JP3952007B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a condensation prevention heater.

  In a conventional household refrigerator, a high-temperature and high-pressure pipe in a refrigeration cycle is stretched around the opening peripheral part of each storage room such as a freezer room, a refrigerator room, etc. Prevents condensation on the parts. However, due to the relationship between the ambient temperature of the refrigerator and the relative humidity, even under conditions where no condensation occurs at the periphery of the opening, if the refrigeration cycle is operated, heat is generated from the high-temperature and high-pressure pipe, and this heat generation becomes a heat load. There was a problem that the internal temperature increased.

  Therefore, instead of a high-temperature and high-pressure pipe, a drip-proof heater is stretched around the opening peripheral edge, and the relative humidity around the refrigerator is detected, and whether the opening peripheral edge of the storage room is under dew condensation condition at the relative humidity. In order to prevent dew condensation by energizing the drip-proof heater only when there is a dew generation condition (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Hereinafter, the conventional refrigerator will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a layout diagram of drip-proof heaters of a conventional refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 6 is a drip-proof heater control circuit diagram.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the refrigerator 1 is divided into a refrigerator compartment 2, a freezer compartment 3, and a vegetable compartment 4 by an internal partition wall, in order to prevent condensation on the opening peripheral edge of each of the compartments. A drip-proof heater 5 for the refrigerator compartment, a drip-proof heater 6 for the freezer compartment, and a drip-proof heater 7 for the vegetable compartment are arranged. The control unit for the drip-proof heater includes a humidity sensor 8 that detects the relative humidity around the refrigerator in FIG. 6, a microcomputer 9 that records a control table for the appropriate-proof heater, and a refrigerator control that switches on / off the drip-proof heater. A relay 10, a freezer compartment control relay 11, a vegetable compartment control relay 12, and a power source 13 for supplying a current to the drip-proof heater.

  Next, control of the drip-proof heater will be described. The humidity sensor 8 detects the relative humidity around the refrigerator and sends detection data to the microcomputer 9. The microcomputer 9 determines whether or not the dew condition is present based on the table data based on the ambient temperature and humidity stored in advance from the detected humidity. If the dew condition is satisfied, the control relay 10 for the refrigerator compartment, the freezer The room control relay 11 and the vegetable room control relay 12 energize a drip-proof heater provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each storage room for a certain period of time. The energization time is set in accordance with a control table stored in advance in the microcomputer 9.

In the control table, by setting the energization time of a portion where condensation is likely to be long and setting the energization time short in a portion where sweating is difficult, it is possible to reduce unnecessary heater input while preventing sweating. In addition, when the set temperature in the cabinet is set to the low temperature side, by extending the drip-proof heater energization time in the cabinet, the chamber temperature decreases and the chamber opens even in a state where it is likely to sweat. It can cope with raising the temperature of a peripheral part so that it may not sweat.
JP-A-11-166784

  However, since the conventional refrigerator controls the drip-proof heater with the humidity sensor, it must guarantee durability and accuracy against deterioration of the humidity sensor over time. Especially in the installation environment of commercial refrigerators, there are places that contain a lot of oil etc. in the air such as kitchens, and a humidity sensor that is more durable and accurate than the installation environment of household refrigerators is required. There arises a problem that the cost increases.

  Further, in the conventional drip-proof heater control, the dew condition is determined based on the specified humidity at the ambient temperature. The specified humidity is set on the premise that absolute sweating is not performed in a normal operation state in an installation environment of a household refrigerator. However, the installation environment for commercial refrigerators is more diverse than the installation environment for household refrigerators.

  For example, there is an installation environment that is almost humid and high temperature such as a kitchen environment, and an environment that is almost equivalent to the installation environment of a home refrigerator such as a kindergarten or hospital. In this case, when the drip-proof heater control is determined assuming the worst environment, unnecessary heater inputs increase in an environment that is not different from that for home use, resulting in an unnecessary power consumption.

  Similarly, in commercial refrigerators, customer needs are diverse. For example, if the installation environment is a kitchen etc., even if the refrigerator sweats, there is no particular problem because water flows when cleaning, and there is also a need to minimize the input of the drip-proof heater to reduce the electricity bill. For example, because the installation environment is the same as a household refrigerator, if you sweat and the water accumulates on the floor, floor durability and hygiene problems will occur, so you want to prevent sweating under any conditions There is also a need. In order to satisfy the above-mentioned needs, the drip-proof heater must be changed in a custom-made manner according to the customer, the specifications become complicated, and the loss in the manufacturing process becomes great.

  In addition, due to variations in the heat insulating housing of the refrigerator, products that sweat even under the same installation environment and the same conditions and with the same energization rate of the same drip-proof heater appear. In dealing with the claim, the worst product exchange is required, resulting in a large loss cost. In addition, when the drip-proof heater control is set in consideration of variations, the energization rate of the drip-proof heater increases and the power consumption increases.

  In order to satisfy such various installation environments, customer needs, product variations, and the like, one type of drip-proof heater control is insufficient.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a drip-proof heater for preventing condensation provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each warehouse , an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature around the refrigerator, and the inside of the refrigerator A refrigerator equipped with an operation board capable of setting the temperature and a drip-proof heater automatic control for automatically controlling the heat generation amount of the drip-proof heater from the outside air temperature and the set temperature in the cabinet, and at least the level in the drip-proof heater automatic control Switching control is performed according to three levels for the air temperature and two levels for the set temperature in the cabinet .

Thereby, it is possible to set an optimum heater energization rate according to the installation environment, and it is possible to reduce unnecessary heater input. In addition, by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control, various customer needs can be satisfied. Furthermore, it is possible to cope with a product that sweats in the refrigerator due to variations in the heat insulating housing by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control without replacing the product.
Further, unnecessary heater input can be reduced by performing appropriate drip-proof heater control at each outside air temperature and inside set temperature.
Moreover, the refrigerator of the present invention is a drip-proof heater for preventing condensation provided at the opening peripheral edge of each storage room, an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature around the refrigerator, an operation board capable of setting the inside temperature, In a refrigerator equipped with a drip-proof heater automatic control that automatically controls the heat generation amount of the drip-proof heater from the outside air temperature and the set temperature in the cabinet, the heater heat generation amount by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control It is set not to sweat under humidity conditions.
Thereby, it is possible to set an optimum heater energization rate according to the installation environment, and it is possible to reduce unnecessary heater input. In addition, by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control, various customer needs can be satisfied. Furthermore, it is possible to cope with a product that sweats in the refrigerator due to variations in the heat insulating housing by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control without replacing the product.
In addition, even in a refrigerator installation environment where the humidity changes with time, the power consumption can be minimized by selecting appropriate automatic drip-proof heater control.

The refrigerator of the present invention can cope with various installation environments and customer needs for the sweating of the refrigerator, and variations in the heat insulating housing, and realizes energy saving by reducing unnecessary input of the drip-proof heater. be able to.
Moreover, unnecessary heater input can be reduced by performing appropriate drip-proof heater control at each outside air temperature and inside set temperature.
In addition, even in a refrigerator installation environment where the humidity changes with time, the power consumption can be minimized by selecting appropriate automatic drip-proof heater control.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention can set a drip-proof heater provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each storage room, an outside temperature sensor for detecting the outside temperature around the refrigerator, and the inside temperature. an operation board, a refrigerator equipped with a drip-proof heater automatic control for controlling automatically the heating value of the drip heater from the outside temperature and the internal set temperature, three levels of the level in the drip heater automatic control, at least the outside air temperature In addition, by switching control according to two levels at the set temperature in the cabinet, it is possible to respond to various installation environments, customer needs, and variations in heat insulation housing against the sweating of the refrigerator, and unnecessary input of drip-proof heater Energy saving can be realized by reducing
Moreover, unnecessary heater input can be reduced by performing appropriate drip-proof heater control at each outside air temperature and inside set temperature.
The invention according to claim 2 is a drip-proof heater provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each storage room, an outside air temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature around the refrigerator, and an operation board that can set the inside temperature. A refrigerator equipped with a drip-proof heater automatic control that automatically controls the heat generation amount of the drip-proof heater from the outside air temperature and the set temperature inside the cabinet, and the heat generation amount of the heater by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control can be arbitrarily set at each outside temperature. of that set so as not to sweating humidity conditions, a variety of installation environments and customer's needs with respect to the refrigerator sweating can correspond to variations of the thermal insulating housing, and the input of the unwanted drip heater Energy saving can be realized by reducing.
In addition, even in a refrigerator installation environment where the humidity changes with time, the power consumption can be minimized by selecting appropriate automatic drip-proof heater control.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the automatic control of the drip-proof heater can be easily switched manually by a display substrate or the like. Automatic drip-proof heater control can be selected according to customer needs. Furthermore, it is possible to deal with sweat complaints on the spot without exchanging products.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the automatic control of the drip-proof heater is controlled so that the input set value is maximized at a level in a condition where the sweating is most likely to occur. Select the heater so that the energization rate of the drip-proof heater will be 100% when switching, and in other conditions, change the energization rate with a mechanical relay and adjust the heater input value. Since the heat generation amount can be changed without switching, the heater specifications can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of the drip-proof heater of the refrigerator, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the drip-proof heater total input value according to each outside temperature at the time of setting the inside temperature in the refrigerator by the drip-proof heater automatic control of the form refrigerator to 5 ° C and the freezer-room-20 ° C.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 14 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes two separate refrigeration cycles. The first compressor 15 and the first condenser that constitute the first refrigeration cycle. 16, the 1st evaporator 17, the 1st capillary tube (not shown), the 1st condenser fan 18, the 1st evaporator fan 19, and the 2nd compressor 20 which constitutes the 2nd freezing cycle, the 2nd condenser 21, a second evaporator 22, a second capillary tube (not shown), a second condenser fan 23, a second evaporator fan 24, a heat insulating box 25, and a compartment 26 partitioned by an internal partition wall. A heat insulating door 27 disposed on the front face of the storage room, a handle 28 of the heat insulating door, a gasket 29 that seals a gap between the heat insulating box 25 and the heat insulating door 27, and an adjustment shelf 30 disposed in each storage room. The angle frame 31 that supports the adjustment shelf, and each A splash-proof heater 32 to prevent condensation which is disposed in the opening periphery of the chamber, the waste water drain hose 33 for draining the defrost water to the outside, and a cooling unit from the unit base 34 disposed vertically.

  The unit base 34 has a structure that can be removed from the heat insulating box 25, and all the parts constituting the refrigeration cycle such as a compressor are attached to the unit base 34, so that the refrigerator of the first embodiment is cooled. The unit is replaceable. The commercial refrigerator usually employs the same structure as that of the refrigerator of the first embodiment, and cannot condense the peripheral edge of the opening by embedding a condensation pipe in the heat insulation box like a household refrigerator. For this reason, a drip-proof heater 32 is arranged at the periphery of the opening to prevent condensation due to the heat generated by the heater.

The refrigerator 14 has a layout in which the upper right storage room is divided from the other rooms among the four storage rooms, and is a freezing room that can be set from room temperature −15 ° C. to −25 ° C. by the second freezing cycle.
The other storage rooms are connected in the storage room, and are refrigerated rooms that can be set from room temperature 15 ° C. to −5 ° C. by the first refrigeration cycle.

  Operation | movement of the 1st freezing cycle of the refrigerator comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  When the temperature of the storage room 26 classified as the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 14 rises due to intrusion heat from the outside air and the opening and closing of the heat insulating door 27, and the internal temperature sensor (not shown) becomes the ON temperature or higher, The 1st compressor 15 starts and cooling of a refrigerator compartment is started. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the first compressor 15 is cooled and liquefied by the air sent from the first condenser fan 18 in the first condenser 16 and decompressed by the first capillary tube. Then, it flows into the first evaporator 17, heats and exchanges heat with the internal air sent by the first evaporator fan 19, thereby cooling the internal air and returning it to the first compressor 15. . When the air in the storage chamber 26 is cooled and the temperature of the internal temperature sensor becomes equal to or lower than the OFF temperature, the operation of the first compressor 15 is stopped, and the cooling of the storage chamber 26 is finished.

  Moreover, also about the operation | movement of a 2nd freezing cycle, it is performed by the operation | movement similar to a 1st freezing cycle, and cools the freezing room arrange | positioned in the upper right warehouse.

  When the inside of the refrigerator 14 is cooled, the heat insulation box 25 and the heat insulation door 27 are insulated from the outside air, so that the surface temperature is kept at the same level as the outside air temperature. The temperature of the peripheral edge portion of the opening of the chamber 26 sealed by the gasket 29 and the gasket 29 which are positioned at 27 is lower than the outside air temperature.

  For this reason, condensation occurs depending on the surrounding humidity, and when the perspiration is severe, the condensed water falls on the floor to form a puddle, which causes problems such as floor corrosion. In the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, a drip-proof heater 32 is disposed on the periphery of the opening to prevent sweating around the seal portion.

  Details of the drip-proof heater 32 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drip-proof heater 32 includes an opening peripheral edge of the heat insulation box 25, a vertical rail 35 that is a standing partition of the heat insulation box 25, and a left-side cross rail that is arranged on the left side of the vertical rail 35. 36, embedded in a right cross rail 37 arranged on the right side. The heater includes an A heater 38 disposed on the right side of the heat insulation box 25, a B heater 39 disposed within the vertical rail 35, a C heater 40 disposed on the left side of the heat insulation box 25, and the heat insulation box 25. A D heater 41 disposed on the upper surface of E, an E heater 42 disposed in the left cross rail 36, an F heater 43 disposed in the right cross rail 37, and a G heater 44 disposed on the lower surface of the heat insulating box 25. Divided.

  Each heater is connected to the control board in parallel and controlled by a relay (not shown) of each heater. However, the D heater 41 and the G heater 44 are connected before entering the control board and are controlled by the same relay. The drip-proof heater 32 is automatically controlled by signals from the outside air temperature sensor 45 that detects the ambient temperature of the refrigerator and the display board 46 that sets the internal temperature.

  (Table 1) shows a control table based on the capacity of each heater, the outside air temperature, and the set temperature inside the cabinet.

  The heater calorific value setting values shown in (Table 1) are set so that the temperature at the peripheral edge of the opening is equal to or higher than the outside air temperature at each outside air temperature (strong setting in FIG. 4).

  As a reference for the control table, the outside air temperature is divided into a low outside air temperature zone of 20 ° C. or lower, a middle outside air temperature zone from 20 ° C. to 30 ° C., and a high outside air temperature zone of 30 ° C. or higher. In addition, when the refrigerator compartment set temperature is -5 ° C to 0 ° C or the freezer compartment set temperature is -21 ° C to -25 ° C, the refrigerator compartment set temperature is 1 ° C to 15 ° C, or the freezer compartment set temperature. There are two criteria for when the temperature is -15 ° C to -20 ° C.

  In the conventional refrigerator, the energization is always performed by the heater control under the condition that the outside air temperature is the highest and the inside temperature is the lowest. However, in such control, unnecessary heater input of 10 W to 20 W is generated depending on conditions as can be seen from (Table 1).

  In the drip-proof heater automatic control of the first embodiment, by setting the control table divided by the outside air temperature and the inside temperature setting, the heater energization rate is automatically set even when the outside air temperature and the inside temperature setting change. It is possible to change the temperature of the peripheral edge of the opening to be equal to the outside air temperature with a minimum heater input.

  Further, (Table 1) is a set value of the refrigerator of the first embodiment, and can be changed depending on the size of the refrigerator.

  In addition, although the standard of (Table 1) considered the simplicity of control, the outside air temperature was set to 3 standards and the set temperature in the cabinet was set to 2 standards, but these standards can be increased. In that case, finer heater inputs can be set, and unnecessary heater inputs can be reduced.

  In order to share the heaters, the A heater and the C heater, the D heater and the G heater, the E heater and the F heater have the same heater capacity, and correspond to the energization rate. Thus, the cost can be reduced by sharing the same heater type.

  A method for determining the heater control of strong setting, medium setting, and weak setting in FIG. 4 will be described below.

  As described above, the high setting is set so that the temperature of the peripheral edge of the opening is equal to or higher than the outside air temperature at each outside air temperature. The medium setting is set so that the temperature of the peripheral edge of the opening is equal to or higher than the dew point temperature of 85% humidity at each outside air temperature. The weak setting is set so that the temperature of the peripheral edge of the opening is equal to or higher than the dew point temperature of 75% humidity at each outside air temperature. In Table 1, when the heater input value is graphed when the refrigerator compartment is set to 5 ° C. and the freezer compartment is set to −20 ° C., the strong setting in FIG. 4 is obtained.

  The control of the drip-proof heater according to the outside air temperature and the inside temperature in Table 1 is automatically performed, but the strong, medium and weak settings shown in FIG. The changeover switch (not shown) has a mode for turning off the drip-proof heater.

  As described above, the automatic control of the drip-proof heater can be switched on the display board. Therefore, in a dry condition where the humidity is 75% or less depending on the installation environment, the input of the heater is set by setting the drip-proof heater control to a weak setting. Energy saving can be suppressed. In addition, when it is desired to suppress sweating under humid conditions of 85% or more, dew condensation can be prevented by setting it to a medium or strong setting.

  Also, throughout the year, the power consumption is set to medium or strong in June and September, which are hot and humid, and the drip-proof heater is set to low or turned off in the dry winter season to reduce sweating and reduce annual power consumption. Can be reduced.

  In a kitchen environment where water is constantly flowing on the floor under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, if it is acceptable to sweat some amount on the refrigerator surface, the setting of the refrigerator can be reduced or turned off. Power consumption can be reduced. If the installation environment is a place where human eyes can see and even slight sweating is not allowed under any conditions, almost 100% condensation can be prevented under any conditions by setting a strong setting.

  Further, in the heat insulating box 25, there is a possibility that variations such as deterioration of heat insulating performance due to unfilled urethane in the casing flange portion and insufficient rise in heater temperature due to poor adhesion of the drip-proof heater 32 may occur. In a box that includes such variations, condensation occurs even under conditions in which a normal box does not sweat. Conventionally, there is no choice but to exchange products, but the refrigerator of the first embodiment can be dealt with by simply switching the setting of the drip-proof heater to a higher setting. In addition, it can minimize the inconvenience to customers by being able to respond immediately on site.

  In the first embodiment, the single-chamber refrigeration type refrigerator is used. However, even in the two-chamber refrigeration and all-chamber refrigeration type refrigerators, the setting value of the control table is set with the same arrangement of the drip-proof heaters. Since it can be handled simply by changing, it is easy to develop models.

  The refrigerator according to the present invention responds to the sweating on the refrigerator surface by automatic control of the outside air temperature and the set temperature in the cabinet, and manually switches over abnormal phenomena due to product variations and customer special requests. Therefore, it can be applied as commercial equipment such as large commercial refrigerators and showcases that must satisfy various installation environments and customer needs.

Front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention AA 'sectional view of a refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention Drip-proof heater arrangement diagram of refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the drip-proof heater total input value according to each external temperature by the same embodiment of this invention Drip-proof heater layout of conventional refrigerator Conventional refrigerator drip-proof heater control circuit diagram

Explanation of symbols

14 Refrigerator 26 Storage room 32 Drip-proof heater 45 Outside temperature sensor 46 Display board

Claims (4)

From the drip-proof heater provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each warehouse, the outside air temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature around the refrigerator, the operation board that can set the inside temperature, and the outside air temperature and the inside set temperature In a refrigerator equipped with a drip-proof heater automatic control that automatically controls the heat generation amount of the drip-proof heater, the level in the drip-proof heater automatic control is switched and controlled by at least three levels at the outside temperature and two levels at the set temperature in the cabinet. A refrigerator characterized by that. From the drip-proof heater provided at the peripheral edge of the opening of each warehouse, the outside air temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature around the refrigerator, the operation board that can set the inside temperature, and the outside air temperature and the inside set temperature In a refrigerator equipped with a drip-proof heater automatic control that automatically controls the heat generation amount of the drip-proof heater, the heater heat generation amount by switching the drip-proof heater automatic control is set not to sweat under any humidity conditions at each outside temperature A refrigerator characterized by that. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the automatic control of the drip-proof heater can be easily switched manually by a display substrate or the like. Select the heater so that the energization rate of the drip-proof heater is 100% when the automatic control of the drip-proof heater is switched to the control that maximizes the input setting value at the level that is most likely to sweat. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heater input value is adjusted by changing the energization rate by a mechanical relay.

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