Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9618254-B2
Application number	US-201213548141-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2012
Priority date	Jul 21, 2011
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

A refrigerator as disclosed herein may include a refrigerator body having a freezing compartment and a refrigeration compartment, a cooling circuit including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator to cool the freezing compartment and the refrigeration compartment using a first refrigerant, and a thermosyphon that includes a pipe for a second refrigerant to flow. The pipe may have a first section having a first prescribed shape for condensing refrigerant and a second section having a second prescribed shape for vaporizing refrigerant. A valve may be provided at the pipe to operate the thermosyphon. The cooling circuit and the thermosyphon may be operated independently. The thermosyphon may provide auxiliary cooling for the refrigeration chamber when the cooling circuit is not operational.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a refrigerator body having a freezing compartment and a refrigeration compartment;
a cooling circuit including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator to cool the freezing compartment and the refrigeration compartment using a first refrigerant;
a thermosyphon that includes a pipe for a second refrigerant to flow, the pipe having a first section having a first prescribed shape, a second section having a second prescribed shape, a third section coupled between the first and second sections for the second refrigerant to flow from the first section to the second section, and a fourth section coupled between the first and second sections for the second refrigerant to flow from the second section to the first section; and
a valve provided at the pipe to open or close the pipe,
wherein the freezing compartment is positioned adjacent to the refrigeration compartment, and the first section of the pipe is positioned at the freezing compartment to undergo heat exchange with the freezing compartment and the second section of the pipe is positioned at the refrigeration compartment to undergo heat exchange with the refrigeration compartment, the first section being positioned higher than the second section,
wherein the second refrigerant changes state from a gaseous state to a liquid state in the first section of the pipe and changes state from a liquid state to a gaseous state in the second section of the pipe,
wherein the cooling circuit and the thermosyphon are operated independently,
wherein the pipe includes a fifth section having a third prescribed shape that prevents the second liquid refrigerant in the first section from moving into the fourth section through the fifth section,
wherein the fifth section is positioned at an entrance of the first section and extends above the first section such that all refrigerant moving from the fourth section to the first section ascends above the top of the first section while passing through the fifth section and descends at the entrance of the first section, and
wherein the second refrigerant goes down in the gaseous state and goes up in the liquid state in the thermosyphon.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the pipe is a second condenser and the second section of the pipe is a second evaporator, and the prescribed shapes of the first and second sections are serpentine shapes.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the pipe is a second condenser and the second section of the pipe is a second evaporator, and the second condenser is positioned a prescribed height above the second evaporator.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the freezing compartment is provided over the refrigeration compartment.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the pipe is positioned adjacent to an outer surface of the freezing compartment and the second section of the pipe is positioned adjacent to an outer surface of the refrigeration compartment.

6. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein a plate is positioned between the first section of the pipe and the outer surface of the freezing compartment and a second plate is positioned between the second section of the pipe and the outer surface of the refrigeration compartment.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the pipe is positioned adjacent to an inner surface of the freezing compartment and the second section of the pipe is positioned adjacent to an inner surface of the refrigeration compartment.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further including a controller that controls the valve to be open when the thermosyphon is operational.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further includes a controller that controls the cooling circuit to not operate when the thermosyphon is operational.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further includes a controller that controls the thermosyphon to operate when the cooling circuit is not operational.

11. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further includes a controller that controls the thermosyphon to provide auxiliary cooling to the refrigeration chamber when the cooling circuit is not operational.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the cooling circuit is not operational during at least one of a power outage in which external electric power is not supplied, a failure of the cooling cycle, or time periods external electric power rate is high.

13. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising a controller that controls the valve to close the fourth section of the pipe to prevent operation of the thermosyphon when the cooling circuit is operated.

14. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second refrigerant in the thermosyphon has a vaporization temperature equal to or less than a highest temperature of the refrigeration compartment during normal operation of the cooling circuit.

15. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second refrigerant in the thermosyphon has a vaporization temperature equal to or less than an average temperature of the refrigeration compartment during normal operation of the cooling circuit.

16. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second refrigerant in the thermosyphon has a vaporization temperature equal to or less than a lowest temperature of the refrigeration compartment during normal operation of the cooling circuit.

17. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the fifth section of the pipe is positioned between the first section of the pipe for condensing refrigerant and the fourth section of the pipe to prevent backflow of the second refrigerant in a liquid state from the first section.

18. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the pipe includes a sixth section having a prescribed shape that prevents backflow of refrigerant in the pipe, and wherein the sixth section of the pipe is positioned between the second section of the pipe for evaporating refrigerant and the third section of the pipe to prevent backflow of the second refrigerant in a gaseous state from the second section.

19. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first section of the pipe for condensing refrigerant is inclined downward from an inlet to an outlet of the first section of the pipe.

20. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the second section of the pipe for evaporating refrigerant is inclined upward from an inlet to an outlet of the second section of the pipe.

21. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further including a thermal storage device provided at the freezing compartment to undergo heat exchange with the first section of the pipe of the thermosyphon, and a phase change material provided in the thermal storage device.

22. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further including a reservoir provided at the fourth section of pipe or the first section of the pipe such that liquefied refrigerant is received in the reservoir when the flow of the refrigerant in the thermosyphon stops.

23. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further including a chamber that protrudes upward from the first section of the pipe such that gaseous refrigerant that did not undergo phase change from a gaseous state to a liquid state in the first section of the pipe is collected in the chamber.

24. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the fifth section of the pipe is positioned between the first section of the pipe for condensing refrigerant and the fourth section of the pipe to prevent backflow of the second refrigerant in a liquid

Assignees

• Jo Ilhyeon
• Yun Seokjun
• Lee Taehee
• Yun Younghoon
• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jo Ilhyeon
• Yun Seokjun
• Lee Taehee
• Yun Younghoon

Classifications

• F25D11/025 Primary

  using primary and secondary refrigeration systems · CPC title

• F25D11/006

  with cold storage accumulators · CPC title

• F25B2500/06

  Damage · CPC title

• F25D16/00

  Devices using a combination of a cooling mode associated with refrigerating machinery with a cooling mode not associated with refrigerating machinery · CPC title

• F25B2339/042

  of pcm condensers · CPC title