JP2012007760A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator provided with a refrigeration chamber (including a vegetable chamber) and a freezer and having two or more temperature zones, which can improve energy efficiency by efficiently using a cold storage material according to a cooling operation peculiar to the refrigerator.SOLUTION: The refrigerator includes: a cold storage operation for storing cold in the cold storage material by operating a cold storage unit fan 74 during a refrigerating operation in which cold generated by a refrigerating cycle is circulated by an in-chamber fan 9 with a freezer compartment damper 50 being in the open state; and a cold release operation for releasing cold of the cold storage material by operating the cold storage unit fan 74 during the refrigerating operation in which the cold generated by the refrigerating cycle is circulated by the in-chamber fan 9 with the freezer compartment damper 50 being in the open state.

Description

  In the present invention, the cold energy of the refrigerator is stored as heat (here, "heat storage" means that heat is stored in a substance regardless of the temperature range. In the present invention, it is assumed that heat is stored in a low temperature range. For the sake of simplicity, “heat storage” is referred to as “cold storage.” Similarly, it is provided with cold storage means for discharging the stored cold energy into the surrounding air. The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a cooling means that can store and cool.

  The refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 aims to suppress temperature unevenness and temperature fluctuation in the refrigerator and drying of the food, shorten the cooling operation time after storing the food, and improve the storability of the food. That is, when a cooling plate and a cold storage material are provided as a set on the ceiling surface of the target storage room, and the internal fan (first blower) is operated from the refrigerator cooler on the ceiling surface outside the storage room The ventilation duct is formed so that cold energy is stored in the cooling plate and the cold storage material by the generated cold air. In addition, a second blower is provided to circulate the air in the storage room, and temperature unevenness in the storage room is eliminated.

  In the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2, an object is to provide a detachable cold storage material in the cabinet and to select an optimal storage method according to the food stored by the user. For the preservation of fruits and vegetables, an indirect cooling method that does not directly supply cold air is superior from the viewpoint of drying prevention.

  As described above, in order to cope with the load fluctuation in the warehouse, a plurality of patent documents have been filed for refrigerators that use cold storage materials in addition to the cooling means of the refrigerator.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-35460 (see FIG. 3) JP 2009-192109 A (see FIG. 2)

  Each of the refrigerators described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 is a cooling method that uses a cold storage material to suppress temperature fluctuations in the storage room, such as elimination of temperature unevenness in the storage room and prevention of low-temperature food damage. It can be expected to improve the performance. However, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 do not describe a cold storage method or a cooling method according to a cooling operation peculiar to a refrigerator, and have completely studied an operation method for improving energy saving performance of a refrigerator using a cold storage material. There wasn't.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem, and in a refrigerator having a plurality of temperature zones including a refrigerator compartment (including a vegetable compartment) and a freezer compartment, the cool storage material is efficiently used according to the cooling operation unique to the refrigerator. And it makes it a subject to provide the refrigerator which can improve energy-saving property.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a refrigerator having a plurality of temperature zones provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, a refrigerator compartment cold air control means for introducing and shutting off the cold air to the refrigerator compartment, and the freezer compartment The cooling room cool air control means for introducing and shutting off the cool air, the cooler constituting the refrigerating cycle together with the compressor, the first blower for blowing the cool air generated by the cooler, and the refrigerating cycle generated Controls cool storage / cooling means for storing and cooling cool energy, a second fan for blowing air to the cool storage / cooling means, the refrigerator compartment cool air control means, the freezer compartment cool air control means, the first fan and the second fan. And a control means. By having a means for storing the cold energy obtained by the refrigeration cycle in the regenerator material and a means for letting it cool, a part of the heat load of the refrigerator when the heat load is high is leveled using the regenerator material. .

  According to the present invention, in a refrigerator having a plurality of temperature zones provided with a refrigerator compartment (including a vegetable compartment) and a freezer compartment, the heat in the refrigerator is provided in the cold storage unit constituted by the cold storage material provided in the cooling chamber and a dedicated fan. Energy saving is taken into account by storing cold when the door is light and the door is less open or closed, or during nighttime when the ambient air temperature of the refrigerator is low, and when the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is high. In addition, when the refrigerator is used frequently in the daytime and the heat load in the warehouse is large, cold energy can be taken out from the cold storage material with a dedicated fan, and by using the cooling operation from the cold storage material and the refrigeration cycle in combination, Energy saving can be achieved by operating the compressor at a low speed. Therefore, in addition to improving the preservability of food using conventional cold storage materials, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that also considers energy saving.

It is a front external view of the refrigerator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. 1 which shows the structure in the store | warehouse | chamber of a refrigerator. It is a front view which shows arrangement | positioning etc. of the cold air duct of a refrigerator, and a cold air outlet. It is an example of the schematic diagram which shows a cool storage unit. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 4 which shows a cool storage unit. It is the figure which showed typically the general life pattern of the user of a refrigerator, the thermal load of the refrigerator corresponding to it, and the temperature of the refrigerator installation place. It is a Mollier diagram showing the operating condition of a refrigerator. It is a graph which shows the temperature change of the cool storage material at the time of cold storage (solidification). It is a graph which shows the temperature change of the cool storage material at the time of standing_to_cool. It is a flowchart which shows the outline at the time of storing cold in a cool storage unit. It is a driving | running state of the refrigerator at the time of a cool storage driving | operation, and the operation state figure of the apparatus regarding it. It is a flowchart which shows the outline in the case of using together cool-down operation at the time of freezing operation. It is a state figure of the operation condition of the refrigerator at the time of carrying out a cooling operation at the time of freezing operation, and the apparatus about it. It is a flowchart which shows the outline in the case of implementing cool-down operation at the time of refrigeration operation. It is a driving | running state of the refrigerator at the time of implementing cool-down operation at the time of refrigeration operation, and the state diagram of the apparatus regarding it. It is a flowchart which shows the outline in the case of implementing a natural cooling operation during the frost cooling operation implemented while a compressor is OFF. It is a driving | running state of the refrigerator at the time of carrying out natural cooling operation during the frost cooling operation implemented while a compressor is OFF, and the state diagram of the apparatus regarding it. It is a flowchart which shows the outline in the case of implementing a natural cooling operation during a defrost operation. It is a state figure of the operation | movement condition of the refrigerator at the time of implementing cool-down operation during a defrost operation, and the apparatus regarding it.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment is provided with the refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 from the upper direction. The refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making compartment 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are set to temperature zones suitable for their respective functions. In the following description, the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, and the lower freezing chamber 5 are collectively referred to as a freezing temperature zone chamber (hereinafter abbreviated as a freezing chamber) 60, and the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable chamber 6 are collectively referred to. Sometimes referred to as a refrigerated temperature zone 61.

  The refrigerating room 2 is provided with a left and right refrigerating room doors 2a and 2b divided on the front side, and the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the vegetable room 6 are each a drawer type ice making room. The door 3a, the upper freezer compartment door 4a, the lower freezer compartment door 5a, and the vegetable compartment door 6a are provided. Hereinafter, the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b, the ice making compartment door 3a, the upper freezer compartment door 4a, the lower freezer compartment door 5a, and the vegetable compartment door 6a are simply referred to as doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a.

  In the refrigerator 1, the door sensor (not shown) that detects the open / closed state of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a and the state determined as the door open state are continued for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) or more. In this case, an alarm (not shown) for notifying the user, a temperature setting device (not shown) for setting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 and the temperature setting of the freezing temperature zone 60 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outside of the refrigerator 1 and the inside of the refrigerator are separated by a heat insulating box 10 formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (foamed polyurethane). Further, the heat insulating box 10 of the refrigerator 1 is mounted with a vacuum heat insulating material 25.

  In the refrigerator 1, the refrigerator compartment 2 is separated from the upper freezer compartment 4 and the ice making chamber 3 (see FIG. 1) by the heat insulating partition wall 28, and the lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by the heat insulating partition wall 29. Are separated.

  The refrigerator compartment 2 is provided with a plurality of door pockets 32 inside the doors 2a and 2b (see FIG. 1), and is partitioned into a plurality of storage spaces in the vertical direction by a plurality of shelves 36.

  The upper freezer compartment 4, the lower freezer compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are respectively provided with storage containers 4b, 5b, 6b that are pulled out integrally with doors 4a, 5a, 6a provided in front of the respective compartments. The storage containers 4b, 5b and 6b can be pulled out by placing a hand on a handle portion (not shown) of 4a, 5a and 6a and pulling it out to the front side. Similarly, the ice making chamber 3 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an unillustrated storage container (indicated by (3b) in FIG. 2) integrally with the door 3a. The container 3b can be pulled out by pulling it out.

  The upper freezer compartment 4 is configured to be used as a quick freezer compartment. In order to improve the quick freezing performance, the storage container 4b of the upper freezer compartment 4 is provided with an aluminum tray (not shown) so that the freezing speed is improved.

  The refrigerator 1 includes a cooler 7, an internal fan 9 (first blower), a refrigerating room air duct 11, a freezer room air duct 12, a refrigerating room damper (a refrigerating room cold air control means, hereinafter abbreviated as R damper). 20, a freezer compartment damper (freezer compartment cold air control means; hereinafter abbreviated as F damper) 50, a cold storage unit 70, a control device 100, and the like.

  The cooler 7 is a heat exchanger (cooler, evaporator) that is disposed substantially behind the lower freezer compartment 5 and performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and air, and is provided in the cooler storage chamber 8. The cooler 7 is connected to a compressor 24 via a pipe (not shown) downstream of the cooler 7. The cooler 7 is connected downstream of the compressor 24 via a condenser (not shown) and a decompression means (capillary tube). It is configured to be connected to. That is, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 24 to be changed into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, and is liquefied while releasing heat from the condenser. The liquefied refrigerant is decompressed by decompression means, and cool air is generated by taking heat from the ambient air by the cooler 7.

  The internal fan 9 is attached to the cooler storage chamber 8 above the cooler 7. When the internal fan 9 is operated, the air cooled by the heat exchange with the cooler 7 (cooler cool air, hereinafter referred to as cooler cool air) Is sent to the refrigerating room 2 through the refrigerating room air duct 11, and is sent to each of the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5, and the ice making room 3 through the freezing room air duct 12. Air blowing to each chamber is controlled by opening and closing the R damper 20 and the F damper 50.

  The R damper 20 is installed at the entrance of the refrigerator compartment air duct 11. The R damper 20 is controlled so as to be closed by the control device 100 described later, whereby the flow of the cooler cool air to the refrigerating chamber 2 is blocked.

  Further, the F damper 50 is installed on the back of the upper freezer compartment 4. The F damper 50 is controlled so as to be closed by the control device 100 described later, whereby the flow of cooler cool air to the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, and the lower freezing chamber 5 is blocked.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerating room air duct 11 is disposed between the refrigerating room 2 and the heat insulating box 10 on the back side (see FIG. 2), and extends in the up-down direction and in the left-right direction. And formed in a T shape in a front view. The refrigerating room air duct 11 has a plurality of air outlets 2 c through which cool air blows into the refrigerating room 2.

  The freezer compartment air duct 12 is formed on the back of the inside of the freezing temperature zone 60 (the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, and the lower freezer compartment 5). Further, the freezer compartment air duct 12 has a blowout port 3 c formed in the upper rear portion of the ice making chamber 3, a blowout port 4 c formed in the upper rear portion of the upper freezer compartment 4, and a plurality of blowout tubes in the upper rear portion of the lower freezer compartment 5. A mouth 5c is formed.

  When the R damper 20 is in the open state and the F damper 50 (see FIG. 2) is in the closed state, cooler cool air is sent from the outlet 2c to the refrigerator compartment 2 via the refrigerator compartment air duct 11. The cooler cooler that has finished cooling the refrigerator compartment 2 flows out of the refrigerator compartment return port 2d provided at the lower right side of the back of the refrigerator compartment 2, and the rear side of the vegetable compartment 6 through the refrigerator compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 16. The vegetable compartment 6 is cooled by flowing into the vegetable compartment 6 from the vegetable compartment outlet 6c provided on the upper right side. The cooler air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 6 is supplied from the vegetable compartment return port 6d (see FIG. 2) provided in front of the lower part of the heat insulating partition wall 29 via the vegetable compartment return duct 18 (see FIG. 2). 7 returns to the cooler 7 from the vegetable room return outlet 18 a having a width substantially equal to the width of 7.

  Further, when the F damper 50 is in the open state, the cooler cool air heat-exchanged by the cooler 7 is pressurized by the internal fan 9 and passes through the freezer compartment air duct 12 from the outlets 3c, 4c and 5c, respectively. 3. Air is sent to the upper freezer compartment 4 and the lower freezer compartment 5.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the defrost heater 22 is provided below the cooler storage chamber 8 in which the cooler 7 is stored. The defrosting heater 22 is, for example, a glass tube heater, and includes an aluminum radiating fin (not shown) on the outer periphery of the glass tube. Further, an upper cover (not shown) for preventing defrost water from dripping onto the defrost heater 22 is provided above the defrost heater 22.

  The frost adhering to the wall of the cooler 7 and the cooler storage chamber 8 in the vicinity thereof is dissolved during the defrosting operation, and the defrosted water generated at that time is a soot (toy) provided at the lower part of the cooler storage chamber 8. ) 23, then reaches the evaporating tray 21 disposed in the machine room 19 through the drain pipe 27 and is evaporated by the heat generated by the compressor 24 and a condenser (not shown) disposed in the machine room 19. .

  A cooler temperature sensor 35 attached to the cooler 7 is located at the upper left as viewed from the front of the cooler 7. The temperature of the cooler 7 (hereinafter referred to as the cooler temperature), the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 (hereinafter referred to as the refrigerator temperature), and the temperature of the lower freezer compartment 5 (hereinafter referred to as the freezer temperature), respectively. Can be detected). Furthermore, the refrigerator 1 includes an outside temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature outside the refrigerator. The vegetable room 6 is also provided with a vegetable room temperature sensor (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cold storage unit 70 is provided in the upper freezer compartment 4 located below the heat insulating partition wall 28. The cold storage unit 70 includes a cold storage container 71 that encloses a cold storage material (cold storage and cooling means) 72 (see FIG. 5), a duct 73 that houses the cold storage container 71 therein, and a cold storage dedicated to the cold storage material that controls cold storage and cooling. A unit fan (second blower) 74, a tray 75, a cold storage material temperature sensor (cool storage state detection means) 76, and the like are included.

  In FIG. 4, the cold storage unit 70 is installed in the upper part of the upper freezer compartment 4, but in order to reduce the influence of the storage space of the upper freezer room 4, the cold storage unit 70 is stored in the projection plane of the freezer compartment front partition 40. The unit 70 may be incorporated. Moreover, in the following embodiment, although the case where the cool storage unit 70 is provided in the upper freezer compartment 4 is described as an example, the embodiment is not limited to the freezing temperature zone 60 (see FIG. 1). Alternatively, the cold storage unit 70 may be provided in the vegetable compartment 6. However, even if the cold storage unit 70 is installed in any place, it is essential that the cold storage material suitable for the temperature zone to be installed, that is, the temperature when installed is equal to or lower than the freezing point temperature of the cold storage material.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the cold storage container 71 includes a flat box-shaped case 71 a filled with the cold storage material 72 and a plurality of fins 71 b. The cold storage container 71 is made of a metal material having excellent thermal conductivity such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy. The fins 71b are formed so as to protrude from the surface (upper surface and lower surface) of the case 71a, so that the heat transfer area is expanded and the heat transfer between the cold storage container 71 and ambient air is promoted. Note that the fins 71b are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction and are formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

  The duct 73 is formed in a box shape that accommodates the cold storage container 71, has an inlet 73 a (see FIG. 4) through which air (cold air) is introduced at the back, and exhausts air (cold air) at the front. An outlet 73b (see FIG. 4) is formed. Further, the duct 73 is configured such that the inner wall thereof is in contact with the tips of the fins 71b, so that the space surrounded by the adjacent fins 71b and 71b and the wall surface of the duct 73 is an air path through which cool air flows. S is configured to function as S.

  The cold storage unit fan 74 is dedicated to a cold storage material that controls cold storage and cooling, and is attached to the inlet 73 a of the duct 73. When the cold storage unit fan 74 is operated (actuated), cold air in the freezing temperature zone 60 (see FIG. 1) is introduced into the duct 73 through the introduction port 73a. In addition, the control which cools and stores the cool storage material 72 will be described later.

  The regenerator material 72 filled in the regenerator container 71 has its melting point (freezing point) determined depending on which temperature zone in the refrigerator 1 is installed. The regenerator material 72 is a latent heat regenerator material with phase change, and as a regenerator material when used in the freezing temperature zone chamber 60, for example, a mixture of water and calcium chloride is used.

  Further, in order to promote heat transfer between the cool storage material 72 in the cool storage container 71 and the ambient air, it is desirable to use a metal as the cool storage container 71. However, when salts are used for the cool storage material 72, the corrosiveness to the metal is reduced. In consideration, it is preferable to apply a coating using a resin or the like on the surface (inner wall surface) of the metal container that is in direct contact with the cold storage material 72.

  The tray 75 receives the cold storage material 72 leaked when the cold storage container 71 is damaged due to corrosion or the like, and is disposed below the duct 73 (the cold storage container 71). Thereby, it can prevent that the cold storage material 72 which leaked contacts foods, such as the inside of the upper stage freezer compartment 4. FIG.

  The temperature sensor 76 can detect the state of the cold storage material 72 (liquid or solid state). In the following description, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 76 is the cold storage unit temperature.

  In addition, the structure of the said cool storage unit 70 is an example, and is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the whole cool storage container 71 may be formed of a resin material. Further, the shape of the cold storage container 71 is not limited to the fin shape, and may be an uneven shape. That is, there exists a form of the cold storage unit 70 according to the cold storage speed of the cold storage unit 70 necessary for energy saving operation of the refrigerator 1 or the cooling rate.

  The control device (control means) 100 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), an interface circuit, and the like, and is arranged on the upper surface side of the ceiling wall of the refrigerator 1. (See FIG. 2). The control device 100 is connected to the temperature sensors 33, 34, 35, and 76, and detects the open / closed state of each door of the doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a. 2 is connected to a temperature setter or the like (not shown) provided on the inner wall.

  Further, the control device 100 controls the ON / OFF of the compressor 24, the control of the respective actuators (not shown) that individually drive the R damper 20 and the F damper 50, and the storage by the program previously installed in the ROM. Control such as ON / OFF control and rotation speed control of the inner fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74, and ON / OFF of an alarm for notifying the door open state described above are performed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a general life pattern of a refrigerator user, a corresponding heat load of the refrigerator, and a temperature of the refrigerator installation place. An example of the life pattern of the user of the refrigerator 1 is shown below. In other words, getting up and preparing breakfast around 6:00 am to 8:00 am, preparing lunch around 11:00 to 13:00, going shopping in the evening, storing food in the refrigerator after returning home, preparing dinner, full family, sleeping It becomes. Generally, the door opening / closing frequency of the refrigerator 1 tends to increase during the meal preparation time zone and the food storage time zone after shopping, and the heat load of the refrigerator 1 increases accordingly. In particular, it is expected that the number of times of opening and closing the door will increase because the number of users of the refrigerator 1 increases from dinner for the whole family to the family, resulting in the highest heat load. As a result, the rotational speed of the compressor 24 is increased and consumed. Electricity increases.

  On the other hand, since the door is not opened and closed during the nighttime sleeping hours, the heat load of the refrigerator 1 is low, and the compressor 24 is rotated at a low rotational speed only by heat intrusion from outside the cabinet. Yes. Refrigerator 1 is often placed in a kitchen (kitchen) and is generally an air-conditioned space. However, the temperature at night tends to be low throughout the year (outer air during nighttime decreases in summer, and in winter, The temperature at night is generally lower because heating is relaxed).

  By the way, as shown in the Mollier diagram of FIG. 7, in the refrigerator 1 using the refrigeration cycle, heat radiation from the condenser (not shown) of the refrigerator 1 is accelerated in an environment where the ambient temperature of the refrigerator 1 is low (nighttime). Therefore, the condensation temperature becomes lower than the daytime condensation temperature (see white arrow A), and as a result, the input of the compressor 24 is reduced (see white arrow B), and an energy saving operation can be realized.

  In addition, the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 1 is determined in the summer when the door of the refrigerator 1 is often opened and closed, and is determined assuming that a large amount of food is put at a time. The cooling capacity is surplus. In the daytime when the ambient temperature of the refrigerator 1 is high and the heat load of the refrigerator 1 is high, it is good from the viewpoint of energy saving to perform the operation in which the rotation speed of the compressor 24 is increased to increase the cooling capacity. I can't say that.

  Therefore, in consideration of the life pattern of the user of the refrigerator 1 and the ambient temperature around the refrigerator as described above, a part of the heat load during the daytime when the heat load of the refrigerator 1 becomes high is It can be considered that the load is leveled by shifting to a small time zone, that is, a time zone in which the user is sleeping. As described above, since the temperature around the refrigerator 1 during the bedtime becomes low, when the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is high, cold energy is stored in the cold storage unit 70, thereby improving load leveling and improving energy saving by cold storage. It becomes possible to achieve both.

  FIG. 8 shows the temperature change of the cold storage material during cold storage (liquid → solid). The temperature of the cold storage material 72 is measured by a temperature sensor 76 provided in the cold storage unit 70. Incidentally, there are two types of regenerator material 72, a latent heat regenerator material with phase change and a sensible heat regenerator material without phase change. Since the latent heat regenerator material releases latent heat at the time of phase change, it has a high regenerator density. Therefore, the capacity of the regenerator material 72 can be reduced, and is suitable for use in a refrigerator that requires space saving.

  When cold energy is stored in the cold storage material 72, that is, when the liquid cold storage material 72 is cooled and solidified, the cold storage material 72 is solidified using a part of the cold air that cools the freezing temperature zone 60. Compared to the case without 72, the heat load of the freezing temperature zone 60 is increased. However, by using the night time zone for cold storage, less energy is required to store the same amount of heat as much as the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle than when storing the same amount of heat during the day time (see FIG. 7). Also, nighttime power is generally inexpensive.

  In addition, the temperature of the regenerator material 72 decreases with time, and as shown by a symbol s1 in FIG. 8, there may be a supercooling phenomenon that temporarily lowers than the solidification temperature T1, but when supercooling is released, latent heat is reduced. The temperature of the regenerator material rises due to the release, and as shown by the symbol s2 in FIG. During this time, since the regenerator 72 changes from a liquid to a solid, the heat released from the regenerator 72 is sent to the cooler 7 by the cool air circulating in the freezing temperature zone chamber 60 and is absorbed by the cooler 7. As shown at time t1, when the phase change ends, the temperature gradually approaches the inside temperature of the upper freezer compartment 4 in which the cold storage unit 70 is installed. The cold storage unit 70 is provided with a cold storage unit fan 74. The cold storage unit fan 74 is operated to increase the cold storage speed during the freezing operation, and the cold storage unit fan is used during the refrigerating operation in which no cold air is supplied to the freezing temperature zone chamber 60. 74 is stopped. When the cold storage completion temperature T2 is reached, the cold storage unit fan 74 is stopped. In FIG. 8, the temperature change during cold storage until the phase change is linear, but in an actual refrigerator, for example, cooling air is blown in the order of cooling of the freezer compartment, turning off the compressor, and cooling the refrigerator compartment. Therefore, the temperature drop of the regenerator 72 is not necessarily linear.

  FIG. 9 shows the temperature change of the regenerator material during cooling (solid → liquid). The method of using the cold energy stored in the cold storage material 72 will be described later, but the cold storage unit fan 74 is operated to control the heat exchange between the cold storage container 71 and the surrounding air so that it can be used when the cold energy is desired. The basic usage is to cause the regenerator material 72 to absorb the heat load in the refrigerating temperature zone chamber 60 (this increases the temperature of the regenerator material) and to reduce the air temperature in the refrigerating temperature zone chamber 60. . When the ambient air is cooled by using the cold energy stored in the cold storage material 72, the temperature of the cold storage material 72 kept at the temperature in the freezing temperature zone chamber 60 rises and melts when the melting point (melting temperature) T3 is reached. From the release of the latent heat, the temperature of the regenerator 72 is kept substantially constant as indicated by reference numeral s3 in FIG. When the melting is completed, the temperature of the cold storage material 72 rises, but by providing the cooling completion temperature T4, an increase in the heat load on the freezing temperature zone chamber 60 is prevented.

  Next, the cold storage operation and the cooling operation of the cold storage material 72 will be described assuming that the cold storage unit 70 is installed in a freezing temperature zone chamber (hereinafter abbreviated as a freezing chamber) 60. First, an operation method (cold storage operation) when storing cold in the cold storage unit 70 (cold storage material 72) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline when cold storage is performed in the cold storage unit, and FIG. 11 is an operation state diagram of the refrigerator and the operation state of the related equipment during the cold storage operation. This flow is performed every night (midnight) by a timer or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 10, at the time of refrigeration operation (F operation), in step S100, the control device 100 opens the F damper 50, closes the R damper 20, and turns on the internal fan 9 so that the cooler 7 The freezer compartment 60 is cooled by the cold air (cooler cold air) generated in step (1). At this time, in order to store cold in the cold storage material 72 installed in the freezer compartment 60, the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned on (operated) in conjunction with the freezing operation. That is, the cool storage unit fan 74 is operated while supplying cool air to the freezer compartment 60, and the cool storage operation for storing cool air (cold energy) in the cool storage material 72 is performed.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S110, and the control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached the lower limit value by the freezer compartment temperature sensor 34 that detects the freezer compartment temperature provided in the freezer compartment 60. The lower limit is set to the lowest temperature within the temperature range suitable for storing food in the freezer compartment 60.

  In step S110, when it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the lower limit value (S110, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S110 and determines that the freezer temperature has reached the lower limit value. If yes (S110, Yes), the process proceeds to step S120.

  In step S120, the control device 100 determines whether or not the cold storage unit temperature is higher than the cold storage completion temperature by the temperature sensor 76 that detects the cold storage unit temperature installed in the cold storage unit 70. The cold storage completion temperature is set to a temperature slightly higher than the lower limit value of the freezer temperature, for example.

  In step S120, when the control device 100 determines that the cool storage unit temperature is higher than the cool storage completion temperature (Yes), the control device 100 proceeds to step S130, and determines that the cool storage unit temperature is equal to or lower than the cool storage completion temperature. (No), the process proceeds to step S180.

  If the cold storage unit temperature is still higher than the cold storage completion temperature, in step S130, the control device 100 turns off the compressor 24, turns off (stops) the internal fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74, and further The F damper 50 is closed.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S140, and the control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached a temperature (threshold value) at which the compressor 24 is turned on. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on (S140, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S140, and the freezer temperature is turned on by the compressor 24. If it is determined that the temperature reaches (S140, Yes), the process proceeds to step S150.

  When the freezer compartment temperature reaches a temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on, in step S150, the control device 100 starts a refrigerating operation (R operation). At this time, the R damper 20 is opened, and the compressor 24 and the internal fan 9 are turned on. Thereby, the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled by the cold air from the cooler 7.

  And it progresses to step S160 and the control apparatus 100 judges whether the refrigerator compartment temperature reached | attained the lower limit by the refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 33 which detects the refrigerator compartment temperature installed in the refrigerator compartment 2. FIG. In addition, a lower limit is set to the minimum temperature of the temperature suitable for preservation | save of the foodstuff in the refrigerator compartment 2.

  In step S160, when it is determined that the refrigerator compartment temperature has not reached the lower limit value (No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S160 and determines that the refrigerator compartment temperature has reached the lower limit value. If (Yes), the process proceeds to step S170.

  In step S170, the control device 100 determines whether or not the cold storage unit temperature is higher than the cold storage completion temperature. When the control device 100 determines that the cold storage unit temperature is higher than the cold storage completion temperature, that is, the cold storage unit temperature is not sufficiently lowered (S170, Yes), the control device 100 returns to step S100 and performs the refrigeration operation, that is, the F damper. 50 is opened, the R damper 20 is closed, and the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned on to restart the cold storage operation.

  In Step S170, control device 100 progresses to Step S180, when it judges that cool storage unit temperature is below cool storage completion temperature, ie, cool storage unit temperature fell to cool storage completion temperature (S170, No).

  In step S180, the control device 100 ends the cold storage operation. In the case where the cold storage operation is performed after returning to the freezing operation in step S100, when the freezer compartment temperature reaches the lower limit (S110, Yes) and the cold storage unit temperature becomes equal to or lower than the cold storage completion temperature (S120). No), the cold storage unit fan 74 is stopped, and the cold storage operation is finished.

  In step S190, the control device 100 repeats the refrigeration operation (S100), the compressor 24 is turned off (the internal fan 9 is turned off), and the refrigeration operation (S150) is repeated.

  Further, with reference to FIG. 11, during the freezing operation (S100), when the freezer temperature reaches the lower limit value at time t10 (S110, Yes), the compressor 24, the cold storage unit fan 74 and the internal fan 9 are turned on. It is turned off and the F damper 50 is closed (S130). Thereby, since the cooler 7 stops, the freezer compartment temperature rises. Moreover, since the cool storage unit fan 74 stops, the cool storage unit temperature does not decrease.

  At time t11, when the freezer temperature reaches a preset temperature for turning on the compressor 24 (S140, Yes), the compressor 24 and the internal fan 9 are turned on, and the R damper 20 is opened. Shift to refrigeration operation (S150). Thereby, although the refrigerator compartment temperature falls, since the F damper 50 is closed and cold air is not supplied to the freezer compartment 60, the freezer compartment temperature rises.

  At time t12, when the refrigerator temperature reaches the preset lower limit (S160, Yes) and the cool storage unit temperature is higher than the cool storage completion temperature (S170, Yes), the F damper 50 is opened. Then, the R damper 20 is closed, the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned ON, and the operation is shifted again to the freezing operation (S100), and the cold storage operation is simultaneously performed.

  At time t13, when the freezer compartment temperature reaches the lower limit (S120, Yes), the compressor 24, the internal fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74 are turned off, and the F damper 50 is closed.

  Note that at time t14 during the refrigeration operation, the cool storage unit temperature has decreased to the cool storage completion temperature, but the cool storage unit fan 74 is not turned off here, and the cool storage unit fan 74 is reached when the freezer temperature reaches the lower limit value. Is turned off to end the cold storage operation. However, even during the refrigeration operation, the cold storage unit fan 74 may be turned off when the cold storage unit temperature decreases to the cold storage completion temperature.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the cold storage operation is performed together with the refrigeration operation, the cold storage unit temperature gradually decreases, and after a phase change phenomenon (see FIG. 8), a predetermined cold storage completion temperature (cold storage completion). The temperature is set to be equal to or lower than the solidification temperature of the cold storage material), that is, when the temperature of the freezer compartment around the cold storage unit 70 is substantially reached, it is determined that the cold storage is completed. As described with reference to FIG. 6, the timing for performing the cold storage operation simultaneously with the normal cooling operation is desirably performed in the bedtime period in which the frequency of use by the user of the refrigerator 1 is reduced. In addition, an energy-saving operation can be performed by performing a cold storage operation at night (during steady operation) when the ambient temperature is low, and it is also possible for a user to use a late-night power discount system.

  Next, an operation method (cooling operation) at the time of cooling from the cold storage unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. 12 is a flowchart in the case of using the cooling operation during the refrigeration operation, and FIG. 13 is an operation state of the refrigerator and a state diagram of the equipment related to the cooling operation in the cooling operation during the refrigeration operation. This flow is performed by a timer, for example, in the evening.

  As shown in FIG. 12, during the refrigeration operation (F operation), in step S200, the control device 100 opens the F damper 50, closes the R damper 20, and turns on the internal fan 9, thereby cooling the cooler 7. The freezer compartment 60 is cooled by the cold air (cooler cold air) generated in step (1). At this time, in order to cool the cool storage material 72 installed in the freezer compartment 60, the cool storage unit fan 74 is turned on (operated) in conjunction with the freezing operation. Incidentally, although the freezer compartment 60 is conventionally cooled by operating the refrigerating cycle (operating the compressor), in the present embodiment, the cooling energy stored in the regenerator 72 is also used by cooling the freezer compartment 60, The cold storage material combined operation is performed in which a part of the heat load of the freezer compartment 60 is supplemented by the cold storage material 72. That is, the cold storage unit fan 74 is operated in accordance with the cooling air sent to the freezer compartment 60 and cooled, and the freezer compartment 60 is also used to cool the freezer compartment 60.

  In step S210, control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached the lower limit value. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the lower limit value (S210, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S210, and when it is determined that the freezer temperature has reached the lower limit value. (S210, Yes), the process proceeds to step S220.

  In step S220, the control device 100 turns off all of the compressor 24, the internal fan 9, and the cold storage unit fan 74, and closes the F damper 50.

  And it progresses to step S230 and the control apparatus 100 judges whether the freezer compartment temperature reached the temperature from which the compressor 24 turns ON. When the control device 100 determines that the freezer temperature has not reached the temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on (S230, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S230, and the freezer temperature is turned on by the compressor 24. If it is determined that the temperature reaches (S230, Yes), the process proceeds to step S240.

  In step S240, the control device 100 shifts to a refrigeration operation (R operation). At this time, the compressor 24 and the internal fan 9 are turned on, and the R damper 20 is opened. Thereby, the cold air from the cooler 7 is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2, and the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled.

  And it progresses to step S250 and the control apparatus 100 judges whether the refrigerator compartment temperature reached | attained the lower limit. When it is determined that the refrigerating room temperature has not reached the lower limit value (S250, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S250, and when it is determined that the refrigerating room temperature has reached the lower limit value. (S250, Yes), the process proceeds to step S260.

  In step S260, the control device 100 determines whether or not the cold storage unit temperature is lower than the cooling completion temperature. When the controller 100 determines that the cool storage unit temperature is lower than the cool-off completion temperature (S260, Yes), the control device 100 returns to step S200, opens the F damper 50, closes the R damper 20, and starts from the cool storage material 72. The cool storage unit fan 74 is turned on to restart the cooling operation. Further, when the control device 100 determines that the cool storage unit temperature is not lower than the cool-off completion temperature, that is, the cool storage unit temperature is equal to or higher than the cool-off completion temperature (S260, No), the control device 100 proceeds to step S270.

  In step S270, the control device 100 ends the cooling operation. Although not shown, in the subsequent stage of step S200 (refrigeration operation and cooling operation), in the same manner as in step S260, it is determined whether or not the cooling storage unit temperature is lower than the cooling completion temperature. When the temperature is equal to or higher than the cooling completion temperature, the cooling operation may be terminated.

  In step S280, the control device 100 repeats the refrigeration operation (S200), the compressor 24 is turned off (the internal fan 9 is also turned off), and the refrigeration operation (S250).

  Further, with reference to FIG. 13, during the freezing operation (S200), when the freezer temperature reaches the lower limit value at time t20 (S210, Yes), the compressor 24, the cold storage unit fan 74 and the internal fan 9 are turned on. It is turned OFF and the F damper 50 is closed (S220). Thereby, since the heat absorption by the cooler 7 stops, the freezer compartment temperature rises.

  At time t21, when the freezer compartment temperature reaches a preset temperature for turning on the compressor 24 (S230, Yes), the compressor 24 and the internal fan 9 are turned on, and the R damper 20 is opened. Shift to refrigeration operation (S240). At this time, the temperature of the freezer compartment decreases, but the F damper 50 is OFF, and cold air (cooler cold air) is not supplied to the freezer compartment 60, so the freezer compartment temperature rises.

  At time t22, when the refrigerator temperature reaches the preset lower limit value (S250, Yes) and the cool storage unit temperature is lower than the cooling completion temperature (S260, Yes), the F damper 50 is turned on. Open, the R damper 20 is closed, the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned on, the refrigeration operation is started again, and the cooling operation is performed at the same time (S200).

  When the freezer compartment temperature reaches the lower limit at time t23 (S210, Yes), the compressor 24, the internal fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74 are turned off, and the F damper 50 is closed.

  Then, at time t24 after the end of the freezing operation, when the cool storage unit temperature becomes equal to or higher than the cooling completion temperature (S260, No), the cooling operation is terminated.

  As described above, when the cooling operation is repeatedly performed together with the refrigeration operation, the cool storage unit temperature gradually increases and undergoes a phase change phenomenon (see FIG. 9), and then the predetermined cooling temperature, that is, the freezing chamber 60 It is judged that the cooling has been completed when the upper limit temperature is almost reached. In addition to the normal cooling operation, the time zone in which the cooling of the freezer compartment 60 is used in combination with the cold storage material 72 is the time zone in which the user of the refrigerator 1 uses the refrigerator 1 as described with reference to FIG. It is desirable to do. Since the operation of taking out the cold heat stored in the time zone where the refrigeration cycle efficiency is high (that is, the cooling operation) can be realized, the compressor 24 can be compared with the operation of cooling only by the refrigeration cycle in the time zone where the frequency of using the refrigerator 1 increases. It is possible to perform an operation at a low rotation speed, and an energy saving operation can be performed.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an outline when the cool-down operation is performed during the refrigeration operation, and FIG. 15 is an operation state of the refrigerator and a state diagram of devices related to the cool-down operation when the cool-down operation is performed during the refrigeration operation. Note that steps S350 to S380 in FIG. 14 are the same as steps S250 to S280 in FIG. 12, and thus description thereof is omitted. Steps S300 to S340 are described below.

  As shown in FIG. 14, during the refrigeration operation (F operation), in step S300, the control device 100 opens the F damper 50, closes the R damper 20, sets the internal fan 9 to ON, and refrigerates by the refrigeration cycle. The chamber 60 is cooled. At this time, the cold storage unit fan 74 is OFF.

  And it progresses to step S310 and the control apparatus 100 judges whether the freezer compartment temperature reached | attained the lower limit. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the lower limit value (S310, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S310, and when it is determined that the freezer temperature has reached the lower limit value. (S310, Yes), it progresses to step S320.

  In step S320, the control device 100 turns off the compressor 24 and the internal fan 9, and closes the F damper 50.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S330, and the control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached a temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on (No at S330), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S330, and the freezer temperature is turned on at the compressor 24. If it is determined that the temperature has reached (S330, Yes), the process proceeds to step S340.

  In step S340, the control device 100 shifts to a refrigeration operation (R operation). At this time, the compressor 24, the cold storage unit fan 74, and the internal fan 9 are turned on, the R damper 20 is opened, and the cold storage operation using the cold storage material 72 is performed during the cold storage operation. Thereby, the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60 during the refrigeration operation is suppressed by the cooling operation of the regenerator 72.

  15, when the freezer compartment temperature reaches a preset temperature for turning on the compressor 24 at time t31 after the compressor 24 is turned off at time t30 (S330, Yes), the compressor 24, the internal fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74 are turned on, the R damper 20 is opened, and the refrigeration operation is started. Thus, during the refrigeration operation, when the F damper 50 is closed, the cold storage unit fan 74 can be turned on to prevent the freezer temperature from rising (freezer temperature at times t31 to t32). reference).

  By the way, as explained with reference to FIG. 6, the door opening / closing of the refrigerator compartment 2 may increase in the time zone when the heat load of the refrigerator 1 is high, and the time for cooling the refrigerator compartment 2 becomes longer accordingly. As described above, by operating the cold storage unit fan 74 during the refrigeration operation, the temperature rise is suppressed by the cooling operation of the cold storage material 72 on the freezer compartment side (see the freezer compartment temperature at t31 to t32). While the chamber 2 is preferentially cooled, the freezing chamber 60 can also be cooled.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an outline when the cooling operation is performed during the frost cooling operation performed while the compressor is OFF, and FIG. 17 is a refrigerator when the cooling operation is performed during the frost cooling operation performed when the compressor is OFF. FIG. 2 is a state diagram of an operation state and a device related thereto. Note that steps S450 to S480 are the same as steps S250 to S280 in FIG. 12, and the description thereof is omitted. Steps S400 to S440 will be described below. In FIG. 17, illustration of the cold storage unit temperature is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 16, during the refrigeration operation (F operation), in step S400, the control device 100 opens the F damper 50, closes the R damper 20, turns on the internal fan 9, and turns the freezer compartment 60 through the refrigeration cycle. Cool down. At this time, the cold storage unit fan 74 is OFF.

  And it progresses to step S410 and the control apparatus 100 judges whether the freezer compartment temperature reached | attained the lower limit. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has not reached the lower limit (S410, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S410, and when it is determined that the freezer temperature has reached the lower limit. (S410, Yes), the process proceeds to step S420.

  In step S420, the control device 100 turns off the compressor 24 with the F damper 50 closed and the R damper 20 opened. Moreover, the control apparatus 100 continues the driving | operation of the internal fan 9 in step S420, and performs frost cooling driving | operation. Furthermore, in step S420, the control device 100 turns on the cold storage unit fan 74, performs the cooling operation of the cold storage material 72, and cools the freezer compartment 60.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S430, and the control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached a temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on. When it is determined that the freezer temperature has reached the temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on (S430, Yes), the control device 100 proceeds to step S440, and when it is determined that the temperature has not reached (S430, No), the process of step S430 is repeated.

  In step S440, the control device 100 turns on the compressor 24 and shifts to the refrigeration operation (R operation). At this time, the cool storage unit fan 74 is turned off.

  In addition, the “frost cooling operation” during OFF of the compressor 24 in step S420 is an operation using the cold energy of the frost that has grown in the cooler 7 and the cooler storage chamber 8 in the vicinity thereof. As described above, the R damper 20 is opened, the F damper 50 is closed, the internal fan 9 is turned on, and part of the heat load in the refrigerator compartment 2 is shifted to frost (at this time, refrigeration is caused by frost. Chamber 2 is cooled). Therefore, during the frost cooling operation, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 2 decreases, and the temperature of the cooler 7 increases as the frost is thawed. In the refrigeration cycle, the cycle efficiency can be increased by increasing the evaporation temperature. Therefore, the evaporating temperature in the refrigeration operation after the frost cooling operation is increased, so that the energy saving operation can be performed as compared with the conventional refrigeration operation.

  By the way, if the frost cooling time is lengthened in order to sufficiently use the cold energy stored in the frost, the time during which the freezing chamber 60 is not cooled is lengthened, so that the temperature rise of the freezing chamber 60 becomes a problem. However, in the present embodiment, the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60 can be suppressed by performing the cooling operation by turning on the cold storage unit fan 74 during the frost cooling operation with the F damper 50 closed. . The cool storage operation of the cool storage material 72 during the frost cooling operation can be performed up to the upper limit temperature required for the cool storage unit temperature to cool the freezer compartment 60, that is, the cool completion temperature.

  Further, with reference to FIG. 17, when the freezer compartment temperature reaches the lower limit at time t40 (S410, Yes), the compressor 24 is turned off and the F damper 50 is closed while the internal fan 9 is kept on. The R damper 20 is opened (S420). Thereby, the air (cold air) cooled with the frost adhering to the cooler 7 etc. is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2, and the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled. Thus, by performing the cooling operation by frost, the temperature of the cooler 7 (cooler temperature) rises by thawing the frost.

  Further, by turning on the cold storage unit fan 74 during the frost cooling operation (S420), the freezer compartment 60 is cooled by the cooling operation of the cold storage material 72. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a large increase in the freezer temperature.

  At time t41, when the freezer temperature reaches a preset temperature at which the compressor 24 is turned on (S430, Yes), the compressor 24 is turned on, the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned off, and the refrigeration operation ( The process proceeds to S440). At this time, when the compressor 24 is driven, moisture in the refrigerator compartment 2 adheres to the cooler 7 as frost, so that the cooler temperature decreases.

  At time t42, when the refrigerator compartment temperature reaches the preset lower limit (S450, Yes) and the cool storage unit temperature is lower than the cool-off completion temperature, the F damper 50 is opened and the R damper 20 is closed. Then, the internal fan 9 is turned off for a short time and the operation is shifted to the freezing operation (S400). The internal fan 9 is turned off only for a short time immediately after the transition to the freezing operation.

  The reason why the internal fan 9 is temporarily turned off is that the temperature of the cool air supplied into the internal space is lowered by lowering the temperature of the cooler 7, and the temperature becomes suitable for cooling the freezer compartment 60. . Incidentally, if the internal fan 9 is not turned off, high-temperature air is supplied to the freezer compartment 60.

  In the present embodiment, the cold storage unit 70 is provided in the freezer compartment 60, and if necessary, when the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60 becomes a problem, the cold storage material 72 is allowed to cool, and the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60 is suppressed. Yes. On the other hand, although there is no newly provided cold storage unit on the refrigerator compartment 2 side, moisture in the refrigerator 1 (mainly refrigerator compartment 2) is frozen and present in the cooler 7 as frost. Frost is water (phase) that turns into ice (frost), and can be treated as a latent heat regenerator that effectively uses the water in the cabinet. Since the melting point of frost is 0 ° C., it is sufficient for cooling the refrigerator compartment 2. If the cold storage process and the cooling process of the latent heat storage material newly provided in the freezer compartment 60 are considered in the same way, the process of storing cold as frost in the cooler 7 is performed during refrigeration operation with a large amount of moisture in the internal air. Is called. Although the cold storage operation of the cold storage material 72 provided in the freezer compartment 60 has been already explained that energy saving is improved by performing it in the nighttime when the temperature of the ambient air of the refrigerator 1 is low, the cooler 7 stores cold as frost. The process is performed during refrigeration operation where the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is high regardless of day or night. In the cooling process, the temperature of the cooler 7 is increased by a frost cooling operation performed with the compressor 24 turned off, leading to an operation in which the cycle efficiency of the next refrigeration operation is increased. Therefore, it is an operation in consideration of energy saving in any case of storing frost in the cooler 7 and cooling it.

  In addition, as described in FIG. 6, when looking at the life pattern in a general household, the number of times the door of the refrigerator 1 is opened and closed increases during the time when dinner is prepared and the family is full, especially the heat load in the refrigerator room 2. Tend to be higher. When the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2 is increased, the refrigerator is cooled by increasing the rotational speed of the compressor in a normal refrigerator, but the compressor 24 is stopped in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment capable of frost cooling operation. The frost cooling operation can be performed while effectively using the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2 in the state. If the frost cooling operation can be performed for a long time until the frost grown on the cooler 7 is melted, the heat load in the refrigerator compartment 2 can be discharged outside the refrigerator, and the refrigeration operation after the frost cooling operation is completed. As a result, the heat load is reduced and the energy saving performance is further improved.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an outline when the cooling operation is performed during the defrosting operation, and FIG. 19 is a state diagram of the operation state of the refrigerator and the equipment related thereto when the cooling operation is performed during the defrosting operation. . Incidentally, the refrigerator 1 is normally defrosted about once a day. In addition, in the refrigerator 1 in which the frost cooling operation described above is possible as in the present embodiment, the defrosting operation is performed in the same way as the frost cooling operation. In addition, although the refrigeration room 2 is cooled and the refrigeration room 2 is cooled while effectively defrosting the refrigeration energy of the frost, a method of shortening the defrost time by using the defrost heater 22 is also included. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 18, at the start of the defrosting operation, in step S500, the control device 100 closes the F damper 50, opens the R damper 20, sets the internal fan 9 to ON, and cools the refrigerator compartment 2. To do. In step S500, the control device 100 turns on the cool storage unit fan 74, cools the cool storage unit 70, cools the freezer compartment 60, and thereby increases the temperature of the freezer compartment 60 during the defrosting operation. Suppress.

  In step S510, control device 100 determines whether or not the freezer compartment temperature has reached threshold value TF1. Note that the threshold value TF1 is a temperature at which the defrosting heater 22 is switched on, and is determined in advance by experiments or simulations, for example. When determining that the freezer temperature is lower than the threshold TF1 (S510, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S510, and when determining that the freezer temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold TF1 (S510). , Yes), the process proceeds to step S520.

  In step S520, the control device 100 cools the refrigerator compartment 2 by turning on the defrost heater 22 while keeping the internal fan 9 on. Further, in step S520, the control device 100 turns on the cold storage unit fan 74, causes the cold storage unit 70 to cool down, and cools the freezer compartment 60.

  In step S530, control device 100 determines whether or not the cold storage unit temperature has reached TF2. Note that the temperature TF2 is a temperature at which the cool storage unit 70 is allowed to end the cooling operation, that is, a temperature at which the cool storage unit fan 74 is turned off, and is a temperature at which the cool storage unit temperature is equal to or higher than the freezer temperature. When it is determined that the cool storage unit temperature has not reached TF2 (S530, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S530, and when it is determined that the cool storage unit temperature has reached TF2 (S530). , Yes), the process proceeds to step S540.

  In step S540, the control device 100 turns off the cold storage unit fan 74 while keeping the internal fan 9 and the defrost heater 22 on. Thereby, the cooling operation of the cold storage unit 70 is stopped.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S550, and the control device 100 determines whether or not the cooler temperature has reached the third threshold value TD1. Note that the third threshold value TD1 is a temperature that is determined when the internal fan 9 is turned off and the R damper 20 is closed, and is determined by experiments or simulations performed in advance. When it is determined that the cooler temperature has not reached the third threshold value TD1 (S550, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S550 and determines that the cooler temperature has reached the third threshold value TD1. If so (S550, Yes), the process proceeds to step S560.

  In step S560, the control device 100 turns off the internal fan 9 and closes the R damper 20. Thereby, it is possible to prevent cold air having a high temperature from being supplied to the refrigerator compartment 2.

  In step S570, control device 100 determines whether or not the cooler temperature has reached threshold value TD2. Note that the threshold value TD2 is a temperature at which the defrosting operation is terminated, and is a temperature higher than the threshold value TD1, and is determined by an experiment or simulation performed in advance. When it is determined that the cooler temperature has not reached the fourth threshold value TD2 (S570, No), the control device 100 repeats the process of step S570 and determines that the cooler temperature has reached the threshold value TD2. (S570, Yes), the process proceeds to step S580, and the defrosting operation is terminated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, at time t50, in the state where the F damper 50 is closed and the R damper 20 is opened, the internal fan 9 and the cold storage unit fan 74 are turned on to start the defrosting operation (S500). ). Thereby, since the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled by the cold air at the time of defrosting (S500), the refrigerator compartment temperature falls. Moreover, the cooler temperature rises rapidly due to the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2. Moreover, although the freezer compartment 60 is cooled by carrying out the cool-down operation of the cool storage unit 70 (S500), freezer compartment temperature rises gradually with cool storage unit temperature.

  At time t51, when the freezer temperature reaches the threshold value TF1 (S510, Yes), the defrost heater 22 is switched on. Thereby, the frost adhering to the cooler 7 by the heat of the defrost heater 22 is dissolved. At this time, both the freezer temperature and the cold storage unit temperature rise.

  Then, at time t52, when the cold storage unit temperature rises to the freezer temperature, the cold storage unit fan 74 is turned off. This is because the freezer compartment cannot be cooled when the cold storage unit temperature becomes higher than the freezer compartment temperature.

  At time t53, when the cooler temperature reaches the threshold value TD1 (S550, Yes), the internal fan 9 is turned off and the R damper 20 is closed. Thereby, while the refrigerator temperature rises, cooler temperature also rises gradually.

  At time t54, when the cooler temperature reaches the threshold value TD2 (S570, Yes), the defrosting heater 22 is turned off and the defrosting operation is terminated. In the section from time t53 to t54, heating is performed so as to increase from the threshold value TD1 to the threshold value TD2, and processing for completely removing frost attached to the cooler 7 is performed.

  By the way, from time t53 to t54, the cooler 7 is heated by the defrost heater 22, so that the cooler temperature rises, and during that time, the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 60 also rise. Between the times t53 and t54 when the defrost heater 22 is heated, the heated air around the cooler 7 heated by the defrost heater 22 passes through the R damper 20 and the F damper 50 to the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 60. The R damper 20 is closed and the F damper 50 is closed (see FIG. 19) so as not to flow into the cylinder. On the other hand, by opening the R damper 20 and the F damper 50 during this period, the heated air around the cooler 7 can easily rise to the upper part of the cooler, so that the defrosting operation end temperature TD2 can be reached quickly. However, it is preferable to determine opening and closing of the R damper 20 and the F damper 50 from time t53 to t54 in consideration of both the effect of shortening the defrosting time and the operation of returning the internal temperature after defrosting.

  By the way, only the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2, that is, the internal fan 9 is turned on, and the frost is melted by the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2 (the heat load in the refrigerator compartment 2 due to the heat intrusion from outside the refrigerator). In order to suppress the temperature rise in the freezer compartment 60, the defrost heater 22 is turned on when the temperature of the defrost sensor provided in the cooler 7 reaches a predetermined threshold value TF1, and the refrigerator compartment 2 is turned on. By shortening the time until the defrosting is completed in addition to the heat load, energy saving during defrosting operation can be achieved.

  Further, during the defrosting operation, the cool storage material 72 continues to be cooled by the operation of the cool storage unit fan 74, and when the cool storage unit temperature reaches a temperature TF2 at which the cool storage unit temperature is equal to or higher than the freezer temperature, the cool storage unit fan 74 is turned off and released. End cold operation. Thereafter, when the cooler temperature reaches the third threshold value TD1, the internal fan 9 is turned off and the defrosting operation using only the defrost heater 22 is started. The defrosting operation at this time ends when the predetermined cooler temperature reaches the fourth threshold value TD2.

  As described above, in the defrosting operation, the refrigerator compartment 2 is cooled while melting part of the frost using the heat load of the refrigerator compartment 2 in order to effectively use the frost energy of the cooler 7. At this time, the defrosting operation time is shortened and the defrosting heater 22 is generally put in order to suppress the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60, but the freezing operation by the cool storage material 72 is performed on the freezer compartment 60. By doing so, the temperature rise of the freezer compartment 60 can be suppressed, the defrosting operation time using only the internal fan 9 can be made longer than before, and the timing for turning on the defrosting heater 22 can be delayed. As a result, the input of the defrost heater 22 can be reduced and energy saving can be improved.

1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigerated room 3 Ice making room (freezer room)
3a Ice making room door 3b Storage container 4 Upper freezer room (freezer room)
4a Upper freezer compartment door 4b Storage container 5 Lower freezer compartment (freezer compartment)
5a Lower freezer compartment door 5b Storage container 6 Vegetable room 7 Cooler 8 Cooler storage room 9 Fan in the cabinet (first blower)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Heat insulation box 11 Refrigerating room air duct 12 Freezer room air duct 16 Refrigerating room-vegetable room communication duct 17 Freezer room return port 18 Vegetable room return duct 18a Vegetable room return outlet 19 Machine room 20 Cold room damper (refrigeration room cold air control) means)
21 Evaporating dish 22 Defrost heater 23 ２４ 24 Compressor 27 Drain pipe 28, 29 Heat insulation partition wall 33 Refrigerating room temperature sensor (temperature sensor)
34 Freezer temperature sensor (temperature sensor)
35 Cooler temperature sensor (temperature sensor)
40 Freezer compartment front partition 41 Freezer compartment center partition 50 Freezer compartment damper (freezer compartment cool air control means)
60 Refrigeration temperature zone room 61 Refrigeration temperature zone room 70 Cold storage unit 71 Cold storage container 72 Cold storage material (cool storage and cool-down means)
73 Duct 74 Cold storage unit fan (second blower)
75 Sauce pan 76 Cold storage material temperature sensor (cool storage state detection means, temperature sensor)
100 Control device (control means)
S wind path

Claims (9)

In a refrigerator having a plurality of temperature zones with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment,
Refrigerating room cold air control means for introducing and blocking cold air to the refrigerating room;
Freezing room cold air control means for introducing and blocking cold air to the freezing room;
A cooler constituting a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor;
A first blower for blowing cool air generated by the cooler;
Cold storage and cooling means for storing and cooling the cold energy generated in the refrigeration cycle; and
A second blower for blowing air to the cold storage and cooling means;
A refrigerator comprising: the refrigerator compartment cold air control means, the freezer compartment cold air control means, a control means for controlling the first blower and the second blower. The cold storage and cooling means is a latent heat storage material with phase change,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cold storage / cooling means and the second blower are installed in a cooling chamber having a temperature range at least lower than a freezing point of the cold storage / cooling means.   The control means sets the freezing room cold air control means to a state in which cold air is introduced into the freezing room, circulates the cold air generated by the refrigeration cycle in the first blower and operates the second blower to release the cold storage. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cold storage operation for storing cold in the cooling means is performed.   The control means sets the freezing room cold air control means to a state in which cold air is introduced into the freezing room, circulates the cold air generated by the refrigeration cycle in the first blower and operates the second blower to release the cold storage. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cooling operation for cooling the cooling means is performed.   The control means circulates the cold air generated by the refrigeration cycle in the first blower with the freezer compartment cold air control means shutting off the cold air to the freezer compartment and operates the second blower to operate the refrigeration. 3. The cool-down operation in which the cool storage / cooling means is allowed to cool at the time of cooling the refrigerating room with the room cool air control means being in a state of introducing cool air into the refrigerating room. refrigerator.   The control means stops the operation of the compressor, sets the freezer compartment cold air control means to shut off the cold air to the freezer compartment, and sets the cold room cool air control means to a state in which cold air is introduced into the refrigerator room, The refrigeration chamber is cooled using frost generated in the cooler by operating the first blower as a cooling source, and a cooling operation is performed in which the second cooler is operated to cool the cool storage / cooling means. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above-mentioned.   The control means is configured to perform a defrosting operation of the cooler while keeping the freezing room cold air control means in a state of blocking cold air to the freezing room and keeping the cold room cooling air control means in a state of introducing cold air into the previous cold room. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein a cooling operation is performed in which the second blower is operated to cool the cool storage / cooling means.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a cold storage state detection unit that detects a cold storage state of the cold storage / cooling unit.   The cold storage operation and the cooling operation are performed by a temperature sensor that detects a cold storage state of the cold storage and cooling means, a temperature sensor that detects a temperature of a cooling chamber in which the cold storage and cooling means is installed, and the cooler. It controls by the temperature detected with the provided temperature sensor, The refrigerator of any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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