JP2002267339A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely dilute refrigerant gas concentration in a cooling chamber up to a concentration where firing might not happen even when there occurs an accident of the refrigeration gas leaking into the cooling chamber. SOLUTION: In this refrigerator including a door opening power mechanism 2 for automatically opening a door, there are provided a sensor 3 for detecting refrigerant gas staying in chambers 30, 40 and control means 9 for opening the foregoing door opening power mechanism when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas. The control means 4 can also drive a motor driven fan 4 for forcedly opening the door and stirring air in the chamber by gas leakage detection.

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 door opening power mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent refrigerators, as a refrigerant,
A chlorofluorocarbon-free flammable refrigerant (for example, isobutane, propane) that does not have a risk of depletion of the ozone layer has been adopted.

In a refrigerator having an independent freezing room and a refrigerator, a cooling system (ie, a refrigerant evaporator and a cooling fan) is separated into a freezing room cooling system and a refrigerating room cooling system. Devices having a mechanism for individually cooling the chambers have been put to practical use.

[0004]

In the case of a refrigerator using a flammable refrigerant as described above, since the refrigerant is flammable, sufficient measures have been taken in advance to prevent the gas from leaking. However, if the refrigerant gas still leaks from the cooling system, the cooling chamber sealed with a door is filled with a gas concentration suitable for ignition (for example, about 0.2% for isobutane). ８8%). In such a situation, any spark source will cause the refrigerant gas filling the cooling chamber to ignite. For this reason, conventionally, a safety measure has been taken in which a gas sensor is provided in a refrigerator, and when a gas leak is detected, all operating devices which may become a spark source of ignition are stopped.

In the case of a combustible gas, there is a gas concentration suitable for ignition, and there is no danger of ignition if the gas concentration is lower than the gas concentration. In other words, in the case of flammable refrigerant gas that fills the cooling chamber, if the door is opened and opened to the atmosphere,
It is diluted by air and the gas concentration drops to a concentration where there is no danger of ignition. In addition, if a cooling fan is provided in the cooling chamber and the fan is rotated when the door is opened to stir the combustible gas in the cooling chamber, the concentration dilution of the combustible gas can be further accelerated. You can do it.

[0006] Therefore, in preparation for a leakage of the refrigerant gas into the cooling chamber, a refrigerant gas sensor is installed in the refrigerator, and when the refrigerant gas sensor detects the leakage of the refrigerant gas by some means, the door of the cooling chamber is forcibly applied. When the refrigerator is provided with a function of opening the refrigerant, the gas concentration of the leaked refrigerant gas can be diluted to a concentration at which there is no risk of ignition.

[0007] However, in the case of a refrigerator having a structure in which the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are individually cooled as described above, there is a further complicated problem as follows. Generally, combustible refrigerant gas is a gas heavier than air. Therefore, if the upper and lower cooling chambers communicate with each other by a communication part such as a duct damper, if the leakage of the refrigerant gas occurs in the lower cooling chamber, it is installed in the upper cooling chamber as it is. Even if the door forced opening mechanism is opened, the leaked refrigerant gas cannot be effectively diluted, so it is necessary to open the duct damper to communicate the upper and lower cooling chambers. On the other hand, in the case of a structure in which the upper and lower cooling chambers are not communicated with each other by the duct damper, if the refrigerant gas leaks in each chamber, the cooling chamber will be filled. It must be installed in a room.

The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and even if an accident occurs in which a refrigerant gas leaks into a cooling chamber, the concentration of the refrigerant gas in the cooling chamber can be reliably reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can be diluted to a concentration without fear.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator provided with a door opening power mechanism for automatically opening a door, wherein the sensor detects refrigerant gas drifting in the refrigerator and the sensor. And control means for opening the door opening power mechanism when refrigerant gas is detected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the first aspect, an electric fan provided for stirring air in the refrigerator is provided, and the control means opens the door when the sensor detects refrigerant gas. The power drive mechanism is opened and the electric fan is driven.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a plurality of upper and lower cooling chambers to be cooled by individual cooling systems and having a communicating portion for communicating between the respective chambers, wherein the air in the upper cooling chamber is provided. An electric fan installed for agitation, a sensor for detecting refrigerant gas in the upper cooling chamber, a door opening power mechanism for automatically opening the door of the upper cooling chamber, and opening and closing of the communication section. A communication unit opening and closing mechanism, and control means for opening the door opening power mechanism when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas, opening the communication unit opening and closing mechanism, and driving the electric fan. is there.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a plurality of cooling chambers cooled by individual cooling systems, wherein a sensor for detecting refrigerant gas in each cooling chamber and a door of each cooling chamber are automatically provided. And a control means for opening the power mechanism for opening the door when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the refrigerator according to the fourth aspect, further comprising an electric fan installed for stirring the air in each of the cooling chambers, wherein the control means detects when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas. The door opening power mechanism is opened and the electric fan is driven.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the first to fifth aspects, the control means performs control for prohibiting the closing of the door after the power mechanism for opening the door is once opened. It is a feature.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show the structure of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator of the first embodiment has a structure in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment are independent, but each compartment is cooled simultaneously. In the figure, 1 is a door for the refrigerator compartment 30, 2 is a door opening power mechanism for forcibly opening the door, 3 is a gas sensor for detecting refrigerant gas, 4 is a fan for cooling air circulation, and 5 is a cooler. , 6 is a door sensor, 7 is a door to the freezer compartment 40, 8 is a door knob, 9 is a controller for controlling the operation of each element of the refrigerator, 10 is a defrost heater, 11 is a deodorizing device, and 12 is a refrigerant circulating through a cooling system. Compressor 13 is an alarm.

The door opening power mechanism 2 is a plunger mechanism, and is operated under the control of the controller 9 by lightly pushing or pulling the door knob 8 to automatically move the door 1 as shown in FIG. Is to be opened.

FIG. 4 shows a control system of the controller 9. The controller 9 includes a user contact function unit (door knob) 8 that outputs a contact signal by a light contact of the user with the door knob 8, a door sensor 6 that outputs an on / off signal when the door 1 is opened and closed, and a gas sensor 3 that detects refrigerant gas. A signal is inputted, a door opening power mechanism 2, a fan motor 4 for rotatingly driving a cooling fan, a defrost heater 10, a deodorizing device 11, a compressor 12
Is operated, and an alarm 13 is activated when a gas leak is detected.

Next, the operation of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

<Normal Control> When the cooling system is sound (that is, when the gas sensor 3 does not detect gas leak), the compressor 12 is driven by the control of the controller 9 to circulate the refrigerant gas through the cooling system. Further, the fan motor 4 of the electric fan is driven to rotate under the control of the controller 9.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the air Air in the refrigerator is circulated by the electric fan 4, and is cooled when passing through the cooler 5 in the course of the circulation, and becomes cool air to be cooled by the refrigerator compartment 30. The inside of the freezer compartment 40 is cooled. The controller 9 also controls the defrost heater 10 to perform defrosting in a necessary condition, and further controls the deodorizing device 11 to perform deodorization in the refrigerator compartment 30.

If the user touches the door knob 8 lightly, the user contact function unit 21 outputs a contact signal, and the controller 9 receives the contact signal and operates the door opening power mechanism 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the refrigerator compartment door 1 is forcibly opened.

<Control at the time of gas leak detection> When the refrigerant gas leaks for some reason and the gas sensor 3 detects the gas leak, the controller 9 immediately operates the door opening power mechanism 2 to open the refrigerator compartment door 1. FIG.
, The alarm 13 is operated to notify the user, the leak is recorded in the flash memory built in the controller, and the defrost heater 10, the deodorizing device 11 and the compressor 12 which may become a spark source are connected. Stop.

As a result, since the freezer compartment door 1 is closed, the leaked refrigerant gas fills the refrigerating compartment 30 and the gas leaks even when the gas concentration is suitable for ignition. By forcibly opening the door 1 in response to the detection, the refrigerant gas in the refrigerator compartment 30 can be diluted with outside air to lower the gas concentration to a level at which there is no risk of ignition.

Incidentally, after the refrigerant gas leak is detected and the door is forcibly opened to perform the operation of diluting the refrigerant gas concentration by the outside air, the user knows the door is opened and erroneously closes the door 1. 15, the controller 9 has a control function according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 15, so that when the door sensor 6 detects that the door is closed, the door opening power mechanism 2 is operated to forcibly open the door 1 again. By doing so, it is possible to reliably prevent the gas concentration in the refrigerator from increasing again.

Next, a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and the structural diagram of FIG. In the case of the second embodiment, the structure is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the input signal to the controller 9 and the connection configuration of the control device are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Control functions are slightly different.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, in the second embodiment, when the controller 9 detects a gas leak based on the gas detection signal of the gas sensor 3, it operates similarly to the first embodiment. 2, the door 1 is opened, the leak is recorded in the flash memory, the alarm 13 is activated, the defrost heater 10 is stopped, the deodorizing device 11 is stopped, and the compressor 12 is stopped. As a feature of this embodiment, the fan motor 4 for circulating cool air is forcibly rotated even when stopped.

As a result, the air Air in the freezer compartment 40 and the refrigerator compartment 30 is forcibly circulated as shown by the arrows in FIG. 7, and is mixed with the outside air in the refrigerator compartment 30 in which the door 1 is opened to further increase the gas concentration. It can be diluted quickly to a low concentration without risk of ignition.

Next, a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a cooling system that individually cools the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 40.
It is of a structure that allows a small amount of cool air to flow between it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, a cooling fan 4A and a cooling room cooler 5A are provided for cooling the cooling room,
A is provided. A cooling fan 4B for cooling the freezer compartment
And a freezer compartment cooler 5B, and a freezer compartment gas sensor 3B. Under the control of the controller 9, the refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 12 is blown into the refrigerator compartment 30 by the cooling fan 4A while circulating through the refrigerator compartment cooler 5A, and on the other hand, While circulating through the freezer compartment cooler 5B, the circulation operation of blowing the cool air into the freezer compartment 40 by the cooling fan 4B is alternately repeated, thereby cooling each of the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 40 to an appropriate temperature.

In the refrigerator having such a configuration, if a leak of refrigerant gas occurs, the gas sensor 3A or 3B detects the leak depending on the location of the leak. In this case, the forced door opening operation is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. 5 as in the first embodiment. That is, upon detection of the gas leak, the door opening operation mechanism 2 for the refrigerator compartment door 1 is operated to open the refrigerator compartment door 1, the alarm 13 is activated, the gas leak is recorded in the flash memory, the defrost heater 10, the deodorizing heater 10, The device 11 and the compressor 12 are stopped.

As a result, as in the first embodiment, the refrigerant gas filled in the refrigerator compartment 30 can be diluted by the outside air, and the gas concentration can be reduced to a low concentration that does not cause ignition. Further, even when the freezer compartment 40 is filled with the refrigerant gas, the refrigerator of the present embodiment is structured such that the freezer compartment 40 and the refrigerating compartment 30 communicate with each other. By opening the door, the refrigerant gas in the freezing chamber 40 can be gradually diluted by the outside air, and the gas concentration can be reduced to a level that does not cause ignition.

Next, a refrigerator according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 10, the refrigerator of the present embodiment includes a cooling system for individually cooling the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 40, and normally shuts off the flow of cool air from each other. This is a structure having a damper mechanism 14 for circulating cool air between the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 40 at the time of circulation or other necessity.

Therefore, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment is provided with a cooling fan 4A and a refrigerator cooler 5A for cooling the refrigerator, a gas sensor 3A for the refrigerator, and a cooling fan 4B and a refrigerator 4B for cooling the freezer. The refrigerator 9 includes a cooler 5B and a freezer compartment gas sensor 3B. Under the control of the controller 9, normal operation is performed with the damper mechanism 14 closed, and refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 12 is discharged to the refrigerating compartment. Cooling fan 4 while circulating through cooler 5A
A blows cold air into the refrigerator compartment 30 and, on the other hand,
Cooling fan 4 while circulating through freezer compartment cooler 5B
By repeating the circulating operation of blowing cold air into the freezing compartment 40 by B, each of the refrigerating compartment 30 and the freezing compartment 40 is cooled to an appropriate temperature. Further, the damper opening / closing mechanism 14 can be opened / closed under the control of the controller 9, and by opening this damper opening / closing mechanism 14, cool air can flow between the freezing room 40 and the refrigerator compartment 30.

In the refrigerator having such a configuration, if a leak of refrigerant gas occurs, the gas sensor 3A or 3B detects the leak depending on the location of the leak. In this case, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the controller 9 operates the door opening operation mechanism 2 for the refrigerator compartment door 1 to forcibly open the refrigerator compartment door 1,
The cooling fan motors 4A and 4B are forcibly rotated, and the damper mechanism 14 is opened to connect the freezing room 40 and the refrigerating room 30. The alarm 13 is operated to record a gas leak in the flash memory while defrosting. The heater 10, the deodorizing device 11, and the compressor 12 are stopped.

Thus, the smooth flow of air between the freezer compartment 40 and the refrigerating compartment 30 can be promoted through the damper mechanism 14, and even if a refrigerant gas leak occurs in the freezer compartment cooling system, the refrigerant gas leaks. Even if an accident occurs in which the freezer compartment 40 is filled, outside air can be introduced by forcibly opening the door 1 on the refrigeration compartment 30 side, and the gas concentration of the refrigerant gas in the refrigerator can be effectively reduced.

Incidentally, depending on the structure of the refrigerator, the cooling fan 4
In some refrigerators, refrigerant gas can be smoothly circulated only by opening the damper mechanism 14 without forcibly rotating the cooling fans 4A and 4B. May not be controlled to forcibly rotate.

Next, a refrigerator according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Fifth
The embodiment of the present invention is directed to a refrigerator that cools the refrigerator compartment 30 and the freezer compartment 40 individually by independent cooling systems, and the door opening power mechanism is provided by the door 1 of the refrigerator compartment 30 and the door 7 of the refrigerator compartment 40. In addition, a refrigerator having a structure provided with a protection function for detecting gas leaks.

That is, a door opening power mechanism 2A is provided for the refrigerator compartment door 1, a door opening power mechanism 2B is provided for the freezer compartment door 7, and the freezer compartment 6 is provided together with the door sensor 6A for the refrigerator compartment door 1. A door sensor 6B for the door 7 is also provided, and the controller 9 activates the door opening power mechanism 2A for the refrigerator compartment door 1 when the refrigerator compartment gas sensor 3A detects a gas leak, and freezes when the freezer compartment gas sensor 3B detects a gas leak. The door opening power mechanism 2B for a room door or the like is operated. The protection operation against gas leak detection by these gas sensors 3A and 3B follows the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, the forced circulation by the cooling fan may be performed together with the forced opening control of the door opening power mechanism by detecting the gas leak.

Thus, even in the refrigerator of the fifth embodiment, even if a refrigerant gas leak accident occurs in either the refrigerator compartment 30 or the freezer compartment 40, the gas concentration in the cooling compartment cannot be ignited by dilution with air. It can be rapidly reduced to low concentrations.

In any of the second to fifth embodiments, as in the case of the first embodiment, once the door 1 or 7 is forcibly opened, the user performs an operation of closing the door again. In this case, the controller 9 has the function of the flowchart shown in FIG.
It is possible to prevent the gas concentration in the refrigerator from rising again to a high concentration suitable for ignition.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if an accident occurs in which the refrigerant gas leaks into the cooling chamber, the refrigerant gas concentration in the cooling chamber is reliably diluted to a concentration at which there is no risk of ignition. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a front view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment with a door opened.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control function of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing an air circulation operation at the time of detecting a gas leak in the refrigerator of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing an air circulation operation at the time of detecting a gas leak in the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control function of the refrigerator according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing an air circulation operation at the time of detecting a gas leak in a refrigerator according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control function of the refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view showing an air circulation operation at the time of detecting a gas leak in a refrigerator according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a control function of the refrigerator according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control operation when the door is closed after the gas detection operation by the refrigerator of the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Door 2, 2A, 2B Power mechanism for opening door 3, 3A, 3B Gas sensor 4, 4A, 4B Cooling fan, fan motor 5, 5A, 5B Cooler 6, 6A, 6B Door sensor 7 Door 8 Door knob (user contact function section) 9) controller 10 defrost heater 11 deodorizer 12 compressor 13 alarm 14 damper mechanism

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator provided with a door opening power mechanism for automatically opening a door, comprising: a sensor for detecting refrigerant gas floating in the refrigerator; and opening the door when the sensor detects refrigerant gas. And a control means for opening the power mechanism. 2. An electric fan provided for agitating air in the refrigerator, wherein the control means opens the power mechanism for opening the door when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas, and controls the electric fan. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is driven. 3. A refrigerator provided with a plurality of cooling chambers which are cooled by individual cooling systems above and below, and having a communication portion for communicating between the respective chambers, wherein the refrigerator is provided for stirring air in the upper cooling chamber. And a sensor that detects refrigerant gas in the upper cooling chamber, a door opening power mechanism that automatically opens the door of the upper cooling chamber, and a communication unit opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the communication unit. And a control means for opening the door opening power mechanism when the sensor detects the refrigerant gas, opening the communication portion opening / closing mechanism, and driving the electric fan. 4. A refrigerator having a plurality of cooling chambers cooled by individual cooling systems, comprising: a sensor for detecting refrigerant gas in each cooling chamber; and a door for automatically opening a door of each cooling chamber. A refrigerator comprising: an opening power mechanism; and control means for opening the door opening power mechanism when the sensor detects refrigerant gas. 5. An electric fan installed for agitating air in each of the cooling chambers, wherein the control means opens the power mechanism for opening the door when the sensor detects refrigerant gas, The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the electric fan is driven. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls to prohibit closing of the door after the power mechanism for opening the door is once opened. .