US-12618610-B2 - Refrigerator

US12618610B2US 12618610 B2US12618610 B2US 12618610B2US-12618610-B2

Abstract

A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, a door configured to open and close an opening of the cabinet, and an outside air heat inductor arrangeable inside the door to extend toward the cabinet from a front portion of the door. The outside air heat inductor includes a first heat transfer path forming member configured to transfer outside air heat from outside the refrigerator toward a surface of the cabinet, and a second heat transfer path forming member arrangeable between the first heat transfer path forming member and an inside of the cabinet such that while the second heat transfer path forming member is arranged between the first heat transfer path forming member and the inside of the cabinet, the second heat transfer path forming member receives the outside air heat and prevents cold air within the cabinet from being transferred to the first heat transfer path forming member.

Inventors

Hitoshi Takase
Ryota Aoki
Tomohiko Matsuno
Makoto Shibuya

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240117
Priority Date: 20210826

Claims (15)

1 . A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet; a door configured to open and close an opening of the cabinet; and an outside air heat inductor arrangeable inside the door to extend toward the cabinet from a front portion of the door, wherein the outside air heat inductor comprises: a first heat transfer path forming member configured to transfer outside air heat from outside the refrigerator toward a surface of the cabinet; and a second heat transfer path forming member arrangeable between the first heat transfer path forming member and an inside of the cabinet such that while the second heat transfer path forming member is arranged between the first heat transfer path forming member and the inside of the cabinet, the second heat transfer path forming member receives the outside air heat and prevents cold air within the cabinet from being transferred to the first heat transfer path forming member.
2 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are inside the door and extend toward the cabinet from the front portion of the door.
3 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein at least one of an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion of the door comprises a decorative panel, and the first heat transfer path forming member is in contact with an inner surface of the decorative panel.
4 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein an end of the second heat transfer path forming member near the inside of the cabinet is located between the inside of the cabinet and the first heat transfer path forming member.
5 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the outside air heat inductor further comprises one or more third heat transfer path forming members arrangeable between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member to extend toward the cabinet from the front portion of the door.
6 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the outside air heat inductor further comprises an intermediate support member interposed between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member and supporting the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member.
7 . The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein the outside air heat inductor comprises a fourth heat transfer path forming member covering at least a portion of surfaces of the intermediate support member other than surfaces on which the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are supported.
8 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein at least one of an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion of the door comprises a decorative panel, the first heat transfer path forming member is in contact with an inner surface of the decorative panel, and thermal conductivities of the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are higher than a thermal conductivity of the decorative panel.
9 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein thicknesses of the first heat transfer path forming member and thicknesses of the second heat transfer path forming member is 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less.
10 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein a resin passing hole through which foamed resin filling the door passes is in the second heat transfer path forming member, and the foamed resin fills between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member.
11 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are integrally formed.
12 . The refrigerator of claim 11 , further comprising: a connection member to connect the first heat transfer path forming member with the second heat transfer path forming member, and wherein the connection member connects ends of the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member near the front portion of the door.
13 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the outside air heat inductor is divided into a plurality of pieces, and the plurality of pieces are arranged to be spaced apart from each other along a width direction of the door.
14 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein an outward-facing surface of the outside air heat inductor has a shape according to the front portion of the door, and an inward-facing surface of the outside air heat inductor has a shape according to a door liner of the door facing the cabinet.
15 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein an air layer is between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C. § 111 (a), of international application No. PCT/KR2022/009264, filed Jun. 28, 2022, which claims priority under 35 U. S. C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-137797, filed Aug. 26, 2021, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to refrigerators. BACKGROUND ART A problem with refrigerators is that an edge of an opening near a door gasket tends to become cold, and condensation occurs when outside air comes in contact with that portion (hereinafter referred to as the condensation generating portion). According to Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-85454), condensation is prevented by heating the condensation generating portion by supplying electricity to a condensation prevention heater and generating heat, or by flowing a refrigerant on the high pressure side of a refrigeration cycle to heat a partition portion near the condensation generating portion to heat a partition portion. In order to prevent condensation without using a heater or hot pipe, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-24204), a heat conductive material is arranged between a door and a cabinet to transfer heat from outside air to the condensation generating portion. DISCLOSURE Technical Solution A refrigerator according to an aspect of the disclosure includes a cabinet, a door configured to open and close an opening of the cabinet, an outside air heat inductor arrangeable inside the door to extend toward the cabinet from a front portion of the door, wherein the outside air heat inductor includes a first heat transfer path forming member configured to transfer outside air heat from outside the refrigerator toward a surface of the cabinet, and a second heat transfer path forming member arrangeable between the first heat transfer path forming member and an inside of the cabinet such that while the second heat transfer path forming member is arranged between the first heat transfer path forming member and the inside of the cabinet, the second heat transfer path forming member receives the outside air heat and prevents cold air within the cabinet from being transferred to the first heat transfer path forming member. As an embodiment, the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member may be inside the door and extend toward the cabinet from the front portion of the door. As an embodiment, at least one of an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion of the door may include a decorative panel, and the first heat transfer path forming member may be in contact with an inner surface of the decorative panel. As an embodiment, an end of the second heat transfer path forming member near the inside of the cabinet may be located between the inside of the cabinet and the first heat transfer path forming member. As an embodiment, the outside air heat inductor further may include one or more third heat transfer path forming members arrangeable between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member to extend toward the cabinet from the front portion of the door. As an embodiment, the outside air heat inductor further may include an intermediate support member interposed between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member and supporting the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member. As an embodiment, the outside air heat inductor may include a fourth heat transfer path forming member covering at least a portion of surfaces of the intermediate support member other than surfaces on which the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member are supported. As an embodiment, at least one of an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion of the door may include a decorative panel, the first heat transfer path forming member may be in contact with an inner surface of the decorative panel, and thermal conductivities of the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member may be higher than a thermal conductivity of the decorative panel. As an embodiment, thicknesses of the first heat transfer path forming member and thicknesses of the second heat transfer path forming member may be 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less. As an embodiment, a resin passing hole through which foamed resin filling the door passes may be in the second heat transfer path forming member, and the foamed resin may fill between the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member. As an embodiment, the first heat transfer path forming member and the second heat transfer path forming member may be integrally formed. As an embodiment, the refrigerator