JP7267673B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to refrigerators.

As background art in this technical field, there are, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-64256 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-250406 (Patent Document 2).

In Patent Document 1, the outer shell, which is the main body, is composed of a heat-insulating box body, and the internal space of this heat-insulating box body (i.e., the inside of the refrigerator) is divided into a refrigerator compartment, an ice compartment, a selection compartment where you can select freezing or refrigeration from above, Equipped with a freezer compartment and a vegetable compartment, the refrigerator compartment is cooled by the first evaporator, which is the evaporator for the refrigerator compartment, and the ice compartment, select compartment, and freezer compartment are cooled by the second evaporator, which is the evaporator for the freezer compartment, A refrigerator is disclosed in which the vegetable compartment is indirectly cooled by cold air in the freezer compartment via a partition or the like between the vegetable compartment and the freezer compartment (for example, FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator in which a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and a vegetable compartment are formed from above, and a cooler provided in the refrigerating compartment cools the refrigerating compartment and the vegetable compartment. Paragraph 0011).

JP 2006-64256 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-250406

The refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 cools the refrigerating compartment with the evaporator for the refrigerating compartment, cools the ice compartment, the select compartment and the freezing compartment with the evaporator for the freezing compartment, and cools the vegetable compartment provided below the freezing compartment. is indirectly cooled by the cold air in the freezer compartment through a partition wall, etc., between it and the freezer compartment.

When cooling the vegetable compartment indirectly, it is necessary to promote heat transfer through the partition wall in order to increase the cooling capacity of the vegetable compartment. In general, increasing the temperature difference between the spaces (the freezer compartment and the vegetable compartment) separated by the partition wall is effective in promoting heat transfer through the partition wall. Therefore, the load on the vegetable compartment is increased due to factors such as the surrounding environment temperature being high, food with a high temperature being stored in the vegetable compartment, or food being sandwiched between the vegetable compartment door and the box body. However, when it is necessary to increase the cooling capacity sufficiently, it is necessary to maintain the freezer compartment at an excessively low temperature.

In addition, the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2 cools the refrigerator compartment and the vegetable compartment with a cooler provided in the refrigerator compartment. Since a path for returning cool air to the room is required, the space efficiency is low, that is, the internal volume is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a refrigerator that can exhibit high energy-saving performance regardless of whether the outside temperature is high or low, and which also has high space efficiency.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configurations described in the claims are adopted.
The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. To give one example, a first refrigerating temperature zone chamber above a freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to a freezing temperature zone, and the above freezing temperature zone chamber. A second refrigerating temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the refrigerating temperature zone is provided below, a first evaporator located substantially behind the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, and a first evaporator housing the first evaporator an evaporator storage chamber, a first ventilation path that guides the air heat-exchanged with the first evaporator from the first evaporator storage chamber to the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, and from the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber to the first A first return path leading air to the evaporator storage chamber, a first blower forming a circulating airflow in the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, and controlling the refrigerant flow from the compressor a second evaporator positioned substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber and having a lower temperature than the first evaporator; and a second evaporator housing the second evaporator. a storage chamber, a second ventilation path that guides the air heat-exchanged with the second evaporator from the second evaporator storage chamber to the freezing temperature zone chamber, and from the freezing temperature zone chamber to the second evaporator storage chamber. a second return path for introducing air; and a second blower for forming a circulating airflow in the freezing temperature zone chamber , wherein the refrigerant flow control means comprises a first outlet for the refrigerant to the first evaporator, and , provided with a second outlet for the refrigerant to the second evaporator, and the refrigerant flowing through the first outlet cools only the first evaporator of the first evaporator and the second evaporator. The refrigerant that has flowed through the second outlet cools only the second evaporator of the first evaporator and the second evaporator, returns to the compressor, and cools the second evaporator. a second pressure reducer that reduces the pressure of refrigerant flowing through the second evaporator; and a first pressure reducer that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing through the first evaporator to an amount less than the pressure reduction amount of the second pressure reducer, wherein the second evaporator Any one of the vessel storage chamber, the second air blowing path, the freezing temperature zone chamber, or the second return path, and the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber are in communication with each other. Other solutions will be described later in the detailed description.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the refrigerator which can exhibit high energy-saving performance regardless of the degree of outside air temperature, and also has high space efficiency can be provided.

Front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment AA sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. Schematic diagram showing the refrigeration cycle configuration of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment 4 is a flowchart representing control of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment; An example of a time chart representing control of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment A Mollier diagram showing the state of the refrigerant in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. The schematic diagram showing the structure of the refrigerator of a comparative example. Schematic diagram showing the configuration of the refrigerator of Example 2 Schematic diagram showing the configuration of the refrigerator of Example 3

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with appropriate reference to the drawings.

A first embodiment (Embodiment 1) of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described. First, the configuration of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line BB in FIG. 2, and FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram representing a configuration; FIG. The box body 10 of the refrigerator 1 is open to the front, and from above, the refrigerating chamber 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone chamber), the ice making chamber 3 and the upper freezing chamber 4, the lower freezing chamber 5, and the vegetables A storage room is formed in order of the room 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone room). The front opening of the refrigerating compartment 2 is opened and closed by rotating refrigerating compartment doors 2a and 2b divided into left and right. It is opened and closed by a drawer-type ice making compartment door 3a, an upper freezer compartment door 4a, a lower freezer compartment door 5a, and a vegetable compartment door 6a. Each door is provided with a packing (not shown) on the inner periphery of the chamber, and when the door is closed, it contacts the front edge of the box body 10 to suppress the circulation of air inside and outside the chamber. there is The ice making chamber 3, the upper freezing chamber 4, and the lower freezing chamber 5 are hereinafter collectively referred to as a freezing temperature zone chamber 7.

The external dimensions of the refrigerator 1 are 685 mm in width, 738 mm in depth, and 1833 mm in height, and the rated internal volume based on JIS9801-3:2015 is a refrigerator compartment of 308 L, a freezer compartment of 180 L, and a vegetable compartment of 114 L.

The freezing temperature zone compartment 7 is basically a storage compartment in which the interior is set to a freezing temperature zone (below 0°C), for example, about -18°C on average. (0° C. or higher), for example, the refrigerating compartment 2 is a storage compartment with an average temperature of about 4° C., and the vegetable compartment with an average temperature of about 7° C.

The door 2a is provided with an operation unit 26 for setting the temperature inside the refrigerator. Door hinges (not shown) are provided above and below the refrigerator compartment 2 to fix the refrigerator 1 and the doors 2a and 2b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outside and inside of the refrigerator 1 are separated from each other by a box 10 formed by filling a foamed heat insulating material (for example, urethane foam) between an outer box 10a and an inner box 10b. there is In addition to the foamed heat insulating material, the box body 10 has a plurality of vacuum heat insulating materials 36 mounted between the outer box 10a made of steel plate and the inner box 10b made of synthetic resin. The refrigerator compartment 2 is separated from the upper freezer compartment 4 and the ice making compartment 3 by a heat insulating partition wall 28 , and the lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are similarly separated by a heat insulating partition wall 29 . In addition, on the front side of each storage compartment of the ice making compartment 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, and the lower freezer compartment 5, a heat insulating partition wall is installed in order to prevent the circulation of air inside and outside the compartment through the gaps between the doors 3a, 4a, and 5a. 30 is provided.

A plurality of door pockets 33a, 33b, 33c and a plurality of shelves 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d are provided inside the doors 2a, 2b of the refrigerating chamber 2 to partition into a plurality of storage spaces. In the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6, an ice making compartment container (not shown), an upper freezer compartment container 4b, a lower freezer compartment container 5b, a vegetable compartment container (not shown), which can be pulled out integrally with the doors 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a, respectively. 6b. The vegetable compartment container 6b is divided into upper and lower tiers, and a bottle storage space 6c for storing beverage bottles is provided in front of the lower tier. The height dimension of the bottle storage space 6c is ensured to be 305 mm or more (315 mm in this embodiment) so that a 1.5 L or 2 L beverage bottle can be stored in an upright position. In addition, the fact that beverage bottles can be stored is made known to users through text, drawings, photographs, and images in catalogs, instruction manuals, advertising media, and the like.

A chilled room 35 that can be set to a temperature lower than that of the refrigerating room 2 is provided above the heat insulating partition wall 28 . The user can select the set temperature of the chilled room 35 via the operation unit 26 . For example, by controlling the refrigeration evaporator 14a and the refrigeration fan 9a, which will be described later, and a heater (not shown) provided in the heat insulating partition wall 28, the refrigeration temperature range, for example, about 0 to 3 ° C., and the freezing temperature range , for example, about -3 to 0°C.

A refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a is provided substantially at the back of the refrigerating chamber 2, and a refrigerating evaporator 14a (first evaporator) is accommodated in the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a. A cooling fan 9a is provided above the cooling evaporator 14a. In addition, a refrigerating chamber air passage 11 is provided substantially at the center in the width direction of the rear portion of the refrigerating chamber 2, and a refrigerating chamber outlet 11a for blowing cold air to the refrigerating chamber 2 is provided above the refrigerating chamber air duct 11. . Refrigerating chamber return ports 15a and 15b (see FIG. 3) through which the air sent to the refrigerating chamber 2 returns are provided in the lower front and right upper portions of the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a. By driving the refrigerating fan 9a, the air whose temperature has been reduced by heat exchange with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is sent to the refrigerating chamber 2 through the refrigerating chamber air passage 11 and the refrigerating chamber discharge port 11a. 2 to cool. The air sent to the refrigerating compartment 2 returns to the refrigerating evaporator compartment 8a through the refrigerating compartment return ports 15a and 15b (see FIG. 3) forming the first return path.

A freezing evaporator chamber 8b is provided substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and a freezing evaporator 14b (second evaporator) is accommodated in the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. A freezing fan 9b is provided above the freezing evaporator 14b. A freezer compartment air passage 12 is provided at the back of the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and a plurality of freezer compartment discharge ports 12a are provided in the freezer compartment air passage 12 in front of the freezing fan 9b. A freezer compartment return port 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) through which the air sent to the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 returns is provided in front of the lower portion of the freezer compartment evaporator compartment 8b.

A vegetable compartment air duct 13 (first communication path) serving as an air duct to the vegetable compartment 6 is branched from the lower right of the freezer compartment air duct 12 and passes through the heat insulating partition wall 29 . A vegetable compartment discharge port 13a serving as an outlet of the vegetable compartment air duct 13 is provided so as to be substantially aligned with the lower surface of the heat insulating partition wall 29 on the upper right of the back of the vegetable compartment 6, and is open downward. The vegetable compartment air duct 13 is provided with a vegetable compartment damper 19 as cooling control means for the vegetable compartment 6 (see FIG. 3). A vegetable compartment return air inlet 18a is provided in front of the left lower part of the heat insulating partition wall 29 between the vegetable compartment 6 and the freezing temperature zone room 7, and the vegetable compartment return air passage 18 (second A flow path is formed to reach the vegetable compartment return outlet 18b provided in front of the lower part of the freezing evaporator compartment 8b via the two communication paths.

By driving the freezing fan 9b, the air whose temperature has been reduced by heat exchange with the freezing evaporator 14b is sent to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 through the freezing compartment air passage 12 and the freezing compartment discharge port 12a. The inside of the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 is cooled. The air sent to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 returns to the freezing evaporator chamber 8b from the freezing chamber return port 17 forming the second return path. When the vegetable compartment damper 19 is open, part of the cold air flowing into the freezer compartment air passage 12 flows through the vegetable compartment air passage 13 and reaches the vegetable compartment 6 through the vegetable compartment discharge port 13a. The inside of the chamber 6 is cooled. The air sent to the vegetable compartment 6 enters the vegetable compartment return air passage 18 through the vegetable compartment return inlet 18a forming the third return path, and returns to the freezing evaporator compartment 8b through the vegetable compartment return outlet 18b.

In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the cooling fan 9a is a centrifugal fan (backward fan) with a blade diameter of 100 mm, and the freezing fan 9b is an axial fan (propeller fan) with a blade diameter of 110 mm. During normal cooling operation, the rotation speed of the refrigerating compartment fan is 1000 min ^-1 or more, and the air volume for cooling the refrigerating compartment 2 is 0.3 m ³ /min or more. The rotation speed of the freezer compartment fan 9b is approximately 1300 min ⁻¹ , and when the vegetable compartment damper 19 is open, the volume of air cooling the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 is approximately 0.6 m ³ /min. The flow rate of air for cooling 6 is about 0.1 m ³ /min. A centrifugal fan has the characteristic of turning the air taken in from the axial direction by 90 degrees and blowing it out in the radial direction. On the other hand, an axial fan has the characteristic of blowing out the air taken in from the axial direction. Therefore, a centrifugal fan is excellent in mountability in an air passage in which the flow drawn in the axial direction is turned 90 degrees, and an axial fan is excellent in mountability in the air passage in which the flow drawn in the axial direction is blown out in the axial direction. Therefore, as the refrigerating fan 9a, the air sucked from the front is turned 90 degrees and blown out into the refrigerating compartment air passage 11 above. Since the air taken in from the rear is blown out to the freezer compartment air passage 12 in the front, a propeller fan, which is an axial fan, is adopted to make the refrigerator high in space efficiency.

A refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 41, a freezer compartment temperature sensor 42, and a vegetable compartment temperature sensor 43 are provided on the inside rear side of the refrigerator compartment 2, the freezer temperature zone compartment 7, and the vegetable compartment 6, respectively. 7, The temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 is detected. A refrigerating evaporator temperature sensor 40a is provided above the refrigerating evaporator 14a, and a freezing evaporator temperature sensor 40b is provided above the freezing evaporator 14b. temperature is detected. Inside the door hinge cover 16 on the ceiling of the refrigerator 1, an outside air temperature and humidity sensor 37 for detecting the temperature and humidity of the outside air (external air) is provided. is equipped with a door sensor (not shown) that detects the open/closed state.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a defrosting heater 21 for heating the freezing evaporator 14b is provided below the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. The defrosting heater 21 is, for example, an electric heater of 50 W to 200 W, and in this embodiment, a radiant heater of 150 W is provided. Defrosted water (melted water) generated during defrosting of the freezing evaporator 14b flows down into a gutter 23b provided at the bottom of the freezing evaporator chamber 8b, and flows into the refrigerator through a drain port 22b and a freezing drain pipe 27b. 1, and is discharged to the evaporating dish 32 above the compressor 24 installed in the machine room 39 .

A method of defrosting the refrigerating evaporator 14a will be described later, but the defrosted water generated when defrosting the refrigerating evaporator 14a flows down into a gutter 23a provided at the bottom of the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a, It is discharged to an evaporating plate 32 provided above the compressor 24 through a drain port 22a and a refrigerating drain pipe 27a.

In the machine room 39, along with the compressor 24 and the evaporating dish 32, an outside radiator 50a and an outside fan 26, which are fin-tube heat exchangers, are provided. By driving the outside fan 26, air flows through the compressor 24 and the outside radiator 50a to the evaporating dish 32, promoting heat dissipation from the compressor 24 and the outside radiator 50a, improving energy saving performance, and Ventilation accelerates the evaporation of the defrosted water accumulated in the evaporating dish 32, suppresses water overflow, and enhances reliability.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gutter 23a is provided with a gutter heater 101 for melting defrosted water frozen in the gutter 23a. In addition, the refrigerating drain pipe 27a is provided with a drain pipe upper heater 102 and a drain pipe lower heater 103. As shown in FIG. The gutter heater 101, the drain pipe upper heater 102, and the drain pipe lower heater 103 are all heaters with a capacity lower than that of the defrosting heater 21. 3W, and the drain pipe lower heater 103 is 1W.

Here, when the refrigerating fan 9a is driven, the return air from the refrigerating chamber 2 flows downward toward the gutter 23a through the refrigerating chamber return port 15b provided at the upper right of the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a. 23a is heated to raise the temperature. As a result, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing the heating amount of the gutter heater 101 that melts the defrosted water frozen in the gutter 23a, thereby improving the energy saving performance.

Also, the lower part of the drain pipe 27a is closer to the outer casing 10a than the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. As a result, the heating amount of the drain pipe lower heater 103 for melting the defrosted water frozen in the drain pipe 27a can be reduced, and the energy saving performance is enhanced.

A control board 31 is arranged on the ceiling of the refrigerator 1 (see FIG. 2). The control board 31 is connected to a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 41, a freezing compartment temperature sensor 42, a vegetable compartment temperature sensor 43, evaporator temperature sensors 40a and 40b, and the like. , ON/OFF and rotational speed control of the compressor 24, the refrigerating fan 9a, and the freezing fan 9b, the defrosting heater 21, the gutter heater 101, and the drain pipe upper heater 102, the drain pipe lower heater 103, and a three-way valve 52, which will be described later, are controlled.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerating cycle (refrigerant flow path) of the refrigerator according to the first embodiment. In the refrigerator 1 of the present embodiment, the compressor 24, the external heat radiator 50a that dissipates heat from the refrigerant, the wall heat radiation pipe 50b, and the condensation suppression pipe 50c that suppresses condensation on the front edges of the heat insulating partition walls 28, 29, and 30 (The outside radiator 50a, the outside radiator 50b, and the dew condensation suppression pipe 50c are called heat dissipation means), the three-way valve 52 as the refrigerant flow control means, the refrigerating capillary tube 53a as the pressure reducing means for reducing the refrigerant pressure, and the freezing It is provided with a capillary tube 53b, a refrigerating evaporator 14a for absorbing heat in the refrigerator by exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the air in the refrigerator, and an evaporator 14b for freezing. In addition, upstream of the three-way valve 52, a dryer 51 for removing moisture in the refrigerating cycle is provided, and downstream of the refrigerating evaporator 14a and downstream of the freezing evaporator 14b, liquid refrigerant is supplied to the compressor 24, respectively. They are provided with gas-liquid separators 54a and 54b, respectively, for preventing inflow. Furthermore, a check valve 56 is provided downstream of the gas-liquid separator 54b. A refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting these components with refrigerant pipes. The refrigerator of this embodiment uses isobutane, which is a flammable refrigerant, as a refrigerant, and the amount of refrigerant charged is 88 g.

The three-way valve 52 has an outflow port 52a and an outflow port 52b. State 1 (refrigerating mode) in which the refrigerant flows to the refrigerating capillary tube 53a side with the outflow port 52a in an open state and the outflow port 52b in a closed state. State 2 (refrigerating mode) in which the refrigerant flows toward the freezing capillary tube 53b with the outlet 52a closed and the outlet 52b opened, and state 3 (full state) in which both the outlets 52a and 52b are closed. Refrigerant flow control valve with closed mode).

When the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 1 (refrigeration mode), the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 24 flows through the outside radiator 50a, the outside radiator 50b, and the dew condensation suppression pipe 50c to radiate heat. to the three-way valve 52. Since the three-way valve 52 is in state 1 (the outflow port 52a is in an open state and the outflow port 52b is in a closed state), the refrigerant subsequently flows through the refrigerating capillary tube 53a, is depressurized, and reaches the refrigerating evaporator 14a. It exchanges heat with the return air of the refrigerator compartment 2. The refrigerant exiting the refrigerating evaporator 14a passes through the gas-liquid separator 54a, flows through the contact portion 57a with the capillary tube 53a, exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing inside the capillary tube 53a, and then returns to the compressor 24.

When the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 2 (freezing mode), the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 24 flows through the outside radiator 50a, the outside radiator 50b, and the condensation suppression pipe 50c to radiate heat. to the three-way valve 52. Since the three-way valve 52 is in state 2 (the outflow port 52a is in a closed state and the outflow port 52b is in an open state), the refrigerant subsequently flows through the freezing capillary tube 53b, is decompressed, becomes low temperature, and reaches the freezing evaporator. At 14b, heat is exchanged with the return air from the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the return air from the vegetable chamber 6 (when the vegetable chamber damper 19 is in the open state). The refrigerant exiting the freezing evaporator 14b passes through the gas-liquid separator 54b and flows through the contact portion 57b with the capillary tube 53b, thereby exchanging heat with the refrigerant flowing inside the capillary tube 53b, and then returns to the compressor 24.

When the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 3 (fully closed mode), when the compressor 24 is driven, the refrigerant is not supplied from the refrigerating capillary tube 53a and the freezing capillary tube 53b. The refrigerant in 14a or the refrigerant in the refrigerating evaporator 14b is recovered to the heat radiating means (details will be described later).

In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 1 (refrigerating mode), the compressor 24 is driven, the refrigerating fan 9a is driven, and the freezing fan 9b is stopped. The three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 2 (freezing mode), the compressor 24 is driven, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is opened, the refrigeration fan 9a is driven or stopped, and the refrigeration fan 9a is driven or stopped. "Frozen vegetable operation" that cools the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 by driving the fan 9b, controls the three-way valve 52 to state 2 (freezing mode), drives the compressor 24, and controls the vegetable compartment. The damper 19 is closed, the refrigerating fan 9a is driven or stopped, and the freezing fan 9b is driven to cool the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 in a "freezing operation". mode), the compressor 24 is driven, and the refrigerant in the refrigerating evaporator 14a or the refrigerant in the freezing evaporator 14b is recovered to the heat dissipation means side. In state 3 (fully closed mode), the compressor 24 is stopped, the refrigerating fan 9a is stopped, and the freezing fan 9b is stopped. 24 is controlled to the driving state, or the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 3 (fully closed mode) and the compressor 24 is controlled to the stop state, so that the refrigerant does not flow to the refrigerating evaporator 14a and the refrigerating fan is driven. as a "refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation" in which the refrigerating evaporator 14a is defrosted while cooling the refrigerating compartment 2 with the frost grown on the surface of the refrigerating evaporator 14a and the stored cold heat of the evaporator itself, a three-way valve 52 is set to state 3 (fully closed mode), the compressor 24 is stopped, the refrigerating fan 9a is driven or stopped, the freezing fan 9b is stopped, and the defrosting heater 21 is energized. Each storage compartment in the refrigerator 1 is cooled well by appropriately performing each operation of the "freezing evaporator defrosting operation" for defrosting the evaporator 14b.

The configuration of the refrigerator according to this embodiment has been described above. Next, the control of the refrigerator according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing control of the refrigerator according to this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a time chart representing control of the refrigerator according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the refrigerator of this embodiment is turned on (start), the three-way valve 52 is set to state 1 (refrigerating mode), the compressor 24 is driven at low speed (800 min ^-1 ), and the refrigerating fan 9a is turned on. The drive/freezing fan 9b is stopped, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed, and the refrigerating operation is started (step S101). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the refrigerating operation end condition is satisfied (step S102), and the refrigerating operation is continued until step S102 is satisfied. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, step S102 is established when the refrigerating chamber temperature T _R detected by the refrigerating chamber temperature sensor 41 is equal to or lower than the refrigerating operation end temperature T _Roff (T _R ≦T _Roff ). If step S102 is satisfied (Yes), the compressor 24 is driven at low speed (continued), the three-way valve 52 is set to state 3 (fully closed mode), and the refrigerant in the refrigeration evaporator 14a is recovered to the heat dissipation means side. Run (step S103). At this time, the refrigerating fan 9a continues to be driven to cool the refrigerating chamber 2 even during the refrigerant recovery operation. Refrigerant recovery operation is performed for a predetermined time (2 minutes in the refrigerator of this embodiment) (step S104), then the three-way valve is set to state 2 (freezing mode), the compressor 24 is driven at high speed (1400 min-1), and the refrigeration fan 9a is driven (continued), the freezing fan 9b is driven, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is opened, and the frozen vegetable operation and the refrigerator evaporator defrosting operation are performed (step S105).

Next, it is determined whether or not the vegetable compartment damper closing condition is satisfied (step S106). In the refrigerator of this embodiment, when the vegetable compartment temperature TV detected by the vegetable compartment temperature sensor ₄₃ is equal to or lower than the vegetable compartment damper closing temperature _TVoff ( _TV≤TVoff ), step S106 is established _. If step S106 is not satisfied (No), then it is determined whether or not the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation end condition is satisfied (step S107). If step S106 is established (Yes), the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed (step S201), and after shifting to the freezing operation, the process proceeds to the determination of step S107. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, when the refrigerating evaporator temperature T _Revp detected by the refrigerating evaporator temperature sensor 40a is equal to or higher than the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation end temperature T _RDoff (T _Revp ≧T _RDoff ), step S107 is executed. To establish. If step S107 is not satisfied (No), then it is determined whether or not the freezing operation termination condition is satisfied (step S108). If step S107 is satisfied (Yes), the refrigerating fan 9a is stopped (step S202), and after the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation is completed, the process proceeds to step S108. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, step S108 is established when the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed and the freezer compartment temperature _TF is equal to or lower than the freezing operation end temperature _TFoff ( _TF ≥ _TFoff ). If step S108 is not established (No), the process returns to step S106. If step S108 is established (Yes), the compressor 24 is driven at high speed (continued), the three-way valve 52 is set to state 3 (fully closed mode), and the refrigerant in the refrigerating evaporator 14b is recovered to the heat dissipation means side. Operation is performed (step S109). At this time, the freezing fan 9b continues to be driven to cool the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 even during the refrigerant recovery operation.

The refrigerant recovery operation is performed for a predetermined time (1.5 minutes in the refrigerator of this embodiment) (step S110), and then it is determined whether or not the conditions for starting the refrigeration operation are satisfied (step S111). In the refrigerator of this embodiment, step S111 is established when the refrigerator compartment temperature _TR is equal to or higher than the refrigerating operation start temperature _TRon ( _TR ≧ _TRon ). If step S111 is established (Yes), the process returns to step S101 and the refrigerating operation is performed. If step S111 is not established (No), the compressor 24 is stopped, the freezing fan 9b is stopped (step S112), and the process proceeds to determination of the refrigeration evaporator defrosting operation end condition (step S113). The refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation end condition is established when the refrigerating evaporator temperature T _Revp is equal to or higher than the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation end temperature T _RDoff (T _Revp ≥ T _RDoff ) (same condition as step S107). ). If step S113 is not satisfied (No), then it is determined whether or not the refrigerating operation start condition is satisfied (step S114). If step S113 is established (Yes), the refrigerating fan 9a is stopped (step S203), and after the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation is completed, the process proceeds to step S114. Step S114 is established when the refrigerator compartment temperature _TR is equal to or higher than the refrigerator operation start temperature _TRon ( _TR ≧ _TRon ) (same condition as step S111). If step S114 is not established (No), the process returns to step S113, and if step S114 is established, the process returns to step S101 and refrigeration operation is performed.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the operating state when the refrigerator according to this embodiment is installed at 32° C. and a relative humidity of 70%. Time _t0 is the time when the refrigerating operation for cooling the refrigerating chamber 2 is started (step S101 in FIG. 5). In the refrigerating operation, the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 1 (refrigerating mode), the compressor 24 is driven at a low speed (800 min ^-1 ), the refrigerant flows to the refrigerating evaporator 14a, and the refrigerating evaporator 14a is cooled to a low temperature. do. By operating the refrigerating fan 9a in this state, the refrigerating chamber 2 is cooled by the air that has passed through the refrigerating evaporator 14a and has become low temperature. Here, the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a during the refrigerating operation is made higher than the temperature of the freezing evaporator 14b during the freezing operation, which will be described later. In general, the higher the evaporator temperature (evaporation temperature), the higher the refrigeration cycle coefficient of performance (the ratio of the amount of heat absorbed to the input of the compressor 24) and the higher the energy saving performance. In order to maintain the freezing temperature in the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, the temperature of the freezing evaporator 14b must be lowered, but in the refrigerating chamber 2, the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a must be kept at the refrigerating temperature. and improve energy saving performance. In the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the rotational speed of the compressor 24 during the refrigerating operation is set to a lower speed (800 min ^-1 ) than during the refrigerating operation so that the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a during the refrigerating operation becomes higher. there is

The refrigerating compartment 2 is cooled by the refrigerating operation, and when the refrigerating compartment temperature _TR detected by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 42 at time _t1 drops to the refrigerating operation end temperature _TRoff , the refrigerating operation is switched to the refrigerant recovery operation ( Step S102 in FIG. 5). In the refrigerant recovery operation, the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 3 (fully closed mode), the compressor 24 is driven at a low speed (800 min ^-1 ), and the refrigerant in the refrigeration evaporator 14a is recovered for 2 minutes (Fig. 5 Steps S103, S104). As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in cooling efficiency due to insufficient refrigerant in the next frozen vegetable operation and freezing operation. At this time, by driving the refrigeration fan 9a, the residual refrigerant in the refrigeration evaporator 14a is utilized for cooling the refrigeration compartment 2, and the air in the refrigeration compartment 2 heats the inside of the refrigeration evaporator 14a. pressure drop is alleviated. As a result, an increase in the specific volume of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 24 is suppressed, a large amount of refrigerant can be recovered in a relatively short period of time, and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

When the refrigerant recovery operation ends (time _t2 ), the operation is then switched to the frozen vegetable operation for cooling the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 (step S105 in FIG. 5). In the frozen vegetable operation, the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 2 (freezing mode), the compressor 24 is set to a high-speed driving state (1400 min ^-1 ), the refrigerant is supplied to the freezing evaporator 14b, and the freezing evaporator 14b is kept at a low temperature. to In this state, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is opened and the freezing fan 9b is operated, so that the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 are cooled by the low temperature air that has passed through the freezing evaporator 14b. At this time, the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation is performed by continuing the operation of the refrigerating fan 9a. As a result, the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a rises, and the temperature rise of the refrigerating compartment 2 is moderated by the cooling effect of the frost and the cold heat stored in the refrigerating evaporator.

When the vegetable compartment temperature TV detected by the vegetable compartment temperature sensor 43 reaches the vegetable compartment damper closing temperature T _Voff at time _t3 , the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed (steps S106 and _S201 in FIG. 5), and the freezing operation is started. are moving to

Subsequently, at time _t4 , the temperature T _Revp of the refrigerating evaporator 14a detected by the refrigerating evaporator temperature sensor 40a reaches the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation end temperature _TRDoff , and the refrigerating fan 9a is stopped. , the refrigerating evaporator defrosting operation has ended (steps S107 and S202 in FIG. 5).

At time _t5 , the freezer compartment temperature T _F detected by the freezer compartment temperature sensor 41 reaches the freezer operation end temperature T _Foff and the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed, so the freezer operation ends (Fig. 5 step S108), the three-way valve 52 is controlled to state 3 (fully closed mode), the compressor 24 is driven at high speed (1400 min ^-1 ), and the refrigerant in the refrigerating evaporator 14b is recovered for 1.5 minutes ( Steps S109 and S110 in FIG. 5). As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in cooling efficiency due to insufficient refrigerant in the next refrigerating operation. At this time, by driving the freezing fan 9b, the residual refrigerant in the freezing evaporator 14b is utilized for cooling the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and the air in the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 heats the freezing temperature zone chamber 7. The pressure drop inside the evaporator 14b is alleviated. As a result, an increase in the specific volume of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 24 is suppressed, a large amount of refrigerant can be recovered in a relatively short period of time, and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

At time _t6 when the refrigerant recovery operation ends, the refrigerating chamber temperature _TR reaches the refrigerating operation start temperature T _Ron or higher, so the refrigerating operation start condition is satisfied (step S111 in FIG. 7), and the refrigerating operation starts again. is started (step S101 in FIG. 7).

The configuration and control method of the refrigerator of this embodiment have been described above. Next, the effects of the refrigerator of this embodiment will be described.

The refrigerator of this embodiment comprises, from above, a refrigerating compartment 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone compartment), a freezing temperature zone compartment 7, and a vegetable compartment 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone compartment). An evaporator 14a (first evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9a, and a refrigerating evaporator 14b (second evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9b at the back of the freezer compartment. The cooling fan 9a is driven to blow air to cool the refrigerator compartment 2, and the air heat-exchanged with the freezing evaporator 14b is blown by the driving of the freezing fan 9b to cool the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6. are doing. As a result, it is possible to provide refrigerators with high energy-saving performance and high space efficiency. The reason is explained below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a Mollier diagram showing the relationship between the temperature of the evaporator and the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator of this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a refrigerator showing a comparative example.

First, referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, the state of the refrigerant in the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator of this embodiment will be described. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, in the refrigerating operation, the low-pressure refrigerant (state R1) at the inlet of the compressor 24 is compressed by the compressor 24 and discharged in the high-pressure state R2. After that, the specific enthalpy decreases due to the heat radiation from the housing of the compressor 24 and heat radiation in the outside radiator 50a, the outside radiator 50b, and the dew condensation suppression pipe 50c, which are heat dissipation means, and the state R3 (liquid state) is reached. In the refrigerating operation, the three-way valve is in state 1 (refrigerating mode), so the refrigerant then flows through the refrigerating capillary tube 53a, is decompressed, and enters the refrigerating evaporator 14a in a low-temperature, low-pressure state R4. In the refrigerating evaporator 14a, heat is exchanged with the return air from the refrigerating chamber 2, the specific enthalpy increases, and the state R5 (gas state) occurs at the outlet of the refrigerating evaporator 14a. The refrigerant flowing out of the refrigerating evaporator 14a exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerating capillary tube 53a, thereby increasing the specific enthalpy and reaching the inlet of the compressor 24 (state R1). The amount of heat absorbed by the refrigerating evaporator 14a during refrigerating operation is Q1, the compressor power during refrigerating operation is W1, and the refrigerating cycle coefficient of performance COP1 during refrigerating operation is COP1=Q1/W1.

Further, in the freezing operation or the frozen vegetables operation for cooling the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, the low pressure refrigerant (state F1) at the inlet of the compressor 24 is compressed by the compressor 24 and discharged in the high pressure state F2. After that, the specific enthalpy is lowered by the heat radiation from the housing of the compressor 24 and the heat radiation in the outside heat radiator 50a, the outside heat radiator 50b, and the dew condensation control pipe 50c, and the state F3 (liquid state) is reached. In the freezing operation or the frozen vegetable operation, the three-way valve is in state 2 (freezing mode), so the pressure is reduced by flowing through the freezing capillary tube 53b, and the low temperature and low pressure state F4 is reached, and the freezing evaporator 14b flow into In the freezing evaporator 14b, heat is exchanged with return air from the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 or the vegetable compartment 6, the specific enthalpy rises, and the state F5 (gas state) occurs at the outlet of the freezing evaporator 14b. The refrigerant flowing out of the freezing evaporator 14b exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the freezing capillary tube 53b, thereby increasing the specific enthalpy and reaching the inlet of the compressor 24 (state F1). Assuming that the amount of heat absorbed by the freezing evaporator 14b during the freezing operation or the frozen vegetables operation is Q2, and the compressor power during the freezing operation or the frozen vegetables operation is W2, the refrigeration cycle coefficient of performance COP2 during the freezing operation is COP2=Q2/W2. Become.

At this time, the temperature (evaporation temperature) of the refrigerating evaporator 14a in the refrigerating operation for cooling the refrigerating chamber 2 and the temperature (evaporating temperature) of the freezing evaporator 14b in the freezing operation or frozen vegetable operation for cooling the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 ), the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a in the refrigerating operation is made higher. This is achieved by separating the circulation path of the air flowing through the refrigerating chamber 2 maintained in the refrigerating temperature zone and the circulating path of the air flowing through the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 maintained in the low freezing temperature zone. This is achieved by preventing air from the low-temperature freezing temperature zone chamber 7 from returning to the container 14a. By increasing the temperature of the refrigerating evaporator 14a in this manner, the coefficient of performance of the refrigerating cycle is improved, so that the refrigerator has high energy saving performance.

8(a) and 8(b) are refrigerators of comparative examples, in which, from the top, refrigerating compartment 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone compartment), freezing temperature compartment 7, and vegetable compartment 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone compartment). is provided, the circulation path of air flowing through the refrigerating chamber 2 maintained in the refrigerating temperature zone and the circulation path of air flowing through the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 maintained in the low freezing temperature zone are separated, and the back of the refrigerating chamber 2 The refrigerator is equipped with a refrigerating evaporator 14a (first evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9a in the back, and a freezing evaporator 14b (second evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9b in the back of the freezer compartment.

FIG. 8(a) adopts the configuration of the refrigerator described in Patent Document 1, in which the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is blown by driving the refrigerating fan 9a to cool the refrigerating chamber 2. Then, the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerating evaporator 14b is driven by the refrigerating fan 9b to cool the refrigerating temperature zone chamber 7. FIG. The vegetable compartment 6 is indirectly cooled by the cold air from the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 via the heat insulating partition wall 29 . In general, the amount of heat transfer through the partition wall is proportional to the temperature difference, so if it is necessary to increase the amount of heat transfer and improve the cooling capacity of the vegetable compartment 6, the temperature difference can be controlled to increase. becomes valid. Therefore, when the outside temperature is high, when food with a high temperature is stored in the vegetable compartment, or when a gap is created between the vegetable compartment door and the box body due to food being sandwiched, etc., the load on the vegetable compartment is increased. If the size is large and the cooling capacity needs to be sufficiently increased, the freezer compartment must be maintained at an excessively low temperature, resulting in a problem of reduced energy saving performance. It is also conceivable to reduce the insulation performance of the partition wall according to the condition of the large load on the vegetable compartment. Because of the problem of frozen vegetables, heating with an electric heater (temperature compensation) is required, which reduces energy saving performance.

FIG. 8(b) adopts the configuration of the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2, in which the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is driven by the refrigerating fan 9a to blow the refrigerating chamber 2 and the vegetables. The cooling fan 9b drives the cooling fan 9b to cool the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 by cooling the chamber 6 and exchanging heat with the freezing evaporator 14b. In this configuration, a vegetable compartment air passage 13 that blows the air sent by the refrigerator fan 9a to the vegetable compartment 6, and a vegetable compartment return air path 18 that returns the air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 6 to the refrigerator compartment evaporator compartment 8a. passes through the cold freezer compartment 2 or the freezing evaporator compartment 8b. Since the temperature of the air flowing through the vegetable room air duct 13 and the vegetable room return air duct 18 is relatively high, the absolute humidity tends to increase, and frost tends to grow in the vegetable room air duct 13 and the vegetable room return air duct 18. . In order to prevent blockage of the air passage due to frost, a heat insulating wall (heat insulating member) is provided between the vegetable compartment air passage 13 and the vegetable room return air passage 18 and the freezer compartment 2 or the freezing evaporator chamber 8b to prevent the vegetable compartment from blowing air. It is necessary to prevent the temperature of the inner surfaces of the passage 13 and the vegetable compartment return air passage 18 from dropping too much. Therefore, a space for the air passage and a space for the heat insulating wall (heat insulating member) are required, which entails a reduction in the size of the freezer compartment 2 or the freezing evaporator compartment 8b. When the freezer compartment 2 is reduced, the space efficiency deteriorates because the effective internal volume is reduced, and when the freezer evaporator chamber 8b is reduced, the heat exchange performance is reduced because the freezer evaporator 14b to be housed is also reduced. This causes a decrease in energy saving performance due to

On the other hand, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is driven by the refrigerating fan 9a to cool the refrigerating chamber 2, and the refrigerating evaporator 14b is cooled. The freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 are cooled by blowing the air heat-exchanged with the refrigerator by driving the freezing fan 9b. As a result, the cooling capacity of the refrigerating compartment 2 can be controlled by the refrigerating fan 9a, and the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 can be controlled by the freezing fan 9b. The refrigerator can efficiently cool the compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 and has high energy saving performance. In addition, since the air flowing through the storage compartment in the refrigerating temperature zone does not pass through the freezer compartment 2 or the freezing evaporator compartment 8b, space efficiency is improved. In other words, the refrigerator has high energy-saving performance and high space efficiency.

The refrigerator of this embodiment is provided so that the vegetable compartment ventilation path 13 passes through the heat insulating partition wall 29 . As a result, any one of the freezing evaporator chamber 8b, the freezing chamber air passage 12, the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, or the freezing chamber return port 17 is communicated with the vegetable chamber 6. FIG. As a result, the length of the ventilation path can be shortened, the space efficiency can be improved, and the air path resistance can be kept low, resulting in a refrigerator with high ventilation efficiency and excellent energy saving performance.

In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the vegetable compartment return air path 18 is provided so as to flow through the heat insulating partition wall 29 . As a result, there is no need to use a separate heat insulating member as a heat insulating means for suppressing the influence of the relatively high temperature returning cold air from the vegetable compartment 6 in the refrigerating temperature zone on the freezing temperature zone compartment 7. A space-efficient refrigerator.
In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the height position of the opening at the lower end of the vegetable compartment air passage 13 (vegetable compartment discharge port 13a) is substantially aligned with the height position of the heat insulating partition wall 29, and the cooling air is blown from above the vegetable compartment 6. is blown out (see Fig. 3). When the low-temperature cold air that has exchanged heat with the freezing evaporator 14b is guided into the vegetable compartment 6 (for example, the back), the surface of the air passage on the vegetable compartment 6 side becomes low temperature and condensation is likely to occur. It is necessary to provide a heat insulating wall (heat insulating member) between the paths. In addition, since low-temperature air has a high density and tends to flow downward, supplying low-temperature air to the upper space is effective in improving cooling efficiency. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the height position of the opening (vegetable compartment discharge port 13a) at the lower end of the vegetable compartment air passage 13 is substantially aligned with the height position of the heat insulating partition wall 29, so that the vegetable compartment air passage 13 is closed. The heat insulation partition wall 29 serves as the heat insulation wall near the lower end, and the length of the ventilation path is also kept short. By blowing cooling air from above the compartment 6, the cooling efficiency of the vegetable compartment 6 is enhanced.

The refrigerator of this embodiment includes a vegetable compartment temperature sensor 43 for detecting the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 and a vegetable compartment damper 19 in the vegetable compartment air passage 13 . As a result, the vegetable compartment damper 19 can be opened and closed to control the blowing of air to the vegetable compartment depending on whether the cooling of the vegetable compartment is excessive or insufficient.

In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is provided near the lower end of the vegetable compartment air passage 13 . For example, when the vegetable compartment damper 19 is provided near the upper end of the vegetable compartment air passage 13 (inside the freezer compartment 6), even if the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed, the air downstream of the vegetable compartment damper 19 (on the side of the vegetable compartment 6) is is cooled by the freezer compartment 6 to a low temperature and may form a downward flow. Even if the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed in this way, if low-temperature air is supplied to the vegetable compartment 6, the temperature of the vegetable compartment 6 may drop too much, especially when the load on the vegetable compartment 6 is small. In the refrigerator of the embodiment, the vegetable compartment damper 19 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end of the vegetable compartment air passage 13, so that even when the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed, low-temperature air flows into the vegetable compartment 6 from the vegetable compartment air passage 13. Since the cooling of the vegetable compartment 6 can be suppressed, the vegetable compartment 6 can be efficiently cooled.

The refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with a bottle storage space 6c for storing beverage bottles in the vegetable compartment 6, and cold air from the low-temperature freezer compartment 6 is supplied to the vegetable compartment 6. As shown in FIG. This allows the beverage bottle to be efficiently cooled.

A second embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the description of the configuration similar to that of the first embodiment will be omitted. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the refrigerator of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the refrigerator of this embodiment has storage compartments in the order from top to bottom: refrigerating compartment 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone compartment), freezing temperature zone compartment 7, and vegetable compartment 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone compartment). forming. A refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a is provided substantially at the back of the refrigerating chamber 2, and a refrigerating evaporator 14a (first evaporator) is accommodated in the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a. A cooling fan 9a is provided above the cooling evaporator 14a. By driving the refrigerating fan 9a, the air whose temperature has been reduced by heat exchange with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is sent to the refrigerating chamber 2 through the refrigerating chamber air passage 11 and the refrigerating chamber discharge port 11a. 2 to cool. The air sent to the refrigerating chamber 2 returns to the refrigerating evaporator chamber 8a through the refrigerating chamber return port 15a.

A freezing evaporator chamber 8b is provided substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and a freezing evaporator 14b (second evaporator) is accommodated in the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. A freezing fan 9b is provided above the freezing evaporator 14b. Further, a freezer compartment damper 20, which is means for controlling the amount of air blown to the freezer temperature zone compartment 7, is provided downstream of the freezer fan 9b. A vegetable compartment air passage 13 serving as an air passage to the vegetable compartment 6 is branched from the freezer compartment air passage 12 and reaches a vegetable compartment discharge port 13a on the upper right of the back of the vegetable compartment. A vegetable compartment damper 19 , which is means for controlling the amount of air blown to the vegetable compartment 6 , is provided in the vegetable compartment air passage 13 . In this manner, the air passage downstream of the freezing fan 9 b branches into the freezer compartment air passage 12 directed to the freezer compartment damper 20 and the vegetable compartment air passage 13 directed to the vegetable compartment damper 19 . A heat-insulating partition wall 29 between the vegetable compartment 6 and the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 is provided with a vegetable compartment return inlet 18a. A flow path is formed for the return of the

When the freezer compartment damper 20 is in the open state, the air that has been heat-exchanged with the freezer evaporator 14b and has a low temperature is driven through the freezer compartment air passage 12 and the freezer compartment outlet 12a by driving the freezer fan 9b. The air is blown into the freezer temperature zone chamber 7 via the to cool the inside of the freezer temperature zone chamber 7 . The air sent to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 returns from the freezing chamber return port 17 to the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. When the vegetable compartment damper 19 is open, part of the cold air flowing into the freezer compartment air passage 12 flows through the vegetable compartment air passage 13 and is sent to the vegetable compartment 6 through the vegetable compartment discharge port 13a. The inside of the vegetable compartment 6 is cooled. The air sent to the vegetable compartment 6 enters the vegetable compartment return air passage 18 through the vegetable compartment return inlet 18a and returns to the freezing evaporator compartment 8b through the vegetable compartment return outlet 18b.

As described above, the refrigerator of this embodiment has a refrigerating compartment 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone compartment), a freezing temperature zone compartment 7, and a vegetable compartment 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone compartment) from above. Equipped with a refrigerating evaporator 14a (first evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9a at the back of the refrigerating compartment 2, and a freezing evaporator 14b (second evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9b at the back of the freezing compartment. The air heat-exchanged with the refrigerating evaporator 14a is driven by the refrigerating fan 9a to cool the refrigerating compartment 2, and the air heat-exchanged with the freezing evaporator 14b is sent to the freezer compartment damper 20 when the freezer compartment damper 20 is open. drives the freezing fan 9b to blow air into the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and when the vegetable compartment damper 19 is in an open state, the driving of the freezing fan 9b blows air into the vegetable compartment 6 for cooling. Further, when both the freezer compartment damper 20 and the vegetable compartment damper 19 are in the open state, both the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 can be cooled by driving the freezing fan 9b. As a result, the load on either the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 or the vegetable compartment 6 is increased due to, for example, storing high temperature food only in the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 or storing high temperature food only in the vegetable compartment 6. is high and the other is sufficiently cooled, only the damper provided in the air duct leading to the storage compartment on the side with the higher load, either the freezer compartment damper 20 or the vegetable compartment damper 19, should be opened for cooling. can be done. Therefore, since it is possible to suppress excessive cooling of the sufficiently cooled storage compartment, the refrigerator has high energy saving performance.

A third embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the description of the configuration similar to that of the first or second embodiment will be omitted. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the refrigerator of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with a freezing evaporator chamber 8b substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and a freezing evaporator chamber 8b is provided in the freezing evaporator chamber 8b. 14b (second evaporator) is accommodated. A freezing fan 9b is provided above the freezing evaporator 14b. By driving the freezing fan 9b, the air whose temperature has been reduced by heat exchange with the freezing evaporator 14b is sent to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 through the freezing compartment air passage 12 and the freezing compartment discharge port 12a. The inside of the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 is cooled. The air sent to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 returns from the freezing chamber return port 17 to the freezing evaporator chamber 8b.

In addition, the heat insulating partition wall 29 is provided with an air passage 25 (communication passage) through which the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the vegetable chamber 6 communicate with each other. A vegetable compartment damper 19 , which is cooling control means for the vegetable compartment 6 , is provided in the air passage 25 . When the vegetable compartment damper 19 is open, low-temperature cold air from the freezer compartment flows into the vegetable compartment 6 through the air passage 25 due to convection to cool the vegetable compartment 6 . When the vegetable compartment damper 19 is closed, convection through the air passage 25 is suppressed, so cooling of the vegetable compartment 6 is suppressed.

As described above, the refrigerator of this embodiment comprises, from above, the refrigerating chamber 2 (first refrigerating temperature zone chamber), the freezing temperature zone chamber 7, and the vegetable compartment 6 (second refrigerating temperature zone chamber). A refrigerating evaporator 14a (first evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9a are provided in the back of the freezer compartment, and a refrigerating evaporator 14b (second evaporator) and a refrigerating fan 9b are provided in the back of the freezer compartment to exchange heat with the refrigerating evaporator 14a. The cooled air is blown by driving the refrigerating fan 9a to cool the refrigerating chamber 2, and the air that has exchanged heat with the freezing evaporator 14b is blown to the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 by driving the freezing fan 9b to freeze. The temperature zone chamber 7 is cooled, and the vegetable compartment 6 is cooled by convection through an air passage 25 through which the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 and the vegetable compartment 6 communicate. The movement of air through the air passage 25 is
Convection (natural convection) due to the density difference between the low-temperature air in the freezing temperature zone compartment 7 and the high-temperature air in the vegetable compartment 6 is the main factor, so the load in the vegetable compartment 6 is large, and the temperature rises. In this case, the temperature difference (difference in density of air) with the freezing temperature zone chamber 7 increases, and cold air actively flows in. That is, a self-adjusting function according to the load of the vegetable compartment 6 works via the air passage 25, and the cooling capacity in the vegetable compartment 6 can be adjusted without requiring air blowing power to the vegetable compartment. As a result, the refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with the air duct 25 in the heat insulating partition wall 29 . As a result, the refrigerator does not require additional space for installation of an air duct, making it an excellent space-efficient refrigerator.

In addition, the refrigerator of this embodiment is provided with a vegetable compartment damper 19 in the air passage 25 . As a result, the air duct 25 can be controlled to be reduced or closed, so that the vegetable compartment can be prevented from being excessively cooled especially when the load on the vegetable compartment is small, resulting in a refrigerator with excellent energy saving performance.

The above is an example showing the present embodiment. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and 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 described configurations. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of the embodiment with another configuration.

1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigerating room (first refrigerating temperature zone room)
2a, 2b refrigerator compartment door 3 ice making compartment 4 upper freezer compartment 5 lower freezer compartment freezer compartments 3a, 4a, 5a freezer compartment door 6 vegetable compartment (second refrigerator temperature zone compartment)
6a Vegetable compartment door 7 Freezing temperature zone compartment (collective term for 3, 4, 5)
8a Cold storage evaporator room (first evaporator storage room)
8b Freezing evaporator room (second evaporator storage room)
9a Cooling fan (first blower)
9b Refrigeration fan (second blower)
10 Thermal insulation box body 10a Outer box 10b Inner box 11 Refrigerating compartment ventilation path (first ventilation path)
11a Refrigerating compartment outlet 12 Freezing compartment ventilation path (second ventilation path)
12a Freezer compartment outlet 13 Vegetable compartment ventilation path (third ventilation path)
13a Vegetable compartment discharge port 14a Refrigeration evaporator (first evaporator)
14b refrigeration evaporator (second evaporator)
15a, b refrigerator compartment return port 16 hinge cover 17 freezer compartment return port 18 vegetable compartment return air passage 18a vegetable compartment return port 19 vegetable compartment damper 20 freezer compartment damper 21 radiant heaters 22a, 22b drain ports 23a, 23b gutter 24 compressor 25 Air passage 26 Outside fan 27a Cold storage drain pipe 27b Freezing drain pipe 28, 29, 30 Thermal insulation partition wall 31 Control board 32 Evaporation plate 35 Chilled room 39 Machine room 40a Cold storage evaporator temperature sensor 40b Freezing evaporator temperature sensor 41 refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 42 freezer compartment temperature sensor 43 vegetable compartment temperature sensor 50a, 50b radiator (radiating means)
51 Condensation suppression pipe (heat dissipation means)
52 three-way valve (refrigerant control means)
53a Capillary tube for refrigeration (decompression means)
53b Freezing capillary tube (decompression means)
54b gas-liquid separator for refrigeration 54b gas-liquid separator for freezing 55a, 55b heat exchange unit 56 check valve 101 gutter heater 102 drain pipe upper heater 103 drain pipe lower heater

Claims (8)

A first refrigerating temperature zone chamber above the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the freezing temperature zone , and a second refrigerating temperature zone room below the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the refrigerating temperature zone,
A first evaporator located substantially behind the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, a first evaporator storage chamber that stores the first evaporator, and air that has undergone heat exchange with the first evaporator to the first evaporator. a first airflow path leading from the evaporator storage chamber to the first refrigeration temperature zone chamber; a first return path leading air from the first refrigeration temperature zone chamber to the first evaporator storage chamber; and the first refrigeration temperature zone A first blower that forms a circulating airflow in the room;
a compressor for compressing a refrigerant; and refrigerant flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from the compressor,
a second evaporator located substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber and having a lower temperature than the first evaporator; a second evaporator storage chamber that houses the second evaporator; and the second evaporator. a second blowing path that guides the heat-exchanged air from the second evaporator storage chamber to the freezing temperature zone chamber; a second return path that guides air from the freezing temperature zone chamber to the second evaporator storage chamber; a second blower for forming a circulating airflow in the freezing temperature zone chamber;
The refrigerant flow control means has a first outlet for refrigerant to the first evaporator and a second outlet for refrigerant to the second evaporator, and the refrigerant flowing through the first outlet is Of the first evaporator and the second evaporator, only the first evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor, and the refrigerant that has flowed through the second outlet is of which, only the second evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor,
a second pressure reducer that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the second evaporator;
a first decompressor that decompresses the refrigerant flowing to the first evaporator to be less than the decompression amount of the second decompressor;
A refrigerator, wherein any one of the second evaporator housing chamber, the second blowing path, the freezing temperature zone chamber, or the second return path, and the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber are in communication with each other. a first heat insulating partition wall separating the freezing temperature zone chamber and the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, and a second heat insulating partition wall separating the freezing temperature zone chamber and the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber,
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an air passage communicating with said second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is provided so as to pass through said second heat insulating partition wall. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the outlet openings of the air passage communicating with the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is provided so as to substantially match the lower surface of the second heat insulating partition wall. . 4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air passage communicating with the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is provided with a blowing amount control means for controlling the amount of air flowing through the air passage. refrigerator. A first refrigerating temperature zone chamber above the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the freezing temperature zone , and a second refrigerating temperature zone room below the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the refrigerating temperature zone,
A first evaporator located substantially behind the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber, a first evaporator storage chamber that stores the first evaporator, and air that has undergone heat exchange with the first evaporator to the first evaporator. a first airflow path leading from the evaporator storage chamber to the first refrigeration temperature zone chamber; a first return path leading air from the first refrigeration temperature zone chamber to the first evaporator storage chamber; and the first refrigeration temperature zone A first blower that forms a circulating airflow in the room;
a compressor for compressing a refrigerant; and refrigerant flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from the compressor,
a second evaporator located substantially behind the freezing temperature zone chamber; a second evaporator storage chamber that stores the second evaporator; a second airflow path leading from the room to the freezing temperature zone chamber; a second return path leading air from the freezing temperature zone room to the second evaporator storage compartment;
a third air-blowing path that guides air from the second air-blowing path to the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber; a third return path that guides air from the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber to the second evaporator storage chamber;
a second blower that forms a circulating airflow in the freezing temperature zone chamber and the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber;
The refrigerant flow control means has a first outlet for refrigerant to the first evaporator and a second outlet for refrigerant to the second evaporator, and the refrigerant flowing through the first outlet is Of the first evaporator and the second evaporator, only the first evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor, and the refrigerant that has flowed through the second outlet is of which, only the second evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor,
a second pressure reducer that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the second evaporator;
and a first decompressor that decompresses the refrigerant flowing through the first evaporator to be less than the amount of decompression of the second decompressor . A first refrigerating temperature zone chamber above the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the freezing temperature zone , and a second refrigerating temperature zone room below the freezing temperature zone chamber whose temperature is fixed to the refrigerating temperature zone,
A second evaporator having a lower temperature than the first evaporator is provided below the first evaporator,
a first blower that blows the air heat-exchanged with the first evaporator to the first refrigerating temperature zone chamber;
a compressor for compressing a refrigerant; and refrigerant flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant from the compressor,
The refrigerant flow control means has a first outlet for refrigerant to the first evaporator and a second outlet for refrigerant to the second evaporator, and the refrigerant flowing through the first outlet is Of the first evaporator and the second evaporator, only the first evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor, and the refrigerant that has flowed through the second outlet is of which, only the second evaporator is cooled and returned to the compressor,
a second pressure reducer that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant flowing to the second evaporator;
a first decompressor that decompresses the refrigerant flowing to the first evaporator to be less than the decompression amount of the second decompressor;
a second blower for blowing the air heat-exchanged with the second evaporator to the freezing temperature zone chamber;
The refrigerator, wherein the air heat-exchanged with the second evaporator is also supplied to the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the volume of air supplied to said second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is smaller than the volume of air supplied to said freezing temperature zone chamber. The second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is heat-exchanged with the second evaporator of the freezing temperature zone chamber via a second heat insulating partition wall that separates the freezing temperature zone chamber and the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber . 7. The air that has been cooled and has exchanged heat with the second evaporator according to the excess or deficiency of cooling in the second refrigerating temperature zone chamber is blown . Refrigerator as described in section.

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