Refrigeration – With means preventing or handling atmospheric condensate... – Means utilizing heat developed by refrigeration producer
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-25
2001-05-15
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
With means preventing or handling atmospheric condensate...
Means utilizing heat developed by refrigeration producer
C165S179000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230511
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an evaporator in a refrigerator which has a simple structure and an improved thermal efficiency.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, the refrigerator is used for storing food at cold or freeze. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the refrigerator is provided with a case
10
having a storage space divided into a freeze room
10
a
and a cold room
10
b
, and parts composing a refrigerating cycle such as a compressor
20
, a condenser
30
, an evaporator
40
, a capillary tube (not shown) for cooling down temperatures in the freeze room
10
a
and the cold room
10
b
. There is a door
12
fitted at one side of the case
10
for open/close of the freeze room
10
a
and the cold room
10
b.
The operation of the refrigerator is as follows.
The compressor
20
compresses a gaseous refrigerant at a low pressure and a low temperature to a refrigerant at a high pressure and a high temperature. The compressed gaseous refrigerant at a high pressure and a high temperature is cooled down and condensed into high pressure liquid refrigerant as it passes through the condenser
30
. The high pressure liquid refrigerant is involved in temperature and pressure drop as it passes through the capillary tube, and in altering into low temperature and low pressure gaseous refrigerant in the evaporator
40
during which the refrigerant absorbs heat from environment cooling down the environmental air. The air circulated by a fan
50
through the evaporator
40
is cooled down and flows into the freeze room
10
and the cold room
10
b
. That is, the freeze room
10
and the cold room
10
b
are cooled down by the evaporator
40
in the process of circulating the air through insides and outsides thereof by the fan
50
.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the evaporator
40
is provided with a refrigerant tube
42
for flow of the refrigerant therethrough, cooling fins
44
attached to the refrigerant tube
42
for obtaining a wider conduction area, and a defrosting tube
46
for removing frost on the refrigerant tube
42
and the cooling fins
44
. The refrigerant tube
42
has multiple layers of a continuous ‘S’ bent tubes. The cooling fins
44
of thin panels are arranged across the bent refrigerant tube
42
from external view at fixed intervals parallel to each other and welded thereto. The defrosting tube
46
of bent tube along the refrigerant tube
42
is in contact with the cooling fin
44
and provided with a heater (not shown), such as electric heating coil, therein.
Therefore, according to the background art evaporator in a refrigerator explained above, the environmental temperature is lowered as the liquid refrigerant of a low temperature and a low pressure passed through the capillary tube absorbs heat as the refrigerant evaporates during the refrigerant passes through the refrigerant tube
42
. The wider conduction area of the refrigerant tube
42
provided by the cooling fin
44
improves a heat exchange efficiency. Frost on the refrigerant tube
42
and the cooling fin
44
formed by a temperature difference between the refrigerant and the ambient temperature is removed as the refrigerant tube
42
and the cooling fin
44
are heated by the heater provided to the defrosting tube
46
.
However, in the background art evaporator in a refrigerator, since the refrigerant tube
42
, the cooling fin
44
, and the defrosting tube
46
are connected as separate components, a cumbersome process for assembling them is required in fabrication of the evaporator, particularly, in the attachment of the cooling fins
44
to the refrigerant tube
42
, the refrigerant tube
42
should be inserted into the cooling fins
44
arranged at fixed intervals and expanded for fixing the cooling fins
44
thereto. And, a contact resistance at welded parts of the refrigerant tube
42
and the cooling fin
44
drops a heat conductivity, with a consequential drop of a heat exchange efficiency. Moreover, in defrosting, minute gaps and contact resistances between the defrosting tube
46
and the cooling fins
44
causes a heat exchange poor, dropping a defrosting efficiency. That is, the background art evaporator has, not only a complicated fabricating process, but also poor heat exchange and defrosting efficiencies, thereby causing to have a low productivity and a low quality as a merchandise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an evaporator in a refrigerator that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an evaporator in a refrigerator which has the refrigerant tube, cooling fins and the defrosting tube formed as one unit for simple structure and a better heat exchange efficiency, to improve a performance and a productivity of the refrigerator.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the refrigerator includes a case having a storage space divided into a freeze room and a cold room, and parts composing a refrigerating cycle such as a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and a capillary tube for cooling down temperatures in the freeze room and the cold room, wherein the evaporator includes one pair of refrigerant tubes for flow of refrigerant therethrough, a defrosting tube disposed between the two refrigerant tubes, and cooling fins formed as one unit with, and connecting the refrigerant tubes and the defrosting tube.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
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patent: 3224503 (1965-12-01), Konanz
patent: 3267564 (1966-08-01), Keyes
patent: 3305008 (1967-02-01), Jacobs
patent: 3343596 (1967-09-01), Kritzer
patent: 4296539 (1981-10-01), Asami
patent: 4369350 (1983-01-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 4756358 (1988-07-01), O'Neal
patent: 5058266 (1991-10-01), Knoll
patent: 5186022 (1993-02-01), Kim
patent: 5372188 (1994-12-01), Dudley et al.
patent: 5690167 (1997-11-01), Rieger
patent: 5765384 (1998-06-01), Carlstedt et al.
Hwang Bong Soo
Kim Byung Jo
Kim Dong Won
Kim Jong Jin
Kim Tae Hyun
LG Electronics Inc.
Ross P.C. Sheridan
Tapolcai William E.
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