IP Library Granted Patent US 11,740,008
Granted Patent B2
US 11,740,008 · App. 16/980,349 · Granted Aug 29, 2023

Vacuum adiabatic body and refrigerator

Inventors: Wonyeong Jung (Seoul, KR); Daewoong Kim (Seoul, KR); Hyeunsik Nam (Seoul, KR); Jangseok Lee (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
F25D23/061F16L59/065F25D11/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,740,008
App. No.
16/980,349
Granted
Aug 29, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one embodiment, a refrigerator includes: a heat exchange pipeline which is accommodated in an inner wall of a vacuum adiabatic body and in which heat exchange of a refrigerant is performed; a through-part through which a refrigerant pipe provided in at least one of the first plate member or the second plate member to provide the heat exchange pipeline passes; and a sealing member configured to accommodate the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe therein and coupled to at least one of the first plate member or the second plate member to restrict gas communication between the refrigerant pipe and the vacuum space part.

Claims (45)

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body having a vacuum adiabatic body and an internal space configured to store items; and

a door configured to open or close the main body is to allow access to the internal space from an external space,

a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant;

a condenser configured to condense the compressed refrigerant;

an expansion device configured to expand the condensed refrigerant;

an evaporator configured to evaporate the expanded refrigerant to dissipate heat; and

a heat exchange pipeline having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe coupled to each other, wherein refrigerant is discharged from the evaporator via the outlet pipe, and refrigerant flows to the evaporator via the inlet pipe, and

wherein the vacuum adiabatic body includes:

a first plate configured to define at least a portion of a wall for the internal space;

a second plate configured to define at least a portion of a wall for the external space;

a third space provided between the first and second plates and configured to be a vacuum space;

a support configured to maintain a distance between the first and second plates;

an opening formed through at least one of the first plate or the second plate, wherein a portion of the heat exchange pipeline is provided in the third space and a section of the heat exchange pipeline passes through the opening; and

a tube surrounding the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe and coupled to at least one of the first plate or the second plate.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the tube is made of a same material as the first and second plates and welded to at least one of the first plate or the second plate.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein a filler is provided inside of the tube between outer surfaces of the inlet and outlet pipes and an inner surface of the tube to space the inlet and outlet pipes apart from the tube.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the opening is defined by a protruding end of the first plate or the second plate, and the protruding end is coupled to the tube.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the heat exchange pipeline has a bent section that is bent, and

a cross-section of the outlet pipe and the inlet pipe is aligned in a first direction before the bent section and is aligned in a second direction different from a first section after the bent section to prevent the bent section from being damaged.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein, at the bent section, each of the tube, the inlet pipe, and the outlet pipe is bent to have a same radius of curvature.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet pipe and the inlet pipe are coupled to each other at the section of the heat exchange pipeline passing through the opening.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7 , wherein the section of the heat exchange pipeline passing through the opening extends in a linear direction so as not to be bent.

9. A vacuum adiabatic body comprising:

a first plate configured to define at least a portion of a wall for a first space;

a second plate configured to define at least a portion of a wall for a second space;

a third space provided between the first plate and the second plate and configured to be a vacuum space;

a support configured to maintain a distance between the first and second plates;

a heat exchange pipeline comprising a first pipe and a second pipe; and

one first opening provided in the first plate and through which the first and second pipes pass from the first space into the third space, wherein the first and second pipes are heat exchanged with each other in the third space.

10. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 9 , further comprising one second opening is provided in the second plate and through which the first and second pipes pass from the second space into the third space.

11. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 9 , wherein a portion of the heat exchange pipeline passing through the third space is bent at least three times.

12. The vacuum adiabatic body according claim 9 , wherein the first pipe has a diameter greater than a diameter of the second pipe, and the second pipe is provided inside of the first pipe.

13. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 12 , wherein the second pipe has a wrinkled cross-sectional shape.

14. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 12 , wherein the second pipe is an inlet pipe through which refrigerant flows, and the first pipe is an outlet pipe through which evaporated refrigerant flows.

15. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 9 , further comprising a sealing member in which the first pipe and the second pipe are provided, the sealing member being coupled to at least one of the first plate or the second plate to restrict gas communication between the first and second pipes and the third space.

16. A vacuum adiabatic body comprising:

a wall having a first plate and a second plate facing each other to create a vacuum space therebetween;

a support configured to maintain a distance between the first and second plates defining the vacuum space;

a first pipe;

a second pipe;

an opening provided in the first plate through which the first and second pipes pass; and

a tube surrounding the first and second pipes and welded to the first plate at the opening.

17. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 16 , further comprising a filler provided in the tube to maintain a distance between the tube and the first and second pipes inside of the vacuum space, wherein the filler is made of a combustible material and is spaced a predetermined distance away from the opening.

18. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 9 , wherein a diameter of the one first opening is greater than a sum of diameters of the first and second pipes such that the first and second pipes pass through the one first opening.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 11, 2020
From: JUNG, WONYEONG; KIM, DAEWOONG; NAM, HYEUNSIK; LEE, JANGSEOK
To: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Reel/Frame 053751/0994 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2018-0074172 · Jun 27, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210041162A1 · Feb 11, 2021