JPH0438222Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a defrosting device for a cooler that defrosts the cooler by heating the cooler with a glass tube heater.

[Technical background of the invention] In recent years, for example, in refrigerators, the defrosting of the cooler that cools the inside of the refrigerator has been performed using a glass tube heater consisting of a heater wire arranged inside a glass tube. is provided. In this case, the glass tube heater is placed below the cooler,
Therefore, a drainage gutter for receiving frost-thawing water is located further below.

[Problems with the background art] In the case of the above-mentioned glass tube heater, it is excellent in waterproofness due to its structure and also has excellent heat radiation properties, so it is electrically safe even if the defrosted water that falls from the cooler is frozen. And, it has the advantage of being able to effectively apply the heat to the cooler, and furthermore, compared to a nichrome wire heater etc. that is installed directly along with the cooler, it can be placed separately away from the cooler, Although the ease of assembly is good, the glass tube may break for some reason, and when the glass tube is broken in this way, the heater wire that hangs down will be damaged by the drain gutter located below it. , where the drain gutter is in heat transfer contact with the cooler to receive defrost heat from the cooler to prevent freezing; Since the heater wire is electrically connected to the box, there is a risk that the leakage current from the heater wire that has come into contact with the drain gutter will eventually reach the outer box, and the user may touch the outer box and receive an electric shock.

[Purpose of the invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and therefore, its purpose is to provide a defrosting device for a cooler that can improve the safety of a glass tube heater when the glass tube is crushed. It is in.

[Summary of the invention] This invention prevents electric shock accidents by providing a conductive band on the glass tube of a glass tube heater that is separated when the glass tube is crushed, and a detector that detects the conductive state of this conductive band. This feature is characterized in that the occurrence of this can be prevented as much as possible.

[Embodiment of the invention] An embodiment in which the invention is applied to a defrosting device for a cooler in a refrigerator will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the second image shows the entire upper part of the refrigerator body.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body box, which is not shown in detail, but is made up of an outer box, an inner box, and a heat insulating material filled between them, and the outer box is made of a conductive member such as a steel plate. Reference numeral 2 denotes a freezer compartment which is formed inside the main body box 1, that is, inside the refrigerator, and which is divided into upper and lower sections with a refrigerator compartment 3. A cooler compartment 4 is formed at the back of this compartment. cooler 5,
It is arranged together with a fan 6 for blowing out cold air and a glass tube heater 7. Here, the glass tube heater 7 is specifically placed below the cooler 5,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and FIG. 1, a heater wire 9 such as a spiral nichrome wire is arranged inside a cylindrical transparent glass tube 8, and the entire structure is made of heat-resistant insulation such as ceramic. It is held on both end plates 11 of the cooler 5 by a pair of holders 10 made of material. Furthermore, a conductive band 12 extending over the entire length of the glass tube 8 is provided, for example, by applying conductive paint to the inner surface of the glass tube 8, and the conductive band 12 is provided at one end thereof. Detector 13
Connect one connecting wire 14 to the other end, and connect the detector 13 to the other end.
The other connection line 15 is connected. In particular, in this embodiment, the detector 13 has interlocking switches 16 and 17 as shown in FIG. It is commonly inserted and connected to the energizing path for the motor 18 for driving the compressor of the cycle, and a defrosting control switch 19 and a cooling operation control switch 20 are individually inserted and connected to each of the energizing paths. ing. In addition, 21 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a drainage gutter located below the glass tube heater 7, which is in heat transfer contact with the cooler 5, although not shown in detail. is finally electrically conductive to the outer box of the main box 1 in its support structure.

Now, in the case of the configuration as described above, when the cooler 5 is defrosted, the interlocking switch 1 of the detector 13 is
6, 17 and the defrosting control switch 19 are closed, the glass tube heater 7, especially its heater wire 9, is energized and generates heat, thereby heating the cooler 5 and defrosting it. ,here,
If the glass tube 8 is broken or has already been broken, the conductive band 12 provided by applying a conductive paint to the inner surface of the glass tube 8 will also be separated and become non-conductive, and the detector will be in a non-conductive state. 13 is operated by cutting off the connecting wires 14 and 15, that is, the conductive band 1
2 is detected, and the glass tube 8 is broken. Based on this detection, the interlocking switches 16 and 17 are opened, so that the power to the heater wire 9 is cut off.
Therefore, leakage of current from the heater wire 9 to the drain gutter 21 and eventually to the outer box of the main body box 1 is also prevented, making it possible to eliminate the occurrence of electric shock accidents.

Note that the detector 13 is not limited to one that cuts off the power to the heater wire 9 based on the detection operation, but may be one that activates a suitable alarm such as a lamp or a buzzer. Furthermore, as long as the conductive band 12 is separated when the glass tube 8 is crushed, it is not limited to the method by which a conductive paint is applied.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but may be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist.

[Effects of the invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention is a device in which the cooler is heated by a glass tube heater to defrost, and the glass tube of the glass tube heater is The present invention is characterized by providing a conductive band that is separated at the same time and a detector for detecting the conductive state of the conductive band, thereby making it possible to prevent as much as possible the occurrence of electric shock accidents when the glass tube is broken, thereby increasing safety. It has the excellent effect of increasing the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a defrosting device for a cooler in a refrigerator. Fig. 1 is a front view of the main part, and Fig. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional side view of the entire upper part of the refrigerator body. 3 is a front view of the portion extending from the cooler to the drain gutter, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the glass tube heater taken along the line - in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram. In the figure, 5 is a cooler, 7 is a glass tube heater, 8 is a glass tube, 9 is a heater wire, 12 is a conductive band, 13 is a detector, and 16 and 17 are interlocking switches for the detector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The cooler is heated and defrosted by a glass tube heater, and the glass tube of the glass tube heater is provided with a conductive band that is separated when the glass tube is crushed, and the conduction state of this conductive band is detected. A defrosting device for a cooler, comprising a detector.