Title of Invention

"REFRIGERATOR."

Abstract

[Problem] The present invention solves disadvantages that an air flow balance of a cooling fan is not constant, therefore a commodity temperature is not constant, a content of a bottle is frozen in some place with a commodity to be stored therein, and that conversely a temperature of the other place is higher than a temperature at which the content is good to drink. [Solving Means] There is disclosed a refrigerator 1 comprising: an insulating box body 4 in which a storage chamber is disposed; a door for openably closing an opening 2 in a front surface of the insulating box body 4; a duct formed by a bottom member 15 disposed in a lower part of the storage chamber, and a partition plate disposed on a back surface of the storage chamber; and a cooler 13 and a cooling fan 16 disposed in the duct, wherein a plurality of rectifiers 40, 41 are disposed on a downstream side of the cooling fan 16 in the duct, and the plurality of rectifiers 40, 41 are disposed apart from one another back and forth.

Full Text

SPECIFICATION T|TLE OF THE INVENTION Refrigerator BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a front surface opening of a storage chamber is openably closed by a door. In a conventional refrigerator, a front surface opening of an insulating box body including a storage chamber is openably closed by a see-through door or an insulating door, a mechanical chamber is installed in a lower part outside the insulating body, a compressor, a condenser and a condenser fan constituting a refrigeration cycle of a cooling apparatus are disposed in the mechanical chamber, a cooler similarly constituting the refrigeration cycle is disposed in the storage chamber, and interior of the storage chamber is cooled by the cooler to obtain a predetermined low temperature. However, for such refrigerator, a customer desires to select a refrigerator having a storage chamber effective inner volume which is even slightly large as compared with an outer dimension in order to store a large number of commodities able to be sold, and it is necessary to reduce a volume of the mechanical chamber with respect to the volume of the storage chamber during design. Therefore, when a rotary member such as a blower fan is disposed in the vicinity of a drain hose in the mechanical chamber, the drain hose disadvantageously contacts the rotary member such as the fan, which sometimes causes water leak, electricity leak, and the like due to breakage of the drain hose. In such case, when the drain hose is drawn around, a special consideration needs to be taken in order to prevent the drain hose from contacting the fan. For example, fixing members such as a clip need to be used to fix the drain hose. In this conventional fixing method, it is possible to fix the drain hose during production in a plant. However, when the drain hose is fixed once in the mechanical chamber, the refrigerator is installed, the customer starts to use the refrigerator, and maintenance of the interior of the mechanical chamber is performed, it is very difficult to perform the maintenance using hands, fingers and tools. Because the interior of the mechanical chamber is small. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed to solve the conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to drain water in a detour without contacting a fan, prevent a drain hose from being damaged by rotation of a fan, and to drain water without fixing the drain hose. To achieve the object, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: an insulating box body in which a storage chamber is disposed; a mechanical chamber disposed below the storage chamber and outside the insulating box body; a compressor, a condenser and a condenser fan disposed in the mechanical chamber; and a fan case disposed in a periphery of the condenser fan. A drain channel is disposed along an outer edge of the fan case. The drain channel includes a receiver for receiving drain water from the storage chamber in one part, and includes a drain water guide disposed above a dew receiving tray in the other part. According to the present invention, since water can be drained in a detour without contacting the fan, the drain hose can be prevented from being damaged by rotation of the fan, and water can be drained to the dew receiving tray without performing a drain hose fixing operation which has heretofore been necessary. Moreover, in the aforementioned refrigerator of the present invention, the drain channel is formed integrally with the fan case. According to the present invention, since the drain channel is formed integrally with the fan case, the drain channel can be assembled into the mechanical chamber by fixing the fan case to a base. Therefore, the number of operation steps can be reduced. Furthermore, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the drain channel is drawn around a quarter or more of a periphery of an opening of the fan case. According to the present invention, the drain channel is detoured in the periphery of the fan case, the drain channel is secured in a small space without contacting the fan or the compressor, and water can be drained to the dew receiving tray disposed far from the receiver. Moreover, in the refrigerator of the present invention, a tip end of a drain socket for guiding drain water from the storage chamber is positioned below an overflow water surface of the receiver. Additionally, according to the present invention, since the drain socket and receiver from a trap, outside air does not enter the storage chamber, and a temperature influence on the commodity in the storage chamber can be reduced. The invention provides for a refrigerator comprising: an insulating box body in which a storage chamber is disposed: a mechanical Chamber disposed below said storage chamber and outside said insulating box body; a compressor, a condenser and a fan case disposed in a periphery of the condenser fan. wherein a drain channel is disposed along an outer edge of said fan case, and the drain channel comprising a receiver for receiving drain water from said storage chamber in one part, and having a drain water guide disposed above a dew receiving tray in the other part. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the refrigerator according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a mechanical chamber of the refrigerator according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing that drain water is accumulated in a receiver in Fig. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 2, a refrigerator 1 is constituted of an insulating box body 4 which has an opening 2 in a front surface and in which a storage chamber 3 is disposed, and a mechanical chamber 7 formed outside the insulating box body 4 and below the storage chamber 3 and provided with an opening 6 in a front surface. In a rear lower part of the storage chamber 3, a partition plate 8 is attached at an interval from a back surface of the insulating box body 4, and a duct 11 is formed between the partition plate 8 and the insulating box body 4. Moreover, a cooler 13 constituting a known refrigerant circuit with a refrigeration cycle is vertically disposed in the duct 11, and an uppermost portion of the duct 11 is connected to the storage chamber 3 via a suction port 14 formed in the rear upper part of the storage chamber 3. A cooling fan 16 is disposed in the duct 11 below the storage chamber 3. A plurality of shelves 17 for exhibiting a commodity V are disposed in the storage chamber 3 before the partition plate 8 (only one shelf is shown in Fig. 2), and a bottom member 15 is disposed in a lowermost portion. The cooling fan 16 is positioned under the bottom member 15, and cool air is sucked via the suction port 14 from the storage chamber 3 by the cooling fan 16. After the cool air is sucked from the storage chamber 3 by the cooling fan 16, the cool air flows in a direction of the cooler 13, and the cool air cooled by the cooler 13 is exhausted into the storage chamber 3 via a blow port 12 disposed in a lower front portion of the bottom member 15. The cool air circulates in this manner. The front surface opening 2 of the storage chamber 3 is openably closed by a see-through door 22 with a plurality of glass layers 21 attached thereto. The door 22 is rotatably attached to the insulating box body 4 via upper and lower hinges 23, 23 on the right side as faced. On the other hand, a compressor 26 constituting the refrigerant circuit with the refrigeration cycle, and a condenser 27 formed of a wire and tube are disposed in the mechanical chamber 7. A condenser fan 28 for blowing air is further disposed. Moreover, a dew receiving tray 20 for receiving a defrosting water of the cooler 13 is disposed below the condenser 27, the compressor 26 and condenser 27 are disposed in parallel with each other in a horizontal direction of the opening 6 on a base leg 29, and the condenser fan 28 is disposed on the rear side. Additionally, the cooling fan 16 and condenser fan 28 are fixed to a coaxial motor 30, and the motor 30 constantly and continuously operates. Additionally, in Fig. 3, the condenser fan is omitted. The condenser fan 28 is a suction type fan, and is attached in a downward direction in a circular opening 25 formed in an upper surface of a fan case 24 extending to a front end from a rear end of a lower part of the mechanical chamber 7. The upper portion of the back surface of the mechanical chamber 7 is closed by a closing plate 32, and the front portion of the fan case 24 is closed by the base leg 29. Only lower and rear portions of the fan case 24 are opened via long holes 18, 19 formed in the base leg 29 and closing plate 32. Moreover, the fan case 24 is integrally molded of a hard synthetic resin, and is provided with the circular opening 25 in the upper surface of the fan case as described above. A receiver 24A for receiving the drain water of the storage chamber 3 is disposed in the left rear portion of the opening 25. Furthermore, a drain socket 9 for introducing the drain water of the storage chamber 3 into the receiver 24A is positioned above the receiver 24A, and a tip end 9A of the drain socket 9 is positioned below a weir portion 24D disposed in a front portion of the receiver 24A. Since the accumulated drain water overflows beyond the weir portion 24D of the receiver 24A, the receiver 24A and drain socket 9 form a trap. A drain channel 24B is formed in a quarter or more portion of the opening 25 along an outer periphery of the circular opening 25 up to a tip end 24C of the drain channel 24B above the dew receiving tray 20 from the receiver 24A. A mechanical chamber cover 33 is attached to the opening 6 in the front surface of the mechanical chamber 7, and positioned below the door 22. The mechanical chamber cover 33 is molded of a hard synthetic resin, and the front surface thereof has a curved shape. Furthermore, a blow portion 37 is formed of a plurality of slots (not shown) in an upper portion of the mechanical chamber cover 33, and connected to an opening 35 formed in a lower portion of a lower frame 34D of a frame member 34 described later. Additionally, an inner area of the mechanical chamber cover 33 is all opened to the rear surface. The door 22 is constituted of a resin door frame 36, a plurality of transparent glass layers 21 attached to the door frame 36, a gasket 39 attached to an inner peripheral surface of the door frame 36, and the frame member 34 projecting forward from an outer periphery of the door frame 36. The frame member 34 is integrally molded of the hard synthetic resin, and substantially forms a square shape by an upper frame 34A, left frame 34B, right frame 34C and lower frame 34D. A portion (glass portion) of the frame member other than the door frame 36 can be seen through, and the frame member engages with the door frame 36 of the door 22 in a fixed manner. The lower portion of the lower frame 34D of the frame member 34 has the opening 35, and this opening is connected to the blow portion 37 of the mechanical chamber cover 33. The upper portion of the lower frame 34D includes a slot to form a discharge port 43. In the aforementioned constitution, when the compressor 26, condenser fan 28 and cooling fan 16 are operated, the cooler 13 fulfills a cooling action, and the cool air cooled by the cooler circulates in the storage chamber 3 by the cooling fan 16 as described above. This cools the interior of the storage chamber 3 at a predetermined low (refrigerating or freezing) temperature. On the other hand, when the condenser fan 28 is operated, air behind and below the mechanical chamber 7 is sucked into the fan case 24 via the long holes 18, 19, blown forward to the compressor 26 and condenser 27 via the mechanical chamber 7 to cool the compressor and condenser, and blown to the dew receiving tray 20. This promotes heat discharge of the condenser 27 and compressor 26 and evaporation of the defrosting water in the dew receiving tray 20. In this case, since the drain channel 24B is heated by radiant heat of the compressor 26 and condenser 27, the low-temperature drain water from the storage chamber 3 is warmed through the drain channel 24B. This further promotes the evaporation of the defrosting water in the dew receiving tray 20. Additionally, the defrosting water is also slightly evaporated when flowing through the drain channel 24B. Moreover, the drain channel 24B extending to the tip end 24C from the receiver 24A is positioned between the compressor 26 and the condenser fan 28, and positioned in the vicinity of the rotating condenser fan 28. However, since the drain channel 24B is formed integrally with the fan case 24, a predetermined distance is maintained from the condenser fan 28. Therefore, different from the conventional drain hose, a drain hose is prevented from breaking the condenser fan 28 or being damaged by the condenser fan 28 by contact with the condenser fan 28. Moreover, water is drained to the dew receiving tray 20 without performing the drain hose fixing operation which has heretofore been necessary. Moreover, the drain channel 24B is formed in the quarter or more portion of the opening 25 along the circular opening 25 to above the dew receiving tray 20 from the receiver 24A, the drain channel is secured in a narrow space 10 in which the compressor 26 is disposed in the vicinity of the condenser fan 28. The drain water can securely be passed to the dew receiving tray 20 which Is disposed on the opposite side of and far from the receiver 24A. Furthermore, since the fan case 24, receiver 24A and drain channel 24B are integrally formed, the number of operation steps for attaching these components to the base leg 29, and component costs can be reduced. Additionally, outside air (warmed air) for successively air-cooling the condenser 27 and compressor 26 flows forward from the mechanical chamber 7 as shown by an arrow in Fig. 2 because the rear surface of the mechanical chamber 7 and the front portion of the fan case 24 are closed by the closing plate 32 and base leg 29. Moreover, the air flows into a space 31 of the lower frame 34D through the opening 35 of the lower frame 34D of the frame member 34 from the blow portion 37 disposed in the upper portion of the mechanical chamber cover 33, and is blown upward to the front surface of the plurality of glass layers 21 of the door 22 disposed above via the discharge port 43 formed in the frame member as shown by the arrow. The air flows over the front surface of the door 22 in this manner. This effectively prevents or inhibits dew condensation on the front surface of plurality of glass layers 21. As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since water can be detoured and drained without contacting the fan, the damage of the drain hose by rotation of the fan can be prevented. Additionally, water can be drained to the dew receiving tray without performing the drain hose fixing operation which has heretofore been necessary. Moreover, since the drain channel is formed integrally with the fan case, the drain channel can be assembled in the mechanical chamber by fixing the fan case to the base, and the number of operation steps can be reduced. Moreover, the drain channel is detoured from the periphery of the fan case and secured in the small space without contacting the fan or the compressor, and water can be drained to the dew receiving tray disposed far from the receiver. Furthermore, since the drain socket and receiver form the trap, no outside air enters the storage chamber, and the temperature influence on the commodity in the storage chamber can be reduced. We claim: - 1. A refrigerator (1) comprising: an insulating box body (4) in which a storage chamber (3) is disposed: a mechanical chamber (7) disposed below said storage chamber (3) and outside said insulating box body (4); a compressor (26), a condenser (27) and a fan case (24) disposed in a periphery of te condenser fan (28), wherein a drain channel (24B) is disposed along an outer edge of said fan case (24), and the drain channel (24B) comprising a receiver (24A) for receiving drain water from said storage chamber (3) in one part, and having a drain water guide (24C) disposed above a dew receiving tray (20) in the other part. 2. The refrigerator (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein said drain channel (24B) is formed integrally with said fan case (24). 3. The refrigerator (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein said drain channel (24B) is drawn around a quarter or more portion of a periphery of an opening of said fan case (24). 4. The refrigerator (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a tip end of a drain socket (9) for guiding drain water from the storage chamber (3) is positioned below an overflow water surface of said receiver (24A). 5. A refrigerator substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

197-del-2001-abstract.pdf

197-del-2001-claims.pdf

197-del-2001-correspondence-others.pdf

197-del-2001-correspondence-po.pdf

197-del-2001-description (complete).pdf

197-del-2001-drawings.pdf

197-del-2001-form-1.pdf

197-del-2001-form-18.pdf

197-del-2001-form-2.pdf

197-del-2001-form-3.pdf

197-del-2001-form-5.pdf

197-del-2001-pa.pdf

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