JP5175705B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator that includes a refrigeration cooler and a refrigeration cooler and a vegetable room cooler, and controls the cooling by alternately switching the flow of refrigerant to each cooler.

  In recent years, due to diversification of lifestyle patterns and family forms, storage atmosphere rooms have also diversified, and even in the refrigeration cycle, storage rooms in refrigeration temperature spaces such as refrigeration rooms and vegetable rooms are refrigerated with a relatively high refrigerant evaporation temperature. The freezing temperature space such as the freezing room, the ice making room, and the temperature switching room is cooled by a freezing cooler with a low evaporating temperature. Refrigerators that are provided with dedicated coolers and fans in the refrigerated spaces to improve cycle efficiency, and that increase the humidity in the refrigerated spaces to keep food freshness for a long time have been commercialized.

In addition to the refrigeration cooler and the freezer cooler, a vegetable room cooler is installed to effectively cool the vegetable room provided independently of the refrigerator room and maintain high humidity. There are also such forms (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent No. 4175847 JP 2004-101028 A

  However, the vegetable room cooler described in Patent Document 1 is connected in series to the refrigeration cooler connected in parallel with the freezing cooler via the electronic expansion valve, and the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve is The vegetable room fan blows cool air at the same temperature as the refrigeration room into the vegetable room to cool it, and the electronic expansion valve can be held at the frozen storage temperature by reducing the opening of the electronic expansion valve. However, the vegetable room cooler is synchronized with the cooling of the refrigeration cooler and is not temperature-controlled. The vegetable room cooler described in Patent Document 2 is a plate with a good heat conductivity provided in the upper part of the vegetable room, and this is also cooled by cold air from the refrigerator for refrigeration. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, this does not control the temperature of the vegetable room by itself.

  Therefore, in the description of these patent documents and the like, even if a vegetable room cooler is provided, the temperature of the vegetable room becomes a cooling operation in accordance with the cooling action of the refrigerator for refrigeration, so that the original cooling control is performed. In addition, the temperature difference between on and off becomes large and the constant temperature performance important for preservation of stored items such as vegetables is impaired.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and by cooling control provided with a refrigeration cooler and a vegetable room cooler, the constant temperature performance is improved and the refrigeration room and the vegetable room are effectively cooled. And it aims at providing the refrigerator which can hold | maintain the freshness of stored goods, such as vegetables, for a long time.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a refrigerator according to the present invention has a refrigerator compartment, a vegetable compartment, a freezer compartment, a refrigerator for refrigeration, a vegetable compartment cooler, a refrigerator for freezing, and each of them. Fans for supplying cold air from the cooler to the respective storage chambers are provided, and in the refrigeration cycle control in which the coolers are sequentially cooled and operated, the refrigerating room and the vegetable room cooler by the refrigerating cooler and the vegetable room cooler The cooling operation of the chamber is divided into a plurality of times and alternately cooled to cool each chamber to a predetermined temperature, and then the cooling operation of the freezing chamber by the refrigeration cooler is shifted to one cooling cycle. It is a feature.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to effectively control cooling by reducing the upper and lower cooling temperature ranges of the refrigerator compartment and the vegetable compartment and maintaining the constant temperature performance, and it is possible to preserve stored items such as vegetables for a long time. .

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The refrigerator main body (1) whose longitudinal cross-sectional view is shown in FIG. 1 is formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (4) between the outer box (2) and the inner box (3) to form a heat insulating box, Is partitioned into an upper refrigerated space (6) and a lower refrigerated space (7) by a heat insulating partition wall (5).

  The front opening of the refrigerated space (6) is closed by a double door left and right door (8), and the upper part inside is a refrigerated room (10) provided with a plurality of mounting shelves (9). A separate space is formed by partitioning the lower part with a partition plate (12) that also serves as a mounting shelf made of a transparent resin, and a drawer-type vegetable container (13) is placed inside the vegetable compartment (11), Furthermore, a cold container for cooling the room to about 0 to −3 ° C. is provided at the bottom of the refrigerated space (6) through a bottom partition plate (14) that similarly forms the bottom of the vegetable compartment (11). A low temperature chamber (15) is provided.

  The said vegetable container (13) is a container which opened the upper surface which consists of a low front wall (13a) and a surrounding wall, The slide which is not shown in figure provided in the front-back direction on the both side walls of the inner box (3) The rail member is slidable in the front-rear direction so that it can be pulled out.

  And when the said vegetable container (13) is accommodated and installed in the predetermined position in refrigeration space (6), an upper surface is obstruct | occluded by the said partition plate (12) arrange | positioned on the upper surface, The said vegetable container (13 ) Front wall (13a) and the opening formed by the front edge of the partition plate (12) forming the ceiling, the opening is opened and closed in conjunction with the back and forth movement of the vegetable container (13), and manually However, a lid (16) is provided which can be opened and closed or can be kept open at all times.

  As for the freezing space (7), a small freezing chamber (17) having a relatively small volume and a small ice making chamber having an automatic ice making device (not shown) are provided directly below the heat insulating partition wall (5). It is divided into left and right by a vertical partition plate provided in the front opening, and is placed side by side with a door provided in each front opening, and the front is divided vertically by a horizontal partition plate (18) at the bottom. In the same manner as described above, a freezer compartment (19) having a drawer door type is provided over the entire width of the main body.

  In the freezer compartment (19), a pair of left and right support frames (not shown) are fixed inside the freezer compartment door (20) that closes the front opening so as to be freely opened and closed, and the freezer compartment (19 ) The storage container (21) for storing the frozen food is held by rail members arranged in the front-rear direction on both side wall surfaces in the inside, and the drawer system is slidable back and forth.

  The storage container (21) has a plate-shaped middle container (22) with a relatively shallow bottom. When the freezer compartment door (20) is pulled out, the container (21) and the middle container (22 ) Is pulled out by the rail member, and an upper container (23) that is independently pulled out and stored is installed above the door, regardless of whether the freezer compartment door (20) is opened or closed.

  With the above configuration, the vertical partition that partitions the storage space between the heat insulation partition wall (5) below the low temperature chamber (15) and the horizontal partition plate (18) above the freezer compartment (19) of the refrigeration space (6). The board can form a substantially E-shaped reinforcing structure at an intermediate portion of the refrigerator main body (1), thereby increasing rigidity as a cabinet and improving strength.

  Moreover, the one room divided into right and left by the said vertical partition plate is made into the ice making room, Thereby, while being able to form an ice making room independently, it is under the refrigerating space (6) and is a large-capacity freezer room (19) Therefore, the height of the ice making chamber is higher than that of the conventional vegetable room, and it can be positioned near the user's so-called belt line. It is easy to use because it can be easily operated without bending down.

  On the other hand, the vegetable compartment (11) is partitioned and formed near the bottom in the refrigerated space (6), so it has been conventionally placed in the middle of the refrigerator body in the height direction. Compared to a configuration that has to be provided or a configuration having a dedicated drawer-type door and a rail mechanism, these can be unnecessary, and at least one heat-insulating partition wall can be reduced, so that not only in the height direction, The effective storage capacity can be greatly increased in the width and depth directions, and since there is no dedicated door and the rail mechanism is simplified, the cost can be greatly reduced. And the number of doors as the whole refrigerator also decreases, dew condensation at the front opening can be suppressed and heat leakage from the opening can be reduced, so that power consumption can be reduced.

  Moreover, since the vegetable room (11) is arranged in the refrigerated space (6), it is necessary to open both the refrigerated room door and the vegetable room door for storing refrigerated food and vegetables after shopping, as before. There is a convenience that can be done at once by opening the refrigerator compartment door (8).

  At this time, if the cover (16) of the vegetable compartment (11) is always open as described above and the front opening is relatively large, the refrigerator door (8) is opened. Just by opening the door, you can put your hands in the front opening and directly put out and put in the vegetables. If necessary, you can pull out the vegetable container (13) to the front, the same as the storage in the refrigerator compartment (10) Various vegetables as food ingredients can be taken out from the container and stored, making it easier to see the internal storage and reducing forgetting to use, improving usability, and shortening the opening time of the refrigerator compartment door (8). Therefore, the number of times the door is opened and closed can be reduced to reduce heat leakage.

  As described above, by installing the vegetable compartment (11) inside, the lower end position of the refrigeration space (6) is extended to a position slightly below the belt line of the user, and at the same time the refrigeration compartment door (8). Therefore, not only can the image of the entire refrigerator be refreshed and the design can be made innovative, but the interior volume of the refrigerated space (6) is large when opening the door, creating a sense of spaciousness in the room. Can be obtained.

  Refrigerating coolers (24) and refrigerating coolers (25), and R fans (27) and F corresponding to the coolers are provided on the rear portions of the refrigerating chamber (10) and the refrigerating space (7), respectively. A fan (28) is provided, and a vegetable room cooler (26) and a V fan (29) are also provided on the back of the vegetable room (11), and each cooler (24) (25) ( The cold air generated in 26) is introduced into the respective storage chambers by the fans (27), (28), and (29) to cool them.

  The refrigeration cooler (24), the freezing cooler (25) and the vegetable room cooler (26) are cooled by the freezing cycle (30) shown in FIG. Connect the condenser (32) to the compressor (31) provided in the lower part, connect the switching valve (33) for switching the refrigerant flow path to one of the three downstream flow paths to the condenser (32), The refrigeration side capillary tube (34) and the refrigeration cooler (24) are connected in series to one side of the flow path of the switching valve (33).

  The other side of the switching valve (33) is connected in series with a refrigeration side capillary tube (35) and a refrigeration cooler (25) whose evaporating temperature is lowered by enlarging the throttle of the refrigeration side capillary tube (34), In addition, the vegetable room side capillary tube (36) and the vegetable room cooler (26), whose evaporating temperature is slightly higher than that of the refrigerated side capillary tube (34), are connected in series. The outlet sides of the coolers (24), (25), and (26) are joined and connected to the suction side of the compressor (31) via the suction pipe (37).

  The switching valve (33) switches the flow direction of the refrigerant according to the signal from the control device, and alternately supplies the refrigerant to the refrigeration cooler (24) side, vegetable room cooler (26) or freezing side cooler (25) side. When the refrigerant is caused to flow to the refrigeration cooler (24) side by the switching valve (33) as the refrigeration operation mode, the refrigerant flowing through the refrigeration cycle is cooled by the refrigeration cooler (24 ), And the cold air that has been reduced in temperature by heat exchange is discharged into the refrigerating space (6) by the R fan (27) to cool the refrigerating chamber (10) to an appropriate temperature. Is introduced directly into the cold room (15) and cooled to a lower temperature than in the upper cold room (10).

  In the case of the refrigeration operation mode, since the temperature in the refrigerator compartment (10) is equal to or higher than the set temperature, the cold air generated by the refrigerator for cooling (24) is converted into the refrigerator compartment (10) by the rotation of the R fan (27). Circulate to cool. At this time, since the temperature of the refrigeration cooler (24) is cooled to about -15 to -20 ° C, the water in the refrigeration chamber (10) and the low temperature chamber (15) is refrigerated by the cold air circulation ( 24) Although it adheres as frost, the difference between the room temperature and the cooler temperature in the refrigerated space (6) is small, and the amount of water that forms frost has a high humidity atmosphere without greatly affecting the preservation of foodstuffs. Can be held.

  When the discharged refrigerant is allowed to flow to the vegetable room cooler (26) as the vegetable room cooling operation mode, the volume is relatively small, compared to the R fan (27) and the F fan (28). Cooling air is introduced into the vegetable compartment (11) by a V fan (29) with a small air flow to cool the inside of the vegetable container (13) to an appropriate temperature. Freezing chamber (19), which is directly introduced into the cooling device (25), evaporates at a low evaporation temperature, and is cooled to a low temperature of -20 ° C. or lower by heat exchange as a freezing space (7) with a fan (28) In addition, it is introduced into a small freezer room (17), an ice making room, etc., and controlled to cool each room to a predetermined temperature by forced circulation.

  The refrigerant flow is controlled by a refrigerating room temperature sensor (38) for detecting the temperature in the refrigerating room (10), a vegetable room temperature sensor (39) for detecting the temperature in the vegetable room (11), and mainly a freezing room. Comparing the input value of the freezer temperature sensor (40) that detects the internal temperature of (19) with the set internal temperature, the compressor (31) and each fan (27) (28) (29) Do the driving.

  Thus, the cooling operation of each room is controlled to be performed alternately in the order of refrigeration operation, vegetable room operation, and freezing operation. Conventionally, as shown by the broken line in the temperature chart of FIG. If the refrigeration room (10) detects a predetermined temperature, for example, the refrigeration room temperature sensor (38) detects 2 ° C. by the cooling operation by the cooler (24), then it is cooled by the vegetable room cooler (26). When entering the operation, when the vegetable compartment (11) is cooled and the temperature sensor (39) detects 3 ° C., it has been controlled to shift to the freezing operation, but in the present invention, The refrigeration operation and the vegetable room operation are alternately repeated twice for the cooling operation.

  That is, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the refrigeration room (10) detects a predetermined temperature, for example, the refrigeration room temperature sensor (38) detects 2.7 ° C. by the cooling operation by the refrigeration cooler (24). If this is the case, then the cooling operation for the vegetable room cooler (26) is started. When the vegetable room (11) is cooled and the temperature sensor (39) detects, for example, 3.7 ° C. Then, control is performed again so as to shift to the cooling operation by the refrigerator for refrigeration (24), and the refrigerator temperature sensor (38) detects a temperature set lower than the previously set temperature, for example, 2.3 ° C. Let the refrigerator compartment (10) cool down.

  As a result, when the temperature of the refrigerator compartment (10) is cooled to the predetermined temperature, the refrigerant flow is switched again to the vegetable compartment cooler (26) side and the cooling operation is performed, and the temperature of the vegetable compartment (11) is set to the previous setting. Cooling operation is performed until the temperature reaches 3.3 ° C, which is set lower than the temperature.

  When the refrigeration room (10) and the vegetable room (11) are cooled to their respective predetermined temperatures by the cooling operation, the operation proceeds to the freezing operation, and the refrigerant flow is cooled for freezing by the switching valve (33). The cooling operation of the freezer compartment (19) is started by switching to the container (25) side.

  For the examples, the sensors (38), (39), and (40) were installed in the refrigerator compartment (10), the vegetable compartment (11), and the freezer compartment (19), respectively, and the cooling operation was performed alternately. Not only this but a sensor is provided only in any one of a refrigerator compartment (10) and a vegetable compartment (11), on the other hand, for example, about a vegetable compartment (11), it may be made to control cooling operation with time, In this way, although the cooling temperature accuracy is slightly lowered, the cost for the temperature sensor can be reduced.

  Further, when the cooling operation time reaches a predetermined time without using the temperature sensor, for example, 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigeration operation, 5 to 10 minutes in the vegetable room operation, and 30 to 40 minutes in the freezing operation mode, the switching valve ( 25) may be operated to switch to the other cooling operation mode, and this may be repeated a plurality of times.

  As a result, the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment (10) and the vegetable compartment (11) are as shown in FIG. 3 on the side of each cooler (24) (25) (26) for refrigeration, vegetable compartment, and freezing. As shown by the solid line, the temperature difference between the upper and lower temperatures per unit time in one cycle of the cooling operation is compared with the conventional temperature change indicated by the broken line when the refrigerant is controlled to flow by cooling once alternately. The temperature can be improved by reducing the size, and it can contribute to long-term storage of vegetables and the like with a high humidity atmosphere.

  During the cooling operation of the freezer compartment (19) in the above embodiment, the R fan (27) and the V fan (29) for the refrigerator compartment (10) and the vegetable compartment (11) are operated. During the cooling operation of the freezing space (7), no refrigerant flows into the refrigeration cooler (24) or the vegetable room cooler (26), but the surface temperature is about -3 ° C because it is in a frosted state. Yes, by rotating the R fan (27) and V fan (29), the cooler (24) (26) causes the air in the refrigerator compartment or vegetable compartment to flow down, and the circulation of air at 0 ° C. or higher causes refrigeration and vegetables The frost adhering to the room cooler (24) (26) is melted, and high-humidity cold air containing a lot of moisture due to melting of the frost is put in the refrigerator room (10) and vegetable room (11). Inflow.

  As a result, the inside of the refrigerator compartment (10) and the vegetable compartment (11) is cooled and the humidity in the room can be kept higher by the inflow of humidified cold air. Thus, it is possible to further improve the storage performance of foods that are prevented from drying.

  Therefore, the lid (16) for closing the front opening of the vegetable compartment (11) can sufficiently maintain a high humidity atmosphere in the vegetable compartment (11) without special provision. In the freezing operation, The refrigeration room and the vegetable room (11) as well as the refrigeration room (10) are cooled to a predetermined temperature by the refrigeration in the previous stage and the cooling operation of the vegetable room. (24) and the frost of the vegetable room cooler (26) are exchanged with heat, and there is almost no possibility of being overcooled to the extent that the rise in the room temperature not being cooled is suppressed.

  And in the said Example, although each refrigerator (24) (26) (25) for refrigeration, vegetable compartment, and freezing was connected in parallel with respect to the refrigerating cycle (30), this, As shown in the refrigeration cycle (30 ′) of FIG. 4 in which the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members as in FIG. 2, the refrigerant outlet pipe of the vegetable room cooler (26) connected in parallel is connected to the refrigeration cooler (24). Connected to the inlet and controlled so that the refrigerant that has flowed into the vegetable room cooler (26), evaporated and cooled during the cooling operation of the vegetable room (11), then flows into the refrigeration cooler (24) May be.

  With this configuration, the cooling capacity to the vegetable compartment (11) with a small cooling load can be prevented from being excessive. At this time, the refrigerator compartment (10) is excessively cooled by the refrigeration cooler (24) cooled by the inflow of refrigerant. In order to prevent cooling, the rotation of the R fan (27) stops.

  In the above embodiment, an R fan (27), a V fan (29), and an F fan (28) are provided in each of the refrigerator compartment (10), the vegetable compartment (11), and the freezer compartment (19) to circulate the cold air. However, since the vegetable room (11) has a relatively small capacity, the vegetable room (11) may be cooled by a direct cooling method from the vegetable room cooler (26) without using a fan. . In that case, it is more effective for cooling to provide a flat plate-like cooler on the ceiling surface of the vegetable room (11), etc. With this configuration, drying of stored items by air circulation can be further suppressed, The freshness retention performance can be further improved.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator in FIG. It is a control temperature chart figure of each storage room of the refrigerator in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the other Example of the refrigerating cycle of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Refrigerator body 6 Refrigerated space 7 Refrigerated space
10 Cold room 11 Vegetable room 12 Partition plate
13 Vegetable container 15 Low greenhouse 16 Lid
17 Small freezer 19 Freezer 24 Refrigerator
25 Refrigeration cooler 26 Vegetable room cooler 27 R fan
28 F fan 29 V fan 30, 30 'Refrigeration cycle
31 Compressor 32 Condenser 33 Switching valve
34 Refrigerated side capillary tube 35 Refrigerated side capillary tube 36 Vegetable room side capillary tube
37 Suction pipe 38, 39, 40 Temperature sensor

Claims (5)

  A refrigeration cooler, a vegetable room cooler, a freezer cooler, and a cooler for cooling each room independently, each of which has a refrigerator compartment, a vegetable compartment, and a freezer compartment, are supplied to each storage compartment. In the refrigeration cycle control, in which a cooling fan and a vegetable room cooler are provided, and the cooling operation of the refrigerator and the vegetable room cooler is divided into a plurality of times to alternate each other. The refrigerator is characterized in that each chamber is cooled to a predetermined temperature by cooling to a predetermined temperature, and then the cooling operation of the freezing chamber is performed by a freezing cooler to form one cooling cycle.   A refrigerated space having a refrigerated room is provided at the top of the heat insulation box body, a vegetable room and a low temperature room are disposed below the refrigerated room in the refrigerated space, and a heat insulating partition wall is provided below the low temperature room. The cooling storage room and the ice making room are separated by a vertical partition plate and placed side by side, and a drawer door type freezing room extending over the entire width of the main body is arranged at the lowermost part adjacent to the cooling storage room and the ice making room to form a freezing space. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the main body is divided into four sections.   In the refrigeration cycle, a refrigeration cooler, a vegetable room cooler, and a refrigeration cooler are provided in parallel, and when the cooling operation of the refrigeration and vegetable room coolers is stopped, the cooling fan for the refrigeration and vegetable room The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is driven. Refrigeration cooler and vegetable room cooler are connected in parallel in the refrigeration cycle and connected in series so that the refrigerant flows to the refrigeration cooler when the vegetable room cooler is in operation. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling fan for refrigeration is stopped during the cooling operation of the refrigerator.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a temperature detection sensor is provided in one of the refrigeration room and the vegetable room, and the other storage room without the temperature detection sensor is controlled to be cooled according to a set time.

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