1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular, which incorporates a condenser functioning as a backcover of a machine room so as to enhance condensing effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, various types of refrigerators are used to freeze or refrigerate foods.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a general refrigerator.
Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator comprises a housing 10 defined by an internal receiving space divided into a freezing chamber 101 and a refrigerator chamber 102, freezing and refrigerating chamber doors 12 mounted to one side of the housing 10 for opening/closing the freezing chamber 101 and refrigerating chamber 102 and a number of devices including a compressor 20, a condenser 30, an expander (not shown) and an evaporator 40 for generating cold air in a cooling cycle.
Describing the operation of the refrigerator as set forth above, gaseous refrigerant in a low temperature and pressure is compressed into a high temperature and pressure by the compressor 20. The compressed gaseous refrigerant in a high temperature and pressure is converted into a high pressure liquid as cooled and condensed while passing through the condenser 30. The high pressure liquid refrigerant loses its temperature and pressure while passing through the expander (not shown). In succession, the refrigerant is transformed into a low temperature and pressure gas absorbing heat from surroundings to cool the same.
Then, air cooled by the evaporator 40 is circulated into the freezing chamber 101 and the refrigerating chamber 102 owing to operation of a blowing fan 50 installed in an evaporator room 103 to lower the temperature of the freezing chamber 101 and the refrigerating chamber 102.
In the meantime, the condenser 30 is generally used as a fin tube-type condenser comprising a refrigerant pipe 32 and a number of heat-radiating fins 34. The refrigerant pipe 32 is made of metal and continuously bent into a kind of multi-layered structure. The heat-radiating fins 34 are arranged in parallel with a certain interval, attached to the refrigerant pipe 32 via welding, and mounted in the shape of a thin panel apparently crossing said bent refrigerant pipe 32.
Further, the refrigerator is generally provided in the vicinity of the condenser 30 with a cooling fan for assisting efficient heat exchange due to forced convection.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the machine room in a lower portion of the refrigerator.
As shown in FIG. 2, those devices generating heat or operation noise of the devices executing the cooling cycle are installed in the machine room 104, and they include the condenser 30, the compressor 20 and the cooling fan 60 for the condenser 30.
In the meantime, the machine room 104 is provided in a rear lower portion of the refrigerator separated from a refrigerator body so that the heat from the compressor 20 and the condenser does not transfer to the freezing and refrigerating chambers 101 and 102 or the noise may not spread.
A general small or medium-sized refrigerator generates a large amount of heat owing to the operation features of the compressor 20 and the condenser 30 so that the rear part of the machine room 104 has an opened structure to allow an effective heat-radiating operation.
In a large-sized refrigerator, however, the cooling fan 60 and the compressor 20 are adapted to have a large capacity thereby increasing the operation noise so that a backcover 70 is installed to block an opened side of the machine room 104 so as to enhance sound-proofing effect.
The backcover 70 is a kind of panel member provided with a number of ventilation louvers 701, and detachably mounted to the rear lower end of the housing 10 via screwing and so on.
According to the related art as set forth above, the backcover 70 can promote the marketability of the refrigerator since it blocks and reduces the operation noise from the compressor 20 and the cooling fan 60 in use for the condenser.
In the refrigerator adopting the backcover 70, however, the heat exchange efficiency of the condenser 30 is disadvantageously lower than in a refrigerator without the backcover 70 since air does not efficiently flow inside/outside the machine room 104 due to the backcover 70.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to effectively solve the foregoing problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator comprising a housing having a freezing chamber and/or a refrigerating chamber, a door for opening/closing the freezing chamber and/or the refrigerating chamber, a compressor provided in a machine room in a lower portion of the housing, a cooling fan placed in the opposite of the compressor in the machine room, and a condenser with both ends respectively connected to the compressor and an evaporator for cooling refrigerant and having a refrigerant pipe portion and a heat-radiating fin portion configured as a panel for covering a portion of the outer periphery of the machine room to function as a backcover.
According to an aspect of the invention to obtain the above object, it is provided a refrigerator comprising: a housing having a freezing chamber and/or a refrigerating chamber; a door for opening/closing the freezing chamber and/or the refrigerating chamber; a compressor placed at one side of a machine room in a lower portion of the housing; a cooling fan provided in a central portion of the machine room for discharging air to a direction opposite to the position where the compressor is placed; and a condenser with both ends coupled to the compressor and an evaporator for cooling refrigerant and having a refrigerant pipe portion and a heat-radiating fin portion configured as a panel for covering a portion of the outer periphery of the machine room to function as a backcover.
In the refrigerator of the invention, the machine room is closed in the outer periphery except for the portion where the condenser is placed.
The condenser functioning as a backcover is made of plastic as set forth above to enhance condensing efficiency as an effect.
Further, a receiving space is enlarged in the refrigerator to increase the quantity of foods receivable in the refrigerator thereby enhancing the marketability of the refrigerator.