Refrigeration – Automatic control – Of external fluid or means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-31
2004-04-13
Doerrler, Willaim C. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Automatic control
Of external fluid or means
C062S408000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06718780
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator which performs a swift cooling operation of a high temperature load by concentratedly injecting cool air into a region where a high temperature load is generated inside the chilling chamber and particularly, to a concentration cooling apparatus for a refrigerator, capable of preventing attaching of frost on the surface of the infrared sensor.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 1
is a partially sectional perspective view showing a conventional refrigerator.
The conventional refrigerator includes a main body
104
, having a receiving space therein, a freezing chamber
106
which is positioned at the left side of the main body
104
, for keeping frozen food, a cooling chamber
108
divided from the freezing chamber
106
by partition wall
110
, for keeping refrigeration food, and a cold air supplying apparatus which is installed at the upper side of the freezing chamber
106
, for supplying air which is cooled passing a freezing cycle (not shown) to the freezing chamber
106
and cooling chamber
108
.
The cold air supplying apparatus includes a blower
120
which is mounted on the upper of the freezing chamber
106
and forcibly ventilating air cooled while passing the freezing cycle, a cold air path
132
which is formed at the upper side of the partition wall
110
for flowing cold air ventilated from the blower
120
to the cooling chamber
108
, a cold air discharging duct
134
which is mounted at the upper portion of the cooling chamber
108
and is connected to the cold air supply path
132
, and in which a cold air discharging port
136
for discharging cold air supplied to the cold air supply path
132
into the cooling chamber
108
, and a cold air path
138
which is formed at the lower side of the partition wall
110
, and in which cold air which completed cooling operation circulating in the cooling chamber
108
is flowed into the freezing cycle.
However, in the above conventional refrigerator, the cold air discharging duct was positioned at the upper side of the cooling chamber, and cold air was supplied from the upper side to the lower side of the cooling chamber through the discharging port formed in the cold air discharging duct. Therefore, temperature deviation was increased according to the distance from the cold air discharging port, and when a high temperature load was generated by receiving food and the like inside the cooling chamber since the cold air was discharged just from the cold air discharging duct of the cooling chamber, it took much time to have uniform temperature inside the cooling chamber. Accordingly, cooling time was lengthened and freshness of the food stored inside the cooling chamber was decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a concentration cooling apparatus for a refrigerator, capable of uniformly maintaining temperature of a cooling chamber in a short time by concentratedly discharging cold air to a high temperature load generated inside the cooling chamber by installing a concentration cooling apparatus inside the cooling chamber, improving cooling speed of the high temperature load, and improving freshness of the cooling chamber.
Also, another object of the present invention is to provide a concentration cooling apparatus for a refrigerator, capable of improving reliability of an infrared sensor by preventing frost on the lens surface of the infrared sensor which detects whether the high temperature load is generated.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a concentration cooling apparatus for a refrigerator, including a housing which is respectively mounted in a cold air guiding path, a nozzle which is rotably supported in the housing, for concentratedly injecting cold air to a region where a high temperature load is generated when the high temperature load is generated in a predetermined region inside a cooling chamber, an infrared sensor which is mounted at the front of the nozzle, for sensing the region where the high temperature load is generated rotating together with the nozzle and a frost drying unit which is installed on the upper surface of the nozzle, for drying frost attached on the surface of the infrared sensor.
The nozzle of the concentration cooling apparatus includes a cold air injection port for injecting cold air supplied to the cold air guiding path to the region where the concentrated load is generated, and a sensor receiving groove for receiving the infrared sensor therein.
The frost drying unit includes an infrared transmission window which is attached on the surface of the nozzle, for covering the sensor receiving groove, a frost drying member which is positioned to be contacted on the surface of the infrared transmission window, for drying frost which is attached on the surface of the infrared transmission window when the nozzle rotates and a control means for rotating the nozzle when frost is attached on the infrared transmission window.
The infrared transmission window of the frost drying unit is formed in a shape of an arc so that it can be attached along the surface of the nozzle, and a through hole is formed so that cold air can pass a portion where the cold air injection port is formed.
The frost drying member of the frost drying unit is contacted on the surface of the infrared transmission window being fixed on the inner wall of the cooling chamber, and the end portion that is contacted on the infrared transmission window is formed in a shape of a concave surface to be abutted on the surface of the infrared transmission window.
The end portion that is contacted on the infrared transmission window of the frost drying member is formed with rubber material which can easily dry frost by being abutted on the surface of the infrared transmission window.
The end portion that is contacted on the infrared transmission window of the frost drying member is formed with a material having predetermined elasticity.
The end portion that is contacted on the infrared transmission window of the frost drying member is positioned in the vertical direction to the rotation direction of the nozzle.
The control means of the frost drying unit of the present invention includes a door opening/closing sensor for sensing whether the door of the refrigerator is opened or closed and a control unit for rotating the nozzle by driving the second nozzle driving portion according to an electric signal applied from the door opening/closing sensor.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4002199 (1977-01-01), Jacobs
patent: 5884496 (1999-03-01), Kim et al.
patent: 5899090 (1999-05-01), Lyu
patent: 5974814 (1999-11-01), Park et al.
patent: 6073458 (2000-06-01), Kim
patent: 6401481 (2002-06-01), Hiraoka et al.
patent: 2003/0029178 (2003-02-01), Zentner et al.
An Kwang-Hyup
Cho Seong-Ho
Choi Jay-Ho
Lee In-Seop
Lee In-Won
Doerrler Willaim C.
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
LG Electronics Inc.
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