TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of household appliance technologies, and in particular, to a refrigeration appliance.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, with the development of society and the improvement of living standards, household refrigeration appliances, especially refrigerators, play an important role in people's daily life, and users have increasingly high requirements for the functionality, volume, preservation, and energy conservation of the refrigerators. Generally, to achieve different refrigeration effects, a refrigerator at least includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. In addition, the refrigerator may further include another storage compartment such as a variable temperature compartment. Each compartment of the refrigerators has a corresponding liner. To ensure a refrigeration temperature in each compartment and avoid mutual impact, a heat insulation layer is arranged between a housing of the refrigerator and each liner. The heat insulation layer is made of a foaming material.

In an air-cooled refrigerator, a return air duct is arranged to connect a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment of the refrigerator and implement air circulation between the compartments, thereby reducing the humidity in liners and avoiding frosting as well as achieving the effect of energy conservation at the same time. To maintain the air temperature in the return air duct, the return air duct needs to be embedded in the heat insulation layer. In this case, a thickness of a position of the heat insulation layer wrapping the return air duct needs to be increased. In an existing refrigerator, a return air duct is located behind a liner of the refrigerator, and a back wall of the liner is designed flat. A thick foaming material is used to separate the return air duct from a back plate of a housing of the refrigerator and separate the return air duct from the liner, to avoid condensation on the back plate and icing on the return air duct. However, a relatively thick heat insulation layer may lead to an increase in an overall thickness of the refrigerator and adversely affect the usable volume of a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment of the refrigerator. In addition, the utilization of a foaming material at a position of the heat insulation layer where no return air duct is arranged is excessively low.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an objective of embodiments of the present invention is to provide an improved refrigeration appliance, and in particular, provide a refrigeration appliance conducive to improving the storage volume.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a refrigeration appliance is provided, the refrigeration appliance at least including:

-a housing;

-a first liner arranged inside the housing;

-a second liner arranged inside the housing;

-a heat insulation layer, the heat insulation layer being arranged between the housing, the first liner, and the second liner;

-an evaporator, the evaporator being arranged at a back wall of the second liner; and

-a return air duct, the return air duct being embedded in the heat insulation layer, connected to the first liner by a first end portion, and connected to the second liner by a second end portion, where at least one of the first liner or the second liner has a concave portion, and the return air duct is at least partially arranged in the concave portion.

Different from the prior art, in the refrigeration appliance according to the present invention, a concave portion is arranged in a liner, and a return air duct is at least partially arranged in the concave portion, so that an overall thickness of a heat insulation layer is obviously reduced in a case that the structure of the liner is only locally changed, to increase the volume of the liner without changing the size of the refrigeration appliance, thereby maximizing the usable volume. Only a thickness of the heat insulation layer at the concave portion needs to be ensured to allow a foaming material to wrap the return air duct, while a thickness of the heat insulation layer at the remaining part may be relatively small, which improves the utilization of a foaming material at a position where no return air duct is arranged.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct is connected to a first through hole of the first liner by the first end portion, and the first through hole is spaced apart from an edge of the first liner. In this way, impurities in the first liner can be prevented from entering the return air duct, thereby ensuring a smooth air return process.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct is connected to a second through hole of the second liner by the second end portion, and the second through hole is arranged to allow air from the second through hole to flow through the evaporator from bottom to top in a height direction. In this way, the heat exchange path at the evaporator can be advantageously extended, and the heat exchange efficiency can be improved.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct includes a sloped pipe segment at least inclined in a width direction of the refrigeration appliance. The sloped pipe segment can allow at least part of the return air duct and the liner to be staggered in the width direction, thereby reducing the occupation of the volume of the liner by the return air duct or the concave portion for receiving the return air duct.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the sloped pipe segment extends beyond a sidewall of the second liner from the first end portion; and/or the sloped pipe segment spans a gap between the first liner and the second liner; and/or the sloped pipe segment and the evaporator are staggered in the height direction and the width direction of the refrigeration appliance. In this way, the adverse impact of the return air duct on the usable volume of the second liner can be minimized, and the displacement of the return air duct caused by the impact of the foaming material on the return air duct during assembly and the pull effect of the return air duct on the heat insulation layer can be avoided.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct includes a transverse pipe segment extending substantially in the width direction of the refrigeration appliance. In this way, an air flow direction in the return air duct can be changed, and the return air duct can lead to the through hole of the liner from an edge side of the liner, which makes the layout of the return air duct flexible.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, at least part of the transverse pipe segment is arranged between a back side of the evaporator and the housing, and the transverse pipe segment leads to the second end portion. In this way, at least part of the transverse pipe segment can be arranged behind the evaporator, and the through hole connecting the liner and the transverse pipe segment can be enlarged, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first liner and the second liner are arranged stacking in the height direction of the refrigeration appliance, and the return air duct includes a vertical pipe segment extending substantially in the height direction. The vertical pipe segment can be arranged at least mostly on the edge side of the liner and occupy as little volume of the liner as possible.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the vertical pipe segment is arranged between the sloped pipe segment at least inclined in the width direction of the refrigeration appliance of the return air duct and the transverse pipe segment extending substantially in the width direction of the refrigeration appliance of the return air duct. In this way, the sloped pipe segment and the transverse pipe segment may be connected by the vertical pipe segment, and the size of the sloped pipe segment can be reduced. The return air duct is constructed in an L shape.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a distance between the vertical pipe segment and the back wall of the second liner is constant; and/or the distance between the vertical pipe segment and the back wall of the second liner is greater than a distance between the vertical pipe segment and the back plate of the housing. In this way, the relative position of the vertical pipe segment, the back wall of the liner, and the back plate of the housing can be limited.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct is arranged with a bend section, and the bend section is configured to be suitable for changing a direction of an air flow path; and/or the return air duct is arranged with a guide slope, and the guide slope is configured to be suitable for guiding an air flow. The bend section and/or the guide slope may guide the air flow in the return air duct and reduce the noise caused by air colliding with a pipe wall.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, at least part of a pipe wall of the return air duct is arranged with a reinforcing structure, so that the strength of the return air duct can be enhanced and the displacement or deformation of the return air duct can be avoided; and/or the concave portion is arranged at an edge between a back wall and a sidewall of the first liner and/or an edge between the back wall and the sidewall of the second liner, so that the impact on the usable volume of the liner can be minimized.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the return air duct is integrally formed, so that the quantity of components can be reduced and the assembly process of the return air duct can be simplified; or the return air duct is formed in a plurality of pieces, and components of the return air duct fit with each other through a plug-in connection, so that the production process of the return air duct can be simplified.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the refrigeration appliance further includes an air duct cover plate located in the second liner, and the evaporator is located between the air duct cover plate and the back wall of the second liner, where the air duct cover plate includes an extension portion extending beyond the evaporator in the width direction of the refrigeration appliance, and the return air duct and the extension portion are stacked. The air duct cover plate can prevent stored objects in the second liner from affecting the evaporator or the return air duct.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first liner is arranged as a refrigerator compartment or a variable temperature compartment, and the second liner is arranged as a freezer compartment; and/or the refrigeration appliance further includes an additional return air duct, and the additional return air duct and the return air duct are arranged relative to each other in the width direction of the refrigeration appliance, so that the heat exchange efficiency can be further improved; and/or the refrigeration appliance further includes an additional liner, and the additional liner is connected to the first liner or the second liner by the additional return air duct, to achieve applicability to a refrigeration appliance with two or more liners; and/or the refrigeration appliance is an air-cooled refrigerator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the principles, features, and advantages of the present invention can be better understood by describing the present invention in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings include:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a top view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed diagram of a return air duct of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the technical problems to be solved by the present invention, technical solutions, and beneficial technical effects more comprehensible, the following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments herein are merely provided for describing the present invention and not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. For reasons of brevity, elements with the same reference numerals are marked only once in the drawings when necessary.

It should be understood that the terms "first", "second", and "third" in the present invention are merely intended for a purpose of description, and shall not be understood as indicating or implying relative significance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. A feature restricted by "first" or "second" may explicitly indicate or implicitly indicate to include at least one such feature.

In the description of the embodiments, a direction or location relationship indicated by a term "on", "under", "front", "rear", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", or the like may refer to a location relationship of elements shown in the accompanying drawings, and is intended only conveniently describe the present invention and simplify the description, but is not intended to indicate or imply that a mentioned apparatus or element needs to have a particular direction and is constructed and operated in the particular direction. Therefore, the direction or location relationship cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention. The location relationship of the elements is appropriately changed according to the direction describing each element. Therefore, it is not limited to the words and sentences described in the specification, and can be appropriately replaced according to the condition. Define according to XYZ rectangular coordinate system in the accompanying drawings: a direction X corresponds to a width direction of a refrigeration appliance 100, a direction Y corresponds to a depth direction of the refrigeration appliance 100, and a direction Z corresponds to a height direction of the refrigeration appliance 100.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeration appliance 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The refrigeration appliance 100 is, for example, constructed as an air-cooled refrigerator. However, it may also be considered that the refrigeration appliance 100 is constructed as an air-cooled freezer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigeration appliance 100 includes a housing 10, a first liner 20, and a second liner 30. The first liner 20 and the second liner 30 are arranged inside the housing 10. The first liner 20 is arranged above the second liner 30 in the height direction Z. The first liner 20 is, for example, arranged as a refrigerator box or a variable temperature box, and the second liner 30 is, for example, arranged as a freezer box. However, it may also be considered that the first liner 20 and the second liner 30 are arranged as storage boxes of other types. In addition, it also be considered that the refrigeration appliance 100 includes an additional liner.

As shown in FIG. 1, a heat insulation layer 40 is arranged between a back plate 11 and a side plate 12 of the housing 10 of the refrigeration appliance 100 and the first liner 20 and the second liner 30. The heat insulation layer is made of a foaming material, for example, polyurethane foam plastics. The heat insulation layer 40 can prevent external heat from being transferred into the refrigeration appliance 100 and prevent thermal interference between the first liner 20 and the second liner 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigeration appliance 100 further includes an evaporator 50. The evaporator is arranged at a back wall 32 of the second liner 30 of the refrigeration appliance 100. The back wall faces away from an opening of the second liner 30 in the depth direction Y of the refrigeration appliance 100. The evaporator 50 absorbs heat of a passing air flow to implement refrigeration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigeration appliance 100 further includes a return air duct 60. The return air duct is connected to the first liner 20 by a first end portion 1 and connected to the second liner 30 by a second end portion 2, to guide air in the first liner 20 to return to the second liner 30. The return air duct 60 is completely embedded in the heat insulation layer 40 to prevent the cooling in the return air duct 60 from dissipating into the outside environment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a concave portion 70 is arranged in the first liner 20 and the second liner 30, and the return air duct 60 is at least partially arranged in the concave portion. In particular, the concave portion 70 is located at an edge between a sidewall and a back wall of the first liner 20 and an edge between the sidewall and the back wall of the second liner 30. In addition, it may also be considered that the concave portion 70 is only arranged in only one of the first liner 20 and the second liner 30. In this way, the return air duct 60 and the foaming material wrapping the return air duct 60 may be at least partially arranged in the concave portion 70, to prevent the return air duct 60 from being excessively extending beyond the back wall of the liner excessively and prevent the overall thickness of the heat insulation layer 40 from being excessively large, thereby implementing the effective utilization of the foaming material of the heat insulation layer 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, the return air duct 60 is connected to a first through hole 21 of the first liner 20 by the first end portion 1. The first through hole 21 is spaced apart from an edge, in particular a lower edge, of the first liner 20, to prevent stored objects or impurities in the first liner 20, for example, liquid water, from entering the return air duct 60, thereby ensuring the smooth air return process.

As shown in FIG. 2, the return air duct 60 is connected to a second through hole 31 of the second liner 30 by the second end portion 2. The second through hole 31 is arranged below the evaporator 50 and allows air from the second through hole 31 to flow through the evaporator 50 from bottom to top in the height direction Z, which allows an air flow to flow through the evaporator 50 along a relatively long heat exchange path, thereby effectively reducing the temperature of the air flow.

In addition, it may also be considered that the refrigeration appliance 100 further includes an additional return air duct, and the additional return air duct and the return air duct 60 are arranged relative to each other in the width direction X of the refrigeration appliance 100.

In addition, it may also be considered that the refrigeration appliance 100 further includes an additional liner, and the additional liner is connected to the first liner 20 or the second liner 30 by the additional return air duct.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the return air duct 60 includes a sloped pipe segment 61. The sloped pipe segment at least inclines in the width direction X. The sloped pipe segment 61 inclines in the width direction X towards the side plate of the refrigeration appliance 100 from the first end portion 1. For example, in particular, the sloped pipe segment 61 extends beyond a sidewall 33 of the second liner 30. In this way, the impact of the return air duct 60 on the usable volume of the second liner 30 can be minimized.

For example, the sloped pipe segment 61 spans a gap 3 between the first liner 20 and the second liner 30. The sloped pipe segment 61 and the gap 3 are stacked. In this way, the displacement of the return air duct caused by the impact of the foaming material on the return air duct 60 can be prevented during assembly, and the pull effect of the return air duct 60 on the heat insulation layer 40 can be reduced. For example, the sloped pipe segment 61 and the evaporator 50 are staggered in the height direction Z and the width direction X. This also reduces the adverse impact of the return air duct 60 on the usable volume of the second liner 30. Certainly, another position relationship between the sloped pipe segment 61 and the evaporator 50 considered significant by a person skilled in the art, for example, the two partially overlapping each other in the width direction X, may also be considered.

As shown in FIG. 3, the return air duct 60 includes a transverse pipe segment 63 extending substantially in the width direction X of the refrigeration appliance 100. At least part of the transverse pipe segment is arranged on a back side of the evaporator 50, or in other words, between the back wall of the second liner 30 and the back plate 11 of the housing 10. The transverse pipe segment leads to the second end portion 2. The second end portion is connected to the second through hole 31 of the second liner 30. For example, at least part of the transverse pipe segment 63 is arranged below the evaporator 50. The second through hole 31 can be enlarged by arranging the transverse pipe segment 63, to increase an air flow and improve heat exchange efficiency.

As shown in FIG. 3, the return air duct 60 further includes a vertical pipe segment 62 extending substantially in the height direction Z. The vertical pipe segment is arranged between the sloped pipe segment 61 and the transverse pipe segment 63. The sloped pipe segment 61 is connected to the transverse pipe segment 63 by the vertical pipe segment 62. The vertical pipe segment 62 is arranged at an edge of the second liner 30, and in particular, at least partially beyond a sidewall 33 of the second liner 30.

In addition, it may also be considered that the return air duct 60 does not include the vertical pipe segment 62 and the sloped pipe segment 61 is directly connected to the transverse pipe segment 63. FIG. 4 is a top view of the interior structure of a refrigeration appliance 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, a distance between the vertical pipe segment 62 and the back wall 32 of the second liner 30 is constant. The distance between the vertical pipe segment 62 and the back wall 32 of the second liner 30 is greater than a distance between the vertical pipe segment 62 and the back plate 11 of the housing 10. For example, the second through hole 31 of the second liner 30 faces the back plate 11. The vertical pipe segment 62 is located in front of a plane of the second through hole 31 in the depth direction Y. In this way, the vertical pipe segment 62 is partially arranged in the concave portion 70, and the thickness between the back wall 32 of the second liner 30 of the heat insulation layer 40 and the back plate 11 is reduced. However, it may also be considered that the distance between the vertical pipe segment 62 and the back wall 32 of the second liner 30 is less than the distance between the vertical pipe segment 62 and the back plate 11 of the housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigeration appliance 100 further includes an air duct cover plate 80 located in the second liner 30. The air duct cover plate covers the evaporator 50 located at the back wall 32 of the second liner 30. In this way, the evaporator 50 is arranged between the air duct cover plate 80 and the back wall 32 of the second liner 30. The air duct cover plate 80 includes an extension portion 81 extending beyond the evaporator 50 in the width direction X of the refrigeration appliance 100. The return air duct 60 and the extension portion are stacked. The air duct cover plate 80 improves the aesthetics of the refrigeration appliance 100 and avoids the impact of stored objects in the second liner 30 on the evaporator 50 or the return air duct 60.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a return air duct 60 of a refrigeration appliance 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the return air duct 60 includes a sloped pipe segment 61 leading to the first end portion 1, a vertical pipe segment 62 extending substantially in the height direction Z, and a transverse pipe segment 63 extending substantially in the width direction X. The vertical pipe segment 62 is arranged between the sloped pipe segment 61 and the transverse pipe segment 63. For example, the return air duct 60 is integrally formed. In this way, the quantity of components of the return air duct 60 can be reduced, and the assembly process of can be simplified. In addition, it may also be considered that the return air duct 60 is formed in a plurality of pieces, and components of the return air duct 60 are assembled with each other through a plug-in connection. For example, the sloped pipe segment 61 includes a first insertion portion opposite to the first end portion 1, and the transverse pipe segment 63 includes a second insertion portion opposite to the second end portion 2.

The first insertion portion and the second insertion portion are respectively connected to two ends of the vertical pipe segment 62 in a plug-in manner.

As shown in FIG. 5, at least part of a pipe wall of the return air duct 60 is, for example, arranged with a reinforcing structure 65. For example, the reinforcing structure is constructed as a reinforcing rib. The reinforcing structure 65 can improve the strength of the return air duct 60 and prevent the deformation of the return air duct 60.

As shown in FIG. 5, the return air duct 60 is, for example, arranged with a bend section 64. The bend section is configured to be suitable for changing a direction of an air flow path. The bend section 64 may be attached to the transverse pipe segment 63 and is arranged between the transverse pipe segment 63 and the vertical pipe segment 62. The bend section can convert a vertical air flow path into a horizontal air flow path. However, it may also be considered that the bend section 64 is attached to the sloped pipe segment 61 and is arranged between the sloped pipe segment 61 and the vertical pipe segment 62. The bend section can convert an inclined air flow path into a vertical air flow path.

For example, the return air duct 60 is also arranged with a guide slope 611, 631. The guide slope is configured to be suitable for guiding an air flow. It may be considered that the guide slope 611, 631 is separately constructed as a cover plate and can be fixed on a corresponding opening of the return air duct 60 through a plug-in connection.

Although specific implementations have been described above, these implementations are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, even if only one implementation is described with respect to specific features. The feature example provided in the present invention is intended to be illustrative rather than limiting, unless otherwise stated. In the specific implementation, a plurality of features may be combined with each other according to an actual requirement, if technically feasible. Various replacements, changes, and modifications are also conceivable without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.