes higher than in the conventional practice, thereby
preventing (or at least significantly reducing) dewing around the
door gasket 5 on the freezer door 3.
[0047] Of course, the cool air shield 100 may be disposed on the
cold room door 4 to shield the space between the door inner surface
4a of the cold room door 4 and the inner surface or interior of the
cold room 2.
[0048] As mentioned above, accordingly, the refrigerator for
preventing dewing on the door gaskets according to the present
invention is provided with a cool air shield that may be disposed
between an inside surface of the freezer door and the door gasket
to shield the space between the inside surface of the freezer door
and the inner surface or interior of the freezer, thereby
preventing the cool air supplied to the freezer from directly
contacting the door gasket and further avoiding the freezing of the
door gasket.
[0049] Additionally, the present invention reduces a temperature
deviation or difference at a location where internal air and
external air meet each other (e.g., at or near a boundary of the
door gaskets), thereby preventing dewing on or around the door
gaskets.
[0050] While the present invention has been described with
reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to
be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims.
It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or
modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit
of the present invention.
* * * * *