Disclosure of Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can reduce power consumption of a refrigerator and increase defrosting efficiency of an evaporator.
The invention also aims to provide a defrosting method of the refrigeration appliance.
To achieve one of the above objects, the present invention provides a refrigerator including:
a case defining a storage space therein;
a cold air duct controllably communicable with the storage space to define a gas circulation path, the cold air duct having a fan assembly disposed therein to drive air along the gas circulation path from the storage space into the cold air duct and back into the storage space;
the evaporator is arranged in the cold air duct, and the heater can be controlled to provide defrosting heat for the evaporator; wherein,
the gas circulation path may be controlled to close a path for gas to return from the cold air duct to the storage space.
As a further improvement of the present invention, the fan assembly has a first state in which the air is driven and a second state in which the air is stopped from being driven, and the heater has a first state in which the defrosting heat is supplied to the evaporator and a second state in which the defrosting heat is stopped from being supplied; when the fan assembly works in a first state, the heater is in a second state; when the heater works in the first state, the fan assembly is in the second state.
As a further improvement of the present invention, the gas circulation path has an inlet through which the gas flows through the evaporator and an outlet through which the gas flowing through the evaporator flows out, the inlet and the outlet of the gas circulation path are located in the cold air duct, and a first damper that can controllably open or close the outlet is provided at the outlet of the gas circulation path in the cold air duct.
As a further development of the invention, the first damper is adapted to the outlet of the gas circulation path.
As a further improvement of the invention, at least one air port is arranged on the first air door.
As a further improvement of the present invention, the evaporator and the heater are located at a lower portion of the first damper.
As a further improvement of the present invention, a second damper is disposed in the cool air duct at an inlet of the gas circulation path, the second damper being controllable to open or close the inlet, the first damper, the second damper, and the cool air duct being controllable to define a closed defrosting space, the heater and the evaporator being located in the defrosting space.
As a further development of the invention, the first damper and the second damper are opened simultaneously or closed simultaneously.
As a further improvement of the invention, the fan assembly is located in the upper portion of the evaporator.
In order to achieve another object, the present invention provides a defrosting method for a refrigeration appliance, comprising the steps of:
s1, judging whether defrosting operation is needed, if yes, entering the step S2;
and S2, defrosting the evaporator arranged in the cold air duct, and closing a path for returning air from the cold air duct to the storage space.
As a further improvement of the present invention, step S2 further includes:
and stopping running the fan assembly arranged in the cold air duct.
Compared with the prior art, the refrigeration appliance provided by the invention at least closes the path of the gas returning from the cold air duct to the storage space by controlling the gas circulation path, so that when the evaporator is defrosted by the heater, heat can be prevented from being lost into the storage space, the working time of the compressor is prevented from being prolonged, the power consumption is reduced, and the defrosting efficiency is improved.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodological, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.
Referring to fig. 1, a specific embodiment of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the refrigeration device 100 includes a cabinet 10, a cool air duct 12, a fan assembly 40, an evaporator 20, and a heater 30.
In the following embodiments, the "upper portion" and the "lower portion" are referred to when the refrigeration appliance 100 is in a normal use state, and a portion close to the refrigeration appliance mounting surface is the "lower portion" and a portion correspondingly distant from the refrigeration appliance mounting surface is the "upper portion".
The cabinet 10 defines a storage space 11 therein, and the cabinet 10 is usually foam-filled with a heat insulating material to block heat exchange between the storage space 11 and the outside. The storage space 11 referred to in the present embodiment may include a freezing chamber, a refrigerating chamber, and the like, as in the conventional refrigerator.
The refrigeration device 100 according to the present embodiment is particularly a frost-free air-cooled refrigerator, but may include an ice chest, a wine chest, and the like in further embodiments.
The cold air duct 12 may be controllably communicated with the storage space 11 to define a gas circulation path P, and a fan assembly 40 is disposed within the cold air duct 12 to drive air from the storage space 11 into the cold air duct 12 and back to the storage space 11 along the gas circulation path P. Generally, the cool air duct 12 has a return air inlet 111 located at the lower portion of the storage space 11 and an air outlet 112 located at the upper portion of the storage space 11, and the air outlets 112 may be distributed in the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber of the storage space 11 correspondingly.
The evaporator 20 and the heater 30 are arranged in the cold air duct 12, the heater 30 and the evaporator 20 are cooperatively arranged, and when the power supply of the heater 30 is controlled to be switched on, the heater 30 is started and provides defrosting heat for the evaporator 20.
The gas circulation path P can be controlled to at least close the path for returning the gas from the cold air duct 12 to the storage space 11, so that when the heater 30 needs to be started to defrost the evaporator 20, the path for returning the gas from the cold air duct 12 to the storage space 11 is closed, the heat generated by the heater 30 is not taken into the storage space 11 and is mostly limited in the cold air duct 12, the less possible heat loss ensures the improvement of the defrosting efficiency of the evaporator 20, and therefore the defrosting operation of the evaporator 20 can be completed in a shorter time; after the defrosting operation is finished, the path of the air returning to the storage space 11 from the air cooling duct 12 is opened again.
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the gas circulation path P has an inlet 122 through which the gas flows through the evaporator 20 and an outlet 121 through which the gas flowing through the evaporator 20 flows out, the inlet 122 and the outlet 121 of the gas circulation path P are located within the cold air duct 12, and the first damper 51 that can be controlled to open or close the outlet 121 is provided within the cold air duct 12 at the outlet 121 of the gas circulation path P. The first damper 51 is adapted to the outlet 121, that is, the first damper 51 and the outlet 121 have substantially the same size and shape, in this embodiment, a plurality of air ports (not shown) are provided on the first damper 51, and the purpose of allowing or preventing the air flow from flowing through the outlet 121 is achieved by opening and closing the air ports, but of course, in an alternative embodiment, the same function may be achieved by controlling the whole first damper 51 to turn over, and such an embodiment should still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
The following compares the work consumed in defrosting the evaporator in the refrigeration apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment with that in the refrigeration apparatus according to the related art. Assuming that the frosting degree of the evaporator is the same and the power of the heater is P, in the present embodiment, in the defrosting operation, the power W1= P × t1 consumed by the heater, where t1 is the time duration for defrosting, and Q1 is the residual heat generated by the heater 30 after the defrosting operation is finished (this part of heat is the heat in the defrosting space of the evaporator after the defrosting operation is finished), QdefrostThe heat consumed to melt the frost on the evaporator is therefore: w1= P × t1= Qdefrost+ Q1; in the prior art, in the defrosting operation, the work W2= P × t2 consumed by the heater, where t2 is the time duration used for defrosting, Q1 is the residual heat generated by the heater after the defrosting operation is finished (the part of heat is the heat in the defrosting space of the evaporator after the defrosting operation is finished), and Q2 is the heat brought into the storage space along with the flow of the gas in the defrosting operation, Q2 is the heat brought into the storage space along with the flow of the gas in the defrosting operationdefrostThe heat consumed to melt the frost on the evaporator is therefore: w2= P × t2= Qdefrost+ Q1+ Q2. Because the energy consumed by defrosting is the same, t2= t1+ Q2/P; thus, W2 > W1 was obtained. Therefore, in the defrosting process, the working time of the heater 30 is reduced, and the work required to be consumed is correspondingly reduced, and meanwhile, in the prior art, a part of heat Q2 is brought into the storage chamber in the defrosting process of the refrigeration appliance, and the part of heat needs to be offset by the extra work of the compressor of the refrigeration appliance, so compared with the prior art, the refrigeration appliance 100 provided by the embodiment can greatly reduce the whole power consumption and improve the defrosting efficiency.
The fan assembly 40 is located at an upper portion of the evaporator 20 to provide better gas driving capability, the fan assembly 40 has a first state of driving the gas and a second state of stopping driving the gas, and the heater 30 has a first state of supplying the evaporator 20 with defrosting heat and a second state of stopping supplying the defrosting heat; wherein, when the fan assembly 40 is operated in the first state, the heater 30 is in the second state; when the heater 30 is operated in the first state, the fan assembly 40 is in the second state. In the present embodiment, when the evaporator 20 is defrosted, the path for the air to return from the cold air duct 12 to the storage space 11 is closed, so that the fan assembly 40 is preferably not required to be started, and the energy consumed by the fan assembly 40 during the defrosting operation is saved, so that the refrigeration apparatus 100 is more energy-saving.
Referring to fig. 3, the heater 30 is located at a lower portion of the first damper 51, so that heat, which may occur when the heater 30 performs a defrosting operation, is prevented from being introduced into the storage space 11 through the outlet. A second damper 52 is disposed in the cold air duct 12 at the inlet 122 of the gas circulation path P, and the first damper 51, the second damper 52, and the cold air duct 12 can be controlled to define a closed defrosting space 60, and the heater 30 and the evaporator 20 are located in the defrosting space 60. The first damper 51 and the second damper 52 are opened or closed simultaneously, and the structure of the second damper 52 may be similar to that of the first damper 51, and is not described herein again.
Referring to fig. 2, when the defrosting operation of the evaporator 20 is not required, the vents of the first and second dampers 51 and 52 are opened, and the relatively high temperature air F1 introduced from the storage compartment is cooled by the evaporator 20 and passes through the second damper 52 to enter the storage space 11 under the driving of the fan assembly 40.
Referring to fig. 3, when the defrosting operation of the evaporator 20 is required, the air ports of the first and second dampers 51 and 52 are closed. The first damper 51, the second damper 52 and part of the cold air duct 12 jointly define the defrosting space 60, the closed defrosting space 60 can limit the heat generated by the heater 30 during defrosting the evaporator 20 in a limited space which can be controlled, and the air flow F2 circulates only in the defrosting space 60 without entering the storage space 11, so that the utilization rate of the defrosting heat is improved, the defrosting efficiency is improved, and the energy consumption of the refrigeration appliance 100 is reduced.
Referring to fig. 4, a specific embodiment of the defrosting method of the refrigeration appliance of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the method comprises the steps of:
s1, judging whether defrosting operation is needed, if yes, entering the step S2;
and S2, defrosting the evaporator arranged in the cold air duct, and closing a path for returning air from the cold air duct to the storage space.
As a preferred embodiment, step S2 further includes: controlling to stop operation of a fan assembly disposed within the cool air duct.
The defrosting method can avoid unnecessary hot air from being brought into the storage space during defrosting operation, reduce the workload of the compressor and improve the efficiency of the defrosting operation; and in addition, because the fan assembly in the cold air duct is controlled to be closed during defrosting operation, the work of the refrigerator is further reduced, compared with a defrosting method in the prior art, the defrosting method has the advantages of high efficiency, low energy consumption and more conformity with the design concept of energy-saving and environment-friendly household appliances.
The invention has the following beneficial effects through the above embodiment: the refrigeration device 100 provided by the invention at least closes the path of the gas returning from the cold air duct 12 to the storage space 11 by controlling the gas circulation path P, so that when the heater 30 carries out defrosting operation on the evaporator 20, the heat can be prevented from being lost into the storage space 11, the working time of the compressor is prevented from being prolonged, and the defrosting efficiency is improved.
It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should make the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be combined appropriately to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.
The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.