Evaporator assembly for refrigeration appliance

Abstract

The present invention relates to an evaporator assembly for use in a refrigeration appliance. The evaporator assembly of the present invention has a casing for accommodating an evaporator. The casing has on its inner surface a protrusion abutting against an opposing surface thereof. The protrusion has a sufficient strength to withstand a pressure exerted by a foam material which cures during an assembly process. In addition, the protrusion does not obstruct installation of the evaporator into the casing. The present invention also relates to a manufacturing process of a refrigeration appliance. The manufacturing process of the present invention comprises a step of installing the evaporator into the casing and a subsequent step of injecting foam material between an outer case of the refrigeration appliance and an outer surface of the casing.

1 . An evaporator assembly for use in a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigerator comprising:
 an inner case which forms a refrigeration compartment;   an outer case which forms a body of the refrigeration appliance,   a casing for accommodating an evaporator for refrigerating the refrigeration compartment, wherein the casing has an air inlet and an air outlet for circulating the air inside the refrigeration compartment via the evaporator by means of a fan,   wherein said casing has a front cover and a rear cover which are detachably attachable to each other,   wherein the front cover forms a portion of an inner case, and the rear cover has on its inner surface a protrusion which firmly abuts against an opposing surface of the front cover, wherein a cross-section and a material of the protrusion is configured to exhibit a sufficient strength to withstand without being deformed, a pressure exerted by a curing foam material which is injected between the outer surface of the rear cover and the outer case during an assembly process, and wherein the protrusion is formed at a position on said inner surface so as not to obstruct installation of the evaporator at a designated mounting position inside the casing.   
     
     
         2 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the protrusion has a mounting portion for detachably attaching the evaporator to the rear cover. 
     
     
         3 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the mounting portion has two resilient legs each having an arc-shaped recess which are formed to oppose each other, wherein the arc-shaped recesses are configured to snap-fittingly engage with a refrigerant conveying tube of the evaporator, and wherein the resilient legs are configured to firmly abut against the surface of the front cover. 
     
     
         4 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the protrusion is integrally provided with the rear cover. 
     
     
         5 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the protrusion is formed at position which is at a mid-width and a mid-height of the rear cover or in a close vicinity thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the rear cover is provided with a plurality of reinforcement ribs. 
     
     
         7 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the rear cover is provided in form of a rectangular-shaped shell which has: an open side which is configured to face the front cover; and a seat which is formed around said open side to circumferentially abut against a counterpart seat formed on the front cover. 
     
     
         8 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the front cover is integrally provided with the inner case, wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are formed in to the front cover. 
     
     
         9 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the rear cover having a tube inlet and a tube outlet for respectively inserting an incoming tube and an outgoing tube of the evaporator; a cable throughlet for inserting a electrical power transmission cable of an electrical defrost heater attached to the evaporator and a discharge outlet for discharging defrost water. 
     
     
         10 . The evaporator assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein the cable throughlet is formed close to an upper side of the rear cover and the discharge outlet is formed on a lowest side of the rear cover. 
     
     
         11 . A process of manufacturing a refrigeration appliance using the evaporator assembly as defined in  claim 1 , the manufacturing process comprising the steps of:
 installing the evaporator into the casing,   attaching the rear cover to the front cover and   injecting foam material between the outer surface of the rear cover and the outer case.   
     
     
         12 . A refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigerator comprising an inner case which forms a refrigeration compartment; and an outer case which forms a body of the refrigeration appliance, comprising an evaporator assembly as defined in  claim 1 . 
     
     
         13 . The refrigeration appliance according to  claim 12 , wherein an evaporator which has a meandering refrigerant conveying tube. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigeration appliance according to  claim 13 , wherein the evaporator is provided with fins. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigeration appliance according to  claim 13 , wherein the evaporator is provided with an electrical defrost heater.