JP2011058681A - Damper device and refrigerator including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator including a damper device capable of reducing blast resistance and suppressing reduction of a storage space. <P>SOLUTION: In this damper device including an opening/closing body 64 driven by a driving means 60, a frame 63 having an opening 62 opened and closed by the opening/closing body, and a case 100 engaged with the frame and receiving the driving means, the frame has a projecting section 90, 100a around the opening, and the projecting section is projected from an end face of the case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a damper device and a refrigerator including the damper device.

  Conventionally, in each refrigerator having a refrigerated temperature zone and a refrigeration temperature zone, the cold air heat-exchanged by the cooler is blown to each of the storage chambers by a blowing means. In order to control the flow rate of cool air to the air, there is known a configuration that includes an open / close damper device and controls the opening / closing of the damper device.

  As conventional techniques related to the damper device, techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 shown below are known.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a step is formed on either the side surface of the drive unit stored in the case body or the abutting surface of the frame portion against which the side surface abuts.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the case for storing the driving means does not protrude from the cold air outlet side of the frame.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration in which the side wall of the frame has a plate shape with a predetermined width, and an air passage opening is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction to suppress deformation associated with mold molding. Yes.

Japanese Patent No. 3724978 JP 2009-2545 A JP 2008-309409 A

  The temperature range of the refrigerator compartment is approximately 3 to 5 ° C, and that of the freezer compartment is approximately -18 ° C.

  Therefore, when distributing cold air from a cooler to a refrigerator compartment or a freezer compartment via a cold air duct, it is necessary to switch a cold air flow rate.

  In view of this, an open / close-type refrigerator compartment cooling damper device and a freezer compartment cooling damper device (hereinafter collectively referred to as “damper device”) are provided to control the flow rate of the cool air by opening and closing them.

  Since the cold air that has passed through the damper device is distributed to each storage chamber, it is conceivable to reduce the blowing resistance by reducing the protrusions on the cold air outlet side of the damper device.

  In particular, recent refrigerators are required to increase the volume of each storage room, and it is desirable to increase the internal volume of the storage space while reducing the volume occupied by the cold air duct.

  On the other hand, if the volume occupied by the cold air duct is reduced without reducing the cold air outlet side projection of the damper device, the blowing resistance of the cold air increases. Then, the power consumption of the blower (blower fan) for blowing the necessary cool air increases, and there is a risk that the energy saving performance is lowered.

  Therefore, in order to improve the energy saving performance without reducing the volume of the storage space, it is preferable that the cold air duct has a flat shape and the dimension in the depth direction of the refrigerator is reduced.

  As a shape of the damper device for that purpose, it is desirable not to provide a protrusion.

  As an example, when cooling a plurality of storage rooms (for example, a freezing room and an ice making room adjacent to the freezing room), the cold air that has passed through the damper device is blown to the freezing room, and a cold air duct that extends in the width direction is used. Ventilate to the ice making room.

  In general, the cool air is distributed after passing through the damper device. In the state where the protrusion is provided on the cool air outlet side of the damper device, it is necessary to provide a cool air duct that avoids the protrusion.

  Then, in order to prevent an increase in blowing resistance due to the projection, it is necessary to reduce the volume of the storage space and secure the necessary cross-sectional area of the cold air duct.

  Therefore, from the viewpoint of expanding the volume of the storage space, it is desirable to increase the volume of the storage space by eliminating the protrusion on the cold air outlet side of the damper device.

  As described above, it is desirable to prevent the leakage of cold air from the periphery of the damper device while reducing the blowing resistance by reducing the protrusions on the cold air outlet side of the damper device to reduce the volume occupied by the cold air duct.

  However, when the opening area of the damper device is increased, each component is increased in size, so that the rigidity of the component is reduced and elastic deformation is likely to occur.

  Further, in the case of resin parts, deformation such as warping and twisting occurs at the time of molding, so that there is a problem that a gap is easily generated when closed and it is difficult to seal.

  In particular, when the damper open / close body is formed in an elongated rectangular shape, deformation during molding and elastic deformation are likely to occur.

  In Patent Documents 1 to 3, the frame strength is improved by providing the shaft of the opening / closing body near the center of the depth dimension of the frame, but the opening / closing body is located inside the cool air outlet of the frame and passes through the damper device. There was a problem that it would be a blowing resistance of cold air.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to obtain a damper device with reduced blowing resistance. Moreover, it aims at obtaining the refrigerator provided with the damper apparatus which reduced ventilation resistance and suppressed the reduction | decrease of the storage space.

  In order to solve the above problems, a damper device according to the present invention includes an opening / closing body driven by a driving means, a frame having an opening opened / closed by the opening / closing body, and the driving means engaged with the frame. In the damper device including the case for storing, the frame has a protrusion around the opening, and the protrusion protrudes beyond the end surface of the case.

  Further, in the damper device comprising: an opening / closing body driven by the driving means; a frame having a horizontally long opening opened / closed by the opening / closing body; and a case for housing the driving means, the frame is arranged around the opening. The case is characterized in that the case is connected to the short part of the frame so that one surface of the case does not protrude beyond the protrusion of the frame.

  In addition, a heater is disposed on the outer periphery of the protruding portion of the frame.

  Further, a concave portion is provided on the outer periphery of the protruding portion, and a heater is disposed in the concave portion.

  Further, a drainage groove is provided near the end of the frame on the side opposite to the case.

  The opening / closing body includes a shaft hole on a side opposite to the driving means, and a shaft provided in the frame and engaged with the shaft hole.

Next, a refrigerator equipped with the damper device according to the present invention includes a freezer compartment formed in a refrigerator main body, a cooler storage chamber provided behind the freezer compartment and provided with a cooler, and the cooler storage chamber. A blower that blows cool air to the freezer compartment, a blower cover provided between the blower and the freezer compartment, a freezer compartment damper that is provided on the blower cover and controls the amount of cold air to the freezer compartment, A partition having a blowout opening for blowing out the cold air from the freezer damper to the freezer,
The damper device includes an opening / closing body driven by a driving means, a frame having an opening opened / closed by the opening / closing body, and a case that engages with the frame and houses the driving means. A protrusion is provided around the opening, and the protrusion protrudes from an end surface of the case and does not protrude from an end surface of the blower cover.

  The present invention can provide a damper device with reduced blowing resistance. Moreover, the refrigerator provided with the damper apparatus which reduced ventilation resistance and suppressed the reduction | decrease of the storage space can be obtained.

It is a front external view of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. 1 showing the structure in the store | warehouse | chamber of a refrigerator. It is a front view showing the structure in the store | warehouse | chamber of a refrigerator. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a damper. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a damper. FIG. 6 is a YY sectional view of FIG. 5 showing the configuration of the damper. It is the schematic which looked at the drive means of the damper in the arrow Z direction of FIG. It is the schematic which looked at the drive means of the damper in the arrow Z direction of FIG. It is the schematic which looked at the drive means of the damper in the arrow Z direction of FIG. It is the schematic which looked at the drive means of the damper in the arrow Z direction of FIG. It is a YY sectional view of Drawing 3, and is a figure showing the cold air duct composition which provided the damper. It is a YY sectional view of Drawing 3, and is a figure showing the cold air duct composition which provided the damper. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a damper. It is ZZ sectional drawing of FIG. 12, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the axial structure of the opening-and-closing plate of a damper. It is a figure which shows the cold air duct structure which provided the conventional damper. It is a figure which shows the cool air duct structure which provided the damper of the comparative example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front outline view of the refrigerator of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an XX longitudinal cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 illustrating a configuration inside the refrigerator. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the refrigerator interior, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of the main part of FIG. 2, showing the arrangement of cold air ducts and air outlets.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment has the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 from upper direction.

  As an example, the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 are storage rooms in a refrigerator temperature zone of approximately 3 to 5 ° C. Further, the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4 and the lower freezing room 5 are storage rooms in a freezing temperature zone of approximately −18 ° C.

  The refrigerating room 2 includes, on the front side, refrigerating room doors 2a and 2b with double doors (so-called French type) divided into left and right.

  The ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 include a drawer type ice making room door 3a, an upper freezing room door 4a, a lower freezing room door 5a, and a vegetable room door 6a.

  Hereinafter, the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b, the ice making compartment door 3a, the upper freezer compartment door 4a, the lower freezer compartment door 5a, and the vegetable compartment door 6a are simply referred to as doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a.

  The refrigerator 1 includes a door sensor (not shown) that detects the open / closed state of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a, and a state in which each door is determined to be open for a predetermined time, for example, An alarm (not shown) for notifying the user when the operation is continued for one minute or more and a temperature setting device (not shown) for setting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the temperature of the upper freezer compartment 4 and the lower freezer compartment 5 Etc.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outside of the refrigerator 1 and the inside of the refrigerator 1 are separated by a heat insulating box 10 formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (foamed polyurethane) between the inner box 10a and the outer box 10b. ing.

  Moreover, the heat insulation box 10 of the refrigerator 1 has a plurality of vacuum heat insulating materials 25 mounted thereon.

  In the refrigerator, the refrigerator compartment 2 is separated from the upper freezer compartment 4 and the ice making chamber 3 by the heat insulating partition wall 28 (see FIG. 2), and the lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by the heat insulating partition wall 29. .

  A plurality of door pockets 32 are provided inside the doors 2a and 2b (see FIG. 2).

  The refrigerator compartment 2 is partitioned into a plurality of storage spaces in the vertical direction by a plurality of shelves 36.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are integrated with doors 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a provided in front of the respective compartments, and storage containers 3b, 4b, 5b. , 6b are provided.

  The storage containers 4b, 5b, and 6b can be pulled out by placing a hand on a handle portion (not shown) of the doors 4a, 5a, and 6a and pulling it out toward the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (see FIG. 3 as appropriate), the cooler 7 is provided in a cooler storage chamber 8 provided substantially at the back of the lower freezing chamber 5. An internal fan 9 (blower) is provided above the cooler 7.

  The air cooled by the heat exchange in the cooler 7 (hereinafter, the low-temperature air heat-exchanged by the cooler 7 is referred to as “cold air”) is blown by the internal fan 9 into the refrigerator compartment air duct 11, and the vegetable room air whose code is omitted. Refrigeration room 2, vegetable room 6, upper freezer room 4, lower freezer room 5, ice making through duct (see FIG. 3), upper freezer room air duct 12, lower freezer room air duct 13, and ice making room air duct (not shown) It is sent to each room of room 3. Air blowing to each room is controlled by opening and closing the refrigerator compartment damper 20 and the freezer compartment damper 50.

  Incidentally, the air ducts to the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezer room 4, the lower freezer room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are provided on the back side of each room of the refrigerator 1 as indicated by broken lines in FIG. Yes.

  Specifically, when the refrigerator compartment damper 20 is in the open state and the freezer compartment damper 50 is in the closed state, the cold air is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2 from the outlets 2c provided in multiple stages via the refrigerator compartment air duct 11.

  And it sends to the vegetable compartment 6 from the blower outlet 6c through the vegetable compartment ventilation duct (refer FIG. 3) branched from the refrigerator compartment ventilation duct 11. FIG.

  Note that the cold air that has cooled the refrigerator compartment 2 is, for example, in the lower right portion as viewed from the front of the cooler storage chamber 8 through the refrigerator outlet return duct 16 from the return port 2d provided on the lower surface of the refrigerator compartment 2. Return.

  The return air from the vegetable compartment 6 returns to the lower part of the cooler storage compartment 8 through the return opening 6d.

  When the freezer damper 50 is in the open state, the cold air heat-exchanged by the cooler 7 passes through the ice making room air duct and the upper freezer room air duct 12 (not shown) by the internal blower 9, and the ice making rooms respectively from the outlets 3c and 4c. 3. The air is blown into the upper freezer compartment 4.

  Further, the air is blown from the outlet 5 c to the lower freezer compartment 5 through the lower freezer compartment air duct 13. In this respect, the freezer compartment damper 50 is attached above a blower cover 56 described later, and facilitates the previous ice making chamber blow.

  In addition, the cold air that has cooled the upper freezer room 4, the lower freezer room 5, and the ice making room 3 returns to the cooler storage room 8 through the freezer return port 17 provided in the lower part of the lower freezer room 5.

  In FIG. 4, a partition 54 forms the blowout ports 3c, 4c, and 5c. The partition 54 divides the upper freezing chamber 4, the ice making chamber 3, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the cooler storage chamber 8.

  55 is a fan motor fixing | fixed part to which the internal fan 9 is attached. The fan motor fixing portion 55 partitions the cooler storage chamber 8 and the partition 54. The internal fan 9 is attached to the fan motor fixing portion 55.

  A blower cover 56 covers the front surface of the internal fan 9. A lower freezer compartment air duct 13 is formed between the blower cover 56 and the partition 54. Further, the upper portion of the blower cover 56 forms a blowout port 56 a of the freezer compartment damper 50.

  The blower cover 56 includes a rectifying unit 56 b that covers the front surface of the blower 9. This rectifies the turbulent flow caused by the cold air blown out and prevents the generation of noise and the like.

  The blower cover 56 forms an upper freezer compartment air duct 12 and a lower freezer compartment air duct 13 so as to guide the cold air blown from the internal fan 9 to the outlets 3c, 4c, 5c, etc. between the blower cover 56 and the partition 54. is doing.

  Further, the blower cover 56 also plays a role of blowing the cool air blown out by the internal blower 9 to the refrigerator compartment damper 20 side.

  That is, the cold air that does not enter the freezer damper 50 provided in the blower cover 56 part goes to the refrigerating room damper 20 side through the refrigerating room duct 15 as shown in FIG.

  And the cold air which passed through the cooler 7 is sent to both the freezing temperature zone room (the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the ice making room 3) and the refrigeration temperature zone room (the refrigeration room 2 and the vegetable room 6). In some cases, the cool air is overwhelmingly sent to the freezer damper 50 side, but a slight amount of cool air goes to the refrigerating chamber duct 15 side.

  The refrigerator compartment damper 20 is attached to the rear part of the refrigerator compartment 2 as shown in FIG.

  A defrost heater 22 is installed below the cooler 7, and an upper cover 53 is provided above the defrost heater 22 to prevent defrost water from dripping onto the defrost heater 22. It has been.

  The defrost water generated by the defrosting (melting) of the frost attached to the wall of the cooler 7 and the surrounding cooler storage chamber 8 flows into the trough 23 provided at the lower part of the cooler storage chamber 8. It reaches the evaporating dish 21 disposed in the machine room 19 described later via the drain pipe 27 and is evaporated by the heat of a condenser (not shown) described later.

  Further, a cooler temperature sensor 35 attached to the cooler is shown in the upper right portion when viewed from the front of the cooler 7, a refrigerating room temperature sensor 33 is provided in the refrigerating room 2, and a freezer temperature sensor 34 is provided in the lower freezing room 5. The temperature of the cooler 7 (hereinafter referred to as “cooler temperature”), the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 (hereinafter referred to as “refrigerator compartment temperature”), and the temperature of the lower freezer compartment 5 (hereinafter referred to as “freezer compartment temperature”). Can be detected).

  Furthermore, the refrigerator 1 includes an outside air temperature sensor and an outside air humidity sensor (not shown) that detect a temperature and humidity environment (outside air temperature, outside air humidity) outside the refrigerator.

  Note that the vegetable room temperature sensor 33a may also be arranged in the vegetable room 6.

  A machine room 19 is provided on the lower back side of the heat insulating box 10. The machine room 19 contains a compressor 24 and a condenser (not shown). Is removed.

  Incidentally, in this embodiment, isobutane is used as a refrigerant, and the amount of refrigerant enclosed is as small as about 80 g.

  A control board 31 on which a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, an interface circuit, and the like are mounted is disposed on the top surface side of the refrigerator 1.

  The control board 31 opens and closes the doors of the outside temperature sensor, the outside humidity sensor, the cooler temperature sensor 35, the refrigerator temperature sensor 33, the freezer temperature sensor 34, and the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a. The door sensor for detecting the state, the temperature setter (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment 2, the temperature setter (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the lower freezer compartment 5, and the like are connected.

  And by the program previously installed in the ROM, the compressor 24 is turned on / off, the number of revolutions is controlled, the refrigerator motor 20 and the freezer damper 50 are individually driven. Control such as ON / OFF of the blower 9 and control of the rotational speed, control of ON / OFF of the external fan and control of the rotational speed, and control of ON / OFF of the alarm for notifying the door open state are performed.

  Next, when the refrigerating room damper 20 is closed and the freezing room damper 50 is open, only the freezing temperature zone (the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4 and the lower freezing room 5) is cooled. The cold air blown to the ice making chamber 3 through the ice making chamber air duct and the cold air blown to the upper freezer chamber 4 via the upper freezer chamber air duct 12 (see FIG. 2) descend to the lower freezer chamber 5.

  And it flows like the freezing room return air shown by the arrow C in FIG. 4 with the cold air sent to the lower freezing room 5 through the lower freezing room ventilation duct 13 (refer FIG. 2).

  That is, it flows into the cooler storage chamber 8 from the lower front of the cooler storage chamber 8 via the freezer return port 17 arranged at the lower back of the lower freezer chamber 5, and a large number of fins are attached to the cooler piping 7a. Heat exchange is performed with the cooler 7 configured as described above.

  Incidentally, the width of the freezer compartment return port 17 is substantially equal to the width of the cooler 7.

  On the other hand, when the refrigerator compartment damper 20 is in the open state and the freezer compartment damper 50 is in the closed state, and only the refrigerator compartment temperature zone (refrigerator compartment 2 and vegetable compartment 6) is being cooled, the return from the refrigerator compartment 2 is performed. The cold air flows into the cooler storage chamber 8 from the lower side of the cooler storage chamber 8 via the cooler chamber return duct 16 like the cooler return air indicated by the arrow D in FIG. Exchange heat with.

  The cold air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 6 flows into the lower part of the cooler storage chamber 8 via the vegetable compartment return port 6d (see FIG. 4), as shown in FIG. Less than the amount of air circulating and the amount of air circulating through the refrigerator compartment 2.

  As described above, the cold air in the refrigerator 1 is switched by appropriately opening and closing each of the refrigerator compartment damper 20 and the freezer compartment damper 50.

  Next, an example of the configuration and operation of the damper will be described using the freezer compartment damper 50 as an example with reference to FIGS.

  First, the overall configuration of the damper will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the freezer compartment damper 50. FIG. 6 is a view of FIG. 5 as seen from the direction of the arrow S. 7 is a cross-sectional view in the YY direction in FIG.

  The freezer compartment damper 50 is provided with an opening 62 on one side, for example, a horizontally long frame 63 made of resin, for example, and a drive system such as a motor and a reduction gear at one end (rectangular short portion) of the frame 63. A built-in driving means 60 is provided, and a driving force is output from the driving shaft 61.

  The opening / closing body 64 is provided facing the opening 62 of the frame 63, one end of the opening / closing body 64 is pivotally supported by the drive shaft 61, and the other end of the opening / closing body 64 is provided at the other end of the frame 63. The support shaft 65 is rotatably provided.

  The opening / closing body 64 includes a resin-like plate-like opening / closing plate 64a and a buffer member 64b formed on one surface of the opening / closing plate 64a, for example, from a flexible material such as urethane foam or polyethylene foam.

  The opening / closing body 64 is swingable about a rotation shaft connecting the drive shaft 61 and the support shaft 65, and the rotation shaft is substantially parallel along one side in the longitudinal direction of the opening / closing body 64, It is arranged near the one side.

  The opening 62 of the frame 63 has a horizontally long substantially rectangular shape. A connecting means 62 a for connecting one side and the other side of the opening 62 and suppressing deformation of the opening 62 is provided at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the opening 62. The connecting means 62a serves as a support column for reinforcement.

  The connecting means 62a may be integrated with the frame 63 or may be a separate body as long as it suppresses the deformation of the opening 62.

  5 to 7 show a state where the opening / closing body 64 is closed. In the closed position, the opening / closing body 64 comes into contact with a contact portion 66 erected on the opening / closing body 64 side along the inner periphery of the opening 62 of the frame 63. This suppresses the flow of cool air through the opening 62.

  When the motor is rotated, the opening / closing body 64 is rotated by about 90 ° in the direction of the arrow (see FIGS. 5 and 7) via the drive shaft 61, so that the opening / closing body is in the open position indicated by 64 '. By opening and closing the opening / closing body 64 between the positions, the cool air can pass through the opening 62 in the open position, and the cool air flow is blocked and closed in the closed position.

  Next, an example of the configuration and operation of the driving unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  8 to 11 are schematic views of the driving means 60 viewed in the direction of arrow Z in FIG.

  The driving means 60 includes a motor 70, and an output shaft 71 of the motor 70 is provided with a pinion gear 72 that rotates with the driving of the motor 70 and outputs torque.

  The idler gear 73 is a reduction gear that is rotatably supported around an idler fulcrum 74.

  A gear 73a meshing with the pinion gear 72 is provided on the outer periphery of the idler gear 73, and the torque from the pinion gear 72 is transmitted while being reduced.

  A part of the idler gear 73 is provided with a partial gear 73b. For example, the idler gear 73 is provided only in a range where the idler gear 73 rotates 90 °. A cylindrical portion 73c having a cylindrical shape is provided in a portion of the partial gear 73b other than the gear shape.

  The output gear 75 is pivotally supported around the drive shaft 61, and the drive shaft 61 is fitted to the opening / closing body 64. The opening / closing body 64 (opening / closing plate 64a, buffer member 64b) and the output gear 75 are connected to each other. It is connected and rotates as a unit.

  That is, the opening / closing body 64 is rotated around a longitudinal driving shaft of the opening / closing body 64 (a driving shaft in which one end of the opening / closing body 64 is pivotally supported by the driving shaft 61 and the other end is pivotally supported by the supporting shaft 65 of the frame 63). To drive.

  A partial gear 75 b is provided in a part of the output gear 75, meshes with a partial gear 73 b provided in a part of the idler gear 73, and rotates by, for example, 90 ° in conjunction with the idler gear 73.

  On both sides of the partial gear 75b of the output gear 75, an arc-shaped first stopper 75c and a second stopper 75d are provided.

  The first stopper 75c and the second stopper 75d are in a positional relationship in which the opening / closing body 64 contacts the cylindrical portion 73c of the idler gear 73 at the open position and the closed position.

  When the output gear 75 is rotated by approximately 90 °, which is a range where the partial gear 75b is engaged, the opening / closing body 64 connected to the output gear 75 is rotated, and then the first stopper 75c and the second stopper 75d. Comes into contact with the idler gear 73 and its rotation is restricted.

  Next, the operation of the driving unit 60 will be described.

  In FIG. 8, the driving means 60 shows a state similar to that shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, with the opening / closing body 64 in the closed state.

  A cylindrical portion 73c provided on the idler gear 73 is fitted with the second stopper 75d of the output gear 75, and holds the opening / closing body 64 in a closed state.

  FIG. 9 shows a state in which the motor 70 is driven from the state of FIG. 8 and the pinion gear 72, idler gear 73, and output gear 75 are rotated in the directions of the arrows, respectively, and the partial gear 75b and idler gear 73 that are part of the output gear 75. Is engaged with a partial gear 73b provided at a part of the gear.

  The second stopper 75 d of the output gear 75 is positioned away from the cylindrical portion 73 c of the idler gear 73.

  FIG. 10 shows a position rotated further in the direction of the arrow as compared with FIG. In FIG. 11, the rotation of the partial gear 75b, which is a part of the output gear 75, and the partial gear 73b provided in a part of the idler gear 73 are finished, and the first gear of the output gear 75 is turned. One stopper 75c is in a position where it is engaged with the cylindrical portion 73c of the idler gear 73, and holds the opening / closing body 64 in an open state.

  When the opening / closing body 64 is closed again, the state shown in FIG. 11 is reached from the state shown in FIG. 11 through the states shown in FIGS.

  By operating as described above, the freezer damper 50 opens and closes the opening / closing body 64.

  Next, the relationship between the cold air flow and the damper shape will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration using a conventional damper.

  In order to reduce the blowing resistance of the cold air, it is necessary to prevent the case from protruding from the frame surface on the cold air outlet side of the damper. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, in the case where the cold air that has passed through the freezer damper 50 is distributed in two directions of the outlets 3c and 4c, if the case 100 of the freezer damper 50 has a protrusion 100a, Resistance increases. This is because the depth of the projection 100a and the blower cover 56 plus the depth dimension A projects toward the cool air duct 120 to inhibit the cool air flow. Further, the volume of the storage chamber is reduced by the depth dimension A.

  On the other hand, when the depth dimension B of the cold air duct 120 is narrowed, the volume reduction of the storage chamber can be suppressed. However, the depth dimension of the cold air duct 120 becomes narrow, and the blowing resistance increases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the air volume of the blower 9, and energy saving performance is reduced.

  Next, FIG. 17 shows a case where the protrusion 100a provided on the case 100 of the freezer damper 50 is not provided. In this case, the decrease in the volume of the storage chamber can be suppressed due to the absence of the protrusion 100a. However, the position of the freezer damper 50 and the blower cover 56 is not restricted, and the mounting position is not determined, so that the assemblability is poor, and cold air leaks from the gap, thereby reducing the energy saving performance.

  That is, in the configuration in which the protruding portion 100a is not provided, the labyrinth structure cannot be obtained because the area (creeping surface) where the outer surface of the damper device and the parts arranged around the damper engage with each other cannot be increased. Furthermore, the installation position of the damper device is not defined, and cold air leakage is likely to occur.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a protrusion 90 is provided on the cold air outlet side of the frame 63. The protrusion 90 is provided on the opening periphery of the frame 63 and protrudes toward the cold air duct 120. The case 100 is not provided with the protruding portion 100a, and the case 100 and the frame 63 are substantially flat until the end face on the cold air outlet side reaches the protrusion 90. In other words, the protrusion 90 protrudes from one end surface of the case 100.

  The protrusion 90 protrudes toward the storage chamber by a depth dimension C. The depth dimension C is set in a range in which the protrusion 90 is extended to a position that is the same as or substantially equal to the side surface of the cool air duct 120 of the blower cover 56 in a state where the freezer damper 50 is engaged with the blower cover 56. That is, the protrusion 90 does not protrude to the cold air duct 120.

  The depth dimension C is extremely smaller than the depth dimension A shown in FIG. That is, the frame 63 has a horizontally long opening, and the case 100 is connected to the short part of the frame 63 so that one surface of the case 100 does not protrude beyond the protrusion 90 of the frame 63. Further, the protruding portion 90 is installed so as to protrude from the end surface of the case 100 and not protrude from the end surface of the blower cover 56. Thereby, the volume reduction of a storage chamber can be suppressed. Further, the mounting positions of the freezer damper 50 and the blower cover 56 are specified by the protrusions 90, and the assemblability is improved. Furthermore, it becomes difficult for cold air to leak from the joint portion between the freezer damper 50 and the blower cover 56, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in energy saving performance without hindering the cold air flow in the cold air duct 120.

  In addition, by providing the annular protrusion 90 on the cold air outlet side of the frame 63 of the freezer damper 50, the cross-sectional secondary moment of the frame 63 can be improved, and deformation of the frame 63 can be prevented during molding. In addition, it is possible to provide a damper device that reliably seals the air path by suppressing deformation due to the torque received by the frame 63 from the buffer member 64b when the opening / closing body 64 is operated in the air path sealing direction by the driving means 60.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the freezer damper 50 seals the cold air passage by the opening / closing body 64 (the opening / closing plate 64 a and the buffer member 64 b). Then, dew condensation water adheres to the opening 62 and the buffer member 64b of the freezer damper 50 due to the temperature difference between the cold air inlet side and the cold air outlet side.

  In addition, since this condensed water may be cooled and freeze, when it freezes in the vicinity of the opening 62 of the frame 63, the opening / closing body 64 performs an opening operation while peeling the freezing, and requires a large opening torque. At the same time, the opening operation becomes unstable, which adversely affects the temperature control of the storage room.

  In order to defrost the condensed water, a freezing prevention heater 140 is disposed in the freezer damper 50. When the heater 140 is disposed on the outer flange surface 63a of the frame 63, it is necessary to thaw the freezing of the opening 62 and the buffer member 64b by the heat conduction of the frame 63, and the amount of heat generation increases.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the heater 140 is disposed between the frame 63 and the blower cover 56. As a result, the heater 140 is disposed in a portion close to the opening 62 and the buffer member 64b of the frame 63, and freezing can be prevented with a small amount of heat generation, and a highly reliable damper device that opens and closes reliably can be provided.

  Further, on the cold air outlet side of the frame 63 of the freezer compartment damper 50, the seal member 130 is installed so as to cover the protrusion 90 and the heater 140 provided around the opening 62. Thereby, it is possible to more reliably prevent cold air leakage from the joining portion of the freezer damper 50 and the blower cover 56. Of course, the same effect can be obtained by installing the seal member 130 between the annular protrusion 90 and the blower cover 56 on the cold air outlet side of the frame 63 of the freezer damper 50.

  Further, a recess 63 b is provided on the surface of the opening 62 of the frame 63. Thereby, the clearance gap between the flame | frame 63 and the air blower cover 56 which generate | occur | produces when installing the sealing member 130 and the heater 140 can be suppressed. In addition, the moment of inertia of the cross section of the frame 63 can be improved, and the reliability of the air passage sealing can be improved.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14, drainage grooves 110 are provided near the corners of the frame. The drain grooves 110 are provided in the vicinity of the corners of the frame 63 at a position away from the driving means 60. This makes it easy to remove water from the inner surface of the outer peripheral flange where condensation water tends to accumulate, and prevents water from freezing between the frame 63 and the opening / closing body 64 and locking the opening / closing body 64. Further, the damper device is incorporated in the blower cover 56 in an inclined state so that the driving means is located above and the drain groove 110 is located below. Thereby, dew condensation water can be actively flowed to the drain groove 110 side.

  In addition, the opening / closing body 64 has a rotating shaft disposed on the frame 63. Here, when the support shaft 65 is provided in the opening / closing body 64, the shaft hole 150 is provided in the frame 63. Then, when the shaft hole 150 of the frame 63 is provided as a through hole, cold air leakage occurs.

  Further, when the shaft hole 150 is provided as a non-through hole, the thickness of the frame 63 is small, so that the depth of the shaft hole 150 is limited and the cost of the support shaft 65 is reduced. Further, the support shaft 65 may come off due to temperature change or torque.

  Further, when the support shaft 65 is provided on the opening / closing body 64, the thickness near the support shaft 65 is increased, and thus gas accumulation occurs at the time of molding, which may reduce the strength of the component.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the shaft hole 150 is provided on the side opposite to the driving means 60 side of the opening / closing body 64, and the support shaft 65 is provided on the side opposite to the driving means 60 side of the frame 63. Thereby, while maintaining the rotating shaft structure of the opening / closing body 64 and the frame 63, the thickness of the opening / closing body 64 in the vicinity of the shaft hole 150 can be reduced, and the strength of the component is prevented from being reduced due to gas accumulation during molding. Further, the thickness of the frame 63 in the vicinity of the support shaft 65 is not reduced, and a large allowance for the support shaft 65 can be ensured, so that reliability can be improved.

  As described above, it is possible to obtain a damper device that can reduce the volume of the cold air duct while reducing the blowing resistance of the cold air duct. Moreover, by providing this damper apparatus, the energy saving performance can be improved and the refrigerator which can expand the capacity | capacitance of a storage space can be obtained.

2c, 3c, 4c, 5c, 6c, 56a Outlet 4 Upper freezer compartment (refrigeration temperature zone)
5 Lower freezer compartment (freezing temperature zone)
6d Return port 9 Blower (inside fan)
11 Refrigerating room air duct 12 Upper freezer room air duct 13 Lower freezer room air duct 15 Refrigerating room duct 16 Refrigerating room return duct 17 Freezer room return port 20 Refrigerating room damper 50 Freezer room damper 54 Partition 55 Fan motor fixing part 56 Blower cover 56b Rectifying section 60 Driving means 61 Driving shaft 62 Opening 62a Connecting means 63 Frame 63a Flange surface 63b, 84 Recess 64 Opening / closing body 64a Opening / closing plate 64b Buffer member 65 Support shaft 90, 100a Protrusion 100 Case 110 Drain groove 120 Cold air duct 130 Seal Member 140 Heater 150 Shaft hole

Claims (7)

An opening / closing body driven by a driving means;
A frame having an opening that is opened and closed by the opening and closing body;
A damper device including a case that engages with the frame and stores the driving means;
The frame has a protrusion around the opening;
The damper device characterized in that the protrusion protrudes from the end surface of the case. An opening / closing body driven by a driving means;
A frame having a horizontally long opening that is opened and closed by the opening and closing body;
In a damper device comprising a case for storing the driving means,
The frame has an annular protrusion around the opening;
The damper device is characterized in that the case is connected to a short part of the frame so that one surface of the case does not protrude from the protruding part of the frame.   The damper device according to claim 1, wherein a heater is disposed on an outer periphery of the protrusion of the frame.   3. The damper device according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion is provided on an outer periphery of the protruding portion, and a heater is disposed in the concave portion.   3. The damper device according to claim 1, wherein a drainage groove is provided near an end of the frame on the side opposite to the case.   3. The damper device according to claim 1, further comprising: a shaft hole provided on a side opposite to the driving means of the opening / closing body; and a shaft provided in the frame and engaged with the shaft hole. A freezer compartment formed in the refrigerator body;
A cooler storage chamber provided at the rear of the freezer compartment and provided with a cooler;
A blower for blowing cool air from the cooler storage chamber to the freezer;
A blower cover provided between the blower and the freezer compartment;
A freezer compartment damper provided on the blower cover for controlling the amount of cold air to the freezer compartment;
A partition having a blowout opening for blowing out the cold air from the freezer damper to the freezer,
The damper device is
An opening / closing body driven by a driving means;
A frame having an opening that is opened and closed by the opening and closing body;
A case for engaging the frame and storing the driving means,
The frame has a protrusion around the opening;
The refrigerator, wherein the protrusion protrudes from an end surface of the case and does not protrude from an end surface of the blower cover.

Images