CN108139138A - Refrigerating appliance with the syphon structure in condensate drain member - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a kind of refrigerating appliance, particularly Domestic refrigerators, the refrigerating appliance includes the inner compartment (4) surrounded by thermal insulation layer (3), the evaporator (9) and condensate drain member (16) that cool down inner compartment (4), the condensate drain member leads to outside and including syphon structure (15) from evaporator (9) by the thermal insulation layer (3), and the syphon structure (15) is arranged on the inside of thermal insulation layer (3) and can be defrosted heater (25,27) heating.

Description

Refrigeration appliance with siphon in condensate discharge

technical field

The invention relates to a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, comprising an inner compartment surrounded by insulation, an evaporator cooling the inner compartment, and a condensate drain from evaporating The device leads to the outside through the insulation layer.

Background technique

If a condensate drain of this type can freely pass through during operation of the refrigeration appliance, there is a constant air exchange with the surroundings via the condensate drain and heat and moisture enter the interior via the condensate drain in an undesired manner in the room. To prevent this, it is known from DE 10 2008 040 430 A1, for example, to provide a siphon structure in the condensate drain, which, by always containing liquid water, only allows air to the inner compartment when there is a sufficiently large pressure difference between the inside and the outside pass between the surrounding environment.

Such a siphon can only be arranged outside the insulation, at least in refrigeration appliances in which the inner compartment reaches temperatures below 0°C, since freezing of the water contained in the siphon would cause the siphon to clog and render it ineffective. Accommodating a siphon structure in a mechanical room is difficult as it must neither interfere with the cooling of the components located there nor heat in the vicinity of said components to dry out in a short time and cannot ensure that the siphon structure is in between defrost cycles degree of airtightness. Fitting the siphon structure to the rear wall of the appliance is also problematic, as this requires either reducing the size of the rear wall evaporator that is usually located there, or moving the insulation of the rear wall forward and thus necessitating a large loss of usable capacity.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration appliance which enables a simple and space-saving installation of a siphon in the condensate drain.

This object is achieved by a refrigerating appliance, in particular a domestic refrigerating appliance, comprising an inner compartment surrounded by insulation, an evaporator cooling the inner compartment, and a condensate drain which It leads from the evaporator through the heat insulation layer to the outside and has a siphon structure, which is arranged on the inner side of the heat insulation layer and can be heated by a defrost heater. In the inner compartment, the siphon structure should be accommodated relatively easily without an associated displacement of the insulation and thus a significant loss of usable volume. The risk of the condensate drain becoming breathable due to premature evaporation of water in the siphon structure is eliminated by maintaining a low temperature at the siphon structure. By guiding the condensate drain along a short, preferably straight path through the thermal insulation, the impairment of the insulating effect of the condensate drain on the thermal insulation is limited to a minimum. As long as the water in the condensate drain is frozen, an immovable block is formed, which also prevents bubbling noises, for example warm air entering the inner compartment of the refrigerating appliance when the door is opened is cooled therein and The bubbling noise thus occurs in the liquid water filled siphon structure when ambient air is drawn in via the siphon structure.

The defrost heater of the siphon structure should be functionally coupled to the defrost heater for the evaporator in order to ensure that the siphon structure is at the proper time when the evaporator is defrosted and the condensate is drained from the evaporator via the siphon structure. To be permeable or to become permeable.

It is conceivable to operate the siphon and evaporator heaters in a staggered fashion, in particular the siphon heater could be started shortly before the start of the defrosting process in order to ensure that the contents of the siphon become liquid at the appropriate time, The siphon structure is thus permeable when condensate starts to flow from the evaporator.

Since in practice the evaporator also requires a certain operating time for its defrost heater before the condensate starts to flow, both heaters can also be controlled via a common switch and thus run simultaneously; according to a preferred embodiment , a common defrosting heater can be set for the evaporator and the siphon structure.

If the inner compartment is divided into a storage chamber and an evaporator chamber, the siphon structure is preferably arranged on the bottom of the recess in the evaporator chamber.

The defrost heater can extend over the recess in order to heat the recess over a large area, in particular by radiant heating.

A defrost heater may extend between the evaporator and the recess to radiate heat downward into the recess and simultaneously upward to the evaporator.

The defrost heater can especially be in the shape of a plate or a rod.

In order for the defrost heater to defrost the siphon structure through radiation in a short period of time, the operating temperature of the defrost heater must be significantly higher than 0°C; the defrost heater can also heat the evaporator through radiation.

The bottom of the recess should be inclined with respect to the siphon structure so that on the one hand the condensate is collected at the siphon structure and on the other hand it is possible to keep the high part of the bottom free of water or ice so that during defrosting it can be stored from directly above Radiation from the defrosting heater, and transfers the radiant heat to the ice in the siphon structure.

In order to make the heat transfer process efficient, the bottom of the recess can be provided with an infrared absorbing surface layer.

In order to ensure a rapid transfer of the stored heat to the ice, the bottom of the recess may also be at least partially metallic.

Advantageously, the siphon structure is formed by a connecting piece projecting above the bottom of the recess and a cup placed above the connecting piece.

The lower edge of the cup should be at most 2 mm below the upper edge of the connection, in order to limit the amount of water that must be defrosted in order for the siphon to be permeable.

To accelerate this defrosting, the surface of the siphon structure facing the defrost heater, in particular the top side of the cup, may be provided with an infrared absorbing surface layer.

Description of drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will appear from the description of exemplary embodiments provided hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic sectional view through a domestic refrigeration appliance according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows an enlarged partial view from Figure 1 according to a first embodiment;

Figure 3 shows a cross-section similar to Figure 2 according to a second embodiment; and

Fig. 4 shows a partial section through a refrigeration appliance according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 shows a schematic section through a frost-free domestic refrigeration appliance with a housing 1 and a door 2 , each foamed with an insulating layer 3 and enclosing an inner compartment 4 . The inner compartment 4 is divided by a partition wall 5 into a storage chamber 6 accessible via the door 2 and an evaporator chamber 7 extending in upright orientation between the partition wall 5 and the rear wall 8 of the housing 1 . The evaporator chamber 7 is largely filled by an evaporator 9, usually a finned evaporator. A fan 10 is arranged in the opening of the partition wall 5 to drive air circulation between the storage chamber 6 and the evaporator chamber 7 when the evaporator 9 is in operation.

A horizontal or slightly forward-sloping wall 11 of the housing 1 separates the evaporator chamber 7 from a mechanical chamber 12 which is located outside the insulation 3 and houses a compressor 13 and the like.

A deep-drawn plastic liner separates the inner compartment 4 from the thermal insulation 3 in a conventional manner. A recess 14 is formed in the liner on the bottom of the evaporator chamber 7 , said recess 14 extending over the entire width of the evaporator chamber 7 . A siphon structure 15 at the deepest point of the recess 14 forms the origin of a condensate drain 16 which extends vertically through the wall 11 to an evaporator pan 17 in the machine room 12 heated by the compressor 13 .

FIG. 2 shows the siphon structure 15 and its surroundings in an enlarged cross-section according to a first embodiment of the invention. The siphon structure 15 comprises a cylindrical connection 18 extending upwards from the bottom of the recess 14 , and a disc or cup 19 inverted over the free end of the connection 18 . In order to keep the bottom 20 of the cup 19 spaced from the upper edge 21 of the connecting piece 18 , the surrounding wall 22 of the cup 19 may be provided with a separate small foot 23 which surrounds the connecting piece 18 It is supported on the bottom of the recess 14 , here in a groove 24 surrounding the connecting piece 18 .

A resistance heater 25 is attached to the outer side of the trench 24 facing the insulation layer 3 and can be operated together with a resistance heater 26 attached to the finned evaporator 9 so as to also be activated during defrosting of the evaporator 9 respectively. The water in the gutter 24 is thawed at a suitable time to ensure that the thawed water from the evaporator 9 drains freely to the evaporator pan 17 via the condensate drain 16 . After the end of the defrosting process, the groove 24 remains filled with water up to the upper edge 21 of the connection piece 18 so that once the evaporator 9 cools down again, the water in the groove 24 freezes and seals the siphon structure 15 tightly.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic section through a siphon structure 15 according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Here, the plate-shaped resistance heater 27 is arranged in a horizontal orientation above the recess 14 and below the finned evaporator 9 . In its place, a rod-shaped heater can also be arranged and can in particular be oriented along a straight line perpendicular to the section plane or can extend in a meandering manner in the horizontal plane. As in the heater 26 of FIG. 2 , the second heater can be arranged directly on the finned evaporator 9 and operated together with the resistance heater 27 so as to heat the vapor when the resistance heater 27 simultaneously heats the water in the siphon structure 15 Device 9. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the infrared radiation emitted by the resistive heater 27 heats the finned evaporator 9 and the siphon structure 15 .

The infrared radiation emitted downwards by the heater 27 is intercepted on the one hand by the cup 19 and on the other hand by the bottom of the recess 14 . The cup 19 emits the intercepted heat to the ice body 28 via the lower edge of the wall 22 immersed in the ice body 28 surrounding the connection 18 . In order to allow the thawed water flowing in from the evaporator 9 to drain, the ice body 28 cannot be completely thawed. Rather, it is sufficient if the ice has liquefied continuously at one point along the circumference of the wall 22 from the outside to the inside. The smaller the vertical overlap d between the wall 22 and the connecting piece 18, the smaller the amount of ice directly on the surface of the wall 22, to which the cup 19 heats, has to liquefy in order for the siphon structure 15 to be permeable .

However, in order to ensure rapid drainage of thawed water, it is useful that the ice body 28 is completely thawed immediately. The steeply inclined wall 29 of the recess 14 towards the siphon structure 15 and the small height of the connection piece 18 ensure that only a small part of the wall 29 around the connection piece 18 is covered with water at the end of each defrosting process; The large part of the upper edge 21 of the connection piece 18 which is located higher than the upper edge 21 of the connection piece 18 thus remains free of ice during the cooling operation and heats up rapidly due to the radiation of the heater 27 during the subsequent defrosting process. In order to quickly transfer this heat to the ice body 28, the wall 29 can be covered with a thin metal sheet 30 or a metal film; to make the absorption of infrared radiation effective, the metal sheet 30 and the cup 19, respectively, can be provided with an additional infrared-absorbing coating 31.

As a third embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the siphon structure 15 and its surroundings in a refrigeration appliance with an evaporator arranged horizontally under the cover 32 of the housing. Device room 7. Here, the heater 27 extends below the width sides of the finned evaporator 9 and can heat the finned evaporator 9 by radiation and direct contact. An infrared reflective film 33 is arranged between the front region of the heater 27 and the wall 5 separating the evaporator chamber 7 from the storage chamber 6, so as to allow radiation to The heating of the wall 5 is minimized.

The membrane 33 and the wall 5 are steeply inclined with respect to the rear wall 8 in order to guide the thawed water discharged from the evaporator 9 into the recess 14 which is arranged here in the rear part of the wall 5 . The heater 27 protruding beyond the rear region 34 of the membrane 33 emits heat radiation downwards in order to heat the recess 14 and the siphon structure 15 —here configured in exactly the same way as in the embodiment of FIG. 2 .

List of reference signs

1 housing

2 doors

3 insulation layer

4 inner compartments

5 partition walls

6 storage room

7 Evaporator chamber

8 back wall

9 evaporator

10 fans

11 wall

12 Mechanical room

13 compressors

14 concave

15 Siphon structure

16 Condensate drain

17 evaporator

18 connectors

19 cups

20 bottom

21 upper edge

22 wall

23 small feet

24 grooves

25 resistance heater

26 resistance heater

27 resistance heater

28 ice body

29 wall

30 sheet metal

31 coats

32 cover

33 films

34 rear area

Claims (14)

1. a kind of refrigerating appliance, particularly Domestic refrigerator, the refrigerating appliance includes the inner compartment surrounded by thermal insulation layer (3) (4), the evaporator (9) and condensate drain member (16) of cooling inner compartment (4), the condensate drain member (16) is from evaporator (9) outside is led to and including syphon structure (15) by thermal insulation layer (3), which is characterized in that syphon structure (15) arrangement On the inside of thermal insulation layer (3), syphon structure (15) can be defrosted heater (25,27) heating.

2. refrigerating appliance as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that Defrost heater (25,27) work(of syphon structure (15) Can on be coupled to Defrost heater (26,27) for evaporator (9).

3. refrigerating appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, which is characterized in that provided altogether for evaporator (9) and syphon structure (15) Same Defrost heater (27).

4. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of preceding claims, which is characterized in that inner compartment (4) is divided into storage room (6) it is arranged on the bottom of the recess portion (14) in evaporator room (7) with evaporator room (7), syphon structure (15).

5. refrigerating appliance as claimed in claim 4, which is characterized in that Defrost heater (25,27) prolongs on recess portion (14) It stretches.

6. refrigerating appliance as described in claim 4 or 5, which is characterized in that Defrost heater (25,27) evaporator (9) with Recess portion extends between (14).

7. the refrigerating appliance as described in claim 4,5 or 6, which is characterized in that Defrost heater (25,27) is in the shape of plate or stick Shape.

8. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of claim 4-7, which is characterized in that evaporator room (7) is erectly arranged in On the rear side of inner compartment (4), Defrost heater (27) is embodied as pharoid.

9. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of claim 4-8, which is characterized in that the bottom of recess portion (14) is to syphon structure (15) it tilts.

10. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of claim 4-9, which is characterized in that the bottom of recess portion (14) is provided with IR Sorbent surface layer (31).

11. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of claim 4-10, which is characterized in that the bottom of recess portion (14) is at least partly It is metal (30).

12. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of claim 4-11, which is characterized in that syphon structure (15) is including being projected into Connector (18) above the bottom of recess portion (14) and the cups (19) being placed on the connector (18).

13. refrigerating appliance as claimed in claim 12, which is characterized in that the lower edge of cups (19) is located at connector (18) Top edge (21) under at most 2mm.

14. the refrigerating appliance as described in any one of preceding claims, which is characterized in that syphon structure (15) towards defrosting The surface of heater (27) is provided with IR sorbent surfaces layer (31).