JP2010203734A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of easily mounting and demounting a filter of a purification device. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator 100 including a box body 150 having heat insulating performance, a liquid cooling device 140 for cooling the liquid introduced into the box body 150, and the purification device 103 for purifying the introduced liquid, further has a pate body 172 for vertically partitioning the inside of the box body 150, and the purification device 103 is disposed at an upper part of a storage space at a lower part of the plate body 172. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator capable of purifying and cooling a liquid such as water introduced inside the refrigerator.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are refrigerators that directly introduce water from a water supply or the like, purify the water, store the water in a tank and cool it, supply cold water from a supply port provided in a door, or supply ice.

For example, the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 is an internal space of the refrigerator, and includes a purification device that purifies water and a serpentine tank for storing water at the back of the drawer, and a door in front of the refrigerator. Water and ice are supplied from the provided supply port.
US Pat. No. 7,216,502

  However, in the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, since the purification device and the tank are arranged behind the drawer, the depth of the drawer is narrow. In other words, the conventional refrigerator is provided with the purification device at the expense of an effective storage space.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and provides the refrigerator which can ensure an effective storage space widely, providing the purification | cleaning apparatus inside a refrigerator.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a box body having heat insulation performance, a liquid cooling device that cools liquid introduced inside the box body, and purification that purifies the introduced liquid. It is a refrigerator provided with the apparatus, Comprising: The board body which partitions off the said box main body inside to an up-down direction is provided, The said purification apparatus is arrange | positioned at the storage space upper part under the said board body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Accordingly, since the purification device can be arranged near the lower part of the plate body that tends to be a dead space while being a storage space of the refrigerator, it is possible to avoid sacrificing an effective storage space for the purification device. That is, since the stored items are stacked from below in the storage space, the stored items are rarely filled up to the upper portion of the storage space. Therefore, when the purification device is disposed in the upper part of the storage space, the amount of stored items is not greatly affected.

  The purifying device is a connection unit disposed in a liquid path that is a liquid path of the cooling device, and a filter unit having a function of purifying the liquid, and is inserted and removed in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator. It is preferable to include a filter part that can be attached to and detached from the connection part.

  Thereby, only a filter part can be replaced | exchanged and it becomes possible to reduce the maintenance cost of a purification apparatus.

  The plate includes a work hole for attaching and detaching the filter part to and from the connection part from above the plate, and a lid for closing the work hole. It is preferable.

  Thereby, the replacement work of the filter part can be performed without bending, and the replacement work of the filter part can be easily performed. Furthermore, since the work hole is normally closed by the lid, it is possible to place the stored item in the work hole portion.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that an upper opening is closed by the plate body, and a drawer in which the inflow of cold air from above the plate body is blocked is provided in a lower space of the plate body.

  A drawer that slides in and out in the front-rear direction, in particular, rarely fills the upper part of the drawer with the storage, so the storage space can be used effectively by placing a purification device in that part. Is possible.

  It is preferable that the plate body holds the purification device.

  According to this, compared with the case where a purification apparatus is directly attached to a box main body, it becomes possible to make attachment work of a purification apparatus easy.

  It is preferable that the connection part is attached to the plate body in a hanging shape.

  According to this, the filter part can be attached to or detached from the connecting part simply by inserting and removing in the front-rear direction with respect to the plate body, so that the filter part can be easily replaced. .

  It is preferable that the purification device includes a housing that is attached to the plate body in a hanging manner.

  According to this, it becomes possible to protect the purification device against an impact when a stored item is taken in and out of the storage space.

  Preferably, the liquid cooling device includes a valve device that controls the flow of liquid outside the back portion of the box body, and the height at which the valve device is disposed substantially coincides with the height at which the purification device is disposed. .

  According to this, the length of the piping passing through the inside of the box body can be shortened, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in the heat insulation performance of the box body.

  According to the present invention, the effective storage space is not sacrificed while the purification device is disposed in the storage space.

  Next, an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the refrigerator.

  Refrigerator 100 is a device that refrigerates or freezes and stores stored items stored inward. Box body 150, first door 111, second door 121, third door 112, and through hole 113 and a fourth door 122. The refrigerator 100 is a rectangular box having the longest height among the height, width, and depth.

  The first door 111 is a door that closes the opening on the right side toward the box body 150 so as to be freely opened and closed. In the case of the present embodiment, the first door 111 is hinged to the box body 150 by a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate about a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction in front of the right wall of the box body 150. It is attached. The first door 111 has a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction, and is arranged from the upper part to the lower part of the refrigerator 100, and the rotation shaft passes through the right end edge of the first door 111.

  The second door 121 is a door that closes the opening on the left side toward the box body 150 so as to be openable and closable. In the case of the present embodiment, the second door 121 is attached to the box body 150 by a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate about a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction in front of the left wall of the box body 150. It is attached. The second door 121 has a rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction, and is arranged from the upper part to the lower part of the refrigerator 100, and the rotation shaft passes through the left end edge of the second door 121.

  The through hole 113 is a hole that penetrates the first door 111 in the thickness direction. The through-hole 113 is used to take out stored items stored behind the first door 111 without opening the first door 111, and to insert the stored items for storage behind the first door 111. It is a hole.

  The third door 112 is a door that closes the through hole 113 so as to be freely opened and closed. In the case of the present embodiment, the third door 112 is attached to the first door 111 by a hinge (not shown) so as to rotate about a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction at the lower end edge of the through hole 113. ing. Further, the third door 112 is substantially square when viewed from the front (the corners are rounded), and the rotation shaft passes through the lower edge of the third door 112.

  The fourth door 122 is a door that freely opens and closes a supply port 123 of a dispenser that supplies beverages such as water and ice cooled by a liquid cooling device described later.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the refrigerator in which the first door and the second door are opened.

  Note that FIG. 2 also shows a stored item A stored in the refrigerator 100.

  As shown in these drawings, the refrigerator 100 includes a first box 151, a second box 152, and an outer box 156.

  The 1st box 151 is a box provided with the heat insulation performance long in the up-and-down direction which has an opening part in the front and forms a refrigerator compartment. In the case of the present embodiment, the first box 151 is disposed on the right side of the refrigerator 100 over the entire vertical direction of the refrigerator 100. Note that the refrigerator compartment is a room that maintains the internal temperature in a temperature range of 0 ° C. or higher.

  The 2nd box 152 is a box provided with the heat insulation performance long in the up-and-down direction which has an opening part in the front and forms a freezer compartment. In the case of the present embodiment, the second box 152 is disposed on the left side of the refrigerator over the entire vertical direction of the refrigerator 100. Note that the freezer room is a room that maintains a room temperature lower than the temperature of the refrigerator room at around minus 18 ° C. and stores stored items such as frozen foods.

  The outer box 156 is a metal plate that covers the first box 151 and the second box 152 that are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction.

  Here, the box body 150 in the present embodiment is manufactured as follows. In other words, the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment separated by the partition wall 153 are manufactured independently by the inner box 157 by integral molding with resin. The outer box 156 is arranged outside the inner box 157 so as to cover the inner box 157 with a predetermined distance from the inner box 157. A gap that communicates with the gap between the outer box 156 and the inner box 157 is also provided inside the partition wall 153. A space provided between the outer box 156 and the inner box 157 and a gap between the partition walls 153 are filled and foamed with, for example, hard urethane foam to obtain a heat insulating material. The box body 150 is manufactured as described above.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the walls adjacent to the first box 151 and the second box 152 are inseparably integrated, and the first box 151 and the second box 152 define the partition wall 153. It is intended to be shared as a wall.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of the first box.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first box 151 includes a plate 172 and a drawer 170 below the plate 172. A second drawer 117 is also provided above the plate body 172.

  The plate 172 is a plate-like member that partitions the inside of the first box 151 that is a part of the box body 150 in the vertical direction, closes the upper opening of the drawer 170, and exists above the plate 172. This is a member that blocks the flow of cold air that flows directly into the inside of the drawer 170. The plate body 172 is a member that is attached to both side walls of the first box body 151 in a bridging manner and divides the upper space and the lower space of the first box body 151 in a fixed manner.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the plate body 172 includes a flap 176 on the front side. The flap 176 is a movable member provided over the entire width direction at the front portion of the plate body 172. The flap 176 is a member that rotates so that the front part jumps upward when the drawer 170 is pulled out, and is a member that is provided so that stored items can be easily taken in and out even when the drawer 170 is slightly pulled out. . Further, the flap 176 is formed of a transparent resin so that the stored items stored in the drawer 170 can be seen from above the drawer 170.

  The drawer 170 is a box-shaped member whose upper opening is closed by the plate body 172 in a state where the drawer 170 is inserted into the lower space of the plate body 172, and can be inserted into and removed from the box body 150. Since the drawer 170 has the plate body 172 blocked the inflow of cold air from above, the stored item stored in the drawer 170 does not directly hit the cold air circulating inside the first box 151. It is also possible to maintain the humidity inside the drawer 170. Therefore, the drawer 170 is suitable for storing vegetables and fruits in a raw state, and is sometimes referred to as a vegetable room. In the case of the present embodiment, the drawer 170 is made of a transparent (translucent) resin. This is to improve the visibility of the stored items stored in the drawer 170.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the storage space below the plate body by cutting away.

  As shown in the figure, the purification device 103 is disposed in the upper storage space below the plate 172. The purification device 103 includes a filter unit 131, a connection unit 132, and a housing 105. The plate 172 is provided with a work hole 173, and the lid 104 is attached thereto.

  The purification device 103 is a device that purifies water introduced into the inside of the box body 150. In the case of the present embodiment, the purification device 103 employs a device that filters water with a bundle of hollow fibers and adsorbs impurities by inserting water between activated carbons.

  The connecting portion 132 is an instrument that is disposed in a liquid path 141 that is a water path of a cooling device (described later). The connecting part 132 has a function of introducing water that passes through the liquid path 141 into the filter part 131 and returning the purified water that has passed through the filter part 131 to the liquid path 141. Moreover, the connection part 132 is attached to the housing | casing 105 with the attachment 133 provided with the tilting mechanism by a hinge. As a result, the connecting portion 132 is attached to the plate 172 in a suspended manner via the fixture 133.

  The filter unit 131 is an instrument having a function of purifying water. In the case of the present embodiment, the filter unit 131 includes a bundle of hollow fibers that filters water and activated carbon that adsorbs impurities contained in the water. Moreover, the filter part 131 can be attached or detached with respect to the connection part 132 by inserting / removing in the front-back direction of the refrigerator 100. As shown in FIG. In addition, after inserting the filter part 131 in the connection part 132, the filter part 131 is rotated with respect to the connection part 132, so that the screw thread provided in the filter part 131 and the screw thread provided in the connection part 132 are changed. The filter part 131 and the connection part 132 can be fixed by meshing.

  The housing 105 is a box-shaped member that is attached to the plate body 172 in a hanging manner. In the case of this embodiment, the housing 105 has a shape that can surround the filter part 131 and the connection part 132, and the upper part is open. The case 105 prevents the stored material stored in the drawer 170 from directly hitting the filter part 131 and the connecting part 132 when the drawer 170 is taken in and out. In addition, the connection part 132 is attached to the housing 105 via the attachment 133, and the filter part 131 is attached to the connection part 132. The attachment 133 is pivotally supported by the housing 105 so as to be tiltable by the attachment shaft 135. Therefore, the filter part 131 is attached to the housing 105 so as to be tiltable about the attachment shaft 135 together with the attachment 133.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the plate body from which the lid is removed viewed from above.

  As shown in the figure, the working hole 173 is provided in a size that allows the filter part 131 to be inserted therethrough and penetrates through the plate body 172, and passes through the work hole 173 from above the plate body 172 to the connection part 132. The attachment / detachment work for attaching / detaching the filter unit 131 can be performed.

  The lid body 104 is fitted into the work hole 173 and is flush with the plate body 172.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the attaching / detaching operation of the filter unit.

  As shown in the figure, by lifting the tip of the filter portion 131 upward, the fixture 133 is also lifted by the hinge mechanism of the attachment shaft 135, and the tip of the filter portion 131 protrudes above the plate body 172. Therefore, the filter unit can be easily attached to and detached from the connection unit 132 by inserting and removing the filter unit 131 in the direction of the arrow.

  As described above, since the purification device 103 is attached to the plate body 172 in a suspended state, the purification device 103 is arranged without significantly affecting the storage space inside the drawer 170. Further, since the work hole 173 is provided in the plate body 172, the replacement work of the filter unit 131 can be performed from above the plate body 172, and the work can be performed in an easy system. In addition, since the work hole 173 is normally closed by the lid body 104, it is possible to place stored items on the plate body 172 or the lid body 104.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the valve device.

  A valve device 142 shown in the figure is a device that controls the flow of water introduced into the inside of the refrigerator 100, and is attached to the outside of the back of the box body 150. In the case of the present embodiment, the valve device 142 is connected to the water supply, and the gate valve 143 that can select whether or not to introduce water from the water supply and distribute the introduced water through a path for cooling or manufacture ice. And a three-way valve 144 that can determine whether or not to circulate through the route. The three-way valve 144 has an electrical component 144a that controls the flow path at the top. In addition, a cover member 148 larger than the projected area of the three-way valve 144 is provided on the upper part of the connection part of the liquid paths 141 and 147 connected to the lower part of the three-way valve 144. Therefore, even if water leaks at the connection portion, the cover member 148 can prevent water from splashing on the electrical component 144a, and can improve safety.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the height relationship between the purification device and the valve device, where (a) is a side view and (b) is a top view.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the height at which the valve device 142 is disposed substantially coincides with the height at which the purification device 103 is disposed. Thereby, even when the filter part 131 is removed from the connection part 132, it is possible to prevent the water remaining in the liquid path 141 from overflowing from the connection part 132. In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, the left and right positions of the valve device 142 and the purification device 103 are substantially the same. As a result, the length of the liquid path 141 that traverses the box body 150 can be shortened, and a decrease in the heat insulation performance of the box body 150 can be suppressed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the liquid cooling device.

  As shown in the figure, the liquid cooling device 140 includes a tank 145 and an ice making machine 146.

  The water supplied from the water supply W is supplied to the purification device 103 inside the refrigerator 100 through the gate valve 143 outside the refrigerator 100. The water purified by the purification device 103 is led out of the refrigerator 100 and supplied to the three-way valve 144. The water whose path is selected by the three-way valve 144 passes through the liquid path 141 and is supplied to the ice making machine 146, for example. The ice making machine 146 is a device that converts the water purified by the purification device 103 into ice and stores it. The stored ice can be arbitrarily taken out from the supply port 123. On the other hand, the water passes through the liquid path 147 and is supplied to the tank 145. The tank 145 is a member that stores the water purified by the purification device 103. The stored water can be arbitrarily taken out from the supply port 123.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the tank after the drawer is taken out.

  As shown in the figure, the tank 145 is a meandering thin container and is disposed behind the drawer 170 and inside the box body 150. By disposing the tank 145 at the position, the cold air flowing while avoiding the drawer 170 directly hits the tank 145, so that the water stored therein can be efficiently cooled. Further, since the tank 145 can be made thinner than the purification device 103, it does not greatly affect the volume of the storage space. The reason why the tank 145 meanders is to suppress the stagnation of water and sequentially supply cooled water.

  As shown in the figure, the liquid path 141 connected from the tank 145 to the ice making machine 146 and the supply port 123 is selected from a short path to the outside from the inside of the box body 150 and passes through the outside of the refrigerator 100. The second door 121 is preferably inserted through the hinge. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to avoid as much as possible that water freezes without the liquid path | route 141 and clogs the liquid path | route 141. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the tank 145 may be disposed at the bottom of the first box 151 and below the drawer 170. This further increases the depth of the drawer 170 and increases the storage space.

  FIG. 12 is a plan view of the lower part of the first door viewed from the box body side.

  As shown in the figure, the purification device 103 is attached to the lower part of the first door 111. Further, the purification device 103 may be covered with the housing 105. According to this, it is possible to easily replace the filter unit 131 in an easy posture without opening the drawer 170.

  The present invention is applicable to a refrigerator, in particular, a refrigerator that supplies ice and cold water, and includes a plate that partitions a storage space in the vertical direction.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of a refrigerator. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the refrigerator with which the 1st door and the 2nd door were opened. It is a perspective view which shows the lower part of a 1st box. It is a perspective view which cuts and shows the storage space below a board. It is a perspective view which desires the board body from which the cover body was removed from upper direction. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment or detachment operation | work of a filter part. It is a perspective view which shows a valve apparatus. It is a figure which shows typically the height relationship between a purification apparatus and a valve apparatus. It is a figure which shows a liquid cooling device typically. It is a perspective view which takes out a drawer and shows a tank. It is a perspective view which shows another example of a tank. It is a top view which desires the lower part of the 1st door from the box body side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Refrigerator 103 Purification | cleaning apparatus 104 Cover body 105 Housing | casing 111 1st door 112 3rd door 113 Through-hole 117 2nd drawer 121 2nd door 122 4th door 123 Supply port 131 Filter part 132 Connection part 133 Mounting tool 135 Mounting shaft 140 Liquid cooling device 141 Liquid passage 142 Valve device 143 Gate valve 144 Three-way valve 144a Electrical component 145 Tank 146 Ice machine 147 Liquid passage 148 Cover member 150 Box body 151 First box 152 Second box 153 Partition wall 156 Outer box 157 Inside Box 170 Drawer 172 Plate 173 Work hole 176 Flap

Claims (8)

A refrigerator comprising a box body having heat insulation performance, a liquid cooling device that cools the liquid introduced inside the box body, and a purification device that purifies the introduced liquid,
A plate body that partitions the inside of the box body in the vertical direction,
The said purification apparatus is a refrigerator arrange | positioned at the storage space upper part under the said board. The purification device comprises:
A connecting portion disposed in a liquid path that is a liquid path of the cooling device;
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising: a filter unit having a function of purifying liquid, the filter unit being detachable from the connection unit by being inserted and removed in a front-rear direction of the refrigerator. The plate body is capable of inserting the filter portion, and a work hole for attaching and detaching the filter portion to and from the connection portion from above the plate body,
The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a lid that closes the work hole. further,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an upper opening is closed by the plate body, and a drawer is provided in a lower space of the plate body to block inflow of cold air from above the plate body. .   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the plate body holds the purification device.   The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the connection portion is attached to the plate body in a hanging shape. The purification device comprises:
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a housing attached to the plate body in a hanging manner. The liquid cooling device is
A valve device for controlling the flow of liquid is provided outside the back of the box body,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a height at which the valve device is disposed substantially coincides with a height at which the purification device is disposed.

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