JP3176723B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which cooling air or cooling brine is circulated around the outer periphery of a storage box to indirectly cool the storage box. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a refrigerator disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-157576 is known as this kind of refrigerator.

In this publication, a storage box is provided in a heat insulating box, and an evaporator of a cooling mechanism and air cooled by the evaporator are blown between the heat insulating box and the storage box. A cooling fan is provided, and a convection fan is provided in the storage box to blow the lower cooling air upward to convection. In such a configuration, when the cooling fan blows the air cooled by the evaporator to the outer periphery of the storage box, the air in the storage box is cooled through the wall material of the storage box, and the fresh food and the like stored in the storage box. Is indirectly cooled.

[0004] Further, a convection fan blows air in the refrigerator upward, thereby generating an air flow in the refrigerator.

[0005]

The refrigerator in which the inside of the storage box is indirectly cooled as described above has a feature that the inside of the storage box is maintained at a high humidity, and the inside of the storage box has a predetermined air volume. It has been found that blowing air is suitable for thawing a large frozen product. However, if air is blown at the same air volume even after the thawing is completed, the thawing material is easily dried even if the inside of the storage box is kept at a high humidity.

However, in the conventional refrigerator, there is only an air flow that merely allows convection of the air in the refrigerator, and it is impossible to blow a predetermined air flow suitable for thawing. Further, even if air is blown at a flow rate suitable for thawing, there is a problem in that the user properly judges the end of thawing, and if the thawing is not taken out immediately after the thawing, drying occurs. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a refrigerator capable of easily defrosting a frozen product in a storage box.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling system.
In a refrigerator in which the inside of a storage box is indirectly cooled from the outer periphery by cold air generated by a mechanism, an internal fan for forcibly circulating air in the storage box, and a temperature in the storage box.
And temperature detection means for detecting
When the temperature of the stored storage box falls below the predetermined temperature.
The cooling operation by the cooling mechanism is stopped, and
Start the thawing operation by driving the fan
The cooling operation is started when the
And a control means for terminating the operation of and stopping the thawing operation .

[0008]

[0009]

According to the present invention, the following functions and effects can be obtained. When the frozen material is introduced, the temperature in the refrigerator decreases, the fan in the refrigerator is operated, and the cooling mechanism is stopped. While the operation of the fan in the refrigerator promotes the thawing of the frozen product, the wind also hits the storage in the refrigerator. But,
Since the cooling mechanism is stopped and the storage box is not cooled, dew condensation does not occur here and the storage box is kept at a high humidity, so that it is possible to prevent the storage in the cabinet from being excessively dried. When the thawing is completed, the internal fan stops and cooling by the cooling mechanism starts. The cooling of the storage box causes dew condensation to easily dry the inside air, but since the inside fan is stopped, the dry air is not strongly applied to the storage inside the store and does not dry excessively.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway top view. In the figure, the refrigerator main body includes an insulating box 10 and a storage box 20.
The heat insulation box 10 includes the inner wall of the outer box 11 and the inner box 1.
2 is filled with a heat insulating material 13 such as urethane foam, and a pair of left and right openings 14a, 1
4b are formed, and heat insulating doors 15a and 15b for opening and closing the openings 14a and 14b are attached so as to be openable and closable by hinges.

The storage box 20 is formed of a metal plate material such as stainless steel, which is a heat conductive member, in a housing shape having an opening 21 on one surface.
The openings 14a and 14b of the heat insulating box 10 are fixed to and supported by the outer peripheral edge of the inner surface of the front wall as desired. At this time, the left and right side walls 22, 23, the top wall 24, the bottom wall 25, and the rear wall 26 of the storage box 20 are respectively held at predetermined intervals from the inner wall of the inner box 12 in the heat insulating box 10, and the gap is formed by the air flow. A circulation passage W is formed.

In the storage box 20, a partition wall 27 made of a stainless metal plate which is a heat conductive member is fixed to the upper wall 24 and the bottom wall 25 of the storage box 20 at the upper side and the lower side. The inside is divided into a room RM1 on the right side in the figure and a room RM2 on the left side in the figure. The partition 27 and the storage box 20 do not necessarily need to be sealed. Further, in the present embodiment, the partition wall 27 is formed of a flat plate. However, the partition wall 27 may be formed of a plate material having a large surface area such as a corrugated plate to improve the heat exchange efficiency.

Each of the two in-compartment fans 30a and 30b is configured by fixing a fan 32 to a rotation axis of a fan motor 31. Both ends are fixed to the upper wall 24 and the bottom wall 25 of the storage box 20 in the chamber RM1. The support column 33 is attached to the support column 33. A cover 40 for forming an air flow path is attached to the front surfaces of the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b. The cover 40 has an exhaust port 41 formed at a portion facing the fan 32 and a lower portion. Is formed with a suction port 42. That is, the end of the upper side of the cover 40 is in contact with the upper wall 24, the end of the left side bent as an L-shaped cross section is in contact with the left side wall 22 of the storage box, and the end of the right side is the rear wall of the storage box 20. 26, the lower side forms the suction port 42 with a predetermined gap from the left side wall 22.

The left side wall 2 of the storage box 20 in the heat insulating box 10
The evaporator 51 of the cooling mechanism 50 is fixed to the wall portion facing the upper surface 2 with its air flow path directed vertically, and the upper part between the evaporator 51 and the left side wall 22 of the storage box 20 has air A circulation hole 61 is formed, and a shielding plate 60 in which a blower fan 62 is disposed in the air circulation hole 61 is fixed at its upper piece so as to hang down from the upper wall of the inner box 12 in the heat insulating box 10. A sufficient gap is formed between the lower side of the shielding plate 60 and the lower wall of the inner box 12, and an air cooling flow path communicating from the gap to the upper air flow hole 61 via the air flow path of the evaporator 51. Is formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling mechanism 50 includes a compressor 52 for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser 54 for condensing the compressed refrigerant under the air-cooling action of the air-cooling fan 53, and a condenser 54 for condensing the refrigerant. A dryer 55 for dehumidifying the refrigerant, a capillary tube 56 for converting the dehumidified condensed refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant, and the evaporator for cooling by the heat of vaporization of the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant and supplying the vaporized refrigerant to the compressor 52 51 are housed in an auxiliary box 10a formed on the left side of the heat insulating box 10 except for the evaporator 51. In the figure, a hot gas valve 57 for supplying the high-temperature compressed refrigerant compressed by the compressor 52 during defrosting to the evaporator 51 is connected to the output side of the compressor 52 and the evaporator 5.
1 is connected to a conduit connecting the input side.

The compressor 52 includes a compressor motor 5
2a and a compression mechanism 52b driven by being connected to the rotation axis of the compressor motor 52a.
The drive of the compressor motor 52a is controlled by a temperature control sequence circuit 71a in the electric control circuit 70 as shown in FIG. An electric control circuit 70 is connected to a commercial AC power supply, and a main power switch 72 for opening and closing the commercial AC power supply and internal power supply paths PW1 and PW2;
It is composed of a blower fan 62 connected to the power supply paths PW1 and PW2, and the temperature control sequence circuit 71a and the in-compartment fan control sequence circuit 71b for controlling the temperature in the chambers RM1 and RM2.

Here, the temperature control sequence circuit 71a
Is a temperature sensor Th1 and a relay R, which are turned on when the internal temperature T1 in the chamber RM1 becomes equal to or higher than the set upper limit temperature TH.
A series circuit S1 in which a single exciting coil is connected in series, a series circuit S2 in which a temperature sensor Th2 that conducts when the internal temperature T1 becomes equal to or lower than a set lower limit temperature TL and an exciting coil of a relay R3 are connected in series, Each forcible release circuit R4-
The self-holding circuits S3 and S4 of the exciting coils in the relays R2 and R4 including the relays R3 and R2-3, and the make-up contact R2-2 and the relay of the relay R2 in a parallel circuit in which the compressor motor 52a and the air cooling fan 53 are connected in parallel. A series circuit S5 in which the break contact R4-2 of R4 is connected in series.
Are connected to the power supply paths PW1 and PW2.

Further, a sequence circuit 7 for controlling the internal fan.
1b is a series circuit S6 in which a temperature sensor Th3 conducting when the internal temperature T1 in the chamber RM1 becomes equal to or lower than the fan starting temperature TS lower than the set lower limit temperature TL and an exciting coil of the relay R7 are connected in series; The fan stop temperature TE (TE1, TE2, TE2) whose internal temperature T1 is higher than the fan start temperature TS.
Temperature sensor T that conducts when it exceeds TE3, TE4)
h4 and a series circuit S7 in which an exciting coil of a relay R9 is connected in series, and forced release circuits R10-3 and R8-3, respectively.
And self-holding circuits S8 and S9 of the exciting coil in the relays R7 and R10 including
The power supply lines PW1 and PW2 are connected to a series circuit S10 in which make contacts R8-2 of a relay R8 are connected in series to a parallel circuit in which Ob is connected in parallel.

The temperature sensors Th1 to Th4 are respectively mounted above the chamber RM1, and the fan stop temperature TE is set to the same temperature TE1 as the set lower limit temperature TL. Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. When the main power switch 72 is turned on after the refrigerator is installed, the internal temperature T1 is equal to or higher than the set upper limit temperature TH, so that the temperature sensor Th1 is turned on to energize the exciting coil of the relay R1. Then, the make contacts R1-1 and R1-2 in the self-holding circuit S3 of the relay R2 are turned on, and the excitation coil of the relay R2 is energized, so that the make contact R2-1 is turned on and the relay R2 is kept on. Let me know.

When the relay R2 is turned on, the make contact R2
-2 conducts, and the compressor motor 52a and the air-cooling fan 53 are energized via the break contact R4-2 of the relay R4, and the cooling mechanism 50 starts. On the other hand, at the same time, the blower fan 62 also starts blowing air, sucking air from the gap between the lower side of the shielding plate 60 and the lower wall of the inner box 12 through the air flow path of the evaporator 51, and From the air circulation hole 61 to the air circulation path W formed around the storage box 20. Therefore, the cooling mechanism 50
Is started, the air sucked by the blower fan 62 exchanges heat when passing through the air flow path of the evaporator 51, and the cooled air flows from the air circulation hole 61 to the air circulation path formed around the storage box 20. It is blown to W.

Since the storage box 20 is formed of a heat conductive member, when cooled air is blown to the outer periphery, each wall 22 is formed.
Heat exchange is carried out at -26, and the temperature inside the chambers in the chambers RM1 and RM2 gradually decreases. Then, even if the internal temperature T1 is lower than the set upper limit temperature TH and the temperature sensor Th1 is turned off, the operation of the cooling mechanism 50 is continued because the relay R2 is on and held by itself.

However, when the internal temperature T1 falls below the set lower limit temperature TL, the temperature sensor Th2 is turned on, and the relay R3
Energize the excitation coil. Then, as in the case of the self-holding circuit S3 described above, the relay R4 is turned on, the break contact R4-3 constituting the forced release circuit of the relay R2 is turned off, and the self-holding state of the relay R2 ends. Also, as in the case of the relay R2, the relay R4
Is maintained, the break contact R4-
2 is turned off, and the make contact R2-2 is also turned off. Therefore, the compressor motor 52a and the air cooling fan 5
3 is stopped, and the operation of the cooling mechanism 50 is also released.

Thereafter, the temperature control sequence circuit 71
a is the internal temperature T1 as shown in FIG.
Control is performed so as to be maintained within the range of TH and the set lower limit temperature TL. Meanwhile, the set upper limit temperature TH and the set lower limit temperature TL in the refrigerator are adjusted within a range of several degrees with reference to about 0 degree Celsius. Now, it is assumed that the room RM2 is used as a normal refrigerator and the room RM1 is used as an exclusive thawing storage. Initially, the inside temperature T1 is held between the set upper limit temperature TH and the set lower limit temperature TL, and the temperature sensor Th3 is non-conductive and the temperature sensor Th4 is conductive. Therefore, when the temperature sensor Th3 is non-conductive, the excitation coil of the relay R7 is not energized, so that the make contacts R7-1 and R7-2 are non-conductive and the energizing coil of the relay R8 is not energized. Then, make contact R8- connected in series with internal fans 30a and 30b.
2 is non-conductive, and the in-compartment fans 30a, 30b are stopped.

When the relay R8 is in the self-holding state of the ON state, the internal fans 30a and 30b are energized.
Since the temperature sensor Th4 is conducting, the forced release circuit R1
The action of 0-3 causes the relay R8 to release the self-holding state. For this reason, initially, the internal fan 30a,
30b is always stopped. FIG. 7 shows the temperature (T
f) shows the relationship between the temperature (T1) in the room RM1 and the like. When a frozen mass frozen at about −30 degrees Celsius is stored in the room RM1, the air in the refrigerator becomes the frozen mass. As a result, the internal temperature T1 rapidly decreases as shown in FIG.

When the inside temperature T1 falls below the set lower limit temperature TL, the energization of the compressor motor 52a and the air-cooling fan 53 is stopped as described above. However, if the temperature of the frozen mass is sufficiently low, the inside temperature T1 becomes lower. Further decline. When the internal temperature T1 becomes lower than the fan starting temperature TS, the temperature sensor T in the internal fan control sequence circuit 71b is used.
Since h3 conducts, the exciting coil of the relay R7 is energized, and the relay R8 in the self-holding circuit S8 is held in the ON state.

When the relay R8 is turned on,
Make contacts R8-2 connected in series to the in-compartment fans 30a, 30b conduct, and the in-compartment fans 30a, 30 from the power supply paths PW1, PW2 via the make contacts R8-2.
b is energized. Then, the fan 32 is rotated by the fan motor 31 in the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b, and
Circulate the air in RM1. That is, the internal fan 3
Reference numerals 0a and 30b inhale the air in the chamber RM1 from the vent holes 41 on the front side and the rear side in the storage box 20 among the vent holes 41 provided in the cover 40, and are disposed at the central portion in the storage box 20. Air is blown from a vent hole 41 provided in front of the fan 32.

When the internal fans 30a and 30b start operating, fresh air is constantly blown to the surface of the frozen mass to increase the surface temperature of the frozen mass and promote thawing. At this time, since the air to be blown is kept at a high humidity, the frozen mass can be thawed quickly and without deterioration without excessively drying the frozen mass. On the other hand, the air that has raised the surface temperature of the frozen lump is conversely cooled by the frozen lump and the internal fans 30a, 30
By circulating in the chamber RM1 by the action of b, the temperature in the chamber RM1 becomes uniform.

The air cooled by the frozen mass in the chamber RM1 is supplied to the cover 4 through a ventilation hole 41 formed in the cover 40.
The air flows along the surface of the partition wall 27 when it is sucked into the space formed between the zero and the partition wall 27 and exhausted from the other ventilation holes 41. As described above, since the partition wall 27 is made of a heat conductive member, when the cooled air flows along the surface of the partition wall 27, the cold heat in the chamber RM1 is transmitted through the partition wall 27 into the chamber RM2. To cool the air in the chamber RM2.

When the temperature of the frozen mass is extremely low, the air on the surface of the frozen mass is cooled to near the same temperature, but the air in the chamber RM1 is forcibly circulated by the operation of the internal fans 30a and 30b, and The internal temperature T1 is sufficiently higher than the temperature of the frozen mass and lower than the set lower limit temperature TL. On the other hand, cold in the room RM1 is transmitted through the partition 27 to the room RM1.
2 is cooled in the room RM2, but is not cooled by the extremely low temperature air cooled on the surface of the frozen mass as described above, but is circulated in the room RM1 and the temperature rises to some extent. It will be cooled by air. Therefore, room RM
The temperature in 2 does not drop sharply like the temperature in room RM1,
Cooling is performed within the range between the set upper limit temperature TH and the set lower limit temperature TL.

As the thawing progresses, the surface temperature Tf of the frozen mass
When the difference between the inside temperature T1 and the inside temperature T1 in the room RM1 becomes small and the inside temperature T1 approaches the set lower limit temperature TL, the thawing is almost completed and the surface temperature Tf of the frozen mass approaches the set lower limit temperature TL. Become. When the internal temperature T1 exceeds the fan stop temperature TE1 set equal to the set lower limit temperature TL, the temperature sensor T
Since h4 conducts to energize the exciting coil of the relay R9, the make contacts R9-1 and R9-2 are made conductive to make the relay R10 conductive, and the self-holding circuit S9 causes the relay R10 to be self-held in the ON state.

The break contact R10-3 of the relay R10 constitutes a forced release circuit (internal fan stop means) in the self-holding circuit S8 of the relay R8.
When the break contact R10-3 becomes non-conductive due to the power supply to the relay R8, the power supply to the relay R8 is stopped. Therefore, make contact R connected in series with internal fans 30a, 30b
8-2 is non-conductive and the fans 30a and 30b
To stop.

When the internal temperature T1 is higher than the fan stop temperature TE1, the internal fans 30a and 30b are not energized by the action of the self-holding circuit S9 of the relay R10 and the self-holding circuit S8 of the relay R8. The in-compartment fans 30a and 30b are not operating. However, the internal temperature T
When 1 rises from a temperature lower than the fan stop temperature TE1 beyond the fan stop temperature TE1, the temperature sensor Th4 changes from non-conduction to conduction as described above, and the self-holding circuit S9 of the relay R10 and the relay R8 The power supply to the internal fans 30a and 30b is stopped by the action with the self-holding circuit S8. Therefore, the temperature sensor Th4 constitutes a temperature detecting means, and the self-holding circuit S9 of the relay R10 and the self-holding circuit S8 of the relay R8 constitute a judging means.

In the present embodiment, the thawing completion detecting means is constituted by these temperature detecting means and judging means.
It is equipped with a measuring device for measuring the weight of the frozen mass, and estimates the thawing time according to the measured weight to estimate the thawing time.
a, 30b, and a thawing time is estimated based on the internal temperature T1 when the internal temperature T1 becomes the lowest, and similarly, the internal fans 30a, 3
Other configurations such as a timer that sets the operation time of 0b are also possible.

In this embodiment, when the thawing is completed,
Although the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b are stopped to reduce the air volume, the air volume may be reduced. The breeze does not promote the drying of the refrigerated product, and has the effect of moving the cold air, which tends to accumulate downward, upward to make the temperature in the refrigerator uniform. When the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b stop, the rise in the surface temperature Tf in the frozen mass slows down, and the room RM1
The temperature T1 in the chamber keeps increasing gradually. Then, when the inside temperature T1 exceeds the set upper limit temperature TH, the cooling mechanism 50 is started as described above, and thereafter, the room RM1 becomes the inside temperature T1.
Becomes a normal refrigerator that is maintained between the set upper limit temperature TH and the set lower limit temperature TL, and stores the frozen mass that has been thawed.

In the present embodiment, the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b used to promote thawing start operating at a fan starting temperature TS slightly lower than the set lower limit temperature TL. The operation is terminated at the same set fan stop temperature TE1, but the internal fan 30a,
The fan stop temperature TE for stopping the operation of the fan 30b may be set to another temperature.

For example, the set lower limit temperature TL and the set upper limit temperature TH
Between the fan stop temperature TE2 and the set upper limit temperature TH
It is also possible to set the same fan stop temperature TE3 as.
With this setting, as shown in FIG. 7, the period during which the internal fans 30a and 30b are operating becomes longer, and it is possible to uniformly thaw the inside of a large frozen mass in which the temperature hardly rises. .

The fan stop temperature TE4 is a temperature higher than the fan start temperature TS, for example, -5 ° C.
When the temperature is in the range of -3 ° C, the effect of improving the storage state at the end of thawing is produced. The set lower limit temperature TL is generally set to about -1 ° C. so that the stored material does not freeze. However, when the temperature rises to the set lower limit temperature TL, the meat is completely thawed, and there is a problem in that the quality, size, and appearance of the food material are deteriorated, such as drip of meat and loss of taste when cut.

However, when the thawing is completed in the range of -5 ° C. to -3 ° C., the surface temperature Tf of the frozen mass changes as shown by a dashed line in FIG. Saved in. If it is in a slightly frozen state, the food will not deteriorate when completely thawed. Conversely, since it is slightly frozen, cutting will not be difficult. By setting the fan stop temperature TE lower than the set lower limit temperature TL, the difference from the fan start temperature TS becomes smaller. Therefore, if the heat-insulating door 15b is accidentally opened immediately after the start of thawing, the internal temperature T
1 rises immediately and becomes equal to or higher than the fan stop temperature TE4, and the thawing termination condition is satisfied. Therefore,
In order to avoid such a situation, the fan stop temperature TE4
The determination as to whether or not may have been made may be made using a timer and after a predetermined time has elapsed after the fan start temperature TS has been reached.

In the above embodiment, the control of the internal fans 30a and 30b is performed by the wire logic sequence circuit 71b, but the internal temperature T1 in the room RM1 is controlled.
Temperature sensor, a control unit that makes a predetermined determination by a microcomputer or the like based on the detection result of the temperature sensor, and a relay that controls the energization of the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b according to the determination of the control unit. May be provided, and the operation and stop of the internal fans 30a and 30b may be performed by software control.

That is, the control section inputs the internal temperature T1 corresponding to the signal output from the temperature sensor every predetermined time,
Comparing the internal temperature T1 with a predetermined fan starting temperature TS, and when the internal temperature T1 is lower, the relay is controlled to energize the internal fans 30a and 30b. On the other hand, after energization, it is determined whether or not the internal temperature T1 is higher than the fan stop temperature TE. If the internal temperature T1 is higher, the relay is controlled to energize the internal fans 30a and 30b. To stop.

By performing such control, it is possible to operate and stop the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b as in the case of the wire logic described above. Further, in the sequence circuit 71b of the wire logic, the judgment when the frozen mass is stored is performed by comparing the inside temperature T1 and the fan starting temperature TS. However, in the software control, the inside temperature T1 is determined. The determination can also be made based on the speed at which the speed decreases.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart corresponding to a subroutine program for making such a determination. The subroutine for determining the start condition is executed at regular intervals by an interrupt process from a main routine for performing other processes, and the microcomputer of the control unit controls the inside temperature T1 (T1n) detected by the temperature sensor in step 100. , N represent sampling timing. ) And the temperature drop (T1n-T1 (n-
1)) is measured. Then, in step 110, it is determined whether or not the reduced temperature (T1n-T1 (n-1)) is larger than a predetermined temperature lowering threshold value TTH. To end.

In the usual cooling by the cooling mechanism 50, the rate at which the temperatures T1 and T2 in the chambers RM1 and RM2 decrease is limited, and does not decrease very sharply. However, if a frozen mass with a large specific heat is stored,
The internal temperature T1 in the RM1 drops rapidly. Therefore, when the temperature drop (T1n-T1 (n-1)) is larger than the temperature drop threshold value TTH, it can be determined that the frozen mass has been stored in the chamber RM1, and the microcomputer proceeds to step 120. Then, the internal fans 30a and 30b are started.

In this case, the rate of decrease in the internal temperature T1 is sequentially calculated. However, if the temperature drops rapidly, the operating time of the compressor motor 52a becomes shorter.
The operation time of the compressor motor 52a is measured, and this operation time is compared with the past average operation time. If the operation time is shorter than the predetermined time, the room RM
It is only necessary to judge that the frozen lump is stored in 1 and start the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b.

In the above embodiment, the fan starting temperature TS is set to a value lower than the set lower limit temperature TL.
As shown in FIG. 9, the fan start temperature TS is set equal to the set lower limit temperature TL, and the fan stop temperature TE is set to the set upper limit temperature TH.
When the cooling mechanism 50 is activated.
a, 30b may be stopped, and when the cooling mechanism 50 is stopped, the internal fans 30a, 30b may be operated.

In this configuration, when the cooling mechanism 50 is operated, the air cooled by the cooling mechanism 50 circulates in the air circulation path W to cool the walls 22 to 26 of the storage box 20. The air inside the box 20 is
6 and is condensed to form dew drops. On the other hand, when the cooling mechanism 50 stops, the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b operate to generate an airflow in the chamber RM1. At this time,
When the air flows along the wall surface on which the dew drops are attached, the dew drops are evaporated, and the air becomes higher in humidity and flows around the storage items. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the humidity Hd changes sequentially according to the cooling operation, decreases during the operation of the cooling mechanism 50, and increases while the cooling mechanism 50 is stopped.

Therefore, if air is normally circulated during refrigeration, it is easy to dry the stored items in the refrigerator. However, when the cooling mechanism is stopped, the humidity rises and the storage of the refrigerated items is performed. And has the effect of accelerating thawing by removing the surface temperature of the frozen mass. In particular, when the amount of the frozen mass is small or the warm mass is stored in the storage box 20 at the same time, the internal temperature T1 in the room RM1 does not easily decrease to the fan starting temperature TS lower than the set lower limit temperature TL. Therefore, in the case of judging the presence or absence of the frozen mass in accordance with the decrease in the internal temperature T1, the internal fans 30a and 30b may not start operating without the internal temperature T1 falling below the fan starting temperature TS. . Then, it takes a long time to thaw because the in-compartment fans 30a and 30b do not operate even though the frozen mass is stored.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, since the internal fans 30a and 30b operate when the cooling mechanism 50 is not operating, high humidity air is circulated. To promote the thawing of the frozen mass.
In the embodiment described above, the internal fans 30a,
Although 30b operates at the time of thawing and blows an air volume suitable for thawing, a small breeze may be blown at the time of refrigeration in order to equalize the temperature in the chamber RM1. In this case, the rotation speed of the fan motor 31 may be reduced during refrigeration, the fan motor 31 may be operated intermittently, or the number of in-compartment fans 30a and 30b to be operated may be reduced.

In the room RM1, the fans 30a, 30
b, but the fans 30a, 3
0b may be provided as a thawing room. Fan 30 in the same warehouse
Although a and 30b are arranged two above and below, only one may be arranged below and air may be blown upward. Further, the blowing direction may be directed to the partition wall to promote heat exchange by the partition wall.

On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the inside of the storage box is divided into two parts. However, the number of divisions is arbitrary, for example, a thaw box is arranged at the center and divided into three parts. Also, the direction of division is arbitrary, such as vertical division instead of left / right division. In addition, control methods such as temperature control and defrost control are not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway top view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cooling mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of an electric control circuit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of temperature control.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between the inside temperature and the operation of the inside fan, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart corresponding to a fan start condition determination by software control.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between the inside temperature and the operation of the inside fan, and the like.

[Description of Signs] 20: storage boxes 30a, 30b: internal fan 71a: temperature control sequence circuit 71b: internal fan control sequence circuit Th4: temperature sensors TE1 to TE4: fan stop temperature

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 17/08 311 F25D 11/02 F25D 17/06 314

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A refrigerator for indirectly cooling the inside of a storage box from the outer periphery by cold air generated by a cooling mechanism , wherein a fan in the storage forcibly circulating air in the storage box, Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the box, and detecting the temperature in the storage box detected by the temperature detecting means.
When the temperature falls below the temperature, the cooling operation by the cooling mechanism is performed.
Stop and drive the fan inside the refrigerator to start the thawing operation.
Start the cooling operation when the temperature reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature.
And the thawing operation is stopped by stopping the operation of the fan in the refrigerator.
A refrigerator comprising a control unit for terminating the refrigerator.