Abstrict A refrigerator includes a food storage space, an evaporator for
generating cool air, and a fan for circulating the cool air to the
storage space. An air diverting valve is provided which is movable
in response to an opening of a door to the storage space for redirecting
the air to form an air curtain across an opening of the storage
space. The air diverting valve can be moved by a motor, or by a
spring.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. A refrigerator comprising:
a main body having a storage space provided with an opening through
which foodstuffs are inserted or removed;
a door for closing and opening the opening;
cool-air generating means for generating cool air;
a fan for forcedly circulating the cool air throughout said storage
space when the door is closed; and
an air diverting valve movable to a position in response to an
opening of the door, for causing air from the fan to be directed
from one side of the opening to an opposite side thereof and thereby
form an air curtain across the opening.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 wherein there is a first
duct for directing cool air generally into the storage space, and
a second duct branched from the first duct for being opened by the
air diverting valve for creating the air curtain.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 wherein the valve rotatable
is about an axis.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3 further including a motor
for rotating the valve.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 further comprising a first
duct extending upwardly at a rear portion of the storage space,
and a second duct extending horizontally; the first duct including
an inlet at its upper end and an outlet at its lower end, the outlet
communicating with the storage space; the second duct including
an inlet disposed adjacent the inlet of the first duct, and an outlet
for directing the curtain of air downwardly; the fan arranged to
direct cool air toward both inlets; the air diverting valve situated
between the two inlets for selectively diverting air toward one
of the inlets.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 wherein the outlet of
the second duct includes horizontally spaced holes.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 wherein the air diverting
valve is biased to a position for diverting air to an air curtain-forming
state and is pushed out of that position by the door when the door
is closed.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 7 further including a spring
for biasing the air diverting member to the position for diverting
air to the air curtain-forming state.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 7 wherein the air diverting
member includes a plurality of holes formed therein for conducting
cool air therethrough when the door is closed.
10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 wherein the main body
includes an additional storage space having an additional door,
and an additional air diverting valve movable to a position in response
to an opening of the additional door for causing an air curtain
to be formed across an opening of the additional storage space.
11. The refrigerator according to claim 10 wherein the fan circulates
cool air to both of the storage spaces.
12. The refrigerator according to claim 10 further including an
additional cool air generating means and an additional fan for circulating
cool air generating means to the second storage space.
13. A refrigerator comprising:
a main body having a storage space provided with an opening through
which foodstuffs are inserted or removed;
a door for closing and opening the opening;
cool-air generating means for generating cool air;
a fan for forcedly circulating the cool air;
a ducting including a first outlet arrangement for directing cool
air into the storage space for regulating a temperature therein,
and a second outlet arrangement for directing air from one side
of the opening to an opposite side thereof and thereby form an air
curtain across the opening; and
an air diverting member disposed in the ducting for movement in
response to the door being opened and closed;
the air diverting member being movable to a first position in response
to the door being closed, for admitting cool air flow to the first
outlet arrangement and obstructing cool air flow to the second outlet
arrangement;
the air diverting member being movable to a second position in
response to the door being opened, for admitting cool air flow to
the second outlet arrangement and obstructing cool air flow to the
first outlet arrangement. Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a refrigerator, and
more particularly, a refrigerator which is provided with an air
curtain device for preventing the discharge of cool air when the
door is open.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A refrigerator maintains foodstuffs in a freezed or refrigerated
state in order to prevent the deterioration of the foodstuffs' freshness
and taste. The foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator's refrigerating
compartment are cooled by cool air generated by the operation of
the refrigerating cycle. At the front of the refrigerating compartment
is formed an opening to which a door is attached to open and close
the refrigerating compartment. Such a conventional refrigerator
has a disadvantage in that the cool air in the compartment is released
into the air when the door is open, thereby raising the temperature
therein. This is caused by the pressure and temperature differences
between the inside and outside of the compartment. This problem
results in the decreased operating efficiency of the refrigerator
and especially the deterioration of the foodstuffs' freshness and
taste.
In order to resolve the above disadvantage, there has been disclosed
a technique for preventing the discharge of cool air in the compartment
by creating an air curtain across the opening of the compartment
when the door is open. Examples of this arrangement are JP Patent
Laid-Open Publication No. 56-12972 and JP Utility Model Laid-Open
Publication No. 61-89782.
FIG. 12 shows a prior art disclosed in JP Patent Laid-Open Publication
No. 56-12972. An air outlet 21 and air inlet 23 are provided at
the front opening of the refrigerator body 11, an air passage 25
is provided along the inner walls 13,15,17 to connect the air outlet
21 with the air inlet 23, and a motorized fan 27 is installed in
the air passage 25 and operates when the door 19 is open. Thus,
when the door 19 is open, the motorized fan 27 operates to circulate
cool air through the air passage 25, thereby creating an air curtain
29 over the front opening between the air inlet 21 and the air outlet
23. However, such a prior art for creating an air curtain has a
disadvantage in that because it requires the additional motorized
fan and air passage, the structure of a refrigerator with the air
curtain device is unnecessarily complicated.
FIG. 13 shows another prior art disclosed in JP Utility Model Laid-Open
Publication No. 61-89782. The inside space 5 extends into the machine
compartment 4 which is provided at the top of the refrigerator and
has a motorized fan 7 therein. Thus, cool air discharged by the
motorized fan 7 collides with the inner front side 11 of the extending
space 5, and is therefore redirected downward, thereby creating
an air curtain over the opening 2.
However, as in the former prior art, this type of air curtain requires
an additional motorized fan, thereby complicating the structure.
Furthermore, it has another disadvantage in that the air curtain
does not function properly because the cool air discharged by the
motorized fan is circulated within the entire storage space, thereby
forming the air curtain incompletely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a refrigerator
equipped with an air curtain device of simple construction, which
serves to insulate the inside of the refrigerator from the outside
air when the door is open.
A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a main
body having a storage space provided with an opening through which
foodstuffs is placed in or taken out of the storage space; a door
for closing and opening said opening; cool-air generating means
for cooling said storage space; a fan for forcedly circulating cool
air in said storage space; and air curtaining means for creating
an air curtain by directing the cool air discharged by said fan
from one side of said opening to the opposite side of said opening.
An air circulating duct, which returns the cool air into said cool-air
generating means via said storage space, is provided in said storage
space. Said air curtaining means comprises an air curtaining duct
branched from said air circulating duct and extending to the top
portion of said opening, where the outlet of said air curtaining
duct faces toward the bottom of said opening, and an opening/closing
means for selectively opening or closing said air curtaining duct
and air circulating duct in response to the opening and closing
of said door, which is provided between said air curtaining duct
and said air circulating duct.
Said opening/closing means comprises a valve member which is swung
with a rotating shaft provided at one end thereof in order to selectively
open or close said air curtaining duct and air circulating duct,
and a motor for rotating said rotating shaft in response to the
opening and closing of said door.
According to another embodiment of this invention, a duct provided
in said storage space, is comprised of: an inlet and outlet which
face downward and forward, respectively; a first passage extending
from said outlet to said opening; a second passage extending from
said opening to said inlet, a plurality of air discharging holes
being formed on the top and side surfaces of said second passage;
and an air curtaining port provided at the top of the opening where
said first and second passages connect. Said air curtaining means
includes a valve member which is pushed by said door to close said
air curtaining port when said door is closed, and is swung about
one side thereof to open said air curtaining port when said door
is open.
A rotating shaft, which rotates the valve member, is joined to
the top side of said valve member, and a spring is fitted to said
rotating shaft to exert elastic force on said valve member.
A projection is attached to the inner surface of said door contacting
said valve member to close said valve member when said door is closed,
and a plurality of holes are formed on said valve member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the inner
structure of a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of
the present invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the air curtain structure
for the freezing compartment in FIG. 1, where FIG. 2 illustrates
the position of a valve member when the door is closed and FIG.
3 illustrates the position of the valve member when the door is
open;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the air curtain structure
for the refrigerating compartment in FIG. 1, where FIG. 4 illustrates
the position of a valve member when the door is closed FIG. 5 illustrates
the position of the valve member when the door is open;
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a refrigerator
according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing the air curtain structure
in FIG. 6, where FIG. 7 illustrates the position of a valve member
when the door is closed and FIG. 8 illustrates the position of the
valve member when the door is open;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing a
refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention,
where FIG. 9 illustrates the position of a valve member when the
door is closed and FIG. 10 illustrates the position of the valve
member when the door is open;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the valve member in FIGS.
9 and 10; and
FIGS. 12 and 13 are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing
a refrigerator according to a prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be now
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the inner
structure of a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of
the present invention.
The inventive refrigerator includes a main body 10, storing compartments
21,22 provided inside the main body 10, doors 14,15 for opening
and closing the storing compartments 21,22, respectively, and an
evaporator 31 for cooling the storing compartments 21,22. The front
sides of the storing compartments 21,22 are open to allow foodstuffs
to be taken in and out. The storing compartments 21,22 are separated
from each other by means of a partition 11 to allow them to maintain
different temperatures, thereby serving as a freezing compartment
and a refrigerating compartment, respectively. A special storing
box 23, which is used for storing meat and fish below approximately
0.degree. C., is provided at the upper portion of the refrigerating
compartment 22, a vegetable box 24 for storing vegetables and fruits
is provided at the lower portion of the refrigerating compartment
22, and a plurality of shelves 25 are provided between the special
storing box 23 and the vegetable box 24. Button-type micro-switches
12,13 are attached to the front side of the partition 11 in order
to sense the door 14 for the freezing compartment 21 and the door
15 for the refrigerating compartment 22 being open or closed, respectively.
The evaporator 31 is installed in a cooling space 40 which is provided
in the rear of the freezing compartment 21, and shielded by a cover
41. At the upper portion of the cooling space 40 is installed a
fan 32 for forcedly discharging the cool air generated by the evaporator
31, and at the backs of the freezing compartment 21 and refrigerating
compartment 22 are mounted discharging ducts 51a, 51b and returning
ducts 52 for guiding the discharged cool air that circulates in
the compartments 21,22 and the evaporator 31. The discharging ducts
51a, 51b discharge cool air into the freezing compartment 21 and
the refrigerating compartment 22, respectively, and the returning
ducts 52 return the circulated cool air in the compartments 21,22
into the evaporator 31. The discharging ducts 51a, 51b communicate
with the upper end of the cooling space 40, While the returning
ducts 52 are provided inside the partition 11 and at the lower portion
of the refrigerating compartment 22. The inlets 52a of the returning
ducts 52 are positioned at the front of the compartments 21,22,
and their outlets 52b communicate with the lower end of the cooling
space 40.
Air curtain devices, which are characteristic of the present invention,
are provided in the freezing compartment 21 and refrigerating compartment
22 to create an air curtain which prevents the outside air in a
higher temperature from entering into the compartments 21,22 when
the doors 14,15 are open. The air curtain device for the freezing
compartment 21 comprises an air curtaining duct 61, which has an
inlet 61a communicating with the discharging duct 51a and an outlet
61b located at the opening of the compartment 21, provided at the
top of the compartment 21, and an air diverting member in the form
of a valve member 71 provided at the inlet 61a to open or close
the air curtaining duct 61 in accordance with the opening or closing
of the door 14. In the same manner, the air curtain device for the
refrigerating compartment 22 comprises an air curtaining duct 62,
which has an inlet 62a communicating with the discharging duct 51b
and an outlet 62b located at the opening of the compartment 22,
provided at the bottom of the special storing box 23, and an air
diverting member in the form of a valve member 81 provided at the
inlet 62a to open or close the air curtaining duct 62 in accordance
with the opening or closing of the door 15. The outlets 61b, 62b
of the air curtaining ducts 61,62 extend downward to face the inlets
52 of the returning ducts 52, so that cool air flows from the top
of the openings to the bottom, thereby forming air curtains.
The air curtain structure for the freezing compartment 21 will
be now described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The
air curtaining duct 61, which extends from the rear wall to the
opening of the freezing compartment 21, is shaped as a hollow rectangular
box. The inlet 61a of the air curtaining duct 61 faces the inlet
51c (FIG. 3) of the discharging duct 51a. The valve member 71 is
mounted on the rotating shaft 72, which is provided at the contact
point between the air curtaining duct 61 and discharging duct 51a.
A motor 73 is connected to one end of the rotating shaft 72, which
rotates the rotating shaft 72 in the forward or reverse direction
in accordance with the opening and closing of the door 14. Thus,
the valve member 71 is rotated to selectively open or close the
respective ducts 51a, 61.
In the same manner, the air curtain device for the refrigerating
compartment 22, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises a valve member
81, which is mounted on a rotating shaft 82, which is provided at
the contact point between the air curtaining duct 62 and discharging
duct 51b, and a motor 83 for rotating the valve member 81.
The motors 73,83 operate when the freezing compartment door 14
or the refrigerating compartment door 15 is open or closed, respectively.
That is, when the doors 14,15 are opened, the valve members 71,81
are rotated clockwise by the motors 73,83 to open the air curtaining
ducts 61,62 and close the discharging ducts 51a, 51b. On the other
hand, when the doors 14,15 are closed, the valve members 71,81 are
rotated counterclockwise to open the discharging ducts 51a, 51b
and close the air curtaining ducts 61,62.
The operation of the inventive air curtain devices will be now
described in more detail.
When the doors 14,15 are closed, the inlet 51c,51d of the discharging
ducts 51a, 51b are opened and the inlets 61a,62a of the air curtaining
ducts 61,62 are closed by means of the valve members 71,81. Thus,
the cool air generated by the evaporator 31 is discharged into the
freezing and refrigerating compartments 21 and 22 via the discharging
ducts 51a, 51b by means of the fan 32 and then returned to the evaporator
31 via the returning ducts 52, thereby cooling the freezing and
refrigerating compartments 21 and 22.
When the user opens the freezing compartment door 14 to take foodstuffs
in or out of the freezing compartment 21, the motor 73 operates
to rotate the valve member 71 counterclockwise, so that the inlet
61a of the air curtaining duct 61 is opened and the inlet 51c of
the discharging duct 51a for the freezing compartment 21 (FIG. 3).
Accordingly, the cool air discharged by the fan 32 flows along the
air curtaining duct 61 and then is discharged toward the bottom
of the opening of the freezing compartment 21, thereby forming an
air curtain for preventing the outside air from entering into the
compartment 21. The discharged air is returned into the evaporator
31 via the returning duct 52.
When the user opens the refrigerating compartment door 15 to take
foodstuffs in or out of the refrigerating compartment 22, the motor
83 operates to rotate the valve member 81 counterclockwise, so that
the inlet 62a of the air curtaining duct 62 is opened and the inlet
51d of the discharging duct 51b for the refrigerating compartment
22 is closed (FIG. 5). Accordingly, the cool air discharged by the
fan 32 flows along the air curtaining duct 62 and then is discharged
toward the bottom of the opening of the refrigerating compartment
22, thereby forming an air curtain for preventing the outside air
from entering into the compartment 22. The discharged air is returned
into the evaporator 31 via the returning duct 52.
In the aforementioned processes, the opening and closing of the
doors 14,15 is sensed by the micro-switches 12,13 provided at the
front side of the partition 11.
FIG. 6 shows the inner structure of a refrigerator according to
the second embodiment of this invention, in which the freezing compartment
21 and the refrigerating compartment 22 are cooled by means of independent
evaporators and fans. As shown in the figure, at the rear side of
the freezing compartment 21 is provided a cooling space 40a in which
an evaporator 31a and a fan 32a are mounted. A discharging duct
51a' is provided at the front of the cooling space 40a to evenly
discharge the cool air into the freezing compartment 21. The lower
end of the cooling space 40a is opened in order that the cool air
circulated in the freezing compartment 21 is drawn through the evaporator
31a by the fan 32a. In the same manner, a discharging duct 51b'
is provided at the front of the cooling space 40b and the lower
end of the cooling space 40a is opened. Air curtaining ducts 61',62'
are provided at the tops of the freezing and refrigerating compartments
21 and 22, respectively.
The air curtaining ducts 61' and 62' have the same structure, and
therefore only the air curtaining duct 61' in the freezing compartment
21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The inlet
61a' of the air curtaining duct 61' communicates with the inlet
51c' of the discharging duct 51a' and its outlet 61b' lies facing
downward at the opening of the freezing compartment 21. An air diverting
member in the form of a valve member 71', which is identical with
that in FIG. 2, is mounted between the inlet 61a' of the air curtaining
duct 61' and the inlet 51c' of the discharging duct 51a'. In this
embodiment, the air curtaining duct 61 has a plurality of air passages
65 so that the discharged air is evenly distributed across the opening
of the compartment 21.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show the inner structure of a refrigerator according
to the third embodiment of this invention, in which the duct for
circulating the cool air and the duct for creating the air curtain
are integrally formed.
A duct 94 for guiding cool air has a first passage 94c which extends
from the upper portion of the cooling space 40 to the opening of
the storing compartment 22 and a second passage 94d which extends
from the opening of the storing compartment 22 to the cover 41,
where it is bent downward. The inlet of the first passage 94c and
the outlet of the second passage 94d are used as the inlet 94a and
outlet 94b of the duct 94 so that the cool air generated by the
evaporator 31 is discharged into the storing compartment 22 through
the duct 94. In order that the cool air is discharged from the top
and rear of the storing compartment 22, a plurality of holes 94e
are formed on the second passage 94d which is arranged over the
ceiling and back of the storing compartment 22.
A discharging port 95 which creates the air curtain is formed at
the top of the opening where the first and second passages 94c and
94d connect, and a valve member 91, which is operated by the closing
and an air diverting member in the form of opening of the door 15,
covers the discharging port 95. On the inner top of the door 15
is attached a projection 15a which pushes the valve member 91 inward
to close the discharging port 95 when the door 15 is closed.
As shown in FIG. 11, the valve member 91, which is formed of a
plate member, has a rotating shaft 93 at its upper end, and its
lower end extends downward to cover the discharging port 95. In
order that the discharging port 95 is quickly opened with the opening
of the door 15 to promptly create the air curtain, springs 92 are
mounted on both ends of the rotating shaft 93 in such a manner that
their elastic force places the valve member 91 in a vertical position.
A plurality of holes 91a are formed on the valve member 91 to discharge
cool air from the front side of the storing compartment 22 when
the door 15 is closed, thereby helping to maintain a uniform temperature
in the storing compartment 22. It is preferable that the fan 32'
is a sirocco fan that has the same width as that of the duct 95,
to thereby provide cool air evenly over the entire width of the
duct 94.
The operation of the air curtain device according to the third
embodiment will be now described in detail with reference to FIGS.
9 and 10.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the door 15 is closed, the valve member
91 is pushed upward by the projection 15a formed on the door 15
to thereby close the discharging port 95. Thus, the cool air generated
by the evaporator 31 is forced to flow along the first and second
passages 94c,94d from the inlet 94a of the duct 94. A portion of
the cool air is discharged through the holes 94e of the second passage
94d, while the rest is discharged through the holes 94f of the second
passage 94d and the outlet 94b into the storing compartment 22.
The cool air then circulates in the storing compartment 22 and returns
to the evaporator 31 through the returning duct 52. In the above
circulation, a little of the cool air is also discharged into the
front side of the storing compartment 22 through the holes 91a formed
on the valve member 91 (FIG. 11). Accordingly, the entire storing
compartment 22 is uniformly cooled because the cool air is discharged
from the upper, rear and front portions.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the door 15 is open, the valve member
91 is swung forward by the elastic force of the springs 91 to thereby
open the discharging port 95. Thus, a large portion of the cool
air sent by the fan 32' is discharged through the discharging port
95 to thereby create an air curtain. At this time, the valve member
91 is vertically positioned at the front side of the discharging
port 95 so as to redirect the cool air downward.
As aforementioned, the advantages of a refrigerator according to
this invention lie in the fact that the air curtain devices are
of a simple installation structure, and the installation cost can
be reduced because the air curtain devices are made by utilizing
the existing cool-air circulating duct and fan. |