JP2014129911A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator which can suppress an operation failure of a damper caused by freezing of a movable portion of the damper, in the refrigerator which performs cooling by one evaporator.SOLUTION: A refrigerator comprises: a damper heater for heating either of a refrigeration damper 32 and a freezing damper 35 for opening and closing a refrigerating duct 33 and a freezing duct 36 for supplying air which is cooled by an evaporator 56 to a refrigeration space 20 and a freezing space 40, respectively; and a defrosting heater 63 for heating frost adhering to the evaporator. After the end of a defrosting operation for bringing the defrosting heater into an electricity-conduction state, one damper having the damper heater is opened, and one space continuous to the damper is cooled prior to the other space.

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

  Conventionally, a refrigeration damper and a refrigeration damper are provided in a flow path for supplying air cooled by the evaporator to the refrigeration space and a flow path for supplying the refrigeration space, respectively, and the refrigeration space and the refrigeration space are cooled by the evaporator. There is known a refrigerator in which an evaporator fan that blows air is provided, and the opening and closing of the refrigeration damper and the refrigeration damper and the rotation of the evaporator fan are controlled to cool the refrigeration space and the refrigeration space with one evaporator.

  In such a refrigerator, in order to melt and remove the frost adhering to the evaporator, a defrosting operation is performed in which a defrosting heater provided near the evaporator is energized while the compressor is stopped. And after completion | finish of a defrost operation, while driving a compressor, either one of a refrigeration damper and a freezing damper is open | released, and the space connected to the said damper is cooled (for example, refer patent document 1 below).

JP2011-2141

  However, after the defrosting operation is completed, if one of the refrigeration damper and the freezing damper is opened and the cooling operation is started, the warm and high-humidity air generated during the defrosting operation hits and releases the one damper. And condensation occurs. Since this condensed water is exposed to cooling, it may freeze and hinder the operation of the damper.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing a malfunction of a damper caused by freezing of a movable part of the damper in a refrigerator that is cooled by one evaporator.

  The refrigerator according to the embodiment includes a refrigeration space, a refrigeration space, a compressor, an evaporator supplied with a refrigerant discharged from the compressor to cool air, and the air cooled by the evaporator to the refrigeration space. And an evaporator fan that blows air to the refrigeration space, a refrigeration damper that opens and closes a flow path that supplies air cooled by the evaporator to the refrigeration space, and air that is cooled by the evaporator is supplied to the refrigeration space A refrigeration damper that opens and closes the flow path, a defrost heater that heats frost attached to the evaporator, a damper heater that heats one of the refrigeration damper and the refrigeration damper, the compressor, and the evaporation A control unit for controlling the fan, the refrigeration damper, the refrigeration damper, the defrosting heater, and the damper heater, and the control unit, after the defrosting operation for energizing the defrosting heater, By opening one damper provided with a serial Danpahita characterized by cooling the one space connected to the damper before the other space.

It is sectional drawing of the refrigerator which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a time chart which shows control of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a time chart which shows control of the refrigerator which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 10 according to the present embodiment includes a refrigerator main body 11 including a heat insulating box body filled with a foam heat insulating material between an outer box forming an outer shell and an inner box forming a storage space. The storage space is partitioned into an upper refrigerated space 20 and a lower refrigerated space 40 by a heat insulating partition wall 12.

  The refrigeration space 20 is a space that is cooled to a refrigeration temperature (for example, 2 to 3 ° C.), and the inside is further partitioned vertically by a partition plate 21, and a refrigeration chamber in which a plurality of mounting shelves are provided in the upper space. 22 is provided, and a vegetable compartment 24 in which a drawer-type storage container 23 is arranged is provided in the lower space.

  A freezing space 40 disposed below the vegetable room 24 is a space cooled to a freezing temperature (for example, −18 ° C. or lower), and an ice making room and a small freezing room 42 having a relatively small volume automatic ice making machine. Are provided side by side, and a freezer compartment 43 is provided below the left and right.

  The opening part of the refrigerator compartment 22 is obstruct | occluded by the refrigerator compartment door 25 pivotally supported by the hinge provided in the upper and lower sides of the refrigerator main body 11 at the upper and lower sides.

  Openings of the vegetable compartment 24, the ice making compartment, the small freezer compartment 42 and the freezer compartment 43 are closed by pull-out doors 26, 46 and 47. The pair of left and right support frames fixed to the back side of each pull-out door 26, 46, 47 hold the storage containers 23, 44, 45, and are configured to be pulled out of the cabinet as the door is opened. Yes.

  On the back of the ice making room and the small freezer room 42, one evaporator 56 constituting a part of the refrigeration cycle 50 as shown in FIG. 2 and the air cooled by the evaporator 56 are refrigerated space 20 and freezer space 40. An evaporator chamber 30 that houses an evaporator fan 31 that blows air is disposed.

  The refrigeration cycle 50 includes a compressor 51 that discharges a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas, a condenser 52 that receives the refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 51 and liquefies heat, and a capillary tube that decompresses the refrigerant from the condenser 52. 54 and an evaporator 56 connected to the downstream side of the capillary tube 54 by pipe connection. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 51 is supplied to the evaporator 56 via the condenser 52 and the capillary tube 54, and thereby the evaporator 56 is cooled.

  The evaporator 56 is, for example, a fin tube type evaporator in which a large number of strip-shaped fins are fitted at predetermined intervals on a refrigerant pipe through which refrigerant from the capillary tube 54 flows. In the evaporator 56, the outlet side of the refrigerant pipe is connected to the suction side of the compressor 51, and the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 56 is taken into the compressor 51 again and circulates through the refrigeration cycle 50.

  An evaporator temperature sensor 62 that detects the temperature of the evaporator 56 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet of the refrigerant pipe that constitutes the evaporator 56. Further, a defrost heater 63 comprising a pipe heater in which an electric heater is enclosed in a pipe is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the evaporator 56, and the electric heater is energized at a predetermined timing to generate heat, thereby evaporating. The frost adhering to the vessel 56 is thawed and removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the evaporator chamber 30 is connected to the refrigeration space 20 by a refrigeration duct 33 provided with a refrigeration damper 32, and is connected to the refrigeration space 40 by a refrigeration duct 36 provided with a refrigeration damper 35. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigeration damper 32 includes a frame 32a that partitions the refrigeration duct 33 in the air flow direction, and a baffle plate 32b that closes a through hole provided in the frame 32a. The refrigeration duct 33 is opened and closed by rotating the baffle plate 32b.

  Similar to the refrigeration damper 32, the refrigeration damper 35 includes a frame 35a and a baffle plate 35b that closes a through-hole provided in the frame 35a, and a driving mechanism (not shown) rotates the baffle plate 35b to cause a refrigeration duct. 36 is opened and closed.

  One of the refrigeration damper 32 and the refrigeration damper 35 (for example, the refrigeration damper 35) is attached to the frame 35a so that the damper heater 37 surrounds the through hole, and is heated by the damper heater 37. It has become.

  A refrigeration temperature sensor 27 for measuring the internal temperature TR of the refrigerated space 20 is provided on the back surface of the refrigerated chamber 22, and a freezer temperature sensor TF for measuring the internal temperature TF of the refrigerated space 40 is provided on the back surface of the freezer chamber 43. A freezing temperature sensor 48 is provided.

  A machine room 60 that houses a compressor 51 and a condenser 52 that constitute a part of the refrigeration cycle 50 is disposed at the lower back of the refrigerator body 11, and a controller 61 is provided at the upper back of the machine room 60. It has been.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 61 receives signals input from various sensors such as a refrigeration temperature sensor 27, a freezing temperature sensor 48, and an evaporator temperature sensor 62, and a memory 64 including a nonvolatile recording medium such as an EEPROM. Based on the stored control program, operations of the evaporator fan 31, the refrigeration damper 32, the refrigeration damper 35, the damper heater 37, the compressor 51, and the defrost heater 63 are controlled.

  In the refrigerator 10 having such a configuration, the control unit 61 drives the compressor 51 and the evaporator fan 31 based on the internal temperatures TR and TF detected by the refrigeration temperature sensor 27 and the refrigeration temperature sensor 48, and the refrigeration. By controlling the opening and closing of the damper 32 and the refrigeration damper 35, the refrigeration cooling operation and the refrigeration cooling operation are switched and executed alternately. When the predetermined defrosting start condition is satisfied while switching between the refrigeration cooling operation and the refrigeration cooling operation alternately, the defrosting operation is performed and the frost adhering to the evaporator 56 is melted and removed. When the operation is completed, the refrigeration damper 35 provided with the damper heater 37 is opened, and the refrigeration space 40 connected to the refrigeration damper 35 is cooled prior to the refrigeration space 20.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, in the refrigeration cooling operation, the compressor 51 provided in the refrigeration cycle 50 is driven to lower the temperature of the evaporator 56, the refrigeration damper 32 is opened, and the refrigeration damper 35 is The evaporator fan 31 is driven in the closed state.

  Thereby, the air cooled by the evaporator 56 is sent to the refrigerated space 20 through the refrigeration duct 33 to cool the inside of the refrigerated space 20. The air that has flowed in the refrigerated space 20 is taken into the evaporator chamber 30 from the suction port provided on the back surface of the vegetable chamber 24 that forms the lower part of the refrigerated space 20, and is again cooled by exchanging heat with the evaporator 56.

  The controller 61 performs the refrigeration cooling operation until the internal temperature TR of the refrigerated space 20 reaches a predetermined temperature TRoff (for example, TRoff = 0 ° C.) or less, and ends the refrigeration cooling operation when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature TRoff or less. .

  In the refrigeration cooling operation, the compressor 51 provided in the refrigeration cycle 50 is driven to lower the temperature of the evaporator 56, the refrigeration damper 32 is closed, and the evaporator fan 31 is driven with the refrigeration damper 35 opened. .

  Thereby, the air cooled by the evaporator 56 is sent to the refrigeration space 40 through the refrigeration duct 36, and the inside of the refrigeration space 40 is cooled. The air that flows in the freezing space 40 is taken into the evaporator chamber 30 from the suction port provided on the back surface of the freezing chamber 43 that forms the lower part of the freezing space 40, and is heat-exchanged with the evaporator 56 again to be cooled.

  The control unit 61 performs the refrigeration cooling operation until the internal temperature TF of the refrigeration space 40 reaches a predetermined temperature TFoff (for example, TFoff = −20 ° C.) or less, and ends the refrigeration cooling operation when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature TFoff or less. To do.

  Then, while performing the refrigeration cooling operation and the refrigeration cooling operation alternately, when the predetermined defrosting start condition is satisfied, such as when the integrated value of the time during which the refrigeration cooling operation is performed reaches 8 hours, the control unit 61 The compressor 51 is stopped, the refrigeration damper 32 and the freezing damper 35 are closed, the evaporator fan 31 is stopped, the defrost heater 63 is energized, and the frost attached to the evaporator 56 is melted and removed. Perform frost operation. When the predetermined defrosting end condition is satisfied after the defrosting operation is started, for example, when the temperature Te of the evaporator 56 detected by the evaporator temperature sensor 62 reaches a predetermined temperature Td (for example, Td = 10 ° C.). The control unit 61 ends the defrosting operation.

  When the defrosting operation is completed, the control unit 61 changes the defrosting heater 63 from the energized state to the non-energized state, changes the refrigeration damper 35 from the closed state to the open state, and stops the compressor 51. And the evaporator fan 31 is driven and the above-described refrigeration cooling operation is started.

  Then, after executing the refrigeration cooling operation for cooling the refrigeration space 40 until the internal temperature TF reaches a predetermined temperature TFoff or less, the refrigeration cooling operation is started, and the internal temperature TR is refrigerated until the internal temperature TR reaches a predetermined temperature TRoff or less. The space 20 is cooled.

  In the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment as described above, after the defrosting operation in which the defrosting heater 63 is energized, the refrigeration damper 35 provided with the damper heater 37 is opened to cool the inside of the refrigerator. The refrigerated space 40 connected to is cooled before the refrigerated space 20. As a result, the warm and high-humidity air generated in the evaporator chamber 30 during the defrosting operation hits the refrigeration damper 35 to cause condensation, and the refrigeration damper 35 is frozen. Therefore, the freezing of the freezing damper 35 can be melted by the damper heater 37, and the freezing damper 35 does not malfunction due to freezing.

  Further, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, only a damper heater is provided in one of the refrigeration damper 32 and the refrigeration damper 35, and warm and high-humidity air hits the damper at the start of the cooling operation after the defrosting operation ends. The problem of malfunction due to freezing can be solved, and it is not necessary to provide damper heaters in both the refrigeration damper 32 and the refrigeration damper 35, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the damper heater 37 is provided in the freezing damper 35 where the internal temperature is low and the freezing is likely to occur, so that the problem of the malfunction of the damper due to freezing can be effectively solved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the damper heater 37 is provided in the refrigeration damper 35 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the damper heater is provided in the refrigeration damper 32, and the damper heater is provided when the defrosting operation is completed. The refrigeration space 20 connected to the refrigeration damper 32 may be cooled prior to the refrigeration space 40 by opening the refrigeration damper 32.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the first embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the refrigeration damper 35 provided with the damper heater 37 is opened and the refrigeration space 40 is cooled immediately after the defrosting operation is finished. However, in this embodiment, when the defrosting operation is finished. A pre-cooling operation is performed, and then the refrigeration damper 35 provided with the damper heater 37 is opened to cool the refrigeration space 40 before the refrigeration space 20.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, similarly to the first embodiment described above, when the refrigeration cooling operation and the refrigeration cooling operation are alternately performed by switching, the defrosting is performed when a predetermined defrosting start condition is satisfied. Start driving. If predetermined | prescribed defrost termination conditions are satisfy | filled after starting a defrost operation, the control part 61 will complete | finish a defrost operation.

  When the defrosting operation is completed, the control unit 61 maintains the evaporator fan 31 in a stopped state, keeps the refrigeration damper 32 and the refrigeration damper 35 in a closed state, and sets the defrost heater 63 in a non-energized state. The compressor 51 is driven to start the preliminary cooling operation. In this preliminary cooling operation, by driving the compressor 51, a low-temperature refrigerant flows into the evaporator 56, and the evaporator 56 heated by the defrost heater 63 during the defrosting operation is cooled. A predetermined end condition from the start of the precooling operation, for example, a predetermined time (for example, 2 minutes) has elapsed from the start of the precooling operation, or the evaporator 56 detected by the evaporator temperature sensor 62 When the temperature Te reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, −20 °) or less, the control unit 61 ends the preliminary cooling operation.

  When the preliminary cooling operation is completed, the control unit 61 changes the refrigeration damper 35 from the closed state to the open state while driving the compressor 51 and drives the evaporator fan 31 that is stopped to operate the refrigeration space. The refrigeration cooling operation for cooling 40 is started. After performing the freezing and cooling operation until the internal temperature TF reaches a predetermined temperature TFoff or lower, the refrigeration cooling operation is started, and the refrigerated space 20 is cooled until the internal temperature TR reaches a predetermined temperature TRoff or lower.

  In the present embodiment, after the defrosting operation is completed, the precooling operation is performed, so that the refrigeration cooling operation can be performed after the evaporator 56 heated to a high temperature during the defrosting operation is lowered in temperature. It is possible to suppress the temperature in the refrigeration space 40 from rising at the start of operation.

  Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment was shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof as well as included in the scope and gist of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Refrigerator 11 ... Refrigerator main body 12 ... Heat insulation partition wall 20 ... Refrigeration space 22 ... Refrigeration room 24 ... Vegetable room 31 ... Evaporator fan 32 ... Refrigeration damper 33 ... Refrigeration duct 35 ... Refrigeration damper 36 ... Refrigeration duct 37 ... Damper heater 40 ... Refrigerating space 42 ... Small freezer 43 ... Freezer 50 ... Refrigeration cycle 51 ... Compressor 52 ... Condenser 56 ... Evaporator 60 ... Machine room 61 ... Control unit 62 ... Evaporator temperature sensor 63 ... Defrost heater

Claims (3)

Refrigerated space, refrigerated space, compressor, evaporator supplied with refrigerant discharged from the compressor to cool the air, and air cooled by the evaporator is blown to the refrigerated space and the frozen space An evaporator fan, a refrigeration damper for opening and closing a flow path for supplying air cooled by the evaporator to the refrigeration space, and a refrigeration for opening and closing a flow path for supplying air cooled by the evaporator to the refrigeration space A damper, a defrost heater for heating frost attached to the evaporator, a damper heater for heating any one of the refrigeration damper and the refrigeration damper, the compressor, the evaporator fan, the refrigeration damper, A controller that controls the refrigeration damper, the defrost heater, and the damper heater;
After the defrosting operation in which the defrosting heater is energized, the control unit opens one damper provided with the damper heater and cools one space connected to the damper before the other space. A refrigerator characterized by.   After the defrosting operation is completed, the control unit drives the compressor, stops the blower, and performs a precooling operation in which the refrigeration damper and the refrigeration damper are closed, and then the one space. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is cooled.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one damper provided with the damper heater is the refrigeration damper.

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