Vacuum adiabatic body and refrigerator

• US 10,928,119 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2016
• Issued: 02/23/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jung, Wonyeong, Youn, Deokhyun, Kim, Sora
• Primary Examiner(s): Trpisovsky, Joseph F
• Application Number:
  US15/749,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20180224196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,666 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/66304 Discrete spacing elements, e.g. for evacuated glazing units
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 59/065 using vacuum F16L59/075 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 19/006 Thermal coupling structure or interface
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2201/14 using subatmospheric pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/028 Details
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/062 defining a cabinet
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/063 formed by an assembly of panels
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/064 formed by moulding, e.g. moulding in situ
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/082 Strips
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2500/02 Geometry problems

Abstract

A vacuum adiabatic body includes a first plate, a second plate, a seal, a support, and an exhaust port, wherein the support includes a plurality of bars interposed between the first and second plates, and a bending part that has spots at which the plurality of bars are disposed as highest points and has a spot depressed into the third space at a central portion of the unit grid area as a lowest point is formed in the unit grid area.

Claims

1. A vacuum adiabatic body comprising:

a first plate defining at least one portion of a first side of a wall adjacent to a first space having a first temperature;

a second plate defining at least one portion of a second side of the wall adjacent to a second space having a second temperature different from the first temperature;

a seal that seals the first plate and the second plate to provide a third space that has a third temperature between the first temperature and the second temperature and is in a vacuum state;

a support that supports the first and second plates and is provided in the third space;

and an exhaust port through which a gas in the third space is exhausted,

wherein the support includes a plurality of bars interposed between the first and second plates, the plurality of bars being provided in a grid shape having predetermined pitch,

a plurality of adjacent bars among the plurality of bars constitutes a unit grid, and a surface of each of the first and second plates surrounding the unit grid is defined as a unit grid area,

wherein, within the unit grid area, a highest point is defined as a location of one of the plurality of bars and a lowest point is defined as a central portion of the unit grid area, furthest away from any one of the plurality of bars, wherein

an angle formed by a straight line connecting the highest point and the lowest point to each other with respect to a plane formed by a plurality of highest points in the unit grid area is defined as a bending angle, and

a plurality of unit grid areas are formed by the respective unit grid on the surface of each of the first and second plates, and a bending angle of at least one of the plurality of unit grid areas is equal to or greater than 0.25*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad and equal to or smaller than 1.0*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad.

2. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein a range of bending angles of all the unit grid areas formed on the surface of each of the first and second plates is limited to be equal to or greater than 0.5*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad and equal to or smaller than 1.0*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad.

3. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein the range of bending angles of all the unit grid areas formed on the surface of each of the first and second plates is limited to be equal to or greater than 0.25*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad and equal to or smaller than 0.5*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad.

4. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein the range of bending angles of all the unit grid areas formed on the surface of each of the first and second plates is limited to be equal to or greater than 0.5*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad and equal to or smaller than 5.0*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad.

5. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 2, wherein a thickness of each of the first and second plates is equal to or greater than 0.5 mm and equal to or smaller than 1.0 mm, and the first and second plates are made out of stainless steel.

6. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined pitch between the plurality of bars is equal to or greater than 23 mm.

7. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of each of the first and second plates is equal to or smaller than 0.9 mm, the predetermined pitch between the plurality of bars is equal to or greater than 23 mm, and the first and second plates are made out of stainless steel.

8. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of each of the first and second plates is equal to or greater than 0.84 mm and equal to or smaller than 0.92 mm, and the first and second plates are made out of stainless steel.

9. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined pitch between the plurality of bars is equal to or greater than 23 mm and equal to or smaller than 25 mm.

10. The vacuum adiabatic body according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of each of the plurality of bars is equal to or greater than 1 mm.

11. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body including an internal space in which goods are stored; and

a door provided to open and close the main body,

wherein, in order to supply a refrigerant into the main body, the refrigerator includes;

a compressor that compresses the refrigerant;

a condenser that condenses the compressed refrigerant;

an expander that expands the condensed refrigerant; and

an evaporator that evaporates the expanded refrigerant to transfer heat,

wherein at least one of the main body and the door includes a vacuum adiabatic body,

wherein the vacuum adiabatic body includes;

a first plate defining at least one portion of a first side of a wall adjacent to the internal space having a first temperature;

a second plate defining at least one portion of a second side of the wall adjacent to an external space having a second temperature different from the first temperature;

a seal that seals the first plate and the second plate to provide a vacuum space that has a third temperature between the first temperature and the second temperature and is in a vacuum state;

a support that supports the first and second plates and is provided in the vacuum space;

and an exhaust port through which a gas in the vacuum space is exhausted, wherein;

the support includes a plurality of bars interposed between the first and second plates, the plurality of bars being provided in a grid shape having predetermined pitch,

a plurality of adjacent bars among the plurality of bars constitutes a unit grid, and a surface of each of the first and second plates surrounding the unit grid is defined as a unit grid area,

within the unit grid area, a highest point is defined as a location of one of the plurality of bars and a lowest point is defined as a central portion of the unit grid area, furthest away from any one of the plurality of bars,

an angle formed by a straight line connecting the highest point and the lowest point to each other with respect to a plane formed by a plurality of highest points in the unit grid area is defined as a bending angle,

a plurality of unit grid areas are formed by the respective unit grids on the surface of each of the first and second plates, and

a panel is attached to the second plate, both sides of the panel being provided in the external space wherein the second plate is exposed to an exterior of the refrigerator, and a bending angle of the unit grid area formed on the surface of the second plate is equal to or greater than 0.25*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3) rad and equal to or smaller than 1.0*10{circumflex over ( 

)}(−

3).

12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein, when a thickness of each of the first and second plates is T, and the predetermined pitch between the plurality of bars is P, an inequality of T>

0.032×

P is satisfied.