JP2000258019A - Thermoelectric refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust a temperature in a thermoelectric refrigerator without controlling a fan or a thermoelectric refrigeration element and to adjust an indoor temperature even without fan, by temperature adjusting in the refrigerator by a heater provided at a low temperature side heat exchanger. SOLUTION: When a predetermined power is applied to a thermoelectric refrigeration element 5 by a controller 12, the element 5 absorbs a heat on one surface by means of a Peltier effect and heats on the other surface. If an indoor temperature excessively drop to raise the temperature, a heater 10 is turned ON by the controller 12 to supply a power to the heater 10 to heat, thereby heating a cooling plate 7. Thus, a heat absorbed from the heater 10 is increased to lower the heat absorbed from indoor air, thereby lowering a heat exchanging rate with the air and raising an indoor temperature. If the indoor temperature excessively rises to lower the temperature, the heater 10 is turned Off to stop supplying of the power to eliminate heating of the heater 10, thereby lowering the temperature. Thus, the indoor temperature can be adjusted even without fan without controlling the element 5 only by controlling the heater 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic refrigerator, and more particularly to control of the temperature inside the refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic refrigerator using an electronic refrigeration element such as a Peltier element absorbs heat from the air in a refrigerator through a heat exchanger provided on a low temperature side of the electronic refrigeration element and heat exchanges provided on a high temperature side. By radiating heat to the outside of the refrigerator through the container, foods and drinks stored in the refrigerator are cooled. Conventionally, the temperature inside the refrigerator of this type of electronic refrigerator has been adjusted by controlling the rotation of a fan that blows air outside the refrigerator to the high-temperature side heat exchanger and the power supplied to the electronic refrigerator.

[0003]

However, a device for controlling the rotation of a fan is limited to a device having a fan, and cannot be applied to an electronic refrigerator which is fanless and has no sound. In the case of controlling the power of the electronic refrigeration element, the circuit becomes complicated and costs are increased. Furthermore, although the method of directly turning on and off the element does not cost much, the element is burdened by repeating on and off, and the function may be lost due to cracks or the like, and it is hardly adopted. For this reason, in practice, the temperature inside the refrigerator is controlled by controlling the rotation of the fan, and in a fanless electronic refrigerator, the temperature control is limited to a method in which the voltage supplied to the element is limited. .

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can control the temperature in the refrigerator without controlling the fan and the electronic refrigeration element. It is an object to provide an electronic refrigerator that can be adjusted.

[0005]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a low-temperature side heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the air in the refrigerator on the low-temperature side of the electronic refrigeration element. In an electronic refrigerator provided with a high-temperature side heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the outside air on the high-temperature side, a heater is provided on the low-temperature side heat exchanger, and the temperature inside the refrigerator is adjusted by the heater.

In the present invention, during operation of the electronic refrigerator, constant power is always supplied to the electronic refrigerator, and when the temperature in the refrigerator is increased, the low-temperature side heat exchanger is heated by the heater. As a result, the heat exchange rate with the air in the refrigerator decreases,
The temperature of the inside air rises. When the internal temperature is lowered, the heating of the low-temperature side heat exchanger by the heater is stopped or suppressed. Thereby, the heat exchange rate with the inside air is improved, and the temperature of the inside air is reduced. In this way, the temperature inside the refrigerator can be adjusted only by controlling the heater without controlling the electronic refrigeration element. Further, even in a fanless electronic refrigerator in which temperature control has not been conventionally performed, the temperature in the refrigerator can be controlled by applying the present invention.

[0007] It is preferable that the low-temperature side heat exchanger is formed of a cooling plate having one surface bonded to the refrigeration element and the other surface facing the inside of the refrigerator, and the heater is provided on the cooling plate. When the heater is provided on the cooling plate adhered to the refrigeration element, the mounting is simplified and the responsiveness of the temperature control is improved.

[0008] The heater is turned on to remove the frost adhering to the inside of the refrigerator, heats the low-temperature side heat exchanger, and melts the frost by the heat, so that the heater can be easily defrosted in the refrigerator. Can also be used.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an electronic refrigerator according to the present invention. The main body 1 has a box shape with an opening at the front, and has an exterior plate 2 made of a steel plate, an interior plate 3 made of aluminum,
A heat insulating material 4 made of styrene foam or urethane foam provided between them. A recess 6 for accommodating the electronic refrigeration element 5 is formed substantially at the center of the back surface of the exterior plate 2. An opening 6a is formed at the bottom of the concave portion 6, and the interior plate 3 is exposed from the opening 6a.

The electronic refrigeration element 5 is a rectangular flat plate-shaped Peltier element, and has a rectangular block-shaped cooling plate 7 made of aluminum adhered to one surface and a heat sink 8 made of aluminum adhered to the other surface. ing. As shown in FIG. 3, a cord-shaped heater 10 covered with an aluminum sheet 9 is attached to a side surface of the cooling plate 7 with a double-sided tape 11.
The cooling plate 7 is housed in the recess 6 of the exterior plate 2,
It is attached so as to come into contact with the interior board 3 exposed from the opening 6 a of the recess 6. Thus, the interior plate 3 and the cooling plate 7 constitute a low-temperature side heat exchanger for absorbing heat from the air in the refrigerator. The heat sink 8 has a number of fins 8a extending in the vertical direction, and constitutes a high-temperature side heat exchanger that radiates heat to the outside air.

A control device 12 for controlling the supply of electric power to the electronic refrigeration element 5 and the heater 10 is further mounted on the back surface of the exterior plate 2. In order to cover the control device 12 and the heat sink 8, a box-shaped cover 13 is attached from behind so as to partially overlap the upper surface, the bottom surface, and both side surfaces of the exterior plate 2. Cover 1
A large number of air holes 14 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the heat sink 3 to discharge heat radiated from the heat sink 8. Legs 15 are attached to the bottom surface of the exterior plate 2.

The door 21, like the main body 1, comprises an exterior plate 22 made of a steel plate, an interior plate 23 made of resin, and a heat insulating material 24 made of styrene foam or urethane foam provided therebetween. . The door 21 is attached to a front opening of the main body 1 by a hinge 25 so that the opening of the main body 1 can be opened and closed. This door 21
A hook 26 is attached to the other side of the hinge 25. The hook 26 is provided with a locking hole 27 provided in the main body 1.
In the direction in which the door 21 is locked to maintain the door 21 in the closed state.
8 energized. The hook 26 is attached to the door 21
A lever 29 serving as a handle for opening and closing the door is integrally provided. When the lever 29 is pulled when the door is opened, the hook 26 comes off the locking hole 27 against the urging force of the spring 28, and the door 21 is opened.
Is open to the public.

Next, the operation of the electronic refrigerator having the above configuration will be described.

When a certain amount of power is supplied to the electronic refrigeration element 5 by the control device 12, the electronic refrigeration element 5 absorbs heat on one surface and generates heat on the other surface due to the Peltier effect. As a result, heat is absorbed from the air in the refrigerator through the cooling plate 7 and the interior plate 3 adhered to the surface on the heat absorbing side, and the food and drink in the refrigerator are cooled while the surface on the heat generating side is cooled. The heat is dissipated through the heat sink 8 bonded to the heat sink.

If the temperature in the refrigerator is to be raised assuming that the temperature in the refrigerator has been excessively lowered, the controller 12
Is turned on to supply power. As a result, the heater 10 generates heat and the cooling plate 7 is heated, the heat absorption from the heater 10 increases, and the heat absorption from the internal air decreases, so that the heat exchange rate with the internal air decreases, The air temperature rises. Conversely, if the temperature in the refrigerator is to be lowered assuming that the temperature in the refrigerator has risen excessively, the heater 10 is turned off by the control device 12 to stop the power supply. Thereby, the heater 1
As a result, the heat exchange from the inside air is improved, and the temperature is lowered. As described above, even in a fanless electronic refrigerator, the temperature inside the refrigerator can be adjusted only by turning on and off the heater 10 without controlling the electronic refrigeration element 5.

When a large amount of frost adheres to the interior plate 3 of the main body 1, the controller 12 cuts off the power to the electronic refrigeration element 5 and turns on the heater 10. Thereby, the heater 1
The heat of 0 is conducted to the interior panel 3 through the cooling plate 7,
Since the frost adhered to the interior plate 3 is melted, the defrosting is quickly performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the heater 10 is controlled to be turned on and off. However, the temperature inside the refrigerator can be adjusted by controlling the current to the heater 10. That is, the current to the heater 10 is increased when the internal temperature is increased, and the current to the heater 10 is reduced when the internal temperature is decreased.

In the above embodiment, the cooling plate 7
Although the heater 10 is attached to the main body, the heater 10 may be attached to the surface of the interior panel 3 of the main body on the side of the heat insulating material.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a low-temperature side heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the air in the refrigerator is provided on the low-temperature side of the electronic refrigeration element, and on the high-temperature side of the electronic refrigeration element. In an electronic refrigerator provided with a high-temperature heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the outside air, a heater is provided in the low-temperature heat exchanger, and the temperature inside the refrigerator is adjusted by the heater. Thus, the temperature in the refrigerator can be adjusted without controlling the electronic refrigeration element. Further, even in a fanless electronic refrigerator in which temperature control has not been conventionally performed, the temperature in the refrigerator can be controlled by applying the present invention.

Further, the low-temperature side heat exchanger is formed by a cooling plate having one surface adhered to the refrigeration element and the other surface facing the inside of the refrigerator, and the heater is provided on the cooling plate. A heater is sufficient, the heater can be easily mounted, and the responsiveness of temperature control is improved.

Further, the heater is turned on when the frost adhering to the inside of the refrigerator is removed to heat the low-temperature side heat exchanger, and the frost is melted by the heat, so that the heater is simple and quick. The defrosting of the inside of the refrigerator can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of an electronic refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the electronic refrigerator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cooling plate equipped with a heater and an electronic refrigeration element.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Interior plate (low-temperature side heat exchanger) 5 Electronic cooling element 7 Cooling plate (low-temperature side heat exchanger) 8 Heat sink (high-temperature side heat exchanger) 10 Heater

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A low-temperature heat exchanger for exchanging heat with air in a refrigerator is provided on a low-temperature side of an electronic refrigeration element, and a high-temperature heat exchanger for exchanging heat with air outside the refrigerator is provided on a high-temperature side of the electronic refrigeration element. In the electronic refrigerator, a heater is provided in the low-temperature side heat exchanger,
An electronic refrigerator, wherein the heater controls the temperature inside the refrigerator. 2. The low-temperature side heat exchanger is formed by a cooling plate having one surface adhered to the refrigeration element and the other surface facing the inside of the refrigerator, and the heater is provided on the cooling plate. The electronic refrigerator according to claim 1. 3. The electronic refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the heater is used for defrosting the inside of the refrigerator.