# US 12,222,153 B2 · Air-cooled refrigerator > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,222,153 B2 - Document ID: US12222153B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/020,986 - Filed: 2021-08-11 - Published: 2023-09-14 - Granted: 2025-02-11 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-18 - Assignees: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd.; Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd.; Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Jianlin Miao; Noda Toshinori; Bin Fei; Chunyang Li - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12222153B2 ## CPC - F25D 21/14: Collecting or removing condensed and defrost water; Drip trays - F25D 21/08: by electric heating - F25D 23/006: {for mounting refrigerating machinery components} - F25D 23/066: {Liners} - F25D 2321/144: characterised by the construction of drip water collection pans - F25D 2321/1441: inside a refrigerator - 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) ## Abstract An air-cooled refrigerator, comprising a bottom liner, an evaporator, a water receiving tray, and a heating wire. A cooling chamber located at the bottom of the bottom liner is defined inside the bottom liner, and the bottom wall of the bottom liner is provided with a water receiving tank with a water drainage outlet at its bottom; the evaporator is provided in the cooling chamber; the water receiving tray is provided between the evaporator and the bottom wall of the bottom liner to receive water on the evaporator, and a plurality of through holes are formed in a region of the water receiving tray facing towards the water receiving tank; the heating wire is coiled and provided between the water receiving tray and the evaporator to heat and defrost the evaporator, and the heating wire has an extension portion extending to the water receiving tank through the through holes. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An air-cooled refrigerator, comprising: a bottom liner, internally defining a cooling chamber located at its bottom, a water receiving tank being formed on a bottom wall of the bottom liner, and a water drainage outlet being formed at a bottom of the water receiving tank; an evaporator, provided inside the cooling chamber, and configured to cool an air flow entering the cooling chamber to form a cooled air flow; a water receiving tray, provided between the evaporator and the bottom wall of the bottom liner, and configured to receive water on the evaporator, a plurality of through holes being formed in a region of the water receiving tray facing towards the water receiving tank; and a heating wire, provided between the water receiving tray and the evaporator in a coiled manner, and configured to provide heat for defrosting of the evaporator, the heating wire having an extension portion extending to the water receiving tank through the through holes. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the bottom liner comprises: a first oblique portion, obliquely provided downwards from front to back from a front end of the bottom wall of the bottom liner; a sunken portion, provided on a rear side of the first oblique portion, and configured to be inclined upwards from a transverse middle to two sides to form the water receiving tank in the transverse middle; a second oblique portion, obliquely provided upwards from front to back from a rear end of the water receiving tank; and a third oblique portion, obliquely provided upwards from front to back from a rear end of the second oblique portion; and an inclination angle of the third oblique portion is greater than that of the second oblique portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the water receiving tray comprises: a front plate segment, located at a front end of the water receiving tray, with a gap being formed between it and the first oblique portion; a middle plate segment, obliquely extending upwards from a rear end of the front plate segment, with its front portion being located above the water receiving tank and provided with the plurality of through holes and its rear portion abutting against the second oblique portion; and a rear plate segment, obliquely extending upwards from a rear end of the middle plate segment, and abutting against the third oblique portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the evaporator has an overall flat cuboid shape, and is provided on the middle plate segment, and a bottom of a front end of the evaporator abuts against a junction of the middle plate segment and the front plate segment, such that the evaporator is provided at the inclination angle of the second oblique portion. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a distance between the front plate segment and the first oblique portion is configured as any numerical value within a range from 20 mm to 45 mm. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the heating wire comprises: a plurality of parallel sections, parallelly provided at intervals relative to a transverse direction of the refrigerator, the extension portion being formed on the parallel sections; and a plurality of connection sections, each connection section being provided between ends on a same side of adjacent two parallel sections in a bent extension manner to sequentially connect the plurality of parallel sections in series. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the heating wire further comprises: an expansion section, a middle portion of the expansion section being provided abutting against the front plate segment and the expansion section extending towards two sides to a position close to a side wall of the bottom liner to conduct defrosting heating on a region in front of the evaporator. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of limiting parts are provided on positions of a rear portion of an upper surface of the middle plate segment facing towards the plurality of connection sections to limit the connection sections. ### Claim 9 (depends on 3) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of water drainage holes are further formed in a front portion of the upper surface of the middle plate segment to discharge water received by the water receiving tray into the water receiving tank through the water drainage holes and gaps between the through holes and the extension portion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The air-cooled refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a distance between a bottom end of the extension portion and the water drainage outlet is configured as any numerical value within a range from 3 mm to 5 mm.