Refrigeration – Cooled enclosure
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-19
2003-09-16
Jiang, Chen Wen (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Cooled enclosure
C062S407000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619070
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-36017, filed Jun. 23, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to kimchi refrigerators used to appropriately ferment a kimchi and to keep the kimchi cool in a desired state for a lengthy period of time. More particularly, the present invention relates to a kimchi refrigerator provided with a door at a top of a cabinet for closing a storage compartment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Storing a kimchi in a well controlled temperature is important to prevent over-fermentation and souring of the kimchi. Kimchi refrigerators are specifically designed to appropriately ferment a newly pickled kimchi using a heating unit, in accordance with a users taste, and to keep the fermented kimchi cool in a desired state for a lengthy period of time using an evaporator constituting a refrigerating cycle.
FIG. 1
shows a conventional kimchi refrigerator having a cabinet
1
partitioned in its interior into a storage compartment
2
a
and a machine compartment
4
. An evaporator
5
and a heater
6
are set in a sidewall of the cabinet
1
, while a door
8
is mounted to a top edge of the cabinet
1
by a hinged joint
8
a
so as to dose the storage compartment
2
a
. The door
8
allows a user to access the compartment
2
a
of the kimchi refrigerator.
The cabinet
1
includes an inner casing
2
which has a box shape and is open at its top to form the storage compartment
2
a
, and an outer casing
3
which encloses the inner casing
2
. A gap formed between the inner and outer casings
2
and
3
is filled with an insulating material to form an insulation wall
7
.
The evaporator
5
comprises a coiled refrigerant pipe, which is installed in the cabinet
1
to surround an external surface of the sidewall of the inner casing
2
. In the conventional kimchi refrigerator, the evaporator
5
directly cools the inner casing
2
so as to reduce the temperature of the storage compartment
2
a
. The heater
6
comprises a heating coil, which is circumferentially arranged on the sidewall of the inner casing
2
to extend along the coiled refrigerant pipe of the evaporator
5
.
The storage compartment
2
a
is kept cool by a heat conduction through the sidewall of the inner casing
2
installed with the evaporator
5
, and through natural convection of cool air inside the compartment
2
a
. Similarly, a kimchi (not shown) in the storage compartment
2
a
is also kept cool. In addition, the top of the storage compartment
2
a
is opened by opening the door
8
, and so a user easily takes a desired amount of the kimchi out of the compartment
2
a.
However, the conventional kimchi refrigerator has a disadvantage in that there is a nonuniform temperature distribution, as shown by curves A of
FIG. 1
, along the height of the storage compartment
2
a
. That is, the evaporator
5
directly cools air inside the storage compartment
2
a
, and the newly cooled air flows downward to a lower area of the compartment
2
a
. Meanwhile, air raised in its temperature by absorbing heat from the kimchi, or atmospheric air introduced into the compartment
2
a
through the top opening of the compartment
2
flows upward to an upper area of the compartment
2
a
. Therefore, the temperature of the upper area inside the storage compartment
2
a
is higher than the temperature of the lower area. This nonuniform temperature distribution causes over-fermentation of the kimchi stored at the upper area of the compartment
2
a
near the door
8
, and reduces the freshness of the kimchi so as to sour the kimchi.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kimchi refrigerator with an improved door structure capable of reducing the temperature difference between areas of different heights in the storage compartment.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a kimchi refrigerator having a cabinet which defines a storage compartment and which is open at its top, an evaporator which cools air inside the cabinet and that is set within a sidewall of the cabinet, and a door which opens/doses the storage compartment mounted on a top of the cabinet, the door comprising an air storage chamber provided under a lower surface of the door, and an air separation panel, which separates air inside the air storage chamber from air inside the storage compartment, mounted to the lower surface of the door.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the air separation panel is made of an aluminum plate having a high heat conductivity.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the air separation panel is made of a heat nonconductive material, and includes a plurality of air guide holes which guide air flowing upward in the storage compartment into the air storage chamber.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, each of the air guide holes has a diameter and which tapers to reduce the diameter toward the air storage chamber from the storage compartment.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the door is provided with a depression on its lower surface spaced apart from the air separation panel so as to define the air storage chamber.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention, the door is provided with a locking groove on its lower surface formed along an edge of the depression, and the air separation panel is provided along its edge with a locking flange which is inserted into the locking groove.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4008492 (1977-02-01), Elsing
patent: 5947197 (1999-09-01), Lee et al.
patent: 6253668 (2001-07-01), Lee
patent: 08214804 (1996-08-01), None
Jiang Chen Wen
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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