CN107014130B

CN107014130B - Refrigerating device

Info

Publication number: CN107014130B
Application number: CN201710191384.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁静; 彭洪祥; 段志国; 王哲; 刘志海; 范志军
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Special Refrigerator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Special Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-03-28
Filing date: 2017-03-28
Publication date: 2020-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-28
Also published as: CN107014130A

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerating apparatus comprising: a freezing chamber for receiving a frozen object; the refrigeration circulating system comprises a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism and an evaporator which are connected together, and the evaporator is used for cooling to generate refrigerated cold air; a supply air passage for conveying the cold air generated by the evaporator; the tray is detachably arranged in the freezing chamber and used for bearing the frozen objects, and a plurality of through holes are formed in the tray; the temperature sensor is arranged in the freezing chamber and used for detecting the bottom temperature of the frozen object on the tray; and a blower for blowing the cold air delivered by the supply air duct to the tray facing downward in the freezing chamber. The food is efficiently frozen by supercooling to improve the supercooling effect.

Description

Refrigerating device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerating apparatus for refrigerating and preserving foods in a storage compartment, and more particularly to a refrigerating apparatus having a function of freezing foods in a refrigerating compartment by supercooling.

Background

Conventionally, a freezing method has been used in which food is frozen by passing through a supercooled state when freezing in a freezing chamber, and when this method is used, since ice crystals are small and cells of the food are not easily destroyed, an effect of reducing blood loss can be obtained. Chinese patent No. 2016100332561 discloses a refrigeration device with the above supercooling function, which uses a carrying plate with a through hole to place the goods to be supercooled, and uses the cold air output from the air channel at the top of the carrying plate to refrigerate the goods from the upper and lower parts of the carrying plate through the through hole, wherein, a temperature sensor is arranged in the air channel at the top of the carrying plate to search the temperature, so as to judge whether the temperature requirement of supercooling is reached. However, in the actual use process, it is found that the temperature value detected by the temperature sensor has a large difference with the actual temperature value of the articles on the carrying plate, the supercooling temperature cannot be accurately controlled according to the temperature condition of the frozen articles, and the supercooling effect cannot be well achieved. The invention aims to solve the technical problem of how to design a refrigerating device with high temperature detection precision to improve the supercooling effect.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a refrigeration apparatus capable of efficiently freezing food by supercooling to improve a supercooling effect.

The invention provides a refrigerating device, comprising:

a freezing chamber for receiving a frozen object;

the refrigeration circulating system comprises a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism and an evaporator which are connected together, and the evaporator is used for cooling to generate refrigerated cold air;

a supply air passage for conveying the cold air generated by the evaporator;

the tray is detachably arranged in the freezing chamber and used for bearing the frozen objects, and a plurality of through holes are formed in the tray;

the temperature sensor is arranged in the freezing chamber and used for detecting the bottom temperature of the frozen object on the tray;

and a blower for blowing the cold air delivered by the supply air duct to the tray facing downward in the freezing chamber.

Furthermore, a storage container is arranged in the freezing chamber, the tray is detachably arranged in the storage container, and a detection opening for the temperature sensor to detect the bottom temperature of the frozen object on the tray is formed in the bottom of the storage container.

Furthermore, the storage container is a drawer which is detachably mounted in the freezing chamber, the detection opening is formed in the bottom surface of the storage container, and the tray covers the detection opening; the middle part of tray forms hollow out construction, be provided with the heat-conducting plate among the hollow out construction, the heat-conducting plate is located detect open-ended top.

Further, the inside mount pad that is provided with of freezer, the up end of mount pad is provided with the recess, in the recess temperature sensor sets up in the mount pad, still be provided with the heat conduction cover on the mount pad, the heat conduction cover covers temperature sensor, the heat conduction cover passes the detection opening pastes and leans on the heat-conducting plate.

Furthermore, a thermal insulation pad is arranged between the temperature sensor and the groove.

Furthermore, the inside spring holder that is provided with of freezer, the setting that the mount pad can reciprocate is in on the spring holder, the mount pad with be provided with reset spring between the spring holder, reset spring is used for applying the spring force and makes the heat conduction cover hugs closely on the heat-conducting plate.

Furthermore, a slot is formed on the spring seat around the return spring, a guide flange is formed at the bottom of the mounting seat, and the guide flange is inserted into the slot.

Furthermore, a sliding groove which is sunken into the containing container is formed in the bottom surface of the containing container, the detection opening is communicated with the sliding groove, and the sliding groove is used for containing the mounting seat.

Further, the bottom surface of the container is formed with an inclined surface for pressing down the mounting seat, and the inclined surface is inclined upward.

The invention provides a refrigerating device, which measures the temperature of the lower surface of a frozen object by a temperature sensor arranged at the lower part of a tray, can effectively improve the accuracy of temperature detection, directly and accurately detects the lower surface temperature of the frozen object by the temperature sensor, and accurately detects the temperature of the frozen object by the temperature sensor arranged at the nearest part of the frozen object, so that the refrigerating device controls a refrigerating cycle and a blower to operate, thereby properly freezing the frozen object by utilizing an overcooling phenomenon and improving the overcooling effect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a front external view of a refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the refrigeration unit of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram showing a refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view in section a-a in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view in section B-B in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view in section C-C in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a partial exploded view showing the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is an exploded view showing a sensor assembly in the refrigerating apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the area a1 in fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a first sectional view showing the assembly of the sensor unit and the storage container in the refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a second sectional view showing the assembly of the sensor unit and the intermediate storage container in the refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a cooling operation of the refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention.

Reference numerals: 1 refrigerating device, 2 heat preservation box, 2a shell, 2b inner container, 2c heat preservation layer, 3 refrigerating chamber, 4 freezing chamber, 5 upper freezing chamber, 6 lower freezing chamber, 7 vegetable chamber, 8 door, 9 frozen object, 10 door, 11 door, 12 door, 13 evaporator installation chamber, 13b opening, 14 supply air path, 15 supply air path, 17 return air path, 18 air door, 19 defrosting heater, 20 air path cover plate, 21 return air inlet, 23 second air blower, 24 butt joint port, 25 chute, 26 air supply cavity, 27 operation panel, 28 opening, 29 storage container, 30 control device, 31 compressor, 32 first air blower, 33 evaporator, 34 temperature sensor, 35 operation button, 36 heat insulation partition, 37 heat insulation partition, 38 partition, 39 baffle, 40 tray, 41 second air inlet, 42 through hole, 45 heat conduction cover, 46 heat conduction plate, 47 sensor assembly, 49 inclined part, 50 inclined part, 51 inner container back surface, 52 freezing chamber bottom surface, 53 spring seat, 54 return spring, 55 channel, 56 heat preservation layer, 57 sensor cover, 58 heat insulation pad, 59 communication line, 60 connection port, 61 connection port, 63 channel unit, 64 communication pipeline, 65 groove, 66 inclined surface.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

A refrigeration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, the refrigeration apparatus 1 includes a heat insulating box 2 as a main body, and a storage chamber for storing food and the like is formed inside the heat insulating box 2. The storage room is defined by a refrigerating room 3 at the uppermost layer, an upper freezing room 5 at the lower layer, a lower freezing room 6 at the next lower layer, and a vegetable room 7 at the lowermost layer. Here, upper-stage freezing chamber 5 and lower-stage freezing chamber 6 are storage chambers in freezing temperature regions, and therefore, they are sometimes simply referred to collectively as freezing chamber 4. In the present embodiment, upper-stage freezing chamber 5 has a function of freezing stored frozen objects 9 in a supercooled state, and the function will be described below.

In the present embodiment, a refrigeration apparatus having a plurality of storage compartments as the refrigeration apparatus 1 is exemplified, but a refrigeration apparatus having only the freezing compartment 4 may be adopted as the refrigeration apparatus 1 and may have a function of freezing the object to be frozen 9 by cooling in the freezing compartment 4.

The refrigerating apparatus 1 basically functions to cool down objects to be stored, such as food, stored in each storage room to a predetermined temperature. That is, the indoor temperature of refrigerating room 3 is a refrigerating temperature region, the indoor temperature of freezing room 4 is a freezing temperature region, and the indoor temperature of vegetable room 7 is a refrigerating temperature region.

The front surface of the heat insulating box 2 is open, and doors 8 and the like are openably and closably provided at openings corresponding to the storage chambers 3 and the like, respectively. The right upper and lower portions of the door 8 are rotatably supported by the heat insulation box 2. The

doors

10, 11, and 12 are supported by the heat insulation box 2 so as to be drawable in front of the refrigeration apparatus 1.

Here, the front surface of the door 8 is provided with an operation panel 27, and the user performs various functions of the refrigeration apparatus 1 by operating the operation panel 27. For example, the user presses an operation button of operation panel 27 to perform the supercooling operation for supercooling object 9 to be frozen in upper-stage freezing chamber 5. This matter is described below.

As shown in fig. 2, the main insulated cabinet 2 of the refrigeration apparatus 1 includes: a steel plate case 2a having an opening on the front surface, and a synthetic resin inner container 2b disposed with a gap inside the case 2a and having an opening on the front surface. Further, a heat insulating layer 2c made of foamed polyurethane is filled in a gap between the casing 2a and the inner container 2b and foamed. The doors 8 and the like described above are also formed of the same heat insulating structure as the heat insulating box 2.

The refrigerating chamber 3 is separated from the upper freezing chamber 5 located at the lower stage thereof by a heat insulating partition 36. The heat insulating partition 36 is a molded article of synthetic resin, and is filled with a heat insulating layer. The lower freezing chamber 6 and the vegetable chamber 7 are partitioned by a heat insulating partition 37. The upper-stage freezing chamber 5 and the lower-stage freezing chamber 6 provided in the lower stage thereof are in free flow communication with each other.

A supply air passage 15 for allowing cooled air to flow into the refrigerating compartment 3 is formed in the inner liner 2b on the rear surface and the top surface of the refrigerating compartment 3. Similarly, supply air duct 14 partitioned by partition 38 made of synthetic resin is formed on the back side of upper-stage freezing chamber 5.

An air duct cover 20 made of synthetic resin is provided above upper-stage freezing chamber 5 to define an air duct communicating with supply air duct 14. A second blower 23 for sending cold air to the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 during the supercooling operation is disposed on the upper surface of the upper-stage freezing chamber 5.

An evaporator installation chamber 13 partitioned by a baffle 39 is provided further inside the supply air passage 14 in the inner casing 2 b. An opening for connecting evaporator attachment chamber 13 and supply air passage 14 is formed in baffle 39 at the upper portion of evaporator attachment chamber 13, and first blower 32 for circulating air is disposed in the opening. An opening 13b for sucking the cold air returned from the storage chamber into the evaporator attachment chamber 13 is formed below the evaporator attachment chamber 13.

A storage container 29 for storing a frozen object 9 such as food is provided in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. The storage container 29 is a substantially box-shaped synthetic resin container having an upper opening. The storage container 29 is assembled to a frame, not shown, fixed to the door 10, and is configured to be freely drawn forward together with the door 10.

In the present embodiment, the tray 40 is disposed inside the storage container 29. Air supply cavity 26 of tray 40 communicates with air supply duct 14 through second air opening 41. As a result, the cold air sent by the first blower 32 can be supplied toward the object to be frozen 9 through the supply air duct 14 and the second air opening 41, and the object to be frozen 9 such as food can be frozen more efficiently by supercooling. Therefore, ice crystals of the frozen object 9 such as food can be reduced, and the generation of water droplets can be suppressed without easily destroying the cells of the food. This will be described in detail.

An evaporator 33 for cooling the circulating air is disposed inside the evaporator installation chamber 13. The evaporator 33 is connected to the compressor 31, a condenser, and a capillary tube as an expansion unit, which are not shown, via refrigerant pipes, and constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Further, a defrosting heater 19 for dissolving frost adhering to the surface of the evaporator 33 is disposed below the evaporator 33.

The refrigeration apparatus 1 further includes a control device 30 described below, and the indoor temperature in each storage compartment is detected by a temperature sensor, not shown, and an electric signal indicating the indoor temperature is input to the control device 30. The control device 30 controls the compressor 31, the first blower 32, the second blower 23, the defrosting heater 19, the damper 18, and the like based on an electric signal or the like input from a temperature sensor or the like, and keeps each storage room in a predetermined temperature region.

Next, an electrical configuration of the refrigeration apparatus 1 will be described with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical connections of the refrigeration apparatus 1. Referring to the figure, the refrigeration apparatus 1 includes a control device 30 including a CPU that controls operations of each part of the refrigeration apparatus 1. The upper-stage freezing chamber 5 includes a second fan 23 for blowing cold air to the object to be frozen 9 during the supercooling operation, and an engine built in the second fan 23 is connected to an output-side terminal of the control device 30. A temperature sensor 34 for detecting the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 is disposed in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5, and the temperature sensor 34 is connected to an input-side terminal of the control device 30.

An operation button 35 provided on the operation panel 27 is connected to an input terminal of the control device 30. As described below, when the user presses the operation button 35 or the like to perform an operation, the control device 30 starts the supercooling operation for freezing the object to be frozen 9 through the supercooling state.

The first blower 32, the damper 18, the compressor 31, and the defrosting heater 19 are connected to an output side terminal of the control device 30. The control device 30 controls the respective instruments based on outputs of the respective temperature sensors provided in the respective storage chambers, not shown, to set the respective storage chambers in a predetermined temperature region. Here, each storage room includes the refrigerating room 3, the upper-stage freezing room 5, the lower-stage freezing room 6, and the vegetable room 7 described above.

Next, a basic cooling operation of the refrigeration apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to fig. 2.

First, the controller 30 operates the compressor 31 constituting the refrigeration cycle to cool the air in the evaporator installation chamber 13 by the evaporator 33. The cold air cooled by evaporator 33 is discharged from the opening of evaporator attachment chamber 13 to supply air duct 14 by first blower 32 controlled by controller 30.

Part of the cooling air discharged to supply air duct 14 is adjusted to an appropriate flow rate by damper 18 made of an engine damper, flows into supply air duct 15, and is supplied to refrigerating room 3. This allows foods and the like stored in refrigerating compartment 3 to be cooled and stored at an appropriate temperature.

The cold air supplied to the inside of refrigerating room 3 is supplied to vegetable room 7 through a not-shown connecting air passage. The cold air circulating through the vegetable compartment 7 is returned to the inside of the evaporator attachment compartment 13 through the return air duct 17 and the opening 13b of the evaporator attachment compartment 13. Thus, it is cooled again by the evaporator 33.

On the other hand, a part of the cooling air discharged to supply air duct 14 is supplied to upper-stage freezing chamber 5. The air in upper-stage freezing chamber 5 flows into lower-stage freezing chamber 6 communicating with each other, and the air in lower-stage freezing chamber 6 flows into the lower portion of lower-stage freezing chamber 6, and flows into evaporator attachment chamber 13 through opening 13b of evaporator attachment chamber 13.

As described above, the air cooled by the evaporator 33 circulates in the storage chamber, and the food or the like is frozen or refrigerated. In the present embodiment, the supercooling operation function is provided to freeze the object 9 to be frozen stored in the upper freezing chamber 5 in response to the operation of the user. This function will be described below.

Next, the structure of the vicinity of the upper freezing chamber 5 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 4 and 5.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, storage container 29 having a substantially box shape is disposed in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, and tray 40 is disposed at the bottom of storage container 29, tray 40 is a substantially box-shaped or substantially disk-shaped member made of synthetic resin having an opening at the lower side, and air-blowing cavity 26 is formed inside the tray. The rear end of the blowing cavity 26 of the tray 40 communicates with the supply duct 14 shown in fig. 2 through the second air opening 41. A plurality of through holes 42 for allowing the flow of cold air are formed in the upper surface of the tray 40. The structure and the like of the tray 40 will be described below.

A sensor unit 47 having the temperature sensor 34 mounted therein is built in the tray 40. As the Temperature sensor 34, for example, an ntc (negative Temperature coefficient) sensor is used. The structure in which the sensor unit 47 is assembled with the temperature sensor 34 will be described below. In the present embodiment, during the supercooling operation, the temperature of the lower surface of the object to be frozen 9 is directly detected by the temperature sensor 34, and the cooling capacity is adjusted. By directly detecting the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 by the temperature sensor 34, the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 can be accurately detected, and the supercooled state can be appropriately realized based on the detection result. The relevant matters will be described below.

Duct cover 20 is a member made of a plate-like resin and partitions an air passage at the upper end of upper-stage freezer compartment 5. A plurality of return air inlets 21 are formed in the duct cover 20. A second blower 23 is disposed on the inner side of upper-stage freezing chamber 5.

The flow of cold air in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 will be explained. Referring to fig. 4, when second blower 23 is operated to perform the supercooling operation, the cold air cooled by evaporator 33 shown in fig. 2 is sent to the inside of upper-stage freezing chamber 5 by the blowing effect of second blower 23. Specifically, the cold air traveling diagonally forward in the lower direction is blown onto the surface of the object to be frozen 9 placed on the upper surface of the tray 40. Then, the blown cool air rises and enters between the duct cover 20 and the heat insulating partition 36 through the return air opening 21 provided in the duct cover 20.

The cold air that has entered the blowing cavity 26 of the tray 40 through the second air opening 41 enters the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 through the through hole 42 of the tray 40, and after being blown down onto the surface of the object to be frozen 9, the cold air that cools the object to be frozen 9 enters the lower-stage freezing chamber 6, for example.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the second blower 23 blows the cold air to the object 9 to be frozen from above, and blows the cold air passing through the second tuyere 41 and the air blowing cavity 26 of the tray 40 to the object 9 to be frozen from below. Therefore, the object to be frozen 9 can be uniformly cooled, and the supercooled state described below can be preferably realized.

Referring to fig. 6,

inclined portions

49 and 50 having inclined surfaces inclined in a plan view are formed near the rear end of the sensor unit 47. The inclined portion 49 is an inclined surface inclined forward and rightward, and the inclined portion 50 is an inclined surface inclined forward and leftward. Two inclined sub air supply outlets are formed between the

inclined parts

49 and 50 and the corresponding side walls of the second air inlet 41; the two sub air supply outlets convey the cold air to enter from the two sides of the air supply cavity 26 to form air curtains on the two sides of the bottom of the object to be frozen 9, and the cold air entering the air supply cavity 26 of the tray 40 from the second air inlet 41 is branched by the

inclined parts

49 and 50 and then enters the air supply cavity 26 of the tray 40. Here, since the blowing cavity 26 of the tray 40 is not communicated with the blowing cavity of the sensor module 47, the cool air does not enter the blowing cavity of the sensor module 47. This reduces the influence of the cold air on the temperature sensor 34, and the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 can be accurately detected by the temperature sensor 34. And, form the air curtain in the thing 9 bottom both sides of being frozen, can be better will be frozen the thing 9 even by the cold air parcel, improve the supercooling effect.

The structure of the upper freezing chamber 5 will be described in detail with reference to the exploded perspective view of fig. 7. Here, in order to show the bottom surface portion of the storage container 29 in detail, the storage container 29 is partially cut off.

The duct unit 63 is a member made of a resin molded product, and is attached to the inner liner back surface 51. The second tuyere 41 is formed in a protruding opening portion extending forward from the front side of the duct unit 63.

The sensor unit 47 is connected to the duct unit 63 from the front, and incorporates the temperature sensor 34. The sensor unit 47 is mounted on the upper surface of the bottom surface 52 of the freezing chamber separating the upper freezing chamber 5 and the lower freezing chamber 6. As described above, the sensor unit 47 is a lid-shaped resin-formed member having an opening at the lower side, and includes the temperature sensor 34 and various members for supporting the temperature sensor 34. A communication line, not shown, for connecting the temperature sensor 34 and the control device 30 is also disposed in the blowing cavity of the sensor unit 47. Even when the storage container 29 is stored in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5, the sensor unit 47 is not arranged inside the storage container 29 but arranged below the storage container 29. A heat conductive cover 45 for protecting the temperature sensor 34 is disposed on the upper surface of the sensor unit 47.

As described above, the duct cover 20 is a plate-shaped member made of synthetic resin, the second blower 23 is mounted at the rear portion thereof, and the plurality of return air openings 21 are formed at the front portion thereof.

The tray 40 is formed of synthetic resin molded into a substantially lid shape having an opening at the lower side, covers the sensor unit 47 from above, and forms the air supply chamber 26 in the inside thereof. A heat conductive plate 46 made of, for example, stainless steel is fitted near the central portion of the upper surface of the tray 40, and a plurality of through holes 42 are formed in a matrix in the peripheral portion of the upper surface. Here, although the through-hole 42 is shown as circular, the through-hole 42 may be other than circular, or may be polygonal such as hexagonal. As described below, by placing the object to be frozen 9 on the upper surface of the heat conduction plate 46, the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 can be accurately detected by the temperature sensor 34. The tray 40 is provided on the bottom surface of the storage container 29. Therefore, when the storage container 29 is drawn out forward, the tray 40 moves together with the storage container 29. Therefore, the tray 40 can be detached from the storage container 29 and easily washed.

The storage container 29 is a substantially box-shaped container that stores the object to be frozen 9, and is disposed in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 so as to be drawable. The bottom surface of the storage container 29 on the right side partially protrudes upward, whereby the chute 25 for storing the sensor unit 47 can be formed. When storage container 29 is stored in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, sensor unit 47 is stored in chute 25 of storage container 29. Further, a detection opening 28 that opens on the upper surface of the chute 25 is formed at a position overlapping the heat conduction plate 46 of the tray 40. The heat conductive cover 45 disposed on the upper surface of the sensor unit 47 is in contact with the lower surface of the heat conductive plate 46 of the tray 40 through the detection opening 28 of the chute 25.

Two docking ports 24 are formed by partially opening at the lower rear end of the receiving container 29. The docking port 24 is formed at a position of the clamping slide 25 corresponding to a position of the second tuyere 41. When storage container 29 is stored in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, second air port 41 of duct unit 63 protrudes from docking port 24 toward the air blowing cavity of storage container 29. This enables the cool air to be reliably introduced into the blowing cavity 26 of the tray 40 through the second air opening 41.

A structure in which the temperature sensor 34 and the like are housed in the sensor unit 47 will be described with reference to the exploded perspective view of fig. 8. The sensor unit 47 has a communication pipe 64 in which a communication line 59 connected to the temperature sensor 34 is housed at a rear portion thereof, and has a spring seat 53 in which the temperature sensor 34 and the like are disposed at a front portion thereof. A connection port 61 is formed at the rear end of the sensor unit 47, and the connection port 61 is inserted into the connection port 60 of the channel 55. Therefore, communication lines 59 connected to the temperature sensors 34, which will be described later, are guided through the communication pipes 64 and the

connection ports

60 and 61, and are connected to the control device 30, which is not shown here.

In the spring seat 53 of the sensor unit 47, a return spring 54, a heat insulating layer 56, a sensor cover 57, a heat insulating pad 58, the temperature sensor 34, and the heat conductive cover 45 are arranged from below. The return spring 54 is formed of a metal wire wound in the longitudinal direction, and applies a force to the sensor cover 57 toward the upper side. The heat insulating layer 56 is made of heat insulating layer such as foamed pe (polyethylene) having an opening corresponding to the return spring 54, and is in contact with the lower surface of the sensor cover 57 from below. The sensor cover 57 is a lid-shaped resin member having an opening at the lower side, and a groove 65 is formed on the upper surface thereof. The sensor cover 57 is attached to the sensor unit 47 so as to cover the spring seat 53 from above. A thermal insulating pad 58 made of foamed PE or the like having excellent thermal insulation properties is laid in the concave groove 65 of the sensor cover 57, and the temperature sensor 34 is mounted on the upper surface of the thermal insulating pad 58. The temperature sensor 34 is covered with a heat conductive cover 45 from above. Both end portions of the heat conductive cover 45 are attached to the upper surface of the sensor cover 57.

Referring to fig. 9, a portion of the sensor assembly 47 where the temperature sensor 34 is provided will be described. Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view enlarging a region a1 of fig. 5. Referring to this figure, the sensor cover 57 is urged upward by the return spring 54. Further, the temperature insulating pad 58 and the temperature sensor 34 are disposed in a recess 65 formed in the upper surface of the sensor cover 57. The temperature sensor 34 is protected from above by the heat conductive cover 45, and the temperature sensor 34 is in contact with the heat conductive cover 45. Further, the lower surface of the sensor cover 57 is provided with an insulating layer 56. The upper surface of the heat conductive cover 45 covering the temperature sensor 34 is in surface contact with the lower surface of the heat conductive plate 46 mounted to the tray 40. Therefore, when the above-mentioned object to be frozen 9 is placed on the upper surface of the heat conduction plate 46, the temperature sensor 34 is in contact with the object to be frozen 9 by means of the heat conduction plate 46 and the heat conduction cover 45. Since the heat transfer plate 46 and the heat transfer cover 45 are formed of a good heat conductor such as stainless steel, the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 can be accurately detected by the temperature sensor 34.

Further, as described above, the sensor cover 57 supporting the heat conductive cover 45 is urged upward by the return spring 54. Therefore, the heat conduction cover 45 is pressed against the heat conduction plate 46 by the biasing force of the return spring 54, and the heat conduction cover 45 and the heat conduction plate 46 are made to conduct heat well, so that the temperature sensor 34 can detect the temperature accurately.

Further, two

thermal insulation pads

58, 56 are provided below the temperature sensor 34. Therefore, even if the temperature of the air supply chamber of the sensor unit 47 is lowered, since the air supply chamber and the temperature sensor 34 are thermally insulated by the thermal insulating

pads

58, 56, deterioration in accuracy of the temperature sensor 34 due to a low temperature of the air supply chamber can be suppressed.

With reference to fig. 10 and 11, the following describes how the sensor cover 57 is pressed to a predetermined position by housing the housing container 29 in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. Fig. 10 shows the state of sensor cover 57 at a stage when storage container 29 is stored in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, and fig. 11 shows the state of sensor cover 57 after storage container 29 is stored in upper-stage freezing chamber 5. In the figure, the temperature sensor 34 and the like incorporated in the sensor cover 57 are not shown. Referring to fig. 10, first, a tilted surface 66 tilted upward toward the rear is formed on the lower surface of the storage container 29. Here, the upper surface of the sensor unit 47 and the upper surface of the sensor cover 57 are inclined rearward and upward at substantially the same inclination angle as the inclined surface 66. In a stage where storage container 29 is not stored in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, inclined surface 66 as the bottom surface of storage container 29 does not contact sensor cover 57 of sensor unit 47. At this stage, since the downward pressing force does not act on the sensor cover 57, the sensor cover 57 is lifted upward by the urging force of the return spring 54. The heat conductive cover 45, which is not shown, for protecting the temperature sensor 34 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the sensor cover 57. Referring to fig. 11, when storage container 29 is pushed backward to store storage container 29 in upper-stage freezing chamber 5, inclined surface 66 as the bottom surface of storage container 29 pushes down sensor cover 57 of sensor unit 47 while sliding. Thereby, the upper surface of the sensor cover 57 is closely contacted with the lower surface of the storage container 29. As shown in fig. 9, the upper surface of the heat conductive cover 45 of the sensor unit 47 is in close contact with the lower surface of the heat conductive plate 46, and the temperature of the object 9 to be frozen placed on the upper surface of the heat conductive plate 46 can be detected by the temperature sensor 34.

Therefore, when the storage container 29 moves in and out of the upper-stage freezing chamber 5, the tray 40 disposed on the bottom surface of the storage container 29 moves together with the storage container 29. On the other hand, the sensor unit 47 disposed below the storage container 29 is not fixed to the main body side of the refrigeration apparatus 1.

Next, the operation of the refrigeration apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described mainly in the supercooling operation with reference to the above-described respective diagrams based on the flowchart shown in fig. 12.

First, at step 10, controller 30 executes a normal cooling operation. That is, the control device 30 intermittently operates the compressor 31 and the first blower 32 of the refrigeration cycle based on the output of the temperature sensor provided in each storage room. Specifically, referring to fig. 2, a temperature sensor, not shown, is provided in any one or more of refrigerating room 3, freezing room 4, and vegetable room 7, and controller 30 intermittently operates compressor 31 and first blower 32 based on an output of the temperature sensor. This allows refrigerating compartment 3, freezing compartment 4, and vegetable compartment 7 to be maintained in a predetermined temperature range.

Next, in step S11, referring to fig. 4, for example, the frozen object 9 as the food material is placed in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. In the present embodiment, since the operation is performed while accurately detecting the temperature of the object to be frozen 9, even when meat having a weight of several kg as the object to be frozen 9 is used, the object to be frozen 9 can be appropriately frozen in the supercooled state.

Next, if step S12 is YES, that is, if the user presses operation button 35 provided on operation panel 27 shown in fig. 1, control device 30 starts the supercooling operation. On the other hand, if the user does not press operation button 35, NO in step S12, control device 30 does not start the supercooling operation.

In step S13, control device 30 performs a cooling operation as a preparation step for supercooling, and gradually cools object to be frozen 9. Specifically, the control device 30 intermittently operates the compressor 31 and the first blower 32 of the refrigeration cycle based on the detected temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 disposed in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. On the other hand, in order to cool the object to be frozen 9 completely, the control device 30 does not operate the second blower 23 provided in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the cold air introduced from the second air opening 41 is introduced into the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 from the through hole 42 of the tray 40, and therefore the object to be frozen 9 stored in the upper-stage freezing chamber can be cooled over the entire surface.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 shown in fig. 4 of the object to be frozen 9 has cooled to the first set temperature. The first set temperature is, for example, 7 ℃. If the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is higher than the first set temperature, that is, if NO at step S14, control device 30 continues the cooling operation at step S13. On the other hand, if the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is lower than the first set temperature, that is, if step S14 is a YES condition, control device 30 proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, control device 30 increases the cooling capacity. Specifically, the control device 30 intermittently operates the compressor 31 and the first blower 32 of the refrigeration cycle. By the above operation, referring to fig. 4, the cold air is continuously supplied from below to the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 through the second air opening 41 and the through hole 42 of the tray 40, and the cooling capacity for cooling the object to be frozen 9 is enhanced, thereby achieving the supercooled state. Further, the controller 30 may operate the second blower 23 disposed in the upper-stage freezer compartment 5 to increase the cooling capacity, or may stop the operation to adjust the cooling capacity.

In step S16, it is determined whether or not the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 of the object to be frozen 9 has cooled to the second set temperature. The second set temperature is, for example, -5 ℃. If the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is higher than the second set temperature, that is, if NO at step S16, control device 30 continues the cooling operation at step S15. On the other hand, if the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is lower than the second set temperature, that is, if step S16 is a YES condition, control device 30 proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, control device 30 performs a cooling operation as a cooling storage step for storing the cooling state. Specifically, the control device 30 intermittently operates the compressor 31 and the first blower 32 of the refrigeration cycle based on the detected temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 disposed in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5. Further, control device 30 operates second blower 23 provided in upper-stage freezer compartment 5 to cool the portion near the surface of object to be frozen 9.

In step S18, it is determined whether or not the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 of the object to be frozen 9 has cooled to the third set temperature. The third set temperature is, for example, -15 ℃. If the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is higher than the third set temperature, that is, if NO at step S18, control device 30 continues the cooling operation at step S17. On the other hand, if the detected temperature detected by temperature sensor 34 is lower than the third set temperature, that is, if step S18 is a YES condition, control device 30 proceeds to step S19.

In step S19, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 of the object to be frozen 9 is cooled to-15 ℃, which is the third set temperature, so that it is determined that the object to be frozen 9 is frozen through the supercooled state, the supercooling operation is terminated, and the routine proceeds to the normal cooling operation in step S20. That is, the compressor 31 and the first blower 32 of the refrigeration cycle are intermittently operated. Further, controller 30 stops second blower 23 provided in upper-stage freezer compartment 5.

Here, when the routine proceeds to step S13, the control device 30 measures the cumulative time during which the supercooling operation is continuously performed at step S21, determines that the temperature of the object to be frozen 9 is unlikely to decrease and ends the supercooling operation if the cumulative time passes 24 hours at step S22, and proceeds to the normal operation at step S20.

Further, during the supercooling operation, if the user opens the

doors

10 and 11 shown in fig. 1 at step S23, the cold air in the upper-stage freezing chamber 5 escapes to the outside, and the supercooling operation cannot be continued, and therefore, the routine proceeds to the normal cooling operation at step S20.

The above is a description of the structure and operation of the refrigeration apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, referring to fig. 7, the heat conduction plate 46 on which the object to be frozen 9 is placed is fitted into the tray 40, but the heat conduction plate 46 may be fitted into the upper surface of the chute 25 of the storage container 29. In this case, the heat conductive plate 46 fitted into the chute 25 is exposed upward from the opening formed in the tray 40.

Claims

1. A refrigeration device, comprising:

a freezing chamber for receiving a frozen object;

a supply air passage for conveying the cold air generated by the evaporator;

a blower for blowing the cold air delivered by the supply air duct to the tray facing downward in the freezing chamber; a receiving container is arranged in the freezing chamber, the tray is detachably arranged in the receiving container, and a detection opening for the temperature sensor to detect the bottom temperature of the frozen object on the tray is formed in the bottom of the receiving container;

the refrigerating device further comprises a sensor assembly, wherein the sensor assembly is provided with a communication pipeline for accommodating a communication line connected with the temperature sensor at the rear part of the sensor assembly, the sensor assembly is provided with a spring seat for mounting the temperature sensor at the front part of the sensor assembly, and a return spring, a sensor cover, the temperature sensor and a heat conduction cover are sequentially arranged on the spring seat from bottom to top;

the refrigerating device also comprises a channel, a connecting port for connecting the communication pipeline is arranged on the channel, and air ports communicated with the supply air path are also arranged on two sides of the connecting port of the channel;

a blowing cavity is formed by the tray and the bottom of the receiving container, a heat conducting plate is embedded in the central part of the upper surface of the tray, the bottom surface of the receiving container partially protrudes upwards to form a sliding groove for receiving the sensor assembly, and a detection opening which is opened on the upper surface of the sliding groove is formed at the position which is overlapped with the heat conducting plate;

when the storage container is stored in the freezing chamber, the air supply cavity is communicated with the air supply passage through the air opening, and the heat conduction cover and the heat conduction plate form heat conduction.

2. A refrigeration unit as recited in claim 1 wherein: the storage container is a drawer which is detachably mounted in the freezing chamber, the detection opening is formed in the bottom surface of the storage container, and the tray covers the detection opening; the middle part of tray forms hollow out construction, be provided with among the hollow out construction the heat-conducting plate, the heat-conducting plate is located detect open-ended top.

3. A refrigeration unit as recited in claim 1 wherein: and a thermal insulation pad is also arranged between the temperature sensor and the sensor cover.

4. A refrigeration unit as recited in claim 1 wherein: and a slot is formed on the spring seat around the return spring, a guide flanging is formed at the bottom of the sensor cover, and the guide flanging is inserted into the slot.

5. A refrigeration unit as recited in claim 1 wherein: the bottom surface of the receiving container is formed with an inclined surface for pressing down the sensor cover, the inclined surface being inclined upward toward the rear.