Refrigeration – Cooled enclosure – Plural cooled compartments
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-01
2002-12-24
Jiang, Chen-Wen (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Cooled enclosure
Plural cooled compartments
C062S408000, C062S199000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06497113
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a refrigerator of a type having a refrigerator compartment, including a vegetable storage chamber, and a freezer compartment defined below the refrigerator compartment.
BACKGROUND ART
It is well known that the refrigerator has a plurality of utility compartments, respective inside temperatures of which are controlled to a different temperature appropriate for storage of particular food materials. The refrigerator very popular in the art has a freezer compartment defined at top of the refrigerator housing and a refrigerator compartment defined in the refrigerator housing at a location below the freezer compartment, and is generally referred to as a top-freezer refrigerator. The refrigerator compartment is usually divided into a refrigerating chamber and a crisper or vegetable storage chamber generally defined below the refrigerating chamber.
However, in view of ease of use, a bottom-freezer refrigerator has recently come into the mainstream. In the bottom-freezer refrigerator, the refrigerator compartment is positioned below the refrigerator compartment with the crisper located at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment. An example of this bottom-freezer refrigerator is disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-71850.
Some prior art bottom-freezer refrigerators will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings and particularly to
FIGS. 9
to
11
. Referring first to
FIG. 9
, the known bottom-freezer refrigerator comprises a generally rectangular box-like refrigerator housing
1
, the interior of which is divided into a freezer compartment
2
and a refrigerator compartment
3
defined above the freezer compartment
2
and separated therefrom by means of an adiabatic partition wall
4
. The freezer compartment
2
has an engine chamber
5
defined therein at a location rearwards of the refrigerator compartment
2
with respect to and opposite to a front door assembly (not shown), for accommodating therein a cooler
6
and a circulating fan
7
for creating a forced draft of cooling air. The refrigerator compartment
3
has a crisper or vegetable storage chamber
9
defined or positioned therein at the bottom thereof, and a low-temperature storage chamber
10
such as, for example, a chilled chamber or a partial freezing chamber defined or positioned therein at a location above the crisper
9
. Reference numeral
8
represents a first cooled air return passage defined inside the engine chamber
5
.
Reference numeral
11
represents an automatic temperature controller disposed at a lower rear deep area of the refrigerator compartment
3
, in which controller
11
there are disposed a first cooled air supply regulator
12
for controlling the supply of a cooled air into the refrigerator compartment
3
, a second cooled air supply regulator
13
for regulating the supply of the cooled air into the low-temperature storage chamber
10
, a first cooled air discharge passage
14
for discharging the cooled air from the refrigerator compartment
3
, a second cooled air discharge passage
15
for discharging the cooled air from the low-temperature storage chamber
10
, and a second cooled air return passage
16
communicated with the first cooled air return passage
8
. Reference numeral
17
represents a return port defined in a rear wall of the low-temperature storage chamber
10
and communicated with the second cooled air return passage
16
within the automatic temperature controller
11
. Reference numeral
18
represents a discharge port communicated with the low-temperature storage chamber
10
and fluid-connected with the second cooled air discharge passage
15
. Reference numeral
19
represents a return port defined in a rear wall of the refrigerator compartment
3
and communicated with the second cooled air return passage
16
within the automatic temperature controller
11
. Reference numeral
20
represents a discharge duct having a cooled air discharge port
21
communicated with the refrigerator compartment
3
, and communicated with the first cooled air discharge passage
14
.
The flow of the cooled air in the prior art refrigerator shown in
FIG. 9
will be discussed. Air cooled by the cooler
6
is forcibly supplied by the circulating fan
7
in part to the refrigerator compartment
3
through the first cooled air discharge passage
14
, the first cooled air supply regulator
12
and the discharge duct
20
and in part to the low-temperature storage chamber
10
through the second cooled air discharge passage
15
, the second cooled air supply regulator
13
and the discharge port
18
. The cooled air supplied into the refrigerator compartment
3
flows through the return port
19
and the cooled air supplied into the low-temperature storage chamber
10
flows through the return port
17
. The cooled air from the return port
19
and the cooled air from the return port
17
are subsequently returned to the cooler
6
through the second cooled air return passage
16
and the first cooled air return passage
8
, respectively. In this way, the cooled air circulated within the refrigerator through the various compartments and chambers to cool those compartments and chambers to respective predetermined temperatures.
FIGS. 10 and 11
illustrate another prior art bottom-freezer refrigerator. The known bottom-freezer refrigerator best shown in
FIG. 10
comprises a generally rectangular box-like refrigerator housing
22
, the interior of which is divided into a refrigerator compartment
24
and a freezer compartment
25
defined below the refrigerator compartment
24
and separated therefrom by means of an adiabatic partition wall
23
. The refrigerator compartment
24
which is most frequently utilized in home has a removable crisper box
26
mounted inside the refrigerator compartment
24
and slidably resting on the adiabatic partition wall
23
. The refrigerator compartment
24
accommodates therein a first cooler
27
, a first circulating fan
28
and a first temperature detecting means
29
for detecting the inside temperature of the refrigerator compartment
24
. On the other hand, the freezer compartment
25
accommodates therein a second cooler
30
, a second circulating fan
31
and a second temperature detecting means
32
for detecting the inside temperature of the refrigerator compartment
24
.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the refrigerating system employed in the refrigerator shown in
FIG. 10
includes a compressor
33
, a condenser
34
, a decompressor
35
, the first cooler
27
and the second cooler
30
, all of which are fluid-connected in the order specified above.
Cooling of the refrigerator of the structure shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11
is generally carried out by driving the compressor
33
in response to a signal from the temperature detecting means
32
disposed in the freezer compartment
25
. Simultaneously with the drive of the compressor
33
, the first and second circulating fans
28
and
31
are also driven to forcibly circulate the cooled air within the refrigerator compartment
24
, including the crisper box
26
, and the freezer compartment
25
to cool and freeze the food materials accommodated therein, respectively. When the freezer compartment
25
is cooled to a predetermined temperature as a result of the cooling operation, the compressor
33
is brought to a halt in response to a signal from the temperature detecting means
32
. On the other hand, when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means
29
is higher than a predetermined cut-in temperature, the first circulating fan
28
continues its rotation to circulate within and cool the refrigerator compartment
24
, but when the inside temperature of the refrigerator compartment
24
lowers to such an extent that the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means
29
is lower than a predetermined cut-off temperature, the first circulating fan
28
is brought to a halt.
With the first-described prior art refrigerator, a problem has been found that since the cooled air i
Hamano Hiroki
Hyoudou Akira
Imai Kazuo
Iwai Haruhiko
Kimura Yoshito
Jiang Chen-Wen
Matsushita Refrigeration Company
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