Title of Invention

"A COOL AIR DISCHARGE DUCT FOR A REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, wherein some of cool air from cool air discharge vents of the conventional cool air discharge duct flows not into a refrigerating chamber, but into a gap between a thermal insulation material and a duct injection member and then condensed on the surfaces of the duct injection member when there occurs a load (food) of high temperature and high humidity in the refrigerating chamber, thereby generating dew. In the case that the dew thus generated is continuously cooled, there occurs a problem that ice is formed and the ice grows to close the cool air discharge vents. Another problem is that the thermal insulation material of the cool air discharge duct is exposed through the cool air discharge vents to thereby degrade the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerating chamber. In the cool air discharge duct of the present invention including a cool air flow channel formed therein, a thermal insulation material having a plurality of cool air discharge vents, and a duct injection member having a plurality of cool air discharge vents corresponding to the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material, there is formed a rib curved and extended inwardly around the cool air discharge vents formed at the duct injection member for thereby shutting off cool air flowing into the gap between the duct injection member and the thermal insulation material. The thus formed rib is connected to the cool air discharge vents by a force fit, so that cool air does not flow into the gap between the duct injection member and the thermal insulation material and the thermal insulation material is not exposed to the outside after assembling the cool air discharge duct, to thereby improve the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerating chamber.

Full Text

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator and, in particular, to a cool air discharge duct which prevents the formation of ice around discharge vents by not allowing cool air to flow into a gap between a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing the cool air discharge duct for the refrigerator and at the same time improves its aesthetic appearance by not allowing the thermal insulation material to be exposed through the cool air discharge duct. 2. Description of the Prior Art Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a refrigerator having a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the conventional art. As illustrated therein, a general refrigerator includes a body 1, a freezing chamber 2 formed at an upper portion in the body 1 for storing frozen food, a refrigerating chamber 3 formed at a lower portion in the body 1 for storing cold food, a freezing chamber door 4 and a refrigerating chamber door 5 each connected to be open and shut to the front surface of the freezing chamber 2 and refrigerating chamber 3 of the body 1, a plurality of racks 6 installed at a predetermined interval in the refrigerating chamber 3 for putting food or vessels thereon, a vegetable box 7 for storing vegetable or fruits at a lower portion of the refrigerating chamber 3, an evaporator 8 installed on a rear wall of the freezing 1A chamber 2 for generating cool air to be supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3 and the freezing chamber 2, a blast fan 9 for forcedly circulating cool air generated from the evaporator 8, and a cool air discharge duct 10 installed on the rear of the refrigerating chamber 3 for guiding cool air generated from the evaporator 8 to the refrigerating chamber 3. Herein, the structure for the cool air discharge duct 10 in accordance with the conventional art for guiding cool air to the refrigerating chamber 3 will now be described in detail with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is an expansion view of Part I of Figure 1, which partially illustrates a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the conventional art. As illustrated therein, the cool air discharge duct 10 constructed of a duct injection member 11 and a thermal insulation material 12 is installed on the rear of the refrigerating chamber 3 so that it discharges cool air into the refrigerating chamber 3, said duct injection member 11 of the cool air discharge duct 10 having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 11a and said thermal insulation material 12 of the cool air discharge duct 10 also having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 12a communicating with the cool air discharge vents 1 la. At this time, a gap (G) of 1.5mm~2mm is formed between the thermal insulation material 12 and the duct injection member 11. The operation of the refrigerator thus constructed will be described below. Firstly, when power is applied to the refrigerator, cool air generated from the evaporator 8 disposed at the freezing chamber 2 is supplied to the freezing chamber 2 by rotation of the blast fan 9, some of which cool air flows again into the cool air discharge vents 11a and 12a of the cool air discharge duct 10 through a cool air flow channel (F), for thereby being supplied to the refrigerating chamber However, some of the cool air from the cool air discharge vents 11a and / 12a of the conventional cool air discharge duct 10 described above flows not into the refrigerating chamber 3, but into the gap (G) between the thermal insulation material 12 and the duct injection member 11 as illustrated in Figure 2. The cool air flowed into the gap (G) decreases the surface temperature of the duct injection member 11, to thereby generate a difference in surface temperature between the duct injection member 11 around the cool air discharge vents 11a and the refrigerating chamber 3. Therefore, when there occurs a load (food) of high temperature and high humidity in the refrigerating chamber 3 due to the above difference in temperature, aqueous vapor in the refrigerating chamber 3 is supersaturated around the cool air discharge vents 11a, and then condensed on the surfaces of the duct injection member 11, thereby generating dew. In the case that the dew thus generated is continuously cooled, there occurs a problem that ice is formed and the ice grows to close (block) the cool air / discharge vents 11a of the duct injection member 11 at times, thereby causing a I problem in the performance of the refrigerator. Therefore, in order to eliminate the above phenomenon the composition of the shapes of the duct injection member 11 and the thermal insulation material 12 has to be performed perfectly so that no gap is generated between the two components. However, in an actual manufacture of the duct injection member 11 and the thermal insulation material 12, it is inevitable that a gap is generated because the shrinkage of the components manufactured by molding is different from each other. Accordingly, as the best alternative plan to prevent the above phenomenon of ice formation, a method of reducing ice formation by enlarging the cool air discharge vents 11a' of the duct injection member 11' and thus decreasing the area of the injection member 11' exposed to cool air is employed. However, when observing the conventional cool air discharge duct 10 as in Figure 3 from the front surface, the thermal insulation material 12 is exposed by 1.5~2mm, though different according to products. Therefore, there occur problems that the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerating chamber 12 is degraded and it is impossible to perfectly shut off leakage of cool air. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator which prevents the formation of ice around cool air discharge vents due to super-cooling of a duct injection member by not allowing cool air to flow into a gap between the duct injection member and thermal insulation material of the cool air discharge duct installed on a rear wall of the refrigerator. It is another object of the present invention to provide a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator which improves the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator by an assembly of a thermal insulation material and a duct injection of the cool air discharge duct and thereafter not allowing the thermal insulation material to be exposed around cool air discharge vents. In order to achieve the above objects, there is provided a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator in accordance with the present invention, which includes: a thermal insulation material having a plurality of cool air discharge vents; and a duct injection member which is connected to the thermal insulation material and has a plurality of cool air discharge vents corresponding to the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material, wherein a rib curved and extended toward the discharge vents of the thermal insulation material is formed around the cool air discharge vents of the duct injection member, to thereby shut off cool air flowing into a gap between the thermal insulation material and the duct injection member. There is provided a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, characterized in that an end jaw is formed around the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material and thus the rib is connected to the end jaw by a force fit. There is provided a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, characterized in that the outer diameter of the rib is formed larger than that of the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material by a predetermined degree and thus the rib is connected to the cool air discharge vents by a force fit with their connecting surfaces being overlapped with each other. There is provided a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, characterized in that the end portion of the rib is formed in a wedge shape. There is provided a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, characterized in that the end portion of the rib is formed to slope at an angle of 45°. Additional advantages, objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from the description which follows. Accordingly, the present invention provides a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, comprising : a thermal insulation material having a plurality of cool air discharge vents ; and a duct injection member which is connected to the thermal insulation material and has a plurality of cool air discharge vents corresponding to the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material, wherein a rib, such as herein described, curved and extended toward the discharge vents of the thermal insulation material is formed, in the manner such as herein described, around the cool air discharge vents of the duct injection member, to thereby shut off cool air flowing into a gap between the thermal insulation material and the duct injection member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein: Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a refrigerator having a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the conventional art; Figure 2 is an expansion view of Part A of Figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates a structure for a cool air discharge duct of a different shape in accordance with the conventional art, which is an expansion view of Part A of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of refrigerating chamber in which a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the present invention is installed; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Figure 3; Figure 6A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention prior to being connected with each other; Figure 6B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention after being connected with each other; Figure 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the present invention; Figure 8A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention prior to being connected with each other; and Figure 8B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention after being connected with each other. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of a refrigerating chamber in which a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the present invention is installed, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Figure. The same elements as those in the conventional art are indicated by the same reference numerals. As illustrated therein, a cool air discharge duct 20 constructed of a duct injection member 30 and a thermal insulation material 40 is installed on the rear of a refrigerating chamber 3 so that it discharges cool air into the refrigerating i chamber 3, said injection member 30 of the cool air discharge duct 20 having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 31 and said thermal insulation material of the cool air discharge duct 20 also having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 41 communicating with the cool air discharge vents 31. At this time, an end jaw 42 is formed on the thermal insulation material 40 around the front portions of the cool air discharge vents 41, and a rib curved and extended at a right angle toward a cool air flow channel (F) is formed on the duct injection member 30 around the cool air discharge vents 31. The rib 32 is, as illustrated in Figure No.5, is connected with the end jaw 42 by a force fit to form an overlap interval (0) of a predetermined thickness, thereby shutting off cool air flowing into a gap (G) between the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40. At this time, if the overlap interval (O) is too large, it is difficult to assemble the cool air discharge duct 20. Thus, the size of the overlap interval is appropriately 0.5mm, though there may be some difference according to the density of the thermal insulation material 40. Herein, the reason why the overlap interval is formed on the connecting surfaces of the rib 32 and the duct 42 is that if the rib 32 and the end jaw 42 are not completely adhered to each other, cool air is saturated into the gap between the rib 32 and the end jaw 42, resulting in the formation of ice around the discharge vents. Although the size of the rib 32 is made identical with that of the end jaw 42 by means of precision design, there may be a fine gap between them because the shrinkage of the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40 is different from each other in the manufacture of the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40. Meanwhile, the end portion 33 of the rib 32 is formed in a wedge shape so that it may be easily inserted, into the end jaw 42 of thermal insulation material 40 made of Styrofoam. Of course, the end portion 33 of the rib 32 may have a different shape other than the wedge shape. In this case, the end portion 33 is connected to the end jaw 42 of the thermal insulation material 40 by a force fit The procedure of the assembly of the cool air discharge duct thus constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference Figures 6A and 6B. Figure 6A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention prior to being connected with each other, and Figure 6B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with one embodiment of the t present invention after being connected with each other. First of all, the cool air discharge vents 31 and 41 of the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40 are matched with each other in a state where the thermal insulation material 40 is positioned at the rear surface of the duct injection member 30, and thereafter the rib 32 of the duct injection member 30 is connected to the end jaw 42 of the thermal insulation material 40 by a force fit in the state as in Figure 6A. At this time, connecting the rib 32 by a force fit means completely adhering I the rib 32 to the end jaw 42 by the overlap interval (O) of the rib 32. Therefore, as illustrated in Figure 4, when cool air flowing through the cool air flow channel (F) in the cool air discharge duct 20 flows into the refrigerating chamber 3 via the cool air discharge vents 31 and 41 of the thermal insulation material 40 and duct injection member 30 in a state where the cool air discharge duct 20 is installed, a phenomenon that the cool air flows into the gap (G) between the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40 can be prevented. Herein, the rib 32 can be easily separated from its mold during injection, and the end portion 33 thereof can be easily inserted into the end jaw 42 because it is formed in a wedge shape. In addition, the duct injection member 30 and the thermal insulation material 40 are connected by a force fit by the overlap interval (O) of the rib 32, and thus the connecting surfaces of the end jaw 42 and the rib 32 are completely adhered to each other. Meanwhile, Figure 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a cool air discharge duct in accordance with the present invention, and Figures 8A and 8B are partial cross-sectional views illustrating a state of a duct injection member and a thermal insulation material constructing a cool air discharge duct in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention respective of prior to and after being connected with each other. A cool air discharge duct 20 constructed of a duct injection member 60 and a thermal insulation material 50 is installed at the rear of a refrigerating chamber (not shown) so that it discharges cool air into the refrigerating chamber (not shown), said duct injection member 30 of the cool air discharge duct 20 having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 31 and said thermal insulation material 40 of the cool air discharge duct 20 also having a plurality of cool air discharge vents 41 communicating with the cool air discharge vents 31 of the duct injection member 30. There is formed a rib 61 curved at a right angle toward a cool air flow channel (F) around the cool air discharge vents 31 of the duct injection member 60 and connected to the inner surface of the cool air discharge vents 41 of the thermal insulation material 50 by a force fit for thereby preventing cool air from flowing into a gap between the duct injection member 60 and the thermal insulation material 50. At this time, the thickness of the rib 61 is the same as that of the duct injection member 60, and the end portion 62 of the rib 61 is formed to slope toward the inside of the discharge vents 31 at an angle of 450 When connecting the duct injection member 30 and thermal insulation material 40 of the cool air discharge duct 20 which is installed to the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber(not shown) in the refrigerator in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention thus constructed, first of all, the cool air discharge vents 31 and 41 of the duct injection member 60 and thermal insulation material 50 are matched with each other in a state where the thermal insulation material 50 is positioned at the duct injection member 60, and thereafter one surface of the duct injection member 60 and an inner surface of the rib 61 are completely adhered and connected with each other by a force fit as in Figure 6A as the rib 61 of the duct injection member 60 is pushed toward the thermal insulation material 50 in the state as in Figure 8A. In addition, the curved length of the rib 61 is formed large to a predetermined extent thereby increase the channel resistance of a fine gap between the duct injection member 60 and the thermal insulation material 50 and thus decrease the inflow of cool air, and the end portion 62 of the rib 61 is formed to slope at an angle of 45° thereby to minimize the channel resistance of discharged cool air. By this, the inflow of cool air into the gap (G) between the duct insulation member 60 and the thermal insulation material 50 is reduced and the discharge of cool air into the refrigerating chamber is made easy, thereby making cool air coming out from the cool air flow channel (F) of the cool air discharge duct 20 move diagonally toward the cool air discharge vents 61 of the duct injection member 60 As described above, in the cool air discharge duct in accordance with the present invention, one advantage is that the formation of ice around cool air discharge vents due to super-cooling of a duct injection member is prevented by not allowing cool air to flow into a gap between the duct injection member and thermal insulation material of the cool air discharge duct installed on a rear wall of the refrigerator, and another advantage is that the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator is improved by not allowing the thermal insulation material to be exposed around cool air discharge vents during an assembly of the cool air discharge duct. As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims. WE CLAIM : 1. A cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, comprising : a thermal insulation material having a plurality of cool air discharge vents ; and a duct injection member which is connected to the thermal insulation material and has a plurality of cool air discharge vents corresponding to the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material, wherein a rib, such as herein described, curved and extended toward the discharge vents of the thermal insulation material is formed, in the manner such as herein described, around the cool air discharge vents of the duct injection member, to thereby shut off cool air flowing into a gap between the thermal insulation material and the duct injection member. 2. The cool air discharge duct as claimed in claim 1, wherein an end jaw is formed around the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material and thus the rib is connected to the end jaw by a force fit. 3. The cool air discharge duct as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outer diameter of the rib is formed larger than that of the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material by a predetermined degree and thus the rib is connected to the cool air discharge vents by a force fit with their connecting surfaces being overlapped with each other. 4. The cool air discharge duct as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end portion of the rib is formed in a wedge shape. 5. The cool air discharge duct as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end portion of the rib is formed to slope at an angle of 45°. 6. A cool air discharge duct, substantially as herein described, particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 7. A refrigerator incorporating a cool air discharge duct, substantially as herein described, particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 13th day of April, 2000. The present invention relates to a cool air discharge duct for a refrigerator, wherein some of cool air from cool air discharge vents of the conventional cool air discharge duct flows not into a refrigerating chamber, but into a gap between a thermal insulation material and a duct injection member and then condensed on the surfaces of the duct injection member when there occurs a load (food) of high temperature and high humidity in the refrigerating chamber, thereby generating dew. In the case that the dew thus generated is continuously cooled, there occurs a problem that ice is formed and the ice grows to close the cool air discharge vents. Another problem is that the thermal insulation material of the cool air discharge duct is exposed through the cool air discharge vents to thereby degrade the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerating chamber. In the cool air discharge duct of the present invention including a cool air flow channel formed therein, a thermal insulation material having a plurality of cool air discharge vents, and a duct injection member having a plurality of cool air discharge vents corresponding to the cool air discharge vents of the thermal insulation material, there is formed a rib curved and extended inwardly around the cool air discharge vents formed at the duct injection member for thereby shutting off cool air flowing into the gap between the duct injection member and the thermal insulation material. The thus formed rib is connected to the cool air discharge vents by a force fit, so that cool air does not flow into the gap between the duct injection member and the thermal insulation material and the thermal insulation material is not exposed to the outside after assembling the cool air discharge duct, to thereby improve the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerating chamber.

Documents:

220-cal-2000-granted-abstract.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-claims.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-correspondence.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-description (complete).pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-drawings.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-examination report.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-form 1.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-form 18.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-form 2.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-form 3.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-form 5.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-gpa.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-priority document.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-specification.pdf

220-cal-2000-granted-translated copy of priority document.pdf