JP2000018789A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sustain the surface temperature of a partition optimally by switching the refrigerant flow through a second control valve even if the r.p.m. of a compressor is varied thereby controlling the condensing temperature. SOLUTION: A second control valve 100 comprising a three-way valve is disposed between a compressor 46 and a condenser 62. When the r.p.m. of the compressor 46 is low, delivery of refrigerant and condensation capacity are also low to cause no problem and the refrigerant flow is switched to channel (b), as shown on the drawing, by means of the second control valve 100. Consequently, refrigerant is fed to a part of the condenser 62 and the condensing temperature is not lowered. When the r.p.m. of the compressor 46 is high, the refrigerant flow is switched to channel (a), as shown on the drawing, by means of the second control valve 100 and refrigerant is fed entirely to the condenser 62 thus preventing the condensing temperature from increasing. Consequently, temperature of an antisweat pipe 64 is kept within a predetermined range and the surface temperature of a partition can be optimized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a compressor capable of changing the refrigerating capacity, a plurality of evaporators, and a blower for circulating cool air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mid-freezer type of this type of cold air refrigerating refrigerator is roughly divided into four rooms having different target temperature zones. This type of refrigerator generally includes a refrigerator compartment, a first freezer compartment, a second freezer compartment, and a vegetable compartment. Note that a partly chilled room is provided in the refrigeration room.

The partition of each room is made of an iron plate so as to be in close contact with the gasket of the door. The problem here is that the cool air in the refrigerator is transmitted to the partition surface via the gasket and forms dew. Therefore, in the conventional refrigerator, a dew-prevention pipe is provided inside the partition, and the surface of the partition is heated by the condensation heat of the refrigerant to prevent dew condensation.

[0004]

However, in order to prevent dew condensation on the partition surface, although the dew prevention pipe is provided as described above, the temperature of the dew prevention pipe (condensation temperature of the refrigerant)
Changes due to room temperature, the number of revolutions of the compressor, the load in the refrigerator, and the like, so that the partition surface cannot be maintained at an optimum temperature.

That is, when the rotation speed of the compressor is low (30
-50 rps), the amount of refrigerant circulating is small, the condensing temperature of the refrigerant is low, and the partition surface may not be sufficiently warmed and may form dew. Also, when the rotation speed of the compressor is high (50
Since the circulation amount of the refrigerant is large, the condensing temperature of the refrigerant becomes high, and the partition surface is heated more than necessary and heat leaks into the storage to deteriorate the power consumption.

In view of the above problems, the present invention controls the condensing temperature by switching the flow of the refrigerant by the second control valve even if the rotational speed of the compressor changes, and keeps the temperature of the partition surface optimal. It is intended to provide a refrigerator for the purpose.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a variable refrigerating capacity, a condenser, a dew-proof pipe, a refrigerating evaporator corresponding to a plurality of refrigerating compartments, Refrigerant evaporators corresponding to the freezing compartments are connected in a ring to form a refrigerant flow path, and the refrigerant flow paths are switched to allow the refrigerant to flow through the refrigeration evaporator and the refrigerating evaporator, or only to the freezing evaporator A first control valve for flowing the refrigerant is provided in the refrigerant flow path, and a second control valve for switching the refrigerant flow path is provided between the compressor and the condenser.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the second aspect, the second control valve is a three-way valve.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the second aspect, the two output sides of the three-way valve are switched according to the number of revolutions of the compressor.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the second aspect, the first output port of the three-way valve is connected to the inlet of the condenser, and the second output port of the three-way valve is connected to the inlet of the condenser. It is characterized in that it is connected to the outlet.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the first control valve switches the refrigerant flow path to flow the refrigerant only to the refrigerating evaporator, the second output port of the three-way valve is connected to the inlet of the condenser. It is characterized in that it is connected to the outlet.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a three-way valve is provided between the compressor and the condenser, the three-way valve is controlled in accordance with the number of revolutions of the compressor, and the refrigerant flow is switched to partition the condensation temperature. It is possible to set a temperature zone suitable for the surface temperature, thereby preventing dew condensation on the partition surface and saving energy.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the entire structure of the refrigerator is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment.

The cabinet 12 which is the main body of the refrigerator 10
Refrigerator room 14, vegetable room 16, temperature switching room 1
8, a freezing room 22 is provided. In addition, temperature switching room 1
An ice making chamber 20 is provided on the left side of 8. A heat insulating partition 24 is arranged between the vegetable room 16, the temperature switching room 18 and the ice making room 20.

The refrigerator compartment 14 is provided with a refrigerator compartment door 14a which is opened and closed by a hinge. In addition, this refrigerator room 1
In the lower part of 4, a chilled chamber 26 for maintaining the temperature in the refrigerator at about 0 ° C. is provided.

The vegetable compartment 16 is provided with a draw-out type vegetable compartment door 16a, and the vegetable container 28 can be pulled out together with the door. The vegetable container 28 is covered with a Chrispa cover 29.

The temperature switching chamber 18 is provided with a draw-out type temperature switching chamber door 18a.
Can be pulled out.

The freezer compartment 22 also has a drawer-type freezer compartment door 22a.
Is provided, and the freezing container 32 can be pulled out together with the door.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice making chamber 20 is provided with an ice making device 34 near the ceiling thereof, and an ice storage container 36 is provided below the ice making device 34.

The ice making device 34 includes an ice tray 38, a driving unit 40 for rotating the ice tray 38, and an ice detecting lever 42 for detecting the amount of ice in the ice storage container 36. The tank 44 that supplies water to the ice tray 38 is provided on the left side of the chilled chamber 26.

Next, the structure and arrangement of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator 10 will be described.

First, as shown in FIG.
It is provided in the machine room 48 provided at the bottom of the cabinet 12, that is, at the rear lower part of the freezing room 22.

The refrigerator 10 has two evaporators, one for refrigeration and the other for freezing.
The refrigerator evaporator 50 is disposed behind the vegetable compartment 16, and the freezing evaporator 52 is provided at the rear upper portion of the freezer compartment 22. A refrigeration blower 54 is provided above the refrigeration evaporator 50, and a refrigeration blower 56 is provided above the refrigeration evaporator 52. In addition, refrigeration evaporator 5
Below 0, a defrost heater 96 is provided. A defrost heater 98 is provided below the freezing evaporator 52.

The left side wall and the bottom plate of the temperature switching chamber 18 have a heat insulating structure. Thereby, the temperature switching chamber 1
Even if the inside temperature of the refrigerator 8 is set to the same temperature as that of the refrigerator compartment, there is no influence of the temperature from the freezer compartment 22 and the like existing around. Further, since the back plate of the temperature switching chamber 18 also has a heat insulating structure, it is not affected by the temperature from the refrigerating evaporator 52.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the arrangement of the refrigeration cycle apparatus, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the refrigerant flow path. Hereinafter, the flow of the refrigerant will be described with reference to these drawings. In FIG. 3 and this description, the second control valve 100 shown in FIG. 1 is omitted for convenience of description.

The refrigerant flowing out of the compressor 46 is supplied to the muffler 5
8, through the heat radiating pipe 60, the condenser 62, the dew-proof pipe 64, and the dryer 66 to reach the three-way valve 68. In the three-way valve 68, the refrigerant flow path branches, one of which is directed to the refrigeration capillary tube 70, and the other is directed to the refrigeration capillary tube 72. From the refrigerating capillary tube 70 to the refrigerating evaporator 50, one is provided at the outlet side of the refrigerating capillary tube 72, and then to the refrigerating evaporator 52. Thereafter, the flow returns to the compressor 46 through the accumulator 74 and the suction pipe 76.

Here, the mounting position of each device not described above in the refrigerator 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the condenser 62 is formed into a plate shape by being bent a plurality of times, and is arranged below the bottom of the freezing compartment 22 as shown in FIG. The accumulator 74 is mounted on the right side of the freezing evaporator 52 as shown in FIG.

Next, the flow of cool air in the refrigeration cycle having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the flow of cold air cooled by the refrigeration evaporator 50 will be described.

The cool air cooled by the cooling evaporator 50 is sent from the front side of the cooling blower 54 to the cooling branch space 78 located behind the vegetable compartment 16. The upper portion of the refrigeration branch space 78 is connected to a refrigeration duct 80 provided on the back of the refrigeration compartment 14, and cool air is sent to the refrigeration duct 80. The refrigeration duct 80, as shown in FIG.
It is bifurcated at the lower part of the refrigerator compartment 14 and has a substantially U-shaped shape. Cool air outlets 82 are provided at predetermined intervals on the front surface of the refrigeration duct 80, and cool air is blown into the refrigeration compartment 14 from these outlets 82. The cool air that has cooled the refrigerating compartment 14 passes below the chilled compartment 26 and the tank 44 (see FIG. 2), and flows into return ducts 84 provided on the left and right sides of the refrigerating blower 54 and the refrigerating evaporator 50 (see FIG. 2). ), And is blown below the refrigeration evaporator 50. Then, the cool air is cooled again by the refrigeration evaporator 50 and reaches the position of the refrigeration blower 54.

On the other hand, from the refrigerated branch space 78, the vegetable room 1
6 is blown out along the Chrispa cover 29, and the vegetable room 1
6 is cooled (see FIG. 2). This cold air is
Flows from the front to the back of the
After that, the refrigerant is circulated to the refrigerator evaporator 50 (see FIG. 2).

Next, the flow of cool air cooled by the freezing evaporator 52 will be described.

The cool air cooled by the freezing evaporator 52 reaches the freezing branch space 90 by the freezing blower 56.
The upper part of the freezing branch space 90 communicates with the ice making device 34, and cool air blows out from the upper part to the ice making device 34. The lower portion of the freezing branch space 90 communicates with a hole 33 opened in the back plate of the freezing container 32 of the freezing compartment 22 and the upper surface of the freezing container 32, and cool air flows from the lower portion into the freezing container 32.
Blow out towards the inside.

The cold air that has cooled the ice making chamber 20 flows to the front of the freezing chamber 22, and the cool air that has cooled the inside of the freezing container 32 of the freezing chamber 22 flows to the front of the freezing chamber 22. Then, the cool air flows downward along the front surface of the freezing container 32 and reaches the return duct 92 through the bottom. The cool air flowing into the return duct 92 is circulated to the freezing evaporator 52.

As shown in FIG. 2, a damper device 94 for sending cool air to the temperature switching chamber 18 is provided on the right side of the refrigeration branch space 90. When the damper of the damper device 94 is opened and closed, the temperature switching chamber 18 is opened. The amount of cold air to be sent is adjusted, and the temperature in the refrigerator is adjusted. The cool air that has cooled the temperature switching chamber 18 flows from the bottom of the temperature switching chamber 18 into a return duct 95 that communicates with the refrigeration evaporator 52, and circulates through the refrigeration evaporator 52.

The above configuration is the general configuration of this type of refrigerator and the circulation path of cool air. As shown in FIG. 1, a second control valve 100 is provided.
00 is interposed between the condenser 62 and the compressor 46. The second control valve 100 is constituted by a three-way valve. That is, the input port of the second control valve 100 is connected to the compressor 46, and the first output port of the second control valve 100 is connected to the input port of the condenser 62 via the pipe 102. The second output port of the second control valve 100 is connected to the pipe 1
It is connected to the intermediate port of the condenser 62 through the line 04.

Although the basic flow of the refrigerant is the same as described above, FIG. 1 illustrates the control of the second control valve 100 when the rotation speed of the compressor 46 changes.

During operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 46 flows through the second control valve 100 to the condenser 62.
The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 46 is condensed (heat radiated) by the condenser 62 and the dew prevention pipe 64. At this time, the condensation temperature of the refrigerant changes depending on the rotation speed of the compressor 46, the room temperature, and the performance of the condenser 62.

The compressor 46 operates at a low speed (30 to 50 rps).
In this case, the refrigerant circulation amount is small, so that the condensation temperature is low.
If the compressor 46 rotates at a high speed (50 to 70 rps), the amount of circulating refrigerant increases, so that the condensation temperature increases. Therefore, the second control valve 10 is provided between the compressor 46 and the condenser 62.
0 is provided, and the refrigerant flow path is switched according to the rotation speed of the compressor 46 to optimize the condensation temperature.

That is, if the compressor 46 rotates at a low speed, the refrigerant discharge amount is small and the condensing capacity is small, so that there is no problem.
Further, when the refrigerant flows through the entire condenser 62, the temperature of the dew-proof pipe 64 becomes too low.
00 switches to the flow path of FIG. Thereby, the refrigerant is caused to flow through a part of the condenser 62 so as not to lower the condensation temperature.

When the compressor 46 rotates at a high speed, the refrigerant is switched to the flow path in FIG. 1A by the second control valve 100 so that the refrigerant flows through the entire condenser 62 so as not to raise the condensation temperature. Therefore, the temperature of the dew-proof pipe 64 is maintained within a certain range, and the temperature of the partition surface can be optimized. In this case, by increasing the capacity of the condenser 62 to about twice the conventional capacity, it is possible to prevent the condensation temperature from increasing even in this case.

For example, if the room temperature is 25 ° C. and the relative humidity is 90%
If so, dew forms at 23.2 ° C. The rotation speed of the compressor 46 is 30
By switching the refrigerant flow path to b at rps, the condensing temperature can be optimally controlled, and the partition surface temperature can be maintained at 23.2 ° C. or higher.

[0046]

As described above, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, a second control valve comprising a three-way valve is provided between the compressor and the condenser, and the second control valve is controlled in accordance with the rotation speed of the compressor. Control the
By switching the refrigerant flow path, it is possible to set the condensation temperature to a temperature zone suitable for the partition surface temperature, and it is possible to prevent dew condensation on the partition surface and exhibit an energy saving effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a refrigerant flow path when a second control valve according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided and a refrigerant flow path is switched according to the number of revolutions of a compressor.

FIG. 2 is a heavy sectional view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a layout view of each device constituting a refrigeration cycle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Refrigerator 46 Compressor 50 Refrigeration evaporator 52 Refrigeration evaporator 62 Condenser 64 Dew-proof pipe 68 Three-way valve (control valve) 100 Three-way valve (second control valve)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An annular connection of a compressor capable of changing a refrigerating capacity, a condenser, a dew-proof pipe, a refrigerating evaporator corresponding to a plurality of refrigerating rooms, and a refrigerating evaporator corresponding to a refrigerating room. A refrigerant flow path is formed, and the refrigerant flow path is switched to flow the refrigerant through the refrigeration evaporator and the refrigeration evaporator, or a first control valve for flowing the refrigerant only to the refrigeration evaporator is connected to the refrigerant flow path. A refrigerator, wherein a second control valve for switching a refrigerant flow path is interposed between the compressor and the condenser. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second control valve is a three-way valve. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the two output sides of the three-way valve are switched according to the rotation speed of the compressor. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a first output of the three-way valve is connected to an inlet of the condenser, and a second output of the three-way valve is connected between the inlet and the outlet of the condenser. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that: 5. When the first control valve switches the refrigerant flow path to flow the refrigerant only to the refrigerating evaporator, the second output port of the three-way valve is connected between the inlet and the outlet of the condenser. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerator is connected to the refrigerator.