JP6685170B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator for refrigerating or freezing and storing food, drinking water and the like.

  Recently, due to changes in the family environment such as the nuclear family and the increase in dual-income couples, the freezing preservation method in the freezer tends to be diversified. At home, the freezer can be used to purchase and store food sold in the freezing temperature range, as well as to store frozen food, such as meat for quick freezing or cooking. It has been proposed to use it mainly in a quick freezing mode such as quick freezing storage.

  As a method of using such a freezing chamber, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-90663 (Patent Document 1), in the quick freezing mode in which the food is to be frozen rapidly, the rotation speed of the compressor is set higher than usual. The freezing method is shown.

JP 2006-90663 A

  In the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, in the quick freezing mode, since the compressor is continuously rotated at high speed, the temperature of the freezer compartment is significantly reduced, and dew condensation occurs in the adjacent refrigerator compartment and vegetable compartment. It may occur or food may freeze.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a refrigerator that can rapidly cool food while suppressing the temperature of the refrigerating room or the freezing room from being excessively lowered. .

In order to achieve the above object, the first present invention provides
A heat-insulating box forming a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, a refrigerating cycle for generating cold air, a cool air supply path for supplying cool air from the refrigerating cycle to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment by a blower fan, the refrigerating compartment or In a refrigerator provided with a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the freezer,
In the normal cooling operation, the compressor is operated at the first rotation speed when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, and the compressor is operated when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or lower than the second threshold value. Stop,
In the rapid cooling operation that shifts when it is determined that food has been put into the refrigerating room or the freezing room, the temperature detecting means is operated after the compressor is operated at the second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed. Even if the detected temperature becomes equal to or lower than the second threshold value, the compressor is continued to be operated at a rotation speed lower than the second rotation speed for a longer time than the time at which the compressor was operated at the second rotation speed .
The second invention is
A heat-insulating box forming a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, a refrigerating cycle for generating cold air, a cool air supply path for supplying cool air from the refrigerating cycle to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment by a blower fan, the refrigerating compartment or In a refrigerator provided with a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the freezer,
In the normal cooling operation, the compressor is stopped when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a second threshold,
When food is put into the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment, the compressor is operated at the second rotation speed for a predetermined time, and then the first rotation time is longer than the predetermined rotation time and lower than the second rotation speed. The compressor is operated at a rotation speed, and even if the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or lower than the second threshold value, the compressor is continuously operated at a rotation speed lower than the second rotation speed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the refrigerator which can cool food rapidly, suppressing suppressing the temperature of a refrigerating room or a freezing room excessively.

It is a front external view of a refrigerator to which the present invention is applied. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the vertical cross section of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the structure inside the back surface in the refrigerator of the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is an important section expanded sectional view of a freezer compartment in Example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part near the temperature detecting means shown in FIG. 5. It is a time chart which judges the presence or absence of food storage and performs rapid cooling operation. 7 is a flowchart for executing the time chart shown in FIG. 6. It is a time chart which performs rapid cooling operation based on another flow. 9 is a flowchart for executing the time chart shown in FIG. 8. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the freezer compartment in Example 2 of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the freezer compartment in Example 3 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications and applications within the technical concept of the present invention. Is also included in the range.

  Before describing a specific embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of a refrigerator to which the present invention is applied will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 is a front external view of the refrigerator, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a vertical cross section of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing the internal structure of the back surface of the refrigerator shown in FIG. Incidentally, the cross section of the ice making chamber is not shown in FIG.

  1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 has a refrigerating room 2, an ice making room (which is a part of a freezing room) 3, an upper freezing room 4, a lower freezing room 5, and a vegetable room 6 from above. Here, the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4 are provided side by side between the refrigerating chamber 2 and the lower freezing chamber 5. As an example, the refrigerating compartment 2 is a storage compartment in a refrigerating temperature zone of about + 3 ° C. and the vegetable compartment 6 is about + 3 ° C. to + 7 ° C. Further, the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5 are storage chambers in a freezing temperature range of approximately -18 ° C. Although not shown, a vertically arranged partition is provided between the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4, and the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4 are separated by this partition wall. They are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The upper freezer compartment 4 has a smaller width dimension than the lower freezer compartment 5 adjacent to the lower freezer compartment 5 and a smaller volume than the lower freezer compartment 5, and a small amount of food is frozen and stored.

  The refrigerating compartment 2 is provided on the front side with left and right split double-door (so-called French type) refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b. The ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the vegetable chamber 6 are each provided with a drawer type ice making chamber door 3a, an upper freezing chamber door 4a, a lower freezing chamber door 5a, and a vegetable chamber door 6a.

  A packing (not shown) with a built-in magnet is provided along the outer edge of each door along the outer edge of each door, and when each door is closed, the outside of the refrigerator formed by an iron plate is installed. It is configured to be in close contact with the flange of the box and each partition iron plate, and to prevent outside air from entering the storage chamber and leakage of cool air from the storage chamber.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, a machine room 11 is formed in the lower part of the refrigerator main body 10, and a compressor 12 is incorporated therein. The cooler storage chamber 13 and the machine chamber 11 are communicated with each other by a drainage passage 14 so that condensed water can be discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inside and outside of the refrigerator body 10 are separated by a heat insulating box body 15 formed by filling a foam heat insulating material (foam polyurethane) between the inner box and the outer box. There is. The heat insulating box 15 of the refrigerator body 10 has a plurality of vacuum heat insulating materials 16 mounted thereon. The refrigerator main body 10 is divided into a refrigerating compartment 2, an upper freezing compartment 4 and an ice making compartment 3 (see FIG. 1; the ice making compartment 3 is not shown in FIG. 2) by the upper insulating partition wall 17a, and the lower heat insulating partition is formed. The lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are partitioned by the wall 17b.

  In addition, a horizontal partition 18 is provided above the lower freezer compartment 5. The horizontal partition section 18 vertically partitions the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5. However, since the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5 are fluidly connected, the same cold air is supplied. In addition, a vertical partition section is provided above the horizontal partition section 18 to partition the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4 in the left-right direction.

  The horizontal partition portion 18 comes into contact with the packing (not shown) provided on the storage chamber side surface of the lower freezer compartment door 5a together with the front surface of the lower heat insulating partition wall 17b and the front surfaces of the left and right side walls. The packing (not shown) provided on the surfaces of the ice making chamber door 3a and the upper freezing chamber door 4a on the storage chamber side includes a horizontal partition portion 18, a vertical partition portion 53 (FIG. 4), an upper heat insulating partition wall 17a and the refrigerator body 1 By contacting the front surfaces of the left and right side walls of the, the movement of cold air between each storage chamber and each door is suppressed. Since the ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5 are kept in the same freezing temperature zone, the heat insulation performance of the horizontal partition portion 18 and the vertical partition portion 53 is the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a and the lower heat insulating partition wall 17a. Not as demanding as the heat insulating partition 17b.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper freezing compartment 4, the lower freezing compartment 5, and the vegetable compartment 6 are provided with doors 4a, 5a, 6a provided in front of their respective storage compartments. Further, an upper freezing storage container 41 is arranged in the upper freezing chamber 4, and a plurality of stages of freezing storage containers, that is, an uppermost freezing storage container 63, an upper freezing storage container 61 and a lower freezing storage container 62 are provided in the lower freezing chamber 5. It is arranged. Further, an upper vegetable storage container 71 and a lower vegetable storage container 72 are arranged in the vegetable compartment 6.

  Then, the ice making chamber door 3a, the upper freezing chamber door 4a, the lower freezing chamber door 5a, and the vegetable chamber door 6a are respectively pulled by pulling the handle portion (not shown) toward the front side to pull the ice making storage container 3b (not shown). ), The upper frozen storage container 41, the lower frozen storage container 62, the upper vegetable storage container 71, and the lower vegetable storage container 72 can be drawn out.

  More specifically, the lower stage freezing storage container 62 has a flange on the upper side of the lower stage freezing storage container 62 suspended from a support arm 5d attached to the freezer compartment inner box, and the upper stage freezing storage container 61 includes the lower stage freezing storage container 62. It is placed on the upper side flange of the side surface, and at the same time when the freezer compartment door 5a is pulled out, only the lower stage frozen storage container 62 and the upper stage frozen storage container 61 are pulled out. The uppermost stage frozen storage container 63 is mounted on an uneven portion (not shown) formed on the side wall of the freezer compartment 5 and is slidable in the front-rear direction.

  Similarly, the lower vegetable storage container 72 has a flange portion suspended from the support arm 6d attached to the inner box of the vegetable compartment door 6a, and the upper vegetable storage container 71 is placed on the flange portion of the lower vegetable storage container 72. There is. In addition, an electric heater 6C fixed to the heat insulating box 15 is provided in the vegetable compartment 6, and a temperature suitable for storing vegetables is prevented by the electric heater 6C so that the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 is not overcooled. I am trying to become. The electric heater 6C may be provided if necessary, but in the present embodiment, the electric heater 6C is provided so that vegetables can be stored better.

  Next, a method for cooling the refrigerator will be described. A refrigerator storage chamber 13 is formed in the refrigerator body 1, and a refrigerator 19 is provided therein as cooling means. The cooler 19 (as an example, a fin tube heat exchanger) is provided in the cooler storage chamber 13 provided at the back of the lower freezer compartment 5. Further, in the cooler storage chamber 13 and above the cooler 19, a blower fan 20 (as an example, a propeller fan) is provided as a blower unit.

  The air cooled by heat exchange in the cooler 19 (hereinafter, the low-temperature air heat-exchanged in the cooler 19 is referred to as “cold air”) is fed by the blower fan 20 to the refrigerating room air blowing duct 21, the freezing room air blowing duct 22, And, it is sent to each storage room of the refrigerating room 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5 and the vegetable room 6 via the ice making room air duct not shown.

  The air blown to each storage room is controlled by the first air blow control means (hereinafter referred to as refrigerating room damper 23) for controlling the amount of air blown to the refrigerating room 2 in the refrigerating temperature zone and the freezing rooms 4 and 5 in the freezing temperature zone. It is controlled by the second air flow rate control means (hereinafter referred to as the freezer compartment damper 24) that controls the air flow rate. By the way, the air ducts to the refrigerating room 2, the ice making room 3, the upper freezing room 4, the lower freezing room 5 and the vegetable room 6 are located on the back side of the respective storage rooms of the refrigerator body 1 as shown by the broken lines in FIG. It is provided. Specifically, when the refrigerator compartment damper 23 is opened and the freezer compartment damper 24 is closed, the cool air is sent to the refrigerator compartment 2 through the outlets 25 provided in multiple stages through the refrigerator compartment blower duct 21.

  The cool air that has cooled the refrigerating compartment 2 is provided from the refrigerating compartment return port 26 provided at the lower part of the refrigerating compartment 2 to the lower right rear side of the lower heat insulating partition wall 18 through the refrigerating compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 27. The air is blown from the vegetable compartment outlet 28 to the vegetable compartment 6. The returned cool air from the vegetable compartment 6 passes through the vegetable compartment return duct inlet 29 provided at the lower front of the lower heat insulation partition wall 18 through the vegetable compartment return duct 30, and from the vegetable compartment return duct outlet to the lower part of the cooler storage compartment 13. Return to. As another configuration, the refrigerator compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 27 may not be communicated with the vegetable compartment 6 and may be returned to the lower right side when viewed from the upper surface of the cooler storage chamber 12 in FIG. As an example of this case, a vegetable compartment ventilation duct is arranged at the front projection position of the refrigerator compartment-vegetable compartment communication duct 27, and the cool air that has been heat-exchanged by the cooler 19 is directly blown from the vegetable compartment outlet 28 to the vegetable compartment 6. Come to do.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a partition member 31 is provided in front of the cooler storage chamber 13 to partition each storage chamber from the cooler storage chamber 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the partition member 31 is formed with a pair of upper and lower outlets 32a, 32b, 33a, 33b. When the freezer compartment damper 24 is in the open state, the cool air exchanged by the cooler 19 is used. Is blown by the blower fan 20 to the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4 from the outlets 32a and 32b through the ice making chamber blowing duct (not shown) and the upper stage freezing chamber blowing duct 34, respectively. Further, the air is blown to the lower freezer compartment 5 from the outlets 33a and 33b through the lower freezer compartment air duct 35. An outlet may be added to the lower freezer compartment 5 as needed.

  Further, a control device having a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, an interface circuit, etc. is provided on the upper surface of the ceiling wall of the refrigerator main body 10, and an outside air temperature sensor (not shown) and a cooler temperature sensor (not shown) are provided. No.), refrigerating room temperature sensor (not shown), vegetable room temperature sensor (not shown), freezing room temperature sensor (not shown), opening / closing of doors 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a. A door sensor (not shown) for detecting each state, a temperature setter (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment 2, and the like are connected, and the ON / OFF control of the compressor 12 is controlled by a program preloaded in the ROM. , Control of each actuator that individually drives the refrigerator compartment damper 23 and the freezer compartment damper 24, ON / OFF control and rotation speed control of the blower fan 20, and ON / OFF of an alarm notifying the door open state. It is adapted to perform control of.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the refrigerating compartment door 2a is provided with an input control unit 40, and this input control unit 40 is connected to the above-described control device. Therefore, the temperature of each storage compartment of the refrigerator 1 can be set by the input from the input control unit 40. For example, the temperature of each storage chamber is controlled by controlling the number of revolutions of the compressor 12, the number of revolutions of the blower fan 20, the opening / closing amount of the refrigerator compartment damper 23 and the freezing compartment damper 24, and the like.

  In the refrigerator configured as described above, it is required to arrange the temperature detection means at an appropriate position where the presence / absence of food can be accurately detected to detect the food storage state. Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross section of the essential part of the freezer compartment, and FIG. 5 shows an enlarged cross section of the essential part near the temperature detecting means. In FIG. 4, a first temperature detecting means composed of a thermistor or the like is provided on the depth side end face of a vertical partition part (partitioning component without a vacuum heat insulating material) 53 for partitioning the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4. 50 is attached. Further, on the rear wall 51 near the upper side of the lower freezer compartment 5, a second temperature detecting means 52 which is also composed of a thermistor or the like is arranged.

  In this embodiment, the first temperature detecting means 50 measures the temperature of the space depending on the food temperature, and the second temperature detecting means 52 measures the temperature of the space not affected by the food temperature. Therefore, it is determined whether or not food having a temperature higher than the freezing room temperature is stored in the upper freezing room 4 or the lower freezing room 5 based on the fluctuation state of the output signals of the two temperature detecting means. Here, since the second temperature detecting means 52 is a temperature detecting means that has been conventionally provided, a detailed description of the configuration will be omitted. The first temperature detecting means 50 is not limited to the thermistor, and may be a non-contact type such as an infrared sensor that detects the temperature. However, since the thermistor has a higher degree of freedom in design as compared with an infrared sensor that cannot measure the temperature unless food is within the visual field range, it is desirable that the first temperature detecting means 50 be a thermistor.

  Now, as shown in FIG. 5, the first temperature detecting means 50, which is a feature of this embodiment, is provided at the lower end of the vertical partition portion 53 provided so as to be orthogonal to the horizontal partition portion 18. . The first temperature detecting means 50 is arranged at the lower end portion 54 in the depth direction of the vertical partition portion 53, and the signal line 55 of the first temperature detecting means 50 is connected to the outside through the inside of the vertical partition portion 53. Is connected to the connector 56 as described above. A part of the first temperature detecting means 50 and the signal line 55 is covered with a sensor cover 57. The sensor cover 57 is screwed, adhesive, welded, etc. so as to be integrated with the vertical partition 53. It is fixed to the vertical partition portion 53 by the fixing means.

  Here, in the vertical partition portion 53, the first temperature detecting means 50, the signal line 55, the connector 56 for transmitting the output signal to the outside, and the sensor cover 57 are incorporated in advance and configured as an assembly. The vertical partition part 53 can be incorporated by fixing the assembly of the vertical partition part 53 to the upper heat insulation partition wall 17a with a screw. A connector (not shown) connected to the control device is fixed to a region where the vertical partition portion 53 on the lower side of the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a is located.

  Therefore, by incorporating the vertical partition portion 53, it is possible to connect to the connector 56 of the first temperature detecting means 50. Further, in the lower freezer compartment 5, a lower stage frozen storage container 62, an upper stage frozen storage container 61, and an uppermost stage frozen storage container 63 are arranged from below.

  In such a configuration, it is assumed that raw meat or cooked food is stored in the uppermost freezing storage container 63 of the lower freezer compartment 5.

  At this time, the first temperature detecting means 50 is in the vertical projection of the uppermost freezing storage container 63 of the lower freezer compartment 5, higher than the upper end of the uppermost freezing storage container 63, and the lower end of the upper insulating partition wall 17a. And the upper end of the upper freezing storage container 41 of the upper freezing chamber 4 is located at a lower position. As described above, since the first temperature detecting means 50 is arranged close to and above the uppermost stage freezing storage container 63, it is easily affected by the temperature of the food stored in the uppermost stage freezing storage container 63. ing. That is, the first temperature detecting means 50 measures the temperature of the space that is influenced by the temperature of the food stored in the uppermost freezing storage container 63.

  On the other hand, the second temperature detection means 52 is located outside the vertical projection of the uppermost freezing storage container 63 of the lower freezing compartment 5, specifically on the back side of the lower freezing compartment 5, and is separated from the uppermost freezing storage container 63. Therefore, the temperature of the food stored in the uppermost freezing / storage container 63 is not limited to the temperature of the food stored in the uppermost freezing / storage container 63, and the temperature of the food stored in other than the upper freezing / storage container 63 is also affected. That is, the second temperature detecting means 52 measures not only the temperature of the food stored in the uppermost freezing storage container 63 but also the temperature of the space of the entire freezer compartment. Therefore, by comparing the output state of the first temperature detecting means 50 and the time-series variation of the output signal of the second temperature detecting means 52, it is determined whether or not food is stored in the uppermost stage frozen storage container 63. become able to.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the first temperature detecting means 50 is not provided on the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a, the vacuum heat insulating material is widely attached to the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a, and the cold heat leaks from the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a. Can be suppressed. That is, since the transfer of heat between the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment is suppressed, power consumption for cooling the freezing compartment can be suppressed, and overcooling of the refrigerating compartment can also be suppressed.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the first temperature detecting means 50, the signal line 55, the connector 56, and the sensor cover 57 are incorporated in the vertical partition portion 53 in advance, it is easy to assemble into the refrigerator and the working efficiency is improved. Can be improved.

  Next, a determination method for determining whether or not food is stored will be described. FIG. 6 shows the behavior of each temperature detecting means and the operating state of the compressor when the determination is executed, and FIG. 7 shows the control flow thereof.

  In FIG. 6, it is assumed that the target lower freezer compartment 5 door is opened at time t0, food such as raw meat is stored in the uppermost storage container 63 at time t1, and closed at time t1. In this state, the compressor is normally operated in a cooling mode at a low rotation speed, and similarly, the blower fan is also operated at a low rotation speed.

  When the food is stored, the temperature of the cold air around the food is less likely to decrease due to the influence of the temperature of the food, so the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 increases and even after the door is closed. High temperature continues for a while.

  On the other hand, when the door is opened and closed but food is not added, the temperature rise of the temperature detected by the first temperature detection means 50 is temporary, and the temperature is likely to drop after the door is closed. Therefore, when the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 remains above the food detection threshold for a certain time T1 or more, it can be determined that the food is stored.

  The food detection determination based on the temperature detected by the first temperature detection unit 50 described above is performed only when the detection temperature of the first temperature detection unit 50 at time t0 when the lower freezer compartment door 5a is opened is less than the food detection threshold value. To do. Further, the above-described food detection determination is performed only within the detection / monitoring reference time T0 by providing a fixed time as the detection / monitoring reference time T0 from the time t1 when the lower freezer compartment door 5a is closed. This is because the detection temperature of the first temperature sensor 50 may rise even when high-temperature food is stored in a storage compartment other than the lower freezer compartment such as the upper freezer compartment or the refrigerator compartment. Therefore, when the lower freezing compartment door 5a is already in a high temperature state or when the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 increases without interlocking with the opening and closing of the lower freezing compartment door 5a, the lower freezing compartment is opened. It is assumed that food has not been put into the uppermost stage frozen storage container 63 of No. 5. As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of determining that the food has been added and the subsequent malfunction when the food is not actually added.

  Next, the control of the cooling operation will be described.

  First, in the above-described food detection determination, when it is determined that food is not added, the operation in the normal cooling mode is performed. In the normal cooling mode, when the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means 52 reaches the compressor ON threshold (first threshold), the operation of the compressor is started to cool the freezing compartment. When the inside of the freezing compartment is sufficiently cooled and the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means reaches the compressor off threshold value (second threshold value), the operation of the compressor is stopped and the cooling inside the freezing compartment is temporarily suspended. Here, in consideration of energy saving and noise, it is desirable to operate the compressor at the lowest rotation speed possible. Therefore, when the compressor starts operating, it operates at low rotation speed (first rotation speed), and when the door is opened or closed or when the temperature detected by the second temperature detection means 52 becomes high. If necessary, the rotation speed is increased to a high rotation speed (second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed) to accelerate the cooling of the freezing compartment. By repeating this operation, the temperature in the freezer compartment is adjusted to be kept within a predetermined range.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in the food detection determination described above that food has been added, the process shifts to the quick cooling operation. In this rapid cooling operation, the same operation as in the normal cooling mode is performed until the temperature detected by the second temperature detection means 52 reaches the compressor off threshold, but when the compressor off threshold is reached, the operation of the compressor is stopped. Instead, lower the rotation speed from high to low to continue operation. Here, if the compressor is operated at high rotation speed for a long time, the temperature of the freezer compartment may drop significantly, which may cause problems such as dew condensation, frost, or food freezing in the adjacent refrigerator compartment or vegetable compartment. . However, it is possible to freeze the food quickly while suppressing the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems by extending the operating time by setting the compressor at a low speed and continuing to supply the cold air without interruption. For example, even for foods such as large-sized foods and high-temperature foods that require a long time to be frozen, the supply of cold air can be continued for a longer time than in the case of high rotation, so the time until freezing can be shortened. The low-revolution compressor operation after reaching the compressor off threshold value continues until the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 reaches the operation end threshold value.

  However, as shown in FIG. 8, the compressor may be in a stopped state when it is determined that food has been added. At this time, according to the control in the normal cooling mode, the operation of the compressor is started after reaching the compressor on threshold value, and after the compressor off threshold value is reached, as described above, the first temperature detecting means 50 operates. The low rotation compressor operation is continued until the detected temperature reaches the operation end threshold value. In this case, the compressor is stopped and the supply of cold air is interrupted at an early stage after the food is added, but at this stage, the food reaches the range of -1 ° C to -5 ° C, which is the ice crystal formation zone. It is thought that there are not many. Therefore, if cold air is continuously supplied after the compressor starts operating again, it becomes possible to quickly pass through the temperature zone of the above-mentioned ice crystal production zone, which is effective for maintaining freshness.

  Next, the concept of the control flow that realizes the above-described time chart will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  First, the normal cooling mode is executed in step S10. Here, it is detected in step S11 that the user has opened the door of the lower freezer compartment 5. When the door 5 of the lower freezer compartment 5 is opened in step S11, the temperature detected by the first temperature detection means 50 is compared with the food detection threshold value in step S12. Proceeding to S24, it is determined that food has not been added, and in step S25 the normal cooling mode is entered.

  When the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 is lower than the food detection threshold value in step S12, when it is detected in step S13 that the door of the lower freezer compartment 5 is closed by the user, the process proceeds to step S14, and detection monitoring is performed. Start timer count of time. Next, in step S15, the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 is compared with the food detection threshold value. If the detected temperature is equal to or higher than the food detection threshold value, the timer for the food detection time is started in step S16. Next, in step S17, it is determined whether or not the high temperature state continues for a predetermined time by comparing the food detection timer with the food detection reference time T1. When the food detection timer is less than the food detection reference time T1, the detection monitoring timer is compared with the detection monitoring reference time T0 in step S23, and when the detection monitoring timer has not reached the detection monitoring reference time T0, step S14. Return to and repeat. On the other hand, when the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting means 50 is lower than the food detection threshold value in step S15, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the detection monitoring timer is compared with the detection monitoring reference time T0. If the detection monitoring timer has not reached the detection monitoring reference time T0, the process returns to step S14 and is repeated. When the detection monitoring timer reaches the detection monitoring reference time T0 in step S23, the process proceeds to step S24, it is determined that no food is added, and the normal cooling mode is reached in step S25.

  On the other hand, if the food detection timer reaches the food detection reference time T1 in S17, it is determined in step S18 that food has been added, and the process proceeds to the rapid cooling operation. First, after continuing the operation in the normal cooling mode in step S19, it is determined in step S20 whether the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means 52 has reached the compressor off threshold value. If the detected temperature is higher than the compressor off threshold, the process returns to step S19 and is repeated. When the compressor off threshold is reached in step S20, the process proceeds to step S21, and the compressor is continuously operated at a low rotation speed. Then, in step S22, the detected temperature of the first temperature detecting means 50 is compared with the operation end threshold value. If the detected temperature is higher than the operation end threshold value, the process returns to step S21 and the same operation is repeated. When the operation end threshold is reached in step S22, the process proceeds to step S25 and the normal cooling mode is performed.

  Further, in the case of the time chart of FIG. 8, after step S19, step S26 for determining whether or not the compressor is on is provided. If the compressor is off in step S26, the process returns to step S19 and is repeated. On the other hand, when the compressor is in the ON state in step S26, the process proceeds to step S20 and the flow is the same as the above.

  In this way, it becomes possible to control the execution of the rapid cooling mode by using the two temperature sensors to judge whether or not there is food in the uppermost stage frozen storage container 63. That is, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that can automatically freeze quickly when food having a high temperature is stored while suppressing deterioration of heat insulation performance between the upper freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment. Regarding the upper freezing storage container 61 and the lower freezing storage container 62 other than the uppermost freezing storage container 63, the upper freezing storage container 61 and the lower freezing storage container 5 do not require temperature detection means and the user does not need to perform quick freezing. You can set. Further, the upper freezing compartment 4 may be a room that can be switched to not only the freezing temperature zone but also the refrigeration temperature zone.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when it is determined that food has been put into the freezer, the compressor is first operated at high rotation, and the compressor is not stopped as it is or after the compressor is temporarily stopped, then high rotation is performed. Operate continuously at low speed for a longer time than when. Therefore, even when the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting means 52 is lowered and the freezing chamber is cooled to the target temperature, it is possible to continue cooling the food that has not been cooled. As a result, the frequency of stopping and restarting the compressor can be reduced, and the life of the compressor can be maintained long. In addition, since the time to operate the compressor at high rotation speed can be shortened, not only can the overall power consumption be suppressed compared to the case of conventional rapid cooling operation, but also the generation of noise and vibration due to high rotation speed of the compressor. Time can be shortened.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the uppermost stage freezing storage container 63, which is the thinnest space having the smallest height dimension as compared with the storage containers in the upper freezing chamber 4 and the other storage containers in the lower freezing chamber 5, is Since it is intended for freezing, it has advantages that it is difficult to stack foods when they are placed, and that storage and removal operations are easy. Further, since the width of the uppermost freezing storage container 63 is larger than that of the storage container of the upper freezer compartment 4, more foods can be arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

  Here, an aluminum tray is laid as a metal heat conductive plate on substantially the entire surface of the uppermost stage freezer storage container 63, and a plurality of convex portions or concave portions are formed on the upper surface of the aluminum tray in the depth direction and the left-right direction. Has been done. Aluminum itself is a material with high thermal conductivity, and since the surface area is increased due to a plurality of irregularities, the cooling performance of the uppermost freezing storage container 63 is higher than that of the upper freezing storage container 61 and the lower freezing storage container 62. It's getting higher. Then, the cool air is supplied from outside the vertical projection of the uppermost stage freezing storage container 63, specifically, from a blow-out port at the same height as the uppermost stage freezing storage container 63 on the back side of the lower freezer compartment 5. Therefore, the food in the uppermost stage frozen storage container 63 is rapidly cooled. In addition, in the present embodiment, an example in which an aluminum tray is arranged in the uppermost storage container 63 of the lower freezer compartment 5 is shown, but there are a plurality of storage containers in the refrigerating compartment 2, and the uppermost storage container among them is the uppermost storage container. An aluminum tray may be arranged for chilled cooling, and this storage container may be the object of rapid cooling.

  Next, another embodiment of the mounting position of the first temperature sensor will be described with reference to FIGS. Since the same reference numerals indicate the same components, they will be described when detailed description is necessary, and the other parts will be omitted.

  In FIG. 10, the first temperature detecting means 50 is provided on the lower surface of the horizontal partition 18 provided between the upper freezing compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 5. The horizontal partition portion 18 does not separate the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5 from each other, but is a partitioning component that supports the upper freezing chamber 4 and the ice making chamber 3. In this embodiment, only two storage containers, that is, an upper stage freezing storage container 61 and a lower stage freezing storage container 62 are arranged in the lower freezing compartment 5.

  Since the horizontal partition 18 is provided between the upper freezing compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 5, no vacuum heat insulating material is provided. Then, in the case of the present embodiment, it is detected that food is stored in the upper stage frozen storage container 61 on the lower side of the horizontal partition section 18. According to this configuration, since the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a is not provided with the temperature detecting means, the vacuum heat insulating material can be widely attached to the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a, and the leakage of cold heat from the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a can be suppressed. it can.

  In FIG. 11, the first temperature detecting means 50 is provided on the lower surface of the horizontal partition 18 a provided between the upper freezing compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 5. The horizontal partition 18a separates the upper freezing chamber 4 and the lower freezing chamber 5 from each other, unlike FIG. However, it is the same as that of a partition component that supports the upper freezing compartment 4 and the ice making compartment 3.

  Since the horizontal partition 18a is provided between the upper freezing compartment 4 and the lower freezing compartment 5, a vacuum heat insulating material is not provided. Also in the case of the present embodiment, it is also detected that food is stored in the upper stage frozen storage container 61 on the lower side of the horizontal partition 18a. According to this configuration, since the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a is not provided with the temperature detecting means, the vacuum heat insulating material can be widely attached to the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a, and the leakage of cold heat from the upper heat insulating partition wall 17a can be suppressed. it can.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the refrigerator having the layout in which the vegetable compartment 6 is arranged at a position lower than the lower freezing compartment 5 has been described, but the layout in which the vegetable compartment is arranged between the refrigerating compartment and the upper freezing compartment. It may be a refrigerator. Even in the refrigerator having such a layout, by installing the temperature detecting means in the vertical projection of the uppermost storage container of the lower freezing compartment and at a position lower than the heat insulating partition wall that divides the vegetable compartment and the upper freezing compartment. , It is possible to automatically freeze the hot food quickly while suppressing the deterioration of the heat insulation performance of the heat insulation partition wall.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of a certain embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment.

  10 ... Refrigerator main body, 2 ... Refrigerator room, 3 ... Ice making room, 4 ... Upper freezer room, 5 ... Lower freezer room, 6 ... Vegetable room, 19 ... Cooler, 12 ... Cooler storage room, 18 ... Thermal insulation partition wall, 20 ... Blower fan, 50 ... 1st temperature detection means, 51 ... Rear wall, 52 ... 2nd temperature detection means, 53 ... Vertical partition part, 54 ... Depth direction lower end part, 55 ... Signal line, 56 ... Connector, 57 ... Sensor cover.

Claims (2)

A heat-insulating box forming a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, a refrigerating cycle for generating cold air, a cool air supply path for supplying cool air from the refrigerating cycle to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment by a blower fan, the refrigerating compartment or In a refrigerator provided with a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the freezer,
In the normal cooling operation, the compressor is operated at the first rotation speed when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, and the compressor is operated when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or lower than the second threshold value. Stop,
In the rapid cooling operation that shifts when it is determined that food has been put into the refrigerating room or the freezing room, the temperature detecting means is operated after the compressor is operated at the second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed. Even when the detected temperature of the compressor becomes equal to or lower than the second threshold value, the compressor is allowed to continue operation at a rotational speed lower than the second rotational speed and longer than a time period at which the compressor is operated at the second rotational speed . A refrigerator characterized by. A heat-insulating box forming a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, a refrigerating cycle for generating cold air, a cool air supply path for supplying cool air from the refrigerating cycle to the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment by a blower fan, the refrigerating compartment or In a refrigerator provided with a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the freezer,
In the normal cooling operation, the compressor is stopped when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a second threshold,
When food is put into the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment, the compressor is operated at the second rotation speed for a predetermined time, and then the first rotation time is longer than the predetermined rotation time and lower than the second rotation speed. Even if the compressor is operated at a rotation speed and the temperature detected by the temperature detection means is equal to or lower than the second threshold value, the compressor is allowed to continue to be operated at a rotation speed lower than the second rotation speed. Characteristic refrigerator.

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