Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11255590-B2
Application number	US-201916539955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2019
Priority date	Feb 13, 2017
Publication date	Feb 22, 2022
Grant date	Feb 22, 2022

Abstract

A refrigerator comprising a refrigerator body provided with a refrigerating compartment, an ice maker, an ice-making air duct, a first fan assembly disposed in the ice-making air duct and an ice maker evaporator is disclosed. The ice-making air duct comprises an air inlet duct and an air return duct, which are both disposed in a foaming layer of the refrigerating compartment, and one ends thereof close to the ice maker extend into a foaming layer on a door body of the ice maker. The first fan assembly is detachably disposed in the air return duct, and may be integrally disassembled from and installed in the air return duct. The ice maker evaporator is disposed between the air inlet duct and the air return duct and at the side far away from the ice maker.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A refrigerator, comprising:
a refrigerator body having a refrigerating compartment;
an ice maker disposed inside the refrigerating compartment;
an ice-making air duct;
a first fan assembly disposed in the ice-making air duct, the first fan assembly including:
an air return housing; and
a first fan disposed inside the air return housing;

a thermal insulation layer on the air return housing;
a sealing ring is on a joint between the air return housing and the thermal insulation layer to achieve a sealed connection between the air return housing and the thermal insulation layer; and
an ice maker evaporator,
wherein:
the ice-making air duct comprises an air inlet duct and an air return duct each configured to communicate with the ice maker and the refrigerating compartment, the air inlet duct and the air return duct are disposed in a first foaming layer of the refrigerating compartment, and one end of each of the air inlet duct and the air return duct proximal to the ice maker extends into a second foaming layer on a door body of the ice maker,
the first fan assembly is detachably disposed in the air return duct, and
the ice maker evaporator is disposed between the air inlet duct and the air return duct and at a side distal from the ice maker.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the air return duct comprises a first air return duct and a second air return duct communicated with the first air return duct, wherein the first fan assembly is disposed between the first air return duct and the second air return duct.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the air return housing having a hollow interior and openings on opposite ends of the air return housing, wherein one of the openings communicates with the first air return duct and the other one of the openings communicates with the second air return duct.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein the thermal insulation layer is disposed on an outer wall surface of a side of the air return housing proximal to the refrigerating compartment.

5. The refrigerator of claim 3 , further comprising a second fan disposed at an outlet of the air inlet duct.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 , further comprising a controller in electrical signal connection with the first fan and the second fan, the controller configured to control rotational speeds of rotors of the first fan and the second fan.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein a control mode of the controller is configured to:
acquire a temperature inside the ice maker; and
determine the rotational speeds of the rotors of the first fan and the second fan according to the temperature inside the ice maker to control the first fan and the second fan.

8. The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein a control mode of the controller is configured to:
acquire an ice-making speed inside the ice maker; and
determine the rotational speeds of the rotors of the first fan and the second fan according to the ice-making speed inside the ice maker to control the first fan and the second fan.

9. The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein a control mode of the controller is configured to:
acquire an ice-making amount required for the ice maker; and
determine the rotational speeds of the rotors of the first fan and the second fan according to the ice-making amount required for the ice maker to control the first fan and the second fan.

10. A refrigerator, comprising:
a refrigerating compartment;
an ice maker disposed inside the refrigerating compartment;
an air inlet duct configured to supply a cooling air from the refrigerating compartment to the ice maker; and
an air return duct configured to return the cooling air from the ice maker to the refrigerating compartment, the air return duct comprises:
a first air return duct having a first end;
a second air return duct having a second end; and
a first fan assembly coupling the first end of the first air return duct to the second end of the second air return duct;

wherein the air inlet duct, the first air return duct, the second air return duct, and the first fan assembly are disposed in a first foaming layer of the refrigerating compartment, each of the air inlet duct and the air return duct has a respective end extending into a second foaming layer of the ice maker.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the first fan assembly comprises a hollow air return housing with a plurality of openings, wherein a first opening of the plurality of openings is configured to couple to the first air return duct and a second opening of the plurality of openings is configured to couple to the second air return duct.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the air return housing is coupled to each of the first air return duct and the second air return duct using a screw connection, a snap connection, or a rivet connection.

13. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the first fan assembly further comprises a fan inside the air return housing, the fan being fixed in the air return housing using one or more screws or bolts.

14. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the first fan assembly further comprises a thermal insulator layer disposed on a surface of the air return housing proximal to the refrigerating compartment.

15. The refrigerator of claim 14 , wherein the thermal insulator layer is fixed to the air return housing using a screw connection, a rivet connection, or a snap connection.

16. The refrigerator of claim 10 , further comprising an ice maker evaporator disposed between the air inlet duct and the air return duct and at a side distal from the ice maker, wherein the first fan assembly is disposed below the ice maker evaporator.

17. The refrigerator of claim 16 , wherein a distance from the first fan assembly to the ice maker is the same as a distance from the first fan assembly to the ice maker evaporator.

18. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein:
the first air return duct is on at a first sidewall of the refrigerating compartment;
the second air return duct is on a second sidewall of the refrigerating compartment transverse to the first sidewall; and
the first fan assembly is at a corner of the refrigerating compartment at which the first sidewall and the second sidewall terminate.

19. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the air return duct includes:
a first air return duct on at a first sidewall of the refrigerating compartment; and
a second air return duct on a second sidewall of the refrigerating compartment transverse to the first sidewall;

the first fan assembly is at a corner of the refrigerating compartment at which the first sidewall and the second sidewall terminate.

Assignees

• Hefei Hualing Co Ltd
• Hefei Midea Refrigerator Co
• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lv Zhengguang
• Shao Yang
• Si Zengqiang
• Yang Guangqing
• Wang Jincai

Classifications

• F25D2317/0681

  Details thereof · CPC title

• F25D2317/068

  characterised by the fans · CPC title

• F25C1/24 Primary

  for refrigerators, e.g. freezing trays · CPC title

• F25D2700/121

  of particular compartments · CPC title

• F25D2317/061

  through special compartments · CPC title