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EP-3730876-B1 - REFRIGERATOR

EP3730876B1EP 3730876 B1EP3730876 B1EP 3730876B1EP-3730876-B1

Inventors

  • YOO, DAEHYUN
  • Park, Kihyun
  • LIM, KIYOUNG

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20190306

Claims (14)

  1. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet (10) comprising an inner case (110) provided with a storage compartment (111), a case supporter (130) coupled to a lower side of the inner case (110) to support the inner case (110), a base (120) coupled to a lower side of the case supporter (130) to define a cavity with the case supporter (130) and an outer case surrounding the inner case (110); a door (20) disposed on a front portion of the cabinet (10) to open and close the storage compartment (111); and a cooling device (50) disposed on a rear surface of the inner case (110) to have at least a portion thereof exposed to the storage compartment (111), wherein a water collection hole (117) is formed on a center of a rear end of a bottom surface of the inner case (110), wherein a water collection guide (180) is mounted on a lower side of the inner case (110) to guide water flowing into the water collection hole (117) to flow downward, wherein a water collection portion (170) is formed on the base (120) to collect water passing through the water collection guide (180), characterized in that the inner case (110) has a water collection recess (116) formed on an inner surface thereof on which the cooling device (50) is installed, the water collection recess (116) being formed to be concave backward to guide water generated in the cooling device (50) to flow toward the water collection hole (117), and wherein a width of an upper end of the water collection recess (116) is formed to correspond to a width of the cooling device (50), and a width of a lower end of the water collection recess (116) is formed to correspond to a width of the water collection hole (117).
  2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the water collection guide (180) comprises: a contact portion (182, 183) coupled to an outer surface of the inner case (110) in surface contact therewith; and a water collection pipe (181) having a guide hole (185) formed in a center thereof to fluidly communicate with the water collection hole (117).
  3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the contact portion (182, 183) comprises: a horizontal contact portion (182) contacting a lower surface of the inner case (110); and a vertical contact portion (183) extending upward from a rear end of the horizontal contact portion (182) to be in contact with a rear surface of the inner case (110).
  4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein an inclined portion (184) is formed on an upper end of the water collection pipe (181), the inclined portion (184) becoming narrower from an upper side toward a lower side.
  5. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein a guide pipe (137) is formed on the case supporter (130) to allow the water collection pipe (181) to be inserted thereinto.
  6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the guide pipe (137) has an upper end extending upward from an upper surface of the case supporter (130) to be connected with a lower end of the water collection pipe (181), and a lower end extending downward from a lower surface of the case supporter (130) to guide water discharged from the water collection pipe (181) toward the water collection portion (170).
  7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the water collection portion (170) has a pipe cover rib (172) formed thereon to allow a lower end of the guide pipe (137) to be inserted.
  8. The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein a slit recess (173) cut in a vertical direction is formed on the pipe cover rib (172).
  9. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the water collection recess (116) is formed to have a width gradually becoming smaller from the upper end toward the lower end.
  10. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the cooling device (50) comprises a radiation fan protruding backward from the inner case (110), and wherein air discharged from the radiation fan passes through the water collection portion (170), and then is discharged an outside of the cabinet (10).
  11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the cabinet (10) further comprises a middle plate (150) to cover an upper surface and a rear surface of the inner case (110), and a rear panel (160) to cover a rear surface of the middle plate (150), wherein the radiation fan is disposed between the middle plate (150) and the rear panel (160), and wherein air discharged from the radiation fan moves downward between the middle plate (150) and the rear panel (160), and then moves forward between the case supporter (130) and the base (120).
  12. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the inner case (110) comprises an elevated portion (118) protruding upward from a center of the bottom surface thereof in a forward-backward direction, and base portions (119) are formed on both sides of the elevated portion (118) to be stepped from the elevated portion (118).
  13. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein a second sensing member (920) is disposed on a front surface of the elevated portion (118), and wherein a first sensing member (910) is disposed on a position of the door (20) facing the second sensing member (920).
  14. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the first sensing member (910) is disposed on a lower side of a drawer assembly (40) which is connected to a lower side of the door (20), and slides forward and backward along with the door (20).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator. BACKGROUND ART In general, a refrigerator refers to a home appliance that can store objects such as foods in a storage compartment provided in a cabinet at a low temperature. The storage compartment is surrounded by an insulation wall and thus the inside of the storage compartment is maintained at a temperature lower than an external temperature. The storage compartment is divided into a refrigerator compartment or a freezer compartment according to a temperature band of the storage compartment. In addition, foods may be stored in the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment according to types or states of foods. The refrigerator may be provided in a built-in type along with other home appliances in a kitchen. In this case, the exterior of the refrigerator is designed to be well harmonized with furniture of the kitchen. In addition, according to users' various demands in recent years, refrigerators are increasingly installed and used in other places than kitchens, such as living rooms or bedrooms. As the installation positions of the refrigerator are diversifying, the exterior of the refrigerator is designed to be well harmonized with furniture in a space where the refrigerator is to be installed. As a prior art document, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1323876 discloses a cooling packaging provided with a thermoelement and a refrigerator having the same. The refrigerator of the prior art document includes: a refrigerator main body having a refrigerator compartment formed therein; a door pivotably installed on the refrigerator main body to open and close the refrigerator compartment; a cooling packaging coupled to a main body coupling hole and provided with a thermoelement; a heat absorption unit coupled to a front end of the cooling packaging in the refrigerator compartment; a radiation unit coupled to a rear end of the cooling packaging at a rear side of the refrigerator main body; and a drain to drain condensate water generated in the refrigerator compartment to the radiation unit by using the capillary phenomenon. When the cooling packaging provided with the thermoelement is used as in the case of the prior art document, there is an advantage that the size of the refrigerator can be reduced. However, in the case of the above-described refrigerator, condensate water and defrost water may be generated in a storage compartment of the refrigerator, and it is necessary to apply a drain structure to discharge the generated condensate water and defrost water to the outside of the storage compartment to prevent collection of the water in the storage compartment. EP 1 304 534 (A2) relates to a refrigerator for cosmetics comprising a storage chamber, cooling means for cooling the storage chamber, a control unit for controlling operation of the cooling means in dependence on target temperature for said chamber and an input unit for receiving user inputs for controlling the refrigerator. JP 2006 337012 (A) relates to a storage that uses a thermo module to keep the inside of the storage cold so that beverages can be kept cool and foods can be stored at low temperatures, and storage equipment that uses the storage stored in a storage case or the like. WO 2017/060066 (A1) relates to a household refrigeration appliance, with an interior space surrounded by a thermal insulation layer, an evaporator that cools the interior space and a condensate drain leading from the evaporator through the thermal insulation layer to the outside. JP 2006 336956 (A) relates to a refrigerator using a Stirling refrigerator. JP H10 122726A relates to a cooling cabinet such as a refrigerator or a freezer. GB 2 175 384 (A) relates to combined refrigerator/freezers incorporating such a facility. RU 2 174 656 (C2) relates to the field of refrigeration technology and concerns devices for storing food, biological and other products at low temperatures. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator which can directly discharge condensate water and defrost water generated in a storage compartment to the outside of the storage compartment. In addition, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator which can discharge condensate water and defrost water generated in a storage compartment to the outside of the storage compartment without leakage. In addition, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator which can evaporate condensate water and defrost water stored in a water collection portion more rapidly, when air of high temperature discharged from a radiation fan of a cooling device passes through the water collection portion. In addition, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator which can rapidly evaporate condensate water and defrost water stored in a water collection portion, and does not require a user to separately empty the condensate water