EP-4737826-A1 - REFRIGERATOR

EP4737826A1EP 4737826 A1EP4737826 A1EP 4737826A1EP-4737826-A1

Abstract

A refrigerator may include a main body; a storage compartment inside the main body; a thermoelectric module (TM) configured to cool the compartment and including: a thermoelectric element (TE) including a heating portion (HP) and a heat absorbing portion (HAP), a heat dissipation sink (HDS); and a blocking portion configured to block a current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on a temperature of the heat dissipation sink exceeding a predetermined temperature.

Inventors

SEO, DONGPIL
LEE, SEUNGJIN
SUNG, TAEHYUN
LEE, Jaebok

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20241122

Claims (15)

A refrigerator comprising: a main body; a storage compartment inside the main body; a thermoelectric module configured to cool the storage compartment and including: a thermoelectric element including: a heating portion configured to emit heat and a heat absorbing portion configured to absorb heat, and a heat dissipation sink configured to absorb heat from the heating portion and emit the absorbed heat; and a blocking portion disposed in the heat dissipation sink to block a current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on a temperature of the heat dissipation sink exceeding a predetermined temperature.
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the heat dissipation sink includes: a heat dissipation sink base in contact with the heating portion, and a plurality of heat dissipation fins protruding from the heat dissipation sink base to an outside of the main body, and the blocking portion is between two heat dissipation fins of the plurality of heat dissipation fins.
The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising: a heat absorbing sink configured to absorb heat from the storage compartment and transmit the absorbed heat to the heat absorbing portion, the heat absorbing sink including: a heat absorbing sink base in contact with the heat absorbing portion, and a plurality of cooling fins protruding from the heat absorbing sink base into the storage compartment, a fastening member, penetrating and coupling, the heat dissipation sink base and the heat absorbing sink base, and an insulating member between the plurality of heat dissipation fins and configured to fix the fastening member.
The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the blocking portion is between the heat dissipation sink base and the insulating member and is fixed to the thermoelectric element.
The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the blocking portion includes: a blocking portion base, and a protrusion protruding upward from the blocking portion base, and the insulating member includes: an insulating member base, and a hook protruding downward from the insulating member base so as to be fixed to the protrusion.
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature of the heat dissipation sink which is 150 °C, and the blocking portion is configured to block the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on the temperature of the heat dissipation sink exceeding the predetermined temperature of the heat dissipation sink.
The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a heat exchanger arranged on a rear side of the storage compartment, wherein the thermoelectric element is configured to cool air within the storage compartment while the heat exchanger cools air within the storage compartment.
The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising: a temperature sensor on an outside of a heat dissipation fin of the plurality of heat dissipation fins that is at an outermost side of the plurality of heat dissipation fins.
The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the heat dissipation sink includes: a heat dissipation sink base in contact with the heating portion, and a plurality of heat dissipation fins protruding from the heat dissipation sink base to an outside of the main body, and the blocking portion is on an outside of a heat dissipation fin of the plurality of heat dissipation fins that is at an outermost side of the plurality of heat dissipation fins.
The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: at least one temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the thermoelectric module; and a processor configured to block the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on the temperature of the thermoelectric module, which is detected by the at least one temperature sensor, exceeding the predetermined temperature of the thermoelectric module.
The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the thermoelectric module comprises a heat absorbing sink configured to absorb heat from the storage compartment and transfer the absorbed heat to the heat absorbing portion, the at least one temperature sensor includes: a first temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the heat dissipation sink, and a second temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the heat absorbing sink, and the processor is configured to block the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on the temperature of the heat absorbing sink, which is detected by the second temperature sensor, exceeding the predetermined temperature of the heat absorbing sink.
The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising: a user interface, wherein the processor is configured to output, to the user interface, information related to whether the thermoelectric element has failed or has not failed based on whether the blocking portion is blocking the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element.
The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising: a user interface, wherein the processor is configured to output, to the user interface, information related to whether the thermoelectric element has failed or has not failed based on a change in the detected temperature of the thermoelectric module.
The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the thermoelectric module comprises a heat absorbing sink configured to absorb heat from the storage compartment and transfer the absorbed heat to the heat absorbing portion, the at least one temperature sensor includes: a first temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the heat dissipation sink, and a second temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the heat absorbing sink, and the processor is configured to output, to the user interface, information related to whether the thermoelectric element has failed or has not failed based on a change in the detected temperature of the heat absorbing sink.
The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising: a heat exchanger configured to cool air within the storage compartment; and a compressor connected to the heat exchanger, wherein the processor is configured to increase revolutions per minute (RPM) of the compressor based on the blocking portion blocking the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator including a thermoelectric element for cooling a storage compartment. [Background Art] A refrigerator is a home appliance that keeps food fresh by including a main body including a storage compartment and a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment. A thermoelectric cooling device that performs heating and cooling functions through the Peltier effect may be used as the cold air supply device for the refrigerator. The thermoelectric cooling device may include a thermoelectric element. The thermoelectric element includes a heating portion formed on one side and a heat absorbing portion formed on the other side, and when a current is applied to the thermoelectric element, heat generation may occur in the heating portion and heat absorption may occur in the heat absorbing portion. The thermoelectric cooling device may be equipped with a heat dissipation sink, a heat absorbing sink, a heat dissipation fan, a cooling fan, a heat dissipation duct, and a cooling duct, so as to increase the cooling efficiency of the storage compartment through the thermoelectric cooling device. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem] The present disclosure is directed to providing a refrigerator having increased cooling efficiency of a storage compartment through a thermoelectric cooling device. Further, the present disclosure is directed to providing a refrigerator capable of preventing overheating of a thermoelectric cooling device. Further, the present disclosure is directed to providing a refrigerator capable of preventing damage due to overheating of a thermoelectric cooling device. [Technical Solution] In an aspect of the present disclosure a refrigerator may include: a main body; a storage compartment inside the main body; a thermoelectric module configured to cool the storage compartment and including: a thermoelectric element including: a heating portion configured to emit heat and a heat absorbing portion configured to absorb heat, and a heat dissipation sink configured to absorb heat from the heating portion and emit the absorbed heat; a blocking portion disposed in the heat dissipation sink to block a current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on a temperature of the heat dissipation sink exceeding a predetermined temperature. The heat dissipation sink may include: a heat dissipation sink base that may be in contact with the heating portion, and a plurality of heat dissipation fins that may protrude from the heat dissipation sink base to an outside of the main body, and the blocking portion may be between two heat dissipation fins of the plurality of heat dissipation fins. The refrigerator may include a heat absorbing sink configured to absorb heat from the storage compartment and transmit the absorbed heat to the heat absorbing portion. The heat absorbing sink may include: a heat absorbing sink base that may be in contact with the heat absorbing portion, and a plurality of cooling fins that may protrude from the heat absorbing sink base into the storage compartment. The refrigerator may include a fastening member, penetrating and coupling, the heat dissipation sink base and the heat absorbing sink base, and an insulating member that may be between the plurality of heat dissipation fins and may be configured to fix the fastening member. The blocking portion may be between the heat dissipation sink base and the insulating member and may be fixed to the thermoelectric element. The blocking portion may include: a blocking portion base, and a protrusion that may protrude upward from the blocking portion base, and the insulating member may include: an insulating member base, and a hook that may protrude downward from the insulating member base so as to be fixed to the protrusion. The predetermined temperature of the heat dissipation sink may be 150 °C, and the blocking portion may be configured to block the current from being supplied to the thermoelectric element based on the temperature of the heat dissipation sink exceeding the predetermined temperature of the heat dissipation sink. The refrigerator may further include: a heat exchanger that may be arranged on a rear side of the storage compartment, and the thermoelectric element may be configured to cool air within the storage compartment while the heat exchanger cools air within the storage compartment. The refrigerator may further include: a temperature sensor that may be on an outside of a heat dissipation fin of the plurality of heat dissipation fins that is at an outermost side of the plurality of heat dissipation fins. The heat dissipation sink may include: a heat dissipation sink base that may be in contact with the heating portion, and a plurality of heat dissipation fins that may protrude from the heat dissipation sink base to an outside of the main body, and the blocking portion may be on an outside of a heat dissipation fin of the plurality of