JP2012242074A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator capable of maintaining specified cooling capability even in a time zone in which cooling is not performed in a freezing cycle with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: The refrigerator includes: a freezing chamber 8 having a cold storage material 110 inside; a refrigerating chamber 5 having a higher set temperature zone than the freezing chamber 8; an air course 200 for supplying a cold air generated by the freezing cycle, an air blower 33, and a cooler 32 to the freezing chamber 8 and refrigerating chamber 5; a back air course 201 for returning air in the freezing chamber 8 and refrigerating chamber 5 to the cooler 32; and a bypass air course 203 which selectively makes the back air course 201 and air course 200 communicate with each other to guide a cold air exiting from the refrigerating chamber 5 in the communication state into the freezing chamber 8. A control circuit selectively performs: cold storage operation in which operation control is performed with the bypass air course 203 closed to a temperature lower than a set temperature of the freezing chamber 8; and cooling stop operation in which the bypass air course 203 is placed in the communication state, the operation of the freezing cycle is stopped, and the air blower 33 is placed in operation.

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

  In a conventional refrigerator, for example, “the compressor 8, the condenser 9, and the expansion / decompression means 11A, 11B constitute a refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerator 1 that cools the interior of the refrigerator has a day / night operating power consumption adjusting means. In the cold storage room 2, cold storage is performed in a cold storage tank 15 containing a chemical agent such as ethylene glycol, and in the daytime, a desired cooling performance is obtained using the cold air 19 in the cold storage room 15. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-4-254181 (Abstract)

In conventional refrigerators, a cold storage room is formed in addition to a storage room for storing food and the like for the purpose of improving the daytime power peak, and a cold storage that contains a chemical agent (cool storage material) in this cold storage room It is set as the structure which arrange | positions the tank and the evaporator (cooler) for cooling this, and cools it.
However, since a separate cooler is provided in the cold storage chamber, there is a problem that the configuration of the refrigerant circuit becomes complicated. In addition, since the cold storage room is provided separately from the storage room, there is a problem that the storage capacity of the storage room in the refrigerator body is reduced.

  On the other hand, since the refrigerator is basically operated at all times, for example, it is desired to maintain a predetermined cooling capacity with as little power as possible in order to reduce power consumption at the time of power peak.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and maintains a predetermined cooling capacity even in a time zone in which there is no cooling by a refrigeration cycle with a simple configuration without separately providing a cold storage chamber. Get a refrigerator that can.

  A refrigerator according to the present invention includes an outer box that forms an outer shell of a refrigerator main body and an inner box that forms an inner wall of the main body, and a box body whose front side is open and an inner space of the box body are partitioned by a partition wall. One or a plurality of freezer compartments each having a cold storage material and an internal space of the box body partitioned by a partition wall, and one or a higher set temperature zone than the freezer compartment A plurality of refrigerating chambers, a door provided at a front opening of the refrigerating chamber and the refrigerating chamber, a refrigeration cycle including a compressor and a cooler, a blower for blowing cool air generated by the cooler, and A supply air passage for supplying cold air generated in a cooler to the freezer and refrigeration compartment, a return air passage for returning air in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment to the cooler, and the return Selectively communicating the air passage with the supply air passage; A bypass air passage that guides cold air that has exited from the refrigerating chamber to the freezer compartment, and a control device that controls operation of the refrigeration cycle and the blower, wherein the control device closes the bypass air passage In this state, the cold storage operation for controlling the operation to be lower than the set temperature of the freezer compartment, the bypass air passage to be in a communication state, the operation of the refrigeration cycle is stopped, and the fan is operated. The cooling stop operation is selectively performed.

  The present invention relates to a cold storage operation for performing operation control so that the temperature is lower than the set temperature of the freezer compartment in a state where the bypass air passage is closed, and the operation of the refrigeration cycle is stopped while the bypass air passage is in a communication state, The cooling stop operation for performing the operation is selectively performed. In the cooling stop operation, the cold air that has come out of the refrigerator compartment is guided into the freezer compartment to be cooled, and is supplied again to the refrigerator compartment through the return air passage and the supply air passage. For this reason, in the cooling stop operation, the refrigerator compartment can be cooled with a predetermined cooling capacity without operating the refrigeration cycle. In addition, since the cold storage material is provided in the freezer compartment, it is not necessary to provide a separate cold storage chamber, and it is possible to store cold without reducing the capacity of the refrigerator with a simple configuration.

1 is an external perspective view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage container according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the mounting shelf which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the thermal storage amount characteristic of the latent-heat cold storage material which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the air path structure which concerns on Embodiment which concerns on Embodiment 1, and has shown the state in a normal driving | operation and a cool storage operation. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the air path structure which concerns on Embodiment which concerns on Embodiment 1, and has shown the state in a cooling stop driving | operation. It is a figure explaining the change of the internal temperature of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
(overall structure)
1 is an external perspective view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.
1-3, the refrigerator 1 is provided with the box-shaped box 2 with the front side opened.
The box 2 is composed of an outer box 2a that forms the outer shell of the refrigerator main body and an inner box 2b that forms the inner wall of the main body, and a heat insulating material 120 such as urethane is provided therebetween. Inside the box 2, partition walls 21 to 24 that partition the internal space of the box 2 into a plurality of storage chambers are provided.
In the present embodiment, a refrigerator room 5, an ice making room 6, a switching room 7, a freezer room 8, and a vegetable room 9 are provided as storage rooms.
At least the ice making chamber 6, the switching chamber 7, and the freezing chamber 8 are provided with a vacuum heat insulating material that suppresses the heat transfer of the internal cold and a cold storage material that stores the internal cold. Details of this heat insulation and cold storage structure will be described later.

The refrigerator compartment 5 is provided at the top of the refrigerator 1. The lower surface of the refrigerator compartment 5 is partitioned by a partition wall 21.
The ice making room 6 and the switching room 7 are provided side by side on the lower side of the refrigerating room 5. The right side surface of the ice making chamber 6 and the left side surface of the switching chamber 7 are partitioned by a partition wall 24. Further, the lower surfaces of the ice making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 are partitioned by a partition wall 22.
The freezing room 8 is provided below the ice making room 6 and the switching room 7. The upper surface of the freezer compartment 8 is partitioned by a partition wall 22, and the lower surface of the freezer compartment 8 is partitioned by a partition wall 23.
The vegetable compartment 9 is provided below the freezer compartment 8 and at the bottom of the refrigerator 1. The upper surface of the vegetable compartment 9 is partitioned by a partition wall 23.

Each storage room is distinguished by a settable temperature zone (set temperature zone). For example, the refrigerator compartment 5 is about 0 ° C. to 4 ° C., the vegetable compartment 9 is about 3 ° C. to 10 ° C., and the ice making room 6 is about −18 ° C. and the freezer compartment 8 can be set to about −16 ° C. to −22 ° C., respectively. The switching chamber 7 can be switched to a temperature range such as chilled (about 0 ° C.) or soft refrigeration (about −7 ° C.).
Thus, the set temperature zones of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9 are set to be higher than the ice making compartment 6, the switching compartment 7, and the freezer compartment 8.
The set temperature of each storage room is not limited to this.

Note that “ice making chamber 6”, “switching chamber 7”, and “freezer chamber 8” in the present embodiment correspond to “freezer chamber” in the present invention. Hereinafter, storage chambers having a set temperature zone below the freezing point, such as the ice making chamber 6, the switching chamber 7, and the freezing chamber 8, are also referred to as “freezing chamber group”.
Further, “refrigeration room 5” and “vegetable room 9” in the present embodiment correspond to “refrigeration room” in the present invention.
In addition, the number and arrangement | positioning of each store room are not limited to this. What is necessary is just a structure which has one or several freezer compartment as a storage room, and one or several refrigerator compartment whose setting temperature zone is higher than this freezer compartment.

Doors 10 to 14 are provided at the front opening of each storage room.
A double door (hinge type) door 10 is attached to the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 5 so as to be freely opened and closed.
A plurality of mounting shelves 40 are provided inside the refrigerator compartment 5, and an object to be cooled such as food can be placed by opening the door 10. In addition to or instead of the mounting shelf 40, a storage container 50 described later may be disposed.

Draw-out type doors 11 to 14 are provided at the front opening portions of the ice making chamber 6, the switching chamber 7, the freezing chamber 8, and the vegetable chamber 9, respectively, so that they can be opened and closed.
The ice making room 6, the switching room 7, the freezing room 8, and the vegetable room 9 each contain one or more storage containers 50 that move in the front-rear direction, and can store objects to be cooled such as food. It has become. In addition to or in place of the storage container 50, the storage shelf 40 may be disposed.

A partition wall 25 is provided on the back side of the storage chamber, and an air passage 200 and a cooler chamber 30 are formed between the front side of the back wall of the box 2 (the front side of the inner box 2b) and the partition wall 25. Yes.
The air path 200 is provided, for example, in a range facing the back side of the refrigerating room 5, the ice making room 6, and the switching room 7. The air passage 200 is a cold air supply air passage for supplying cold air generated in the cooler chamber 30 to each storage chamber.
The cooler chamber 30 is provided, for example, in a range facing the back side of the freezing chamber 8.
A cooler 32 is provided in the cooler chamber 30, and a blower 33 is provided above the cooler 32.

In the partition wall 25 of each storage chamber, an inflow port through which the cool air from the cooler 32 flows into the storage chamber and an outflow port through which this cool air flows out of the storage chamber are formed.
As shown in FIG. 3, the partition wall 25 of the refrigerator compartment 5 is provided with an inflow port 251 and an outflow port 252.
An inlet 261 and an outlet 262 are provided in the partition wall 25 of the ice making chamber 6.
An inlet 271 and an outlet 272 are provided in the partition wall 25 of the switching chamber 7.
An inlet 281 and an outlet 282 are provided in the partition wall 25 of the freezer compartment 8.
The partition wall 25 of the vegetable compartment 9 is provided with inlets 291a and 291b and outlets 292a and 292b.

Out of these inlet and outlet, the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the outlet 282 of the freezer compartment 8 communicate with each other through a back air passage 201 provided on the back side of the switching chamber 7.
The other end of the rear air passage 201 is connected to the return port 202 to the cooler chamber 30. The rear air path 201 is a cool air return air path for returning the cool air after cooling each storage chamber to the cooler chamber 30.
Further, the outlet 272 of the switching chamber 7 and the outlet 282 of the freezer compartment 8 communicate with each other through an air passage (not shown), and the outlet 262 of the ice making chamber 6 and the outlet 282 of the freezer compartment 8 are not shown. Communicated by In addition, the outlets 292 a and 292 b of the vegetable compartment 9 communicate with the lower part of the cooler compartment 30.
Further, the rear air passage 201 and the air passage 200 are configured to be selectively communicated with each other by a bypass air passage 203. The bypass air passage 203 will be described later.

  In the above description, the case where the inlet and the outlet are formed in the partition wall 25 of each storage chamber has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an outlet may be provided in a partition wall that partitions between storage chambers having a set temperature range close to each other, and the storage chambers may be communicated with each other. For example, the ice making chamber 6 and the freezing chamber 8 may be communicated with each other.

  Each storage room is provided with a temperature detection device such as an infrared temperature sensor capable of detecting the temperature in the storage room. The refrigerator compartment 5, the ice making compartment 6, the switching compartment 7, the freezer compartment 8, and the vegetable compartment 9 are provided with temperature detecting devices 253, 263, 273, 283, 293, respectively. These temperature detection devices output detected temperature information to a control circuit (not shown). In addition, the location and number of installation of the temperature detection device in each storage room is not particularly limited, but by installing the temperature detection device in a place where the cold air from the inlet of each storage chamber is difficult to directly hit, The temperature in the storage chamber can be detected more accurately.

(Refrigeration cycle operation and internal air flow)
Next, the operation of the refrigeration cycle mounted on the refrigerator 1 and the air flow in the refrigerator 1 will be described.

A compressor 31 is disposed at the bottom of the back surface of the refrigerator 1.
The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 31 is condensed in a condenser (not shown). The condensed refrigerant is decompressed in a capillary tube (not shown). The decompressed refrigerant is evaporated in the cooler 32, and the periphery of the cooler 32 is cooled by the endothermic action during the evaporation. A compressor 31, a condenser (not shown), a capillary tube (not shown) as a decompressor, and a cooler 32 constitute a refrigeration cycle.
The blower 33 blows the cool air cooled around the cooler 32 to each storage room. In addition, a storage battery (not shown) such as a lithium storage battery is provided in the refrigerator 1, and the blower 33 can operate by selectively receiving power from a commercial power supply or a storage battery (not shown). .
The compressor 31 and the blower 33 are controlled by a control circuit (not shown) corresponding to the control device of the present invention. The control circuit detects the temperature in each storage chamber with the temperature detector, adjusts the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle and the air volume by opening / closing the damper so that the target set temperature is reached, and controls the start / stop of the cooling operation. Moreover, the operation of the blower 33 is controlled.
In addition, the control circuit of the present embodiment selectively executes three types of operations, “cold storage operation”, “cooling stop operation”, and “normal operation”. Details will be described later.

Part of the air cooled by the cooler 32 flows into the refrigerator compartment 5 from the inlet 251 through the air passage 200.
The air that flows into the refrigerator compartment 5 cools foods and the like placed on the placing shelf 40 of the refrigerator compartment 5, and then flows out from the outlet 252 to the rear air passage 201.
A part of this air merges with the air that has flowed out from the outlet 282, and flows out from the return port 202 to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler chamber 30.
In addition, the remainder of the air that has flowed into the rear air passage 201 from the outlet 252 flows into the vegetable compartment 9 from the inlets 291a and 291b through the air passage (not shown), and the air in the cooler compartment 30 from the outlets 292a and 292b. Outflow upstream.

Part of the air cooled by the cooler 32 flows into the ice making chamber 6 from the inlet 261 through the air passage 200.
A part of the air cooled by the cooler 32 flows into the switching chamber 7 from the inlet 271 through the air passage 200.
A part of the air cooled by the cooler 32 flows into the freezer compartment 8 from the inlet 281 through the air passage 200.

The air that has flowed into the freezer compartment 8 cools food and the like in the storage container 50 of the freezer compartment 8 and then flows out from the outlet 282 to the rear air passage 201. Then, this air flows out from the return port 202 to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler chamber 30.
The air that has flowed into the switching chamber 7 and the ice making chamber 6 cools the inside of the cabinet and then flows out from the outlets 272 and 262. And the air which flowed out from each of the switching chamber 7 and the ice making chamber 6 flows into the air flow upstream of the cooler chamber 30 from the return port 202 through a back air passage (not shown).

(Insulation and cold storage structure)
Next, the heat insulation and cold storage structure of the refrigerator 1 in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment includes the entire inner wall of the freezer compartment group (the ice making compartment 6, the switching compartment 7, and the freezer compartment 8) in the box 2 and the partition wall 21. , 22 and 23 and the entire surfaces of the doors 11, 12 and 13 are provided with a vacuum heat insulating material 100 and a cold storage material 110.
Furthermore, a cold storage material 110 is provided on the partition wall 24 that forms the inner walls of the ice making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7.

In the present embodiment, the case where the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided only on the portion forming the inner wall of the freezer compartment group (the ice making compartment 6, the switching compartment 7, and the freezer compartment 8) will be described. It is not limited to. For example, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 may be provided on the entire surface of the box 2.
Moreover, although this Embodiment demonstrates the case where the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided in the partition walls 21-23, this invention is not limited to this. For example, you may make it provide the vacuum heat insulating material 100 in any one of the partition wall 21 or the partition wall 22, and you may provide the vacuum heat insulating material 100 also in the partition wall 24 in addition to the partition walls 21-23.
In other words, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 may be provided on the partition wall that separates the freezer compartment 8 and the storage compartment (the refrigeration compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9) having a higher set temperature zone than the freezer compartment 8.

Here, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is made up of the box 2, the partition walls 21 to 23, and the doors 11 to 13 constituting the inner wall of the freezer compartment group (the ice making compartment 6, the switching compartment 7, and the freezer compartment 8). Although the case where it is provided on the entire surface (excluding the rear surface) will be described, the present invention is not limited to this, and is provided in at least one arbitrary position of the box 2, the partition walls 21 to 23, and the doors 11 to 13. You may do it.
In addition, although the case where the cool storage material 110 is provided in all the inner wall surfaces (except for the back surface) of the ice making chamber 6, the switching chamber 7, and the freezing chamber 8 is described here, the present invention is not limited to this and is desired. An arbitrary amount can be arranged at an arbitrary position according to the heat storage capacity. In addition, in order to efficiently transmit the cold energy stored in the cold storage material 110 to the interior, it is desirable to provide at least the upper surface (partition walls 21 and 22) among the inner wall surfaces.

Next, the details of the heat insulation / cold storage structure of each configuration will be described.
In addition, since the heat insulation and cold storage structure of the ice making chamber 6, the switching chamber 7, and the freezer compartment 8 are substantially the same, the freezer compartment 8 is demonstrated to an example.

(Box)
In the box 2, for example, a heat insulating material 120 is provided between an outer box 2 a formed of a steel plate and an inner box 2 b formed of a resin material.
The vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided in the box body 2 is disposed between the inner box 2 b and the heat insulating material 120. That is, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided in the box 2 is arranged on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the heat insulating material 120.
Moreover, the cool storage material 110 provided in the box 2 is disposed between the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the inner box 2b. That is, the regenerator material 110 provided in the box 2 is disposed on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the vacuum heat insulating material 100 between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2b.
Thus, between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2b, the heat insulating material 120, the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and the cool storage material 110 are laminated | stacked in an order from the warehouse outer side.
In addition, the arrangement | positioning position of the cool storage material 110 should just be an inner side rather than the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and may be arrange | positioned on the inner surface of the inner box 2b.

(Partition wall)
The partition wall 22 is formed in a plate shape by, for example, a resin material, and is formed by providing a heat insulating material 120 between the partition plate 22a and the partition plate 22b facing each other. The partition plate 22a is disposed on the ice making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 side, and the partition plate 22b is disposed on the freezing chamber 8 side.
The vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided on the partition wall 22 is disposed between the partition plate 22 b and the heat insulating material 120. That is, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided on the partition wall 22 is arranged on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the heat insulating material 120.
Moreover, the cool storage material 110 provided in the partition wall 22 is arrange | positioned between the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the partition plate 22b. That is, the regenerator material 110 provided on the partition wall 22 is disposed on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the vacuum heat insulating material 100 between the pair of partition plates 22a and 22b.
In addition, you may make it provide the cool storage material 110 further between the partition plate 22a and the heat insulating material 120 (ice-making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 side).

  Similarly, the partition wall 23 is formed by filling a heat insulating material 120 between the partition plate 23 a and the partition plate 23 b, and the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is disposed between the partition plate 23 a and the heat insulating material 120. . Moreover, the cool storage material 110 is provided between the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the partition plate 22a.

Thus, between the pair of partition plates of the partition walls 22 and 23, the heat insulating material 120, the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and the cold storage material 110 are stacked in order from the outside of the warehouse.
In addition, the arrangement | positioning position of the cool storage material 110 should just be an inner side rather than the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and may be arrange | positioned on the inner side surface of the partition plates 22b and 23a.
In addition, you may provide the cool storage material 110 further in the whole surface inside the ice-making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 of the partition wall 22 (between the partition plate 22a and the heat insulating material 120).

(door)
The door 13 is formed by providing a heat insulating material 120 between a door outer plate 13a arranged on the outside of the cabinet and a door inner plate 13b arranged on the inside of the cabinet.
The vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided on the door 13 is disposed between the door inner plate 13 b and the heat insulating material 120. That is, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided on the door 13 is disposed on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the heat insulating material 120.
Moreover, the cool storage material 110 provided in the door 13 is arrange | positioned between the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the door inner board 13b. That is, the regenerator material 110 provided on the door 13 is arranged on the inner side (freezer compartment 8 side) than the vacuum heat insulating material 100.
Thus, between the door outer plate 13a and the door inner plate 13b, the heat insulating material 120, the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and the cold storage material 110 are laminated in order from the outside of the warehouse.
In addition, the arrangement | positioning position of the cool storage material 110 should just be a warehouse inner side rather than the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and may be arrange | positioned on the warehouse inner surface of the door inner board 13b.

(Vacuum insulation)
The vacuum heat insulating material 100 is formed, for example, by connecting a plurality of vacuum heat insulating panels formed in a rectangular plate shape. This vacuum heat insulation panel is composed of, for example, at least a core material such as glass wool or resin and a fine material such as silica between two gas barrier films laminated with a heat welding layer made of polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like, and an aluminum layer and a surface protection layer. After inserting the powder and evacuating the inside in a predetermined evacuation device, the edge of the gas barrier film is heated and the heat-welded layers are in close contact with each other to form a rectangular plate as a whole doing.
In addition, the structure of the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is not restricted to this, What is necessary is just to decompress and seal the inside of a jacket material.

(Cool storage material)
The cold storage material 110 is configured by, for example, a latent heat storage material that stores latent heat due to a phase change (phase change between liquid and solid) as cold heat. As this latent heat storage material, for example, an aqueous solution containing ethylene glycol or a gel obtained by adding a gelling agent to this aqueous solution is sealed in a flexible bag-like member. Further, for example, the latent heat regenerator material is formed by providing an air layer in a hollow container having no flexibility and sealing it. Thus, by providing an air layer in the container that seals the latent heat regenerator material, even when the latent heat regenerator material undergoes volume expansion due to freezing, breakage of the container can be prevented.
In addition, although this embodiment demonstrates the case where a latent-heat cool storage material is used for the cool storage material 110, this invention is not limited to this. For example, a cold storage material using sensible heat using metal or resin may be used.

(Insulation material)
For the heat insulating material 120, for example, a foaming agent is added to urethane or the like, between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2b, between the pair of partition plates of the partition walls 21 to 24, and the door outer plate and door inner plate of the doors 10-14. In between, it is a foam heat insulating material formed by being filled with foam.
This heat insulating material 120 has a higher thermal conductivity (lower thermal resistance) than the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and has a heat insulating property lower than that of the vacuum heat insulating material 100.

  It should be noted that “heat insulating material 120” in the present embodiment corresponds to “filling heat insulating material” in the present invention.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the entire surface of both sides of the inner wall of the freezing room group (the ice making room 6, the switching room 7, and the freezing room 8) whose set temperature zone is below freezing point, and the entire surface of the doors 11-13. In addition, a vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided. Moreover, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided in the partition wall 21 and the partition wall 23 which partition the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9, and the freezer compartment group whose set temperature zone is higher than a freezer compartment group over the whole surface. For this reason, it is possible to suppress heat entry from the outside of the refrigerator 1 to the freezer compartment (heat transfer of cold heat in the freezer compartment). Furthermore, heat entry from the storage room having a higher set temperature zone than the freezer room group to the freezer room group can be suppressed.
Moreover, since the cool storage material 110 is provided on the inner wall surface of the freezer compartment, the cold energy of the freezer compartment can be stored. For example, even if the inside temperature rises due to a decrease in cooling capacity, operation stop, opening / closing of the door, etc., the inside of the compartment can be cooled by the cold heat stored in the cold storage material 110. Therefore, temperature fluctuation in the freezer compartment can be reduced.
Moreover, since the cool storage material 110 is provided on the inner wall of the freezer compartment group, it is not necessary to separately provide a cool storage tank for storing cold heat or a cooling means for cooling the cool storage tank, and cold heat can be stored with a simple configuration. it can. Moreover, it is not necessary to provide a cold storage room separate from the storage room, and cold heat can be stored without reducing the internal capacity of the storage room with respect to the main body of the refrigerator 1.

Moreover, in this Embodiment, it has the structure where the heat insulating material 120, the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and the cool storage material 110 were laminated | stacked in order from the warehouse outer side of the freezer compartment group to the warehouse inner side.
As described above, the cold storage material 110 is arranged on the inner side of the vacuum heat insulating material 100, so that the cold energy in the storage can be stored in the cold storage material 110 without being insulated by the vacuum heat insulating material 100. Moreover, it can suppress that the cold stored in the cool storage material 110 heat-transfers to the warehouse outer side (refrigeration room side).
Moreover, it can suppress that the cold heat in a store | warehouse | chamber heat-transfers to the heat insulating material 120 by arrange | positioning the vacuum heat insulating material 100 inside the store | warehouse | chamber from the heat insulating material 120. The heat insulating material 120 has higher thermal conductivity and lower heat insulating properties than the vacuum heat insulating material 100. For this reason, if the heat insulating material 120 is arrange | positioned inside the store | warehouse | chamber from the vacuum heat insulating material 100, the cold heat in a store | warehouse | chamber will heat-transfer to the heat insulating material 120 and will be consumed for cooling of the heat insulating material 120. For example, when the internal temperature rises due to a decrease in cooling capacity, shutdown, opening / closing of the door, etc., the temperature of the heat insulating material 120 also rises accordingly, and the cold energy required for cooling the internal space increases. Become.
Moreover, the cool storage material 110 is arrange | positioned between the outer box 2a and the inner box 2b, between a pair of partition plates of a partition wall, and between a door inner board and a door outer board. For this reason, the cool storage material 110 is not exposed to the inside of the warehouse. For example, even when the cold storage material 110 is formed by sealing a liquid or gel material in a bag-like sheet, it is possible to prevent the contents from leaking due to damage to the sheet. Moreover, the cool storage material 110 is not visually recognized by the user, and the design can be improved.

In addition to the above configuration, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the cold storage material 110 may be provided on the entire surface of the partition wall 25 constituting the inner wall surface of the freezer compartment other than the inlet and the outlet.
An example of such a configuration is shown in FIG.
6, in addition to the above-described configuration, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided on the entire surface other than the inlet port 281 and the outlet port 282 on the inner side (front side) of the partition wall 25 of the freezer compartment 8.
With such a configuration, the freezer compartment 8 is covered with the vacuum heat insulating material 100 on substantially all surfaces except the inlet 281 and the outlet 282. Therefore, while being able to suppress the heat approach from the refrigerator 1 to the freezer compartment group, and the heat entry from the storage room whose set temperature zone is higher than the freezer compartment 8 to the freezer compartment 8, Heat entry into the freezer compartment 8 can also be suppressed. For example, this effect is significant when the cooling operation is stopped and the temperature of the cooler chamber 30 rises.

Further, in FIG. 6, the regenerator material 110 is provided on the entire surface other than the inlet port 281 and the outlet port 282 on the inner side of the vacuum heat insulating material 100 provided in the partition wall 25 of the freezer compartment 8.
With such a configuration, cold heat can be stored on the back wall of the freezer compartment 8, and even if the internal temperature rises, the inside of the refrigerator is cooled from the back side by the cold heat stored in the cold storage material 110. Can do.
In the example of FIG. 6, the case where the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the cold storage material 110 are provided in the partition wall 25 of the freezer compartment 8 is described, but the partition wall 25 of the ice making chamber 6 or the switching chamber 7 may be provided. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit the cool storage material 110 provided in the partition 25 according to desired heat storage capacity.
In addition, the arrangement | positioning position of the cool storage material 110 should just be an inner side rather than the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and may be arrange | positioned on the inner surface of the partition 25.

In the present embodiment, the case where the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the cold storage material 110 are provided on the inner wall of the freezing room group (the ice making room 6, the switching room 7, and the freezing room 8) has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is good also as a structure which provides the vacuum heat insulating material 100 and the cool storage material 110 also in the inner wall of store rooms other than a freezer compartment group.
For example, for each of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9, the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided on both the entire side surfaces of the inner walls of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9 and the entire surfaces of the doors 10 and 14, as in the above-described freezer compartment group. May be provided. Moreover, you may make it provide the cool storage material 110 in the upper surface among the inner wall surfaces of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9. FIG. And you may make it set it as the structure where the heat insulating material 120, the vacuum heat insulating material 100, and the cool storage material 110 were laminated | stacked in order from the warehouse outer side to the warehouse inner side.
Even in such a configuration, it is possible to suppress heat intrusion from the outside of the storage chamber to the inside of the warehouse. Further, the cold energy in the refrigerator can be stored in the cold storage material 110 without being insulated by the vacuum heat insulating material 100.

(Storage container)
Next, the structure of the storage container 50 and the mounting shelf 40 arranged in the storage chamber will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the storage container according to Embodiment 1.
FIG. 7A is an external perspective view of the storage container 50, and FIG. 7B is a side sectional view of the storage container 50.
As shown in FIG. 7, the storage container 50 in the present embodiment is formed in a box shape having an upper surface opened by, for example, a resin material. A storage shelf 40 (described later) and the like are stored.
The storage container 50 has a hollow double structure, and is configured by enclosing the regenerator material 110 therein.

With such a configuration, the regenerator material 110 can be disposed closer to the object to be cooled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the heat storage capacity necessary for cooling the object to be cooled.
Moreover, since the cool storage material 110 is provided inside the storage container 50, it is not necessary to separately provide a cool storage tank for storing cool heat and a cooling means for cooling the cool storage tank, and the cool heat can be stored with a simple configuration. it can.
Moreover, even if it is a case where a liquid and a gel material are used as the cool storage material 110 by sealing the cool storage material 110 inside the resin storage container 50, the leakage of the cool storage material 110 can be prevented.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the mounting shelf according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8A is an external perspective view of the mounting shelf 40, and FIG. 8B is a side sectional view of the mounting shelf 40.
As shown in FIG. 8, the mounting shelf 40 in this Embodiment is formed in plate shape, for example with the resin material, and to-be-cooled objects, such as a foodstuff, are mounted in the upper surface.
The mounting shelf 40 has a hollow double structure, and is configured by enclosing the regenerator material 110 therein.

With such a configuration, the regenerator material 110 can be disposed closer to the object to be cooled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the heat storage capacity necessary for cooling the object to be cooled.
Moreover, since the cool storage material 110 is provided in the mounting shelf 40, it is not necessary to separately provide a cool storage tank for storing cool heat and a cooling means for cooling the cool storage tank, and the cool heat can be stored with a simple configuration. Can do.
Moreover, even if it is a case where a liquid and a gel material are used as the cool storage material 110 by sealing the cool storage material 110 inside the resin mounting shelf 40, the leakage of the cool storage material 110 can be prevented.

(Freezing point of latent heat storage material)
Next, the amount of cold storage heat when a latent heat storage material is used as the cold storage material 110 will be described.

The freezing point of the latent heat storage material is a temperature lower than the target set temperature of the storage chamber provided with the latent heat storage material. If it is a storage room in which the target set temperature can be set in the temperature range of the predetermined range, the freezing point of the latent heat storage material is set to a temperature lower than the lower limit value of the target set temperature range.
Thus, the freezing point of the latent heat regenerator material is lower than the target set temperature, so that the latent heat regenerator material is solidified by the regenerative operation of the storage room, and the latent heat accompanying the phase change between the liquid and solid in the latent heat regenerator material is stored as cold heat. .

  Here, when the target set temperature of the freezer compartment 8 is −18 ° C. and the latent heat storage material having a freezing point of −23 ° C. is used as the cold storage material 110 in the freezer compartment 8, the heat storage amount characteristic of the latent heat storage material is shown. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a heat storage amount characteristic of the latent heat cool storage material according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 9, on the basis of 0 ° C., the horizontal axis indicates the temperature difference, and the vertical axis indicates the heat storage amount of the latent heat storage material. The slope of the characteristic shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to specific heat.
As shown in FIG. 9, the latent heat regenerator material absorbs or dissipates heat at the freezing point (−23 ° C.) without changing the temperature due to the latent heat accompanying the phase change. For example, when the temperature of the solidified latent heat regenerator material increases, the amount of heat corresponding to the latent heat is absorbed without increasing the temperature at the freezing point.

  For example, by setting the freezing point of the latent heat regenerator material provided in the freezer compartment to a temperature (-23 ° C) lower than the set temperature (-18 ° C) of the stockroom and 0 ° C or less, the inside of the freezer compartment Even if the temperature rises, the latent heat storage material rises to the freezing point (−23 ° C.) and then changes the phase by absorbing the amount of heat corresponding to the latent heat while maintaining this temperature. Will rise. Therefore, even if the inside temperature rises due to, for example, a decrease in cooling capacity or shutdown, the temperature in the freezer compartment can be kept at a temperature near the freezing point of 0 ° C. or lower for a predetermined time. it can.

In addition, when providing the cool storage material 110 in the inner wall surface of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9 whose set temperature range is 0 degreeC or more, the storage container 50 and the mounting shelf 40 are arrange | positioned in the refrigerator compartment 5 or the vegetable compartment 9. In this case, a latent heat regenerator material having a freezing point higher than 0 ° C. and lower than the upper limit value of the set temperature zone of the storage room is used as the regenerator material 110. That is, although the latent heat regenerator material provided in the above-described freezer compartment group has been described as using a material having a freezing point lower than the lower limit value of the set temperature zone, in the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9 where the set temperature zone is 0 ° C. or higher. If the freezing point is below 0 ° C., the food or the like can be frozen. Therefore, in the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9, a latent heat regenerator material having a freezing point higher than 0 ° C. and lower than the upper limit value of the set temperature zone of the storage compartment is used.
For example, as described above, the set temperature zone of the refrigerator compartment 5 can be set to about 0 ° C. to 4 ° C., but in general, the temperature is often set to 4 ° C. Therefore, the regenerator material 110 provided on the inner wall surface (box 2, partition wall 21, door 10) of the refrigerating chamber 5 and the regenerator material 110 in the storage container 50 and the mounting shelf 40 disposed in the refrigerating chamber 5 are used. Uses a latent heat regenerator material having a freezing point at a temperature lower than about 4 ° C. which is a normal set temperature and higher than 0 ° C. (for example, 2 ° C.).
As a result, even if the inside temperature rises due to, for example, a decrease in cooling capacity or operation stoppage, the temperatures in the refrigerator compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 9 are kept at a normal set temperature (about 4 for a predetermined time). ℃) lower than the freezing point. Moreover, since the temperature in a store | warehouse | chamber does not become 0 degrees C or less, it can prevent that the to-be-cooled object in the refrigerator compartment 5 or the vegetable compartment 9 freezes.

[Bypass air passage]
The refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment has three operation modes of “normal operation”, “cold storage operation”, and “cooling stop operation” (details will be described later), and selectively selects one of the operation modes. It is characterized in that it is executed. And since the air path structure of the refrigerator 1 changes with operation modes to perform, it demonstrates below an air path structure.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the airway configuration according to Embodiment 1, and shows a state in normal operation and cold storage operation. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the air path configuration according to Embodiment 1, and shows a state in the cooling stop operation. 10 and 11, for the sake of explanation, the ice making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 are not shown, and the freezing chamber 8 is described as an example. However, the air path configurations of the ice making chamber 6 and the switching chamber 7 are refrigeration. It is almost the same as the chamber 8.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3, 10, and 11, the bypass air passage 203 capable of connecting the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a bypass air passage 203 that can connect the air passage 200 and the rear air passage 201 is provided. The bypass air passage 203 is branched from the downstream side of the outlet 252 and the upstream side of the return port 202 in the rear air passage 201, and is connected to the upstream side of the inlet 281 in the air passage 200. That is, the bypass air passage 203 allows the air passage 200 and the rear air passage 201 to communicate with each other. In the bypass air passage 203, a damper 204 and a damper 205 are provided.

The damper 204 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown), and is configured to be able to selectively switch the communication state between the rear air passage 201 and the bypass air passage 203.
In FIG. 10, the rear air passage 201 and the bypass air passage 203 are blocked by the damper 204. At this time, the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the outlet 282 of the freezer compartment 8 communicate with each other in the cooler compartment 30.
On the other hand, in FIG. 11, the rear air passage 201 and the bypass air passage 203 are communicated by the damper 204. At this time, the outflow port 252 and the return port 202 of the refrigerator compartment 5 are blocked in the rear air passage 201.

The damper 205 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown), and is configured to be able to selectively switch the communication state between the air passage 200 and the bypass air passage 203.
In FIG. 10, the air path 200 and the bypass air path 203 are blocked by the damper 205. At this time, the inlet 251 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 communicate with each other through the air passage 200.
On the other hand, in FIG. 11, the air path 200 and the bypass air path 203 are communicated by the damper 205. At this time, in the air passage 200, the inlet 251 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 are blocked.

In the state shown in FIG. 10, the air that has flowed out from the outlet 252 (except for air that flows into the vegetable compartment 9 through the air passage (not shown)) merges with the air that has flowed out from the outlet 282, Outflows upstream of air flow. Then, the air that has exited the cooler chamber 30 passes through the air passage 200, partly flows into the refrigerator compartment 5 from the inlet 251, and partly flows into the freezer compartment 8 from the inlet 281.
In the state shown in FIG. 11, the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 are communicated by the bypass air passage 203. For this reason, the air that has exited from the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 passes through the rear air passage 201 and flows into the freezer compartment 8 from the inlet 281 via the bypass air passage 203. The air that has flowed into the freezer compartment 8 flows out from the outlet 282 to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler chamber 30. The air exiting the cooler chamber 30 passes through the air passage 200 and flows into the refrigerator compartment 5 from the inlet 251. What is necessary is just an air path structure in which the air which came out of the refrigerator compartment 5 is guide | induced to the freezer compartment 8, and the specific shape and connection position of the bypass air path 203 and the structure of the dampers 204 and 205 are specifically limited. is not.

[Cooling operation]
Next, the operation of the refrigerator 1 will be described. The refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment selectively performs three operations, “normal operation”, “cold storage operation”, and “cooling stop operation”. The refrigerator 1 performs operation switching between “normal operation”, “cold storage operation”, and “cooling stop operation” by a trigger described later.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a change in the internal temperature of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 12, the horizontal axis represents elapsed time, and the vertical axis represents the internal temperature in the freezer compartment 8. In the example of FIG. 12, a latent heat regenerator material having a freezing point of −23 ° C. is used for the regenerator material 110.

(1) Cold storage operation The cold storage operation means that the bypass air passage 203 is shut off as shown in FIG. 10, the temperature of the freezer compartment 8 is lower than the set temperature in normal operation, and is lower than the freezing point of the cold storage material 110. This is an operation for blowing out cooling air at a low temperature (set temperature during cold storage). The control circuit of the refrigerator 1 detects the temperature in the storage chamber using, for example, a temperature detection device, and controls the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle and the start / stop of the cooling operation so as to achieve the target cold storage set temperature.

Here, the freezing point of the cold storage material 110 which is a latent heat storage material is a temperature lower than the set temperature of the storage chamber provided with the latent heat storage material.
For example, when the set temperature of the freezer compartment 8 is −18 ° C., the cold storage material 110 provided on the inner wall surface (box 2, partition walls 22, 23, door 13) of the freezer compartment 8 and the freezer compartment 8 A latent heat regenerator material having a freezing point (for example, −23 ° C.) at a temperature lower than −18 ° C. which is a set temperature is used for the regenerator material 110 in the storage container 50 and the placement shelf 40 arranged.

In this cold storage operation, the cooling operation is performed so that the cold storage set temperature in the freezer compartment 8 becomes the cold storage set temperature (−25 ° C.) lower than the freezing point (−23 ° C.) of the cold storage material 110. As a result, the cold storage material 110 having a freezing point of −23 ° C. is solidified, and cold heat is stored as latent heat. As shown in FIG. 12, during the cold storage in the cold storage material 110, the internal temperature is maintained at approximately −23 ° C., and when the cold storage in the cold storage material 110 is completed, the internal temperature decreases to −25 ° C.
Thus, the freezing point of the latent heat regenerator material is higher than the set temperature during cold storage, so that the latent heat regenerator material is solidified by the cold storage operation of the storage room, and the latent heat associated with the phase change between the liquid and solid in the latent heat regenerator material is used as cold heat. store. The cold storage operation can be performed, for example, at night time.

(2) Cooling stop operation As shown in FIG. 11, the cooling stop operation switches the state of the damper 204 and the damper 205 to bring the bypass air passage 203 into a communication state, stops the operation of the compressor 31, and operates the blower 33. It means driving. In the cooling stop operation, the blower 33 operates by receiving power supply from a storage battery (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the bypass air passage 203 is in a communicating state, the air flowing out from the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 once enters the back air passage 201 and is led to the damper 204 to the bypass air passage 203. Inflow. The air that has flowed into the bypass air passage 203 further proceeds and enters the freezer compartment 8 from the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8. The air that has entered the freezer compartment 8 flows out from the outlet 282 to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler compartment 30 while being cooled by the cold heat of the regenerator material 110. Then, this air flows out from the return port 202 to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler chamber 30. Since the compressor 31 is stopped, the cooling of the air is basically not performed except for the cooling by the low-temperature refrigerant remaining in the cooler chamber 30. The air that flows out to the upstream side of the air flow in the cooler chamber 30 is sent to the blower 33, passes through the air passage 200, and flows into the refrigerating chamber 5 from the inflow port 251. The damper 205 blocks the cold air flow from the air passage 200 to the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8. The air that has flowed into the refrigerator compartment 5 cools the food in the refrigerator compartment 5 and flows out from the outlet 252, and again from the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 via the rear air passage 201 and the bypass air passage 203. It flows into the freezer compartment 8.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 gradually rises and rises to −23 ° C., which is the freezing point of the cold storage material 110, during a predetermined time after switching from the cold storage operation to the cooling stop operation. Then, while maintaining the temperature of the regenerator material 110, the heat quantity corresponding to the latent heat is absorbed from the inside of the warehouse (cold heat is released) to change phase. Thereby, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 is maintained at about -23 degreeC for the predetermined time. After the cold storage material 110 absorbs the amount of heat corresponding to latent heat and undergoes a phase change, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 gradually increases. In the cooling stop operation, the latent heat stored in the cold storage material 110 functions as a cold heat source for cooling the freezer compartment 8 for a predetermined time. Furthermore, since the cold air in the freezer compartment 8 circulates to the refrigerator compartment 5, the latent heat stored in the cold storage material 110 also functions as a cold heat source for cooling the refrigerator compartment 5.

  Thus, in the cooling stop operation, the outlet 252 of the refrigerator compartment 5 and the inlet 281 of the freezer compartment 8 are in communication with each other by the bypass air passage 203, and the cold air that has come out of the refrigerator compartment 5 in this connected state is freezer. 8 is led into. By doing in this way, the refrigerator compartment 5 is cooled with the cold of the cool storage material 110 of the freezer compartment 8. For this reason, the cooling state of the refrigerator compartment 5 can be maintained only by moving the blower 33.

(3) Normal operation The normal operation is an operation in which the bypass air passage 203 is shut off as shown in FIG. 10 so that the temperature in the storage chamber is maintained in the set temperature range (−18 ° C.). The control circuit of the refrigerator 1 detects the temperature in the storage chamber using, for example, a temperature detection device, and controls the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle and the start / stop of the cooling operation so as to reach the target set temperature (−18 ° C.). Note that the normal operation is not provided, and the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation may be alternately repeated.

  Although FIG. 12 shows an operation example in which the normal operation is performed after the cooling stop operation, the normal operation can also be performed after the cold storage operation. When the normal operation is performed after the cold storage operation, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 gradually increases during a predetermined time after switching from the cold storage operation to the normal operation, and rises to −23 ° C., which is the freezing point of the cold storage material 110. Then, while maintaining the temperature of the regenerator material 110, the heat quantity corresponding to the latent heat is absorbed from the inside of the warehouse (cold heat is released) to change phase. Thereby, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 is maintained at about -23 degreeC for the predetermined time. After the cold storage material 110 absorbs the amount of heat corresponding to latent heat and undergoes a phase change, the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 gradually increases. During normal operation, the latent heat stored in the cold storage material 110 functions as a cold heat source for cooling the freezer compartment 8 for a predetermined time. For this reason, the operation load of the compressor 31 in normal operation can be reduced, and power consumption can be reduced.

In the cold storage operation or the normal operation that continues after the cooling stop operation is completed, it is preferable to first adjust the wind direction of the inlet 281 so as to positively apply cold air to the object to be cooled such as food. Since the temperature in the freezer compartment 8 is relatively increased during the cooling stop operation, the deterioration of the food can be suppressed by applying cold air to the food as soon as possible.
Further, a display means such as a lamp for notifying the user that the cooling stop operation is being performed may be provided. In this way, during the cooling stop operation, the user can be urged not to open and close the storage room door as much as possible, and the cooling stop operation using the latent heat of the regenerator material 110 in the freezer compartment 8 as the main cooling source. In, the temperature rise of each storage room can be suppressed. Moreover, if this display means is configured to receive power supply from the storage battery together with the blower 33, the display means can display even during a power failure. Moreover, you may provide display means, such as a lamp | ramp which notifies a user that it is under cold storage driving | operation. By doing so, it is possible to urge the user not to open and close the door as much as possible during the cold storage operation where the operation load is larger than in the normal operation, and the cooling efficiency due to the cold air leaking out of the warehouse is suppressed. it can.

[Operation example of operation switching]
Next, an operation example of operation switching of the cold storage operation, the cooling stop operation, and the normal operation will be described.

(1) Operation switching using time as a trigger The timepiece is provided in the refrigerator 1, and a cold storage operation, a cooling stop operation, or a normal operation can be started at a predetermined time. For example, the cold storage operation is started at 10 pm, the cooling stop operation is started at 9 am, and the normal operation is started at 16:00 pm. That is, the time measured by the timepiece device is used as a trigger for operation switching. By doing in this way, for example, cold storage operation can be performed in the night time period when there is little power demand and charging is performed at night charge, and cooling stop operation or normal operation can be performed in the time period when there is a large power demand such as daytime. . By performing the cooling stop operation in a time zone with a high power demand, the power consumption of the refrigerator 1 in a time zone with a high power demand can be reduced. Further, by performing cold storage operation at night when there is little power demand and billing is performed at night, the peak of power demand can be suppressed and the burden of electricity charges is reduced for the user.
As a clock device, for example, a radio clock is used so that the user does not have to set the time by himself. It may be used.
The time for switching between the cold storage operation, the cooling stop operation, and the normal operation may be changed according to the season.

(2) Operation switching using the operation time as a trigger The timepiece device is provided in the refrigerator 1, and a cold storage operation, a cooling stop operation, and a normal operation can be switched every predetermined time. For example, the time required to store the cold storage material 110 provided in the freezer compartment 8 is obtained in advance, and the cold storage operation is performed only during this time. Then, a time required for the latent heat stored in the cold storage material 110 to be radiated is obtained in advance, and the cooling stop operation is performed only during this time. Thus, since the time for the cold storage operation can be set as the time required for the cold storage in the cold storage material 110, the useless cold storage operation can be suppressed.

(3) Operation switching at timing designated by the user The refrigerator 1 includes a clock device and a setting unit that allows the user to set operation switching timing. And the cool storage operation, the cooling stop operation, or the normal operation is started at the timing set by the user. The setting by the user may be, for example, setting the operation switching time, or setting the time until the operation switching (the operation switching is performed after N hours from now). By doing in this way, the driving | operation switching suitable for a user's use environment can be performed.

(4) Operation switching using external signal as trigger The communication means with the external device is provided in the refrigerator 1, and when the operation switching signal is received from the external device, the cold storage operation, the cooling stop operation, or the normal operation is performed according to the signal. Start. As an external device, for example, a power meter such as a so-called smart meter that measures power consumption at home and outputs a power demand signal (power demand signal) is provided, and the refrigerator 1 receives the power demand signal from the power meter. The operation is switched based on the received signal. For example, when the power demand signal is lower than a predetermined value (when the power demand is low), the refrigerator 1 performs a cold storage operation or normal operation that consumes more power, and the power demand signal is higher than the predetermined value. Sometimes (when power demand is high), the cooling stop operation with low power consumption is performed. By doing in this way, when the power demand value is higher than the predetermined value, the cooling stop operation using the cold energy of the cold storage material 110 is performed, so that peak power in the entire consumer can be suppressed.

(5) Operation switching by life pattern (brightness, door opening / closing frequency, human sensor) Operation switching can be automatically performed according to the environment of the home where the refrigerator 1 is installed. For example, an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance outside the refrigerator 1 is provided, and when it is detected as “bright” by the illuminance sensor, it is determined that it is daytime (during user activity), and the cooling stop operation or normal operation is performed. Do. If the illuminance sensor detects “dark”, it is determined that it is nighttime, and a cold storage operation is performed.
Further, for example, when a human sensor that detects whether or not a user exists outside the refrigerator 1 is provided and the human sensor detects the presence of the user, it is determined that the user is active and cooling is stopped. Operate or perform normal operation. On the other hand, when the human sensor does not detect the presence of the user, it is determined that the user is absent or is sleeping, and the cold storage operation is performed.
Further, for example, a door opening / closing sensor that detects the opening / closing state of the door of the refrigerator 1 is provided, and the number of times the door is opened / closed is measured. And when the frequency | count of opening and closing of the door per unit time is few, it judges that a user is absent or is sleeping, and performs a cool storage operation. Further, when the door is opened and closed frequently, it is determined that it is during the daytime when the user is active, and the cooling stop operation or the normal operation is performed. By doing in this way, a cold storage operation and a normal driving | operation can be switched at the timing which matched a user's life pattern.

  For example, in the cold storage operation, the temperature is lower than the normal target temperature, and the operation load of the compressor 31 is larger than that in the normal operation. For this reason, for example, when the cold storage operation is performed during the user's activity such as in the daytime, cold air leaks out of the warehouse due to opening and closing of the door, and cooling efficiency is lowered. However, according to the present embodiment, since the cold storage operation is performed during the time when the user is not active, the operation can be performed without reducing the operation efficiency in the cold storage operation. Note that whether or not the user is active may be determined based on the detection results of two or more of the illuminance sensor, the human sensor, and the door opening / closing sensor. Judgment accuracy is improved.

  Furthermore, the operation switching may be performed by combining a plurality of the operation switching operations (1) to (5). For example, the timing for switching to the cold storage operation is basically determined by any one of the above (1) to (4), and the switching timing is adjusted according to the life pattern shown in (5) above. More specifically, for example, if the setting of “starting the cold storage operation after 10:00 pm” is made, the refrigerator 1 is after 10:00 pm, and the user detects the refrigerator 1 by a human sensor or the like. When it is detected that it no longer exists around the, cold storage operation is started. In this way, for example, in the time zone at night and after the user goes to bed (this time zone can be said to be a time zone in which power consumption by other electric devices is low), the cold storage of the refrigerator 1 is performed. Driving can be performed, and driving that matches the life pattern of the user can be performed.

  Further, a mode in which operation switching is repeatedly executed every day at a preset timing (steady operation mode) and a mode in which operation switching is performed at a temporarily set timing (unsteady operation mode) may be provided. In the steady operation mode, the operation is switched by any one or combination of the above (1) to (5). When the operation in the unsteady operation mode is instructed, the regenerative operation, the cooling stop operation, and the normal operation are switched at a timing different from that in the steady operation mode.

When the operation is performed in the unsteady operation mode, the refrigerator 1 accepts the setting of the start time and the end time of the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation. Instead of accepting the setting of the end times of the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation, the setting of the operation time (for example, N hours) of the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation may be accepted. The time or time may be set manually by a user using an operation button (not shown) provided in the refrigerator 1, or may be set based on an external signal such as a power demand signal. Good.
Further, instead of accepting the setting of the operation switching timing of both the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation, only the setting of the cooling stop operation start timing may be accepted. In this case, the refrigerator 1 starts the cold storage operation before a predetermined time of the set start timing of the cooling stop operation (a time during which cold energy required for the cooling stop operation can be stored). The start timing of the cooling operation may be manually set by a user using an operation button (not shown) provided in the refrigerator 1, or may be set based on an external signal such as a power demand signal.
Such an unsteady operation mode is useful when a power outage for a predetermined time is planned. That is, the cooling stop operation is performed in the time zone where a power failure is planned. Even during a power failure, the blower 33 can operate by receiving power from the storage battery. By doing in this way, it is useful to keep the cooling state of the refrigerator 1 longer even during a power failure.
Further, instead of accepting the setting of the cool storage operation, the cooling stop operation, and the switching timing (start timing) to the normal operation, the setting of the time zone during which the cool storage operation and the cooling stop operation are not performed may be accepted. For example, even if it is a time zone that is set to perform a cold storage operation in the steady operation mode, when performing other electrical devices with large power consumption during that time zone, the cold storage operation is not temporarily performed Can be set by the user. By doing in this way, the driving | running according to the installation environment of the refrigerator 1 and a user's life pattern can be performed.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the cold storage operation is performed in a predetermined time zone, and in the cooling stop operation, the refrigerator compartment 5 is cooled using the latent heat stored during the cold storage operation. For this reason, in the cooling stop operation, since the refrigerator compartment 5 can be cooled without operating the compressor 31, the power consumption of the refrigerator 1 during the cooling stop operation can be reduced. Furthermore, in the cooling stop operation, by supplying power to the blower 33 with a storage battery, the refrigerator compartment 5 is cooled using latent heat stored in the cold storage material 110 of the freezer compartment 8 even during a power failure, for example. Can delay the deterioration of foodstuffs.

Further, since the vacuum heat insulating material 100 is provided on the entire surface of both sides of the inner wall of the freezer compartment group, the entire partition wall partitioning the freezer compartment group and the other storage chambers, and the entire door surface, The cold heat transfer from the inside of the refrigerator to the outside of the refrigerator, and the cold heat transfer from the freezer compartment group to other storage compartments can be suppressed, and even during the cooling stop operation, the freezer compartment in the relevant time zone The temperature rise of the group can be reduced.
Further, the cold storage material 110 disposed on the inner side of the vacuum heat insulating material 100 stores the cold heat without being insulated by the vacuum heat insulating material 100, so that even in the cooling stop operation, the freezer compartment It is possible to suppress the cold heat stored in the cold storage material 110 of the group from being transferred to the outside of the cabinet or other storage rooms. Therefore, the temperature rise of the freezer compartment in the said time slot | zone can be suppressed.
Further, since the latent heat regenerator material is used as the regenerator material 110, the temperature in the freezer compartment can be maintained at a temperature near the freezing point for a predetermined time in the normal operation or the cooling stop operation.

  In the present embodiment, since the load required for the cooling operation can be reduced in the time zone in which the power demand for commercial power is at a peak, the power consumption of the refrigerator 1 in the time zone in which the power demand is at a peak is reduced. Can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which power is supplied from the storage battery to the blower 33 in the cooling stop operation has been described, but power may be supplied from the commercial power supply to the blower 33 without providing the storage battery. Even if it does in this way, since the electric power which the refrigerator 1 consumes in the cooling stop operation is only the part for the air blower 33, the power consumption in the cooling stop operation can be reduced. And the effect which reduces the power consumption at the time of a peak is acquired by performing a cooling stop operation in the time slot | zone when the power demand of commercial power becomes a peak.

  1 refrigerator, 2 box, 2a outer box, 2b inner box, 5 refrigerator compartment, 6 ice making room, 7 switching room, 8 freezer room, 9 vegetable room, 10 door, 11 door, 12 door, 13 door, 13a outside door Plate, 13b door inner plate, 14 door, 21 partition wall, 22 partition wall, 22a partition plate, 22b partition plate, 23 partition wall, 23a partition plate, 23b partition plate, 24 partition wall, 25 partition wall, 30 cooler chamber, 31 compressor, 32 cooler, 33 blower, 40 mounting shelf, 50 storage container, 100 vacuum heat insulating material, 110 cold storage material, 120 heat insulating material, 200 air passage, 201 back air passage, 202 return port, 203 bypass air passage , 204 damper, 205 damper, 251 inlet, 252 outlet, 253 temperature detector, 261 inlet, 262 outlet, 263 temperature detector, 271 inlet, 272 outlet , 273 temperature sensing device, 281 inlet, 282 outlet, 283 temperature sensing device, 291a inlet, 291 b inlet, 292a outlet, 292b outlet, 293 temperature sensing device.

Claims (15)

It is composed of an outer box that forms the outer shell of the refrigerator main body and an inner box that forms the inner wall of the main body, and a box body whose front side is open,
One or a plurality of freezer compartments configured by partitioning the internal space of the box by a partition wall, and having a cold storage material inside;
One or a plurality of refrigerating rooms configured by partitioning the internal space of the box by a partition wall, and having a set temperature zone higher than that of the freezing room;
A door provided at a front opening of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment;
A refrigeration cycle including a compressor and a cooler;
A blower for blowing cool air generated by the cooler;
A supply air path for supplying cold air generated by the cooler to the freezer and the refrigerator;
A return air path for returning the air in the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment to the cooler;
A bypass air passage that selectively connects the return air passage and the supply air passage, and guides the cold air that has come out of the refrigerator compartment to the freezer compartment in a communication state;
A controller for controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the blower,
The controller is
With the bypass air passage closed, a cold storage operation for performing operation control so as to be lower than the set temperature of the freezer compartment,
The refrigerator is characterized in that the bypass air passage is brought into a communication state, and the cooling cycle operation for stopping the operation of the refrigeration cycle and operating the blower is selectively performed. The cold storage material is constituted by a latent heat cold storage material that stores latent heat due to phase change as cold heat,
The controller is
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein in the cold storage operation, operation control of the refrigeration cycle and the blower is performed so that the temperature becomes lower than a freezing point of the latent heat storage material. In addition to the cold storage operation and the cooling stop operation, the control device,
The normal operation for selectively controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the blower is selectively performed so as to maintain the set temperature of the freezer compartment in a state where the bypass air passage is closed. The refrigerator described. A power storage device capable of supplying power to the blower;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the cooling stop operation, the blower operates while being supplied with power from the power storage device. A vacuum heat insulating material is provided on the entire surface of the partition wall that partitions the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, on the entire inner wall of the freezer compartment in the box, and on the entire surface of the door provided in the freezer compartment. ,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a regenerator material is provided on at least an upper surface of the inner wall surface of the freezer compartment. Filling insulation is provided between the outer box and the inner box,
6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the vacuum heat insulating material provided on the entire inner wall of the freezer compartment in the box is arranged on the inner side of the filling heat insulating material. Cold storage material is provided on the entire surface of the partition wall that partitions the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, on the entire inner wall of the freezer compartment in the box, and on the entire surface of the door provided in the freezer compartment. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the refrigerator is characterized. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cold storage material is disposed on the inner side of the vacuum heat insulating material. Equipped with a clock device,
The said control apparatus performs the said cold storage operation or the said cooling stop operation, when the time time-measured by the said timepiece device passes predetermined time. The any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by the above-mentioned. Refrigerator. The refrigerator according to claim 9, further comprising setting means for a user to set a time zone for performing the cold storage operation or the cooling stop operation. The refrigerator according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising setting means for a user to set a time zone during which the cold storage operation or the cooling stop operation is not performed. Including a receiving device for receiving a signal from an external device;
The said control apparatus will perform the said cold storage operation or the said cooling stop operation based on the received signal, if the predetermined signal is received by the said receiving apparatus. Any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by the above-mentioned. The refrigerator described. Comprising at least one of a human sensor, an illuminance sensor, and a door sensor for detecting an open / closed state of the door;
The control device performs the cold storage operation or the cooling stop operation in a time zone determined based on detection information of at least one of the human sensor, the illuminance sensor, and the door sensor. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A storage container that is disposed in the freezer compartment and stores an object to be cooled;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the storage container has a hollow double structure, and a regenerator material is enclosed therein. It is disposed in the storage chamber, and includes a mounting shelf on which an object to be cooled is mounted.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the storage shelf has a hollow double structure, and a regenerator material is enclosed therein.

Images