JP7551004B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator having vacuum insulation.

Some refrigerators have a storage compartment that is set to a higher temperature than the surrounding compartments (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that is provided with a refrigerator compartment, an ice-making compartment, a vegetable compartment, and a freezer compartment, from top to bottom. When comparing the number of times the doors of the vegetable compartment and the freezer compartment are opened and closed or the time the doors are open, the vegetable compartment generally opens and closes more frequently and for a longer time, although there are individual differences. Therefore, Patent Document 1 aims to improve the convenience of the refrigerator by arranging the vegetable compartment above the freezer compartment. However, in such a refrigerator, the ice-making compartment and the freezer compartment, which are spaces in the negative temperature range, are provided above and below the vegetable compartment, which is a space in the positive temperature range, so the cooler is arranged behind the vegetable compartment and cools the spaces above and below the vegetable compartment to the negative temperature range. In the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the vegetable compartment from being overcooled, a vacuum insulation material with higher insulation performance (i.e., a smaller heat transfer coefficient) than foam insulation material is provided on the rear wall of the vegetable compartment. In addition, the refrigerator of Patent Document 1 has a plurality of air passages that connect the cooling chamber in which the cooling device is arranged and storage chambers such as a vegetable chamber, and cold air circulates through these air passages inside the refrigerator, and the cold air cools the stored items in each storage chamber. In the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, a vacuum insulation material is provided on the rear wall of the vegetable chamber except for the left and right ends, and the entire cooling device is covered with the vacuum insulation material when viewed from the front.

International Publication No. 2018/13115

The refrigerator of Patent Document 1 is provided with a return air duct for cold air that connects the vegetable compartment and the cooler compartment, and the cold air heated in the vegetable compartment returns to the cooler compartment through the return air duct and is cooled again by the cooler. For this reason, the outlet of the return air duct on the cooler compartment side is arranged so that the cold air returning to the cooler compartment passes through the cooler. In the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, the inlet of the return air duct is provided next to the vacuum insulation material that is provided to cover the entire cooler when viewed from the front. Therefore, in the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, when the outlet of the return air duct is arranged so that the cold air passes through the cooler, the return air duct is provided extending laterally from the inlet to the cooler when viewed from the front. In this case, the part of the return air duct that overlaps with the vacuum insulation material when viewed from the front is arranged behind the vacuum insulation material so as to bypass the vacuum insulation material, and the shape of the return air duct becomes complex, and it is necessary to secure a space for providing a return air duct behind the vacuum insulation material in the rear wall of the vegetable compartment. Therefore, in the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, if a return air duct is provided so that the cold air returned from the vegetable compartment to the cooler compartment passes through the cooler, the thickness of the rear wall of the vegetable compartment becomes thicker, reducing storage space.

The present disclosure is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a refrigerator that has a return air duct that returns cold air through the cooler without reducing storage space.

The refrigerator according to the present disclosure comprises an insulated box having an opening on the front covered by a door and having a plurality of storage chambers formed therein, and inside the insulated box are provided a first storage chamber which is set to a higher temperature than the other adjacent storage chambers and which stores stored items, a cooler chamber which is provided behind the first storage chamber and in which a cooler is arranged, a first vacuum insulation material which is provided between the first storage chamber and the cooler chamber, and a return air duct which connects the first storage chamber and the cooler chamber and through which cold air returning to the cooler chamber circulates, and when the insulated box is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so as to overlap a portion of the cooler, and the return air duct is provided adjacent to the first vacuum insulation material so as not to overlap with the first vacuum insulation material and to overlap with the cooler.

In the refrigerator according to the present disclosure, when the insulated box is viewed from the front, the return air duct does not overlap with the first vacuum insulation material, so there is no need for space to provide a return air duct behind the vacuum insulation material, and it is possible to avoid a reduction in storage space in the first storage chamber. In addition, in the refrigerator according to the present disclosure, when the insulated box is viewed from the front, the return air duct is provided adjacent to the first vacuum insulation material so as to overlap with the cooler, and the cold air outlet in the return air duct is located in a position overlapping with the cooler or below the cooler, so that a return air duct that returns cold air to pass through the cooler can be provided without extending the return air duct laterally as in the conventional refrigerator. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, a return air duct that returns cold air to pass through the cooler can be provided without reducing storage space.

1 is an external oblique view showing a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a front schematic view showing the inside of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a longitudinal section of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 in the front-rear direction. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator of FIG. 1. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a part of a wall of the insulating box of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a part of a wall portion of a left side surface portion of the insulating box of the refrigerator of FIG. 1 . FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a cross section of a part of the wall of the heat-insulating box of FIG. 5 . FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a cross section of a part of the wall of the heat-insulating box of FIG. 5 . FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a longitudinal cross section of the vegetable compartment and its surroundings in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 in the front-rear direction. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross section of another example of the ceiling wall portion in the vegetable room of FIG. 9 . FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross section of another example of the ceiling wall portion in the vegetable room of FIG. 9 . FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion of FIG. 9 . FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion of FIG. 9 . 3 is a schematic diagram showing the XX cross section of the refrigerator in FIG. 2. 3 is a schematic front view showing the lower part of the refrigerator in FIG. 2. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the AA cross section of the refrigerator in FIG. 2. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a blow-out air duct for cool air to a freezing compartment and a return air duct for cool air from the freezing compartment in FIG. 16. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the BB cross section of the refrigerator in FIG. 2. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a return air duct of cool air from the vegetable compartment in FIG. 18. FIG. FIG. 4 is a front schematic view showing a cooler of the refrigerator of FIG. 3 . FIG. 21 is a front perspective view of the cooler of FIG. 20. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the T-T cross section of the refrigerator in FIG. 2. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a return air duct for cool air from the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator of FIG. 22 . FIG. 3 is a front schematic view showing another example of the refrigerator of FIG. 2 . FIG. 25 is a front schematic view of the refrigerator in FIG. 24. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a vacuum insulation material in a wall portion constituting a vegetable compartment of the refrigerator of FIG. 1. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing the vacuum insulation material in the wall portion constituting the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator in FIG. 26 from the rear. FIG. FIG. 16 is a partial schematic view of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator of FIG. 15 . A schematic front view of a refrigerator according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. A schematic diagram showing the CC cross section of the refrigerator in Figure 29.

Below, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same or equivalent parts, and this is common throughout the entire specification. Furthermore, the forms of the components shown in the entire specification are merely examples, and are not limited to these descriptions.

Embodiment 1.
Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing a refrigerator 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a front schematic view showing the interior of the refrigerator 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an explanatory view showing a longitudinal cross section in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator of Fig. 1. The schematic configuration of refrigerator 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.

1, the refrigerator 1 includes a heat-insulating box 19, and as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of storage compartments are provided inside the heat-insulating box 19. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the heat-insulating box 19 has a vertically long rectangular shape. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the heat-insulating box 19 includes a refrigerator compartment 2, an ice-making compartment 3, a temperature-switchable compartment 4, a freezer compartment 6, and a vegetable compartment 5, which are arranged in the order of the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice-making compartment 3, the temperature-switchable compartment 4, the vegetable compartment 5, and the freezer compartment 6 from the top. The ice-making compartment 3 and the temperature-switchable compartment 4 are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, with the temperature-switchable compartment 4 on the left side and the ice-making compartment 3 on the right side of the temperature-switchable compartment 4. In addition, a partition is provided inside the heat-insulating box 19 to separate the storage compartments. The number of storage compartments, the types of storage compartments, i.e., the set temperatures, and the arrangement of the storage compartments of the refrigerator 1 are not limited to those described above. For example, refrigerator 1 may have a chilled compartment (a storage compartment with a set temperature of, for example, 0 to 3° C.). Also, temperature switchable compartment 4 may be located on the right side, and ice-making compartment 3 may be located on the left side of temperature switchable compartment 4.

As shown in Figure 2, the insulated box 19 has a top surface 19a, a bottom surface 19b, a right side surface 19c, a left side surface 19d and a back surface 19f (see Figure 3), and the front surface of the insulated box 19 is open. As shown in Figure 1, the refrigerator 1 has doors 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a and 6a for opening and closing each storage compartment. In the example shown in Figures 2 and 3, the top surface 19a of the insulated box 19 forms the ceiling wall of the uppermost refrigerator compartment 2, and the bottom surface 19b of the insulated box 19 forms the bottom wall of the lowermost freezer compartment 6. In addition, in the example shown in Figures 2 and 3, the left side surface portion 19d of the insulated box body 19 forms the left side wall portions of the refrigerator compartment 2, the temperature switchable compartment 4, the vegetable compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 6, and the right side surface portion 19c of the insulated box body 19 forms the right side wall portions of the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making compartment 3, the vegetable compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 includes a cooler 14 for cooling a plurality of storage compartments. As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerant circuit 7 including the cooler 14. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerant circuit 7 includes a compressor 8 for compressing the refrigerant, an air-cooled condenser 9 for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the surrounding air, a condenser 10 provided in the wall of the insulated box 19, a dew prevention pipe 11, a dryer 12 for removing moisture and foreign matter from the refrigerant, a pressure reducing device 13 for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant, and a cooler 14, all of which are connected by piping. The dew prevention pipe 11 is laid around each storage compartment on the front side of the refrigerator 1. The configuration of the refrigerant circuit 7 is not limited to the above configuration.

As shown in Fig. 3, an air passage through which cold air passes is provided inside the insulated box 19. Also, as shown in Fig. 2, the refrigerator 1 is provided with a blower 15 that is disposed above the cooler in the air passage and circulates cold air inside the refrigerator 1. Also, as shown in Fig. 3, the refrigerator 1 is provided with air volume regulators 18a, 18b, and 18c that adjust the volume of cold air supplied to each storage compartment.

The air passage branches into a number of outlet air passages above the cooler 14, and the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 and discharged from the blower 15 flows into each of the branched air passages. The outlet air passage 27, which communicates with the refrigerator compartment 2, is provided in a foam insulation material installed on the rear side of the refrigerator compartment 2, and a portion of the cold air from the cooler 14 is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 2 through the outlet air passage 27. An air volume regulator 18a that regulates the volume of the cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided in the outlet air passage 27. The electrical components that constitute each of the air volume regulators 18a, 18b, and 18c are stored in the rear wall of the storage compartment above the vegetable compartment 5. By configuring in this way, there is no need to provide extra space behind the vegetable compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 5 can be made large-capacity.

In addition, the lower part of the rear part 19f of the insulated box 19 is recessed forward, forming a machine room 51 at the lower part of the rear side of the refrigerator 1. The insulated box 19 also has a vegetable room rear wall part 31 provided between the cooler 14 and the vegetable room 5, and a cooler room 52, which is a space in which the cooler 14 is arranged, is formed on the rear side of the vegetable room rear wall part 31. The cooler room 52 is connected to the air passage. In addition, below the cooler 14 in the cooler room 52, a frost prevention heater 47 (see FIG. 16 described later) and a drip tray 66 that receives melted water from the cooler 14 are provided.

As shown by the solid arrows in FIG. 4, in the refrigerant circuit 7, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 8 is supplied to the air-cooled condenser 9 installed in the machine room 51. The refrigerant that has flowed through the air-cooled condenser 9 flows through the condenser 10 installed inside the urethane of the insulated box 19 (see FIG. 3). The refrigerant that has flowed through the condenser 10 is condensed by a condensation process while flowing through the dew prevention pipes 11 that are laid around each storage compartment on the front side of the refrigerator 1. The refrigerant that has flowed through the dew prevention pipes 11 is supplied to the pressure reducing device 13 after passing through the dryer 12 and is reduced in pressure. The refrigerant that has been reduced in pressure reducing device 13 is supplied to the cooler 14. The refrigerant supplied to the cooler 14 evaporates in the cooler 14 and exchanges heat with the cold air that is forcibly circulated inside by the blower 15. The cold air generated by the heat exchange in the cooler 14 cools each storage compartment in the refrigerator 1. After the heat exchange in the cooler 14 , the refrigerant absorbs heat and gasifies, and returns to the compressor 8 .

As shown by the dashed arrows in Figure 4, the cold air generated by the cooler 14 is supplied to each storage compartment through an air duct by the blower 15, and after cooling the inside of each storage compartment and the stored items such as food, it returns to the cooler compartment 52 (see Figure 3) and is cooled by the cooler 14.

Air volume adjustment devices 18a, 18b, and 18c shown in Fig. 3 are each composed of an electric component, such as a damper, that adjusts the opening and closing of the air passage. In the example shown in Fig. 3, three air volume adjustment devices 18a, 18b, and 18c are provided above the cooler 14 and downstream of the blower 15 in the air passage. The volume of air supplied to the refrigerator compartment 2 is adjusted by air volume adjustment device 18a, the volume of air supplied to the temperature switchable compartment 4 is adjusted by air volume adjustment device 18b, and the volume of air supplied to the vegetable compartment 5 is adjusted by air volume adjustment device 18c. The detailed configuration of the air passage will be described later.

As shown in Figure 3, refrigerator 1 is equipped with multiple temperature sensors 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d installed in storage compartments, and each temperature sensor detects the air temperature or the temperature of stored items in the storage compartment in which it is installed. In the example shown in Figure 3, temperature sensor 16a is installed in refrigerator compartment 2, temperature sensor 16b is installed in temperature switchable compartment 4, temperature sensor 16c is installed in vegetable compartment 5, and temperature sensor 16d is installed in freezer compartment 6. Although not shown, a temperature sensor is also installed in ice-making compartment 3.

The refrigerator 1 also includes a control unit 17 that performs various controls of the refrigerator 1. The control unit 17 is provided, for example, at the top of the rear part of the insulated box 19. The control unit 17 is composed of a control board, a microcomputer and electronic components arranged on the control board. Temperature information detected by each of the above-mentioned multiple temperature sensors is input to the control unit 17. The control unit 17 operates each air volume adjustment device 18a, 18b, 18c according to the input temperature information. As a result, the air volume to each storage compartment is adjusted by the air volume adjustment devices 18a, 18b, 18c according to the temperatures detected by the temperature sensors 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, and each storage compartment is kept at an appropriate temperature. The control unit 17 also controls the frequency of the compressor 8 and the opening degree of the pressure reduction device 13 shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator 1 has storage compartments (e.g., the freezer compartment 6 and the ice-making compartment 3) set to a freezing temperature zone, which is a temperature zone of minus temperatures, and storage compartments (e.g., the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 5) set to a refrigerating temperature zone, which is a temperature zone of plus temperatures. In the example shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the freezer compartment 6 is located at the bottom of the refrigerator 1, and the vegetable compartment 5, which is accessed more frequently than the freezer compartment 6, is located above the freezer compartment 6, thereby improving convenience. In the example shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the vegetable compartment 5 in the refrigerating temperature zone is located adjacent to the freezer compartment 6 and the ice-making compartment 3 in the vertical direction of the refrigerator 1. In order to ensure thermal insulation between the storage compartments, vacuum insulation material (not shown) is provided in the partitions between the storage compartments. In the example shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a cooler chamber 52 is provided behind the vegetable compartment 5, which is located between the freezer compartment 6 and the ice-making compartment 3, in order to cool both the freezer compartment 6 and the ice-making compartment 3 in the freezing temperature zone. Therefore, a vacuum insulation material 39 (see FIG. 9 described later) is also provided on the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 arranged between the cooler compartment 52 and the vegetable compartment 5 in the refrigerated temperature range to insulate the cooler 14 and the vegetable compartment 5. Hereinafter, the vacuum insulation material 39 arranged between the cooler 14 and the vegetable compartment 5 may be referred to as a first vacuum insulation material. The arrangement of the first vacuum insulation material will be described in more detail later.

In the refrigerator 1 shown in Figure 3, taking into consideration ease of access to each storage compartment and the balance of the internal volumes between the storage compartments, it is preferable that the distance L from the floor of the room to the floor 2b of the refrigerator compartment 2, which is the uppermost storage compartment, be set to between 954 mm and 994 mm.

3, the cooler chamber 52 in which the cooler 14 is disposed is provided mainly behind the vegetable chamber 5, and also extends behind the lower parts of the ice-making chamber 3 and the temperature switchable chamber 4, and behind the upper part of the freezer chamber 6. The lower end 14b of the cooler 14 is located below the height F of the floor of the vegetable chamber 5 in the vertical direction within the cooler chamber 52. When the lower end 14b of the cooler 14 is located below the height F of the floor of the vegetable chamber 5 as shown in FIG. 3, a larger space is secured above the cooler 14, and the freedom to select the size of the blower 15 to be disposed in this space is increased.

Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a portion of the wall 20 of the insulated box 19 of the refrigerator 1 of Figure 1. As shown in Figure 5, the wall 20 of the insulated box 19 is composed of sheet metal 21 forming the outer shell, an inner box 22 forming the inner wall of each storage compartment, and insulation material 23 between the sheet metal 21 and the inner box 22, and suppresses the amount of heat entering from the outside. Here, the insulation material 23 is configured to include vacuum insulation material 24, and the vacuum insulation material 24 is attached to the sheet metal 21 of the outer shell, so that the amount of heat entering can be greatly reduced. The vacuum insulation material 24 arranged in the wall 20 can be composed of, for example, a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material.

In addition to the vacuum insulation material 24, the insulation material 23 is mainly composed of urethane foam material. The insulation material 23 includes various internal components arranged in the space that encloses the urethane foam material, and the internal components are fixed by the urethane foam material. Here, the internal components are, for example, reinforcing members that correct distortion of the refrigerator 1, the above-mentioned refrigerant circuit 7 components, and electrical wiring components.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a part of the wall 20 of the left side 19d of the insulated box 19 of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 6, the insulating material 23 of the wall 20 of the left side 19d of the insulated box 19 of the refrigerator 1 is configured to fix various internal members arranged in the space in which the urethane foam material is enclosed by the urethane foam material. Here, in addition to the above-mentioned reinforcing members, parts of the refrigerant circuit 7, and parts of the electrical wiring, a support 25 that supports the door of the drawer-type storage room (for example, the door 5a shown in Figure 1) is also arranged as an internal member on the wall 20 of the left side 19d of the insulated box 19. The support 25 has a rail structure that receives the frame structure that constitutes the door of the drawer-type storage room, and the insulating material 23 that fixes the support 25 is formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the rail structure so as to fix the rail structure of the support 25.

The configuration of the wall 20 of the insulating box 19 is not limited to the above configuration. Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a cross section of a portion of the wall 20 of the insulating box 19 in Figure 5. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a cross section of a portion of the wall 20 of the insulating box 19 in Figure 5.

As shown in Figure 7, the vacuum insulation material 24 of the insulation material 23 may be placed using a spacer 26 at an intermediate position between the outer metal plate 21 and the wall surface of the inner box 22, depending on the installation location. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8, the vacuum insulation material 24 of the insulation material 23 may be attached to the wall surface of the inner box 22, depending on the installation location. In this way, the vacuum insulation material 24 of the insulation material 23 may be installed within the wall portion 20 by any of the methods shown in Figures 5, 6, or 7. However, in order to avoid damage, the vacuum insulation material 24 is installed so as not to interfere with the above-mentioned internal components.

It is preferable that the coverage area of the vacuum insulation material 24 arranged on the wall parts 20 of the insulated box 19 of the refrigerator 1 and the doors 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a of each storage compartment (see FIG. 1) is 40% or more of the total outer surface area. It is also preferable that the foam density of the urethane foam material enclosed around the vacuum insulation material 24 is 60 kg/ ^cm3 or more. It is also preferable that the flexural modulus of the urethane foam material is 15.0 MPa or more. By configuring the urethane foam material in this way, the strength of the insulated box 19 of the refrigerator 1 is ensured.

As described above, by including vacuum insulation material 24, which has higher insulating performance than foam insulation material, in the insulation material 23 of the insulated box 19, the same insulating performance can be ensured even if the distance between the outer shell of the refrigerator 1 and the inner wall of the inner box 22 is narrowed, i.e., the insulation thickness is reduced. Therefore, when vacuum insulation material 24 is provided in the wall 20 of the insulated box 19, the thickness of the wall 20 can be made thinner and the internal volume of the refrigerator 1 can be increased compared to when vacuum insulation material 24 is not provided.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing a longitudinal cross section in the front-to-rear direction around the vegetable compartment 5 of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 1. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a longitudinal cross section of another example of the ceiling wall portion 32 in the vegetable compartment 5 in Figure 9. Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a longitudinal cross section of another example of the ceiling wall portion 32 in the vegetable compartment 5 in Figure 9. Figure 12 is a diagram showing another example of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 in Figure 9. Figure 13 is a diagram showing another example of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 in Figure 9. The multiple wall portions constituting the vegetable compartment 5 will be described based on Figures 9 to 13.

As shown in Figure 9, the ceiling wall 32 of the vegetable compartment 5 serves as a partition between the vegetable compartment 5 and the ice-making compartment 3 and temperature-switchable compartment 4 shown in Figure 3. The ceiling wall 32 is an insulating wall, and suppresses heat transfer between the vegetable compartment 5 and an upper storage compartment which is set at a lower temperature than the vegetable compartment 5. The ceiling wall 32 has an outer shell formed from injection molding material, and the interior is formed from vacuum insulation material 33 and urethane foam material 34. Within the ceiling wall 32, the vacuum insulation material 33 is installed on the storage compartment side, i.e., the upper side, which is at a lower temperature than the vegetable compartment 5.

As shown in Figure 9, the bottom wall 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 serves as a partition between the vegetable compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 6 shown in Figure 3. The bottom wall 35 is an insulating wall, and suppresses heat transfer between the vegetable compartment 5 and a lower storage compartment which is set at a lower temperature than the vegetable compartment 5. The bottom wall 35, like the ceiling wall 32, has an outer shell made of injection molding material, and the interior is made of vacuum insulation material 36 and urethane foam material 37. Within the bottom wall 35, the vacuum insulation material 36 is installed on the storage compartment side, i.e., the lower side, which is at a lower temperature than the vegetable compartment 5.

The thickness of the urethane foam material 37 in each of the ceiling wall portion 32 of the vegetable compartment 5 and the bottom wall portion 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 is preferably 7 mm or more, taking into consideration the fluidity during manufacturing and manufacturing variations. In addition, each of the vacuum insulation material 33 in the ceiling wall portion 32 of the vegetable compartment 5 and the vacuum insulation material 36 in the bottom wall portion 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 is composed of a rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material.

The arrangement of the vacuum insulation material 33 in the ceiling wall portion 32 of the vegetable compartment 5 is not limited to the above case. In the urethane injection process during the manufacturing process of the refrigerator 1, the vacuum insulation materials 33, 36 arranged in the ceiling wall portion 32 and the bottom wall portion 35 of the vegetable compartment 5, respectively, may be wrapped with urethane foam materials 34, 37.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the vacuum insulation material 33 may be placed in the ceiling wall 32 between the upper and lower outer wall surfaces by ensuring the viscosity or flow path width of the urethane foam material 34. In this case, the entire vacuum insulation material 33 is enveloped by the urethane foam material 34, so that deterioration of the vacuum insulation material 33 can be further suppressed. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the vacuum insulation material 33 may be placed on the vegetable compartment 5 side, i.e., the lower side, of the upper and lower outer wall surfaces in the ceiling wall 32. In this case, the coverage rate of the vacuum insulation material 33 on the inner wall surface of the vegetable compartment 5 can be increased, and the amount of heat entering can be suppressed.

As described above, in the refrigerator 1, the ceiling wall 32 and bottom wall 35 that separate the vegetable compartment 5 from the lower temperature storage compartment adjacent to the vegetable compartment (in this embodiment, the freezer compartment 6 and the ice-making compartment 3, etc.) have vacuum insulation materials 33, 36. With this configuration, the coverage area of the vegetable compartment 5 with the vacuum insulation materials 33, 36 is increased as much as possible, so that the inflow of cold heat from the surroundings of the vegetable compartment 5 toward the inside of the vegetable compartment 5 can be prevented, and the inside of the vegetable compartment 5 can be prevented from becoming too cold.

As shown in Figure 9, of the multiple walls constituting the vegetable compartment 5, the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is an insulated wall that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the rear cooler compartment 52. The vegetable compartment rear wall 31 has insulating wall outer shells 38 and 42, a vacuum insulation material 39, and a foam insulation material 40 that is provided to encase the vacuum insulation material 39. In other words, the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is configured to include the vacuum insulation material 39 between the inner wall of the vegetable compartment 5 and the cooler 14. The vacuum insulation material 39 can be configured, for example, from a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material.

The thickness of the foam insulation 40 on the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is based on the maximum thickness that can be molded, and if there are any additional functions, the necessary insulation thickness is added. When PS-FO is used as the material for the foam insulation 40, for example, when the foaming ratio is 40 times, it is preferable to configure it so that the thickness is at least 5 mm.

The foam insulation 40 on the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is provided with a cold air outlet duct 41 for connecting the cooler compartment 52 to the freezer compartment 6 (see FIG. 3). In the example shown in FIG. 9, the front-to-rear arrangement of this outlet duct 41 is, from the rear, the cooler 14, the insulating wall outer shell 42, the foam insulation 40 that constitutes the outlet duct 41, the vacuum insulation 39, and the insulating wall outer shell 38 that constitutes the inner wall of the vegetable compartment 5.

The configuration of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is not limited to the above configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 may be attached to the inner wall of the insulation wall outer casing 42 on the cooler 14 side to make its insulation effect more effective. That is, the vacuum insulation material 39 is arranged on the cooler 14 side in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31. However, in this case, the height dimension of the vacuum insulation material 39 is slightly smaller due to restrictions imposed by the position or size of the outlet of the cold air discharged from the blower 15 (see FIG. 2). In addition, in this case, the back of the vacuum insulation material 39 is not covered with the foam insulation material 40, so there is a concern that the vacuum insulation material 39 may deteriorate. As shown in FIG. 13, by providing the foam insulation material 40 between the vacuum insulation material 39 and the inner wall of the insulation wall outer casing 42 on the cooler 14 side, the back of the vacuum insulation material 39 can be covered with the foam insulation material 40, and deterioration of the vacuum insulation material 39 can be suppressed compared to the case of FIG. 13.

9 illustrates a case in which the ceiling wall 32, bottom wall 35, and rear wall 31 of the vegetable compartment 5 include vacuum insulation materials 33, 36, and 39, but the left and right side walls of the vegetable compartment 5 and the door 5a of the vegetable compartment 5 may also be configured to have vacuum insulation materials. Each vacuum insulation material may also be configured as a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material. In a configuration in which the vegetable compartment 5 is adjacent to a storage compartment that is colder than the vegetable compartment 5 and the cooler 14 is disposed at the rear, as in the vegetable compartment 5 of the present disclosure, there is a risk that cold heat will flow in and the vegetable compartment 5 will become too cold. However, by configuring each of the multiple walls that make up the vegetable compartment 5 to have a single rectangular vacuum insulation material 24, 33, 36, and 39 as described above, it is possible to prevent cold heat from flowing in from the periphery of the vegetable compartment 5 toward the vegetable compartment 5, and to prevent the vegetable compartment 5 from becoming too cold. On the other hand, heat radiation from inside the vegetable compartment 5 to the outside of the vegetable compartment 5, i.e., the surroundings of the refrigerator 1, can be prevented, and the inside of the vegetable compartment 5 can be maintained at the set temperature with good thermal efficiency.

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram showing the X-X cross section of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 2. Figure 15 is a schematic front view showing the lower part of the refrigerator in Figure 2. Figure 16 is a schematic diagram showing the A-A cross section of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 2. Figure 17 is a schematic diagram showing the cold air blow-out air duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 and the cold air return air duct 70 from the freezer compartment 6 in Figure 16. Figure 18 is a schematic diagram showing the B-B cross section of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 2. Figure 19 is a schematic diagram showing the cold air return air duct 80 from the vegetable compartment 5 in Figure 18. The outlined arrows in the figure indicate the direction in which the cold air flows. Based on Figures 14 to 19, the configuration of the air duct and the positional relationship between the air duct and the vacuum insulation material 39 will be described.

14 and 15, in addition to the cold air outlet duct 27 to the refrigerator compartment 2 shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the insulated box 19 is provided with a cold air outlet duct 30 to the vegetable compartment 5, a cold air outlet duct (not shown) to the temperature switching compartment 4 and the ice making compartment 3, and a cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6, which are branched off from the outlet duct 27 above the cooler 14. Also, inside the insulated box 19, there are a cold air return duct 29a from the temperature switching compartment 4, a cold air return duct 28 from the ice making compartment 3, a cold air return duct 29b from the refrigerator compartment 2, and a cold air return duct 80 from the vegetable compartment 5. Also, as shown in FIG. 16, the inside of the insulated box 19 is provided with a cold air return duct 70 from the freezer compartment 6.

As shown in FIG. 15, the cold air outlet duct 30 for the vegetable compartment 5 is provided at the rear upper side of the vegetable compartment 5 from the branch point downstream of the blower 15. The outlet 44, which is the outlet of the cold air in the outlet duct 30, is provided on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment 5. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the outlet 44 is provided on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31. An air volume adjustment device 18c is arranged in the outlet duct 30, and a portion of the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 is blown by the blower 15 through the air volume adjustment device 18c and blown out from the outlet 44 into the vegetable compartment 5. The outlet 44 may be formed on the inner wall of a wall portion constituting the vegetable compartment 5 other than the vegetable compartment rear wall 31. 15, the blow-out air duct 30 is configured to directly communicate the cooler 14 with the vegetable compartment, and the outlet 44 is configured to pass the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 directly into the vegetable compartment 5, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the blow-out air duct 30 may be configured to communicate with the vegetable compartment 5 from the cooler 14 via another storage compartment (e.g., the refrigerator compartment 2). In this case, the outlet 44 supplies the cold air, which has been cooled by the cooler 14 and warmed by cooling the stored items in the other storage compartment (the refrigerator compartment 2), to the vegetable compartment 5.

15 and 16, the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 is provided from the branch point downstream of the blower 15 to the rear of the vegetable compartment 5 and to the rear of the bottom wall 35 of the vegetable compartment that separates the freezer compartment 6 from the vegetable compartment 5. Also, as shown in Figs. 16 and 17, a cold air return duct 70 from the freezer compartment 6 that connects the freezer compartment 6 to the cooler compartment 52 is provided behind the lower part of the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6.

15, the return air duct 29a for the cold air from the temperature switchable chamber 4 is provided behind the temperature switchable chamber 4 and behind the vegetable chamber 5, connecting the temperature switchable chamber 4 to the cooler chamber 52 (see FIG. 14). The return air duct 28 for the cold air from the ice-making chamber 3 is provided behind the ice-making chamber 3 and behind the vegetable chamber 5 in the vertical direction, connecting the ice-making chamber 3 to the cooler chamber 52 (see FIG. 14).

15 and 18, the return air duct 80 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 is provided at the rear of the vegetable compartment 5, and connects the vegetable compartment 5 to the cooler compartment 52 (see FIG. 14). The return air duct 80 has a vertically elongated shape extending in the vertical direction when viewed from the front as shown in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 18, a return port 45, which is an inlet for the cold air, is provided at the front side of the upper end of the return air duct 80, and a cold air outlet 81 is provided at the rear side of the lower end of the return air duct 80. The return air duct 80 is provided in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31, and the return port 45 is provided on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31.

In the example shown in FIG. 15, in a front view, the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer 6 and the cold air return duct 70 from the freezer 6 are arranged in the center in the left-right direction behind the vegetable compartment 5. On the right or left side of the outlet duct 41, the cold air outlet duct 30 to the vegetable compartment 5, the cold air return duct 29a from the temperature switching compartment 4, the cold air return duct 28 from the ice making compartment 3, and the cold air return duct 80 from the vegetable compartment 5 are arranged approximately parallel to the outlet duct 41. On the left side of the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer 6, the cold air outlet duct 30 to the vegetable compartment 5, the cold air return duct 29a from the temperature switching compartment 4, and the cold air return duct 29b from the refrigerator compartment 2 are arranged. Of these ducts, the cold air return duct 29b from the refrigerator compartment 2 is arranged on the leftmost side. In addition, when viewed from the front, cold air return duct 28 from ice making compartment 3 and cold air return duct 80 from vegetable compartment 5 are arranged to the right of cold air blow-out duct 41 to freezer compartment 6. Cold air return duct 80 from vegetable compartment 5 is arranged on the far right. Cold air return duct 29b from refrigerator compartment 2 is connected to drip tray 66 from the lower left side of cooler 14 in cooler chamber 52 (see FIG. 16).

As shown in Figure 14, the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 provided between the vegetable compartment 5 and the cooler compartment 52 has the above-mentioned air passages, i.e., the outlet air passages 30, 41 and the return air passages 29a, 28, 80. Note that in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 of Figure 14, the space formed between the outlet air passage 41 and the return air passage 28 is a recessed portion provided to stabilize the shape of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31.

15, in front view, the vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 is arranged so as to overlap with a part of the cooler 14. In addition, in front view, the return air duct 80 of the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 does not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39, but is provided adjacent to the vacuum insulation material 39 so as to overlap with the part of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39. In the example shown in FIG. 15, most of the left side of the front surface of the cooler 14 is covered from the top to the bottom by the rectangular vacuum insulation material 39, and the right side of the front surface of the cooler 14 is covered by the return air duct 80 of the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 that extends in the vertical direction.

It is preferable that the entire cooler 14 is covered by a single rectangular vacuum insulation material 39 and the space of the return air duct 80 through which the cold air heated in the vegetable compartment 5 flows when viewed from the front. With this configuration, the effect of suppressing the inflow of cold heat from the cooler 14 into the vegetable compartment 5 is maintained, while the width of the vacuum insulation material 39 can be made smaller than in the conventional configuration in which the entire front surface of the cooler 14 is covered only by the vacuum insulation material 39, thereby reducing costs. In addition, by suppressing the inflow of cold heat from the cooler 14 into the vegetable compartment 5, the temperature rise of the cooler 14 can be prevented, and the temperature drop of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 can be prevented. As a result, dew and frost in the vegetable compartment 5 can be prevented.

Here, the entire front surface of the cooler 14 does not have to be completely covered by the vacuum insulation material 39 and the return air duct 80. When the return air duct 80 is placed next to the vacuum insulation material 39, a wall portion constituting the return air duct 80 is placed between the vacuum insulation material 39 and the return air duct 80. Therefore, taking into consideration the strength required for the return air duct 80, etc., a wall portion of a certain thickness or less may be interposed between the return air duct 80 and the vacuum insulation material 39. Furthermore, the wall portion constituting the return air duct 80 may include insulation material.

In addition, in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31, the width of the vacuum insulation material 39 is reduced, and the return air duct 80 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 is arranged in the lateral wall that is freed up by this. In front view, the return air duct 80 is arranged to overlap the portion of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39, so that, as shown in FIG. 19, the outlet 81 of the return air duct 80 only needs to extend rearward by the thickness of the wall portion on the cooler compartment 52 side in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31. Therefore, compared to the conventional configuration in which the entire front surface of the cooler 14 is covered only by the vacuum insulation material 39, it is not necessary to provide a complex configuration in which the return air duct 80 is provided to bypass the vacuum insulation material 39, or to extend not only rearward but also horizontally.

In the example shown in Figure 15, the vacuum insulation material 39 has a width Wv that is smaller than the width Wc of the cooler 14, and is arranged so that the left end of the vacuum insulation material 39 covers the left end of the cooler 14 when viewed from the front. When viewed from the front, the right side of the cooler 14 is not covered by the vacuum insulation material 39, but is covered by the return air duct 80.

The arrangement of the vacuum insulation material 39 relative to the cooler 14 is not limited to the above case. For example, the vacuum insulation material 39 may be arranged so that the right end of the vacuum insulation material 39 covers the right end of the cooler 14 when viewed from the front. Also, for example, one end of the vacuum insulation material 39 may be aligned with an end of the cooler 14 so that the right end of the vacuum insulation material 39 matches the right end of the cooler 14 or the left end of the vacuum insulation material 39 matches the left end of the cooler 14 when viewed from the front.

14 and 15, the outlet air duct 30 having the outlet port 44 on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 is also configured not to overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 in a front view, similar to the above-mentioned return air duct 80. However, unlike the return air duct 80, the outlet air duct 30 for the cold air to the vegetable compartment 5 does not have to overlap with the cooler 14 in a front view.

15, both the cold air outlet 44 to the vegetable compartment 5 and the cold air return 45 from the vegetable compartment 5 are provided in positions on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 that do not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 when viewed from the front. With this configuration, when forming the outlet 44 and return 45, it is not necessary to perform special processing such as providing holes or notches in the vacuum insulation material 39, or to use multiple sheets of vacuum insulation material. In addition, it is not necessary to make the outlet air duct 30 and return air duct 80 connected to the vegetable compartment 5 into complex shapes that bypass the vacuum insulation material 39.

In a conventional refrigerator, the cold air outlet to the vegetable compartment and the cold air return port from the vegetable compartment are provided in the diagonal corner outside the vacuum insulation material in a front view on the rear wall of the vegetable compartment. In a conventional refrigerator, the vacuum insulation material is provided over a wide area to cover the entire front surface of the cooler, so the options for arranging the cold air return port from the vegetable compartment are more limited than in the case of the present disclosure. In a conventional refrigerator, the outlet is provided in the upper corner of the rear wall of the vegetable compartment, and the return port is provided in the lower corner diagonally opposite the cold air outlet. In this configuration, the cold air that is blown out from the outlet into the vegetable compartment and descends while spreading is unlikely to enter the return air passage from the return port. This is because the cold air that is blown out from the outlet and has a lower temperature than the inside of the vegetable compartment flows downward immediately after being blown out, but gradually warms up as it cools the cases and food in the vegetable compartment and gradually rises.

In contrast, in the present disclosure, as shown in Fig. 14, the outlet 44 and the return port 45 are provided at the same height on the inner wall of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31. More specifically, in a front view, the outlet 44 is provided above and to the left of the vacuum insulation material 39, and the return port 45 is provided above and to the right of the vacuum insulation material 39 in a position overlapping with the cooler 14.

According to this configuration, the vacuum insulation material 39 can separate the air outlet 44 and the return air outlet 45 from each other in the left-right direction so that the distance between them is at least a certain distance, and the return air outlet 45 can be provided in the middle or upper part, which is higher than in the past. As a result, the cold air circulates throughout the vegetable compartment 5, improving thermal efficiency. In addition, according to the above configuration, the air outlet 30 and the return air duct 80 can be provided in the front-back direction without being blocked by the vacuum insulation material 39, and the return air duct 80 can be provided in a position that overlaps with the cooler 14 when viewed from the front. This allows the shapes of the air outlet duct 30 and the return air duct 80 to be simple while still allowing the cold air to be returned to the cooler 14.

The positions at which the air outlet 44 and the return port 45 are provided are not limited to the above. For example, the air outlet 44 for the cold air to the vegetable compartment 5 may be provided in a wall portion other than the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31, such as the ceiling wall portion 32 of the vegetable compartment 5, among the walls constituting the vegetable compartment 5. Also, for example, the return port 45 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 may be provided above the air outlet 44.

In addition, even if the return port 45 is provided at the height of the middle or upper stage of the cooler 14 when viewed from the front, the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 can be guided to the bottom stage of the cooler 14 by passing through the return air duct 80 extending vertically from the return port 45. The cold air in the cooler compartment 52 moves upward by the blower 15. Therefore, heat exchange between the cold air returning from the vegetable compartment 5 and the cooler 14 can be efficiently performed.

Furthermore, according to this configuration, the cold air blown out from the outlet 44 into the vegetable compartment 5 first reaches the bottom of the vegetable compartment 5 and then returns toward the return port 45 at the top. When multiple cases are provided in a storage compartment such as a vegetable compartment, in a conventional refrigerator, the cold air coming out of the outlet located at the top right of the storage compartment first enters the upper case, then flows into the lower case, and then follows a circulation path that flows to the return port located at the bottom left of the storage compartment. However, when the cold air flows in this way, there is a risk that the cold air immediately after being blown out will hit the case and food, causing the food to freeze or dry out. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present disclosure, the return port 45 is provided at a higher position in the vegetable compartment 5 than in the conventional configuration, so that the blown out cold air can be circulated evenly outside the case (not shown) without being directly guided into the case provided in the vegetable compartment 5. As a result, it is possible to prevent food from freezing, and the moisture retention performance of food is improved by making it difficult for water vapor in the case to flow out of the case.

15, the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 has, in the vertical direction, a portion provided in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the cooler 14, and a portion provided in the bottom wall 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the freezer compartment 6. The portion of the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 that is provided in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31, i.e., the portion located behind the vegetable compartment 5, is arranged so as to overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 in a front view. In addition, the cold air return duct 29a from the temperature switchable compartment 4 and the cold air return duct 28 from the ice making compartment 3 are also provided in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 so as to overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 in a front view. 14, in the horizontal direction of the refrigerator 1, the cold air outlet air passage 41 to the freezer compartment 6, the cold air return air passage 29a from the temperature switchable compartment 4, and the cold air return air passage 28 from the ice making compartment 3 are arranged behind the vacuum insulation material 39. In the example shown in Fig. 14, the cold air return air passage 29b from the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided in the insulation arranged behind the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 and to the left of the cooler 14.

15, the vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is provided over a wider area in the horizontal direction of the refrigerator 1 than the area in which the cooler 14 and the blow-out air duct 41 are provided. The vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is also provided over a wider area in the vertical direction of the refrigerator 1 than the area in which the cooler 14 is provided. The vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is preferably provided from the upper end to the lower end of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 so as to overlap almost the entire portion of the blow-out air duct 41 for cold air to the freezer compartment 6 that is provided within the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 when viewed from the front.

17, the return air duct 70 of the cold air from the freezer compartment 6 is provided behind the bottom wall portion 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 provided between the vegetable compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 6 so as to overlap with the lower part of the blow-out air duct 41 shown in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, the blow-out air duct 41 and the return air duct 70 (see FIG. 17) are arranged within the range in which the cooler 14 is arranged in the horizontal direction of the refrigerator 1 and have a width equal to or less than the width Wc of the cooler 14. Also, as shown in FIG. 16, the outlet of the cold air in the return air duct 70 is connected to the drip tray 66 from below the cooler 14 in the cooler chamber 52, similar to the outlet of the return air duct 29b (see FIG. 14) of the cold air from the refrigerator compartment 2.

As shown in FIG. 17, the cold air blowing duct 41 to the freezer chamber 6 is branched into upper and lower parts at the outlet side. The freezer chamber 6 is provided with multiple storage cases 6b on the upper and lower levels. The ceiling at the back side of the freezer chamber 6 is provided with a guide section 6c that guides the cold air from each of the upper and lower outlets of the blowing duct 41. The guide section 6c has a first guide section 6c1 and a second guide section 6c2 provided behind the first guide section 6c1. The first guide section 6c1 branches the outlet of the blowing duct 41 into upper and lower parts, and the second guide section 6c2 is configured to separate the lower outlet of the blowing duct 41 and the inlet of the return duct 70. In other words, the guide section 6c serves as both a guide on the blowing side into the freezer chamber 6 and a guide on the return side from the freezer chamber 6.

17, the cold air that has been cooled by the cooler 14 and passed through the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 by the blower 15 is guided by the guide section 6c of the freezer compartment 6 into the multiple storage cases 6b in the freezer compartment 6, and cools the items stored in each storage case 6b. The cold air that has been warmed by cooling the items stored in each storage case 6b is then guided by the guide section 6c to the inlet of the return air duct 70 and enters the return air duct 70. The cold air that has entered the return air duct 70 passes through the return air duct 70 and returns to below the cooler 14 in the cooler chamber 52.

14, the vacuum insulation material 39 of the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 can be arranged to overlap the front surface of the cooler central portion 14a where the fins 91 of the cooler 14 are provided in the front view. In this case, the return air duct 80 of the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 is arranged to overlap a portion that does not overlap the vacuum insulation material 39 in the front view, such as the hairpin portion 95 of the refrigerant pipe 92 in the cooler 14. Note that the overlapping range of the vacuum insulation material 39 or the return air duct 80 in the front view of the cooler 14 is not limited to the above case. For example, when the cost reduction of the vacuum insulation material 39 is important, the return air duct 80 may be arranged so as to overlap the portion outside the cooler central portion 14a and a portion of the one end side of the cooler central portion 14a in the left-right direction at one end side of the cooler 14. Furthermore, for example, when emphasis is placed on insulation between the vegetable compartment 5 and the cooler compartment 52, the vacuum insulation material 39 may be provided so as to overlap at least the entire front surface of the cooler central portion 14a.

Figure 20 is a front schematic view showing the cooler 14 of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 3. Figure 21 is a front oblique view showing the cooler 14 in Figure 20. Figure 22 is a schematic view showing the T-T cross section of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 2. The configuration of the cooler 14 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 20 to 22.

The cooler 14 has a refrigerant pipe 92 through which a refrigerant flows and a number of fins 91 attached to the refrigerant pipe 92. The fins 91 of the cooler 14 exchange heat between the refrigerant and the air flowing around the fins 91. On the right and left sides of the cooler central part 14a where the fins 91 are provided, the refrigerant pipe 92 is bent to form hairpin sections 95. A number of hairpin sections 95 are provided on the left and right sides of the central part of the refrigerant pipe constituting the central part 14a of the cooler pipe 92, and connect the right ends or left ends of the two central parts of the refrigerant pipes on which the multiple fins 91 are provided. The connected central parts of the refrigerant pipes are horizontally arranged so as to be parallel to each other.

The cooler 14 also has partitions 97 at each of the left and right ends, which are provided to surround the hairpin portion 95. Each partition 97 has a vertically extending partition plate 97a with a hole in which the refrigerant tube 92 is disposed, an outer plate 97b that covers the lateral end of the hairpin portion 95 in the refrigerant tube 92, and a roof portion 97c that is disposed above the hairpin portion 95, and has an approximately U-shaped shape. The partition plate 97a is provided to partition the center of the refrigerant tube 92 from the hairpin portion 95. In the cooler 14, the portion between the partition plate 97a of the left partition portion 97 and the partition plate 97a of the right partition portion 97 is the cooler center portion 14a. Each partition portion 97 can be formed by bending a single plate member.

As described above, since the hairpin portion 95 of the cooler 14 does not have fins 91, the heat exchange capacity is lower at the left and right ends of the cooler 14 compared to the cooler central portion 14a. Therefore, the temperature difference between the cooler chamber 52 and the vegetable chamber 5 shown in FIG. 14 is smaller around the hairpin portion 95 than around the cooler central portion 14a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, in the vegetable chamber rear wall portion 31 between the vegetable chamber 5 and the cooler chamber 52, a vacuum insulation material 39 is provided so as to overlap with the cooler central portion 14a in a front view, and a return air duct 80 is provided next to the vacuum insulation material 39 so as to overlap at least a part of the hairpin portion 95. This reduces the width Wv (see FIG. 15) of the vacuum insulation material 39 in the vegetable chamber rear wall portion 31 compared to the conventional method while suppressing the effect on heat transfer between the vegetable chamber 5 and the cooler chamber 52.

21, a heater tube 93 of the anti-frost heater 47 is disposed on the front surface of the cooler 14. As shown in FIG. 22, the anti-frost heater 47 has a holder 94 that holds the heater tube 93. The meltwater produced by melting the frost with the anti-frost heater 47 of the cooler 14 is discharged outside the insulated box 19 via the drip tray 66.

As shown in FIG. 22, which is a cross-section of the lower part of the cooler chamber 52, the outlet 81 of the return air duct 80 of the cold air from the vegetable chamber 5 is provided near the holding part 94 of the heater tube 93 in the vegetable chamber rear wall part 31, and the cold air returns to the cooler 14 arranged above it. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 22, the outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 of the cold air from the vegetable chamber 5 is provided in a position overlapping with the holding part 94 of the heater tube 93 in a front view. Alternatively, the outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 may be provided outside the holding part 94 in a front view.

The position and configuration of the outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 are not limited to the above case. The cold air outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 may be located in a position overlapping with the cooler 14 in a front view or in a position below the cooler 14. Here, if the cold air outlet 81 is located above the cooler 14, the cold air cannot be returned to pass through the cooler 14, so this case is excluded.

23 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the return air duct 80 for cool air from the vegetable compartment 5 in the refrigerator 1 of FIG. 22. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the return air duct 80 has an air duct guide portion 82 on the outlet 81 side, which extends toward the heater tube 93 that is more central than the retaining portion 94. The air duct guide portion 82 has, for example, a guide front portion 82b formed at the rear of the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31, and a guide rear portion 82a formed of a heat-insulating wall separate from the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31 provided in the cooler chamber 52.

The air passage guide section 82 is arranged so as to incline rearward and toward the center as it approaches the outlet 81. With this configuration, the outlet 81 of the return air passage 80 approaches the heater tube 93, and the return cold air flowing through the outlet 81 is heated by the heater tube 93, suppressing the formation of frost around the outlet 81.

23, the outlet side air passage guide 82 in the return air passage 80 of the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 is configured so that the air passage width narrows toward the outlet 81. With this configuration, the insulation material can be arranged thicker near the outlet 81, so that the insulation around the return air passage 80 can be improved compared to the case shown in FIG. 22. Also, by narrowing the air passage width of the air passage guide 82 in the return air passage 80 more than other parts, the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 can be made thinner to increase the capacity of the vegetable compartment 5, even if the same amount of insulation material (e.g., polystyrene foam) is used in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 as in the case shown in FIG. 22.

In the example shown in Fig. 23, the rear guide portion 82a of the air passage guide portion 82 is a member that at least partially overlaps with the holding portion 94 of the heater tube 93 in a front view and guides the outlet 81 of the return air passage 80 toward the heater tube 93. The rear guide portion 82a and the front guide portion 82b may be formed integrally with the polystyrene foam in which the return air passage 80 is formed in the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31, or may be attached as separate members as described above.

2 and 15, the return air duct 80 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 and its inlet, the return port 45, are provided on the right side of the center line passing through the center of the left and right sides of the insulated box body 19, and the vacuum insulation material 39 is disposed to the left of the return air duct 80 and the return port 45. This embodiment is not limited to the above configuration.

Figure 24 is a front schematic view showing another example of the refrigerator 1 of Figure 2. Figure 25 is a front schematic view of the refrigerator 1 of Figure 24. In the example shown in Figures 24 and 25, the configuration of the refrigerator 1 shown in Figure 2 is inverted left and right with respect to the left and right center line of the insulated box body 19. That is, in the example shown in Figures 24 and 25, the return air duct 80 and return port 45 for the cold air from the vegetable compartment 5 are provided on the left side of the left and right center line of the insulated box body 19, and the vacuum insulation material 39 is arranged to the right of the return air duct 80. With this configuration of the refrigerator 1, the same effect as that obtained in the case of Figure 2 can be obtained.

Figure 26 is a schematic diagram showing the vacuum insulation material in the wall portion constituting the vegetable compartment 5 of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 1. Figure 27 is a schematic diagram showing the vacuum insulation material in the wall portion constituting the vegetable compartment 5 of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 26 from the rear. The arrangement of the vacuum insulation material in the refrigerator 1, and in particular the arrangement of the vacuum insulation material in the wall portion constituting the vegetable compartment 5, will be described based on Figures 1, 2, 26 and 27.

The vegetable compartment 5 is made up of multiple walls, including a ceiling wall 32 that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the ice-making compartment 3 and temperature switch compartment 4 above, a bottom wall 35 that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the freezer compartment 6 below, a vegetable compartment rear wall 31 that separates the vegetable compartment 5 from the rear cooler compartment 52, and a right side wall 19c1, a left side wall 19d1 and a door 5a that separate the vegetable compartment 5 from the outside on the left, right and front sides of the refrigerator 1.

A rectangular vacuum insulation material 24, 24, 24, 33, 36, 39 is provided inside each of the multiple walls that make up the vegetable compartment 5. Here, the right side wall 19c1 of the vegetable compartment 5 is part of the right side 19c of the insulated box 19, and the left side wall 19d1 of the vegetable compartment 5 is part of the left side 19d of the insulated box 19. For this reason, a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 24 may be arranged over the right side 19c of the insulated box 19 of the entire refrigerator 1, including other storage compartments above and below the vegetable compartment 5. Also, a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 24 may be arranged over the left side 19d of the insulated box 19 of the entire refrigerator 1, including other storage compartments above and below the vegetable compartment 5.

On the other hand, a rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 33 is provided in the ceiling wall portion 32 of the vegetable compartment 5, a rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 36 is provided in the bottom wall portion 35 of the vegetable compartment 5, and a rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 39 is disposed in the vegetable compartment rear wall portion 31. In addition, a rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 24 is provided in the door 5a of the vegetable compartment 5.

It is preferable that the coverage rate of the vacuum insulation materials 24, 24, 24, 33, 36, 39 with respect to the total wall surface area of the vegetable compartment 5 is 80% or more. As described above, by arranging the vacuum insulation materials 24, 24, 24, 33, 36, 39 on all six sides of the vegetable compartment 5 having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped or approximately cubic shape, heat transfer from the vegetable compartment 5 to other adjacent storage compartments can be suppressed. Alternatively, cold heat transfer from other adjacent storage compartments and the cooler compartment 52 to the vegetable compartment 5 can be suppressed. In addition, the right side wall portion 19c1, the left side wall portion 19d1, and the door 5a can suppress the amount of heat entering the vegetable compartment 5 from the outside.

Figure 28 is a partial schematic diagram of the vegetable compartment 5 of the refrigerator in Figure 15. At least one of the multiple walls constituting the vegetable compartment 5 has a warming heater 46. In the example shown in Figure 28, the bottom wall 35 of the vegetable compartment 5 is configured to be equipped with a warming heater 46. In this way, by configuring at least one of the multiple walls constituting the vegetable compartment 5 to have a warming heater 46, the warming heater 46 can warm the vegetable compartment 5 if it becomes too cold.

In the first embodiment, the cooler 14 is defined as being disposed behind the vegetable compartment 5, but the present disclosure can be applied to any configuration in which the cooler 14 is disposed behind a storage compartment (first storage compartment) that is set to a higher temperature than other adjacent storage compartments. In addition, the vacuum insulation material 39 has been described as being included in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31, i.e., the rear wall of the storage compartment, but the storage compartment and the cooler 14 may be separated by the vacuum insulation material 39 and a return air duct for cool air from the storage compartment. In this case, the return air duct disposed next to the vacuum insulation material 39 may be constituted by a duct.

As described above, the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment has an opening on the front side covered by the door 5a, and includes an insulated box 19 in which a plurality of storage compartments are formed. Inside the insulated box 19, there are provided a first storage compartment (e.g., vegetable compartment 5) that is set to a higher temperature than other adjacent storage compartments (e.g., ice making compartment 3 and temperature switching compartment 4) and stores storage items, and a cooler compartment 52 that is provided behind the first storage compartment and in which a cooler 14 is arranged. Inside the insulated box 19, there are provided a first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) that is arranged between the first storage compartment and the cooler compartment 52, and a return air duct 80 that connects the first storage compartment and the cooler compartment 52 and through which cold air returning to the cooler compartment 52 flows. When the insulated box 19 is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) is arranged so as to overlap a part of the cooler 14. The return air duct 80 is provided adjacent to the first vacuum insulation material so as not to overlap with the first vacuum insulation material and to overlap with the cooler 14. The cold air outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 is disposed at a position overlapping with the cooler 14 or below the cooler 14.

As a result, when the insulated box body 19 is viewed from the front, the return air duct 80 does not overlap with the first vacuum insulation material, so there is no need for space to provide the return air duct 80 behind the first vacuum insulation material, and it is possible to avoid a reduction in the storage space of the first storage chamber (vegetable chamber 5). In addition, in the refrigerator 1 according to the present disclosure, when the insulated box body 19 is viewed from the front, the return air duct 80 is provided adjacent to the first vacuum insulation material so as to overlap with a portion of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with the first vacuum insulation material. The cold air outlet 81 in the return air duct 80 is arranged at a position overlapping with the cooler 14 or below the cooler 14. Therefore, in the present disclosure, the return air duct 80 can be provided to return the cold air so as to pass through the cooler 14 without extending the return air duct 80 laterally as in the conventional case and bypassing the first vacuum insulation material. In this way, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a refrigerator 1 in which the return air duct 80 that returns the cold air so as to pass through the cooler 14 can be provided without reducing the storage space.

In addition, the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) has a width Wv that is smaller than the width Wc of the cooler 14. When the insulated box body 19 is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so that the right end of the first vacuum insulation material covers the right end of the cooler 14, or the left end of the first vacuum insulation material covers the left end of the cooler 14.

This allows one sheet of vacuum insulation material to be shifted left and right relative to the cooler 14, and the return air duct 80 to be positioned on the opposite side to the shifted direction, so that the front surface of the cooler 14 can be easily covered by the first vacuum insulation material and the return air 80 with a simple shape and arrangement.

In addition, the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) has a width Wv that is smaller than the width Wc of the cooler 14. When the insulated box body 19 is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so that the right end of the first vacuum insulation material matches the right end of the cooler 14, or so that the left end of the first vacuum insulation material matches the left end of the cooler 14.

This allows the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) and the return air duct 80 to cover the front of the cooler 14, suppressing heat transfer between the cooler 14 and the vegetable compartment 5, while minimizing the size of the first vacuum insulation material, thereby reducing costs.

The insulated box 19 also contains a first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) inside, and is provided with a storage chamber rear wall portion (vegetable chamber rear wall portion 31) that separates the first storage chamber (vegetable chamber 5) from the cooler chamber 52, and the return air passage 80 is provided in the storage chamber rear wall portion. This allows the manufacturing costs of the storage chamber rear wall portion, including the first vacuum insulation material, to be reduced compared to the conventional case.

In addition, the storage chamber rear wall (vegetable chamber rear wall 31) is provided with a storage chamber outlet air duct (outlet air duct 30) that connects the cooler chamber 52 and the first storage chamber (vegetable chamber 5) and through which cold air blown into the first storage chamber flows. An outlet port 44, which is the outlet for cold air in the storage chamber outlet air duct, and a return port 45, which is the inlet for cold air in the return air duct 80, are formed in the inner wall on the first storage chamber side of the storage chamber rear wall. When the insulated box body 19 is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) is provided in a position that does not overlap either the outlet port 44 or the return port 45.

As a result, there is no need to bypass the first vacuum insulation material not only for the return air duct 80 but also for the blow-out air duct 30, so the blow-out air duct 30 can be made to have a simple shape.

In addition, the return port 45 is provided on the inner wall at the same height as the outlet port 44 or above the outlet port 44. This makes it easier for the cold air that is heated and rises in the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5) to flow into the return air duct 80 compared to the conventional case in which the return port 45 is below the outlet port 44. As a result, the cold air circulates more easily inside the refrigerator 1, and the stored items in each storage compartment can be cooled efficiently.

The air outlet 44 blows the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 directly, or the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 and passed through another storage compartment (e.g., the refrigerator compartment 2), into the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5).

As a result, when the cold air cooled by the cooler 14 is blown directly into the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5), the stored items such as food stored in the first storage compartment can be effectively cooled. Also, when the cold air is blown into the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5) via another storage compartment, the stored items in the vegetable compartment 5 can be prevented from becoming too cold.

The refrigerator 1 also includes an airflow regulator 18c that adjusts the amount of cold air blown out from the air outlet 44. This allows the amount of cold air supplied to the first storage compartment to be adjusted according to the temperature of the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5) or the relationship between the set temperatures or capacities of the other storage compartments of the refrigerator 1, and prevents the stored items from becoming too cold.

The refrigerator 1 also includes a heat retention heater 46 that keeps the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5) warm, and the insulated box 19 has a plurality of walls that form the first storage compartment, with the heat retention heater 46 provided on one of the plurality of walls. This allows the first storage compartment to be warmed by the heat retention heater 46 when the first storage compartment becomes too cold, thereby preventing the contents stored in the first storage compartment from unintentionally freezing, etc.

The first storage compartment is the vegetable compartment 5, and the other storage compartments are a storage compartment with a lower temperature than the temperature zone of the vegetable compartment 5 (for example, the refrigerator compartment 2), a temperature switchable compartment 4 that switches to a temperature zone lower than the temperature zone of the vegetable compartment 5, the freezer compartment 6, the ice-making compartment 3, or a chilled compartment. This allows the present disclosure to be applied to a variety of refrigerators 1 that are provided with the vegetable compartment 5 and these other storage compartments, and similar effects can be obtained.

Inside the insulated box 19, there are formed the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice-making compartment 3, the temperature-switching compartment 4, the freezer compartment 6, and the vegetable compartment 5, which is the first storage compartment, and are arranged from the top in the following order: refrigerator compartment 2, ice-making compartment 3 and temperature-switching compartment 4, vegetable compartment 5, and freezer compartment 6. This allows the return air duct 80 connected to the vegetable compartment 5 to have a simple shape, while efficiently supplying cold air from the cooler 14 to both the ice-making compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 6, which are set in the negative temperature zone and are located above and below the vegetable compartment 5, which is set in the positive temperature zone.

The first storage compartment and the other storage compartment are arranged in the vertical direction of the insulated box 19. Each of the two side wall portions (right side portion 19c and left side portion 19d) of the insulated box 19 has a second vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 24, 24) arranged across the other storage compartment and the first storage compartment in the vertical direction. This allows the vacuum insulation material 24 used in the refrigerator 1 to be arranged efficiently. As a result, the number of sheets of vacuum insulation material used can be reduced, leading to reduced manufacturing costs, simplified assembly, and improved manufacturing efficiency.

Embodiment 2.
Fig. 29 is a schematic front view of refrigerator 1 according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. Fig. 30 is a schematic view showing a CC cross section of refrigerator 1 in Fig. 29. The configuration of refrigerator 1 according to embodiment 2 that differs from refrigerator 1 according to embodiment 1 will be described.

As shown in Figure 29, in the refrigerator 1 of embodiment 2, a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material 39 is arranged to overlap the entire blow-out air duct 41 for cold air to the freezer compartment 6 when viewed from the front. Then, a return air duct 80 is arranged to cover the right-hand side portion of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 when viewed from the front. The return air duct 80 and the vacuum insulation material 39 are arranged so as not to overlap when viewed from the front. Furthermore, foam insulation material 40a is arranged to cover the left-hand side portion of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with the vacuum insulation material 39 when viewed from the front. When viewed from the front, foam insulation material 40a does not overlap with either the vacuum insulation material 39 or the blow-out air duct 41.

Figure 30 shows a front-to-rear cross section that does not pass through the vacuum insulation material 39 but passes through the cooler 14. As shown in Figure 30, the foam insulation material 40a prevents cold heat from penetrating from the cooler 14 to the vegetable chamber 5 in the portion between the vegetable chamber 5 and the cooler 14 where neither the vacuum insulation material 39 nor the blow-out air duct 41 is located. Note that the insulation material that is placed in the portion between the vegetable chamber 5 and the cooler 14 where neither the vacuum insulation material 39 nor the blow-out air duct 41 is located is not limited to the foam insulation material 40a.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the inside of the insulated box 19 is provided with the freezer compartment 6 adjacent to the first storage compartment (vegetable compartment 5), and the freezer compartment outlet air duct (outlet air duct 41) through which the cooler compartment 52 and the freezer compartment 6 communicate and through which the cold air blown into the freezer compartment 6 flows. In addition, foam insulation material 40a is provided inside the insulated box 19. When the insulated box 19 is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material (vacuum insulation material 39) is provided so as to overlap the entire part of the freezer compartment outlet air duct located behind the first storage compartment. When the insulated box 19 is viewed from the front, the foam insulation material 40a is provided in an area of the cooler 14 that does not overlap with either the first vacuum insulation material or the return air duct 80.

As a result, in the refrigerator 1 of embodiment 2, the inflow of cold heat from the cold air outlet duct 41 to the freezer compartment 6 toward the vegetable compartment 5 is suppressed by the vacuum insulation material 39 and foam insulation material arranged at the front, while the amount of vacuum insulation material 39 can be further reduced compared to embodiment 1, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

Note that the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined, or may be applied to other parts. For example, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a vegetable compartment rear wall 31 is provided that separates the cooler compartment 52 from the vegetable compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment rear wall 31 may be configured to include a vacuum insulation material 39. In this case, the foam insulation material 40a is a part of the foam insulation material 40 arranged around the vacuum insulation material 39 in the vegetable compartment rear wall 31. In addition, the present disclosure can be applied as long as there are two or more storage compartments with different set temperatures, and the cooler 14 overlaps with at least a part of the storage compartment on the high temperature side when viewed from the front.

1 refrigerator, 2 refrigerator compartment, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a door, 2b floor, 3 ice maker compartment, 4 temperature switch compartment, 5 vegetable compartment, 6 freezer compartment, 6b storage case, 6c guide portion, 6c1 first guide portion, 6c2 second guide portion, 7 refrigerant circuit, 8 compressor, 9 air-cooled condenser, 10 condenser, 11 dew prevention pipe, 12 dryer, 13 pressure reducing device, 14 cooler, 14a cooler center portion, 14b bottom end, 15 blower, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d temperature sensor, 17 control unit, 18a, 18b, 18c airflow adjustment device, 19 insulated box, 19a top surface portion, 19b bottom surface portion, 19c right side surface portion, 19c1 right side wall portion, 19d Left side surface portion, 19d1 left side wall portion, 19f rear portion, 20 wall portion, 21 metal plate, 22 inner box, 23 heat insulating material, 24, 33, 36, 39 vacuum heat insulating material, 25 support, 26 spacer, 27 outlet air duct (for cold air to refrigerator compartment), 28 return air duct (for cold air from ice making compartment), 29a return air duct (for cold air from temperature switching compartment), 29b return air duct (for cold air from refrigerator compartment), 30 outlet air duct (for cold air to vegetable compartment), 31 vegetable compartment rear wall portion, 32 ceiling wall portion, 34, 37 urethane foam material, 35 bottom wall portion, 38, 42 outer shell of heat insulating wall, 40, 40a foam insulation material, 41 outlet air duct (for cold air to freezer compartment), 44 outlet port, 45 return port, 46 Warming heater, 47 frost prevention heater, 51 machine compartment, 52 cooler compartment, 66 drip tray, 70 return air duct (for cold air from the freezer compartment), 80 return air duct (for cold air from the vegetable compartment), 81 outlet, 82 air duct guide portion, 82a guide rear portion, 82b guide front portion, 91 fins, 92 refrigerant pipe, 93 heater pipe, 94 holding portion, 95 hairpin portion, 97 partition portion, 97a partition plate, 97b outer plate, 97c roof portion.

Claims (15)

The storage device includes a heat-insulating box having an opening on a front side covered with a door and a plurality of storage chambers formed therein,
Inside the heat-insulating box,
a first storage chamber that is set to a higher temperature than the other adjacent storage chambers and stores a storage item;
a cooler chamber provided behind the first storage chamber and in which a cooler is disposed;
A first vacuum insulation material disposed between the first storage chamber and the cooler chamber;
a return air passage that connects the first storage chamber and the cooler chamber and through which cool air returning to the cooler chamber flows;
When the heat-insulating box is viewed from the front,
The first vacuum insulation material is arranged so as to overlap a portion of the cooler,
The return air passage is provided adjacent to the first vacuum insulation material so as not to overlap with the first vacuum insulation material and to overlap with the cooler.
refrigerator. The outlet of the cool air in the return air passage is disposed at a position overlapping with the cooler or below the cooler when the heat-insulating box is viewed from the front.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1. The first vacuum insulation material has a width smaller than a width of the cooler,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the insulated box is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so that a right end of the first vacuum insulation material covers a right end of the cooler, or a left end of the first vacuum insulation material covers a left end of the cooler. The first vacuum insulation material has a width smaller than a width of the cooler,
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the insulated box is viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so that the right end of the first vacuum insulation material matches the right end of the cooler, or so that the left end of the first vacuum insulation material matches the left end of the cooler. Inside the heat-insulating box,
a freezer compartment adjacent to the first storage compartment;
a freezer compartment outlet air duct that communicates the cooling chamber with the freezer compartment and through which the cold air blown into the freezer compartment flows;
A foam insulation material is provided,
The refrigerator described in claim 1 or 2, wherein, when viewed from the front, the first vacuum insulation material is arranged so as to overlap the entire portion of the freezer compartment outlet air duct located behind the first storage compartment, and the foam insulation material is arranged in an area of the cooler that does not overlap with either the first vacuum insulation material or the return air duct. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the first vacuum insulation material is constituted by a single rectangular plate-shaped vacuum insulation material. The heat-insulating box body is
The first vacuum insulation material is contained therein, and a storage chamber rear wall portion is provided which separates the first storage chamber and the cooling chamber;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the return air passage is provided in a rear wall of the storage compartment. a storage chamber outlet air passage is provided in the storage chamber rear wall portion, the storage chamber outlet air passage connects the cooler chamber and the first storage chamber, and through which the cold air blown into the first storage chamber flows;
an outlet port which is an outlet of the cold air in the storage chamber outlet air duct and a return port which is an inlet of the cold air in the return air duct are formed in an inner wall of the storage chamber rear wall portion on the side of the first storage chamber,
The refrigerator according to claim 7 , wherein the first vacuum insulation material is provided at a position that does not overlap either the outlet or the return port when the insulation box is viewed from the front. The refrigerator according to claim 8 , wherein the return port is provided in the inner wall at the same height as the outlet port or above the outlet port. The refrigerator according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the air outlet directly blows out the cold air cooled by the cooler, or blows out the cold air cooled by the cooler and passed through another storage compartment, into the first storage compartment. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising an air volume regulator that adjusts the amount of the cool air blown out from the air outlet. a heater for keeping the first storage chamber warm;
The heat-insulating box has a plurality of walls that define the first storage chamber,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the warming heater is provided on any one of the plurality of wall portions. The first storage compartment is a vegetable compartment,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the other storage compartment is a storage compartment having a temperature lower than the temperature zone of the vegetable compartment, a temperature switching compartment that switches to a temperature zone lower than the temperature zone of the vegetable compartment, a freezer compartment, an ice making compartment, or a chilled compartment. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a refrigerator compartment, an ice-making compartment, a temperature-switchable compartment, a freezer compartment, and a vegetable compartment which is the first storage compartment are formed inside the insulated box, and are arranged from top to bottom in the following order: the refrigerator compartment, the ice-making compartment and the temperature-switchable compartment, the vegetable compartment, and the freezer compartment. The first storage chamber and the other storage chamber are arranged in a vertical direction of the heat-insulating box,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein each of the two side wall portions of the insulated box body has a second vacuum insulation material provided across the other storage compartment and the first storage compartment in the vertical direction.

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