JP2012042137A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a refrigerator capable of speedily thawing or cooling food in a storage chamber while suppressing a temperature variation in the storage chamber.SOLUTION: The refrigerator includes: a freezing cycle configured by sequentially connecting a storage chamber 6, a compressor 2, a condenser, a pressure reducing device and a cooler 3; a cold air blowing fan 4 for blowing cold air generated by the cooler 3 to the storage chamber 6; a control device 20 which performs operation control on the freezing cycle and the cold air blowing fan 4 in such a manner that a temperature in the storage chamber 6 reaches a predetermined setting temperature; a food temperature sensor 11 for detecting a temperature of food in the storage chamber 6; and a storage chamber inside fan 10 which is provided in addition to the cold air blowing fan 4 and forcibly circulates air in the storage chamber 6. In the case that the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11 is a predetermined low temperature that is lower than the setting temperature of the storage chamber 6, the control device 20 performs a thawing operation for operating the in-storage chamber fan 10 to forcibly circulate air in the storage chamber 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a thawing function for quickly raising the temperature of frozen food to a predetermined temperature or a quick cooling function for quickly lowering the food temperature to a predetermined temperature.

  Usually, when using frozen food, it is necessary to thaw the food. As a conventional thawing method, for example, there are a method of standing at room temperature and a method using a microwave oven. However, thawing by standing at room temperature is unfavorable for hygiene such as bacterial growth because it is left in a high temperature environment for a long time, and thawing may take a long time. Moreover, although the method using a microwave oven can be thawed in a short time, there are problems such as thawing unevenness and partial heat denaturation. Against this background, refrigerators are required not only to store foods at a predetermined temperature but also to freeze frozen foods with high quality without failure.

  As a refrigerator having a food thawing function, a rapid cooling operation is performed in which “the compressor 11 is forced and continuously operated during the rapid cooling operation (step (1)) and the temperature of the introduced cold air is maintained at a low state”. A refrigerator has been proposed. In addition, this conventional refrigerator includes a thawing heater, and “the air heated by the thawing heater 7 is sucked into the cross-flow fan 8 and discharged into the storage chamber 3 to supply warm air to the food 15. A quick thawing operation is performed, which indicates that the food 15 can be thawed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3251275 (page 3, FIGS. 1 and 4)

However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the temperature of the cool air introduced during the rapid cooling operation is lowered, and during the rapid thawing operation, the temperature of the storage chamber is increased by heating with a heater. For this reason, there is a possibility that the food stored in the storage room in advance also changes in temperature together with the food to be rapidly cooled / rapidly thawed. In particular, during the thawing operation, the food temperature of the food stored in the storage room in advance may be excessively increased, and the quality of the food may be reduced. For this reason, when rapidly freezing or thawing food in a storage room, it is necessary to evacuate other foods to another room, and the user has the trouble of moving the food to another room. It was hanging.
Moreover, in the thawing | decompression operation | movement described in patent document 1, in order to raise the temperature of a storage room to the refrigeration temperature which is 0 degreeC or more, there existed problems, such as taking time for thawing | decompression and a drip flowing out from food.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a refrigerator capable of quickly thawing or cooling food in a storage room while suppressing temperature fluctuations in the storage room. is there.

  The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a storage chamber, a refrigeration cycle configured by sequentially connecting a compressor, a condenser, a decompression device, and an evaporator, and a cold air blower that blows cold air generated by the evaporator to the storage chamber. A fan, a control device for controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the cold air blowing fan so that the temperature in the storage chamber becomes a predetermined set temperature, a food temperature detection device for detecting a food temperature in the storage chamber, and the cold air A storage room fan that is provided separately from the blower fan and forcibly convects the air in the storage room, and the control device detects the food temperature detected by the food temperature detection device from the set temperature of the storage room When the temperature is a low predetermined low temperature, a defrosting operation is performed in which the air in the storage chamber is forcibly convected by operating the fan in the storage chamber.

  According to the present invention, the air in the storage room is forced to convection by the fan in the storage room, thereby promoting the heat transfer of the food and raising the temperature of the food. Since the air in the storage chamber is forced to convection and blown to the food, the food can be thawed without changing the temperature in the storage chamber. Therefore, even when other food is already stored in the storage room, the temperature of the food is hardly changed during thawing, so it is necessary to move the other food to another chamber. In addition, user convenience can be improved.

3 is a front view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a storage room according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a graph showing the relationship between the food temperature which concerns on Embodiment 1, and a cutting load. 3 is a flowchart showing a defrosting operation of the storage room according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a thawing operation of a storage room according to Embodiment 2. 10 is a flowchart showing a thawing / rapid cooling operation of a storage room according to Embodiment 3. It is a flowchart which shows the rapid cooling driving | operation of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the thawing | decompression operation | movement of FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerator compartment 100 arranged with an opening / closing door at the top, a switching chamber 200 arranged below the refrigerator compartment 100 and provided with a drawer door, and a drawer door arranged in parallel with the switching chamber 200. An ice making room 300, a switching room 200, a freezing room 400 provided with a drawer door arranged below the ice making room 300, a vegetable room 500 equipped with a drawer door arranged at the bottom, and the like are provided. The refrigerator compartment 100 is set to a refrigeration temperature zone (0 ° C. to 5 ° C.), the ice making chamber 300 and the freezer compartment 400 are set to a freezing temperature zone (about −18 ° C.), and the vegetable compartment 500 is 3 ° C. to 5 ° C. The temperature is set to about ℃. The switching chamber 200 can switch the set temperature from a freezing temperature range (−18 ° C.) to a temperature range such as refrigeration (3 ° C.), chilled (0 ° C.), and soft freezing (−7 ° C.). In the following description, the refrigerating room 100, the switching room 200, the ice making room 300, the freezing room 400, and the vegetable room 500 may be collectively referred to as an internal room.

  On the door surface of the refrigerator compartment 100, there is provided an operation panel 7 composed of an operation switch for adjusting the temperature and setting of each chamber and a liquid crystal display section for displaying the temperature of each chamber. As will be described later, the operation panel 7 can notify the user of various information by displaying characters and the like on the display unit, and corresponds to the first notification device and the second notification device of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor 2, a condenser (not shown), a decompression device (not shown), and a cooler 3 (evaporator) are sequentially connected. On the back side of the refrigerator 1, a compressor 2 that constitutes a refrigeration cycle and a cooler 3 that also constitutes a refrigeration cycle are arranged. Further, a cold air blower fan 4 is provided for blowing the cold air cooled by the cooler 3 to an internal room such as the refrigerator room 100, and for introducing the cold air cooled by the cooler 3 into the refrigerator room 100. A cooling air passage 5 is provided on the back side of the refrigerator 1. The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 passes through the cooling air passage 5 and is blown to the freezing room 400, the switching room 200, the refrigerating room 100, the ice making room 300, and the vegetable room 500, and cools the internal rooms with the cold air. To do. The cold air that has been blown into the freezer compartment 400, the switching compartment 200, the refrigerator compartment 100, the ice making compartment 300, and the vegetable compartment 500 to cool the interior compartments is supplied to suction ports (not shown) provided in the interior compartments. It is sucked in and returns to the downstream side of the cooler 3.

  Each chamber has a refrigerator temperature sensor 31, a switching chamber temperature sensor 32 (not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 4), an ice making temperature sensor 33, a freezer temperature sensor 34, and a vegetable room temperature. A sensor 35 (these temperature sensors may be collectively referred to as an internal chamber temperature sensor) is provided. The interior room temperature sensor detects the temperature in each interior room, and outputs the detected information to the control device 20 described later.

  A storage room 6 is disposed in the lower part of the refrigerator compartment 100. The cooling air passage 5 is provided with a damper 14 that adjusts the amount of cold air introduced into the storage chamber 6. Although not shown, the refrigerator 1 is also provided with a damper that adjusts the amount of cold air introduced into each chamber other than the storage chamber 6.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of the storage chamber 6. The storage chamber 6 will be further described with reference to FIG. The storage room 6 is partitioned in the refrigerator compartment 100 by a lid 8 that can be opened and closed and a tray 9 on which food can be placed. When the tray 9 is pulled out in the forward direction, the lid 8 opens in conjunction with this, so that food can be put into the tray 9.

  A storage room fan 10 is provided on the back side of the storage room 6. The storage room fan 10 agitates the air in the storage room 6 and circulates the air. That is, the storage room fan 10 forces the air in the storage room 6 to convect. The storage room fan 10 is arranged in the storage room 6 so as to be able to blow air directly to the food placed on the tray 9 or to blow air to the upper side or the side of the food. In the first embodiment, an example in which one storage indoor fan 10 is provided is shown. However, a plurality of storage indoor fans 10 are provided, and each of them is configured to individually control the operation ON / OFF and the air flow rate. Also good.

  The storage room 6 is provided with a food temperature sensor 11 capable of detecting the temperature of the food introduced into the storage room 6 as a food temperature detection device of the present invention. As the food temperature sensor 11, for example, an infrared sensor such as an infrared sensor that can detect the temperature of the food in a non-contact manner is suitable. However, a temperature detection sensor that detects the temperature in contact with the food can also be used. . The food temperature sensor 11 may be installed on any one of the upper and lower surfaces, the left and right surfaces, and the front and rear surfaces of the storage chamber 6. The number of the food temperature sensors 11 may be one or more.

  The storage room 6 is provided with a storage room temperature sensor 13 for detecting the air temperature in the storage room 6. The storage chamber temperature sensor 13 may be installed on any of the upper and lower surfaces, the left and right surfaces, and the front and rear surfaces of the storage chamber 6, and the number thereof is not limited.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment.
The refrigerator 1 includes a control device 20 including a control board and the like for controlling the operation of each device such as the compressor 2 and the cold air blowing fan 4. The temperature of each chamber is detected by a chamber temperature sensor installed in each chamber, and the temperature data is output to the control device 20. Basically, the control device 20 adjusts the output of the compressor 2 and the amount of air blown by the cool air blower fan 4 based on the output of the freezer temperature sensor 34 of the freezer compartment 400, and each chamber is set in advance. The opening degree of the dampers in the other chambers including the dampers 14 is adjusted so that the temperature reaches the set temperature. In addition, the control device 20 performs a defrosting operation or an ice making operation of the ice making chamber 300 based on a setting input to the operation panel 7 or controls lighting provided in each chamber. In addition, the control device 20 displays the operation state of the refrigerator 1 on the display unit of the operation panel 7. Note that the control device 20 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that realizes the function, or can be configured by an arithmetic device such as a microcomputer or a CPU, and software executed thereon. it can.

Next, an outline of operation control of the storage chamber 6 will be described. This storage room 6 corresponds to the storage room of the present invention.
In the first embodiment, the temperature of the storage chamber 6 is set to a chilled temperature range (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.). Then, the opening degree of the damper 14 that controls the blowing of the cold air into the storage chamber 6 is controlled by the control device 20 so that the temperature detected by the storage chamber temperature sensor 13 falls within the chilled temperature zone that is the set temperature. A certain amount of cool air is introduced into the storage chamber 6 from the cooling air passage 5 (see arrow X in FIG. 3). Therefore, the temperature in the storage chamber 6 is maintained in the chilled temperature zone during normal operation when the thawing operation described later is not performed. Further, the cool air in the storage chamber 6 flows out of the storage chamber 6 as indicated by an arrow Y in FIG.

Further, the storage room 6 according to the first embodiment performs a thawing operation for thawing the input food to a predetermined target temperature. Here, the target food temperature during the thawing operation is referred to as a thawing target temperature. Hereinafter, an outline of the thawing operation will be described.
Assume that frozen food (low temperature food according to the present invention, for example, food at -18 ° C.) is put into the storage room 6 maintained in the chilled temperature zone. When the thawing operation is started, the food temperature sensor 11 detects the food temperature in the storage chamber 6 and outputs the detected information to the control device 20. If the temperature of the food detected by the food temperature sensor 11 is further lower than the thawing target temperature that is lower than the set temperature (chilled temperature zone, 0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) of the storage chamber 6, the control device 20 stores the food. The indoor fan 10 is operated and the air in the storage chamber 6 is forcedly convected. Then, air in the chilled temperature range (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) in the storage chamber 6 is blown to the food (see arrow K in FIG. 3), and heat transfer is promoted to the food surface in the storage chamber 6 by the air blowing. As it rises, the food is thawed.

  When the control device 20 detects that the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11 has been raised to the thawing target temperature, the control device 20 stops the indoor fan 10. Then, the operation panel 7 displays that the thawing has been completed and notifies the user.

  The timing of starting the thawing operation can be set, for example, when a user operates an operation unit that instructs the thawing operation provided on the operation panel 7, that is, when there is an instruction from the user. In addition to when there is an explicit instruction from the user, the food temperature sensor 11 detects the food temperature constantly or periodically, and when the food temperature lower than the target thawing temperature is detected, the food is automatically thawed. It is good also as driving.

  Further, during the thawing operation, the temperature in the storage chamber 6 is controlled separately from the operation of the above-described storage chamber fan 10. For example, when the temperature in the storage chamber 6 rises or falls due to food input, the opening degree of the damper 14 is controlled by the control device 20. Therefore, during the thawing operation, cold air may be blown out from the cooling air passage 5 into the storage chamber 6, or cold air may not be blown out.

  As the thawing target temperature, a food temperature at which food can be cut can be set. Specifically, the target thawing temperature is preferably −7 ° C. or higher and −5 ° C. or lower. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between food temperature and cutting load. FIG. 5 shows (a) tuna meat and (b) pork as examples of food. As shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that a food having a temperature of −7 ° C. or higher and −5 ° C. or lower is in a state that can be cut although it is just hard to cut and slightly hard. Also, if the food temperature is -5 ° C or lower, it is outside the range of the maximum ice crystal formation zone (-5 ° C to -1 ° C), so there is little quality deterioration of the food due to thawing, and the food is cooked in a high quality state. Can be used.

  Next, the thawing operation of the storage chamber 6 according to Embodiment 1 will be further described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the thawing operation of the storage room 6 according to the first embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed that the thawing target temperature is set to −7 ° C.

  When the user puts the food into the storage room 6 and the thawing button provided on the operation panel 7 is turned on to instruct the start of the thawing operation (S101), the control device 20 causes the food temperature sensor 11 to The detected food temperature in the storage chamber 6 is acquired as the initial food temperature T0 (S102).

  The control device 20 determines whether or not the initial food temperature T0 is less than −7 ° C., which is the thawing target temperature, and if it is less than −7 ° C. (S103: Yes), the storage room fan 10 is operated (S104). ). Then, the control device 20 displays “defrosting” on the display unit of the operation panel 7 to notify the user that the thawing operation is being performed (S105). That is, if the initial food temperature T0 is lower than the thawing target temperature, air in the chilled temperature zone (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) is blown to the food by the storage room fan 10 to promote heat transfer on the food surface. Increase temperature.

  When the control device 20 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the storage indoor fan 10 is started (S106: Yes), the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11 is acquired again as the food temperature T ( S107). Subsequently, the control device 20 determines whether or not the food temperature T is equal to or higher than −7 ° C., which is the thawing target temperature. If the food temperature T is equal to or higher than −7 ° C. (S108: Yes), the storage room fan 10 Is stopped (S109), and "decompression complete" is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 7 to notify the user that the defrosting is complete (S110). If the food temperature T is less than −7 ° C. in step S108, that is, if the food has not been heated to the thawing target temperature (S108: No), the process returns to step S106 and the predetermined time has elapsed again. The operation of the storage room fan 10 is continued until it is done.

  If the control device 20 determines in step S103 that the initial food temperature T0 has reached the thawing target temperature of −7 ° C. (S103: No), the controller 20 proceeds to step S110 without operating the storage compartment fan 10. A message indicating that the thawing has been completed is displayed on the operation panel 7 to notify the user (S110).

  Note that the method of notifying that the decompression has been completed is not limited to the method of displaying the characters “decompression complete” on the display unit of the operation panel 7. For example, a method that allows the user to recognize the end of decompression, such as displaying the character “Uncompressed” during decompression and hiding that character at the end of decompression, turning on or blinking a lamp, or emitting a notification sound. Anything is acceptable.

  As described above, the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment forcibly convects the air in the storage chamber 6 by the storage chamber fan 10 and blows it to the food, and promotes heat transfer of the food to raise the temperature of the food. I did it. Since the air in the storage chamber 6 is blown to the food, the food can be thawed without changing the temperature in the storage chamber 6. Therefore, even when other food is already stored in the storage room 6, the temperature of the food is hardly changed during thawing, so that the other food is moved to another room. There is no need and user convenience is good.

  Moreover, although there is no temperature fluctuation in the storage chamber 6, since the food temperature sensor 11 for detecting the temperature of the food is provided, the food temperature can be cut based on the detection result of the food temperature sensor 11 (defrost target temperature). It can be determined whether or not.

  Further, since the user is notified that the thawing is completed at the temperature at which the food can be cut (the thawing target temperature), the user can easily recognize that the thawing of the food is completed. For this reason, it becomes possible for the user to take out the food that can be cut (that is, the thawing is completed) from the storage room 6 at the timing when the thawing is completed, and the convenience can be improved.

  Further, whether or not thawing has been completed is determined based on whether or not the food temperature has reached the thawing target temperature. This thawing target temperature (−7 ° C. to −5 ° C.) is lower than the chilled temperature zone (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) that is the set temperature of the storage room 6, so that the food reaches the chilled temperature zone that is higher than the thawing target temperature. The thawing operation can be stopped before the temperature is raised. For this reason, by notifying the user that the thawing operation has been completed, the user can obtain the food before being completely thawed, and can suppress the outflow of drip, which is a problem when thawed completely. . Moreover, since the temperature included in the temperature range of −7 ° C. or higher and −5 ° C. or lower, which is a temperature at which food can be cut, is set as the target thawing temperature, the food is not completely thawed when thawing is completed. The hardness is maintained and the user can easily perform cutting and other processing.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the second embodiment, an example of operation for calculating the time required for the food introduced into the storage chamber 6 to rise to the thawing target temperature will be described. The second embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

First, a method for calculating the time required for the food to rise to the thawing target temperature will be described.
The initial food temperature of the food put into the storage chamber 6 is T0, the defrost target temperature that is the temperature at which the food can be cut is T1, the internal temperature of the storage chamber 6 detected by the storage chamber temperature sensor 13 is Ta, and the food Is known to be approximated by the following equation (1), where θ is the time required to raise the temperature from the initial food temperature T0 to the thawing target temperature T1.
θ = K · ln {(T0−Ta) / (T1−Ta)} (1)
Here, K is a constant depending on the properties of the food.

  Based on the relationship of the above equation (1), the required time θ until the end of thawing is calculated based on the temperature detection result by the food temperature sensor 11. Specifically, first, the food temperature sensor 11 detects the initial food temperature T0 when the food is introduced. After a predetermined time θ1 (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed, the food temperature T is acquired again by the food temperature sensor 11. And the control apparatus 20 calculates | requires the constant K from internal temperature Ta, initial food temperature T0, food temperature T, predetermined time (theta) 1, and (1) Formula. When the constant K is obtained in this way, the required time θ required to raise the temperature to a temperature at which the food can be cut can be calculated from the constant K, the food temperature T, the internal temperature Ta, and the equation (1). it can.

  Since the temperature in the storage chamber 6 is basically kept near the set temperature, the temperature detected by the storage chamber temperature sensor 13 is not set as the internal temperature Ta in the above equation (1). The set temperature of the storage chamber 6 may be used as Ta.

  Next, the thawing operation of the storage room 6 according to Embodiment 2 will be further described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the thawing operation of the storage room 6 according to the second embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed that the thawing target temperature T1 is set to −7 ° C.

  When the user puts the food into the storage room 6 and the thawing button provided on the operation panel 7 is turned on to instruct the start of the thawing operation (S201), the control device 20 causes the food temperature sensor 11 to The detected food temperature in the storage chamber 6 is acquired as the initial food temperature T0 (S202).

  The control device 20 determines whether or not the initial food temperature T0 is less than −7 ° C., which is the target temperature T1, and if it is less than −7 ° C. (S203: Yes), the storage chamber fan 10 is operated (S204). ). That is, if the initial food temperature T0 is lower than the target temperature T1, air in the chilled temperature zone (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) is blown to the food by the indoor fan 10 to promote heat transfer on the food surface. Increase temperature.

  When the control device 20 detects that the predetermined time θ1 has elapsed since the operation of the storage chamber fan 10 is started (S205: Yes), the control unit 20 determines the food temperature in the storage chamber 6 detected by the food temperature sensor 11 as the food temperature. Obtained as T (S206).

  Next, as described above, the control device 20 sets the internal temperature Ta detected by the storage room temperature sensor 13, the initial food temperature T0, the food temperature T, the predetermined time θ1, and the equation (1). Based on this, the required time θ until the food reaches −7 ° C., which is the target temperature T1, is calculated (S207). Then, the control device 20 displays the calculated required time θ on the display unit of the operation panel 7 as “required time θ” (S208). At this time, it is the state which continues ventilation by the fan 10 in a storage room.

Then, the control device 20 determines whether or not the food temperature T has reached the target temperature T1 (−7 ° C.). If not (S209: No), the control device 20 returns to step S205, and the food temperature T is the target temperature. The processes in steps S205 to S208 are repeated until T1 is reached.
If the food temperature T has reached the target temperature T1 (S209: Yes), the control device 20 stops the storage chamber fan 10 (S210), and displays “End of thawing” on the display unit of the operation panel 7. The user is notified that the thawing has been completed (S211).

  Further, when the control device 20 determines in step S203 that the initial food temperature T0 has reached the target temperature T1 of −7 ° C. (S203: No), the control device 20 proceeds to step S211 without operating the storage chamber fan 10. A message indicating that the thawing has been completed is displayed on the operation panel 7 to notify the user (S211).

  As described above, the refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment calculates the required time θ required for the food temperature to rise to the thawing target temperature T1. For this reason, in addition to the effect similar to Embodiment 1, the user can grasp | ascertain time until completion | finish of thawing | decompression by alert | reporting required time (theta) to a user using the operation panel 7 grade | etc.,. Therefore, the user can improve usability, for example, the user can systematically prepare for cooking.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the thawing operation for thawing the food in the storage room 6 has been described. In the third embodiment, an example of performing a rapid cooling operation (hereinafter, rapid cooling operation) in addition to the thawing operation will be described.

  The refrigerator 1 according to the third embodiment selectively performs the thawing operation and the rapid cooling operation. For example, the operation panel 7 is provided with one operation button (hereinafter referred to as a “thawing / quenching button”) on which characters such as “thawing / rapid cooling” are displayed. When the thawing / rapid cooling button is turned on, the thawing operation or the rapid cooling operation is automatically selected and executed based on the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11. Moreover, although mentioned later for details, depending on the food temperature thrown into the storage chamber 6, neither a thawing | decompression operation nor a rapid cooling operation may be performed.

  Next, the thawing operation and the rapid cooling operation of the storage chamber 6 according to Embodiment 3 will be specifically described. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of operation control of the storage room 6 according to the third embodiment, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the rapid cooling operation shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is an example of the thawing operation shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows.

First, FIG. 8 will be described.
When the thawing / rapid cooling button provided on the operation panel 7 is turned on in a state where food is put into the storage room 6 by the user (S301), the control device 20 causes the inside of the storage room 6 detected by the food temperature sensor 11 to Is obtained as the initial food temperature T0 (S302).

The control device 20 determines whether or not the initial food temperature T0 exceeds a predetermined high temperature higher than the chilled temperature zone (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) that is the set temperature of the storage chamber 6 (S303). Here, it is determined whether or not it exceeds 5 ° C., which is the maximum value of the refrigeration temperature range of the refrigeration room 100. When determining that the initial food temperature T0 exceeds 5 ° C. (S303: Yes), the control device 20 determines that the temperature of the food is high and executes a rapid cooling operation (S304). When it is determined that the initial food temperature T0 is 5 ° C. or lower (S303: No), the control device 20 determines whether the initial food temperature T0 is less than −7 ° C., which is the thawing target temperature (S305). ). When it is determined that the initial food temperature T0 is less than −7 ° C. (S305: Yes), the control device 20 determines that the temperature of the food is low and executes the thawing operation (S306).
In addition, if initial food temperature T0 is 5 degrees C or less (S303: No) and it is more than -7 degreeC (S305: No), a process will be complete | finished, without performing rapid cooling operation and defrosting operation.

Next, the rapid cooling operation will be described with reference to FIG.
When the rapid cooling operation is started, the control device 20 operates the storage compartment fan 10 (S311). Then, the control device 20 notifies the user that the rapid cooling operation is being performed by displaying characters such as “quickly cooling” on the display unit of the operation panel 7 (S312). That is, when performing the rapid cooling operation, the food temperature is higher than the chilled temperature range that is the set temperature of the storage chamber 6, and therefore air in the chilled temperature range (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) by the storage chamber fan 10. The air is blown into the food to promote the heat transfer on the food surface and lower the food temperature.

  When the control device 20 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the storage indoor fan 10 is started (S313: Yes), the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11 is acquired as the food temperature T (S314). ). Subsequently, the control device 20 determines whether or not the food temperature T is equal to or lower than 5 ° C., which is the maximum value in the refrigeration temperature zone. If the food temperature T is equal to or lower than 5 ° C. (S315: Yes), the storage room fan 10 is turned on. The operation is stopped (S316), and “rapid cooling end” is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 7 to notify the user that the rapid cooling operation has ended (S317). If the food temperature T exceeds 5 ° C. in step S315, that is, if the food is at a temperature higher than the refrigeration temperature zone (S315: No), the process returns to step S313 and the predetermined time has elapsed again. The operation of the storage room fan 10 is continued until it is done.

Next, the thawing operation will be described with reference to FIG.
When the thawing operation is started, the control device 20 operates the indoor fan 10 (S321). Then, by displaying characters such as “decompressing” on the display unit of the operation panel 7, the user is notified that the defrosting operation is being performed (S322). That is, when performing the thawing operation, since the food temperature is lower than the thawing target temperature, air in the chilled temperature range (0 ° C. to 2 ° C.) is blown to the food by the storage room fan 10 to Increases temperature by promoting heat transfer.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the operation of the storage room fan 10 (S323: Yes), the control device 20 acquires the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11 as the food temperature T (S324). Subsequently, the control device 20 determines whether or not the food temperature T is equal to or higher than −7 ° C., which is the thawing target temperature (S325). If the food temperature T is equal to or higher than −7 ° C. (S325: Yes), The storage room fan 10 is stopped (S326), and “decompression end” is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 7 to notify the user that the defrosting operation has ended (S327). If the food temperature T is less than −7 ° C. in step S325, that is, if the food has not been heated to the thawing target temperature (S325: No), the process returns to step S323 and the predetermined time has elapsed again. The operation of the storage room fan 10 is continued until it is done.

  As described above, the storage room 6 of the refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 3 has both the thawing operation function and the rapid cooling operation function. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide separate interior chambers for the thawing operation and the rapid cooling operation, and the interior space of the refrigerator 1 can be used effectively.

  In addition, it is automatically determined whether to perform the thawing operation, the rapid cooling operation, or neither depending on the temperature of the food put into the storage chamber 6. Therefore, regardless of whether the user wants to thaw or quickly cool, the user can thaw or cool the food simply by putting the food into the storage chamber 6 and pressing the thaw / quenching button. .

  Further, in the rapid cooling operation, the air in the storage chamber 6 is blown to the food by the storage indoor fan 10, thereby promoting the heat transfer of the food and lowering the food temperature. Since the air in the storage chamber 6 is blown to the food, the food can be cooled without changing the temperature in the storage chamber 6. Therefore, even when other food is already stored in the storage chamber 6, the temperature of the food hardly changes during cooling, so that the other food is moved to another chamber. There is no need and user convenience is good.

  Note that the thawing operation shown in FIG. 10 of the third embodiment is the same operation as steps S104 to S110 shown in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment, but step S204 shown in FIG. 7 of the second embodiment. ~ S211 may be combined with the thawing operation of the same operation as in the third embodiment, and the same effect can be obtained.

  In the first to third embodiments, the determination as to whether or not to end the thawing operation (determination as to whether or not the food has been thawed) is made based on the food temperature detected by the food temperature sensor 11. Explained. However, as described in Embodiment 2, the required time θ required for the food to rise to the thawing temperature may be calculated, and the thawing operation of the food may be terminated when the required time θ has elapsed. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator, 2 Compressor, 3 Cooler, 4 Cooling air fan, 5 Cooling air path, 6 Storage room, 7 Operation panel, 8 Lid, 9 Tray, 10 Storage room fan, 11 Food temperature sensor, 13 Storage room temperature Sensor, 14 Damper, 20 Control device, 31 Cold room temperature sensor, 32 Switching room temperature sensor, 33 Ice making room temperature sensor, 34 Freezing room temperature sensor, 35 Vegetable room temperature sensor, 100 Cold room, 200 Switching room, 300 Ice making room 400 Freezer room, 500 Vegetable room.

Claims (8)

A storage room;
A refrigeration cycle configured by sequentially connecting a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator;
A cold air blowing fan for blowing cold air generated by the evaporator into the storage chamber;
A control device for controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the cold air blowing fan so that the temperature in the storage chamber becomes a predetermined set temperature;
A food temperature detector for detecting the food temperature in the storage chamber;
A storage room fan that is provided separately from the cold air blower fan and forcibly convects the air in the storage room;
When the food temperature detected by the food temperature detection device is a predetermined low temperature lower than the set temperature of the storage chamber, the control device operates the storage chamber fan to change the air in the storage chamber. A refrigerator characterized by performing a thawing operation for forced convection. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control device ends the thawing operation when the food temperature detected during the thawing operation reaches a predetermined thawing target temperature.   The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the thawing target temperature is lower than the set temperature of the storage room and higher than the low temperature. The control device determines the food temperature based on the initial food temperature, which is the food temperature before the start of the thawing operation, the temperature in the storage chamber or the set temperature of the storage chamber, and the thawing target temperature. Calculate the time required to rise from the food temperature to the thawing target temperature,
The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a first notification device that notifies the required time calculated by the control device.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a second notification device that notifies the end of the thawing operation.   The said thawing | decompression target temperature is -7 degreeC or more and -5 degrees C or less, The refrigerator as described in any one of Claims 2-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. When the food temperature detected by the food temperature detection device is a predetermined high temperature higher than the set temperature of the storage chamber, the control device operates the storage chamber fan to change the air in the storage chamber. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a rapid cooling operation for forced convection is performed. A storage room;
A refrigeration cycle configured by sequentially connecting a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator;
A cold air blowing fan for blowing cold air generated by the evaporator into the storage chamber;
A control device for controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the cold air blowing fan so that the temperature in the storage chamber becomes a predetermined set temperature;
A food temperature detector for detecting the food temperature in the storage chamber;
A storage room fan that is provided separately from the cold air blower fan and forcibly convects the air in the storage room;
When the food temperature detected by the food temperature detection device is a predetermined high temperature higher than the set temperature of the storage chamber, the control device operates the storage chamber fan to change the air in the storage chamber. A refrigerator characterized by a rapid cooling operation for forced convection.

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