Thermal improvements in vis refrigerators

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12320571-B2
Application number	US-202318132580-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2023
Priority date	Apr 10, 2023
Publication date	Jun 3, 2025
Grant date	Jun 3, 2025

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance includes a cabinet having a trim breaker defining a mullion region and a refrigerant system. The cabinet defines a first compartment and a second compartment. The refrigerant system includes a refrigerant defining a flow path through a compressor, a heat loop coupled to the compressor, a condenser coupled to the heat loop, and an evaporator assembly coupled to the compressor and the condenser. The heat loop is routed around a perimeter of the cabinet and through the mullion region. The evaporator assembly includes at least one first evaporator disposed in the first compartment and a second evaporator disposed in the second compartment. The at least one first evaporator may include a first roll bond evaporator coupled to a second roll bond evaporator in series with the first, or a wire-on-tube evaporator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum insulated refrigerator, comprising:
a cabinet defining a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, wherein the cabinet at least partially defines a mechanical compartment, wherein the cabinet includes:
a liner;
a wrapper; and
a trim breaker coupled to the liner and the wrapper, wherein the trim breaker defines a refrigerator compartment perimeter, a freezer compartment perimeter, and a mullion region between the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment; and

a refrigerant system, wherein the refrigerant system includes:
a compressor disposed in the mechanical compartment;
a heat loop coupled to the compressor, wherein the heat loop includes a first send segment routed from the mechanical compartment and along a first portion of the freezer compartment perimeter, a second send segment routed through the mullion region, a third send segment routed along a first portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter adjacent the mullion region, a first return segment routed along a second portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter, a second return segment routed through the mullion region, and a third return segment routed along a second portion of the freezer compartment perimeter and to the mechanical compartment;
a condenser disposed in the mechanical compartment and coupled to the heat loop, wherein a refrigerant is directed from the compressor, through the heat loop, and then to the condenser; and
an evaporator assembly coupled to the condenser and the compressor.

2. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second send segment of the heat loop includes a first mullion segment routed along a first mullion portion of the freezer compartment perimeter, a second mullion segment that extends from a first lateral side of the mullion region to a second lateral side of the mullion region proximate a midline between the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, and a third mullion segment routed along a first mullion portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter, and wherein the second return segment of the heat loop includes a first mullion segment routed along a second mullion portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter, a second mullion segment that extends from the second lateral side of the mullion region to the first lateral side of the mullion region proximate the midline, and a third mullion segment routed along a second mullion portion of the freezer compartment perimeter, and further wherein the second mullion segment of the second send segment extends proximate and parallel to the second mullion segment of the second return segment.

3. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second send segment of the heat loop includes a first mullion segment routed along a first mullion portion of the freezer compartment perimeter, a second mullion segment that extends at an obtuse angle from a freezer side of the mullion region to a refrigerator side of the mullion region, and a third mullion segment routed along a first mullion portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter, and wherein the second return segment of the heat loop includes a first mullion segment routed along a second mullion portion of the refrigerator compartment perimeter, a second mullion segment that extends at an obtuse angle from the refrigerator side of the mullion region to the freezer side of the mullion region, and a third mullion segment routed along a second mullion portion of the freezer compartment perimeter, and further wherein the second mullion segment of the second send segment extends proximate and parallel to the second mullion segment of the second return segment.

4. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant system includes a drier coupled to the condenser and the evaporator assembly.

5. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 4 , wherein the evaporator assembly includes:
a refrigerator evaporator assembly disposed in the refrigerator compartment; and
a freezer evaporator assembly disposed in the freezer compartment, wherein the refrigerator evaporator assembly and the freezer evaporator assembly are arranged in parallel along a refrigerant flow path.

6. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein the refrigerator evaporator assembly includes a first roll bond evaporator coupled to a second roll bond evaporator, and wherein the first roll bond evaporator and the second roll bond evaporator are arranged in series along the refrigerant flow path.

7. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein the refrigerator evaporator assembly includes a wire-on-tube evaporator and the freezer evaporator assembly includes a fin-on-tube evaporator.

8. A vacuum insulated refrigerator, comprising:
a cabinet defining an upper compartment, a lower compartment, and a mullion region between the upper compartment and the lower compartment, and wherein the cabinet at least partially defines a machine compartment;
a trim breaker coupled to a periphery of the cabinet and the mullion region;
a compressor disposed in the machine compartment;
a heat loop fluidly coupled to the compressor, wherein the heat loop is coupled to the trim breaker and routed along the periphery of the cabinet and through the mullion region;
a condenser fluidly coupled to the heat loop; and
an evaporator assembly fluidly coupled to the condenser and to the compressor, wherein the evaporator assembly includes:
at least one first evaporator disposed in the upper compartment; and
a second evaporator disposed in the lower compartment, and wherein a refrigerant is configured to flow from the compressor to the heat loop, from the heat loop to the condenser, and from the condenser to the evaporator assembly.

9. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the at least one first evaporator includes a first roll bond evaporator coupled to a second roll bond evaporator.

10. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the upper compartment is a refrigeration compartment, and wherein the at least one first evaporator is a wire-on-tube evaporator.

11. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the heat loop routed through the mullion region includes a send portion and a return portion, and wherein the send portion is routed proximate to a first mullion portion of the lower compartment, proximate to a midline between the upper compartment and the lower compartment and from a first end of the mullion region to a second end of the mullion region, and proximate to a first mullion portion of the upper compartment, and wherein the return portion is routed proximate to a second mullion portion of the upper compartment, proximate to the midline and from the second end to the first end, and proximate to a second mullion portion of the lower compartment, and further wherein the send portion routed proximate the midline extends proximate and parallel to the return portion routed proximate to the midline.

12. The vacuum insulated refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the heat loop routed through the mullion region includes a send portion and a return portion, and wherein the send portion is routed proximate to a first mullion portion of the lower compartment, from a lower side of the mullion region to an upper side of the mullion region at a first obtuse angle relative to the lower side of the mullion region, and proximate to a first mullion portion of the upper compartment, and wherein the return portion is routed proximate to a second mullion portion of the upper compartment, from the upper side to the lower side at a second obtuse angle relative to the upper side of th

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Chhajed Rahul Subhash
• Kokane Sumedh Sanjay
• Shannigrahi Subrata
• Sarma Abinash

Classifications

• F25D2201/14

  using subatmospheric pressure · CPC title

• F25D23/063

  formed by an assembly of panels · CPC title

• F25D11/02 Primary

  with cooling compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D11/022 Primary

  with two or more evaporators · CPC title

• F25D2400/04

  Refrigerators with a horizontal mullion · CPC title