JP4498261B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with a cooler that is arranged in a cooler room provided on the back of a vegetable compartment in a refrigerated compartment and cools the refrigerated compartment.

Conventionally, in a refrigerator equipped with a vegetable room, the vegetable room has been arranged at the bottom of the refrigerator. However, in response to a request that the user wants to store or take out vegetables without bending, the vegetable room is placed in the refrigerator body. The one arranged in the middle is provided. Thus, when arrange | positioning a vegetable room in the middle of a refrigerator main body, it is common structure to provide the cooler room separated by the cooler cover in the back surface of a vegetable room. Further, the vegetable room is provided in communication with the refrigeration room, and the temperature control is performed so that the refrigeration room and the vegetable room are regarded as one refrigeration section so as to have a predetermined refrigeration temperature (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-311471

  By the way, from the circumstance that the cooler room is provided on the back of the vegetable room via the cooler cover, the vegetable room in the refrigerated compartment becomes particularly supercooled due to the cold air leakage from the cooler cover. In order to cope with this situation, a temperature compensation heater comprising an aluminum foil heater is embedded in the bottom of the vegetable compartment, and when the refrigeration compartment is cooled, the vegetable compartment is overloaded by controlling the energization of the temperature compensation heater. It has been done to eliminate the cooling.

  Further, in place of using a temperature compensation heater, in Patent Document 1, when the outside air temperature during the stop of the refrigeration cycle operation is lower than the set temperature, the vegetable room is likely to be in a supercooled state, so that the refrigerator is refrigerated. It is proposed to send warm air to the refrigerator compartment and vegetable compartment by energizing the defrosting heater.

  However, providing a temperature compensation heater to prevent a temperature drop in the vegetable compartment increases costs. Therefore, it is desirable to prevent an overcooled state of the vegetable compartment without using a temperature compensation heater if possible. Further, in the method of controlling the refrigeration defrost heater based on the outside air temperature, it is not necessary to use a temperature compensation heater, but control during humidification operation (so-called moisture operation) using defrost of the cooler is considered. Therefore, there is a possibility that the humidification operation cannot be performed reliably.

  This invention was made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective can eliminate the supercooling state of a vegetable compartment, performing a defrost of a cooler reliably, without using a special heating means. To provide a refrigerator.

The present invention is arranged in a vegetable room provided in a refrigerated compartment, a freezer compartment provided adjacent to the vegetable compartment, and a cooler compartment provided on the back of the vegetable compartment, and cools the refrigerated compartment. In a refrigerator comprising a cooler and a control means for performing a humidifying operation for stopping the supply of refrigerant to the cooler and blowing air containing moisture to the refrigerated compartment, the cooler is defrosted in an energized state A defrosting heater that detects the temperature of the refrigerated compartment , and the control means determines that the vegetable compartment is in a supercooled state based on the temperature detected by the refrigerated compartment temperature sensor. In this case, temperature compensation control for energizing the defrost heater when the humidifying operation is completed is executed.

According to the present invention, when it is determined that the vegetable compartment is in a supercooled state, the temperature compensation control is performed by energizing the defrost heater when the humidifying operation is finished, so the vegetable chamber is kept in the supercooled state. Can be prevented. In this case, the energization of the defrosting heater has priority over the defrosting of the cooler, so that the defrosting of the cooler can be reliably performed.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown with the refrigerator door open, and FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a longitudinal side surface of the refrigerator. 2 and 3, the refrigerator main body 2 that forms the cabinet of the refrigerator 1 has a rectangular box shape with an open front, an inner box is disposed in the outer box, and urethane foam or the like is provided between them. It is formed by filling the heat insulating material.

  As a plurality of storage rooms partitioned by a heat insulating partition in the refrigerator main body 2, from the upper part of the refrigerator main body 2, the refrigerator compartment 3, the ice making chamber 4 and the switching chamber 5 adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction (only the switching chamber 5 in FIG. 3). The vegetable compartment 6 and the freezer compartment 7 are formed in this order. In this case, a refrigerated compartment is formed by the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 6, and a frozen compartment is formed by the ice making compartment 4, the switching compartment 5 and the freezer compartment 7. The refrigeration compartment and the freezer compartment are arranged alternately.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a refrigeration evaporator chamber (hereinafter referred to as an R-eva chamber and a cooler chamber) 9 separated by a cooler cover 8 is formed on the back surface of the vegetable chamber 6. On the back surface of the R-evaporation chamber 9, a freezing evaporator chamber (hereinafter referred to as F-evaporation chamber) 11 separated by a heat insulating partition 10 is formed. A refrigerator for refrigeration (hereinafter referred to as R evaporator and cooler) 12 is disposed in the R chamber 9, and a refrigeration evaporator (hereinafter referred to as F evaporator) 13 is disposed in the F chamber 11.

  The upper portion of the R-evaporation chamber 9 is connected to the refrigerating chamber 3 through the air duct 14 formed on the back surface of the refrigerating chamber 3, and the lower portion is connected to the vegetable compartment 6. A refrigeration fan (hereinafter referred to as an R fan or a refrigeration compartment fan) 15 is disposed at the upper portion of the R evaporation chamber 9, and the cold air generated in the R evaporation chamber 9 in the blown state is the refrigeration compartment. A circulation path that circulates through the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 6 is formed.

  The upper part of the F-evaporation room 11 is connected to the ice making room 4 and the switching room 5, and the lower part is connected to the freezing room 7. A refrigeration fan (hereinafter referred to as F fan, only shown in FIG. 2) 16 is disposed in the upper part of the F chamber 11, and in the blown state, cold air generated in the F chamber 11 is a freezing compartment. A circulation path that circulates through the chamber 4, the switching chamber 5, and the freezing chamber 7 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 3, an interior lamp 17 is attached to the refrigerator compartment 3, and as shown in FIG. 2, a vertical partition heater 20 for preventing dew condensation is provided in the vertical partition 19 of the double door refrigerator door 18. Is buried.
In the vegetable compartment 6, an R defrost heater 21 made of an aluminum foil heater is disposed on the cooler cover 8. In addition, a temperature-compensating heater (hereinafter referred to as a V heater) 23 made of an aluminum foil heater is embedded in the heat insulating partition member 22 serving as the bottom surface of the vegetable compartment 6.

  The refrigerator compartment 3 is provided with a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as an R sensor) 24, and the vegetable compartment 6 is provided with a vegetable compartment temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as a V sensor and a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor) 25, which is a freezer compartment. 7 includes a freezer temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as F sensor) 26 (see FIG. 1). In addition, an R-evaporation sensor 27 is disposed in the R-evaporation chamber 9, an F-evaporation sensor 28 is disposed in the F-evaporation chamber 11, and an outside air temperature sensor 29 (both see FIG. 1) for detecting the outside air temperature is disposed. Yes. Illustration of sensors or various heaters not related to the present invention is omitted.

A machine room 30 is formed at the back of the lower end of the refrigerator body 2, and a compressor 31 constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed in the machine room 30.
FIG. 4 schematically shows the configuration of the refrigeration cycle. In FIG. 4, the discharge port of the compressor 31 is connected to the input port of the flow path valve 33 via the capacitor 32. The flow path valve 33 selectively opens the RF output port and the F output port based on forward and reverse rotation of the valve motor 33a (see FIG. 1).

  The RF output port of the flow path valve 33 is connected to the inlet of the R EVA 12 via the RF capillary tube 36, and the inlet of the F EVA 13 is connected to the outlet of the R EVA 12. The outlet of the F-evapor 13 is connected to the suction port of the compressor 31, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 is supplied to both the R-eve 12 and the F-eva 13 when the RF output port is opened.

  The inlet of the F capillary tube 37 is connected to the F output port of the flow path valve 33. The outlet of the F capillary tube 37 is connected between the outlet of the R-evapor 12 and the inlet of the F-eva 13. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 is supplied only to the F-eve 13 when the F output port is opened. .

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration related to the present invention in the electrical configuration of the refrigerator 1. In FIG. 1, a control device (corresponding to control means) 35 is mainly composed of a microcomputer and is disposed in the refrigerator main body 2. The control device 35 includes a compressor motor 31a, a valve motor 33a, an R fan motor 15a, a refrigerating cycle through a drive circuit 34, as will be described later, based on temperatures detected by the R sensor 24, the F sensor 26, the R EVA sensor 27, and the F EVA sensor 28. By appropriately driving the F fan motor 16a, a refrigeration compartment cooling operation for cooling the refrigeration compartment to a predetermined temperature (hereinafter, F cooling operation) and a refrigeration compartment cooling operation for cooling the refrigeration compartment to a predetermined temperature (hereinafter, R cooling operation). Execute. Moreover, the control apparatus 35 performs the moist operation which ventilates the moist cool air in the refrigerator compartment 3 which is a refrigerator compartment, and the vegetable compartment 6 using the defrost of R EVA12.

<About F cooling operation>
The control device 35 opens the F output port of the flow path valve 33 based on driving control of the valve motor 33a, and allows the refrigerant to flow only to the F EVA 13 based on driving the comp motor 31a. At this time, based on driving the F fan motor 15a, the air is blown to the F EVA 13, and the F EVA 13 generates cold air and supplies it to the freezing compartment.

<About R and F cooling operation>
The control device 35 opens the RF output port of the flow path valve 33 based on driving control of the valve motor 33a, and causes the refrigerant to flow to both the R and F EVAs 12 and 13 based on driving the comp motor 31a. . At this time, the R fan motor 15a and the F fan motor 16a are driven to blow air to the R evaporator 12 and the F evaporator 13, thereby generating cold air in the F evaporator 13 and supplying it into the freezing compartment. At 12, cold air is generated and supplied into the refrigerated compartment.

<About moisture driving>
The control device 35 opens the F output port of the flow path valve 33 based on driving control of the valve motor 33a, and allows the refrigerant to flow only to the F EVA 13 based on driving the comp motor 31a. At this time, the F fan motor 16a is driven to cause the wind to flow through the F EVA 13, and the F EVA 13 generates cold air and supplies it to the freezing compartment, and the R fan motor 15a is driven to drive the inside of the refrigerating compartment. To blow. During the moisture operation, the supply of the refrigerant to the R evaporator 12 is interrupted and the R defrost heater 21 is energized, and the frost attached to the surface of the R evaporator 12 is melted based on the temperature rise of the R evaporator 12. The wind containing moisture is sent into the refrigerated compartment to prevent the food in the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 6 from being dried.

By the way, in a present Example, in the state which has supplied the refrigerant | coolant to F Eva 13, especially in the state which has arrange | positioned the R Eve room 9 and the F Eve room | chamber 11 on the back surface of the vegetable room 6, it is a cooler. Cold air from the cover 8 tends to cause a supercooled state in which the temperature in the vegetable compartment 6 is lower than the target temperature.
Therefore, in addition to the above-described refrigeration cycle control that controls the refrigeration section and the refrigeration section to be at the set temperature, the control device 35 performs temperature compensation control so that the vegetable compartment 6 is not in a supercooled state. ing.

  FIG. 5 shows temperature compensation control by the R defrost heater 21 by the control device 35. In FIG. 5, the control device 35 first determines whether or not the refrigerant is being supplied to the F EVA 13 (A1). That is, since the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 is likely to occur during the supply of the refrigerant to the F-evaporator 13, it is determined whether the F-cooling is being performed. When F is being cooled (A1: YES), the temperature of the V sensor 25 is detected (A2), and it is determined whether the temperature detected by the V sensor 25 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, for example, for 20 minutes (A3, A4). ). When the state where the temperature detected by the V sensor 25 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature continues for 20 minutes (A4: YES), it is determined whether the V heater 23 is 100% energized (A5). The energization of the V heater 23 is performed by temperature compensation control by the V heater 23 shown in FIG.

That is, when executing the temperature compensation operation, the control device 35 also executes the temperature compensation control by the V heater 23 shown in FIG. 6 at the same time, and every time a predetermined time elapses (B1: YES), the V sensor 25. Thus, the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 is detected (B2), and the operating rate of the V heater 23 is obtained by a predetermined PID (proportional, integral, derivative) calculation (B3). This PID calculation is for optimal control so as to reach the target temperature in the shortest time, assuming that the temperature rise in the vegetable compartment 6 rises with a delay with respect to the energization of the V heater 23. On the other hand, in the normal state (B1: NO), the energization rate of the V heater 23 is determined based on the V heater operating rate (B4), and the V heater 23 is energized based on the energization rate (B5).
By the operation as described above, the control that the energization rate of the V heater 23 becomes higher as the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 is lower is basically performed, so that the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 is eliminated in the normal state. ing.

  However, when the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 continues regardless of the energization to the V heater 23 as described above, the energization rate of the V heater 23 is 100% based on the PID calculation of the V heater operation rate. Become. For this reason, it becomes impossible to aim at the temperature rise of the vegetable compartment 6 beyond that, and the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 cannot be eliminated.

  In such a case, the control device 35 determines in step A5 shown in FIG. 5 that the V heater 100% is energized (A5: YES), and determines whether the operation is moist (A6). This is because when the moisture operation is in progress, the defrosting heater 21 is energized and the moisture operation is prioritized.

  When it is confirmed that the controller 35 is not operating in a moisture state (A6: YES), the R fan is rotated (A7), the R defrost heater 21 is energized (A8), the interior lamp 17 and the vertical partition The heater 20 is energized 100%.

  With the above operation, the temperature of the R defrost heater 21 rises, and warm air is blown into the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 6, and the interior lamp 17 of the refrigerator compartment 3 is turned on and the vertical partition heater 20 generates heat. As a result, the temperature of the air blown into the vegetable compartment 6 is promoted, so that the temperature in the vegetable compartment 6 can be raised in a short time, and the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 can be quickly eliminated. can do.

  Next, the control device 35 determines whether the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 exceeds the outside air temperature (A10), whether the accumulated energization time of the R defrost heater 21 exceeds the set maximum energization time (A11), or a refrigeration cycle (not shown). It is determined whether there is a refrigerator room cooling request from the control program (A12). When any one of the conditions is established, it is determined that the temperature compensation control is no longer necessary or the control that has priority over the temperature compensation control is necessary, and energization of the R defrost heater 21 is terminated (A13). After the energization of the interior lamp 17 and the vertical partition heater 20 is finished (A14), R cooling is started (A15). This R cooling control is executed by refrigeration cycle control. Thereby, since the temperature of R EVA 12 falls and cold air is ventilated in the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetable compartment 6, the vegetable accommodated in the vegetable compartment 6 can be preserve | saved at low temperature.

  Here, when the temperature compensation control is terminated when the outside air temperature exceeds the vegetable room temperature as described above (A10: YES), when the low outside air temperature is the dominant factor for the temperature drop inside the vegetable room. In addition, even if there is no heater input, an increase in the internal temperature can be expected over time, and the energization of the R defrost heater 21 can be terminated and the heater input can be suppressed as the outside air temperature increases. In addition, by setting an upper limit for the energization time of the R defrost heater 21 (A11: YES), it is possible to perform in-chamber temperature compensation control without causing a problem in safety, and for temperature compensation control due to sensor failure or the like. Can respond. Furthermore, when there is a cooling request for the refrigerator compartment 3 or the vegetable compartment 6 from the refrigeration cycle control (A12: YES), normal cooling cycle control can be performed by prioritizing cooling.

  According to such an Example, when the control apparatus 35 judges that the vegetable compartment 6 became a supercooled state, after confirming that the R defrost heater 21 is not defrosting, the R defrost heater Since the warm air is blown into the refrigerated compartment and consequently the vegetable compartment 6 by energizing 21 and performing temperature compensation control, the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 can be eliminated without providing any special heating means. it can.

  Moreover, since the control device 35 confirms that the energization of the V heater 23 for compensating the temperature in the vegetable compartment 6 is 100%, the temperature compensation control is executed. In a state where the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 can be eliminated by energizing the R, the R defrost heater 21 is not energized, and it is possible to avoid as much as possible the state where the temperature of the R EVA 12 becomes high except during defrosting. it can.

  In addition, when performing the temperature compensation control, the control device 35 energizes the vertical partition heater 20 provided in the interior lamp 17 of the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vertical partition 19 of the refrigerator compartment door 18. The temperature increase in the refrigerator compartment 3 and thus the vegetable compartment 6 due to the heat generation can be promoted, and the supercooled state of the vegetable compartment 6 can be eliminated in a short time.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows.
You may make it apply to the structure which abbreviate | omitted V heater 23. FIG.
Instead of the V sensor 25, energization to the R defrost heater 21 may be started based on the detected temperature of the R sensor 24.

When performing the temperature compensation control, the R fan 15 may be energized while the R defrost heater 21 is intermittently energized. In this case, since the warm air can be blown to the vegetable compartment 6 by driving the R fan 15, unnecessary power consumption of the heater can be prevented.
If it is the structure by which the cooler is arrange | positioned at the back surface of the vegetable compartment 6, this invention is applicable regardless of the number or arrangement | positioning of a cooler.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the refrigerator in one Example of this invention. Front view of the refrigerator shown with the refrigerator compartment door open Vertical side view of refrigerator Diagram showing the configuration of the refrigeration cycle Flow chart showing temperature compensation control of vegetable room by control device (Part 1) Flow chart showing temperature compensation control of vegetable room by control device (Part 2)

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a refrigerator, 2 is a refrigerator body, 3 is a refrigerator compartment (refrigerated compartment), 4 is an ice making chamber (freezer compartment), 5 is a switching chamber (freezer compartment), 6 is a vegetable compartment (refrigerated compartment), 7 is Freezer compartment (refrigeration compartment), 9 R evaporator room (cooler compartment), 11 F evaporator room, 12 R evaporator (cooler), 13 F evaporator, 15 R fan (refrigerating section fan), 16 , F fan, 17 interior lamp, 19 vertical partition, 20 vertical partition heater, 21 R defrost heater, 23 V heater, 24 R sensor, 25 V sensor (refrigeration zone temperature sensor), 29 Is an outside air temperature sensor, and 35 is a control device (control means).

Claims (11)

A vegetable compartment provided in the refrigerated compartment, a freezer compartment provided adjacent to the vegetable compartment, a cooler provided in a cooler compartment provided on the back of the vegetable compartment, and a cooler for cooling the refrigerated compartment ; In a refrigerator comprising a control means for performing a humidifying operation for stopping supply of the refrigerant to the cooler and blowing air containing moisture in the refrigeration compartment ,
A defrost heater for defrosting the cooler in an energized state;
A refrigeration compartment temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigeration compartment ;
When it is determined that the vegetable compartment is in a supercooled state based on the temperature detected by the refrigeration compartment temperature sensor , the control means executes temperature compensation control for energizing the defrost heater when the humidifying operation is completed. A refrigerator characterized by that. The refrigeration compartment temperature sensor is a vegetable room temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the vegetable room,
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines that the vegetable room is in a supercooled state when a state where the temperature detected by the vegetable room temperature sensor is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature continues for a predetermined time. A refrigerating room provided in the refrigerating section;
The temperature sensor is a refrigerator temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the refrigerator;
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines that the vegetable room is in a supercooled state when the cold room temperature sensor continuously detects a temperature equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. A temperature compensation heater for preventing overcooling of the temperature of the vegetable compartment,
The heater for temperature guarantee varies the energization rate or voltage based on the temperature and set temperature of the refrigeration compartment,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means executes the temperature compensation control on condition that the temperature compensation heater is energized in a state of 100%. A refrigeration compartment fan for blowing cool air generated by the cooler to the refrigeration compartment;
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control means energizes the refrigeration compartment fan when the temperature compensation control is executed.   6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein, when the temperature compensation control is executed, the control means intermittently energizes the defrost heater and energizes the refrigeration compartment fan. An interior lamp that illuminates the refrigerated compartment,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control means energizes the interior lamp when the temperature compensation control is executed. A double door that opens and closes the refrigerated compartment,
A vertical partition that closes the boundary of the doors on both sides with the door closed,
A vertical partition heater for preventing the vertical partition from being exposed,
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control means energizes the vertical partition heater when the temperature compensation control is executed.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control means ends the temperature compensation control when there is a cooling request for the refrigerated compartment. It has an outside air temperature sensor that detects outside air temperature,
The control means ends the temperature compensation control when a state in which the temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor is higher than the temperature detected by the refrigerated compartment temperature sensor continues for a predetermined time. The refrigerator in any one of. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control means ends the temperature compensation control when the temperature compensation control is executed for a predetermined time.

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