JPH0449700Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a temperature control device for a refrigerator, air-conditioning device, etc.

(Prior Art) Bimetal type or bellows type thermostats are available as temperature control devices used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In order to prevent the chattering phenomenon, conventional thermostats have a slight range between the temperature at which they turn from off to on and the temperature at which they turn from on to off.

Therefore, in refrigerators and air-conditioning systems that use only conventional thermostats, the indoor temperature cooled or heated by the cooler or heater constantly fluctuates within the above temperature range. There are problems such as having an adverse effect on the air conditioner, etc., and causing discomfort to the human body in air-conditioning equipment.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned temperature fluctuations, high-grade equipment has a method that changes the output of a cooler or heater according to the temperature, or uses an electronic circuit to significantly reduce the range of temperature fluctuations. There are some methods that can maintain the same value, but all of them have the drawback that the entire device is complex and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control device that is inexpensive and has a simple configuration, slows down the fluctuations in controlled temperature in conventional thermostats, and compensates for the drawbacks of conventional thermostats. It is.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The temperature control device of the present invention includes a thermostat installed to be exposed to the indoor atmosphere to be cooled or heated by a cooler or heater, and and an intermittent device that repeats on and off at a cycle shorter than the minimum operating time, and the cooler or heater is activated only when the thermostat is activated and the intermittent device is in the on state. The thermostat and the interrupter are connected between the power source and the cooler or heater in this manner.

(Function) According to the device of the present invention, the intermittent device repeats on and off several times during the operating time of the thermostat, and the cooler or heater only operates when it is turned on. Therefore, the temperature changes more slowly than when only a thermostat is used.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to temperature control of a refrigerator.

1 is a power supply, and 2 is a known bimetal type thermostat. The thermostat 2 is installed in a refrigerating compartment (not shown) of the refrigerator, and when the atmospheric temperature in the refrigerating compartment reaches a predetermined activation start temperature or higher, the contact 4 closes due to the action of the bimetal 3.
Further, when the ambient temperature within the refrigerator compartment falls to a predetermined operation stop temperature, the contact 4 opens.

In this way, in order to provide a certain amount of vertical width between the operation start temperature at which the contact point 4 changes from open to close and the operation stop temperature at which the contact point 4 changes from close to open, a part of the bimetal 3 is, for example, shaped like a bowl. The contact 4 is formed in a shape (not shown) and has a spring action so that the contact 4 can be opened and closed.

Further, in order to be able to adjust the operation start temperature and operation stop temperature, a known adjustment means (not shown) such as an adjustment screw whose tip abuts against the side surface of the base of the bimetal 3 is provided.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an interrupter, which includes a case 6, a motor 7 provided in the case 6, and a rotating shaft 7a of the motor 7.
a worm wheel 10 which is pivotally installed in the case 6 with a shaft 9 and meshes with the worm 8; A disc 12 in which a fan-shaped notch 11 is formed in a part of the circumference.
and provided in the case 6, and the actuating part 13a,
It consists of a micro switch 13 which is pressed against the outer peripheral edge of the disc 12.

In the disconnection device 5, when the motor 7 operates, the disc 12 is rotated in a predetermined appropriate direction via the worm 8 and the worm wheel 10.
is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral edge of the disc 12, the contact 14 inside the micro switch 13 is closed, and the actuating part 13a of the micro switch 13 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral edge of the disc 12.
When it falls into the notch 11, the contact 14 opens.

The period at which the contact point 14 opens and closes, that is, the rotation period of the disk 12 is determined by the worm 8 and the worm wheel 10.
By setting the ratio of the number of teeth to an appropriate value, the thermostat can be set according to the temperature interval between the operation start temperature and the operation stop temperature of the thermostat 2, the cooling capacity of the cooler 15 of the refrigerator, the volume of the refrigerator compartment, etc. It is set to be shorter than the minimum expected operating time of the tattoo, preferably about one-third or less.

Further, the ratio between the time when the contact 14 is closed and the time when it is open in one cycle, that is, the ratio between the part without the notch 11 and the part with the notch 11 on the outer periphery of the disk 12 is, for example, 2:1, 1:2. It is best to set it to an appropriate value such as

Thus, the contact 4 of the thermostat 2 and the contact 4 of the disconnecting device 5 are connected in series between the power source 1 and the cooler 15.

In this embodiment, the motor 7 is directly connected to the power source 1, regardless of the thermostat 2, etc., and is always operated.

In the first embodiment configured as described above, when the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment reaches the operation start temperature of the thermostat 2 and the contact 4 closes, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment reaches the operation stop temperature and the contact 4 closes. The contact 14 of the interrupter 5 opens and closes several times at regular intervals until it opens, and the cooler 15 operates only when both contacts 4 and 14 are closed.

FIG. 2 shows the temperature change in the refrigerating compartment of the refrigerator using the temperature control device of the first embodiment, as a solid curve (A).
Further, a dotted curve (b) shows the temperature change in the refrigerator compartment in the case of a conventional system using only the same thermostat as the thermostat 2 of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 2, the "ON" period at the top indicates the operation period of the cooler in the case of the conventional method, and the "ON" period at the bottom indicates the cooler 1 operation period in the case of the first embodiment.
5 operating periods are shown, respectively.

As is clear from this figure, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the pitch of the temperature change in the refrigerator compartment is larger than that of the conventional system, and the temperature change is slower overall.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

In the second embodiment, a motor 7' similar to the motor 7 in the first embodiment is connected to a thermostat 2.
It is connected to the power source 1 in series with the contact 4 of the disconnecting device 5 and in parallel with the contact 14 of the disconnecting device 5 and the cooler 15, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, when the contact 4 of the thermostat 2 is open, the operation of the motor 7' is stopped, and the motor 7' is not operated until the contact 4 is closed.
operates, so there is an advantage that the power consumption of the motor 7' can be saved while the contact 4 is open.

Other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, a means (not shown) is provided for returning a disk similar to the disk 12 in the first embodiment to a predetermined initial position when the contact 4 changes from closed to open. It is more preferable if the contact 14 of the disconnecting device 5 always starts from the closed state when the contact 4 closes again.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the invention.

In the third embodiment, the contact 4 of the thermostat 2, the contact 14 of the disconnecting device 5, and the relay 16 are connected in series to a DC power source 17, and the contact 16a of the relay 16 and the cooler 15 are connected in series with each other. are connected to the power supply 1 in series with each other, so that the contact 16 of the relay 16 is closed only when the contact 4 of the thermostat 2 and the contact 4 of the disconnecting device 5 are both closed.
a is closed, and the cooler 15 is activated.

The motor 7'' is connected in parallel with a series circuit consisting of contacts 14 and a relay 16.

According to the third embodiment, contacts 4, 14, relay 1
6. The control circuit consisting of the motor 7'' etc. can be operated with a weak current, and each of these parts has the advantage of being able to use small current capacity.

Other effects are the same as those of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In the first to third embodiments, a mechanical disconnection device 5 is used, but in the fourth embodiment, the disconnection device 18 is of an electronic timer type.

That is, the disconnection device 18 connects the thermostat 2
The electronic timer 20 is equipped with a known electronic timer 20 such as a CR timer that is supplied with power through a rectifier 19 when the contact 4 of the electronic timer 20 is closed.
The contact point 21 is opened and closed at a predetermined period.

The contact 21 is provided in series between the contact 4 of the thermostat 2 and the cooler 15, and only when both the contact 21 and the contact 4 are closed, the cooler 15
is starting to work.

Therefore, the fourth embodiment operates in the same manner as the second embodiment described above.

The above embodiments are all applied to a temperature control device for a refrigerator, but the present invention
The present invention can also be applied to temperature control devices for which thermostats have been conventionally used, such as air-conditioning and heating devices.

In addition, when used in a heating device, a heater such as a heater is used instead of the cooler 15 described above, and the contacts of the thermostat 2 etc. close when the temperature reaches a low temperature and close when the temperature reaches a high temperature. It is sufficient to use one that has a contact that opens at the same time.

(Effects of the invention) As is clear from the above, according to the invention, fluctuations in the temperature controlled by the conventional thermostat can be slowed down by simply installing an interrupter in addition to the known thermostat. This has the advantage of reducing adverse effects caused by rapid fluctuations in controlled temperature, such as deterioration in the shelf life of refrigerated foods in refrigerators, and discomfort to the human body in air-conditioning systems.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the operation time of the controlled coolers and heaters is always limited to a certain short time, so it is possible to prevent the risk of overheating of the coolers, etc. due to long-term operation. In addition, based on a predetermined operating time, a cooler, etc. can be designed to be optimal for operating only for that time, and the cooler, etc. can be designed to have the ability to operate for a longer time than necessary. It also has the advantage of not being necessary.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the electric circuit and mechanical configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows temperature changes in the refrigerating chamber of a refrigerator using the device of the first embodiment.
Figure 3 is a circuit diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a circuit diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention. , FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 1... Power supply, 2... Thermostat, 3... Bimetal, 4... Contact, 5... Intermittent device, 6...
Case, 7, 7', 7''... Motor, 7a... Rotating shaft, 8... Worm, 9... Shaft, 10... Worm wheel, 11... Notch, 12... Disk, 1
3... Micro switch, 13a... Operating part, 1
4...Contact, 15...Cooler, 16...Relay,
16a... Contact, 17... DC power supply, 18... Intermittent device, 19... Rectifier, 20... Electronic timer, 21... Contact.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A thermostat installed to be exposed to the indoor atmosphere to be cooled or heated by a cooler or heater, and an intermittent device that turns on and off at a cycle shorter than the expected minimum operating time of the thermostat. The thermostat and the interrupter are connected to the power source and the cooler or heater so that the cooler or heater is activated only when the thermostat is activated and the interrupter is turned on. A temperature control device characterized in that it is connected to a heater.