# US 11,079,148 B2 · Defrosting device and refrigerator having the same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,148 B2 - Document ID: US11079148B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/544,667 - Filed: 2019-08-19 - Published: 2019-12-05 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2014-10-21 - Assignees: LG Electronics Inc. - Applicants: LG Electronics Inc. - Inventors: Geunhyung Lee; Jongryul Kim; Kwangsoo Jung; Woocheol Kang; Jongmin Lee; Hyunwoo Cho - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079148B2 ## CPC - F25B 47/022: {hot gas defrosting} - F25D 21/08: by electric heating - F28D 15/0266: {with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers (F28D15/043 takes precedence)} - F25B 2400/01: Heaters - F25D 21/12: by hot-fluid circulating system separate from the refrigerant system - F28F 2215/04: Assemblies of fins having different features, e.g. with different fin densities - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16) ## Abstract A defrosting device includes a heating unit filled with a working fluid and including an active heating part heated to a first temperature that can evaporate the working fluid, and a passive heating part positioned at a rear side of the active heating part and heated to a lower temperature than the first temperature. The defrosting device also includes a heat pipe disposed adjacent to an evaporator to transfer heat to the evaporator while circulating working fluid heated by the active heating part, the heat pipe including an entrance portion configured to receive working fluid evaporated by the active heating part, and a return portion connected adjacent to the passive heating part and configured to receive working fluid that has condensed after circulating through the heat pipe. Condensed working fluid received at the heating unit first passes through the passive heating part before being reheated at the active heating part. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A defrosting device, comprising: a heater provided with a heater case on which an inlet and an outlet are formed at positions spaced apart from each other along a length direction, and a heater at least part of which is accommodated inside the heater case to heat a working fluid inside the heater case; and a heat pipe respectively connected to the inlet and the outlet of the heater case, and at least part of which is disposed adjacent to a cooling tube of an evaporator to radiate heat to the cooling tube of the evaporator by a high-temperature working liquid heated and transported by the heater, wherein the outlet is formed at a position spaced apart rearward from a front end of the heater case by a predetermined distance to allow part of the working fluid to stay at a front end portion of the heater case so as to be in contact with the heater, wherein a front end of the heater is spaced apart rearward from an inner front end of the heater case, and wherein the heater comprises: an active heating part that includes a heating coil that is connected to a power source and that is configured to actively generate heat to heat the working fluid; a first passive heating part that is made of an insulating material and that is configured to extend rearward from a rear end of the active heating part to heat at a lower temperature than the active heating part; and a second passive heating part that is made of an insulating material and that is configured to extend forward from a front end of the active heating part to provide heat at a lower temperature than the active heating part, and wherein a front end of the second passive heating part constitutes the front end of the heater. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein the outlet is formed such that a center of the outlet is located at a position spaced apart by a distance between 10 mm and 20 mm from the inner front end of the heater case. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein a distance spaced apart between the center of the outlet and the inner front end of the heater case is not less than 1/10 and not more than ⅕ of a total length of the heater case. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein the outlet is formed at a position facing the active heating part on an outer circumference of the heater case. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein the front end of the active heating part is located between the outlet and the inlet. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein the inlet is formed at a position deviated from the active heating part such that the working fluid returned subsequent to moving through the heat pipe does not flow directly into the active heating part. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The defrosting device of claim 6, wherein the inlet is formed at a position facing the first passive heating part on an outer circumference of the heater case such that the returned working fluid flows into a space between the heater case and the first passive heating part. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein the cooling tube comprises a first cooling tube and a second cooling tube respectively disposed to form two rows on front and rear sides of the evaporator, and the heat pipe comprises a first heat pipe and a second heat pipe arranged to correspond to the outsides of the first cooling tube and the second cooling tube, respectively, and the outlet includes a first outlet and a second outlet respectively formed on both outer circumferential sides of the heater case, and the first and second heat pipes are respectively connected to first and second outlet tubes extended from the first and second outlets with the front end of the heater case interposed between the first and second outlets. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The defrosting device of claim 8, wherein the heater case is disposed in a shape extended along a left-right direction of the evaporator at the same height as the lowest column of the first and second cooling tubes or at a position lower than the lowest column of the first and second cooling tubes. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The defrosting device of claim 8, wherein the heater case is vertically arranged along a top-down direction on an outer side of the evaporator such that a front end of the heater case faces upward. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The defrosting device of claim 10, wherein at least part of the heater case is disposed between the first cooling tube and the second cooling tube. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The defrosting device of claim 1, wherein a rear end portion of the first passive heating part is exposed to an outside of the heater case. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerator body; the evaporator of claim 1 provided in the refrigerator body, and formed to adsorb surrounding evaporation heat to cool a fluid; and the defrosting device of claim 1 configured to remove frost generated in the evaporator. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the evaporator comprises: the cooling tube bent repeatedly in a zigzag shape to form multiple columns; a plurality of cooling fins fixed to the cooling tube, and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along an extension direction of the cooling tube; and a plurality of support fixtures formed to support both end portions of each column of the cooling tube.