JPH1019400A - Freezing refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently and satisfactorily cool a refrigeration chamber and a freezing chamber, and improve power consumption in a freezing refrigerator where a refrigerant is supplied from common compressor and condenser to coolers disposed in the refrigeration chamber and a cooling chamber. SOLUTION: When a thermoswitch 42 assemble in a refrigeration chamber is off because temperature in the refrigeration chamber is low, a microcomputer 40 closes a solenoid valve 34 to intrerrupt cooling of the refrigeration chamber and cool only a freezing chamber. Hereupon, the operation rate of a circulation fan 12 of the refrigeration chamber 10 is lowered. The lowering of the operation rate is realized by intermittently operating the circulation fan 12, constituting the circulation fan with a plurality of fans 12 and 12a to reduce the number of operations thereof, and further lowering the revolution of the circulation fan 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a refrigerator and a freezer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of refrigerator has first and second coolers provided in a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, respectively.
A compressor and a condenser common to the first and second coolers, and an electromagnetic valve provided upstream of the first cooler for opening and closing a refrigerant flow path from the compressor and the condenser to the first cooler. When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment rises to the upper limit temperature of the refrigerator, the compressor is operated and the electromagnetic valve is opened, and when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment falls to the lower limit of the refrigerator temperature, the electromagnetic valve is closed, and the electromagnetic valve is closed. With the valve closed, the compressor is operated when the temperature of the freezing room rises to the upper limit of freezing, and the compressor is stopped when the temperature of the freezing room falls to the lower limit of freezing. And the freezer compartment is cooled to a predetermined temperature.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, a circulating fan for circulating air in the refrigerator compartment is not provided, so that heat exchange between the first cooler and air in the refrigerator compartment is not achieved. There was a problem that the cooling was not performed sufficiently and the cooling capacity of the refrigerator compartment was low. In view of the above problems, the present inventors have proposed that a circulation fan be provided in a refrigerator, and the fan be continuously rotated at a constant output to improve the cooling capacity of the refrigerator.

However, according to the above proposed apparatus, heat exchange on the wall surface of the refrigerator compartment increases with an increase in the amount of circulating air in the refrigerator compartment, and the temperature rise in the refrigerator compartment is accelerated by the heat generated by the circulation fan. Further, since the amount of outflow of internal cold air and the amount of inflow of external warm air when the door of the refrigerating compartment is opened are large, the temperature in the refrigerating compartment increases quickly. As a result, the cooling operation time of the refrigerator compartment becomes longer, and the operation time of opening the electromagnetic valve and simultaneously cooling the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment becomes longer.
Further, during the cooling of the refrigerator compartment, that is, in a state where the refrigerant is supplied to both the refrigerator and the freezer refrigerator, both the refrigerators are connected to the common compressor and the condenser, The pressure of the refrigerant supplied to both coolers is equal to the low pressure normally required by the cooler for the refrigerator. In such a situation, a refrigerant having a pressure higher than the required pressure is supplied to the cooler for the freezing room, and the freezing room is not sufficiently cooled. As a result, the average cooling capacity of the freezer compartment is reduced, the cooling of the freezer compartment becomes insufficient, and the power consumption is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a refrigerator-freezer which can sufficiently cool a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment while saving power consumption. Is to do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a structural feature of the present invention is that the refrigerator and the freezer are cooled by a refrigerant provided in the refrigerator and the freezer, respectively. A first and second cooler, a compressor and a condenser that are provided in common to the first and second coolers and circulate the refrigerant to the first and second coolers, respectively, and upstream of the first cooler. An electromagnetic valve that is provided to open and close the flow path of the refrigerant from the compressor and the condenser to the first cooler, first and second temperature sensors that output signals corresponding to respective temperatures in the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, Based on the output signal of the first temperature sensor, when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment rises to the upper limit temperature of the refrigerator, the compressor is operated and the electromagnetic valve is opened, and when the temperature of the refrigerator room falls to the lower limit temperature of the refrigerator, the electromagnetic valve is activated. First to close When the temperature of the freezing room rises to the upper limit of the freezing temperature based on the output signal of the second temperature sensor in the closed state of the cooling operation control means and the electromagnetic valve, the compressor is operated, and the temperature of the freezing room becomes the lower freezing temperature. In the refrigerating refrigerator provided with the second cooling operation control means for stopping the operation of the compressor when descending, the circulation fan provided in the refrigerating room and circulating the air in the refrigerating room and the electromagnetic valve are in a closed state. At this time, there is provided an operating ratio control means for lowering the operating ratio of the circulation fan as compared with when the electromagnetic valve is in the open state.

In this case, in order to reduce the operating rate of the circulation fan as compared with when the electromagnetic valve is open, the operating rate control means intermittently operates the circulation fan when the electromagnetic valve is closed. When the electromagnetic valve is in the open state, the circulation fan may be operated continuously. Further, when the circulation fan is constituted by a plurality of fans, the operation rate control means activates some of the plurality of fans when the electromagnetic valve is in a closed state, and the electromagnetic valve is in an open state. The plurality of fans may be operated when the number is in the range. Further, the operating rate control means includes a speed control means for controlling the rotation speed of the circulation fan, and when the electromagnetic valve is in the closed state, the rotation rate of the circulation fan is smaller than when the electromagnetic valve is in the open state. The speed may be reduced.

[0008]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, the first cooling operation control means controls the compressor when the temperature of the refrigerating compartment rises to the refrigerating upper limit temperature based on the output signal of the first temperature sensor. When the temperature of the refrigerating compartment falls to the lower limit of the refrigerating temperature, the solenoid valve is closed, so that the temperature of the refrigerating compartment is maintained within the range of the lower refrigerating temperature and the upper refrigerating temperature. You. Also, the second
The cooling operation control means activates the compressor when the temperature of the freezing room rises to the upper limit of the freezing temperature based on the output signal of the second temperature sensor in the closed state of the electromagnetic valve, and the temperature of the freezing room becomes the lower limit of the freezing temperature. Since the operation of the compressor is stopped when the temperature of the freezing compartment falls, the temperature of the freezing compartment is maintained substantially between the lower limit temperature of freezing and the upper limit temperature of freezing.

Further, a circulating fan is provided in the refrigerating chamber, and the fan circulates the air in the refrigerating chamber. Therefore, when the refrigerant is supplied to the first cooler, the cooling fan and the air are cooled. The heat exchange becomes good, and the cooling capacity of the refrigerator compartment is improved. Furthermore, the operating rate control means reduces the operating rate of the circulating fan when the electromagnetic valve is closed compared to when the electromagnetic valve is open. In addition to suppressing heat exchange on the indoor wall surface, heat generation from the circulation fan is also suppressed, and the temperature rise in the refrigerator compartment is slowed. Further, even if the door of the refrigerator compartment is opened, the amount of outflow of internal cold air and the amount of inflow of external warm air are suppressed, and the temperature rise in the refrigerator compartment is delayed. This shortens the operation time for simultaneously cooling the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment by opening the electromagnetic valve, thereby improving the average cooling capacity of the freezer compartment and saving power consumption.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A. First Embodiment FIG. 1 schematically shows a main part of a refrigerator-freezer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a cooling function of the refrigerator-freezer.

This refrigerator-freezer comprises a refrigerator 10 and a refrigerator 2
0 is provided. Inside the refrigerator compartment 10, a cooler 11 and a circulation fan 12 are assembled. The cooler 11
The refrigerating chamber 10 is cooled by a refrigerant supplied by a compressor 31 and supplied through a condenser 32, a dryer 33, an electromagnetic valve 34 and a capillary tube 35, and the supplied refrigerant is a compressor. It is returned to 31 and circulates through the above route again. The circulation fan 12 is provided in the refrigerator compartment 10.
The temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 10 is lowered by circulating the air inside to promote heat exchange with the cooler 11. The solenoid valve 34 allows the refrigerant to flow from the compressor 31, the condenser 32, and the dryer 33 to the capillary tube 35 and the cooler 11 in the open state, and prohibits the flow in the closed state. The condenser 32 is provided with a condenser fan 36 for air cooling.

In the freezer compartment 20, a cooler 21 and a circulation fan 22 are assembled. The cooler 21 cools the freezing chamber 20 with a refrigerant that is pressure-fed by a compressor 31 and supplied through a condenser 32, a drier 33, and a capillary tube 37, and the supplied refrigerant is compressed. The machine is returned to the machine 31 and circulates through the above route again. The circulation fan 22 lowers the temperature in the freezer compartment 20 by circulating the air in the freezer compartment 20 to promote heat exchange with the cooler 21. Note that, instead of the capillary tubes 35 and 37, decompressors such as expansion valves may be used.

The refrigerator-freezer includes a microcomputer 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the microcomputer 40 incorporates timers 41a and 41b and receives signals from the thermoswitch 42 in the refrigerator compartment and the thermoswitch 43 in the freezer compartment, and executes a program corresponding to the flowcharts of FIGS. The driving circuit 5
0 controls the operation / stop of the circulation fans 12, 22, the compressor 31, and the condenser fan 36, and the opening / closing of the solenoid valve 34.

The timer 41a is provided with a circulating fan 1 for a refrigerator.
The predetermined operation time and stop time in the intermittent operation of No. 2 are measured. The timer 41b is used to interrupt the timer interrupt program corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 4 every predetermined short time while the microcomputer 40 is executing the main program corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 3 (timer interrupt). It measures short time.

The thermoswitch 42 functions as a temperature sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 10 in response to the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 10.
When the temperature rises to 1, it turns on, and when the refrigerator temperature drops to the refrigerator temperature lower limit T2, it turns off. The thermoswitch 43 functions as a temperature sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to the temperature of the freezing compartment 20 in response to the temperature of the freezing compartment 20. The thermoswitch 43 turns on when the freezing compartment temperature rises to the freezing upper limit temperature T3. The off operation is performed when the room temperature falls to the freezing lower limit temperature T4. These temperatures T1, T2, T
The relationship between T3 and T4 is T1> T2, T3> T4, T1> T
3, T2> T4.

Next, the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is described.
The operation of the embodiment will be described.

When the power switch (not shown) is turned on, the microcomputer 40 starts executing the program at step 100 in FIG. 3, and repeatedly executes the circulation processing consisting of steps 102 to 128.

During the circulating process, when the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 10 rises to the refrigeration upper limit temperature T1 and the thermo switch 42 is turned on, the process of steps 104 to 110 is performed according to the determination of "YES" in step 102. The solenoid valve 34 is opened, the compressor 31, the condenser fan 36, and the circulation fans 12, 22 are operated, and the flag FLG1 is set to "0". The flag FLG1 being “0” indicates that the refrigerator compartment 10 is being cooled. By these processes, the refrigerating room 10 and the freezing room 20 are both cooled, and the operation of each of the circulation fans 12 and 22 causes each room 1 to cool.
The air in the chambers 0 and 20 is circulated, and the temperatures in the chambers 10 and 20 decrease uniformly.

The temperature in the refrigerator compartment 10 is equal to the refrigerator minimum temperature T.
2 and the thermo switch 42 is turned off.
Steps 2 to 128 are executed. In step 112, since the solenoid valve 34 is closed, the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped. Next, at step 114, it is determined whether or not the flag FLG1 is "0". The flag FLG1 is "
If "0", the processes of steps 116 to 120 are executed based on the determination of "YES" in step 114. In step 116, a predetermined measurement time value TM1 is set in a timer 41a built in the microcomputer 40, and the timer 41a starts counting down to measure the set time value TM1. Measurement time value TM1
Corresponds to the operation time of the circulation fan 12 in the intermittent operation. At steps 118 and 120, the flag FL
G1 and FLG2 are set to “1”, and the process proceeds to step 122. When the flag FLG1 is “1”, it indicates that the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped, and
When LG2 is "1", it indicates that the circulation fan 12 is operating. In step 114, the flag FLG1
Is "1", step 1 is performed based on the determination of "NO".
Proceed to step 22.

The processing of steps 122 to 126 corresponds to the cooling operation control processing of the freezing room 20. The temperature inside the freezer compartment 20 rises to the freezing upper limit temperature T3 and the thermoswitch 4
When 3 is turned on, the compressor 31, the condenser fan 36, and the circulation fan 22 are operated by the processing of steps 124 and 126 under the determination of "YES" in step 122, and the freezing compartment 20 is cooled. When the temperature in the freezing compartment 20 falls to the freezing lower limit temperature T4 and the thermo switch 43 is turned off, the processing of the compressor 31 and the condenser fan 36 is performed by the processing of steps 128 and 126 based on the determination of “NO” in step 122. The operation is stopped, the cooling of the freezer compartment 20 is stopped, and the circulation fan 22 is operated. Thereafter, the process returns to step 102 again.

The microcomputer 40 executes the main program corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 3 as described above, and executes the main program of FIG. 4 every predetermined short time measured by the built-in timer 41b during execution of the main program. Interrupt the timer interrupt program corresponding to the flowchart. This program executes the operation rate control of the circulation fan 12 by intermittently operating the fan 12. The microcomputer 40 starts the execution of the timer interrupt program in step 200 of FIG. 4, executes the processing of steps 202 to 230, and then returns to the execution of the main program.

At step 202, the flag FLG1 is set to "
It is determined whether the flag FLG1 is "1" or not. If the flag FLG1 is "0", the determination is "NO" and the routine proceeds to step 230. That is,
As long as the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is performed, the operation rate control of the circulation fan 12 is not performed. In step 202, if the flag FLG1 is “1”, “YES” is determined and the process proceeds to step 204. If the circulation fan 12 is operating, the flag FLG2 is “1”.
At 06, it is determined whether or not the measurement of the measurement time value TM1 of the timer 41a has been completed. If the measurement by the timer 41a has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 230. If the measurement by the timer 41a has been completed, in steps 208 to 212, the operation of the circulation fan 12 is stopped, the flag FLG2 is set to "0", and the timer 41a is set to a predetermined measurement time value TM2. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 230. The timer 41a starts counting down to measure the set time value TM2. The measurement time value TM2 corresponds to a stop time in the intermittent operation of the circulation fan 12.

On the other hand, if the circulation fan 12 is stopped in step 204, the flag FLG2 is "0", so that the determination is "NO" and the routine proceeds to step 214.
In step 214, the measured time value TM2 of the timer 41a
It is determined whether or not the measurement has been completed. If the measurement by the timer 41a has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 230. Timer 4
If the measurement of 1a has been completed, steps 216 to 220
, The circulation fan 12 is operated, and the flag FLG2
Is set to “1”, and a predetermined measurement time value T is set in the timer 41a.
After setting M1, the process proceeds to step 230. Timer 41
a starts counting down to measure the set time value TM1.

When the thermoswitch 42 is in the off state by the above-described processes and the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped,
The circulation fan 12 operates for a predetermined time TM1 and a predetermined time T
The operation of stopping M2 is repeated (see FIG. 5).

As described above, according to this embodiment, while the cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment 10 is stopped, the circulation fan 12 of the refrigerating compartment 10 is repeatedly operated and stopped, so that the intermittent operation is performed. Operating rate decreases. For this reason,
The amount of air circulating on the wall surface in the refrigerating room 10 is reduced, heat exchange on the indoor wall surface is suppressed, and the amount of heat generated from the circulation fan 12 is reduced. Furthermore, since the amount of outflow of internal cold air and the amount of inflow of external warm air when the door of the refrigerating room 10 is opened are reduced,
The temperature rise in the inside is suppressed. As a result, the cooling operation time of the refrigerator compartment 10, that is, the simultaneous cooling operation time of the refrigerator compartment 10 and the freezer compartment 20 is shortened, and the time during which the cooling capacity of the freezer compartment 20 is reduced is shortened (in other words, the freezing compartment 20 is cooled). (Independent cooling operation time becomes longer), so that the cooling performance of the freezing room 20 is stabilized. Along with this, it is possible to save the power consumption required for the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 and the operation of the circulation fan 12. In addition, during the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10, the circulation fan 12 continues to operate, so that the cooler 11 and the refrigerator compartment 10 are operated.
The heat exchange with the air inside is sufficiently performed, and the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator compartment 10 is kept good.

In the first embodiment, the refrigerating compartment 10 is operated in accordance with the on / off operation of the thermoswitch 42.
The operation of the cooling operation is switched between start and stop. However, instead of the thermoswitch 42, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 10 as a continuous amount is provided, and the cooling of the refrigerator compartment 10 is performed based on the detection value of the sensor. The operation may be switched between start and stop. In this case, step 10 in FIG.
In step 2, it is sufficient to switch the process to steps 104 and 112 based on the temperature detected by the sensor, and this modified example is similarly applied to other embodiments described later.

B. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Second
The refrigerator-freezer according to the embodiment has a plurality of circulation fans 12 and 12a in the refrigerator compartment 10 as shown by a solid line and a broken line in FIG. The microcomputer 40 replaces the flowcharts of FIGS.
The program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The feature of the second embodiment is that the refrigerator compartment 10
During the cooling operation, the circulation fans 12, 12a are operated together by the processing of step 302, and while the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped, one of the circulation fans 12 is operated by the processing of step 304, and the other. The operation of the circulation fan 12a is stopped. Thereby, while the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped, the operation rate of the circulation fans 12, 12a can be reduced as a whole, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.
The other processes in FIG. 6 are the same as those in FIG.

In the second embodiment, 2
The circulation fan 12 and the circulation fan 12
2, 12a was started and stopped alternatively,
Further, more circulation fans may be provided, and some of the fans may be selectively operated / stopped. In this case, in step 304, it is preferable to reduce the number of circulating fans to be operated as compared with the processing in step 308, thereby lowering the operating rate of the entire circulating fan.

C. Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Third
In the refrigerator-freezer according to the embodiment, the speed control circuit 18 is provided between the circulation fan 12 and the drive circuit 50 as shown by a solid line and a broken line in FIG. The speed control circuit 18 varies the rotation speed of the circulation fan 12 by a method such as inverter control or phase control. The microcomputer 40 executes a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 instead of the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

The feature of the third embodiment is that the refrigerator compartment 10
During the cooling operation, the circulation fan 12 is operated at a predetermined speed by the processing of step 402, and while the cooling operation of the refrigerator compartment 10 is stopped, the circulation fan 1 is processed by the processing of step 404.
2 is operated at a lower rotational speed than the processing in step 402. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment 10
While the cooling operation is stopped, the operation rate of the circulation fan 12 can be reduced, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Step 108a is a process for operating the circulation fan 22 in the freezing room 20, and the other processes are the same as those in FIG.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a refrigerator-freezer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a cooling function of the refrigerator-freezer according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main program executed by the microcomputer of FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a timer interrupt program executed by the microcomputer of FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an operation / stop or open / close state of a compressor, a solenoid valve, a refrigeration circulation fan, and a refrigeration circulation fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a program executed by the microcomputer of FIG. 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a program executed by the microcomputer of FIG. 2 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Refrigerator room, 11 ... Cooler, 12, 12a ... Circulation fan, 18 ... Speed control circuit, 20 ... Freezer room, 21 ... Cooler, 22 ... Circulation fan, 31 ... Compressor, 32 ... Condenser, 34 ... solenoid valve, 35, 37 ... capillary tube,
40: microcomputer; 41a, 41b: timer; 42, 43: thermoswitch; 50: drive circuit.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first and a second cooler for cooling a refrigerator and a freezer respectively with a refrigerant provided and supplied in a refrigerator and a freezer, respectively, and common to the first and second coolers. A compressor and a condenser that are provided and circulate the refrigerant to the first and second coolers, respectively; and a refrigerant that is provided upstream of the first cooler and that flows from the compressor and the condenser to the first cooler. An electromagnetic valve that opens and closes a flow path, first and second temperature sensors that output signals corresponding to respective temperatures in the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, and the refrigerator compartment based on an output signal of the first temperature sensor A first cooling operation in which the compressor is operated and the electromagnetic valve is opened when the temperature of the refrigerator rises to the refrigeration upper limit temperature, and the electromagnetic valve is closed when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment falls to the refrigeration lower limit temperature. control Means for operating the compressor when the temperature of the freezing room rises to a freezing upper limit temperature based on an output signal of the second temperature sensor in a closed state of the electromagnetic valve, and the temperature of the freezing room is frozen. A refrigerating refrigerator having second cooling operation control means for stopping the operation of the compressor when the temperature has dropped to the lower limit temperature; a circulating fan provided in the refrigerator compartment for circulating air in the refrigerator compartment; An operation rate control means for reducing an operation rate of the circulation fan when the valve is in a closed state compared to when the electromagnetic valve is in an open state. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the operating ratio control means operates the circulation fan intermittently when the electromagnetic valve is closed, and when the electromagnetic valve is open. A refrigerator-freezer in which the circulation fan is operated continuously. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the circulating fan comprises a plurality of fans, and the operation rate control means includes a plurality of the fans when the electromagnetic valve is in a closed state. And a plurality of fans are operated when the electromagnetic valve is in an open state. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the operating rate control means includes a speed control means for controlling a rotation speed of the circulation fan, and wherein the electromagnetic valve is closed when the electromagnetic valve is in a closed state. A refrigerator-freezer wherein the rotation speed of the circulation fan is reduced as compared to when the electromagnetic valve is open.