CN115682542A

CN115682542A - Refrigerator and method for the same

Info

Publication number: CN115682542A
Application number: CN202110864233.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘翔宇; 朱啟武; 朱卫忠
Original assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Current assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-29
Filing date: 2021-07-29
Publication date: 2023-02-03
Also published as: WO2023006489A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator (10) and a method (50) therefor, the method comprising the steps of: (52) Operating the compressor (20) to supply coolant to the first evaporator (16) through the first coolant passage (22) to cool the first compartment (12); (54) Closing said first coolant path to discontinue cooling of said first compartment when there is a demand for cooling in the second compartment (14); (56) -opening a second coolant channel (24) for supplying coolant to a second evaporator (18) for cooling the second compartment; and (58) opening the first coolant passage and resuming the supply of coolant to the first evaporator.

Description

Refrigerator and method for the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electric appliance, and more particularly, to a refrigerator and a method for the same.

Background

Some refrigerators include two or more compartments, and evaporators respectively corresponding to the compartments, wherein one compartment is set to a higher temperature than the other compartment. Generally, during cooling, the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the evaporator corresponding to the compartment with higher setting temperature is relatively higher, i.e. the refrigerant tends to flow to the evaporator corresponding to the compartment with lower setting temperature more, which may result in the evaporator corresponding to the compartment with higher setting temperature being lack of refrigerant, so that the compartment with higher setting temperature takes longer time to drop to the target temperature.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved existing refrigerator and method for the same.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved refrigerator and method therefor.

In view of the above objects, an aspect of embodiments of the present invention relates to a method for a refrigerator including a first compartment having a first set temperature, a second compartment having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature, a first evaporator, a second evaporator, a compressor, a first coolant passage in fluid communication with the first evaporator and the compressor, and a second coolant passage in fluid communication with the second evaporator and the compressor, inlets of the first coolant passage and the second coolant passage being connected in parallel, the method comprising the steps of: operating the compressor to supply coolant to the first evaporator through the first coolant passage to cool the first compartment; closing the first coolant passage to discontinue cooling of the first compartment when there is a demand for cooling from the second compartment; opening the second coolant passage to supply coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment; and opening the first coolant passage to resume supply of the coolant to the first evaporator.

In some embodiments, a speed operation mode of the compressor when only the first coolant passage is opened among the first coolant passage and the second coolant passage to cool the first compartment is different from a speed operation mode of the compressor when only the second coolant passage is opened among the first coolant passage and the second coolant passage to cool the second compartment.

In some embodiments, the step of operating the compressor to supply coolant to the first evaporator through the first coolant passage to cool the first compartment includes operating the compressor to cool the first compartment in a first speed mode, the first speed mode including: and adjusting the speed of the compressor according to the temperature of the first chamber so that the temperature of the first chamber tends to a target temperature higher than the shutdown temperature of the first chamber.

In some embodiments, the step of opening the second coolant passage to supply coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment includes operating the compressor to cool the second compartment in a second speed mode, the second speed mode being one in which the compressor is operated at a preset speed or the speed of the compressor is determined based on an ambient temperature.

In some embodiments, in the step of opening the second coolant passage to supply coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment, when a cooling demand of the second compartment is satisfied, the second coolant passage is closed and the step of opening the first coolant passage to resume supply of coolant to the first evaporator is entered.

In some embodiments, in the step of opening the second coolant passage to supply the coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment, the second compartment is cooled for a first set time, and the first set time is fixed.

In some embodiments, the step of opening the second coolant passage to supply the coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment includes cooling the second compartment for a first set time, and entering the step of opening the first coolant passage to resume the supply of the coolant to the first evaporator when the first set time elapses.

In some embodiments, the compressor is operated to collect coolant after the step of closing the first coolant passage to interrupt cooling of the first compartment and before the step of opening the second coolant passage to supply coolant to the second evaporator to cool the second compartment when there is a demand for cooling in the second compartment.

In some embodiments, the compressor is operated to collect coolant in a third speed mode, which is either a fixed mode or varies with ambient temperature.

In some embodiments, the compressor is operated to collect the coolant for a second set time, the second set time is fixed, or the second set time is determined based on a speed of the compressor, an ambient temperature, or a low side pressure.

In some embodiments, the second set time is between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

Another aspect of embodiments of the present invention relates to a refrigerator, which includes: a first compartment having a first set temperature; a second compartment having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature; a first evaporator; a second evaporator; a compressor; a first coolant passage in fluid communication with the first evaporator and the compressor; a second coolant passage in fluid communication with the second evaporator and the compressor; and a control element configured to cause the refrigerator to perform the steps of the method as described above.

In some embodiments, the first compartment comprises a freezer compartment and the second compartment comprises at least one of a refrigerator compartment, an ice-temperature compartment, and a temperature-change compartment.

Where the technical conditions warrant, the subject matter of any independent claim herein may be combined with any single subject matter or combination of subject matter recited in any dependent claim to form new claimed subject matter.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numerals may be used to refer to the same or similar elements, shapes, configurations in different embodiments, and the description of the same or similar elements, shapes, configurations in different embodiments and the description of prior art elements, shapes, configurations, features, effects, etc. may be omitted.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigeration circuit of a refrigerator according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for the refrigerator of FIG. 1; and

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a control module of the refrigerator in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration circuit of a refrigerator according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, in some embodiments, a refrigerator 10 includes a first compartment 12 having a first set temperature. The first set temperature may be a default temperature set for the first compartment 12 when the refrigerator 10 is manufactured, or may be a temperature set for the first compartment 12 by a user during use of the refrigerator 10.

The terms "first," "second," and the like herein are used solely for distinguishing one from another and are not intended to represent degree of importance, order of time, priority, or the like.

The refrigerator 10 includes a second compartment 14 having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature. The second set temperature may be a default temperature set for the second compartment 14 when the refrigerator 10 is manufactured, or may be a temperature set for the second compartment 14 by a user when the refrigerator 10 is in use.

The respective turn-on and turn-off temperatures of first compartment 12 and second compartment 14 may be determined based on the respective set temperatures of first compartment 12 and second compartment 14. Generally, the power-on temperature may be higher than the set temperature, and the power-off temperature may be lower than the set temperature.

When the temperature of the first compartment 12 is greater than or equal to the start-up temperature of the first compartment 12, the first compartment 12 is determined to have a cooling request and the cooling system should cool the first compartment 12. When the temperature of the first compartment 12 reaches the shutdown temperature of the first compartment 12, the refrigeration demand of the first compartment 12 is met and the refrigeration system should stop refrigerating the first compartment 12.

Similarly, when the temperature of the second compartment 14 is greater than or equal to the turn-on temperature of the second compartment 14, the second compartment 14 is determined to have a cooling request and the cooling system should cool the second compartment 14. When the temperature of the second compartment 14 reaches the shutdown temperature of the second compartment 14, the refrigeration requirement of the second compartment 14 is met and the refrigeration system should stop refrigerating the second compartment 14.

The refrigerator 10 includes a first evaporator 16. The first evaporator 16 is arranged to cool the first compartment 12. The first evaporator 16 may cool the first compartment 12 by providing cool air to the first compartment 12 that is cooled thereby or by directly cooling at least one wall of the first compartment 12.

The refrigerator 10 includes a second evaporator 18. The second evaporator 18 is arranged to cool the second compartment 14. The second evaporator 16 may cool the second compartment 14 by providing cool air to the second compartment 14 that is cooled thereby or by directly cooling at least one wall of the second compartment 14.

The refrigerator 10 includes a compressor 20. The compressor 20 may provide a coolant to the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18 to cool the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14.

The refrigerator 10 includes a first coolant passage 22 in fluid communication with the first evaporator 16 and the compressor 20. The first coolant path 22 may include piping and equipment from the compressor 20 to the first evaporator 16. The coolant may proceed from the compressor 20 to the first evaporator 16 through a first coolant passage 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig. 1. The coolant from the first evaporator 16 may flow along a first recovery path 21 toward the compressor 20. The first coolant passage 22 and the first recovery passage 21 may constitute a refrigeration circuit in which refrigerant circulates.

The refrigerator 10 includes a second coolant passage 24 in fluid communication with the second evaporator 18 and the compressor 20. The second coolant path 24 may include equipment and piping from the compressor 20 to the second evaporator 18. The coolant may flow from the compressor 20 to the second evaporator 18 through the second coolant passage 24 in the direction shown by the arrow in fig. 1. The coolant from the second evaporator 18 may enter the compressor 20 along a second recovery path 19. The second coolant passage 24 and the second recovery passage 19 may constitute a refrigeration circuit in which refrigerant circulates. The first recovery passage 21 and the second recovery passage 19 may be combined into one on the way to the compressor 20.

The inlets of the first coolant passage 22 and the second coolant passage 24 are connected in parallel. There may be valves (a first compartment solenoid valve 23, a second compartment solenoid valve 25) at the inlet of the first coolant passage 22 and the second coolant passage 24. By opening and closing the

valves

23, 25, the coolant can enter none, one, or two of the first evaporator 16, the second evaporator 18. Specifically, when both

valves

23, 25 are closed, the passages to the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18 are closed. If one of the

valves

23, 25 is open, coolant may enter the respective first or

second evaporator

16, 18 through the corresponding first or

second coolant passage

22, 24. When both

valves

23, 25 are open, the coolant enters the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18 through the first coolant passage 22 and the second coolant passage 24, respectively. The

valves

23, 25 may be separate as shown or may in some embodiments be combined into one, e.g. a one-in-two-out three-way valve.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for the refrigerator of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, a method 50 for a refrigerator 10 according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of:

operating the compressor 20 to supply coolant to the first evaporator 16 through the first coolant passage 22 to cool the first compartment 12;

54, closing the first coolant passage 22 to discontinue cooling of the first compartment 12 when there is a demand for cooling in the second compartment 14;

56, opening the second coolant passage 24 to supply the coolant to the second evaporator 18 to cool the second compartment 14; and

58, the first coolant passage 22 is opened, and the supply of the coolant to the first evaporator 16 is resumed.

In step 52, in which the compressor 20 is operated to supply coolant to the first evaporator 16 through the first coolant passage 22 to cool the first compartment 12, the second coolant passage 24 is in the closed state, the second compartment 14 is not cooled, and only the first compartment 12 is cooled alone.

In step 54, when the second compartment 14 has a cooling demand, the first coolant passage 22 is closed to discontinue cooling the first compartment 12, and it may be determined whether it has a cooling demand based on the temperature of the second compartment 14. For example, when the second compartment 14 reaches the start-up temperature, it may be determined that it has a cooling demand.

In step 56, in which the second coolant passage 24 is opened and coolant is supplied to the second evaporator 18 to cool the second compartment 14, the first coolant passage 22 has been closed, cooling of the first compartment 12 has been interrupted, and the second compartment 14 is cooled alone.

In the method 50 of the embodiment of the present invention, during the process of cooling the first compartment 12 and cooling the second compartment 14 alone, the refrigerant may enter the second coolant passage 24, which may help to avoid the situations that the second evaporator 18 lacks the refrigerant, the second compartment 14 cannot be decreased to the target temperature for a long time, the cooling efficiency is too low, and the like, which are caused by the second set temperature of the second compartment 14 being higher than the first set temperature of the first compartment 12, and may help to meet the cooling requirement of the second compartment 14 more quickly.

At the same time, if the cooling demand of the second compartment 14 is still not met when the supply of coolant to the first evaporator 16 is resumed, and the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14 are cooled simultaneously, it is possible to help prevent the first compartment 12 from interrupting the cooling for too long a time, fluctuating too much in temperature, rising too much in temperature, deteriorating the stored goods, etc.

In some embodiments, the compressor 20 is operated in different speed modes in step 52 and step 56, respectively. That is, the speed operation mode of the compressor 20 when only the first coolant passage 22 is opened to cool the first compartment 12 out of the first and

second coolant passages

22 and 24 is different from the speed operation mode of the compressor 20 when only the second coolant passage 24 is opened to cool the second compartment 14 out of the first and

second coolant passages

22 and 24.

In some embodiments, the compressor 20 is operated in different speed modes in step 56 and step 58, respectively.

In some embodiments, the step 52 of operating the compressor 20 to supply coolant to the first evaporator 16 through the first coolant passage 22 to cool the first compartment 12 may include operating the compressor 20 in a first speed mode to cool the first compartment 12.

In some embodiments, the first speed mode may include: the speed of the compressor 20 is adjusted in response to the temperature of the first compartment 12 so that the temperature of the second compartment 12 tends to a target temperature that is higher than the shutdown temperature of the first compartment. With this, it becomes possible to operate the refrigeration system for the first compartment 12 for a long time, and it becomes possible to reduce the shutdown frequency of the compressor 20.

The target temperature may be determined based on the set temperature of the first compartment 12. For example, the target temperature may be equal to or slightly above or slightly below the set temperature of the first compartment 12.

In some embodiments, in the first speed mode, adjusting the speed of the compressor 20 towards the target temperature based on the temperature of the first compartment 12 comprises: the method comprises a temperature reduction stage for increasing the speed of the compressor to enable the temperature of the first compartment to approach from higher than a target temperature to the target temperature and a temperature increase stage for reducing the speed of the compressor to enable the temperature of the first compartment to approach from lower than the target temperature to the target temperature.

In some embodiments, in the first speed mode, adjusting the speed of the compressor 20 based on the temperature of the first compartment comprises: the speed of the compressor 20 is adjusted according to the temperature difference between the temperature of the first compartment and the target temperature.

In some embodiments, in the first speed mode, adjusting the speed of the compressor 20 based on the temperature difference between the temperature of the first compartment and the target temperature comprises: the speed of the compressor 20 is adjusted based on the average temperature of the first compartment 12 or the temperature difference between the current instantaneous temperature of the first compartment 12 and the target temperature during the current time interval.

In some embodiments, in the first speed mode, adjusting the speed of the compressor 20 as a function of the temperature of the first compartment 12 comprises: the speed of the compressor 20 is determined on the basis of a base speed S0 and an adjustment speed Sv determined as a function of the temperature of the first compartment 12. The adjustment speed Sv may be determined based on the temperature difference between the temperature of the first compartment and the target temperature.

As such, operating the compressor 20 in the first speed mode cools the first compartment 12 such that the first compartment 12 continues to operate at a higher shutdown temperature than the first compartment 12, with less temperature fluctuations of the first compartment 12. When the second compartment 14 has a cooling demand, for example, when the temperature of the second compartment 14 rises to the starting temperature of the second compartment 14, the cooling of the first compartment 12 is suspended and the second compartment 14 is separately cooled, so that the cooling efficiency of the second compartment 14 can be greatly improved and the waiting time of the first compartment 12 can be shortened.

The step 56 of opening the second coolant passage 24 and supplying coolant to the second evaporator 18 to cool the second compartment 14 may include operating the compressor 20 in the second speed mode to cool the second compartment 14. The second speed mode of the compressor 20 is different from the first speed mode.

In the second speed mode, the speed of the compressor 20 may be a default value preset by a manufacturer or determined according to at least one parameter. For example, the operating speed of the compressor 20 may be determined based on the ambient temperature, such as when the ambient temperature is high, the compressor 20 in the second speed mode is given a higher speed, and when the ambient temperature is low, the compressor 20 in the second speed mode is given a lower speed.

Since the ambient temperature changes little over a certain period of time, unlike the first speed mode, the speed of the compressor 20 is not generally changed in real time in the second speed mode after the speed of the compressor 20 is determined.

In this way, the quantity of cooling supplied to the second compartment 14 per unit of time can be easily determined. This facilitates controlling the time for which coolant is supplied to second evaporator 18 alone, so that the time for which cooling of first compartment 12 is suspended for second compartment 14 can be determined more accurately.

In some embodiments, the step 56 of opening the second coolant passage 24 and supplying coolant to the second evaporator 18 to cool the second compartment 14 includes closing the second coolant passage 24 when the refrigeration demand of the second compartment 14 has been met, e.g., the temperature of the second compartment 14 has dropped to the shutdown temperature of the second compartment 14, and proceeding to step 58, opening the first coolant passage 22 to resume supply coolant to the first evaporator 16, which may return to step 52.

In some embodiments, when the time to supply refrigerant alone to the second evaporator 18 has reached the first set time, i.e., the first set time has elapsed, even though the temperature of the second compartment 14 has not yet dropped to the shutdown temperature of the second compartment 14, step 58 is entered, and the first coolant passage 22 is opened to resume supply of coolant to the first evaporator 16. In this case, the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18 may be supplied with coolant in parallel, the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14 being cooled simultaneously.

The first set time may be fixed. The first set time may be preset in advance by the manufacturer or determined according to parameter settings, e.g. according to the ambient temperature, the temperature of the second compartment 14, etc.

Typically, the first set time is no greater than 20 minutes, and the first set time may be between 8 and 20 minutes.

By selecting the first set time and/or the speed of the compressor 20 at step 56, it is possible to simultaneously cool the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14 after the separate supply of coolant to the second coolant line to cool the second compartment 14 after the supply of coolant to the first coolant line is suspended, which typically occurs when the ambient temperature is relatively high or the second compartment 14 is loaded by a user.

The compressor 20 may operate in the fourth speed mode when both the first coolant path and the second coolant path are open such that the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18 are simultaneously supplied with coolant.

In some embodiments, the fourth speed mode is the same as the first speed mode, i.e., the speed of the compressor 20 is adjusted based on the temperature of the first compartment 12 to bring the temperature of the first compartment 12 towards its set temperature.

In other embodiments, the fourth speed pattern may be an increase of a fixed or variable speed value compared to the first speed pattern. In this manner, it may be helpful to cool both the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14 at the same rate pattern as the first compartment 12 alone, or at a higher rate pattern than the first compartment 12 alone, in order to meet the refrigeration requirements of the second compartment 14 as quickly as possible.

In some embodiments, after supplying refrigerant in parallel to the first coolant passage 22 and the second coolant passage 24, if the cooling demand of the second compartment 14 is met, the second coolant passage 24 is closed to stop cooling the second compartment 14. The compressor 20 continues to operate to cool the first compartment 12. At which point the refrigeration system may return to operation at step 52.

In some embodiments, when there is a demand for cooling in the second compartment 14, the compressor 20 is operated to collect the coolant after step 54 of closing the first coolant passage 22 to interrupt cooling of the first compartment 12 and before step 56 of opening the second coolant passage 24 to supply the coolant to the second evaporator 18 to cool the second compartment 14. In this way, it is possible to facilitate opening of the second coolant passage 24, and then sufficient coolant can enter the second evaporator 18, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the second compartment 14 and facilitating shortening of the cooling time of the second compartment 4.

When the coolant is collected, the first coolant passage 22 is closed, the second coolant passage 24 is not opened, the coolant does not further enter the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18, and due to the operation of the compressor 20, the coolant staying in the first evaporator 16 and on the low-pressure side of the first evaporator 16 can enter the high-pressure side such as the condenser 27 (fig. 1) between the compressor 20 and the

valves

23 and 25 through the first recovery passage 21, that is, the coolant is collected in the refrigeration system. After opening the second coolant passage 24, sufficient coolant can enter the second evaporator 18 to increase the cooling rate of the second compartment 14.

The first recovery passage 21 may include a check valve 17 at an outlet of a side of the first evaporator 16, and the check valve 17 may be controlled such that the coolant can only flow out of the first evaporator 16 therethrough and cannot enter the first evaporator 16 therethrough.

When collecting the coolant, the condenser fan (not shown) may be turned on if there is a condenser fan (not shown) corresponding to the condenser 27, and the evaporator fan (not shown) may be turned on if there is an evaporator fan (not shown) corresponding to the first evaporator 16 and the second evaporator 18.

In some embodiments, the compressor 20 is operated in the third speed mode to collect the coolant.

In the third speed mode, the compressor 20 may operate according to a preset speed model, for example, the compressor 20 may operate at a fixed speed or speed model. Alternatively, in the third speed mode, the speed of the compressor 20 is determined according to the ambient temperature. The ambient temperature herein may be the temperature of the environment outside the refrigerator 10. For example, the compressor 20 may be operated at a higher speed when the ambient temperature is higher. At lower ambient temperatures, the compressor 20 may be operated at a lower speed.

In some embodiments, the compressor 20 is operated to collect the coolant for a second set time, which is fixed. In this way, it may be advantageous to collect the coolant for a fixed time. The fixed second set time may be a time for collecting the coolant set in the manufacture of the refrigerator 10 or a time for collecting the coolant selected in the use of the refrigerator 10.

In some embodiments, the compressor 20 is operated to collect the coolant for a second set time, which is determined based on the speed of the compressor 20, the ambient temperature, or the low side pressure. As such, it may be helpful to collect the coolant according to the speed of the compressor 20, the ambient temperature, or the low side pressure. The low side pressure herein may include the pressure inside the first evaporator 16 and/or at its outlet. For example, the second set time may be shorter when the speed of the compressor 20 is higher, longer if the ambient temperature is higher, and shorter if the low-pressure side pressure is smaller. And so on.

The second set time is preferably no more than 3 minutes, and the second set time may be between 1 and 2 minutes, or between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

During the switching between the different phases, the compressor 20 can be operated without interruption to reduce the frequency of starting and stopping the compressor 20.

Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator 10, please continue to refer to fig. 1, the refrigerator 10 comprising: a first compartment 12 having a first set temperature; a second compartment 14 having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature; a first evaporator 16; a second evaporator 18; a compressor 20; a first coolant passage 22 in fluid communication with the first evaporator 16 and the compressor 20; a second coolant passage 24 in fluid communication with the second evaporator 18 and the compressor 20; and a control element 26 configured to cause the refrigerator 10 to perform the steps of the method 50 as described above.

In the process of interrupting the cooling of the first compartment 12 and allowing the second compartment 14 to be cooled separately, the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may allow the refrigerant to enter the second coolant passage 24, which may help to avoid the situations that the second evaporator 18 lacks the refrigerant, the second compartment 14 cannot be lowered to the target temperature for a long time, the cooling efficiency is too low, and the like, which are caused by the second setting temperature of the second compartment 14 being higher than the first setting temperature of the first compartment 12, and may help to allow the cooling requirement of the second compartment 14 to be satisfied more quickly.

At the same time, if the refrigeration demand of the second compartment 14 is still not met when the supply of coolant to the first evaporator 16 is resumed, and the first compartment 12 and the second compartment 14 are cooled simultaneously, it is possible to help prevent the first compartment 12 from interrupting cooling for too long a time, fluctuating temperatures too much, rising temperatures too much, deteriorating the stored contents, and the like.

The first room 12 and the second room 14 can be set and distributed according to the national standard and the user requirement. In some embodiments, first compartment 12 comprises a freezer compartment and second compartment 14 comprises at least one of a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, and a temperature-changing compartment. The first chamber 12 and the second chamber 14 may be stacked up and down as shown in fig. 1, may be arranged in the left-right direction, or may be arranged in a staggered manner up and down and left-right.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a control module of the refrigerator in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 3, the temperatures of the first and

second chambers

12 and 14 measured by the first and second

chamber temperature sensors

28 and 30 corresponding to the first and

second chambers

12 and 14, respectively, may be transmitted to the control unit 26, so that the control unit 26 controls the compressor 20, the fan 32 (including an evaporator fan, a condenser fan, etc.), the first and second

chamber solenoid valves

23 and 25 to perform actions related to cool one or both of the first and

second chambers

12 and 14 or collect the coolant according to the temperatures of the first and

second chambers

12 and 14.

The control element 26 may also control the compressor 20, the fan 32 (including an evaporator fan, a condenser fan, etc.), the first compartment solenoid valve 23, the second compartment solenoid valve 25 to perform one or both of cooling the first compartment 12, the second compartment 14, or a related action of collecting the coolant in accordance with the adjusted set temperature of the first compartment 12, the set temperature of the second compartment 14, the selected cooling mode, the selected time to collect the coolant, and/or the selected time to separately cool the second compartment 14 as received via the user panel 34 in use of the refrigerator 10.

The various embodiments described above and shown in the drawings are illustrative of the invention and are not exhaustive of the invention. Any modification of the present invention by a person of ordinary skill in the related art within the scope of the basic technical idea of the present invention is within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method (50) for a refrigerator (10), the refrigerator (10) comprising a first compartment (12) having a first set temperature, a second compartment (14) having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature, a first evaporator (16), a second evaporator (18), a compressor (20), a first coolant passage (22) in fluid communication with the first evaporator (16) and the compressor (20), and a second coolant passage (24) in fluid communication with the second evaporator (18) and the compressor (20), the inlets of the first coolant passage (22) and the second coolant passage (24) being connected in parallel, the method (50) comprising the steps of:

(52) Operating the compressor (20) to supply coolant to the first evaporator (16) through the first coolant passage (22) to cool the first compartment (12);

(54) Closing said first coolant passage (22) to discontinue cooling of said first compartment (12) when there is a demand for cooling in said second compartment (14);

(56) -opening the second coolant channel (24) to supply coolant to the second evaporator (18) to cool the second compartment (14); and

(58) And opening the first coolant passage (22) to resume supply of the coolant to the first evaporator (16).

2. The method (50) according to claim 1, wherein a speed operating mode of the compressor (20) when only the first coolant passage (22) is open to cool the first compartment (12) out of the first coolant passage (22) and the second coolant passage (24) is different from a speed operating mode of the compressor (20) when only the second coolant passage (24) is open to cool the second compartment (14) out of the first coolant passage (22) and the second coolant passage (24).

3. The method (50) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said step (52) comprises operating said compressor (20) in a first speed mode to cool said first compartment (12), said first speed mode comprising: -adjusting the speed of the compressor (20) in accordance with the temperature of the first compartment (12) so that the temperature of the first compartment (12) tends towards a target temperature higher than its shutdown temperature.

4. The method (50) of claim 1,2 or 3, wherein said step (56) includes operating said compressor (20) to cool said second compartment (14) in a second speed mode, said second speed mode being either said compressor (20) operating at a preset speed or said speed of said compressor (20) being determined based on ambient temperature.

5. The method (50) of claim 1, wherein in said step (56), when a refrigeration requirement of said second compartment (14) is met, closing said second coolant passageway (24) and entering said step (58).

6. The method (50) of claim 1, wherein in said step (56), said second compartment (14) is cooled for a first set time, said first set time being fixed.

7. The method (50) of claim 1, wherein said step (56) includes cooling said second compartment (14) for a first set time, and entering said step (58) when said first set time elapses.

8. The method (50) of claim 1, wherein after said step (54) and before said step (56), operating said compressor (20) to collect coolant.

9. The method (50) of claim 8, wherein the compressor (20) is operated to collect coolant in a third speed mode, the third speed mode being either a fixed mode or varying with ambient temperature.

10. The method (50) of claim 8, wherein the compressor (20) is operated to collect coolant for a second set time, the second set time is fixed, or the second set time is determined based on a speed of the compressor (20), an ambient temperature, or a low side pressure.

11. The method (50) of claim 10, wherein the second set time is between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

12. A refrigerator (10) characterized by comprising:

a first compartment (12) having a first set temperature;

a second compartment (14) having a second set temperature higher than the first set temperature;

a first evaporator (16);

a second evaporator (18);

a compressor (20);

a first coolant passage (22) in fluid communication with the first evaporator (16) and the compressor (20);

a second coolant passage (24) in fluid communication with the second evaporator (18) and the compressor (20); and

a control element (26) configured to cause the refrigerator (10) to perform the steps of the method (50) according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A refrigerator (10) as claimed in claim 12 wherein said first compartment (12) comprises a freezer compartment and said second compartment (14) comprises at least one of a refrigerator compartment, an ice-temperature compartment, and a temperature-change compartment.