EP2342511B1 - Household refrigerator and household refrigerator module arrangement - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a household refrigerator with an outside air cooling system according to the preamble of claim 1 and a household refrigerator module assembly according to claim 13.

From the DE 43 28 803 C2 is a generic household refrigerator known, which has at least one cold room. The cooling space is thermally coupled with an outside air circuit for cooling the cooling room air. When the outside air is sufficiently cold, it is introduced into the cold room in a closed flow circuit and from there back into the exterior of the refrigerator housing. As a heat exchanger here is a refrigerator boundary wall of the household refrigerator or an intermediate tube bottom used in the refrigerator. In this way, a heat transfer surface is provided, for example, by means of the cooling space delimiting wall, at which the cooling chamber air can move in natural convection and thereby gradually cool down.

From the DE 43 34 443 A1 is an outdoor air refrigerator is known, which in addition to a conventional closed and operated by a compressor cooling circuit has an additional cooling unit, which is cooled by two pipe leads with the cool outside air. A controller only allows outside air circulation at outside temperatures between 0 and 6 ° C so that the temperature in the cooling unit does not drop below -1 ° C.

DE 10 2006 024 801 A1 discloses a further similar embodiment of a refrigerator cooled with fresh air, in which the accommodation of the condenser of the regular cooling system is arranged by a corresponding wall bushing outside of a building. In addition to the above disadvantages, this results in additional costs for the installation of the cooling system, which is thus out of the question, for example, for rented rooms.

From the patent US 5,743,109 a household refrigerator according to the preamble of claim 1 is known. The document DE 41 14915 A1 discloses an outdoor cooling system that draws cool air from a basement room to provide additional cooling performance. DE 43 00 750 A1 discloses a refrigerator with an outside air cooling system in which the outside air is alternatively or additionally introduced into the cavities provided in the walls of the refrigerator housing. These known solutions also adhere to the abovementioned disadvantages.

From the US Pat. No. 4,619,114 is a building with a memory space to be cooled known. Refrigerated goods can be stored in the storage space for restaurants or goods to be cooled for, for example, vegetable shops. For this purpose, a conventional air / air heat exchanger is used. In the heat exchanger, an outside air circuit is thermally coupled to a refrigerator air circuit. This allows the outside air to be transferred to the cold room air. From the US 5 239 834 A is also a building with a storage space to be cooled, in which a conventional air / air heat exchanger is used. From the DE 25 37 014 A1 is an agriculturally usable storage space known in which the low temperatures of the water of streams or rivers are available.

The object of the invention is to provide an domestic refrigeration appliance with an outside air cooling system with improved operation.

The object of the invention is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims.

According to the circulating in the cooling chamber cooling chamber air is passed through the heat exchanger. In this way, a more intense compared to the prior art heat exchange between the outside air circuit and the refrigerator air circulation is possible. In contrast to the invention, in the generic state of the art, only one cooling space boundary wall is cooled by means of an outside air flow, but the cooling room air is not guided through a heat exchanger. An air duct of the cooling room air and the outside air through the heat exchanger can be done by way of example according to the DC or countercurrent principle.

The heat exchanger is an air / air heat exchanger having an outdoor air chamber associated with the outside air circuit and a cold room air chamber associated with the room air circuit. The fresh air and cold room air circuits can be separated from each other in terms of flow, which excludes the possibility that outside air can enter the cold room.

The fresh air and the cold room air circuit are on the one hand to thermally couple with each other for a favorable cold transfer. On the other hand, the two circuits are to be separated as far as possible from each other in terms of flow, in order to largely avoid direct admission of the cooling space to outside air. Against this background, the heat exchanger can each provide separate inlets and outlets for the cooling room air. In addition, the heat exchanger can additionally provide inlets and outlets for the outside air circulation.

To increase the transfer of cold air from the outside air circuit to the refrigerator air circuit, the circuits may be provided with delivery fans, which increase the flow rates in the outside air circuit and the refrigerator air circuit.

According to the invention, the cooling space is not directly exposed to cool outside air, which may have high humidity. Rather, the outdoor air is transferred via the heat exchanger to the cold room air circulation, with the help of the cooling chamber is cooled. Condensation in the cold room due to direct exposure to outside air can therefore be reduced.

The fresh air and / or the cold room air circuit is provided with an additional cold storage. The cold storage is provided within the switched between fresh air and cold room air circulation heat exchanger. With the help of cold storage, for example, higher daytime temperatures can be bridged. In this case, the outside air circuit can be deactivated while the cold room air circulation is activated while flowing around the still cold cold storage. The cold storage is preferably arranged directly in the flow path of the outside air and / or the cold room air.

In a structurally simple embodiment of the heat exchanger may have a common flow chamber, which is fluidically connected both with the outside air circuit and with the refrigerator air circuit. In the event that additional cold storage are provided in the heat exchanger, they are surrounded by both the outside air and the cold room air directly. In order largely to avoid exposure of the cooling space to outside air, the two outside air and cooling space air circuits can be activated at least partially offset in time from one another. In other words, when the outside air circuit is activated, the cold room air circuit is deactivated so that initially only the cold storage in the heat exchanger is cooled by means of outside air. Subsequently, with the external air circulation circuit deactivated, the cooling-chamber air circulation be activated and the cold is transferred from the cold storage in the refrigerator. As a storage medium for the cold storage, a material is preferably used whose phase change temperature is in the range of the operating temperature of the refrigerator or in the range of outside air temperatures. For example, water can be used as the storage medium.

The outside air cooling system can only be used in cool outdoor temperatures, ie in winter, while it remains out of operation at higher outside temperatures. Against this background, it is advantageous to connect the heat exchanger as a separate module decoupled with the refrigeration device. In summer, the heat exchanger can therefore be solved by the refrigerator a separate module. When the heat exchanger module is decoupled, an additional closing element can close the cold room air inlets and outlets. In this case, the refrigeration device is operated exclusively by means of the refrigerant circuit known per se.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention is obtained if the heat exchanger module of the fresh air cooling system is arranged detachably connected to a belonging to the first cooling system wall of the refrigerator, wherein at the Kühlraumluftübertritt provided by this wall of the refrigerator and the heat exchanger housing into each other airtight intervening nozzle and counter-nozzle can be.

In this way, the outside air cooling system can be separated from the per se conventional refrigerator, so that instead of the heat exchanger housing of the outside air cooling system on the belonging to the first cooling system wall of the refrigerator according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover can be arranged, the one to the at least one channel opening having corresponding closure means.

The above-mentioned refrigerant circuit may be provided in addition to the outside air cooling system. The outside air cooling system can be connected to the outside air through at least one house wall duct, whereby the outside air can be conveyed into and out of the refrigeration appliance by means of the conveyor blower.

The temperature in the cold storage is preferably detectable by means of at least one cold storage temperature sensor.

The cold storage is arranged according to a further preferred embodiment for the accumulation of iced water condensate on its outer surfaces.

It is advantageous if the inside air can be conveyed into and / or out of the inside air chamber of the heat exchanger and at the same time into and / or out of the cooling space of the refrigeration appliance by means of at least one second conveyor blower.

The refrigeration appliance can furthermore be developed advantageously in that in each case a controllable throttle valve is provided in at least one of the channel openings and / or house wall penetrations, with which the associated flow passage can be varied and / or closed. The throttle or flap may be used to close the channel openings when the outdoor air cooling system is not in use during warm periods of the year and / or to control the outside airflow through a variable throttle opening.

It is preferably provided a separate control device of the fresh air cooling system, which detects the temperature of the outside air using an outside temperature sensor and the temperature of the cold storage using a cold storage temperature sensor and evaluates.

The cooling chamber air temperature can be regulated by means of a further control device. For this purpose, a cold room sensor is arranged in the cold room. If the detected refrigerator compartment temperature exceeds a setpoint, the compressor of the refrigerant circuit is put into operation until the detected refrigerator compartment temperature falls below the setpoint. By connecting the fresh air cooling system, additional cold can be introduced into the cold room, whereby the service life of the compressor can be increased while saving energy.

The outside air cooling system can be activated by means of a control device which detects the outside air temperature. If, for example, the temperature in the winter drops to -5 ° C at night, the outside air circulation is activated, which causes the cold outside air to flow through Heat exchanger flows. As a result, the heat exchanger temperature drops below 0 ° C and is activated by means of the control device of the refrigerator air circuit. In this way, the cold room air is cooled. Likewise, the storage medium, such as water, is cooled until it gradually freezes. When the outside temperature rises to 5 ° C during the daytime, for example, the controller deactivates the outside air circuit. In contrast, the refrigerator air circuit remains activated until the frozen storage medium has melted.

In the following, two embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the attached figures.

Fig. 1

in einer schematischen Darstellung eine prinzipielle Anordnung eines Kältegerätes gemäß einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel;

Fig. 2

in einer schematischen Darstellung eine prinzipielle Anordnung eines Kältegerätes gemäß einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel; und

Fig. 3

in einer schematischen Darstellung eine prinzipielle Anordnung eines Kältegerätes gemäß dem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel in einer Explosionsansicht.

Show it:

Fig. 1

in a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment;

Fig. 2

in a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment; and

Fig. 3

in a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigeration device according to the second embodiment in an exploded view.

In the Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigeration device 1 according to a first embodiment shown.

The refrigeration device 1 has a cooling space 102 for refrigerated goods and a control device 107, 205. Furthermore, it is equipped with a first and a second cooling system 10 and 20, wherein the first cooling system 10 is a closed coolant circuit 108 and the second cooling system 20 is an outside air cooling system 20 operating by a temperature-controlled supply of cool outside air, which is penetrated by at least one house wall duct 215 and / or or 216 is connected to the outside air 219. The outside air 219 can be conveyed into and out of the refrigerator 1 by means of a delivery blower 211.

The refrigerant circuit has a compressor 109, an evaporator 105, a condenser 106 and an expansion valve 104, and a control device 107, which regulates the compressor 106 in response to the refrigerator space temperature Tn detected by a refrigerator temperature sensor 101 to a predetermined setpoint temperature Ts. With a desired temperature sensor, not shown, a user can select the setpoint temperature Ts in a temperature range in the order of about 5 ° C.

The outside air cooling system 20 has a cold storage 208 in which a cooling medium of a predetermined mass and volume is cooled by the cooler outside air to a temperature which is lower than the temperature in the cooling space. As a result, the cold stored in the cold storage 208 so cold even then used for cooling the inside air in the refrigerator, when the outside air temperature has become temporarily higher. The cold can be stored during a cooler night and then used during the day in warm temperatures to bridge the warm phase. As a result, the cooling readiness of the outside air cooling system according to the invention also expands to warm times of the day, so that additional energy can be saved by keeping the operation of the conventional first cooling system 10 idle for longer. By specifying the mass or the volume of the cold accumulator 208, it is possible to form this bridging ability of the outside air cooling system 20 to a desired extent.

The cold storage 208 preferably has a cavity which is filled with a cooling medium. The cooling medium is for example water. This allows cooling to 0 ° C and further cooling of the frozen ice to an underlying temperature. Furthermore, in further embodiments, the coolant may be formed from a gel customary in refrigeration or by a solid metal element.

The outside air cooling system 20 is associated with an outside air circuit I, in which by means of the conveyor blower 211 cool outside air B flows into the outside air chamber 207 of the heat exchanger housing 210 and is discharged via the pipe 212 again. In addition to the outside air circuit I, a cooling space air circuit II is provided, which conducts cooling air C into a cooling space air chamber 206 of the heat exchanger housing 210 by means of a delivery blower 218 and returns the cooling room air into the cooling space via an outlet 201.

In the heat exchanger housing 210 of the outside air cooling system 20, a heat exchanger with the cold storage 208 described above is set up.

The partition 209 of the heat exchanger separates according to the Fig. 1 the cold room air chamber 206 and the outer air chamber 207 hermetically from each other, so that the outside air can not enter directly into the cooling chamber 102.

The outside air chamber 207 is connected in the outside air circuit I and can be flowed through by the cool outside air. For this purpose, detects an additional, provided for the outdoor air cooling system 20 control means 205 using an outside temperature sensor 214, the outside air temperature Ta. When the outside air temperature Ta has dropped below a predetermined limit temperature Tg, for example, 6 ° C, the controller 205 turns on the conveyor fan 211 and opens a in a the controllable throttle valve 217 arranged in the pipe feed lines 212, so that the cool outside air B and the exhausted air A are fed into and out of the outside air chamber 207. For this purpose, the outside air cooling system 20 with the pipes 212 through house wall duct 215, 216 is performed. At least in the suction house wall duct, an unillustrated filter may be installed to prevent clogging of the outside air chamber 207 by dust and insects.

The cooling chamber air chamber 206 of the heat exchanger 210 is also flowed through by its own cooling air circuit, that is, the cooling space air circuit II, with the cool interior air. For this purpose, the control device 205 of the outside air cooling system 20 detects the cold storage temperature Tk with the aid of a cold storage temperature sensor 204. The cold storage temperature sensor 204 is arranged here merely by way of example directly on the illustrated cold storage 208 and can be arranged in the cooling space air chamber 206 in further embodiments on the partition wall 209.

When the detected cold storage temperature Tk drops below the refrigerator room temperature Tn, the controller 205 starts the inner air cooling circuit II. For this purpose, the control device 205 of the outside air cooling system 20 according to Fig. 1 by way of example with the control device 107 of the first cooling system 10 via a signal line 30. Via this signal line 30, the control device 205 receives the measurement signal of the refrigerator temperature sensor 101, whereby an additional temperature sensor can be omitted. FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigerator 1 according to a second embodiment.

In the following, repeated parts of the description are omitted in the sense of a simplifying and manageable presentation, so that the difference to the previous embodiment can be treated superficially.

Unlike in FIG. 1 described embodiment, this has a heat exchanger 210, in which the outer air chamber 207 and the inner air chamber 206 together form a common flow chamber, whereby the heat exchanger is structurally simple to produce. The cold storage 208 is in this case composed of a plurality of individual cold storage cells 208n, which are flowed around by both the outside air and the inside air.

The controller 205 also controls this refrigerator 1 as below FIG. 1 described. In addition, everything else applies to the design below FIG. 1 Said for the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a basic arrangement of a refrigeration device 1 according to the second embodiment FIG. 2 in an exploded view.

In the Fig. 3 For example, the outside air cooling system 20 is attachable to a conventional cooling system 10 as a separate module. In this way, it can be retrofitted into existing refrigerators and offered as a selectable option for new appliances.

The heat exchanger 210 is preferably as shown in FIG Fig. 3 shown, above the conventional refrigerator 103 growable. For this purpose, the heat exchanger housing 210 has at its lower side via two nozzles 220 and 221, which form the channel openings 201 and 202. These two stubs 220 and 221 can be attached airtight on the inside corresponding to the upper side of the refrigerator 103 arranged counter-nozzles 225 and 226, so that at the same time an alignment and an air seal takes place. The airtightness can be realized for example by means of seals.

When the heat exchanger 210 is dismantled as shown, a cover 222 serves to close the then open openings of the counterparts 225 and 226. For this purpose, the cover 222 has on its underside two blind openings 223 and 224 which correspond to the counter stubs 225 and 226. The cover 222 also has a smooth upper side, allowing it to be used as a practical overlay.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

The refrigerator

10

first cooling system

101

Refrigerator temperature sensor

102

refrigerator

103

fridge

104

expansion valve

105

Evaporator

106

capacitor

107

control device

108

closed refrigerant circuit

109

compressor

20

second cooling system, outside air cooling system

201, 202

channel opening

203

control line

204

Cold storage temperature sensor

205

control device

206

Refrigerator air chamber

207

Outside air chamber

208

cold storage

209

partition wall

210

Heat exchanger housing, heat exchanger

211

fan

212

pipeline

213

outer wall

214

Outside temperature sensor

215,216

House panel feed-through

217

throttle

218

fan

219

outside air

220,221

Support

222

cover

223, 224

Blind bore, closure means

225, 226

counter socket

30

signal line

A

used air

B

cool outside air

C

indoor air to be cooled

D

cooled indoor air

Ta

Outside air temperature

Tg

limit temperature

tk

Temperature of the cold storage

Tn

Cool room temperature

ts

set temperature

I

Cooling air circulation

II

External air circuit

Claims (14)

1. Domestic refrigerating appliance, with at least one cooling space (102), which for cooling the cooling space air is thermally coupled by way of an ambient air circuit (I) with cooler ambient air, characterised in that the ambient air circuit (I) is connected, with interposition of a heat exchanger (210), with a cooling space air circuit (II) by means of which the coldness of the ambient air is transferrable to the cooling space air, the cooling space air circulating in the cooling space air circuit (II) is conducted through the heat exchanger (210) and, for bridging over higher day temperatures, at least one coldness store (208), by which the ambient air circuit (I) is deactivatable whilst the cooling space air circuit (II) remains activated under flowing around of the still cold coldness store (208), is provided within the heat exchanger (210).
2. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the heat exchanger (210) is connectible with the cooling space (102) by a cooling space air inlet (201) and cooling space air outlet (202) and is connectible with the environment by an ambient air inlet and ambient air outlet (212).
3. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that an air conveying fan (211, 218) is associated with the ambient air circuit (I) and/or the cooling space air circuit (II).
4. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heat exchanger (210) has an ambient air chamber (207) associated with the ambient air circuit (I) and a cooling space air chamber (206) associated with the cooling space air circuit (II).
5. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ambient air circuit (I) and the cooling space circuit (II) are separated from one another in terms of flow.
6. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the heat exchanger (210) has a common flow chamber connected not only with the ambient air circuit (I), but also with the cooling space air circuit (II) in terms of flow.
7. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterised in that the coldness store (208) comprises a material, the phase change temperature of which lies in the region of the refrigerating appliance operating temperatures or the ambient air temperatures.
8. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heat exchanger (210) is connected with the refrigerating appliance to be decouplable as a separate module.
9. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to claim 8, characterised in that a closure element (222), by which cooling space air inlets and outlets (225, 226) of the cooling space (210) are closable when the heat exchanger module is decoupled, is associated with the refrigerating appliance.
10. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a control device (205) is provided, which in the case of an ambient air temperature (Ta) smaller than a predetermined limit temperature (Tg) activates the ambient air circuit and/or the cooling air circuit, in particular switches on the conveying fan (211, 218).
11. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to claim 10, characterised in that the control device (205) activates the ambient air circuit (I) when the ambient air temperature (Ta) is lower than a phase conversion temperature of the coldness store (208) and/or activates the cooling space air circuit (II) when the coldness store temperature is lower than the cooling space temperature (Tn).
12. Domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that an evaporator (105) of a refrigerant circuit (108), by which the cooling space (102) is coolable to a predetermined target cooling space temperature (Ts), is associated with the cooling space (102).
13. Domestic refrigerating appliance module arrangement with a domestic refrigerating appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the heat exchanger (210) is couplable with the domestic refrigerating appliance to be removable as a separate module.
14. Domestic refrigerating appliance module arrangement according to claim 13, characterised in that a closure element (222) is provided, by which air inlets and outlets (201, 202) between the cooling space (102) and the heat exchanger (210) are closable when the heat exchanger module is decoupled.

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