CN112243481A

CN112243481A - Refrigerator with a door

Info

Publication number: CN112243481A
Application number: CN201980028195.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 馆野恭也; 豊嶋昌志; 小松肇
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Haier Asia Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Haier Asia Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-10
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2021-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-03
Also published as: JP2020094710A; CN112243481B; EP3896368A1; EP3896368B1; WO2020119516A1; EP3896368A4

Abstract

A refrigerator (10) includes: a cooler (42) of a refrigeration loop for cooling the air supplied to the storage chamber through the air supply air duct; a cooling chamber (23) provided with a cooler (42) and formed with an air supply outlet connected with the storage chamber; a fan (50) for blowing air supplied from the air blowing port (36) to the storage chamber; a shielding device (60) for at least partially blocking the air supply opening (36); and a control device (70). Further, the shielding device (60) comprises: a fan cover (61) for covering the fan (50) from the outside of the cooling chamber (23); a drive shaft (62) for driving the opening and closing of the fan cover (61); a screw mechanism formed between the drive shaft (62) and the fan cover (61); and a motor (93) for rotating the drive shaft (62). The control device (70) decelerates the motor (93) when the environment in the storage room is predetermined.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator for cooling and storing food in a storage compartment, and more particularly, to a refrigerator in which an air passage connected to a storage compartment is appropriately closed by a shielding device.

Background

Conventionally, a refrigerator that appropriately cools a plurality of storage compartments with one cooler is known as described in patent document 1.

(prior art documents)

(patent document)

Patent document 1: JP patent publication No. 2013-2664

Fig. 11 schematically shows the refrigerator 100 described in this document. In refrigerator 100 shown in the figure, refrigerating chamber 101, freezing chamber 102, and vegetable chamber 103 are formed from above. A cooling chamber 104 for housing a cooler 108 is formed inside the freezing chamber 102, and an opening 106 for supplying cold air to each storage chamber is formed in a partition wall 105 that partitions the cooling chamber 104 and the freezing chamber 102. Further, a blower fan 107 for sending out cold air is provided in the opening 106, and a fan cover 110 for covering the blower fan 107 is positioned in the freezing chamber 102. Damper 114 is provided in the middle of air passage 109 through which cool air supplied to refrigerator compartment 101 flows.

The fan guard 110 is described in detail with reference to FIG. 12. The fan cover 110 has a substantially rectangular recess 111 formed therein, and an opening 113 formed by partially cutting an upper portion of the recess 111. Here, when the blower fan 107 is covered with the fan cover 110, the opening 113 of the fan cover 110 communicates with the air passage 109 on the refrigerator main body side.

The refrigerator 100 configured as described above operates as follows. Referring to fig. 11, first, when both refrigerating room 101 and freezing room 102 are cooled, fan cover 110 is separated from blower fan 107, damper 114 is opened, and blower fan 107 is rotated in this state. In this manner, a part of the cold air cooled by cooler 108 in cooling compartment 104 is sent to freezing compartment 102 by the air sending force of air sending fan 107. The other part of the cold air is sent to refrigerating room 101 through air duct 109, damper 114, and air duct 109. Thereby, both the freezer compartment 102 and the refrigerator compartment 101 are cooled.

On the other hand, when only refrigerating room 101 is cooled, fan cover 110 covers air-sending fan 107, damper 114 is opened, and in this state, cold air cooled by cooler 108 is sent out by air-sending fan 107. When the fan cover 110 is closed, the opening 113 formed in the upper portion of the fan cover 110 communicates with the air passage 109. Thus, the cold air sent by air sending fan 107 is supplied to refrigerating room 101 through opening 113, damper 114, and air duct 109.

As described above, by using the fan cover 110 having the opening 113 formed therein, a plurality of storage rooms can be appropriately cooled by one cooler 108.

However, in the conventional air blowing structure in the refrigerator, the driving mechanism for driving the fan cover 110 may freeze, and the opening and closing of the fan cover 110 may become difficult.

Specifically, in the refrigerator 100 described above, when the refrigerating chamber 101 stores a high-temperature and high-humidity object to be stored such as a hot pot, moisture emitted from the object to be stored reaches the cooling chamber 104 through a return air passage not shown. As described above, the fan cover 110 and the drive mechanism thereof are disposed in the vicinity of the cooling compartment 104. Therefore, if the moisture adheres to the drive mechanism that drives the fan cover 110 and freezes, the fan cover 110 cannot be opened and closed, and the opening and closing of the air passage of the fan cover 110 cannot be controlled. Further, if a heater is disposed near fan guard 110 to prevent fan guard 110 from freezing, the configuration of refrigerator 100 becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases. Further, since the heater consumes power, there is a problem that the operation cost of the refrigerator 100 increases.

In view of the above, there is a need for an improved refrigerator to solve the above problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a refrigerator which can prevent a mechanism for driving a fan cover from freezing through simple control.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising: a cooler of a refrigeration loop for cooling the air supplied to the storage chamber through the air supply wind path; a cooling chamber provided with the cooler and having an air supply port connected to the storage chamber; a blower for blowing the air supplied from the air blowing port to the storage chamber; a shielding device for at least partially blocking the air supply outlet; and a control device for controlling the operations of the refrigeration loop, the fan, and the shielding device, wherein the shielding device comprises: a fan cover covering the fan from outside the cooling compartment; a drive shaft for driving the fan cover to open and close; a screw mechanism formed between the drive shaft and the fan guard; and a motor for rotating the drive shaft, wherein the control device decelerates the motor when an environment in the storage chamber is a predetermined environment.

Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, when the storage room is in a predetermined environment, the motor for rotating the drive shaft is decelerated, so that the torque of the motor can be increased, and the screw mechanism can be prevented from being frozen and becoming rigid.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the control device decelerates the motor in accordance with the in-box environment of the storage chamber when a door that closes the storage chamber is opened and closed.

Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, the motor is decelerated according to the in-cabinet environment of the storage compartment only when the user opens or closes the door to put the stored object into the storage compartment, and thus it is possible to prevent a malfunction of the refrigerator from being erroneously detected as a change in the in-cabinet environment.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the refrigerator further comprises: a temperature sensor that measures a temperature of the storage compartment; and a timer for measuring a time during which the refrigeration circuit cools the storage chamber, wherein the control device decelerates the motor when a change in the temperature of the storage chamber measured by the temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value or when a continuous operation time of the refrigeration circuit measured by the timer is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, when the temperature change of the storage chamber is large or when the continuous operation time of the refrigeration circuit is long, the control device determines that a high-temperature stored object that increases the temperature of the storage chamber is placed, and increases the torque by reducing the rotation speed of the motor, thereby preventing the freezing of the drive shaft.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the control means decelerates the motor in two cycle periods after completion of the defrosting process.

Thus, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, although the operating sound is increased by decelerating the motor, the time for generating the noise can be shortened by limiting the time for decelerating the motor.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of an air path of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the cooling chamber in a state where the fan guard of the refrigerator of the present invention is opened.

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the cooling chamber in a state where the fan guard of the refrigerator of the present invention is closed.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a shielding apparatus of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a connection structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of an operating method of a refrigerator of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a graph of the relationship between the driving frequency and the torque of the stepping motor of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Fig. 10(a) to 10(C) are schematic views illustrating the operation of the refrigerator of the present invention, wherein fig. 10(a) is a flowchart of step S20,

fig. 10(B) is a diagram of a case where the abnormality detection period is included from the start of the compressor to the next start, and fig. 10(C) is a diagram of a case where the abnormality detection period is included from the stop of the compressor to the next stop.

Fig. 11 is a side sectional view of a related art refrigerator.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a fan guard used in a related art refrigerator.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS IN THE DRAWINGS

10 refrigerator

12 Heat insulation box

121 outer box

122 inner box

123 thermal insulation

13 refrigerating compartment

14 Ice making chamber

141 freezing chamber

15 upper layer freezing chamber

16 lower-layer freezing chamber

17 vegetable room

18 heat insulation door

181 heat insulation door

182 heat insulation door

19 heat insulation door

20 heat insulation door

21 heat insulation door

22 Heat insulation door

23 Cooling chamber

24 refrigerating chamber air supply air path

25 air supply wind path of freezing chamber

26 vegetable room air supply wind path

27 air outlet

28 air outlet

30 air outlet

31 air return inlet

33 air return inlet

34 air return inlet

35 partition member

36 air supply outlet

37 partition member

38 heat insulating partition wall

39 heat-insulating partition wall

41 compressor

42 cooler

43 defrost heater

44 refrigerating compartment air door

45 partition member

50 blower

52 Fan

60 screening device

61 Fan guard

62 drive shaft

621 trunk part

63 support base

64 side cover of storage room

65 concave part

66 guide pin

67 guide hole

69 side cover of cooling chamber

70 control device

76 partition member support portion

77 blower support

78 through hole

79 Flange part

80 main surface part

801 opening part

81 side part

82 opening part

86-shaft support part

91 temperature sensor

92 timer

93 electric motor

100 refrigerator

101 refrigeration compartment

102 freezing chamber

103 vegetable room

104 cooling chamber

105 division wall

106 opening part

107 blowing fan

108 cooler

109 air passage

110 blower cover

111 recess

113 opening part

114 air door

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Hereinafter, the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In the following description, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. Further, in the following description, the respective directions of the upper, lower, front, rear, left and right are used as appropriate, but the left and right indicate the left and right when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the front.

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view showing a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, a refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment includes a heat-insulating box 12 as a main body, and a storage chamber for storing foods and the like is formed inside the heat-insulating box 12. The storage compartment is a refrigerating compartment 13 at the uppermost layer, an ice-making compartment 14 at the lower left side and an upper freezing compartment 15 at the right side, a lower freezing compartment 16 at the lower layer, and a vegetable compartment 17 at the lowermost layer. Ice making chamber 14, upper-stage freezing chamber 15, and lower-stage freezing chamber 16 are storage chambers having freezing temperature ranges. In the following description, they are sometimes collectively referred to as a freezing chamber 141 as appropriate.

The front surface of the heat insulating box 12 is opened, and heat insulating doors 18 to 22 are openably and closably provided in openings corresponding to the storage compartments, respectively. The

heat insulating doors

181 and 182 close the front surface of the refrigerating compartment 13 and are rotatably supported by the heat insulating box 12. The heat insulating doors 19 to 22 are integrally combined with the storage containers, respectively, and are supported by the heat insulating box 12 so as to be freely drawn out toward the front of the refrigerator 10. Specifically, the insulated door 19 blocks the ice making compartment 14, the insulated door 20 blocks the upper freezing compartment 15, the insulated door 21 blocks the lower freezing compartment 16, and the insulated door 22 blocks the vegetable compartment 17.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic structure of the refrigerator 10. In fig. 2 to 5, the flow of cold air circulating in the room is indicated by solid arrows. As shown in fig. 2, the heat insulating box 12 as a main body of the refrigerator 10 includes an outer case 121 made of a steel plate having an open front surface, an inner case 122 made of a synthetic resin and arranged in the outer case 121 with a gap therebetween and having an open front surface, and a heat insulating material 123 made of a foamed urethane and filled in the gap between the outer case 121 and the inner case 122. The heat insulating doors 18 and the like also have the same heat insulating structure as the heat insulating box 12.

The refrigerating chamber 13 is partitioned from the freezing chamber 141 located at the lower stage thereof by an insulating partition wall 38. Ice making chamber 14 and upper-stage freezing chamber 15 in freezing chamber 141 are partitioned by a partition wall not shown. Ice making chamber 14 and upper-stage freezing chamber 15 are in free communication with lower-stage freezing chamber 16 provided in the lower stage thereof, through which cold air flows. Freezing compartment 141 and vegetable compartment 17 are partitioned by heat-insulating partition wall 39.

A refrigerating room air supply passage 24 partitioned by a partition member 37 made of synthetic resin and supplying cool air to refrigerating room 13 is formed behind refrigerating room 13. Partition member 37 is formed with air outlet 27 for blowing cold air into refrigerating room 13. In addition, a refrigerating compartment damper 44 is provided in the refrigerating compartment air supply passage 24. Refrigerating room damper 44 is a damper that is driven by a motor or the like and is openable and closable, and controls the flow rate of cold air supplied to refrigerating room 13 to appropriately maintain the indoor temperature of refrigerating room 13.

Freezer compartment air-supply duct 25 is formed behind freezer compartment 141 to allow cold air cooled by cooler 42 to flow into freezer compartment 141. Further rearward of freezing room air-blowing duct 25, cooling room 23 is formed, and inside thereof, cooler 42 as an evaporator for cooling the cold air circulating in the room is disposed.

The cooler 42 is connected to the compressor 41, a condenser (not shown), and an expansion unit such as a capillary tube (not shown) via a refrigerant pipe, and constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the air supply duct of the refrigerator 10. As shown in fig. 3, refrigerator 10 includes vegetable compartment supply air passage 26 connecting refrigerating compartment 13 and vegetable compartment 17. As a result, the cold air supplied to refrigerating room 13 flows into vegetable room air-supply duct 26 from air-return opening 31 formed in the lower portion of refrigerating room 13, and is blown out from air-outlet opening 30 and supplied to vegetable room 17. As shown in fig. 2, a return air opening 34 connected to a lower portion of the cooling compartment 23 is formed in the vegetable compartment 17, and the cold air in the vegetable compartment 17 flows from the return air opening 34 to the lower portion of the cooling compartment 23.

Fig. 4 and 5 are side sectional views showing a structure in the vicinity of the cooling chamber 23 of the refrigerator 10. Fig. 4 shows a state in which the fan guard 61 is opened, and fig. 5 shows a state in which the fan guard 61 is closed.

As shown in fig. 4, cooling compartment 23 is provided inside heat-insulating box 12 on the rear side of freezer compartment air-supply duct 25. Cooling compartment 23 is partitioned from freezer compartment air-blowing duct 25 or freezer compartment 141 by partition member 35 made of synthetic resin. That is, the cooling chamber 23 is a space formed by the inner box 122 and the partition member 35.

Freezer compartment air-supply duct 25 formed in front of cooling compartment 23 is a space formed between partition member 35 and partition member 45 assembled in front thereof, and serves as an air-supply duct through which cold air cooled by cooler 42 flows. The upper portion of the freezing chamber air supply passage 25 is connected to the refrigerating chamber air supply passage 24.

Partition member 45 has outlet 28 as an opening for blowing cold air into freezing chamber 141. A return air opening 33 for returning cold air from freezing chamber 141 to the lower part of cooling chamber 23 is formed in the lower rear surface of lower freezing chamber 16.

Further, a defrosting heater 43 is provided below the cooler 42 as a defrosting means for melting and removing frost adhering to the cooler 42. The defrosting heater 43 is a resistance heating type heater.

Partition member 35 at the upper portion of cooling compartment 23 is formed with air supply opening 36 as an opening connected to freezing compartment air supply duct 25. A fan 50 for sending cold air to the freezing chamber 141 and the like is disposed in front of the air outlet 36. The fan 50 is a centrifugal fan including a fan 52.

A shielding device 60 having a movable fan cover 61 is provided in front of the fan 50. The fan cover 61 is located close to the fan 50 from the side of the freezer compartment air supply duct 25, and covers at least part of the fan 50 and the air supply opening 36.

Further, the fan cover 61 is driven by a drive shaft 62 provided on the partition member 45 side and moves in the front-rear direction. The fan cover 61 moves forward and is separated from the fan 50, and an air passage for cool air is formed between the fan cover 61 and the partition member 45. Thus, the cold air cooled by cooler 42 is sent by fan 50 and supplied to refrigerating room 13, freezing room 141, and vegetable room 17.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 5, the fan cover 61 moves backward to approach the fan 50, the fan cover 61 covers the fan 50, the air outlet 36 is closed, and the air passage through which the cool air flows to the upper-stage freezer compartment 15 and the like is shielded. On the other hand, in this state, the cold air passes through the opening formed in the upper portion of the fan cover 61 and passes through the refrigerating compartment air supply duct 24 to be blown into the refrigerating compartment 13.

The surface of the fan cover 61 facing the fan 50 is formed into a substantially concave shape. Thus, the fan cover 61 can block the air outlet 36 without contacting the fan 52 of the fan 50 disposed in front of the air outlet 36.

The opening and closing operation of the shielding device 60 is controlled by a control device 70 described later, and the fan cover 61 is closed as shown in fig. 5, for example, during a defrosting operation for removing frost adhering to the cooler 42.

As described above, in the refrigerator 10, the cold air sent by the fan 50 is sent to the refrigerating chamber 13, the freezing chamber 141, and the vegetable chamber 17. Cold air having cooled refrigerating room 13, freezing room 141, and vegetable room 17 is returned to cooling room 23 via a return air duct. Accordingly, moisture contained in the stored material stored in refrigerating room 13, freezing room 141, and vegetable room 17 returns to cooling room 23, and adheres to cooler 42, thereby frosting. If this frost formation progresses, the air blowing and heat exchange in the cooling chamber 23 are inhibited, and therefore, the defrosting operation is performed. In the defrosting operation, a controller 70 described later stops the compressor 41 and the fan 50, closes the air outlet 36 with the fan cover 61, closes the refrigerating compartment damper 44, and energizes the defrosting heater 43. This warms the interior of the cooling chamber 23, and the frost adhering to the cooler 42 melts.

When defrosting of the cooler 42 is completed, the control device 70, which will be described later, stops energization of the defrosting heater 43, starts the compressor 41, and starts cooling by the refrigeration circuit. Then, after detecting that the cooler 42 and the cooling chamber 23 are cooled to a predetermined temperature or after a predetermined time has elapsed in a timer or the like, the control device 70 opens the fan cover 61 to start the operation of the fan 50 as shown in fig. 4. Thereby, the cooling operation can be restarted.

Here, since the shielding device 60 is disposed in the closest place to the cooling chamber 23, if the moisture adheres to the shielding device 60, the driving mechanism of the shielding device 60 may be frozen, and the opening and closing operation is no longer possible. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, in a situation where the drive mechanism of the shielding device 60 is likely to freeze, the torque of the motor that drives the shielding device 60 is increased, thereby preventing the drive mechanism of the shielding device 60 from becoming difficult to operate.

The structure of the shielding device 60 will be described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the shielding device 60 as viewed from the rear side and upward.

The shielding device 60 has: a fan cover 61 that openably and closably closes the fan 50 from outside the cooling compartment 23; a drive shaft 62 that opens and closes the drive fan cover 61 from the opposite side of the cooling compartment 23; and a support base 63 that supports the fan 50 and slidably supports the fan cover 61 and the drive shaft 62. The shielding device 60 is disposed between the storage compartment side cover 64 that is a part of the partition member 45 that partitions the freezing compartment 141 and the cooling compartment side cover 69 that is a part of the partition member 35 that partitions the freezing compartment air duct 25. The shielding device 60 is attached to the rear surface of the storage compartment side cover 64 constituting a part of the partition member 45. Specifically, a recess 65 recessed forward is formed in the rear surface of the partition member 45, and the shielding device 60 is accommodated in the recess 65.

The fan cover 61 is a cover-shaped member capable of appropriately closing the fan 50, and includes a main surface portion 80 and a side surface portion 81 erected rearward from a peripheral edge portion of the main surface portion 80. The side surface part 81 is erected from the side peripheral edge and the lower peripheral edge of the main surface part 80, and the side surface part 81 is not erected from the upper peripheral edge of the main surface part 80. An opening 82 is formed at an upper end portion of the fan cover 61. Thus, even when the fan 50 is closed by the fan cover 61, the cool air can be sent to the refrigerating compartment 13 through the opening 82. The guide hole 67 to be fitted into the guide pin 66 of the support base 63 described later is disposed outside the side surface portion 81. An opening 801 is formed near the center of the main surface portion 80 of the fan cover 61, and the opening 801 is a screw hole having a substantially circular shape and a screw groove formed therein.

A substantially cylindrical guide pin 66 that slidably supports the fan cover 61 in the front-rear direction is formed on the support base 63. The number of guide pins 66 is 2 here, and each guide pin extends from the main surface of the support base 63 toward the rear substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the fan 52. The fan cover 61 is formed with a guide hole 67 into which the guide pin 66 is slidably fitted.

3 fan support portions 77 are provided so as to stand vertically from the main surface of the support base 63 toward the rear. The fan support portion 77 is cylindrical, and the rear end thereof penetrates through a through hole 78 formed in the main surface of the fan cover 61 and abuts against the front surface of the flange portion 79 of the fan 50. The fan support portion 77 and the flange portion 79 of the fan 50 are fastened by fastening means such as screws.

Further, 2 partition member support portions 76 are provided so as to stand vertically rearward from a lower portion of the main surface of the support base 63. The rear end of the partition member support portion 76 abuts against the cooling chamber side cover 69 of the partition member 35 and is fastened by screwing or the like.

A drive shaft 62 for moving the fan cover 61 in the front-rear direction is attached to the support base 63. The drive shaft 62 is rotatably supported by a shaft support portion 86 formed in the support base 63.

The drive shaft 62 has a cylindrical trunk 621, and a screw (not shown) is spirally formed on an outer surface of the trunk 621. The screw of the trunk portion 621 of the drive shaft 62 is screwed to the screw groove of the opening 801 of the fan cover 61. That is, a screw mechanism is formed between the fan cover 61 and the drive shaft 62. A stepping motor, not shown, is built in the support base 63, and the drive shaft 62 is rotated by a predetermined angle by the driving force of the stepping motor. When the drive shaft 62 is rotated in one direction, the fan cover 61 approaches the fan 50, and the air passage is closed as shown in fig. 5. On the other hand, when the motor rotates the drive shaft 62 in the other direction, the fan cover 61 is separated from the fan 50, and as shown in fig. 4, the air passage is opened.

The fan 50 is provided at a position covering the air blowing port 36 as described above, and is disposed on the front side of the air blowing port 36, that is, on the freezing chamber 141 side. As the fan 50, a centrifugal fan that sends out cold air in a centrifugal direction, specifically, a turbo fan can be used.

The connection structure of the refrigerator 10 is explained with reference to the block diagram of fig. 7. The refrigerator 10 has: a control device 70 as a CPU, a temperature sensor 91, a timer 92, the compressor 41, the fan 50, the motor 93, the refrigerating compartment damper 44, and the defrosting heater 43. The temperature sensor 91 and the timer 92 are connected to an input terminal of the control device 70. The compressor 41, the fan 50, the motor 93, the refrigerating compartment damper 44, and the defrosting heater 43 are connected to an output side terminal of the control device 70.

Temperature sensors 91 are disposed inside refrigerating room 13, freezing room 141, and vegetable room 17, respectively, and transmit information indicating the indoor temperatures of these storage rooms to control device 70.

The timer 92 measures a cooling time for cooling the refrigerating compartment 13, the freezing compartment 141, and the vegetable compartment 17, an operation time of the defrosting heater 43, and the like, and transmits information indicating the time to the control device 70.

The compressor 41 compresses the refrigerant used in the refrigeration circuit as described above in response to an instruction from the controller 70.

The fan 50 sends the cold air cooled by the cooler 42 of the refrigeration circuit to the storage compartments as described above in response to an instruction from the control device 70.

The motor 93 rotates the drive shaft 62 of the shade device 60 by a predetermined angle in response to an instruction from the control device 70. As the motor 93, for example, a stepping motor is used.

Refrigerating room damper 44 appropriately blocks the cool air supplied to refrigerating room air supply duct 24 in response to an instruction from control device 70.

The defrosting heater 43 is energized in accordance with an instruction from the controller 70, and heats the air inside the cooling chamber 23.

A method for preventing the shielding device 60 from freezing when the environment in the storage compartment becomes abnormal during the cooling operation of the refrigerator 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in fig. 8 as well as the above-described drawings.

In the present embodiment, an outline of a method of preventing the blocking device 60 from freezing will be described first. It is considered that the user stores the stored articles having high temperature and humidity in the refrigerating chamber 13 when using the refrigerator 10. Examples of the stored materials with high temperature and humidity include hot chafing dish, soup, etc. In this case, referring to fig. 2, moisture emitted from the high-temperature and high-humidity stored material reaches cooling chamber 23 via vegetable compartment air supply duct 26, vegetable compartment 17, and return air inlet 34. As described above, since the shielding device 60 is adjacent to the air blowing port 36 of the cooling chamber 23, if the moisture adheres to the shielding device 60 and freezes, the opening and closing operation of the shielding device 60 may be inhibited. Specifically, referring to fig. 6, there is a possibility that the screw mechanism including the screw thread formed around the trunk portion 621 of the drive shaft 62 and the screw groove formed in the opening 801 of the fan cover 61 may freeze and become stiff. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the high-temperature and high-humidity stored items are stored in the refrigerating compartment 13, the state is detected as an abnormal state, and the rotational speed of the motor that drives the shielding device 60 is reduced to increase the torque, thereby preventing the screw mechanism of the shielding device 60 from freezing and becoming rigid. The control method will be described in detail below.

First, in step S10, control device 70 determines whether or not the internal temperature of freezing chamber 141 measured by temperature sensor 91 is-5 ℃. If the internal temperature of freezer compartment 141 is-5 ℃ or lower, that is, if yes in step S10, controller 70 proceeds to step S11, which will be described later, to determine whether or not refrigerator 10 is in an abnormal state. On the other hand, if the internal temperature of freezing chamber 141 is higher than-5 ℃, that is, if no in step S10, controller 70 proceeds to step S31 to operate compressor 41 to continue the cooling operation of freezing chamber 141 and the like.

In step S11, it is determined whether the compressor 41 is in the ON (ON) state. In the present embodiment, after the opening and closing of the heat insulation door 18 that closes the refrigerating compartment 13, it is checked whether or not the inside condition of the refrigerating compartment 13 is abnormal after one cycle. Here, the one cycle is a period from the on state of the compressor 41 to the next on state, or a period from the OFF (OFF) state of the compressor 41 to the next OFF state. In addition, when one cycle is 1 hour, the check time is set to 1 hour, which is one cycle, so that it is possible to reliably detect an abnormal state, which is a state where a high-temperature and high-humidity object is put in the refrigerating compartment 13.

When the compressor 41 is in the on state, that is, when yes in step S11, the controller 70 proceeds to step S12 to determine whether or not the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed. Since the heat insulating door 18 is opened and closed when a user puts a storage object into the refrigerating compartment 13, it is possible to determine whether or not the storage object is put into the refrigerating compartment 13 by determining the opening and closing of the heat insulating door 18.

If there is a possibility that the stored material is put into refrigerating room 13 due to opening and closing of heat insulation door 18, that is, if yes at step S12, control device 70 sets 1 to flag F1 at step S13. The flag F1 indicates that the heat insulation door 18 is opened and closed in the on state of the compressor 41. On the other hand, when heat insulation door 18 is not opened or closed, that is, when no is provided in step S12, since the stored object is not put into refrigerating room 13, control device 70 does not set flag F1 to 1, maintains 0, and proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, control device 70 determines whether or not flag F2 is not set to 1. The flag F2 is set to 1 when the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed in the shutdown state of the compressor 41, and is set to 0 when this is not the case.

If the flag F2 is not 1, that is, if yes in step S14, since one cycle of the compressor 41 has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S15, and the detection of the abnormal state is continued.

On the other hand, if the flag F2 is 1, that is, if no in step S14, this means that the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed in the off state of the compressor 41. Therefore, the control device 70 performs the abnormality detection until the next time the compressor 41 is turned from the off state to the on state.

Therefore, after step S16, control device 70 returns to step S10 without continuing to detect the abnormal state of the in-box environment.

In step S15, control device 70 determines whether flag F1 is set to 1. If the flag F1 is set to 1, that is, if yes in step S15, the insulated door 18 is opened and closed, and therefore there is a possibility that a high-temperature stored object is present in the refrigerating compartment 13, and the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, if the flag F1 is not set to 1, that is, if no is set in step S15, the insulating door 18 is not opened and closed, and there is no high-temperature stored object in the refrigerating compartment 13, and therefore no abnormal state is detected, and the process returns to step S10.

In step S16, controller 70 determines whether or not the temperature rise in refrigerator compartment 13 is 6 ℃ or higher before and after step S12, that is, before and after opening and closing heat insulating door 18. When the temperature in the refrigerating chamber 13 rises to 6 ℃ or higher, it can be determined that the high-temperature stored material such as chafing dish has been put into the refrigerating chamber 13. If the temperature in refrigerating compartment 13 rises to 6 ℃ or higher, that is, if yes at step S16, control device 70 detects an abnormal state at step S18. On the other hand, if the temperature rise in the refrigerator compartment 13 is less than 6 ℃, that is, if no in step S16, control device 70 proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, control device 70 determines whether or not the time for cooling operation of refrigerating room 13 by operating compressor 41 and fan 50 has elapsed 30 minutes or more. By performing this determination, it can be determined that a high-temperature stored object is stored in the refrigerating room 13 and it takes a long time to cool the stored object. If the operation time has elapsed for 30 minutes or more, that is, if yes in step S17, control device 70 determines that there is a high-temperature stored object in refrigerating room 13, and detects an abnormal state in step S18. On the other hand, if the operation time is not longer than 30 minutes, that is, if no in step S17, it is determined that there is no high-temperature stored object in refrigerating room 13, and the abnormal state is not detected, and the process proceeds to step S21.

On the other hand, if no in the above-mentioned step S11, that is, if the compressor 41 is in the shutdown state, the controller 70 proceeds to step S24, and if the compressor 41 is in the shutdown state, detects an abnormal state in the same manner as in the above-mentioned steps S12 to S17.

Specifically, when the compressor 41 is in the shutdown state, that is, when no is obtained in step S11, the controller 70 proceeds to step S24 to determine whether or not the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed.

If the stored material may be put into refrigerating room 13 due to opening and closing of heat insulation door 18, that is, if yes at step S24, controller 70 sets flag F2 to 1 at step S25. On the other hand, when heat insulation door 182 is not opened or closed, that is, when no is provided in step S24, since the stored object is not placed in refrigerating room 13, control device 70 does not set flag F2 to 1, maintains 0, and proceeds to step S26.

In step S26, control device 70 determines whether flag F1 is not set to 1. As described above, the flag F1 is set to 1 when the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed in the on state of the compressor 41, and is set to 0 when not.

If the flag F1 is not 1, that is, if yes in step S26, since one cycle of the compressor 41 has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S27, and the detection of the abnormal state is continued. On the other hand, when the flag F1 is 1, in other words, when no is received in step S26, the heat insulating door 18 is opened and closed in the on state of the compressor 41, and therefore, the abnormality is detected until the next time the compressor 41 is reversed from the on state to the off state. Therefore, the control device 70 proceeds to step S21 without continuing the detection of the abnormal state after step S27. In this manner, the controller 70 detects an abnormal state from when the compressor 41 is turned on until the next on state is reached, or from when the compressor 41 is turned off until the next off state is reached.

In step S27, control device 70 determines whether flag F2 is set to 1. If flag F2 is set to 1, that is, if yes in step S27, the thermal insulation door 18 is opened and closed, and there is a possibility that a high-temperature stored object exists in the refrigerating compartment 13, and the process proceeds to step S28. On the other hand, if the flag F2 is not set to 1, that is, if no is set in step S27, the insulating door 18 is not opened and closed, and there is no high-temperature stored object in the refrigerating compartment 13, and therefore the abnormal state is not detected, and the process proceeds to step S21.

In step S28, control device 70 determines whether or not the temperature rise in refrigerating room 13 is 6 ℃ or higher before and after opening and closing of heat insulating door 18. If the temperature in refrigerating compartment 13 rises to 6 ℃ or higher, that is, if yes at step S28, control device 70 detects an abnormal state at step S18. On the other hand, if the temperature rise in the refrigerator compartment 13 is less than 6 ℃, that is, if no in step S28, control device 70 proceeds to step S29.

In step S29, the control device 70 determines whether or not 30 minutes or more has elapsed since the time for cooling the refrigerating compartment 13 by operating the compressor 41 and the fan 50. If the operation time has elapsed for 30 minutes or more, that is, if yes in step S29, it is determined that there is a high-temperature stored object in refrigerating room 13, and an abnormal state is detected in step S18. On the other hand, if the operation time is not longer than 30 minutes, that is, if no in step S29, it is determined that there is no high-temperature stored object in refrigerating room 13, and the abnormal state is not detected, and the process proceeds to step S21.

After detecting the abnormal state in step S18, control device 70 determines in step S19 whether or not the temperature in refrigerating compartment 13 reaches the shutdown point. Here, the shutdown point is a temperature at which the refrigerating room 13 is sufficiently cooled and the compressor 41 of the refrigeration cycle is stopped. When the temperature in refrigerator compartment 13 reaches the shutdown point, that is, when yes is received in step S19, since the stored material stored in refrigerator compartment 13 is sufficiently cooled, controller 70 cancels the abnormal state in step S20, sets flag F1 to 0, and sets flag F2 to 0. The method of resetting the flags F1 and F2 is described below with reference to FIG. 10. On the other hand, if the temperature in refrigerating room 13 does not reach the shutdown point, that is, if no is provided at step S19, refrigerating room 13 is not sufficiently cooled, and therefore controller 70 returns to step S10 to continue the cooling operation.

In step S21, the control device 70 checks whether or not the defrosting operation is performed within two cycle periods. If the number is two, that is, if yes in step S21, the control device 70 proceeds to step S22 to perform the operation in the abnormal state. On the other hand, if the number is not within the two cycle period, that is, if no in step S21, the control device 70 does not perform the operation in the abnormal state, and returns to step S10.

By performing the determination in step S21, in the case of the abnormal state, the control device 70 can perform the torque boosting in step S23, which will be described later, continuously for one cycle or more. And thus the effect of preventing the freezing of the drive shaft 62 and the fan cover 61 becomes large.

In step S23, the motor 93 is decelerated to prevent freezing, but the motor sound increases when the motor 93 is decelerated. Therefore, by limiting the period during which the motor 93 is decelerated to within two cycle periods, the time during which the motor sound increases can be limited.

In step S22, the control device 70 determines whether an abnormal state is detected in step S18. If an abnormal state is detected, that is, if yes in step S22, control device 70 proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if no abnormal state is detected, that is, if no in step S22, control device 70 proceeds to step S30.

In step S23, the control device 70 reduces the driving speed of the motor 93 that drives the shielding device 60 to open and close. For example, the control device 70 changes the driving speed of the motor 93 from 500PPS to 150 PPS. In this way, the blocking device 60 can be prevented from becoming inoperable due to the freezing.

Specifically, a part of the moisture flowing through the inside of the refrigerator 10 due to the stored high-temperature and high-humidity articles stored in the refrigerating chamber 13 adheres between the trunk portion 621 of the drive shaft 62 and the opening 801 of the fan cover 61 shown in fig. 6. When the attached moisture freezes, the screw mechanism formed between the stem 621 and the opening 801 becomes rigid. As a result, even if the motor 93 is rotated in response to an instruction from the control device 70, the stiff drive shaft 62 may not be rotated, and the fan cover 61 may not be moved in the front-rear direction.

Therefore, in step S23, the control device 70 reduces the driving speed of the stepping motor 93 to 150 PPS.

Fig. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between the drive frequency and the torque of the stepping motor.

The horizontal axis represents the driving frequency of the stepping motor, and the vertical axis represents the torque of the stepping motor. As is clear from this figure, the driving frequency and the torque have a negative correlation, and when the driving frequency is lowered, the torque increases. As in the present embodiment, when the driving frequency is decreased from 500PPS to 150PPS, the torque of the motor 93 is increased from about 20N to about 30N.

Accordingly, by reducing the driving frequency of the motor 93 to 150PPS in step S23, the torque of the motor 93 can be increased by about 1.5 times. Therefore, referring to fig. 6, even if some moisture is present between the trunk portion 621 of the drive shaft 62 and the opening 801 of the fan cover 61, the drive shaft 62 is rotated by a large torque of the motor 93, and the drive shaft 62 is prevented from being frozen and becoming stiff.

On the other hand, if the abnormal state is not detected, that is, if no in step S22, the drive shaft 62 is not likely to freeze, and therefore the drive frequency of the motor 93 is maintained at a high speed while maintaining 500 PPS.

Here, the step S20 of resetting the flags F1 and F2 used for setting the abnormality detection period will be described in detail with reference to fig. 10(a) to 10 (C). Fig. 10(a) is a flowchart showing step S20 in detail, fig. 10(B) is a diagram showing a case where the abnormality detection period is included from the start of the compressor 41 to the next start, and fig. 10(C) is a diagram showing a case where the abnormality detection period is included from the stop of the compressor 41 to the next stop.

Referring to fig. 10(a), step S20 of resetting F1 and F2 includes steps S2001 to S2012.

In step S2001, the control device 70 determines whether the compressor 41 shifts from the shutdown state to the startup state, that is, whether the compressor 41 is started. When the compressor 41 shifts from the off state to the on state, that is, when yes in step S2001, the control device 70 shifts to step S2002. On the other hand, if the compressor 41 has not shifted from the off state to the on state, that is, if no in step S2001, the control device 70 shifts to step S2007.

In step S2002, control device 70 determines whether F2 is set to 1. If F2 is set to 1, that is, if yes in step S2002, control device 70 proceeds to step S2003. On the other hand, if F2 is not set to 1, that is, if no in step S2002, control device 70 proceeds to step S21. As described above, the flag F2 is set to 1 when the heat insulating door 18 is opened or closed in the shutdown state of the compressor 41, and is set to 0 when this is not the case.

In step S2003, the control device 70 confirms whether the compressor on count is 1. The compressor on count is a flag indicating that the compressor 41 is started after the user opens the door. If the compressor 41 is started after the user opens the door, the compressor on count is set to 1, and in the case where it is not, the compressor on count is set to 0. If the compressor on count is 1, that is, if yes in step S2003, the control device 70 proceeds to step S2005. On the other hand, if the compressor on count is not 1, that is, if no in step S2003, the control device 70 proceeds to step S2004.

In step S2004, the control device 70 sets 1 to the compressor on count.

In step S2005, since the abnormality detection period ends, the control device 70 sets 0 to the compressor on count. Further, in step S2006, control device 70 resets F2 by setting 0.

Referring to fig. 10(B), by executing steps S2001 to S2006, a period from when the heat insulating door 18 is opened and closed to when the food is input until 2 times of activation of the compressor 41 elapses can be set as the abnormality detection period.

In step S2007, the control device 70 determines whether the compressor 41 shifts from the on state to the off state, that is, whether the compressor 41 stops. If the compressor 41 shifts from the on state to the off state, that is, if yes at step S2007, the control device 70 shifts to step S2008. On the other hand, if the compressor 41 has not shifted from the on state to the off state, that is, if no in step S2007, the control device 70 shifts to step S21.

In step S2008, control device 70 determines whether F1 is set to 1. If F1 is set to 1, that is, if yes at step S2008, control device 70 proceeds to step S2009. On the other hand, if F1 is not set to 1, that is, if no in step S2008, control device 70 proceeds to step S21. As described above, the flag F1 indicates that the heat insulating door 18 is opened and closed in the on state of the compressor 41.

In step S2009, control device 70 determines whether the compressor off count is 1. The compressor off count is a flag indicating that the compressor 41 is stopped (shifted from the on state to the off state) after the user opens the heat insulating door 18. If the compressor 41 is stopped after the user opens the heat insulating door 18, the compressor off count is set to 1, and if not, the compressor off count is set to 0. If the compressor off count is 1, that is, if yes in step S2009, control device 70 proceeds to step S2011. On the other hand, if the compressor off count is not 1, that is, if no in step S2009, control device 70 proceeds to step S2010.

In step S2010, control device 70 sets 1 to the compressor off count.

In step S2011, since the abnormality detection period ends, the control device 70 sets 0 to the compressor off count. Further, in step S2012, the control device 70 performs reset by setting 0 to F1.

Referring to fig. 10(C), by executing steps S2007 to S2012, the period from when the heat insulating door 18 is opened and closed to when the food is charged until the compressor 41 is stopped 2 times can be set as the abnormality detection period.

The above is a description of a method of preventing the freezing of the drive shaft 62 during the cooling operation of the refrigerator 10.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator, characterized by comprising:

a cooler of the refrigeration loop, which cools the air supplied to the storage chamber through the air supply duct;

a cooling chamber in which the cooler is disposed and in which an air supply port connected to the storage chamber is formed;

a fan that blows the air supplied from the air blowing port to the storage chamber;

a shielding device which at least partially seals the air supply outlet; and

a control device for controlling the actions of the refrigeration loop, the fan and the shielding device,

the shading device is provided with:

a fan cover that covers the fan from outside the cooling chamber;

a drive shaft that drives the fan cover to open and close;

a screw mechanism formed between the drive shaft and the fan cover; and

a motor that rotates the drive shaft,

the control device decelerates the motor in a case where an environment in the tank of the storage room is given.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: the control device controls the motor to decelerate in accordance with an in-tank environment of the storage compartment when a door that closes the storage compartment is opened or closed.
The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the refrigerator further includes:

a temperature sensor that measures a temperature of the storage chamber; and

a timer that measures a time that the refrigeration loop cools the storage compartment,

the controller may decelerate the motor when a change in the temperature of the storage compartment measured by the temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, or when a continuous operation time of the refrigeration circuit measured by the timer is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein: the control device decelerates the motor in two cycle periods after completion of the defrosting process.