JPH0470545B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a refrigerator for cooling and storing food, and more particularly to a control device for a refrigerator equipped with a rapid cooling function.

(b) Prior Art Conventional refrigerators of this type have, for example, a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and the electric compressor and cold air circulation blower are stopped between a predetermined upper limit temperature and lower limit temperature of the freezer compartment, and A damper is used to intermittently supply cold air to the refrigerator compartment. When food is stored in these storage chambers and the temperature thereof needs to be lowered in a short period of time, for example, a blower that circulates cold air can be operated continuously for a predetermined period of time, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 48-44846, or an electric compressor can be used. It was like forcing itself to run continuously.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention Although continuous operation of such a blower or electric compressor improves the cooling rate compared to intermittent operation, the air volume per unit time and the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle are is constant, so there is a limit to its rapid cooling ability.

(d) Means for solving the problems In order to solve the problems, the present invention
The operation of the electric compressor 20 is controlled based on the temperature of the chamber F, and the rapid cooling switch 32 of the first chamber F is operated to cause an increase in the rotation speed of the electric compressor 20 for a predetermined period of time. The blower 1 for supplying cold air for a predetermined time by the operation of the rapid cooling switch 33
2 is provided with a control means 22 for increasing the number of rotations.

(E) Effect According to the present invention, the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle is increased by the rapid cooling switch in the first chamber, thereby achieving a strong cooling effect. Further, the rapid cooling switch in the second chamber increases the amount of cold air circulated, thereby achieving rapid heat exchange.

(f) Examples Examples will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 shows a refrigerator-freezer 1 as an example. Reference numeral 2 denotes a heat insulating box body, the inside of which is divided into upper and lower parts by a heat insulating partition wall 3, with a freezer compartment F serving as a first compartment in the upper part and a refrigerating compartment R serving as a second compartment in the lower part. ing. Reference numerals 6 and 7 designate heat insulating doors that separately open and close the front openings of the freezer compartment F and the refrigerator compartment R, respectively. A cooling chamber 8 is formed within the partition wall 3, and a cooler 10 included in the refrigeration cycle is installed in the cooling chamber 8.
Storage will be installed. A duct 11 that communicates with the cooling chamber 8 and both chambers F and R is formed behind the cooler 10, and a blower 1 is provided inside the duct 11.
At step 2, air cooled by the cooler 10, that is, cold air, is sucked in and forcibly blown out into the duct 11. 1
2M is a motor that drives the blower. Duct 1
The cold air blown out into the freezer compartment F is blown out through the discharge port 14 and into the refrigerator compartment R through the discharge port 15. Reference numeral 17 denotes an electromagnetic damper provided in the refrigerator R to open and close the discharge port 15, and the discharge port 15 is opened and closed by a full plate 18. 19 is a heat insulating cover for the damper 17. Further, 20 is an electric compressor installed at the bottom of the refrigerator-freezer 1 and included in the refrigeration cycle. Furthermore, 5 is an operation panel attached to the front surface of the door 7.

FIG. 1 shows in block diagram form the control electrical circuit 21 of the present invention. 22 is a microcomputer;
It has the functions of A/D converters 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and a micro CPU 28. A sensor 29 detects the temperature T _F of the freezer compartment F, and its output is A/D converted by the A/D converter 23 and input to the micro CPU 28 . 30 is refrigerator room R
This is a sensor that detects the internal temperature T _R , and its output similarly passes through the A/D converter 24 to the
It is input to the CPU 28. 31 is a means for setting the temperature of each room F, R, which is inputted to the micro CPU 28 via the A/D converter 25. Reference numerals 32 and 33 are an F quench switch and an R quench switch for starting the rapid cooling operation of the freezer compartment F and refrigerator compartment R, respectively, and both are provided on the operation panel 5, and when closed, the signal is sent to the A/D. The data is input to the micro CPU 28 via the converters 26 and 27. micro
The rotation speed of the three-phase synchronous motor 20M for driving the electric compressor 20 is controlled by the inverter circuit 36 via the output D/A converter 35 of the CPU 28. Further, the output of the micro CPU 28 passes through a D/A converter 37, and then the rotational speed of the motor 12M is adjusted by a chopper circuit 38. Furthermore, the output of micro CPU28 is D/
Damper 1 via driver 40 via A converter 39
7 electromagnetic coil 17A is energized. Furthermore,
The output of the micro CPU 28 passes through a D/A converter 41, and a driver 42 controls the energization of the defrosting heater 43 of the cooler 10.

The damper 17 opens the discharge port 15 by energizing the electromagnetic coil 17A. The microcomputer 22, for example, stops the motors 20M and 12M at predetermined time intervals and defrosts the cooler 10 using the heater 43, but when the switch 32 or 33 is operated, the freezing compartment F or the refrigerator, which will be described later, is activated. Defrosting is on standby when the rapid cooling operation of room R is being performed, and is performed after the rapid cooling operation is completed.

Next, the microcomputer 22 controls the freezing compartment F.
The temperature control of the motor 1 of the blower 12 is shown in FIG.
The explanation will be based on a flowchart for controlling the motor 2M and a flowchart for controlling the motor 20M of the electric compressor 20 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the start is when the refrigerator-freezer 1 is powered on, everything is reset in step 45, the motor 20M is started in step 46, and step 47 is repeated to once increase the operating frequency to the maximum capacity, for example, 120 Hz. When the motor 12M reaches its maximum capacity, proceed to step 48. In step 48, the temperature T _F of the freezer compartment F sensed by the sensor 29 is 4°C lower than the set temperature T _FS (for example, -18°C) of the freezer compartment F set by the means 31.
High T _FS Determine whether the temperature is +4°C (for example, -14°C) or higher, and since the temperature is high immediately after the power is turned on, proceed to step 49, and check that the current rotation speed of motor 20M is 90Hz.
Determine whether it is true or not, and if it is no, proceed to step 50.
Maintain 120Hz. When cooling by the maximum capacity of the motor 20M progresses and the temperature drops below T _FS +4°C, the process proceeds from step 48 to step 51, where it is determined whether the temperature T _F is at least T _FS +2°C (for example, -16°C), which is 2°C higher than the set temperature T _FS . to judge. If this is the case, the process proceeds to step 52 to determine whether the current rotational speed is 60Hz or not, but since it is currently 120Hz, the process proceeds to step 53 to lower the rotational speed of the motor 20M to 90Hz. In other words, the temperature T _F drops and T _FS
The rotational speed lower than +4 and higher than T _FS +2 drops to 90Hz. When the temperature T _F further decreases to below T _FS +2°C, the process proceeds from steps 51 to 54, where it is determined whether or not the temperature T _F is greater than or equal to the set temperature T _FS . If it is, the process proceeds to step 55, where the current rotational speed is It is determined whether the rotation speed is 30Hz or not, and since it is currently 90Hz, the process advances to step 56 and the rotation speed is lowered to 60Hz. In other words, when the temperature T _F drops and becomes lower than T _FS +2 and greater than T _FS , the rotation speed is reduced.
Set to 60Hz. Even when the rotational speed of the motor 20M reaches 60Hz, the temperature T _F continues to decrease, and when it falls below the set temperature T _FS , the process proceeds to step 57, where the temperature T _F reaches the set temperature T _FS.
It is determined whether the temperature is at least -2°C (for example, -20°C), which is 2°C lower than _TFS , and since it is above, the process proceeds to step 58, where it is determined whether or not the motor 20M is currently stopped.
Since no, proceed to step 59 and set it to 30Hz. That is, when the temperature T _F becomes lower than T _FS and becomes T _FS -2 or more, the rotation speed of the motor 20M is lowered to 30 Hz. Even when the rotation speed reaches 30 Hz, the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle is still excessive, and when the temperature T _F drops below T _FS -2°C, the process proceeds from step 57 to step 60, and the motor 20M is stopped.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the temperature T _F of the freezer compartment F and the rotational speed of the motor 20M. The arrows descending stepwise from the upper right to the lower left in the figure indicate the operation described above, that is, the motor 20M decelerates stepwise as the temperature decreases. Here, the blower 12 is controlled by the fourth
As shown in the figure, in step 61, it is determined whether or not the blower high rotation first flag, which will be described in detail later, is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step 62, where the blower 1
The motor 12M is set to high rotation, and if it is not set, proceed to step 63, and if the blower high rotation second flag, which will be detailed later, is set, proceed to step 62.
Proceed to step 64 to similarly set the rotation to high speed, and if it has not been set, proceed to step 64. In step 64, it is determined whether the rotation speed of the motor 20M of the electric compressor 20 is 120 Hz or not. If it is 120 Hz, the process proceeds to step 62 and the motor 12M is set at high rotation speed. That is, when the refrigeration cycle is operated at high capacity, the amount of cold air circulated by the blower 12 is also increased to further improve the cooling rate inside the refrigerator. If the answer is NO in step 64, proceed to step 65, determine whether the rotation speed of motor 20M is 30Hz, and set it to 30Hz.
If so, the process advances to step 66 and the motor 12M is set to a low rotation speed. That is, when the refrigeration cycle is operating at low capacity, the amount of cold air circulated by the blower 12 is also reduced to control the temperature drop inside the refrigerator, thereby reducing the number of times the motor 20M stops. If the result in step 65 is negative, the process proceeds to step 67, where it is determined whether or not the motor 20M is stopped. If it is stopped, the motor 12M is also stopped in step 68, and if it is not stopped, the motor 12M is stopped in step 69. Rotation. That is,
When the motor 20M is rotating at 60Hz or 90Hz, the motor 12M is rotating at a medium rotation rate in the normal state.

Next, returning to FIG. 5, in step 60 the motor 20 is
After M stops, the temperature T _F gradually increases and becomes T _FS again.
When the temperature reaches -2°C or higher, the process proceeds from step 57 to step 58, but currently it is stopped and proceeds to step 70, where the temperature T _F becomes T _FS.
It is determined whether the temperature is -1°C (for example -19°C) or higher, and if not, the process proceeds to step 71 and the motor 20M continues to stop. When the temperature exceeds T _FS -1°C in step 70, the process proceeds to step 72, where the rotational speed of the motor 20M is set to 30Hz. That is, if the temperature T _F falls below T _FS -2°C and the motor 20M stops, the motor 20M will not be operated unless the temperature T F rises to T _FS -1°C. This prevents frequent starting and stopping of the motor 20M due to fluctuations in temperature T _F , and suppresses deterioration of the motor 20M. The temperature T _F further increases and the set temperature T _FS
When the temperature T _F reaches T _FS +
Determine whether the temperature is 0.3℃ or higher, and if not, proceed to step 75.
to maintain 30Hz. When T _FS +0.3°C is reached in step 74, the process proceeds to step 76 and the rotational speed is increased to 60Hz. Even if the temperature rises to 60Hz, the cooling capacity is insufficient and the temperature T _F rises further, and if it becomes T _FS +2°C or higher, the process proceeds from steps 51 to 52, but since the current temperature is 60Hz, the process proceeds to step 77 and T _FS +2.3. It is determined whether the temperature is above ℃, and if it is not, the process proceeds to step 78 and maintains 60Hz.
When T _FS +2.3°C is reached at step 77, step 79
Proceed to step 1 and increase the rotation speed of motor 20M to 90Hz. If the temperature T _F rises further due to the input of a large heat load and becomes T _FS +4°C or higher, the process proceeds from steps 48 to 49, but since it is currently rotating at 90 Hz, the process proceeds to step 80 and T _FS is increased. It is determined whether the temperature is above +4.3°C, but since it is not, the process proceeds to step 81 and maintains 90Hz. When T _FS +4.3°C or higher is reached in step 80, the process proceeds to step 82 and the rotational speed is increased to 120Hz. The above operation is the rotation speed increasing operation shown by the arrow rising stepwise from the lower left to the upper right in FIG. At this time, the rotation speed change operation when the temperature T _F crosses each point of T _FS , T _FS +2, and T _FS +4 has a differential of 0.3°C when the temperature decreases and when the temperature increases. It's set. This results in temperature
Prevents frequent changes in rotational speed due to T _F fluctuations and suppresses deterioration of control elements.

By repeating the above operations, the temperature T _F approaches the set temperature T _FS , but compared to normal ON-OFF type control, the number of times motor 20M starts and stops is significantly reduced, so the deterioration of motor 20M is prevented. Since temperature fluctuations are significantly suppressed and temperature fluctuations are reduced, stable food preservation can be achieved.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a flowchart showing software for controlling the damper 17. After turning on the power, open the damper 17 in step 84, and then in step 85.
The temperature T _R of the refrigerator compartment R is the upper limit temperature T _RS (for example, +5 °C) that is within a range of 2 °C above and below the set temperature T _RS (for example, +3 °C) of the refrigerator compartment R set by the means 31.
It is determined whether or not the upper limit temperature T _RH of the lower limit temperature T _RL (for example, +1° C.) is higher than the upper limit temperature T RH or not. If the temperature drops below T _RH in step 85, the process proceeds to step 87 to determine whether or not the lower limit temperature T _RL is below. If not, the process proceeds to step 88 to determine whether the damper 17 is currently open. Go ahead and stay open. When the temperature T _R becomes below T _RL in step 87, the process proceeds to step 90.
Proceed to close the damper 17. As a result, the introduction of cold air is stopped, and the temperature T _R gradually rises to T _RL
If the damper 17 becomes higher, the process proceeds from step 87 to step 88, but since the damper 17 is currently closed, the process proceeds to step 91 to maintain the closed state. Furthermore, the temperature T _R increases and T _RH
If this is the case, the process proceeds to step 86, where the damper 17 is opened and cooling is started again. The above steps are repeated and the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment R is averaged to the set temperature _TRS .

Next, the rapid cooling operation of each chamber will be explained based on the flow chart showing the software for controlling the rapid cooling operation of the freezing compartment F and the refrigerator compartment R of the microcomputer 22 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Step 93 resets everything, then step 94 explains F
Determine whether the rapid cooling flag is set.
If the F quenching flag has not been set, proceed to step 95 and turn on the instant return type F quenching switch 32.
If not, it is determined in step 96 whether or not the freezer compartment F is being rapidly cooled, and if not, the process proceeds to step 97. In step 97, it is determined whether or not the R quenching flag, which will be described later, is set. If not, the process proceeds to step 98, where it is determined whether or not the instant return type R quenching switch 33 is closed. If not, the process proceeds to step 98. Go to 99 and go to Refrigerator Room R
It is determined whether or not the is being rapidly cooled, and if it is not, the process returns to step 94.

Assuming that the cooler 10 is not currently being defrosted, when the F quick cooling switch 32 is closed, the process proceeds from step 95 to step 100, where it is determined whether or not the freezer compartment F is currently being rapidly cooled.
In step 102, the F quenching flag is reset, in step 103, the set temperature _TFS of the freezer compartment F is lowered to, for example, -25°C, and in step 104, the first timer that the microcomputer 22 has as a function is set to start integration. In step 105, the above-mentioned blower high rotation first flag is set. Steps 103 to 105
The steps up to
As the set temperature T _FS is lowered at step 103, _the current temperature T _F in FIG.
The rotational speed of is increased to the maximum capacity, and the flowchart shown in Fig. 5 is executed to bring the temperature T _F closer to -25°C. Also, in step 105, the motor 12M is switched to the fourth motor.
As shown in the figure, the rotation speed of the motor 20M is high regardless of the rotation speed of the motor 20M, and thereby the inside of the freezer compartment F is rapidly cooled. After that, step 97, 98, 99, 95, 96,
106 is repeated, and the rapid cooling of the freezer compartment F is continued until the first timer completes the integration. For example, the first timer finishes counting 150 minutes after being set.
Proceeding to step 107, the above-mentioned rapid cooling control of the freezer compartment F is canceled, the first timer and the blower high speed first flag are reset, and the set temperature T _FS is also set to -18°C.
will be returned to.

Next, when the R quenching switch 33 is closed, the process proceeds from step 98 to step 109, where it is determined whether or not the refrigerator compartment R is being rapidly cooled.If not, the process proceeds from steps 110 to 111, where the R quenching flag is reset, and the process proceeds to step 109. 112 forces the set temperature T _RS of the refrigerator compartment R to +
1°C, a second timer which the microcomputer 22 has as a function is set in step 113, and the aforementioned second blower high rotation flag is set in step 114. Steps 112 to 114 are called refrigerator compartment R rapid cooling control, and in step 112, when the set temperature _TRS reaches +1°C, the upper limit temperature
T _RH is +3℃, lower limit temperature T _RL is -1℃, -1℃
The discharge port 15 will not close until the time is reached.
Further, in step 114, as shown in FIG. 4, the motor 12M of the blower 12 is rotated at a high speed regardless of the motor 20M, and the refrigerator compartment R is rapidly cooled. From now on, the flowchart and steps 97, 98, 99 in Fig. 2 will be followed.
115 is repeated to continue rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment R until the integration of the second timer is completed, and the integration is completed, for example, 150 minutes after the second timer is set, and the process proceeds to steps 115 to 116 to rapidly cool the refrigerator compartment R. Release control. As a result, the second timer and the second blower high speed flag are reset, and the set temperature _TRS of the refrigerator compartment R is also returned to the normal state (for example, +3° C.). The above rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment R is performed independently of the rapid cooling of the freezer compartment F.

Next, if it is determined in step 101 that the cooler 10 is being defrosted, the process proceeds to step 118 to set the F rapid cooling flag, and from step 94 the process proceeds to step 119, in which the freezing compartment F is not rapidly cooled during defrosting. It disappears.
Similarly, from step 110, proceed to step 120 to set the R quenching flag, and from step 97 to 121.
Rapid cooling of the refrigerator compartment R is not performed during defrosting. When defrosting of the cooler 10 is completed in this state, the process proceeds from step 119 to step 102, or step 121
The process then proceeds to step 111, where rapid cooling control of the freezer compartment F or refrigerator compartment R is executed as described above.

In addition, in the embodiment, the present application was applied to the freezing room F and the refrigerator room R, but it is not limited thereto, and may be applied to rooms used in other temperature ranges (for example, ice temperature storage temperature).
Further, in the embodiment, the set temperature of each room is lowered for a predetermined period of time as rapid cooling control of each room, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the electric compressor 20 and the blower 1 are
The two motors 20M and 12M may be set to their maximum capacity, or the damper 17 may be forcibly opened for a predetermined period of time.

In addition, in the embodiment, temperature control of the freezer compartment F is achieved using an inverter control system, but normally ON-OFF
The present application may be achieved using an inverter control method only during rapid cooling control.

(G) Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the present invention, the rapid cooling switch in the first chamber causes the compressor to operate at an increased speed for a predetermined period of time regardless of the temperature in the first chamber. By increasing the flow rate of refrigerant to the cooler, the cooling capacity of the cooler can be increased compared to normal operation, which not only allows for effective rapid cooling of the first chamber, but also reduces the temperature drop of cold air to the second chamber. I can figure it out.

In addition, the rapid cooling switch in the second chamber increases the rotation speed of the fan for a predetermined period of time regardless of the temperature in the second chamber, increasing the amount of heat exchanged by the cooler and the amount of air flowing into the second chamber. Not only can the amount of heat exchanged between the two chambers be increased to rapidly cool the second chamber, but also cooling can be easily performed in accordance with the size of the load.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a control electric circuit, and Figs. 2 and 3 show software for controlling rapid cooling operation of a microcomputer in a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the software for controlling the blower, Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the software for controlling the electric compressor, Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the temperature in the freezer compartment and the rotation speed of the electric compressor motor. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the damper control software of the microcomputer, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic side sectional view of a refrigerator-freezer. F...Freezing room, R...Refrigerating room, 12...Blower, 20...Electric compressor, 22...Microcomputer, 32, 33...Rapid cooling switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a device that supplies cold air by a blower to a first chamber and a second chamber that are divided into a refrigerator, and controls the operation of an electric compressor based on the temperature of the first chamber, the first chamber The speed of the compressor is increased for a predetermined period of time by the operation of the quick cooling switch in the first chamber regardless of the temperature in the first chamber, and the rotation speed of the compressor is increased for a predetermined period of time regardless of the temperature in the second chamber by the operation of the quick cooling switch in the second chamber. A refrigerator control device comprising a control means for increasing the rotation speed of a blower for a predetermined period of time.