JP7389615B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-117882) describes a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and a cooler are connected by piping, through which refrigerant flows, and the internal temperature is set to the refrigeration temperature range. a refrigerator compartment provided at the lower stage of the refrigerator compartment and set to a freezing temperature range where the internal temperature is lower than the refrigerator temperature range; A refrigerator characterized by having a switching chamber configured to be freely switchable between the refrigerating temperature zone and the freezing temperature zone (Claim 1 of Patent Document 1) is described. In addition, Patent Document 1 states, ``A blower blows air into the refrigerator compartment, the freezer compartment, and the switching compartment, and the air volume of the blower flowing into the switching compartment is adjusted to adjust the temperature of the switching compartment. The invention further includes a damper that performs the following steps.'' (Claim 7 of Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-117882

As mentioned above, Patent Document 1 describes that the temperature of the switching chamber is adjusted by adjusting the amount of air flowing into the switching chamber using a damper.

However, when switching the switching room from the refrigerating temperature zone to the freezing temperature zone, the cooling load increases significantly, but no consideration has been given to the cooling efficiency for this high load, resulting in lower energy-saving performance and the need for refrigeration. It is possible that it will take a long time. Note that the effect of changing the air flow becomes larger as the capacity of the switching chamber is relatively larger (for example, the length in the width direction of the switching chamber is the same as that of the refrigerator compartment).

The present invention solves these problems, and aims to provide a refrigerator with improved cooling efficiency when a switching chamber that can be set to a freezing temperature zone and a refrigerating temperature zone is set to a freezing temperature zone.

The present invention, which was made in view of the above problems, provides a refrigerated storage room whose interior is controlled within a refrigerating temperature range, a frozen storage compartment whose interior is controlled within a frozen temperature range, and a refrigerated and frozen temperature range. an evaporator; a fan that boosts the pressure of air made low by the evaporator and sends it to the cold storage compartment , the frozen storage compartment, and the switching room; a refrigerated storage room damper that suppresses air blowing to the refrigerated storage room; and a switching chamber damper that suppresses air blown by the fan to the switching chamber; In a refrigerator in which the storage compartment has a larger internal volume, the frozen storage compartment has a smaller internal volume, and the air that cools the refrigerated storage compartment , the frozen storage compartment, and the switching compartment are cooled by the same evaporator. , the evaporator is provided on the back side within a height range of the switching room, and the refrigerated storage room includes a refrigerating compartment and a vegetable compartment set at a higher temperature than the refrigerating compartment, The switching room is provided adjacent to the frozen storage room and the vegetable compartment, and when both the cold storage room damper and the switching room damper are opened, air is blown to the switching room more than the cold storage room. The air volume increases.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator with improved cooling efficiency when a switching chamber that can be set to a freezing temperature zone and a refrigeration temperature zone is set to a freezing temperature zone.

Front view of a refrigerator according to an example AA sectional view in Figure 1 Schematic diagram showing a refrigeration cycle configuration of a refrigerator according to an example A front view showing an air passage configuration of a refrigerator according to an example. Schematic diagram showing the air passage configuration of the refrigerator according to the example Schematic diagram showing an example of how to measure air volume in a refrigerator compartment Diagram showing a single switching chamber damper Schematic diagram showing the placement position of the vacuum insulation material that insulates the outside and inside of the refrigerator in accordance with the example

An example of a refrigerator related to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the insulated box 10 of the refrigerator 1 has storage compartments in the following order from above: a refrigerator compartment 2, an ice-making compartment 3, an auxiliary switching compartment 4, a switching compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6 installed on the left and right sides. are doing. The refrigerator 1 includes doors that open and close the openings of each storage compartment. These doors are rotatable refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b divided into left and right sides that open and close the opening of the refrigerator compartment 2, and openings of the ice making compartment 3, sub-switching compartment 4, switching compartment 5, and vegetable compartment 6, respectively. They are a pull-out ice making compartment door 3a, a sub-switching compartment door 4a, a switching compartment door 5a, and a vegetable compartment door 6a, which can be opened and closed.

The refrigerator compartment door 2a is provided with a display section 19 that shows typical settings and conditions inside the refrigerator. In order to fix the refrigerator compartment doors 2a and 2b to the refrigerator 1, door hinges (not shown) are provided at the upper and lower parts of the refrigerator compartment 2, and the upper door hinge is covered with a door hinge cover 17.

The refrigerating room 2 is a refrigerating storage room whose interior is kept within the refrigerating temperature range (0° C. or higher), for example, at an average temperature of about 4° C. The ice-making compartment 3 freezes the water on the ice-making tray 3c (see Figure 4), and maintains a freezing temperature range within the refrigerator so that the ice in the ice-making compartment container 3b, which stores the ice generated by the ice-making tray 3c, does not melt. (less than 0°C), for example, a frozen storage room kept at an average temperature of about -18°C. The vegetable compartment 6 is a refrigerated storage room whose interior is in a refrigerated temperature range, for example, at an average temperature of about 6° C., and is a refrigerated storage room in which drying of food is suppressed by indirect cooling, which will be described later. The sub-switching room 4 and the switching room 5 are switchable storage rooms that can be set to either a freezing temperature range or a refrigeration temperature range, for example, a refrigeration mode where the temperature is set to about 4°C on average, and a freezing mode where the temperature is set to about -20°C on average. You can switch between modes. The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment further has a strong refrigeration mode and a weak refrigeration mode where the temperature is between the refrigeration mode and the freezing mode, a weak refrigeration mode where the temperature is higher than the refrigeration mode, and a strong refrigeration mode where the temperature is lower than the freezing mode. A plurality of operating modes are provided, and these operating modes can be selected by the user using the operating section 18 provided in the refrigerator compartment 2. In addition, when the refrigerator 1 is connected to a smartphone or the like via a wireless communication line, the user may be able to set the temperature range of the switching storage chamber via the smartphone or the like.

In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 6, and the switching compartment 5 have the same length in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. There is. Specifically, the internal volume of each storage compartment in this embodiment is 300L for the refrigerator compartment 2, 25L for the ice making compartment 3, 40L for the sub-switching compartment 4, 100L for the switching compartment 5, and 110L for the vegetable compartment 6 (575L in total). Refrigerating compartment 2 > vegetable compartment 6 ≒ switching compartment 5 > sub-switching compartment 4 ≒ ice making compartment 3. Note that storage chambers in which the ratio of the internal volumes of two storage chambers is 1/2 to 2 are considered to have the same internal volume (≈). Since the refrigerator compartment 2 generally tends to store a large amount of food, its internal volume is the largest of the storage compartments, and in this embodiment, it is set to be 50% or more of the total internal volume of 575L. The switching compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are relatively large storage compartments that are smaller than the refrigerator compartment 2, but have an internal volume of 1/4 or more of the refrigerator compartment 2, and each account for 15% or more of the total internal volume of the refrigerator 1. be. Moreover, the internal volumes of the switching chamber 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are the same (the switching compartment 5 is 1/2 or more of the vegetable compartment 6). By making the internal volume of the sub-switching chamber 4 significantly different from 1/2 or less of the internal volume of the switching chamber 5, it is easy to adjust the ratio of storage chambers in the refrigerating temperature range and storage rooms in the freezing temperature range. . That is, when both the sub-switching chamber 4 and the switching chamber 5 are set to freezing, when both are set to refrigeration, when the sub-switching chamber 4 is set to freezing/switching chamber 5 is set to refrigeration, and when the sub-switching compartment 4 is set to refrigeration/switching. It is possible to set the temperature in four stages, including when the chamber 5 is frozen. Therefore, it is possible to significantly change the ratio of the internal volume of the storage chamber in the refrigerating temperature zone and the freezing temperature zone, providing customization that can be adapted to various situations.

The refrigerator 1 has an insulating box body 10 formed by filling a foam insulation material (for example, urethane foam) between an outer box 10a (made of steel plate) and an inner box 10b (made of synthetic resin), which allows the outside and inside of the refrigerator to be separated. are configured separately. In addition to the foam insulation material, the insulation box body 10 is equipped with vacuum insulation materials 25a and 25b (see FIG. 8), which have lower thermal conductivity than the foam insulation material, between the outer box 10a and the inner box 10b. , which improves insulation performance without reducing food storage capacity. Here, the vacuum insulation material is constructed by wrapping a core material such as glass wool or urethane with an outer wrapping material. The outer packaging material includes a metal layer (for example, aluminum) to ensure gas barrier properties.

The refrigerator compartment 2, the ice making compartment 3, and the sub-switching compartment 4 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 27. Further, the ice making compartment 3 and the sub-switching compartment 4 are separated from the switching compartment 5 by a heat insulating partition wall 28, and the switching compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by a heat insulating partition wall 29. Further, a heat insulating partition wall 26 is provided between the ice making compartment 3 and the sub switching compartment 4 so that the sub switching compartment 4 does not become low in temperature due to cold air from the ice making compartment 3 when the sub switching compartment 4 is set to the refrigeration mode. At the rear of the switching chamber 5, an evaporator 20, an evaporator air passage 11a, and an evaporator return air passage 11b, which will be described later, are provided, and a heat insulating partition wall 30 is provided between the switching chamber 5, the evaporator 20, and the surrounding air passage. It is provided.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the back side of the heat insulating partition wall 30 is in contact with the evaporator 20 and the low-temperature air immediately after passing through the evaporator 20 (air in the evaporator air passage 11a), and the front side is in contact with the When the chamber 5 is in the refrigeration mode, it comes into contact with air in the refrigeration temperature range, so heat exchange occurs due to this temperature difference. Note that when heat exchange occurs due to this temperature difference, the switching chamber 5 is cooled through the heat insulating partition wall 30, and the switching room 5 in the refrigeration mode may become too cold. Therefore, the heat insulating partition wall 30 is made of foam insulation material. Further, a vacuum heat insulating material 25d is provided substantially in front of the evaporator 20, which is particularly low temperature. Note that the switching chamber discharge port 15a, which will be described later, is formed not in the vacuum heat insulating material 25d but in the foam heat insulating material.

In addition, heat exchange between the refrigerating mode switching chamber 5 and the ice making compartment 3 and the freezing mode sub-switching chamber 4 through the insulating partition wall 28 prevents the refrigerating mode switching chamber 5 from getting too cold. is provided with a vacuum insulation material 25e. Note that the heat insulating partition walls 26, 27, 29 may be provided with a vacuum heat insulating material to improve the heat insulation performance of the heat insulating partition walls 26, 27, 29, or to reduce the thickness of the heat insulation.

By providing a plurality of door pockets 33 on the inside of the refrigerator compartment doors 2a, 2b and providing a plurality of shelves, the interior of the refrigerator compartment 2 is divided into a plurality of storage spaces. The ice-making compartment door 3a, sub-switching compartment door 4a, switching compartment door 5a, and vegetable compartment door 6a are equipped with an ice-making compartment container 3b, a sub-switching compartment container 4b, a switching compartment container 5b, and a vegetable compartment container 6b that are pulled out as one unit. There is. In addition, among the drawer-type storage compartments, the switching compartment 5, which has a relatively large internal volume, the switching compartment container 5b of the vegetable compartment 6, and the vegetable compartment container 6b are arranged in multiple containers (in this implementation) in consideration of ease of storage. In the example, two (upper and lower) are provided.

A refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 42, a sub-switching compartment temperature sensor 44, a switching compartment temperature sensor 45, and a vegetable compartment temperature sensor 46 are installed on the back side of the refrigerator compartment 2, sub-switching compartment 4, switching compartment 5, and vegetable compartment 6, respectively. An evaporator temperature sensor 41 is provided above the evaporator 20. These sensors detect the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 2, the sub-switching compartment 4, the switching compartment 5, the vegetable compartment 6, and the evaporator 20. Further, an outside air temperature sensor 47 and an outside air humidity sensor 48 are provided inside the door hinge cover 17 on the ceiling of the refrigerator 1 to detect the temperature and humidity of outside air (air outside the refrigerator). In addition, there is an ice tray temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature of the ice tray 3c, and a door sensor that detects the open/closed states of the refrigerator compartment doors 2a, 2b, the ice compartment door 3a, the sub-switching compartment door 4a, and the switching compartment door 5a, respectively. (not shown) is provided.

A control board 31 is disposed on the top of the refrigerator 1, which is equipped with a CPU, memory such as ROM and RAM, an interface circuit, etc., which are part of the control device. The control board 31 includes an outside air temperature sensor 47, an outside air humidity sensor 48, a refrigerator compartment temperature sensor 42, a sub-switching compartment temperature sensor 44, a switching compartment temperature sensor 45, a vegetable compartment temperature sensor 46, an evaporator temperature sensor 41, etc., and electrical wiring ( (not shown).

The control board 31 controls the compressor 24, the internal fan 9, the refrigerator compartment damper 102, and the sub-switching compartment damper 104, which will be described later, based on the output values of each sensor, the settings of the operation unit 18, the program recorded in advance in the ROM, etc. , the switching compartment damper 105, the vegetable compartment damper 106, and the display unit 19 are controlled.

In addition, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a communication base (not shown) that can be connected to external devices, and can provide information about the refrigerator 1 to mobile devices such as smartphones, personal computers, etc. Similar to the operation section 18, settings such as modes can also be changed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. The refrigerator 1 of this embodiment cools each storage compartment in the refrigerator 1 by cooling the evaporator 20 using the circulation of refrigerant by the refrigeration cycle. Note that the refrigerant in this embodiment is isobutane, and the amount of refrigerant is 80 g.

The refrigerant compressed and discharged by the compressor 24 is transferred to a first radiator 50a, which is provided in the machine room 39 and radiates heat by forced convection using a machine room fan 40, and a first radiator 50a, which is provided in contact with the outer box 10a. The heat flows through the second radiator 50b, which radiates heat, and the third radiator 50c, which is installed at the opening edge of the refrigerator 1 to suppress condensation, in this order, and the heat is radiated between them. Thereafter, the pressure is reduced by the capillary tube 52 via the dryer 51.

The refrigerant whose pressure has been reduced by the capillary tube 52 to a low temperature and low pressure flows into the evaporator 20 and makes the evaporator 20 low temperature. This low-temperature evaporator 20 cools the air around the evaporator 20 in the refrigerator. The refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator 20 flows to a gas-liquid separator 53 that separates liquid refrigerant. The gas refrigerant that has passed through the gas-liquid separator 53 flows through the return pipe 55, returns to the suction side of the compressor 24, and is compressed by the compressor 24 again. Note that the return pipe 55 has a heat exchange section 54 that is adjacent to the capillary tube 52 and exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the capillary tube 52, thereby increasing cooling efficiency.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the air path configuration of the refrigerator according to the embodiment, in which (a) shows the air path from the internal fan 9 to each discharge port, and (b) shows the air path from each return port to the internal fan 9. It shows the path. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the air passage configuration of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. The air passage configuration of the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment will be explained using FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 2.

When cooling the interior of the refrigerator, the compressor 24 and the interior fan 9 are driven. By driving the compressor 24, the air around the evaporator 20 is cooled by the evaporator 20. This low-temperature air is pressurized by the internal fan 9, and passes through the evaporator air passage 11a to the refrigerator compartment damper 102, the sub-switching compartment damper 104, the switching compartment damper 105, the vegetable compartment damper 106, and the ice-making compartment outlet 13a. The air is blown.

When cooling the refrigerator compartment 2, the refrigerator compartment damper 102 is opened. Low-temperature air passes through the refrigerator compartment damper 102 and is blown into the refrigerator compartment 2 via the refrigerator compartment air passage 12 and the refrigerator compartment outlet 12a. The air that has cooled the refrigerator compartment 2 returns to the evaporator 20 from the refrigerator compartment return port 12b through the refrigerator compartment return air passage 12c and the evaporator return air passage 11b, and is cooled again.

The low temperature air flowing into the ice making compartment 3 from the ice making compartment discharge port 13a cools the water on the ice tray 3c in the ice making compartment 3 and the ice in the ice making compartment container 3b, and then returns to the ice making compartment from the ice making compartment return port 13b. The air returns to the evaporator 20 via the air passage 13c and the evaporator return air passage 11b, and is cooled again. Note that in this embodiment, since a damper is not provided in the air passage to the ice making compartment 3, air is constantly blown to the ice making compartment 3 while the internal fan 9 is being driven.

When cooling the sub-switching chamber 4, the sub-switching chamber damper 104 is opened. The low-temperature air that has passed through the sub-switching chamber damper 104 is blown into the sub-switching chamber 4 via the sub-switching chamber discharge port 14a. The air that has cooled the sub-switching chamber 4 joins the refrigerator compartment return air path 12c from the sub-switching chamber return port 14b, returns to the evaporator 20 via the evaporator return air path 11b, and is cooled again.

When cooling the switching chamber 5, the switching chamber damper 105 is opened. The low-temperature air that has passed through the switching chamber damper 105 is blown into the switching chamber 5 via the switching chamber air passage 15 and the switching chamber outlet 15a. The air that has cooled the switching chamber 5 returns to the evaporator 20 via the switching chamber return port 15b and the evaporator return air path 11b, and is cooled again.

When cooling the vegetable compartment 6, the vegetable compartment damper 106 is opened. Low-temperature air is blown into the vegetable compartment 6 via the vegetable compartment damper 106, the vegetable compartment air passage 16, and the vegetable compartment outlet 16a. The air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 6 returns to the evaporator 20 from the vegetable compartment return port 16b via the evaporator return air path 11b and is cooled again. Here, the vegetable compartment 6 is a room exclusively for refrigeration temperature, and unlike the switching compartment, the food stored does not change significantly, and the food (vegetables, etc.) stored in the vegetable compartment 6 is generally cooled in a short time. While this is not required, deterioration of freshness due to drying is an issue. Therefore, in the vegetable compartment 6, low-temperature air discharged from the vegetable compartment outlet 16a is blown toward the outside of the vegetable compartment container 6b, thereby indirectly cooling the food in the vegetable compartment container 6b via the vegetable compartment container 6b. are doing. This makes it possible to maintain a predetermined refrigeration temperature while suppressing food drying due to low temperature, low humidity air. In addition, since low-temperature air is not allowed to flow into the vegetable compartment container 6b as described above, for example, the air inflow section provided in the sub-switching compartment container 4b and the switching compartment container 5b in FIG. This eliminates the need for cutouts (notches), reducing manufacturing costs. In addition, in this embodiment, by providing the vegetable compartment cover 6c, the interior of the vegetable compartment container 6b is kept in a substantially airtight state, further suppressing the intrusion of low-temperature cold air into the interior of the vegetable compartment container 6b, and making it more difficult for the food to dry out. , so that high freshness can be maintained.

Here, in this embodiment, when cooling any storage chamber, that is, when all dampers are opened, the amount of air passing through the switching chamber damper 105 (toward the switching chamber 5) out of the amount of air passing through each damper. (airflow volume) is maximized. Specifically, the amount of air passing through the switching chamber damper 105 is set to be 1.2 times or more the amount of air passing through the refrigerator compartment damper 102 (the amount of air blown to the refrigerator compartment 2). is multiplied by 1.5 times. Further, the amount of air passing through the switching chamber damper 105 is set to be 3.4 times or more the amount of air passing through the vegetable compartment damper 106 (the amount of air blown to the vegetable compartment 6). It is multiplied by 0. The switching compartment 5 is a storage compartment that can be set to a refrigeration temperature range like the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6, and in this embodiment, as described above, the internal volume of the switching compartment 5 is equal to that of the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6. Smaller than chamber 6. However, since the switching chamber 5 can be set to the freezing temperature range, the cooling efficiency in the freezing temperature range is increased by setting the amount of air blown to the switching chamber 5 to be large as described above. The reason for this will be explained below.

When the air volume is low, compared to when the air volume is high, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the air blown into the refrigerator so that cooling can be achieved even with a small amount of air, and for this purpose, the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 20 needs to be lower temperature. . Generally, when the temperature of the refrigerant is lowered, the cooling efficiency (the amount of cooling relative to the amount of power consumed by the compressor 24) decreases, resulting in a decrease in energy saving performance. On the other hand, in order to increase the air volume, it is generally necessary to widen and shorten the air passage, and in order to increase the air volume to the refrigerator compartment 2 and vegetable compartment 6, If the road is made wider, the space required for the air passage increases. In addition, since the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 are located at a long distance from the internal fan 9, the air passages are long and it is necessary to make the air passages wider. Therefore, in order to increase the amount of air flowing into the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6, the volume of the air passage must be increased, and the internal volume for storing food tends to decrease relative to the volume of the refrigerator. On the other hand, by prioritizing and securing the air path of the switching chamber 5 to increase the air volume of the switching chamber 5, the space for the air path relative to the entire installation space of the refrigerator 1 can be suppressed, and a large internal volume for storing food can be secured. However, it is possible to provide a refrigerator with high cooling efficiency.

Here, as the specific required amount of cooling, we assume that the amount of food to be replaced (taken out and stored) per day is proportional to the internal volume of each storage room, and the amount of food at room temperature at the outside temperature T _out [℃] Consider the case where 10% of the internal volume is newly stored. The required cooling amount to cool this food to the predetermined temperature of each storage room (the heat capacity of the food relative to the target temperature) is the required cooling amount Q _r in the case of a refrigerated storage room with an average temperature T _r [℃]. The required cooling amount Q _f in the case of a frozen storage room at Tf [° C.] is determined by Equation 2. In addition, since foods generally contain a large amount of water, each physical property and characteristic used in calculating the heat capacity is assumed to be water (H ₂ 0), and the specific heat is constant for both water and ice.

ρ is the density at the time of charging, V _r is the internal volume of the refrigerated storage compartment, V _f is the internal volume of the frozen storage compartment, Cp _w is the specific heat in the water state, C p _ice is the specific heat in the ice state, and Δh is the latent heat. As shown in Equation 2, in the case of a frozen storage room at Tf [° C.], latent heat Δh must also be considered. Here, the physical property values are Cp _w = 4.2 [kJ/(kg K)], Cp _ice = 2.0 [kJ/(kg K)], and Δh = 335 [kJ/kg]. . In addition, T _out is 32 [℃], which is the standard for the higher outside temperature adopted in the power consumption tests described in IEC 62552-3 and JIS C9801-3, and T _r is 4 [℃], which is the standard for the refrigerator room. °C], T _f is -18 [°C], which is the standard for a 4-star freezer. In this case, the required cooling amount Qf/Vf per internal volume is 3.7 times Qr/Vr. In the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, since the internal volume of the refrigerator compartment 2 is 3.0 times (= Vr/Vf) that of the switching compartment 5, the required heat absorption ratio Qf/Qr is 1.2 (=3 .7/3.0), and therefore, the volume of air passing through the switching chamber damper 105 is set to be 1.2 times or more the volume of air passing through the refrigerator compartment damper 102. Similarly, since the internal volume ratio Vr/Vf with the vegetable compartment 6 is 1.1 and Qf/Qr is 3.4, the air volume passing through the switching compartment damper 105 is equal to the air volume passing through the vegetable compartment damper 106. It is said to be more than 3.4 times. As a result, an appropriate amount of low-temperature cold air can be blown according to the amount of cooling required for each storage compartment, resulting in a refrigerator with high cooling efficiency while minimizing the space required for the air passage relative to the installation space. Note that when the switching chamber 5 is set to the refrigeration temperature range, excessive cooling can be prevented by suppressing air blowing by the switching chamber damper 105.

As described above, by making the switching room 5 have a larger air volume than the refrigerating storage rooms (refrigerating room 2, vegetable room 6) dedicated to the refrigeration temperature range, which have a larger internal volume than the switching room 5, It is possible to provide a refrigerator that can efficiently obtain the necessary cooling amount of the switching chamber 5 which can also be set to a freezing temperature range. In this embodiment, when the switching chamber damper 105 is open, the amount of air blown to the switching chamber 5 is always larger than that of the refrigerator compartment 2 or the vegetable compartment 6, but temporarily. There may be a moment when the amount of air blown to the switching room 5 becomes smaller than that of the refrigerator room 2 or the like.

Note that the air volume of each room may be determined as follows, for example.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for measuring the air volume of the switching chamber 5. The amount of air circulating through the switching chamber 5 is measured by measuring the amount of air flowing through the switching chamber return port 15b. Although not shown in the figure, the measurement is performed by driving the internal fan 9 with each damper including the switching chamber damper 105 open.

Here, the air volume is measured using an air volume measuring device as shown in FIG. Specifically, first, the switching room door 5a is opened, and the duct 200 is installed so as to cover the switching room return port 15b. Furthermore, a first differential pressure gauge 203 that measures the differential pressure between the internal pressure of the duct 200 and the external pressure (atmospheric pressure), an orifice 202 that can calculate the air volume based on the differential pressure between the upstream side and the downstream side, and the orifice 202 A second differential pressure gauge 204 that measures the differential pressure between the upstream side and the downstream side of the orifice, and a blower 201 located upstream of the orifice are installed. Then, the blower 201 is adjusted so that the differential pressure of the first differential pressure gauge 203 becomes zero, and the amount of air flowing through the switching chamber return port 15b is measured based on the second differential pressure gauge 204 at that time. Note that although the switching chamber door 5a is in an open state, since the differential pressure of the first differential pressure gauge is adjusted to be zero, this state can be regarded as almost the same as the state in which the switching chamber door 5a is closed.

Similarly, when measuring the air volume of the refrigerator compartment 2, use the duct 200 at the refrigerator compartment return port 12b, and when measuring the air volume of the sub-switching compartment 4, use the duct 200 at the sub-switching compartment return port 14b, and measure the air volume of the vegetable compartment 6. In this case, the duct 200 is installed to cover the vegetable compartment return port 16b, and the amount of air flowing through each return port is measured.

Based on the air volume measured using these methods, it is possible to compare the air volume circulating in each storage room. Here, the amount of air circulating through each storage chamber was measured based on the amount of air flowing through each return port, but the amount of air circulating through each storage chamber may be measured based on the amount of air flowing through the discharge port. Note that if there are multiple outlets for blowing air into one storage room, it is necessary to compare the total value of these outlets. For example, when measuring the amount of air sent to the refrigerator compartment 2, the duct 200 is installed to guide the air from each refrigerator compartment outlet 12a so that the differential pressure of the first differential pressure gauge 203 becomes zero. The blower 201 is adjusted, and based on the differential pressure of the second differential pressure gauge 204, the amount of air discharged from all the refrigerator compartment outlet ports 12a is measured. Then, by summing the volume of air discharged from each refrigerator compartment outlet 12a, the volume of air circulating through the refrigerator compartment 2 may be considered as the volume of air circulating in the refrigerator compartment 2. Furthermore, although an example of a method for measuring air volume using a throttle mechanism has been described here, the air volume may be measured using other means such as a thermal flow meter.

As described above, in the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, the amount of air flowing into the switching chamber 5 is larger than that of the other storage chambers. In this embodiment, the following structural considerations are made for this purpose.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the internal fan 9 is provided on the back side within the height range of the switching chamber 5, and the air path length from the internal fan 9 to the switching chamber outlet 15a of the switching chamber 5 is The length of the air path is made shorter than the length of the air path from the internal fan 9 to the outlet ports of other storage compartments (refrigerator compartment outlet 12a, ice making compartment outlet 13a, sub-switching compartment outlet 14a, vegetable compartment outlet 16a). ing. In other words, the pressure loss coefficient ("pressure loss/air volume": ease of occurrence of pressure loss with respect to air volume) of the air flow path of the switching chamber 5 is kept smaller than that of the air flow paths of other storage rooms, and the air volume is increased. There is. Similarly, the length of the air path from the switching chamber return port 15b to the evaporator 20 is also the same as that of the return ports of other storage compartments (refrigerator compartment return port 12b, ice making compartment return port 13b, sub-switching compartment return port 14b, vegetable compartment return port 16b). ) to the evaporator 20, the pressure loss coefficient is suppressed compared to the air passages of other storage rooms, and the air volume is increased. Note that it is desirable that the internal fan 9 and the evaporator 20 be placed completely within the height range of the switching chamber 5, but the horizontal projection of the internal fan 9 and the evaporator 20 is The arrangement may be such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the projection.

In addition, since the switching chamber 5 can be set in the refrigeration temperature range, it is necessary to blow air through the switching chamber damper 105, and this switching chamber damper 105 is also taken into consideration. Since the damper that controls the air blowing to each storage chamber collects the air blowing to each storage chamber, the flow velocity is high and the pressure loss is likely to be large.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the switching chamber damper 105 alone, in which (a) shows the switching chamber damper 105 in a closed state and (b) in an open state. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 that controls air blowing to the switching chamber 5 (the area of the part closed by the baffle 105a in FIG. 7(a) and the area of the open part in FIG. 7(b)) is damper (refrigerator compartment damper 102, vegetable compartment damper 106) to suppress the pressure loss coefficient. Specifically, in accordance with the above-mentioned ratio of Qf/Qr, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is set to be 1.2 times or more that of the refrigerator compartment damper 102 and 3.4 times or more that of the vegetable compartment damper 106. There is.

Furthermore, in addition to the opening area, consideration is also given to the equivalent diameter, and the equivalent diameter of the switching chamber damper 105 is made larger than other dampers (refrigeration chamber damper 102, vegetable chamber damper 106). The coefficient of friction, which is proportional to the pressure loss coefficient, becomes smaller as the Reynolds number (=flow velocity x representative length/coefficient of kinematic viscosity) increases, except in cases where there is a transition between laminar flow and turbulent flow. Furthermore, in the flow within a pipe, the representative length is generally expressed as an equivalent diameter ("equivalent diameter = 4 x cross-sectional area/wetted edge length", where the wetted edge length is the length of the circumference of the cross section). Therefore, by increasing the equivalent diameter, the Reynolds number increases even at the same flow velocity, and the coefficient of friction can be suppressed.

In order to increase the equivalent diameter, the aspect ratio (the larger of L _A /L _b or L _B /L _A ) of the opening of the switching chamber damper 105 is set to 2.5 or less. From the equation for calculating the equivalent diameter (equivalent diameter = 4 x cross-sectional area/wetted edge length), when the cross-sectional area is the same, a circle is a perfect circle, a rectangle is a square, and the smaller the aspect ratio, the smaller the wetted edge length. Become. Specifically, when the aspect ratio of a quadrilateral exceeds 2.5, the equivalent diameter becomes 10% or more smaller than that of a square. Therefore, by setting the aspect ratio of the opening to 2.5 or less and making the equivalent diameter (=4×( _LA・_LB )/(2×[ _LA + _LB ]) relatively large, the coefficient of friction can be suppressed and the pressure can be reduced. Reduces loss coefficient.

With the above configuration, the amount of air flowing into the switching chamber 5 is larger than that of other storage chambers, and the configuration is such that the required cooling performance can be satisfied.

Furthermore, since the switching chamber 5 is set in the refrigeration temperature range, the following considerations are taken in this embodiment to prevent the switching chamber 5 from becoming too cold.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the switching chamber 5 is set to be refrigerated, similarly to the heat insulating partition wall 30, the back side of the switching chamber damper 105 is filled with low-temperature air immediately after passing through the evaporator 20 (air in the evaporator air passage 11a). Since the front side of the switching chamber damper 105 is in contact with the air in the refrigerating temperature range in the switching chamber 5, a temperature difference occurs before and after the switching chamber damper 105. That is, heat exchange occurs via the switching chamber damper 105 due to the temperature difference between the air at the freezing temperature (evaporator air passage 11a) and the air in the switching chamber 5, and the switching chamber 5 is cooled.

Here, the members constituting the damper are made of resin (more precisely, non-foamed resin) to maintain strength, except for the surface of the baffle 105a shown in FIG. 7, where contact/non-contact occurs when opening and closing. It is common that Since resin has lower insulation performance (higher thermal conductivity) than the foam insulation material and vacuum insulation material 25b that constitute the insulation partition wall 30, when the size of the switching room damper 105 is increased, heat exchange through this damper is reduced. This may cause the switching chamber 5, which is set in the refrigeration temperature range, to be excessively cooled. On the other hand, as described above, considering that the temperature is set to freezing, it is desirable to suppress the pressure loss of the switching chamber damper 105 to a low level.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is suppressed within an appropriate range using the following index. First, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made larger than the minimum air passage cross-sectional area of the circulating air passage between the evaporator 20 and the switching chamber 5 (the part of the circulating air passage with the smallest cross-sectional area), Specifically, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made larger than that of the switching chamber discharge port 15a. By making the air passage cross-sectional area larger than the minimum air passage cross-sectional area, the rate of pressure loss occurring in the switching chamber damper 105 that is closed to the circulation air passage between the evaporator 20 and the switching chamber 5 is kept small, that is, the switching chamber damper 105 is provided when the refrigeration setting is set. This relatively suppresses the decrease in air volume caused by this.

On the other hand, in order to suppress cooling via the switching chamber damper 105, the following considerations are taken to prevent the switching chamber damper 105 from becoming excessively large. Since the air from all the storage compartments flows together through the evaporator 20 and the internal fan 9, a large amount of air flows through the evaporator 20 and the internal fan 9. On the other hand, the air flowing through the switching chamber damper 105 is only the branched air sent to the switching chamber 5, and if the pressure loss coefficients are the same, the pressure loss occurring in the switching chamber damper 105 will be greater than that in the evaporator 20 etc. Therefore, in this embodiment, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made smaller than the cross-sectional area of the portion where air flows into the evaporator 20. In addition, in the circulating air path between the evaporator 20 and the switching chamber 5, in the locations where only air flows to the switching chamber 5 (switching chamber air passage 15, switching chamber discharge port 15a, switching chamber return port 15b). The opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made equal to or smaller than the maximum air passage cross-sectional area. That is, in the circulating air path between the evaporator 20 and the switching chamber 5, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made small within a range that does not increase the rate of pressure loss of the switching chamber damper 105. In particular, the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is made equal to or less than the switching chamber return port 15b where the circulating air of the switching chamber 5 is collected, thereby suppressing the rate of pressure loss of the switching chamber damper 105. The switching chamber damper 105 is prevented from becoming excessively large.

With the above configuration, the switching chamber damper 105 is provided so that the refrigeration temperature can be set, and the opening area of the switching chamber damper 105 is suppressed within an appropriate range, thereby suppressing excessive cooling of the switching chamber 5 when setting the refrigeration. By providing the switching chamber damper 105, the pressure loss caused by the provision of the switching chamber damper 105 is suppressed to ensure the necessary air volume when setting the refrigeration setting.

Furthermore, the frame portion of the switching chamber damper 105 (excluding the baffle 105a) has low heat insulation performance as described above, and the switching chamber 5 may be excessively cooled due to heat exchange through this portion. It is desirable to reduce the area occupied by this frame. Therefore, in this embodiment, the opening area (the area closed by the baffle 105a) is set to be 70% or more of the entire area of the surface of the switching chamber damper 105 exposed to the switching chamber 5. Note that it is also possible to prevent excessive cooling of the switching chamber 5 by covering at least a part of the surface of the frame of the switching chamber damper 105 exposed to the switching chamber 5 with a heat insulating material.

Next, in a refrigerator equipped with a switching chamber 5, the effects of the layout of this embodiment, particularly the effect of providing the switching chamber 5 below the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 6 below the switching chamber 5, will be described. .

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement position of the vacuum heat insulating material that insulates the outside and inside of the refrigerator. In this embodiment, the insulation performance of the refrigerator 1 is improved by providing a vacuum insulation material 25a on the back surface of the insulation box 10 and vacuum insulation materials 25b on both sides of the insulation box 10. Similarly, in this embodiment, the insulation performance of the refrigerator 1 is improved by providing the vacuum insulation material 25c on the switching room door 5a. Note that it is difficult to create a vacuum insulation material with a complicated shape, and the shape is generally rectangular or with the ends folded back like the vacuum insulation material 25b. It has a folded shape. Therefore, among the side surfaces of the vegetable compartment 6, the proportion of the area where the vacuum insulation material 25b is not provided is larger than that of the sub-switching compartment 4, the switching compartment 5, and the like.

This adiabatic configuration is a configuration that takes into consideration the freezing mode of the switching chamber 5. The amount of heat Q _w that enters the inside of the refrigerator through the wall surface is determined by Equations 3 and 4.

Here, K is the heat transfer rate, λ is the thermal conductivity of the insulation wall, t is the thickness of the insulation wall, h is the heat transfer coefficient, A is the heat transfer area, T is the temperature, and ΔT is the temperature of the outside air and the storage room. In the difference, the subscript "out" represents the outside air, and "in" represents the inside of the storage room. In the freezing mode switching compartment 5, the temperature difference ΔT between the outside air and the switching compartment 5 is larger than in the refrigerator compartment 2 or the vegetable compartment 6, and the temperature difference ΔT between the switching compartment 5 and the outside air is larger than in the ice-making compartment 3 and the sub-switching compartment 4. Since the area A is large, the amount of heat _Qw that enters from the outside air tends to be large. In contrast, in this embodiment, vacuum insulation materials 25b and 25c are provided on both sides and the front surface of the switching chamber 5 (switching chamber door 5a) to lower the thermal conductivity λ, and in addition, compared to the vegetable compartment 6, etc. The heat insulating thickness t of the side and front surfaces (door 5a) is also increased to reduce the heat passage rate K, thereby suppressing the amount of heat _Qw that enters. When the amount of heat _Qw that enters is large, the energy required for cooling increases, that is, the energy saving performance decreases. In this way, by improving the heat insulation performance around the switching chamber 5, which has a large influence on energy saving performance when set to the freezing mode, energy saving performance can be improved with high efficiency.

On the other hand, the vegetable compartment 6 is a storage room dedicated to the refrigerated temperature range, and is also the storage room with the highest temperature in the refrigerator 1, so it is more outside the refrigerator than other storage rooms, especially those in the freezing temperature range. The temperature difference ΔT is small. Here, the lowest stage of the refrigerator 1 exchanges heat with the outside air from both sides and the front as well as from the bottom, so the heat transfer area A is larger than that of the switching chamber 5 and the like. Further, since a portion of the bottom surface exchanges heat with the machine room 39, which is hotter than the surroundings of the refrigerator, using exhaust heat from the compressor 24, etc., T _out is likely to be high, that is, ΔT is likely to be large. Further, as described above, the side surface of the vegetable compartment 6 has a large proportion of the area where the vacuum heat insulating material 25b is not provided, and K tends to become large. Therefore, it is important to consider heat intrusion from the outside air in the lowest storage compartment, but by providing the vegetable compartment 6 with a relatively high T _in in the lower compartment of the refrigerator 1, the temperature difference ΔT with the outside of the refrigerator can be suppressed. This suppresses heat intrusion and prevents deterioration in energy-saving performance. That is, the energy saving performance of the refrigerator 1 as a whole can be improved.

Furthermore, by providing the vegetable compartment 6 on the lower surface of the switching compartment 5, the space saving of the heat insulating partition wall 29 is improved and costs are reduced. As described above, the switching chamber 5 set to the refrigeration mode is cooled by the ice-making chamber 3 and the sub-switching chamber 4 on the top surface, and the evaporator 20 and the evaporator air passage 11a on the back surface, and it is possible that the temperature becomes excessively low. . If the lower part of the switching chamber 5 is a storage room at freezing temperature, the switching chamber 5 is also cooled from the bottom surface and becomes even colder, so it is necessary to ensure the insulation performance by the heat insulating partition wall 29. It becomes necessary to increase the thickness of the insulation at No. 29 or to provide a vacuum insulation material. On the other hand, in this embodiment, by providing a storage room exclusively for the refrigerated temperature range that does not reach freezing temperature at the lower part of the switching room 5, and a vegetable room 6 whose temperature is higher than that, the insulation partition wall 29 is It is possible to reduce the need for consideration of heat insulation performance, that is, to suppress an increase in the thickness of the heat insulating partition wall 29 and an increase in cost due to the vacuum heat insulating material.

In addition to the energy saving performance, the aforementioned heat insulation performance also affects dew condensation on the outer surface of the refrigerator 1. The heat insulating wall is cooled by the adjoining storage room, and the outer surface of the outer box 10a in contact with the outside air becomes low temperature. When this temperature falls below the dew point, dew condensation occurs on the outer surface. The outer surface temperature T _{wall_out} due to this cooling is determined by Equation 5.

It is necessary to suppress condensation in the switching chamber 5 in the freezing mode as well as in the refrigeration mode.In the freezing mode, the temperature inside the refrigerator is low, ΔT is large, and _Qw tends to be large, so T _{wall_out} becomes low temperature. In order to prevent the temperature from falling below the dew point, high thermal insulation performance (t/λ) is required. That is, the switching chamber 5 needs to have a heat insulation design that takes the freezing mode into consideration, and it is necessary to ensure high heat insulation performance by installing a vacuum heat insulating material or increasing the heat insulation thickness. On the other hand, in the vegetable compartment 6, which is dedicated to the refrigeration temperature range and has the highest temperature in the refrigerator 1, even if the insulation performance is relatively low, Q _w is difficult to increase, that is, T _{wall_out} is difficult to become low, so vacuum insulation is used. It is possible to reduce the use of the insulation material, and to make the insulation thickness thinner than that of the wall of the switching chamber 5, thereby reducing costs and improving space saving.

The above are examples showing this embodiment. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations of the embodiments with other configurations.

1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigerator compartment 2a, 2b Refrigerator compartment door 3 Ice making compartment 3a Ice making compartment door 3b Ice making compartment container 3c Ice tray 4 Sub switching compartment 4a Sub switching compartment door 4b Sub switching compartment container 5 Switching compartment 5a Switching compartment door 5b Switching compartment container 6 Vegetable compartment 6a Vegetable compartment door 6b Vegetable compartment container 6c Vegetable compartment cover 6d Vegetable compartment partition 7 Chilled compartment 9 Internal fan 10 Insulation box 10a Outer box 10b Inner box 11a Evaporator air flow path 11b Evaporator return air path 12 Refrigerator room Air supply path 12a Refrigerator compartment discharge port 12b Refrigerator compartment return port 12c Refrigerator compartment return air path 13 Ice making compartment ventilation path 13a Ice making compartment discharge port 13b Ice making compartment return port 13c Ice making compartment return air path 14 Sub-switching compartment air duct 14a Sub-switching compartment discharge Outlet 14b Sub-switching compartment return port 15 Switching compartment ventilation path 15a Switching compartment discharge port 15b Switching compartment return port 16 Vegetable compartment ventilation path 16a Vegetable compartment discharge port 16b Vegetable compartment return port 16c Vegetable compartment return air duct 17 Door hinge cover 18 Operation part 19 Display section 20 Evaporator 21 Radiant heater 22 Drain pipe 24 Compressor 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d, 25e Vacuum insulation material 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Insulating partition wall 31 Control board 32 Evaporating dish 33 Door pocket 34 Shelf top Lower stage 37 Ice making tank 39 Machine room 40 Machine room fan 41 Evaporator temperature sensor 42 Refrigerator room temperature sensor 43 Ice making temperature sensor 44 Sub-switching room temperature sensor 45 Switching room temperature sensor 46 Vegetable compartment temperature sensor 47 Outside air temperature sensor 48 Outside air humidity sensor 50a , 50b, 50c First to third radiators 51 Dryer 52 Capillary tube 53 Gas-liquid separator 54 Heat exchange section 55 Return piping 102 Refrigerator compartment damper 104 Sub-switching compartment damper 105 Switching compartment damper 105a Baffle 200 Duct 201 Blower 202 Orifice 203 First differential pressure gauge 204 Second differential pressure gauge

Claims (12)

A refrigerated storage room that controls the inside of the refrigerator within the refrigerating temperature range, a freezing storage room that controls the inside of the refrigerator within the freezing temperature range, a switching room that can switch between the refrigerating temperature range and the freezing temperature range, and an evaporator. , a fan that boosts the pressure of the air that has been made low temperature by the evaporator and blows it to the cold storage compartment, the frozen storage compartment, and the switching room; and suppresses the air pressurized by the fan from blowing to the cold storage compartment. comprising a refrigerated storage room damper and a switching room damper that suppresses air pressurized by the fan from being blown to the switching room;
Compared to the switching room, the refrigerated storage room has a larger internal volume, and the frozen storage room has a smaller internal volume, and the air blown to the refrigerated storage room, the frozen storage room, and the switching room is the same. In the refrigerator cooled by the evaporator,
The evaporator is provided on the back side within a height range of the switching chamber,
The refrigerated storage room includes a refrigerated compartment and a vegetable compartment set at a higher temperature than the refrigerated compartment,
The internal volume of the switching chamber is 1/4 or more of the internal volume of the refrigerator compartment,
The switching room is provided adjacent to the frozen storage room and the vegetable room,
A refrigerator characterized in that when both the refrigerated storage compartment damper and the switching compartment damper are opened, a larger amount of air is blown into the switching compartment than into the refrigerating storage compartment. In claim 1,
The refrigerator is characterized in that the switching compartment is provided below the freezing storage compartment and above the vegetable compartment. In claim 1 or 2,
The length in the width direction in the switching chamber is the same as the length in the width direction in the refrigerated storage compartment .
Or , the internal volume of the switching chamber is 1/2 or more of the internal volume of the vegetable compartment.
Alternatively, the refrigerator is characterized in that the internal volume of the switching chamber is 15% or more of the total internal volume of all storage compartments. A refrigerated storage room that controls the inside of the refrigerator within the refrigerating temperature range, a freezing storage room that controls the inside of the refrigerator within the freezing temperature range, a switching room that can switch between the refrigerating temperature range and the freezing temperature range, and an evaporator. , a fan that boosts the pressure of the air that has been made low temperature by the evaporator and blows it to the cold storage compartment, the frozen storage compartment, and the switching room; and suppresses the air pressurized by the fan from blowing to the cold storage compartment. comprising a refrigerated storage room damper and a switching room damper that suppresses air pressurized by the fan from being blown to the switching room;
Compared to the switching room, the refrigerated storage room has a larger internal volume, and the frozen storage room has a smaller internal volume, and the air blown to the refrigerated storage room, the frozen storage room, and the switching room is the same. In the refrigerator cooled by the evaporator,
The evaporator is provided on the back side within a height range of the switching chamber,
The refrigerated storage room includes a refrigerated compartment and a vegetable compartment set at a higher temperature than the refrigerated compartment,
The switching room is provided adjacent to the frozen storage room and the vegetable room,
When both the refrigerated storage room damper and the switching room damper are opened, the amount of air blown to the switching room is larger than that to the refrigerating storage room,
When the ratio of the internal volumes of at least one of the refrigerated storage compartments and the switching compartment is x:1, the air volume of the switching compartment when both the refrigerated storage compartment damper and the switching compartment damper are opened is A refrigerator characterized in that the air volume is 3.7/x or more. In any one of claims 1 to 4,
A refrigerator characterized in that the switching compartment has higher insulation performance against outside air than the refrigerating storage compartment. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the ratio of the internal volumes of at least one refrigerated storage compartment and the switching compartment is x:1, the opening area of the switching compartment damper is 3.7/x or more times the opening area of the refrigerating compartment damper. A refrigerator characterized by: In any of claims 1 to 6,
A refrigerator characterized in that a horizontal projection of the fan overlaps, at least in part, a horizontal projection of the switching chamber. In any of claims 1 to 7,
A refrigerator characterized in that an opening area of the switching chamber damper is larger than a minimum air passage cross-sectional area of a circulation air passage between the evaporator and the switching chamber. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
A refrigerator characterized in that the opening area of the switching chamber damper is larger than the opening area of a discharge port that blows air into the switching chamber. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
A refrigerator characterized in that an opening area of the switching chamber damper is equal to or smaller than a maximum air passage cross-sectional area of a circulation air passage between the evaporator and the switching chamber. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
A refrigerator characterized in that the opening area of the switching chamber damper is equal to or smaller than the opening area of a return port through which air that has cooled the switching chamber returns. In any one of claims 1 to 11,
The refrigerator is characterized in that the vegetable compartment includes a container for storing food, and cool air is blown toward the outside of the container.

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