JPH04131673A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a returning air passage, provided in a partitioning wall between a freezing chamber and a cold storage chamber, from being frozen and blockaded even when an ambient temperature is low by a method wherein the driving of a cold air supplying means is controlled forcibly in accordance with the atmospheric temperature, detected by an ambient temperature detecting means. CONSTITUTION:The ambient temperature or a refrigerator is detected and the supplying amount of cold air into a cold storage chamber 3 is controlled forcibly in accordance with an atmospheric temperature whereby an electrically-driven damper thermostat 7 is opened forcibly during a predetermined period of time to supply cold air into the cold storage chamber 3 and circulate the cold air through the inside of the cold storage chamber 3 when the ambient temperature of the refrigerator is low Accordingly, a condition that an electrically-driven damper 7 is not opened substantially is eliminated whereby a returning air passage 8, provided in a partitioning wall between a freezing chamber 2 and the cold storage chamber 3, will never be frozen and blockaded by freezing due to a temperature difference between the freezing chamber 2 and the cold storage chamber 3 even when much moisture exsists in the cold storage chamber 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and particularly to a refrigerator that can control the amount of cold air supplied to a refrigerator compartment.

[Prior Art] Figures 2 and 3 show a conventional refrigerator published in JP-A-2-33590, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the conventional refrigerator, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional refrigerator. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a control circuit.

In Figure 2, (1) is the refrigerator body, (2) is the freezer compartment located at the top of the refrigerator body (1), and (3) is the refrigerator compartment located below the freezer compartment (2). The interior of the refrigerator body (1) is usually divided into a plurality of storage compartments.

(4) is a compressor that is installed at the bottom of the refrigerator body (1) and compresses the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle, and (5) is a freezer compartment (
2) is a cooler located at the back of the refrigerator, (6) is a blower that forcibly circulates cold air inside the refrigerator, and (7) is an electric motor that adjusts the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment (3). Damper thermos (hereinafter referred to as electric damper), (7a) is a cold air outlet to the refrigerator compartment (3), (8) is a return air path for cold air from the refrigerator compartment (3) to the cooler (5), (9) ) is a temperature detector that detects the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3), and (10) is a variable resistor that is placed outside the refrigerator body (1) and is used to set the temperature inside the refrigerator. (11) is an outer peripheral temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the outer peripheral part of the refrigerator main body (1), (12)
(13) is a microcomputer which is the central part of the control mechanism of this refrigerator.

In FIG. 3, (1B) is a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer), (13a).

(13b) and (13c) are each input port of the microcomputer (13), (13d) and (13e) are the microcomputer (13)
The output port (14) is a resistor connected in series with the variable resistor (10) for setting the internal temperature, and its contact is connected to the input port (13a). (15) is a resistor connected in series with the temperature detector (9), and its contact is connected to the input port (13b). Similarly, (16) is a resistor connected in series with the outer peripheral temperature detector (11), and its contact is connected to the input port (13c). (17) is the electric damper relay (1) connected to the output port (13d) of the microcomputer (13).
8) is a thermal insulation heater relay connected to the output port (13e) of the microcomputer (13), and (19) is an AC power supply for power supply.

This AC power supply (19) has an electric damper relay (17)
are connected in parallel through a contact (17a), and a heat retention heater relay (18) is connected in parallel through a contact (18a). In addition, in a refrigerator without a heat-retaining heater (12), the above-mentioned heat-retaining heater relay (18) and contact (18a) are not provided, and the output port (1) of the microcomputer (13) is
3e) is in a state where nothing is connected to it.

Next, the control operation of the refrigerator having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be explained according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of a conventional refrigerator, and is a case where the heat-retaining heater (12) is not used. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the same conventional refrigerator, in which a heat-retaining heater (12) is used.

First, a case will be described in which the insulating heater (12) is not used.

In FIG. 4, the refrigerator compartment temperature detected by the temperature detector (9) in step S1 is input to the microcomputer (13) via the input port (13b). Further, the refrigerator compartment set temperature set by the variable resistor (10) in step S2 is transmitted to the microcomputer (13) via the input port (13a).
is input. In step S3, the detected temperature of the refrigerator compartment and the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment are compared, and if the detected temperature of the refrigerator compartment is equal to or higher than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment (YES), step S3 is performed.
At step 4, the electric damper (7) is opened to supply cold air into the refrigerator compartment (3), and the process returns to step S1. If the detected temperature of the refrigerator compartment is lower than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment (NO), the electric damper (7) is closed in step S5 and the refrigerator compartment (3) is closed.
The supply of cold air is cut off, and the process returns to step S1 again.

Through this series of operations, the drive of the electric damper (7) is appropriately controlled, and the temperature in the refrigerator compartment (3) is controlled.

Next, the case of using the heat retaining heater (12) will be described.

In FIG. 5, each operation from step S1 to step S5 is the same as in FIG. 4, and the same control is performed. Thereafter, in step S6, the outer circumferential temperature detected by the outer circumferential temperature detector (11) is input to the microcomputer (13) via the input port (13c). Then, in step S7, the outer circumferential temperature and the preset heat retention heater (12
), and if the outer peripheral temperature is lower than or equal to the on-temperature of the heat-retaining heater (12) (YES), the heat-retaining heater (12) is turned on in step S8.

If the outer peripheral temperature is higher than the on-temperature of the heat-retaining heater (12) (No), the process directly proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the outer circumferential temperature is compared with the preset off-temperature of the heat-retaining heater (12), and if the outer-periphery temperature is higher than the off-temperature of the heat-retaining heater (12) (YES), step In S10, the insulating heater (12) is turned off, and the process returns to step S1 again. In addition, if the outer peripheral temperature is lower than the off-temperature of the insulation heater (12) (NO),
The process then returns to step S1. Through this series of operations, the drive of the electric damper (7) is appropriately controlled, and
The on/off of the heat-retaining heater (12) is also controlled as appropriate depending on the temperature of the outer peripheral portion, and the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) is controlled.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional refrigerator as described above, the temperature in the refrigerator compartment (3) is controlled by appropriately controlling the drive of the electric damper (7).

However, when the temperature around the outside of the refrigerator is low, the refrigerator compartment (
3) The amount of heat leaking through the insulation wall, etc. from the freezer compartment (2) is also small, and the inside of the refrigerator compartment (3) is Since a sufficiently cooled state was maintained, the electric damper (7) was almost never opened. Therefore, in such a case, especially if there is a lot of moisture in the refrigerator compartment (3), the difference in temperature between the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3) will cause the temperature difference between the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3) to increase.
) The inside of the return air passage (8) provided in the partition wall between the two was sometimes frozen and became blocked.

Therefore, even if the electric damper (7) is opened, the return air path (
8) is blocked, so cold air is not circulating.
There was a phenomenon in which the inside of the refrigerator compartment (3) was not getting cold.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which the return air passage provided in the partition wall between the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment does not freeze and become blocked even when the temperature at the outer periphery of the refrigerator is low. It is something to do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cold air supply control means for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment, an outer peripheral temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the outer peripheral part of the refrigerator, The apparatus further includes a forced drive control means for forcibly controlling the drive of the cold air supply means in accordance with the outside temperature detected by the outer peripheral temperature detection means.

[Function] In the present invention, the temperature at the outer periphery of the refrigerator is detected and the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment is forcibly controlled according to the outside temperature. When the temperature is low, cold air is forcibly supplied to the refrigerator compartment and the cold air is circulated for a predetermined period of time to sublimate the ice in the return air path from the refrigerator compartment to the freezer compartment and prevent freezing in the return air path. It can be prevented.

[Example] Examples of the present invention will be described below.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of a refrigerator which is an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing a refrigerator which is an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is an embodiment of the invention. It is a circuit diagram showing a control circuit of a refrigerator. In addition, the second
Since FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 are common to the conventional example, explanation thereof will be omitted. In the figure, the same reference numerals and symbols as those in the conventional example denote components that are the same as or correspond to those in the conventional example.

Here, the explanation will focus on the control procedure of the refrigerator of this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, each operation from step 811 to step S16 corresponds to step S1 to step S6 in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the conventional example, and the same operations and control are performed. In the refrigerator of this embodiment, when the electric damper (7) is closed in step 815, the outer peripheral temperature detected by the outer peripheral temperature detector (11) is inputted to the microcomputer (13C) in step S16. 13). Then, in step S17, the outer circumferential temperature is compared with a preset temperature for forcibly opening the electric damper (7), and the outer circumferential temperature is forcibly opening the electric damper (7). If the temperature is higher than the set temperature (No), the process returns to step 811. That is, when the outside temperature is higher than the predetermined set temperature, the electric damper (7
) is closed, there is a large amount of heat leaking from the refrigerator compartment (3) through the insulated walls, etc., and the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) rises in a relatively short period of time, causing the electric damper ( 7) will be opened, so in such a case, the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3) will be opened.
This is because the inside of the return air passage (8) provided in the partition wall with ) will not freeze and become blocked. In addition, if the outer circumferential temperature is lower than the set temperature for forcibly opening the electric damper (7) in step S17 (YES), in step 818, the accumulated time of the electric damper (7) in the closed state and the preset value are determined. The electric damper (7) is compared in size with the set time t1 for forcibly opening the electric damper (7).
If the accumulated time in the closed state of step 7) is shorter than the set time t1 for forcibly opening the electric damper (7) (NO), the process returns to step S11. That is, the electric damper (7)
If the accumulated time of the closed state is relatively short, even if the electric damper (7) is closed, the partition wall between the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3) This is because the return air passage (8) provided therein will not freeze and become blocked. Further, in step S18, if the accumulated time in the closed state of the electric damper (7) is equal to or longer than the set time t1 for forcibly opening the electric damper (7), the electric damper (7) is closed in step S19. Open. As a result, cold air is again supplied to the refrigerator compartment (3). After that, in step S20, the accumulated time in the open state of the electric damper (7) is compared with a preset time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7), and the electric damper (7) is
7), if the accumulated time in the open state is shorter than the set time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7) (NO), the process returns to step S19 and the open state of the electric damper (7) is maintained. Ru. Further, if the accumulated time in the open state of the electric damper (7) is longer than the set time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7) (YES), step 8
Step 21 closes the electric damper (7) and returns to step 81.
Return to 1. This is because if the electric damper (7) is opened for too long, the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment (3) becomes too large.
This is because the inside of the refrigerator compartment (3) becomes supercooled. Also,
The set time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7) described in ``2'' needs to be set to a time such that the inside of the return air path (8) is not frozen and blocked. Through this series of operations, the drive of the electric damper (7) is appropriately controlled, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) approaches the set temperature, and the drive of the electric damper (7) is forced according to the outer peripheral temperature. control, and even when the temperature at the outer periphery of the refrigerator is low, the freezer compartment (2
) and the refrigerator compartment (3), it is possible to avoid a phenomenon in which the inside of the return air passage (8) provided in the partition wall becomes frozen and becomes blocked.

As described above, the refrigerator of this embodiment includes a cold air supply control means consisting of an electric damper (7) that controls the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment (3), and an outer circumferential section that detects the temperature of the outer circumferential section of the refrigerator. an outer circumference temperature detection means consisting of a temperature detector (11); and an outer circumference temperature detection means (outer circumference temperature detection means) (1
1) The electric damper (
The microcomputer (13) from step 816 to step S21 in FIG.
).

By detecting the temperature of the outer periphery of the refrigerator and forcibly controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment (3) according to this outside temperature, when the temperature of the outer periphery of the refrigerator is low, the electric The damper thermometer (7) is forcibly opened for a predetermined period of time to supply cold air to the refrigerator compartment (3) and circulate the cold air within the refrigerator compartment (3).

Therefore, the conventional situation in which the electric damper (7) is almost never opened when the temperature of the outer circumference of the refrigerator is low is eliminated, and even if there is a large amount of moisture in the refrigerator compartment (3), Due to the temperature difference between the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3), the inside of the return air passage (8) provided in the partition wall between the freezer compartment (2) and the refrigerator compartment (3) freezes. There will be no blockage. In other words, when the temperature of the outer periphery of the refrigerator is low,
By forcibly supplying and circulating cold air to the refrigerator compartment (3), a return air path (8) from the refrigerator compartment (3) to the freezer compartment (2) is created.
) can be sublimated to prevent freezing of the return air path (8). For this reason, even if the electric damper (7) is opened as in the past, the return air path (8) remains blocked.
This avoids the phenomenon that cold air does not circulate and the inside of the refrigerator compartment (3) does not cool down.

As a result, it is possible to appropriately supply and circulate cold air into the refrigerator compartment (3) when necessary.
Cooling inside can be done efficiently.

Next, other embodiments will be described. In the above example,
The set time tl for forcibly opening the electric damper (7) in step 818 in FIG. 1 and the set time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7) in step S20 are each independently set. However, the set times 11 and t2 need to be set at times such that the return air passage (8) is not frozen and blocked, and the set times tl and t2 may have a predetermined relationship with each other. For example, the set time t for forcibly closing the electric damper (7)
2 can be expressed as t2≧(3/97)xtl (t2≧(tL +t2)Xo, 03) using the set time t1 for forcibly opening the electric damper (7). If such a relationship is utilized, by setting one setting time, the other setting time will also be limited.

Further, the series of operations from step S15 to step S21 in FIG. 1 of the above embodiment is performed when the detected temperature of the refrigerator compartment is lower than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment.

Therefore, if the electric damper (7) is opened for a long time, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) will further decrease, and the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) will further decrease.
A secondary problem occurs in which the inside of the tank becomes supercooled.

Therefore, in order to reduce the degree of this as much as possible, the set time t2 for forcibly closing the electric damper (7) and the set time t1 for forcibly opening the electric damper (7) are set within the range where the above relational expression holds true. Make both smaller and use an electric damper (7)
By making the opening and closing operations repeated intermittently,
It is possible to prevent the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) from dropping too much.

By the way, in the above embodiment, as the forced drive control means, the electric damper (7) is forcibly opened and closed by the control of the microcomputer (13), but as described in the conventional example, there is also a heat insulation device that operates at low outside temperatures. In a refrigerator equipped with a heater (12), by arranging the heat retaining heater (12) very close to the temperature detector (9), the same effects as in each of the above embodiments can be achieved. The sectional view and control circuit diagram of the refrigerator with this configuration are the same as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the conventional example described above, and the control procedure of the refrigerator is also the same.
This is the same as the flowchart in the figure.

In this case, when the outside temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerator becomes low, the heat-retaining heater (12) is activated. As a result, even if the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) is actually lower than the refrigerator compartment (3) set temperature, the temperature sensor (9) is warmed by the insulation heater (12), and the temperature sensor (9) is warmed by the refrigerator compartment (3). Control is performed assuming that the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment (3) is higher than the set temperature. That is, the electric damper (7) is forcibly opened under the control of the microcomputer (13). Moreover, since the cold air flowing into the refrigerator compartment (3) at this time is warmed by the insulation heater (12),
It is also possible to prevent the temperature in the refrigerator compartment (3) from dropping too much.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a cold air supply control means, an outer circumference temperature detection means, and a forced drive control means,
Detects the temperature around the outside of the refrigerator, and depending on this outside temperature,
With a simple configuration that forcibly controls the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment, when the temperature around the outside of the refrigerator is low,
Cold air is forcibly supplied to the refrigerator compartment, the cold air is circulated for a predetermined period of time, and ice in the return air passage from the refrigerator compartment to the freezer compartment is sublimated, preventing freezing in the return air passage. When cooling is required, cold air can be appropriately supplied and circulated, and the inside of the refrigerator compartment can be efficiently cooled.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of a refrigerator that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a conventional refrigerator and a refrigerator that is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conventional refrigerator and a refrigerator that is an embodiment of the present invention. A circuit diagram showing a control circuit of a refrigerator as an example,
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a conventional refrigerator control procedure, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the same conventional refrigerator control procedure. In the figure: 1: Refrigerator body 2: Freezer compartment 3: Refrigerator compartment 6: Blower 7: Electric damper thermostat 8: Return air path 9: Temperature detector 10: Variable resistor 11: Peripheral temperature detector 12: Heat retention heater 13: Microcomputer 17: Electric damper relay 18: Heat retention heater relay. In the drawings, the same reference numerals and the same symbols indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent: Patent attorney Oiwa, 2 others, including Masaaki Figure 3 17: Relay for electric damper 18: Relay for heat retention heater

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Cold air supply control means for controlling the amount of cold air supplied to the refrigerator compartment; outer circumference temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the outer circumference of the refrigerator; and temperature detected by the outer circumference temperature detection means. 1. A refrigerator comprising: drive force control means for forcibly controlling the drive of the cold air supply means according to outside temperature.