JP2022020230A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator which appropriately controls an energization amount of a heater installed in a storage chamber for preventing dew condensation on a connector storage part installed in the storage chamber by opening of an opening/closing part of the storage chamber or outside air inflow through clearances of the storage chamber to reduce power consumption while preventing dew condensation on the connector storage part.SOLUTION: A refrigerator includes: a dew condensation prevention device disposed in a storage chamber of the refrigerator; and a control part including an outside air temperature sensor detecting an outside air temperature of the refrigerator, a storage chamber temperature sensor detecting a temperature in the storage chamber and a storage chamber humidity sensor detecting a humidity in the storage chamber, and controls energization to the dew condensation prevention device on the basis of a temperature difference detected by the storage chamber temperature sensor and the outside air temperature sensor and the humidity detected by the storage chamber humidity sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that controls the energization rate of a heater arranged on a rotating partition plate based on the outside air temperature and the inside temperature (Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 2 is installed to prevent dew condensation from forming in the vertical partition provided for the double-door type left and right door seals based on the difference between the dew point temperature calculated from the number of times the door is opened and closed or the outside air temperature and the temperature inside the refrigerator. A refrigerator that controls the amount of electricity supplied to the heater to the minimum necessary is disclosed (Patent Document 2).

JP-A-2007-163002 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-353792

In the present disclosure, in order to prevent dew condensation from occurring in the connector storage portion provided in the storage chamber due to the opening of the storage chamber opening / closing portion or the inflow of outside air through the gap of the storage chamber, the amount of electricity supplied by the heater installed in the storage chamber is controlled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having reduced power consumption while appropriately controlling and preventing dew condensation on the connector housing.

The refrigerator in the present disclosure includes a dew condensation prevention device arranged in the storage chamber of the refrigerator, an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature of the refrigerator, a storage room temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the storage room, and humidity in the storage room. It is equipped with a storage room humidity sensor that detects, and a control unit that controls energization to the dew condensation prevention device based on the temperature difference detected by the storage room temperature sensor and the outside air temperature sensor and the humidity detected by the storage room humidity sensor. Have.

The refrigerator in the present disclosure detects the condition of outside air inflow based on the measured values of the outside air temperature sensor, the storage chamber temperature sensor installed in the storage chamber, and the storage chamber humidity sensor, and is directed to the dew condensation prevention device according to the condition of the outside air inflow. Since the amount of electricity supplied to the sensor is optimally adjusted, it is possible to reduce power consumption while preventing dew condensation on the connector housing.

External perspective view of the refrigerator Schematic diagram showing the air passage configuration of the refrigerator Vertical sectional view of the main part of the refrigerator Schematic diagram of the location where dew condensation occurs and the flow path of outside air and cold air in the first embodiment of the present invention. A block diagram showing a control device provided in a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart illustrating a flow of energization control in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or duplicate explanations for substantially the same configuration may be omitted.

It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes a refrigerator main body 1 having an open front, and a plurality of chambers are formed in a heat insulating section in the refrigerator main body 1.

The chambers formed in the refrigerator main body 1 are the uppermost refrigerating chamber 14, the ice making chamber 16 provided under the refrigerating chamber 14, the temperature switching chamber 15 provided next to the refrigerating chamber 14, the temperature switching chamber 15, and the ice making chamber 16. It is composed of a vegetable compartment 17 provided underneath and a freezing chamber 18 provided under the vegetable compartment 17. The refrigerating room 14 is provided with a plurality of shelves (not shown). Each room 14 to 18 can be opened and closed by a rotary door 7 or a drawer type door 8, 9, 10 and 11 which adopts the same heat insulating structure as the refrigerator main body 1.

The refrigerating chamber 14 is a chamber for refrigerating and storing, and is cooled to a low temperature that does not freeze, specifically, usually set to 1 to 5 ° C.

The temperature switching chamber 15 can widely switch the cooling temperature from, for example, a freezing temperature zone set to −22 to −18 ° C. and cooled, to a refrigerating temperature zone set to, for example, 1 to 5 ° C. and cooled. It has become like.

The vegetable room 17 is a room whose temperature is set to be the same as or slightly higher than that of the refrigerating room 14, and specifically, the temperature is set to 2 to 7 ° C. and cooled.

Since the vegetable chamber 17 becomes highly humid due to the moisture emitted from the stored food such as vegetables, dew condensation may occur if it is locally too cold.

Therefore, by setting the temperature to a relatively high temperature, the amount of cooling is reduced and the generation of dew condensation due to local overcooling is suppressed.

The freezing chamber 18 is a chamber set in the freezing temperature zone, and specifically, it is usually set to -22 to -18 ° C and cooled. However, in order to improve the freezing storage state, for example, -30 ° C or- It is set to a low temperature such as 25 ° C and cooled.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the inside of the refrigerator.

The refrigerator main body 1 is composed of a metal outer box 2, a hard resin inner box 3, and a foamed heat insulating material 4 which is foam-filled between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. In the inner box 3 of the refrigerator main body 1, the uppermost refrigerating chamber 14 and the temperature switching chamber 15 and the ice making chamber 16 below the refrigerating chamber 14 are formed as a heat insulating section by the first heat insulating partition wall 5 in the center, and the temperature switching chamber is formed. The 15 and the ice making chamber 16 are formed into a heat insulating section by a vertically extending fourth heat insulating partition wall 5A.

The temperature switching chamber 15, the ice making chamber 16, and the vegetable chamber 17 provided under the temperature switching chamber 15 are formed by the second heat insulating partition wall 6, and the vegetable chamber is formed by the third heat insulating partition wall (lower heat insulating partition wall) 7. 17 and a freezing chamber 18 provided below the 17 are formed as a heat insulating section.

A cooler 24 for generating cold air is arranged in the inner part of the vegetable compartment 17.

The cooler 24 in the cooling chamber 100 is connected to the cooling unit 124 (see FIG. 1) to form a refrigeration cycle. The cooling unit 124 of FIG. 1 includes a compressor (not shown), a capacitor (not shown), a heat-dissipating pipe (not shown) for heat dissipation, and a capillary tube (not shown). Cooling is performed by circulation of the refrigerant compressed by a compressor (not shown).

The cooling chamber 100 is behind the vegetable compartment 17, and there is a back wall structure 20 that divides the vegetable compartment 17 and the cooling chamber 100 back and forth. As shown in FIG. 2, the back wall structure 20 goes from the central cooling chamber 100 to the refrigerating chamber 14, the temperature switching chamber 15, the ice making chamber 16, the vegetable compartment 17, and the freezing chamber 18 toward each chamber 14-18. Each cold air discharge air passage 14A to 18A is provided. Further, the back wall structure 20 includes a refrigerating chamber 14, a temperature switching chamber 15, an ice making chamber 16, a vegetable compartment 17, and a freezing chamber 18, and each of the cold air return air passages 14B to connect from the respective chambers 14 to 18 to the cooling chamber 100. 18B and are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cold air discharge air passages 14A to 18A are air passages for supplying the air cooled by the cooler 24 to the chambers 14 to 18 via the fan 25.

Specifically, the cooling air from the cooling chamber 100 passes through each air passage as shown by the solid line arrow through the fan 25, and as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. 2, the cooling room cold air to the refrigerating room 14 heading upward. Discharge air passage 14A, switching chamber cold air discharge air passage 15A to the temperature switching chamber 15, ice making chamber cold air discharge air passage 16A to the ice making chamber 16, and vegetable chamber cold air discharge air passage 17A to the downward vegetable chamber 17. And the freezing chamber cold air discharge air passage 18A to the freezing chamber 18, and are distributed to each of the air passages and supplied to each of the chambers 14 to 18.

The vegetable chamber cold air discharge air passage 17A to the vegetable chamber 17 is formed by branching from the freezing chamber cold air discharge air passage 18A on the way, and a part of the cooling cold air supplied to the freezing chamber 18 is a third heat insulating partition wall. It branches at the opening opened in 70 and is supplied to the vegetable compartment 17.

Dampers 50A, 50B, 51 for adjusting the air volume of cold air are arranged in the air passages 14A, 15A, and 17A for each room to the refrigerating room 14, the temperature switching room 15, and the vegetable room 17.

The refrigerating room damper 50A and the temperature switching room damper 50B are composed of twin dampers.

Further, the refrigerating chamber discharge air passage 14A communicates with the inside of the duct 14C provided on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 14, and communicates with the refrigerating chamber 14 via the discharge port 14D opening forward.

The air returning from the chambers 14 to 18 passes through the return air passages 14B to 18B and toward the cooler 24 arranged in the cooling chamber 100, as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerating chamber cold air return air passage 14B from the refrigerating chamber 14 is arranged so as to extend vertically on the right side in the figure, the upper end communicates with the lower part of the refrigerating chamber 14, and the lower end cools the cooling chamber 100. Head to the vessel 24. The refrigerating chamber cold air return air passage 14B is arranged side by side with the cooler 24 on the right side of the figure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the switching chamber cold air return air passage 15B from the temperature switching chamber 15 is arranged so as to extend vertically on the right side in the figure, and the switching chamber cold air return port 15D at the upper end communicates with the lower part of the temperature switching chamber 15. Then, the lower end faces the cooler 24 of the cooling chamber 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice making chamber cold air return air passage 16B from the ice making chamber 16 is arranged so as to extend vertically on the left side in the figure, and the ice making chamber cold air return port 16D at the upper end communicates with the lower part of the ice making chamber 16. The lower end faces the cooler 24 of the cooling chamber 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vegetable compartment cold air return air passage 17B from the vegetable compartment 17 is arranged so as to extend vertically at the right end in the figure, and the vegetable compartment return port 17C at the upper end communicates with the upper part of the vegetable compartment 17. The lower end faces the cooler 24 of the cooling chamber 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the freezing room cold air return air passage 18B from the freezing room 18 penetrates the third heat insulating partition wall 7 forming a heat insulating section between the freezing room 18 and the vegetable room 17, and the freezing room cold air return air. The passage 18B is arranged behind the freezing chamber cold air discharge air passage 18A, and the freezing chamber cold air discharge air passage 18A and the freezing chamber cold air return air passage 18B are formed so as to overlap each other in the front-rear direction.

Further, the refrigerating room 14, the ice making room 16, and the freezing room 18 are provided with a door switch (not shown) for detecting the open / closed state of the door, but the vegetable room 17 is not provided with the door switch.

As shown in FIG. 3, a temperature switching chamber drawer container 21 having an open upper surface is formed in the temperature switching chamber 15 so as to be able to be drawn forward in conjunction with the drawer door 8.

Further, a temperature switching chamber duct 22 is arranged on the top surface of the temperature switching chamber 15 so as to be connected to the back wall structure 20. A plurality of cold air outlets 22A are formed in the temperature switching chamber duct 22, and a temperature switching chamber drawer container 21 is arranged below the cold air outlet 22A.

In the vegetable compartment 17, a vegetable compartment drawer container 23 having an open upper surface and a small container 30 are placed on the upper portion of the vegetable compartment drawer container 23. The vegetable compartment drawer container 23 is formed so as to be able to be pulled out forward in conjunction with the drawer door 10.

Further, on the top surface of the vegetable compartment 17, a vegetable compartment return air passage 28 is arranged so as to be connected to the back wall structure 20. A return port 28A is formed in the vegetable compartment return air passage 28, and a vegetable compartment drawer container 23 is arranged below the return port 28A.

Further, a defrost heater 26 that energizes when the cooler 24 is defrosted is arranged below the cooler 24 in the cooling chamber 100 formed on the back surface of the back wall structure 20.

Further, above the fan 25, a temperature switching chamber damper 50B is arranged on the first heat insulating partition wall 5. The temperature switching chamber damper 50B is arranged above the rear end portion 21A of the upper surface opening of the temperature switching chamber drawer container 21.

Further, the temperature switching chamber duct 22 is supported by the first heat insulating partition wall 5 which is the top surface of the temperature switching chamber 15.

Further, the vegetable room temperature sensor 200 is arranged in the vegetable room return air passage 28 in the vegetable room 17, and the humidity sensor 201A and the humidity compensation temperature sensor 201B are arranged outside the vegetable room return air passage 28, and the vegetable room 17 is arranged. A connector storage portion 202 and a dew condensation prevention heater 203 are arranged on the bottom surface of the above.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the dew condensation generation location and the flow path of the outside air and the cold air in the first embodiment.

When the pull-out door 10 of the vegetable compartment 17 is in the open state, the vegetable compartment 17 is not provided with the door switch, and the user cannot be notified of the open state.

Therefore, if the user leaves the vegetable compartment 17 in an open state, convection occurs due to the temperature difference between the outside air temperature and the vegetable compartment temperature, and the outside air 300 flows into the vegetable compartment 17. Further, the vegetable chamber 17 is controlled by supplying cold air 301 from the discharge port 400 formed in the back structure 20 of the cooling chamber 100 to control the temperature of the vegetable chamber. The cold air 301 flows to the bottom of the vegetable compartment 17 along the vegetable compartment drawer container 23, and the outside air 300 is cooled by the cold air 301 to be below the dew point temperature. Dew condensation occurs on the wall surface.

As described above, control is performed to energize the dew condensation prevention heater 203 under predetermined conditions when the open state continues so that dew condensation does not occur in the vegetable compartment 17, and in particular, the inside of the connector housing portion 202 does not cause a problem due to dew condensation. conduct.

The specific operation will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control device 214 provided in the refrigerator in the first embodiment, and the control device 214 controls the overall operation of the refrigerator 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 214 is composed of elements of a sensor unit 205, a control processing unit 206, a drive circuit 209, and a load unit 213, and the control processing unit 206 that performs specific control detects the temperature of the outside air. About the outside temperature sensor 204, the vegetable room temperature sensor 200 for detecting the temperature in the vegetable room, the vegetable room humidity sensor 201A for detecting the humidity in the vegetable room, and the humidity correction temperature sensor 201B used for correcting the vegetable room humidity sensor 201A. Receive a signal.

In the control processing unit 206, the relationship between the outside air and the temperature or humidity in the vegetable room is determined from each of these signals, and the output amount to the drive circuit 209 is determined in order to control the load unit 213 based on the setting data 208. The determination means 207 is provided.

The drive circuit 209 drives the load unit 213 according to the instruction from the control processing unit 206.

Further, in the first embodiment, the set outside air temperature, the outside air temperature and the opening / closing part of the storage room are opened or the storage room is set in consideration of the dehumidifying capacity during driving of the cooling system such as the compressor in the refrigerator and the amount of water vapor with respect to the outside air temperature. Set temperature fluctuation value set assuming the inflow of outside air through the gap of The set humidity set assuming an increase in the temperature is stored in the setting data 208.

Next, the energization control of the dew condensation prevention heater 203 in the vegetable chamber 17 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the first embodiment, in order to make the dew condensation prevention heater 203 determine the energization amount every predetermined execution cycle, for example, every 40 milliseconds, it is determined whether or not the predetermined execution cycle has elapsed (ST1). When the predetermined execution cycle elapses and the timing for determining the energization amount is reached, the temperature is detected by the outside air temperature sensor 204 and the vegetable room temperature sensor 200, and the humidity in the vegetable room is detected by the vegetable room humidity sensor 201A and the humidity correction temperature sensor 201B. Is detected (ST2).

When each temperature and humidity are detected, it is determined whether or not the cooling system such as the compressor 210 is being driven (ST3).

If it is determined that the cooling system is not being driven, the normal heater energization amount is used (ST9).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the cooling system is being driven, the determination means 207 provided in the control processing unit 206 determines whether or not the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the set outside air temperature stored in the setting data 208. (ST4), and when it is determined that the outside air temperature is lower than the set outside air, the normal heater energization amount is set (ST9).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the set outside air temperature, a value obtained by subtracting the set temperature fluctuation value stored in the setting data 208 from the outside air temperature is calculated (ST5). For example, when the set outside air temperature stored in the setting data 208 is 25 ° C. and the outside air temperature is 30 ° C., the heater is controlled with a normal energization amount.

The determination means 207 determines whether or not the calculated value of ST5 is equal to or lower than the vegetable room temperature (ST6), and if it is determined that the calculated value of ST5 is larger than the vegetable room temperature, the normal heater energization amount is used (ST9). ..

On the other hand, when it is determined that the temperature difference is equal to or lower than the vegetable room temperature, it is determined whether or not the vegetable room humidity is equal to or higher than the set humidity stored in the setting data 208 (ST7). For example, when the outside air temperature is 30 ° C, the set temperature fluctuation value is 5 ° C, and the vegetable room temperature is 27 ° C, the calculated temperature difference is 25 ° C, and the subsequent processing (ST7) is executed because the temperature is equal to or lower than the vegetable room temperature. do.

If the humidity of the vegetable room is less than the set humidity stored in the setting data 208, the normal heater energization amount is used (ST9), while if the humidity of the vegetable room is equal to or higher than the set humidity stored in the setting data 208, the heater is used. Increase the amount of energization (ST8).

By doing so, the condition of the inflow of outside air can be detected from the vegetable room temperature, the outside air temperature, and the vegetable room humidity, and the heater energization amount according to this condition can be optimally adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the dew condensation prevention heater 203 while preventing dew condensation on the connector storage portion 202 in the vegetable compartment 17.

Although the vegetable compartment is described in the embodiment as described above, it may be applied to other storage chambers such as a refrigerating chamber and a temperature switching chamber.

Each of the above-described embodiments is an embodiment of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention detects the condition of the inflow of outside air from the temperature inside the storage room, the outside air temperature, and the humidity inside the storage room, and the amount of electricity supplied to the heater can be adjusted based on the detection. It can also be applied to storage rooms other than the vegetable room 17.

1 Refrigerator body 3 Inner box 14 Refrigerator room 15 Temperature switching room 17 Vegetable room 20 Back wall structure 28 Vegetable room return air passage 28A Return port placed in the vegetable room return air passage 200 Vegetable room temperature sensor 201A Vegetable room humidity sensor 201B Temperature sensor for humidity compensation 202 Connector storage part 203 Dew condensation prevention heater 204 Outside temperature sensor 205 Control device sensor part 206 Control device control processing part 207 Judgment means 208 Setting data 209 Drive circuit 210 Compressor 211 Cold air blower fan 212 Damper 213 Control Load part of the device

Claims (6)

A dew condensation prevention device arranged in the storage chamber of the refrigerator, an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature of the refrigerator, a storage chamber temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the storage chamber, and a storage for detecting the humidity in the storage chamber. A room humidity sensor is provided, and when the door of the storage room is kept open for a predetermined time, the temperature difference detected by the storage room temperature sensor and the outside air temperature sensor and the temperature difference detected by the storage room humidity sensor are detected. A refrigerator having a control unit that controls energization of the dew condensation prevention device based on humidity. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein when the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a preset outside air temperature, the energization amount of the dew condensation prevention device is increased. When the value obtained by subtracting the preset temperature fluctuation value from the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor is equal to or less than the storage room temperature detected by the storage room temperature sensor, the energization amount of the dew condensation prevention device is increased. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is increased. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein when the humidity detected by the storage room humidity sensor is equal to or higher than a preset humidity, the energization amount of the dew condensation prevention device is increased. The storage chamber is a drawer-type door, and a return duct for cold air circulating in the storage chamber on the top surface of the storage chamber, the storage chamber temperature sensor inside the return duct, and the storage on the top surface outside the return duct. The room humidity sensor, the dew condensation prevention device on the bottom surface of the storage room, and the outside air temperature sensor for detecting the ambient temperature outside the refrigerator are provided, and when the drawer type door is kept open for a predetermined time, the said If the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor is equal to or higher than the preset outside air temperature, the difference between the outside air temperature and the set outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the storage room temperature, and higher than or equal to the preset humidity set by the humidity sensor. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the dew condensation prevention device is energized by increasing the energization amount. The fifth aspect of claim 5, wherein the storage chamber is a vegetable compartment, the bottom surface thereof is provided with a connector storage portion for storing the wiring of the dew condensation prevention device, and the dew condensation prevention device is provided in the vicinity of the connector storage portion. Refrigerator.

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