JPH0445370A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cause a foodstuff stored in a refrigerator to reach its low temperature as soon as possible and prevent the foodstuff from being damaged by a method wherein a thermal capacity of items to be stored is detected by a variation gradient of temperature and when the gradient shows a high value, a set temperature in a refrigeration chamber for closing a damper is lowered than a normal temperature and then a cooling time is extended. CONSTITUTION:A control means 22 such as a micro-computer or the like has a timer for use in counting a time therein. A freezing chamber temperature sensing means 8 and a refrigeration chamber temperature sensing means 12 are connected to an input terminal of the control means 22. Driving means 23 for operating a compressor 9 and a blower 7 as well as a driving means 24 for moving a damper 11 are connected to an output terminal. An initial temperature and a temperature after elapsing a specified time are detected by the refrigerator chamber temperature sensing means 12 during a cooling operation and then a variation gradient of temperature is calculated. When the variation gradient in temperature is sharp, it is judged that this is a state in which the refrigerator chamber is not sufficiently cooled or warm foodstuffs are set into the refrigerator chamber, the set temperature in the refrigerator chamber is lowered to extend a cooling action. Thus, a sufficient cooling is carried out and a keeping of the foodstuffs to be freezed is positively carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator equipped with a tamper control means for adjusting the temperature within the refrigerator compartment.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY In recent years, there have been an increasing number of refrigerators that use microcomputers to control their operation, and they have become mainstream.

Below, an example of such a refrigerator is shown in Figures 3 to 6.
This will be explained according to the diagram.

In FIG. 3, 1 is a refrigerator main body, and 2 is a partition wall, which divides the inside of the refrigerator main body 1 into a freezing compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes a cooling chamber, and 6 a cooler, which is housed in the cooling chamber 5. The cooler 6, together with a compressor 9, constitutes a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant is circulated. Reference numeral 7 denotes a blower, which forcibly circulates air cooled by the cooler 6 to the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a freezer temperature detecting means, which includes a thermistor or the like that detects the temperature of the freezer compartment 3 and sends operation control signals for the compressor 9 and the blower 7. The IO is tactile and is installed between the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4 so that cold air from the cooler 6 can be sent thereto. ! Reference numeral 1 denotes a damper, which is installed at the entrance of the refrigerator compartment 4 and is electrically operated to adjust the amount of cold air flowing into the damper. Further, 12 is a refrigerating room temperature detection means which detects the temperature of the refrigerating room 4 and operates the damper! It consists of a thermistor etc. to send l operation control signals.

Referring to FIG. 4, details of the structure of the damper 11 will be explained.

13 is a solenoid, and the damper 11 is opened and closed by this solenoid 13 to open and close a cold air passage 14 to the refrigerator compartment 4. 15 is a damper case with an air passage section 16 at the top. A mechanical part 17 is formed at the bottom. +8 is a rod, the tip of which is provided so as to be able to come into contact with the damper 11. A plunger 19 is connected to the rod 18, inserted into the inner core of the solenoid +3 housed in the mechanical part 17, and is movable up and down. 2
A compression spring 0 is normally biased to push down the plunger 19 and keep the damper If in a closed state. Further, 21 is a tension spring which is biased to rotate the damper 11 in the closing direction.

Next, the control circuit will be explained based on FIG.

25 is a control means consisting of a microcomputer, etc., and its input terminals are connected to a freezer compartment temperature detection means 8 and a refrigerator compartment temperature detection means! 2 are connected. A drive means 23 for moving the compressor 9 and the blower 5 and a drive means 24 for moving the tambour 11 are connected to the output terminal.

In the above configuration, the operation of the control means will be explained based on FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, in step 14, the input data of the freezer compartment temperature detection means 8 and the refrigerator compartment temperature detection means 12 are acquired.
Next, in step 15, the input temperature data of the freezer compartment temperature detection means 8 is compared with a preset freezer compartment temperature.If it is determined in step 15 that the freezer compartment temperature is higher than the freezer compartment set temperature, 9B 16, the control means 25 outputs an output to operate the compressor 9 and blower 7.

If it is determined in step I5 that the temperature in the freezer compartment is lower than the set temperature in the freezer compartment, the process proceeds to step 17 and the control means 25 outputs an output to stop the compressor 9 and the blower 7. In this way, based on the output of the control means 25, the drive means 23 operates or stops the compressor 9 and the blower 7.Next, in step 18, the input temperature of the refrigerator room temperature detection means 12 taken in in step 14 is detected. The data is compared with the preset temperature of the refrigerator compartment. If it is determined in step 18 that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is higher than the temperature set in the refrigerator compartment, the process proceeds to step 19, and the damper 11 is controlled to be in an open state. It is output from the means 25. If it is determined in step 18 that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is lower than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment, the process proceeds to step 20, where the control means 25 outputs an output to close the damper II. In this manner, the drive means 24 operates or stops the damper I+ based on the output of the control means 25.

Therefore, the damper 11 is in an open or closed state, and when it is open, the cold air from the duct 10 enters the refrigerator compartment 4 and cools the refrigerator compartment, and when it is closed, it does not cool the refrigerator compartment, and the above operation is repeated thereafter to cool the refrigerator compartment. 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4 are kept at appropriate temperatures.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-described configuration, if the refrigerator compartment 4 starts operating in a state where it has not been sufficiently cooled, that is, if the installation is performed at a later time, or when the system is restored after a power outage, or during operation, When hot food is put into the refrigerator compartment 4, etc., the difference in heat capacity between the refrigerated food and the refrigerator compartment temperature detection unit 12 causes the refrigerator compartment temperature detection unit 12 to be cooled down faster than the refrigerator compartment temperature detection unit 12, and the temperature becomes lower than the refrigerator compartment set temperature, and the damper is activated. 11, therefore damper 1
1 is in a closed state, it takes a considerable amount of time to stop the cooling action and sufficiently cool the refrigerated food, which tends to damage the food and is undesirable for storage.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides a refrigerator that takes a sufficient cooling time to cool the food at the start of operation or when hot food is put in it, and can store the refrigerated food without damaging it. It is an object.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a freezing chamber, a refrigerator compartment, a freezing chamber temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature inside the freezing chamber, and a detection temperature of the freezing chamber temperature detecting means. a refrigeration cycle that generates cold air cooled by a compressor and a cooler according to the conditions; a blower that circulates this cold air within the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment; a duct that guides the cold air to the refrigerator compartment; and a damper that is adjusted to open and close according to the temperature detected by the refrigerating room temperature detecting means, and detecting the initial temperature and the temperature after a certain period of time by the refrigerating room temperature detecting means, and determining the gradient of temperature change. The refrigerator is provided with a control means for comparing the change gradient with the change gradient as a set value and changing the opening/closing time of the cold air passage by the damper.

According to the above-described structure, when the refrigerator compartment is not cooled sufficiently or when hot food is put in and the cooling action is started, the downward gradient according to the temperature data input by the refrigerator compartment temperature detection means becomes steeper. , the set temperature for opening and closing the damper is changed to a lower value than normal, and the time the dash bar is open becomes longer.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Note that the structure of the refrigerator body and the structure of the damper are the same as those in the conventional example.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 22 denotes a control means such as a microcomputer, which has an internal timer for counting time. The input terminal of the control means 22 is connected to the freezer compartment temperature detection means 8.
and a refrigerating room temperature detection means 12 are connected. A drive means 23 for moving the compressor 9 and the blower 7 is provided at the output terminal.
and a driving means 24 for moving the damper 11.

In the above configuration, the operation of the control means will be explained based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, in step l, the freezer compartment temperature detection means 8
In step 2, the input temperature data of the freezer compartment temperature detection means 8 is compared with the preset freezer compartment temperature. If it is determined that the room temperature is higher than the set temperature, the process proceeds to step 3 and the compressor 9
The control means 22 outputs this to operate the blower 7.
0 If it is determined in step 2 that the temperature in the freezer compartment is lower than the set temperature in the freezer compartment, the process proceeds to step 4, where the control means 22 outputs an output to stop the compressor 9 and the blower 7. In this way, based on the output of the control means 22, the driving means 23:
The compressor 9 and blower 7 are operated or stopped.

Next, in step 5, input data is fetched from the refrigerator temperature detection means 12, and the value is set as T (old).In step 6, a timer is started, and in step 7, the timer waits until the timer expires, and when the time is up, the process goes to step 8. In step 8, the input data is again fetched from the refrigerator room temperature detection means +2 and the value is T (ne
w), and in step 9 T (new) and T (o
ld), and if the value is greater than or equal to the set value of the temperature change gradient that occurs during normal continuous operation, it is determined that the temperature decrease gradient is steep, and the process proceeds to step 10. If it is less than the set value in step 9, step 11
Proceed to.

In step lO and step 11, both T (new
l tH degrees and the refrigerator compartment set temperature are compared, but the set temperature data (TO) of step IO and the set temperature data (TI) of step 9 block 11 have a relationship of TO < TI, and step 10 compares at a lower temperature. Step! If T (new) is higher than To at 0, and if T (new) is higher than T1 at step 11, the process proceeds to step 12 and the control means 22 outputs an output to open the damper (2). Conversely, if it is low,
Proceeding to step 13, the control stage 22 outputs an output to close the damper 11.

Therefore, during the cooling action, the initial temperature and the temperature after a certain period of time are detected by the refrigerator compartment temperature detection means 1z to determine the temperature change gradient, and when this temperature change gradient is steep, the inside of the refrigerator compartment 4 is It can be determined that the food is not sufficiently cooled or that hot food has been placed in the refrigerator compartment 4, and by lowering the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment by closing the damper 11, the cooling effect can be prolonged, and therefore - Sufficient cooling has been achieved and the preservation of refrigerated foods can now be ensured.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, the heat capacity of the cooled material stored in the refrigerator compartment can be detected based on the gradient of change in temperature due to the temperature process, and when the gradient is steep, the state of heat load can be detected. If it is determined that the damper is too heavy, the temperature setting in the refrigerator room that causes the damper to close can be lowered than usual, and the cooling time can be extended. Therefore, the refrigerated food can quickly reach a low temperature, and damage to the refrigerated food can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a control means in a refrigerator showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram of the same refrigerator, and FIG.
4 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the control means of the refrigerator, and FIG. 6 is a control circuit diagram of the refrigerator. 1... Refrigerator 3... Freezer compartment 4... Refrigerator compartment 6... Cooler 7... Blower 8... Freezer compartment temperature detection means 9... Compressor 11.
...Damper 12...Refrigerating room temperature detection means 22.
・Control means

Claims (1)

[Claims] A freezing compartment, a refrigerator compartment, a freezing compartment temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature inside the freezing compartment, and a refrigeration cycle for producing cold air cooled by a compressor and a cooler according to the temperature detected by the freezing compartment temperature detecting means. , a blower that circulates the cold air in the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, a duct that guides the cold air to the refrigerator compartment, and a damper that is provided in the duct and is adjusted to open and close according to the temperature detected by the refrigerator compartment temperature detection means. Equipped with
The initial temperature and the temperature after a certain period of time are detected by the refrigerator room temperature detection means to determine the temperature change gradient, and this change gradient is compared with the change gradient as a set value to determine the opening/closing time of the cold air passage by the damper. A refrigerator characterized by being provided with a control means for changing the temperature.