JPH018934Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a refrigerator, and in particular to a refrigerator that has been improved in terms of noise caused by internal cooling.

The structure of a typical conventional refrigerator is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a refrigerator 1 has a door 2 on its front wall.
The top wall, bottom wall, rear wall, and both side walls are defined by the inner box 3 and the outer box 4. In order to maintain the cooled temperature of the internal storage space 5 defined by the door 2 and the inner box 3, a heat insulating material is provided inside the door 2 and between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4. is placed. Further, in order to improve the sealing performance of the internal storage space 5, a door seal 7 is arranged at the attachment point of the door 2. As further illustrated, a compressor 8 for compressing the refrigerant is arranged below the bottom wall of the refrigerator 1, and the compressor 8
A condenser 9 is mounted on the rear wall for liquefying the compressed refrigerant. Although not shown, a capillary tube for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 9 is connected between the condenser 9 and a cooler 10 located relatively above the interior of the refrigerator 5. .

FIG. 2 shows a refrigeration cycle (cooling cycle) of the refrigerator 1 having the above structure. In the figure, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 8 to a high temperature and high pressure is sent in the direction indicated by arrow A, and is liquefied by dissipating heat in the condenser 9. The liquefied refrigerant is depressurized in the capillary tube 11 and vaporized in the cooler 10 by absorbing ambient heat. This refrigerant then returns to the compressor 8 again.

The refrigerator as described above had the following drawbacks. That is, the temperature inside the refrigerator 1 is controlled by operating and stopping the compressor 8. That is, when the temperature inside the refrigerator falls to a certain predetermined temperature, the compressor 8 stops, and when the temperature inside the refrigerator rises to a certain predetermined temperature, the compressor 8 starts operating again. Depending on the operation/stop cycle of the compressor, noise occurs during operation of the compressor, noise occurs when the compressor starts/stops, and refrigerant flow noise is generated. Such noise is especially unpleasant at night when the surrounding area is quiet.

This invention was made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its main purpose is to provide a refrigerator that does not generate any noise for a certain period of time and can maintain cooling inside the refrigerator. .

A refrigerator according to this invention includes a first cooler;
It includes a second cooler and a switching valve. The first cooler is placed inside the refrigerator and is used for a normal refrigeration cycle to maintain a constant temperature inside the refrigerator. The second cooler is arranged in the refrigerator as a refrigerant passage in parallel with the first cooler, and is a cold storage refrigerator that cools the cold storage tank to a desired degree of cold storage regardless of the temperature inside the refrigerator. It is for cycles. The cold storage tank is
It has a cold storage agent and is attached to the second cooler and placed inside the refrigerator. The switching valve operates to selectively flow refrigerant to the first cooler or the second cooler. When the refrigerant flows through the second cooler,
The cold storage tank stores cold.

Since the second cooler cools the cold storage tank regardless of the internal temperature, it is possible to store cold in the cold storage tank as desired. Moreover, the second cooler is
Since it is placed inside the refrigerator, during its cooling operation, it stores cold in the cold storage tank and also cools the inside of the refrigerator.

The above objects and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of a refrigerator that is constructed to have a cold storage function and that was proposed in the process of completing this invention. 1st
Compared to the structure of the conventional refrigerator shown in the figure, the difference is that a cool storage tank 12 containing a cool storage agent is attached to the cooler 10. The refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator with this structure is the same as the conventional refrigeration cycle shown in FIG. Therefore, the cooler 10 is
It has a function of cooling to maintain the temperature inside the refrigerator and storing cold in the cold storage tank 12. However, the cooler 10 operates only when the compressor 8 operates. The operating time and number of times the compressor 8 operates are influenced by the temperature inside the refrigerator, as described above.
Therefore, the operating rate of the refrigeration cycle changes depending on the amount of heat that enters the refrigerator. Therefore, the cooler 10
With respect to cold storage in the cold storage tank 12, excessive cold storage or insufficient cold storage occurs, and stable cold storage is not achieved. In the case of excess cold storage, the time for releasing cold from the cold storage tank 12 becomes longer, while in the case of insufficient cold storage, the cooling time from the cold storage tank 12 becomes longer.
Cooling time is shortened. As described above, attaching the cool storage tank 12 to one cooler 10 has the disadvantage that the cooling time from the cool storage tank 12 is not constant. Further, when the cooler 10 is in operation, the temperature usually drops to about -25°C, so the temperature of the cold storage tank 12, which is in direct contact with the cooler 10, is always below 0°C.
Therefore, frost adheres to the cold storage tank 12, and this frost is not defrosted. As a result, the surface thermal conductivity of the cold storage tank 12 decreases, and it becomes difficult to maintain the internal temperature at a predetermined temperature by releasing the cool air from the cold storage tank 12.

Therefore, a sectional view of a refrigerator according to this invention in order to solve the above problems is shown in FIG. The refrigeration cycle of this refrigerator is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the refrigerator according to this invention has a first cooler 13 and a second cooler 1 connected in parallel.
4. A cold storage tank 15 having a cold storage agent is attached to the second cooler 14 . In FIG. 4, the second cooler 14 is blocked by the cold storage tank 15 and cannot be seen. In addition, switching valves 16 and 17 are provided to control which of the first cooler 13 and the second cooler 14 the refrigerant is directed to.

In the refrigerator according to this invention described above,
In the normal refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 8 and circulated along arrow A in the same manner as explained using FIG. That is, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 8 is liquefied in the condenser 9, and further depressurized in the capillary tube 11. Then, it flows through the switching valve 16 along the arrow B, and the cooler 13
It absorbs heat from the surrounding area and evaporates. After that, the air passes through the switching valve 17 and returns to the compressor 8 again. In such a normal refrigeration cycle, the temperature inside the refrigerator is controlled by starting and stopping the compressor, and is therefore carried out, for example, during the daytime when the noise generated from the compressor is relatively unnoticeable.

Next, for example, before going to bed, the switching valves 16 and 1
7 to start a cold storage refrigeration cycle operation in which the refrigerant flows along arrow C to the second cooler 14.

The second cooler 14 performs a cooling operation regardless of the internal temperature. In other words, this second cooler 14
operates continuously to cool the cold storage agent in the cold storage tank 15 attached to the cooler 14 as desired. The operation of the compressor 8 is continued until the cool storage agent is cooled as desired. When the temperature of the cold storage tank 15 becomes lower than the latent heat, it is detected by, for example, a temperature sensor (not shown), and the operation of the compressor 8 is stopped. Since the second cooler 14 is disposed inside the refrigerator, during its operation, it stores cold in the cold storage tank 15 and also cools the inside of the refrigerator.

In this way, if the cold storage tank 15 stores cold as desired by performing the cold storage refrigeration cycle operation before going to bed, there is no need to operate the compressor 8 at all during nighttime sleep. In other words, the cooling inside the refrigerator is maintained by releasing the cool air from the cold storage tank 15 that stores cold as desired.

When the temperature of the cold storage tank 15 reaches a certain predetermined temperature or higher due to cooling at night, or when the temperature inside the refrigerator reaches a certain predetermined temperature or higher, the temperature is detected by, for example, a temperature sensor (not shown). ) may also be used for sensing. In that case, if the switching valves 16 and 17 perform a switching operation based on the signal from the temperature sensor, and the compressor 8 is operated,
Normal refrigeration cycle operation is started.

Note that when attaching the cold storage tank 15 to the second cooler 14, if a heat insulating material is provided between the cooler 14 and the cold storage tank 15, excessive cold storage as explained using FIG. It is possible to prevent frost from forming on the cold storage tank 15. Furthermore, most preferably, if the second cooler 14 is surrounded by the cold storage tank 15, the time for storing cold in the cold storage tank 15 will be shortened.

As described above, in this invention, in addition to the first cooler for the normal refrigeration cycle, there is a second cooler arranged in the refrigerator in parallel with the first cooler as a refrigerant passage. Equipped with equipment. The first cooler is operated by a compressor to maintain a constant internal temperature. That is, in a normal refrigeration cycle, the compressor repeatedly starts and stops in order to maintain the internal temperature constant. On the other hand, in the cold storage refrigeration cycle, the second cooler continues to cool the cold storage tank regardless of the internal temperature. The compressor continues to operate continuously until the cold storage tank stores as much cold as desired. At this time, since the second cooler is placed inside the refrigerator, it stores cold in the cold storage tank and also cools the inside of the refrigerator. After the cold storage tank has stored cold as desired, the operation of the compressor can be stopped, and the inside of the refrigerator can be cooled by releasing cold from the cold storage tank that has stored cold as desired. There is no need to operate the compressor while the interior of the refrigerator is being cooled by radiation from the cold storage tank.

Thus, according to this invention, normal refrigeration cycle operation using the first cooler can be performed during the day when noise is not a concern, and at night when noise is a concern, it is possible to operate the refrigeration cycle as desired. Cooling inside the refrigerator can be maintained without generating any noise by releasing cold from a cold storage tank where cold is stored in the street. In addition, while cooling inside the refrigerator is maintained by releasing cold from the cold storage tank,
Since no electricity is required, energy consumption and operating costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional refrigerator. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a structure in which a cold storage tank is attached to the cooler of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of a refrigerator according to this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 4. In the figure, 8 is a compressor, 9 is a condenser, 11 is a capillary tube, 13 is a first cooler, 14
is the second cooler, 15 is the cold storage tank, 16 and 17
indicates a switching valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A first cooler for a normal refrigeration cycle, which is disposed inside the refrigerator and maintains the temperature inside the refrigerator at a constant level, and a refrigerant passage that is parallel to the first cooler. a second cooler for a cold storage refrigeration cycle that is disposed in the refrigerator and cools the cold storage tank to a desired degree of cold storage regardless of the temperature inside the refrigerator; and the first cooler or the second cooler; A refrigerator equipped with a switching valve that operates to selectively flow refrigerant.