CH714956A2 - Cooling unit with opposite air flow. - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator comprises a work space (2a, 2b), a heat pump with an evaporator (8), a cooling air duct (7), a first fan (6a) and a second fan (6b) to convey air in the cooling air duct (7). The first fan (6a), the second fan (6b) and the cooling air duct (7) are arranged and configured such that the first fan (6a) and the second fan (6b) convey air in the cooling air duct (7) in the opposite direction.

Description

Description Field of the Invention The invention relates to a cooling device, in particular a refrigerator, with a usable space, a heat pump with an evaporator, a cooling air duct and a first and a second fan in order to convey air in the cooling air duct.

Background WO 02/081 987 shows a refrigerator with a refrigerator and a freezer compartment and two fans, the first fan being arranged in the immediate vicinity of the evaporator in order to convey the cooled air into the usable space. The second fan is located in the lower area of the cooling unit at the rear of the work space in order to improve the circulation of the air in the work space. This ensures a more even temperature distribution within the usable space.

JP 2006 300 346 shows a cooling device with a plurality of compartments and with a cooling air duct arranged behind the compartments, in which an evaporator is arranged. A fan is arranged at all access openings through which air flows from the cooling air duct into the individual compartments. This allows the temperature in each compartment to be set individually and precisely.

DE 20 2005 005 940 shows a cooling device with a single fan, the access openings in the usable space being able to be opened or closed by means of a sliding plate in order to optimally set the temperature in the individual compartments.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION The object is to provide a cooling device with an improved air duct.

[0006] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims.

[0007] Accordingly, the cooling device comprises at least the following elements:

- A usable space: This is used to store the refrigerated goods. In particular, this can be food. However, other objects can also be cooled, e.g. Medicines, medical samples, chemicals, etc.

- A heat pump with one evaporator: the evaporator can be the only evaporator, or at least a second evaporator can also be provided.

- A cooling air duct: a duct through which air is transported into and out of the usable space. No refrigerated goods can be arranged by the user within the cooling air duct. The evaporator is preferably arranged within the cooling air duct.

- A first fan and a second fan to convey air in the cooling air duct.

The first fan, the second fan and the cooling air duct are arranged and designed such that the first fan and the second fan promote air in the cooling air duct in the opposite direction.

This air flow has the advantage that the air is distributed as evenly as possible within the usable space and the temperature within the usable space can be controlled as precisely as possible. Furthermore, ice formation in the fans can be prevented as well as possible.

In a particular embodiment, the first fan, the second fan and the cooling air duct are arranged and designed in such a way that the first fan and the second fan direct the air in the cooling air duct in a coherent, in particular straight, in particular vertically extending, duct section in opposite directions Promote direction.

This is to make it clear that a cooling device can comprise several cooling air channels, but the opposite air flow takes place in a single coherent cooling air channel.

In particular, the air is promoted in such a way that the air conveyed by the first fan and the air conveyed by the second fan collide head-on in the cooling air duct.

This results in an at least slight mixing of the air delivered by the first fan with the air delivered by the second fan within the cooling air duct. The collision of the air has an air-conducting effect and in particular a mixing of air cooled with the evaporator and air drawn in from the usable space can be achieved, so that by controlling the first and the second fan by bringing together cold air originating from the evaporator and warmer , air from the usable space can be flowed into the usable space in a specifically temperature-controlled manner.

Advantageously, the cooling air duct is arranged behind the usable space and the cooling air duct runs essentially vertically.

CH 714 956 A2 "behind" is to be viewed from the usual perspective of a user of a cooling device. In the case of a refrigerator in particular, the door forms the front. The useful space is arranged behind the door and the cooling air duct is arranged behind the useful space, in particular on the rear of the cooling device.

In particular, the first fan, the second fan and the cooling air duct are arranged such that the first fan promotes the air in the cooling air duct from top to bottom and the second fan the air in the cooling air duct from bottom to top.

Advantageously, the first fan and / or the second fan are arranged such that they suck air from the usable space, and in particular

- blow air into the cooling air duct,

- convey air from front to back, and / or

- Are designed as axial or radial fans.

The suction of air from the usable space has the advantage that the air flowing through the fan is relatively warm and ice formation on the fan can therefore be prevented.

In a particular embodiment, the usable space comprises a first and a second compartment, in particular wherein the second compartment is a cold storage compartment and / or the second compartment is arranged below the first compartment and / or the first compartment and the second compartment by a horizontal one Partition are separated from each other.

A «cold storage compartment» is a compartment in which temperatures of approx. -2 ° C and +3 ° C are kept. The partition wall can completely separate the compartments from one another or also have a passage through which air can flow from the first compartment into the second compartment or from the second compartment into the first compartment.

The first fan is advantageously arranged behind the first compartment and the second fan behind the second compartment, in particular with the second fan being arranged below the horizontal partition.

In particular, the evaporator extends both at least partially along the first and at least partially along the second compartment.

An air guide element can be arranged directly above the second fan and the first fan and the second fan can be arranged such that the air flows from the back to the front above the air guide element.

In a particular embodiment, the second fan is comprised of a sleeve which has a plurality of holes, in particular more than ten holes, which are distributed in particular over all fan sides, and the sleeve is fastened in the cooling device.

The arrangement of the second fan in a colder area of the cooling device has the problem that the moisture in the cooling air condenses on the sleeve in which the second fan is fixed. Due to the arrangement of holes in the sleeve, part of the cooling air flows back through the holes of the sleeve after flowing through the fan. This slightly reduces the efficiency of the fan, but prevents the formation of condensate on the sleeve, because the sleeve does not cool down as much due to the air flow through the holes, but has approximately the temperature of the cooling air. The arrangement of holes in the cuff also reduces the vibrations of the second fan and thus the noise level.

[0026] The cuff is advantageously a plastic injection molded part. In particular, it has a wall thickness of at most 3 mm, in particular at most 2 mm, in particular at most 1 mir., In particular at most 0.5 mm, and / or a wall thickness of at least 1 mm, in particular at least 3 mm, in particular at least 5 mm.

A thin wall thickness has the advantage that the second fan and the sleeve keep the vibrations low. The holes of the cuff can have a size of 2 to 3 mm in diameter.

In a particular embodiment, the usable space comprises a first and a second compartment, the second compartment having a cooler temperature than the first compartment and the second compartment being arranged below the first compartment. The evaporator comprises a coherent coolant line, which runs over the height of the first and the second compartment and has several sections. A first section of the coolant line is the uppermost section of the coolant line and is arranged at the level of an upper region of the first compartment, and / or the coolant line runs essentially from top to bottom at the level of the first compartment.

By arranging the first section at the height of the first compartment, the first compartment can be cooled as quickly as possible, because the coolant in the first section can absorb a relatively large amount of energy. At the same time, it prevents the upper area of the first compartment from becoming too warm. The course of the coolant line at the height of the first compartment from top to bottom has the advantage that the upper area of the first compartment does not become too warm.

Advantageously, the first section of the coolant line at the level of the first compartment, the second section of the coolant line at the level of the second compartment, and the third section in turn at the level of the first compartment, in particular with the third section from top to bottom runs.

The first, the second and the third section are arranged in succession in the order indicated.

CH 714 956 A2 [0033] In particular, the first, the second and the third section can be arranged directly one behind the other or further sections can be arranged between these sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further refinements, advantages and applications of the invention result from the dependent claims and from the following description with reference to the figures. Show:

1 shows a refrigerator with a refrigerator compartment, cold storage compartment and freezer compartment;

2 shows a schematic sketch of a cooling device with air guidance in a first variant;

3 shows a schematic sketch of a cooling device with air guidance in a second variant;

Fig. 4 shows a fan held by a cuff; and

5 shows a schematic drawing of an evaporator.

WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION FIG. 1 shows a cooling device in the form of a refrigerator with a housing 1 and a usable space 2, which is divided into a cooling compartment 2a, a cold storage compartment 2b and a freezer compartment 2c.

The device can e.g. be designed to maintain a temperature greater than 0 ° C and less than 10 ° C in the refrigerator compartment, a temperature greater than -2 ° C and less than 3 ° C in the cold storage compartment and a temperature less than -18 ° C in the freezer compartment. However, other temperature ranges are conceivable.

In the present embodiment, two separate doors 3a, 3b are provided, but the use of a common door is also conceivable.

The three useful spaces 2a, 2b and 2c are advantageously arranged vertically one above the other.

2 shows a cooling device in the form of a refrigerator with a housing 1 and the two compartments 2a and 2b. Compartment 2a is a cooling compartment and compartment 2b is a cold storage compartment. The cooling compartment 2a is divided into several compartments by means of three trays 4. The cold storage compartment 2b is divided into two compartments by means of drawers 5a and 5b. Furthermore, the refrigerator on the front side comprises a door 3, a first fan 6a, a second fan 6b, a cooling air duct 7 running along the rear of the refrigerator and an evaporator 8 which is arranged in the cooling air duct 7.

The air circulation within the refrigerator is to be illustrated below. In FIG. 2, the flow of the cooling air within the refrigerator is represented by arrows.

The first fan 6a is arranged in the upper region of the cooling air duct 7. It sucks air from the cooling compartment 2a and conveys it downward in the cooling air duct 7. When flowing through the cooling air channel 7, the air is cooled by the evaporator 8 arranged on the rear of the refrigerator. Four oblique arrows 9 illustrate openings on the rear wall 10 of the cooling compartment 2a, through which cooled air flows from the cooling air duct 7 into the different compartments of the cooling compartment 2a. Further cooled air flows downward in the cooling air duct 7 in the direction of the cold storage compartment 2b.

Within the cold storage compartment 2b, the air flow is significantly influenced by the second fan 6b. The second fan 6b sucks air from the cold storage compartment 2b into the cooling air duct 7 from the front to the rear. Sucking in air from the cold storage compartment 2b has the advantage that relatively warm air flows through the second fan 6b and therefore the risk of ice formation in the second fan 6b can be reduced.

The warm air blown into the cooling air duct 7 by the second fan 6b flows upward in the cooling air duct 7 and impinges in a mixing zone 11 on the cold air flowing down from above and cooled by the evaporator 8. A mixture of warm and cold air then flows above the upper drawer 5a and between the two drawers 5a and 5b within the cold storage compartment from the back to the front. By changing the power ratio between the first fan 6a and the second fan 6b, the temperature and the homogeneity of the temperature distribution within the cold storage compartment 2b can be controlled in a targeted manner.

A portion of the air circulating within the cold storage compartment 2b flows on the front side of the partition wall 12, which separates the cooling compartment 2a and the cold storage compartment 2b, upward into the cooling compartment 2a and finally back to the first fan 6a.

An air guiding element 13 is arranged above the second fan 6b, which ensures that the air flowing under the lower drawer 5b from front to back flows through the second fan 6b into the cooling air duct 7. Above the air guide element 13, the air flows from the cooling air duct 7 from the back to the front between the drawers 5a and 5b.

CH 714 956 A2 [0046] FIG. 3 shows a refrigerator which has a different air flow compared to the refrigerator shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, there is less mixing of cooling air from the cooling compartment 2a and the cold storage compartment 2b. However, the mixing again takes place within the cooling air duct 7.

Structurally, there is a difference in that the partition 12 is pulled all the way to the front within the usable space and thus lies flush against the door 3. When the door 3 is closed, therefore, no air flows on the front side of the partition wall 12 between the cooling compartment 2a and the cold storage compartment 2b. An almost independent air circulation thus takes place in the cooling compartment 2a and in the cold storage compartment 2b. Only in the mixing zone 11 in the cooling air duct 7 does air impact, which is conveyed by the first fan 6a in the cooling air duct 7 from top to bottom, on air which is conveyed by the second fan 6b in the cooling air duct 7 from bottom to top. The mixing of air from the cooling compartment 2a and the cold storage compartment 2b is comparatively low. "No air" does not rule out the fact that air flows slightly due to leaks.

So that the air circulating in the cold storage compartment 2b is cooled, the evaporator 8 is pulled further downward at the rear in comparison to the refrigerator according to FIG. 2. Below the lower drawer 5b, air flows from the front to the rear to the second fan 6b. This blows the air into the cooling air channel 7, in which the air flows from the bottom up and flows between the partition 12 and the upper drawer 5a from the back to the front inside the cold storage compartment 2b, so that the air circuit within the cold storage compartment 2b is closed.

4 shows a detailed view of the second fan 6b. The view is towards the front of the fan, i.e. the cooling air flows from the front to the rear. The second fan 6b is surrounded by a sleeve 14. The sleeve 14 is attached to an internal structure 16 of the refrigerator. The sleeve 14 is an injection molded part, which is designed to be as thin as possible so that the fan is held elastically on the internal structure of the cooling device and thus only a little noise is generated.

The sleeve 14 has a plurality of holes 15. In the present case, the holes 15 have a diameter of 2 to 3 mm and are distributed over the entire sleeve 14 on all four sides of the fan. After flowing through the fan, part of the cooling air flows back through the holes 15. This slightly reduces the efficiency of the second fan 6b, but has the consequence that the sleeve has a similar temperature to the flowing cooling air and therefore the moisture in the cooling air at the Cuff not condensed.

5 shows the evaporator 8 schematically outlined from its front side. The evaporator 8 comprises a coherent coolant line in which the coolant evaporates. The coolant line extends in the vertical direction both over the first cooling compartment 2a and over the cold storage compartment 2b.

[0052] The coolant line comprises a first section 8a, a second section 8b and a third section 8c. The direction of flow of the coolant within the coolant line is shown with arrows. The first section 8a is the top section of the coolant line. Its arrangement prevents the upper area of the cooling compartment 2a from not heating up too much and being able to be cooled as quickly as possible when the compressor is switched on. The first section 8a is arranged at the level of the upper region of the cooling compartment 2a.

The second section 8b of the coolant line is arranged at the level of the cold storage compartment 2b.

The third section 8c runs at the level of the cooling compartment 2a. In this case, the coolant line runs from top to bottom and emerges from the evaporator in the lower region of the cooling compartment 2a. This course has the advantage that the upper area of the cooling compartment 2a does not heat up too much.

While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the present application, it should be clearly pointed out that the invention is not limited to these and can also be carried out in other ways within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (14)

claims 1.Complete cooling unit - a usable space (2a, 2b), - a heat pump with an evaporator (8), - a cooling air duct (7), - A first fan (6a) and a second fan (6b) to convey air in the cooling air duct (7), characterized in that the first fan (6a), the second fan (6b) and the cooling air duct (7) are arranged in this way and are configured such that the first fan (6a) and the second fan (6b) convey air in the cooling air duct (7) in the opposite direction. 2. Cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the usable space (2a, 2b) comprises a first (2a) and a second (2b) compartment, in particular wherein - The second compartment (2b) is a cold storage compartment and / or - The second compartment (2b) is arranged below the first compartment (2a) and / or - The first compartment (2a) and the second compartment (2b) are separated from each other by a horizontal partition (12). CH 714 956 A2 3. Cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the first fan (6a) behind the first compartment (2a) and the second fan (6b) behind the second compartment (2b) are arranged, in particular wherein the second fan (6b) below the horizontal partition (12) is arranged. 4. Cooling device according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the evaporator (8) is arranged in the cooling air duct (2) and / or the evaporator (8) both along the first (2a) and the second (2b) compartment at least partially extends. 5. Cooling device according to claim 2 or 3 and according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling device has a door (3) and the horizontal partition (12) extends to the door (3), such that no air between the door (3 ) and the horizontal partition (12) flows. 6. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first fan (6a), the second fan (6b) and the cooling air duct (7) are arranged and designed such that the first fan (6a) and the second fan (6b) Convey air in the cooling air duct (7) in a coherent, in particular straight, in particular vertically extending duct section in the opposite direction. 7. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling air duct (7) is arranged behind the usable space (2) and extends essentially vertically. 8. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first fan (6a), the second fan (6b) and the cooling air duct (7) are arranged and designed such that the first fan (6a) the air in the cooling air duct (7) from top down and the second fan (6b) convey the air in the cooling air duct from bottom to top. 9. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first fan (6a) and / or the second fan (6b) are arranged such that they suck air from the usable space (2), and in particular - blow air into the cooling air duct (7), - convey air from front to back, and / or - Are designed as axial or radial fans. 10. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an air guide element (13) is arranged directly above the second fan (6b) and the first fan (6a) and the second fan (6b) are arranged such that the air above the air guide element ( 13) flows from the back to the front. 11. Cooling device, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a fan, in particular a second fan, characterized in that the second fan (6b) is surrounded by a sleeve which has a plurality of holes, in particular more than five, in particular more than has ten holes, which are distributed in particular over all fan sides, and that the sleeve is fastened in the cooling device. 12. A refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the sleeve is a plastic injection molded part, which in particular has a wall thickness of at most 3 mm, in particular at most 2 mm, in particular at most 1 mm, in particular at most 0.5 mm, and / or has a wall thickness of at least 1 mm, in particular at least 3 mm, in particular at least 5 mm, - And / or has a wall thickness which is so small that the cuff vibrates due to an air flow customary in the device. 13. Cooling device, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, 'wherein a usable space (2a, 2b) comprises a first (2a) and a second (2b) compartment, the second compartment (2b) having a cooler temperature than the first compartment (2a ), and in particular the second compartment (2b) is arranged below the first compartment (2a), the evaporator (8) having a coherent coolant line which has several sections and extends over the height of the first and second compartments, characterized in that that a first section of the coolant line is the uppermost section of the evaporator (8) and is arranged at the level of an upper region of the first compartment (2a), and / or the coolant line at the level of the first compartment (2a) essentially from above runs below. 14. The cooling device according to claim 13, wherein the first section of the coolant line runs at the level of the first compartment (2a), the second section of the coolant line runs at the level of the second compartment (2b), and the third section of the coolant line runs at the level of the first compartment (2a), in particular with the third section running from top to bottom. CH 714 956 A2

CH 714 956 A2

CH 714 956 A2

CH 714 956 A2